The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-07-14
WAS 1T
A GHOST?
By +. A. mitchell


BRUSH, how Major Andre Of the Brit.
Ism army was captured at Tarrytown
with the papers in the case in his boots.
the horror of General Washington and
the execution of Andre as a spy.
Andre was executed on the banks of
the Hudson not far from where he was
captured The place where the execu-
uon occurred is Of no importance eX-
cept as TO its connection with this his
torical event.
Mind you, I'm not going to vouch for
this story. 1t came to me from differ
ent sources. and there are certain dis
crepancies. What I'm going to tell is
what | surmised from the whole with
out Juggling III any proofs pro or con
A certain Mrs. Meriweather of New
York city. prominent in the d. A. r..
hau daughter Abigail, the name be
ing handed down through half dozen
generations from a Revolutionary an
cestreSs. who was an incorrigible
coquette. The mother endeavored vain
y TO persuade her daughter to marry
some one OF her many suitors, to set.
Tie down and behave herself. George
van West was the only one of them
whom Abigail fancied. Him she really
loved, but owing to one Of those incon-
sistencies of women for which no man
can account the more she loved him
the worse she treated him. Indeed.
certain Ambrose Constable, whom she
dld not like and her mother detested,
was to all appearances her favorite.
one spring when Abigail was receiv.
Ing marked attention from Constable
her mother took her to a farmhouse
in the country, hoping that by separat.
ing her from Constable the affair would
blow over. Abigail was much panied
at leaving Van Vert, but that contrary
trait in her character prevented her
from telling the truth as to her prefer
ence, and she accompanied her mother
10 the farmhouse unwillingly.
independence day that year was
beautiful one. The air was cool, the
sky cloudess. Abigail sat on the porch
Of the farmhouse watching the country
people dressed in holiday costumes 60
ing to church where exercises appro-
pirate to the day were to be held.
Presently young man came along
whose appearance ut once arrested Abb
igail's attention. He was handsome,
| but very pale. Seeing the girl on the
porch-she seemed unable to keep her
eyes off him-he bowed in very court
! " manner. taking off his hat at the
same time with something Of the -four
ish of a gentleman Of the old school
MAY ask" he said to Abigail
! whittier all these country pumpkins
are going"
TO the church where the Declare
ton of Independence is to be read"
why today
This is the anniversary OF the day
it was adopted"
by the rebelsf"
Abigail was so puzzled by this refer
ence to the signers Of the Declaration
as rebels that she made no reply, con-
! tinuing to gaze on the man with sort
of fascinated wonder Meanwhile he
began looking about him like one who
was visiting place with which he
had once been familiar. His gaze
lighting on a building farther down the
rogri,, he shuddered Then, seeming TO
grow faint. he caught at the fence In
| closing the farmhouse for support.
Abigail arose hurried toward him
/ hnr n
support him when he turned ana
smiled ar her she afterward described
that smile as the most beautiful she
had ever behcld. 1t seemed to be the
smile Of a martyr who had suffered
/ his martvrdom and had passed TO his
reward
From this point the information |
gathered about Abigairs meeting with
this stranger is contradictory. Some
saw that he spent only the day with
nor on the farmhouse porch. some that
he fingered in the neighborhood al
sumn,r. The testimony for the former
statement predominated, but | am al
loss TO understand how he could
have produced the marvellous effect ne
did on Abigail in a single day As to
how or where they spent that day &C
counts vary.
OF one thing received positive tes-
tmony that from that independence
day Abigail was greatly changed
While before it she had been the gay
est of the gay, after 1t no one ever saw
ber smile. George Van Vert tried TO
bring hack the smile to her lips, but
sipnallv failed. Indeed, the sight OF
him seemed to All her with sort OF
horror As for Constable, she no
lorpnr cared 70 conceal her real feel
ings toward him.
Mrs Meriweather did everything she
oorld think of to break the spell that
bod heen cast over her daughter. she
endea yored to make Abigail forget the
stranger in a social whirl She took
har on travels, all to no purpose. Inc
Moor girl was gradually sinking into
the grave. Six months after that mem
orable Independence day she died.
Who was the stranger? | am gong
! 70 give certain points that indicate