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diff --git a/16008.txt b/16008.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d300e84 --- /dev/null +++ b/16008.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1447 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ellen Duncan; And The Proctor's Daughter +by William Carleton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Ellen Duncan; And The Proctor's Daughter + The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two + +Author: William Carleton + +Illustrator: M. L. Flanery + +Release Date: June 7, 2005 [EBook #16008] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELLEN DUNCAN *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +ELLEN DUNCAN + +and + +THE PROCTOR'S DAUGHTER + + +By William Carleton + + + + +ELLEN DUNCAN + + +There are some griefs so deep and overwhelming, that even the best +exertions of friendship and sympathy are unequal to the task of soothing +or dispelling them. Such was the grief of Ellen Duncan, who was silently +weeping in her lone cottage on the borders of Clare--a county at that +time in a frightful state of anarchy and confusion. Owen Duncan, her +husband, at the period about which our tale commences, resided in the +cabin where he was born and reared, and to which, as well as a few acres +of land adjoining, he had succeeded on the death of his father. They had +not been long married, and never were husband and wife more attached. +About this time outrages began to be perpetrated; and soon increased +fearfully in number. Still Owen and Ellen lived happily, and without +fear, as they were too poor for the marauders to dream of getting +much booty by robbing; and their religion being known to be "the ould +religion ov all ov all," in a warfare that was exclusively one of party, +they were more protected than otherwise. Owen never was particularly +thrifty; and as his means were small, was generally embarrassed, or +rather somewhat pinched in circumstances. Notwithstanding this, however, +he was as happy as a king; and according to his unlettered neighbors' +artless praise, "there wasn't a readier hand, nor an opener heart in the +wide world--that's iv he had id--but he hadn't an' more was the pity." +His entire possessions consisted of the ground we have mentioned, most +part of which was so rocky as to be entirely useless--a cow, a couple +of pigs, and the "the uld cabin," which consisted of four mud walls, +covered with thatch, in which was an opening, "to let in the day-light, +an' to let out the smoke." In the interior there was no division, or +separate apartment, as the one room contained the cooking materials, and +all other necessaries, beside their bed, which was placed close to the +fire, and, of course, nearly under the opening in the roof. If any one +spqke to Owen about the chances of rain coming down to where they slept, +his universal answer was, "Shure we're naither shugar nor salt, anyhow; +an' a dhrop ov or a thrifle ov wind, was niver known to do any body +harm--barrin' it brought the typhus; but God's good, an' ordhers all for +the best." Owen had been brought up in this way, and so he could live by +his labor, he never thought of needless luxuries; and Ellen, seeing him +contented, was so herself. + +For some months previous to the time of which we write, Owen's affairs +had been gradually getting worse and worse; and it was with no pleasing +anticipations that he looked forward to his approaching rent day. His +uneasiness he studiously kept a secret from his wife, and worked away +seemingly with as much cheerfulness as ever, hoping for better days, and +_trusting in Providence!_ However, when within a week of the time that +he expected a call from the agent, he found that with all his industry +he had been only able to muster five and twenty shillings, and his rent +was above five pounds. So, after a good deal of painful deliberation, he +thought of selling his single cow, thinking that by redoubled exertion +he might after a while be enabled to repurchase her; forgetting, that +before the cow was sold was really the time to make the exertion. A +circumstance that greatly damped his ardor in this design was the +idea of his wife's not acquiescing in it; and one evening, as they sat +together by the light of the wood and turf fire, he thus opened his +mind-- + +"Ellen, asthore, its myself that's sorry I haven't a fine large cabin, +and a power o' money, to make you happier an' comfortabler than you +are." + +"Owen," she interrupted, "don't you know I'm very happy? an' didn't +I often tell you, that it was the will of Providence that we shud be +poor'? So it's sinful to be wishin' for riches." + +"Bud, Ellen acushla, it's growi'n' worse wid us every day; an' I'm +afeard the trouble is goin' to come on us. You know how hard the +master's new agint is--how he sould Paddy Murphy's cow, an' turned him +out, bekase he couldn't pay his rint; an' I'm afeard I'll have to sell +_Black Bess_,' to prevint his doin' the same wid us." + +"Well, Owen agra, we mustn't murmur for our disthresses; so do whatever +you think right--times won't be always as they are now." + +"Bud, Ellen," said he, "you're forgettin' how you'll miss the dhrop ov +milk, an' the bit of fresh butter, fur whin we part wid the poor baste, +you won't have even thim to comfort you." + +"Indeed, an' iv I do miss them, Owen," she answered, "shure it's no +matther, considherin' the bein' turned out ov one's home into the world. +Remember the ould sayin' ov, 'out ov two evils always chuse the laste;' +an' so, darlint, jist do whatever you think is fur the best." + +After this conversation, it was agreed on by both that Owen should set +out the next day but one for the town, to try and dispose of the "cow, +the crathur;" and although poverty had begun to grind them a little, +still they had enough to eat, and slept tranquilly. However, it so +happened, that the very morning on which he had appointed to set out, +_Black Bess_ was seized for a long arrear of a tax that had not been +either asked or paid there for some time, and driven off, with many +others belonging to his neighbors, to be sold. Now you must know, good +reader, that there is a feeling interwoven, as it were, in the Irish +nature, that will doggedly resist anything that it conceives in the +slightest or most remote degree oppressive or unjust; and that feeling +then completely usurped all others in Owen's mind. He went amongst his +friends, and they condoled with one another about their grievances; +there was many a promise exchanged, that they would stand by each other +in their future resistance to what they considered an unlawful impost. +When the rent-day came, by disposing of his two pigs, and by borrowing +a little, he was enabled to pay the full amount, and thus protract for +some time the fear "ov bein' turned out on the world." + +Some days after the whole country was in a tumult--Daly, "the procthor," +was found murdered in the centre of the high road; and there was no clue +perceptible, by which the perpetrators of the crime could be discovered. +The very day before, Owen had borrowed the game-keeper's gun, to go, as +he said, to a wild, mountainous part of the country to shoot hares; and +from this circumstance, and his not having returned the day after, a +strong feeling of suspicion against him was in the minds of most. In +fact, on the very evening that we have represented Ellen sitting in +tears, the police had come to the cabin in search of him; and their +report to the magistrate was, that he had absconded. His