The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-12

will have an idea of the locality.
on one OF the many pre.ipitous head
lands. known as the Ravon Rock dark
and frowning. amidst deep inlets ana much
resoundinE caves stood. forty years ago.
the ruins Of an erewhile castle strong
hold. During the great rebellion of 1922
II had successfully withstood siege laid
70 il by a rebel chief. The suferiugs
however. Of the royalist garrison were
direful in the extreme. The legend ran
that when starvation started them ia the
face brave girl stole forth, under cover
OF night. in the hope Of securing provis-
ions, but being captured was ruthlesslr
hanged next morning I'm sight Of the cas-
tie. and OF course her spirit had haunted
the spot ever since.
Thus the castle fell into that romantic
and picturesque state OF ruin in which
I discovered it, This I did on a fine Sep
TENDER afternoon. after a four-miles walk
from the town of Bally-Narack. where
business had taken me- and which bcing
now finished gave me "a day or two Of
leisure to enjoy the Wild and romantic
scenery. The Raven Rock with its crown
of battlemented towers. formed the west
ern horn of the bay into which l had
merged a descent through a wild glen.
beside the rushing stream making its
channel 10 the sea. and with u struggling
nest of shanties at its mouth had con-
Quoted me &c the shore.
Amongst the group of peasants gath
cred round a fishing boat which had just
been beachcd. there stood a man whose
dress and appearance proclaimed him no
native He was watching the unloading Of
the boat of its freight of fish. and looked
so completely out OF place that / could
not fail 10 observe him. As ] did SO more
closely 20 struck me | had seen him be-
fore. but where i could not tell. but
certainly not IN that part OF the world
He looked like some Jewish dealer in brio
a-brac from WardOur street. and as ! had
only lately come from London 81 must
have been in that locality that l had
seen him.
I wandered away across tie sands to-
ward the ruin. Much fascinated by its
beauty, ] sat me down 10 make a sketch
OF u. When THIS was finished. as the
tide was out. 1 scrambled around the
he1dland, and SO opened up another fine
picturesque stretch Of coast. sin moving
forward, for the second time l rested.
and made another sketch Of the opposite
view OF the castle. This occupied a Ions
while, during " hich thc sun had gone
down behind me IN a. sea of glory, and
even as I worked the fun moon rose out
of The east, toward which ] was looking.
Engrosscd with the drawing l quite for
got the laDse of time, and IL was only
Mlltn q
length aroused me TO the fact that / was
far from home. Returning by the way
had come, to my dsmay, the incoming
tide mad cut me off. In order to escape
from the blight of coast where | found my
self / must scale the Castle cliff itself 10
regain the other side Here IL was not
very precipitous, and about half way up
there opened out a HAT, deep ledge OF the
face of the cliff. AT its further end was
tho entrance TO what, in the twilight
looked like a cave. though thickly masked
underworld 4
either side by walls OF crumbling rock.
just before / reached it. however, my
Icotsteps were arrested, ana my, plood
turned 10 ice by piercing Shrek or
wall close behind me. but. turning round.
no one was to be seen ct it was like
WOman's voice perfectly human, though
inexpressibly Wierd. ! stood still, amazed,
and ! think nv heart stood stin also, as
the next instant the shrek was repeated,
now higher up the cliff, just beneath the
ruins themselves, which stood out frown-
ing, dark. and irregular against the moon
lit sky. Ere there was time to thiuN, as
] stood gazing upward. with beads burst
ing out on my forehead, there came
across tho quiet air a third wailing cry,
and / plainly saw the figure OF woman,
as dark as the gloom Of the runs from
which she emerged, approach the clin
edge Immediately above me. Her move
ments were rapid and lifting ner arms,
and waving them downward. toward me,
as # TO forbid my further ascent, she
called out in the same high key as her
vail.
GO back so DaCks come not 0lSn THIS
place; better to die in the surging sea
than tempt the death which awaits you
herel"
of the country however fun Of supersti-
tion and ghostly traditions the people
might be, they had not so far injected
me as to arouse the idea that ] was in
the presence of the supernatural. Tn
canny and startling as was this appari-
tion. l did not for moment believe that
it was the spirit Of the girl supposed 70
haunt the scene of this, her cruel eXecu-
ton No, IL was a woman of flesh ana
blood. AS | questioned the meaning of
her words she passed on, still waving her
arms with that forbidding action, and ar
irving at the point of the promontory dis
appeared as If she had flung herself into
Danger? What danger could there be?
True, ! speedily discovered that a fur
Their ascent of the cliff was Impossible.
sides save by which l lad come up. ana
below this the sea had now begun 10
boil and sluice. Thus all retreat was cut
OFF. | should have TO stay where l was
till the tide should ebb. Still there WAS
no danger in that. Il was a lovely soft
night. 1 was my own master, and after
all a walk home in the early morning
would be no serious hardship. / secuted
the idea of danger, and coiled myself up
on some of the drying fern in the hollow
of that seeming cave. l lighted a pipe
and ere long began to doze.
An hour may have elapsed. Then l
grew restless, and turning was startled
by seeing dim light in the farther
depths of this dark cavity. Curiosity and
surprise induced me presently to grope
my way a few feet mo the cave, and
then the light was very apparent. 1t
appeared to come through a crack of
boarding, and another step or two for
ward brought my cropping hands in con-
tact with small rough door, Imme-
diately peeping through The crack whence
the light shone, / beheld d curious spec
tacle-astonishing under any circum-
stances, but in this wild, lonely place,
simply battling explanation. The rough
door formed the entrance to a low-arched
chamber, probably one of the dunge ons
OF the castle just above il. But if such
a discovery was surprising the contents
Of the vault were sim more so. Iilumi-
mated by a quaint hanging lamp, every
thing was plainly revealed. At one side a
long shelf covered with strengthening
jars, and bottles OF various colors and
shapes, together with a mass of lnys-
FERROUS implements of iron and wood.
making altogether something like a com
bination of the contents of a chemists
laboratory ana a carpenters workshop.
To the left of this bench was a stove.
bright and glowing and further round
the room were other ineXplicable arrange
nents, half like furnace implements, half
Ike builders materials heap of white
dusty stuff. and pile of wood ana char
coal. At the moment this extraordinary