The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-11-27
NANCY
HANNIGAN'S
SUITODS.
By Seumas MacManus.
Copyright, 1900, by SeuwaS Mac,IanuS.

r nancy HANNIGAN was the
~ one daughter o. Seumas and
VI Nelly Hannigau. Nancy as
she grew up developed such
an attractive appearance that
she was dubbed the flower OF Dhri-
more" Ere yet Nancy WAS mature she
had to go the way Of the young women
(and young men, too of our Donegal
seaboard-she had to so over the noun
tains to hire with the Scotch planters
who owned the big rich farms by the
valley of the Finn. Nancy being OF
such tender years, so inexperienced OF
the world, and, still worse. possessing
the fatality of exceptional beauty, Seu-
mas and Nelly were loath to let her
90. But. despite ] little fishing and a
little tilling, want gave an occasional
knock at Seumas' door, as at the doors
Of his neighbors, so perforce poor Nam
cy must face the world.
With very large store Of advice and
warning, the only commodities her
mother could afford to he liberal with;
q very small store Of clothes, done up
in q red handkerchief. and her fathers
and mothers blessing, Nancy took the
road with the other poor boys and girls
just before the sun began to rub the
mistS Off his eyes and peep up over the
shoulder Of Barnesmore mountain on u
Friday morning and trudged 36 miles
before bedtime and stood in the Rabble
market in Strabane next day waiting
for some one to come and hire her.
Several big rough farmers and some
rougher farmers wives had come up
and viewed Nancy at every angle Of
observation, Quizzed, questioned and
cross questioned her, putting her
through the catechism of her abilities,
and then priced her and haggled with
her, trying to beat her down shillings
in the half years wage, and quilted
her, giving their opinion that she was
too delicate for a girls work in the
Laigan, which included wrestling with
tubs and pots of boiled roots, feeding
COWS and pigs, milking, churning and
butter making. Finally al imposing
old lady of generous girth and evident
II Of higher social status than the
farmers wife came up and. raising her
glasses, viewed Nancy calmly and crit
ically and then trotted her through the
usual catechism. Mrs. Nelson, it turn
ed out, did not require pot wrestler,
but dairymaid, and, Nancy and Nan
cy's price suiting her. they quickly
agreed as mistress and maid, and Mrs.
Nelson's son, baShful young man,
than whom Nancy vowed she never be-
fore had seen any one so e1Quisitely
dressed, drove them home in a buggy.
Mrs. Nelson took much pains show
ing Nancy her work next morning. and
when this had been done to the satis-
faction Of both she led Nancy to the
psrlor and, siuking into an easy chair.
began to read her homily upon the
conduct she expected Of all females un-
der her roof. The bashful and nice
young man. as primly dressed as ever,
read book by the window. Though
he glanced at Nancy ss he came In. he
was either too modest or too much ab-
sorbed in the book to raise his eyes 8
second time. Two virtues ever pos
sessed by Nancy were docility and re-
spectfulness, but under Mrs. Nelson's
lecturing tongue she had much ado to
keep down a rebellious spirit that for
the first time moved within her.
"For, you know" the good Mrs. Neil
son tried to impress upon her, you
girls who come here from those wild
mountains have to be taught the pro-