menu_book Chapter 17

chapter seventeen of castle richmond by anthony trollope this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by simon evers chapter seventeen father barney micko dwyer's public-house at cantorque was by no means so pretentious an establishment as that kept by his brother in south main street cork but it was on the whole much less nasty it was a drinking shop and a public car office and such places in ireland are seldom very nice but there was no attempt at hotel grandeur and the little room in which the family lived behind the bar was never invaded by customers on one evening just at this time at the time that is with which we have been lately concerned three persons were sitting in this room over a cup of tea there was a gentleman middle-aged but none the worse on that account who has already been introduced in these pages as father bernard mccarthy he was the parish priest of durham barrow and as its parish comprised a portion of the town of canturk he lived not exactly in the town but within a mile of it

his sister had married mr o'dwyer of south main street and therefore he was quite at home in the little back parlour of mick o'dwyer's house in canturk indeed father bernard was a man who made himself at home in the houses of most of his parishioners and of some who were not his parishioners his companions on the present occasion were two ladies who seemed to be emulous in supplying his wants the younger and more attracted of the two was also an old friend of ours being no other than fanny o'dwyer from south main street actuated doubtless by some important motive she had left her bar at home for one night having come down to cantor by her father's car with the intention of returning by it in the morning she was seated as a guest here on the corner of the sofa near the fire but nevertheless she was neither too proud nor too strange in her position to administer as best she might to the comfort of her uncle the other lady was mistress o'dwyer the lady of the mansion she was fat very by no means fair and perhaps something over forty but nevertheless there were those who thought that she had her charms a better hand at curing a side of bacon than was not in the county cork

nor a woman who was more knowing in keeping a house straight and snug over her husband's head that she had been worth more than a fortune to mick o'dwyer was admitted by all in canturk for it was known to all that mick o'dwyer was not himself a good hand at keeping a house straight and snug another cup of tea father bernard said this lady it'll be more to your liking now than the first you'll find father barney perfectly reliant on her word handed in his cup and the muffin is quite hot said fanny stooping down to a tray which stood before the peat fire holding the muffin dish but perhaps you'd like a morsel of buttered toast say the word uncle and i'll make it in a brace of seconds of course she will said mrs edouard and happy too i've been only said that you'll have a fancy father bernard and father bernard would not own any such fancy the muffin he said was quite to his liking and so was the tea and for the manner in which she disposed of these delicacies even mrs townsend might have admitted that this assertion was true though she was wont to express her belief that nothing but lies could by any possibility fall from his mouth

and they've been staying with you now for some weeks haven't they said a trifle of the party or for now on said fanny but there's one of them mostly there isn't he added the priest the two of them is mostly there just now sometimes one goes away for a day or two and sometimes the other and they have no business which keeps them in cork continued the priest who seemed to be very curious in the matter well they do have business i suppose said fanny but ever so i never sees it fanny edward had a great respect for her uncle seeing that he filled an exalted position and was a connection of whom she would be justly thorough but though she had now come down to canter with the view of having a good talk with her aunt and uncle about the molets she would only tell as much as she liked to tell even to the parish priest of drumbarrow and we may as well explain here that fanny had now permanently made up her mind to reject the suit of mr abraham mollett as she had allowed herself to see more and more of the little domestic ways of that gentleman and to become intimate with him as a girl should become with the man she intends to marry she gradually learned to think that he hardly came up to her beau ideal of a lover that he was crafty and false did not perhaps offend her as it should have done dear fanny excellent and gracious as she was could herself be crafty on occasions

