medical property, and resembles little ricketty Dan Reilly there--it
retrogrades. Och! Och! I'm the boy that knows things--you see now how I
expounded them two hard words for yez, boys--don't yez?"

"Yes, sir," etc., etc.

"So, Larry, you haven't the larnin' for that either: but here's an
'asier one--spell me Ephabridotas (Epaphroditas)--you can't! hut!
man--you're a big dunce, entirely, that little shoneen Sharkey there
below would _sack_. God be wid the day when I was the likes of you--it's
I that was the bright gorsoon entirely--and so sign was on it, when
a great larned traveler--silence boys, till I tell yez this [a dead
silence]--from Thrinity College, all the way in Dublin, happened to meet
me one day--seeing the slate and Gough, you see, undher my arm, he axes
me--' Arrah, Mat,' says he, 'what are you _in_?' says he. 'Faix, I'm
in my breeches, for one thing,' says I, off hand--silence childhre,
and don't laugh so loud--(ha, ha, ha!) So he looks closer at me: 'I see
that,' says he; 'but what are you reading?' 'Nothing at all at all,'
says I; 'bad manners to the taste, as you may see, if you've your
eyesight.' 'I think,' says he, 'you'll be apt to die in your breeches;'
and set spurs to a fine saddle mare he rid--faith, he did so--thought me
so cute--(omnes--ha, ha, ha!) Whisht, boys, whisht; isn't it a terrible
thing that I can't tell yez a joke, but you split your sides laughing at
it--(ha, ha, ha!)--don't laugh so loud, Barney Casey."--(ha, ha, ha!)

_Barney_.--"I want to go out, if you plase, sir."

"Go, avick, you'll be a good scholar yet, Barney. Faith, Barney knows
whin to laugh, any how."