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diff --git a/1391-h/1391-h.htm b/1391-h/1391-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..69cb4c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/1391-h/1391-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8481 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Penelope's Irish Experiences, by Kate Douglas Wiggin. + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1391 ***</div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + PENELOPE'S IRISH EXPERIENCES + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Kate Douglas Wiggin. + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h4> + Published 1901. + </h4> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + To my first Irish friend, Jane Barlow. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART"> <b>Part First—Leinster.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> Chapter I. We emulate the Rollo books. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> Chapter II. Irish itineraries. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> Chapter III. We sight a derelict. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> Chapter IV. Enter Benella Dusenberry. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> Chapter V. The Wearing of the Green. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> Chapter VI. Dublin, then and now. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART2"> <b>Part Second—Munster.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> Chapter VII. A tour and a detour. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> Chapter VIII. Romance and reality. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> Chapter IX. The light of other days. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> Chapter X. The belles of Shandon. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> Chapter XI. 'The rale thing.' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> Chapter XII. Life at Knockarney House. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> Chapter XIII. 'O! the sound of the Kerry + dancing.' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> Chapter XIV. Mrs. Mullarkey's iligant locks. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> Chapter XV. Penelope weaves a web. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> Chapter XVI. Salemina has her chance. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART3"> <b>Part Third—Ulster.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0017"> Chapter XVII. The Glens of Antrim. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0018"> Chapter XVIII. Limavady love-letters. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0019"> Chapter XIX. 'In ould Donegal.' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0020"> Chapter XX. We evict a tenant. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0021"> Chapter XXI. Lachrymae Hibernicae. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART4"> <b>Part Fourth—Connaught.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0022"> Chapter XXII. The Weeping West. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0023"> Chapter XXIII. Beams and motes. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0024"> Chapter XXIV. Humours of the road. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0025"> Chapter XXV. The wee folk. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART5"> <b>Part Fifth—Royal Meath.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0026"> Chapter XXVI. Ireland's gold. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0027"> Chapter XXVII. The three chatelaines of + Devorgilla. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0028"> Chapter XXVIII. Round towers and reflections. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0029"> Chapter XXIX. Aunt David's garden. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0030"> Chapter XXX. The Quest of the Fair Strangers, + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0031"> Chapter XXXI. Good-bye, dark Rosaleen. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0032"> Chapter XXXII. 'As the sunflower turns.' </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART" id="link2H_PART"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + Part First—Leinster. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter I. We emulate the Rollo books. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Sure a terrible time I was out o' the way, + Over the sea, over the sea, + Till I come to Ireland one sunny day,— + Betther for me, betther for me: + The first time me fut got the feel o' the ground + I was strollin' along in an Irish city + That hasn't its aquil the world around + For the air that is sweet an' the girls that are pretty.' + + —Moira O'Neill. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Dublin, O'Carolan's Private Hotel. +</pre> + <p> + It is the most absurd thing in the world that Salemina, Francesca, and I + should be in Ireland together. + </p> + <p> + That any three spinsters should be fellow-travellers is not in itself + extraordinary, and so our former journeyings in England and Scotland could + hardly be described as eccentric in any way; but now that I am a matron + and Francesca is shortly to be married, it is odd, to say the least, to + see us cosily ensconced in a private sitting-room of a Dublin hotel, the + table laid for three, and not a vestige of a man anywhere to be seen. + Where, one might ask, if he knew the antecedent circumstances, are Miss + Hamilton's American spouse and Miss Monroe's Scottish lover? + </p> + <p> + Francesca had passed most of the winter in Scotland. Her indulgent parent + had given his consent to her marriage with a Scotsman, but insisted that + she take a year to make up her mind as to which particular one. Memories + of her past flirtations, divagations, plans for a life of single + blessedness, all conspired to make him incredulous, and the loyal + Salemina, feeling some responsibility in the matter, had elected to remain + by Francesca's side during the time when her affections were supposed to + be crystallising into some permanent form. + </p> + <p> + It was natural enough that my husband and I should spend the first summer + of our married life abroad, for we had been accustomed to do this before + we met, a period that we always allude to as the Dark Ages; but no sooner + had we arrived in Edinburgh, and no sooner had my husband persuaded our + two friends to join us in a long, delicious Irish holiday, than he was + compelled to return to America for a month or so. + </p> + <p> + I think you must number among your acquaintances such a man as Mr. William + Beresford, whose wife I have the honour to be. Physically the type is + vigorous, or has the appearance and gives the impression of being + vigorous, because it has never the time to be otherwise, since it is + always engaged in nursing its ailing or decrepit relatives. Intellectually + it is full of vitality; any mind grows when it is exercised, and the brain + that has to settle all its own affairs and all the affairs of its friends + and acquaintances could never lack energy. Spiritually it is almost too + good for earth, and any woman who lives in the house with it has moments + of despondency and self-chastisement, in which she fears that heaven may + prove all too small to contain the perfect being and its unregenerate + family as well. + </p> + <p> + Financially it has at least a moderate bank account; that is, it is never + penniless, indeed it can never afford to be, because it is peremptory that + it should possess funds in order to disburse them to needier brothers. + There is never an hour when Mr. William Beresford is not signing notes and + bonds and drafts for less fortunate men; giving small loans just to 'help + a fellow over a hard place'; educating friends' children, starting them in + business, or securing appointments for them. The widow and the fatherless + have worn such an obvious path to his office and residence that no + bereaved person could possibly lose his way, and as a matter of fact no + one of them ever does. This special journey of his to America has been + made necessary because, first, his cousin's widow has been defrauded of a + large sum by her man of business; and second, his college chum and dearest + friend has just died in Chicago after appointing him executor of his + estate and guardian of his only child. The wording of the will is, 'as a + sacred charge and with full power.' Incidentally, as it were, one of his + junior partners has been ordered a long sea voyage, and another has to go + somewhere for mud baths. The junior partners were my idea, and were + suggested solely that their senior might be left more or less free from + business care, but it was impossible that Willie should have selected + sound, robust partners—his tastes do not incline him in the + direction of selfish ease; accordingly he chose two delightful, estimable, + frail gentlemen who needed comfortable incomes in conjunction with light + duties. + </p> + <p> + I am railing at my husband for all this, but I love him for it just the + same, and it shows why the table is laid for three. + </p> + <p> + “Salemina,” I said, extending my slipper toe to the glowing peat, which by + extraordinary effort had been brought up from the hotel kitchen, as a bit + of local colour, “it is ridiculous that we three women should be in + Ireland together; it's the sort of thing that happens in a book, and of + which we say that it could never occur in real life. Three persons do not + spend successive seasons in England, Scotland and Ireland unless they are + writing an Itinerary of the British Isles. The situation is possible, + certainly, but it isn't simple, or natural, or probable. We are behaving + precisely like characters in fiction, who, having been popular in the + first volume, are exploited again and again until their popularity wanes. + We are like the Trotty books or the Elsie Dinmore series. England was our + first volume, Scotland our second, and here we are, if you please, about + to live a third volume in Ireland. We fall in love, we marry and are given + in marriage, we promote and take part in international alliances, but when + the curtain goes up again, our accumulations, acquisitions—whatever + you choose to call them—have disappeared. We are not to the + superficial eye the spinster-philanthropist, the bride to be, the wife of + a year; we are the same old Salemina, Francesca and Penelope. It is so + dramatic that my husband should be called to America; as a woman I miss + him and need him; as a character I am much better single. I don't suppose + publishers like married heroines any more than managers like married + leading ladies. Then how entirely proper it is that Ronald Macdonald + cannot leave his new parish in the Highlands. The one, my husband, belongs + to the first volume; Francesca's lover to the second; and good gracious, + Salemina, don't you see the inference?” + </p> + <p> + “I may be dull,” she replied, “but I confess I do not.” + </p> + <p> + “We are three?” + </p> + <p> + “Who is three?” + </p> + <p> + “That is not good English, but I repeat with different emphasis WE are + three. I fell in love in England, Francesca fell in love in Scotland-” And + here I paused, watching the blush mount rosily to Salemina's grey hair; + pink is very becoming to grey, and that, we always say, accounts more + satisfactorily for Salemina's frequent blushes than her modesty, which is + about of the usual sort. + </p> + <p> + “Your argument is interesting, and even ingenious,” she replied, “but I + fail to see my responsibility. If you persist in thinking of me as a + character in fiction, I shall rebel. I am not the stuff of which heroines + are made; besides, I would never appear in anything so cheap and obvious + as a series, and the three-volume novel is as much out of fashion as the + Rollo books.” + </p> + <p> + “But we are unconscious heroines, you understand,” I explained. “While we + were experiencing our experiences we did not notice them, but they have + attained by degrees a sufficient bulk so that they are visible to the + naked eye. We can look back now and perceive the path we have travelled.” + </p> + <p> + “It isn't retrospect I object to, but anticipation,” she retorted; “not + history, but prophecy. It is one thing to gaze sentimentally at the road + you have travelled, quite another to conjure up impossible pictures of the + future.” + </p> + <p> + Salemina calls herself a trifle over forty, but I am not certain of her + age, and think perhaps that she is uncertain herself. She has good reason + to forget it, and so have we. Of course she could consult the Bible family + record daily, but if she consulted her looking-glass afterward the one + impression would always nullify the other. Her hair is silvered, it is + true, but that is so clearly a trick of Nature that it makes her look + younger rather than older. + </p> + <p> + Francesca came into the room just here. I said a moment ago that she was + the same old Francesca, but I was wrong; she is softening, sweetening, + expanding; in a word, blooming. Not only this, but Ronald Macdonald's + likeness has been stamped upon her in some magical way, so that, although + she has not lost her own personality, she seems to have added a reflection + of his. In the glimpses of herself, her views, feelings, opinions, + convictions, which she gives us in a kind of solution, as it were, there + are always traces of Ronald Macdonald; or, to be more poetical, he seems + to have bent over the crystal pool, and his image is reflected there. + </p> + <p> + You remember in New England they allude to a bride as 'she that was' a + so-and-so. In my private interviews with Salemina I now habitually allude + to Francesca as 'she that was a Monroe'; it is so significant of her + present state of absorption. Several times this week I have been obliged + to inquire, “Was I, by any chance, as absent-minded and dull in Pettybaw + as Francesca is under the same circumstances in Dublin?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite.” + </p> + <p> + “Duller if anything.” + </p> + <p> + These candid replies being uttered in cheerful unison I change the + subject, but cannot resist telling them both casually that the building of + the Royal Dublin Society is in Kildare Street, just three minutes' from + O'Carolan's, and that I have noticed it is for the promotion of Husbandry + and other useful arts and sciences. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter II. Irish itineraries. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'And I will make my journey, if life and health but stand, + Unto that pleasant country, that fresh and fragrant strand, + And leave your boasted braveries, your wealth and high command, + For the fair hills of holy Ireland.' + + —Sir Samuel Ferguson. +</pre> + <p> + Our mutual relations have changed little, notwithstanding that betrothals + and marriages have intervened, and in spite of the fact that Salemina has + grown a year younger; a mysterious feat that she has accomplished on each + anniversary of her birth since the forming of our alliance. + </p> + <p> + It is many months since we travelled together in Scotland, but on entering + this very room in Dublin, the other day, we proceeded to show our several + individualities as usual: I going to the window to see the view, Francesca + consulting the placard on the door for hours of table d'hote, and Salemina + walking to the grate and lifting the ugly little paper screen to say, + “There is a fire laid; how nice!” As the matron I have been promoted to a + nominal charge of the travelling arrangements. Therefore, while the others + drive or sail, read or write, I am buried in Murray's Handbook, or + immersed in maps. When I sleep, my dreams are spotted, starred, notched, + and lined with hieroglyphics, circles, horizontal dashes, long lines, and + black dots, signifying hotels, coach and rail routes, and tramways. + </p> + <p> + All this would have been done by Himself with the greatest ease in the + world. In the humbler walks of Irish life the head of the house, if he is + of the proper sort, is called Himself, and it is in the shadow of this + stately title that my Ulysses will appear in this chronicle. + </p> + <p> + I am quite sure I do not believe in the inferiority of woman, but I have a + feeling that a man is a trifle superior in practical affairs. If I am in + doubt, and there is no husband, brother, or cousin near, from whom to seek + advice, I instinctively ask the butler or the coachman rather than a + female friend; also, when a female friend has consulted the Bradshaw in my + behalf, I slip out and seek confirmation from the butcher's boy or the + milkman. Himself would have laid out all our journeyings for us, and we + should have gone placidly along in well-ordered paths. As it is, we are + already pledged to do the most absurd and unusual things, and Ireland bids + fair to be seen in the most topsy-turvy, helter-skelter fashion + imaginable. + </p> + <p> + Francesca's propositions are especially nonsensical, being provocative of + fruitless discussion, and adding absolutely nothing to the sum of human + intelligence. + </p> + <p> + “Why not start without any special route in view, and visit the towns with + which we already have familiar associations?” she asked. “We should have + all sorts of experiences by the way, and be free from the blighting + influences of a definite purpose. Who that has ever travelled fails to + call to mind certain images when the names of cities come up in general + conversation? If Bologna, Brussels, or Lima is mentioned, I think at once + of sausages, sprouts, and beans, and it gives me a feeling of friendly + intimacy. I remember Neufchatel and Cheddar by their cheeses, Dorking and + Cochin China by their hens, Whitby by its jet, or York by its hams, so + that I am never wholly ignorant of places and their subtle associations.” + </p> + <p> + “That method appeals strongly to the fancy,” said Salemina drily. “What + subtle associations have you already established in Ireland?” + </p> + <p> + “Let me see,” she responded thoughtfully; “the list is not a long one. + Limerick and Carrickmacross for lace, Shandon for the bells, Blarney and + Donnybrook for the stone and the fair, Kilkenny for the cats, and + Balbriggan for the stockings.” + </p> + <p> + “You are sordid this morning,” reproved Salemina; “it would be better if + you remembered Limerick by the famous siege, and Balbriggan as the place + where King William encamped with his army after the battle of the Boyne.” + </p> + <p> + “I've studied the song-writers more than the histories and geographies,” I + said, “so I should like to go to Bray and look up the Vicar, then to + Coleraine to see where Kitty broke the famous pitcher; or to Tara, where + the harp that once, or to Athlone, where dwelt Widow Malone, ochone, and + so on; just start with an armful of Tom Moore's poems and Lover's and + Ferguson's, and, yes,” I added generously, “some of the nice moderns, and + visit the scenes they've written about.” + </p> + <p> + “And be disappointed,” quoth Francesca cynically. “Poets see everything by + the light that never was on sea or land; still I won't deny that they help + the blind, and I should rather like to know if there are still any Nora + Creinas and Sweet Peggies and Pretty Girls Milking their Cows.” + </p> + <p> + “I am very anxious to visit as many of the Round Towers as possible,” said + Salemina. “When I was a girl of seventeen I had a very dear friend, a + young Irishman, who has since become a well-known antiquary and + archaeologist. He was a student, and afterwards, I think, a professor here + in Trinity College, but I have not heard from him for many years.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't look him up, darling,” pleaded Francesca. “You are so much our + superior now that we positively must protect you from all elevating + influences.” + </p> + <p> + “I won't insist on the Round Towers,” smiled Salemina, “and I think + Penelope's idea a delightful one; we might add to it a sort of literary + pilgrimage to the homes and haunts of Ireland's famous writers.” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't know that she had any,” interrupted Francesca. + </p> + <p> + This is a favourite method of conversation with that spoiled young person; + it seems to appeal to her in three different ways: she likes to belittle + herself, she likes to shock Salemina, and she likes to have information + given her on the spot in some succinct, portable, convenient form. + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” she continued apologetically, “of course there are Dean Swift and + Thomas Moore and Charles Lever.” + </p> + <p> + “And,” I added “certain minor authors named Goldsmith, Sterne, Steele, and + Samuel Lover.” + </p> + <p> + “And Bishop Berkeley, and Brinsley Sheridan, and Maria Edgeworth, and + Father Prout,” continued Salemina, “and certain great speech-makers like + Burke and Grattan and Curran; and how delightful to visit all the places + connected with Stella and Vanessa, and the spot where Spenser wrote the + Faerie Queene.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “'Nor own a land on earth but one, + We're Paddies, and no more,'” + </pre> + <p> + sang Francesca. “You will be telling me in a moment that Thomas Carlyle + was born in Skereenarinka, and that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in + Coolagarranoe,” for she had drawn the guidebook toward her and made good + use of it. “Let us do the literary pilgrimage, certainly, before we leave + Ireland, but suppose we begin with something less intellectual. This is + the most pugnacious map I ever gazed upon. All the names seem to begin or + end with kill, bally, whack, shock, or knock; no wonder the Irish make + good soldiers! Suppose we start with a sanguinary trip to the Kill places, + so that I can tell any timid Americans I meet in travelling that I have + been to Kilmacow and to Kilmacthomas, and am going to-morrow to Kilmore, + and the next day to Kilumaule.” + </p> + <p> + “I think that must have been said before,” I objected. + </p> + <p> + “It is so obvious that it's not unlikely,” she rejoined; “then let us + simply agree to go afterwards to see all the Bally places from Ballydehob + on the south to Ballycastle or Ballymoney on the north, and from + Ballynahinch or Ballywilliam on the east to Ballyvaughan or Ballybunnion + on the west, and passing through, in transit, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Ballyragget, + Ballysadare, + Ballybrophy, + Ballinasloe, + Ballyhooley, + Ballycumber, + Ballyduff, + Ballynashee, + Ballywhack. +</pre> + <p> + Don't they all sound jolly and grotesque?” + </p> + <p> + “They do indeed,” we agreed, “and the plan is quite worthy of you; we can + say no more.” + </p> + <p> + We had now developed so many more ideas than we could possibly use that + the labour of deciding among them was the next thing to be done. Each of + us stood out boldly for her own project,—even Francesca clinging, + from sheer wilfulness, to her worthless and absurd itineraries,—until, + in order to bring the matter to any sort of decision, somebody suggested + that we consult Benella; which reminds me that you have not yet the + pleasure of Benella's acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter III. We sight a derelict. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'O Bay of Dublin, my heart you're troublin', + Your beauty haunts me like a fever dream.' + Lady Dufferin. +</pre> + <p> + To perform the introduction properly I must go back a day or two. We had + elected to cross to Dublin directly from Scotland, an easy night journey. + Accordingly we embarked in a steamer called the Prince or the King of + something or other, the name being many degrees more princely or kingly + than the craft itself. + </p> + <p> + We had intended, too, to make our own comparison of the Bay of Dublin and + the Bay of Naples, because every traveller, from Charles Lever's Jack + Hinton down to Thackeray and Mr. Alfred Austin has always made it a point + of honour to do so. We were balked in our conscientious endeavour, because + we arrived at the North Wall forty minutes earlier than the hour set by + the steamship company. It is quite impossible for anything in Ireland to + be done strictly on the minute, and in struggling not to be hopelessly + behind time, a 'disthressful counthry' will occasionally be ahead of it. + We had been told that we should arrive in a drizzling rain, and that no + one but Lady Dufferin had ever on approaching Ireland seen the 'sweet + faces of the Wicklow mountains reflected in a smooth and silver sea.' The + grumblers were right on this special occasion, although we have proved + them false more than once since. + </p> + <p> + I was in a fever of fear that Ireland would not be as Irish as we wished + it to be. It seemed probable that processions of prosperous aldermen, + school directors, contractors, mayors, and ward politicians, returning to + their native land to see how Herself was getting on, the crathur, might + have deposited on the soil successive layers of Irish-American virtues, + such as punctuality, thrift, and cleanliness, until they had quite + obscured fair Erin's peculiar and pathetic charm. We longed for the new + Ireland as fervently as any of her own patriots, but we wished to see the + old Ireland before it passed. There is plenty of it left (alas! the + patriots would say), and Dublin was as dear and as dirty as when Lady + Morgan first called it so, long years ago. The boat was met by a crowd of + ragged gossoons, most of them barefooted, some of them stockingless, and + in men's shoes, and several of them with flowers in their unspeakable hats + and caps. There were no cabs or jaunting cars because we had not been + expected so early, and the jarveys were in attendance on the Holyhead + steamer. It was while I was searching for a piece of lost luggage that I + saw the stewardess assisting a young woman off the gang plank, and leading + her toward a pile of wool bags on the dock. She sank helplessly on one of + them, and leaned her head on another. As the night had been one calculated + to disturb the physical equilibrium of a poor sailor, and the breakfast of + a character to discourage the stoutest stomach, I gave her a careless + thought of pity and speedily forgot her. Two trunks, a holdall, a hatbox—in + which reposed, in solitary grandeur, Francesca's picture hat, intended for + the further undoing of the Irish gentry—a guitar case, two bags, + three umbrellas; all were safe but Salemina's large Vuitton trunk and my + valise, which had been last seen at Edinburgh station. Salemina returned + to the boat, while Francesca and I wended our way among the heaps of + luggage, followed by crowds of ragamuffins, who offered to run for a car, + run for a cab, run for a porter, carry our luggage up the street to the + cab-stand, carry our wraps, carry us, 'do any mortial thing for a penny, + melady, an' there is no cars here, melady, God bless me sowl, and that He + be good to us all if I'm tellin' you a word of a lie!' + </p> + <p> + Entirely unused to this flow of conversation, we were obliged to stop + every few seconds to recount our luggage and try to remember what we were + looking for. We all met finally, and I rescued Salemina from the voluble + thanks of an old woman to whom she had thoughtlessly given a three-penny + bit. This mother of a 'long wake family' was wishing that Salemina might + live to 'ate the hin' that scratched over her grave, and invoking many + other uncommon and picturesque blessings, but we were obliged to ask her + to desist and let us attend to our own business. + </p> + <p> + “Will I clane the whole of thim off for you for a penny, your ladyship's + honour, ma'am?” asked the oldest of the ragamuffins, and I gladly assented + to the novel proposition. He did it, too, and there seemed to be no hurt + feelings in the company. + </p> + <p> + Just then there was a rattle of cabs and side-cars, and our + self-constituted major-domo engaged two of them to await our pleasure. At + the same moment our eyes lighted upon Salemina's huge Vuitton, which had + been dragged behind the pile of wool sacks. It was no wonder it had + escaped our notice, for it was mostly covered by the person of the + sea-sick maiden whom I had seen on the arm of the stewardess. She was + seated on it, exhaustion in every line of her figure, her head upon my + travelling bag, her feet dangling over the edge until they just touched + the 'S. P., Salem, Mass., U.S.A.' painted in large red letters on the end. + She was too ill to respond to our questions, but there was no mistaking + her nationality. Her dress, hat, shoes, gloves, face, figure were + American. We sent for the stewardess, who told us that she had arrived in + Glasgow on the day previous, and had been very ill all the way coming from + Boston. + </p> + <p> + “Boston!” exclaimed Salemina. “Do you say she is from Boston, poor thing?” + </p> + <p> + (“I didn't know that a person living in Boston could ever, under any + circumstances, be a 'poor thing,'” whispered Francesca to me.) + </p> + <p> + “She was not fit to be crossing last night, and the doctor on the American + ship told her so, and advised her to stay in bed for three days before + coming to Ireland; but it seems as if she were determined to get to her + journey's end.” + </p> + <p> + “We must have our trunk,” I interposed. “Can't we move her carefully over + to the wool sacks, and won't you stay with her until her friends come?” + </p> + <p> + “She has no friends in this country, ma'am. She's just travelling for + pleasure like.” + </p> + <p> + “Good gracious! what a position for her to be in,” said Salemina. “Can't + you take her back to the steamer and put her to bed?” + </p> + <p> + “I could ask the captain, certainly, miss, though of course it's something + we never do, and besides we have to set the ship to rights and go across + again this evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Ask her what hotel she is going to, Salemina,” we suggested, “and let us + drop her there, and put her in charge of the housekeeper; of course if it + is only sea-sickness she will be all right in the morning.” + </p> + <p> + The girl's eyes were closed, but she opened them languidly as Salemina + chafed her cold hands, and asked gently if we could not drive her to an + hotel. + </p> + <p> + “Is—this—your—baggage?” she whispered. + </p> + <p> + “It is,” Salemina answered, somewhat puzzled. + </p> + <p> + “Then don't—leave me here, I am from Salem—myself,” whereupon + without any more warning she promptly fainted away on the trunk. + </p> + <p> + The situation was becoming embarrassing. The assemblage grew larger, and a + more interesting and sympathetic audience I never saw. To an Irish crowd, + always warm-hearted and kindly, willing to take any trouble for friend or + stranger, and with a positive terror of loneliness, or separation from + kith and kin, the helpless creature appealed in every way. One and another + joined the group with a “Holy Biddy! what's this at all?” + </p> + <p> + “The saints presarve us, is it dyin' she is?” + </p> + <p> + “Look at the iligant duds she do be wearin'.” + </p> + <p> + “Call the docthor, is it? God give you sinse! Sure the docthors is only a + flock of omadhauns.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it your daughter she is, ma'am?” (This to Salemina.) + </p> + <p> + “She's from Ameriky, the poor mischancy crathur.” + </p> + <p> + “Give her a toothful of whisky, your ladyship. Sure it's nayther bite nor + sup she's had the morn, and belike she's as impty as a quarry-hole.” + </p> + <p> + When this last expression from the mother of the long weak family fell + upon Salemina's cultured ears she looked desperate. + </p> + <p> + We could not leave a fellow-countrywoman, least of all could Salemina + forsake a fellow-citizen, in such a hapless plight. + </p> + <p> + “Take one cab with Francesca and the luggage, Penelope,” she whispered. “I + will bring the girl with me, put her to bed, find her friends, and see + that she starts on her journey safely; it's very awkward, but there's + nothing else to be done.” + </p> + <p> + So we departed in a chorus of popular approval. + </p> + <p> + “Sure it's you that have the good hearts!” + </p> + <p> + “May the heavens be your bed!” + </p> + <p> + “May the journey thrive wid her, the crathur!” + </p> + <p> + Francesca and I arrived first at the hotel where our rooms were already + engaged, and there proved to be a comfortable little dressing, or maid's, + room just off Salemina's. + </p> + <p> + Here the Derelict was presently ensconced, and there she lay, in a sort of + profound exhaustion, all day, without once absolutely regaining her + consciousness. Instead of visiting the National Gallery as I had intended, + I returned to the dock to see if I could find the girl's luggage, or get + any further information from the stewardess before she left Dublin. + </p> + <p> + “I'll send the doctor at once, but we must learn all possible particulars + now,” I said maliciously to poor Salemina. “It would be so awkward, you + know, if you should be arrested for abduction.” + </p> + <p> + The doctor thought it was probably nothing more than the complete + prostration that might follow eight days of sea-sickness, but the + patient's heart was certainly a little weak, and she needed the utmost + quiet. His fee was a guinea for the first visit, and he would drop in + again in the course of the afternoon to relieve our anxiety. We took turns + in watching by her bedside, but the two unemployed ones lingered forlornly + near, and had no heart for sightseeing. Francesca did, however, purchase + opera tickets for the evening, and secretly engaged the housemaid to act + as head nurse in our absence. + </p> + <p> + As we were dining at seven, we heard a faint voice in the little room + beyond. Salemina left her dinner and went in to find her charge slightly + better. We had been able thus far only to take off her dress, shoes, and + such garments as made her uncomfortable; Salemina now managed to slip on a + nightdress and put her under the bedcovers, returning then to her cold + mutton cutlet. + </p> + <p> + “She's an extraordinary person,” she said, absently playing with her knife + and fork. “She didn't ask me where she was, or show any interest in her + surroundings; perhaps she is still too weak. She said she was better, and + when I had made her ready for bed, she whispered, 'I've got to say my + prayers'. + </p> + <p> + “'Say them by all means,' I replied. + </p> + <p> + “'But I must get up and kneel down, she said. + </p> + <p> + “I told her she must do nothing of the sort; that she was far too ill. + </p> + <p> + “'But I must,' she urged. 'I never go to bed without saying my prayers on + my knees.' + </p> + <p> + “I forbade her doing it; she closed her eyes, and I came away. Isn't she + quaint?” + </p> + <p> + At this juncture we heard the thud of a soft falling body, and rushing in + we found that the Derelict had crept from her bed to her knees, and had + probably not prayed more than two minutes before she fainted for the fifth + or sixth time in twenty-four hours. Salemina was vexed, angel and + philanthropist though she is. Francesca and I were so helpless with + laughter that we could hardly lift the too conscientious maiden into bed. + The situation may have been pathetic; to the truly pious mind it would + indeed have been indescribably touching, but for the moment the humorous + side of it was too much for our self-control. Salemina, in rushing for + stimulants and smelling salts, broke her only comfortable eyeglasses, and + this accident, coupled with her other anxieties and responsibilities, + caused her to shed tears, an occurrence so unprecedented that Francesca + and I kissed and comforted her and tucked her up on the sofa. Then we sent + for the doctor, gave our opera tickets to the head waiter and chambermaid, + and settled down to a cheerful home evening, our first in Ireland. + </p> + <p> + “If Himself were here, we should not be in this plight,” I sighed. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know how you can say that,” responded Salemina, with considerable + spirit. “You know perfectly well that if your husband had found a mother + and seven children helpless and deserted on that dock, he would have + brought them all to this hotel, and then tried to find the father and + grandfather.” + </p> + <p> + “And it's not Salemina's fault,” argued Francesca. “She couldn't help the + girl being born in Salem; not that I believe that she ever heard of the + place before she saw it printed on Salemina's trunk. I told you it was too + big and red, dear, but you wouldn't listen! I am the strongest American of + the party, but I confess that U.S.A. in letters five inches long is too + much for my patriotism.” + </p> + <p> + “It would not be if you ever had charge of the luggage,” retorted + Salemina. + </p> + <p> + “And whatever you do, Francesca,” I added beseechingly, “don't impugn the + veracity of our Derelict. While we think of ourselves as ministering + angels I can endure anything, but if we are the dupes of an adventuress, + there is nothing pretty about it. By the way, I have consulted the English + manageress of this hotel, who was not particularly sympathetic. 'Perhaps + you shouldn't have assumed charge of her, madam,' she said, 'but having + done so, hadn't you better see if you can get her into a hospital?' It + isn't a bad suggestion, and after a day or two we will consider it, or I + will get a trained nurse to take full charge of her. I would be at any + reasonable expense rather than have our pleasure interfered with any + further.” + </p> + <p> + It still seems odd to make a proposition of this kind. In former times, + Francesca was the Croesus of the party, Salemina came second, and I last, + with a most precarious income. Now I am the wealthy one, Francesca is + reduced to the second place, and Salemina to the third, but it makes no + difference whatever, either in our relations, our arrangements, or, for + that matter, in our expenditures. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter IV. Enter Benella Dusenberry. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'A fair maiden wander'd + All wearied and lone, + Sighing, “I'm a poor stranger, + And far from my own.” + We invited her in, + We offered her share + Of our humble cottage + And our humble fare; + We bade her take comfort, + No longer to moan, + And made the poor stranger + Be one of our own.' + Old Irish Song. +</pre> + <p> + The next morning dawned as lovely as if it had slipped out of Paradise, + and as for freshness, and emerald sheen, the world from our windows was + like a lettuce leaf just washed in dew. The windows of my bedroom looked + out pleasantly on St. Stephen's Green, commonly called Stephen's Green, or + by citizens of the baser sort, Stephens's Green. It is a good English mile + in circumference, and many are the changes in it from the time it was + first laid out, in 1670, to the present day, when it was made into a + public park by Lord Ardilaun. + </p> + <p> + When the celebrated Mrs. Delany, then Mrs. Pendarves, first saw it, the + centre was a swamp, where in winter a quantity of snipe congregated, and + Harris in his History of Dublin alludes to the presence of snipe and swamp + as an agreeable and uncommon circumstance not to be met with perhaps in + any other great city in the world. + </p> + <p> + A double row of spreading lime-trees bordered its four sides, one of + which, known as Beaux' Walk, was a favourite lounge for fashionable + idlers. Here stood Bishop Clayton's residence, a large building with a + front like Devonshire House in Piccadilly: so writes Mrs. Delany. It was + splendidly furnished, and the bishop lived in a style which proves that + Irish prelates of the day were not all given to self-abnegation and + mortification of the flesh. + </p> + <p> + A long line of vehicles, outside-cars and cabs, some of them battered and + shaky, others sufficiently well-looking, was gathering on two sides of the + Green, for Dublin, you know, is 'the car-drivingest city in the world.' + Francesca and I had our first experience yesterday in the intervals of + nursing, driving to Dublin Castle, Trinity College, the Four Courts, and + Grafton Street (the Regent Street of Dublin). It is easy to tell the + stranger, stiff, decorous, terrified, clutching the rail with one or both + hands, but we took for our model a pretty Irish girl, who looked like + nothing so much as a bird on a swaying bough. It is no longer called the + 'jaunting,' but the outside car and there is another charming word lost to + the world. There was formerly an inside-car too, but it is almost unknown + in Dublin, though still found in some of the smaller towns. An outside-car + has its wheels practically inside the body of the vehicle, but an inside + car carries its wheels outside. This definition was given us by an Irish + driver, but lucid definition is not perhaps an Irishman's strong point. It + is clearer to say that the passenger sits outside of the wheels on the + one, inside on the other. There are seats for two persons over each of the + two wheels, and a dickey for the driver in front, should he need to use + it. Ordinarily he sits on one side, driving, while you perch on the other, + and thus you jog along, each seeing your own side of the road, and + discussing the topics of the day across the 'well,' as the covered-in + centre of the car is called. There are those who do not agree with its + champions, who call it 'Cupid's own conveyance'; they find the seat too + small for two, yet feel it a bit unsociable when the companion occupies + the opposite side. To me a modern Dublin car with rubber tires and a good + Irish horse is the jolliest vehicle in the universe; there is a + liveliness, an irresponsible gaiety, in the spring and sway of it; an ease + in the half-lounging position against the cushions, a unique charm in + 'travelling edgeways' with your feet planted on the step. You must not be + afraid of a car if you want to enjoy it. Hold the rail if you must, at + first, though it's just as bad form as clinging to your horse's mane while + riding in the Row. Your driver will take all the chances that a crowded + thoroughfare gives him; he would scorn to leave more than an inch between + your feet and a Guinness' beer dray; he will shake your flounces and + furbelows in the very windows of the passing trams, but he is beloved by + the gods, and nothing ever happens to him. + </p> + <p> + The morning was enchanting, as I said, and, above all, the Derelict was + better. + </p> + <p> + “It's a grand night's slape I had wid her intirely,” said the housemaid; + “an' sure it's not to-day she'll be dyin' on you at all, at all; she's had + the white drink in the bowl twyst, and a grand cup o' tay on the top o' + that.” + </p> + <p> + Salemina fortified herself with breakfast before she went in to an + interview, which we all felt to be important and decisive. The time seemed + endless to us, and endless were our suppositions. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she has had morning prayers and fainted again.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she has turned out to be Salemina's long-lost cousin.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she is upbraiding Salemina for kidnapping her when she was + insensible.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she is relating her life history; if it is a sad one, Salemina is + adopting her legally at this moment.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she is one of Mr. Beresford's wards, and has come over to + complain of somebody's ill treatment.” + </p> + <p> + Here Salemina entered, looking flushed and embarrassed. We thought it a + bad sign that she could not meet our eyes without confusion, but I made + room for her on the sofa, and Francesca drew her chair closer. + </p> + <p> + “She is from Salem,” began the poor dear; “she has never been out of + Massachusetts in her life.” + </p> + <p> + “Unfortunate girl!” exclaimed Francesca, adding prudently, as she saw + Salemina's rising colour, “though of course if one has to reside in a + single state, Massachusetts offers more compensations than any other.” + </p> + <p> + “She knows every nook and corner in the place,” continued Salemina; “she + has even seen the house where I was born, and her name is Benella + Dusenberry.” + </p> + <p> + “Impossible!” cried Francesca. “Dusenberry is unlikely enough, but who + ever heard of such a name as Benella! It sounds like a flavouring + extract.” + </p> + <p> + “She came over to see the world, she says.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! then she has money?” + </p> + <p> + “No—or at least, yes; or at least she had enough when she left + America to last for two or three months, or until she could earn + something.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course she left her little all in a chamois-skin bag under her pillow + on the steamer,” suggested Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “That is precisely what she did,” Salemina replied, with a pale smile. + “However, she was so ill in the steerage that she had to pay twenty-five + or thirty dollars extra to go into the second cabin, and this naturally + reduced the amount of her savings, though it makes no difference since she + left them all behind her, save a few dollars in her purse. She says she is + usually perfectly well, but that she was very tired when she started, that + it was her first sea-voyage, and the passage was unusually rough.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she going?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know; I mean she doesn't know. Her maternal grandmother was born + in Trim, near Tara, in Meath, but she does not think she has any relations + over here. She is entirely alone in the world, and that gives her a + certain sentiment in regard to Ireland, which she heard a great deal about + when she was a child. The maternal grandmother must have gone to Salem at + a very early age, as Benella herself savours only of New England soil.” + </p> + <p> + “Has she any trade, or is she trained to do anything whatsoever?” asked + Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “No, she hoped to take some position of 'trust.' She does not care at all + what it is, so long as the occupation is 'interestin' work,' she says. + That is rather vague, of course, but she speaks and appears like a nice, + conscientious person.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell us the rest; conceal nothing,” I said sternly. + </p> + <p> + “She—she thinks that we have saved her life, and she feels that she + belongs to us,” faltered Salemina. + </p> + <p> + “Belongs to us!” we cried in a duet. “Was there ever such a base reward + given to virtue; ever such an unwelcome expression of gratitude! Belong to + us, indeed! We can't have her; we won't have her. Were you perfectly frank + with her?” + </p> + <p> + “I tried to be, but she almost insisted; she has set her heart upon being + our maid.” + </p> + <p> + “Does she know how to be a maid?” + </p> + <p> + “No, but she is extremely teachable, she says.” + </p> + <p> + “I have my doubts,” remarked Francesca; “a liking for personal service is + not a distinguishing characteristic of New Englanders; they are not the + stuff of which maids are made. If she were French or German or + Senegambian, in fact anything but a Saleminian, we might use her; we have + always said we needed some one.” + </p> + <p> + Salemina brightened. “I thought myself it might be rather nice—that + is, I thought it might be a way out of the difficulty. Penelope had + thought at one time of bringing a maid, and it would save us a great deal + of trouble. The doctor thinks she could travel a short distance in a few + days; perhaps it is a Providence in disguise.” + </p> + <p> + “The disguise is perfect,” murmured Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” Salemina continued, “when the poor thing tottered along the + wharf the stewardess laid her on the pile of wool sacks-” + </p> + <p> + “Like a dying Chancellor,” again interpolated the irrepressible. + </p> + <p> + “And ran off to help another passenger. When she opened her eyes, she saw + straight in front of her, in huge letters, 'Salem, Mass., U.S.A.' It + loomed before her despairing vision, I suppose, like a great ark of + refuge, and seemed to her in her half-dazed condition not only a reminder, + but almost a message from home. She had then no thought of ever seeing the + owner; she says she felt only that she should like to die quietly on + anything marked 'Salem, Mass.' Go in to see her presently, Penelope, and + make up your own mind about her. See if you can persuade her to—to—well, + to give us up. Try to get her out of the notion of being our maid. She is + so firm; I never saw so feeble a person who could be so firm; and what in + the world shall we do with her if she keeps on insisting, in her nervous + state?” + </p> + <p> + “My idea would be,” I suggested, “to engage her provisionally, if we must, + not because we want her, but because her heart is weak. I shall tell her + that we do not feel like leaving her behind, and yet we ourselves cannot + be detained in Dublin indefinitely; that we will try the arrangement for a + month, and that she can consider herself free to leave us at any time on a + week's notice.” + </p> + <p> + “I approve of that,” agreed Francesca, “because it makes it easier to + dismiss her in case she turns out to be a Massachusetts Borgia. You + remember, however, that we bore with the vapours and vagaries, the sighs + and moans of Jane Grieve in Pettybaw, all those weeks, and not one of us + had the courage to throw off her yoke. Never shall I forget her at your + wedding, Penelope; the teardrop glistened in her eye as usual; I think it + is glued there! Ronald was sympathetic, because he fancied she was weeping + for the loss of you, but on inquiry it transpired that she was thinking of + a marriage in that 'won'erfu' fine family in Glasgy,' with whose charms + she had made us all too familiar. She asked to be remembered when I began + my own housekeeping, and I told her truthfully that she was not a person + who could be forgotten; I repressed my feeling that she is too tearful for + a Highland village where it rains most of the year, also my conviction + that Ronald's parish would chasten me sufficiently without her aid.” + </p> + <p> + I did as Salemina wished, and had a conference with Miss Dusenberry. I + hope I was quite clear in my stipulations as to the perfect freedom of the + four contracting parties. I know I intended to be, and I was embarrassed + to see Francesca and Salemina exchange glances next day when Benella said + she would show us what a good sailor she could be, on the return voyage to + America, adding that she thought a person would be much less liable to + sea-sickness when travelling in the first cabin. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter V. The Wearing of the Green. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Sir Knight, I feel not the least alarm, + No son of Erin will offer me harm— + For tho' they love woman and golden store, + Sir Knight, they love honour and virtue more!' + Thomas Moore. +</pre> + <p> + “This is an anniversary,” said Salemina, coming into the sitting-room at + breakfast-time with a book under her arm. “Having given up all hope of any + one's waking in this hotel, which, before nine in the morning, is + precisely like the Sleeping Beauty's castle, I dressed and determined to + look up Brian Boru.” + </p> + <p> + “From all that I can recall of him he was not a person to meet before + breakfast,” yawned Francesca; “still I shall be glad of a little fresh + light, for my mind is in a most chaotic state, induced by the intellectual + preparation that you have made me undergo during the past month. I dreamed + last night that I was conducting a mothers' meeting in Ronald's new + parish, and the subject for discussion was the Small Livings Scheme, the + object of which is to augment the stipends of the ministers of the Church + of Scotland to a minimum of 200 pounds per annum. I tried to keep the + members to the point, but was distracted by the sudden appearance, in all + corners of the church, of people who hadn't been 'asked to the party.' + There was Brian Boru, Tony Lumpkin, Finn McCool, Felicia Hemans, Ossian, + Mrs. Delany, Sitric of the Silken Beard, St. Columba, Mickey Free, + Strongbow, Maria Edgeworth, and the Venerable Bede. Imagine leading a + mothers' meeting with those people in the pews,—it was impossible! + St. Columbkille and the Venerable Bede seemed to know about parochial + charges and livings and stipends and glebes, and Maria Edgeworth was + rather helpful; but Brian and Sitric glared at each other and brandished + their hymn-books threateningly, while Ossian refused to sit in the same + pew with Mickey Free, who behaved in an odious manner, and interrupted + each of the speakers in turn. Incidentally a group of persons huddled + together in a far corner rose out of the dim light, and flapping huge + wings, flew over my head and out of the window above the altar. This I + took to be the Flight of the Earls, and the terror of it awoke me. + Whatever my parish duties may be in the future, at least they cannot be + any more dreadful and disorderly than the dream.