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belore i tell my story it will bo well for me to make it perfectly clear that it is a perfectly true one at a lad and a a young man neither ghosts nor the idea of ghosts ever troubled me i beard itreng stories of them told with all the vivid description which would tend to frighten sleep away- told too when the wind waa howling out side the rain pattering against the windows and the only light visible that which found its way through tbe chinks in the shutters to the pitchdark outside told when everybody was ready for bed but they never disturbed my slumbers i could listen to any number of them at any time and they never had any effect on me in fact i disbelieved them thoroughly and though i could not donbt the veracity of the narrator i always regarded them ea the out come of a strong imagination or the result of too heavy and too late dinners a white tombstone in a churchyard did not frighten me on a very dark night nor did the mys terious movements of a donkey wbbh had broken into it cause me to start as ha moved in the darknets in and out among the graves so that i was thoroughly unprepared for anything like a personal experience and considered myself one of the last persons likely to be affected by anything like a ghostly manifestation but now to my story which i shall tell simply as the affair took plaoe leaving it to the reader to draw his or herowncoccluslon and to make it quite intelligible i must explain the plan of the house where it hap pened the house itself was a large one built of brlok and waa what is called a flat that is it had no regular upatalrs rooms though over the celling there was a great deal of room under the roof and the lower inside walla had bean oarrled up to the roof to support it a doorway being made to get from one part to the other xhe walls were thlok and the doors and windows were made of heavy hard wood there waa not a pane of glass in the house and both doors and windows except two doors cf which more presently were fastened byunusually strong iron bolts my wife and i for my wife was with me and shared all my exper iencesalways entered the house by the big doorway leading into the large semicircular porch where our palanquins were kept passing on we came to the passage going along this we came first of all to the door on our left hand opening into the dining room on our right dtreotly opposite this dtnin room door was another door at the foot of a oiroular staircase in the thick wall leading up to theempty spaces under the roof straight in front of us was the door leading into the great central reception room whioh contained no furniture except an i armoire a table and afowohalrs there was a large front door to this room but it was seldom open and we rarely used it our visit ors coming mostly through the poroh and passage going further on we came to our bed room whioh oontained only our bad a traveling ohest of drawers whioh served as a dressing table a washstand and one or two chairs leading out from this waa another roomwhloh we did not use simply because we did not need it and now i must call your attention to our bedroom door it was made of wood the lower tialf being panelled but the upper hair was fitted with framework to receive panes of glass whlbh had not yet been inserted the door had neither look nor bolt there was only ah iron ring hanging loosely by wbioh the door could be pulled to but it could not be dosed- for at the bottom olose to the side on which the hinges worked it caught against the sill which had not been sufficiently planed away to allow the door to shut properly andso it was always ajar and oould very easily be shasen backward and forward as it worked on the place where it caught ahl in shaking the iron ring to whioh i have referred clattered against- the door making a great noise in a more or leis empty large house the only remark i have to make about the other door leading up into the spiral stair ov is that it opened outwards and waa simply fastened by an ordinary door latoh the affair of whioh i am writing took place in a large island in the east far away from canada in a country full of ghostly stories and equally full of a belief in all kinds of ghostlymanlfestations ihad heard but had taken no notice of them the native town to which we had gone in searoh of health contained very few foreigners and fewer acquaintances consequently wo had to shift for ourselves and with the small ammount of luggage we took with us found our homo iu this large house whioh we rent from a native we liked it the air was liesb very pu re and braolng medioal help was at hand and with our cook and servants and my pupils we settled in the house was surrounded by its own grounds and the kitchen as usual stood away by itself we were simply on a visit we did not burden ourselves with unnecessary furni ture but were content with buying what few things wo needed and servants and pupils did not add muoh to our burden for during the day they were all engaged in one way or another and provided they had a fairly comfortable mat or mattress on which to lie