Sharp County record., 1879-11-06

gratulate herself upon her safe return
home. There was a glass of poteen in
certain black bottle in the cupboard ;
she drank it to cheer her quaking heart.
The long winter night was over, and she
had not beh half an hour at home be-
fore daylight made its way through her
window, and fell upon the money on the
sill.
Had it turned into dead leaves or bits
of stick? No; there it lay, a heap of
bona tide coin of the realm, consisting OF
half sovereign, five shillings, and six
pence. She examined it with her right
eye, then with her left, then with both
together, and the result was the same.
Strange things had happened to her
of late: the visit of her ancient neigh
Dor from CrohanrOe; the sudden bub.
bling up of the spring at the foot of the
old ash; and, lastly, her night at the
Ruchan fort. When the sun was high
in the heavens, she plucked up courage
to 90 pretty near the fOrt-at least to
within one field of it. There was the
mound in the Squire'S field with trees
growing round the outer edge, and rank
grass and benweeds in the center, and
all looking inst as usual; but at her feet
lay a small red cap, very like those she
had seen worn by the fairy servants.
She picked it up and hid it beneath her
shawl, and as she did so she heard dis
tant music-music that was sweet and
pleasant, but that had a muffied sound,
as though it came from some region un-
der ground. She remembered all at
once how her little brother Mick, dead
years before, had once been herding in
the Squire's fields, and had come home
with wonderful tales of pipes and fid-
dies that he had heard while he lay with
his ear against the ground.
"It's gentle place, this fort; an
50 is CrOhanrOe, to be sure said
she to herself, "an' I'll just TAX
the bonnie wee cap hame wi me for
luckn
So the red cap lay on the dresser all
day, but there was no trace Of it next
morning.
alt wasna for luck, then,n solilo-
quized she. "I'd AK we'er minister
what he thinks anent it, only he'd be
sure to bid me 90 to the meeting regu-
lar, an pay my stipends, an quit takin'
the wee drop that helps me through wi
my work"
This last thought decided her not to
consult her minister. So she told neither
him nor any body else about the man
who had lived on Crohanroe for a hun
dred years, the spring at the root of the
ash, her night at Squire O'Hara's old
fort, and the little red cap she had
brought home from the field.
There was fair held half-yearly in
the town of Donegal. The day came,
and Mrs. Mcpherson put on her clean
cap and tartan shawl, and set forth to
spend the fairy money. She was unde-
cided whether to buy pair of blankets,
Or slip of pig" to eat up the pota-
tO-skins and buttermilk
The town was crowded with people
from all paH Sthe country, and gay
scene was the ftir-the booths covered
with such goods as would be most
tempting to poor farmers and their wives
and daughters.
As Mrs. Mcpherson stood watching
the sprightly black-haired maidens teas
ing their sweethearts for a fairing, and
the mothers anXiOusly counting their
halfpence, she observed a dwarfish man
making his way up the street. He
seemed to stop at every stall to take
something or other off it-now a cravat,
now a pair of socks, now an orange or
a wedge of bacon; and she could not
perceive that he ever paid for any thing
His brown jacket was bulging out with
the quantity of goods he had managed
to stow away. But the most remarka-
bic thing about the whole affair was that
the owners of the stalls did not appear
to call him to account; they put up in a
surprisingly philosophical manner with
the'lOss of their property; indeed, they
did not seem even to see the little thief
Nearer and nearer he came, IN and
out among the crowd, snatching articles
from the booths and slowing them away
upon his person. The good woman
touched him upon the shoulder when he
got close enough, and asked:
"Why do you tax the things frae the
stalls without paying for them, sir?n
The dwarf did not reply to her ques-
ton. Instead of doing SO he asked an
other.
(Which of your eyes do you see me
with?" he asked.
"With my left eye" " replied the poor
woman, wondering at the question.
The man said nothing more, but max
ing sudden spring into the air, thrust
his finger into Mrs. McPherson'S left
eye, putting it out completely.
How to Spell Isaac.