KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS 
 
 T. E. BROWN, M.A. 
 
 Late Fellow of Oriel College 
 Author of " Betsy Lee," "Fo'c's'le Yarns," etc. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO. 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 
 
 1891
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH 
 VANE. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE Sherragh Vane 
 
 Is up Sulby glen, 
 
 High up, my men 
 
 High up you'll not see a sight of ic 
 
 From the road at all, 
 
 By rayson of the height of it 
 
 Terbil high; and a little skute 1 
 
 Of a waterfall, 
 
 Slip-sloppin from the root 
 
 Of an ould kern 2 
 
 You know the turn 
 
 At the Bridge, and the Chapel? 
 
 1 Squirt. 2 Mountain ash.
 
 248 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Well, in on the gate, 
 
 Behind there, that's the road, like straight 
 
 For Druid-a-whapple ; 
 
 And just you're passin 
 
 The School, and up you go 
 
 A track a track, you know, 
 
 On the side of the brew, 1 criss-crassin, 2 
 
 Till you'll come out on the top like a landin, 
 
 And the house standin 
 
 Two fields back 
 
 And all that steep 
 
 You can't see the river, not the smallest peep, 
 
 Nor the gill, nor nothin; but lookin right over 
 
 At Snaefell, 
 
 By Jove ! or 
 
 Barrule, or Slieu Core 
 
 'Deed, you'll have to be cayful 3 
 
 With cows and the lek; and no road for a cart 
 
 Up yandher place, 
 
 1 Hill. : Zigzagging. 3 Careful.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 249 
 
 But comin in from another art, 1 
 About nor-wes', 
 Ballaugh way ? Yes. 
 
 That's the road they were doin the haulin 
 Tear the people was goin a-callin 
 Nicholas Tear that's Nicky-Nick-Nick 
 And his wife a Gick of the Ballagick 
 Down in Kirk Bride you know them, what? 
 And a son and a daughter, that's the lot 
 Saul the son, a name he got 
 From his grandfather on the mother's side- 
 Rather big people down in Kirk Bride. 
 But the daughter was Kitty so, aisy then ! 
 That's Kitty of the Sherragh Vane 
 Kitty, Kitty sure enough 
 Kitty Kitty hould your luff! 2 
 
 1 Point of the compass. 
 
 - Sail close to the wind : here = take care !
 
 250 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Nice-lookin, eh? 
 
 Aye, that's your way 
 
 Well, I tell ye, the first time ever I seen her, 
 
 She wasn' much more till 1 a baby 
 
 Six years, maybe, 
 
 Would have been her 
 
 Age; and the little clogs at her, 2 
 
 Glitter-clatter, 
 
 And her little hand 
 
 In mine, to show me the way, you'll understand, 
 
 Down yandher brew, 
 
 And me a stranger too, 
 
 That was lost on the mountain ; 
 
 And the little sowl in the house all alone, 
 
 And for her to be goin 
 
 The best part of a mile 
 
 Bless the chile ! 
 
 Till she got me right 
 
 And not a bit shy, not her ! 
 
 J Than. * Which she had.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 251 
 
 Nor freckened, 1 but talkin away as purty % 
 
 As a woman of thirty 
 
 And "That's the way down to the School," says 
 
 she, 
 
 "And Saul and me 
 Is goin there every day; 
 You'll aisy find the way " * 
 And turns, and off like a bird on the wing, 
 Aw, a bright little thing ! 
 
 Isn' it that way with these people of the mountain ? 
 
 No accountin, 
 
 But seemin very fearless though ' 
 
 Very not for fightin no! 
 
 Nor tearin, 3 but just the used* they are 
 
 Of fogs and bogs, and all the war 
 
 Of winds and clouds, and ghos'es creepin 
 
 Unknowns! upon them, and fairies cheepin 
 
 1 Frightened. 2 Prettily. ',* Making rows. 
 
 4 Because they are accustomed to.
 
 252 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Like birds, you'd think, and big bugganes 1 
 
 In holes in rocks ; lek makin frens 3 
 
 With the like, that'll work like niggers, they will, 
 
 If you'll only let them ; and paisible 
 
 Uncommon they are; and little scraps, 
 
 That's hardly off their mammies' laps 
 
 '11 walk about there in the night 
 
 The same as the day, and all right 
 
 Bless ye ! ghos'es ! ar'n' they half 
 
 Ghos'es themselves? Just hear them laugh, 
 
 Or hear them cry, 
 
 It's like up in the sky 
 
 Aw, differin 
 
 Total 3 aye; for the air is thin 
 
 And fine up there, and they sucks it in 
 
 Very strong, 
 
 Very long, 
 
 And mixes it with the mould 
 
 Of all their body and all their sowl 
 
 1 Hobgoblins. 2 Friends. 3 Quite.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. -53 
 
 So they're often seemin 
 
 Like people dreamin, 
 
 And their eyes open like a surt of a trance, 
 
 You know, like Balaam, that had plenty of sance, 1 
 
 And knew the will of the Lord, and could spake it 
 
 clever, 
 
 But wolloped his dunkey but however 
 And come from the mountains too did Balaam, 
 And freckened, it's lek, the angel would whale him, 
 And gave in like winkin 
 Rather a rum surt of prophet, I'm thinkin 
 Aye but these mountain people well 
 That's the surt like Balaam ? no ! 
 Like Balaam I what are ye comin to ? 
 But the gel 
 
 All right ! all right ! I never seen her 
 For years, no, not till she'd grew 
 A splendid craythur, keener, 
 Sense.
 
 254 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 You'd see, and bouldher, and bigger, 
 
 But few 
 
 That had such a figure, 
 
 Such a face, such a look, right at ye 
 
 Drat ye! 
 
 Take it or lave it ! 
 
 She gave it 
 
 From the arch of her eyes 
 
 Like a bow, and the fringes 
 
 Treminjis 
 
 And her nose, you'd suppose ? 
 
 Never mind her nose ! 
 
 But black hair 
 
 There ! 
 
 And Saul's sister; and Saul and me 
 
 Was mates at sea, 
 
 Aboord the Mermaid, Captain Lear, 
 
 And axed me theer, 
 
 Whenever we'd be home, 
 
 For me for to come
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 255 
 
 From the Lhen, 
 
 And see them up at the Sherragh Vane. 
 
 Oulder ? me? 
 Sartinly. 
 
 Summer-time so up I goes, 
 And goodness knows 
 The fun I had 
 With Kitty ? Well, no, my lad- 
 No, no ! that wasn' her way, 
 Rather silent, as you may say, 
 Silent and thoughtful, and kept you off 
 Nothin soft 
 
 About Kitty, nothin for ye to make bould of, 1 
 Nothin that a chap could get hould of 
 Stiffish rather, 
 
 And me that might ha' been her father 
 Chut ! ger out ! z 
 What are ye both'rin about? 
 
 1 To presume upon. 2 Tut ! get out !
 
 256 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Eye to eye 
 Like sea to sky, 
 Like sun to moon, 
 That's the tune- 
 Stared it into ye, 
 Dared it into ye, 
 Shoved you back 
 Aw, it's a fack 1 
 The eye, of coorse 
 My gough ! the foorce ! 2 
 Till you'd had enough 
 Splendid stuff 
 Is eyes like that 
 What? 
 
 Like a pushy cow ? 
 Well, now, 
 
 That's just lek ye I'm list'nin to it 
 But stow it ! stow it ! 
 
 Yotid /ia' tried it on with her ? ate your puddin ! 
 1 Fact: 2 Force.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, 257 
 
 No, ye wudn'. 
 
 Yes, ye wudf ah, ye didn' know Saul, 
 
 It's lek, at all? 
 
 Aye Saul, the brother that was at her? 1 
 
 Jealous ? jealous ? well, no matter ! 
 
 Not Kitty no, no ! but gels about, 
 
 Of coorse, and plenty of them, stout 
 
 And hearty and free, bless ye ! turf-cuttin sayson 
 
 That's the rayson 
 
 And rushes too; and the farmers comin in carts 
 
 From all parts 
 
 And the sarvant gels 
 
 Who else? 
 
 And Joan and John, 
 
 And coortin and carryin on 
 
 And pies and priddhas ~ and cakes and broth, 
 
 The best on the No'th, 3 
 
 1 Whom she had. 2 Potatoes. 
 
 3 On the North side of the Island. 
 
 S
 
 258 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Up theer, 
 
 Like a feer 1 
 
 Or what is it the quality is callin it, Mick? 
 
 Pick-nick ! 
 
 Just so, 
 
 And plenty of it though. 
 
 Now a little north of the farm there's a dip, 
 
 And some rocks, and a strip 
 
 Of plantin ither 2 side, 
 
 And not very wide ; 
 
 And a sthrame that can just pass 
 
 Through the long grass, 
 
 Slishin just a slock 3 
 
 You know the thing when a lump of a block 
 
 Houlds up the soil, till it'll spread 
 
 In a bit of a bed, 
 
 Or a lap, and then 
 
 Steeper till* ever down the glen. 
 
 1 Fair. - Either. Dip. Than.
 
 KITTY OP THE SHERRAGH VANE. 259 
 
 And in the slock there's ling 
 
 And everything 
 
 Shut in that's it, 
 
 Every bit, 
 
 Except a slit 
 
 To the aesthard : and all these rocks and trees 
 
 around him 
 There's where she found him. 
 
 Found who ? 
 
 Says you 
 
 Don't ate 
 
 Your mate 
 
 So fast, Hal Rat, 2 wait, wait ! 
 
 Don't be stretchin your neck like a gandhar. 
 
 Well, for a good many days, 
 
 If ye plaise, 
 
 We noticed she was over yandhar, 
 
 Not once, 
 
 1 Eastward. Henry Radcliffe.
 
 260 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Nor twice, but every chance. 
 As for goin to the turf hullo ! 
 One day she vvouldn' go. 
 She was sick, she said, 
 Pains in her head, 
 
 Or the lek; 1 and when we come home 
 In the everin the Pope was in Rome ! 
 But Kitty was nowhere; the cows 
 Was milked, and everything in the house 
 As comfible, and supper, ye know, 
 And spoons and basons all in a row- 
 But Kitty? 
 
 Well, I went to bed. 
 But Saul was watchin, and, nothin said, 
 But watchful, jealous, suspicious lek 
 That was Saul he'd ha' twisted the neck 
 Of a chap that dared to look at the gel, 
 The fond of her you couldn' tell ; 
 1 Something of the sort.
 
 KITTY- OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 261 
 
 And still that sharp with her, and that glum, 
 
 And boosely l it's rum, 
 
 Rum enough the way with such 
 
 Lovin so much, 
 
 And for all the lovin, the way they're traitin 
 
 The ones they're lovin, it's more like hatin. 
 
 Couldn' spake, couldn' Kitty, wuss or better, 
 
 But there he was growlin and grumblin at her. 
 
 And that's the way, 2 I'm fancyin, 
 
 She tuk to be 3 silent, but never gave in 
 
 Kept her own notions, that's what she done, 4 
 
 Her own notions, that was allis 5 right, 
 
 Right, and clear as the sun 
 
 A light 
 
 Of truth that was in the craythur, eh? 
 
 Truth not hard, not hard ; the day 
 
 Is truth the night 
 
 1 Beastly = surly. - The reason why. s Took to being. 
 4 Did. * Always.
 
 262 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Is nothin : she hadn' no need to hide 
 
 A mortal thing ; and so this Saul 
 
 He hadn' no call. 
 
 But that's what made her silent pride? 
 
 No, not pride ; she was just the same 
 
 Sweet innocent thing, that hadn' no shame 
 
 And hadn' no fear, 
 
 That everin many a year 
 
 Before, when she put her hand in mine, 
 
 And led me down the field : it's desthry'n l 
 
 All pluck and spirit 
 
 In many a soul, 
 
 That 'spicion and dirt 
 
 No scope 2 with the rowl 
 
 Of the long dead sea. 
 
 Out with your cable, and ride her free 
 
 Don't look to be wantin every motion, 
 
 And every notion 
 
 To be comin from you. 
 
 1 It destroys. : Giving no length of cable.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH. VANE, 263 
 
 Is she good? is she true 
 
 Blood and bone? 
 
 Then d it, lave her alone! 
 
 What was I say'n? 
 
 Aye, Saul, this chap, it wasn' cru'l 
 
 He was, and he wasn' no fool 
 
 Rather hard to explain 
 
 But expecting lek quite nath'ral, ye know, 
 
 That him and the sisthar'd allis go 
 
 Like two clocks, tick tick ; 
 
 Lek if he'd be sick, she'd be sick, 
 
 And if he'd be well, she'd be well, 
 
 And if he'd go a-sneezin, she's go a-sneezin, 
 
 For no other reason, 
 
 Or coughin or, it's hard to tell, 
 
 There's people that's demandin l what ? 
 
 And terbil loving for all that 
 
 And still, to be out 
 
 1 So exacting.
 
 26 4 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 So late, no doubt, 
 
 It wasn' surprisin, perhaps, my men, 
 
 That the brother 'd 1 
 
 Be bothered, 
 
 And wond'rin what was in. 2 
 
 So watch ! watch ! 
 
 And the door on the latch, 
 
 And fire and slaughter ! 
 
 Caught her! 
 
 What was betwix them he didn' tell me, 
 
 But wouldn' take rest 
 
 Of the thing, but on it and on it, 
 
 North and south, east and west, 
 
 Boxin the compass of doubt in his brain. 
 
 You've heard of a chap with a bee in his bonnet ? 
 
 Well, Saul had a wasp in 
 
 His, that fierce ; 3 there's people can't look 
 
 1 The brother would. - Going on. 
 
 1 He was so fierce.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 265 
 
 At a saucepan 
 
 But the lid must be took 
 
 Off at them straight 1 just curious. 
 
 But that wasn' Saul Saul was furious ; 
 
 Must know ! 
 
 Just so* 
 
 Must ! 
 
