Year: 1869




i AN ARISTOCRATIC GHOST.


The Spirit of n Lady Comes Back for q


Drive.


From the Louisville Courier-Journal, Oct g.
Louisville, it is now conceded, has q
haunted house; that is to say, as much Of
a haunted house as can be expected in the
Experimentation pooh pooling condition
of the public mind as to the appearances
and disappeaances of unreasonable visitors
from the other world. We have nova
days scientific explanation for everything
illusory, and shadow-land itself might be
explained away into substantial territory
and annexed to our tremendous country, il
some emphatic, must-be-so philosopher
would but undertake the job. Looking
at it from these premises, and in the day
time, the haunted house we hear about as
being located within the corporate limits OF
Louisville, may yet be explained away and
converted into rentable property.


This house, at which we arrive by route
SO cilcuitous, is down town. We do not
choose to give it particular location, for
We have no designs on the property, and
care nothing for the sneers of the incredu-
lous, who would insinuate. that, because
the number and street are not mentioned,
the house exists only in the brain of some
over-worked reporter whose midnight oys.
ters are yet in a state of non digestive pre-
servation. The house can certainly be
seen, and if the ghost is as certain as the
house, there can be no doubt of the truth
of the stories told by housewives, and others
in the neighborhood of the property.
! 1t is alleged that there is certainly some
thing wrong with the house, for perhaps no
lr1r1 IN 0e 4
had as many different tenants. The house
is two-story structure, and every now and
then the blinds will be thrown open, cur
tains will appear under the windows, and
the smoke OF kitchen fire rolls out of a
portly chimney. This is sign that ten
ant has been found. After lapse of day
or two. the curtains c)me down the blinds
come together with bang, the air above
the chimney is clear, and big wagon, tull of
furniture. moved solemnly away from the
front. Then the tenant is gone. 1t may
be that he has not advanced rent, or 1t may
be ahalf-a-dozen other things. but be comes
and goes, and others come and go, and the
haunted house remains without a tenant


One of the large rooms in the house is
the subject of the neighborhood gossip,
and strange, weird sights are said TO have
been seen in this room. Some time ago, a
committee of IL stout men. mIch more
familiar with the yielding qualities of beef
steak, than with the conventionalities of
spiritual society, were detailed to visit the
house and occupy the haunted room until
the ghost should appear. They went early
one night, when o storm was bowling
through the city, and when, in the gloom
and darkness each lonely street lamp SEEM
ed grinning death's head or a leering jack
o'lantern. These ghostly. flickering
street-lamps might well have been taken
for the top-hghts of strolling corpses,
come out of some Of the old cemeteries for
a tramp through the deserted avenues and
a peep at the struggling watchmen, COVER
doorways along the route. The portly u,
however, could see no such sights as these,
for, as they pursued their way to the
haunted house, they laughed and cracked
jokes at the expense of the ghost, and
scarcely noticed what a dismal night was
over them. At length, arriving at the
house, they struck light, and made their
way to the room said to be the resort
of the ghostly visitor. More lights were
produced, and the room began to look
quite cheerful. The little company became
conviyial, and until nearly midnight they
told good stories, and made the building
echo with applause and laughter. Then,
all at once the conversation ceased, as if
every one had said all he had to say, and
could not think of anything more to talk
about. 1t was about time for the ghost to
appear. The storm was bowling louder
than it had howled before that night, and
it was almost time for the bells to be strik-
ng twelve.


They sat perfectly quiet fer few min
utes, then one of them suddenly CALCULATED
There she comes r. As he spoke, there
was light rumbling sound like that of
carriage wheels. and it was strangely clear
and distinct above the noise of the storm.
On the instant, the lights in the room
sank down, and a light mist filed the
apartment. Every object in it could be
distinctly seen. however, as the lights were
not totally extinguished. and the vapor it
self did not tend to darken the room. The
IL strained their eyes and some of them sat
open-mouthed. As the vapor appeared, the
sound of carriage wheels became louder, and
in moment, to the horror of the CON-
mittes, carriage itself. black as a hearse,
came rolling into the middle of the room
ana stopped. No horses were visible, but
as soon as the roll of the wheels had ceas-
ed, figure resembling that of lady, clad
in white, suddenly appeared and was seen
to step into the strange vehicle. Then the
carriage wheeled off and was seen no more.
The rattle of the wheels died away in ech.
oes, and the lights in the room shot mp
again, the vapor disappearing with the ap
partition. Some of the IL asserted that the
carriage made several evolutions about the
room, but the appearance and disappear
ance seemed to have taken place in an
instant.


The committee remained to see nothing
further, and, we believe, there have been
no more similar committees. Doubtless
their story has been very much enlarged
upon, but there can be no doubt that some
very strange and probably very human
hocus-pocus has been played in this house.
and that the mystery has not been reached.
The house Is quite valuable, but no tenant
has yet been found who would remain in
it. Not long since, laborers were digging
pos holes on the premises, upon some
ground where q stable had formerly stood,
and while at work they unearthed the re-
mains of an infant This was at once con-
nected with the appearance Of the appari-
ton, but no clue was discovered by which
the dead child could be identified, and it
Was quietly buried again. Thus the mys-
terry remains unexplained, and the house is