MARY.
I had not proceeded far on my journey, when I was overtaken by
Eugene—‘I have some little business in town,’ said he, ‘and I may
as well accompany you.’ In the course of our conversation, I took
occasion to revert to his sister Mary, whose character had made a
strong impression on my mind,—‘She has too much feeling,’ said he,
‘for her own happiness; she lives in a constant state of excitement
of one kind or another, which her scanty knowledge of the world has
not been sufficient to subdue. Time and experience, however, may
rectify that fault.’
‘Good-morrow to you, Master Eugene,’ said a countryman who was
working in a field by the road side.
‘Good-morrow, Rooney,’ said Eugene. ‘Have you got every thing put to
rights again?’
‘Indeed I have, sir; but it’s yourself I have to thank for it. May my
blessing and the blessing of God attend you and yours wherever you
go.’
‘I will call in and see you as I come back.’
‘Arrah do, master—don’t forget.’
‘That poor fellow,’ said Eugene, as we passed on, ‘had his house
burned some time since, by a band of those deluded wretches who
infest the country. I have several times introduced myself at their
meetings, for the purpose of reasoning with them on the wickedness
and folly of their proceedings; and some of the most rational of
them have been induced, through my persuasion, to live peaceably;
but others have threatened to attack my own house, for daring
to interfere with them. I might, by giving information to the
magistrate, have had the ringleaders apprehended; but besides having
the national horror of an informer, I am well aware that it would be
productive of no good in the country.
‘On several occasions, by receiving timely information, I have been
able to prevent the execution of their revenge; but in poor Rooney’s
case I was too late.
‘Some time ago, a number of people in the neighbourhood lost
possession of their small farms, through means of a pettifogging
scoundrel of an attorney, who, by paying a large fine to the agent,
took the land on lease, over their heads; the consequence was, that
their little farms (previously too high) were raised in rent to
double the sum. In this extremity they came to the resolution of
resisting the advance of rent; the consequence was that they were
forcibly ejected, and tenants brought from a distance to replace
them, many of whom being intimidated by anonymous threatenings posted
on their doors, or conveyed by letters, abandoned the houses; but
others, and among the rest Rooney, the individual whom we have just
now passed, determined to keep possession and defend themselves
against all who might dare to molest them. Rooney’s obstinacy induced
the Shanavests to resolve on forcing him out, and with that purpose
they paid him a midnight visit; but he and his son were ready for
them, and in answer to their summons to open the door, he gave them
the contents of a blunderbuss. This exasperated them to the highest
pitch, and they used their utmost efforts to burst the door open;
but here he was also prepared, having barricaded the passage with
the heavy parts of his furniture. I was informed of the intended
attack by Billy M’Daniel, who had heard some hints of it from those
concerned, and I hastened to the house to endeavour to save the poor
people from their fury. When I arrived, they had succeeded in forcing
the door, but were still impeded in their entrance by the things
which Rooney had piled in the passage. I beseeched, I entreated them
to desist; but my voice was drowned in the vociferations and noise
of the wretches, whose evil passions were now roused to extremity.
One rascal (I know him well) had ran to a neighbouring cottage for
a light, and now attempted to hold a bundle of flaming straw to the
inside of the roof, for the purpose of setting it on fire; regardless
of the danger to which I was exposing myself, I knocked him down
with my stick, but a blow on my head from some one behind laid me
senseless on the spot. When I recovered, the burning roof of the
cottage was falling about me; fear lent me strength, and I sprung
to my feet, when my ear was struck with the cries of a child. I
plunged forward through the smoke to the place from whence the sound
proceeded, and in a settle bed, surrounded by burning thatch and
rafters, I found the poor innocent nearly suffocated. It was the work
of a moment to snatch it up and bear it to the door, where I met the
despairing mother, and threw it into her arms.
“God bless you and save you,” said she, “whoever you are.”
‘Feeling the hazardous situation I was in, and knowing that my
motives might be misconstrued, and my actions represented in the
worst light, I hurried homewards without speaking a word.
