sins have your meals served up to you and read your Latin office before
you go to sleep. Id like to be a Jesuit some day but theres no hope of
that when you grow up in a lane. Jesuits are very particular.They dont
like poor people.They like people with motor cars who stick out their
little fingers when they pick up their teacups.
The church is crowded with people at seven oclock Mass getting
the ashes on their foreheads. Malachy whispers that Michael shouldnt
get the ashes because he wont be making his First Communion till May
and it would be a sin. Michael starts to cry, I want the ashes, I want the
ashes. An old woman behind us says,What are ye doin to that lovely
child? Malachy explains the lovely child never made his First Commu-
nion and hes not in a state of grace. Malachy is getting ready for Con-
firmation himself, always showing off his knowledge of the catechism,
always going on about state of grace. He wont admit I knew all about
the state of grace a year ago, so long ago Im starting to forget it.The
old woman says you dont have to be in a state of grace to get a few
ashes on your forehead and tells Malachy stop tormenting his poor lit-
tle brother.She pats Michael on the head and tells him hes a lovely child
and go up there and get your ashes. He runs to the altar and when he
comes back the woman gives him a penny to go with his ashes.
Aunt Aggie is still in the bed with Alphie. She tells Malachy to fill
Alphies bottle with milk and bring it to him. She tells me to start the
fire in the range, that theres paper and wood in a box and coal in the
coal scuttle. If the fire wont start sprinkle it with a little paraffin oil.
The fire is slow and smoky and I sprinkle it with the paraffin oil,it flares
up, whoosh, and nearly takes my eyebrows off.There is smoke every-
where and Aunt Aggie rushes into the kitchen. She shoves me away
from the range. Jesus above, cant you do anything right? Youre sup-
posed to open the damper, you eejit.
I dont know anything about dampers. In our house we have a fire-
place in Ireland downstairs and a fireplace in Italy upstairs and no sign
of a damper.Then you go to your aunts house and youre supposed to
know all about dampers.Theres no use telling her this is the first time
you ever lit a fire in a range. Shell just give you another thump on the
skull and send you flying. Its hard to know why grown people get so
angry over little things like dampers.When Im a man I wont go around
thumping small children over dampers or anything else. Now she yells
at me, Look at Lord Muck standing there. Would you ever think of
opening the window and letting out the smoke? Of course you wouldnt.
245