that there was no living thing in the darkness, so
I sat down and listened to Ellen's experiences with ghosts.

THE FORMER MRS. WILKES.--"Now this happened in New York city, Miss, in
West 28th Street, and is every word true, for, my dear, I saw it with my
own eyes. I went to bed, about half-past nine it was this night, and I
was lying quietly in bed, looking up to the ceiling; no light on account
of the mosquitoes, and Maud, the little girl I was caring for, a romping
dear of seven or eight, a motherless child, had been tossing about
restless like, and her arm was flung over me. All at once I saw a lady
standing by the side of the bed in her night dress and looking earnestly
at the child beyond me. She then came nearer, took Maud's arm off me,
and gently straightened her in bed, then stroked her face, both
cheeks--fondly, you know--and then stood and looked at the child. I said
not a word, but I wasn't one bit afraid for I thought it was a living
lady. I could tell the color of her eyes and hair and just how she
looked every way. In the morning I described her to Mrs. Wilkes, and
asked, 'Is there any strange lady in the house?' 'No, Ellen. Why?' she
said. Then I said: 'Why, there certainly was a pleasant-looking lady in
my room last night, in her night dress, and she patted Maud as if she
thought a sight of her.'

"'Why,' said my mistress, 'that is surely the former Mrs. Wilkes!'

"She said that the older daughter had seen her several times standing
before her glass, fixing her hair and looking at herself, but if she
spoke to her or tried to speak, her mother would take up something and
shake it at her. And once when we were going up-stairs together Alice
screamed, and said that her mother was at the top of the stairs and blew
her cold breath right down on her. The stepmother started to give her
her slipper, but the father pitied her and would not allow her to be
whipped, and said 'I'll go up to bed with you, Alice.'"

"Did you ever see the lady in white again, Ellen?"

"Never, Ma'am, nor did I ever see any other ghost in this country that I
was sure was a ghost, but--Ireland, dear old Ireland, oh, that's an
ancient land, and they have both ghosts and fairies and banshees too,
and many's the story I've heard over there, and from my own dear
mother's lips, and she would not tell a lie (Heaven rest her soul!), and
I've seen them myself over there, and so has Tom and his brother too,
Miss. Oh, many's the story I could