"Love for one"s child doesn"t come out merely in words, Fardorougha; actin" for their benefit shows it better than spakin". Don"t you grant that?"
"Very well, may be I do, and again may be I don"t; there"s times when the one"s better than the other; but go an; may be I do grant it."
"Now tell me where in this parish, ay, or in the next five parishes to it, you"d find sich a boy for a father or mother to be proud out of, as Connor, your own darlin" as you often cau him?"
"Divil a one, Honor; _d.a.m.nho_ to the one; I won"t differ wid you in that."
"You won"t differ wid me! the divil thank you for that. You won"t indeed! but could you, I say, if you wor willin"?"
"I tell you I could _not_."
"Now there"s sinse an" kindness in that. Very well, you say you"re gatherin" up all the money you can for him."
"For him--him," exclaimed the unconscious miser, "why, what do you mane--for--well--ay--yes, yes, I did say for him; it"s for him I"m keeping it--it is, I tell you."
"Now, Fardorougha, you know he"s ould enough to be settled in life on his own account, an" you heard last night the girl he can get, if you stand to him, as he ought to expect from a father that loves him."
"Why, last night, thin, didn"t I give my--"
"Whist, ahagur! hould your tongue awhile, and let me go on. Thruth"s best--he dotes on that girl to such a degree, that if he doesn"t get her, he"ll never see another happy day while he"s alive."
"All _feasthalagh_, Honor--that won"t pa.s.s wid me; I know otherwise myself. Do you think that if I hadn"t got you, I"d been unhappy four-an"-twenty hours, let alone my whole life? I tell you that"s _feasthalagh_, an" won"t pa.s.s. He wouldn"t eat an ounce the less if he was never to get her. You seen the breakfast he made this mornin"; I didn"t begrudge it to him, but may I never stir if that Flanagan wouldn"t ate a horse behind the saddle; he has a stomach that"d require a king"s ransom to keep it."
"You know nothing of what I"m spakin" about," replied his wife. "I wasn"t _Una dhas dhun_ O"Brien in my best days; an" be the vestment, you warn"t Connor, that has more feelin", an" spirit, an" generosity in the nail of his little finger than ever you had in your whole carca.s.s. I tell you if he doesn"t get married to that girl he"ll break his heart.
Now how can he marry her except you take a good farm for him, and stock it dacently, so that he may have a home sich as she desarves to bring her to?"
"How do you know but they"ll give her a fortune when they find her bent on him?"
"Why, it"s not unpossible," said the wife, immediately changing her tactics, "it"s not impossible, but I can tell you it"s very unlikely."
"The best way, then, in my opinion, "ud be to spake to Connor about breaking it to the family."
"Why, that"s fair enough," said the wife. "I wondher myself I didn"t think of it, but the time was so short since last night."
"It is short," replied the miser, "far an" away too short to expect any one to make up their mind about it. Let them not be rash themselves aither, for I tell you that when people marry in haste, they"re apt to have time enough to repint at laysure."
"Well, but Fardorougha acushla, now hear me, throth it"s thruth and sinse what you say; but still, avourneen, listen; now set in case that the Bodagh and his wife don"t consint to their marriage, or to do anything for them, won"t you take them a farm and stock it bravely?
Think of poor Connor, the darlin" fine fellow that he is. Oh, thin, Saver above, but it"s he id go to the well o" the world"s end to ase you, if your little finger only ached. He would, or for myself, and yet his own father to trate him wid sich--"
It was in vain she attempted to proceed; the subject was one in which her heart felt too deep an interest to be discussed without tears. A brief silence ensued, during which Fardorougha moved uneasily on his seat, took the tongs, and mechanically mended the fire, and, peering at his wife with a countenance twitched as if by _tic douloureux_, stared round the house with a kind of stupid wonder, rose up, then sat instantly down, and in fact exhibited many of those unintelligible and uncouth movements, which, in person of his cast, may be properly termed the hieroglyphics of human action, under feelings that cannot be deciphered either by those on whom they operate, or by those who witness them.
