' sea.” ' ‘ turn at the wheel, when all of a sudden ,forty‘who had taken passage to Rio. as if he might go Over, so white and BENTLEY’S GHOST. ‘ BY WILL LISENBEE. I never told you the story of Bentley’s ghost, did I? Well, it all happened dur-“ ing my second voyage to Rio in the. Vix- en. Mark Bentley had taken passage with us, and a likelier young man you never saw. He was going to enter the . establishment of his uncle, Nicholas , Barton, of the firm of Barton and Clip- , pinger,‘ « brokers and shipping mer- l chants, and as old Barton was getting up in years, and had no nearer kin, it “ was generally understood that young] Bentley would be heir to his large for- tune. ’ ‘ - We had been out a week from New ,. York when Mark'disappeared. Over- board— that was all We could make of ' it, sir, and there wasn’t a man aboard . the Vixen but was shocked at the inci- 5 dent. The whole thing was a mystery. for there wasn’t a soul could tell for cer- ., tain what had become of Bentley. But as he was not on board, there was only one conclusion to come to, and that was he had fallen overboard and been lost. But as he was a young man who never took strong drink, and as there had been no stormy weather since leaving port, the mystery about poor Bentley’s disappearance seemed all the more puz- zling. . The night of Bentley’s disappearance was very dark,» and about three in the morning, as I was taking my turn at the wheel, I thought I heard a splash for- ward, and I was pretty sure some one had gone overboard. I threw a couple of life buoys over and gave the alarm; but, bless you, they only pooh-,poohed at me, and the mate flaredup and says—to me: “Spriggins, you’d better take less grog, and you won’t see men going over— board like this.” Well, they don’t make so light of me when it' is discovered that Bentley is missing, which is not till some hours after: but Capt. Strong refuses to lay by, swearing a good deal that such an accident should happen aboard him. “But if passengers will go staggering overboard in fair weather,” says he, "or, what’s more likely, commit suicide, I am not to stand by a whole day to look fora corpse lying at the bottom of the So, with sails set, we continued our course to Rio. Off the West Indies a heavy squall struck us and carried us far out of our course, and for the next week the weather was about as rough as one would want to see. Aside from a small leak which was sprung and some cabin skylights which wvere smashed by falling yards, the Vixen suffered no damage to speak of. I think it wasgthe night after'ther storm had blowed itself out that Bent- ley’s ghost was first seen. It was well on in the night, and I was taking my Magsby comes on deck looking white as a sheet. * Magsby was a man of about and, barring the fact that he drank a good‘ deal of liquor, I knew nothing about him. Well, he comes up to the binnacle, and leaning on the rail looks shaky was he. After standing there for a moment and saying nothing, he asks: “Do *you believe in dead men’s ghosts?” . “I can’t say,” I replied, “being as I. never saw one.” “Well,” Says be, after a moment’ssi- lence, “if I didn’t see Bentley’s ghost in my cabin just now, then I never saw anything in gay life.” Of course, I thought he had only been drinking a little too much,and had imagined he had seen a ghost. So I only smiled and said that 1 guessed he had been dreaming or had had a night- mare. “No, sir,” he said, running his hand over his face, as if to brush something away; “it was no dream, and I say to you, as certain as God lives, I saw the ghost of Mark Bentley this night!” “Nonsense!” said I. “Surely you can’t believe what you are saying. It’s only a fancy.” But for all that there was semething in'the man’s ‘look that gave me a kind of “creepy” feeling. . “Say what you will,” he replied, “but just come to my cabin with me as soon as: you are relieved from your post, and you can see for yourself.” With this, he walked forward and stood leaning on the rail, gazing into 1he sea. Athough it is no uncommon Thing to see sailors who firmly believe in such superstitious stories, I am not one of them. Still, I couldn’t get the man’s words and looks out of my mind, and when I was relieved I went to him, and, in a light tone, said: “Come now, and we’ll go down and take a look at Bentley’s ghost.” ' Without a word, he led the way to his cabin. It was quite dark in there, for there was“ no light save what came Through a bit of skylight that hadn’t been covered with a tarpaulin. I was