The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-01-27
PHILOSOPHER PUSH.
An Irish Tale.
CHAPTER I,

AMI Irish Tale.
CTIAPTERI.
IT'S a long story, Miss Maria, but
sence yer agreeable t. listen to it, why ii
'ud i'll become me t. say" no." Shure his
name wasn't Push at all, but Tom Hen
nessey-that was name that was put an
him by raison av his havin' Push" wrote
upan the half-door av his shop His
father was as warm-heaited an kind a
crachur as ivir dhrew tn breath o. life
but he was mortal fond av tn dhrop; an
throth he was sorry han'ful; an a heart
break t. his wife God be wild the time
| often heerd me mother say whin | was a
girsha that it 'ud make the heart 'ithin
yeh stand still an stop batin' wild the
soreness for T. see poor Mrs. Hcnnessey
wild her five childhre an sometimes not a
bit t. put in their mouths, an all along O.
| the dhrink. Bedad, it was near the ruin
alton av thin all. Shure whin three av
ther the docther sed it was for the most
part in regard av tn want OF attn an
| dhrinkin'. But, anyhow, av some was
tuck thin that was left med up for it, for
| better childhre nor Biddy an Tom Hen
nessey-that's Push, miss-nevcr stepped.
| Bid wint + sarvice an often used t sind
the mother home some money, antil she
! got married, an the crachur died soon
| afther But it's Tom that was the boy.
Ahoo! wasn't he? He was always IN
dustherin' at somethin' or other. The
poor boy seen what the dhrink done for
his father, an the sOrra dhrop he'd iver
touch, but used t savchis money-the lit
tie he had, God help him-an' he bought
a boat wild it, an used t have it an Der
ravarragh Lake; an whin gintlemin aud
come down from Dublin T. fish Tom used
t. 90 wild thin an get ped for his time an
: for the boat.
! An it's he that was tn schollard, too.
He had whole shelf av tn dhrcsser full
av tn splindidist books yeh iyir clapped
yer two good-loCkin' eyes an; an well
able to- read out av iviry wan av thin he
was.
Whin Push was fine, good lookin' boy
av three an twenty h. ould father-God
rest his sowl died; and thrOth it's often
an often me mother used to make us
screech wild tn laughin' whin she'd be
tellin' av' tn legacy he left Tom.
"Tom," +" sez tn ould father, an at that
time he was near a past spakin'-"T Tom, ="
sez he, Il havnt much t. lave yeh."
Thrue for yeh, father" sez Tom,
KNOWN in his own mind that it all wint
in tn dhrink; but we all have our failin's,
God help w! as well as poor ould Tom.
"Anyhow, I'll lave yeh me blessin', av
yeh think it's worth havin'," sez he.
'Av coorse do, father he sez; but
don't be thinkin' av me at all fix ermind
an where yer goin' to-"
q will, avick," sez the ould father :;
"but before l go want t give yeh bit
av advice that'll be as good as legacy in
goold t yeh."
"Let us hear it, father" sez Tom; an
me mother used t say that tn all gother
roun' TIL bed to listen t what he had t.
say.
Tom" sez he, "my advice t. yeh is
this, an see that yeh mind it, for it often
stud me in good sted, ! can tell yeh.
Whinivir ych get into the middle av a
fight, don'tkeep lookin' about, but sthrike
tn first head that comes in yer way-it
maynt be the right head, but sthrike it
any way, on chance. It'll relieve yer
feelin's, ma boucbal."
As said afore, me mother used often t
make US laugh whin she'd be tellin' the
story; for 1t was just wan av the quare
foolish things ye'd expect ould Hennessey
t. say. Anyhow, Push didn't mind tn
advice, for he was mortal quite boy
an afther tn ouid father died, shure, be-
CAD, he TUX the little slated house at the
cross roads an opened Il little giniral shop
for til mother an himself. At first they
didn't sell tay an tobacca-only besoms
an tay-laces, an turf, an shugar ar-sticks,
an cotton balls, an thin sort av things
antil tn saved money enough t buy a
licence Thin, me jewil what dye
think but Tom got grand counter put
up, an scales an weights, an he had
"Push" wrote on the half-doore. An
from that day t this he nivir was called
| nothin' but "Push."
The house was raal dacint, an there
was a nate little bit O. land that wint wild
it, an that Push used t. plow an harra'
himself, wild sometimes half days help
from willin' nabour. Me own poor
husband-the high heavens be his bed
this blessed day!-many's TIL time gev
him help, for iviry wan liked Iush, he
was that good t. tn ould mother.
Push was doin' well-so he was-for
| in tn fishin' saison he used t. have gintle-
min lodgin' in tn house, an thin he'd go
out wild thin an Derravarragh Lake, an
| what betchune wan thing an another he
got dacint little bit o. money together.
But wirra! wirra! that was tn onlucky
money t. more nor Push! Yeh see he
wanted t. get married, an t. see his chill
dhre grown up about him, an small
blame t. him for that same. So he was
coortln' Nancy Reilly that lived about a
quarther av a mile beyant the cross
roads. It's she that was the purity
| girsha, an as quite an industhrus
as Push himself. People used t.
wondher why he didn't look out for
girl wild stockin', or, maybe, couple
o. pigs or a COW; but Push was that fond
o. Nancy that troth he'd ha' married her
wild just only tn clothes she stud up in
Begorra, she hadn't much more, for hel
| mother was dead-God rest her sowl land
her father, Bill Reilly, was a dark soart
av aman, reglar Shaughraun; some.
times he'd 60 aft far weeks t'gether an
nobody 'ud iver know nothin' about him.
| Nancy herself usen't t. know, the era
| thur! an there she'd be workin' the two
hands offa her, for av she hadn't the BIZ
an the sup ready for her rutcieeA ,av a
father, bedad it 'ud be worse for her,
Shpre he had no sort av behavior in him
at all! for wan time he KEN home he ate
! tn seed prateesl an whin man 'ud have