The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-12-24
CHE
Continued From Page One.)

site the bed. upon the wall, hung an
oval oil painting, life-size, evidently a
Landseer, of a very beautiful young
woman. l could not tell for the life
of me, why the family just vacated
had not taken it off with them. 1t
fascinated me at once. I looked away
but instantly to turn and look again.
Those sad eyes, strangely deep and
lustrous, seemed to speak from out
the depth and richness Of the mellow
old canvass, for she belonged to a
past era, and had, I fancied, been con-
nected with some awful tragedy about
the house. Her eyes had that mystic
riOus influence, which in animals we
cali magnetism, the head was beau
tifully poised upon the swan-hke
neck, n turned to the left as with
Guides Beatrice, crowned with a
wealth of nut-brOwn hair Just tied in
a knot and falling loosely again." the
face was as calm and chiselled as a
Clytie, the shoulders and bosom white
and smoOthe as Parian marble, and
the dainty mouth as exquisitely cary
ed as a masterpiece of Praxiteles. The
dress was soft and silken, and white,
and fell in graceful folds about the
well-turned figure. In one corner of
the Amos illegible, was the
word "Mechelle"-which l knew must
have been her name and not the
painters.
AS soon as I could ~disengage my
| fancies from the picture, l went down
| stairs, and had for my supper French
rolls, an omelet, cheese, shrimp Salau
| and a pot of smoking ava. My meal
| was unusually prolonged listening to
the numerous ghost-Storles, ana tales
of the house., which my servants had
already gathered from the ~neighbors.
There was a particular ghost or tras-
| edy for about every generation that
| had lived there, as is the case with all
old houses They knew about the
door in the attic which no n coulq
keep fastened, and of the
cashier Who went into the vault al
midnight to count over the money,
and all about the little woman IN
white, who had been seen by every
cook down in the basement, recedlng
owards the cellar door, and whose
portrait hung in III chamber up
stairs, which nobody had ever dared
to disturb or take down. Cold chill
after cole chill crept up and down
nv back started-and the hrellght
danced all over the big brass andlrons'
and weird shadows wink ed and NICK
cred grotesquely on the pollshed ma
hogany s~ideboard, as | listened to the
thrilling story of the phantom bride OF
Beverly Hall: A beautiful woman, Who
many years ago, had, died suddenly
during her wedding festivities. ano
who came back everytime a party OF
entartainment was given at the
house. and frightened the guests ana
terrified the servants; and the con
v~ersation drifted to the legend or tnt
brick tunnel, which tradition SAID mac
been built by the bank authorltles
during the war of 1912. when q BRIT
isb INVASION was feared, and where
the bank and the citizens Of the toWL
had hidden their money ana treasul~:
in safety which. were stlll there any
which had thWarted the various al
on anh ~
tempts of money dlggers aHt " Thss
rods to successfully locate 1t. Iht
tunnel story seemed mere bosh, ana
arose from the table and went out or
the IONS veranda, Walking up any
down. smoking innumerable cigars
ENJOYING the fine December night an
coming over all the incidents OF the
dav Manning how I could best spene
nv first Christmas in my new nome
T retired to my chamber at the usua
hour and decided to keep the hsn
burning all night; but. as soon a.
vas snuely in bed. the eyes OF tn
adv in the portrait just opposite m
,uere 60 f;xed on me that could no
!; escane their charm. 50 | got up, an'
in snite of the warnings OF my ser
wants to the contrary. unhooked tn
1870 from the wall and placed |
behind the foot of the bed, where !
could MOI be seen. After that | drop
ned off tc sleep, but aWoke just a
the clock was striking Twelve. WIN
beautiful female robad IN White hal
d~ishoveled. her beaut1ful neck an
bosom exposed. bending over me, an
5 holding in her hand an ancient lam
which emitted a blue sulphurou
fiane: I gave a sharp. startled cry o
! alarm-jumped out of bed. and, afte
! anaIIv lit nv cand1e.-There wa
nothing-the picture sat upon tn
| floor just the same, with those dee
sad eves fixed upon mel now fel
, sure it was the perverted fabric o
> dreamwcrld-a nightmare caused b