"Swear! " said the Ghost of Hamlet's Father, in his stagey way.
"I swear it," I said earnestly.
As there were no cocks to crow down at the seashore, I wondered if my guests would know when to depart; but even as I wondered, they disappeared slowly, like a dissolving view, and I was left alone.
I returned to my bed, and lay there, thinking how I should persuade Gertrude to consent to deferring the celebration as I wished.
But it was not difficult. She readily agreed that the fun would be much greater on Hallowe'en morning, for then our baby boy could enjoy it, too—a pleasure which would be denied him at night.
On Hallowe'en, then, I hurried every one off to bed well before midnight; and when the clock struck twelve I arose, earnestly hoping that every one else in the house was asleep. I softly descended the stairs, feeling again that impelling force, but by no means inclined to resist it.
When I entered the parlor it was quite dark, save for the semi-luminous presence of several ghosts.
I at once recognized the Ghost of Hamlet's Father, who was stalking up and down. Marley's Ghost was talking to three other spirits.
The Ghost of Hamlet's Father seemed too preoccupied to pay much attention to me, but Marley's Ghost was exceedingly polite, and told me who the various phantoms were.
"That," said he, pointing to a tall, gloomy specter, "is Banquo's Ghost; and this" —indicating another, in hunts- man's garb—"is Herne the Hunter."
Caesar's Ghost I recognized for myself, and the noble figure, in its Roman drapery, must have thrilled Brutus when it appeared to him before the battle of Philippi.
The Headless Horseman seemed to be one of the most important ghosts, and the Hessian trooper looked especially weird as he carried his lioad under his arm, and often carelessly left it lying around on a chair or table.
The Skeleton in Armor rattled about with a good deal of
