STRANGE AND TRUE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3077, 7 May 1881, Page 4

STRANGE AND TRUE.

__* Au.t'-iALIAK' T-VI/E, BY OsA HOPE

In the house of a wealthy farmer in North Devon were assembled a family party. John Foster and his three grown up daughters, four younger children, and his sister, Susan, who, with her husband, Robert Winslow, were returned colonists. They had been three weeks at Home, and the incessant rain had kept them indoors the whole time. On this particular evening, tired of waiting for fine weather, Robert and his nephew had gone out. The party they had left at home was a dull one.

Mr Foster was absorbed in his paper, and benevolent-looking Mrs Winslow was wishing herself back in sunny Australia. The conversation had drifted to Spiritualism, in which subject, Annie, the eldest girl, was much interested. She was describing a seance, at whioh she lately had assisted, when Mr Foster, throwing aside his paper, exclaimed angrily; " Susan, how can you listen to such rubbish ? Before you went to Australia you were merciless in your strictures on those who believed in supernatural visitations; can you not give that silly girl a lesson ? "

" I used to speak very strongly on the subject when I was young, John ; but since one of those unaccountable occurrences, which make people hesitate to say anything is impossible, took place in our own house in Victo'ia, I am not so positive," Mr Foster pushed his spectacles up on his forehead, and stared incredulously at his sister.

" You a believer in ghosts, and suoh rot, Susan!"

" Well, no, John ; I don't think I quite believe in ghosts; but I will never again accuse those who do of gross ignorance, or weak superstition."

" Ob, Auntie ; what did you see ? tell us all about, " said Annie, eagerly. "I nevev saw anything more remarkable than myself, child. I'll tell you the story, though it is rather a long one. When you hear it, John, I think you will agree with me there is only one way to account for it." " Let us have tea first, " said he. Mr Foster was a matter-of-fact individual, who believed nothing that he did not understand. He was as anxious as the girls to hear what had wrought the change in his sister's opinions. When tea was cleared away there was a general " Now, then, Auntie, begin;" seats were drawn nearer to the fire, and Mrs Winslow told her story : — " I often told you in my letters, John, what a drawback it was to us that we had no help of our own. Wages were so high in Victoria that it was impossible for people beginning with such small means as we had to pay men. For the first few years we did not attempt cultivation at all. Robert bought some cows, and it was by the sale of dairy produce, pigs, and poultry, we lived, while poor Bob had to work like a nigger, felling trees, and clearing a few acres to grow sufficient stuff for home consumption. My greatest trouble was. to keep a girl. For the first two years, I believe I had twenty, but none of them would stay with me. I must say it was not an easy place. I could only afford to pay one girl, and I had work enough for two. The children were so young, and poor Willie, the healthiest of the lot on board ship, was ill from the day we landed to the day he died, four years afterwards. The poor child wanted more care than a baby. Then we lived in such a lonely place," eighteen miles from Melbourne. No chance of a girl ever meeting a rich squatter or a lucky digger there. At length my good angel sent me an Irish, girl, Nelly Moriarty. She was recommended to me by an acquaintance, who told me that she had been in a number of places, although she was not long in the colony; and that she was an industrious girl, but slow, and wanted teaching.

" What can you do, Nelly ?" I asked. " I can make up linen, ma'am, and milk, and make butter, but I can't cook."

"■ an you take care of children, and he kind to them ?"

" I don't know, ma'am," she said, so innocently, " for I never was in a house with children in my life: but I'll do my best."

I took her home with me and I found her a treasure. She was the most affectionate, guileless creature I ever met. Work was no trouble to her. I never, during the five years she lived with me, once heard her say she was tired. But it was impossible to teach her anything. The few ideas she possessed must have grown with her. About the dairy and the laundry she was worth anything; and for darning and mending she was a wonder. When she suggested knitting for the children, I told her not to draw it upon herself, that there was too much to do already ; she replied: " Shure, ma'am, I could be doing a little at odd times when it wouldn't be worth while taking up sewing." And she did contrive opportunities to knit all 'heir socks. I could never make a cook of her, though I tried to. When doing any particular cooking, I would call her ; make her sit down beside me and see it done ; and keep telling her how necessary it was for her to learn. And Nelly would take her stocking out of her pocket and listen to me ; but her thoughts would be far away, perhaps in her native Kerry, with her father, whom she loved so dearly. She never cooked a dinner but once for me, and that one I shall never forget. This has nothing to do with my story, mind ; but I want you to understand what sort of a girl Nelly was. A clergyman had announced a service at a neigliborinofarmer's, and we had invited him to return with us to dinner. I prepared everything the night before, and left Nelly nothing to make but the pudding, for which, I laid out the exact quantity of everything. A mistake seemed impossible. On tho Sunday morning, Robert said, " you had better let Alf drive you to church, Susan, and I'll Btay and superintend the cooking • Nelly is Bure to make a mes. of it. I wouldn't hear of it. I knew what he wanted. He didn't care for the journey. He had got into the habit of spending his Sundays in luxurious idleness, lying on the sofa, or under a tree, reading and smoking. Poor fellow, he worked so hard all the week I know he wanted a rest on Sunday, but then he carried it to such extremes. Really it seemed a trouble to him to come to the table for his meals. And as far as superintending the dinner went, he enjoyed Nelly's blunders so much, that if he saw her putting lemon peel in the soup, or onions in the custard, 1 am sure he would not check her. Well, we brought home the minister. Everything was nicely cooked, but the pudding ; and what do you think she had done with it ? After mixing, she had put in the eggs carefully whole, shells and all! Fortunately, our rev. guest thought, like Robert, that a good laugh made amends for the loss of the pudding, and no one felt annoyed but myself. There was another drawback lo Nelly's usefulness. She was a pious Catholic, and there were so many church holidays throughout theyear which she felt bound to observe as religiously as Sunday. I was very methodical with my work. I had to be so, or we would never get through all we had to do, and the loss of a day would throw me into confusion for the whole week. These holidays always came on me unexpectedly ; she would never speak of them beforehand, but she would appear a little smarter than usual; and not quite so early.

