0:00

The future is a hefty responsibility and

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not one that we take lightly. But then

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taking things lightly has never been what

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hefty is about. That's why we've created the

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Hefty Renew program that turns hard to

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recycle plastics into valuable resources like park benches

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and building materials. To participate,

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simply fill up an orange hefty renew bag

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with accepted items, tie it up and drop

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it in with your regular recycling. That's it.

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It's that easy. It's time to

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rethink recycling with Renew. Particular-valued

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resources may vary by geography. More

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info available at hestrerenew.com. These

0:31

Americans. No respect

0:33

for permanent bloodstains, rattling chains,

0:35

nor ancient legends. It's

0:37

like they don't even believe in ghosts. Oscar

0:41

Wilde. Today on The Classic

0:43

Tales Podcast. Welcome

0:55

to this vintage episode of The Classic

0:57

Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. A

1:00

vintage episode is released every Tuesday.

1:03

Please help us to continue

1:06

producing amazing audiobooks by going

1:08

to classictalesaudiobooks.com and becoming

1:10

a supporter. New stories are

1:12

coming your way on Friday. Keep

1:15

an ear open for our Kickstarter for

1:17

The Golden Triangle, the seventh novel

1:20

in the Arzan Lupin series. We'll

1:22

let you know when we're ready to kick off. Today's

1:25

story is the first of Oscar Wilde's

1:27

stories to ever be published in the

1:30

Court and Society Review in 1887. It

1:34

has been adapted many times for stage and

1:36

screen. I hope you like it. And

1:39

now, The Canterville Ghost

1:42

by Oscar Wilde. When

1:51

Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American

1:53

minister, bought Canterville Chase,

1:55

everyone told him he was doing a

1:58

very foolish thing. no

2:00

doubt at all that the place was haunted. Indeed,

2:03

Lord Canterville himself, who was a man of

2:06

the most plentilious honor, had felt

2:08

it his duty to mention the fact to Mr.

2:10

Otis when they came to discuss terms. We

2:13

have not cared to live in the place

2:15

ourselves, said Lord Canterville, since

2:18

my grand-aunt, the dowager Duchess of

2:20

Bolton, was frightened into a fit,

2:23

from which she never really recovered, by

2:25

two skeleton hands being placed on her shoulders

2:28

as she was dressing for dinner. And

2:30

I feel bound to tell you, Mr. Otis,

2:32

that the ghost has been seen by several

2:35

living members of my family, as well as

2:37

by the rector of the parish, the

2:40

Reverend Augustus D'Ampere, who

2:42

is a fellow of King's College, Cambridge. After

2:44

the unfortunate accident to the Duchess, none

2:47

of our younger servants would stay with

2:49

us. Lady Canterville often got

2:51

very little sleep at night in consequence

2:53

of the mysterious noises that came from

2:56

the corridor and the library. My

2:59

Lord, answered the minister, I will

3:02

take the furniture and the ghost at

3:04

evaluation. I come from a

3:06

modern country, where we have everything that

3:09

money can buy, and with all our

3:11

spry young fellows painting the old world

3:13

red and carrying off your best actresses

3:15

and prima donnas, I reckon

3:17

that if there were such a thing as a ghost

3:19

in Europe, we'd have it at home

3:22

in a very short time in one of

3:24

our public museums, or on the road as

3:26

a show. I

3:28

fear that the ghost exists, said

3:31

Lord Canterville, smiling. Though

3:33

it may have resisted the

3:35

overtures of your enterprising impresarios,

3:38

it has been well known for three centuries, since

3:40

1584, in fact, and

3:43

always makes its appearance before the

3:45

death of any member of

3:47

our family. Well, so

3:50

does the family doctor for that matter,

3:52

Lord Canterville. But there is no

3:54

such thing, sir, as a ghost, and

3:56

I guess the laws of nature are not going

3:59

to be suspended. for the British aristocracy.

4:02

"'You are certainly very natural in

4:04

America,' answered Lord Canterville,

4:06

who did not quite understand Mr.

4:09

Otis's last observation. "'And

4:11

if you don't mind a ghost in the house, it

4:13

is all right. Only you must

4:15

remember I warned you.' A

4:18

few weeks after this, the purchase

4:20

was completed, and at the

4:22

close of the season, the minister and

4:24

his family went down to Canterville Chase.

4:27

Mrs. Otis, who, as

4:29

Miss Lucretia R. Tappan of

4:31

West 53rd Street, had been

4:34

a celebrated New York bell, was

4:36

now a very handsome middle-aged woman

4:38

with fine eyes and a superb

4:40

profile. Many American

4:42

ladies, on leaving their native land,

4:44

adopt an appearance of chronic

4:46

ill health under the impression that

4:48

it is a form of European

4:50

refinement. But Mrs. Otis had

4:52

never fallen into this era. She

4:55

had a magnificent constitution and a

4:57

really wonderful amount of animal spirits.

5:00

Indeed in many respects, she was quite English,

5:02

and was an excellent example of

5:05

the fact that we have really

5:07

everything in common with America nowadays,

5:09

except, of course, language. Her

5:12

eldest son, christened Washington by his

5:14

parents in a moment of patriotism

5:16

which he had never ceased to

5:18

regret, was a fair-haired,

5:20

rather good-looking young man, who

5:23

had qualified himself for American

5:25

diplomacy by leading the German

5:27

at the Newport Casino for

5:29

three successive seasons, and

5:32

even in London was well known as

5:34

an excellent dancer. Gardenias

5:36

and the peerage were his

5:38

only weaknesses. Otherwise, he

5:40

was extremely sensible. Miss

5:42

Virginia E. Otis was a little

5:44

girl of fifteen, lies and

5:47

lovely as a fawn, and with

5:49

a fine freedom in her large blue eyes. She

5:52

was a wonderful Amazon, and had

5:54

once raced Old Lord Billton on her

5:56

pony twice round the park, winning by

5:58

a length and length. the half just

6:00

in front of Achilles' statue to the

6:03

high delight of the young Duke of

6:05

Cheshire, who proposed to her on

6:07

the spot and was sent back to Eton

6:09

that very night by his guardians in floods

6:11

of tears. After

6:14

Virginia came the twins, who were

6:16

usually called the Stars and Stripes

6:18

as they were always getting swished.

6:21

They were delightful boys and with the

6:23

exception of the worthy minister, the only

6:25

true Republicans of the family. As

6:28

Canterville Chase is seven miles from

6:30

Ascot, the nearest railway station,

6:33

Mr. Otis had telegraphed for a wagonette

6:35

to meet them and they

6:37

started on their drive in high spirits. It

6:40

was a lovely July evening and the air

6:42

was delicate with the scent of the pine

6:44

woods. Now and then

6:46

they heard a woodpigeon brooding over its

6:48

own sweet voice or saw, deep

6:51

in the rustling fern, the burnished

6:53

breast of the pheasant. Little

6:56

squirrels peered at them from the beech

6:58

trees as they went by and the

7:00

rabbits scattered away through the brushwood and

7:02

over the mossy knolls with

7:05

their white tails in the air. As

7:07

they entered the avenue of Canterville Chase,

7:10

however, the sky became suddenly

7:12

overcast with clouds. A

7:14

curious stillness seemed to hold the

7:16

atmosphere. A great flight of rooks

7:19

passed silently over their heads and

7:21

before they reached the house, even

7:23

big drops of rain had fallen. Standing

7:27

on the steps to receive them was an

7:29

old woman neatly dressed in black silk with

7:31

a white cap and apron. This was

7:34

Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper whom

7:36

Mrs. Otis at Lady Canterville's earnest

7:38

request had consented to keep on

7:40

in her former position. She

7:43

made them each a low curtsy as they alighted

7:46

and said in a quaint, old-fashioned manner,

7:49

I bid you welcome to

7:51

Canterville Chase. Following

7:54

her, they passed through the fine

7:56

Tudor Hall into the library, a

7:58

long, low room. room, panelled

8:00

in black oak, the very end of which

8:03

was a large stained-glass window.

8:06

Here they found tea laid out for them,

8:09

and after taking off their wraps they sat

8:11

down and began to look round, while Mrs.

8:13

Umney waited on them. Suddenly

8:16

Mrs. Otter's caught sight of a dull red

8:18

stain on the floor just by the fireplace,

8:21

and quite unconscious of what it really signified,

8:24

said to Mrs. Umney, I am

8:26

afraid something has been spilled there. Yes,

8:29

madam, replied the old

8:31

housekeeper in a low voice. Blood

8:34

has been spilled on that spot.

8:37

Cough or it? cried Mrs. Otter's.

8:40

I don't at all care for blood stains in a

8:42

sitting room. It must be removed at once. The

8:45

old woman smiled and answered

8:47

in the same low, mysterious voice.

8:51

It hid the blood of Lady

8:53

Eleanor de Canteville, who was

8:55

murdered on that very spot by

8:57

her own husband, Sir Simon de

8:59

Canteville, in 1575. Sir

9:04

Simon survived her nine years

9:07

and disappeared suddenly under

9:10

very mysterious circumstances. His

9:12

body has never been recovered,

9:15

but his guilty spirit still haunts

9:18

the chase. The

9:20

blood stain has been much admired

9:22

by tourists and others, and cannot

9:25

be removed. Have

9:27

his all nonsense, cried Washington Otter's.

