New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-01-13
What a Child Saw.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Copyright. 1905 by American Press Assoc
citation.
"And this is the placer
1T u.s.
ssWhere is the ghost ~
THE ghost, herr, is only to be seen
by children They describe it as wo-
man raking leaves. When she looks up
at them they see only skull instead
of face. She may be raking over
there now. Yet we cannot see her"
Annette, who was with me, looked at
me with a frightened expression. We
were in the valley of Chamonk sur
rounded by snowy peaks, among
which Mont Blanc rose highest. Hear
ing of the legend. had engaged a
guide to conduct us to the spot the
ghost was said to inhabit.
Your children hereabout,'' 1 said to
the guide, .'are doubtless under the In
duence of the story. Imagination paints
the image on the retina Of the child's
eye.''
The guide shook his head negatively.
IF herr will bring a 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 a little girl of seven.
What do you say, Annette? Shall we
make the test with herr"
Annette WINGED She placed the tips
of her fingers on my sleeve as If for
protection.
The act gave me suggestion. It
was not clearly defined, nor had I much
faith in it. Nevertheless, I had mind
to proceed.
1--WE will bring the child here" 1
added, then, turning to the guide,
and, Herman, If she sees the ghost
will give you an American gold eagle
for memento Of the occasion"
Thanks, herr. l consider myself
richer by that amount
"Don't say ace will bring her here
said Annette, with shrug. Il shall
have nothing to do with the matter"
Surely you do not expect-wen,
then, Herman must lose his eagle"
"Tll come,'' said Annette after bit
| Of struggle with herself
We succeeded in getting permission
from the child's parents the next aft
ernoon to take her to walk with u.s.
felt sure that if 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 I would call them-the
| face Of child Madonna, sensitive lips,
| the figure of a 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 mountain rails
ing its white head into the heavenly
blue? And what more typical of In
finity than a host of such mountains
! looming on all sides, three snow
fringed glaciers wriggIing like SER
penis down their sides? Our little
friend looked up at the peaks with a
sort Of trustfulness, as If they were
animate-her 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 OH my arm, as before,
this time clutching 1t 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-
so near that her silken sleeve rubbed
against my arm. The child stood
few steps before US, looking at the
mountains. the valleys, anything, ey-
erything that made up the view.
Herman has lost his eagle,' l said
in low voice to Annette "She sees
nothing unusual"
THANK heavenr' was the whispered
reply.
What desolate spotn l remarked
aloud Not living thing here hI1t
ourselves"
Eyes, there is said the child.
There's woman over there raking
dead leaves
! felt convulsire grip on my arm.
! knew Annette needed support, and l
put my arm about her to steady her. I
confess was startled myself
eWhere?' asked Of the child.
"Over there" pointing. "She sees us.
There are only holes where the eyes
should be-"
ooh come awayp