Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1884-06-06

on. and horrible, which makes me al
most Araid.'
OF cosree,' ! said !; having once
imagined that the dead branches re-
s-mble skeleton arms and associated
them in your mind. with the idea Of
graveyard, you will be haunted with
oil sorts OF dismal thoughts and fan
cies in connection with the tree. But
since ynu don't like it, Cecie, | will
have thi. bug-I ear removed, and we'll
build pretty Summer house on the
spot | will speak to the men to-mor-
row, when th.y come to take down the
wall
/ The portion Of the wall to which |
alluded separated our garden from that
Of our ne1t-door neighbor. 1t was of
stone, but the mortar had fallen out
and left it little more than pile of
loose stones, which | feared might at
any moment topple doN n on the chill
dren, As they played about. So | con-
/ tcluded to have it pulled dewn, and a
/ light wooden paling placed in its stead.
/ over there, in the next house, lived
an old gentleman and his wife, who
passed much Of their time in their gar
den, cultiyating flowers and small gar
den fruits. in which they appeared to
/ take delight. They had called on US =
cheerful and kindly old couple and
when the old wall as pulled down
and before the new one was put up.
/ the way lay open to Il more familiar
/ intercourse.
{ One r,enirg, 10y their invitation, VT
stepped over into their garden to see
collection oi roses upon which Mr..
+ Warren prided himself These duly
admired. the old i,dy expressed her
pleasure in having nelghbors who ,cere
ncishhors. She had lived ten YEARS in
their pre- sent abode, and in that time
hal only twice ssn Mrs. Gage.
she wasn't always such recluse,
said the good lady. Il remember that
when she and her husband first came
here. Young married couple | was a
child til ~, they were merry, gay, and
fond of society 1t was their daugh-
ter's fate which changed them. You
have heard he story ?
We had ut been very long n this
town. yet { eeie remembered to have
heard something about daughter Of
Mrs. Gasr running away 10 join y alover
Ut dista c., aud being never after
yards hcaFd OF.
Her name VAS Emily said Mr
Warren, "aud she was the haudsomest
girl in the town. She was an only
child, -! had beru al Ter life petted
and INDUCED, aud allowed to have her
FO"u ~as. >jTCn CtfTufVu uOH-V ssu
.rally turu out rs we'll AS they should !:
md Emily Gage rejected mrny good
offers to fall IN love ut last with
handsome and dissipated fellow who
made Eis appearance here for a short
time. Being unable to give a satisiac-
tory account of himself. Mr. Gage for
ale his visiting his daughter, and the
two then agreed upon an elopemest
Thi. wa, pat stop TO, and the young
man shortly afterwards left the place.
The girl, however. was very closely
watched, the parents having cause to
suspect that -he was in secret CORE
.ponicnce with him. And one morn
mr she was nowhere TO be found
only note slipped under the door Of
her parents sleeping room informed
th'm that Sc had taken with her all
her Jewels together with five hundred
dollars, which her father bad left in
his wiring desk, and that she had
gone To meet her lover. And that was
the last that tlsey ever knew about
her
Bat could they not find the Young
man : asked Cecie.
They found him, after \ very long
search. but he denied all knowledge Of
. her intended flight. They ha! CORE.
spoudcd, and she had assured him she
would yet find means to jim him, but
her letters had then ceased nor had
he ever heard from her. This was his
story Some believed it, but others,
though nothing could ever be proven
against him. had dark suspicious of
! him. And the strangest thing was,
that. having once passed the garden
wall, every trace of the girl Was utter
ly lost
The garden wall?'
4 forgot to mention that it WAS in
thatmanner she escaped. She mount
ed the slopnV trunk of the old tree At
the foot of the garden walk-the same
under which YOU so often sit-and then
stepped along its horizontal branches
to the top of the wall. This was rem
dered evident BY the broken twigs and
scattered leaves at the foot of the tree.
On the ground outside the wall was
found her shawl, which she had doubt
less dropped or forgotten in her haste.
That was all. TO this day the mystery
of her fate remains unknown, though
undoubtedly there was foul play some-
where. The jewels and the money
were great temptations to crime.
| That evening my wife said to me:
That horrible tree, Charlie! Did
not tell YOU that it had "a secret to
reveal: Perhaps it knows what be-
came of that poor girl.
Next day Cecie went on visit Of u
few days to her mother, taking all the
Children with her. Before going to
my business | gave orders respecting
rhs tree. | wished every trace of it to
be removed before her return, when
perhaps she would forget all about it
and its gloomy associations.
Returning home in the evening, |
was met by the workmen with coun-
tenances of interest and mystery.
Their Information startled me. While
busted in cutting down the tree, they
had heard something rattle md fall
within and on examination discovered