Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-05-14

his own thoughts the feasibility go
jumping down from a height Of five or
six feet to the level of the kithen floor
to seek for a supper. He was SO hun
gered that the presence of the girl did
not frighten him away, and he remained
with his forepaws in state of unstable
equilibrium. shaking the wire while his
gllstening eyes shone out like two dia-
monds rejecting the light of the solitary
kitchen candle. Had the stout-hearted
girl not detected the presence of the
hungry visitor, the belief would have
been firm and not unreasonable, in the
view of many, that some supernatural
agency had rung the bell, and the le-
gend of haunted house would have
hung round my little villa.
The following are related in the con-
versational style in which they were
told to our contributor: -
81 am sure none of you were ever SO
terrified by ghost as l was" said my
Aunt Mabel. cit was an American
ghost, which perhaps accounts for it's
having been more wild and weird and
altogether electrifying than anything
ever met with in the old country. You
know that went to America when [
was young, and that | spent many of
my early years in a lonely farmhouse
in the backwoods." -u--.ass
Sand without servants, Aunt Mabel?'
"Quite true, dear. Servants would
not stay in such an out of-the-way place
without higher wages than we could
give them, and, indeed, the helps We
tried were often more deserving OF, the
name of 'kinderers.' But we were all
young and strong, and we never had
happier days than when we all kept
house together, and did the work with
our own hands. Capital training it was,
though at first of course we made many
mistakes, everything was SO strange and
new to us.
cit was soon after our arrival in this
lonely place that I met with a terrible
fright. My sister Isabel and [ shared
the same room, and one night L was
awakened by hearing her crying by my
side.
"'What is the matter, Isabel?
"Oh, toothache, a most dreadful
toothache; aud have nothing to relieve
it. If l could only get some brandy,
little burnt brandy would cure it in a
moment -t. ,....
my DEAR 1 said, jumping out of
bed, 1 will get you some directly. /
know where it is-in the parlor cup
board, and have got the key
g But you have no light
"Oh, / can grope my way to the
room: and then | can easily light my
candle at the stove ~...
''No sooner said than done. | wrap
ped shawl around me, went swiftly
and quietly down stairs, felt my way
through the dark and deserted room,
and succeeded in lighting my candle at
the lighted candle to make my way to
the cupboard, than the most unearthly
shrek ran through the room. At the
same moment the light was suddenly
extinguished. was left in total dark
ness, and all was still and silent as be-
fore. Chilled with horror, and trem-
bling in every limb, I CROPPED my way
back as we'll as could, and told my
story to Isabel; but she was in such pain
that it did not make the impression on
her that expected. | got but little
sympathy. ..ra.r.f
"' 1t must have been the wind, or
wildcat outside that screamed she
said; and as to the light being put out,
that of course was sheer accident. OF
COURSE she added, we are not such
fools as to believe in ghosts ...
'This rather put me on my mettle;
and moved besides by her means of IN
tense pain, I at last braced myself up to
a second attempt. | went with great
determinations, resolved that nothing
should now hinder me from bringing
the remedy to my sister. Proceeding
down stairs again, all went we'll till
turned from the stove with the lighted
candle in my hand. Instantly the
same yell resounded in my ears, while
something, 1 could not tell what, swept
past me aud dashed out the light! How
[ reached my room [ never knew, but
I crawled into bed more dead than
alive; and as soon as I could speak
told Isabel that no matter what hap
pened, nothing would induce me to
make the venture again. a.st ase
20 F." Morning came at last, and with it
the solution of tie mystery. Ny broth
ers had come home late, bringing with
them screec..-owl which they had put
into the parlor for safety till the morn
ing. The light had of course disturbed
it, and it had flown against the candle
and extinguished it while uttering it's
peculiar and singularly hideous cry.
My terror at the midnight ghost was a
joke at my expense for long AFTER
... Z" I think you were very brave to go
| into the room a second time, Aunt Ma
bel"
well, [ think I was, I must admit.
But would have braved almost any
thing for Isabel, and I was a strong,
courageous girl, who hardly knew what
fear was. Still. I can assure you that
even to this day, when I recall the
scene. I seem still to feel the thrill of
terror that shook me at the sound of
that unearthly shrek. Heard for the
first time in the dead of the night, and
so close. to my ear, it was truly startling
and dreadful. It was a great relief
when the mystery was SO simply ex-
planned. But only imagine if it had
never been explained! If the owl had
|