“Yes; but did he ever take any person’s life?”

“They say so, sir.”

“When?  How long ago?”

“Indeed, I can’t tell that, sir; but sure every one says it.”

“Well, what every one says must be true,” he replied, smiling.  “I, however, am not afraid of him, as I never go unarmed; and if I happen to meet him, trust me I will know what mettle he’s made of before we part, or whether he belongs to this world or the other.”

He then went down the glen, by the bottom of which the road went; and at a lonely place in a dark angle of it this far-famed spirit was said to appear.

This vain, but simple girl, the pride of her honest parents and all her simple relations and friends, took up her pitcher and proceeded with an elated heart by the pathway house.  We say her heart was elated at the notion of having engaged the affections of a handsome, young, and elegant gentleman, but at the same time she felt a secret sense of error, if not of guilt, in having given him a clandestine meeting, and kept an appointment which she knew her parents and brothers would have heard with indignation and shame.  She was confident, however, in her own strength, and resolved in her mind that Woodward’s attachment for her never should terminate either in her disgrace or “ruin.”  There were, however, many foolish and pernicious ballads sung about that period at the hearths of the peasantry, in which some lord or squire of high degree was represented to have fallen in love with some beautiful girl of humble life, whom he married in spite of his proud relations, and after having made her a lady of rank, and dressed her in silks and satins, gold rings and jewels, brought her home to his castle, where they lived in grandeur and happiness for the remainder of their lives.  The simple-minded girl began to imagine that some such agreeable destiny might be reserved for herself; and thus endeavored, by the deceitful sophistry of a credulous heart, and proud of her beauty, to palliate her conduct amidst the accusations of her own conscience, which told her she was acting wrong.

She had now got about half way home, when she saw an individual approach her at a rapid pace; and as the moon had just risen, his figure was distinctly before her, and she immediately felt a strong impression of terror and alarm.  The individual in question was young, tall, and muscular; his person had in it every symptom of extraordinary activity and vigor.  His features, however, were not at all such as could be termed handsome; so far from that, they were rude and stern, but not without a wild and disagreeable dignity.  His eyes were at all times fierce and fiery, and gave unequivocal indications of a fierce and fiery spirit.  He wore a pair of rude pantaloons that fitted closely to his finely made limbs, a short jacket or Wyliecoat that also fitted closely to his body, over which he wore the usual cloak of that day, which was bound about his middle with a belt and buckle,