下载辰思小说免费APP
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