The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-06
A STRANGE VISION.


1t was at railway station, and he had be-
eide him his gun case and fishing rods. He
told me that he was visiting a friend who
had hired a country house at ridiculous
Iy cheap rental.
What was my surprise in little more
than week afterward to meet him one
evening in High street as was returning
from business.
why, Gascoyne," I said, whatever
has brought you back again so soonp I
thought you were going to stay month. -
Never a month would 1 stay at that
place for any price," he replied. But
come; let US walk up to the Ring Of Bells
at the end of the village. We shall be quiet
there, and I'll tell you all about it,
We went up to the old inn, and before
comfortable glass and blazing fire We lit
our pipes, and he commenced:
1--WE had three most enjoyable days. We
had few idle shots and cast fly or two
for trout as we sauntered along talking of
old times and these lazy trials were suffi.
Gent to show us that we should have fine
sport when we commenced in earnest.
lon the fourth day the others came. We
had glorious time of it and went to bed
tired out. I dropped to sleep at once, but
after some two hours woke up, bathed
in cold perspiration and with terrible
feeling that could not account for.
Whether had been dreaming or no
could not tell, but right by the foot Of the
bed 1 saw-the bust Of a woman, as
though the body had been cut through at
the waist.
1.-The face was as white as marble, and
the eyes seemed to look beseechingly upon
me. Terrified, 1 was unable to stir, and
the figure gradually fioated away and dis
appeared through the panels of the wall,
heaving as it did SO low, deep sigh.
Il went down to breakfast with the
effects of the nights apparition still upon
me, and before 1 had finished my second
cup of coffee what / had supposed to be
the usual query in such cases arose to my
mind, Could l, after all, have fancied that
the apparition appeared?
AT the far end of the table l noticed
gentleman who laughed with the loudest
yesterday, and whose sallies had amused
US all, but who was now silent and tact
turn. AS soon as breakfast was over I
sought him out and said to him.:
- L am afraid something has happened
to disturb you. You were in such excel
lent spirits when we parted last night and
seemed so very different at the table this
morning that feel sure something must
be the matter. Perhaps you didn't have
a good nights rest?'
Well, he said, I cannot say that
did, but do not wish to speak of it
- Tell me, 1 said, did anything dis
tdrb you? Did you see anything?'
. L did, he said. Why do you ask?'
4" Because I saw something myself.
What did you seer
9 L saw, he said and shuddered as he
spoke, TIE bust of woman cut off to the
Waisti'
= Precisely what 1 have seen in the
nightr l calculated. I saw it at the foot
of my bed, and it seemed to disappear
through the panel of the wall. Is your
room in the west wing at the end of tho
great passage?'
- 1t is, he replied.
80 Then the apparition must have en-
tered your room when it left mine, for
you are EVIDENTLY sleeping in the next
room to me!'
We'll, we talked it over long and ear
nestly, and at last arranged to stay that
night, at any rate, and see if it visited Us
again.
Il wes very tired, but 1 sat up watch
ing until long past the time the apparation
had appeared on the previous night, and l
could not have slept very long-not many
MANIFESTATION 1 awoke with start, and
felt at once that the thing was by me.
1.-The bust of the woman was lying as
my side on the bed, with her head upon
the pillow.
Il jumped up from the bed and rushed
instantly into my neighbours room, but ho
was lying upon the rug in dead faint.
He quickly came to himself, and sit
ting up he told me he had dozed off in his
chair and had been suddenly awakened by
the touch of a death cold hand upon his
forehead and found the apparition close to
him, gazing with entreaty in her eyes into
his face. We sat together and talked long
and earnestly and at length decided that
we would make the best excuse to our
host.
Weeks and months passed, and it grad
ually became only terrible memory, OF
which we spoke now and again, until ono
day Gascoyne Knocked hurriedly at my
door and LED me again to the old Ring Of
Bells,
''I've just got letter from johnson. 1t
seems he had Christmas party at Heyton
Grange last week, and one of the guests
who had been placed in the room slept
in shrieked out in the middle of the night
that she had seen ghost, and when they
had Gained her sufficiently to speak CO.
herently she declared that it took the form
of the bust of a woman
johnson Immediately rememb ering
our hasty flight and believing now that it
must have been in some way connected
with the apparition that so terrified his
lady visitor he made up his mind there
and then that, together with the bravest
of his visitors, he would himself watch on
the following night.
Soon after midnight the restless spirit
returned once more. He and his friend
Ierved themselves and spoke to it, de-
manding the reason of it's presence in the
house.
1T gazed upon them for a moment, and
reckoning them to follow it floated out
and led them through a secret door on the
top landing into a small room under the
roof, where they found an old worm eaten
chest, into which the apparition seemed to
disappear.
They broke open the lid and were hor-
rified to discover the lower part of wom-
ans body, which from its decomposed
state, though it was partly preserved with