The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1883-06-21
JACKS VIGIL.

J
fie more jauntily on his head; took a
last preparatory pull at his pipe; SON
orously cleared his voice and began:
"Widys," he said refectively, gazing
at the weil-fillcd bowl of the pipe;
.'widys are wonderful institution!
there's something about a wildly that
an. To put it POLITICALLY, gentlemen, +"
4 ''the wildly is like a rose. In the rose
you'd call it perfume, in the widy a
charm. You take the rose and smell of
it, and you can't, for the life of you,
say what makes it the queen of flowers.
You can only say it's q rose! All"
..Hear, hear!'' shouted Jacks audit
ors uproariously.
| Jack raised his pipe to his lips with
| serene satisfaction, indulging in a placid
! Whit till the noisy demonstration came
to an end.
Quiet restored, Jack resumed:
| 81 repeat my last words. You can
| only say it's rose. So, gentlemen, it
about her is nameless. Afar or near
You feel it, but you only say-it's the
| Widy."
| III, liz ItSpOutiftl JHo dtufb0C6-
| Jack took another puff and somewhat
sadly continued:
| "Gentlemen, we have so far had the
widy in general; now We'll take tho
wildly in particular-my widy. Gentle
men, she was as clean-timbered craft
as ever set sail for a husband Her eyes
were as blue as the ocean, her lips like
| two coral banks, and her teeth and skin
I I l. Al.
whiteness of either. And the color on
| her cheek! Bless you! no rose ever
equaled it; while her chestnut-brown
hair was enough to entangle the soul of
-of-well, of a sailor! 1t got moi!
"Wel, the upshot of my ensnaring
was that took board with her She
| kept Il neat, handy girl, and nobody eV-
er had nicer home. The longer
stayed the moro / swore it should be
mine forever, and the widy with It, I
didn't lose any time, but set straight in
to counting, and with very good success.
Mrs. herrihew, soon acknowledged that
I was the man for her, and tho thing
| was settled.
."But, about two weeks before the
banns were to be published, l began to
| notice Mrs. Merrihew looked worried,
and q little moro worried every day.
For ten days or So she put me off. At
| last she told me all about her trouble.
"I'm an orderly woman, you know,
Jackp' she said.
Such another don't liver cried.
"sWcll, Jack she answered, there's
q chest, pointing to one across the room,
all done up fanciful in chintz, there's
chest that won'C stay in order one
night! First, accused Mary Ann (the
girl 'of meddling with it. She most
left me, she was so mad, and | soon
found was all wrong. But who was
at my chest every blessed night, and
who Tsp There amt thing in it but
old bills and papers. They are of use
to me and l often look over them, but
they amt of use to any other living
soul! Jack, I'll tell you what I think
"'WenP'
al think the chests bewitched! And
Mary Ann thinks so, too, and threatens
to 60 if l don't burn it! AS true rs you
live, Jack, put that chest in apple pie
order every day, and every night it's
turned topsy turvy- [ lock 1t. and put
| the keys under my pillow, and lock and
bolt my door, and screw down the win
dows-it's all the same. The chest is q
SlglG Clo ncXG HloTHluS!
"The widy stopped to sob, and | sat
still to think. 1t was curious, very Gu
rious. 1 Icouldn't deny it, and didn't
try to. At last hit on a plan.
"'Pll stay down here and watch" l
said
1.-The wildly first looked at me with
eyes as big as saucers, and then she did
something better. She threw her arms
around my neck. Naturally, we wan
dered off from the chest then,
But before bedtime we got back to it,
and we agreed that | should sit there in
| the dark, keeping close in a corner away
| from the chest. if | heard nothing,
was to do nothing. If | heard rust
! ling among the papers | was to strike q
match and look into it. That all fixed,
the widy left me looking us happy as an
angel.
! ':But somehow, felt pretty queer
when she left me alone there with the
| glim doused. 1t wasn't q bit like know
! ing what you were going TO meet, and
meeting it under a good light. l had
my own idears about witches, and they
wasn't pleasant idears. l began to see
eyes glOwering at me through the dark,
and to feel Shiny hands touching my
neck, and to hear whispering voices and
soft Kissing laughs all over the room.
l stuck it out till just as the clock struck
twelve, and then l gave in to the witch
es. | wouldn't a-stayed in that room
another hour for two widys-no, not for
dozeni
with that in my mind I started up
to run. But, bless you; when l got up
l couldn't run! My legs and my feet
were froze stiff. There was no more
run in me than in the chest! just as l
got square on my feet there was soft
| fumbling sound at the door, and then a
horrid rustling of something moving in
the dark.
81 had been frightened thinking of
the witch, but / was worse frightened
with the witch there! I heard the thing
! go to the chest; heard the lock turn;
[ heard the lid go up; [ heard the pa
| pers rustic. ] would have run then, fol
| my legs began to feel little alive by
that time, but l was afraid to 60 in the
dark. The MATCHES were in my hand.
l drew one quick across my coatsleeye;
it was very bad smelling but very quiet
as it blazed up.
81 didn't dare look at the chest till
I'd got the candle lighted, for fear I'd
| let the match drop and be IN the dark
| again. Ii l had, think I'd a-gone into
a fit.
mighty sirs! the things I though o.
were nothing to what presently facec
me! After the candle was lighted
raised it over my head and looked a
the chest. In front of it stood somo
thing that drew me to it Almost without
my knowing.
1T was n woman l saw; but wha
kind of woman never guessed till
got to the end of the chest, where
could see the face. AS looked at that
1 felt my hair rise and my flesh creep.
'"The face was completely covered by
q dirty white kid mask, with holes fol
the eyes, nostrils, and mouth, and tiet
behind the grey, frowsy head with tw'
dirty muslin strings. The hands were
covered with two dirty white kids, ant
were throwing the papers in the ches
hither and yon, as if hunting for some
thing.
|