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himself through the wide world money or friends put it out of yer head no struggle on as the rest of us is an maybe ye ll come as well off at the long run mother dear said the son i wouldn t wish to go what you d say but i made a promise to myself to rise out of your poverty if i can an my mind s made up on it so don t cross me or be the of my bad luck on my journey in regard of me goin yer will when yon know be the last thing i d wish to do let tne take his way who knows but it was the almighty put the thoughts of it into his head says that there will soon be a change an the fat will be back to their ould owners oh an may the man above grant that i pray this day for aren t we out of our lives an for the black thieves t innocent person the poor scholar what we ought to put on our backs an in our own mouths when a lad from the classes to go to er a a h n a i there is but one course to be pursued in preparing his this is by a collection at the chapel among the to whom the matter is made known by the priest from the altar some sunday previous to his departure accordingly when the family had all given their consent to s project his father went on the following day to communicate the matter to the priest and to his co operation in making a collection in behalf of the lad on the next sunday but one for there is always a week s notice given and sometimes more the people may come prepared the conversation already detailed between father and son took place on friday and on saturday a day on which the priest never holds a station and of course is generally at home m went to his house with the object already in view the priest was at home a truly benevolent man but like the his day not with learning though of kindness and hospitality mixed up with and simple cunning good morning said the priest as entered good morning kindly sir replied i hope your reverence is well and in good health i am i hope there s nothing at home how is the wife and children i humbly thank your reverence for there s no for in regard o the health one o them but s bravely all things i believe i m the worst o them myself yer reverence i m ould you see an stiff an wake but that s only in the o a man can t last always wait till them that s young an now as much as i in my day and they won t have much to oi t mv i the yer reverence stands it bravely â itself the lord be praised an it my own heart to see you look so well thank you indeed my health god be is very good he added calling to an old female servant you ll take a glass the day is here take the key and get some spirits â the â to the right hand in the p my health is very good says he in me my appetite an i te i ti s guilty of one of the seven deadly sins ha ha ha an is one o them sure enough but a joke is a joke in the mane time a pleasant is the same father but yer reverence is too deep for him in the line for all that sir but it s you that gave ould the keen cut about his religion â ha ha ha myself laughed till i was sick for two days af ther itâ the ould thief eh did you hear that are you sure that s the ay an the best of it all was that his lord was present come try that â it never seen but the best of it all was â well father said he who put you into the now said he you ll come over me your regular succession from st peter but i won t allow that why mr said i back to him i ll give up the succession says i and what is more grant that you have been called by the lord and that have not but the lord that called you says i was lord man you d tie his a he laughed so heartily father said he you re said he and upon my honour you must both dine with me to day says and capital he keeps your health father m ck s s the poor scholar to us oh the a taste itself did the same stuff see why thin i think your reverence an me s about an age i ve i m a but i don t bear it so well as you do the family you see an the an the cares o the world pull me down the same family s a to me i wish i had them all settled safe any way what do you to do with them in that s what brought me to yer reverence i ve one â a smart chap entirely an he has taken it into his head to go as a poor scholar to he s fond o the there s not a doubt o that an small blame to him to be sure but then again what can i do he s on goin an i m not able to help him poor fellow in any shape so i made to see your reverence about it in hopes that you might be able to plan out some thing for him more nor i could

49William Black

do i have the good wishes of the neighbours and indeed of the whole parish let the thing go as it may i know that and for the same m we ll have a collection at the three i ll tion it to them mass to morrow ana let them be prepared for sunday week when we can make the collection hut man never fear we ll get as much as will send him to the and i ll tell you what i ll never be the man to refuse giving him a couple of guineas myself may the heavenly father bless an keep your reverence i m sure tis a good right the boy has as well as all of us to never forget your kindness but as to the money â he ll be proud of your assistance the other way sir â so not a penny â tis only your we want â hem â except indeed that you d wish yourself to make a piece of kindness of it to the poor boy oh not a drop more sir â i declare it ll be apt to get into my head well well â sure an we re not to our whether ox not â so hare s your the poor scholar health over your reverence an success to the poor child that s on good two guineas his reverence is to give you from himself said the father on relating the success of this interview with the priest an f i was one of it for it might bring something unlucky it but thought i on the spur it s best to take it any way we can put it off on some o these black or by way of it an if there s any hard fortune in it let them have the full benefit of it â t r it is by trifles of this nature that the unreasonable though enduring hatred with which the religious of ireland look upon those of a different creed is best known this feeling however is sufficiently mutual yet on both sides there is something more than practical in its nature when they speak of each other as a distinct class the though abstracted appears to be most deep but when they mingle m the necessary intercourse of life it is curious to see them frequently descend on both sides from the general rule to those exceptions of good will and kindness which natural benevolence and mutual obligation together with a correct knowledge of each other s real characters frequently produce even this abstracted hatred however has the curse of our unhappy country it has kept us too much asunder or when we met exhibited us to each other in our darkest and most offensive aspects s conduct in the matter of the priest s money was also a happy illustration of that mixture of simplicity and with which an can frequently make points meet which superstition alone without such ingenuity would keep separate for ever many another man have refused the money from there is a superstitious belief in some parts of ireland that priest s money is unlucky the scholar an ignorant dread of its proving unlucky but his mode of reasoning on the subject was satisfactory to himself and certainly the most ingenious which according to his belief he could have adopted â that of it upon a the eloquence of a country priest is well adapted to the end in view to the feelings of his and to the nature of the subject on which he speaks pathos and humour are the two by which the irish character is raised or depressed and these are blended in a manner too to be ever properly described on the sunday in question as the could not be called strictly religious the priest knew that a joke or two would bring in many an additional crown to s was determined that they should at least have a laugh for their money the man besides was benevolent and knew the way to the irish heart a knowledge which he felt happy in turning to the benefit of the lad in question with this object in view he addressed the people somewhat in the following language blessed is he that his money to him that in need of it these words my are taken from st paul who among ourselves knew the value of a friend in distress as well as any other in the three â hem it s a text my friends anyhow he however when we have it to give my own true well tried ould friends â when we have it to give its absence the case in because you have all heard the proverb â there is no money out of an empty purse he that carries an empty purse may at the thief it s sing in the latin but sing or in my opinion he that goes an empty purse seldom sings or to a pleasant tune melancholy such were generally made in the usual dame for n h peasant s hat being the poor scholar music td call it and may be i wouldn t be much astray â hem at all may none of this present congregation at their ever sing or to the same tune no let it be to money in both pockets if you sing at all and as long as you have that never fear but you ll also have the priest in his boots into the bargain â for well i know that you re the high spirited people who wouldn t see your without them while a fat parson with half upon him red and rosy goes about every day in the week in boots like a but suppose a man hasn t money what is he to do now this itself into what is called an and must be proved in the

49William Black

following manner first we suppose him not to have the i may be wrong or i may be right now for the illustration and the logic here your reverence now if i suppose you to have no money am i right or am i wrong v y why thin i d be to prove your reverence to be wrong so i would but for all that i believe i must give it you how much have you got v but tis your reverence that s close upon me two or three small notes an some silver how much silver i ll tell your reverence in a i ought to have a ten the price of a o that i bought at the roads nine v an some yer reverence very good you must hand me the silver till i give the rest of the illustration it but does yer reverence mind another ould proverb â a fool an his s parted m l a j you re goin to do a joke upon me t the give him the money from a voices â give his reverence the money you you â give him the silver you dirty you â hand it out you if you don t give it not take it at all here here your reverence â here it is sure i wouldn t have your ill will for all i m worth why you if i wasn t the first or himself i couldn t a penny out o you now there s a specimen of logic for you an if it wasn t good upon it the money would be in your pocket still i ve never known you to give a penny for any charitable purpose since ever i saw your face but i m a good action in your behalf for once so if you have any words to say to the money in question say them for you ll never finger it more a burst of the most mirth followed this in which the simple priest himself joined heartily whilst the melancholy of peter s face was contrasted with the glee which those that surrounded him secondly â a man you see may have money or he may not when his fellow creature who stands in need of it makes an to his and his feelings and sorry i d be to think that there s a man before me or a woman either who d refuse to assist the of any one of any creed church or persuasion whether white black or â no i don t except even the themselves it s what i never taught you nor never will you to the day of my death to he sure a fellow creature may say help me my brother i am distressed or i am bent on a good purpose that your kindness can enable me to accomplish but suppose that you have not the money about you at the time wouldn t you feel sorry to the back bone ay would â to the very core of the heart itself or if any man â an he d be nothing else than a that would say it â if any man would tell me that you won id not i dâ i d give v m his answer i gave mould v n ago and you all bum what that was the next â is what would you do if you hadn t it about you i it s i can tell you what you d do â you d say i haven t got it brother â for ev ry created bein of the human kind is your brother the women an they are your sisters hut says you if you wait u bit for a day or two or a week or maybe for a fortnight try what you picture to yourselves a fellow creature in j to have neither hat shoe nor stockings this was a touch of the l â and altogether in a stale iii utter e can there be a more melancholy picture than this no there can t but lie of it â a robbery is the same li ink of him without father mother or upon the both dead and ne er another to be had for love or money he has poor health â maybe he s an in i e country â here s mother and friend aloud and the began to the priest in fact knew where to touch his face is his eyes sunk with â i i â sorrow in his his bones are tlie skin â he knows nut where to turn hunger and sickness are for him â here the grief became loud and general even the good natured preacher s own voice got somewhat unsteady â he s to entirely miserable more miserable i most miserable sore and sorry he s to be pitied felt for and i i tis a he has or an maybe or a or an â i i e limbs or tlie king s evil or a consumption or a decline or â â knows but it s the f all in g oh â oh from the whole n whilst the simple old man s eyes were blinded with tears at the force of tho picture he drew â ay maybe it s i s m earth can lie ui l it t ie veil look down him with the poor scholar and he hasn t a rap in his company â â an ay my friends you all homes but he has none thrust back by every hard hearted and he maybe a better father s son than the that refuses him look at your own my friends bring the case home to yourselves suppose he was one of them â alone on the earth and none to pity him in his sorrows your own i

49William Black

say in a strange land here the became men women and children in one general uproar of grief an this may all be m s case that s going in a week or two to as a poor may be his case i say except you him and show your and your feelings like christians and and for either or kindness i d turn against any other congregation in the or in the kingdom â ay or against itself if it was or in the neighbourhood now here was a ae main â not a syllable mentioned about m until he had melted them down ready for the impression which he accordingly made to his heart s content ay he went on an tis the parish of that has the name far and near for both and j well they it f you won t see the poor go to a country with empty pockets he s the son of an honest man â one of yourselves â and although he s a poor man you know twas sam that made him so â that put him out of his comfortable farm and slipped a into it you won t turn your backs on the son in regard of that any way for sam let him pass he ll not grind the poor nor to the rich when he gives up his in the kingdom come lave trim to the friend of the poor â to his god but the son of them that he oppressed you will stand up for he s going to to learn to go the mission and on sunday next there will be a collection made here and at the other two for him and u characters n the north of ireland the word mm the poor scholar are at stake i trust it will be neither mane nor shabby there will be here engage and you must act before them if it was only to set them a good example we do not give this as a specimen of their modern pulpit eloquence but as a of that in which some of those irish clergy shone who before the establishment of were admitted to orders immediately from the hedge schools in consequence of the of priests which then existed in ireland it was customary in those days to them even before they departed for the continental in order that they might by saying masses and performing other duties be enabled to add something to the scanty which was appropriated to their support of the class to which father belonged there are few if any remaining on the sunday following m and his son attended mass whilst the other members of the family with that sense of honest pride which is more strongly inherent in irish character than is generally supposed remained at home from a reluctance to witness what they could not but consider a degradation this decency of feeling was anticipated by the priest and not overlooked by the people for the former the reader may have observed in tne whole course ot his address never once mentioned the word charity â nor did the latter permit the circumstance to go without its reward according to the best of their ability so keen and delicate are the of the irish and so alive are they to those nice distinctions of kindness and courtesy which have in their hearts a spontaneous and sturdy growth that at the virtues of artificial life in the parish of there were three or places of roman catholic worship and the reader may suppose that the collection made at each place â written in the poor scholar was considerable in truth both father and son s were far under the sum collected and attended with their and those of the latter who to be present at what they considered to be an worship did not hesitate to send their by some roman catholic neighbour their names were accordingly announced with an from the priest which never failed to excite a warm hearted murmur of approbation nor was this feeling transient for we will venture to say that had political excitement up even to rebellion and mutual slaughter the persons and property of those individuals would have been held sacred at length was equipped and sad and heavy became the hearts of his parents and immediate relations as the morning appointed for his departure drew nigh on the evening before several of his more distant relatives came to take their farewell of him and in compliance with the of irish hospitality they were detained for the night they did not however come empty handed some brought money some brought linen stockings or small presents â to keep me in your memory sure â and else it is for except himself and one of his brothers who was to accompany him part of the way none of the family slept the mother exhibited deep sorrow and although he made a show of firmness felt now that the crisis was at hand nearly incapable of parting with the boy the conversation of their friends and the cheering effects of the enabled them to sustain his loss better than they otherwise would have done and the hope of seeing him one day an ordained priest contributed more than either to when the night was nearly half spent the mother took a candle and privately withdrew to the room in which the boy slept the youth was fair and interesting to look upon â the locks of his white the poor forehead were divided yet there was on his otherwise open brow a shade of sorrow produced by i ik coming separation which even sleep could not the mother held the candle gently towards his face ing it with one hand lest the light might suddenly awake him she then survived his features long and whilst the tears fell in showers from her cheeks

49William Black

there yon lie she sobbed out in irish the sweet pulse of my heart the flower of flock the pride of our eyes and tho music of hearth an how can i part you my sim sure when i look at face and think that your the world on your head to rise us out of our poverty isn t my heart a lonely h we ll have you out and in at home or abroad your voice n be in my ears nor your eye me an thin to think of what you may â â land i if your head what breast will it lie or who will bind the n of comfort round it â or wipe your fair mild brow in sickness oil blessed â hunger sickness nd sorrow may come upon you â i lt in fur â â â turn an th tt this melancholy picture was too much for he tenderness of the mother she sat down beside the i ii il her face on her open and wept in subdued but bitter at this moment his father who ii i i lily suspected the cause of her absence in i perceived her distress â o i said he in irish also is my son she l i ki d up with streaming eyes as he spoke a i i to him in a manner so exquisitely t â â of the boy and the tender u iii made by the mother are considered â that in point of fact mi heart â certainly no irish could withstand it there is u pathos simplicity the in irish tha ma s na me â or in english i am asleep and don t me the position of the boy caused the recollection of the old melody to flash into the mother s heart â she simply pointed to him as the words streamed in a low melodious murmur but one full of heart sorrow from her lips the old sacred association â for it was one which she had sung for him a thousand times â until warned to by his tears â deepened the tenderness of her heart and she said with difficulty whilst she involuntarily held over the candle to gratify the father s heart by a sight of him was him before my eve she said god knows but it may be the last night we ll ever see him our own roof i doubt i cant t part him from my heart then how can i t he replied wasn t he my right hand in everything when was he from me ever since he took a man s work upon him and when he d finish his own task for the day how kindly he d begin an help me mine no v it goes to my heart to let him go away upon a plan and i wish he hadn t taken the notion into his head at all it s not too late maybe replied his mother iâ think it wouldn t be hard to put him off of it the s own heart is him to lave us he has sorrow upon his face where he lies the father looked at the expression of affectionate melancholy which shaded his features as he slept and the perception of the boy s internal struggle against his own domestic in his first determination powerfully touched his heart said he i know the boy â he won t give it up and t would be a pity â maybe a sin â to put him from it let the child get fair play and his if he fails he can come back to us an our arms an hearts will be open to welcome him but if god him wouldn t it be a that we never expected to see him in the white robes one mass for his li ould eyes the poor scholar could see that i would be to close them in pace an happiness for ever an well you d become them well would your mild and handsome countenance look the long heavenly stole of innocence upon you and although it s into my heart i ll bear it for the sake of the same blessed sight look at that face t many a lord of the land be proud to have a son may the heavens shower down its upon him the father burst into tears it is â it is said he it is the face that ud make many a noble heart proud to look at it is it any it ud cut our hearts thin to have it taken from afore our eyes come away come away or i ll not be able to part it it is the lovely face â an kind is the heart of my child as he spoke he stooped down and kissed the youth s cheek on which the warm tears of affection fell soft as the dew from heaven the mother followed his example and they both left the room we must bear it said as they passed into another apartment â the money s gathered an it wouldn t look well to oe goin back it to them that us we d have the blush upon our face for it an the child no advantage for you and we must make up our minds to live him for a while the following morning was dark and cloudy calm and without rain when the family were all assembled every member of it evinced traces of feeling and every eye was fixed upon the serene bu melancholy countenance of the boy with and sorrow he himself maintained a quiet which though apparently liable to be broken by the struggles of domestic affection and in character with his meek and disposition yet was supported by more firmness than might be expected from a mind in which kindness

49William Black

and sensibility were so strongly at this time how v v character was not developed or at least i ot the poor scholar by those that surrounded him to strong feelings and enduring affections he added a of perception and a bitterness of of which in his conversation with his father concerning yellow sam the reader has already had sufficient proofs at breakfast little or nothing was eaten the boy himself could not taste a morsel nor any other person in the family when the form of the meal was over the father knelt down â it s right said he that we should all go to our knees and join in a in behalf of the child that s goin on a good he won t the worse the last words that he ll hear from his father and mother s lips is a prayer for the of god down upon his this was accordingly performed though not without tears and sobs and frequent of grief for religion among the is often associated with bursts of deep and powerful feeling when the prayer was over the boy rose and calmly to his back a covered with deer skin containing a few books linen and a change of very plain apparel while engaged in this the uproar of grief in the house was perfectly heart when just ready to set out ne reverently took off his hat knelt down and with tears streaming from his eyes humbly and meekly the blessing and forgiveness of his father and mother the mother caught him in her arms kissed his lips and kneeling also sobbed out a fervent upon his head the father now in the grief of a strong man pressed him to his heart until the big burning tears fell upon the boy s face his brothers and sisters embraced him wildly â next his more distant relations and lastly the neighbours who were crowded about the door after this he took a light staff in his hand and first blessing himself after the form of his church proceeded to a strange land in quest of education he had not gone more than a few from the door when his mother followed him with a small bottle of holy water a said my poor child the poor scholar she here s this an carry it about you â it will keep evil from you an be sure to take good care of the written you got from the priest an square an don t be too often at the o your coat for f the people might get a notion that you have the bank notes in it an don t be too lavish upon their they say it s apt to give people the kiss me an the heavens above keep you safe and well till we see you once more she then tenderly and still with melancholy pride settled his shirt collar which she thought did not sit well about his neck and kissing him again with renewed sorrow left him to pursue his journey m s house was situated on the side of a dark hill â one of that barren description which can be called neither inland nor mountain it commanded a wide and extended prospect and the road along which the lad travelled was visible for a considerable distance from it on a small before the door sat and his wife who as long as their son was visible kept their eyes which were nearly blinded with tears upon his person it was now they cave full vent to their grief and discussed with painful and melancholy satisfaction all the excellent qualities which he possessed as james himself advanced one neighbour after another fell away from the train which accompanied him not however until had affectionately embraced and bid him adieu and perhaps slipped with peculiar delicacy an additional into his waistcoat pocket after the neighbours then followed the gradual separation from his friends â one by one left him as in the great journey of life and in a few hours he found himself accompanied only by his favourite brother this to him was the greatest trial he had yet felt long and heart was their embrace soothed and comforted his beloved brother but in vain the lad threw himself on the spot at they parted and remained there until sa the poor scholar an angle of the road which brought him out of his sight when the poor boy kissed the marks of his brother s feet repeatedly and then returned home hoarse and broken down with the violence of his grief he was now alone and for the first time felt keenly the strange object on which he was bent together with all the difficulties connected with its he was young and and many years he knew must e er he could find himself in possession of his wishes but time would pass at home as well as abroad he thought and as there lay no of peculiar difficulty in his way he collected all his firmness and proceeded there is no country on the earth in which either education or the desire to procure it is so much as in ireland next to the claims of the priest and come those of the poor scholar for the respect of the people it matters not how poor or how miserable ne may be so long as they see him struggling with poverty in the of a purpose so they will treat him with attention and kindness here there is no danger of his being sent to the committed as a â or passed from parish to parish until he reaches his own settlement here the humble lad is not met by the sneer of purse proud insolence or his simple tale answered only by the frown of heartless contempt no â no the bit and sup are placed before him and whilst his

49William Black

poor but warm hearted can afford only potatoes and salt to his own half starved family he will make a struggle to procure something better for the poor scholar he s far from his own the an sure the in him is good any how the lord prosper him an every one that has the heart set upon the as proceeded he found tha f his of books and apparel gave as clear an intimation of his purpose as if ne had carried a to that effect upon his back the poor scholar god save you a said a warm honest looking whom he met driving home his v cows in the evening within a few miles of the town in which he to sleep god save you kindly why thin tis a long journey you have before you for i know well it s for you re bound k j for you tis there the help of god i m goin a great wag my nm i p la t to go at all j said the boy whilst his eyes filled tears tis no in life replied the with natural delicacy for he perceived that a sense of pride lingered about the boy which made the character of poor scholar sit painfully upon him â tis no dear nor don t be cast down i ll warrant you that god will prosper you an that he may i pray this day and as he spoke he raised his hat in reverence to the being whom he an tell me dear â where do you intend to sleep to night v in the town here replied i m in hopes i ll be able to reach it before dark you will have you any friends or acquaintances there that ud welcome you a my handsome boy v no indeed said they re all strangers to me but i can stop in for it s well i believe you but tm no stranger to you â so come home me to night where you ll get a good bed an nor in any of their give me your books an i ll carry them for you but you have a great o them entirely can you make any hand o the latin at all yet v no indeed replied somewhat sorrowfully i didn t ever open a latin book at all at all well everything has a be l won t be so an i know by your face aa o â xl m the poor scholar bright at it an a credit to them that owes you there s my house in the fields where you ll be well kept for one night any way or for or for ten times if you wanted them the honest farmer then commenced tke song of na which he sang in a clear mellow voice until they reached the house alley said the man to his wife on entering here s a stranger brought you well replied alley he s welcome sure any way sit over to the fire get up dear said she to one of the children an let the stranger to the he s coin on a good errand the lord bless him w said the husband up the country for the put books over on the settle an the are done give him a brave of the sweet milk it s the stuff to on an i will a heart an a half wishing it was i had to give him here put down a pot o an lave soap an a afore you go to milk till i the decent boy s feet sore an tired they are his journey poor young when placed himself upon the he saw that some peculiarly good fortune had conducted him to so comfortable a resting place he considered this as a good omen and felt in fact much relieved for the sense of loneliness among strangers was removed the house evidently belonged to a wealthy farmer well to do in the world the chimney was studded with sides upon sides of yellow smoke dried bacon and hung beef in abundance the kitchen tables were large and white as milk and the rich in its shining array of and everything in fact was upon a large scale huge meal were ranged on one side and two or three settle beds on the other conspicuous as i have said the pretty m tax so the poor scholar for their uncommon cleanliness whilst hung from the ceiling were the a machine for and beside the stood an immense certainly too to be managed except by machinery the farmer was a ruddy faced who wore a coat with a velvet collar waistcoat small clothes and top boots well from the tops down he was not only an but a â remarkable for and good sense generally attended and and brought three or four large of fat cattle to england every year from his hung the brass chain and almost rusty key of a watch which he kept certainly more for use than ornament a little sup o this said he won t take your life approaching with a bottle of as good as ever escaped the eve of an u it ll refresh you â for you re tired or i wouldn t offer it by that one on what you re on t to be the same but there s a time for everything an there s a time for this thank you ne added in reply to who had drunk his health now don t be â but make yourself as as if you were at your own father s hearth you ll have everything to your heart s for this night the carts are goin in to the market to morrow â you can sit upon them an maybe you ll get more nor you expect sure the lord has given

49William Black

it to me an why wouldn t i share it them that wants it more nor i do r the lad s heart to the generous farmer for he felt that his kindness had the stamp of truth and sincerity upon it he could only raise his eyes in a silent prayer that none belonging to him might ever be as strangers and way to commit themselves as he did to the of life in pursuit of those which poverty cannot other â this almost in every instance is the dress ot am the poor scholar wise command fervent indeed was his and certain we are that because it was sincere it must have been heard in the meantime the good woman or had got the pot of water warmed in which was made to put his feet she then stripped up her arms to the elbows and with soap and meal affectionately bathed his legs and feet then taking the or coarse she wiped with a kindness which thrilled to his heart and now said she i must give you a cure for an it s this â in the if we re all spared as we will the almighty give you a needle an some white thread well when your gets up the thread through them it on each side an my life for yours they won t trouble you sure i it the year i went on my station to an i know it to be the cure here said the farmer â who sat with a placid benevolent face smoking his pipe on the opposite â to one of the maids who came in from â bring up a of that milk we want it here let it be none of your but the that has the in it up it here a the never a one o the man but s downright so he is observed the wife to go to fill the tired child s stomach can t you wait till he a o stout to keep life in him his hard journey does your feet feel themselves cool and now a v indeed said i m almost as fresh as when i set out twas little thought i had when i came away this that meet so much friendship on my journey i hope it s a sign that god s on my side in my i hope so â i hope so an it is too replied the farmer taking the pipe out of his mouth and mildly away the smoke an god be the poor scholar always on your side as long as your intentions are good now ate â you must want it by this an thin when you rest yourself bravely take a into a good feather bed where you can sleep rings round you who knows but you ll be able to say mass for me or some of my family god grant that any way poor james s heart was too full to eat much he took therefore only a very slender portion of the set before him but his hospitable had no notion of permitting him to use the free exercise of his discretion on this important point when james put away the knife and fork as an indication of his having concluded the meal the and his wife turned about both at the same moment with a kind of astonishment â eh is it over that way you are why a it s at all you ve sure little there would make a fool of you so he would at the come come a â don t be ashamed or make any way at all but ate hearty i declare i have ate heartily thank you replied james itself so i did i couldn t a bit more if the house was full said the wife cut him up more o that hung beef it s d the is take it don t we know the journey vou had if one o the boys was out on a day s you d see how he d handle himself indeed said james i can t â if i could i would sure i would be no way backward at all so i wouldn t an you can an must said the the never a rise you ll rise till you finish that â putting over a out of all reasonable proportion with his age and size there a small taste an you must finish it to go to ate at all hut tut by the tops o as much as you please the poor scholar my boots you must put that clear an sight or i ll go mad an burn the lad and continued to eat as as he could possibly hold out at length he i can t go on said he don t ax me i indeed bad manners to the word hear till you it you know it s but a to of but take your time you ll be it the poor lad s heart was engaged on other tho and other scenes his home and its beloved in â sorrow and the of young affections were to burst forth i cannot ate said he and he looked on the farmer and his wife whilst the tears start his eyes â don t ax me for my heart s them behind me that i may never see and he in a burst of grief which he could not restrain neither the strength nor tenderness of the was by this excellent c in a moment the farmer s wife was also in tears did her husband break the silence for some mil the almighty pity and strengthen him farmer s wife but he has the good an the heart an would be a credit to any family â w we won t ax you to ate â no indeed it was kindness

49William Black

we did it don t be cast down it isn t the ocean you re but goin county like to another god ill guard an o you so he will your s good and prosper it he will said the farmer himself â he cheer up my good boy i know that s l an creditable this day that went as you re â ay an that an helped their parents an put above poverty an distress and never fear but you ll do the same that s what brings me at all replied the drying hia tears ill was a a to take the scholar out o their distress i d be happy only fm af the cares o the world will break my father s heart before i have it in my power to assist him no such thing said the good woman sure his hopes out o you an his love for you will keep him up an you but god may give him a too mix another sup o that for him said the farmer he s low spirited and it s too strong to give him any more of it as it is where s the from eh why thin god help them the â wasn t it o them to lave the place while he was at his dinner for he d be them young alley but can you tell us where the is isn t this his night us i know he his dinner here ay did he but it s up to s he s gone to his son in his book but he had time enough to put him well through it afore this any way as she spoke a short man with black twinkling eyes and ruddy cheeks entered this personage was no other than the of district who like a newspaper from one j farmer s house to another in order to for his kind the news of the day his own learning and the very evident extent of their ignorance the moment ne came in the farmer and his wife rose with an air of much deference and placed a chair for him exactly opposite the fire leaving a respectful distance on each side within which no mortal presume to sit j mr said the farmer presenting s v through which the shapes of the books were quite plain r t and as he spoke he looked significantly at its owner ah replied the man god be the day when i carried the q considerate do you w tv f i understand un the poor scholar tis a of polite genius that no boy need be ashamed of so my young of your e bound for â for that where the fly in sections â where the and the in latin and the cows and will roar you greek â bo a oâ what s your â the lad was silent but the farmer s wife turned up the of her eyes with an expression of wonder and surprise at the of the i you are as yet into the of the languages well â the honour is still before you what s your name james m sir just now the farmer s family began to round the spacious hearth the young lads whose instruction the worthy teacher claimed as his own peculiar task came timidly forward together with two or three pretty girls with sweet flashing eyes and countenances full of feeling and intelligence behind on the settles half a dozen servants of both sexes sat in pairs â each boy placing himself beside his favourite girl these appeared to be as strongly interested in the learned conversation which the master held as if they were masters and of latin and greek themselves but an occasional cautiously bestowed by no slender female hand upon the sturdy shoulder of her companion or a dry cough from one of the young men to drown the coming blow gave slight indications that they contrived to have a little amusement among themselves altogether independent of mr when the latter came in was taking the of punch which the farmer s wife had mixed for him on this he fixed an expressive glance which instantly to the and from her to the large bottle which stood in a window to the right of the fire it is a quick eye however that can anticipate irish hospitality the poor scholar y said the farmer ere the wife had time to with the hint conveyed by the black twinkling he â why alley â e i am she replied an will have it for you han no time addressed herself to the bottle and r minutes handed a of punch to or good man le by the hand o my body i don t y talk so long as i can get anything to here s your health farmer at the rest and a speedy on to what you know in she s the a good girl â not to what sue has for ion i m a to the same family an will in your wheel that you mr very well very well â you re ig quite upon me said the little ther confused but upon my credit and on except the inclination in regard on side and he looked at his i can t say that the arrows of have as the side of my heart it ith me as it was hem â non says yet i can t say but if a friend were ae for me and in my small taste of why â n hem the company s health lad james your health and success to you my good em hem j s him the same said the farmer es said the you are join to an i can say that i have travelled it from nd not to a bad purpose i hope â hem there

49William Black

are ham days and nights before a firm heart if you have money as tis u don t let a single rap oi v s the although the poor scholar he ll do will be to bring you home to his own house an you night an day till he in persuading you to leave it in hands for security you might if not duly pre surrender it to his for â michael what case is added he suddenly addressing one of the farmer s sons come now michael where s your brightness what case is the boy was taken by surprise and for a few minutes could not reply come man said the father be sharp out bravely an don t be nor don t be in a hurry we ll wait for you let him let him alone said i ll face the same boy the county for if he doesn t that i ll never a line of latin or greek or while i m his cunning master knew right well that the boy who was only confused at the suddenness of the question would feel no difficulty in answering it to his satisfaction indeed it was impossible for him to miss it as he was then reading the seventh book of and the fourth of it is however a trick with such masters to put simple questions of that nature to their pupils when at the houses of their parents as and difficult and when they are answered to assume an air of astonishment at the profound reach of thought displayed by the when michael recovered himself he instantly replied is the case of by laid down the which he was in the act of raising to his lips and looked at the lad with an air of surprise and delight then at the farmer and his wife alternately and shook his head with much mystery michael said he to the lad will you go out and tell us what the night s the poor scholar the boy accordingly went why said in his absence if ever there was a and that boy will be the bird â an irish he will be a in i there s no him at anything he why there s that are good bread by their that couldn t resolve that you all saw how he did it the book why if he goes on at this rate i m afraid he ll soon be too many for myself â hem too many for yourself fill the s alley too many for yourself no no i doubt he ll never see that day bright as he is an that s it â put a upon it give me your hand thank you for your to him an the boy is a credit to us come over michael here take what s in this an finish it be a good boy an mind your lessons an do everything the here â the lord bless him â bids you an you ll never want a nor a dinner nor a bed nor a guinea while the lord me the one or the other i know it mr i know it and i will make that boy the pride of ireland if i m spared m show him that would puzzle the great himself and many other difficulties i ll let him into that i have never let out yet except to tim that them all at college in up last june how was that tim you see went in to his entrance and one of the fellows came to examine him but a long it was till tim him go back says tim and some one that s able to me for you re not so another greater scholar came to tim and did him and tim made a hare of him before all that was in the five or i ladies and at the scholar the great learned fellows thin began to look odd enough so they picked out the best scholar among them but one and slipped him at tim but well becomes tim the never a long it was till he had him too as dumb as a post the fellow went back â says he to the rest we ll be disgraced all out says he for except the that he ll us all an we ll never be able to up our heads accordingly the attacks tim and such a as they had never was seen in college since its establishment at last when they had been nine hours and a half at it the put one word to him that tim couldn t so he lost it by one word only for the last two hours the carried an the in hebrew thinking you see he tim there but he was mistaken for tim answered him in good irish ana it so happened that they understood each other for the two languages are first cousins or at all close blood relations tim was then pronounced to be the best scholar in ireland except the though among ourselves they might thought the man that taught him that however ah a young lady fell in love tim and is to make him a present of herself and her great fortune three estates the moment he becomes a and in the meantime she allows him thirty pounds a year to bear his expenses and live like a now to return to the youth in the corner keep your money or give it to the priest to keep and it will be safest but by no means let the honey of the s deprive you of it otherwise it will be a between you said the farmer many a strange accident you met with on yer through f no doubt of that mr i and another boy it in society one da y the poor scholar were walking towards a

