Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-06-23

haunted building in the word is the
United States Capitol, not less than
/ Is Northumberland ghosts infesting
it,
Some of these Capitol ghosts are OF
| a more than ordinarily alarming
/ character. The Demon Cat Is said
to have made its appearance again.
after many years of absence. This is
a truly horrihc apparition. and no
viewless spectcr such as the invisible
grmalkin that trips people up on the
stairs of the old mansion which Pres,
| ident Madison aud his wife Dolly oc-
cupied after the White House was
burned by the British. The feline
Spook of the Capitol possesses attrl'
buteS much more remarkable. mas
much as II has the appearance OF an
ordinary pussy when first seen. and
presently swellS up 10 the size OF an
elephant before the eyes OF the terri
fed observer.
The Demon Cat. In whose regard
testimony OF the utmost seeming au-
thenticity was put on record nearly a
NAH century dSo. pCSh A'i
many years. One of the watchmen In
the building shot at II then. and II
disappc AIRED. Since then, until now,
nothing more has been heard Of 1T,
though one or two OF the Older po-
liccmen Of the Capitol force still
speak Of the spectral animal in awed
whispers. Their %ork. when perform
ed in the night requires more than
ordinary nerve, inasmuch as the IN
terror of the structure Is literally alive
with echoes and other suggestions OF
the supernatural. In the daytime
when the place is full Of people and
the noises of busy life the profession
al guides make point of showing
persons how whisper uttered when
standing on certain marble block
IS distinctly audible at another point
quite a distance away. though I'M
heard In the space between.
A good many phenomena of this
kind are observable in various parts
OF the Capitol. and the extent to
which they become augmented In
strangencss during the silence OF the
night may well be conceived. The
silence Of an ordinary house is op-
pressive sometimes to the least sup
erstitiouS individual. There are un'
accountable noises. and weird and
creepy sort OF feeling comes over
him. He finds himself INDUCING in
vague sense of alarm. though he can
not imagine a-:y cause for 1t. Such
suggestions of the supernatural are
.magnified a thousand fold in the Cap
;tol, when the Waterman pursues his
lonely beat through the great corri-
doris whose immense spaces impress
him with sense of solitarincss.
while the shadows thrown ty his Ian
terms gather into strange and menac-
ing forms.
Ore of the most curious and alarm
ing of the audible phenomena Observ-
able in the Capitol. SO some of the
watchmen say, is a ghostly footstep
that seems to follow anybody who
crosses Statuary Hall AT night. 1t
was in this hall, then the chamber OF
the House of Representatives.. that
John Quincy Adams died. Whether or
not it is his ghost that pursues Is a
question open to dispute, though II Is
to be hoped that the venerable ex-
president rests more quietly in his
grave. At all events. the perform
ance is unpleasant, and even grew
some. for him who walks across the
historic floor. while the white marble
statutes of the dead statesmen placed
around the walls seem to point at him
with outstretched arms derislvely.
Like the man in CoIeridge's famous
lines, he
Walks in fear and dread.
Because he Knows a frighiful
fiend doth close behind him
tread"
At all events he Is uncertain lest
such may be the case. A bold watch
man attempted not long ago to inves-
Ttigate these footsteps. He suspected
trick and determined to make his
Investigation on scientific principles.
He bought a pair Of rubber shoes.
with the aid Of which he proceeded
to examine into the question. In the
stiffness Of the night he made a busi,
ness Of patroiiing that portion Of the
principal government edifice. and
sure enough. the footsteps followed
along behind him. He cornered them:
there was no possibility for the joker
TO get away. But a moment later the
steps were heard in another parts 81
the haIl-thpy had cyad'd him sue
cessfuIly. Similar experiments were
tried on other nights. but they all
ended In the same way.
About IS years ago there died in
Wa sn}n rtop an ola gentleman who
had been employed In the Library Of
Congress for moro than IS years. The
quarters Of this yreaf book collection.
I while housed in the Capitol. were dis
tres sinziy restricted. and much II tho
, cataloguing was done nv rho veteran
mentioned in 3 sort OF vanli In the
Sub-crllar. This vauIt was cramm.d
,u.th ...ru..,1.S from Ga,ar 70 cell