Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1880-03-05
OUR HAUNTED HOUSE.


at all afraid of ghosts"
My husband leans against the worm
eaten fence and looks thoughtfullv at
the dull, old-fashioned house, with its
shutters tapping from broken hinges, its
porches overgrown with vines. it's gar
den full of rank weeds, and the river
singing beyond.its garden gate.
land, and nominally nothing for the
house. But can you endure living in
such deserted place, and [ in the city
all dayp Why, all sorts of noises can
be heard here day and night, and have
heard good, intelligent people, with con,
sciences, say they had seen the spirit of
woman, with little child in her arms,
walking all about these grounds at
evening. Nobody else would dare buy
it. Why, it has had no tenants for a
year. fear it will frighten away your
friends, and that you yourself will have
to succumb to the spirit-infuence of the
place"
He stops, seeing the expression on my
face. | can bear anything better than
the a. llusion to spirit-infuence, or to the
belief of the progressionists Charlie is
good business man; but he has read n
great many scientific works written by
men who thought they were very wise
on the subject of spiritualism and he
has investigated, or, rather, invested a
great deal in the same. He has pro-
gressed to such an extent that he can
sometimes hear raps on the head board
and feel cold shivers down his back,
and in mosquito-time he often feels
pin ches from unseen suirit-fngers.
do not like to reao scientific books
and during the short time we have been
married, have employed my time, in
stead, in practicing waltzes, making pies
and embroidering baby clothes. Still.
Charlie worships me. believe it is
Gods unseen law of recompense that
there should always be some one to
adore, even women with freckles, wide
mouth and figure like Dutch doll.
At all events, my will is always law
so Charlie takes his knife and cuts away
the rose brambles that have thrown
their arms across the front door, and to-
gether we enter the vacant echoing
rooms. The ceilings are dim with walls
of cobwebs, the spiders run up the walls
at our approach. The house has a ruin
Gus, moldy smell, but it does not Cypress
me as it does Charlie. Already in nv
minds eye see what it will be like,
cleaned and aired, with open windows
and cheerful furniture
ran through the house, exclaiming
What beautiful wide hall!-this
room facing the south shall be our sit
ting room. | will rout all the ghosts
with sunshine. See those hollyhocks
smiling over that picket fence, and those
summer pears all rotting on the ground
what shame!-and all those rose
bushes choked in the long grassr
Charlie shakes his head.
eff you had heard all | have about
this house, you would he in no haste tC
live here. You know the Widow Wool
sons daughter that has been MISSING
from town year, and supposed to b
murderedP Well, Geoffry Clare wa
passing here one night, only last week
and you know, whatever else he will do
he won't lie-and he told me he saw
Grace Woolson's face as plain as da,
over that garden fence"
Ichecked him suddenly again. ! hav
never had but this one secret from m,
husband, that three years before | me
him | had fallen hopelessly in love witt
handsome Geoffry Glare. He had 500
forgotten me for pretty Grace Woolson
who had afterward disappeared so mys
teriously that no trace of her could b
found, although l.er mother and Geoftr
had searched for her many months.
l think l loved him no longer, an
sometimes thanked God for taking m
future out of my unskillful hands, yt
the mention of his name always mad
, me vince.
AS Charles only objections were O
| my account, and as we were not ric
! enough to buy such home as we migl
! have chosen, within week he ha
, paid the small sum required for Il
: haunted house, and we had moved int
it, bag and baggage. liked the plac
which was neither town nor countr
but was embowered among it's tree
just at the terminus of the pavement
= with such grand old garden and SUE
4 glimpses of wood and water. The fir
s thing did was to open all the window
t wide, and let in the summers sun.
= Martha Ann, my one servant, clean
: away the mold and cobwebs, and fret