Legendary fictions of the Irish Celts

Lege?ids of the " Good People." 119
wud the likes ; an' I swore again dlirinkin' after a time I
was overtaken wud the hccor when I ought to be mindin'
a poor neighbour's wife." " Well, this is too bad. Will
"
you even condescend to wear this shawl for my sake %
" Ach, me lady, would you have the dirty little gorsoons
roaring after me, an' maybe pelting me with stones, when
I'd be going through the village?" "Well, but what
should hinder you from living in this castle all your life
with me, eating and drinking, and wearing the best of
everything % " " Musha, ma'am, I'd only be the laughin'
stock o' the fine ladies and gentlemen. I'd have no ould
neighbour to have a shanachus (gossip) wud, and what
'ud the craythurs of women do for me in me own place,
when their time 'ud be come 1 " " Alas ! alas ! Is there
any way in which I can show you how grateful I am for
your help and your skill ? " " Musha, indeed is there,
ma'am. My poor girshach, Jude, is lying under a sore
leg for a twelvemonth, an' I'm sure that the lord or yourself
can make her as sound as a bell if you only say the
word." "Ask me anything but that, and you shall have
it." " Oh, lady, dear, that's giving me everything but
the thing I want." " You don't know the offence your
daughter gave to us, I am sure, or you would not ask me
to cure her." "Judy offend you, ma'am ! Oh, it's impossible
" ! " Not at all ; and this is the way it happened.
"You know that all the fairy court enjoy their lives in
the night only, and we frequently go through the country,
and hold our feasts where the kitchen, and especially the
hearth, is swept up clean. About a twelvemonth ago,
myself and my ladies were passing your cabin, and one of
the company liked the appearance of the neat thatch, and
the whitewashed walls, and the clean pavement outside
the door, so much, that she persuaded us all to go in.
We found the cheerful turf fire shining on the well-swept
hearth and floor, and the clean pewter and delft plates on
the dresser, and the white table. We were so well pleased,
that we sat down on the hearth, and laid our tea-tray,
and began to drink our tea as comfortably as could be.