CHAPTER V.—(Continued.)

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 21, 13 September 1889, Page 23

CHAPTER V.— (Continued.)

It, was, however, mentioned that sometimes, when by chance big charms ceased to influence, the strange man of the Inch did not stop short of secondary human means. A tale of violence was added, according to which the precincts of the garden of the Inch House was looked upon as banned and unholy ground, although the offender had been disguised beyond the possibility of recognition. On all hands it was admitted that the strange man o' the Inch had " a sort o' look," a baneful, baleful look, which, if it once rested on a comely girl of any rank, ensured her eventual perdition, or was to be averted only by a miracle. In fact, Bridogue Mooney clearly made out her proposition which bad opened the conference round the bonfire, namely, that " the sthrange man o' the Inch was a cloven-hoofed Duowl, passin' himself for a dacent, elderly man." We extract from bye-conversations of our good friends of WindGap some assertions that did not tend to set up the character of the subject of their shannachus. It was vouched that the only person known to live with him was a wrinkled, haggard woman ; yet many figures were seen after twilight going to the house and coming from it. And at hours of the night when well-conducted people ought to be at rest, uproarious rioting was known to continue under his roof till day-break. " Boys of the neighbourhood " had once been venturous enough, during one of these commotions, to approach the premises. It was very dark, and they were moving stealthily onward, when suddenly they heard a fearful, hellish shout ; the lights they had previously seen so vivid within the house became extinguished. Before they had time to advance or recede, each, in his consternation, was seized, as all averred, by a " horned divil," for the group was young and strong, and could not have otherwise been so overcome, and, thus mastered, they were urged supernaturally along, " in sich a hurry that they hadn't time to bless themselves," until they arrived at the river's bank, which, as has been mentioned, flowed near the houie, and into the river they were plunged, and out of the river they barely escaped, although good swimmers, with the wise resolution never again to oppose earthly prowess to fiendish agency. " Be him a sinful Christin, bought and sould, or be him a Duowl in earnest, may the Heavens keep him from our road I" ejaculated Bridogue Mooney. " Amin, and amin o»er agin, gossip," assented the dame, with the pendulating head. " From evil doin's, and evil doers, the Lord deliver us I"

A rather violent stir here took place, among the dancers at a little distance ; the six or eight stout young fellows, heralded by the oian of straw, and his herculean helpmate, dragged towards the Mayor's chair two individuals wearing large mantles, and broadbrimmed hats. As the parties confronted the judgment seat, hat and cloak were torn from the person of the foremost culprit. Almost in the middle of the gossip, which had occupied itself about him, " the sthrange man o' the Inch " stood fully in view. His non de guerre was shouted by more than one voice : immediately those who had held him loosed their grasp, and he stood in the blaze of the fire, laughing loudly at the ludicrous confusion wbioh his presence created.

Among, the old women there ensued a hideous discoid of screams. They tumbled over each other, in their hasty, though not successful, attempt to avoid the neighbourhood of one whom they themselves had magnified into a very formidable being : in a few seconds, those amongst them who could run, ran with all their might ; and those who could only hobble, hobbled with all their energy ; Bridogue Mooney leading the cohort, with the loudest screams offendei virtue could put forth, while at each inch of their way over Wind-Gap hill, every echo of his devilish laugh added impetus to the hearts and heels of the scandalised fugitives. The strange man of the Inch, now that he could be really looked upoo, seemed to be about forty-five ; though he might be less, for his face, that is, as much of it as was fully visible, had become disfigured by ugly gashes, which probably added to it an appearance of age. Over half of his features he wore a black handkerchief. Of

the one eye left exposed, scarce anything worse than power and brilliancy of expression could be conjectured. An air of iofty command ran through his bearing. He was clad in a full skirted coat of blue cloth, richly laced ; a vest of embroidered silk, a smallclothes of blue plush, and silk stockings and square-toed shoes, with silver buckles in them.

After the retreat of the old woman, his mockiog laughter suddenly gave way to a bold imperious manner. His single observable eye flashed fiercely, and his brow knit deeply abave it, as he looked on every side at the gaping crowd.

" Gome, make way here, fellows," be said. " I have a strong inclination to punish a score or two of you for yonr rough handling, now that you have dared to rob me of my cloak and hat. Make way, I say, or I will score some ugly marks on your foolish faces," and he tapped the short crooked sword at his side. All the old men around Maurteen, and all the young ps»ple who had followed from the dancing ground, were receding to make way accordinglyjwhen Maurteen Maher clutched his osier-wand, and, sitting very upright in his chair, cried out in a sonorous voice — " Stop I stop awhile, genteel, and give an account of yourself." The strange man of the Inch turned suddenly ronnd and glared at the questioner. "Yes," resumed Maurteen, " I'd have a word or two wid ye afore ye lave onr place." The summoned person was evidently much surprised and offended at this interruption. He walked rapidly over to his Worship, fixed a stern look upon him, was silent for an instant, and at last burst forth in a question :

" Who the devil are you, that stop mcl"

Maurteen Maher did not wince before the strange man of the Inch. He held his head loftily, and his tone was bold, withont being arrogant, as he answered — " I am the Mayor of Wind-Gap, far above the Mayor of the town below us, as you may lam by lookin' on the hoight of this place, and how low lies the town at our feet."