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know which is more to blame, the seed that I sowed, or the soil + on which it fell,” said Salemina, laughing heartily at Francesca's + whimsical nightmares; “but as I said, this is an anniversary. The famous + battle of Clontarf was fought here in Dublin on this very day eight + hundred years ago, and Brian Boru routed the Danes in what was the last + struggle between Christianity and heathenism. The greatest slaughter took + place on the streets along which we drove yesterday from Ballybough Bridge + to the Four Courts. Brian Boru was king of Munster, you remember” + (Salemina always says this for courtesy's sake), “or at least you have + read of that time in Ireland's history when a fair lady dressed in fine + silk and gold and jewels could walk unmolested the length of the land, + because of the love the people bore King Brian and the respect they + cherished for his wise laws. Well, Mailmora, the king of Leinster, had + quarrelled with him, and joined forces with the Danish leaders against + him. Broder and Amlaff, two Vikings from the Isle of Man, brought with + them a 'fleet of two thousand Denmarkians and a thousand men covered with + mail from head to foot,' to meet the Irish, who always fought in tunics. + Joyce says that Broder wore a coat of mail that no steel would bite, that + he was both tall and strong, and that his black locks were so long that he + tucked them under his belt,—there's a portrait for your gallery, + Penelope. Brian's army was encamped on the Green of Aha-Clee, which is now + Phoenix Park, and when he set fire to the Danish districts, the fierce + Norsemen within the city could see a blazing, smoking pathway that reached + from Dublin to Howth. The quarrel must have been all the more virulent in + that Mailmora was Brian's brother-in-law, and Brian's daughter was the + wife of Sitric of the Silken Beard, Danish king of Dublin.” + </p> + <p> + “I refuse to remember their relationships or alliances,” said Francesca. + “They were always intermarrying with their foes in order to gain strength, + but it generally seems to have made things worse rather than better; still + I don't mind hearing what became of Brian after his victory; let us quite + finish with him before the eggs come up. I suppose it will be eggs?” + </p> + <p> + “Broder the Viking rushed upon him in his tent where he was praying, cleft + his head from his body, and he is buried in Armagh Cathedral,” said + Salemina, closing the book. “Penelope, do ring again for breakfast, and + just to keep us from realising our hunger read 'Remember the Glories of + Brian the Brave.'” + </p> + <p> + We had brought letters of introduction to a dean, a bishop, and a Rt. Hon. + Lord Justice, so there were a few delightful invitations when the morning + post came up; not so many as there might have been, perhaps, had not the + Irish capital been in a state of complete dementia over the presence of + the greatest Queen in the world. [*] Privately, I think that those nations + in the habit of having kings and queens at all should have four, like + those in a pack of cards; then they could manage to give all their + colonies and dependencies a frequent sight of royalty, and prevent much + excitement and heart-burning. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Penelope's experiences in Scotland, given in a former + volume, ended, the meticulous proof-reader will remember, + with her marriage in the year of the Queen's Jubilee. It is + apparent in the opening chapters of this story that Penelope + came to Ireland the following spring, which, though the + matter is hardly important, was not that of the Queen's + memorable visit. The Irish experiences are probably the + fruit of several expeditions, and Penelope has chosen to + include this vivid impression of Her Majesty's welcome to + Ireland, even though it might convict her of an anachronism. + Perhaps as this is not an historical novel, but a 'chronicle + of small beer,' the trifling inaccuracy may be pardoned.—K. + D. W. +</pre> + <p> + It was worth something to be one of the lunatic populace when the little + lady in black, with her parasol bordered in silver shamrocks, drove along + the gaily decorated streets, for the Irish, it seems to me, desire nothing + better than to be loyal, if any persons to whom they can be loyal are + presented to them. + </p> + <p> + “Irish disaffection is, after all, but skin-deep,” said our friend the + dean; “it is a cutaneous malady, produced by external irritants. Below the + surface there is a deep spring of personal loyalty, which needs only a + touch like that of the prophet's wand to enable it to gush forth in + healing floods. Her Majesty might drive through these crowded streets in + her donkey chaise unguarded, as secure as the lady in that poem of Moore's + which portrayed the safety of women in Brian Boru's time. The old song has + taken on a new meaning. It begins, you know,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Lady, dost thou not fear to stray + So lone and lonely through this dark way?' +</pre> + <p> + and the Queen might answer as did the heroine, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Sir Knight, I feel not the least alarm, + No son of Erin will offer me harm.'” + </pre> + <p> + It was small use for the parliamentary misrepresentatives to advise + treating Victoria of the Good Deeds with the courtesy due to a foreign + sovereign visiting the country. Under the miles of flags she drove, red, + white, and blue, tossing themselves in the sweet spring air, and up from + the warm hearts of the surging masses of people, men and women alike, + Crimean soldiers and old crones in rags, gentry and peasants, went a + greeting I never before heard given to any sovereign, for it was a sigh of + infinite content that trembled on the lips and then broke into a deep sob, + as a knot of Trinity College students in a spontaneous burst of song flung + out the last verse of 'The New Wearing of the Green.' [**] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'And so upon St. Patrick's Day, Victoria, she has said + Each Irish regiment shall wear the Green beside the Red; + And she's coming to ould Ireland, who away so long has been, + And dear knows but into Dublin she'll ride Wearing of the Green.' + + + ** Alfred Perceval Graves. +</pre> + <p> + The first cheers were faint and broken, and the emotion that quivered on + every face and the tears that gleamed in a thousand eyes made it the most + touching spectacle in the world. 'Foreign Sovereign, indeed!' She was the + Queen of Ireland, and the nation of courtiers and hero worshippers was at + her feet. There was the history of five hundred years in that greeting, + and to me it spoke volumes. + </p> + <p> + Plenty of people there were in the crowd, too, who were heartily 'agin the + Government'; but Daniel O'Connell is not the only Irishman who could + combine a detestation of the Imperial Parliament with a passionate loyalty + to the sovereign. + </p> + <p> + There was a woman near us who 'remimbered the last time Her Noble Highness + come, thirty-nine years back,—glory be to God, thim was the times!'—and + who kept ejaculating, “She's the best woman in the wurrld, bar none, and + the most varchous faymale!” As her husband made no reply, she was obliged + in her excitement to thump him with her umbrella and repeat, “The most + varchous faymale, do you hear?” At which he retorted, “Have conduct, + woman; sure I've nothin' agin it.” + </p> + <p> + “Look at the size of her now,” she went on, “sittin' in that grand + carriage, no bigger than me own Kitty, and always in the black, the + darlin'. Look at her, a widdy woman, raring that large and heavy family of + children; and how well she's married off her daughters (more luck to + her!), though to be sure they must have been well fortuned! They do be + sayin' she's come over because she's plazed with seein' estated gintlemen + lave iverything and go out and be shot by thim bloody Boers, bad scran to + thim! Sure if I had the sons, sorra a wan but I'd lave go! Who's the + iligant sojers in the silver stays, Thady? Is it the Life Guards you're + callin' thim?” + </p> + <p> + There were two soldiers' wives standing on the pavement near us, and one + of them showed a half-sovereign to the other, saying, “'Tis the last day's + airnin' iver I seen by him, Mrs. Muldoon, ma'am! Ah, there's thim says for + this war, an' there's thim says agin this war, but Heaven lave Himself + where he is, I says, for of all the ragin' Turcomaniacs iver a + misfortunate woman was curst with, Pat Brady, my full private, he bates + 'em all!” + </p> + <p> + Here the band played 'Come back to Erin,' and the scene was indescribable. + Nothing could have induced me to witness it had I realised what it was to + be, for I wept at Holyrood when I heard the plaintive strains of 'Bonnie + Charlie's noo Awa' floating up to the Gallery of Kings from the palace + courtyard, and I did not wish Francesca to see me shedding national, + political, and historical tears so soon again. Francesca herself is so + ardent a republican that she weeps only for presidents and cabinet + officers. For my part, although I am thoroughly loyal, I cannot become + sufficiently attached to a president in four years to shed tears when I + see him driving at the head of a procession. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VI. Dublin, then and now. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'I found in Innisfail the fair, + In Ireland, while in exile there, + Women of worth, both grave and gay men, + Many clerics, and many laymen.' + James Clarence Mangan. +</pre> + <p> + Mrs. Delany, writing from Dublin in 1731, says: 'As for the generality of + people that I meet with here, they are much the same as in England—a + mixture of good and bad. All that I have met with behave themselves very + decently according to their rank; now and then an oddity breaks out, but + never so extraordinary but that I can match it in England. There is a + heartiness among them that is more like Cornwall than any I have known, + and great sociableness.' This picturesque figure in the life of her day + gives charming pictures in her memoirs of the Irish society of the time, + descriptions which are confirmed by contemporary writers. She was the wife + of Dr. Delany, Dean of Down, the companion of duchesses and queens, and + the friend of Swift. Hannah More, in a poem called 'Sensibility,' + published in 1778, gives this quaint and stilted picture of her:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Delany shines, in worth serenely bright, + Wisdom's strong ray, and virtue's milder light. + And she who blessed the friend and graced the page of Swift, + still lends her lustre to our age. + Long, long protract thy light, O star benign, + Whose setting beams with added brightness shine!' +</pre> + <p> + The Irish ladies of Delany's day, who scarcely ever appeared on foot in + the streets, were famous for their grace in dancing, it seems, as the men + were for their skill in swimming. The hospitality of the upper classes was + profuse, and by no means lacking in brilliancy or in grace. The humorous + and satirical poetry found in the fugitive literature of the period shows + conclusively that there were plenty of bright spirits and keen wits at the + banquets, routs, and balls. The curse of absenteeism was little felt in + Dublin, where the Parliament secured the presence of most of the + aristocracy and of much of the talent of the country, and during the + residence of the viceroy there was the influence of the court to + contribute to the sparkling character of Dublin society. + </p> + <p> + How they managed to sparkle when discussing some of the heavy dinner menus + of the time I cannot think. Here is one of the Dean of Down's bills of + fare:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Turkeys endove + Boyled leg of mutton + Greens, etc. + Soup + Plum Pudding + Roast loin of veal + Venison pasty + Partridge + Sweetbreads + Collared Pig + Creamed apple tart + Crabs + Fricassee of eggs + Pigeons + No dessert to be had. +</pre> + <p> + Although there is no mention of beverages we may be sure that this array + of viands was not eaten dry, but was washed down with a plentiful variety + of wines and liquors. + </p> + <p> + The hosts, either in Dublin or London, who numbered among their dinner + guests such Irishmen as Sheridan or Lysaght, Mangan or Lever, Curran or + Lover, Father Prout or Dean Swift, had as great a feast of wit and + repartee as one will be apt soon to hear again; although it must have been + Lever or Lover who furnished the cream of Irish humour, and Father Prout + and Swift the curds. + </p> + <p> + If you are fortunate enough to be bidden to the right houses in Ireland + to-day, you will have as much good talk as you are likely to listen to + anywhere else in this degenerate age, which has mostly forgotten how to + converse in learning to chat; and any one who goes to the Spring Show at + Ball's Bridge, or to the Punchestown or Leopardstown races, or to the + Dublin horse show, will have to confess that the Irishwomen can dispute + the palm with any nation. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Light on their feet now they passed me and sped, + Give you me word, give you me word, + Every girl wid a turn o' the head + Just like a bird, just like a bird; + And the lashes so thick round their beautiful eyes + Shinin' to tell you it's fair time o' day wid them, + Back in me heart wid a kind of surprise, + I think how the Irish girls has the way wid them!' +</pre> + <p> + Their charm is made up of beautiful eyes and lashes, lustre of hair, poise + of head, shapeliness of form, vivacity and coquetry; and there is a + matchless grace in the way they wear the 'whatever,' be it the chiffons of + the fashionable dame, or the shawl of the country colleen, who can draw + the two corners of that faded article of apparel shyly over her lips and + look out from under it with a pair of luminous grey eyes in a manner that + is fairly 'disthractin'.' + </p> + <p> + Yesterday was a red-letter day, for I dined in the evening at Dublin + Castle, and Francesca was bidden to the concert in the Throne Room + afterwards. It was a brilliant scene when the assembled guests awaited + their host and hostess, the shaded lights bringing out the satins and + velvets, pearls and diamonds, uniforms, orders, and medals. Suddenly the + hum of voices ceased as one of the aides-de-camp who preceded the + vice-regal party announced 'their Excellencies.' We made a sort of passage + as these dignitaries advanced to shake hands with a few of those they knew + best. The Lord Lieutenant then gave his arm to the lady of highest rank + (alas, it was not I!); her Excellency chose her proper squire, and we + passed through the beautifully decorated rooms to St. Patrick's Hall in a + nicely graded procession, magnificence at the head, humility at the tail. + A string band was discoursing sweet music the while, and I fitted to its + measures certain well-known lines descriptive of the entrance of the + beasts into the ark. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The animals went in two by two, + The elephant and the kangaroo.' +</pre> + <p> + As my escort was a certain brilliant lord justice, and as the wittiest + dean in Leinster was my other neighbour, I almost forgot to eat in my + pleasure and excitement. I told the dean that we had chosen Scottish + ancestors before going to our first great dinner in Edinburgh, feeling + that we should be more in sympathy with the festivities and more + acceptable to our hostess, but that I had forgotten to provide myself for + this occasion, my first function in Dublin; whereupon the good dean + promptly remembered that there was a Penelope O'Connor, daughter of the + King of Connaught. I could not quite give up Tam o' the Cowgate (Thomas + Hamilton) or Jenny Geddes of fauld-stule fame, also a Hamilton, but I + added the King of Connaught to the list of my chosen forebears with much + delight, in spite of the polite protests of the Rev. Father O'Hogan, who + sat opposite, and who remarked that + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Man for his glory + To ancestry flies, + But woman's bright story + Is told in her eyes. + While the monarch but traces + Through mortal his line, + Beauty born of the Graces + Ranks next to divine.' +</pre> + <p> + I asked the Reverend Father if he were descended from Galloping O'Hogan, + who helped Patrick Sarsfield to spike the guns of the Williamites at + Limerick. + </p> + <p> + “By me sowl, ma'am, it's not discinded at all I am; I am one o' the common + sort, just,” he answered, broadening his brogue to make me smile. A + delightful man he was, exactly such an one as might have sprung full grown + from a Lever novel; one who could talk equally well with his flock about + pigs or penances, purgatory or potatoes, and quote Tom Moore and Lover + when occasion demanded. + </p> + <p> + Story after story fell from his genial lips, and at last he said + apologetically, “One more, and I have done,” when a pretty woman, sitting + near him, interpolated slyly, “We might say to you, your reverence, what + the old woman said to the eloquent priest who finished his sermon with + 'One word, and I have done'”. + </p> + <p> + “An' what is that, ma'am?” asked Father O'Hogan. + </p> + <p> + “'Och! me darlin' pracher, may ye niver be done!'” + </p> + <p> + We all agreed that we should like to reconstruct the scene for a moment + and look at a drawing-room of two hundred years ago, when the Lady + Lieutenant after the minuets at eleven o'clock went to her basset table, + while her pages attended behind her chair, and when on ball nights the + ladies scrambled for sweetmeats on the dancing-floor. As to their probable + toilets, one could not give purer pleasure than by quoting Mrs. Delany's + description of one of them:— + </p> + <p> + 'The Duchess's dress was of white satin embroidered, the bottom of the + petticoat brown hills covered with all sorts of weeds, and every breadth + had an old stump of a tree, that ran up almost to the top of the + petticoat, broken and ragged, and worked with brown chenille, round which + twined nasturtiums, ivy, honeysuckles, periwinkles, and all sorts of + running flowers, which spread and covered the petticoat.... The robings + and facings were little green banks covered with all sorts of weeds, and + the sleeves and the rest of the gown loose twining branches of the same + sort as those on the petticoat. Many of the leaves were finished with + gold, and part of the stumps of the trees looked like the gilding of the + sun. I never saw a piece of work so prettily fancied.' + </p> + <p> + She adds a few other details for the instruction of her sister Anne:— + </p> + <p> + 'Heads are variously adorned; pompons with some accompaniment of feathers, + ribbons, or flowers; lappets in all sorts of curli-murlis; long hoods are + worn close under the chin; the ear-rings go round the neck(!), and tie + with bows and ends behind. Night-gowns are worn without hoops.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART2" id="link2H_PART2"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Part Second—Munster. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VII. A tour and a detour. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + '“An' there,” sez I to meself, “we're goin' wherever we go, + But where we'll be whin we git there it's never a know + I'll know.”' + Jane Barlow. +</pre> + <p> + We had planned to go direct from Dublin to Valencia Island, where there is + not, I am told, 'one dhry step 'twixt your fut an' the States'; but we + thought it too tiring a journey for Benella, and arranged for a little + visit to Cork first. We nearly missed the train owing to the late arrival + of Salemina at the Kingsbridge station. She had been buying malted milk, + Mellin's Food, an alcohol lamp, a tin cup, and getting all the doctor's + prescriptions renewed. + </p> + <p> + We intended, too, to go second or third class now an then, in order to + study the humours of the natives, but of course we went 'first' on this + occasion on account of Benella. I told her that we could not follow + British usage and call her by her surname. Dusenberry was too long and too—well, + too extraordinary for daily use abroad. + </p> + <p> + “P'r'aps it is,” she assented meekly; “and still, Mis' Beresford, when a + man's name is Dusenberry, you can't hardly blame him for wanting his child + to be called by it, can you?” + </p> + <p> + This was incontrovertible, and I asked her middle name. It was Frances, + and that was too like Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “You don't like the sound o' Benella?” she inquired. “I've always set + great store by my name, it is so unlikely. My father's name was Benjamin + and my mother's Ella, and mine is made from both of 'em; but you can call + me any kind of a name you please, after what you've done for me,” and she + closed her eyes patiently. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Call me Daphne, call me Chloris, + Call me Lalage or Doris, + Only, only call me thine,' +</pre> + <p> + which is exactly what we are not ready to do, I thought, in a poetic + parenthesis. + </p> + <p> + Benella looks frail and yet hardy. She has an unusual and perhaps + unnecessary amount of imagination for her station, some native + common-sense, but limited experience; she is somewhat vague and + inconsistent in her theories of life, but I am sure there is vitality, and + energy too, in her composition, although it has been temporarily drowned + in the Atlantic Ocean. If she were a clock, I should think that some + experimenter had taken out her original works, and substituted others to + see how they would run. The clock has a New England case and strikes with + a New England tone, but the works do not match it altogether. Of course I + know that one does not ordinarily engage a lady's-maid because of these + piquant peculiarities; but in our case the circumstances were + extraordinary. I have explained them fully to Himself in my letters, and + Francesca too has written pages of illuminating detail to Ronald + Macdonald. + </p> + <p> + The similarity in the minds of men must sometimes come across them with a + shock, unless indeed it appeals to their sense of humour. Himself in + America, and the Rev. Mr. Macdonald in the north of Scotland, both + answered, in course of time, that a lady's-maid should be engaged because + is a lady's-maid and for no other reason. + </p> + <p> + Was ever anything duller than this, more conventional, more commonplace or + didactic, less imaginative? Himself added, “You are a romantic idiot, and + I love you more than tongue can tell.” Francesca did not say what Ronald + added; probably a part of this same sentence (owing to the aforesaid + similarity of men's minds), reserving the rest for the frank intimacy of + the connubial state. + </p> + <p> + Everything looked beautiful in the uncertain glory of the April day. The + thistle-down clouds opened now and then to shake out a delicate, brilliant + little shower that ceased in a trice, and the sun smiled through the light + veil of rain, turning every falling drop to a jewel. It was as if the + fairies were busy at aerial watering-pots, without any more serious + purpose than to amuse themselves and make the earth beautiful; and we + realised that Irish rain is as warm as an Irish welcome, and soft as an + Irish smile. + </p> + <p> + Everything was bursting into new life, everything but the primroses, and + their glory was departing. The yellow carpet seemed as bright as ever on + the sunny hedgerow banks and on the fringe of the woods, but when we + plucked some at a wayside station we saw that they were just past their + golden prime. There was a grey-green hint of verdure in the sallows that + stood against a dark background of firs, and the branches of the + fruit-trees were tipped with pink, rosy-hued promises of May just + threatening to break through their silvery April sheaths. Raindrops were + still glistening on the fronds of the tender young ferns and on the great + clumps of pale, delicately scented bog violets that we found in a marshy + spot and brought in to Salemina, who was not in her usual spirits; who + indeed seemed distinctly anxious. + </p> + <p> + She was enchanted with the changeful charm of the landscape, and found + Mrs. Delany's Memoirs a book after her own heart, but ever and anon her + eyes rested on Benella's pale face. Nothing could have been more doggedly + conscientious and assiduous than our attentions to the Derelict. She had + beef juice at Kildare, malted milk at Ballybrophy, tea at Dundrum; + nevertheless, as we approached Limerick Junction we were obliged to hold a + consultation. Salemina wished to alight from the train at the next + station, take a three hours' rest, then jog on to any comfortable place + for the night, and to Cork in the morning. + </p> + <p> + “I shall feel much more comfortable,” she said, “if you go on and amuse + yourselves as you like, leaving Benella to me for a day, or even for two + or three days. I can't help feeling that the chief fault, or at least the + chief responsibility, is mine. If I hadn't been born in Salem, or hadn't + had the word painted on my trunk in such red letters she wouldn't have + fainted on it, and I needn't have saved her life. It is too late to turn + back now; it is saved, or partly saved, and I must persevere in saving it, + at least until I find that it's not worth saving.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor darling!” said Francesca sympathisingly. “I'll look in Murray and + find a nice interesting place. You can put Benella to bed in the Southern + Hotel at Limerick Junction, and perhaps you can then drive within sight of + the Round Tower of Cashel. Then you can take up the afternoon train and go + to—let me see—how would you like Buttevant? (Boutez en avant, + you know, the 'Push forward' motto of the Barrymores.) It's delightful, + Penelope,” she continued; “we'd better get off, too. It is a garrison + town, and there is a military hotel. Then in the vicinity is Kilcolman, + where Spenser wrote the Faerie Queene: so there is the beginning of your + literary pilgrimage the very first day, without any plotting or planning. + The little river Aubeg, which flows by Kilcolman Castle, Spenser called + the Mulla, and referred to it as 'Mulla mine, whose waves I whilom taught + to weep.' That, by the way, is no more than our Jane Grieve could have + done for the rivers of Scotland. What do you say? and won't you be a + 'prood woman the day' when you sign the hotel register 'Miss Peabody and + maid, Salem, Mass., U.S.A'” + </p> + <p> + I thought most favourably of Buttevant, but on prudently inquiring the + guard's opinion, he said it was not a comfortable place for an invalid + lady, and that Mallow was much more the thing. At Limerick Junction, then, + we all alighted, and in the ten minutes' wait saw Benella escorted up the + hotel stairway by a sympathetic head waiter. + </p> + <p> + Detached from Salemina's fostering care and prudent espionage, separated, + above all, from the depressing Miss Dusenberry, we planned every + conceivable folly in the way of guidebook expeditions. The exhilarating + sense of being married, and therefore properly equipped to undertake any + sort of excursion with perfect propriety, gave added zest to the affair in + my eyes. Sleeping at Cork in an Imperial Hotel was far too usual a + proceeding,—we scorned it. As the very apex of boldness and reckless + defiance of common-sense, we let our heavy luggage go on to the capital of + Munster, and, taking our handbags, entered a railway carriage standing on + a side track, and were speedily on our way,—we knew not whither, and + cared less. We discovered all too soon that we were going to Waterford, + the Star of the Suir,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The gentle Shure, that making way + By sweet Clonmell, adorns rich Waterford'; +</pre> + <p> + and we were charmed at first sight with its quaint bridge spanning the + silvery river. It was only five o'clock, and we walked about the fine old + ninth-century town, called by the Cavaliers the Urbs Intacta, because it + was the one place in Ireland which successfully resisted the + all-conquering Cromwell. Francesca sent a telegram at once to + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + MISS PEABODY AND MAID, Great Southern Hotel, Limerick Junction. + + Came to Waterford instead Cork. Strongbow landed here 1771, +defeating Danes and Irish. Youghal to-morrow, pronounced Yawl. Address, +Green Park, Miss Murphy's. How's Derelict? + + FRANELOPE. +</pre> + <p> + It was absurd, of course, but an absurdity that can be achieved at the + cost of eighteen-pence is well worth the money. + </p> + <p> + Nobody but a Baedeker or a Murray could write an account of our doings the + next two days. Feeling that we might at any hour be recalled to Benella's + bedside, we took a childlike pleasure in crowding as much as possible into + the time. This zeal was responsible for our leaving the Urbs Intacta, and + pushing on to pass the night in something smaller and more idyllic. + </p> + <p> + I dissuaded Francesca from seeking a lodging in Ballybricken by informing + her that it was the heart of the bacon industry, and the home of the + best-known body of pig-buyers in Ireland; but her mind was fixed upon + Kills and Ballies. On asking our jarvey the meaning of Bally as a prefix, + he answered reflectively: “I don't think there's annything onderhanded in + the manin', melady; I think it means BALLY jist.” + </p> + <p> + The name of the place where we did go shall never be divulged, lest a + curious public follow in our footsteps; and if perchance it have not our + youth, vigour, and appetite for adventure, it might die there in the + principal hotel, unwept, unhonoured, and unsung. The house is said to be + three hundred and seventy-five years old, but we are convinced that this + is a wicked understatement of its antiquity. It must have been built since + the Deluge, else it would at least have had one general spring cleaning in + the course of its existence. Cromwell had been there too, and in the + confusion of his departure they must have forgotten to sweep under the + beds. We entered our rooms at ten in the evening, having dismissed our + car, knowing well that there was no other place to stop the night. We gave + the jarvey twice his fare to avoid altercation, 'but divil a penny less + would he take,' although it was he who had recommended the place as a cosy + hotel. “It looks like a small little house, melady, but 'tis large inside, + and it has a power o' beds in it.” We each generously insisted on taking + the dirtiest bedroom (they had both been last occupied by the Cromwellian + soldiers, we agreed), but relinquished the idea, because the more we + compared them the more impossible it was to decide which was the dirtiest. + There were no locks on the doors. “And sure what matther for that, Miss? + Nobody has a right (i.e. business) to be comin' in here but meself,” said + the aged woman who showed us to our rooms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VIII. Romance and reality. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, + With his martial cloak around him.' + Charles Wolfe. +</pre> + <p> + At midnight I heard a faint tap at my door, and Francesca walked in, her + eyes wide and bright, her cheeks flushed, her long, dark braid of hair + hanging over her black travelling cloak. I laughed as I saw her, she + looked so like Sir Patrick Spens in the ballad play at Pettybaw,—a + memorable occasion when Ronald Macdonald caught her acting that tragic + role in his ministerial gown, the very day that Himself came from Paris to + marry me in Pettybaw, dear little Pettybaw! + </p> + <p> + “I came in to find out if your bed is as bad as mine, but I see you have + not slept in it,” she whispered. + </p> + <p> + “I was just coming in to see if yours could be any worse,” I replied. “Do + you mean to say that you have tried it, courageous girl? I blew out my + candle, and then, after an interval in which to forget, sat down on the + outside as a preliminary; but the moon rose just then, and I could get no + further.” + </p> + <p> + I had not unpacked my bag. I had simply slipped on my macintosh, selected + a wooden chair, and, putting a Cromwellian towel over it, seated myself + shudderingly on it and put my feet on the rounds, quoting Moore meantime— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'And the best of all ways + To lengthen our days + Is to steal a few hours from the night, my dear!” + </pre> + <p> + Francesca followed my example, and we passed the night in reading Celtic + romances to each other. We could see the faint outline of sweet + Slievenamann from our windows—the mountain of the fair women of + Feimheann, celebrated as the hunting-ground of the Finnian Chiefs. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'One day Finn and Oscar + Followed the chase in Sliabh-na-mban-Feimheann, + With three thousand Finnian chiefs + Ere the sun looked out from his circle.' +</pre> + <p> + In the Finnian legend, the great Finn McCool, when much puzzled in the + choice of a wife, seated himself on its summit. At last he decided to make + himself a prize in a competition of all the fair women in Ireland. They + should start at the foot of the mountain, and the one who first reached + the summit should be the great Finn's bride. It was Grainne Oge, the + Gallic Helen, and daughter of Cormac, the king of Ireland, who won the + chieftain, 'being fleetest of foot and longest of wind.' + </p> + <p> + We almost forgot our discomforts in this enthralling story, and slept on + each other's nice clean shoulders a little, just before the dawn. And such + a dawn! Such infinite softness of air, such dew-drenched verdure! It is a + backward spring, they say, but to me the woods are even lovelier than in + their summer wealth of foliage, when one can hardly distinguish the beauty + of the single tree from that of its neighbours, since the colours are + blended in one universal green. Now we see the feathery tassels of the + beech bursting out of their brown husks, the russet hues of the young oak + leaves, and the countless emerald gleams that 'break from the ruby-budded + lime.' The greenest trees are the larch, the horse-chestnut, and the + sycamore, three naturalised citizens who apparently still keep to their + native fashions, and put out their foliage as they used to do in their own + homes. The young alders and the hawthorn hedges are greening, but it will + be a fortnight before we can realise the beauty of that snow-white bloom, + with its bitter-sweet fragrance. The cuckoo-flower came this year before + instead of after the bird, they tell us, showing that even Nature, in + these days of anarchy and misrule, is capable of taking liberties with her + own laws. There is a fragrance of freshly turned earth in the air, and the + rooks are streaming out from the elms by the little church, and resting + for a bit in a group of plume-like yews. The last few days of warmth and + sunshine have inspired the birds, and as Francesca and I sit at our + windows breathing in the sweetness and freshness of the morning, there is + a concert of thrushes and blackbirds in the shrubberies. The little birds + furnish the chorus or the undertone of song, the hedge-sparrows, + redbreasts, and chaffinches, but the meistersingers 'call the tune,' and + lead the feathered orchestra with clear and certain notes. It is a golden + time for the minstrels, for nest-building is finished, and the feeding of + the younglings a good time yet in the future. We can see one little brown + lady hovering warm eggs under her breast, her bright eyes peeping through + a screen of leaves as she glances up at her singing lord, pouring out his + thanks for the morning sun. There is only a hint of breeze, it might + almost be the whisper of uncurling fern fronds, but soft as it is, it + stirs the branches here and there, and I know that it is rocking hundreds + of tiny cradles in the forest. + </p> + <p> + When I was always painting in those other days before I met Himself, one + might think my eyes would have been even keener to see beauty than now, + when my brushes are more seldom used; but it is not so. There is + something, deep hidden in my consciousness, that makes all loveliness + lovelier, that helps me to interpret it in a different and in a larger + sense. I have a feeling that I have been lifted out of the individual and + given my true place in the general scheme of the universe, and, in some + subtle way that I can hardly explain, I am more nearly related to all + things good, beautiful, and true than I was when I was wholly an artist, + and therefore less a woman. The bursting of the leaf-buds brings me a + tender thought of the one dear heart that gives me all its spring; and + whenever I see the smile of a child, a generous look, the flash of + sympathy in an eye, it makes me warm with swift remembrance of the one I + love the best of all, just 'as a lamplight will set a linnet singing for + the sun.' + </p> + <p> + Love is doing the same thing for Francesca; for the smaller feelings merge + themselves in the larger ones, as little streams lose themselves in + oceans. Whenever we talk quietly together of that strange, new, difficult + life that she is going so bravely and so joyously to meet, I know by her + expression that Ronald's noble face, a little shy, a little proud, but + altogether adoring, serves her for courage and for inspiration, and she + feels that his hand is holding hers across the distance, in a clasp that + promises strength. + </p> + <p> + At five o'clock we longed to ring for hot water, but did not dare. Even at + six there was no sound of life in the cosy inn which we have named The + Cromwell Arms ('Mrs. Duddy, Manageress; Comfort, Cleanliness, Courtesy; + Night Porter; Cycling Shed'). From seven to half-past we read pages and + pages of delicious history and legend, and decided to go from Cappoquin to + Youghal by steamer, if we could possibly reach the place of departure in + time. At half-past seven we pulled the bell energetically. Nothing + happened, and we pulled again and again, discovering at last that the + connection between the bell-rope and the bell-wire had long since + disappeared, though it had been more than once established with bits of + twine, fishing-line, and shoe laces. Francesca then went across the hall + to examine her methods of communication, and presently I heard a welcome + tinkle, and another, and another, followed in due season by a cheerful + voice, saying, “Don't desthroy it intirely, ma'am; I'll be coming + direckly.” We ordered jugs of hot water, and were told that it would be + some time before it could be had, as ladies were not in the habit of + calling for it before nine in the morning, and as the damper of the + kitchen-range was out of order. Did we wish it in a little canteen with + whisky and a bit of lemon-peel, or were we afther wantin' it in a jug? We + replied promptly that it was not the hour for toddy, but the hour for + baths, with us, and the decrepit and very sleepy night porter departed to + wake the cook and build the fire; advising me first, in a friendly way, to + take the hearth brush that was 'kapin' the windy up, and rap on the wall + if I needed annything more.' At eight o'clock we heard the porter's + shuffling step in the hall, followed by a howl and a polite objurgation. A + strange dog had passed the night under Francesca's bed, and the porter was + giving him what he called 'a good hand and fut downstairs.' He had put + down the hot water for this operation, and on taking up the burden again + we heard him exclaim: “Arrah! look at that now! May the divil fly away + with the excommunicated ould jug!” It was past saving, the jug, and leaked + so freely that one had to be exceedingly nimble to put to use any of the + smoky water in it. “Thim fools o' turf do nothing but smoke on me,” + apologised the venerable servitor, who then asked, “would we be pleased to + order breakquist.” We were wise in our generation, and asked for nothing + but bacon, eggs, and tea; and after a smoky bath and a change of raiment + we seated at our repast in the coffee-room, feeling wonderfully fresh and + cheerful. By looking directly at each other most of the time, and making + experimental journeys from plate to mouth, thus barring out any intimate + knowledge of the tablecloth and the waiter's linen, we managed to make a + breakfast. Francesca is enough to give any one a good appetite. Ronald + Macdonald will be a lucky fellow, I think, to begin his day by sitting + opposite her, for her eyes shine like those of a child, and one's gaze + lingers fondly on the cool freshness of her cheek. Breakfast over and the + bill settled, we speedily shook off as much of the dust of Mrs. Duddy's + hotel as could be shaken off, and departed on the most decrepit sidecar + that ever rolled on two wheels, being wished a safe journey by a + slatternly maid who stood in the doorway, by the wide Mrs. Duddy herself, + who realised in her capacious person the picturesque Irish phrase, 'the + full-of-the-door of a woman,' and by our friend the head waiter, who + leaned against Mrs. Duddy's ancestral pillars in such a way that the + morning sun shone full upon his costume and revealed its weaknesses to our + reluctant gaze. + </p> + <p> + The driver said it was eleven miles to Cappoquin, the guide-book fourteen, + but this difference of opinion, we find, is only the difference between + Irish and English miles, for which our driver had an unspeakable contempt, + as of a vastly inferior quality. He had, on the other hand, a great + respect for Mrs. Duddy and her comfortable, cleanly, and courteous + establishment (as per advertisement), and the warmest admiration for the + village in which she had appropriately located herself, a village which he + alluded to as 'wan of the natest towns in the ring of Ireland, for if ye + made a slip in the street of it, be the help of God ye were always sure to + fall into a public-house!' + </p> + <p> + “We had better not tell the full particulars of this journey to Salemina,” + said Francesca prudently, as we rumbled along; “though, oddly enough, if + you remember, whenever any one speaks disparagingly of Ireland, she always + takes up cudgels in its behalf.” + </p> + <p> + “Francesca, now that you are within three or four months of being married, + can you manage to keep a secret?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she whispered eagerly, squeezing my hand and inclining her shoulder + cosily to mine. “Yes, oh yes, and how it would raise my spirits after a + sleepless night!” + </p> + <p> + “When Salemina was eighteen she had a romance, and the hero of it was the + son of an Irish gentleman, an M.P., who was travelling in America, or + living there for a few years,—I can't remember which. He was nothing + more than a lad, less than twenty-one years old, but he was very much in + love with Salemina. How far her feelings were involved I never knew, but + she felt that she could not promise to marry him. Her mother was an + invalid, and her father a delightful, scholarly, autocratic, selfish old + gentleman, who ruled his household with a rod of iron. Salemina coddled + and nursed them both during all her young life; indeed, little as she + realised it, she never had any separate existence or individuality until + they both died, when she was thirty-one or two years old.” + </p> + <p> + “And what became of the young Irishman? Was he faithful to his first love, + or did he marry?” + </p> + <p> + “He married, many years afterward, and that was the time I first heard the + story. His marriage took place in Dublin, on the very day, I believe, that + Salemina's father was buried; for Fate has the most relentless way of + arranging these coincidences. I don't remember his name, and I don't know + where he lives or what has become of him. I imagine the romance has been + dead and buried in rose-leaves for years; Salemina never has spoken of it + to me, but it would account for her sentimental championship of Ireland.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter IX. The light of other days. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Oft in the stilly night, + Ere slumber's chain has bound me, + Fond memory brings the light + Of other days around me.' + Thomas Moore. +</pre> + <p> + If you want to fall head over ears in love with Ireland at the very first + sight of her charms, take, as we did, the steamer from Cappoquin to + Youghal, and float down the vale of the Blackwater— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Swift Awniduff, which of the Englishman + Is cal' de Blackwater.' +</pre> + <p> + The shores of this Irish Rhine are so lovely that the sail on a sunny day + is one of unequalled charm. Behind us the mountains ranged themselves in a + mysterious melancholy background; ahead the river wended its way southward + in and out, in and out, through rocky cliffs and well-wooded shores. + </p> + <p> + The first tributary stream that we met was the little Finisk, on the + higher banks of which is Affane House. The lands of Affane are said to + have been given by one of the FitzGeralds to Sir Walter Raleigh for a + breakfast, a very high price to pay for bacon and eggs, and it was here + that he planted the first cherry-tree in Ireland, bringing it from the + Canary Islands to the Isle of Weeping. + </p> + <p> + Looking back just below here, we saw the tower and cloisters of Mount + Melleray, the Trappist monastery. Very beautiful and very lonely looked + 'the little town of God,' in the shadows of the gloomy hills. We wished we + had known the day before how near we were to it, for we could have claimed + a night's lodging at the ladies' guest-house, where all creeds, classes, + and nationalities are received with a cead-mile-failte, [*] and where any + offering for food or shelter is given only at the visitors pleasure. The + Celtic proverb, 'Melodious is the closed mouth,' might be written over the + cloisters; for it is a village of silence, and only the monks who teach in + the schools or who attend visitors are absolved from the vow. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *A hundred thousand welcomes. +</pre> + <p> + Next came Dromana Castle, where the extraordinary old Countess of Desmond + was born,—the wonderful old lady whose supposed one hundred and + forty years so astonished posterity. She must have married Thomas, twelfth + Earl of Desmond, after 1505, as his first wife is known to have been alive + in that year. Raleigh saw her in 1589, and she died in 1604: so it would + seem that she must have been at least one hundred and ten or one hundred + and twelve when she met her untimely death,—a death brought about + entirely by her own youthful impetuosity and her fondness for athletic + sports. Robert Sydney, second Earl of Leicester, makes the following + reference to her in his Table-Book, written when he was ambassador at + Paris, about 1640:— + </p> + <p> + 'The old Countess of Desmond was a marryed woman in Edward IV. time in + England, and lived till towards the end of Queen Elizabeth, so she must + needes be neare one hundred and forty yeares old. She had a new sett of + teeth not long afore her death, and might have lived much longer had she + not mett with a kinde of violent death; for she would needes climbe a + nut-tree to gather nuts; so falling down she hurt her thigh, which brought + a fever, and that fever brought death. This my cousin Walter Fitzwilliam + told me.' + </p> + <p> + It is true that the aforesaid cousin Walter may have been a better + raconteur than historian; still, local tradition vigorously opposes any + lessening of the number of the countess's years, pinning its faith rather + on one Hayman, who says that she presented herself at the English court at + the age of one hundred and forty years, to petition for her jointure, + which she lost by the attainder of the last earl; and it also prefers to + have her fall from the historic cherry-tree that Sir Walter planted, + rather than from a casual nut-tree. + </p> + <p> + Down the lovely river we went, lazily lying back in the sun, almost the + only passengers on the little craft, as it was still far too early for + tourists; down past Villierstown, Cooneen Ferry, Strancally Castle, with + its 'Murdering Hole' made famous by the Lords of Desmond, through the + Broads of Clashmore; then past Temple Michael, an old castle of the + Geraldines, which Cromwell battered down for 'dire insolence,' until we + steamed slowly into the harbour of Youghal—and, to use our driver's + expression, there is no more 'onderhanded manin'' in Youghal than the town + of the Yew Wood, which is much prettier to the eye and sweeter to the ear. + </p> + <p> + Here we found a letter from Salemina, and expended another eighteenpence + in telegraphing to her:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + PEABODY, Coolkilla House, near Mardyke Walk, Cork. + + We are under Yew Tree at Myrtle Grove where Raleigh and Spenser +smoked, read manuscript Faerie Queene, and planted first potato. +Delighted Benella better. Join you to-morrow. Don't encourage +archaeologist. + + PENESCA. +</pre> + <p> + We had a charming hour at Myrtle Grove House, an unpretentious, gabled + dwelling, for a time the residence of the ill-fated soldier captain, Sir + Walter Raleigh. You remember, perhaps, that he was mayor of Youghal in + 1588. After the suppression of the Geraldine rebellion, the vast estates + of the Earl of Desmond and those of one hundred and forty of the leading + gentlemen of Munster, his adherents, were confiscated, and proclamation + was made all through England inviting gentlemen to 'undertake' the + plantation of this rich territory. Estates were offered at two or three + pence an acre, and no rent was to be paid for the first five years. Many + of these great 'undertakers,' as they were called, were English noblemen + who never saw Ireland; but among them were Raleigh and Spenser, who + received forty-two thousand and twelve thousand acres respectively, and in + consideration of certain patronage 'undertook' to carry the business of + the Crown through Parliament. + </p> + <p> + Francesca was greatly pleased with this information, culled mostly from + Joyce's Child's History of Ireland. The volume had been bought in Dublin + by Salemina and presented to us as a piece of genial humour, but it became + our daily companion. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +I made a rhyme for her, which she sent Miss Peabody, to show her that we +were growing in wisdom, notwithstanding our separation from her. + + 'You have thought of Sir Walter as soldier and knight, + Edmund Spenser, you've heard, was well able to write; + But Raleigh the planter, and Spenser verse-maker, + Each, oddly enough, was by trade 'Undertaker.'' +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +It was in 1589 that the Shepherd of the Ocean, as Spenser calls him, +sailed to England to superintend the publishing of the Faerie Queene: +so from what I know of authors' habits, it is probable that Spenser did +read him the poem under the Yew Tree in Myrtle Grove garden. It seems +long ago, does it not, when the Faerie Queene was a manuscript, tobacco +just discovered, the potato a novelty, and the first Irish cherry-tree +just a wee thing newly transplanted from the Canary Islands? Were our +own cherry-trees already in America when Columbus discovered us, or did +the Pilgrim Fathers bring over 'slips' or 'grafts,' knowing that they +would be needed for George Washington later on, so that he might furnish +an untruthful world with a sublime sentiment? We re-read Salemina's +letter under the Yew Tree:— + + Coolkilla House, Cork. +MY DEAREST GIRLS,—It seems years instead of days since we parted, and +I miss the two madcaps more than I can say. In your absence my life +is always so quiet, discreet, dignified,—and, yes, I confess it, so +monotonous! I go to none but the best hotels, meet none but the +best people, and my timidity and conservatism for ever keep me in +conventional paths. Dazzled and terrified as I still am when you +precipitate adventures upon me, I always find afterwards that I +have enjoyed them in spite of my fears. Life without you is like a +stenographic report of a dull sermon; with you it is by turns a dramatic +story, a poem, and a romance. Sometimes it is a penny-dreadful, as when +you deliberately leave your luggage on an express train going south, +enter another standing upon a side track, and embark for an unknown +destination. I watched you from an upper window of the Junction Hotel, +but could not leave Benella to argue with you. When your respected +husband and lover have charge of you, you will not be allowed such +pranks, I warrant you. +</pre> + <p> + Benella has improved wonderfully in the last twenty-four hours, and I am + trying to give her some training for her future duties. We can never + forget our native land so long as we have her with us, for she is a + perfect specimen of the Puritan spinster, though too young in years, + perhaps, for determined celibacy. Do you know, we none of us mentioned + wages in our conversations with her? Fortunately she seems more alive to + the advantages of foreign travel than to the filling of her empty coffers. + (By the way, I have written to the purser of the ship that she crossed in, + to see if I can recover the sixty or seventy dollars she left behind her.) + Her principal idea in life seems to be that of finding some kind of work + that will be 'interestin'' whether it is lucrative or not. + </p> + <p> + I don't think she will be able to dress hair, or anything of that sort—save + in the way of plain sewing, she is very unskilful with her hands; and she + will be of no use as courier, she is so provincial and inexperienced. She + has no head for business whatever, and cannot help Francesca with the + accounts. She recites to herself again and again, 'Four farthings make one + penny, twelvepence make one shilling, twenty shillings make one pound'; + but when I give her a handful of money and ask her for six shillings and + sixpence, five and three, one pound two, or two pound ten, she cannot + manage the operation. She is docile, well mannered, grateful, and really + likable, but her present philosophy of life is a thing of shreds and + patches. She calls it 'the science,' as if there were but one; and she + became a convert to its teachings this past winter, while living in the + house of a woman lecturer in Salem, a lecturer, not a 'curist,' she + explains. She attended to the door, ushered in the members of classes, + kept the lecture-room in order, and so forth, imbibing by the way various + doctrines, or parts of doctrines, which she is not the sort of person to + assimilate, but with which she is experimenting: holding, meantime, a grim + intuition of their foolishness, or so it seems to me. 