Hunting in the Golden Days. 49 



the good things that had been placed before him, and 

 how kind and hospitable his host had been. As he 

 was passing the old church, whose tower stood out 

 boldly in the moonlight, he thought he heard a shrill 

 '* Ha ! ha ! " from the graveyard. He listened, but surely 

 he must have been mistaken, for who was likely to be 

 there at that time of the night ? He put his hand up to 

 his eyes to screen the glare of the moonlight, and cer- 

 tainly thought he saw some figures bobbing about 

 amongst the gravestones. 



However, it wasn't good enough for him to linger 

 there long, so he made up his mind to clear as soon as 

 might be ; but when he tried to run he found his legs 

 were bound as in a nightmare. To make things worse, 

 one of the hobgoblins in the churchyard, for that is 

 what he had seen, had noticed him and was ap- 

 proaching in long steady strides. The old man shook 

 all over, from head to foot, and threw himself down on 

 his marrow bones and begged for mercy. 



At this juncture the hobgoblin was joined by half-a- 

 dozen more, who commenced capering round him, turn- 

 ing somersaults and bending themselves into impossible 

 attitudes. After they had danced in this manner for 

 some considerable time, one who appeared to be in 

 authority, addressed him by his Christian name and 

 bade him repair with them to the churchyard and join 

 them in the game of puss in-the-corner. His knees 

 knocked together with fright, while he said : " If you 

 please, sir, I am only a poor, humble, hard-working 

 man, and I would sooner go home, if your worship has 

 no objection, as I don't know the game of puss-in-the- 

 corner, and I ain't fit to associate with such gentlemen 

 as you." But they wouldn't be contented with that, so 

 several of them got hold of his arms and legs. Heigh, 



