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OLD APPLEJOY'S GHOST ..............................................................................................................1

The large and commodious apartments in the upper part of the old Applejoy mansion were

occupied exclusively, at the time of our story, by the ghost of the grandfather of the present owner

For many years old Applejoy's ghost had wandered freely about the grand old house and the fine

estate of which he had once been the lord and master. But early in that spring a change had come

over the household of his grandson, John Applejoy, an elderly man, a bachelor, andfor the later

portion of his lifealmost a recluse. His young niece, Bertha, had come to live with him, and it was

since her arrival that old Applejoy's ghost had confined himself to the upper portions of the house.

This secluded existence, so different from his ordinary habits, was adopted entirely on account of

the kindness of his heart. During the lives of two generations of his descendants he knew that he

had frequently been seen by members of the family, but this did not disturb him, for in life he had

been a man who had liked to assert his position, and the disposition to do so had not left him now.

His skeptical grandson John had seen him and spoken with him, but declared that these ghostly

interviews were only dreams or hallucinations. As to other people, it might be a very good thing if

they believed that the house was haunted. People with uneasy consciences would not care to live

But when this fresh young girl came upon the scene the case was entirely different. She was not

twenty yet, and if anything should happen which would lead her to suspect that the house was

haunted she might not be willing to live there. If that should come to pass, it would be a great shock

For a long time the venerable mansion had been a quiet, darkened, melancholy house. A few

rooms only were occupied by John Applejoy and his housekeeper, Mrs. Dipperton, who for years

had needed little space in which to pass the monotonous days of their lives. Bertha sang; she

danced by herself on the broad piazza; she brought flowers into the house from the gardens, and,

sometimes, it almost might have been imagined that the days which were gone had come back

One winter evening, when the light of the full moon entered softly through every unshaded window

of the house, old Applejoy's ghost sat in a highbacked chair, which on account of an accident to

one of its legs had been banished to the garret. Throwing one shadowy leg over the other, he

clasped the long fingers of his hazy hands and gazed thoughtfully out the window.

"Winter has come," he said to himself. "And in two days it will be Christmas!" Suddenly he started

to his feet. "Can it be," he exclaimed, "that my closefisted grandson John does not intend to

celebrate Christmas! It has been years since he has done so, but now that Bertha is in the house,

will he dare to pass over it as though it were but a common day? It is almost incredible that such a

thing could happen, but so far there have been no signs of any preparations. I have seen nothing,

Clapping his misty old cocked hat on his head and tucking the shade of his faithful cane under his

arm, he descended to the lower part of the house. Glancing into the great parlors dimly lit by the

"Humph!" ejaculated old Applejoy's ghost. "He expects no company here!" Forthwith he passed

through the dining room and entered the kitchen and pantry. There were no signs that anything

extraordinary in the way of cooking had been done, or was contemplated. "Two days before

Christmas," he groaned, "and a kitchen thus! How widely different from the olden time when I gave

orders for the holidays! Let me see what the old curmudgeon has provided for Christmas."

So saying, old Applejoy's ghost went around the spacious pantry, looking upon shelves and tables.

"Emptiness! Emptiness! Emptiness!" he exclaimed. "A cold leg of mutton, a ham half gone, and

cold boiled potatoesit makes me shiver to look at them! Pies? there ought to be rows and rows of

"What is this? Is it possible? A chicken not full grown! Oh, John, how you have fallen! A

smallsized fowl for Christmas day! And cider? No trace of it! Here is vinegarthat suits John, no

doubt," and then forgetting his present condition, he said to himself, "It makes my very blood run

cold to look upon a pantry furnished out like this!" And with bowed head he passed out into the

If it were possible to prevent the desecration of his old home during the sojourn of the young and

joyous Bertha, the ghost of old Applejoy was determined to do it, but to do anything he must put

himself into communication with some living being. Still rapt in reverie he passed up the stairs and

into the chamber where his grandson slept. There lay the old man, his eyelids as tightly closed as if

there had been money underneath them. The ghost of old Applejoy stood by his bedside.

