Lismore

“ Lismore is a renowned city, for there is one portion of it which no woman may enter and there are within it many chapels and monasteries, and in which there are always multitudes of devout people not from Ireland alone but from the land of the Saxons and from Britain and from other lands as well. This is its situation—on the south bank of the Avonmore in the Decies territory.
On a certain day there came a druid to Mochuda to argue and contend with him. He said:—"If you be a servant of God cause natural fruit to grow on this withered branch." ”

“ Lismore's taste for music was matched by Ernest's taste for painting. In his leisure hours he cultivated the art, and delighted in it. The picture-galleries of Munich were almost the only galleries in Europe which he had not seen. True to the engagements to which she had pledged herself, his wife was willing to go wherever it might please him to take her. ”

“ It was beyond Lismore to make any sort of response. The man looked stupefied, helpless.
“You seem upset, Mr. Lismore,” she said at length. “If you will sit down, I will state my business.”
He seemed to grope his way to the chair at his desk, and sank upon it.
“You poor creature!” she murmured. “Have you no fight in you?”
Stung, he drew himself up. “I—I am not very well. Your sudden entrance gave me a shock. What is your business, Miss Gosling?”
“You shall have it in the fewest words possible. The first part is concerned with a matter of nearly twenty years ago. ”

“ Sylvia Lismore's letter gave the impression that things were going pleasantly enough. I can imagine Harold Lismore, with money in his pocket and nothing to gamble it on, as quite a passable country gentleman. ”

“ Ernest opened the letter.
"Dear Mr. Lismore: One of us must speak out, and your letter of apology forces me to be that one. If you are really so proud and so distrustful as you seem to be, I shall offend you; if not, I shall prove myself to be your friend.
"Your excuse is 'pressure of business'; the truth (as I have good reason to believe) is 'want of money.' I heard a stranger at that public meeting say that you were seriously embarrassed by some failure in the City.
"Let me tell you what my own pecuniary position is in two words: I am the childless widow of a rich man——"
Ernest paused. ”

“ We read in Archdall that there was at Lismore, as at Armagh and many other principal churches, a hermitage, where one or more anchorites dwelt enclosed in their cells, after the fashion of the primitive Egyptian saints in the Desert. St. Carthach himself had set the example at Lismore; and it seems it was regularly followed, for a small endowment in land was provided for the maintenance of these anchorites at Lismore. The death of one of the most celebrated is noticed A.D. 1040:—“Corcran Cleireach, anchorite, the head of the West of Europe for piety and wisdom, died at Lis-mor.” ”

“ A famous member of Parliament had risen to propose the third resolution. The polite old man took his seat, and the lady left the hall to join her friend.
"Well, Mrs. Callender, has Mr. Lismore disappointed you?"
"Far from it! But I have heard a report about him which has alarmed me: he is said to be seriously troubled about money matters. How can I find out his address in the City?"
"We can stop at the first stationer's shop we pass, and ask to look at the directory. Are you going to pay Mr. Lismore a visit?" ”

“ Miss Lismore dropped it from the window, but ill-luck intervened in the shape of a friend of yours. You had better take a seat.”
LISMORE stumbled to the opposite chair, and Stormont told of Miss Gosling, her capture of the letter and his attempt to get it from her.
When he had ended, Lismore said heavily: “So we are discovered and ruined, thanks to your want of foresight. You ought to have arranged things so that—”
“Don't drivel. For myself, I don't feel that I have fallen under suspicion at all; and as for you, there may still be a way out. You have simply got to manage your daughter. ”

“ In a perfect abandonment of despair, Lismore threw up his arms.
“Stop that!” commanded Stormont. “This is no time for us to quarrel,” he went on, rising. “You and I have got to be more solid than ever. The man died through sheer mischance; his blood is not on our hands.” Springing to the desk, he took from the open drawer a box of cartridges. “Quick! go and place that in Plyden's office coat. But first lock the outer door. Then ring up the police—the more excited you are the better. Say 'Suicide!' and ask them to send their doctor. Wait! ”