wife was in +a miserable state of mind, and her whole soul was tortured with +conflicting emotions. Owen's long absence, as well as his borrowing +the gun, seemed to bespeak his guilt; and yet, when she recollected the +gentleness of his manner, and his hitherto blameless life, she could not +deem him so, no matter how circumstances seemed against him. But then, +the harrowing idea that it might be, came in to blast these newly formed +hopes, and her state of suspense was one of deep and acute misery. + +She was sitting, as we have said, alone; the fire, that had consisted +of two or three sods of turf heaped upon the floor, had almost entirely +gone out; the stools and bosses were tossed negligently here and there; +and the appearance of the entire apartment was quite different from its +usual neat and tidy trim. Her head was bent a little, and her hands were +clasped tightly around her knees, while her body was swaying to and fro, +as if the agitation of her mind would not allow of its repose. Her +eyes were dry, but red from former weeping; and she was occasionally +muttering, "No, he can't be guilty"--"Owen commit a murdher!--It must be +an untruth!" and such like expressions. Gradually, as she thus thought +aloud, her motions became more rapid, and her cheeks were no longer dry, +while the light that entered through the open door becoming suddenly +shaded, she turned round, and raised her tearful eyes to question the +intruder. She sprang eagerly forward, and hung on his neck, (for it was +Owen himself,) while she! joyfully exclaimed-- + +"Oh, heaven be praised, yer come back at last, to give the lie to all +their reports, an' to prove yer innocence." + +"Ellen, my darlint," he answered, "I knew you'd be glad to get me back," +and he kissed! again and again her burning lips; "but what do you mane, +acushla?--What reports! do you spake ov, an' ov what am I accused?" + +"Oh, thin, Owen, I'm glad you didn't even hear ov id; an' the poliss +here searchin' the house to make you pres'ner. Shure, avick, Bill Daly, +the procthor, that sazed poor Black Bess, was murdhered the very mornin' +you wint to shoot the hares; an' on account ov yer borryin' the gun, an' +threatenin' him the day ov the sale, they said it was you that done id; +but I gev thim all the lie, fur I knew you wor innocent. Now, Owen, +ahagur, you look tired, sit down, an' I'll get you somethin' to ate. +Och, bud I'm 'glad that yer returned safe!" + +The overjoyed wife soon heaped fresh turf on the fire, and partly +blowing, partly fanning it into a flame, hung a large iron pot I over +it, from a hook firmly fixed in the wall. While these preparations were +going forward, Owen laid aside his rough outside coat, and going to the +door, looked out, as if in irresolution. + +"Ellen," at length said he, turning suddenly round, "I'm thinkin' that +I'd betther go to the poliss barrack an' surrindher--or rather, see what +they have to say agin me; as I'm an innocent man, I've no dhread; an' if +I wait till they come an' take me, it'll look as iv I was afeard." + +"Thrue for you, agra," she answered; "bud it's time enough yit a bit--no +one knows ov yer bein' here. You look slaved, an' had betther rest +yerself, an' ate a pratee or two. I have no milk ov my own to offer you +now, but I'll go an' thry an' get a dhrop from a neighbor." + +When Ellen returned with a little wooden noggin full, her husband was +sitting warming his hands over the fire; and it was then she recollected +that he had not brought back the gun with him; besides, when she cast a +glance at his clothes, they were all soiled with mud and clay, and torn +in many places. But these circumstances did not for a moment operate +in her mind against him, for she knew from the very manner of his first +question, and the innocence of his exclamation, that the accusations and +suspicions were all false. Even though he had not attempted to explain +the cause of his protracted absence, she felt conscious that it was not +guilt, and forbore to ask any question about it. It was he first opened +the subject, as they sat together over their frugal meal. + +"Ellen," said he, "sence I saw you last, I wint through a dale ov +hardship; an' I little thought, on my return, that I'd be accused ov so +black a crime." + +"Och, shure enough, Owen darlint; but I hope it 'ill be all for the +best. I little thought I'd see the day that you'd be suspected ov +murdher." + +"Well, Ellen aroon, all's in it is, it can't be helped. Bud as I was +sayin'--whin I left this, I cut acrass by Sheemus Doyle's, an' so up +into the mountain, where I knew the hares were coorsin' about in plenty. +I shot two or three ov thim; an' as night began to fall, I was thinkin' +ov comin' home, whin I heerd the barkin' ov a dog a little farther up, +in the wild part, where I never ventured afore. I dunna what prompted me +to folly id bud, any how, I did, an' wint on farther an' farther. Well, +Ellen agra, I at last come to a deep valley, full up a'most of furze an' +brambles, an' I seen a black thing runnin' down the edge ov id. It was +so far off, I thought it was a hare, an' so I lets fly, an' it rowled +over an' over. Whin I dhrew near, what was it bud a purty black spaniel; +an' you may be shure I was sorry for shootin' it, an' makin' such a +mistake. I lays down the gun, an' takes id in my arms, an' the poor +crathur licked the hand that shot id. Thin suddenly there comes up three +sthrange min, an' sazin' me as if I wor a child, they carrid me down wid +them, cursin' an' abusin' me all the way. As they made me take a solemn +oath not to revale what I saw there, I can't tell you any more: but they +thrated me badly, an' it was only yestherday I escaped." + +"Well, Owen, ahagur, we ought to be thankful that you're back here safe; +bud do you think the magisthrate will be satisfied with this story--they +are always anxious to do justice, but they must be satisfied." + +"In throth, they are, machree: but shure I'll sware to id; an', besides, +you know, the raal murdherer may be discovered--for God never lets it, +ov all other crimes, go athout punishment. An' now I'll just go to the +barracks at onst, an' be out ov suspinse." + +Ere Duncan had concluded his sentence, the tramp of feet was heard +outside, and in a few seconds the cabin was full of armed men, who came +to take him prisoner. He had been seen entering his cabin; and they +immediately, as soon as they could muster a party, set out to make him +captive. As he was known to most of them, and did not make the slightest +attempt at resistance, they treated him gently, but bound his hands +firmly behind his back, and took every necessary precaution. Though +Ellen, while it seemed at a distance, had conversed calmly about his +surrender, she was violently agitated at the appearance of the armed +force. She clung to her husband's knees, and refused to part with him, +wildly screaming, "He's innocent! My husband's innocent!" and when +all was prepared, she walked by his side to the magistrate's house, (a +distance of three miles,) her choking sobs and burning tears attesting +the violence of her uncontrolled feelings. A short examination was gone +through there; and the circumstantial evidence that was adduced made +the case look very serious. One man positively swore, that he had seen +Duncan pass by in the morning, in the direction where the body was +found, and that he was armed with a gun. Another, that in about an +hour afterwards he had heard a shot, but supposed it was some person +coursing, and that the report was just where the body was found, and +where Owen had been seen proceeding to. His only cow having been seized +by Daly, a threat that he was heard uttering, and his absence from home, +was duly commented on; and finally, he was committed to prison to +abide his trial at the Ennis Assizes. While all this was going +forward, Ellen's emotions were most agonizing. She stared wildly at +the magistrate and the two witnesses; and as the evidence was proceeded +with, she sometimes hastily put back her hair, as if she thought she was +under the influence of a dream. But when his final committal was made +out, and her mind glanced rapidly at the concurrent testimony, and the +danger of Owen, she rushed forward, and flinging her arms round him, +wildly exclaimed-- + +"They shan't part us--they shan't tear us asunder! No, no, Owen, I will +go wid you to preson! Oh, is id come to this wid us?