Produced by David Widger
ST. PATRICK'S EVE
By Charles James Lever
Illustr. by Phiz.
London:
Chapman And Hall, 186 Strand.
MDCCCXLV.
TO MY CHILDREN
MY DEAR CHILDREN,
There are few things less likely than that it will ever be your lotto exercise any of the rights or privileges of landed property. It maychance, however, that even in your humble sphere, there may be thosewho shall look up to you for support, and be, in some wise, dependenton your will; if so, pray let this little story have its lesson in yourhearts, think, that when I wrote it, I desired to inculcate the truth,that prosperity has as many duties as adversity has sorrows; that thoseto whom Providence has accorded many blessings are but the stewards ofHis bounty to the poor; and that the neglect of an obligation so sacredas this charity is a grievous wrong, and may be the origin of evilsfor which all your efforts to do good through life will be but a pooratonement.
Your affectionate Father,
CHARLES LEVER.
Templeogue, March 1, 1845.
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FIRST ERA.
IT was on the 16th of March, the eve of St. Patrick, not quite twentyyears ago, that a little village on the bank of Lough Corrib wascelebrating in its annual fair "the holy times," devoting one day toevery species of enjoyment and pleasure, and on the next, by practisingprayers and penance of various kinds, as it were to prepare their mindsto resume their worldly duties in a frame of thought more seemly andbecoming.
If a great and wealthy man might smile at the humble preparations forpleasure displayed on this occasion, he could scarcely scoff at thescene which surrounded them. The wide valley, encircled by loftymountains, whose swelling outlines were tracked against the blue sky, ormingled gracefully with clouds, whose forms were little less fantasticand wild. The broad lake, stretching away into the distance, and eitherlost among the mountain-passes, or contracting as it approached theancient city of Galway: a few, and but very few, islands marked itssurface, and these rugged and rocky; on one alone a human trace wasseen-the ruins of an ancient church; it was a mere gable now, but youcould still track out the humble limits it had occupied-scarce spacesufficient for twenty persons: such were once, doubtless, the fullnumber of converts to the faith who frequented there. There was a wildand savage grandeur in the whole: the very aspect of the mountainsproclaimed desolation, and seemed to frown defiance at the efforts ofman to subdue them to his use; and even the herds of wild cattle seemedto stray with caution among the cliffs and precipices of this drearyregion. Lower down, however, and as if in compensation of the infertiletract above, the valley was marked by patches of tillage and grass-land,and studded with cottages; which, if presenting at a nearer inspectionindubitable signs of poverty, yet to the distant eye bespoke somethingof rural comfort, nestling as they often did beneath some large rock,and sheltered by the great turf-stack, which even the poorest possessed.Many streams wound their course through this valley; along whoseborders, amid a pasture brighter than the emerald, the cattle grazed,and there, from time to time some peasant child sat fishing as hewatched the herd.
Shut in by lake and mountain, this seemed a little spot apart from allthe world; and so, indeed, its inhabitants found it. They were a poorbut not unhappy race of people, whose humble lives had taught themnothing of the comforts and pleasures of richer communities. Povertyhad, from habit, no terrors for them; short of actual want, they neverfelt its pressure heavily.
Such were they who now were assembled to celebrate the festival of theirPatron Saint. It was drawing towards evening; the sun was already low,and the red glare that shone from behind the mountains shewed that hewas Bear his setting. The business of the fair was almost concluded;the little traffic so remote a region could supply, the barter of a fewsheep, the sale of a heifer, a mountain pony, or a flock of goats, hadall passed off; and now the pleasures of the occasion were about tosucceed. The votaries to amusement, as if annoyed at the protracteddealings of the more worldly minded, were somewhat rudely driving awaythe cattle that still continued to linger about; and pigs and poultrywere beginning to discover that they were merely intruders. The canvassbooths, erected as shelter against the night-air, were becoming crowdedwith visitors; and from more than one of the number the pleasant soundsof the bagpipe might now be heard, accompanied by the dull shufflingtramp of heavily-shod feet.
