Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-02-26

fireplace. IN this room the children
slept, but from the first night evinced
the greatest dislike to going to bed
there, screaming with terror, and say
ing that a man was in the room with
them. Fora long time the parents
paid no attention to their complaints.
During harvest time a change was made,
and the farmer himself slept in this
room, as it was cooler and more con-
venient. The rstnight he slept there
he was about to rise almost before the
break Of day, when, glancing toward the
fireplace, he saw standing there
stranger Of a. dissipated, drunken APP
pearance "Hallo! what's, thee doing
there?" was his very natural exclama-
ton. Receiving no reply, he said,
"Won't thee speak? III make thee
speak" and, picking up one of his
heavy boots from the bedside, he was
preparing to throw it at the intruder,
when the man, suddenly raising his
arm. as if to ward off the blow, vanished
in q moment from before his eyes.
Wreggitt, unable to get this matter out
of his head, brooded over it till the next
day, when about noon he entered into
conversation with a rneighbor who was
working with him, and asked him to
describe the form er tenant of the farm,
who had died from excessive drinking.
The description so entirely resembled
the man he had seen in the room that
be at once exclaimed, saw him last
night" Wreggitt recounted this to
some old friends. near whom he. had
lived before taking the. farm, and 1t is
from the dictation ofone OF his auditors
that had written down this remark
able circumstances. AT the time nei-
ther Wreggitt nor his friends had
the slightest belief in apparitions.,
+ THE OLD WOMEN OF, THE PEAR TREE. > y
An English family who lived for
years in the Rue Neuve at Calais, were
constantly annoyed by ghostly vista
tons, mostly from little withered-
looking old woman, who obtained IN the
family the sobriquet of "the old woman
of the pear, tree, from her so often dis
appearing at "a pear tree which stood
close to the spot where. an old stone
staircase had been discovered leading
down to subterranean vault. 81 The
house and garden stood upon part of
the Old site of the great Capuchin con-
vent, and though the vault was at this
time closed all round, with, no visible
mode of egress, yet tradition whlspered>
that there were passages leading from
it In all directions, one IN particular ex-
tending as far as Fort Neuili, a consid.
cradle distance off. The old pear tree
had been blighted while in full bloom,
or, as the French curiously phrased it,
-, u of no 70
took possession of their apartments, the
visits Of the old woman began. They
saw her III the bedrooms, they met her
on the staircase, and often when the
four young ladies of the family stood
talking at twilight in the garden, they
would find one more than their number
standing with them; but if they ventur-
ed even to whisper remark about her
presence, she would glide away, turning
an angry look upon the young party,
and vanish by the pear tree. At first
they were much alarmed, and the eldest
daughter mentioned the circumstance
to the lady. from whom they hired the
house. She minutely described the
quaint old-fashioned dress of their I'M
welcome visitor, and even the bunch of
keys at her girdle. Her auditor tlrn-
ed pale, and begged the young ladyn
to talk to any one of the old woman's.
visits, as they had already been the
cause of her apartments remaining long
inlet; that she was said to have been a
former proprietress of the house, who
had been dreadful miser, and had
passed long life in prowling about the
premises day and night in search Of
buried treasures. Her most disagreed
BILE visitation was to the bedroom Of the
mother of the family, who for long
time could not be persuaded that the
young children had not been lying on
her bed, as every evening the marks of
its having been lain en- were distinctly
visible. She was also much disturbed
in the night by the bedclothes being
forcibly pulled away; and whenever the
father of the family (a~ lawyer in Eng
land came over for a little recreation
from his labors, he complained that he
could not get nights rest, SO incessant
was the jerking Of the bedclothes, while
strange noises filled the room. In this
room the old woman's husband had
died, and she seemed still to frequent
it. One evening the third daughter ran
gayly up the stairs. exclaiming that she
Ibid not care for the old woman, and
was not bit afraid Of her!" Just as
she was passing her mothers room, the
door of which was open, the old woman
appeared at it, struck the young girl
violent blow on the shoulder and d;sap-
peared IN the room, slamming the door
violently in her face An hour after
this two of the other sisters saw her
passing up the stairs before them, turn
ing into another door. This particular
night the mother of the young ladies
heard all through the night some one
moving about her room.
But the old woman Of the pear-tree
was not the only one who fingered in
the precincts Of the old monkish do
main. The second daughter gave me
an account Of what befell her in one of
the rooms which account | give in her
her own words: a.
@ 1t was in the winter Of 1852 that 1