ouldConnorShamus[1]thepiperhimselfwasinit——bythesametokenitwasthelastweddin’heeverplayedmusicat，forthenextmornin’，whinhewasgoin’home，bein’mightyheartyan’plisintinhimself，hewassmotheredinthesnow，undhertheouldcastle；an’bymysowlhewasasorelosstothebysan’girlstwentymilesround，forhewastheilligantestpiper，barrin’theliquoralone，thateverworkedabellas。
[1]Literally，CorneliusJames——thelastnameemployedasapatronymic。Connoriscommonlyused。
Corney，pronouncedKurny，isjustasmuchusedintheSouth，astheshortnameforCornelius。
Well，aweekpassedoversmartenough，an’Nellan’hernewhusbandwasmightywellcontintedwithoneanother，foritwastoosoonforhertobegintoregulatehimthewaysheusedwithpoorJimSoolivan，sotheyworcomfortableenough；butthiswastoogoodtolast，forthethawkeman，an’youmaybesureJimSoolivandidn’tloseaminute’stimeassoonastheheavydhriftivsnowwasmeltedenoughbetweenhimandhometolethimpass，forhedidn’thearawordivnewsfromhomesinstheliftit，byrasonthatnoone，goodnorbad，couldthravelatall，withthewaythesnowwasdhrifted。
Soonenight，whenNellGormanan’hernewhusband，AndyCurtis，wassnugan’
warminbed，an’fastasleep，an’everythingquite，whoshouldcometothedoor，sureenough，butJimSoolivanhimself，an’hebeginnedflakin’thedoorwidabigblackthornstickhehad，an’roarin’outlikethediviltoopenthedoor，forhehadadhroptaken。
’Whatthedivil’sthematther？’saysAndyCurtis，wakenin’outivhissleep。
’Who’sbatin’thedoor？’saysNell；
’what’sallthenoisefor？’saysshe。
’Who’sinit？’saysAndy。
’It’sme，’saysJim。
’Whoareyou？’saysAndy；’what’syourname？’
’JimSoolivan，’sayshe。
’Byjabers，youlie，’saysAndy。
’WaittillIgetatyou，’saysJim，hittin’
thedooralickivthewattleyou’dhearhalfamileoff。
’It’shim，sureenough，’saysNell；’I
knowhisspeech；it’shiswandherin’sowlthatcan’tgetrest，thecrasso’Christbetuneusan’harm。’
’Letmein，’saysJim，’orI’lldhrivethedoorinatopivyis。’
’JimSoolivan——JimSoolivan，’saysNell，sittin’upinthebed，an’gropin’foraquartbottleivholywathersheusedtohangbythebackivthebed，’don’tcomein，darlin’——
there’sholywatherhere，’saysshe；’buttellmefromwhereyouareisthereanythingthat’sthroublin’yourpoorsinfulsowl？’saysshe。’An’tellmehowmanymasses’illmakeyouasy，an’bythiscrass，I’llbuyyouasmanyasyouwant，’saysshe。
’Idon’tknowwhatthedivilyoumane，’
saysJim。
’Goback，’saysshe，’gobacktoglory，forGod’ssake，’saysshe。
’Divil’scuretothebitivme’illgobacktoglory，oranywhereelse，’sayshe，’thisblessednight；soopenthedooratonst’
an’letmein，’sayshe。
’TheLordforbid，’saysshe。
’Byjabers，you’dbetther，’sayshe，’orit’illbetheworseforyou，’sayshe；an’
widthathefelltowallopin’thedoortillhewasfairlytired，an’Andyan’hiswifecrassin’themselvesan’sayin’theirprayersforthebarelifeallthetime。
’JimSoolivan，’saysshe，assoonashewasdone，’goback，forGod’ssake，an’
don’tbefreakenin’mean’yourpoorfatherlesschildhren，’saysshe。
’Why，youbosthoon，you，’saysJim，’won’tyouletyourhusbandin，’sayshe，’tohisownhouse？’sayshe。
’YouWORmyhusband，sureenough，’
saysshe，’butit’swellyouknow，JimSoolivan，you’renotmyhusbandNOW，’saysshe。
’You’reasdhrunkascanbeconsaved，saysJim。
’Goback，inGod’sname，paciblytoyourgrave，’saysNell。
’Bymysowl，it’stomygraveyou’llsindme，sureenough，’sayshe，’youhard-
heartedbain’，forI’mjistaffwidthecowld，’
sayshe。
’JimSulivan，’saysshe，’it’sinyourdacentcoffinyoushouldbe，youunforthunatesperit，’saysshe；’whatisit’sannoyin’yoursowl，inthewideworld，atall？’saysshe；’hadn’tyoueverythingcomplate？’saysshe，’theoil，an’thewake，an’theberrin’？’saysshe。
’Och，bythehoky，’saysJim，’it’stoolongI’mmakin’afoolivmysilf，gostherin’
