Show mr THE BATTLE mattle OF tiye THE TWINS A TALE OF THE MONKS CASCADE 1 twenty five years awo ago ngo ago the service companies of my regi regiment nent being then in the west indies I 1 was doing duty with a four company depot in the pleasant island of jersey when a sudden and unpleasant order caused us ns to be transported at once to kinsale I 1 need scarcely state here the exact nature of the emergency that gave rise to this order I 1 will simply say that ireland was not quiet at least part of it and those were the days when our men went to church with sixty rounds of ball car in their pouches and percussion caps to match we were transported in an and well known war steamer which has long since departed to the land where the spirits of all good war steamers go but ere we sighted the old head of kinsale or got 0 the first glimpse of fo fort eort rt chail charl charles charies ie a haunted spot whereby hangs a tale 0 of f itself the emergency had vanished we had scarcely been there three weeks however when in consequence of another order we found ourselves en route to a most roost romantic part of munster oh the march my own particular line of duty required me lne to be a day in advance of the main body in fact I 1 was alone and during that eventful period of my solitary march on horseback I 1 witnessed some scenes the he parallel arallen of which may be found in any iny land land others which can only be witnessed in catholic countries and others again which can only be met with within in ireland one fine july afternoon as I 1 was leisurely proceeding toward a small email village which contains the ruins of an abbey church I 1 was much impressed with the romant romantic lc nature of the country before arriving at a thickly wooded bend in the splendid macadamised road I 1 had dis mounted from my horse and with the reins over my arm was proceeding observantly ser vantly along it was then three 0 clock and as 1 reached the bend a scene burst upon my view which struck me with delight the road I 1 was pursuing ur suing wound up to the summit of a hui hul hi a deep dee gorge wild rock strewn and studded here and there with sloe bushes thorns and brambles being on the left of the toad road and denso dense woods with trees of a noble nobie growth clothing the right on the summit stood the moss and ivy clad ruins of the old abbey it was a nodle nome picture indeed neath the ancient walls on the left feli fell fell feli a magnificent cascade from the height of a hundred feet into the gorge where after seething and hissing h Is aloft in a white mist of foam over the broken fragments of rock below it abandoned its angry tone and vanished quietly into the green clad valley beyond where a herd of cattle were quietly grazi grazina grazing nj near its margin some somme of them indeed stood in it whisking their tails ana and chewing their cuds buds with drowsy industry still leading my horse I 1 tolled toiled up the steep ascent which I 1 left as I 1 reached the crest of the hill and entered the precincts of the abbey where well worn footpaths loot foot paths existed but what a scene met my gaze here the ground around the only remaining window of the ruins in this wild spot was strewn with human bones not laid regularly skull upon skull arm upon arm thighbone thigh bone upon thighbone thigh bone as in catacombs cata combs but scattered in loose hun hundreds dreda and thousands everywhere except upon the path which led beneath the crumbling weed obstructed and IV ivy mantled window U beneath and on eail each each side of which I 1 noticed that iron hinged vaults existed verily it was a valley of dry bones 11 albeit on the summit of a hill bill tying tyly g my horse by the bridle to a tree within a grassy and secluded spot I 1 wandered past the broken window to the edge of the cascade and sat down upon a projecting ledge or cornice there was not a breath of air everything around me was as warm and calm and motionless as the minutes which precede an earthquake every leaf was rt bt rest and I 1 heard not a sound save the dull thunder of the water below me I 1 love such spots and jn in the exuberance ube rance of my spirits began to sing the words of a song of a sacred character but although I 1 knew that my lips jovn ed and that I 1 was not deaf five minutes before not a sound could I 1 catch my aly voice had become a portion of the element roar beneath and around me in fact as with niagara or the or la grande chartreuse there was ijo iio longer a confused noise heard a great way oft off but a continued roar that drowned all other sounds and did not permit the bird to hear his own song nor the the traveller to be delighted with it in this mood I 1 could in the words of drummond have almost looked round and wept for babylon and memphis long destroyed while this work remained main maln ed when a new anew object attracted my attention crossing the path by which I 1 had myself entered the place advanced a man about forty years of age with handsome though fe features attires he was dressed in a light blue coat wl with th brass or gilt buttons a strong spanish felt hat bat a yellow waistcoat dark brown corduroy trousers trow sers and heavy boots with a flowing silk tie and down turned collar exhibiting a well browned well shaped throat altogether being six