redden'd it wid a coal, an' was enjoying himsilf quite asy an' pleasant, when all av a suddint, what should dhrive up past the dure but a coach that was full of passhingers in an' out, an' Paddy should get up to see did he know anybody an it; an' so whin the landlady saw him outside the dure staring afther the coach, what should come into her head, but the divil's own notion to interfare wid Father Matchew's work! I'll spoil his spoort for this wanst,' siz she, 'any how,' siz she; an' up wid hersilf, an' popp'd a naggin of whishkey into Paddy's milk, an' poured it into a jug, and sot it on the windy to cool. By an' by, whin Paddy was done looking afther the coach, an' it out of sight, he comes in back for his milk, an bein' a-most kilt wid de druth, swallyed it all down in no time-an' if he did, bad luck to it, up comes the ould tashte an' shmell ov de whishkey! 'Och, murdher! murdher! murdher!' siz Paddy, I'm ruined agen!' siz he, here's ructions of whishkey,' siz he, coming up de throat of me!' siz he. An' the fine gay landlady began to laugh till the ribands shuk an her cap, an' siz she, What's the matter wid you, my honest friend?' siz she.No frind av mine you are, ye desavingest woman of the world!' siz Paddy. Is it the pace of my poor sinful sowl yer begrudging me?' siz he. 'An' is it this the way yer thinkin' to bate Father Matchew out an out?' siz he. An' wid that he gother himself for another shtart, an' bowlted clane out av the dure, an' away wid him back agen to Cork as fast as he could pelt, an' never stopped till he kem to Father Matchew's house, an' his rivirence waiting for him outside! 'Come in, my poor fellow,' siz he, an' take the plidge agen by all manes,' siz he. I don't blame you the laste,' siz he; but take care of thim soort of women another time,' siz he. An' now,' siz he, 'Paddy, yer twice as shtrong for a tee-totaller as you was before, an' you may go home wid my blessing. An' whisper!' siz he; 'mind my ordhers now,' siz he. 'Call in to that shebeen house as quick as you can, an' see what's become of the gay widdy,' siz he, an' whether she'll propose you another naggin, siz he. So Paddy away wid himself to face the road agen, an' whin he kem to the widdy's house, he 'd like to be smudder'd wid th' hapes of people in the road, roaring an' crying; but av coorse he did as he'd bin bid, an' squeesh'd himself into the house, an' there was the gay widdy stritched dead on a table, an' the neighbours all wakeing her. The Lord save us!"

"Tare-an-ounters!"-"A wough, wough!"—" Well, well, well!" -"The Lord be praised!" Such, and many more, were the general exclamations re-echoed by the females, who, though pretending at times to be very busy, never lost a syllable.

MR. COFFY. "God bless me, Tom Donovan, but that's a terrible story to be true."

DONOVAN. "Devil a word of a lie in it, sir. boy's own friends tould me."

That's juist as the

became of the five

MR. COFFY." But did any of ye hear what millers from O'Brien's Bridge? Were you not living there at the time, Paddy Kennedy?"

PADDY KENNEDY. "Sure I was, sir, an' knew them all as one as my own brothers. Not to say them boys was so bad; but you see, sir, whin the masther wanted the maal for market, may be they 'd be away dhrinking, or the shtones 'udn't be drest fair, or somethin' contraary. 'So,' says he, 'boys, I'm thinkin',' ses he, 'it 'ud be well

