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The little gossoon we had sent off the day before with my master's compliments to Mount Juliet's Town, and to know how my lady did after her accident, was stopped early this morning, coming back with his answer through O'Shaughlin's Town, at Castle Rackrent, by my son Jason, and questioned of all he knew of my lady from the servant at Mount Juliet's Town; and the gossoon told him my Lady Rackrent was not expected to live over night; so Jason thought it high time to be moving to the Lodge, to make his bargain with my master about the jointure afore it should be too late, and afore the little gossoon should reach us with the news.
'She's dead, says Phelim; 'Father Flynn is waiting for the neighbors to come. 'And the little gossoon? says I. Phelim leaned down from the dog-cart; 'Aunt Molly, says he, 'we can't afford to keep what we have already, can we? 'No, says I. 'Thin, says Phelim, 'we can just as well afford to keep one more; so I told him to come to us, after the funeral."
He was a regular gossoon, though shaped like a fine specimen of the pampered menials who condescend to open the front door of large mansions to their betters.
"Now, tell me about Julia Cahill; what did she do?" "It is said, sir, she was the finest girl in these parts. I was only a gossoon at the time, about eight or nine, but I remember that she was tall, sir, nearly as tall as you are, and she was as straight as one of those poplar-trees," he said, pointing to three trees that stood against the sky.
The next morning, being post-day, I sent off the gossoon early to the post-office, to see was there any letter likely to set matters to rights, and he brought back one with the proper postmark upon it, sure enough, and I had no time to examine or make any conjecture more about it, for into the servants' hall pops Mrs. Jane with a blue bandbox in her hand, quite entirely mad.
"Just say that word again, he's safe, an' blessins on yer honest face, for I'm shure ye could not desave a poor gossoon like myself." Philip repeated his assertion, and was not a little astonished to find himself seized in Terry's arms, and hugged till the breath was nearly out of his body.
"'Vacuus viator cantabit ante Latronem; "There's the Chili vinegar another morsel of the trout?" "I thank you; what excellent coffee, Father Malachi!" "A secret I learned at St. Omer's some thirty years since. Any letters, Bridget?" to a damsel that entered with a pacquet in her hand. "A gossoon from Kilrush, y'r reverence, with a bit of a note for the gentleman there." "For me! ah, true enough.
Sure an' I don't forgit how you thried, like a brave gossoon, to save that poor chap last night!" "Ah!" I ejaculated, feeling melancholy when he thus brought up Harmer's fate, which had passed out of my mind for the moment. "But you did your best, too, Pat." "Bad was the bist then, alannah, bad cess to it!" said he. "There, now, Mister Leigh, dhrink your coffee an' ha' done with it.
No other live creature was visible about the place, until she had come quite close to the surging door, when a small gossoon jumped up out of the ditch on the opposite side of the road and rushed across to her. "What 'ill I do at all, then?" he said, whimperingly, catching hold of her shawl. "If them childer's burnt up widin there, Mr. Wogan 'ill be in a fine way.
Ask an Irish gossoon to go early in the morning, on an errand, and he answers, "I'll be off at the flight of night." If an Irish cottager would express to his landlord that he wishes for a long lease of his land, he says, "I would be proud to live on your honour's land as long as grass grows or water runs." One of our English poets has nearly the same idea:
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