Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-01-03

Kept IQc0 tuero curing y AouS 4ooAsSx VI
an hours hard thinking.
What kept Archiei What time could IL bel
Where was Moreenl Gould Ban Castle
be much further away! Was it possible
for Us to get there in time to dine with the
Vallancys tomorrow Was it always such
wonderfully mild weather as this in Ire
land at Christmas timel Would rather
be at home! Was it in any way
In came Moreen cloaked to the eyes She
went up to the figure in the tall box
chair, leaned down until her rosy lips were
on a level with o supposab!e ear, and
whispered something l knew to be Hiber-
nian. The figure started erect with sud-
den strength wonderful to see, and seemed
about to arise from her sitting posture.
Moreen's hand detained her and said:
"Moreen."
as your ladyship awake, thin! Arrah,
an it's bitther cowld night widout-the
rain is turnin' to slate an the slate ull be
turnin to snow, an thin pnat ull become av
US all, phativerl"
do you call this cold. Moreenr'
laughingly inquired, remembering the
wide stretches of deep, soft snow at home,
ice-clogged East river and the sound Of q
tho usand merry sleigh bells!
"Do call it cowld your Leddyship? Sure,
an there'n be nothing else to call it! But
it's not so cowld as the ght whin young
Shane Magroo gave the conshtabularies
the ship up in the SPERM Mountains-bad
| cess till thimr'
| .'Tin whats" 1 asked. laughing again.
1.-THE police, Moreen. or the mountains!''
The police, sure! And bllssld foriver
| be thin same mountains for givin' him his
protixionr'
"Moreenw
"Yis, your Leddyship"
"Who cas Shane Magroo!"
"Divvent ye know, at all!'
''Sorra q bitw l answered, dropping
pleasantly into her vernacular.
There was q sudden movement Of the
| figure in the box-chair. Moreen leaned
down again-quite far down-and there
| was another Celtic passage Of words.
Then pipe was brought filed, lighted
| and rendered the ancient dame, and
Moreen, after seating herself comfortably
| before the fire. began to satisfy my ever
increasing curiosity.
First av all, your Ieddyship, I'd bet
Their be tellin' We that Shane Magroo were
the bravest, honestest, handsomest, bon
| niest broth av boy in all Ulster. Not
wan av the commOnality, aither, your
Leddyship, but mimber av wan av the
ouldest-''
A loud, hacking cough came from Mother
Maginnis to interrupt MOreen for mo-
ment.
IVAN av the ouldest an gintlist av all
the gintale aristocracy av ould Ireland.
But he loved the paypel, did Shane; loved
lviry wan av the down-throddir', meeser
able craithers that lived upon his un-
cle'sj'
Another cough from the box chair. The
wind was beginning to rise, and ever and
anon it came swirling down the chimney
and found its way even into the sheltered
hooks of the box-char.
1T were hard saison wan year for the
poor folk, your Leddyship-the year the
Shane Magroo were so desaitfully dit wild
be his cuzzin, the Teddy Bridgit o. Mallory.
Och, but she were q gostherin', milk
faced bit o. quality-beggin' your Leddy-
ships pardon! An over-swaggerin' be-
! lantin' young wcoman-savin' your Leddy-
ships pri since-who wud have given tho
two fashin' Dyes out av her proud hid for
wan love-word from the dear Shane Ma
groo! Tare an GUNS, but she were q high
an mighty bit o. clay! Pm thinkin' that
aiven wild the pinniless bhoy. Shane
Magroo, she'd have been contint; but he
were only Shane Magroo to US who loved
him so pairfaictly, for them were his
two middle names. ye moind. The other
wurruld-the 'paytraishun wurruld,' as
Leddy Bridgit called ito which he aud
she rightfully belonged, knew HIM better
as"
A terrible cough from the box-chair
''Achcrra machree, mother, but your
cough is dale worse the night-beant it.
N~l1 nh-< =.
naither here nor there-ue called him
Shane Magroo"'
s'You speak Of the lad in the past tense,
Moreen; is he dead!"
"Daid, is it! Och, be this an be that, if
he's not worth hunderd daid min VT me
name ull caise to be Moreen Maginnisv
And laugh full of an impish enjoyment
went careening up amongst the dark,
smoke blackened rafters overhead.
sWhat did he do so awfully wicked,
Moreen, that the police were sent after
himr l asked, stretching myself into
more comfortable position upon the rugs
and giving a little half thought to Archie
as I did so.
"sWeekit'-'weekitr Sure an he were
not that at all at all! He only sided wild
the WILDLY an the orphin an all the down
COfOOUtn Slaves aV Inc BOIL. Ou, ne were
not weeSit, your Leddyship, far from it!
But all the same he were dhriven from
the country folk that loved him-that wui
"a died for him! An all along o. his
cuzzin's, the Leddy Bridgit's, biistherin'
tongue! Faix, Granny Maginnis, your
coughs most alarmin' in its intinsityi
Take bit dhraw av the dhudeen, mother.
an lave me to finish the story at me aiser'
"If the Lady Bridget loved him." I ask,
''why did she give him over to justicep
ITO o,Justicc, yer manil'-axin' your Led
dyship's pardon! Pm afther belavin' as
how she had a bindin' contract wild the
divil himsilf-the saints save an presa:rve
US ALL But, there; I'll thry to till ye the
hull o. the sthory. As l were raymarkin',
it were hard saison wan year wild the
pitaties all rottin' in the ground an all the
other crops falliu' shoort An it were
thin that the tininthry, scattered round
the aistern soide o. SPERM Mountains, in
their desperation at not bein' able to make
MP their yearly rints, tuck settin' up
shtills for the maxim av potheen unbe-
knownst to the Goover'mint- Your Led