REVENUE LAWS. 45 



and white cross-belts arranged before the Lodge, I felt par- 

 ticularly nervous ; and old John, my refuge in perplexity, was 

 immediately consulted. "John/* said I, in a masonic whisper, 

 " are we safe ?" " Safe ! from what, Sir ?" " The gauger." 

 "Lord, Sir! he dines with us/' "But but is there any 

 stuff about the house?" '*Any! God alone can tell how 

 much there is above and under."* "If any body told the 

 ganger, John " " They would only tell him what he knows 

 already. The gauger ! Lord bless you, Sir ! he never comes 

 or goes without leaving a keg or two behind him. If the 

 master and he did not pull together, what the devil business 

 would he have here ? Don't mind, Sir ; we know what we 

 are about : Tig gum Tigue Thigienf'^ 



Midnight. I hope the weather has settled : the moon 

 looks well, and, as John avers, the sun set favourably. There 

 is, however, one solitary scintillating star ; one ! there are two. 

 Confound the poteen ! it is the queerest, pleasantest, out-o'-the- 

 way drink imaginable ! and the gauger told such odd stories, 

 and sang such extraordinary songs ! The sooner I am in bed 

 the better ! What a field the Temperance Society would have 

 here for their exertions ! Well, if I rise without a headache, 

 I'll immortalize the man who first invented distillation. 



We start under favourable auspices ; a sweet, steady 

 westerly wind is blowing, clouds and sunshine alternately 

 prevail, the river should be in good order, and we anticipate 

 that this will be a killing day. 



We have determined to fish the sister stream ; the waters 

 of Goolamore unite in the same estuary with those of our own 

 river, and yet the fish vary with regard to season as much as 

 if they inhabited waters a thousand miles apart. In Goola- 



* Poteen is commonly buried in the earth in small-sized vessels. This 

 is done for the double purpose of improving the whisky and concealing it 

 from the revenue. If detected in a dwelling-house, the owner incurs a 

 penalty of one hundred pounds ; notwithstanding which, there are few 

 gentlemen in this part of Connaught who are not plentifully supplied witli 

 this proscribed spirit. 



f An Irish proverb, literally meaning " Tim understands Teady." 



