Leave her at least—while my tears fall upon her,
I dream she smiles, just as she did of yore;
As dear as ever to me—nay, it may be,
Even dearer still—since I have nothing more.

INVISIBLE GHOSTS.

SOME twenty years ago, a rich West India
merchant, a Mr. Walderburn, purchased an
estate in the county of Kent, and went thither
to reside with his wife and family; such
family consisting of two sons and two daughters,
all of whom were grown up.

The house on the estate was a fine old
mansion in the Elizabethan style of architecture,
and the grounds by which it was
surrounded were laid out with great care and in
excellent taste. The property had belonged
originally to a baronet who had distinguished
himself in political life. So perfect a property
was never purchased for so small a sum.
The house and grounds—known as Carlville
—together with one hundred acres of arable
land, were knocked down by the illustrious
George Robins for nine thousand, two
hundred, and fifty pounds.

The estate had been in the possession of
its late owner's family for upwards of two
hundred years. In that house had been born
several eminent military men, a naval hero,
a very distinguished lawyer, a statesman of
no ordinary repute, and a lady celebrated for
her remarkable beauty and her wit.

It was in the autumn that Mr.Walderburn
took possession of Carlville, and a number of
guests were invited to inaugurate the event.
The elder son of Mr. Walderburn was in the
army, and brought with him several officers
of his regiment. The younger son was at the
university of Oxford, and was accompanied
to his father's new home by three intimate
college friends. The Misses Walderburn had
also their especial favourites; and they, too,
journeyed to Carlville. A merrier party it
would be difficult to imagine.

On the evening of the third day, when the
ladies had just risen from the dinner-table
and retired to the drawing-room, the sound of
carriage wheels, and presently a loud rapping
at the door, were distinctly heard. As no
visitor was expected, this startled the host;
who, finding that no one had been announced,
was tempted to inquire of the footman:

"Who was that?"

"No one, sir," was the reply.

"Did you hear a rap at the door?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you open the door?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you not see any one?"

"No one, sir."

"Very strange!" ejaculated Mr. Walderburn,
passing round the bottles which were
standing before him.

In another five minutes there was heard,
for the second time, a sound of carriage
wheels, followed by a vigorous rapping at the
door, which was opened. But the footman
saw no one, and conveyed this information to
his master without waiting to be questioned.

Mr. Walderburn, his sons, and his guests,
were at a loss to comprehend the matter.
There were three young gentlemen living at
Glenpark (an estate near Carlville) who were
just then under a cloud, in consequence of
having committed sundry irregularities during
the absence of their mother and sisters on
the continent. These young gentlemen (the
eldest was four and twenty, and the youngest
just of age) were fond of practical joking;
and to their account this rapping at the door
was laid. While the stupidity of such
conduct was being remarked upon, there came,
for the third time, the sound of carriage
wheels, followed by a very loud rapping. On
this occasion, Mr. Walderburn sprang up and
went out, determined to catch and severely
punish these senseless intruders. The younger
son, armed with a stick, ran round by the
back way to cut off the retreat of the vehicle,
while the elder son opened the hall door. It
was a brilliant moonlight night, but no
carriage nor any person was to be seen.

Mr. Walderburn's sons stood in front of
the mansion, discoursing on the oddness of
the recent proceeding. That a human hand
had rapped at the door there was no sort of
doubt in their minds, and that the sound they
had heard previously to the rapping was the
sound of carriage wheels and the tramp of
horses, they were equally certain. In order
to be prepared for the next visit, they
crouched down and secreted themselves
behind a large shrub. They had not been in
this position for more than five minutes when
a sound of wheels and of horses' hoofs
induced them to look around them earnestly
and intently. They saw nothing; but they
heard a carriage pulled up at the door, the
steps let down, then the rapping at the door,
the rustling of silk dresses, the steps put up
again, and the moving away of the carriage
towards the stables.

None of the Walderburn family were timid
people, or believers in ghosts. The young
men, therefore, without scruple, went into
the drawing-room, where all the inmates of
the house were now assembled, and made
known what had occurred. As is usually
the case on such occasions, their statement
was received with laughter and incredulity.

And now there came another rapping at
the door, and the big footman, who had heard
the young masters' report in the drawing-room,
trembled so violently, that the cups
and saucers on the tray which he was handing
round began to reel, dance, and stagger.

"Listen!" said the elder son of Mr.
Walderburn.

All listened, and distinctly heard the sound
of carriage wheels and of horses' hoofs.

There was a huge portico before the front
door of the mansion, and on the top thereof
a balcony. Thence the eye could command