did not oare very much where they slept cook a swarthy eon of madras guarded his kitchen and cooking utensils at night my pupils ourled up on their matrrasses upstairs in the room at the top of the spiral staircase under the roof and my wifes maid slopt under the dining room table on her mattress whioh waa temoved every morning the first thing and brought in the last thing at night i always saw them all safely in the house and go eaoh to his or her own apartment before retiring myself and made it my nightly practice to see that all the doors and windows were securely bolted for we did not care to lose the few things we had with us whioh in auoh a far distant place could not easily be replaced the few days we had passed in the house had passed pleasantly and the nights undis turbed save by the howling of dogs outside when one night our pupuswere later than usual in comlntr in to retire for the night i went out to look after them and found them and the maid all gathered round the bright fire in the kitchen busy in amusing and interesting conversation their eyes were glistening in the firelight and their laugh was very hearty come boys i said it is time for you to be going to rest now and you to the maid bring in your mattress for it la night immediately there waa a dead sllenoe the laughter waa hushed gloomy jeunten- anoea at once appeared and a kind of fur tive inquiring glance was oast from one to the other not one ot them attempted to move except the maid i may hero say that the boys ages ranged from about 10 to 14 come boys f i repeated come along if time for going to rest now why do you wait still there waa no answer are you not tired j i inquired then oue vouchsafed on answer please sir we are afraid to go 1 he said in a trembling voice afraid my boy 1 i exclaimed in sur prise afraid of what there la nothing and nobody here to harm you what are you afraid of t they are afraid sir chimed in the maid afraid of what i again demanded have you seen any thieves about no air she replied but they are aft aid to go and that was all i oould get out of her come along boys i and dont be mere ohildren i said to encourage them the light la ready for you and the house will be safely fastened up aa usual true sir said one of them john by name but we are afraid last night what i inquired in wonder last night sir he went on to say there were fearful noises upstairs where we sleep we heard men fighting and we trembled- i nonsense 1 i oried cook what did you give the boys for their supper last night 0nly beef and rice sahib he replied the same as they always have and no more nothing else 1 no sahib then you boys were dreaming or heard the rata i heard nothing and saw nothing so oome along 1 i went into the house and they followed me on reaching the door at tbe foot of the spiral staircase i gave them their lantern not an open candle for fear of fire and one of them again exclaimed we are afraid air i we oan not sleep up there nonsense boys 1 i replied firmly there is nothing there worse than your selves i am down below end the maid sleeps in the dining room right under you there is nothing to cause fear so go along without another word they took the lan- tern and filed off up stairs when the last had gone i carefully latched the door saw the maid into her sleeping quarters under the diningroom table examined all the bolts as usual and went off to bed i told my wife what had happened and she put it down to nightmare on the boya part however it passed out of our heads wo always kept a light burning in our room at night a small hand paraffins lamp this was kept on the oheat of drawers against the wall opposite the foot of the bed in course of time i turned it down very low and got into bed with my head as usual quite close to the door it waa a small room rather and the bed came aunost up to the frame of the door meantime i bad of course pull ed the door to as far aa it would go but could not actually close it so it hung aju- at the place where it oaught the sill the framework for the glass we had covered with a curtain i was tired and glad to get some rest and sleep more particularly w 1 was just re covering from a very sharp attack of a weak ening illness my wife very soon wet off to sleep soundly and i quickly followed her the house was perfectly quiet and i was fast asleep when 1 i soratoh scratch boratoh scratch rattle rattle bang bang rattle rattle bang soratoh i and np i jumped upright in bed my wife jumping up at the same moment in an instant all the blood in my body seem ed to ourdle my face grew pale and cold and we instantly asked eaoh of the other in a whisper whats that scratch scratch scratch scratch rattle rattle baig banjr bang rattle scratch soratoh scratch at the doorjclose to my head as if a thousand oata wero aoratohing and tearing away furiously at one of the lower panels and die vibration of the door caused tbe loosely hanging iron ring to make a fear ful din aa it waa brought in contaot with the wood we listened breathless i a pause 1 only for two seconds however and then it set off again soratoh soratoh rattle bang bang 1 what is it i