| OCR Text |
Show 7W I . 1 PADH MUHEN'S NANCY BY SEUMAS MACMANUS "Who was Padh Mullon? How was It? What happened to him?" we all inquired. "What!" exclaimed tho Bummadler, "do ye mane to toll me wan o' ye never heerd tell of Padh Mullen's Nancy?" "OchI the sorra syllable." "Well, yo see, Padh, ho lived all alone with his oul' mother an' his wan sister. A bravo, comfortable farm, an a warm house, an' a full wan, In throth they had. An' small wondhorl for oul Sheelah Mullen, Padh's mother, was the woman knew how, whon she got her fist on a penny to houl' it; an, moreover, then to make that penny go as far as another .woman's tkrup-peace. tkrup-peace. As regards their IUn' and dhrlnkin', It was Lent all the year round with them. An' she brought up her eon and daughter to the pattherns t herself. Nalther of them Ivor Joined ia a diversion, or coorted like young-store young-store will. The oul' mother was par-tikerly par-tikerly casloua of Padh In this regards, for ahe thought every girl squinted at her doore had designs on him. "'Poor Padhl poor caddyl' she would say an' the 'poor caddy had turned the corner of 40. 'Poor Padhl poor caddyl watch yerself a mhlc, an don't let the oul'-fashlon, good-fop nothla' sthreels o' girls that's goln' get the blind side of yo; for I'm watch-la' watch-la' an' there Isn't wan o' them from the top of the parish to the tall Iv it, hut's dotn' her dead best to thrap ye.' "An' then Padh would wink like a fox, an' shake tho head, an' say, 'Nlver fear for Padh Mullon I mother nlver fear for Pahd Mullen) The sthreel ot a girl takes in Padh 'ill get up mop tial early sho'll havo to get up afore ahe goes to bod, mother.' "But lo an' behould yel wasn't there -a poor thravellln' woman goln' about an' doean't she pitch her camp of a night In Padh's. An' slttln' be the Are she rises tho question ot why Padh didn't marry, an' Padh's mother argue-fled argue-fled the queskln with her. an' showed her ahe wouldn't let Padh marry know-la' know-la' the sort of halverlls (halt-wits) ot girls was goln', that would only take It the poor boy an' make him live the remainder of his lire to repent tho unlucky un-lucky day their shadow first fell on him girls that was good for nothln' but altln' and dhrlnkin,' and wearin' out does. 'No,' she sayed, "her boy would nlvlr throw himself away on the likes of them.' The poor thravellln' woman for she was a match-maker nalther more nor less sho sayed that ahe approved ot every word of it, aa' ahe atyled Padh'e mother a good, fat-seela', fat-seela', sensible woman, that knew ttts value ot a good son. But the, ak aayed, sho knew a girl in the eerlih ahe came from the Klllybega' pariah she know in It a girl, a waa Nancy McBrearty that her bate wasn't to be foun', nor yet her like again, an' screenge all Irclan' with a berrln' net. She waa tho very girl, ahe sayed, that Padh's mother wanted for her son, wan that would be a help an' a comfort com-fort to her in her oul' an' stiff days, an' a patthern to her two children, an' wan, besides, that would bring with hor both money an' money's worth, an' farm stock, moreover. 8he then pictured to them what Nancy McBrearty Mc-Brearty was like, an' accordln' to her varslon there wasn't a vartuey In the catechism wasn't undhor Nancy Mc-Brearty's Mc-Brearty's cloak. But the hort an' the long an' the tall end of all was that ahe talked over Padh's mother, Ull she come to confess that If Padh could only come to get Nancy McBrearty her money, an' money's worth, an' farm stock, moreover, he'd Le a made man an' settled for life, an' she'd be as contented aa a queen on her throne ar.' no more heart-burns, too, about the sthreels of the parish thryln' to turn the poor boy Padh's heed, an' to coax blm awry from his mother. Wan other thing only Padh's mother wanted want-ed to know consarnln' Nancy. Was she any sort of a moderate alter? be-kaae, be-kaae, It her appetite wasn't within bounds, it would be as bad as ruination ruin-ation to fetch her about the house. But the thravellln' woman soon set her at rest on this point, for Nancy, she sayed, didn't ate at all; her appetite ap-petite waa bo delicate that she Just picked like a chicken. But with all that, curious to say, he was as sthrong an' wholesome as a woll-fed year oul'. "So tho thravellln' woman was sent away bock down to Klllybegs parish to smooth the way with Nancy; an' a week aftorwards, on word comln' up, Vadh's mother packed off Padh away down for, owln' to the oul' age and the rheumatism, she didn't feel fit to travel bo far herself "An Padh himself waa back inside three days with a gran' account ot Nancy, her money an' money's worth, an' farm stock; an' by no means the least welcome