The Project Gutenberg EBook of Phil Purcel, The Pig-Driver; The Geography
Of An Irish Oath; The Lianhan Shee, by William Carleton

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Title: Phil Purcel, The Pig-Driver; The Geography Of An Irish Oath; The Lianhan Shee
Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of
William Carleton, Volume Three

Author: William Carleton

Illustrator: M. L. Flanery

Release Date: June 7, 2005 [EBook #16015]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHIL PURCEL, THE PIG-DRIVER ***

Produced by David Widger

TRAITS AND STORIES OF THE IRISH PEASANTRY

BY WILLIAM CARLETON

PART IV.

[Illustration: Frontispiece]

[Illustration: Titlepage]

CONTENTS:

Phil Purcel, The Pig-Driver.

The Geography Of An Irish Oath.

The Lianhan Shee.

PHIL PURCEL, THE PIG-DRIVER.

Phil Purcel was a singular character, for he was never married; but
notwithstanding his singularity, no man ever possessed, for practical
purposes, a more plentiful stock of duplicity. All his acquaintances
knew that Phil was a knave of the first water, yet was he decidedly a
general favorite. Now as we hate mystery ourselves, we shall reveal the
secret of this remarkable popularity; though, after all, it can scarcely
be called so, for Phil was not the first cheat who has been popular
in his day. The cause of his success lay simply in this; that he never
laughed; and, none of our readers need be told, that the appearance of
a grave cheat in Ireland is an originality which almost runs up into
a miracle. This gravity induced every one to look upon him as a
phenomenon. The assumed simplicity of his manners was astonishing,
and the ignorance which he feigned, so apparently natural, that it was
scarcely possible for the most keen-sighted searcher into human motives
to detect him. The only way of understanding the man was to deal with
him: if, after that, you did not comprehend him thoroughly, the fault
was not Phil's, but your own. Although not mirthful himself, he was the
cause of mirth in others; for, without ever smiling at his own gains, he
contrived to make others laugh at their losses. His disposition, setting
asid