The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-06-06
RARBARA'S SEVERE TEST.
HOW a GIRL FOUND A HUSBAND
WHO WAS BRAVE.

Her mother was in CONSERVATION.
"Why are you 80 stubborn, Barbarian
;he asked. "You have plenty of lovers"
II want. when l marry, man who is
brave, equal to any emergency. II give
an my liberty want to be taken care of.n
"silly child What Is the matter with
bie Barney, the blacksmith,
HE is big, but never learned that he
was brave"
"And you never heard that he is not.
What is the matter with Ernest, the guns
smith?
Hes as placid as goats milk"
There IS little Fritz. the tanner; he is
ouarrelsome, enough for you, surely?'
lie is 70 bigger than bantam cock. 1t
is little he could do if the house was set
upon by robbers"
That night Ernest, the gunsmith, knocked
early at the door.
"YNu sent for me, Barbara he said, 90
ing % the girl who stood upon the hearth,
coGu ettishly warming one pretty foot and
then the other.
"Yes. Ernest" she replied. 'I've been
thi liking Of what you said the other night
wb.en you were here"
'"Well, BarbaraT
al want to test YOU"
Howl
al want to sec if you dare do very disa-
greeable thing:
What is i'll"
''rhere Is an old coffin upstairs Itsmells
of mold. They say Redmond, the .mur-
derer, was buried in it; but the devil came
for his body, and left the coffin empty at
the end of a week. and it was finally taken
from the tomb. 1t is upstairs in the room
my grandfather died in, and they say
grandsire does not rest easy in his grave for
some reason, Though that I know nothing
about Dsre you make that coffin your bed
to>nightF
EarDest laughed.
souUdly. Why, pretty one, did you think
haG weak nervesp
Good night, then I will send lad to
snow you the chamber, said imperious Miss
Barbara.
Ernest turned straightway and followed
the lad in waiting through dim rooms and
passages, up echoing stairs. along narrow
damp ways, where rats scuttled before
them, to a low chamber. The boy
looked pale and scared and evidently
wanted to hurry away, but Ernest
made him wait until he had taken q survey
of the room by the aid OF his lamp. 1t
was very large and full of recesses, with
high windows in them, which were barred
across He remembered that old Grandsire
Ferros had been insane for several years
before death, so this precaution had been
necessary for the safety of himself and
others. In the center of the room stood a
coffin; beside it was placed a chair The
room was otherwise perfectly empty.
Ernest stretched himself in the cofiu.
BE coed enough to tell Miss Barbara that
ats very good fit" said he.
The boy went out and shut the door,
leaving the young gunsmith alone in the
dark.
Meanwhile Barbara was talking with the
big blacksmith in the keeping room.
Barney" said she, pulling her hands
from his grasp when he would have kissed
her, II have a test to put you through before
Iglveyou any answer. There is a corpse
lying in the chamber where my grandslre
oied, in the untenauted wing of the house.
II you dare sit with it there all night, and
let nothing drive you from your post, you
will not ask me to marry you again in
VAIN
Are these all the conditions you can
Offer Barbaraw
"All. And if you sget frightened you
need never look me in the face again.
"1'il take them, then"
So Barney was conducted to his pos t by
the lad, who had been instructed in the Sc
cret, and whose involuntary stare at Ernest's
placid face as it lay in the coffin was inter
pTeted Ly Barney to be natural awe of q
corpse. He took his seat and the boy left
him alone with the darkness, the rats and
the coffin.
arrived, fattered and hopeful from the fact
that Bar bsra had sent for him.
Have you changed your mind, Bar
bara~ he asked.
No, and l shall not until l know that
you can do a really brave thing"
What shall it be9 swear to satisfy you,
Barbara"
81 hava q liHtla r,-orosoI 20 y,oaka 1,o,,
Ny plan requires skill as well as courage"
Tell me-"
well, in this house is a man watching
by corpse. He has sworn not TO leave his
post till morning. II you can make him do
1t shall be satisfied that you are as smart
and as brave as | require husband to be"
why, nothing is so easy" exclaimed
Fritz. 81 can scare him away. Furnish
me with asheet, show me the room, ap9 20
TO your rest, Barbara. You shall tnu me
at the post in the morning."
Barbara did as required, and saw the tan
ner step bhthely away to his task It was
then nearly IL o'clock, and she sought her
own chamber
Barney was sitting at his vigil, and SO far
all had been we'll
The face in the coffin cleaned whittier
through the darkness. The rats squeaked
as a famine were upon them and they
smelled dead flesh. The thought made him
AA0 XIV UP 1Lu WdikSu dDOuVs Dut
something made slight noise, as If some-
BODY was behind him, and he put his chair
with its back against the wall and sat down
again He had been hard at work all day,
and at last, in spite of everything, he grew
Sleepy. Finally he nodded and snored.
Suddenly it seemed as if somebody had
touched him. He awoke with a start, and
sa" nobody near, though in the center of
the room stood a white figure.
Curse you, get out of this !" he exclaimed
IN fright, using the first words that came
TO his tongue
The figure held up its right arm and
slowly approached him. He started to his
ieet The specter came nearer, pressing
nun into the corner
The = take you" cried Barney. in his
extremity.
: lnvoluntarily he stepped back: still the
ngure advanced, coming nearer and nearer,
ana extending both arms, as if TO take him
IN CHASTITY embrace. The hair started up
On Barney's head; he grew desperate, and
just as the cleaning arms would have
touched him he fell upoa the ghost like
whirlwind, tearing Off the sheet, humping,
pounding, beating and kicking, more and
more enraged at the resistance he met,
which told him the truth.
fhn l.n II