this he conducted by the aid of what was termed a
_muddha vristha_, or rustic tongs, which was nothing more than a wattle,
or stick, broken in the middle, between the ends of which he held
both his potatoes and his eggs while turning them. Two good-looking,
fresh-colored girls were squatted on their hunkers (hams), cutting
potatoes for seed--late as the season was--with two case knives, which,
had been borrowed from a neighboring farmer of some wealth. The dress
of the women was similar and simple. It consisted of a long-bodied gown
that had only half skirts; that is to say, instead of encompassing the
whole person, the lower part of it came forward only as far as the hip
bones, on each side, leaving the front of the petticoat exposed. This
posterior part of the gown would, if left to fall to its full length,
have formed a train behind them of at least two feet in length. It
was pinned up, however, to a convenient length, and was not at all an
ungraceful garment, if we except the sleeves, which went no farther than
the elbows--a fashion in dress which is always unbecoming, especially
when the arms are thin. The hair of the elder woman was doubled back in
front, from about the middle of the forehead, and the rest of the
head was covered by a _dowd cap_, the most primitive of all female
headdresses, being a plain shell, or skull-cap, as it were, for the
head, pointed behind, and without any fringe or border whatsoever.
This turning up of the hair was peculiar only to married life, of which
condition it was universally a badge. The young females wore theirs
fastened behind by a skewer; but on this occasion one of them, the
youngest, allowed it to fall in natural ringlets about her cheeks and
shoulders.

"God save all here," said Barney, as he entered the house.

"God save you kindly, Barney," was the instant reply from all.

"Ah, Mrs. Davoren," he proceeded, "ever the same; by this and by that,
if there's a woman living ignorant of one thing, and you are that
woman."

"Sorrow off you, Barney! well, what is it?"

"Idleness, achora. Now, let me see if you have e'er a finger at all to
show; for upon my honorable word they ought to be worn to the stumps
long ago. Well, and how are you all? But sure I needn't ax. Faith,
you're crushin' the _blanter_* anyhow, and that looks well."

* Blantur, a well-known description of oats. It was so
called from having been originally imported from Blantire in
Scotland.