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Article OLD GREGORY'S GHOST: ← Page 5 of 5 Article OLD GREGORY'S GHOST: Page 5 of 5 Article FURNESS ABBEY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Old Gregory's Ghost:
Great was his relief when he heard mortal footsteps approaching , and saw lights that were not weird-like appear . He now heard voices that , it comforted him to know , came from human bodies . However much a man at times may court solitude , most assuredly it is not at a
moment like that . His friends were quickly on the spot , and stood amazed , as well they might , at the sight they now saw . Foremost were Mr . Buffings , Mr . Puggings , and the smiling old butlerwhile a host of others
, brought up the rear . Mr . Buffings at once called off the dog ; and some of the servants , who now had mustered in full force , set about restoring the cook to consciousness , while Mr . Playfair began to tell in gasps his dreadful tale
of the Ghost . Mr . Buffings burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter , and exclaimed : — "Why , the fact is , my dear Playfair , you have been frightened by your own reflection !"
" Frightened by my own reflection !" ejaculated the bewildered Mr . Playfair ; " how could that be , when I distinctly saw the ghost entirely clothed in white , as if in its grave-clothes , and the deadly scarlet gash plainly extending across its throat , as if the suicide was but newly , done ?"
" Pooh , pooh , ' said his host ; " I see it all . There is a large mirror in your room , reaching from the floor to the ceiling ; you have seen your own reflection in that , and mistaken it for old Gregory ' s Ghost . " And so it proved . Mr . Playfair ' s white nightcap and coverlet had appeared to his
frightened mind as the clothes of the ghost ; the red flannel around his throat had been mistaken for the deadly gash from ear to ear ; and his spectacled eyes had been reflected back to him as the fiery eyes of the spectre ; whilst his own
trembling at what he deemed the unearthl y apparition , accounted for the flickering motion of the dread preeence before him . It was but his own reflection that he had seen in the glass . Matters having been thus satisfactoril
y explained , there followed a good long and loud laugh , in which all the compauy joined , louder than the howling storm without , and all once more subsided and
Old Gregory's Ghost:
went to their own beds ; all but Mr . Puggings , who very considerately went with Mr . Playfair to keep him compauy . They kept a merry Christmas and a happy New Year's Day at the old manor house together ; though Mr . Playfair never heard the last of OLD GREGORY ' S GHOST . Well Close Square , Whitby .
Furness Abbey.
FURNESS ABBEY .
From the " KEYSTONE , BY SAMUEL LONGFELLOW . THE famous monastic ruin of Furness
Abbey is situated in Lancashire , about a mile south of Dalton , and was founded A . D . 1127 , by King Stephen , while he was Earl of Mortaign and Bulloign , who also endowed it with princely wealth . It is one of the most interesting ruins in England .
The deep retirement of its situation , the grandeur of its Gothic arches , and the ancient trees that shadow it , all fill the mind of the beholder with solemn yet delightful emotion . It is only equalled in interest by Fountains Abbey near Ripon in Yorkshire .
On Norman cloister and on Gothic isle , The fading sunset lingers for awhile : The rooks chant noisy vespers in the elms—Then night ' s slow rising tide the scene o ' erwhelms .
So fade the roses and the flowers of kings , And crowns and palms decay with humbler things . All works built up by toil of mortal breath , Tend in unbroken course to dust and death .
Pillar and roof and pavement all are gone ; The lamp extinguished and the prayers long done ; But faith and awe , as stars , eternal shine—The human heart is their enduring shrine .
0 Earth in thine incessant funerals , Take to thyself these crumbling , outgrown walls ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Old Gregory's Ghost:
Great was his relief when he heard mortal footsteps approaching , and saw lights that were not weird-like appear . He now heard voices that , it comforted him to know , came from human bodies . However much a man at times may court solitude , most assuredly it is not at a
moment like that . His friends were quickly on the spot , and stood amazed , as well they might , at the sight they now saw . Foremost were Mr . Buffings , Mr . Puggings , and the smiling old butlerwhile a host of others
, brought up the rear . Mr . Buffings at once called off the dog ; and some of the servants , who now had mustered in full force , set about restoring the cook to consciousness , while Mr . Playfair began to tell in gasps his dreadful tale
of the Ghost . Mr . Buffings burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter , and exclaimed : — "Why , the fact is , my dear Playfair , you have been frightened by your own reflection !"
" Frightened by my own reflection !" ejaculated the bewildered Mr . Playfair ; " how could that be , when I distinctly saw the ghost entirely clothed in white , as if in its grave-clothes , and the deadly scarlet gash plainly extending across its throat , as if the suicide was but newly , done ?"
" Pooh , pooh , ' said his host ; " I see it all . There is a large mirror in your room , reaching from the floor to the ceiling ; you have seen your own reflection in that , and mistaken it for old Gregory ' s Ghost . " And so it proved . Mr . Playfair ' s white nightcap and coverlet had appeared to his
frightened mind as the clothes of the ghost ; the red flannel around his throat had been mistaken for the deadly gash from ear to ear ; and his spectacled eyes had been reflected back to him as the fiery eyes of the spectre ; whilst his own
trembling at what he deemed the unearthl y apparition , accounted for the flickering motion of the dread preeence before him . It was but his own reflection that he had seen in the glass . Matters having been thus satisfactoril
y explained , there followed a good long and loud laugh , in which all the compauy joined , louder than the howling storm without , and all once more subsided and
Old Gregory's Ghost:
went to their own beds ; all but Mr . Puggings , who very considerately went with Mr . Playfair to keep him compauy . They kept a merry Christmas and a happy New Year's Day at the old manor house together ; though Mr . Playfair never heard the last of OLD GREGORY ' S GHOST . Well Close Square , Whitby .
Furness Abbey.
FURNESS ABBEY .
From the " KEYSTONE , BY SAMUEL LONGFELLOW . THE famous monastic ruin of Furness
Abbey is situated in Lancashire , about a mile south of Dalton , and was founded A . D . 1127 , by King Stephen , while he was Earl of Mortaign and Bulloign , who also endowed it with princely wealth . It is one of the most interesting ruins in England .
The deep retirement of its situation , the grandeur of its Gothic arches , and the ancient trees that shadow it , all fill the mind of the beholder with solemn yet delightful emotion . It is only equalled in interest by Fountains Abbey near Ripon in Yorkshire .
On Norman cloister and on Gothic isle , The fading sunset lingers for awhile : The rooks chant noisy vespers in the elms—Then night ' s slow rising tide the scene o ' erwhelms .
So fade the roses and the flowers of kings , And crowns and palms decay with humbler things . All works built up by toil of mortal breath , Tend in unbroken course to dust and death .
Pillar and roof and pavement all are gone ; The lamp extinguished and the prayers long done ; But faith and awe , as stars , eternal shine—The human heart is their enduring shrine .
0 Earth in thine incessant funerals , Take to thyself these crumbling , outgrown walls ;