and ye wouldn't believe the way we worked, setting out the dishes,
and the flowers and the swatemates on the table. 'Now,' says I,
'for the love of God let none of them sit down at the table, or
they'll feel the waiters with their feet. Lave it to me to get His
Excellency out of this, and then hurry the drunk waiters away!'
And I spoke a word to the boys in the pantry. 'Boys,' says I, 'as
ye value your salvation, keep up a great clatteration here by
dropping the spoons and forks about, the way they'll not hear it
if the drunk waiters get snoring,' and then the thrain arrives,
and we run up to meet His Excellency your father.

"We went down to the saloon for a moment, and every one says that
they never saw the like of that for a supper, the boys in the
pantry keeping up such a clatteration by tumbling the spoons and
forks about, that ye'd think the bottom of the ship would drop out
with the noise of it all. Then I said, 'Supper will not be ready
for ten minutes, your Excellency'--though God forgive me if every
bit of it was not on the table that minute. 'Would you kindly see
if the sleeping accommodation is commodious enough, for we'll
alter it if it isn't?' and so I get them all out of that, and I
kept talking of this, and of that, the Lord only knows what, till
Mr. Murphy comes up and says, 'Supper is ready, your Excellency,'
giving me a look out of the tail of his eye as much as to say,
'Glory be! We have them drunk waiters safely out of that.'"

Of course I knew nothing of the convivial waiters, but I retain
vivid recollections of the splendours of the supper-table, and of
the "swatemates," for I managed to purloin a whole pocketful of
preserved ginger and other good things from it, without being
noticed.