The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-07-16
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Martha Penny'S
- Ghost ~

TO GaflanQ 10 Hire uItle mouse kOr Lue
summer had followed the agent into the
two story cottage and was staring about
her.
"Only four rooms?' she said. "Surely
there were ten-I mean that the house
looks larger on the outside"
"Oh, there were ten originally, ma am, J"
the agent replied. There were ten, but
the rest are boarded up. This is simply
the wing, but you have parlor, din
ing room and two bedrooms, besides the
little outside kitchen, which Is a building
by itself, and the rent is actually nomi-
nal"
"But the folly of boarding up six good
rooms" said the lady. '"rhe parlor with
the wainscot and the black marble man
telpiece."
'You know the house?' cried the agent
"Oh, In houses of this sort you always
find black marble mantel and VAIN
SCOT" said the lady. "And on the other
side of the hall the sitting room and spare
bedroom and three bedrooms up stairs
and the linen closet and bathroom-the
long, dark linen closet"
1.-THE ghost always comes out of that"
said the agent.
"Oh, hor' cried the lady 1.-THE cat is
out of the bag The house Is haunted? 2"
Eyes, ma am" replied the agent. ut
has that reputation among ignorant peo-
pie, but since the main building has been
boarded in the figure has never been seen
by any one"
'"The fgureT' asked the lady. "All in
white like an ironing board%
"All In white, but like pretty girl Of
49," replied the agent. II remember the
murder myself. My father was in the
real estate business, where l am now. l
was a schoolboy. l remember how the
news ran through the village that Martha
Penny had been killed by wild Jack
Parker and how rushed up with the
crowd to see her. Yes, ma'am, l saw her
lying weltering in her blood across the
threshold of the linen closet"
The lady shuddered and sat down In
the large chintz covered armchair of the
room they had entered.
''You can go and play in the garden"
she said to the little boy whom she led
by the hand Don't go out Of sight.
Now tell me the story, Mr.. Brick"
Every sensible to send the child away"
the agent said. "Well, the facts were
these: Martha Penny lived as seamstress
with Mrs Parker. They made her one
of the family. Jack fell in love with her.
The story goes that she refused him and
that he said that she should never marry
any other man. Then she declared that
she meant to go away, and she was get
ting ready to go when she saw him with
blazing eyes coming down the passage
and ran into the linen closet. A black
servant watched it all. AS he passed
the door he shot her. They arrested him
and took him off to prison. But while
the body was waiting for the coroner 1t
disappeared. no one ever knew how.
Mrs. Parker had taken to her bed.
Black Ann had been afraid to sit in the
room with the murdered girl. In the
night Martha Penny's corpse vanished.
1.-THE jury made up their minds that
Jack was crazy, and he was locked up
awhile, though he swore that the pistol
went off by accident. When he was let
out again, his mother was dead. He is
quite a rich man, but he never could bear
to live on his property. He has a room
at the hotel and has let all the land. At
first he let the house also, but the ten
ants were all scared away by the ghost,
they said, SO five years ago he boarded
up the main building and only let's the
wing. Every summer people hire it. 1t
is prettily furnished, you see, with new
things. The old stuff Is all in the old
rooms They do say that they hear noises
in the big building, but probably rats
make them. And, Mrs. Smith. you don't
look like a lady who would be afraid
off,
Martha Penny's ghost?" interrupted
the lady. Indeed ] am not. Poor little
J,,s4 do hor I
should be much more afraid Of wild Jack
Parker, though he is alive"
"He's an altered man, ma'am," said
the agent, "quite broken, though he is
rather young in years"
an take the house, Mr.. Brick" said
the widow, rising and reckoning through
the open window to her little boy, 'and
my servant and I and little Tom will
move in on Monday"
They did so, and soon flowers bloomed
in the garden and at the window. Some
times at night-yes, at midnight-when
little Tom and the maid were sound
asleep, the lady, wrapped in double
gown and with wooden slippers on her
feet, would glide out into the hall and
there, with her ear to the light partition
that divided the wing from the main
building, would listen to feet that went
to and fro, to walls and means, to what
seemed to her prayers and to many repe-
titions of the name Martha Penny
Martha Penny" but oftenest Martha"
alone She never spoke of this to any
one, and it was plain that she felt no
terror, but sometimes she wept bitterly,
rs if she was very sorry for the poor,
wandering ghost.
This went on for months until one night
Mrs. Smith did a strange thing. She
arose in the middle of the night and let
down the great coil of her brown hair
and braided it in one braid and tied it
with white ribbon. She dressed herself
all in white and over her head threw
square of tulle. Then she left her house,
taking lantern with her, and stole to-
ward a side door Of the main building and
tried key in the lock and entered.
The place was dry with dust, and dust
rolled beneath ka: feet as she climbed
the stairs, and spiders crawled along the
balustrades and up the walls. She pass
ed the big chamber and the little chamber
and stopped at the linen closet. Opening
the door, she saw piles of clothes anc
sheets and towels and Dillowcases. once
white, but now powdered gray, as though
a snow of that hue had fallen on them.
She lowered her lantern and beheld
across the sill stain of blood and with
In, on the floor, deeper one, but she did
not shudder. Indeed smile crossed her
face, pitiful, fender smile.
"Poor little Martha Penny" she said,
and without a culver or cry she en-
tered in and shirt the door behind her. A
small round window, high up in the
wall, let in little CLEAN of moonlight, a
broken pane admitted a breath Of air,
but amid the wooden blankets at the far
Their end moths burrowed. She could see
( their tracks, and curious smell that lin
gers In moth eaten wool made the air
| heavy. Already her lanterns light at
tracted insects that came through the
broken pane above to fiutter about 1t.
She closed the slide and now looked like
a very ghost herself-all white In the
faint moonlight.
She listened intently. Soon she heard
the sound of door closed carefully, feet
upon the stairs, feet in the passage with
out the door. Some one began to pace
slowly up and down.
''Marthap' said voice. Martha
Then there was silence; then again;
martha! Martha"
1t was a mans voice which spoke.
Now it went on:
"They say your ghost haunts this
house. l have come here so often and
heard nothing, seen nothing. Martha
give me some sign that you hear me-"
The widow lifted her hand and tapped
lightly on the door.
There was little cry without; then
"Martha" came again, and now the Wild
ow spoke:
"You call Martha. She is here. Fol-
once, and once only, she is permitted tc
listen to you. Who are your"
"The man who loved you-Jack Par
kerr" replied the voice. May see you
Martha-angel Martha-may see your
IF you swear not to move-not to try
to touch me-" said the widow.
Il swear" replied Jack in choking
voice.