about to strike a light, when he caught me by the arm and turned my face toward the bunk where he had been sleeping. “Look!” he cried, in a frightened whisper, his hold tightening on my arm. “I saw it again, but it faded away! There—there it is!” ' I turned my face toward the bunk. and as I did so I saw akind of shimmer. ing light hovering over the pillow. It seemed to move back and forth with the swaying of the vessel. Then all of a sudden it'grewpbrighter, and, as I am living, there was the face of Mark Bent- ley as plain as I see yours this moment. Well, sir, you might have knocked me down with a feather. I stood there look- ing at it till a kind of cry came from Magsby. - _ 4 . - “You see it?” he asked, just as if they were the last words he‘would ever speak. “Yes,” says I, “I—I saw something—" He uttered a groan, and I think he would have fallen had I not caught him. , when we came to understand it. prgfi' jHE;EVENIN When I looked again, the strange vision had disappeared. Magsby and I went from the cabin to- gether, and from that moment he never entered the place again. The next night a crowd of sailors visited the cabin where the vision had appeared, but nothing was seen of the ghostly visitant. Magsby, however, kept-aloof from the place, and could not be induced to enter. He seemed to be terribly downcast, and in a few days a great change had come over him. His checks were hollow, his face haggard, and he was forever glancing about him, as if he expected any moment to see something dreadful. One night he came to my cabin, and : throwing himself on the edge of the bunk, said in a husky voice: "‘ ’Tain’t no use in trying—I can’t stand this; it’s worrying the life out of me.” “Why—what is?” 'I asked, though I well knew, what he meant. “Bentley’s ghost,” was the reply. “It’s going to drive me into the sea yet, to follow poor Bentley.” “That’s all foolish talk,” Isaid. “It is a little strange What we saw in the cabin that night, but what’s the harm of it? Didn’t I see as well as your— self? Still; ‘I don’t see as that’s any reason that I should go talking of jumping into the sea over it.” “But you don’t know all,” he went on, in a strange, hesitating way. Then, letting his voice sink to a whisper, he said, with a sort of gasp, as if the words Were forced from him: “Spriggins, I’ve got to tell it to some one—I mur- dered Mark Bentley! ” “What! Do you mean to tell me that you killed Bentley?” I gasped, as soon as I was able to find my voice. , “It is the truth, as I live and as God is my witness!” he replied. I could only stare at him in blank amazement. _ “Yes,” he went on, “I pushed him overboard the night you thought some one had fallenover. Why did I commit the dreadful deed? Well, I can soon tell you, though I reckon the word ‘drink' would explain it, for, though I had reasons to want him out of the way, I would never have iaken'a human life except when under the influence of strong drink. My name is not Magsby, but Silas Green, and I am a first cousin of Bentley, 'though he did not know me when I came aboard, for we had not met before for many years. You see, I had some notion that I might in- herit the most of Nicholas Barton’s fortune if Mark was out of the way. but as my life had been a wild one, I' knew that my uncle would leave me nothing once Mark should reach Rio. I did not know that.my cousin was on board till after we had set sail, and ' then I was so fillediwith rage and dis- appointment that I began to drink, heavily. It was in a fit of drunken madness that the idea of putting my rival for my uncle’s money out of the way first came to me. The opportunity soon came. I found him leaning over the rail one dark night, and, striking him a heavy blow, I hurled him into the sea. That is the story. His ghost has returned to haunt me, and I shall give myself to the authorities ‘whcn the Vixen returns to America." With these words he left me. I in— formed the captain of Magsby’s con~ fession, and, like myself, he was at first inclined to doubt the man’s san~ ity; but it was thought best to keep a watch upon him till the affair could be investigated on our arrival at Rio. But there was a surprise awaiting,r us, for when we dropped anchor in Rio harbor, who should come on board but Mark Bentley, alive and well, and not looking the least bit like a ghost. Well, you can imagine the surprise of every soul of us when he stepped upon the deck. As for Magsby, he looked like a copse; but when he found that it was really Bentley in the flesh, he