Phil Purcel, The Pig-Driver; The Geography Of An Irish Oath; The Lianhan Shee: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume ThreeCarleton, William
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Phil Purcel, The Pig-Driver; The Geography Of An Irish Oath; The Lianhan Shee: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume Three
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
“Stiff! Arrah, by this an' by--my reputation, I'm younger nor e'er a one
o' my sons yet, you----eh?” said Peter, pausing--
“Faith, then I dunna that. Upon my credit, I think, on second thoughts,
that a car 'ud be a mighty comfortable thing for me. Faith, I do, an'
for you, too, Ellish.”
“The common car,” she continued, “is slow and throublesome, an' joults
the life out o' me.”
“By my reputation, you're not the same woman since you began to use it,
that you wor before at all. Why, it'll shorten your life. The pillion's
dacent enough; but the jauntin'-car!--faix, it's what 'ud make a fresh
woman o' you--divil a lie in it.”
“You're not puttin' in a word for yourself now, Pether?”
“To be sure I am, an' for both of us. I'd surely be proud to see
yourself an' myself sittin' in our glory upon our own jauntin'-car. Sure
we can afford it, an' ought to have it, too. Bud-an'-ager! what's the
rason I didn't, think of it long ago?”
“Maybe you did, acushla; but you forgot, it. Wasn't that the way wid
you, Pether? Tell the thruth.”
“Why, thin, bad luck to the lie in it, since you must know. About this
time twelve months--no, faix, I'm wrong, it was afore Dan's marriage--I
had thoughts o' spakin' ta you about it, but somehow it left my head.
Upon my word, I'm in airnest, Ellish.”
“Well, avick, make your mind asy; I'll have one from Dublin in less nor
a fortnight. I can thin go about of an odd time, an' see how Dan an'
Pether's comin' an. It'll be a pleasure to me to advise an' direct them,
sure, as far an' as well as I can. I only hope? God will enable thim to
do as much for their childher, as he enabled us to do for them, glory be
to his name!”
Peter's eye rested upon her as she spoke--a slight shade passed over
his face, but it was the symptom of deep feeling and affection, whose
current had run smooth and unbroken during the whole life they had spent
together.
“Ellish,” said he, in a tone of voice that strongly expressed what
he felt, “you wor one o' the best wives that ever the Almighty gev to
mortual man. You wor, avourneen---you wor, you wor!”
“I intind, too, to begin an' make my sowl, a little,” she continued; “we
had so much to do, Pether, aroon, that, indeed, we hadn't time to think
of it all along; but now, that everything else is settled, we ought to
think about that, an' make the most of our time--while we can.”
“Upon my conscience, I've strong notions myself o' the same thing,”
replied Peter. “An' I'll back you in that, as well as in every thing
else. Never fear, if we pull together, but we'll bring up the lost time.
Faith, we will! Sowl, if you set about it, let me see them that 'ud
prevint you goin' to heaven!”
“Did Paddy Donovan get the bay filly's foot aised, Pether?”
“He's gone down wid her to the forge: the poor crathur was very lame
to-day.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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