The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-08-11

UAsn you come to reckon 'em up. Sure,
ghosts u nothing bat shadows at all,
>nd whaA harm 70 there In a shadow?
Mono that I ever heard Of. barrin' Pat
Donovan's, that he struck with his
blsckthorn when he was coming home
10n Cerrick mshon Fair thinking that
u wss some rascal that was following
& him. and just sent his stick through
Widow Mshonsy's window, which cost
Atu hvs shiaiinGA worse luck. for mend
iAS tAe broken gisss and frame.
Well this is the truth of II, your
honor. Bally kitltn Castle was haunted
by . ghost. Faith, il was, for I've
seen II wi<h nobody's eyes but my own.
osAl he wss the ghost Of big scoun-
a1el, he was-the bad baronet" they
called him. who betrayed his country
In ths time o William Of Orange. and
Wss found dead ono fine morning in his
swn courtyard with bullet through
his wicked heart Not a soul ever knew
who did IL; but, whoever il was, he had
SAs blessings of all the country round;
Tor he was q mighty great rascal, was
0ir Roderick Shane
There never was a Shane like him be
fore or since; for they've all been gen.
NRmen. every baronet of them. And
there was no finer gentleman in Ireland
than my own colonel Sir Peter Shane,
who commanded the regiment l was
charge for being crippled in the left leg
in a scrimmage with the Indians
Bless the dear old colonel! There
wasn't boy in the regiment who
wouldn't have died for him; and when
he asked il there was ever man with
pluck enough to go up to the castle and
see whether there was ghost in it or
not, it's ashamed of myself that would
have been If hadn't been the first 70
volunteer for the job
But I'm hurrying on a bit too fast
For you must know that Ballykillin
Castle had been shut up and left TO go
10 waste for years upon years, all be-
cause of that murdering. thieving old
ghost And so was the lovely demesue
all around il, with its oak and beech
trees and shady walks all grown over
with weeds and rubbish and it's pretty
gardens running wild for want of
gardener. For never a soul would go
pear the place, and the boys would
walk miles out OF their way o nights
TO give il wide berth Och! il was
pity, so il was entirely.
SO Sir Peter, he says: Here's this
6ne old house of mine all run TO wrack
ana ruin because of bit of stupid SUI
perstition;" and the brave old man
would have gone himselfto pass night
In the castle, TO prove there was no
ghost at all, only his good lady and the
hiss ShaDes wouldn't let him.
Wen. then. when said ! would 60
Into the castle after dark and see If
hsS,ds with me and said l was bold
lad and if l did it he would give me
and Bridget $50 to start housekeeping
eH when we were married. But said
I~ould do il for the love of him and
~ fsimily. not for the money, though
sure that same would come in handy
fuR the wedding.
But eiddy, when she heard what /
was after, threw her arms round my
neck and held me fast saying:
'Och. Timothy darling. sure you'll
never 60 and do such . thing. You'll
- kilt and murdered, that's styeu'l
be, and leave me widow before We
ADe married."
Faith, no." says /; ''the ghost won't
hurt M ., il there 10 one; and il there
isn't the colouel can got into the caa-
tle and live among US, aud needn't b
% absentee any more at all"
But oeh!" says Bildy; III the ghost
6ossu't KIN you. auss bell friehten you
sat OF year blseseA vita and it's pooe
Aeludsd lunAtia Nhat I'll have tor . hss-
ssAd all my days" .t..~ .I...,..
Well, your honor, il was mighty hard
work that had 70 quiet the colleen, and
persuade her - Let me SO without any
mere bowling. And all The folks In
1sllykillin, when they saw me march
q TO the castle with nv stick and my
SaS Of vituals over nay shoulder, swora
fd never come back with my wits
shout me, even II didn't leave my
eorpss behind.
But I'd faced the black niggers out
h India. and didn't believe there was
. ghost half as ugly or vicious as the
esst of them. I'd heard ghost stories
galore In my time, and never know of one
where aaything worse happened thana
bit Of fright; and sure, thinks /, Il
you're not frightened what harm can
como TO you at ALP
So ! marched up To the castle with
never twitter OF the heart, whistling
'Piunegan's Wake just for compsny's
sake, and ready TO face all the ghosts
in the bad place or out of it. The rusty
iron gates at the entrance of the de-
mesne were hanging loose on their
hinges, and the pretty lodge was all
In ruins, with the creeping ivy grow
ing over it The road under the big
trees up the avenue was all covered
with weeds, and a mighty big pond that
you passed lay under a sheet of nasty
green stuff that had gathered on il for
years
And the castle stood out grim and
gray against the blood-red sunset be-
hind, Just like the haunted house that
you see in the picture-book. But it
didn't daunt me with all its queer