LIFE IN IRELAND 91 



officers in the Army and Navy, was used to what is 

 technically termed a tiffin ; that is, a glass of grog, or 

 some other mixed liquor, with a slice of cold salt meat, 

 or the wing of a fowl rubbed with pepper, salt, and 

 mustard, and then broiled to a devil. In Ireland a 

 devilled potatoe is a favourite snack before or after 

 dinner ; it has the property of setting fire to your 

 mouth, and it takes nearly a fire-engine of punch to 

 quench the flame. Grammachree paid his devotions 

 to the tiffi7i as regularly as he did to his agent on the 

 day his half-pay became due; forsooth to say, though 

 he never was in debt, he always took care to be on 

 such accommodating terms with his banker that if the 

 latter failed, the name of Gram would not have been 

 found on the creditor's side of the ledger. 



Sir Shawn and Brian had the honour of a private 

 interview with His Majesty, a favour he always publicly 

 granted to the O'Connells of the day, and others who 

 honoured the title, and not the Monarch in person. 



It was the Devil's own procession, to be sure ; there 

 were horses Avithout riders, and plenty of riders wanting 

 horses; jingles outside and inside, cars and noddys 

 beyond number; the Coal Quay boys, the dustmen, 

 and canal boys filled fifty teams in place of timber logs, 

 and all the pleasurable ladies from the Liberty, rode 

 criss cross upon their neddies, forming a braying (or 

 brazen) regiment of Jerusalem cavalry. ^ There were 

 Bishops, chimney-sweeps, marquisses, tripe-men, con- 

 tractors, tallow-chandlers, and soap-boilers ; his Grace 

 the Viceroy could not be seen for the lancers who sur- 



1 Donkeys and their riders are so called, in honour to a late entry 

 into Jerusalem by some female crusaders against common decency. 



