g aM H a aMB o aaaaggaaaa A A 4 : j TTJ PR 4854 C83 r COVRTINGOF KIPLING IVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 1822 02352 2048 /■ ■ !■! II III III MMMMM r LI UNIVERSITY OF c »RNlA SAN DIEeO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 3 1822 02352 2048 i v. U 08 S A^ *^0 jJAA+y '<}»"< w The Courting of Dinah Shadd The Courting of Dinah Shadd By R udyard K ipling V* Published by Brcntano's at 31 Union Square New York THE COURTING OF DINAH SHADD What did the colonel's lady think ? Nobody never knew. Somebody asked the sergeant's wife An' she told 'em true. When you git to a man in the case They're like a row o' pins, For the colonel's lady an' Judy O'Grady Are sisters under their skins. — Barrack Room Ballad. All day I had followed at the heels of a pursuing army, engaged on one of the finest battles that ever camp of exercise beheld. Thirty thousand troops had by the wisdom of the government of India been turned loose over a few thousand square miles of country to practice in peace whal they would never attempt in war. Consequently cav- alry charged unshaken infantry at the trot; 1 The Courting of Dinah Shadd infantry captured artillery by frontal attacks, delivered in line of quarter columns; and mounted infantry skirmished up to the wheels of an armored train, which carried nothing more deadly than a twenty-five- pounder Armstrong, two Nordenfeldts, and a few score volunteers, all cased in three- eighths-inch boiler-plate. Yet it was a very life-like camp. Operations did not cease at sundown; nobody knew the country, and nobody was to spare man or horse. There was unending cavalry scouting, and almost unending forced work over broken ground. The Army of the South had finally pierced the center of the Army of the North, and was pouring through the gap, hot foot, to capture a city of strategic importance. Its [ extended fanwise, the sticks being rep- 1 by regiments strung out along the line of route backward to the divisional transport columns, and all the lumber that trails behind an army on the move. On its right the broken left of the Army of the North was hying in mass, chased by the 2 The Courting of Dinah Shadd Southern horse and hammered by the South- ern guns, till these had been pushed far be- yond the limits of their last support. Then the flying Army of the North sat down to rest, while the elated commandant of the pursuing force telegraphed that he held it in check and observation. Unluckily he did not observe that three miles to his right flank a flying column of Northern horse, with a detachment of Ghoorkhas and British troops, had been pushed round as fast as the falling light al- lowed, to cut across the entire rear of the South •rn Army, to break, as it were, all the ribs of the fan where they converged, by striking at the transport reserve, ammuni- tion, and artillery supplies. Their instruc- tions were to go in, avoiding a few scouts wh<< might not have been drawn off by the 1 create sufficient excitement to impress the Southern Army with the wisdom of guarding their own Hank- and rear before they captured citi< 8, It was a pretty maneu- ver, neatly carried out 8 The Court in j of Dinah Shadd Speaking for the second division of the Southern Army, our first intimation of it was at twilight, when the artillery were la- boring- in deep sand, most of the escort were trying to help them out, and the main body of the infantry had gone on. A Noah's ark of elephants, camels, and the mixed menag- erie of an Indian transport train bubbled and squealed behind the guns, when there ap- peared from nowhere in particular British infantry to the extent of three companies, who sprung to the heads of the gun horses, and brought all to a stand-still amid oaths and cheers. "How's that, umpire?" said the major commanding the attack, and with one voice the drivers and limber gunners answered, " Hout ! " while the colonel of artillery sput- tered. "All your scouts are charging our main body, " said the major. ' ' Your flanks are un- protected for two miles. I think we've broken the back of this division. And listen ! there go the Ghoorkhas ! " 4 The Courting of Dinah Shadd A weak fire broke from the rear guard more than a mile away, and was answered by cheerful howlings. The Ghoorkhas, who should have swung clear of the second divi- sion, had stepped on its tail in the dark, but, drawing off, hastened to reach the next line, which lay almost parallel to us, five or six miles away. Our column swayed and surged irresolutely — three batteries, the divisional ammunition reserve, the baggage, and a section of hospi- tal and bearer corps. The commandant rue- fully promised to report himself "cut up" to the nearest umpire, and commending his cavalry and all other cavalry to the care of Ebbs, toiled on to resume touch with the rest of the division. t "We'll bivouac here to-night," said the major. " I have a notion tbat the Goorkhas will get caught. They may want us to re- form on. Stand easy till the transport gets away." A hand caught my beast's bridle and led him out of the choking dust ; a larger hand 5 The Courting of Dinah Shadd deftly canted me out of the saddle, and two of the hugest hands in the world received me sliding. Pleasant is the lot of the special correspondent who falls into such hands as those of Privates Mulvaney, Ortheris, and Learoyd. "An' that's all right, " said the Irishman, calmly. " We thought we'd find you some- wheres here by. Is there anything of yours in the transport ? Orth'ris '11 fetch ut out." Ortheris did "fetch ut out" from under the trunk of an elephant, in the shape of a servant and