The House by the Church-Yard

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

CONTENTS.

	A Prologue—being a dish of village chat	[1]
I.	The rector's night-walk to his church	[9]
II.	The nameless coffin	[12]
III.	Mr. Mervyn in his inn	[15]
IV.	The Fair-green of Palmerstown	[18]
V.	How the Royal Artillery entertained some of the
	neighbours at dinner	[25]
VI.	In which the minstrelsy proceeds	[32]
VII.	Showing how two gentlemen may misunderstand one another,
	without enabling the company to understand their quarrel	[35]
VIII.	Relating how Doctor Toole and Captain Devereux went
	on a moonlight errand	[40]
IX.	How a squire was found for the knight of the rueful
	countenance	[44]
X.	The dead secret, showing how the fireworker proved to
	Puddock that Nutter had spied out the nakedness of the land	[48]
XI.	Some talk about the haunted housebeing, as I suppose,
	only old woman's tales	[53]
XII.	Some odd facts about the Tiled Housebeing an
	authentic narrative of the ghost of a hand	[57]
XIII.	In which the rector visits the Tiled House,
	and Doctor Toole looks after the Brass Castle	[63]
XIV.	Relating how Puddock purged O'Flaherty's heada
	chapter which, it is hoped, no genteel person will read	[66]
XV.	Æsculapius to the rescue	[69]
XVI.	The ordeal by battle	[73]
XVII.	Lieutenant Puddock receives an invitation and a rap
	over the knuckles	[81]
XVIII.	Relating how the gentlemen sat over their claret,
	and how Doctor Sturk saw a face	[86]
XIX.	In which the gentlemen follow the ladies	[91]
XX.	In which Mr. Dangerfield visits the church of Chapelizod,
	and Zekiel Irons goes a-fishing	[94]
XXI.	Relating among other things how Doctor Toole walked
	up to the Tiled House, and of his pleasant discourse with
	Mr. Mervyn	[100]
XXII.	Telling how Mr. Mervyn fared at Belmont, and of a pleasant
	little dejeuner by the margin of the Liffey	[104]
XXIII.	Which concerns the grand dinner at the King's House, and
	who were there, and something of their talk, reveries,
	disputes, and general jollity	[108]
XXIV.	In which two young persons understand one another better,
	perhaps, than ever they did before, without saying so	[113]
XXV.	In which the sun sets, and the merry-making is kept up
	by candle-light in the King's House, and Lily receives a
	warning which she does not comprehend	[116]
XXVI.	Relating how the band of the Royal Irish Artillery played,
	and, while the music was going on, how variously different
	people were moved	[122]
XXVII.	Concerning the troubles and the shapes that began to gather
	about Doctor Sturk	[125]
XXVIII.	In which Mr. Irons recounts some old recollections about
	the Pied-horse and the Flower de Luce	[129]
XXIX.	Showing how poor Mrs. Macnamara was troubled and
	haunted too, and opening a budget of gossip	[132]
XXX.	Concerning a certain woman in black	[137]
XXXI.	Being a short history of the great battle of Belmont that
	lasted for so many days, wherein the belligerents showed
	so much constancy and valour, and sometimes one side
	and sometimes t'other was victorious	[141]
XXXII.	Narrating how Lieutenant Puddock and Captain Devereux
	brewed a bowl of punch, and how they sang and discoursed
	together	[143]
XXXIII.	In which Captain Devereux's fiddle plays a prelude to
	'Over the hills and far away'	[146]
XXXIV.	In which Lilias hears a stave of an old song and there is a
	leave-taking beside the river	[148]
XXXV.	In which Aunt Becky and Doctor Toole, in full blow,
	with Dominick the footman, behind, visit Miss Lily at
	the Elms	[152]
XXXVI.	Narrating how Miss Lilias visited Belmont, and saw a
	strange cocked-hat in the shadow by the window	[155]
XXXVII.	Showing how some of the feuds in Chapelizod wared
	fiercer, and others were solemnly condoned	[158]
XXXVIII.	Dreams and troubles, and a dark look-out	[163]
XXXIX.	Telling how Lilias Walsingham found two ladies awaiting
	her arrival at the Elms	[166]
XL.	Of a messenger from Chapelizod vault who waited in the
	Tiled House for Mr. Mervyn	[168]
XLI.	In which the rector comes home, and Lily speaks her
	mind, and time glides on, and Aunt Rebecca calls at
	the Elms	[173]
XLII.	In which Doctor Sturk tries this way and that for a reprieve
	on the eve of execution	[177]
XLIII.	Showing how Charles Nutter's blow descended, and what
	part the silver spectacles bore in the crisis	[180]
XLIV.	Relating how, in the watches of the night, a vision came
	to Sturk, and his eyes were opened	[184]
XLV.	Concerning a little rehearsal in Captain Cluffe's lodging,
	and a certain confidence between Doctor Sturk and Mr.
	Dangerfield	[187]
XLVI.	The closet scene, with the part of Polonius omitted	[191]
XLVII.	In which pale Hecate visits the Mills, and Charles Nutter,
	Esq., orders tea	[195]
XLVIII.	Swans on the water	[202]
XLIX.	Swans in the water	[206]
L.	Treating of some confusion, in consequence, in the club-room
	of the Phœnix and elsewhere, and of a hat that
	was picked up	[208]
LI.	How Charles Nutter's tea, pipe, and tobacco-box were all
	set out for him in the small parlour at the Mills, and
	how that night was passed in the house by the church-yard	[213]
LII.	Concerning a rouleau of guineas and the crack of a pistol	[218]
LIII.	Relating after what fashion Doctor Sturk came home	[221]
