The h2g2 Literary Corner: Castle Rackrent, by Maria Edgeworth
Created | Updated Mar 13, 2016
This month belongs to Irish writers. There are a lot of good ones out there.
Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) was pretty much the opposite of Charlotte Yonge. Maria was a forward-thinking sort of person who corresponded with the Lunar Society – a club of Enlightenment types who used to go over to Erasmus Darwin's house when the moon was full (so they could see to drive home). She came from a large family, and helped raised her younger siblings. And, very much unlike Charlotte, Maria took a real interest in the ordinary people around her. She was not at all stuck up. So it's no wonder that her lively novels are fun to read.
In Castle Rackrent, Maria tried to serve as a sort of translator for the 'foreign' ways of the Irish for her English readers. We thought you'd get a chuckle out of this bit. If you want to read the rest of the novel, visit it on Gutenberg.
Castle Rackrent, by Maria Edgeworth
But Sir Condy all this time, and a great while afterwards, was at a terrible nonplus; for he had no liking, not he, to stage-plays, nor to Miss Isabella either – to his mind, as it came out over a bowl of whisky-punch at home, his little Judy M'Quirk, who was daughter to a sister's son of mine, was worth twenty of Miss Isabella. He had seen her often when he stopped at her father's cabin to drink whisky out of the eggshell1, out hunting, before he came to the estate, and, as she gave out, was under something like a promise of marriage to her. Anyhow, I could not but pity my poor master, who was so bothered between them, and he an easy-hearted man, that could not disoblige nobody – God bless him! To be sure, it was not his place to behave ungenerous to Miss Isabella, who had disobliged all her relations for his sake, as he remarked; and then she was locked up in her chamber, and forbid to think of him any more, which raised his spirit, because his family was, as he observed, as good as theirs at any rate, and the Rackrents a suitable match for the Moneygawls any day in the year; all which was true enough. But it grieved me to see that, upon the strength of all this, Sir Condy was growing more in the mind to carry off Miss Isabella to Scotland2, in spite of her relations, as she desired.
'It's all over with our poor Judy!' said I, with a heavy sigh, making bold to speak to him one night when he was a little cheerful, and standing in the servants' hall all alone with me as was often his custom.
'Not at all,' said he; 'I never was fonder of Judy than at this present speaking; and to prove it to you,' said he – and he took from my hand a halfpenny change that I had just got along with my tobacco – 'and to prove it to you, Thady,' says he, 'it's a toss-up with me which I should marry this minute, her or Mr. Moneygawl3 of Mount Juliet's Town's daughter – so it is.'
Oh-boo! boo!' [Boo! Boo! – an exclamation equivalent to PSHAW or NONSENSE4] says I, making light of it, to see what he would go on to next; 'your honour's joking, to be sure; there's no compare between our poor Judy and Miss Isabella, who has a great fortune, they say.'
'I'm not a man to mind a fortune, nor never was,' said Sir Condy, proudly, 'whatever her friends may say; and to make short of it,' says he, 'I'm come to a determination upon the spot.' With that he swore such a terrible oath as made me cross myself5 'And by this book,' said he, snatching up my ballad-book, mistaking it for my prayer-book6, which lay in the window, – 'and by this book,' says he, 'and by all the books that ever were shut and opened, it's come to a toss-up with me, and I'll stand or fall by the toss; and so Thady, hand me over that pin [PIN, read PEN. – It formerly was vulgarly pronounced PIN in Ireland7] out of the ink-horn;' and he makes a cross on the smooth side of the halfpenny; 'Judy M'Quirk,' says he, 'her mark.'
[HER MARK. – It was the custom in Ireland for those who could not write to make a cross to stand for their signature, as was formerly the practice of our English monarchs. The Editor inserts the facsimile of an Irish mark, which may hereafter be valuable to a judicious antiquary –
Her
Judy X M'Quirk,
Mark.
In bonds or notes signed in this manner a witness is requisite, as the name is frequently written by him or her8.]
WHO will the coin toss land on? WILL the couple be happy? You'll have to read the book to find out. I'm not tellin'.