an animal, both laden with medical comforts. The little man's eyes sparkled. "If the brutil an' licentious soldiery av these parts gets sight av the thruck," said Mulvaney, making practiced investigation, ' ' they'll loot ev'ry thing. They're bein' fed on iron-filin's an' dog biscuit these days, but glory's no compensation for a bellyache. Praise be, we're here to protect you, sorr. Beer, sausage, bread (soft, an' that's a cur'- osity), soup in a tin ; whisky by the smell 6 The Courting of Dinah Shadd av ut, an' fowls. Mother av Moses, but ye take the field like a confectioner ! Tis scan- d'lus." '"Ere's a orficer," said Ortheris, signifi- cantly. " When the sergent's done lushin', the privit may clean the pot." I bundled several things into Mulvaney's haversack before the majors band fell on my shouldei*, and he said, tenderly: "Requisi- tioned for the queen's service. Wolseley was quite wrong about special correspondents. They are the best friends of the soldier. Come an' take pot-luck with us to-night. " And so it happened amid laugbter and shoutings that my well-considered commis- si riat melted away to reappear on the mess- table, which was a water-proof sheet spread on the ground. The flying column had taken three day-' rations with it, and there be few tiling nastier than government rations — es- pecially when government is experimenting witli German toys. Erbswurst, tinned beef, of surpassing fdnniness, compressed vegeta- bles> and meat biscuits may be nourishing, The Courting of Dinah Shadd but what Thomas Atkins wants is bulk in his inside. The major, assisted by his brother officers, purchased goats for the camp, and so made the experiment of no effect. Long before the fatigue-party sent to collect brush- wood had returned, the men were settled down by their valises, kettles and pots had appeared from the surrounding country, and were dangling over fires as the kid and the compressed vegetables bubbled together; there rose a cheerful clinking of mess tins, outrageous demands for "a little more stuffin' with that there liver wing," and gust on gust of chaff as pointed as a bayonet and as deli- cate as a gun-butt. " The boys are in good temper," said the major. "They'll be singing presently. Well, a night like this is enough to keep them happy." Over our heads burned the wonderful Indian stars, which are not all pricked in on one plane, but preserving an orderly per- spective, draw the eye through tbe velvet darkness of the void up to the barred doors 8 The Courting of Dinah Shadd of heaven itself. The earth was a gray shadow more unreal than the sky. We could hear her breathing lightly in the pauses between the howling of the jackals, the movement of the wind in the tamarisks, and the fitful mutter of musketry fire leagues away to the left. A native woman in some unseen hut began to sing, the mail tram thundered past on its way to Delhi, and a roosting crow cawed drowsily. Then there was a belt-loosening silence about the fires, and the even breathing of the crowded earth took up the story. The men, full fed, turned to tobacco and song— their officers with them. Happy is the subaltern who can win the approval of the musical critics in his regiment, and is honored among the more intricate step dan- By him, as by him who plays cricket craftily, will Thomas Atkins stand in time of need when he will let a better officer go on alone. The ruined tombs of forgotten Mussulman saints heard tin- ballad of 'Agra Town," "The Buffalo Battery," "Marching 9 The Courting of Dinah Shadd to Kabul,' 1 " The Long, Long Indian Day," 'The Place Where the Punka Coolie Died," and that crashing chorus which announces " Youth's daring spirit, manhood's fire, Firm hand and eagle ej - e Must he acquire who would aspire To see the gray boar die." To-day, of all those jovial thieves who ap- propriated my commissariat, and lay and laughed round that water-proof sheet, not one remains. They went to camps that were not of exercise and battles without umpires. Burma, the Soudan, and the frontier fever and fight took them in their time. I drifted across to the men's fires in search of Mulvaney, whom I found strategically greasing his feet by the blaze. There is nothing particularly lovely in the sight of a private thus engaged after a long day's march, but when you reflect on the exact proportion of the "might, majesty, domin- ion, and power " of the British Empire that stands on those feet, you take an interest in the proceedings. 10 The Courting of Dinah Shadd "There's a blister — bad luck to ut! — on the heel," said Mulvaney. "I can't touch ut. Prick ut out, little man." Ortheris produced his housewife, eased the trouble with a needle, stabbed Mulvaney in the calf with the same weapon, and was in- continently kicked into the fire. "I've bruk the best av my toes over you, ye grinnin' child av disruption ! " said Mul- vaney, sitting cross-legged and nursing his feet; then, seeing me: " Oh, ut's you, sorr! Be welkim, an' take that maraudin' scutt's place. Jock, hold him down on the cindhers for a bit." But Ortheris escaped and went elsewhere as I took possession of the hollow he had scraped for himself and lined with bis great- coat. Learoyd, on the other side of the fire, grinned affably, and in a minute fell asleep. "There's the heightav politeness for you," said Mulvaney. lighting his pipe withaflam- ine branch. " Bui Jock'seaten half a box av D your sardines at wan gulp, an' I think the tin t«>u. What '.