'The science' made + it easier for her to seek her ancestors in a foreign country with only a + hundred dollars in her purse; for the Salem priestess proclaims the glad + tidings that all the wealth of the world is ours, if we will but assert + our heirship. Benella believed this more or less until a week's + sea-sickness undermined all her new convictions of every sort. When she + woke in the little bedroom at O'Carolan's, she says, her heart was quite + at rest, for she knew that we were the kind of people one could rely on! I + mustered courage to say, “I hope so, and I hope also that we shall be able + to rely upon you, Benella!” + </p> + <p> + This idea evidently had not occurred to her, but she accepted it, and I + could see that she turned it over in her mind. You can imagine that this + vague philosophy of a Salem woman scientist superimposed on a foundation + of orthodoxy makes a curious combination, and one which will only be + temporary. + </p> + <p> + We shall expect you to-morrow evening, and we shall be quite ready to go + on to the Lakes of Killarney or wherever you wish. By the way, I met an + old acquaintance the morning I arrived here. I went to see Queen's + College; and as I was walking under the archway which has carved upon it, + 'Where Finbarr taught let Munster learn,' I saw two gentlemen. They looked + like professors, and I asked if I might see the college. They said + certainly, and offered to take my card into some one who would do the + honours properly. I passed it to one of them: we looked at each other, and + recognition was mutual. He (Dr. La Touche) is giving a course of lectures + here on Irish Antiquities. It has been a great privilege to see this city + and its environs with so learned a man; I wish you could have shared it. + Yesterday he made up a party and we went to Passage, which you may + remember in Father Prout's verses:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The town of Passage is both large and spacious, + And situated upon the say; + 'Tis nate and dacent, and quite adjacent + To come from Cork on a summer's day. + There you may slip in and take a dippin' + Fornent the shippin' that at anchor ride; + Or in a wherry cross o'er the ferry + To Carrigaloe, on the other side.' +</pre> + <p> + Dr. La Touche calls Father Prout an Irish potato seasoned with Attic salt. + Is not that a good characterisation? + </p> + <p> + Good-bye for the moment, as I must see about Benella's luncheon. + </p> + <p> + Yours affectionately S.P. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter X. The belles of Shandon. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The spreading Lee that, like an Island fayre, + Encloseth Corke with his divided floode.' + Edmund Spenser. +</pre> + <p> + We had seen all that Youghal could offer to the tourist; we were yearning + for Salemina; we wanted to hear Benella talk about 'the science'; we were + eager to inspect the archaeologist, to see if he 'would do' for Salemina + instead of the canon, or even the minor canon, of the English Church, for + whom we had always privately destined her. Accordingly we decided to go by + an earlier train, and give our family a pleasant surprise. It was five + o'clock in the afternoon when our car trundled across St. Patrick's + Bridge, past Father Mathew's statue, and within view of the church and + bells of Shandon, that sound so grand on the pleasant waters of the river + Lee. Away to the west is the two-armed river. Along its banks rise hills, + green and well wooded, with beautiful gardens and verdant pastures + reaching to the very brink of the shining stream. + </p> + <p> + It was Saturday afternoon, and I never drove through a livelier, quainter, + more easy-going town. The streets were full of people selling various + things and plying various trades, and among them we saw many a girl pretty + enough to recall Thackeray's admiration of the Corkagian beauties of his + day. There was one in particular, driving a donkey in a straw-coloured + governess cart, to whose graceful charm we succumbed on the instant. There + was an exquisite deluderin' wildness about her, a vivacity, a length of + eyelash with a gleam of Irish grey eye, 'the greyest of all things blue, + the bluest of all things grey,' that might well have inspired the English + poet to write of her as he did of his own Irish wife; for Spenser, when he + was not writing the Faerie Queene, or smoking Raleigh's fragrant weed, + wooed and wedded a fair colleen of County Cork. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Tell me, ye merchant daughters, did ye see + So fayre a creature in your town before? + Her goodlie eyes, like sapphyres shining bright; + Her forehead, ivory white; + Her lips like cherries, charming men to byte.' +</pre> + <p> + Now we turned into the old Mardyke Walk, a rus in urbe, an avenue a mile + long lined with noble elm-trees; forsaken now as a fashionable promenade + for the Marina, but still beautiful and still beloved, though frequented + chiefly by nurse-maids and children. Such babies and such children, of all + classes and conditions—so jolly, smiling, dimpled, curly-headed; + such joyous disregard of rags and dirt; such kindness one to the other in + the little groups, where a child of ten would be giving an anxious eye to + four or five brothers and sisters, and mothering a contented baby in arms + as well. + </p> + <p> + Our driver, though very loquacious, was not quite intelligible. He + pronounced the simple phrase 'St. Patrick's Street' in a way to astonish + the traveller; it would seem impossible to crowd as many h's into three + words, and to wrap each in flannel, as he succeeded in doing. He seemed + pleased with our admiration of the babies, and said that Irish children + did be very fat and strong and hearty; that they were the very best + soldiers the Queen had, God kape her! They could stand anny hardship and + anny climate, for they were not brought up soft, like the English. He also + said that, fine as all Irish children undoubtedly were, Cork produced the + flower of them all, and the finest women and the finest men; backing his + opinion with an Homeric vaunt which Francesca took down on the spot:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'I'd back one man from Corkshire + To bate ten more from Yorkshire: + Kerrymen + Agin Derrymen, + And Munster agin creation, + Wirrasthrue! 'tis a pity we aren't a nation!' +</pre> + <p> + Here he slackened his pace as we passed a small bosthoon driving a donkey, + to call out facetiously, “Be good to your little brother, achree!” + </p> + <p> + “We must be very near Coolkilla House by this time,” said Francesca. “That + isn't Salemina sitting on the bench under the trees, is it? There is a + gentleman with her, and she never wears a wide hat, but it looks like her + red umbrella. No, of course it isn't, for whoever it is belongs to that + maid with the two children. Penelope, it is borne in upon me that we + shouldn't have come here unannounced, three hours ahead of the time + arranged. Perhaps, whenever we had chosen to come, it would have been too + soon. Wouldn't it be exciting to have to keep out of Salemina's way, as + she has always done for us? I couldn't endure it; it would make me + homesick for Ronald. Go slowly, driver, please.” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, as we drew nearer we saw that it was Salemina; or at least + it was seven-eighths of her, and one-eighth of a new person with whom we + were not acquainted. She rose to meet us with an exclamation of + astonishment, and after a hasty and affectionate greeting, presented Dr. + La Touche. He said a few courteous words, and to our relief made no + allusions to round towers, duns, raths, or other antiquities, and bade us + adieu, saying that he should have the honour of waiting upon us that + evening with our permission. + </p> + <p> + A person in a neat black dress and little black bonnet with white lawn + strings now brought up the two children to say good-bye to Salemina. It + was the Derelict, Benella Dusenberry, clothed in maid's apparel, and + looking, notwithstanding that disguise, like a New England schoolma'am. + She was delighted to see us, scanned every detail of Francesca's + travelling costume with the frankest admiration, and would have allowed us + to carry our wraps and umbrellas upstairs if she had not been reminded by + Salemina. We had a cosy cup of tea together, and told our various + adventures, but Salemina was not especially communicative about hers. + Oddly enough, she had met the La Touche children at the hotel in Mallow. + They were travelling with a very raw Irish nurse, who had no control of + them whatever. They shrieked and kicked when taken to their rooms at + night, until Salemina was obliged to speak to them, in order that + Benella's rest should not be disturbed. + </p> + <p> + “I felt so sorry for them,” she said—“the dear little girl put to + bed with tangled hair and unwashed face, the boy in a rumpled, untidy + nightgown, the bedclothes in confusion. I didn't know who they were nor + where they came from, but while the nurse was getting her supper I made + them comfortable, and Broona went to sleep with my strange hand in hers. + Perhaps it was only the warm Irish heart, the easy friendliness of the + Irish temperament, but I felt as if the poor little things must be + neglected indeed, or they would not have clung to a woman whom they had + never seen before.” (This is a mistake; anybody who has the opportunity + always clings to Salemina.) “The next morning they were up at daylight, + romping in the hall, stamping, thumping, clattering, with a tin cart on + wheels rattling behind them. I know it was not my affair, and I was guilty + of unpardonable rudeness, but I called the nurse into my room and spoke to + her severely. No, you needn't smile; I was severe. 'Will you kindly do + your duty, and keep the children quiet as they pass through the halls?' I + said. 'It is never too soon to teach them to obey the rules of a public + place, and to be considerate of older people.' She seemed awestruck. But + when she found her tongue she stammered, 'Sure, ma'am, I've tould thim + three times this day already that when their father comes he'll bate thim + with a blackthorn stick!' + </p> + <p> + “Naturally I was horrified. This, I thought, would explain everything: no + mother, and an irritable, cruel father. + </p> + <p> + “'Will he really do such a thing?' I asked, feeling as if I must know the + truth. + </p> + <p> + “'Sure he will not, ma'am!' she answered cheerfully. 'He wouldn't lift a + feather to thim, not if they murdthered the whole counthryside, ma'am.' + </p> + <p> + “Well, they travelled third class to Cork, and we came first, so we did + not meet, and I did not ask their surnames; but it seems that they were + being brought to their father, whom I met many years ago in America.” + </p> + <p> + As she did not volunteer any further information, we did not like to ask + her where, how many years ago, or under what circumstances. 'Teasing' of + this sort does not appeal to the sophisticated at any time, but it seems + unspeakably vulgar to touch on matters of sentiment with a woman of middle + age. If she has memories, they are sure to be sad and sacred ones; if she + has not, that perhaps is still sadder. We agreed, however, when the + evening was over, that Dr. La Touche was probably the love of her youth—unless, + indeed, he was simply an old friend, and the degree of Salemina's + attachment had been exaggerated; something that is very likely to happen + in the gossip of a New England town, where they always incline to + underestimate the feeling of the man, and overrate that of the woman, in + any love affair. 'I guess she'd take him if she could get him' is the + spoken or unspoken attitude of the public in rural or provincial New + England. + </p> + <p> + The professor is grave, but very genial when he fully recalls the fact + that he is in company, and has not, like the Trappist monks, taken vows of + silence. Francesca behaved beautifully, on the whole, and made no + embarrassing speeches, although she was in her gayest humour. Salemina + blushed a little when the young sinner dragged into the conversation the + remark that, undoubtedly, from the beginning of the sixth century to the + end of the eighth, Ireland was the University of Europe, just as Greece + was in the late days of the Roman Republic, and asked our guest when + Ireland ceased to be known as 'Insula sanctorum et doctorum,' the island + of saints and scholars. + </p> + <p> + We had seen her go into Salemina's bedroom, and knew perfectly well that + she had consulted the Peabody notebook, lying open on the desk; but the + professor looked as surprised as if he had heard a pretty paroquet quote + Gibbon. I don't like to see grave and reverend scholars stare at pretty + paroquets, but I won't belittle Salemina's exquisite and peculiar charm by + worrying over the matter. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Wirra, wirra! Ologone! + Can't ye lave a lad alone, + Till he's proved there's no tradition left of any other girl— + Not even Trojan Helen, + In beauty all excellin'— + Who's been up to half the divilment of Fan Fitzgerl?' +</pre> + <p> + Of course Francesca's heart is fixed upon Ronald Macdonald, but that fact + has not altered the glance of her eyes. They no longer say, 'Wouldn't you + like to fall in love with me, if you dared?' but they still have a gleam + that means, 'Don't fall in love with me; it is no use!' And of the two, + one is about as dangerous as the other, and each has something of 'Fan + Fitzgerl's divilment. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Wid her brows of silky black + Arched above for the attack, + Her eyes they dart such azure death on poor admiring man; + Masther Cupid, point your arrows, + From this out, agin the sparrows, + For you're bested at Love's archery by young Miss Fan.' +</pre> + <p> + Of course Himself never fell a prey to Francesca's fascinations, but then + he is not susceptible; you could send him off for a ten-mile drive in the + moonlight with Venus herself, and not be in the least anxious. + </p> + <p> + Dr. La Touche is grey for his years, tall and spare in frame, and there + are many lines of anxiety or thought in his forehead; but a wonderful + smile occasionally smooths them all out, and gives his face a rare though + transient radiance. He looks to me as if he had loved too many books and + too few people; as if he had tried vainly to fill his heart and life with + antiquities, which of all things, perhaps, are the most bloodless, the + least warming and nourishing when taken in excess or as a steady diet. + Himself (God bless him!) shall never have that patient look, if I can help + it; but how it will appeal to Salemina! There are women who are born to be + petted and served, and there are those who seem born to serve others. + Salemina's first idea is always to make tangled things smooth (like little + Broona's curly hair); to bring sweet and discreet order out of chaos; to + prune and graft and water and weed and tend things, until they blossom for + very shame under her healing touch. Her mind is catholic, well ordered, + and broad,—for ever full of other people's interests, never of her + own: and her heart always seems to me like some dim, sweet-scented + guest-chamber in an old New England mansion, cool and clean and quiet, and + fragrant of lavender. It has been a lovely, generous life, lived for the + most part in the shadow of other people's wishes and plans and desires. I + am an impatient person, I confess, and heaven seems so far away when + certain things are in question: the righting of a child's wrong, or the + demolition of a barrier between two hearts; above all, for certain + surgical operations, more or less spiritual, such as removing scales from + eyes that refuse to see, and stops from ears too dull to hear. Nobody + shall have our Salemina unless he is worthy, but how I should like to see + her life enriched and crowned! How I should enjoy having her dear little + overworn second fiddle taken from her by main force, and a beautiful first + violin, or even the baton for leading an orchestra, put into her unselfish + hands! + </p> + <p> + And so good-bye and 'good luck to ye, Cork, and your pepper-box steeple,' + for we leave you to-morrow! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XI. 'The rale thing.' + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Her ancestors were kings before Moses was born, + Her mother descended from great Grana Uaile.' + Charles Lever. + + Knockarney House, Lough Lein. +</pre> + <p> + We are in the province of Munster, the kingdom of Kerry, the town of + Ballyfuchsia, and the house of Mrs. Mullarkey. Knockarney House is not her + name for it; I made it myself. Killarney is church of the sloe-trees; and + as kill is church, the 'onderhanded manin'' of 'arney' must be something + about sloes; then, since knock means hill, Knockarney should be hill of + the sloe-trees. + </p> + <p> + I have not lost the memory of Jenny Geddes and Tam o' the Cowgate, but + Penelope O'Connor, daughter of the king of Connaught, is more frequently + present in my dreams. I have by no means forgotten that there was a time + when I was not Irish, but for the moment I am of the turf, turfy. + Francesca is really as much in love with Ireland as I, only, since she has + in her heart a certain tender string pulling her all the while to the land + of the heather, she naturally avoids comparisons. Salemina, too, + endeavours to appear neutral, lest she should betray an inexplicable + interest in Dr. La Touche's country. Benella and I alone are really free + to speak the brogue, and carry our wild harps slung behind us, like + Moore's minstrel boy. Nothing but the ignorance of her national dishes + keeps Benella from entire allegiance to this island; but she thinks a + people who have grown up without a knowledge of doughnuts, baked beans, + and blueberry-pie must be lacking in moral foundations. There is nothing + extraordinary in all this; for the Irish, like the Celtic tribes + everywhere, have always had a sort of fascinating power over people of + other races settling among them, so that they become completely fused with + the native population, and grow to be more Irish than the Irish + themselves. + </p> + <p> + We stayed for a few days in the best hotel; it really was quite good, and + not a bit Irish. There was a Swiss manager, an English housekeeper, a + French head waiter, and a German office clerk. Even Salemina, who loves + comforts, saw that we should not be getting what is known as the real + thing, under these circumstances, and we came here to this—what + shall I call Knockarney House? It was built originally for a fishing lodge + by a sporting gentleman, who brought parties of friends to stop for a + week. On his death is passed somehow into Mrs. Mullarkey's fair hands, and + in a fatal moment she determined to open it occasionally to 'paying + guests,' who might wish a quiet home far from the madding crowd of the + summer tourist. This was exactly what we did want, and here we encamped, + on the half-hearted advice of some Irish friends in the town, who knew + nothing else more comfortable to recommend. + </p> + <p> + “With us, small, quiet, or out-of-the-way places are never clean; or if + they are, then they are not Irish,” they said. “You had better see Ireland + from the tourist's point of view for a few years yet, until we have + learned the art of living; but if you are determined to know the humours + of the people, cast all thought of comfort behind you.” + </p> + <p> + So we did, and we afterward thought that this would be a good motto for + Mrs. Mullarkey to carve over the door of Knockarney House. (My name for it + is adopted more or less by the family, though Francesca persists in dating + her letters to Ronald from 'The Rale Thing,' which it undoubtedly is.) We + take almost all the rooms in the house, but there are a few other guests. + Mrs. Waterford, an old lady of ninety-three, from Mullinavat, is here + primarily for her health, and secondarily to dispose of threepenny shares + in an antique necklace, which is to be raffled for the benefit of a Roman + Catholic chapel. Then we have a fishing gentleman and his bride from + Glasgow, and occasional bicyclers who come in for a dinner, a tea, or a + lodging. These three comforts of a home are sometimes quite + indistinguishable with us: the tea is frequently made up of fragments of + dinner, and the beds are always sprinkled with crumbs. Their source is a + mystery, unless they fall from the clothing of the chambermaids, who + frequently drop hairpins and brooches and buttons between the sheets, and + strew whisk brooms and scissors under the blankets. + </p> + <p> + We have two general servants, who are supposed to do all the work of the + house, and who are as amiable and obliging and incapable as they well can + be. Oonah generally waits upon the table, and Molly cooks; at least she + cooks now and then when she is not engaged with Peter in the vegetable + garden or the stable. But whatever happens, Mrs. Mullarkey, as a + descendant of one of the Irish kings, is to be looked upon only as an + inspiring ideal, inciting one to high and ever higher flights of happy + incapacity. Benella ostensibly oversees the care of our rooms, but she is + comparatively helpless in such a kingdom of misrule. Why demand clean + linen when there is none; why seek for a towel at midday when it is never + ironed until evening; how sweep when a broom is all inadequate to the + task? Salemina's usual remark, on entering a humble hostelry anywhere, is: + “If the hall is as dirty as this, what must the kitchen be! Order me two + hard-boiled eggs, please!” + </p> + <p> + “Use your 'science,' Benella,” I say to that discouraged New England + maiden, who has never looked at her philosophy from its practical or + humorous side. “If the universe is pure mind and there is no matter, then + this dirt is not a real thing, after all. It seems, of course, as if it + were thicker under the beds and bureaus than elsewhere, but I suppose our + evil thoughts focus themselves there rather than in the centre of the + room. Similarly, if the broom handle is broken, deny the dirt away—denial + is much less laborious than sweeping; bring 'the science' down to these + simple details of everyday life, and you will make converts by dozens, + only pray don't remove, either by suggestion or any cruder method, the + large key that lies near the table leg, for it is a landmark; and there is + another, a crochet needle, by the washstand, devoted to the same purpose. + I wish to show them to the Mullarkey when we leave.” + </p> + <p> + Under our educational regime, the 'metaphysical' veneer, badly applied in + the first place, and wholly unsuited to the foundation material, is slowly + disappearing, and our Benella is gradually returning to her normal self. + Perhaps nothing has been more useful to her development than the confusion + of Knockarney House. + </p> + <p> + Our windows are supported on decrepit tennis rackets and worn-out hearth + brushes; the blinds refuse to go up or down; the chairs have weak backs or + legs; the door knobs are disassociated from their handles. As for our + food, we have bacon and eggs, with coffee made, I should think, of brown + beans and liquorice, for breakfast; a bit of sloppy chicken, or fish and + potato, with custard pudding or stewed rhubarb, for dinner; and a cold + supper of—oh! anything that occurs to Molly at the last moment. + Nothing ever occurs either to Molly or Oonah at any previous moment, and + in that they are merely conforming to the universal habit. Last week, when + we were starting for Valencia Island, the Ballyfuchsia stationmaster was + absent at a funeral; meantime the engine had 'gone cold on the engineer,' + and the train could not leave till twelve minutes after the usual time. We + thought we must have consulted a wrong time-table, and asked confirmation + of a man who seemed to have some connection with the railway. Goaded by + his ignorance, I exclaimed, “Is it possible you don't know the time the + trains are going?” + </p> + <p> + “Begorra, how should I?” he answered. “Faix, the thrains don't always be + knowin' thimselves!” + </p> + <p> + The starting of the daily 'Mail Express' from Ballyfuchsia is a time of + great excitement and confusion, which on some occasions increases to + positive panic. The stationmaster, armed with a large dinner-bell, stands + on the platform, wearing an expression of anxiety ludicrously unsuited to + the situation. The supreme moment had really arrived some time before, but + he is waiting for Farmer Brodigan with his daughter Kathleen, and the + Widdy Sullivan, and a few other local worthies who are a 'thrifle late on + him.' Finally they come down the hill, and he paces up and down the + station ringing the bell and uttering the warning cry, “This thrain never + shtops! This thrain never shtops! This thrain never shtops!”—giving + one the idea that eternity, instead of Killarney, must be the final + destination of the passengers. The clock in the Ballyfuchsia telegraph and + post office ceases to go for twenty-four hours at a time, and nobody heeds + it, while the postman always has a few moments' leisure to lay down his + knapsack of letters and pitch quoits with the Royal Irish Constabulary. + However, punctuality is perhaps an individual virtue more than an + exclusively national one. I am not sure that we Americans would not be + more agreeable if we spent a month in Ireland every year, and perhaps + Ireland would profit from a month in America. + </p> + <p> + At the Brodigans' (Mr. Brodigan is a large farmer, and our nearest + neighbour) all the clocks are from ten to twenty minutes fast or slow; and + what a peaceful place it is! The family doesn't care when it has its + dinner, and, mirabile dictu, the cook doesn't care either! + </p> + <p> + “If you have no exact time to depend upon, how do you catch trains?” I + asked Mr. Brodigan. + </p> + <p> + “Sure that's not an everyday matter, and why be foostherin' over it? But + we do, four times out o' five, ma'am!” + </p> + <p> + “How do you like it that fifth time when you miss it?” + </p> + <p> + “Sure it's no more throuble to you to miss it the wan time than to hurry + five times! A clock is an overrated piece of furniture, to my mind, Mrs. + Beresford, ma'am. A man can ate whin he's hungry, go to bed whin he's + sleepy, and get up whin he's slept long enough; for faith and it's thim + clocks he has inside of himself that don't need anny winding!” + </p> + <p> + “What if you had a business appointment with a man in the town, and missed + the train?” I persevered. + </p> + <p> + “Trains is like misfortunes; they never come singly, ma'am. Wherever + there's a station the trains do be dhroppin' in now and again, and what's + the differ which of thim you take?” + </p> + <p> + “The man who is waiting for you at the other end of the line may not agree + with you,” I suggested. + </p> + <p> + “Sure, a man can always amuse himself in a town, ma'am. If it's your own + business you're coming on, he knows you'll find him; and if it's his + business, then begorra let him find you!” Which quite reminded me of what + the Irish elf says to the English elf in Moira O'Neill's fairy story: “A + waste of time? Why, you've come to a country where there's no such thing + as a waste of time. We have no value for time here. There is lashings of + it, more than anybody knows what to do with.” + </p> + <p> + I suppose there is somewhere a golden mean between this complete oblivion + of time and our feverish American hurry. There is a 'tedious haste' in all + people who make wheels and pistons and engines, and live within sound of + their everlasting buzz and whir and revolution; and there is ever a + disposition to pause, rest, and consider on the part of that man whose + daily tasks are done in serene collaboration with dew and rain and sun. + One cannot hurry Mother Nature very much, after all, and one who has much + to do with her falls into a peaceful habit of mind. The mottoes of the two + nations are as well rendered in the vernacular as by any formal or stilted + phrases. In Ireland the spoken or unspoken slogan is, 'Take it aisy'; in + America, 'Keep up with the procession'; and between them lie all the + thousand differences of race, climate, temperament, religion, and + government. + </p> + <p> + I don't suppose there is a nation on the earth better developed on what + might be called the train-catching side than we of the Big Country, and it + is well for us that there is born every now and again among us a dreamer + who is (blessedly) oblivious of time-tables and market reports; who has + been thinking of the rustling of the corn, not of its price. It is he, if + we do not hurry him out of his dream, who will sound the ideal note in our + hurly-burly and bustle of affairs. He may never discover a town site, but + he will create new worlds for us to live in, and in the course of a + century the coming Matthew Arnold will not be minded to call us an + unimaginative and uninteresting people. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XII. Life at Knockarney House. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'See where Mononia's heroes lie, proud Owen More's + descendants,— + 'Tis they that won the glorious name and had the grand + attendants!' + James Clarence Mangan. +</pre> + <p> + It was a charming thing for us when Dr. La Touche gave us introductions to + the Colquhouns of Ardnagreena; and when they, in turn, took us to tea with + Lord and Lady Killbally at Balkilly Castle. I don't know what there is + about us: we try to live a sequestered life, but there are certain kind + forces in the universe that are always bringing us in contact with the + good, the great, and the powerful. Francesca enjoys it, but secretly fears + to have her democracy undermined. Salemina wonders modestly at her good + fortune. I accept it as the graceful tribute of an old civilisation to a + younger one; the older men grow the better they like girls of sixteen, and + why shouldn't the same thing be true of countries? + </p> + <p> + As long ago as 1589, one of the English 'undertakers' who obtained some of + the confiscated Desmond lands in Munster wrote of the 'better sorte' of + Irish: 'Although they did never see you before, they will make you the + best cheare their country yieldeth for two or three days, and take not + anything therefor.... They have a common saying which I am persuaded they + speake unfeinedly, which is, 'Defend me and spend me.' Yet many doe + utterly mislike this or any good thing that the poor Irishman dothe.' + </p> + <p> + This certificate of character from an 'undertaker' of the sixteenth + century certainly speaks volumes for Irish amiability and hospitality, + since it was given at a time when grievances were as real as plenty; when + unutterable resentment must have been rankling in many minds; and when + those traditions were growing which have coloured the whole texture of + Irish thought, until, with the poor and unlettered, to be 'agin the + government' is an inherited instinct, to be obliterated only by time. + </p> + <p> + We supplement Mrs. Mullarkey's helter-skelter meals with frequent + luncheons and dinners with our new friends, who send us home on our + jaunting-car laden with flowers, fruit, even with jellies and jams. Lady + Killbally forces us to take three cups of tea and a half-dozen marmalade + sandwiches whenever we go to the Castle; for I apologised for our + appetites, one day, by confessing that we had lunched somewhat frugally, + the meal being sweetened, however, by Molly's explanation that there was a + fresh sole in the house, but she thought she would not inthrude on it + before dinner! + </p> + <p> + We asked, on our arrival at Knockarney House, if we might breakfast at a + regular hour,—say eight thirty. Mrs. Mullarkey agreed, with that + suavity which is, after her untidiness, her distinguishing characteristic; + but notwithstanding this arrangement we break our fast sometimes at nine + forty, sometimes at nine twenty, sometimes at nine, but never earlier. In + order to achieve this much, we are obliged to rise early and make a + combined attack on the executive and culinary departments. One morning I + opened the door leading from the hall into the back part of the + establishment, but closed it hastily, having interrupted the toilets of + three young children, whose existence I had never suspected, and of Mr. + Mullarkey, whom I had thought dead for many years. Each child had donned + one article of clothing, and was apparently searching for the mate to it, + whatever it chanced to be. Mrs. Mullarkey was fully clothed, and was about + to administer correction to one of the children who, unhappily for him, + was not. I retired to my apartment to report progress, but did not + describe the scene minutely, nor mention the fact that I had seen + Salemina's ivory-backed hairbrush put to excellent if somewhat unusual and + unaccustomed service. + </p> + <p> + Each party in the house eats in solitary splendour, like the MacDermott, + Prince of Coolavin. That royal personage of County Sligo did not, I + believe, allow his wife or his children (who must have had the MacDermott + blood in their veins, even if somewhat diluted) to sit at table with him. + This method introduces the last element of confusion into the household + arrangements, and on two occasions we have had our custard pudding or + stewed fruit served in our bedrooms a full hour after we had finished + dinner. We have reasons for wishing to be first to enter the dining-room, + and we walk in with eyes fixed on the ceiling, by far the cleanest part of + the place. Having wended our way through an underbrush of corks with an + empty bottle here and there, and stumbled over the holes in the carpet, we + arrive at our table in the window. It is as beautiful as heaven outside, + and the table-cloth is at least cleaner than it will be later, for Mrs. + Waterford of Mullinavat has an unsteady hand. + </p> + <p> + When Oonah brings in the toast rack now she balances it carefully, + remembering the morning when she dropped it on the floor, but picked up + the slices and offered them to Salemina. Never shall I forget that dear + martyr's expression, which was as if she had made up her mind to renounce + Ireland and leave her to her fate. I know she often must wonder if Dr. La + Touche's servants, like Mrs. Mullarkey's, feel of the potatoes to see + whether they are warm or cold! + </p> + <p> + At ten thirty there is great confusion and laughter and excitement, for + the sportsmen are setting out for the day and the car has been waiting at + the door for an hour. Oonah is carolling up and down the long passage, + laden with dishes, her cheerfulness not in the least impaired by having + served seven or eight separate breakfasts. Molly has spilled a jug of + milk, and is wiping it up with a child's undershirt. The Glasgy man is + telling them that yesterday they forgot the corkscrew, the salt, the cup, + and the jam from the luncheon basket,—facts so mirth-provoking that + Molly wipes tears of pleasure from her eyes with the milky undershirt, and + Oonah sets the hot-water jug and the coffee-pot on the stairs to have her + laugh out comfortably. When once the car departs, comparative quiet reigns + in and about the house until the passing bicyclers appear for luncheon or + tea, when Oonah picks up the napkins that we have rolled into wads and + flung under the dining-table, and spreads them on tea-trays, as appetising + details for the weary traveller. There would naturally be more time for + housework if so large a portion of the day were not spent in pleasant + interchange of thought and speech. I can well understand Mrs. Colquhoun's + objections to the housing of the Dublin poor in tenements,—even in + those of a better kind than the present horrible examples; for wherever + they are huddled together in any numbers they will devote most of their + time to conversation. To them talking is more attractive than eating; it + even adds a new joy to drinking; and if I may judge from the groups I have + seen gossiping over a turf fire till midnight, it is preferable to + sleeping. But do not suppose they will bubble over with joke and repartee, + with racy anecdote, to every casual newcomer. The tourist who looks upon + the Irishman as the merry-andrew of the English-speaking world, and who + expects every jarvey he meets to be as whimsical as Mickey Free, will be + disappointed. I have strong suspicions that ragged, jovial Mickey Free + himself, delicious as he is, was created by Lever to satisfy the + Anglo-Saxon idea of the low-comedy Irishman. You will live in the Emerald + Isle for many a month, and not meet the clown or the villain so familiar + to you in modern Irish plays. Dramatists have made a stage Irishman to + suit themselves, and the public and the gallery are disappointed if + anything more reasonable is substituted for him. You will find, too, that + you do not easily gain Paddy's confidence. Misled by his careless, + reckless impetuosity of demeanour, you might expect to be the confidant of + his joys and sorrows, his hopes and expectations, his faiths and beliefs, + his aspirations, fears, longings, at the first interview. Not at all; you + will sooner be admitted to a glimpse of the travelling Scotsman's or the + Englishman's inner life, family history, personal ambition. Glacial enough + at first and far less voluble, he melts soon enough, if he likes you. + Meantime, your impulsive Irish friend gives himself as freely at the first + interview as at the twentieth; and you know him as well at the end of a + week as you are likely to at the end of a year. He is a product of the + past, be he gentleman or peasant. A few hundred years of necessary reserve + concerning articles of political and religious belief have bred caution + and prudence in stronger natures, cunning and hypocrisy in weaker ones. + </p> + <p> + Our days are very varied. We have been several times into the town and + spent an hour in the Petty Sessions Court with Mr. Colquhoun, who sits on + the bench. Each time we have come home laden with stories 'as good as any + in the books,' so says Francesca. Have we not with our own eyes seen the + settlement of an assault and battery case between two of the most + notorious brawlers in that alley of the town which we have dubbed 'The + Pass of the Plumes.' [*] Each barrister in the case had a handful of hair + which he introduced on behalf of his client, both ladies apparently having + pulled with equal energy. These most unattractive exhibits were shown to + the women themselves, each recognising her own hair, but denying the + validity of the other exhibit firmly and vehemently. Prisoner number one + kneeled at the rail and insisted on exposing the place in her head from + which the hair had been plucked; upon which prisoner number two promptly + tore off her hat, scattered hairpins to the four winds, and exposed her + own wounds to the judicial eye. Both prisoners 'had a dhrop taken' just + before the affair; that soft impeachment they could not deny. One of them + explained, however, that she had taken it to help her over a hard job of + work, and through a little miscalculation of quantity it had 'overaided + her.' The other termagant was asked flatly by the magistrate if she had + ever seen the inside of a jail before, but evaded the point with much + grace and ingenuity by telling his Honour that he couldn't expect to meet + a woman anywhere who had not suffered a misforchin somewhere betwixt the + cradle and the grave. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *The original Pass of the Plumes is near Maryborough, and + was so called from the number of English helmet plumes that + were strewn about after O'Moore's fight with five hundred of + the Earl of Essex's men. +</pre> + <p> + Even the all too common drunk-and-disorderly cases had a flavour of their + own, for one man, being dismissed with a small fine under condition that + he would sign the pledge, assented willingly; but on being asked for how + long he would take it, replied, 'I mostly take it for life, your worship.' + </p> + <p> + We also heard the testimony of a girl who had run away from her employer + before the completion of her six months' contract, her plea being that the + fairies pulled her great toe at night so that she could not sleep, + whereupon she finally became so lame that she was unable to work. She left + her employer's house one evening, therefore, and went home, and curiously + enough the fairies 'shtopped pulling the toe on her as soon as iver she + got there!' + </p> + <p> + Not the least enlivening of the prisoners was a decently educated person + who had been arrested for disturbing the peace. The constable asserted + that he was intoxicated, but the gentleman himself insisted that he was + merely a poet in a more than usually inspired state. + </p> + <p> + “I am in the poetical advertising line, your worship. It is true I was + surrounded by a crowd, but I was merely practising my trade. I don't mind + telling your worship that this holiday-time makes things a little lively, + and the tradesmen drink my health a trifle oftener than usual; poetry is + dry work, your worship, and a poet needs a good deal of liquid + refreshment. I do not disturb the peace, your worship, at least not more + than any other poet. I go to a grocer's, and, standing outside, I make up + some rhymes about his nice sweet sugar or his ale. If I want to please a + butcher—well, I'll give you a specimen:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Here's to the butcher who sells good meat— + In this world it's hard to beat; + It's the very best that's to be had, + And makes the human heart feel glad. + There's no necessity to purloin, + So step in and buy a good sirloin.' +</pre> + <p> + I can go on in this style, like Tennyson's brook, for ever, your worship.” + His worship was afraid that he might make the offer good, and the poet was + released, after promising to imbibe less frequently when he felt the + divine afflatus about to descend upon him. + </p> + <p> + These disagreements between light-hearted and bibulous persons who haunt + the courts week after week have nothing especially pathetic about them, + but there are many that make one's heart ache; many that seem absolutely + beyond any solution, and beyond reach of any justice. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIII. 'O! the sound of the Kerry dancing.' + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The light-hearted daughters of Erin, + Like the wild mountain deer they can bound; + Their feet never touch the green island, + But music is struck from the ground. + And oft in the glens and green meadows, + The ould jig they dance with such grace, + That even the daisies they tread on, + Look up with delight in their face.' + James M'Kowen. +</pre> + <p> + One of our favourite diversions is an occasional glimpse of a 'crossroads + dance' on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, when all the young people of the + district are gathered together. Their religious duties are over with their + confessions and their masses, and the priests encourage these decorous + Sabbath gaieties. A place is generally chosen where two or four roads + meet, and the dancers come from the scattered farmhouses in every + direction. In Ballyfuchsia, they dance on a flat piece of road under some + fir-trees and larches, with stretches of mountain covered with yellow + gorse or purple heather, and the quiet lakes lying in the distance. A + message comes down to us at Ardnagreena—where we commonly spend our + Sunday afternoons—that they expect a good dance, and the blind boy + is coming to fiddle; and 'so if you will be coming up, it's welcome you'll + be.' We join them about five o'clock—passing, on our way, groups of + 'boys' of all ages from sixteen upwards, walking in twos and threes, and + parties of three or four girls by themselves; for it would not be + etiquette for the boys and girls to walk together, such strictness is + observed in these matters about here. + </p> + <p> + When we reach the rendezvous we find quite a crowd of young men and + maidens assembled; the girls all at one side of the road, neatly dressed + in dark skirts and light blouses, with the national woollen shawl over + their heads. Two wide stone walls, or dykes, with turf on top, make + capital seats, and the boys are at the opposite side, as custom demands. + When a young man wants a partner, he steps across the road and asks a + colleen, who lays aside her shawl, generally giving it to a younger sister + to keep until the dance is over, when the girls go back to their own side + of the road and put on their shawls again. Upon our arrival we find the + 'sets' are already in progress; a 'set' being a dance like a very + intricate and very long quadrille. We are greeted with many friendly + words, and the young boatmen and farmers' sons ask the ladies, “Will you + be pleased to dance, miss?” Some of them are shy, and say they are not + familiar with the steps; but their would-be partners remark encouragingly: + “Sure, and what matter? I'll see you through.” Soon all are dancing, and + the state of the road is being discussed with as much interest as the + floor of a ballroom. Eager directions are given to the more ignorant + newcomers, such as, “Twirl your girl, captain!” or “Turn your back to your + face!”—rather a difficult direction to carry out, but one which + conveys its meaning. Salemina confided to her partner that she feared she + was getting a bit old to dance. He looked at her grey hair carefully for a + moment, and then said chivalrously: “I'd not say that that was old age, + ma'am. I'd say it was eddication.” + </p> + <p> + When the sets, which are very long and very decorous, are finished, + sometimes a jig is danced for our benefit. The spectators make a ring, and + the chosen dancers go into the middle, where their steps are watched by a + most critical and discriminating audience with the most minute and intense + interest. Our Molly is one of the best jig dancers among the girls here + (would that she were half as clever at cooking!); but if you want to see + an artist of the first rank, you must watch Kitty O'Rourke, from the + neighbouring village of Dooclone. The half door of the barn is carried + into the ring by one or two of her admirers, whom she numbers by the + score, and on this she dances her famous jig polthogue, sometimes alone + and sometimes with Art Rooney, the only worthy partner for her in the + kingdom of Kerry. Art's mother, 'Bid' Rooney, is a keen matchmaker, and we + heard her the other day advising her son, who was going to Dooclone, to + have a 'weeny court' with his colleen, to put a clane shirt on him in the + middle of the week, and disthract Kitty intirely by showin' her he had + three of thim, annyway! + </p> + <p> + Kitty is a beauty, and doesn't need to be made 'purty wid cows'—a + feat that the old Irishman proposed to do when he was consummating a match + for his plain daughter. But the gifts of the gods seldom come singly, and + Kitty is well fortuned as well as beautiful; fifty pounds, her own + bedstead and its fittings, a cow, a pig, and a web of linen are supposed + to be the dazzling total, so that it is small wonder her deluderin' ways + are maddening half the boys in Ballyfuchsia and Dooclone. She has the + prettiest pair of feet in the County Kerry, and when they are encased in a + smart pair of shoes, bought for her by Art's rival, the big constable from + Ballyfuchsia barracks, how they do twinkle and caper over that half barn + door, to be sure! Even Murty, the blind fiddler, seems intoxicated by the + plaudits of the bystanders, and he certainly never plays so well for + anybody as for Kitty of the Meadow. Blindness is still common in Ireland, + owing to the smoke in these wretched cabins, where sometimes a hole in the + roof is the only chimney; and although the scores of blind fiddlers no + longer traverse the land, finding a welcome at all firesides, they are + still to be found in every community. Blind Murty is a favourite guest at + the Rooney's cabin, which is never so full that there is not room for one + more. There is a small wooden bed in the main room, a settle that opens + out at night, with hens in the straw underneath, where a board keeps them + safely within until they have finished laying. There are six children + besides Art, and my ambition is to photograph, or, still better, to sketch + the family circle together; the hens cackling under the settle, the pig + ('him as pays the rint') snoring in the doorway, as a proprietor should, + while the children are picturesquely grouped about. I never succeed, + because Mrs. Rooney sees us as we turn into the lane, and calls to the + family to make itself ready, as quality's comin' in sight. The older + children can scramble under the bed, slip shoes over their bare feet, and + be out in front of the cabin without the loss of a single minute. 'Mickey + jew'l,' the baby, who is only four, but 'who can handle a stick as bould + as a man,' is generally clad in a ragged skirt, slit every few inches from + waist to hem, so that it resembles a cotton fringe. The little coateen + that tops this costume is sometimes, by way of diversion, transferred to + the dog, who runs off with it; but if we appear at this unlucky moment, + there is a stylish yoke of pink ribbon and soiled lace which one of the + girls pins over Mickey jew'l's naked shoulders. + </p> + <p> + Moya, who has this eye for picturesque propriety, is a great friend of + mine, and has many questions about the Big Country when we take our walks. + She longs to emigrate, but the time is not ripe yet. “The girls that come + back has a lovely style to thim,” she says wistfully, “but they're so + polite they can't live in the cabins anny more and be contint.” The 'boys' + are not always so improved, she thinks. “You'd niver find a boy in + Ballyfuchsia that would say annything rude to a girl; but when they come + back from Ameriky, it's too free they've grown intirely.” It is a dull + life for them, she says, when they have once been away; though to be sure + Ballyfuchsia is a pleasanter place than Dooclone, where the priest does + not approve of dancing, and, however secretly you may do it, the curate + hears of it, and will speak your name in church. + </p> + <p> + It was Moya who told me of Kitty's fortune. “She's not the match that + Farmer Brodigan's daughter Kathleen is, to be sure; for he's a rich man, + and has given her an iligant eddication in Cork, so that she can look high + for a husband. She won't be takin' up wid anny of our boys, wid her two + hundred pounds and her twenty cows and her pianya. Och, it's a thriminjus + player she is, ma'am. She's that quick and that strong that you'd say she + wouldn't lave a string on it.” + </p> + <p> + Some of the young men and girls never see each other before the marriage, + Moya says. “But sure,” she adds shyly, “I'd niver be contint with that, + though some love matches doesn't turn out anny better than the others.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope it will be a love match with you, and that I shall dance at your + wedding, Moya,” I say to her smilingly. + </p> + <p> + “Faith, I'm thinkin' my husband's intinded mother died an old maid in + Dublin,” she answers merrily. “It's a small fortune I'll be havin' and few + lovers; but you'll be soon dancing at Kathleen Brodigan's wedding, or + Kitty O'Rourke's, maybe.” + </p> + <p> + I do not pretend to understand these humble romances, with their + foundations of cows and linen, which are after all no more sordid than + bank stock and trousseaux from Paris. The sentiment of the Irish peasant + lover seems to be frankly and truly expressed in the verses:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Oh! Moya's wise and beautiful, has wealth in plenteous store, + And fortune fine in calves and kine, and lovers half a score; + Her faintest smile would saints beguile, or sinners captivate, + Oh! I think a dale of Moya, but I'll surely marry Kate. + + . . . . . + + 'Now to let you know the raison why I cannot have my way, + Nor bid my heart decide the part the lover must obey— + The calves and kine of Kate are nine, while Moya owns but + eight, + So with all my love for Moya I'm compelled to marry Kate!' +</pre> + <p> + I gave Moya a lace neckerchief the other day, and she was rarely pleased, + running into the cabin with it and showing it to her mother with great + pride. After we had walked a bit down the boreen she excused herself for + an instant, and, returning to my side, explained that she had gone back to + ask her mother to mind the kerchief, and not let the 'cow knock it'! + </p> + <p> + Lady Kilbally tells us that some of the girls who work in the mills deny + themselves proper food, and live on bread and tea for a month, to save the + price of a gay ribbon. This is trying, no doubt, to a philanthropist, but + is it not partly a starved sense of beauty asserting itself? If it has + none of the usual outlets, where can imagination express itself if not in + some paltry thing like a ribbon? