The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-03-16
GHOSTS OF HAMPTON COURT
CONSTABLE SAYS HE SAY 4 PRO-
 CESSION OF THEM,

CESSION OF THEM.
 MysteriOusIy Vanished Just as He Was
 About to Speak to Them and Left No
 Trace-Galery Haunved ty' .CatHer-
 inc Howard-spectre That Carries a
 Tsser.
 The numerous stories told of ghostly separations at Hampton Court palace have just been supplemented by one related by a police constable of the T. division, Metropolitan police, stationed there He asserts that when doing special duty in the gardens in front of Hampton Court palace a few weeks ago, between eleven anl twelve o'clock at night, he saw a group of figures walking toward him along one Of the gravelled walks, and that when they came to within nine years of where he was standinging they vanished
 The constable told representative of the London Daily Graphic that on the particular evening he went on duty at the east front of the palace at ten o'clock and had to remain there until six o'clock next morning. Tt was Q dark night, he sail, "but not so dark that I could not see distinctly for three or four hundred yards. 1 was quite alone and was standing close to the palace gates, looking toward the Home Park, when sudieny I became conscious of a group of figures moving toward me along what is known as the Ditton walk. It is a most unusual thing to see any one in the gardens at that time of night, but l thought it probable that some of the residents in the palace had been to a party al Dit ton and were returning on foot.
 'The idea of spooks' never occurred to me, and so ] stood still looking at them as they approached, intending to open the palace gates and let them in when they arrived there. It is several weeks ago now. but I remember dis tinctly everything that happened. l remember that the group consisted of two gentlemen in evening dress and seven or nine ladies The exact num- Der of ladies l could not swear to, but, as you will find later, it was san odd number. They appeared to be talking as they approached me, but I could not hear any sounds as of persons talking or any other sounds, except what re- sembled the rustling of dresses.
 "Well, there I stood for about three minutes, l should think, watching them, until they reached a point about a dozen yards from me, when, thinking they were really coming to the palace, l turned round and opened the gates to let them in Having done so I turned back again and found that the group had altered their course and were now heading in the direction of the Flower Pot gates, to the north of the gardens, but almost at the same moment, and just as I thought about going over and speaking to them, there was sudden movement in the group.
 "They fell into processional order, two deep, with the gentlemen at the head, for all the world like a funeral procession and then, to my utter i amazement, the whole crowd of them vanished, melted, as it seemed to me, 1 into the air and not a trace of them was to be seen anywhere. All this happened within nine yards of where was standing, in the center of the 1 broad gravel walk in front of the pal ace. I rushed over to the spot, looked l up and down. with all my senses about l me, although, of course, I thought the whole affair very strange, but could see nothing and hear nothing to ex- plain the mystery. Then l went back to my post and waited until the ser. | geant came round, and to him l rela. ted the circumstances. "It had beer set about" the officer added, that was so unnerved that asked to bt given another beat, but that is not true and I remained on duty at the same 1 place until my shift was up at si2 o'clock in the morning. I may say that there was no return of the strang, apparition."
 Asked what explanation he coulC give of the affair the constable tald
 Ut cannot be explained, except on su
 pernatural grounds, and may say a
 once that I believe the apparition wa
 intended for me, and for me alone. was a sort of warning for few day
 afterward I heard that dear friend o
 mine was 6ead When I heard of tha
 l'o -Nt If tNo agures fallin.
 Into processional order just befor