The Washington herald., 1908-07-26


absence. This Is truly horrible appa-
rition. and no viewless spector such as
I the invisible grimalkin that trips people
! Up on the stairs OF the Old mansion
which President Madison and his wife
I Dolly occupied after the White House
was burned by the British The feline
spook OF the Capitol possesses attributes
I much more remarkable. inasmuch as II
has the appearance Of an ordinary pussy
when first seen. and presently swells
up 20 the size Of an elephant before the
/ eyes Of the terrified observer.
I The Demon Cat. IN whose regard testi-
mony OF the utmost seeming authenticity
was put on record nearly a half century
I ago. has been missed for many years
l one OF the watchmen in the building
shot al It then. and II disappeared Since
I then. until now. nothing more has been
heard OF II, though one or two Of the
Z older policemen OF the Capitol force still
speak OF the spectral animal in awed
whispers. Their work. when performed
in the night. requires more than ordinary
nerve. fnasmUch as the interior OF the
structure is literally alive with echoes
and other suggestions Of the supe-nat-
ursL N the daytime, when the place
Is full Of people and the noises OF busy
life. the professional guides make a point
OF showing persons how a whisper uJ-
/ tered when standing on a certain marble
block IS distinctly audible al another
point quite a distance away. though IN
heard IN the space between.
A Mysterious FOOtstep-
A good many phsnon1ena Of this kind
are observable IN various parts OF the
Capitol. and the extent 10 which they be
come augmented in strangeness during
the silence OF the night may be conceived
Tbs silence OF an ordinary house is Op-
pressivs sometimes TO the least supers-i-
tsous individual There are unacCountabIe
noises. and a weird and creepy sort of
feeling comes over him He finds himself
indulging IN a vague sense Of alarm.
though he cannot imagine any cause for
IT, Such suggestions Of the supernatural
are magniied a thousand fold n the Cap
itol when the WarchTnan pursues his lone
" beat through the great corridors. whose
immense spaces impress him with a sense
Of s0litariness. while the shadows thrown
by his lantern gather into strange and
uenacing forms
One Of the most curious and alarming
Of the audible phenomena Observable fl
the Capitol. Sc some OF the wstchmen say.
Is a gh0srly footstep that seems 70 fol-
at night L was in this hall. then the
chamber OF the House OF Representatives.
that John Quincy Adams died. Whether
OF not & is Lis ghost That pursues Is
question open 70 dispute, though i Is to
be hoped THAI the venerable eX-PresiCent
rests more quietly IN HIS grave II all
events. the performance Is unpleasant
and even grewSome. for him VINO walks
across the historic foor, while the white
placed around the walls seem 70 point Al
him with Ou1stretChed arms derisively.
Ike the man in Coieridss's famous lines.
he
Walks IL eoz- ard d-gad
Be=azss he knows a fzi=htfzl fead 65tA 1ose behfad
huu Trad
Al al events. he IS uncertain lest such
may De the case 4 bold watchman al
tempted ROT long ago to investigate these
footsteps He suspected 2 trick and de-
termined 70 make his investigation on SCI 7
e1tifc principles he bought a pair OF
rubber shoes. with the aid OF which he
proceeded TO examine into the question. I
In the stiffness Of the night he made a
business OF patrOliing that portion OF the |
government eGifCe. and. sure I
enough. the footsteps followed along be I
hind him He cornered them; there was
no possibility FOR the joker 70 get away 1
But a moment later the steps were heard I
in another part Of the hall; they had evad- I
ed him successfully Similar experiments (
were tried on other nights. but they all 4
ended in the same way
Old CstaIOEuer's Money.
About fifteen years ago there died IN /
Washington an old gentleman who had 4
been employed in the Library OF Congress /
fo- more than thirty-five years. The quar-
ters OF this great book collection while 1
housed in the Capitol were distressingly 4
restricted. and much Of the cataloguing
was done by the veteran mentioned il q 4
sort Of vault IN the subceIlar. This vault
was crsmmed with musty tones from
floor 10 ceiling. and practically 10 air was 4
admitted Il was a wonder that he lived 4
so long. but when he came 20 die he did
it rather suddenly Anyhow. he became
paralyzed and unable % speak. though up
TO the time Of his actual demise he was
able TO indicate his wants bv gestures
Among other things. he showed plainly
by signs that he wished TO be conveyed
70 the old Library His wish was not
obeyed, and i was afterwsrd learned
that he had hidden about $500 worth Of
registered United States bonds among the
books in his subcellar den II Is said that
the ghost OF the old gentleman haunts the
vaults. looking vainly for the missing Sc
curities.
The gentleman referred to had some Gu
-ious traits. though he was BY no means
Z uliser. such as the keeping Of every
Jurnt match that he came across He
would put them away in the drawers Of
lis private desk. together with expired
street-car transfers. the latter done Up In
leat bundles with india rubber bands
Quite an intimate friend he had. named
rwine. dweit during the working hours
1f the day IN a sort q cage Of iron in the
basement Of the Capitol Twine's cage
vas OF iron wire. and inside OF II he made
l business OF stamping the books Of the
Library with a mixture made OF alcohol
Ind lsmpblack- II the observation OF cas-
ial employees about the Capitol is 70 be
rusted. Mr. Twine's ghost IS still engaged i;
Il intervals in the business Of stamping
y must be very Improbable. since the
literary collection has been ]
moved out Of the Capitol
Ghosts are supposed 10 appertein most :
10 the lower regions. mas ,
much as the ancsents who described them
lrst consigned the blessed. as well as the
amned. TO a neither world Consequently
[ IS not surprising 20 find that phantoms
Z the Capitol are mostly related 10 the [
easement Exceptions are made IN the S
ase Of Vice President Wilson, who, as {
Tfl be remembered. died il his room at c
he Senate end Of the building. and also J
Nth respect 70 John Quincy Adams. I
rhose nocturnal perambulations are 50 I
nnovfng 10 the watchmen- AIr- Wilson is I E
My an occasional visitor on the prem {
ses Il is understood. finding his way
1fther probably when nothing else of i'm