49William Black

s house on the road side and it happened that we met the owner of it in the vicinity although we didn t know him to be such said he in good fresh latin tu said i to him for my comrade wasn t an i was always said he over us another deep piece of the construction of which was where do come from v i replied per et a good said he you re bright follow me so he brought us over to his own house and ordered us bread and a for it was friday an we couldn t touch mate he in the mane time sat an along us the cook however in making the kept the to herself except a slight taste here and there that floated on the top but she was liberal enough of the any how now i had been well trained to fishing in my more youthful days and no could a me i accordingly sent the spoon through the pond before me with the skill of a but to no it came up but the so said i off hand to the up the bowl and looking at it with a disappointed face apparent in this says i your hospitality may be but the devil a taste o the proper sand is in the bottom of it the wit of this you see pleased him and we got an excellent treat in his or study for he was determined to give myself another trial what s the line in v s a w the poor scholar now i had at my fingers ends so i answered him si very good said he you have the genius and will come to yet now tell me the most moral line in i answered â et turn depend upon it said he you will be a the morning star will be but a candle to you and if you take in the learning as you do the cheese in a short time there won t be a man in fit to teach you and he laughed for you see he had a tendency to he did not give me up here however being determined to go deeper me can you a newspaper into latin prose f said he now the devil a one o me was just then sure about the prose so i was goin to tell him but before i had time to speak he thrust the paper into my hand and desired me to half a dozen barbarous the first that met me was about a reward offered for a dog and a that had been stolen from a fishing tackle and then came a list of his shabby ending with a long upon his shot and double guns now may i be shot a blank if i ever felt so much at an in my life and i said so your honour has me the said i but i grant the cheese was good bait any how evidently drawing the long bow here this anecdote has been told before the scholar so he laughed heartily and bid me go on well i thought the first was difficult but the second was to it â something about and a long custom house list that would puzzle if he was set to it however i went through it as well as i could where i couldn t find latin i laid in the greek and where the greek failed me i gave the irish which to tell the truth in consequence of its i found to be the most many a i have myself in during my time sure my name s as common as a mail coach in college and tis well known there isn t a fellow in it but i could sack except may be the that s their own opinion says the is the most man in ireland an i m not ashamed says he to acknowledge that i d rather decline meeting him upon deep points all your hem but among ourselves i could him in a very short time though i d to deprive the of his reputation or his place even if he sent me a challenge of to morrow although he s too to venture on doing â hem hem to hear an obscure creature whose name was but faintly known in the remote parts even of the parish in which he lived draw the long bow at such a rate was highly amusing the character of his however was no slight temptation to him and he was determined that it should not be his fault if their opinion of his learning and talents were not raised to the highest point the feeling experienced by the poor scholar when he awoke the next morning was one both of satisfaction and sorrow he thought once more of his home and kindred and reflected that it might be possible he had seen the last of his beloved relations his grief however was checked when he remembered the warm and paternal affection with w c i n sâ received on the preceding night by a the scholar nt iy man he offered up his prayers to god humbly his grace and protection nor did i lie forget to a blessing upon those who had w thus soothed his early sorrows and afforded him though a stranger and shelter comfort and sympathy i hope thought he that i will meet many such till i overcome my difficulties an find myself able to assist my poor father an mother and he did meet many such among the humble and despised and neglected of his countrymen and we say it with pride â the character of this excellent farmer is thoroughly that of our within the range of domestic life when he had eaten a comfortable breakfast and seen his stuffed with provisions for his journey the farmer brought

49William Black

him up into his own room in which were also wife and children god said he has been good to me blessed be his holy name â it appears in one since than he has been to you dear though maybe i don t it as well but no have it an you want it so here s a to help you in your an all i ax from you is to offer up a bit of a prayer for me of an odd time an if ever you live to be a priest to say if it wouldn t be one mass for me an those that you see about me it s not much james only two guineas they may stand your friend friends will be scarce you though i hope that won t be the case the tears were streaming down s cheeks oh said the boy god for ever reward you out sure i have a great of money in in the â o my coat indeed i have an i won t want it the farmer affected by the utter simplicity of the lad looked at his wife and smiled although a tear in his eye at the time she wiped her eyes with her apron and backed the kind oi l the scholar take it she added in your god help you sure it s not much you or the likes of you can have in your don t be ashamed but take it we can well afford it glory be to god for it it s not you re goin the way you are â though that same s an honour to you â but our hearts warmed to you that we offered it an we would wish you to be of us now and thin when you re in a strange part of the country let me open your pocket an put them into it that s a good boy thank you an god bless an prosper you i m sure you always now said the farmer addressing his sons and daughters never see the a nor wanton a bed or a dinner when you grow up to be men an women there s many a turn in this world we may be strangers ourselves an think of what i would feel if any of you was far from me money or friends when i d hear that you met a father in a strange that lightened your hearts by his kindness now dear the carts be ready in no eh why there they are at the gate for you get into one of them an they ll lave you in the next town come man bud an age be stout hearted an don t cry sure we did for you to of he shook the poor scholar by the hand and draw â ing his hat over his eyes passed hurriedly out of the room alley stooped down kissed his lips and wept and the children each embraced him with that mingled feeling of compassion and respect which is uniformly entertained for the poor scholar in ireland the boy felt as if he had been again separated from his parents with a sobbing bosom and wet cheeks he bid them farewell and mounting one of the carts was soon beyond sight and hearing of the kind hearted farmer and his family when the cart had proceeded about a y the poor scholar stopped and one of the men who accompanied it addressing a boy who passed with two of turf under his arm desired him to hurry on and inform his master that they waited for him tell to come into said the man laughing my s to hear his for not to run away miss tell him lord s ready to pass on him for not the heart of her his rule o three ah by the holy farmer you ll get it for from school to this hour be quick in a few minutes the trembling glad of any message that might serve to divert the dreaded from himself entered the caught his down his head to the master and pitched his two into a little heap of turf which lay in the corner of the school pat is this an hour to inter into my establishment eh you sir replied the monkey i ve a message for you sir i you an what might the message be pat to dine to day your worthy father v no sir it s from one o mr s him that belongs to the carts sir he wants to to you sir i you an do you give that by way of an for your absence from the advantages of my until this hour however non i ll pluck the crow you on my return if you don t find yourself a well youth for your never say that this right hand can administer punishment to that part of your physical theory the to your en et you villain he added pointing to the it s newly cut and trimmed and alacrity for the operation the poor scholar i correct on principles which you ll soon feel to your cost sir replied the lad iu a friendly tone my ud be to you if you d take of a fat goose him to morrow go to your devil a boy in the i joke so much as i do yourself an all out of respect for your worthy parents faith i ve a great regard for all out an tell them so he then proceeded to the carts and approaching gave him such advice touching his conduct in as he considered to be most serviceable to an inexperienced lad of his years here said the kind hearted soul â here james is my it s but bare ten shillings but if i could make it a pound for you it would give

49William Black

me a degree of which i have not enjoyed for a long time the truth is there s something like the or they term the priests gallows dangling over my head so that any little i may get must be together for that crisis james so that must be my apology for not giving you more joined to the naked fact that i never was remarkable for a of cash under any circumstances remember what i told you last night don t let a shilling of your money into the hands of the you settle give it to the parish priest and it from him when you want it don t join the parties or the of the school above all ill of nobody and if the is harsh upon you either bear it patiently or it to the priest or to some other person of respectability in the parish and you ll be protected you ll be apt to meet cruelty enough my good boy for there are j in minister who d if the province j was in flames now james i ll tell you what you ll do when you reach the south plant yourself ont y â j â hill in the neighbourhood wherein tlie xl tiie poor scholar with whom you intend to stop lives let the be that in which dinner is preparing when seated there james take a survey of the smoke that from the of the farmers houses and be sure to direct your steps to that from which the highest and column issues this is the old plan and it is a sure one the highest smoke rises from the largest fire the largest fire the biggest pot the biggest pot generally holds the bacon and the is kept by the richest farmer it s a wholesome and comfortable climax my boy and one by which i myself was enabled to keep a portion of educated flesh between the master s and my ribs the science itself is called geography and is peculiar only to young who seek for knowledge in the classical province of here s a book that along myself through all my â s translation of keep it for my sake and when you accomplish your education if you return home this way i d thank you to give me a call farewell god bless you and prosper you as i wish and as i am sure you he shook the lad by the hand and as it was probable that his own former struggles with poverty when in the pursuit of education came with all the of awakened recollection to his mind he drew his hand across his eyes and returned to resume the brief but harmless authority of the after arriving at the next town found once more his journey alone in proportion as he advanced into a strange land his spirits became depressed and his heart more and more to those whom he had left behind him there is however an enthusiasm in the visions of youth in the speculation of a young heart which frequently difficulties that a mind taught by the experience of life would often shrink from en we may all remember the utter the poor scholar less of danger with which in our youthful days floods or stood upon the brow of yawning â which in after years the wealth could not induce us to perform experience ell as conscience makes of us all lie poor scholar in the course of his journey had satisfaction of finding himself an object of kind hospitable attention to his countrymen his of books was literally a to their ts for instance as he his solitary way and travel worn he was frequently from behind a ditch on the road side and r giving a brief history of the object he had in r if it was dinner hour to some farm e or cabin where he was made to partake of their l even poor creatures who gain a scanty by keeping what are called a non because they never keep out rain and have mostly a bottle of for those know how to call for it â even they in most not only refused to charge the poor scholar lis bed but declined receiving any lis no you poor young not from no no if we wouldn t help the likes o you ought we to help no dear but instead o the lave us your an maybe we ll re as well that as we would your little es that you ll be for yourself when your won t be near to help you any in fact were the little marks of kindness and which the poor lad received on his way a ragged peasant if he happened to be his w traveller would carry his so long as they together or a would give him a his empty car or some humorous or boy with a in his eye d him into his vehicle remarking â let nobody say your e a poor w â â money i the poor scholar an you goin to school in a coach be the that played afore moses if ever any rascal you it tell him says you â you damned rap says you i to school in a coach an that says yon was what none o yer was ever able to do says you an moreover be the same token says you be the holy farmer it you bring it up to me i ll make a third eye in your forehead the butt o this whip says you that s the go there s eh at length after much toil ana travel he reached the south having experienced as he proceeded a series of affectionate attentions which had at least the effect of him to the measure he had taken and upon his heart a deeper confidence in the kindness and

49William Black

hospitality of his countrymen upon the evening of the day on which he terminated his twilight was nearly falling the town in which he intended to stop for the night was not a quarter of a mile before him yet he was scarcely able to reach it his short yielding steps were evidently those of a young and fatigued traveller his brow was moist with perspiration he had just begun too to consider in what manner he should introduce himself to the master who taught the school at which he had been advised to stop when he heard a step f behind him and on looking back he discovered a tall well made ruddy faced young man dressed in black with a book in his hand walking after him et r said the stranger on coming up with him oh sir replied i have not latin yet you are on your way to seek it however replied the other have you travelled far a long way indeed sir i came from the county sir â the upper part of it â w j w â v â sâ v v v j xv have you letters from your parish priest v i have sir and one from my father s landlord v square if you ever heard of him v what s your object in learning latin the poor scholar u to be a priest sir with the help o god an to fr rise my poor father an mother out of their poverty his companion after hearing this reply bent a glance upon him that indicated the awakening of an interest in the lad much greater than he probably otherwise would have felt u only of late continued the boy u that mv father an mother got poor they were once very well to do in the world but were put out o their farm in that the might put a man that had married a get of his own into it my father intended to lay his case before colonel bâ the landlord but he couldn t see him at all he never comes near the estate the s called sam sir he s rich through an money out at then goes to law an the people entirely for somehow he never was known to lose a law suit at all sir they say it s the sir that keeps the lawyers on his side an that when he an the lawyers do be up their writing the devil â god me an harm â does be them and is colonel b actually â or rather was he your father s landlord v u he was indeed sir it s truth i m you u singular enough stand beside me here â do you see that large house to the right among the trees v i do sir a great big house entirely â like a castle sir i the same well that house belongs to colonel b and i am very intimate with him i am catholic of this parish and i was before my private in his family for four years v maybe sir you might have to get my father back into his farm v u i do not know that my good lad for i am told colonel b is rather embarrassed and if i mistake not in the power of the man you call yellow sam who has i believe heavy a term the scholar o matter if i cannot help your father i shall be able to serve yourself where do you intend to for the night in sir that s where my father an mother bid me stop always they war very kind to me sir in the who is there in ireland who would not be kind to you my good boy j i trust you do not neglect your religious duties the help o god sir i strive to o them as well as i can particularly since t left my father and mother every night an sir i say five fathers live an a creed an sometimes when i m the road i slip up an odd sir an ave that god may grant me good luck the priest smiled at his and ail and could not help feeling the interest the boy had already excited in him increase you do right said lie and lake care that neglect not the worship of t avoid bad company be not at school study to improve yourself diligently attend mass regularly and lie punctual in going to confession after further conversation the priest and ha entered the town together this is my house said the former or if not altogether at least that in which i lodge let me see you here at two o clock to morrow in the meantime follow me and i shall place you with family where you will experience every kindness at attention that can make you comfortable he then led him a few doors up the street till l stopped at a decent house of entertainment to the of which he introduced him be kind to this strange boy said the clergyman and whatever the charges of his i i and lodging may be until we get him settled i â â â be for them god forbid that ever a to poor for his the poor scholar q go into our pockets if he us fur twelve months in the year no â no he can stay with the let them be one another in their if on in a he can help â an if has the of him why can help him come boys all of here s a comrade for â a boy that s for his the lord enable him now be kind to him an whisper he added in an under tone don t bo a blush to the s face do ye hear ma if ye do

49William Black

iâ now mind it ye know what i can do i m well vexed go now an get him to ate an an let him sleep in the feather bed during the course of the nest day the benevolent introduced him to the parish priest who from the frequent claims urged by poor scholars upon his patronage felt no particular interest in his case he wrote a short letter however to the master with whom intended to become a pupil stating that he was an honest boy the son of legitimate and worthy of consideration the who saw further into th a boy s character than the parish priest accompanied him on the following day to the school introduced him to the master in the most favourable manner and recommended him in general to the care of all tho pupils this introduction did not the boy so much as might have been expected there was nothing particular in the letter of the parish priest and the wa but a no formidable e in any church where the of the has not been already secured returned that day to his and the next morning with his latin grammar under his m m he went to the school to taste the first of the true of knowledge on entering it which he did with a beating heart â â the scholar he found the of a hundred subjects sitting behind a desk his hat on a brow severe and his nose into a most cutting and curl the truth was the master knew the character of the and felt that because he had taken under his protection no opportunity remained for him of the boy under the pretence of securing his money and that consequently the arrival of the poor scholar would be no as he had expected when entered he looked first at the master for his welcome but tne master who the proverb that there are none so blind as those who will not see took no notice whatsoever of the boy then looked timidly about the school in quest of a friendly face and indeed few faces except friendly ones were turned upon several of the scholars rose up simultaneously to speak to him but the angrily inquired why they had left their seats and their business why sir said a young with a fine face â a be sir i believe if toe don t welcome the poor scholar i think you won t this is the boy sir that mr o came along an spoke so well of i know that and o thinks because he himself first passed through that overgrown hedge school upon the roof of it called college and in af ther that he has legal authority to recommend every young to the benefits of legitimate an i suppose that you are acting the too and intend to take this young wild goose under your protection why sir isn t he a poor scholar sure he mustn t want his bit an sup nor his night s lodging air penalty of for as i am i would have none of this work the poor scholar you if i had fifty sons i wouldn t make o them celebrated wait till yon have one first sir and yon may e him as great a as yon but in the meantime hi have no yon as to whether have one or fifty or whether hell he an ass or a i say that of is like a year of famine in ireland n the people are hard pushed they the an live on their blood an so it is us it s always he that has the b blood in his veins and the greatest of it that such hungry fasten on for you sir said the youth with a smile t they say the always the t i hope you ll well now sir i don t like the curl your nose an i have always found you prone to remember your conduct at the out i you it s well that your worthy father is a man or i d be apt to give you a on the be praised for my father s wealth sir but wish to have a good memory in tne way you u tion faith an be apt to add that to your other j if you don t take care of yourself want no such addition if you do ii be apt to yourself from this an maybe there won t be more than a er gone out of it all you re a wag exclaimed the crest fallen take the lad to your own and show his task how is your sister s sore throat why sir replied the benevolent young wit she s her than i am she can swallow more sir not of there you ve the t in the parish my fathers the richest man in it ma t the took scholar plied i think sir my and his purse are much about the same size â you you re first rate at a reply but exceedingly deficient in the retort courteous take the lad to your i say and see how far he is advanced and what he is fit for i suppose as you are so yon will to yourself i ll do that pleasure sir but i d like to whether to him or not an i d like to know who s to pay n it if i do a return michael made a for making him such a as he is you re tyrant said he when he grew up and instead c expecting me to thank you tor your instructions y ought to thank me for not preparing you for t county hospital as a of the si you made me feel when i had the misfortune to be a poor scholar under you and bt because lie

49William Black

became of the parish he showed n the outside of it but will you this poor young boy let me knew who s to hi i have money myself sir to nay yon for t years replied they t me sir that y were a great scholar an i refused to stop in school ra ion of the name you have for latin a greek exclaimed the come here now you see i yon here is your task get that half page b heart you have a look an i ve no doubt tr the stuff s in you come to mo dismiss we have a little talk together he accordingly pointed out the task after he placed him al his side lest the inexperienced b might be put on his guard by any of the scholars this intention however lie was by who as he thoroughly tie tested the resolved to caution the poor scholar against his di indeed moat heartily not only for his to the rich but on account of liis seventy to the children of the poor about two o clock the young wag went out lor a few minutes and immediately returned in great haste to inform tho master that the priest and two other wished to see him over at the keys an inn which was kept at a place called the nine mile house within a few of the school the parish priest was the master s patron and his slightest wish a divine law to him the little forgetting his prey instantly repaired to the cross keys and in his absence together with the larger toys of the school made m acquainted with the about to be on him his said they is to keep you at home night in to get whatever money you have his own hands that he may keep it safe for you if you give a penny you may bid farewell to t put it in the s hands added or ji my father s an thin it ll be safe at all don t stay him this he ll take your and then turn you off in three or four i didn t to give him my money replied a i met on my way here i l ine nut to do it i ll give it to lie priest give it to the said â him be safe fe r the parish priest doesn t like to himself anything of the kind this was agreed upon the boy was prepared the designs of tho master and a plan laid for his future conduct in the mean time the re entered the school in a glow of indignation id disappointment however disregarded him and as the master knew that the influence of the boy s father could at any time remove him from the parish his subsided without any very violent n i â tie parish priest was his u ran true but if the parish priest knew that si was dissatisfied with that moment i would join mr t in him from tl neighbourhood mr o was a wealthy aud hospitable man but the ter was neither tl one nor the other during school hours that day many a hearted entered into conversation with poor scholar moved by curiosity to hear brief and simple history others anxious to offer a temporary asylum in their fathers houses several to know if he had the requisite books him that if he had not they would lend them to b these proofs of generosity touched the youth s heart the more inasmuch as could perceive but too clearly that the eye of master rested upon him from time to time with no glance when the scholars were dismissed a scene occurred which was calculated to produce a smile although it certainly placed the pour scholar in a by no means agreeable it resulted from a contest among the boys as to who should first bring him home the master who by it cunning for which the are remarkable had discovered in the course of the day his design upon the boy money was understood did not ask him to his house the it was therein re among the scholars who when the muster had disappeared the formed themselves into a circle of which was the centre each pressing his claim to secure him â the right s mo exclaimed i stood to all day an i say i ll have him for this night i me didn t i do most for to i ll never forget your kindness replied l quite alarmed at the boisterous symptoms â the poor scholar to tlie arguments with which they enforced rights ere now continued that an it he says he ll never forget my kindness enough come mo is enough said a hid who if his father was less y than s was resolved io put strength i against strength of purse maybe it i say i bar it it your was fifty is rich â rich i don t be over of your riches man alive i ll bring the je boy home this very night an it isn t your f s dirty money that ll me advise you to get a double ditch about your replied before you begin tu say against my father â don t think over me i ll bring the boy for i have it right to him didn t do the v ditch about my j id s not your match link said why don t you challenge your match say a word i ll half your eye let him he s able to fight me like a man or not the chat sole my eye thin here i am an why don t it you re over a boy that you re than i ll fight you for now half sole if you eh t here s my eye now holy

49William Black

man i d don t we know the white t yon didn t cow you at the on thursday last we v i said an turn out ive the i say i am able to fight you an til make your words my father by way of you dinner an til make the strange boy home me over your body â that is if he d n afraid to dirty his feet and immediately set to and in t minutes there were scarcely a little pair of fists p that were not at work either on behalf of the or with a view to determine their private rights in being the first to exercise towards the amazed poor scholar the fact was while ths two largest boys were arguing the about thirty or forty minor all ran theirs and their mode of decision was adopted by the of the this manner they were engaged poor ing to and separate them when the ns armed in all his terrors presented himself with the tact of a sly old he secured the door and instantly commenced tne t able task of heavy did his arm descend upon those who suspected to have the boy against his city nor amongst the warm hearted lads so was passed over v tender hand springs ing of fingers scratching of heads and elbows â shouts of pain and accompanied by action that displayed â marked the effect with which he instrument of punishment in the meantime spirit of reaction to use a modern phrase began i in the master while thus engaged in justice first received a rather vigorous o ear from behind bv an gifted him with what is called a musical ear i sang during five minutes afterwards the mon when turning round to ascertain the traitor another insult on the most side and with a cordiality of manner that induced him to the poor scholar the arguments with which they enforced turned rights e now continued r that puts all t he says he ll never forget my kindness come me enough said a lad who if was less than s was resolved to put strength against strength of purse u maybe it isn t say i bar it if your was fifty rich â rich don t be over of your riches man alive i i ll bring the i boy home this very night an it isn t your dirty money that ll me id you to get a double ditch about your before you begin to say any against my father â don t think rag over me i ll bring the boy for i have right to him didn t i do the on ditch about my nose v t you able to fight me v able to it and how an too r ou say you re able to fight me v wing the boy home whether or not ly s not your match jack said any why don t you your match v m say a word i ll half sole your eye let him he s able to fight me like a man or not le chat sole my eye i thin here i am an why don t it you re over a boy that you re til fight you for now half sole f you i eh eye now man i d don t we know the white you didn t cow you at the ol on thursday last we v le said an turn out â the poor scholar signal for him to leave the parish felt rather more i the penitent the next morning than did any of pupils he was by no means displeased therefore i see them drop in about the usual hour they however not by one but in compact groups ei by two or three of the larger boys for th y feared that had tliey entered singly he might ha punished them singly until ins vengeance should satisfied it was by bitter and obstinate that they succeeded in their mirth lie appeared at his desk witli one of his eyes literally closed and his nose considerably improved in and richness of colour when they were all assembled he hemmed several times and in a woe of voice split â by a feeble attempt at authority and his into two p that most lie briefly addressed as follows â i have been now engaged in the of latin and greek but never until yesterday has my influence been never until yesterday have hands been laid upon my person never have i been ii and v my own subjects no â and whether ought to bestow that respectable epithet upon after yesterday s proceedings is a matter which of dispute â never before has the lid of mv eye been laid ling and that in such a manner that i must be blind to the conduct of half my pupils â will or not you have complained it appears of my want of but god known you have compelled me to be partial for a week to come neither blame me if i may appear to look upon in scorn for the next fortnight for i am to turn up my nose at you much against my oi inclination you l never want an a of again i m a living i of it that and the doctrine of pi the poor scholar s have been in a manner that will â event me from ever these subjects in future consider properly until s received â â il of but you appears think differently you have me and me afterwards but say no â would relish such it smells of maybe this is what you by the republic of letters hut if it be would advise you to change your principles you treated my ribs as if they were the ribs of a common man my you took liberties

49William Black

with even to my head you made a of for your turf and my nose you to my ace was this i was it discreet was and above all was it classical i will show you what greatness of mind is i ii convince you that it is more noble and god like o forgive an injury or rather five dozen injuries than i one when â hem â yes i say when i â i i so easily it now present you an return to your but never while this under my to take e execution of the laws into your own hands come up this address in which he purposely threw a dash f arid mock gravity delivered with the of his swelled nose and drooping eye â his audience more readily than a serious one ould have done it was received without any reply â symptom of tin occasional a suppressed laugh or the visible shaking of many with inward might be termed such in the course of the day it is true their powers of ing gravity were put to a severe test while hearing a class he began to is drooping eye lid or back his nose into r i iti n on these occasions a sudden ii r be in the business of the class ie boy s voice who happened to a tim â â lad the it scholar would fail him and on his sentence by command of the its tune was tremulous and scarcely adequate to the task of repeating the word without bursting into laughter the observed ail dearly enough but his mind i already made up to take no further notice of what had happened all this however to render the situation of the poor scholar much more easy or rather less than it would otherwise have been still the lad was un all possible occasions a butt for this to miss a word was a pretext for giving him a cruel blow to arrive two or three minutes later than the appointed hour was certain on his part to be it t l â i with punishment bore it all with silent heroism he shed no tear â he uttered no remonstrance but under the anguish of pain so inflicted he occasionally looked round upon his with an expression of silent entreaty that w is seldom upon them cruel to him the master often was but to the large scholars never permitted him fc descend whenever any of the farmer had neglected their lessons ur deserved the creature a joke for the but as soon as the son of a poor man or which was better still ik poor scholar came him he transferred that punishment which wickedness or idleness of respectable his or their shoulders outrageous injustice the hard hearted old villain had some plausible excuse ready so that it was in many cases difficult s generous companions to interfere in behalf or the of such a petty tyrant in this miserable way d id he pass over tt period of a year going about every night ii with the scholars and severely beaten on all possible occasions by the master his conduct and manner won him the love and esteem of all except his his was remarkable and h the poor scholar progress in the elements of english and classical literature rapid this added considerably to his character and procured him additional respect it was not long before he made himself useful and obliging to all the boys beneath his standing in the school these services he rendered with an air of such kindness and a grace so naturally winning that the attachment of his increased towards him from day to day was his patron on all occasions neither did the neglect him the latter was his banker for the boy had very properly committed his purse to his keeping at the of every quarter the received the amount of his bill which he never failed to send in when due had not during his first year s residence in the south forgotten to request the kind s interference with the landlord on behalf of his father to be the instrument of restoring his family to their former comfortable holding under colonel b would have afforded him without excepting the certainty of his own success the highest gratification of this however there was no hope and nothing remained for him but in his studies and patience under the merciless of his teacher in addition to an engaging person and agreeable manners nature had gifted him with a high order of intellect and great powers of acquiring knowledge the latter ne applied to the business before him with industry the school at which he settled was considered the first in and the master notwithstanding his known severity stood high and justly so in the opinion of the people as an excellent classical and scholar applied himself to the study of both and at the of his second year had made such progress that he stood without a rival in the school it is usual as we have said for the poor scholar to after night in with his ne is welcome in the houses oi the farmers whose children are not so far a himself it is expected that he should ins in the evenings and enable them to pr lessons for the following day a task with pleasure because in is his own mind in the he has previously acquired towards the second year however he ceased to manner two or three of the most ii whose sons were only studies agreed to keep him week about â ment highly convenient to him as by was not so frequently dragged as he had remotest parts of the parish being an i man he acted also as secretary of poor who frequently employed him to tions to or to their mo agents and letters to soldiers in

49William Black

all parts from their anxious and affectionate these little services he performed kindly many a blessing was fervently the good word and the prayer we could afford as they said to the that the world an him for sake o the that hasn t the o the mother the mother s hand near him the about the middle of the third year h more thrown upon the general people the three farmers with whom he for the preceding six months t as did many others of that class which in try most nearly to tne of england the little purse he had placed in the hands of the kind exhausted a season of famine sickness i distress had set in and the master on that he was without money became savage in short the boy s difficulties â young boy boy in toes â ta â the poor scholar sing degree even and his grown who usually interposed in his behalf when became excessive in him had e school and now the prospect before him was nd cheerless indeed for a few months longer er he struggled on meeting every difficulty endurance from his very boyhood he the of religion and was d by a strong spirit he trusted in nd worshipped him night and morning with a heart his crisis he was certainly an object of pity which for some time before had been he had replaced by a cast off coat and a present from his friend the abandoned him this worthy young not afford him money for as he had but a year with which to clothe a horse and pay rent it was hardly to be id that his benevolence could be extensive in n to this famine and disease raged violence in the parish so that the upon his of hundreds who lay huddled r in cold in out houses and even behind were incessant as well as heart the r of that took place daily in the was awful nothing could be seen but by groups of ragged and creatures hollow eyes gleamed forth the the wretched were the number of that lay on the public where attended by the nearest relatives of the d they had been placed for the purpose of ng charity â were greater than ever had been by the oldest was the state of the parish when our poor complained one day in school of severe illness ly symptoms of the prevailing were own and on examining more c j a u it waa clear that torn s poor scholar of the people he had got â had caught it heavy load of the favor the are particularly apprehensive of moment it had bi discovered that v his avoided him with a of terror scarcely and the was delighted at any however that afford a for driving the yon out of the school take said he every thing to you out of my establishment you were always a plague me but now more so that ever be quick for yourself somewhere else do you to my into an hospital and i into as president go off you wild f and wherever you find a com spot to do it in the poor boy silently and with difficulty collected his books and on his i looked to his as if ho had said of yon will afford me a place where to lay my head all however kept aloof from him caught the ana the they knew had swept the people away in vast numbers at length he spoke is there any boy among yon he inquired who will bring me home you know i am a stranger an far from my own god help me this was followed l y a profound silence not out of those who had so often him or would on any other occasion share their bed mid their last morsel with him would even touch his person much less allow him when thus ed t take shelter under thi ir roof such are the of selfishness when it ia opposed only by the force those natural qualities that are not elevated ii sense of duty clear and profound views of truth it is one thing to perform a kind action constitutional impulse and another to perform it ii fixed duty perhaps to that impulse on finding himself avoided like a the poor scholar of old silently left the school and walked on at knowing whither he should ultimately direct he thought of his friend the priest but between him and his place of abode was r he felt than his illness would permit him to he walked on therefore in such a state of y as can scarcely be conceived much less his head ached excessively an intense pain like death pangs through his lower back and his face was flushed and his head giddy in he proceeded without money or friends ut a house to shelter him or a bed on which to r from his own relations and with the prospect under circumstances peculiarly dreadful him he on however the earth as under him the heavens he ht streaming with fire and the earth indistinct home the paradise of the absent â the heaven of the affections â with all its and blessed sympathies rushed upon his his father s deep but quiet kindness his s love his brothers all that they een to him â these with their thousand associations started into life before him again gain but he was now ill and the mother â the enduring sense of that mother s love placed and strongest and tenderest in the far group which his imagination forth other he exclaimed â on mother why â why ever lave you mother the son you loved is without a kind word lonely and neglected in a re land oh my own mother why did i ever our j conflict between his illness and

49William Black

his affections him he staggered â he grasped as if for ance at the vacant he fell and lay for some j in a state of season was then that of and early were falling before the a ea bo the earth a few were e the scanty dinner of bread and milk so near him that a dry low ditch ran between hire and them had heard his words and one of them ⠞ putting the milk bottle t t his lips when attracted the voice he looked in the direction of the and saw him fall they immediately recognised t poor scholar and ia a moment were attempting why thin my poor fellow what s a you i started for a moment looked about and asked where ain thin you re in s field a few of the high road but what yo poor boy i is it sick you are t it ia he replied i have got the i ha lave school u them would take me home a doubt i must die in a christian under open of heaven ob for god s sake d lave me bring me to some hospital or into nest town where people may know that i m sick maybe some kind i will relieve ma the moment he mentioned drew back after having laid against the green ditch thin thunder an turf what s to be done i claimed one of them thrusting spread fingers his hair is the poor boy to die help like v but hasn t he the sickness v exclaimed an an in that case what s to he done why you isn t that what i m to know t you over and always an ass fade except before you were born an thin you li major m w a t you be ct us you but iy however a a great to them that the the poor scholar ay is there that sure enough dan but you see an age what s to be done he can t die this y nobody him but himself let us help him exclaimed another for god ce an we won t be apt to take it thin ay but how can we him frank oh ud be a shame all out to let the die by himself company so it no one will take him in for o the sickness ly tell you what we do â let us i remainder of this day off o the major an build a id for him on the road side here the ditch i as thin we can go through the an get to sit near him time about to bring him little o nourishment a come thin let us get a lot of neighbours an set about it poor who m but it may bring down a upon us in this world or the next i pray an so it will sure doesn t i say it there is but one church says one faith an one re s a power o fine in the same so re is an mighty never works for wages with half the y l which he when working for love ere v ny hours passed a number of the neighbours had and found himself on a bunch of an straw in a little shed erected for him at the edge the road perhaps it would be impossible to conceive a more state of misery than that in which young found himself stretched on the side of the t road in a shed formed of a few loose sticks over with that is the of the â th into thin â removed above fifty â from any human habitation â his body a furious and oppressive fever bis of all the horrors by which he was the poor scholar without the comforts even of a bed and bed and what was worst of all those from whom he â expect kindness afraid to approach him lying helpless under these circumstances it ought not to be wondered at if he wished that death might at once close ha extraordinary sufferings and those struggles which filial piety had prompted him to encounter this certainly is a picture but our humble hero knew that even there the power and goodness of god could support the boy trusted in god and when removed into his little shed and stretched upon his clean straw he felt that his situation was in good comfortable when contrasted with what it might have been if left to perish behind a ditch exposed to the heat of the sun by day and the of heaven by night he felt the hand of god even in this and placed himself with a short but fervent prayer under his protection however are not just that description of persons who can pursue their usual and see a fellow creature die without such attentions as they can afford him not precisely so bad as that gentle reader had not been two hours on his straw when a second shed much larger than his own was raised within a dozen yards of it in this a fire was lit a small pot was then procured milk was sent in and such other little comforts brought together as they supposed necessary for the sick boy having accomplished these matters a kind of guard was set to watch and nurse tend him a was got on the of which they intended to reach im bread across the ditch and a long was borrowed on which to furnish him drink with safety to themselves that vein of humour which in ireland even with death and calamity was also visible here the ragged creatures laughed heartily at the of their own inventions and enjoyed the ingenuity with which they made shift to meet t i of the the poor scholar without in the slightest degree having and concern for