feet in height and stout in proportion he was what might be termed in in the language of the district a nine fine lump jump of a boy but he seemed either wearied with tra velling or mentally men tally annoyed for as he passed bis his blue eyes had bad a saddened e look 00 k his brow was wrinkled wrin lied filed and his I 1 lips paw were e r e set making his way direct to t the he abbey he rested one hand on a stick he heidin front fronton of otie one of the vaults while with the other he raised his hat reverentially made the sign of the croas cross and remained in that attitude for some minutes after ante this h he seated himself on a stone close by and gazed for a moment at the wild golgotha around him and then covering his face with both hands rocked himself to and fro in such a manner that I 1 imagined he must be in an agony of tears thus he remained for ten minutes or more when rising he drew his hat down over his brows and walked toward the public road b by a route different from that by which chic he had entered I 1 again turned my thoughts to their former channel and the incident had quite quitted my mind when J 1 was startled by the appearance of another person upon the scene I 1 say I 1 was startled because although this newcomer new comer wore an ordinary shaped beaver hat cloth trousers trow sers lighter boots and a different style of vest and neck adornment yet there seemed to bp b the very same blue coat with yellow buttons the very same build features eyes and age as the one who had recently left the spot he also went to the vault near the window raised his hat and stood a minute or two after which he departed in the same direction I 1 could not account for it at the time but in spite of the bright july sun a cold shiver ran through me even as though I 1 had gazed upon a wraith how I 1 should have felt had I 1 witnessed the same on a cold starry midnight I 1 cannot tell to say the least this combination of incidents was sin in gular guiar thus pond pondering eringi and attracted b y the impatient pawing of the ground by jy my horse by which I 1 imagined he must have been murmuring in the words lords of the ancient mariner water water everywhere and not a drop to brinkl I 1 abandoned my seat by the cascade and made the best of my way to the roadside inn I 1 which I 1 had seen on my arrival at the summit of the hill on reaching the spot I 1 first made over my horse to the charge of a shaggy headed but utterly beardless wild irish boy of fifty or thereabouts who designated me as yer honor in a very strong brogue and then made my way with some difficulty into a sort of parlor where there were two deal tables several common benches or forms and the remains of what had once been an arm chair of which I 1 took possession by an n open window previous to so BO doing I 1 had ad seized th the e ring which dangled from t the e end of a greasy rope and now I 1 waited for the result during an interval of at least five minutes I 1 had surveyed everything around from the smoky chimney to the sanded floor but there was no answer the very yard to which I 1 had seen my horse led a short time before was as silent as the statues of palmyra so I 1 gave a second and more vigorous pull and presently there entered not a fat aud and smiling boniface with bald pate and ano white apron or a sleek landlady wreathed in smiles but my original shock headed friend from the stable yard does yer honor want anything he asked as he entered and stooped to pull up his woolen stockings which had fallen alien from his unbuttoned knee breeches down over his ankles Is there nobody to attend I 1 asked and can I 1 not have a room faix an heres to atkind if hats what yer af arther ther I 1 said the odd boking looking being before me suddenly transferring his bis fingers from the buttoning of his bre breeches echea to the scratching of his head 11 the matthers mas gone down to 0 o the meadow banther yan ther to sell a cock iv hay aay to a dintleman gintle man from town an divil a room is there empty save yer honor would like to come into the kitchen where yere yero wilkic at any rate theres ony wan bedroom empty an the wan where the beautiful corpse is laid out dye see for the what beautiful corpse I 1 inquired at this very cheerful announcement which was made gratis why the mis of coorsen she died five days ago yer worship any an well wake her tomorrow to morrow night aether that ye can have the room but wont yer honor like so methin weve beautiful porter an wine an setout an an pit aties an bacon an aggs an buether an milk an some bowld chicken an cabbage an an lvery ivery thin to be sure that a Chrish tian could want 11 and chos to prepare them I 1 asked half dis disheartened heartened and half amused Is there a servant a cook Is ij it a cook yer wan waD tin faix a bet ther hand haud than at bilin bacon an cabbage to be found in all mun asther any an as for a of all work in the sli sil table tabie or the kitchen or the dh rawin rawln room or the parlor im yell not get a beather anyhow this extraordinary seif belf adu batory speech was delivered with a jerk of the right leg a complete spin round upon it the left knee being raised nearly to the chin and the whole accompanied by a double snap of tile the fingers of both hands that would have been extremely ludicrous at