The Crittenden press., 1920-04-30

that. l am disposed to include al
who believe In fairies good, or bad,
and persons who honestly believe In
signs, omens. and lucky stones and
all who have the receipt o. fern-sced
and walk invlsible-there's Shakes
pssre for that"
II think" said Mrs. BashfOrd
soberly, that have always believed
In witches; and II keep on bellev-
Ing ! shall see one some day. We
shall find anything In this world that
we believe In hard enough"
She was talking very gravely. as
though witches were the commonest
topic of conversation, but finding my
eyes turned upon her In frank wonder
she laughed at my amazement.
''Let us be honest with you. Mr..
Singleton" Mrs. Farnsworth explained,
"and tell you that we are just testing
you. 1t may be breach Of hospital.
ity, and you are but stranger, but
we are curious to know whether you
are Of that small company Of the
favored Of heaven who can play at
being foolish without becoming idiotlc.
Alice is sometimes very near idi0cy.
You admit that, Alice!'
II not only admit 1t, but might
even boast of 1t. !" my aunt replied.
At the mention of witches | had
caught Antoine crossing himself as he
turned to the sidebOard. confess
that | myself had been startled by the
drift Of the talk. Mrs. FarnswOrth
and my aunt treated each other as
though they were contemporaries, and
1t was Alice and Constance between
them. AS the talk ran eXhaustively
| through the lore of witches and gOb.
lins had hoped that one or the Othei
would drop some clue as to the previ'
Gus history Of my amazing aunt. II
was as Main as day that she and
Mrs. Farnsworth INDUCED in whims
for the JOY Of II, and her zest In the
| discussion Of witches, carried on while
Antoine served the table. lips tightly
compressed, and with an eXaggeratiOr
Of his stately tread, was the more
startling from the fact that my aunts
companion was a woman of years, O
handsome woman with a high-bred ali
who did not look at all like a person
who would discuss witches as though
they had been made the topic Of the
day by the afternoon newspapers
And when the shape Of witch's CHR
became the immediate point of dis
cusslon l knew 1t was in Antoine's
mind that such conversation was un
becoming, an offeL to the memory OF
Raymond Bashford. Mrs. Farms
worth's brown eyes sparkled, and the
color deepened in my aunt's cheeks as
we dlscoursed upon witches and the
chins thereof. had a friend in col.
lege who used to indulge In the same
sort Of piflllng, but that my uncle's
widow and her elderly companion
should delight In such absurdities be.
wildered me. l had been addressing
my aunt as Mrs. Bashford-it
seemed ridiculous to call her Aunt
Ance-and In the heat of our argu.
ment as to whether witches are neces.
sarlly naughty and malign beings |
had just uttered the Mrs" when she
bent toward me and said gravely and
with no hint Of archness: Cant we
make 1t Alice and Bob? think that
would be a lot friendller."
l experienced a curious flutter OF
the heart the first time tried 1t, but
after that 1t came very easily. She
was simply the jolliest, prettiest girl
that had ever crossed my horizon, and
to be talking to her across the table
gave me thrills compared with which
sliding out of clouds In an airplane Is
only rocking-chair pastlme for old
men.
We had coffee on the veranda (Alice
thought II would be nicer there), and
as Antoine gave me my cup he edged
close to my chair to whisper:
"That party, sir. II he should
come"
Tell the troops not to attack any
visitors" | said, loud enough for the
others to hear. "Mr. Terrence will be
here shortly. and It would be annoy
ing to have him ushered In on a shut,
ter"
~ know why this is the land Of the
free and the home Of the brave,
laughed Alice. "One has to be brave
to live here"