LIV.	In which Miss Magnolia and Doctor Toole, in different
	scenes, prove themselves Good Samaritans; and the
	great Doctor Pell mounts the stairs of the House by the
	Church-yard	[225]
LV.	In which Doctor Toole, in full costume, stands upon the
	hearth-stone of the club, and illuminates the company
	with his back to the fire	[230]
LVI.	Doctor Walsingham and the Chapelizod Christians meet
	to the sound of the holy bell, and a vampire sits in the
	church	[233]
LVII.	In which Doctor Toole and Mr. Lowe make a visit at
	the Mills, and recognise something remarkable while
	there	[235]
LVIII.	In which one of little Bopeep's sheep comes home again,
	and various theories are entertained respecting Charles
	Nutter and Lieutenant Puddock	[239]
LIX.	Telling How a Coach Drew Up at the Elms, and Two Fine
	Ladies, Dressed For the Ball, Stepped in.	[244]
LX.	Being a Chapter of Hoops, Feathers, and Brilliants,
	and Bucks And Fiddlers.	[249]
LXI.	In Which the Ghosts of a By-gone Sin Keep Tryst.	[254]
LXII.	Of a Solemn Resolution Which Captain Devereux Registered
	Among His Household Gods, With a Libation.	[257]
LXIII.	In Which a Liberty Is Taken With Mr. Nutter's Name,
	and Mr. Dangerfield Stands at the Altar.	[261]
LXIV.	Being a Night Scene, in Which Miss Gertrude Chattesworth,
	Being Adjured By Aunt Becky, Makes Answer.	[266]
LXV.	Relating Some Awful News That Reached the Village,
	and How Dr. Walsingham Visited Captain Richard
	Devereux at His Lodgings.	[271]
LXVI.	Of a Certain Tempest That Arose and Shook the
	Captain's Spoons And Tea-cups; and How the Wind
	Suddenly Went Down.	[274]
LXVII.	In Which a Certain Troubled Spirit Walks	[278]
LXVIII.	How an Evening Passes at the Elms, and Dr. Toole Makes
	a Little Excursion; and Two Choice Spirits Discourse,
	and Hebe Trips in With The Nectar.	[281]
LXIX.	Concerning a Second Hurricane That Raged in Captain
	Devereux's Drawing-room, and Relating How Mrs. Irons
	Was Attacked With a Sort Of Choking in Her Bed.	[285]
LXX.	In Which an Unexpected Visitor Is Seen in the
	Cedar-parlour of The Tiled House, and the Story of
	Mr. Beauclerc and the 'flower de Luce' Begins To
	Be Unfolded.	[290]
LXXI.	In Which Mr. Irons's Narrative Reaches Merton Moor.	[295]
LXXII.	In Which the Apparition of Mr. Irons Is Swallowed in
	Darkness.	[300]
LXXIII.	Concerning a Certain Gentleman, with a Black Patch
	Over His Eye, who made some Visits with a Lady,
	in Chapelizod and its Neighbourhood.	[304]
LXXIV.	In Which Doctor Toole, in His Boots, Visits Mr. Gamble,
	and Sees an Ugly Client of That Gentleman's; and
	Something Crosses an Empty Room.	[307]
LXXV.	How a Gentleman Paid a Visit at the Brass Castle, and
	There Read A Paragraph in an Old Newspaper.	[311]
LXXVI.	Relating How the Castle Was Taken, and How Mistress
	Moggy Took Heart Of Grace.	[316]
LXXVII.	In Which Irish Melody Prevails.	[321]
LXXVIII.	In Which, While the Harmony Continues in Father Roach's
	Front Parlour, A Few Discords Are Introduced Elsewhere;
	and Doctor Toole Arrives in The Morning With a
	Marvellous Budget of News.	[325]
LXXIX.	Showing How Little Lily's Life Began To Change Into
	a Retrospect; And How on a Sudden She Began To Feel
	Better.	[330]
LXXX.	In Which Two Acquaintances Become, on a Sudden,
	Marvellously Friendly In The Church-yard; and Mr.
	Dangerfield Smokes a Pipe in the Brass Castle,
	and Resolves That the Dumb Shall Speak.	[333]
LXXXI.	In Which Mr. Dangerfield Receives a Visitor, and Makes
	a Call.	[339]
LXXXII.	In Which Mr. Paul Dangerfield Pays His Respects and
	Compliments At Belmont; Where Other Visitors Also
	Present Themselves.	[343]
LXXXIII.	In Which the Knight of the Silver Spectacles Makes the
	Acquaintance Of The Sage 'black Dillon,' and Confers
	With Him in His Retreat.	[349]
LXXXIV.	In Which Christiana Goes Over; and Dan Loftus
	Comes Home.	[353]
LXXXV.	In Which Captain Devereux Hears the News; and Mr.
	Dangerfield Meets An Old Friend After Dinner.	[357]
LXXXVI.	In Which Mr. Paul Dangerfield Mounts the Stairs of the
	House by The Church-yard, and Makes Some Arrangements.	[364]
LXXXVII.	In Which Two Comrades Are Tete-a-tete in Their Old
	Quarters, and Doctor Sturk's Cue Is Cut Off, and a
	Consultation Commences.	[370]
LXXXVIII.	In Which Mr. Moore the Barber Arrives, and the Medical
	Gentlemen Lock The Door.	[376]
LXXXIX.	In Which a Certain Songster Treats the Company To a
	Dolorous Ballad Whereby Mr. Irons Is Somewhat Moved.	[384]
XC.	Mr. Paul Dangerfield Has Something on His Mind, and
	Captain Devereux Receives a Message.	[390]
XCI.	Concerning Certain Documents Which Reached Mr. Mervyn,
	and the Witches' Revels at the Mills.	[396]
XCII.	The Wher-wolf.	[401]
XCIII.	In Which Doctor Toole and Dirty Davy Confer in
	the Blue-room.	[408]
XCIV.	What Doctor Sturk Brought To Mind, and All That
	Doctor Toole Heard At Mr. Luke Gamble's.	[414]
XCV.	In Which Doctor Pell Declines a Fee, and Doctor Sturk
	a Prescription.	[422]
XCVI.	About the Rightful Mrs. Nutter of the Mills, and How
	Doctor Toole Heard At Mr. Luke Gamble's.	[427]
XCVII.	In Which Obediah Arrives.	[436]
XCVIII.	In Which Charles Archer Puts Himself Upon the Country.	[441]
XCIX.	The Story Ends.	[452]