 And be cussed 
 
 To the lot ! 3 
 
 Very hot, 
 
 Allis 
 
 That was it-- 
 Every spit. 3 
 
 Next day was Sunday, and he was up very early, 
 And watched her through the oats, and watched 
 her through the barley 
 
 1 Immediately. * Curse them all ! 
 
 8 Every bit = exactly.
 
 266 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Watched her there, 
 
 And saw when she was slantin l 
 
 Over to this plantin 
 
 I was tellm you, in the holler 
 
 Of the slock, you remember ; and didn' foller 
 
 At all, not him, but back 
 
 To his breakfast, but marked the track, 
 
 And knew he harrer, 3 
 
 Whatever there was arrer. 3 
 
 And Kitty come into the house, 
 Like from the cows, 
 Or the lek, and then 
 "Look here," says Saul, 
 " I don't know the when 
 I've been over at the gill, 
 Or whatever ye call 
 That slock," he says. 
 
 1 Making off. 2 Had her. 
 
 3 At her = whatever she was after.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 267 
 
 " Come, Tom, let's ques' l 
 
 With the dog over yandher, aye; 
 
 Come along ! " Well, never say die. 
 
 Over we went 
 
 Immadient. 
 
 " Come on ! " says he, 
 
 Very free. 
 
 And him with a gun, and a belt round his waist, 
 
 And a marlinspike in it, and " Make haste ! make 
 
 haste ! " 
 
 And his brass buttons, and his white ducks 
 Aw, reglar bucks, 
 The two of us 
 Him fuss. 
 Ye see, 
 
 That's the man, 
 Spick and span, 
 Every spar; 
 And me 
 
 1 Quest = hunt.
 
 268 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 To bring up the r'ar. 1 
 
 That's the way, but little I knew 
 There was another beside, that flew 
 Like a pewhit there from rock to rock, 
 Keepin an eye on him, takin stock 
 Of all our actin, like a pewhit J ll do, 
 When she's freckened 2 that somebody's goin to dis- 
 cover 
 
 Her nest, you know them pewhit, or plover, 
 All as one, 3 and wheelin and wheelin, 
 And squealin and squealin, 
 Like a pessin 4 
 Disthressin ! 
 
 It was Kitty that kept us in view, 
 Slippin along, with a stop, and a rush 
 From bush to bush, 
 
 1 Rear. * Afraid. 3 All the same. 
 
 4 Person *= human being.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 269 
 
 From stone to stone 
 
 But sound there was none 
 
 From Kitty, like pewhits, for pewhits is vi'lent 
 
 Rather, but her quite silent 
 
 Silent and then we come upon him 
 
 Quite sudden, lyin in the middle of the firs, 
 
 And a quilt and a blanket on him 
 
 Hers 
 
 From her own bed yis, yis ! l 
 
 And his head 
 
 As claver 2 
 
 On a pillow, ye wouldn' belave, and a shawl 
 
 About his neck. "Well, this 
 
 Beats all 
 
 The cockfightin I aver ! " 3 
 
 Says SauL 
 
 And" Hullo ! " he says, " hullo ! hurroo ! 
 Who are you ? 
 
 1 Yes. 2 Clever nicely placed. 3 Ever.
 
 2/0 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Where do you hail from, and what do ye mane T 
 
 A-trespassin here on the Sherragh Vane ? " 
 
 And then a jabber, 
 
 Slibber-slabber, 
 
 From the craythur I couldn' tell what, 
 
 This or that 
 
 And his throat all gritty. 
 
 And then Kitty 
 
 Kitty lek swoops 2 
 
 From the top o' the rock, and scoops 
 
 Some water in her hand, 
 
 And stoops, 
 
 And gives it to the man. 
 
 The man ? Yes, man, why, what did ye think ? 
 
 A monkey ? ye donkey 
 
 A man, and got him to drink ; 
 
 And then he spoke, 
 
 But it wasn' no joke 
 
 1 Mean. 2 Swoops, as it were.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 271 
 
 That lingo, 
 
 To understand it, by Jingo! 
 
 Understand it we cudn', 1 
 
 Or wouldn'. "I 'spec 2 
 
 It's the dialec'," 
 
 Says Kitty, "and I'll spake for him." 
 
 " Jean myghin orrim ! " 3 
 
 Says Saul, " You've larnt very quick. 3 
 
 So then she began, 
 
 And me standin starin at the man 
 
 With all my eyes, 
 
 And a dacent size 
 
 This chap ; 
 
 But a rap 
 
 Of his lingo ! but aw ! poor soul ! 
 
 He looked like death, and no wonder, the cowl 4 
 
 And the damp, 
 
 1 Could not. 2 Expect. 
 
 3 Manx = Lord, have mercy upon us! * Cold.
 
 272 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 For all she was feedin him reggilar, 
 
 Like a baby there 
 
 Like a baby, and as thin as a lat', 1 
 
 For, to spake of his body, and that, 
 
 He was worse than a tramp 
 
 And a tramp, when he's done, 
 
 Is a terbil thing for to look upon 
 
 (My gough ! 2 the lean !) 
 
 And his face all grey, and grizzled, and green, 
 
 And nearly all eyes and the eyes all glassy, 
 
 And glazin lek, and, Lord, ha' massy ! 3 
 
 His jaw was all drabbin, 
 
 And slabbin, 4 
 
 Like a man's that's just died, 
 
 Afore it's tied 
 
 Up with a string, 
 
 Or the lek d'ye see the thing? 
 
 And, by gough ! I'll swear 
 
 1 Lath. 2 Good gracious ! 
 
 s Have mercy ! * Dripping and slopping.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 273 
 
 The half of him was hair 
 There ! 
 
 Wantin washin terbil yis ! 
 
 'Deed 1 it wouldn' ha' been amiss, 
 
 If, besides bringin his victuals to 'm, 
 
 She'd tuk some soap, and a brush and comb, 
 
 And titivated him a little but darn', 2 
 
 And 'd thought o' the barn, 
 
 But no use 
 
 Stuck to the Slock like the very deuce, 
 
 Bein freckened, you know, for all the kind, 3 
 
 And hardly in his right mind, 
 
 With the 4 starved and the hunted 
 
 And a surt of 5 grunted 
 
 Somethin about his freedom, his freedom 1 
 
 Aye, so all she cud do was to feed him, 
 
 And keep him alive, and just a bit warm, 
 
 1 Indeed. - Dared not. 3 Although treated with such kindness. 
 4 With being so. 5 Somehow.
 
 274 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Till such times as this divil could be persuaded 
 
 To come to the farm ; 
 
 And no harm, 
 
 Nor no danger, 
 
 Would happen him there, no matter l the stranger ; 
 
 Though it must be conceded 
 
 He was a despard sobjec' 2 
 
 I mane objec'. 
 
 And she'd tried him hard, and Would he go 
 Over to the farm ? and " No, no, no ! " 
 That was all she could get 
 And "Let me tell them," and him to 3 fret 
 And carry on, till she had to drop it. 
 Well, a poppet 
 
 He wasn', nor yet a dandy what? 
 But the whole of that 
 She didn' tell us 
 
 Just then no, no ! and jealous, jealous 
 1 Although he was a, * Subject. 3 And then he began to.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 275 
 
 Saul? aye, Saul 
 
 "This won't do at all," 
 
 He said. "Why didn' ye spake to me 
 
 First thing ? " he said. " What's this sacresy, 
 
 This humbuggin and hidin, 
 
 This sliddin and slidin, 
 
 This pin-pannin 1 
 
 This musco-dannin ? 
 
 Who is the fellow? 
 
 D him yellow 
 
 And green and blue ! 
 Has he tould you ? 
 
 What ? 
 
 * 
 
 That! 
 
 1 = Unintelligible proceedings. In counting for the tipper 
 at the game of tip or tag, the Manx children chant the fol- 
 lowing doggerel : 
 
 " Wonnery, twoery, dickery, davy, 
 Hollabo, crackabo, tennery, lavy. 
 Pin-pan, 
 Muscodan, 
 Humblin bumblin, twenty-one."
 
 276 . KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Who is he? what is he? You know, I guess, 
 We'll have no saycrets here," he says, 
 "Chapter and vess; 1 
 Out with it ! out with it ! 
 I'll have no doubt with it." 
 
 "It is a saycret," then says she, 
 
 "And he's trusted it to me, 
 
 And I've promised I'll tell it to nobody. 
 
 It's his saycret, not mine." 
 
 " Very fine ! very fine ! 
 
 Promised ?" says Saul 
 
 " And d it all ! 
 
 (And blast and blow !) 
 
 And a nice craythur to be promised to ! " 
 
 And "He couldn't force ye could he? chat '.- 
 
 A hurdy-gurdy rubbish like that " 
 
 Dyin too! and promised she had! 
 
 3 mad! 
 1 Verse. 2 Chut=tut. 3 Jealous.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 277 
 
 Aw, holy Paul! 
 That was Saul. 
 
 But Kitty didn' answer a word, 
 
 Only you could aisy see 
 
 The sthrong she was in her honesty 
 
 In her conscience stirred, yis, stirred, 
 
 And vexed lek enough; but the pure sweet blood 
 
 That was in her stir her the wuss 1 ye could, 2 
 
 And that's the best 
 
 Never no dhrop of bitterness 
 
 In yandher gel. So " Come ! " says I, 
 
 " We'll have him over to the house, and try 
 
 What can we do to clane him a bit, 
 
 And see if he's fit 
 
 To live with Christian people," I said, 
 
 " Or some haythan naygur forrin-bred, 
 
 And nathral dirty and his hair lookin frizzy," 
 
 I said ; " and ye can't tell well what is he, 
 
 1 Worst 2 However much you stirred her.
 
 278 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Black, or white, or yallow, or green, or blue, 
 Till he's washed, and a good wash too." 
 
 "Yes," I says. "All right!" says Saul, and heaves 
 
 the gun on his shouldher, 
 Like a souldjher. 
 Him fuss, then the chap, then me and away we 
 
 swings, 
 
 And Kitty all around him just like wings 
 Stoopin, cowrin, wrappin, shelterin him, 
 That was that wake he could hardly stir a limb 
 Aye, and studdyin 1 him, and houldin him by the 
 
 arm 
 
 Bless ye ! and all the way to the farm, 
 Yes, from the very minute we come upon him 
 
 over there, 
 
 Who was he lookin at? at me? at Saul Tear, 
 Exqueer, 2 
 
 That was shoutin at him like a bull of Bas'n? 
 1 Steadying. 2 Esquire.
 
 KfiTTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 279 
 
 Was it? no, it wasn' ! 
 
 It was Kitty he was lookin at lookin ! what's 
 
 lookin? good lord ! 
 
 Devourin, worshippin 's more the word. 
 Like drew to her, like gript to her with graplins 
 This craythur couldn' take his eye off her 
 Not him, like takin his live or die off her. 1 
 
 And so on through the saplins, 
 
 And the field, and the hedge, till we come on the 
 
 street, 
 
 And his feet goin strooghin z greatly, 
 And beat complately, 
 And his poor body all curled in a hump, 
 And "D'ye see yandher pump," 
 Says Saul, 
 "Against the wall? 
 Sthrip ! " he says, " and wash ! " he says, 
 
 1 Depending upon her for life or death. 
 
 2 Stroking = trailing.
 
 28o KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 " From head to foot," and heaves him a lump 
 
 Of soap 
 
 And Kitty to jump 
 
 Like an antelope, 
 
 And in on the door 
 
 Well, to be sure ! 
 
 But the craythur hadn' the strength of a clout ; 
 
 So" Get under the spout ! " 
 
 Says Saul, "and never mind for your rags 
 
 I'll pump," and pumped till the divil fell flat on 
 
 the flags. 
 
 Then out come Nicky-Nick-Nick, 
 The father? yes, and as quick as quick 
 Aw, a hearty ould chap ! 
 And" Stap ! * 
 
 Stap ! " he says, and lifts the sowl 2 
 Like a shot ; and " Is it washin ? " and " Bring 
 
 us a bowl ; 
 
 1 Stop. z Poor soul.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 281 
 
 I'll wash him," he says, and turns to 
 
 Like a woman with a baby, and "Ho, ho!" 
 
 And " Ha, ha ! " and " He, he ! 
 
 Such a spree ! " 
 
 Says Nicky; and tervil comfortin 
 
 To the craythur, no doubt ; and " See the 
 
 skin ! " 
 
 He says " Look here the white ! 
 All right ! all right ! 
 He's comin to ! this chap '11 do 
 Hurroo ! hurroo ! " 
 And rubs and rubs, 
 And scrubs and scrubs, 
 Like Waterloo. 
 
 " Now then, we're done," 
 
 He says, " my son ! 
 
 And I declare 
 
 It's a reg'lar beauty you are ! 
 
 First-rate ! first-rate !
 
 282 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 But mate ! mate ! " l 
 
 He roors 
 
 " Come indoors ! 
 
 Mate ! mate ! where's the women ? " 
 
 And his heart was brimmin 
 
 With the joy and the fun, and " Hie-cockalorum ! ' : 
 
 And shovin this poor thing before him, 
 
 That was trimblin very much, 
 
 And made a clutch 
 
 To see could he keep his trowsis 8 on, 
 
 And all but gone 
 
 Aw dear ! 
 
 But Misthriss Tear 
 
 Met them theer ; 
 
 And says she, "What's this, 
 
 Nicholas ? " 
 
 She says 
 
 "Is it dacency?" 
 
 1 Meat * Trousers.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 283 
 
 Says she; 
 
 And surely he might have ast 1 her! 
 
 But he made a run, and got past her, 
 
 And had the chap on the settle 
 
 Close to the big kettle 
 
 Afore she could wink ; 
 
 And him to sink 
 
 All of a heap there, 
 
 Lek goin to sleep there, 
 
 Or faintin or somethin and Nicky to go 
 
 And catch the wife around the wais'. 
 
 And looks up in her face 
 
 The little monkey just so 
 
 And smiled and smiled, till she could hardly chose 
 
 But smile herself, and slacked the screws 
 
 Of her mouth a bit ; and then he kissed her, 
 
 At laste, missed her, 
 
 But done his best, bein small, 
 
 And her tall. 
 
 1 Asked.
 
 284 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 And then she said, " No foolishness ! " 
 But " Let the craythur stay," she says. 
 
 Aw, the joy of Nicky ! and caught a gel, 1 
 
 And spun her round till she nearly fell ; 
 
 But the misthriss frowned but Nicky looked mid- 
 
 dlin 
 'Larmed; 3 and Kitty with the cups and saucers 
 
 fiddlin, 
 
 And tay for this chap, bein understood 
 The best for him, lek 3 it wouldn' be good 
 Lek nothing more substantialler 
 Wouldn' do for the like aw, they wouldn' dar ' * 
 And Kitty fed him, houldin the cup 
 Agin 5 his mouth for him to sup, 
 And moppin the drabs 6 with a towel at 7 her ; 
 And he tried to spake, but chitter-chatter ! 
 The teeth and the tongue, and nothin clear. 
 
