Collectanea. 231
Jack, says he, " Come on till ye'll eat an apple," says he. So he brought him out in the garden with liim. " Catch an apple," says Jack, then says he. Well, he caught an apple, and his hand tied on the ai)ple, and the apple on the tree, and he couldn't go at all, at all. " Well, let me go," says the Devil, says he. " Let me go, and I'll give ye seven years more," says the Devil, says he. And Jack left the Devil go then.
Well, the Devil came again after the next seven years, and Jacky says to the Devil, says he, " Ye're not the Devil at all," says he; "for if ye were the Devil," says he, "ye could make a mouse of yeerself." So the Devil did. " Well," says Jack, says he, " to show ye're the Devil jump into my purse." Then he jumped into the purse, he did, and Jack closed the purse, and went till he got three men with three big sticks, and they began to hammer the purse. Then the Devil had every screech, and he told him let him go for God's sake, and then he'd never again trouble him. So Jack let him go.
And soon after that he died, and then the Devil got hold of him, and put him back into the world as a punishment for the ways as he'd been treating him, and gave him a lantern, and told him he must be his servant in the world to be frightening and putting astray God's people.
23. Ho'cV Jacky-the- Lantern put one of God's People astray.
Abraham Racket was coming home late one night through Cairo wgariff Reay called Reagh-na-Fead6g [pron. Ray'na Fudog'e\ where Jacky-the-Lantern be every night after the hour of twelve o'clock, setting people astray. Well, Abraham saw the Lantern, and he made for the light and begorra ! when he went near it, it moved on farther away, and it kept moving away. And Abraham kept moving after it, and at last says to himself, — " It must be Jacky, — that's setting me astray." So he turned his coat.^-'and he started to roar. And the neighbours heard him, and they found him wandering about Reagh-na-Feaddg, and only for the neigh- bours he couldn't get home till morning, for Jacky would keep him wandering about after his Lantern all night.
^'Cf. Folk- Lore, vol. xv., p. 456 ^Jamaica)', Mrs. Bray, Legends etc. of Devonshire^ vol. i., p. 183.
