The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-02-13
AUNTIE's GHOST STORY.
New York World

warm. Aunt Jane had given us basket
of nuts, and we were having great fun
cracking them.
We had come tospend a few days with
Aunt Jane, who lived in a fine old farm
house some miles away from the village.
Now, auntie had no children of her own,
and so she was always glad when we
nieces and nephews came like young
army to take possession of the old house,
as she was very kind to us and told us
many famous stories.
But, as l said, the wind was having a
clustering time Of it without, and we
were laughing merrily within, and crack
ing our nuts, when all of sudden we
heard piercing scream. OF course we
all screamed too, dropped our nuts, and
sat quite still in fright. Now, Auntie
Jane, who is very sensible, and not at
all timid, only looked up from her sew
ing and listened. In another minute
there came another scream, even louder
than the first "Oh, auntier' we cried,
in a frightened chorus, Its Robbie"
Robbie, who was only years old, and
not big enough to sit up with us, had
been put to bed up stairs half an hour
before. Don't be such silly little
geesew said auntie, calmly folding her
work. "rll go up and see what is the
matter with the child" SO auntie put
down her basket, took lamp in her
hand and left the room, while we all
followed and stood huddled together at
the foot of the stairs.
Presently auntie appeared with tremb-
ling Robbie in her arms, and told us all
to go back into the kitchen.
Auntie took her place by the fire, and
we all sat down again. "Now, Robbie"
said Aunt Jane, quietly, 'sit up and tell
them what was the matter, and why
you screamed and frightened everybody,
and what you saw" But Master Robbie
didn't want to sit up; he kicked his little
fat legs about and chung close to auntie,
hiding his face in her gown.
Come along, sir" said auntie firmly,
and then she sat Robbie up in her lap,
but he put his finger in his mouth and
blinked at the fire, and finally began to
howl dismally.
There, there" said auntie more gen.
tly and petting him. BE brave little
man. Now tell us, what did you think
you saw"
A little pause, then from out the folds
of auntie's gown came smothered
"Dhostp from Robbie.
49," said auntie, ''you thought you
saw ghost!"
Fought saw dhost," was the muf
fed echo.
Every well, said auntie. "Now what
did you really see when 1 came in
with the lamp and made you take your
he I'd out from under the blanket? Pet
ticoat?" asked auntie, bending down.
"Petticoat hanging in torner."
"Ah," said auntie, "you thought you
saw a ghost, and what you really did
see was white petticoat hanging up in
the corner Is that it?
"Es, Use been bad boy today, and
Kenny told me when was bad boy
would see dhost landing up in torner,
and fought pettitoat was dhost."
Auntie looked very sternly at Henry.
Henry" she said, shave you really
been putting such nonsense into this
silly little boys head?"
"Oh, just for fun" said Henry, though
he looked little ashamed. "It's fine
way to keep him good"
LET me tell you. Henry, that great
deal of harm and great deal of suffer
ing have come from just this thought
less habit of frightening little children
in order to keep them good.
"And so am going to tell you story
Of myself; a story about something that
happened to me when was little girl,
and Of all the harm that came of my old
nurses telling me about the old woman
wrapped in blanket who would come
to carry me away il ever was naughty
and disobedient.
And then auntie, sitting with Robbie
on her lap. told US her story:
When l was httls girl like Hattie
papa and were living alone here. When
say alone mean that my poor mamma
had died, and we were the only ones of
the family left on the farm.
But we had a servant, who took care
Of the house, and old Maria, who took
care Of me and mended my clothes, and
then there was the man who worked the
farm, as papa's business in the village
kept him away from home all day.
Now, Maria was very good and kind
to me, and loved me very dearly, even
though l was a wild little thing, always
running away and getting lost, and Civ
ing her deal of trouble, dare say.
l suppose it was because was so hard
to manage and SO very naughty that she
first told me the story of the old woman
in the blanket.
One night, after / had got into bed,
and she had tucked me away and was
going out with the light she stopped to
say:
''Im afraid if you amt any better to-
morrow than you've been today, Miss
Jane, and if you don't stop runnin' into
the woods, the old woman in the blanket
will come after you" Il had been very,
very bad that day, and suppose poor
Maria was at her wits end to make me
behave.)
what old woman in blanketr' In
quired, sitting up in bed.
Never mind" Maria went on mystic
riously, 81 tell you there's an old woman
in a blanket who comes after all naughty
girls, specially them that runs away
into the woods when they's told not to-"
Then Maria went away with the can
die and lay alone in the dark with my
mind full of the old woman in the blan-
ket.
was very good for little while, and
suppose Maria thought she had done a
fine thing in making up the story, as it
seemed to have SO good an effect unon
my conduct. Indeed 1 thought a great
deal about the old woman in the blan.
lIet
Playing about in the fields in the day.
time, / would sometimes forget all about
her. but whenever was quiet, and es-
pecially at night, 1 fell to imagining all
sorts of dreadful things, about how she
looked and what she would say and
where she would take me.
Maria soon found that whenever I was
rn+;,ly and disobedient all she had to do
was Ia remind me of the terrible old
woman in the blanket, SO by and by l
began to feel quite sure that at some
time or other / would certainly be pun
ished by her, and sometimes was dread
fully frightened at night and used 10
cover my head up with the bedclothes,
Just as Robbie did while ago.
Now, you must know, for l think Ive
told you, / was always expressly forbid
den to go into the woods.
i didn't see very much Of papa, as he
A,,k L., Lo