"I can make him wake up and look at me," he thought, "so that I might tell him what I think of him,

but what impression could I expect my words to make upon a onechicken man like John?

Moreover, if I should be able to speak to him, he would persuade himself that he had been

Old Applejoy's ghost turned away from the bedside of his descendant, crossed the hall, and passed

into the room of Mrs. Dipperton, the elderly housekeeper. There she lay fast asleep. The

"It would be of no use," he said. "She would never be able to induce old John to turn one inch aside

from his parsimonious path. More than that, if she were to see me she would probably

Out he went, and getting more and more anxious in his mind, the ghost passed to the front of the

house and entered the chamber occupied by young Bertha. Once inside the door, he stopped

The head of the bed was near the uncurtained window, and the bright light of the moon shone upon

a face more beautiful in slumber than in the sunny hours of day. She slept lightly, her delicate

eyelids trembled now and then as if they would open, and sometimes her lips moved, as if she

Old Applejoy's ghost drew nearer and bent slightly over her. If he could hear a few words he might

Old Applejoy's ghost stepped back from the bedside, "She wants Tom! I like that! But I wish she

would say something else. She can't have Tom for Christmasat least, not Tom alone. There is a

Again he drew near to Bertha and listened, but instead of speaking, she suddenly opened her eyes.

The ghost of old Applejoy drew back, and made a low, respectful bow. The maiden did not move,

but fixed her lovely blue eyes upon the apparition, who trembled for fear that she might scream or

"Am I asleep?" she murmured, and then, after turning her head from side to side to assure herself

that she was in her own room, she looked full into the face of old Applejoy's ghost, and boldly

spoke to him. "Are you a spirit?" said she. If a flush of joy could redden the countenance of a ghost,

his face would have glowed like d sunlit rose "Dear child," he exclaimed, "I am the ghost of your

uncle's grandfather. His younger sister, Maria, was your mother, and therefore, I am the ghost of

"Then you must be the original Appljoy," said Bertha, "and I think it very wonderful that I am not

afraid of you. You look as if you would not hurt anybody in this world, especially me!"

"There you have it, my dear!" he exclaimed, bringing his cane down upon the floor with a violence

which had it been the cane it used to be would have wakened everybody in the house. "I vow to

you there is not a person in the world for whom I have such an affection as I feel for you. You have

brought into this house something of the old life. I wish I could tell you how happy I have been since

"I did not suppose I would make anyone happy by coming here," said Bertha. "Uncle John does not

"No, indeed," exclaimed the good ghost, "you did not know about me, but you will. First, however,

we must get down to business. I came here tonight with a special object. It is about Christmas.

Your uncle does not mean to have any Christmas in this house, but I intend, if I can possibly do so,

to prevent him from disgracing himself. Still, I cannot do anything without help, and there is nobody

Bertha could not refrain from a smile. "It would be funny to help a ghost," she said, "but if I can

"I want you to go into the lower part of the house," said he. "I have something to show you. I shall

go down and wait for you. Dress yourself as warmly as you can, and have you some soft slippers

"Oh, yes," said Bertha, her eyes twinkling with delight. "I shall be dressed and with you in no time."

"Do not hurry yourself," said the good ghost as he left the room "We have most of the night before

When the young girl had descended the great staircase almost as noiselessly as the ghost, she

found her venerable companion waiting for her. "Do you see the lantern on the table?" said he.

"John uses it when he goes his round of the house at bedtime. There are matches hanging above

it. Please light it. You may be sure I would not put you to this trouble if I were able to do it myself."

When she had lighted the brass lantern, the ghost invited her to enter the study. "Now," said he as

he led the way to the large desk with the cabinet above it, "will you be so good as to open that

glass door and put your hand into the front corner of that middle shelf? You will feel a key hanging

"But this is my uncle's cabinet," Bertha said, "and I have no right to meddle with his keys and

The ghost drew himself up to the six feet two inches which had been his stature in life. "This was

my cabinet," he said, "and I have never surrendered it to your uncle John! With my own hands I

screwed the little hook into that dark corner and hung the key upon it! Now I beg you to take down

Without a moment's hesitation Bertha took the key from the hook unlocked and opened the drawer.

