New-York tribune., 1898-12-11
CONDY'S COURTIN'.
from Chambers's Journa,

t,E. nters-nad been advising Condy to
he "lte unto him. "Musha Condy Sbecran
rid' soin' to happen to ye at all at all-livin:
Scre e IN mat wee cabin yer lee alone with
W. WI sowi to look afther yc. or care for We?
ny put We rouse yerself up, man alive, an
NON out Tor sthrappin' young woman that i'll
put yer house to rights-an yerself too. an
a. Ian. new man o. ye There yere doiterin'
mouse an about the house. an dclvin' an dig
gin early and late, summer an winther. on
yer wee farm. an whore yer comfort comes in
more nor know. Yer house is in an uproar
(disordered state) lex the fair of Carmen: an
wan would think the clothes on yer back was
thrown al yet Ye're scratchin' an scrapin'.
layin' 10y money for the sorra only knows who
to scatthcr. Rouse yerself man alive. There's
girls on all sides OF ye that the cheeks of them
wouio De betther nor fire in yer kitchen. an
theyd jump at the offer Of bcin' Misss Sheeran
III ye only sent them the word be fiddler"
Condy. inwardly amused ever ratiently lis
tened to the kind advice his good neighbors were
30 generous in Destowing on him. But his poor
mother God be merciful to herD ere she died
eft Condy legacy of proverbs that for years
had given him pause. Never you buy a pig
in poke. Condy ahaisge." his mother used TO
say. far from intending any disrespect to the
young ladies Of Dhrmholme; AN there's many
. dashin' girl makes a poor dhraggle tailed
woman. 'Betther alone than in bad company.
Ccndy" she would also say: And-a variation
OF this last-"A lonely hearth an paice is bet
her nor the best woman in the wurrr an
verrins' (varance).
Still, the more experience Condy had of the
would the question force itself on him: But if
i had middlin' good woman an no verrns?"
And as he and the cat sat by the hearth on a
long winters night. looking into each others
eyes Condy. with the limited amount OF i'm
aginatiOn at his command. used often to picture
q home.y. sensible woman grooming song round
the house as she busted herself doing the tini
rishes tlittle necessary household matters),
while he, with Well-Washed and well patched
clothes lay back in his chair in the corner and,
watching her. puffed his little black pipe In
" ont tnrltp ant nd
after mature deiberation, he considered he had
reached years of discretion-he was then forty
five, having been born June was three years
after the dear Summer-he decided he might
venture 10 trust his judgment in selecting one
fitted to be a wife to his mothers SON
SO on a night when he had fine junt OF fir
bT1zng in the fire, and the cat blinking and
purling at him across the hearth and his black
pipe working spasmodically and not uncompaln-
ingly. Coudy went painstakingly through tne
catalogue Of eligible females in the parish. He
first woeded out those that were too young
"A slip Of a girl undher thirty doesn't Know
her own mind" he s9id; 50 III nave holiii'' u
say to wan O them. Then ne rejected the
crotchety cranky ones. and all VINO were re
puted possessOrs Of any sort of lll-tenper, ana
next the slattcrnly ones. Me sawnics' Condy
said tO himself "the lists gettin mortal small,
and so it was And when, fnaIy' he had also
put aside all who were too fond o the SlSIt oI
the black pandy (porringer on the coa,S
which was to say all who were too FOND OF yea
inst one woman remained. She was Ellen NC
Cyoartv Of ThrowerstoWn. Ellen was q daugh-
ter of Long Neil and she had been the hclress
OF the NcGrOaTty property, consisting OF wv
acres of clay land and two miles OF Dog ana
heather-ap extensive. il not very reniuner
alive estate; besides pigs COWS, ducks draKes
and other farm stock Regardih8 Ellel go
/, need only be said that she. like Condy' hao
reached years OF discretion
Having settled one difficulty. another loomed
up on Condys horizon and required ano'nea e1I
nights grave dellberaton-IIow was he TO ASK
the wife? ., a,roct b,s
a,a<,Surse to the cat-"Tm not used 10 this sort
of,=business niver bein' in the haDit OF AKIN
v~e,nen" Condy didn't intend to be satiilcd, d. AZ
.sS s,Ost ~ the Young men Of Dhrimhome. but
unconsciously he was An wish hao II we'll
over me- .,. ., nh
Tbe etiquette Of marriage proposals as oo-
served in Dhrmholme was mystery 10 Cohoy::
who had never gone on such an e&peullIoh' l.
there had been an intended father-in-law IN tne
case Condy would have seen his way pretty
c3ear-evon a mother-in-law might nave peen
rcrotiated But Ellen was again like hmseil.
Iec.alone OF course. Condy had heard over ana
ovor again the ridiculous way they settle those
matters in the tale-bookS-two blessed ldlots
ao,,oozing the breath out OF one another, one
rasninc "Sav beloved star of my existence, VIII
Won be mine forever" and the other TOOL reply
irp .'Ye-yc-yes-yes. for ever and ever! but
he didn't give this silly methoo - d n'e U,, ,he
thoucht He also that he might hft the
i.tch and walk in to Ellen with God save all
bere. an I want to know Will ye take me-
FJlcn%' But little thought he gave that fnethou.
EDw he should do 1t was more than ne khe"
snd he had half begun to consider whether after
IN mo ndvantages Of having the best girl In the
rorsb with two acres Of clay land ana TWO
niles Of moor land geese, pigs ana other 1aIln
STOCK 10 boot, would really outweigh the inehtAA
endeavor the asking Of a wife would entail
One thing however. Condy did know. ana tna'
was when any one went looking for wire
,,hictov was an Indispensable FACTOR.