The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-07-17

liciOus OF all rhodomontade, the lovable
blarney of the musical Irish tongue; while
the great packages of yarn they carry
without effort would break an American
woman's back completely Not far from
them ever are the old, old women with
braideen-covered baskets on their backs.
These contain a few cones OF butter, a
brace OF fowls may be a dozen or so eggs,
or any other product of the holding or
their labor that may "bring a few pence
the day." but old or young. they are knit
ting away vigorously in time to step and
gossip; and all still, old or young, with
their shoes slung across their shoulders,
or hidden in the baskets; for they are
saving then until the edge of the village
is reached, where brush from a wisp of
deWy grass will make them shine from
their late greasing, and their owners will
walk proudly into the fair with their
shapely feet hidden from the gaze of men,
in brogans that
"Wud harm insulter,
Or bate deal table,
With murtherin power
While their owners wOr ablel"
It is catch-as-catch-can at an Irish mar
ket, or fair. The first upon the ground is
best served as TO location. At the village
market there is no attempt at system or
arrangement; and the market-place itself
is never a covered structure, but simply
large walled Enclosure along the principal
street, with gates like a castle, with walls
of enormous hight andthickness as though
attacks from battering-rams were appre-
hended. and usually it is surrounded, at
least on three sides, by the quaintest
structures, village homes, inns, GROCERIES
and shops, furnishing as picturesque
scenes as the excited groups within the
l-.,Ar. 2
extend in every direction temporary ave-
nues formed by carts ranged side by side
with their backs to the way, and the con-
slant crowds coming and going with the
large numbers belonging to each cart, all
engaged in heated arguments over values,
make much good-natured squeezing and
pushing a matter of necessity. There are
seldom inner Enclosures. Cattle are
herded against the walls at one point;
asses at another; pigs on foot, kept gently
moving in circles by the skillful use of
their drivers long ash pixies, will be
massed at another point goats and sheep,
both extraordinarily combative by the en-
forced. association, at still another; while
all manner of lollipop sellers and brave
voiced market-amusement purveyors are
huddled together in any extra space that
may be found.
For the first hour or two of the morn
ing the sale of the small truck, such as
butter, eggs, poultry and vegetables, pro-
ceeds merrily enough; but the attitude of
buyer and seller of whole carloads of po-
tatOes and Of all animals, is amusing in
deed. Bevies of buyers for the Dublin
and London markets, men of gigantic
stature with red, puffy faces and great
coats hanging over top-boots to their
heels, each carrying a whip OF tremendous
length, will saunter in, take a hasty run
about the place, struggling their shoulders
as If nothing worth their attention had
been seen, and finally hastily depart The
while the Irish woman, with folded arms
and nose in air expressive of fine scorn,
bid them all a cheerful defiance in lu-
dicrous attempts TO appear unconscious of
their presence. These double pretenses
may proceed until noon with now and
then a bargain struck on the sly;
but the entire populace at the market
are on the alert for the seductive wiles of
the buyer, and protect each other vail
emily from being carried away for fleeing
singly to the enticing groggeries near.
Toward noon buying is likely to begin in
what might seem to q stranger as an
alarming riot. The big traders will make
an onslaught upon a willing subject.
Bravelv he apparently resists their efforts
to bully or deceive him. If by main
strength he is taken from among his
friends they will rally and set upon the
traders and rescue him. Some rough
tussling may follow, but no one is alarmed
at this tits way they have of impinging
upon formality. The ice once broken,
buying begins in earnest, and higher and
higher rise shrill voices, often aided in
pitch and intensity by John BarleycoTn,
who is ever the real master of ceremonies
here, until one would think murder must
follow the excited chickering's. Buyers
thrash the air with their whips, and pour
fearful objurgations on the poor animals
and their owners, while the latter, aided
by their valiant wives, pay back the fierce
Safeguarding with rich interest. The
"1uck-penny," which goes with each
single beast or group OF animals sold, is
shrieked over as though it were the value
all the market holds. Babel has begun.
The lesser sellers crowd around and rise
their voices" lugubriously. Every one
has drank enough to be interested in
every other persons affairs.
Sales are now rapidly made, "dirtying
the bastes" sold or rubbing mud on their
launches TO so distinguish them, and
driving them from the grounds creates
constant commotion; carloads of pigs
are dumped, amid deafening porkers'
shrieks from the farmers carts into carts
of the buyers, whose donkeys are pounded
and rushed through the crowds vocifer-
ously; an escaping hog drives through the
forests of legs madly, often giving old
ladies and young enforced aerial expert
ences amid shouts of laughter; the hurdy-
gurdies blare; candy-sellers roar; pipers>
add to the universal dim the young peo-
pie crowd the dancing spaces and beat the
turf or improvised floors amid whoops and
yells; and the whole place until the even
ing comes is a wild conglomerate of COM
motion, laughter, yelling and rude but
good-natured enjoyment, which, for I'M
restrained heartiness and unrequalified
decency, is something delicious and woE-
derful to behold. Irish literature is full
of the Irish shelelegh and broken heads
1t is untrue OF these people as j have seen
them; for at over 80 fairs and market
day scenes / have visited never vet saw
a human being harmed saved by whisky,
and that was the "heartsome sthroke"
they loved.
/ think that weddings among the Irish
peasantry are natural sequence of fairs
and market DAYS. Counting among the
Irish has many drawbacks. 1t is abso-
lutely unknown 1T mass, or within the
the solemn confines of any religious cere-
mony. There is still queer old custom
extant down in the south of county Kerry.
II is called "shrafting," from Shrove or
Shraft Tuesday. All the marriageble girls
and boys get together, clad in their most