"
It was plain that Mrs. Hogan's present stock did not contain
exactly what I wanted, and directly Mrs. Duffy exclaimed! "There's
Mary McCann--an' roight across the way!"
Mrs. Hogan said "Yis, sure," and we all went over to a little
house, opposite.
"Now, thin," said Mrs. Duffy, entering the house, and proudly
drawing a small coverlid from a little box-bed in a corner, "what
do you think of that?"
"Why, there are two of them," I exclaimed.
"To be sure," said Mrs. Duffy. "They're tweens. There's always
two uv em, when they're tweens. An' they're young enough."
"Yes," said I, doubtfully, "but I couldn't take both. Do you think
their mother would rent one of them?"
The women shook their heads. "Ye see, sir," said Mrs. Hogan, "Mary
McCann isn't here, bein' gone out to a wash, but she ownly has four
or foive childther, an' she aint much used to 'em yit, an' I kin
spake fer her that she'd niver siparate a pair o' tweens. When she
gits a dozen hersilf, and marries a widow jintleman wid a lot uv
his own, she'll be glad enough to be lettin' ye have yer pick, to
take wan uv 'em fer coompany to yer own baby, at foive dollars a
week. Moind that."
I visited several houses after this, still in company with Mrs.
Hogan and Mrs. Duffy, and finally secured a youngish infant, who,
having been left motherless, had become what Mrs. Duffy called a
"bottle-baby," and was in charge of a neighboring aunt. It seemed
strange that this child, so eminently adapted to purposes of
rental, was not offered to me, at first, but I suppose the Irish
ladies, who had the matter in charge, wanted to benefit themselves,
or some of their near friends, before giving the general public of
New Dublin a chance.
Pages:
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237