For John's Sake Part 22

"MAY the Holy Vargin an' all the blissid saints purtect us! Here's yer father comin' up the coort as dhrunk as a pig. Get along inter hidin'

wid yer, childer!" So saying, Mrs. Ryan, who had been standing with her baby in the doorway of her wretched home, gossiping with the neighbours, stepped into her kitchen, and awaited the arrival of her drunken husband with trepidation. "Maybe he'll tumble upsthairs an' slape off his dhrops, bad cess to him for a nasthy silfish brute," she muttered.

But no, Donovan Ryan staggered into the kitchen, and greeted his wife with an inane smile, which in no wise deceived her, taught by many an experience, how more than likely it was that the next moment his tipsy amiability might be exchanged for the utmost fury.

"An' what will I be gettin' for yer tay? Shure ye're home airly the night," she tremblingly said.

"It's yersilf that's mighty oblagin' intoirely, an' hasn't Donovan Ryan, at yer service, ma'am,"--making a low bow which nearly lost him his unsteady balance,--"a right to kem to his own home whiniver it may plaze him, widout askin' yer lave, ye miserable, dirthy, scoldin' broth uv a wumman?"

Donovan had raised his voice from low, mocking accents to stentorian tones, which shook the little room.

Poor Mrs. Ryan shrank further and further away.

"Shure, Donovan, I meant no harm at all, at all. Be aisy now; an' I'll git ye a cup uv tay in a jiffy," she said, coaxingly.

But, according to his ideas, Donovan had received a grievous insult, and there was only one way in which the said insult could be avenged; and, being made of that stern, courageous stuff of which some few of our British workmen are composed, he proceeded to teach Mrs. Ryan, in a very practical manner, that she really must not venture to offend the perfectly justifiable ideas which he held of his own importance and dignity. In all wifely submission, as in duty bound, and according to long-established custom, she made no demur to the very ordinary proceeding which occupied Donovan's attention for the next few minutes.

"See what ye'll git for venturin' to interfare wid yer husban'," he said, as he paused for want of breath.

With a well-directed kick at the prostrate form before him, and a few genial imprecations on womankind in general and his own wife in particular, he shuffled out of the house.

"He's been up to his tricks again; a beatin' of his poor wife. It's well he ain't my husband. I'd never stand it as she does, poor creature,"

said one of the women who were standing about.

"I don't see how you'd prevent it; but I'm going in to see whether poor Mrs. Ryan is quite done for."

Mrs. Fisher, the last speaker, left the group and entered her neighbour's house. In response to a feeble "Come in," she opened the kitchen door, which Donovan had slammed behind him. Mrs. Ryan was sitting on the floor crying bitterly.

"I'm kilt intoirely, Mrs. Fisher, an' me poor babby's frighted to death.

Shure her father's a murtherin', battherin' wretch. I'll take him afore the magisthrate, I will."

"Poor thing, let me see what I can do for you," said Mrs. Fisher.

A few womanly ministrations, a cup of tea and kindly words, and Mrs.

Ryan was comforted.

"Don't be thinkin' hardly uv Donovan. He's civil spoken an' kind enough whin the dhrink's out uv him; an' I'll have to put up wid his cross worruds an' his batin's, for he's me husban' an' the father uv me childer," were her parting words to her neighbour.

It was easy to be seen that Mrs. Ryan had proved no dull scholar, but had readily learned the manly logic that might is right almost as perfectly as her husband had intended that she should.

"I'll keep your children to tea, Mrs. Ryan; and, if you like, they can go with my Jimmie and Alice to some children's affair they're holding in the school-room round the corner this evening."

"Shure ye're the bist uv neighbours an' I'm grateful to ye for riddin'

me uv the worrit uv of the childer for a spell. But will ye jist sind Meg in afore she's off to the matin'? Me head's crazy, an' she must git me a dhrop uv the craythur to put a bit uv spirit inter me."

Mrs. Fisher promised, and then left the house.

After tea, little Meg, a forlorn, wiry child of eight years, came in and fetched the stimulant which her mother craved, and with which Mrs. Ryan comforted herself over her trying lot.

About eight o'clock the little ones returned. Three unkempt, ragged urchins, full of excitement about all they had witnessed.

"Oh, mother, sich pritty picthures, an' sich fine singin'. An' sich nice spoken jintlemen an' ladies."

"An' sich swate cards wid ribbon to hang 'em up."

"An' what was it all about, thin?" asked the weary mother, roused to interest.

Meg answered: "The jintlemen tould us that the dhrink was a curse an' a shame, an' he said it made folks cruel an' bad--"

"Thrue for him!" interjected the mother.

