Latest / Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry / 023 - Bewitched Butter Donegal - A Queen's County Witch

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023 - Bewitched Butter Donegal - A Queen's County Witch · Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

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  Speaker 1: Section twenty two of the Fairy and Folk Tales of
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  Speaker 1: the Irish Peasantry. This is a LibriVox recording. All libervox
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  Speaker 1: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
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  Speaker 1: to volunteire, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Christine G.
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  Speaker 1: Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, edited and
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  Speaker 1: selected by W. B. Yates. Section twenty two Bewitched Butter
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  Speaker 1: Donegal by Miss Letitia Maclintock. Not far from Rathmeln lived
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  Speaker 1: last spring a family called Hanlan, an inner farmhouse some
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  Speaker 1: fields distant, people named Doggety. Both families had good cows,
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  Speaker 1: but the Hanlans were fortunate in possessing a kerry cow
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  Speaker 1: that gave more milk in yellower butter than the others.
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  Speaker 1: Grace Doggerty, a young girl who was more admired than
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  Speaker 1: loved in the neighborhood, took much interest in the kerry
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  Speaker 1: cow and appeared one night at missus Handlon's door with
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  Speaker 1: a modest request. Will you let me milk your moiley cow?
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  Speaker 1: And why would you wish to milk we moiley? Grace there,
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  Speaker 1: inquired Missus Handlon. Oh, just because yes, I throng at
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  Speaker 1: the present time. Thank you kindly, Grace, but I'm not
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  Speaker 1: too throng to do my iron work. I'll no trouble
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  Speaker 1: you to milk. The girl turned away with a discontented air,
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  Speaker 1: But the next evening and the next found her at
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  Speaker 1: the cow house door with the same request. At length.
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  Speaker 1: Missus Handlon, not knowing well how to persist in her refusal,
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  Speaker 1: yielded and permitted Grace to milk the carry cow. She
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  Speaker 1: soon had reason to regret her want of firmness. Moiley
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  Speaker 1: gave no more milk to her owner. When this melancholy
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  Speaker 1: state of things lasted for three days, the Hanlan supplied
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  Speaker 1: to a certain Mark Macarrion, who lived near Binion, that
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  Speaker 1: cow has been milked by someone with an evil eye,
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  Speaker 1: said he, will she give you we drop? Do you
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  Speaker 1: think the full of a pint? Musher? Do? Ay?
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  Speaker 2: Ay, Mark, dear, I'll get that much milk fryer anyway, Well,
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  Speaker 2: missus Unland locked it all and get nine new pins
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  Speaker 2: that was never used in claws, and put them into
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  Speaker 2: a saucepan with a pint of milk.
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  Speaker 1: Set him on the fire and let them come to
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  Speaker 1: the boil. The nine pins soon begin to simmer in
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  Speaker 1: moiliss milk. Rapid steps were heard approaching the door. Agitated
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  Speaker 1: knocks followed, and Grace Doggetty's high toned voice was raised
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  Speaker 1: in eager entreaty. Let me in, missus Handlan, She cried,
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  Speaker 1: take off that cruel pot, take out empence for the
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  Speaker 1: pricking holes in my heart, and I'll never offer to
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  Speaker 1: touch milk vells again. There is hardy a village in
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  Speaker 1: Ireland where the milk is not thus believed to have
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  Speaker 1: been stolen. Times upon times there are many counter charms.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes the counter of a plow will be heated red hot,
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  Speaker 1: and the witch will rush in, crying out that she
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  Speaker 1: is burning. A new horseshoe or donkey shoe, heated and
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  Speaker 1: put under the churn, with three stores, if possible, stolen
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  Speaker 1: at midnight from over the witch's door is quite infallible. Editor,
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  Speaker 1: a Queen's County Witch. It was about eighty years ago,
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  Speaker 1: in the month of May, that a Roman Catholic clergyman
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  Speaker 1: near rath Downey in the Queen's County, was awakened at
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  Speaker 1: midnight to attend a dying man in a distant part
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  Speaker 1: of the parish. The priest obeyed without a murmur, and
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  Speaker 1: having performed his duty to the expiring sinner, saw him
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  Speaker 1: depart his world. Before he left the cabin, as it
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  Speaker 1: was yet dark, the man who had calln on the
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  Speaker 1: priest offered to accompany him home, but he refused and
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  Speaker 1: set forward on his journey alone. The gray dawn began
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  Speaker 1: to appair over the hills. The good Priest was highly
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  Speaker 1: enraptured with the beauty of the scene, and rode on, now,
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  Speaker 1: gazing intently at every surrounding object, and again cutting with
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  Speaker 1: his whip at the back some big, beautiful light flies,
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  Speaker 1: which flitted ever and anon from hedge to hedge across
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  Speaker 1: his lonely way. Thus engaged, he journeyed on slowly until
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  Speaker 1: the narrow approach of sunrise began to render objects completely discernible.
