Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

KITTY OF THE SHERRAGH VANE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The sherragh vane
Last Line: And I stayed to the weddin', bein' invited.
Alternate Author Name(s): Brown, T. E.
Subject(s): Courtship; Isle Of Man


PART I

THE Sherragh Vane
Is up Sulby glen,
High up, my men --
High up -- you'll not see a sight of it
From the road at all,
By rayson of the height of it --
Terbil high; and a little skute
Of a waterfall,
Slip-sloppin' from the root
Of an ould kern --
You know the turn
At the Bridge, and the Chapel?
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, criss-crassin',
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
With cows and the lek; and no road for a cart
Up yandher place,
But comin' in from another art,
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!

Nice-lookin', eh?
Aye, that's your way --
Well, I tell ye, the first time ever I seen her,
She wasn' much more till a baby --
Six years, maybe,
Would have been her
Age; and the little clogs at her,
Clitter-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!
Nor freckened, 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', but just the used they are
Of fogs and bogs, and all the war
Of winds and clouds, and ghos'es creepin'
Unknownst upon them, and fairies cheepin'
Like birds, you'd think, and big bugganes
In holes in rocks; lek makin' fren's
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
'll 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 -- 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 --
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,
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! 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,
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
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,
Nothin' that a chap could get hould of --
Stiffish rather,
And me that might ha' been her father --
Chut! ger out!
What are ye both'rin' about?
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 --
The eye, of coorse --
My gough! the foorce!
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!
You'd ha' tried it on with her? ate your puddin'!
No, ye wudn'.
Yes, ye wud? ah, ye didn' know Saul,
It's lek, at all?

Aye -- Saul, the brother that was at her?
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,
Up theer,
Like a feer --
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 side,
And not very wide;
And a sthrame that can just pass
Through the long grass,
Slishin' -- just a slock --
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.
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, 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,
Nor twice, but every chance.
As for goin' to the turf -- hullo!
One day she wouldn' go.
She was sick, she said,
Pains in her head,
Or the lek; 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;
And still that sharp with her, and that glum,
And boosely -- 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, I'm fancyin',
She tuk to be silent, but never gave in --
Kept her own notions, that's what she done,
Her own notions, that was allis 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
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'
All pluck and spirit
In many a soul,
That 'spicion and dirt --
No scope 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.
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 nathral, 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'd go a sneezin',
For no other reason,
Or coughin' -- or, it's hard to tell,
There's people that's demandin' -- what?
And terbil loving for all that.
And still, to be out
So late, no doubt,
It wasn' surprisin', perhaps, my men,
That the brother'd
Be bothered,
And wond'rin' what was in.
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; there's people can't look
At a saucepan
But the lid must be took
Off at them straight -- just curious.
But that wasn' Saul -- Saul was furious;
Must know!
Just so.
Must!
And be cussed
To the lot!
Very hot.
Allis
Jallis,
That was it --
Every spit.

Next day was Sunday, and he was up very early,
And watched her through the oats, and watched her through the barley --
Watched her there,
And saw when she was slantin'
Over to this plantin'
I was tellin' 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,
Whatever there was arrer.

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.
"Come, Tom, let's ques'
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, reg'lar bucks,
The two of us --
Him fuss.
Ye see,
That's the man,
Spick and span,
Every spar;
And me
To bring up the r'ar.

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 'll do,
When she's freckened that somebody's goin' to discover
Her nest, you know them -- pewhit, or plover,
All as one, and wheelin' and wheelin',
And squealin' and squealin',
Like a pessin --
Disthressin'!

It was Kitty that kept us in view,
Slippin' along, with a stop, and a rush
From bush to bush,
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!
And his head
As claver
On a pillow, ye wouldn' belave, and a shawl
About his neck. "Well, this
Beats all
The cockfightin' I aver!"
Says Saul.

