Alonzo and Melissa Part 14

The guests caught the contagious sympathy; convulsive sobs arose from all parts of the room. Melissa's father clasped her in his arms--"And I receive thee as from the dead! he said. I am anxious to hear the mighty mystery unfolded. But first let the solemn rites for which we are a.s.sembled be concluded; let not an old man's anxiety interrupt the ceremony."

"But you are apprised, sir, said Alonzo, of my inability to support your daughter according to her deserts."

"Leave that to me, my young friend, replied her father. I have enough: my children are restored, and I am happy."

Melissa soon resumed her former station. The indissoluble knot was tied: they sat down to the wedding feast, and mirth and hilarity danced in cheerful circles.

Before the company retired, Edgar related the most prominent incidents of Alonzo and Melissa's history, since they had been absent. The guests listened with attention: they applauded the conduct of our new bride and bridegroom, in which Melissa's father cordially joined. They rejoiced to find that Alonzo's father had regained his fortune, and copious libations were poured forth in honour of the immortal Franklin.

And now, reader of sensibility, indulge the pleasing sensations of thy bosom--for Alonzo and Melissa are MARRIED.

Alonzo's father was soon in complete repossession of his former property. The premises from which he had been driven by his unfeeling creditors, were yielded up without difficulty, and to which he immediately removed. He not only recovered the princ.i.p.al of the fortune he had lost, but the damages and the interest; so that, although like Job, he had seen affliction, like him his latter days were better than his beginning. But wearied with the bustles of life, he did not again enter into the mercantile business, but placing his money at interest in safe hands, lived retired on his little farm.

A few days after the wedding, as Melissa was sitting with Alonzo, Edgar and her parents, she asked her father whether the old mansion was inhabited.

"Not by human beings, he replied.----Since it has fallen into my hands I have leased it to three or four different families, who all left it under the foolish pretence or impression of hearing noises and seeing frightful objects, and such is the superst.i.tion of the people that no one now, will venture to try it again, though I suppose its inhabitants to consist only of rats and mice."

Melissa then informed them of all that had happened when she was there, the alarming noises and horrible appearances she had been witness to, and in which she was confident her senses had not deceived her.

Exceedingly astonished at her relation; it was agreed that Edgar and Alonzo, properly attended, should proceed to the mansion, in order to find whether any discoveries could be made which might tend to the elucidation of so mysterious an affair.

For this purpose they chose twenty men, armed them with muskets and swords, and proceeded to the place, where they arrived in the dusk of the evening, having chosen that season as the most favourable to their designs.

They found the drawbridge up, and the gate locked, as Edgar's father said he had left them. They entered and secured them in the same manner.

When they came to the house, they cautiously unlocked the door, and proceeded to the chamber, where they struck a fire and lighted candles, which they had brought with them. It was then agreed to plant fifteen of the men at suitable distances around the mansion, and retain five in the chamber with Alonzo and Edgar.

The men, who were placed around the house, were stationed behind trees, stumps or rocks, and where no object presented, lay flat on the ground, with orders not to stir, or discover themselves, let what would ensue, unless some alarm should be given from the house.

Alonzo and Edgar were armed with pistols and side arms, and posted themselves with the five men in the chamber, taking care that the lights should not shine against the window shutters, so that nothing could be discovered from without. Things thus arranged, they observed almost an implicit silence, no one being allowed to speak, except in a low whisper.

For a long time no sound was heard except the hollow roar of winds in the neighbouring forest, their whistling around the angles of the mansion, or the hoa.r.s.e murmers of the distant surge. The night was dark, and only illuminated by the feeble twinkling of half clouded stars.

They had watched until about midnight, when they were alarmed by noises in the rooms below, among which they could distinguish footsteps and human voices. Alonzo and Edgar, then taking each a pistol in one hand, and a drawn sword in the other, ordered their men to follow them, prepared for action. Coming to the head of the stairs, they saw a brilliant light streaming into the hall; they therefore concluded to take no candles, and to prevent discovery they took off their shoes.

When they came into the hall opposite the door of the room from whence the light and noises proceeded, they discovered ten men genteelly dressed, sitting around a table, on which was placed a considerable quant.i.ty of gold and silver coin, a number of gla.s.ses and several decanters of wine. Alonzo and his party stood a few minutes, listening to the following discourse, which took place among this _ghostly_ gentry.