--You to be dhragged +from home, accused of murdher--and I--I--Father of marcies, keep me in +my sinses--I'm goin' mad--wild, wild mad!" + +"Ellen!" said Owen, gently unwinding her arms, and kissing her forehead, +while a scalding tear fell from his eye on her cheek--"Ellen, asthore +machree! don't be overcome. There's a good girl, dhry yer eyes. That +God that knows I'm guiltless, 'ill bring me safe through all. May his +blessin' be on you, my poor colleen, till we meet agin! You know you +can come an' see me. Heaven purtect you, Ellen, alanna!--Heaven purtect +you!" + +When he was finally removed, she seemed to lose all power, and but +for the arm of a bystander would have fallen to the ground. It was not +without assistance that she was at length enabled to reach her cabin. + +It is strange how man's feelings and powers are swayed by outward +circumstances, and how his pride and strength may be entirely overcome +by disheartening appearances! So it was with Owen: although constantly +visited in prison by his faithful wife--although conscious of his +own innocence--and although daily receiving assurances of hope from a +numerous circle of friends--yet still his spirit drooped; the gloom of +imprisonment, the idea of danger, the ignominy of public execution and +all the horrors of innocent conviction, gradually wore away his mental +strength; and when the assize time approached, he was but a thin shadow +of the former bluff, healthy Owen Duncan. In so short a time as this, +can care and harrowing thought exercise its influence on the human +frame! + +Never was there a finer or more heavenly morning than that which ushered +in the day of trial. The court-house was crowded to suffocation, the mob +outside fearfully numerous, and never before, perhaps, was Ennis in such +a state of feverish excitement. Daly's murder was as nought in the minds +of all, in comparison with Duncan's accusation. Alas! the former was an +occurrence of too frequent repetition, to be very much thought of; +but the latter--namely, Owen's being suspected--was a subject of +the extremest wonder. His former high character--his sobriety--his +quietness, and his being a native of the town, in some measure accounted +for this latter feeling; and there was an inward conviction in most +men's minds, that he was guiltless of the crime for which he was +accused. Although the court-house was crowded, yet when the prisoner +was called to the bar, a pin could be heard to drop in any part of the +place. There was a single female figure leaning on the arm of an aged +and silver-haired, though hale and healthy countryman, within a few feet +of the dock; and as the prisoner advanced, and laying his hand on the +iron railing, confronted the judges and the court, she slowly raised the +hood of the cloak, in which she was completely muffled, and gazed long +and earnestly on his face. There was in that wistful look, a fear--a +hope--an undying tenderness; and when his eye met hers, there was a +proud, yet soft and warm expression in its glance, that reassured her +sinking heart. As she looked round on the court, and the many strange +faces, and all the striking paraphernalia of justice, a slight shudder +crept silently over her frame, and she clung closer to her companion, as +if to ask for all the protection he could afford. It was Ellen and her +father who came, the former summoned as a witness, and the latter to +accompany and support the daughter of his aged heart. + +Duncan was arraigned: and on being asked the usual question of "guilty, +or not guilty?" he answered in a clear, calm voice, "Not guilty, my +Lord!" and the trial proceeded. The same evidence that was given at the +magistrate's house was a second time repeated; and, evidently, its train +of circumstances made a deep impression on the court. While the first +part of the examination was going forward, Ellen remained as motionless +as a statue, scarcely daring to move or breathe; but when the +depositions went more and more against Owen, her respirations became +quick, short, and gaspish; and when the crier desired her to get up on +the table, it was with difficulty that she obeyed him. When seated, +she gazed timidly round on the crowd of counsellors and the judges, as +though to bespeak their sympathy; but then, not meeting a single glance +from which to glean even the shadow of hope, she covered her face with +her hands. A moment or two elapsed, and she grew more assured, and the +counsel for the Crown proceeded with the examination. + +"Ellen Duncan, is not that your name?" was the first question. + +"It is, Sir," she shrinkingly answered, without raising her eyes. + +"Do you know the prisoner at the bar?" + +"Do I know the pres'ner at the bar?" she reiterated; "do I know Owen +Duncan? Shure, isn't he my husband?" + +"Do you recollect the night of the twenty-first of September?" + +"I do, Sir." + +"Can you swear to whether your husband was at home on that night or +not?" + +Her voice faltered a little as she answered in the negative; and on the +presiding judge repeating the question, with the addition of, "Did he +return at all next day?" it seemed as if she first thought that her +answers might criminate him still farther, and clasping her I hands +convulsively together, and raising her face to the bench, while the +scalding tears chased each other down her sunken cheek, she passionately +exclaimed-- + +"Oh, for the love of heaven, don't ask me any thing that 'ill be worse +for him! Don't, counsellor jewel, don't! don't ask me to swear any thing +that 'ill do him harm; for I can't know what I'm sayin' now, as the +heart within me is growin' wake." + +After a few cheering expressions from the bench, who evidently were +much moved by her simply energetic language and action, she was asked +whether she could tell the Court where her husband spent that and the +following nights; and with all the eagerness that an instantaneously +formed idea of serving him could give, she answered-- + +"Oh, yis! yis! my Lord, I can. He was in the mountains shootin' wid Phil +Doran's gun, an' he was sazed by some men, that made him stop wid thim, +an' take an oath not to revale who they wor, an' they thrated him badly; +so afther three days he made his escape, and come home to the cabin, +whin he was taken by the poliss." + +"One word more, an' you may go down--What was done with that gun?" + +The judge's hard and unmoved tone of voice seemed to bring misgiving +to her mind, and she trembled from head to foot as she falteringly +answered-- + +"The wild boys of the mountain kep' it, my Lord, an' so he couldn't +bring id home wid him. But, indeed, my Lord, indeed he's innocent--I'll +swear he never done it! Fur, oh! iv you knew