The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-05-02
than she had ever sung In her life 1 thought

| tnen, and l think the same now.
1t was bitter cold, but bright moonlight
when we started for home. The sleigh-run-
ners screaked over the hard road in the
freezing air, and the horses nostrils were
white with frost before we had gone twenty
| rods. But Hattie and were both in high
| spirits, so tuekinS ourselves up in the wolf
| skins we came along behind all the others,
and 50 slowly, that when we got to where
the road turns off over the Height no one
| was in sight.
I" 1 would like to go home by the Height
of Land, to night she said. twill be just
glorious over those hills in this white moon
light, and delightfully."- wierd aud lonesome
along by the great, black pines AID the old
forsaken graveyard, and l feel romantic and
| brave
Il feel sufficiently romantic but not very
brave and I should prefer less CHASTITY,
not to say ghosty road,' answered.
% you faneiful old Scotch-Irishman!
Are you afeard o'gnomes an fairies, ghosts
or wraiths, or of poor old Peder Pratt?
| With this strong right arm and genuine
Yankee proves Pll protect ye! What a
soldier and afeard,' she detained.
u anything to please you,' l said, and
turned the horse into the road, though felt
queer and unaccOun, able aversion to going
that way that night.
| There was not a breath Of air moving,
| anu DldCk SuduOWS ITOIu tue trees, Lc
| stone walls, the great stumps and rocks
were stretched motioness in the fields and
| pastures and beside the road. 1t was fright
| fully still; even the sleigh-bells that had
| jingled merrily enough on the other road,
had a monotonous, low, sad sound here that
| didn't like, it made me nervous.
But Hattie liked it. After such a gay
evening it was positive luxury, she de-
| clared, to be so Soit airy on the isolated road
| a cd ha
beauties of the night, the gittering stars, the
| grandeur of the hills, under the solemn still
| sky. You see that clump of hemlocks down
| there on the right of the road by that slope?
just as we drove into the deep unbroken
| shadow on this side, large, clumsy, old
| fashioned sleigh came out on the other.
why, some of the others must have come
this way, too said Hattie. Let's drive up
| and find out who it is.
| I had my old gray horse that night.
| Hattie called him Roznante on account of
| his great bony frame and general gauntness
| but if he wasn't handsome, lie could go like
! the wind, SO l expected to overtake those
| ahead of us in very few moments. But to
my wonder and perplexity, after driving
| pretty fast for several rods, we didn't seem
| to have gained on them in the least. They
| mean to give us race, said Hattie excited
| ly. Let's show them what mettle old Rozi-
| mantle is made Off
But noticed something peculiar about the
team. Though it was light as day and l
could see the great high back of the sleigh,
the figure of a man sitting little on one
side driving, even the swift-moving shadow
| along the side of the road, of the buffalo
robes partly hanging out of the sleigh, there
| was no horse visible. Look on either side
! or stand up in my sleigh, there was no horse
| to be seen. l noticed too, that though my
| own runners screeched so that they might
| have been heard for half mile, so intense
was the stiffness, there was no sound from
| the sleigh ahead, either from the running
motion, or the strain on the great unwiedy
| arms andrigging. Then thought it seemed
| to move along without being affected by inc
| qualities or hollows in the road, nor up the
knobs and down into the small valleys but
| going with swift gliding motion just above
| the road, just so far distant from US all the
time And though 1 whipped old Rozinante
| from a hard trot into canter and from a
canter to mad gallop, we couldn't gain on
| the strange sleigh one inch. Sometimes we
would lose sight of it around curves in the
| road or in the dark shadows of the pines
| and hemlocks, but when we came out in the
light or on the straight road again, there it
| would be sliding noiselessly along just the
| same distance from us as before. Nor,
| though our own horse now fairly flew could
| | see that the ponderous vehicle had in
| creased its speed in the smallest degree
| from the first.
This is tantalizing,' said Hattie. we
| don't gain on him single foot. Halo to
him, tell him to wait till we come up.
To please her shouted, Halo! wait till
we come up! We want to speak with you.'
| There was no answer, and l knew there
would be none. The sleigh kept on the
| same as before. l was by this time con-
| WINGED that it was no mortal man and no
earthly sleigh, and I was pretty thoroughly
| frightened. Hattie was nervous too. could
see, and longed to get back into the main
road hoping to get away from the phantom
sleigh and its phantom driver.
When we reached the top of the steep hill
by the graveyard, where the way goes
down into the dark hollow and then up hill
again, said, Now we have the advantage
on our side; if it be in earthly power or hui
man horse-fesh, Pm going to overtake that
sleighp
We raced madly down the hill, the sleigh
just ahead. Poor old Rozinante's SIDES
heaved, he was covered from head to foot
with frozen foam. Hattie trembled and
chung close to my side, had never seen her
frightened before. But lashed my horse
numerically in my endeavors to catch up
with the sleigh. I might as we'll have
chased the wind; so long as it was out in
the broad moonlight / could see that we got
ed in the shadows in the hollow.
There it's gone, we've got rid of it, said
Hattie, drawing long breath as we sped
out of the white road into the thick shade.
looked at her in establishment. Was it
possible she could no longer see it? To me
it was plain as ever, moving up the bare,
white hill in front, though not as before; it
seemed less notionless and was going to
turn around. He turned and saw his face.
1t was my own! You will not believe it
and don't expect you to, but l tell you
when that man turned to us I saw my own
face as plainly as l ever saw it in mirror.
He ddn't'look just as did them but sad
and joyless, as l did afterwards, when she
left me. Then the whole disappeared; not
with any strange suddenness, but growing
fainter and fainter, and fading wholly out
into the air.
did not say word to Hattie about it,
for did not wish to worry her. She spoke
of it several times after that night, but
always of it having gone out of sight in
the hollow and think she finally made her.
self believe that it was really sleigh and
man, and that they turned into some wood
road leading out of the hollow.
But from that night l knew l should be
left wrecthed without her. During all the
next year tried to think calmly of it, to pre-
pare for it. But it was no use. You know
how unreconciled was when she died; and
she died just year from the night we
chased the phantom sleigh. I have not rid
den over this road since-and hope 1 never
may again. Iuever forgot the look of her
great soft eyes or the tones of her voice, bnt
tell you if they were all the time as plain
to me as this drive has brought themback
should be tired of my life
Will you come in to abendessen? The
kHene frau makes me very comfortabl. No?
Then raf acieiersehen," and drove off and
left him on the piazza in a full flood of rosy
light from the open front door, the ''lttle
wife" coming to meet him.