inquired of my wife i dont know she replied sue was all of a tromor but this wont do thought i and out i sprang from bed the noises meanwhile continuing with unabated fury and i rushed to the lamp and turned it up instantly the noise ceased 1 1 scarcely seem ed to think what to be about if burglars were in the house i waa powerless against them if the noises were of supernatural origin what then if the result of soma cleverly designed plan to frighten us it must be exposed these thoughts seemed to flash through my mind and quiok as thought i slipped on my dressinggown seized tho lamp and made for the door it was as i had left it exaotly 1 i pushed it open and went out into the big central reception room- which the small lamp scarcely lit up i looked behind the door where the sounds oame from and there was nothing i next i went carefully to every door and window looked into every oorner examined the armoire everything was fas tened the honse was perfeotly silent there was nothing 1 i went back to my room have you seen anything 1 my wife ask ed me no i replied everything is fasten ed and just as wo left it it is strange i turned down the lamp again and got into bed wondering all the time what it was and what it meant and little inclined for sleep no sooner was my head on the pillow than soratoh soratoh soratoh bang bang clatter olatter bang i began again i flew out of bed hurried into my dress ing gown turned up the lamp again sallied forth and with the same result instantly the noise stopped i all was quiet every door and window was safely bolted all ca i left it 1 but thinking that perhaps the natives might be playing trloks on us i ex amined the neighborhood of the door whenoe the sounds came very very care fully there was no string no wire either at top or bottom or nail to which it oould be attached the wall every inch of which i examined was solid as bricks could make it tbe floor i examined that too it was a beautiful floor inlaid with different kinds of wood forming an artlatio pattern every trapdoor no sign of interference of any wnh hence there was no trickery or cun ningly devised means of frightening me out of my wits aa well as out of bed 1 was puz zled and beaten 1 again i went off to bed after turning down the lamp and again no sooner was my head on the pillow than scratch scratch scratch bang bang olat ter olatter bang 1 it went again that a right i gj it 1 i cried aa i again prang out of bed ips getting tiresome though i said to my wife i cant make it out 1 but if i can only get hold of the evildoer be shall feel this for i felt angry at the continued disturbance and seizing a huge stick with one hand and the lamp with the other out i went again but tbe noise had stopped aa quickly aa before and again all was quiet again i examined everj window and door all were safely fastened it then struck me that perhaps aa the noise was so terrlfio and peculiar pos sibly my wifes maid had heard it or could account for it i must confess i felt hope lessly puzzled and without being alarmed was certainly very uncomfortable what was the noise who or what made it the iron ring made that awful banging but what caused the clatterlt g sound and the furious scratching so going into the diningroom i called to the maid by name and said are you awake yes sir washer reply and ahe raised herself on her mattress and threw back the cloth lu whioh she had enveloped her head why are yon awake i inquired i too cant sleep have yon heard the rats raoing about i shall not forget the look she gave me as i held the small lamp near her and ita light lit up her dark face but the eyes seemed to light np of themselves and a look of dis gusted weariness crept over her features ratal she exolalmed thats not rats and i am afraid i heard them 1 heard what y 1 asked if the sound did not come from frolicsome rats what made it there are no people in the house exoept ourselves and the boys are upstairs asleep they are spirits 1 she exolalmed i heard them and a row they have been mak ing i have been listening to them but i kept my head covered for fear i heard them rushing with a kind of noiseless step to yonr door then scratching and rattling it then i heard them rush baok to the door at the foot of the stairs and rattle rattle away at the latch then back to your room again backward and forward backward and forward they have been making a row they are spirits and i wish they would reat for i want to sleep i so do i i replied still her words rather staggered me yet account for these noises on any other hypothesis 1 could not but spirits i and in my own house and olose to the head of my bed 1 strange but what was it i waa aa wide awake aa possible every faculty was in good working order and now the utter disbelief of years gone by was to be rudely and i thought it very rude of them so to intrude on my rest and peace of mind shattered the maid threw heroloth over her head again and retired under the table but her room too was innocent of any thing cap able of being turned t aooount for causing the noise again i returned to my room but would not tell my wife what tho maid said