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| THE MARKET DONKEY, DROGHEDA, CO. LOUTH. -The Irish housewife, of thrifty habit, by no means disdains the humble donkey, which can live and thrive where a horse might starve, or at least become an eligible candidate for the boneyard or glue factory. Market day in an Irish town is a period of shrewd bargains. Nobody ever knew an Irish marketer, male or female, to have a single price. The policy is to put everything up as high as possible, and gradually come down in demand until a compromise, followed by a sale, is effected. On market day, then, the cart, hauled by a donkey, is loaded by the Vanithee-woman of the house -with butter, eggs, bacon, potatoes and occasionally poultry. When she enters the market place, the good woman is immediately surrounded by eager customers, who want everything at the lowest possible figure. She is equally determined to keep the price up. Finally, the haggling resolves itself into "splitting the difference;" that is to say, if a shilling is in dispute the seller will take sixpence, and so on, according to the amount. When the bargain is finally struck, the seller is always expected to give "luck penny," which may range anywhere from half a crown to a "four penny bit" -seldom lower than the latter coin. This money, when the sale is between men, is generally expended on "treats" at the bar of some convenient "public." Women are not held to this rule stringently, and no doubt the buxom lady in the picture holds on to her "luck penny" with the tenacity of her sex. |
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