" Take your foolish mummery to some other market, you old, ridiculous fool I " cried.the strange man of the Inch, again vehemently turning to go away. " There's no mummery about me," said Maurteen. " I govern the people here by there own free will and consent, and I govern them for their good."

" You're an old, grey-headed idiot, I take it. You look d— d impertinently at me. and lv half a mind to change your tune," continued the " sthrange man."

" "Tisn't by fighting with the swoord I should be able to rule over my neighbours. But for all that, I'm not afeard o' ye, as wicked as they say ye are, and as fierce as your one eye burns upon me. So you need not lay your hand upon your crooked hanger ; the odds o' the battle 'ud be agin' ye. But I don't want anything but pace and quiet. Listen to me. I'm tould ye said evil words into the ear of a young girl at the dance, and put your arms round her when she didn't want them. For that offence, on Wind-Gap, you are brought before me, the Mayor. It is time for you to give over foolish and sinful notions and behaver. The snow of age has not fallen on your locks as thick as it has upon mine, but still I'd have you be thinkin 1 o' your grave. "Tis a shkandle to us on Wind-Gap to see a middle-aged man rtmnin ' the race o' the wicked. I Bay to you, repent o' your sins, and lam to be a Christian."

This magnificent address, though full of never-to-be-forgotten morality, to the ears of Manrteen's neighbours, seemed to strike the •• sthrange man "as something eminently ridiculous. He burst into a renewal of his former fit of laughter, and hurried, now unobstructed from the presence of his lecturer.

The chief offender's companion had stood apart during the scene we have described ; he moved in silence after bis principal. The Mayor advanced suddenly towards him, seized his cloak, plucked it open, and glanced into bis face. It was but a momentary view he could have gained of the person's features, who recoiled, and drew his disguise closer round him. But there were others besides the Mayor who had imagined they had recognised the second domino, as will soon be seen.

" I had a notion who was hid under that cloak," said the Mayor softly to this individual : —

" I promised to stand your friend, and 'twaa plain to me, and now 'tis plainer than ever, that a friend you will want to give you help when you are not thi^kin' you need it. Poor boy 1 I hard it long ago, and I b'lieve at present that there is a doom upon you, and, thatyon must work your way through it. Go, then, in Heaven's name and face it. I'll keep my word to you all the same. The Mayor of Wind-Gap will be your friend."

The person he addressed hastened away in the path of the strange man of the Inch, as if glad, like him, to be freed of Maurteen's sermons .

It was some time before the sensation, created by this commotion at the bonfire, became appeased. Little bare-legged scouts were lent out after the old women, who slowly returned, upon the strongest assurances, on the part of the Mayor, of their personal safety. Terror may be an impulse, particularly aoting upon the delicate constitution of the nervous female system ; but above even terror is to be ranked the nervous curiosity o£ the sex. So that, according to these two rules, the old sisterhood of Wind-Gap may be permitted, after the allaying of their mortal fright, to re-assemble once more round the bonfire and its Sovereign. Nay, they even squatted down again on the very spot they had lately abandoned, brim-full, every one of them, of most fruitful subjects of conversation. Above all other thingp, the Mayor's bold and magisterial bearing drew forth their unlimited eulogy — we suspect that Maurteen had intended he should have produced such an effect. At all events, he felt his character to be considerably elevated this night in the eyes of his subjects. His Worship continued calmly to preside over the renewed gossip, and answered in good-humoured loftiness to the adulation showered upon him. We believe that the old women of Wind-Gap could have remained for a week sitting on their heels, so highly did they relish

the music of each other's tongues, had not the Mayor reminded them that the hour for the display of their activity was come, at which intimation the aged belles and the grey-heacied beaux of bis jurisdiction joined hands, and, forming a circle, set to dancing with all their possible agility round and iound the glimmering remnants of the bonfire — those who could boast the greatest strength of limb supported others whose sinews refused to bend with sufficient flexibility, and whose joints had become rusty in their sockets. In this cazeer of crippled movements, in the grey locks set floating by their motion, and in the wrinkled visages of the performers, there was a semblance more to a crowd of witches and wizards, such as Tarn O'Shanter had seen while wending homeward on his mare Meg,than to that of earthly people engaged in an earthly pastime, while the Mayor, with his white wand presiding over the rite, was no unfit representative of the requisite enchanter, and the grotesque figures of Meehawl O'Moore and of bis gigantic mate might be interpreted into two very ungainly imps attending upon him. When the red embers bad been nine times encircled by the new dancers, each crone secured a portion of them and took it carefully home, as a security against charms for the ensuing year. We may safely close this chapter with the assertion that they all wended towards their beds heavily laden with the shannachua and occurrences of this " prasent blessed St. John's eve." After the close of every festivity, it was the custom of the Mayor of Wind-Gap to patrol with his bailiff hi 6 circuit of authority. Accordingly, upon this night, when it was time for all to be a-bed and quiet, he renewed his customary precautions, and went to bis own pillow assured that all his people were " safe and sound," and, against all chances, certain of continuing so till the morning. But, for once in his life at least, the Mayor of Wind-Gap was wrong.