he drank too but that came in the way of her profession it is hard perhaps for a barmaid to feel much severity against that offence but in addition to this abie was selfish and cruel and insolent and seldom altogether good-tempered was bad to his father and bad to those below him whom he employed old mullet would give away his sixpences with a fairly liberal hand unless when he was exasperated by drink and fatigue but abie seldom gave away a penny fanny had sharp eyes and soon felt that her english lover was not a man to be loved though he had two rings a gold chain and half a dozen fine waistcoats and then another offence had come to light in which the molets were both concerned since their arrival in south main street there had been excellent customers indeed quite a godsend in this light to fanny who had her own peculiar profit out of such house customers as they were they paid their money like true britons not regularly indeed for regularity had not been desired but by five pounds now and another in a day or two just as they were wanted

nothing indeed could be better than this for bills so paid are seldom rigidly scrutinised but of late within the last week fanny's request for funds had not been so promptly met and only on the day before her visit to cantarque she had been forced to get her father to take a bill from mr mullet senior for twenty pounds at a two months date this was a great come-down as both fanny and her father felt and they had begun to think that it might be well to bring their connection with the mullets to a close what if an end had come to the money of these people and their bills should be dishonoured when due it was all very well for a man to have claims against sir thomas fitzgerald but fanny o'douard had already learnt that nothing goes so far in this world as ready cash they do have business i suppose said fanny it won't be worth much i am thinking said mrs o'douard when they can't pay their weekly bills at a house of public entertainment without flying their names at two months date Mrs. O'Doire hated any such payments herself, and looked on them as certain signs of immorality.

That every man should take his drop of drink, consume it noiselessly, and pay for it immediately, that was her idea of propriety in its highest form. And they've been down here three or four times, each of them, said Father Barney, thinking deeply on the subject. I believe they have, said Fanny, but of course I don't know much of where they've been to. Father Barney knew very well that his dear niece had been on much more intimate terms with her guest than she pretended.

The rumours had reached his ears some time since that the younger of the two strangers in South Main Street was making himself agreeable to the heiress of the hotel, and he had intended to come down upon her with all the might of an uncle, and, if necessary, with all the authority of the church. But now that Fanny had discarded her lover, he wisely felt that it would be well for him to know nothing about it.

both uncles and priests may know too much very foolishly i have seen them here myself said he and they've both been up at castle richmond they do say as poor sir thomas is in a bad way said mrs edward shaking her head piteously and yet he sees these men said father bonnie i know that for certain he has seen them though he will rarely see anybody nowadays young mr herbert is doing most of the business up about the place said mrs edward and people do say as how he's going to make a of it with lady clara desmond and it's the lucky girl should be for he's a nice young fellow entirely not half equal to her other joe mr owen that is said fanny well i don't know that my dear such a house and property as castle richmond is not likely to go a begging among the young women and then mr herbert is not so rampageous like as him of hap house by all accounts

father barney still kept to his subject and they are both at your place at the present moment eh Fanny? They was to dine there after I left. And the old man said he'd be down here again next Thursday, continued the priest. I heard that for certain. I'll tell you what it is. They're not after any good here. They are Protestants, aren't they? Ach, black Protestants, said Mrs. Edouard, but you're not taking your tea, Father Bernard. And she again filled his cup for him.

If you take my advice, Fanny, you'll give them nothing more without seeing their money. They'll come to no good here, I'm sure of that. They're after some mischief with that poor old gentleman at Castle Richmond, and it's my belief the police will have them before they're done. Like enough, said Mrs. O'Dwyer.

They may have them tomorrow, if it would I care, said Fanny, who could not help feeling that A.B. Mullet had at one time been not altogether left without hope as her suitor. But you wouldn't like anything like that to happen in your father's house, said Father Barney. Bringing trouble and disgrace on an honest name, said Mrs. O'Dwyer. there be no disgrace as i knows of said fanny stoutly father makes his money by the public and in course he takes in any that comes the way with money in their pockets to pay the shot but these mullets ain't got the money to pay the shot said mrs edouard caustically