> the best wid you, sorr ; an' 11 The Courting of Dinah Shadd how did you happen to be on the losin' side this day when we captured you ? " "The Army of the South is winning all along the line," I said. "Then that line's the hangman's rope, savin' your presence. You'll learn to-mor- row how we rethreated to dhraw thim on before we made thim trouble, an' that's what a woman does. By the same tokin, we'll be attacked before the dawnin', an' ut would be betther not to slip your boots. How do I know that ? By the light av pure reason. Here are three companies av us ever so far inside av the enemy's flank, an' a crowd av roarin', t'arin', an' squealin' cavalry gone on just to turn out the whole nest av thim. Av course the enemy will pursue by brigades like as not, an' then we'll have to run for ut. Mark my words. I am av the opinion av Polonius whin he said, ' Don't figbt vid ivry scutt for the pure joy av fightin' ; but if you do, knock the nose av him first an' frc- quint ! ' We ought to ha' gone on an' helped the Goorkhas." 12 The Courting of Dinah Shadd ' ' But what do you know about Polonius ? " I demanded. This was a new side of Mul- vaney's character. "All that Shakespeare ever wrote, an' a dale more than the gallery shouted," said the man of war, carefully lacing his boots. "Did I not tell you av Silver's Theater in Dublin whin I was younger than I am now an' a patron av the drama ? Ould Silver wud never pay actor, man or woman, their just dues, an' by consequence his comp'nies was collapsible at the last minut'. Then the bhoys would clamor to take a part, an' oft as not ould Silver made thim pay for the fun. Faith, I've seen Hamlut played wid a new black eye, an' the queen as full as a cornu- copia. I remember wanst Hogin, that 'listed in the Black Tyrone an' Avas shot in South Africa, he sejuced ould Silver intogivin' him Hamlut's part instead av me, that had a fine fancy for rhetoric in those days. Av course I wint into the gallery an' began to fill the pit wid other people's hats, an' I passed the time av day to Hogin walkin' through Den- 13 The Courting of Dinah Shadd mark like a hamstrung mule wid a pall on his back. 'Hamlut,' sez I, 'there's a hole in your heel. Pull up your shtockins, Ham- lut,' sez I. 'Hamlut, Hamlut, for the love av decincy dhrop that skull, an' pull up your shtockins.' The whole house began to tell him that. He stopped his soliloquishms mid between. ' My shtockino may be comin' down or they may not,' sez he, screwin' his eye into the gallery, for well he knew who I was ; ' but afther the perform ince is over me an' the Ghost '11 trample the guts out av you, Terence, wid your ass's bray.' An' that's how I come to know about Hamlut. Eyah ! Those days, those days ! Did you iver have onendin' developmint an' nothin' to pay for it in your life, sorr ?" "Never without having to pay," I said. " That's thrue. 'Tis mane, whin you con- sidher on ut ; but ut's the same wid horse or f ut. A headache if you dhrink, an' a belly- ache if you eat too much, an' a heartache to kape all down. Faith, the beast only gets the colic, an' he's the lucky man." 14 The Courting of Dinah Shadd He dropped his head and stared into the fire, fingering his mustache the while. From the far side of the bivouac the voice of Cor- bet Nolan, senior subaltern of B Company, uplifted itself in an ancient and much-appre- ciated song of sentiment, the men moan- ing melodiously behind him : " The north wind blew coldly, she drooped from that hour, My own little Kathleen, my sweet little Kathleen, Kathleen, my Kathleen, Kathleen O'Moore !" "with forty-five o's in the last word. Even at that distance you might have cut the soft South Irish accent with a shovel. "For all we take we must pay ; but the price is cruel high," murmured Mulvaney when the chorus had ceased. "What's the trouble?" I said, gently, for I knew that he was a man of an inextinguish- able sorrow. " Hear now.*" said be. "Ye know what I an now. I know what I mint to beat the beginnin' av my service. I've tould yon 15 The Courting of Dinah Shadd time an' again, an' what I have not, Dinah Shadd has. An' what am I ? Oh, Mary Mother av Hiven ! an ould dhrunken, un- trustable baste av a privit that has seen the regiment change out from colonel to drum- mer-boy, not wanst or twicet, but scores av times ! Ay, scores ! An' me not so near gettin' promotion as in the furst. An' me livin' on an' kapin' clear o' Clink not by my own good conduck, but the kindness av some orficer — bhoy young enough to be son to me ! Do I not know ut ? Can I not tell whin I'm passed over at p'rade, tho' I'm rockin' full av liquor an' ready to fall all in wan piece, such as even a suckin' child might see, bekaze, ' Oh, 'tis only ould Mulvaney ! ' An' whin I'm let off in the ord'ly-room, through some thrick av the tongue an' a ready answer an' the ould man's mercy, is ut smilin' I feel whin I fall away an' go back to Dinah Shadd, thryin' to carry ut all off as a joke ? Not I. Tis hell to me — dumb hell through ut all ; an' the next time whin the fit comes I will be as bad again. Good cause the reg'ment 16 The Courting of Dinah Shadd has to know me for tho best soldier in ut. Better cause have I to know mesilf for the worst man. I'm only fit to tache the new drafts what I'll never learn myself ; an 1 I am sure as tho' I heard ut, that the minut wan av these pink-eyed recruities gets away from my ' Mind ye, now,' an' ' Listen to this, Jim, bhoy,' sure I am that the sergint houlds me up to him for a warnin'. So I tache, as they say at musketry instruction, by direct an' ricochet fire. Lord be good to me ! for I have stud some trouble." "Lie down and go to sleep," said I, not being able to comfort or advise. "You're the best man in the regiment, and, next to