,
C f.
v,
r
f tj"AcfFm' w ,.ytrj--iifg--crffHjitim-a3vji
TAf alios!' .Summons.
nr ADA BUtSSOS.
"Wanted, sir a patient."
Lt was in the early days of my pro.
fessionul career, when patients were
scarce and foes scarcer ; and though I
was in the nut of silting down to my
chop, and had promised myself n glas
of steaming punch afterward, I hurried
iDStamly in!') my surgery.
I entered briskly ; but in sMir did
I catch sight of the figura standing
leaning against the counter thin I star.,
ted baek with a s'.rango feeling of hor
ror which for the lite uf mo I could Cot
comprehend.
N ver shall I forg?t the ghasiliucss
o( that face iho white horror stamped
upon every feature the ogdny which
Beemcd to sink the very eyes beneath
the contracted brows; it w is a f ll to
tue to beholl, accustom j J as I was to
scenes of terror.
'You seek advice,' I began with some
hesitation.
'No; I am not ill.'
'You require then '
'flush !' he interrupted, approaching
more nearly, and dropping his sdre-idy
low murmur to a low whisper. 'I bo
lieve you are not rich. Would you be
willing to earn a thousand pounds '!'
A thousand pounds ! His word seem,
ed to burn my very car..
'I should bo thankful, if I could do so
honestly,' I replied with dignify. 'What
is the service required of me V
A peculiar look of intense horror
passed over the while face before me ;
but the blue black lips answered firmly,
To attend a death bed.'
'A thousand pounds to attend a death
bed ! Where aiu I to go, then ''. whose
is it?'
'Mine.'
The voice in which this wts said
sounded so hollow and distant tbat in.
voluntarily I shrank back. 'Yours!
What nonsenso ! You are not a dying
man. You are pale, but you appear
perfectly healthy. You '
Mlush!' l,o interrupted ; 'I know all
thio. You cannot be more convinced of
iny physical health than I am myself;
yet I know that before the clock tolls
the first hour after midnight i shall be
a dead man.'
ut '
lie shuddered slightly; but stretch
ing out his hand comuiandingly, mo
tioned me to be silent. 'I am but too
well iuformed of what I afdrm,' he paid
quietly; 'I have received a mysterious
summons from tho dsad. No mortal
aid can avail me. I mti as doomed as
the wretch on whom the judge has pass
ed sentence. I do not come either to
seek your advice or to argue the matter
with you, but si.nply to buy your servi.
ces. I offer you a thou-and pjunds to
pass the night in my chamber, and wit"
ness the scene which talus place. The
sura may appear to you extravagant,
liut I have no further need to count
the cost of any gratification ; a;;d thu
epeetaclo you will have to witness is no
common sight of horror.'
The words, strange a? they were,
wero spoken calmly enough ; but as tho
last sentence dropped slowly fro n the
livid lip, an expression of such wild
liorror agaiu passed over the stranger's
face, that in spite of the immense lee, I
liesitatcd to answer.
'You fear to trust to the promise of a
dead man ! See hero, and be con vine,
ed,' ho exclaimed eagerly ; and the next
instant, on the counter between us lay a
parchment document ; and lo'.lowiug the
indication of that white muscular hand,
I read the words, 'And to Mr. Frederick
Read of 13 High Street, Alton, I be.
queath the sum of one thousand pouuds
lor certain services rcuderod me.'
'I have had that will drawn up with
in the last twenty.four "iiouip, and I
signed it an hour ago, iu the prerence
of competent witnesses. I am pa-pared
you see. Now, do you accept my offer,
or not V
My answer was to walk across tho
room aud take down my hat, and then
lock tho door of the surgery communi
cating with the house.
It was dark, icy-cold night, and some
how tho courago and deienuina'iou
which the sight of my owu namo in
connection with a thousand pounds had
given ue, flagged considerably as I
found myself hurried alonn through tho
mleut darkness by a man whoso death
bed I wag about to attend.
He was grimly silent; but as his Land
touched mine, in spito of the frost, it
felt like a burning coal.
