Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1871-12-19
A Christmas Story.


who was msgistrate-known ia
and wide as esquire Percival"-hil
comedy wife, two fair daughters,
niece, and last, bat not least, son
just home from Yale for the holi
days.
The night without was seasonabl,
cold, and brilliant with moonlight
and starlight. The large stone farm
house stood on the brow of q hill be
hind q protecting line of tall pine
trees, the only green in the wide
landscape. The steep hillside anC
the valley beneath were heavily
blanketed with snow.
The early part of the evening haC
passed merrilywith games, iests, anc
songs. But for an hour or two tn,
conversation had taken a drift into
the realms of the Supernatural
One ghost had succeeded another
till, rs the "witching time of night
approached, and the fire burned low
the circle instinctively drew closer
together, with thrills and shoulders
of strange spiritual dead, which il
yet akin to the keenest pleasu re-
an awesome joy, an exquisite terror
The solemn signing of the winds
among the trees, heard in the pauses
of ghostly recitals, added its wond-
rous, weird effect to the theme.
Just as young Percival had con.
cluded u wild German legend, which
be declared splendid stuff for
dreams" The outside door was
heard to open suddenly. All looked
around more or less fearfully, to see
standing on the treshold the slight
form of fair young woman, clad In
white, and looking strangely pure,
and cold, and luminous, like incar-
mated moonlight.
"With the glide of u spirit" she
came forward. Her feet were quite
bare, and her arms were dropping
YEARLY. Masses of fair hair fell ov.
err her shoulders but her eyes were
dark, and fixed with a melancholy
stare. Her lips were slightly parted
and almost colorless. She came in
to the circle about the hearth, and
there paused, standing utterly mo
tiouless-a beautiful, appalling fig
ure.
For moment all the startled
group remained as silent as that
strange visitor. Then one young
girl caught her breath in hysteri-
cal scream, which was instantly an.
swered by scream from the lips OF
"the woman in white" into whose
blank eyes rushed wild keen light
She gazed about her in terror and
bewiljermeat, then glanced down
upon herself, and sank covering up
on the floor, covering her face with
her hands, aud giving way to child
ish paroxysms of weeping.
The farmers wife woman of rare
sense and presence Of mind, at once
OWNED the truth.
"She is a sleep walker" she said.
She must behalf dead with the cold
Girls, bring some wrappings."
Immediately, all was hustle. The
farmer and his son discreetly vanish
ed from the scene, and the mother,
daughter, and niece devoted them
selves TO their bewildered charge,
who still wept aud sobbed under
their kind ministrati ons, but declar-
ed that she felt no cold and no pain
though her delicate feet wereactual'
ly bleeding from her long walk up
the icy hillside and over the crusted
snow.
After having been tenderly put to
bed, however, she became sufficient
ly composed to reply to the few
questions which had been put to her
She said that she was Lucy Ellet, the
niece of the village physician thai
she had lately been taken from
school on account of nervousness
and sent to him for medical treat
ment, but that inconsistencies anC
loneliness had made her worse. She
had occasionally walked in her SLEEP
before, but only about the house anc
grounds at home, and on Summer
moonlight nights. 81 think the
moon bewitched me-" she said, smil
ing through her tears. That nigh
she had, before going to bed, looked
across the valley to the pleasan
house on the hill, watching the cheer
fulChristmas lights cleaning through
the pine trees and longed to be one
of the happy party there, though sh'
was q stranger to all.
She had cried herself to sleep, sh,
said, and that was all she knew o
her mysterious tramp over snow ant
stones, and ice. Not q memory no
a thought could she recall, till tn
moment she found herself standing
on the hearth in her night dress
with so many wondering eyes fixe
upon her.
"Oh. dear, what do you think
me? What can you think of me now
she moaned."
Never mind what we think c
you, my poor child" said the gooc
motherly Mrs. Percival, eve Low
you already, so drink this nice gin
ger tea and go to sleep"
| The poor child got little naturs
sleep, and in the morning sppeare
somewhat less ghostly than the al
partition of Christmas night. BIZ
she was very pale, with a playful
shy, greived looked. She was sGffe
ing less from exposure than was ez
pected, but more from the nervou
shock of the night before, and b
the advice of her uncle, who ha
been summoned, consented to n
main with her new friends for fe'
days.
Young John Percival was hospiti
bly, kind to the invalid guest, NJ
seeming to perceive that she shran
from his attention in a sensitive, dil
quoted way. Yet when his eye WI
not on her, she was observed to stud
his face with peculiarIinquiring o.
preston. She could not rememb,
having seen that face st the fearf
moment of her awakening, and 81