know not; she was certainly not Celt, and certainly no Barney McCrea



of her day would have kissed her if she had spilled ever so many

pitchers of sweet buttermilk over the plain; so we took the railway,



and departed with delight for Limavady, where Thackeray, fresh from

his visit to Charles Lever, laid his poeticaltribute at the



stockingless feet of Miss Margaret of that town.

O'Cahan, whose chief seat was at Limavady, was the principal urraght



of O'Neill, and when one of the great clan was 'proclaimed' at

Tullaghogue it was the magnificentprivilege of the O'Cahan to toss



a shoe over his head. We slept at O'Cahan's Hotel, and--well, one

must sleep; and wherever we attend to that necessary function



without due preparation, we generally make a mistake in the

selection of the particular spot. Protestantism does not



necessarily mean cleanliness, although it may have natural

tendencies in that direction; and we find, to our surprise ( a



surprise rooted, probably, in bigotry), that Catholicism can be as

clean as a penny whistle, now and again. There were no special



privileges at O'Cahan's for maids, and Benella, therefore, had a

delightful evening in the coffee-room with a storm-bound commercial



traveller. As for Francesca and me, there was plenty to occupy us

in our regular letters to Ronald and Himself; and Salemina wrote



several sheets of thin paper to somebody,--no one in America,

either, for we saw her put on a penny stamp.



Our pleasant duties over, we looked into the cheerful glow of the

turf sods while I read aloud Thackeray's Peg of Limavady. He spells



the town with two d's, by the way, to insure its being rhymed

properly with Paddy and daddy.



'Riding from Coleraine

(Famed for lovely Kitty),



Came a Cockney bound

Unto Derry city;



Weary was his soul,

Shivering and sad he



Bumped along the road

Leads to Limavaddy.



. . . .

Limavaddy inn's



But a humble baithouse,

Where you may procure



Whisky and potatoes;

Landlord at the door



Gives a smiling welcome

To the shivering wights



Who to his hotel come.

Landlady within



Sits and knits a stocking,

With a wary foot



Baby's cradle rocking.

. . . .



Presently a maid

Enters with the liquor



(Half a pint of ale

Frothing in a beaker).



Gads! I didn't know

What my beating heart meant:



Hebe's self I thought

Entered the apartment.



As she came she smiled,

And the smile bewitching,



On my word and honour,

Lighted all the kitchen!



. . . .

This I do declare,



Happy is the laddy

Who the heart can share



Of Peg of Limavaddy.

Married if she were,



Blest would be the daddy

Of the children fair



Of Peg of Limavaddy.

• pitcher [´pitʃə] n.大水罐；投掷者 (初中英语单词)


• occasionally [ə´keiʒənəli] ad.偶然地；非经常地 (初中英语单词)


• mostly [´məustli] ad.主要地；多半；通常 (初中英语单词)


• victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)


• beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)


• whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)


• wherever [weər´evə] conj.无论在哪里 (初中英语单词)


• properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地；严格地 (初中英语单词)


• literary [´litərəri] a.文学(上)的 (初中英语单词)


• meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• stupid [´stju:pid] a.愚蠢的；糊涂的 (初中英语单词)


• alight [ə´lait] a.燃着的 vi.下；降落 (初中英语单词)


• extent [ik´stent] n.长度；程度；范围 (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• intention [in´tenʃən] n.意图；打算；意义 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• poverty [´pɔvəti] n.贫穷(乏，瘠)；不足 (初中英语单词)


• occasional [ə´keiʒənəl] a.偶然的；临时的 (初中英语单词)


• advertising [´ædvətaiziŋ] n.广告a.广告的 (初中英语单词)


• cottage [´kɔtidʒ] n.村舍；小屋；小别墅 (初中英语单词)


• prosperous [´prɔspərəs] a.繁荣的；顺利的 (初中英语单词)


• warmth [wɔ:mθ] n.温暖；热情；激动 (初中英语单词)


• formal [´fɔ:məl] a.正式的；外表的 (初中英语单词)


• tribute [´tribju:t] n.贡物；献礼；颂词 (初中英语单词)


• principal [´prinsəpəl] a.主要的 n.负责人 (初中英语单词)


• magnificent [mæg´nifisənt] a.壮丽的；豪华的 (初中英语单词)


