“The poor child has fainted,” they exclaimed, “bring her to the fresh air.”
Ere any one had time, however, to raise her, James Cavanagh rushed over to the coffin, and seizing her in his arms, bore her to the street, where he placed her upon one of the chairs that had been left there to support the coffin until keened over by the relatives and friends, previous to its being-placed in the hearse; for such is the custom. There is something exceedingly alarming in a swoon to a person who witnesses it for the first time; which was the case with James Cavanagh. Having placed her on the chair, he looked wildly upon her; then as wildly upon those who were crowding round him. “What ails her?” he exclaimed—“what ails her?—she is dead!—she is dead! Dora—Dora dear—Dora dear, can't you spake or hear me?”
Whilst he pronounced the words, a shower of tears gushed rapidly from his eyes and fell upon her beautiful features, and in the impressive tenderness of the moment, he caught her to his heart, and with rapturous distraction and despair kissed her lips and exclaimed, “She is dead!—she is dead!—an' all that's in the world is nothing to the love I had for her!”
“Stand aside, James,” said his sister Kathleen; “leave this instantly. Forgive him, Bryan,” she said, looking at her lover with a burning brow, “he doesn't know what he is doing.”
“No, Kathleen,” replied, her brother, with a choking voice, “neither for you nor for him, nor for a human crature, will I leave her.”
“James, I'm ashamed of you,” said Hanna, rapidly and energetically disengaging his arms from about the insensible girl; “have! you no respect for Dora? If you love her as you say, you could hardly act as you did.”
“Why,” said he, staring at her, “what did I do?”
Bryan took him firmly by the arm, and said, “Come away, you foolish boy; I don't think you know what you did. Leave her to the girls. There, she is recoverin'.”
She did soon recover; but weak and broken down as she was, no persuasion nor even authority could prevail upon her to remain at home. Jemmy Burke, who had intended to offer Kathleen a seat upon his car, which, of course, she would not have accepted, was now outmanoeuvred by his wife, 'who got Dora beside herself, after having placed a sister of Tom M'Mahon's beside him.
At length, the coffin was brought out, and the keene raised over it, on the conclusion of which it was placed in the hearse, and the procession began to move on.