9:30

Pinkerton's champion stain remover and paragon detergent will

9:32

clean it up in no time. And

9:35

before the terrified housekeeper could interfere, he had

9:37

fallen upon his knees and was rapidly scouring

9:40

the floor with a small stick of what

9:42

looked like a black cosmetic. In

9:44

a few moments, no trace of the blood stain could

9:46

be seen. I know Pinkerton would

9:49

do it, he exclaimed triumphantly

9:51

as he looked round at his

9:53

admiring family. But no

9:55

sooner had he said these words than a terrible

9:57

flash of lightning lit up the somber room. And

10:00

a fearful peal of thunder made them

10:02

all start to their feet, and Mrs.

10:05

Umney fainted. What

10:07

a monstrous climate! said the

10:09

American minister calmly, as he lit

10:11

a long charout. I

10:13

guess the old country is so overpopulated

10:15

that they have not enough decent weather for

10:18

everybody. I have always been of

10:20

opinion that emigration is the only thing for

10:22

England. My dear Hiram,

10:25

cried Mrs. Otis, what can we do

10:27

with a woman who faints? Such

10:29

a tour like breakages! answered the

10:31

minister. She won't faint after that. And

10:35

in a few moments Mrs. Umney certainly came too.

10:38

There was no doubt, however, that she

10:40

was extremely upset, and she sternly warned

10:42

Mr. Otis to beware of some trouble

10:44

coming to the house. I

10:47

have seen things with my own

10:49

eyes, sir, she said. That

10:52

would make any Christian's hair stand on

10:54

end, and many and many

10:57

a night I have not closed my

10:59

eyes in sleep for the awful things

11:01

that are done here. Mr.

11:05

Otis, however, and his wife warmly

11:07

assured the honest soul that they were

11:10

not afraid of ghosts, and after invoking

11:12

the blessings of Providence on her new

11:14

master and mistress, and making

11:16

arrangements for an increase of salary, the

11:18

old housekeeper tottered off to her

11:21

own room. The

11:29

storm raged fiercely all that

11:31

night, but nothing of

11:33

particular note occurred. The

11:35

next morning, however, when they came down to

11:37

breakfast they found a terrible stain of blood

11:40

once again on the floor. I

11:43

don't think it can be the fault of the Paragon

11:45

detergent, said Washington, for I

11:47

have tried it with everything. It must be

11:49

the ghost. He accordingly rubbed

11:51

out the stain a second time, but the

11:53

second morning it appeared again. The

11:56

third morning also it was there, though the library

11:58

had been locked up at night. by

12:00

Mr. Otis himself, and the key

12:02

carried upstairs. The

12:04

whole family were now quite interested. Mr.

12:07

Otis began to suspect that he had been

12:09

too dogmatic in his denial of the existence

12:11

of ghosts. Mrs. Otis expressed

12:14

her intention of joining the

12:16

Psychical Society, and Washington prepared

12:18

a long letter to Messers-Myers

12:20

and Podmore on the subject

12:22

of the permanence of sanguineous

12:24

stains when connected with crime.

12:27

That night, all doubts about

12:30

the objective existence of phantasmata

12:32

were removed forever. The

12:35

day had been warm and sunny, and

12:38

in the cool of the evening, the whole

12:40

family went out for a drive. They

12:42

did not return home till nine o'clock, when

12:45

they had a light supper. The

12:47

conversation in no way turned upon

12:50

ghosts, so there were not even

12:52

those primary conditions of receptive expectation,

12:55

which so often precede the presentation of

12:57

psychical phenomena. The subjects

12:59

discussed, as I have since learned from Mr.

13:01

Otis, were merely such as

13:04

formed the ordinary conversation of cultured

13:06

Americans of the better class, such

13:09

as the immense superiority of Miss

13:11

Fanny Davenport over Sarah Bernhardt as

13:13

an actress, the difficulty of

13:15

obtaining green corn, buckwheat cakes,

13:17

and harmony, even in

13:19

the best English houses, the importance

13:21

of Boston in the development of

13:23

the world soul, the advantages of

13:25

the baggage check system in railway

13:28

traveling, and the sweetness of

13:30

the New York accent as compared to

13:32

the London drawl. No

13:34

mention at all was made of the supernatural.

13:38

Nor was Sir Simon de Canterville alluded to in

13:40

any way. At eleven

13:42

o'clock the family retired, and by half

13:44

past all the lights were out. Sometime

13:47

later Mr. Otis was awakened by a

13:49

curious noise in the corridor outside his

13:51

room. It sounded like the

13:54

crank of metal, and seemed

13:56

to be coming nearer every moment. He

13:59

got up at once. struck a match and

14:01

looked at the time. It was

14:04

exactly one o'clock. He

14:06

was quite calm and felt his pulse, which

14:09

was not at all feverish. The

14:11

strange noise still continued, and

14:13

with it he heard distinctly the

14:15

sound of footsteps.

14:19

He put on his slippers, took a

14:21

small oblong vial out of his dressing-case,

14:24

and opened the door. Right

14:26

in front of him he saw,

14:28

in the one moonlight, an old

14:31

man of terrible aspect. His

14:33

eyes were as red as burning coals,

14:36

long gray hair fell over his

14:38

shoulders in matted coils, his garments,

14:40

which were of antique cut, were

14:43

soiled and ragged, and from his

14:45

wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles

14:48

and rusty jives. "'My

14:51

dear sir,' said Mr. Otis,

14:53

"'I really must insist on your oiling

14:55

those chains, and I have brought you

14:57

for that purpose a small bottle of

14:59

the Tammany Rising Sun lubricator. It

15:02

is said to be completely efficacious upon

15:04

one application, and there are several testimonials

15:06

to that effect on the wrapper from

15:08

some of our most eminent native divines.

15:11

I shall leave it here for you by the

15:13

bedroom candles, and will be happy to supply you

15:15

with more should you require it.'" With

15:19

these words the United States minister laid

15:21

the bottle down on a marble table and

15:24

closing his door, retired to rest. For

15:29

a moment the Canterville ghost

15:31

stood quite motionless in natural

15:33

indignation. Then, dashing

15:35

the bottle violently upon the polished floor, he

15:38

fled down the corridor, uttering hollow

15:40

groans and emitting a ghastly green

15:42

light. Just, however, as

15:45

he reached the top of the

15:47

great oak staircase a door was

15:49

flung open, two little white-robed figures

15:51

appeared, and a large pillow whizzed

15:54

past his head. There was evidently

15:56

no time to be lost, so hastily adopting

15:58

the fourth dimension of space as a a

16:00

mean of escape, he vanished through

16:02

the wainscoting, and the house became

16:04

quite quiet. On

16:08

reaching a small secret chamber in the left

16:10

wing, he leaned up against a moonbeam to

16:13

recover his breath and began

16:15

to try and realize his position. Never!

16:18

In a brilliant and uninterrupted career

16:21

of three hundred years had

16:23

he been so grossly insulted, he

16:25

thought of the Dowager Duchess, whom he had

16:27

frightened into a fit as she stood before

16:29

the glass in her lace and diamonds, of

16:32

the four housemaids who had gone off into

16:34

hysterics when he merely grinned at them

16:36

through the curtains of one of the

16:38

spare bedrooms, of the

16:40

rector of the parish whose candle he had blown

16:43

out as he was coming late one night from

16:45

the library, and who had been

16:47

under the care of Sir William Gull ever

16:49

since, a perfect monitor to nervous disorders, and

16:52

of old Madame de Tramouliac, who,

16:55

having wakened up one morning

16:57

early, had seen a skeleton

16:59

seated in an armchair by

17:01

the fire reading her diary,

17:04

had been confined to her bed for six

17:06

weeks with an attack of brain fever and

17:08

on her recovery, had become

17:10

reconciled to the church, and had

17:12

broken off her connection with that

17:14

notorious skeptic, Monsieur de Voltaire. He

17:17

remembered the terrible night when the

17:20

wicked Lord Canterville was found choking

17:22

in his dressing room, with

17:24

the knave of diamonds halfway down

17:26

his throat, and confessed just before

17:28

he died that he had cheated

17:31

Charles James Fox out of fifty

17:33

thousand pounds at Crockford's by means

17:35

of that very card, and swore

17:37

that the ghost had made him

17:39

swallow it. All his

17:41

great achievements came back to him again, from

17:44

the butler who had shot himself in the

17:46

pantry because he had seen a green hand

17:48

tapping at the window pane, to the

17:50

beautiful Lady Stutfield, who was always

17:53

obliged to wear a black velvet

17:55

band round her throat, to hide

17:57

the mark of five fingers.

18:00

burnt upon her white skin and who drowned

18:02

herself at last in the carp pond

18:04

at the end of the King's walk. With

18:07

the enthusiastic egotism of the

18:09

true artist, he went

18:11

over his most celebrated performances and

18:13

smiled bitterly to himself as he

18:15

recalled to mind his last appearance

18:17

as Red Ruben, or

18:20

the Strangled Babe. His debut

18:22

as Gaunt Gibeon, the bloodsucker of

18:24

Bexley Moore, and the furor he

18:26

had excited one lonely June evening

18:29

by merely playing nine pins with

18:31

his own bones upon the lawn

18:33

tennis ground. And after

18:35

all this, some wretched

18:38

modern Americans were to come and

18:40

offer him the rising sun lubricator

18:42

and throw pillows at his head?

18:44

It is quite

18:46

unbearable. Besides no ghost in

18:48

history had ever been treated in this manner. Accordingly,

18:52

he determined to have vengeance

18:54

and remained till daylight in

18:57

an attitude of deep thought.

