Where Ghost Reigned

There is now living in the city of Philadelphia a family of the name of Bartlett, who about twenty years ago had a most remarkable experience in a ghost infested house, says the Philadelphia Press.

The house was situated In old Thorpe's lane, near Wistar street, In Germantown, and In the spring of 1879 It was leased by Joseph B. Bartlett, a wealthy manufacturer of Philadelphia.

Besides Mr. Bartlett's wife and three children the household consisted of a niece, Mr. Ellis, brother of Mrs. Bartlett, and two servants.

On the first night of their occupancy the household was aroused by a scream as of some one in great agony from the hallway. Mr. Bartlett searched the house, but nothing unusual was discovered. The second and third nights were full of terrors for the female portion of he household, but Mr. Bartlett and Mr. Ellis determined to solve the mysterious and awful sounds.

Mr. Ellis recalled a peculiarity of the door of the guestroom, to which he bad been assigned. When he had entered the room upon the night of his arrival to retire for the night, he had carefully locked the door. When awakened by the noises below stairs, it was to and his door open.

This he determined to test the succeeding night. Accordingly he entered the room, locked the door securely and disrobed for the night. Scarcely bad he lain down upon the bed when the door was opened as if by unseen hands.

A cousin was invited to be the next unconscious witness. Upon her arrival he was given the guestroom. while Mr. Ellis removed to an adjourning wing. Nothing was said to the cousin relative to the peculiar manifestations already noted. It was at breakfast the morning following her arrival that she recited a strange experience which had befallen her during the night

Upon retiring she had, as was her custom, locked, the door, leaving the gas burning quite low. How long she had slept she did not know, but she was awakened by a man entering the room.

He went to the gas jet and turned on the gas full head. Then. standing at the foot of the bed, he requested the cousin to get up. He then went out, carefully stepping over a traveling bag which rested near the doorway.

She looked quickly toward the door It was open. She recalled then that she had locked it from within, leaving the key in the lock. She went over to it. The key was still in place, but had evidently been turned from the inside.

One evening Mr. Bartlett went into the room to get some of the baby's clothes, which were kept in a chiffonier. Being aware of the door's 'crankisms," she opened it wide and pushed a heavy washstand filled with china against it to keep it in place.

As she knelt down to open a lower drawer of the chiffonier she heard a rumble of china, and she was in darkness The light which had entered the room from the hallway had been shut off. The door was closed.

The washstand had been forced out of the room. She called lustily for help. In an instant Mr. Bartlett and Ur Ellis were before the door. They pushed the stand away and entered to behind Mrs. Bartlett in a fainting condition upon the floor.

Not a day passed while Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett occupied the house without some sign from the unwelcome guests. Only once was anything even approaching the tangible displayed to the investigators.

As Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett were passing through the hallway one evening, intending to go to the theater. Mrs. Bartlett saw, to her consternation, a man in the parlor. He stood beside the lace curtains at a front window, his farm and features being cast into silhouette by the glare of a lamppost outside.

Mr. Bartlett entered the parlor quickly and lighted the gas. The thing had disappeared.

From occasional remarks dropped by the neighbors it was soon well established that the house was reputed to be "haunted" long before Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett had taken possession of it.

And now comes the strangest part of ' the story. One evening Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett had retired to their room with one of the .smaller children. A noise as of some one hammering in the adjoining room kept the child awake.

Happening to turn toward his wife, he saw that her body was rigid, her eyes fixed upon the opposite wall, her face being ashen white. He called her by name. She looked at him uncertainly at first, and then, as if arousing from a stupor, she said:

"I've had the oddest dream. I dreamed that I was looking down into the kitchen from the ceiling. Ida had the tubs on a bench and was washing some clothes.

"From out the dresser there stepped an old man with iron gray hair that fell to his shoulders. He was very distinct. He was dressed In a brown velvet suit, with knickerbockers, and wore a pair of low buckled shoes.

"He went to the table In the center of the room. In his hand he carried a scroll of paper, a quill pen and a bottle of ink. Oh, it was all very real!

"He spread the paper out upon the table, and sitting down, he began to write. I looked over his shoulder and read, " have left my property in the hands of Lawyer X--here he printed a large capital' X, but did not complete the name --'and when I returned.' he continued, 'he murdered me and burled me in the cellar.' He had just begun to sign his name when you called me."

Nothing further was thought of the matter until some days later, when a visitor being shown through the house noticed a peculiar block of wood in the ceiling of the dining room. He remarked that such a block could no doubt be found in almost every room of the house. Subsequent inquiry proved the correctness of this. In explanation he said:

"That's where Lawyer X. used to hang his bed canopy. He was a restless sort of individual and no doubt tried all the rooms of the house either for air or comfort."

"What became of Lawyer X.? ' asked Mr. Bartlett, fully interested in the coincidence. "He died of melancholia, I believe. some years ago." T

To a believer in spirit phenomena the mystery of the haunted house was explained.

In deference to the living descendants of this lawyer his name is withheld. There is, so far as could be learned, nothing to be said against the character of the 'man himself and no other record of a crime other than was divulged to Mrs. Bartlett In her vision.