“ Carthach, in A.D. 636 or 637, that Cuanna was called to preside at Lismore. The kin of the founders always got a preference when rulers were elected for these ancient [Pg 467] monasteries, and his near kinship with Carthach was, together with his virtues and merits, the main reason of this election. It is certain, however, that he was Abbot of Lismore, for two of our ancient calendars describe him as such, and in the notes to the Felire of Ængus he is similarly described. ”

“ One blunder in that direction, and it's failure for good. Supposing she believes the letter to contain nothing but the old man's blessing, she would defend it at all costs to herself. And did it never occur to you that she might still be in love with young Grant?”
Lismore shrugged impatiently. “She must have been aware that young Grant was in love with Lottie,” he said. ”

“ Now what have you to say?”
“If—if the house were to become uninhabitable,” mumbled Lismore.
“Uninhabitable! How?”
“F-fire.”
Stormont laughed. 'Oh, Lord, man, don't be so crude!”
“I'm desperate, Stormont!”
“So am I. Only I draw the line at being idiotic. No, my friend, unless you can evolve a more brilliant scheme, you must let me be leader. It may not be such a difficult thing, after all, to trace young Grant. He must have at least one correspondent in New York—the person who forwarded the inexplicable fifteen hundred to Rufus. ”

“ Lismore came out of her alarming swoon, her first clear word was her husband's name.
“Father is in New York,” her daughter gently explained. “Would you like me to wire to him?”
Mrs. Lismore shook her head. “I had forgotten,” she murmured, and lay silent for a space. Then: “But I must send a wire to Mr. ”

“ However, if you can suggest how we may get at the platinum without the presence of Grant or that precious middle strip, I'm ready to follow your lead.”
Lismore was mute.
“And we don't even know,” Stormont went on, “that the hoard is within the walls of Elm House. We naturally think of it as there, because our late friend, since first we knew him, lived there and, so far as we are aware, owned no other place of residence. But how are we going to satisfy ourselves on the point? Since Miss March has refused the invitation to Atlantic City, the thing looks pretty hopeless. ”

“ But when two people are living together in a state of artificial tranquillity, it seems to be a law of nature that the element of disturbance gathers unseen, and that the outburst comes inevitably with the lapse of time.
In ten days from the date of their arrival at Munich the crisis came. Ernest returned later than usual from the picture-gallery, and, for the first time in his wife's experience, shut himself up in his own room.
He appeared at the dinner hour with a futile excuse. Mrs. Lismore waited until the servant had withdrawn. ”

“ This heat is absurd so late in the year—not that it worries me.”
“I've been feeling a bit upset myself to-night,” the spinster remarked, still uneasy lest she should be looking ghastly.
“Then we'll have a room upstairs made ready for you at once. After that policeman's warning—”
“Please, no! I'd rather be stuffy than change my bed. I'm not in the least nervous.”
“WELL?” demanded Lismore, wheeling upon his daughter as her taxi sped away. ”

“ On Thursday night she loosened the [33] cows in Arileod byre, let in the calves, and did much mischief.
WITCHES AS HARES.
In addition to the above tales, in which this transformation has been mentioned, the following may be given as further illustrations of the superstition.
A young man, in the island of Lismore, was out shooting. When near Balnagown Loch, he started a hare, and fired at it. The animal gave an unearthly scream, and it then for the first time occurred to the young man that there were no hares in Lismore. He threw away his gun in terror, and fled home. ”

“ The book of the Dean of Lismore, however, is written phonetically to represent the spoken language of his day, and is mainly in the Perthshire dialect. The various collections of ballads made between 400 and 70 years ago exhibit different styles of writing, and the unsettled modes of orthography prevalent at the time.
The poetic form of these productions is generally that of the quatrain. Some pieces do not exceed a few stanzas in length, others extend to 80 or 100 quatrains or to between 300 or 400 lines. Many archaic expressions are to be met with ”

