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The Purcell Papers; Volume 2


by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu







With a Memoir by

ALFRED PERCEVAL GRAVES






CONTENTS OF VOL。 II。



                                                            

PASSAGE IN THE SECRET HISTORY OF AN IRISH COUNTESS

THE BRIDAL OF CARRIGVARAH

STRANGE EVENT IN THE LIFE OF SCHALKEN THE PAINTER

SCRAPS OF HIBERNIAN BALLADS







THE PURCELL PAPERS。



PASSAGE IN THE

SECRET HISTORY OF AN IRISH

COUNTESS。



Being a Fifth Extract from the Legacy of the late Francis

Purcell; P。P。 of Drumcoolagh。



The following paper is written in a

female hand; and was no doubt

communicated to my much…regretted

friend by the lady whose early

history it serves to illustrate; the Countess

D。 She is no moreshe long since

died; a childless and a widowed wife; and;

as her letter sadly predicts; none survive

to whom the publication of this narrative

can prove 'injurious; or even painful。'

Strange! two powerful and wealthy

families; that in which she was born;

and that into which she had married;

have ceased to bethey are utterly

extinct。



To those who know anything of the

history of Irish families; as they were

less than a century ago; the facts which

immediately follow will at once suggest

THE NAMES of the principal actors; and to

others their publication would be useless

to us; possibly; if not probably; injurious。

I have; therefore; altered such of the

names as might; if stated; get us into

difficulty; others; belonging to minor

characters in the strange story; I have left

untouched。





My dear friend;You have asked me to

furnish you with a detail of the strange

events which marked my early history;

and I have; without hesitation; applied

myself to the task; knowing that; while I

live; a kind consideration for my feelings

will prevent your giving publicity to the

statement; and conscious that; when I am

no more; there will not survive one to

whom the narrative can prove injurious; or

even painful。



My mother died when I was quite an

infant; and of her I have no recollection;

even the faintest。 By her death; my

education and habits were left solely to

the guidance of my surviving parent; and;

as far as a stern attention to my religious

instruction; and an active anxiety evinced

by his procuring for me the best masters

to perfect me in those accomplishments

which my station and wealth might seem

to require; could avail; he amply discharged

the task。



My father was what is called an oddity;

and his treatment of me; though uniformly

kind; flowed less from affection and

tenderness than from a sense of obligation

and duty。 Indeed; I seldom even spoke

to him except at meal…times; and then his

manner was silent and abrupt; his

leisure hours; which were many; were

passed either in his study or in solitary

walks; in short; he seemed to take no

further interest in my happiness or

improvement than a conscientious regard to

the discharge of his own duty would seem

to claim。



Shortly before my birth a circumstance

had occurred which had contributed much

to form and to confirm my father's

secluded habitsit was the fact that a

suspicion of MURDER had fallen upon his

younger brother; though not sufficiently

definite to lead to an indictment; yet

strong enough to ruin him in public

opinion。



This disgraceful and dreadful doubt cast

upon the family name; my father felt

deeply and bitterly; and not the less so

that he himself was thoroughly convinced

of his brother's innocence。 The sincerity

and strength of this impression he shortly

afterwards proved in a manner which

produced the dark events which follow。

Before; however; I enter upon the

statement of them; I ought to relate the

circumstances which had awakened the

suspicion; inasmuch as they are in themselves

somewhat curious; and; in their

effects; most intimately connected with my

after…history。



My uncle; Sir Arthur Tn; was a gay

and extravagant man; and; among other

vices; was ruinously addicted to gaming;

this unfortunate propensity; even after his

fortune had suffered so severely as to

render inevitable a reduction in his

expenses by no means inconsiderable;

nevertheless continued to actuate him; nearly

to the exclusion of all other pursuits; he

was; however; a proud; or rather a vain

man; and could not bear to make the

diminution of his income a matter of

gratulation and triumph to those with

whom he had hitherto competed; and the

consequence was; that he frequented no

longer the expensive haunts of dissipation;

and retired from the gay world; leaving

his coterie to discover his reasons as best

they might。



He did not; however; forego his

favourite vice; for; though he could not

worship his great divinity in the costly

temples where it was formerly his wont to

take his stand; yet he found it very

possible to bring about him a sufficient

number of the votaries of chance to

answer all his ends。 The consequence

was; that Carrickleigh; which was the

name of my uncle's residence; was never

without one or more of such visitors as I

have described。



It happened that upon one occasion he

was visited by one Hugh Tisdall; a gentleman

of loose habits; but of considerable

wealth; and who had; in early youth;

travelled with my uncle upon the Con…

tinent; the period of his visit was winter;

and; consequently; the house was nearly

deserted excepting by its regular inmates;

it was therefore highly acceptable;

particularly as my uncle was aware that his

visitor's tastes accorded exactly with his

own。



Both parties seemed determined to

avail themselves of their suitability during

the brief stay which Mr。 Tisdall had

promised; the consequence was; that they

shut themselves up in Sir Arthur's private

room for nearly all the day and the

greater part of the night; during the

space of nearly a week; at the end of

which the servant having one morning;

as usual; knocked at Mr。 Tisdall's bed…

room door repeatedly; received no answer;

and; upon attempting to enter; found that

it was locked; this appeared suspicious;

and; the inmates of the house having been

alarmed; the door was forced open; and;

on proceeding to the bed; they found the

body of its occupant perfectly lifeless; and

hanging half…way out; the head downwards;

and near the floor。 One deep

wound had been inflicted upon the temple;

apparently with some blunt instrument

which had penetrated the brain; and

another blow; less effective; probably the

first aimed; had grazed the head; removing

some of the scalp; but leaving the skull

untouched。 The door had been double…

locked upon the INSIDE; in evidence of which

the key still lay where it had been placed

in the lock。



The window; though not secured on the

interior; was closeda circumstance not a

little puzzling; as it afforded the only other

mode of escape from the room; it looked

out; too; upon a kind of courtyard; round

which the old buildings stood; formerly

accessible by a narrow doorway and passage

lying in the oldest side of the quadrangle;

but which had since been built up;

so as to preclude all ingress or egress; the

room was also upon the second story; and

the height of the window considerable。

Near the bed were found a pair of razors

belonging to the murdered man; one of

them upon the ground; and both of them

open。 The weapon which had inflicted

the mortal wound was not to be found in

the room; nor were any footsteps or other

traces of the murderer discoverable。



At the suggestion of Sir Arthur

himself; a coroner was instantly summoned to

attend; and an inquest was held; nothing;

however; in any degree conclusive was

elicited; the walls; ceiling; and floor of the

room were carefully examined; in order to

ascertain whether they contained a trap…

door or other concealed mode of entrance

but no such thing appeared。



Such was the minuteness of investigation

employed; that; although the grate

had contained a large fire during the night;

they proceeded to examine even the very

chimney; in order to discover whether

escape by it were possible; but this

attempt; too; was fruitless; for the chimney;

built in the old fashion; rose in a perfectly

perpendicular line from the hearth to a

height of nearly fourteen feet above the

roof; affording in its interior scarcely the

possibility of ascent; the flue being

smoothly plastered; and sloping towards

the top like an inverted funnel; promising;

too; even if the summit were attained;

owing to its great height; but a precarious

descent upon the sharp and steep…ridged

roof; the ashes; too; which lay in the

grate; and the soot; as far as it could be

seen; were undisturbed; a circumstance

almost conclusive of the question。



Sir Arthur was of co

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