Alpena argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1893-1909, 1894-09-12
About Spectral Illusions.

i1diy muir Wy VIZ uouyi ocho VIC
nurse who was watching beside it
out of the room. Before the ex-
piration of an hour, the bell by
which the deceased had been in the
habit of summoning the nurse rang
violently; and the woman, fancying
the unfortunate widower was taken
suddenly ill, hurried into the room.
He dismissed her angrily, however,
protesting that he had not rung.
Shortly afterwards, the bell was
fung a second time; when the wom-
an observed to one of the servants
that she should not attend to the
summons, as the gentleman might
repent having summoned her, and
dismiss her ungraciously.
ut cannot be my master who is
ringing now," replied the footman,
''for have this moment left him
in the drawing-room."
And while he was still speaking,
the bell of the chamber of death
rang a third time-and still more
violently than before.
The nurse was now literally afraid
to obey the summons, nor was it
till several of the servants agreed
to accompany her, that she could
command sufficient courage. At
length, they ventured to open the
door, expecting to discover within,
some terrible spectacle.
All, however, was perfectly tram
quill; the corpse extended upon the
bed under holland sheet, which
was evidently undisturbed. Such
however, was the agitation of the
poor nurse, that nothing would in
duce her to remain alone with the
body; and one of the housemaids
accordingly agreed to become her
companion in the adjoining dressing
room.
They had not been there many
minutes, when the bell again
sounded; nor could there be any
mistake on the subject, for the bell
wire passing round the dressing
room was in motion, and the SER
wants in the Offices could attest to
the vibration of the bell. The
family butler accordingly deter
mined to support the courage Of
of the terrified women by accomp-
anying them back to the dressing
room, in which they were to sit
with the door open, so as to COM
mand view of the bed.
These precautions effectually un-
ravelled the mystery. A string had
been attached to the bell-pull to en-
able the sick lady to summon her
attendants without changing her
position, which still unremoved,
hung down upon the floor; and a
favorite kitten, often admitted into
the room to amuse the invalid, bav-
ing entered the chamber unobserved,
was playing with the string, which,
being entangled in her feet had
produced this general panic.
But for the opportune explanation
OF this trivial incident, the family
would have obtained the notoriety
Of haunted house, and probably
been deserted!
Such was the case with the Crown
Inn at Antwerp, where some years
ago, white spectre, bearing a lamp
in one hand and a bunch of keys
in the other, was seen by a variety
Of travellers passing along a corri-
dor till it disappeared in a particular
chamber.
Nothing would satisfy the neigh
bors that an unfortunate traveller
had not been, at some time or other,
despatched in that fatal room by
one of the previous landlords of the
house; and the Crown gradually OBJ
tanned the name of the Haunted
Inn, and ceased to be frequented by
its old patrons.
The landlord, finding himself on
the brink ofruin, determined to sleep
in the haunted room with a view
of proving the groundlessness of
the story, and caused his ostler to
bear him company, OIL pretence of
requiring witness to the absurdity
Of the report; but in reality, from
cowardice. At dead of night, how
ever, just as the two men were COM
posing themselves to sleep in one
bed, leaving another which was in
the room untenanted, the door few
open, and in glided the white
spectre!
Without pausing to ascertain
what it might attempt on approach
ing the other bed, towards which it
directed its course, the two men
rushed naked out of the room; and
hv the alarm thev cvoafad conf,rnod