The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-10-19 00:00:00

tittraturt.

" LITTLE IRELAND."

f ea. writing letter In the aona ling...rho of o
friend who kipt • large plumbing a. ip, round the
yowotatiena of which the 'dime II ott ole limb, railed
by a Bight 01 poetic Downey, the " river" Medleck,
seated aeJ reeked, when •• ,tiesed tom el•looking bead
leaved "V er the hialf•ilawt if too chop trom tin street,
wod taiuraked oot the iurj. 'Please, is Mr. whit.
in r
.• yes," mild the plumber, onming irward, and tto•
bolting the door, "I am 11r. Whit. "
"Then, plies, n.other says you're o come with mo,
aod mend • widow,"
I haven't oey men in just now, hi at I'll mod round
and no about it by•and-by. Wham does your mother
live!'
"Italy oat ildwn the attest; hut a man won't do,
you 0.1 one yenyaelt•
•• Why, if it's only a window, why won't a man
do '!"'

" lath r does not want anyone to see it ;
he wouldn't let you see it, if be could mend it himself,
but ho would rather a geuttioutau seed it;nor anyone
r
" Would be mind this gentleman/seeing ft?" pointing
to Inc.
"Not if be would mend it and say nothing about
1t...

•• CoulOn't your mother, or Rowe ow, oinuoilown and
toll on what e•it moat,"
" Novel- witict," I said, interposiog, " I will go with
you and Iwo the window, and tolk to your inother about
" Thank yes, sir; but won't you burg your tools
with your
"No, I will look at the window first, and then wino

back and fetch tbtm."
The girl trudged by my aide till we came to the
group of tutuble-down enttages which was all that was
kit of " Little Ireland." She lifted the latch of VI..
kat house in the row, which seemed to be canting over
into the black stream of the IlLadlotk, which crawled
round the leaning gable.
A very thin-locking woman hastened to the door as
we Caine in. . .

"Oh, thank you—thank you kindly, sir, for ooming
yututeif ; but do please do it cheap, sir, for pity's
sake."
"Do it cbsao / What do ycu tuella r *id I. .

Hein tell ,iiu when be comes down. sit down, sir,
if you'd be no good. he won't he lo Father !''
up a step-ledder towards a trap-door, "Here'. us,
White."
"I'll wait here at the door," said I: for, though I
tried to seem at home, the place was so intensely close
aod .lirty, I oduld hardly bear it.
There was no furniture in the room except • couple
of ooinmon stools, a small table, and an old wooden
rockingehair near to the fire-place. There woo. small
fire. and a pan upon it, front which • maims smell of
leekA pervaded the hot wooni. Souse kind of booth wait
eking in the vessel, but it was Disdains, as I found out
afterwards, hut herbs and water.
Turning round as I stood at the open door. I raw on
the upper tti pe of the ladder :in old raged shoe, and a
dilly naked heel; the heel grew into a thin and rimy
ankle, and wait beginning tdeldngate into &scraggy leg,
when it. tyminetry woe eclipsed by the skirt of • piney
old gown, widen continue,' t dosehp fresh woltha of
dirtiness, cool a surien yellow bead, topped by a
black skid' cop, like a lid, made its appearances and
docking at me rather boorishly, inquired
'Are seu 111 r. White?"

