Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-08-09
THEGHOSTIN THEINN
Ne WAS THE MEANS OF AveNaINe
tss OWN ASSASSINATION.

A v1sion and a Finger Ring That
Impressed the Comte de Fersen-A
Persistent Spirit That Was Bound
to Have Justice Done.
In 1.-THE Story Of Ny Life,.. by Mr..
Augustus j. G. Hare, are told Some thrill
ing ghost stories.
One of the most remarkable Of the
stories is that which Lord Ravensworth
made Mr.. Hare write down. 1t was orig
inally related by Comte de Fersen, tho
devoted ndherent of Marie Antoinette,
who, when the royal family escaped to
Narennes. drove the carriage. After
Marie Antoinette's execution he went to
Italy, and one afternoon in November he
drove up to what was then. and is still,
the most dcsolate, weird. ghas.ly inn in
Italy-the wind stricken, storm beaten,
lava seated inn Of I.adicofnni. As he
was unable to secure post horses Comte
dc Fersen was obliged to stay all night.
When he went to bed, he took two pre-
cautions.
He drew a little round table that was
! there to the head of the bed and put two
loaded pistols upon il, and, according to
the custom of that time, he made the
courier sleep across the door on the out
si,le. He went to bed and he fell asleep,
and in the middle of the night the comte
awoke with the indescribnble sensation
that people have that he was not alone
in the room. md he raised himself against
the pillow and looked out.
From small latticed window high in
the opposite whitewashed wall the noon
light was pouring into the room and max
ing a white s.lyerya pool in the middle Of
the rough boarded oak floor. In the mid
die of this pool of light, dressed in q
white cap and jacket and trousers, such
us niasons wear, stood the figure of man
looking at him. Co:nte de Fersen stretch
ed out his hand over the side of the bed
to take one of his pistols. and the man
said: Don't fire. You could do no harm
to me; you could do great deal of harm
to yourself. am come to tell you some
thing"
Comte de Fersen looked at him; he did
not come any nearer; he remained just
where he was, standing in the pool Of
white moonlight, half way between the
he'd and the wall. and he said: Say on.
Tell ME what you have come for
And the figure said: Il am dead, and
my body is underneath your bed. was
mason of Radicofani, and as mason
wore the white dress in which you now
see me. My wife wished to marry some
body else; she wished to marry the land
lord of this hotel. and they beguiled me
into the inn. and they made me drunk,
and they murdered me, and my body is
buried beneath where your bed now
stands. died with the word 'yendette'
upon my lips, and the longing, the thirst
that have for revenge will not let me
rest. And never shall rest, never can
have any rest, till have had my revenge.
Now, know that you are going to Rome;
when you get to Rome, go to the cardinal
commissary of police and tell him what
| you have seen, and he will send men
down here to examine the place, and my
I body will be found, and ! shall have my
revenge"
And the Comte de Fersen said, ~ will"
I But the spirit laughed and said: You
/ don't suppose that am going to believe
that? You don't Imagine that you are
the only person / have come to like this ?
! i have come to dozens. and they have all
said, I WILL and afterward what they
/ have seen has seemed like hallucination,
a dream. a chimcra, and. before they
have reached Rome. the impression has
vanished altogether and nothing has been
done. Give me your hand"
The Comte de Fersen was a little stag
! gered at this. However, he was brave
man. and he stretched out his hand and
he felt something or other happen to one
of his fingers, and he looked, and there
was no finger. only the moonlight stream
ing in through the little latticed window.
In the morning, when he got up and
had begun to wash his hands, he found
on one of his fingers very curious, old
! iron ring, which was certainly not there
before.
! Comte de Fersen went to Rome, and
when he arrived there he went to the
/ Swedish minister, who then was certain
Count Lowenjelm, who was very much
impressed with the story. But person
who was much more impressed was the
minister's younger brother, for he had a
valuable collection Of peasants jewelry,
and when he saw the ring he said, THAT
is very remarkable ring, for it is kind
of ring only made and worn in one place,
and that place is in the mountains near
Radicofani.'
The two Counts Lowenjelm went with
Comte de Fersen to the cardinal COM
missary Of police. The cardinal was very
much struck, and he said: at is a very
extraordinary story, and am quite in
clined to believe that it means some
thing. BIT, as you know, am in great
position of trust under the government,
and cannot send body Of military
down to Radicofnni upon tho faith of
| what may prove to have been a dream.
At any rate. I could not do it unless
Comte de Fersen proved his sense of the
Importance of such M action by being
willing to return to Radicofani himself"
Not only was Comte de Fersen willing
to return. but the Count Karl Lowenjelm
went with him. The landlord and land
lady were excessively aeitated when they
saw them return with the soldiers, who
came from Rome. They moved the bed
and found that the flags beneath had been
recently upturned. They took up the
flags. and there, not sufficiently corrupt
ed to be unacceptable, was the body of
the mason. dressed in the white cap and
jacket and trousers as he had appeared
to the Comte de Fersen.
| Then the landlord and landlady, in true
Italian fashion, felt that Providence was
against them, and they confessed every
thing. They were taken to Rome, where
| they were tried and condemned to death,
and they were beheaded at the Bocca del
la Verita. The Count Karl Lowenjelm
was present at-the execution of that man
/ and woman md he wac tho nerSon xuho