"Well, boys, we have made a fine haul this trip."----"Yes, but poor Bob, though, was plump'd over by the d----d skulkers!"----"Aye, and had we not tugged bravely at the oars, they would have hook'd us."----"Rascally cow-boys detained us too long."----"Well, never mind it; let us knock around the wine, and then divide the spoil."

At this moment, Alonzo and Edgar, followed by the five men, rushed into the room, crying. "_Surrender, or you are all dead men!_" In an instant the room was involved in pitchy darkness; a loud crash was heard, then a scampering about the floor, and a noise as if several doors shut to, with violence. They however gave the alarm to the men without, by loudly shouting "_Look out_;" and immediately the discharge of several guns was heard around the mansion. One of the men flew up stairs and brought a light; but, to their utter amazement, no person was to be discovered in the room except their own party. The table, with its apparatus, and the chairs on which these now invisible beings had sat, had disappeared, not a single trace of them being left.

While they stood petrified with astonishment, the men from without called for admittance. The door being unlocked, they led in a stranger wounded, whom they immediately discovered to be one of those they had seen at the table.

The men who had been stationed around the mansion informed, that some time before the alarm was made, they saw a number of persons crossing the yard from the western part of the enclosure, towards the house; that immediately after the shout was given, they discovered several people running back in the same direction: they hailed them, which being disregarded, they fired upon them, one of whom they brought down, which was the wounded man they had brought in. The others, though they pursued them, got off.

The prisoner's wound was not dangerous, the ball had shattered his arm, and glanced upon his breast. They dressed his wound as well as they could, and then requested him to unfold the circ.u.mstances of the suspicious appearance in which he was involved.

"First promise me, on your honour, said the stranger, that you will use your influence to prevent my being punished or imprisoned."

This they readily agreed to, on condition that he would conceal nothing from them--and he gave them the following relation:

That they were a part of a gang of _illicit traders_; men who had combined for the purpose of carrying on a secret and illegal commerce with the British army on Long Island, whom, contrary to the existing laws, they supplied with provisions, and brought off English goods, which they sold at very extortionate prices. But this was not all; they also brought over large quant.i.ties of counterfeit continental money, which they put off among the Americans for live stock, poultry, produce, &c. which they carried to the Island. The counterfeit money they purchased by merely paying for the printing; the British having obtained copies of the American emission, struck immense quant.i.ties of it in New-York, and insidiously sent it out into the country, in order to sink our currency.

This gang was likewise connected with the cow-boys, who made it their business to steal, not only milch cows, and other cattle, but also hogs and sheep, which they drove by night to some convenient place on the sh.o.r.es of the Sound, where these _thief-partners_ received them, and conveyed them to the British.

"In our excursions across the Sound, continued the wounded man, we had frequently observed this mansion, which, from every appearance, we were convinced was uninhabited:--we therefore selected it as a suitable place for our future rendezvous, which had therefore been only in the open woods. To cross the moat, we dragged up an old canoe from the sea sh.o.r.e, which we concealed in the bushes as soon as we recrossed from the old mansion. To get over the wall we used ladders of ropes, placing a flat of thick board on the top of the spikes driven into the wall. We found more difficulty in getting into the house:--we however at length succeeded, by tearing away a part of the back wall, where we fitted in a door so exactly, and so nicely painted it, that it could not be distinguished from the wall itself. This door was so constructed, that on touching a spring, it would fly open, and when unrestrained, would shut to with violence. Finding the apartment so eligible for our purpose, and fearing that at some future time we might be disturbed either by the owner of the building or some tenant, we cut similar doors into every room of the house, so that on an emergency we could traverse every apartment without access to the known doors. Trap-doors on a similar construction, communicated with the cellar:--the table, which you saw us sitting around, stood on one of those, which, on your abrupt appearance, as soon as the candles were extinguished, was with its contents, precipitated below, and we made our escape by those secret doors, judging, that although you had seen us, if we could get off, you would be unable to find out any thing which might lead to our discovery.