49William Black

the afflicted youth their arrangements were one of of the made a little which in he stirred with the end of his extended it across the ditch upon the ter having put it in a tin m want a taste o v do replied give me a drink for e it is a on the if knows what side you re an or near your as i could come man be t be cast down at all at all sure bud an age the to you any how e it replied the boy â oh i have it may r forget this to you whoever you are â if you want to know who i am fm â ae be poor boy you mustn t y down at all at all sure the neighbours to watch an take care of you may i take â an they ve built a brave snug shed de yours where they ll stay you time il you get well we ll feed you we ve made up our minds to stale lots for you ned an i will milk s cows to night the help o god t sin in it so there isn t an if there is too there s no harm in it any way â for he s â himself the same so heart for be you re sure o the thin any how don t think you re you re not it s all in regard o bein this or it s not this way you d be but while when you want anything still find two or three of us beside you day now won t you promise to keep your when you know that we re beside bless you replied â the poor scholar weight off of my heart i thought die nobody near me at all oh the fear of it keep your heart in we ll stale lots o milk for you bad to w in the parish but we ll milk sooner nor you d want the you you the boy felt relieved but his malady increased and were it not that the confidence or being thus watched and attended to supported him it is more than probable he would have sunk under it when the hour of closing the day s labour arrived major came down to inspect tne progress which his had made and the goodness of the crop upon his meadows no sooner was he perceived at a distance than the were instantly resumed and the pursued their employment with an appearance of zeal and honesty that could not be suspected on arriving at the meadows however he was evidently startled at the miserable day s work they had performed why said he addressing the how is this i protest you have not performed half a day s labour this is miserable and shameful major it s for your honour sure enough it s a poor day s work and never a doubt of it but be all the books that never was opened or shut men than we since be had for love or money you see major these meadows bad look to them â god pardon me for the harmless for sure t their t sir but you see major i ll you into it now look here your honour did you ever see deeper meadow nor same since you war â hem â since you war born your honour maybe your honour major ud just take the an to cut a v nonsense don t you know i cannot thin be sir i wish you could it td the poor le book we did more labour an worked harder ly nor any day for the last fortnight if it was see here major here s a light bit â at how the runs through it thin it here just this major â why alive don t you see how slow she goes that where the grass is heavy major be made up this season your hay any how carry the finer meadow ever i put in nor meadow god bless it see it i agree with you as to its ess but the reason of that is that i direct my steward myself in it down for yes you re right if tne meadow were you could certainly comparatively a greater in a day the farmer god pardon me for pleasure to have a like you things as as if you war a honour i ll go sir it wouldn t d to you that same hy to tell you the truth you have hit â pretty well i m beginning to get a taste for it said scratching his head won t honour allow us the price of a glass or a pint ther for our hard day s work bad to me ut this meadow ill play the us afore et it finished ourselves sir â if it n t be â if you d to your own tl yourself the steward sir is a kind but he couldn t a candle to in to the best way of doing a thing won t you allow us glasses a piece your honour we re entirely so we are ere is half a crown among you but get drunk long may you reign sir be in my hand i d rather â your one ould sort sir â the the scholar honour an sure your name s far and near for ths any how s face would have done the heart of or good had either of them seen charged with humour so rich as that which beam from it when the major left them to enjoy their comments upon what had happened oh be the farmer said are i alive at all the major oh thin t curse o the upon you major but y are a t the damn o the world tl wouldn t

49William Black

give the breath he breathes to the poor i god s sake and he ll a man half a crown thai him for and him doesn t know t differ a cork red an a leg faith he s the boy that knows how to make of himself any way exclaimed the a nor to give these the bag to so there isn t an they thi themselves so too said a third u couldn t a man find the sâ side o them as as make out the way to his r nose being led to it a sin it is to them any way sure he thinks we tooth an n at the meadow all day â an me thought i d recover it to see here â the rise he out him ha ha ha â oh faith exclaimed twas good you s to help the poor scholar only for it we couldn t j the half crown out of him i think we to give the half of it an j him so sick he ll it worse nor ourselves oh be he s fairly entitled to that i v him fifteen surely r they exclaimed ti an turf wasn t he the of it for u a said across the di to m are you i a soft easily a v â ta the scholar oh no replied the wide world for one wink of sleep well here s fifteen for you that we â will i tell him how we got it no don t replied his neighbours the boy s given to devotion an maybe he might scruple to take it here s fifteen on the that we re you for gods sake if you over this won t you offer up a prayer for us won t you f i can never forget your kindness replied i will always pray for you and may god for ever bless you and yours poor may the heavens above have on him upon my it s good to his an his prayer now don t fret we re you a lot o neighbours here they ll watch you time about so that you want anything call and there ll still be some one here to answer god bless you an restore you till we come the milk we ll stale for you the help o god bad to me but it ud be a sin so it would to let the poor boy die at all an him so far from home for as the says there is but one faith one church and one well the that s in that is mighty glory be to god l it would be utterly impossible to detail the affliction which our poor scholar suffered in this wretched shed for the space of a fortnight notwithstanding the efforts of these kind hearted people to render his situation comfortable the little they had constructed near him was never even for a moment during his whole illness without two or three persons ready to attend him in the evening their numbers increased a fire was always kept burning over which a little pot for iâ â to get to the scholar making or was suspended at night they amused each other with anecdotes and laughter and occasionally with songs when certain that their patient was not asleep their exertions to steal milk for him were performed with uncommon glee and related among themselves with great humour these would have been unnecessary had not the famine which then prevailed through the province been so ve tne crowds that about the houses of wealthy farmers a morsel to keep body and soul together resembled nothing which our english readers ever had an opportunity of seeing creatures about with an expression of and in their gaunt features fathers and mothers under the of their beloved children the latter either sick or literally for want of food and the widow in many instances was compelled to lay down her head to die with the wail the feeble wail of her withered mingling with her last in such a state of things it was difficult to procure a sufficient quantity of milk to the unnatural thirst even of one individual when by the heat of a fever notwithstanding this his wants were for the most part anticipated so far as their means would allow them his shed was kept and either or always ready to be extended to him by way of for the right hand of fellowship when he called for anything the usual observation was the s i must take the an see what he wants there were times it is true when the mirth of the poor fellows was very low for hunger was generally among themselves there were times when their own little shed presented a touching and melancholy spectacle â perhaps we ought also to add a noble one for to contemplate a number of men considered rude and semi barbarous themselves in the midst of the most cutting and op ee vi ta the the poor scholar and preservation of a strange lad merely because knew him to be without friends and protection is a display of virtue truly the on which some of the persons were occasionally to live was blood boiled up with a little for when a season of famine occurs in md the people usually the cows and reserve themselves from actual starvation it is r a sight of appalling misery to behold feeble gliding across the country carrying their actually upon and ss and collected in the corner of some s waiting gaunt and as for their ion of blood during these melancholy periods ant everything in the shape of an the miserable creatures will pick up chicken l and sea weed n they will boil and eat with the his under the united agonies of hunger death yet singular to say the very

49William Black

country groaning under such a terrible sweep of famine pouring from all her ports a profusion of day after day flinging it from her fertile bosom the wanton excess of a prodigal oppressed by however of all that the poor scholar s e guard suffered he was attended with a fidelity re and sympathy which no calamity could shake was this care fruitless after the fever had passed its usual stages he began to recover in fact is been observed very truly that scarcely any m has been known to die under circumstances to those of the poor scholar these sheds of which is not in case of â have the advantage of pure free air by which is cooled and refreshed be the cause of bat it may the fact has been established and we satisfaction in being able to our humble as an additional proof of the many h take place in situations apparent â the scholar favourable to human life but how is it possible to detail what m suffered during this fortnight of intense agony not those who can command the luxuries of life â not those who can reach its comforts â nor those who can supply themselves with its bare necessaries â neither the who struggles to his wife and helpless children â the who from door to door â nor even the in his â can imagine what he felt in the solitary misery of his feverish bed hard is the heart that cannot feel his sorrows when stretched beside the common way without a human face to look on he called upon the mother whose brain had she known his situation would have been â whose affectionate heart would have been broken by the knowledge of his affliction it was a situation which afterwards appeared to him dark and terrible the pencil of the painter could not it nor the pen of the poet describe it except like a dim vision which neither the heart nor the imagination are able to give to the world as a tale in the sympathies excited by reality his whole heart and soul as he afterwards acknowledged were during his trying illness at home the voices of his parents of his sisters and of his brothers were always in his ears their countenances surrounded his cold and lonely shed their hands touched him their eyes looked upon him in sorrow â and their tears him even there the light of his mother s love though she herself was distant shone upon his sorrowful couch and he has declared that in no past moment of affection did his soul ever burn with a sense of its presence so strongly as it did in the of his illness but god is love and the wind to the lamb much of all his sufferings would have been were it not that his two best friends in the parish and the had been both by the fever at the same time with there was consequently no person of respectability in the poor e neighbourhood of his situation he is left to the class of the and did they with all their errors and discharge those duties which greater â ana greater knowledge would probably have t on tne morning of the last day he ever intended to end in the shed at eleven o clock he heard the of horses feet passing along the road the was one quite familiar to him but these whoever they might be stopped and after two respectable looking men dressed black approached him his forlorn state and wasted appearance startled them and the anger of the two asked in a tone of voice which directly to his heart how it was that they found m in a situation so desolate the kind interest implied by the words and a sense of his utterly destitute state affected m strongly and he burst into tears the strangers at each other then at him and if looks could press sympathy theirs expressed it my good boy said the first how is it that we id you in a situation so deplorable and wretched as is who are you or why is it that you have not a roof to shelter you v m i m a poor scholar replied the son of â nest but reduced parents i came to this part of e country with the intention of preparing myself r and if it might god with the â pe of being able to raise them out of their stress the strangers looked more earnestly at the boy had touched his fine intellectual features into purity of expression almost ethereal his fair â â kin nearly transparent and the light of truth id lit up his countenance with a lustre hich affliction could not dim the other stranger approached him more nearly for a moment and felt his pulse the poor scholar how long have you been in this country i inquired it u nearly three years it you have been ill of the fever which ia but how did you come to be left to the of upon the highway why sir the people were to let me their houses m consequence of the i got ill ill school sir but no boy would venture to bring ml home an the master turned me out to die i benefit may god forgive him who was your master my child the great mr sir if mr o of the parish hadn t been ill himself at same time or if mr o s son been laid on his back too sir i wouldn t suffer i did has the been kind to you v sir only for him and the big boys i couldn t stay in the school on account of the master s cruelty particularly since my money was out you are better now â are you not v said the other gentleman thank

49William Black

god sir â oh thanks be to the almighty am i expect to be able to lave this place to day or to morrow and where do you intend to go when you recover v the boy himself had not thought of this and the question came on him so unexpectedly that he could only reply â indeed sir i don t know had you inquired the second stranger from your parish priest v i had sir they are in the hands of mr o i also had a character from my father s landlord but asked the other have you existed here during your illness have you been long sick v indeed i can t tell you sir for i don t know how the time passed at all â but i know sir that there tbe poor scholar ways two or three people me they e whatever they thought i wanted upon a or a across the ditch because they to come near me ng the early part of the dialogue two or three s or might have been seen moving r over from the to the ditch which the shed occupied by m here they stationary for those who wore them were thin hearing of the conversation and ready to sir patient a good word if were you supplied with drink and the younger of the two i ve told you sir replied the let me want for nothing that they hey kept me in more than i could use y got me medicine too some way or other sir during a great part of the time i was n t say how they attended me i wasn t of what was goin on about me f those who lay behind the ditch now arose er a few and of the head d to join in the conversation y have you my man said the elder of the â acquainted with the circumstances of this ness r the poor scholar my lord oh thin that has that the poor was in a way all out so he was he caught the one day an was turned out by br o the world that he was from you one of the persons who attended him v the what could ike us do for him a any how â d it s the o the world that ne was e to over it at all why sir good luck to the always address a roman catholic bishop as my the poor scholar one of him but suffered as much the help o god as ud overcome fifty men how did you provide him with drink at such â distance from any human habitation v hard enough we found it sir to do that same but sure whether or not my lord we be as to let him die all out for want o to his i hope inquired the other you had nothing to do in the milk stealing which has produced such an in this immediate neighbourhood v milk oh sir there never was the likes known afore in the the tliat did it i be sir the wickedness o the people s mighty if one ud take by it glory be to god many of the farmers cows have been at night â perfectly drained even my own cows have not escaped and we who have suffered are determined if possible to ascertain those who have committed the i for my part have gone even beyond my ability in the wants of the poor during this period of sickness and famine i therefore deserved this the less by the your honour if any to have his cows it s yourself but as i said this minute there s no end to the wickedness o the people so there s not although the is against them for says it there is but one faith one church an one now sir isn t it that people such words in the book afore them wont be guided by it i suppose they thought it only a white sin sir to take the milk the thieves o the world maybe your honour said another that it was only to keep the life in some poor sick that wanted it more nor you or the farmers that they did it there s some o the same farmers worse for they re up the prices o their male an the poor scholar upon the poor an did so all along that they make money by our that is no justification for observed the c of the two does any one among you t those who committed it in this instance if do i command you as your bishop to mention n how for instance added the other were you able j supply this sick boy with during his illness v j oh thin replied trying the question but it s a mighty ng to see our own bishop â god spare his us â an the minister o the parish together to relieve an give good advice to the or it s a fine example so it is to quality if they d take by it reply said the bishop rather sternly to the we have asked you the your it s proud an we d be to do what you want but the m among us can do it we d say what we not to say that s the my lord an rely t your gracious reverence that ud want to go that v certainly not replied the bishop i warn you both falsehood and fraud two charges which frequently be brought against you in your with the gentry of the country whom you scruple to deceive and by gliding into character when speaking to them is often the of your real one whilst at the same time you b both honest and sincere to persons of your own put away

49William Black

this practice for it is both sinful d god bless your an many thanks to ur gracious reverence for us well we tow that it s the blessed thing to folly your words bring over that naked starved looking man who stirring the fire under that pot said his be looks hke famine itself the poor scholar will you come over here to his honour he s goin to give you something said adding of his own accord the last of the message the tattered creature approached him with a gleam of expectation in his eyes that appeared like insanity god bless your honour for your goodness i exclaimed it s me that s in it sir â sir sure enough but indeed i m the next thing to my own ghost sir now god help me what and for whom are you cooking the smallest in life sir o to keep the in that lonely sir the poor scholar pray how long is it since you have eaten anything yourself the tears burst from the eyes of the miserable creature as he replied â before god in glory your honour an in the presence of his here i only got about what ud make nor half a male the last day sir twas a grain o male that i got from a friend an as ned here me that this had to make the for him why i shared it him he couldn t even beg it sir if he wanted it an him not able to walk the worthy s eyes with a moisture that did him honour without a word of observation he slipped a crown into the hand of who looked at it as if he had been oh thin said he fervently may every hair on your honour s head become a mould candle to light you into glory the world s goodness is in your heart sir and may all the s of heaven rain down upon you an yours the two gentlemen then gave assistance to the poor scholar whom the bishop addressed in kind and encouraging language â come to me my good boy he added and if on further inquiry i find that your conduct has been the scholar as i believe it to have been you may rest id provided also you continue of my opinion that i shall be a friend and a protector u call on me when you get well and i will to you at greater length r ell observed when they were gone own hard puzzle the bishop had me in the milk it the grain tell him the lie so i had to a bit o to keep my conscience clear for sure there was man among us that could tell him we we t to say doesn t all the world that a man t to himself that any way but a scruple i d have in m the other â not but that he s one o the best sort quit at that crown bt the an give the boy his â he s n it agitation of spirits produced by s cheer i with the bishop was for two or three j afterwards somewhat to his in less than a week however he was settled with mr o s family whose proved to him quite as warm as he had ted en he had remained with them a few days he ed to his studies under his tyrant â r he certainly knew his future attendance school would be to him but he had s looked forward to the accomplishment of his as a task of difficulty and distress the severity expected from the master could not he thought than that which he had already suffered decided if possible to complete his tion under him school when appeared in it had been â â ore than an hour assembled but the of not only proved the and distress m the parish but sharpened s aspect into an e the poor scholar countenance singularly and gloomy when the lad entered a murmur of pleasure and welcome ran through the scholars and joy beamed forth from â every countenance but that of teacher when the latter noticed this his rose above restraint and he exclaimed â u and apply to business or i shall some of you to immediately no school ever can prosper in which that called a poor scholar is permitted i thought i told you to and your wild project some other wing than mine i only you replied our poor hero to suffer me to join the class i left while i was for about another year i ll be very quiet and humble and as far as i can will do everything you wish me ah you are a crawling replied the savage and in my opinion nothing but a and i think you have imposed yourself upon mr o for what you are not that is the son of an honest man i have no doubt but many of your nearest relations died after having seen own your mother you wasn t your father s wife i be the spirit of the boy could bear this no longer his eyes flashed and his stood out in the energy of deep indignation k it is false he exclaimed it is as false as your own cruel and cowardly heart you wicked and tyrant in everything you have said or my father mother and friends and of myself too you are a liar from the hat on your head to the dirt your a liar a coward and a villain the fury of the was he ran at the still feeble lad and by a stroke of his fist dashed him senseless to the earth there were now no large boys in the school to his resentment he therefore kicked him in the back when he fell many voices

49William Black

exclaimed in alarm â oh the poor scholar don t kill him oh sir dear don t kill him on t kill poor sir an him still sick kill him replied the master kill him faith he d be no common man who could ill him he has as many lives in him as a cat he can live behind a ditch the on his dying and he would live if he was stuck n tie spire of a in the mean time the boy gave no symptoms of life and the master after desiring a few of he scholars to bring him out to the air became pale s death apprehension he immediately withdrew his private apartment which joined the and sent out his to assist in restoring him animation with some difficulty this was the unhappy boy at once remembered what ad just occurred and the bitter tears from is eyes as he knelt down and exclaimed merciful of heaven and earth have pity on me you ee my heart great god and that what i did i did or the best said the woman he s passionate n never mind him come in an beg his for him a liar an i ll become for you come an til get lave for you to in the school still oh i m said the poor youth i m inwardly â somewhere about the back and bout my ribs the pain he felt brought the tears his pale cheeks i wish i was at home said ie i ll give up all and go home the lonely boy hen laid his head upon his hands as he sat on the and indulged in a long burst of sorrow well said a manly looking little fellow whilst he tears stood in his eyes i ll tell my father this ny how i know he won t let me come to this school ny more here is a piece of my bread may e it will do you good i couldn t taste it frank dear said god bless you j but i couldn t taste iv the do said frank maybe it will back the pain don t ask me frank dear said a i couldn t ate it i m inwardly bad luck to me the indignant boy if ever my ten toes will this school door by the farmer if they ax me at home to do it i run away to my uncle s so i will wait i be big an be the blessed farmer i give the same a of sore bones the holy an blessed minute i m able to do it many of the other boys declared that they would their friends with the master s cruelty to the poor scholar but requested them not to do so and said that he was determined to n home the moment he should be able to travel the woman could not prevail upon him to seek a reconciliation with her husband although the expressions of the other scholars induced her to press him to it even to entreaty arose and with considerable difficulty reached the s house found him at home and with tears in his eyes related to him the conduct of the master v very well said this excellent man i am glad that i can venture to ride as far as â s tomorrow you must accompany me f or such cannot be permitted to go knew that the was his friend and although he would not himself have thought of the master to answer for his yet he in the s opinion he stopped that night in the house of the worthy man to whom mr o had recommended him on his first entering the town it appeared in the morning however that he was unable to walk the blows which he had received were then felt by him to be more dangerous than had been supposed mr o on being informed of this procured a car on which they both sat and at an easy pace reached the colonel s residence the poor scholar the was shown into an room and sat in the hall the colonel joined the former in a few minutes he had been in england and on the continent accompanied by his family for nearly the last three years but had just returned in order to take possession of a large property in land and money to he succeeded at a very critical moment for his own estates were heavily he was now proprietor of an additional estate the rent roll of which was six thousand per and also master of eighty five thousand pounds in the funds mr after him upon his fortune introduced the case of our hero as one i which in his opinion called for the colonel s inter position as a magistrate i have applied to you sir he proceeded rather than to any other of the neighbouring gentlemen because i think this lad has a peculiar claim upon any good offices you could render him a claim upon me how is that mr o the boy sir is not a native of this province his father was formerly a tenant of yours a man as have reason to believe remarkable for good conduct ind industry it appears that his circumstances so long as he was your tenant were those of a comfortable independent farmer if the story which his son relates be true â and i for one believe itâ his family have been dealt with in a manner unusually cruel and your present agent colonel who is known in his own neighbourhood by the of yellow sam thrust him out of his farm when his wife was sick for the purpose of putting into it a man who had married his daughter if this be found a correct account of the transaction i have no hesitation in saying that

49William Black

you colonel b as a gentleman of honour and humanity will investigate the conduct of your agent and see justice done to an honest man who must have been oppressed in your name and under colour of your authority ii my agent has dared to be unjust to fc fc the poor scholar tenant said the colonel in order to provide for his by my sacred honour he shall cease to be an agent of mine i admit certainly that from some circumstances which a few years ago i have reason to suspect his integrity that to be sure was only so far as he and i were concerned but on the other hand during one or two visits i made to the estate which he i heard the tenants thank and praise him with much gratitude and all that sort of thing there was thank your honour â long may you reign over us sir â and oh colonel youve a mighty good man to your agent and so forth i do not think mr o that he has acted so harshly or that he would dare to do it upon my honour i heard those warm expressions of gratitude from the lips of the tenants themselves if you knew the people in general colonel so well as i do replied the you would admit that such expressions are often either or the result of fear you will always find sir that the independent portion of the people have least of this forced among them a and agent has in his own hands the power of and the under him the class most hateful to the people are those low wretches who spring up from nothing into wealth accumulated by and they are proud and jealous even to of the least want of respect it is to such that the poorer classes are most civil but it is also such persons whom they most hate and they them to their faces tis true even to but they seldom spare them in their absence of this very class i believe is your agent yellow sam so that any favourable expressions you may heard from your towards him were most probably the result of and fear besides sir here is a from m s parish priest in which his the poor scholar is spoken of as an honest moral and man if what you say mr o be correct observed he colonel you know the irish much than do decidedly i have always thought hem in conversation exceedingly candid and sincere respect to from priests to n behalf of their tenants upon my honour i am sick f them i actually received about four years ago an excellent character of two tenants as induced ne to suppose them worthy of encouragement but was the fact why sir they were two of the greatest on my estate and put both me and ny agent to great trouble and expense no sir i wouldn t give a curse for a priest s upon an occasion these fellows were subsequently convicted of on the evidence and well sir i grant that you may have been n that instance however from what i ve observed he two great faults of irish are these â in he first place they suffer themselves to remain ignorant of their so much so indeed that they deny them access and when the x or people are anxious to them with their for it is usual with to refer hem to those very agents against whose cruelty and they are appealing this is a a the agent to upon them if he pleases in ihe next place irish too frequently employ ignorant and men to manage their estates men who have no character no property or standing in society beyond the reputation of being keen shrewd and active these persons sir make fortunes and what means can they have of wealth except by either the landlord or his tenants or both a history of their conduct would be a black catalogue of oppression and treachery respectable men resident on or near the state possessing both character and the poor scholar always be selected for this important above all things the curse of a agent he and drives and o without consideration either of market or pr order that his may be ample and income large why o you appear to be better ac with all this sort of thing than i who am i proprietor by the by sir without meaning you respect it is the of ireland who about the great mass of its inhabitants and also add about its history its literature the of the people their customs and their pr the know this and too often their ignorance there is a landlord s sadly wanted in ireland colonel ah very good o very good we certainly inquire into this case and if i fi yellow sam has been playing tne goes i am now able to manage him which not readily do before for by the by he on my property i would take it colonel as a personal ii you would investigate the transaction i ha undoubtedly i shall and that very about this outrage committed against the boy we had better take his and fellow certainly i think that is the best way conduct to the poor youth has been detestable we must put him out of this country call the lad in in this case i shall myself although that assisted by the entered th and the humane colonel desired him as he a ill to sit down the poor scholar at is your name t asked the colonel les m he replied i m the son sir in who was once a tenant of yours and pray how did he cease to be a tenant of y sir your agent sam put him out of n when my poor mother was on her

49William Black

sick bed my father sir out of some money â part ent it was that he didn t give him a receipt my father went to him afterwards for the sam abused him and called him a and that sir was what no man ever called either before or since my father sir led to tell you about it and you came to the soon after but sam got very great father at that time and sent him to sell â r him about fifty miles off but when he came rain you had left the country thin sir sam said nothing till the next half year s rent due he came down on my father for all s he hadn t got the receipt for and the ale â and without any warning in the world i out my father offered to pay all but he was a rogue and that you him off te in less than a week after this he put a it married a daughter of his own into and place that s god s truth sir and nd it so if you into it it s a common his to keep back and make the pay double red o can this be possible t ir best way colonel is to inquire into it not your father able to you at home r sir we soon got into poverty after we r farm and another thing sir there was no in our neighbourhood s a fact the individual here alluded to frequently kept back hen receiving rents under pretence of â â t â râ â x u the tenants to pay the same gale v r the poor scholar for what purpose did you become a poor scholar f why sir i hoped one day or other to be able to raise my father and mother out of the distress that sam brought on us what a noble aim and a noble sentiment and what has this d â d fellow of a done to you r why sir yesterday when i went back to the school he abused me and said he supposed most of my relations were hanged spoke ill of my father and said that my mother â here the tears started to his eyes â he sobbed aloud go on and be cool said the colonel what did he say of your mother v he said sir that she was never married to my father i know i was wrong sir but if it was the king on his throne that said it of my mother i d call him a liar i called him a liar and a coward and a villain ay sir and if i had been able i would have trampled him under my feet the colonel looked steadily at him but the open clear eye which the boy turned upon was full of truth and independence and you will find said the soldier that this spirited defence of your mother will be the most fortunate action of your life well he struck you then did he he knocked me down sir with his fist â then kicked me in the back and sides i think some of my ribs are broke ay â no doubt no doubt said the colonel and you were only after recovering from this fever which is so v i wasn t a week out of it sir well my boy we shall punish him for you sir would you hear me for a word or two if it would be pleasing to you v speak on said the colonel i would rather change his punishment toâ i would â that is â if it would be agreeable to you â it s the scholar this sir â i wouldn t you now against the master if you d be pleased to my father and punish sam oh sir for god s sake put my broken father into his farm again if you would sir i could shed my blood or lay down my life for you or for any belonging to you i m but a poor boy sir low and humble out they say there s a greater being than the greatest in this world that to the just prayers of the poor and i was never happy sir since we left itâ neither was any of us and when we d sit and hungry about our hearth we used to be talking of the pleasant days we spent in it till the tears would be smothered in curses against him that put us out of it oh sir if you could know all that a poor and honest family suffers when they are thrown into distress by want of feeling in their or by the of agents you would consider my father s case i m his favourite son sir and good right have i to speak for him if you could know the sorrow the misery the drooping down of the spirits that lies upon the countenances and the hearts of such people you wouldn t as a man and a christian think it below you to spread happiness and contentment among them again in the morning they rise to a day of hardship no matter how bright and cheerful it may be to others â nor is there any hope of a brighter day for them and at night they go to their hard beds to strive to sleep away their hunger in spite of and want if you could see how the father of a family after striving to bear up sinks down at last if you could see the look he gives at the that he would lay down his blood for when they sit naked and hungry about him and the mother too with her kind word and sorrowful smile proud of them in all their but her heart breaking silently all the

49William Black

time her face wasting away her eye dim and her strength gone â sir make one family happy â for all this has been in my father s house give us back our â â the scholar pleasant days and our cheerful hearts again we lost them the of your agent give them back to us for you can ao it but you can never pay us for what we suffered give us sir our farm our green fields our house and every spot and nook that we had before we love the place sir for its own sake â it is the place of our fathers and our hearts are in it i often think i see the smooth river that runs through it and the meadows that i played in when i was a child â the behind our house the mountains that rose before us when we left the door the thorn bush at the garden the in the the little green beside the river â oh sir don t blame me for crying for they are all before my eyes in my ears and in my heart many a summer evening have i gone to the march ditch of the farm that my father s now in and looked at the place i loved till the tears blinded me and i asked it as a favour of god to restore us to it sir we are in great at home before god we are and my father s is breaking the colonel drew his breath deeply rubbed his lands and as he looked at the fine countenance of the boy â expressing as it did enthusiasm and his eye lightened with a gleam of indignation it could not be against the poor scholar no gentle reader but against his own agent o said he what ao you think and this noble boy is the son of a man who belongs to a class of which i am ignorant i swear that we are i fear a guilty race not all sir replied the there are noble exceptions among them their faults are more the faults of than commission well well no matter come i will draw up the against this man afterwards i something to say to you my boy he added addressing that will not i trust be unpleasant he then drew up the as strongly as he could word them after which to their the and accuracy and the colonel rubbing his hands gain said â i will have the fellow secured when you go into own mr o hi thank you to call on md him these he will lodge the in this very night then thanked him and was about to when the colonel desired him to remain a little now said he your father has been treated i believe but no matter that is not the question your sentiments and conduct and your for your parents are noble my boy at present i say the question is not whether the history f your father s wrongs be true or false you at least believe it to be true from this forward â but by the by i forgot how could your becoming a poor scholar relieve your parents u i intended to become a priest sir and then to help them ay so i thought and provided your father were restored to his farm would you be still disposed to become a priest i would sir next to helping my father that is i wish to be o what would it cost to prepare him for the â i mean to his expenses until he his preparatory education in the first place and afterwards during his residence in i think two hundred pounds sir would do it and i do not think it would however do you send â but first let me ask what progress he has already made he has read â in fact he is nearly prepared v to his progress has been very rapid put him to some respectable boarding school for i year then let him enter expense but remember i do ft y the scholar course in consequence of his father s history not by i do it on his own account he is a noble and full of fine qualities if they be not by neglect and poverty i loved my father myself and fought a on his account and i honour the son who has spirit to defend his absent parent this is a most surprising turn in the boy s fortunes colonel he deserves it a soldier mr o is not without his enthusiasm nor can he help admiring it in others when nobly and directed to see a boy in the midst of poverty the hardships and difficulties of life with the hope of raising up his parents from distress to independence has a touch of in it ireland colonel with instances of similar virtue brought out probably into fuller life and vigour by the sad changes and which are weighing down the people in her on her bleak mountain sides and in her remotest plains such examples of pure affection uncommon energy and humble heroism are to be seen â but unfortunately few persons of rank or observation mingle with the irish people and their many admirable qualities pass away without being recorded in the literature of country they are certainly a strange people colonel almost an in the history of the human race they are the only people who can rush out from the very virtues of private life to the of crimes at which we shudder there is to be sure an about their oppression but that is wrong their and ignorance are rather the result of neglect â of neglect sir from the government of the country â from the earl to the they have been taught little that is suitable to their stations and duties in