the tindherness ov his +heart--he that niver hurt a fly! Don't be hard on him for the love ov +mercy, an' I'll pray for you night an' day." + +This was the last question she was asked, and having left the table, +and regained her former position by her father's side, she listened with +moveless, motionless intensity to the judge's "charge." He recapitulated +the evidence--dwelt on the strong circumstances that seemed to bespeak +his guilt--spoke of the mournful increase of crime--of laws, and life, +and property being at stake--and finally closed his address with a +sentence expressive of the extreme improbability of the prisoner's +defence; for he, on being asked if he had any thing further to say, +replied in the negative, only asserting, in the most solemn manner, his +innocence of the charge. + +The jury retired, and Ellen's hard, short breathings, alone told that +she existed. Her head was thrown back, her lips apart, and slightly +quivering, and her eyes fixedly gazing on the empty box, with an anxious +and wild stare of hope and suspense. Owen's face was very pale, and +his lips livid--there was the slightest perceptible emotion about the +muscles of his mouth, but his eye quailed not, and his broad brow had +the impress of an unquenched spirit as firmly fixed as ever on its +marble front. A quarter of an hour elapsed, and still the same agonizing +suspense--another, and the jury returned not--five minutes, and they +reentered. Ellen's heart, beat as if it would burst her bosom; and +Owen's pale cheek became a little more flushed, and his eye full of +anxiety. The foreman in a measured, feelingless tone pronounced the word +"Guilty!" and a thrill of horror passed through the entire court, while +that sickness which agonizes the very depths of the soul convulsed +Owen's face with a momentary spasm, and he faltered "God's will be +done." The judge slowly drew on the black cap, and still Ellen moved +not--it seemed as if the very blood within her veins was frozen, and +that her life's pulses no more could execute their functions. No man, +however brave or hardened, can view the near approach of certain death, +and be unmoved; and as that old man, in tremulous tones, uttered the +dread fiat of his fate, Owen's eyes seemed actually to sink within +his head--the veins of his brow swelled and grew black, and his hands +grasped the iron rail that surrounded the dock, as though he would force +his fingers through it. When all was over, and the fearful cap drawn +off, Ellen seemed only then to awake to consciousness. Her eyes +slowly opened to their fullest extent--their expression of despair was +absolutely frightful--a low, gurgling, half-choking sob forced itself +from between her lips, and ere a hand could be outstretched to save her, +she fell, as if quickly dashed to the ground by no mortal power--her +piercing shriek of agony ringing through the court-house, with a +fearful, prolonged cadence. + +Evening approached, and the busy crowd of idlers had passed away, some +to brood over what they had seen, and others to forget, in the bustle +of life, that there were woes and miseries in the hearts of their +fellow-beings. Owen was remanded to prison, as his execution was not +to take place till the commission was over, thus giving him more than +a week to prepare for that final doom. The light that struggled through +the bars of his cell rested fully on the stooping figure of his wife, as +she bent over the rude bed on which he lay; and her hot tears fell fast +down her cheeks, as she thought how soon they were doomed to part for +ever. Hope was not, however, entirely dead within her, for the jury had +strongly recommended him to mercy; and ignorant as she was of forms and +ceremonies--helpless as a lone woman in misfortune always is--she +had determined on going to Dublin, to kneel at the feet of the Lord +Lieutenant--then the proud and whimsical Duke of ------, and there to +solicit his pardon. Having hesitated for some time as to the manner in +which she should break it to him, and ask his advice, she thus began-- + +"Owen, dear Owen! do you know what I've been thinkin' ov, an' where I've +been thinkin' ov goin'?" + +[Illustration: PAGE 120-- One long and lingering look of affection] + +There was no answer returned for some time, and on looking at him more +earnestly, she was astonished to find that he had sank into a profound +slumber. "Guilt," thought she, "is not there!" and her resolution was +taken instantly--she would not wake him--she would not let him know her +purpose--and if she succeeded, her eyes flashed through her tears at +the anticipation of his rapturous surprise. Stooping lower, she gently +pressed her lips to his; and kneeling beside his bed, poured forth a +short but fervent prayer to Him in whom alone we can put our trust--"In +whose hand is the soul of every living-thing, and the breath of all +mankind"--"Who preserveth not the life of the wicked, but giveth right +to the poor." There was something exceedingly and touchingly beautiful +in the attitude of that young wife--her hands clasped, her lips moving +with her prayer, like rose-leaves with the evening breeze, and her +upturned face, with its holy and deep religious expression. Having +concluded her fervent petition, she noiselessly arose, and giving her +sleeping husband one long and lingering look of affection, that death +could not estrange, she silently glided from the cell. + +On the third night from the events which we have narrated, a poor +woman was observed wending her toilsome way through the streets of the +metropolis. Her appearance bespoke fatigue and long travel; and as she +neared the Upper Castle gate, she had to lean against the railing for +support. The lamps were lighted, carriages rolling to and fro, and all +the buzz of life was ringing in her ears; but, oh! from the expression +of pain and suffering in her face, and the shrinking with which she +surveyed the sentinels pacing up and down, it was evident that her mind +but little accorded with the scenes by which she was surrounded. She +slowly and fearfully entered the wide court-yard--a flood of light was +streaming from the windows of the vice-regal dwelling, and a crowd of +idlers stood around about, viewing the entrance of the visitors, for it +appeared as if there were a revel of some kind going on. Ellen's heart +sank within her, as she heard the carriages rolling and dashing across +the pavement, for she felt that amid the bustle of company and splendor +her poor appeal might be entirely unnoticed. As she waited, she saw +several of the persons assembled thrust; rudely back by the soldiers +that were on guard, and when she advanced a step or two for the purpose +of entering, a brute in human shaped pushed her with a blow of the +end of his musket back against the pillar. He was about to repeat +his violence, when the poor creature fell on her knees before him and +screamed-- + +"Sojer darlin', don't stop me! I'm only goin' in to plade fur my +husband's life, an shure you wont prevent me? I've traveled many a wairy +mile to get here in time; an' oh! fur marcy's sake let me pass." + +At this moment the carriage of the eccentric and beautiful Lady ------, +one of the wildest, strangest, and best-hearted females of the Irish +Court, set down its lovely burden. She had seen the whole transaction +of the sentinel, and heard Ellen's pathetic appeal, and her heart was +instantly moved in her favor, for the example of fashion had not yet +frozen up its finer feelings. Partly through the workings of a softened +heart, and partly