第15章

’Andwhydon’tyoubuyanother？’

’Isitofbuyingyouarespeaking？AndwhereamItogetthemoney？’

’Ah!that’sanotherthing!’

’Faithitis，honey!-AndnowtheChristmasholidaysiscoming，whenIshallbeathomebydayaswellasnight，andthenwhatamI

todo？SinceIhavebeenasaggarting，Ihavebeengoodfornothingatall-neitherforworknorGreek-onlytoplaycards!

Faith，it’sgoingmadIwillbe!’

’Isay，Murtagh!’

’Yes，Shorshadear!’

’Ihaveapackofcards。’

’Youdon’tsayso，Shorshamavourneen？-youdon’tsaythatyouhavecardsfifty-two？’

’Ido，though；andtheyarequitenew-neverbeenonceused。’

’Andyou’llbelendingthemtome，Iwarrant？’

’Don’tthinkit!-ButI’llsellthemtoyou，joy，ifyoulike。’

’HanammonDioul!amInotaftertellingyouthatIhavenomoneyatall!’

’Butyouhaveasgoodasmoney，tome，atleast；andI’lltakeitinexchange。’

’What’sthat，Shorshadear？’

’Irish!’

’Irish？’

’Yes，youspeakIrish；Iheardyoutalkingittheotherdaytothecripple。YoushallteachmeIrish。’

’Andisitalanguage-masteryou’dbemakingofme？’

’Tobesure!-whatbettercanyoudo？-itwouldhelpyoutopassyourtimeatschool。Youcan’tlearnGreek，soyoumustteachIrish!’

BeforeChristmas，MurtaghwasplayingatcardswithhisbrotherDenis，andIcouldspeakaconsiderablequantityofbrokenIrish。

CHAPTERXI

Templemore-Devil’sMountain-Nocompanion-Forceofcircumstance-Wayoftheworld-Ruinedcastle-Grimanddesolate-Thedonjon-Oldwoman-Myownhouse。

WHENChristmaswasover，andthenewyearcommenced，webrokeupourquarters，andmarchedawaytoTemplemore。Thiswasalargemilitarystation，situatedinawildandthinlyinhabitedcountry。

Extensivebogswereintheneighbourhood，connectedwiththehugebogofAllen，thePalusMaeotisofIreland。Hereandtherewasseenaruinedcastleloomingthroughthemistsofwinter；whilst，atthedistanceofsevenmiles，roseasingularmountain，exhibitinginitsbrowachasm，orvacuum，just，foralltheworld，asifapiecehadbeenbittenout；afeatwhich，accordingtothetraditionofthecountry，hadactuallybeenperformedbyhisSatanicmajesty，who，afterflyingforsomeleagueswiththemorselinhismouth，becomingweary，droppeditinthevicinityofCashel，whereitmaynowbeseenintheshapeofaboldbluffhill，crownedwiththeruinsofastatelyedifice，probablybuiltbysomeancientIrishking。

Wehadbeenhereonlyafewdays，whenmybrother，who，asIhavebeforeobserved，hadbecomeoneofhisMajesty’sofficers，wassentondetachmenttoavillageatabouttenmiles’distance。Hewasnotsixteen，and，thoughthreeyearsolderthanmyself，scarcelymyequalinstature，forIhadbecometallandlarge-limbedformyage；buttherewasaspiritinhimwhichwouldnothavedisgracedageneral；and，nothingdauntedattheconsiderableresponsibilitywhichhewasabouttoincur，hemarchedsturdilyoutofthebarrack-yardattheheadofhisparty，consistingoftwentylight-

infantrymen，andatallgrenadiersergeant，selectedexpresslybymyfather，forthesoldier-likequalitieswhichhepossessed，toaccompanyhissononthishisfirstexpedition。Sooutofthebarrack-yard，withsomethingofanair，marchedmydearbrother，hissingledrumandfifeplayingtheinspiringoldmelody，Marlbroukisgonetothewars，He’llneverreturnnomore!

Isoonmissedmybrother，forIwasnowalone，withnobeing，atallassimilatinginage，withwhomIcouldexchangeaword。Oflateyears，frombeingalmostconstantlyatschool，Ihadcastaside，inagreatdegree，myunsocialhabitsandnaturalreserve，butinthedesolateregioninwhichwenowweretherewasnoschool；andIfeltdoublythelossofmybrother，whom，moreover，I

tenderlylovedforhisownsake。BooksIhadnone，atleastsuch’asIcaredabout’；andwithrespecttotheoldvolume，thewondersofwhichhadfirstbeguiledmeintocommonreading，Ihadsofrequentlyporedoveritspages，thatIhadalmostgotitscontentsbyheart。IwasthereforeindangeroffallingintothesamepredicamentasMurtagh，becoming’frighted’fromhavingnothingtodo!Nay，Ihadnotevenhisresources；Icarednotforcards，evenifIpossessedthemandcouldfindpeopledisposedtoplaywiththem。However，Imadethemostofcircumstances，androamedaboutthedesolatefieldsandbogsintheneighbourhood，sometimesenteringthecabinsofthepeasantry，witha’God’sblessinguponyou，goodpeople!’whereIwouldtakemyseatonthe’stranger’sstone’atthecornerofthehearth，and，lookingthemfullintheface，wouldlistentothecarlesandcarlinestalkingIrish。

