E. Phillips Oppenheim

Name: The Ghost of Old John Hill
Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim

The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

Summary

“The Ghost of Old John Hill”, published in 1901, is a work by E. Phillips Oppenheim. It explores elements such as chasm, bracken and quarry.

Quotes from The Ghost of Old John Hill (E. Phillips Oppenheim)

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ Instead of the long, vineyard-covered slopes and groves of olive trees, was a thoroughly English deer-park, studded with giant oaks and dark patches of fir trees, and stretching away beyond a purely pastoral country with deep yellow cornfields and rich meadows, in many of which were dotted about the dark shapes of reclining cattle. On my left hand yawned a cleft-like chasm, overhung at the brink with thick bracken and drooping bushes—evidently a disused slate quarry, for a broken shaft lay rotting on the ground, and all around were thick layers of broken-up slate. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ I strove to speak, but I could not; like unwilling actors in a silent tableau, we stood face to face, speechless, motionless, fascinated. No sound broke the deep stillness of the summer night; no words could I force from my ashen lips after that first hoarse cry.
Suddenly there came faintly to my ears the sound of a low, moaning cry, and almost simultaneously I saw a tuft of the bracken which overhung the chasm shaken violently. A deeper chill ran through me; it seemed as though the blood in my veins was turned to ice, and I stood motionless, my feet frozen to the ground with fear. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ Before me lay the high, grass-covered hill, the round, grey tower, and the quarry, just as I had seen them all on that horrible night. At every step I took, every time my eyes fell upon him bending over my sister with all a lover's tenderness, the weight upon my brain seemed to grow heavier. Earth and sky seemed dancing around me in fantastic shapes, and the dark branches of the pine trees stooped down and whispered to me, Murder! murder! murder! ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ A wild shriek of despair burst from the lips of his victim as his hands relaxed their hold upon the bracken, and I reached the edge of the chasm only in time to see him stiff and rigid in mid-air, his arms stretched wildly up to the starlit sky, in the very act of falling backwards, to see him and to recognise in his ghastly countenance the face of the man who had been my close companion for years, my sworn college chum, and the only man whom I had ever cared to call a friend—Philip Hardingstone, Squire of Little Hampton. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ Face to face with me stood, or rather crouched, a man—a tall, dark man, with white, scared face and large, wildly bright eyes riveted on mine. It seemed as though he had turned round suddenly from peering down into the black depths of the chasm, and was horror-struck to see me. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ I found myself, without any sense of motion, or having moved, leaning against a gate, looking over a sloping vineyard only a few yards away from the cross-roads. Thunder-struck and bewildered, I gazed wildly about me for a few moments. Then turning round, I hurried along the grass-grown track. In vain; I came to no hill, and the path beneath my feet grew into a broad, white high-road, winding far away into a level stretch of rolling plains. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ They reached the top almost at the same moment as I also gained it by a more devious track and concealed myself behind a mass of rock. They moved to the side of the chasm, she full of awed curiosity, he pale and shrinking. Then up from my hiding-place I leaped, and stood before them, wild and dishevelled, with my burning eyes fixed upon his ghastly face, pointing, pointing with shaking hand into the abyss below.
"Murderer! murderer!" ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ Empires may rise and fall, all Europe might blaze from Madrid to Moscow with fierce war and bloodshed, kingdoms might become republics, and republics might seek again the yoke of monarchy—to me it would all be one. Outside these walls I shall never step. I have wit enough to conceal my partial recovery, for I know very well that this refuge is all that stands between me and the murderer's dock. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ It was a curiosity which increased with every step I took, and became gradually coupled with a vague, incomprehensible premonition. What manner of prospect I expected to behold from the top of the hill which I was rapidly ascending I cannot tell, but I had a distinct and firm conviction that something out of the common was about to happen to me. ”

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Source: Wikisource

E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Ghost of Old John Hill (1901)

“ Hastily selecting those from my aunt and my sister, I tore them open and scanned them through.
My vague fears turned swiftly into a distinct sense of horror. From first to last they were full of praises of my old friend's nephew, who was quite a close neighbour of theirs; and my aunt's letters, which I looked at first, were full of hints as to the cause of his constant visits and attentions to my sister Clara. I threw them down and opened Clara's letters. They were more explicit still. Mr. Esholt had asked her to become his wife. Would I come down and meet him? ”

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Summary

Quotes from The Ghost of Old John Hill (E. Phillips Oppenheim)

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