Ua wo weut tramp, tramp, through
the BnowJ-on, on, till cveo I grew wea-J
m
JOIIXF. MOORE, EJUor d FmprUtor.
ry, and at length on my appalled car
struck the chimes of a church clock ;
while close at hand I distinguished the
snowy hillocks of a churchyard.
Heavens ! was this awful scene of
which I was to bo tho witness to take
placo veritubly among the dead ?
'Eleven,' groaned the doomed man.
'Giacious God 1 but two hours more,
aud that ghos'ly messenger will bring
the summon. Come, couie ; .for mer
cy's sake, let us hasten.'
There w bntnytroTt road sepaiating
us now from a wall which surrounded
a large mansion, and along this we has"
toned until we reached a small door.
Passing through this, in a few min
utes wo were stealthily ascending the
private staircase to a splendidly furnish,
ed apartment, which left no doubt of
the wealth of its owner.
All was iutensely silent, however,
through the house ; and about this room
in particular there was a stillness that,
as 1 g.i'.ed around, struck mo as al.no.-t
ghastly.
.My companion glanced at the clock
on the mantelshelf, and sink into a
largo chair !y tho side of the hVe with
a shudder. 'Only an hour and a half
longer,' ho muttered. 'Great heaven '
I thought I had mora fortitude. This
horror unmans ma.' The
m a Mercer
tone, and clutchinir my arm he added,
'Ua! you mock me, you think mo mad ;
but wait till you see wait till you see 1'
I put my hand on his wnrt ; for there
was no.v it fever in his sunken eyes
which checked tho superstitious chill
which had been gathering over me, and
that my patient was but tho victim i,i
some fearful hallucination.
'Mock you '.' 1 answered soothingly.
'Far from it; 1 sympathise iutensely
with you, and would do mu.:h to a:d
you. You require sleep. Lie down, and
leave me to watch.'
lie groaned, but io;-, a..d began
throwing off his clothes ; and watching
my opportunity, 1 slipped a sleepin -powder,
wh'uh I had managed to put
in my pocket before leaving the surgery,
into the tumbler ot claret that stool be
side him.
The more I saw, th ; more I fi.lt em-vim-ed
that it was the nervous sy-te;u
of my patiertt which required my at
tention ;, and it was with sincere satis,
faclion I saw him drink the wine, and
then stretch himself on the luxurious
bed.
'Ila,' thought I, as tho clock struck
twelve, and instead of n groan the deep
breathing of the sleeper sounded thr'o
the room; 'you won't receive any sum
mons to-night, aud I may make myself
comfortable.'
Noiselessly, therefore, I replenished
the file, poured myself out a large glass
of wine, and drawing tho curtain so that
the firelight would not disturb the sleep,
er, I put myself is a position to follow
his example.
How l ing I slept I know not, but
suddenly I aroused with a shirt and as
ghostly a thrill of horror as I ever re
member to have felt in my life.
Something what, I knew not seem
ed near, something nameless, but unut
terably naun hiss, but unutterably awful.
I gazed round.
The tiro emitted a faint blue glow,
just sulllcient to enable me to seo that
the roum was exactly the same as when
I full asleep, but that the long band of
the clock wanted but five minuses of the
mysterious hour which was to bo tho
death-moment of the 'summoned' man 'i
Was there anything iu it, then ? any
truth in the trango story he had told'!"
Tho silence was intense.
I could uot even hear a breath from
the bed ; aud 1 wus about to rise and ap
proach, when agaiu that awful horror
seized me, aud at the same moment my
eve fell upon the mirror opposite the
door, and I saw
Great heaven! that awful shape
that L'hastly mockery of what had been
humanity was it really a messenger
from tho buried, qu'et dead.
It stood there iu visible death clothes ;
but the awful face was bastly with cor.
ruption, and Ihe sunkeu eyes gleamed
forth a green g!u7 glare which seeiuod
w MfWffi
RIDGWAY, FEXXA. FEBRUARY 1,
a veritable blast from tho infernal fires
below.
To move or utter a sound in that hid
eous presence was impossible ; and like
a statue I sat anl saw that horrid Shape
move slowly toward the bed.
What was the awful scene enacted
there. I know not. I heard nothing,
except n low stifled agonized groan; and
I saw the shadow of the ghastly messen
ger bending over the Led.
