It is not to be supposed that Mr. Jones succumbed altogether to the
difficulties which circumstances had placed in his way. His feelings
had been much hurt both by those who had chosen to call themselves
his enemies and by his friends, and under such usage he became
somewhat sullen. Having suffered a grievous misfortune he had become
violent with his children, and had been more severely hurt by the
death of the poor boy who had been murdered than he had confessed.
But he had still struggled on, saying but little to anybody till at
last he had taken Frank into his confidence, when Frank had returned
from London with his marriage engagement dissolved. And the
re-engagement had not at all interfered with the renewed intimacy
between Frank and his father, because the girl was absolved from her
singing. The father had feared that the son would go away from him,
and lead an idle life, enjoying the luxuries which her rich salary
would purchase. Frank had shared his father's feelings in this
respect, but still the squire had had his misgivings. All that was
now set to rights by the absolute destruction of poor Rachel's voice.
Poor Mr. Jones had indeed received comfort from other sources more
material than this. His relatives had put their heads together, and
had agreed to bear some part of the loss which had fallen upon the
estate; not the loss, that is, from the submerged meadows, which was
indeed Mr. Jones's own private concern, but from the injury done to
him by the commissioners. Indeed, as things went on, that injury
appeared to be less extensive than had been imagined, though the
injustice, as it struck Mr. Jones's mind, was not less egregious.
Where there was a shred of a lease the sub-commissioners were
powerless, and though attempts had been made to break the leases they
had failed; and men were beginning to say that the new law would be
comparatively powerless because it would do so little. The advocates
for the law pointed out that, taking the land of Ireland all through,
not five per cent.,--and again others not two per cent.,--would be
affected by it. Whether it had been worth while to disturb the
sanctity of contracts for so small a result is another question; but
our Mr. Jones certainly did feel the comfort that came to him from
the fact. Certain fragments of land had been reduced by the
sub-commissioners after ponderous sittings, very beneficial to the
lawyers, but which Mr. Jones had found to be grievously costly to
him. He had thus agreed to other reductions without the lawyers, and
felt those also to be very grievous, seeing that since he had
purchased the property with a Parliamentary title he had raised
nothing. There was no satisfaction to him when he was told that a
Parliamentary title meant nothing, because a following Parliament
could undo what a preceding Parliament had done. But as the
arrangements went on he came to find that no large proportion of the
estates would be affected, and that gradually the rents would be
paid. They had not been paid as yet, but such he was told was the
coming prospect. Pat Carroll had risen up as a great authority at
Ballintubber, and had refused to pay a shilling. He had also
destroyed those eighty acres of meadow-land which had sat so near Mr.
Jones's heart. It had been found impossible to punish him, but the
impossibility was to be traced to that poor boy's delinquency. As the
owner of the property turned it all over within his own bosom, he
told himself that it was so. It was that that had grieved him most,
that which still sat heavy on his heart. But the boy was gone, and
Pat Carroll was in prison, and Pat Carroll's brother had been
murdered in Galway court-house. Lax, too, was in prison, and Yorke
Clayton swore by all his gods that he should be hanged. It was likely
that he would be hanged, and Yorke Clayton might find his comfort in
that. And now had come up this terrible affair at Kerrycullion, from
which it was probable that the whole mystery of the new aristocracy
would be abandoned. Mr. Jones, as he thought of it all, whispered to
himself that if he would still hold up his head, life might yet be
possible at Castle Morony. "It will only be for myself,--only for
myself and Ada," he said, still mourning greatly over his fate. "And
Ada will go, too. The beauty of the flock will never be left to
remain here with her father." But in truth his regrets were chiefly
for Edith. If that bloodthirsty Captain would have made himself
satisfied with Ada, he might still have been happy.
In these days he would walk down frequently to the meadows and see
the work which the men were doing. He had greatly enlarged them,
having borrowed money for the purpose from the Government Land
Commissioners, and was once again allowing new hopes to spring in his
heart. Though he was a man so silent, and appearing to be so
apathetic, he was intent enough on his own purposes when they became
clear before his eyes. From his first coming into this country his
purport had been to do good, as far as the radius of his circle went,
to all whom it included. The necessity of living was no doubt the
same with him as with others,--and of living well. He must do
something for himself and his children. But together with this was
the desire, nearly equally strong, of being a benefactor to those
around him. He had declared to himself when he bought the property
that with this object would he settle himself down upon it, and he
had not departed from it. He had brought up his children with this
purpose; and they had learned to feel, one and all, that it was among
the pleasures and the duties of their life. Then had come Pat
Carroll, and everything had been embittered for him. All Ballintubber
and all Morony had seemed to turn against him. When he found that Pat
Carroll was disposed to be hostile to him, he made the man a liberal
offer to take himself off to America. But Mr. Jones, in those days,
had heard nothing of Lax, and was unaware that Lax was a dominant
spirit under whom he was doomed to suffer.
"I did not know you so well then," said Captain Clayton to Mr. Jones,
now some weeks hence, "or I could have told you that Pat Carroll is
nobody. Pat Carroll is considered nobody, because he has not been to
New York. Mr. Lax has travelled, and Mr. Lax is somebody. Mr. Lax
settled himself in County Mayo, and thus he allowed his influence to
spread itself among us over here in County Galway. Mr. Lax is a great
man, but I rather think that he will have to be hanged in Galway jail
before a month has passed over his head."
Mr. Jones usually took his son with him when he walked about among
the meadows, and he again expressed his wishes to him as though Frank
hereafter were to have the management of everything. But on one
occasion, towards the latter half of the afternoon, he went alone.
