Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1859-10-21

he hegan to think.
The night before he bought ii Pccksheen
had said,
ooh Murty, only for a jig from the old
fiddle now !"
Murty's heart jumped into his throat, and
he opened his mouth to let it out-not the
heart, but the secret; but he thought better
OF il. the rogue and sined his impaticncc.
He did more. He said, in tone of remon-
STRANGE and admonition,
"Ah! Pecksheen, don't talk of the old
fiddle. How would we have fiddle !?
Whisht, Pecksheen p
Pecksheen admitted that it was n wild
folly TO think of it, and gave her attention
TO something els.. But Murty, who SEEM
cd unable TO get over the ahsurdty Of the
notion, kept repeating, allow would we
have fiddle? Whisht, Pecksheen !" until
fecksheen became exasperated, and show
ed signs of breaking out tempestuously.
In the middle of the night Mr.. Donahoo,
who had invited sleep without being able to
secure that coy charmer, pertinaciously
nudged Mrs. Donahoo, who awokc and sat
erect in bed.
"Whist, Pecksheen," said Mr. Donahoo
show would we have fiddle p
Mrs d. made sinful remark, punched
her pillow with impetuosity, and endeavor-
ed to collect the fragments of her shattered
dream.
Murty's purchase was not effected with
out severe struggles. The Hebrew vendcr
\ put him into passion by asking him what
/ Io Nf Il,
/ expressed natural resentment thereat.
manifested an Indifference to the sale which
was most mortifying. Moreover, he charg-
ed heavy extra price for the bow after the
! fiddle had passed into the new owners
hands. aIurty felt indignant at this breach
Of faith, for it had been understood that fd-
die and bow were 10 be sold together, and
mediiated various plans by which to clever
! ly revenge himself. He examined some
! strings, and selected four that suited him.
Turning TO an assistant salesman, he asked,
politely,
"Was it you that gave me these strings p
"No, gave them TO you" interposed the
surly Hebrew.
"Thank you Sir for giving them to me
much obliged Sir | thought | would have
" puy tHein Soou-by, or
And Murty moved rapidly eff, smiling as
the dawn, and leaving the Hebrew gentle
man in consequent bitterness, wailing and
gnashing his teeth.
/ You shonld have seen Murty get over
| the mile and half that lay between that
shop and his home!
/ "Whisht, Pecksheen," said he, as he burst
into the garret, waving the instrument like
triumphant shilIelah before her amazed
eyes "whisht, Pecksheen, how would we
have fiddle z"
| Such shouting, and such dancing, and
/ such clapping Of hands such hilarious de-
monstrations generally-were never before
known in a tenement garret, where mostly
misery kills mirth, and JOY is strangled by
despair. But here was, indeed, for once, a
tolerably happy family in the midst of cir
cumiacent woes unnumbered. The two old
est of the children were in state of un-
controllable excitement to spread the glad
| tidings around, while the youngest, unob-
served, obtained possession of the bow and
sucked it vigorously. Failing to procure
the wished-for nourishment, he repudiated
/ it in disgust. Pecksheen, forgetting that
the Irish poor have no emotions, began to
! cry.
Then Murty put his big brawny arm
about her, and they sat down together on
the little bed and talked of dear old times
The brightness was not yet quite gone from
Pecksheen's eye, though it had been DIM
med by many sorrows and now it beamed
with the light of pleasant memories. They
! talked of their last home, and the hopes thai
had died with little Pecksheen. Their
Joined hands were rough and SCARED with
labor, but their pressure told Of a firm faith
/ and an honest trust. As they sat their
hearts grew very young, and beat as warm
| ly as ever in the brighter days at Ballag-
/ hadireen; and fondly-oh fondly, and
tenderly too-did this toiling twain, in their
poor little eock-loft, exchange in simple
fashion their words of comfort and good
cheer.
| 1t is difficult 10 understand how this could
have happened; for we all of US know that
/ there never was, and never can by any pos
/ sibiIity be- any romance about Irish labor
ers, and that in cramped tenement garret
there is no room for sentiment, which al
ways finds its abiding place midst pleasures
and palaces, and so forth, and can only be
/ uetecicu swelling III AuooS boSohio WHICH
the luxurious license of the delicate toilet
so unrestrainedly reveals. Yet somehow
it did happen.
But the fiddle.
The news that sir. Donahoo had intro
duced musical insfru nent into his quar-
tiers circulated rapidly. and deputation of
the asthetiealy- inclined of his neighbors
waited on him and did him honor. As it was
growing dark, they brought tribute, in the
shape of a sperm candle @hicb was pur-
chased by voIun ary contributions from sew
eral public-spiritcd denizeps of adjoining
garrets How the interested auditors re-
Trained from entering the room. lest they
might em'tarrass the preparations; how
Murty took up his position on the bed, and
with serious visage, set TO work adjusting
the strings, ever keeping an eye on the
visitors to note the effect Of his mysterious
manipulaiions how Peckshcen by a speedy
process disposed of the youthful Donahoos
/ for the night how the excitement was
screwed up with the last string, and was
/ held for a few moments at painful pitch
II Il. IL, D.c.-,,,.r x-oDtonlv dailic1 with