49William Black

life either as tenants who cultivate our lands or as members of moral or christian society well well i believe what you say is too the poor scholar the records of virtue in humble life who would record it when nothing goes down days but what is either monstrous or true colonel yet in my humble opinion a us irish peasant is far from being so low a ter as a man of rank ell well well come o we will drop th t in the meantime touching this boy as i tie must be looked to for he that in him ought not to be neglected we shall now see bis d â d be punished for his cruelty worthy colonel in a short time dismissed poor y with an heart but not until he had i a sufficient sum in the s hands for ng him to make a respectable appearance al advice was also procured for him by which overcame the effects of his master s ity their way home related to his friend the which he had had with his bishop in the and the kind interest which that gentleman had in his situation and prospects mr o im that the bishop was an excellent man much and benevolence and he is the clergyman who him they have both gone among the people g this heavy of disease and famine advice and assistance them those which they sometimes commit driven by hunger they attack provision carts a shops or the houses of farmers who are known a stock of meal or potatoes god knows n kind of robbery yet it is right to in them is a pleasant thing sir to see of religion working together to make the people j â j is certainly so replied the and i am i to say in justice to the ax â the poor scholar there is no class of men in ireland james who do so much good without distinction of creed or party they are generally kind and charitable to the poor so are their wives and daughters i have often known them to cheer the sick bed â to assist the widow and the orphan â to advise and the and in some instances even to them but now about your own prospects i think you should go and see your family as soon as your health you i would give my right hand replied just to see them if it was only for five minutes but i cannot go i vowed that i would never enter my native parish until i should become a catholic clergyman i vowed that sir to god â and with assistance i will keep my vow well said the you are right and now let me give you a little advice in the first place learn to speak as correctly as you can lay aside the of conversation peculiar to the common people and speak precisely as you would write by the you yourself to admiration with the colonel a little stumbling there was in the beginning but you got over it you see james the force of truth and simplicity i could scarcely restrain my tears while you spoke if i had not in earnest sir i could never have spoken as i did you never could truth james is the foundation of all eloquence he who speaks what is not true may and but he will never touch with that power and pathos which spring from truth fiction is successful only by her now james for a little more advice don t let the idea of having been a poor scholar deprive you of self respect neither let your unexpected turn of fortune cause you to forget what you have suffered hold a middle course be firm and independent without on the one hand or vanity on the other you have also too much good sense the poor scholar and i hope too much religion to what this day has brought forth in your behalf to any other cause than god it has pleased him to raise you from misery to ease and comfort to him therefore be it referred and to him be your thanks and prayers directed you owe him much for you now can perceive the value of what he has done for you may his name be blessed was deeply affected by the kindness of his friend for such in friendship s truest sense was he to him he expressed the obligations which he owed him and promised to follow the excellent advice he had just received the s conduct to the scholar had before the close of the day on which it occurred been known through the parish o who had but just recovered from the felt so bitterly exasperated at the outrage that he brought his father to the parish priest to whom he gave a detailed account of all that our hero and the poorer children of the school had suffered in addition to this he went among the more substantial farmers of the neighbourhood whose co operation he succeeded in obtaining for the purpose of driving the tyrant out of the parish who still lived at the house of entertainment on hearing what they intended to do begged mr o to allow him provided the master should be removed from the school to decline him he has been cruel to me no doubt he added still i cannot forget that his cruelty has been the means of changing my condition in life so much for the better if he is put out of the parish it will be punishment enough and to say the truth sir i can now forgive everybody maybe had i been still neglected i might punish him but in the meantime to show him and the world that i didn t deserve his severity i forgive him mr o was not disposed to e a

49William Black

v c the took that did the boy s heart so much honour he v on the colonel the next m acquainted s wishes ami thy was immediately after the s removal from i situation our hero s personal appearance was by this t changed for the better his countenance naturally expressive of feeling firmness and now appeared to additional advantage so di whole person when dressed in a decent suit of h no man acquainted with life can be ignorant of tl improvement which genteel apparel produces in tl j carriage tone of thought and principles of an in a it gives a man confidence self respect a a sense of equality with liis companions it i â him with energy independence delicacy of courtesy of manner and elevation of face becomes manly bold and free the and the eye clear there is no through h lanes and back streets but on the contrary th smoothly dressed man steps out with a determination not to spare the earth or to walk as if he trod mi or no he onward is tho first w liis friends gives a careless bow to this a nod to that and a how d ye do to a third who is worse dressed than himself trust mt kind reader that good clothes are calculated to advance a man in life nearly as much as good principles especially in a world like this when external ance is taken as tho of what is beneath it by the advice of hi s friend now wait upon the bishop who was much surprised at the u common turn of fortune which had taken place in favour he also expressed his to i forward as far us l iy in his power towards tl of his wishes in order to place the i directly under suitable patronage mr o s that the choice of the school should be left v the poor scholar metropolis was accordingly fixed upon to which now furnished with a handsome was accordingly sent there we will leave him reading with eagerness and whilst we return to look after colonel b and his agent one morning after james s departure the colonel s servant waited upon mr o with a note from his master a wish to see him he lost no time in waiting upon that gentleman who was then preparing to visit the estate which he had so long neglected i am going said he to see how my agent yellow sam as they call him and my tenants agree it is my determination mr o to investigate the circumstances attending the removal of our father i shall moreover look closely into the state and feelings of my tenants in general it is i shall visit many of them and certain that will inquire into the character of this man it is better late than never colonel but still though i am a friend to the people yet i would recommend you to be guided by great caution and the evidence of respectable and disinterested men only you must not certainly entertain all the complaints you may hear without clear proof for i regret to say that too many of the idle and political portion of the are apt to throw the blame of their own folly ana ignorance â yes and of their crimes also â upon those who in no way have occasioned either their poverty or their wickedness they are frequently apt to consider oppressed if are not made to which they as idle and indolent men who neglect their own have no fair claim bear this in mind be cool use take your proofs from others besides the parties concerned or their friends and depend upon it you will arrive at the truth o you would make an excellent agent i have studied the people sir and know them i have breathed the atmosphere oi w tes the poor scholar habits manners customs and i have felt them all myself as they feel them but i trust i have got above their influence where it is evil for there are many fine touches of character among them which i should not willingly part with no sir i should make a bad agent having no capacity for business i could direct and overlook but nothing more well then i shall set out to morrow and in the meantime permit me to say that i am deeply sensible of your kindness in pointing out my duty as an irish landlord conscious that i have too long neglected it what stay do you intend to make colonel v i think about a month i shall visit some of my old friends there from whom i expect a history of the state and feelings of the country you will hear both sides of the question before you act v certainly i have written to my agent to say that i shall look very closely into my own affairs on this occasion i thought it fair to give him notice well sir i wish you all success farewell mr o i shall see you immediately after my return the colonel performed his journey by slow stages until he reached the hall of his fathers â for it was such although he had not for years resided in it it presented the wreck of a fine old mansion situated within a of stately whose and ragged trunks gave symptoms of decay and neglect the lawn had been once beautiful and the a noble one but that which the industry of the tenant â the curse of also left the marks of ruin stamped upon every object around him the lawn was little better than a common the pond was thick with weeds and water plants that almost covered its surface and a light elegant bridge that a river which ran before the house was also moss grown and the poor scholar dated the

49William Black

hedges were mixed up with the gates broken or altogether removed the field was rank with the of weeds and the grass grown avenues spoke of solitude and desertion the still appearance too of the house itself and the absence of smoke from its time tinged chimneys â all told a tale which one perhaps the greatest portion of ireland s misery even then he did not approach it with the intention of there during his in the country it was not nor had it been so for years the road by which he travelled lay near it and he could not pass without looking upon the place where a long line of gallant ancestors succeeded each other lived their span and disappeared in their turn he contemplated it for some time in a kind of reverie there it stood sombre and silent its gray walls its windows dark and broken â like a man forsaken by the world compelled to bear the storms of life without the hand of a friend to support him though age and decay render him less capable of enduring them for a moment fancy re it â again the stir of life mirth and echoed within its walls the train of his departed relatives returned the din of rude and boisterous enjoyment peculiar to the times the cheerful tumult of the hall at dinner the family and the and the passions of those who now sleep in dust â all â all came before him once more and played their part in the vision of the moment as he walked on the flitting wing of a bat struck him lightly in its flight he awoke from the which crowded on him and his journey soon arrived at the inn of the nearest town where he stopped that night the next morning he saw his agent for a short time but declined entering upon business for a few days more he visited most of the neighbouring gentry from whom he received sufficient information to satisfy him tn t ta a the scholar himself nor his agent was popular among his many flying reports of the agent s and tyranny were mentioned to him and in every instance he took down the names of tne parties in order to ascertain the truth m s case had occurred than ten years before but he found that the remembrance of the poor man s injury was strongly and bitterly retained in the recollections of the ft circumstance which from the blunt but somewhat sentimental soldier a just observation â i think said he that there are no people in the world who remember either an injury or a kindness so long as the irish when the tenants were of his presence among them they experienced no particular feeling upon the subject during all his former visits to his estate he appeared merely the creature and of his agent who never acted the bully nor himself out in his brief authority more than he did before him the knowledge of this them and rendered any expectations of or justice from the landlord a matter not to be thought of if he wasn t so great a man they observed who thinks it below him to speak to his tenants or hear their complaints there ud be some but that of hell sam can wind him round his finger like a thread an does too there s no use in to petition him or to lodge a complaint against stony heart for the first thing he d do ud be to put it into the boy s hands an thin god be ul to that ud complain no no the best way is to wait till sam s takes an who knows but that ud be sooner nor we think they say another would reply that the colonel is a good for all that an that if he could once know the truth he d pitch the boy to the ould boy no sooner was it known by his that the head landlord was disposed to their the the poor scholar and hear their complaints than the smothered attachment which long neglect had nearly extinguished now burst forth with uncommon power by this an by that the blood s in him still the to for ever we knew lie only wanted to come at the an thin he d back us the villain that us to the that hasn t the ould blood in what are they but an every one o an odd one for a the colonel s estate now presented a scene of gladness and bustle every person who felt in the slightest degree got his petition drawn up and but that we fear our sketch is already too long we could gratify the reader s curiosity by a few of them it is sufficient to say that they came to him in every shape â in all the variety of that the poor english language admits of â in the s best copy hand and of â in the but more terms of the parish clerk â in the hand and legal phrase of the attorney â in the military form evidently of the shrewd old â ana in the classical style of the young priest â â for each and all of the foregoing were in the cause of those who had to send in to the colonel himself god bless him early in the morning of the day on which the colonel had resolved to compare the complaints of his with the character which his agent gave him of the he sent for the former and the following dialogue took place between them good morning mr excuse me for your presence to day earlier than usual i taken it into my head to know something of my own and as they have me with and letters and complaints i am anxious to have your

49William Black

opinion as you know them better than i do before we enter on business ax o s the poor scholar inquire if you feel relieved of that attack yon complained of the day before yesterday of a habit myself and know something about the management of a good is an excellent thing as for me i drank too much with my friend b y â and there s the secret i don t like cold they never agree with me nor do i they are not constitutional your father was celebrated for his colonel i remember an anecdote told me by captain â by the by do you know where could be found now sir r not i what do you drink v a couple of glasses of sir at dinner and about ten o clock a glass of brandy and water you are sober and prudent well about these cursed you must help me to dispose of them a man would think the tenor of them that these tenants of mine are ground to dust by a tyrant ah colonel you know little about these fellows they would make black white go and take a ride sir return about four o clock and i will have everything as it ought to be wish to heaven i had your talents for business do you think my tenants attached to me f attached sir they are ready to cut your throat or mine on the first convenient opportunity you could not conceive their and except you happened to be an agent for a few years so i have been told and i am resolved to remove every tenant from my estate is there not a man for instance called he has sent me a long petition here what do you think of him r show me the petition colonel i cannot lay my hand on it just now but you shall see it in the meantime what s your opinion of the fellow the scholar why i know the man particularly well he is one of my what the deuce could the fellow petition about though i promised the other day to renew his lease for him oh then if he be a favourite of yours his petition may go to the devil i suppose is the man honest remarkably so ana has paid his rents very he is one of our safest tenants do you know a man called v the most scoundrel on the estate indeed oh then we must look into the merits of his petition as he is not honest had he been honest like i should have dismissed it sir is a dangerous fellow do you know that rascal has charged me with keeping back his and with making him pay double rent â ha ha ha upon my honour it s fact the scoundrel we shall him to some purpose however if you take my advice sir you will send him about his business for if it be once known that you listen to malicious my authority over such as is lost well i set him aside for the present here s a long list of others all of whom have been oppressed is there a man called m on my estate â m i think m why that rascal sir has not been your tenant for ten years his petition colonel is a key to the nature of their in general i believe you â most do i believe that well about that rascal why it is so long since that upon my honour i cannot exactly remember the circumstances of his he ran away who is in his farm now a very decent man sir one an exceedingly worthy honest industrious fellow i take some credit to myself for bringing on your estate is married has he a v m â i j the poor â i it married let me see why â yes â i is oh by the by now i think of it he is m and to a very respectable woman too remember â she usually him wh pays his rents then your system must be a good one ct t you weed out the idle and to replace â i by the honest and industrious precisely so sir that is my system yet there are agents who your some cases who drive out the honest and and encourage the idle and who at them and fill the estates they their own or relatives as the case m you have been always opposed to this and tn to hear it no man colonel b filling the situation i have the honour to hold under you could your interest with greater zeal and knows i have had so many quarrels and with these fellows in order to money out of them to meet your difficulties â â j upon my honour i think if it required five â â â â j oaths to hang me they could be procured upon s j estate an agent colonel who is faithful fc it â landlord is seldom popular with the tenants i can t exactly see that and i have k an landlord rendered highly popular i judicious management of an enlightened and h agent who took no and who n from nor ground the under h something like a of yourself but may be right in general â is there anything particular colonel in wh can assist you now not now i was anxious to hear the those fellows from you who know them come i about eleven or twelve o clock these â â i be assembled and you may be able to assist me r colonel remember i you that if the poor scholar into a of difficulties which you will ver be able to leave the fellows to sir i know how to deal with them besides â my honour you are not equal to it

49William Black

in point of you look ill pray allow me to take home papers and i shall have all clear and satisfactory fore two o clock they know my method sir they do they do but i am anxious they ould also know mine besides it will amuse me p i want excitement good day for the present u will be down about twelve or one at the farthest certainly sir good morning colonel the agent was too shrewd a man not to perceive at there were touches of cutting irony in some of colonel s expressions which he did not like was a too in the tone of his voice and blended with a of good humour taken altogether caused him to feel he could have wished the colonel at the yet had the said colonel never been more in his life nor with one or two exceptions to agree with almost every observation made him well thought he lie may act as he pleases ve my nest at all events and disregard n colonel b in fact ascertained with extreme that something was necessary to be done to the good will of his tenants that the conduct his agent had been marked by and incredible he had from the general the performance of duty labour to such an tent that his immense agricultural farms were with little expense to himself if a poor in s corn were drop ripe or his hay in a precarious ite or his turf he must suffer his y and turf to be lost in order to secure the crops the agent if he had spirit to refuse he must to become a martyr to his to v t w his were a the poor scholar thirty forty and fifty guineas he claimed as a fee for his favour according to the ability of the party yet this was quite distinct from the renewal fine and went into his own pocket when such glove money was not to be had he would accept of a cow or horse to which he made a point to take a fancy or he wanted to purchase a of butter at particular time and the poor people usually made every sacrifice to avoid his vengeance it is due to colonel b to say that he acted in the investigation of his agent s conduct with the honour and he every statement thoroughly pleaded for him as as he could found or pretended to find motives for his most proceedings but would not do the cases were so clear and evident against him even in the opinion of the neighbouring gentry who had been for years looking upon the system of selfish which he practised that at length the generous colonel s blood boiled with indignation in his veins at the contemplation of hie he accused himself bitterly for his duties as a landlord and felt both remorse and shame for having wasted his time health and money in the fashionable of london and paris whilst a cunning played the with his tenants and turned his estate into a scene of oppression and poverty nor was this all he had been endeavouring to bring the property more and more into his own a point which he would ultimately have gained had not the colonel s late succession to so large a fortune enabled him to meet his claims at one o clock the tenants were all assembled about the inn door where the colonel had resolved to hold his little court the agent himself soon arrived as did several other gentlemen the colonel s friends who knew the people and could speak to their character the first man called was m no the poor scholar ill sooner was his name uttered than a mild poor looking man rather advanced in years came forward i beg your pardon colonel said here is some mistake this man is not one of your tenants you may remember i told you so this morning i remember it replied the colonel this is the rascal you spoke is he not m the colonel proceeded you will reply to my questions with strict truth you will state nothing but what has occurred between you and my agent you must not even turn a circumstance in your own favour nor against mr by either adding to or taking from it more or less than the truth i say this to you and to all present for upon my honour i shall dismiss the first case in which i discover a f the help o the almighty sir i ll state nothing but the bare u how long are you off my estate v ten years your honour or a little more how came you to run away out of your farm v run away your honour god he knows i didn t run away sir the whole knows that yes run away mr stated to me this morning that you ran away he is a gentleman of integrity and would not state a falsehood i beg your pardon colonel not positively i told you i did not exactly remember the circumstances i said i thought so but i may be wrong for indeed my memory of facts is not good m however is a very honest man and i have no doubt will state everything as it happened fairly and without malice an honest rascal i suppose you mean mr said the colonel bitterly proceed m m stated the circumstances precisely as the reader is already acquainted with them after which the colonel turned round to his agent and inquired what he had to say in reply you cannot expect colonel b t that with such a oi ow the hands i could remember after a lapse of ten the precise state of this particular case perhaps i may have some papers a or so at home that may throw light upon it at present i

49William Black

can only say that the man failed in his rents i him and put a better tenant in his place i cannot see a crime in that your honour replied m i can prove by them that s to the fore this minute ai well as by this written sir that i offered him the full at the same time as god is my judge part of it afore that is certainly false â an and malicious statement said i now remember that the cause of my yes of my just resentment against you was your that i received your rent and withheld your receipt then observed the colonel there has been more than one charge of that nature brought against you you mentioned mother to me this morning if i mistake not i have made my oath your honour of the of it an here is a man sir a that lent me the money an was present when i offered it to him mr smith come sir an up for the poor man as you re always to lo i object to his evidence said he is my open enemy i am your enemy mr or rather the enemy of your corruption and want of honesty said smith but as you say an open one i scorn to say behind your back what i wouldn t say to your face right well you know that i was present when he you his rent i lent him part of it but why did you and your turn him out when his wife was on her sick bed allowing that he could not pay his rent was that any reason you should do so barbarous an act as to drag a woman from her sick bed and the scholar j the point of death but we know your rear or it said the colonel pray what do m and smith here bear in the te have known them both for years to be honest men said those whom he addressed is their character and in our opinion they well ve it od bless you said m â god your honours for your kind words sure ly own part i hope always your opinion although but a poor man now god ne f ray who the farm at present mr man i mentioned to you this morning sir is id pray mr who is his wife v h by the by colonel that s a little too close the gentlemen smile but they know i must beg answering that question â not that it we have all sown our wild in myself as well as another â ha ha ha le fact under other circumstances observed could never draw an inquiry from me it is connected with or probably has occasioned as and an unjust act of oppression is an honest man i therefore alluded to it as ting the motives from which you acted she is daughter sir i ie s one o the baker s dozen o them your ir observed a humorous little i sarcastic face and sharp northern accent â for â for my part a he one on every all count your honour on my fingers a half dozen all on your estate sir as fast as they can this a good tenant mr v the poor scholar i gave you his character this morning colonel b colonel said the a penny rent the man pays at at swear a it from s own lips he made him a sir he rent free ask the man sir for his an a ll warrant the truth will come out i have secured s attendance said the colonel let him be called in the man in a few minutes entered said the colonel how long is it since you paid mr here any rent n looked at for his cue but the colonel rose up indignantly fellow he proceeded if you with me a single you shall find mr badly able to protect you if you speak falsehood be it at your peril i by j ing sir said all say my father in an a don t care who it well or a was a gun with a j or two â an d me a say all stick to my father for he stuck to me you appear to be a hardened drunken wretch observed the colonel will you be civil enough to show your last receipt for rent v a show it a whether a or not nor a whether a it or not but ef the in europe burnt d my blood but all stick to my father in your father in law may be proud of you said the colonel by h a ll back you en that said the fellow nodding his head and looking round him confidently by h a say that too and i am sorry to be compelled to add continued the colonel that you may be equally proud of your father in law a say right d me bit a ll back that too and he nodded confidently and looked around a ham et ol the poor scholar ie room once more a d my blood bit o man can say it a m married to his an by the sun that shines a ll still p for my father in mr said the colonel can you facts can you show that you did not i from his farm and put the husband of your daughter into it that you did not his rent decline giving him a receipt and afterwards compel him to pay twice because ne could not the receipt which you withheld gentlemen said not directly replying to he colonel there is conspiracy got up against ne and i can perceive moreover that there is some unaccountable intention on the part of colonel b to insult my feelings and injure my â when paltry circumstances

49William Black

that occurred ten years ago are up in my teeth i have to say but that it proves how very badly off the must have been for an against my conduct and discretion as his agent since he finds compelled to hunt so far back for a charge that is by no means the heaviest charge i have to ring against you replied the colonel there is no of them nor shall you be able to complain that hey are not recent as well as of longer standing your in the case of poor honest m here is lack and he must be restored to his farm but by other hands than yours and that instantly from it from this moment sir cease to be my agent you have betrayed the confidence i in you you have me as to the character of my tenants you have been a cunning selfish and tyrant my people you have ground to dust my property you have lessened in value nearly one half and for your motives in doing this i refer you to certain transactions and legal documents which passed between us there is nothing cruel or which you did not practise in order to l t i thb â i whole tenor of your conduct is is not only discovered but already proved and you played those i because have been mostly an do think however that you shall enjoy the fruits of your i will place the circumstances and ti proofs of the respective charges against you in tin hands of my and by the sacred heaven me you shall the fruits of your my good people i shall remain among you for fortnight during which lime intend to go throng my estate and set everything to rights is can until i may a humane and feeling i r as my such a one as will have at least â i li to lose also take this opportunity of ir forming you that in future i shall visit you oft will your should you have any ti complain ot and will give such assistance to i honest aud industrious among you â but to them w â as i trust may us better pleased with other than we have been â do not you go m until i speak to you c during these observations sat with a i or rather a his lips it was the en a purse proud villain confident that his wealth i matter how ill gotten was still wealth and worth its l value colonel he i have heard all yon said hi you see me so strong in honesty that i am n moved in the course of a few weeks i shall purchased an estate of my own which i will i for my fortune is made sir f intend to give up my other i am rather old must retire to enjoy a little of â i wish you all good morning the colonel turned away in but any reply a say sam said the bring your son in you an a say that too exclaimed the drunken the poor scholar â an a say that d my blood bit a ll stick to my father in that s the point â and again he nodded his head and looked round him with a drunken â a ll stick to my father in a ll do that a it is scarcely necessary to inform the reader that the colonel s address to soon got among the assembled and a vehement of groans and followed the discarded agent up the street ha bad luck to you for an ould villain you were made to hear on the deaf side o your head at last you may take the black wool out o your ears now you the cries an curses o the an that you made and oppressed has up you at the long run ha j you maybe you ll make us neglect our own work to do yours long life to noble colonel b the poor man s friend â long life to him for ever an a day longer my ta e warm interest which the colonel took in m s behalf was looked upon by the other tenants as a of his sincerity in all he promised their enthusiasm knew no bounds they got out his carriage from the inn yard and drew it through the town though the colonel himself beyond the fact of their remained quite ignorant of what was going forward after s departure the colonel s friends having been first asked to dine with him at the inn also took their leave and none remained but m who waited with pleasing anxiety to hear what tne colonel proposed to for he felt certain that it would be agreeable m said the colonel i am truly sorry for what you have suffered through the of my agent but i will give you and allow you for this dialect is the poor scholar what you have lost by the transaction it is i have been lately told by a person who cause nobly and that can never you for what you have suffered however can we will do you are poor i understand v god he sees that sir and afflicted too honour afflicted how is that t i had a son a blessed boy a bo once our comfort an once we thought he d be pride an our staff but â the poor man s tears here flowed fast he took the skirt of his more or great coat and al wiping his eyes and clearing his voice proceeded he was always as i said a blessed boy and looked up to him always sir he saw our your honour an he felt it sir keen enough god help him how an he took it on him t go up to sir hopes of the

49William Black

hopes poor child â an god knows sir â if â oh â i doubt â doubt you sunk what proved too many for you â i doubt my child s dead sir â him that fixed upon and if that ud happen to be the case â not even your kindness in us justice could make us happy we would beg him sir nor have the best in the world him his poor young heart sir was fixed upon the place your honour is us to an fm his mother sir would break her heart if she thought he couldn t share our good fortune and wc don t know whether he s or dead that sir if what s us i had some notion of goin tc for him but he us he would never write r let us hear from him till he d be one thing oi ther i can tell you for your satisfaction that your son well m believe me he is well â i know it well before god does your honour truth oh sir for his sake tha s vol for the poor scholar the sake of his blessed mother can you tell me is my son alive he is living is in excellent health is as well dressed as i am and has friends as rich and as capable of assisting him as myself but how is this s the matter with you you are pale good god here waiter waiter waiter i say he colonel rang the bell violently and two or three entered at the same moment bring a little wine and water one of you and let the other two remove this man to the open window be quick what do you stare at v in a few minutes the old man recovered and the narrow coarse which he wore wiped the perspiration off his pale face pray don t be too much affected said the colonel waiter bring up refreshment â bring wine â be quiet and calm â you are weak poor fellow â but we will strengthen you by and by i am wake sir he replied for god help us this was a hard year upon us and we suffered what few could bear but he s living colonel our is oh colonel your kindness went to my heart this day afore but that was â he s an well on my two knees before god t thank you for them words i thank you a thousand an a thousand times more for them words nor for what your honour did about sam get up said the colonel â get up the proceedings the day have produced a of feeling which has rendered you incapable of intelligence of your son he is well i assure you bring those things to this table waiter but can your honour tell me anything in particular about him sir what he is â or what he to do r yes he is at a respectable boarding school school but isn t schools sir not at all he is at a w the poor scholar and reading hard to be a priest which i hope he will soon be has good and you may thank him for being restored to your farm glory be to my maker for that oh sir your tenants in you they thought sir that you a heard hearted that didn t care whether they lived or died i feel that i have neglected them too long m now take some refreshment eat something and afterwards drink a few glasses of wine your feelings have been much excited and you will be the better for it keep up your spirits i am going to ride and must leave you but if you call on me to morrow at one o clock i shall have more good news for you we must stock your farm and enable you to enter upon it sir said m r you are a but as i hope to glory i an my wife an will pray that your bed may be made in heaven this night and that your honour may be led to see the the right the colonel then left him and the simple man on looking at the cold meat bread and wine before him raised his hands and eyes towards heaven to thank god for his goodness and to a blessing upon his noble and benefactor but how shall we describe the feelings of his family when after returning home he related the of that day the severe and pressing under which they had prevented sons from attending the investigation that was to take place in town their expectations however were raised and they looked out with intense anxiety for the return of their father at length he was seen coming slowly up the hill the were thrown aside and the whole family assembled to hear what was done the father entered in silence sat down and after wiping his brow and laying down his hat placing hia staff across it upon the hi breath the poor scholar ck s id the wife u what news what was me replied u do yon the ly â fair and handsome you then â when i first your lips as my own wife v ah don t snake of them the happiness we had then is long gone in one sense it s before me like â the delight went through my heart as clear as or the blessed sun that s through the windy on the floor there i tying to you that day â i don t know whether you it or not â but to you if i lived a thousand years i could never feel ch happiness as i did when first i pressed you to my as my own wife well but we want to hear what happened do you the words v

49William Black

i do they go into my at the time an how could i forget them but i in t bear somehow to look back at what we i feel my heart well look at me t i a poor wasted â now in to what i was thin v god he sees the change s in you but ire t your t or mine either well you see me now â happier â before rod i m happier â happier a thousand degrees than i as thin come to my arms â my s â but it s happiness â don t be â it s i m these it s id happiness an delight i m is q well he s an well â the star f our is an well an happy kneel own â kneel down bend before the great k d an thank him for his kindness to to our blessed son b fe â l the poor scholar along all said he the colonel me my dinner i ate myself an these in my pocket for you but the il a one o me knows what kind o mate it is an jt wine too oh â well they may talk but wine he bring me the ould knife till i make divide of it among ye what kind o te can it be for myself doesn t any t bacon an a bit o of an odd hey all ate it with an air of sagacity t was rather amusing none however had ever bed mutton before and consequently the name of meat remained on that occasion a profound to m and his family it is true they ed it to be mutton but not one of them could â it to be such from any positive knowledge its peculiar well said it s no what the ne of it is in regard that it s good mate anyway them that has enough of it vith a fervent heart and streaming eyes did this family offer up their grateful prayers to that d whose laws they had not and whose providence they owed so much nor was ir benefactor forgotten the strength and energy the irish language being that in which the usually pray were well adapted to express depth of their gratitude towards a man who had they said himself to look into their as if he was like one of themselves tor upwards of ten years they had not gone to bed e from the of care or the wasting grasp poverty now their hearth was once more peace and contentment their re removed their beat freely and the of happiness again was heard under their there are hundreds of yes m x â tea in ireland who have never tasted mutton the poor scholar humble roof even sleep could not repress the vivacity of their they of their brother â f or in the irish heart the domestic affections hold the first place â they of the farm to which those affections had so long they trod it again as its legitimate its fields were brighter its corn waved with softer murmurs to the breeze its were richer and the song of their harvest home more cheerful than before their delight was tumultuous but intense and when they arose in the morning to a sober certainty of waking bliss they again knelt in worship to god with hearts and again offered up their sincere prayers in behalf of the just man who had asserted their rights against the colonel b was a man who r without having been aware of it possessed an excellent capacity for business the neglect of his property resulted not from want of feeling but merely from want of consideration there had moreover been no precedent for him to follow he had seen no of rank ever bestow a moment s attention on his they had been for the most part like himself and felt satisfied if they succeeded in receiving their half yearly in due course without ever reflecting for a moment upon the situation of those from whom it was drawn nay what was more â he had not seen even the resident gentry enter into the state and circumstances of those who lived upon their property it was a mere accident that determined him to become acquainted with his tenants but no sooner had he seen his duty and come to the resolution of performing it than the decision of his character became apparent it is true that within the last few years the irish have advanced in knowledge many of them have introduced more improved systems of and instructed their tenants in â l the poor scholar ing them but during the time of which we write an irish landlord only saw his tenants when them for their and them in and not reflecting that he was then teaching them to practise the arts of and fraud against himself this was the late system let us hope that it will be by a better one and that a landlord will think it a duty but neither a trouble nor a condescension to look into his own affairs and keep an eye upon the morals and habits of his the colonel as he had said remained more than a fortnight upon his estate and as he often declared since the recollections arising from the good which he performed during that brief period rendered it the portion of his past life upon which he could look with most satisfaction he not leave the country till he saw m and his family restored to their farm and once more independent â until he had every well founded complaint secured the affections of who had before detested him and diffused peace and comfort amongst every family upon his estate from watched the interest for his tenants and soon found that in their welfare and them in their

49William Black

duties he was more his own benefactor than theirs before many years had elapsed his property was wonderfully he himself was called the lucky landlord said the people ever since he spoke to an advised his tenants we find that it a lucky to live him the people has heart to work a that won t grind an so sign s on it every one upon his land an my bones but believe a rotten stick ud grow on it set in case it was in his popularity became but it is probable that not even his justice and humanity contributed so much to this as the vigour with which he his suit against sam whom he compelled literally to ta ix ai aâ the poor scholar heartless this worthy agent died soon after his disgrace without any legitimate issue and his property which amounted to about fifty thousand pounds is now inherited by a gentleman of the honour and integrity to this day his memory is detested by the people who with that bitterness by which a villain have erected him into a standard of if a man become remarkable for want of principle they usually say â he s as great a rogue as sam f or he is the greatest that ever was in the country sam we now dismiss him and request our readers at the same time not to suppose that we have held him up as a portrait of irish agents in general on the contrary we believe that they constitute a most respectable class of men who have certainly very difficult duties to perform the irish we are happy to say taught by experience have for the most part both seen and felt the necessity of gentlemen of property to situations so very important and which require so much patience and humanity in those who fill them j we trust they will in this plan but we can assure them that all the virtues of the best agent can never in the opinion of the people for neglect in the head landlord one visit or act even of kindness from him will at any time produce more attachment and gratitude among them than a whole life spent in good offices by an agent like s french beggar they would prefer a pinch of snuff from the one to a guinea from the other the agent only renders them a favour but the head landlord does them an honour colonel b immediately after his return home sent for mr o who waited on him with a greater degree of curiosity than perhaps he had ever â this tale has been written nearly twelve years but the author l deeply regrets that the irish have themselves to j the favourable notice taken ot them in wife text the scholar felt before the colonel smiled as he extended his hand to him mr o said he i knew you would feel anxious to hear the result of my visit to the estate which this man with the managed for me managed sir did you say i spoke in the past time o he is out then y our story was correct sir true to a o there is something extraordinary in that boy otherwise how could it happen that a sickly miserable looking creature absolutely in could have impressed us both so strongly with a sense of the injustice done ten years ago to father it is indeed remarkable m u the boy colonel deeply felt that act of injustice and the expression of it came home to the heart i have restored his father however the poor man and his family are once more happy i their old farm for them in fact they now enjoy comfort and independence i am glad sir that you have done them justice that act alone will go far to redeem your character from the which the conduct of your agent wan calculated to throw upon it there is not probably in ireland a landlord so popular as i am this moment â at least tenants on that property m however is but a small part of what i have s were incredible he was a of the first water a person named had paid him twenty five guineas as a in other words as a for a for him yet after having received the money he the poor man dangling after him and at length told him that he was offered a larger sum by another in some cases he kept back the and the poor people pay twice which was still more then sir he would not w v in payment no he was so the poor scholar and so punctual in wishes as he told them on the subject that nothing would pass in payment but gold this gold sir they were compelled to receive from himself at a most oppressive so that he actually them under my name in every conceivable form of he is a too and i am told worth forty or fifty thousand pounds but thank heaven he is no longer an agent of mine it gives me sincere pleasure sir that you have â at length got correct habits of thinking upon your duties as an irish landlord for believe me colonel b as a subject a great portion of national happiness or national misery it is entitled to the deepest and most serious consideration not only of the class to which you belong but of the something should be done sir to improve the condition of the poorer classes a rich country and inhabitants is an and whatever is one should be prompt and effectual if the irish looked directly into the state of their and set themselves vigorously to the task of their circumstances they would i am certain establish the tranquillity and happiness of the country at large the great secret colonel of the that prevail amongst us

