had. He used, from motives of
economy, to keep a pig, which, when converted into bacon, was always
useful in the family; and an occasional ham of the animal now and then
found its way to her brother's manse, as a sort of friendly
acknowledgment of the many good things received from him. One wretched
pig, however--a little black thing, only a few weeks old--which her
husband had purchased at a fair, was, she soon discovered, possessed by
an evil spirit, that had a strange power of quitting the animal to do
mischief in her dwelling, and an ability of not only rendering her
fearfully unhappy, but even of getting at times into her husband. The
husband himself, poor blinded man! could see nothing of all this; nor
would he believe _her_, who could and did see it; nor yet could she
convince him that it was decidedly his duty to get rid of the pig. She
was not satisfied that she herself had a clear right to kill the
creature: it was undoubtedly her husband's property, not hers; but could
she only succeed in placing it in circumstances in which it might be
free either to kill itself or not, and were it, in these circumstances,
to destroy itself, she was sure all the better divines would acquit her
of aught approaching to moral guilt in the transaction; and the relieved
household would be free from both the evil spirit and the little pig.
The mill-pond was situated immediately beside her dwelling: its steep
sides, which were walled with stone, were unscaleable by at least little
pigs; and among the aged ashes which sprang up immediately at its edge,
there was one that shot out a huge bough, like a bent arm, directly over
it, far beyond the stonework, so that the boys of the neighbourhood used
to take their seat on it, and fish for little trout that sometimes found
their way into the pond. On the projecting branch one day, when her
husband's back was turned, and there was no one to see or interfere, she
placed the pig. It stood for a while: there was no doubt, therefore, it
_could_ stand; but, unwilling to stand any longer, it
sprawled--slipped--fell--dropped into the water, in short--and
ultimately, as it could not make its way up the bank, was drowned. And
thus ended the pig. It would seem, however, as if the evil spirit had
got into her husband instead--so extreme was his indignation at the
transaction. He would accept of neither apology nor explanation; and,
unable of course to live any longer under the same roof with a man so