Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1874-01-23
MY FRIGHTS.


they have never been frightened AS I
am far from being strong-minded
woman, | cannot say as much. Perhaps
am too easily alarmed. l am, for in
stance, afraid of COW. 1t may be very
silly but I cannot help it, All the pleas
ure of country walk through fine land
scape has often been spoilt for me because
of cattle in the field. If | pass through
them without being tossed or gored, the
recollection that have got to come back
again remains with me for the rest of the
day. AS for bull, | would rather never
see the country than run the chance of
meeting with such creature. A dog is
thought to be very harmless animal-a
domestic animal-and the friend of
man." He is not, however, the friend of
woman-or at least of nervous woman
like me. l should be afraid to write
down how often l have been prevented
from calling at a friends house by the
presence of little poodle or terrier upon
their doorstep. | should as soon have
thought Of disturbing an adder. The Ro-
mans "a people quite remarkable for their
courage) used, | am told, to paint Cave
cGnen1, beware of the dog" at their front
doors; but such warning would have
been unnecessary in my case. am al
ways fully "beware" of it. Every farm
yard in the country has dog, and that is
why don't like farm yards.
NV widowed eister-1n law (tho fat onn)
and myself once lived in such place
whole summer, during which time l lost
more flesh than if had been all the time
in a Turkish bath. From sunset to SUM-
rise was in perpetual fright, from fear
of robbers: and when the days
grew shorter, and the nights long
er, the place became insupportable,
and fled from it. The usual nightly
programme was as follows: My sister-in-
law, who occupied the same apartment 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
bed-fellow described in ghost stories, who
will not wake while the apparitiOn is
peeping through the bed curtains at y0u,
and who, when all the dreadful things are
over, cannot be persuaded that they actu-
ally occurred Next to ghosts themselves
I dislike people of this cast, and would
almost as soon have no companion at all.
If the wind was up [ at once began to
picture to myself band of ruffians effect
ing forcible entry into all the rooms
below stairs, and giving shouts OF trl-
umph at the ease with which they accom-
plished their purpose. We could not af-
ford to keep man servant, and even if
if we had done so | should have always
imagined him the accomplice of the bur
glars, or coming up stairs upon his own
account with a carving-knife concealed in
a scuttle of Goals, as [ had once read of
in book. Our house pretended to no
means of resistance and | always placed
To- -IDoo yof stc re q
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 / heard the ap-
proach of robbers up the stairs. Being
no longer able to contain myself, l with
an effort reused Charlotte, who, however
pooh.poohed the whole affair, ano
dropped to sleep again, leaving me to ny
fears.
However, one very wet and dark night
she get pretty fright herself. 1t was a
little past midnight The drip, drip
drip, of the rain was ceaseless, but for all
that, as lay awake, | could hear mems
steps without splashing in the pools il
made, as the wretches walked round the
house looking for the most convenien
point of entry. Then | heard the back
door "go"-it burst open with sort O.
muffled violence, like the sudden outpOul
of waste -pipe-and then that 'pit-a-pat'
knew so we'll, of feet coming up tht
stairs. Then pause of frightful signifi
canoe.
"Charlotte p cried /, in an agony
"They are really here. They really are
this time. Wake, wake!"
"Rubbish," cried she. II am wild
awake, and hear nothing"
'They are just outside the door," whis
pered 1; ''they are listening at the key
hole. Harkp'
"I certainly hear caves dropping" wa
her heartless answer (she was womal
who enjoyed joke, and her fat side
wobbled with mirth at this one) bu
it's only the rain from the roof"
"I tell you," said 1, solemnly, "there'
robbers in the" -
Here something fell in the drawing
room beneath us with hideous crasl
In an instant and before could recove
from the sort of collapse into which thi
shock had thrown me, Charlotte had flol
ped out of bed seized the lamp, and ws
about to hurry from the room. mo,
said she, pausing in the doorway; cit
better that they should not see me, b'
that should see them.n
1t was certainly much better, conside
ing Charlotte's very slight attire, that Il
robbers should not see her; bur why 81
should want to see the robbers was qui
nnintelligible to me.