Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-06-27


mel What II 20 bc doncr
"'Wo cannot stay, and certainly do
not like the idea Of breaking UP tho party.
"Well, wo talked it over long and ear
nestly, and at last arranged 20 stay that
night at any rate and sec II IL visited us
again.
after another days sport, during
which we forgot our fears, night came on,
and we once moro retired 10 our rooms,
but not 10 bod.
II was very tired, but sat up watch.
Ing until long past the time the apparition
had appeared on the previous night, and,
then, overcome by fatigue, threw aside
my fears, and, throwing myself on tho
bed, was asleep In moment.
II could not have slept very Iong-not
many minutes-when I awoke with a
start, and I felt at once that the thing was
by mo. In terror opened my eyes. Oh,
horrorsi The bust Of tho woman was Iy.
ing by my side on the bed, with her head
upon tho pilloWi
"what bapbehed after that I do not
know, for must have lost consciousness
for moment, and when recovered the
fearful thing had vanished. / jumped up
from tho bod and rashed instantly into my
neighbors room, but no was lying upon
the rug In dead faint. looscned his col.
lar and poured cold water on his face, and
as no opened his eyes and revived little ]
made him taKe a good draft Of brandy
from my hunting flask, which had with
me.
"Ho quickly came to himself, and sit.
ting up he told mo he had dozed of In his
chair and had been suddenly awakened by
the touch OF a death cold hand upon his
forehead and found tho apparition close
to him, gazing with entreaty In her eyes
into his face. Overcome with horror hb
had tainted away as found him. We sat
together and talked long and earnestly and
at length decided that we tr2uld make tho
best excuse to our host, VI Dag some sud.
den call back to our homes, and would
leave the house that morning. am afraid
Jefferson must have felt hurt at our sud.
den departure but stay we could not, 50
we came away, and here i am"
Gascoyne and sat talking and conjec.
turing about the mysterious visitant until
late that night.
Weeks and months passed, and It gradu.
ally became only q terrible memory OF
which we spoke now and again, until one
day Gascoyne knocked hurriedly at my
door, and saying in an excited manner,
"Put on your hat and come with me-" he
led me without another word again to the
old Ring of Bells. As soon aS we were
seated In the little room. behind the bar he
began In hurried manner:
"Ive just had letter from jefferson.
It seems he had Christmas party at Hey
ton Grange last week, and one Of the
guests who had been placed In the room
slept In shrieked out In tho middle Of the
night that she had seen ghost and when
they had calmed her sufficiently to speak
coherently she declared that IL took the
form Of the bust Of O woman. Jefferson
Immediately remembered our hasty flight
and the curiousIv embarrassed manner In
which we made our excuses for leaving
him 30 suddenly and believing now that
It must have been in some way connected
with the apparition that 90 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.
"He did SO, and soon after midnight the
restless spirit returned once more. He and
his friend nerved themselves and spoke to
1t, demanding the reason of its presence In
the house. 1t gazed upon them for mo-
ment, and beckoning them to follow IL
aoated out and led them through a secret
door on the top landing into q small room
under the roof, where they found an old
worm eaten chest, into which the appari-
ton seemed to disappear.
"They rushed down stairs, and quickly
returning with two or three of the men
servants they broke open the lid and were
Mortified to discover the lower part Of q
woman's body, which, from It's decom.
posed state, though it was partly preserved
with lime, had evidently been there for
many years.
"On inquiry they at length learned that
q long time before murder had been com.
United, and the murderer, who was the
husband Of the unfortunate woman had
severed his victim at the waist, and that
her bust having been discovered 1t had
been buried in the churchyard, but that
oil search for the lower part of the body
had been In vain.
GAS soon as Jefferson and his friends
could arrange with the authorities the
ghastly object In the trunk had been buried
beside the bust"
That was Gascoyne's tale, and he was
able to inform me from q further com.
ilc TcCclVcu lTOIu JeucESOn Unat
the midnight visitor had never appeared
again.
My friend was man for whom 1 enter
tanned the highest regard, and 1 had every
reason to believe in his integrity. He de-
clared to mo that every part Of this strange
narrative was true, and have never been
inclined to doubt it.-Omaha World Her.
aid.
JowctCs Sayings.
Horo 10 a collection of Iowaft,a cauinnc