The Irish standard., 1886-05-15

had the habit Of slipping sixpence now
and again to the beggars whom Mrs
Motherly thought it her duty to drive
from the door but most Of all for his
inyeterate disregard of his dress and
personal appearance. OF late years,
however, she had given HIM up in des'
pair, re]inquishing all hopes Of ever
being able to correct him, and came at
last to the wise conclusion that destined
as she was 10 remain fixture in the
place, why. like a prudent woman, she
would let him have his own way, and
try to do the best she could for him
Still there was one little pecultarity III
Mr.. Guirkie's conduct especially for the
last year or SO, which Mrs. Motherly
sometimes found it rather hard to put up
with; and that was, his want of regard
for her feelings in presence of third par
ties-the doctor of course excepted; this
was particularly the case when company
happened to be at the house, or when
he CHANGED to come across her any
where beyond the walls Of the cottage.
Alone with her ct home, he was as trac-
table as child; for the fact was,-antl
it may as well be told now as again.
the fact was, he feared Mrs. Motherly.
It's no doubt a lamentable admission,
! ,,,.4 =, ~ 4l,o 1ooe +r,,o for oil 41o+ A,l
the reason was clear; Mrs. Motherly was
woman of such excellent qualities in
her way, that Uncle Jerry could not
help entertaining great respect for her;
then she took such a lively interest in
his affairs that he felt she had a good
right to his confidence, and he yielded
it accordingly; and last of all, with all
her humanity she had such force Of
character, that he generally found it
easier to submit than quarrel with her.
Whether our readers of the sterner sex
and we write down the word sex in
order to save it from growing entirely
obsolete-whether they shall ever agree
to adopt Mr.. Guirkie's rule of conduct
in this respect as the safest and the wis
est is more than we dare predict; still,
we might venture to say, Judging from
the the present aspect Of things, and
making all necessary allowance for the
progressive spirit of the age, that such
revolution in the ordinary relations of
life would not, after all, be so very ex-
t1oardinary an event.
In the house, and alone with Mrs.
Motherly, Uncle Jerry, as we have said
already, was generally as tractable as q
child. He would turn back at her bid
ding, were his very feet i'll the stirrup,
and sit down to let her sew button Oh
his shirt, or tie more becoming knot
on his cravat-~nay, sometimes, when
hard pressed, would hand her his purse
for safe keeping--a precaution, by the
way, she generally took when she sus-
pected him OF going up to the Blind
Fiddler's in the Cairn, or down to the
widow with the three twins at Ballynas-
tocker. From home, however, or in
presence of strangers, he was quite an
other man. On such occasions, his
whole bearing towards her underwent
q change. He would draw himself up
to the highest stretch Of his dignity, adj
dress her in dictatorial tone, and
otherwise deport himself towards her as
as if be regarded her in no other light
than that of an ordinary waiting woman.
When any one about the table Glanced
to make honorable mention of Mrs.
Motherly,-which indeed those who
were aware of Uncle Jerry's little weak
ness often did to plague him,-it was
amusing to see how the old man would
pout his lips, throw himself back, and
admit, with a patronizing air. that she
was-really was an honest, trustworthy
servant-had her little whims, to be sure,
as every one had-but: nevertheless, was
a right trusty and obedient housekeep-
er.
This change in Mr.. Guirkie's conduct
towards her, Mrs. Motherly was o long
time unable to account for, and the anx-
iety she felt about the cause Of it was
far more painful to her than the thing
itself. The secret of all was, however
and the reader must be told it by all
means,-the secret was, that Uncle Jer-
RVS friends were in the habit of plagu-
ing him about Mrs. Motherly; that is to
say, about certain little leanings in that
direction. They made no direct, speci-
fc charges not one-but kept forever
indulging in sly wlnks and innuendoes
which mortified the poor man much
more than plain, downright accusations.
Amongst these friends, Mr.. Thomas
Petersham, or Captain Tom Petersham,
as he was generally called, held con-
spicuous place. The captain, as the
reader may have seen already, was
good natured, jolly sort of a man as
one might care to meet with anywhere.
He cracked A. good Joke. rode a good