Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-09-24
THE HAUNTED CONGRESSMAN
By Hezekian ButterwOrth.
PART /

4 L 80
and excitement of such a political sea-
son. when personal character is like'y
TO be most unjustly asSailed, and the
most crafty receptions practised to
effect the imagination of the people,
without recalling a strange ghost story
once told me by an old physician and
which l now relate for the SAFE of tue
/ impression which it may convey N
our Quadriennial political campaign.
/ 1 will repeat this curious story IN
/ the first person, much as the old doc
/ tor told it to me.
! / began my practice, his narrative
! run, as a doctor in an old Rhode Island
1 town, near Providence, R. l. l there
became interested in nervous diseases,
and wrote a course of lectures on MOI
al Force as Preventative and Cure in
Cases of Emotional Insanity. The lee
lures secured for me an appOintm mt
as an assistant in a once famous hos
pital for the treatment of the insane.
[ afterwards sought a place as a vii
lage physician.
| can never forget a scene that was
presented to me on the day that l INST
entered the village where | began my
professional life. The place was Wal
rem, in the state of Rhode Island, a
state that was famous for exciting pol
itics from the time of the o-callod
"Dorr War" to the acrimonious con-
test that made William Sprague gov
ernor, in the thrilling days of the arm
ing of the North. The village is bov-
cry and beautiful, ami ricn in histO- ic
traditions. Here tt old forest king
the dreary winter when that exile was
evolving those principles of soul lib
erty that have entered into the pol.t-
icaI constitutions of all enlightened
nations.
Here, according to a fine put quns-
toned tradition, John Hampden-of
whom Gray speaks in his famous
''Elegy'-
Some village Hampden that with
dauntless hand
the great English commOner, visi ed
Massasoit and helped Edward Winslow
nurse the chieftain in a dangerous ill
ness, and so studied the country, pre-
sumably as a place Of refuge in case
the parliamentary cause should fail.
Beyond the village is the old town of
Bristol, with its Mortimer tradiuons
and Mt. Hope, the ancient burying
ground of the Pokenokot race.
There was in this town, which was
once a part of old Swansea, a large
colonial building, but lately taken
down, that was called THE Ark.
On the occasion of my first visit, as
walked from the city OF Providence
towards the town. an incident zap
1ened. A we'll dressed man in an open
carriage met me on the way. and drew
the rein, and asked
rs it far you are going, str pger?
1t was one of the hospitalitles of the
old Rhode Island wagoners to oTer
foot traveller ride.
"To Warren, sir Some miles | am
told
That far? Get in and ride. A man
carriage is his house in these parts, and
the door is always open. l like COM
pose. Everybody is. 'Tain't often there
happens such a funeral as this one"
mo, my friend, l hadn't Ieard lat
anyone was dead. A peculiar case
infer. What is the persons name?"
l mounted into the carriage as =
asked the question
"Placide. I tell you what politics is
poor business, now, aim it? 1t was
too bad, too bad. Every body liked
Placide till that story formed Itself
into a demon and, went around
He was talking in an unknown tongue
to me, and [ asked
who was Placide, my friend?"
who was he? Haven't you heara?
Haven't? You must be a kind of stran-
ger in these parts. He was the defe1t-
ed candidate defeated going on two
years ago. 1t was not the defeat that
caused his death, but the s. DRY. Sole
people die strange-yOu have notice
that, as you are a doctor"
81 am going to the town to live. L
have been so busy with my studies
that I haven't kept the run of polite
much of late"
Il heard that they were going to have
new doctor there. Maybe that you
are he" .,
my name is Brown"
''Dr. Brown"
Young DR.. Brown"
Il would have known that if au
hadn't told me. l can see that you
are not "old" DR.. Brown. What are
my eyes for? Well, I am the under
taker. You ana I are likely to become
better acquainted. When anybody
wants to be buried they come to ME,
and when anybody wants to die, they
commonly go for the doctor, beg your
pardon. But that is neither here nor
there. AS I was municipalities is a
bad business as a business when it
ceases to be a matter of principle. Inc
funeral is at 1 o'clock, and it is almost
Y now. Hud upr'
The last sentence was a provincial
ism, and was addressed to the horse
which had been moving along IN
leisurely and meditative way.
The animal quickened his pace until
we came to some great elms that over
Swallowed the way. In their sunny
tops orioles were winging and sing 7g
above their poucned nest; beyond were
clover meadows, where bOb-o-links
were topping, and beyond the mead
ouyc tho hIl1a broadening of the river.