The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-02-14
A CHASTITY TALE.
In two Parts, by r. Penstock.
PART /.

slightly In [ me, Wnlcn leo
me to INQUIRE if he did not hail from
North Carolina.
He replied in the affirmative, and
from the conversation which ensued, |
~ascertained that he was a very promi-
nent young man from near a large
North Carolina town; and was away
from home on the strangest mission
that ever fell under my observation.
His story vas so weird, uncanny, yet
so unearthly fascinating, I will give it
In full, and as near as possible in the
young mans own language.
THE STORY.
When the late war broke out, u
family, consisting of my parents and
two small children-sister and l.
lived in Stanly County, North Caro-
lima. This section of the state was
very thinly settled at the time, and,
in fact is not thickly inhabited to day,
but great improvements have been
made since 81.
When the tocsin of war reverberated
from one end of our bonny South
Land to the other calling men to the
front, faint echoes penetrated Stanly's
dense forests and murky swamps, and
reached our ears. Father at once be-
gan preparing to answer the summons
Three weeks later, after everything
was in readiness for his departure on
the morrow, we sat around the large
fireplace to spend our last evening to-
gether. How well do [ recall every
incident, even the most trivial, which
occurred on that night tho I was
hardly in my teens at the time.
Mother sat in the arm chair near the
corner of the hearth, trying to knit, but
she made poor Roadway. I noticed
that at short intervals she would stop,
brush the tears from her eyes, and IN
ravel her work till she detected where
the stitch was lost, then elowly resume.
1t was evident that her mind was not
on her work.
Father sat nursing my little sister,
and gazing intently upon the blazing
wood in the fireplace I sat in the
chimney corner opposite mother, rapid
ly slipping into the land of nod Silent
gloom brOoded over all. and it seemed
that nature sympathized with our
heavy hearts for without doors the
stiffness of death pervaded. Suddenly
I awOke with a start. Father was walk
ing to and fro across the floor, mutter-
ing to himself. Mother had let her
knitting slip from her hands and was
gazing at father with a frightened ex-
presson on her face.
What is the matter?"I asked, as
soon as I could collect my thoughts
after the fright which awakened me.
Father paused in his walking, and
approaching to where sat, seated him
self beside me-
my son" he began, and I noticed he
was terribly wrought up over some
thing. "You hear the shrill notes of
that whip poor-wiIl in the tree by the
barn?" Not waiting for a reply from
me, he continued, THAT is a bird of i'll
omen, which has been our family
remesis since l can recollect. When
your grandfather lay upon a bed of
sickness a whip-poor-will sat*whistling
without the chamber window every
evening till after the night the old man
died. From the time your uncle took
sick till he died I sat on guard without
doors, night after night to brighten
away a whip poor will which disturbed
the patient so with it's shrill crying,
that sleep was impossible. To might
that bird betokens i'll to our family"
eyes it is a bird from the Internal
regions-a messenger from out the
gates of hell shrieking out curses from
his master-the devil"
Here father clutched my hand and
pointed towards the window. The fire
had died down and the shimmering
embers cast CHASTITY shadows around
the bare white walls. Frightened
nearly to death I glanced toward the
window-there being but the one in
the room.
Never shall I forget the sight that
met my grze, or the terrible scene
which followed.
Standing there gazing into the room
was a CHASTITY grinnig skeleton with a.
long bony finger pointed towards
where father and I were sitting.
I was p~araIyzed with fear-could
neither move nor speak. The flesh on
fathers face twitched nervously, his
eyes assumed a wild stare, and it was
evident that If a few moments he
would be a raving maniac.
Mother lay in g swoon upon the floor