Wild Wales

第50章

PassedthroughPennoworPenhow,asmallvillage。Thesceneryintheneighbourhoodofthisplaceishighlyinteresting。Tothenorth—westatsomedistanceisMynyddTurvey,asharppointedbluemountain。Tothesouth—east,ontheright,muchnearer,aretwobeautifulgreenhills,thelowestprettilywooded,andhavingitstopafairwhitemansioncalledPenhowCastle,whichbelongstoafamilyofthenameofCave。ThencetoLlanvaches,aprettylittlevillage。WhenIwasaboutthemiddleofthisplaceIheardanoddsound,somethinglikeanoteofrecognition,whichattractedmyattentiontoanobjectveryneartome,fromwhichitseemedtoproceed,andwhichwascomingfromthedirectioninwhichIwasgoing。Itwasthefigureseeminglyofafemale,wrappedinacoarsebluecloak,thefeetbareandthelegsbarealsonearlyuptotheknee,bothterriblysplashedwiththeslushoftheroad。

Theheadwassurmountedbyakindofhood,whichjustpermittedmetoseecoarseredhair,abroadface,greyeyes,asnubbednose,blubberlipsandgreatwhiteteeth—theeyeswerestaringintentlyatme。Istoppedandstaredtoo,andatlastthoughtIrecognisedthefeaturesoftheuncouthgirlIhadseenonthegreennearChesterwiththeIrishtinkerTourloughandhiswife。

"Dearme!"saidI,"didInotseeyounearChesterlastsummer?"

"Tobesureyedid;andyeweregoingtopassmewithoutawordofnoticeorkindnesshadInotgivenyeabitofahail。"

"Well,"saidI,"Ibegyourpardon。Howisitallwidye?"

"Quitewell。Howisitwidyerehanner?’

"Tolerably。Wheredoyoucomefrom?"

"FromChepstow,yerehanner。"

"Andwhereareyougoingto?"

"ToNewport,yerehanner。"

"AndIcomefromNewport,andamgoingtoChepstow。Where’sTourloughandhiswife?"

"AtCardiff,yerehanner;Ishalljointhemagainto—morrow。"

"Haveyoubeenlongawayfromthem?"

"Aboutaweek,yerehanner。"

"Andwhathaveyoubeendoing?"

"Sellingmyneedles,yerehanner。"

"Oh!yousellneedles。Well,Iamgladtohavemetyou。Letmesee。There’sanicelittleinnontheright:won’tyoucomeinandhavesomerefreshment?"

"Thankyerehanner;Ihavenoobjectiontotakeaglasswidanoldfriend。"

"Well,then,comein;youmustbetired,andIshallbegladtohavesomeconversationwithyou。"

Wewentintotheinn—alittletidyplace。Onmycalling,arespectable—lookingoldmanmadehisappearancebehindabar。

Afterservingmycompanionwithaglassofpeppermint,whichshesaidshepreferredtoanythingelse,andmewithaglassofale,bothofwhichIpaidfor,heretired,andwesatdownontwooldchairsbeneathawindowinfrontofthebar。

"Well,"saidI,"IsupposeyouhaveIrish:here’sslainte—"

"Slainteyuitashaoi,"saidthegirl,tastingherpeppermint。

"Well:howdoyoulikeit?’

"It’sveryniceindeed。"

"That’smorethanIcansayoftheale,which,likeallthealeintheseparts,isbitter。Well,whatpartofIrelanddoyoucomefrom?"

"Fromnopartatall。IneverwasinIrelandinmylife。IamfromScotlandRoad,Manchester。"

"Why,IthoughtyouwereIrish?"

"AndsoIam;andallthemorefrombeingbornwhereIwas。

There’snotsuchaplaceforIrishinalltheworldasScotlandRoad。"

"WereyourfatherandmotherfromIreland?"

"MymotherwasfromIreland:myfatherwasIrishofScotlandRoad,wheretheymetandmarried。"

"Andwhatdidtheydoaftertheymarried?"

"Why,theyworkedhard,anddidtheirbesttogetalivelihoodforthemselvesandchildren,ofwhichtheyhadseveralbesidesmyself,whowastheeldest。Myfatherwasabricklayer,andmymothersoldapplesandorangesandotherfruits,accordingtotheseason,andalsowhiskey,whichshemadeherself,asshewellknewhow;formymotherwasnotonlyaConnachtwoman,butanout—and—outConnamaraquean,andwhenonlythirteenhadwroughtwiththeladswhousedtomaketheraalcraturontheislandsbetweenOchterardandBallynahinch。AssoonasIwasable,Ihelpedmymotherinmakinganddisposingofthewhiskeyandinsellingthefruit。Asfortheotherchildren,theyalldiedwhenyoung,offavers,ofwhichthereisalwaysplentyinScotlandRoad。Aboutfouryearsago—thatis,whenIwasjustfifteen—therewasagreatquarrelamongtheworkmenaboutwages。Somewantedmorethantheirmasterswerewillingtogive;otherswerewillingtotakewhatwasofferedthem。

Thosewhoweredissatisfiedwerecalledbricks;thosewhowerenotwerecalleddungs。Myfatherwasabrick;and,beingagoodmanwithhisfists,waslookeduponasaveryproperpersontofightaprincipalmanamongstthedungs。TheyfoughtinthefieldsnearSalfordforapoundaside。Myfatherhaditallhisownwayforthefirstthreerounds,butinthefourth,receivingablowundertheearfromthedung,hedropped,andnevergotupagain,dyingsuddenly。Agrandwakemyfatherhad,forwhichmymotherfurnishedusquebaughgalore;andcomfortablyanddacentlyitpassedovertillaboutthreeo’clockinthemorning,when,adisputehappeningtoarise—notonthematterofwages,fortherewasnotadungamongsttheIrishofScotlandRoad—butastowhethertheO’KeefsorO’KellyswerekingsofIrelandathousandyearsago,ageneralfighttookplace,whichbroughtinthepolice,who,beingsoondreadfullybaten,asweallturneduponthem,wentandfetchedthemilitary,withwhosehelptheytookandlockedupseveraloftheparty,amongstwhomweremymotherandmyself,tillthenextmorning,whenweweretakenbeforethemagistrates,who,afteraslightscolding,setusatliberty,oneofthemsayingthatsuchdisturbancesformedpartoftheIrishfuneralservice;whereuponwereturnedtothehouse,andtherestofthepartyjoiningus,wecarriedmyfather’sbodytothechurchyard,whereweburieditverydacently,withmanytearsandgroanings。"

"Andhowdidyourmotherandyougetonafteryourfatherwasburied?"

"Aswellaswecould,yerehanner;wesoldfruit,andnowandthenadropofwhiskey,whichwemade;butthisstateofthingsdidnotlastlong,foronedaymymotherseeingthedungwhohadkilledmyfather,sheflungalargeflintstoneandknockedouthisrighteye,fordoingwhichshewastakenupandtried,andsentencedtoayear’simprisonment,chieflyitwasthoughtbecauseshehadbeenheardtosaythatshewoulddothedungamischiefthefirsttimeshemethim。She,however,didnotsufferallhersentence,forbeforeshehadbeeninprisonthreemonthsshecaughtadisorderwhichcarriedheroff。Iwentonsellingfruitbymyselfwhilstshewasintrouble,andforsometimeafterherdeath,butverylonelyandmelancholy。AtlastmyuncleTourlough,or,astheEnglishwouldcallhim,Charles,chancingtocometoScotlandRoadalongwithhisfamily,Iwasgladtoacceptaninvitationtojointhemwhichhegaveme,andwiththemIhavebeeneversince,trave

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