Sons of an Ancient Glory Read online

  HERE’S WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT BJ HOFF’S THE EMERALD BALLADS

  Book 1

  Song of the Silent Harp…

  “All the color and imagery of a film enliven this story…Rarely has a novel captured so authentically the enduring faith of the Irish peasant…”

  EOIN MCKIERNAN, Founder,

  Irish American Cultural Institute

  Book 2

  Heart of the Lonely Exile…

  “…A brilliant picture of the excitement and drama of life in New York City a century ago.”

  IRISH BOOKS AND MEDIA

  “These are people to admire and care about, people who have struggled with the demons of sickness, death, and despair, and have survived because of their strong faith and trust in God.”

  OHIOANA QUARTERLY

  “…A captivating, faith-filled saga as exuberant, lyrical, and spirited as the Irish themselves…A historical saga so rich, so vivid, and so riveting you’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time.”

  GUIDEPOSTS BOOK CLUB

  Book 3

  Land of a Thousand Dreams…

  “A big, colorful novel, full of the type of upbeat Christian values to be found in much of Hoff’s fiction.”

  IRISH ECHO

  “…Captures the melodic vernacular of the Irish world through a myriad of complex characters in a sweeping story of the battle to survive, on both the peasant lands of the Emerald Isle and on the uncertain streets of New York.”

  WEST COAST REVIEW OF BOOKS

  Book 4

  Sons of an Ancient Glory…

  “Hoff tells a number of striking stories, all involving characters we come to care about immediately. She clearly knows her history, her religion, and her audience, and does a fine job of presenting the first two to the third. This is a series that deserves a lengthy run.”

  WEST COAST REVIEW OF BOOKS

  Recipient of Christianity Today’s Critic’s Choice Book Award, Fiction

  Sons of an

  Ancient Glory

  THE EMERALD BALLAD

  BJ HOFF

  HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

  EUGENE, OREGON

  Cover by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

  BJ Hoff: Published in association with the Books & Such Literary Agency, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370, www.booksandsuch.biz.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Previously published in 1993 by Bethany House Publishers.

  SONS OF AN ANCIENT GLORY

  Copyright © 1993 by BJ Hoff

  Published by Harvest House Publishers

  Eugene, Oregon 97402

  www.harvesthousepublishers.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Hoff, BJ

  Sons of an ancient glory / BJ Hoff.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 978-0-7369-2795-6 (pbk.)

  1. Irish Americans—Fiction. 2. Immigrants—Fiction. 3. Ireland—Fiction I. Title.

  PS3558.O34395S63 2011

  813’.54—dc22

  2010021580

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Printed in the United States of America

  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 / LB-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  TO MY READERS:

  This book is for you. You have overwhelmed me with your letters of encouragement, strengthened me with your prayers of support, and affirmed the value of the stories by opening your caring hearts to me with your own unique stories: stories of your struggles, your sorrows, and your victories.

  Storytelling has always been of the utmost importance to the Irish. Because the Gaelic language was outlawed for generations, the ancient art of storytelling was crucial to the survival of Irish culture. For centuries in Ireland, the itinerant Seanchai—the Storyteller—was the person who kept the legends, the history, the traditions of the people alive.

  I believe God has used my own passion for all things Irish to motivate me to take up the tradition of the Seanchai and tell the story of Ireland’s tragedy—and the long-range effect of that tragedy on both the Emerald Isle and America. But because I also believe that the Irish represent a universal immigration experience (having endured bondage, religious persecution, genocide, displacement, and ethnic prejudice), I like to think that the Emerald Ballad novels are not only stories about Irish immigrants, but stories about all immigrants. Many of you have written to confirm that belief, and I thank you.

  Above all else, I hope Sons of an Ancient Glory and all the other Emerald Ballads portray a compassionate God at work among His people, a God who understands our frailties and redeems our failures. Time and time again God charges us in His Word to tell our children and our grandchildren of His deeds. So, as I tell you these stories of the Children of Erin, it is my prayer that you will pass them on. May we all be faithful to tell our children…and their children…of “His deeds, His power, and the wonders He has done.”

  Dia linn…

  God bless us.

  BJ Hoff

  2010

  Acknowledgments

  My warmest thanks and appreciation to Harvest House Publishers for publishing this new edition of Sons of an Ancient Glory, the fourth book of The Emerald Ballad series, and for their ongoing support and encouragement of my work.

  ABOUT BJ HOFF

  BJ Hoff’s bestselling historical novels continue to cross the boundaries of religion, language, and culture to capture a worldwide reading audience. In addition to The Emerald Ballad series, her books include such popular titles as Song of Erin and American Anthem and bestselling series such as The Riverhaven Years and The Mountain Song Legacy. Her stories, although set in the past, are always relevant to the present. Whether her characters move about in Ireland or America, in small country towns or metropolitan areas, reside in Amish settlements or in coal company houses, she creates communities where people can form relationships, raise families, pursue their faith, and experience the mountains and valleys of life.

