er's room at dead of night, panting and
terrified, and exclaiming, "Mamma! mamma! she has come again!" His
mother took him into her arms, and soon caressed away his fears, but
thinking that the child's uneasiness was caused by his sleeping alone,
she had his bed moved into her own chamber, and fitted up the vacant
apartment as a guest-chamber. Soon after this the servants began
to complain of strange sights and sounds for which they could not
account, and one burning July day the sister, who was seated by the
parlor window, happened to say, "Oh, I am so warm!" when a voice,
seemingly from the cellar, made answer, "And _I_ am so cold!" Struck
with amazement, she called, but no one replied, and subsequent
investigation proved that there was no one in the cellar at that
moment, nor could there have been, as its only door was always kept
locked.

I cannot now recall the details of various strange occurrences which
afterward took place, but will pass on to the final one, which may be
considered as the denoument of the whole story. The lady of the house,
a strong-minded, practical woman, had always sternly rejected the
theory that the odd incidents that annoyed her had any supernatural
origin; so, disregarding them wholly, she sent an invitation to an
old friend of hers, a clergyman, to pay her a visit of some weeks'
duration. Her invitation was accepted, and in due time her guest
arrived and was put in possession of the spare bed-room. Night coming
on, the whole household retired to rest. Early in the morning the
active hostess rose to see that all was in order for the further
entertainment of her guest, when, on going into the parlor to unfasten
the shutters, what was her amazement to find him there extended on the
sofa, and looking very ill, as though he had passed a wretched night!
In answer to her anxious questioning he stated that on retiring to
rest he had fallen into a profound slumber, from which he suddenly
woke, and saw a woman wearing a large sun-bonnet, which completely
concealed her face, standing beside his bed, the moonlight which shone
into the room rendering every detail of her figure distinctly visible.
Supposing that she was one of the servants who had come to his room to
see that he was perfectly comfortable and wanted nothing, he spoke to
her. What she replied, or how he first became convinced that the Thing
before him was no form of flesh and blood, I cannot now remember; but
I recollect two particular