The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1898-11-04

their eyes sllone with wild, excited
light, aud at short intervals they utter
Ell that weird, expressive whoop, in
which the assembly joined, and each
r petition of which seemed, possible,
10 excite 10 greater eXertIon.
An Irish Jig is like nothing else on
earth, and seeing it for the first time,
"nsure You it affected lie in the mcsJ
remarkable manner. felt an almost
| irresistible desire to spring out and
throw myself in the mad whirl. For
tuutTelY | WIS spared making such an
! exhibition, for suddenly the dance
! ended, or rather the dancers gave out,
! and sank exhausted into their seats.
| After q short breathing spell, MaTy's
eyes CHANGED 70 light on me, and for
a uGmeut she was overcome with
confusion. She rose, however and
came forward with great show of hos
| pitaIity, rOu!ei half Il dozen G. ildren
| ont of their seats. asking sharply
| where were their "maupers," busted
d chair with her apron, and begged
me to be seated. / fastened to re-
assure her, telling her that | had ell
! joyed the dt., cling wonderfully.
| We'll, We see, mum, she explained,
| the young man is me cousin, jist
three days over from the ould country
and the b. ues was on him bad; 80 to
cheer him up q bit and make it seem
'0me-lil:P. We know, we was haVin a
little dance"
1ne no!nesick youth, the cause OF
such tender solicitude, looked sheep
ish, and uoppHd his face with Il large
cotton handkerchief.
Bat alas for poor Mary. It was not
long before she came to grief. Il
seemed that her iitU family had
been wonderfully prospered. What
| with Mikes daily wages and her own,
the money the 'b'ys' earned selling
papers, they had become quite rich
people. They owned their bit of a
house ard had n snug little sum laid
10y. And now the desire to rise crept
into Mary's ambitious heart. why
| shouldn't they live in d fine house
some day and be as good as the best?'
So she persuaded her steady old
nus band to set up Il beer shop, aud
only three months afterwards she
came 10 me in great distress and
poured out her soul in sorrow and re-
pentance.
Its all along O that cruel beer
| shop she groaned; Its ruined us
intirels! Be the Howly Father" she
! cried, throwing up her arms III Il pas
| sion of misery, Il wish this tongue
! had been pulled out o me MOUTH
wish black death had come to NE be.
, fore iver | coaxed my Mike to go into
| il. An he always the best of hus-
bands. Man! 5 the time he's got up
| in the dead % the night TO geJ me ID
| drink o wather-irv has inGade,
mum An that fond o the childer
| i g b., >
! till night; and now he's that savage
wild en- that they run and hide when
| he CONES a near the house! Many's
the bloody fight we've had along of
| EN-. Oh that !, their poor mother,
should have to be always a-watchin'
slapin' or wakin'-lest harm come to
'em from their own father God
| knows" said she, scornfully, barring
II bruised and bloody arm, Its little
l fear for meself, anyway. I'm a
uuatcn for Mike, drunk or sober.
| harrin' few bruises" with a sniff of
disdain and putting down her sleeve.
A little while after came the dread
climax OF her woe. | wish | could
| tell the story in Mary's very words:
For weeks gone, mum, Mike was
| n.yer, niver sober at all. Ups in the
mornin' au, out for dhrlnk-mad
crazy in it al day an all night till his
strength was gone from him intirely;
.lapin' in his clothes WHEREVER he
happened to be till he wakes, then ups
an to the drink ag'in.
well, mum, this this is how it was:
That Eight the childer was to bed an
asleep, an | sat in my rockin'- chair
crco.in' to the baby-our little Dinny,
an feelin' il grain O comfort creepin'
into my heart. How could help it?-
the boy was a-smilin' up into my face
an for minute forgot the trouble
Wis, thank Godl thank Cod she
burst out yehemently, her poor ole
face drenched in tears. Thank God!
for that last blessed minute that !
held my baby in these arms l forgot
| that had made me home a hell an
me husband deCH.
shall never forget the power and
| eXpres SIGN of her words and look.
Even while l wept could but admire,
| what i had often noticed, her wonder
| full dramatic power.
Ills" she went on, Il did forgit,nn'
| ! began to coax messelt into be'lavin'
rs things would all come right. Now
that we had gin up the beer shop
| long since, Mike would come round III
1 Time OOl III lac lie 1lGdIJ MslillCu
| to hiiu.
so | was-a-settin' there soft an tin
| der like, an The child was smilin' Ill
he arms, when | heard Mikes step on
| the stairs. He bust into the room
| iourishiu' his big stick in his fist, an
| he comes up TO me--Jhe bloody muir
therin' yi!!ain-drags the baby out o
Iue arms, ups wild ii winder an heayes
aim ouG INTO the road / springs to
| The door an he hits me on the head
| wild his club and rushes out.
Iiay there on the floor till me sinses
comes back to me an then | thinks
me o the baby. | goes as fast as
can crawl, with the blood r'anin'
! from me head, out into the street, an
there. in the middle of the road lay
me baby stark dead the breath gone
ont Of mis- little body intirely his head
hit on sharp stone, an that was
what kilt him.
Il kneeled me down in the bloody
road aud took me baby tc me heart
an prayed to God to sthrike me dead;
but He didn't, num- she added dry
", wiping her eyes. An it's glad |
am now that He didn't, for poor
Mikes sake an the childers'.
well, mum, whin Mike come to his
self in the mornin' he was list wild wild
grief 1t was all Father Riley an |
couId do to hold him from b'atin' his
own brains out.
AN would ye behave it now when
], that murdered baby's mother, saw
his heart a-breakin' in him, an heard
him groauin' an cryin' forgot every
thing in the whole world-baby an
all, an iist remembered poor old Mike,
an | loved him jist the same--the
bloody murtherin' villain
But, mum, it WAS | that tempted
him in the fust place-don't ye forgit
that
We'll, Father Riley hushed it up
au' made tlOok right to the neighbors
It's little that they knew anyway
an now he's helpin' us to begin all
over u-Goddlemighty forever
bliss him!
We Irv not to remember how the
baby went-Mike and | debut jist
to think as he's goin' to Paradise
Bat oh, mum, | can tell it TO yerseli
how these arms ache for him some
timeS-how in the dark night wher
Mikes asleep puts out me hand tc
draw the baby to NE an he's gone
from me, Oh, | can't tell it to the Likes
f o ye. for it's yerself as is mother an
knows.
But whist, darlin', don't cry nc
| more; for Mikes sake We'll try to for
git an | lave the baby with God an
| the Blissid Virgin.
} "Yis, Mike is bit broken, mum
r but we'll holt on to him, an God will
+ in, shall see him smile ag'in. An