49William Black

is the poverty of the people they are poor and therefore the more easily wrought up to outrage they are poor and think that any change must be for the better they are not only poor but imaginative and the for those vague speculations by which they are let their condition be improved and the most fertile source of popular tumult and crime is closed let them be taught how to labour let them not be bowed to the earth by rents far above the real value of their lands the which float among them must be â not by theory but by practical lessons performed before their eyes for their own advantage let them be taught ih w to between their a the poor scholar prejudices and none can teach them all this so effectually as their if they could be roused from their and induced to undertake the task who ever saw a poor nation without great crimes v very true o quite true i am resolved to inspect personally the condition of those who reside on my other estates but now about our how is he doing v extremely well i have had a letter from him a few days ago in which he to the interest you have taken in himself and his family with a depth of feeling truly affecting you write to him let him know that i have placed his father in his old farm and that is out say i am sure he will conduct himself properly in which case i charge myself with his expenses until he shall have accomplished his purpose after that he may work his own way through life and i have no doubt but he will do it well and colonel b s pledge on this occasion was nobly our humble hero pursued his studies zeal and success in due time he entered where he distinguished himself not simply for as a student but as a young man possessed of a mind far above the common order during all this time nothing occurred worthy of particular remark except that in fulfilment of his former vow he never wrote to any of his friends for the reader should have been told that this was originally comprehended in the determination he had formed he received at the hands of his friend the bishop whom we have already introduced to the reader and on the same day he was appointed by that gentleman to a in his own parish the colonel whose regard for him never cooled presented him fifty pounds together with a horse saddle and bridle so that he found himself in a capacity to enter upon his duties in a decent and becoming manner another circumstance that added considerably to i fc fo the poor scholar was the appointment of mr o to a pa joining that of the bishop james s the means of bringing the merits of that lent man before his spiritual superior who i much attached to him and availed earliest opportunity of his piety and benevolence no sooner was his completed tha long suppressed after his home came upon his spirit with a power that could n restrained he took leave of his friends with a ing heart and set out on a delightful summer m ing to all that had been notwithstanding long absence and severe trials so strongly into his memory and affections our readers n therefore suppose him on his journey home and j themselves to be led in imagination to the ho of his former friend where we must lay t scene for the present s residence has the same comfortable ai warm appearance which always tl habitation of the independent and virtuous mai what however can the stir and bustle and which prevail in it mean v the daughters run out a little mound or natural terrace beside the and look anxiously towards the road then return an almost immediately appear again with the same ii tense anxiety to catch a glimpse of some one who they expect they look keenly â but why is it thi their disappointment appears to he attended with sue dismay they go into their father s house once wringing their hands and betraying au the of affliction here is their mother too coming peer into the distance she is rocking with that peculiar to when suffering distress si places her open hand upon her brows that she ms collect her sight to a particular spot she is blind y her tears j breaks out into a low wail and something like the darkness of despair on h she goes into t he the poor scholar the kitchen and enters into a bed room seats herself on a chair beside the bed and her low but bitter wail of sorrow her husband is lying in that state which the know usually the agonies of death for the sake of the god said he on seeing her is there any sign o them not yet a but they will they must soon be here an thin your mind will be oh alley alley if you could know what i suffer for i d die without the priest you d pity me i do pity you but don t be cast down for i have my trust in god that he won t you in your last hour you did what you could my heart s pride you bent before him night an and sure tne poor neighbour never from your door his behind him the dying man raised his hands feebly from the bed clothes ah he exclaimed i thought i did a great alley but now â but now â it appears to what i ought to a done when i could still my life s not unpleasant when i look back at it for i can t that i ever purposely a mortal all i want to satisfy me is the

49William Black

no you did not for it wasn t in you to a child alley you ll pardon me an forgive me if if ever i did what was to you an call in the till i see them about me â i want to have their forgiveness too i know i ll have it â for they good an ever loved me the daughters now entered the room exclaiming â beloved father is com in by himself but no priest blessed queen of heaven what will we do oh father are you to die without the holy v my the poor scholar the sick man clasped his hands looked towards heaven and groaned aloud oh it s hard this said he it s hard upon me yet i won t be cast down i ll trust in my good god i ll trust in his blessed name his wife on hearing that her son was returned without the priest sat with her face by her apron weeping in grief that none but they who the dependence which those belonging to her church place in its last rites can comprehend the children appeared almost distracted their grief had more of that character which unexpected calamity than of sorrow for one who is gradually drawn from life at length the messenger entered the room and almost choked with tears stated that both priests were absent that day at conference and would not return till late the hitherto grief of the wife arose to a pitch much than the death of her husband could under ordinary circumstances occasion to die without â to pass away into eternity â without being from the inherent of humanity â was to her a much deeper affliction than her final separation from him she cried in tones of the most piercing despair and clapped her hands as they do who weep over the had he died in the calm confidence of having received the or before death his would have nothing remarkably in it beyond usual of a similar nature now the grief was intensely bitter in consequence of his expected departure without the priest his sons and daughters felt it as forcibly as his wife their were full of the strongest and agony for nearly three hours did they remain in this situation poor sinking by degrees into that state from which there is no possibility of he was merely able to speak and recognise the poor scholar da family but every moment advanced him with ul certainty nearer and nearer to his end a great number of the neighbours were now assembled all in the awful feeling which and anxious to by their prayers for the absence of that confidence derived by roman during the approach of death from the spiritual aid of the priest they were all at prayer the sick room and kitchen were crowded with friends and acquaintances many of whom knelt out before the door and joined with loud voices in the which was offered up in his behalf in this crisis were they when a dressed in black approached the was instantly turned round with a hope that it be the parish priest or his out alas they were doomed to experience a fresh disappointment the stranger though enough in his appearance presented a countenance with which none of them was acquainted on glancing at the group who knelt around the door he appeared to understand the melancholy cause which brought them together how is this v he exclaimed is there any one here sick or dying n poor sir is departing glory be to god an what is terrible all out upon himself and family he s the priest they re both at sir and can t come â mr an his make way said the stranger throwing himself off his horse and passing quickly the people show me to the sick man s room â be quick my friends â i am a catholic clergyman in a moment a passage was cleared and the stranger found himself beside tne bed of death grief in the room was loud and bitter but his presence it despite of what they felt my dear friends said he you know there should be silence in the apartment of a dying man for shame â shame i cease this â v s â i the po e scholar from his mind or the great trial that before him sir said n s wife seizing ma hand hers and looking in his face are priest f heaven s sake ell us i am he replied leave the room every one yon i hope your husband is not speech sweet queen of heaven not yet may her name but near it your wi din little no time of it whilst they spoke he was engaged in putting i stole about his neck after which he cleared the and hearing i s confession the appearance of a priest and the consolation ed rallied the powers of life in the ben farmer he became more collected made and satisfactory confession received the of extreme and felt himself able to with distinctness and precision the i of all this were astonishing a placid serenity of hope and confidence beamed from the pale â ai worn features of who was but a few minutes l of terror altogether when his wife and family after having been in observed this change they immediately in his tranquillity death had been deprived its sting ami grief of lis bi sh their still deep but it was not darkened by the dread future misery they felt for him as a beloved a kind husband and a dear friend who had lived virtuous life feared god and waa now about to p into happiness when the rites of the church were and the family again assembled round ti priest sat down in a position which enabled him see the features of the good man

49William Black

more distinctly i would be glad to know a that god in goodness has sent to smooth b bed in death if it id be sir to you to t the poor scholar do remember replied the priest a young a whom you met some years ago on his way to as a poor scholar you and your family ere particularly kind to him so kind that he has ever since forgotten your affectionate hospitality we do your reverence we do a mild gentle he was poor boy i hope god him you see him now before you said the priest i am that boy and i thank god that i can testify slightly my deep sense of the virtues which on exercised towards me â although i regret that the is one of such affliction the farmer raised his eyes and feeble hands towards praise an glory to your name good god e exclaimed praise an glory to your holy name i know that i m not forgotten when you brought the little kindness i did that boy for your sake so many to me in the hour of my an this now that m goin to lave for ever always to the stranger an that s poor an in sorrow f you do god won t forget it to you but will bring t back to when you stand in need of it as he done â me this day you see dear how o that kind depend on one another if i t thought of his reverence here when he â young and away from his own he wouldn t think jf upon us this day as he was you see the hand of god is in it which it is indeed in everything that passes about us if we could only see it as we ought to do thin but i d like to look upon your face sir if it s to you a little more to the light sir there i now see you ay indeed its changed for the better it the same mild clear countenance but not sorrowful as when i seen it last suffer me to put my hand on your head sir i d like to bless you before i die for i can t forget what you to do for your parents the priest sat near him but finding that he was scarcely able to raise his hand to na n v i i down and tbe farmer before he seated the blessing inquired â sir may i ax yon able to do anything to help your family as you expected god said the priest made me the ii of raising them from their poverty they are comfortable and happy ay well i knew at the time an i said it that would your an my may yon never depart from til right way may the of god rest npon yo for ever â i m tin wake near me till till i bless you too for the time they good they were ever u always good to me an to their poor mother you an â god forgive me ii it s a sin â but feel a great o my heart an my love them but sure i m their father an god i mi â will look over it now afore i bless as your forgiveness if ever i was to tf i ought the children with a movement his bed and could not reply for never father us don t in tin hearts but forgive us father oh f did you i i ll break way o wâ father v bless us an don t against an for it s only now that we see warn t towards you as we ought to be forgive an pardon us he then made them all kneel around his bed an with solemn words and an impressive manner place his hand upon their heads and blessed them with virtuous father s last blessing he then called for his and the scene not only more but more elevated n exultation in her manner and an of vi rites l ll ill tl ll u u cl vivid hope in her eye arising from the fact of husband having received and been soothed by rites of her church that gave evident proof of the scholar attachment borne by persons of her class to the catholic religion the arrival of our hero had been so unexpected and the terrors of the tender wife for her husband s soul so great that the administration of the almost from her heart every other sensation than that of triumph even now in the midst of her tears that triumph kindled in her eye with a light that shone in melancholy beauty upon the bed of death in proportion however as the parting scene â which was to be their last â began to work with greater power upon her sorrow so aid this expression gradually fade away grief for his loss resumed its dominion over her heart so strongly that their last parting was even to look upon when it was over once more addressed the priest â now sir he observed but with great difficulty u let me have your an your prayers an along that your reverence if you a request i once made to you i remember it well replied the priest you allude to the masses which you wished me to say for you should i ever receive orders make your mind easy on that point i not only shall offer up mass for the repose of your soul but can assure you that i have mentioned you by name in every mass which i celebrated since my he then proceeded to direct the mind of his dying benefactor to such subjects as were best calculated to comfort and strengthen him about day break the next morning this man of

49William Black

many virtues after struggling rather severely for two hours preceding his death passed into eternity there to enjoy the of a well spent life when he was dead the priest who never left him during the night approached the bed and after surveying his benevolent features now composed in the stillness of death exclaimed â blessed are the dead who die vn w the poor scholar they rest from their labours and their follow them having uttered the words aloud he sat d the bed buried his face in his handkerchief he was now only a short day s journey and as his presence he knew would be restraint upon a family so much in affliction them farewell and proceeded on his travelled slowly and as every well known hi appeared to him his heart beat quickly his gave up its early stores and his affections themselves for the trial that was before them it is better for me not to arrive until the family shall have returned from tin labour and are collected about the hearth in the meantime many an impression of pi and piety came over him when he re upon the proofs of and interference which had absence from home under his struggles and good fortune so clearly laid before him exclaimed is the gratitude i owe to god for may i never forget to acknowledge it ft was now about seven o clock the calm and the sun shone with that clear which gives warmth and the power of exciting te ness to natural scenery he had already same ascent which commanded a view of the rich country that below there it lay â his i home â his native parish â bathed in glory of the hour its fields were green â its shining like loosened silver its meadows al studded with hay its green pastures co with and its lakes reflecting th under which they lay here and there a gentle residence rose among the distant trees and we he recognise the church spire that cut int western sky on his right it is true nothing grandeur and magnificence of nature was there thing was simple in its beauty c ai â â the scholar serene light the air of happiness and peace that upon all he saw stirred up a thousand tender feelings in a heart whose gentle character resembled that the prospect which it felt so exquisitely the smoke of a few farm houses and cottages rose in blue graceful columns to the air giving just that appearance of life which was necessary and a figure or two with lengthened shadows moved across the fields and meadows a little below where he stood but our readers need not to be told that there was one spot which beyond all others his attention on that spot his eager eye rested long and intensely the spell of its remembrance had clung to his early heart he had never seen it in his dreams without weeping and often had the agitation of his imaginary sorrow awoke him with his in tears he looked down on it steadily at length he was moved with a strong sensation like grief he sobbed twice or thrice and the tears rolled in showers from his eyes his gathering affections were relieved by this he felt lighter and m the same slow manner rode onward to his father s house to tliis there were two modes of access one by a paved bridle way or that ran up directly before the door â the other by a green lane that from the about a below tiie house he took the latter certain that the family could not notice his approach nor hear the noise of his horse s footsteps until he could arrive at the very threshold on he felt that he could scarcely walk he approached the door however as steadily as he could he entered â and the family who had just finished their supper rose up as a mark of their respect to the stranger is this he inquired the house in which m lives t that s my name sir replied the family i trust all â well i have been desired but no â no â i cannot â fat h â mother j i i i the poor scholar f it s him shrieked the mother â it s â shouted the father w cry of joy which might be heard far beyond the h â our poor â i claimed his brothers and sisters said the father â le mother to him â let her to him who has the that she has â think of you god of heaven what is over her â her b turned father don t remove her said the son i her arms where they are it s long since they my neck before often â often would i have j the wealth of the universe to be encircled ii blessed and beloved mother s arms yes yes â v my father â weep each of you you see those t â consider them as a proof that i have never fo ten you beloved mother recollect yourself knows me not â her eyes wander â i fear the has been too much for her place a chair at the and i will bring her to the air after considerable effort the mother s faculties restored so far as to be merely conscious that our was her son she had not yet shed a tear but she surveyed his countenance smiled and named placed her hands upon him and examined his with a singular of conflicting emotions still without being thoroughly collected c i will speak to he r sam in will go to her b ma â mother my darling i am with at last f â â my beloved so my heart are you with me â are you â are you me a

49William Black

in a is who am with you beloved mother of my hei she smiled but only for a moment the poor scholar looked at him laid his head upon her his face with her tears and muttered out in a kind of sweet musical the irish cry of joy we are incapable of describing this scene further our readers must be contented to know that the delight and happiness of our hero s whole family were complete son after many years of toil and struggle had at length succeeded by a virtuous course of action in raising them from poverty to comfort and in his own object which was to become a member of the catholic during all his y trials he never failed to rely on god and it is seldom that those who rely upon him when striving to attain a purpose are ever ultimately disappointed regret to inform our readers that the scholar is dead he did not in fact long survive the accomplishment of his wishes but as we had the particulars of his story from his nearest friends we thought his virtues of too exalted a nature to pass into oblivion without some record however humble he died as he had lived â the friend of god and of man x j c h the irish what a host of light hearted associations are revived by that living fountain of fun and an irish everything connected with him is agreeable pleasant jolly all his anecdotes songs jokes stories and secrets bring us back from the pressure and cares of life to those happy days and nights when the heart was as light as the heel and both beat time to the sound of his fiddle the is a character looked upon by the irish rather as a musical curiosity than a being specially created to contribute to their enjoyment there is something about him which they do not feel to be in perfect sympathy with their habits and amusements he is above them not of them and although they respect him and treat kindly yet he is never received among them with that spontaneous of warmth ana cordiality with which they welcome their own the the in fact belongs or rather did belong to the gentry and to the gentry they are willing to leave him listen to his music when he feels disposed to play for them but it only their curiosity instead of their hearts â a fact sufficiently evident from the circumstance of their seldom attempting to dance to it this preference however of the fiddle to the harp is a feeling by change of times and circumstances for it is well known that in days gone by when â t f x â t m the irish more hereditary than they are now the harp was favourite instrument of young and old of high low lie only instrument that can be said to rival the le is the but every person knows that ind is a loving country and that at our and other places of amusement and his sweetheart are in the habit of in a certain quiet and affectionate kind of the tones of which are sadly he sharp jar of the it is not in fact instrument for love making the is an â ay to sentiment and it is an unpleasant thing a pretty blushing girl to find herself put to the of out her consent at the top of lungs which she must do or have the da lost in its drowsy and monotonous murmur might do for war to which with a slight it has been applied but in our opinion it fit to be danced to by an assembly of people are hard of hearing indeed we have little bt but its cultivation might be introduced with d effect as a system of medical treatment suit to the pupils of a deaf and dumb institution if anything could bring them to the use of their its sharp and notes surely would effect he however is the instrument of all others it essential to the enjoyment of an and love are very closely connected and of the fiddle is never thought of or heard the tenderest and most agreeable tions its music soft sweet and cheerful is the thing for who under its influence of its spirit and becomes soft sweet ana rf ul himself the very tones of it act like a n him and produce in his head such a bland and that he finds himself making just as naturally as he would eat na ix is all the of his heart â w m liis veins gives honey to a tongue that was in knows sufficiently sweet without it and gifts h with a pair of feather im l might and to crown ill him pleading his in a quiet corner with a of invention easy which nothing can sur pass in fact with great respect for my friend mr the fiddle it is that to he our nation hi st ru merit as it is that which is mast closely m agreeably associated with the best and happiest in of the irish heart the very language of il people themselves is a proof of this for neither harp nor is ever introduced as ill it peculiarities of by any reference i their influence the fiddle is an agreeable instrument in their hands in senses than one highest notion of flattery towards the other set if boldly expressed by an image drawn from it for he that he can by words impress sue an agreeable delusion up ni his sweetheart as to her imagine that there is a on every a the house there can be no strongly or beautifully expressive of the charm flows from the tones of that sweet however is very often hit by his own at i time when he least expects it when pleading ui cause for

49William Black

instance and promising lays to b fair one he is not met by ay ay it a sugar enough e d be n year married a j are mi and an up your hind the door by which she means to â â with the probability of being agreeable when abroad but in his own family having thus shown that the fiddle and its mm e mixed up so with our language ft and amusement it is now time to in ireland it is impossible on h all the classes of society w a the irish so perfectly free from care or in stronger words so completely happy as the especially if lie he blind which he generally is his want of eight his other wants and whilst it his not only renders him unconscious of their loss but gives a greater zest to those that are left him simple and innocent as they are he is in truth a man whose lot in life is happily cast and whose lines have fallen in pleasant places the phase of life which is presented to him and in which he moves is one of innocent mirth and harmless enjoyment marriages dances and merry of all descriptions create the atmosphere of mirth and happiness which he ever breathes with the dark designs the crimes and of mankind he has nothing to do and his light spirit is never depressed by their influence indeed he may be said with truth to pass through none but the of life to hear nothing but mirth to feel nothing but kindness and to communicate nothing but happiness to all around him he is at once the source and the centre of all good and friendly feelings by him the aged man forgets his years and is agreeably cheated back into youth the a pleasant moment from his toil and is happy the ceases to remember the anxieties that press him down the boy is with delight and the child is charmed with a pleasure that he feels to be wonderful surely such a man is important as filling up with enjoyment so many of the pauses in human misery he is a thousand times better than a and is a true philosopher without knowing it every man is his friend unless it be a rival and he is the friend of every man with the same exception every house too every heart and every hand is open to him he never knows what it is to want a bed a dinner or a shilling good heavens what more than this can the of a human heart desire for my part i do not know what m i fc m but i am of opinion that in such a world a this the highest proof of a wise man would be a wish to live and die an irish and yet alas there is no condition of life without t some remote or sorrow many a scene have i witnessed connected with this very subject that would the tears out of any eye and find a tender pulse in the hardest heart it is indeed a melancholy alternative that the poor lad to an employment that is ultimately productive of so much happiness to himself and others this alternative is seldom resorted to unless when some poor child â perhaps a favourite â is deprived of sight bv the terrible of the small in life there u scarcely anything more touching than to witness in the innocent invalid the first effects both upon himself and his parents of this the utter helplessness of the pitiable and his total dependence upon those around him â his with the relative situation of all the places that were familiar to him â his tottering and timid step and his affecting call of where are you joined to the bitter consciousness on her part that the light of affection and innocence will never sparkle in those beloved eyes again â all this a scene of deep and bitter sorrow when however the sense of his passes away and the cherished child grows up to the proper age a fiddle is procured for him by his parents if they are able and if not a is made up among their friends and neighbours to buy him one all the family with tears in their eyes then kiss and take leave of him and his mother taking him by the hand leads him as had been previously arranged to the best in the neighbourhood with whom he is left as an there is generally no fee required but he is engaged to hand his master all the money he can make at dances from the time he is enough to play at them such is the simple process of putting a blind boy in e y of acquainted with the science oi o j the irish tn my native parish there were four or five â all good in their way but the of the district was the far m where properly lived i never could actually discover and for the best reason in the world â he was not at home once in twelve months as says in the play he was a kind of here and â a stranger nowhere this however mattered little for though perpetually shifting day after day from place to place yet it somehow happened that nobody ever was at a loss where to find him the truth is he never felt disposed to travel because he knew that his interest must suffer by doing so the consequence was that wherever he went a little of local fame always attended him which rendered it an easy matter to find his whereabouts was blind from his infancy and as usual owed to the small the loss of his eye sight he was about the middle size of rather a slender make and possessed an intelligent countenance on which

49William Black

beamed that singular expression of inward serenity so peculiar to the blind his temper was sweet and even but capable of rising through the of his own humour to a high pitch of and enjoyment the dress he wore as far as i can remember was always the same in colour and fabric â to wit a brown coat a sober tinted cotton waistcoat grey stockings and black poor i think i see him before me his head erect as the heads of all blind men are the case under his left arm and his staff held out like a exploring with the nature of the ground before him even although some happy leads him onward with an eye an honour of which he will boast to his companions for many a mortal month to come the first time i ever heard play was also the first i ever heard a fiddle well and distinctly do i remember the occasion the season was summer â but summer was summer a â was m belonging to frank thomas had been finished and was just ready to receive him and his family the floors of irish houses in the country generally consist at first of wet clay and when this is sufficiently well smoothed and hardened a dance is known to be aa excellent thing to bind and prevent them from on this occasion the evening had been appointed and the day was nearly half advanced but no appearance of the the state of excitement in which i found myself could not be described the name of m had been ringing in my ears for god knows how long but i had never seen him or even heard his fiddle every two minutes i was on the top of a little eminence looking out for him my eyes straining out of their and my head dizzy with the prophetic expectation of rapture and delight human patience however could dear this painful suspense no longer and i privately resolved to find or perish i accordingly proceeded across the hills a distance of about three miles to a place called where i found him waiting for a guide at this time i could not have been more than seven years of age and how i wrought out my way over the lonely hills or through what mysterious instinct i was led to him and that by ft path too over which i had never travelled before must be left until it shall please that power which guides the to its home and the bird for thousands of miles through the air to disclose the principle upon which it is accomplished on our return home i could see the young persons of both sexes flying out to the little eminence i spoke of looking eagerly towards the spot we travelled from and immediately in again clapping their hands and shouting with delight instantly the whole village was out young and old standing for a moment to satisfy themselves that the intelligence was correct after which about a dozen of the sprang forward with the speed of so many to meet us whilst the elders the irish b it not less satisfied manner into the houses then commenced the usual battle as to who should be honoured by permission to carry the fiddle case oh that fiddle case for seven long years it was an honour exclusively allowed to myself whenever attended a dance anywhere at all near us and never was the lord s â to which by the way with great respect for his it bore a considerable resemblance â carried a heart or a more eye but so it is â u these little things are great to little men blood alive you re welcome how is every bone of you we you up no we didn t give you up never heed him sure we knew very well you d not the boys â â de ah won t you sing there was a devil came over the wall to be sure he will but wait till he comes home and gets his dinner first is it off an empty stomach you d ave him to sing give me the fiddle case won t you no to me never heed them you promised it to me at the dance in boys the truth is none of can get the fiddle case my fiddle hasn t been well for the last day or two and can t bear to be carried by any one myself blood alive sick is it â an what her why some o the doctors says there s a f ro in her an others that she has got the but i m goin to give her a dose of when i get up to the house above ould harry says s with fiddle an if that s true boys maybe some o won t be in luck i ll be able to spare a young fiddle or two among many a tiny hand was clapped and many an eye was lit up with the hope of getting a young fiddle for gospel itself was never looked upon to be more true than this assertion of s k i ei m the fact is he used to amuse himself by making small of deal and horse hair which he carried about with him as presents for as he took a fancy to this he made a serious business of and it on with an importance becoming the intimation just given indeed i remember the time when i watched one of them which i was so happy as to receive from him day and night with the hope of being able to report that it was growing larger for my firm belief was that in due time it would reach the usual size as we went along with his usual tact got out of us all the information respecting the

49William Black

several of the neighbourhood that had reached us and as much too of the village gossip and scandal as we knew nothing can exceed the overflowing kindness and affection with which the irish is received on the occasion of a dance or merry making and to do him justice he loses no opportunity of his own importance from habit and his position among the people his wit and power of are necessarily cultivated and sharpened not one of his ever fails â a circumstance which his for nothing on earth it so much as knowing that whether good or bad it will be laughed at by the way was a and though blind was able as he himself used to say to see through his ears better than another could through the eyes he knew every voice at once and every boy and girl in the parish by name the moment he heard them speak on reaching the house he is bound for he either of or at least is offered refreshment after which the moment to the but all this is done by due and solemn preparation first he calls for a pair of with which he pairs or seems to pair his nails then asks for a piece of and in an instant half a dozen boys are off at a break neck pace to the next to procure the irish it whilst in the mean time he deliberately a piece out of his pocket and his bow but heavens what a ceremony the opening of that fiddle case is the of the blind man as he runs his hand down to the key hole â the turning of the key â the taking out of the fiddle â the â and then the first sound as the bow is drawn across the strings then comes a then a delicious saw or two again another â â and away he goes with the favourite tune of the good woman for such is the etiquette upon these occasions the house is immediately thronged with the neighbours and a preliminary dance is taken in which the old folks good humoured violence are literally dragged out and forced to join then come the congratulations â ah jack you could do it says an can still you have a kick in you yet why i seen in my time the old man will reply his brow relaxed by a remnant of his former pride and the of the moment but you see the breath isn t what it used to be me when i could dance the on the bottom of a ten but i think a glass o will do us no harm after that â well well â i m sure i thought my days over an you matched any how rejoined the carried as light a heel as ever you did a woman of her years ever i seen could cut the her you would know the tune on her feet still ah the truth is the good woman would say we have no now as there was in my days that glass but as good eh here s to you both and long may ye live to shake the toe be that s great stuff come now sit down jack till i give you your ould favourite these were happy moments and happy times which m might well be looked upon as the simple manners of country life with very little of moral shadow to obscure the cheerfulness which lit up the irish heart and hearth into humble happiness with his usual good nature never forgot the younger portion of his audience after entertaining the old and full grown he would call for a key one end of which he placed in his mouth in order to make the fiddle sing for the children their favourite song beginning with oh grand mamma will you squeeze my wig this he did in such a manner through the medium of the key that the words seemed to de spoken by the instrument and not by himself after was oyer he would sing us to his own accompaniment another favourite there was a devil looked over the wall which generally closed that portion of the entertainment so kindly designed for its upon those moments i have often witnessed marks of deep and pious feeling occasioned by some memory of the absent or the dead that were as beautiful as they were affecting if for instance a favourite son or daughter happened to be removed by death the father or mother remembering the air which was loved beat by the departed would pause a moment and with a voice full of sorrow say there is one tune that i would like to hear â i love to think of it and to hear it i do for the sake of them that s gone â my son that s low it was he that loved it is ear is closed against it now but for his sake for your sake â we will hear it once more always played such tunes in his best style and amidst a silence that was only broken by sobs suppressed and the other tokens of profound sorrow these however of natural feeling soon passed away in a few minutes the smiles returned the mirth broke out again and the lively dance went on as if their hearts had been of such affection for the dead â affection at once the irish bo deep and ten der but many a time the light of cheerfulness plays along the stream of irish feeling when cherished sorrow lies removed from the human eye far down from the surface these preliminary amusements being now over is conducted to the dance house where he is carefully in the best chair and immediately the dancing it is not my purpose to describe an irish dance here having done it more than once

49William Black

elsewhere it is enough to say that is now in his glory and proud may the young man be who fills the honourable post of his companion and sits next him he is a living store house of intelligence a travelling for the parish â the lover s text book â the young woman s best companion for where is the courtship going on of which he is not where is there a marriage on the with the particulars of which he is not acquainted he is an authority whom nobody would think of questioning it is now too that he his jokes about ana so correct and well trained is his ear that he can frequently name the young man who dances by the peculiarity of his step ah ha you re there sure i d know the sound of your irons any where is it that you for down to to kill the for but what you have v is that grace on the you can do it devil o your likes i see any where ill lay to a penny that you could dance your own â the the brown girl â upon a spider s it don t be in a hurry grace dear to tie the knot til wait for you several times in the course of the night a plate is brought round and a collection made for the this was the moment when used to let the jokes fly in every direction the timid he into liberality the vain he praised a g x m he assailed by open hardy satire all managed however with such an under current of good humour that no one could take offence no joke ever tow better than that of the broken string whenever this happened at night would call out to some soft fellow blood alive ned martin will you bring ine a candle i ve broken a string the young man forgetting that he was blind would take the candle in a hurry and fetch it to him ned i knew you list fit for t a candle to a dark man isn t ne a beauty boys â look at him girls â as as a it is unnecessary to say that the mirth on such occasions was another similar joke was also played off by him against such as he knew to be at the collection smith i want a word you i m goin across the as far as ned s and i want you to help me along the road as the night is dark to be sure i ll bring you over as snug as if you on a plate man alive thank you you ve the in you an kind father lor you maybe i ll do as much for you some other time never spoke of this until the trick was played off after which he published it to the whole parish and of course was made a standing for being so silly as to think that night or day had any difference to a man who could not see thus passed the life of m and thus pass the lives of most of his class serenely and happily as the sailor to his ship the to his gun so is the attached to his fiddle his hopes and pleasures though limited are full his heart is necessarily light for he comes in contact with the best and brightest side of life and nature and the consequence is that their mild and mellow lights are reflected on and from himself i am ignorant whether poor is dead ox j i the irish ie forgets the boy to whose young spirit he so much delight and who often danced vith a and careless heart to the pleasant of his fiddle m farewell whether living or dead peace be with you who is still living remembers the writer of this well and felt very much flattered on hearing the above notice of himself read â w c the country dancing master in those old times when the manners and v of were more simple and pastoral thai are at present dancing was cultivated as one chief amusements of life and the dancing d looked upon as a person essentially necessary t proper enjoyment of our national the amusements peculiar to our population da is by far the most important although certainly less so now than it has been even within memory in ireland it may be considered as just indication of the spirit and character of th pie so much so that it would be extremely di to find any test so significant of the irish hear its varied impulses as the dance when in its most comprehensive spirit in the first no people dance so well as the irish and for th reason in the world as we shall show da every one must admit although a most amusement is not a simple nor distinct nor pi one on the contrary it is merely little else t happy and agreeable method of enjoying music its spirit and character must necessarily d upon the power of the heart to feel the which the limbs and body move every nation fore remarkable for a of music remarkable for a love of dancing unless some other adequate obstacle arising from an a condition of society to music and dancing being in a the dancing master one on the other as cause and effect it requires little argument to prove that the irish who are so alive to the one should in a very high degree at the other and accordingly it is so nobody unless one who has seen and also felt it can conceive the incredible nay the inexplicable of the heart which a dance to the of ireland indeed it not so much enthusiasm as inspiration let a stranger take his place among those who are assembled at a dance

49William Black

in the country and mark the change which takes place in s whole temperament physical and moral he first rises up rather his own sweetheart and assuming such a station on the floor as renders it necessary that both should face the he on the dance then goes quietly at the outset gradually he begins to move more by and bye the right hand is up and a crack of the fingers is heard in a minute afterwards both hands are up and two cracks are heard the and brightness of his eye all the time keeping pace with the growing that is coming over him and which eye by the way is most lovingly fixed upon or we would rather say into that of his modest partner from that partner he never receives an open gaze in return but in of this an occasional glance quick as thought and brilliant as a seems to pour into him a delicious r that is made up of love â sometimes a little of kindness pride of his activity and a reckless force of momentary happiness that description now the dance in earnest up he bounds in a fling or a â crack go the fingers â cut and go the feet heel and toe right and left then he the right heel up to the ham up again the left the whole face in a furnace heat of delight your move your elbow this to the quicker quicker man alive or you ll lose sight of me that s the girl handle your feet l back stand to me for our side of house and thus does he proceed with a vigour and an and a truth of time that are incredible especially when we consider the of enjoyment which he has to direct the conduct of his partner whose face is lit up into a modest blush is evidently tinged with his enthusiasm â for who could resist it â but it is exhibited with great natural grace joined to a delicate vivacity that is equally gentle ami animated and in our opinion precisely what dancing in a female ought to be â a of exercise and innocent enjoyment there is a considerable variety of dances in ireland from the simple of two up to the country dance all of which are there are however others which are serious and may be looked upon as the of the pathetic spirit of our country of the latter i fear several are altogether lost and i question whether there be many persons now alive in ireland who know much about the horn which from the word it begins with must necessarily have been danced only on mournful occasions it is only at wakes and customs in those remote parts of the country where old are most clung to that any of the ana others of our forgotten dances could be obtained at present i believe the only serious one we have is the or as they term it in the country the cut a long i myself have witnessed when very a dance which like the was performed out by one man this however was the only point in which they bore to each other any resemblance the one i allude to must in my opinion have been of or descent it was not necessarily performed to music and could not be danced without the of a stick and handkerchief it was addressed to an individual passion and was unquestionably one of those dances that tc w s a m rites the country dancing master and had the late henry o seen it there is no doubt but he would have seized upon it as a illustration of his system having now said all we have to say here about irish dances it is time we should say something about the irish dancing master and be it observed that we mean him of the old school and not the poor creature of the present day who unless in some remote parts of the country is scarcely worth description and has little of the national character about him like most persons of the professions the old irish dancing master was generally a bachelor having no fixed residence but living from place to place within his own walk beyond which he seldom or never went the farmers were his and his visits to their houses always brought a holiday spirit along with them when he came there was sure to be a dance in the evening after the hours of labour he himself good supplying them with the music in return for this they would get up a little collection for him probably to a couple of shillings or half a crown which some of them under pretence of taking the snuff box out of his pocket to â et a pinch would delicately and slip into it lest he might feel the act as bringing down the dancing master to the level of the mere he on the other hand not to be in kindness would at the conclusion of the little desire them to lay down a door on which he usually danced a few favourite to the music of his own fiddle this indeed was the great master feat of his art and was looked upon as such by himself as well as by the people indeed the old dancing master had some very marked outlines of character peculiar to himself his dress for instance was always far above the s and this was the pride of his heart he also made it a point to wear a or hat be the same shocking bad or otherwise but above all things his soul within him was set i cm x ta back no one could gratify him more than before company what o clock it was he also contrived to carry an ornamental staff made of mahogany or some rare description

