The Tithe-Proctor: The Works of William Carleton, Volume TwoCarleton, William
General
The Tithe-Proctor: The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
“Well, indeed I ought, sir, to know them,” replied Mogue, “and I believe
I do; and talkin' of that, you have often heard of the great robber and
rapparee, Shaun Bernha?”
“I have heard of him, and of his Stables, which lie up somewhere in
these mountains.”
“Exactly, sir; an' it is what I was thinkin'; that we might take a look
at them in the coorse of our sport to-day; in regard, especially, that
there's more game about them than in any other part of the mountains.”
“Very well, then, Mogue,” replied his companion, “so be it; you are, as
I said, my guide for the day.”
“But do you know, sir, why he was called Shaun Bernha?”
“No, I can't say I do.”
“It was odd enough, to be sure. Howandever, may I be happy but they say
it's true! You see, sir, he was called Shaun Bernha bekaise he never had
a tooth in his head; an' no more had any of his family; and yet, sir,
it's said, that he could bite a piece out of a plate of sheet iron as
aisily as you or I could out a cake of gingerbread.”
“Well, Morgue, all that I can say to that is, that he had devilish hard
gums, and stood in no fear of the toothache.”
“Well, then, we'll sweep around the slebeen hills here, keepin'
Altnaveenan to our right, and Lough Mocall to our left; then, by going
right ahead we'll come to his stables; and indeed they're well worth
seein'.”
“With all my heart, Mague, never say it again.” And they accordingly
proceeded at a vigorous pace to the mountains, which were now distant
not more than a mile and a half from them.
In the meantime we shall leave them to pursue their game, and beg our
readers to accompany us once more to the house of our friend, Fitzy
O'Driscol, who, what between the dread of assassination on the one
hand, and the delight of having a proper subject to justify him in
communicating with the government on the other, passed his time in
alterations, now of fear, and again of his peculiar ambition to be
recognized as an active and fearless magistrate by the then existing
powers, that were, to such as knew the man and understood his character,
perfectly ludicrous. On the morning in question, he was, as usual,
seated, in his morning-gown and slippers, at the breakfast-table,
reading a country paper, in which, by the way, appeared the following
paragraph:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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