  A direct descendant of Irish ancestors who came to this country before the Revolutionary War, BJ brings a decade of historical research and strong personal involvement to The Emerald Ballad series. Her understanding of the Irish people—their history, their struggles, their music, their indomitable spirit—lends to her writing all the passion and power of her own Irish heritage. BJ and her husband make their home in Ohio.

  For a complete listing of BJ’s books published by

  Harvest House Publishers, turn to page 377.

  Contents

  To My Readers

  Acknowledgments

  About BJ Hoff

  Prologue • Glory Renewed

  PART ONE

  LIGHT OF PROMISE • NEW BEGINNINGS

  1 An Afternoon in the Park

  2 A Gray, Chill Day

  3 A More Recent Sorrow

  4 The Gypsy and the Rebel

  5 You Will Always Have Your Memories

  6 Meeting in a Dublin Gaol

  7 The Open Door

  8 Strangers at Nelson Hall

  9 Of Friends and Family

  10 The Arrival of Quinn O’Shea

  11 A Long Night in Brooklyn

  12 The Mystery, The Miracle

  13 Enemy Territory

  14 Dancing Dreams
<
br />   15 On the Golden Streets of New York

  16 Shooting Star

  17 Among Men

  18 A Momentous Occasion at Nelson Hall

  19 A Child Is Born

  PART TWO

  LIGHT OF TRUTH • GATHERING DARKNESS

  20 A Candle in the Dark

  21 The Chatham Charity Women’s Shelter

  22 The Space Between

  23 Closed Doors

  24 To Face the Dragon

  25 Portrait of a Woman

  26 The Midnight Thief

  27 Bad Tidings

  28 A Reluctant Parting

  29 In the Vardo

  30 Voice of the Heart

  31 Terror on the Wind

  PART THREE

  LIGHT OF HOPE • GLORIOUS GRACE

  32 Suffer the Children

  33 Be Thou My Vision

  34 Hope for the Hopeless

  35 Between Freedom and Fear

  36 In the Devil’s Den

  37 The Price of Justice

  38 Angels Unaware

  39 Acts of Desperation

  40 The Sound of Singing

  41 The Ways of Women

  42 I Have Brought You to This Place

  43 In Search of an Ancient Glory

  44 Folly or Grace?

  45 The Glory of Love

  Epilogue • And to the Prodigal…Grace

  A Note from the Author

  Other fine BJ Hoff books published by Harvest House Publishers

  Great reviews for BJ Hoff’s Mountain Song Legacy trilogy

  About the Publisher

  PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

  ____________

  Ireland

  Morgan Fitzgerald (the Seanchai): Poet, patriot, and schoolmaster. Grandson of British nobleman, Richard Nelson. Formerly of County Mayo. Dublin.

  Finola: Mysterious beauty with no memory of her past. Dublin.

  Annie (Aine) Fitzgerald: Belfast runaway adopted by Morgan Fitzgerald. Dublin.

  Sandemon (the “West Indies Wonder”): Freed slave from Barbados. Hired companion and friend of Morgan Fitzgerald. Dublin.

  Sister Louisa: Nun employed as teacher by Morgan Fitzgerald for his new Academy. Dublin.

  Tierney Burke: Rebellious son of Michael Burke. Formerly of New York City. Dublin.

  Jan Martova: Romany Gypsy who befriends Tierney Burke. Dublin.

  Lucy Hoy: Friend and nurse to Finola. Dublin.

  ____________

  America

  THE KAVANAGHS AND THE WHITTAKERS

  Daniel Kavanagh: Irish immigrant, formerly of Killala, County Mayo. Son of Owen (deceased) and Nora. New York City.

  Nora Kavanagh Whittaker: Irish immigrant, formerly of Killala, County Mayo. Wife of Evan Whittaker. Mother of Daniel Kavanagh. New York City.

  Evan Whittaker: British immigrant, formerly of London. Assistant to Lewis Farmington. New York City.

  Winifred Whittaker Coates: Evan Whittaker’s widowed aunt, formerly of England. New York City.

  Johanna and Thomas (Little Tom) Fitzgerald: Irish immigrants, orphaned children of Thomas (Morgan Fitzgerald’s deceased brother). Adopted by Evan Whittaker and Nora. New York City.

  THE BURKES AND THE FARMINGTONS

  Michael Burke: Irish immigrant, New York City police captain, formerly of Killala, County Mayo.

  Sara Farmington Burke: Daughter of shipbuilding magnate Lewis Farmington. Wife of Michael Burke. New York City.

  Lewis Farmington: Shipbuilder, Christian philanthropist. New York City.

  THE DALTONS

  Jess Dalton: Mission pastor, author, and abolitionist, former West Point Chaplain. New York City.

  Kerry Dalton: Irish immigrant, formerly of County Kerry. Wife of Jess. New York City.

  Casey-Pitz Dalton: Irish immigrant orphan, adopted by the Daltons. New York City.

  THE WALSHES

  Patrick Walsh: Irish immigrant, formerly of County Cork. Crime boss. New York City.

  Alice Walsh: Wife of Patrick. Mother of Isabel and Henry. New York City.

  OTHERS

  Billy Hogan: Fatherless Irish immigrant, formerly of County Sligo. New York City.

