A GHOSTLY PROCESSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 8, 11 January 1899, Page 3

A GHOSTLY PROCESSION.

Your ghost, as usually fou^ g£ stories, is one that shyns |§nj, pany of its own kind, in attends strictly to the business of scaring chance visitors to haTj^t^d rooms, pointing oiit the Mis^fe;s<?<| of vanished wills, locating lpst. t>e%^* are, or waihng ijolefully v/he^ member of an old. gLost-owning fata* ily is about to d\e. . '

The most lih«»^r consumption ofturkey and mince-pie |ia.i never, to s>y, recollection, assjs^ed more' thajj' <jn§ boy to see a procession of "ghosts jus^ as real as any to, he "louajTln hisfOßja or literature. I was ont'c§ tlyit boy. 'Twas Christmas, idght y^^^Mki years ago- The" full,' Bjopu s^o^g^fi its usual manner q^ tl^e pf^eTOßel roofs and white streets qf'ij'C^^fatt village._ No doubt' the chnQ|i|y§? smoke 'rose straight up tfer^ugF^thft quiet and inopnshiny iufflit,* th^^h^B don't remember having' qljsejfe& jv on that occasion. '*""*- *i.-r*..-..■*...--._,.„v

Some dog left outside with the theE? mometer might W.-4 hive howled in a A leisurely way' ahqttt Ce|- ;' tainly tjhs old sta,ir§^e|ksd §,$ I ag« "U$ cended them, for 'twas Itheir nat\yej to; and cold rirs 'as from some |n» finitely distant land,'" no doubVtouea* ed my cheejk ift the dra^gjjty "'.J Such circumstances are^^ni^c^ reported I to be favourable to'the i|Pp§fl|as§_ -- of que gbqst at, % time^ }jss; W^__ ''^fft%'.-..*• .'M nothing unusual enough to give 019 t\ presentiment that a processioji pf them would appear in my bedrooai. I lay in bed turning oyer the leayep ;\_. of my Christmas bogles the Hgh| 9JL "JZ a tallow candle;• and th§ moon, Cqsd; oil lamps had nqt cqi&e ijito gerfgfaj use at that time. My wUmJQW Wak open bqth at the^qttam and-tgg, fjjr f I was bred in th§ belief tha.VsqiL^^-ij|;-, the effeniinate or sic_^ wpuls |l£epf m any weather With windq^fs ij&tJVeiy closed.- I was wakeful, for I Ixad iJPt ' thought our cook would be pleased ii T neglected any 9.f £§ r ?i?^§? $fslli_sj. '"' I yemeinf_er hq\Y I^^W^t^ i blankets up arqiu^dVmy necls an 4 ! turned over on my elbows to look put. ;v few minutes on the moonshiny go^J I a|ter l Aljiafi. quit reading.. Not a sOulj, ewhqdi§d qr '^.ge^^e^"^'^!^;;!''!!^, I Probably I reflected that^^ there wqi(|4 be good skating in the morning; and ; thanked my stars for the holidays [ before I bluw out my candle, _mt *rsy head on the pillow, shut my efy& Jtfid snuggled into4^6:.^laji.kets;' ' '.]"f>-;- ■* ''"■.':; How JQauy s^cqnds niy.ey^^T^hpig* ed shut I do not know.1 Js\\% »tfe§' tremor that came o_ver me on Qgetjjingf theqi'is ' mdeiibly imprinted on gjy memory.' - So is eyeyy su^seqqent. q^r j'cupregce that I amafepqt tsi se|^|g-;int this true story. : .-.,>' Though I had been in a prosaic frame of mind on closing my eyes, J ■ fell into extregje tepror* on-opening them: For a- vag4fe t \al^ '.'fgjgji*?_§!« mm- ub fe§side.ay-bi^, iad wa§ %$& ing quicldy towards 4he dooß, , It was a figure- of- mysterious f%|h-. ioq. I was,,eMjji at that firbt mqqient of hofrqii, as cQqyjiicf^ as t am |iQTgt that the shape cpukV -39* ba 4elt <?y touching it with my hand. Jlq-w1 v could a boy hope tqfp^V TOSI Mi lingers an apparition thrpygfe "Wfeifeil Ihe cpujd vaguely see {he |apioißr gyj*. j lures on his wall, his -trousers haiy^ng jup there, and thq tablg covered I his Ch^ristmas presents? ; f '■■.'.■■ The moqqshjne pervaded th§ shgd^ owy thing a$ J. watched it g\jdlr\g4tOF' ward my bedrppm door, }t seem|d *« bend forward as* it west,-asd thea-^='J.: saw H was fqllpwed b^ anQpigpi' *■''■:.. This, too, went, ■;tqw^^it^feftV^OD| : .; . -]E with the same strange aniVdiU^?%v4 movement as of floating upright with' theslight gqr-rent pf ?_)v^ t^i * i^y window, did y^^l^p if^& cqld, and i yemg^^r' $§. tfelg^^ff ' . q| nay aggpiseq iiea?t as I..sat- B|'-S : bed. I did not scream, for Id|i^| not. And eve:r as I gazed upon fne ■•*• bending of the form, ar third passed by close tp, my. elbqW; ~AAA-: This one wa«. the more' awftfl v^l#? ) "' cayge i| flpatf4 H§ tfePVjp^si* fill rB^I at all touch, the flqqr-. |||c others had mqyed similarly;W|^3hag.' '-'--A not glanced at th|iE Igwgy *»_9Sis|<S|.' ''.%%£}?• ';A. squj. was now B9^es§e§ WJM ■ -A a| what j^aH M?i6Wf 9$ isl *9t sqlve thig mystery I kept "my gyea steadily fixed CT the tlqrd of sEqcfiing nrq^sgigji. Tt { |<^i :b|af , fQrwardr Neajt". pq^ent it j?fi ■ be drawn for-ward ai^ "up^a.Ki.^ wi*& Wild surmise I gaw it . I through" |he qpen transom of jny A fourth form P^sed as % t#pp,%k suddenly tp sep how many mbfe '"H^e s -■': doming froiq the. -outeb midnig^ '■ Close • be^in4 WY rffePW' S "tfft^ I cgnde^ frppa tlje uqe^ipguiglfed'*^3g|| ; ') ; of my tallow candle, and I Ipt th^, sixth and seventh go by with amazement that I shqqhl haYf' bgi^' 'w. scared by drifting s^gqlce, '-*■ ■-,1 _,: j ' IpWABB AISENSHAW^f