The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1879-01-19
Tom Ffrench's Christmas
CURRAGHGLASS.
New York Catholic World.


pleased the architects who fourished in the
days of Queen Anne to style the severe, haugh
", demnre, yet net altogether uncomfortable
manorial residences erected during her reign
The house, at the date on which il is brought
under the notice of The reader, bore n decsyed,
widowed, and melancholy look, and were II
not that the gravel sweep opposite the grand
entrance was kept neatly raked-not so much
o solitary blade Of gross or sproot OF ground
sci putting in an appearance, while the rake.
marks we're fresh as the lines on print OF
Hogarth's-and that the Two ponderouB brass
knockers shone as bright as FURNISHED gold.
one would be led to suppose that the place was
as free from the imprint of q human foot as the
island of joan Fernando. or the rose and
very-much- thorn Pc ace inhabited By the Sleep
ing Beauty in the Wood.
The window butters were closed, the wood
work cracked and peeled and gnarled in the
blezs of summer suos and the blast of winter
winds that beat tiercely from the broad Allan
tic, whose drowsy hum in June and whose
mighty roar in December eoothed or scared ic
,turn the jewellers at Currsghg!ass Great
myrtle. trees caressingy raised their ragged
branches towards the upper windows, sho"lng
perfume laden blossoms deliciously white
against the warm red brick, while fuchstss
struggled and sprawled Al their sweet wild will
sadly ringing their blue and ecarlet bells or
twit,iug the blooua of the heliotrope for its
'9hoddcn gray"
The house was enc!o s,d by gigantic cline, in
which COLONY of rookie ca~ed themselves
hoarse from morning until night vast court
yard, now cboked with weeds and grass, stood
at the rear, surrounded by stables, and coach
houses, and barus, and dsries and servants
seepiuG apartments dmly-marked path III
The rauk veset atom leading to a carved ioun'
tain that SIN triokled crystal wItar froCl out
n GOrgnn's head, tAe lips being ve!veted with
deep-LlIt d hchep, denoted the fxistcLce. of
moor humanity" since this lightly troddeu
way might be traced 10 q set of stone steps, q
mass of glotiaus mes tes aud ferns, and 10 an
,oaken door stabbed with immense iron nails.
such as one meets in the Cathedra! portals IN
Spain.
Currsghglass was the home of the FfIencbes,
one o! the mcst blue blooded families on the
Galway SIDE OF the shannon. 1t was from
Curragt glass tAat Tom French, Fighting
FfreIch" ride, without drawing rein, TO vote
egalrst the Union. It WAS in Curraghg)sss
that Julia Ffrench. his wife, shot the Hessan
ai,er who drew sword upon hunted prIest
1t was at Curragbglass that Billy Ffrench,
Toms son, compelled tue process server to eat
bis own writ. 1t was at CurraghglGes that
Erin-go-Brasb, tho horse that beat everything
the English garrison could turn ort 90 the
Curragh, was foalcd. It was al Cnrraghglass
that stephen French hoFsewhipped Lord
Mouutcbest=r, the lord Iicltenants private Sc
cretary, for speaking disparagiugiy Of an Irish
lady taec q Gas.t ~ tne house.
In o!Gen t.res Curragtglass was faTnonn
stronghold, held grlm!y by the FtrcacAr2, -
IGIE1d keep ard Siea tN~"T telling ~ story ~
siege and assault Ot sor;ia aui !agAy, OF dFt-
auoc ard chivalIy, - ica'5 End famine. Of Ken
and teye'vy snch as few ttS0e walls conld for
nish mrG,rn history with. Tbs ffrenches bad
beer IA rCcGI,ss race. Hospitsble to f4ult,
aud Tnn,'UdGni OF the morrow, they iiHed the
to-day, plurgiug into debt, moViEagiUg their
broad acres, GIs-l patirE their iuEerItgIces, iil
T0a Fheuca, the PTosvrt owner, was too poor
and TOO prord TO intabit tie home of bis
cestoTs. He lived abroad no person knew
where, nor did any person trouble his OF her
head about bin. he bad gone down, aud the
waters of oblivion had swept over his bead
the old, old story, 80 Old 1t is scarcely worth
repeating.
BaiaklaSo, and Xaited the reputation OF the
Eaglsh heart at the expense of that OF the
English head" there was among those who
vaiiantly did the dntJ ON which they were sent
by Incompetent commanders a certain captain
of hussars. He was brilliant horseman, handy
At waiting into The saddle fast across coun-
try, and, unheppLy for himself, reckless in
every sense of the term. In that ride Of death
he had charger shot under him, bnt, being
quick and active, he caught oae of the rider
less horses and advanced to the guns. Badly
hurt with sabre and lance, and being again
unhorsed, be was taken prisoner; but, keenly
alive to the chances of escape, he seized o mo-
mont when the mad confusion of galloping
horses, empty saddles, and smoke clouds rem
dsred chance possibility. OF the loose horees
two or three came instinctiveiy towards his
English uniform. and Captain French sprang
upon the back OF one OF them like flash.
Taken by surprise, bis Russian cnstodians
had hardly time to start in pursuit before the
shattered equations of England started for
that awful ride back which " as to empty 30
many saddles and to bring SO many gallant
troops face to face with death. Oae of that
Six Hundred who never reached the British
recovered by his faithful servant, Barney
Joyce, stripped of it's ray and CANDY uniform,
while a bullet-h hole in the back of his head
told the story of how be went down to bis
death.
When the news Of the charge reached Cur
raghRlsss taere was awful henrt-thrOb and
desolation. Then like a thunaeIbo}t came the
revelation of the true state OF the hustars
financial recklessn6ss Demands for money,
like the cnpnon at Bslaklava, IN front, on the
right, on the left, in the rear, came pouring in
npon the still young and handsome widow.
She made frantic effort to redeem the honor
of her dead hero by selling everything that
could be sold until there was naught OF the old
property left for her only son, Tom, but the
house and elm trees at CurrsGhRlass. Sac died
not of broken but of throbbing heart,
thTobbipE with hope and fear for her idolzed
son and when the lamp of his mothers life
bad gone out for ever, Tom French Quilted the
old home, leaving it in charge of Barney joyce,
the brave corporal who had sought his mas
ter's body in rain of bullets, going no man
knew whittier. It vas, indeed, by no sin of
his own that this Young man was an exile. His