The Panola weekly star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1882-18??, 1882-03-18
TllE THREE KNIVES.
4 SOC, of lhe nnslI.h NarIh coanlt,.

4 story of the EnElish Norih Country.
A." So you want mo 10 tell You story
about a ghost do you. chlldronP' said
parson Goodharte, looking mp from his
book, with y queer little twinkle in the
corner Of his dark.g oycs, ~ his
three ncphews aud two ncccs came
trooplng around the snug armchair IN
which he was sitting 10y the lirc. "Well,
that won be- very easy, brcnlisc ! ncv-
or saw ghost myself. and I've never
met any orc else who had. either hut
! once knew u man who h0Hgh he had
seen one or fW one. rather aud u
very serious matter II was for him, ~
you shall hear
"When first came here ~ u young
curatc, long before any Of You young
folks were born. every man, woman aud
child in the village believed NJ firmly In
ghosts, witches aud all that nonsense,
~ they believed that the sun shono or
that tho wind blew
1--WE sean u strapping fellow six feet
high, big and strong enough 10 knock n
horse down, 60 half n mile out N his
way rather than pass after dark u spot
where n highwayman had been hanged
IN chainsl and more than one Old wom.
an was scared into iits by white cow
suddenly getting UP from behind n
hedge, AS she was going home through
the fields in the twilight.
"Asfor the church yard, nll the mon
ey In the Cottonborough Bank wouldn'
have tempted any Of our village folk /,
90 through II after nightfall. AMI Ger
tainly II was dismal place there's n,
denying 1t.
"0ur pretty little new church owe
The way wasn't built then, and the oil,
church stood right out at the very en-,
Of the village just where Farmer Thomp
sons big barn il now.
"It was n grim old building, MI O
dark-gray stone turned almost black b,
the weather. and fast crumbling away
The tower was one mass Of dark Ivy
aud the church-yard itself was full 0
gloomy frs and expresses. growing "a
gethcr In thick 5lumps, which marlboro,
owls and bats without number; An,
when the moon glimmered through th
clouds upon stormy night, making III
white tonlb-stones whittier and the blacl
trees blacker than ever. Il certainly di
look rs ghostly place ~ ever saw !
my life.
but as II nll this was not enough
the spot had legend attached 10 II, M
a very grim one. too. Just nj the ful
lher end Of the church-yard, the gronn
iell steeply away 10 n dark hollow
through which ran stream.
"This hollow bore the pleasant nam
Of Dead Mans Gully and the trad
tiOns ~ the county recorded that
great battle had been fought IN thl
place In the days Of King Alfred. an
that a number Of wounded Danes, VIII
had crnwlnd 10 the stream 10 drink, ha'
been cruelty slaughtered by the saxons
despite the entreatles OF good monk
who tried hard TO save them.
A" Ever since that dny--so ran the 10
gend-on the anniversary OF the massa
Gre. any one who passed the spot afle
nightiall would hear the shouts Of thi
slaycrs. and shrieks Of the slain, min
Cling with the hoarse rush Of th. water
and would sec--lf the moon were brigh
enough TO show II TO him-the strcan
running ~ red as blood.
$50. what with this nice story (whicl
every soul In the district knew by hearty
aud what with the gloominess OF th
place itself. the village people were n
shy OF II ~ II II had been u fever hos
pital.
"Of course, ] was very much put on
Mt seeing my parishioners making sucl
geese oi themselves but what was 10 b
doneg
Talking TO them would only hay
made them worse, Tor they. would hay
told me that they, who had lived In Oh
country all Their lives, must know NOR
about II than L. VINO had only Just com
There.
Az iirst tried to shame them out Q
Their lcrrors by constantly going abou
The haunted spots myself. by night Q
well ms by day.
But II was not a bit of use, for the
were accustomed to consider u part
q clerpmans business 10 deal wit
ghosts, AMI held that ] ought to be
match Tor any amount OF them, II di
my work properly.
:" 30 the only thing ] could do was
leave their beliefs alone, and trust
time 10 wear them out,