ST. MARTIN'S EVE. 555 



" ' Don't alarm yourself, Syl,' says she, * no one ever takes cowld 

 here, its the nathur of the place ; but for all that I 've a small sample 

 of real mountain dew in my pocket, for I knew you 'd be looking 

 for it after the ducking you got ;' and with that she pulls a tidy little 

 bottle out of her pocket, and handed it to Syl, who took a hearty pull 

 of it and small blame to him, for better stuff never went inside his 

 teeth. The whiskey having put mesnagh* into Syl, he began to 

 brush up to the lady, and throwing at her one of his steeveen looks, 

 says he, 



" * As you were the manes of bringing me \\ere, ma cailleen dhas,\ 

 maybe you'd tell me where I am? Is it in Jeruslum or Saint He- 

 layna, or the Baltic sea; or whereabouts in the wide world is it I 

 am at all ? ' 



" * Don't be frikened, Syl,' says she, you're in the Water 

 Queen's kingdom, and this is my palace, where you may live at your 

 ase like any noble of the land." 



" And sure enough when Syl looked up there was a mighty illigant 

 house afore them, with chimbleys and glass windeys, a front door and 

 a back door, and all other convayniencies that could be desired. 



" ' Is it game you 're making of me, my darling ? ' says Syl, 

 opening both his eyes. 



"' Devil a morsel of game, Syl,' says she, 'you're the master of 

 all that place .' 



" ' By the powers of turf ! ' shouted the boughal^ cutting a caper, 

 ' it 's I that 's in luck ; sure it wasn't for nothing I got out of bed 

 back'ards for'ards this morning. And is your beautiful self to go 

 along with that fine place, ma cailleen bawn?' whispered Syl in 

 that wheedling voice that would coax the birds off the bushes, 



" ' We '11 talk of that by and by, Syl,' said the young lady laugh- 

 ing ; and so by gorra they went on discoorsing as loving as you 

 plase, until they got to the palace ; and there 's no use in talking, 

 it 's it that did bate cockfighting for all sorts of grandeur and beauty ; 

 but the thing that took Syl's fancy most was the sight of two mur- 

 dhering big salmon standing one on each side of the hall door with great 

 shilleyleys in their fists, and powdered wigs, and cocked hats upon 

 their heads ; and when Syl and the Queen went into the palace they 

 bowed down to the ground as civil as you plase. If the outside of 

 the palace was complate, the inside was ten times finer, and 

 there was lashings and lavings in kitchen and parlour, and the 

 hoigth of good usage for all that resorted the place : but what 

 Syl thought mighty remarkable was, that the divel a Christian was 

 to be seen about the house, barrin himself and the Queen, but fishes. 

 The porter was as fine a turbot as you 'd wish to see, gintlemen, 

 and the footmen were all illigant silver trout. Syl, however, kept 

 his toe in his brogue, and said nothing, for he knew what was man- 

 ners well enough. So he and the Queen went divarting themselves 

 about the palace, and sure it isn't the half of its curosities they could 

 see till they were called to dinner by a smart little sprat. 



" At dinner the Queen, to show her regard for Syl, planted him 



. * Courage. t My beautiful girl. Boy. \ 