to make what was then all the rage, a scene or +sensation, she resolved instantly to get her admitted to the presence +of the Duke--nay, to present her herself. She was well known to be +a favorite, and whatever whim of hers took place, no matter how +extravagant, was sure to meet his hearty concurrence. She desired Ellen +to rise and follow her; and the poor creature's eyes streamed with tears +as she invoked a fervent blessing on the head of her lovely protectress. +While passing up the grand staircase, amid the wondering gaze and +suppressed titter of many a pampered menial, she instructed her how to +proceed; and having received a hasty account of all, and desired her not +to be faint-hearted, she turned to the simpering master of ceremonies to +tell him of her "dear delightful freak;" there was a glad smile on +her lip, and a glowing crimson on her cheek, but still there was a +glistening moisture in her fine eyes, that told of soft and womanish +feeling. + +The Duke was sitting on a chair of crimson velvet; a cushion of the +same costly material supported his feet; and he was looking with an +appearance of apathy and ennui on the splendid group around him. The +glitter of the lights, the lustre of the jewels, and the graceful +waving of the many-colored plumes, gave every thing a courtly, sumptuous +appearance, and the air was heavy with odors, the fragrant offering of +many a costly exotic. Suddenly every eye was turned on the door with, +wonder and astonishment, and every voice was hushed as Lady ------ +entered, her cheeks blushing from excitement, and her eye bright with +anticipated triumph. She led the poor and humbly clad Ellen by the hand, +who dared not look up, but with her gaze riveted on the splendid +carpet, was brought like an automaton to the feet of the Duke, where she +mechanically knelt down. + +"Will yer Excillincy be plazed," began Lady ------, playfully mimicking +the brogue, "to hear this poor crathur's complaint. Her husband has been +condimned to die for a murdher he didn't commit by no manner ov manes, +as the sayin' is; an' as there was a sthrong recommindation to marcy, +if you'll grant him a reprieve, you'll have all our prayers, and (in an +under tone) your Excillincy knows you want thim?" + +The Duke seemed a little bewildered, as if he could not make out what +it meant, and the glittering crowd now surrounded the group; when Ellen, +who had ventured to look timidly up, conceived that the Duke hesitated +about the pardon, (poor creature! she little knew that he had not even +heard of Owen's trial,) eagerly grasped the drapery of his chair, and +while the big tears rolled from beneath her eyelids, exclaimed-- + +"Oh! may the great and just Providence, that sees the workin' ov all our +hearts, pour a blessin' on yer Lordship's head--may His holy grace be +wid you for iver an' iver, an' do listen to my prayers! My husband is +innocent--an' oh! as you hope for marcy at thee last day, be merciful +now him." + +"Lady ------," said the Duke, "what is the meaning of all this--will you +explain?" + +"Your Excellency," answered she, in the natural sweet pathos of +her tones, "it is a poor man who has been condemned to die on +circumstantial evidence. He has been strongly recommended to mercy, +and this, weeping female is his wife, I found her outside praying for +admission, and have brought her hither. She has traveled mostly on foot +upwards of ninety miles to I ask a pardon; and I trust you will not +refuse a reprieve, till your Grace has time to; inquire into the +circumstance. 'This is the head and front of my offending.'" + +"May heaven bless yer Ladyship," burst from the depths of Ellen's +grateful heart, "fur befriendin' thim that had no support but his +gracious marcy." + +Lady ------'s suit was eagerly seconded by many a fair creature, who +thronged around; and the Duke smiled, as he answered, + +"Well, well! one could not refuse so many fair beseechers, so we +will order him to be reprieved. And there, now, let the poor woman be +removed." + +Ellen's heart was light, and her eye was glad, and her very inmost soul +was thankful to the Omnipotent, as she that night rested for a. few +hours, ere she set out on her return; and Lady ------, as she pressed +her costly pillow, felt a fuller sense of happiness in being useful to +her fellow-creature than ever she experienced before. Oh! that all the +wealthy and in power were incited by similar feelings. The remainder +of our simple tale is soon told. The reprieve arrived--the sentence was +changed to banishment--and the very day appointed for Owen's death +was that of his wife's successful return. One week previous to the +embarkation of those sentenced to transportation, a man was to be +executed for sheep-stealing. On the drop he confessed his guilt, and +that he, and not Duncan, was the murderer of Daly. Owen was immediately +released, and a subscription raised for him, with which, as well as with +a weighty purse presented to Ellen by Lady ------, he took a comfortable +farm, and rebought "Black Bess." + + + + + + +THE PROCTORS DAUGHTER + +"Huroo! at id agin. Success, Briney. Ha! take that, you ould dust. +Will you bewitch our cattle now, Nanny? Whoo--ha, ha, ha!--at id agin, +boys--that's your sort." + +Such were a few of the explosives of mingled fun and devilment that +proceeded from a group of ragged urchins, who were busily employed in +pelting with hard mud, sods and other missiles, an old and decrepit +woman, whose gray hair and infirmities ought to have been her +protection, but whose reputation as an evil disposed witch proved quite +the contrary. Nanny, for such was her name, was leaning, or rather +sitting, against a bank at the road side, shaking occasionally her +crutch at her tormentors, and muttering a heavy curse as missile after +missile fell thickly around her. The shouts of laughter proceeding from +the annoying children, as she tried in vain to rise, and impotently +threatened, made her imprecations come doubly bitter; but her eye was +never wet, nor did she once even by a look appeal to their pity. Her +figure was bent with age, and her shaking hands brown and fleshless--her +hair was gray and wiry, and escaped from beneath her cap, in short, +thin, tangled masses--her eyes were dark and deep set, and her lips and +mouth had fallen in as her teeth had gradually decayed. She was clad +in a russet gown, much the worse for the wear, and a scarlet cloak, or +rather a cloak that had once been scarlet, but was now completely faded +from its original color. It had been broken here and there, but was +pieced with different colored cloths, so as to appear a motley and +strange garment; and her bony feet were bare and unprotected. Nanny, +from different circumstances, was unanimously elected the witch or +bugbear of the village; and though the brats were then so busy annoying +her, at night, or in a lonesome place, they would fly like lightning +even at her approach; and some of them actually trembled while shouting, +though they did not like to exhibit their fear to their companions. In +the first place, she lived completely alone in a hovel on the mountain +side, where, save heath, rock, and fern, there was not a single thing +on which the eye could rest; then, no one knew from whence she came, +and lights were frequently seen shining through her unglazed windows at +hours when spirits were supposed to be abroad; besides, more than once +a group of dark figures had been observed standing at twilight near +her door, and were always set down as ministering demons, awaiting the +pleasure of their mistress. Whenever a cow ceased giving milk--whenever +a lamb or pig got any disease and died--it was unanimously attributed to +the spite and venom of "Nanny the witch;" in fact, no human being could +be viewed, with more mingled feelings of fear and hate than she was +by all the inhabitants of the village. The boys still continued their +unfeeling attack; and she now was silent and gloomy, and did not menace +nor even mutter a curse, but her firmness had not left her, for her brow +was darkly bent, and her small black eyes emitted a flash of wild though +concentrated anger and revenge. Nor did those who passed from time to +time, by word or gesture discourage the young urchins from their attack; +sometimes they even stood looking complacently on, wondering at the +reckless courage of the boys, as they would not for worlds dare to rise +a hand against one so very powerful. Suddenly a louder whoop than any +they had yet given, told that they had just invented some new mode of +annoyance, and a short, hard-featured, red-headed boy, whom they called +Briney, ran whooping and hallooing towards them, bearing a large hairy +cap, which he triumphantly declared was full of rotten eggs--those +delicious affairs which smash so delightfully off an unprotected face, +and which used to be in great demand when pillories were in fashion. + +"I must have first shot!" roared Briney, as he placed his burden down in +the midst, and seized one of the eggs it contained. + +"Sorra a bit, Briney!" screamed another, striding before him--"I've a +betther aim nor you." + +"You a betther aim!" scornfully retorted he; "thry id:" and his hand +was upraised in the act of pelting, but was as suddenly stopped and +withheld, as a pretty, tiny, fair-haired child, tripped forward from an +opposite stile; and perceiving what was going on, ran quickly to the old +woman, and laying down a pitcher that she bore, stood before her, facing +the crowd of boys, her mild, soft blue eye flashing displeasure, and her +cheeks flushed with a deep pink suffusion. + +[Illustration: PAGE 124-- "Shame! oh, for shame!" were the first +exclamations] + +"Shame! oh, for shame!" were the first exclamations that escaped her, +and her sweet voice trembled with anger. + +"Bedad, it's purty Minny herself, sure enough!" muttered one urchin +to another, as they hesitated what to do, each evidently unwilling to +encounter the reproaches they were sure of receiving; and one or two +scampered off the instant she spoke. + +Then turning round to the old woman, and perceiving that her lips looked +dry and parched, she ran to the pitcher, and lifting it to her mouth +with much softness and compassion, exclaimed, + +"Poor Nanny, you look dhry, an' here's some wather. Take a little sup, +an' it 'ill revive you! Oh; if I wor here a little bit sooner." + +Nanny raised her eyes to thank her, and did as she requested; and it was +indeed a touching thing to see that child in all the budding beauty of +infancy, attending so anxiously on the withered female, whose name was +seldom pronounced without dread or malediction. The urchins looked on +for some time with open mouths and staring eyes; and then, headed +by Briney, giving a farewell shout, to show they were not entirely +disconcerted, bravely took to their heels. + +"May the blessins ov the poor and persecuted folly on yer path, my purty +child!" gratefully exclaimed the old woman, as her eyes rested on the +cherub face and infantine figure of her protectress, and they now were +dewy and wet with tears. + +"Shall I help you to rise, Nanny?" asked she, her little heart dancing +with pleasure at hearing the fervent wish: "iv you like to go home, an' +you think me sthrong enough, I'll help you on!" + +"From my heart I thank you, my purty golden haired child," said the old +woman, as with her assistance she at length stood up; "bud you seem to +know who I am, and I wondher yer not afeard ov me. Minny, I think they +called you--who is the happy father ov my little darlin'?" + +"I'm Minny Whelan," gently answered the little girl; upon which Nanny +shrunk hastily back, and a fearful change overspread her features. + +"Minny Whelan!--you the proctor's daughter? Those smiling lips--those +tinder, soft eyes--that rich yellow hair--an' that warm an' feelin' +heart, Minny Whelan's. Oh, it can't, it mustn't be--I won't believe id!" + +The little girl laughed, although wonder lurked in her eye, and repeated +innocently, + +"Sure enough, I am the procthor's daughter: bud you don't hate me for +id--do you? + +"Come close to me, child, till I look upon you," said Nanny, in a cold +and altered tone of voice; and then, as Minny fearlessly advanced, she +laid her aged hands on her head, and pushing back the profusion of her +curling hair, looked long and anxiously on her. A hot tear fell upon the +child's forehead as she withdrew her hand; and in a broken, voice the +old woman exclaimed, + +"You are--you are indeed his child; bud have naither his black look, nor +his hard an' baneful heart--so--so--I cannot hate you! For years I've +never met with kindness, till you wor kind. Minny, heaven 'ill reward; +you for id; an' may its blessin' be wid you, is the prayer ov your +father's bittherest foe!" + +At this the child hesitated for an instant, as if she did not comprehend +the latter part of Nanny's sentence; and then innocently taking her +hand, she looked up to her face and said-- + +"Bud maybe yer too tired to go home now all the ways, Nanny, so iv +you'll come home wid me, I'm sure my father won't be angry, an' will"-- + +"Go home wid you!" wildly reiterated the old woman, her eyes blazing +so fearfully, that the child shrunk instinctively back--"crass your +father's flure!--inther the man's house who sint my son--my only +son!--my heart's blood!--from his native land, wid disgrace upon +his name, and the heavy hand ov power crushin' him to the earth! +Never!--these eyes, that once could laugh wid happiness, will burn in +their sockets first, and this withered heart, once so warm and joyful, +will burst afore I ever think ov id!" + +"Nanny," tremblingly said Minny, "you spake so wild you make me +afeard--I hope I haven't done anything to vex you!" + +"You! Oh! no, no--you force me to love you! I couldn't hate you, +although yer father--bud no matther. Minny, good bye--may the Almighty +guard you." + +The day passed away as Summer days are wont, in softness and languor, +and the sun descended in gold and crimson, leaving a bright halo in the +west to mark his resting place. Night came on serene and still, and the +quiet moon ascended her heavenly throne, while the refreshing dews fell +upon the flowers, whose leaves opened to receive them, parched, as they +were with the burning lustre of the mid-day sun. Midnight had already +passed; and all was as silent as if no living or created thing existed +upon the earth to mar its splendid beauty with the wild indulgence of +its fiercer passions. A strong light was gleaming from the interior of +Nanny's cabin, which we have already said was situated on the mountain +side; and the noisy sounds of revelry were heard proceeding from +within. Could any of the superstitious have summoned courage to approach +sufficiently near, and listen for a moment, the idea of spirits would +soon be dissipated in the bluff, hoarse voices which were laughing +and grumbling, and singing, sometimes alternately, and sometimes all +together. But we had better introduce the reader to the interior, and +then he will be a better judge of the nature of the orgies carried on. + +The