The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1906-01-13
SeIett Sturp.
A GHOST STORY.

L L > L L
Harry Addison Quau in Ceu,rcviDe tNd1 Record.
Ny grandfather Simon jules Leberre.
emigrated to America just after the retire
ment Of the Emperor to Helena. lie was
a physician Of note and stood high in the
srace~ Of Bonapar;ists. So closely and
intimately had he allied himself with the
Emperor, can be seen by an ciict which
was published shortly after the disastrous
Hundred DAYS, in which the names Of
those persons suspected Of bejn. accesso-
ries to the great Napoleon were printed
on huge posters, with a stated reward at
tached to each name The largest reward
attached TO any name on this paper eas
that after the name of Simon jules I.e-
berre, physician.
My grandfather settled IN Georgetown,
then a aourishins little place but now a
suburb Of Washington. where be- prao,icei
hi, profession With a great deal of success
He was an extremely aciurn, silent
man. hstlc understood. bat nevertheless.
held IN great respect by the people # that
historic old town lie had bu; h;tlc in
tcroour,c outside his professional duties
with those ahou, him, and living alone IS
be did vi.h NJ one bu: an ia aserg ser.
van, 10 attend him. he must .1 have found
abundzn; time ta iclye into the mysteries
oE tba, profession b. loved So woli
Il is we'll knavn fact ar perhaps /
should say ii was sell known fact amuoE
Che nlI people OF Gsas;ysasn. a. sery iew
rgnaiu who can rp74lce; anything Of ms
grandfather aiycaiarr rr-ariiuc the End
ins 81 the Freaeh doctor rayiuz mad ami
loeked in the vault IN thr cemetery Of the
Prcsbyterian- one winter s morning IN the
year 1924
say j; vas vcli kn9su trt Of the
above inciiept having o-uTrcd and though
many year. have slsF~si. ana ba. iew Of
tbosc zh1 can remember the Excitement
and wgaicr Il 1cgas,ln,s. lhs- vii bs ihp
arsi ,imc hat the mystery of my grand
father peculiar imprisonment viii have
bee:, made public.
After h,- release from thr horrible
prsS5n ny grandfather was confined in
private asylum for the lnslae. where be
livei for thirty three year pauuS his
rysslcucc AZ the asyluu be was faithfully
attended by his negro vAie,. and la hlm
am indebted iar tbs gomsrkahle paper.
which ,hc old doctor wrote in bis lucid in
tcryals. aud is.,vcrcd into the hands af
h. ,ru,,y attendant. 60 be zI.gg upon bl,
death 60 the nrar,si 0I bis Kin
Trusting that have uos tired the reader
with a too long preface, | w,Ii now give she
paper word for word g. 1t l!c~ before me
" am Simon Jul,- lcbeFrr physician.
| was bora and ryarci In the vicinity Of
Psy.s. At a plaon oallei Artoss Ny father
vas the thiri q oar family 90 toll5w the
profession ot medicine. remained IN this
locality for several yezrs, leaving ], 20 be
come house physician d ,he Emperor.
Ah those days was With hlm 10
E.ypt, spain, Russia | eas AZ his side
when he left Waterloo That night we
parted both having Americs ia view A.
the only safe haycu Of refuge leil open 10
Us He never reached there iii after
a voyage Of four months. experiencing such
sufferia-s and hari,hips | never dreamed
Of settlei in Georgetown, pretty liz
tle ,owu Of about seven thousand inhabi
tauJs and Immediately began the practice
Of my profession. had no competitors IN
this line. save q few ignorant fellows. who
.E Z
cine These little fellows made but fee
Die resistance 10 my intrusion, consequently
| found myself master Of the entire field
and rapidly built upa large practice.
engaged trlsty colorci man 70 attend
upon ME and took a large house OF man
sion, as they are called in America, on the
outskirts Of the town There | lived a
calm, if not happy existence. Strlo. a
10 the duties of my profession and exceed
inc successful in the eases attended,
soon enjoyed the respect and the confidence
of the good citizens of the town.
Il spent most Of my spare time in study,
and save fer an occasional visit from some
Of the French priests Of the Jesuit college,
I saw no society at ALL | had led this
kind Of life for eight years, and was be-
coming quite reconciled, if not exactly
contented, when there broke out in
the town a terrible epidemic Half OF
| the populaee was stricken with the
dreadful disease Ilabored day and night
in my eudeavors to alleviate their suffer
ings. 1t was the most mysterious disease
that | had ever contended with. People
were stricken with the dread malady anj
l was powerless to aid them.
Never before had | seen or heard Of
such a scourge. searched every medi.
cal work in my library besides the really
great library possessed by the Jesuit faith,
ers at the college. | held consultations
with several learned men of this institu-
ton, but We could come to no successful
understanding Of the subject Meanwhile
the people were dying by the score every
day, and their appeals to me to aid them
was heartbreaking. Finally decided upon
securing a body of one of these fever
stricken victims, and making an examina
ton of 1t, IN hopes OF obtaining some clue
as to the cause of this plague.
"a very well defined case was that of
a young daughter of Judge H, whom
l attended, and who died after a three
days illness | determined upon securing
her body for the purpose of examination.
She was placed in a vault in the Presby-
terian cemetery. l attended the funeral
and marked well the place intending to
secure possession of the body that night.
had decided upon making the venture
sometime about midnight, believing that
| would meet with but little trouble in
carrying out my plans at that hour. Ac-
cordingly | left my house about half after
eleven o clock, accompanied by my negro
Ruben, who was singularly different from
Il L L i c.,