The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-07-26

no doubt, a fairly healthy child in
other ways. Now, | distinctly remem-
Der the last occasion, and the way in
which l sobbed in my amazement and
alarm 1t made such an impression
upon my mind that can recall every
detail"
He moved to the end of the bridge
and came back, staring intently but
hopelessly into the white shroud on
every side. The Northgate's siren
gave a long, melancholy wall, and
then dead silence fell.
1--WE lived in country cottage,
semi-detached,' said the captain care
fully, "and an old lady who lived next
door was a great friend of ours. On
this particular day my parents were
sitting at little round table in the
cottage of this next-door neighbor, an
old woman of eighty. She, too, was
sitting at the table, knitting, and /
was sitting idly on my fathers knee
listening to their talk. was a rather
quiet child, and loved the company
of my elders. l cannot remember
the talk, but l recall the scene very
distinctly. l was not facing the table
myself, but sitting sideways to it,
l can even remember a point like
that Suddenly, it seemed to me, a
very awkward and somewhat start
ling thing happened. The old lady,
who was knitting, had her woods upon
the little table. AS she moved her
arm she happened to bring it into
contact with small hand-bell stand
ing near her, and swept it clean off
the table 1t fell with a sharp double
clang upon the stone floor, and there
lay still.
"That, of course, was to me simply
an accident. l had no doubt that the
thing had occurred, that such an acct
dent had happened. Under that i'm
preston, l turned half-round, waiting
to see the old lady stoop from her
rocking chair, pick up the bell, and
replace it upon the table. was sim
ply interested, and on the alert to
handle a new toy. Most children, as
you may know, enjoy playing with a
bell.
ITO my establishment, however, none
of the others present paid the slight
est attention to the accident. The
conversation went on without a break,
and neither the old lady nor my
parents so much as glanced at the
floor l was surprised.
After that came the sensation.
wanted to see for myself what had be-
come of the bell, and in my move
ment to do so attracted my fathers
attention. He asked me what / want
ed, and l told him l was looking for
the bell which the old lady had
knocked down from the table. They
were so astonished that had to re-
peat my explanation, and that more
than once. Then / became alarmed,
for l saw them look meaningly at one
another; and my alarm developed into
terror as 1 realized the truth. They
had heard no bell fall, because no
bell had fallen. There had been no
such article on the table; there was
no such article in the housed"
The captain paused, and the Sec
ond officer pursed his lips in an ex-
pressive whistle. He felt that the
shrouding fog gave a particularly I'M
canny cast to a story which was suff-
GENTLY mysterious without such a
ghostly accessory. He also felt that
henceforth the ships bell, so ordinary
signal under the hands of the
thoughtless apprentice, might have a
new significance for him.
Captain Pritchard had finished his
story and was satisfied with it's eff
fects. Well" he concluded, as he
took another turn, "you can imagine
how such an incident would influence
rather shy, quiet child of four or
fve 1t simply terrified me, and it
was long time before I could re
member the assurance which my par.
ents used, backed by the grand-moth.
erly consolation of our old neighbor
There was nothing wrong, they said
nothing to be afraid Of There was
really no bell, and the noise had
heard was caused by nothing more
than little trouble in my ears. Many
people had had the same experience
and I would soon grow out of ii"
There was pause.
1--WE heard, sir, of people suffering
from fancies of that kind" said the
mate ref1ectively. "But never heard
case given with so much detail, and
so altogether remarkable. We're you
ever troubled again in the same way?
Never that l know Of said the
captain. Apparently grew out of it
as my parents expected. The expert
ence, however, made deep and last
ing impression, and often recall il
when / hear ships bell struck. An
other result is a certain consideration
which feel for the sometimes unrea
sonable fancies of children"
The captain was family man,
master-mariner of the best modern
British type, with skill in chess thai
almost equalled his love for the game
and with several good shelves in his
cabin piled with the best writer's il
colonial and other editions. So the
Northgate was a good and comfortable
ship, and one of the best of popular
line.
"And that's very good result, sir,
agreed the second mate. But have
you ever told your story to a medica
MANI"