Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-11-02
PATSY CUNG'o GHOST.
By WILLIAM BLACK.

1OER 1ay OfoE tuo SuuWal6 VI tuo
boat, idly trailing behind it forty yards of line
and phantom minnow. Indeed, the day was
much too dne for proper fishing; one might as
we'll have thrown fly over the wood pavement
in Pail Mall; it was day rather for lazness
and conversation and au inquiry into the mys-
teries of existence, if happy one or other Of
my companions had Glanced 10 encounter any
Of these in this remote and solitary and silent
part of the county. But Patsy did not look like
a believer, somehow He was small,
red-headed Ceit, with shrawd winkiug,
gray-bue eyes: and there was frequently a sort
Of quiet, sar,lonic humor running through his
speech, accom- panied now and sgaln by good
natnred grin that overspread the little pinched,
sunburnt face. Moreover, Patsy had seen the
wor d In former years he had tried hi luck
in America; had been employed on the Union
Pacific railway IS tar west as Couoc] B.uifs;
had had turn at the ri tsDurg iron works,
and was now returned to his native dis ret
with wide and general knowledge of mau-
kind. Ga the other hand, his heighbo at the
a ghost aud an echo He was a small farmer
who came down from his croft in the hills to
exc out his living in This way-a characteriess,
white faced, depressed looking, amlable crea-
ture, who stared at his boos, lazlly pulled at
his oar and limited his conversation to saying
ditto TO Patsy: "rtarb 80, Patsy" ''Youre
salmon did he catch that day" Your father
was good maa, Patty; he wouldn't tell a lie
for hardy anything" 'sThat's true for you,
Patsy; the iAe Vt thin for minnows never
saw"
Now, at toe head of this small lake that we
were slowly and Idly rowing round and round
stood long, low cottage situated IN the mi idle
of patch of tr-ns--lilac tiuted leahess blrches
and sparkling dark green hOllles. In summer
no doubt this must DO very charming place;
even now the etua' on was picturesque enough
the still waite of tho lake in from; tho trees
along the curvng SHORE; aud then rising far
behind into the la!e blue SKY the vast and
lonely and arid mouu tAins known as the 1--WE We
Pms of BinaOols. Tho preltly situated cot
tage. however, was Enthusiastically empty. The
windows were barred up; there was look OF
desolutIon aouud; not a sound Of any klud
camo from that scattered grove Of birch aud
holly
'"Tho very place to be haunted by lepre-
chauu, isn't it. Pat-y?"
els it Earn-y joyce your honor msnes?'
Avs the insa tIy l"quucious Patsy; ''the man
t.! t comes TO look after the house' Wen,
W. your honor woulun': believe what a great
colder that Barney is--uh, he is the mighty
tir soidi r, by tho fire. Sure the battles he'll
fight, and the campaigns and the stratasi ms,
snd tb~ generals and The marchlnss, aud the
counter marchiugs! I niver hear | us equal,
aud the u,vi Il foot has he liver stirred oul OF
OAnnemAra!"
s:Bul when the house is empty, Patsy. isn't
there ghost goblin somewhere about?
ssWeIl, indeed, ia ries used to como
there" says Pai-y, with IN Indifference. "They
used to say that, tut th.m ould stories are oil
nonsinse."
''Ihey're all nonsinse, Patsy, thin ould sto-
ries," says Echo at the bow
"Did YOU ever Happen to hear what they
called the king Of the fairIes?'l asked, Gu
:ious 20 know whether tho D n Florua OF tho
Bluckwater and tho South reigned also in tlese
western Wills
But Patsy was puzz ed Then he turned to
Tim Mucal.y, q I'd 'he1s WAS u long consu ia
ton in Irlsn. III the ours Of which purase
SQUAD NJ iho PlODara Shee was twlcs r.
pentel
Had they . fairy pipe: then, ratsy?"
"Begob," Say, Palsy, eagerly, ''inaS was him.
The fary pier vas the king OF him; and
nanny a ono has hearl him playing Ill that
very house there | name that was the Guild
story sorr, but sure IT'S all nonsuse.
