PAT MURPHY'S ALLEGORY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10973, 24 May 1901, Page 3

PAT MURPHY'S ALLEGORY.

Br Arthur Ev*_sl_t.

Upon the outbreak of war in South Africa, and at a time when the opposing lorces were about to meet in all the dread reality of battle, murderous in its extremity, hostilities had already commenced at Lisdrom's foundry, one of the largest of its kind in New Zealand. The hands employed there represented various nationalities, all cradled in their different atmospheres of sentiment, nursed amid class opinions, and brought up with a conscientious regard to the spirit of their surroundings, so that their ideas had become reflections, in-a somewhat pronounced direction, of themselves. It was the general belief that the war would be the matter of a 1 few weeks, the British—invincible sons of a mighty Empire—having merely to .arrange their forces and march on in congratulatory order; but there were those who sided with Kruger from the outset, declaring with gesticulatory fehemence that "the ould crockydile would be as good as his intintion, an' swape iv'ry mother's son iv his inimies into th' says." / ' ' This, at any rati, was Jim O'Grady's version of it, while Tim Doolan acted an able second to the self-constituted head of an Irish democracy, the opinionative pair of them proclaiming to their fellow-workmen that the time had arrived at last for a redress of grievances, and to see the tight little island go under.

They had several adherents, despite the fact that steadfast loyalty was® 1 evidenced not only around them, but in a kindred feeling right throughout the colony; the many fights Jim O'Grady and his partisans had to engage in being "sufficient to assure them their cause was .hopelessly in the minority, although they would turnup the following morning as demonstrative and aggressive as ever. The foreign element was by no means so obtrusive, and for that matter easily kept under, being regarded as an alien one, destined to observe a neutral attitude, Jim O'Grady never holding friendly intercourse even on the eve of the most sanguinary of encounters, excepting with his own countrymen. It was a dispute wherein the few were bound to be overwhelmed by the, multitude, but, Jim O'Grady never by any chance gave way in his argument, bearing defeat after defeat with an untroubled, though disfigured, countenance, till British reverses came as a revelation to this feeling little part of the nation, and caused tho Irishman to show himself in his true colours. A first contingent had already been despatched, more, perhaps, out of a spirit of

patriotism than with any assurance that the eager recruits would be of actual assistance to a disciplined army; a second enntingent following; all chosen of a loyal and well-wishing people, to prove after a time the foe was a far move dct.rmim-d one than had been anticipated; but Ihat these New Zeiv'.anders wtre of a rao. with a natural capacity for fighting.

The excitement was now intense, mutter* appearing more complicated tac'i day, ..is news came to hand of still furth r din.f.r. and then a third contirgent was d.tcruiinc 1 on, with the intelligence cimnmiu.'t. d to everyone on the works that Jim OOia.iyV two sons had volunteered for the front.

They were his only two, ai.d f.iai a father* might well be proud of. yet J'.n O'Grady had never once commented oa th .»• going, and with the intimation that t ir services had been accepted came ihe ridution that as affairs had been assuming h more serious aspect in South Africa, so li d Jim O'Grady and his party gnuluu'ly b..u leaving off hostilities until they ha:! altogether ceased. There was a general feeling that the t t had been misunderstood, some asserting Jim to have wilfully himself out of sheer perversity, for had the father discountenanced the "project, it was maintained the two sons Would never have been so misguided as to go against him.

He was a difficult subject to deal with, being an argumentative example of obstinacy, but it was agreed at last that Jim O'Grady should be asked what persuasion it was he actually belonged to, thus affording- him a possible opportunity to explain away his past behaviour, and clear up certain doubts regarding his true convictions.

"D'iz. army iv ye know Murphy 1" he cried out excitedly, when approached on ! the subject, after knock-off, by one more courageous than the others, at which interrogation there were subdued whisperings among his fellow-workmen. "I.S murphies he manes," said an audible voice suddenly at the back. "Faith, it's himsilf knew how to ghrow tbira in Ould Oireland, an' ait them too, f'r that matther. Call thim praties, Jim O'Grady, an' we'll undherstand ye." "Oi'll make Tim Doolan undherstand mc to some purpose if oi come down fr'm where oi am to him," returned the. speaker, who had mounted a plank resting on some oil cans, the better to address his audience. *"It's Pat Murphy; iv Tipperairy, oi mane. Th' wan army way that marrid Biddy— though wid all due def'rince oi've forgotten th' other name to her."

"Biddy Murphy, iv coorse, sein' the man acted st-hraight "to her, an' good luck to him," announced the same voice in the distance.

