The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1857-10-23
CON 0'KEEFE
AND THE GOLDEN CUP.
BY R. SHELTON MACKENZIE.

tence and supernatural powers OF the gentry |
commonly called "fairies." Many and strange
are the stories told Of this mysterious and much
dreaded race of beings. Loud and frequent
have been the exclamaions OF surprise, and even
anger ofthe hard incredulity which made me
refuse, when | was young, 10 credit all that was
narrated ofthe wonderful ieats OF Irish fairies
the most fIolickSome of the entire genus. The
more my diSbeliefwas manifested, the more won
derfu were the legends which were launched at
me, to overthrow my mattrr-ot-fact obStlnacY.
! have forgotten many oftbe traditions which
We're thus made familiar to me in my boYhood,
| but my memory retains sufficient to convince me
! TO what lmprobabltles superstition clung and
1 the more wonderful the story, the more implicit
! the belief. But in such cases the fanaticism was
! harmless,-it was of the head rather than OF the
heart-oft the Imagination rather than the reason
/ Il wonld be fortunate ii all superSitions did as
! little mischief as this.
II is deeply to 3e lamented that the matter-of
| factpdness OF the Americans is not to bp subdued
or modified by any-even the siightest-belJef
| in the old world superstitionS, OF which speak.
OF tairyloFe they do not, possess the the slight
est item. They read of it, as il it We're legendary
but nothing more. They feel ii not-they know
it-they are, therefore, dreadfuIy actual. So
| much the worse for them.
Having imbibed sovereign contempt for the
wild and wonderful traditions which had been
| duly accredited in the neighborhood time out Of
mind, | never particularly chary IN expressing
such contempt at every opportunity. When
the mind OF boy scars above the ignorance,
which besets his elders in an inferior station,
| who had neither the chance nor the desre of
being enlightened, be is apt to pride himself, as
| did, on the ''march OF intellect" which has
placed him superior to their vulg gar crednty.
Many years have passed since happened to
be temporary vis9r beneath the hospitable
roof of one Of the better sort of farmers, 10 the
county of Cork, Suring the Midsummer holi-
days. As usual, | there INDUCED IN sarcasm
against the credulik Of the country. One even
ing in particular, was not little tenacious
in laughing at the very existence Of ''thr fairy
folk" and, as sometimes happens, rldlcule &C
compliShed more than argument could have et-
fected. My hosts could bear anything in the
way Of argument-at least OF argument such
mine-they could even suffer their tavorite
legends and theories about the fairies TO be
abused: but to laugh al then-that was an act
OF unkndness which quite passed their CON-
prehension, and previously taxed their patti
enCe.
Nv host was quite in despair, and almost in
anger at my boyish Jokes upon his fairy-legendS
when the village schoolmaster came in, an un-
| invited but most welcome guest. A chair was
soon provided for him in the warmpst corner
whiskey was Immediately. on tbe table, and the
schoolmaster, who was pretty constant votary
to Bacchus, lost no time in making himself ac-
quajnted with its favor.
4 l., pI
10 his character a mixture of shrewduess and
simplicity: was a most excellent mathematician
and good classical scholar-but of the world
he knew next to nothing. From youth 10 age
had been spent within the limits of the parish
over which, cane in hand, he bad presided for
more than quarter of centurv-at once a
teacher and an oracle! He was deeply i'm
bued with belief in the supersttions of the dis
trct but was more especially familiar with the
wild legends of the rocky glen thr defle near
Kilworth, commonly called Araghn, once fam
Gus for the extent of Illicit dis:illation carried
on there,) in which be bad passed away his lite,
usefully, but humbly employed.
To this eccentric character my host trium-
phantly appealed for proof respecting the eX-
stence and vagaries Of the fairies. He wasted
no time in argument, but glancing triumphant
lv around, declared that be would convert me
by particularly wel-attrsted story. Draining
his tnmber, and incontinentIy mixing another,
Mr. Patrick McCann plunged at once into The
heart of his narration, follows;
.sYou know the high hill that ovrrooks The
town at Fermoy Handsome and thriving
place as it now is, remember The time WHEN
thpee were onIy two houses in that same town,
and one Of them was then in cours1 Of building .
Well, there lived on the Other sid, Corran Thi-
erna nhp mountain in question, though Corrfs
is the true name) one of the BarryS, gentle
, man who was both rich and good. | wish we
had more Of the stamp among US now-tS little
, Of the Whiteboys or Rbbonmen, would }trouble
the country then. He had fine fortune, kept
up fine house, and lived at dashine rate. 1t
does not matter, here nor there, how many ser
wants he had but | mention them, because one
, of them was a very remarkable fellow. HIS
, equal was not to be had, far or near, for love
nor money.
ssThis servant was called Con O'Kepfe. He
/ was a grabbed little man, with a facr the very
color and texture of old parchment, and he had
lived in the family time out Of mind. He was
such small, dwardsh, deeny creature, that no
, one ever thought of putting him to hard work.
All that they did was, now aud again, IRON the
want of a better messenger at the moment, or
to humor the old man, TO send him to Rathcor-
mac post-ofIce for letters But he was too
/ weak and feeble to walk so far though it was
only matter of three fonr miles 50 they
! got hla little ass, aad BE- rode upon i, quite
> as pfoad as a general at the head Of an army of
/ coaquerers. Twas as good as play t1 see Con
mounted upon his donkey you could scarcely