Aud now ensned long al rambling gen
eral coHvcr,aton, which need not be sot down
here, on tue subject Of fairies, pusn'om'.
lpprechaurs and s mllAr kltte- catt e. through
out which Patsy was evidently ANXIOUS 10 sho"
that he had disc lrdsd all such supe rsutlons
Was it for one who lived in an age Of reasou-
who hal worked or the Union Pacihc-to Ii eed
such folly? Nevertheless, Patsy was frankly
disposed TO admit that strange things might
have appened-probab!y did haDpen-ln
former times.
s'rhere was power OF witchery in this
country in the ould DAYS" said Patsy, gravey
shaking his hea I; 'yis, sorr, there was q
power Of wtchery i'll shis country IN the onid
days; blu. Ills all gone away. sure TIE Peop.e
are turned more cunning now.
And then he added, more gloonl'ly:
stDut maybe there's moro going Oh than we
know"
By his time il had become pretty obvious
thai Iatsy's eageruess to discIaim all belief III
ghosts and witch nv aud the ike was assumed
partly, no doubt, in prudent Difference to the
general opinion of scieatihc and skeptical
age; but partly, perhaps, because man who
had beon to Pittsburg felt bound to pose before
a poor creature like Tim Mu!cahy, who had
mover left his native mountains, And 40, 10
find out whether Patsy might not have mo
reciprocal confidence to volunteer, told him
my own ghost story, which isn't much OF q
ghost story, after all. That g lad Of thirteen
or fourteen should look in at the open door of
dining room and behold there woman seated
before the fire; that he should carefully
regard her shawl and hat and gown, won
deriug who she could be; tina: he should forth
with 80 and ask the other people in the house
and bring them to the door of the room on to
discover til at the chair was vacant, and that by
DO possibility could any stranger have been
there and left; and then to nd tt OF this portent
was followed by no Calamity whatev er-nelther
a funeral nor wedding nor anything-this, 1T
must bs confessed, was poor anu weak ghost
story, which should be ashamed to say a
word about to the Psychical society But 1t
deeply interested Patsy; and he was eager to
know whether it was q real ghost; and when I
answered that it was only an optical il'usion
no remained silent for time, aud then re-
peated his wise aphorism-
"Msvbe there's more going on than we
know "
Again Patsy was silent for time; and
then. rather with the air of a man vino il co d
peled to confess something against his will,
he said:
@'Well, SOFT, now that we're on it, will tell
you what happened to mo; but don't like
speaking of 1.-THE less that's said the better
but will tell you what happened to me, sort;
and it's many the year slnce tould any one the
Story. Twas nineteen at tho time. NV moth r
and me- we had gone to the fair Of Lstterna-
hinch to sell two sheep; and there we were all
day. and the div,l bit could We sell tue sheep.
mo matter, Patsy, said my mother to me- at
tho ind Of the day, syou'll buy yourself the
knaws when wen next be in at Letter
ns.hinch from the farmS' And 50 I bought
tho pair Of boots, aud mighty proud !
was OF thin, sorr, you may be sure:
and kept 'hem on during the evening, until
it was time for us to set out to walk back to
the farm, for the devil an offer could We get
miles from n kvttsroaninch or sy5e It's tree
miles and half, there's a woodland dark
wood it was that night, th oueh it was moon
Eight night and the road as white as silver; and
says ], Mother, the new boots are hutt ting my
feet: wais minute now and I'll take them of.
But she went on with the sheep; aud was sit.
ting down ct the edge of the wood taking of
the boots, wnin there was noise aud
eOrnething rushed at me from the
wood and hit me a slap and went
by. Sure / hope your honor'll niver
ses anything like that terrible beast.
Twas in the road now, and was up, with the
boots in one hand and . little bit Of stick in the
other; and kept threatening it when it came
near to attack me. called out to my mother,
but she was frightened too: she wouldn't look
back Come an Patsy, come an!' che cried
to me; and I .dursn't run. for fear of the
beast." - 5l%-y
-*.But what was it like, Patsy?" =" '.