The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-07
THE BOCLE OF The WISHING CATE,
Nv EDGAR l.. WAKEMAN.
copyright, 1894. All rights reserved.
"TALEs OF TEN TRAVELLERS" SERIES.

| Westmoreland country gentry in their
time, and now patriarchal Grasmere cot
| tiers who met at each others ingle-neuks,
at the public house. or wherever the sun
of village hospitality or of heaven shown
warmest, there to plant upon the fash
less present times, or to purr and Groom
over the brave and Draw old days that
were.
Cursty Harris had just joined his com
panions. He sat down petulantly at the
end of the stone bench. His shaggy
brows were drawn tightly; and his lips
were grotesquely pursed the corners of
the under lip being strained by some unu-
sual inner emotion almost to the bottom
of his chin. His old friends knew this
was portentuous omen, and they kept
silence for time, interchanging sly
Soon Willy Benn said softly:
s'TP auld toun is toonin' up bit7"
"Oh, ave. tn mornin's rushbearin', }"
ventured Johnny Railton.
Gam St. Oaswuld's Meet" piped
Tommy Bamthet, with wink at Jem
an Will, 'is boyle meet on tn holt by the
Wush'n Geat. Whae'll master Cursty
Harris holp t. lay tn ghaist tn morrer
neet?"
"Nabuddyl" retorted Cursty so saw
| agely that his three cronies gave three
sudden starts and uttered three "Lans-a-
marcies ~ together.
"Nabuddyl'' he repeated with vehe-
mence. INA mair o. tn Wush'n Geat
boyle for Cursty Harris. What's 'yant
death 1 kna nit but I'll clap ees ma mair
on ghaists i this leef, if can holp It'll"
Every one in the lovely valley knew of
the boyle, ghost or spirit, of the Wishing
Gate. 1t had appeared every rushbearing
night for quarter of century. The ap-
partition was that of a white-haired,
white-bearded old man, Enthusiastically gar
landed with rushes and flowers. 1t APP
peared beside the Wishing Gate precisely
atmidnight, and stood for little time as
if waiting for some one that never came
Then it went away. Some one had heard
it moan as it disappeared:
'She will surely come next Oswald's
nightp'
This plant of the boyle had passed into
a sort of saying among the valley folk re-
garding anything expected or desired at
the rushbearing season of the year. Many
were in terror of the wrath, and not a
few of the older peasant folk complained
of the vicar of st. Oswald's for not clay
ing the ghaist," as any good priest might
| do if he would; as had been done in
Westmoreland times without number be-
fore him. There were strange whispers,
too, that this boyle bore some mysterious
relation to the almost deadly hatred that
had Swallowed the lives of two of the old
| est families of MISUNDERSTANDING Sea-
crofts of Rosedale Manor, which stood
among noble sycamores on the Grasmere
side of Fairfield mountain, just above the
hamlet, and the Oldgarths of Deepdale
hall, on the eastern side of Fairfield, one
of the olden kings of Patterdale and Ulls-
water.
1t was also believed by few that old
fO,., aaralxf hul
fury the most trusted servant of the Sea-
crofts, had been instrumental many years
before, in preventing a tryst, which II
kept might have changed the fortunes of
both families, between the fair Margaret
Carew, who afterwards became the lady
of Rosedale Manor, and her then lover.
an Oldgarth. AS dimly but as surely, too,
it had grown into popular belief that old
! Geordie was somehow responsible for the
| Boyle of the Wishing Gate. Plqued by
the jibes of the peasantry, with his for
mer fellow servant, Cursty Harris, as
! trusted companion, he had undertaken to
| 'lay' this troublesome wrath, and
| come out of the valorous eff
ort with little more than
his life. What had occurred had never
been divulged but the Boyle of the Wish
! ing Gate had taken on added terrors; and
Cursty Harris had never got so near the
/
companions, at this moment he seemed to
! be.
IF yen promish t. keep it grit t. yer
sells, lads" continued Cursty, edglng
close to his friends with a sheepish but
| worried look in his face, "I'll tell We what
hapd last rush bearin' meet"
They promised bravely and four OLD
heads were together in an instant.
"Weel, Geordie Nicholson com'd Z mea,
am saws tCllrstV I can't STAN it ma loan
ger l says T. Geordie, 'Doant, Geordie, II
ee can't. 4 VII ma, fore T. Lord if yell
gaze vii mea,' says Geordie. 'Gae wher,
NOM saysI Worried wi tn tiearce way
| he looket. ia tn holt T. lay tn ghalst
o. TIL Wush'n Geatp says GeOrdie, greave
as a passon. Yen be daft if We do says
/. f'll be daft if 1 doan.t,' says he
beatin' his head and his breastie, IKE
he'd a sair concence.
'Seein' sumbuddy must gaze wa
Geordie, gev in, but telt him to his head,