heard. I lay and watched them and listened. By-and-bye the light
went out and the music stopped, and I saw them no more. I regretted
the music very much. But directly after another smaller light
appeared, and a tall dark man came up to my bed, and with something
in his hand he tapped me on the temple; it felt like some one
drawing a sharp pin across my temple then he went too. In the
morning my pillow was covered with blood. I thought and thought, and
then I knew I had moved the pig's trough and must have put it in the
fairies' path and the fairies were angered, and the king of the
fairies had punished me for it." She moved the trough back to its
old place the next day, and received no more visits from the wee
folk.




BILLY DUFFY AND THE DEVIL.

Billy Duffy was an Irishman, a blacksmith, and a drunkard. He had
the Keltic aversion from steady work, and stuck to his forge only
long enough to get money for drink; when that was spent, he returned
to work.

Billy was coming home one day after one of these drinking-bouts,
soberer than usual, when he exclaimed to himself, for the thirst was
upon him, "By God! I would sell myself to the devil if I could get
some more drink."

At that moment a tall gentleman in black stepped up to him, and
said, "What did you say?"