Why don't you go up to the Big House? They're rich and can afford it."
Mendicant, with a shrug, which sets all his coats and bags in
motion--"Och! och! The Big House, inagh! Musha, do you want me an' the
childhre here, to be torn to pieces wid the dogs? or lashed wid a whip
by one o' the sarvints? No, no, avourneen!" (with a hopeless shake of
the head.) "That 'ud be a blue look-up, like a clear evenin'."
Poor Tenant.--"Then, indeed, we haven't it to help you, now, poor man.
We're buyin' ourselves."
Mendicant.--"Thin, throth, that's lucky, so it is! I've as purty a grain
o' male here, as you'd wish to thicken wather wid, that I sthruv to get
together, in hopes to be able to buy a quarther o' tobaccy, along wid a
pair o' new bades an' scapular for myself. I'm suspicious that there's
about a stone ov it, altogether. You can have it anunder the market
price, for I'm frettin' at not havin' the scapular an me. Sure the Lord
will sind me an' the childhre a bit an' sup some way else--glory to his
name!--beside a lock of praties in the corner o' the bag here, that'll
do us for this day, any way."
The bargain is immediately struck, and the poor tenant is glad to
purchase, even from a beggar, his stone of meal, in consequence of
getting it a few pence under market price. Such scenes as this, which
are of frequent occurrence in the country parts of Ireland, need no
comment.
Pages:
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236