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIV. Mrs. Mullarkey's iligant locks. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Where spreads the beautiful water to gay or cloudy skies, + And the purple peaks of Killarney from ancient woods arise.' + William Allingham. +</pre> + <p> + Mrs. Mullarkey cannot spoil this paradise for us. When I wake in the + morning, the fuchsia-tree outside my window is such a glorious mass of + colour that it distracts my eyes from the unwashed glass. The air is + still; the mountains in the far distance are clear purple; everything is + fresh washed and purified for the new day. Francesca and I leave the house + sleeping, and make our way to the bogs. We love to sit under a blossoming + sloe-bush and see the silver pools glistening here and there in the turf + cuttings, and watch the transparent vapour rising from the red-brown of + the purple-shadowed bog fields. Dinnis Rooney, half awake, leisurely, + silent, is moving among the stacks with his creel. How the missel thrushes + sing in the woods, and the plaintive note of the curlew gives the last + touch of mysterious tenderness to the scene. There is a moist, rich + fragrance of meadowsweet and bog myrtle in the air; and how fresh and wild + and verdant it is! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'For there's plenty to mind, sure, if on'y ye look to the grass + at your feet, + For 'tis thick wid the tussocks of heather, an' blossoms and + herbs that smell sweet + If ye tread thim; an' maybe the white o' the bog-cotton waves + in the win', + Like the wool ye might shear off a night-moth, an' set an ould + fairy to spin; + Or wee frauns, each wan stuck 'twixt two leaves on a grand + little stem of its own, + Lettin' on 'twas a plum on a tree.' [*] + + + * Jane Barlow. +</pre> + <p> + As for Lough Lein itself, who could speak its loveliness, lying like a + crystal mirror beneath the black Reeks of the McGillicuddy, where, in the + mountain fastnesses, lie spell-bound the sleeping warriors who, with their + bridles and broadswords in hand, await but the word to give Erin her own! + When we glide along the surface of the lakes, on some bright day after a + heavy rain; when we look down through the clear water on tiny submerged + islets, with their grasses and drowned daisies glancing up at us from the + blue; when we moor the boat and climb the hillsides, we are dazzled by the + luxuriant beauty of it all. It hardly seems real—it is too green, + too perfect, to be believed; and one thinks of some fairy drop-scene, + painted by cunning-fingered elves and sprites, who might have a wee folk's + way of mixing roses and rainbows, dew-drenched greens and sun-warmed + yellows; showing the picture to you first all burnished, glittering and + radiant, then 'veiled in mist and diamonded with showers.' We climb, + climb, up, up, into the heart of the leafy loveliness; peering down into + dewy dingles, stopping now and again to watch one of the countless streams + as it tinkles and gurgles down an emerald ravine to join the lakes. The + way is strewn with lichens and mosses; rich green hollies and arbutus + surround us on every side; the ivy hangs in sweet disorder from the rocks; + and when we reach the innermost recess of the glen we can find moist green + jungles of ferns and bracken, a very bending, curling forest of fronds:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The fairy's tall palm-tree, the heath bird's fresh nest, + And the couch the red deer deems the sweetest and best.' +</pre> + <p> + Carrantual rears its crested head high above the other mountains, and on + its summit Shon the Outlaw, footsore, weary, slept; sighing, “For once, + thank God, I am above all my enemies.” + </p> + <p> + You must go to sweet Innisfallen, too, and you must not be prosaic or + incredulous at the boatman's stories, or turn the 'bodthered ear to them.' + These are no ordinary hillsides: not only do the wee folk troop through + the frond forests nightly, but great heroic figures of romance have + stalked majestically along these mountain summits. Every waterfall foaming + and dashing from its rocky bed in the glen has a legend in the toss and + swirl of the water. + </p> + <p> + Can't you see the O'Sullivan, famous for fleetness of foot and prowess in + the chase, starting forth in the cool o' the morn to hunt the red deer? + His dogs sniff the heather; a splendid stag bounds across the path; swift + as lightning the dogs follow the scent across moors and glens. Throughout + the long day the chieftain chases the stag, until at nightfall, weary and + thirsty, he loses the scent, and blows a blast on his horn to call the + dogs homeward. + </p> + <p> + And then he hears a voice: “O'Sullivan, turn back!” + </p> + <p> + He looks over his shoulder to behold the great Finn McCool, central figure + in centuries of romance. + </p> + <p> + “Why do you dare chase my stag?” he asks. + </p> + <p> + “Because it is the finest man ever saw,” answers the chieftain composedly. + </p> + <p> + “You are a valiant man,” says the hero, pleased with the reply; “and as + you thirst from the long chase, I will give you to drink.” So he crunches + his giant heel into the rock, and forth burst the waters, seething and + roaring as they do to this day; “and may the divil fly away wid me if I've + spoke an unthrue word, ma'am!” + </p> + <p> + Come to Lough Lein as did we, too early for the crowd of sightseers; but + when the 'long light shakes across the lakes,' the blackest arts of the + tourist (and they are as black as they are many) cannot break the spell. + Sitting on one of these hillsides, we heard a bugle-call taken up and + repeated in delicate, ethereal echoes,—sweet enough, indeed, to be + worthy of the fairy buglers who are supposed to pass the sound along their + lines from crag to crag, until it faints and dies in silence. And then + came the 'Lament for Owen Roe O'Neil.' We were thrilled to the very heart + with the sorrowful strains; and when we issued from our leafy covert, and + rounded the point of rocks from which the sound came, we found a fat man + in uniform playing the bugle. 'Blank's Tours' was embroidered on his cap, + and I have no doubt that he is a good husband and father, even a good + citizen, but he is a blight upon the landscape, and fancy cannot breathe + in his presence. The typical tourist should be encouraged within bounds, + both because he is of some benefit to Ireland, and because Ireland is of + inestimable benefit to him; but he should not be allowed to jeer and laugh + at the legends (the gentle smile of sophisticated unbelief, with its + twinkle of amusement, is unknown to and for ever beyond him); and above + all, he should never be allowed to carry or to play on a concertina, for + this is the unpardonable sin. + </p> + <p> + We had an adventure yesterday. We were to dine at eight o'clock at + Balkilly Castle, where Dr. La Touche is staying the week-end with Lord and + Lady Killbally. We had been spending an hour or two after tea in writing + an Irish letter, and were a bit late in dressing. These letters, written + in the vernacular, are a favourite diversion of ours when visiting in + foreign lands; and they are very easily done when once you have caught the + idioms, for you can always supplement your slender store of words and + expressions with choice selections from native authors. + </p> + <p> + What Francesca and I wore to the Castle dinner is, alas! no longer of any + consequence to the community at large. In the mysterious purposes of that + third volume which we seem to be living in Ireland, Francesca's beauty and + mine, her hats and frocks as well as mine, are all reduced to the + background; but Salemina's toilet had cost us some thought. When she first + issued from the discreet and decorous fastnesses of Salem society, she had + never donned any dinner dress that was not as high at the throat and as + long in the sleeves as the Puritan mothers ever wore to meeting. In + England she lapsed sufficiently from the rigid Salem standard to adopt a + timid compromise; in Scotland we coaxed her into still further + modernities, until now she is completely enfranchised. We achieved this at + considerable trouble, but do not grudge the time spent in persuasion when + we see her en grande toilette. In day dress she has always been inclined + ever so little to a primness and severity that suggest old-maidishness. In + her low gown of pale grey, with all her silver hair waved softly, she is + unexpectedly lovely,—her face softened, transformed, and magically + 'brought out' by the whiteness of her shoulders and slender throat. Not an + ornament, not a jewel, will she wear; and she is right to keep the nunlike + simplicity of style which suits her so well, and which holds its own even + in the vicinity of Francesca's proud and glowing young beauty. + </p> + <p> + On this particular evening, Francesca, who wished her to look her best, + had prudently hidden her eyeglasses, for which we are now trying to + substitute a silver-handled lorgnette. Two years ago we deliberately + smashed her spectacles, which she had adopted at five-and-twenty. + </p> + <p> + “But they are more convenient than eye-glasses,” she urged obtusely. + </p> + <p> + “That argument is beneath you, dear,” we replied. “If your hair were not + prematurely grey, we might permit the spectacles, hideous as they are, but + a combination of the two is impossible; the world shall not convict you of + failing sight when you are guilty only of petty astigmatism!” + </p> + <p> + The grey satin had been chosen for this dinner, and Salemina was dressed, + with the exception of the pretty pearl-embroidered waist that has to be + laced at the last moment, and had slipped on a dressing jacket to come + down from her room in the second story, to be advised in some trifling + detail. She looked unusually well, I thought: her eyes were bright and her + cheeks flushed, as she rustled in, holding her satin skirts daintily away + from the dusty carpets. + </p> + <p> + Now, from the morning of our arrival we have had trouble with the + Mullarkey door-knobs, which come off continually, and lie on the floors at + one side of the door or the other. Benella followed Salemina from her + room, and, being in haste, closed the door with unwonted energy. She heard + the well-known rattle and clang, but little suspected that, as one knob + dropped outside in the hall, the other fell inside, carrying the rod of + connection with it. It was not long before we heard a cry of despair from + above, and we responded to it promptly. + </p> + <p> + “It's fell in on the inside, knob and all, as I always knew it would some + day; and now we can't get back into the room!” said Benella. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, nonsense! We can open it with something or other,” I answered + encouragingly, as I drew on my gloves; “only you must hasten, for the car + is at the door.” + </p> + <p> + The curling iron was too large, the shoe hook too short, a lead pencil too + smooth, a crochet needle too slender: we tried them all, and the door + resisted all our insinuations. “Must you necessarily get in before we go?” + I asked Salemina thoughtlessly. + </p> + <p> + She gave me a glance that almost froze my blood, as she replied, “The + waist of my dress is in the room.” + </p> + <p> + Francesca and I spent a moment in irrepressible mirth, and then summoned + Mrs. Mullarkey. Whether the Irish kings could be relied upon in an + emergency I do not know, but their descendants cannot. Mrs. Mullarkey had + gone to the convent to see the Mother Superior about something; Mr. + Mullarkey was at the Dooclone market; Peter was not to be found; but Oonah + and Molly came, and also the old lady from Mullinavat, with a package of + raffle tickets in her hand. + </p> + <p> + We left this small army under Benella's charge, and went down to my room + for a hasty consultation. + </p> + <p> + “Could you wear any evening bodice of Francesca's?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Of course not. Francesca's waist measure is three inches smaller than + mine.” + </p> + <p> + “Could you manage my black lace dress?” + </p> + <p> + “Penelope, you know it would only reach to my ankles! No, you must go + without me, and go at once. We are too new acquaintances to keep Lady + Killbally's dinner waiting. Why did I come to this place like a pauper, + with only one evening gown, when I should have known that if there is a + castle anywhere within forty miles you always spend half your time in it!” + </p> + <p> + This slur was totally unjustified, but I pardoned it, because Salemina's + temper is ordinarily perfect, and the circumstances were somewhat tragic. + “If you had brought a dozen costumes, they would all be in your room at + this moment,” I replied; “but we must think of something. It is impossible + for you to remain behind; we were invited more on your account than our + own, for you are Dr. La Touche's friend, and the dinner is especially in + his honour. Molly, have you a ladder?” + </p> + <p> + “Sorra a wan, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “Could we borrow one?” + </p> + <p> + “We could not, Mrs. Beresford, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “Then see if you can break down the door; try hard, and if you succeed I + will buy you a nice new one! Part of Miss Peabody's dress is inside the + room, and we shall be late to the Castle dinner.” + </p> + <p> + The entire corps, with Mrs. Waterford of Mullinavat on top, cast itself on + the door, which withstood the shock to perfection. Then in a moment we + heard: “Weary's on it, it will not come down for us, ma'am. It's the + iligant locks we do be havin' in the house; they're mortial shtrong, + ma'am!” + </p> + <p> + “Strong, indeed!” exclaimed the incensed Benella, in a burst of New + England wrath. “There's nothing strong about the place but the impidence + of the people in it! If you had told Peter to get a carpenter or a + locksmith, as I've been asking you these two weeks, it would have been all + right; but you never do anything till a month after it's too late. I've no + patience with such a set of doshies, dawdling around and leaving + everything to go to rack and ruin!” + </p> + <p> + “Sure it was yourself that ruinated the thing,” responded Molly, with + spirit, for the unaccustomed word 'doshy' had kindled her quick Irish + temper. “It's aisy handlin' the knob is used to, and faith it would 'a' + stuck there for you a twelvemonth!” + </p> + <p> + “They will be quarrelling soon,” said Salemina nervously. “Do not wait + another instant; you are late enough now, and I insist on your going. Make + any excuse you see fit: say I am ill, say I am dead, if you like, but + don't tell the real excuse—it is too shiftless and wretched and + embarrassing. Don't cry, Benella. Molly, Oonah, go downstairs to your + work. Mrs. Waterford, I think perhaps you have forgotten that we have + already purchased raffle tickets, and we'll not take any more for fear + that we may draw the necklace. Good-bye, dears; tell Lady Killbally I + shall see her to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XV. Penelope weaves a web. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Why the shovel and tongs + To each other belongs, + And the kettle sings songs + Full of family glee, + While alone with your cup, + Like a hermit you sup, + Och hone, Widow Machree.' + Samuel Lover. +</pre> + <p> + Francesca and I were gloomy enough, as we drove along facing each other in + Ballyfuchsia's one 'inside-car'—a strange and fearsome vehicle, + partaking of the nature of a broken-down omnibus, a hearse, and an + overgrown black beetle. It holds four, or at a squeeze six, the seats + being placed from stem to stern lengthwise, and the balance being so + delicate that the passengers, when going uphill, are shaken into a heap at + the door, which is represented by a ragged leather flap. I have often seen + it strew the hard highroad with passengers, as it jolts up the steep + incline that leads to Ardnagreena, and the 'fares' who succeed in staying + in always sit in one another's laps a good part of the way—a method + pleasing only to relatives or intimate friends. Francesca and I agreed to + tell the real reason of Salemina's absence. “It is Ireland's fault, and I + will not have America blamed for it,” she insisted; “but it is so + embarrassing to be going to the dinner ourselves, and leaving behind the + most important personage. Think of Dr. La Touche's disappointment, think + of Salemina's; and they'll never understand why she couldn't have come in + a dressing jacket. I shall advise her to discharge Benella after this + episode, for no one can tell the effect it may have upon all our future + lives, even those of the doctor's two poor motherless children.” + </p> + <p> + It is a four-mile drive to Balkilly Castle, and when we arrived there we + were so shaken that we had to retire to a dressing-room for repairs. Then + came the dreaded moment when we entered the great hall and advanced to + meet Lady Killbally, who looked over our heads to greet the missing + Salemina. Francesca's beauty, my supposed genius, both fell flat; it was + Salemina whose presence was especially desired. The company was assembled, + save for one guest still more tardy than ourselves, and we had a moment or + two to tell our story as sympathetically as possible. It had an uncommonly + good reception, and, coupled with the Irish letter I read at dessert, + carried the dinner along on a basis of such laughter and good-fellowship + that finally there was no place for regret save in the hearts of those who + knew and loved Salemina—poor Salemina, spending her dull, lonely + evening in our rooms, and later on in her own uneventful bed, if indeed + she had been lucky enough to gain access to that bed. I had hoped Lady + Killbally would put one of us beside Dr. La Touche, so that we might at + least keep Salemina's memory green by tactful conversation; but it was too + large a company to rearrange, and he had to sit by an empty chair, which + perhaps was just as salutary, after all. The dinner was very smart, and + the company interesting and clever, but my thoughts were elsewhere. As + there were fewer squires than dames at the feast, Lady Killbally kindly + took me on her left, with a view to better acquaintance, and I was + heartily glad of a possible chance to hear something of Dr. La Touche's + earlier life. In our previous interviews, Salemina's presence had always + precluded the possibility of leading the conversation in the wished-for + direction. + </p> + <p> + When I first saw Gerald La Touche I felt that he required explanation. + Usually speaking, a human being ought to be able, in an evening's + conversation, to explain himself, without any adventitious aid. If he is a + man, alive, vigorous, well poised, conscious of his own individuality, he + shows you, without any effort, as much of his past as you need to form + your impression, and as much of his future as you have intuition to read. + As opposed to the vigorous personality, there is the colourless, + flavourless, insubstantial sort, forgotten as soon as learned, and for + ever confused with that of the previous or the next comer. When I was a + beginner in portrait-painting, I remember that, after I had succeeded in + making my background stay back where it belonged, my figure sometimes had + a way of clinging to it in a kind of smudgy weakness, as if it were afraid + to come out like a man and stand the inspection of my eye. How often have + I squandered paint upon the ungrateful object without adding a cubit to + its stature! It refused to look like flesh and blood, but resembled rather + some half-made creature flung on the passive canvas in a liquid state, + with its edges running over into the background. There are a good many of + these people in literature, too,—heroes who, like home-made paper + dolls, do not stand up well; or if they manage to perform that feat, one + unexpectedly discovers, when they are placed in a strong light, that they + have no vital organs whatever, and can be seen through without the + slightest difficulty. Dr. La Touche does not belong to either of these two + classes: he is not warm, magnetic, powerful, impressive: neither is he by + any means destitute of vital organs; but his personality is blurred in + some way. He seems a bit remote, absentminded, and a trifle, just a + trifle, over-resigned. Privately, I think a man can afford to be resigned + only to one thing, and that is the will of God; against all other odds I + prefer to see him fight till the last armed foe expires. Dr. La Touche is + devotedly attached to his children, but quite helpless in their hands; so + that he never looks at them with pleasure or comfort or pride, but always + with an anxiety as to what they may do next. I understand him better now + that I know the circumstances of which he has been the product. (Of course + one is always a product of circumstances, unless one can manage to be + superior to them.) His wife, the daughter of an American consul in + Ireland, was a charming but somewhat feather-brained person, rather given + to whims and caprices; very pretty, very young, very much spoiled, very + attractive, very undisciplined. All went well enough with them until her + father was recalled to America, because of some change in political + administration. The young Mrs. La Touche seemed to have no resources apart + from her family, and even her baby 'Jackeen' failed to absorb her as might + have been expected. + </p> + <p> + “We thought her a most trying woman at this time,” said Lady Killbally. + “She seemed to have no thought of her husband's interests, and none of the + responsibilities that she had assumed in marrying him; her only idea of + life appeared to be amusement and variety and gaiety. Gerald was a + student, and always very grave and serious; the kind of man who invariably + marries a butterfly, if he can find one to make him miserable. He was + exceedingly patient; but after the birth of little Broona, Adeline became + so homesick and depressed and discontented that, although the journey was + almost an impossibility at the time, Gerald took her back to her people, + and left her with them, while he returned to his duties at Trinity + College. Their life, I suppose, had been very unhappy for a year or two + before this, and when he came home to Dublin without his children, he + looked a sad and broken man. He was absolutely faithful to his ideals, I + am glad to say, and never wavered in his allegiance to his wife, however + disappointed he may have been in her; going over regularly to spend his + long vacations in America, although she never seemed to wish to see him. + At last she fell into a state of hopeless melancholia; and it was rather a + relief to us all to feel that we had judged her too severely, and that her + unreasonableness and her extraordinary caprices had been born of mental + disorder more than of moral obliquity. Gerald gave up everything to nurse + her and rouse her from her apathy; but she faded away without ever once + coming back to a more normal self, and that was the end of it all. + Gerald's father had died meanwhile, and he had fallen heir to the property + and the estates. They were very much encumbered, but he is gradually + getting affairs into a less chaotic state; and while his fortune would + seem a small one to you extravagant Americans, he is what we Irish paupers + would call well to do.” + </p> + <p> + Lady Killbally was suspiciously willing to give me all this information,—so + much so that I ventured to ask about the children. + </p> + <p> + “They are captivating, neglected little things,” she said. “Madame La + Touche, an aged aunt, has the ostensible charge of them, and she is a most + easy-going person. The servants are of the 'old family' sort, the + reckless, improvident, untidy, devoted, quarrelsome creatures that always + stand by the ruined Irish gentry in all their misfortunes, and generally + make their life a burden to them at the same time. Gerald is a saint, and + therefore never complains.” + </p> + <p> + “It never seems to me that saints are altogether adapted to positions like + these,” I sighed; “sinners would do ever so much better. I should like to + see Dr. La Touche take off his halo, lay it carefully on the bureau, and + wield a battle-axe. The world will never acknowledge his merit; it will + even forget him presently, and his life will have been given up to the + evolution of the passive virtues. Do you suppose he will recognise the + tender passion if it ever does bud in his breast, or will he think it a + weed, instead of a flower, and let it wither for want of attention?” + </p> + <p> + “I think his friends will have to enhance his self-respect, or he will for + ever be too modest to declare himself,” said Lady Killbally. “Perhaps you + can help us: he is probably going to America this winter to lecture at + some of your universities, and he may stay there for a year or two, so he + says. At any rate, if the right woman ever appears on the scene, I hope + she will have the instinct to admire and love and reverence him as we do,” + and here she smiled directly into my eyes, and slipping her pretty hand + under the tablecloth squeezed mine in a manner that spoke volumes. + </p> + <p> + It is not easy to explain one's desire to marry off all the unmarried + persons in one's vicinity. When I look steadfastly at any group of people, + large or small, they usually segregate themselves into twos under my + prophetic eye. It they are nice and attractive, I am pleased to see them + mated; if they are horrid and disagreeable, I like to think of them as + improving under the discipline of matrimony. It is joy to see beauty meet + a kindling eye, but I am more delighted still to watch a man fall under + the glamour of a plain, dull girl, and it is ecstasy for me to see a + perfectly unattractive, stupid woman snapped up at last, when I have given + up hopes of settling her in life. Sometimes there are men so uninspiring + that I cannot converse with them a single moment without yawning; but + though failures in all other relations, one can conceive of their being + tolerably useful as husbands and fathers; not for one's self, you + understand, but for one's neighbours. + </p> + <p> + Dr. La Touche's life now, to any understanding eye, is as incomplete as + the unfinished window in Aladdin's tower. He is too wrinkled, too + studious, too quiet, too patient for his years. His children need a + mother, his old family servants need discipline, his baronial halls need + sweeping and cleaning (I haven't seen them, but I know they do!), and his + aged aunt needs advice and guidance. On the other hand, there are those (I + speak guardedly) who have walked in shady, sequestered paths all their + lives, looking at hundreds of happy lovers on the sunny highroad, but + never joining them; those who adore erudition, who love children, who have + a genius for unselfish devotion, who are sweet and refined and clever, and + who look perfectly lovely when they put on grey satin and leave off + eyeglasses. They say they are over forty, and although this probably is + exaggeration, they may be thirty-nine and three-quarters; and if so, the + time is limited in which to find for them a worthy mate, since half of the + masculine population is looking for itself, and always in the wrong + quarter, needing no assistance to discover rose-cheeked idiots of + nineteen, whose obvious charms draw thousands to a dull and uneventful + fate. + </p> + <p> + These thoughts were running idly through my mind while the Honourable + Michael McGillicuddy was discoursing to me of Mr. Gladstone's + misunderstanding of Irish questions,—a misunderstanding, he said, so + colossal, so temperamental, and so all-embracing, that it amounted to + genius. I was so anxious to return to Salemina that I wished I had ordered + the car at ten thirty instead of eleven; but I made up my mind, as we + ladies went to the drawing-room for coffee, that I would seize the first + favourable opportunity to explore the secret chambers of Dr. La Touche's + being. I love to rummage in out-of-the-way corners of people's brains and + hearts if they will let me. I like to follow a courteous host through the + public corridors of his house and come upon a little chamber closed to the + casual visitor. If I have known him long enough I put my hand on the latch + and smile inquiringly. He looks confused and conscious, but unlocks the + door. Then I peep in, and often I see something that pleases and charms + and touches me so much that it shows in my eyes when I lift them to his to + say “Thank you.” Sometimes, after that, my host gives me the key and says + gravely “Pray come in whenever you like.” + </p> + <p> + When Dr. La Touche offers me this hospitality I shall find out whether he + knows anything of that lavender-scented guest-room in Salemina's heart. + First, has he ever seen it? Second, has he ever stopped in it for any + length of time? Third, was he sufficiently enamoured of it to occupy it on + a long lease? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVI. Salemina has her chance. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'And what use is one's life widout chances? + Ye've always a chance wid the tide.' + Jane Barlow. +</pre> + <p> + I was walking with Lady Fincoss, and Francesca with Miss Clondalkin, a + very learned personage who has deciphered more undecipherable inscriptions + than any lady in Ireland, when our eyes fell upon an unexpected tableau. + </p> + <p> + Seated on a divan in the centre of the drawing-room, in a most + distinguished attitude, in unexceptionable attire, and with the + rose-coloured lights making all her soft greys opalescent, was Miss + Salemina Peabody. Our exclamations of astonishment were so audible that + they must have reached the dining-room, for Lord Killbally did not keep + the gentlemen long at their wine. + </p> + <p> + Salemina cannot tell a story quite as it ought to be told to produce an + effect. She is too reserved, too concise, too rigidly conscientious. She + does not like to be the centre of interest, even in a modest contretemps + like being locked out of a room which contains part of her dress; but from + her brief explanation to Lady Killbally, her more complete and + confidential account on the way home, and Benella's graphic story when we + arrived there, we were able to get all the details. + </p> + <p> + When the inside-car passed out of view with us, it appears that Benella + wept tears of rage, at the sight of which Oonah and Molly trembled. In + that moment of despair and remorse, her mind worked as it must always have + done before the Salem priestess befogged it with hazy philosophies, + understood neither by teacher nor by pupil. Peter had come back, but could + suggest nothing. Benella forgot her 'science,' which prohibits rage and + recrimination, and called him a great, hulking, lazy vagabone, and told + him she'd like to have him in Salem for five minutes, just to show him a + man with head on his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “You call this a Christian country,” she said, “and you haven't got a + screwdriver, nor a bradawl, nor a monkey-wrench, nor a rat-tail file, nor + no kind of a useful tool to bless yourselves with; and my Miss Peabody, + that's worth ten dozen of you put together, has got to stay home from the + Castle and eat warmed-up scraps served in courses, with twenty minutes' + wait between 'em. Now you do as I say: take the dining-table and set it + out under the window, and the carving-table on top o' that, and see how + fur up it'll reach. I guess you can't stump a Salem woman by telling her + there ain't no ladder.” + </p> + <p> + The two tables were finally in position; but there still remained nine + feet of distance to that key of the situation, Salemina's window, and Mrs. + Waterford's dressing-table went on top of this pile. “Now, Peter,” were + the next orders, “if you've got sprawl enough, and want to rest yourself + by doin' something useful for once in your life, you just hold down the + dining-table; and you and Oonah, Molly, keep the next two tables stiddy, + while I climb up.” + </p> + <p> + The intrepid Benella could barely reach the sill, even from this + ingeniously dizzy elevation, and Mrs. Waterford and Salemina were called + on to 'stiddy' the tables, while Molly was bidden to help by giving an + heroic 'boost' when the word of command came. The device was completely + successful, and in a trice the conqueror disappeared, to reappear at the + window holding the precious pearl-embroidered bodice wrapped in a towel. + “I wouldn't stop to fool with the door-knob till I dropped you this,” she + said. “Oonah, you go and wash your hands clean, and help Miss Peabody into + it,—and mind you start the lacing right at the top; and you, Peter, + run down to Rooney's and get the donkey and the cart, and bring 'em back + with you,—and don't you let the grass grow under your feet neither!” + </p> + <p> + There was literally no other mode of conveyance within miles, and time was + precious. Salemina wrapped herself in Francesca's long black cloak, and + climbed into the cart. Dinnis hauls turf in it, takes a sack of potatoes + or a pig to market in it, and the stubborn little ass, blind of one eye, + has never in his wholly elective course of existence taken up the subject + of speed. + </p> + <p> + It was eight o'clock when Benella mounted the seat beside Salemina, and + gave the donkey a preliminary touch of the stick. + </p> + <p> + “Be aisy wid him,” cautioned Peter. “He's a very arch donkey for a lady to + be dhrivin', and mebbe he'd lay down and not get up for you.” + </p> + <p> + “Arrah! shut yer mouth, Pether. Give him a couple of belts anondher the + hind leg, melady, and that'll put the fear o' God in him!” said Dinnis. + </p> + <p> + “I'd rather not go at all,” urged Salemina timidly; “it's too late, and + too extraordinary.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm not going to have it on my conscience to make you lose this + dinner-party,—not if I have to carry you on my back the whole way,” + said Benella doggedly; “and this donkey won't lay down with me more'n + once,—I can tell him that right at the start.” + </p> + <p> + “Sure, melady, he'll go to Galway for you, when oncet he's started wid + himself; and it's only a couple o' fingers to the Castle, annyways.” + </p> + <p> + The four-mile drive, especially through the village of Ballyfuchsia, was + an eventful one, but by dint of prodding, poking, and belting, Benella had + accomplished half the distance in three-quarters of an hour, when the + donkey suddenly lay down 'on her,' according to Peter's prediction. This + was luckily at the town cross, where a group of idlers rendered hearty + assistance. Willing as they were to succour a lady in disthress, they did + not know of any car which could be secured in time to be of service, but + one of them offered to walk and run by the side of the donkey, so as to + kape him on his legs. It was in this wise that Miss Peabody approached + Balkilly Castle; and when a gilded gentleman-in-waiting lifted her from + Rooney's 'plain cart,' she was just on the verge of hysterics. Fortunately + his Magnificence was English, and betrayed no surprise at the arrival in + this humble fashion of a dinner guest, but simply summoned the Irish + housekeeper, who revived her with wine, and called on all the saints to + witness that she'd never heard of such a shameful thing, and such a + disgrace to Ballyfuchsia. The idea of not keeping a ladder in a house + where the door-knobs were apt to come off struck her as being the worst + feature of the accident, though this unexpected and truly Milesian view of + the matter had never occurred to us. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I got Miss Peabody to the dinner-party,” said Benella triumphantly, + when she was laboriously unlacing my frock, later on, “or at least I got + her there before it broke up. I had to walk every step o' the way home, + and the donkey laid down four times, but I was so nerved up I didn't care + a mite. I was bound Miss Peabody shouldn't lose her chance, after all + she's done for me!” + </p> + <p> + “Her chance?” I asked, somewhat puzzled, for dinners, even Castle dinners, + are not rare in Salemina's experience. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, her chance,” repeated Benella mysteriously; “you'd know well enough + what I mean, if you'd ben born and brought up in Salem, Massachusetts!” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Copy of a letter read by Penelope O'Connor, descendant of the King of + Connaught, at the dinner of Lord and Lady Killbally at Balkilly Castle. It + needed no apology then, but in sending it to our American friends, we were + obliged to explain that though the Irish peasants interlard their + conversation with saints, angels, and devils, and use the name of the + Virgin Mary, and even the Almighty, with, to our ears, undue familiarity + and frequency, there is no profane or irreverent intent. They are + instinctively religious, and it is only because they feel on terms of such + friendly intimacy with the powers above that they speak of them so often. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + At the Widdy Mullarkey's, + Knockarney House, Ballyfuchsia, + County Kerry. +</pre> + <p> + Och! musha bedad, man alive, but it's a fine counthry over here, and it + bangs all the jewel of a view we do be havin' from the windys, begorra! + Knockarney House is in a wild, remoted place at the back of beyant, and + faix we're as much alone as Robinson Crusoe on a dissolute island; but + when we do be wishful to go to the town, sure there's ivery convaniency. + There's ayther a bit of a jauntin' car wid a skewbald pony for drivin', or + we can borry the loan of Dinnis Rooney's blind ass wid the plain cart, or + we can just take a fut in a hand and leg it over the bog. Sure it's no + great thing to go do, but only a taste of divarsion like, though it's + three good Irish miles an' powerful hot weather, with niver a dhrop of wet + these manny days. It's a great old spring we're havin' intirely; it has + raison to be proud of itself, begob! + </p> + <p> + Paddy, the gossoon that drives the car (it's a gossoon we call him, but + faix he stands five fut nine in his stockin's, when he wears anny)—Paddy, + as I'm afther tellin' you, lives in a cabin down below the knockaun, a + thrifle back of the road. There's a nate stack of turf fornint it, and a + pitaty pot sets beside the doore, wid the hins and chuckens rachin' over + into it like aigles tryin' to swally the smell. + </p> + <p> + Across the way there does be a bit of sthrame that's fairly shtiff wid + troutses in the saison, and a growth of rooshes under the edge lookin' + that smooth and greeny it must be a pleasure intirely to the grand young + pig and the goat that spinds their time by the side of it when out of + doores, which is seldom. Paddy himself is raggetty like, and a sight to + behould wid the daylight shinin' through the ould coat on him; but he's a + dacint spalpeen, and sure we'd be lost widout him. His mother's a widdy + woman with nine moidtherin' childer, not countin' the pig an' the goat, + which has aquil advantages. It's nine she has livin', she says, and four + slapin' in the beds o' glory; and faix I hope thim that's in glory is + quieter than the wans that's here, for the divil is busy wid thim the + whole of the day. Here's wan o' thim now makin' me as onaisy as an ould + hin on a hot griddle, slappin' big sods of turf over the dike, and + ruinatin' the timpers of our poulthry. We've a right to be lambastin' thim + this blessed minute, the crathurs; as sure as eggs is mate, if they was + mine they'd sup sorrow wid a spoon of grief, before they wint to bed this + night! + </p> + <p> + Mistress Colquhoun, that lives at Ardnagreena on the road to the town, is + an iligant lady intirely, an' she's uncommon frindly, may the peace of + heaven be her sowl's rist! She's rale charitable-like an' liberal with the + whativer, an' as for Himself, sure he's the darlin' fine man! He taches + the dead-and-gone languages in the grand sates of larnin', and has more + eddication and comperhinson than the whole of County Kerry rowled + together. + </p> + <p> + Then there's Lord and Lady Killbally; faix there's no iliganter family on + this counthryside, and they has the beautiful quality stoppin' wid thim, + begob! They have a pew o' their own in the church, an' their coachman + wears top-boots wid yaller chimbleys to thim. They do be very openhanded + wid the eatin' and the drinkin', and it bangs Banagher the figurandyin' we + do have wid thim! So you see Ould Ireland is not too disthressful a + counthry to be divartin' ourselves in, an' we have our healths finely, + glory be to God! + </p> + <p> + Well, we must be shankin' off wid ourselves now to the Colquhouns', where + they're wettin' a dhrop o' tay for us this mortial instant. + </p> + <p> + It's no good for yous to write to us here, for we'll be quittin' out o' + this before the letther has a chanst to come; though sure it can folly us + as we're jiggin' along to the north. + </p> + <p> + Don't be thinkin' that you've shlipped hould of our ricollections, though + the breadth of the ocean say's betune us. More power to your elbow! May + your life be aisy, and may the heavens be your bed! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Penelope O'Connor Beresford. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART3" id="link2H_PART3"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Part Third—Ulster. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVII. The Glens of Antrim. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Silent, O Moyle, [*] be the roar of thy water; + Break not, ye breezes, your chain of repose; + While murmuring mournfully, Lir's lovely daughter + Tells to the night-star her tale of woes.' + Thomas Moore. + + * The sea between Erin and Alban (Ireland and Scotland) was + called in the olden time the Sea of Moyle, from the Moyle, + or Mull, of Cantire. + + Sorley Boy Hotel, + + Glens of Antrim. +</pre> + <p> + We are here for a week, in the neighbourhood of Cushendun, just to see a + bit of the north-eastern corner of Erin, where, at the end of the + nineteenth century, as at the beginning of the seventeenth, the population + is almost exclusively Catholic and Celtic. The Gaelic Sorley Boy is, in + Irish state papers, Carolus Flavus—yellow-haired Charles—the + most famous of the Macdonnell fighters; the one who, when recognised by + Elizabeth as Lord of the Route, and given a patent for his estates, burned + the document before his retainers, swearing that what had been won by the + sword should never be held by the sheepskin. Cushendun was one of the + places in our literary pilgrimage, because of its association with that + charming Irish poetess and good glenswoman who calls herself 'Moira + O'Neill.' + </p> + <p> + This country of the Glens, east of the river Bann, escaped 'plantation,' + and that accounts for its Celtic character. When the grand Ulster + chieftains, the O'Donnells and the O'Neills of Donegal, went under, the + third great house of Ulster, the 'Macdonnells of the Isles,' was more + fortunate, and, thanks to its Scots blood, found favour with James I. It + was a Macdonnell who was created first Earl of Antrim, and given a 'grant + of the Glens and the Route, from the Curran of Larne to the Cutts of + Coleraine.' Ballycastle is our nearest large town, and its great days were + all under the Macdonnells, where, in the Franciscan abbey across the bay, + it is said the ground 'literally heaves with Clandonnell dust.' Here are + buried those of the clan who perished at the hands of Shane O'Neill—Shane + the Proud, who signed himself 'Myself O'Neill,' and who has been called + 'the shaker of Ulster'; here, too, are those who fell in the great fight + at Slieve-an-Aura up in Glen Shesk, when the Macdonnells finally routed + the older lords, the M'Quillans. A clansman once went to the Countess of + Antrim to ask the lease of a farm. + </p> + <p> + “Another Macdonnell?” asked the countess. “Why, you must all be + Macdonnells in the Low Glens!” + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” said the man. “Too many Macdonnells now, but not one too many on the + day of Aura.” + </p> + <p> + From the cliffs of Antrim we can see on any clear day the Sea of Moyle and + the bonnie blue hills of Scotland, divided from Ulster at this point by + only twenty miles of sea path. The Irish or Gaels or Scots of 'Uladh' + often crossed in their curraghs to this lovely coast of Alba, then + inhabited by the Picts. Here, 'when the tide drains out wid itself beyant + the rocks,' we sit for many an hour, perhaps on the very spot from which + they pushed off their boats. The Mull of Cantire runs out sharply toward + you; south of it are Ailsa Craig and the soft Ayrshire coast; north of the + Mull are blue, blue mountains in a semicircle, and just beyond them + somewhere, Francesca knows, are the Argyleshire Highlands. And oh! the + pearl and opal tints that the Irish atmosphere flings over the scene, + shifting them ever at will, in misty sun or radiant shower; and how lovely + are the too rare bits of woodland! The ground is sometimes white with wild + garlic, sometimes blue with hyacinths; the primroses still linger in + moist, hidden places, and there are violets and marsh marigolds. + Everything wears the colour of Hope. If there are buds that will never + bloom and birds that will never fly, the great mother-heart does not know + it yet. “I wonder,” said Salemina, “if that is why we think of autumn as + sad—because the story of the year is known and told?” + </p> + <p> + Long, long before the Clandonnell ruled these hills and glens and cliffs + they were the home of Celtic legend. Over the waters of the wee river + Margy, with its half-mile course, often sailed the four white swans, those + enchanted children of Lir, king of the Isle of Man, who had been + transformed into this guise by their cruel stepmother, with a stroke of + her druidical fairy wand. After turning them into four beautiful white + swans she pronounced their doom, which was to sail three hundred years on + smooth Lough Derryvara, three hundred on the Sea of Erris—sail, and + sail, until the union of Largnen, the prince from the north, with Decca, + the princess from the south; until the Taillkenn [**] should come to + Erinn, bringing the light of a pure faith, and until they should hear the + voice of a Christian bell. They were allowed to keep their own Gaelic + speech, and to sing sweet, plaintive, fairy music, which should excel all + the music of the world, and which should lull to sleep all who listened to + it. We could hear it, we three, for we loved the story; and love opens the + ear as well as the heart to all sorts of sounds not heard by the dull and + incredulous. You may hear it, too, any fine soft day if you will sit there + looking out on Fair Head and Rathlin Island, and read the old fairy tale. + When you put down the book you will see Finola, Lir's lovely daughter, in + any white-breasted bird; and while she covers her brothers with her wings, + she will chant to you her old song in the Gaelic tongue. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ** A name given by the Druids to St. Patrick. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Ah, happy is Lir's bright home today + With mirth and music and poet's lay; + But gloomy and cold his children's home, + For ever tossed on the briny foam. + + Our wreath-ed feathers are thin and light + When the wind blows keen through the wintry night; + Yet oft we were robed, long, long ago, + In purple mantles and robes of snow. + + On Moyle's bleak current our food and wine + Are sandy seaweed and bitter brine; + Yet oft we feasted in days of old, + And hazel-mead drank from cups of gold. + + Our beds are rocks in the dripping caves; + Our lullaby song the roar of the waves; + But soft, rich couches once we pressed, + And harpers lulled us each night to rest. + + Lonely we swim on the billowy main, + Through frost and snow, through storm and rain; + Alas for the days when round us moved + The chiefs and princes and friends we loved!' +</pre> + <p> + Joyce's translation. + </p> + <p> + The Fate of the Children of Lir is the second of Erin's Three Sorrows of + Story, and the third and greatest is the Fate of the Sons of Usnach, which + has to do with a sloping rock on the north side of Fair Head, five miles + from us. Here the three sons of Usnach landed when they returned from Alba + to Erin with Deirdre—Deirdre, who was 'beautiful as Helen, and + gifted like Cassandra with unavailing prophecy'; and by reason of her + beauty many sorrows fell upon the Ultonians. + </p> + <p> + Naisi, son of Conor, king of Uladh, had fled with Deirdre, daughter of + Phelim, the king's story-teller, to a sea-girt islet on Lough Etive, where + they lived happily by the chase. Naisi's two brothers went with them, and + thus the three sons of Usnach were all in Alba. Then the story goes on to + say that Fergus, one of Conor's nobles, goes to seek the exiles, and Naisi + and Deirdre, while playing at the chess, hear from the shore 'the cry of a + man of Erin.' It is against Deirdre's will that they finally leave Alba + with Fergus, who says, “Birthright is first, for ill it goes with a man, + although he be great and prosperous, if he does not see daily his native + earth.” + </p> + <p> + So they sailed away over the sea, and Deirdre sang this lay as the shores + of Alba faded from her sight:— + </p> + <p> + “My love to thee, O Land in the East, and 'tis ill for me to leave thee, + for delightful are thy coves and havens, thy kind, soft, flowery fields, + thy pleasant, green-sided hills; and little was our need of departing.” + </p> + <p> + Then in her song she went over the glens of their lordship, naming them + all, and calling to mind how here they hunted the stag, here they fished, + here they slept, with the swaying fern for pillows, and here the cuckoo + called to them. And “Never,” she sang, “would I quit Alba were it not that + Naisi sailed thence in his ship.” + </p> + <p> + They landed first under Fair Head, and then later at Rathlin Island, where + their fate met them at last, as Deirdre had prophesied. It is a sad story, + and we can easily weep at the thrilling moment when, there being no man + among the Ultonians to do the king's bidding, a Norse captive takes + Naisi's magic sword and strikes off the heads of the three sons of Usnach + with one swift blow, and Deirdre, falling prone upon the dead bodies, + chants a lament; and when she has finished singing, she puts her pale + cheek against Naisi's, and dies; and a great cairn is piled over them, and + an inscription in Ogam set upon it. + </p> + <p> + We were full of legendary lore, these days, for we were fresh from a sight + of Glen Ariff. Who that has ever chanced to be there in a pelting rain but + will remember its innumerable little waterfalls, and the great falls of + Ess-na-Crubh and Ess-na-Craoibhe? And who can ever forget the atmosphere + of romance that broods over these Irish glens? + </p> + <p> + We have had many advantages here as elsewhere; for kind Dr. La Touche, + Lady Killbally, and Mrs. Colquhoun follow us with letters, and wherever + there is an unusual personage in a district we are commended to his or her + care. Sometimes it is one of the 'grand quality,' and often it is an + Ossianic sort of person like Shaun O'Grady, who lives in a little + whitewashed cabin, and who has, like Mr. Yeats's Gleeman, 'the whole + Middle Ages under his frieze coat.' The longer and more intimately we know + these peasants, the more we realise how much in imagination, or in the + clouds, if you will, they live. The ragged man of leisure you meet on the + road may be a philosopher, and is still more likely to be a poet; but + unless you have something of each in yourself, you may mistake him for a + mere beggar. + </p> + <p> + “The practical ones have all emigrated,” a Dublin novelist told us, “and + the dreamers are left. The heads of the older ones are filled with poetry + and legends; they see nothing as it is, but always through some + iridescent-tinted medium. Their waking moments, when not tormented by + hunger, are spent in heaven, and they all live in a dream, whether it be + of the next world or of a revolution. Effort is to them useless, + submission to everybody and everything the only safe course; in a word, + fatalism expresses their attitude to life.” + </p> + <p> + Much of this submission to the inevitable is a product of past poverty, + misfortune, and famine, and the rest is undoubtedly a trace of the same + spirit that we find in the lives and writings of the saints, and which is + an integral part of the mystery and the traditions of Romanism. We who + live in the bright (and sometimes staring) sunlight of common-sense can + hardly hope to penetrate the dim, mysterious world of the Catholic + peasant, with his unworldliness and sense of failure. