lady's interest could get from the
Linen Board to distribute gratis. Then there was a bleach-yard near us,
and the tenant dare refuse my lady nothing, for fear of a lawsuit Sir
Murtagh kept hanging over him about the watercourse. With these ways
of managing, 'tis surprising how cheap my lady got things done, and how
proud she was of it. Her table the same way, kept for next to nothing
[See GLOSSARY 6]; duty fowls, and duty turkeys, and duty geese, came as
fast as we could eat 'em, for my lady kept a sharp lookout, and knew
to a tub of butter everything the tenants had, all round. They knew her
way, and what with fear of driving for rent and Sir Murtagh's lawsuits,
they were kept in such good order, they never thought of coming near
Castle Rackrent without a present of something or other--nothing too
much or too little for my lady--eggs, honey, butter, meal, fish, game,
grouse, and herrings, fresh or salt, all went for something. As for
their young pigs, we had them, and the best bacon and hams they could
make up, with all young chickens in spring; but they were a set of poor
wretches, and we had nothing but misfortunes with them, always breaking
and running away. This, Sir Murtagh and my lady said, was all their
former landlord Sir Patrick's fault, who let 'em all get the half-year's
rent into arrear; there was something in that to be sure. But Sir
Murtagh was as much the contrary way; for let alone making English
tenants [See GLOSSARY 7] of them, every soul, he was always driving
and driving, and pounding and pounding, and canting and canting [See
GLOSSARY 8], and replevying and replevying, and he made a good living
of trespassing cattle; there was always some tenant's pig, or horse, or
cow, or calf, or goose, trespassing, which was so great a gain to Sir
Murtagh, that he did not like to hear me talk of repairing fences. Then
his heriots and duty-work [See GLOSSARY 9] brought him in something, his
turf was cut, his potatoes set and dug, his hay brought home, and, in
short, all the work about his house done for nothing; for in all our
leases there were strict clauses heavy with penalties, which Sir Murtagh
knew well how to enforce; so many days' duty-work of man and horse, from
every tenant, he was to have, and had, every year; and when a man vexed
him, why, the finest day he could pitch on, when the cratur was getting
in his own harvest, or thatching his cabin, Sir Murtagh made it a
principle to call upon him and his ho