Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-12-09
EVENING STAR.
Aunt Hannah Tripe's Evening Tales.
- Ghosts, Witches, and Signs.

l.
nam Brown used to git together and tell sich
stories that the life currants in my veins was
turned to icicles, as the poets say can re-
member how L used to 60 TO bed in jiffy, and
crawl clean away down inter the middle of the
bed, and kiver my head all over with quilts,
and If heerd mouse gnawin' corn up gar
ret, or if the wind ratified the winders, the in
spiration would start from every pore of my
body, jest as you We seen it start out of pair.
son chock full of hot ginger tea Arter got
older, this skittish fsslin' kinder wore of and
now shouldn't be afeard to look the ghost of
any decent critter in the face. OF course,
ghosts amt to be seen now days. The reason
why-they We gone out of fashun. Nothin on
airth can live If it's out of fashun it dwindles
and dwindles and dwindles, till it dwindles
clear down to nothin', and is forgot. That's
jest the way it's been with ghosts-poor crit
ters. they tried hard to stand their ground,
but it warnt no manner Of use. Fashun has
murdered 'um and driv um clean out Of the
land Witches, too, has gone the same way;
none OF 'um to be heerd of, much more seer.
Why, time was once when they was plenty as
gravel stones, doin' all sorts of mischief, and
cuttin' up all sorts of shines, maxim the cows
give bloody milk, and the hens crow like roos
ters.
My sakes what times them was Now
could tell you a little bit of an antidote about
ghost If IL couldn't skeer you too much /
don want to see you lookin' out every mint,
eez you wouldn't be likely to see none, if you
did keep watch, for, as 1 sed, they're out of
the land
Ye see about the time 'Csjer (dear, lost NAM
was cOurtln' me the worst, got to be ter bic
rhumatic; fond of goin' out of moony evenins,
and settin' lookin' at the stars, and thinkin'
OF 'CaJer. Though / was awful feerd Of seein'
somethin' onhuman, used to go as fur as the
brook in the medder, and set on a big rock
there, keepin' teri BILE close watch for ghosts
aud witches all the time. Wall, one night in
November, let me see-I won't be sartin but
| II was in October, or it might possibly be as
airly as August won't say positive, for fear
| should tell monkshood, 1 went out to the
brook and sOt down on the rock. 1t was a
very bright moOnshine, eenamost as light as
day, and, thinks to myself, the ghosts won't
dare to venture out tonight. it amt dark
| enuf. L hadn't more'n got done thinkin it
| when seed shadder on the grass; and cum
to look up, my goodness massy! What do You
| think L seed, Jest this-enuff to make toe
hair stand on eend-a tall, slim fgger, drest
all in a white sheet and a white nightcap on,
standin' right afOre me, with one arm raised
up, and its fore.fnger pintin' rite up to the
sky. was so skeert that dropped rite down
off from the rock inter little mud puddle
full of frogs, and seZ L,
"My gracious grandfather, Oh, 'Cajer
uy dumlGdDlc. Cum QufCh anu eu0lCu me
from depending construction !"
"Why don't ye call out on yer admirable,
gracious uncle - sez the ghosts latin enuff to
shake a spirit to pieces; and droppin' the
sheet and THROWN away the nightcap, there
stood Uncle Tom Brown.
Tormented critter Did it a purpus to skeer
me shouldn't hev keered so much about il
but he played me so much about it that got
Wrathy and seq T.
''Tom Brown, you ought to be horse whip
yed 30
"WalI, Hammer" sez he, /" I'll 20 rite away
and git the horse whip, if you'll jest hev the
kindness to whip me with it arter git it
here"
He actilly started. didn't wait till he got
back, but went to bed, tired and sulky.
AS fur witches, there used to be sight Of
them. Jest tell a child that a witch would
git him if he didn't do as you wanted him to
and he'd mind you quicker than you can say
Jack RobbersOn-that is, if you was a mind
to try.
L remember witch story that Grandfather
Muggins used to tell about himself; it's true
as gospel preachin'. Ye see the witches used
to ride folks out That is-cum to um in the
night, when they was abed and asleep, and
throw bride over their head, jump on their
back, and the poor afflicted pairsOn would
turn into horse and gallup off Wall, Grand
father Muggins had been rid out for ever so
many nights by tall, black woman, in yell
ler shawl, and kerried to house at Crown
Pint, and hitched to fence. Then the black
woman would 60 in to the house and dance,
and sing and shout, with 3 hull lot Of other
witches till daybreak. (Ye see witches can Z
do pothin' arter it Gums light-their power is
the darkuess.) Jest as soon as the day broke
| the black woman would come out, Onhitch
granfather, jump on his back, and ride him
| eenamost to death, and leave him in his bed
| where she got him from, completely exhaust
| ed No wonder, poor man! trottin' all
night with a black woman on his back Wall,
granfather he didn't say nOthin' about it for
sum time, but byme-bye couldn't endure it no
| longer, and he went and told his brother, Pc
ter Muggins, all about it.
"Why don't you find the house in the day.
| time % sez Peter.
1--WE tried to often enuff," seq granfather,
"but there's so many houses at the Pint all
| alike that never can tell one from t'other,
sez granfather
"I'll tell ye what to do,'' sez Peter Mug
gins. Next time you are rid down there,
| and hitched to the fence, arter the old won an
| has gone in and got to frolckin' you jest gnaw
| the fence, and paw and dig up the ground
with your huifs, and hey CRATE performance
ginerally, and then the next mornin' go rite
down to the Pint, and mebby you can find the
house"
"Wall, sez granfather Muggins, "I'll dc
| it, by cracky!" !"
That very night, after granfather had got
| to bed, in cum the black woman and tossed
bride over his head, jumped on his back, and
/ off he cantered like any sperited hOss Bym6
| bye she whoaed him up to the same place in
the fence, and tied him with the bride, and
| then she went inter the house, which was all
Illuminated with pitch lights, and went to dan
| Gin"
Jest the minnit he sot eyes on her bscksides
| grandfather he begun to dig and paw with hi.
| huffs, and gnaw the fence, and tread round
to a terrible rate, till he'd kicked up las he
thought) one Of the awfullest dusts that ever
was Rite in the midst of il powerful bright
| light shined round him, and law cum to find
| out he warn't hoss arter all, but man, a.
same as ever, rite in his own bed to homo An
onnatral mess he had made of the bed, though
Ye see he'd paved and dug till he'd scratched
a hole clean through the feather bed, and the
feathers was all fyin' and cuttin' in every
derectshun about the room. Then he d gnawet
all the paint off from the head-bosrd Of th,
bedstead. and broke out two Of his best teeti
in the bargain. Grammar Muggins wus dred