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Douglas Hyde, an Irish scholar and staunch Protestant, says: “A pious + race is the Gaelic race. The Irish Gael is pious by nature. There is not + an Irishman in a hundred in whom is the making of an unbeliever. The + spirit, and the things of the spirit, affect him more powerfully than the + body, and the things of the body... What is invisible for other people is + visible for him... He feels invisible powers before him, and by his side, + and at his back, throughout the day and throughout the night... His mind + on the subject may be summed up in the two sayings: that of the early + Church, 'Let ancient things prevail,' and that of St. Augustine, 'Credo + quia impossibile.' Nature did not form him to be an unbeliever; unbelief + is alien to his mind and contrary to his feelings.” + </p> + <p> + Here, only a few miles away, is the Slemish mountain where St. Patrick, + then a captive of the rich cattle-owner Milcho, herded his sheep and + swine. Here, when his flocks were sleeping, he poured out his prayers, a + Christian voice in Pagan darkness. It was the memory of that darkness, you + remember, that brought him back, years after, to convert Milcho. Here, + too, they say, lies the great bard Ossian; for they love to think that + Finn's son Oisin, [++] the hero poet, survived to the time of St. Patrick, + three hundred years after the other 'Fianna' had vanished from the earth,—the + three centuries being passed in Tir-nan-og, the Land of Youth, where the + great Oisin married the king's daughter, Niam of the Golden Hair. 'Ossian + after the Fianna' is a phrase which has become the synonym of all + survivors' sorrow. Blinded by tears, broken by age, the hero bard when he + returns to earth has no fellowship but with grief, and thus he sings:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'No hero now where heroes hurled,— + Long this night the clouds delay— + No man like me, in all the world, + Alone with grief, and grey. + + Long this night the clouds delay— + I raise their grave carn, stone on stone, + For Finn and Fianna passed away— + I, Ossian left alone.' +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ++ Pronounced Isheen' in Munster, Osh'in in Ulster. +</pre> + <p> + In more senses than one Irish folk-lore is Irish history. At least the + traditions that have been handed down from one generation to another + contain not only the sometimes authentic record of events, but a + revelation of the Milesian temperament, with its mirth and its melancholy, + its exuberant fancy and its passion. So in these weird tales there is + plenty of history, and plenty of poetry, to one who will listen to it; but + the high and tragic story of Ireland has been cherished mainly in the + sorrowful traditions of a defeated race, and the legends have not yet been + wrought into undying verse. Erin's songs of battle could only recount + weary successions of Flodden Fields, with never a Bannockburn and its + nimbus of victory; for, as Ossian says of his countrymen, “they went forth + to the war, but they always fell”; but somewhere in the green isle is an + unborn poet who will put all this mystery, beauty, passion, romance, and + sadness, these tragic memories, these beliefs, these visions of + unfulfilled desire, into verse that will glow on the page and live for + ever. Somewhere is a mother who has kept all these things in her heart, + and who will bear a son to write them. Meantime, who shall say that they + have not been imbedded in the language, as flower petals might be in + amber?—that language which, as an English scholar says, “has been + blossoming there unseen, like a hidden garland of roses; and whenever the + wind has blown from the west, English poetry has felt the vague perfume of + it.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVIII. Limavady love-letters. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'As beautiful Kitty one morning was tripping + With a pitcher of milk from the fair of Coleraine, + When she saw me she stumbled, the pitcher it tumbled, + And all the sweet buttermilk watered the plain.' + Anonymous. +</pre> + <p> + We wanted to cross to Rathlin Island, which is 'like an Irish stockinge, + the toe of which pointeth to the main lande.' That would bring Francesca + six miles nearer to Scotland and her Scottish lover; and we wished to see + the castle of Robert the Bruce, where, according to the legend, he learned + his lesson from the 'six times baffled spider.' We delayed too long, + however, and the Sea of Moyle looked as bleak and stormy as it did to the + children of Lir. We had no mind to be swallowed up in Brecain's Caldron, + where the grandson of Niall and the Nine Hostages sank with his fifty + curraghs, so we took a day of golf at the Ballycastle links. Salemina, who + is a neophyte, found a forlorn lady driving and putting about by herself, + and they made a match just to increase the interest of the game. There was + but one boy in evidence, and the versatile Benella offered to caddie for + them, leaving the more experienced gossoon to Francesca and me. The Irish + caddie does not, on the whole, perhaps manifest so keen an interest in the + fine points of the game as his Scottish brother. He is somewhat languid in + his search for a ball, and will occasionally, when serving amiable ladies, + sit under a tree in the sun and speculate as to its whereabouts. As for + staying by you while you 'hole out' on your last green, he has no possible + interest in that proceeding, and is off and away, giving his perfunctory + and half-hearted polish to your clubs while you are passing through this + thrilling crisis. Salemina, wishing to know what was considered a good + score by local players on these links, asked our young friend 'what they + got round in, here,' and was answered, 'They tries to go round in as few + as possible, ma'am, but they mostly takes more!' We all came together + again at luncheon, and Salemina returned flushed with victory. She had + made the nine hole course in one hundred and sixty, and had beaten her + adversary five up and four to play. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, bright and early, we left for Coleraine, a great + Presbyterian stronghold in what is called by the Roman Catholics the + 'black north.' If we liked it, and saw anything of Kitty's descendants, or + any nice pitchers to break, or any reason for breaking them, we intended + to stop; if not, then to push on to the walled town of Derry,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Where Foyle his swelling waters + Rolls northward to the main.' +</pre> + <p> + We thought it Francesca's duty, as she was to be the wife of a Scottish + minister of the Established Church, to look up Presbyterianism in Ireland + whenever and wherever possible, with a view to discoursing learnedly about + it in her letters,—though, as she confesses ingenuously, Ronald, in + his, never so much as mentions Presbyterianism. As for ourselves, we + determined to observe all theological differences between Protestants and + Roman Catholics, but leave Presbyterianism to gang its ain gait. We had + devoted hours—yes, days—in Edinburgh to the understanding of + the subtle and technical barriers which separated the Free Kirkers and the + United Presbyterians; and the first thing they did, after we had + completely mastered the subject, was to unite. It is all very well for + Salemina, who condenses her information and stows it away neatly; but we + who have small storage room and inferior methods of packing must be as + economical as possible in amassing facts. + </p> + <p> + If we had been touring properly, of course we should have been going to + the Giant's Causeway and the swinging Bridge at Carrick-a-rede; but + propriety is the last thing we aim at in our itineraries. We were within + worshipping distance of two rather important shrines in our literary + pilgrimage; for we had met a very knowledgeable traveller at the Sorley + Boy, and after a little chat with him had planned a day of surprises for + the academic Miss Peabody. We proposed to halt at Port Stewart, lunch at + Coleraine, sleep at Limavady; and meantime Salemina was to read all the + books at her command, and guess, we hoped vainly, the why and wherefore of + these stops. + </p> + <p> + On the appointed day, the lady in question drove in state on a car with + Benella, but Francesca and I hired a couple of very wheezy bicycles for + the journey. We had a thrilling start; for it chanced to be a fair day in + Ballycastle, and we wheeled through a sea of squealing, bolting pigs, + stupid sheep, and unruly cows, all pursued on every side by their drivers. + To alight from a bicycle in such a whirl of beasts always seems certain + death; to remain seated diminishes, I believe, the number of one's days of + life to an appreciable extent. Francesca chose the first course, and, + standing still in the middle of the street, called upon everybody within + hearing to save her, and that right speedily. A crowd of 'jibbing' heifers + encircled her on all sides, while a fat porker, 'who (his driver said) + might be a prize pig by his impidence,' and a donkey that was feelin' + blue-mouldy for want of a batin', tried to poke their noses into the + group. Salemina's only weapon was her scarlet parasol, and, standing on + the step of her side-car, she brandished this with such terrible effect + that the only bull in the cavalcade put up his head and roared. “Have + conduct, woman dear!” cried his owner to Salemina. “Sure if you kape on + moidherin' him wid that ombrelly, you'll have him ugly on me immajently, + and the divil a bit o' me can stop him.” “Don't be cryin' that way, + asthore,” he went on, going to Francesca's side, and piloting her tenderly + to the hedge. “Sure I'll nourish him wid the whip whin I get him to a more + remoted place.” + </p> + <p> + We had no more adventures, but Francesca was so unhinged by her + unfortunate exit from Ballycastle that, after a few miles, she announced + her intention of putting her machine and herself on the car; whereupon + Benella proclaimed herself a competent cyclist, and climbed down blithely + to mount the discarded wheel. Her ideas of propriety were by this time so + developed that she rode ten or twelve feet behind me, where she looked + quaint enough, in her black dress and little black bonnet with its white + lawn strings. + </p> + <p> + “Sure it's a quare footman ye have, me lady,” said a genial and friendly + person who was sitting by the roadside smoking his old dudeen. An + Irishman, somehow, is always going to his work 'jist,' or coming from it, + or thinking how it shall presently be done, or meditating on the next step + in the process, or resting a bit before taking it up again, or reflecting + whether the weather is on the whole favourable to its proper performance; + but however poor and needy he may be, it is somewhat difficult to catch + him at the precise working moment. Mr. Alfred Austin says of the Irish + peasants that idleness and poverty seem natural to them. “Life to the + Scotsman or Englishman is a business to conduct, to extend, to render + profitable. To the Irishman it is a dream, a little bit of passing + consciousness on a rather hard pillow; the hard part of it being the + occasional necessity for work, which spoils the tenderness and continuity + of the dream.” + </p> + <p> + Presently we passed the Castle, rode along a neat quay with a row of + houses advertising lodgings to let; and here is Lever Cottage, where Harry + Lorrequer was written; for Lever was dispensary doctor in Port Stewart + when his first book was appearing in the Dublin University Magazine. + </p> + <p> + We did not fancy Coleraine; it looked like anything but Cuil-rathain, a + ferny corner. Kitty's sweet buttermilk may have watered, but it had not + fertilised the plain, though the town itself seemed painfully prosperous. + Neither the Clothworkers' Inn nor the Corporation Arms looked a pleasant + stopping-place, and the humble inn we finally selected for a brief rest + proved to be about as gay as a family vault, with a landlady who had all + the characteristics of a poker except its occasional warmth, as the + Liberator said of another stiff and formal person. Whether she was Scot or + Saxon I know not; she was certainly not Celt, and certainly no Barney + McCrea of her day would have kissed her if she had spilled ever so many + pitchers of sweet buttermilk over the plain; so we took the railway, and + departed with delight for Limavady, where Thackeray, fresh from his visit + to Charles Lever, laid his poetical tribute at the stockingless feet of + Miss Margaret of that town. + </p> + <p> + O'Cahan, whose chief seat was at Limavady, was the principal urraght of + O'Neill, and when one of the great clan was 'proclaimed' at Tullaghogue it + was the magnificent privilege of the O'Cahan to toss a shoe over his head. + We slept at O'Cahan's Hotel, and—well, one must sleep; and wherever + we attend to that necessary function without due preparation, we generally + make a mistake in the selection of the particular spot. Protestantism does + not necessarily mean cleanliness, although it may have natural tendencies + in that direction; and we find, to our surprise ( a surprise rooted, + probably, in bigotry), that Catholicism can be as clean as a penny + whistle, now and again. There were no special privileges at O'Cahan's for + maids, and Benella, therefore, had a delightful evening in the coffee-room + with a storm-bound commercial traveller. As for Francesca and me, there + was plenty to occupy us in our regular letters to Ronald and Himself; and + Salemina wrote several sheets of thin paper to somebody,—no one in + America, either, for we saw her put on a penny stamp. + </p> + <p> + Our pleasant duties over, we looked into the cheerful glow of the turf + sods while I read aloud Thackeray's Peg of Limavady. He spells the town + with two d's, by the way, to insure its being rhymed properly with Paddy + and daddy. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Riding from Coleraine + (Famed for lovely Kitty), + Came a Cockney bound + Unto Derry city; + Weary was his soul, + Shivering and sad he + Bumped along the road + Leads to Limavaddy. + + . . . . + + Limavaddy inn's + But a humble baithouse, + Where you may procure + Whisky and potatoes; + Landlord at the door + Gives a smiling welcome + To the shivering wights + Who to his hotel come. + Landlady within + Sits and knits a stocking, + With a wary foot + Baby's cradle rocking. + + . . . . + + Presently a maid + Enters with the liquor + (Half a pint of ale + Frothing in a beaker). + Gads! I didn't know + What my beating heart meant: + Hebe's self I thought + Entered the apartment. + As she came she smiled, + And the smile bewitching, + On my word and honour, + Lighted all the kitchen! + + . . . . + + This I do declare, + Happy is the laddy + Who the heart can share + Of Peg of Limavaddy. + Married if she were, + Blest would be the daddy + Of the children fair + Of Peg of Limavaddy. + Beauty is not rare + In the land of Paddy, + Fair beyond compare + Is Peg of Limavaddy.' +</pre> + <p> + This cheered us a bit; but the wind sighed in the trees, the rain dripped + on the window panes, and we felt for the first time a consciousness of + home-longing. Francesca sat on a low stool, looking into the fire, + Ronald's last letter in her lap, and it was easy indeed to see that her + heart was in the Highlands. She has been giving us a few extracts from the + communication, an unusual proceeding, as Ronald, in his ordinary + correspondence, is evidently not a quotable person. We smiled over his + account of a visit to his old parish of Inchcaldy in Fifeshire. There is a + certain large orphanage in the vicinity, in which we had all taken an + interest, chiefly because our friends the Macraes of Pettybaw House were + among its guardians. + </p> + <p> + It seems that Lady Rowardennan of the Castle had promised the orphans, en + bloc, that those who passed through an entire year without once falling + into falsehood should have a treat or festival of their own choosing. On + the eventful day of decision, those orphans, male and female, who had not + for a twelve-month deviated from the truth by a hair's-breadth, raised + their little white hands (emblematic of their pure hearts and lips), and + were solemnly counted. Then came the unhappy moment when a scattering of + small grimy paws was timidly put up, and their falsifying owners confessed + that they had fibbed more than once during the year. These tearful fibbers + were also counted, and sent from the room, while the non-fibbers chose + their reward, which was to sail around the Bass Rock and the Isle of May + in a steam tug. + </p> + <p> + On the festival day, the matron of the orphanage chanced on the happy + thought that it might have a moral effect on the said fibbers to see the + non-fibbers depart in a blaze of glory; so they were taken to the beach to + watch the tug start on its voyage. The confessed criminals looked wretched + enough, Ronald wrote, when forsaken by their virtuous playmates, who + stepped jauntily on board, holding their sailor hats on their heads and + carrying nice little luncheon baskets; so miserably unhappy, indeed, did + they seem that certain sympathetic and ill-balanced persons sprang to + their relief, providing them with sandwiches, sweeties, and pennies. It + was a lovely day, and when the fibbers' tears were dried they played + merrily on the sand, their games directed and shared by the aforesaid + misguided persons. + </p> + <p> + Meantime a high wind had sprung up at sea, and the tug was tossed to and + fro upon the foamy deep. So many and so varied were the ills of the + righteous orphans that the matron could not attend to all of them + properly, and they were laid on benches or on the deck, where they + languidly declined luncheon, and wept for a sight of the land. At five the + tug steamed up to the home landing. A few of the voyagers were able to + walk ashore, some were assisted, others were carried; and as the pale, + haggard, truthful company gathered on the beach, they were met by a + boisterous, happy crowd of Ananiases and Sapphiras, sunburned, warm, full + of tea and cakes and high spirits, and with the moral law already so + uncertain in their minds that at the sight of the suffering non-liars it + tottered to its fall. + </p> + <p> + Ronald hopes that Lady Rowardennan and the matron may perhaps have gained + some useful experience by the incident, though the orphans, truthful and + untruthful, are hopelessly mixed in their views of right-doing. + </p> + <p> + He is staying now at the great house of the neighbourhood, while his new + manse is being put in order. Roderick, the piper, he says, has a grand + collection of pipe tunes given him by an officer of the Black Watch. + Francesca, when she and Ronald visit the Castle on their wedding journey, + is to have 'Johnnie Cope' to wake her in the morning, 'Brose and Butter' + just before dinner is served, a reel, a strathspey, and a march while the + meal is going on, and, last of all, the 'Highland Wedding.' Ronald does + not know whether there are any Lowland Scots or English words to this pipe + tune, but it is always played in the Highlands after the actual marriage, + and the words in Gaelic are, 'Alas for me if the wife I have married is + not a good one, for she will eat the food and not do the work!' + </p> + <p> + “You don't think Ronald meant anything personal in quoting that?” I asked + Francesca teasingly; but she shot me such a reproachful look that I hadn't + the heart to persist, her face was so full of self-distrust and love and + longing. + </p> + <p> + What creatures of sense we are, after all; and in certain moods, of what + avail is it if the beloved object is alive, safe, loyal, so long as he is + absent? He may write letters like Horace Walpole or Chesterfield—better + still, like Alfred de Musset, or George Sand, or the Brownings; but one + clasp of the hand that moved the pen is worth an ocean of words! You + believe only in the etherealised, the spiritualised passion of love; you + know that it can exist through years of separation, can live and grow + where a coarser feeling would die for lack of nourishment; still though + your spirit should be strong enough to meet its spirit mate somewhere in + the realms of imagination, and the bodily presence ought not really to be + necessary, your stubborn heart of flesh craves sight and sound and touch. + That is the only pitiless part of death, it seems to me. We have had the + friendship, the love, the sympathy, and these are things that can never + die; they have made us what we are, and they are by their very nature + immortal; yet we would come near to bartering all these spiritual + possessions for the 'touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a voice + that is still.' + </p> + <p> + How could I ever think life easy enough to be ventured on alone! It is so + beautiful to feel oneself of infinite value to one other human creature; + to hear beside one's own step the tread of a chosen companion on the same + road. And if the way be dusty or the hills difficult to climb, each can + say to the other, 'I love you, dear; lean on me and walk in confidence. I + can always be counted on, whatever happens.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIX. 'In ould Donegal.' + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Here's a health to you, Father O'Flynn! + Slainte, and slainte, and slainte agin; + Pow'rfulest preacher and tenderest teacher, + And kindliest creature in ould Donegal.' + Alfred Perceval Graves. + + Coomnageeha Hotel, + In Ould Donegal. +</pre> + <p> + It is a far cry from the kingdom of Kerry to 'ould Donegal,' where we have + been travelling for a week, chiefly in the hope of meeting Father O'Flynn. + We miss our careless, genial, ragged, southern Paddy just a bit; for he + was a picturesque, likable figure, on the whole, and easier to know than + this Ulster Irishman, the product of a mixed descent. + </p> + <p> + We did not stop long in Belfast; for if there is anything we detest, when + on our journeys, it is to mix too much with people of industry, thrift, + and business sagacity. Sturdy, prosperous, calculating, well-to-do + Protestants are well enough in their way, and undoubtedly they make a very + good backbone for Ireland; but we crave something more romantic than the + citizen virtues, or we should have remained in our own country, where they + are tolerably common, although we have not as yet anything approaching + over-production. + </p> + <p> + Belfast, it seems, is, and has always been, a centre of Presbyterianism. + The members of the Presbytery protested against the execution of Charles + I., and received an irate reply from Milton, who said that 'the blockish + presbyters of Clandeboy' were 'egregious liars and impostors,' who meant + to stir up rebellion 'from their unchristian synagogue at Belfast in a + barbarous nook of Ireland.' + </p> + <p> + Dr. La Touche writes to Salemina that we need not try to understand all + the religious and political complications which surround us. They are by + no means as violent or as many as in Thackeray's day, when the great + English author found nine shades of politico-religious differences in the + Irish Liverpool. As the impartial observer must, in such a case, + necessarily displease eight parties, and probably the whole nine, + Thackeray advised a rigid abstinence from all intellectual curiosity. Dr. + La Touche says, if we wish to know the north better, it will do us no harm + to study the Plantation of Ulster, the United Irish movement, Orangeism, + Irish Jacobitism, the effect of French and Swiss Republicanism in the + evolution of public sentiment, and the close relation and affection that + formerly existed between the north of Ireland and New England. (This last + topic seems to appeal to Salemina particularly.) He also alludes to Tories + and Rapparees, Rousseau and Thomas Paine and Owen Roe O'Neill, but I have + entirely forgotten their connection with the subject. Francesca and I are + thoroughly enjoying ourselves, as only those people can who never take + notes, and never try, when Pandora's box is opened in their neighbourhood, + to seize the heterogeneous contents and put them back properly, with nice + little labels on them. + </p> + <p> + Ireland is no longer a battlefield of English parties, neither is it + wholly a laboratory for political experiment; but from having been both + the one and the other, its features are a bit knocked out of shape and + proportion, as it were. We have bought two hideous engravings of the + Battle of the Boyne and the Secret of England's Greatness; and whenever we + stay for a night in any inn where perchance these are not, we pin them on + the wall, and are received into the landlady's heart at once. I don't know + which is the finer study: the picture of his Majesty William III. crossing + the Boyne, or the plump little Queen presenting a huge family Bible to an + apparently uninterested black youth. In the latter work of art the eye is + confused at first as the three principal features approach each other very + nearly in size, and Francesca asked innocently, “Which IS the secret of + England's greatness—the Bible, the Queen, or the black man?” + </p> + <p> + This is a thriving town, and we are at a smart hotel which had for two + years an English manager. The scent of the roses hangs round it still, but + it is gradually growing fainter under the stress of small patronage and + other adverse circumstances. The table linen is a trifle ragged, though + clean; but the circle of red and green wineglasses by each plate, an array + not borne out by the number of vintages on the wine-list, the tiny ferns + scattered everywhere in innumerable pots, and the dozens of minute glass + vases, each holding a few blue hyacinths, give an air of urban elegance to + the dining-room. The guests are requested, in printed placards, to be + punctual at meals, especially at the seven-thirty table d'hote dinner, and + the management itself is punctual at this function about seven forty-five. + This is much better than in the south, where we, and sixty other + travellers, were once kept waiting fifteen minutes between the soup and + the fish course. When we were finally served with half-cooked turbot, a + pleasant-spoken waitress went about to each table, explaining to the irate + guests that the cook was 'not at her best.' We caught a glimpse of her as + she was being borne aloft, struggling and eloquent, and were able to + understand the reason of her unachieved ideals. + </p> + <p> + There is nothing sacred about dinner to the average Irishman; he is + willing to take anything that comes, as a rule, and cooking is not + regarded as a fine art here. Perhaps occasional flashes of starvation and + seasons of famine have rendered the Irish palate easier to please; at all + events, wherever the national god may be, its pedestal is not in the + stomach. Our breakfast, day after day, week after week, has been bacon and + eggs. One morning we had tomatoes on bacon, and concluded that the cook + had experienced religion or fallen in love, since both these operations + send a flush of blood to the brain and stimulate the mental processes. But + no; we found simply that the eggs had not been brought in time for + breakfast. There is no consciousness of monotony—far from it; the + nobility and gentry can at least eat what they choose, and they choose + bacon and eggs. There is no running of the family gamut, either, from + plain boiled to omelet; poached or fried eggs on bacon it is, weekdays and + Sundays. The luncheon, too, is rarely inspired: they eat cold joint of + beef with pickled beetroot, or mutton and boiled potatoes, with unfailing + regularity, finishing off at most hotels with semolina pudding, a + concoction intended for, and appealing solely to, the taste of the + toothless infant, who, having just graduated from rubber rings, has not a + jaded palate. + </p> + <p> + How the long breakfast bill at an up-to-date Belfast hostelry awed us, + after weeks of bacon and eggs! The viands on the menu swam together before + our dazed eyes. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Porridge + Fillets of Plaice + Whiting + Fried Sole + Savoury Omelet + Kidneys and Bacon + Cold Meats. +</pre> + <p> + I looked at this array like one in a dream, realising that I had lost the + power of selection, and remembering the scientific fact that unused + faculties perish for want of exercise. The man who was serving us rattled + his tray, shifted his weight wearily from one foot to the other and + cleared his throat suggestively; until at last I said hastily, “Bacon and + eggs, please,” and Salemina, the most critical person in the party, + murmured, “The same.” + </p> + <p> + It is odd to see how soon, if one has a strong sense of humanity, one + feels at home in a foreign country. I, at least, am never impressed by the + differences, but only by the similarities, between English-speaking + peoples. We take part in the life about us here, living each experience as + fully as we can, whether it be a 'hiring fair' in Donegal or a pilgrimage + to the Doon 'Well of Healing.' Not the least part of the pleasure is to + watch its effect upon the Derelict. Where, or in what way, could three + persons hope to gain as much return from a monthly expenditure of twenty + dollars, added to her living and travelling expenses, as we have had in + Miss Benella Dusenberry? We sometimes ask ourselves what we found to do + with our time before she came into the family, and yet she is as busy as + possible herself. + </p> + <p> + Having twice singed Francesca's beautiful locks, she no longer attempts + hair-dressing; while she never accomplishes the lacing of an evening dress + without putting her knee in the centre of your back once, at least, during + the operation. She can button shoes, and she can mend and patch and darn + to perfection; she has a frenzy for small laundry operations, and, after + washing the windows of her room, she adorns every pane of glass with a + fine cambric handkerchief, and, stretching a line between the bedpost and + the bureau knob, she hangs out her white neckties and her bonnet strings + to dry. She has learned to pack reasonably well, too. But if she has + another passion beside those of washing and mending, it is for making + bags. She buys scraps of gingham and print, and makes cases of every + possible size and for every possible purpose; so that all our personal + property, roughly speaking—hair-brushes, shoes, writing materials, + pincushions, photographs, underclothing, gloves, medicines,—is + bagged. The strings in the bags pull both ways, and nothing is commoner + than to see Benella open and close seventeen or eighteen of them when she + is searching for Francesca's rubbers or my gold thimble. But what other + lady's-maid or travelling companion ever had half the Derelict's unique + charm and interest, half her conversational power, her unusual and + original defects and virtues? Put her in a third-class carriage when we go + 'first,' and she makes friends with all her fellow-travellers, discussing + Home Rule or Free Silver with the utmost prejudice and vehemence, and + freeing her mind on any point, to the delight of the natives. + Occasionally, when borne along by the joy of argument, she forgets to + change at the point of junction, and has to be found and dragged out of + the railway carriage; occasionally, too, she is left behind when taking a + cheerful cup of tea at a way station, but this is comparatively seldom. + Her stories of life belowstairs in the various inns and hotels, her + altercations with housemaid or boots or landlady in our behalf, all add a + zest to the day's doings. + </p> + <p> + Benella's father was an itinerant preacher, her mother the daughter of a + Vermont farmer; and although she was left an orphan at ten years, + educating and supporting herself as best she could after that, she is as + truly a combination of both parents as her name is a union of their two + names. + </p> + <p> + “I'm so 'fraid I shan't run across any of grandmother's folks over here, + after all,” she said yesterday, “though I ask every nice-appearin' person + I meet anywheres if he or she's any kin to Mary Boyce of Trim; and then, + again, I'm scared to death for fear I shall find I'm own cousin to one of + these here critters that ain't brushed their hair nor washed their apurns + for a month o' Sundays! I declare, it keeps me real nerved up... I think + it's partly the climate that makes 'em so slack,” she philosophised, + pinning a new bag on her knee, and preparing to backstitch the seam. + “There's nothin' like a Massachusetts winter for puttin' the + git-up-an'-git into you. Land! you've got to move round smart, or you'd + freeze in your tracks. These warm, moist places always makes folks lazy; + and when they're hot enough, if you take notice, it makes heathen of 'em. + It always seems so queer to me that real hot weather and the Christian + religion don't seem to git along together. P'r'aps it's just as well that + the idol-worshippers should get used to heat in this world, for they'll + have it consid'able hot in the next one, I guess! And see here, Mrs. + Beresford, will you get me ten cents'—I mean sixpence—worth o' + red gingham to make Miss Monroe a bag for Mr. Macdonald's letters? They go + sprawlin' all over her trunk; and there's so many of 'em I wish to the + land she'd send 'em to the bank while she's travellin'!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XX. We evict a tenant. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Soon as you lift the latch, little ones are meeting you, + Soon as you're 'neath the thatch, kindly looks are + greeting you; + Scarcely have you time to be holding out the fist to them— + Down by the fireside you're sitting in the midst of them.' + Francis Fahy. + + Roothythanthrum Cottage, + Knockcool, County Tyrone. +</pre> + <p> + Of course, we have always intended sooner or later to forsake this life of + hotels and lodgings, and become either Irish landlords or tenants, or + both, with a view to the better understanding of one burning Irish + question. We heard of a charming house in County Down, which could be + secured by renting it the first of May for the season; but as we could + occupy it only for a month at most we were obliged to forego the + opportunity. + </p> + <p> + “We have been told from time immemorial that absenteeism has been one of + the curses of Ireland,” I remarked to Salemina; “so, whatever the charms + of the cottage in Rostrevor, do not let us take it, and in so doing become + absentee landlords.” + </p> + <p> + “It was you two who hired the 'wee theekit hoosie' in Pettybaw,” said + Francesca. “I am going to be in the vanguard of the next house-hunting + expedition; in fact, I have almost made up my mind to take my third of + Benella and be an independent householder for a time. If I am ever to + learn the management of an establishment before beginning to experiment on + Ronald's, now is the proper moment.” + </p> + <p> + “Ronald must have looked the future in the face when he asked you to marry + him,” I replied, “although it is possible that he looked only at you, and + therefore it is his duty to endure your maiden incapacities; but why + should Salemina and I suffer you to experiment upon us, pray?” + </p> + <p> + It was Benella, after all, who inveigled us into making our first + political misstep; for, after avoiding the sin of absenteeism, we fell + into one almost as black, inasmuch as we evicted a tenant. It is part of + Benella's heterogeneous and unusual duty to take a bicycle and scour the + country in search of information for us: to find out where shops are, + post-office, lodgings, places for good sketches, ruins, pretty roads for + walks and drives, and many other things, too numerous to mention. She came + home from one of these expeditions flushed with triumph. + </p> + <p> + “I've got you a house!” she exclaimed proudly. “There's a lady in it now, + but she'll move out to-morrow when we move in; and we are to pay seventeen + dollars fifty—I mean three pound ten—a week for the house, + with privilege of renewal, and she throws in the hired girl.” (Benella is + hopelessly provincial in the matter of language: butler, chef, boots, + footman, scullery-maid, all come under the generic term of 'help.') + </p> + <p> + “I knew our week at this hotel was out to-morrow,” she continued, “and + we've about used up this place, anyway, and the new village that I've b'en + to is the prettiest place we've seen yet; it's got an up-and-down hill to + it, just like home, and the house I've partly rented is opposite a fair + green, where there's a market every week, and Wednesday's the day; and + we'll save money, for I shan't cost you so much when we can housekeep.” + </p> + <p> + “Would you mind explaining a little more in detail,” asked Salemina + quietly, “and telling me whether you have hired the house for yourself or + for us?” + </p> + <p> + “For us all,” she replied genially—“you don't suppose I'd leave you? + I liked the looks of this cottage the first time I passed it, and I got + acquainted with the hired girl by going in the side yard and asking for a + drink. The next time I went I got acquainted with the lady, who's got the + most outlandish name that ever was wrote down, and here it is on a paper; + and to-day I asked her if she didn't want to rent her house for a week to + three quiet ladies without children and only one of them married and him + away. She said it wa'n't her own, and I asked her if she couldn't sublet + to desirable parties—I knew she was as poor as Job's turkey by her + looks; and she said it would suit her well enough, if she had any place to + go. I asked her if she wouldn't like to travel, and she said no. Then I + says, 'Wouldn't you like to go to visit some of your folks?' And she said + she s'posed she could stop a week with her son's wife, just to oblige us. + So I engaged a car to drive you down this afternoon just to look at the + place; and if you like it we can easy move over to-morrow. The sun's so + hot I asked the stableman if he hadn't got a top buggy, or a surrey, or a + carryall; but he never heard tell of any of 'em; he didn't even know a + shay. I forgot to tell you the lady is a Protestant, and the hired girl's + name is Bridget Thunder, and she's a Roman Catholic, but she seems extra + smart and neat. I was kind of in hopes she wouldn't be, for I thought I + should enjoy trainin' her, and doin' that much for the country.” + </p> + <p> + And so we drove over to this village of Knockcool (Knockcool, by the way, + means 'Hill of Sleep'), as much to make amends for Benella's + eccentricities as with any idea of falling in with her proposal. The house + proved everything she said, and in Mrs. Wogan Odevaine Benella had found a + person every whit as remarkable as herself. She is evidently an Irish + gentlewoman of very small means, very flexible in her views and + convictions, very talkative and amusing, and very much impressed with + Benella as a product of New England institutions. We all took a fancy to + one another at first sight, and we heard with real pleasure that her son's + wife lived only a few miles away. We insisted on paying the evicted lady + the three pounds ten in advance for the first week. She seemed surprised, + and we remembered that Irish tenants, though often capable of shedding + blood for a good landlord, are generally averse to paying him rent. Mrs. + Wogan Odevaine then drove away in high good humour, taking some personal + belongings with her, and promising to drink tea with us some time during + the week. She kissed Francesca good-bye, told her she was the prettiest + creature she had ever seen, and asked if she might have a peep at all her + hats and frocks when she came to visit us. + </p> + <p> + Salemina says that Rhododendron Cottage (pronounced by Bridget Thunder + 'Roothythanthrum') being the property of one landlord and the residence of + four tenants at the same time makes us in a sense participators in the old + system of rundale tenure, long since abolished. The good-will or + tenant-right was infinitely subdivided, and the tiniest holdings sometimes + existed in thirty-two pieces. The result of this joint tenure was an + extraordinary tangle, particularly when it went so far as the subdivision + of 'one cow's grass,' or even of a horse, which, being owned jointly by + three men, ultimately went lame, because none of them would pay for + shoeing the fourth foot. + </p> + <p> + We have been here five days, and instead of reproving Benella, as we + intended, for gross assumption of authority in the matter, we are more + than ever her bond-slaves. The place is altogether charming, and here it + is for you. + </p> + <p> + Knockcool Street is Knockcool village itself, as with almost all Irish + towns; but the line of little thatched cabins is brightened at the far end + by the neat house of Mrs. Wogan Odevaine, set a trifle back in its own + garden, by the pillared porch of a modest hotel, and by the barracks of + the Royal Irish Constabulary. The sign of the Provincial Bank of Ireland + almost faces our windows; and although it is used as a meal-shop the rest + of the week, they tell us that two thousand pounds in money is needed + there on fair-days. Next to it is a little house, the upper part of which + is used as a Methodist chapel; and old Nancy, the caretaker, is already a + good friend of ours. It is a humble house of prayer, but Nancy takes much + pride in it, and showed us the melodeon, 'worked by a young lady from + Rossantach,' the Sunday-school rooms, and even the cupboard where she + keeps the jugs for the love-feast and the linen and wine for the + sacrament, which is administered once in three years. Next comes the + Hoeys' cabin, where we have always a cordial welcome, but where we never + go all together, for fear of embarrassing the family, which is a large one—three + generations under one roof, and plenty of children in the last. Old Mrs. + Hoey does not rightly know her age, she says; but her daughter Ellen was + born the year of the Big Wind, and she herself was twenty-two when she was + married, and you might allow a year between that and when Ellen was born, + and make your own calculation. + </p> + <p> + She tells many stories of the Big Wind, which we learn was in 1839, making + Ellen's age about sixty-one and her mother's eighty-four. The fury of the + storm was such that it forced the water of the Lough far ashore, stranding + the fish among the rocks, where they were found dead by hundreds. When + next morning dawned there was confusion and ruin on every side: the cross + had tumbled from the chapel, the tombstones were overturned in the + graveyard, trees and branches blocked the roadways, cabins were stripped + of their thatches, and cattle found dead in the fields; so it is small + wonder old Mrs. Hoey remembers the day of Ellen's birth, weak as she is on + all other dates. + </p> + <p> + Ellen's husband, Miles M'Gillan, is the carpenter on an estate in the + neighbourhood. His shop opens out of the cabin, and I love to sit by the + Hoey fireside, where the fan bellows, turned by a crank, brings in an + instant a fresh flame to the sods of smouldering turf, and watch a wee + Colleen Bawn playing among her daddy's shavings, tying them about her + waist and fat wrists, hanging them on her ears and in among her brown + curls. Mother Hoey says that I do not speak like an American—that I + have not so many 'caperin's' in my language, whatever they may be; and so + we have long delightful chats together when I go in for a taste of Ellen's + griddle bread, cooked over the peat coals. Francesca, meantime, is calling + on Mrs. O'Rourke, whose son has taken more than fifty bicycle prizes; and + no stranger can come to Knockcool without inspecting the brave show of + silver, medals, and china that adorn the bedroom, and make the O'Rourkes + the proudest couple in ould Donegal. Phelim O'Rourke smokes his dudeen on + a bench by the door, and invites the passer-by to enter and examine the + trophies. His trousers are held up with bits of rope arranged as + suspenders; indeed, his toilet is so much a matter of strings that it must + be a work of time to tie on his clothing in the morning, in case he takes + it off at night, which is open to doubt; nevertheless it is he that's the + satisfied man, and the luck would be on him as well as on e'er a man + alive, were he not kilt wid the cough intirely! Mrs. Phelim's skirt shows + a triangle of red flannel behind, where the two ends of the waistband fail + to meet by about six inches, but are held together by a piece of white + ball fringe. Any informality in this part of her costume is, however, more + than atoned for by the presence of a dingy bonnet of magenta velvet, which + she always dons for visitors. + </p> + <p> + The O'Rourke family is the essence of hospitality, so their kitchen is + generally full of children and visitors; and on the occasion when Salemina + issued from the prize bedroom, the guests were so busy with conversation + that, to use their own language, divil a wan of thim clapt eyes on the + O'Rourke puppy, and they did not notice that the baste was floundering in + a tub of soft, newly made butter standing on the floor. He was indeed + desperately involved, being so completely wound up in the waxy mass that + he could not climb over the tub's edge. He looked comical and miserable + enough in his plight: the children and the visitors thought so, and so did + Francesca and I; but Salemina went directly home, and kept her room for an + hour. She is so sensitive! Och, thin, it's herself that's the marthyr + intirely! We cannot see that the incident affects us so long as we avoid + the O'Rourkes' butter; but she says, covering her eyes with her + handkerchief and shuddering: “Suppose there are other tubs and other pup—Oh, + I cannot bear the thought of it, dears! Please change the subject, and + order me two hard-boiled eggs for dinner.” + </p> + <p> + Leaving Knockcool behind us, we walk along the country road between high, + thick hedges: here a clump of weather-beaten trees, there a stretch of bog + with silver pools and piles of black turf, then a sudden view of hazy + hills, a grove of beeches, a great house with a splendid gateway, and + sometimes, riding through it, a figure new to our eyes, a Lady Master of + the Hounds, handsome in her habit with red facings. We pass many an + 'evicted farm,' the ruined house with the rushes growing all about it, and + a lonely goat browsing near; and on we walk, until we can see the roofs of + Lisdara's solitary cabin row, huddled under the shadow of a gloomy hill + topped by the ruins of an old fort. All is silent, and the blue haze of + the peat smoke curls up from the thatch. Lisdara's young people have + mostly gone to the Big Country; and how many tears have dropped on the + path we are treading, as Peggy and Mary, Cormac and Miles, with a wooden + box in the donkey cart behind them, or perhaps with only a bundle hanging + from a blackthorn stick, have come down the hill to seek their fortune! + Perhaps Peggy is barefooted; perhaps Mary has little luggage beyond a pot + of shamrock or a mountain thrush in a wicker cage; but what matter for + that? They are used to poverty and hardship and hunger, and although they + are going quite penniless to a new country, sure it can be no worse than + the old. This is the happy-go-lucky Irish philosophy, and there is mixed + with it a deal of simple trust in God. + </p> + <p> + How many exiles and wanderers, both those who have no fortune and those + who have failed to win it, dream of these cabin rows, these sweet-scented + boreens with their 'banks of furze unprofitably gay,' these leaking + thatches with the purple loosestrife growing in their ragged seams, and, + looking backward across the distance of time and space, give the humble + spot a tender thought, because after all it was in their dear native isle! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Pearly are the skies in the country of my fathers, + Purple are thy mountains, home of my heart; + Mother of my yearning, love of all my longings, + Keep me in remembrance long leagues apart.' +</pre> + <p> + I have been thinking in this strain because of an old dame in the first + cabin in Lisdara row, whose daughter is in America, and who can talk of + nothing else. She shows us the last letter, with its postal order for + sixteen shillings, that Mida sent from New York, with little presents for + blind Timsy, 'dark since he were three years old,' and for lame Dan, or + the 'Bocca,' as he is called in Lisdara. Mida was named for the virgin + saint of Killeedy in Limerick. [*] “And it's she that's good enough to + bear a saint's name, glory be to God!” exclaims the old mother returning + Mida's photograph to a hole in the wall where the pig cannot possibly + molest it. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Saint Mide, the Brigit of Munster. +</pre> + <p> + At the far end of the row lives 'Omadhaun Pat.' He is a 'little sthrange,' + you understand; not because he was born with too small a share of wit, but + because he fell asleep one evening when he was lying on the grass up by + the old fort, and—'well, he was niver the same thing since.' There + are places in Ireland, you must know, where if you lie down upon the green + earth and sink into untimely slumber, you will 'wake silly'; or, for that + matter, although it is doubtless a risk, you may escape the fate of waking + silly, and wake a poet! Carolan fell asleep upon a faery rath, and it was + the faeries who filled his ears with music, so that he was haunted by the + tunes ever afterward; and perhaps all poets, whether they are conscious of + it or not, fall asleep on faery raths before they write sweet songs. + </p> + <p> + Little Omadhaun Pat is pale, hollow-eyed, and thin; but that, his mother + says, is 'because he is over-studyin' for his confirmation.' The great day + is many weeks away, but to me it seems likely that, when the examination + comes, Pat will be where he will know more than the priests! + </p> + <p> + Next door lives old Biddy Tuke. She is too aged to work, and she sits in + her doorway, always a pleasant figure in her short woollen petticoat, her + little shawl, and her neat white cap. She has pitaties for food, with + stirabout of Indian meal once a day (oatmeal is too dear), tea + occasionally when there is sixpence left from the rent, and she has more + than once tasted bacon in her eighty years of life; more than once, she + tells me proudly, for it's she that's had the good sons to help her a bit + now and then,—four to carry her and one to walk after, which is the + Irish notion of an ideal family. + </p> + <p> + “It's no chuckens I do be havin' now, ma'am,” she says, “but it's a + darlin' flock I had ten year ago, whin Dinnis was harvestin' in Scotland! + Sure it was two-and-twinty chuckens I had on the floore wid meself that + year, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, it's a conthrary world, that's a mortial fact!” as Phelim O'Rourke is + wont to say when his cough is bad; and for my life I can frame no better + wish for ould Biddy Tuke and Omadhaun Pat, dark Timsy and the Bocca, than + that they might wake, one of these summer mornings, in the harvest-field + of the seventh heaven. That place is reserved for the saints, and surely + these unfortunates, acquainted with grief like Another, might without + difficulty find entrance there. + </p> + <p> + I am not wise enough to say how much of all this squalor and wretchedness + and hunger is the fault of the people themselves, how much of it belongs + to circumstances and environment, how much is the result of past errors of + government, how much is race, how much is religion. I only know that + children should never be hungry, that there are ignorant human creatures + to be taught how to live; and if it is a hard task, the sooner it is begun + the better, both for teachers and pupils. It is comparatively easy to form + opinions and devise remedies, when one knows the absolute truth of things; + but it is so difficult to find the truth here, or at least there are so + many and such different truths to weigh in the balance,—the + Protestant and the Roman Catholic truth, the landlord's and the tenant's, + the Nationalist's and the Unionist's truth! I am sadly befogged, and so, + pushing the vexing questions all aside, I take dark Timsy, Bocca Lynch, + and Omadhaun Pat up on the green hillside near the ruined fort, to tell + them stories, and teach them some of the thousand things that happier, + luckier children know. + </p> + <p> + This is an island of anomalies: the Irish peasants will puzzle you, + perplex you, disappoint you with their inconsistencies, but keep from + liking them if you can! There are a few cleaner and more comfortable homes + in Lisdara and Knockcool than when we came, and Benella has been + invaluable, although her reforms, as might be expected, are of an unusual + character, and with her the wheels of progress never move silently, as + they should, but always squeak. With the two golden sovereigns given her + to spend, she has bought scissors, knives, hammers, boards, sewing + materials, knitting needles, and yarn,—everything to work with, and + nothing to eat, drink, or wear, though Heaven knows there is little enough + of such things in Lisdara. + </p> + <p> + “The quicker you wear 'em out, the better you'll suit me,” she says to the + awestricken Lisdarians. “I'm a workin' woman myself, an' it's my ladies' + money I've spent this time; but I'll make out to keep you in brooms and + scrubbin' brushes, if only you'll use 'em! You mustn't take offence at + anything I say to you, for I'm part Irish—my grandmother was Mary + Boyce of Trim; and if she hadn't come away and settled in Salem, + Massachusetts, mebbe I wouldn't have known a scrubbin' brush by sight + myself!