cabin consisted of but one small apartment, in the centre of which +blazed a, huge fire (summer though it was) of dried peat. The smoke +sought egress where it might, but still left a sufficient canopy over +the heads of the occupants, as completely to hide the dingy and charred +rafters, and did not seem in the slightest degree to annoy the optical +powers of any one, so accustomed where they to this kind of atmosphere. +Round this fire about ten were seated or squatted down, and were all at +the time busily employed in some noisy and apparently angry disputation. +However, this did not prevent the bottle from being freely passed +amongst them; and so cordial were they in embracing it, that Nanny, +who sat a little apart, was often called on to replenish it with +mountain-dew. On a table or dresser that stood by the wall, were three +or four large pistols, besides an old sword or two, and a few rusted +bayonets: piled against it were two large muskets, evidently kept with +more care than the rest of the arms, for they were brightly polished, +and looked even new. A couple of powder-horns, a tin box containing +shot and bullets, and a large iron mallet, used in breaking open doors, +completed the array, which could leave no doubt as to the men who +occupied the cabin. + +"Come, Nanny acushla, give us another dhrop of that you gev us +last," exclaimed one, whose rolling eyes gave token, of approaching +intoxication; "you're not used to be sparin', an' considherin' the way +you get id, needn't be so--eh? Dick, what do you say to another drink?" + +"Game to the last," answered the man addressed--"never refuse id." + +"Why, Nanny," observed a low but muscularly formed man, who seemed +from his manner to exercise some slight command amongst his associates, +"what's the matther wid you to-night? Sure we're goin' to do what you've +long been axin' us, an' what you first gev us lave to meet here for--an' +by doin' so we've got the fame of bein' not quite right. The villain of +a procthor that suit poor Bob off afore he could look about him, 'ill +resave his pay to-night, anyhow. What say you, boys?" + +"No doubt ov it!--All right!--Whoo! sartinly!" they grumbled and shouted +in reply; and then, the whiskey having been brought, the health of +Nanny's absent son, and their companion, was loudly proposed and drank. + +"I say, Dick," hiccupped the first speaker, who now began to wax drunk, +"what is your op--op--opinion should, we do to ould Whelan? You know, +I'm (hiccup) not natherally crule, bud suppose (hiccup) we jist cut the +ears off the baste, an' (hiccup) lave him hard ov hearin' for the rest +ov his life!" + +"I'm not the man to disagree wid a rasonable iday," ironically answered +Dick. + +"What do you say to that, my ould (hiccup) woman?" again asked he, +addressing Nanny, who had drawn near to listen; "suppose we sarve him +that-a-way, will you be (hiccup) satisfied; or maybe you'd sooner we'd +prevint his bein' annoyed wid a cough by (hiccup) cuttin' his informin' +throat!" + +While he spoke, an indescribable expression lighted up the old woman's +eye, and she stood a moment, as if a struggle was going on between +long-brooded-over revenge and some newly awakened sympathy. The rest +of the men were busy with other schemes, and did not even hear the last +conversation, for they had before agreed to pay Whelan a visit that +night, and Nanny had eagerly entered into their intentions; for she had +an only son, who, being wild and dissipated, had got connected with the +very gang at present in her cabin, and through Whelan's means (he having +informed against him) was transported. An Irish mother soon looks upon +the faults of a darling child with levity: and when he was torn from her +arms, in the madness of grief she had vowed vengeance against Whelan; +and though he soon after removed to where he then was, she followed him, +and took up her residence on the mountain, where, as she was a stranger, +and had no apparent means of living, a report of her communion with +evil spirits was soon spread abroad. This she rather encouraged than +otherwise, by the advice of the men whom she fixed on as the completers +of her revenge, and by such means the lights and nightly noises were +placed to the account of anything but their real cause. + +She had endured many griefs, and many mortifications, from her +reputation as a witch, but met every thing in that way with patience, +as the dream of her soul was revenge, and that dream by such means alone +could be realized. However, when on the very point of its completion, +one of those sudden and mysterious changes which often takes place +in the human mind made her waver in her purpose; and the child of her +intended victim having behaved so tenderly and so kindly when all the +rest hooted at and tormented her, made her fervently wish that she could +turn the fierce men around her from that fell purpose which she +herself had nourished till it grew into a fixed, and, she dreaded, an +unalterable determination. + +"Hadn't yez betther wait," she tremblingly began, scarcely knowing what +she was about to propose--"another night 'ill do as well for Whelan." + +"How's this," interrupted one of them, "Nanny, you growing +lukewarm!--you proposin' another night--are you beginnin' to be afeard +we'll be hindhered from payin' him off, or are you repentin' yer former +anxious desire?" + +"No--no!" hastily answered she, dreading lest they should discover her +feelings, as she well knew that many amongst them had revenge to +be gratified as well as herself; "I don't repine as regards him, +bud--bud--his daughter--poor little Manny--the purty goolden-haired +child!--I wouldn't like any thing 'ud harm her, an' I'm afeard ov her +bein' hurted--that's all." + +"He did not feel so six years ago," said a deep voice at her elbow, +"whin yer only son was sint off from home an' counthry through his +manes!" + +Nanny started, she knew not why, at the tones of the speaker, and turned +round to look closer at him; but his back was towards her, and a large +loose coat prevented all recognition of his person; besides, bringing an +occasional newly enrolled stranger there, was a common circumstance, so +she soon forgot the momentary surprise she had met in her anxiety about +their intention. + +"He is a brute--his heart is harder nor steel, an' he must be punished," +said another, whose bent brow and flashing black eye spoke of malignity +and crime. + +"But his child--his poor little Minny!" exclaimed Nanny, "sure you +wouldn't injure her--she hasn't deserved id at yer hands--she has done +nothin', but is a sweet an' kind-hearted crathur. Oh! iv you had seen +her whin I was in the village, an' the boys were hootin' an' peltin' me, +an' no one interfered to protect the hated Nanny--iv you had seen the +little angel how she stood before me, an' cried out 'shame!' an' held +up the pitcher for me to dhrink, an' helped me to rise, offerin' me the +shelter of her father's house, little dhramin' ov whom she was spakin' +to--you wouldn't have a thought ov hurtin' her--bud--no one--no one +could harm Minny!---she is too sweet, too pure, too like a little +angel!" + +"A hair of the child's head shall not be touched!" said the same deep +voice that had before made Nanny start; "bud he, the informher an' the +prosecuthor, must feel our vengeance!" + +Nanny was silent--she saw that further parley was useless, and was +obliged to bear with the concession she had already obtained. Meanwhile, +the men having ascertained that it was time they were stirring, hastily +equipped themselves, and prepared to start. When. they were leaving the +house, the stranger, whose voice had so startled her, took her hand, and +though his face was studiously averted, she heard him say solemnly'-- + +"Nanny, good bye!