18:59

3. The

19:07

next morning, when the Otis family

19:09

met at breakfast, they discussed

19:11

the ghost at some length. The

19:13

United States minister was naturally a little

19:16

annoyed to find that his present had

19:18

not been accepted. 3. I

19:20

have no wish, he said, to do

19:23

the ghost any personal injury, and I must

19:25

say that considering the length of time he

19:27

has been in the house, I don't think

19:29

it at all polite to throw pillows at

19:31

him. A very just

19:33

remark, at which I am sorry

19:35

to say the twins burst into shouts of laughter.

19:37

4. Upon the other

19:39

hand, he continued, if he

19:42

really declines to use the rising sun lubricator, we shall

19:44

have to take his chains from him. It

19:47

would be quite impossible to sleep with such a

19:49

noise going on outside the bedrooms. For

19:52

the rest of the week, however, they were

19:54

undisturbed. The only thing that

19:56

excited any attention being the continual

19:58

renewal of the blood-stating stain on

20:00

the library floor. This certainly

20:02

was very strange, as the door was

20:05

always locked at night by Mr. Otis,

20:07

and the windows kept closely barred. The

20:10

chameleon-like color also of the stain excited

20:12

a good deal of comment. Some

20:15

mornings it was a dull, almost Indian

20:17

red. Then it would be

20:19

vermilioned. Then a rich purple. And

20:22

once, when they came down for family prayers, according

20:24

to the simple rites of the Free

20:26

American Reformed Episcopalian Church, they found

20:29

it a bright emerald green. These

20:32

kaleidoscopic changes naturally amused the

20:34

party very much, and

20:37

bets on the subject were freely made every

20:39

evening. The only person who

20:41

did not enter into the joke was Little

20:43

Virginia, who for some unexplained

20:45

reason was always a good deal distressed

20:48

at the sight of the blood stain,

20:50

and very nearly cried the morning it

20:52

was emerald green. The

20:55

second appearance of the ghost was on

20:57

Sunday night. Shortly after they

20:59

had gone to bed, they were suddenly

21:01

alarmed by a fearful crash in the

21:03

hall. Rushing downstairs, they

21:05

found that a large suit of

21:07

old armor had become detached from

21:09

its stand and had fallen onto

21:12

the stone floor while seated in

21:14

a high-backed chair was the cantorville

21:16

ghost, rubbing his knees with an

21:18

expression of acute agony on his face. The

21:21

twins, having brought their peashooters with

21:23

them, at once discharged two pellets

21:25

in him, with the accuracy

21:27

of aim which can only be attained

21:29

by long and careful practice on a

21:31

writing master, while the United States

21:33

minister covered him with his revolver and

21:36

called upon him, in accordance with California

21:38

etiquette, to hold up his hands. The

21:41

ghost started up with a

21:43

wild shriek of rage and swept

21:45

through them like a mist, extinguishing

21:47

Washington Otis' candle as he passed,

21:50

and so leaving them all in

21:52

total darkness. On

21:54

reaching the top of the staircase,

21:56

he recovered himself and determined to

21:59

give his celebrated peal of death.

22:01

demoniac laughter. This he had on

22:03

more than one occasion found extremely useful.

22:06

It was said to have turned Lord

22:08

Raker's wig gray in a single night,

22:10

and it certainly made three of Lady

22:12

Canterville's French governesses give warning before their

22:15

month was up. He

22:17

accordingly laughed his most horrible

22:19

laugh, until the old vaulted

22:22

roof rang and rang again but hardly

22:24

had the fearful echo died away when

22:26

a door opened and Mrs. Otis came

22:28

out in a light blue dressing gown.

22:32

I am afraid you are far from well, she

22:34

said, and have brought you a bottle of Dr.

22:36

Doble's tincture. If

22:38

it is indigestion, you will find it the most

22:40

excellent remedy. The ghost

22:42

glared at her in fury and

22:45

began at once to make preparations for

22:47

turning himself into a large black dog,

22:49

an accomplishment for which he was justly

22:51

renowned, and to which

22:54

the family doctor always attributed

22:56

the permanent idiocy of Lord

22:58

Canterville's uncle, the honorable

23:00

Thomas Horton. The sound

23:02

of approaching footsteps, however, made him hesitate

23:05

in his fell purpose, so

23:07

he contented himself with becoming faintly

23:09

phosphorescent and vanished with

23:11

a deep churchyard groan just

23:14

as the twins had come up to him. On

23:17

reaching his room, he entirely broke down

23:20

and became a prey to the

23:22

most violent agitation. The

23:24

vulgarity of the twins and the

23:27

gross materialism of Mrs. Otis were

23:29

naturally extremely annoying, but

23:31

what really distressed him most was that he

23:34

had been unable to wear the suit of

23:36

mail. He had hoped that even

23:38

modern Americans would be thrilled by the sight

23:40

of a specter in armor, if,

23:43

for no more sensible reason, at least

23:45

out of respect of their national poet

23:48

Longfellow over whose graceful and attractive poetry

23:50

he himself had wild away many a

23:52

weary hour when the Cantervilles were

23:54

up in town. Besides, it

23:57

was his own suit. He had

23:59

worn it with success. success at the Kenilworth

24:01

Tournament and had been highly complimented

24:03

on it by no less a person than

24:05

the Virgin Queen herself. Yet

24:08

when he had put it on, he had

24:10

been completely overpowered by the weight of

24:12

the huge breastplate and steel cask and

24:15

had fallen heavily on the stone pavement,

24:18

barking both his knees severely and bruising

24:20

the knuckles of his right hand. For

24:23

some days after this he was extremely ill

24:26

and hardly stirred out of his room at

24:28

all except to keep the bloodstain in proper

24:30

repair. However, by

24:33

taking great care of himself, he recovered and

24:36

resolved to make a third attempt to

24:38

frighten the United States Minister and his

24:41

family. He selected Friday, the

24:43

seventeenth of August, for his appearance

24:46

and spent most of the day in looking

24:48

over his wardrobe, ultimately deciding in

24:50

favor of a large slouched hat

24:52

with a red feather, a winding sheet

24:55

frilled at the wrists and neck, and

24:57

a rusty dagger. Towards

25:01

evening a violent storm of rain

25:03

came on and the wind

25:05

was so high that all the windows

25:07

and doors in the old house shook

25:10

and rattled. In fact,

25:12

it was just such weather as he loved.

25:15

His plan of action was this. He

25:17

was to make his way quietly to

25:20

Washington Otis' room, gibberish him

25:22

from the foot of the bed, and

25:24

stab himself three times in the throat

25:26

to the sound of slow music. He

25:29

bore Washington a special grudge, being quite aware

25:31

that it was he who was

25:33

in habit of removing the famous

25:36

Canterville bloodstain by means of Pinkerton's

25:38

paragon detergent. Having

25:40

reduced the reckless and foolhardy youth to

25:43

a condition of abject terror, he was

25:45

then to proceed to the room occupied

25:47

by the United States Minister and his

25:50

wife, and there to

25:52

place a clammy hand on Mrs.

25:54

Otis' forehead while he hissed

25:56

into her trembling husband's ear the

25:59

awful secret of the Charnel House.

26:02

With regard to little Virginia, he had not quite made up

26:04

his mind. She had never

26:07

insulted him in any way, and was pretty

26:09

and gentle. A few hollow

26:11

groans from the wardrobe, he thought, would be

26:13

more than sufficient, or if that

26:15

failed to wake her, he might grabble

26:17

at the counterpane with palsy twitching

26:20

fingers. As for the twins,

26:22

he was quite determined to teach them a lesson.

26:24

The first thing to be done was, of

26:27

course, to sit upon their chests so as

26:29

to produce the stifling sensation of nightmare, then,

26:31

as their beds were

26:33

quite close to each other, to stand

26:35

between them in the form of a

26:38

green, icy cold corpse, till they

26:40

became paralyzed with fear, and finally,

26:42

to throw off the winding sheet

26:44

and crawl round the room with

26:46

white bleached bones and one rolling

26:48

eyeball in the character of Dum

26:51

Daniel or the Suicide Skeleton, a

26:54

role in which he had on more than

26:56

one occasion produced a great effect, and

26:58

which he considered quite equal to his

27:00

famous part of Martin the Maniac or

27:03

the Masked Mystery. At

27:06

half-past ten he heard the family going to

27:08

bed. Sometime

27:10

he was disturbed by wild shrieks of

27:12

laughter from the twins, who, with

27:14

a light-hearted gaiety of schoolboys, were

27:16

evidently amusing themselves before they retired

27:19

to rest, but a

27:21

quarter past eleven all was still,

27:24

and as midnight sounded he sallied forth.

27:27

The owl beat against the window panes,

27:29

the raven croaked from the old yew

27:32

tree, and the wind

27:34

wandered moaning round the house like

27:36

a lost soul. But

27:39

the older family slept unconscious of

27:41

their doom, and high above the

27:43

rain and storm he could hear

27:45

the steady snoring of the

27:47

Minister for the United States. He

27:50

stepped stealthily out of the

27:52

wainscoting with an evil smile

27:54

on his cruel wrinkled mouth, and

27:57

the moon hid her face in a cloud as he stole the sun.

