Year: 1870

Ghostly Phenomenon.


Since the fall of the Pemberton
Mills, the city Of Lawrance, Mass,
has known no such excitement as
that produced on Saturday, the goth
of August last, by the unaccountable
appearance of a females features in
light of glass in the window of 9
house on Broadway. 1t appears that
few days previous to the discovery
of the phenomenon an elderly lady,
after a long and wearing sickness
had died. The day succeeding that
on which the funeral occurred, ala
dy who was visiting one of the ten
ants Of the same house, in passing
saw a figure in the attic window.
which she instantly recognized as
that Of the deceased lady, and with
great CONSERVATION communicated
the fact to the other occupants of
the building, and in a short time the
entire neighborhood was made ac-
quainted with the strange and excit-
ing discovery. The window of the
room in which the woman had died
was Immediately under that in the
attic, and vas the usual sitting place
Of the deceased. Some supposed that
by some means her face had become
impressed upon the glass, but the
fact that it was not in the room oc-
cupied by her, and in a room that
was usually unOccupied, displaces
ell belief in this idea. During the
day and evening the story ofa ghost
on Broadway was widely circulated
throughout the city, and early the
next morning, which was the Sab
bath, people commenced to gather
about the i'll fated and haunted house
much to the annoyance of its inmates
and immediate neighbors. None
professed to believe a word of the
wild story, and were only convinced
upon an actual view with their own
eyes. A sister of the deceased,
hearing of the matter, visited the
place and pronounced the likeness
to be that of her relative. The only
remaining members Of the family
are two small children. The excite
ment momentarily increased, as also
did the crowd in the street, and by
noon it was so great as to render the
passage of the hOrse-cars quite diff
ficult. The inmates tried various
means to remove the figure from
the glass, but were unsuccessful, and,
with a view to sending the crowds
away, removed the sash to the rear
of the building; but as a means of
scattering the people it was only
successful in drawing them away
from the front of the building to the
rear, where the face was seen to a
still better advantage, though it
seemed to have a somewhat different
appearance. 1t was only when the
sash had been removed and secreted
in the house that the crowd began
to disperse and wander back to their
hemes, each having an idea as to the
cause Of the singular vision, and all
agreeing that "there was something
in it anyway"


Early on Monday morning an
other crowd gathered around the
house, and DR.. VIM. d. Lamb, a pro.
minent physician, obtained permis.
sion to remove the sash to his office
on Essex street. Here it was placed
in the window, opening upon the
main business street of the city, and
every one could get a fine view from
below. The window was examined
by intelligent and scientific men, and
while some we're Of the opinion that
lit might be the result Of the action oi
lightning, when some person had
been sitting near, others thought
the theory one of impossibility. OF
course, the many superstitious were
satisfied that it was the "ghost OF
the dead woman, and nothing more. y
There is one thing about it, at least,
which seems strange, and that is the
fact Of no face or figure to be seen
in looking out from the inside. Du
ring the day, a firm of photograph
ers, after several attempts, succeeded
in getting a very good likeness oI
the sash, and the face it contained.


No one can account for this
strange phenomenon, but men who
are practical and possessed of 6
good share of common sense con.
clude that it must be one of those
curious defects which will some.
times appear in window glass. The
strangest thing in its connection il
that it was not discovered until af


tier the death of an inmate Of thu
house. Those who believe in tn,


"spirituar' are making the mosto


the circumstance, and, doubtless


there seldom occurs such instances


upon which they can surely Teacl


the partially superstitious mind


Ghost or not, there has nothing oc
Cured in the city of Lawrence Of
this nature which has produced suel
wOnderment since the well remem
bered stories of various apparitiOn'
in connection with the fall of the
Pemberton Mills-Bosto1a CONNER.
cidI Advertiser.