The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1904-06-23
A TRUE GHOST STORY
The REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE o.
s,sHop WlLssaFoRcE. 5

BISHOP WiLsEaFoRcE
stnsuiar and lmpsrtaat Dasslesure
Made b the oaist Casrisal quest at
- EnglfsA coentsy Horss when
Addressed BY the Dishop.
The following remarkable incident in
the life Of the iate Samuel Wilberforce,
bishop OF Oxford and afterward of
Winchester. is related as absolutely
authentic. and the good bishop himself
II said to have many times rehearsed
the story to his friends:
!, On q certain occasion the worthy
bishop had accepted an invitation to
stay at \ country Ons not far from
London. Entering b dra wing room
previous to dinner 81 the evening OF
his arrival. he noticed a priest. evident.
~ of the Roman communion, sitting by
the open fire and taking no part in the
general conversation. The bishop was
somewhat surprised at not being pre-
scented to the priest, and his astonish-
ment was great when q few moments
later dinner being announced The guests
retired. leaving the priest at his place
by the fire. The hostess having as
signed Bishop Wilberforce the seat Of
honor at her right hand. ss o o as an
opportunity offered he remarked:
II beg your pardon, madam. but may
I inquire who was the priest we left
sitting apart in the drawing roomy"
"Ah, you have seen him. then?" re-
piled the lady. ut Is not every one
who has that privilege. | cannot tell
you who he Is or whence he comes.
For many years this specter has haunt
ed the house and grounds. 1t has, in
fact, been a tradition in the family. He
seems to do no harm. and. although he
appears only occasionally, we have be-
come quite accustomed to our friendly
ghost"
"HOw very singular!" remarked his
lOrdship. But have you never ad
dressed your priestly specterg"
Indeed, l have had no opportunity.
nor the desire. for that matter" re-
sponded the hostess. gxowing pale.
May ] take the liberty nowY In
quired the dignitary.
with all my heart. your lOrdship,"
replied the lady. The bishop arose
and. returning to the drawing room,
found the priest where he had left him
q few minutes before. Having no fear.
the bishop said kindly:
"Who are you. my FREUD, and why
are you herey"
The specter seemed to sigh deeply
and say as though to itself. AT last"
Then in a hollow voice, addressing
the bishop, it continued: II am the
spirit Of a priest who left this world
some eighty years ago, and ] am here
to impart to any q who will receive
it a secret which died with me. ]
could not rest in my grave while a
great wrong was being done which it
was in my power to right. ave been
returning all these years in the hope
some one would address me-. for it was
not given to me to be the first to speak
All men have Stunned me until now.
and 1t is your mission to do my bid
ding. I was q priest of h church OF
Rome aud was called to this house
eighty years ago to receive the con-
fessiOn Of a dying man. He was the
sole possessOr of q secret the knOwl-
edge of which would alter materially
the entail of this vast estate. and in his
death he wished to repair the terrible
wrong be had brought upon his kin.
AT his request ] wrote down the
confession word for word as he gave It
to me and when he finished had barely
time to administer the final sacrament
Of the church before he expired in my
arms. 1t was very important that
should return to London that night.
and In passing through the library to
leave the house / concluded it would
be safer not to carry the paper on
which was written the confession away
with me, but to place it in some secure,
unseen spot, where l could obtain II
the following day and deliver the docu-
ment to the person for whom it was In
tended. Mounting the steps to the
b~ookshelves, l took out a copy Of
Young's Night Thoughts which was
the first book upon the uppermOst shelf
nearest the last window. and. insert
ing the paper carefully between its
leaves, l replaced the book and depart
ed. A horse was awaiting me at the
door, hut ere we reached the entrance
OF the grounds he o fright. | was
thrown and instantly killed. Thus died
the secret OF my c~onfessor with me. No
one has disturbed that book in all these
years, and no one has had the courage
to address this messenger from the un-
known. The paper will be found as ]
have stated. and 1t remains for you
to correct the injustice which has so
long been upon this noble family. My
mission Is over. and ! can rest in
peace"
At the close OF this remarkable speech
the specter faded gradually from sight.
and the bishop was left gazing into
space. Recovering from his astonish-
nent. Bishop Wilberf0rce went at once
to the library and found the book eI
actly AZ indicated by the specter. In
its secluded corner upon the top shelf.
thick with the dust Of ages. evidently
the book had remained nnmolested
-awv vaara Thnrn Uaa tho dncrunnuf