The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-03
PART l..

PART I.
In the autumn OF 1851 7 made a
horseback tour through some of the
less frequented parts Of ireland as cor
respondent of a London newspaper. Be
ginning at the north and working
southwark. | found myself, about the
end Of October at the small village OF
kilcrea, three hours ride west OF
Cork. Here ] was Hospitality enter
tanned by Father O'Hed, the local
priest, a man of education and intelli-
gence. During my two days stay
with him we became great friends; we
discussed politics, literature and So
Ciety, and brewed putcen. At part
ing he gave me as a keepsake an old
leather bound volume, in manuscript,
of the sixteenth century. From the
glance | cast through it, before Slip
ping it into my pocket. 1 judged it a
sort of a private family chronicle, GER
tain to be curious and possibly Nalu-
able. And O'Hea, with a nod of the
head and peculiar smile on his broad,
genial CuuntonanCe, said: Faith, me
dear friend, yen find rare tales in 1t,
but don't ye be readn' it afther dark
I recognized the value of his advice
later. Meanwhile | bade him q hearty
good-by and rode off.
My objective point was Ballynean to
the south and west; but the roads were
bad and not easy to find. The coun-
Try was very desolate. though beaut-
full in it's own sad way-bare hills,
empty valleys, rolling naked pastures.
destitute of cultivation, cattle or hu-
man beings. Sometimes | saw in the
hA Af "A
with perhaps a tree growing out of the
midst of it. But no Ballynean hove
in sight. At 3 o'clock | halted by a
stream, watered my horse and ate a
meal of bread and cheese. Before
had finished, there was a threatening
mass of clouds in the west, and in a
very short time the storm was upon
me.
1t was All HallOwe'en-when. ac-
cording to Irish superstition. fairies,
ghosts and goblns are free to hold car
nival:- l soon began to think that the
storm must be of their raising. The
rain lashed the ground fiercely: the
wind Missed past me in bewildering
gusts; it grew darker and darker; the
weird noises and the electrical phenom-
ena confused the senses. / finally al
he would. He forged doggedly ahead,
ana after an hour or two of uphill and
down-hill work, 1 saw on my left a
gleam as Of the waters of a lake, while
on the right rose an acclivity, just Wis
ible against the sky. the murkiness of
which. covered as it was with lower
ing clouds, was somewhat lighted by
the moon; though the moon itself was
the height, l seemed to discern the
rectangular outline of a building sur
mounting ii. There were no lights in
it; but the occupants might have gone
to bed or il might be deserted. AT all
events l resolved to spend the night
there, and urging on my horse, soon
came beneath the walls of the edifice.
AT the same moment the wind died
away, the, rain ceased to fall. and
through a deep rift in the clouds, the
moon shone out. The storm was over,
Just when it had become Indifferent to
me whether it continued or not-an-
other instant of conscious mischief on
the part of the hObgoblins. The house
was built on stone, and seemed to be
large and rambling; it was neither a
castle nor an ordinary dwelling; it be-
longed to the type of country seats Of
ten met with in England; was evident
ly very ancient and had long since
ceased to be inhabited. l found my
way to the entrance and riding through
1t got onto a courtyard, the stone pave
ment of which was overgrown with
vegetation. 1t was surrounded on all
four sides by the walls of the building,
with numerous unglazed windows re-
Vealed duskly I'm the moonlight.
Stabling my horse in one of the open
rooms on the ground floor l took out
my match safe, which luckily was
filled with wax matches, and set out on
q journey of exploration.
What grim and strange old
labyrinth it was! Room opened into
room interminably and irregularly; the
floors We're rotten, the plaster had
fallen from the walls, damp fungus
growth covered the ceiling.
Mysterious objects half defined them
selves in the glimmer cast by the tiny