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXI. Lachrymae Hibernicae. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'What ails you, Sister Erin, that your face + Is, like your mountains, still bedewed with tears? + . . . . . . . + Forgive! forget! lest harsher lips should say, + Like your turf fire, your rancour smoulders long, + And let Oblivion strew Time's ashes o'er your wrong.' + Alfred Austin. +</pre> + <p> + At tea-time, and again after our simple dinner—for Bridget Thunder's + repertory is not large, and Benella's is quite unsuited to the Knockcool + markets—we wend our way to a certain house that stands by itself on + the road to Lisdara. It is only a whitewashed cabin with green window + trimmings, but it is a larger and more comfortable one than we commonly + see, and it is the perfection of neatness within and without. The stone + wall that encloses it is whitewashed too, and the iron picket railing at + the top is painted bright green; the stones on the posts are green also, + and there is the prettiest possible garden, with nicely cut borders of + box. In fine, if ever there was a cheery place to look at, Sarsfield + Cottage is that one; and if ever there was a cheerless gentleman, it is + Mr. Jordan, who dwells there. Mrs. Wogan Odevaine commended him to us as + the man of all others with whom to discuss Irish questions, if we wanted, + for once in a way, to hear a thoroughly disaffected, outraged, + wrong-headed, and rancorous view of things. + </p> + <p> + “He is an encyclopaedia, and he is perfectly delightful on any topic in + the universe but the wrongs of Ireland,” said she; “not entirely sane and + yet a good father, and a good neighbour, and a good talker. Faith, he can + abuse the English government with any man alive! He has a smaller grudge + against you Americans, perhaps, than against most of the other nations, so + possibly he may elect to discuss something more cheerful than our national + grievances; if he does, and you want a livelier topic, just mention—let + me see—you might speak of Wentworth, who destroyed Ireland's woollen + industry, though it is true he laid the foundation of the linen trade, so + he wouldn't do, though Mr. Jordan is likely to remember the former point + and forget the latter. Well, just breathe the words 'Catholic + Disqualification' or 'Ulster Confiscation,' and you will have as pretty a + burst of oratory as you'd care to hear. You remember that exasperated + Englishman who asked in the House why Irishmen were always laying bare + their grievances. And Major O'Gorman bawled across the floor, 'Because + they want them redressed!'” + </p> + <p> + Salemina and I went to call on Mr. Jordan the very next day after our + arrival at Knockcool. Over the sitting-room or library door at Sarsfield + Cottage is a coat of arms with the motto of the Jordans, 'Percussus + surgam'; and as our friend is descended from Richard Jordan of Knock, who + died on the scaffold at Claremorris in the memorable year 1798, I find + that he is related to me, for one of the De Exeter Jordans married + Penelope O'Connor, daughter of the king of Connaught. He took her to wife, + too, when the espousal of anything Irish, names, language, apparel, + customs, or daughters, was high treason, and meant instant confiscation of + estates. I never thought of mentioning the relationship, for obviously a + family cannot hold grievances for hundreds of years and bequeath a sense + of humour at the same time. + </p> + <p> + The name Jordan is derived, it appears, from a noble ancestor who was + banner-bearer in the Crusades and who distinguished himself in many + battles, but particularly in one fought against the infidels on the banks + of the River Jordan in the Holy Land. In this conflict he was felled to + the ground three times during the day, but owing to his gigantic strength, + his great valour, and the number of the Saracens prostrated by his sword, + he succeeded in escaping death and keeping the banner of the Cross + hoisted; hence by way of eminence he was called Jordan; and the motto of + this illustrious family ever since has been, 'Though I fall I rise.' + </p> + <p> + Mr. Jordan's wife has been long dead, but he has four sons, only one of + them, Napper Tandy, living at home. Theobald Wolfe Tone is practising law + in Dublin; Hamilton Rowan is a physician in Cork; and Daniel O'Connell, + commonly called 'Lib' (a delicate reference to the Liberator), is still a + lad at Trinity. It is a great pity that Mr. Jordan could not have had a + larger family, that he might have kept fresh in the national heart the + names of a few more patriots; for his library walls, 'where Memory sits by + the altar she has raised to Woe,' are hung with engravings and prints of + celebrated insurgents, rebels, agitators, demagogues, denunciators, + conspirators,—pictures of anybody, in a word, who ever struck a + blow, right or wrong, well or ill judged, for the green isle. That gallant + Jacobite, Patrick Sarsfield, Burke, Grattan, Flood, and Robert Emmet stand + shoulder to shoulder with three Fenian gentlemen, names Allan, Larkin, and + O'Brien, known in ultra-Nationalist circles as the 'Manchester martyrs.' + For some years after this trio was hanged in Salford jail, it appears that + the infant mind was sadly mixed in its attempt to separate knowledge in + the concrete from the more or less abstract information contained in the + Catechism; and many a bishop was shocked, when asking in the confirmation + service, “Who are the martyrs?” to be told, “Allan, Larkin, and O'Brien, + me lord!” + </p> + <p> + Francesca says she longs to smuggle into Mr. Jordan's library a picture of + Tom Steele, one of Daniel O'Connell's henchmen, to whom he gave the title + of Head Pacificator of Ireland. Many amusing stories are told of this + official, of his gaudy uniform, his strut and swagger, and his pompous + language. At a political meeting on one occasion, he attacked, it seems, + one Peter Purcell, a Dublin tradesman who had fallen out with the + Liberator on some minor question. “Say no more on the subject, Tom,” cried + O'Connell, who was in the chair, “I forgive Peter from the bottom of my + heart.” + </p> + <p> + “You may forgive him, liberator and saviour of my country,” rejoined + Steele, in a characteristic burst of his amazingly fervent rhetoric. “Yes, + you, in the discharge of your ethereal functions as the moral regenerator + of Ireland, may forgive him; but, revered leader, I also have functions of + my own to perform; and I tell you that, as Head Pacificator of Ireland, I + can never forgive the diabolical villain that dared to dispute your august + will.” + </p> + <p> + The doughty Steele, who appears to have been but poorly fitted by nature + for his office, was considered at the time to be half a madman, but as Sir + James O'Connell, Daniel's candid brother, said, “And who the divil else + would take such a job?” At any rate, when we gaze at Mr. Jordan's gallery, + imagining the scene that would ensue were the breath of life breathed into + the patriots' quivering nostrils, we feel sure that the Head Pacificator + would be kept busy. + </p> + <p> + Dear old white-haired Mr. Jordan, known in select circles as 'Grievance + Jordan,' sitting in his library surrounded by his denunciators, + conspirators, and martyrs, with incendiary documents piled mountains high + on his desk—what a pathetic anachronism he is after all! + </p> + <p> + The shillelagh is hung on the wall now, for the most part, and faction + fighting is at an end; but in the very last moments of it there were still + 'ructions' between the Fitzgeralds and the Moriartys, and the age-old + reason of the quarrel was, according to the Fitzgeralds, the betrayal of + the 'Cause of Ireland.' The particular instance occurred in the sixteenth + century, but no Fitzgerald could ever afterward meet any Moriarty at a + fair without crying, “Who dare tread on the tail of me coat?” and inviting + him to join in the dishcussion with shticks. This practically is Mr. + Jordan's position; and if an Irishman desires to live entirely in the + past, he can be as unhappy as any man alive. He is writing a book, which + Mrs. Wogan Odevaine insists is to be called The Groans of Ireland; but + after a glance at a page of memoranda pencilled in a collection of Swift's + Irish Tracts that he lent to me (the volume containing that ghastly piece + of irony, The Modest Proposal for Preventing the Poor of Ireland from + being a Burden to their Parents and Country), I have concluded that he is + editing a Catalogue of Irish Wrongs, Alphabetically Arranged. This idea + pleased Mrs. Wogan Odevaine extremely; and when she drove over to tea, + bringing several cheerful young people to call upon us, she proposed, in + the most light-hearted way in the world, to play what she termed the + Grievance Game, an intellectual diversion which she had invented on the + instant. She proposed it, apparently, with a view of showing us how small + a knowledge of Ireland's ancient wrongs is the property of the modern + Irish girl, and how slight a hold on her memory and imagination have the + unspeakably bitter days of the long ago. + </p> + <p> + We were each given pencil and paper, and two or three letters of the + alphabet, and bidden to arrange the wrongs of Ireland neatly under them, + as we supposed Mr. Jordan to be doing for the instruction and the + depression of posterity. The result proved that Mrs. Odevaine was a true + prophet, for the youngest members of the coterie came off badly enough, + and read their brief list of grievances with much chagrin at their lack of + knowledge; the only piece of information they possessed in common being + the inherited idea that England never had understood Ireland, never would, + never could, never should, never might understand her. + </p> + <p> + Rosetta Odevaine succeeded in remembering, for A, F, and H, Absenteeism, + Flight of the Earls, Famine, and Hunger; her elder sister, Eileen, fresh + from college, was rather triumphant with O and P, giving us Oppression of + the Irish Tenantry, Penal Laws, Protestant Supremacy, Poynings' Law, + Potato Rot, and Plantations. Their friend, Rhona Burke, had V, W, X, Y, Z, + and succeeded only in finding Wentworth and Woollen Trade Destroyed, until + Miss Odevaine helped her with Wood's Halfpence, about which everybody else + had to be enlightened; and there was plenty of laughter when Francesca + suggested for V, Vipers Expelled by St. Patrick. Salemina carried off the + first prize; but we insisted C and D were the easiest letters; at any + rate, her list showed great erudition, and would certainly have pleased + Mr. Jordan. C, Church Cess, Catholic Disqualification, Crimes Act of 1887, + Confiscations, Cromwell, Carrying Away of Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny) from + Tara. D, Destruction of Trees on Confiscated Lands, Discoverers (of flaws + in Irish titles), Debasing of the Coinage by James I. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Odevaine came next with R and S. R, Recall of Lord Fitzwilliams by + Pitt, Rundale Land Tenure, Rack-Rents, Ribbonism. S, Schism Act, Supremacy + Act, Sixth Act of George I. + </p> + <p> + I followed with T and U, having unearthed Tithes and the Test Act for the + first, and Undertakers, the Acts of Union and Uniformity, for the second; + while Francesca, who had been given I, J, K, L, and M, disgraced herself + by failing on all the letters but the last, under which she finally + catalogued one particularly obnoxious wrong in Middlemen. + </p> + <p> + This ignorance of the past may have its bright side, after all, though to + speak truthfully, it did show a too scanty knowledge of national history. + But if one must forget, it is as well to begin with the wrongs of far-off + years, those 'done to your ancient name or wreaked upon your race.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART4" id="link2H_PART4"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Part Fourth—Connaught. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXII. The Weeping West. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Veiled in your mist, and diamonded with showers.' + Alfred Austin. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Shan Van Vocht Hotel, + Heart of Connemara. +</pre> + <p> + Shan Van Vocht means in English the 'Poor Little Old Woman,' one of the + many endearing names given to Ireland in the Gaelic. There is, too, a + well-known rebel song called by this title—one which was not only + written in Irish and English, but which was translated into French for the + soldiers at Brest who were to invade Ireland under Hoche. + </p> + <p> + We had come from Knockcool, Donegal, to Westport, in County Mayo, and the + day was enlivened by two purely Irish touches, one at the beginning and + one at the end. We alighted at a certain railway junction to await our + train, and were interested in a large detachment of soldiers—leaving + for a long journey, we judged, by the number of railway carriages and the + amount of luggage and stores. In every crowded compartment there were two + or three men leaning out over the locked doors; for the guard was making + ready to start. All were chatting gaily with their sweethearts, wives, and + daughters, save one gloomy fellow sitting alone in a corner, searching the + crowd with sad eyes for a wished-for face or a last greeting. The bell + rang, the engine stirred; suddenly a pretty, rosy girl flew breathlessly + down the platform, pushing her way through the groups of onlookers. The + man's eyes lighted; he rose to his feet, but the other fellows blocked the + way; the door was locked, and he had but one precious moment. Still he was + equal to the emergency, for he raised his fist and with one blow shattered + the window, got his kiss, and the train rumbled away, with his victorious + smile set in a frame of broken glass! I liked that man better than any one + I've seen since Himself deserted me for his Duty! How I hope the pretty + girl will be faithful, and how I hope that an ideal lover will not be shot + in South Africa! + </p> + <p> + And if he was truly Irish, so was the porter at a little way station where + we stopped in the dark, after being delayed interminably at Claremorris by + some trifling accident. We were eight persons packed into a second-class + carriage, and totally ignorant of our whereabouts; but the porter, opening + the door hastily, shouted, “Is there anny one there for here?”—a + question so vague and illogical that none of us said anything in reply, + but simply gazed at one another, and then laughed as the train went on. + </p> + <p> + We are on a here-to-day-and-gone-to-morrow journey, determined to avoid + the railways, and travel by private conveyance and the public 'long cars,' + just for a glimpse of the Weeping West before we settle down quietly in + County Meath for our last few weeks of Irish life. + </p> + <p> + Thus far it has been a pursuit of the picturesque under umbrellas; in + fact, we're desthroyed wid the dint of the damp! 'Moist and agreeable—that's + the Irish notion both for climate and company.' If the barometer bore any + relation to the weather, we could plan our drives with more discretion; + but it sometimes remains as steady as a rock during two days of sea mist, + and Francesca, finding it wholly regardless of gentle tapping, lost her + temper on one occasion and rapped it so severely as to crack the glass. + That this peculiarity of Irish barometers has been noted before we are + sure, because of this verse written by a native bard:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'When the glass is up to thirty, + Be sure the weather will be dirty. + When the glass is high, O very! + There'll be rain in Cork and Kerry. + When the glass is low, O Lork! + There'll be rain in Kerry and Cork!' +</pre> + <p> + I might add:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + And when the glass has climbed its best, + The sky is weeping in the West. +</pre> + <p> + The national rainbow is as deceitful as the barometer, and it is no + uncommon thing for us to have half a dozen of them in a day, between heavy + showers, like the smiles and tears of Irish character; though, to be sure, + one does not need to be an Irish patriot to declare that a fine day in + this country is worth three fine days anywhere else. The present weather + is accounted for partially by the fact that, as Horace Walpole said, + summer has set in with its usual severity, and the tourist is abroad in + the land. + </p> + <p> + I am not sure but that we belong to the hated class for the moment, though + at least we try to emulate tourist virtues, if there are any, and avoid + tourist vices, which is next to impossible, as they are the fruit of the + tour itself. It is the circular tour which, in its effect upon the great + middle class, is the most virulent and contagious, and which breeds the + most offensive habits of thought and speech. The circular tour is a + magnificent idea, a praiseworthy business scheme; it has educated the + minds of millions and why it should have ruined their manners is a + mystery, unless indeed they had none when they were at home. Some of our + fellow-travellers with whom we originally started disappear every day or + two, to join us again. We lose them temporarily when we take a private + conveyance or when they stop at a cheap hotel, but we come altogether + again on coach or long car; and although they have torn off many coupons + in the interval, their remaining stock seems to assure us of their society + for days to come. + </p> + <p> + We have a Protestant clergyman who is travelling for his health, but + beguiling his time by observations for a volume to be called The Relation + between Priests and Pauperism. It seems, at first thought, as if the + circular coupon system were ill fitted to furnish him with corroborative + detail; but inasmuch as every traveller finds in a country only, so to + speak, what he brings to it, he will gather statistics enough. Those + persons who start with a certain bias of mind in one direction seldom + notice any facts that would throw out of joint those previously amassed; + they instinctively collect the ones that 'match,' all others having a + tendency to disturb the harmony of the original scheme. The clergyman's + travelling companion is a person who possesses not a single opinion, + conviction, or trait in common with him; so we conclude that they joined + forces for economy's sake. This comrade we call 'the man with the + evergreen heart,' for we can hardly tell by his appearance whether he is + an old young man or a young old one. With his hat on he is juvenile; when + he removes it, he is so distinctly elderly that we do not know whether to + regard him as damaged youth or well-preserved old age; but he transfers + his solicitous attentions to lady after lady, rebuffs not having the + slightest effect upon his warm, susceptible, ardent nature. We suppose + that he is single, but we know that he can be married at a moment's notice + by anybody who is willing to accept the risks of the situation. Then we + have a nice schoolmaster, so agreeable that Salemina, Francesca, and I + draw lots every evening as to who shall sit beside him next day. He has + just had seventy boys down with measles at the same time, giving prizes to + those who could show the best rash! Salemina is no friend to the + competitive system in education, but this appealed to her as being as wise + as it was whimsical. + </p> + <p> + We have also in our company an indiscreet and inflammable Irishman from + Wexford and a cutler from Birmingham, who lose no opportunity to have a + conversational scrimmage. When the car stops to change or water the horses + (and as for this last operation, our steeds might always manage it without + loss of time by keeping their mouths open), we generally hear something + like this; for although the two gentlemen have never met before, they + fight as if they had known each other all their lives. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Shamrock. “Faith, then, if you don't like the hotels and the + railroads, go to Paris or London; we've done widout you up to now, and we + can kape on doing widout you! We'd have more money to spind in + entertainin' you if the government hadn't taken three million of pounds + out of us to build fortifications in China.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Rose. “That's all bosh and nonsense; you wouldn't know how to manage + an hotel if you had the money.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Shamrock. “If we can't make hotel-kapers, it's soldiers we can make; + and be the same token you can't manage India or Canada widout our help! + Faith, England owes Ireland more than she can pay, and it's not her + business to be thravelin' round criticisin' the throubles she's helped to + projuce.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Rose. “William Ewart Gladstone did enough for your island to make up + for all the harm that the other statesmen may or may not have done.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Shamrock, touched in his most vulnerable point, shrieks above the + rattle of the wheels: “The wurrst statesman that iver put his name to + paper was William Ewart Gladstone!” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Rose. “The best, I say!” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Shamrock. “I say the wurrst!” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Rose. “The best!!” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Shamrock. “The wurrst!!” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Rose (after a pause). “It's your absentee landlords that have done the + mischief. I'd hang every one of them, if I had my way.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Shamrock. “Faith, they'd be absent thin, sure enough!” + </p> + <p> + And at this everybody laughs, and the trouble is over for a brief space, + much to the relief of Mrs. Shamrock, until her husband finds himself, + after a little, sufficiently calm to repeat a Cockney anecdote, which is + received by Mr. Rose in resentful silence, it being merely a description + of the common bat, an unfortunate animal that, according to Mr. Shamrock, + “'as no 'ole to 'ide in, no 'ands to 'old by, no 'orns to 'urt with, + though Nature 'as given 'im 'ooks be'ind to 'itch 'imself up by.” + </p> + <p> + The last two noteworthy personages in our party are a dapper Frenchman, + who is in business at Manchester, and a portly Londoner, both of whom are + seeing Ireland for the first time. The Frenchman does not grumble at the + weather, for he says that in Manchester it rains twice a day all the year + round, save during the winter, when it commonly rains all day. + </p> + <p> + Sir James Paget, in an address on recreation, defined its chief element to + be surprise. If that is true, the portly Londoner must be exhilarated + beyond words. But with him the sensation does not stop with surprise: it + speedily becomes amazement, and then horror; for he is of the comparative + type, and therefore sees things done and hears things said, on every hand, + that are not said and done at all in the same way in London. He sees + people—ay, and policemen—bicycling on footpaths and riding + without lamps, and is horrified to learn that they are seldom, if ever, + prosecuted. He is shocked at the cabins, and the rocks, and the beggar + children, and the lack of trees; at the lack of logic, also, and the lack + of shoes; at the prevalence of the brogue; above all, at the presence of + the pig in the parlour. He is outraged at the weather, and he minds + getting wet the more because he hates Irish whisky. He keeps a little + notebook, and he can hardly wait for dinner to be over, he is so anxious + to send a communication (probably signed 'Veritas') to the London Times. + </p> + <p> + The multiplicity of rocks and the absence of trees are indeed the two most + striking features of the landscape; and yet Boate says, 'In ancient times + as long as the land was in full possession of the Irish themselves, all + Ireland was very full of woods on every side, as evidently appeareth by + the writings of Giraldus Cambrensis.' But this was long ago,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Ere the emerald gem of the western world + Was set in the brow of a stranger.' +</pre> + <p> + In the long wars with the English these forests were the favourite refuge + of the natives, and it was a common saying that the Irish could never be + tamed while the leaves were upon the trees. Then passages were cut through + the woods, and the policy of felling them, as a military measure, was + begun and carried forward on a gigantic scale in Elizabeth's reign. + </p> + <p> + At one of the cabins along the road they were making great preparations, + which we understood from having seen the same thing in Lisdara. There are + wee villages and solitary cabins so far from chapel that the priests + establish 'stations' for confession. A certain house is selected, and all + the old, infirm, and feeble ones come there to confess and hear Mass. The + priest afterwards eats breakfast with the family; and there is great pride + in this function, and great rivalry in the humble arrangements. Mrs. + Odevaine often lends a linen cloth and flowers to one of her neighbours, + she tells us; to another a knife and fork, or a silver teapot; and so on. + This cabin was at the foot of a long hill, and the driver gave me + permission to walk; so Francesca and I slipped down, I with a parcel which + chanced to have in it some small purchases made at the last hotel. We + asked if we might help a bit, and give a little teapot of Belleek ware and + a linen doily trimmed with Irish lace. Both the articles were trumpery + bits of souvenirs, but the old dame was inclined to think that the angels + and saints had taken her in charge, and nothing could exceed her + gratitude. She offered us a potato from the pot, a cup of tea or goat's + milk, and a bunch of wildflowers from a cracked cup; and this last we + accepted as we departed in a shower of blessings, the most interesting of + them being, “May the Blessed Virgin twine your brow with roses when ye sit + in the sates of glory!” and “The Lord be good to ye, and sind ye a duke + for a husband!” We felt more than repaid for our impulsive interest, and + as we disappeared from sight a last 'Bannact dea leat!' ('God's blessing + be on your way!') was wafted to our ears. + </p> + <p> + I seem to have known all these people before, and indeed I have met them + between the covers of a book; for Connemara has one prophet, and her name + is Jane Barlow. In how many of these wild bog-lands of Connaught have we + seen a huddle of desolate cabins on a rocky hillside, turf stacks looking + darkly at the doors, and empty black pots sitting on the thresholds, and + fancied we have found Lisconnel! I should recognise Ody Rafferty, the + widow M'Gurk, Mad Bell, old Mrs. Kilfoyle, or Stacey Doyne, if I met them + face to face, just as I should know other real human creatures of a higher + type,—Beatrix Esmond, Becky Sharp, Meg Merrilies, or Di Vernon. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXIII. Beams and motes. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Mud cabins swarm in + This place so charming, + With sailor garments + Hung out to dry; + And each abode is + Snug and commodious, + With pigs melodious + In their straw-built sty.' + Father Prout. +</pre> + <p> + '“Did the Irish elves ever explain themselves to you, Red Rose?” + </p> + <p> + '“I can't say that they did,” said the English Elf. “You can't call it an + explanation to say that a thing has always been that way, just: or that a + thing would be a heap more bother any other way.”' + </p> + <p> + The west of Ireland is depressing, but it is very beautiful; at least if + your taste includes an appreciation of what is wild, magnificent, and + sombre. Oppressed you must be, even if you are an artist, by its bleakness + and its dreariness, its lonely lakes reflecting a dull, grey sky, its + desolate boglands, its solitary chapels, its wretched cabins perched on + hillsides that are very wildernesses of rocks. But for cloud effects, for + wonderful shadows, for fantastic and unbelievable sunsets, when the + mountains are violet, the lakes silver with red flashes, the islets gold + and crimson and purple, and the whole cloudy west in a flame, it is + unsurpassed; only your standard of beauty must not be a velvet lawn + studded with copper beeches, or a primary-hued landscape bathed in + American sunshine. Connemara is austere and gloomy under a dull sky, but + it has the poetic charm that belongs to all mystery, and its bare cliffs + and ridges are delicately pencilled on a violet background, in a way + peculiar to itself and enchantingly lovely. + </p> + <p> + The waste of all God's gifts; the incredible poverty; the miserable huts, + often without window or chimney; the sad-eyed women, sometimes nothing but + 'skins, bones, and grief'; the wild, beautiful children, springing up like + startled deer from behind piles of rocks or growths of underbrush; the + stony little bits of earth which the peasants cling to with such passion, + while good grasslands lie unused, yet seem for ever out of reach,—all + this makes one dream, and wonder, and speculate, and hope against hope + that the worst is over and a better day dawning. We passed within sight of + a hill village without a single road to connect it with the outer world. + The only supply of turf was on the mountain-top, and from thence it had to + be brought, basket by basket, even in the snow. The only manure for such + land is seaweed, and that must be carried from the shore to the tiny plats + of sterile earth on the hillside. I remember it all, for I refused to buy + a pair of stockings of a woman along the road. We had taken so many that + my courage failed; but I saw her climbing the slopes patiently, wearily, a + shawl over her white hair,—knitting, knitting, knitting, as she + walked in the rain to her cabin somewhere behind the high hills. We never + give to beggars in any case, but we buy whatever we can as we are able; + and why did I draw the line at that particular pair of stockings, only to + be haunted by that pathetic figure for the rest of my life? Beggars there + are by the score, chiefly in the tourist districts; but it is only fair to + add that there are hundreds of huts where it would be a dire insult to + offer a penny for a glass of water, a sup of milk, or the shelter of a + turf fire. + </p> + <p> + As we drive along the road, we see, if the umbrellas can be closed for a + half-hour, flocks of sheep grazing on the tops of the hills, where it is + sunnier, where food is better and flies less numerous. Crystal streams and + waterfalls are pouring down the hillsides to lose themselves in one of + Connemara's many bays, and we have a glimpse of osmunda fern, golden green + and beautiful. It was under a branch of this Osmunda regalis that the + Irish princess lay hidden, they say, till she had evaded her pursuers. The + blue turf smoke rises here and there,—now from a cabin with + house-leek growing on the crumbling thatch, now from one whose roof is + held on by ropes and stones,—and there is always a turf bog, stacks + and stacks of the cut blocks, a woman in a gown of dark-red flannel + resting for a moment, with the empty creel beside her, and a man cutting + in the distance. After climbing the long hill beyond the 'station' we are + rewarded by a glimpse of more fertile fields; the clumps of ragwort and + purple loosestrife are reinforced with kingcups and lilies growing near + the wayside, and the rare sight, first of a pot of geraniums in the + window, and then of a garden all aglow with red fuchsias, torch plants, + and huge dahlias, so cheers Veritas that he takes heart again. “This is + something like home!” he exclaims breezily; whereupon Mr. Shamrock murmurs + that if people find nothing to admire in a foreign country save what + resembles their own, he wonders that they take the trouble to be + travelling. + </p> + <p> + “It is a darlin' year for the pitaties,” the drivers says; and there are + plenty of them planted hereabouts, even in stony spots not worth a + keenogue for anything else, for “pitaties doesn't require anny inTHRICKet + farmin', you see, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + The clergyman remarks that only three things are required to make Ireland + the most attractive country in the world: “Protestantism, cleanliness, and + gardens”; and Mr. Shamrock, who is of course a Roman Catholic, answers + this tactful speech in a way that surprises the speaker and keeps him + silent for hours. + </p> + <p> + The Birmingham cutler, who has a copy of Ismay's Children in his pocket, + triumphantly reads aloud, at this moment, a remark put into the mouth of + an Irish character: “The low Irish are quite destitute of all notion of + beauty,—have not the remotest particle of artistic sentiment or + taste; their cabins are exactly as they were six hundred years ago, for + they never want to improve themselves.” + </p> + <p> + Then Mr. Shamrock asserts that any show of prosperity on a tenant's part + would only mean an advance of rent on the landlord's; and Mr. Rose retorts + that while that might have been true in former times, it is utterly false + to-day. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Shamrock, who is a natural apologist, pleads that the Irish gentry + have the most beautiful gardens in the world and the greatest natural + taste in gardening, and there must be some reason why the lower classes + are so different in this respect. May it not be due partly to lack of + ground, lack of money to spend on seeds and fertilisers, lack of all + refining, civilising and educating influences? Mr. Shamrock adds that the + dwellers in cabins cannot successfully train creepers against the walls or + flowers in the dooryard, because of the goat, pig, donkey, ducks, hens, + and chickens; and Veritas asks triumphantly, “Why don't you keep the pig + in a sty, then?” + </p> + <p> + The man with the evergreen heart (who has already been told this morning + that I am happily married, Francesca engaged, Salemina a determined + celibate, but Benella quite at liberty) peeps under Salemina's umbrella at + this juncture, and says tenderly, “And what do you think about these vexed + questions, dear madam?” Which gives her a chance to reply with some + distinctness, “I shall not know what I think for several months to come; + and at any rate there are various things more needed on this coach than + opinions.” + </p> + <p> + At this the Frenchman murmurs, “Ah, she has right!” and the Birmingham + cutler says, “'Ear! 'ear!” + </p> + <p> + On another day the parson began to tell the man with the evergreen heart + some interesting things about America. He had never been there himself, + but he had a cousin who had travelled extensively in that country, and had + brought back much unusual information. “The Americans are an extraordinary + people on the practical side,” he remarked; “but having said that, you + have said all, for they are sordid, and absolutely devoid of ideality. + Take an American at his roller-top desk, a telephone at one side and a + typewriter at the other, talk to him of pork and dollars, and you have him + at his very best. He always keeps on his Panama hat at business, and sits + in a rocking-chair smoking a long cigar. The American woman wears a blue + dress with a red lining, or a black dress with orange trimmings, showing a + survival of African taste; while another exhibits the American-Indian + type,—sallow, with high cheekbones. The manners of the servant + classes are extraordinary. I believe they are called 'the help,' and they + commonly sit in the drawing-room after the work is finished.” + </p> + <p> + “You surprise me!” said Mrs. Shamrock. + </p> + <p> + “It is indeed amazing,” he continued; “and there are other extraordinary + customs, among them the habit of mixing ices with all beverages. They + plunge ices into mugs of ale, beer, porter, lemonade, or Apollinaris, and + sip the mixture with a long ladle at the chemist's counter, where it is + usually served.” + </p> + <p> + “You surprise me!” exclaimed the cutler. + </p> + <p> + “You surprise me too!” I echoed in my inmost heart. Francesca would not + have confined herself to that blameless mode of expression, you may be + sure, and I was glad that she was on the back seat of the car. I did not + know it at the time, but Veritas, who is a man of intelligence, had + identified her as an American, and wishing to inform himself on all + possible points, had asked her frankly why it was that the people of her + nation gave him the impression of never being restful or quiet, but always + so excessively and abnormally quick in motion and speech and thought. + </p> + <p> + “Casual impressions are not worth anything,” she replied nonchalantly. “As + a nation, you might sometimes give us the impression of being phlegmatic + and slow-witted. Both ideas may have some basis of fact, yet not be + absolutely true. We are not all abnormally quick in America. Look at our + messenger boys, for example.” + </p> + <p> + “We! Phlegmatic and slow-witted!” exclaimed Veritas. “You surprise me! And + why do you not reward these government messengers for speed, and stimulate + them in that way?” + </p> + <p> + “We do,” Francesca answered; “that is the only way in which we ever get + them to arrive anywhere—by rewarding and stimulating them at both + ends of the journey, and sometimes, in extreme cases, at a halfway + station.” + </p> + <p> + “This is most interesting,” said Veritas, as he took out his damp + notebook; “and perhaps you can tell me why your newspapers are so poorly + edited, so cheap, so sensational?” + </p> + <p> + “I confess I can't explain it,” she sighed, as if sorely puzzled. “Can it + be that we have expended our strength on magazines, where you are so + lamentably weak?” + </p> + <p> + At this moment the rain began as if there had been a long drought and the + sky had just determined to make up the deficiency. It fell in sheets, and + the wind blew I know not how many Irish miles an hour. The Frenchman put + on a silk macintosh with a cape, and was berated by everybody in the same + seat because he stood up a moment and let the water in under the lap + covers. His umbrella was a dainty en-tout-cas with a mother-of-pearl + handle, that had answered well enough in heavy mist or soft drizzle. His + hat of fine straw was tied with a neat cord to his buttonhole; but + although that precaution insured its ultimate safety, it did not prevent + its soaring from his head and descending on Mrs. Shamrock's bonnet. He + conscientiously tried holding it on with one hand, but was then reproved + by both neighbours because his macintosh dripped over them. + </p> + <p> + “How are your spirits, Frenchy?” asked the cutler jocosely. + </p> + <p> + “I am not too greatly sad,” said the poor gentleman, “but I will be glad + it should be finished; far more joyfully would I be at Manchester, triste + as it may be.” + </p> + <p> + Just then a gust of wind blew his cape over his head and snapped his + parasol. + </p> + <p> + “It is evidently it has been made in Ireland,” he sighed, with a desperate + attempt at gaiety. “It should have had a grosser stem, and helas! it must + not be easy to have it mended in these barbarous veelages.” + </p> + <p> + We stopped at four o'clock at a wayside hostelry, and I had quietly made + up my mind to descend from the car, and take rooms for the night, whatever + the place might be. Unfortunately, the same idea occurred to three or four + of the soaked travellers; and as men could leap down, while ladies must + wait for the steps, the chivalrous sex, their manners obscured by the + circular tour system, secured the rooms, and I was obliged to ascend + again, wetter than ever, to my perch beside the driver. + </p> + <p> + “Can I get the box seat, do you think, if I pay extra for it?” I had asked + one of the stablemen before breakfast. + </p> + <p> + “You don't need to be payin', miss! Just confront the driver, and you'll + get it aisy!” If, by the way, I had confronted him at the end instead of + at the beginning of the journey, my charms certainly would not have been + all-powerful, for my coat had been leaked upon by red and green umbrellas, + my hat was a shapeless jelly, and my face imprinted with the spots from a + drenched blue veil. + </p> + <p> + After two hours more of this we reached the Shan Van Vocht Hotel, where we + had engaged apartments; but we found to our consternation that it was + full, and that we had been put in lodgings a half-mile away. + </p> + <p> + Salemina, whose patience was quite exhausted by the discomforts of the + day, groaned aloud when we were deposited at the door of a village shop, + and ushered upstairs to our tiny quarters; but she ceased abruptly when + she really took note of our surroundings. Everything was humble, but clean + and shining—glass, crockery, bedding, floor, on the which we were + dripping pools of water, while our landlady's daughter tried to make us + more comfortable. + </p> + <p> + “It's a soft night we're havin',” she said, in a dove's voice, “but we'll + do right enough if the win' doesn't rise up on us.” + </p> + <p> + Left to ourselves, we walked about the wee rooms on ever new and more + joyful voyages of discovery. The curtains rolled up and down easily; the + windows were propped upon nice clean sticks instead of tennis rackets and + hearth brushes; there was a well-washed stone to keep the curtain down on + the sill; and just outside were tiny window gardens, in each of which grew + three marigolds and three asters, in a box fenced about with little green + pickets. There were well-dusted books on the tables, and Francesca wanted + to sit down immediately to The Charming Cora, reprinted from The Girl's + Own Paper. Salemina meantime had tempted fate by looking under the bed, + where she found the floor so exquisitely neat that she patted it + affectionately with her hand. + </p> + <p> + We had scarcely donned our dry clothing when the hotel proprietor sent a + jaunting-car for our drive to the seven-o'clock table d'hote dinner. We + carefully avoided our travelling companions that night, but learned the + next morning that the Frenchman had slept on four chairs, and rejected the + hotel coffee with the remark that it was not 'veritable'—a criticism + in which he was quite justified. Our comparative Englishman had occupied a + cot in a room where the tin bathtubs were kept. He was writing to The + Times at the moment of telling me his woes, and, without seeing the + letter, I could divine his impassioned advice never to travel in the west + of Ireland in rainy weather. He remarked (as if quoting from his own + communication) that the scenery was magnificent, but that there was an + entirely insufficient supply of hot water; that the waiters had the + appearance of being low comedians, and their service was of the character + one might expect from that description; that he had been talking before + breakfast with a German gentleman, who had sat on a wall opposite the + village of Dugort, in the island of Achill, from six o'clock in the + morning until nine, and in that time he had seen coming out of an Irish + hut three geese, eight goslings, six hens, fifteen chickens, two pigs, two + cows, two barefooted girls, the master of the house leading a horse, three + small children carrying cloth bags filled with school-books, and finally a + strapping mother leading a donkey loaded with peat-baskets; that all this + poverty and ignorance and indolence and filth was spoiling his holiday; + and finally, that if he should be as greatly disappointed in the fishing + as he had been in the hotel accommodations—here we almost fainted + from suspense—he should be obliged to go home! And not only that, + but he should feel it his duty to warn others of what they might expect. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you are justified,” said Francesca sympathetically. “People who + are used to the dry, sunny climate and the clear atmosphere of London + ought not to expose themselves to Irish rain without due consideration.” + </p> + <p> + He agreed with her, glancing over his spectacles to see if she by any + possibility could be amusing herself at his expense—good, old, + fussy, fault-finding Veritas; but indeed Francesca's eyes were so soft and + lovely and honest that the more he looked at her, the less he could do her + the injustice of suspecting her sincerity. + </p> + <p> + But mind you, although I would never confess it to Veritas, because he + sees nothing but flaws on every side, the Irish pig is, to my taste, a + trifle too much in the foreground. He pays the rent, no doubt; but this + magnificent achievement could be managed from a sty in the rear, + ungrateful as it might seem to immure so useful a personage behind a door + or conceal his virtues from the public at large. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXIV. Humours of the road. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Cheerful at morn, he wakes from short repose, + Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes.' + Oliver Goldsmith. +</pre> + <p> + If you drive from Clifden to Oughterard by way of Maam Cross, and then on + to Galway, you will pass through the O'Flahertys' country, one of whom, + Murrough O'Flaherty, was governor of this country of Iar (western) + Connaught. You will like to see the last of the O'Flaherty yews, a + thousand years old at least, and the ruins of the castle and + banqueting-hall. The family glories are enumerated in ancient Irish + manuscript, and instead of the butler, footman, chef, coachman, and + gardener of to-day we read of the O'Flaherty physician, standard-bearer, + brehon or judge, master of the revels, and keeper of the bees; and the + moment Himself is rich enough, I intend to add some of these picturesque + personages to our staff. + </p> + <p> + We afterwards learned that there was formerly an inscription over the west + gate of Galway:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'From the fury of the O'Flaherties, + Good Lord, deliver us.' +</pre> + <p> + After Richard de Burgo took the town, in 1226, it became a flourishing + English colony, and the citizens must have guarded themselves from any + intercourse with the native Irish; at least, an old by-law of 1518 enacts + that 'neither O' nor Mac shalle strutte ne swaggere thro' the streetes of + Galway.' + </p> + <p> + We did not go to Galway straight, because we never do anything straight. + We seldom get any reliable information, and never any inspiring + suggestions, from the natives themselves. They are all patriotically sure + that Ireland is the finest counthry in the world, God bless her! but in + the matter of seeing that finest counthry in the easiest or best fashion + they are all very vague. Indirectly, our own lack of geography, coupled + with the ignorance of the people themselves, has been of the greatest + service in enlivening our journeys. Francesca says that, in looking back, + she finds that our errors of judgment have always resulted in our most + charming and unforgettable experiences; but let no one who is travelling + with a well-balanced and logical-minded man attempt to follow in our + footsteps. + </p> + <p> + Being as free as air on this occasion (if I except the dread of Benella's + scorn, which descends upon us now and then, and moves us to repentance, + sometimes even to better behaviour), we passed Porridgetown and Cloomore, + and ferried across to the opposite side of Lough Corrib. Salemina, of + course, had fixed upon Cong as our objective point, because of its caverns + and archaeological remains, which Dr. La Touche tells her not on any + account to miss. Francesca and I said nothing, but we had a very definite + idea of avoiding Cong, and going nearer Tuam, to climb Knockma, the hill + of the fairies, and explore their ancient haunts and archaeological + remains, which are more in our line than the caverns of Cong. + </p> + <p> + Speaking of Dr. La Touche reminds me that we have not the smallest notion + as to how our middle-aged romance is progressing. Absence may, at this + juncture, be just as helpful a force in its development as daily + intercourse would be; for when one is past thirty, I fancy there is a deal + of 'thinking-it-over' to do. Precious little there is when we are younger; + heart does it all then, and never asks head's advice! But in too much + delay there lies no plenty, and there's the danger. Actually, Francesca + and I could be no more anxious to settle Salemina in life if she were + lame, halt, blind, and homeless, instead of being attractive, charming, + absurdly young for her age, and not without means. The difficulty is that + she is one of those 'continent, persisting, immovable persons' whom + Emerson describes as marked out for the blessing of the world. That + quality always makes a man anxious. He fears that he may only get his + rightful share of blessing, and he craves the whole output, so to speak. + </p> + <p> + We naturally mention Dr. La Touche very often, since he is always writing + to Salemina or to me, offering counsel and suggestion. Madame La Touche, + the venerable aunt, has written also, asking us to visit them in Meath; + but this invitation we have declined, principally because the Colquhouns + will be with them, and they would surely be burdened by the addition of + three ladies and a maid to their family; partly because we shall be freer + in our own house, which will be as near the La Touche mansion as possible, + you may be sure, if Francesca and I have anything to do with choosing it. + </p> + <p> + The La Touche name, then, is often on our lips, but Salemina offers no + intimation that it is indelibly imprinted on her heart of hearts. It is a + good name to be written anywhere, and we fancied there was the slightest + possible hint of pride and possession in Salemina's voice when she read to + us to-night, from her third volume of Lecky's History of Ireland in the + Eighteenth Century, a paragraph concerning one David La Touche, from whom + Dr. Gerald is descended:— + </p> + <p> + 'In the last of the Irish Parliaments no less than five members of the + name sat together in the House of Commons, and his family may claim what + is in truth the highest honour of which an Irish family can boast,—that + during many successive governments, and in a period of most lavish + corruption, it possessed great parliamentary influence, and yet passed + through political life untitled and unstained.' + </p> + <p> + There is just the faintest gleam of hope, by the way, that Himself may + join us at the very end of June, and he is sure to be helpful on this + sentimental journey; he aided Ronald and Francesca more than once in their + tempestuous love-affair, and if his wits are not dulled by marriage, as so + often happens, he will be invaluable. It will not be long then, probably, + before I assume my natural, my secondary position in the landscape of + events. The junior partners are now, so to speak, on their legs, although + it is idle to suppose that such brittle appendages will support them for + any length of time. As soon as we return in the autumn I should like to + advertise (if Himself will permit me) for a perfectly sound and kind + junior partner,—one who has been well broken to harness, and who + will neither shy nor balk, no matter what the provocation; the next step + being to urge Himself to relinquish altogether the bondage of business + care. There is no need of his continuing in it, since other people's + business will always give him ample scope for his energies. He has, since + his return to America, dispensed justice and mercy, chiefly mercy, to one + embezzler, one honest fellow tempted beyond his strength, one widow, one + unfortunate friend of his youth, and two orphans, and it was in no sense + an extraordinary season. + </p> + <p> + To return to notes of travel, our method of progression, since we deserted + the high-road and the public car, has been strangely varied. I think there + is no manner of steed or vehicle which has not been used by us, at one + time or another, even to the arch donkey and the low-backed car with its + truss of hay, like that of the immortal Peggy. I thought at first that + 'arch' was an unusual adjective to apply to a donkey, but I find after all + that it is abundantly expressive. Benella, who disapproves entirely of + this casual sort of travelling, far from 'answerable roads' and in + 'backwards places' (Irish for 'behind the times'), is yet wonderfully + successful in discovering equipages of some sort in unlikely spots. + </p> + <p> + In towns of any size or pretensions, we find by the town cross or near the + inn a motley collection of things on wheels, with drivers sometimes as + sober as Father Mathew, sometimes not. Yesterday we had a mare which the + driver confessed he bought without 'overcircumspectin' it,' and although + you couldn't, as he said, 'extinguish her at first sight from a grand + throtter, she hadn't rightly the speed you could wish.' + </p> + <p> + “It's not so powerful young she is, melady!” he confessed. “You'd be + afther lookin' at a chicken a long time and niver be reminded of her; but + sure ye might thry her, for belike ye wouldn't fancy a horse that would be + leppin' stone walls wid ye, like Dan Ryan's there! My little baste'll get + ye to Rossan before night, and she won't hurt man nor mortial in doin' + it.” + </p> + <p> + “Begorra, you're right, nor herself nayther,” said Dan Ryan; “and if it's + leppin' ye mane, sure she couldn't lep a sod o' turf, that mare couldn't! + God pardon ye, melady, for thrustin' yerself to that paiceable, + brindly-coloured ould hin, whin ye might be gettin' a dacint, + high-steppin' horse for a shillin' or two more; an' belike I might contint + meself to take less, for I wouldn't be extortin' ye like Barney O'Mara + there!” + </p> + <p> + Our chosen driver replied to this by saying that he wouldn't be caught + dead at a pig fair with Dan Ryan's horse, but in the midst of all the + distracting discussions and arguments that followed we held to our + original bargain; for we did not like the look of Dan Ryan's high-stepper, + who was a 'thrifle mounTAIny,' as they say in these parts, and had a wild + eye to boot. We started, and in a half-hour we could still see the chapel + spire of the little village we had just left. It was for once a beautiful + day, but we felt that we must reach a railway station some time or other, + in order to find a place to sleep. + </p> + <p> + “Can't you make her go a bit faster? Do you want to keep us on the road + all night?” inquired Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “I do not, your ladyship's honour, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “Is she tired, or doesn't she ever go any better?” urged Salemina. + </p> + <p> + “She does; it's God's truth I'm tellin' ye, melady, she's that flippant + sometimes that I scarcely can hould her, and the car jumps undher her like + a spring bed.” + </p> + <p> + “Then what on earth IS the matter with her?” I inquired, with some fire in + my eye. + </p> + <p> + “Sure I believe she's takin' time to think of the iligant load she's + carryin', melady, and small blame to her!” said Mr. Barney O'Mara; and + after that we let him drive as best he could, although it did take us four + hours to do nine Irish miles. He came, did Mr. Barney, from County Armagh, + and he beguiled the way with interesting tales from that section of + Ireland, one of which, 'the Old Crow and the Young Crow,' particularly + took our fancies. + </p> + <p> + “An old crow was teaching a young crow one day, and says to him, 'Now, my + son,' says he, 'listen to the advice I'm going to give you,' says he. 