"A circ.u.mstance soon occurred, which tended to embarra.s.s our plans, and at first seemed to menace their overthrow. Our a.s.sembling at the mansion was irregular, as occasion and circ.u.mstances required; often not more than once a week, but sometimes more frequent, and always in the night.--Late one night, as we were proceeding to the mansion, and had arrived near it, suddenly one of the chamber windows was opened and a light issued from within. We entered the house with caution, and soon discovered that some person was in the chamber from whence we had seen the light. We remained until all was silent, and then entered the chamber by one of our secret doors, and to our inexpressible surprise, beheld a beautiful young lady asleep on the only bed in the room. We cautiously retired, and reconnoitering all parts of the mansion, found that she was the only inhabitant except ourselves. The singularity of her being there alone, is a circ.u.mstance we have never been able to discover, but it gave us fair hopes of easily procuring her ejectment.

We then immediately withdrew, and made preparations to dispossess the fair tenant of the premises to which we considered ourselves more properly ent.i.tled, as possessing a prior inc.u.mbency.

"We did not effect the completion of our apparatus under three or four days. As soon as we were prepared, we returned to the mansion. As we approached the house, it appears the lady heard us, for again she suddenly flung up a window and held out a candle: we skulked from the light, but feared she had a glimpse of us.--After we had got into the house we were still until we supposed her to be asleep, which we found to be the case on going to her chamber.

"We then stationed one near her bed, who, by a loud rap on the floor with a cane, appeared to arouse her in a fright. Loud noises were then made below, and some of them ran heavily up the stairs which led to her chamber; the person stationed in the room whispering near her bed--she raised herself up, and he fled behind the curtains. Soon after she again lay down; he approached nearer the bed with a design to lay his hand, on which he had drawn a thin sheet-lead glove, across her face; but discovering her arm on the out side of the bedclothes, he grasped it--she screamed and sprang up in the bed; the man then left the room.

"As it was not our intention to injure the lady, but only to drive her from the house, we concluded we had sufficiently alarmed her, and having extinguished the lights, were about to depart, when we heard her descending the stairs. She came down and examined the doors, when one of our party, in a loud whisper, crying "_away! away_;" she darted up stairs, and we left the house.

"We did not return the next night, in order to give her time to get off; but the night after we again repaired to the mansion, expecting that she had gone, but we were disappointed. As it was late when we arrived, she was wrapped in sleep, and we found that more forcible measures must be resorted to before we could remove her, and for such measures we were amply prepared."

The stranger then unfolded the mysteries of that awful night, when Melissa was so terrified by horrible appearances. One of the tallest and most robust of the gang, was attired, as has been described, when he appeared by her bed side. The white robe was an old sheet, stained in some parts with a liquid red mixture; the wound in his breast was artificial, and the blood issuing therefrom was only some of this mixture, pressed from a small bladder, concealed under his robe. On his head and face he wore a mask, with gla.s.s eyes----the mask was painted to suit their purposes. The b.l.o.o.d.y dagger was of wood, and painted.

Thus accoutred, he took his stand near Melissa's bed, having first blown out the candles she had left burning, and discharged a small pistol.

Perceiving this had awakened her, a train of powder was fired in the adjoining room opposite the secret door, which was left open, in order that the flash might illuminate her apartment; then several large cannon b.a.l.l.s were rolled through the rooms over her head, imitative of thunder.

The person in her room then uttered a horrible groan, and gliding along by her bed, took his stand behind the curtains, near the foot. The noises below, the cry of murder, the firing of the second pistol, and the running up stairs, were all corresponding scenes to impress terror on her imagination. The pretended ghost then advanced in front of her bed, while lights were slowly introduced, which first shone faintly, until they were ushered into the room by the private door, exhibiting the person before her in all his horrific appearances. On her shrieking, and shrinking into the bed, the lights were suddenly extinguished, and the person, after commanding her to be gone in a hoa.r.s.e voice, pa.s.sed again to the foot of the bed, shook it violently, and made a seeming attempt to get upon it, when, perceiving her to be springing up, he fled out of the room by the secret door, cautiously shut it, and joined his companions.

The operators had not yet completed their farce, or rather, to Melissa, tragedy. They had framed an image of paste-board, in human shape, arrayed it in black, its eyes being formed of large pieces of what is vulgarly called _fox-fire_,[A] made into the likeness of human eyes, some material being placed in its mouth, around which was a piece of the thinnest scarlet tiffany, in order to make it appear of a flame colour.

