The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-01-15
A Story About o'Donavan Rosa.
His Experience with Ghosts-A Bread of
Friday Enterprises.
IN. Y. Tinles.l


good many years ago, when O'Donovan
Rosa wasn't known by his present name,
and was walking about this earth in sub
lime indiffence to the expressions of Old
World tyrants, he was generally consi iered
rather mild-mannered youth. Neither his
family nor his own personality was remark
able enough to clothe him with great re-
nown; in fact, he was decidedly common
place young mag. Still he was not without
certain local no!oriety, which he received
on account of trifing weakness regarding
things sepulchral.
Jerry Donovan was no hero, but he was
afraid of ghost. at least this is the yarn
told me by man who was formerly friend
and roommate of The great throne shaker
and monarch terrifer. Jerry, he says, was
fond of tom5sLones and other graveyard para
pherualia, and even before he took to the
business Of fastening oppressors to the bet
ter land, he had very strongly developed
leaning toward the undertaker's trade. One
day he fell in with Fenian of the most pro-
nounced type. The stranger was a ready
talker, and he found an eager listener in Jer-
a
swallowed tales that would have played
smash with the gullet of Jonah's whale.
That night he had ia very vivid dream, in
which he figured personally to great advan-
tage, putting to rout some thousand minions
of the Saxon tyrant. He was enthusiastic
enough to relate his vision to his Fenian
friend, an action that resulted in prompting
an earnest appeal from the latter to join the
ranks f an invading host. Jerry objected
strongly, but was overruled. He had seen a
vision; he must go forth to prove Its truth.
This was not what Mr., Donovan most de-
sired. Anxious contemplation of the woe
his sword would be sure to cause led him to
decide to cure his case by heroic remedy.
He would see another ghost, and he did. 1t
came gu ckly, according to the tale he told,
and the new visitant from the spectral
world was of an exceedingly pacific disposi-
tion. It's appearance of course made 1t i'm
possible for the seer to do battle ON foreign
fields.
Now Jerry's friend had no great faith in
these two ghosts, but he does believe that
Mr. Donovan had genuine fright from an
other apparition which came to him the
next night-a Friday night He ought to
know; he wore the sheets. 1t terrific. Jer-
ny in wholesale way, and brought him 10
his knees in which position he was found
by some irreyerent fellow-boarders. Ever
since that time Jerry Donovan-or O'Dono-
van Rosa, if you like that title better--has
been dubious of undertakings begun on Fri
day or in the last quarter of the moon. More
than once he has refused TO take par in
schemes whose beginning must be within
these times. By his friends he is supposed
to believe that Ireland may soon be freed,
but to his intimates the blusterer confesses
bis fears that the British lion is favored by
the spirits of evil on hangman's day or when
the moon is growing thinner and thinner
crescent
This latest bit of dynamite pleasantly. the
hacking of a man to pieces in his Office, may
possibly tempt the law to give the blather-
skite butcher still another reason to remem-
Der the events of Friday.