The Priest
IT is said by those who ought to understand such things, that
the good people, or the fairies, are some of the angels who. were turned out
of heaven, and who landed on their feet in this world, while the rest of their
companions, who had more sin to sink them, went down further to a worse place.
Be this as it may, there was a merry troop of the fairies, dancing and playing
all manner of wild pranks on a bright moonlight evening towards the end of
September. The scene of their merriment was not far distant from Inchegeela,
in the west of the county Cork - a poor village, although it had a barrack for
soldiers; but great mountains and barren rocks, like those round about it, are
enough to strike poverty into any place however, as the fairies can have every
thing they want for wishing, poverty does not trouble them much, and all their
care is to seek out unfrequented nooks and places where it is not likely any
one will come to spoil their sport.
On a nice green sod by the river's side were the little
fellows dancing in a ring as gaily as may be, with their red caps wagging
about at every bound in the moonshine; and so light were these bounds, that
the lobes of dew, although they trembled under their feet, were not disturbed
by their capering. Thus did they carry on their gambols, spinning round and
round, and twirling and bobbing, and diving and going through all manner of
figures, until one of them chirped out,
"Cease, cease, with your drumming,
Here's an end to our mumming,
By my smell
I can tell
A priest this way is coming!"
And away every one of the fairies scampered off as hard as
they could, concealing themselves under the green leaves of the lusmore,
where, if their little red caps should happen to peep out, they would only
look like its crimson bells; and more hid themselves in the hollow of stones,
or at the shady side ol' brambles, and others under the bank of the river, and
in holes and crannies of one kind or another.
The fairy speaker was not mistaken; for along the road, which
was within view of the river, came Father Horrigan on his pony, thinking to
himself that as it was so late he would make an end of his journey at the
first cabin he came to. According to this determination, he stopped at the
dwelling of Dermod Leary, lifted the latch, and entered with " My
blessing on all here."
I need not say that Father Horrigan was a welcome guest
wherever he went, for no man was more pious or better beloved in the country.
Now it was a great trouble to Dermod that he had nothing to offer his
reverence for supper as a relish to the potatoes which " the old
woman," for so Dermod called his wife, though she was not much past
twenty, had down boiling in the pot over the fire; he thought of the net which
be had set in the river, but as it had been there only a short time, the
chances were against his finding a fish in it. " No matter," thought
Dermod, "there can be no harm in stepping down to try, and may be as I
want the fish for the priest's supper that one will be there before me."
Down to the river side went Dermod, and he found in the net as
fine a salmon as ever jumped in the bright waters of "the spreading
Lee;" but as he was going to take it out, the net was pulled from him, he
could not telll how or by whom, and away got the salmon, and went swimming
along with the current as gaily as if nothing had happened.
Dermod looked sorrowfully at the wake which the fish had left
upon the water, shining like a line of silver in the moonlight, and then,.
with an angry motion of his right hand, and a stamp of his foot, gave vent to
his feelings by muttering, "May bitter bad luck attend you night and day
for a blackguard schemer of a salmon, wherever you go! You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, if there 's any shame in you, to give me the slip after this
fashion And I'm clear in my own mind you'll come to no good, for some kind of
evil thing or other helped you - did I not feel it pull the
net against me as strong as the devil himself?"
That's not true for you," said one of the little fairies,
who had scampered off at the approach of the priest, coming up to Dermod
Leary, with a whole throng of companions at his heels; "there was only a
dozen and a half of us pulling against you."
Dermod gazed on the tiny speaker with wonder, who continued,
"Make yourself noways uneasy about the priest's supper; for if you will
go back and ask him one question from us, there will be as fine a supper as
ever was put on a table spread out before him in less than no time."
" I'll have nothing at all to do with you," replied
Dermod, in a tone of determination; and after a pause he added, "I'm much
obliged to you for your offer, sir, but I know better than to sell myself to
you or the like of you for a supper; and more than that, I know Father
Horrigan has more regard for my soul than to wish me to pledge it for ever,
out of regard to any thing you could put before him - so there's an end of the
matter."
The little speaker, with a pertinacity not to be repulsed by
Dermod's manner, continued, " Will you ask the priest one civil question
for us?"
