Frontier and pioneer life -- Québec (Province) -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Short stories
“I havn’t put a tooth mark on mate for three years,” says she simple
like.
I reached her a rib of cold boiled pork and she smiled for the
first time, and sucked it as a child does the orange it wants to
have the taste of as long as possible. When she had eaten as much
as my wife thought safe, she took and laid her on our own bed, and
willing she was, for she was clean beat out, and went to sleep when
her head touched the pillow. Then we had a talk. She had come from
the fever sheds and might give the disease to the children, who had
gone berrying, so I goes, as agreed on, and meets them, tells them
of their new cousin from Ireland, who had come to us sick, and takes
them to stay with a neighbor for the night. Next morning I off to the
hay before sunrise and worked excited like till the sun got high and
overpowering, when I says to myself, “I’ll take a rest and go and
see my brother’s child.” She was sitting at the door, where the hops
clustered round her, and looked another crathur. The fearsome glare of
hunger in the eye was gone and there was a glint of color in the cheek
as she rose to welcome me. “You don’t think me mad today, uncle?” she
asks me. “God forgive me,” says I, “for the word--.” With that she puts
her hand over my mouth. Oh she was the kindly crathur, and now that
she was clean and fresh dressed I could see would be a handsome lass
when there was more mate on her bones. My wife had been looking for my
coming and had the table spread, and after we had eaten we sat again in
the shade at the door and as I smoked my pipe Ellen told her story. It
was, more the pity, a common enough one in those days. The failure of
the potatoes had left my brother unable to get enough for his family to
eat let alone pay the rent. On the back of the hunger came sickness and
when things had got to be as bad as they could, the agent comes round
and tells him if he would give up his houlding and go to Canada the
landlord would forgive him the rent, pay the passage-money and a pound
ahead on landing at Quebec. He took the offer as his neighbors did and
went to Dublin, where they found a ship waiting for them. They were
not out of sight of land when the fever broke out and the children,
one after another, took it, and three died at sea. When quarantine was
reached they were all sent ashore, and there the rest of the children,
saving Ellen, died, with the father and mother. When the fever left
her she was put on board a steamer for Montreal, and got sorra a bite
from the hour she left until she landed, though it took the boat 36
hours. Faint and sick she was hurried ashore and when she made for
the city a policeman turned her back and she sat down on the wharf,
wishing to die. By and by a man comes along and by his dress she knew
he was a minister, though not of our sort. He spoke to her and she
told him she wanted to get to me, and showed my address on a bit of
paper she carried in her bosom. He read it and saying to follow him,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account