 1 Girl. 2 Alarmed. 3 As if = on the ground that = because. 
 4 Dare. 5 Against. 6 Droppings. * Having a towel.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, 285 
 
 So when he was fed, we studdied 1 him theer 
 
 Upon his feet ; 
 
 And out on the sthreet, 2 
 
 And up on the laff 3 
 
 Over the stable, and a tickin* of chaff, 
 
 And blankets and piller 
 
 Bless ye ! couldn' ha' been comfibiller. 
 
 And Nicky head man, and would hardly lave him, 
 
 Rejicin, ye know, and Kitty gave him 
 
 Her hand to hould for a little bit, 
 
 The same's a baby '11 5 hould his mammy's. 
 
 But Saul began with his "blow me's," and "d 
 
 me's " ; 
 
 And so we quit; 
 And just on the step 
 Goin in says Saul to his mother, 
 " There '11 be bother 
 
 1 Steadied. 2 Pavement at the door of a house. 
 
 3 Loft. * Mattress. s Will.
 
 286 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 About that chap ! " 
 
 That was all ! that was all ! 
 
 Just like Saul ! just like Saul ! 
 
 " But how about the dialogue 
 
 Dialed is it ? lek a pessin J in grog "- 
 
 Says Nicky then 
 
 " Lizzen, 2 men ! 
 
 Wawky, wawk ! 8 
 
 Squawky, squawk, 
 
 Caw, caw, 
 
 Craw, craw 
 
 For all the world like a jackdaw 
 
 And Kitty's understandin him, eh? 
 
 Kitty, Kitty, what does he say ? 
 
 Here 's Saul declaim you can fearprit * him c-lever 
 
 Tarprit, tarprit, Kitty ! whoever ! " 5 
 
 1 Person. 2 Listen. 
 
 8 Onomatopoetic attempts to imitate the " dialec'." 
 
 4 Interpret. 
 
 6 Expletive of 4elight : q.d. t " Who ever saw such fun?"
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH. VANE. 287 
 
 Aw, Christopher ! l 
 
 Not a word from Kitty, not her. 
 
 And the ould chap prittin and pratin 
 
 And imitatin, 
 
 Fit for to frecken 2 the crows. 
 
 So, I suppose, 
 
 That's the raison ould Nicky was plannin 
 
 For me to spake to him 
 
 Me that was understannin 
 
 Most lingoes, of coorse, and seemin to take to him 
 
 Kind rather aw, Nicky thought of it 
 
 All night, I tell ye, and the how and the what of 
 
 it, 
 And nudgin the misthriss that she couldn' get a 
 
 wink 
 
 And think and think and think and think. 
 And " Tom Baynes," he says, " Tom Baynes will 
 
 do't" 
 
 " Aisy, ye brute ! " 
 1 St. Christopher, a mere expletive. z Enough to frighten.
 
 288 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Says Misthriss Tear 
 
 Wasn' he tellin us theer? 
 
 Aw, a rum ould boy, 
 
 If ever there was, and bound to try ; 
 
 And up -very early, and called me to come, 
 
 And "have it out with this fee-fo-fum." 
 
 But the poor thing was asleep when we come on 
 
 the laff, 1 
 Dead beat, 
 That's it. 
 
 So we waited a bit 
 
 And ould Nicky whisp'rin agate of 2 his chaff, 
 But wonderin 
 Astonishin 
 
 " Do ye think he 's a Turk ? " says Nicky to me, 
 "Or a Jew? or some surt of a Feejee 
 Or a Moabite, 
 Or a Perizzite 
 
 1 Loft. 2 Intent upon.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 289 
 
 Look here ! " he says, 
 "Chapthar and vess ! " l 
 " He's a Welshman," says Nick 
 " A Welshman ! a Welshman ! that 's the stick ! 
 You 're done, Tom, you 're done ! " he says 
 . . . " How 's this 
 It 's goin ? aw, Tom, crid nish ! z 
 You'll never make out his gibberish- 
 Welsh, for a shillin ! " Then he woke, 
 And looked about him, and then I spoke. 
 
 " How are ye this mornin ? " says I ; says he 
 
 " Wawk, wawk, 3 
 
 Squawk, squawk, 
 
 Gimmell, gammell, 
 
 Wimmell, wammell " 
 
 Couldn' make out a word, I'll sweer 4 
 
 1 I can give you chapter and verse for it = I am certain. 
 
 1 What, or how now ? 
 
 3 The "dialec' " very imperfectly represented. 4 Swear. 
 
 U
 
 290 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 " Welsh, for a shillin ! " says Nicky Tear ; 
 
 ' ' Welsh, for a shillin ! " Then I tried him in 
 
 French 
 
 " Howee dooee dissee mavvnin ? " 
 But there wasn' no sign ; when in comes this 
 
 wench, 
 
 Kitty, you know, like a rose of the dawn in 
 Aw, 'deed 1 she was; and "Spake to him, Kitty!" 
 Says the father 
 " Mumbo-jumbo ! smitty-witty ! 
 Is that it, eh? Tom is failin rather 
 He knows a dale, but he don't know enough 
 And sailors, you know, is very rough." 
 
 I was middlin mad; 2 but Kitty stooped 
 Over the piller, and the craythur scooped 3 
 His eyes in scollops you never saw 
 
 1 Indeed. * Rather angry. 
 
 3 Opened his eyes until they looked as big and as round as the 
 shell-fish called the scollop.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 291 
 
 And the two of them they worked the jaw 
 Like the mischief. English ? English, no doubt, 
 Bat English turnin inside out 
 My gough ! the English ! " What is he say in ? " 
 Says Nicky. "What, what, what, what? spake 
 
 plain ! " 
 
 Aw, you couldn' hould him ! * 
 " Spake plain now ! tarprit ! " 2 So she tould him, 
 But still I suspect 
 She only tould him what she lekt. 3 
 Why, here was these two 
 With their parlee-voo ; 
 And no thanks to you, 
 And no thanks to me, 
 They could talk to all eternity 
 And nobody knowin what they were talkin 
 Aw, it was shockin ! 
 
 1 You could not restrain his impetuosity. 
 Interpret. 3 Liked.
 
 292 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 But Nicky didn' care a scrap, 
 
 He tuk a notion to the chap 
 
 Aw, bless ye ! he was just the sort, 
 
 And not heedin for 't l 
 
 But Kitty was tellin him every word 
 
 Good Lord ! 
 
 " It 's a dialec'," says Nicky theer, 
 
 "A dialec'," says Nicholas Tear 
 
 " A dialec' of coorse they will - 
 
 These dialec's is terrible." 
 
 And rejicin. And Saul, and the mother eh ? 
 
 Well, of coorse, Saul 
 
 Was off to say, 8 
 
 And me too ; so that 's all 
 
 You '11 get this haul. 
 
 1 Not observing but that. 3 People will talk in dialects. 
 3 Sea.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 293 
 
 SECOND PART. 
 
 JUST two years after, being home again, 
 I went to see them at the Sherragh Vane. 
 But Saul was away, when I got there fuss, 1 
 Bein second mate of the Arquebus 
 That vi'ge, 2 and me aboord of the Hound, 
 Captain Forster, China bound 
 Long vi'ges them days, despard, 3 aye ! 
 But home at last, and up for a try 
 At the harvest theer, and a moonlight night, 
 And met ould Nicky, that was all right, 
 And as hearty as ever. And "See yandher bar- 
 ley ! " 
 And see this, and see that ; and " Agate of it 4 
 
 early 
 "To-morrow," he says. And up through the goss, 5 
 
 1 First. 2 Voyage. 3 Desperately. 
 
 4 We shall be going at it. 5 Gorse.
 
 294 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 And up the gill the delighted he was 
 
 And the hot, and his head goin bibbin and bobbin, 
 
 And a chirpin there little an ould cock-robin. 
 
 " And how is yandher card ? " 
 
 Says I ; "is he here with you still ? " " Mould 
 
 hard ! 
 
 Aisy ! aisy ! " says Nicky Tear 
 And, lo and behould ! the two of them theer 
 Quite close, and walkin very slow 
 On the top of the rocks ; and the moon like snow 
 Upon her head and upon her neck, 
 And no bonnet nor nothin, and never a speck 
 Of cloud nowhere, and her face turned full 
 To the moon that was risin over Barrule 
 And the look by gum ! love's brew's a-brew'n 
 When a gel looks like that in the harvest moon 
 Special 1 coortin and coortin it was 
 That's what I said to Nicholas. 
 
 1 Especially in a case of.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 295 
 
 " Them two is coortin ! " I said. " They've got 
 
 My leave," says he. "Why not? why not? 
 
 Why not?" says Nicky. And then he tould 
 
 All about it aw, a hearty ould sowl ! 
 
 And this chap he was callin him Ned d'ye see? 
 
 Ned and shuited him to a tee, 
 
 Ned nothin else he wouldn' tell them 
 
 What else was he callin ; but, all the same, 
 
 A fuss-rate sarvant, 'deed for sure ! l 
 
 And the way he larned, and clever thallure ! 2 
 
 And a grand head arrim ; 3 and the strong he'd got 
 
 Aw, bless ye ! shuited him to a dot 
 
 And ploughin and sowin, and buyin and sellin, 
 
 And cypherin theer, there wasn' no tellin 
 
 The useful ; and handy with cattle and sheep, 
 
 And all about breedin, 
 
 And " shockin 4 for readin ; 
 
 And costin me nothin but his keep," 
 
 1 Indeed he certainly was. J Enough (like Italian assai) = very. 
 3 At him ""belonging to him. 4 Excellent.
 
 296 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Says Nick; and the cknest chap and the nicest, 
 
 And civil ; and knowin all about prices ; 
 
 "And studdy 1 uncommon, uncommon!" says Nick. 
 
 "And how about the dialec'?" 
 
 Says I. " Aw, bless your mammy then ! 
 
 He's talkin just like other men 
 
 Now," says Nick; "but still they can slant 
 
 Into that, you know, whenever they want 
 
 Them two aw, yes ! remindin me 
 
 My gough ! " says Nicky, " look here ! the spree ! " 
 
 He says, and he laughed; and then he stopped 
 
 Quite sudden, you know, lek freckened, 2 and 
 
 dropped 
 
 His merry ould vice. And says he, " Aw dear ! 
 The happy if it wasn' for Mrs. Tear 
 The happy ! " " And is she agin 8 it ? " I said. 
 "Agin it? Agin it? Thomas, good lad." 
 
 1 Steady. ! As if frightened. * Against.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 297 
 
 And then he tould me all the jeel 1 
 
 And the work there'd been Like sltel I like steel! 
 
 He said, she was the sharp and the hard, 
 
 And the keen and the could* but he didn 1 regard ,- 3 
 
 And he'd have his way ; and he shook the fiss, 4 
 
 And he stamped the foot. " Never mind," he 
 
 says. 
 
 And then he saw these two was turned 
 To meet us; and then this Nicky yearned 
 To the happiness ; and all his trouble 
 Was gone like a whiff of smook, like a bubble, 
 That busts in the air, and " See, see, see I 
 Machree! 5 machree ! 
 See the beautiful ! the grand ! 
 Hand in hand 
 
 Aw, ye darlins ! " he says, " it's splandid 
 Coort on ! coort on ! " 
 And he thrimbled, the man did, - 
 
 1 Trouble. 2 Cold. J Care. * Fist. 
 
 * " My heart ! " a term of endearment.
 
 298 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Thrimbled and then he splains l 
 
 Who had he with him ; and " Thomas Baynes," 
 
 He says, " you're knowin Thomas, it's lek ; 
 
 He's not forgot at 2 you, eh ? " 
 
 And " Hip-hip-hip ! hooraa ! " 
 
 Did she start? did she blush? did she turn away? 
 
 Not her ! 
 
 Like a fir, 
 
 Straight, 
 
 Strong 
 
 Was she right, 
 
 Was she wrong, 
 
 Not a notion ; 3 
 
 But a motion 
 
 Of her head 
 
 Aw, a queen 
 
 She might ha' been 
 
 And her hand held out as free. 
 
 1 Explains. 3 By. * She had no notion = she never thought.
 
 KITTY OF THE S HER RAG H VANE. 299 
 
 And "Welcome home!" 
 And, turnin to 'm, 
 "This is Ned," 
 Says she. 
 
 And Nicky was right ; aw, a handsome falla ! 
 He'd got rid of the black and the green and the 
 
 valla ; 
 
 And he stood like a man 
 "Ned what?" I began. 
 But the finger to her lip, 
 And the father took a grip 
 On my arm middlin tight, 
 And says I, " All right ! " 
 
 And on and passed them; and says Nicky to me, 
 " There's nobody knowin the name," says he, 
 " Except herself, that's tould, 1 no doubt ; 
 But tell a livin sowl ? gerr out ! 3 
 Tell me / No, no ! she's not such a fool : 
 
 1 Who has been told. 2 Get out ! = certainly not !
 
 300 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 I couldn' keep it for silver nor gool 
 It isn' in me saycrets chut ! l 
 Let them that likes them keep them but 
 Aye, aye ! the mother aw, never fail ! 
 
 And a craythur like yandher, 
 
 And not even a name to his tail 
 
 And the goose and the gandher 
 
 I was, and the low and demaynin 
 
 Aye, and the wicked and sinful and would 1 be 
 
 deignin 
 To take such a thing for my son-in-law ? dirt .' just 
 
 dirt! 
 
 From the road, she said ; and the hurt ! the hurt 
 Her friends would be, she was sayin, the Gicks, aye 
 
 the Gicks 
 
 The Gicks of Kirk Bride ! the hurt, the insulted ; six, 
 She said, six daughters, all married on 2 farmers, 
 
 the fuss* 
 
 1 Tut. * To. 3 First.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 301 
 
 Of the country, she said, ''but her aw dear ! aw dear / 
 
 The wife of Nicholas Tear 
 
 And her heart would &uss. 1 
 
 And what would the daughter be callin ? what ? 
 