--my promise I'll keep sacred--the good child shall not +be touched!" + +She had not time to utter her thanks, for his hand as hastily +relinquished its hold, and ere she could speak, all were gone, and +she heard the buzz of their voices, as in a group they descended the +mountain. + +The bright moonbeams silvered the motionless leaves of the trees that +surrounded Whelan's cottage--there was not a stir within--no light +gleamed from the lattice, and the small thin brook that bubbled through +the long grass a little in its front, seemed to hush its merry song to +a mere low trickling sound, as if in unison with the universal repose. A +dark group of figures stood in the little garden before the door, as if +debating how they should act. Two of them, separated a little from the +rest, conferred together, one of whom was the stranger we have already +noticed, and the other the man we have spoken of as seeming to possess +some command over them all. Suddenly the latter started, and exclaimed +in the quick, sharp tone of command-- + +"Advance, men, an' smash the door--there's no use in delayin' longer." + +An almost instantaneous crash was the answer, and the door flew from its +hinges, and four or five of the men rushed into the cottage, while the +rest kept watch outside. Exclamations of surprise, mingled with harsh, +epithets, were heard within; and then they appeared a second time, +dragging with them the unfortunate and trembling owner, whom they had +just torn from his bed. A loud shout from the rest spoke their eagerness +for his punishinent; and amidst prayers for mercy, and entreaties, he +was dragged to the centre of the garden, placed on his knees; and his +hands firmly tied behind his back. + +"Now, Misther Whelan, _acushla_," asked! one, in a jeering tone, +"would you be jist pleased to make yer choice between two purty little +invintions of ours--_cardin_ an _ear-ticklin'_." + +The poor man trembled violently, and his livid lips opened but he could +not utter a word. + +"What an obstinate, silent ould baste you are," said the same man, +"not to give a civil answer to my question. Bud maybe the look o' this +plaything id drive spake outov you--oh, you may stare now!" Saying this, +he drew forth a board with a thick handle, the bottom part of which was +closely studded with nails and sharp pieces of iron, in imitation of the +cards they use for wool, and continued--"Would you admire the taste of +this in the flesh on your back, my informin' codger!--eh?" + +Upon this, shouts of "card him! card him!" arose from the group, and his +hands were quickly unloosed, and he was violently dashed on his +face, while some held his legs and others his arms. Then his back was +stripped, and the stranger laid the board flatly on it, with the iron +points touching the flesh, while another stood up with the large mallet +ready to drive them in, the shrieks of the victim becoming more and +more faint. Just as the man who held the weapon last named was about to +strike, and just as a demon grin of satisfied vengeance distorted the +otherwise handsome features of the stranger, a light and tiny form +flew screaming towards them, her long yellow hair floating in the +night-breeze, and her white dress hanging loosely about her delicate +limbs. It was Minny, who, unmindful of all, and seeing only her father, +threw herself on her knees beside him, exclaiming in tones of agony: + +"Oh, my father--my dear father--what is the matter?--what are they goin' +to do wid you?" + +The stranger started at the tones of her voice, and on gazing at her for +a moment, flung the card to a distance, and catching her in his arms, +kissed away the tears which covered her cheeks, as she struggled for +release. + +"Is it you," he said with much emotion, "that I promised to +purtect?--You, who succored an' saved me when I was dyin' for want? An' +are you the daughter ov Whelan the procthor?" + +The men, perplexed at the apparition of the child, mechanically had +released their prisoner; and he, starting up with the sudden hope of +freedom, stood confronting the stranger, who yet held his child. + +"Gracious Providence!" he exclaimed in wonder, as the moonlight streamed +on the face he was trying to recognize--"Is id--can id be Robert +Dillon?" + +"Yis, Whelan!" was the answer, "it is the man you name--the man you +caused to be thried an' banished, an' the man who came here to have +revange!" + +"Oh. don't hurt him--don't hurt him--he is _my_ father," cried the +little Minny who now also seemed to recognize him. + +"Iv he was surrounded wid fiends," answered Dillon, kissing her fair +smooth brow, "iv he was for ever on the watch, I'd still have my +revenge: bud for your sake, sweet, good-natured child--for your sake, +I'll not allow him to be touched!" + +A murmur here began to rise among some of the men, while the leader, +with one or two others, seemed to take part with the returned son of +Nanny Dillon. Upon this he added-- + +"I was weary an' wake wid fatigue an' hunger--I couldn't move a step +further than jist to lave the road an' lie in a dhry ditch, as I +thought, to die, jist as I complated the journey to my native place! But +this little girl--this goolden-haired child--kem to me, an' raised my +head, an' poured a sweet draught of milk into my mouth, an' brought me +food, an' sat by me, an' talked wid me, till I was at last able to join +wid you! An' afther this--afther this, would you have me harm any one +belongin' to her--even though he is my bitterest inimy?" + +The quick changing of purpose--the sudden transitions of the Irish +nature--are proverbial; and then those who had been loudest in their +murmurs were loudest in their cries of approval; and a deep huzza of +exultation at the magnanimity he displayed, told Dillon that he had +little to fear from their opposition. So once more embracing the little +girl, he gave her hand to her father, and taking the leader's arm, +strode away, exclaiming: + +"Whelan, you may thank your child--for 'tis she ha's saved you!" + +The party all followed after him; and in a few moments more there was +no trace of the scene of violence that had been partly enacted, and the +brook's low bubblings, as before, alone disturbed the silence of the +slumbering night. + +We will not attempt to describe poor Nanny's joy at her son's making +himself known, and informing her of the circumstances that had taken +place--enough to say, he had managed to escape before his time was out; +but as no one informed against him, he was suffered to remain in peace, +and manage a small farm in the next county, where he and his mother soon +after retired, as he determined totally to forsake his old mischievous +pranks. + +We were present at the village, altar, when Minny, who had grown up in +beauty and gentleness, gave her hand to a youth--the selected one of +her heart--and her gray-headed parent looked meekly on, blessing that +Providence who had given him such a child. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ellen Duncan; And The Proctor's +Daughter, by William Carleton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELLEN DUNCAN *** + +***** This file should be named 16008.txt or 16008.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/0/0/16008/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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