Page:Darby O'Gill and the Good People by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh (1903).djvu/151



Five miles down the road from Kilmartin churchyard, and thin two miles across, lived Barney Casey with Judy, his wife—known far and wide as the Couple without Childher.

Some foolish people whuspered that this lack of family was a punishment for an ould saycret crime. But that saying was nonsense, for an honester couple the sun didn’t shine on. It was only a pinance sint from Heaven as any other pinance is sint; ’twas—like poverty, sickness, or as being born a Connaught man—just to keep them humble-hearted.

But, oh, it was the sore pinanee!

Many an envious look they gave their neighbour, Tom Mulligan, the one-legged ballad-maker, who lived half a mile up the road, for, twelve purty, redhaired innocents sported and fought before Tom’s door. The couple took to going through the fields to avoid passing the house, for the sight of the childher gave them the heartache. Rh