widyououtsideivmyowndoor，’sayshe，’forit’splaintobeseen，’sayshe，’youdon’tknowwhatyour’resayin’，an’
nooneELSEknowswhatyoumane，youunforthunatefool，’sayshe；’so，onstforall，openthedoorquietly，’sayshe，’or，bymysowkins，I’llnotlaveasplinthertogether，’sayshe。
Well，whinNellan’Andyseenhewasgettingvexed，theybeginnedtobawlouttheirprayers，withthefright，asifthelifewaslavin’them；an’themorehebatethedoor，theloudertheyprayed，untilatlastJimwasfairlytiredout。
’Badlucktoyou，’sayshe；’foraraledivilavawoman，’sayshe。I
’can’tgetanyadvantageavyou，anyway；butwaittillIgethouldivyou，that’sall，’sayshe。An’heturnedafffromthedoor，an’wintroundtothecow-house，an’settledhimselfaswellashecould，inthesthraw；an’hewastiredenoughwidthethravellin’hehadintheday-time，an’
agooddalebotheredwithwhatliquorhehadtaken；sohewaspurtysureofsleepin’
whereverhethrunhimself。
But，bymysowl，itwasn’tthesamewaywiththemanan’thewomaninthehouse——
fordivilawinkivsleep，goodorbad，couldtheygetatall，widthefrightivthesperit，astheysupposed；an’withthefirstlighttheysintalittlegossoon，asfastashecouldwag，straightoff，likeashot，tothepriest，an’todesirehim，fortheloveo’
God，tocometothemantheminute，an’
tobring，ifitwasplasin’tohisraverence，allthelittlethingshehadforsayin’mass，an’savin’sowls，an’banishin’sperits，an’
freakenin’thedivil，an’thelikesivthat。
An’itwasn’tlongtillhisraverencekemdown，sureenough，ontheouldgreymare，widthelittlemass-boybehindhim，an’theprayer-booksan’Bibles，an’alltheothermystariousarticlesthatwaswantin’，alongwidhim；an’assoonashekemin，’Godsaveallhere，’sayshe。
’Godsaveye，kindly，yourraverence，’
saysthey。
’An’what’sgonewrongwidye？’sayshe；’yemustbeverybad，’sayshe，’
entirely，todisturbmydevotions，’sayshe，’thisway，jistatbreakfast-time，’sayshe。
’Bymysowkins，’saysNell，’it’sbadenoughweare，yourraverence，’saysshe，’forit’spoorJim’ssperit，’saysshe；’Godresthissowl，whereveritis，’saysshe，’thatwaswandherin’upan’down，opossitethedoorallnight，’saysshe，’inthewayitwasnouseatall，thryin’togetawinkivsleep，’saysshe。
’It’stolayit，youwantme，Isuppose，’
saysthepriest。
’Ifyourraverence’iddothatsame，it’idbeplasin’tous，’saysAndy。
’It’llberatherexpinsive，’saysthepriest。
’We’llnotdifferabouttheprice，yourraverence，’saysAndy。
’Didthesperitstoplong？’saysthepriest。
’Mostpartivthenight，’saysNell，’theLordbemercifultousall!’saysshe。
’That’llmakeitmorecostlythanI
thought，’sayshe。’An’diditmakemuchnoise？’sayshe。
’Bymysowl，it’sitthatdid，’saysAndy；’leatherin’thedoorwidsticksandstones，’sayshe，’antilIfairlythoughteveryminute，’sayshe，’theouldboordsidsmash，an’thesperitidbeinantopivus——Godblessus，’sayshe。
’Phiew!’saysthepriest；’it’llcostapowerivmoney。’
’Well，yourraverence，’saysAndy，’takewhateveryoulike，’sayshe；’onlymakesureitwon’tannoyusanymore，’sayshe。
’Oh!bymysowkins，’saysthepriest，’it’llbethequarestghostinthesivenparishes，’sayshe，’ifithasthecouragetocomeback，’sayshe，’aftherwhatI’lldothismornin’，plaseGod，’sayshe；’sowe’llsaytwelvepounds；an’Godknowsit’schapeenough，’sayshe，’considherin’allthesarcumstances，’sayshe。
Well，therewasn’tasecondwordtothebargain；sotheypaidhimthemoneydown，an’hesotthetabledounlikeanalthar，beforethedoor，an’hesettleditoutvidallthethingshehadwidhim；an’
helitabitivaholycandle，an’hescatheredhisholywatherrightan’left；an’hetookupabigbook，an’hewintanreadin’
forhalfanhour，good；an’whinhekemtotheend，hetuckhouldivhislittlebell，andhebeginnedtoringitforthebarelife；an’，bymysowl，herungitsowell，thathewakenedJimSulivaninthecow-
