登陆注册
4616500000036

第36章

Leaving school he was apprenticed to a blacksmith, from whom he ran away, and enlisted into the service of that illustrious monarch, George the Third, some of whose battles he had the honour of fighting in the Peninsula and France. Discharged from the army at the Peace, with the noble donation of thirty shillings, or one month's pay, he returned to Ireland, took to himself a wife, and commenced tinker.

Becoming dissatisfied with his native soil he passed over to England, and settling for some time at "Brummagem," took lessons from certain cunning smiths in the art of making fashiono vangusties. The next forty years of his life he spent in wandering about Britain, attended by his faithful partner, who not only disposed of his tin articles and false rings, but also bore him seventeen children, all of whom are alive, somewhere or other, and thriving too, one of them indeed having attained to the dignity of American senator. Some of his adventures, during his wanderings, were in the highest degree extraordinary. Of late years he has chiefly resided in the vicinity of London, spending his winters at Wandsworth, and his summers on the Flats, near Epping Forest; in one or the other of which places you may see Old Mike on a Sunday evening, provided the weather is tolerably fine, seated near his little caravan, with his wife by his side--not the wife who bore him the seventeen children, who has been dead for some years, but his second wife, a nice, elderly Irish ban from the county of Cork, who can tell fortunes, say her prayers in Irish, and is nearly as good a hand at selling her lord and master's tin articles and false rings as her predecessor. Lucky for Mike that he got such a second partner! and luckier still that at his age of seventy-nine he retains all his faculties, and is able to work for his daily bread, with at least the skill and cunning of his two brothers, both of whom are much younger men than himself, whose adventures have been somewhat similar to his own, and who, singularly enough, have come to live near him in his latter days. Both these brothers are highly remarkable men. Huwie is the most civil-spoken person in or about London, and Larry a man of the most terrible tongue, and perhaps the most desperate fighter ever seen; always willing to attack half a dozen men, if necessary, and afraid of no one in the world, save one--Mike, old Mike, who can tame him in his fiercest moods by merely holding up his finger. Oh, a truly remarkable man is old Mike! and a pleasure and an advantage it is to any one of a philosophical mind to be acquainted with him, and to listen to him. He is much more than a fashiono-vangust-engro.

Amongst other things he is a theologian--Irish theologian--and quite competent to fill the chair of theology at the University of Maynooth. He can tell you a great many things connected with a certain person, which, with all your research, you would never find in Scripture. He can tell you how the Saviour, when hanging on the cross, became athirst, and told St. Peter, who stood at the foot of it, to fetch Him a cup of water from a dirty puddle in the neighbourhood, and how St. Peter--however, better not relate the legend, though a highly curious one. Then he can repeat to you blessed verses, as he calls them, by dozens; not of David, but of one quite as good, as he will tell you, namely, Timothy O'Sullivan; and who, you will say, was Timothy O'Sullivan? Why, Ty Gaelach, to be sure. And who was Ty Gaelach? An Irish peasant-poet of the last century, who wrote spiritual songs, some of them by no means bad ones, and who was called Gaelach, or Gael, from his abhorrence of the English race and of the English language, of which he scarcely understood a word. Then is Ty Irish for Timothy? Why, no! though very stupidly supposed to be so. Ty is Teague, which is neither Greek nor Irish, but a glorious old Northern name, carried into Ireland by the brave old heathen Danes. Ty or Teague is the same as Tycho. Ty or Teague Gaelach is as much as to say Tycho Gaelach; and Tycho Brahe is as much as to say Teague Brahe.

THE POTTERIES, 1864

同类推荐
  • On the Spirit of Patriotism

    On the Spirit of Patriotism

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 珍珠囊补遗药性赋

    珍珠囊补遗药性赋

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Machiavelli

    Machiavelli

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 灵剑子

    灵剑子

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 三身梵赞

    三身梵赞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 超级邪君成长系统

    超级邪君成长系统

    无限逍遥,自在随心。我们是谁?邪君!我们的规则是什么?没有规则,我的规则便是规则!我们的目标是?搞事!打脸!装逼范!我们的口号是?专业搞事一万年,搞事,我们是认真地。李昊带着超级邪君系统穿越了,为了美好的装逼自在逍遥的生活,开始了现实和系统秘境世界穿梭,赚取邪意值的生活。三国,剑仙,天龙八部……神器,极品功法,美女如云……“装一次逼是非常简单的事情,难得是一辈子都装逼,但这次作为一名邪君的基本素养”——李昊语
  • 让心态成就你一生

    让心态成就你一生

    有一种心态叫自信,它可以使自卑者走出孤独角落,战胜困难。有一种心态叫积极,它可以使消极者做事力求上进,勇往直前。有一种心态叫知足,它可以使贪婪者挣脱阴暗束缚,面向阳光。好心态是生活的需要,是事业的需要,是命运的需要。好心态是成就你一生的法宝,培养好心态,成就你一生。赶快行动吧!
  • 漫品二十四节气