quite enough for me to have my own thoughts on the matter without disturbing her peace of mind however i thought to myself- if i can put a stop to this i will if loan only get thib door over the bad place at the bottom whoever or whatever they may be wont be able to make it shako again and we shall be saved all the clatter so with a great effort i lifted the door ao as to bring it over the uneven place and then with a strong pull i olosed it tight at last nowahake it if you canl i thought and turning down the lamp onoe more went off to bed vain hope of peace i the enemy whoever or whatever the enemy was seemed to be almply infuriated with my attempt to balk him for no sooner was my head on my pillow again then the scratching waa renew ed with tenfold vigor as if the very door would be torn to places it waa simply awful and i seemed to expect to hear ahrieka of anger added to the frightful bcratohlng i sat up in bed and looked at the door it could not and did not move and the iron ring hung motionless but down in tnat far corner tha poor panel seemed to be the point of attaok of a thousand fiends suddenly i oried out in the native tongue be quite and listen o ye whoever and whatever ye are and strange to say no aooner did i begin to speak than perfect silence dead sllenoe reigned listen 0 ye whoever and whatever ye are i continued for i dont know only yourselves know ye are free to come to my house and visit me dur ing the daytime but now it is night i am tired and want to sleep sj get ye to your houses i if ye be friends speak i if yo be not depart or if ye will not depart be quite and enjoy yourselves in peace for i am tired and want to aleep so good night i alas my little address had no effeot quite the contrary i at it they went again and i pitied the poor door if they soratoh- ed furiously before now they seemed to tear away at it mercilessly how they did peg away at it 1 and the noise was almost deafening however there seemed to be nothing more to be done i had been out and examined everything all was safe i had used plain words and words of persua sion and they had no effeot so i gave up in simple despair and left the spirits to their own sweet pleasure it was now long past midnight and quite tired and worn out i dropped off to sleep to the musio of the scratching and tearing olose to my head uneasy sleep it was and in tho very early mernlng i woke to the sweet musio of the scratching whioh still continu ed i i must find ont what it is if i can 1 i thought just then i heard the door in the forohat the other end of the house open so knew some one was going out is the mystery about to be solved no for the scratching still continued with unabated fury 1 there was the attack on the panel still going on as hard as ever but the open door allowed a certain amount of light to get through to oar door and i thought i would avail myself of it ill ottoh you this timet i thought if there be springs or trap door wires or string ill sea what they are so whilst the noise was still progressing i bit of wood was in its plays there was no very quietly and noiselessly drew myself np in bed ready for a spring i stretched out my left hand and pushed aside the curtain over the frame for the glass in the door very quietly and cautiously sprang out of bed and in leas than half a second my head was through the opening for one of the panes and i was gazing at the place whence the sound came and narrowly searching for something though what i did not know but quick aa 1 hai been it or they had been aa quick for no sooner was my head through tbe opening than tbe noise ceased there was no wire or string to be seen no trap door of any kind a mouse could not hare got away all was silent i can not understand it i said to my wife but i shall get up now and go for your early coffee i partially dressed put on my dress inggown threw open the windows and was going out to tbe kitchen to get the usual morning coffee for my wife when just aa i got opposite the door lead ing to the spiral staircase i met the boys coining down i saw at once there was something wrong the poor boys faces were gloomy and of a pallid hue there was not the usual cheery goodmorning sir and depression and even anxiety seemed to be written on their countenances how have you slept my boys i in- quired of them and they knew absolutely nothing of my nights experience slept sir 1 they inquired in return in astonishment we have not slept how could we i why i inquired tell him john said one of them whilst the other broke in although you com mand us to sleep up there again we can not we are killed with fright i what is it i again inquired thee john spoke it was awful sir and we can not bear it itwasthis what we heard the night before last we also heard last night but it waa far worse there were aa it seemed to us two men up stairs engaged in a fierce struggle they seemed to be in the middle of the house under the roof and they fought desperately we heard a kind of whisper ing quarreling as it were but we heard no worda it seemed as if one was wearing boots and the other was not then the one wearing boots ran