SOME AUTHENTICATED GHOST STORIES.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 234, 7 March 1885, Page 1

SOME AUTHENTICATED GHOST STORIES.

By .L. Cctwe;n t .

111. THE QUADROON NUKSE'S STORY. "Jlst nodder piece of Massa 'Arry's imperence. Tinks — he do, 'cause he sojer ossifer and wear red coat — he can do what him please. Hi, my king ! I make him know, otreey cotreeij, as Martinique peoples say. And you, .sar, I'm 'peaking to ; for wharra- you takes de— de liberty ob coming here widout introduce, and boddering most 'spectable quadroon lady like me wid your question 'bout ghost story ? 'Cause dat piccaninnee 'Any, who is your brudder ossifer in de Dirty-Second, say you go up to lieculber estate in de Saint 'Lizabeth mountain ob dit Jamaikee, and hab talkee wid Araminta Diana, my ole nuss ; she can tell you firstrate story 'bout one duppy (ghost) she seed wid her own two eye. And 'caxxse dat leelieleelie boy tell you go, and you comes, why for I to make fool ob myself, for you and your mess to laugh? No sar; nebber! I not going to do any ting ob de kind ; I not tell one single, single word ob any story, and I bids you good morning, sar !" "But, Araminta " 1 exclaim. " Well, by Job ! I nebber in all my born days hear such presumpting! Araminta, indeed ! I gives you to understand, sar, dat when you 'dress lady ob colour ob my style, you please 'dress her not like one fish fagordinary Kingston nigger gal. My name, sar, is Miss Araminta Diana JSniit' : and again I as de honor to wish you ajew !"

" But, Miss Araminta Diana Smith, preadainite spinster," I said — the word "preadamite '' tickled her fancy, as I was sure it would. She had not the least conception of what it meant, and took it for a pretty compliment — "Harry sent me all the way from Up-Park Camp to gather your narrative from your own lips, ' for,' said he, ' although I could tell you the outline, there is no one can relate the particulars so well or so correctly as the senile, garrulous, and grandiloquent harridan'" — again the longwords jjleased her, and she smirked and smiled as I repeated them — "'up. at Heculvers ; therefore, old man, journey there, and hear them.' And — I'd nearly forgotten it in the pleasure of seeing you — he sent you this dollar as a Christmas-box, to which do permit me adding another on my own account."

"You're berry good, sar, and so is my child 'Any. Ah, well, considering de business a second time, and wid dese two dollar pieces in me hand, I tink — yes, I tink I will 'me round and varnish tale relibber," as I once heard a play-actor say in de Kingston Teater." And then the old nurse told me the following story, but which, for the sake of more facile recounting, I shall transpose from her somewhat unintelligible tongue Afo plainer English, giving only now and fira^by way of polish, words or sentences of her negro jargon : — ;-.

In the good old West Indian time (said she), when Mr JBqrdmann owned this sugar estate, that was indeed the happy generation in which we negroes enjoyed ourselves — slaves though we were called. Plenty of good things to eat, especially we girls of the household ; mountain mullet, ring-tail pigeons, black crabs, pepper-pot, and all such delicacies left from the "great house" table; sangaree, rum - punch, tamafarind - water, lemonade always on the sideboards in the verandah for a sip or a " long drink," thirsty or not'; good clothes and finery upon our backs, and last, though not least, toisJias (overseeajfyaitd. book-keepers to flirt with. wjpj in. those prosperous days, Mr Bordmann/his wife, and Miss Bella, their daughter, lived on t^C^state, and in this very house. Old mas&'r, as we used to call him, was one of the^very b,est of the many good sale-owners

negroes was a thing unknown; bilboes and black holes were punishments unheard of. There was plenty of work, of course, especially in crop time ; but it was done with merriment and song, and from conch-shell blowing at night to " knock off " until conch-shell blowing- in the morning to "turn to," there'were the clean, cozy huts to go into for rest and comfort.

