Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1853-10-20
How the Believers in Blarney
came to be Spirit Rappers.

Diogenes has good hit at the spirit
tapping mania, by printing Pats story,
as follows -" Once upon time there
was whole county in Ireland peopled
by a curious race called Malhawns, add
one king Ounsbourgh reigued over them,
and he and his subjects were all believ-
ers in barney. Wei, who should come
10 the king one day, but man that said,
If he got the weight of what he could
ate, during niue DAYS, in gold, aud had
his own people to wait on him, he d make
all the spiders grow so big, that the la
dies might wear their webs by the way
of wells and after that, may be, for more
gold, he'd carry his invention 10 such
pitch, that the insects should weave fish
iugnets strong enough to catch whales
themselves, To say nothing OF salmon and
smaller fish. Well. while he was at work,
along comes another, VINO sould them
secret for planting trees IN such away
that they'd grow of themselves INTO
ships aud, says he, for a triAe III teach
you how to sow hemp aud flax, in ltle
pots on their branches, SO that they may
shoe, up into ready-made sails aud rig
ging and all by philosophy, wiIhou. a
morsel Of magic Wasn't tins more
than one could wish The boobies bit at
the bait high and low ; aud thinks they
to themselves, what fine fellows wen
be, to catch whales aud conquer the
world 10y philosophy = While the trees
were growing aud the spiders were
spinning, there comes another man, aud
says he, Don't YOU know the, any Of
YOU 2 And some suspected they did
and others was almost sure he was relai-
ed to them 10y their mothers side ; but
nobody owned him. So then, says
he, IN tell you who am that moon
yonder. that lights you, is my property
you've had the use of 1t for years, but
I've been too generous. I'm grown
poor, and can't afford TO be liberal any
longer you shan't have the light OF my
moon gratis so, pay me five hundred
pounds a year, or I'll put it ou.--aud
then whatll YOU dor Wen, what
they'd do. sure enough, they didn't
krow but before they'd done debating
upon it, up comes "A smart little man
iorcigner-who advised them to pay
what was asked for tie present, aud It
they'd subscribe Tor him, he'd get up an
opposition moon, that would shine better
and be full all the year round lor half
the expense OF the old one Wasn't
thai too good an offer to be rejected
1t was and the Malhawns bit at that
too. But ihls wasn't all: before the
new moon was made, or the trees grown
into ships, or the spiders webs big
enough for wells, the people were per
suaded by a traveller 20 let lin build an
umbrella that should be large enough to
keep the rain Oft every inch of tie conn
Try; and ii was To be So contryed that
they could lcl 1t down 10y machinery. #
the land wanted water, and put it up
when they'd just as much wet as they
liked. Now, tins was 50 great an insult
20 81. S~lthtn, that he began RAINING at
once, and before tIiey could pat up their
umbrella, Dispersed the Whole people
making The country "a boz, as YOU see 1t,
aud never cea,ing to pcll away with lbs
litlle pellets Of waller, from that day to
tins. But though they were scattered,
the boobies wasn't DESTROYED You may
find some of their descendants 40 every
corner OF the world, VINO are as slauuch
believers in blaucv as ever their fore