Ortheris, the biggest fool. Lie down, and wait till we're attacked. What force will tlic.v turn out? Guns, think you f" "Thry that wid your lorrds an' ladies, twi.stin' an* turnin 1 the talk, tho' you mint ut well. Ye cud say nothin' to help me ; >t ye never km- w what cause I had to lx- wh.it I am." "Begin at th< beginning and go on to the 2 17 The Courting of Dinah Shadd end," I said, regally. "But rake up the fire a bit first.'' I passed Ortheris's bayonet for a poker. ' ' That shows how little you know what to do," said Mulvaney, putting it aside. "Fire takes all the heart out av the steel, an' the next time, may be, that our little man is fightin' for his life his brad-awl '11 break, an' so you'll 'ave killed him, manin' no more than to kape yourself warm. "lis a recruitie's thrick that. Pass the cl'anin'- rod, sorr." I snuggled down, abashed, and after an interval the low, even voice of Mulvaney began. "Did I ever tell you how Dinah Shadd came to be wife av mine? " I dissembled a burning anxiety that I had felt for some months — ever since Dinah Shadd, the strong, the patient, and the in- finitely tender, had, of her own good love and free-will, washed a sliirt for me, mov- ing in a barren land where washing was not. 18 The Courting of Dinah Shadd "I can't remember," I said, casually. "Was it before or after you made love to Annie Bragin, and got no satisfaction." The story of Annie Bragin is written in another place. It is one of the many epi- sodes in Mulvaney's checkered career. " Before— before— long before was that business av Annie Bragin an' the corp'ril's ghost. Never woman was the worse for me whin I had married Dinah. There's a time for all things, an' I know how to kape all things in place — barrin 1 the dhrink, that kapes me in my place, wid no hope av comin' to be aught else." "Begin at the beginning," I insisted. 'Mrs. Mulvaney told me that you married her when you were quartered in Krab Bokhar barracks." "An' the same is a cess-pit," said Mul- vaney, piously. "She spoke thrue, did Dinah. Twaa this way. TalMn' av that, have y Lver fallen in love, sorr?" I preserved tin- silence of the damned. Mulvaney continued: 19 The Courting of Dinah Shadd " Thin I will assume that ye have not. I did. In the days av my youth, as I have more than wanst tould you, I was a man that filled the eye an' delighted the sowl av women. Niver man was hated as I have heen. Niver man was loved as I — no, not within half a day's march av ut. For the first five years av my service, whin I was w r hat I wud give my sowl to he now, I tuk whatever was widin my reach an' digested ut, o,n' that's more than most men can say. Dhrink I tuk, an' ut did me no harm. By the hollow av hiven, I could play wid four women at wanst, an' kape thim from findin' out anything ahout the other three, and smile like a full-blown marigold through ut all. Dick Coulhan, of the battery we'll have down on us to-night, could dhrive his team no better than I mine ; an' I hild the worser cattle. An' so I lived an' <30 I was happy, till afther that business wid Annie Bragin — she that turned me off as cool as a meat-safe, an' taught me where I stud in the mind av an honest woman. 'Twas no sweet dose to take. 20 The Courting of Dinah Shadd " Afther that I sickened awhile, an' tuk thought to my reg' mental work, conceiting mesilf I wud study an' be a sargint, an' a major-gineral twinty minutes afther that. But on top o' my ambitiousness there was an empty place in my sowl, an' me own opinion av mesilf cud not fill ut. Sez I to mesilf : ' Terence, you're a great man an' the best set up in the reg'ment. Go on an' get promotion.' Sez mesilf to me, 'What for?' Sez I to mesilf, 'For the glory av ut.' Sez mesilf to me, 'Will that fill these two strong arrums av yours, Terence? ' ' Go to the devil,' sez I to mesilf. 'Go to the married lines,' sez mesilf to me. ' Tis the same thing,' sez I to mesilf. 'Av you're the same man, ut is,' sez mesilf to me. An' wid that 1 considhered on ut a long while. Did you iver feel that way, son*? " I snored gently, knowing that if Mulvaney were uninterrupted he would go on. The clamor from tin- bivouac fires beat up to the stars as the rival singers of the companies were pitted against each other. 21 The Courting of Dinah Shadd " So I felt that way, an' a bad time ut was. "Wanst, bein' a fool, I went into the married lines, more for the sake av spakin' to our ould color-sai'gint Shadd than for any thruck wid wimmen-folk. I was a corp'ril then — rejuced aftherwards; but a corp'ril then. I've got a photograft av mesilf to prove ut. ' You'll take a cup av tay wid us? ' sez he. ' I will that,' I sez ; ' tho' tay is not my divarsion.' ' Twud be better for you if ut were,' sez ould Mother Shadd. An' she had ought to know, for Shadd, in the ind av his service, dhrank bung-full each night. ' ' Wid that I tuk off my gloves — there was pipe-clay in thim so that they stud alone — an' pulled up my chair, lookin' round at the china ornamints an' bits av things in the Shadds' quarters. They were things that belong to a woman, an' no camp kit, here to-day an' dishipated next. ' You're comfort- able in this place, sargint,' sez I. "Tis the wife that did ut, boy,' sez he, pointin' the stem av his pipe to ould Mother Shadd, an' she smacked the top av his bald head apon 22 The Courting of Dinah Shadd the compliment. ' That manes you want money,' sez she. "An' thin — an' thin whin the kettle was to be filled, Dinah came in — my Dinah — her sleeves rowled up to the elbow, an' her hair in a gowlden glory over her forehead, the big blue eyes beneath twinklin' like stars on a