 Mrs. Neddy eh ? aye, Neddies enough for the mat- 
 ter of that 
 
 And well if people 'd keep to their station 
 
 And Neddies and dunkeys and dirts 3 and despera- 
 tion ! " 
 
 That's the way Nicky tould me dreadful bother ! 
 But, some way or another, 
 She'd got very quite 3 of late 
 Very, he said ; and we come to the gate 
 And " Kitty has got some life * 
 Now," he says ; " and a splandid wife 
 She'll make," says Nicky ; and doubts ? no, he 
 heddin ! 5 
 
 1 Burst. 2 Dirty = contemptible creatures. 5 Quiet. 
 
 Ease or comfort. * Had not.
 
 302 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 And "We'll have the weddin 
 
 Directly," he says yes, blow 'm ! 
 
 Directly Saul comes home 
 
 Directly 
 
 " Saul ! Saul ! " thinks I ; 
 
 " Is it Saul ? Well, never say die ! " 
 
 So in I goes ; and the misthriss gracious thallure, 1 
 But silent, terbil silent, to be sure ! 
 And her mouth like a vice, like a rivet, 
 Like houldin on, 
 Like waitin look out, my son ! 
 That's the surt '11 give it- 
 All or none! 
 
 And that night, when the gel come in, 
 
 Astonishin 
 
 The nice this Neddie was, and the careful too 
 
 Not a bill or a coo 
 
 . * Enough = very.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 303 
 
 Urrov 1 him once, and Kitty as quite 2 as quite, 
 
 And readin, and not much of a light, 
 
 Some surt of a track,* 
 
 I doubt, and threw her head back, 
 
 And looked like she'd look into heaven ; and me 
 
 That tould them of Saul, and how long he would 
 
 be; 
 
 And the mother's eye just a snip, just a snap, 
 Just a bless your sowl ! and the dhrap 4 
 Of the thread on her lap 
 Aw, aisy enough to see ! aw, bless the woman ! 
 Skaddhin 5 or skate 
 Wait, then, wait ! 
 Saul was comin. 
 
 And Saul came 
 Fire and flame ! 
 No name ? 
 
 1 Out of=on his part. a Quiet. 3 Tract. 
 
 4 Dropping. * Herring or skate =no matter what.
 
 304 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 This chap, and coortin Kitty Tear, 
 
 Carryin everything before him theer, 
 
 Cock of the walk f 
 
 By the Lord, he'd balk 
 
 The beggar, he said ; 
 
 He'd know his name, and how he was born, and 
 
 fiow he was bred 
 Nice tricks 1 
 
 But he'd have to pack from the Sherragh Vane 
 In quick sticks. 
 And "You're my friend, 
 Tom Baynes," he says. " All right ! 
 And we'll have it out with him this very night." 
 
 So I didn' let on 1 what Nicky had said 
 
 What was the use ? 
 
 And sure enough, when we went to bed 
 
 In the garret, 
 
 He went arrit 2 
 
 1 Betray. * At it.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 305 
 
 Like the deuce 
 
 A\v, the whole bilin ! 
 
 By gough ! I saw the mother smilin 
 
 When he kissed her; 
 
 And the smile was half a smile and half a blister. 
 
 But any way she had her desire, 
 
 And the fat was in the fire 
 
 Up in that garret goodness ! the row ! 
 
 And where, and how, 
 
 And ivhen, and who ? 
 
 And the ould gentleman's own hollabaloo ! 
 
 Questions ! questions ! aw, the brewer's big pan * o' 
 
 them, 
 And never waitin for an answer to one o' them. 
 
 And <: What's your name ? " he said, 
 And struck the bed 
 
 1 Large quantity (expression used in the Anglo-Manx song of 
 " We'll hunt the wren ").
 
 306 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Terbil vicious. 
 
 " I'll tell you what it is, I'm suspicious 
 
 You're one of these runagate scamps 
 
 That tramps 
 
 The coun-thry, and's come to some grief 
 
 With the police," says Paul ; " a thief, 
 
 A thief," he says, "that's what ye are; 
 
 A thief, I'll swar. 1 
 
 And the likes o' you don' dar 2 
 
 Have a name ; 
 
 And so you came 
 
 To the Isle of Man." 
 
 Bless me ! how the tongue of him ran ! 
 
 But this chap was patient though, and the quite 3 
 
 ye never seen,* 
 Quite 5 uncommon ; for it's mad enough he must 
 
 ha' been 
 
 1 Swear. 2 Don't dare. 3 Quiet. 
 
 'You never saw such quietness. * Quiet.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 307 
 
 To bear such abuse. 
 
 " Hurroose ! hurroose ! " 
 
 Says I ; 
 
 "Stand by ! 
 
 Hould hard, 
 
 Saul!" I says, "I don't regard 1 
 
 For vagabones," I says, " no more till 2 you no, 
 
 not a rap ; 
 
 But still this chap is seemin a dacent chap ; 
 And he's worked faithful on the farm, and you've 
 
 heard the old man praisin 
 This Ned, for the honest and the skilful; and no 
 
 doubt there's a rayson 
 
 Why he can't be tellin his name, no doubt; 
 And the truth '11 come out 
 
 Some day," I says, "and there'll be no disgrace in, 
 Not a bit of it," I says; "just hidlins 4 lek, 
 
 1 Care. 2 Than. 3 In = in existence, superfluous adverb. 
 4 Hiding = any outlaw, fugitive from justice, or even retire 
 from the world only is said to be " in hidlins."
 
 308 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Hidlins the way 1 there's plenty, I expec' 
 Aye, plenty, and honest chaps enough, and can't 
 help it." 
 
 A\v, he reg'lar yelpit, 2 
 Did Saul ; and me to be takin his part ! 
 And the two of us would start 
 The very next morning aye, start ! he said 
 " Not me," says Ned ; 
 "I'm your father's servant, and not yours." 
 And he shouts and he roors, 
 This Saul, like all the bulls of Bashan 
 "Then what's your name, and what's your na- 
 tion? 
 
 And what the this and the that are ye manin? 
 Is there to be no complainin, 
 But just for you and Kitty to go 
 And get spliced ? and no more about it ? " 
 
 And God d him '. did he know 
 
 * As. 2 Yelped.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 309 
 
 There must be a stiffcate^ and a license, and how'd 
 
 he get them 
 Without a name ? 
 Idikkiliss ! 2 
 Hit or miss, 
 
 He'd have an end of this 
 Yis 1 3 
 
 " You dirt," he said, " you common scrub ! 
 You beggar's cub ! 
 You'll be slopin from here, that's what you'll be 
 
 do'n, 
 And precious soon." 
 
 Then says Ned, very patient, but his eyes all 
 
 aflame 
 
 " What would hinder me to take a name, 
 A false name ? d'ye hear ? 
 And marry your sister, Saul Tear, 
 In that name? What would hinder me, eh? 
 1 Certificate. 8 Ridiculous. 3 Yes.
 
 3io KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 To do that, if I'm all the villains you say ? " 
 
 " False name, false marriage sartinly ! 
 
 What'd hinder him ? what'd hinder him ? " says I. 
 
 Wtiafd hinder 1 } 
 
 Steel and tinder ! 
 
 Tyre and Sidon ! 
 
 Saul was blazin ! 
 
 Foamin ! " The raison ! 
 
 The raison," he says, 
 
 " Your name's goin a-hidin ? " J 
 
 "That's my business," says Ned, quite firm. 
 " So it is," says I ; for he wasn' no worm, 
 I seen, this Ned, nor no weasle, nor no funk, 
 But tuk his part like a lad of spunk, 
 But patient cool not a mossil 2 flarried 3 
 
 1 = is a-hiding : going is superfluous, but almost universally 
 used in such constructions. 
 
 * Morsel, bit. 3 Flurried.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 311 
 
 So I backed him, I did " We don't mean to be 
 
 married," 
 
 Says Ned, " all the same, 
 Till I can claim 
 My own name, 
 And hould up my head 
 In the sight of God and man," says Ned. 
 "And no more you will," says I, 
 " And never say die ! 
 And fair field and no favour ! 
 And braver ! braver ! " l 
 
 Saul was chokin ; 
 
 And no more was spoken 
 
 That night. And, bless ye ! next day, 
 
 When we'd supped our porridge, and a taste of tay 
 
 At 2 the women aye and out on * the work, 
 
 1 Bravo! (a reminiscence of some Liverpool theatre.) 
 
 2 Had been taken by. 
 
 3 When we were just going out to.
 
 312 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 This ould Turk, 
 
 This Nicky Tear, 
 
 Up with him theer, 
 
 And what d'ye think? 
 
 In a clap, in a twink, 
 
 Makes the two of them stand 
 
 Right out on the floor 
 
 Aye, to be sure ! 
 
 Ned and Kitty, and hand in hand 
 
 Made them take hands, 
 
 And there they stands. 
 
 And then says Nicky " Take witness," he says, 
 
 " Thomas Baynes, and all the rest, 
 
 Friends lek in general, take witness," says lie, 
 
 " These two is engaged to be married, and married 
 
 they'll be," 
 And gave a nod 
 
 " Married they'll be, so help me God ! " 
 He said it as sharp as a knife ;
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 313 
 
 But his face bust a 1 smilin directly, and up's 2 to 
 
 the wife, 
 
 And kisses her theer, 
 All stiff in her cheer, 3 
 That said nothin, 
 But turnin the tip of her ear, 
 Like a stone, like a slate very tryin ! 
 But Saul gev a leap like a lion 
 I thought there'd been bother, 
 But stopped at a look from the mother. 
 
 So out to the shearing the lot 5 
 And a beautiful spot 
 Very nice it's appearin, 
 Shearin, 
 That high, 
 
 Like reg'lar up in the sky- 
 And the chimley smookin 
 
 1 Burst into. 2 Goes up to. s Chair. 
 * Reaping. 5 All of us.
 
 3M KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Below, and all that blue and curled, 
 
 And just like lookin 
 
 Lookin lookin all over the world. 
 
 Very nice in them places ; 
 
 And whips off my braces 
 
 Nicky's rig 1 though Nicky and me, 
 
 For 'ciety 2 
 
 Would hev it! 
 
 And as right as a trevit 3 
 
 Nicky to shear, and me to bind 
 
 But Saul stayed behind 
 
 Aye, the best of an hour, 
 
 Did Saul ; and the misthress 1 well, she stayed 
 
 too 
 
 But of coorse, of coorse ! a power 4 to do 
 In a house like yandher. 
 
 Then Nicky tould 
 All the throuble of his sowl 
 
 1 Division of the field assigned to. * Society = company. 
 3 Trivet. 4 (She had) a great deal.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 315 
 
 " How is it," he said, " they're doin it 
 
 The women, eh? for they'll sit and sit, 
 
 And sew and sew, and never let on, 1 
 
 But they'll watch their chance, they'll watch, my 
 
 son, 
 And they'll have ye, they'll have ye ! yis, the wife 
 
 of your bosom ! 
 
 Or should be what ? aw, the Lord knows 'm 
 The Lord knows 'm, but I don'. 2 
 Not a word, not the smallest taste of a groan 
 But all on the look, on the feel, on the spring, 
 On the hair-trigger that's the thing. 
 Yis, even at night aw dear ! aw dear ! 
 Like a barrel of powder in the bed with ye 
 
 theer." 
 
 " But you spoke very plain to her this mornin," 
 Says I, "very bould, very plucky, like scornin 
 All oppogician," I says. " Lay high ! 3 
 
 1 Betray themselves. y Don't. 3 Take the high hand.
 
 316 KlTTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 That's your road, Mr. Tear," says I 
 " Stick to that keep her at that 
 Hould your luff 1 you'll beat her yet 
 Yis, you will ! You're a man with a sperrit ; 
 Keep your eye on the thing, and you'll gerr it ~- 
 You'll gerr it," I says. " But, Saul," says he, 
 " Didn' ye see ? 
 He's against it too 
 It'll never do. 
 
 Fit to ate 3 me directly I spoke 
 Ye seen him ! hearts of oak 
 Is it? iron'd 4 be more lek 5 it 
 Stiff-neckit ! stiff-neckit ! 
 Allis kickin up a dust 
 And didn' take to him from the fuss." 6 
 And " Ye seen him, Saul ? " and I nodded- 
 Machree ! 7 
 
 1 Sail close to the wind. - Get it. 
 
 3 He was ready to eat. 4 Iron would. 
 
 5 Like. 6 First. 
 
 " " My heart ! " Here used as an interjection of sorrow.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 317 
 
 " The two of them ! that's too many for me. 
 Aw, yes it is I can make a row, 
 And shout and defy aw that I'll allow- 
 Any thing hearty, anything free 
 Cussin, tearin l that's me ! that's me ! 
 But saycrets schaemin 2 plannin rot me ! 
 No, no ! they've got me there ! they've got me 
 No chance at all I don't know how to fix them, 
 Not a hayporth; there's somethin betwix' them 
 This very minute, I know there is." 
 " Have your way with them," I says. 
 "Have your way with them; chut! 3 chut! 
 You'll aisy do it." "No, I'll not," 
 Says Nicky, and gettin rather hot 
 In temper, I mean. 
 
 And " Look here ! " he says, 
 "It's ill-becomin to spake amiss 
 Of one's own wife ; but, if you'll considher, 
 
 1 Doing something uproarious. * Scheming. 
 
 3 Tut!
 
 3i 8 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 It isn' azackly 1 that ither 3 - 
 
 No, it isn' it's difference lek 
 
 Of people we're not the one speck, 
 
 Nor the one spot, nor the one hide 3 
 
 Me from the mountains, her from Kirk Bride. 
 
 Lek 4 here the air is keen and quick, 
 
 And there the air is slow and thick. 
 
 And there the soil is heavy stuff, 
 
 And here the soil is only a scruff. 
 
 So there they're all for calkerlatin, 
 
 Schaemin, dodgin, workin the patin 5 
 
 Manure? aye proud tremenjis, 
 
 Proud, man, proud, not willin of 6 strenjis 7 
 
 Dailin with them sartinly 
 
 In business lek accordantly; 8 
 
 But likin them ? no ! just jallus, 9 jallus ! 
 
