me,
and they had not seen nor heard anything of a ghostly nature. Yet
strange events were taking place in the house,--events which will throw
light upon the fearful mysteries of the place.

It was about an hour after midnight, when a large stone among those of
which the foundation of the house was built, turned slowly upon pivots,
revealing an aperture in the wall, and at the same instant the glare of
a lantern shone into the cellar.

From the aperture emerged two persons of frightful appearance, one of
whom carried the lantern; they were both dressed in tight-fitting
garments of black cloth, upon which was daubed in white paint the figure
of a skeleton; and each of their faces had been blacked, and then drawn
over with the representation of a skull. Seen by an imperfect light,
they exactly resembled two skeletons.

'By Jesus!' exclaimed one of them, in a tone which was anything but
hollow or sepulchral--'let's put for the pantry and see what there is to
_ate_, for be the powers I'm starved wid hunger!'

'That's the talk, Bloody Mike--- so we will,' responded the other
worthy, who was no other than our old friend Ragged Pete, though his
nearest relatives would never have recognized him in the disguise he
then wore.

Mike and Pete ascended to the pantry, and began a diligent search after
provisions.

'Glory to ould Ireland, here's grand illigant ham!' exclaimed the first
mentioned individual, as he dragged from a shelf a large dish containing
the article he had named.

'And blow me tight if here isn't a cold turkey and a pan of pudding,'
rejoined Pete, whose researches had also been crowned with success.

'Faith, it's ourselves, Peter, dear, that'll have a supper fit for the
bishop of Cork, an' that's a big word,' remarked Mike, as he
triumphantly placed upon a table the savory viands above mentioned, and
'fell to' with surpassing vigor, an example in which he was followed by
his comrade.

'This playing the ghost is a good business, by jingo!' said Pete, with
his mouth full of ham.

'True for ye!' replied the Irish skeleton, his articulation rendered
indistinct by the masses of turkey which were fast travelling down his
throat to his capacious stomach.

The repast was not finished until they had devoured every atom of the
provisions; and then Pete went in quest of something to 'wash the
wittles down with,' as he expressed it.

Upon a sideboard in the adjoining room he found wines and liquors of
excellent