Year: 1871

closed the door quickly, and betook oul


selves to rest.


Next morning we were disposed t


laugh at the ghost, as a creation of ou


own fancy; nevertheless, we grew rathe


anxious as night came on. l was courage


Gus enough to go up during the evening


and cast a hurried glance at the stairs be
fore / opened our bedroom door; bu


nothing was there, and sped down agaiI


in great glee, convinced that our eyes tn,


previous night had been fog-bound. Blu


in spite of this, when we went up late


and came to the door to take last reassur
! ing glance, there was the thing again, il


precisely the same attitude, making tht


same movements, agitated when the fiT'


blazed up, motionless when it burned


low.


Time went on, and night after night W.


watched, till we almost became accustomed


to our nocturnal visitor. Notwithstand


ing the continually renewed fear caused


by the sight of it. had an underlying


conviction that it was produced by natura


means. What means, could not imagine


for we had tried every possible experiment


to find out We moved the furniture oi


the room, we placed the light in different


positions, we stationed ourselves now al


one point, now at another-without affect


the figure stood unchanging.


All this time we kept the matter to our.


selves, knowing the foolish fear of ser


wants, and how such report would spread


like wild-fire among our friends, and scare
them away from the house. 1t so hap


pened that just then cousin came to pay
us a visit, and we determined to let her
into the secret, partly to prevent her from
seeing the figure unawares, and being, per
haps, frightened TO death; partly that she
might help us with her opinion and advice.
So the first night of her arrival, we brought
her into our room; and, having told the
facts, and warned her against a sudden
fright, took her to the door, and pointed
out the spectre. Though so prepared, and
utterly sceptical as to anything ghostly,
her terror was so great as to alarm us.
Talking of ghosts and looking at them are
two such very different matters. still
persisted in referring the apparition to
natural causes, and though this was my
cousins belief in theory, practical evidence
to the contrary appeared to have shaken
her creed 10 its very foundations. Shu--
ting out the ghastly object, however, to
certain extent restored her self-pOssession,
and then we all three set to work, both
by suggestion and experiment, to throw
some light on the subject; but to no pur-
pose. The wretched, puzzling, intangible
substance, the unreal, reality stood its
ground, and Knocked all our efforts.


After time the thaw set in; the weather
became as warm as it had before been
cold, and we dispensed with the fire in
our room. That night-O wonder of
wonders!-we looked and watched in
vain; not trace of the figure was to be
seen. 1 was more puzzled than even.


As time went on, and our spectral visi-
tor was still invisible, we congratulated
ourselves on being rid of such an unwel-
come intruder, and decided it to have been
the chance reflection of some object out
side. But snow and frost returned again,
and again the fire in our room was light
ed; and. casting glance up the stairs as
/ prepared to close the door, my eyes fell
on the mysterious figure, standing, as be-
fore, on the top step, moving her foot up
and down, grasping the burden that she
held now firmly, now loosely, in her
arms; dilating and agitated when the fire
blazed, still as death when the flames fell
low This appearance was more startling
than cared to acknowledge even to my
still MY slSlCI duu COuolH SlCn hOl NOuo ;
so did /; we could not convince either
or each other that the phantom
had natural origin. 1t would be impos-
sible to enumerate the efforts we made to
discover the cause of it. Every failure
found our spirits a little more shaken, and
our minds a little less sceptical as to
ghosts and their doings. We grew accus-
toned to see the shadowy thing on the
stairs, and no longer started at sight of it I;
but the superstitious element in us became
strong and active, and we were ready to
believe anything.


One night while taking my usual look
of curiosity and terror, / observed that
the figure had undergone a change-one
arm appeared to hang helplessly down by
her side. As was about to call attention
to this new phenomenon, heard my sis
ter say, "Why, who has been tearing the
blindr'


turned round quickly. Our windows
were furnished with roller-blinds of high
ly glazed white linen, over which were
festooned curtains of dark green. l saw
that one side of the blind had been torn
away from the nails fastening it to the
roller, and had fallen back, leaving part
Of the window uncovered. Thought is
rapid, and some intellectual telegraph con-
nected in my mind the torn blind and the
armless figure on the stairs.


Stand up on chair" I said, "and
fasten it as well as you can"


She managed it easily; and / had the
of seeing that my ghost was
furnished with her proper complement of
arms. But to make assurance doubly sure,
| said, "Draw the blind up for moment;
will tell you why afterwards"


She drew it up; and with greater relief
and satisfaction that can describe, / saw
the figure disappear gradually; commenc-
ing at the feet, finishing at the neck; a
'hadowy head still remaining. speedily
my discovery; and after minute
and much experimentaliZing
md proving, we at last discovered the en-
ire nature and origin of our spectre. And
his was it. From the position of the
ire crate, the entire light of the flames
ell on the window opposite the door; and
when the door was open, this light was
gain reflected from the dazzling surface
If the white blind on the opposite wall,
which formed the curve of the stair, and
where stood the window. Every one
Inows that two festooned curtains will
rive to the space between them the form
If human neck and shoulders; here was
he foundation of the figure; and the cur
aims nearing each other as they approach
ID the ground, completed the illusion of
ong scanty garment. The phantom foot
vas nothing but the space between the
lark drapery terminating in point. The
width of the festooned part as
compared with the rest, gave that appear
Lnce of bulk about the arms and shoul-
lers; and the head was caused by the re-
appearance of the light-colored wall above
he curtain. The wall, of course, rose
quare and shapeless, hence the supposi-
ion of a sheet enveloping the figure We
ound, too, that when the door was opened
vide, the reflection vanished; this, fancy.
vas caused by the light being digused, in
tead of concentrated through a small
opening. And the strange movements of
he spectre were simple enough. Natur-
lily, the more the fire blazed, the more its
ight flickered and danced on the window,
nd sent its dancing and Pickering shadow
outside the door. But why the reflection
eemed to stop short on the landing, in
tead of being conveyed to the opposite |
vail, have never fully satisfied myself |
fancied it to be in some way caused by
Meeting the light from the staircase win
low, and so throwing it back upon itself;
'ut this is only my supposition. 1 leave
/ to those more learned in the laws of
,obf thor, I arn to caft1p tho mstter Thine