28:00

past the great aureal window, where

28:02

his own arms and those of

28:05

his murdered wife were blazoned in

28:07

azure and gold. On

28:10

and on he glided, like

28:12

an evil shadow, the very

28:14

darkness seeming to loathe him as

28:16

he passed. Once he

28:18

thought he heard something call and stopped.

28:22

But it was only the baying of a dog from

28:24

the red farm that he went on, muttering

28:27

strange sixteenth-century curses and ever

28:29

and anon brandishing the rusty

28:31

dagger in the midnight air.

28:35

Finally, he reached the corner

28:37

of the passage that led to luckless

28:39

Washington's room. For

28:42

a moment he paused there, the

28:44

wind blowing his long gray

28:46

locks about his head and

28:48

twisting into grotesque and fantastic

28:50

folds the nameless horror of

28:53

the dead man's shroud. Then

28:55

the clock struck the quarter,

28:58

and he felt the time was come. He chuckled

29:01

to himself and turned the

29:03

corner. But no sooner had he done

29:05

so than, with a piteous wail

29:07

of terror, he fell back and hid

29:10

his blanched face in his long, bony

29:12

hands. Right in front of

29:14

him was standing a horrible spectre, motionless

29:18

as a carven image and monstrous

29:20

as a madman's dream. His

29:23

head was bald and burnished,

29:25

its face round and fat

29:27

and white, and hideous laughter

29:29

seemed to have writhed its

29:31

features into an eternal grin.

29:34

From the eyes streamed rays of

29:36

scarlet light, the mouth was a

29:38

wide well of fire, and a

29:41

hideous garment, like to his own,

29:43

swathed in its silent snows the

29:45

titan form. On its

29:47

breast was a placard, with

29:50

strange writing and antique characters,

29:52

some scroll of shame, it

29:54

seemed, some record of

29:56

wild sins, some awful calendar

29:58

of crime, and, with a its

30:00

right hand it bore aloft a

30:02

falchion of gleaming steel. Never

30:05

having seen a ghost before, he naturally

30:07

was terribly frightened, and after a second

30:09

hasty glance at the awful phantom, he

30:12

fled back to his room, tripping up

30:14

in his long winding sheet as he

30:16

sped down the corridor and finally dropping

30:18

the rusty dagger into the minister's jack-boats,

30:20

where it was found in the morning

30:22

by the butler. Once

30:25

in the privacy of his own apartment, he

30:27

flung himself down on a small pallet bed

30:29

and hid his face under the clothes. After

30:33

a time, however, the brave

30:35

old Canterville spirit asserted itself,

30:38

and he determined to go and speak to

30:40

the other ghost as soon as it was

30:42

daylight. Accordingly,

30:45

just as the dawn was touching the hills with

30:47

silver, he returned towards

30:49

the spot where he had first laid

30:51

eyes on the grisly phantom, feeling

30:54

that, after all, two ghosts were better than

30:56

one, and that, by the aid

30:58

of his new friend, he might safely grapple with

31:01

the twins. On reaching

31:03

the spot, however, a terrible sight

31:05

met his gaze. Something

31:08

had evidently happened to the specter, for

31:10

the light had entirely faded from

31:12

its hollow eyes, the gleaming falchion

31:14

had fallen from its hand, and

31:17

it was leaning up against the wall in

31:19

a strained and uncomfortable attitude. He

31:22

rushed forward and seized it in his arms when,

31:24

to his horror, the head slipped

31:27

off and rolled on the floor. The

31:29

body assumed a recumbent posture, and

31:32

he found himself clasping a white,

31:34

diminutive bed curtain with a sweeping

31:36

brush, a kitchen cleaver, and

31:38

a hollow turnip lying at his feet. Unable

31:42

to understand this curious transformation, he

31:45

clutched the placard with feverish haste,

31:47

and there, in the gray morning light,

31:50

he read these fearful words, Ye

31:54

Otis Ghost, Ye

31:56

Only True and Original Spook.

32:00

Beware of ye imitations.

32:03

All others are

32:05

counterfeit." The

32:07

whole thing flashed across him.

32:10

He had been tricked, foiled,

32:12

and outwitted. The old

32:14

cantorville look came into his eyes.

32:16

He ground his toothless gums together,

32:19

and raising his withered hands high

32:22

above his head, swore, according to

32:24

the picturesque phraseology of the antique

32:26

school, that when Chanticleer

32:28

had sounded twice his merry

32:30

horn, deeds of blood would

32:32

be wrought and murder walk

32:35

abroad with silent feet. Hardly

32:38

had he finished this awful oath when, from

32:41

the red tiled roof of a distant homestead,

32:43

a cock crew. He laughed,

32:46

a long, bitter

32:48

laugh, and waited.

32:53

Half an hour he waited, but

32:56

the cock, for some strange reason, did not crow

32:58

again. Finally,

33:00

at half-past seven, the arrival of the

33:02

housemaids made him give up his fearful

33:04

vigil, and he stalked back

33:06

to his room, thinking of his vain hope and

33:09

baffled purpose. There

33:12

he consulted several books of ancient

33:14

chivalry, of which he was exceedingly

33:16

fond, and found that on

33:18

every occasion on which his oath had

33:20

been used, Chanticleer had always

33:22

crowed a second time. "'Petition

33:26

sees the naughty foul,' he

33:29

muttered. "'I have seen

33:31

a day when, with my stout

33:33

spear, I would have run him through the

33:35

gorge and made him crow for me and

33:37

twirl in death.' He

33:40

then retired to a comfortable lead

33:43

coffin, and stayed there till

33:46

evening." 4. The

33:53

next day the ghost was very weak

33:56

and tired. The terrible excitement

33:58

of the last four weeks was beginning

34:00

to have its effect, his nerves

34:02

were completely shattered, and he

34:04

started at the slightest noise. For

34:06

five days he kept his room, and

34:09

at last made up his mind, to give

34:12

up the point of the bloodstain on the library

34:14

floor. If the Otis family

34:16

did not want it, they clearly did not

34:18

deserve it. They were

34:20

evidently people on a low

34:22

material plane of existence, and

34:24

quite incapable of appreciating the

34:27

symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.

34:30

The question of phantasmic apparitions and the

34:32

development of astral bodies was, of course,

34:34

quite a different matter, and really not

34:37

under his control. It

34:39

was his solemn duty to appear in

34:41

the corridor once a week and to

34:43

gibber from the large aural window on the

34:46

first and third Wednesday in every month,

34:49

and he did not see how he

34:51

could honorably escape from his obligations. It

34:53

is quite true that his life had been

34:56

very evil, but on the other hand, he

34:58

was most conscientious in all things

35:00

connecting with the supernatural. For

35:03

the next three Saturdays, accordingly, he

35:05

traversed the corridor as usual between

35:08

midnight and three o'clock, taking every

35:10

possible precaution against being

35:12

either heard or seen. He

35:15

removed his boots, trod as lightly

35:17

as possible on the old worm-eaten

35:20

board, or a large black

35:22

velvet cloak, and was careful to

35:24

use the rising sun lubricator for

35:26

oiling his chains. I

35:28

am bound to acknowledge that it was with

35:30

a good deal of difficulty that he brought

35:32

himself to adopt this last mode of protection.

35:35

However, one night, when the family were

35:37

at dinner, he slipped into Mr. Otis'

35:39

bedroom and carried off the bottle. He

35:43

felt a little humiliated at first, but

35:45

afterwards was sensible enough to see that there

35:47

was a great deal to be said for

35:50

the invention, and to a certain degree it

35:52

served his purpose. Still,

35:55

in spite of everything, he was not

35:57

left unmolested. Strings were

35:59

continually being heard. stretched across the corridor over

36:01

which he tripped in the dark, and

36:03

on one occasion, while dressed for the

36:05

part of Black Isaac or the huntsman

36:07

of Hoggly Woods, he met

36:09

with a severe fall through treading on

36:11

a butter slide which the twins had

36:14

constructed from the entrance of the tapestry

36:16

chamber to the top of the oak

36:18

staircase. This last insult,

36:20

this last insult so enraged him

36:23

that he resolved to make one final

36:25

effort to assert his dignity and

36:27

social position and determined

36:30

to visit the insolent young

36:32

Aetonians the next night in

36:34

his celebrated character of reckless

36:36

Rupert or the headless Earl.

36:39

He had not appeared in this disguise for

36:41

more than seventy years. In

36:43

fact, not since he had so frightened

36:46

pretty lady Barbara Modish by means of

36:48

it, that she suddenly broke

36:50

off her engagement with the present Lord Canterville's

36:52

grandfather and ran away to

36:55

Gretna Green with handsome Jack Castleton, declaring

36:57

that nothing in the world would induce

36:59

her to marry into a family that

37:01

allowed such a horrible phantom to walk

37:04

up and down the terrace at twilight.

37:07

Poor Jack was afterwards shot in a

37:09

duel by Lord Canterville on Wandsworth Common,

37:12

and Lady Barbara died of a broken heart

37:15

at Tunbridge Wells before the year was out,

37:17

so in every way it had been a

37:19

great success. He had once, however,

37:21

an extremely difficult makeup,

37:23

if I may use such a

37:25

theatrical expression in connection with one

37:28

of the greatest mysteries of the

37:30

supernatural, or to employ a more

37:32

scientific term, the higher natural world,

37:35

and it took him fully three hours to

37:37

make his preparations. At last

37:40

everything was ready, and he was very

37:42

pleased with his appearance. The big leather

37:44

riding boots that went with the dress were

37:46

just a little too large for him, and

37:49

he could only find one of the two horse

37:51

pistols, but on the whole he was

37:53

quite satisfied, and at

37:55

a quarter past one he glided out

37:57

with the wainscoting and crept down. found

38:00

the corridor. In reaching

38:02

the room occupied by the twins, which I

38:04

should mention was called the blue bedchamber on

38:06

account of the color of its hangings, he

38:09

found the door just a char.

