Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-06
A GRAVEYARD APPARITIoN IN
THE CITY's OUTSKIRTS.
A Lost Billy Goat Explains the Dread
full Vision-On the Old Patent
Office Steps.

| pressive because of the fact that among
| the ornaments on exhibition are a chair
that was once the property of General Rob
ert E. Lee, and a giant key that performed
duty decades ago in unlocking and locking,
| of course, the portals of a prison pen in
| "Old Virginny." The members of this So
ciety have, all of them, passed the meri-
| dian of life; some of them have passed
| the three-score and ten mile stone and as
might naturally be inferred when the club
holds a seance and those present indulge
| in various recitaS of events in their re-
| spective careers there are some very inter-
| eSting stories related.
The club held one of It's frequent meet
| ings a few night ago, with all its mem
| hers present or accounted for. The sub
| jects engaging attention this particu-
lar occasion were ghosts wraiths hobgob-
| llns and such like. Several Of those present
| gave in their experience.
A Graveyard Phantom.
The gentleman from Massachusetts, ave-
nue. was first the field to relate an adj
venture that befell him In his youthful days
long, long ago.
when L was young man." he began.
Il walked out one drizzly, foggy night to
see my sweetheart
| Great Caesar interpolated the store
keeper, would any one imagine that this
old duffer ever had a sweetheart"
! Without deigning to notice the inter-
| ruption the gentleman from Massachusetts
| avenue Continued:
| The night was one of those in which
| by rights there ought have been a good
| show of moonlight. but 1t was dark and
gloomy: The young lady that l called upon
resided in the outskirts of the city some
| distance beyond the boundary line, and
when in returning home l reached the
| town limits it was about midnight. There
| were two or three graveyards in that vi
,;,,it dow
| ing by them l must confess that l became
possessed of an uncanny sort of feeling
| that was not diminished when l saw in one
| of these old cemeteries one of the queerest
! spectacles that in all my born days ever
! confronted me. l got a glimpse through
| the mist and fog of curious creature in
I front of a tombstone; occasionally it SEEM
ed to be crounching and again it rose up I'M
| til it seemed to me to be about as tall as
| church steeple. AS l figured it out 1t ap-
! peared to be an old man, or ghost, or what
| ever 1t was. This l judged by reason OF
its long white beard First the creature
would kneel down; then stand up at full
! length and bow to the tombstone. This
| he did several times. but l did not feel
| sufficient interest to make close eXami-
| nation and left the scene with all the haste
| that | could without confessing to myself
| that l was scared. which to tell the truth
L was and pretty well scared at that.
Discovered.
|
| road-there were no pavements in that To-
| cality then-came directly toward me. He
| had big club in one hand and a coil of
| rope in the other. ! didn't to meet
! him, either, but he was determined to have
| a talk with me, and as he came in front OF
me / recognized him as the proprietor of
! truck farm in that neighborhood and reg
ular seller of produce in the city markets.
HE questioned me immediately. Half
| you seen my Billy? he said excitedly. OF
| ,,i,, hon md
told him SO. What's the trouble with
! him? I asked.
"'Blenty of drubles, lots of drubles.' said
| the truck farmer, 'Vonce more ne mas run
| ned away. | smash dot burned goats
skull ven 1 catch him once more again
Then light flashed on me His billy
goat was my goat. There ne Is IN there
among the dead men, said I. Then I
went my way, and the exasperated farmer
| with murder in his eye and his bludgeon
in his fist went his way. Whether he as
| sassinated his unruly goat or not L never
| took the trouble to inquire about.
"A man who can't tell the difference be-
| tween a goat and a ghost, was the store
| keepers comment on this yarn, must nave
| taken in considerable liquor to keep his
courage up while travelling through
graveyard country
Patent Office Ghost.
Then the honorable. delegate from the
Northern Liberties district continued the
proceedings with a story that took some
what of pathetic turn. He, too, had seen,
or thought hef had seen. ghost. Along
! about the second year Of the civil war" he
said, Il was setting type on morning pa
| per. The war was in full swing just about
| then and this city was dotted all over with
| hospitals. They were in churches, in I'M
| occupied houses,sfn public buildings, In fact,
| they were everywhere, and they We're nearly
always filled with soldier patients. one OF
these hospitals was in the barely completed
| 9th street wing of the Interior Department
| building, then known as the patent ONCE
! Well, late one night-it was warm night
| accompanied by fellow printer. l was go
| ing home. AS we passed the hospital We were
| both struck at once by suddenly observing
a figure, clad in white and with white
| bandage about its head sitting motlonless
| upon one of the granite pillars in front of
| the building on the 9th street SIDE AS we
stood in wonders the phantom silently glided
| from It's perch and with it's arms waving
above its head came toward US. Well
some Precipitation. but stopped before
sh aas y gzi sss BE "a lead It into the hos
w p'bo had aseaa eh vigilance Of the watch
ers in the sieHyaI and his captor was one
of the a hoapIs gus as Won and vo,r 10,
must have had in your craws to run away
| from a sick man. said the storekeeper.
! The Effeetsof the Banshee.
|
interesting occasion was bushy whisker-
ed gentleman with a well-defined Hbernian
| cast of countenance and a rich, rolling
brogue in which he expressed himself.
when I wuz in oireland," he said. and
| just there the, storekeeper put in his oar
| again. I'm Ireland said he, now who
| would ever imagine that you were ever in
| the old country "
We'll. I wuz.:. responded the somewhat
INDIGNANT speaker 1T was horned there.
tongue in your head But, when 1 wuz in
Oireland heard the banshee cry. Most Of
yez gentlemen, I suppose. know what the
| banshee is but for the benefit Of tn ignor-
anus who spoke without being asked to
| just now. will explain that the banshee is
| fairy or a crathur of that characther
that cries about your house when ILL
| forchune is about to visit ye. Well, the
banshee walled about me fathers house
one night. It's moaning was sorryful and
yet swate; something like one OF these
| eye-o-nan harps that whistle through the