M'SWEENY AND HIS VALENTINE.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume X, Issue 925, 8 July 1891, Page 4

M'SWEENY AND HIS VALENTINE.

(Continued,) Thns caught, the cook slipped M Swetrty's face with no gentle hand an 1 p hook he rsel free, calling him a na«iy. iuipuden. man, and at. lhe sav e time try ing to telegraph a leok to the glaring face above to intimate that it was all right, and that the gardener alone had sole dominion over her affections. . Of that fact no one was moro con winced than M'fcjweenv himself, bub it did not mit his p\irp< I > to.iay so. A c cordingly he insisted oh giving the cook his address m tlie Dleasahce, and his name at the same time, .entreating . her to drop, him- a line if she conld re'ent and decide to : meet him. The cook scornfully refused the address, but the tablemaid took it down, and intimated with a look to M'Sweeny that she would make it all right for him with the cook. ' M'Sweeny ? M'Sweeny V said the housemaid, reflectively ,' surely I've heard that name before ? ' 'Ay coorse ye have,' glibly returned the owner of the name. ' The kings of Ireland — I'm direct from them — the M' Sweeny'* are all famous, and one of them I've heard tell of is the greatest m his line m the whole world. Faith if she'd take a M*. Sweeny, and hit fa ■ c along witb him, shod be the happy woman,' ' But she won't, and the sooner yon're out of here the 1 etter,' snorted the cook for the special benefit of the glaring face above, as she put up her tumbled hair and straighttned her cap ; ' and, if you don't, I'll get him to come -down and make you ! ' « Him ! Whew ! Whirroo ! ' cried M' Sweeny, snapping his lingers, as the tablemaid again conveyed to him, wi h a merry wink, thc intimation that the cook was only shamming. ' Bring the sparrow down till I ate him alive I ' Bnd he whirled his apron of tool* about as an extemporised shillellagh, and danced towards the door m terrific bounds, as if about to murder the gardener on the Spot. v : Of course, to protect her lover and, see that no bloodshed took place, the cook had to go to the door with him, and see him to the head of the area stair, .and past the form o,f her sulky lover, whom she managed to soothe into •smiles with; a .mere'; word and a look, after the fashion of all sweethearts. M'Sweeny also, who wished to become more intimate with lite gardener, unbent sufficiently to allow himself 1 to be introduced, but .found the gardener too ferocious. to exchange even one pleasant word. 'No matter — I've got his name ami address,' he consolingly thought, as he left them together, ' and I'll keep nic eye on him.'i : ; It will be uudeVstood that M'Sweeny had no more intention of making love tb the 'cook than he had of courting tho Queen j and his blarney had merely hcan expendeij in' the interest? of his profession* He fancied that '.ie had made that sufficiently plain for oven a woman's brain, added to which. Jbe cook herself harf-B.ho.wnvlike'y.gnQugh repugnance . to his advances to indicate tbat the aversion wa* mutual. What was his consternation and alarm, then, next day to receive by post the following plain-speaking •pis»tle :— 'Mr M'Sweeny, — ' My dere love,— ' iSince I saw you last I . have, .thot i was two crul, arid that important - gard nar'T never will hay nor speke to. 1 ' he's two bad tempcrt forme, and Ilove you, my dere M'Swiney, and will see you on the ferst sunday i got on|.. for the, my. Jove, I often pine, apct fane would be thi Valentine. ;; ' Yours respectively, ' JAKB GoODAiI.L,' M'Sweeny sat, .a^ter. reading this horrible confession, with the sweat oozing from his brow, an ice-cold feel ng passing down bis spine, and erciy bristle of his red hair making an at. tempt to slowly rise on end. lie had never teen the cook's hand-writing, but he saw at -a glance tbat tho writing was that of a woman, and remembered distinctly that Jane (roodall wa9 the cook's name, so be had no. more doubt that sho was the writer than he had of tho danger he had dropped into. ' The shameless hussy ! t • write sach a bare- facet! letter to any man !' he exclaimed, m deep disgust. ' Not a modest word m it, and to think that she'd ketch. me wid such soft sawder. — Och, the Jezebel !' He spat on the letter, and crushed it up m his hand, but afterwards smoothed cut the creases, and exultingly showed it to us as the production of a lady, a wealthy heiress, who had fallen m love with him, and would not be shaken off, however roughly he treated her, at the came time adding, with perfeot truth, tbat he meant to take no not'ee of the letter. However, if he did not know when he had a good sweetheart, the writer did, for m two days she was at him again, m a more reproach gul key : — 1 My dere lov^.M'S,wineyj-rn .- 'itkinkiveiHade-.idyaelL-.two chepe m my last, for you dont make the sweet responee I lookt for. Oh if tou could lionly know what 1 feel after you give me that lovin herhbrhce I , ' and thinks i he'll be proud to make mc hisvalei.t'n and his wifo, bnt. alias i fere you nofer will, »_d ill go into this: grave 'pining for