you've about sucked them dry i'm thinking and they're using more now that you're likely to get from them i suppose father'll have to take that bill up said fanny assenting and so it was settled down there among them that the mullets were to have the cold of shoulder and that they should in fact be turned out of the cantor cartel as quickly as this could be done better a small loss at first than a big one at last said mrs o'dwyer with much wisdom we'll come to mischief down here as sure as my name's mccarthy said the priest and i'll be sorry your father should be mixed up in it and then by degrees the conversation was changed but not till the tea-things had been taken away and a square small bottle of very particular whisky put on the table in its place and the sugar also was brought and boiling water in an immense jug as though father barney were going to make a deep potation indeed and a lemon in wine glass and then the priest was invited with much hospitality to make himself comfortable nor did the luxuries prepared for him end here but fanny the pretty fan herself filled a pipe for him and pretended that she would light it for such priests are merry enough sometimes and can joke as well as other men with their pretty nieces

but you're not mixing your punch father bernard said mrs o'doye with a plaintive melancholy voice and the weather getting cold and all faith then father bernard i'll mix it for you so i will and so she did and well she knew how and then she made another for herself and her niece urging that a thimblefall would do fanny all the good in life after her ride across them cold mountains and the priest looked on assenting blowing the comfortable streams of smoke from his nostrils and so father barnard you and parson townsend is to meet again to-morrow at gordon o'clough whereupon father barnard owned that such was the case with a nod not caring to disturb the pipe which lay comfortably on his lower lip well well only to think on it continued mrs o'dwyer that the same rune should hold the tour ye she lifted up her hands and shook her head it holds us both very comfortable i can assure you mrs and he ain't rampageous and highty-tighty he don't give himself no airs well no nothing in particular why should the man be such a fool as that why in course but they are such fools father bernard

they does think themselves such grand folks now don't they i'd ever give a dandy of punch all round to the company just to hear you pull him down once i would but he isn't upsetting at all then not the last time we met he wasn't and i don't think he intends it things have come to that now that the parsons know where they are and what they have to look to they're getting a lesson they'll not forget in a hurry where are their rent charges to come from can you tell me that mrs mrs edouard could not but she remarked that pride would always have a fall and there's no pride like protestant pride said fanny it's so upsetting i can't abide it all of which tended to show that she had quite given up her protestant lover and is it getting worse than ever with the poor creatures said mrs edouard referring not to the protestants but the victims of the famine indeed it's getting no better said the priest and i'm fearing it will be worse before it is over i haven't married one couple in drumbarrow since november last and that's a heavy sign father barnard the surest sign in the world that they have no money among them at all at all and it is bad with them mrs au douai very bad very bad indeed glory be to god the poor creatures said the soft-hearted lady

it isn't much the like of us have to give away father bernard i didn't be telling you that but we'll help you know we'll help and so will father uncle bernard if you're so bad off about here i know he'll give you a trifle for the asking In a short time, however, it came to pass that those in the cities could spare no aid to the country. Indeed, it may be a question whether the city poverty was not the harder of the two. God bless you both, you soft hearts, I know. Father Barney put his punch to his lips. Whatever you can do for me shall not be thrown away.

And I'll tell you what, Mrs. O'Dwyer, it does behove us all to put our best foot out now. We will not let them say that the papists would do nothing for their own poor. "'Death then, and they'll say anything of us, Father Barnard. "'There's nothing too hot or too heavy for them. "'At any rate, let us not deserve it, Mrs. O'doir.

"'There will be a lot of them at Gortner Clare to-morrow. "'And I shall tell them that we, on our side, won't be wanting. "'To give them their due, I must say that they are working well. "'That young Herbert Fitzgerald's a Trump, whether he's Protestant or Catholic. "'And they do say he's a strong bearing towards the old religion,' said Mrs. O'doir.

God bless his sweet young face have he come back to us that's what I say God bless his face anyway say I said Father Barney

with a wider philanthropy he is doing his best for the people and the time has come now when we must hang together if it be any way possible

and with this the priest finished his pipe and wishing the ladies good night walked away to his own house End of Chapter 17