" What, another holiday, Nelly," I would say, in dismay, when the said holiday happened to be washing or churning day. "Why ever do you no? tell me beforehand about these holidays,'? " and she would reply so earnestly:

"Faith, I thought, ma'am, every one knew this was a holiday ; isn't it Lady day," or All Saints' Day, or whatever Day it happened to be. I was compelled to submit. It was impossible to be angry with her, she was such a good-natured, simple soul. 'I he children were so fond of her; even little suffering Willie clung to her; and when at length death put an end to his pain, her

grief was as heartfelt as if he had been her brother. Sho had no relative bub her father. Her only brother died in America. I believe it was extreme poverty made her leave home. She and her father wrote to each other by every mail, and every three months she sent him her wages, keeping what was barely sufficient to purchase the plainest clothes* for herself.

Well, a great event was to take place in our scattered district. We were about to hold our first Agricultural Show. Hitherto, anyone wishing to compete at tho exhibitions had to go to Melbourne, and tlie farmers, after many meetings, had determined that there should be a show in the immediate vicinity. A very respectable sum had been collected for prizes, and the entries in the various classes were expected to bo numerous, and we were all looking forward with the greatest interest to (his red letter day. Nelly and I were both competitors. She made excellent butter, but I could not make her understand that scalding the cream improved it.

' 'Deed, ma'am,' she said, 'it stands to raison that biled crame hasn't the flavour of crame in its natural state !' and I knew it. was no use to argue with her. And now, for a week before the show we agreed to divide t.he milk, and each take her own plan, and as Robert said, it would go hard if wo did not bring homo at least one prize. Monday was our washing day ; on Tuesday we got everything ironed, mended, and put, away. Imagine my consternation, when on Tuesday morning Nelly came out of her room in her clean print dress and unmistakablo Sunday appearance. ' Nelly, Nelly, you aro not going to keep holiday to-day, and the show to be on Friday ! We'll never be ready with our butter.' 'It 'ill be a tightner on us, ma'am.' she said, ' but it can't be helped. You wouldn' have me work on the 25th of March, I'd a? soon work of a Sunday.

'Do waive it just this once, Nelly. It is not a vory important holiday you know,' I said, trying to coax her out of it. ' Not very important, did you say, ma'am. Ah, yes, it is ; it is the day of tho Annunciation.'

She told me she had never read the Bible, but she was more familiar with Scripture history than I was. There was not an incident from the fall of Adam and Eve to the Consummation on Calvory, that she could not have related in that simple, homely language, tbat showed what pains had been taken with her religious instruction. I believe she came from respectable parents, and would have been well educated had her intellect not been somewhat deficient. I tried to swallow my mortification, and went to to Robert with my grievance. For once he was sympathetic, and did not laugh at me.

• It's no use in getting cross with her, Susan,' he said, ' leave her alone and you'll see what a spurt she'll put on to-morrow to pull up for lo3ttime. If I can help you I'll stop at home to-day.' But I let him go to his work. He would be as much in the way aS a horse in the house. I kept out of the kitchen all day ; I did not want to show my temper ; and I was very cross. The cooking and dairy work not coming under the head of unnecessary servile work" I left on her hands, with the exception of scalding and skimming my own dishes. The evening set in suddenly with every appearance of rain. Nelly was washing the tea things. The children were a3 usual gathered round her, some helping, and some hindering. I came out and called Alf and Rob to go out for the clothes, which were sail on the lines. Rob, always a lazy little rascal, began to whimper.

' I've got my boots off, ma ; can't some one else go ?'

