Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-07-18
THEGHOSTIN THEINN
HE WAS THE MEANS OF AvENGlNG
HIS OWN ASSASSINATION.
A Vision and n Finger Ring That
Impressed the Comtc de Fersen-A
Per.istent spirit That Was hound
! 10 Have Justice Done.

innlly related by Comte de Fersen, the
devoted adherent Of Marie Antoinctte,
who, when the royal family escaped 10
Narennes, drove the carriage. After
Marie Antoincttc's execution he went 10
Italy, and one afternoon in November he
drove up TO what was then, and is still,
the most dcsolate. weird, CHASTITY inn in
Italy the wind stricken, storm beaten,
lava seated inn Of Radcofani. As he
was unable to secure post horses Com'c
de Ferscn was obliged to stay all night
When he went to bed, he took two pre-
cautions.
Hc drew n little round table that was
there to the head Of the bed and put two
loaded pistols upon it, and, according to
the custom Of that time, he made III.
courier sleep across the door on the out
side. He went to bed and he fell asleep,
and in the middle of the night the comte
awoke with the Undesirable sensation
that people have that he was not alone
In the room and he raised himself against
the pillow and looked out.
From n smnl latticed window high in
the opposite whtewashcd wall the moon
light was pouring into the room and max
ing white silvcry pool in the middle Of
the rough boarded oak floor In the mid
die Of this pool Of light, dressed in
white cap and iacket and trousers, such
rs masons wear, stood the figure Of man
looking M him Comte de Fcrscn 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 a 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
bcS and the wall, and he said Say on,
Tell me what you have come for"
And the figure said: II am dead, and
my body is underneath your bed. / was
a mason of Radicofani. and as n 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. l died with the word 'vendette'
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, l 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
body will be found, and I shall have my
revenge"
And the Connie de Fersen said, 81 will"
But the spirit laughed and said "Y on
don't suppose that ! am going TO believe
that? You don't imagine that you are
the only person have come to like this
l have come to dozens, and they have all
said, 1 WILL and afterward what they
have seen has seemed like hallucination
n dream, chimera, 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 little stag.
gered at this. However, he was n brave
man. and he stretched ont 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 n very curious. old
before
Comte de Fersen went TO Rome and
when he arrived there he went to the
Swedish minister. who then was n certain
Count I.owenjelm. who was very much
impressed with the story. But a person
who was much more impressed was the
minister's younger brother, for he had a
valuable collection Of peasants jewelry
vi -h.,, h. t1. l,ae ~,
is very remarkable ring, for it is n kind
of ring only made and worn in one place
and that place is in the mountains neal
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: 1T is u very
extraordinary story, and | am quite in
cined to believe that il means some
thing. But, as you know, am in u great
position of trust under the government
and l cannot send body of military
down to Radicofani upon the faith OF
what may prove 10 have been a dream
At any rate. could not do it unless
Comte de Fersen proved his sense OF tn,
importance OF such an action by being
willing 10 return TO Radicofaui himself"
Not only was Comte de Fersen willing
to return. but the Count Karl L0wenjelr
went with him. The landlord and land
lady were excessively agitated when they
saw them return with the soldiers, who
came from Rome. They moved the bed
and found that the flags beneath had beer
recently upturned. They took up the
flags. and there. not sufficiently corrupt
ed 10 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 wa.
against them. and they confessed every
thing. They were taken 10 Rome. wher,
they were tried and condemned to death
and they were beheaded at the Bocca del
la Verita. The Count Karl Lowenjclm
was present at the execution of that ma I
and woman. and he was the person who
told Lord Ravensworth, who told me. In
1870 / repeated the story to the crown
prince OF Sweden aud Norway, who took
the trouble TO verify the facts and date,
as to the Lowenjelms, etc, and found ev
erything coincide.
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