The Arkansas Advocate

From the Newark Daily Advertiser.

A TALE OF MARVEL.

Rumor, with one of her ten thousand tongues, brought us a mysterious story yesterday of a "mysterious lady," which so far challenged credit that we were induced to send a competent witness in the afternoon to procure more particular information. Our agent, after the fullest opportunity of observation, has returned this morning, and communicates the following facts which we give without embellishment, as he relates them.

On Monday night of last week the family of Mr. Joseph Baron, living in the township of Woodbridge, about three miles from Rahway in this county, were alarmed after they had retired, by a loud thumping against the house. Mr. B.'s first impression was that some one was attempting to break in, but further observation soon undeceived him. The thumping, however, continued at short intervals, until the family became so alarmed, that Mr. B. called in some of his neighbors, who remained up with the family, until day light, when the thumping ceased.

The next evening, after night fall, the noise re-commenced, when it was ascertained to be mysteriously connected with the movements of a servant girl in the family—a white girl about 14 years of age. While passing a window on the stairs, for example, a sudden jar accompanied with an explosive sound broke a pane of glass; the girl at the same moment being seized with a violent spasm. This of course very much alarmed her; and the physician (Dr. Drake) was sent for, came, and bled her. The bleeding, however, produced no apparent effect; the noise still continued as before, at intervals, wherever the girl went, each sound producing more or less of a spasm, and the physician with the family remained up again during the night. At day-light the thumping ceased again. On the third evening the same thing was repeated, commencing a little earlier than before, and so every evening since, continuing each night until morning, and commencing every evening a little earlier than before, until yesterday, when the thumping began about 12 o'clock at noon.

The circumstances were soon generally spread through the neighborhood, and have produced so much excitement that the house has been filled and surrounded from sun set to sun rise every night for nearly a week. Every imaginable means have been resorted to in order to unravel the phenomenon. At one time the girl would be removed from one apartment to another, but without effect. Wherever she was placed, at uncertain intervals, the sudden thumping noise would be heard in the room. She was taken to a neighbor's house; the same result followed. When carried out of doors, however, no noise is heard. Dr. Drake who has been constant in his attentions during the whole period, occasionally aided by other scientific observers, was with us, last evening for two hours, when we were politely allowed to make a variety of experiments with the girl, in addition to those heretofore tried, to satisfy ourselves that there is no imposition in the case, and if possible to discover the secret agent of the mystery.

The girl was in an upper room with a part of the family when we reached the house. The noise then resembled that which would be produced by a person violently thumping the upper floor with the head of an axe, five or six times in quick succession, jarring the house, ceasing a few minutes, and then resuming as before.

We were soon introduced into the apartment, and permitted to observe for ourselves. The girl appeared to be in perfect health, cheerful, and free from the spasms felt at first, and entirely relieved from every thing like the fear or apprehension which she manifested for days. The invisible noise, however, continued to occur as before, though somewhat diminished in frequency and sound, while we were in the room. In order to ascertain more satisfactorily that she did not produce it voluntarily, among other experiments, we placed her on a chair on a blanket in the centre of the room: bandaged the chair with cloth, fastening her feet on the front round, and confining her hands together on her lap.

No change, however, was produced: the thumping continued as before, except that it was not quite so loud, the noise resembling that which would be produced by stamping on the floor with a heavy heel. Yet she did not move a limb nor a muscle that we could discover. She remained in this position long enough to satisfy all in the room that the girl exercised voluntarily no sort of agency in producing the noise.

It was observed that the noise became greater the farther she was removed from any other person.

We placed her in the door way of a closet in the room, the door being a-jar to allow her to stand in the passage. In less than a minute the door flew open, as if violently struck with a mallet, accompanied with precisely such a noise as a thump would produce. This was repeated several times with the same effect. In short, in whatever position she was placed, whether in or out of the room, similar results, varied a little, perhaps, by circumstances, were pro-duced. There is certainly no deception in the case. And now for conjecture. For ourselves we offer none, but among other conjectures which have been suggested by Dr. Drake and others, is, that the phenomenon is electrical.

This conjecture is supposed to be supported by the fact that the noise is prevented by the intervention of substances that are non-conductors; as for instance, when a pillow was placed between her person and the door in which she stood, no noise or effect whatever were discoverable. So when she gets upon a feather bed, and again if she lies at length on the floor, the thumping appears to be near her head, which is very much affected at the moment of the report, so much so that she screams; on one such occasion she said it appeared as if some one was 'knocking her brains out.'

The noise of the reports may be heard at least 100 yards from the house.