'If + you see a person coming near you and stooping, mind yourself, and be on + your keeping; he's stooping for a stone to throw at you,' says he. + </p> + <p> + “'But tell me,' says the young crow, 'what should I do if he had a stone + already down in his pocket?' says he. + </p> + <p> + “'Musha, go 'long out of that,' says the old crow, 'you've learned enough; + the divil another learning I'm able to give you.'” + </p> + <p> + He was a perfect honey-pot of useless and unreliable information, was + Barney O'Mara, and most learned in fairy lore; but for that matter, all + the people walking along the road, the drivers, the boatman and guides, + the men and women in the cottages where we stop in a shower or to inquire + the way, relate stories of phookas, leprehauns, and sprites, banshees and + all the various classes of elves and fays, as simply and seriously as they + would speak of any other occurrences. Barney told us gravely of the old + woman who was in the habit of laying pishogues (charms) to break the legs + of his neighbour's cattle, because of an ancient grudge she bore him; and + also how necessary it is to put a bit of burning turf under the churn to + prevent the phookas, or mischievous fairies, from abstracting the butter + or spoiling the churning in any way. Irish fays seem to be much interested + in dairy matters, for, besides the sprites who delight in distracting the + cream and keeping back the butter (I wonder if a lazy up-and-down movement + of the dasher invites them at all, at all?), it is well known that many a + milkmaid on a May morning has seen fairy cows browsing along the banks of + lakes,—cows that vanish into thin mist at the sound of human + footfall. + </p> + <p> + When we were quite cross at missing the noon train from Rossan, quite + tired of the car's jolting, somewhat vexed even at the mare's continued + enjoyment of her 'iligant load,' Barney appeased us all by singing, in a + delightful, mellow voice, a fairy song called the 'Leprehaun,' [*] This + personage, you must know, if you haven't a large acquaintance among Irish + fairies, is a tricksy fellow in a green coat and scarlet cap, with brave + shoe buckles on his wee brogues. You will catch him sometimes, if the + 'glamour' is on you, under a burdock leaf or a thorn bush, and he is + always making or mending a shoe. He commonly has a little purse about him, + which, if you are quick enough, you can snatch; and a wonderful purse it + is, for whatever you spend, there is always money to be found in it. Truth + to tell, nobody has yet succeeded in being quicker than Master Leprehaun, + though many have offered to fill his cruiskeen with 'mountain dew,' of + which Irish fairies are passionately fond. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * By Patrick W. Joyce. + + 'In a shady nook, one moonlight night, + A leprehaun I spied; + With scarlet cap and coat of green, + A cruiskeen by his side. + 'Twas tick, tack, tick, his hammer went, + Upon a weeny shoe; + And I laughed to think of his purse of gold; + But the fairy was laughing too! + + With tip-toe step and beating heart, + Quite softly I drew nigh: + There was mischief in his merry face, + A twinkle in his eye. + He hammered, and sang with tiny voice, + And drank his mountain dew; + And I laughed to think he was caught at last; + But the fairy was laughing too! + + As quick as thought I seized the elf. + “Your fairy purse!” I cried. + “The purse!” he said—“'tis in her hand— + That lady at your side.” + I turned to look: the elf was off. + Then what was I to do? + O, I laughed to think what a fool I'd been; + And the fairy was laughing too!' +</pre> + <p> + I cannot communicate any idea of the rollicking gaiety and quaint charm + Barney gave to the tune, nor the light-hearted, irresistible chuckle with + which he rendered the last two lines, giving a snap of his whip as accent + to the long 'O':— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'O, I laughed to think what a fool I'd been; + And the fairy was laughing too!' +</pre> + <p> + After he had sung it twice through, Benella took my guitar from its case + for me, and we sang it after him, again and again; so it was in happy + fashion that we at least approached Ballyrossan, where we bade Barney + O'Mara a cordial farewell, paying him four shillings over his fare, which + was cheap indeed for the song. + </p> + <p> + As we saw him vanish slowly up the road, ragged himself, the car and + harness almost ready to drop to pieces, the mare, I am sure, in the last + week of her existence, we were glad that he had his Celtic fancy to + enliven his life a bit,—that fancy which seems a providential + reaction against the cruel despotisms of fact. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXV. The wee folk. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'There sings a bonnie linnet + Up the heather glen; + The voice has magic in it + Too sweet for mortal men! + Sing O, the blooming heather, + O, the heather glen! + Where fairest fairies gather + To lure in mortal men.' + + Carrig-a-fooka Inn, near Knockma, + On the shores of Lough Corrib. +</pre> + <p> + A modern Irish poet [*] says something that Francesca has quoted to Ronald + in her letter to-day, and we await from Scotland his confirmation or + denial. He accuses the Scots of having discovered the fairies to be pagan + and wicked, and of denouncing them from the pulpits, whereas Irish priests + discuss with them the state of their souls; or at least they did, until it + was decided that they had none, but would dry up like so much bright + vapour at the last day. It was more in sadness than in anger that the + priests announced this fiat; for Irish sprites and goblins do gay, + graceful, and humorous things, for the most part, tricksy sins, not + deserving annihilation, whereas Scottish fays are sometimes malevolent,—or + so says the Irish poet. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * W. B. Yeats. +</pre> + <p> + This is very sad, no doubt, but it does not begin to be as sad as having + no fairies at all. There must have been a few in England in Shakespeare's + time, or he could never have written The Tempest or the Midsummer Night's + Dream; but where have they vanished? + </p> + <p> + As for us in America, I fear that we never have had any 'wee folk.' The + Indians had their woodland spirits, spirits of rocks, trees, mountains, + star and moon maidens; the negroes had their enchanted animals and conjure + men; but as for real wee folk, either they were not indigenous to the soil + or else we unconsciously drove them away. Yet we had facilities to offer! + The columbines, harebells, and fringed gentians would have been just as + cosy and secluded places to live in as the Irish foxgloves, which are + simply running over with fairies. Perhaps they wouldn't have liked our + cold winters; still it must have been something more than climate, and I + am afraid I know the reason well—we are too sensible; and if there + is anything a fairy detests, it is common-sense. We are too rich, also; + and a second thing that a fairy abhors is the chink of dollars. Perhaps, + when I am again enjoying the advantages brought about by sound money, + commercial prosperity, and a magnificent system of public education, I + shall feel differently about it; but for the moment I am just a bit + embarrassed and crestfallen to belong to a nation absolutely shunned by + the fairies. If they had only settled among us like other colonists, + shaped us to their ends as far as they could, and, when they couldn't, + conformed themselves to ours, there might have been, by this time, fairy + trusts stretching out benign arms all over the continent. + </p> + <p> + Of course it is an age of incredulity, but Salemina, Francesca, and I have + not come to Ireland to scoff, and whatever we do we shall not go to the + length of doubting the fairies; for, as Barney O'Mara says, 'they stand to + raison.' + </p> + <p> + Glen Ailna is a 'gentle' place near Carrig-a-fooka Inn—that is, one + beloved by the sheehogues; and though you may be never so much interested, + I may not tell you its exact whereabouts, since no one can ever find it + unless he is himself under the glamour. Perhaps you might be a doubter, + with no eyes for the 'dim kingdom'; perhaps you might gaze for ever, and + never be able to see a red-capped fiddler, fiddling under a blossoming + sloe bush. You might even see him, and then indulge yourself in a fit of + common-sense or doubt of your own eyes, in which case the wee dancers + would never flock to the sound of the fiddle or gather on the fairy ring. + This is the reason that I shall never take you to Knockma, to Glen Ailna, + or especially to the hyacinth wood, which is a little plantation near the + ruin of a fort. Just why the fairies are so fond of an old rath or lis I + cannot imagine, for you would never suppose that antiquaries, + archaeologists, and wee folk would care for the same places. + </p> + <p> + I have no intention of interviewing the grander personages among the Irish + fairies, for they are known to be haughty, unapproachable, and severe, as + befits the descendants of the great Nature Gods and the under-deities of + flood and fell and angry sea. It is the lesser folk, the gay, gracious, + little men that I wish to meet; those who pipe and dance on the fairy + ring. The 'ring' is made, you know, by the tiny feet that have tripped for + ages and ages, flying, dancing, circling, over the tender young grass. + Rain cannot wash it away; you may walk over it; you may even plough up the + soil, and replant it ever so many times; the next season the fairy ring + shines in the grass just the same. It seems strange that I am blind to it, + when an ignorant, dirty spalpeen who lives near the foot of Knockma has + seen it and heard the fairy music again and again. He took me to the very + place where, last Lammas Eve, he saw plainly—for there was a + beautiful, white moon overhead—the arch king and queen of the + fairies, who appear only on state occasions, together with a crowd of + dancers, and more than a dozen pipers piping melodious music. Not only + that, but (lucky little beggar!) he heard distinctly the fulparnee and the + folpornee, the rap-lay-hoota and the roolya-boolya—noises indicative + of the very jolliest and wildest and most uncommon form of fairy + conviviality. Failing a glimpse of these midsummer revels, my next choice + would be to see the Elf Horseman galloping round the shores of the Fairy + Lough in the cool of the morn. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Loughareema, Loughareema, + Stars come out and stars are hidin'; + The wather whispers on the stones, + The flittherin' moths are free. + Onest before the mornin' light + The Horseman will come ridin' + Roun' an' roun' the Fairy Lough, + An' no one there to see.' +</pre> + <p> + But there will be some one there, and that is the aforesaid Jamesy + Flanigan! Sometimes I think he is fibbing, but a glance at his soft, dark, + far-seeing eyes under their fringe of thick lashes convinces me to the + contrary. His field of vision is different from mine, that is all, and he + fears that if I accompany him to the shores of the Fairy Lough the + Horseman will not ride for him; so I am even taunted with undue + common-sense by a little Irish gossoon. + </p> + <p> + I tried to coax Benella to go with me to the hyacinth wood by moonlight. + Fairies detest a crowd, and I ought to have gone alone; but, to tell the + truth, I hardly dared, for they have a way of kidnapping attractive ladies + and keeping them for years in the dim kingdom. I would not trust Himself + at Glen Ailna for worlds, for gentlemen are not exempt from danger. Connla + of the Golden Hair was lured away by a fairy maiden, and taken, in a + 'gleaming, straight-gliding, strong, crystal canoe,' to her domain in the + hills; and Oisin, you remember, was transported to the Land of the Ever + Youthful by the beautiful Niam. If one could only be sure of coming back! + but Oisin, for instance, was detained three hundred years, so one might + not be allowed to return, and still worse, one might not wish to; three + hundred years of youth would tempt—a woman! My opinion, after + reading the Elf Errant, is that one of us has been there—Moira + O'Neill. I should suspect her of being able to wear a fairy cap herself, + were it not for the human heart-throb in her verses; but I am sure she has + the glamour whenever she desires it, and hears the fairy pipes at will. + </p> + <p> + Benella is of different stuff; she not only distrusts fairies, but, like + the Scotch Presbyterians, she fears that they are wicked. “Still, you say + they haven't got immortal souls to save, and I don't suppose they're + responsible for their actions,” she allows; “but as for traipsing up to + those heathenish, haunted woods when all Christian folks are in bed, I + don't believe in it, and neither would Mr. Beresford; but if you're set on + it, I shall go with you!” + </p> + <p> + “You wouldn't be of the slightest use,” I answered severely; “indeed, + you'd be worse than nobody. The fairies cannot endure doubters; it makes + them fold their wings over their heads and shrink away into their + flowercups. I should be mortified beyond words if a fairy should meet me + in your company.” + </p> + <p> + Benella seemed hurt and a trifle resentful as she replied: “That about + doubters is just what Mrs. Kimberly used to say.” (Mrs. Kimberly is the + Salem priestess, the originator of the 'science.') “She couldn't talk a + mite if there was doubters in the hall; and it's so with spiritualists and + clairvoyants, too—they're all of 'em scare-cats. I guess likely that + those that's so afraid of being doubted has some good reason for it!” + </p> + <p> + Well, I never went to the hyacinth wood by moonlight, since so many + objections were raised, but I did go once at noonday, the very most + unlikely hour of all the twenty-four, and yet—As I sat there beneath + a gnarled thorn, weary and warm with my climb, I looked into the heart of + a bluebell forest growing under a circle of gleaming silver birches, and + suddenly I heard fairy music—at least it was not mortal—and + many sounds were mingled in it: the sighing of birches, the carol of a + lark, the leap and laugh of a silvery runnel tumbling down the hillside, + the soft whir of butterflies' wings, and a sweet little over or under + tone, from the over or under world, that I took to be the opening of a + million hyacinth buds in the sunshine. Then I heard the delicious sound of + a fairy laugh, and, looking under a swaying branch of meadowsweet, I saw—yes, + I really saw—You must know that first a wee green door swung open in + the stem of the meadowsweet, and out of that land where you can buy joy + for a penny came a fairy in the usual red and green. I had the Elf Errant + in my lap, and I think that in itself made him feel more at home with me, + as well as the fact, perhaps, that for the moment I wasn't a bit sensible + and had no money about me. I was all ready with an Irish salutation, for + the purposes of further disarming his aversion. I intended to say, as + prettily as possible, though, alas! I cannot manage the brogue, “And what + way do I see you now?” or “Good-mornin' to yer honour's honour!” But I was + struck dumb by my good fortune at seeing him at all. He looked at me once, + and then, flinging up his arms, he gave a weeny, weeny yawn! This was + disconcerting, for people almost never yawn in my company; and to make it + worse, he kept on yawning, until, for very sympathy, and not at all in the + way of revenge, I yawned too. Then the green door swung open again, and a + gay rabble of wide-awake fairies came trooping out: and some of them + kissed the hyacinth bells to open them, and some of them flew to the + thorn-tree, until every little brancheen was white with flowers, where but + a moment ago had been tightly-closed buds. The yawning fairy slept + meanwhile under the swaying meadowsweet, and the butterflies fanned him + with their soft wings; but, alas! it could not have been the hour for + dancing on the fairy ring, nor the proper time for the fairy pipers, and + long, long as I looked I saw and heard nothing more than what I have told + you. Indeed, I presently lost even that, for a bee buzzed, a white petal + dropped from the thorn-tree on my face, there was a scraping of tiny claws + and the sound of two squirrels barking love to each other in the high + branches, and in that moment the glamour that was upon me vanished in a + twinkling. + </p> + <p> + “But I really did see the fairies!” I exclaimed triumphantly to Benella + the doubter, when I returned Carrig-a-fooka Inn, much too late for + luncheon. + </p> + <p> + “I want to know!” she exclaimed, in her New England vernacular. “I guess + by the looks o' your eyes they didn't turn out to be very lively comp'ny!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART5" id="link2H_PART5"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Part Fifth—Royal Meath. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXVI. Ireland's gold. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'I sat upon the rustic seat— + The seat an aged bay-tree crowns— + And saw outspreading from our feet + The golden glory of the Downs. + The furze-crowned heights, the glorious glen, + The white-walled chapel glistening near, + The house of God, the homes of men, + The fragrant hay, the ripening ear.' + Denis Florence M'Carthy. + + The Old Hall, Devorgilla, + Vale of the Boyne. +</pre> + <p> + We have now lived in each of Ireland's four provinces, Leinster, Munster, + Ulster, and Connaught, but the confines of these provinces, and their + number, have changed several times since the beginning of history. In A.D. + 130 the Milesian monarchy was restored in the person of Tuathal (Too'hal) + the Legitimate. Over each of the Irish provinces was a ri or king, and + there was also over all Ireland an Ard-ri or supreme monarch who lived at + Tara up to the time of its abandonment in the sixth century. Before + Tuathal's day, the Ard-ri had for his land allowance only a small tract + around Tara, but Tuathal cut off a portion from each of the four older + provinces, at the Great Stone of Divisions in the centre of Ireland, + making the fifth province of Royal Meath, which has since disappeared, but + which was much larger than the present two counties of Meath and + Westmeath. In this once famous, and now most lovely and fertile spot, with + the good republican's love of royalty and royal institutions, we have + settled ourselves; in the midst of verdant plains watered by the Boyne and + the Blackwater, here rippling over shallows, there meandering in slow deep + reaches between reedy banks. + </p> + <p> + The Old Hall, from which I write, is somewhere in the vale of the Boyne, + somewhere near Yellow Steeple, not so far from Treadagh, only a few miles + from Ballybilly (I hope to be forgiven this irreverence to the glorious + memory of his Majesty, William, Prince of Orange!), and within driving + distance of Killkienan, Croagh-Patrick, Domteagh, and Tara Hill itself. If + you know your Royal Meath, these geographical suggestions will give you + some idea of our location; if not, take your map of Ireland, please (a + thing nobody has near him), and find the town of Tuam, where you left us a + little time ago. You will see a railway line from Tuam to Athenry, + Athlone, and Mullingar. Anybody can visit Mullingar—it is for the + million; but only the elect may go to Devorgilla. It is the captive of our + bow and spear; or, to change the figure, it is a violet by a mossy stone, + which we refuse to have plucked from its poetic solitude and worn in the + bosom or in the buttonhole of the tourist. + </p> + <p> + At Mullingar, then, we slip on enchanted garments which conceal us from + the casual eye, and disappear into what is, in midsummer, a bower of + beauty. There you will find, when you find us, Devorgilla, lovely enough + to be Tir-nan-og, that Land of the Ever Youthful well know to the Celts of + long ago. Here we have rested our weary bodies and purified our + travel-stained minds. Fresh from the poverty-ridden hillsides of + Connaught, these rich grazing-lands, comfortable houses, magnificent + demesnes and castles, are unspeakably grateful to the eye and healing to + the spirit. We have not forgotten, shall never forget, our Connemara folk, + nor yet Omadhaun Pat and dark Timsy of Lisdara in the north; but it is + good, for a change, to breathe in this sense of general comfort, good + cheer, and abundance. + </p> + <p> + Benella is radiant, for she is near enough to Trim to go there + occasionally to seek for traces of her ancestress, Mary Boyce; and as for + Salemina, this bit of country is a Mecca for antiquaries and scholars, and + we are fairly surrounded by towers, tumuli, and cairns. “It's mostly ruins + they do be wantin', these days,” said a wayside acquaintance. “I built a + stone house for my donkey on the knockaun beyant my cabin just, and bedad, + there's a crowd round it every Saturday callin' it the risidence of wan of + the Danish kings! An' they are diggin' at Tara now, ma'am, looking for the + Ark of the Covenant! They do be sayin' the prophet Jeremiah come over from + England and brought it wid him. Begorra, it's a lucky man he was to get + away wid it!” + </p> + <p> + Added to these advantages of position, we are within a few miles of + Rosnaree, Dr. La Touche's demesne, to which he comes home from Dublin + to-morrow, bringing with him our dear Mr. and Mrs. Colquhoun of + Ardnagreena. We have been here ourselves for ten days, and are flattered + to think that we have used the time as unconventionally as we could well + have done. We made a literary pilgrimage first, but that is another story, + and I will only say that we had a day in Edgeworthstown and a drive + through Goldsmith's country, where we saw the Deserted Village, with its + mill and brook, the 'church that tops the neighbouring hill'; and even + rested under + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The hawthorn bush with seats beneath the shade + For talking age and whispering lovers made.' +</pre> + <p> + There are many parts of Ireland where one could not find a habitable house + to rent, but in this locality they are numerous enough to make it possible + to choose. We had driven over perhaps twenty square miles of country, with + the view of selecting the most delectable spot that could be found, + without going too far from Rosnaree. The chief trouble was that we always + desired every dwelling that we saw. I tell you this with a view of + lessening the shock when I confess that, before we came to the Old Hall + where we are now settled for a month, and which was Salemina's choice, + Francesca and I took two different houses, and lived in them for seven + days, each in solitary splendour, like the Prince of Coolavin. It was not + difficult to agree upon the district, we were of one mind there: the + moment that we passed the town and drove along the flowery way that leads + to Devorgilla, we knew that it was the road of destiny. + </p> + <p> + The whitethorn is very late this year, and we found ourselves in the full + glory of it. It is beautiful in all its stages, from the time when it + first opens its buds, to the season when 'every spray is white with may, + and blooms the eglantine.' There is no hint of green leaf visible then, + and every tree is 'as white as snow of one night.' This is the Gaelic + comparison, and the first snow seems especially white and dazzling, I + suppose, when one sees it in the morning where were green fields the night + before. The sloe, which is the blackthorn, comes still earlier and has + fewer leaves. That is the tree of the old English song:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'From the white-blossomed sloe + My dear Chloe requested + A sprig her fair breast to adorn. + “No, by Heav'ns!” I exclaimed, “may I perish, + If ever I plant in that bosom a thorn!”' +</pre> + <p> + And it is not only trees, but hedges and bushes and groves of hawthorn, + for a white thorn bush is seldom if ever cut down here, lest a grieved and + displeased fairy look up from the cloven trunk, and no Irishman could bear + to meet the reproach of her eyes. Do not imagine, however, that we are all + in white, like a bride: there is the pink hawthorn, and there are pink and + white horse-chestnuts laden with flowers, yellow laburnums hanging over + whitewashed farm-buildings, lilacs, and, most wonderful of all, the blaze + of the yellow gorse. There will be a thorn hedge struggling with and + conquering a grey stone wall; then a golden gorse bush struggling with and + conquering the thorn; seeking the sun, it knows no restraints, and + creeping through the barriers of green and white and grey, it fairly hurls + its yellow splendours in great blazing patches along the wayside. In + dazzling glory, in richness of colour, there is nothing in nature that we + can compare with this loveliest and commonest of all wayside weeds. The + gleaming wealth of the Klondike would make a poor showing beside a single + Irish hedgerow; one would think that Mother Earth had stored in her bosom + all the sunniest gleams of bygone summers, and was now giving them back to + the sun king from whom she borrowed them. + </p> + <p> + It was at twilight when we first swam this fragrant, golden sea—twilight, + and the birds were singing in every bush; the thrushes and blackbirds in + the blossoming cherry and chestnut-trees were so many and so tuneful that + the chorus was sweet and strong beyond anything I ever heard. There had + been a shower or two, of course; showers that looked like shimmering + curtains of silver gauze, and whether they lifted or fell the birds went + on singing. + </p> + <p> + “I did not believe such a thing possible but it is lovelier than + Pettybaw,” said Francesca; and just here we came in sight of a pink + cottage cuddling on the breast of a hill. Pink the cottage was, as if it + had been hewed out of a coral branch or the heart of a salmon; pink-washed + were the stone walls and posts; pink even were the chimneys; a green + lattice over the front was the only leaf in the bouquet. Wallflowers grew + against the pink stone walls, and there is no beautiful word in any + beautiful language that can describe the effect of that modest, rose-hued + dwelling blushing against a background of heather-brown hills covered + solidly with golden gorse bushes in full bloom. Himself and I have always + agreed to spend our anniversaries with Mrs. Bobby at Comfort Cottage, in + England, or at Bide-a-Wee, the 'wee, theekit hoosie' in the loaning at + Pettybaw, for our little love-story was begun in the one and carried on in + the other; but this, this, I thought instantly, must somehow be crowded + into the scheme of red-letter days. And now we suddenly discovered + something at once interesting and disconcerting—an American flag + floating from a tree in the background. + </p> + <p> + “The place is rented, then,” said Francesca, “to some enterprising + American or some star-spangled Irishman who has succeeded in discovering + Devorgilla before us. I well understand how the shade of Columbus must + feel whenever Amerigo Vespucci's name is mentioned!” + </p> + <p> + We sent the driver off to await our pleasure, and held a consultation by + the wayside. + </p> + <p> + “I shall call at any rate,” I announced; “any excuse will serve which + brings me nearer to that adorable dwelling. I intend to be standing in + that pink doorway, with that green lattice over my head, when Himself + arrives in Devorgilla. I intend to end my days within those rosy walls, + and to begin the process at the earliest possible moment.” + </p> + <p> + Salemina disapproved, of course. Her method is always to stand well in the + rear, trembling beforehand lest I should do something unconventional; + then, later on, when things romantic begin to transpire, she says + delightedly, “Wasn't that clever of us?” + </p> + <p> + “An American flag,” I urged, “is a proclamation; indeed, it is, in a + sense, an invitation; besides it is my duty to salute it in a foreign + land!” + </p> + <p> + “Patriotism, how many sins are practised in thy name!” said Salemina + satirically. “Can't you salute your flag from the high-road?” + </p> + <p> + “Not properly, Sally dear, nor satisfactorily. So you and Francesca sit + down, timidly and respectably, under the safe shadow of the hedge, while I + call upon the blooming family in the darling, blooming house. I am an + American artist, lured to their door alike by devotion to my country's + flag and love of the picturesque.” And so saying I ascended the path with + some dignity and a false show of assurance. + </p> + <p> + The circumstances did not chance to be precisely what I had expected. + There was a nice girl tidying the kitchen, and I found no difficulty in + making friends with her. Her mother owned the cottage, and rented it every + season to a Belfast lady, who was coming in a week to take possession, as + usual. The American flag had been floating in honour of her mother's + brother, who had come over from Milwaukee to make them a little visit, and + had just left that afternoon to sail from Liverpool. The rest of the + family lived, during the three summer months, in a smaller house down the + road; but she herself always stayed at the cottage, to 'mind' the Belfast + lady's children. + </p> + <p> + When I looked at the pink floor of the kitchen and the view from the + windows, I would have given anything in the world to outbid, yes, even to + obliterate the Belfast lady; but this, unfortunately, was not only illegal + and immoral, but it was impossible. So, calling the mother in from the + stables, I succeeded, after fifteen minutes' persuasion, in getting + permission to occupy the house for one week, beginning with the next + morning, and returned in triumph to my weary constituents, who thought it + an insane idea. + </p> + <p> + “Of course it is,” I responded cheerfully; “that is why it is going to be + so altogether charming. Don't be envious; I will find something mad for + you to do, too. One of us is always submitting to the will of the + majority; now let us be as individually silly as we like for a week, and + then take a long farewell of freakishness and freedom. Let the third + volume die in lurid splendour, since there is never to be a fourth.” + </p> + <p> + “There is still Wales,” suggested Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “Too small, Fanny dear, and we could never pronounce the names. Besides, + what sort of adventures would be possible to three—I mean, of + course, two—persons tied down by marital responsibilities and family + cares? Is it the sunset or the reflection of the pink house that is + shining on your pink face, Salemina?” + </p> + <p> + “I am extremely warm,” she replied haughtily. + </p> + <p> + “I don't wonder; sitting on the damp grass under a hedge is so stimulating + to the circulation!” observed 'young Miss Fan.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXVII. The three chatelaines of Devorgilla. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Have you been at Devorgilla, + Have you seen, at Devorgilla, + Beauty's train trip o'er the plain,— + The lovely maids of Devorgilla?' + Adapted from Edward Lysaght. +</pre> + <p> + The next morning the Old Hall dropped like a ripe rowan berry into our + very laps. The landlord of the Shamrock Inn directed us thither, and + within the hour it belonged to us for the rest of the summer. Miss + Peabody, inclined to be severe with me for my desertion, took up her + residence at once. It had never been rented before; but Miss + Llewellyn-Joyce, the owner, had suddenly determined to visit her sister in + London, and was glad to find appreciative and careful tenants. She was + taking her own maid with her, and thus only one servant remained, to be + rented with the premises, as is frequently the Irish fashion. The Old Hall + has not always been managed thus economically, it is easy to see, and Miss + Llewellyn-Joyce speaks with the utmost candour of her poverty, as indeed + the ruined Irish gentry always do. I well remember taking tea with a + family in West Clare where in default of a spoon the old squire stirred + his cup with the poker, a proceeding apparently so usual that he never + thought of apologising for it as an oddity. + </p> + <p> + The Hall has a lodge, which is a sort of miniature Round Tower, at the + entrance gate, and we see nothing for it but to import a brass-buttoned + boy from the nearest metropolis, where we must also send for a second + maid. + </p> + <p> + “That'll do when you get him,” objected Benella, “though boys need a lot + of overseeing; but as nobody can get in or come out o' that gate without + help, I shall have to go to the lodge every day now, and set down there + with my sewin' from four to six in the afternoon, or whenever the callin' + hours is. When I engaged with you, it wasn't for any particular kind of + work; it was to make myself useful. I've been errand-boy and courier, + golf-caddie and footman, beau, cook, land agent, and mother to you all, + and I guess I can be a lodge-keeper as well as not.” + </p> + <p> + Francesca had her choice of residing either with Salemina or with me, + during our week of separation, and drove in my company to Rosaleen + Cottage, to make up her mind. While she was standing at my gate, engaged + in reflection, she espied a small cabin not far away, and walked toward it + on a tour of investigation. It proved to have three tiny rooms—a + bedroom, sitting-room, and kitchen. The rent was only two pounds a month, + it is true, but it was in all respects the most unattractive, + poverty-stricken, undesirable dwelling I ever saw. It was the small stove + in the kitchen that kindled Francesca's imagination, and she made up her + mind instantly to become a householder on her own account. I tried to + dissuade her; but she is as firm as the Rock of Cashel when once she has + set her heart upon anything. + </p> + <p> + “I shall be almost your next-door neighbour, Penelope,” she coaxed, “and + of course you will give me Benella. She will sleep in the sitting-room, + and I will do the cooking. The landlady says there is no trouble about + food. 'What to ate?' she inquired, leaning out sociably over the + half-door. 'Sure it'll drive up to your very doore just.' And here is the + 'wee grass,' as she calls it, where 'yous can take your tay' under the + Japanese umbrella left by the last tenant. Think how unusual it will be + for us to live in three different houses for a week; and 'there's luck in + odd numbers, says Rory O'More.' We shall have the advantages of good + society, too, when we are living apart, for I foresee entertainment after + entertainment. We will give breakfasts, luncheons, teas, and dinners to + one another; and meanwhile I shall have learned all the housewifely arts. + Think, too, how much better you can paint with me out of your way!” + </p> + <p> + “Does no thought of your eccentricity blight your young spirit, dear?” + </p> + <p> + “Why should it when I have simply shaped my course by yours?” + </p> + <p> + “But I am married, my child.” + </p> + <p> + “And I'm 'going to be married, aha, Mamma!' as the song says; and what + about Salemina, you haven't scolded her?” + </p> + <p> + “She is living her very last days of single blessedness,” I rejoined; “she + does not know it, but she is; and I want to give her all the freedom + possible. Very well, dear innocent, live in your wee hut, then, if you can + persuade Benella to stay with you; but I think there would best be no + public visiting between you and those who live in Rosaleen Cottage and the + Old Hall, as it might ruin their social position.” + </p> + <p> + Benella confessed that she had not the heart to refuse Francesca anything. + “She's too handsome,” she said, “and too winnin'. I s'pose she'll cook up + some dreadful messes, but I'm willin' to eat 'em, to oblige her, and + perhaps it'll save her husband a few spells of dyspepsy at the start; + though, as far as my experience goes, ministers'll always eat anything + that's set before 'em, and look over their shoulders for more.” + </p> + <p> + We had a heavenly week of silliness, and by dint of concealing our real + relations from the general public, I fancy we escaped harsh criticism. + There is a very large percentage of lunacy anyway in Ireland, as well as + great leniency of public opinion, and I fancy there is scarcely a country + on the map in which one could be more foolish without being found out. + Visit each other we did constantly, and candour obliges me to state that, + though each of us secretly prided herself on the perfection of her + cuisine, Miss Monroe gave the most successful afternoon tea of all, on the + 'wee grass,' under the Japanese umbrella. How unexpectedly good were her + scones, her tea-cakes, and her cress sandwiches, and how pretty and + graceful and womanly she was, all flushed with pride at our envy and + approbation! I did a water-colour sketch of her and sent it to Ronald, + receiving in return a letter bubbling over with fond admiration and + gratitude. She seems always in tone with the season and the landscape, + does Francesca, and she arrives at it unconsciously, too. She glances out + of her window at the yellow laburnum-tree when she is putting on her white + frock, and it suggests to her all her amber trinkets and her drooping hat + with the wreath of buttercups. When she came to my hawthorn luncheon at + Rosaleen Cottage she did not make the mistake of heaping pink on pink, but + wore a cotton gown of palest green, with a bunch of rosy blossoms at her + belt. I painted her just as she stood under the hawthorn, with its + fluttering petals and singing birds, calling the picture Grainne Mael [*]: + A Vision of Erinn, writing under it the verse:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The thrushes seen in bushes green are singing loud— + Bid sadness go and gladness glow,—give welcome proud! + The Rover comes, the Lover, whom you long bewail, + O'er sunny seas, with honey breeze, to Grainne Mael.' + + * Pronounced Graunia Wael, the M being modified. It is one + of the endearing names given to Ireland in the Penal Times. +</pre> + <p> + Benella, I fancy, never had so varied a week in her life, and she was in + her element. We were obliged to hire a side-car by the day, as two of our + residences were over a mile apart; and the driver of that vehicle was the + only person, I think, who had any suspicion of our sanity. In the + intervals of teaching Francesca cooking, and eating the results while the + cook herself prudently lunched or dined with her friends, Benella + 'spring-cleaned' the lodge at the Old Hall, scrubbed the gateposts, mended + stone walls, weeded garden beds, made bags for the brooms and dusters and + mattresses, burned coffee and camphor and other ill-smelling things in all + the rooms, and devoted considerable time to superintending my little maid, + that I might not feel neglected. We were naturally obliged, meanwhile, to + wait upon ourselves and keep our frocks in order; but as long as the + Derelict was so busy and happy, and so devoted to the universal good, it + would have been churlish and ungrateful to complain. + </p> + <p> + On leaving the Wee Hut, as Francesca had, with ostentatious modesty, named + her residence, she paid her landlady two pounds, and was discomfited when + the exuberant and impetuous woman embraced her in a paroxysm of weeping + gratitude. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot understand, Penelope, why she was so disproportionately + grateful, for I only gave her five shillings over the two pounds rent.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, dear,” I responded drily; “but you remember that the rent was for + the month, and you paid her two pounds five shillings for the week.” + </p> + <p> + All the rest of that day Francesca was angelic. She brought footstools for + Salemina, wound wool for her, insisted upon washing my paint brushes, read + aloud to us while we were working, and offered to be the one to discharge + Benella if the awful moment for that surgical operation should ever come. + Finally, just as we were about to separate for the night, she said, with + insinuating sweetness, “You won't tell Ronald about my mistake with the + rent-money, will you, dearest and darlingest girls?” + </p> + <p> + We are now quite ready to join in all the gaieties that may ensue when + Rosnaree welcomes its master and his guests. Our page in buttons at the + lodge gives Benella full scope for her administrative ability, which seems + to have sprung into being since she entered our service; at least, if I + except that evidence of it which she displayed in managing us when first + we met. She calls our page 'the Button Boy,' and makes his life a burden + to him by taking him away from his easy duties at the gate, covering his + livery with baggy overalls, and setting him to weed the garden. It can + never, in the nature of things, be made free from weeds during our brief + term of tenancy, but Benella cleverly keeps her slave at work on the beds + and the walks that are the most conspicuous to visitors. The Old Hall used + simply to be called 'Aunt David's house' by the Welsh Joyces, and it was + Aunt David herself who made the garden; she who traced the lines of the + flower-beds with the ivory tip of her parasol; she who planned the quaint + stone gateways and arbours and hedge seats; she who devised the + interminable stretches of paths, the labyrinthine walks, the mazes, and + the hidden flower-plots. You walk on and on between high hedges, until, if + you have not missed your way, you presently find a little pansy or rose or + lily garden. It is quite the most unexpected and piquant method of laying + out a place I have ever seen; and the only difficulty about it is that any + gardener, unless he were possessed of unusual sense of direction, would be + continually astray in it. The Button Boy, obeying the laws of human + nature, is lost in two minutes, but requires two hours in which to find + himself. Benella suspects that he prefers this wandering to and fro to the + more monotonous task of weeding, and it is no uncommon thing for her to + pursue the recalcitrant page through the mazes and labyrinths for an hour + at a time, and perhaps lose herself in the end. Salemina and I were + sitting this morning in the Peacock Walk, where two trees clipped into the + shape of long-tailed birds mount guard over the box hedge, and put their + beaks together to form an arch. In the dim distance we could see Benella + 'bagging' the Button Boy, and, after putting the trowel and rake in his + reluctant hands, tying the free end of a ball of string to his leg, and + sending him to find and weed the pansy garden. We laughed until the echoes + rang, to see him depart, dragging his lengthening chain, or his Ariadne + thread, behind him, while Benella grimly held the ball, determined that no + excuses or apologies should interfere with his work on this occasion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXVIII. Round towers and reflections. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'On Lough Neagh's banks, as the fisherman strays, + When the cool, calm eve's declining. + He sees the round towers of other days + Beneath the waters shining.' + Thomas Moore. +</pre> + <p> + A Dublin car-driver told me one day that he had just taken a picnic-party + to the borders of a lake, where they had had tea in a tramcar which had + been placed there for such purposes. Francesca and I were amused at the + idea, but did not think of it again until we drove through the La Touche + estate, on one of the first days after our arrival at Devorgilla. We left + Salemina at Rosnaree House with Aunt La Touche and the children, and + proceeded to explore the grounds, with the view of deciding on certain + improvements to be made when the property passes, so to speak, into our + hands. + </p> + <p> + Truth to say, nature has done more for it than we could have done; and if + it is a trifle overgrown and rough and rank, it could hardly be more + beautiful. At the very furthest confines of the demesne there is a brook,—large + enough, indeed, to be called a river here, where they have no Mississippi + to dwarf all other streams and serve as an impossible standard of + comparison. Tall trees droop over the calm water, and on its margins grow + spearwort, opening its big yellow cups to the sunshine, meadow rue, purple + and yellow loosestrife, bog bean, and sweet flag. Here and there float + upon the surface the round leaves and delicate white blossoms of the + frogbit, together with lilies, pondweeds, and water starworts. + </p> + <p> + “What an idyllic place to sit and read, or sew, or have tea!” exclaimed + Francesca. + </p> + <p> + “What a place for a tram tea-house!” I added. “Do you suppose we could + manage it as a surprise to Dr. La Touche, in return for all his kindness?” + </p> + <p> + “It would cost a pretty penny, I fear,” said Francesca prudently, “though + it isn't as if it were going out of the family. Now that there is no + longer any need for you to sell pictures, I suppose you could dash off one + in an hour or two that would buy a tram; and papa cabled me yesterday, you + know, to draw on him freely. I used to think, whenever he said that, that + he would marry again within the week; but I did him injustice. A tram + tea-house by the river,—wouldn't it be unique? Do let us see what we + can do about it through some of our Dublin acquaintances.” + </p> + <p> + The plan proved unexpectedly easy to carry out, and not ruinously + extravagant, either; for our friend the American consul knew the principal + director in a tram company, and a dilapidated and discarded car was sent + to us in a few days. There were certain moments—once when we saw + that it had not been painted for twenty years, once when the freight bill + was handed us, and again when we contracted for the removal of our gift + from the station to the river-bank—when we regretted the fertility + of imagination that had led us to these lengths; but when we finally saw + the car by the water-side, there was no room left for regret. Benella said + that, with the assistance of the Button Boy, she could paint it easily + herself; but we engaged an expert, who put on a coat of dark green very + speedily, and we consoled the Derelict with the suggestion that she could + cover the cushions, and make the interior cosy and pretty. + </p> + <p> + All this happened some little time ago. Dr. La Touche has been at home for + a fortnight, and we have had to use the greatest ingenuity to keep people + away from that particular spot, which, fortunately for us, is a secluded + one. All is ready now, however, and the following cards of invitation have + been issued:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The honour of your presence + is requested at the + Opening of the New Tea Tram + On the River Bank, Rosnaree Demesne, + Wednesday, June 27th, at 4 p.m. + The ceremony will be performed by + H.R.H. Salemina Peabody. + The Bishop of Ossory in the Chair. +</pre> + <p> + I have just learned that a certain William Beresford was Bishop of Ossory + once on a time, and I intend to personate this dignitary, clad in Dr. La + Touche's cap and gown. We spend this sunny morning by the river-bank; + Francesca hemming the last of the yellow window curtains, and I making + souvenir programmes for the great occasion. Salemina had gone for the day + with the Colquhouns and Dr. La Touche to lunch with some people near Kavan + and see Donaghmore Round Tower and the moat. + </p> + <p> + “Is she in love with Dr. Gerald?” asked Francesca suddenly, looking up + from her work. “Was she ever in love with him? She must have been, mustn't + she? I cannot and will not entertain any other conviction.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know, my dear,” I answered thoughtfully, pausing over an initial + letter I was illuminating; “but I can't imagine what we shall do if we + have to tear down our sweet little romance, bit by bit, and leave the + stupid couple sitting in the ruins. They enjoy ruins far too well already, + and it would be just like their obstinacy to go on sitting in them.” + </p> + <p> + “And they are so incredibly slow about it all,” Francesca commented. “It + took me about two minutes, at Lady Baird's dinner, where I first met + Ronald, to decide that I would marry him as soon as possible. When a month + had gone by, and he hadn't asked me, I thought, like Rosalind, that I'd as + lief be wooed of a snail.” + </p> + <p> + “I was not quite so expeditious as you,” I confessed, “though I believe + Himself says that his feeling was instantaneous. I never cared for + anything but painting before I met him, so I never chanced to suffer any + of those pangs that lovelorn maidens are said to feel when the beloved + delays his avowals: perhaps that is the reason I suffer so much now, + vicariously.” + </p> + <p> + “The lack of positive information makes one so impatient,” Francesca went + on. “I am sure he is as fond of her as ever; but if she refused him when + he was young and handsome, with every prospect of a brilliant career + before him, perhaps he thinks he has even less chance now. He was the + first to forget their romance, and the one to marry; his estates have been + wasted by his father's legal warfares, and he has been an unhappy and a + disappointed man. Now he has to beg her to heal his wounds, as it were, + and to accept the care and responsibility of his children.” + </p> + <p> + “It is very easy to see that we are not the only ones who suspect his + sentiments,” I said, smiling at my thoughts. “Mrs. Colquhoun told me that + she and Salemina stopped at one of the tenants' cabins, the other day, to + leave some small comforts that Dr. La Touche had sent to a sick child. The + woman thanked Salemina, and Mrs. Colquhoun heard her say, 'When a man will + stop, coming in the doore, an' stoop down to give a sthroke and a scratch + to the pig's back, depend on it, ma'am, him that's so friendly with a poor + fellow-crathur will make ye a good husband.' + </p> + <p> + “I have given him every opportunity to confide in me,” I continued, after + a pause, “but he accepts none of them; and yet I like him a thousand times + better now that I have seen him as the master of his own house. He is so + courtly, and, in these latter days, so genial and sunny... Salemina's life + would not at first be any too easy, I fear; the aunt is very feeble, and + the establishment is so neglected. I went into Dr. Gerald's study the + other day to see an old print, and there was a buzz-buzz-zzzz when the + butler pulled up the blinds. 'Do you mind bees, ma'am?' he asked blandly. + 'There's been a swarm of them in one corner of the ceiling for manny + years, an' we don't like to disturb them.'... Benella said yesterday: 'Of + course, when you three separate, I shall stay with the one that needs me + most; but if Miss Peabody SHOULD settle over here anywhere, I'd like to + take a scrubbing brush an' go through the castle, or whatever she's going + to live in, with soap and sand and ammonia, and make it water-sweet before + she sets foot in it.'