was the happiest mortal I ever set eyes on. ’ Bentley had escaped a watery grave by almost a miracle. He was stunned vhen thrown overboard, but the cool water revived him, and while swim- ming about in the darkness, he came in contact with‘one of the life, -preservers I had thrown overboard. He managed to cling to this till daylight, when he was picked up by the Penguin, a steam- er bound for Rio, so he arrived In port nearly a week ahead of us. Magsby—or Green, as his real name was—was so repentant for what he had done that Bentley forgave him, and a few days later he shipped in an Eng- lish vessel for Liverpool, and. that was the last I ever saw of him. As to the ghost—well, it was a very simple thing When the story was told to Bentley, he seemed puzzled at first, but in a mo- ment he smiled quietly, and said he could soon explain the whole affair. With this he mounted the skylight, and soon came back with a small square of glass in his hand. It was what he called a dry—plate photograph nega- tive, and bontained his own picture. He was an amateur photographer, and had been printing some pictures he had taken on shore, and had placed them' on the skylight of one of the cabins, so as to be out of the way. An old negative of himself he had thrown aside, and it had got caught in a crevice of the sash and stuck there. After- ward, when some of the skylights had been broken in the storm, a tarpaulin was placed over them to keep out the. spray from the waves, and as the spo: where the negative lay became uncov- ered, the moon shining through it had had something of the effect of a magic lantern, and had caused an enlarged picture of himself to be throwu into the cabin below. When a cloud passed over the moon, as it undoubtedly did while we were looking at it that night. the picture disappeared. It was all~ simple enough when we understood it; but if Bentley had never turned up to explain the affair, I would never have been certain Idid not see a ghost that night aboard the "Vixen—N. Yr Ledger. h Prof W. L. Ferris will start- out next week on an extended visit through the West, giving exhibitions with his stere- opt-icou. with which he has of late found appreciative audiences. Two Lives Saved. Mrs. Phoebe Thomas, of Junction City, Ill. was told by her doctors she had (Zon- sumption, and that there was no hope for her, but ,two bottles of Dr. King’s New Discovery completelycured her and she says it saved her life. Mr. Thomas Eggers, 139 Florida St, San Francisco, suffered from a dreadful cold, approach- ing Consumption; tried without result everything else, then bought one bottle of Dr. King’s New Discovery and in two weeks was cured. He is naturally thank- ful. It is such results, of which these are samples, tuat prove the wonderful efficacy of this medicine in coughs and colds. Free trial bottles at E. P. .Weed’s Drug Store, Norwalk and Monroe’s New Ca- naan. Regular size 500. and $1.00. Seymour-is in town. William Bucknam is seriously ill at ‘his home on Plattsville avenue. Richard Smith has been arrested charged with being the Soutbport fire bug. A. Lowell Mothers’ Testimony Lowell, Mass. April 30, 1894.—-“My little baby, now fifteen weeks’ old, has, since birth, suffered greatly from wind colic. All remedies failed to ease him untilala‘dv friend recommended Dr. Hand’s Colic Cure. I tried it, and would not be Without it, and I grate- fully advme all mothers wishing a sure remedy for colicky babies to try Dr. Hand’s Colic Cara—Mrs. A. L. Stur tevnnt, No. 5 Simpson place.” Dr. Hand’s Remedies at H. R. Hale’s, 250 Mr. John Nichols father of Mrs. E. A. Parker and Mrs. George I. Buxton now 81 years, enjoys the unusual dis- tinction for a man of his age, of being able to refer to his boyhood days school teacher being yet alive and in full enjoy ment of his health at the advanced age of 94 years. The school-teacher referred . to is Horace Staples, of Westpor. 014 People, Old people who require medicine to regulate the bowels and kidneys will find the true remedy in Electric Bitters. This medicine does not stimulate and contains no whiskey nor other intoxi- cant, but acts as a tonic and alterative. It acts mildly on the stomach and bowels, adding strength and giving tone to the organs, thereby aiding Nature in the performance of the function's. Electric Bitters is an excellent appetizer and aids digestion. Old People find it just exact- ly what they need. Price fifty cents and $1.00 per bottle at E. P. Weed’s Drug Store Norwalk and Monroe's New Ca- naau. The supreme court committee on’bad- ges of the Foresters of America has awarded a contract for 100,000 new bad- ges to the Scoville Mannufacturing company of Waterbury. A Baby’s Life Saved, Addison, N. Y, April 8, 1894.