done o' ye to go way to Cork an' take the plidge,' ses he. An' they hadn't the laste objiction agin it; only they tould him they considhered themsilves a little too saft for foot thravelling, and had no money for coach or car. O, thin,' ses the masther, if that's yer only objiction, boys, I'll lend what money 'll do ye,' ses he, 'an' you shall go on a car,' ses he, 'an' I'll pay that same car,' ses he; 'an' don't ye think but Denny Burke 'ud bring you there in no time,' ses he, an' back agen; an' who knows but Denny might take the plidge himsilf,' ses he, and wouldn't that be the only best thing ever happened him?' ses he. So the masther sent for Denny, an' agreed wid him for the hire of horse an' car for Cork, an' put plinty hay and shtraw for all to sit upon, an' saw thim aff quite pleasant. But a'deed, to tell nothin' but the thruth, it was a tearing journey they had, an' a power of whishkey they dhrank, an' Denny the worst av 'em all; for they'd be all lyin' down in the shtraw drunk together, an' the horse stoppin' to ate grass, an' they not knowin' wor they goin' to Cork or Amereky! an' Denny swearin', an' blasphamin', and cursin', and tearin' about, an' didn't care a pin's head for Father Matchew, an' 'ud pitch his rivirince to the devil.' The Lord save us, amin! 'An' so whin they wor within ten miles of Cork, Denny stopped all at wanst, an' called out, Boys, don't be making Judies av yersilves, but wait here at this neat house for the day, anyhow!' But the men wor not such fools, an' tould him to hould his tongue, an' drive 'em to Father Matchew, for the divil's skivver to the bit av 'em they'd go back, or make more delay.' An' thin he swore an' cursed worse than ever, an' called Father Matchew all the names he could think av, till he got red in the face, an' thin blue, an' thin black,—an' black it kep-(the Lord be praised!)-an' then they thought he'd die. But it was capers he was cutting all about the road, an' he jumpin', an' kickin', an' tearin' his clothes to bits, an' he alive, yer honour, (saving yer prisince,) with with black keerogues, an' ugly vermin of all kinds an' soorts, an' he roarin' an' bawlin' jist like a madman. But, mad as he was, he knew well enough what was the only best thing he could do, an' so he tuk his baste out of the car', an' whipped up on his back, an' tore away for Cork for the bare life. An' whin he got there, there was Father Matchew sure enough at his dure waiting for him! Is that you, Denny Burke? It is, plase yer rivirence.'-'Don't they call you the mad dhriver? Come down aff yer horse,' ses Father Matchew.-' O, plase yer rivirence's glory, sure I'm not fit to come nigh you,' ses Denny. I'm swarmin' wid black keerogues, an' vermin av all soorts,' ses he, 'an' they bitin' an' tearin' me to pieces,' ses he, an inch thick they are wid me,' ses he.-' Come down aff yer horse, as I bid you,' ses Father Matchew. Now come yer ways in,' ses he, 'till I look at you,' ses he. So in went Denny, cryin', an' clappin' his hands, an' prayin' his rivirince 'ud forgive his sins, an' all he sed agin him behind his back. Hould yerself still a minute,' ses Father Matchew, 'till I see 'll ye be a thrue repintant,' ses he. 'I think you will,' ses he; may be you 've suffered enough by this,' ses he. It's dust yer covered with now, ses he. Go outside, an' shake yersilf well in the wind,' ses he. So Denny did as he was ordherd, an' the whole shtreet was bhlinded wid the dusht, by rason the keerogues and vermin was all turned into black powdther! -the Lord save us! Now come in agen,' ses Father Matchew, 'an' take the plidge.' An' so he did, an' received his companions sound,

·

an' whole, an' hearty; an' not wan o' them could bear sight or shmell of whiskey since. An' every keerogue was a devil for certain!"

Another general exclamation as before, and a significant exchange of nods between Mr. Coffy and myself. The ball was fairly up!

"In troth, then, yer honor, an' that's all a thrue story,' said Jemmy Curtin; for I heerd tell a'most the whole av it before. An' faix it's somethin' like what happened to a third cousin of my own aunt Doolaughty's by her mother's side, an' she a dacent 'esponsible woman enough, only she'd take a sup now an' agen, till she wint to Cork. Well, she was jist goin' to take the plidge, whin she all at wanst thought it 'ud be the grief of the world to give up the dhrop out an' out. So she made bould to ask Father Matchew, might she jist have the taste of two shmall glasses av sperrets in the coorse av the twintyfour hours, an' then she 'ud take any plidge or oath his rivirence proposed, not to dhrink more? Father Matchew, who is a raal gentleman, and mighty civil to everybody, an' av coorse not less so to the ladies, gav' her the liberty, an' welcome, if she found no further objections hersilf. An' so aff she wint wid hersilf, mighty quick an' aisy to the publichouse, an' called for a glass, an' aygar enough she was wid it up to her mouth, all in a hurry, like a cat takin' a lep a'top av a mouse. But if she was, be me sowkins! no mouth av hers could she find convanient for the whiskey!-for ye see, yer honor, it was all drawn away, an' twishted a'most close to her ears! an' bad luck to the dhrop she could pitch into it, wid all the thries she med. So she began to crass an' bless hersilf, an' she cryin' like mad, an' ran back to Father Matchew. Ah!' ses he, 'I thought you'd find somethin' wrong about takin' two glasses,' ses he, 'afther you bein' here,' ses he. An' so he put his hand to her head, an' soon sthraitened her mouth for her. Now,' ses he, will you go down on yer knees, an' take the plidge out an' out?' ses he, 'like a dacent woman,' ses he. An' what d'ye think she did, the crathur! but wanted to bargin for wan glass, insted of the two! An' so Father Matchew sent his own boy out for a half naggin, an' poured it out into a beautiful clane glass wid his own hands, an' she tuk it quite smart an' bould. But what 'ud ye think? Why, thin, by this binch I'm sittin' on, the moment she thried to drink it, the dickins a sup of whishkey was in the glass at all, but, insted of the sperrets, it was full av red maggits! An' afther that she tuk the plidge for good an' all, an' can't bear the sight of a large or shmall glass since!

