Tales by the O'Hara Family (Volume 1); Second Series Comprising the Nowlans, and Peter of the Castle (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. But whether or no these loose courses of Mr. Aby Nowlan were attended with the results hinted at by his neighbours, remained more than doubtful; for no symptom of declining grandeur yet appeared: the house might still be found full of company; as much wine and whiskey-punch were drunk in it as the oldest tenant could remember; the Mrs. Nowlan of the day rode as bravely to mass as any Mrs. Nowlan before her; and, to come to our point, our good Daniel, and more especially his spouse, saw no reason yet to forego their long cherished hope that their son John might find favour in the staring eyes of his bachelor uncle. Indications of a liking for the boy have been attributed to Masther Aby: they were vague, indeed, and, in the person of any other man, would have passed for nothing, or else unnotic- VOL. I. D ed; yet Mrs. Nowlan thought there was something in them. About a year after he had stood godfather to his little nephew, Aby happened to ride up to the door, one day, on his way from Limerick; and, as was his wont, while he there sat in his saddle, mute and motionless after his usual greetings, that, we believe, he meant in a dull kind of pleasantry, such as Well, ma'am, to the maid-servant who first appeared, how's all wid you to-day ?'?and Well, Masther Daniel, when his brother advanced?and, Sarvent, madam, as the woman of the house followed her husband;?while, these words uttered, he remained, like a statue, on his horse's back, staring from one to another of his humble relatives, as they fluently told him all the news they thought he would like to hear, an old woman came out with the little Johnny in her arms, placed him on the horse's neck, vis-a-vis to Aby, and desired to know? Wouldn't he just spake a civil word to his godfather ...