The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-05-25
OMes, On CoIoma street.
THE APPLE.TREE TABLE.


Story ~ Original srtHrIr.L H,SuEs1.rroSs.
When I first saw the table, dingv and
dusty, in the furthc>t corner Of the old
hopper. shaped garrri, and st ont with
broken. m.cru>lcd old purple vial> aud
ha>kS, and n ghoStlv. di>uantcd old quar-.
10. it seemed just such n"cronantic lit.
lie old table a. might have belonged 10
friar Bacon. Two plain features it had,
significant Of c0njurntirnS and charms
the cmcle and tripod; the slab being
round. supported hy n tw i>ted little pillar.
which. about foot frun the bottuni.
sprnwlcd out into three crooked legs, ter.
minnting in three cloven feet. 4 very
Misunderstanding little old table. indccd.
In order to convey better idea of it,
some account may as well BE- given of the
place il came from. 4 very old gnrrct 0f
very old house. in an 0'd.fa>l,ionrd quar-.
ter of one e the oldest towns in America.
This garrett had been closed for years II
was thought 10 be- haunted q ruinor, ]
confess, which, however absurd (in my
opini"u), did not. at the time Of pur.
chasing, very vch' mcntly contradict
since, not improbabIy. it tended tn place
the property the more conveniently with.
in my means.
II was, therefore, from no dread of the
rcpu,cd gob'ins nloft. that, for five years
after first taking up INV re>id"ncc in the
house, ! never entered the garrct There
was no special indueemcnt. The roof va,
we'll slated, aud thoroughly tight The
company that insured the house waived
al visitation Of the garrct why, then.
should the owner be ovcr.anNiou> abou,
it!-partirularly, as he had no Use for it.
the house having ample room b"'"".
Then, the key nf the stair door leading Ia
it was lost The lock was n hug. old
fashioned one. 10 open il, smith would
have to bc called al unnecessary tron','''.
! thought R,i'!cS, though had taken
some care TO Keep my tWu daughters in
ignorance nf the rumnr above M ntipncd
stiIl thcv had, by some mIcnns. got an inS
ling Of il, AMI were well cn"u;h pleased
I" see the enirnurc tn the haunted ground
closed. II might have remained 80 for n
It'll longer time, had it hot been for my
accidentally di>c"'ciinZ. in n corner Of
our g'cn-iIkc. OIL t,Irnccd garden, large
and curi"u> kc\, Vvr, old and rusty,
Which at "nrr conrlnl 4 must b. long e.
the gnrrct door "a >nrI'",iIi"n which, up
an iii,. proved c"rr,ct Now, the pos
session oG H., IL nm, thing at once pro-
Nok,S 4 desire to uulmk and CXplnrr:
aml this, tn", f,om n mcrr instinct "f .rni
iiicatipn, irrespective Of any particuln
benefit Ia accrue.
Behold mt, then, turning III" rusty H'd
KY, and going ny, al"n', into he haunted
garTct.
II embraced the entire area "f the man
sion. Its ceiling was fo'n.rl by the rn".
showing the raftcrS and boards on whic',
the states were laid The rWf shedding
the water iour ways from high point IL
the center, the space hrncath was much
like that Of a generals m1tqucc-oul>
m1Wny broken hy labyrinth "f tinlcr>.
for braces. from which waved innuncr
able cnb~ chs. that, If N summers noon.
Ah"nc like Insdad tissues and ganz. :.
On every hand. some strange insect wa
seen, fly ing. or running, Ur creeping, On
rnftrr md ilnor.
Cndrr The apey of the roof was rude,
narrow, dccrrpit stcp.laddrr, something
like Gothic pulpit stairway, leading t"
pulpit.likc platform. from which still
narrower iadder-a sort Of Jacobs ladder
led some ways higher 10 the lofty scnt.
tie. The slide Of this Ecuttle was about
two feet square, all in one piece, furnish.
ing a massive frame for single small pane
." glass, inserted into it like n bulls eye.
The light Of the garrvt came from this
sole source, iiliTatcd through dcnsr cur
tain Of cUhwcbA Indeed, the whole
stairs, and platform, and ladder. we're fts.
tuoncd, aud carpctcd, and "anOricd " it'll
cobwclIs; which. In Mncrral accu,nula.
tions, hung, tan, from the grUincd, murky
ceiling, like the Carolina InOSs in the cy.
press forest IN these cObwebs. swung.
~ in @rial catacOmbs, myriads Of all
tribes of mummied insects.
Climbing the stairs to the platform, and
pausing there to recover my breath, Gu.
rious scene was presented. The sun was
about halfway up. Piercing the little
, Tky light, il sIOpingly bored q 'ainbowed
tunnel clear across the darkness Of the
garret. Here, millions Of butterfly mOleS
were swarming. Against the sky-light
AtAeus Will SNOu' uAc VuAS"IkS e"""o'
'ands Of insects clustered in golden mob.
Wishing to shed clearer light through
the place, | sought to withdraw the Scut-
tlc.Slide. But no sign Of latch or hasp
was visible. Only after long peering. did
discover little paddock, inbedded, like
an oyster at the bottom of the sea, amid
matted masses Of weedy webs, chrysal.
ides, and inSectivOrOus eggs. Brushing
these away, l found it locked. With
crooked nail, l tried to pick the lock,
when scores Of small ants and flies, half
torpid, crawlcd forth from the key.hOle,
Mnd, feeling the warpth Of the sun in the
pane, began frtskiDg around me. Others
appeared. Presently I was Overrun by
them. AS If incenSed at this invasion Of
their retreat, countless bands darted up
from below. beating about my head; like
hornets. At last, with a sudden jerk, |
burst open the Scnttle. And ah what
change. AS from the gloom Of the grave
and the companionshlp Of worms, Inan
shall at last rapturously rise into the -liv'
ing greenneSs and glory immortal, so,
from my cObwebLed old garret, l thrust
forth my head into the balmy air. and
found myself hailed by the verdant tops
Of great trees, growing In the little garden
belUw-trces whose leaves scared high
above my topmOst slate.
Refreshed by this outlook, turned in
ward to behold the garret, now unwOnt.
edly liz up. Such bumped masses Of Oh
sOlGtc furniture. An old CscTitoir, from