The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-11
MOVED BY SPIRIT HANDS.
MISS DRAPER EXPLAINS QUEER
PERFORMANCES.

wise, Although She Doesn't Call
Herself "A SpirituaIist.
From the New York sun.
Miss r.. p. Draper is a good-looking
young woman Of Montclair. y. J.. who
! stirred up the worthy residents Of that
town about year ago by embarking in
I the real estate business. She lives with
] her sister, and on the bureau in her room
among other articles Of bric-a-brac stands
a plaque. 1t is covered with red plush,
with a gilt anchor sewed in its center. OF
/ late II has developed remarkable athletic
/ tendencies and once more Montclair IS
stirred Up. According to Miss Draper the
/ "goings on" OF the plaque are nothing
new.
( The plaque has been hopping around for
/ several months now in the most myster-
I ious fashion, and Mrs. Draper. who is not
I ~ all worried over the matter. never
meant to let anybody know anything
about it. She inadvertently mentioned it
TO dear friend. who registered seventeen
vows that she would never tell anything
about it to anybody. and the result was
/ that all Montclair was talking about it
the next day.
The plaque has been in the Draper house
/ hold for so long that Miss Draper has
l absolutely no recollection as to where It
came from. She remembers that in its
palmy days there used to be a thermome-
ter attached to the anchor, and it was
/ considered "A fine enough ornament for
the parlor. but when, in the course Of
time, the thermometer disappeared, the
| gilt on the anchor became dull and the
| plush wasn't as spruce as it used TO be,
l the plaque was relegated to Miss Diapers
! room, where for long time it reposed in
peace. Miss Draper kept il on the mantel-
/ piece for time and while it was there IL
/ behaved admirably, but when, about three
weeks ago, she transferred 1t to her bu-
| reau it began to cut up antics.
| Now, Miss Draper has never seen the
plaque move. In fact, nobody that can be
/ found has, yet every morning when Miss
1 Draper wakes up and peeps out from UNI
/ der the bedclothes she sees indisputable
/ evidence of the fact that II has been ram
/ bling about. When the young woman first
| placed the plaque on the bureau she put
/ It in such a position that the front of it
I faced her bed. For day or two il re-
manned in that position, but one morning
/ Miss Draper woke up to find that il had
/ turned almost completely around. Much
! surprised, she placed il back in position
I again, and then went out to her business.
| That night when she retired the plaque
| was all right but the next morning IT
| had turned itself around again. For
/ week this went on and then Miss Drap-
/ err called her sister. who sleeps in the next
room, and asked why she always turned
/ the plaque around.
"Why. you're crazy" gently replied the
younger Miss Draper. Il haven't touched
the plaque at all. don't believe / have
4 looked at the old thing more than twice
since its been in the house. Certainly,
never turned 1t around"
I Then Miss Draper sat down to think, and
+ the more she thought the more mystitied
she became. She finally made up her mind
/ to await further developments, and, once
more fixing the plaque in position, retired
for the night. The next morning it was
| turned around again, and Miss Draper
! then and there decided that some one was
| playing practical jokes on her.
SO she sat up to catch the Joker. and
| although she never closed her eyes all
| night, not "a soul entered her room. Yet
when the gray morning light began to
steal into the room and she made up her
| mind to retire and snatch a little sleep,
| she happened to glance at the bureau, and
! to her amazement, saw that the plaque
| had once more been indulging In gymnastic
| exercises. 1t was turned completely
. I around lnlS time. MISS Draper SdiNA ~ itA-
self that that settled it. She was not the
victim of practical jokers, she was not the
! victim Of a too vivid imagination, but she
! had been honored by a series of visits from
some spirit or spirits, and had been per-
I mitted to see some Of the work of the
people of the other world. This was the
conclusion that she came to, but she re-
solved to test the matter still further, and
night after night she securely locked her
doors and windows so that it would be inn
possible for any one to enter the room,
and night after night she carefully placed
the plaque in position, yet every morning
she would find it turned around.
Miss Draper has never been a spiritual
list Of the active sort; in fact, she says she
is not even believer in spiritualism, still
/ she confesses to great interest in the
science and an admiration of mediums
Since reaching the conclusion that spirits
had visited her, Miss Draper has been very
| comfortable about the matter. just to
give them something to do. she regularly
placed the plaque in position, and the per-
/ sistence of her supernatural visitors in
turning it the other way only made her
laugh Being in a facetious mood one
night, she determined to fool her ghosts,
a she called them. and she turned the
plaque the wrong way. The next morning
found it exactly the same position in
which she had left it.
Since that time the plaque has only been
. I
a week has gone without it being turned
at least twice. Miss Draper has grown
thoroughly used to it, and says she doesn't
mind it in the least. In fact, she would be
greatly disappointed if a week went by
without any evidence of the strange pres
ence.
Miss Draper is an exceedingly lively and
bright young woman, and when Sun
reporter saw her in her real estate Office
at Montclair yesterday, surrounded by
deeds and mortgages innumerable, she
was making a desperate effort to be angry
over the publication about her gymnastic
plaque.
"Oh. dear" she said, when the reporter
had made himself known. Pm so sorry
about it. you know. 1 did think 1 might
keep the matter quiet, but you see went
and told a friend and this is the result.
did think my friend would regard the
communication as sacred, but she didn't
and I can't help it. / wouldn't be accused
of romancing for the world, but the story
of that plaque is absolutely true, and
shan't say it is not for anybody Stin
(his resignedly) some one will dought it,
feel sure, don't you?'
u1ba renOrtar thought that O1avbe gOrne-