He
immediately took a house in Ballykeerin, and, as it happened that a
man of his own trade, named Davis, died about the same time of lockjaw,
occasioned by a chisel wound in the ball of the thumb, as a natural
consequence, Art came in for a considerable portion of his business;
so true is it, that one man's misfortune is another man's making. His
father did all he could for him, and Margaret's sisters also gave them
some assistance, so that, ere the expiration of a year, they found
themselves better off than they had reason to expect, and, what crowned
their happiness--for they were happy--was the appearance of a lovely
boy, whom, after his father, they called. Arthur. Their hearts had not
much now to crave after--happiness was theirs, and health; and, to make
the picture still more complete, prosperity, as the legitimate reward
of Art's industry and close attention to business, was beginning to dawn
upon them.
One morning, a few months after this time, as she sat with their lovely
babe in her arms, the little rogue playing with the tangles of her raven
hair, Art addressed her in the fulness of as affectionate a heart as
ever beat in a human bosom:--
"Well, Mag," said he, "are you sorry for not marryin' Mark Hanratty?"
She looked at him, and then at their beautiful babe, which was his
image, and her lip quivered for a moment; she then smiled, and kissing
the infant, left a tear upon its face.
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