But mark! she well the bargain knew, A bun then from her pocket drew, And showed it first to little Cue, Then overthrew it; Now flew the bun, now ran the dog, For eager was the mangy rogue, Nor stood to view it. 'Now, crafty Sir, the bargain was, That you should have what first did pass Across the bridge, so now, alas! The dog's your right,' The cheater cheated, struck with shame, Squinted and grinned, then in a flame He vanished quite." THE SPECTRE ARMY. A WEIRD TALE OF SOUTRA FELL. Souter Fell, or Soutra Fell as it is sometimes called, is a considerable mountain situated to the eastward of Skiddaw and Blencathara. The west and north sides are barricaded with steep rocks, apparently 900 yards in height, and everywhere difficult of access. A very remarkable phenomenon has exhibited itself on this mountain, which, though difficult to account for satisfactorily, is too well authenticated by numerous spectators to be discredited. We allude to the appearance of troops of visionary horsemen, crossing the mountains, advancing, retreating, and performing different military evolutions--an optical delusion which has been observed in this vicinity, to the great astonishment of the rustics of the vale. "As when a shepherd of the Hebrid isles Placed far amid the melancholy main (Whether it be lone fancy him beguiles, Or that aërial beings sometimes deign To stand, embodied, to our senses plain), Sees on the naked hill or valley low, The whilst in ocean Phoebus dips his wain, A vast assembly moving to and fro; Then all at once in air dissolves the wondrous show." THOMSON. The following account of this singular appearance, which is scarcely paralleled in history, is contained in Hutchison's History of Cumberland, the particulars being collected by Mr. Smith, who observes that he went himself to examine the spectators, who asserted the facts very positively. "On midsummer eve, 1735, a servant in the employ of William Lancaster, of Blakehills, about half a mile from Souterfell, related that he saw the east side of the mountain, towards the summit, covered with a regular marching army for above an hour together. They consisted of distinct bodies of troops, which appeared to proceed from an eminence in the north end, and marched over a niche in the top, marked A and B in the sketch given in the above work; but as no other person in the neighbourhood had seen a similar appearance, he was discredited and laughed at.