And -- "Hullo!" he says, "hullo! hurroo!
Who are you?
Where do you hail from, and what do ye mane
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
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
That lingo,
To understand it, by Jingo!
Understand it we cudn',
Or wouldn'. "I 'spec'
It's the dialec',"
Says Kitty, "and I'll spake for him."
"Jean myghin orrim!"
Says Saul, -- "You've larnt very quick."

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'
And the damp,
For all she was feedin' him reggilar,
Like a baby there --
Like a baby, and as thin as a lat',
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! the lean!) --
And his face all gray, and grizzled, and green,
And nearly all eyes -- and the eyes all glassy,
And glazin' lek, and, Lord, ha' massy!
His jaw was all drabbin',
And slabbin',
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
The half of him was hair --
There!

Wantin' washin' terbil -- yis!
'Deed 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 dar'n',
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,
And hardly in his right mind,
With the starved and the hunted --
And a surt of grunted
Somethin' about his freedom, his freedom!
Aye, -- so all she cud do was to feed him,
And keep him alive, and just a bit warm,
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 the stranger;
Though it must be conceded
He was a despard sobjec' --
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 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 --
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'
This musco-dannin'?
Who is the fellow?
D----- him yellow
And green and blue!
Has he tould you?
What?
That!
Who is he? what is he? You know, I guess, --
We'll have no saycrets here," he says, --
"Chapter and vess; --
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!
Jallis? mad!
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 ye could,
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,
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' 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,
That was shoutin' at him like a bull of Bas'n?
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 graplin's --
This craythur -- couldn' take his eye off her --
Not him, like takin' his live or die off her.

And so on through the saplin's,
And the field, and the hedge, till we come on the street,
And his feet goin' strooghin' 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,
"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!
Like a shot; and -- "Is it washin'?" and -- "Bring us a bowl;
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 'll 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!
But -- mate! mate!"
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 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?"
Says she:
And surely he might have ast 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.
And then she said, "No foolishness!"
But -- "Let the craythur stay," she says.

Aw, the joy of Nicky! and caught a gel,
And spun her round till she nearly fell;
But the misthriss frowned -- but Nicky looked middlin'
'Larmed; and Kitty with the cups and saucers fiddlin',
And tay for this chap, bein' understood
The best for him, lek 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 his mouth for him to sup,
And moppin' the drabs with a towel at her;
And he tried to spake, but -- chitter-chatter!
The teeth and the tongue, and nothin' clear.
So when he was fed, we studdied him theer
Upon his feet;
And out on the sthreet,
And up on the laff
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 'll 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 'll be bother
About that chap!"
That was all! that was all!
Just like Saul! just like Saul!

"But how about the dialogue --
Dialec' is it? lek a pessin in grog" --
Says Nicky then --
"Lizzen, men!
Wawky, wawk!
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 declarin' you can 'tarprit him clever:
'Tarprit, 'tarprit, Kitty! whoever!"
Aw, Christopher!
Not a word from Kitty, not her.
And the ould chap prittin' and pratin'
And imitatin',
Fit for to frecken 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!"
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,
Dead beat,
That's it.
So we waited a bit --
And ould Nicky whisp'rin' agate of 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 --
Look here!" he says,
"Chapthar and vess!"
"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?
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,
Squawk, squawk,
Gimmell, gammell,
Wimmell, wammell" --
Couldn' make out a word, I'll sweer --
"Welsh, for a shillin'!" says Nicky Tear;
"Welsh, for a shillin'!" Then I tried him in French --
"Howee dooee dissee mawnin'?"
But there wasn' no sign; when in comes this wench,
Kitty, you know, like a rose of the dawnin' --
Aw, 'deed 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; but Kitty stooped
Over the piller, and the craythur scooped
His eyes in scollops -- you never saw --
And the two of them they worked the jaw
Like the mischief. English? English, no doubt,
But English turnin' inside out --
My gough! the English! "What is he sayin'?"
Says Nicky. "What, what, what, what? spake plain!"
Aw, you couldn' hould him!
"Spake plain now! 'tarprit!" So she tould him,
But still I suspect
She only told him what she lekt.
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'!
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
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,
And me too; so that's all
You'll get this haul.