They had also constructed a large combustible ball, of several thicknesses of paste-board, to which a match was placed. The image was to be conveyed into her room, and placed, in the dark, before her bed;--while in that position, the ball was to be rubbed over with phosphorus, the match set on fire, and rolled across her chamber, and when it burst, the image was to vanish, by being suddenly conveyed out of the private door, which was to close the scene for that night. But as Melissa had now arisen and lighted candles, the plan was defeated.

[Footnote A: A sort of decayed or rotten wood, which in the night looks like coals of fire, of a bright whitish colour. It emits a faint light.]

While they were consulting how to proceed, they heard her unlock her chamber door, and slowly descend the stairs. Fearing a discovery, they retired with their lights, and the person who had been in her chamber, not having yet stripped off his ghostly habiliments, laid himself down on one side of the hall. The man who had the image, crowded himself with it under the stairs she was descending. On her dropping the candle, when she turned to flee to her chamber, from the sight of the same object which had appeared at her bed-side, the person under the stairs presented the image at their foot, and at the same instant the combustible ball was prepared, and rolled through the hall; and when on its bursting she fainted, they began to grow alarmed; but on finding that she recovered and regained her chamber, they departed, for that time, from the house.

"Our scheme, continued the wounded man, had the desired effect. On returning a few evenings after, we found the lady gone and the furniture removed. Several attempts were afterwards made to occupy the house, but we always succeeded in soon frightening the inhabitants away."

Edgar and Alonzo then requested their prisoner to show them the springs of the secret doors, and how they were opened. The springs were sunk in the wood, which being touched by entering a gimblet hole with a piece of pointed steel, which each of the gang always had about him, the door would fly open, and fasten again in shutting to. On opening the trap-door over which the gang had sat when they first discovered them, they found the table and chairs, with the decanters broken, and the money, which they secured. In one part of the cellar they were shown a kind of cave, its mouth covered with boards and earth--here the company kept their furniture, and to this place would they have removed it, had they not been so suddenly frightened away. The canoe they found secreted in the bushes beyond the ca.n.a.l.

It was then agreed that the man should go before the proper authorities in a neighbouring town, and there, as state's evidence, make affidavit of what he had recited, and as complete a developement of the characters concerned in the business as possible, when he was to be released. The man enquired to what town they were to go, which, when they had informed him, "Then, said he, it will be in my power to perform one deed of justice before I leave the country, as leave it I must, immediately after I have given in my testimony, or I shall be a.s.sa.s.sinated by some of those who will be implicated in the transaction I have related."

He then informed them, that while he, with the gang, was prosecuting the illicit trade, a British ship came and anch.o.r.ed in the Sound, which they supplied with provisions, but that having at one time a considerable quant.i.ty on hand, the ship sent its boat on sh.o.r.e, with an officer and five men, to fetch it; the officer came with them on sh.o.r.e, leaving the men in the boat: "As we were about to carry the provisions on board the boat, continued the man, a party of Americans fired upon us, and wounded the officer in the thigh, who fell: "I shall be made prisoner, said he, taking out his purse; keep this, and if I live and regain my liberty, perhaps you may have an opportunity of restoring it:--alarm the boat's crew, and shift for yourselves." The boat was alarmed, returned to the ship, and we saved ourselves by flight.

"This happened about four months ago; the ship soon after sailed for New York, and the officer was imprisoned in the gaol of the town to which we are to go; I can therefore restore him his purse."

The man farther informed them, that they had several times come near being taken, and the last trip they were fired upon, and one of their party killed.

They immediately set out for the aforesaid town, after having dismissed their fifteen men; and when they arrived there, Alonzo and Edgar accompanied their prisoner to the gaol. On making the proper enquiries, they were conducted into a dark and dirty apartment of the gaol, where were several prisoners in irons. The British officer was soon distinguished among them by his regimentals. Though enveloped in filth and dust, his countenance appeared familiar to Alonzo; and on a few moments recollection, he recognized in the manacled officer, the generous midshipman, Jack Brown, who had so disinterestedly relieved him, when he escaped from the prison in London!

In the fervency of his feelings, Alonzo flew to him and clasped him in his arms. "What do I behold! he cried. My friend, my brave deliverer, in chains in my own country!"