"Yes," said the ghost. "Now, my dear, I want you to understand that what we are going to do is

strictly correct and proper. This was once my houseeverything in it I planned and arranged. I am

now going to take you into the cellars of my old mansion. They are wonderful cellars; they were my

pride and glory! Are you afraid," he said, "to descend with me into these subterranean regions?"

"Not a bit!" exclaimed Bertha. "I think it will be the jolliest thing in the world to go with my

greatgrandfather into the cellars which he built himself, and of which he was so proud."

This speech so charmed the ghost of old Applejoy that he would instantly have kissed his

"You are a girl to my liking!" he exclaimed. "I wish you had been living at the time I was alive and

"I wish you were alive now, dear Greatgrandpapa," said she. "Let us go onI am all impatience!"

They then descended into the cellars, which, until the present owner came into possession of the

estate, had been famous throughout the neighborhood. "This way," said old Applejoy's ghost. "Do

you see that row of old casks nearly covered with cobwebs and dust? They contain some of the

choicest spirits ever brought into this country, rum from Jamaica, brandy from France, port and

"Come into this little room. Now, then, hold up your lantern. Notice that row of glass jars on the

shelf. They are filled with the finest mincemeat ever made and just as good as it ever was! And

there are a lot more jars and cans all tightly sealed. I do not know what good things are in them, but

I am sure their contents are just what will be wanted to fill out a Christmas table.

"Now, my dear, I want to show you the grandest thing in these cellars. Behold that wooden box!

Inside it is an airtight box made of tin. Inside that is a great plum cake put into that box by me! I

intended it to stay there for a long time, for plum cake gets better and better the longer it is kept.

The people who eat that cake, my dear Bertha, will be blessed above all their fellow mortals!

"And now I think you have seen enough to understand thoroughly that these cellars are the abode

of many good things to eat and to drink. It is their abode, but if John could have his way it would be

"But why did you bring me here, Greatgrandpapa?" said Bertha "Do you want me to come down

"No, indeed," said old Applejoy's ghost. "Come upstairs, and let us go into the study." Once they

were there, Bertha sat down before the fireplace and warmed her fingers over the few embers it

"Bertha," said the spirit of her greatgrandfather, "it is wicked not to celebrate Christmas, especially

when one is able to do so in the most hospitable and generous way. For years John has taken no

notice of Christmas, and it is our duty to reform him if we can! There is not much time before

Christmas Day, but there is time enough to do everything that has to be done, if you and I go to

"The straightforward thing to do," said the ghost, "is for me to appear to your uncle, tell him his

duty, and urge him to perform it, but I know what will be the result. He would call the interview a

dream. But there is nothing dreamlike about you, my dear. If anyone hears you talking he will know

"Yes," said old Applejoy's ghost. "I want you to go to him immediately after breakfast tomorrow

morning and tell him exactly what has happened this night; about the casks of spirits, the jars of

mincemeat, and the wooden box nailed fast and tight with the tin box inside holding the plum cake.

"It is simply this," said the ghost. "When you have told him all the events of this night, and when he

sees that they must have happened, I want you to tell him that it is the wish and desire of his

grandfather, to whom he owes everything, that there shall be worthy festivities in this house on

Christmas Day and Night. Tell him to open his cellars and spend his money. Tell him to send for at

least a dozen good friends and relatives to attend the great holiday celebration that is to be held in

"Now, my dear," said old Applejoy's ghost, drawing near to the young girl, "I want to ask youa

At these words a sudden blush rushed into the cheeks of Bertha. "Tom?" she said. "What Tom?"

"I am sure you know a young man named Tom, and I want you to tell me who he is. My name was

Tom, and I am very fond of Toms. Is he a nice young fellow? Do you like him very much?"

