The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-11-13
The Witch Wife.
By J. G. WHITTIER.

When Il boy, | occasionally met at the
house of relative in the adjoining town, Il
stout, red noscd old farmer of tie ic;ghbor-
hood. A fine tableau lie made of av-intcr's
evening, in .hc red light of a birch lo:r fire.
as he sat for hours watching its progress
with sleepy, half-shut eyes, changing his
position only to reach the cider mug on the
shelf near him. Although he seldom oreil-
ed his lips save to assent to some remark of
his host, or to answer direct question, yet
at times, wien the cider mug got the bet
ter Of his taciturnity, he would amuse us
with interesting details of lis early expert
cnces in the "Ohio Country"
There was however, one chapter in these
experiences witch he usually held in reserve,
and with which "the stranger mtcrmeddled
not" He was not willing to run the risk of
hearing that which was to him a frightful
reality turned into ridcule by scoffers and
unbelievers. The substance of it, as | re
ceived it from one of his neighbors, forms as
clever tale of witchcraft as modern times
have produced -r. IS
1t seems when quite young man he left
the homestead, and strolling westward,
worked his way from place to place until
he found himself in one OF the French set
Elements on the Ohio river. Here he pro-
cured employment on tie farm of widow
and being smart, active fellow, and prov
ing highly seryiceable in his department, he
rapidly gained favor in the eyes of his en-
ployer. Ere long, contrary to the advice of
the neighbors, and in spite of somewhat dis
couraging hints touching certain matrimo-
NAL infelicities experienced by the late hus-
band, he resolutely stepped into the dead
mans shoes; the mistress became the wife,
and the servant was legally promoted to the
head of the household.
For time matters went on costly and
comfortable enough He was now lord of
the soil; and he has laid in his crops of corn
and potatoes, sailed down his pork, and
piled up his wood for winters use, he
naturally enough congratulated himself up
on his good fortune, and laughed at the
sinister forebodings of his neighbors. But
with the long winter months came change
over his "love's young dream" An evil
and mysterious influence seemed to be at
WOrk Ill Ills duduS. w HdtCS I'll uc dllCI
consulting his wife, or at her suggestion, re-
suited fayorably enough; but all his schemes
and projects were unquestionably marred
and defeated. If he bought horse, it was
sure to prove spawned or wind-broken. His
cows either refused to give down their milk,
or, giving it perversely kicked it over A
fine SOW which he had bargained for, repaid
his Partially by devouring, like Saturn, her
own children. By degrees dark thought
forced its way into his mind. Comparing
his repeated mischances with the anti-nuptial
warnings of his neighbors he at last came
to the melancholy conclusion that his wife
was witch, The victim in MOtherwells
ballad Of the Demon Lady, or the poor fel-
low in the Arabian tale who discovered that
he had married a ghOul in the guise of a
young and beautiful princess, was scarcely in
a more sorrowful predicament. He grew
nervous and fretful Old dismal nursery
stories, and all the witch love of boyhood