49William Black

of which if possible had a silver head and a silk this the masters in general seemed to consider as a kind of or of office without which i never yet knew one of them to go but of all the parts of dress used to them from the we must place as standing far before the rest the dancing master s and stockings for shoes he seldom wore the utmost limit or their ambition appeared to be such a neatness about that part of them in which the genius of their business lay as might indicate the extraordinary lightness and activity which were expected from them by the i in whose opinion the finest the shoe and the most leg uniformly the most accomplished teacher the irish dancing was also a great hand at match making and indeed some of them were known to as such between families as well as individual lovers with all the ability of a first rate unlike the the dancing master had fortunately the use of his eyes and as there is scarcely any scene in which to a keen observer the symptoms of the passion â to wit glances of the and stealthy â are more frequent or significant so is it no wonder indeed that a sagacious on such as he generally was knew how to avail himself of them and to become in many instances a necessary party to their successful issue in the times of our fathers it pretty frequently happened that the dancing master professed another accomplishment which in ireland at least where it is born with us might appear to be a superfluous one we mean that of or to speak more correctly playing schools of this class were nearly as common in these a a t w the dancing master and it was not at all unusual for one man to teach both after all the old dancing muster in spite of his most efforts to the contrary bore in simplicity of manners in habits of hfe and in the happy spirit which he received from and impressed upon society a distant but not indistinct resemblance to the between these two however no good feeling the one looked up at the other as a man who was and placed above him whilst the other looked down upon him as a mere through whom those he taught practised their accomplishments this petty was very amusing and the boys to do them justice left nothing undone to keep it up the had certainly the best of the argument whilst the other had the advantage of a higher professional position the one was more loved the other more respected perhaps very few things in humble life could be so amusing to a mind or at the same time capable of affording a better lesson to human pride than the almost miraculous skill with which the dancing master contrived when travelling to carry his fiddle about him so as that it might not be seen and he himself mistaken for nothing but a this was the blow his vanity could receive and a source of endless vexation to all his tribe our manners however are changed and neither the nor the dancing master possesses the fine mellow tints nor that depth of colouring which formerly brought them and their rich household associations home at once to the heart one of the most amusing specimens of the that i ever met was the person alluded to at the close of my paper on the irish under the of back this man had been a in the army for some time where he had learned to play the fiddle but it appears that he possessed no relish whatever for a military life as his of it without even the usual of a back discharge or together with a back th become from frequent abundantly testify it was from the latter ci that he had received his back was a light little fellow a rich crossed by a lofty english which he picked up whilst a in the army his sat as tight as he could readily wear them and were ail shabby genteel class his black coat closely worn second hand and his face as much of a second hand as the coat i think his little little white stockings his c breeches his hat smart in its cock put br to a polish and standing upon three hairs with his tight coloured gloves all i me certainly he was the little cock â quite a blood ready to fight any man and a of the fair sex whom he never add except in that high flown style so to most of them called by their the and by their friends the h in fact a public man and up to every thing met him at every fair where he only had time t you a wink as he passed being just then a very particular but he would tell you at cock fights he was a very busy personage a angry better from half a crown downwards at he was a knowing fellow always shook hands the winning and then looked i that folks might see that he was hand and of importance the house where â act kept his school which was open only aft hours of labour was an cabin the r which at a particular spot was supported by a that stood upright from the floor it was built an elevated situation and commanded a fine vi the whole country for miles about it a sight it was to see the modest and pretty girls di in their best and tt a ot s ra a â vol the country dancing master g groups from all directions accompanied by their partners or lovers making way through the fragrant summer fields a calm evening to this happy scene innocent amusement and yet what an of general life with its passions

49William Black

plots and did this little of society present there was the the the and the as sharply marked within this their humble sphere as if they appeared on the world s wider stage with half its wealth and all its temptations to draw forth their prevailing there too was the bully the the liar the and the coward each as perfect and distinct in his kind as if he had run through a lengthened course of fashionable or spent a fortune in acquiring his particular character the elements of the human heart however and the passions that make up the general business of life are the same in high and low and exist with impulses as strong in the cabin as in the palace the only difference is that they have not equal room to play back s system in originality of design in comic conception of decorum and in the easy practical assurance with which he wrought it out was never equalled much less surpassed had the impudent little rascal confined himself to dancing as usually taught there would have been nothing so ludicrous or uncommon in it but no he was such a for example in every thing that no other mode of instruction would satisfy him dancing why it was the least part of he taught or professed to teach in the first place he undertook to teach every one of us â for i had the honour of being his pupil â how to enter a drawing room in the most fashionable manner alive as he said himself secondly he was the only man he said who could in the most agreeable and polite style a how to salute or as a i wn to back a this he taught he said great success he could every and how to make the most beautiful bow or on by only himself â one that would cause a thousand people they were all present to think that it was particularly intended only for o themselves he taught the whole art o courtship all and success as it was practised in paris the last he could how to write and to the great of compliments which was supposed to be by when he was writing love to both his wives he was the only person who could the famous dance called sir de or the drag which itself all the advantages and beauties of his whole system â in which every was at liberty to pull every where he and every was at liberty to go wherever he pulled her with such advantages in prospect and a method of instruction so agreeable it is not to be wondered at that this establishment was always in a most flourishing condition the truth is he had it so contrived that every gentleman should salute his lady as often as possible and for this purpose actually invented dances in which not only should every gentleman salute every lady but every lady by way of returning the compliment should render a similar kindness to every gentleman nor had his male pupils all this of salutation to themselves for the little rascal always commenced first and ended last in order he said that they might the manner from himself i do this and as your moral model and because it s part o my â and then he would ce that the country dancing master was too barren to produce more than an smile and like a over the floor in a manner that he thought irresistible whether back was the only man who tried to reduce kissing to a system of education in this country i do not know it is certainly true that many others of his stamp made a knowledge of the arts and mode of courtship like him a part of the course the forms of love letters c were taught their pupils of both sexes with many other polite particulars which it is to be hoped have disappeared for ever one thing however to the honour of our we are bound to observe which is that we do not remember a single result with virtue to follow from the little fellow s system which by the way was in this respect peculiar only to himself and not the general custom of the country several unquestionably we had more than might otherwise taken place but in not one instance have we known any case in which a female was brought to or shame we shall now give a brief sketch of back s manner of begging our at the time to rest assured that any sketch we could give would fall far short of the original walk out an your room an let miss go out along you an come in as mrs faith i m i ll make a bad hand of it but sure it s something to have here to keep me in countenance is that by way of compliment mr you should ever an always to a in an tone for that s the cut and retire come up here now that we re a little an you miss come up along him miss you are of your five positions te back i yes sir very well â can f perform the positions also v yes sir but you i stuck at the attitude sir â no well do you know how to a t it s hard to say sir till we but very to it til do my best an the best can do no more very well â now me you approach your in this style politely as i do miss will you allow me the honour of a heavenly bow ma am you are to you know a little lower ee you now you say the greatest pleasure in life sir an many thanks for the there now you are to make another politely an say thank you kind sir i owe

49William Black

you one now proceed i m to imitate you as well as i can sir i believe v yes sir you are to me but sir did you see me my lips or pull up my breeches be that s first make a a bow i mane to miss stop again sir â are you goin to the why one would think that it s about to of her for ever you are gently gently there â well that s an improvement practice practice will do all but don t so loud though where s our room folk go out one of you for an mrs s face now appears peeping in at the door lit up with a comic expression of genuine fun from whatever cause it may have proceeded an where s mrs are we both to e tb s sky the c dancing master certainly turn out both your â turn them out i say sir it s said than done some of us i know that mr but practice is every thing the bow legs are strongly against you i grant hut tut â why if your toes where your heels is you d be exactly in the first position well both of you turn out your look street forward clap your hem â your your ome arm an walk into the middle of the your head up stop take care o the post now take your i mane in your right hand give it a flourish mrs â mane â it s not you that s to flourish well flourish your and thin make a graceful bow to the company and â and â i m your most â i m your most man alive that s not a bow look at this there s a bow for you why instead of a bow you appear as if you goin to sit down an in your back well practice is every thing an there s luck in dick will you come up and if you can meek any thing of that step you re a lad a pair o left legs an you to expect to to dance but don t man alive i m not but i ll meek a graceful slip o you yet can you meek a t u not right sir i doubt well sir i know that but you ought to know how to meek both a bow and a you marry a wife it t come wrong for you to know how to her a have you the and you yes sir very well on them the on the right foot or what ought to be the right foot an the upon what ought to be x back yes sir come thin do as i bid you â rise upon an sink upon rise upon an sink upon rise upon â sir you re upon an upon the very thing you ought not to do but god help you sure you re left legged ah it ud be a long time before you d be able to dance or the college upon a drum head as i often did however don t if i could only get you to know your right leg â but god help you sure you such a thing â from your left i d make something of you yet dick the irish dancing masters were at among themselves but as they seldom met they were forced to abuse each other at a distance which they did with a and pro to the space between them back ad a rival of this description who was a sore thorn in his side his name was and from having been a horse he gave up the turf and took to the calling of a dancing master back sent a message to him to the effect that if he could not dance on the drum head he had better his tongue for ever to this replied by asking if he was the man to dance the upon the saddle of a blood horse and the animal at a three quarter gallop at length the friends on each side from a natural love of fun prevailed upon them to decide their claims as follows â each master with twelve of was to dance against his rival with twelve of his the match to come off on the top of hill which commanded a view of the whole parish i already mentioned that in back s school there stood near the middle of the floor a post which according to some new of his own was very convenient as a guide to the dancers when going through the figure now at the spot where this post stood it was necessary to make a m to f part the country dancing master of the figure of eight which they were to follow but as many of them were rather impenetrable to a due conception of the line of beauty he forced them to turn round the post rather than make an acute angle of it which several of them did having thus much we proceed with our narrative at length they met and it would have been a matter of much difficulty to determine their relative merits each was such an admirable match for the other when back s pupils however came to perform they found that the absence of the post was their ruin to the post they had been trained â accustomed â with it they could dance but wanting that they were like so many ships at sea without or of course a scene of ludicrous confusion ensued which turned the laugh against poor back who stood likely to with shame and in fact he was in an agony turn the post he shouted stamping upon the ground and his little hands with fury the post oh for the honour of don t be the post the post

49William Black

if you love me alive the post be the will distance us replied bob it s likely to be the post to him anyhow any money shouted the little fellow any money long bam h d do the post to the life mind it boys dear mind it or we re lost a bit they heed me it s a flock o bees or sheep they re like sam where are you the post you oh dear if we had even a rod or a or a we might do yet but anyhow we had better give in for it s only worse we re at this stage of the proceedings came over and making a low bow asked him how do you feel for such was back s name back the dancing master sir replied back bowing low in return i ll take the shine out of you yet you a me â that s the chat com show them what s than fifty â your partners like for ever the scene that ensued all description tl fact is the little fellow had them trained as it to kiss in and the spectators were literal with laughter at this most novel ai ludicrous character which back gave to i defeat and the ceremony which he introduced tl truth is he turned the laugh completely against rival and off the ground in high exclaiming he know how to a wh the poor never kissed any woman but mother an her only when she was f such reader is a slight and very imperfect of an irish dancing master which if it possesses ai merit at all is to be ascribed to the circumstance th it is drawn from life and however most of the points essential to our conception of t character mary the irish match maker though this word at a glance may be said to explain itself yet lest our english or scotch readers might not clearly understand its meaning we shall briefly give them such a definition of it as will enable them to comprehend it in its full extent the irish then is a person selected to conduct of the heart between lovers themselves in the first instance or where the principal parties are indifferent between their respective families when the latter happen to be of opinion that it is a safer and more prudent thing to consult the interest of the young folk rather than their inclination in short tne match maker is the person engaged in carrying from one party to another all the messages letters tokens presents and secret communications of the tender passion in whatever shape or character the said parties may deem it proper to them the match maker therefore is a general in all such matters of love or interest as are designed by the or their friends to in the honourable bond of marriage for with nothing morally improper or or approaching to the character an will the regular irish have anything at all to do the match maker therefore after all is only the creature of necessity and is never engaged by an unless to remove such preliminary obstacles as may stand in the way of his own direct operations in q fa mary match maker is nothing but a who after t plan of the attack has been laid down aw some of the difficulties until the advance is made the siege opened in due form ai the successfully entered by the principal we have said thus much to prevent our fair of england and scotland from imagining tl because such a character as the irish match mat exists at all are personally deficient in tl energy which is so necessary to express t emotions of the tender passion has to the satisfaction of any rational mind that modes and assurance are that a blushing fa may accompany a courageous nay a desperate he â and that on the contrary an abundance of ass may be associated with a very handsome of modesty in love matters i grant modesty is t of an whose character in this has been unconsciously hit off by the poet he may truly be termed which means when translated looking for a wife an is a boy of an face and remarkable modesty at the head of the match makers and far above stands the irish of whose ab ties in this way it is impossible to speak too high and let not our readers imagine that the duties upon her as well as upon match makers general are slight or easily discharged to matter of this kind great tact knowledge of cl and very delicate handling are necessary be faithful to both parties not to gi offence to either and to detection in case secret bias or partiality demand talents of no co mon order the amount of fortune is often to regulated â the good qualities of the parties placed the best or what is often still more judicious in most suitable light â and when there happens to b of the it must be furnished her own invention tne a to â softened the irish match maker contemptuous tone of the purse proud lowered without offence the and sometimes the over reached now all this requires an able as match making in general the irish does indeed i question whether the that ever attempted to manage a treaty of peace between two hostile powers could have a more difficult card to play than often falls to the lot of the irish match maker the however from her confidential intercourse with the sex and the respect with which both young and old of them look upon her is peculiarly well qualified for the office she has seen the youth shoot up and into the young man â she has seen the young man into the husband and the husband very frequently lost in the wife now the marks and tokens

49William Black

by which she noted all this are as perceptible in the young of this day as they were in the young of fifty years ago she consequently knows from experience how to manage each party so as to bring about the which she so devoutly wishes upon second thoughts l however we are inclined to think after all that the right of upon this point does not exclusively belong to the or at least that there exists another person who it with her so strongly that we are scarcely capable of their respective claims this is the the in ireland is a woman who goes from one relation s house to another from friend to friend from acquaintance to acquaintance â is always welcome and uniformly well treated the very extent of her makes her independent so that if she receives an otherwise a cold reception from one she never feels it to affect her comfort but on the contrary carries it about with her in the shape of a complaint to the rest and details it with such a rich spirit of enjoyment that we believe in our soul some of her k what occupation it et her from pure kindness the is the very of industry unless when asleep no mortal living ever saw her hands idle her principal employment is knitting and whether she sits stands or walks there she is with the end of the under her arm knit knit knitting she also and and whenever a is going forward she can tell you at once in what neighbour house the f was used last and where it is now to be had and when it has been got she is all bustle and business ordering and commanding about her â her large red three hanging at her side a lump of chalk in one hand and a of in the other ready to mark the pattern whether it be wave square or diamond the is always dressed with neatness and comfort but generally wears something about her that reminds one of a day gone by and may be considered as the lingering remnant of some old custom that has fallen into this slight as it is her to many for it stands out as the memorial of some old and perhaps affecting associations which at its very appearance are called out from the heart in which they were it is impossible to imagine a happier life than that of the she has evidently no trouble no care no children nor any of the various claims of life to disturb or ner wherever she goes she is made and finds herself perfectly at home the whole business of her life is carrying about intelligence making and projecting matches singing old songs and telling old stories which she frequently does with a feeling and not often to be met with she will sing you the different sets and variations of the old airs repeat the history and traditions of old families interpret dreams give the origin of old local customs and tell a ghost story in a style that would make your hair stand on end she is a bit of a too â aa and the irish match maker is very skilful and lucky among children in short he is a perfect gentleman s magazine in her a regular of lore a and of social dealing in every that is time worn or old and handling it with such a quiet and antique air that one would imagine her life to be a life not of years but of centuries and that she had passed the greater portion of it long as it was in u wandering by the shores of old romance such a woman the reader will at once perceive is a formidable for popular confidence with the indeed there is but one consideration alone upon which we would be inclined to admit that the latter has any advantage over and it is that she is the a word which is a tower of strength to her not only against all professional but against such characters as would intrude even upon any of her subordinate or offices as match makers it is extremely difficult to decide between her and the so much so indeed that we are disposed to leave the claim for in this respect each in the same harness and as they are so well matched we will allow them to on side by side drawing the of the neighbouring villages slowly but surely towards the land of matrimony in humble country life as in high life we find in nature the same principles and motives of action let not the mother of rank nor the imagine for a moment that the plans and trap falls with which they endeavour to secure some wealthy fool for their daughter are not known and practised â ay and with as much and too â by the very of their own sex in these matters they have not one whit of superiority over the lowest and most f gossip of a country village where the arts of women are almost as practised and the small scandal as detailed as in the highest circles of fashion mary the third great master of the art of match r is the who is nothing more or less it of the for as the never of the male sex so the is never female with respect to their habits and m life the only difference between them is that is never idle so the never i and the latter is a far superior authority in old lar and as a the comes infinitely short â for the truth is that this branch of falls naturally within the spirit of a woman our readers are not to understand that in there exists like the or dancing master character openly known by the match maker no such thing on the they

49William Black

undertake are all performed false colours the business in fact is secret and always carried on with the mystery veiled by the sanction of some other occupation one of the best specimens of the kind we e was old mary mary was a tidy middle size who always went dressed in a son cloak much faded a striped red and blue d and a coloured gown of th fabric when walking which she did with the a light staff at the top she ge kept the hood of the cloak over her head to her whole figure a picturesque effect she threw it back one could not help well her small but features agree the cap of white linen with a plain border which she wore a pair of blue sharp pointed shoes high in the heels dress her features were good natured and but there lay over the whole countenance an c ion of quickness and sagacity contracted no by an exercise oi pet ta v x the irish match maker at the time i saw her she was very old and i believe had the reputation of being the last in that part of the country who was known to go about from house to house spinning on the an instrument which has now passed away being more conveniently replaced by the spinning wheel the manner and style of mary s visits were different from those of any other who could come to a farmer s house or even to an humble cottage for to the inmates of both were her services equally rendered let us suppose for instance the whole female part of a farmers family assembled of a summer evening about five o clock each engaged in some domestic employment in runs a lad who has been sporting about exclaiming whilst his eyes are lit up with delight mother mother here s mary coming down the get out no she s not bad to me but she is that i may never stir if she isn t now the whole family are instantly at the door to see if it be she with the exception of the prettiest of them all who sits at her wheel and immediately begins to over an old irish air which is sadly out of tune and well do we know notwithstanding the mellow tones of that sweet voice why it is so and also why that youthful cheek in health and beauty meet is now the colour of crimson oh mary darling a hundred thousand to you what you away so long mary sure you won t lave us this month o sundays mary v are only a few of the cordial expressions of hospitality and kindness with which she is received but whose cheek but a moment ago was why is it now pale as the lily an what news mary asks one of her sisters sure you ll tell us every thing â won t you t have no bad news any how â an as to you all â let me alone no i have no bad news god be praised but good s cheek is again crimson and her lips i and red as with the sweet soft si of her country exhibiting a set of teeth for many a would thousands and out a breath more delicious than the fragrance summer meadow oh no wonder indeed that kind heart of mary contains in its recesses a to her as tender as ever was from ma woman an where s the welcome i you that s my favourite now don t be sure you all know she is an ever an all was if it s not upon my lips it s in my heart ft an from that heart you re welcome she rises up and kisses mary who gives her glance of meaning accompanied the slightest smile and a gentle but significant the hand wliich to her heart and sense of through her whole spirit not now remains but the opportunity which is sought for by mary and her to hear without i the purport of her lover s and this we leave to lovers to imagine in ireland however odd it may seem there c among the very poorest classes some of the ha and most in match making ever were heard of or known now strangers n imagine that all this close proceeds fr spirit naturally near and sordid but it is not so real secret of it lies in the poverty and the parties and chiefly in the bitter their parents who having come together in a are anxious each as much at the of the other as possible to prevent their from the same and m which they themselves felt many a time matches been suspended or altogether broken because one party refused to give his son a slip pig or another his u a x e the irish match maker and it was no unusual thing for a match maker to say never mind i have it all settled but the slip one might naturally wonder why those who are so shrewd and upon this subject do not strive to prevent early marriages where the poverty is so great so unquestionably they ought but it is a settled usage of the country and one too which have never been in the habit of considering as an evil we have no doubt that if they once began to reason upon it as such they would be very strongly disposed to check a custom which has been the means of themselves and their unhappy offspring in misery and not in guilt itself mary like many others in this world who are not conscious of the same failing smelt strongly of the shop in other words her conversation had a strong matrimonial tendency no two beings ever lived so decidedly to each other in this point of view as the match maker

49William Black

and the mention the name of an individual or a family to the and the medium through which her memory passes back to them is that of her professed employment â a at wakes and don t you know young of v i do replies the and what about him why he was married to day to ould jack m s daughter well god grant them luck an happiness poor things i do indeed his father s an funeral well â ould of a corpse he made for his years an well he looked but indeed i by the colour that in his cheeks and the limbs remaining for the twenty four hours after his departure that some of the family ud follow him afore the year was out an so she did the youngest daughter poor thing by of a could she got over herself at a such is the mary dance was stretched beside him that very day was eleven months and god knows it was from the heart my grief came for to see the poor handsome laid low so soon but when a consumption sets in sure we all know to happen in churchyard they the lord make both their beds in heaven day the very reverse of this but at the same time as professional was mary god save you mary god save you kindly eh â let me look at you aren t you red m s son from am mary an mary how is yourself an the world an can t complain dear in such times how are all at home well mary thank god an you â you heard of my grand uncle s death big ned m i did god rest him sure it s well i his wedding poor man by the same that i know one that helped him on it a he was married in a blue coat and an wore a scarlet waistcoat that you d see three miles off oh well i it an he was out that to the priest s house ned says i an i f him a button on the right knee afore you get the word said said he a smile an he slipped ten into my as he spoke til do it said he and thin a fig for the â because you see if there s a button of the right knee left the â this day s friday god stand us and harm â can do neither hurt nor harm to or body an sure that s a great he left two line slips o girls behind him he did so â as good girls as there s in the parish an kind mother for them she ll be i m she bein a fresh good woman the irish match maker why it s very likely mary its natural what can a lone woman do such a large farm upon her hands having some one to manage it for her an her from bein imposed on but indeed the first thing she ought to do is to marry off her two girls loss of time in regard that it s hard to say how a an might agree and i ve often known the mother herself when had a fresh family an her to be as unnatural to her as if she was a stranger to and that the same blood did t run in their veins not saying that mary m will or would act that way by her own for indeed she s come of a kind ould stock an ought to have a good heart tell her when you see her that i ll a day or two her â let me see â the day after to morrow will be palm sunday â why about the holidays indeed i will mary with great pleasure an dear tell her that i ve a thing to say to her â that i had a long dish o about her a friend o mine you won t forget now oh the a forget thank you dear god mark you to grace when you re a little maybe i ll be a friend to you yet this last intimation was given with a kind of mysterious benevolence very visible in the complacent of her face and with a twinkle in the eye full of grave humour and considerable leaving the mind of the person she spoke to in such an agreeable uncertainty as rendered it a matter of great difficulty to determine whether she was serious or only in jest but at all events throwing the of inquiry upon him the case and tact with which mary could involve two young persons of opposite sexes in a mutual attachment were very remarkable in truth she was a kind of matrimonial ic â v mary the country holding her torch now to this again to that â first to one and then to she had the parish more or less in a flame we consider the materials of i irish heart is composed it is no wonder in the labour of taking the in ireland at such a rapid rate during the time th between the periods of its being made out for instance met a young woman of her accidentally â and it was wonderful to think these accidental meetings took place â s address her probably somewhat as follows how are you a bravely thank you mary how indeed thin a bit o the health we plain of this pain in comes upon us the last time i seen you sue was of a i h poor woman hut bad to the thing her s light a foot as e re a one of us an can dam son s brush as well as ever she an i m proud to hear it s morning brush and it was she ti do it sure i her wedding

49William Black

day li day ay far an near her fame as a d the made girl that ever came from like do i it an how t himself an the ladies from the big house ca to see herself an your father the bride and an it wasn t on every hill head you d get the same s it was far and near her fame for dan an is there no news you at all the word mary where ud i g sure it s yourself that s always on the tl to have the news for us woman alive â a co l the irish match maker an maybe i have too i was to a friend o mine about you the other day a friend o yours mary why what friend could it be r a friend o mine â ay an of yours too maybe you have more friends than you think â and kind ones too as far as you well goes t any rate ay have you an friends that e re a girl in the parish might be proud to hear named in the one day her we re in luck thin for that s more than i knew of an who may these great friends of ours be mary v as a boy as ever broke bread the same boy is and says he if i had in i d it too little for that girl lad he s not or happy in his mind in regard o that i m says ne that she d put scorn upon me an not think me her an no more i am says he again for where all would you get the likes of v poor boy my heart for him well can t you fall in love him yourself mary whoever he is indeed an if i was at your age it would be no shame to me to do so but to tell you the truth the often ever the likes of paul came me paul why mary replied smiling with the assumed lightness of indifference is that your beauty if it is why keep him an make much of him oh the differ there is between the hearts an tongues of some people â one from another â an the way they behind others backs well well i m sure that wasn t the way he spoke of you an god forgive you for down the poor boy as your i believe you re the only girl would do it who me i m not mary him up nor down i have neither good nor bad to say about him â the boy s a black stranger to me to know his face an he s in you these three months past an to be at the dance on friday next in jack s new house now good bye keep your own counsel till the time comes mind what i said to you it s not behind every ditch the likes of paul grows my be you thus would mary depart at the critical moment for well she knew that by her information and leaving the heart something to find out she took the most effectual steps to excite and sustain that kind of interest which is apt ultimately to even from its own agitation into the attachment she is anxious to promote the next day by a meeting accidental she comes in contact with paul who honest lad had never probably bestowed a thought upon in his life morrow paul â how is your father s son morrow mary â my father s son wants but a good wife mary an it s not every set day or night that a good wife is to be had paul â that is a good one as you say for there s many o them in the market as they are i was about you to a friend of mine the other day â an i m you re not worth all the abuse we gave you more power to you mary i m to yon but who is the friend in the v poor girl when your name slipped out an her the point of a rush would take a drop of blood out o her the way she up an mary says she if ever i know you to breathe it tc the irish match maker ee a favoured girl for both face and figure this many a day than the same is that long jack s daughter of f the same but paul if a syllable o what i you hut mary honour bright do you think me a that i d go and inform on you w paul she ll be at the dance on friday next in jack s new house so an think o what i to you thus did mary very quietly and bind two young hearts together who probably might otherwise have never for a moment even thought of each other of course when paul and met at the dance on the following friday the one was the object of the attention to the other and each being prepared to witness strong proofs of attachment from the opposite party everything fell out exactly according to their expectations sometimes it happens that a of a fellow during his calf love will employ a male friend to plead his suit with a pretty girl who if the principal party had might be very willing to marry him to the credit of our fair however be it said that in scarcely one instance out of twenty does it happen or has it ever happened that any of them ever fails to punish the faint by the fair lady upon what is called the or whom he to make love for him in such a case it is very naturally supposed that the latter will speak two words for

49William Black

himself and one for his friend and indeed the result bears out the supposition now nothing on earth the heart of the established match maker so much as to hear of such a disaster a she over his misfortune for months and his shame to the bounds of her own little world him as a poor pitiful who had not the courage to speak up for to ss j fc fc mary that could in fact she much feeling against him that a regular towards some weak minded patient who p ignorance of a to the skill ar of an able and educated medical characters like mary are fast land and indeed in a country where the life were generally inadequate to the wai they were calculated however v may look back upon the memory of vices to do more harm than good by folks to enter into early and they certainly sprang up from a state of s thoroughly formed by a proper education i ledge â where the language of a people t many extensive districts in such a state of as in the of affection to absolutely necessary we have ours marriages where the husband and the one english and the other irish each with difficulty to understand the other i cases mary was invaluable she spoke english and indeed was every thing in the slightest or most necessary to the conduct of a love affair f glance up until the priest had pronounce words â or to speak more correctly until t ing of the mary was invariably placed upon the the seat of comfort and honour at a farmer and there she sat neat and tidy all of the parish telling them how such a mai one unbroken â a sure proof bj that she herself had a hand in it â ana aj another one did not turn out well and sh there was always a bad in the hi but mv dear the girl herself was for him made her own bed she must lie in it any way thanks be to goodness i had it r the irish match mary was to be found in every fair and market and always at a particular place at a certain hour of the day where the parties engaged in a courtship were sure to meet her on these occasions she took a glass but never so as to become unsteady great deference was paid to every thing she said and if this was not to her she it with a high hand nobody living could drink a health with half the comic significance that mary threw into her eye when saying well young couple here s everything as you wish it i mary s motions from place to place were usually very slow and for the best reason in the world because she was frequently interrupted for instance if she met a young man on her way ten to one but he stood and held a long and earnest conversation with her and that it was both important and confidential might easily be gathered from the fact that whenever a stranger passed it was either suspended altogether or carried on in so low a tone as to t e this held equally good with the girls many a time have i seen them their steps and probably walking back a mile or two all the time engaged in discussing some topic evidently of more than ordinary interest to themselves and when they shook hands and bade each other good bye heavens at what a pace did the latter across fields and in order to make up for the time she had lost nobody ever saw mary receive a penny of money and yet when she took a fancy it was beyond any doubt that she has often been known to assist young folks in their early struggles but in no instance was the slightest aid ever afforded to anyone whose union she had not herself been in bringing about as to the when and the how she got this money and the great quantity of female apparel which she was known to possess we think we see our readers smile at the simplicity of those who may not be able to guess the several sources from whence she obtained it mary one other fact we must mention before this sketch of her character there w we will not for we dare not say into which mary was never seen to enter ever was not her fault every one knew t she did she did always for the best and small bits of were occasionally her it was not more than the parties other all marriages cannot oe happy ar it was a creditable proof of mary s that so few of those effected through her ir were unfortunate poor mary match making was the of your simple but not absolutely harmless are lone since we trust gone to the ha where there are neither nor g marriage but where you will have a long from your old habits and tendencies we more reasons than either one or two to thin faded crimson cloak shoes s grey eye and nose and chin that were s character as you used to say yourself â my blessing be with you bob or the that the irish are a ready people is a fact to the truth of which testimony has been amply borne both by their friends and enemies many causes might be brought forward to account for this questionable gift u it were our intention to be philosophical but as the matter has been so generally it would be but a waste of logic to prove to the world that which the world cares not beyond the mere fact that it is so on this or any other topic one illustration is worth twenty arguments and accordingly instead of a theory we shall relate a story