"Yes," said he, "Connor is all you say, an" more--an" more--an"--an"--a rash act is the worst thing he could do. It"s betther, Honor, to spake to him as I sed, about lettin" the matther be known to Una"s family out of hand."
"And thin, if they refuse, you can show them a ginerous example, by puttin" them into a dacent farm. Will you promise me that, Fardorougha?
If you do, all"s right, for they"re not livin" that ever knew you to braak your word or your promise."
"I"ll make no promise, Honor; I"ll make no promise; but let the other plan be tried first. Now don"t be pressin" me; he is a n.o.ble boy, and would, as you say, thravel round the earth to keep my little finger from pain; but let me alone about it now--let me alone about it."
This, though slight encouragement, was still, in Honor"s opinion, quite as much as, if not more, than she expected. Without pressing him, therefore, too strongly at that moment, she contented herself with a full-length portrait of their son, drawn with all the skill of a mother who knew, if her husband"s heart could be touched at all, those points at which she stood the greatest chance of finding it accessible.
For a few days after this the subject of Connor"s love was permitted to lie undebated, in the earnest hope that Fardorougha"s heart might have caught some slight spark of natural affection from the conversation which had taken place between him and Honor. They waited, consequently, with patience for some manifestation on his part of a better feeling, and flattered themselves that his silence proceeded from the struggle which they knew a man of his disposition must necessarily feel in working up his mind to any act requiring him to part with that which he loved better than life, his money. The ardent temperament of Connor, however, could ill brook the pulseless indifference of the old man; with much difficulty, therefore, was he induced to wait a whole week for the issue, though sustained by the mother"s a.s.surance, that, in consequence of the impression left on her by their last conversation, she was certain the father, if not urged beyond his wish, would declare himself willing to provide for them. A week, however, elapsed, and Fardorougha moved on in the same hard and insensible spirit which was usual to him, wholly engrossed by money, and never, either directly or indirectly, appearing to remember that the happiness and welfare of his son were at stake, or depending upon the determination to which he might come.
Another half week pa.s.sed, during which Connor had made two unsuccessful attempts to see Una, in order that some fixed plan of intercourse might be established between them, at least until his father"s ultimate resolution on the subject proposed to him should be known. He now felt deeply distressed, and regretted that the ardor of his attachment had so far borne him away during their last meeting, that he had forgotten to concert measures with Una for their future interviews.
He had often watched about her father"s premises from a little before twilight until the whole family had gone to bed, yet without any chance either of conversing with her, or of letting her know that he was in the neighborhood. He had gone to chapel, too, with the hope of seeing her, or s.n.a.t.c.hing a hasty opportunity of exchanging a word or two, if possible; but to his astonishment she had not attended ma.s.s--an omission of duty of which she had not been guilty for the last three years. What, therefore, was to be done? For him to be detected lurking about the Bodagh"s house might create suspicion, especially after their interview in the garden, which very probably had, through the officiousness of the servants, been communicated to her parents. In a matter of such difficulty he bethought him of a confidant, and the person to whom the necessity of the ease directed him was Bartle Flanagan. Bartle, indeed, ever since he entered into his father"s service, had gained rapidly upon Connor"s good will, and on one or two occasions well-nigh succeeded in drawing from him a history of the mutual attachment which subsisted between him and Una. His good humor, easy language, and apparent friendship for young O"Donovan, together with his natural readiness of address, or, if you will, of manner, all marked him out as admirably qualified to act as a confidant in a matter which required the very tact and talent he possessed.
"Poor fellow," thought Connor to himself, "it will make him feel more like one of the family than a servant. If he can think that he"s trated as my friend and companion, he may forget that he"s ating the bread of the very man that drove him an" his to destruction. Ay, an" if we"re married, I"m not sure but I"ll have him to give me away too."