Ah，thatIrish!Howfrequentlydocircumstances，atfirstsightthemosttrivialandunimportant，exerciseamightyandpermanentinfluenceonourhabitsandpursuits!-howfrequentlyisastreamturnedasidefromitsnaturalcoursebysomelittlerockorknoll，causingittomakeanabruptturn!OnawildroadinIrelandIhadheardIrishspokenforthefirsttime；andIwasseizedwithadesiretolearnIrish，theacquisitionofwhich，inmycase，becamethestepping-stonetootherlanguages。IhadpreviouslylearntLatin，orratherLilly；butneitherLatinnorLillymademeaphilologist。IhadfrequentlyheardFrenchandotherlanguages，buthadfeltlittledesiretobecomeacquaintedwiththem；andwhat，itmaybeasked，wasthereconnectedwiththeIrishcalculatedtorecommendittomyattention？

Firstofall，andprincipally，Ibelieve，thestrangenessandsingularityofitstones；thentherewassomethingmysteriousanduncommonassociatedwithitsuse。Itwasnotaschoollanguage，toacquirewhichwasconsideredanimperativeduty；no，no；norwasitadrawing-roomlanguage，drawledoutoccasionally，inshredsandpatches，bytheladiesofgeneralsandothergreatdignitaries，totheineffabledismayofpoorofficers’wives。Nothingofthekind；

butaspeechspokeninout-of-the-waydesolateplaces，andincut-

throatkens，wherethirtyruffians，atthesightoftheking’sminions，wouldspringupwithbrandishedsticksandan’ubbubbooliketheblowingupofapowder-magazine。’SuchwerethepointsconnectedwiththeIrish，whichfirstawakenedinmymindthedesireofacquiringit；andbyacquiringitIbecame，asIhavealreadysaid，enamouredoflanguages。Havinglearntonebychoice，Ispeedily，asthereaderwillperceive，learntothers，someofwhichwerewidelydifferentfromIrish。

Ah，thatIrish!Iammuchindebtedtoitinmorewaysthanone。

ButIamafraidIhavefollowedthewayoftheworld，whichisverymuchwonttoneglectoriginalfriendsandbenefactors。I

frequentlyfindmyself，atpresent，turningupmynoseatIrishwhenIhearitinthestreet；yetIhavestillakindofregardforit，thefineoldlanguage：

AlabhairPadruicn’insefailnanriogh。

OneofthemostpeculiarfeaturesofthispartofIrelandistheruinedcastles，whicharesothickandnumerousthatthefaceofthecountryappearsstuddedwiththem，itbeingdifficulttochooseanysituationfromwhichone，atleast，maynotbedescried。Theyareofvariousagesandstylesofarchitecture，someofgreatantiquity，likethestatelyremainswhichcrowntheCragofCashel；

othersbuiltbytheearlyEnglishconquerors；others，andprobablythegreaterpart，erectionsofthetimesofElizabethandCromwell。

Thewholespeakingmonumentsofthetroubledandinsecurestateofthecountry，fromthemostremoteperiodstoacomparativelymoderntime。

FromthewindowsoftheroomwhereIsleptIhadaviewofoneoftheseoldplaces-anindistinctone，itistrue，thedistancebeingtoogreattopermitmetodistinguishmorethanthegeneraloutline。Ihadananxiousdesiretoexploreit。Itstoodtothesouth-east；inwhichdirection，however，ablackbogintervened，whichhadmorethanoncebaffledallmyattemptstocrossit。Onemorning，however，whenthesunshonebrightlyupontheoldbuilding，itappearedsonear，thatIfeltashamedatnotbeingabletoaccomplishafeatseeminglysoeasy；Idetermined，therefore，uponanothertrial。Ireachedthebog，andwasabouttoventureuponitsblacksurface，andtopickmywayamongstitsinnumerableholes，yawninghorribly，andhalffilledwithwaterblackassoot，whenitsuddenlyoccurredtomethattherewasaroadtothesouth，byfollowingwhichImightfindamoreconvenientroutetotheobjectofmywishes。Theeventjustifiedmyexpectations，for，afterfollowingtheroadforsomethreemiles，seeminglyinthedirectionoftheDevil’sMountain，I

suddenlybeheldthecastleonmyleft。

Idivergedfromtheroad，and，crossingtwoorthreefields，cametoasmallgrassyplain，inthemidstofwhichstoodthecastle。

Aboutagun-shottothesouthwasasmallvillage，whichhad，probably，inancientdays，sprungupbeneathitsprotection。A

kindofawecameovermeasIapproachedtheoldbuilding。Thesunnolongershoneuponit，anditlookedsogrim，sodesolateandsolitary；andherewasI，inthatwildcountry，alonewiththatgrimbuildingbeforeme。Thevillagewaswithinsight，itistrue；

butitmightbeavillageofthedeadforwhatIknew；nosoundissuedfromit，nosmokewasrisingfromitsroofs，neithermannorbeastwasvisible，nolife，nomotion-itlookedasdesolateasthecastleitself。YetIwasbentontheadventure，andmovedontowardsthecastleacrossthegreenplain，occasionallycastingastartledglancearoundme；andnowIwasclosetoit。