The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-02-21

and the witch in cOnversation upon the
I houSe-tqp, SURROUNDED by flames and
laughing EentHshVsin the lurid glare as
Whey shook their fists at the plague
stricken village sleeping below, his tale
found ready credenceF The fact that
he was am habitlal drhhkard, and had
on more than one occasion rolled, from
his horse in a drunken stupor and
! passed The uigd { IN a. ditch, Dreaming
wild dreams, did not in the least de-
! tlaet from the belief of the villagers IN
his account of this scene; and when he
related how this pair of demons had
poVnced uponrhi-n, and had first tor
\ tured and then thrown him senseIess
tinto a'ditch,- their Indignation became
uncomfortable. re. 7rsF- ri
Old, Batbart was itsfedS edhdemned
Rpd, banged, though she protested in
I her Innocence to the last. The little
sum OF money found in her possession
HYaSrgsed 70 bug-t graYe-stOne-as no
fQneas9onld clare appropriate it-aud to
I This day if any one were bold enottGh
4 to 90 10 her grave at mhlniglm on the
same day-of the year on which she was
/ hanged and sRYs Barbara, l believe
/ You were innocent" at the same time
stretching out. his hand over the grave,
/ She would RppEarto him and place in
/ MS hand u tailSman. --...
II this taiiSmau would bring good fort.
tune rs long as he retained it., but at
some time-in- his lifc- the witch would
return to him and claim her-Own, a.
I .--Ihe old-NsOn4Sn ended her stofy,in-a
( BOW impressive nuupfohe, which. with.
/ her earncsthess~ and sincere belief in
/ what she said, almost carried eonvic-
| ton to me in spite of reason. As 1
sauntered away, ridicUling these igno-
Erant and Superstitiou3 village folk, /
l found myself almost unconsciOusly
wandering back through the old burial
| groQndftdtlle Witch craze. Careless
\ ly glaueiIig pt. thet iAscFiption, l was
SUrpr sed 10 find that very day was the
one hundred and iiftieth anniversary of
| her death, and still more SURPRISED
EEbeR 9the tiiought occurred to me of
watching at her grave that night. Il
ridiculed and scotfed the idea, Wheta
was-nlg bOasted common euse and in
credulitye But, still returning ever,
came Lhat=waHAvard thing-ea4Ied fancy
and it conquered.
I Th6'word Was witdNBnd weird that
might, yvhenE1 stolefoFfk from the viii
/ LACE. The wind was moaning altroltrh:
FtRel4rees and SObbing piteOuslyS the
Eblacll clouds were driven in broken
fpatches across the sky, now letting
down the .m9oushine, and again shroud-
Ping all.atn blacklist night, and making
the shadows chase each other about
and steal around .cQrIbrs hIpOn oHej a
manner that made me Vince in spite
OF myself Climbing the low stone walk
rather nervouSiy, l COnfess--E stole
away through the old, down-trOdden.
| graves. pushing Though sfle weeds and
brars A. silently rs possible, and max
Ing MY way towards that dark and
drearYs corner where the old witch re-
| posed. A graveyard at noon is a very
different spot from n graveyard at mid
night, especially If one is there to seek
an interview with n spirit. s1f-
L reacbodJhe place and stood by the
tomb. 1t still lacked a few minutes of
| twelve, and rs | stood there watching
the moonlight fitting over the graves I
fonged for ntaei ray Efe scfeeB i'm with
me- BIlt naszapp roachiRg- and Eeceditlg
and wayering all about me, it never
! touChedthis crave, but fled away as OFT
en- rs it approached, as though fright
ened ut the black shadow forever lurking
= BY and-ADy the village clock to1isd.
| twelve. As the slow, tremulous tones
stole OutOn the night the wind ceased
moaning, the clouds Covered the face of
| the moon the insects stopped chirpiug,
and when the last stroke was finished
! the almost unbearable silence was rbrok-
! en- only by my own breathing, which I
strove'in vain to suppress. 4 The dark
ness was intense and / could see moth
! ing. A terrible feeling of guilt and ter
ror seized me, that !, mortal, should
be intruding there It such. an hour.
| Mechanically 4 sstrove to speak the
I words / boI hnnr, fnll h41t
fused to form a sound
Still / stood in that awful black ST
leilce, chilled with fear, until with a
nttghty effort l -reached~ our my arm
over the grave and grasped-a hand. .
il was only for an instant- not that,
for it was ierked away IN astWinkling
hut long enough to feel how warm and
vOlvety it was and how small. Not that
/ fingered There to reflect upon these
tnovef Qualities in the hand Of ia ghost,
land an old witch at that, for YOU alto
gether- mistake my bravery in slIppOs-
ING il; but it was after | had cleared
/ the. I'D wall at a bound and was ON the
moonlft road, walking at 4 rafting good
pacert0wards town, that recalled it.
| From a state of intense cold | had
/ changed to burning beats The touch
of those soft fingers thrilled me through
as with an electric shock, and / walked
| faster stHl iEmy excitement. Gradually
/ the Consciousness forced Itself upon me
that l held sORethingl inSRny clenched
hands. There was first n glitter and
fthen a sparkle, rs the moonlight fell
into the hollow of my upraisedl hand,
and | saw there glittering ring eset-
With flashing stones. The icicIes began
Slipping down my back again, and l
huTieu on. 5000
Some persons maybe inclined to de-
ride my nervousness on this occasion,
but / assure such that 1 am not NATURAL
I IL a timid man. l have a medal hang
ing in my room ut home which asserts
that l am, not-a- tiInid panss apd above
all / had always bee1l pardehlarly void
of superstitious feaiy- but truth cOmpels
me to say that I not only lighted all the
lights on rcachngany room at the little
inn that night but turned them. Very
h Oh into the bargain; and that | made
systematic Inspection of all the clos
els and removed from its peg a long
cloak that was hanging in very ,sug-
gestiye position on thewah. This done,
l sat down-with my back against the.
waIl-and examined the ring. ~-st 4
Itwas F-a- quaiHs~ old ring, curiously
carved and massive, The setting was
composed of several small colored.
stones set IN circle about large dla-
mond,a Nv finanei al circumstances had
rendered il unnecessary for me to ac-
quaint myself with precious stones and
their values, so that l could only sur
mise that the ring was somewhat valua-
bic. Considering the exciting condition
of my nerves by this time. it was not
strange that I Should start when my eye
fell upon the name that was inscribed
in quaint letters inside the ring-"Bar-
bara. -
l sat and mused upon the whole adj