 1 Exactly. 2 Either. 
 
 8 Speck, spot, and hide = metaphor from skins of animals as 
 showing marks of difference. 4 For example. 
 
 5 Using patent manure. 6 Liking. 7 Strangers. 
 
 8 In accordance with their business as farmers. 9 Jealous.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 319 
 
 No, I wouldn' call it malice 
 
 But nothin friendly, nothin gennal 1 
 
 And me my gough ! I'd like to spen' all 
 
 My life with the like, lek standin on a rock, 
 
 Lek crowin to them like a cock 
 
 ' Come up ! come up ! and how d'ye do to ye ? 
 
 And cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo to ye ! 
 
 I don't disregard ye, and I don't fear ye; 
 
 But I like to see ye, and I like to hear ye.' 
 
 Strange talk, of course, but pleasant to me 
 
 ' Ooze is this aoose ? ' 3 and fiddlededee 
 
 Not comin often, nor never knowin 
 
 Who are they at all, just comin and goin 
 
 And 3 steep, ye know, and a middlin pull, 
 
 And 4 longin for them pitiful 
 
 The talk and all that differing 
 
 Do ye see the thing? do ye see the thing? 
 
 And Mrs. Tear that's knowin a dale 
 
 1 Genial. ' Whose is this house? [mimicking the En lish (!) 
 . ccent]. 3 The way up to the farm is. 4 And I am.
 
 320 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 About the lek : and used of l a sale 
 
 Of stock ev'ry year and reg'lar raps 
 
 Aw, sartinly these Whitehaven chaps 2 
 
 At the Ballagick, and imprin 3 amazin, 
 
 And thricks and lies ; so that's the raison 
 
 Aw, sartinly. But lonesome here 
 
 Lonesome enough. So Mrs. Tear 
 
 Has got her notions. But me my gough ! 
 
 If I'm only hearin one of them cough 
 
 The change, eh? and I don't know is it right, 
 
 But I'm over the hedge, and agate o' them * 
 
 straight. 
 
 Newance 5 yis but natheral, 
 Isn' it? But Saul aye Saul, 
 Saul and the mother suspicious, eh? 
 Suspicious lek a body might say 6 
 Suspicious, Mrs. Tear and Saul ; 
 
 1 Accustomed at Ballagick, her father's place, to have a sale 
 of stock. 2 Cattle-dealers. 3 Impudent. 
 
 4 Get into conversation with. 5 Novelty. 6 As one might say.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, 321 
 
 But me ! aw, bless ye ! not at all." 
 And Ned. 
 
 And then he tould me the splendid 
 
 He was, till I thought he'd never ended 
 
 Fuss-rate, he said, the jography, 
 
 The this and that, and as free as free, 
 
 And cipherin lek, and good at the pen, 
 
 But tould me before, and where and when 
 
 And who and still for all no harm 
 
 Couldrf be beat on a mountain farm 
 
 And got that 'cited that he swore and swore 
 
 It's Kitty he should have ; and the more 
 
 'Cited he got, the quicker he cut, 
 
 Till I hardly could bind for him foot for foot, 
 
 Sheaf for sheaf, and a clip and a toss 
 
 Aw, a 'citable ould chap he was ! 
 
 But, just lavin off, says Nicky to me 
 " We'll see," he says, " we'll see, we'll see ! 
 
 y
 
 322 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Maybe two against two," he says; 
 
 "There's no mistake about you," he says. 
 
 " All right ! all right ! 
 
 We'll see to-night. 
 
 I'll have a talk with her, you'll be bound l - 
 
 Jinny Clague, from Kirk Marown 
 
 Kitty's cousin," he says. " She's comin 
 
 To-night," he says ; " and I'm a rum 'n 2 
 
 If I don't get her to take my side 
 
 They're terbil high, them ones at Kirk Bride. 
 
 Jinny, Jinny ! that's it ! 
 
 Wait a bit! 
 
 You'll see, Thomas I'll bet a cow ! 
 
 But mind you'll be civil to her now 
 
 Civil, civil " "That's aisy done," 
 
 Says I. "All right! all right, my son! 
 All right ; but rather fond of Saul, 
 That'll be like a wall 
 Against me." "Never mind!" says I; 
 
 1 For a certainty. 2 Rum one.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 323 
 
 "We can only try. 
 
 Is she nice-lookin, Mr. Tear ? " 
 
 "Wait till ye see her," 
 
 Says Nicky ; and gettin rather late 
 
 " Aw well, I'll wait," I says, " I'll wait ; 
 
 Waitin's no crime." 
 
 So Jinny come about supper time. 
 She was rather squinny, 1 
 Was Jinny 
 Cross-eyed just so- 
 And, whether or no, 
 Rather undersized, 
 Rather blackavised 
 
 Aw, 'deed she was; but a bright little sthuggher 2 
 This Jenny sharpish, wantin shugger, 3 
 It's likely aw, wantin shugger, no doubt 
 But a reg'lar whiskin turn-about 
 Of a thing like spinnin like a tee-to-tum 
 1 Squinting. - Thick-set person. 3 Sugar.
 
 324 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Finger and thumb 
 
 Tick, tock, 
 
 Dickory-dock l 
 
 And the eye not so bad, like a keyhole rather 
 
 But, the holy father ! 
 
 The fire that came out of it black, black, black 
 
 Skutes 2 of fire. 
 
 Aw, a bright little tight little wobbler, 3 
 
 And carried her own little box like a hobbler, 4 
 
 And put it down on the floor. And then 
 
 At it the two of them went like sin 
 
 At who ? at what? Why, these two- madarms 
 
 Runnin in one another's arms 
 
 It's a way they have, I don't know the why, 
 
 But they must, I suppose, and ye'll see them fly 
 
 My gough, the fly ! and looks like escapin, 
 
 1 Some notion of symmetry and nattiness is conveyed by these 
 words. 
 
 * Squirts, jets. 3 Brisk person. 4 Harbour-porter.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 325 
 
 Like takin refuge from the men, that's gapin 
 
 As awkward theer, and never no notion l 
 
 To touch them what ? But such a commotion ! 
 
 Such a twitter ! aw, never belave me ! 
 
 And clings to each other like " Save me ! save 
 
 me ! " 
 
 Or is it" Ah ! ye dar'n' ! 2 ye dar'n' ! 
 Freckened 3 of ye? no we ar'n' 
 And how would ye like to be like this?" 
 And kiss, and kiss, and kiss, and kiss 
 Idikkiliss ! 4 
 But bless them ! 
 
 So there they sat and sat, 
 
 All twisted together like a plat, 5 
 
 Till bed-time; and out and up to their room 
 
 Twisted still, like a surt of a bloom 
 
 Of a double flower, 
 
 1 The men have no idea of touching them. 2 Dare not. 
 * Afraid. * Ridiculous. * Plait.
 
 326 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VAXE. 
 
 "In a bower, 
 
 After a shower" 
 
 At laste, ... I mean. . . . 
 
 But, bill and coo 
 
 This went on for a day or two 
 
 And then I noticed that Jinny, 
 
 Squinny 
 
 Or not, 
 
 Every shot 
 
 Of her eye 
 
 Knew well where to fly 
 
 Straight 
 
 As the sun's own light 
 
 Aw, the divil and all! 
 
 Never off Saul, never off Saul. 
 
 And then this little game began- 
 Here's the plan 
 Saul lettin on 1 
 
 1 Pretending.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 327 
 
 He was gettin fond 
 
 Of Jinny, that never cared a rap for her, 
 
 Never a scrap for her; 
 
 But what for ? You'll hear, you'll heai.l 
 
 Never fear ! 
 
 Two-and-two was the game to act 
 
 Kitty and Ned on the one tack, 
 
 And Jinny and Saul of coorse they went 
 
 Aw, it wasn' much encouragement 
 
 Jinny wanted. Bless ye ! she gorras l 
 
 Happy as happy all cares and sorras 3 
 
 Was off to Guinea ; 
 
 She didn' think of the when and the why 
 
 Reg'lar up in heaven was Jinny 
 
 Her and her eye ! 
 
 But I shouldn' be makin fun 
 Of the poor sowl. 
 Once they're begun, 
 
 1 Got as. 2 Sorrows.
 
 328 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 How can ye conthroul 
 These despard feelins ? I don't know. 
 It's hard anyway, and very hard 
 For them that's squintin ; for they don't regard 
 For nothin nor nobody, nor never thinkin 
 They're that driven 
 But works the eye away like winkin. 
 Of coorse, what else? Isn' it given 
 For that? It's out of the eye 
 That love lets fly 
 His arrows lookee ! 
 And if they shoot crooky 
 I raelly don't know 
 It's the fault of the bow, 
 Maybe; but still, 
 
 Perhaps, when you shoots with a will, 
 With strength and might, 
 It'll straighten the flight. 
 Or, like enough, a dale depands 
 On the way they're tuk ; l like candle ends, 
 1 Taken.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 329 
 
 They're better till nothin ; but I'd rather a lamp 
 
 But light is light 
 
 Lek makin believe they're all right 
 
 The little scamp. 
 
 So bless the woman ! 
 
 Her and Saul got on uncommon. 
 -And the ould chap tried, aw, he tried hard, 
 In the house, in the yard, 
 In the field, everywhere 
 Tried a surt of a coortin there - 
 A surt, but tervil ould-fashioned, ye know 
 Ould-fashioned, ould-fashioned ! aw, a bit of a beau 
 In his time, no doubt, but differin 
 With young people. Aye, a chuck o' the chin ; 
 Slips his arm round her waist, whips her up on his 
 
 knee ; 
 
 Sings tribble, 1 and rather makin free ; 
 Looks at Saul, looks at me, gives one of his winks, 
 1 Treble.
 
 330 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 And you never heard the compliminks ! 1 
 
 But no good, not a bit, only apt to provoke 
 
 The misthriss to fancy; but saw through the joke 
 
 Did the misthriss aye, and knew very well 
 
 What was he afthar, and aisy to tell. 
 
 So the misthriss took all as pleasant as pleasant, 
 
 Only like thinkin it right to be present ; 
 
 Aw, yis, 2 just the way lek 3 she'd studied the plan * 
 
 Of a sensible wife with a foolish ould man, 
 
 And young gels about. 
 
 Just so, 
 
 And we'd all of us go 
 
 Of an ev'rin 5 and sit on the settle 
 
 In the little bit of a garden they had, 
 
 Each lass with her lad ; 
 
 And the poor ould dad 
 
 1 You never heard such compliments. 2 Yes. 3 Just as if. 
 4 The best way for a wife to deal. * Evening.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 331 
 
 Lek stung with a nettle, 
 
 That he couldn' keep quite ^ 
 
 Like a chap that was tight 
 
 And gettin up a laugh, 
 
 And a bit of chaff, 
 
 And as well in his bed; 
 
 And nobody mindin what was it he said, 
 
 Except me, for I pitied the poor ould file; 
 
 And maybe the misthriss 'd give a smile. 
 
 But it got that sweet betwix Jinny and Saul, 
 
 At last, that there wasn' no call 
 
 For any of us to interfere ; 
 
 And we'd be sittin theer, 
 
 And them two crept away 
 
 Somewhere in the hay, 
 
 Or goodness knows 
 
 And these others 'd stray 
 
 Away 
 
 1 Quiet.
 
 332 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, 
 
 Out on the hill 
 
 As paysible ! l 
 
 And the misthriss into the house, 
 
 And Nicky as quite as a mouse 
 
 Only a sigh and " Thomas, my pickaninny, 
 
 We must do without Jinny." 
 
 And then I'd turn to, and whistle and whistle. 
 
 No trees, not so big as a thistle, 
 
 Up yandher, not even a bush, 
 
 That'd shalthar 2 a thrush 
 
 Or a blackbird or that, not even a thorn nor 
 
 a thrammon 3 
 
 No. And plovers, of coorse, is common 
 Enough, and curlews ; but them things, 
 If they sings, 
 
 It's as much 4 very far, very wild, 
 Like for a child, 
 
 1 As peaceably as could be. ! Shelter. 8 Elder-tree. 
 4 It's as much as they do = it's barely singing.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 333 
 
 Lek lost on the hills. " Lost ! lost ! " they're callin, 
 
 When the night is fallin, 
 
 And the wind is fair for them 
 
 Well, I don't care for them. 
 
 So, ye see, no wood, 
 
 So I done what I could 
 
 Whistled and whistled, I'll be bail; 
 
 And thought a dale thought a dale. 
 
 So at last the night of the melya 1 arrived ; 
 And that very night this Jinny contrived, 
 By coaxin and dodgin, by this and by that, 
 By laughin and cryin, and the divil knows what, 
 To get the name aw, wrong of them both ! 
 But still, for all her Bible-oath, 
 Not a word to a sowl ; and longin to tell, 
 To some gel, 
 
 The name the name she loved so well. 
 Aw, poor Kitty ! there's never no knowin 
 1 Harvest-home.
 
 334 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Ye don't see it ? Well, lave it alone ! 
 
 I was only statin you're very ann'yin ; l 
 
 Statin isn' justify in. 
 
 And Jinny ? 
 
 Jinny had only the one notion 
 
 To plaise her Saul, and get him to love her 
 
 Aw, it's the land of Goshen 
 
 She thought she was goin to be in that night, 
 
 Or heaven itself, I wouldn' thrus' 3 
 
 Hers, hers, hers he muss ! 3 he muss ! 
 
 But, as far as I can discover, 
 
 It's little joy or delight 
 
 She got no, no ! 
 
 Expectin though 
 
 Expected sartin; thought she would bind him 
 
 To her heart for ever. Slippin behind him, 
 
 I saw her, I saw her slipt like a snake 
 
 1 Annoying. - Would not trust = I'm pretty certain. 
 3 Must.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 335 
 
 To his ear, and a whisper " Edward Biake " 
 
 The chap's name. Hear I cuddn' l 
 
 But it must ha' been that she done it that sudden. 
 
 But the sudd'ner 2 she done it, the sudd'ner Saul 
 
 Gave a leap to the door, 
 
 And her after him straight ; but no use for to call 
 
 Nor to run; 
 
 He was off like the shot from a gun ; 
 
 And she spent the night cryin far out on the moor. 
 
 And where was he then ? 
 Wait, wait, my men ! 
 One thing I'll tell ye 
 I'll just be that bould 3 
 From the night of that melya 
 Nither her nor me, nor a sowl 
 At the Sherragh Vane, 
 Ever saw Saul again 
 
 1 Could not. J However suddenly. 
 
 3 Take the liberty.
 
 336 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, 
 
 Ever, ever aw, lave it to me ! 
 You'll see ! you'll see ! 
 
