130 NEW BRUNSWICK. 



ghost. It was a moonlight night, with a little snow on 

 the ground, and I was alone, crossing a cleared lot 

 where the stumps stood, pretty thick, when I noticed, 

 crouched down behind one of them, a figure of some 

 sort that looked like an old woman. It had no bonnet 

 or hat, nothing but a cap on its head ; it wore a long, 

 tattered dress, that blew about in the wind, while I could 

 just make out a pair of thin, white arms ; but her face 

 was black as a coal. It is no use to say I was not 

 seared, for I think I was. There were some crazy people 

 about at that time, who had escaped from the madhouse ; 

 but I was pretty sure I could outrun any of them, 'spe- 

 cially a woman, and I knew it was no use running from 

 ghosts, so I concluded the best thing to do was to keep 

 right along and pretend to take no notice ; but, do my 

 best, I could not keep my eyes off the old woman. I 

 tried to whistle, but not a sound would come. I only 

 blew a little, and not very steady at that. I tried to 

 sing, but the first note I uttered made me jump ten feet ; 

 I thought it was somebody else's voice, as sure as fate. I 

 had sidled off as far as I could on account of a gully 

 there was, and did not like to go down that for fear she 

 should think I was afraid. The distance between us 

 was growing less and less, and as -I watched her sharper 

 than ever, she appeared to make one or two moves, and 

 then stop ; but all of a sudden, she jumped up, threw off 

 her clothes, and started after me. I uttered one yell, and 

 turned ; but, as luck would have it, caught my foot in a 

 root under the snow, and rolled headlong down the steep 

 side of the gully. 



" I do not know what I said, I think I prayed ; but I 



