The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-23
THE HEADLEss HoRsEMAN.

"God speed you, and safe journey
to you, Charley" calculated the master
Of the little shebeen house at Bally-
boOley, after his old friend and good
customer, Charley Culnane, who at
length had turned his face homeward
with the prospect of as dreary a ride,
and as dark night as ever fell upon
the Blackwater, along whose banks he
was about to journey.
Charley CulDane knew the country
we'll, and, moreover, was as bold and as
daring a rider as any Mallow boy that
ever ratified a four-year upon Drum
rue race course. He had gone to Fer
pose of purchasing some ingredients
required for the Christmas dinner by
his wife, as to crafty his own vanity by
having new reins fitted in his snafie, in
which he i" tended showing off the old
mare at the approaching st. Stephens
day hunt.
Charley did not get out of Fermoy
until late; for although he was not one
of your very particular sort in anything
relating TO the common occurrences of
life, yet in all the appointments relating
to hunting, riding, leaping, in short, in
mare, Charley, the saddler said, "was
this fastidiousness was afforded by his
going such distance for a snsffis bri-
die. Mallow was full twelve miles
nsarer Charley's farm (Which lay Just
three-quarters of a mile below Carrick)
tnan Fermoy, but Charley had quar-
relied with all the MalloW saddlers, and
no one would content him in all partic-
ulars but honest Mick Twomey, of Fer
moy, who used to assert-and who will
doubt it ?-that he could stitch saddle
better than the Lord lieutenant, al
though they made him all as one as
king over Ireland.
The delay in the arrangement of the
snaffie bride did not allow Charley
Culnane so long a visit as he had at
first intended to his old friend and Cos
sip, Con. Buckley, of the Harp of Erin.
Con, however, knew the value of time,
and insisted upon Charley making g
good use of what he had to spare. 81
won't bother you waiting for water, be-
cause think You'll have enough of the
same before you get home so drink off
your liquor, man, it's as good parlia-
ment as ever a gentleman tasted"
Charley, it must be confessed, moth
ing 10th, drank success to On, and
success to the jolly Harp of Err, 4"
with its head of beauty and its strings
of the hair of gold, and to their better
acquaintance, and so on, from the bot
tom of his soul, until the bottom of the
bottle reminded him that Carrick was
at the bottom of the hill on the other
side of Castletown Roche, and that he
had got no further on his road than his
gossip's at Ballyhooley, close to the big
gate at Connamore. Catching hold of
his oilskin hat, therefore, while Con.
Buckley went to the cupboard for an
other bottle of the "real stuff, " he reg
ularly, as he termed it, bolted from his
friends hospitality, darted to the sta
bic, frightened his girths, and put the
old mare into a canter toward home.
Charley canteFed gayly, regardless of
the rain, which, as his friend Con. had
anticipated, fell in torrents the good
old woman's currants and raisins we're
carefully packed between the folds of
his yeomanry cloak, which Charley, who
was proud of showing that he belonged
to the Royal Mallow light horse vol
unteers," always strapped before him,
and took care to never destroy the mil
itary effect by putting it on.
Notwithstanding that the visit to the
Jolly Harp of Erin" had little in
creased the natural complacenov of his
mind, the drenching of his snaffle reins
began to disturb him, and then followed
a train of more anxious thoughts than
even were occasioned by the dreaded
defeat of the pride of his long antici-
pated turnout on st. Stephens day.
In an hour of good-fellowship, when
his heart was warm, and his head not
over cool, Charley had backed his old
mare against MIR. Jepson's bay FLY Des-
demona, for a neat hundred, and he felt
sore misgivings as to the prudence of
the match.
He now arrived at the bottom of Kill
GUNNER Hill, and his eye fell on the
old walls that belonged, in former
times. 10 the knights Templars but
the silent gloom of the ruin was broken
only by the heavy rain which splashed
and battered on the grave-stones. He
then looked up to the sky TO see if there
was, among the clouds, any hope for
mercy Oh his new snaffle reins; and no
sooner were his eyes lowered than his
attention was arrested by an object so
extraordinary as almost led him to
doubt his senses. The head apparent
" of a white horse, with short, cropped
ears, large, open nostrils, and immense
eyes, seemed rapidly to follow BIN,
No connection with body, legs or rider
could possibly be traced. The head adj
vanced. Charley's old mare, too, was
moved by this unnatural sight, and,
suorting violently, increased her trot up
the hill.
The head moved forward and passed
on, Charley pursuing it with astOnish-
ing gaze, and wondering by what means
and for what purpose this detached head
thus proceeded through the air; he did
not perceive the corresponding body
until he was suddenly startled by find
ing it close by his side. Charley turned
to examine what was thus SO socially
jogging on with him. when a most un |
exampled apparition presented itself to |
his view. A figure, whose height he |
to be at least eight feet, was |
seated On the body and legs of q white |
horse fully eighteen hands and half |
high. In this measurement Charley |
could not be mistaken, for his own mare |
was exactly fifteen hands high, and the |
body that thus logged alongside, he |
could at once determine, was B. least |
three hands and half higher.
After the first feeling of astonishment |
Was over, he exclaimed, "Tm sold now
forever % But still he directed his at
tention to this extraordinary body, and
having examined it with the eye of a
he proceeded to reconnoi-
ter the figure so unusually mounted, |
who had hitherto remained perfectly |
mute. Wishing to see whether his COM
paniOn's silence arose from bad temper,
want of conversational powers, or from
a distate to water, and the fear that the
opening of his mouth might subject
him to having it filed with rain, he en-
1eavored TO catch q sight of his COM
panion's face, in order to form an opin-
ion on that paint. But his vision tailed
in carrying him further than the top of
he collar of the figures coat, which
vas a scarlet single-breasted hunting
rock, having waist of a very old fash
oned cut, reaching to the saddle, with
.wo hinge shining buttons at about a
7ard distance behind.
81 ought to see farther than this,
90" thought Charley, " although he is