“Well,” proceeded Barney, “you all know that the divil took her and her imp, the white cat, away on the night of the great storm that took place then?”

“We do!  Sure we have heard it a thousand times.”

“Very well—­I want to show you that Bet Harramount, the white witch, and the Black Speacthre are sweethearts, and are leadin’ a bad life together.”

“Heavenly father!  Saints above!  Blessed Mother!” were ejaculated by the whole kitchen.  Barney, in fact, was progressing with great effect.

“O, yez needn’t be surprised,” he continued, “for it was well known that they had many private meetin’s while Bet was livin’ in Rathfillan.  But it was thought the devil had taken her away from the priest and magisthrate on the night o’ the storm, and so he did; and he best knew why.  Listen, I say—­Masther Harry and I went out this day to coorse hares; we went far up into the mountains, and never pulled bridle till we came to the cabin where the witch lived, the same that Koolawn chased her into in the shape of a white hare, after taking a bite out of her—­out of the part next her scut.  Well, we sat down in the cursed cabin, much against my wishes, but he would rest nowhere else—­mark that—­so while we were helpin’ ourselves to the ham and brandy, I up and tould him the history of Bet Harramount from a to izzard.  ‘Well,’ said he, ’to show you how little I care about her, and that I set her at defiance, I’ll toss every atom of her beggarly furniture out of the door;’ and so he did—­but by dad I thought he done it in a jokin’ way, as much as to say, I can take the liberty where another can’t.  I knew, becoorse, he was wrong; but that makes no maxim—­I’ll go on wid my story.  On our way home we came to the green fields that lie on this side of the haunted house; a portion of it, on a risin’ ground, is covered with furz.  Now listen—­when we came to it he stood; ‘Barney,’ says he, ’there’s a hare here; give me the dogs, Sambo and Snail; they’ll have sich a hunt as they never had yet, and never will have agin.’

“He then closed his eyes, raised his left foot, and dhrew it back three times in the divil’s name, pronounced some words that I couldn’t understand, and then said to me, ’Now, Barney, go down to that withered furze, and as you go, always keep your left foot foremost; cough three times, then kick the furze with your left foot, and maybe you’ll see an old friend o’ yours.’

“Well, I did so, and troth I thought there was somethin’ over me when I did it; but—­what ’ud you think?—­out starts a white hare, and off went Sambo and Snail after her, full butt.  I have seen many a hard run, but the likes o’ that I never seen.  If they turned her wanst they turned her more than a dozen times; but where do you think she escaped to at last?”

“The Lord knows, Barney; where?”