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The Canterville Ghost
When
Mr.
Hiram
B.
Otis
,
the
American
Minister
,
bought
Canterville
Chase
,
every
one
told
him
he
was
doing
a
very
foolish
thing
,
as
there
was
no
doubt
at
all
that
the
place
was
haunted
.
Indeed
,
Lord
Canterville
himself
,
who
was
a
man
of
the
most
punctilious
honour
,
had
felt
it
his
duty
to
mention
the
fact
to
Mr.
Otis
when
they
came
to
discuss
terms
.
"
We
have
not
cared
to
live
in
the
place
ourselves
,
"
said
Lord
Canterville
,
"
since
my
grandaunt
,
the
Dowager
Duchess
of
Bolton
,
was
frightened
into
a
fit
,
from
which
she
never
really
recovered
,
by
two
skeleton
hands
being
placed
on
her
shoulders
as
she
was
dressing
for
dinner
,
and
I
feel
bound
to
tell
you
,
Mr.
Otis
,
that
the
ghost
has
been
seen
by
several
living
members
of
my
family
,
as
well
as
by
the
rector
of
the
parish
,
the
Rev.
Augustus
Dampier
,
who
is
a
Fellow
of
King
's
College
,
Cambridge
.
After
the
unfortunate
accident
to
the
Duchess
,
none
of
our
younger
servants
would
stay
with
us
,
and
Lady
Canterville
often
got
very
little
sleep
at
night
,
in
consequence
of
the
mysterious
noises
that
came
from
the
corridor
and
the
library
.
"
"
My
Lord
,
"
answered
the
Minister
,
"
I
will
take
the
furniture
and
the
ghost
at
a
valuation
.
I
have
come
from
a
modern
country
,
where
we
have
everything
that
money
can
buy
;
and
with
all
our
spry
young
fellows
painting
the
Old
World
red
,
and
carrying
off
your
best
actors
and
prima-donnas
,
I
reckon
that
if
there
were
such
a
thing
as
a
ghost
in
Europe
,
we
'd
have
it
at
home
in
a
very
short
time
in
one
of
our
public
museums
,
or
on
the
road
as
a
show
.
"
"
I
fear
that
the
ghost
exists
,
"
said
Lord
Canterville
,
smiling
,
"
though
it
may
have
resisted
the
overtures
of
your
enterprising
impresarios
.
It
has
been
well
known
for
three
centuries
,
since
1584
in
fact
,
and
always
makes
its
appearance
before
the
death
of
any
member
of
our
family
.
"
"
Well
,
so
does
the
family
doctor
for
that
matter
,
Lord
Canterville
.
But
there
is
no
such
thing
,
sir
,
as
a
ghost
,
and
I
guess
the
laws
of
Nature
are
not
going
to
be
suspended
for
the
British
aristocracy
.
"
"
You
are
certainly
very
natural
in
America
,
"
answered
Lord
Canterville
,
who
did
not
quite
understand
Mr.
Otis
's
last
observation
,
"
and
if
you
do
n't
mind
a
ghost
in
the
house
,
it
is
allright
.
Only
you
must
remember
I
warned
you
.
"
A
few
weeks
after
this
,
the
purchase
was
concluded
,
and
at
the
close
of
the
season
the
Minister
and
his
family
went
down
to
Canterville
Chase
.
Mrs.
Otis
,
who
,
as
Miss
Lucretia
R.
Tappan
,
of
West
53d
Street
,
had
been
a
celebrated
New
York
belle
,
was
now
a
very
handsome
,
middle-aged
woman
,
with
fine
eyes
,
and
a
superb
profile
.
Many
American
ladies
on
leaving
their
native
land
adopt
an
appearance
of
chronic
ill-health
,
under
the
impression
that
it
is
a
form
of
European
refinement
,
but
Mrs.
Otis
had
never
fallen
into
this
error
.
She
had
a
magnificent
constitution
,
and
a
really
wonderful
amount
of
animalspirits
.
Indeed
,
in
many
respects
,
she
was
quite
English
,
and
was
an
excellent
example
of
the
fact
that
we
have
really
everything
in
common
with
America
nowadays
,
except
,
of
course
,
language
.
Her
eldest
son
,
christened
Washington
by
his
parents
in
a
moment
of
patriotism
,
which
he
never
ceased
to
regret
,
was
a
fair-haired
,
rather
good-looking
young
man
,
who
had
qualified
himself
for
American
diplomacy
by
leading
the
German
at
the
Newport
Casino
for
three
successive
seasons
,
and
even
in
London
was
well
known
as
an
excellent
dancer
.
Gardenias
and
the
peerage
were
his
only
weaknesses
.
Otherwise
he
was
extremely
sensible
.
Miss
Virginia
E.
Otis
was
a
little
girl
of
fifteen
,
lithe
and
lovely
as
a
fawn
,
and
with
a
fine
freedom
in
her
large
blue
eyes
.
She
was
a
wonderful
Amazon
,
and
had
once
raced
old
Lord
Bilton
on
her
pony
twice
round
the
park
,
winning
by
a
length
and
a
half
,
just
in
front
of
the
Achilles
statue
,
to
the
huge
delight
of
the
young
Duke
of
Cheshire
,
who
proposed
for
her
on
the
spot
,
and
was
sent
back
to
Eton
that
very
night
by
his
guardians
,
in
floods
of
tears
.
After
Virginia
came
the
twins
,
who
were
usually
called
"
The
Star
and
Stripes
,
"
as
they
were
always
getting
swished
.
They
were
delightful
boys
,
and
,
with
the
exception
of
the
worthy
Minister
,
the
only
true
republicans
of
the
family
.
