Apparitions; or, The Mystery of Ghosts, Hobgoblins, and Haunted Houses Developed Part 10

Again and again he repeated his efforts; and, again and again, threw away the loathsome contents of the gla.s.s.

Had the story stopped here, what would not superst.i.tion have made of it?

But the philosopher, who was still pumping, now found the water grew paler; and, at last, pure water filled the vessel. Overjoyed at this observation, he threw the limpid stream in the face of the mistress, whose recovery was a.s.sisted by the appearance of her husband and Betty.

The mystery, when explained, turned out to be simply this--The good housewife, when she knew that a docket had been struck against her husband, had taken care to conceal some of her choice cherry brandy, from the rapacious gripe of the messenger to the Commissioners of Bankrupts, on some shelves in a closet up stairs, which also contained, agreeably to the ancient architecture of the building, the trunk of the pump below; and, in trying to move the jars, to get at a drop for the party at the kitchen fire, the shelf gave way with a tremendous crash; the jars were broken into an hundred pieces; the rich juice descended in torrents down the trunk of the pump, and filled, with its ruby current, the sucker beneath; and this was the self-same fluid which the philosopher, in his fright, had so madly thrown away. The wife had swooned at the accident; the husband, in his haste, had fallen on his nose, which ran with blood; and the maid's legs, in her hurry, coming in contact with her fallen master's ribs, she, like "vaulting ambition,"

overleaped herself, and fell on the other side.

Often has this story been told, by one who knew the philosopher, with great effect, till the last act, or _denouement_; when disappointment was mostly visible in the looks of his auditors, at finding there was actually nothing supernatural in the affair, and no ghost.

THE

APPARITION INVESTIGATED.

In a village in one of the midland counties of Scotland, lived a widow, distinguished among her neighbours for decency of manners, integrity, and respect for religion. She affirmed that, for several nights together, she had heard a supernatural voice exclaiming aloud, _Murder!

Murder!_ This was immediately reported through the neighbourhood: all were alarmed, and looked around them with solicitude for the detection of the murder which they supposed to have been committed; and it was not long till a discovery seemed actually to be made. It was reported, that a gentleman, who had relations at no great distance, and had been residing in the West Indies, had lately arrived with a considerable fortune; that he had lodged at an inn about three miles off; and that he had afterwards been seen entering a house in the village where the widow lived, from which he had never returned. It was next affirmed, that a tradesman, pa.s.sing the church-yard about twelve at midnight, had seen four men carry a dead corpse into that cemetery.

These three facts being joined together, seemed perfectly to agree, and to confirm one another; and all believed some horrible murder had been committed. The relations of the gentleman thought they were called upon to make inquiry into the truth of these allegations: they accordingly came first to the church-yard, where, in company with the s.e.xton, they examined all the graves with great care, in order to discover whether any of them had lately been dug, or had the appearance of containing more than one coffin. But this search was to no purpose, for no alteration had been made upon the graves. It was next reported, that the murdered man had been buried in a plantation about a mile distant from the village. As the alarm was now very general, a number of the inhabitants proposed, of their own accord, to explore it. They accordingly spread themselves over the wood, and searched it with care; but no grave, or new-dug earth, was found.

The matter did not rest here. The person who was said to have seen four men carry a dead corpse into the church-yard at midnight, was summoned to appear before a meeting of the justices of the peace. Upon examination, he denied any knowledge of the affair; but referred the court to another person, from whom he had received his information. This person was examined, and the result was the same as the former. In short, one person had heard it from another, who had received it from a third, who had heard it from a fourth; but it had received a little embellishment from every person who repeated it: it turned out to be the same with Smollett's story of the three black crows, which somebody was said to have vomited.

Upon inquiry at the inn, where it was said the West-India gentleman had lodged, no such gentleman had been seen there; and it was found afterwards, he had never left the West Indies.

Still, however, the veracity of the widow was not disputed; and some dark and secret transaction was suspected. But the whole affair was at length explained, by discovering that she was somewhat deranged by melancholy; and the cries which she at first imagined she had heard, were afterwards imitated by some roguish person, who was highly amused with spreading terror among the credulous.

THE

BENIGHTED TRAVELLER,

AND

_HAUNTED ROOM_.

A gentleman was benighted, while travelling alone, in a remote part of the highlands of Scotland, and was compelled to ask shelter for the evening at a small lonely hut. When he was conducted to his bed-room, the landlady observed, with mysterious reluctance, that he would find the window very insecure. On examination, part of the wall appeared to have been broken down, to enlarge the opening.

