Produced by David Clarke, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) BLACK SPIRITS AND WHITE CARNATION SERIES Black Spirits & White _A Book of Ghost Stories_ BY RALPH ADAMS CRAM [Device] CHICAGO STONE & KIMBALL MDCCCXCV COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY STONE AND KIMBALL Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. The oe ligature is represented by [oe]. "BLACK SPIRITS AND WHITE, RED SPIRITS AND GRAY, MINGLE, MINGLE, MINGLE, YE THAT MINGLE MAY." Contents PAGE NO. 252 RUE M. LE PRINCE 3 IN KROPFSBERG KEEP 33 THE WHITE VILLA 55 SISTER MADDELENA 83 NOTRE DAME DES EAUX 115 THE DEAD VALLEY 133 POSTSCRIPT 151 No. 252 RUE M. LE PRINCE. No. 252 Rue M. le Prince. When in May, 1886, I found myself at last in Paris, I naturally determined to throw myself on the charity of an old chum of mine, Eugene Marie d'Ardeche, who had forsaken Boston a year or more ago on receiving word of the death of an aunt who had left him such property as she possessed. I fancy this windfall surprised him not a little, for the relations between the aunt and nephew had never been cordial, judging from Eugene's remarks touching the lady, who was, it seems, a more or less wicked and witch-like old person, with a penchant for black magic, at least such was the common report. Why she should leave all her property to d'Ardeche, no one could tell, unless it was that she felt his rather hobbledehoy tendencies towards Buddhism and occultism might some day lead him to her own unhallowed height of questionable illumination. To be sure d'Ardeche reviled her as a bad old woman, being himself in that state of enthusiastic exaltation which sometimes accompanies a boyish fancy for occultism; but in spite of his distant and repellent attitude, Mlle. Blaye de Tartas made him her sole heir, to the violent wrath of a questionable old party known to infamy as the Sar Torrevieja, the "King of the Sorcerers." This malevolent old portent, whose gray and crafty face was often seen in the Rue M. le Prince during the life of Mlle. de Tartas had, it seems, fully expected to enjoy her small wealth after her death; and when it appeared that she had left him only the contents of the gloomy old house in the Quartier Latin, giving the house itself and all else of which she died possessed to her nephew in America, the Sar proceeded to remove everything from the place, and then to curse it elaborately and comprehensively, together with all those who should ever dwell therein. Whereupon he disappeared.