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A PROLOGUE—BEING A DISH OF VILLAGE CHAT.

e are going to talk, if you please, in the ensuing chapters, of what was going on in Chapelizod about a hundred years ago. A hundred years, to be sure, is a good while; but though fashions have changed, some old phrases dropped out, and new ones come in; and snuff and hair-powder, and sacques and solitaires quite passed away—yet men and women were men and women all the same—as elderly fellows, like your humble servant, who have seen and talked with rearward stragglers of that generation—now all and long marched off—can testify, if they will.

In those days Chapelizod was about the gayest and prettiest of the outpost villages in which old Dublin took a complacent pride. The poplars which stood, in military rows, here and there, just showed a glimpse of formality among the orchards and old timber that lined the banks of the river and the valley of the Liffey, with a lively sort of richness. The broad old street looked hospitable and merry, with steep roofs and many coloured hall-doors. The jolly old inn, just beyond the turnpike at the sweep of the road, leading over the buttressed bridge by the mill, was first to welcome the excursionist from Dublin, under the sign of the Phœnix. There, in the grand wainscoted back-parlour, with 'the great and good King William,' in his robe, garter, periwig, and sceptre presiding in the panel over the chimneypiece, and confronting the large projecting window, through which the river, and the daffodils, and the summer foliage looked so bright and quiet, the Aldermen of Skinner's Alley—a club of the 'true blue' dye, as old as the Jacobite wars of the previous century—the corporation of shoemakers, or of tailors, or the freemasons, or the musical clubs, loved to dine at the stately hour of five, and deliver their jokes, sentiments, songs, and wisdom, on a pleasant summer's evening. Alas! the inn is as clean gone as the guests—a dream of the shadow of smoke.

Lately, too, came down the old 'Salmon House'—so called from the blazonry of that noble fish upon its painted sign-board—at the other end of the town, that, with a couple more, wheeled out at right angles from the line of the broad street, and directly confronting the passenger from Dublin, gave to it something of the character of a square, and just left room for the high road and Martin's Row to slip between its flank and the orchard that overtopped the river wall. Well! it is gone. I blame nobody. I suppose it was quite rotten, and that the rats would soon have thrown up their lease of it; and that it was taken down, in short, chiefly, as one of the players said of 'Old Drury,' to prevent the inconvenience of its coming down of itself. Still a peevish but harmless old fellow—who hates change, and would wish things to stay as they were just a little, till his own great change comes; who haunts the places where his childhood was passed, and reverences the homeliest relics of by-gone generations—may be allowed to grumble a little at the impertinences of improving proprietors with a taste for accurate parallelograms and pale new brick.