38:12

Wishing to make an effective entrance, he

38:14

flung it wide open when

38:16

a heavy jug of water fell right

38:18

down on him, wetting him to the

38:20

skin and just missing his left shoulder

38:23

by a couple of inches. At the

38:25

same moment he heard stifled shrieks of

38:27

laughter proceeding from the four-post bed. The

38:30

shock to his nervous system was so great

38:33

that he fled back to his room as hard

38:35

as he could go, and the next day he

38:37

was laid up with a severe cold. The

38:40

only thing that had all consoled him in

38:42

the whole affair was the fact that

38:44

he had not brought his head with him, for

38:47

had he done so, the consequences might

38:49

have been very serious. He

38:51

now gave up all hope of ever frightening

38:54

this rude American family and contented

38:56

himself as a rule with

38:58

creeping about the passages in list slippers

39:01

with a thick red muffler around his throat

39:03

for fear of drafts and a

39:06

small arabesque in case he should be attacked

39:08

by the twins. The

39:10

final blow he received occurred on

39:12

the 19th of September. He

39:15

had gone downstairs to the great entrance hall

39:17

feeling sure that there at any rate he

39:20

would be quite unmolested and

39:22

was amusing himself by making satirical

39:25

remarks on the large saroni photographs

39:27

of the United States minister and

39:30

his wife, which had now

39:32

taken the place of the Canterville family pictures.

39:35

He was simply neatly clad in

39:37

a long shroud spotted with churchyard

39:39

mould, had tied up his

39:41

jaw with a strip of yellow linen,

39:43

and carried a small lantern and a

39:45

sexton's spade. In fact, he

39:48

was dressed for the character of Jonas

39:50

the Graveless or the corpse snatcher of

39:52

Chertsey Bard, one of his

39:54

most remarkable impersonations, and one which the

39:57

Cantervilles had every reason to remember as

39:59

it was the real origin of their quarrel with

40:01

their neighbor, Lord Rufford. It

40:05

was about a quarter past two o'clock in the

40:07

morning, and, as far as he

40:09

could ascertain, no one was stirring. As

40:12

he was strolling towards the library, however,

40:14

to see if there were any traces

40:16

left of the bloodstain, suddenly there leaped

40:18

out on him from a dark corner

40:20

two figures who waved their arms wildly

40:23

above their heads and shrieked out, boo,

40:25

in his ear. Seized

40:29

with a panic, which, under the

40:31

circumstances, was only natural, he rushed

40:33

for the staircase but found Washington

40:35

Otis standing for him there with

40:37

a big garden syringe, and

40:40

being thus hemmed in by his enemies

40:42

on every side and driven almost to

40:44

bay, he vanished into the great iron

40:47

stove, which, fortunately for him, was

40:49

not lit, and had to make

40:51

his way home through the flus and chimneys,

40:54

arriving in his own room in a terrible state of

40:56

dirt, disorder, and

40:58

despair. After

41:00

this, he was not seen again on any nocturnal

41:02

expedition. The twins lay in wait

41:05

for him on several occasions and strewed the

41:07

passages with nut shells every night to the

41:09

great annoyance of their parents and the servants,

41:12

but it was of no avail. It

41:15

was quite evident that his feelings

41:17

were so wounded that he would

41:19

not appear. Mr.

41:22

Otis consequently resumed his great work on

41:24

the history of the Democratic Party, on

41:26

which he had been engaged for some years. Mrs.

41:29

Otis organized a wonderful clambake, which

41:32

amazed the whole county. The

41:34

boys took to La Crosse, Euchre,

41:36

Poker, and other American national games,

41:38

and Virginia rode about the lanes

41:41

on her pony, accompanied

41:43

by the young Duke of Cheshire, who

41:45

had come to spend the last week of his holidays

41:47

at Canterville Chase. It was

41:49

generally assumed that the ghost had

41:51

gone away, and in fact,

41:54

Mr. Otis wrote a letter to that

41:56

effect to Lord Canterville, who in reply

41:58

expressed his great pleasure at the the

42:00

news and sent his best congratulations

42:02

to the minister's worthy wife. The

42:06

Odysseus, however, were deceived,

42:09

for the ghost was still in the

42:11

house, and though now almost an invalid

42:13

was by no means ready to let matters

42:15

rest, particularly as he heard

42:17

that among the guests was the young Duke

42:20

of Cheshire, whose granduncle, Lord

42:22

Francis Stilton, had once bet a

42:24

hundred guineas with Colonel Carberry that

42:26

he would play dice with the

42:28

Canterville ghost, and was found the

42:30

next morning, lying on the floor of

42:32

the card room, in such

42:35

a helpless, paralytic state, that

42:37

though he lived on to a great age, he

42:39

was never able to say anything again but, Double

42:42

Sixes! The

42:45

story was well known at the time. Though,

42:47

of course, out of respect to the feelings of

42:49

the two noble families, every attempt was

42:51

made to hush it up, and

42:54

the full account of all the circumstances

42:56

connected with it will be found in

42:58

the third volume of Lord Tattle's recollections

43:00

of the Prince Regent and his friends.

43:04

The ghost, then, was naturally very

43:06

anxious to show that he had

43:08

not lost his influence over the Stiltons, with

43:11

whom indeed he was distantly connected,

43:13

his own first cousin having been married for the

43:16

second time to the Sier de

43:18

Bultle, for whom, as everyone

43:21

knows, the Dukes of Cheshire are

43:23

linearly descended. Accordingly,

43:25

he made arrangements for appearing

43:27

to Virginia's little lover in

43:29

his celebrated impersonation of the

43:31

Vampire Monk, or the

43:34

Bloodless Benedictine, a performance

43:36

so horrible that when old

43:38

lady startup saw it, which she

43:40

did on one fatal New Year's Eve in

43:42

the year 1764, she went

43:45

off into the most piercing shrieks,

43:47

which culminated in violent apoplexy

43:50

and died in three days

43:52

after disinheriting the Cantervilles, who were

43:55

her nearest relations, and leaving all

43:57

her money to her London apothecary.

44:00

At the last moment, however, his terror of

44:02

the twins prevented his leaving his

44:05

room, and the little

44:07

duke slept in peace under the great

44:09

feathered canopy in the royal bedchamber and

44:12

dreamed of Virginia. Five.

44:21

A few days after this, Virginia

44:23

and her curly-haired cavalier

44:25

went out riding on broccoli meadows, and

44:28

she tore her habit so badly in getting

44:30

through a hedge that on her return

44:32

home, she made up her mind to

44:34

go up by the back staircase so as

44:36

not to be seen. As

44:39

she was running past the tapestry chamber, the door

44:41

of which happened to be opened, she

44:43

fancied she saw someone inside,

44:46

and thinking it was her mother's maid who sometimes

44:48

used to bring her work there, looked

44:50

in to ask her to mend her habit. To

44:53

her immense surprise, however, it

44:56

was the Canterville ghost himself. He

44:58

was sitting by the window, watching

45:01

the ruined gold of the yellow trees

45:03

fly through the air, and

45:05

the red leaves dancing madly down the

45:08

long avenue. His head

45:10

was leaning on his hand, and his

45:12

whole attitude was one of extreme depression.

45:15

Indeed so forlorn, and so much out of

45:18

repair did he look, that little Virginia, whose

45:20

first idea had been to run away and

45:22

lock herself in her room, was

45:25

filled with pity and determined

45:27

to try and comfort him. So

45:30

light was her footfall, and so deep his

45:32

melancholy that he was not aware of her

45:34

presence till she spoke to him. I

45:37

am so sorry for you, she said,

45:40

but my brothers are going back to Eaton tomorrow,

45:42

and then if you behave yourself, no one will annoy you. It

45:46

is absurd asking me to behave

45:48

myself, he answered, looking

45:50

round in astonishment at the pretty little

45:52

girl who had ventured to address him.

45:56

Quite absurd. I must

45:58

rattle my chains and groan through. through

46:00

keyholes and walk about at night, if that

46:02

is what you mean. It

46:04

is my only reason for existing." There

46:07

is no reason at all for existing, and

46:09

you know you have been very wicked. Mrs.

46:11

Umney told us the first day we arrived

46:13

here that you had killed your wife.

46:16

"'Well, I quite admit

46:18

it,' said the ghost petulantly. "'But

46:21

it was a purely family matter and

46:23

concerned no one else.' "'It

46:25

is very wrong to kill anyone,' said

46:27

Virginia, who at times had a sweet,

46:29

puritan gravity caught from some

46:32

old New England ancestor. "'Oh,

46:34

I hate the cheap severity of

46:36

abstract ethics. My wife

46:39

was very plain, never had my

46:41

ruffs properly starched, and knew nothing

46:43

about cookery. Why, there was

46:45

a buck I had shot in hoggly woods,

46:47

a magnificent cricket. And do you

46:49

know how she had it sent up to table?' "'However,

46:54

it is no matter now, for

46:56

it is all over. But

46:58

I don't think it was very nice of her brothers

47:00

to starve me to death, though I did kill her.'

