The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-12-28
What a Child Saw.



tCopyright, 1908. by American Press Asso-
ciatlon1
"And this is the placer
ut is.v
where Is the ghost?'
''1he ghost, herr. In only to be seen
by children. They describe IL as n wo-
man raking leaves. When she looks up
at them they see only skull instead
OF a face. She may be raking over
there now. Yet we cannot see her"
Annette, who was with me, looked at
nue. with, frightened expression. we
were In the valley of Chamonix sur
rounded by snowy peaks, among
which Mont Blanc rose highest. Hear
Ing Of the legend, l had engaged n
guide to conduct us TO the spot the
ghost was said to inhablt.
Your children hereabout," said to
the guide, "are doubtless under the in
huence OF the story. Imagination paints
the Image on the retina of the chllds
eye"
The guide shook his head negatively.
IF herr will bring child here who
has never heard of the legend he will
know better"
THAT is a proposition which meets
my concurrence. An American family
arrived at the hotel this morning,
among them little girl of seven.
What do you say, Annette7 Shall we
make the test with ber?'
Annette WINGED. She placed the tips
OF her fingers on my sleeve as IL for
protection.
The act gave me a suggestion. IL
was not clearly defined, nor had much
faith In it, Nevertheless, hud a mind
20 proceed. =
"We will bring the child here" I
added, then, turning to the guide,
"and, Herman, IL she sees the ghost /
will give you an American gold eagle
for memento of the occasion"
Thinks, herr. consider myself
richer by that amount"
Don't say zoe will bring her here"
said Annette, with a shrug. IL shall
have nothing to do with the matter"
Surely you do not expect-well
then, Herman must lose his eagle"
'I'll come" said Annette after bit
of struggle with herself.
We succeeded In getting permission
from the chlld's parents the next aft
ernoon to take her to walk with us. L
felt sure that IL spirituality would en-.
able her to discern the ghost she
would see It. She was like a waif
from spirit land large dreamy eyes
wonder eyes / would call them-the
face OF a child Madonna, sensitive lips,
the figure Of sprite. She walked
with US in silence, treading the ground
so lightly that / sometimes wondered
if she touched It at ALL Annette could
not keep her eyes Off her, seemingly
enthralled by her, though our quest
may have had much to do with that.
Besides, our surroundings were i'm
pressive. What is there more typical
OF the infinite than a mountain raj
ing Its white head into the heavenly |
blue? And what more typical Of in.
6nity than host Of such mountains !,
looming on all sides, three snow
fringed glaciers wriggllhg like SER
pents down their sides? Our little |
friend looked up at the peaks with a !
sort OF trustfulness, as IL they were
nnimaterher older brothers. resting,
silent, conscious of latent power. The
wind was fresh, and it seemed that 1t !
would take up the child and carry her
TO some far peak gilded by the after
noon sun where she would be nearer
her own country.
As we drew near the spot we sought |
Annette weakened. / saw in her ex-
preston that she feared we would
have evidence OF the specter's pres
ence. The child was walking before
us, and Annette, Siding toward me,
laid her hand on my arm, as before,
this time clutching It in terror.
We stood on the ground we had oc-
cupied the day before, looking out on
the spot Herman had referred to when
he said. "She may be raking over
there now" A. wind rolled over some
dead leaves where we fancied the wo-
man worked. Annette drew near me-