The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-04-15

years old ana there was some very Ole
furniturs ID II, including a clock reach
Ing from the door Of the hall nearly ID
the ceiling. 1t had not kept time fol
many years. The works were rusty
and the pendulum. which had been de-
fached, stood In the corner OF the case
While the party from whom ! made
the purchase and were looking at the
old clock he give me the following rea.
son for the pendulum being in that DO
sltlon: He said that there was ira.
dltlon that one Of the former owners
Of the premises had been warned that
che clock would fcretel the hour OF
his death. How this ghostly informa-
flon was to be conveyed was not desig.
mated, but the warned man, hoping to
disarna the ghost, detached the pendu-
lum and set It In the corner OF the
case. One night In autumn, when the
winds We're blowing and the rain fail
Ing, be was lying wide awake when
suddenly the old clock in the hall be-
low began to tick. What induced him
to count the strokes from the very first
one he didn't know, but he did count
them till the three thousand I'VE hum
dred and fortieth stroke, when d sud
den sinking sensation came over him,
and he called for assistance. He died
one minute later, or on the three thou
sand six hundredth stroke--that Is. ia
exactly one hour from the first stroke.
! thanked my informer for this
grewsome tale and told him that II he
would verify 1t l would sell him the
property had just bought from him
for one half what had paid him, but
the days OF ghosts had passed and
such stories no longer affect people as
they once did.
Nevertheless. conscious as we are
that there are exlstences beyond our
ken, one must be superstitious. The
seed had been planted In me, and often
afterward when / lay awake at night
] would fancy the slightest sound to
be the tick Of the old clock. l WINS
tempted to sell 1t, but, III the first
place, my wife greatly valued such
old truck; in the second, Twas ashamed
to confess even to myself that / was
afraid OF II You laugh at me. but
how many people are there who do
not prefer to nrst see the new moon
over the right shoulder? This alone
indicates that we are all In q measure
superstitious. Whether by nature or
Inheritance. I don't know.
One autumn my wife left me to be
gone few days. There was only a
servant at home besides myself The
night following my wife's departure
the house seemed unusually still In
deed, 1t was unusually STILL can't
say felt unwell, but was what /
may call discomposed. My usual hour
FOR going to bed was 10 o'clock, but
this night | sat up till II and even
then felt no inclination to seek my
lonely couch. / got to sleep. however.
in about half an hour after going to
bed
During the night / awoke suddenly
Sometimes we awake at night feeling
comfortable, lie awake for short time
and go to sleep again But this night
knew the moment awoke that was
In for season Of wakefulness 1t
was bad night The wind was fitful,
and slow rain had been coming down
oil day. / felt a terror creeping over
me. though at what ! could not divine
] was not afraid Of the dark or the
wind or the rain. Nevertheless was
In an uncomfortable condition.
I had been awake only few mo-
ments when heard tap. tap, tap,
tap, for all the world like the ticking
Of a clock. Why did 50 ! can't ex-
plain. but | counted each tap or tick
from the first. Then it occurred to
me that the ticking came from the
clock in the hall below. The works
had not been cleaned, the pendulum
still stood In the corner. but II ever !
had heard any sound coming frem 4
certain direction l heard that clock
ticking, and the ticks seemed to me
I'd be exactly one second apart. I kept
on counting. not from choice, but from
some unexplained compuision I tried
to stop counting. but do what | would
| couldn't lose the number OF the beats.
There | lay. every minute growing
more and more discomposed. counting
the seconds by sixties knowing TINT at
every sixtieth second another minute
had elapsed. The story that had been
told ME about the clock thus warning
a man Of his death would not be ban
Ished. BY the time | had counted
i 200 strokes was in a terrible condi-
ton. and at the three thousandth
knew was nearing collapse. re-
member counting 1000 beats, after
which must have become uncon-
scious.
When came to myself It was COM
Ing dawn. | was weak as a kitten.
wished to get up and call servant.
but had not the strength. Later
heard one In the hall and called. a
aoctor came. my wife was telegraphed
lor, and-well was not out Of bed
hi month. When went downstairs
Again the old clock was not there. My
Wife had removed It.
Six months later one rainy night
beard the ticking or tapping again.
Weakened my wife and called her al
|ention to 1t. she listened for a mo-
bent then said:
'Is that what threw you into col
|apsegs
''Yes; the same sound"
'sYou silly man. that's nothing but /
dripping water"
I would not 90 to sleep till ! had /
made an examination and had verified /