47:03

"'Stove you to death? Oh,

47:05

Mr. Ghost, I mean, Sir Simon,

47:08

are you hungry? I have a sandwich in my case. Would

47:10

you like it?' "'No, thank you.

47:12

I never eat

47:14

anything now. But

47:17

it is very kind of you all the

47:19

same, and you are much nicer than the

47:21

rest of your horrid, rude, vulgar, dishonest family.

47:23

Stop,' cried Virginia, stamping her

47:25

foot. "'It is you who are

47:28

rude and horrid and vulgar. And

47:30

as for dishonesty, you know you stole the

47:32

paints out of my box to try and

47:34

ferbish up that ridiculous bloodstain in the library.

47:37

First you took all my reds, including the

47:39

vermilion, and I couldn't do any more sunsets.

47:42

Then you took the emerald green and the chrome

47:44

yellow. And finally I had

47:46

nothing left but indigo and Chinese white.

47:49

And could only do moonlight scenes which are always

47:51

depressing to look at and not at all easy

47:53

to paint.' I never

47:55

told on you, though I was very much annoyed,

47:58

and it was most ridiculous the whole whole thing for

48:00

whoever heard of Emerald's green blood." "'Well,

48:04

really,' said the Ghost rather

48:06

meekly. "'What was I to

48:08

do? It is a

48:10

very difficult thing to get real blood nowadays,

48:13

and as your brother began it all

48:15

with his paragon detergent, I

48:17

certainly saw no reason why I should not have

48:19

your paints. As for color, that

48:23

is always a matter of taste. The cantivilles

48:25

have blue blood, for instance, the very bluest

48:27

in England. I

48:29

know you Americans don't care for things

48:31

of this kind.'" "'You

48:34

know nothing about it, and the best

48:36

thing you can do is to emigrate and improve

48:38

your mind. My father will be only

48:40

too happy to give you a free passage, and

48:43

though there is a heavy duty on spirits of every

48:45

kind, there will be no difficulty about the Custom House,

48:47

as the officers are all Democrats. Once

48:50

in New York, you are sure to be a great success.

48:53

I knew lots of people there who would give

48:55

a hundred thousand dollars to have a grandfather,

48:57

and much more than that, to have a family

48:59

ghost.' "'I don't

49:01

think I should like America.' "'I

49:04

suppose because we have no ruins

49:07

and no curiosities,' said

49:09

Virginia satirically. "'No ruins?

49:11

No curiosities,' answered the Ghost.

49:14

"'You have your navy and your

49:16

manners.' "'Good evening. I

49:19

will go and ask Papa to get the

49:21

twins an extra week's holiday.' "'Please don't go,

49:23

Miss Virginia,' cried. "'I

49:25

am so lonely and

49:27

so unhappy, and I really don't know what to

49:29

do. I want to go

49:31

to sleep, and I cannot.' "'That's

49:34

quite absurd. You have merely to go to bed

49:36

and blow out the candle. It

49:38

is very difficult sometimes to keep awake, especially

49:41

at church. But there is

49:43

no difficulty at all about sleeping, why even babies

49:45

know how to do that, and they are not

49:47

very clever.' "'I

49:49

have not slept for three hundred

49:52

years,' he said sadly. And

49:55

Virginia's beautiful blue eyes opened in

49:57

wonder. "'For three

49:59

hundred years.' hundred years I have

50:01

not slept, and I

50:04

am so tired." Virginia

50:07

grew quite grave, and

50:10

her little lips trembled like rose leaves.

50:13

She came towards him, and kneeling

50:16

down at his side looked up

50:18

at his old withered face. "'Poor,

50:21

poor ghost,' she murmured.

50:24

"'Have you no place where you can sleep?'" "'Far

50:28

away beyond the pine woods,' he

50:30

answered in a low dreamy voice. "'There

50:33

is a little garden. There

50:36

the grass grows long and deep. "'There

50:39

are the great white stars of the hemlock

50:41

flower. "'There the

50:44

nightingale sings all night long.

50:46

All night long he sings,

50:48

and the cold crystal moon

50:50

looks down, and the yew

50:52

tree spreads out its giant arms

50:54

over the sleepers. Virginia's

50:57

eyes grew dim with tears, and

51:00

she hid her face in her hands. "'You

51:03

mean the garden of death?' she

51:05

whispered. "'Yes, death.

51:10

Death must be so beautiful. To

51:13

lie in the soft brown earth,

51:15

with the grasses waving above one's

51:17

head and listen to silence.

51:22

To have no yesterday and

51:24

no tomorrow, to forget time,

51:27

to forget life to be at peace.

51:31

You can help me. You

51:34

can open for me the portals

51:36

of death's house, for

51:39

love is always with you, and love

51:41

is stronger than death is.' Virginia

51:45

trembled. A cold shudder

51:47

ran through her, and

51:49

for a few moments there was silence. She

51:52

felt as if she was in a terrible dream. Then

51:55

the ghost spoke again, and his voice sounded

51:58

like a sighing of a wind. Have

52:01

you ever read the old prophecy on the

52:04

library window?" "'Oh,

52:06

often,' cried the little girl, looking

52:08

up, "'I know it quite well. It

52:11

is painted in curious black letters, and it

52:13

is difficult to read. There are only six

52:15

lines. When a golden girl

52:17

can win prayer from aunt the lips

52:20

of sin, when the

52:22

barren almond bears and a little

52:24

child jibes away its tears, then

52:27

shall all the house be

52:29

still, and peace come to

52:32

Canterville. But I don't know what they mean.'

52:35

"'They mean,' he said

52:37

sadly, "'that you must weep

52:40

for me, for my sins, because

52:42

I have no tears, and pray with me

52:45

for my soul, because I have no faith.

52:49

And then, if you have

52:51

always been sweet and good and gentle,

52:54

the angel of death will have

52:56

mercy on me. You

52:59

will see fearful shapes

53:01

in darkness, and wicked voices will

53:03

whisper in your ear, but

53:05

they will not harm you, for against

53:07

the purity of a little child, the

53:10

powers of hell cannot prevail.'" Anna

53:15

made no answer, and

53:17

the ghost wrung his hands in wild

53:19

despair as he looked down at her

53:21

bowed golden head. Suddenly

53:24

she stood up, very pale, and

53:26

with a strange light in her eyes. "'I

53:29

am not afraid,' she said

53:32

firmly, "'and I will ask the angel

53:34

to have mercy on you.' He

53:37

rose from his seat with a faint cry of

53:39

joy, and taking her

53:41

hand bent over it with old-fashioned

53:43

grace and kissed it. His

53:46

fingers were as cold as ice,

53:48

and his lips burned like fire.

53:52

But Virginia did not falter as

53:54

he led her across the dusky room. On

53:57

the faded green tapestry were broidered little

53:59

huntsmen. They blew their tasseled

54:01

horns and with their tiny hands waved

54:04

to her to go back. Go

54:06

back, little Virginia! They

54:09

cried. Go back! But

54:11

the ghost clutched her hand more tightly

54:13

and she shut her eyes against them.

54:16

Horrible animals with lizard tails and

54:19

goggle eyes blinked at her from

54:21

the carven chimney piece and murmured,

54:24

Beware, little Virginia!

54:27

Beware, we may never see

54:29

you again. But

54:31

the ghost glided on more swiftly and

54:34

Virginia did not listen. When

54:36

they reached the end of the room, he stopped

54:39

and muttered some words she could not understand.

54:42

She opened her eyes and saw

54:44

the wall slowly fading away like

54:47

a mist and a great

54:49

black cavern in front of her. A

54:51

bitter cold wind swept round them and

54:53

she felt something pulling at her dress.

54:56

Quick, quick, quick, quick, cried

54:58

the ghost, or it will be too late. And

55:01

in a moment the wainscoting had closed

55:04

behind them and the

55:06

tapestry chamber was empty.

55:15

About ten minutes later the

55:18

bell rang for tea and

55:20

as Virginia did not come down, Mrs. Otis

55:22

sent up one of the footmen to tell her.

55:26

After a little time he returned and said

55:28

that he could not find Miss Virginia anywhere.

55:31

As she was in the habit of going out to

55:33

the garden every evening to get flowers for the dinner

55:35

table, Mrs. Otis was not at all

55:37

alarmed at first. But when six

55:39

o'clock struck and Virginia did not appear,

55:42

she became really agitated and

55:44

sent the boys out to look for

55:46

her while she herself and Mr. Otis

55:48

searched every room in the house. At

55:51

half past six the boys came back and

55:53

said that they could find no trace of

55:55

their sister anywhere. They

55:58

were all now in the greatest state of the

56:00

world. of excitement and did not know what to

56:02

do, when Mr. Otis suddenly remembered that

56:04

some few days before he had given a

56:07

band of gypsies permission to camp in the

56:09

park. He accordingly at once

56:11

set off for Blackfell Hollow, where

56:13

he knew they were, accompanied by his

56:15

eldest son and two of the farmservants.