" No, Mr. White couldn't come, to I came to see
what it is you want done."
There wino a green beige screen drawn across one end
of the room, and I was moving in that direction as I
spoke. The nian scowled suspieiously at me, and
staple. '4u leitem ii me and the green curtain.
"Stand hack,!" ho said. " What right have YOU to
COMO lieu! ?"
Oh. father. don't I" interpthed the woman. The
gent!. men asy• he'il dolt cheep."
"Win :10101 MID to do it cheap!" he growled. " I
didn't ; I'm ready to pay for it."
Thoueli the man to, bed so ehnink, I could see be wee
not nearly to old ae he looked. The woman called him
" father," hut he west her husband, and the father id
the girl she had called at the bump.
" I den't know what you mean,' I said. "I haven't
mime here to pry into anythieg you don't want to tell
me, or to ere any thing you don't want to chow me. If
Iran beef any me to you I should like to be so ; but
if not, good-bye, and no offence. Something was Paid
about a broken window which you didn't Want • man to
rev, 'eat tilde), jou want, el Wr. Wliite to mend himself.
lie couldn't some up just now, so I came up for hint to
inquire why you won't It anyeue mend it but bike."
"Conte hi re, sir," said the man, changing his manner
Into one .4 courtesy. " poor ertio.gh and hungry
enough, Oriel knows, and so are my wife and girl; but
rich enough to Ilaro my nib on, soil totttlAd by
An he .peke he led we back to the green baize semen.
and gently drew it back. There was another curtain,
',U. imninliately inside ;
quite white :mil exquisitely,
and lied that :main, it m.o. • I clean white nine! in cur.
talus, which he patted Laces end turned and Mackoued
to me. I went in after him, and be let the white and
green curtain down, so that we were yell., shut in. The
ciontrost was almost es magical as those of which we
read in fairy lore. Wttith aanil war sprinkled on the
floor. and a small piece of good Brussels carpet covered
a part of it about two yards square. On this a table
stood, coveted with • white cloth, on the front feld of
whieh wile a gilt halo surrounding the letters "
Upon the table were arranged a reser', four candles,
two of which were butnium end • small thurible, into
which he dropped something like a paetille, which he
kindled till the smoke went up talons • cruethe which
steel in the metre of the table. At the book of all
more outwit. were iirrangebi which parted <nee • small
it ..... it wiutow, I ineet.shap:ed, in which a fieure of the
Madonna was worked in paintod ulnae. The hand of
tie Virgin wan represented as pointing upwa:da, but the
pointing finger had been broken.
' This is the woik I wanted Mr. White to do sir.
Thet window wee my work. I was an artid, de glass ;
but 111 f 111,1111 14 VbrelvAco or 1 thould net have vent Mt
bays the window ineueli;cl. But ever since that finger
of Our Lady leis been broken, my prayers have never
reached heaven.'
" A good enough reason. certainly, for wanting it the
paired." said I.
Well, I do want it repaired ; and if you hays any
influence with White, 1 yeah you would use it to get
him to mule hinted,. I don't oars about it's Icing done
cheap, I can jay for it; but I don't want RUT common
glozier to come tinkering at my altar, and getting into
my emirate ; if it was • scullery window I could not
care.-
" You would be • better judge than I of the expense
of such a job as this, but 1 have no doubt Mr. White
will be ghed to to it for you for nothing. If you have
mono, for goodnes' sake 'end out and get mime meat
and eltiek for your poor wife and girl. Your prayers
will travel upwards easier when you atelljnat to loth
kith and kin.
'1 will-1 will. sir. Will you bring Mr. White with
you—not earlier than seven, and not later than Disler
"Yes, I'll try. I don't want to be inquisitive, so I
won't sok your reason for being so particular; but if I
waive that question, would you mind telling we bow
you get 0 luvimig, sines your hand us disabled, and you
can't k
" 1 get sash • li.jogasllulugot, partly by my viler
°baring and my daughter's errands; and pertly by tak-
ing care of a few things which are left here by some
friends of mina.'
I didn't bemire further. but promised to bring Mr.
White, with putty for the Virgin's finger, in the coma
of the evening.
We were late in stowing. As it wail peat nine when
we arrived, the MAO seemed anxious, and suggested that
there was not light enough for Mr. White to woik by,
and that we had better come again ; but on being smeared
that the job could be completed in half an hour, be
elloweil White and myself to IP behind .he green b. 6.1,40
ineeesi and get to work. lie drew the comm carefully
alter us. 'Tee girl was out, but I heard him whispering
ta his wife • good deal while we were concealed.
The window repairing had not proceeded more than
about 10 minutes when the door latch went up, and the
voice of the girl was heard speaking to someone the had
brought in with her. She seemed out of breath, and I
heard something net down upon the flour with • clash.
big sound.
"how heavy it is!" exclaimed the girl. "Conic in,
Bob, and shut the door."
A heavy tread followed, and another load was bet
down; after which I beard a long deep breath, as if
the carrier was quite exhausted.
" Phew I that's • breather. Now then, Master Fence,
',Ho,e up a film and let's get to work. The sooner
thee telltale solids are stem d down into dumb liquid
the Letter. I've brought the pit with Uhl. 1% hr.
you've got one ; what'. that''
I recognised the voice directly, and knew what be
meant. Mr. White bad left hie leadtnelter on the fire,
where the resin and other eutupest which he needed in
his work were melting. 'the voice beloegoel to one of
the thieves, but 1 could not recount for his coming here,
so far away from the thieves' quarters, and to a man to
different from themselves. It was a sack of mob the
man hell been carrying, sod, bending under its weight,
be had mobehlyuet noticed the remomitratuag imitates
Of the weenie.
"I didn't know you did this cart of thing on your
own acconot, Mr. O'Callaghan," said the burglar.
" Toney • deeper obi file then you :mule youriedf out
to be. You're • regular fence mutter."
W eat do jou mean?" seid Ow old mail ; " I don't In
nothing 143 toy owe account, and I don't knew what you
mean by a feneeneester. When my girl brought them
four boxes here last week, ,he said some ltentisloth
wanted on, to take care of tle.th, and that (should be
a,ajd. Het I'm tint r,..ing have any-melting down
6„.. What's in that beg,
" You thundering obi fox ,• give it hero," said the
burglar "and let me go. or NI he the death of you!"
I hoard the two mon struggling, and I heard the
woman raise army.
" but go Harry !" I cried, steriplug eat from behind
the (termite, end raiairg in my iouid a heavy soldering
iron ; ".bat does all this mean
The robber dropped hii, handl, and let the old man
go, lie looked at itee an if doubtful whether to *polo-
g'lse, to attack ii,,,, onto run awe,. I lichee° he would
liave struck at me if Mr. White had uut appeared at
the
werneut, and appaiicd him hy tbu oelihi of the to

0D...
" I thought you only laid yourielf out to do us good,
air didn't guess ma you was a spy upon us."
"'in no spy, and when I CaWC hero I had no notion
to you or of your do,; and to prove that I have Do
desire to take advantage of you. I will let you go and
earn, that bag of plunder with you. I don't know
whether I ought to do this. or whether stricter duty
wtoil.l not hand you over to the police ; but you had
?artier he gone before I &cid., the can agaiust you."
lie needed no second bidding. and muttering some-
Ling to himself which was neither oomplimentary nor
retuouroog, ho disappeared.
•• lei you keow who that man is r I asked of the old
MILD, !when the robber was gone.
• " No, I only know he brought those four boles here
the, or foes Says se% and paid nie 'in. when be left
•ii. to, awl pioloised toe live more when he came to take
ti...ie
'• 111 were you I woad niske him fetch them away
a: Dee ; the nimi is a thief, and it' 's things are stolen
fl•ity th.r ought to be given to the police,
•o- ;U..fl POOiiICO I 11,71,111 to retain
I 1...
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