Whether it was some dreadful but
wordless r-entcuoo its bre-,tthle?s lips con.
veyed as it stood there, I know not ; but
for an instant the shadow of a claw-like
hand, fiom which the (bird finger was
missing, rppearcd extended over the
doomed man's head; and then as the
clock struck one clear silvery stroke, it.
fell, and a wild shriek rang through the
room a death-shriek.
I am not given to fainting, but I cer
tainly confess that the next ten minutes
of my existence, was a cold blank ; and
even when I did manage- to stagger to
my feet, L gazed round, vaiuly endeavor
ing to undifstand the chilly honor
which still possessed me.
'1 hank God, the room was rid of that
aulul presence I saw t' at ; so, gulping
down some wine, I lighted a wax taper
aud staggered towaid the 'bed. Ah,
how I prayed, that, after all, I might
haw been dreaming, and that my own
excited iuiauinaticn had but conjured
up some hideous memory of tho dis-ccN
i-ng room.
Uut one glance was yufScient to ans
wer that.
No, the summons hrd indeed been
given and answered.
I Sashed the light over the dead face,
swollen, convulsed slill with the death
agony; but sullenly I shrank back.
Hven ras I j-iaed, the cxpressio.i ot
tho face seemed to change ; the black
ne ss failed into a deathly whiteness; the
convulsed feature, relaxed, and, even
as ii the victim of that dread apparition
tiil lived, a sad solemn smile stole ovet
the pale lips.
1 was intf iisely horrified, but sfiil i.
retained sufficient sell consciousness to
be struck profes.sional'y by such a phe
nomenon. Surely there as s.t meihir.L' more
than supernatural agency in id I this ?
Again I scrutinized the dead face,
aud even tho throat mid chest ; but,
with the exception of a tiny pimple on
one tempie, benclh a cluster of hair, not
a mark ajpeaieil. To look at tho
cerp.-e, one would have believed that
this man had indeed died by the Nicta
tion of Cod, peacefully while sleeping.
I low long I stood there I know not,
but t: in j euough to gather my scattered
senses and to reflect thai, all things
considered, my owu position would bo
very unpleasant if I was found thus mm
expectedly in the room of the mysteri
ously djad man.
So, as uoiselessly as I could, I made
my way out of tho house. No one met
Lie on the private staircase ; the little
door opening into the road was easily
unfastened ; and thankful indeed was I
to feel agaiu the fresh wintry air as 1
hurried aioug that road by the church
yard. There was a magnificent funeral soon
iu that church ; and it was said that the
young widow of thu buried man was in
consolable ; and then rumors got abroad
of a horrible apparition which had been
seen on the nii'.ht of the death ; r-.Ld it
was whispered the young widow was ter
rified, and insisted upon leaving her
splendid mansion.
I was too trustified with the whole af.
fair to risk my reputation by saying
what I knew, and I should have allowed
my share in it to remain buried forever
in oblivion, ha 1 I uot suddenly heard
that the widow, bjeeting to many of
the legacies in tho last will of her hus
band inleuded to dispute it on the score
of insanity, and then there gradually
arose the rumor of his belief in having
received a mysterious huinmous.
On this 1 weut to the lawyer, r.nd
sent a message to tho lady, that as the
ji n;tn who had attended her hus
band, I undertook to prove his sauity ;
aud I besought her to grant mo an in
terview, in which I would relate as
1SG3.
VOLUME SEYEISXUX'EER -K.
strange and horriblj a story as car had
ever heard.
Tho game evening I received an invi
tation to go to the mansion.
I was ushered immediately into a
splendid room, and there, standing be
fore the fire, was too me t d.izhngly
beautiful young creature I bad ever
seen.
She was very small, but exquisitely
made. Had it not, been for the iligmty
of her carriage. I should h ivo believed
her a mere child.
With a stately bow she advanced, but
did not speak.
' f.come on a strange rud p:vl';fiil er
rand,' I began, and then I start". I, for I
happened to glance full into hrt ryes,
and from them down to the sni ili ri.iiit
hand grasping tin chair. The w. u.i-j
riivj was on that baud.
