The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-10-08
A Story Of Superstition and Ignorant
rtaE Credulity.

|
Il 80 sd Isa
| An extraordinary story of gross usper-
stition and ignorant eredulity has been
communicated to the New York Mer-
cury's London correspondent from Loft
house, small town in Cleveland, York
shire, England
Il Since she attained womanhood, three
wears since, Miss Sallie Booth had been
reckoned the belle of the small town and
had been much courted and fattered by
Young men of her rank of life. She was
the daughter of a poor farmer and had
received a very primitive education.
She had gypsy-looking black eyes, aqui-
line nose, brilliant white teeth and small
hands but there were two moles on her
upper lip from which coarse black hairs
constantly spamg. Many of her adj
mirers affected to see no end of beauty in
these moles, but spiteful girls spoke of
Sallie Booths mustache, and the irri-
tated beauty tried all sorts of quBcks
depilatories to eradicate what she
thought were facial blemishes. Mean
while Miss Booth captured an aristO-
cratic lover. He was the son of Capt.
Whlrton, of Shelton Castle, and had
required an unenviable reputation at
Harrow school for Irregularities of a
dissolute type. Farmer Booth held his
farm under Capt. Wharton, and the dis
solute young man therefore had easy
access. to the girl. While the girls of
the place grew green with envy when
they saw Sallie Booth walking forth
with the gentleman lover" older peo-
pie predicted that no good would come
out of it. Capt Wharton unavailingly
demonstrated with his son and then
warned farmer Booth of his unscrup-
ulous character But the farmer was
as proud of the connection as his daugh-
ter, and openly boosted of his future
son-in-law in the ale-houses of the place |
On being importuned by Sallie to fulfill |
his marriage engagement, the young |
man informed her that he had no OBJ |
lection to marry her if "those horrid |
moles" were removed from her lip. In |
the spring and heyday of their acquaint- |
ance he had pronounced them pretty ; |
now their removal was sine qua non to |
Five-and-twentym miles from dollhouse, |
at a small village named Seamer, there |
resides an old woman reputed to possess
supernatural powers-always exercised, |
however, for beneficial ends. To old
Nanny Hunter, Miss Booth proceeded
md submitted her case. After retiring
or 4" prayer and meditation" the sybil
her that there was but one way
% obliterate the moles, and that was by
ouching them with dead mans hand
It midnight, in a dark room-the hand
o be held in contact with the lip until
grew warmi 1t was crucial opera
ion, yet, revolving as it was, Sallie re-
olved to go through it, the first oppor-
unity.
1t was some weeks before a dead man
urned up to be experimental on by Miss
Booth But on the last night of June
he body of a seaman was washed ashore
# the alum works, aud the corpse was
onveyed to the stable of neighbOring
ublic house and locked up until the in
uest. Sallie at once proceeded to the
IN and acquainted the old hostler i
18th the story of her moles and the 7
Gamer wise woman's prescriptions, offer
ng him half a sovereign to aid and abet {
er in applying the swollen, fabby hands {
f the unknown corpse to her face when
came. "She was as bold as a {
he-lion," said Bob Suggett, the h stler, l
4 telling the story afterward; she 9
rent right into the deep darkness of the
table, and | heard her rustiing among q
be straw as she CROPPED for the dead !
lan's hand, while | stood, feeling queer V
Ike, outside the door 1t might have c
cen five, or it might have been ten L
linutes, when she guy such screech as L
light ha' wakened the dead. Then she a
ell, yelled like a locomotive whistle, r
nd tux to my heels and ran" t
Landlord Coulson and his patrons list I
ned with awe and amazement to the !
ostler's story, and proceeded to the o
liable with a lantern. The corpse sat d
oft upright, white and jelly-like as a v
ew-scalded pig; and Sallie Booth hel on 0
, its shoulders, giggling and grinning t
nd laughing. The spectators were $
ierced with horror But as they stood c
lotionless and silent, and, saw the girl t
mbrace the clammy corpse and cry: v
Kiss me, Harry, darling; the moles is e
one," they became satisfied that they b
NV before them gigantic misfortune I
nat had merged into madness. When a
he landlord approached to take her n
way she dropped down with piercing f
lriek and swo0ned away. She was car n
ed home by four men, on the stable Il
oor. and was subsequently, removed to Q
-ork asylum, hopelessly insane. Yet @
othing had been done toward Furnishing i
he Seamer sibyl, or the ignorant accom- i