and the other ran after him backwards and forwards backwards and forwards all in the dark down they ran down the stairs and we heard them rattling the latoh as if they wanted to get out back then they would come and rush past us and as they passed the air was ioy cold 1 then they would fight and struggle again and we heard the whispering sound then again they would run the one wearing boots ran first then the other alter him down they would run down the stairs again rattle the latch and i was terribly frightened the poor boy added almost cry ing for once as they were going down one of tnem seized my leg and dragged me half way down his hands were like ice he said drawing his shoulders together and shivering at the remembrance but he let go and i orawled baok to my place again trembling this went on for a long time then they fought again and at last the one without boots threw down the one with boots he then danced about then fell him self then all was qnlet it waa strange and i was silent what to think i knew not nor do i to this day the other boys confirmed johns atatomont and atood looking frightened and sorely puz zled i am perfeotly certain that i was not mistaken the maid had heard the extraor dinary sounds the movements of spirits downstairs andjtho rattling of the utah and now confirmation comes from the boys of something unoanny in tho full flood light of day i examined every inoh of wall and floor near that door but their was neither mark on it nor place for string wire or trap door near it all was perfeot i mentioned this extraordinary affair to a doctor living near and he and his wife ar ranged to sleep in the honae with us the next night we spent the evening at his house and we all went to our own about 9 p m sitting outside round the door of the poroh i found my servant together witn the son of the landlord to whom i had sent word of the affair well lads i said as we approached them have you seen or heard anything the landlords son answered we have not seen anything but whilst we have been sitting here we heard a sound as of soms one having hurled a big stone against your bedroom door was any one in the house no sir they all answered we went in and examined everything but found neither stone nor mark the dootor and i turned down on a couple of mattresses in the rebeption room on the floor opposite the front door his wife slept with mine and the boys had again gone up stairs with the menservants and the landlords son feeling safe iu their company the dootor soon fell asleep but i kept awake at about 11 p m i heard a steady march over me of one only one marching baok wards and forwards this was kept on at a steady paoe till 12 then there was a furious bang at the front door as of a huge stone having been hurled against it there was then a howling of dogs and then all was quiet i heard nothing more neither did those up stairs but that was the last night i slept in that house others tried to live there afterward but had to leave what was it now for a bit of history by way of ex planation if it oan bo explained the king of the country had a few years before been assassinated strangled he was surprised in his palaoe and la full dress aa he was ohaiod from room to room by the assassin until at length he tried to find safety in hid ing among the rafters just under tho roof from his hiding plaoe he was dragged and slain the actual regicide died in the houre where hived on a bedstead olose to tbe door whenoe all the noises proceeded he died there about three months before i took the house within three yards of where my pillow was i of this faot i was not then aware i oan only ask how is it to be explained and add that this story la absolutely true in every respeob a clergyman a logical illustration a layman in providence who occasionally exhorted at evening meetings thus recently expressed hli belief in the existence of deity brethren i am just as confldont that there is a supreme being as i am that there is flour in mew york and that i know for certain as i yesterday received from there a lot of three hundred barrels fresh superfine whioh i will sell ai low as any other person in town a mabvelousihyestiob a new sullwav tnat is cheap fast and beyond comraruen a press view took plaoe recently says a paris letter of the so called cuemln de ferghssanvor slide railway on the esplanade doslnvalldes within the exhibition the new invention is a singularly original contrivance for enabling trains to run by means of water power at a speed hitherto undreamed of arriving there without any intimation aa to what a sliding railway might be i at first mistook it for an over grown switchback with the humps smoothed away the train consisted of four carriages af fording room for about 100 passengers the carriages had no wheels being supported at the comers by blocks of iron of a sizj some what largwr than a brick which reststupon a double line of iron girders in thotwdle of the line at regular intervals jutted out ir regularly shaped pillars the use of which waa not yet apparent having taken our seats and the signal being given we glided along very gently