' You must go,' I said, c and Alf, take the lantern with you ; it's very dark, you'll not be able to find the coloured things on the bushes without a light. Bring everything in—we'll have rain before morning.' I came back in a few minutes to see if the boys had gone. I stood at the door unobserved and watched the scene in the kitchen. It was very amusing. Alf was standing with the lighted lamp in his hand waiting for Rob, who had hold of both Nelly's hands, and was coaxing her to go with Alf and let him stay in. She was pretending to refuse, and he was telling her how many buckets of water he would bring her in the morning instead. The three younger ones were clamoring for a story, and declaring that ma would make Rob bring the water if Nelly liked to tell on him. Her good-humored face was teeming with fun. Of course she went. I don't think she could say ( No 'to Rob, who was her favorite, notwithstanding his laziness. They had only to go to the bottom of the garden. Robert and I could hear their merry laughter from the front room where we were sitting. I was telling how Rob had got out of going with Alf, when a scream from the garden brought us to the door. We could hear Nelly saying,

' O father, father darlint, why did you come unknownst; Alf, where did he go to. Oh heavens, 'twas his spirit!' With another wild cry she clasped her hands over her head and fell senseless on the grass. We brought her in and did what we could for her. I thought she had gone mad. She talked loudly in Irish, and it was by force we kept her in the house. At daybreak we sent for the doctor ; he said she had brain fever; that she had sustained a violent shock, and ordered her immediate removal to the hospital It was two months before we were allowed to see her. Then the resident-surgeon told Robert that she was not in a satisfactory condition. The fever had left her a fortnight ago, but she was not gaining strength as she ought. ' She appears to want rousing up,' he said, ' nothing seems to interest her. That may be the depressing influence of the sickness all round. Her friends, if she has any, should take her home and see what a change will do for her. If she does not shake off this apathy soon, death must result.'

I brought in a waggonette the next day and brought my poor faithful Nelly home. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw me, she kissed and rjressed my hand, but did not speak much.

' You will soon come round, Nelly, when you get back to your own little room, and have the children to cheer you up.' ' Hasn't the strange girl my room, ma'am. Shure you're not all this time without a servant ?' When I told her that no one but myself had been in her room since she left, a grateful smile passed over her pale worn face, but she did not answer. She never rallied. We thought her memory had failed, because she never alluded to the cause of her illness, nor asked for a letter, though a mail had arrived while she was in the hospital. She accepted the children's attentions quietly but thankfully, and lay there as still as a corpse, asking for nothing nor speaking unless when spoken to. When she had been home about ten days Robert said to me, as we came out of her room, after yainly endeavouring to engage her in conversation.

' Susan, that girl won't get well. Isn't it strange that she is not asking for her clergyman ? It would not do to mention such a thing to her, it would be like telling her that she was dying, and might shock her. I'll ride into Melbourne this afternoon and see the doctor, and send her priest out to her. Poor > elly, she never spared herself when we had sickness in the family, I would like to do all I could for her now.' Early the next day Father Tierney was with us. When I told Nelly that he had come, she muttered a fervent ' thanks be to God.'

Nelly, dear, I said, 'if you were anxious to see him, why did you not tell me before ? You know Robert would have gone for him.'

" Wisha how could I, asthore, and ye all so busy and me such a trouble to ye already. I asked the great God many a time since i laid here not to take me without the last sacrament, and I knew Ho would give me the death he gave all belongin' to mo he didn't give us the world's wealth, agra, but He gave us tho happy, hopeful deathbed with His own blessed name ringing in our ears and lighting us to glory." Before mid-

day Nelly was dead. She is buried beside our Willie. "Wait a minute, John, don't explain away my ghost until you hear the end. The next mail brought a letter tc Robert from Nelly's parish priest. I have read it so often, and it impressed mo so much, that I believe I can repeat it word for word. He wrote-—

My Tsar Sir, —Ellen Moriarty's father is dead, will you break the news to her as gently as you can. It will bo a great blow to the poor girl, who now has not a friend in the world. I thank God that she has found a home with kind and truly Christian people, who will endeavour to console her in her bereavement. The old man has been ailing for months, but at my request he kept his daughter in ignorance of it, because we both knew how much it would grieve her ; and for another reason. From time immemorial there has been a tradition in the family, that when a Moriarty dies his next of kin, should he be absent, is made aware of the death in a mysterious manner, if not by an actual apparition by a dream' When Ellen's brother had been but a few months in America his father came to me one day in the deepest agitation and told me that ho was dead. That he had seen him tho night before. I tried to explain away the delusion. And after some hours of argument, persuasion, and prayer, I had tho satisfaction of sending him home in a happier state of mind, with his belief in the family ghost, much shaken. Alas, for my logic! before wo met again ho received a letter from New Orieans informing him of nis son's death, which, by a singular coincidence had taken place on tho same day and hour that ho told mo ho be. old him. I know Nelly is weak-minded, and I caused her father's illness to be kept a secret from her, lest her imagination should conjure up such phantom. I will writo to Nolly next month. You may tell hor that though ailing he only kept his bed for a few days. Ho breathed his last on tho evening of the 25th March. Again commending the orphan to your sympathy, and asking God's blessing on you and yours. —I am, &c.