The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-03-28
his face. Call that rain?'' he said, "sure
tL, air is flooded IN, ini0ht n we'll swim

| as walk"
Many times after that went out of my
| way on my long, solitary walks to pass the
I crossroads. but as often as MOI he was glum
and silent, and then Bonaparte. sharing his
mood. would growl like a small thunder
| storm. The seat was well chosen, for the
covering trees are like Il shed over it and
there is pleasant landscape in front
| Though that mattered little 10 Andy, Il
| landscape of dim green moors--with brown
stains on them where the bushes huddled
| IN clefts-clieckered by gray net of low
walls. dotted with the white gables of cab
ms, and framed by wayering line of hills.
Sometimes | found him playing his iid-
| die to keep himself company, but he stopped
when he hearo! ne, and. to tell the truth
| was glad of it. for his playing was uncanny
| Sometimes ! met him stumbling along the
, brink OF the clih'sa groteSQuc little figure
with his old shapeless hat, his huge coat
| tapping behind him and the mighty black
! thorn he carried. He knew the ground
| so well he walked as if he could see, indeed.
/ he saw more Than | could. for while to me
| the breakers were only streaks OF light,
| he spoke is if he was close to them Oh the
! wet, Weedy rocks. or l came on him lying By
| the edge, listening to the squcaks OF the
| gulls and to the grumbng of the breakers,
| that mOnOtOn0Hs chorus.
| No one knew more Of folklore. | think
| he half believed that he was chaugeling
| and found comfort in The thought of thaC
! former life when he was one of the merry
|
er@an and his wife ought to have known best
| lie knew the ways of every ghost in the
| country and it was well known that he
was on speaking terms with the headless
man who haunted IiScannOr. OF course he
| knew all about fairies. When the fallen
| leaves scurried past his feet be knew that
| the little good people were playing foot
ball. When the wind whispered III the
leaves overhead he heard them chatting
and when it whined in the creaLing bare
branches, heard the poor little folk crying
with cold and bewaing the days when obey
found shelter by snug tiresdes and sat there
unseen. but not unwelcome. Once, before
the world grew hard, they gathered IN the
cabins and the toughest fare grew pleas,
anter, the saddest hearts lighter from their
good wishes but no one cares for them now
and they cannot rest in unfriendly houses
| only once saw him at Moher farm it
was fine house, with a real chimney
instead Of hole i'll the thatch TO let the
smoke Out-and boosted three rooms the
two smaller had been made by partitioning
of the gable ends of the house. He was
sitting by the open hearth in the big room;
1t was coy and one side was fashonably
covered with questionable crockery and
the others were made beautiful by life
like portraits of leading politicians. IN
one corner hen was chuckling Historically,
and near her Il pig-stretched at full length
--bllnked at her with gloomy eyes, as if he
suspected that it was at him she was laugh
iua, Iesougn mere was Il pig styc and q
fowlhouse in the ward they preferred hui
man society. Bridget was broad and de
termined; she seemed TO treat Andy with Il
stern kindness. but that was one of his
black days, and it WAS hard to get word
out of him.
| remember thinking that. like the fai-
ries, he could only be happy when he was
alone or with those who were fond of him.
that he would gladly have given the com
fort of the farm for the bare walls and the
scanty and crazy furniture of his cabin,
and that he could not look back without
repining on the time when hc WAS pcnnlIcss
VT tlT friends. Sow he Stunned the vii
lagc for as he passed through il the chat
tcrng groups, and the gossips shouting con-
versation across the street from their door.
ways, grew suddenly silent and the children
ran frightened into their homes. He had
no friend left but Larry Roman. who is a
man of SO big and warm a heart that he
loves everybody except his own wife. But
Larry is fond Of SO many that no one val
ues his affection.
Sometimes I found Larry sitting with
on the couple was wonderful; II was Mis-
ter Loncrcan, sill" and Mister Roman"
between them. For that matter one often
sees fine courtesy among the older
peasants in ireland. Last summer As |
was driving along the Lisd0onyarnA road
Il scarccrow OF an Old woman, sQuutting on
heap Of stones by the roadside. hailed my
rugged driver. "Askin' your pardon, sir,
' II
loaf on the road. Tm thinkin' dropt one
as ] was comm ~ loaf is it, maam?
I'm sorry did not then" "Who was shc?'
! asked him. Sure an don't know then
he said, It's some poor ould body that's
lost her loaf an viii be goin' to bed hungry
tonight
As Andy grew older he talked more Of
the fairies and sometimes with Il childish
ness that had been missing from his dos
olate childhood; grew more moody and
-if tsv1,s
was up and spent night after night out OF
doors My friend, Father Peter Elannery
who next to Larry Roman, is my chief
authority for this history, told me that
often, riding on his sick calls by night i'll
stormy weather. he met Andy staggering
along the rough roads
At last. one November eve-the night
when the fairies have power and the dead
wake and dance reels with them-thc blind
bcgGarman started out from the farm.
An Atlantic rai" WAS SCATTERING seas
against he cliffs: the air was salt with
foam, and throbbed with the pulse of the
breakers. Bridget tried in VAIN to stop
him; he said the little good people" We're
calling him. She watched him disappear
into the darkness, the Whimpering of the
fiddle died into the shrieks Ct the wind.
." It's 4 quare diyil, he is she said,
God help mimi
once in the hight she thought she heard
q snatch Of the Fairies Reel" but Andy
never came back Next morning they found
Bonaparte whining on The edge of the cliffs;
there WAS no sign Of his master. He must
have gone over the cliffs III the darkness,
but the waves gave no token.
Some folk in Mober believe that the
fairies took back their child, and chat the
blind fiddler lives now in the kingdom of
Tvruauogc, and makes music for their
dances in shat enchanted country where
the old grow young and the blind see.
Some say that he still haunts the cross
roads, and Larry Roman, coming back late
from the Fnnistimon fair, saw black,
shadowy figure under the black trees, and
heard brOken-hearted voice cry: Re
member the Dark Mani Larry's surprise
accounted for his being found the next
morning asleep in the ditch. But it is
agreed in M0her that Andy left life on
November eve. whether he became the
playfellow of the fairies or the plaything of
the waves.
Miraculous Escape.
IL