Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-11-06

w SCS. dts liG lay IllS-tE' Nittf 4t'iS
sunlzen face, red beard and unkempt re
hair, growing tangled together, and larg
eyes looking up like some dark tarn in
mountain hollow. He seemed to have Il
wish either to live OF to die: and so tn
folks said there was a fight for his sou
going on between God and the devil
Some said they had even seen the evil one
surrounded by flames, climb up the win
doWs of the dying mans chamber to cal
on him. They had seen the evil one, too
they said, in the form Of q black dog, g
shifting around the house Others, wax
had rowed past, had seen the whole place
on fire; while others again had heard q
company of devils, shouting, barking, and
! laughing, come from the sea, pass slowly
| toward the house, enter through the CLOSED
doors, rush furously through all the rooms
and then go down once more beneath the
waves, with the same awful row as they
made in coming out. Botolf3S servants
men as well as women, left Immediately
and told all these tales to everybody
! Hardly any one dared even to go near the
place; and if an old peasant and his wife,
| to whom the sick man had shown SC ne
| kindness, had not taken care of him, he
would have lain utterly INTENDED. Even
this old woman herself was in terror when
she was with him; and she used to burn
straw under his bed to Keep off the evil
one; but though the sick man Was nearly
scorched up, he still kept alive.
He lay in terrible suffering; and the old
woman thought at last he must be wait
ing to see some one. So she asked him
whether she should send for the clergy
man. lie shook his head Was there any
one else he would like to see? To that he
made no answer. The next day, while he
was lying as usual, he distinctly pro-
noqnced the name, agnes" Certainly,
this was not in reply to the old Woman's
question of the day before; but she fancied
it was. and she rose gladly, went out to
her husband, and babe him harness the
horses with all speed, and drive over to
the parsonage to fetch Agnes.
When he reached there, everybody
thought there must be some mistake, and
that it Was the clergyman who WAS sent
for; but the old man insisted it was the
little girl. She herself was indoors, and
heard the message, which frightened her
greatly; for she, among the rest, had heard
the tales about the devil, and about the
company Of devils rushing up out of the
sea. But she had also heard that there
was some one whom the sick man was
waiting to see, and must see before he
could die; and she did not seem to think it
anywise strange that that one should turn
out to be herself, whom his wife had so
~often fetched over to the house before
Agnes sisters told her, too, that one m ust
always try to do what dying folks wish;
and that if she prayed nicely to God, moth
ing could do her any harm. She believed
this, and let them dress her to go.
1t was cold, clear evening, wherein she
could see long dark shadows following and
hear echoes of the harness bells sounding
far Off in the forest; on the whole, she felt
it was rather dreadful and she sat saying
her prayers, with her hands folded inside
her muff. She did not see the devil any
where; neither did she hear any company
OF devils rushing up out OF che sea while
she rode along the shore, but she saw many
stars above her, and light shining straight
before her upon the mountain peak. Up
around Botolf's house all seemed dismally
quiet, but the old peasant woman came
out at once and carried Agnes Indoors,
took off her travelling dress and let her
warm herself at the fire. Meanwhile the
old woman told her she need not be any
wise afraid Of the sick man, but must just
go into him with good courage and say the
Lord s prayer to him. Then, when Agnes
got warm the old woman took her hand
and led her into the sick room. Botolf lay
there with long beard and hollow eyes, and
he gazed at her intently, but she did not
think he looked dreadful, and she was not
afraid.
''Do you forgive me?" he whispered.
She supposed she ought to say YES"
and she said Eyes" accordingly.
Then he smiled, and tried to raise him
self in the bed, but his strength failed,
and he remained lying.
She began at once to say the Lords
Prayer; but he made q movement as
though to bid her pause, and pointed to
his breast. So she laid both her hands
there; for this was what she thought he
intended hey to do; and he directly laid one
of his clammY, ice-cold, bony hands upon
her little warm ones, and then closed his
evps. When she found he did not say any,
thing after she had finished the prayer
she did not venture to remove his hands,
but just began to say it again.
When she had said it for the third time,
the old woman came in, looked, and said:
'You can leave off now, my dear-he's
gone. p Saturday journal.