14 NATURE'S REALM. 
baneful howling of the wolves and the vcice of 
the night wind, the hysterical raving of which 
was’ degenerating into weird and gasping whis- 
pers. 
About midnight I was aroused from a tran- 
sient doze by what appeared to be the twang- 
ing intonations with which the players on 
stringed instruments usually prelude their per- 
formances. Glancing in the direction from 
whence the sounds proceeded, I was amazed at 
beholding a skeleton seated on the rock con- 
taining our camp fixtures and holding in its 
bony hands the violin before mentioned, which 
the ghostly visitor was apparently in the act of 
tuning. Holding the violin in an upright posi- 
tion on its knee the grizzly phantom executed 
the various manipulations necessary to bring 
the instrument into proper condition with such 
a remarkable fidelity to life as rendered me 
spellbound with astonishment and terror. 
From its position on the rock the face of the 
skeleton was turned directly toward me, and in 
the wan and pallid glare of the moonlight 
the rows of grinning teeth and the wild and 
vacant stare from the cavernous eye-sockets 
presented a spectacle so full of horror that, 
unable longer to endure the frightful presence, 
I resolved upon its immediate annihilation. 
Seizing the gun which I had placed by my side 
on retiring, I discharged the contents of both 
barrels into the body ot the hideous intruder, 
fully expecting to behold the creature’s anat- 
omy fall into a hezp of disjointed fragments 
upon the rock. But as well might my artillery 
have been directed against the moon. My first 
glance of fearful apprehension when the smoke 
had cleared sufficiently, revealed the skeleton 
seated composedly in its original position, and 
with the air of a practiced connoisseur in the 
line of harmony, completing the process of put- 
ting the chords of the violin into playing con- 
dition—a task which appeared to be well-nigh 
accomplished. Trembling with agitation I 
raised my fire-arm for another shot, but reflect- 
ing on the futility of any attempt to bag a crea- 
ture of so immaterial a structure, and through 
the chinks of whose framework the background 
of stars was visible, I lowered the weapon, and, 
cowering back among the blankets, endeavored 
to persuade myself that the ghastly memorial 
of mortality seated on the rock was a mere 
phantasm—an optical illusion engendered, by 
a disturbed imagination. 
My ingenious theory, however, was promptly 
dispelled, for at this juncture I perceived that 
the ghostly minstrel was about to play. More- 
over, it required but the first few preliminary 
strains which were evoked from the soul of the- 
instrument with a long-drawn and resonant 
sweetness, to persuade me that a master hand 
had touched the strings. 
The first production was of the nature of a 
hornpipe, in the performance of which the skel- 
eton bent itself with such terrific energy that 
both heaven and earth seemed to reel in ec- 
static accompaniment. Variation succeeded 
variation, with a rapture so exquisite and thrill- 
ing that the element of horror which had perva- 
ded every fibre of my being at the outset was 
converted into wonder and admiration. 
To this superb introductory effort | was 
minded to demand an encore, but ere the last 
note of the extraordinary rhapsody had been 
sounded, the spectre, as it for the purpose of 
demonstrating the versatility of its powers, 
drifted at once into a cadence as thrillingly 
soft and wailing as a Moravian dirge. A 
pathos as yearning and impassioned as the la- 
mentations of Andromache at the tomb of Hec- 
tor quavered and mourned on the complaining 
chords and burdened the midnight solitudes 
around with all the ecstacy of woe. 
Strange as it may appear, I now reproached 
myself for the hostile reception that I had 
accorded this accomplished phantom which 
was so graciously enlivening the dreariness of 
my camp with soul-inspiring melody. Although 
the previous experiments with my fowling-piece 
had given ample proof of the spectre’s insensi- 
bility to external Surroundings, I nevertheless- 
resolved to henceforth observe the utmost cir- 
cumspection regarding my movements, lest 
some unseemly demonstration should tend to 
hasten the departure of the gentle wanderer, 
thereby depriving me of such a feast of har- 
mony as mortal ears are rarely permitted to 
enjoy. But unfortunately, during a temporary 
suspension of the music and while disposing a 
portion of my blankets in such a manner as to 
admit of a more comfortable posture, an event. 
