Seamus wipes his sleeve across his face and sniffles. He says,There
was no call at all to shift you up here away from Patricia when you
didnt even know what happened to the highwayman and Bess. Tis a
very sad story and when I said it to my wife she wouldnt stop crying
the whole night till we went to bed. She said there was no call for them
redcoats to shoot that highwayman, they are responsible for half the
troubles of the world and they never had any pity on the Irish, either.
Now if you want to know any more poems, Frankie, tell me and Ill get
them from the pub and bring em back in my head.
The girl with the blue dress whos not right in the head suddenly
says one day,Would you like a book for to read? and she brings me The
Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss by E. Phillips Oppenheim, which is all
about an Englishman who is fed up and doesnt know what to do with
himself every day even though hes so rich he cant count his money.
His manservant brings him the morning paper the tea the egg the toast
and marmalade and he says,Take it away, life is empty. He cant read his
paper, he cant eat his egg, and he pines away. His doctor tells him go
and live among the poor in the East End of London and hell learn to
love life,which he does and falls in love with a girl who is poor but hon-
est and very intelligent and they get married and move into his house
in the West End which is the rich part because its easier to help the
poor and not be fed up when youre nice and comfortable.
Seamus likes me to tell him what Im reading. He says that story
about Mr. Ernest Bliss is a made-up story because no one in his right
mind would have to go to a doctor over having too much money and
not eating his egg though you never know. It might be like that in En-
gland.Youd never find the likes of that in Ireland. If you didnt eat your
egg here youd be carted off to the lunatic asylum or reported to the
bishop.
I cant wait to go home and tell Malachy about this man who wont
eat his egg. Malachy will fall down on the floor laughing because such
a thing could never happen. Hell say Im making it up but when I tell
him this story is about an Englishman hell understand.
I cant tell the girl in the blue dress that this story was silly because
she might have a fit. She says if youre finished with that book Ill bring
you another one because theres a whole box of books left behind by
patients from the old days. She brings me a book called Tom Browns
School-Days, which is hard to read, and no end of books by P. G.Wode-
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