Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1871-11-03
A Ghost-Story

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Suffolk, we took up our abode in pleas
antly situated cottage. 1t was but a
humble dwelling, wanting many of the
conveniences to which we had been ac-
customed. We had no garden except a
narrow slip of ground in front of the
cottage, but it was gay with the rich
coloring of charming flowers, not the
less beautiful or sweetly scented because
they had been known as the ornaments
of English gardens in the time of our
foretathers. A vine of luxuriant growth
spread over the whole front of the cot
tage, covering the old red bricks with its
graceful foliage of leaves and tendrils,
and hung in the autumn with large clus-
ters of dark purple grapes. The path
separated our cottage-garden from a
field of the greenest grass, in the mid
die of which stood fine old walnut
tree, and we often wished we could have
hired the low white house on the oppo-
site side of the meadow, over the roof OF
which could be seen the green hills that
rise from the banks of the river Breta.
That river and the old town of Hadleigh
have always had hallowed character
in my eyes, for the true-hearted and de-
voted servant of Christ, Rowland Tay-
lor, passed over it, by the bridge little
lower down, on his way to the stake,
where his popish prosecutors burnt him
alive, and there at the foot Of the bridge
he found poor man waiting, with FIVE
small children who, when they saw their
beloved minister, fell down on their
knees, and lifted up their hands and cried
aloud: "Oh dear father, and good shep-
herd, DIR. Taylor, God help and
strengthen thee, as thou hast many a
time succored me and my poor chill
dren" and as he passed through the
street of Hadleigh to the place where he
was burned on Aldham common, the
noble martyr said from time to time to
his weeping flock: Good people, have
preached to you nothing but Gods holy
word, and those lessons which | have
taken out of Gods blessed book, the
Bible; and | come hither this day to
seal it with my blood"
| have sometimes, when waking dur
ing the night, risen and gone to the
window to gaze out upon the grand ex-
panse of the sky, with its brilliant stars
shining forth from the dark vault of
deepest blue. Thus have risen before
day-dawn that | might gaze upon the
morning star, that bright harbinger OF
the coming day, with its intense and
sparkling brilliancy, which seemed to
dilate and increase as looked upon it.
| stood on one OCCASION some two
hours after midnight, looking out over
the church-yard, late in the autumn
The moon seemed as is struggling to
free herself from the heavy clouds, some.
times closing over her, and then slowly
passing away, and leaving her soft light
to shine forth for while in undimmed
lustre.
As ! stood at the window, / looked
down upon the broad area Of the church
yard, and figure all in white suddenly
stood up among the tombs, and startled
me. There it stood, but no longer mo-
tionless, as it appeared at one time, it
began to move. Was it ghost? Sud
denly it sank down, ano then again it
rose from the dark earth; then while /
stood watching its movements it drop
ped, and seemed to sink as before into
the ground, among the graves, and when
the moon shone out it appeared even
whiter than the white tombstoues. As
stood watching the weird figure from
the window, | could not, at first, make
up my mind what to do; but ! soon de-
cided that there was but one thing to
be done, and that was to go down at
once and find out who, and what the
figure was that still saw before me.
am not superstitious, and no believer In
ghosts, but l confess / was a little stag
gered-the time, the Dead still hours
after midnight-the place, churchyard
the figure rising from the earth among
the tombs, and then, as it were sinking
apparently into the earth. Could there
be possibly ghost? and, if so, did not
behold one? Very quietly l put on some
of my clothes, and very softly left the
room, stole down the stairs, and Unlocked
the door of the house, took out the KEY.
and after locking myself out, put the
key into my pocket, and was soon stand
ing at the lower gate of the churchyard.
There | paused. / had not opened the
window of the chamber, fearing to dis
turb my wife, who knew, by her gen.
tie breathing, was sound asleep. But
now, as | looked forth in the clear open
air, the figure was more distinctly seen.
/ thought of sad event which had
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