"Wonderful! — wonderful ! most wonderful!" I exclaimed, amidst a similar chorus from the rest, and a most significant wink of the eye from Mr. Coffy.

Now Corney O'Hennessy was not the man to sit "mute and inglorious" by, while such stories were going; his head had been evidently at work, and his tongue aching again to maintain his proper distinction.

"Ah, yer honor," said he, "what pains and thrubble some av our poor boys used to give themselves to get at the whishkey, like Mick Hourigan, that yer honor may remimber."

"Can

"Ay, indeed, I've heard of that fellow's pranks," I replied. he still be alive? I thought he had drunk himself to death." CORNEY. "An' so he did a'most, yer honor; but he's safe now. Did yer honor ever hear how he got the whishkey at Spancil Hill fair?"

VOL. VIII.

P

"O, I've not heard that story. Pray tell it to me, Corney."

CORNEY. "Well, yer honor, Mick was called 'Barrileah,' because he made a barrel of himsilf in regard to the dhrink; an' on a fairday at Spancil Hill, Mick coaxed his brother to let him go with him. He hadn't a copper in his pocket, to be sure, but he 'd run chance,' any how; so he wandered about scratching his head till he got a glass of whiskey from a frind, that made his throat ache for more. So what did he do, but goes to his brother and begged the loan of the fine new frieze riding-coat he had, which he knew well enough would hide his own ragged coatee. His own hat bein' purty dacent, and his shoes an' stockings; the next thing was to borry a small book, and pin, an' ink-bottle from a kind-hearted landlady, and then in he went into the fair, lookin' mighty knowin' an' clever, like a jobber, an' so slap in into the thick of the farmers an' their pigs. "God save ye, gintlemen,' ses Mick; did ye sell?' ses he.- Musha! no 'ndeed, we did not,' ses one. 'I'm comin' here this forty year wid my pigs, an I never seen the like of this of a dull fair. There's nothin' doing, good or bad, in it,' ses he; an' all sed, 'that 's thrue.'-' Well, now,' ses Mick, I'm a kimmishner of pigs from Limerick, jist aff the coach,' ses he, 'an' must do a great deal of business for the conthracthurs in a little time,' ses he; so I'll jist give you a thrial,' ses he. And what 'll you take for that one?' ses he. Two pounds ten shillings,' ses the man. Mick knuckled the pig mighty clever an' knowin. 'Ah, that's too much; but it's gettin' late-I'll be even wid you at a word.'-' How much?'-Two pounds five shillings.' Well, I'll be long sorry to stand huckstherin' wid the likes o' you, so have her.' Mick marked the pig, an' out with his book and pen. 'What's yer name?'' Paddy Gorman.' Enthered white pig, red x, Paddy Gorman, two pounds five shillings.' 'Come, come, now, yer sowl,' says Mick, let's come into this tint. Who ever h'ard of a dhry baargin? Here, landlady, get this gintleman an' me a half pint of the right stuff.' Mick put his hand in his pocket, as if to pay. O no, by no manes,' says Mr. Gorman; I'll pay.' 'Well, have it so,' says Mick; but take the sixpence out of the money when I'm paying you; an' mind, Mr. Gorman, be at this very tint in two hours, an' I'll pay all at wanst,' ses he, for I am very exact,' ses he. So Mick went away agin, an' the man praising him up to the skies as a mighty dacent honorable kimmishner; and Mick having struck out his plans so well, wint on till he bought eleven more pigs, wetting every bargin, till the two hours wor up, an' the poor farmers kem for ther money, whin there they found Mr. Hourigan stretched on the broad of his back on the flure, an' he bhlind dhrunk, without motion. An' so whin night kem on, what could they do, the crathurs, but lose their sixpence a-piece, an' dhrive their pigs back home agen!"

