Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-09-16

himself =" Behind her by the MANTLE
piece, -" behind her chair, "-"that fear
ful things face, -" those fiendish eyes,
my God !"
As said before, am not superstitious,
but 1t was neither quite comfortable nor
canny hearing these queer EXPLANATIONS
under the peculiar circumstances in q
moonlight walk, dark, outrageous thick
cts on one side of us, on the other black,
cavernous cliff, and the melancholy, mur-
muring sea.
As far 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?" I could hear
nothing, but in few seconds came the dis
tant CHATTER of galloping horse along toe
drive. g Something has happened TO ner,"
whispered A, laying chill hand on
mine. Anything the matter?" l shouted
to the groom who passed us on the horse.
Inc man called OUT something which We
Were unable to catch, and gslloped on. We
could see him pull up at the gate, and a
woman came out to open it f; but by the
time We reached her horse and rider were
out OF sight She was standing staring
down the road after them, and ! asked her
II anything was wrong. "Jssu save us,
Sur she exclaimed, crossing herself,
"the man says meeIady is dead-she has
taken her lie !! Dead taken her life =
was my ejaculation. "Why, we've only
| Just Left the house." Here was indeed a
climax TO my hewildeTmens But what an
announcement! l was utterly unable to
| reahzs lit seemed too monstrous. Nv
hrst impulse was TO run back az once 70 the
nall and see if we could be of any use; but
on second thoughts it seemed better not.
Then az we hurried out of the park through
the tall, massive gateway, heard my COM
panlon mutter, evidently still possessed
with his hallucinatioD, Did she see 1t,
toog"
About half way to MoynetoVn we met
our car coming to fetch us, and mounted
1t seen Ms man ridin' by iist
now Ike smoke, was the remark of our
whilom taciturn jarvie - there's somethin'
up, behave. They tell guare tales of that
house, an the ould chapel, an the lights
seen about 1t o nights, an the sthrange
| noises people hears thereaboub Och, thin,
shure an there's bad luck in that house,
sur !" | Was too stupstied TO stop the fel
lows gable till his words We're ont, and
they have often required to my mind since.
When we got back TO our inn the i'll news
was already in the air. l sent for the
landlord, inquired for the principal medical
man IN the town, and dispatched an urgent
| message tc him intimating v hat we had
| heard, and begging him to 90 out to the
| Hall immediately. Word was brought
| back that the doctor had already been sent
| for. This doue, l felt hardly dared ask
further questions of any one inst then. Yet
the whole thing seemed like dream,
| hardly credible. We two sat up late into
| the night in the little inn parlor-I ah-
sorbed In the occurrence of this eventiul
evening, and in p2infll anticipation OF
| hearing more A speaking not word,
but glowering into the fire.
| Next morning we were to make an
early start. Before the fsll-in buQle
sounded the little hustlirg landlady had
communicated to MS all sorts of rumors
concerning the terrible event that had
| taken place the night before. Clearly
the tragic story was all over the town
| by this time, but the only coherent ND
shot Of the matter we could extract was
| that the poor lady down az the hall had
gone up to her bedroom Immediately
after dinner, and then and there taken
poisou-thaJ they found her stretched on
the floor quite dead, the face turned to
one side, as if averted from something,
and with an awfully fesrsome look upon il.
It may be imagined was Anything but
sorry when l and my men mounted the
steep hill overlooking Moynetown, on the
J read to our next biiiets, with our back
turned upon the scene of this CHASTITY and
mysterious business.
/ never heard OF the NJ family
again, nor did | ever revisit Moynetown.
l believe there was an Inquest. and a yer.
dict Of temporary insanity. A few months
afterward I CHANGED to see something in
local newspaper about Ianishderry Hall be-
ing to let; and that dreadful affair down in
/ County" was talked Of for while in
Dublin in certain circle of society. As
for A, he, too passed out of my OBJ
servation 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 subject.
l suppose some would maintain that
A was gifted with what in Scotland
is called "second sight" Be that as 1t
may. the mystery of how or why 4" the
devil atood behind that singularly beauti-
tal and fascinating woman-an acquaint-
ancs of an evening onlv-will, I suspect,
never be cleared up BiaekwOod's Maya.
zine.