for a space of a few jards when suddenly we gathered spued two or three tugs were felt and we were fly ing on the pace of an ordinary train but aa smoothly as a boat on a river there was a clicking noise on the rails but this i waa assured waa due to a defect in the construc tion of the slides and would be remedied the absence of any vibration shaking or tall motion was wonderful a slight jerk there waa at regular intervals but then again i was told that it waa due merely to the shortness of the course and the inability to get up a proper pace in a hydraulic train traveling at j full speed that la to say at the rate of ho to 200 kilometers or 87 to 124 miles an hour there would be almost no oohsoiousness of motion tbe journey down the esplanade only occupied a lew seconds upon our safe return mr plltor ohairmau of tha company whioh owns the invention gave a full account of it the sliding rail way was invented in 1868 by an engineer namedgirard who was killed in the franco german war and it has been improved to its present state by one of his ebsistant engineers m barre aa has already been mentioned the hy draulic carriages have no wheels these being replaced by hollow slides fitting upon a flat and wide rail and grooved on the inner surface when it is desired to set the carriage in motion water is toroed into the slide or skate of the carriage from a re servoir by compressed air and seeking to escape it spreads over the under surf aoe of the slide whioh it raises for about a nails thioknesa above the rail the slides thus resting not on the rails but on a film of water are in a perfectly mobile con dition in faot the pressure of tho forefinger is sufficient to displace a oarriago thus supported the propelling force is supplied by the pillars whioh stand at regular inv tervals on the line between the rails running underneath every carriage is an iron raok about six inches wide fitted with paddles now as the foremost carriage passes in front of the pillar a tap on the latter la opened automatically and a stream of water at high pressure is directed on the paddles that drives the train on and by the time the last carriage has gone past the tap whioh then closes the foremost one is in front of the next tap the waters aotion thus being am- tlnuoua the force developed is almost incredible there is some splashing on the rails at the start but this diminishes as the train goes to stop the train the small stream of water that feeds the slides is turned off and the latter coming in oontact with the rails the resulting f riotion stops the oarriago almoat instantaneously a water train running at 07er 100 miles an hour oould i waa told be pulled up within thirty yards oould olimb up grad ients of sixteen inches in the yard descend them with equal safety and run on curves of forty- four yards radius this system would seem peculiarly adapted for elevated railways in oities being light noiseless smooth without smoke fast and thoroughly under command the dang er of running off the rails is reduced to a minimum tuo centre of gravity of the car riages being scarcely mare than a couple of feet from the rails the oost of a met ropolitan system would only be a third of one on the old plan but in the open count ry its cost would be somswhat higher than the ordinary railway but m barre tells me the expense would be in franoe an aver age of 8000 a mile where no natural water supply is available a propelling ma chine every twelve miles or so would be sufficient to keep trains going at full speed the consumption of ooal per passenger would b6 one- tenth only of the usual quan tity the importance of thu may be realfzt by considering the statement that the prls- lyons company alone has an annual ooal bill of 2000000 nevertheless it would bi rash to predict the general introduction- of the water ayatem on railways oae obs jeatlon for instance that oocurs to me ia it apparent uuaultablllty for good traffic mr persll the nanager of the chemins de fey gutsants believes it will all but do awat with the locomotive engine with respeo- to england he bolieves that the disadvant ages of the slow method of crossing the ohannol will become ao apparent that all op position to the tunnel will vanish i am ready ho said with enthusiasm to wager any sum that when the tunnel is made and our system has a trial people will go from london to paris in two hours a summer arrangement husband what a pity that emma had to go and throw mr coldsaap overboard for i bought our ooal from him last winter i now nex winter ill have to pay the full i price f wife calm yourself husband she isj going to renew the engagement in the fall i you see she broke it in order to becom engaged mr to cooler the man we buy on ice from may heavens rioheat blessing reat upon that daughter jfrofassional jealousy a couple of streetiweepera up town i overheard not long since disputing upon the subject of their respective quallfioauor- ill toll yon what tis said one in pla straightforward work you can get alo tolerably well but when you oome to far work such as sweeping round a cart wb you cant hold a candle to me i vr anfltt