    漫品二十四节气

    2015年,中国二十四节气申报世界非物质文化遗产成功。本书旨在弘扬中华传统文化,对二十四节气知识进行普及性宣传,对节气内容加以品读赏析,帮助读者感知节气内容的美感和文化魅力。本书寻根溯源,着眼现实,首次对二十四节气及节气文化进行系统、深入、细致的解读,融入了大量历史、人文、气象、生活、自然、物候、传统农耕、典故传说、民谚民俗等各类知识与信息,融入了大量鲜活资料及生活体验,同时从不同角度阐述了二十四节气的文化意义及对生活的引领作用,从而富有知识性、趣味性、可读性及实用性,使读者感受到节气转换的每一步声息。本书是一本通俗读物,适合各层次读者,特别是青少年读者阅读。
  • 想要溺在你眸中

    想要溺在你眸中

    他第一次见到她,细碎的刘海下一双含水般的眼眸,抬头的一下如镜子般折射出光芒,便又垂下脑袋,遮掩了神情。之后,他便关注她,她总觉得有人在看着她,眼神带着不可名状的探究和炽热。她有一天忍不住了,问:“你认识我吗?”他笑了笑,唇边的弧度愈发温暖:“我认识你,你可能不认识我。”之后他便一直跟在她身边,偶尔抬头她看见他的眸,仿佛似曾相识。她问:“我们之前见过吗?”他答:“……”她的笑容如春花般灿烂:“原来你这么久之前就喜欢我了?”他眼底的墨色渐沉:“是啊,在见你的第一眼我就知道,我除了你,别无选择。这辈子我只会喜欢一个人,除了你,我的心里装不下任何人。”
  • History of the Conquest of Peru

    History of the Conquest of Peru

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明治天皇:碧血怒涛卷(中册)

    明治天皇:碧血怒涛卷(中册)

    本书是由传奇武的日本历史小说高产作家山冈庄八创作的一部纪实体小说。它以文学的笔调、宏大的篇幅,描绘了日本幕末那场决定国家命运的倒幕运动的整个过程,塑造出一个个鲜活的日本近代史中的人物形象,展现了日本有志之士为推翻幕府统治,实现国家新生所付出的巨大牺牲和艰辛努力,揭示了日本在内忧外患的双重冲击下,幕府政治退出历史舞台、统治权重新回到天皇手中,并最终走向明治维新的必然规律。本书翔实生动地描写了诸如“黑船来航”、“安政大狱”、“樱田门外之变”、“和宫下嫁”、“寺田屋骚乱”等当时日本的重大历史事件。阅读此书,对中国读者了解日本近代史,尤其是从幕末政治走向明治维新的过程,具有一定的参考价值。
  • 潇皇后

    潇皇后

    本来暑假和朋友开心去野外郊游,却意外和大家失去联系,掉进山谷里,醒来已经物是人非!!!悲剧的不是穿越到一个史书不曾记载的朝代,而是代重病的姐姐嫁入康王府,拜托,她才17岁,可是在这个陌生的地方,叫天天不灵,她只有步步为营!!!本以为遇到此生挚爱,到头却是一场空欢喜,你说三千繁花只拈眼前这一朵,你说世上美好女子多不胜数,而吾妻唯此一人,原来这些不过是你蛊惑人心的把戏罢了!究竟是谁沦为谁的棋子!
  • 快穿女主她又要挂了

    快穿女主她又要挂了

    这世界上总有些人,开局尚好,却最终打的一败涂地。忘忧因为时空动乱,被迫成为这些短暂的‘天之骄子’踏上了篡位的王者之路。任务前·系统:美人在手,维护剧情不愁(*^▽^*)任务中·系统:主人主人那是女主的靠山啊,你不能抢。主人主人那是女主的机缘,你不能夺啊。主人主人那是女主的男主,求放下!!任务后放弃治疗的系统:看着那个一直殷勤追在主人身后的男人,鞠了一把同情泪。某男人:不不不,我不需要同情,因为迟早有天我是要上位成为她男人的。PS:1V1,双洁,陪伴是最长久的告白,精分男主,逆袭打脸甜宠爽文。
  • 佛说转女身经

    佛说转女身经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 邪王别太拽

    邪王别太拽

    堂堂佣兵之皇狗血蹬腿魂穿异世,再次睁眼时已是男女颠倒的女尊朝代。当纨绔废材不再庸俗懦弱,当佣兵之皇再次主宰全场,这万里山河必然由她掀起一场乱世风云![女强男强,1V1,不喜慎入]