56:18

The little Duke of Cheshire, who was perfectly

56:20

frantic with anxiety, begged hard to be allowed

56:22

to go too, but Mr. Otis

56:24

would not allow him, as he was afraid there

56:26

might be a scuffle. Upon arriving at

56:29

the spot, however, he found that the gypsies had

56:31

gone, and it was evident that their departure

56:33

had been rather sudden, as the fire was

56:35

still burning and some plates were lying on

56:38

the grass. Having

56:40

sent off Washington and the two men to

56:42

scour the district, he ran home and dispatched

56:44

telegrams to all the police inspectors in the

56:46

county, telling them to look out for a

56:49

little girl who had been kidnapped by tramps

56:51

or gypsies. He then ordered his

56:53

horse to be brought round, and after

56:55

insisting on his wife and the three boys

56:57

sitting down to dinner, rode off down the

56:59

Ascot Road with a groom. He

57:01

had hardly, however, gone a couple of miles

57:03

when he heard somebody galloping after him, and

57:06

looking round saw the little Duke coming

57:08

up on his pony, with his face

57:10

very flushed and no hat. "'I'm

57:13

awfully sorry, Mr. Otis,' gasped

57:15

the boy. "'But I can't eat

57:17

any dinner as long as Virginia's lost. Please don't

57:19

be angry with me. If you would let us

57:22

be engaged last year, there would never have been

57:24

all this trouble. You won't send me back, will

57:26

you? I can't go. I won't go.' The

57:29

minister could not help smiling at the

57:31

handsome young scape-breath, and was

57:33

a good deal touched at his devotion to Virginia. So

57:36

leaning down from his horse, he patted him kindly

57:38

on the shoulders and said, "'Well,

57:40

Cecil, if you won't go back, I

57:43

suppose you must come with me. But

57:45

I must get you a hat at Ascot.

57:47

Oh, bother my hat! I want Virginia!' cried

57:50

the little Duke, laughing, and they

57:52

galloped on to the railway station. Where

57:55

Mr. Otis inquired of the station,

57:57

master, if anyone answering the description

57:59

of Virginia had been seen on the

58:01

platform, but could get no news

58:03

of her. The station-master, however,

58:05

wired up and down the line and

58:07

assured him that a strict watch would

58:09

be kept for her, and,

58:11

after having bought a hat for the little

58:13

duke from a linen draper who was

58:16

just putting up his shutters, Mr. Otis rode

58:18

off to Bexley, a village about four miles

58:20

away, which he was told was a well-known

58:22

haunt of the Gypsies, as there was a

58:25

large common next to it. Here

58:27

they roused up the rural policemen, but

58:29

could get no information from him, and

58:32

after riding all over the common they turned

58:34

their horses' heads homewards and reached

58:36

the chase about eleven o'clock, dead

58:38

tired and almost heartbroken. They

58:41

found Washington and the twins waiting for

58:43

them at the gatehouse with lanterns as

58:45

the avenue was very dark. Not

58:48

the slightest trace of Virginia had been discovered.

58:51

The Gypsies had been caught on broccoli meadows,

58:54

but she was not with them, and they had

58:56

explained their sudden departure by saying that they had

58:58

mistaken the date of Chorton Fair and had gone

59:00

off in a hurry for fear they might be

59:02

late. Indeed they had

59:05

been quite distressed at hearing of Virginia's disappearance,

59:07

and as they were very grateful to Mr.

59:09

Otis for having allowed them to camp in

59:12

his park, and four of their number had

59:14

stayed behind to help in the search. The

59:17

carp pond had been dragged, and

59:19

the whole chase thoroughly gone over but

59:21

without any result. It

59:23

was evident that, for that night

59:25

at any rate, Virginia was lost

59:28

to them, and it was

59:30

in a state of the deepest depression that Mr. Otis

59:32

and the boys walked up to the house, the

59:34

groom following behind with the two horses

59:37

and the pony. In

59:39

the hall they found a group of

59:41

frightened servants, and lying on a sofa

59:44

in the library was poor Mrs. Otis,

59:46

almost out of her mind with terror

59:48

and anxiety and having her forehead bathed

59:51

with old cologne by the old housekeeper.

59:54

Mr. Otis at once insisted on her having

59:56

something to eat and ordered up supper

59:58

for the whole party. It

1:00:00

was a melancholy meal, as hardly anyone

1:00:03

spoke, and even the twins were awestruck

1:00:05

and subdued, as they were very

1:00:07

fond of their sister. When

1:00:09

they had finished, Mr. Otis, in spite

1:00:11

of the entreaties of the little duke, ordered

1:00:14

them all to bed, saying that

1:00:16

nothing more could be done that night and

1:00:18

that he would telegraph in the morning to

1:00:20

Scotland Yard for some detectives to be sent

1:00:22

down immediately. Just as they

1:00:24

were passing out of the dining room, midnight

1:00:26

began to boom from the clock tower, and

1:00:29

when the last stroke sounded they heard a

1:00:31

crash and a sudden shrill cry. A

1:00:34

dreadful peal of thunder shook the house,

1:00:36

a strain of unearthly music floated through

1:00:38

the air. A panel at

1:00:40

the top of the staircase flew back with

1:00:42

a loud noise and out on the landing,

1:00:45

looking very pale and white, with a

1:00:47

little casket in her hand, stepped

1:00:50

Virginia. In a

1:00:52

moment they had all rushed up to her. Mrs.

1:00:55

Otis clasped her passionately in her arms.

1:00:57

The duke smothered her with violent kisses,

1:00:59

and the twins executed a wild war

1:01:01

dance round the group. "'Good

1:01:04

heavens, child, where have you been?" said Mr.

1:01:07

Otis, rather angrily, thinking that she had been

1:01:09

playing some foolish trick on them. "'Cecil

1:01:12

and I have been riding all over the country looking

1:01:14

for you, and your mother has been frightened to death.

1:01:16

You must never play these practical jokes any

1:01:19

more.'" "'Except

1:01:21

on the ghost! Except on the ghost!' shrieked

1:01:23

the twins as they capered about. "'My

1:01:26

own darling, thank God you are found.

1:01:29

You must never leave my sight again,'

1:01:31

murmured Mrs. Otis as she kissed a

1:01:34

trembling child and smoothed the tangled gold

1:01:36

of her hair. "'Papa,'

1:01:39

said Virginia quietly, "'I have

1:01:42

been with the ghost. He

1:01:45

is dead, and you must come and see

1:01:47

him. He had been very wicked,

1:01:50

but he was really sorry for all that he had done, and

1:01:53

he gave me this box of beautiful

1:01:55

jewels before he died. The

1:01:58

whole family gave him the gold. seized at her

1:02:01

in mute astonishment. But

1:02:03

she was quite grave and serious. And

1:02:06

turning round, she led them through

1:02:08

the opening in the wainscoting down a

1:02:10

narrow, secret corridor, Washington following

1:02:12

with a lighted candle, which he had caught

1:02:15

up from the table. Finally,

1:02:17

they came to a great

1:02:19

oak door studded with rusty nails. When

1:02:22

Virginia touched it, it swung back on

1:02:24

its heavy hinges, and they found themselves

1:02:26

in a little, low room with

1:02:28

a vaulted ceiling and one tiny,

1:02:31

grated window. Embedded in

1:02:33

the wall was a huge iron

1:02:35

ring, and chained to it was

1:02:37

a gaunt skeleton. That

1:02:39

it was stretched out at full length

1:02:42

on the stone floor and seemed to

1:02:44

be trying to grasp with its long,

1:02:46

fleshless fingers an old-fashioned trench here and

1:02:49

you were, that were placed just out

1:02:51

of its reach. The jug

1:02:53

had evidently been once filled with water

1:02:56

as it was covered inside with green

1:02:58

mold. There was nothing on the

1:03:00

trench here but a pile of dust. Virginia

1:03:03

knelt down beside the skeleton and,

1:03:05

folding her little hands together, began

1:03:08

to pray silently, while

1:03:11

the rest of the party looked on

1:03:13

in wonder at the terrible tragedy whose

1:03:15

secret was now disclosed to

1:03:17

them. Hello!

1:03:20

suddenly exclaimed one of the twins, who had been

1:03:22

looking out of the window to try and discover

1:03:25

in what wing of the house the room was

1:03:27

situated. Hello! the old

1:03:29

withered almond tree has blossomed! I can

1:03:32

see the flowers quite plainly in

1:03:34

the moonlight. God

1:03:36

has forgiven him, said

1:03:38

Virginia gravely, as she

1:03:40

rose to her feet, and

1:03:42

a beautiful light seemed to illumine

1:03:44

her face. What

1:03:47

an angel you are! cried

1:03:49

the young duke, and he put his

1:03:51

arm round her neck and kissed her.

1:03:58

Seven Four

1:04:01

days after these curious incidents, the

1:04:03

funeral started from Canterville Chase at

1:04:05

about eleven o'clock at night. The

1:04:08

hearse was drawn by eight black horses,

1:04:10

each of which carried on its head

1:04:12

a great tuft of nodding ostrich plumes,

1:04:15

and the leaden coffin was covered by

1:04:17

a rich purple pall, on

1:04:19

which was embroidered in gold the Canterville coat

1:04:22

of arms. By the

1:04:24

side of the hearse and the coaches

1:04:26

walked the servants with lighted torches, and

1:04:29

the whole procession was wonderfully impressive. Lord

1:04:32

Canterville was the chief mordor, having come

1:04:34

up specially from Wales to attend the

1:04:36

funeral, and sat in the first

1:04:39

carriage along with little Virginia. Then

1:04:41

came the United States minister and his wife, then

1:04:44

Washington and the three boys, and

1:04:46

in the last carriage was Mrs. Umney.