This resolution of permitting Flanagan to share his confidence had been come to by Connor upon the day subsequent to that on which he had last tried to see Una. After his return home, disappointment on one hand, and his anxiety concerning his father"s liberality on the other, together with the delight arising from the certainty of being beloved, all kept his mind in a tumult, and permitted him to sleep but little. The next day he decided on admitting Bartle to his confidence, and reposing this solemn trust to his integrity. He was lying on his back in the meadow--for they had been ricking the hay from the lapc.o.c.ks--when that delicious languor which arises from the three greatest provocatives to slumber, want of rest, fatigue, and heat, so utterly overcame him, that, forgetting his love, and all the anxiety arising from it, he fell into a dreamless and profound sleep.
From this state he was aroused after about an hour by the pressure of something sharp and painful against his side, near the region of the heart, and on looking up, he discovered Bartle Flanagan standing over him with pitchfork in his hand, one end of which was pressed against his breast, as if he had been in the act of driving it forward into his body. His face was pale, his dark brows frightfully contracted, and his teeth apparently set together, as if working over some fearful determination. When Connor awoke, Flanagan broke out into a laugh that no language could describe. The character of mirth which he wished to throw into his face, jarred so terrifically with his demoniacal expression when first seen by Connor, that, even unsuspecting as he was, he started up with alarm, and asked Flanagan what was the matter.
Flanagan, however, laughed on--peal after peal succeeded--he tossed the pitchfork aside, and, clapping both his hands upon his face, continued the paroxysms until he recovered his composure.
"Oh," said he, "I"m sick, I"m as wake as a child wid laughin"; but, Lord bless us, after all, Connor, what is a man"s life worth whin he has an enemy near him? There was I, ticklin" you wid the pitchfork, strivin"
to waken you, and one inch of it would have baked your bread for life.
Didn"t you feel me, Connor?"
"Divil a bit, till the minute before I ris."
"Then the divil a purtier jig you ever danced in your life; wait till I show you how your left toe wint."
He accordingly lay down and ill.u.s.trated the pretended action, after which he burst out into another uncontrollable fit of mirth.
""Twas just for all the world," said he, "as if I had tied a string to your toe, for you groaned an" grunted, an" went on like I dunna what; but, Connor, what makes you so sleepy to-day as well as on Monday last?"
"That"s the very thing," replied the unsuspicious and candid young man, "that I wanted to spake to you about."
"What! about sleepin" in the meadows?"
"Divil a bit o" that, Bartle, not a morsel of sleepin" in the meadows is consarned in what I"m goin" to mintion to you. Bartle, didn"t you tell me, the day you hired wid my father, that you wor in love?"
"I did, Connor, I did."
"Well, so am I; but do you know who I"m in love with?"
"How the divil, man, could I?"
"Well, no swerin", Bartle; keep the commandments, my boy. I"ll tell you in the mane time, an" that"s more than you did me, you close-mouth-is-a-sign-of-a-wise-head spalpeen!"
"Did you ever hear tell of one _Colleen dhas dhun_ as she"s called, known by the name Una or Oona O"Brien, daughter to one Bodagh Buie O"Brien, the richest man, barin" a born gentleman, in the three parishes?"
"All very fair, Connor, for you or any one else to be in love wid her--ay, man alive, for myself, if it goes to that--but, but, Connor, avouchal, are you sure that sure you"ll bring her to be in love wid you?"
"Bartle," said Connor, seriously and after a sudden change in his whole manner, "in this business I"m goin" to trate you as a friend, and a brother. She loves me, Bartle, and a solemn promise of marriage has pa.s.sed between us."
"Connor," said Bartle, "it"s wondherful, it"s wondherful! you couldn"t believe what a fool I am--fool! no, but a faint-hearted, cowardly villain."
"What do you mane, Bartle? what the d.i.c.kens are you drivin" at!"