THE TUSKAR HOCK. 549 



at him to try to drive him home ; but all wouldn't do, bad cess to 

 the inch he'd move, but just kept a perch before him, walking when 

 Jack walked, and stopping when Jack stopped ! 'till at last he got very 

 frightened, and sat down, and so did the dog ; and what was mighty 

 odd was, that he grew bigger and bigger every minute, 'till he was 

 almost as big as a calf. Well, you may be sure, Jack was frightened 

 when he seen that ; and so he was, and he jumped up and ran back, 

 but the dog got before him 3 and began to growl and snarl at him, 

 till at last he went on. Well, they went on till they came to a great 

 ould oak tree just near the avenue, and there the dog stopped, and 

 began so scratch among the roots for the very barelife ; and every 

 now and then he'd look up to try if Jack was there, and then he got 

 smaller and smaller when he saw Jack standing quite quiet by his 

 side, and looking on mighty curious to know what the dog was 

 scraping for. Well, to make a long story short, Jack's curiosity got 

 the better of his fright, and he up and he says to him, " Musha, the 

 cross of Christ betune us and any harm, if it a'nt making too bould 

 to ax, Mr. Dog what the devil are you scratching for there any how ?" 

 When Jack began speaking, the dog very genteelly and civilly 

 stopped scratching not to interrupt him ; and when he was done, he 

 turned round, and looking him full in the face, he says in a mighty 

 nice purty voice, " What would you give to know, Jack Devereux ?" 

 Cf Musha, not a great deal," says Jack, looking on ; he didn't care 

 about it, though the life was a'most frightened out of him, when he 

 heard him call him by his name. " Musha, not a great deal," says 

 he, " your honour, o'ny may be I could help you/' 



" Oh, Bedershin," says the dog, winking mighty knowing like at 

 Jack ; " but come, Jack," says he, " you seem a civil obliging sort 

 of gorsoon, and a stout gorsoon too ; dig, away, and it sha'n't be 

 the worse for you." 



et Wid a heart and a half, sir," says Jack, on'y I left my feck up at 

 the big house." 



. t( Don't let that stop you, Jack," says he, fk look behind the tree ;" 

 and there sure enough he found a bran new fork, and shovel, and 

 pick. So when he found he was fairly catched, he put the best heart 

 he could on it, and to work they set, the dog scratching and Jack 

 picking and shoveling, and digging for the bare life, till they were 

 quite tired ; and the dog had his tongue out, Jack says, a foot and a 

 lalf out of his mouth. Well, they sat down to rest, and Jack says, 

 " I wish/' says he, " we'd something to drink, for troth I'm as dry 

 as wisps of hay." 



" What would you like to drink, Jack ? " says he. 

 " Myself doesn't care," says Jack; " any thing at all to take the 

 cobwebs out of one's throat." 



" Would you like some of the mountain-dew, Jack ? " says he. 

 " It will do mighty well entirely, your honour," says Jack, 

 smaking his lips when he heard it talked of. 

 " Well, go and get it," says the greyhound. 



" The devil a rap I'm owner of this blessed and holy night," says 

 Jack ; " and if I'd lashins and leavings of money, I couldn't get pot- 

 teen now, for since the bloody guagers took up the still in Coole- 



