Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-04-18
UNCLE JABE'S GHOST STORY.
Mary Z. Freeman.

SQppOSe anu spiritual enough, ana
wasn't born a clairvoyant as l knows on.
When l was boy the ghost went by the
name of spooks; and I've listened TO tales
that would make your hair rise, and you d
let the fire go out before you'd 90 TO the
wood pile for stick of wood after dark
you'd be that afraid. Come TO think ont
our folks had ghost once; that is. it
was sorter in the family, belonged by
rights to a sister-in-law of my mothers
second husband, who was her second
cousin as WELL"
We were sitting round the fire, Uncle
Jsbe and I, one cold dismal night out IL
| California. l had gone out there for my
| health; my throat had been roubling me,
| so my careful mother had insisted on me
staying for year: the rainy season had
begun, and Uncle Jahe had good wood
| fire in the old Franklin, that he had
brought out to California because it had
| belonged to his dead mother. Honest
old Jabe had taken pity on my forlorn
condition, and had invited me to make
him visit; he was an old bachelor and
had come out years before and made his
fortune; and in the evening of his days
| (he was 78) was talking solid comfort in
his beautiful home a little out of Pasa
dena. He fancled that looked like
woman that he had known when he was 3
young man, ana that accounted for his
unusual talkativeness; for he was one of
the ''silent" ones generally, but once set
him agoing he was very long winded, as
| the following story shows
| Well, / was born aud brought up in blue
Connecticut, In the sleepy old town of
| Lisbon, and after mothers second mar
rage I went to Albany and stayed 10
years. l want happy at home, mothers
second husband had red headed darter he
| brought along with him to our farm land
his new home); she was two years young
er than me, and awful disagreeable and
sassy; the house want big enough to hold
US both, so left home.
The old man had another darter, TWO
years older than our beauty and just my
age; she was an awful pretty girl, and no
more like her SASSY sister than chalk's
like cheese. Her name was Thankful;
she was named for her grandma on her
mothers side, and when she was II years
old she went to live with a maiden aunt
| (her mothers oldest sister,, who had a
tidy farm and money in the bank up III
Woodbury.; aud it vas an understood
| thing that Thankful was to have what
there was after her aunt was laid away.
Thankful was her favorite; she couldn't
abide the other sister, who was named
| Mirandy after herself, and she never had
her up to Woodbury. but once, and that
visit, she said, was Sufficient for life
| time"
| Aunt Mirandy was big woman, dread
full neavy footed, and sorter slow and I'M
| wieldy in her notions; and when young
| Mirendy was up there on her first and
| last visit, she sorter ired the old lady by
making some disparagin' illusions to
Aunt Mifandy's great size and awkward
ness-by a telling Of her ''she took up
as much room as fourteen old bureaus"
and "that she needed a block and tackle
handy in the house TO hist her around"
that 'ers made the old lady awful mad,
and she said she want agoin' TO be treat
ed with contumely in her old age, and in
her own house, too, by sassy gal, so she
packed young Mirandy off home quicker,
and she never had her there again.
[ was powerful fond of Thankful; and
| if my affections hadn't been otherwise en-
gagged, and 1 had bad an inAling of
how things were agoin' to turn out, /
might have been q married man by now,
perhaps with little grandchildren round
me; but it warn't to be. Thankful was
tall as any fir tree, and as straight, she
! had lovely blue eyes, and long wavy vel
| low hair that curied around her white
forehead In the rings "baby curls l called
them-see there is one of them now in
my pocket book, straight nose, good
teeth, and pink and white complexion.
| She favored her pa, who was very hand
some man, but she took the sweet dispo-
sition from her mother, who was too
good to live in this wicked world, so the
| har tod
Thankful to come and live with US, for
she was very fond of her, but Thankful's
pa thought a good deal of the main
| chance, and as her Aunt Mirandy had got
TO die sometime, Thankful might as well
have the property as to have it go to
Aunt MiraudY's scalawag brother, who
had left for parts unknown some ten
years back; and the land only knew when
| be would turn up like a bad peeny, and
make lot of trouble, as he was sure TO
| do.
The old Teller limited around consider
| able, as to whether Aunt Mirandy had
made her will; but Aunt Mirandy was
real sharp old maid, and knew her own
mind, and she jest up and told the old
man cit was none of his business whether
she had or not" They woHldn't tell him
at the savings bank how much money she
had on deposit, as he didn't know who
her lawyer was, he was obleeged to give
up the hunt, and let things stand as they
were. Thankful used to come to Lisbon
once in a while to make the folks visit,
and it happened on several occasions
that / was at home too, and [ grew as
| loud of pretty Thankful as mother.
| Mirandy didn't like her sister; and for
| that matter she didn't like any one of the
| female kind, that ever I heered on. She
was always a telling of how she was en-
gagged to SO and so, but somebody come
| between them and broke the engagement
off; and there warn't batchlor in the
place that she hadn't her eye on, and her
cap all set for; but the men fought shy
of her. for they one and all knew how she
treated my poor mother! and tho last
heerd on her, she was single yet and likely
TO stay SO. Well, where was :?
Thankful had the loveliest disposition,
and was tender hearted and pi6iful TO all
dumb critters. One Thanksgiving when
she was over to our place, the watch dog
slipped on the ice do IN by the water
drain, and brore his leg; we all thought
he would have5 0 be killed to put him out
of his misery. Thankful begged him
off and set the poor scritter's leg as
some splints and bound the leg up, and
fed him out of her hand until he was well,
and when Thankful went home, the dog
would follow her, and do all we could, we
couldn't coax or drive him back; SO he
made a new home for himself in Wood
bury.
For all Thankful was so good, she had
the least self-esteem of any female l ever
saw She was very humDled minded, and