1:04:50

It was generally felt that, as she had been

1:04:52

frightened by the ghost for more than fifty years

1:04:54

of her life, she had a right to see

1:04:56

the last of him. A

1:04:59

deep grave had been dug in the corner of

1:05:01

the churchyard, just under the old yew tree, and

1:05:03

the service was read in the most

1:05:05

impressive manner by the Rev. Augustus Dampier.

1:05:09

When the ceremony was over, the

1:05:11

servants, according to an old custom observed

1:05:13

in the Canterville family, extinguished their

1:05:15

torches, and as the coffin

1:05:17

was being lowered into the grave, Virginia

1:05:20

stepped forward and laid on

1:05:22

it a large cross, made of white

1:05:24

and pink almond blossoms. As

1:05:26

she did so, the moon came out

1:05:29

from behind a cloud and flooded

1:05:31

with its silent silver the little

1:05:33

churchyard, and from a distant copse

1:05:36

a nightingale began to sing. She

1:05:39

thought of the ghost's description of the garden

1:05:41

of death. Her eyes

1:05:43

became dim with tears. She

1:05:45

hardly spoke a word during the drive home.

1:05:49

The next morning, before Lord

1:05:51

Canterville went up to town, Mr. Otis had

1:05:53

an interview with him on the subject of

1:05:55

the jewels the ghost had given to Virginia.

1:05:58

They were perfectly magnific present, especially

1:06:00

a certain ruby necklace with old

1:06:03

Venetian setting, which was really

1:06:05

a superb specimen of sixteenth-century work, and

1:06:07

their value was so great that Mr.

1:06:09

Otis felt considerable scruples about allowing his

1:06:11

daughter to accept them. My

1:06:14

lord," he said, "'I

1:06:16

know that in this country Mort Main is held

1:06:18

to apply to trinkets as well as to land,

1:06:20

and it is quite clear to me that these

1:06:23

jewels are or should be heirlooms in your family.

1:06:26

I must beg you accordingly to take them

1:06:28

to London with you and to regard them

1:06:30

simply as a portion of your property which

1:06:32

has been restored to you under certain strange

1:06:35

conditions. As for my

1:06:37

daughter, she is merely a child, and

1:06:39

has yet, I am glad to say,

1:06:41

but little interest in such a pertinences

1:06:43

of idle luxury. I am also informed

1:06:45

by Mrs. Otis, who, I may

1:06:47

say, is no mean authority upon art,

1:06:50

having had the privilege of spending several

1:06:52

winters in Boston when she was a

1:06:54

girl, that these gems are of

1:06:56

great monetary worth, and if

1:06:58

I offered for sale would fetch a tall price.

1:07:01

Under these circumstances, Lord Canterville, I

1:07:04

feel sure that you will recognize how impossible it

1:07:06

would be for me to allow them to remain

1:07:08

in the possession of any member of my family.

1:07:11

And indeed, all such vain gods

1:07:13

and toys, however suitable or necessary

1:07:15

to the dignity of the British

1:07:17

aristocracy, would be completely out of place among

1:07:19

those who have been brought up on the severe

1:07:21

and, I believe, immortal

1:07:24

principles of republican simplicity. Perhaps

1:07:27

I should mention that Virginia is very

1:07:29

anxious that you should allow her to

1:07:31

retain the box as a memento of

1:07:33

your unfortunate but misguided ancestor. As

1:07:36

it is extremely old and consequently a good

1:07:38

deal out of repair, you may perhaps think

1:07:40

fit to comply with her request. For

1:07:42

my own part, I confess I am

1:07:44

a good deal surprised to find a

1:07:46

child of mine expressing sympathy with medievalism

1:07:48

in any form, and can only

1:07:50

account for it by the fact that Virginia

1:07:52

was born in one of your London suburbs

1:07:54

shortly after Mrs. Otis had returned from a

1:07:56

trip to Athens. Canterville

1:08:00

listened very gravely to the worthy

1:08:02

minister's speech, pulling his grey mustache

1:08:04

now and then to hide an

1:08:07

involuntary smile, and said, My

1:08:09

dear sir, your charming

1:08:12

little daughter rendered my unlucky

1:08:14

ancestor, Sir Simon, a very

1:08:17

important service, and I

1:08:19

and my family are much indebted to

1:08:21

her for her marvelous courage and pluck.

1:08:25

The jewels are clearly hers, and e' gad,

1:08:27

I believe that if I were heartless enough

1:08:29

to take them from her, a wicked

1:08:31

old fellow would be out of his grave in

1:08:33

a fortnight, leading me the devil of

1:08:35

her life. As for there

1:08:38

being heirlooms, nothing is an heirloom

1:08:40

that is not so mentioned in

1:08:42

a will or legal document, and

1:08:44

the existence of these jewels has

1:08:46

been quite unknown. I

1:08:49

assure you that I have no more claim

1:08:51

on them than your butler, and when Miss

1:08:53

Virginia grows up, I dare say she will

1:08:55

be pleased to have pretty things to wear.

1:08:58

Besides, you forget, Mr. Otis, that

1:09:00

you took the furniture and the

1:09:02

ghost at evaluation, and

1:09:05

anything that belonged to the ghost passed

1:09:07

at once into your possession, as whatever

1:09:10

activity Sir Simon may have shown in the

1:09:12

corridor at night, in point of law, he

1:09:15

was really dead, and you

1:09:17

acquired his property by purchase." Mr.

1:09:21

Otis was a good deal distressed at

1:09:23

Lord Counterville's refusal, and begged him

1:09:25

to reconsider his decision, but the good-natured

1:09:27

peer was quite firm, and finally

1:09:30

induced the minister to allow his daughter

1:09:33

to retain the present the ghost had given

1:09:35

her. And when in the spring

1:09:37

of 1890 the young Duchess of

1:09:39

Cheshire was presented at the Queen's first

1:09:41

drawing room on the occasion of her

1:09:43

marriage, her jewels were the

1:09:46

universal theme of admiration. Before

1:09:48

Virginia received the coronet, which

1:09:51

is the reward of all good little American

1:09:54

girls and was married to her boy-lover as

1:09:56

soon as he came of age, they

1:09:59

were both so charming. and he loved

1:10:01

each other so much that everyone

1:10:03

was delighted at the match except the

1:10:05

old Marchioness of Dumbledore who had tried

1:10:07

to catch the duke for one of

1:10:09

her seven unmarried daughters and had given

1:10:12

no less than three expensive dinner parties

1:10:14

for that purpose and

1:10:16

strange to say, Mr. Otis

1:10:18

himself. Mr. Otis was

1:10:20

extremely fond of the young duke personally,

1:10:23

but theoretically he objected to

1:10:25

titles and, to use his

1:10:27

own words, was

1:10:30

not without appreciation lest amid

1:10:32

the unnerving influences of a

1:10:34

pleasure-loving aristocracy, the true principles

1:10:37

of republican simplicity should be

1:10:39

forgotten. His

1:10:41

objections, however, were completely overruled, and

1:10:43

I believe that when he walked

1:10:45

up the aisle of St. George's

1:10:47

Hanover Square with his daughter leaning

1:10:49

on his arm, there was

1:10:51

not a prouder man in the whole length

1:10:53

and breadth of England. The

1:10:56

duke and duchess, after the honeymoon was

1:10:58

over, went down to Canterville Chase, and

1:11:01

on the day after their arrival they

1:11:03

walked over in the afternoon to the

1:11:06

lonely churchyard by the pine woods.

1:11:09

There had been a great deal of difficulty

1:11:11

at first about the inscription on Sir

1:11:13

Simon's tombstone, but finally it

1:11:15

had been decided to engrave on it

1:11:17

simply the initials of the old gentleman's

1:11:20

name and the verse from

1:11:22

the library window. The duchess

1:11:24

had brought with her some lovely roses,

1:11:27

which she strewed upon the grave, and

1:11:29

after they had stood by it for some

1:11:32

time they strolled into the ruined chancel of

1:11:34

the old abbey. There the

1:11:36

duchess sat down on a fallen pillar,

1:11:39

while her husband lay at her feet

1:11:41

smoking a cigarette and looking up

1:11:43

at her beautiful eyes. Suddenly

1:11:45

he threw his cigarette away, took hold

1:11:48

of her hand, and said to her, Virginia,

1:11:50

a wife should have no secrets

1:11:53

from her husband. Dear

1:11:55

Cecil, I have no secrets from you. Yes,

1:11:57

you have, he answered, smiling. You

1:12:00

have never told me what happened to you when you were locked

1:12:02

up with the ghost." I

1:12:04

have never told anyone, Cecil," said

1:12:07

Virginia gravely. I know

1:12:09

that, but you might tell me. Please

1:12:12

don't ask me, Cecil. I cannot tell you. Poor

1:12:15

Sir Simon. I owe

1:12:17

him a great deal. Yes, don't laugh,

1:12:19

Cecil. I really do. He

1:12:21

made me see what life is and

1:12:24

what death signifies and why

1:12:26

love is stronger than both. The

1:12:30

duke rose and kissed his

1:12:32

wife lovingly. You can have your

1:12:34

secret as long as I have your heart, he

1:12:36

murmured. You will always have

1:12:38

that, Cecil. And you

1:12:40

will tell our children someday, won't you? Virginia

1:12:44

blushed. This

1:12:58

is B.J. Harrison. I hope

1:13:01

you've enjoyed this vintage episode of

1:13:03

The Cantroville Ghost by Oscar Wilde.

1:13:06

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