... As for the children, however, no one could regard + them as a drawback, for they are altogether charming; not well + disciplined, of course, but lovable to the last degree. Broona was + planning her future life when we were walking together yesterday. Jackeen + is to be 'an engineer, by the sea,' so it seems, and Broona is to be a + farmer's wife with a tiny red bill-book like Mrs. Colquhoun's. Her little + boys and girls will sell the milk, and when Jackeen has his engineering + holidays he will come and eat fresh butter and scones and cream and jam at + the farm, and when her children have their holidays they will go and play + on 'Jackeen's beach.' It is the little people I rely upon chiefly, after + all. I wish you could have seen them cataract down the staircase to greet + her this morning. I notice that she tries to make me divert their + attention when Dr. Gerald is present; for it is a bit suggestive to a + widower to see his children pursue, hang about, and caress a lovely, + unmarried lady. Broona, especially, can hardly keep away from Salemina; + and she is such a fascinating midget, I should think anybody would be glad + to have her included in a marriage contract. 'You have a weeny, weeny line + between your eyebrows, just like my daddy's,' she said to Salemina the + other day. 'It's such a little one, perhaps I can kiss it away; but daddy + has too many, and they are cutted too deep. Sometimes he whispers, 'Daddy + is sad, Broona,' and then I say, 'Play up, play up, and play the game!' + and that makes him smile.'” + </p> + <p> + “She is a darling,” said Francesca, with the suspicion of a tear in her + eye. “'Were you ever in love, Miss Fancy?' she asked me once. 'I was; it + was long, long ago before I belonged to daddy'; and another time when I + had been reading to her, she said 'I often think that when I get into the + kingdom of heaven the person I'll be gladdest to see will be Marjorie + Fleming.' Yes, the children are sure to help; they always do in whatever + circumstances they chance to be placed. Did you notice Salemina with them + at tea-time, yesterday? It was such a charming scene. The heavy rain had + kept them in, and things had gone wrong in the nursery. Salemina had glued + the hair on Broona's dolly, and knit up a heart-breaking wound in her + side. Then she mended the legs of all the animals in the Noah's ark, so + that they stood firm, erect, and proud; and when, to draw the children's + eyes from the wet window-panes, she proposed a story, it was pretty to see + the grateful youngsters snuggle in her lap and by her side.” + </p> + <p> + “When does an artist ever fail to see pictures? I have loved Salemina + always, even when she used to part her hair in the middle and wear + spectacles; but that is the first time I ever wanted to paint her, with + the firelight shining on the soft, restful greys and violets of her dress, + and Broona in her arms. Of course, if a woman is ever to be lovely at all, + it will be when she is holding a child. It is the oldest of all old + pictures, and the most beautiful, I believe, in a man's eyes. + </p> + <p> + “And do you notice that she and the doctor are beginning to speak more + freely of their past acquaintance?” I went on, looking up at Francesca, + who had dropped her work in her interest. “It is too amusing! Every hour + or two it is: 'Do you remember the day we went to Bunker Hill?' or, 'Do + you recall that charming Mrs. Andrews, with whom we used to dine + occasionally?' or, 'What has become of your cousin Samuel?' and, 'Is your + uncle Thomas yet living?'... The other day, at tea, she asked, 'Do you + still take three lumps, Dr. La Touche? You had always a sweet tooth, I + remember.'... Then they ring the changes in this way: 'You were always + fond of grey, Miss Peabody.' 'You had a great fancy for Moore, in the old + days, Miss Peabody: have you outgrown him, or does the 'Anacreontic little + chap,' as Father Prout called him, still appeal to you?'... 'You used to + admire Boyle O'Reilly, Dr. La Touche. Would you like to see some of his + letters?'... 'Aren't these magnificent rhododendrons, Dr. La Touche,—even + though they are magenta, the colour you specially dislike?' And so on. Did + you chance to look at either of them last evening, Francesca, when I sang + 'Let Erin remember the days of old'?” + </p> + <p> + “No; I was thinking of something else. I don't know what there is about + your singing, Penny love, that always makes me think of the past and dream + of the future. Which verse do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + And, still painting, I hummed:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “'On Lough Neagh's banks, as the fisherman strays, + When the cool, calm eve's declining, + He sees the round towers of other days + Beneath the waters shining. + . . . . . . + Thus shall memory oft, in dreams sublime, + Catch a glimpse of the days that are over, + And, sighing, look thro' the waves of Time, + For the long-faded glories they cover.' +</pre> + <p> + “That is what our two dear middle-aged lovers are constantly doing now,—looking + at the round towers of other days, as they bend over memory's crystal pool + and see them reflected there. It is because he fears that the glories are + over and gone that Dr. Gerald is troubled. Some day he will realise that + he need not live on reflections, and he will seek realities.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope so,” said Francesca philosophically, as she folded her work; “but + sometimes these people who go mooning about, and looking through the waves + of Time, tumble in and are drowned.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXIX. Aunt David's garden. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'O wind, O mighty, melancholy wind, + Blow through me, blow! + Thou blowest forgotten things into my mind + From long ago.' + John Todhunter. +</pre> + <p> + No one ever had a better opportunity than we, of breathing in, so far as a + stranger and a foreigner may, the old Celtic atmosphere, and of reliving + the misty years of legend before the dawn of history; when + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Long, long ago, beyond the space + Of twice two hundred years, + In Erin old there lived a race + Taller than Roman spears.' +</pre> + <p> + Mr. Colquhoun is one of the best Gaelic scholars in Ireland, and Dr. + Gerald, though not his equal in knowledge of the language, has 'the full + of a sack of stories' in his head. According to the Book of Leinster, a + professional story-teller was required to know seven times fifty tales, + and I believe the doctor could easily pass this test. It is not easy to + make a good translation from Irish to English, for they tell us there are + no two Aryan languages more opposed to each other in spirit and idiom. We + have heard little of the marvellous old tongue until now, but we are + reading it a bit under the tutelage of these two inspiring masters, and I + fancy it has helped me as much in my understanding of Ireland as my + tedious and perplexing worriments over political problems. + </p> + <p> + After all, how can we know anything of a nation's present or future + without some attempt to revivify its past? Just as, without some slender + knowledge of its former culture, we must be for ever ignorant of its + inherited powers and aptitudes. The harp that once through Tara's halls + the soul of music shed, now indeed hangs mute on Tara's walls, but for all + that its echoes still reverberate in the listening ear. + </p> + <p> + When we sit together by the river brink on sunny days, or on the + greensward under the yews in our old garden, we are always telling ancient + Celtic romances, and planning, even acting, new ones. Francesca's mind and + mine are poorly furnished with facts of any sort; but when the kind + scholars in our immediate neighbourhood furnish necessary information and + inspiration, we promptly turn it into dramatic form, and serve it up + before their wondering and admiring gaze. It is ever our habit to 'make + believe' with the children; and just as we played ballads in Scotland and + plotted revels in the Glen at Rowardennan, so we instinctively fall into + the habit of thought and speech that surrounds us here. + </p> + <p> + This delights our grave and reverend signiors, and they give themselves up + to our whimsicalities with the most whole-hearted zeal. It is days since + we have spoken of one another by those names which were given to us in + baptism. Francesca is Finola the Festive. Eveleen Colquhoun is Ethnea. I + am the harper, Pearla the Melodious. Miss Peabody is Sheela the Skilful + Scribe, who keeps for posterity a record of all our antics, in the + Speckled Book of Salemina. Dr. Gerald is Borba the Proud, the Ard-ri or + overking. Mr. Colquhoun is really called Dermod, but he would have been + far too modest to choose Dermot O'Dyna for his Celtic name, had we not + insisted; for this historic personage was not only noble-minded, generous, + of untarnished honour, and the bravest of the brave, but he was as + handsome as he was gallant, and so much the idol of the ladies that he was + sometimes called Dermat-na-man, or Dermot of the women. + </p> + <p> + Of course we have a corps of shanachies, or story-tellers, gleemen, + gossipreds, leeches, druids, gallowglasses, bards, ollaves, urraghts, and + brehons; but the children can always be shifted from one role to another, + and Benella and the Button Boy, although they are quite unaware of the + honours conferred upon them, are often alluded to in our romances and + theatrical productions. + </p> + <p> + Aunt David's garden is not a half bad substitute for the old Moy-Mell, the + plain of pleasure of the ancient Irish, when once you have the key to its + treasures. We have made a new and authoritative survey of its geographical + features and compiled a list of its legendary landmarks, which, strangely + enough, seem to have been absolutely unknown to Miss Llewellyn-Joyce. + </p> + <p> + In the very centre is the Forradh, or Place of Meeting, and on it is our + own Lia Fail, Stone of Destiny. The one in Westminster Abbey, carried away + from Scotland by Edward I., is thought by many scholars to be unauthentic, + and we hope that ours may prove to have some historical value. The only + test of a Stone of Destiny, as I understand it, is that it shall 'roar' + when an Irish monarch is inaugurated; and that our Lia Fail was silent + when we celebrated this impressive ceremony reflects less upon its own + powers, perhaps, than upon the pedigree of our chosen Ard-ri. + </p> + <p> + The arbour under the mountain ash is the Fairy Palace of the Quicken Tree, + and on its walls is suspended the Horn of Foreknowledge, which if any one + looks on it in the morning, fasting, he will know in a moment all things + that are to happen during that day. + </p> + <p> + The clump of willows is the Wood of the Many Sallows (a willow-tree is + familiarly known as a 'sally' in Ireland). Do you know Yeats's song, put + to a quaint old Irish air? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Down by the sally gardens my love and I did meet, + She passed the sally gardens with little snow-white feet. + She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree, + But I, being young and foolish, with her did not agree.' +</pre> + <p> + The summer-house is the Greenan; that is, grianan, a bright, sunny place. + On the arm of a tree in the Greenan hangs something you might (if you are + dull) mistake for a plaited garland of rushes hung with pierced pennies; + but it really is our Chain of Silence, a useful article of bygone ages, + which the lord of a mansion shook when he wished an attentive hearing, and + which deserved a better fate and a longer survival than it has met. + Jackeen's Irish terrier is Bran,—though he does not closely resemble + the great Finn's sweet-voiced, gracefully-shaped, long-snouted hound; the + coracle lying on the shore of the little lough—the coracle made of + skin, like the old Irish boats—is the Wave-Sweeper; and the faithful + mare that we hire by the day is, by your leave, Enbarr of the Flowing + Mane. No warrior was ever killed on the back of this famous steed, for she + was as swift as the clear, cold wind of spring, travelling with equal ease + and speed on land and sea, an' may the divil fly away wid me if that + same's not true. + </p> + <p> + We no longer find any difficulty in remembering all this nomenclature, for + we are 'under gesa' to use no other. When you are put under gesa to reveal + or to conceal, to defend or to avenge, it is a sort of charm or spell; + also an obligation of honour. Finola is under gesa not to write to Alba + more than six times a week and twice on Sundays; Sheela is bound by the + same charm to give us muffins for afternoon tea; I am vowed to forget my + husband when I am relating romances, and allude to myself, for dramatic + purposes, as a maiden princess, or a maiden of enchanting and + all-conquering beauty. And if we fail to abide by all these laws of the + modern Dedannans of Devorgilla, which are written in the Speckled Book of + Salemina, we are to pay eric-fine. These fines are collected with all + possible solemnity, and the children delight in them to such an extent + that occasionally they break the law for the joy of the penalty. If you + have ever read the Fate of the Children of Turenn, you remember that they + were to pay to Luga the following eric-fine for the slaying of their + father, Kian: two steeds and a chariot, seven pigs, a hound whelp, a + cooking-spit, and three shouts on a hill. This does not at first seem + excessive, if Kian were a good father, and sincerely mourned; but when + Luga began to explain the hidden snares that lay in the pathway, it is + small wonder that the sons of Turenn felt doubt of ever being able to pay + it, and that when, after surmounting all the previous obstacles, they at + last raised three feeble shouts on Midkena's Hill, they immediately gave + up the ghost. + </p> + <p> + The story told yesterday by Sheela the Scribe was the Magic Thread-Clue, + or the Pursuit of the Gilla Dacker, Benella and the Button Boy being the + chief characters; Finola's was the Voyage of the Children of Corr the + Swift-Footed (the Ard-ri's pseudonym for American travellers); while mine, + to be told to-morrow, is called the Quest of the Fair Strangers, or the + Fairy Quicken Tree of Devorgilla. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXX. The Quest of the Fair Strangers, + </h2> + <p> + or The Fairy Quicken-Tree of Devorgilla. [*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Before the King + The bards will sing. + And there recall the stories all + That give renown to Ireland.' + Eighteenth Century Song. + Englished by George Sigerson. + + * It seems probable that this tale records a real incident + which took place in Aunt David's garden. Penelope has + apparently listened with such attention to the old Celtic + romances as told by the Ard-ri and Dermot O'Dyna that she + has, consciously or unconsciously, reproduced something of + their atmosphere and phraseology. The delightful surprise at + the end must have been contrived by Salemina, when she, in + her character of Sheela the Scribe, gazed into the Horn of + Foreknowledge and learned the events that were to happen + that day.—K.D.W. + + PEARLA'S STORY. +</pre> + <p> + Three maidens once dwelt in a castle in that part of the Isle of Weeping + known as the cantred of Devorgilla, Devorgilla of the Green Hill Slopes; + and they were baptized according to druidical rites as Sheela the Scribe, + Finola the Festive, and Pearla the Melodious, though by the dwellers in + that land they were called the Fair Strangers, or the Children of Corr the + Swift-Footed. + </p> + <p> + This cantred of Devorgilla they acquired by paying rent and tribute to the + Wise Woman of Wales, who granted them to fish in its crystal streams and + to hunt over the green-sided hills, to roam through the woods of yew-trees + and to pluck the flowers of every hue that were laughing all over the + plains. + </p> + <p> + Thus were they circumstanced: Their palace of abode was never without + three shouts in it,—the shout of the maidens brewing tea, the shout + of the guests drinking it, and the shout of the assembled multitude + playing at their games. The same house was never without three measures,—a + measure of magic malt for raising the spirits, a measure of Attic salt for + the seasoning of tales, and a measure of poppy leaves to induce sleep when + the tales were dull. + </p> + <p> + And the manner of their lives was this: In the cool of the morning they + gathered nuts and arbutus apples and scarlet quicken berries to take back + with them to Tir-thar-toinn, the Country beyond the Wave; for this was the + land of their birth. When the sun was high in the east they went forth to + the chase; sometimes it was to hunt the Ard-ri, and at others it was in + pursuit of Dermot of the Bright Face. Then, after resting awhile on their + couches of soft rushes, they would perform champion feats, or play on + their harps, or fish in their clear-flowing streams that were swimming + with salmon. + </p> + <p> + The manner of their fishing was this: to cut a long, straight sallow-tree + rod, and having fastened a hook and one of Finola's hairs upon it, to put + a quicken-tree berry upon the hook, and stand on the brink of the + swift-flowing river, whence they drew out the shining-skinned, + silver-sided salmon. These they would straightway broil over a little fire + of birch boughs; and they needed with them no other food but the magical + loaf made by Toma, one of their house-servants. The witch hag that dwelt + on that hillside of Rosnaree called Fan-na-carpat, or the Slope of the + Chariots, had cast a druidical spell over Toma, by which she was able to + knead a loaf that would last twenty days and twenty nights, and one + mouthful of which would satisfy hunger for that length of time. [**] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ** Fact. +</pre> + <p> + Not far from the mayden castle was a certain royal palace, with a + glittering roof, and the name of the palace was Rosnaree. And upon the + level green in front of the regal abode, or in the banqueting-halls, might + always be seen noble companies of knights and ladies bright,—some + feasting, some playing at the chess, some giving ear to the music of their + own harps, some continually shaking the Chain of Silence, and some + listening to the poems and tales of heroes of the olden time that were + told by the king's bards and shanachies. + </p> + <p> + Now all went happily with the Fair Strangers until the crimson berries + were ripening on the quicken-tree near the Fairy Palace. For the berries + possessed secret virtues known only to a man of the Dedannans, and learned + from him by Sheela the Scribe, who put him under gesa not to reveal the + charm to any one else. Whosoever ate of the honey-sweet, scarlet-glowing + fruit felt a cheerful flow of spirits, as if he had tasted wine or mead, + and whosoever ate a sufficient number of them was almost certain to grow + younger. These things were written in the Speckled Book of Salemina, but + in druidical ink, undecipherable to all eyes but those of the Scribe + herself. + </p> + <p> + So, wishing that none should possess the secret but themselves, the Fair + Strangers set the Gilla Dacker+ to watch the fruit (putting him first + under gesa to eat none of the berries himself, since he was already too + cheerful and too young to be of much service); and thus, in their absence, + the magical tree was never left alone. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +Could be freely translated as the Slothful Button Boy. +</pre> + <p> + Nevertheless, when Finola the Festive went forth to the chase one day, she + found a quicken berry glowing like a ruby in the highroad, and Sheela + plucked a second from under a gnarled thorn on the Slope of the Chariots, + and Pearla discovered a third in the curiously-compounded, + swiftly-satisfying loaf of Toma. Then the Fair Strangers became very + angry, and sent out their trusty fleet-footed couriers to scour the land + for the invaders; for they knew that none of the Dedannans would take the + berries, being under gesa not to do so. But the couriers returned, and + though they were men able to trace the trail of a fox through nine glens + and nine rivers, they could discover no proof of the presence of a foreign + foe in the mayden cantred of Devorgilla. + </p> + <p> + Then the hearts of the Fair Strangers were filled with grief and gall, for + they distrusted the couriers, and having consulted the Ard-ri, they set + forth themselves to find and conquer the invader; for the king told them + that there was one other quicken-tree, more beautiful and more magical + than that growing by the Fairy Palace, and that it was set in another part + of the bright-blooming, sweet-scented old garden,—namely, in the + heart of the labyrinthine maze of the Wise Woman of Wales; but as no one + of them, neither the Gilla Dacker nor those who pursued him, had ever, + even with the aid of the Magic Thread-Clue, reached the heart of the maze, + there was no knowledge among them of the second quicken-tree. The king + also told Sheela the Scribe, secretly, that one of his knights had found a + money-piece and a breviary in the forest of Rosnaree; and the silver was + unlike any ever used in the country of the Dedannans, and the breviary + could belong only to a pious Gael known as Loskenn of the Bare Knees. + </p> + <p> + Now Sheela the Scribe, having fasted from midnight until dawn, gazed upon + the Horn of Foreknowledge, and read there that it was wiser for her to + remain on guard at the Fairy Palace, while her sisters explored the secret + fastnesses of the labyrinth. + </p> + <p> + When Finola was apparelled to set forth upon her quest, Pearla thought her + the loveliest maiden upon the ridge of the world, and wondered whether she + meant to conquer the invader by force of arms or by the power of beauty. + </p> + <p> + The rose and the lily were fighting together in her face, and one could + not tell which of them got the victory. Her arms and hands were like the + lime, her mouth was as red as a ripe strawberry, her foot as small and as + light as another one's hand, her form smooth and slender, and her hair + falling down from her head under combs of gold.++ One could not look at + her without being 'all over in love with her,' as Oisin said at his first + meeting with Niam of the Golden Hair. And as for Pearla, the rose on her + cheeks was heightened by her rage against the invader, the delicate + blossom of the sloe was not whiter than her neck, and her glossy chestnut + ringlets fell to her waist. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ++ Description of the Princess in Guleesh na Guss Dhu. +</pre> + <p> + Then the Gilla Dacker unleashed Bran, the keen-scented terrier hound, and + put a pearl-embroidered pillion on Enbarr of the Flowing Mane, and the two + dauntless maidens leaped upon her back, each bearing a broad shield and a + long polished, death-dealing spear. When Enbarr had been given a free rein + she set out for the labyrinth, trailing the Magic Thread-Clue behind her, + cleaving the air with long, active strides; and if you know what the speed + of a swallow is, flying across a mountain-side, or the dry wind of a March + day sweeping over the plains, then you can understand nothing of the + swiftness of this steed of the flowing mane, acquired by the day by the + maydens of Devorgilla. + </p> + <p> + Many were the dangers that beset the path of these two noble champions on + their quest for the Fairy Quicken Tree. Here they met an enormous white + stoat, but this was slain by the intrepid Bran, and they buried its + bleeding corse and raised a cairn over it, with the name 'Stoat' graven on + it in Ogam; there a druidical fairy mist sprang up in their path to hide + the way, but they pierced it with a note of their far-reaching, + clarion-toned voices,—an art learned in their native land beyond the + wave. + </p> + <p> + Now the dog Bran, being unhungered, and refusing to eat of Toma's loaf, as + all did who were ignorant of its druidical purpose, fell upon the Magic + Thread-Clue and tore it in twain. This so greatly affrighted the champions + that they sounded the Dord-Fian slowly and plaintively, hoping that the + war-cry might bring Sheela to their rescue. This availing nothing, Finola + was forced to slay Bran with her straight-sided, silver-shining spear; but + this she felt he would not mind if he could know that he would share the + splendid fate of the stoat, and speedily have a cairn raised over him, + with the word 'Bran' graven upon it in Ogam,—since this is the + consolation offered by the victorious living to all dead Celtic heroes; + and if it be a poor substitute for life, it is at least better than + nothing. + </p> + <p> + It was now many hours after noon, and though to the Fair Strangers it + seemed they had travelled more than forty or a hundred miles, they were + apparently no nearer than ever to the heart of the labyrinth: and this + from the first had been the pestiferous peculiarity of that malignantly + meandering maze. So they dismounted, and tied Enbarr to the branch of a + tree, while they refreshed themselves with a mouthful of Toma's loaf; and + Finola now put her thumb under her 'tooth of knowledge,' for she wished + new guidance and inspiration, and, being more than common modest, she + said: “Inasmuch as we are fairer than all the other maydens in this + labyrinth, why, since we cannot find the heart of the maze, do we not + entice the invaders from their hiding-place by the quicken-tree; and when + we see from what direction they advance, fall upon and slay them; and + after raising the usual cairn to their memory, and carving their names + over it in the customary Ogam, run to the enchanted tree and gather all + the berries that are left? For this is the hour when Sheela brews the tea, + and the knights and the ladies quaff it from our golden cups; and truly I + am weary of this quest, and far rather would I be there than here.” + </p> + <p> + So Pearla the Melodious took her timpan, and chanted a Gaelic song that + she had learned in the country of the Dedannans; and presently a + round-polished, red-gleaming quicken berry dropped into her lap, and + another into Finola's, and, looking up, they saw nought save only a cloud + of quicken berries falling through the air one after the other. And this + caused them to wonder, for it seemed like unto a snare set for them; but + Pearla said, “There is nought remaining for us but to meet the danger.” + </p> + <p> + “It is well,” replied Finola, shaking down the mantle of her ebon locks, + and setting the golden combs more firmly in them; “only, if I perish, I + prithee let there be no cairns or Ogams. Let me fall, as a beauty should, + face upward; and if it be but a swoon, and the invader be a handsome + prince, see that he wakens me in his own good way.” + </p> + <p> + “To arms, then!” cried Pearla, and, taking up their spears and shields, + the Fair Strangers dashed blindly in the direction whence the berries + fell. + </p> + <p> + “To arms indeed, but to yours or ours?” called two voices from the heart + of the labyrinth; and there, in an instant, the two brave champions, + Finola and Pearla, found the Fairy Tree hanging thick with scarlet + berries, and under its branches, fit fruit indeed to raise the spirits or + bring eternal youth, were, in the language of the Dedannans, Loskenn of + the Bare Knees and the Bishop of Ossory,—known to the Children of + Corr the Swift-Footed as Ronald Macdonald and Himself! + </p> + <p> + And the hours ran on; and Sheela the Scribe brewed and brewed and brewed + and brewed the tea at her table in the Peacock Walk, and the knights and + ladies quaffed it from the golden cups belonging to the Wise Woman of + Wales; but Finola the Festive and Pearla the Melodious lingered in the + labyrinth with Loskenn of the Bare Knees and the Bishop of Ossory. And + they said to one another, “Surely, if it were so great a task to find the + heart of this maze, we should be mad to stir from the spot, lest we lose + it again.” + </p> + <p> + And Pearla murmured, “That plan were wise indeed, save that the place + seemeth all too small for so many.” + </p> + <p> + Then Finola drew herself up proudly, and replied, “It is no smaller for + one than for another; but come, Loskenn, let us see if haply we can lose + ourselves in some path of our own finding.” + </p> + <p> + And this they did; and the content of them that departed was no greater + than the content of them that were left behind, and the sun hid himself + for very shame because the brightness of their joy was so much more + dazzling than the glory of his own face. And nothing more is told of what + befell them till they reached the threshold of the Old Hall; and it was + not the sun, but the moon, that shone upon their meeting with Sheela the + Scribe. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXI. Good-bye, dark Rosaleen. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'When the poor exiles, every pleasure past, + Hung round the bowers, and fondly looked their last, + And took a long farewell, and wished in vain + For seats like these beyond the western main, + And shuddering still to face the distant deep, + Returned and wept, and still returned to weep.' + Oliver Goldsmith. +</pre> + <p> + It is almost over, our Irish holiday, so full of delicious, fruitful + experiences; of pleasures we have made and shared, and of other people's + miseries and hardships we could not relieve. Almost over! Soon we shall be + in Dublin, and then on to London to meet Francesca's father; soon be + deciding whether she will be married at the house of their friend the + American ambassador, or in her own country, where she has really had no + home since the death of her mother. + </p> + <p> + The ceremony over, Mr. Monroe will start again for Cairo or + Constantinople, Stockholm or St. Petersburg; for he is of late years a + determined wanderer, whose fatherly affection is chiefly shown in liberal + allowances, in pride of his daughter's beauty and many conquests, in + conscientious letter-writing, and in frequent calls upon her between his + long journeys. It is because of these paternal predilections that we are + so glad Francesca's heart has resisted all the shot and shell directed + against it from the batteries of a dozen gay worldlings and yielded so + quietly and so completely to Ronald Macdonald's loyal and tender + affection. + </p> + <p> + At tea-time day before yesterday, Salemina suggested that Francesca and I + find the heart of Aunt David's labyrinth, the which she had discovered in + a less than ten minutes' search that morning, leaving her Gaelic primer + behind her that we might bring it back as a proof of our success. You have + heard in Pearla's Celtic fairy tale the outcome of this little expedition, + and now know that Ronald Macdonald and Himself planned the joyful surprise + for us, and by means of Salemina's aid carried it out triumphantly. + </p> + <p> + Ronald crossing to Ireland from Glasgow, and Himself from Liverpool, had + met in Dublin, and travelled post-haste to the Shamrock Inn in Devorgilla, + where they communicated with Salemina and begged her assistance in their + plot. + </p> + <p> + I was looking forward to my husband's arrival within a week, but Ronald + had said not a word of his intended visit; so that Salemina was properly + nervous lest some one of us should collapse out of sheer joy at the + unexpected meeting. + </p> + <p> + I have been both quietly and wildly happy many times in my life, but I + think yesterday was the most perfect day in all my chain of years. Not + that in this long separation I have been dull, or sad, or lonely. How + could I be? Dull, with two dear, bright, sunny letters every week, letters + throbbing with manly tenderness, letters breathing the sure, steadfast, + protecting care that a strong man gives to the woman he has chosen. Sad, + with my heart brimming over with sweet memories and sweeter prophecies, + and all its tiny crevices so filled with love that discontent can find no + entrance there! Lonely, when the vision of the beloved is so poignantly + real in absence that his bodily presence adds only a final touch to joy! + Dull, or sad, when in these soft days of spring and early summer I have + harboured a new feeling of companionship and oneness with Nature, a fresh + joy in all her bounteous resource and plenitude of life, a renewed sense + of kinship with her mysterious awakenings! The heavenly greenness and + promise of the outer world seem but a reflection of the hopes and dreams + that irradiate my own inner consciousness. + </p> + <p> + My art, dearly as I loved it, dearly as I love it still, never gave me + these strange, unspeakable joys with their delicate margin of pain. Where + are my ambitions, my visions of lonely triumphs, my imperative need of + self-expression, my ennobling glimpses of the unattainable, my + companionship with the shadows in which an artist's life is so rich? Are + they vanished altogether? I think not; only changed in the twinkling of an + eye, merged in something higher still, carried over, linked on, + transformed, transmuted, by Love the alchemist, who, not content with joys + already bestowed, whispers secret promises of raptures yet to come. + </p> + <p> + The green isle looked its fairest for our wanderers. Just as a woman + adorns herself with all her jewels when she wishes to startle or enthrall, + wishes to make a lover of a friend, so Devorgilla arrayed herself to + conquer these two pairs of fresh eyes, and command their instant + allegiance. + </p> + <p> + It was a tender, silvery day, fair, mild, pensive, with light shadows and + a capricious sun. There had been a storm of rain the night before, and it + was as if Nature had repented of her wildness, and sought forgiveness by + all sorts of winsome arts, insinuating invitations, soft caresses, and + melting coquetries of demeanour. + </p> + <p> + Broona and Jackeen had lunched with us at the Old Hall, and, inebriated by + broiled chicken, green peas, and a half holiday, flitted like fireflies + through Aunt David's garden, showing all its treasures to the two new + friends, already in high favour. + </p> + <p> + Benella, it is unnecessary to say, had confided her entire past life to + Himself after a few hours' acquaintance, while both he and Ronald, + concealing in the most craven manner their original objections to the part + she proposed to play in our triangular alliance, thanked her, with tears + in their eyes, for her devotion to their sovereign ladies. + </p> + <p> + We had tea in the Italian garden at Rosnaree, and Dr. Gerald, arm in arm + with Himself, walked between its formal flower borders, along its paths of + golden gravel, and among its spirelike cypresses and fountains, where + balustrades and statues, yellowed and stained with age (stains which + Benella longs to scrub away), make the brilliant turf even greener by + contrast. + </p> + <p> + Tea was to have been followed in due course by dinner, but we all agreed + that nothing should induce us to go indoors on such a beautiful evening; + so baskets were packed, and we went in rowboats to a picnic supper on + Illanroe, a wee island in Lough Beg. + </p> + <p> + I can close my eyes to-day and see the picture—the lonely little + lake, as blue in the sunshine as the sky above it, but in the twilight + first brown and cool, then flushed with the sunset. The distant hills, the + rocks, the heather, wore tints I never saw them wear before. The singing + wavelets 'spilled their crowns of white upon the beach' across the lake, + and the wild-flowers in the clear shallows near us grew so close to the + brink that they threw their delicate reflections in the water, looking up + at us again framed in red-brown grasses. + </p> + <p> + By and by the moon rose out of the pearl-greys and ambers in the east, + bevies of black rooks flew homeward, and stillness settled over the face + of the brown lake. Darkness shut us out from Devorgilla; and though we + could still see the glimmer of the village lights, it seemed as if we were + in a little world of our own. + </p> + <p> + It was useless for Salemina to deny herself to the children, for was she + not going to leave them on the morrow? She sat under the shadow of a thorn + bush, and the two mites, tired with play, cuddled themselves by her side, + unreproved. She looked tenderly, delectably feminine. The moon shone full + upon her face; but there are no ugly lines to hide, for there are no + parched and arid places in her nature. Dews of sympathy, sweet spring + floods of love and compassion, have kept all fresh, serene, and young. + </p> + <p> + We had been gay, but silence fell upon us as it had fallen upon the lake. + There would be only a day or two in Dublin, whither Dr. Gerald was going + with us, that he might have the last word and hand-clasp before we sailed + away from Irish shores; and so near was the parting that we were all, in + our hearts, bidding farewell to the Emerald Isle. + </p> + <p> + Good-bye, Silk of the Kine! I was saying to myself, calling the friendly + spot by one of the endearing names given her by her lovers in the sad old + days. Good-bye, Little Black Rose, growing on the stern Atlantic shore! + Good-bye, Rose of the World, with your jewels of emerald and amethyst, the + green of your fields and the misty purple of your hills! Good-bye, Shan + Van Vocht, Poor Little Old Woman! We are going back, Himself and I, to the + Oilean Ur, as you used to call our new island—going back to the + hurly-burly of affairs, to prosperity and opportunity; but we shall not + forget the lovely Lady of Sorrows looking out to the west with the pain of + a thousand years in her ever youthful eyes. Good-bye, my Dark Rosaleen, + good-bye! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXII. 'As the sunflower turns.' + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets, + But as truly loves on to the close, + As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets, + The same look which she turned when he rose.' + Thomas Moore. +</pre> + <p> + Here we all are at O'Carolan's Hotel in Dublin—all but the + Colquhouns, who bade us adieu at the station, and the dear children, whose + tears are probably dried by now, although they flowed freely enough at + parting. Broona flung her arms tempestuously around Salemina's neck, + exclaiming between her sobs, “Good-bye, my thousand, thousand blessings!”—an + expression so Irish that we laughed and cried in one breath at the sound + of it. + </p> + <p> + Here we are in the midst of life once more, though to be sure it is Irish + life, which moves less dizzily than our own. We ourselves feel thoroughly + at home, nor are we wholly forgotten by the public; for on beckoning to a + driver on the cab-stand to approach with his side-car, he responded with + alacrity, calling to his neighbour, “Here's me sixpenny darlin' again!” + and I recognised him immediately as a man who had once remonstrated with + me eloquently on the subject of a fee, making such a fire of Hibernian + jokes over my sixpence that I heartily wished it had been a + half-sovereign. + </p> + <p> + Cables and telegrams are arriving every hour, and a rich American lady + writes to Salemina, asking her if she can purchase the Book of Kells for + her, as she wishes to give it to a favourite nephew who is a bibliomaniac. + I am begging the shocked Miss Peabody to explain that the volume in + question is not for sale, and to ask at the same time if her correspondent + wishes to purchase the Lakes of Killarney or the Giant's Causeway in its + stead. Francesca, in a whirl of excitement, is buying cobweb linens, harp + brooches, creamy poplins with golden shamrocks woven into their lustrous + surfaces; and as for laces, we spend hours in the shops, when our + respective squires wish us to show them the sights of Dublin. + </p> + <p> + Benella is in her element, nursing Salemina, who sprained her ankle just + as we were leaving Devorgilla. At the last moment our side-cars were so + crowded with passengers and packages that she accepted a seat in Dr. + Gerald's carriage, and drove to the station with him. She had a few last + farewells to say in the village, and a few modest remembrances to leave + with some of the poor old women; and I afterward learned that the drive + was not without its embarrassments. The butcher's wife said fervently, + “May you long be spared to each other!” The old weaver exclaimed, “'Twould + be an ojus pity to spoil two houses wid ye!” While the woman who sells + apples at the station capped all by wishing the couple “a long life and a + happy death together.” No wonder poor Salemina slipped and twisted her + ankle as she alighted from the carriage! Though walking without help is + still an impossibility, twenty-four hours of rubbing and bathing and + bandaging have made it possible for her to limp discreetly, and we all + went to St. Patrick's Cathedral together this morning. + </p> + <p> + We had been in the quiet churchyard, where a soft, misty rain was falling + on the yellow acacias and the pink hawthorns. We had stood under the + willow-tree in the deanery garden—the tree that marks the site of + the house from which Dean Swift watched the movements of the torches in + the cathedral at the midnight burial of Stella. They are lying side by + side at the foot of a column in the south side of the nave, and a brass + plate in the pavement announces:— + </p> + <p> + 'Here lies Mrs. Hester Johnson, better known to the world by the name of + Stella, under which she is celebrated in the writings of Dr. Jonathan + Swift, Dean of this Cathedral.' + </p> + <p> + Poor Stella, at rest for a century and a half beside the man who caused + her such pangs of love and grief—who does not mourn her? + </p> + <p> + The nave of the cathedral was dim, and empty of all sightseers save our + own group. There was a caretaker who went about in sloppy rubber shoes, + scrubbing marbles and polishing brasses, and behind a high screen or + temporary partition some one was playing softly on an organ. + </p> + <p> + We stood in a quiet circle by Stella's resting-place, and Dr. Gerald, who + never forgets anything, apparently, was reminding us of Thackeray's + gracious and pathetic tribute:— + </p> + <p> + 'Fair and tender creature, pure and affectionate heart! Boots it to you + now that the whole world loves you and deplores you? Scarce any man ever + thought of your grave that did not cast a flower of pity on it, and write + over it a sweet epitaph. Gentle lady! so lovely, so loving, so unhappy. + You have had countless champions, millions of manly hearts mourning for + you. From generation to generation we take up the fond tradition of your + beauty; we watch and follow your story, your bright morning love and + purity, your constancy, your grief, your sweet martyrdom. We know your + legend by heart. You are one of the saints of English story.' + </p> + <p> + As Dr. Gerald's voice died away, the strains of 'Love's Young Dream' + floated out from the distant end of the building. + </p> + <p> + “The organist must be practising for a wedding,” said Francesca, very much + alive to anything of that sort. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “'Oh, there's nothing half so sweet in life,'” + </pre> + <p> + she hummed. “Isn't it charming?” + </p> + <p> + “You ought to know,” Dr. Gerald answered, looking at her affectionately, + though somewhat too sadly for my taste; “but an old fellow like me must + take refuge in the days of 'milder, calmer beam,' of which the poet + speaks.” + </p> + <p> + Ronald and Himself, guide-books in hand, walked away to talk about the + 'Burial of Sir John Moore,' and look for Wolfe's tablet, and I stole + behind the great screen which had been thrown up while repairs of some + sort were being made or a new organ built. A young man was evidently + taking a lesson, for the old organist was sitting on the bench beside him, + pulling out the stops, and indicating the time with his hand. There was to + be a wedding—that was certain; for 'Love's Young Dream' was taken + off the music rack at that moment, while 'Believe me, if all those + endearing young charms' was put in its place, and the melody came singing + out to us on the vox humana stop. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art, + Let thy loveliness fade as it will, + And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart + Would entwine itself verdantly still.' +</pre> + <p> + Francesca joined me just then, and a tear was in her eye. “Penny dear, + when all is said, 'Believe me' is the dearer song of the two. Anybody can + sing, feel, live, the first, which is but a youthful dream, after all; but + the other has in it the proved fidelity of the years. The first song + belongs to me, I know, and it is all I am fit for now; but I want to grow + toward and deserve the second.” + </p> + <p> + “You are right; but while Love's Young Dream is yours and Ronald's, dear, + take all the joy that it holds for you. The other song is for Salemina and + Dr. Gerald, and I only hope they are realising it at this moment—secretive, + provoking creatures that they are!” + </p> + <p> + The old organist left his pupil just then, and disappeared through a + little door in the rear. + </p> + <p> + “Have you the Wedding March there?” I asked the pupil who had been + practising the love-songs. + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes, madam, though I am afraid I cannot do it justice,” he replied + modestly. “Are you interested in organ music?” + </p> + <p> + “I am very much interested in yours, and I am still more interested in a + romance that has been dragging its weary length along for twenty years, + and is trying to bring itself to a crisis just on the other side of that + screen. You can help me precipitate it, if you only will!” + </p> + <p> + Well, he was young and he was an Irishman, which is equivalent to being a + born lover, and he had been brought up on Tommy Moore and music—all + of which I had known from the moment I saw him, else I should not have + made the proposition. I peeped from behind the screen. Ronald and Himself + were walking toward us; Salemina and Dr. Gerald were sitting together in + one of the front pews. I beckoned to my husband. + </p> + <p> + “Will you and Ronald go quietly out one of the side doors,” I asked, “take + your own car, and go back to the hotel, allowing us to follow you a little + later?” + </p> + <p> + It takes more than one year of marriage for even the cleverest Benedict to + uproot those weeds of stupidity, denseness, and non-comprehension that + seem to grow so riotously in the mental garden of the bachelor; so, said + Himself, “We came all together; why shouldn't we go home all together?” + (So like a man! Always reasoning from analogy; always, so to speak, + 'lugging in' logic!) + </p> + <p> + “Desperate situations demand desperate remedies,” I replied mysteriously, + though I hope patiently. “If you go home at once without any questions, + you will be virtuous, and it is more than likely that you will also be + happy; and if you are not, somebody else will be.” + </p> + <p> + Having seen the backs of our two cavaliers disappearing meekly into the + rain, I stationed Francesca at a point of vantage, and went out to my + victims in the front pew. + </p> + <p> + “The others went on ahead,” I explained, with elaborate carelessness—“they + wanted to drive by Dublin Castle; and we are going to follow as we like. + For my part, I am tired, and you are looking pale, Salemina; I am sure + your ankle is painful. Help her, Dr. Gerald, please; she is so proud and + self-reliant that she won't even lean on any one's arm, if she can avoid + it. Take her down the middle aisle, for I've sent your car to that door” + (this was the last of a series of happy thoughts on my part). “I'll go and + tell Francesca, who is flirting with the organist. She has an appointment + at the tailor's; so I will drop her there, and join you at the hotel in a + few minutes.” + </p> + <p> + The refractory pair of innocent, middle-aged lovers started, arm in arm, + on what I ardently hoped would be an eventful walk together. It was from, + instead of toward the altar, to be sure, but I was certain it would + finally lead them to it, notwithstanding the unusual method of approach. I + gave Francesca the signal, and then, disappearing behind the screen, I + held her hand in a palpitation of nervous apprehension that I had scarcely + felt when Himself first asked me to be his. + </p> + <p> + The young organist, blushing to the roots of his hair, trembling with + responsibility, smiling at the humour of the thing, pulled out all the + stops, and the Wedding March pealed through the cathedral, the splendid + joy and swing and triumph of it echoing through the vaulted aisles in a + way that positively incited one to bigamy. + </p> + <p> + “We may regard the matter as settled now,” whispered Francesca + comfortably. “Anybody would ask anybody else to marry him, whether he was + in love with her or not. If it weren't so beautiful and so touching, + wouldn't it be amusing? Isn't the organist a darling, and doesn't he enter + into the spirit of it? See him shaking with sympathetic laughter, and yet + he never lets a smile creep into the music; it is all earnestness and + majesty. May I peep now and see how they are getting on?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly not! What are you thinking of, Francesca? Our only + justification in this whole matter is that we are absolutely serious about + it. We shall say good-bye to the organist, wring his hand gratefully, and + steal with him through the little door. Then in a half-hour we shall know + the worst or the best; and we must remember to send him cards and a marked + copy of the newspaper containing the marriage notice.” + </p> + <p> + Salemina told me all about it that night, but she never suspected the + interference of any deus ex machina save that of the traditional God of + Love, who, it seems to me, has not kept up with the requirements of the + age in all respects, and leaves a good deal for us women to do nowadays. + </p> + <p> + “Would that you had come up this aisle to meet me, Salemina, and that you + were walking down again as my wife!” This was what Dr. Gerald had + surprised her by saying, when the wedding music had finally entered into + his soul, driving away for the moment his doubt and fear and + self-distrust; and I can well believe that the hopelessness of his tone + stirred her tender heart to its very depths. + </p> + <p> + “What did you answer?” I asked breathlessly, on the impulse of the moment. + </p> + <p> + We were talking by the light of a single candle. Salemina turned her head + a little aside, but there was a look on her face that repaid me for all my + labour and anxiety, a look in which her forty years melted away and became + as twenty, a look that was the outward and visible expression of the + inward and spiritual youth that has always been hers; then she replied + simply—“I told him what is true: that my life had been one long + coming to meet him, and that I was quite ready to walk with him to the end + of the world.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + . . . . . . +</pre> + <p> + I left her to her thoughts, which I well knew were more precious than my + words, and went across the hall, where Benella was packing Francesca's + last purchases. Ordinarily one of us manages to superintend such + operations, as the Derelict's principal aim is to make two garments go + where only one went before. Nature in her wildest moments never abhorred a + vacuum in her dominion as Miss Dusenberry resents it in a trunk. + </p> + <p> + “Benella,” I said, in that mysterious whisper which one uses for such + communications, “Dr. La Touche has asked Miss Peabody to marry him, and + she has consented.” + </p> + <p> + “It was full time!” the Derelict responded, with a deep sigh of relief, + “but better late than never! Men folks are so queer, I don't hardly know + how a merciful Providence ever came to invent 'em! Either they're so bold + they'd propose to the Queen o' Sheba without mindin' it a mite, or else + they're such scare-cats you 'bout have to ask 'em yourself, and then lug + 'em to the minister's afterwards—there don't seem to be no halfway + with 'em. Well, I'm glad you're all settled; it must be nice to have + folks!” + </p> + <p> + It was a pathetic little phrase, and I fancied I detected a tear in her + usually cheerful and decided voice. Acting on the suspicion, I said + hurriedly, “You have already had a share of Miss Monroe's 'folks' and mine + offered you, and now Miss Peabody will be sure to add hers to the number. + Your only difficulty will be to attend to them all impartially, and keep + them from quarrelling as to which shall have you next.” + </p> + <p> + She brightened visibly. “Yes,” she assented, without any superfluous + modesty,—squeezing as she spoke a pair of bronze slippers into the + crown of Francesca's favourite hat—“yes, that part'll be hard on all + of us; but I want you to know that I belong to you this winter, any way; + Miss Peabody can get along without me better'n you can.” + </p> + <p> + Her glance was freighted with a kind of evasive, half-embarrassed + affection; shy, unobtrusive, respectful it was, but altogether friendly + and helpful. + </p> + <p> + That the relations between us have ever quite been those of mistress and + maid, I cannot affirm. We have tried to persuade ourselves that they were + at least an imitation of the proper thing, just to maintain our + self-respect while travelling in a country of monarchical institutions, + but we have always tacitly understood the real situation and accepted its + piquant incongruities. + </p> + <p> + So when I met Benella Dusenberry's wistful, sympathetic eye, my republican + head, reckless of British conventions, found the maternal hollow in her + spinster shoulder as I said, “Dear old Derelict! it was a good day for us + when you drifted into our harbour!” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1391 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |