The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-10-20

happened on the Lelferu4Ainch road, fos the fright vas On me for nanny and nanny a day: and my mother would never spAke oft either. for fear of bad luck Well, SOFT. one evening was going into the house-swss about supper time and 1 was thinking of nawthin' but that: and the door inside was a ogt open. Well. SOFT. there was a woman standing talking to my mother well. l knew the woman, she lived a, Maskene that vas about Sght mics further on the road and my mother MAS asking her ;o slt down and rest herself. Tor twas a icrg way to 70 and she had not passed our way for nanny ard nanny d day. Thank ye kindly. Mrs. Cong. says ste. bu, lis a lonely road to Maskene, and am frightened to Se out after dars since saA, happened to me al Le,iefnsalnen h.. Re goo, SOFT. ye may suppose u>'sned thin. and her back ~as 10 me 90 that she eoeldnt sec me, and my mother couldi see me nayther because of he door. Well. SOFT, ~ha, she sad MAS that two years before she had been in the market al -e.ieFaahineh and she h d A power . things to carry. and 50 she waited tor the night mall car. that would pa, her dosn within mile er so of Aa>kene She WAS on the back seat ni fhe car and thtrewa> no one else hu, ihe daycr. and Twas s me clear nis sh,. Well. seti she de, Jared that wsiE teey were passing d wood about tiee mics ifom 8tilyaahIneh. A ie-nale beast spfans GU: ei the wood and sprung ushl inta the Su. and stopped there beside hcF. and the divil | sotd or crN 'ald >he gel out. i1r inc iusht that was e1 her. fto~ long the beas; stopped m the car sie did not s,y nor waS she sa. ing annS;h ng ei what Il @as hso and my mother seemed ioo frightened to ask her any questions Ra, that was the reason she made to my mother fer gong on m the daylight and not | minute longer would she stop III the house. Now. sorr. ~hat can any one make of tha, That was year and hail before ~ha, happened ,o me. and a, the very same par, ot the road
 You hadn't heard the woman's story before. Patsy. ana forgotten IL: lt~asn'I the coming ,o the wood on ,he e,ier- n4hinoh road that suddenly brought II back to your inlnd and frightened you :"
 Aw. tho dlN.i Il bi,. SOFT Sure asked my mother ,5ou, II. and ',Nas ihin for the hrst tune she heard ot l. too. though twas might, h'tle you q get her to spake about Il. Neil. soff. thAt's all know a, Il. and Us there i,i lave l,. ant depind on |. SOFT thefc more sagng on than ~e know
 This. s,tsy,s favottte maN5ta seemed to both his companions so tnaenttoecif}- b.e that they aCqutcs ed in sslen Ae for Patsy himself. he seemed rather giad io get away from those memories. kfud of gloom had hung over hln shtle he WAS recalling t..c vafaaas psIfl. si.,fs perhaps he shared his mothers irsr that no good would cone ef speaking ot ,u1 n matters. \, all events. as soon .4, ht be gan ta ,alk ot legends and sto,le> and supersttaens in ~hteA he wa> noi persan- ally concerned, he ,itIte recovered hlS ordinary cheeFfulness ot tone indeed when he came 10 treat ot the h ,,c, -hof sc : that used 10 haunt these laxes he spoke m quite fauniy and mauer-e. lac, way as fl thelr existence m the ould days admitted oi no manner ni doubt what. ever oi course was not s1rprtsed io md the watef-horsc myth as common here A ,, .s m my own country. where every other loCh has iiS oircumsianiial le- gend but the curous thing about the Conncmara water-hofses IS that they are reported to hare .ntcrbred freely with fafm-horses around, and tha, the off spring were put io work on ike farm as an ordinary affair But they were lazy animals. those half breeds and not to bc depended upon whenever they came near d lake, for then, unless the farmer was on the watch. they would mos, likely make A bolt for the water, irrespective of~ha, was behind ttem. In fact, there was young animal oi this uncanny blood employed on a farm belonging io fAtsy's uncle, and one day II did make such bolt, and was only prevented from piunging itself and the car and the driver into lake by the traces fortunately hI,ching (how. was no, explained on a rock.
 wonder fl l, was thls same uncle ho vas the hero Of Patsy Cong's next story by this tune II may be necessary ,o say. had come io regard my trend Patsy as :, rans impostor. Hls transatlantic expert ences nay have given him d thin veneer of skepticism. winch he thought |: inc to parade before the simple dwcllefs among ;he hills. b3; underneath tha, and deep down III his nature there obviously re- manned the ineradicable Celtic bclici ID a mysterious and magical world. just hld- den, and no more than hidden, by the visible phenomena around. Patsy was clearly thrown away in Connemara. II only he had belonged to the weal,hier classes. If only he had been brough; up in a library and got hIs brains bemuddled with neo-Piatonism and port wine. there is no saying to what eminence he might not have risen as a writer of sentimental hls- tory or the constructor of new ethic al system. Here the gates were alar 10 no purpose. Here he was tied down to the telling of old wives tales about water horses and the ike.
 There more gong on than we know. ]" says Patsy. surveying the s,ill blue ~a;ers of the lake in an absen, kind ofway. IT sure of that. SOFT. It's positive iac, Maybe wouldn't belave al the s,ories tha; are tould, be; ,heres something