49William Black

behind the hill or rather mountain of lies one of those deep and almost valleys on which the practised eye of an would dwell with delight as a not likely to be invaded by the feet of the and his red coats in point of fact the spot we speak of was from its peculiarly isolated situation nearly invisible unless to such as came very close to it being so completely hemmed in and concealed by the round and of the mountain hills you could never dream of its existence at all until you came upon the very verge of the little which led into it this advantage of position was not however its only one it is true indeed that the moment you had entered it all possibility of its being applied to the purposes of at once vanished and you consequently could not i l ss bob or u what a pity that so safe and beautiful a not have a single spot on which to erect a or rather on which to raise a sufficient st water to the elevation necessary for the p if a actually came to chasm and cast his eye over it t immediately perceive that the i still in such a place was a piece of folly not to be found in the plans of those who have to such this however of the requisite con was only apparent not real to the right a hundred yards above the entrance to it ran â rocks some fifty feet high or so along brows near the ground grew thick of long heath which covered the a cave about as large and as high as an house through a series of small in which formed its roof descended a stream of water precisely in body and volume sue actually required by the but ing up this mass of heath no human being a moment imagine that there existed any sin or so unexpected and easy an entrance to there was a private still house made by th nature herself such as no art or could equal now it so happened that about the period of there lived in our parish two individual to each other in their pursuits of question whether throughout all the of nature we could find any two destructive of each other than the two we wit bob the and the was well trained fellow of about fifty more steady and sure and with all the points of the high bred about him man thin but with a could scent the thread oi m s the of a hound his dark eye was deep set and in its expression and his seemed always to be engaged in calculating whereabouts his foe little george that him when almost in his very might then be to be brief was for his sagacity and in and little george was equally for having always baffled him and that too sometimes under circumstances where escape seemed hopeless the incidents which we are about to detail occurred at that period of time when the wisdom of our thought it advisable to impose a fine upon the whole in which the still head and worm might be found thus opening a door for and fraud and as it proved in most cases rendering the innocent as liable to suffer for an offence they never contemplated as the guilty who planned and it the consequence of such a law was that still houses were always certain to be erected either at the very verge of the neighbouring districts or as near them as the circumstances of convenience and situation would permit the moment of course that the hue and cry of the and his was heard upon the wind the whole apparatus was immediately heaved over the to the next from which the fine imposed by parliament was necessarily raised whilst the and offending district actually escaped the state of society by such a and barbarous as this was dreadful in the course of a short time law suits battles and multiplied to such an extent throughout the whole country that the who occasioned such commotion were compelled to their own act as soon as they found how it worked necessity together with being the mother of invention is also cause of many an accidental discovery had been so frequently i s bob or george that he vowed never to rest until he had secured him and george on the other hand frequently told him â f or they were otherwise on the best terms â that he defied him or as he himself more expressed it that he defied the devil the world and the latter however was a very sore thorn in his side and drove him from place to place and from one haunt to another until he began tc despair of being able any longer to him or t within the parish any spot at all suitable with which was not acquainted in this state stood matters between them when george fortunately discovered at the hip of hill the natural we have just so briefly now george was a man as we have already hinted of great of resources but there existed in the same parish another who him in that far sighted cunning which is so necessary in or such a sharp scented old hound as this was little m a short little fellow with bow legs who might be said rather to creep in his motion than to walk george and were intimate friends of their joint against the and truth to tell much of the mortification and many of the which experienced at george s hands were tub to be attributed to george was a from none of the motives which generally others of that class he was in truth an philosopher â a natural never out of some new experiment â and we have reason to think have been the or

49William Black

or of his day had he only received a scientific education not so honest who never troubled his head about an experiment but only thought of making a good running and the the first thing of course that george did was to consult and both accordingly took a walk up to the scene ol their future operations on sa ss i the perceiving its advantages it might well be said that the look of exultation and triumph which passed between them was not unworthy of their respective characters this will do said george don t you think we ll put our finger in s eye yet over his beard and after a second glance gave one grave grin which spoke volumes it ll do said he but there s one point to be got over that maybe vou didn t think of â an you know that half a half a point is enough for what is it what do you intend to do with the smoke when the fire s lit there ll be no that down let see but as much smoke as would come out of an ould woman s an he d have us george started and it was clear by the vexation and disappointment which were visible on his brow that unless this circumstance could be managed their whole plan was and the cave of no value what s to be done he inquired of his cooler companion if we can t get over this we may bid good bye to it never mind said i manage it and do still ay but how v it s no matter let us not lose a minute in to work lave the other thing to me an if i don t account for the smoke without the entrance to the still i ll give you lave to crop the ears of my head george knew the cool but steady self confidence for which was remarkable and accordingly without any further they both proceeded to follow up their plan of operations in those times when might be truly considered as almost universal it was customary for farmers to build their out houses with secret chambers and other requisite necessary for carrying it on several of them had private stores built between false walls the entrance to which waa o w r bob nd or few and many of them had what were called sunk in hidden recesses and hollow for the purpose of the and afterwards of turning and it until it was sufficiently hard to be dried and ground from the mill it was usually conveyed to the still house upon what were termed a kind of car that was made without wheels in order the more easily to pass through and which no wheeled vehicle could encounter in the course of a month or so george and aided by their friends had all the apparatus of c together with still head and worm set up and in full work and now inquired his companion how will you manage about the smoke for you know that the two worst against a private a is a smoke by day an a fire by night i know that replied an a smoke we ll have for a little puff wouldn t do us come now an i ll show you they both ascended to the top where had closed all the open of the roof with the exception of that was directly over the fire of the still this was at best not more than six inches in breadth and about twelve long over it he placed a piece of strong plate iron with holes and on this he had a fire of turf beside which sat a little boy who acted as a the thing was simple but effective of turf were at every side of them and the boy was instructed if the whom he well knew ever appeared to heap on fresh fuel so as to increase the smoke in such a manner as to induce him to suppose that all he saw of it proceeded merely from the fire before him in fact the smoke from the cave below was so completely identified with and lost in that which was the fire above that no human being could penetrate the mystery if not made previously acquainted with it the writer of this saw it o t y of the and failed to make the discovery although told that the still house was within a circle of three hundred yards the he stood on being considered the centre on more than one occasion has ire from home and spent a whole night in the place seized with that indescribable fascination such a scene holds forth to as well as from his irrepressible anxiety to hear the old stories and legends with the recital of which they generally pass the night in this way well provided against the â indeed much better than our readers are yet aware of as they shall understand by and bye â did george and their friends proceed for the greater part of a winter without a single visit from several successful had come off which had of course turned out highly profitable and they were just now preparing to commence their last not only for the season the last they should ever work together as george was making preparations to go early in the spring to america even this running was going on to their satisfaction and the had been thrown again into the still from the worm of which projected the strong first shot as the commenced â this last term meaning the spirit in its pure and finished state on this occasion tne two were more than ordinarily anxious and certainly doubled their usual precautions against a surprise for they knew that s visits resembled the of a hawk or the springs of a tiger more anything else to

49William Black

which they could compare them in this they were not disappointed when the was about half finished he made his appearance attended by a strong party of reluctant soldiers â for indeed it is due to the military to state that they never took delight in the country people at the command of a hunter as they generally the it had been arranged that the at the iron plate should whistle a particular tune the moment aa â a bob or or a red coat or in fact any person whom he did know should appear accordingly about o clock in the morning they heard tie little fellow i his highest key whistling up that well known an very significant old irish air called go to the an shake yourself â which in this case was to the in anything but an sense be the pins which was george s usual oat be the pins it s over with us â here for there s the sign paused for a moment and listened ve gravely then out a tobacco it said he i half a dozen fires the hills any one as like this as your right hand is your left i didn t spare trouble for i knew that we d get over day we d be out of his power well mv good lad said the what s this fire for what is it for is it v yes if you don t let me know instantly blow your brains out and get you hanged and afterwards this he said with a voice a large horse pistol at the same time why sir said the boy it s a am but be the hole of my coat if you tell upon r it s upon these coals i ll be soon where is the still then an the still where is it oh as to where the still or still is they wouldn t tell me that why didn t you say this moment you w watching a still i meant sir replied the lad with a face t spoke of pure that it was the i an i was to whistle upon my fingers to the boy at that fire on the hill there above know i he was who told you to do so little george sir an m ay ay right enough ro â re â t the most notorious they are both now like a good boy tell me the truth an til give you the price of a shoes do you know where the still or still house is because if you do an won t tell me here are the soldiers at hand to make a prisoner of you an if they do all the world can t prevent you from being hanged drawn and oh bad may seize the morsel o me knows that out if you u give me the money sir i ll tell yon who can bring you to it for he me that he knew an offered to bring me there last night if i d steal him a bottle he d put in it well my lad who is this boy do you know harry or mankind sir i do my good boy well it s a son of his sir an look sir do you see the smoke farthest up to the right sir to the right yes well tis there sir that is and he says he knows how long have you been watching here this is only the third day sir for me but the rest of them boys above has been here a good while have you seen nobody stirring about the hills since you came only once sir i seen two men an empty sack or two across the hill there above at this moment the military came up for he had himself run forward in advance of them and he repeated the substance of his conversation with our friend the upon examining the of his countenance in which there certainly was a deficiency of meaning they agreed among themselves that his appearance justified the truth of the story was a given to harry who was a and made the necessary vessels for bob or which he told the and upon being still ft they were confirmed that none stupid like himself would to his ke any secret worth knowing they now themselves into as many detached parties as were fires burning on the hills about them the g himself to make for that which had in his keeping for he could not help thi that the story was too natural to be they were just in the act of separating pursue their different when the lad said look sir look sir bad be from ir there s a still any way sure i often seen a that s just like the one that philip the mended in george s barn boys exclaimed stoop i they are coming this way and don t see us no them no they have discovered us now and towards by jove this will be a trick if they succeed confound them they ar for which is my own property and j be hanged but if we do not them it is self who will have to pay the fine the pursuit instantly commenced with a vigour equal to the ingenuity of this act of on the himself being long v from much practice in this way and being f stimulated by the loss which he dr made as beautiful a run of it as any man of his could do it was all in vain however he i got far enough to see the still head and across the march ditch into his own pre and to reflect after seeing it that he was have the double consolation of being made a joke of for life and of paying heavily for the je of his

49William Black

own pocket in the mean time he was of course to seize the still and report the ca and as he himself the in the fine was to the last shilling upon th natural principle that if be aa fc ii x t the no man would have attempted to set up still so convenient to his own residence and pro of keeping in reserve an old or set of apparatus for the purpose of acting the and the was afterwards practised with success but the first f it was undoubtedly m although the honour of the discovery is attributed to his friend george the matter however did not actually here for in a few days afterwards some malicious wag â in other words george himself â had correct information sent to touching the locality of the and the secret of its entrance on this occasion the latter brought a larger military party han usual along with him but it was only to make liim feel that he stood in a position if possible still more ridiculous than the first he found indeed the marks of recent in the place but nothing else every vessel and connected with the process had been removed with the exception of one of to which was attached by a bit of the following friendly note â mb take this bottle home and drink your own health you can t do less it was under your nose the first day you came to look for us and for you while you were speaking to the little boy that made a hare of you being then under your nose let it be drunk in the same place and don t forget while doing so to drink the health of g s the incident went abroad like and was known everywhere indeed for a long time it was the standing topic of the parish and so sharply was it felt by that he could never keep his temper if asked mr when did you see little george â a question to which he was never known to give a civil reply the fate ii op m we have met and conversed with the various classes that compose general society and we feel ourselves bound to say that in no instance have we ever met any individual no matter what his class or rank in life who was really indifferent to the subject of dreams and they are topics that interest the imagination in all and the head of age is inclined with as much interest to a ghost story as the young and eager ear of youth wrought up by all the and apprehensive powers of early fancy it is true the belief in ghosts is fast disappearing and that in is already almost gone but with what new wonders they shall be replaced it is difficult to say the physical and natural we suppose will give us enough of the marvellous without having recourse to the spiritual and supernatural steam and gas if science advance for another half century at the same rate as she has done in the last will give sufficient exercise to all our faculties for wondering we know a man who travelled eighty miles to see whether or not it was a fact that fight could be conveyed for miles in a pipe under ground and this man to our own knowledge possessed the organ of to a surprising degree it is singular too that his fear of ghosts was in proportion to this to wonder as was hia d tl ta v the fate of frank m chimney corner to talk incessantly of such topics calculated to excite it our opinion ghosts and will be seen they are much talked of and a belief in r existence cultivated and nourished so long as powers of the imagination are kept warm and m by exercise they will create for themselves such as they are in the habit of or upon and these when the individual to be in the appropriate position will even by mere force of association the particular which is in the mind as an of this i shall mention two cases of occurred in my native parish one of which that of a ghost and the other of the to e who have read my traits and stories of the the first which i shall may ss some interest as being that upon which i the tale of the midnight mass the are simply these â here lived a man named m at the hip of of the hills which divide the county from that of this m two sons one of whom was in the habit of tracing is of a sunday whenever there happened to be a of snow his father it seems had frequently with him upon what he considered to be of the lord s day as well as for his neglect of mass the young man however otherwise harmless ana was in matter quite insensible to paternal reproof and to trace whenever the of labour id allow him it so happened that upon a morning i think in the year there a deep fall of snow and young m instead to mass got down cock stick â which is much thicker and heavier at one end than at the r â and prepared to set out on his favourite his father seeing this him seriously insisted that he should attend the fate op frank m for the sport however was his love of religion and he refused to be gi his father s advice the old man during t got warm and on finding that the s scorned his authority he knelt do prayed that if the boy persisted in following will he might never return from the less as a corpse the which was as harsh as it was and senseless mi startled many a mind from a purpose that the least of

49William Black

it at with religion respect due to a father it had no effect upon the son who is said to have he ever returned or not he was de on going and go accordingly he did he however alone for it appears that three or fc neighbouring young men accompanied him their sport was good or otherwise is not to pose neither am i able to say but the st that towards the latter part of tne day they larger and darker hare than any they had and that she kept on before them b leading them to suppose that every the cock stick would bring her down it was afterwards that she also led them into the r the mountains and that although they her course they could not su doing so as evening advanced the m began to feel the folly of farther and to perceive the danger of losing in the mountains should night or a snow st upon them they therefore proposed to â the chase and return home but m w hear of it if you to go home y said he as for me i ll never leave the h have her with me they begged and ent him to and return but all to no appeared to be what the scotch call â act as if he were moved by some impulse t to death and from the nâ l â oi â the op m not withdraw himself at length on finding him obstinate they left him pursuing the hare directly into the heart of the mountains and returned to their respective homes in the meantime one of the most terrible ever remembered in that part of the country came on and the consequence was that the young man who had equally trampled on the of religion and parental authority was given over for lost as soon as the tempest became still the neighbours assembled in a body and proceeded to look for him the snow however had fallen so heavily that not a single mark of a footstep could be seen nothing but one wide waste of white hills met the eye wherever it turned and of m no trace whatever was visible or could be found his father now remembering the unnatural character of his was nearly distracted â for although the body had not yet been found still by every one who witnessed the sudden rage of the storm and who knew the mountains escape or was felt to be impossible every day for about a week large parties were out among the hill seeking him but to no purpose at length there came a and his body was found on a lying in a posture within a circle which he had drawn around him with his cock stick his prayer book lay opened upon his mouth and his hat was pulled down so as to cover it and his face it is unnecessary to say that the rumour of his death and of the circumstances under which he left home created a most extraordinary sensation in the country â a sensation that was the greater in proportion to the uncertainty occasioned by his not having been found either alive or dead some affirmed that he had crossed the mountains and was seen in others that he had been seen in in in but despite of all these agreeable reports the melancholy truth was at length made clear by the appearance oi stated the fate of frank m now it so happened that the house spot where he lay was inhabited by a mar l i think â but of the name i am not c who was a herd or care to dr port bishop of the situation of this ho the most lonely and desolate looking that imagined it was at least two miles distant fr human habitation being surrounded by one wi dreary waste of dark by this house route of those who had found the corpse and the door of it was borrowed for the purpose o it home be this as it may the the melancholy procession as it passed s through the mountains and when the place an are all considered we may admit th ignorant and superstitious people whose minds upon ordinary occasions were strongly affected such matters it was a sight calculated to leave it a deep if not a terrible impression time s proved that it did so an incident is said to have occurred at the which i have alluded to in the midnight mass which is certainly in fine keeping with the t spirit of the whole melancholy event when procession had advanced to a place called a large dark coloured hare which was recognised by those who had been out with him the hills as the identical one that led him to fate is said to have crossed the roads about yards or so before the coffin the story goes tha man struck it on the side with a stone and that blow which would have killed any ordinary hare i only did it no injury but occasioned a sound to p from the body resembling the hollow one by an empty barrel when struck in the meantime the took place and sensation began like every other to die away in natural progress of time when behold a report i abroad like that to use the language of people frank m waa k bald the of m e was the rumour of an apparition composed of so strongly calculated to win popular assent k rational investigation as every man is a or a so will until such are made properly intelligible continue field to testimony which would convince judgment on any other subject the case in furnished as fine a specimen of a true freed from any suspicion of or den as could be submitted to a philosopher and notwithstanding the array of apparent facts con ted

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with it nothing in the world is or of solution ne night about a fortnight after his funeral s daughter of the herd a girl about fourteen bed saw what appeared to be the like of who had been lost she screamed and covering her head with the bed clothes told â father and mother that frank m was in house this alarming intelligence naturally great terror still who notwithstanding belief in such matters possessed a good deal of courage was cool enough to rise and examine j house which consisted of only one apartment is gave the daughter some courage who on finding her father could not see him ventured to look and she then could see nothing of him herself e very soon fell asleep and her father attributed at she saw to fear or some accidental combination shadows proceeding from the furniture for it was moon light the light of the following j a great deal of their apprehensions i comparatively little was thought of it until even again advanced when the fears of the daughter to return they appeared to be prophetic for s said when night came that she knew ne would ear again and accordingly at the same hour he l so this was repeated for several successive until the girl from the ery â t the fate of frank m began to become so far to the as to venture to address it in the name of god she asked what is troubling you or why do you appear to me instead of to some of your own family or relations f the ghost s answer alone might settle the question involved in the of its appearance being as it was an account of one of the most ludicrous that ever a spirit was despatched upon i m not allowed said he to to any of my friends for i parted them in anger but i m come to tell you that they are about my breeches â a new pair that got made for christmas day an as i was up to in the mountains i thought the ould one ud do an of i didn t put the new pair an me my for appearing he added ft is that you may tell my friends that none of them is to wear them â they must be given in charity this serious and solemn intimation from the ghost was duly communicated to the family and it was found that the circumstances were exactly as it had represented them this of course was considered as sufficient proof of the truth of its mission their conversations now became not only frequent but quite friendly and familiar the girl became a favourite with the and the on the other hand soon lost all his terrors in her eyes he told her that whilst his friends were bearing home his body the or poles on which they carried him had cut his back and occasioned him great pain i the cutting of the back also was known to be true and strengthened of course the truth and of their the whole neighbourhood was now in a commotion with this story of the apparition and persons by curiosity began to visit the girl in order to satisfy themselves of the truth of what they had heard every thing however was and the child herself without any symptoms of anxiety or terror related the â the op m spirit hitherto their had been all but now that the ghost found his footing made good he put a hardy face on and ventured to appear by day light the girl also fell into states of and while the fits lasted long conversations with him upon the subject of the blessed virgin and heaven took place between them he was certainly an excellent and gave the best advice swearing and every evil of our nature were against with a degree of eloquence quite surprising common fame had now a topic dear to her heart and never was a ghost made more of by his best friends than she made of him the whole country was in a tumult and i well remember the crowds which to the lonely little cabin in the mountains now the scene of matters so interesting and important not a single day passed in which i should think from ten to twenty thirty or fifty persons were not present at these singular nothing else was talked of thought of and as i can well testify of i would my have gone to s were it not for a confounded i had that perhaps the ghost might take a fancy of appearing to me as he had taken to cultivate an intimacy with the girl j and it so happens that when i see the face of an individual nailed down in the coffin â and gloomy operation â i experience no particular wish to look upon it again many persons might imagine that the herd s daughter was acting the part of an by first and then such a delusion if any one however was an it was the ghost and not the girl as her ill health and wasted cheek might well testify the appearance of m continued to haunt her for months the reader is aware that he was lost on christmas day or rather on the night of it and i remember seeing her in the early part of the following summer during which time she vas still the victim of a ed ma iâ s k s in fact that could e io â ss â the fate op m they brought her to a priest named who lived down at for the purpose of getting her cured as he had the reputation of performing of that kind they brought her also to the doctors who also did what they could for her but all to no purpose her fits were

49William Black

longer and more frequent occurrence her appetite left her and ere four months had elapsed she herself looked as like a as the ghost himself could do for the life of him now this was a pure case of illusion and precisely similar to that detailed so by the german and to others mentioned by the image of m not only appeared to her in daylight at her own house but subsequently followed her wherever she went and what proved this to have been the result of organization produced at first by a heated and excited imagination was that as the story went she could see him with her eyes shut whilst this state of mental and physical feeling lasted she was a subject of the most intense curiosity no matter where she went whether to chapel to fair or to market she was followed by crowds every one feeling eager to get a glimpse of the girl who had actually seen and what was more spoken to a ghost â a live ghost now here was a young girl of an temperament and large imagination leading an almost solitary life amidst scenery of a lonely and desolate character who happening to be strongly impressed with an image of horror â for surely such was the body of a dead man seen in association with such peculiarly frightful circumstances as filial and a father s curse were calculated to give it â cannot shake it off but on the contrary becomes a victim to the disease which it there is not an image which we see in a fever or a face whether of angel or devil or an uncouth shape of any kind that is not occasioned by excitement ot of the nervous system to that j mi ter i saw ra ss aa the fate op frank m ber clearly that her pale face dark eye and very intellectual forehead gave indications of such a temperament as under her circumstances would be apt to receive strong and fearful impressions from images calculated to excite terror especially of the supernatural it only now remains for me to mention ths simple method of her cure which was effected without either priest or doctor it depended upon a word or two of advice given to her father by a very sensible man who was in the habit of thinking on these matters somewhat above the superstitious of the people if you wish your daughter to be cured said he to her father leave the house you are now living in take her to some part of the country where she can have companions of her own class and state of life to mingle with bring her away from the place altogether for you may rest assured that so long as there are objects before her eyes to remind her of what happened she will not mend on your hands the father although he sat rent free took this excellent advice even at a sacrifice of some comfort for nothing short of the temptation of easy circumstances could have induced any man to reside in so wild and remote a solitude in the course of a few days he removed from it with his family and came to reside amidst the cheerful aspect and intercourse of human life the consequences were precisely as the man had told him in the course of a few weeks the little girl began to find that the visits of the were like those of angels few and far between she was sent to school and what with the confidence derived from human society and the of new objects and images she soon perfectly recovered and ere long was thoroughly set free from the fearful creation of her own brain now there is scarcely one of the people in my native parish who does not believe that the spirit of this man came back to the world and actually appeared to this little girl t ie v i the fate of frank m coming when these empty will altogether disappear and we shall entertain more reverend and becoming notions of god than to suppose such senseless could be played by the soul of a departed being under his permission we might as well assert that the imaginary beings which surround the couch of the madman or have a real existence as those that are up by terror weak nerves or blood the spot where the body of m was found is now marked by a little heap of stones which has been collected since the melancholy event of his death every person who passes it throws a stone upon the heap but why this old custom is practised or what it means i do not know unless it be simply to mark the spot as a visible means of preserving the memory of the occurrence s house the scene of the supposed apparition is now a ruin which could scarcely be seen were it not for the green spot that once was a garden and which now shines at a distance like an but with no agreeable or pleasing associations it is a spot which no solitary school boy will ever visit nor indeed would the in the popular nonsense of ghosts wish to pass it without a companion it is under any circumstances a gloomy and place but when looked upon in with what we have just it is lonely desolate and awful the in the preceding paper we have given an account of what the country folks and we ourselves at the time looked upon as a genuine instance of apparition it appeared to the simple minded to be a clear and distinct case exhibiting all those minute and subordinate details which by an arrangement naturally happy and without concert go to the formation of truth there was however but one in the matter and that was the ludicrous and inadequate nature of the moral

49William Black

motive for what unsteady and notions of providence must we not entertain when we see the order and purpose of his divine will so completely degraded and by the fact of a human soul returning to this earth again for the ridiculous object of settling the claim to a pair of breeches when we see the succession to crowns and and the inheritance to large property and great personal rank all left so completely that ruin and desolation have come upon nations and families in attempting their and when we see a dispute about a pair of breeches settled by a personal revelation from another hfe we cannot help asking why the supernatural intimation was permitted in the one case and not in the other especially when their relative importance differed so essentially to follow un this question however by upon a principle so absurd would place providence in a position so and capricious we do ao â the rival press the so far as admission of divine interference in such a manner would justify us in doing having detailed the case of s daughter however we take our leave of the girl and the ghost and turn now to another case which came under our own observation in with a man named frank martin and the before however we shall by way of introduction endeavour to give our readers a few short particulars as to their origin character and conduct and as we happen to be on this subject we cannot avoid that we have not by us copies of two most valuable works upon it from the pen of our learned and admirable thomas we allude to his fairy and his history of the mission of popular two works which cannot be without delight at the happy manner in which so much learning and amusement so much solid and all that is agreeable in extensive are combined with the of the word fairy we do not intend in a sketch like this to puzzle our readers it is with the tradition connected with the thing we have to do and not with a variety of learned speculations which appear after all to be yet unsettled the general opinion at least in ireland is that during the war of m heaven the angels were divided into three classes the first class consisted of those faithful spirits who at once and without hesitation to the standard of the the next consisted of those who openly and followed the great sharing eternal along with him the third and last consisted of those who during the mighty clash and uproar of the hosts stood timidly aloof and refused to join either power these says the tradition were hurled out of heaven some upon earth and some into the waters of the earth where they are to remain ignorant of their fate â t the day of judgment they know their own however and it is said i their the rival hopes of salvation prevent them from at once the whole race such is the broad basis of the general superstition but our history and conception of the popular fairy falls far short of the historical dignity associated with its origin the fairy of the people is a creature generally dressed in green irritable capricious and quite unsteady in all its principles and dealings with mankind sometimes it singular proofs of ingenuity but on the contrary is frequently by mere mortal capacity it is impossible to say in dealing with it whether its conduct will be found benevolent or otherwise for it often has happened that its threats of injury have ended in kindness and its promises of protection terminated in malice and treachery what is very remarkable too is that it by no means appears to be a mere spirit but a being with passions and other natural wants like ourselves indeed the society or community of appears to be less self dependent than ours inasmuch as there are several offices among them which they not only cannot perform but which render it necessary that we should be stolen and with them for the express purpose of performing for them like us they are married and given in marriage and rear families but whether their offspring are subject to death is a matter not exactly the some traditions affirm that they are and others that they are as immortal as the angels although possessing material bodies to our own the fairy in fact is supposed to be a singular mixture of good and evil not very moral in its actions or objects often very and sometimes benevolent when kindness is least expected from it it is generally supposed by the people this singular class of creatures enjoy as a kind of right the richest and best of all the fruits of the earth and that the top grain of wheat c and the apple all belong to them and are taken as own exclusive the rival they have also other acknowledged rights which they never suffer to be with for instance wherever a meal is eaten upon the grass in open field and the are not shaken down upon the spot for their use there they are sure to leave one of their curses called the fair or the for whoever passes over that particular spot for ever afterwards is liable to be struck down with weakness and hunger and unless he can taste a morsel of bread he neither will nor can recover the weakness in this instance however is not natural for if the person affected but tastes as much meal or flour as would lie on the point of a he will break the spell of the and recover his former strength such spots are said to be generally known by their superior they are always round and the of these little circles is seldom more than a single step the grass which grows upon them is called as

49William Black

we have said hungry and is accounted for as we have already stated the walks and haunts of the are to be considered as very sacred and for instance it is dangerous to throw out dirty water after dusk or before sunrise lest in doing so you them on their passage for these little gentry are peculiarly fond of cleanliness and neatness both in dress and person bishop for the gives as and correct a notion of their personal habits in this way and their disposition to reward cleanliness in servants as could be written we shall ourselves relate a short anecdote or two touching them before we come to frank martin s case to our readers that we could if we wished fill a volume â ay three of with anecdotes and legends connected with our irritable but good humoured little friends s wife was for several years afflicted with a kind of complaint which could properly understand she v aa sick and she was not sick she was well and sha as n v aa a the wish to be who love their lords and she was ot as such ladies wish to be in fact nobody could ll what the matter with her was she had a t the heart which came heavily upon her husband or with the help of god a appetite than the amounted to could not oe met with of summer s day the poor woman was delicate belief and had no appetite at all so she t a little relish for a mutton chop or a â or a bit o anyway for sure god her she hadn t the inclination for the or the o sour along it especially as she was so poorly and indeed for a in her condition â for sick as she was poor always was made to believe her in that condition â but god s will be done she didn t care a an a grain o salt was a welcome to her â glory be to his name â as the best roast an boiled that ever was dressed an why not there was one comfort she wouldn t be long him â long him it little what she got but sure she knew herself that from the at ner heart she could never do good the little bit o now and then an sure if her own husband it to her who else had she a right to expect it well as we have said she lay a invalid for long enough trying doctors and of all sorts sexes and sizes and all without a s benefit until at the long run poor was nearly brought to the last pass in striving to keep her in the bit o the seventh year was now on the point of closing when one harvest day as she lay her hard condition on her bed beyond the kitchen a little woman dressed in a neat red cloak comes in and sitting down by the hearth says â well youve had a long of it there on the broad o yer back for seven wa you re as far from bein cured a eve the rival ay said the other in that s what i was this ov and a sorrowful it s to me it s yer own t thin says the little woman an indeed for that matter yer t that ever you there at all how is that asked sure i wouldn t be here if i could help it do you think it s a comfort or a pleasure to me to be sick and no said the other i do not but i ll tell you the truth for the last seven years you have us i am one o the good people an as i have a regard for you i m come to let you know the why you ve been sick so long as you are for all the time you ve been ill if you ll take the to your out yer dirty dusk an before sunrise at the very time we re yer door which we pass twice a day now if you avoid this if you throw it out in a different place an at a different time the complaint you have will lave you so will the at the heart an you ll be as well as ever you if you don t follow this advice why remain as you are an all the art o man can t cure you she then bade her good bye and disappeared who was glad to be cured on such easy terms immediately complied with the of the fairy â and the consequence was that the next day she found herself in as good health as ever she enjoyed during her life m had married a wife and of course it was necessary to have a house in which to keep her now had taken a bit of a farm about six acres but as there was no house on it he resolved to build one and that it might be as comfortable as he selected for the site of it one of those green circles that are supposed to be the play ground of the was warned against this but as he was a man and not much given to fear he said v o l i â the situation for his house to oblige all the in europe he accordingly proceeded with the which he finished off very neatly and as it usual on these occasions to give one s neighbours id friends a house warming so in compliance with lis good and pleasant old custom having home the wife in the course of the day got a and a lot of and gave those who had me to see him a dance in the evening this was all ry well and the fun and were

49William Black

proceeding when a noise was heard after night had set in ke a crushing and straining of ribs and on the p of the house the folks assembled all listened id without doubt there was nothing heard but â and heaving and pushing and groaning id panting as if a thousand little men were engaged i pulling down the roof come said a voice which spoke in a tone of work hard you know we must have s house down before midnight this was an unwelcome piece of intelligence to who finding that his enemies were such as he not cope with walked out and addressed them j follows â i humbly ax yer pardon for any place to you but if you ll have the to let me alone this night i ll begin to pull wn and remove the house to morrow morning this was followed by a noise like the clapping of a little hands and a shout of build half way between the two the and after another hearty little of exultation there was a brisk rushing noise id they were heard no more the story however does not end here for hen digging the foundation of his new house le full of a of gold so that in leaving to the their play ground he became a richer man than he otherwise would have y a me in contact with them at aw a metal vessel in which the the rival there is another instance of their interference me in which it is difficult to say whether simplicity or benevolence is the most amusing the north of ireland there are spinning meetings unmarried females frequently held at the houses farmers called every young woman who got the reputation of being a quick and expert where the is to be held at an h usually before day light and on these occasions sh accompanied by her sweetheart or some male who carries her wheel and her safely the fields or along the road as the case may be is indeed an animated and joyous scene s one besides which is calculated to promote and decent pride scarcely anything can be m cheering ana agreeable than to hear at a breaking the silence of morning the light hear voices of many girls either in mirth or song humming sound of the busy little it is true by the noise and of the and the voices of the as they i aloud the together with the name of the and the quantity she has spun up to that period the contest is generally commenced two or three ho before day break this spirit is also â by the prospect of a dance â with which by way every and when the fair declared she is to be looked upon as tho queen of meeting and treated with the necessary respect but to our tale every one knew m to be the best conducted boy the most industrious too in the whole parish a hard was it to find a young who could handle a or hook better style or who could go through his day s w in a more creditable or workman manner addition to this he was a fine well built young man as you could meet in a fair and so â was on it maybe the pretty likely to each other s caps about mm the rival prudent as he was good looking and although he wanted a wife yet the sorrow one of him but preferred taking a well handed smart girl who was known to be well behaved ana industrious like him here however was where the puzzle lay on him for instead of one girl of that kind there were in the neighbourhood no less than a dozen of them â all equally fit and willing to become his wife and all equally good looking there were two however whom he thought a trifle above the rest but so nicely balanced were and sally that for the life of him he could not make up his to decide between them each of them had won her and it was said by them who ought to know that neither of them could the other no two girls in the parish were better respected or deserved to be so and the consequence was they had every one s good word and good wish now it so happened that had been pulling a cord with and as he knew not how to decide between he thought he would allow them to do that themselves if they could he accordingly gave out to the neighbours that he would hold a on that day week and he told and sally especially that he had made up his mind to marry whichever of them won the for he knew right well as did all the parish that one of them must the girls agreed to this very good telling sally that she sally would surely win it and sally not to be in civility telling the same thing to her well the week was nearly past there being but two days till that of the when about three o clock there walks into the house of old a little woman dressed in high shoes and a short red cloak there was no one in the house but at the time who rose up and placed a chair near the fire and asked the little red woman to sit down and rest herself she accordingly did so and in a short time a lively chat commenced iv bs â the rival so said the strange woman there s to be a great m m s v indeed there is that good woman replied smiling and blushing to back of that again because she knew her own fate depended on it and continued the little woman whoever wins the wins a husband v ay so it seems well whoever

