Books with author Bangs John Kendrick 1862-1922

The trouble with Harrowby Hall was that it was haunted, and, what wasworse, the ghost did not content itself with merely appearing at thebedside of the afflicted person who saw it, but persisted in remainingthere for one mortal hour before it would disappear.It never appeared except on Christmas Eve, and then as the clock wasstriking twelve, in which respect alone was it lacking in that originalitywhich in these days is a _sine qua non_ of success in spectral life. Theowners of Harrowby Hall had done their utmost to rid themselves of thedamp and dewy lady who rose up out of the best bedroom floor at midnight,but without avail. They had tried stopping the clock, so that the ghostwould not know when it was midnight; but she made her appearance just thesame, with that fearful miasmatic personality of hers, and there she wouldstand until everything about her was thoroughly saturated.Then the owners of Harrowby Hall calked up every crack in the floor withthe very best quality of hemp, and over this was placed layers of tar andcanvas; the walls were made water-proof, and the doors and windowslikewise, the proprietors having conceived the notion that the unexorcisedlady would find it difficult to leak into the room after these precautionshad been taken; but even this did not suffice. The following Christmas Eveshe appeared as promptly as before, and frightened the occupant of theroom quite out of his senses by sitting down alongside of him and gazingwith her cavernous blue eyes into his; and he noticed, too, that in herlong, aqueously bony fingers bits of dripping sea-weed were entwined, theends hanging down, and these ends she drew across his forehead until hebecame like one insane. And then he swooned away, and was foundunconscious in his bed the next morning by his host, simply saturated withsea-water and fright, from the combined effects of which he neverrecovered, dying four years later of pneumonia and nervous prostration atthe age of seventy-eight.The next year the master of Harrowby Hall decided not to have the bestspare bedroom opened at all, thinking that perhaps the ghost's thirst formaking herself disagreeable would be satisfied by haunting the furniture,but the plan was as unavailing as the many that had preceded it.The ghost appeared as usual in the room--that is, it was supposed she did,for the hangings were dripping wet the next morning, and in the parlorbelow the haunted room a great damp spot appeared on the ceiling. Findingno one there, she immediately set out to learn the reason why, and shechose none other to haunt than the owner of the Harrowby himself. Shefound him in his own cosey room drinking whiskey--whiskey undiluted--andfelicitating himself upon having foiled her ghostship, when all of asudden the curl went out of his hair, his whiskey bottle filled andoverflowed, and he was himself in a condition similar to that of a man whohas fallen into a water-butt. When he recovered from the shock, which wasa painful one, he saw before him the lady of the cavernous eyes andsea-weed fingers. The sight was so unexpected and so terrifying that hefainted, but immediately came to, because of the vast amount of water inhis hair, which, trickling down over his face, restored his consciousness.Now it so happened that the master of Harrowby was a brave man, and whilehe was not particularly fond of interviewing ghosts, especially suchquenching ghosts as the one before him, he was not to be daunted by anapparition. He had paid the lady the compliment of fainting from theeffects of his first surprise, and now that he had come to he intended tofind out a few things he felt he had a right to know. He would have likedto put on a dry suit of clothes first, but the apparition declined toleave him for an instant until her hour was up, and he was forced to denyhimself that pleasure.

This carefully crafted ebook: "Christmas Every Day and Other Stories (Illustrated)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.Table of Contents:A Toast To Santa ClauseThe Conversion of HetheringtonA Merry Christmas PieThe Child Who Had Everything ButA Holiday WishSanta Clause and Little BilleeChristmas EveThe House of the Seven SantasExtract:"He was only a little bit of a chap, and so, when for the first time in his life he came into close contact with the endless current of human things, it was as hard for him to "stay put" as for some wayward little atom of flotsam and jetsam to keep from tossing about in the surging tides of the sea. His mother had left him there in the big toy-shop, with instructions not to move until she came back, while she went off to do some mysterious errand. She thought, no doubt, that with so many beautiful things on every side to delight his eye and hold his attention, strict obedience to her commands would not be hard."John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American author, editor and satirist.

"Over the Plum Pudding" by John Kendrick Bangs. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.