One night, about a fortnight after his funeral, the daughter of Daly,
the herd, a girl about fourteen, while lying in bed saw what appeared
to be the likeness of M'Kenna, who had been lost. She screamed out,
and covering her head with the bed-clothes, told her father and mother
that Frank M'Kenna was in the house. This alarming intelligence
naturally produced great terror; still, Daly, who, notwithstanding his
belief in such matters, possessed a good deal of moral courage, was
cool enough to rise and examine the house, which consisted of only one
apartment. This gave the daughter some courage, who, on finding that
her father could not see him, ventured to look out, and she _then_
could see nothing of him herself. She very soon fell asleep, and her
father attributed what she saw to fear, or some accidental combination
of shadows proceeding from the furniture, for it was a clear moonlight
night. The light of the following day dispelled a great deal of their
apprehensions, and comparatively little was thought of it until
evening again advanced, when the fears of the daughter began to
return. They appeared to be prophetic, for she said when night came
that she knew he would appear again; and accordingly at the same hour
he did so. This was repeated for several successive nights, until the
girl, from the very hardihood of terror, began to become so far
familiarised to the spectre as to venture to address it.
"In the name of God!" she asked, "what is troubling you, or why do you
appear to me instead of to some of your own family or relations?"
The ghost's answer alone might settle the question involved in the
authenticity of its appearance, being, as it was, an account of one of
the most ludicrous missions that ever a spirit was despatched upon.
"I'm not allowed," said he, "to spake to any of my friends, for I
parted wid them in anger; but I'm come to tell you that they are
quarrelin' about my breeches--a new pair that I got made for Christmas
day; an' as I was comin' up to thrace in the mountains, I thought the
ould one 'ud do betther, an' of coorse I didn't put the new pair an
me. My raison for appearin'," he added, "is, that you may tell my
friends that none of them is to wear them--they must be given in
charity."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account