Brom Bones too, who
shortly after his rival's disappearance conducted the blooming
Katrina in triumph to the altar, was observed to look exceedingly
knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related, and always
burst into a hearty laugh at the mention of the pumpkin; which
led some to suspect that he knew more about the matter than he
chose to tell.
The old country wives, however, who are the best judges of these
matters, maintain to this day that Ichabod was spirited away by
supernatural means; and it is a favorite story often told about
the neighborhood round the interevening fire. The bridge became
more than ever an object of superstitious awe, and that may be
the reason why the road has been altered of late years, so as to
approach the church by the border of the mill-pond. The
schoolhouse, being deserted, soon fell to decay, and was reported
to be haunted by the ghost of the unfortunate pedagogue; and the
plough-boy, loitering homeward of a still summer evening, has
often fancied his voice at a distance chanting a melancholy psalm
tune among the tranquil solitudes of Sleepy Hollow.
POSTSCRIPT
FOUND IN THE HANDWRITING OF MR. KNICKERBOCKER.
THE preceding tale is given almost in the precise words in which
I heard it related at a Corporation meeting of the ancient city
of Manhattoes, at which were present many of its sagest and most
illustrious burghers.
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