Dermod considered for some time, and he was right in doing so,
but he thought that no one could come to harm out of asking a civil question.
"I see no objection to do that same, gentlemen," said Dermod; "
but I will have nothing in life to do with your supper,. - mind that."
Then," said the little speaking fairy, whilst the rest
came crowding after him from all parts, "go and ask Father Horrigan to
tell us whether our souls will be saved at the last day, like the souls of
good Christians; and if you wish us well, bring back word what lie says
without delay."
Away went Dermod to his cabin, where he found the potatoes
thrown out on the table, and his good woman handing the biggest of them all, a
beautiful laughing red apple, smoking like a hard-ridden horse on a frosty
night, over to Father Horrigan.
Please your reverence," said Dermod, after some
hesitation, " may I make bold to ask your honour one question?"
"What may that be?" said Father Horrigan.
"Why, then, begging your reverence's pardon for my
freedom, it is, If the souls of the good people are to be saved at the last
day?"
"Who bid you ask me that question, Leary?" said the
priest, fixing his eyes upon him very sternly, which Dermod could not stand
before at all.
"I'll tell no lies about the matter, and nothing in life
but the truth," said Dermod. "It was the good people themselves who
sent me to ask the question, and there they are in thousands down on the bank
of the river waiting for me to go back with the answer.
"Go back by all means," said the priest, "and
tell them, if they want to know, to come here to me themselves, and I'll
answer that or any other question they are pleased to ask with the greatest
pleasure in life."
Dermod accordingly returned to the fairies, who came swarming
round about him to hear what the priest had said in reply; and Dermod spoke
out among them like a bold man as lie was: but when they heard that they must
go to the priest, away they fled, some here and more there; and some this way
and m6re that, whisking by poor Dermod so fast and in such numbers,
that he was quite bewildered.
When he came to himself; which was not for a long time, back
he went to his cabin and ate his dry potatoes along with Father Horrigan, who
made quite light of the thing; but Dermod could not help thinking it a mighty
hard case that his reverence, whose words had the power to banish the fairies
at such a rate, should have no sort of relish to his supper, and that the fine
salmon he had in the net should have been got away from him in such a manner.
the good people, or the fairies, are some of the angels who. were turned out
of heaven, and who landed on their feet in this world, while the rest of their
companions, who had more sin to sink them, went down further to a worse place.
Be this as it may, there was a merry troop of the fairies, dancing and playing
all manner of wild pranks on a bright moonlight evening towards the end of
September. The scene of their merriment was not far distant from Inchegeela,
in the west of the county Cork - a poor village, although it had a barrack for
soldiers; but great mountains and barren rocks, like those round about it, are
enough to strike poverty into any place however, as the fairies can have every
thing they want for wishing, poverty does not trouble them much, and all their
care is to seek out unfrequented nooks and places where it is not likely any
one will come to spoil their sport.
On a nice green sod by the river's side were the little
fellows dancing in a ring as gaily as may be, with their red caps wagging
about at every bound in the moonshine; and so light were these bounds, that
the lobes of dew, although they trembled under their feet, were not disturbed
by their capering. Thus did they carry on their gambols, spinning round and
round, and twirling and bobbing, and diving and going through all manner of
figures, until one of them chirped out,
"Cease, cease, with your drumming,
Here's an end to our mumming,
By my smell
I can tell
A priest this way is coming!"
And away every one of the fairies scampered off as hard as
they could, concealing themselves under the green leaves of the lusmore,
where, if their little red caps should happen to peep out, they would only
look like its crimson bells; and more hid themselves in the hollow of stones,
or at the shady side ol' brambles, and others under the bank of the river, and
in holes and crannies of one kind or another.
The fairy speaker was not mistaken; for along the road, which
was within view of the river, came Father Horrigan on his pony, thinking to
himself that as it was so late he would make an end of his journey at the
first cabin he came to. According to this determination, he stopped at the
dwelling of Dermod Leary, lifted the latch, and entered with " My
blessing on all here."
I need not say that Father Horrigan was a welcome guest
wherever he went, for no man was more pious or better beloved in the country.
