, 1873-05-11
Coming to lam Understand ing.

Enalish co7respondenc< u The Neus York Nail
Having on one occasion few hours to SPAR
passenger waited in the harbor Of Queenstown
for the English mails to arrfve, with = few o
my fellow passengers, I spent thoeo few hour
walking about the streets Of the town, beset a
every stop, Of course, by the ragged and impor
little dowerpots, and very hard and green
looking appiea. One particularly importunine
old lady attached herself .pa1tiou1a1ly to ou1
party, and more particularly TO me, who
she said, Was Of her: complexion" Dc
not believe that redder hair Was ever seen On q
human being. and on her dirty face there uas
not room enough left for another. freckle. She
had, unfortunately, caught my eye fixed almost
admiringly On q certain lace handkerchief among
her other stores, and devoted her forenoon to
making me it's purchaser.
Would please buy it. air, to put round my
sHeetheart's neck when went home2 I could
see at glance how elegant it was, and to me the
price would only be four-and-si1, the Tary low'
est; there noWl ::
I'd give her ninepence!
must DO Joking. Twas. Couldn't I see
that them chaps in the shops would charge me
pound for the likes Of it, and they hadn't the
likes Of it at all but twas Of her complex.
on."-she seemed disposed To dren on thst, -
lowest there now !"
Ninepence WAS my price,
Did mean to insult the County Cork and the
whole Irish people by such: An offer IS that !;
giant work, and wouldn't it look beautiful round
my sweethearts neck, and wasn't "'of her
complexion" !" and wouldn't give her three and
six, the very lowest thare noWl
My limit was ninepence.
Would rob the poor blind girl, her g1and-
daughter, who had worn her fingers to ths bone,
and lost her eyeslght, and ruined her health, and
spent the last four months in making that lace ;
wasn't she giving it to me for nothing, and Was
hard-hearted, and did I want to oppress tha poor,
and wouldn't aha pray for me the longest day she
lived, and could have it for three ahillings tho
very lowest thero now !!
I'd go no more than ninepencel
Wasn't I taking tho very potato out Of her
granddaughter mouth, and hadn't she her ront
to pay, and not = ha'penny in her pocket that
blesaed minute to pay it with and would I see
her turned out on the bog to starve; and wasn't
I gentleman, every inch Of mo; and waen't
"of her complexion !" and she d give 1t: to me
for tWo-and-slx, the very lowest !; there nowt
No, ninepence was all I'd pay Ia promised
my parents before left home that I'd not give
VAS ninepence for the handkerchief, tho vary
highest "there noW!"
Bv all the saints in the calendar 1 was laugh
ing at her, and trying to murder her poor grand
daughter, who was blind, and had killed herself
at tile work, and so On. for mile or two along
the shore, coming down in her price penny or
two every few hundred yards, and al the time
displaying powers of eloquenco that would hare
made her fortune II she had only written book
and had gone to the "states" to lecture and
displaying powers OF persuasion never equaled
except by q life insurance agent.
Finally, when she had reduced her price to
18 pence as " the very lowest, there now" and
seemed as determined to stick to that figure -
to my 9pencer I offered to compromise. One
shilling to end the matter-9pence for the hand