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<v Speaker 1>The phantom Hag. The other evening in an old castle,

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<v Speaker 1>the conversation turned to apparitions, each one of the party

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<v Speaker 1>telling a story. As the accounts grew more horrible, the

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<v Speaker 1>young ladies drew closer together. Have you ever had an

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<v Speaker 1>adventure with a ghost? Said they to me. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>know a story to make a shiver? Come tell us something.

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<v Speaker 1>I am quite willing to do so, I replied, I

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<v Speaker 1>will tell you of an incident that happened to myself.

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<v Speaker 1>Toward the close of the autumn of eighteen fifty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>I visited one of my friends, sub prefect of a

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<v Speaker 1>little city in the center of France. Albert was an

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<v Speaker 1>old companion of my youth, and I had been present

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<v Speaker 1>at his wedding. His charming wife was full of goodness

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<v Speaker 1>and grace. My friend wished to show me his happy

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<v Speaker 1>home and to enter it me to his two little daughters.

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<v Speaker 1>I was feted and taken great care of. Three days

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<v Speaker 1>after my arrival, I knew the entire city, curiosities, old castles, ruins,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera. Every day, about five o'clock, Albert would order

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<v Speaker 1>a phaeton and we would take a long ride returning

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<v Speaker 1>home in the evening. One evening, my friend said to me,

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<v Speaker 1>tomorrow we will go further than usual. I want to

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<v Speaker 1>take you to Black Rocks. They are curious, old druid

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<v Speaker 1>stones on the wild and desolate plain. They will interest you.

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<v Speaker 1>My wife has not seen them yet, so we will

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<v Speaker 1>take her the following day. We drove out at the

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<v Speaker 1>usual hour. Albert's wife sat by his side. I occupied

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<v Speaker 1>the back seat alone. The weather was gray and somber

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<v Speaker 1>that afternoon, and the journey was not very pleasant. When

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<v Speaker 1>we arrived at the Black Rocks, the sun was setting.

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<v Speaker 1>We got out of the phaeton and Albert took care

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<v Speaker 1>of the horses. We walked some little distance through the

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<v Speaker 1>fields before reaching the giant remains of the old Druid religion.

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<v Speaker 1>Albert's wife wished to climb to the summit of the altar,

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<v Speaker 1>and I assisted her. I can still see her graceful

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<v Speaker 1>figure as she stood draped in a red shawl, her

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<v Speaker 1>veil floating around her. How beautiful it is, but does

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<v Speaker 1>it not make you feel a little melancholy? Said she,

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<v Speaker 1>extending her hand toward the dark horizon, which was lighted

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<v Speaker 1>a little by the last rays of the sun. The

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<v Speaker 1>afternoon wind blew violently and sighed through the stunted trees

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<v Speaker 1>that grew around the stone carmelocks. Not a dwelling nor

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<v Speaker 1>a human being was in sight. We hastened to get

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<v Speaker 1>down and silently retraced our steps to the carriage. We

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<v Speaker 1>must hurry, said Albert. The sky is threatening and we

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<v Speaker 1>shall have scarcely time to reach home before night. We

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<v Speaker 1>carefully wrapped the robes around his wife. She tied the

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<v Speaker 1>veil around her face, and the horses started into a

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<v Speaker 1>rapid trot. It was growing dark. The scenery around us

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<v Speaker 1>was bare and desolate. Clumps of fir trees here and there,

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<v Speaker 1>and furzy bushes formed the only vegetation. We began to

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<v Speaker 1>feel the cold, for the wind blew with fury. The

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<v Speaker 1>only sound we heard was a steady trot of the

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<v Speaker 1>horses and the sharp, clear tinkle of their bells. Suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>I felt a heavy grasp of a hand upon my shoulder.

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<v Speaker 1>I turned my head quickly. A horrible apparition presented itself

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<v Speaker 1>before my eyes. In the empty place at my side

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<v Speaker 1>sat a hideous woman. I tried to cry out. The

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<v Speaker 1>phantom place her fingers upon her lips to impose silence

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<v Speaker 1>upon me. I could not utter a sound. The woman

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<v Speaker 1>was clothed in white linen, Her head was cowled, her

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<v Speaker 1>face overspread with a corpse like pallor, and in place

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<v Speaker 1>of eyes were ghastly black cavities. I sat motionless, overcome

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<v Speaker 1>by terror. The ghost suddenly stood up and leaned over

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<v Speaker 1>the young wife. She encircled her with her arms and

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<v Speaker 1>lowered her hideous head as if to kiss her forehead.

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<v Speaker 1>What a wind, cried Madame Albert, turning precipitately toward me.

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<v Speaker 1>My veil is torn. As she turned, I felt the

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<v Speaker 1>same infernal pressure on my shoulder, and the place occupied

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<v Speaker 1>by the phantom was empty. I looked out to the

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<v Speaker 1>right and left. The road was deserted, not an object

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<v Speaker 1>in sight. What a dreadful gale, said Madame Albert. Did

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<v Speaker 1>you feel it? I cannot explain the terror that seized me.

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<v Speaker 1>My veil was torn by the wind, as if by

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<v Speaker 1>an invisible hand. I am trembling still. Never mind, said Albert, smiling.

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<v Speaker 1>Wrap yourself up, my dear, We will soon be warming

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves by the good fire at home. I am starving.

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<v Speaker 1>A cold perspiration covered my forehead. A shiver ran through me.

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<v Speaker 1>My tongue closed to the roof of my mouth. I

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<v Speaker 1>could not articulate a sound. A sharp pain in my

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<v Speaker 1>shoulder was the only sensible evidence that I was not

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<v Speaker 1>the victim of an illucination. Putting a hand upon my

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<v Speaker 1>aching shoulder, I felt a rent in the cloak that

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<v Speaker 1>was wrapped around me. I looked at it, five perfectly

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<v Speaker 1>distinct holes, visible traces of the grip of the horrible phantom.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought for a moment that I should die, or

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<v Speaker 1>that my reason should leave me. It was, I think,

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<v Speaker 1>the most dreadful moment of my life. Finally I became

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<v Speaker 1>more calm. This nameless agony had lasted for some minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>I do not think it is possible for a human

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<v Speaker 1>being to suffer more than I did during that time.

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<v Speaker 1>As soon as I recovered my senses, I thought at

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<v Speaker 1>first I would tell my friends all that had passed,

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<v Speaker 1>but hesitated and finally did not, fearing that my story

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<v Speaker 1>might frighten Madame Albert, and feeling sure my friend would

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<v Speaker 1>not believe me. The lights of the little city revived me,

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<v Speaker 1>and gradually the oppression of terror that overwhelmed me became lighter.

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<v Speaker 1>So soon as we reached home, Madame Albert untied her veil.

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<v Speaker 1>It was literally in shreds. I hoped to find my

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<v Speaker 1>clothes whole and prove to myself that it was all imagination.

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<v Speaker 1>But no. The cloth was tornorn in five places, just

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<v Speaker 1>where the fingers had seized my shoulder. There was no mark, however,

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<v Speaker 1>upon my flesh, only a dull pain. I returned to

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<v Speaker 1>Paris the next day, where I endeavored to forget the

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<v Speaker 1>strange adventure, or at least when I thought of it,

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<v Speaker 1>I could force myself to think it a hallucination. The

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<v Speaker 1>day after my return I received a letter from my

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<v Speaker 1>friend Albert. It was edged with black. I opened it

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<v Speaker 1>with a vague fear. His wife had died the day

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<v Speaker 1>of my return. The end of the Phantom Hag