"Oh! that's the very man," I said. "And has he really been to Father Mathew?

Yes, indeed, your honour, he wint; for his frinds persuaded him to it, an' agreed he should drink all the ways to Cork, if he'd go, an' that's what tuk him, yer honor. But if it did, he wint back o' the pledge, and mad he grew, and got a turr'ble twisht av his head, an' he beginnin' to ate his own shoulders-the Lord be praised! So they tied him on a car this next turn, an' tuk him to Father Matchew for another offer; an' the moment Mick saw his rivirince, he began

to tremble an' shake, an' down on his knees he wint, an' tuk the pledge agen; an' ses he, 'Oh! plase yer rivirince,' ses he, may be I'd be going asthray agen,' ses he. Do you think so?' ses Father Matchew. I'll be bail for you this time,' ses he. So wi' that he tuck a good hoult of his head betune his two hands, an' if he did, he gev it the raal squeedje; and when this was done three times, Mick was better than ever he was in his life, an' would rather take the dirty ditch-wather now than fine ould Dublin; an' he's getting mighty shnug, an' goin' to be married to a fine girl of the Moylans, with ten acres an' thirty pounds!

"But the divil so bothered a fellow yer honor ever heerd of as Sergeant O'Callaghan. Did yer honor go to Tralee this year?"

"Yes. I was at Tralee not long since; and a nice thriving town it is, with temperance rooms, and everything very comfortable. But what of Tralee, and Sergeant O'Callaghan, Corney?"

"Oh, not a great deal, yer honor. But did yer honor take notice of the sergeant, - he that's gettin' so many recruits for the arthillery?"

"Oh yes; I think I remember him,- -a very tall muscular man,a fine handsome-looking fellow."

"The very same, yer honor,-an' carries a beautiful swoord, an' a matther o' beyant fifty yards of ribands flying away ten yards behind him when he's marchin' agen the wind, an' he six foot two and a half inches high in his shtockin' vamps."

"Ay, exactly, that's the same man.

Do tell us."

No one could be an hour in Tralee an' not see him. But what of him, Corney? CORNEY. "Sure, yer honor, he's a timprance man!” "Impossible! How could a recruiting sergeant be a tee-totaller? The thing seems out of the question. He ought rather to be a twenty-tumbler man."

CORNEY. "That's thrue, yer honor one might think so, certainly; but divil a word o' lie in it. Sergeant O'Callaghan is a teetotaller, an' I'll tell yer honor all about it. You see, sir, the sergeant has got more recruits than any other man, and marched twelve fine boys from the Reeks' into Cork, to be drafted on boord a 'thranshpoort' for the Ingees; an' so, yer honor, they had a merry march of it, an' dhrank plinty o' whishkey. But some of the recruits were sinsible lads, an' persuaded the rest to take the plidge ; for ses one of them, Boys,' ses he, we're goin' to the Ingees,' ses he, 'an' I've heerd say it's a very hot place,' ses he, an' burnin' an' scorchin' without the sperrets,' ses he; and so,' ses he, if yer all of one mind, ye'll come to Father Matchew, an' thin we'll be able for the Ingees,' ses he, 'an' keep ourselves cool there,' ses he. So they all agreed to take the plidge, but should first ask lave of the sergeant,-an' he so fair a man to dale with, that he didn't object in the laste, but said he was very glad of it, an' would go with 'em, an' show 'em the way; an' so whin the sergeant marched up wid his twelve men, there was Father Matchew sure enough standin' in the dure, an' maybe Sergeant O'Callaghan wasn't the very man would give him the fine salute, an' he, bowin' low to his rivirince, explained that these men of his wor goin' to fight for her Majesty in the Ingees, an' wishing to resave the plidge from his rivirince, he'd done himself the honor to march them up. An' so ses his rivirince to Sergeant O'Callaghan, May be, sir, you'll join yer men, an' take