 The melya was over, and all gone away, 
 
 And everythin silent, except Nicky snorin 
 
 And snore he did till he shuk the floorin 
 
 So at break of day 
 
 I tuk my bundle, and started for Ramsey to catch 
 
 The Liverpool steamer; and just where a patch 
 
 Of fine red ling runs out to the brew 1 
 
 Behould ye Jinny ! 
 
 Runnin to meet me too 
 
 Runnin to meet me, thought I was Saul she had, 
 
 But she swealed 2 like mad 
 
 Swealed urrov 3 her like a ghost 
 
 And I stood like a post, 
 
 And stared, and I said 
 
 "Are ye wrong in your head? 
 
 I doubt you done some mischief to-night, 
 
 1 Hill-side. ' Squealed. 8 Out of.
 
 AY7T1' OF THE SHEKKAGH 
 
 \ ^ nasty thing !" 
 
 So she picked a bit of the ling, 
 
 And tried to look careless, and tuk to the right, 
 
 And me to the left, and tuk the fence, 
 
 And never seen her sence. 1 
 
 No for, I'll tell ye, this 
 
 Was Saturday mornin. On the Wednesday, 
 
 When we were at say 
 
 Far away, 
 
 Me oh my ship, and Saul on his, 
 
 Comes every policeman they had in Ramsey aye - 
 
 To the Sherragh Vane aw, never say die ! 
 
 Billy-Bill-Sil, and Tom Juan Sam Harry - 
 
 Phaul, 
 And Dicky-Uick-beg Dick Bob, and Lace 
 
 Clucas and all. 
 Lace you'll mind Lace 
 Mortal big round the waist 
 1 Since.
 
 338 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 Shuperintendin- Inspector, or somethin o' that surt 
 
 bless ye ! 
 
 And " Edward Blake, I arrest ye 
 In the Queen's name," and whereas, and a jag 1 and 
 
 a jumble, 
 And mumble, mumble, mumble. 3 
 
 And he gave in at wance 3 
 
 That was the sanse 4 
 
 Gave in ; and " I'm ready to go 
 
 With you now, if I must." But blast I and bloiv ! 
 
 And God d / and "What's this?" 
 
 And quivers the fiss 5 
 
 Poor Nicky, you know 
 
 But soon as make 6 
 
 As a lamb at 7 Blake 
 
 The way, you see, he trusted the chap. 
 
 1 Probably jargon. 
 
 2 Imperfect recollections of legal phraseology. 3 Once. 
 
 * Showed his sense. 5 Fist. 6 Meek. 
 
 7 In the hands ; through the interposition of.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 339 
 
 And Kitty ? cry in ? not a scrap^- 
 
 Aw, a wife for a man, and no mistake. 
 
 Yes ; she kissed him, kissed him dear 
 
 Tuk and kissed him theer : 
 
 But no sterricks, 1 I'm tould, no nisin, 2 no bother 
 
 Just a look at the mother, 
 
 Just a couple of momen's, 3 
 
 And these words 
 
 Like swords, 
 
 From her mouth, from her eyes, from the woman 
 
 all over, 
 
 " Edward Blake is my lover, 
 My love, my life; 
 And I'll be his wife, 
 Or I'll never be no man's," 
 That was all 
 Eh, Saul? 
 
 Just that, and away she goes, 
 To get ready his clothes. 
 
 1 Hysterics. 8 Nois=. ' Moments.
 
 340 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, 
 
 And what was the row 
 
 That Blake was in? 
 
 I'll tell you now 
 
 Chartisin. 
 
 You don't remember ; but still 
 
 There's some of you won't, and some of you will 
 
 Chartisisses l 
 
 Them that don't want the Queen for their missus 
 
 Five pints 2 what d'ye call it? 
 
 Manward sufferings, 3 vote by ballot 
 
 A pasil 4 of d nonsense, no doubt 
 
 Of coorse, of coorse ! and all gone out 
 
 Long before now. But the young 
 
 This Blake was then he was tuk 5 with the tongue 
 
 Of these swagg'rin scoundhrils that get on a tub 
 
 And roor, 
 
 To be sure 
 
 And the people dyin for want of grub, 
 
 1 Chartists. 2 The five points of the Charter. 
 3 Probably " Manhood Suffrage." 4 Parcel. * Taken.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 341 
 
 And ready for anything : and Blake 
 
 Turned out with the rest ; for he wouldn' forsake 
 
 The Cause, as he called it. And any ould gun, 
 
 Or pistol, or pitchfork, and off they run 
 
 To the commons 1 there, and stood to their arms 
 
 In swarms. 
 
 But the souldiers come 
 With sword and drum ; 
 And a terbil fight, and thousands kilt 
 Long thousands ! and the blood that was spilt 
 Most terbil, I'm tould ; 
 And hardly a sowl 
 Got away 
 That day. 
 
 Blake didn' tell me no; 
 I've heard it from others, though. 
 Treminjis slaughter, and the lot of them scattered 
 aw, facks ! 2 
 
 1 Moors. * It's a fact.
 
 342 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 So Blake made tracks 
 
 For the Cumberland mountains ; and at Ravenglass 
 
 He got aboord one of these smacks, 
 
 Or a mackarel boat, or a lugger it was 
 
 Handy anyway, and terbil willin, 1 
 
 And landed him at Maughold Head, 
 
 And of coorse without a shillin 
 
 Without a penny. 
 
 The rascal, you said ? 
 At Maughold Head, at Maughold Head- 
 No rascal at all, divil a bit of him ! 
 You don't know the fit 2 of him 
 No bless ye ! in the Isle of Man 
 We don't understand 
 These " Polly Tricks," 3 
 And " knavish thricks "- 
 And " our hopes we fix "- 
 
 1 Very willing to take him on board. 
 " The cut, the kind of fellow he was. 3 Politics.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 343 
 
 Lek it's sayin in the song 
 
 Right or wrong 
 
 And The Cause! The Cause! 
 
 And Freedom .' and all about these laws 
 
 That's oppressin the people. Just our own ways 
 
 Is doin for us and the House of Keys l 
 
 Dear me ! 
 
 They was used to be 
 
 Dacent men enough, and put in 
 
 At 2 one another, that was answerin 
 
 Fuss-rate,, but now I'm tould 
 
 They make so bould 
 
 To be chised at 3 the people quite diff'rin cattle 
 
 And it's tittle-tattle, rittle-rattle 
 
 Sleet and hail 
 
 Like a tin pot tied to the Governor's tail 
 
 Poor man ! But aisy to talk ! 
 
 And put in for to make the law, 
 
 1 The Lower House of the Manx Legislature. 
 - Elected by. 3 As to be chosen by.
 
 344 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 But better to hould your jaw 
 
 Aw, better a dale ! l 
 
 And take a chap the way you find him, 
 
 Particklar if he laves his bosh behind him 
 
 D'ye hear? just so. 
 
 Well, Blake had to go, 
 
 Under the ould warrant that was out agen 2 him 
 
 All the time, and the Demster 3 to send 4 him 
 
 "Out of the Isle," 
 
 To Lancaster Castle, to stand his tri'l. 
 
 Saul it was, Saul it was, 
 
 That done the jeel ; 5 he was down on the Cross 6 
 
 At Ramsey straight 
 
 1 Deal. The reference is to the change made in the mode 
 of electing the members of the Manx Parliament. Since 
 1866, they have been chosen by the popular vote. Before 
 that they were elected by co-optation. 
 
 2 Against. 3 Deemster = judge. 4 Sent. 
 * Mischief. 6 Market-place.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 345 
 
 From the melya that night, 
 
 And, before the day-lift, 
 
 Knocked up the High Bailiff, 1 
 
 That couldn' act 
 
 Till all was corract 
 
 Writs and that, and kermoonicated 3 
 
 With the Gov'nor, of coorse. But Saul didn' wait 
 
 To see the stren'th of his own shot 
 
 It's away he got 
 
 To Liverpool, and aboord of a ship 
 
 At once; and, that very trip, 
 
 He was lost overboard in a squall 
 
 Was Saul ! 
 
 So Jinny didn' get much good 
 Of her schames the price of blood 
 That was it and stayed a week 
 Longer; but Kitty wouldn' speak 
 A word with her, good or bad 
 
 1 Chief magistrate of a town. 2 Communicated.
 
 346 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 And no letter 
 
 From Saul. So she had 
 
 To go at last; for even the misthriss said 
 
 She thought it was better. 
 
 I believe she got married on 1 a widow man, 
 
 That was keepin a public-house, by the name of 
 
 Dan 
 
 "Danny the Prince" 
 
 They were callin him ; but his name was Cregeen ; 
 But I never seen 
 The woman since. 
 
 Now Kitty had to hope and hope 
 
 Against hope; 
 
 For it seemed a case of the rope 
 
 Did yandher. 2 
 
 Aye ! And this kind ould goosey-gandhar 
 
 Of a Nicky was terbil good to her 
 
 Backed her, stud to her; 
 
 1 To. ' That did.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 347 
 
 Kept up her heart, and kept up his own 
 
 Bless ye ! no knowin 
 
 The hot little biler 1 
 
 Of kindness and love that was under the weskit 
 
 Of Xicky. Not that the misthriss would resk 2 it 
 
 To rile her. 
 
 And no naggin, nor both'rin, nor fussin to 
 
 Get her to think of another, 
 
 At 3 the mother 
 
 It's time the misthriss was trussin 4 to. 
 
 But now lizzen ! 5 
 
 In this prison, 
 
 Where Blake was put, some rapscallion 
 
 Got up a reballion, 
 
 And a lot of thieves and murderers, 
 
 And such-like curs, 
 
 Jined him to set the jail 
 
 1 Boiler. 2 Risk. 3 On the part of. 
 
 4 Trusting. * Listen.
 
 348 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 On fire ; and done it never fail ! 
 
 The dirt! 
 
 And the gov'nor out in his shirt, 
 
 And his wife, and his daughter 
 
 And "Water! water!" 
 
 And "All you men that's men, come here, 
 
 And stick to me ! " and Blake, I'll sweer, 1 
 
 Was" the very first aw, keen as a knife ! 
 
 And saved the daughter, and saved the wife 
 
 And him and the chaps 
 
 That joined the gov'nor, I heard them sayin, 
 
 Beat these raps 
 
 Beat them clane 3 
 
 And of coorse ! of coorse ! What'll you take 
 
 But" A free pardon for Edward Blake ! ! " 
 
 Aye down from London the very next day 
 
 Hurrah for Queen Victoria ! 
 
 That's the woman that can and will 
 
 Eh, Bill? 
 
 1 Swear. " Clean, completely.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 349 
 Hurrah ! hurrah ! 
 
 Yes, he was pardoned, and me to know 't, 
 
 And happen aboord the very boat 
 
 He was crossin to the Island on 
 
 My gough ! the fun 
 
 That was arrus 1 theer 
 
 Ould Captain Creer 
 
 And that the yarns that was spinnin 
 
 And glasses round, 
 
 You'll be bound, 2 
 
 And even the very firemen grinnin, 
 
 That's lookin rather fierce with the shoot. 3 
 
 And ashore and the cart, and Kitty to boot 
 
 Nicky ? of coorse ! and him and me 
 
 On the till, 4 and bitendin 5 not to see. 
 
 And this and that, and how we'd prosber'd. G 
 
 1 At us = that we had. * You may be very sure. 3 Soot. 
 * Till-board in front. Pretending. 6 Prospered.
 
 350 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 
 
 But Kitty and Blake inside on the crossboard, 
 
 As happy. And look at them ? No, I didn' ! 
 
 Only the cart made a joult, 
 
 Like a boult 
 
 Givin way and I turned and her face was hidden 
 
 In Blake's breast 
 
 You may 'margin 1 the rest. 
 
 And up to the farm ; and this ould cockalorum 
 
 Of a Nick carried everything before him 
 
 The deuce!. 
 
 No use 
 
 The misthriss houldin out aw, floored 
 
 Reglar 2 aye ; and what can't be cured 
 
 Must be endured. 
 
 So the ship was righted, 
 
 And smooth water, 
 
 And a son and a daughter 
 
 1 Imagine. 2 (She was) regularly floored.
 
 KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE. 351 
 
 Still for all 
 
 And poor Saul ! 
 
 And I stayed to the weddin, bein invited.
 
 WHAT'S he sayin ? God bless the falla ! 
 
 Love is love even in a sheep 
 There's some that takes it middlin shalla ; 
 
 But there's some that takes it very deep. 
 
 You mind 2 me tellin of Jemmy Jem, 
 
 And the son and the daughter, him and them 
 
 Up at the church agate 3 of the carols 
 
 " Shepherds watchin," " Hark the harals ! " 4 
 
 That night the Christmas 5 come ashore 
 
 Christmas Rose, I tould ye afore 
 
 Christmas, aye. 
 
 1 Shallow. a Remember. 3 Engaged upon. 
 
 1 Herald. * See " Fo'c's'le Yarns."
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 353 
 
 Three schools in the parish 
 
 Them times, I remember, and putty 1 fairish 
 
 For the lek, I think. There was one at the 
 
 Church, 
 
 And the little Lhen wasn' left in the lurch 
 A school there, and one at the Sandy, 
 Up the gill, that was terbil handy 
 For the Jurby people; besides the school 
 In the Town, where none of us went of a rule, 
 Excep' aw dear ! poor Tommy 2 but stop ! 
 And Nelly 2 eh ? shut up ! shut up ! 
 
 Now the school at the Church was countin 3 the 
 
 head 
 
 Of all the three. And Clukish, 4 bedad, 
 Was a splandid Masther lek 5 Jemmy Jem 
 For shortness, but Clukish all the same 
 James Clukish ; and sarvin 6 for clerk 
 
 1 Pretty. 2 See " Fo'c's'le Yarns." 3 Accounted. 4 Clucas. 
 * As it were (but nearly superfluous). 6 Serving as. 
 
 A A
 
 354 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 As well as schoolmaster. And Mark 
 
 Was the name of the son, called Marky the Bird ; 
 
 And the daughter Maggie they hadn' a third. 
 
 But the school at the Lhen was just for childher, 
 Enfans in perricuts 1 Danny Bewildher 
 Was the name of the Masther, callin him out 
 Of his proper name, that was Danny the Spout ; 
 At laste I don't know; but Skillicorn, 
 I've heard them sayin, the man was born 
 Poor old Dan aw, bless your sowl ! 
 Now was it Skillicorn, or Cowle ? 
 Aw dear ! 
 
