Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-11

"dance. - Here all the young people
meet on a Sunday or a holiday, and a
circle being formed by the onlookers
trip it to and fro upon the hard and dusty
road with all the determination and twice
the gusto that one may see in polished
and fashionable ball room.
OF late years this custom, that was
| very pretty and harmless and innocent,
| is dying out; but remember my father
telling me of a very celebrated old peas
ant (Flahertv was his name) who was
master of this ceremony for miles round; ;
who used to attend every pattern to di-
riot the proceedings, and who on week
days was what might be called the dano-
ing master of the entire district. All odd
hours, minutes, moments even, he was
attacked on all sides by men and maidens
| filed with laudable desire to emulate
Terpsichore. His method OF teaching
was novel one, and as it may be of use
TO the modern and fashionable teachers,
give it here.
1t was simple as it was elegant and eff
cacious. Round the right blue stoekinged
leg of his male pupil he would bind a
small rope made of hay and then COM
mence operations. He would first tune
up the bag-pipes he invariably carried
under his arm, and then bid bis pupil
step forward. The first notes of jig
were played; the pupil filed with ardor
on hearing the beloved pipes, would be-
gin a grand and no doubt picturesque
war-dance all his own, but he is stopped
by stern reprimand from Flaherty.
No; he must conform to rules.
"Now, thin, me boy" says Mr..
Flaherty, "ye'll do as 1 bid ye, or IN
be off to Kitty Mahoney's house, who 3
dead bate for the want o. me this
minnit, an the patthern to be at her
cross next Sunday. Whin 1 play the
fifth note ye II rise upon 'sougaun ebay
rope) an at the seventh yen sink upon
'gad; and now begin, an to the diviI
wild ye if ye can t do it before one half
hour is up.'
And now the screech of the pipes be-
gins. The famous "Rakes o. Mallow'
is in full swing. but above and over all
sounds the voice of Misther Flaherty yell
ing at his pupil:
''Rise upon sougaun, sink upon CAD.
Och murdher, was there liver SIGH fool?
IT'S THROWN away me talent upon We 1
am. Arrah, look at him, Mrs. Moloney,
ask ye now, an tell me can he be the
son of clever woman like you? Rise
upon sougaun, sink upon CAD. Well,
L
YEN be as good as the rest of 'em some
day."
The meaning of 'gad'' 1 have never
been able to discover; no doubt, how
ever, it had its meaning in Flaherty's
time.
Well, you must make picture for
yourself of our Irish peasant footing 1t
gayly to and fro on the hard road with
her partner opposite to her, and little
crowd surrounding them, making ring,
as it were-s crowd consisting of men
and women for the small part and of
pretty, sturdy urohlns, male and fe-
male, for the great-such handsome,
healthy little beings, rosy checked and
Dright-eyed, the outcome and the carry
ing on of the 'foinest pisanthry in the
world;h and often, driving past them,
have wished that my own children,
carefully nourlshed and fed on beef tea
and chicken broth, could look like these
cosy rogues, running about half naked
and with nothing in their pretty, round
little stomaehs save stirabout "a coarse
porridge0 and boiled potatoes.
However, to get back to our heroine.
When she has learned all she can from
her first mistress-the farmers wife
that is, how to boil and wash, and how
not TO break plates and dishes, her
mother instantly looks round her to find
g place for her in some gentleman's
family, where the wages will be higher
and the work less.
It sounds terribly ungrateful. The
farmers wife has had all the trouble of
breaking in that little, wild, and ignor-
ant specimen of humanity, and when the
latter has absorbed all that she can learnsl
and when her mistress has become ac-zl
customed to her, and might reasonably
be supposed to expect some comfort FROM
her, the girl calmly gives her warning IS
and, aided and abetted by her mother,
leaves her ''to better herself" So the
poor farmers wife is left to commence
all over again-to take in another girl,
who will undoubtedly take her in the
same manner little later on. 1t is, IN
fact, q general Emery -go-round, - and
being expected on both sides, is seldom
resented by the farmers wife.
The landlord e house is the one chosen
by the girls mother for her next VEN
ture, If by any chance an opening there
presents itseif-'sthe big house, as the |
tenants usually call it. Here our hero
inc begins as kitchen maid, grows if
she proves good GRID to under house q
Iudluf lEOtu LudE IL prOocss "a einiC " 4
upper housemaid or parlor maid, or per-
haps is given over 10 the young ladies of |
the family if she proves handy with her |
needle and develops good appearance.
Roman Catholic in its religion as it Is
to its hearts core, still it is remarkable |
tina; the Irish peasant woman VIII prefer |
taking service with Protestant family, |
however poor, than with one Of her own |
religion. Deeply rooted as undoubtedly |
is the dislike for Professionalism, the |
young girls viii take less wages from
Protestant than from Romanist, and. |
as a rule, make good and faithful ser
wants, if little careless at times and rsS
quiring always the eye of the mistress to |
keep them going.
AS rule. however, their servitude en-
dures but short time. The laborerTs |
daughter. happier than S5s daughter
born in the grade above her.-1ameIy the |
farming class-can marry as fancy die
tates, and long before youth has ceased |