Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-10-26
THE FIRST MRS. PEPPERTON
Ho,U her Husband once came TO Inag-
ane he sa,o her Spirit

believe In ghosts / hope l am
not such fool as that said Mr.. Pep
perton, scornfully and he looked with
an air of supreme contempt at his ques-
toner. When can put my hand upon
a sensible sort of a fellow, who has
seen one in broad daylight, when he
was quite awake and quite sober, then
I'll give the matter my attention but
until then l shall keep to my opinion
that there never were such things, and
it's only asses who believe in anything
of the sort
Thank you, Mr. Pepperton,' return.
ed the young farmer, laughing. But
seeing is believing. and if l didn't see
my mother three days after she was
buried, my name isn't Timothy Lane y
'Pshaw!' exclaimed Mr.. Pepperton ;
when people are nervous and out of
sorts, they can fancy anything
Only it's odd. l never imagined
anything of the sort before or since
No, it isn't odd, replied the other,
dogmatically. Those things depend
upon PERSONS state of mind, and
you were naturally excited and upset
at such time. You had been think
ing of Mrs. Lane all day, and, there
fore, it was not surprising that you
saw her at night
1T wasn't night at all; it was in the
afternoon. Twas going down the path
in front of our house, when | saw her
standing at the gate just as plain as l
see you now. AS / DIRE Y near she
gave me one earnest look, and then
faded out, and though she has never
come since visibly, l often think she is
nearer than / know
Mr.. Pepperton started and glanced
round the bar parlor of the George with
an uneasy air.
4 don't believe anything of the sort,
he said, sharply; it's all humbug |!
Besides, it stands to reason it wouldn't
always be convenient for dead people
to come back to their old haunts. The
first Mrs. Pepperton, for instance,
wouldn't just care to see some one else
in her place, and, of course, if she came
UdCh, SQ6 WOulu udfc III
Unless she gave you notice of her
visits beforehand, and you hid the Sec
ond Mrs. Pepperton in the cupboard,
observed the landlord, laughing.
Mr.. Pepperton laughed, too. but not
exactly as if he enjoyed the joke, but
as he wended his way through the
church yard he was not so hilarious.
The wind whistled drearily in the
tree tops, and there was not so much
as a light in the rectorv windows to
give feeling of company. But he
could see his way perfectly now, and
he could also see the grave-stones
cleaning palely against the sombre
background of sky and view.
He made few timid steps forward,
and then stopped short, shuddering.
1t had suddenly occurred to him that
this was the anniversary of the first
Mrs. Pepperton's death, and he should
have to pass her grave presently.
If she were disposed to walk, as it
was called in the village, what an op-
portunity Now, he had great re-
gard for the first Mrs. Pepperton, and
from some points of view, he thought
her superior to the second, but under
the circumstances, he had no wish to
see her again, and devoutly hoped that
if it had occurred to her to walk, she
would think better of it.
At this moment the clock struck
eleven, driving the blood to his heart
and making him shudder in his shoes.