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Various shows and exhibitions were also in preparation, and singularannouncements were made by gentlemen in a mingled costume of Turk andThimble-rigger, of "wonderful calves with two heads;" "six-legged pigs;"and an "infant of two years old that could drink a quart of spirits at adraught, if a respectable company were assembled to witness it;"-a featwhich, for the honour of young Ireland, it should be added, was everpostponed from a deficiency in the annexed condition.
Then there were "restaurants" on a scale of the most primitivesimplicity, where boiled beef or "spoleen" was sold from a hugepot, suspended over a fire in the open air, and which was invariablysurrounded by a gourmand party of both sexes; gingerbread and cakes ofevery fashion and every degree of indigestion also abounded; whilejugs and kegs flanked the entrance to each tent, reeking with amost unmistakable odour of that prime promoter of native drollery andfun--poteen. All was stir, movement, and bustle; old friends, separatedsince the last occasion of a similar festivity, were embracingcordially, the men kissing with an affectionate warmth no German everequalled; pledges of love and friendship were taken in brimming glassesby many, who were perhaps to renew the opportunity for such testimonieshereafter, by a fight that very evening; contracts, ratified by whisky,until that moment not deemed binding; and courtships, prosecuted withhopes, which the whole year previous had never suggested; kindspeeches and words of welcome went round; while here and there someclosely-gathered heads and scowling glances gave token, that otherscores were to be acquitted on that night than merely those of commerce;and in the firmly knitted brow, and more firmly grasped blackthorn, apractised observer could foresee, that some heads were to carry awaydeeper marks of that meeting, than simple memory can impress;--and thus,in this wild sequestered spot, human passions were as rife as in themost busy communities of pampered civilisation. Love, hate, and hope,charity, fear, forgiveness, and malice; long-smouldering revenge,long--subdued affection; hearts pining beneath daily drudgery, suddenlyawakened to a burst of pleasure and a renewal of happiness in the sightof old friends, for many a day lost sight of; words of good cheer;half mutterings of menace; the whispered syllables of love; thedeeply-uttered tones of vengeance; and amid all, the careless recklessglee of those, who appeared to feel the hour one snatched from the graspof misery, and devoted to the very abandonment of pleasure. It seemed invain that want and poverty had shed their chilling influence over heartslike these. The snow-drift and the storm might penetrate their fraildwellings; the winter might blast, the hurricane might scatter theirhumble hoardings; but still, the bold high-beating spirit that livedwithin, beamed on throughout every trial; and now, in the hour oflong-sought enjoyment, blazed forth in a flame of joy, that was all butfrantic.
The step that but yesterday fell wearily upon the ground, now smote theearth with a proud beat, that told of manhood's daring; the voices werehigh, the eyes were flashing; long pent-up emotions of every shade andcomplexion were there; and it seemed a season where none should weardisguise, but stand forth in all the fearlessness of avowed resolve;and in the heart-home looks of love, as well as in the fiery glances ofhatred, none practised concealment. Here, went one with his arm roundhis sweetheart's waist,--an evidence of accepted affection none daredeven to stare at; there, went another, the skirt of his long loose coatthrown over his arm, in whose hand a stick wa
s brandished--his gesture,even without his wild hurroo! an open declaration of battle, a challengeto all who liked it. Mothers were met in close conclave, interchangingfamily secrets and cares; and daughters, half conscious of the partsthey themselves were playing in the converse, passed looks of slyintelligence to each other. And beggars were there too--beggars of aclass which even the eastern Dervish can scarcely vie with: cripplesbrought many a mile away from their mountain-homes to extort charity byexhibitions of dreadful deformity; the halt, the blind, the mutteringidiot, the moping melanc holy mad, mixed up with strange and motleyfigures in patched uniforms and rags--some, amusing the crowd by theirdrolleries, some, singing a popular ballad of the time--while throughall, at every turn and every corner, one huge fellow, without legs, rodeupon an ass, his wide chest ornamented by a picture of himself, and aparagraph setting forth his infirmities. He, with a voice deeper thana bassoon, bellowed forth his prayer for alms, and seemed to monopolisefar more than his