 But Clukish (I'm too draggy 2 ), 
 Clukish, that's the man, and Maggie, 
 Fuss-rate singers, father, and son, 
 And daughter, lek the three in one, 
 Tuned to a dot, most parfec it was 
 
 1 Infants in petticoats. 2 Slow.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 355 
 
 And him upon the viol- bass 
 
 Treminjis ! noted for the long 
 
 And loud and soft and full and sthrong. 
 
 And when they were sittin the whole of the three 
 
 Right in front of the gallery, 
 
 I've heard the Pazon say they were lookin 
 
 Him like a big ould angel sthroogin l 
 
 The sthrings, and them lek 3 God had given 
 
 Lek wings to heave him up to heaven. 
 
 Well, me and Maggy, I'll engage, 
 
 Was just about the same age ; 
 
 And Mark, of coorse, would be younger rather ; 
 
 And the two of them goin to school to the father: 
 
 But me to the little school at the Lhen, 
 
 With Danny Bewildher poor ould Dan ! 
 
 The like of a school like that you never 
 
 Aw, Danny thought he was taechin clever; 
 
 But letters no ! the A B C ? 
 
 1 Stroking. 2 Looking as if.
 
 356 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And spells, and that ? all fiddlededee ! 
 
 " Latthars ! " he'd say, " idikkiliss ! T 
 
 Just clap a Testament in their fiss, 3 
 
 And off they go aw, bless your heart ! 
 
 They'll read soon enough, if ye give them a start. 
 
 Latthars ! latthars ! bewild'rin the childher "- 
 
 And so they were callin him Danny Bewildher. 
 
 Poor Dan ! " a start," he said, " only a start ; " 
 But, of coorse, we were gettin it off by heart. 
 That was Dan. So we wasn' goin 
 To the same school; but still I was knowin 
 The two very well. They were just a taste 
 Shuperior lek, the way they were dressed 
 Shoes and stockins and me aw, chut ! 
 Never had such a thing on my fut, 
 Excep' a' Sunday. 
 
 But meetin them down 
 1 Ridiculous. * Fist.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 357 
 
 On the shore very often or up on a ground 
 
 We were callin the Lhergy, 1 covered with goss 2 
 
 And flowers. And aw the nice it was 
 
 Of an everin 3 to be up there, 
 
 And hear them singin ! Well, I declare 
 
 It was mortal altogether. 4 You see 
 
 There's nothin pleasanter to me : 
 
 I was allis terbil fond of music 
 
 Not of my own ! aw, I'd have the whole crew sick 
 
 If once I begun on you No, no, no ! 
 
 But this Maggie beautiful ! up she'd go, 
 
 Up up up, to the very sky. 
 
 " Give us the lark ! " I'd say, and she'd fly 
 
 At laste her vice 5 aw, the happy for hours 
 
 Sittin up there among the flowers. 
 
 And all the notes that ever you heard 
 That's the raison 6 of Marky the Bird 
 
 1 High waste-land. a Gorse. 8 Evening. 
 
 4 Altogether very nice. fr Voice. * Origin of his name.
 
 353 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 Imitatin bless ye, then ! 
 
 Everything from a hawk to a wren 
 
 Thrushes, blackbirds very rum ! 
 
 " Chit, chit ! " he's sayin, meanin " Come ! " 
 
 " Come ! " and the pewhit answerin clever 
 
 " Cha jig thy braa ! " l that's maynin, " Never ! " 
 
 "Gow smook ! gow smook!" as plain as plain 
 
 That's " Take a smook ! " the bird is sayin 
 
 Aye " Chanel thy pingan ammee ! " 
 
 " I havn' a penny " obverse, 2 dammee ! 
 
 Curious, though, very, splainin 3 
 
 And everything has got its maynin. 4 
 
 Aw, Mark was grand " Curlew ! curlew ! " 
 What's that at all ? no more till 5 boo 
 Nothin just. But Mark had gorrit, 6 
 " Mirrieu ! 7 mirrieu ! " far more horrit ! 8 
 
 1 This and some expressions following are Manx, but some- 
 what corrupt. 
 
 * Obvious. 3 Explaining. 4 Meaning. * Than. 
 
 Got it. 7 Dead. Horrid.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 359 
 
 " Mirrieu," dead lek its mate, you know 
 
 " Dead ! dead ! she's dead ! " aw, terbil though, 
 
 That bird, like left, like feelin lonely. 
 
 And me ? aw, bless ye ! one bird only, 
 
 Just a rook they said I dunnit l 
 
 Fuss-rate ; and aisy, once I begun it ; 
 
 But stopped it soon ; and her with the lark ; 
 
 And "Mirrieu! mirrieu!" that was Mark. 
 
 Aw, little things thim times : but grew, 
 
 Till at last the battle of Waterloo 2 
 
 Betwix my mother and Danny, that plied me 
 
 With the cane one day till he nearly destroyed me. 
 
 And home I run, and " Mother ! mother ! " 
 
 And" Dan hev kilt 3 me ! " And" What's this 
 
 bother?" 
 
 And takes and hits me a clout on the head, 
 And looks me all over, and " Come ! " she said. 
 And away with me there ; and in on 4 the school 
 1 Did it. ' An awful row. 3 Has killed. * Into.
 
 360 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And "What's this," she says, "ye dirty fool? 
 
 Ye bogh ! 1 ye kyout 2 ye ! you a man ? 
 
 You sniffikin 3 creep ! " 4 she says to Dan 
 
 ' ' You ? " and just a disgrace 
 
 To the place 
 
 And the Bishop and the Archdakin 
 
 Aye and she'd be spakin 
 
 To the Pazon 'deed she'd let him know I 
 
 She would so I 
 
 And pins him theer against the wall, 
 
 And turns me up, and shows him all. 
 
 " Gerr out ! " 5 says Dan ; " Gerr out ! " says he 
 
 " Is it out ? " she says, and droppin me, 
 
 " Is it out ? " and grips an inkstand there, 
 
 And ups and lets, him have it fair 
 
 Betwix the eyes aw, the ink and the blood ! 
 
 And Danny all smotherin where he stood, 
 
 1 Poor (creature). 3 Miserable being. 8 Insignificant. 
 4 Sneak. Get out.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 361 
 
 And puffin and blowin, and spatt'rin and sputt'rin, 
 And all the dirt goin sloppin and gutt'rin 
 Down his breast, and his shirt ? my annim ! l 
 Never had the lek upon him, 
 Nor the name o' the lek. 
 
 " Gerr urrov 2 this school ! " 
 Says Dan, and makes a grab at a stool, 
 And a run and a drive, and she couldn' recover her 
 Footin, and down, and Danny over her ! 
 So there they were rowlin, and crish ! crash ! 
 And the furrims 3 capsized, and mixed in a mash 
 Of murder bless ye ! stuck to him manful 
 Aye, and handful after handful 
 Of Danny's hair went flyin about ; 
 And the childher all began to shout, 
 The boys to cheer, and the gels to cry ; 
 And then I come behind on the sly, 
 And caught this Danny a clip on the ear, 
 
 1 (Upon) my soul. J Out of. * Forms.
 
 362 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And he turned, and she saw her chance, and got 
 
 clear, 
 
 And up and off with us aw, it's a fac' 
 And left poor Danny on his back. 
 
 Well, then I was goin to school at the Church, 
 To Clukish himself, that was usin a birch, 
 But very little, or a leather strap- 
 But mostly he was givin ye a rap 
 On the head with his knuckles and a little hem .' 
 Aw, a grand ould man was Jemmy Jem. 
 
 Taechin ! What was there he couldn' taech ? 
 Bless ye ! aye, and powerful to praech 
 In the chapel ; but taechin ! Mensuration 
 Trigonomojough ! l Navigation ! 
 Aw, splendid ! Taech it ? like a bird ! 
 But ye couldn' understand a word 
 Well, ye wouldn' expec' lek a man, that way, 2 
 1 Trigonometry. " Superfluous, like "you knew."
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 363 
 
 That never was a week at say 
 
 No, no ! A tailor he was to his trade, 
 
 And many's the pair of breeches he made 
 
 In yandher school, cut out, you know, 
 
 On the desk afore him ; and sew and sew 
 
 And " Come say ! come say ! " l aw, the little 
 
 sinners 
 
 We were, to be sure! and "Take your dinners!" 
 He'd shout as hearty at twelve o'clock 
 Aw, a fine ould cock ! a fine ould cock ! 
 
 I didn' larn much, but there's plenty that did. 
 
 There was one little chap with a big round head 
 
 Ye never seen the round 2 by jing ! 
 
 That chap was larnin everything. 
 
 And the more he lamed, the bigger it got 
 
 This head and the rounder, just like a pot. 
 
 1 "Come up to the desk, and say your tasks," a custo- 
 mary formula : so, " Take your dinners," the form of dismissal 
 at noon. J Anything so round.
 
 364 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 " Look at that boy ! " ould Clukish was sayin ; 
 
 " Fit enough to make your tay in 
 
 That head," he'd say, " like a bottomless pit ; 
 
 There's nothin that doesn' go into it 
 
 Nothin," says Clukish. And right, no doubt : 
 
 It all went in, and it never come out 
 
 Never so couldn' be no loss 
 
 At 1 yandher chap. It's stored it was 
 
 In the big round head. My gough ! it's grand 
 
 To have a head that'll grow and 'spand, 2 
 
 And never leak a drop the pride 
 
 Of the mother ! But, of coorse, he died 
 
 Sartinly aw, died, of coorse 
 
 Ye see, the workin and the foorce 
 
 Of all that was in him, just like a biler, 
 
 And no safety-valve, nor no grease for th' ile 3 her- 
 
 Nor nothin ye see? 
 
 No, I didn' larn quick, 
 1 Nothing could be lost by. : Expand. * For to oil.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 365 
 
 And I didn' larn much. But I got very thick 
 With Maggy and Mark. And, when I got higher 
 In the school, they coaxed me to come in the 
 
 quire, 
 
 And I did : and even after I left, 
 I stuck to it aye, and made a sheft 1 
 To sing somethin tannor 3 I was wantin 
 Tannor aye ; but allis 3 slantin 
 Into the bass, and loo-loo-loo ! 4 
 And settled to somethin betwix the two 
 Rather doubtful, of a manner. 5 
 But Mark was singin the counter-tannor 
 See-saw, most beautiful ! sixes and sevens 
 And Maggie up in the heaven of heavens. 
 
 And so we got big : and then doodoss ! 6 
 I seen the lovely Maggie was. 
 Milk and roses, milk and roses 
 
 1 Shift. 2 Tenor. 3 Always. 4 (Tries his voice). 
 In a way = somehow. c Good pra:ious !
 
 366 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 That was the complexion Moses ! 
 
 The beautiful she was when she threw 
 
 Back her head, and the throat came in view, 
 
 Round and white and big, the way 
 
 It mostly is with singers, they say 
 
 Fine singers bless ye the full ! 
 
 Like a belliss ! l like a bull ! 
 
 And the strings of her bonnet untied, and flung 
 
 Over her shouldhers ; and the vice of her rung 
 
 Aw, it rung ! it rung ! and all her breast 
 
 Was swelled to the feel of the happiness 
 
 The joy the glory the chut 2 ! it's no use 
 
 " Be cautious ! be cautious ! " says Billy Baroose. 
 
 But Mark was a terbil sorrowful chap 
 Lemoncholy 3 that's the tap. 
 And the ouldher he grew, the lemoncholier 
 He got And nobody couldn' be jollier, 
 Nor heartier, ye know, till 4 me 
 
 1 Bellows. * Tut. 3 Melancholy. * Than.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 367 
 
 But Mark was allis for poethry. 
 
 But the sorrowful bless ye ! lek l it was bred 
 
 In the falla Mirrieu ! mirrieu ! dead ! 
 
 Just so. And " Lizzen " ! 2 and then he'd repate 
 
 Pomes 3 that'd buss 4 the heart of a skate 
 
 His own compozin aye, and still 
 
 I was likin to hear him terrible. 
 
 'Deed 5 he'd make ye cry and a lightish slaeper, 6 
 
 And went to the town to be a draper. 
 
 And me and Betsy 7 goin together 
 And Maggie keepin house for the father 
 And a good job too at laste, so it appears 
 A widda man, 8 and had been for years. 
 And Maggie and me would be about twenty ; 
 And me agate 9 o' the fishin, and plenty 
 To do, I can tell ye, to keep the pot bilin, 
 
 1 As if. a Listen. 3 Poems. * Burst. 5 Indeed. 
 8 He was rather a light sleeper : cf. The Squire in Chaucer's 
 Prologue. 
 7 See " Fo'c's'le Yarns.'' * Widower. 9 Engaged upon.
 
 368 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 When lo and behould ye ! there came to the 
 
 Islan' 
 A terbil man. 
 
 Inspector they called him, 
 
 Inspector of Schools ; and tuk and hauled l him 
 
 From parish to parish the work that was in ! 2 
 
 And so at last he come to the Lhen, 
 
 And hed it out with Danny Dan. 
 
 " Latthars ! " says Danny, " latthars ! dear heart ! 
 Bewild'rn the childhar give them a start ! 
 Latthars ! what's latthars ? idikkiliss ! 
 Clap a Testament in their fiss ! "- 
 " No," says the Inspector, " just clap this ! " 
 And whips a book from his starn 3 pocket 
 " Now then ! " Bless ye ! a Congreve rocket 
 'd hev 4 done just as well not a bit! not a bit ! 
 
 1 He was taken about. 2 What excitement there was ! 
 
 3 Coat-taiL 4 Would have.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 360 
 
 Not the one of them not a line of it ! 
 
 And the childhar stared 
 
 " They're not prepared ! " 
 
 Says Danny, and argued and argued away, 
 
 Till he was black in the face, as a body might say. 
 
 And then he jawed, lek fit to buss ; l 
 
 And then he gave a bit of a cuss ; 
 
 And then the Inspector brought him up 
 
 All standin poor divil ! and " Stop, sir, stop ! " 
 
 Says he. " In all my 'sperience 
 
 I never seen such ignorance. 
 