There were different wooden barriers, having sluice gates passing
between them, over which he would walk, and at present there were
sheep on the upper meadows, on which the luxuriant grass had begun to
grow in the early summer. He was looking at his sheep now, and
thinking to himself that he could find a market for them in spite of
all that the boycotters could do to prevent him. But in one corner,
where the meadows ceased, and Pat Carroll's land began, he met an old
man whom he had known well in former years, named Con Heffernan. It
was absolutely the case that he, the landlord, did not at the present
moment know who occupied Pat Carroll's land, though he did know that
he had received no rent for the last three years. And he knew also
that Con Heffernan was a friend of Carroll's, or, as he believed, a
distant cousin. And he knew also that Con was supposed to have been
one of those who had assisted at the destruction of the sluice gates.
"Well, Con; how are you?" he said.
"Why thin, yer honour, I'm only puirly. It's bad times as is on us
now, indeed and indeed."
"Whose fault is that?" said the squire.
"Not yer honour's. I will allys say that for your honour. You never
did nothing to none of us."
"You had land on the estate till some twelve months since, and then
you were evicted for five gales of rent."
"That's thrue, too, yer honour."
"You ought to be a rich man now, seeing that you have got
two-and-a-half years' rent in your pocket, and I ought to be poor,
seeing that I've got none of it."
"Is it puir for yer honour, and is it rich for the like of me?"
"What have you done with the money, Con,--the five gales of rent?"
"'Deed, yer honour, and I don't be just knowing anything about it."
"I suppose the Landleaguers have had some of it."
"I suppose they have, thin; the black divil run away with them for
Laaguers!"
"Have you quarrelled with the League, Con?"
"I have quarrelled with a'most of the things which is a-going at the
present moment."
"I'm sorry for that, as quarrels with old friends are always bad."
"The Laague, then, isn't any such old friend of mine. I niver heerd
of the Laague, not till nigh three years ago. What with Faynians, and
moonlighters, and Home-Rulers, and now with thim Laaguers, they don't
lave a por boy any pace."
* * * * *
POSTSCRIPT.
In a preliminary note to the first volume I stated why this
last-written novel of my father's was never completed. He had
intended that Yorke Clayton should marry Edith Jones, that Frank
Jones should marry Rachel O'Mahony, and that Lax should be hanged for
the murder of Florian Jones; but no other coming incident, or further
unravelling of the story, is known.
H. M. T.
THE END.
Charles Dickens And Evans, Crystal Palace Press.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected without comment.
Specific changes in wording of the text are listed below.
Volume I, Chapter V, paragraph 5. The word "peasant" was
changed to "present" in the sentence: In regard to Ireland
his theory was that the land should be taken from the PRESENT
proprietors, and divided among the peasants who tilled it.
Volume I, Chapter XIII, last paragraph. The word "evidence"
was changed to "guilt" in the sentence: She could understand
that it must be taken down in some form that would be
presentable to a magistrate, and that evidence of the guilt
of Pat Carroll and evidence as to the possible GUILT of
others must not be whispered simply into her own ears.
Volume I, Chapter XIV, paragraph 6. The word "danger" was
changed to "dangers" in the sentence: Like the other letter
it was cheerful, and high-spirited; but still it seemed to
speak of impending DANGERS, which Frank, though he could not
understand them, thought that he could perceive.
Volume I, Chapter XV, paragraph 4. The word "President" was
changed too "Resident" in the sentence: He had lately been
appointed Joint RESIDENT Magistrate for Galway, Mayo, and
Roscommon, and had removed his residence to Galway.
Volume II, Chapter XVIII, paragraph 20. An em-dash was moved
from after the word "shillings" to after the word "said" in
the sentence: To tell the truth,--and as he had said,--to
earn a few shillings was the object of his ambition.
Volume II, Chapter XXIV, paragraph 65. The word "daughter"
was changed to the plural in the sentence: There would be
nothing unusual under ordinary circumstances in your
DAUGHTERS going to a ball at Galway.
Volume II, Chapter XXVI, paragraph 64. The word "thought" was
changed to "said" in the sentence: "I ought to have said 'my
lord,'" she SAID; "but I forgot. I hope you'll excuse me--my
lord." Also, a comma after "forgot" was changed to a full
stop.
Volume II, Chapter XXVII, next-to-last paragraph. The word
"is" was deleted from the sentence: There's [IS] no knowing
what a policeman can't do in this country.
Volume III, Chapter XXXVI, paragraph 14. The astute reader
will forgive Trollope, who was quite ill, for here calling
Pat Carroll's brother Jerry instead of Terry, as he has been
called up to now and will again be called later in the novel.
The name has been changed back to Terry in the sentence:
The murder of TERRY Carroll at the moment in which he was
about to give evidence,--false evidence, as the Leaguers
said,--against his brother was a great triumph to them.
Volume III, Chapter XXXIX, paragraph 4. "Jerry" was changed
to "Terry" (_v.s._) in the sentence: Nothing had ever been
made out in regard to the murder of TERRY Carroll in the
Court House at Galway.
Volume III, Chapter XXXIX, paragraph 5. "Jerry" was changed
to "Terry" (_v.s._) in the sentence: "Did the Crown intend to
pretend that they had any shadow of evidence against him as
to the shooting of TERRY Carroll?"
Volume III, Chapter XXXIX, paragraph 6. "Jerry" was changed
to "Terry" (_v.s._) in the sentence: Even presuming that
Lax's hand cannot be seen visible in the matter of TERRY
Carroll, there is, we think, something to connect him with
the other murder.
Volume III, Chapter XLVIII, paragraph 18. The word "jail" was
changed to "Galway court-house" in the sentence beginning:
Since your poor cousin was shot in GALWAY COURT-HOUSE . . .