St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-11-22
Hallow-Eve.

Hallow-Eve.
A gray, lowering sky; sodden earth,
matted with wet leaves; lines of mel
anchOly trees bent away from the east
by blasts of fierce wind laden with chill
ly rain in the distance, masses of black
evergreens; framing in this picture,
skeleton vines that clung around
the window and wrestled dismally
with the wind. 1t is no wonder that Il
pair of blue eyes gazing out on the
scene were turned discontentedly away,
or that their owner drew near the fire
for comfort, as she said with a shiver,
"Oh, Bertha, what an afternoon 1t
seems sixteen hours long! When do
you suppose papa will be well enough
to go to the city?"
''l'm sure | don't know, Lucy. This
kind of weather won't benefit rheuma-
tism;" and the young lady who spoke
went on energetically reeling off her
crimson woods. "The doctor says he's
improving; but he can't move about
much he still let's Martin dress him."
''He'd be better away from here !;
these country places are enough to give
any one the horrors when autumn
storms begin. And this place is so iso-
lated do wish papa would sell it,"
she concluded, with another discOnso-
late glance at the long line of rain
washed avenue.
"Why, Lucy Morris Sell the place
he was born and brought up in l be-
lieve papa Ieverences every timber in
this old house."
''There are plenty to reverence then.
It's the biggest and ghostliest and dull
est place that ever was. | hate great
dusky rooms all finished in oak, with
black massive pieces of furniture, and
perfect shrOuds of curtains, and tiers of
family portraits painted in the year
Onem
''Stop railing, Lucy. While papa
lives he will always spend his summers
here. YOu and | can endure it if it is a
little dismal" !"
"It's winter now almost. It's the
very last day of October to-day, and
still stOrming as hard as ever"
eyes; if it rains and blows like this,
the servants Hallow-eve will he rather
tempestuous."
"What are the servants going to do ?"
was the interested query.
''Oh, they're going to a HallOweve
celebration in the village, to be gone
all night. I suppose they would go in
the face of tempest. Even Martin
was asking leave of papa this morning."
"Why, Bertha, don't think it's safe.
Only papa and we two left in this lone
some place, and papa laid up"
''Don't be goose, Lucy. Nothing
ever happened here. In all my expe-
rience of T village it has been as
peaceful as Eden"
"That's because it's so far out of the
world" was the rather spiteful rejoin-
der.
Martin had better stay, but papa laugh
sd at the idea. Let him get me in bed,'
he said, 'and come back in time to get
me out in the morning, and | want
nothing more of him. So that was de-
cided.n
"Oh, see here p and Lucy sat up in
sudden eagerness; "wOuldn't it he fun
to try some Hallow-eve music? Did
you ever do it ?"
''Never but once-at school," said her
sister, with a laugh. ''We got five
marks apiece then for being found heat
ing lead over the gas at eleven O'Clock
at night"
Heating lead9 Oh, l know; you
drop it in cold water, and it hardens in
to some shape. What shape did yours
have?"
81 don't know that it had any. / sup
pose we were all to be old maids"
"Bertha, don't be so dreadfully prac-
teal. Put down your work, and help
me think of some music for this eve
ming. 1t will amuse me, at any rate"
"Why, my dear, Pm perfectly willing.
my work, for it's five o'clock; time to
dress for dinner"
Bertha, don't you believe any of this
magic eUer came true atterward ?"
Miss Morris turned round and laughed
at her sisters solemn cOuntenance.
I've heard girls say it did. Of course
l did not believe it,"
''Don't you know Aunt Alice tells a
story of spreading a supper table at
and lighting candle with
niue pins stuck in Them at regular dis
tances; and before the flame reached
the ninth pin, Uncle Jasper walked in
and sat down opposite"
'sOh, that's true enough. He knew
she was going to do it. 1t almost fright
ened her out of her wits though. And
Lucy, if it's all the same to you, don't
think I'll leave doors unlocked tonight
for our future husbands to walk in.'
''Oh, no, no, Bertha!" and Lucy
turned pale at the very idea. 'But we
might try something. don't want to
eat eggs full of salt, or burn ears of
corn; it's not exciting. One of the
girls at Madame Durange's school told
me she went down cellar backward at
midnight with hand-mirror and a can
die. When she reached the bottom of
the stairs she was to look in the glass
and see"
"The irresistible he, of course. What
did she san-the cellar walls %