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  Speaker 1: When he dismounted from his horse, and slipping his arm
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  Speaker 1: out of the rain, and drawing forth his breviary from
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  Speaker 1: his pocket, he commenced reading his morning office as he
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  Speaker 1: walked leisurely along. He had not proceeded very far when
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  Speaker 1: he observed his horse, a very spiritual animal, endeavoring to
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  Speaker 1: stop on the road and gazing intently into a field
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  Speaker 1: on one side of the way. Where there were three
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  Speaker 1: or four cows grazing. However, he did not pay any
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  Speaker 1: particular attention to this circumstance, but went on a little farther.
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  Speaker 1: When the horse suddenly plunged with great violence and endeavored
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  Speaker 1: to break away by force, The priest, with great difficulty,
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  Speaker 1: succeeded in restraining him, and, looking at him more closely,
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  Speaker 1: observed him shaking from head to foot, setting profusely. He
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  Speaker 1: now stood calmly and refused to move from where he was,
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  Speaker 1: nor could threats or entreaty induce him to proceed. The
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  Speaker 1: father was greatly astonished, but recollecting to have often heard
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  Speaker 1: of horses laboring under affright being induced to go by
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  Speaker 1: blindfolding them. He took out his handkerchief entid it across
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  Speaker 1: his eyes. He then mounted, and, striking him gently, he
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  Speaker 1: went forward without reluctance, but still sweating and trembling violently.
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  Speaker 1: They had not gone far when they arrived opposite a
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  Speaker 1: narrow path or bridle way, flanked at either side by
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  Speaker 1: a tall, thick hedge, which led from the high road
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  Speaker 1: to the field where the cows were grazing. The priest
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  Speaker 1: happened by chance to look into the lane and saw
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  Speaker 1: a spectacle which made the blood curdle in his veins.
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  Speaker 1: It was the legs of a man from the hips downwards,
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  Speaker 1: without head or body, trotting up the avenue at a
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  Speaker 1: smart pace. The good Father was very much alarmed, but
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  Speaker 1: being a man of a strong nerve, he resolved, come
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  Speaker 1: what might, to stand and be further acquainted with this
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  Speaker 1: singular specter. He accordingly stood and sowed did the headless apparition,
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  Speaker 1: as if afraid to approach him. The priest, observing this,
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  Speaker 1: pulled back a little from the entrance of the avenue,
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  Speaker 1: and the phantom again resumed its progress. It soon arrived
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  Speaker 1: on the road, and the priest now had sufficient opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to view it minutely. It wore yellow buckskin breeches tightly
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  Speaker 1: fastened at the knees with green ribbon. It had neither
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  Speaker 1: shoes nor stockings on, and its legs were covered with
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  Speaker 1: long red hairs, and all full of wet blood and clay,
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  Speaker 1: apparently contracted in its progress through the thorny hedges. The priest,
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  Speaker 1: although very much alarmed, felt eager to examine the phantom,
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  Speaker 1: and for this purpose summoned all his philosophy to enable
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  Speaker 1: him to speak to it. The ghost was now when
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  Speaker 1: little ahead, pursuing its march at its own brisky trot,
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  Speaker 1: and the priest urged on his horse speedily until he
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  Speaker 1: came up with it, and thus addressed it, hillo, our friend,
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  Speaker 1: who art thou? Or whither art thou going so early?
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  Speaker 1: The hideous specter made no reply, but uttered the fierce
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  Speaker 1: and superhuman growl or umph. A fine morning for a
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  Speaker 1: ghost to wander abroad, again, said the priest. Another umph
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  Speaker 1: was the reply, Why don't you speak? Umph? You don't
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  Speaker 1: seem disposed to be very loquacious this morning. Umph. Again.