After some inquiry, he was told, that a pedlar, who had lodged in the room a short time before, had committed suicide, and was found hanging behind the door in the morning. According to the superst.i.tion of the country, it was deemed improper to remove the body through the door of the house; and to convey it through the window was impossible, without removing part of the wall. Some hints were dropped, that the room had been subsequently haunted by the poor man's spirit.

The gentleman laid his arms, properly prepared against intrusion of any kind, by the bed-side, and retired to rest, not without some degree of apprehension. He was visited, in a dream, by a frightful apparition; and, awaking in agony, found himself sitting up in bed, with a pistol grasped in his right hand. On casting a fearful glance round the room, he discovered, by the moonlight, a corpse, dressed in a shroud, reared erect against the wall, close by the window. With much difficulty, he summoned up resolution to approach the dismal object, the features of which, and the minutest parts of its funereal apparel, he perceived distinctly: he pa.s.sed one hand over it, felt nothing, and staggered back to the bed. After a long interval, and much reasoning with himself, he renewed his investigation, and at length discovered that the object of his terror was produced by the moonbeams forming a long bright image through the broken window, on which his fancy, impressed by his dream, had pictured, with mischievous accuracy, the lineaments of a body prepared for interment. Powerful a.s.sociations of terror, in this instance, had excited the recollected images with uncommon force and effect.

THE

HAUNTED BEACH,

OR

_Power of Conscience on a Murderer_.

BY MRS. ROBINSON.

Upon a lonely desert beach, Where the white foam was scatter'd, A little shed uprear'd its head, Though lofty barks were shatter'd.

The sea-weeds gath'ring near the door, A sombre path display'd; And, all around, the deaf'ning roar Re-echo'd on the chalky sh.o.r.e, By the green billows made.

Above, a jutting cliff was seen, Where sea-birds hover'd craving; And, all around, the craggs were bound With weeds--for ever waving.

And, here and there, a cavern wide Its shad'wy jaws display'd; And near the sands, at ebb of tide, A s.h.i.+ver'd mast was seen to ride, Where the green billows stray'd.

And often, while the moaning wind Stole o'er the summer ocean, The moonlight scene was all serene, The waters scarce in motion; Then, while the smoothly slanting sand The tall cliff wrapp'd in shade, The Fisherman beheld a band Of spectres, gliding hand in hand, Where the green billows play'd.

And pale their faces were as snow, And sullenly they wandered; And to the skies, with hollow eyes, They look'd, as though they ponder'd.

And sometimes, from their hammock shroud, They dismal howlings made, And while the blast blew strong and loud The clear moon marked the ghastly crowd, Where the green billows play'd!

And then, above the haunted hut, The curlews screaming hover'd; And the low door, with furious roar, The frothy breakers cover'd.

For in the Fisherman's lone shed, _A murder'd man_ was laid, With ten wide gashes in his head; And deep was made his sandy bed, Where the green billows play'd.

A s.h.i.+pwreck'd mariner was he, Doom'd from his home to sever, Who swore to be, thro' wind and sea, Firm and undaunted ever; And when the waves resistless roll'd, About his arm he made A packet rich of Spanish gold, And, like a British sailor bold, Plung'd where the billows play'd!

The spectre band, his messmates brave, Sunk in the yawning ocean, While to the mast he lash'd him fast, And brav'd the storm's commotion: The winter moon upon the sand A silv'ry carpet made, And mark'd the sailor reach the land, And mark'd his murd'rer wash his hand, Where the green billows play'd.

And, since that hour, the Fisherman Has toil'd and toil'd in vain; For all the night the moony light Gleams on the spectred main!

And when the skies are veil'd in gloom, The murd'rer's liquid way Bounds o'er the deeply yawning tomb, And flas.h.i.+ng fires the sands illume, Where the green billows play!

Full thirty years his task has been, Day after day, more weary; For Heav'n design'd his guilty mind Should dwell on prospects dreary.

Bound by a strong and mystic chain, He has not pow'r to stray; But, destin'd mis'ry to sustain, He wastes, in solitude and pain, A loathsome life away.

THE

SUBTERRANEAN TRAVELLER;

OR

_GHOST AND NO GHOST_.

The following record is copied verbatim from an old newspaper--_The Weekly Journal, or British Gazetteer._

"_Bedlam, January 18, 1719._