Now it was a great trouble to Dermod that he had nothing to offer his
reverence for supper as a relish to the potatoes which " the old
woman," for so Dermod called his wife, though she was not much past
twenty, had down boiling in the pot over the fire; he thought of the net which
be had set in the river, but as it had been there only a short time, the
chances were against his finding a fish in it. " No matter," thought
Dermod, "there can be no harm in stepping down to try, and may be as I
want the fish for the priest's supper that one will be there before me."
Down to the river side went Dermod, and he found in the net as
fine a salmon as ever jumped in the bright waters of "the spreading
Lee;" but as he was going to take it out, the net was pulled from him, he
could not telll how or by whom, and away got the salmon, and went swimming
along with the current as gaily as if nothing had happened.
Dermod looked sorrowfully at the wake which the fish had left
upon the water, shining like a line of silver in the moonlight, and then,.
with an angry motion of his right hand, and a stamp of his foot, gave vent to
his feelings by muttering, "May bitter bad luck attend you night and day
for a blackguard schemer of a salmon, wherever you go! You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, if there 's any shame in you, to give me the slip after this
fashion And I'm clear in my own mind you'll come to no good, for some kind of
evil thing or other helped you - did I not feel it pull the
net against me as strong as the devil himself?"
That's not true for you," said one of the little fairies,
who had scampered off at the approach of the priest, coming up to Dermod
Leary, with a whole throng of companions at his heels; "there was only a
dozen and a half of us pulling against you."
Dermod gazed on the tiny speaker with wonder, who continued,
"Make yourself noways uneasy about the priest's supper; for if you will
go back and ask him one question from us, there will be as fine a supper as
ever was put on a table spread out before him in less than no time."
" I'll have nothing at all to do with you," replied
Dermod, in a tone of determination; and after a pause he added, "I'm much
obliged to you for your offer, sir, but I know better than to sell myself to
you or the like of you for a supper; and more than that, I know Father
Horrigan has more regard for my soul than to wish me to pledge it for ever,
out of regard to any thing you could put before him - so there's an end of the
matter."
The little speaker, with a pertinacity not to be repulsed by
Dermod's manner, continued, " Will you ask the priest one civil question
for us?"
Dermod considered for some time, and he was right in doing so,
but he thought that no one could come to harm out of asking a civil question.
"I see no objection to do that same, gentlemen," said Dermod; "
but I will have nothing in life to do with your supper,. - mind that."
Then," said the little speaking fairy, whilst the rest
came crowding after him from all parts, "go and ask Father Horrigan to
tell us whether our souls will be saved at the last day, like the souls of
good Christians; and if you wish us well, bring back word what lie says
without delay."
Away went Dermod to his cabin, where he found the potatoes
thrown out on the table, and his good woman handing the biggest of them all, a
beautiful laughing red apple, smoking like a hard-ridden horse on a frosty
night, over to Father Horrigan.
Please your reverence," said Dermod, after some
hesitation, " may I make bold to ask your honour one question?"
"What may that be?" said Father Horrigan.
"Why, then, begging your reverence's pardon for my
freedom, it is, If the souls of the good people are to be saved at the last
day?"
"Who bid you ask me that question, Leary?" said the
priest, fixing his eyes upon him very sternly, which Dermod could not stand
before at all.
"I'll tell no lies about the matter, and nothing in life
but the truth," said Dermod. "It was the good people themselves who
sent me to ask the question, and there they are in thousands down on the bank
of the river waiting for me to go back with the answer.
"Go back by all means," said the priest, "and
tell them, if they want to know, to come here to me themselves, and I'll
answer that or any other question they are pleased to ask with the greatest
pleasure in life."
Dermod accordingly returned to the fairies, who came swarming
round about him to hear what the priest had said in reply; and Dermod spoke
out among them like a bold man as lie was: but when they heard that they must
go to the priest, away they fled, some here and more there; and some this way
and m6re that, whisking by poor Dermod so fast and in such numbers,
that he was quite bewildered.
When he came to himself; which was not for a long time, back
he went to his cabin and ate his dry potatoes along with Father Horrigan, who
made quite light of the thing; but Dermod could not help thinking it a mighty
hard case that his reverence, whose words had the power to banish the fairies
at such a rate, should have no sort of relish to his supper, and that the fine
salmon he had in the net should have been got away from him in such a manner.