"An' he said," continued Meg, "that it wad be betther for no wan niver to touch it at all, at all, an' thin they wad niver git dhrunk. An' he wanted all the childer in the room to sign a promise niver to put it to their lips; an' heaps uv 'em wint up an' signed, an' got a card wid their names on to hang up, an' Mrs. Fisher's Jimmie an' Alice signed.

An' we said we'd ax you, mammy, an' maybe you'd say, 'Yes,' an' thin we could sign nixt week."

"Yes, an', mammy, we don't want to be like daddy whin we grow up, so we may sign, mayn't we?" eagerly put in Teddie, the youngest.

"Ye might be worse nor yer poor father, an' don't ye say a worrud against him; an' as for ye signin' the pledge, ye'll do no sich thing. A dhrap uv the craythur now an' thin won't hurt a livin' soul; an' I'll not have ye sit yersilves up to be betther nor yer own father an'

mother." And poor deluded Mrs. Ryan finished her third gla.s.s of hot whiskey and water, and drained the sweet dregs into the open mouth of her wan-faced baby.

A few days after, his drinking bout being over for the time being, Donovan Ryan sat over the kitchen fire watching his wife's preparations for tea.

"Shure, Patty, have ye heard that Harry Fisher has turned teetotal?" he suddenly said.

"Niver, shurely, now; what's the likes uv him, as niver gits dhrunk more nor wance in a blue moon, nade to be jhinin' a wake-minded, wathery set like the teetotalers?" exclaimed Mrs. Ryan, in a tone of irritation.

Donovan stirred uneasily.

"Sorra am I the man to say he's made a misthake, for I'd jhine that same set mesilf if I thought I'd howld out whin the dhrink craze takes me."

"I'd be ashamed to own ye for me husban' if ye made such a fool uv yersilf, Donovan," cried his wife, with energy. "It's thrue enough ye overstips the bounds uv sobriety oftener nor Harry Fisher, more shame to ye; but to make out ye're afeard uv a dhrap uv the craythur, an' give yer worrud niver to touch it, wad be to confess yersilf a poor wake gossoon widout any sperrit in him at all, at all."

Mrs. Ryan was never afraid of her husband in his sober moments, as will be readily observed. Indeed, at such times, he stood somewhat in awe of her sharp tongue. On the present occasion she continued to rail against water-drinkers and their weakmindedness, till, as if ashamed of the moral cowardice he had evinced, Donovan said:

"Whist, wumman, hould yer tongue, ye've no nade to fear I'll jhine the teetotalers, so make yer mind aisy on that point."

After which a.s.surance Mrs. Ryan cooled down, and allowed her husband to smoke his pipe in thoughtful silence.

"What on airth are ye thinkin' uv, Mrs. Fisher, to let yer husban' sign against a dhrap uv good beer?" she said the next morning to her neighbour.

"I'm downright glad he has, and I mean to do the same. You see, the children's set the example, and were so earnest for their father to sign, that he made up his mind to do so. I wish you'd let your little ones do the same, and persuade your husband too."

"Bad cess to ye for settin' yerself up to be suparior to yer neighbours, and advasin' uv them to follow yer example. Faix, I'd rather me husban'

git dhrunk ivery blissid day uv his life, an' bate me black and blue inter the bargain, nor sign the pledge." And in high dudgeon Mrs. Ryan went in, slamming her door behind her with great violence.

Weeks and months pa.s.sed away, and still, in the dingy court where the Ryans and Fishers lived, the same sad scenes of sin and degradation were witnessed. One day it was rumoured that the Fishers were moving into a better neighbourhood, which rumour proved to be correct.

"An' didn't I say as her ladys.h.i.+p, wid her illigant slips uv childer, an' her jintleman husban' wad soon be too suparior intoirely to mix wid the likes uv us. Axin' yer kind lave, shure it's Peggy Ryan as wishes ye ivery blissin', an' has the honour uv givin' ye a partin' bit uv advace.

Lave yer dacint neighbours alone, an' don't hould yer head up so high, me dear." Thus saying, Mrs. Ryan stood in front of Mrs. Fisher, who was about to follow her goods and chattels out of the court, and, to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the bystanders, spread out her scanty skirts, and made a sweeping curtesy. For some time past Mrs. Fisher had found it difficult to live peaceably among her neighbours, proving how advantageous to health and pocket her own and her husband's Temperance principles had been, they had both tried to secure adherents to the good cause. They had met with little success, and in some instances, notably that of Mrs.

Ryan, had earned for themselves continual abuse and scorn.