-—Hands Medicine Co.:—“I feel it my dutv to write to you in regard to my little daughter’s sickness from teething and indigestion. She is seven month’s old. Two of the best physicians gave her up. , One bottle of Dr. Hand’s Teething Lotion relieved her so much that we" tried Dr. Hand’s Colic Cure also, and at once saw a change for the better. These remedies saved my baby’s life—Mrs. Wellington Brown. Ur. Hand’s Colic Cure and Dr. Hand’s Teething Lotion sold by H. R. Hale, 25c. A. E. Winchester, of South Norwalk, was married to Miss Elizabeth G. Bray at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. John B. McPherson, uncle and aunt of the groom, at 56 Charles street, New York. on Saturday. Rheumatism Cured In a Day. . “Mystic Cure” for Rheumatism and Neuralgia radically euros in 1' to 3 d u.) 9. Its action upon the system is remark- able and mysterious. It removes at once the cause and the disease imme- diately disappears. ‘ The first dose greatly benefits, 75 cents. 'Sold bv W A. Vogel and Edward P.‘ Weed, Drug- giets, Nor-walk. jun-4.15! Raymond Johnson of West Nor-walk is circulating a. petition for the exten- sxon of the Street Railway line from South Norwalk through West Norwalk to New Canaan. He already has over a hundred signatures to the petition, Bucklln’a Arnlca Salve. The Best Salvein the world for Cute Bruises, Sores, Ulcers. Salt Rheum Fever Sores. (fetter, Chapped Hands Ohilblaius, Corns and all Skin Erup Hons, and positivelyeures Piles. or no Payrcquired. It is guaranteed to give perfectsatisfaotion,’or money refunded Price2ficents per box. For Sale by E. P. Weed, Norwalk and Monroe, New Canaan The Senior class of theIStaples High School have chosen the following cfli- cere: President Miss Minnie Sherwood, Vice, resident John Coyle, Secretary, Miss Lulu Taylor, Treasurer, Robert Hubbell, Business Manager, William Cumminsky, Class Poet, Miss Susan Gorham, Class Prophet, Miss Bessie Barge, Historian, Robert Hubbell. ' ’Vcry Popular in Minnesota. We have a good trade on Chamber- '"Ii'fl s Cough Remedy; in fact sell as each of it as of all other cough medi- -..:~..-s combined and we handle more geransmr, Druggists, Pelecan Rar‘ls, -.'.‘lil '; 'Jiis remedy is popular became «t can arrays be depended upon. :5 n} curing bad colds. crcup,and '.:‘?-‘!])lng’ cough, make-3 a. favorite ~ -:-j.-'.vl_iere. For salr v 31.. 7. Weed. "N13151:. The estate of the late Father John H. Duggun, of Waterbury, has been ap- praised at $34,000. U. S. Patent Commissioner John S. ~ 1.1 21a a. dozen different kinda—RAE & ' 33s prompt - 4 CALIFORNIA FRUIT. _ - Much of, It Is Tasteless When It . ' s Reaches the East. Peaches iron; the Pacific Do Not Cour, pare with Those of the States— Plenty of Good Prunes and Grapes, However. “‘Dead sea fruitl’ That’s what I call it!” exclaimed a gentleman, who, after attempting to eat one of the largest and most beautiful specimens of California peaches ever seen in Ful- ton market, threw ij. away in disgust. And he was right; for, while it was an obieet to delight the eye, with its great size, perfect shape, delicate bloom and superb coloring, its, flavor was decid- edly vegetable. So New Yorkers of experience in such things buy Cali-’- fornia peaches to look at; and to serve with the dessert as the crowning orna- ments of a perfect dinner, but lay in a supply of Delawares to eat, while in Chicago they say: “Oh, yes, California peaches are pretty, but the St. Joe product is good enough for us.” . The largest prune orchard in this country, if not in the world, is located at Los Gatos (the cats). on the western edge of the Santa. Clara valley. It contains three hundred and eighty acres of trees, two hundred of which are planted to the acre. Over one hun- dred men and a score of teams are con- sta'ntly employed in this great orchard, which has its own waterworks and electric light plant. Its drying ground is twenty acres in extent, and it yields a net income of something like fifty thousand dollars a year. Near this. Los Gatos orchard is a: curious factory, said to be the only one of its kind in the world. It is a fac- tory for the making of grape food, and it is devoted to the extracting and concentrating, but not fermenting, of grape juice. During the season it con- sumes fifty tons of grapes every