Phelim Otoole's Courtship and Other Stories: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume ThreeCarleton, William
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Phelim Otoole's Courtship and Other Stories: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume Three
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
He then kissed them again, one by one; and pressing the affectionate
partner of his sorrows to his breaking heart, he bade God bless them,
and set out in the twilight of a bitter March morning. He had not gone
many yards from the door when little Alley ran after him in tears; he
felt her hand upon the skirts of his coat, which, she plucked with a
smile of affection that neither tears nor sorrow could repress. “Father,
kiss me again,” said she. He stooped down, and kissed her tenderly. The
child then ascended a green ditch, and Owen, as he looked back, saw her
standing upon it; her fair tresses were tossed by the blast about her
face, as with straining eyes she watched him receding from her view.
Kathleen and the other children stood at the door, and also with deep
sorrow watched his form, until the angle of the bridle-road rendered him
no longer visible; after which they returned slowly to the fire and wept
bitterly.
We believe no men are capable of bearing greater toil or privation than
the Irish. Owen's viaticum was only two or three oaten cakes tied in a
little handkerchief, and a few shillings in silver to pay for his bed.
With this small stock of food and money, an oaken stick in his hand, and
his wife's kerchief tied about his waist, he undertook a journey of one
hundred and ten miles, in quest of a landlord who, so far from being
acquainted with the distresses of his tenantry, scarcely knew even their
names, and not one of them in person.
Our scene now changes to the metropolis. One evening, about half past
six o'clock, a toil-worn man turned his steps to a splendid! mansion in
Mountjoy Square; his appearance was drooping, fatigued, and feeble. As
he went along, he examined the numbers on the respective doors, until
he reached a certain one--before which he stopped for a moment; he
then stepped out upon the street, and looked through the windows, as if
willing to ascertain whether there was any chance of his object being
attained. Whilst in this situation a carriage rolled rapidly up, and
stopped with a sudden check that nearly threw back the horses on their
haunches. In an instant the thundering knock of the servant intimated
the arrival of some person of rank; the hall door was opened, and Owen,
availing himself of that opportunity, entered the hall. Such a visitor,
however, was too remarkable to escape notice. The hand of the menial
was rudely placed against his breast; and, as the usual impertinent
interrogatories were put to him, the pampered ruffian kept pushing him
back, until the afflicted man stood upon the upper step leading to the
door.
“For the sake of God, let me spake but two words to him. I'm his tenant;
and I know he's too much of a jintleman to turn away a man that has
lived upon his honor's estate, father and son, for upwards of three
hundred years. My name's Owen ------”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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