Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-05
/Ofc ere IS of the
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COPY RIGHT 1904 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN

appeared to me extraordinary. / knew that
Sherwood was eccentric, but he was also
| matter of fact, and ! should have Thought
him the last man who would be likely TO De
! a prey to nervous terrors. Nevertheless,
such was the case. The old castle has the
reputation of being haunted, and the APP
| partition that is supposed to trouble Mon
diego is that of CHASTITY white face that is
now and then seen at night peering out
through some of the windows or one of the
embrasures of the battlements surround
ing the courtyard. 1t is said to be the
shade of an abbot who was foully murder
ed there by Castilan nobleman who own
ed the castle 100 years ago
ut was late in April of this year when
my brother-in-law first declared that he
saw the apparition. / shall never forget
his terror. He came to me in my room.
woke me, and pointed out the embrasure
where he had seen 1t. He described it as
black figure leaning out of a window,
with an appallingly horrible white face,
with wide-open eyes apparently staring at
nothing. ! argued with him and tried to-
appeal TO his common sense and Gid every
thing in my power to bring him to reason,
but without avail. The terror grew worse
and worse. He could think and talk of
nothing else, and to make matters worse,
he collected all the old literature he could
find bearing on the legend This he would
read, and repeat the CHASTITY information
to me at meal times. l began to fear that
his mind would become affected and three
weeks ago l persuaded him to come away
but the very night before we were to leave
l was awakened in the small hours by hear
ing an awful cry, followed by another, and
then the sound of my own name. l ran out
into the courtyard and looked up at the
battlements. There / saw, to my horror,
my brother-in-law, rushing along the edge,
screaming as though in extreme terror, and
evidently imagining that he was pursued
by something. The next moment he dashed
headlOng down leo feet onto the fagstones
by my side, dying instantaneously. Now
comes the most horrible part AS l glanced
up saw, and / swear 1t with as much
certainty / am now speaking to you,
black figure leaning out over the battle
ment exactly at the spot from which he had
fallen-a figure with CHASTITY white face,
which stared straight down at me. The
moon was full and gave the face a clear
ness that was unmistakable 1t was large,
round and smooth, white with whiteness l
had never seen on human face, with eyes
widely open and a fixed stare; the face
was rigid and tense; the mouth shut and
drawn at the corners. Fleeing as the
glance was, for it vanished almost the next
moment, / shall never forget it. 1t is in
delibly imprinted on my memory"
He ceased speaking.
From my long and constant contact with
men and their affairs, 1 knew at once that
what De Castro had just said instantly rais-
ed the whole matter out of the common
place; true or untrue, real or false, serious
issues were a stake.
WHO else was in the castle that night?"
asked.
mo one was his instant reply. Not
even old Gonsalves our one man servant
He had gone to visit his people in the noun
tains about zen miles off. We were abso-
lutely alone
You know Mr. Sherwood's affairs pretty
weIl?" I went on. ION the suppositon of
trickery, could there be any motive that
you Know of for any one to play such a
CHASTITY trick?"
Absolutely nome"
You never saw the apparition before this
occasion?"
Never"
"And what were your next steps?'
"There was nothing to be done except to
carry poor Sherwood indoors. He was bur-
led on the following day. / made every eff
fort to have systematic inquiry set on
foot but the castle is in a remote spot and
the authorities are slow to move. The Por-
tuguese doctor gave his sanction to the bur-
ial after formal inquiry. Deceased was
testified as having committed suicide while
temporarily insane, but to investigate the