Page:West Irish folk-tales and romances - William Larminie.djvu/160

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128
The Servant of Poverty.

“This is a good house,” said the tailor; “we'll go in to see if they will keep us for the night.”

“We will not go into that house on any account.”

“We'll go to no other place but that,” said the tailor.

They went in and got place till morning. The captain was living there always. There were gentlemen dining with him. The tailor was making fun for the girls in the kitchen. He began dancing and singing. The clerk was sitting under the window, with his head bent down. When the gentlemen heard the singing and the dancing in the kitchen, they opened the parlour door to see the tailor playing his music. They bade him come up to the parlour, to themselves. He said he would like to have his companion with him. They bade the two come. The two went up. They got whiskey. They made the tailor sing. He was performing a while. He looked about him.

“This is a fine house you have,” said he. “I have travelled far enough, but I never in my travellings met with a better house than this of yours.”

“Simply I got this house.” He told the gentlemen how he came into the house.

“Well,” said the tailor, “you bear witness to everything you have heard. I was the woman, that was in the house, to whom that happened.”