"That means you are in love with each other!" exclaimed old Applejoy's ghost. "And now, my dear,

The ghost of old Applejoy gazed down upon his greatgranddaughter with pride and admiration

"My dear Bertha," he exclaimed, "I congratulate you! I have seen young Tom. He is a finelooking

fellow, and if you love him I know he is a good one. Now, I'll tell you what we will do, Bertha. We will

"We will have a bigger party than we thought we would," said the beaming ghost. "All the invited

guests will be asked to bring their families. When a big dinner is given at this house, Thomas

Burcham, Sr., must not be left out, and he is bound to bring Tom. Now skip back to your bed, and

immediately after breakfast come here to your uncle and tell him everything I have told you to tell

Bertha hesitated. "Greatgrandfather," she said, "if Uncle does allow us to celebrate Christmas, will

"Yes, indeed, my dear," said he. "And you need not be afraid of my frightening anybody. I shall be

everywhere and I shall hear everything, but I shall be visible only to the loveliest woman who ever

"If she hadn't gone," said old Applejoy's ghost to himself, "I couldn't have helped giving her a

The next morning, as Bertha told the story of her night's adventures to her uncle, the face of John

Applejoy grew paler and paler. He was a hardheaded man, but a superstitious one, and when

Bertha told him of his grandfather's plum cake, the existence of which he had believed was not

known to anyone but himself, he felt it was impossible for the girl to have dreamed these things.

With all the power of his will he opposed this belief, but it was too much for him, and he

surrendered. But he was a proud man and would not admit to his niece that he put any faith in the

"My dear," said he, rising, his face still pale, but his expression under good control, "although there

is nothing of weight in what you have told mefor traditions about my cellars have been afloat in

the familystill your pretty little story suggests something to me. This is Christmastime and I had

almost overlooked it. You are young and lively and accustomed to the celebration of holidays.

Therefore, I have determined, my dear, to have a grand Christmas dinner and invite our friends and

their families. I know there must be good things in the cellars, although I had almost forgotten them,

and they shall be brought up and spread out and enjoyed. Now go and send Mrs. Dipperton to me,

and when we have finished our consultation, you and I will make out a list of guests."

When she had gone, John Applejoy sat down in his big chair and looked fixedly into the fire. He

would not have dared to go to bed that night if he had disregarded the message from his

Never had there been such a glorious Christmastime within the walls of the old house. The news

that old Mr. Applejoy was sending out invitations to a Christmas dinner spread like wildfire through

the neighborhood. The idea of inviting people by families was considered a grand one, worthy

indeed of the times of old Mr. Tom Applejoy, the grandfather of the present owner, who had been

For the first time in nearly a century all the leaves of the great dining table were put into use, and

the table had as much as it could do to stand up under its burdens brought from cellar, barn, and

surrounding country. In the very middle of everything was the wonderful plum cake which had been

But the cake was not cut. "My friends," said Mr. John Applejoy, "we may all look at this cake but we

will not eat it! We will keep it just as it is until a marriage shall occur in this family. Then you are all

At the conclusion of this little speech old Applejoy's ghost patted his grandson upon the head. "You

don't feel that, John," he said to himself, "but it is approbation, and this is the first time I have ever

Late in the evening there was a grand dance in the great hall, which opened with an oldfashioned

minuet, and when the merry guests were forming on the floor, a young man named Tom came

"No," said she, "not this time. I am going to dance this first dance withwell, we will say by

At these words the most thoroughly gratified ghost in all space stepped up to the side of the lovely

girl, and with his cocked hat folded flat under his left arm, he made a low bow and held out his

hand. With his long waistcoat trimmed with lace, his tightly drawn stockings and his buckled shoes,

Bertha put out her hand and touched the shadowy fingers of her partner, and then, side by side,

she and the ghost of her greatgrandfather opened the ball. With all the grace of fresh young

"What a strange young girl," said some of the guests, "to go through that dance all by herself, but

"Very eccentric, my dear!" said Mr. John Applejoy when the dance was over. "But I could not help

thinking as I looked at you that there was nobody in this room that was worthy to be your partner."

"You are wrong there, old fellow!" was the simultaneous mental ejaculation of young Tom Burcham