Well, Bonny Betty left her work, and in an hour the poor little creatures were dressed in their best; and at ten o’clock, Mrs. M’Curdy and Norah, with all the women of the other shanties, as well as those children that were at home, proceeded to her house, and asked her to take a walk and look at the gentleman’s improvements. On being urged by Mrs. M’Curdy, whom she very much respected, and seeing the eager looks of the children, she sat out with them. All was wonderment and pleasure when they got to the shanty, for the pots were boiling, and the meat was roasting, loaves of bread, and plates of butter, and gingerbread, and small cakes, were all paraded on a clean new table; in short, a house-warming was prepared for some one.
“Oh! if all this was for me and my poor children,” thought Bonny Betty, “how happy I should be; but then there’s the other poor bodies, I’m thinking, wishing the same thing, and sure, have not they as good a right as me?”
“Now Betty, did not I tell you, that you’d eat your dinner in a better house than your old ricketty forlorn one? You are in your own house now, Bonny Betty! for the good kind man, God bless him, has bid me tell you, that by giving him the same rent that you pay for that old one, you may live in this nice comfortable house.”
There was a general cry of joy; and Bonny Betty fell on her knees, and bade them all kneel down with her, and pray that she might continue to deserve this great good. Every thing was of the plainest materials, wooden presses, wooden bedsteads; in short, though all was new, yet there was nothing better than poor people generally buy; but what went most to Betty’s heart, were the neat comfortable beds for her children, and the nice kitchen furniture, and the shed for the cow.
After they had dined, and assisted in washing up the plates and pots, the neighbours after again wishing her joy departed, and left her “alone in her glory,” and no creature could be happier nor more thankful. It cannot be doubted that she prayed most fervently, and that she slept soundly on her clean straw bed that night.
In the morning, Mr. Price sent for Jemmy Brady, Larry M’Gilpin, David Conolly, Sammy Oram, and Daniel M’Leary. Through respect of age, he addressed the latter first; he asked him if he liked his new quarters. The poor Irishman said, he was only too comfortable. “Well then,” said Mr. Price, “I hope you will lend a hand in what I propose doing; you need not speak; the time of these men is precious; I know you will assist me, and I trust as I leave you overseer, or agent, or give it any name you please, over that square of land yonder, you will follow my directions strictly. They are these: In the first place, you are to open and shut three of the gates, keeping the keys yourself; and only opening them for carts and wagons, which are to go in and out, whenever the tenants desire it. You are to set down in a book, how many tools each man takes out every day, and note down such as are not brought to you when the day is ended. All the tools are to be mended at my expense for one year. You are to give every man or boy as much seed as is required; and as you are, I am told, a good gardener, you will be able to decide on the quantity to be given. This is all I can recollect to ask of you just now; excepting furthermore, to set down the names of such men and children as are regular at their work; and to ask each person to let you know how much money he makes from day to day, all of which you must commit to writing. I do not wish to know this to raise the rent on the tenants of that piece of ground, but to know to whom I am to give the premium in the fall. I shall be here in November, to look at your book. You will find paper and pens and ink in abundance in a box, which I shall send you next week. Find out the men’s ages, and let the oldest have the first choice of twenty-five feet. Good morning my friends—no thanks—let me see whom I am to thank in November next. Here M’Leary, here are twenty-five dollars; give five to the wife of each man, keep five for yourself, and give a dollar a piece to Sammy Oram’s boys. I hope you’ll give no trouble to Mr. M’Leary, and that people will come far and near to see your garden—Good morning.”
This thing being settled, Mr. Price now turned his attention to his new friend Mrs. M’Curdy; he asked her how she would like to have one of David Conolly’s sisters to live with her? “You have given me so good a character of her,” said he, “Nelly, I think you call her, that I should like her to live an easier and a happier life. She is younger than yourself, and is more able to do the rough work of the house, and I can make it a desirable thing, for I will allow her good wages. My little Norah must not labour any more; I want her to grow tall and fair, and she must go to school likewise.”
Poor Sally did not like this part of the arrangement, which Mr. Price seeing, he observed, that if she disliked to part with the little girl, he would make another arrangement; but at any rate he should consult her feelings in whatever he proposed. He intended to give her pleasure and not pain. Reformers and patrons were too apt, he knew, to order things to suit their own views, without regard to the feelings of those whom they wish to benefit. At any rate one thing he was sure would give her pleasure, and this was the adding a small house to the shanty she lived in.
The house was soon begun—it was to be a neat two-storied brick house—and while it was building he persuaded Mrs. M’Curdy to live with him, leaving Nelly Conolly in the shanty to take care of the furniture, cow, pigs and garden. They all set out together in a week from that time, every heart blessing Mr. Price, and lamenting the absence of the old lady and Norah, whose neatness and kindness of disposition had wrought such a change in their prospects.
Sammy Oram was found to be the oldest man of the four candidates; but as Bonny Betty had testified a desire to hire one of the lots, he very gallantly resigned his rights of seniority to her; of course she chose the one parallel with her own shanty; she therefore, had one of the centre strips. Sammy Oram took the lot adjoining; at which Larry M’Gilpin gave a knowing wink to Jemmy Brady. Jemmy took the one next to him, being the corner lot. Between Bonny Betty and the next lot was a cart road of ten feet; Larry had the one adjoining the road, David Conolly the next, and his son Patrick, with Sammy Oram’s two oldest boys took the corner lot—making in all six different tenants.