‘I had not been many minutes at home, when I was startled by some one
knocking at the door. Although I was conscious of having committed no
fault, I felt alarmed, and my heart beat violently. On opening the
window and looking out, I found it was Mr ——, the magistrate, with a
party of soldiers. This at first confirmed my fears, but they were
soon dispelled, for in answer to my inquiry, “what he wanted?”
‘“I would be obliged to you,” said he, “if you would get up and come
along with me, for some rascals have set Rooney’s house on fire, and
I am afraid have murdered some of its inmates.”
‘Having muffled myself in a cloak, I came down and accompanied him
to the house, which I had left half an hour before. It was now one
burning mass, shooting up showers of sparks into the air. Rooney’s
son was with us, and in giving his relation to the magistrate, told
what I have already related.
‘“They couldn’t get in upon us,” said he, “for we had thrown all
the furniture into the passage, and had given them two or three
shots, when one fellow pushed in with a lighted wisp in his hand,
to set fire to the house; some of his own party knocked him down;
but that did not save us, for they lighted the thatch of the house
before they left the door. We then became desperate, and removing the
things from the entry, pushed out, determined to live or die. The
villains had escaped, but the whole roof was now in a blaze. There
was no time to lose, and gathering our trembling, half-naked family
together, we rushed into the field before the house. On looking
round the children, my mother gave a scream ‘Oh, my little Jane!’
she cried, and sprang forward to the burning cabin. A little girl of
four years of age had in the confusion been left in bed, where she
was lying asleep, unconscious of the work of destruction going on.
I instinctively followed my mother, and as she approached the door,
I perceived a man burst from the burning house with the child—throw
it into my mother’s arms, and immediately disappear. I was so struck
with surprise, that I could not follow him, it seemed like the work
of some supernatural being.”
‘We had now reached the house, where we found many of the neighbours
assembled, and among them some, like myself, who had been there
before. I was horror-struck at the dismal scene, and had there been
any prospect of the least good being done by it, I would have had
them all apprehended.
‘In going round the premises with the magistrate, we met the poor
woman, who was strolling about, mourning the desolation of her
dwelling. The light of the burning house fell full upon my face as
we met—she started at me for a moment, and exclaimed, “Aren’t you
the good gentleman who saved my child? O! God Almighty bless you,
for it is yourself—I know you by the blood on your face.”—I was
confounded,—the magistrate looked doubtfully at me.
‘“There is really blood on your face, Mr M’Carthy.”
‘“There may be,” said I, endeavouring to recover my self-possession,
“for I feel my nose bleeding, but you surely know me better than to
suspect that I had any hand in this business.”
‘“Oh! not at all,” said he. But I could see that suspicion was
raised in his mind. Had he been a man whom I could have trusted, I
would have told him the whole story; but I was too well aware of
his disposition to say anything about it; and as I knew he would
be questioning the woman concerning the circumstance when my back
was turned, I sought out Rooney and told him every particular of
the affair, and charged him to say nothing about it. It was lucky I
did, for Mr —— had them examined very minutely on the subject next
day, and endeavoured to draw something from them in confirmation
of my being implicated in the affair: but Rooney kept his promise
faithfully, and the woman told him that she was sure now I was not
the person she had seen. What she said about the blood on my face was
perfectly correct, for my nose must have bled profusely when I was
knocked down, as I found it crusted on my clothes next morning.
‘I have since assisted Rooney, and you see how grateful the poor
fellow is.
‘This affair has induced me to be more cautious, for the magistracy
are so perfectly absolute, that I might have been sent off to New
South Wales (if I got off with that) for my exertions on that night.
Law is so summary here, and so little evidence required against a
man whom they wish to ruin, that it reminds me of some place in your
country, where it is said they were in the habit of hanging people
first and then trying them.’
When we parted, Eugene made me promise to pay them an early visit;
but being unexpectedly relieved from the duty on that station,
I never had the pleasure of seeing them again. Shortly after, I
received several letters from him, wherein he detailed his sister’s
marriage and happiness with her husband, and when I last heard from
him she was the happy mother of three children.