The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-01-29
MY FRIGHTS.

There are some people who aver that
they have never been frightened. AS 1
am far from being strong minded
woman, L cannot say as much. Perhaps
am too easily alarmed. am, for in
stance, afraid of COW. 1t may be very
silly, but / cannot help it. All the
pleasure of a country walk through o
fine landscape has been often spoilt for
me because of cattle in field. If L pass
through them without fear of being
tossed or gored, the recollection that I
have got to come back again remains
with me for the rest of the day. AS for
a bull, L would rather never see the
country than run the chance of meeting
with such creature. A dog is thought
to be q very harmless animal-a domes-
tic animal-and the "friend of man. {"
He is not, however, the friend of woman
or at least of nervous woman like
me. should be afraid to write down
how often have been prevented from
calling at a friends house by the pres
ence of little poodle or terrier upon
their doorstep. I should as soon have
thought of disturbing an adder. The
Romans Ga people quite remarkable for
their courage used, am told, to paint
: Cave canen1, "Beware of the Dog" at
their front doors; but such warning
would have been unnecessary in my
!, case. Every farmyard in the country
: has dog, and that is why I don't like
farmyards.
- My widowed sister-in-law (the fat
one) and myself once lived in such a
! place a whole summer, during which l
lost more flesh than if 1 had been all
the time in Turkish bath. From sun
set to sunrise I was in a perpetual
fright, from fear of robbers; and when
the days grew shorter, and the nights
longer, the place became einsupportable..
and fed from 1t. The usual nightly
programme was as follows: My sister
in-law, who occupied the same apart
ment as myself, would fall asleep as
soon as her head touched the pillow,
and leave me, as it were, alone, prey
to my terrors. She always reminded
me of the irritating bedfellow described
in ghost stories, who will not wake
while the apparition ispeeping through
the bed-curtains at you, and who, when
all the dreadful things are over, cannot
be persuaded" that they actually oc-
CURED.
If the wind was up, at once began
to picture to myself band of ruffians
effecting a forcible entry into all the
rooms bellows stairs, and giving shouts
of triumph at the ease with which they
accomplished their purpose. We could
not afford to- keep a man-servant, and
even if we had done so, should have
always imagined him the accomplice of
the burglars, or coming upstairs upon
his own account with q carving knife
concealed in scuttle of Goals, as 1 had
once read in book. Our house pre-
tended to no means of resistance, and l
always placed the plate basket and its
contents upon the landing of the stairs,
in hopes that the gang might take what
they came for, and go away without
asking for my money or my life. On
particular occasion, being unable to
sleep, fancied that heard the ap-
proach of robbers up the stairs. Being
no longer able to contain myself, with
an effort reused Charlotte, who, how
ever, pooh-poohed the whole affair and
dropped to sleep again, leaving me to
my fears.
However, one very wet and dark night
she got pretty fright herself. 1t was
little past midnight. The drip, drip,
drip of the rain was ceaseless, but for
all that, as L lay awake, I could hear
mems steps without, splashing in the
pools it made, as the wretches walked
round the house looking for the most
convenient point of entry. Then l
heard the back-door "go"-it burst
open with sort of muffled violence,
like the sudden outpoor of waste-pipe
and then that "pit-a-pat" knew so
well, of feet coming up the stairs.
Then pause of frightful significance.
"Charlotte ?" cried /, in an agony,
''they are really here. They really are,
this time. Wake, wake p
" Rubbish" cried she. ST am wide
awake, and hear nothing"
"They are just outside the door,"
whispered 1 "they are listening at the
key hole. Hark I"
I" certainly hear caves dropping"
was her heartless answer, (she was
woman who enjoyed joke, and her fat
sides wobbled with mirth at this one); (;
but it's only the rain from the roof"
tell you, said 1, solemnly, "there
are robbers in the
Here something fell in the drawing
room beneath us with hideous crash.
In an instant, and before could recover
from the sort of collapse into which
this shock had thrown me, Charlotte
had Hoped out of bed, seized the
lamp, and was about to hurry from the
room. No, said she, pausing in the
doorway; " it is better that they should
not see me, but that should see