The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-01

y
sought.
In this condition Of defeat and discour-
agemenu. found myself standing alone, one
wild and fog-swept afternoon, with old
John BruEskll. porter, on the windy sta
ton platform Of lonely little hamlet Of
Kirby Stephen among the fells of east
ern Westmoreland over against the desc
late moors Of Northwestern Yorkshire.
After ] had for a time listened to his
eager chatter about Roman walls. Roman
pottery. and Roman coin. for ne is a
strange, mellow compound Of faithful old
railway emplOye and rustic antiquarian,
/ told him honestly of my literary quest
and its i'll success.
"Brunskil,' I concluded, in a burst of
professional generosity and zeal, "a guinea
for a ghostw
why, sir. ven find scores of 'em on
Stanemoor if We dare walk it in tn grey
O. tn evening, sir. An if We don't find
EN- theer, Jess step over into Yorkshire,
an yell ind 'em in any house in dead OF
Bowes"
Then ] shall cross the moor and be
with the ghosts Of Bowes this night l
answered cheerily.
so We will; so We will, if ye get theer
at all, sir. But ye're like t lose yer way
IN tn fog. Don't 60 tonight, sir. May
be we can find We a ghost in old Kirk by
Stephen, if We re mortal set on havin' one
tonight. Anyhow. ye're like t. be blown
from tn road into tn rock beds along thu
passes. Bide ere till morn, sir2''
told him | was determined to go; for
of all nights when ghosts were liveliest,
such an one as was coming on was most
favorable that if found ono on wild
StanemoOr or in dead old Bowes, the
promised guinea should surely be his;
when he recalled rumor among the rus
tic folk round about that only within the
week other ghost had come to the at
tention of the simple folk Of Bowes.
Its at tn oil Unicorn inn," said John
Brunskill rehectively and seriously: IAN
they do say it's ghsst o. beautiful mai
den as sometime met foul play. TIL oil
rat trap S full o. 'em anyhow. Ye can
take yer pick. But | shall be right glad
I see We back safe ere, sir; guinea or no
guinea. Keep I tn road, sir" he conclu-
ded anXiOusly. Never leave it, or ye're
a lost MANI
Something in old John Brunskills hint
of the ghost of the beautiful maiden
spurred me bravely on over storm-swept,
fOg-pounded Stanemoor. Strangely too
despite my efforts to reason it down, ]
saw in the face of this wrath of Bowes
the one white face haunting every waking
and sleeping hour of my life. | plunged
through the tempest with such marvellous
elation as l had never before known
almost with the hedrt-thrill of fastening
TO my own.
The wild, grand sweeps of country
usually visible from the peak of the
mountain moor was denied but / at last
stood beside Rere Cross, unmolested by
witch or warlOck, and recalled the mean
ing of the gray old relic that had stood
there so sturdily for more than 500 years
William the COnquerer and Malcolm
King of Scotland, met here with their
armies TO decide, by battle, the bounda
ries of their respective kingdoms. In
stead of fighting they wisely feasted
Wiser still, they decided that the very
spot should mark the boundary There
upon they caused a cross to be set up
On one side was craven the image oil
William; on the other. that of Malcolm.
They named it the koi Cross, the Gross
of the Kings
Time has corrupted the name to Rere
Cross. 1t has eaten away its images
Topped off the arms and gnawed out its
head. But it is Role, or Rere Cross
still, and marks the boundary of the
shires of York and Westmoreland
to-day. 1t was the one thing to be
chung to as the storm swept over the
mountain.
The night seemed to fall on Stanemoor
as though driven upon the earth out of
the storm itself. Descending the eastern
declivity the roar of invisible torrents,
! the creation of an hour, was terrib BILE
Thanks TO the Romans who had built that
cad it was broad, sure and as eternal as
Stanemoor itself Whipped, pounded and
beaten along for what seemed hours, my
feet suddenly struck cObblestoueS.
Dead old BOwes at last
No human being ever so loved to be in
Bowes before. But where was the ham
let, after all No light from candle or
lamp cleaned from window within it.
Here and there along the zig-Zag street a
faint glimmer flushed against some tiny
panes. Peering within, old and palsied
crones, bent and trembling, were here
and there seen crOuching over Pickering
EN- berS OF medger fires.
Drenched from rotten matches, startled
| by the storm dashed trees, and now thor.
oughly frightened from the prospect of nc
resting place for the night, / felt my way
along what seemed TO be the street-facade
OF some large structure. and coming to its
corner, shrunk along this, where halted
for little, we'll out of the full power OF
the Increasing tempest
Scarcely had sufficient time elapsed 10
permit my getting my back against the
| building before there was an alarming
splattering rush in the darkness. My legs
escaped the fury of the object making it
but with return attack the ample tails
OF my SJOfIu-COdb were gathered IN sort
of voicelesS wise which only death or a
master 5 command can loosen. Few We're
the sEuHies and snortings caused by the
working of the fOur-legged mechanism
It's forces were exclusively devoted to
effort That effort was certainly one OF
bringing prize into port.
Necessarily yielding without protest to
the spirit of the occasion, ! moved with
its movements and tackled with its tack.
ings. In a ziCzag attitude of gentle though
inexpensive inquiry, l was brought, now
sidewise, now backwise along the vast
open court into a stony archway, up stone
stairs, down stone staircases, through
other stone archways, all IN utter dark
ness, into a little room not ten feet
square, where, beneath rows of copper
measures and behind black old mahog-
any bar nearly as high as his head. a
grinning, frowsy, puffy faced publican
was looking benignly down upon half
| dozen gigantic Yorkshire plough boys
These, already we'll befuddled with
liquor and pounding the deal table VIC
| lently with their mugs, were Justify roar
! ing:
York York for my monte;
OF all the places l ever did see.
This Is the best for good companie
Except the city of Lunnon -
They roared louder still when | stood
before them held fast and motiCnless by a
magnificent bulldog. The ugly looking
boniface quietly reached for huge club.
n, DO h t,,.r,r 10 1,g,v l.,