A Ghost Story of the Sea.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVI, Issue 22, 2 June 1906, Page 24

A Ghost Story of the Sea.

B»»\RPED BY A SPECTRAL CREW. The "Oeeult Review" publishes a "wtory of Mid-ikean Visits— —a ghost story which would have appealed strongly to Robert Louis Stevenson. It is vouched for as true by the narrator, Captain Johansen, of Liverpool, of which Mr. Bircliall. the managing director of the Liverpool “Journal of Commerce." say-: —-Captain Johansen may be regarded as ab->lut-'ly trustworthy, and I certainly think that his statements may be thoroughly relied upon.” Captain Johan.~en begins his weird narrative by telling us:—“ln the autumn of 1!MJO I made a trip across the Atlantic from Gibraltar to Florida, in a small open boat. During the voyage a most extraordinary visitation occurred to me—to me it was no illusion. Here is a plain account of it. . . I may here remark that I had always been a decided unbeliever in anything pertaining to the supernatural.'’ His incredulity was soon put to a severe test: —"On the eighth day out. August 28th. 1(M». in the forenoon. I was sitting on the stern of the ‘Lotta.’ my boat, steering, while my son was sleeping, when 1 heard a voice close to me as if someone had made a remark. Shortly after I heard a second voice, different from the first, as if in answer to the remark. Then I heard other voices in different keys, and softly modulated tones, remarks, responses and interjections, until it seemed there was a general conversation going on round about me. all in a foreign tongue, no word of which I could understand.” His son also heard the sound of the voices. but they could see nothing. On the tenth day a gale sprang up. The boy was at the helm, when his father ordered him to let go the jib sheet. The boy obeyed, but he let go not only of the sheet but of the tiller. Instantly shadows of men fiitted past the binnacle light and a tall figure grasped the tiller and sat down beside the son. When Captain Johansen went to the stern, this man addressed him, while his companion stood by. in a*language which, -ays the Captain. “I do not ever remember to have heard in my life, and no word of which I eould understand. He seemed very earnest, as if he wanted to impress some important truth on my mind." The tall spectral helmsman. finding that he could not make Captain Johansen understand, stood up in the boat. facing to windward, shouting with commanding voice, as if directing some operation carried on in the immediate vicinity-. Captain Johansen heard a voice respond, bnt he eould see nothing in the darkness. Cant tin Johansen continues his narrative as follows.—“ After this the leader sat down on the thwart immediately forward of the seat in the stern where my son and myself were seated facing him. rhe sheen from the binnacle lamp illuminating his features. I noted his stature was about six feet. He was of muscular build, and had iron-grey hair, features elongated, with a lofty brow, firmly-set mouth and prominent jaws: his countenance was pale, and there was a sardonic smile playing about his lips that cave his features a striking appearance: he was dressed in a coarse white canvas cap. without a peak, a fade,* mantle looking the worse for wear enveloped his shoulders, and a sash around his waist held his trousers, which were of a dark woollen material. I noted in particular that he bad a substitute of iron for his left leg of about 11 inch diameter, at the bottom of which was a plate of the same material doing duty f,.r a foot, the bottom of which was worn bright with continual service, and that his left trousers leg was neatly tied with a string at the particular place where the ankle ought to be. His comBuuions w-re short «rf stature and broad of .Lest, and their features were g.odhumouretl ami bronzed by the sun: they w re -imi'lv dr -sed in shirts and trnn-

sers. with sashes at their waists doing service for belts.’’ His son. beinc drenched through, went amidships to his trunk to change his clothes. As fie [«a--ed. two of U.e spectral crew took possession of the lad and proceeded to act as his valets: —"My son was addressed in endearing tones by the men. one of whom tc-ok him by the hand and patted him on the -boulder, while the other man tried to embrace him. an attention lie seemed unwilling to endure. Then the trunk was opened and dry clothes were brought forth: one of the men helped to relieve him of his wet apparel while the other handeil to him the dry clothing, article by article, as required, a flowing commentary tn softly modulated tones being kept up all the time by the strangers. After this one of the men gathered up the wet clothing in a bundle, took the sash from his waist, and tied th’e bundle with the sash to the mainboom. Then I understood that our visitors, whoever they were, and though «o unceremoniously intruding on our privacy, were friends desirous of our welfare.’’ Captain Johansen slept soundly that night:—“When I awoke again it was dawn. I started up and looked forward. There was the leader sitting astride of the inner end of the bowsprit, like a person riding a horse. He was shading his eves with his hands and intently scanning the horizon ahead and to windward. As he sat there, his mantle thrown loosely over his shoulder, he looked like some great piratical chief in quest of the next prize of which to make conquest. A grim figure-head! and incongruous for our trim boat." When next the Captain woke the ghosts were gone. At five at night he and his son were congratulating themselves uj»-n the departure of their unwelcome guests, when “Lot as we were talking, and looked forward, there were the strangers again in that end of the boat. There was the leader in his faded mantle, canvas cap and iron leg, with

the same satdnnie smile on his pale face, talking to hi« companions in commanding tones. We watched intently to see what would follow. One of the is n detached the jib at. the tack, while a second got hold of the stieet; the former took up a position on the gallant forecastle, and the latter stationed himself at the mast. In these p-sition- the two men kept swinging the jib from -tarboard to port ar.d from port to starboard for upwards of ten minutes, while the leader, with hands shading Lis eyes, and the remaining man kept -winning the horizon in the dire<'tion whem'e we had come. I could understand they were making a -ignal." Nothing eould be seen, and after a while the visitors -retired tn their old quarters at the bottom of the forward end of the boat, where thev seemed to he diseussipg something. The Captain was furious. He decided to solve the mystery. If he eould do nothing else he would seize the fellow’s iron leg. He sent his boy to summon them to come. As he went thev vanished, and never returned. Captain Johansen swears the story is literally true. His trip was chronided by Reuter in the “Times” between August 20th and 26th. IhOO. But who were the ghostsT why did they cornel and whither did they go? The story beats the legend of the Flying Dutchman hollow.