A Ghost Story.
During the past fortnight the lovers of the marvellous have had a considerable fund for gossip, relative to some supernatural occurrences said to have taken place at the house of Griffith Davies, in Oak-street. What was most extraordinary was, that his ghostship always played his pranks in the day time – windows were broken by stones when people were looking on, and no one could tell where they came from. The capers cut by these stones were marvellous. One woman who declared she saw the affair with her own eyes, on one occasion, and what she saw she would believe – it was this. A large stone rose perpendicularly into the air like a skyrocket, played all kinds of fantastic tricks like forked lightning when nearly out of sight, came down again, flew round the house like a batwing, and then went bang against a pane of glass, breaking it into a thousand pieces.
Of course one wonderful tale created a score of others, the result of which was, that everybody who considered him or herself wiser than the common run of ordinary mortals, set down the whole affair as being the work of the Old Boy belonging to the regions below – through the agency of some old hag into whom he had unquestionably entered. But who was the hag? One gave a wink of the eye, another a shrug of the shoulders, as much as to say “I could a tale unfold,” but they didn’t.
In the meantime the police were busy – that unbelieving race who profess to hold “spirits” in supreme contempt, and yet, with which, if report speaks true, many of them hold sweet converse “mixed with water.”
For some time even the police were foiled – but by-and-by a happy thought occurred to them. Near the house was, in course of erection, a small chapel, and as no doubt a certain gentleman in black, who shall be nameless, would be greatly annoyed at being driven from the locality, he would naturally employ the short time remaining to him in efforts to annoy and vex. Accordingly this site was narrowly watched, and sure enough stones were seen to proceed from that building.
The police had no power to proceed against hobgoblins, or inhabitants of the spirit world, and therefore hit upon the next best expedient, by summoning before the Bench a person named John Lewis. Singular as it may appear the ghost was frightened with the service of the summons upon this man, but the Bench considered that 78 yards distance in the twilight for the police to state positively who it could be that threw the stone, and the defendant was discharged.
Nearly all the windows had been demolished. We trust that the spirit, now laid, will not rise again.
Merthyr Telegraph, and General Advertiser for the Iron Districts of South Wales, 17th October 1857.
“The Gentleman in Black” v. The Black Gentleman.
(To the Editor.)
Sir, – We take it for granted that your periodical is impartial, and that you are always more ready to appropriate your columns for a defence, than for an accusation, especially when it is a defence against one of the most shameless and barefaced accusations that ever appeared in print. We allude to the ghost story in your impression of last week. Towards the end of the so-called story, the fabricator – who, it seems, is a kind of a busy-body, minding everybody’s business and neglecting his own – and whom we partially know, that is, as far as a person can be known by his style. — after uttering some of the most glaring and daring falsehoods, without even a shadow of proof, slinks behind the curtain as if conscious of having done something that was not right. That he is very well knew, if he possessed a grain of what is commonly called conscience; but it seems that precious commodity has never been in his possession.
The falsehoods for which we shall hold him responsible are these – “And as no doubt a certain gentleman in black – who shall be nameless – would naturally employ the short time remaining to him, in efforts to annoy and vex. Accordingly this site was narrowly watched, and sure enough stones were seen to proceed from that building.”
Now, Sir, if this “Accuser of the brethren” is half of a man, or any small fraction of a rational being, he would have brought forward some shadow of proof, but no such thing. He thought, perhaps, we were a set of illiterate rustics just arrived from the wilds, unable to make the least struggle in the shape of a defence – that we would passively take whatever his black heart dictated. If “this happy thought” occurred to him, permit us candidly to acquaint him that he made a gross mistake.
There are many among us poor tradesmen that would put many of the class to which he belongs to shame; and many, not his inferior in any thing, but his superior in many things, especially in principle. Indeed, Mr Editor, we are too zealous of our good names and characters, to let this black gentleman pass unnoticed, and if he thinks his own character worth a fraction, he will come forward and try, if he can, to support these bare-faced assertions. “The certain gentleman in black” (we thank him for this compliment and return it by calling him the black gentleman) who shall be nameless (we do not thank him for that, because we all have names) “would be greatly annoyed at being driven from this locality.”
This is a serious charge, sir, and requires something to back it; will you tell us who tried to drive him “from this place”? besides, he was doing his duty and following his master’s orders, whilst he was seen skulking about the chapel. Again, “He would naturally employ the short time remaining to him in effort to annoy and vex.” Here is another shameless charge, and must be proved. But in soberness, what does he mean by “He would naturally,” &c? We would think it a very unnatural thing to employ any fraction of our spare time in breaking windows, or doing the least injury to any neighbour’s property, with no other object in view than what is called fun or sport – God forbid!
We use our learning to a better purpose than that, and use our talents in a better work than to slander and aim at person’s characters from behind the curtain. We know who said “Love thy neighbour as thyself,” and we have hitherto endeavoured to follow this golden precept. But we naturally and invariably employ our spare time in fetching our meals from a distance of about a quarter of a mile.
Lastly, “And sure enough stones were seen to proceed from that building” – not so sure, sir, – who saw the stones? who saw one of them? The onus probandi rests heavily on his shoulders.
Further, the reader will not fail to perceive the cunningness of this Welsh fox, to serve some purpose known only to himself and his coadjutors, when he says, “The Ghost was frightened with the service of the summons upon John Lewis,” and says further, “This was a singular thing.” Very singular indeed, if true, but it is infinitely more singular, that any person would venture to say what every body in Aberdare knows to be false.
The fact is, the ghost, or (as this storyteller, from long acquaintance, perhaps, chose to call him) “Old boy,” carried on his work in spite of Summons and Police, and all to the last minute the bewitched girl remained in the house, and did the same in the other house until she was taken home by her mother; and there is a rumour that he is carrying it on there worse than ever.
There is something very clumsy in this storyteller’s logic too, which shows that when persons are walking among precipices in the darkness, they continually stumble. In the former part of his story, he says that his “Ghostship always played his pranks in the day-time,” and in the latter part we find such explanations as this: “The Bench considered that 78 yards’ distance in the twilight, for the police to state positively who it could be that threw the stone;”day-time and twilight do not agree very well.
Another thing rather odd in this writer too is this: He says that “nearly all the windows had been demolished.” It was a few panes here and there in the lower row were all that were “demolished,” if this word must be used.
We have never been obliged to treat a being – wearing the human form in this manner before, but extraordinary cases require extraordinary treatment, and, besides, Solomon tells us to “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his conceit.”
Apologizing, Mr Editor, for having taken so much space, Ihave the honour, Sir, to subscribe myself for my friends, yours sincerely, in everything that is worthy of a Christian man, Joseph Thomas. Reformers’ Chapel, Aberdare. Oct. 24th, 1857.
Merthyr Telegraph, and General Advertiser for the Iron Districts of South Wales, 31st October 1857.