Reminiscences of a Raconteur, Between the '40s and the '20sHam, George H. (George Henry)
History
Reminiscences of a Raconteur, Between the '40s and the '20s
Ham, George H. (George Henry)
Canada; Ham, George H. (George Henry), 1847-1926; Journalists -- Canada -- Biography
I spoke to George Young about it, and he laughingly said: “You’re
hearing those noises too; well, I won’t raise the rent anyway on that
account.” And he didn’t—but that’s not the custom nowadays.
One time the cellar was filled with water, coming from where, goodness
only knows, though it was said that there was a slough through that
property years ago. Anyway the cellar was full of water, and it had to
be baled out. I said, “Leave it to me. Let George do it.” My motto is
“Do it now”—“now” being an indefinite time.
After a few days, despairing of any decisive action on my part, my wife
engaged the Laurie boys, (who came from Whitby) to empty the cellar.
They came one fine morning with pails and ropes and everything was ready
to put the cellar in its normal condition. But lo and behold, when the
trap door was opened, there wasn’t a blamed drop of water in the
blooming cellar. It was dry as a tin horn. Of course I triumphantly
boasted, “There, didn’t I tell you. Always leave things to me.” The
Laurie boys were puzzled, for they had seen the cellar full the previous
day. And I gloated. We never ascertained whence came the water or where
it went, but by this time I had got accustomed to the prances and pranks
of the house and didn’t care a continental.
After a couple of years’ occupancy of the house, which in the meantime
had been purchased by the late George McVicar, we sought a new residence
on Logan Street, next to Ald. More’s; and the Main Street house was
leased to a Mr. Conlisk, a cigar manufacturer, who hitherto had boarded
at John Pointz’s hotel, diagonally opposite. We were to move out on a
Saturday morning, but the rain came down in torrents and the muddy
streets were almost impassable. Besides our new house wasn’t ready.
I went to Mr. Conlisk and asked him if he would let us stay for a couple
of days longer and I would pay his rent and his board at the hotel. But
he wouldn’t. He had leased the house and he was going into it Saturday
afternoon. And he did. I don’t like to think of unpleasant things, so
I’ll skip telling about how we—and our furniture—fared. In less than a
week, Jimmy Bennett, a well known citizen who had a room with the
Conlisks, left for other—and doubtless quieter—quarters, and before
the month was up Conlisk paid another month’s rent in advance, and gave
the landlord notice that he was quitting. George McVicar came to me and
angrily wanted to know why I was spreading reports that his house was
haunted. I told him I had not done anything of the kind, but that it was
the spooks who had spoken. The building was removed to the north end,
and some years after, on recognizing it, I called to see if the noises
still continued. But they wouldn’t let me in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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