The record-union., 1896-11-15

| iceS-the SaddeSt funeral / ever attend
ed-and Colonel Slade built beautiful
monument to her and her lover. Then
ne went abroad, and has never set foot
i'll this country since. 1t aged him
frightfully.
| "Oak Knoll was sold to a couple
cid maids, sisters. They died at last,
and left it to Bergh's Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-she
was always fond of everything that
was an animal, from a cat to horse.
| Distant relatives of hers have been
trying ever since to break the will. and
the place is still in litigation. While
the old maids were there lots of queer
| things happened. No one will now
live in it. 1 am not superstitious, but
would not care to myself. The ghost of
that poor, unburied girl has been seen
many times, if you believe such things,
wandering up and down that old stair
way"
| The Judge stopped short. My uncle
had come over to ask us to join the
| ladies'
| 1 had photographed that poor girl g
OF course when the guests had gone
! went straight to my room to take a
look again at the plate, and to dream
Of my ghost picture all night. I was
the lover trying to rise from my bed
in the Confederate HospitaI-and pho
tograph her; I was a ghost pursuing
| her UP and down that stairway: she
was the ghost and l was living-they
had mistaken someone else for me down
Southland 1 would have occasional in
terviews with her shade, in which
pleaded with her in vain for a single
| photograph. So / went on all night
Between dreams 1 would wake up all
shaking, unable to tell who or where !
was. l looked as if had had fit of
sickness when l Joined the family at
breakfast, SO wild-eyed and peaked
was 1.
AT my plate lay telegram. 1t was
from Tudor James, an intimate college
friend, and read: Join me at the Bras
dor House Saturday night. Steamer
Carroll leaves Boston Wednesday
noon" Tudor James was in Cape Bre-
| ton. Earlier in the summer I had
planned to go with James. It was
finally decided that he should go first
should telegraph me. Looking at his
telegram / made up my mind on the
spot to flee the ghost girl and recover
my peace of mind.
So 1 announced my purpose to the
family. left my precious plate with a
Poughkeepsie photographer, ordered
him to strike off some pictures imme-
diately and forward them to my Bos-
ton hotel, and myself went to Boston
TO embark on the Carroll. The only in
| cident worth recording was CHANGING
to see face in the Boston hotel which
strongly reminded me of the ghost girl.
My voyage was also without incident
until after we had passed Halifax, the
Cay and evening having been marked
by thick fog. 1 had turned in, but
hardly could keep my berth, the boat
rolled SO.
| Suddenly the fog whistle ceased.
Thank God for that" I fervently ejac-
ulated. Next I heard a passing officer
exclaim: Its as black as ink" and a
torrent of rain swept down upon the
deck. each drop pattering above my
head on the stateroom and the deck
With sharp distinctness, while at the
!
past the door as if sea had broken
over the boat. Then came a dull, deep
reverberation, like muffled cannonad-
ing, but with what long continued in
| tenslty OF persistence. l was alone in
a deck stateroom, well forward
reached out from my berth and showed
up the blind. All was Egyptian black.
| suddenly the darkness opened a mo-
ment, cleft apart by zigzag flash of
ire. Then intense stiffness and black
ness. Then the muff1ed roar of thun-
der.
| could not stand it to lie still. I got
out of my berth as best / could with
the rolling of the boat, and pulled a
| PAIR or trousers over my bahamas
| Wrapping myself in a macintosh. and
| showing my feet into a pair os shoes.
1 stepped out on deck. Clinging to the
rail with all the grip had, watched
what little 1 could see of the black.
seething. angry, foam-crested billows,
as the boat rolled over toward them,
almost as if she were about to dip un-
der them, and then receded as she
rolled the other way, leaving a black
blur of indistinctness that sent out a
long Kissing swash, announced by a
| thud at each revolution Of the screw
A binding flash of light would give
a glimpse of an eternity of high lifted
waves. only to have it all shut ou.
| again, as the curtain closed in. and the
torrents of rain pattered on, and swept
! over the deck to the undertone of the
thunder. Suddenly the rain ceased, the
| llghtning passed away, and the thun-
| Ger was silenced. Just above the mast.
which described a small circle around it
in the rolling of the ship, shone forth
| the moon, out of jagged masses Of
clouds. 1t cast penetratin but sick
| ly light on the weird clouds and the
| Welrdly tossing ocean, lashed into
oouble fury as if baked of it's prey.
A great awe seized me- I withdrew
my eyes from the sky as if abashel
| at taking an unwarrantable liberty
| with nature in looking on her at so
private and peculiar a moment, and
| glanced along the deck
There was my ghost girl, very real.
very palpable.
She, too. like myself. was clinging
TO the rail. Her black hair was caugh;
by the wind which swept 1t back in
great masses. Her form was closely
lshrouded in cloak. Her far-away
eyes-so l imagined, for she was some
o.stance away-refiected the weirdnass
OF the scene, and looked a strange. un-
canny sympathy with her surroundings.
1t was as If she had descended. a
storm queen, from the clouds, and was
about to return to them in anger, now
that the moon had invaded her domain.
At the moon she was gazing fixedly, as
| IL to charm ii back into some recess