frosty night, an' the tread of her two feet lighter than waste paper from the colonel's basket in ord'ly-room when ut's emptied. Bein' but a shlip av a girl, she went pink at seein' me, an' I twisted me mustache an' looked at a pictui'e forninst the wall. Never show a woman that ye care the snap av a finger for her, an' begad she'll come bleatin' to your boot heels." '• I suppose that's why you followed Annie Bragin till everybody in the married quar- ters laughed at you," said I, remembering that unhallowed wooing, and casting off the use of drowaini "I'm l.ivin' down the gin'ral theory of the attack." said Mulvancy. driving his foot into the dying fire. "If you read the 'Soldier's 23 The Courting of Dinah Shadd Pocket-Book, ' which never any soldier reads, you'll see that there are exceptions. When Dinah was out av the door (an' 'twas as tho' the sunlight had gone too), ' Mother av Hiven, sargint ! ' sez I, ' but is that your daughter?' 'I've believed that way these eighteen years,' sez ould Shadd, his eyes twinklin'. 'But Mrs. Shadd has her own opinion, like ivry other woman.' "Tis wid yours this time, for a mericle,' sez Mother Shadd. ' Then why, in the name av fortune, did I never see her before?' sez I. 'Bekase you've been thraipsin' round wid the married women these three years past. She was a bit av a child till last year, an' she shot up wid the spring,' sez ould Mother Shadd. ' I'll thraipse no more,' sez I. 'D'you mane that?' sez ould Mother Shadd, lookin' at me sideways, like a hen looks at a hawk whin the chickens are runnin' free. 'Thry me, an' tell,' sez I. Wid that I pulled on my gloves, dhrank off the tea, an' wint out av the house as stiff as at gen'ral p'rade, for well I knew that Dinah Shadd's eyes were in the 24 The Courting of Dinah Shadd small av my back out av the scullery win- dow. Faith, that was the only time I mourned I was not a cav'lryman, for the sake av the spurs to jingle. "I wint out to think, an' I did a powerful lot av thinkin', but ut all came round to that shlip av a girl in the dotted blue dhress, wid the blue eyes an' the sparkil in them. Thin I kept off canteen, an 1 1 kept to the married quarthers or near by on the chanst av meetin' Dinah. Did I meet her ! Oh, my thne past, did I not, wid a lump in my throat as big as my valise, an' my heart goin' like a farrier's forge on a Saturday mornin' ! 'Twas ' Good- day to ye, Miss Dinah,' an' ' Good-day t'you, corp'ril,' for a week or two, an' divil a bit further could I get, bekaze av the respict I had to that girl that I cud ha' broken betune finger an' thumb." Here I giggled as I recalled the gigantic figure of Dinah Shadd when she handed me my shirt. "Ye may laugh," grunted Mulvaney. "But I'm speakin' the trut', an' 'tis you that 25 Tlie Courting of Dinah Shadd are in fault. Dinah was a girl that wud ha' taken the irnperiousness out av the Duchess av Clonmel in those days. Flower hand, foot av shod air, an' the eyes av the mornin' she had. That is my wife to-day— ould Di- nah, an' never aught else than Dinah Shadd to me. "'Twas after three weeks standin' off an 1 on, an'niver makin 1 headway excipt through the eyes, that a little drummer-boy grinned in me face whin I had admonished him wid the buckle av my belt for riotin' all over the place. ' An' I'm not the only wan that doesn't kape to barricks,' sez he. I tuk him by the scruff av his neck — my heart was hung on a hair-tbrigger those days, you will understand — an', 'Out wid ut,' sez I, 'or I'll lave no bone av you unbruk.' 'Speak to Dempsey, ' sez he, howlin'. ' Dempsey which, ' sez I, 'ye unwashed limb av Satan?' 'Of the Bobtailed Dhragoons,' sez he. ' He's seen her home from her aunt's house in the civil lines four times this fortnight.' ' Child,' sez I, dhi'oppin' him, 'your tongue's stronger 26 The Courting of Dinah Shadd than your body. Go to your quarters. I'm sorry I dhressecl you down.' "At that I went four ways to wanst huntin' Dempsey. I was mad to think that wid all my airs among women I shud ha' been ch'ated by a basin-faced fool av a cav'lry- man not fit to trust on a mule thrunk. Pres- intly I found him in our lines— the Bobtails was quartered next us— an' a tallowy, top- heavy son av a she-mule he was, wid his big brass spurs an' his plastrons on his epigastons an' all. But he niver flinched a hair. "'A word wid you, Dempsey,' sez I. 1 You've walked wid Dinah Shadd four times this fortnight gone.' '"What's that to you?' sez he. Til walk forty times more, an' forty on top av that, 'e shovel-futted clod-breakin' infantry lance-corpVil." " Before I could gyard he had his gloved fist home on me cheek, an' down I went full sprawl. 'Will that content yon?' sez he, bio win' on his knuckles for all the world like a Scots Graya orf'ccr. 'Content?' sez I. 27 The Courting of Dinah Shadd 'For your own sake, man, take off your spurs, peel your jackut, and onglove. Tis the beginnin' av the overture. Stand up ! ' " He stud all he knew, but he niver peeled his jackut, an' his shoulders had no fair play. I was fightin' for Dinah Shadd an' that cut on me cheek. What hope had he forninst me ? ' Stand up ! ' sez I, time an' again, when he was beginnin' to quarter the ground an' gyard high an' go large. ' This isn't riding-school,' sez I. 'Oh, man, stand up, an' let me get at ye ! ' But whin I saw he wud be runnin' about, I grup his shtock in me left an' his waist-belt in me right an' swung him clear to me right front, head undher, hehammerin' me nose till the wind was knocked out av him on the bare ground. ' Stand up,' sez I, ' or I'll kick your head into your chest.' An' I wud ha' done ut, too, so ragin' mad I was. " ' Me collar-bone's bruk,' sez he. 