646 The Ghost of Kilsheelan. [JUNE, 



Biddy didn't wonder, that he held his head steady with one of his 

 hands, for fear it might fall off his shoulders entirely. 



" e Oh ! major/ says she, ' it's plain to be seen that they were takiii' 

 the head off you. Bad luck to their hands that did that same for 

 you !' 



" ( Amen !' says the major, ' an' high hangin' on a windy day to them 

 too but the dirty rascal, you see, Biddy, that did that is still walkin' 

 the face o' the earth he hung your innocent nephews for it too but I 

 won't have my walk for nothin', Biddy, if you remember what I'm goin' 

 to say to you. Do you know who was here to-night ? It was Tim 

 Cooney. Now, mind my words. You seen him take somethin' out o' 

 the hob to-night that was a purse o' mine as full o' guineas as the 

 Cat'lic church is full o' saints ; an' it was Cooney put it there, afther 

 killing me, an' my blood is on the purse still an' you recollect, he 

 swore on my trial that he got none o' my money. Now, the lying 

 scoundrel, at this very minute he has my gold watch in his fob, with my 

 own name on it, and that five hunder' pound note, that my cousin was 

 more sorry for the loss of than he was o' myself that is this very minute 

 in the inside o' my gold watch, an 7 my name's on it the villain was afraid 

 by reason o' that to change the note ever since. Let you an' Paddy follow 

 him now to Golden you will find him in a shebren house there charge 

 him with this murder, an' tell him what I say to him, an' let him take my 

 word for it, that I'll never stop walkin' till I see him walk to the gal- 

 lows an', Biddy, now that you mayn't be thinkin' this is a drame you 

 have, here's a guinea that I saved out of the fire, an' I'll make you a 

 present of it/ 



" f Thank'ee major,' says she, ( you were always good to me.' So 

 she held out her hand to him for the golden guinea he was goin' to give 

 her her heart leaped up to her mouth when she saw it, for it was as 

 shinin' and as yellow as a buttercup in a green field on a May morning. 



" ' There it's for you,' says he, ' hold it fast, an' don't forget I was 

 with you.' With that, she shut her hand on the guinea, an' the minute 

 she closed her fingers on it, she thought the hand was burnt off her. 



" ' Oh ! major, major/ says she, ' you 've murdered me entirely/ 



" ' Ah ! what major are you talkin' of?' called out Paddy, who was 

 that moment come home, and found Biddy jumpin' an' skippin' round 

 the kitchen like a mad dog, or a young kitten. 



"' What major?' answered Biddy, ' why the ould major, that was 

 here this minute/ ' It's drunk you are, or dramin'," said Paddy. < Why 

 then, if I am/ said Biddy, ( look in the tay-cup, an' you'll find the 

 major's guinea, that I threw there to cool it by the powers it has 

 burnt the finger an' thumb off me/ 



" With that, Paddy went to the cup, an' instead of a guinea, he found 

 nothin' but a smokin' cinder. If Biddy took her oath of it, nothin' would 

 persuade Paddy but that she was dramin', till she tould him o' Tim 

 Cooney bein' there, an' all the major said to her. 



" Well, the upshot of it was, that Paddy an' Biddy went to the priest 

 an' tould him all that happened, an' the priest went to a magistrate 

 Mr. Fitzgibbon, that he knew had a spite to the father o' the magistrate, 

 that took Tim Cooney 's swearin' against Carey an' Dorney. 



" But as I'm near the end o' my stage, I must be short with my story : 

 Cooney was arrested by Mr. Fitzgibbon, an' the purse, an' the watch, 



