304 OTJ) SAIIXIA. 



rudely awakened bj the bed leaping- up and down and throw- 

 ing them out of it. All the other articles of furniture in the 

 room also appeared to have gone mad, and the noise they 

 made was, to the two friends, terrific. They picked them- 

 selves up, found their candle and lit it. Each of them accused 

 the othor of having played a practical joke, but each 

 energetically denied the allegation. Finally they got into 

 bed again, when the same exciting incident occurred ; this 

 time they unlocked their door and shouted to their host that 

 he ought to know better than play these pranks when all they 

 asked for was to go to sleep. In answer their host came to 

 the room, pointed out that nothing was disturbed, and telling 

 them they must be suffering from nightmare, disappeared. 

 But the two friends could not help noticing that he appeared 

 somewhat agitated and retreated as rapiJly as decency 

 to his guests would allow. Once more the friends bolted 

 their door, summoned up all their courage, blew out the 

 candle, and got into bed. Scarcely had they done so when 

 the bed rocked and leaped so violently that they could 

 not remain in it a minute longer. So both jumped, or 

 rather tumbled, out and ran to the door, which they 

 unlocked. As they reached the head of the stairs they 

 distinctly heard the footsteps of something that was invisible 

 (despite the light from the candle) leisurely descending the 

 stairs. The house was then in an uproar. No one would 

 go to bed again that night and all waited patiently below 

 until daybreak. After breakfast all the guests hurriedly 

 departed, for none of them would remain any longer in the 

 house. What excuses they made for their hurried departure, 

 or what apologies were offered, the writer has not gathered. 



A few months later the tenants engaged a Frenchman as 

 a farm servant. Having no place for him to sleep in, and as 

 he knew nothing of the haunted room, they decided to put him 

 there, hoping he would not be disturbed. At night he retired 

 and got into bed. But scarcely was he in it than it began to 

 rock so violently that he was pitched clean out. He did not 

 stop to inquire what had happened, but fled to the barn where 

 he slept that night. Next morning he related his story, and 

 was asked to again occupy the room, but this he flatly refused, 

 and all the time he was with the family he slept every night 

 in the barn. 



After the strange story had been twice related to the 

 writer's informant, the latter quietly made enquiries as to what 

 might be the cause of these nocturnal disturbances. He 

 ascertained that many years before a wreck had occurred on 



