Morning journal and courier., 1894-03-10
TALES OF TEN TRAVELLERS
''Ihe poachsrs' Lucy" of BalInasss
BY EDGAR L. wAKEhAN.

[Copyright, 1894 All rights reserved.l
 The old duke of Bsnchester had been dead long enough to permit of renewed autumn Inequalities at the great castle of Bsllnsgee, in the Irish county of Armagh, where the ducal family and the invited guests came annually from London and the continent.
 The family plate, loads of pictures and other brio. .a-brao and scores of huge trunks had come week before from the London town house, and Miss Rodgers, housekeep- CT, and John Jolly, confidential factotum, head butler and generalissimo at Ballnsges, of her grace, the duchess, and his lordship, young viscount Drogo Victor Vaudeville who would attain his majority and 8 dukedom shortly after his arrival, with the assistance of the upper and lower houses of Ballnsges servants, all Hooking alive" | with great alscrity and zsss, as they were now out of "board wages" and into "regu- lars," had set the great castle to rights against the lords' and ladies' coming.
 The etiquette of arrival, never stately but always rigidly observed, had been car ried out. The first coschmsn aud his ss- sistants with the great carriages had brought milsdy and her titled guests with their maids from the station, and milsdy's maid and Miss Rodgers had met them at the castle entrance and conducted them to their apartments.
 John Jolly and the groom had brought young milord and his ti.led guests, and shown them to their apartments. Then the grooms had returned for the guests lug. gage and the valets and "loaders," for pheasant shooting was to be the sport of the young lords guests for week; while all the peasantry of the strsggling hamlet, which huddled like brown nest of thstch- es under the castle walls, had craned their necks from windows. filled the leaning door ways and crowded to the road edge of the single street cringing and duckipg, grinnipg and pulling forelocks. and men, tally wondering how much coin might ov- erfiow from the guests of Bsllnsges into their needy. clutchipg palms.
 Miss Todgsrs had got all the ladies' maids into their little rooms beside their mattresses apartments, and John Jolly had seen that the gentlemen's valets were all housed, with due regard to precedence of their masters' rank, in the servsnts' hall in the second story of the great quadrangle. This huge court was now filled with scores of men and maids scurrying back and forth on their different errauds of service L T. the housekeepers roome, the butler't rooms, the wine vaulte, the storage cham. bers, the Kitchens and scullsries, every thing was rattle, chatter and excitement This extended to the carriage rooms, ths gun rooms, the harness rooms and stables where the Rrooms were oheerilE hissin[ and "sissing" about the we'll filled studs
 All the upper house of servants wsr, "Aistering." "Aistressingn and "Missing' each other with great volubility, but 1T rigid decorum; and throughout the lowel houee, above the clamor of the janglins bells leading to the apartments of Lo7i This, Lord That and Lord The Other, wa heard . steady, amazing interjectural stac cato, of inverted application of masters ti tie to servant of "Bunraven, there's ye mans bell!n "Scsrlborough, yer op bo, wants lis togsl" Darlington, yer Iad' 'owlin' fur . shave!" "Warcourt, livel now, yer man wants is toddyW anl , "rev-erton, yer vally's waitin' to groon , yerl"
 Her grace, the duchess of Banchestel could scarcely doff her travelling attire be , fore seeing Mes Rodgers, the housekespel
 -Todgsrs, che fsmiliarly called her
 eharp-fsoed woman of forty, with ouriou
 upper squint of one eye and c dropping
 subdued look out of the other, which wit , her thin, red tipped nose, and her firmly , set, thin lips, gave her the appearance (
 always being ready. defiant and dsprec, ( tive for an immediate accounting and
 months notice.
 "Todgers," asked miiady abruptly, e
 there anything for me to koowP "Nothink, your grace, save e you vi F find Ballnsgse very neat and tidy.n "Nonsense, Todgertl You know what
 mean-how abou. that girl Lueyp . HJust the name, your RrAce, aa heYe