The Black Baronet; or, The Chronicles Of Ballytrain: The Works of William Carleton, Volume OneCarleton, William
General
The Black Baronet; or, The Chronicles Of Ballytrain: The Works of William Carleton, Volume One
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Our readers may remember, with reference to the robbery of the baronet,
the fact of Trailcudgel's having met the stranger on his way to disclose
all the circumstances to the priest, and that he did not proceed farther
on that occasion, having understood that Father M'Mahon was from home.
Poor Trailcudgel, who, as the reader is aware, was not a robber either
from principle or habit, and who only resorted to it when driven by the
agonizing instincts of nature, felt the guilt of his crime bitterly,
and could enjoy rest neither night nor day, until he had done what he
conceived to be his duty as a Christian, and which was all he or any man
could do: that is, repent for his crime, and return the property to him
from whom he had taken it. This he did, as it is usually done, through
the medium of his pastor; and on the very day after the baronet's
departure both the money and pistols were deposited in Father M'Mahon's
hands.
In a few days afterwards the worthy priest, finding, on inquiry, that
Sir Thomas had gone to Dublin, where, it was said, he determined to
reside for some time, made up his mind to follow him, in order to
restore him the property he had lost. This, however, was not the sole
purpose of his visit to the metropolis. The letter he had given the
stranger to Corbet, or Dunphy, had not, he was sorry to find, been
productive of the object for which it had been written. Perhaps it was
impossible that it could; but still the good priest, who was as shrewd
in many things as he was benevolent and charitable in all, felt strongly
impressed with a belief that this old man was not wholly ignorant, or
rather unconnected with the disappearance of either one or the other of
the lost children. Be this, however, as it may, he prepared to see the
baronet for the purpose already mentioned.
He accordingly took his place--an inside one--in the redoubtable “Fly,”
which, we may add, was the popular vehicle at the time, and wrapping
himself up in a thick frieze cloak, or great coat, with standing collar
that buttoned up across his face to the very eyes, and putting a shirt
or two, and some other small matters, into a little bundle--tying, at
the same time, a cotton kerchief over his hat and chin--he started
on his visit to the metropolis, having very much the appearance of a
determined character, whose dress and aspect were not, however, such
as to disarm suspicion. He felt much more careful of the baronet's
pocket-book than he did of his own, and contrived to place it in an
inside pocket, which being rather small for it, he was obliged to rip
a little in order to give it admittance. The case of pistols he slipped
into the pockets of his jock, one in each, without ever having once
examined them, or satisfied himself--simple man--as to whether they
were loaded or not. His own pocket-book was carelessly placed in the
right-hand pocket of the aforesaid jock, along with one of the pistols.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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