The Ned M'Keown Stories: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume ThreeCarleton, William
General
The Ned M'Keown Stories: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume Three
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
“But the best sport of all was, when they came to the Lazy Corner, just
at Jack Gallagher's flush,* where the water came out a good way acrass
the road; being in such a flight, they either forgot or didn't know how
to turn the angle properly, and plash went above thirty of them, coming
down right on the top of one another, souse in the pool. By this time
there was about a dozen of the best horsemen a good distance before the
rest, cutting one another up for the bottle: among these were the Dorans
and Flanagans; but they, you see, wisely enough, dropped their women at
the beginning, and only rode single. I myself didn't mind the bottle,
but kept close to Mary, for fraid that among sich a divil's pack of
half-mad fellows, anything might happen her. At any rate, I was next the
first batch: but where do you think the tailor was all this time? Why
away off like lightning, miles before them--flying like a swallow: and
how he kept his sate so long has puzzled me from that day to this; but,
any how, truth's best--there he was topping the hill ever so far before
them. After all, the unlucky crathur nearly missed the bottle; for when
he turned to the bride's house, instead of pulling up as he ought to
do--why, to show his horsemanship to the crowd that was out looking at
them, he should begin to cut up the horse right and left, until he
made him take the garden ditch in full flight, landing him among the
cabbages. About four yards or five from the spot where the horse lodged
himself was a well, and a purty deep one, by my word; but not a sowl
present could tell what become of the tailor, until Owen Smith chanced
to look into the well, and saw his long spurs just above the water; so
he was pulled up in a purty pickle, not worth the washing; but what did
he care? although he had a small body, the sorra one of him but had a
sowl big enough for Golias or Sampson the Great.
* Flush is a pool of water that spreads nearly across a
road. It is usually fed by a small mountain stream, and in
consequence of rising and falling rapidly, it is called
“Flash.”
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