'I corn-lade you r.re the Jlr. ?d
wno rcqucstim permission to teil me i
so:nc absurd ghost story, and whom my ;
lato husband mentions brio.' Atida--
she spoke she stretched out her left
iianu towurl soo ttuing out wliat 1
knew not. for niv pus wen! W.t X i,n I
that hand.
Horror 1 White and delicate it might,
be, but it .was sliape like a claw, and
the third linger was missing !
One sentence was enough af;er that.
' Madam, ail I can tell you is, that the
ghost who summoned your husband wad
marked by u singular deformity. The
third linger of the left hand was miss
ing,' 1 said sternly, and tho next instant
I had left that beautiful, siti!:l picseuee.
That will was never disputed, 'i'lie
next morning, too, I received a cheek
for a thousand pounds; and tho next
news I heatd of the widow was, that
she hud ber.-eif seen that awl'u! appari
tion, nnd bad deserted the mansi on.
The UigzcuS imunsf of PoLir
liver ULiiOiZn.
The newspapers have a story of Com.
modoro Vanderbilt seeing a blackleg's
bluff at poker and going u ihit tv thous.
'ind dollar steamboat belter, but this is
baldly up to an ali'air of which we reeol
loci of reading long siuee in a Mississip
pi paper.
In the days when the Hon. Ceorgc
!'in,l,.vl,.l-r,ll-j,.-,.,l fl,o c:,.., I.. ,1...
Federal Sejate, say seme thirty live
years ago, before the time of railroads,
he stalled' lie-in Natchez by an up river
boat ou his way to Washington. The
Agricultural Hank, having u heavy de
posit to make iu one cf thu l'itt-diurgh
banks, eutrusted tiio money to Lis
chargo.
L'ciotc twenty four hoars had elaosod
s mie ot 1 1.
i-poiimg IratcruMy were
little .'.ame, and invited
ii.auing up a
the- .Senator to tai;e' a bund, to which,
nothing Lathe, he consented. The
game ran about the u-.iml course of such
tilings, while the professionals wj re tuk.
i;;g the measure of iiioir inteude l vic
tim, and guessing the size uf bis pile.
When those poiius were settled to their
satisfaction, the business t egau in ear
nest. An overpowering band was dealt to
Mr, l'oindcxu r, upon which lie made a
small bet, the otiieis p is-.i l, with one
exception, who ' saw bim " and went a
thousand dollars belter. To this lie. re
sponded with another thousand dollars
better, when tho gambler replied,"!
seo your thousand do'iats and go thirty
thousand dollars hitler," lor perceiving
.'hat his customer was pretty iiu.-h, he
did not dare risk c fe'v th.m-auds.
l'okidexler replied that that wasmoio
money than he h.ul, but he would put
up his pile which entitled him to a sight.
'This tho other denied to be the law.
' Certainly," said Mr. 1'., ' L ai-.vavs
understand that a gentleman h.is aright
to a show for his mouev."
" Not unless it is stipulated bei'ir;.
band; "and the gambler appealed to
the "gentlemen" present, who sustains
ed him.
" Come," said (lis rufiiiau, throwing
down a weH.-filled p-icko. v ,-tk. and lay
ing his watch on the table, " I go thiity
thousand dollars Letter, ami give you
5ve minutes o raise the money."
l'oindexter bid him c.mnt his money,
and there it wa, sure enough, in good
bills. " Well," sai l he rising, 1 will
see if I can find any friends who will
furnish the fund," an 1 he pas-sJ into
the ladiis' cabin, in which was his state
room. Ho lingire-1 sometime, and as
the hand was neat ing the la - t minute,
returned quietly . took bis seat, drew a
bulky pocket book irum I is breast, and
laying it dpon the- table, calmly said :
"Sir, I see your thirty thousand do)
lars aud a hundrel and twenty thousand
dollars biff r, and give you five minutes
to raise the money."
It was the turn of tho astonished
gambler to call a count, but, before Mr.
l'oindexter got through wi'h tho bun.
dred and City thousand, ho threw down
bis hand there being too many specta.
tors to make it safe to raise a row and,
with his companions, weut ashore at tho
ccxt wood jard.
She (gilt guuecrde,
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