you infernal fools! What's all this hullabaloo about?"
shouted the old gentleman.

No reply--no halt upon the part of the mechanics, but away they went
down the steps and along the street, as though Satan himself, or Moseby
the guerrilla, was at their heels. They were pursued and ordered back,
but absolutely refused to come, swearing that they had seen the Evil
One, in _propria persona_; and threats, persuasions, and bribes alike
proved vain to induce them to return. This made the matter look serious,
and a family-council was held forthwith. It wouldn't do to let matters
go on in this way, and something must be thought of as a remedy. It was
in this half-solemn and half-tragic conclave that the pater-familias was
at last put in possession of the mysterious occurrences that had been
disturbing the peace of his domestic hearth.

A ghost had been repeatedly seen in his best drawing-room!--a genuine,
undeniable, unmitigated ghost!

The spectre was described by the female members of the family as making
his appearance at all hours, chiefly, however in the evening, of course.
Now the good old orthodox idea of a ghost is, of a very long,
cadaverous, ghastly personage, of either sex, appearing in white
draperies, with uplifted finger, and attended or preceded by sepulchral
sounds--whist! hush! and sometimes the rattling of casements and the
jingling of chains. A bluish glare and a strong smell of brimstone
seldom failed to enhance the horror of the scene. This ghost, however,
came it seems, in more ordinary guise, but none the less terrible for
his natural style of approach and costume. He was usually seen in the
front parlor, which was on the second story and faced the street. There
he would be found seated in a chair near the fire place, his attire the
garb of a carman or "carter" and hence the name "Carter's Ghost"
afterward frequently applied to him. There he would sit entirely unmoved
by the approach of living denizens of the house, who, at first, would
suppose that he was some drunken or insane intruder, and only discover
their mistake as they drew near, and saw the fire-light shining through
him, and notice the glare of his frightful eyes, which threatened all
comers in a most unearthly way. Such was the purport of the first sketch
that appeared in the "Sunday Mercury," stated so distinctly and
impressively that the effect could not fail to be tremendous among our
sensational public. To help the matter, another brief n