PART II

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,
Bein' second mate of the Arquebus
That vi'ge, and me aboord of the Hound,
Captain Forster, China bound --
Long vi'ges them days, despard, 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 barley!"
And see this, and see that; and "Agate of it early
To-morrow," he says. And up through the goss,
And up the gill -- the delighted he was
And the hot, and his head goin' bibbin' and bobbin',
And a chirpin' there like an ould cock-robin.

"And how is yandher card?"
Says I; "is he here with you still?" "Hould 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 coortin' -- and coortin' it was --
That's what I said to Nicholas.
"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!
And the way he larned, and clever thallure!
And a grand head arrim; 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' for readin';
And costin' me nothin' but his keep,"
Says Nick; and the clanest chap and the nicest,
And civil; and knowin' all about prices;
"And studdy 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, 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 it?" I said.
"Agin it? Agin it? Thomas, good lad."
And then he tould me all the jeel
And the work there'd been -- Like steel! like steel!
He said, she was -- the sharp and the hard,
And the keen and the could -- but he didn' regard;
And he'd have his way; and he shook the fiss,
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!
Machree! machree!
See the beautiful! the grand!
Hand in hand --
Aw, ye darlin's!" he says, "it's splandid --
Coort on! coort on!"
And he thrimbled, the man did, --
Thrimbled -- and then he 'splains
Who had he with him; and "Thomas Baynes,"
He says, "you're knowin' Thomas, it's lek;
He's not forgot at 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;
But a motion
Of her head --
Aw, a queen
She might ha' been --
And her hand held out as free.
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 yalla;
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, no doubt;
But tell a livin' sowl? gerr out!
Tell me! No, no! she's not such a fool
I couldn' keep it for silver nor gool --
It isn' in me -- saycrets -- chut!
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 I 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 farmers, the fuss
Of the country, she said, "but her -- aw dear! aw dear!
The wife of Nicholas Tear --
And her heart would buss.
And what would the daughter be callin'? what?
Mrs. Neddy -- eh? aye, Neddies enough for the matter of that --
And well if people'd keep to their station --
And Neddies and dunkeys and dirts and desperation!"

That's the way Nicky tould me -- dreadful bother!
But, some way or another,
She'd got very quite 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!
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,
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'll give it --
All or none!

And that night, when the gel come in,
Astonishin'
The nice this Neddy was, and the careful too --
Not a bill or a coo
Urrov him once, and Kitty as quite 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
Of the thread on her lap --
Aw, aisy enough to see! aw, bless the woman!
Skaddhin' or skate --
Wait, then, wait!
Saul was comin'.

And Saul came --
Fire and flame!
No name?
This chap, and coortin' Kitty Tear,
Carryin' everything before him theer,
Cock of the walk?
By the Lord, he'd balk
The beggar, he said;
He'd know his name, and how he was born, and how he was bred --
Nice tricks!
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 what Nicky had said --
What was the use?
And sure enough, when we went to bed
In the garret
He went arrit
Like the deuce --
Aw, 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 when, 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
Terbil vicious.
"I'll tell you what it is, I'm suspicious
You're one of these runagate scamps
That tramps
The counthry, 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.
And the likes o' you don' dar'
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 ye never seen,
Quite uncommon; for it's mad enough he must ha' been
To bear such abuse.
"Hurroose! hurroose!"
Says I;
"Stand by!
Hould hard.
Saul!" I says, "I don't regard
For vagabones," I says, "no more till 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 raison
Why he can't be tellin' his name, no doubt;
And the truth'll come out
Some day," I says, "and there'll be no disgrace in,
Not a bit of it," I says; "just hidlin's lek,
Hidlin's -- the way there's plenty, I expec' --
Aye, plenty, and honest chaps enough, and can't help it."

