The Yale expositor., 1898-11-04

The entire township OF Onion seem
ed taken with the shivers for time,
and many an honest citizen, who, at
any other time, would have easily rec
ogn;zed neighbours white cow, even
in the dim starlight then saw Oom-
Pah's ghost.
The excitement had in great meas
ure abated when I accepted an invita-
ton to visit my friend Ragget, out in
Onion township, and with him put In
a day at fishing.
After long day OF thrilling adven-
ture in boarding the fiery, untamed
catfish in his coffee-colored retreat In
Hellbender creek, we returned home,
and shortly after supper l donned my
snowy white night-gown and retired
to rest. My subsequent behavior was
such as would have caused comment
anywhere.
Shortly before midnight I began to
walk In my sleep. Wrapped in slum-
Der and my long white night-gown,
slipped out of the window, down the
shed-kitchen roof and down to the
ground.
|
glided, toward Oom-Pah's grave. with
my unseeing eyes fixed on nothing,
with a wild, unearthly, dying-cat ex-
preston.
The young people of the neighbor-
hood had gathered earlier in the even
Ing at Squire Rippey's to enjoy lawn
party given in honor of somebody's
birthday or something. After the
usual joys of such occasions had been
experienced, they resolved to indulge
In mild adventure OF visiting Oom-
Pah's grave. They had almost reach
ed 1t from one direction, when, coming
from the opposite side, passed the
grave and emerged from the little
clump of trees in the midst Of which
the mound was located
The young ladies, with many hys-
terical giggles, were just daring their
! galoots-I mean gallants-to enter the
little grove when l emerged with coll
ors fling. From the time of leaving the
house till | was about to exit from the
! grove / had not the slightest knowl-
edge Of my actions or surroundings.
but after that I was keenly alive 10
! them.
Just before emerging from the trees
| trod squarely on a tussock in which a
widow hornet was keeping boarders.
When l stepped on them the boarders
must have been sitting up late grind
ing their stingers, and they came out
Immediately to see me about the mat
ter.
A moment later I was broad awake
and feeling as il 1 was being stabbed
with 10000 red-hot darning needles.
| The hats OF the members of the lawn
party jumped two feet from their
heads as the ghost of the late Mr..
Oom-Pah, with soulful Rise-up- Will
liam-Riley yell, bounded out of the
grove and came charging toward them
with its arms revolving rapidly in the
air and the tail Of its shroud popping
behind it. When the hats came down
their owners were several hundred
yards away and moving rapidly in
the direction of Lower California. But,
urged on by the incentives to speed
that they did not have, / gained On
them rapidly.
So absorbed was l with trying to get
away from the hornets that / paid not
! the slightest attention TO the young
| people, and before was scarcely aware
of their presence l had over taken and
was almost in the midst of them. At
that moment l stumbled over a stake
that drove my superior toe almost out
of sight back into my foot and sent
me whirling in a rapid succession of
somersaults. One of the young men
| plunged over me, drove my face into
the dirt, and feeling that l was more
substantial than ghostly, seized me as
| s1rove to rise.
His excited yells brought others to
his aid, and l was captured and rec
ognized. 1t was useless for me to at
tempt to explain. The memory of my
wild-man escapade was too green for
them to believe anything l said. They
would listen to nothing till they had
supplied me with means of riding
home after my hard run.
The vehicle was a three-cornered
rail trimmed with splinters, and album
dant variety was given to the monot-
ony of the journey by jouncing it up
and down, like wedding bells. 1t was
terrible-but, If you have ever ridden
on rail- you know how it is yourself,
and If you never have experienced it,
no words Of mine can adequately de-
scribe it to you.
Finally, in response to my pleadings,
they let me down, much to my delight,
but / felt that their kindness was as
false as the Dead Sea apples when
they told me to hurry away, and, a mo-
ment later, encouraged small but
persistent bulldog to pursue me.
Between the hornets, the rail and
the dog. I. But let us draw the veil
of charity over the sad, sad scene.
lived through 1t all somehow sad
der. wiser. madden, more disgruntled
and sorer man OF letters than any
change of administration ever pro-
duced.
Better Treatment for Prisoners.
Commissioner Lantry has lamps