Page:Once a Week Volume 7.djvu/514

 506 was Corny also), and the divil a doubt of it but an illigant dancer entirely he was, and ’twas well worth goin’ a mile of ground any day to see him handlin’ his feet at a reel or a double. Some people said he was fond of the dhrop, but sure if he had a triflin’ hankerin’ afther it, ’tis many a better man’s case, and more betoken the ould song says St. Pathrick himself wasn’t above mix in’ a bowl of punch—and faix I wouldn’t put it a past him to have a hand in the dhrinkin’ of it, too! Well, sir, be that as it may, whether he found whisky very openin’ to the mouth, or no, Corny believed in all manner of devarshun; lave him alone for singin’, and dancin’, coortin, and fightin’. For love and murdher there wasn’t his aquil in the barony. Sure I seen him meself bate tin or a dozen min to bruss—ay, and that when he was little more nor a gossoon!”

“Oh! that was a grand feat, Henry.”

“Thrue for ye, sir, but it was, and I’ll tell you how it come about. ’Twas one day at the races of Drumgoold, the bell was ringin’ for one hate, when Corny spied a car that he thought would make a fine stand-house for him. The butt end of the car was leanin’ again the ground, and of coorse the two shafts was stickin’ up in the air, like gazaboes. A parcel of people was gother about it, some standin’ on the spokes, and more of ’em on the tail-board, all ager to see the race; but nothin’ ’id do me bould Corny, but to climb up into the back-band that was hangin’ betune the shafts, afther the nature of a swing-swong.

“There he sot at his aise, flingin’ jokes at the boys and girls, and kickin’ his heels about like a merry-andher. A fine view of the coorse he had, no doubt, but, be me song, there was more comin’ than he bargained for, for the hate bein’ over, the people was makin’ off to the tents, and behould ye, when they stepped out of the tail of the car, up it wint, for all the world like a wadey-buckety, and down goes the shafts over the top of a tent conveynient, where there was powerful dancin’ and fun goin’ on. Out flew Corny from betune the shafts, with a wheegee aquil to any sky-rocket! Whiz! away he wint flittherin’ through the canvass, with the soles of his brogues uppermost, and the nails glittherin’ in the sun! Well, there was a party of boys and girls sittin’ round a table inside, and enjoyin’ their punch, and where the divil did the oulahn ’lite, but plop on the table in the middle of ’em! Ye could hear his four bones jinglin’, and the smashin’ of glass was hard a mile away. Oh! bad scran to the bit of me, but I thought I’d die down wud the rale dint of laughin’. Away wud me hot foot round to the door; and, bedad, again I got there, they had laned to kickin’ him about the floor like a foot-ball. He was took so be surprise, he couldn’t rise a hand, and faix I thought they’d kilt him entirely. At last they left off, and took to laughin’ at him, and, to be sure, he was a holy show wud mud and gutther, and his clothes in flidgetts on his back. One of the men got a knife and fork, and challenged him to come on, till he’d carve him; but ’twas little they knew who they had to dale wud, for Corny ups, and grabs hoult of a blackthorn stick, and into the thick of them he went, leatherin’ away for the bare life. Oh, meillia murther; such a lambastin’ as he gev them, ne’er a one of ’em but got his share, for the stick kept rattlin’ on their heads like a flail. One way or another it ended in a gineral faction, and ye may take yer davy there was more plasthers than plisinthry among them in the mornin’!

“But to come back to me story. Where’s this I was? Oh, ay! I remimber.

’Tis a good many year now since one evenin’, Corny was at poor Mike Lanaghan’s wake, at the cross-roads above. There was a great congregation of the neighbours round, for ould Mike was a great favourite. Mostly all the ould people was in the room wud the corpse, the men chatterin’ about one thing or another, and the women slootherin’ and cosherin’ in corners wud their heads together, lamentin’ the dead, and keepin’ a keen eye all the while on the dandys and noggins of punch. The young ones was out in the kitchen whalin’ the flure to the ‘Crow on the Gate-post,’ or some other fine tchune, for Callaghan, the piper, was there to the fore, playin’ most beautiful. You may be sure there was lashins and lavins of all soorts of dhrinks, hapes of fine aitin’, and tobacco galore, for them Lanaghans was always rale dacent people, and ’tis well they knew how to thrate their neighbours when they dropped in.

“Corny was in and out, like a dog in a fair, enjoyin’ the fun in rale earnest, and indeed a mighty pleasant evenin’ they all had of it. It was dhrawin’ on purty late, and Dinny Byrne was jist singin’ his favourite song, ‘As down by Bannow’s banks,’ when Corny seen Mary Carty throwin’ her shawl over her head to go along home, so he slipped out, and made bould to discoorse her as far as her father’s cabin, for he always had a snakin’ regard for her, as they say, and small blame to him, for many’s the mile you might thravel of a summer’s day ’ithout meetin’ a likelier or a nicer lookin’ colleen. It doesn’t become me to say what they talked about on the way; but I dar say ’twas somethin’ sweet, for they waumused (strolled) along asy, an’ when they rached Carty’s cabin, ’twas time for Corny to be thinkin’ of goin’ home, which was as good as four mile away, so afther takin’ a partin’ glass wud Mary’s father, he bid ’em all good night, and started off.

’Twas a darlint fine night anyhow; the moon was shinin’ as bright as day, and the stars was winkin’ and twinklin’ down at their own beautiful little faces that was smilin’ and lookin’ up at them again out of the bright river Slaney.

I“I [sic] suppose it was the fine night that was in it, or the air took hoult of him, or may be the strength of the love; but, howsumever, it was Corny began to feel rale light in the head. He used to lay the blame on the good people, ‘for,’ says he, ‘sure it couldn’t be the dhrop I tuk that wasn’t enough to blind the eye of a midge,’ says he, ‘that id go get into me head that a way.’ So down he sot, just to steady himself and take a blast of the pipe, be the side of a big three that stood close to the road, and he wasn’t long there when lone behowld ye he fell hard and fast asleep. Himself didn’t know how long he slep’, but the moon was shinin’ away still when he awoke, and when he did he hard the