• privilege [´privilidʒ] n.特权 vt.给….特权 (初中英语单词)


• preparation [,prepə´reiʃən] n.准备；预习(时间) (初中英语单词)


• whistle [´wisəl] v.吹哨 n.口哨；汽笛 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• cheerful [´tʃiəful] a.快乐的；高兴的 (初中英语单词)


• humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)


• cradle [´kreidl] n.摇篮；发源地 (初中英语单词)


• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)


• forlorn [fə´lɔ:n] a.被遗弃的；绝望的 (高中英语单词)


• whereabouts [,weərə´bauts] n.下落；行踪；所在 (高中英语单词)


• proceeding [prə´si:diŋ] n.程序；进程；行动 (高中英语单词)


• crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)


• northward [´nɔ:θwəd] ad.&a.向北(的) n.北 (高中英语单词)


• ireland [´aiələnd] n.爱尔兰 (高中英语单词)


• storage [´stɔ:ridʒ] n.贮存；存储器 (高中英语单词)


• inferior [in´fiəriə] n.下级的 n.下级；晚辈 (高中英语单词)


• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)


• bicycle [´baisik(ə)l] n.自行车 (高中英语单词)


• tenderly [´tendəli] ad.娇嫩地；柔和地 (高中英语单词)


• nourish [´nʌriʃ] vt.养育；施肥于 (高中英语单词)


• competent [´kɔmpitənt] a.能干的，有资格的 (高中英语单词)


• quaint [kweint] a.离奇的；奇妙的 (高中英语单词)


• bonnet [´bɔnit] n.无边女帽；童帽 (高中英语单词)


• profitable [´prɔfitəbəl] a.有益的；有用的 (高中英语单词)


• consciousness [´kɔnʃəsnis] n.意识；觉悟；知觉 (高中英语单词)


• landlady [´lænd,leidi] n.女房东；女店主 (高中英语单词)


• insure [in´ʃuə] vt.给…保险 (高中英语单词)


• scottish [´skɔtiʃ, ´skɑtiʃ] a.&n.苏格兰人(的) (英语四级单词)


• experienced [ik´spiəriənst] a.有经验的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)


• amiable [´eimiəbəl] a.亲切的，温和的 (英语四级单词)


• polish [´pəuliʃ] a.波兰(人)的 n.波兰语 (英语四级单词)


• stronghold [´strɔŋhəuld] n.要塞；根据地 (英语四级单词)


• devoted [di´vəutid] a.献身…的，忠实的 (英语四级单词)


• edinburgh [´edinbərə] n.爱丁堡 (英语四级单词)


• economical [,i:kə´nɔmikəl] a.节俭的；经济的 (英语四级单词)


• bridge [bridʒ] n.桥(梁)；鼻梁；桥牌 (英语四级单词)


• pilgrimage [´pilgrimidʒ] n.朝圣；远游；人生历程 (英语四级单词)


• academic [,ækə´demik] a.学术的 n.大学学生 (英语四级单词)


• wherefore [´weəfɔ:] ad.为什么；因此 (英语四级单词)


• speedily [´spi:dili] ad.迅速地 (英语四级单词)


• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)


• genial [´dʒi:niəl] a.愉快的；和蔼的 (英语四级单词)


• roadside [´rəudsaid] n.&a.路边(的) (英语四级单词)


• idleness [´aidlnis] n.懒；闲着不干事 (英语四级单词)


• cleanliness [´kli:nlinis] n.清洁 (英语四级单词)


• languid [´læŋgwid] a.精神不振的 (英语六级单词)


• speculate [´spekjuleit] vi.思索；推测；投机 (英语六级单词)


• causeway [´kɔ:zwei] n.堤道；砌道 (英语六级单词)


• propriety [prə´praiəti] n.正当；合适；礼貌 (英语六级单词)


• unruly [ʌn´ru:li] a.不守规则的 (英语六级单词)


• footman [´futmən] n.侍应员；男仆 (英语六级单词)


• irishman [´aiəriʃmən] n.爱尔兰人 (英语六级单词)


• dublin [´dʌblin] n.都柏林 (英语六级单词)


• departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)


• poetical [pəu´etikəl] a.理想化了的 (英语六级单词)


• beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)