Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-03-01
A Florentine
Episode
By ELlNOR MARSH

al Ihul IeuSlreet, rlcH young
American, before settling down to a
career, concluded to spend season in
Europe. He sailed from New York to
Naples, thence proceeded to Rome and
later to Florence.
1t is supposed by persons who have
not been in Italy that one sees every
where relics of the ancient Romans.
There are comparatively few such
relics, but there are many of mediaeval
Italy. The most costly dwellings are
''palazzos," built several centuries ago.
Hemstreet took a fancy to Florence
and concluded to spend some time
there, so he rented a palazzo, or,
rather, half one, and, hiring servants,
settled himself down, as it were, in the
middle of the sixteenth century.
The building had been divided into
two parts, the part that Hemstreet did
not occupy being occupied for small
family hotel, or rather what in Eu-
rope is called pension, which is mid
way between hotel and a boarding
house.
One rainy afternoon Hemstreet, who
had spent most Of the day in the pic
ture galleries for which Florence is
noted, came to his palazzo. 1t was so
dark that his servants had lighted the
lamps, and, going upstairs, as he en-
tered the hall on which his bedroom
was located, he was astonished to see
that the hall was double the length he
had supposed it to be. At any rate,
he saw double the lights, but they
were dim, as were the ,objects they
lighted.
Hemstreet was very much puzzled.
Going into his room he threw of
his wet overcoat and rubber shoes,
then went out with the intention of
exploring the hail. He was surprised
to see that it ended as he had under
stood it to end with picture.
Hemstreet was frightened Surely
something had broken loose in his
brain. He went to the picture, exam
ined it, saw that it was what he had
supposed it was and went away resolv-
ed to watch himself closely for other
| symptoms of a disordered mind. But
| he felt as well as he had ever felt,
| and after awhile he ceased to worry
| about any supposed disorder
However, he never went upstairs to
his room without looking as soon as he
| turned into the hallway to see if it had
been doubled as before. But the fig
ures of the picture were always there,
and the hallway was of its usual
length.
One night when Hemstreet was in
| bed he heard, or fancied he heard, a
giggle in the hall. There were no wom-
en- in the house except a couple of
housemaids who knew their place and
were in bed when Hemstreet had come
in. Curious to know what the sound
meant, he arose and, cautiously open
ing his door enough to see through the
aperture, saw sight that amazed him
| more than his previous unexplained
one. A young girl stood in the hall
| facing the picture, laughing and beck
| oning. She was all aquiver with ex-
| citement, though she did not speak
except in pantOmime.
Thunderstruck, HemStreet turned
from the door, felt in a closet for
| dressing gown, then hunted for q pair
OF slippers beside his bed, for he dare
not strike a light for fear of soaring
the apparitiOn without, then returned
to the door, threw it open and went out
intending, if it were flesh and blood,
to capture it.
The hall was empty.
He looked to the end toward which
the girl had beckoned. There was the
picture, its figures immovable as ever.
Hemstreet went back to bed in Won
der. Somehow it did not seem to him
that he had seen ghost. He felt no
terror. though he began to worry anew
lest there was hitch in his brain. He
lay awake most of the night trying to
solve the problem, but finally went to
sleep thinking of it.
He arose the next morning shortly
before time for luncheon and stood
looking out on to the street. A cab
drove up to the pension, next door. and
a party alighted, which included sew
eral girls. Hemstreet was thunder
struck to recognize in one of these
girls the one who had stood in his hall
way the night before.
1t was now evident that the appari-
ton was flesh and blood and doubtless
on lark. Hemstreet went next door
and asked if there was any passage
way between the pension and his domi-
cile. but the landlady answered him
that the two wings had been thorough
ly cut off from each other. She had
motive in this since she suspected that
Hemstreet had lost property, which
would be laid to some one in her wing.
Hemstreet kept an eye out for the
apparition in the galleries and finally
came upon her. She was an American
with party of Americans. After Sc
curing an introduction to her he ac-
cused her of having trespassed on his
premises. She colored and after some
hos tof