'Help me back to lines. I'll walk wid her no more.' So I helped him back." "And was his collar-bone broken?" I 28 The Courting of Dinah Shadd asked, for I fancied that only Learoyd could neatly accomplish that terrible blow. ' ' He pitched on his left shoulder-point. Ut ■was. Next day the news was in both bar- ricks ; an' whin I met Dinah Shadd wid a cheek like all the reg'mintal tailors 1 samples, there was no ' Good-mornin', corp'ril,' or aught else. 'An' what have I done, Miss Shadd,' says I, very bould, plantin' mesilf forninst her, ' that ye should not pass the time of day ? ' " ' Ye've half killed rough-rider Dempsey, ' sez she, her dear blue eyes fillin' up. ' ' ' May be, ' sez I. ' Was he a friend av yours that saw ye home four times in a fortnight ? ' "'Yes,' sez she, very bould; but her moutli was down at the corners. 'An' — an' what's that to you ?' '"Ask Dempsey, 1 sez I, purtendin' to go away. " ' Did you fight for me then, ye silly man? ' she sez. tlio' she kn«-w ut all along. " 'Who el /. I ; an' I tuk wan pace to the front. 29 The Courting of Dinah Shadd " ' I wasn't worth ut,' sez she, fingerin' her apron. " ' That's for me to say,' sez I. ' Shall I say ut ? ' " 'Yes,' sez she, in a saint's whisper ; an' at that I explained mesilf ; an' she toukl me that ivry man that is a man, an' many that is a woman, hears wanst in his life. " ' But what made ye cry at startin', Dinah darlin' ? ' sez I. '"Your — your bloody cheek,' says she, duckin' her little head down on my sash (I was duty for the day), an' whimperin' like a sorrowful angel. ' ' Now a man cud take that two ways. I tuk ut as pleased me best, an' my first kiss wid ut. Mother av Innocence ! but I kissed her on the tip av the nose an' undher the eye, an' a girl that lets a kiss come tumble- ways like that has never been kissed before. Take note av that, sorr. Thin we wint, hand in hand, to ould Mother Shadd like two little childher, an' she said it was no bad thiug ; an' ould Shadd nodded behind his 30 The Courting of Dinah Shadd pipe, an' Dinah ran away to her own room. That day I throd on rollin' clouds. All earth was too small to hould me. Begad, I cud ha' picked the sun out av the sky for a live coal to me pipe, so magnificent I was. But I tuk recruities at squad chill, an' began with general battalion advance whin I should ha' been balance-steppin' em. Eyah ! that day! that day!" A very long pause. " Well ? " said I. " It was all wrong," said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh. "An 1 sure I know that ev'ry bit uv ut was me own foolishness. That night I tuk may be the half av three pints — not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural sinses. But I was more than half dhrunk wid pure joy, an' that canteen beer was so much whisky to me. I can't till how u t came about, but bekase I had no thought for any wan except I'inali, bekase I hadn't Blipped her little white arms from me neck five minutes, hekase the breath av her wm not gone from m mouth, I mu I through tin- married lines on me way to ;;i The Courting of Dinah SJiadd quarthers, an' I must stay talkin' to a red- headed Mullengar heifer av a girl, Judy Sheehy, that was daughter to Mother Sheehy, the wife av Nick Sheehy, the canteen-sargint — the black curse av Shielygh he on the whole brood that are above groun' this day ! ' ' ' An' what are ye houldin' your head that high for, corp'ril ? " sez Judy. ' Come in an' thry a cup av tay,' she sez, standiu' in the door-way. ' ' Bein' an onbustable fool, an' thinkin av anythin' but tay, I wint. " ' Mother's at canteen,' sez Judy, smoothin' the hair av hers that was like red snakes, an' lookin' at me corner-ways out av her green cat's eyes. ' Ye will not mind, corp'ril ? ' " ' I can endure, ' sez I. ' Ould Mother Sheehy bein' no divarsion av mine, nor her daughter too.' Judy fetched the tea-things an' put thim on the table, leanin' over me very close to get them square. I dhrew back, thinkin' of Dinah. " 'Is ut afraid you are av a girl alone?' sez Judy. 32 The Courting of Dinah Shadd " ' No, ' sez I. ' Why should I he? ' "'That rests wid the girl,' sez Judy, dhrawin' her chair next to mine. ' ' ' Thin there let ut rest, ' sez I ; an' thinkm' I'd been a trifle onpolite, I sez, ' The tay's not quite sweet enough for me taste. Put your little finger in the cup, Judy; 'twill make ut necthar. ' " ' What's necthar? ' sez she. " 'Somethin' very sweet,' sez I; an' for the sinful life av me I cud not help lookin' at her out av the corner av my eye, as I was used to look at a woman. '"Goon wid ye, corp'ril,' sez she. ' You're a flirt.' " ' On me sowl I'm not,' sez I. ' ' ' Then you're a cruel handsome man, an' that's worse,' sez she, heavin' big sighs an' looking cross ways. " 'You know your own mind,' sez I. " " Twud be better for me if I did not,' she sez. " 'There's a dale to be said on both sides av that, 'sez I, unthinkin'. :; 33 The Courting of Dinah Shadd " 'Say your own part av ut, then, Terence darlin',' sez she; ' for begad I'm thinkin' I've said too much or too little for an honest girl ;' an' wid that she put her arms round me neck an' kissed me. " 'There's no more to be said afther that,' sez I, kissin' her back again. Oh, the mane scutt that I was, my head ringin' wid Dinah Shadd ! How does ut come about, sorr, that whin a man has put the comether on wan woman he's sure bound to put ut on another? 