The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-04-24
The Raaman.

of Rody Flynn singing out:
Gather up; gather up ould rags an
bones,
in exchange I'll give yeh precious
stones
Many a time and oft in my young
days have ] heard those words, and
many q time and oft Rody, with his
donkey and cart creep. slowly along
from house to house selling his wares
and giving in exchange pins and
needles, cups and saucers, brooches and
other cheap articles too numerous to
mention. Rody at the time of which
I write was about IS, and the name by
which he was known to the people was
THE Lamentation," and certainly he
looked that name all over. Tall and
gaunt, with hollow cheeks, small eyes
sunk in the head almost wholly con-
cealed beneath shubby eyebrows. a de-
cided stoop in the back, and hair fall
ing over his shoulders, he reminded you
of one of those preachers of woe whom
we sometimes see I'm the streets of our
modern cities. His dress was in keep
ing with his facial appearance. A shah
by broad trimmed soft hat was set
tightly on his head, and tied with
piece of Irvine to the collar of a still
shabbier coat which descended below
his knees. Boots far too big, with more
nails in the soles than would plate
warship, displayed all their symmetry
and beauty beneath corduroy trousers
tightly tucked around the calf of the
leg with two pieces Of hay rope. Such
was the man, but the donkey and cart
well, I can't describe them for would
not know where to begin; they were all
confusion. The harness was patched
and patched until it was all a patch,
the cart had but one shaft, and the
body, what body it had, was very lady
like Ut was all stays), and supported
on two wheels, one of which was twice
as large as the other. The donkey,
small and one mass of long hair. crept
along at snail's pace. jim Scully. al
ways good at nomenclature called
Rody's donkey Balm (Balaam) a !
name which Rody resented very much, |
for he imagined that there was no ami !
NAL within the four seas the equal of |
his beast of burden, and Tara's Pride |
was the appellation Rody gave him. !
see Rody, donkey and cart, come slow |
ly up the village. Rody leads the pro-
cession by about a perch. His head is |
stopped and his eyes are cast on the |
ground with his hands joined piously in
front. On Rody's heels come about
twenty children, some of them clingins |.
at his coat tails and some of them urg-
ing the donkey on with a plentiful APP
plication Of long sally rods. Above the
babble Of voices you hear such express
sions as these:
"Lamentation. yeh promised me a top
wud gold head. Have yeh it for me?'
''Yeh said yed give me a rale Vic
toria brooch the next time yeh came.
Where is it?"
-'Ould Lamentation, Neddie Manning
is cuttin' the buttins out ov yer coat
Ketch him
Tommy Reilly is tyin' strings to yer
tail"
Rody plods his way on and heeds not
the voices of mischief. The only an
swer he gives is the high-pitched
screech;
Gather up. gather up ould rags and
In exchange I'll give yeh precious
stones
This last outburst has brought Cauth
Mulready TO her door and. pushing
back the stray gray hairs from her
eyes, she cries out:
"Rody, have yeh any da1nin' nee
dles?"
Eyer very gracious pardin. ma am.
bud I'm little hard ov hearin'." and
Rody's hand is placed behind his ear
Nv was shoutfn' money at yeh, yeh
wudn't be hard ov hearin. Mr. Rody
Flynn"
she's akin yeh,' cries out the voice
of Jim Scully, from q garden opposite |
the good woman is akin yeh, Rody
Flynn, cud yeh give her two ov yer {
Queen Victoria brooches, wan set in ]
jewils an the other in pearls at a helf- !
penny each: she wants to put the Com
methur (win the heart on Barney Lar :
kin, the sweep
I'm rale sorry / can't oblige yeh t
Mrs. Mulready, be givin' thin to yeh {
at halfpenny each. III have to charge I
yeh at least three halfpence, bud they ]
are dirt cheap at that, for the gould s
chap is bewitching in its shane an
make, an it won't brake until the day c
ON judgmint, an God help us whin that I
day comes an make US prepared for it," I
1 wasn't akin yeh for yer fiddlesticks 3
ov brooches Rody Flynn" and the now
irate Cauth advances from her door
and stands with her hands on her hips
in front of Rody, IAN I'll have yeh to c
know, too, that me morals are as bright i
as a new pin, an that I'd sooner marry 9
the haythen king ov Morocco than :
Barney LarHin. I was akin yeh for t
darnin' needles, an - 2
'Troth, thin, Mrs. Mulready I have O
three different samples ov darnin' nee I
ANNf ''SNAA AOA NAArA1 al cAlOliASl lOI ldNe, v
an -
''Yeh can keep yer samples. for I b
wudn't buy the lingth ov me nail from r
a man that insulted me. Be off wud d
7eh now, Mr. Rody Flynn, an the next
time yeh pass me house keep a quiet {
tongue in yer head, or I'll take an ac- Il
lion agin yeh for me character, a clane t
woman like me, indeed, to marry a c
sweep" F
The procession advances again, only
% be brought to a standstill a perch
1r so further on by a voice
Have yeh any Beechims pills this ii
nornin'. Rody?" In
Yis, ma'am, I'm happy to say have. a.
was out ov thin the last time l was Il
around, but / have a plentiful supply N
low; they'll cure all yer complaints d
rom infiammashun ov yer back teeth tc
o corn on yer big toe. I take wan m
low an agin meself, for the good ov W
rade, an i be jumpin' out ov me skin "
lfter it. Shut yer eyes, ma am, an thin ia
swallow il, an " 1t sticks in yer wind hi
oipe mouthful ov water will relieve to
'eh in wan minute. Phil Mcguire "
bought two boxes from me awhile ago. ci
m he says he'll have thin all taken Al
fore night They are, he tells me. the NJ
'ratest cure for badness that he So
/