S lived in this house with his wife
and an only daughter, Miss Annie, n
beautiful girl, who was about twenty
years old at the time of which I am
speaking. She was the idol of tho fam
ily and loved by all who knew her. She
was to have been married to John R ,
a fine young fellow who lived near by,
but when the call for volunteers was
made her lover went off to the war. She
was almost overcome with anxiety for
him, for her heart had gone with him.
One day soon after one of the early bat
tles— 1 forget which one—my friend thu
gardener came up from the town with a
telegram. Ho met Miss Annie coming
down tho stairway and gave her the
message. She stopped on the landing,
opened tho envelope and read the tele
grain.
“She stood perfectly still for an in
stant as if she could not realize it and
then the gardener was just in time to
save her from falling, as she fainted.
The telegram announced the death of
Lieutenant John R , killed on the
battlefield. Miss Annie never recovered
from the shock, and she died insane in a
few months. Iler mother soon followed
her, and Mr. S left the town, a
lonely, brokenhearted man, and novel
has returned. Tho place lias never been
rented because it is said that the un
fortunate girl s spirit haunts the house,
and especially tho stairway, where shu
heard the news of her lover s death. I
had photographed the ghost.