'Tis the same thing at musketry. Wan day ev'ry shot goes wide or into the bank, an' the next — lay high, lay low, sight or snap — ye can't get off the bull's-eye for ten shots runnin'." "That only happens to a man who has had a good deal of experience; he does it without thinking," I replied. ' ' Thankin' you for the complimint, sorr, ut may be so ; but I'm doubtin' whether you mint ut for a complimint. Hear, now. I sat there wid Judy on my knee, tellin' me all manner av nonsinse, an' only sayin' ' yes ' 34 The Courting of Dinah Shadd an' 'no,' when I'd much better ha' kept tongue betune teeth. An' that was not an hour afther I had left Dinah. What I was tliinkin av I cannot say. "Presently, quiet as a cat, ould Mother Sheehy came in velvet-dkrunk. She had her daughter's red hair, but 'twas bald in patches, an' I cud see in her wicked ould face, clear as lightnin', what Judy wnd be twenty year to come. I was for jumpin' up, but Judy niver moved. ' ' ' Terence has promust, mother, ' sez she, an' the cowld sweat bruk out all over me. "Ould Mother Sheehy sat down of a heap, an' began playin' wid the cups. 'Thin you're a well-matched pair,' she sez, very thick ; ' for he's the biggest rogue that iver spoiled the queen's shoe-leather, an — ' "'I'm off, Judy,' sez I. 'Ye should not nonsinse to your mother. Get her to bed, girl.' " ' Nonsinse \ ' sez the ould woman, prickin' up her ears like a cat, an' grippin' (be table- edge. "Twill he the most nonsinsical non- The Courting of Dinah Shadd sinse for you, ye grinnin' badger, if non- sinse 'tis. Git clear, you. I'm goin' to bed.' ' ' I ran out into the dbark, me head in a stew an' me heart sick, but I had sinse enough to see that I'd brought ut all on me> self. ' It's this to pass the time av day to a panjandhrum of hell-cats,' sez I. 'What I've said an' what I've not said do not mat- ther. Judy an' her dam will hould me for a promust man, an' Dinah will give me the go, an' I desarve ut. I will go an' get dhrunk,' sez I, 'an' forgit about ut, for 'tis plain I'm not a marry in' man.' " On me way to canteen I ran against Las- celles, color-sargint that was, av E Comp'ny — a hard, hard man, wid a tormint av a wife. 'You've the head of a drowned man on your shoulders,' sez he, 'an' you're goin' where you'll get a worse wan. Come back, ' sez he. 'Let me go,' sez I. 'I've thrown me luck over the wall wid me own hand.' 'Then that's not the way to get ut back again,' sez he. 'Have out wid your throu- The Courting of Dinah Shadd ble, ye fool-bhoy.' An' I tould him how the matther was. "He sucked in his lower lip. 'You've been thrapped,' sez he. ' Ju Sheehy wud be the betther for a man's name to hers as soon as she can. An' ye thought ye'd put the comether on her. That's the naturil vanity av the baste. Terence, you're a big born fool, but you're not bad enough to marry into that comp'ny. If you said anythin', an' for all your protestations I'm sure you did — or did not, which is worse — eat ut all. Lie like the father av all lies, but come out av ut free of Judy. Do I not know what ut is to marry a woman that was the very spit av Judy when she was young? I'm gettin' ould, an' I've hunt patience; but you, Terence, you'd raise hand on Judy an' kill her in a year. Never mind if Dinah gives you the go; you've desarved vt. Never mind if the whole reg'ni' ut l.-mghs at you all day. Get shut av Judy an' Iht mother. They can't dhragyou to church, bul if tiny do, they'll dhrag you to hell Go hack to your The Courting of Dinah Shadd quartliers an' lie down,' sez he. Thin, over his shoulder, 'You must have done with thim.' ' ' Nixt day I wint to see Dinah ; but there was no tucker in me as I walked. I knew the throuble wud come soon enough widout any handlin' av mine, an' I dreaded ut sore. "I heard Judy callin' me, but I hild straight on to the Shadd's quarthers, an' Dinah wud ha' kissed me, but I hild her back. " ' Whin all's said, darlin',' sez I, ' you can give ut me if you will, tho' I misdoubt 'twill be so easy to come by thin. ' ' ' I had scarce begun to put the explana- tion into shape before Judy an' her mother came to the door. I think there was a ver- anda, but I'm forgettin'. " ' Will ye not step in?' sez Dinah, pretty and polite, though the Shadds had nodealin's with the Sheehys. Old Mother Shadd looked up quick, an' she was the fust to see the trouble, for Dinah was her daughter. " 'I'm pressed for time to-day,' sez Judy, 38 The Courting of Dinah Shadd as bould as brass ; ' an' I've only come for Terence — my promust man. Tis strange to find him here the day afther the day.' ' ' Dinah looked at me as though I had hit her, an' I answered straight. ' ' ' There was some nonsinse last night at the Sheehys' quarthers, an' Judy's carryin' on the joke, darlin',' sez I. " 'At the Sheehys' quarthers? ' sez Dinah, very slow ; an' Judy cut in wid : " ' He was there from nine till tin, Dinah Shadd, an' the betther half av that time I was sittin' on his knee, Dinah Shadd. Ye may look an' ye may look an' ye may look me up an' down, but ye won't look away that Terence is my promust man. Terence darlin', 'tis time for us to be comin' home.' ' ' Dinah Shadd never said a word to Judy. 'Ye left me at half past eight,' she sez to me, 'an' I never thought that ye'd leave me for Judy, promises or no promises. Go back u id her, you that have to he fetched by rl ! I'm done with yon." sez she; and she ran into her own room, her mother followin'. The Courting of Dinah Shadd So I was aloue with those two women, and at liberty to spake me sintiments. " 'Judy Sheehy,' sez I, ' if you made a fool av me betune the lights, you shall not do ut in the day. I never promised you words or lines.' " 'You lie,' sez ould Mother Sheehy; ' an' may ut choke you where you stand ! ' She was far gone in dhrink. " 'An' tho' ut choked me where I stud I'd not change, ' sez I. ' Go home, Judy. I take shame for a decent girl like you dhi'aggin' your mother out bareheaded on this errand. Here, now, and have ut for an answer. I gave me word to Dinah Shadd yesterday, an' more blame to me I was with you last night talkin' nonsinse, but nothin' more. You've chosen to thry to hould me on ut. I will not be held thereby for anythin' in the world. Is that enough ? ' "Judy wint pink all over. 