Intelligence he had with him was that, thrue enough, though Nancy was as strong an' wholesome aa a ploughman she ate like a canary in' the consumption. That was Iv a Chewsday. The nlxt Sunday Padh Mullen married Nancy McBrearty an brang her home herself, her money ca' money's worth, an' farm stock, moreover. An' the whole fortune come after them In an ass's cart It waa wan pfun' wan an' tenpence ha'penny In dhry money; a bundher of oatmatl, a poun' an' a bait of lay two stone of sugar, five pecks o' praties, .a penny'orth Iv tibacky, an' a ha'portb of snuff In money's worth; and tho farm ltock was a wealln' calve always looVIn' for something to lean against, an' a ho-goat that rid tbo house for them In flvo minutes, broke Padh's mother's best milk crock, an' made short work an' a scattbormlnt o' the oul' lady hcrsolf when Bhe went to put corractlon on him. "Nlxt day, for it was In the May time, all hands wor goln' out to foot turf; but Nancy, she plalded she waa too tired afther the Journoy the day afore, an' she sayed sho'd stay in the . house an' mako ready the pick o' din- ( ner. t They didn't care for raisin rue- i tlons with her so early, so they sayed I little; no more did they say much when sho went out an' caught the biggest an' finest dhrake they owned wan big enough for a gooso an' kilt him for tho dinner. They didn't say much but, like Paul Tinney'e parrot, par-rot, they thought enough to make a history-book. "An' lo an' behoul'l when they ( ' comes In an' sits down to the dinner, '' there was no signs ot the dhrake forthcomln. Padh looked roua' tho table. "'Nancy,' saya he. "Where's- the dhrake? "'Where's tho dhrake! ' Bays she; 'where would yo think him to be? I ate him. Didn't yo see the bones el -. . v him on the du'ghlll as ye come la? " 'Whatr says Padh, says he, lifted out ot hla sate with constornatioa; 'ate the dhrake. Ye don't mane to say ye ate tho wholo dhrake?' "'Och, ye gommerlln, yel' says she, 'great falts It was, wasn't it, to ate a weeshy bit of a dhrake? I did rata htm, la throth, an' would ate more' if I had if "An och, lawhendte seel that wae the play. The oul' mother aa' the daughter as good aa fainted; an' Padh, poor boy, he got hla two han'a, wan to ivery aide of his head, to thry-to keep it from burstln', and wandered through the house, up the house, aa' down the house, an' round' the house, his throat nlvlr closln', but dlng-dlng-In' away at the rhyme 'An more If 1 had Itl An' uoro It I had Itl Och, och, ance ohl An' more If I hod Itl An 'more If I had Itl An' more if 1 had HI' An' thoro he got oa like a ravin' lunatic, nalther stoppln nor ceastn', barrin' to let a heart-breakia sigh out ot him for hours.by the clock. IbtJbtJbtJbbbtJbtJbtJbtJbtJbsutbb BUBUWQ 9(!v-BBBBUVW' Mtr KaaaKgBB ! S "" yTTgk aieareaij 4aTaJjWKBi I : " 'An' More If I Had Itl' Saya Padh. Tho nayboura then gathered In. an' they thrlod all they could with him to pacify him, or dbrive a particle ot sense Intil his bead. "Wan an' all agreed It waa hla delta ' waa on Padh. Some went home, an' them stayed behind got him until .his bed at last, when he got walker. , Then Nancy sho got a youngbster who could write, to draft out Padh'e will. They tried to instnse her, ahe might aa well be talkln' Jarmin to a turkey-cock as thlnkln' to get that man to make a will. But Nancy, aha got the will aV the paper, an' seta the young fellow down with the pea 1b his fist, an' she says to Padh, says she: " 'Me poor Padh, It's yer dalth right enough is on ye, me poor man, an' ye'll need to dlvldo yer Ian' an' belong-In's' belong-In's' for it was Padh's namq waa Id the rent-book 'to divide,' says she, 'yer bit ot Ian' an' belongin's so as not to have squabblln' about it when ye're no more. Now, Padh', saya she, 1 know ye'll lay me the Lang Park, for who has a betther right to It aor your wife? "'An' more If I bad Itl' says Padh An' more If I had itl "'Put that down,' says Nancy .to the roungbster. "'An' Padh,' saya ahe. 'I know ye'll not begrudgo yer own Nancy the Rlshy flol' bosldes?' "'An' more If I bad Itl' Padb'aaya. An' moro If I had HI' "An the Calves park, an' the Whinny hill, Padh, a tnhlor says she. "'An'. more it I had Itl Aa' more If I bad III' "'Put It all down, youngbster. Aa I daresay, Padh, ye'll be for throwla' In to me, lakewise, the Pratle BeT on' the Black bottoms?' "An more It I had Itl An more If I had It!' "An' so she went till she finished, when she put the poor man's hand ' to the pen Ull ho made his mark, an' whon Padh give up tho ghost which wasn't many hours afther there wasn't cow, klne. stick, stave, crose or crown about the houso or pleee she hadn't mado herself heir to. "An' that was Padh Mullen'e Nancy." |
