Phelim Otoole's Courtship and Other Stories: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume ThreeCarleton, William
General
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
Margaret, whose humor and sense of the ludicrous were exceedingly
strong, having seldom heard her mother so excited before, gave one arch
look at Art, who, on the contrary, felt perfectly confounded at the
woman's language, and in that look there was a kind of humorous entreaty
that he would depart. She nodded towards the door, and Art, having shook
hands with her, said--
“Good-by, Jemmy Murray, I hope you'll change your mind still; your
daughter never could got any one that loves her as I do, or that could
treat her with more tendherness and affection.”
“Be off, you darlin' vagabone,” said Mrs. Murray, “the heavens be your
bed, you villain, why don't you stay where you is, an' not be malivogin
an undacent family this way.”
“Art Maguire,” replied Murray, “you heard my intention, and I'll never
change it.” Art then withdrew.
Our readers may now anticipate the consequences of the preceding
conversation. Murray and his wife having persisted in their refusal to
sanction Margaret's marriage with Maguire, every argument and influence
having been resorted to in vain, Margaret and he made what is termed
a runaway match of it, that is, a rustic elopement, in which the young
couple go usually to the house of some friend, under the protection
of whose wife the female remains until her marriage, when the husband
brings her home.
And now they commence life. No sooner were they united, than Art,
feeling what was due to her who had made such and so many sacrifices for
him, put his shoulder to the wheel with energy and vigor. Such aid as
his father could give him, he did give; that which stood him most in
stead, however, was the high character and unsullied reputation of his
own family. Margaret's conduct, which was looked upon as a proof of
great spirit and independence, rendered her, if possible, still better
loved by the people than before. But, as we said, there was every
confidence placed in Art, and the strongest hopes of his future success
and prosperity in life expressed by all who knew him; and this was
reasonable. Here was a young man of excellent conduct, a first-rate
workman, steady, industrious, quiet, and, above all things, sober; for
the three or four infractions of sobriety that took place during his
apprenticeship, had they even been generally known, would have been
reputed as nothing; the truth is, that both he and Margaret commenced
life, if not with a heavy purse, at least with each a light heart. He
immediately took a house in Ballykeerin, and, as it happened that a
man of his own trade, named Davis, died about the same time of lockjaw,
occasioned by a chisel wound in the ball of the thumb, as a natural
consequence, Art came in for a considerable portion of his business;
so true is it, that one man's misfortune is another man's making. His
father did all he could for him, and Margaret's sisters also gave them
some assistance, so that, ere the expiration of a year, they found
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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