40 My Tivo Days' Salmon Fishing. 



put a penny in the bag," said another, *' and kept the other 

 himself." " And that boy, sir," exclaimed an impudent 

 little rascal, winking at a good-natured police-constable 

 who was standing by, " put the j^ollice off the scent when 

 they were after the whisky stills, and the poor constables 

 had nothing to eat, and slept in the mountains and caught 

 nobody." And so they went on blackening one another, 

 in hopes that the capital might be safely landed by one of 

 the party, for the good of the commonwealth. So I referred 

 the question to the police-constable, who decided that they 

 were all such bad boys that they were all worst, and giving 

 them the benefit of the doubt, they received a penny apiece, 

 which gave general satisfaction. 



Did you ever go to an Irish fair ? I mean a real country 

 fair, where you see all classes — county gentlemen, farmers, 

 small squireens, peasants, and some of the prettiest girls in 

 the world. You don't see the latter at their best, as they 

 make it a point to come to fairs in shoes and stockings, and 

 you miss the wonderfully graceful carriage which marks 

 them wdien they walk barefooted with a j)ail of milk or a 

 basket on their heads. 



I was at a fair on the sea-shore early in the day, in time 

 to see the crowd assemble, and made the acquaintance of a 

 handsome old dame who was sitting before a table, on 

 which, mirahile dictu, was a clean cloth — for that article is 

 less common in Ireland than with us at home —and upon 

 it a lot of sheep's tongues and biscuits. " Glory be to God, 

 it's a fine day, yur honour," said the old lady, taking her 

 pipe out of her mouth, " have a ship's tongue and a cracker 

 to keep ye in good humour, and if ye wish it I'll get ye a 

 a drain o' punch from Dan Finnigan's booth, and take care 

 of your rod and your basket when ye go into the fair, and 

 (looking into the basket) them mountain trout will just do 

 for a poor ould woman's supper when she gets home, and 