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  Speaker 1: The good man began to feel irritated at the obstinate
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  Speaker 1: silence of his unearthly visitor, and said, with some warmth,
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  Speaker 1: in the name of all that's sacred, I command you
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  Speaker 1: to answer me, who art thou or where art thou traveling?
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  Speaker 1: Another umph, more aloud and more angry than before, was
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  Speaker 1: the only reply. Perhaps, said the father, A taste of
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  Speaker 1: a whipcord might render you a little more communicative, And
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  Speaker 1: so saying, he struck the apparition a heavy blow with
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  Speaker 1: his whip on the breach. The phantom, I too, a
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  Speaker 1: wild and unearthly yell, and fell forward on the road,
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  Speaker 1: And what was the priest's astonishment when he perceived the
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  Speaker 1: whole place running over with milk. He was struck dumb
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  Speaker 1: with amazement. The prostrate phantom still continued to eject vast
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  Speaker 1: quantities of milk from every part. The priest's head swam,
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  Speaker 1: his eyes got dissy, A stupor came all over him
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  Speaker 1: for some minutes, and on his recovering, the frightful specter
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  Speaker 1: had vanished, and in its stead he found stretched on
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  Speaker 1: the road and half drowned in milk, the form of
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  Speaker 1: Sarah Kennedy, an old woman of the neighborhood, who had
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  Speaker 1: been long notorious in that district for her witchcraft and
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  Speaker 1: superstitious practices. And it was now discovered that she had,
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  Speaker 1: by infernal aid, assumed that monstrous shape, and was employed
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  Speaker 1: that morning in sucking the cows of the village. Had
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  Speaker 1: a volcano burst forth at his feet, he could not
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  Speaker 1: be more astonished. He gazed awhile in silent amazement, the
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  Speaker 1: old woman, groaning and writhing convulsively. Sarah said he at length,
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  Speaker 1: I have long admonished you to repent of your evil ways,
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  Speaker 1: but you were deaf to my entreaties, and now, wretched woman,
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  Speaker 1: you are surprised in the midst of your crimes, Oh father, father,
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  Speaker 1: shouted the unfortunate woman, Can ye do nothing to save me?
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  Speaker 1: I am lost. Hell is open for me. Allegiance of
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  Speaker 1: devils surround me this moment, waiting to carry my soul
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  Speaker 1: to perdition. The priest had not power to reply. The
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  Speaker 1: old wretch's pains increased, her body swelled to an immense eze.
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  Speaker 1: Her eyes flashed as if on fire. Her face was
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  Speaker 1: black as night, Her entire form writhed in a thousand
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  Speaker 1: different contortions. Her outcries were appalling, her face sunk, her
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  Speaker 1: eyes closed, and in a few minutes she expired in
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  Speaker 1: the most acquisite tortures. The priest departed homewards and called
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  Speaker 1: at the next cabin to give notice of the strange circumstances.
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  Speaker 1: The remains of Sorrow Kennedy were removed to her cabin,
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  Speaker 1: situated at the edge of a small wood at a
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  Speaker 1: little distance. She had long been a resident in that neighborhood,
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  Speaker 1: but still she was a stranger and came there. No
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  Speaker 1: one knew from whence. She had no relation in that country,
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  Speaker 1: but one daughter, now advanced in years, who resided with her.
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  Speaker 1: She kept one cow, but sold more butter, it was said,
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  Speaker 1: than any farmer in the parish, and it was generally
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  Speaker 1: suspected that she acquired it by devilish agency, as she
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  Speaker 1: never made a secret of being intimately acquainted with sorcery
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  Speaker 1: and faerialism. She professed a Roman Catholic religion, but never
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  Speaker 1: complied with the practices enjoyed by that church, and her
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  Speaker 1: remains were denied Christian's sepulture and were buried in a
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  Speaker 1: sand pit near her own cabin. On the evening of
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  Speaker 1: her burial, the villages assembled and burned her cabin to
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  Speaker 1: the earth. Her daughter made her escape and never after returned.
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  Speaker 1: End of Section twenty two.