go to sleep. What ails the old lady?-is she dead?'

""Oh! wus nor that!'

"Raced off and got married agin?' sais I. Well that kinder grigged him, and cooled him down a bit.

"Raced off and got married!' sais he, 'I didn't expect to hear you speak so disrespectful of dear mother! You know that's onpossible, in the natur' of things; but if it war, it's wus nor that!'

poor

'Well, what in natur' is it?' sais I.

'Why,' sais he, 'she's be-be-be- and at last he giggoggled it out, 'she's be-bebewitched!'

"Be-be-be-witched!' sais I, a-mockin' him, for unless I made him mad, I knew I couldn't make him talk; 'you be-be-behanged! you great, big, blubberin' blockhead! If you han't got no sense, I hope you've got some decency left. So clear out of this, and let me go to sleep. I railly didn't think you was such a bornfool! you out!'

Get out o' this, afore I put

"Oh! Mr. Slick,' said he, 'don't be wrathy! If you only knew all, you wouldn't say so. She's dreadful to behold!'

"But I do know all,' sais I. 'I know there's no such a thing under the sun as a witch ; if there was, you'd a-been hanged long ago, you're such a knowin' 'coon.

"Mr. Slick!' sais he,

Out with you!'

"oh, Mr. Slick! do

come and see her, and tell us what to do with her!'

Well,' sais I, 'I will, for her sake; for I'd do anything amost for her; but there's only one thing I'd do willingly for you, and that is to kick you.'

66 6

'Well, then,' said he,

if she aint bewitched,

I'll stand kickin' till you're tired.'

"Done,' sais I. Go and harness up Old Clay, and I'll dress in a jiffy and off. make yourself scarce: bear a hand.'

Come,

'Well, as we drove along, 'Now,' sais I, 'Lothrop, if you don't want me to lose my temper, and pitch you right out of this here waggon, begin at the beginnin', and tell me this here foolish story.'

"Foolish!' said he.

sure

"I jist hauled up short.

'Mr. Slick, I am

'No jaw,' sais I.

'Just begin now, and tell it short, for I don't

approbate long yarns,' (Sophy smiled at this, as

much as to say how little we know ourselves, but she didn't say nothin'), ' or out you go.'

"Well,' sais he, it was night before last, Sir, about twelve o'clock, as near as I can guess, that I first heerd the witch come to the house, and call Mother! through the roof.'

66 'What an everlastin', abominable, onaccountable fool you be, Lothrop,' sais I; 'but go on.'

Well,

“Let me tell it my own way,' sais he. Fanny had gone to bed before me, and was fast asleep when I turned in, and I was just a droppin' off into the land of nod, when whap the hag jumped on the roof, near the the chimbly, and scratched about among the shingles with her broomstick, and called out two witch words I didn't understand. Oh! they were loud, and clear, and cold enough to freeze you! So I wakes up Fanny. Fanny, sais I. What, dear? sais she. Just listen. Well, I am listenin', sais she. What have you got to say, love? Listen, sais I. Well, I am listenin', sais she, quite peevish-like: what is it, dear? Do you hear anything? sais I. Yes, sais she, dear, I hear you. Tut! sais I; don't you hear anybody else? Why, in course, I do; I hear Granny a snorin', that's all. It was worth

while to wake me up for that, warn't it? And she turned right round agin, and dropped off to sleep as quick as wink. Well, Christians talkin' that way, skeered off the witch, or ghost, or banshee, or whatever it was; and I thought it was all over, and had just begun to forget all about it, when bang it come agin upon the ridgepole, and called twice for the old lady. Well, I wakes up wife agin. Fanny, sais I. John, sais she, what's the matter? what on airth ails you? Listen, sais I. I won't, sais she; so there now, do for goodness gracious sake, go to sleep. Fanny, sais I, I am skeered. Oh! you've been dreamin', sais she do be quiet; you'll wake up the baby, and then we shall have a proper hullabaloo here. There, sais I, didn't you hear that noise now? for there was another call as plain as barkin'. Yes, said she, I do; it's nothin' but an owl; and you are a stupid booby too, to be scared by an owl; seein' you was raised in the woods. I'll get right up, and shoot it, sais I; I'm superstitious about owls. They bring bad luck; their great goggle eyes aint naterel. The night Jem Denson- Jem Denson be fiddled, said she, and you too. I'll have no such carryin's on here, in the night, on no account. this minute; and she put

Go right off to sleep her arm round my

neck, and held me like a fox-trap, and pretended to snore in my ear. So we both fell into a sound sleep, and it was broad day when I woke up. When I did, Fanny had me fast by the neck still; I couldn't get her arm off. Fanny, sais I, but she was dead asleep; Fanny, dear: no answer. Fanny, sais I, a undoin' of her arm, and a shakin' her. I won't listen no more. It's time to get

up, sais I. I won't, sais she; its nothin' but an owl. Fact is, she was a little bewitched herself, without knowin' of it, and it was some time before she was wide awake.'

"Your wife is an understandin' woman,' sais I; it's a pity you hadn't some of her sense.'

Well, I got up, and went into the keepin'room, and as I passed mother's door, I heard her call out in an unairthly voice. Fanny, sais I; but she was a dozin' off agin, Fanny, for Heaven's sake, get up; sais I, mother's bewitched! It's you, she said, that's bewitched; it's nothin' but an-an-o-owl, and off she dropt agin as fast as a pine-stump. I just lifted her right out o' bed, carried her to mother's room in my arms, opened the door, sot her on the floor, and left her in there. In less than a minute, she screamed awful, and mother screamed herself hoarse. When I went in I cried like a child.'