Skeleton in the Closet.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 217, 17 August 1883, Page 3

Skeleton m the Closet.

The etrathmore Family is one of the Oldest and most historical of Scotland. They have been^Earls since 142*3, and inhabit a no less historical castle than that of Glamis, associated with the Macbeth?.' In 1455, Lady Strathmere, falsely accused of conspiracy by witch craft 1 against the the life of King James IV of Scotland, :was' burnt m the 'Grassfimarktlts, Edinburgh. j^er o jßon, 'driven- to desperation 'by persecution, flung himself over a rock and perished i mmediately. The title remained some years dormant, but was^revifed by James I of England, VI of Scotland. It is said the lady of Stratbmore cursed her family for hyvi'ng abandoned her m distress/ ; Be "this; as it may," here, is what recently transpired m this ancient house. For four generations there has been a m at' Glarhis Castle which no one has .e^er been able to iathon*;. S omesaid it was a ghost, others a mysteriously hidden treasure ; bdb rumouris of a more or less uncanny nature floated round the country, and have done so fprthlaest93years. Four Earls of Strath-more-have seated themselves m ancestral state at Westminister, and; yet all the while ihe {real Earl, the eldest of. the family,i was a'ive, hidden m;. the vast Old feudal palace ajt Glamis. He died Only last year, aged 92 years, and he was a monster. He stood ; eight feet m height. His head ;andr.the upper part of his body resetn4 bed that ot a toad. His skin was marked with black and white splotches, and bis hands were webbed . He could not speak nor hear, but his eyes were, bright, but wild. He never showed signs of reason, and m order to avoid legal difficulties and painful revelations, this horror' was hidden m a building erected 1 for the purpose. His gaolers; were paid handsome annuities to keep! Silent. As each Earl succeeded to the estate, be was taken to see this terrific creature, and it is said that one of these: * gentlemen almost lost his reason m beholding the loathsome and gigantic 'hbrrOr. Last \ year the poor wretch died, and his secret has come out, : owing to .' difficulties > concerning the dis< posal of his remains. The .most extraordinary part of it all is . that the whereabouts of the monster Earl .was kept so wonderfully quiet, and also ttiat he lived to such an advanced age.