BALLINA. 



249 



blue by this time, went their ways, and Father 

 Tim, turning to me and laughing, said, " Ah ! the 

 blackguards, to be tighten in the strate like bastes, 

 and before a strange gintleman, too. Ah ! the cra- 

 tures, to be killing ache other in that way. Ah ! 

 but they're not bad boys at all, only they've had a 

 little whaskey." Only imagine a clericus in England 

 administering such toko to two of his pugnacious 

 parishioners with a blackthorn as thick as the main 

 bar of a four-horse coach ! I question whether two 

 rustics in this country, full of malt and hops, would 

 take matters as easily as the two boys in Ireland 

 did who were under the influence of malt alone. 

 Perhaps the dread of Father Tim and purgatory had 

 something to do with their quiet demeanour under 

 such trying circumstances. 



My friend Paddy is generally supposed to be much 

 given to whisky, but I cannot say that I ever saw 

 so much drunkenness in Ireland as I have in 

 Scotland or in England. An Irishman, however, 

 under the influence of the crather is a real wild 

 fellow, and positively sticks at nothing. He does 

 not care about getting his own head broken any 

 more than he does about breaking his neighbour's ; 

 and at a patten or fair it used to seem to be a real 



