The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-11-11
OUR HALLOWEEN,

-DTtoh bfey IN ipptetChS JOnftdg
OUR HALLOWEEN.
! CAN'T we have some kind of good
time on Halloween-do something to re-
member this one particular night, for we
| shall never all be together again-some-
thing on the soul-harrowing, blood creep
ing order, as betits the night?'
We were merry party of school girls,
most Of whom were already beginning to
aspire to the dignity of young -ladyhood;
but just where the dignity came in fail to
remember, for a madder, merrier set never
walked the echoes of that old school build
ing of M, or made the staid towns
people hold up their hands in horror at
their wild pranks.
The time was close at hand when our
band would be broken up, and so we
wanted remembrance of this last Hal
.oween. Plan after plan was brought up,
discussed and rejected. We were about
giving up, as no one seemed to agree,
when Belle Brown arose in her majesty
(and she uas regal looking girD and
said: "1'll tell you, girls: all come up
to our house and we'll try having sup
per. You know you are bound to see
your future husbands if you give them
something to eat. Not hot supper, you
know, but real nice cold one; and il the
spirits of our future spouses don't appear
and devour everything we can eat the
supper ourselves and manage to have a
little fun anyhow"
Now, Bellies father was widower, and
she his precious only; consequently she
ruled the house, the good and most fond
father giving up to her widest schemes
with a gentle sigh Of resignation that was
touching to behold, especially when we
all knew Belle got her love for fun and
her great ingenuity for getting into and
out Of scrapes from that same father
Now the rest of us made up our minds
frequently to have certain dongs and gath
erings at home, but the making up of our
minds and getting the heads Of the house
to make up theirs in the same direction
were two entirely different things. SO
most of our plans for what we called
regular train" were very apt to come to
an untimely death. But when Belle arose
in her might and grasped her scepter We
knew the thing was bound to go, whatever
it might be. How we did envy that girl
her unbounded power over her father and
that deaf old housekeeper, who couldn't
hear us if we pulled thewhoie house down
about her ears! l don't think we meant
anything very bad by it, but don't believe
there ever was anyone so afflicted whose
atfliction was the subject of so much secret
rejoicing and congratulation. You see,
most of us were apt to be brought up
rather suddenly in our mad career by the
persuasive remark of the high in house
hold power-"I will not have it. This
noise must be stopped; it's enough to
wake the Seven Sleepers." Few of us had
much sympathy for the aforementioned
Seven Sleepers, and would a little rather
have walked them than not. If sleep and
death are so near akin, | think we were
waking them in good old Irish style
Belle, as mistress of ceremonies and
hostess, arranged the plan for our frolic.
1t was to be Kept profound secret from
all but the initiated. We were to assem-
BILE at her house, have as much fun as we
could in the early part of the evening in
storytelling and games and whatever else
the gentleman who lives in place which
shall be nameless could find for idle
Il, oh to ha
a plate for every girl present. Our future
husbands were expected, if they behaved
as all well bred spirits were said to, on
that night, to enter as the clock struck
twelve, and seat themselves, each one at
the plate of that particular fair who was
to represent all of hope, joy, truth, faith
and all the other virtues for his especial ed
ification the rest of his natural life. If
any were to die unmarried that seat would
be left miserable blank.
I remember we spent some time dis
cussing whether we should put our names
on the plates representing us. Some
thought the spirits couldn't amount to
much if they couldn't find their right
places without such distinct pointing out
1t was decided after much talking to use
the names, as one of the girls said, "to
prevent all mistakes and future heart
aches"
The eventful evening came and merry
party we were We tried all the projects
we could think of, even to bobbing for
apples in basin of water. AS it grew
later we grew quieter. 1t was a dismal
night; the wind howled and moaned as
though all the spirits of the air were
abroad. The old trees around the house
tossed their branches in the wild air and
moaned with loud complaining. Our
tablezwas most temptingly set forth with
many dainty. We looked at it with
longing eyes, and it had certainly been ar
ranged more to the substantial tastes of us
mortals than the airy sort of fare that we
are taught to believe specters prefer. I
should think the poor, cold, half-starved
things would be glad of any excuse to get
a good, solid meal. f
The house sat rather high, with long,
terraced walk to the front gate. 1t was an
old-fashioned brick, with wide hall run
ming through the entire center and large
rooms on each side. On one side was the
family sitting-room, with the dining-room
directly back. Here we held our court.
As the time wore on our talk grew
strongly tinctured with the supernatural.
All the ghost stories we had ever heard or
read (and what school girl has not store
of them slwere aired, to the shivering de-
light Of f-the- greater number, although
some Of the bravcr' ones did pooh pooh
them, and say" Stufftand nonsense" We
knew they only did it to appear brave,
Andoh, goodness! how the courage was
slowly but surely oozing outat our finger
ends!
The household were all wrapped in the
slumbers of the just. As the night wore
on everything grew so still, all sounds
of life seemed to have ceased. Nothing
IN ha heard hut tho oohhinp and eiohinr