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
“Sure it's to you I'm telling the whole story, Mr. Morrow: these thieves
about me here know all about it as well as I do--the house, eh? Why, you
see, the two corpses were stretched beside one another, washed and laid
out. There were long deal boords with their ends upon two stools, laid
over the bodies; the boords were covered with a white sheet got at the
big house, so the corpses were'nt to be seen. On these, again, were
placed large mould candles, plates of cut tobacco, pipes, and snuff, and
so on. Sometimes corpses are waked in a bed, with their faces visible;
when that is the case, white sheets, crosses, and sometimes flowers, are
pinned up about the bed, except in the front; but when they're undher
boord, a set of ould women sit smoking, and rocking themselves from side
to side, quite sorrowful--these are keeners--friends or relations; and
when every one connected with the dead comes in, they raise the keene,
like a song of sorrow, wailing and clapping their hands.
“The furniture is mostly removed, and sates made round the walls, where
the neighbors sit smoking, chatting, and gosthering. The best of aiting
and dhrinking that they can afford is provided; and, indeed, there is
generally open house, for it's unknown how people injure themselves by
their kindness and waste at christenings, weddings, and wakes.
“In regard to poor Larry's wake--we had all this, and more at it; for,
as I obsarved a while agone, the man had made himself no friends when
he was living, and the neighbors gave a loose to all kinds of divilment
when he was dead. Although there's no man would be guilty of any
disrespect where the dead are, yet, when a person has led a good life,
and conducted themselves dacently and honestly, the young people of the
neighborhood show their respect by going through their little plays and
divarsions quieter and with less noise, lest they may give any offence;
but, as I said, whenever the person didn't live as they ought to do,
there's no stop to their noise and rollikin.
“When it drew near morning, every one of us took his sweetheart, and,
after convoying her home, we went to our own houses to get a little
sleep--so that was the end of poor Larry, M'Farland, and his wife, Sally
Lowry.
“Success, Tom!” said Bill M'Kinnly “take a pull of the malt now, afther
the story, your soul!--But what was the funeral like?”
“Why, then, a poor berrin it was,” said Tom; “a miserable sight, God
knows--just a few of the neighbors; for those that used to take his
thrate, and while he had a shilling in his pocket blarney him up, not
one of the skulking thieves showed their faces at it--a good warning
to foolish men that throw their money down throats that haven't hearts
anundher them.--But boys, desarve another thrate, I think, afther my
story!” This, we need scarcely add, he was supplied with, and after
some further desultory chat, they again separated, with the intention of
reassembling at Ned's on the following night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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