Sunday morning globe., 1901-11-03
In Old Georgetown Granny Wen
dell and Her Fate.
SUBJECTED TO THE USUAL TESTS
She Sets Fire 10 Hsr House and is Consumed
in Tho BIals-A How She Had tho Pedigree Of
Tho Inhabitants and Col Back al Her Tor
msntos-An Interesting Story Written for
The Sunday Globe by Revere Rodgers.

with its history is aware of the fact
that it was founded sometime i'm the
latter part of the l60O's. and that in
the early years of the zoos it was
quite a hustling little town indeed.
Nature having generously provided
IL with a salubrious climate and a mag
nifiCent water fountain, il soon became
a place Of some Importance. IL was to
Georgetown that the neighboring farm.
res brought their produce on market
days and IL was here also that their
wives and daughters purchased their
dresses and household goods. For
you must know that a line Of ships
sailed direct from the different parts
OF England to Georgetown in those
long ago days.
In after years, and during the first
part of the century just passed there
were few separate towns in the South
doing a larger business than George.
town. II anyone doubts the truth Of
this statement let him take a walk
along the water front Of the old place.
and he will notice block after block Of
deserted and ranmshaCkle buildings,
which in the heyday of Georgetown s
prosperity, served as shipping houses
warehouses, etc. and i'm which were
stored goods brought from every sea.
port town or city I'm the world; for in
those good old times the Potomac Riv-
er at Georgetown was always filled
with ships, flying the flags Of half a
dozen different countries. But to re.
turn to the main thread of my story.
In the year 1880 there lived in a lit.
lie onestory frame cottage situated
up on High street quarrelsome,
shriyelled-up. old body called by the
children "Old Granny Wendell, and
spoken of by their elders as Old Miss
Liza Wendell This ancient dame
for she was very old but by no means
feeble-was the terror of the towns.
people She had everyone's family
history at her tongues end, and upon
the slightest prOyOcation she would
unburden herself at the expense OF
that unlucky mOrtals fanny who had
aroused her ire.
No one could tell with any degree of
accuracy just how old Miss Eliza was,
but it was an accepted fact that she
was very, very aged, and moreover, 1t
appeared that she was intimately ac-
quainted with the history Of every
family that ever resided in the town,
but how she was able to keep a cor
rect tab upon the many misChievOus
urchins was what deeply mystfed the
folks. Let a child sneak up to her
door and rap, or to shrek in through
the keyhole an her, and then scamper
across the road out Of her reach / say
If a child did either of these things
and many many children did them
Miss Wendell's door would
fy open and that ancient dame stand
ing IN the doorway would deliver a
few unwritten pages of that urchins
family history that would cause the
leaves upon the trees to hutter In de-
light as they listened to the vivid man
ner in which the old lady expressed
herself at the expense Of her torment
or's family.
It appeared from these harangues,
delivered by tins eccentric old lady
that she had either fed every man or
woman i'm the town, when they hadn't
a bite to put in their 'craw' or she
had clothed them when they hadn't a
rag to their backs;' moreover. when
Miss Eliza got worked up properly
Oaths flew from her mouth with a rap
idity that was truly startling, and
when you consider the fact that her
memory went back to the third and
fourth generations you can readily un-
derstand how fearful the good folks
were Of arousing old Granny Wen
dells ire But the chIldhen, not being
as careful as their prOgenit0rs, gave
Granny frequent occasions to dis
play her knowledge of their families
and their affairs.
Now. there lived I'm Georgetown at
this time a learned authority on the
subject Of witches and ghosts, who in
his spare moments devoted consider
able time to the study Of gOblins. But
gOblns not being popular in those
times-for some unknown reason COB
Inns never have had much popularity
I'm America, although they always have
stood high I'm the old country-he aft
erWards abandoned these studies en-
tirely, as they were. to say the least,
troublesome and singularly unprof-
liable commodity. This distinguished
seer was the sexton Of the church, and
of the graveyard also He was report
ed to have been born with a caul, con-
sequenuy he was gifted with second
sight and could see a ghost a mile
away on the blackest night ever known.
Moreover, he had the greatest collec-
tion Of witch-charms ever possessed in
that part Of the country. He was an
elongated individual. with a lean
scarecrow cast Of countenance, adorn-
ed by a fringe Of whiskers under his
chin; a clean shaven upper lip and
a hook-like nose, surmounted by a
pair Of iron-bowed spectacles Is about
as near as / can come In introducing
to the reader this once celebrated
witch and ghost authority who was
born, bred Aourished and who died in
old Georgetown long, long ago.
The name Of this celebrated char
acter was Wesley Dali, and he liked
nothing better than TO surround him
self with a gaping crowd Of auditors to
whom he would recount numerous tales
Of adventures with the witches. and
the spirits out OF ghOstland He hav-
ing been on several occasions ridden by
the witches he made an interesting
narration of anything pertaining to
this subject and he was a favored
guest at the taverns, and also In the
houses of his townsmen, where seat
ed before the hreside he would hold
forth upon his all-absorbing subject
until the grown-ups would begin to
glance uneasily about them. and the