Aw, he reg'lar yelpit,
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 nation?
And what the this and the that are ye maenin'?
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
There must be a stiffcate, and a licence, and how 'd he get them
Without a name?
Idikkiliss!
Hit or miss,
He'd have an end of this --
Yis!
"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?
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.
What'd hinder?
Steel and tinder!
Tyre and Sidon!
Saul was blazin'!
Foamin'! "The raison!
The raison," he says,
"Your name's goin' a-hidin'?"

"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 flarried --
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!"

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 the women -- aye -- and out on the work,
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 he,
"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;
But his face bust a smilin' directly, and ups to the wife,
And kisses her theer,
All stiff in her cheer,
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 shearin', the lot --
And a beautiful spot --
Very nice it's appearin',
Shearin',
That high,
Like reg'lar up in the sky --
And the chimley smookin'
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 though -- Nicky and me,
For 'ciety --
Would hev it!
And as right as a trevit --
Nicky to shear, and me to bind --
But Saul stayed behind --
Aye, the best of an hour,
Did Saul; and the misthress? well, she stayed too --
But -- of coorse, of coorse! -- a power to do
In a house like yandher.
Then Nicky tould
All the throuble of his sowl --
"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,
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'.
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!
That's your road, Mr. Tear," says I --
"Stick to that -- keep her at that --
Hould your luff -- 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 me directly I spoke --
Ye seen him! hearts of oak --
Is it? iron'd be more lek it --
Stiff-neckit! stiff-neckit!
Allis kickin' up a dust --
And didn' take to him from the fuss."
And "Ye seen him, Saul?" and I nodded -- Machree!
"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 --
Anything hearty, anything free --
Cussin', tearin' -- that's me! that's me!
But saycrets -- schaemin' -- 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! 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,
It isn' azackly that ither --
No, it isn' -- it's difference lek
Of people -- we're not the one speck,
Nor the one spot, nor the one hide --
Me from the mountains, her from Kirk Bride.
Lek 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' --
Manure? aye -- proud tremenjis,
Proud, man, proud, not willin' of strenjis
Dailin' with them -- sartinly --
In business lek accordantly;
But likin' them? no! just jallus, jallus!
No, I wouldn' call it malice --
But nothin' friendly, nothin' gennal --
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?' and fiddlededee --
Not comin' often, nor never knowin'
Who are they at all, just comin' and goin'
And steep, ye know, and a middlin' pull,
And 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
About the lek; and used of a sale
Of stock ev'ry year -- and reg'lar raps --
Aw, sartinly -- these Whitehaven chaps
At the Ballagick, and imp'rin' 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 -- yis -- but natheral,
Isn' it? But Saul -- aye Saul,
Saul and the mother -- suspicious, eh?
Suspicious lek a body might say --
Suspicious, Mrs. Tear and Saul;
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 --
Couldn' 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!
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 --
Jinny Clague, from Kirk Marown --
Kitty's cousin," he says. "She's comin'
To-night," he says; "and I'm a rum'n
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;
"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,
Was Jinny --
Cross-eyed -- just so --
And, whether or no,
Rather undersized,
Rather blackavised --
Aw, 'deed she was; but a bright little sthuggher
This Jenny -- sharpish, wantin' shugger,
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 --
Finger and thumb --
Tick, tock,
Dickery-dock --
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 of fire.

Aw, a bright little tight little wobbler,
And carried her own little box like a hobbler,
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',
Like takin' refuge from the men, that's gapin'
As awkward theer, and never no notion
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'! ye dar'n'!
Freckened of ye? no we ar'n' --
And how would ye like to be like this?"
And kiss, and kiss, and kiss, and kiss --
Idikkiliss!
But bless them!

So there they sat and sat,
All twisted together like a plat,
Till bed-time; and out and up to their room
Twisted still, like a surt of a bloom
Of a double flower,
"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
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 hear!
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
Happy as happy -- all cares and sorras
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,
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't it given
For that? It's out of the eye
That love let's fly
His arrows -- lookee!
And if they shoot crooky --
I really 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; like candle ends,
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, and rather makin' free;
Looks at Saul, looks at me, gives one of his winks,
And you never heard the compliminks!