  Quinn O’Shea: Newly arrived Irish immigrant with troubled past. Formerly of County Roscommon. New York City.

  Denny Price: Irish immigrant, New York City police sergeant, formerly of County Donegal. New York City.

  Nicholas Grafton: New York City physician.

  Pronunciation Guide

  Aine Än´ya

  a gra (my love) a grä´

  alannah (my child) a län´uh

  aroon (my dear, my love) arn

  Finola (from Fionnuala) Fi n´ la

  gorsoon (boy) gor sun

  Killala Kil lä´ lä

  macushla (my darling) ma cush´ la

  Sandemon Sanda mhn´

  Seanchai (storyteller) Shan´ a kee

  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

  JOHN 17:22-23

  PROLOGUE

  Glory Renewed

  And, long, a brave and haughty race

  Honoured and sentinelled the place—

  Sing oh! not even their son’s disgrace

  Can quite destroy their glory’s trace.

  THOMAS DAVIS (1814–1845)

  Killala, Western Ireland

  January 1, 1801

  Dan Kavanagh flew out of the cottage, little Barry in hand, the midwife’s harsh words like grapeshot at his back.

  “Ye’ll be naught but a nuisance here, man!” shrilled Jane O’Dowd. “Take the tyke, and away with you! Go to McNally’s, why not? O’Casey, the Seanchai, is there with his tales. I’ll send word when it’s time, never fear!”

  Not a man in the village would argue with the flint-tempered Jane O’Dowd. Dan was off in a shake, little Barry at his heels. The older two boys, Niall and Tim, had gone gaming in the woods with Oran Browne early that morning, no doubt in anticipation of the ordeal to come. Dan did not blame them at all; his own eagerness to get away had been suppressed only with great effort. Though he doubted that even the Storyteller could take his mind off Peg and the babe trying to be born, he could not resist the chance to escape for a bit.

  Despite the wind whipping the thatch on McNally’s cottage, the door stood open. An entire gaggle of townspeople had gathered close-in, which, of course, meant the inside would be filled to overflowing. That was ever the case when a Seanchai—a Storyteller—passed through the village.

  Hoisting wee Barry onto his shoulder, Dan wedged a place for them near the door. He caught just a glimpse of the silver-haired O’Casey inside, his spidery-frail bones perched on a stool near the turf fire. Ringed by what appeared to be the entire McNally clan and a remarkable number of villagers, the old traveling man might have been holding court; the cabin was hushed, the facial expressions rapt.

  After a moment, Dan realized that O’Casey was giving forth the latest news from Dublin City, where on this very day—the momentous first day of a new century—the despised Act of Union between England and Ireland was to commence.

  “But what of the Parliament?” Big Tommy Conlon was asking. “Our Irish Parliament?”

  “Irish Parliament, indeed!” snorted O’Casey. “As of today, there is no Irish Parliament, not that it was ever more than a bad joke entirely.” The Storyteller curled his lip. “From this time forth, Ireland and England are to be the same as one country. Our land belongs to the British Crown now, and that’s the truth.”

  “As do our souls,” muttered Frank Duggan, a heavy-shouldered farmer hunched near the fire.

  A dull pain settled over Dan’s chest at their words, though O’Casey’s news merely confirmed what was already suspected. After today, there would be no more pretense of the people having any say in the running of their own country. In an obscene show of tyranny, bribery, and fraud, the Un
ion between Ireland and Britain had been forged, and there was nothing for the Irish to do but live with it.

  And, more than likely, die with it as well.…

  Like an ominous dark cloud, the reality of the Union hung over the day, threatening to spoil what should have otherwise been a grand occasion. For at any moment now, Peg would be delivering a new babe—the first which Dan had fathered.

  The other three boys were his dead brother’s sons. After Brian was hanged for treason in ’98, Dan had taken Peg as his wife and the boys as his own. Today would mark the first fruit of their marriage, and by rights he should be thinking of nothing else.

  But the ache for his country would not go away, not even for the thought of a new child. Hundreds of years of English oppression had finally come to this, Ireland’s greatest humiliation. A paper union, unwanted, despised—a loathsome offspring of corruption, binding the people to an enemy who counted them as less than human.

  An insistent nudge from young Emer Costello, next to him, jerked Dan back to his surroundings. He glanced up to see John McNally, inside, beckoning to him and the boy.

  “’Tis bitter cold for the wee lad,” said McNally, pointing to Barry, who stood shivering in the wind. “Bring him inside. We’ll make room.”

  Parting the crowd, Dan squeezed himself and little Barry through the narrow doorway. Like his own cottage, McNally’s place had two rooms, with rock from the hills for a floor. On one wall leaned a rough wooden box which held pieces of cracked pottery and plates. In the chimney corner stood a bed of straw, covered with a heavy gray blanket. The turf fire was low, but seemed to offer a great warmth after the harsh sting of the wind.

  As he and Barry crowded in among the family, Dan nodded respectfully to O’Casey, who seemed to take no notice. Obviously intent on his own dark thoughts, the Storyteller’s finely webbed face was set in a deep scowl, his hands clenched and anchored on one knee.