house，wherehewassleepin’，an’uphejumped，widoutaminute’sdelay，an’medrightforthehouse，whereallthefamily，an’thepriest，an’thelittlemass-boywasassimbled，layin’theghost；an’assoonashisraverenceseenhimcomin’inatthedoor，widthefairfright，heflungthebellathishead，an’hothimsichalickivitintheforehead，thathesthretchedhimonthefloor；butfain；hedidn’twaittoaxanyquestions，buthecutroundthetableasifthedivilwasaftherhim，an’outatthedoor，an’didn’tstopevenasmuchastomountanhismare，butleatheredawaydowntheborheenasfastashislegscouldcarryhim，thoughthemudwasuptohisknees，savin’yourpresence。
Well，bythetimeJimkemtohimself，thefamilypersavedthemistake，an’Andywinthome，lavin’Nelltomaketheexplanation。
An’assoonasJimheerditall，hesaidhewasquitecontinttolavehertoAndy，entirely；butthepriestwouldnothearivit；an’hejistmedhimmarryhiswifeoveragain，an’amerryweddin’itwas，an’afinecollectionforhisraverence。
An’Andywastherealongwidtherest，an’thepriestputasmallpinnanceuponhim，forbein’intoogreatahurrytomarryawiddy。
An’badlucktothewordhe’dallowanyonetosayanthebusiness，everafter，atall，atall；so，avcoorse，nooneoffindedhisraverence，byspakin’ivthetwelvepoundshegotforlayin’thesperit。
An’theneighboursworallmightywellplased，tobesure，forgettin’allthedivarsionofawake，an’twoweddin’sfornothin’
ACHAPTERINTHEHISTORYOFATYRONEFAMILY
BeingaTenthExtractfromtheLegacyofthelateFrancisPurcell，P。P。ofDrumcoolagh。
INTRODUCTION。
Inthefollowingnarrative，IhaveendeavouredtogiveasnearlyaspossibletheipsissimaverbaofthevaluedfriendfromwhomIreceivedit，consciousthatanyaberrationfromHER
modeoftellingthetaleofherownlifewouldatonceimpairitsaccuracyanditseffect。
Wouldthat，withherwords，Icouldalsobringbeforeyouheranimatedgesture，herexpressivecountenance，thesolemnandthrillingairandaccentwithwhichsherelatedthedarkpassagesinherstrangestory；and，aboveall，thatIcouldcommunicatetheimpressiveconsciousnessthatthenarratorhadseenwithherowneyes，andpersonallyactedinthesceneswhichshedescribed；theseaccompaniments，takenwiththeadditionalcircumstancethatshewhotoldthetalewasonefartoodeeplyandsadlyimpressedwithreligiousprincipletomisrepresentorfabricatewhatsherepeatedasfact，gavetothetaleadepthofinterestwhichtheeventsrecordedcouldhardly，themselves，haveproduced。
IbecameacquaintedwiththeladyfromwhoselipsIheardthisnarrativenearlytwentyyearssince，andthestorystruckmyfancysomuchthatIcommittedittopaperwhileitwasstillfreshinmymind；
andshoulditsperusalaffordyouentertainmentforalistlesshalfhour，mylabourshallnothavebeenbestowedinvain。
IfindthatIhavetakenthestorydownasshetoldit，inthefirstperson，andperhapsthisisasitshouldbe。
Shebeganasfollows：
MymaidennamewasRichardson，[1]thedesignationofafamilyofsomedistinctioninthecountyofTyrone。Iwastheyoungeroftwodaughters，andweweretheonlychildren。Therewasadifferenceinouragesofnearlysixyears，sothatI
didnot，inmychildhood，enjoythatclosecompanionshipwhichsisterhood，inothercircumstances，necessarilyinvolves；andwhileIwasstillachild，mysisterwasmarried。
[1]IhavecarefullyalteredthenamesastheyappearintheoriginalMSS。，forthereaderwillseethatsomeofthecircumstancesrecordedarenotofakindtoreflecthonouruponthoseinvolvedinthem；andasmanyarestillliving，ineverywayhonouredandhonourable，whostandincloserelationtotheprincipalactorsinthisdrama，thereaderwillseethenecessityofthecoursewhichwehaveadopted。
ThepersonuponwhomshebestowedherhandwasaMr。Carew，agentlemanofpropertyandconsiderationinthenorthofEngland。
Irememberwelltheeventfuldayofthewedding；thethrongingcarriages，thenoisymenials，theloudlaughter，themerryfaces，andthegaydresses。Suchsightswerethennewtome，andharmonisedillwiththesorrowfulfeelingswithwhichI