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Lady Bountiful By: George A. Birmingham (1865-1950) |
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By George A. Birmingham George H. Doran Company, Copyright 1922
PART ONE
I. LADY BOUNTIFUL Society in the west of Ireland is beautifully tolerant. A man may do
many things there, things frowned on elsewhere, without losing caste.
He may, for instance, drink heavily, appearing in public when plainly
intoxicated, and no one thinks much the worse of him. He may be in debt
up to the verge of bankruptcy and yet retain his position in society.
But he may not marry his cook. When old Sir Tony Corless did that, he
lost caste. He was a baronet of long descent, being, in fact, the fifth
Corless who held the title. Castle Affey was a fine old place, one of the best houses in the county,
but people stopped going there and stopped asking Sir Tony to dinner.
They could not stand the cook. Bridie Malone was her name before she became Lady Corless. She was the
daughter of the blacksmith in the village at the gates of Castle Affey,
and she was at least forty years younger than Sir Tony. People shook
their heads when they heard of the marriage and said that the old
gentleman must be doting. "It isn't even as if she was a reasonably good looking girl," said
Captain Corless, pathetically. "If she had been a beauty I could have
understood it, but the poor old dad!" Captain Corless was the son of another, a very different Lady Corless,
and some day he in his turn would become Sir Tony. Meanwhile, having
suffered a disabling wound early in the war, he had secured a pleasant
and fairly well paid post as inspector under the Irish Government. No
one, not even Captain Corless himself, knew exactly what he inspected,
but there was no uncertainty about the salary. It was paid quarterly. Bridie Malone was not good looking. Captain Corless was perfectly right
about that. She was very imperfectly educated. She could sign her name,
but the writing of anything except her name was a difficulty to her. She
could read, though only if the print were large and the words were not
too long. But she possessed certain qualities not very common in any class. She
had, for instance, quite enough common sense to save her from posing as
a great lady. Sir Tony lost caste by his marriage. Bridie Malone did not
sacrifice a single friend when she became Lady Corless. She remained on
excellent terms with her father, her six younger sisters, and her four
brothers. She remained on excellent terms with everyone in the village. In the big house of which she became mistress she had her difficulties
at first. The other servants, especially the butler and the upper
housemaid, resented her promotion and sought new situations. Bridie
replaced them, replaced the whole staff with relatives of her own. Castle Affey was run by the Malone family. Danny, a young man who helped
his father in the forge, became butler. Sarah Malone, Susy Malone, and
Mollie Malone swept the floors, made the beds, and lit the fires. Bridie
taught them their duties and saw that they did them thoroughly.
Though she was Lady Corless, she took her meals with her family in
the servants' hall and made it her business to see that Sir Tony was
thoroughly comfortable and well fed. The old gentleman had never been so
comfortable in his life, or better fed. He had never been so free from worry. Bridie took over the management of
the garden and farm. She employed her own relatives. There was an ample
supply of them, for almost everyone in the village was related to the
Ma lones. She paid good wages, but she insisted on getting good work,
and she never allowed her husband to trouble about anything. Old Sir Tony found life a much easier business than he had ever found it
before. He chuckled when Captain Corless, who paid an occasional visit
to Castle Affey, pitied him. "You think I'm a doddering old fool," he said, "but, by gad, Tony, the
most sensible thing I ever did in my life was to marry Bridie Ma lone!
If you're wise you'll take on your stepmother as housekeeper here and
general manager after I'm gone... Continue reading book >>
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