One evening he came into the sitting-room where his sister was, his face pale, with great drops of perspiration upon it, and his whole body shaking as with ague. She asked him what the matter was, and then said she was glad if he who had been frightening other people all his life, was really frightened himself. It was sometime before he could speak. At last he said he would tell her what had happened as well as he could.
He went into the woods and found a large tree (Beech, I think) standing alone.
Having tied his handkerchief around it, he placed his back against the tree and took so many paces in a straight line away from it. Then without looking towards the tree he walked three times around it—keeping the circle as nearly as possible. The night was very calm with a beautiful full moon.
After he had been round it once, there appeared to be no change. The second time the wind began to blow, and before he had completed the third circuit, the moon was overcast and the wind blew a gale. When he had reached the point, for the third time, from which he first started, he turned and faced the tree. Soon the wind ceased to blow, and the moon shone clear. Then, coming in an opposite direction, he saw a young lady approaching the tree.
She walked directly to it, untied the handkerchief and brought it to him and then disappeared on the spot. Upon concluding his narrative he said if ever he should meet that girl he should know her. The moonlight fell upon her face so that each feature was distinctly visible.
Six months later business called him to another town. While waiting in the parlor of the Hotel, before being called to dinner, the lady he had seen in the forest walked into the room.
Sometime after he obtained an introduction, and eventually became engaged. One day while discussing different matters, he told her of his singular experience in the woods.
“Why” said she “at that very time I had a most singular feeling, and fainted.” Her mother was appealed to and corroborated the fact. She said she was unconscious for such a length of time they thought her dead.
The day of the month and the hour corresponded exactly with the time the lady untied the handkerchief and brought it to him in the forest.
F. C.