"Biddy Murphy, thin, a shlip' iv a girl that came over fr'm England fr Pat to take up wid, sittlin' down togither to ha/ye about a schore iv childer an' live quoit. oontinted fr long aftherwards. Thin, be th' way, came a shlight bit iv a rlmmpus, naythur Pat nor Biddy remimberii. th' first, sthart iv it, but makin' enough divarshun to be th' talk iv tlie counthry. You see th' family was all bhoys, an' whin they ghrew'up an' made off t6 ditf'rint colonies, Biddy turned her sole attintion on Pat, an' he* had" a 'loively; toimo iv it. It was Pat this, an' Pat that, makih' th' man fale—wid her talk about a clane flure—as if he should have no fate to him, so that he ;shwore at last "he'd be ,his own ma3tber if he had to blow her up: with. dinnymite. This wint oh. an!, wint on, Biddy bain' mifethress be her way iv it, an' Pat—wid the tongu. iv her—not even masther at toimes iv his own sinses, till wan day he let off about k dozen creckcrs undh-er her petticoats, as a hint sheM better not be after intherfarin' wid him. There was plinty intherfarince, though, on th' schore iv it, the\naybours b.uhderin' in on the top iv wan;another at the schraims iv her, twinty askin' Pat at wanst pwhat th' diyil he wad tip \tb.; ■;.;'Oi: was;, only taychin' Biddy a new sthip,' he said, "quoite goodtimpered loike, fr he had th' measure iv thim imroajetdly, ,'an shure, she can sthip it out wid th' best iv ye, _s yell percaive on thryin' it,',an' on that he let off enough crackers among th' consait iv thim as sin. thim all; blunderin' out again, wid Biddy Taughin' till the tears rowled down, the ould cheeks iv her. Itf was just th' bem' mari'nd- to wan anither that played th' mischi.l an' caused all th' dissinsion, th' two iv thim bsin' quoite frindly at toimes, till niakin' a sthart again, an' thin Bi_dy cud always depind on Pat in .army rale throuble. There was Ould Blarney that waiist. thried playin' up games wid her when Pat >an' she had been after ha,vi„' a shlight diff'rince wid taycups or annything else that came handy, Biddy having just got the best iv it by stritchin' Pat out full lingth wid a pickhandle. Blarney had always had a grudge against her, an" .thinkin' he cud have: an aisy, dale wid Pat ah' her at loggerheads, he sthips over-th' back finoe an' says as bo_ld as brass to her, 'Git out wid ye, ye ould faggot, an' him a man to ye." Pat was sittin' on a bit iv a box in th' yard be this, nursin' th' eye be had wid his two hands, an' thinkin' Biddy wid' th' sthrong arms! iv her. cud make mincemate of th 1 chrature in about two minutes, as she had done iv himself, he cried out, "Rowl into her, Blarney, an-be hivens Oi'll give her a b:u:khandther meself to assist ye." Blarney, like th' fule he was, belaived' him, an' B*ddy havin' givin' him th' answer wid a dh'tty ciishcloth clane in the teeth iv him, he got a blow in that doubled her up. an' lift lift spachless. This'set Pat starin' out iv th wan eye left- him at Biddy gittin' bested, foi shsa was.a bit flurried, ye see, at th' cuminincemint, so sthartin' t6 his fate, he gave Blarney a thaste iv tho Oirishman's ghrlp till Biddy got her breath again, whin they set Blarney sioh a damce as made the go clane from undher (him. There was the young Blarneys, though, to be rick- nrd wid, an' that aims schraichin to th' remit?, Pat an' Biddy havin' to sthamd a rigul-u saige, wid Biddy, Gen'ral, an' Pat th' Ahrmy, till wan day in .stheps a stbrappin' young* colonial wid a over his shouldher an' says. "Good mornin'." "Good mornm'," said Biddy, lookin' up into th' frindly face iv -him, for he was about twoice th soize iv her, an' clane an' dacent lookin' fr a fureigner. "Who's spakin' may oi ask iv ye?" (j "Oi'm Pat Murrphy, iv New Zayland,' he answered, quoite at aise, an' wid a smoile that brought back plisant rcmimbrances to her, "we've heerd till iv th' Blarneys, an' th' thricks iv them, so oim wid ye to sittle wid thim in rale.airnest."

"It was wan iv her gran'childher, ye see, an' Pat's too f r that matther, though Biddy always got th' cridit iv thim, an' they oame rowlin' up in dozens fr the Blarneys to shwear vingeance against at a respictabie distance, Blarney never settin' face cutsido th' dure after Pat an' Biddy takin' the legs fr'm him.

"This is how Oireiatid fales at th' prisint minute, or Pat, if it plazes ye, an' if yell look on England as ould Biddy, begorrah yell see man and wife in which it's aisy to percaive which iv thim is th' misthress. Oive tould ye, army way, the sthory iv Pat Murphy, and if ye care to know mc sintimints "on the pair iv thim, faith they're marrid, an' caart well be rid'iv wan another. Pat would be losht widout-Biddy, while Biddy, wid all her gran'chikihar would be clane beside hersilf widout th' wan who has always sthood to her in tl.oubie an* hilped her to rair thim. It's th' aggravatin ways iv her that causes th' best .rind she ever had to half-murther her in an attimpt to bring th. ould curmudgeon that she is to raison. O'm done, bhoys, but whin ycu Bee Biddy comii. too'much iv th' misthress, remimber Pat, and that he fales timpted at toimes to schrew th' neck iv her, be she what she may to him.