Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1868-06-26

was disappearing from the road side by the
bars opposite her door. It soon grew
obviously worse; and though bald spot
on a mans head is no great wonder, this
bare spot. with no foof marks on it, bafficd
all her ingenuity. The fence. too, seer,
ed worn, as if by loungers leaning upon i.
What could it mean! No human gather
ing could have been held in thet lonely
place since the day when that moulder--
ing frame was raised except on that sad
day VIII n that mouldering frame of tho
owDer~went to its long home.
The explanation Of that mystery in3
wolves us in deeper one. One night III
September, q man from Ludlow was pass.
ing the house just after the factory bell
had announced the hour of nine. As liz
neared the house he heard groan. It
was single groan and then all was still.
But it was such a groan as no one utters
twice, and he who hears it never wishes tO
hear it again. He fcltit his duty to rush
into the house, but dared not. After long
hesitation he went his way, speculating
whether the widow had murdered her idi-
OF son or had been murdere by him. Aud
when he saw them both come quickly in
to the village the next morning he doubted
first his eyes and next his memory.
But the same errand again brought him
past that lonely house few nights later.
Again he heard the nine o'clock bell as he
approached the house aud again It's li,. W,.s
opposite the house. that dreadful groan.-
The next night he walked out with nei gh-
bor so timing his steps that when near TIC
house both heard that mortal groan. Both
We're certain that it came from the house.
| Three went out, and FIVE, and fifteen and
thirty. All heard the groan; and all
agreed that it was exact to its time to
quarter of a minute. Old Captnin Head
castle said that if he were shut up ina
hold as dark as midnight, he cOul tell
within ten minutes when the time for his
'levcn o'clock came, but he couldn't keep
time with ghost One guessed the spir-
its heard the bell. The agent stopped tho
bell one night, but the groan was heard as
usual And it was not "a similar groan
but the same groan. repeated every night.
No car could tell any difference not made
by the direction and force of the wind.
Some wondered whether it had been rc-
peatpd every night since poor Jones broke
his neck. > Others said that if they were
the widow rather than live u month in that
house, they would confess the murder and
he h ,i,ged.
One night the lawyer and doctor of Lud-
low, both young men. went out quite early.
They went into the house aud '.wantcd to
wal. till the moon rose.'' The widow gave
! them scant welcome; and she always con-
PICTURED that her present guests had their
share in tn affair Without candle she
sat there stretching her skinny hanasto the
blaze, for the night was chill The gaw-
Ky boy who would be nearly seven feet if
straghtcnud out, and who seemed to have
acquired his longitude at the expense of
his latitude, as if put thr, ugh rolling
, mill, sat there i'll kinks aud silence. They
heard the ftctory bell, they heard cricl-
, et they heard Il lusty rat, bat they heard
no sroan. At half past nine they went
ont to a large. shiveiing. impatient crowd
, that had missed their groai and felt mis-
used. In an instant more the groan was
heard in all its perfect ion. Our friends
hnrri back to the house to inquire whcth-
: er the lawyer had dropped glove. The
f widow was making MP Il trundlebcd that had
been larking unsuspcctcd by them beneath
; the large one in .he darkest corner Of tho
:, room. They admired this contrivance
: for eeononizing space. Could the widow
, move it easily! She ran it in and drew it
out again. BY this time the lawyer had
5 found his glove in his pocket, and again
1 they wished the widow good night.
. Meanwhile the outsiders had heard two
4 extra groanS: the first was somewhat diff
fer mt from the usual one, but the last was
exact.
Il have found" SAYS the lawyer. that
Ludlow has expended at least three hundl-
red miles travel on foot. aud all in tho
. night,-and a hundred hours loafing hv
these old bars just to hear that woman
/ draw out her trundlebcd for that Jacobs
ladder IDIOT"
And let me recommend YOU" added
the doct' r, "wlen you find anything you
cannot explain, not to jump to the conclu
sion that it is supernatural. 1t is more
prohablc--it is certaill--that. if you knew
enough, You could find Il physical cause
fer every physical effect"
Aud so they all went home and went
to bed,
And the next spring the grass grew
again ar0und the widows hars.-Rer. l.
r. Iiolt0n IN Con efegationatiSt.