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, -- just the way lek she 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' and sit on the settle
In the little bit of a garden they had,
Each lass with her lad;
And the poor ould dad
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
Out on the hill
As paysible!
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 a thrush
Or a blackbird or that, not even a thorn nor a thrammon --
No. And plovers, of coorse, is common
Enough, and curlews; but them things,
If they sings,
It's as much -- very far, very wild,
Like for a child,
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 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' --
Ye don't see it? Well, lave it alone!
I was only statin' -- you're very ann'yin'; --
Statin' isn' justifyin'.
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'
Hers, hers, hers -- he muss! 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
To his ear, and a whisper -- "Edward Blake" --
The chap's name. Hear I cuddn' --
But it must ha' been that -- she done it that sudden.
But the sudd'ner 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 a 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 --
From the night of that melya
Nither her nor me, nor a sowl
At the Sherragh Vane,
Ever saw Saul again --
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 --
Behould ye Jinny!
Runnin' to meet me too --
Runnin' to meet me, thought I was Saul she had,
But she swealed like mad --
Swealed urrov 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,
Ye 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.

No -- for, I'll tell ye, this
Was Saturday mornin'. On the Wednesday,
When we were at say
Far away,
Me on 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-Dick-beg -- Dick -- Bob, and Lace Clucas and all.
Lace -- you'll mind Lace --
Mortal big round the waist --
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 and a jumble,
And -- mumble, mumble, mumble.

And he gave in at wance --
That was the sanse --
Gave in; and "I'm ready to go
With you now, if I must." But -- blast! and blow!
And God d-----! and "What's this?"
And quivers the fiss --
Poor Nicky, you know --
But soon as make
As a lamb at Blake --
The way, you see, he trusted the chap.
And Kitty? cryin'? 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, I'm tould, no nisin', no bother --
Just a look at the mother,
Just a couple of momen's,
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.
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 --
Them that don't want the Queen for their missus --
Five pints -- what d'ye call it? --
Manward suff'rings, vote by ballot --
A pasil 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 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,
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 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!
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',
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 of him --
No -- bless ye! in the Isle of Man
We don't understand
These "Polly Tricks,"
And "knavish thricks" --
And "our hopes we fix" --
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 --
Dear me!
They was used to be
Dacent men enough, and put in
At one another, that was answerin'
Fuss-rate, but now I'm tould
They make so bould
To be chised at the people -- quite diff'rin' cattle --
And its 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,
But better to hould your jaw --
Aw, better a dale!
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 him
All the time, and the Demster to send him
"Out of the Isle,"
To Lancaster Castle, to stand his tri'l.

Saul it was, Saul it was,
That done the jeel; he was down on the Cross
At Ramsey straight
From the melya that night,
And, before the day-lift,
Knocked up the High Bailiff,
That couldn' act
Till all was corract --
Writs and that, and kermoonicated
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 --
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 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.
Aye! And this kind ould goosey-gandhar
Of a Nicky was terbil good to her --
Backed her, stud to her;
Kept up her heart, and kept up his own --
Bless ye! no knowin'
The hot little biler
Of kindness and love that was under the weskit
Of Nicky. Not that the misthriss would resk it
To rile her.
And no naggin', nor both'rin', nor fussin' to
Get her to think of another,
At the mother --
It's time the misthriss was trussin' to.

But now lizzen!
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
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,
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 --
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?
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 theer --
Ould Captain Creer
And that -- the yarns that was spinnin' --
And glasses round,
You'll be bound,
And even the very firemen grinnin',
That's lookin' rather fierce with the shoot.

And ashore -- and the cart, and Kitty to boot --
Nicky? of coorse! and him and me
On the till, and bitendin' not to see.
And -- this and that, and how we'd prosber'd.
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 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
Reg'lar -- aye; and what can't be cured
Must be endured.

So the ship was righted,
And smooth water,
And a son and a daughter
Still for all --
And poor Saul!
And I stayed to the weddin', bein' invited.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net