Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-09-07

es; in a moonlight walk, dark, umbrae-
gous thlckets on one side of us. on the
other black, cavernous cliffs, and the
me lancholy murmuring sea.
AS Tar as my memory serves, we were
still little way from the lodge gate.
when A stopped again an instant and
said: Listen! what's that?" could
hear nothing, but in few seconds came
the distant clatter of a galloping horse
along the drive. Something has hap
pened to her." whispered A., laying
chill hand on mine. "Anything the
matter?' | shouted to the groom
who passed us on the horse. The man
called out something which we were
unable to catch, and then salloped on.
We could see him pull up at the gate
and a woman come out to open it; but
by the time we reached her, horse and
rider were out of sight. She was stand
ing staring down the road after them,
and l asked her if anything was wrong.
''Jesu save us, SURF she exclaimed,
crossing herself, ''the man Says NEE la
dy is dead-she has taken her life"
Dead! taken her life'' was my ejacula-
ton. why, we've only just left the
house" Here was indeed a climax to
my bewilderment! But what an an
realize tit seemed too monstrous. My
first impulse was to run back at once to
the hall and see if we could be of any
use; but on second thoughts it seemed
better not. Then, as we hurried out of
the park through the tall massive gate
way | heard my companion mutter, ev-
identity still possessed with his hallucin-
alton did she see it tOo!?"
About halfway to Money-town we
met our car coming out to fetch US, and
mounted it, II see Ms man ridin'
bv jist now like smoke" was the re-
mark of our whilom, taciturn jarvie;
there's somethin' up, behave. They
tells quare tales of that house, an the
ould chapel. an the lights seen about it
O nights, an the sthrange noises people
hears thereabout. Och, thin, shure an
there's bad luck in that house. STRIP I
was too stupetied to stop the fellows CAB
bic till his words We're out, and they
have often REQUIRED to my mind since.
When we got back to our inn, the ill
news was already in the air. l sent
for the landlord, inquired for the prin-
cipal medical man in the town, and dis
patched an urgent mess age to him in
timating what we had heard, and beg
ging him to 60 out to the hall immedi-
ately. Word was brought back that the
doctor had already been sent for, and
gone. This done, 1 felt I hardly dared
ask further questions of any one Just
then. Yet the whole thing seemed like
horrible dream, hardly credible. We
two sat up late into the night in the lit
tie inn parlor-I absorbed in the occur
renee of this eventful evening, and in
painful anticipation Of hearing more:
A. speaking not a word, but glover
ing into the fire. -s..
Next morning we were to make
an early start. Before the fall-in
landlady had communicated to
us all sorts of rumors concerning the
terrible event that had taken place the
night before. Clearly the tragedic story
was all over the town by this time, but
the only coherent upshot Of the matter
we could extract was that the poor lady
down at the hall had gone up to her bed
room Immediately after dinner, and
then and there taken poison-that they
found her stretched on the floor quite
dead. the face turned to one side, as if
averted from something, and with an
awtully fearsome look upon it.
1t may be imagined | was anything
but sorry when l and my men mounted
the steep hill overlooking Moynetown,
on the road to our next billets, with our
backs turned upon the scene of this
CHASTITY and mysterious business.
I never heard Of the NJ family
again, nor did l ever revisit hometown.
l believe there was an inquest, and a
verdict of temporary insanity. A few
months afterward [ CHANGED to see
something in local newspaper about
1nnishderry Hall being to let; and "that
dreadful affair down in County -" was
talked of for a while in Dublin in GER
tain circle of society. AS for A, he,
too, passed out of my observation very
soon after, as he applied for leave, and
got an exchange. He never told me
more than what l have told the reader,
and never again spoke to me on the sub
ject.
suppose some would maintain that
A was gifted with what is called Sec
ond sight" Be that as it may, the mys-
terry of how or why "the devil stood be-
hind" that singularly beautiful and fac
mating woman-an acquaintance of an
evening only-will, 1 suspect, never be
cleared up.