 And it'll be my duty to repoort " 
 
 Lek presentin to the coort 
 
 Or whatever it is coort, or commission 
 
 Something " total inefficien' " 
 
 Inefficient that's their talk. 
 
 And so poor Danny had to walk ; 
 
 And home to his people in Kirk Bride, 
 
 And kept at 2 the Pazon till he died. 
 
 1 Enough to burst himself. 3 By. 
 
 B B
 
 370 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And the Bishop come, and the Captain 1 there, 
 And the Lord knows who, and spakin fair; 
 And they'd have the school in proper order. 
 And so we were hearin nothin furdher 
 Till one day there come a Scotchman aye 
 For 2 the schoolmaster. 
 
 He wasn' shy, 
 
 This Scotchman, at all aw, 'deed be wasn' : 
 For the cheek he might have been fuss-cosin 3 
 To Ould Harry himself. Aw, the cock o' that nose '. 
 And the strut, and the lip, and the tasty clothes! 
 And snuff and snarl, and snip and snap 
 He was what you'd call a pushin chap 
 Pushin, bedad ! and a new light, 
 And come to set us all right, 
 
 That was sittin in darkness and the shadow of 
 death ; 
 
 1 Captain of the Parish (a Manx official). 
 2 To be. 3 First-cousin.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 371 
 
 And his name was Alexander Macbeth. 
 
 But the chap was good-lookin that's the pint, 
 
 And a tongue in his head like a 'varsal jint. 
 
 He could make it bitter, and he could make it 
 
 sweet; 
 
 He could lift a gel from off her feet 
 With that tongue. And schaemin ! bless ye, the 
 
 schaemin ! 
 
 And plannin and plottin, and watchin and aimin 
 Keen though, as keen as a hungry gull, 
 And still he could look that sorrowful, 
 And groanin, and hintin, and his eye all brimmin 
 With the tears aw, they're likin that is women 
 Being nath'ral kind, you'll undherstand, 
 And longin to comfort every man 
 Special if he's handsome, of coorse ! 
 Sartinly; but work the oors, 1 
 Work the oors. 
 
 1 Oars = let us get on.
 
 372 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 It wasn' long 
 
 Vfore Mr. Sandy was at it ding-dong 
 
 To get the school from Clukish aye, 
 
 The principal school aw, never say die ! 
 
 And he worked and he worked, like thingumagee, 
 
 Till the Bishop appointed a commitee. 
 
 And a committee, it's like 1 you're aware, 
 
 '11 do anything; anything, I'll swear, 
 
 Committees '11 do just so, just so 
 
 'Deed they will. 
 
 But whether or no, 
 
 This Alec Macbeth was at 3 Clukish himself ; 
 And " Time to be layin upon the shelf : " 
 And cocked him up with humbug and flattery, 
 And " My exc'lin colleague ! " and Dear me ! the 
 
 batthar"" he 
 
 Would be with a pension, and Wouldrf he now 1 
 And " Eh, Miss Clukish ? " and bow-wow-wow / 
 1 It is likely. 3 Went to. 3 Better.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 373 
 
 The dirt! 1 and gorr 2 it all "arranged" 
 Grand, I tell ye. And so he changed 
 From the Lhen to the Parish : but Clukish still 
 To be clerk and quite agreeable. 
 Tired and lek everything in its saison. 
 
 But ould Clukish had another raison, 
 Another, I tell ye. He seen this rascal 
 Was gettin spoony on Maggie ; and ask all 
 The Parish, and they'd ha' tould ye at once 
 The match was a splendid one, a chance 
 That wouldn' often come Maggie's way. 
 I've asked the Pazon, and what did he say? 
 "Mr. Macbeth is a man of promise, 
 And a most respectable person, Thomas ; 
 And very interestin, and clever" 
 Azackly 3 so ! Now, did you ever ? 
 Even the Pazon ! 'Spectable ? paff ! * 
 Clever? aye, too clever by half. 
 
 1 The scoundrel. J Got. 3 Exactly. 4 Pooh I
 
 374 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 Euclid that was some stuff he was workin 
 
 With these lumps, 1 that could as aisy swallow a 
 
 perkin. 2 
 
 High, man ! high aw, bless your sowl ! 
 Didn' a woman come and scowl 
 And complain ; and says she, " We're gettin no rest 
 Of the night," she says, "with this foolishness. 
 He's shoutin most terbil in his sleep, 
 And me and the father can't get a peep. 
 And we won't stand it ! no ! " she said. 
 And he spoke her so fine ; and " Raelly ! in bed ! " 
 And he laughed, and he carried on that plaisin 3 
 That the woman went away amazin 
 The satisfied : and sleep is money ; 
 But that chap's tongue was the divil's own honey. 
 
 And Mark was delightin in him, too 
 
 Aw, bless ye ! he knew his Mark, he knew 
 
 The soft sort of chap a pote ! 4 a pote ! 
 
 1 Biggish boys. 2 Porpoise. * So pleasingly. 4 Poet
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 375 
 
 Wasn' he one himself? and 'd know 't 
 
 In Mark at once. And heaves up the eye, 
 
 If ye seen them together, and sigh for sigh, 
 
 And groan for groan ; and takin turns 
 
 Repeatin their pomes. And "The Manx Burns" 
 
 He'd be callin Marky you'll never rag urrov 1 
 
 A Scotchman but he'll take a shockin brag urrov 
 
 That Burns. "Tim Shindy " 2 aye, just so 
 
 " Catch her a' Saturday," " Scots woho ! " 
 
 Of coorse ! of coorse ! You're mortal fond of them 
 
 Aren' ye, Andra ? 3 Andra's one of them. 
 
 So Mark was altogether tuk with him ; 
 
 And the Pazon too. Aw dear ! worse luck with him ! 
 
 And me? Well, no; but I'd nothin to say, 
 
 1 Never worry it out of a Scotchman = never induce him 
 to do otherwise than brag greatly about. Urrov = out of: to 
 take a brag out of=to brag about. 
 
 3 The reader will recognise adumbrations of three famous 
 poems by Burns. 
 . * Are you not, Andrew ?
 
 376 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And every dog must have his day. 
 What was my 'pinion worth to be puttin 
 Against the Pazon's ? Not a button. 
 And the Pazon was hardly likin him, 
 Lek what you call likin that's not the trim. 1 
 The Pazon, ye see, was allis for pace, 2 
 But equal, too, for righteousness, 
 And justice betwix man and man 
 Aw, he'd work it well if once he began, 
 But he wouldn' go out of his way for a fight- 
 Righteousness, the thing that's right 
 That was the Pazon. And Dr. Bell 
 The same : the chap was maenin well, 
 They thought. " Sincere/' the Pazon said; 
 And the "valable qualities" he had 
 "Valuable," the Pazon was sayin, 
 He spoke that sweet, and slow, and plain. 
 
 Of coorse the Pazon was diff'rin' from me, 
 
 1 The way to put it. Always for peace.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 377 
 
 The two of them bein such schullars, you see, 
 
 And knowin a dale about books and such, 
 
 The Pazon was likin his talk very much 
 
 Likin his talk; you see, they were maetin 
 
 On the same floors, 1 and the nither baetin 2 
 
 Maetin, not baetin and still, for all, 3 
 
 I believe he could give the Pazon a fall 
 
 Now and then, bein slippy and slim; 
 
 And nice for the Pazon, remindin him 
 
 Of the time he was young, and could argufy 
 
 With the best of them. And he wouldn' try 
 
 To flatter the Pazon : he knew like a spit 4 
 
 That wouldn' take the Pazon a bit. 
 
 And if he was bould, ye know, and imprin, 5 
 
 The Pazon never liked them simprin, 
 
 Cringin divils and nathral kind. 6 
 
 So the Pazon was grippin him mind to mind. 
 
 1 Meeting upon equal terms. 
 
 2 Neither getting the better of the other. 8 After all. 
 4 Easily, at once. Impudent. 
 
 And besides (the Parson) was naturally kind.
 
 378 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 But heart to heart was rather me, 1 
 
 Heart to heart, ye know, lek it would be - 
 
 Enstiiict? isn' it, they're sayin ? 
 
 Feelins lek lek I couldn' explain ; 
 
 Couldn' grip with him, hadn' the head ; 
 
 But I could hate him ; and so I did. 
 
 But only a boy, and nothin to shove me 
 
 Much in his road, that was quite above me 
 
 Hardly know'n me, bless ye ! no ; 
 
 Nor me him; and so and so. 
 
 And Maggie, what 'd ye do with her ? 3 
 Lovin him like Lucifer. 
 That was the deuce no good to fret, 
 Love's golden net ! love's golden net 
 Gold ! gold ! pure gold ! but, sink or float, 
 Iron is only cobwebs to 't. 
 Caught was Maggie caught, caught, caught ! 
 No matter the oughtn', no matter the ought. 
 1 My way. 8 Instinct. * What would you have?
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 379 
 
 Aw, I seen it that was enough for me 
 
 I'd had my doubts; but see is see 
 
 At a stile on a Sunday afternoon, 
 
 The stayin, the delayin, 
 
 The snatchin, the catchin, 
 
 The detainin, the complainin, 
 
 The head so sweetly iaenin 
 
 On your shouldher 
 
 Don't be bouldher ! 
 
 On a Sunday, on a Sunday, on a Sunday, on a 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 On a Sunday, on a Sunday afternoon. 
 Yes, I seen her at the stile, 
 Such a smile, at the stile, 
 Bless the chile ! at the stile, 
 At the stile, at the stile, at the stile, at the stile, 
 Of a Sunday afternoon. 
 
 There now ! take and make a tune 
 For my song ; they'll print it for you in Doolish. 1 
 1 Douglas.
 
 380 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 Dear heart ! you'll think I'm gettin foolish. 
 
 But if you'll see that at a stile, my men, 
 
 On a Sunday afternoon, why then 
 
 You may make up your minds what's goin to be, 
 
 And all the rest is fiddlededee. 
 
 Behaved hissetf? Of coorse, he done l 
 
 Had to behave hisself, my son. 
 
 But hang it ! give the divil his due, 
 
 Just the same as I would to you 
 
 Now stow your chaff there, Barney O'Grady ! 
 
 He trailed her like a puffec 2 lady. 
 
 So now it's for a Pazon he was goin: 
 And how he managed there's no knowin ; 
 But got the Bishop to examine him, 
 And some way or other contrived to gammon him 
 To promise to ordain him ordain 
 Isn' that the word ? whatever they mane 
 1 Did. ' Perfect.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 381 
 
 And curate ! curate, I'll be bail, 
 
 Goin for a curate to Pazon Gale. 
 
 And would have been the very next day, 
 
 If it hadn' but stay, my lads, now ! stay ! 
 
 That ev'rin, l I tell ye, there come a woman, 
 
 Along the road though, cryin uncommon 
 
 Cryin, cryin, cryin there 
 
 "Where's my Sandy? where, oh where? 
 
 Where's my Sandy? my Alexander? 
 
 Where is he ? where is he ? " and had cried like 
 
 yandher 2 
 
 All the passage from Whitehaven, 
 " Where's my Sandy, div ye ken ? " 3 
 And up the pier, and the market-place, 
 " Where's my Sandy ? " and wouldn' cease. 
 And she didn' regard for none that blamed her 
 For of coorse there was people that fie-for-shamed 
 
 her 
 1 Evening. 2 Like that. 3 Do you know ?
 
 382 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And a pleeceman gev her directions to go ; 
 And " Sandy ! Sandy ! " she was shoutin, though 
 
 And come upon the village street, 
 
 And could hardly stand upon her feet 
 
 And the women about her, and " Get some 
 
 brandy ! " 
 
 But she wouldn' taste it " Sandy ! Sandy ! 
 Where's my Sandy ? " And they tried some rum ; 
 And a call for Sandy : so Sandy come. 
 
 Yes, he come ; and just gave a look ; 
 And then they say the fellow shook 
 All over ; and then his face all fire, 
 And straightened hisself like goin to deny her ; 
 And then a rush, and her arms was round him, 
 And his round her. "I've found him! found him!" 
 She said. And he tuk her into the house, 
 And shut the door, and as quite 1 as a mouse 
 1 Quiet.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 383 
 
 All night, they were say'n, and plenty to listen, 
 
 And fancyin they were hear'n them kissin. 
 
 But never a word of any complaint 
 
 It's lek the poor craythur was that content 
 
 For to have him again. And before the dawn 
 
 They were off, and just a bundle, 1 gone 
 
 To Douglas, and afterwards over to Anglan ~ 
 
 No nise, 3 no bother, no worry, no wranglin 
 
 Just off. The woman, ye see, was his wife 
 
 I don't know, upon my life, 
 
 How they're doin it hotch-potch, 
 
 Lek accordin to the Scotch 4 
 
 But lawful, I tell ye ; so you'd better look out ! 
 
 Lawful not the smallest doubt. 
 
 And the chap was poor, and she'd worked like a 
 
 slave 
 
 To keep him at one of these places they have 
 For preparin people for schoolmasters, 
 1 All their luggage. s England. 3 Noise. 4 Scotch fashion.
 
 384 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 And pazons and that St. Bars ? St. Burs ? 
 
 St. Bees that's it, and hardly fair 
 
 I've heard them tellin that's seen her there 
 
 In a little room, and to brew and bake for him, 
 
 And pickin sticks to bake a cake for him. 
 
 Well now Maggie ? Hould your kedge ! l 
 
 I seen her spreadin clothes on the hedge 
 
 Of the garden, it wouldn' be more till 2 a week 
 
 After that, and I thought I'd speak; 
 
 And " How are tha, 3 Maggie, how are tha, gel ? " 
 
 " Aw," she said, " I'm very well." 
 
 Very well ! very well I 
 
 Toull* the bell! toull the bell! 
 
 When ye know what it's meanin 6 that -very well ! 
 
 She died next day quite aisy, they said 
 Mirrieu / mirrieu 1 dead ! dead ! 
 
 1 Anchor keep quiet. * Than. * Art them. 
 
 4 Toll. 6 It means.
 
 THE SCHOOLMASTERS. 385 
 
 Dead! And Mark? He dropped the draper, 
 And tuk to writin for some paper. 
 So ye see there's some that takes it deep ? 
 Upon my sowl, the chap's asleep ! 
 
 All right! 
 
 Good night ! 
 
 Butler & Tanner, The Sclwood Printing Works Frotne, and London. 
 
 c c