any time under these circumstances then I 1 replied suppressing a smile yoa soa you may bring me a small bottle of stout or stay I 1 think ill have a little whiskey and cold water now and some stout for dinner and away went the strange being muttering something about g gaggers gau gers and quare people in in entirely 1 I 1 all of which I 1 could not catch but he certainly brought me in as excellent a glass of whiskey as ever I 1 tasted with a jug of excellent water from the cascade in all probability in the same manner he served me with a tolerable dish of cold bacon and fow fowl some very nice bread as I 1 ve very humbly declined thu bowld cabbage and potatoes and not by any means a bad bottle of stout to which I 1 was about to do ample justice when the door suddenly sud deny opened and who should enter but my first apparition of the abbey and cascade the one with I 1 he spanish hat and black thorn stick making the usual salutation he at once seated himself at the vacant table in the shade of the room not seeing the va fisik bell rope at first he rapped sharply on the table with the head of his stick and was soon served with what he asked for some whiskey not a dangerous apparition after all thought 1 I and went on with my meal I 1 had noticed that notwithstanding a rather hibernian countenance i which is somewhat peculiar to that part of ireland he spoke without brogue from which and his swarthy bands and face I 1 inferred that he had either travelled or read a great deal perhaps both while waiting for whatever he had ordered he took from his pocket what appeared to me to be a roman catholic missal which he was perusing when two respectable spec actable table tabie men or of apparently the farmer elass class elass class entered and sat down on one of the benches away from either of the tables having first saluted both of us and entered into a low conversation with each other I 1 had ninis finis finished lied my meal re occupied the old armchair arm chair t filled my meerschaum and was just studying drowsily the first clouds of my own creation when who should enter but the wraith the counterpart of the man with the blue coat and seated himself on another bench near the table where he sat I 1 am positive there was a slight start a sudden opening of the full round handsome eyes a momentary rising of the brows in wonder in fact the very faintest indication of surprise by both of them but hut beyond this not the slightest token of recognition they were evidently utter strangers to each other the coats they wore seemed to have been made by the same tailor on the same order there was no other similarity in dress but the stature the build the features and the tone of the voice were counterparts only in the latter there was considerable brogue if I 1 had been awed and puzzled at tho the ruins near the cascade I 1 was doubly so now that these mysterious duplicates sab bab visa vis a vis and in such close proximity I 1 should here re remark m i ark that the two coats were evidently quite new and what an unaccountable itching I 1 felt to know the tailor of ona one or both of them I 1 satisfying himself with a strong tumbler of whiskey punch thelast comer comen remained in silent contemplation for some time of what was passing around him by this time I 1 had recovered from my low spirits somewhat and being wrape in my own memories of an eventful past paid less attention to what was passing around me the more so when the shaggy head ed individual who was stable boy waiter walter cook and housemaid all rolled into one brought in a country paper a week old gave a fresh tug at the woolen stockings scratched his head and disappeared and so did the two farmers shortly afterward I 1 might have been an hour thus engaged during which I 1 heard questions asked and answers given in tones of voice which would have struck any one but themselves from this they got to 16 yarn yam spinning two or three more tumblers of strong whiskey punch each increasing the volume of their discourse I 1 to which I 1 could not but listen from the scattered words I 1 gathered in the intervals of my reading I 1 learned that one my first vision had but just returned from sierra leoneard leone and that the other had also just landed at cork from sydney one had been manager in some sort of a heterogeneous trading concern the other a keeper and subsequently an owner of cattle at length an occasional laugh broke in to enliven the occasion and i one of them seemed to enjoy his pipe hugely finally they asked me if I 1 objected to a song which of course I 1 did not the sierra leone man sang first 11 kathleen Af 11 being his theme and he did it with such ite taste and pathos that I 1 was delighted the other clapped his hands with vociferous approbation and sang in turn oh come to the west love with such sueh surpassing tone and feeling 1 1 that I 1 could not forbear clapping as 3 hard as I 1 could it was vas sheer pure melody such as I 1 have never heard on any stage the first then commenced 41 A baby was weeping and this proved the climax of the concert at the very first line of the song the sydney man started gazed in the face of the other cast his eyes on the floor and pla pia placing cin both hands over his face I 1 coa con could see the tears as big as raindrops rain drops passing |