“ On your way into the town your carriage was stopped by an obstruction on the highroad. The people of Bexmore were looking at a house on fire."
He started to his feet.
"Good heavens! are you the lady?"
She held up her hand in satirical protest.
"Gently, sir! You suspected me just now of wasting your valuable time. Don't rashly conclude that I am the lady until you find that I am acquainted with the circumstances."
"Is there no excuse for my failing to recognise you?" Mr. Lismore asked. "We were on the dark side of the burning house ”

“ They will make a well-matched pair, Louisa. As you know, I hold Lisle in very high regard, not merely because he happens to be the son of the man who saved my life, but by reason of his own fine qualities. How wide is the difference between him and young Rispani!”
Later in the day he took occasion to congratulate both the young folk, with the old-fashioned courtesy which became him so well, nor did he fail at dinner to drink to their health and happiness in a bumper of the rare old Madeira which was reserved for very special occasions. ”

“ Duncan Lisle was a boy again. With two little brothers and a half-dozen black child-retainers, he hunted in the woods of Kennons, sailed boats on the red waters of the Roanoke, rode break-neck races over the old fields, despising fences high, and ditches deep, and vigorously sought specimens of uncouth, out-of-the-way beast, bird and insect. He studied mathematics and classics, played pranks upon one tutor, and did loving reverence to another. ”

“ Faith, man! you are wasted to a mummy," replied Lisle, smiling sadly. "I have been winged at last," he added, pointing to his left sleeve, which was empty, and hung, attached by a loop, to a button at his breast. "It is now doing very well," he continued, "but the sight of my empty sleeve and stump will scare the ladies at Inchavon: that, though, is the least part of the affair. My soldiering is now ended: the Gordon Highlanders and Louis Lisle must part at last! 'Every bullet'—you know the adage." ”

“ Jeremy, rushing out of the train, seized the lead, scolded his recovered property, who wore an expression of injured and abandoned innocence, and looked about him. Yes, this was Liskane—wonderful, marvellous, magical Liskane! To the bored and cynical adult Liskane may easily appear to be one of the ugliest, most deserted stations in the whole of Europe, having nothing on either side of it save barren grey fields that never grow grass but only stones and bottles, with its single decoration—a heavy iron bridge that crosses the rails and leads up to the higher road and the town of Liskane. ”

“ He turned his head away—a queer-shaped, heavy head—and added: “Quite the last.”
“Lispets, Maunders; what are they?”
“My dear K——, believe me,” said Maunders almost mincingly, “not everything is a jest. You must now have trodden the streets of this small town at least a dozen times. The Works—what remains of them—are not seven miles off. And yet, here you are, pleasantly fluting that you have lived a life of such obscurity as never to have heard of Lispet, Lispett, and Vaine's. It's an affectation. I can scarcely forgive you. Nor will Henrietta.” ”

“ People who looked once at James Quentin, looked twice at Gilbert Lisle; they could hardly credit the evidence of their senses. Mr. Lisle in unimpeachable clothes, with a matchless tie, a wide expanse of shirt-front, and skin-fitting gloves, was a totally different person to the individual they were accustomed to see, in a rusty old coat, a flannel shirt, and disreputable wide-awake! How much depends on a man's tailor! ”

“ As they halted and formed line in the court of the fortress, Lisle was somewhat surprised to hear himself accosted in Spanish by an officer, who, muffled in a large military cloak, came from the keep. He recognised his friend of Aranjuez, the father of Donna Virginia,—the same traitorous Spanish noble who now openly served Buonaparte; and as commandant of a French garrison wore a staff-uniform embroidered with oak-leaves. Lisle thought of Virginia,—indeed he never thought of aught else: and veiling his dislike to the duke, he answered him as politely as possible. ”

“ Lisle said, "but the havildar let me ride on the top of one of the waggons for a couple of hours and, after that, I was able to march in with the rest."
"It was a rough march for a recruit," the other said, "but you will soon get used to that. Grease your feet well before you put on your bandages. You will find that that will ease them very much, and that you will not get sore feet, as you would if you marched without preparation."
Lisle took the advice, and devoted a portion of his rations for the purpose, the last thing at night ”