Murtagh's Tale.
"WELL, Shorsha, about a year and a half after you left us -and a sorrowful hour for us it was when ye left us, losing, as we did, your funny stories of your snake - and the battles of your military - they sent me to Paris and Salamanca, in order to make a saggart of me.""Pray excuse me," said I, "for interrupting you, but what kind of place is Salamanca?""Divil a bit did I ever see of it, Shorsha!""Then why did ye say ye were sent there? Well, what kind of place is Paris? Not that I care much about Paris.""Sorrow a bit did I ever see of either them, Shorsha, for no one sent me to either.When we says at home a person is going to Paris and Salamanca, it manes that he is going abroad to study to be a saggart, whether he goes to them places or not.No, I never saw either - bad luck to them - Iwas shipped away from Cork up the straits to a place called Leghorn, from which I was sent to - to a religious house, where I was to be instructed in saggarting till they had made me fit to cut a dacent figure in Ireland.We had a long and tedious voyage, Shorsha; not so tedious, however, as it would have been had I been fool enough to lave your pack of cards behind me, as the thaif, my brother Denis, wanted to persuade me to do, in order that he might play with them himself.
With the cards I managed to have many a nice game with the sailors, winning from them ha'pennies and sixpences until the captain said I was ruining his men, and keeping them from their duty; and, being a heretic and a Dutchman, swore that unless I gave over he would tie me up to the mast and give me a round dozen.This threat obliged me to be more on my guard, though I occasionally contrived to get a game at night, and to win sixpennies and ha'pennies.
"We reached Leghorn at last, and glad I was to leave the ship and the master, who gave me a kick as I was getting over the side, bad luck to the dirty heretic for kicking a son of the church, for I have always been a true son of the church, Shorsha, and never quarrelled with it unless it interfered with me in my playing at cards.I left Leghorn with certain muleteers, with whom I played at cards at the baiting-houses, and who speedily won from me all the ha'pennies and sixpences I had won from the sailors.I got my money's worth, however, for I learnt from the muleteers all kind of quaint tricks upon the cards, which I knew nothing of before; so I did not grudge them what they chated me of, and when we parted we did so in kindness on both sides.On getting to - I was received into the religious house for Irishes.It was the Irish house, Shorsha, into which I was taken, for I do not wish ye to suppose that I was in the English religious house which there is in that city, in which a purty set are educated, and in which purty doings are going on if all tales be true.
