The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-26
THE CURSE IN LEGEND.


 Strange Fulfilment in Case of Mon-
 tague Family--Instance From India.
 Ghosts have long been made sub ject of careful scientific inquiry; we wonder that the Psychical Research Society does not enlarge its sphere and investigate the failure or fulfil ment of prophecies and curses, hered itary or otherwise. Many families must have very curious legends to tell of character, and in not few cases, as the curse or prophecy has passed or been supposed to have passed from one generation to an other, there is plenty of material for Investigation.
 One of the most singular recorded instances of the apparent fulflment of curse, says London Chronicle, is told of the Montague family, the ori- ginal possessors of the Cowdray es- tate at Midhust, now in the hands of the Earl of Egmont. The Cowdray property belonged in the days of Hen- ry VIII to the Roman Catholic Church, being a dependence of Ease bourne Priory, some portions of which are still to been seen. At the dissolu- tion of the monasteries it was confis- eated and presented by the King to Yiscount Montague, who, though him. self a Roman Catholic, had no scruple in accepting it.
 The proress made dignifed pro- test against the spoliation of the church, and finding protest vain she cursed the Montague family with the it's extinction.
 So long, however, as the Montagues continued Catholic the curse appeared imperative, but in the eighteenth cen- tury the then Lord Montague married a daughter of the famous Countess of Huntingdon, who founded the Coun- tess of Huntingdon's Connexion, and nuder her influence became a protest- ant. Tales are told of conventicles held in the famous Chesnut avenue in Cow dray Park, but efforts to hold similar meetings in the chapel always failed, owing to the lights being mysterious ly extinguished.
 The first Protestant Montague, how ever reverted on his death bed to the ancient faith; and perhaps this was the reason that in spite of the curse he died peacefully in his bed His son did not live to enjoy the estate. He. was drowned In the Rhine trying to shoot the falls of Schaffhausen and the story goes that the messenger, coming post haste to England with his evil tidings, was met at Calais by another messenger with the news that Cowdray House had been burned to the ground.
 The tragic fulfilment of the double curse of fire and water" was such a severe blow that no effort appears to have been made to preserve the half ruined mansion from further damage or to restore it in any way The fam fly removed to a lodge in the park which has since been much enlarged and become the present Cowdray House.
 The estate passed to the sister of the drowned heir and not many years later the curse of water was again fulfilled; her two sons were downed by the capsizing of boat before the very eyes of their parents. The title went to the next male Montague in the succession, who died with heir and the family became extinct.
 It is certainly story full of strange coincidence. A somewhat similar story of a curse coming true was re- lated to the writer by a gentleman who was personally acquainted with all the people concerned.
 Three young officers belonging to a regiment at that time stationed in the Punjab decided to build themselves a home on a hill overlooking the Sutlej river, and in doing this they trespas- sed on the sacred ground surround, ing the tomb of some half forgotten saint. An old Mohammedan who had charge of the tomb endeavored to per- suade them to move the site of their house, but finding them obdurate, cursed them with Oriental 1uency, de- claring that not one of the three should die in his bed and that the house would never stand.
 The curse was disregarded The house was built. Shortly after one of fieer was killed out tiger shooting, while another met his death playing polo, The third fell so dangerously i'll that it seemed as if he woul break the proprecy by dying in his bed, He was sent home, however, recovered, and re- turning to India two years later, drwned going up the Ganges in boat.
 On the same day, so it is cold, the River Sutlej overfowed it's banks and v,,aebad awav the holIse