POTEEN THE REAL MOUNTAIN DEW. 261 



had they not been disturbed by the appearance of 

 the palers, whom they saw coming from the shore in 

 a boat, and who shot at them as they were taking 

 away the still to the back part of the island to sink 

 it in the lake, which, whenever they were surprised 

 by them or the gaugers, was their only chance. 

 " Yes, indeed," said the pretty Kitty, " they shat at 

 us, the palers did the blackguards ! " " But wer'n't 

 you afraid they'd shoot you, Kitty?" we said. " In 

 troth I was nat afraid at all," said Kitty, " at laste, 

 not for myself. Sure, they would not want to shoot 

 me, yer anner. Sure then I was not afraid for myself 

 at all ; sure I was afraid for brothers." 



" Did yer anner iver see a still at work before ? " 

 inquired the elder Paddy, " sure it's a great invintion 

 for making wholesome thrink with. Sure it takes 

 all to paces, just for the mightier convanyence of 

 putting it in the lake when thim blackguards of palers 

 come, bad luck to them." 



I was obliged to confess I never had seen a still 

 at work before, and certainly had never tasted 

 mountain dew at its own home. The still was an 

 extraordinary-looking piece of mechanism, something 

 between a tin machine that one has seen in a kitchen 

 roasting a leg of mutton, and a certain huge instru- 



