Year: 1859

have had the pleasure of spending a
day and night with the Fearfuls Mr.
and Mrs. Fearful are very antiquated in
their notions, and have brought up their
family in accordance with all the signs and
wonders, all the whims and old sayings,
which have been handed down through
their family from their great-great-
father. They never permit newspaper
to come into their house, for fear some
"new-fangled" notion will turn the girls
heads! My visit to Mrs. Fearful was quite
unexpected, but nevertheless / was cor
daily received, and soon informed they had
warning that somebody was coming, be-
cause Mrs. Fearful dropped fork early in
the morning, and the tines stuck in the
floor. At the breakfast table the acarning
was again repeated, for Miss Angelica help
ed herself to a second piece of bread be-
fore she had eaten the first. Then there
were several people Qittle sticks) SWIM
ming about in her tea-cup, and one of
them looked very much like me! Angeh-
ca turned up" her cup, and she saw plain
ly the road over which l came.


At dinner, our social harmony was
greatly disturbed by the upsetting of the
salt-dish toward myself! All declared that
in spite of the salt they would not break
friendship with me, and Miss Angelica, in
order to make the promise doubly sure,
threw some salt into the firei


After dinner, we sat in the parlor, dis
cussing the rapid retrogression of the age,
when little Emma, who had been out at
play in the yard, came in with doleful
face, because some of the children had per-
suaded her to let them turn her frock
wrong side out; but, to turn it back would
be a very bad Si.ga,, so she was compelled
to wear it in this manner during the re-
mainder of the afternoon, much to her
modification; being, however, consoled
with the assurance that the aoitcheS could
not plague her while she had on a garment
wrong side out!


Passing into the garden after tea, l OBJ
served several horse-shoes nailed over the
doors, which Angelica informed me were
certain antidote, or final bar, to all hobgob-
Inns, gnomes, and spooks in general.


At this declaration / had the impolite-
ness to laugh so heartily that Angelica was
forced to join me, when, taking her hand
kerchief suddenly from her pocket, out
flew several small bones, found in the
heads of fishes, which she informed me
were " lucky bones" and that she always
carried them with her to insure her sue
cess! Poor fish! thought I, all your lucky
bones" did not save you from the hook.


When night came, the doors were all
bolted and barred, the windows made fast,
the kitchen floor nicely sanded and swept,
to detect the entrance of ghosts, as they
must of necessity leave tracks on the fine
sand. Everything being secured, was
cautiously shown to my room, Mrs. Fear
full expressing much apprehension that
something would happen to somebody be-
fore morning. Old Jowler, the house dog,
was heard to howl with his face towards the
east, which howl was answered by a
screech owl in the woods back of the house


A whip-poor-will came SO near the gar
den gate just in the dusk of the evening,
that Angelica said she was really afraid it
would fly over the fence, alight, and sing
on the doorstep!


Old Mrs. Fearful, in view of all these
sad omens, wished / would compose my
self and try and get little sleep, as An
gelica was about to show me to my cham
Der for the night. When she left me at
the top of the stairs, I almost fancied 1
heard the light tread of ghosts close at my
heels, and opening the door into my imag-
ination-haunted chamber, slight chill ran
through my nerves. Disrobing myself, |
was soon in bed, but so full had my mind
been filled with signs and wonders, that
sleep would not, or dare not, approach; /;
but, on turning over to get rid of witches,
and find a comfortable mapping place, |
discovered hard substance under my
head


What was my surprise when, lifting my
head and placing my hand beneath it, |
drew out from below the upper tick well
oiled, silver-mounted bride, check-rein and
all! By the dim light of the picked
down" lamp-for Angelica would on no ac-
count think of having me "get through
the night in the dark-I knew the bride