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A WESTERN WITCH STORY
It Greatly Disturbs the Quiet Neighborhood of St. Louis.
Carondelet, Mo, has a genuine case of witchcraft,
properly vouched for Miss Neubauer, a handsome young
girl who has been staying with her sister at No. 261
Schirmer street, has been sick for about a year with
some mysterious ailment which baffled the best doctors
in Carondelet. What the ailment was no one could tell,
as it had no symptoms visible. One week the young lady
would be well and enjoying the best of health, and the
next one would find her in bed, a very sick girl. |
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This continued for some time and numerous doctors were called in
and they would treat her and give medicine which seemed to help her
very little. One day recently, while she had a severe attack,
several ladies from the neighborhood dropped in to ask about the
patient. The conversation finally drifted to spiritualism, hypnotism
and witchcraft. How the conversation changed around to that subject
is unknown, but it got there, and then sickness and witchcraft were
discussed.
Shortly after the narrative the ladies withdrew, and the story
haunted Mrs. Hoffmeister until she could bear it no longer, and she
went upstairs and related that story to Miss Neubauer. She jumped
out of bed and they cut open the pillow which she used. Among the
feathers, almost indistinguishable, were seven perfect roses and a
wreath, all made of feathers. Miss Neubauer laid the roses aside and
went to a Mrs. Spinning, who lives in the county a short way from
Carondelet. To her she repeated the wonderful find, but Mrs.
Spinning merely shook her head and said that she had heard of the
same thing many times. Mrs. Spinning said that some one who was in
league with the devil had them put there by some unseen hand, and
that had they not been removed by the time the wreath worked itself
together in a circle, Miss Neubauer would have died. She is a sort
of spiritualist and said that she was on a good side and would take
care of the roses and half-completed wreath. The other day she
called at the Neubauer home and in the presence of the family burned
them up. "Now," said Mrs. Spinning, "an old woman who is in league
with the devil had them put there, and inside of nine days she will
send a young woman here to borrow something. Under no circumstances
do you lend or give her anything, no matter how trifling. If you do,
the old woman will have the same influence over me she had with
you." Mrs. Spinning then left, and ever since Miss Neubauer has
been out of bed and is as well as any one of the family. So far no
one has shown up, but there is a warm reception awaiting the old
woman.
Syracuse Daily Standard, Syracuse, New York -
Thursday, April 2,
1896
Her noonday nightcap meets the sight;
Her hair uncomb'd collects together,
With ornaments of many a feather
John Trumbell, The Decayed Coquette
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