day, and produces one hundred thousand gallons of juice, concentrated to one- fourth of its original bulk. The grapes used in such enormous quantities in this interesting factory, both red and white, are wine grapes, which, as the tourist observer soon discovers, are very different from raisin. grapes, the former containing the more juice, and the latter the more saccharine matter. One of the sur- prising things about 'a raisin vineyard is the small size of its vines, wl1ich,_be- ing out every year, are rarely more than two or three feet high, and the great size of the bunches. These, when fully ripe, are cut and laid in shal- low trays betweenthe rows of wines, where, without the addition of. any sugar, they are allowed to dry in the sun until they become raisms, which is all there is to the process. The most surprising thing of all is the discovery that all raisin grapes are white grapes, until they are turned purple in drying, which is hard to re- alize, but is nevertheless a fact—Har- per’s Weekly. .— A NEW BISMARCK STORY. How He Played the Part of a Pretty Girl’s Cousin Long Ago. In Gothenburg, Sweden. lives an old woman who. when young and comely, passed much of her time with titled relatives in Rome and Vienna. Fifty- six years ago she visited Rome. In No- vember she returned to Gothenburg by way of Berlin, which. although a tiny capital in those days, passed as one of the lions of central Europe. She knew nobody in Berlin, but the relatives she had been with in Rome had a cousin in the university, who was informed by letter that the young woman was com- ing and he must meet her and show her the sights: ‘I arrived with my chaperone and maids,” wrote the old woman to a Gothenburg newspaper three weeks ago, “and was welcomed by my Ger- man cousin, as’I had come to call him. He was very hearty in his manner. He was a tall muscular young fellow, witha big mustache. and peculiar, pene- trating eyes. He seemed almost un- canny to me, yet was a delightful com- panion. . , “For three days the young man was my constant companion. To be sure he could speak no Swedish; but his French was perfect. I never had such a devoted cavalier. I was proud enough of my German cousin. Only too soon came the day when I must say good-by to him in Berlin. _ “ ‘my cousin,’ he said, as he shook my hand in parting, ‘I have a. word to say to you. It is merely—well, cousin, I am not your cousin at all. ' My friend, who is the real cousin you sought, was so busy preparing for his examination ' that he begged me to act in his stead during your visit. My. name is Otto von Bismarck.’ “I looked at him in dumb astonish- ment as the carriage was driven away. My adventure was over. “Nearly forty- years passed. The ob- scure Bismarck had become a prince and had laid his hands on the crowns and nations of Europe. I came to Ber- lin again, and sent my card with a few written words to 'the prince. An hour later I received an invitation and went to the chancellor’s palace. The prince remembered me perfectly, and we soon' were deep in conversation. “ ‘I have you to‘thank,’ he said, ‘for my only views of Berlin’s art galleries and museums. Since we parted I never found time to visit them again.’ ”—-‘I. Y. Times. The Doctor's Advice. “Have you no pen and ink?” said a doctor to a poor woman, whose boy he was attending. , /“NO.” . i ' “Well, I have lost my pencil: give me a bit of chalk. ” . ' The doctor chalked a prescription on the door, telling her to give it to her son-when he awoke. ' “Take it my boy,‘take it,” said the old woman, lifting. the door‘ from its hinges and carrying it to the poor boy when he , opened his eyes. “I don’t know how you are to do it, but the doc- tor Says it is good, and you had better try to belt it.”—-—S'parc Moments. I 1 c GA Zn T TE ‘ i . A. llnly Eight-Page One (lent- Paper in Gunnécticut _ SOLD IN Norwalk, South Norwalk, East Nor: walk, Westport, Saugatuck, New~ Canaan, Darien. Rowayton, and NOroton. N 0 other Paper in N orwalk compares with it for Local and ’General News. / Its local news is bright, reliable and well written. After once reading The Evening Gazette you will» be convinced ”that it is the best "i” in Western Connecticut, and will take no other. . 0 Having a special correspondent in each town, it is_en-‘ @GZETTE, , MM-q-.»“H~————— evening paper 1 abled to furnish the lateSt and freshest news. | OFFICE OPEN DAY AND EVENING. ONLYICENT. SUBSCRIBE FOR IT. —_ Q Ask your newsdealer or newsb'oy to bring it ' to you for. a week.
Norwalk Chronicler