49William Black

gets will be a happy woman for he s the moral of a good boy that s nothing but the truth anyhow replied sighing for fear you may be sure that she herself might lose him and indeed a young woman might sigh from many a worse reason but said she changing the subject you appear to be tired honest woman an think you had better eat a bit an take a good drink of thick milk to help you on your journey thank you kindly a said the woman i ll take a bit if you e at the same time that you wont be the poorer of it this day twelve months sure said the girl you know that what we give from kindness ever an always leaves a blessing behind it yes when it is given from kindness she accordingly helped herself to the food that placed before her and appeared after eating to be very much refreshed now said she rising up you re a very good girl an if you are able to find out my name before tuesday morning the day i tell you that you ll win it and gain the husband why said i never saw you before don t know who you are nor where you live how then can i ever find out your name you never saw me before sure enough said the old woman an i tell you that you never will see me again but once an yet if you have not my name for me at the close oi l lose all an the rival that will leave you a sore heart for well i know you love so saying she went away and left poor quite cast down at what she had said for to tell the truth she loved very much and had no hopes of being able to find out the name of the little woman an it appeared so much to her depended it was very near the same hour of the same day that sally was sitting alone in her father s thinking of the when who should walk into her but our friend the little red woman god save you honest woman said sally this is a fine day that s in it the lord be praised it is said the woman as fine a day as one could wish for indeed it is have you no news on your travels v asked sally the only news in the neighbourhood replied the other is this great that s to take place at m s they say you re either to win him or lose him then she added looking closely at sally as she spoke i m not very much afraid of that said sally with confidence but even if i do lose him i may get as good it s not easy as good rejoined the old woman an you ought to be very glad to win him if you can let me alone for that said sally s a good girl i allow but as tor she never saw the day she could leave me behind her won t you sit an rest you â she added maybe you re tire a it s time for you to think of it thought the woman but she spoke nothing but she added to herself on reflection it s better late than never â i ll awhile till i see a little closer what she s made of she accordingly sat down and upon several such as young women like to talk about for about half an hour after which she arose and taking lier little staff in hand she bade sally good bye and went her way after passing a t wa poor now made all the old woman but to no spoke to about her had ever woman she felt very heart for there is no doubt that it would have cost her many a knew she would never get his e one that she loved so well a came and with it all the pretty g hood to s among we to decide their right to bin li ii far and to be sure it was a the and n a laugh and sweet song that day and sally as were far a head of the rest but s nine that the could not declare which was the best h and head and head between the all who were at the felt tht hie highest pitch of interest an which of them would be success the day was now more than h was between them when sorrow of every one present b broke in two and so to all test in favour of her rival j and mortification she was as woman s name as ever what v that could be done was done i about fourteen years of age hap when the accident took place ha father and mother to bring the rival went on between the rival was accordingly despatched with all speed to m s the in order to get the mended that being s last but hopeless chance anxiety that his sister should win was of course very great and in order to lose as little time as possible he struck across the country passing through or rather close by forth a place celebrated as a resort of the what was astonishment however as he passed a white thorn tree to hear a female voice singing in accompaniment to the sound of a spinning wheel the following words â there s a girl in this town doesn t know my name bat my name s even trot â even trot there s a girl in this town said the lad who s in great distress for she has broken her and lost a husband i m now goin to m w s to get it mended what s her name t said the

49William Black

little red woman the little woman immediately whipped out the from her own wheel and giving it to the boy desired him to bring it to his sister and never mind m you have little time to lose she added so go back and give her this j but don t tell her how you got it nor above all things that it was even trot that gave it to you the lad returned and after giving the to his sister as a matter of course told her that it was a little red woman called even trot that sent it to her a circumstance which made tears of delight start to s eyes for she knew now that even trot was the name of the old woman and having known that she felt that something good would happen to her she now resumed her spinning and never did human fingers let down the thread so rapidly the whole were amazed at the quantity m i w c ss the rival to time filled her the hearts of her friends began to rise and those of sally s party to sink as hour alter hour she was fast approaching her rival who now spun if possible with double speed on finding coming up with her at length they were again even and just at that moment in came her friend the little red woman and asked aloud is there any one in this that knows my name this question she asked three times before could pluck up courage to answer her she at last said there s a girl in this town does know your name â your name is even even trot ay said the old woman and so it is and let that name be your guide and your husband s through life go steadily along but let your step be even stop little keep always advancing and you ll never have cause to the day that you first saw even trot we need scarcely add that won the and the husband and that she and lived long and happily together and i have only now to wish kind reader that you and i may live longer and more happily still frank martin and the when a superstition is once impressed strongly upon the popular the fiction always the shape and form which the peculiar imagination of the country is constituted to forth this faculty depends so much on climate temperament religion and occupation that the notions entertained of supernatural though generally based upon one broad feature peculiar to all countries differ so essentially respecting the form character habits and powers of these beings that they appear to have been drawn from sources widely removed to an inquiring mind there can be no greater proof than this of their being nothing but the of our own brain and of assuming that shape only has uniformly been impressed upon our imagination at the precise period of life when such impressions are strongest and most permanent and the reason which ought to combat and investigate them least capable of doing so if these possessed the of truth and reality their appearance to mankind would be always uniform and but they are beheld so to speak through different prejudices and impressions ana consequently change with the through which they are seen just as light the hue of the glass through which it passes hence their different shape character and attributes in d â c frank martin and the frequent absence of rational with them even in the same the force of imagination alone is capable of up and out that which never had e and that too with as much apparent distinct and truth as if it were real go to the hm asylum or the mad house and there it may be all its strong delusion and positive terror before i close this portion of my little i shall relate an anecdote connected with it of i myself was the subject some years ago i seized with fever of so terrific a character for a long time i lay in a state hovering between and death unconscious as a log without either hop fear at length a crisis came and aided by strong of an unbroken constitution i be to recover and every day to regain my more and more as yet however i was very from being out of danger for i felt the malady tc still so fiery and oppressive that i was not when told that the slightest mistake either in medicine or would have brought on a at all events thank god my recovery advance but at the same time the society that me was wild and picturesque in the highest never indeed was such a combination of the ful and hideous seen unless in the dreams o feverish brain like mine or the distorted reason c madman at one side of my bed looking in u me with a most and was a h compared with which the vulgar representations the devil are itself whilst on the ot was a female countenance beaming in beauty that i ethereal â thus in fact was my whole surrounded for they stood as thickly as they sometimes flitting about and seeming to crush i one another but never leaving my bed fo moment here were features of a there an angel apparently fresh from heaven h was a gigantic demon with o frank martin and the in his face and his nose across it whilst the like grinned as if he were vain and had cause to be vain of his beauty this fellow annoyed me much and would i apprehended have done me an injury only for the angel on the other side he made perpetual attempts to come at me but was as often by that creature indeed i feared none of them so much as i did the who evidently had a design on me

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and would have rendered my situation truly pitiable were it not for the protection of the who always succeeded in keeping him aloof at length he made one furious rush as if he meant to upon me and in self preservation i threw my right arm to the opposite side and grasping the by the nose i found i had caught my poor old nurse by that useful organ while she was in the act of offering me a drink for several days i was in this state the victim of images produced by disease and the excitement of brain consequent upon it gradually however they began to disappear and i felt manifest relief for they were succeeded by impressions as amusing now as the former had been distressing i imagined that there was a serious dispute between my right foot and my left as to which of them was entitled to and what was singular my right leg hand arm and shoulder most supported the right foot as did the other limbs the left the head alone with an that did it honour maintained a strict the truth was i imagined that all my limbs were endowed with a consciousness of individual existence and i felt quite satisfied that each and all of them possessed the faculty of reason i have frequently related this anecdote to my friends but i know not how it happened i never could get them to look upon it in any other light than as a specimen of that kind of fiction which is termed drawing the long bow it ia however a true as that i now exist and t ate to i s frank and the what is more the arguments which i am about to give are the same that were used by the rival and their respective the discussion i must observe was opened by the left foot as being the discontented party and like all discontented parties its language was so very violent that had its opinions prevailed there is no doubt but they would have succeeded in completely my constitution left foot brother addressing the right with a great snow of affection but at the same time with a of strong in the big toe brother i don t know how it is that you have during our whole lives always taken the liberty to consider yourself foot than i am and i would feel much obliged to you if you would tell me why il is that you claim this superiority over me are w not both equal in every thing foot be quiet my dear brother we an equal in every thing and why therefore are you dis contented left foot because you presume to consider self the better and more useful foot right foot let us hot dispute my dear brother each is equally necessary to the other what could do without you nothing or at least very little an what could you do without me very little we were not made to quarrel left foot very i am not disposed to but i trust you will admit that i am as good as yo every way your equal and in many your superior do you hear that i am not dispose to quarrel you rascal and how dare you say so here there was a strong sensation among all tl right members who felt themselves insulted this outrage offered to their chief right foot since you choose to insult me provocation i must stand upon my right left off to a distance â ther again what right have you to s frank martin and the f more than â â go it left pitch into him we are equal to him and ms from the friends of the left the matter was now likely to become serious and to end in a row what s the matter there below v said the head don t be fools and make yourselves ridiculous what would either of you be with a or a which is only another name for wooden shoe any day might foot since he me i tell him that ever since the world began the prejudice of mankind in all nations has been in favour of the right foot and the right hand strong sensation among the left members surely ne ought not to be ignorant of the proverb which says when a man is peculiarly successful in any thing he that man knew how to go about itâ lie put the right foot foremost f cheers from the right party left that s mere special pleading â the right foot there does not mean you because you happen to be termed such but it means the foot which from its position under the circumstances happens to be the proper one loud applause from the left members rigid foot you know you are weak and feeble and awkward when compared to me and can do little of yourself that s a left why certainly i grant i am the gentleman and that you are very useful to me you from the left hand y ours is the aristocratic side â hear the come what have you to to that hand addressing his opponent you may be the aristocratic party if you will but we are the useful who are the true of the constitution you poor of nobility left hand the heart is with us the seat and origin of life and power can you boast as much loud cheers foot why have you never heard it said of an excellent and worthy man â a s ns frank martin and the sort a â as a mark of his sterling qualities his heart s in the right place how then can it be in the left much applause left which is an additional proof that mine is that place and not yours yes you rascal we have the heart and you cannot

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deny it right we admit he with you but it is merely because you are the weaker side and require his protection the best part of his energies are given to us and we are satisfied left you admit then that our party keeps yours in power and why not at once give up your right to â why not resign right let us put it to the vote left with all my heart it was accordingly put to the vote but on telling the house it was found that the parties were equal both then appealed very to mr speaker the head who after having heard their arguments shook himself very gravely and them much after the manner of sir de that much might be said on both sides but on thing said he i beg both parties to observe am very seriously to consider in the first place ther would be none of this nonsense about were it not for the feverish and excited state in you all happen to be at present if you have sense enough to wait until you all get somewhat there is little doubt but you will feel that you do without each other as for myself as i said before i give no specific opinion upon which never have taken place were it not for the heat c feeling which is between you i know that might and has been said upon both sides but as fc me i nod significantly to both parties and say nothing one thing however i do say and it is this â care you right foot and you left f that by this senseless quarrel too far it may not happen tha you will both get stretched and tied up together in wooden when m â â and the question and nothing but a most pacific stillness shall remain you for ever i shake and have concluded now seriously this case which as an illustration of my argument possesses a good deal of interest is another key to the absurd doctrine of here was i at the moment strongly and seriously impressed with a belief that a quarrel was taking place between my two feet about the right of going foremost nor was this absurdity all i actually believed for the time that all my limbs were endowed with separate life and reason and why all simply because my whole system was in a state of unusually strong excitement and the nerves and blood stimulated by disease into a state of such in fact is the condition in which every one must necessarily be who thinks he sees a spirit and this which is known to be an fact being admitted it follows of course that the same causes will other things being alike produce the same effects for instance does not the terror of an apparition occasion a violent and increased action of the heart and system similar to that of fever does not the very hair stand on end not merely when the imaginary ghost is seen but when the very apprehension of it is strong is not the action of the brain too in proportion to that of the heart and the nervous system in proportion to that of both what then is this but a fever for the time being which is attended by the very the fear of which created it for in this case it so happens that the cause and effect each other a case of imagination which in a man is probably the strongest and most unaccountable on record it is that of a person â an invalid â who imagined that at a certain hour of the day a or came into his bedroom and him inflicted several heavy upon his body with the of his whip and such was the power of fancy here ve v martin and the were visible in black and blue streaks upon his flesh i am inclined to think however that this stands very much in need of confirmation i have already mentioned a case of illusion which occurred in my native parish i speak of s daughter who saw what she imagined to be the ghost of m who had been lost among the mountains i shall now relate another connected with the of which i also was myself an eye witness the man s name i think was martin and he followed the thoughtful and somewhat melancholy occupation of a he was a bachelor and wrought journey work in every farmer s house where he could get employment and notwithstanding his supernatural vision of the he was considered to be both a quick and an excellent workman the more sensible of the country people said he was but the more superstitious of them maintained that he had a and saw them against his will the is a malignant fairy which by a subtle compact made with any one whom it can induce by the fairest promises to enter into a mastery over them by its unhappy victims to it otherwise it is and must be like the oriental their slave and to perform such tasks as they wish to impose upon it it will promise endless wealth to those whom it is anxious to to its authority but it is at once so malignant and ingenious that the party entering into the contract with it is always certain by its to break through his engagement and thus become slave in his turn such is the nature of this wild and fearful superstition which i think is fa â t disappearing and is but rarely known in the country martin was a thin pale man when i saw him of a sickly look and a constitution naturally feeble his hair was a light his beard mostly and his hands of a singular delicacy and whiteness owing i dare say as much to the soft and easy nature of his employment

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as to ns ii al â frank martin and the thing else he was as sensible sober and rational as any other man but on the topic of the man s was peculiarly strong and immovable indeed i remember that the expression of his eyes was singularly wild and hollow and his long narrow temples sallow and now this man did not lead an unhappy life nor did the malady he under seem to be productive of either pain or terror to him although one might be apt to imagine otherwise on the contrary he and the maintained the most friendly intimacy and their â which i fear were one sided ones â must have been a source of great pleasure to him for they were conducted with much mirth and laughter on his part at least well frank did you see the v there s two dozen of them in the shop the weaving shop this minute there s a little ould fellow on the top of the an all to be rocked while i m the sorrow s in them but they re the greatest little alive so they are see there s another of them at my go out o that you or bad to me if you don t but i ll lave you a mark ha cut you thief you frank t you af o them v is it me what ud i be o them for sure they have no power over me and why haven t they frank i was against them what do you mean by that v why the priest that me was by my father to put in the prayer against the â an a priest can t refuse it when he s â an he did so if s well for me that he did â let the alone you little â see there s a thief o them my â you the are a species of which is brushed into the to keep the thread round and even and to prevent it from being by the of the and the see it was their intention to make me king o the is it possible p devil a lie in it sure you may ax them an they ll tell you what size are they frank oh little we fellows with green coats an the little shoes ever you seen there s two o them â both ould acquaintances o mine â along the beam that ould fellow with the bob wig is called jim jam an the other chap with the three cocked hat is called nick plays the pipes give us a tune or til â come now shore now â listen the poor fellow though weaving as fast as he could all the time yet bestowed every possible mark of attention to the music and seemed to enjoy it as much as if it had been real but who can tell whether that which we look upon as a may not after all be a fountain of increased happiness greater perhaps than any which we ourselves enjoy t i forget who the poet is who says â mysterious are thy laws the vision s finer than the view her landscape nature never drew so fair as fancy draws many a time when a mere child not more than six or seven years of age have i gone as far as frank s weaving shop in order with a heart divided between curiosity and fear to listen to his conversation with the good people from morning till night his tongue was going almost as incessantly as his ana it was well known that at night whenever he awoke out of his sleep the first thing he did was to put out his hand and push them as it were off his bed go out o this you thieves you â go out o this now an let me alone is this any time to be the pipes and me wants to sleep go off frank martin and the if do you ll see what give to morrow sure i ll be new dressing and if behave maybe i ll lave the o the pot there now poor things they re sure they re all gone poor red cap that doesn t like to lave me and then the harmless would fall back into what we trust was an innocent slumber about this time there was said to have occurred a very remarkable circumstance which gave poor frank a vast deal of importance among the neighbours a man named frank thomas the same in whose house m held the first dance at which i ever saw him as detailed in a former sketch this man i say had a child sick but of what complaint i cannot now remember nor is it of any importance one of the of thomas s house was built against or rather into a forth or called or properly forth it was said to be haunted by the and what gave it a character peculiarly wild in my eyes was that there were on the southern side of it two or three little green which were said to be the graves of children over which it was considered dangerous and unlucky to pass at all events the season was mid summer and one evening about dusk during the illness of the child the noise of a hand saw was heard upon the forth this was considered rather strange and after a little time a few of those who were assembled at frank thomas s went to see who it could be that was in such a place or what they could be at so late an hour for every one knew that nobody in the whole country about them would dare to cut down the few white thorns that grew upon the forth on going to examine however judge of their surprise when

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after surrounding and searching the whole place they could discover no trace of either saw or in fact with the exception of themselves there was no one either natural or supernatural visible they then returned frank martin and the to the house and had scarcely sat down when it was heard again within ten yards of them another examination of the premises took place but with equal success now however while standing on the forth they heard the in a little hollow about a hundred and fifty yards below them which was completely exposed to their view but could see nobody a party of them immediately went down to ascertain u possible what this singular noise and invisible labour could mean but on arriving at the spot they heard the to which were now added and the driving of nails upon the forth above whilst those who stood on the forth continued to hear it in the hollow on comparing notes they resolved to send down to s for frank martin a distance of only about eighty or ninety yards he was soon on the spot and without a moment s hesitation solved the tis the said he i see them and busy they are but what are they frank they are a child s coffin he replied they have the body already made an they re now the lid together that night the child certainly died and the story goes that on the second evening afterwards the car e enter who was called upon to make the coffin a table out from thomas s house to the forth as a temporary bench and it is said that the and necessary for the completion of his task were precisely the same which had been heard the evening but one before â neither more nor less i remember the death of the child myself and the making of its coffin but i think the story of the supernatural carpenter was not heard in the village for some months after its frank had every appearance of a about him at the time i saw him he might be about thirty four years oi age but i do not think from the of his frame and health that and the has been alive for several years lie was an object considerable interest and curiosity and often have i been present when he was pointed out to strangers as the man that could see the good people with respect to his solution of the supernatural noise that is easily accounted for this superstition of the coffin making is a common one and to a man like him mind was ir with it the illness of the child would naturally suggest the probability of its death which ho ly is with the and agents to be found in hia unhappy malady a legend of what irish man woman or child has not heard of our renowned the great and glorious fin m not one from cape clear to the giant s nor from that back again to cape clear and by the way speaking of the giant s brings me at once to the beginning of my story well it so happened that fin and his gigantic relatives were all working at the in order to make a bridge or what was still better a good stout road across to scotland when fin who was very fond of his wife took it into his head that he would go home and see how the poor woman got on in his absence to be sure fin was a true and so the sorrow thing in life brought him back only to see that she was snug and comfortable and above all things that she got her rest well at night for he knew that the poor woman when he was with her used to be subject to nightly and that kept him very anxious decent man striving to keep her up to the good spirits and health that she had when they were first married so accordingly he pulled up a fir tree and after off the roots and branches made a walking stick of it and set out on his way to or rather fin lived at this time on the very tip top of hill which faces a cousin of its own called that rises up half hill on the opposite side â east east by south as the sailors say when they wish to puzzle a now the truth is for it must come out that honest fin s affection for his wife though cordial enough in itself was by no ot t â aa s the real cause of a legend of his journey home there was at that time another giant named â some say he was irish and some say he was scotch â but whether scotch or irish sorrow doubt of it but he was a no other giant of the day could stand before him and such was his strength that when well vexed he could give a stamp that shook the country about him the fame and name of him went far and near and nothing in the shape of a man it was said had any chance with him in a fight whether the story is true or not i cannot say but the report went that by one blow of his fists he a and kept it in his pocket in t he shape of a to show to all his when they were about to fight him undoubtedly he had given every giant in ireland a considerable beating fin m himself and he swore by the solemn contents of s that he would never rest night or day winter or summer till he would serve fin with the same if he could catch him fin however who no doubt was the cock of the walk on his own had a strong to meet a

49William Black

giant who could make a young earthquake or a when he was angry so he accordingly kept about from place to place the note by the messrs chambers in whose admirable journal the above legend appeared a most extraordinary coincidence between my illustration of s strength and that of the giant alluded to by the messrs chambers â the above paper gives a good idea of the strange hues which the national humour and fancy have thrown over most of the early popular legends of ireland fin or m is the same half being who figures as in s s poems he was probably a distinguished warrior in some early stage of the history of ireland different authorities place him in the fifth and the ninth centuries whatever his real age and whatever bis real qualities he was afterwards looked back to as a giant of immense size and strength and became the subject of numerous wild and warlike legends both in ireland and in the of scotland our poets of the middle ages give evidence of the great fame then enjoyed by both and the son of for instance in represents his hero robert as making allusion to these two personages at in who died in their names into his poem the palace of honour great and â t they should be gods in ireland â y a legend of not much to his credit as a to be sure whenever he happened to get the hard word that was on the scent of him this then was the of the whole movement although ne put it on his anxiety to see and i am not saying but there was some truth in that too however the short and the long of it was with reverence be it spoken that he heard was coming to the to have a trial of strength with him and he was naturally enough seized in consequence with a very warm and sudden sit of affection for his wife poor woman who was delicate in her health and leading besides a very lonely uncomfortable life of it he assured them in his absence he accordingly pulled up the fir tree as i said before and having it into a walking stick set out on his affectionate travels to see his darling on the top of by the way another poem of obscure but of the same age as the above entitled an of the s part play the extravagant popular notions of the day respecting the vast stature of not only fin and but of fin s wife of fin it at ay when he danced the after he grew at u v eleven mile wide was his mouth his teeth were ten miles square he upon his stand and the down with his hand and set them in a gold above his wife s hair f the wife it may be enough to say â for she took the fever for all the in france and not be till her leg a though she was young and tender in irish narrative as appears from mr s present sketch fin and his dame are kept within something comparatively moderate as respects bulk and strength at the same time that enough of the giant is retained to contrast with the modern and natural feel in assigned to them and the motives and on which they and their enemy are represented as acting fever a â a legend of in truth to state the suspicions of the country at the time the people wondered very much why it was that fin selected such a windy spot for his and they even went so far as to tell him as much what can you mane mr m said they by your tent upon the top of where you never are without a breeze day or night winter or summer and where you re often forced to take your without either going to bed or turning up your little finger ay an where besides this there s the sorrow s own want of water why said fin ever since i was the height of a round tower i was known to be fond of having a good prospect of my own and where the neighbours could i find a better spot for a good prospect than the top of as for water i am sinking a pump f and goodness as soon as the s made i intend to finish it now this was more of fin s philosophy for the real state of the case was that he pitched upon the top of in order that he might be able to see coming towards the house and of course that he himself might go to look after his distant transactions in other parts of the country rather than â but no matter â we do not wish to be too hard on fin all we have to say is that if he wanted a spot from which to keep a sharp look out â and between ourselves he did want it â or or its own cousin he could not find a or more convenient situation for it in the sweet and sagacious province of god save all here said fin good on putting his honest face into his own door fin an you re welcome home to a common name for the cloud or rack that hangs as a of wet weather about the peak of a mountain t there is upon the top of this hill an opening that bears a very strong resemblance to the of an extinct there is also a stone upon which i have heard the rev smith f t c now of the adjoining parish say that he found characters aud if do not mistake i think he took a ac ol y a legend of your own you bully here followed a that is said to have made the

49William Black

waters of the lake at the bottom of the hill curl as it were with kindness and sympathy faith said fin beautiful an how are you and how did you sport your figure during my absence my never a as a grass widow as ever there was in sweet among the bushes fin gave a short good humoured cough and laughed most heartily to show her how much he was delighted that she made herself happy in his absence an what brought you home so soon fin said she why said fin putting in his answer in the proper way never the thing but the purest of love and affection for yourself sure you know s truth anyhow fin spent two or three happy days with and felt himself very comfortable considering the dread he had of this however grew upon him so much that his wife could not but perceive that something lay on his mind which he kept altogether to himself let a woman alone in the meantime for or a secret out of her good man when she wishes fin was a proof of this it s this said he that s troubling me when the fellow gets angry and begins to stamp he ll shake you a whole and it s well known that he can stop a for he always carries one about him m the shape of a to show to anyone that might it as he spoke he clapped his thumb in his mouth which he always did he wanted to or to know anything that happened in his absence and the wife who knew what he did it for said very sweetly fin darling i hope you don t bite your thumb at me dear said fill but i bite my thumb said he a legend op yes jewel but take care and don t draw blood said she ah fin don t my bully â don t he s coming said fin i see him below thank goodness dear an who is it glory be to god that replied fin and how to manage i don t know if i run away i am disgraced and i know that sooner or later i must meet him for my thumb tells me so when will he be here v said she tomorrow about two o clock replied fin with a groan well my bully don t be cast down said depend on me and maybe i ll bring you better out of this scrape than ever you could bring yourself by your rule o thumb this fin s heart very much for he knew that was hand and glove with the and indeed to tell the truth she was supposed to be a fairy herself if she was however she must have been a kind hearted one for by all accounts she never did anything but good in the neighbourhood now it so happened that had a sister named living opposite them on the very top of which i have mentioned already and this was quite as powerful as herself the beautiful valley that lies between them is not more than about three or four miles broad so that of a summer s evening and were able to hold many an agreeable conversation across it from the one hill top to the other upon this occasion resolved to consult her sister as to what was best to be done in the difficulty that surrounded them said she are you at home t no said the other i m picking in the devil s well said get up to the top of look about you and then tell us what you see well replied â lam there now a legend of what do you see asked the other goodness be about us l exclaimed i see the biggest giant that ever was known coming up from ay said there s our difficulty that giant is the great and he s now up to leather fin what s to de done t i ll call to him she replied to come up to and refresh himself and may be that will give you and fin time to think of some plan to get yourselves out of the scrape but she proceeded i m short of butter having in the house only half a dozen and as i m to have a few giants and to spend the with me i d feel thankful if you d throw me up fifteen or sixteen or the largest you have got and you ll oblige me very much ill do that with a heart and a half replied and indeed i feel myself under great obligations to you for your kindness in keeping him off of us till we see what can be done for what would become of us all if anything happened fin poor man v she accordingly got the largest of butter she had â which might be about the weight of a couple a dozen so that you may easily judge of its size â and calling up to her sister said she are you ready i m going to throw you up a so be prepared to catch it i will said the other a good throw now and take care it does not fall short threw it but in consequence of her anxiety about fin and she forgot to say the charm that was to send it up so that instead of reaching as she expected it fell about half way between the two hills at the edge of the broad near my curse upon you she exclaimed you ve disgraced me i now change you into a grey stone lie there as a testimony oi i and a legend of may evil the first living man that will ever attempt to remove or injure you and sure enough there it lies to this day with the mark of the four

49William Black

fingers and thumb in it exactly as it came out of her hand never mind said i must only do the best i can with if all fail i ll give him a cast of to keep the wind out of his stomach or a of oak bark to draw it in a bit but above all things think of some plan to get fin out of the scrape he s in otherwise he s a lost man you know you used to be sharp and ready and my own opinion is that it will go hard with you of you ll yet she then made a high smoke on the top of the hill after which she put her finger in her mouth and gave three and by that knew he was invited to â for this was the way that the irish long ago gave a sign to all strangers and travellers to let them know they were welcome to come and take share of whatever was going in the meantime fin was very melancholy and did not know what to do or how to act at all was an ugly customer no doubt to meet with â and moreover tne idea of the confounded cake the very heart within him what chance could he have strong and brave though he was with a man who could when put into a passion walk the country into and knock into the thing was impossible and fin knew not on what hand to turn him right or left â backward or forward â where to go he could form no guess whatsoever said he can you do nothing for me where s all your invention am i to be like a rabbit before your eyes and to have my name disgraced for ever in the sight of all my tribe and me the best man among them how am i to fight this man mountain â this huge cross between an earthquake and a â m k wc sl sâ pocket that was once j legend up easy fin replied of you keep your toe in your pump talking of maybe weu give aa good as any he brings with otherwise if i don t treat him to as smart feeding he s got this many a day never trust again leave him to me and do just as l bid you tliis relieved fin very much for after all he ii great confidence in his wife knowing as he did she had got him out of many a the present however was the greatest of all b still lie began to get mil rage and was able to eat i as usual then drew the threads of different colours which she did to find out the best way of succeeding in an thing of importance she went about she them into three with three colours in putting one on her right arm one round her hear and the third round tier right ankle for then knew that nothing could fail with her that undertook having everything now prepared she sent to the neighbours and and twenty ire which she took ami into the hear of aud twenty cakes of bread and these she on this ire in the usual way setting them aside in tl cupboard according as they were done she then pi down a large pot of new milk which she made and and gave i m di r instructions how to use tiie when t should come done all this she sat down quite contented wai for his arrival on the next day about two o clock the hour at which he w is expected â for fi knew as much by the of his thumb j this was a curious ty kin s thumb but notwithstanding all the wisdom and logic he tn out it could never have here were it not for the wit of his wife in tliis â thing moreover he was very much resembled by foe for it was u huge strength possessed all lay iâ a legend op of his right hand and that if he happened by any to lose it he was no more notwithstanding his bulk than a common man at length the next day he was seen coming across the valley and knew that it was time to commence operations she immediately made the cradle and desired fin to lie down in it and cover himself up with the clothes you must pass for your own child said she so just lie there snug and say nothing but be guided by me this to be sure was to fin â i mean going into the cradle in such a cowardly manner â but ne knew well and finding that he had nothing else for it with a very face he gathered himself into it and lay snug as she had desired him about two o clock as he had been expected came in god save all here said he is this where the great fin m lives t indeed it is honest man replied god save you kindly â won t you be sitting v thank you ma am says he sitting down you re mrs m i suppose i am said she and i have no reason i hope to be ashamed of my husband no said the other he has the name of being the strongest and man in ireland but for all that there s a man not far from you that s very desirous of taking a shake with him is he at home why then no she replied and if ever a man left his house in a fury he did it appears that some one told him of a big of a giant called being down at the to look for him and so he set out there to try if he could catch him i hope for the poor

49William Black

giant s sake he won t meet with for if he does fin will make of him at once well said the other i am and i have been seeking him these twelve months but he always kept clear of me and i will never rest night or day tm i lay my hands on him a legend of j at this set up a loud laugh of great â contempt by the way and looked at him as if he was only a mere handful of a man â j did you ever see fin t said she changing her j manner ail at once how could i v said he he always took care to keep his distance i thought so she replied i judged as much and if you take my advice you poor looking creature you ll pray night and day that you may never see him for i tell you it will be a black day for you when you do but in the mean time you perceive that the wind s on the door and as fin himself is from home maybe you d be civil enough to turn the house for it s always what fin does when he s here this was a even to but he got up however and after pulling the middle finger of his right hand until it cracked three times he went outside and getting his arms about the house completely turned it as she had wished when fin saw this he felt a certain description of moisture which shall be nameless out through every pore of his skin but depending upon her woman s wit felt not a whit then said she as you are so civil maybe you d do another obliging turn for us as fin s not to do it himself you see after this long stretch of dry weather we ve had we feel very badly off for want of water now fin says there s a fine somewhere under the rocks behind the hill here below and it was his intention to pull them asunder but having heard of you he left the place in such a fury that ne never thought of it now if you try to find it i d feel it a kindness she then brought down to see the place which was then all one solid rock and after looking at it for some time he cracked his right middle finger nine times and stooping down tore a about four hundred feet deep and a quarter of a mile in length which has since been c i ta ax â g a legend of ford s this feat nearly threw herself off her guard but what won t a woman s sagacity and presence of mind accomplish you ll now come in said she and eat a bit of such humble fare as we can give you fin even although he and you are enemies would scorn not to treat you kindly m his own house and indeed if i didn t do it even in his absence he would not be pleased with me she accordingly brought him in and placing half a dozen of the cakes we spoke of before him together with a can or two of butter a side of boiled bacon and a of she desired him to help himself â for this be it known was long before the invention of potatoes who by the way was a as well as a hero put one of the cakes in his mouth to take a huge out of it when both fin and were stunned with a noise that resembled something between a growl and a yell blood and fury he shouted how is this here are two of my teeth out what kind of bread is this you gave me what s the matter said coolly matter shouted the other again why here are the two best teeth in my head gone why said she that s the only bread he ever eats when at home but indeed i forgot to tell you that nobody can eat it but himself and that child in the cradle there i thought however that as you were reported to be rather a stout little fellow of your size you might be able to manage it and i did not wish to a man that thinks himself able to fight fin here s another cake â maybe it s not so hard as that at the moment was not only hungry but so he accordingly made a fresh set at the second cake and immediately another yell was heard twice as loud as the first thunder and lie roared take your bread out of this or i will not have a tooth in my head there s another pair of them gone i a legend of well honest man replied if you re not able to eat the bread say so quietly and don t be the child in the cradle there there he s awake upon me fin now gave a that startled the giant as coming from such a as he was represented to be mother said he i m hungry â get me something to eat went over and putting into his hand a cake that had no in it fin whose appetite in the meantime was sharpened by what he saw going forward soon made it disappear was and secretly thanked his stars that he had the good fortune to miss meeting fin for as he said to himself i d have no chance with a man who could eat such bread as that which even his son that s but in his cradle can before my i d like to take a glimpse at the lad in the cradle said he to for i can tell you that the infant who can manage that is no joke to look

49William Black