The Station; The Party Fight And Funeral; The Lough Derg Pilgrim: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume ThreeCarleton, William
General
The Station; The Party Fight And Funeral; The Lough Derg Pilgrim: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume Three
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
The latter gentleman filled the chair, as I said, and carved the goose;
on his right sat Captain Wilson; on his left, the auxiliary--next to
them Father Con, the nephews, Peter Malone, _et cetera_. To enumerate
the items of the dinner is unnecessary, as our readers have a pretty
accurate notion of them from what we have already said. We can only
observe, that when Phaddhy saw it laid, and all the wheels of the system
fairly set agoing, he looked at Parrah More with an air of triumph
which he could not conceal. It is also unnecessary for us to give the
conversation in full; nor, indeed, would we attempt giving any portion
of it, except for the purpose of showing the spirit in which a religious
ceremony such as it is, is too frequently closed.
The talk in the beginning was altogether confined to the clergymen and
Mr. Wilson, including a few diffident contributions from “Peter Malone”
and the “two nephews.”
“Mr. M'Guirk,” observed Captain Wilson, after the conversation had taken
several turns, “I'm sure that in the course of your professional duties,
sir, you must have had occasion to make many observations upon human
nature, from the circumstance of seeing it in every condition and state
of feeling possible; from the baptism of the infant, until the aged man
receives the last rites of your church, and the soothing consolation of
religion from your hand.”
“Not a doubt of it, Phaddhy,” said Father Philemy to Phaddhy, whom
he had been addressing at the time, “not a doubt of it; and I'll
do everything in my power to get him _in_* too, and I am told he is
bright.”
* That is--into Maynooth college--the great object of
ambition to the son of an Irish peasant or rather to
his parent.
“Uncle,” said one of the nephews, “this gentleman is speaking to you.”
“And why not?” continued his Eeverence, who was so closely engaged with
Phaddhy, that he did not even hear the nephew's appeal--“a bishop--and
why not? Has he not as good a chance of being a bishop as any of them?
though, God knows, it is not always merit that gets a bishopric in any
church, or I myself might--But let that pass.” said he, fixing his eyes
on the bottle. “Father Philemy,” said Father Con, “Captain Wilson was
addressing himself to you in a most especial manner.”
“Oh! Captain, I beg ten thousand pardons, I was engaged talking with
Phaddhy here about his son, who is a young shaving of our cloth, sir, he
is intended for the Mission*--Phaddhy, I will either examine him myself,
or make Father Con examine him by-and-by.--Well, Captain?” The Captain
now repeated what he had said.
* The Church of Rome existing in any heretical country--
that is, where she herself is not the State church--is
considered a missionary establishment; and taking
orders in her is termed “Going upon the Mission.” Even
Ireland is looked upon as _in partibus infidelium_,
because Protestantism is established by law--hence the
phrase above.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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