The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-11-05
BREAD BAKING
AND
GHOSTLY WARNINGS.

not very cheerful, ana IL nau lhe lePu.'''io' VI
q ghost. However, Mr.. Hubbard did not be-
leve in ghosts, was too Cheerful! to be depreS-
sed bv warnings, and never intended to be
lonely. -
"Nother Hubbard" he said when his wife
shook her head over the purchase, 81 got the
house cheap, and it's 4 good one. You'll like
it when YOU get there If you don't, why then
talk
So the house was bought, and into it the
Hubbard family moved. There was scarcely q
chance for a rhost to show his face i'll such a
household of BOYS and girls The rosv-faced
master Of the house and his little wife had ten
of them. It was in view Of the eternal cry of
"mother." that the Jolly husband had dubbed
his Martha Jane "N1other HUBBARD using 1t
in lest at first, and at last because OF an Old
habit. Hearing it, the rest OF R--1ell INTO
the way of calling the motherly soul Mother
Hubbard, so that it was more her name, oy lar,
than her baptismal Martha Jane:
Having once expostulated and spoken out
her mind" Mother Hubbard gave up the point
She scrubbed and secured, tackled down car
pets and put up curtains, and owned that the
place was pretty; and, as not ghost appear
ed for a week. made up her mind that there
was no such inhabtant, and even began not TO
mind the tombstones. So the house was got to
RIGHTS at last. and baking day came about. In
the press of business they had had a great deal
of bakers bread, and were tired of it. Mrs
Hubbard had never enjoyed setting batch OF
bread to rise rs she did that which was to be
eaten for the first time in the new House
s'For can't get up an appetite tor stun ina,
nobody knows who has had the making or,
said Mother Hubbard "and all puiy and
alumv besides" So into the oven went the
bread, and out it came At the proper time, even
and brown and beautiful as loaves could be.
Mother Hubbard turned the loaves upon their
sides as she drew them forth, and they stood IN
the long bread tray, glorious proofs of her skill
and of the excellence of the oven, when Iom-
NV Hubbard bounded in. Tommy was four, and
at that age one is prone to believe that any
thing will bear its weight Tommy, therefore,
anxious to inspect the new made bread
wrung himself off his feet by catching the edge
of the bread tray, and over it came, loavcs and
Tommy and all. All were busted and in the
tray again but one. That lay bottom upwards
under the table.
"a bothersome child, to give one so much
trouble" she said, as she crawled under the
"Ah oh dear. deaf. oh, my And there
on the floor sat Mother Hubbard, screaming,
wringinc her hands and shaking her head.
TLe children screamed also in earnest. Mr..
Hubbard rushed in from TIC garden, where he
was at work
"What is the matter, mother?' he gaspcd.
Mrs. Hubbard pointed to the bottom OF the
loaf lying in her lap. "Look there, ;,,d AK
mc,'' she said. Its a warming. Nilllam,
I'm going to be taken from 'cm all
And as Mr.. Hubbard looked, he saw on the
loaf "death's head and cross bones, as PLAIN
" engraved as they possibly could be:
"It's accident" said Mr.. Hubbard. such
queer cracks do come, you know. Don't fret .
Mother Hubbard was in troubled state Oh
mind. "The stories about the haunted house
were true" she said "and the spirits have
marked the loaf. I'm afraid it is Il warning:
And the loaf WAS put aside, Tor even VIZ. iuo
bard did not dare to eat any OF 1t.
Mrs Hubbard got over her fright at last, out
the news of the awful marked loaf spread
through b, and the people came to the
Hubbards all the week to look at it. 1t was
deaths head and cross-bones certainly; every
one saw that at a glance; but As to the mean
ing. people differed Some believed that 1t
was warning of approaching death; some
that the spirits "wantcd to frighten the HUB,
bards away" This latter supposltlon inspired
Mrs. Hubbard with courage. flnai she
leaned to this belief, and when another baking
day arrived put her loaves III the oven once
more, prepared for cross bones, and not TO DC
fore. They came out brown ana crusty.
Mother Hubbard turned each in her hands.
There we're no cross bones visible; but on the
last were sundry characters or letters; what,
no one could tell, until there dropped III tor Il
chat. certain printer of the nelghborhUod, ac-
customed to reading things backwards.
"Halloo ~ said he "that's curious That Is
curious -Resurgam--lI shall rise again that's
what's on the loaf-Rc>urgam.'
"Its what they put on the tombs, amt 1t?
asked Mother Hubbard family.
"Well, yes" said Mr.. Ilubbard but ltalnt
so bad as cross-bones and skulls"
<Mother Hubbard shook her head ~
even solemner - said the little woman, wh"
not as good q iingulst as a breaa ' paN1r'
@I feel confident. William, that shall soon be
;resurgamed," and what will those dear GILL
dren do then?'
And now that the second loaf was before her
ewes. marked awtully as was the first Mother
Hubbard really grew thin and pale and lost al!
her checrfulness q have Il prcscntlmenl,
she said. over and over again, "that the third
s,akiug will decide who WAS the warning points
~ ! believe is meant for me, and time will
show Don't YOU see how thin I'm getting
And though Mr. Hubbard laughed, he also be-
gan to be troubled
The third baking day was one OF gloom;
Solemnly, as to funeral the family aSscl''ocu
to assist in the drawing Five loavcs came ont
without mark but one remained. Mother
Uubbards hand trcmblcd, but she drew IL
forth she laid it in the tray she turned 1t
softly about. At last she exposed the lower
surface On it were letters, printed backwards,
plain enough to read this time, and arranged
thus:
"Dicd, April ID,
Lamentcd by
Her large family"
ats me-" cried Mrs. Hubbard, "lm to 20
to.morrow This is the first. do feel faint
Yes, | do. It's awful and so sudden, and
Mother Hubbard tainted away i'll the arms OF
.L.'.t .or.;f;od of husbands The children