As for master selling a slave to a brother planter, he would just as soon have sold one to a certain person whose name I won't mention, for the good gentleman looked upon us all as entrusted to him by Providence. Besides this, he had plenty of doubloons, and never needed money, which need has often been the inevitable cause of •* £ a good master mrtirig with a good slave. Mistress Bordmama. was her- husband's very counterpart in kindliness, and as for. Miss Bella, why she and many a little negrogirl had run about, played, and, so to say,, been brought up together. It did her no* * harm; it did us much good, especially my- •- self, who was always her maid, -.and "'at the '" *' date of my story, her nurse.

A regular creole belle, my Bella, I can tell you ; and merchants, lawyers, island * curates, doctors, officers, all sorts and conditions of men used to be always coininghere and dangling after her; so that old master once said, " What a lot of young chaps, Araminta, are constantly jyb my door, wanting and waiting to ring my Bell;" but as no entrance into the "great house " had a boll, and visitors when they came to see us shouted " Boy ! " I never could understand what funny old master meant.

N"ow, there was an officer of one of the West India regiments — the soldiers were not dressed like Jewhalves (the worthy Araminta Diana meant to say Zouaves) then as now — used to be always riding from Kingston, Port Royal, Fort Augusta, from every barrack, indeed, where ho happened to be,, and could get away to Reculvers to spend his time with us. He was accusiEonied to excuse his comings, by saying chat our place was so lovely, the ■air so pure, nature so enticing, master and mistress's society so charming-, that he could not help running off from the heat, sand r and miseries of the loAvlands whenever he could. But he was fibbing, that Captain Clarkson was. Miss Bella was his sole attraction (the nurse said " abstraction," but let that pass), and if she had been in the worst and most fever-stricken hole in all Jamaica, he would have been there all the same. One time I oberbear cle massa say to Miss Bella somet'ing 'bout Jack Clarkson and spoons, making illusion to dat ossifer; but. afterwards I whispers to my child — " Your fader quite wrong, missie; one fine sober gentleman like dat can't possible want tief (steal) spoon — nebber. I too much feel shame your fader to t'ink so." A.nd Miss Bella laugh ready to die, why for,' I not know. 'JSTodder time I see Miss Bella cut off leelie, leelie lock ob her beautiful hair, and gib it to de captain; and den, when I get de chance, I say, •' Yes, sar ; de 'air is berry pure. I washes and curls it ebery morning wid my own hands. De face, not de place, is berry lovely. I hab known it from baby almost ; and de society is 'ticing, I grants. Oh, I can see, sar, into rocky-stone wall as far as any odder quadroon gal." And den he, too, laff, and gib me one dollar. Law ! me gai-i a ! he was, if you b'lieve me, sar, handsome buccra, dat Jack.Clarkson, 'Squire. Tall and big, like Blue Mountain Peak; eyes black as skin of ripe star- apple; whisker yellow and stiff as stalk of bamboo bush; lips red, like cherrymoya berry; teet so much, white as pulp of k'enip fruit ■ breat (breath) — Miss Bella say, smell like Jamaikee jasmine; but once,, when he gib mo sly kiss, and say, " Araminta, you beauty, pass dat, on to missie,''.' l .perceibe to smelLmore of Jamaikee. runi . .mixed with, V Habanna seegar. = -•>/■". •.""'.

As for him palaver — him tongue run nineteen to de dozen, and sinoode, like de water ob de Bio Cobre in de dry wedder. Well, after some time of gallivanting and love-making, things came to a crisis. The captain proposed, young missis accepted, and papa, mamma, as well as I, agreed. .So everything was settled; the " true so " ordered, and Maria Vaz, the best cook in the country, requested to make the wedding cake. Meantime. Mr and Mrs Bordmann went to Spanish Town on some important business, leaving Bella here in my charge. Captain Clarkson was now at Falmouth, on tHe north side of the island, one hundred and fifty miles away, and could not get to Eeculvers on account of the distance. Indeed, it had been decided that he was not to make his appearance again at the estate until a few days before the marriage. But if he in person did not come, his letters did every day — gilt-edged paper, sealed with rose-coloured wax, and a little spot of the same dropped on the back to represent a kiss; that was the fashion of the time.

