this may have been, it is certain that the
horn was ejected with surprising precision at the head of whoever put it
there; and either in mirth or in anger the horn was darted forth with
great velocity, and struck the poor child over the ear.

There are few matters upon which parents feel more acutely than that of
the maltreatment of their offspring; but time, that great soother of all
things, at length familiarised this dangerous occurrence to every one at
the farm, and that which at the first was regarded with the utmost
terror, became a kind of amusement with the more thoughtless and daring
of the family. Often was the horn slipped slyly into the hole, and in
return it never failed to be flung at the head of some one, but most
commonly at the person who placed it there. They were used to call this
pastime, in the provincial dialect, "laking wi' t' Boggart;" that is,
playing with the Boggart. An old tailor, whom I but faintly remember,
used to say that the horn was often "pitched" at his head, and at the
head of his apprentice, whilst seated here on the kitchen table, when
they went their rounds to work, as is customary with country tailors. At
length the goblin, not contented with flinging the horn, returned to his
night persecutions. Heavy steps, as of a person in wooden clogs, were at
first heard clattering down-stairs in the dead hour of darkness; then
the pewter and earthern dishes appeared to be dashed on the
kitchen-floor; though in the morning all remained uninjured on their
respective shelves. The children generally were marked out as objects of
dislike by their unearthly tormentor. The curtains of their beds would
be violently pulled to and fro,--then a heavy weight, as of a human
being, would press them nearly to suffocation, from which it was
impossible to escape. The night, instead of being the time for repose,
was disturbed with screams and dreadful noises, and thus was the whole
house alarmed night after night. Things could not long continue in this
fashion; the farmer and his good dame resolved to leave a place where
they could no longer expect rest or comfort: and George Cheetham was
actually following with his wife and family the last load of furniture,
when they were met by a neighbouring farmer, named John Marshall.

"Well, Georgey, and soa you're leaving th' owd house at last?" said
Marshall.

"Heigh, Johnny, ma lad, I'm in a manner forced to 't, thou sees,"
replied the other; "for that wearyfu'