The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1861-10-10


"There ant no other place nearer n four
OF five milc.'
Then hope you will let mo stay here"
The answer, to my surprise, was " deep
sigh,
al am usel to roughing it," urged; land
besides, will pay for any trouble may
give you"
at ant hdt" said he then added, hcsi,
tatingly,-"lact is, we're lonesome people
here,--lont often see strangers; yit s'poso
you can't 20 no turdcr; well, I'll talk to my
wife,"
Herewith he entered the shanty, leaving
me little disconnected with so uncertain
not to say suspicious reception. heard
the sound of voccs--onc of the unmistak-
able in it's nasal shrllness--in what seemed
to be harsh debate, and distinguished the
words, 81 didn't bring it on" followed with
Tell him then, if you like, and let him
stay,'--which seemed to settle the matter
The door presently opened, and the man
said,---
Il guess Wen have t accommodate you
Give me your things, an then Ill put your
horse up"
unstrapped my valise, took off the sad
die, and having seen Peck to his loddor-tent
where left him with some ears of corn in
an old basket returned to the shanty. 1t
was rude specimen of the articlc,--a sim
gle room of some thirty by fifteen ctwth
a large fire place of sticks and clay at one
end, while half partition of unplaned
planks set on end formed sort of recess
for the bed at the other. good fire on
the hearth, however, made it seem tolerably
cheerful, contrasted with the dismal gloom
outside The furniture consisted of table.
t,,-,, ,l.., i
kitchen dresser of boards. Some golden
ears of seed corn, a few sides of bacon and
ropes of onions hung from the rafters
A woman in Il blue calico gown, with a
tin coffee pot in one hand and stick in the
other, was ralliug out red Goals from under
the burui,g logs At my sautation she
partly turned, looked hard at me, nodded,
and muttered some inaudibe words. Then,
having levelled the Goals properly, she put
down the cotlo pot and, facing about ex-
! claimed, Jimmy, git off that cheer"
Though this phrase, short and snappish
enough, was not worded as an invitation
for me to sit down, | accepted it as such,
and took the chair which lean boy of some
nine or ten years old had hurriedly vacated.
In such cases, had learned by experience,
it is not best to be too forward: wait quiet
ly and allow the unwilling hosts time to get
used to your presence. ! inspected the
| family for while, in silence. The spare
bony form of the woman, her deep-set gray
eyes, and the long, thin nose, which seemed
| to be merely scabbard for her sharp-edged
voice, gave me her character at the first
| glance. AS for the man, he was worn by
some constant fret or worry, rather than
naturallyspare. His complexion was sallow
his face honest, every line of it, though the
expression was detected, and there was a
helpless patience in his voice and move
mcnts, which have often seen in women
! but never before in man. "HenpcCkcd in
the first degree" was the verdict gave
without leaving my scat. The silence, shy
ness and puny appearance of the boy might
be accounted for by the loneliness of his
life, and the usual shakcs;" but there was
a wild, frightened look about his eye, a
nervous yestlcssncss about his limbs. which
excited my curiosity. | am no believer il,
those freaks of fancy called "presentiments," "
but certainly felt that there was something
unpleasant perhaps painful, in the private
relations of the family.
! Meanwhile. the supper gradually took
shape. The coffee was boiled (iar too much
! for my tastc) bacon fried, potatoes roasted
and certain humps of dough transformed
into farinaceous grape-shot called biscuits
! Dishes of blue qucensware, knives and
| forks, cups and saucerS of various patterns
and bowl of molasses were placed upon
! the table; and finally the woman said, speak
ing to, though not looking at, me-
Il S'pose you ha'r't had your supper
| accepted the invitation with simple
mo" and ate enough of the rude fare (ior
| | was really hungry to satisfy my hosts
that was not proud. attempted no con,
versation, knowing that such people never
talk when they eat, until the meal was over
and the man, who gladly took one Of my
cigars, was seated comfortably before the
fire. | then related my story, told my name
and business, and by degrees established a
mild flow of conversation. The woman, as
she washed the dishes and cleared up things
for the night, listened to us, and now aud
then made a remark to the coffee pot or fry
ing pan, evidently intended for our ears
Some things which she said must have had
a meaning hidden from me, for could see
that the man WINGED, and at last he ventur-
ed to say
"Mary Ann, what s the use in talkin
about it ?"
DO as you like" she snapped back; "only
] ant goin' to be blamed for your doin's
The stranger II find out soon enough.
"You find this life rather lonely, / should
Think" remarked, with view of giving
the conversation different turn.
Lonely" she repeated, jerking out a
| fragment of malicious laughter. "It's lone
! ly enough in the daytime, Goodness knows;
but you'll have your fill O. company aforc
mornin'."
With that, she threw defiant glance at
her husband.
Fact is" said he, shrinking from her eye
'were sort o troubled with noises at night
P'raps you'll be skcored, but it's no more n
noise, unpleasant, but never hurts nothin''
"You don't mean to say this shanty is
haunted ?" asked.
"Well,-yes; some folks call it so. There
is noises an things goin on, but you can't
see nobody"
"Oh, if that is all" said ], "you need not
be concerned on my account. Nothing is
so strange, but the cause Of it can be dis
covered"
Again the man heaved deep sigh. The
woman said, III rather milder tone,-
whats the good O. KNOWN what makes
it, when you can't stop it?"
As was neither sleepy nor fatigued, this
information was rather welcome than other
wise. ! had full confidence in my own
courage; and if anything should happen, it
would make capital story for my first New
York supper. | saw there was but one bed,
and q small straw mattress on the floor be-
side it for the boy, and therefore declared
that should sleep on the bench wrapped
in my cloak. Neither objected to this, and