One day, however, there came no epistle as usual from her sweetheart to Bella, nor the next, nor the next, and the dear child began to get uneasy and to fret. " Araminta," said she (Mr and Mrs Bordmann were still away), "I wonder why Jack does not write. Again to-day not a line ; yesterday none ; for four days none. I am very nervous and low, nurse, dear, and* these feelings are worked upon and increased by a presentiment that there is something wrong with my darling. Besides s— you know how superstitious^ we Creoles He — two nights ago I fancied that I saw corpse-lights over the cane-field there ; last night I heard the ticking of the deathwatch ; and just now, while I was sitting in the piazza, such "a strange creepy feelingcame suddenly over me, as if a cold blast of air had suddenly passed me. Jack must be ill, perhaps dying."

"Hi ! my king ! la warra dis, you stupid lub-sick gal, making all dis bodder 'bout noting ! What in dis blessed world can be wrong? PVaps Cappen Olarkson gone to Mentego Bay for order fine clodes for wedding; praps colonel send him. wid sojers to Grand Cainanas to guard some property from de wreckers; p'r'aps — p'r'aps — you make me quite rejected like, you do, wid your nonsense. Corpse-lights, pooh ! More likely one blackgard tief wid lantern, tiefing canes ! Death watch, chugh ! Massa's big timepiece tick, tick, tick in him dressiug-room ! Creeps ! De cold wind from de mountain pass, noting else ! You go to bed, missie. Sleep it off ; and to-morrow big, big letter come wid two, tree, five, six kiss inside and out."

But, i assure you, sir, the words of my young mistress had made me most wretched ; for although I had endeavoured to cheer her, I, too, felt a. full conviction that somethingwas amiss.

Miss Bella went up-stairs to her room, and cried herself to sleep.

I lay on a mat spread on the floor of the same apartment, and fell asleep, too. About midnight her foice suddenly awoke me.

" Araminta — Araminta, what is that noise ?

-I listened, and heard distinctly the heavy tread of a man coming slowly step by step up the wooden staircase, and at each of his lootfalls the clank, clank, clank of a sword trailing after him.

" What can it be, Araminta? 1 ' said the poor frightened child. "For mercy's sake, get up and see !** I lighted a candle and crept out. Then I saw — but no, you won't believe me, though it is true, neverthelf*s]^l;he figure of a white soldier, in full with a sword at his side, asce'ii§^itTO^^lJCS. . Without the lea^^^pg^^ra|y|;%e came almost within toucl^^^^^^m.e^"^|toe_. My flesh crept ; ' i&^^^^^^xsy- head stood on end ; a eoM§^sj||||fa£foh oozed from every pore ; my te^h'^'ftttered''^>^ny tongue clove to my mouth '|bttj& *yf& soih'ehow or other I managed to ga§|£siiff%ac^|h I knew I was addressing one froi^TOgigr^^p "Mr Jack— Captain Clarkson ! '^W|f^^ you here ? How did you come ? What — what, oh, great goodness, is the matter ? "

He made no answer — poor soul, how •could he ? — but he looked for a moment, oh, so lovingly, to the room where his betrothed was — and disappeared ! Then I shrieked out, and fell down in a faint.

When I recovered Bella was standing by my side. " What is it, nurse ? What has frightened you? What have you seen? Him? — him ? Tell me at once ! Oh, no, you need not ! I know it ! My darling, my beloved, my own — own Jack, my heart's sunshine ! Oh, Merciful Father, he is dead — dead — dead ! "

" Yes, my dearest, he must be, for I have' seen his ghost." Two days after (for, as you know, there were neither telegraphs, nor railways, nor even rapid postal communication in those Jamaica times) we learnt that Captain Olarkson had died frord yellow fever, then prevailing in Palniouth. Now, sar, you ab ..nay story, and I takes my leabe. i;