Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-12-16
What He Saw
In the Churchgard.
A CHRISTMAS DREAM

Ting down ovefV'
"'Tis green q have,
afther all, an fat gravt me II
be maxim, if what tn ouit BE says
does be thrue," sighed Mary, Ngretfully,
wrapping her hands in her apron and
leaning shivering across the half-door.
"More be token, there goes little Ely
MacCarthy wild a bundle o. sticks, the
crathur; musha, It's a poor Christmas
twill be to thin, Dinnis. Dinnis," in a
wheedling tone, with backward glance
over her shoulder into the dark interior,
lighted only by the ruddy CLEAN of the
turf FIRE, tbs cowld an hungry they'll
be tomorrow, the crathurs, an us wild
lashins an LAWNS o. mate and male"
can shiftless lot are thin same Mac
Carthys," gruff]y retorted Dennis, hud-
ding his great coat on as he spoke, can
it's the bit an sup out o. yer own
childhers' mouths ye'd give away, Mary
Corners, av We were let"
And with the inhospitable words the
burly farmer strobe from the door and
went rapidly down the fast darkening
lane, while Mary stood looking after him
and the little ones stood on their tip-toes
to gaze over the top of the half-door.
"Sure, he's CROWN harder every day.
don't know what's come over him at
all, at all" she explained.
greenish light was fading in the sky
above the western hills and the road was
confused mingling of dark ruts and
little shining patches where the late fallen
snow had melted into little pools that
caught the last glimpse of light and held
it in silvery CLEAN.
Dennis marched on, his form in the
huge great-coat making a black blur
among the slender dark skeletons of trees
and bushes that stood out against the
sky. He muttered to himself in the
collar of his coat as he tramped along,
and so occupied was he with his unchar-
liable thoughts that, ere he knew it, his
foot had caught in something and he fell
heavily, striking his head, and with
sense of violent pain, losing all conscious
ness of his surroundings.
AS the farmers senses slowly returned
his opening eyes fell on the strangest
sight he had ever beheld, and, with limbs
stiffening with horror, he raised himself
slowly and gazed wide-eyed at Head,
which lay in the middle of the road-a
head with a pale, sardonic face, dank
hair curling round it and black eyes that
rested on the terrified Dennis with un-
winking severity.
"Take me up, Dennis, /" suddenly called
the grim lips.
"Sure will, sor," cried Dennis, with
abject readiness, though his teeth were
chattering, and he approached the strange
object and gingerly raised it and held it
on the arm Of his coat. fan where
would yer honor be wishing to goa'
ITO the churchyard, came in deep,
ominous tones.
A stifled groan broke from the wretched
Dennis. He set off, however, carefully
now and slowly down the rugged road
and through a gap in the broken wall
that surrounded the lonesome dark abode
of the dead.
AS he passed across an old, old moulder-
ing tombstone that lay face downward
upon the ground, the Head suddenly
leaped from his hold and foated before
him, suspended in the air, while weird,
gray light played cleaning about the
sardonic features that still regarded the
shaking farmer with severe calmness.
Follow me, Dennis" spoke the au-
thoritative voice, and before Dennis could
ask where the tombstone swung back
and revealed deep cavity, from which
Aoated gray misty vapor, which envel-
oped the farmer, who now seemed to lose
all sense of personality. He stepped
lightly on the mist and felt himself gently
floating downward, preceded by the grim
ly smiling Head.
AT the bottom of the deep recess low
arch presented itself, and STOPPING to
look inside, Dennis beheld mean, small
chamber hung with festoons of cobwebs
and foored and walled by old grave
stones, over which ran numberless rats
and strange creeping things.
Covering in the middle of the room
was an old, withered woman, who rushed
forward as Dennis appeared and with a
fearful smile and many engaging ges-
lures held out to him in a skeleton hand
two very small, hard potatoes. Dennis
rubbed his head, glanced from the pota-
toes to the old woman and back again.
She continued to grin affably and shook
impatiently the hand that held her
miserable offering.
THANK ye kindly, ma'am." gasped
the farmer at last; "sure couldn't take
thin. Yell be wantin' thin yerself,
down here
At his refusal the engaging smile van
ished from the features of the bag and,
with eyes glazing with disappointment
and fury, she rushed toward the hesitat-
ing Dennis, who in turn stumbled back
ward and fell, he hardly knew how, Just
out of reach of the malevolent, out
stretched claws, and at the same moment
the ashen light disappeared and the
silence was broken by burst of music