'An' I wish you joy av the perjury,' sez she. 'You've lost a woman that would ha' wore her hand to the bone for your pleasure ; an' 'deed, Ter- 40 The Courting of Dinah Shadd ence, ye were not thrapped. . . .' Lascelles must ha' spoken plain to her. ' I am such as Dinah is— "deed I am ! Ye've lost a fool av a girl that'll never look at you again, an' ye've lost what ye niver had— your common hon- esty. If you manage your men as you man- age your love-makin', small wondher they call you the worst corp'ril in the comp'ny. Come away, mother,' sez she. "But divil a fut would the ould woman budge! 'D'you hould by that?' sez she, peerin' up under her thick gray eyebrows. '"Ay, an' wud,' said I, ' tho' Dinah gave me the go twinty times. I'll have no thruck with you or yours,' sez I. ' Take your child away, ye shameless woman.' '"An am I shameless V sez she, bringin' her hands up above her head. ' Thin what are you, ye lyin', schamin, weak-kneed, dhirty-souled son of a sutler ? Am I shame- less ? Who put the open shame on me an' my child that we sliud go beggin' through the lines in daylighl for the broken word of a man i Double portion <>f my shame be on 41- The Courting of Dinah Shadd you, Terence Mulvaney, that think yourself so strong ! By Mary and the saints, by blood and water, an' by ivry sorrow that came into the world since the beginnin', the black blight fall on you and yours, so that you may niver be free from pain for another when ut's not your own ! May your heart bleed in your breast drop by drop wid all your friends laughin' at the bleedm 1 ! Strong you think yourself ? May your strength be a curse to you to dhrive you into the divil's hands against your own will! Clear-eyed you are ? May your eyes see clear ivry step av the dark path you take till the hot cin- dhers av hell put thim out ! May the ragin' dry thirst in my own ould bones go to you that you shall never pass bottle full nor glass empty ! God preserve the light av your on- derstandin' to you, my jewel av a bhoy, that ye may niver forget what you mint to be an' do, when you're wallowin' in the muck ! May ye see the betther and follow the worse as long as there's breath in your body ! an' may ye die quick in a strange land watchin' 42 The Courting of Dinah Shadd your death before ut takes you an' onable to stir hand or foot ! ' ' ' I heard a scufflin' in the room behind and thin Dinah Shadd's hand dhropped into mine like a rose-leaf into a muddy road. " 'The half av that I'll take,' sez she, 'an' more too, if I can. Go home, ye silly-talkin' woman— go home an' confess.' ' ' ' Come away ! Come away ! ' sez Judy, pullin 1 her mother by the shawl. ' 'Twas none av Terence's fault. For the love av Mary stop the talkin' ! ' "'An' you!' said ould Mother Sheehy, spinnin' round fominst Dinah. "Will ye take the half av that man's load ? Stand off from him, Dinah Shadd, before he takes you down too — you that look to be a quarther- ]ii.i>ter-sargiiit's wife in five years. Ye look too high, child. Ye shall wash for the quar- thermaster-sargint, whin he pl'ases to give you the job out av charity ; but a privit's wife ye shall be to the end, an' Lvry sorrow of a privit's wife ye shall know, an' oiver a joy but wan, that shall go from you like the i:; The Courting of Dinah Shadd tide from a rock. The pain of bearin' ye shall know, but niver the pleasure of givin' the breast ; an' you shall put away a man-child into the common ground wid niver a priest to say a prayer over him, an' on that man- child ye shall think ivry day av your life. Think long, Dinah Shadd, for you'll niver have another tho' you pray till your knees are bleedin'. The mothers av children shall mock you behind your back whin you're wringin' over the wash-tub. You shall know what ut is to take a dhrunken husband home an' see him go to the gyard-room. "Will that pl'ase you, Dinah Shadd, that won't be seen talkin' to my daughter ? You shall talk to worse than Judy before all's over. The sar- gints' wives shall look down on you, con- temptuous daughter av a sargint, an' you shall cover ut all up wid a smilin' face whin your heart's burstin'. Stand off him, Dinah Shadd, for I've put the black curse of Shie- lygh upon him, an' his own mouth shall make ut good.' "She pitched forward on her head an' 44 The Courting of Dinah Shadd besran foamin' at the mouth. Dinah Shadd ran out wid water, an' Judy dhragged the ould woman into the veranda till she sat up. ' ' ' I'm old an' f orlore, ' she sez, tremblin' an' cryin', ' an' 'tis like I say a dale more than I mane.' "'When you're able to walk — go,' says ould Mother Shadd. ' This house has no place for the likes av you, that have cursed my daughter.' " 'Eyah !' said the ould woman. 'Hard words break no bones, an' Dinah Shadd '11 kape the love av her husband till my bones are green corn. Judy darlin', I misremember what I came here for. Can you lend us the bottom av a tay-cup av tay, Mrs. Shadd ? ' "But Judy dhragged her off, cryin' as tho' her heart wud break. An' Dinah Shadd air I. in ten minutes we had forgot ut all." "Then why do you remember it now?" said F. "Is ut like I'd forgil : Ivry word that wicked <>ul