The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-03-09

customed to complain bitterly.
"Still l am bound to be rich," he would
add; Il can't tell how, or when, but some
day fortune will comet will come"
He was a hard master to those employed
| about the place, and seemed to take delight
| in tormenting animals, beating the dogs, Tor
\ example, not apparently out of anger, but
| because it gave him pleasure. On two &C.
casions, when interlopers had climbed over
the garden wall, he had broken their legs
with his gun. The servants hated him, and
the peasants declared that he cast spells on
the cattle, and that if he looked at young
| girl in a certain way she would from that
moment fall under his diabolical influence.
Josias had married late in life. His wife
was younger than he, and, without being
| aware of it. increased his unsavory reputa-
ton. Not that she was suspected of doing
any thing wrong, but she was believed to be
| the victim of her husbands occult practices.
Blonde, pale, with ligh blue eyes and soft
cheeks, she trembled before her spouse as a
poor bird trembles that has been fascinated
\ by serpeant. Besides, she was subject to
| lethargic fits. Sometimes she would remain
| for days wrapped in strange slumber so
| closely resembling death that when she was
| first attacked they came near burying her
alive.
| Such were husband and wife. Not having
any special charge to make against Josias,
who was active and honest, we never
thought of discharging him, and attached
| but slight Importance to the reports that
| had gained currency concerning him.
Josias, besides his work in the garden,
had certain tasks assigned him in the house.
One Saturday, the day of the week he
usually devoted to waxing the floor of my
| library, l happened to enter the room sud
denly, and surprised him standing near
these shelves in the act of reading this
Bible. On hearing me come in he closed it
hastily. but as the passage seemed to inter-
est him greatly, not before marking the
place with bit of paper he had in his hand,
the very piece you are now looking at and
which has on it an expense account for the
first week of the month of July, 179-.
l said nothing seeing from his agitation
that he thought he had been indiscreet He
put the volume back in its place, and as it
was not this one that had been annotated
by the great Frederick, never thought of
| taking out the mark.
And it is just here, Herr Magistrate that
| the mystery begins. The next day being
Sunday-take notice of the date-the cook
not having seen any thing of the Frau
| OooidS, tiiiu OCCOlnHiS ulCO, WouU ONCI w
the cottage in the kitchen garden. She
| found the unfortunate woman stretched on
her bed, white and rigid, her eyes wide open
and the pupils dilated.
"A lethargic attack" remarked Josias,
| without the least emotion.
The ACCESSIBILITY of calling in physician
was suggested, but Josias would not hear
of it.
mo, no! haven't any money to throw
away She'll come to all right, as usual"
| Three days later, when the body began to
decompose, he at last consented that doc
| tor should be sent for. The latter said at
| once that the woman was dead, which did
| not seem remarkable considering the pre-
| carious condition of her health
| A month before-note this fact also-Frau
JoSias had fallen heir to quite nice little
sum OF money and had at once willed it to
| her husband.
! You will no doubt ask, Herr Magistrate,
what connection there is between these
events and the mark in the Bible. Have
patience.
The Counselor stopped a moment to en-
| JOY the interest manifested by his auditor
in the narrative, and then proceeded:
After the death of his wife, Josias, rich
to the amount of several thousand ,thalers,
left US and set up ON his own account in the
District of F.. We subsequently, learned
that fortune SO long waited for, continued to
smile upon him, and that he had become
burgomaster of his village.
| He was never seen again at S., and
never visited the burying ground where
the body of his wife rested
| In fact, the burying- ground itself soon
disappeared. 1t was 30 damp that miasma
arose from it night and day, invading the
neighboring houses, and feeding the wan
dering fires that after dusk misled and
frighted belated travellers. 1t was first or
dered to be- closed, and ten years later was
altogether obliterated, q new strategic no ad
having been surveyed across it.
In the month of July, 49,, the mattock
was first used, and some bones brought to
the surface. One morning when the dig
| gers were about getting to work they no.
ticed an old beggar woman who had got into
the graveyard through q hole in the wall
and was engaged in picking up the dead
branches of trees, or worm eaten pieces
fallen from the wooden crosses that mark ed
the graves. Suddenly she sprang backward
in alright and gave terrible scream. They
ran up to and questioned her. She could
only succeed in making them understand
by gestures and few disjointed sentences,
that she had seen skull moving along the
ground.
"Loolz, it movesl" cried the terror stricken
woman.
| Every one started back instinctively.
True enough, on heap of human remains
and stones a skull came bouncing along
propelled by some strange energy.
One workman was of the opinion that the
rector should be notified. Another-a more
virile intellect-ran for doctor. l was also
sent for, and reached the spot as soon as the
physician.
He first ridiculed the cowardly supersti
tions of the by-standers, then stopped down
picked up the skull, and inside it found g
toad, that, having got Into the cerebral cav
ity through narrow opening, was vainly
trying to get out of its prison.
"You see," he said, laughing, "the-,''
But he did not finish the sentence. A
second discovery checked the words on his
lips, and froze the smile on his face-a long
steel spike, slender as an upholsterer's
needle, was imbedded in the occiput, and
must at some time have passed entirely
! through the brain.
| "Hoh hoh!" he exclaimed, "a clever as
sassin that Death instantaneous. no effu
sion of blood, and, thanks to the hair, ne
visible trace. My predecessor no doubt at
tributed it to the rupture of an apeurism.'