A Sportsman at Large ill 



in which the baritones and basses of men were drowned by 

 the lamentations, in soprano, of the women. These weird 

 cacophanies seemed to come from the locality of the ferry. 



" Good God," thought I, " they have overcrowded the 

 boat and it has capsized ! " Up I jumped and ran for all I 

 was worth in the direction of the rumpus, but I had not gone 

 far, before I was stopped by Michael Dever. 



" Aw, for the love av Moike," he pleaded, " ut's not safe 

 fer yer 'anner, shure ut's the bhoys phwat is thro win' stones." 



" Throwing stones ? " 



" Faith, they is that, sorr, shtones as big as the top av 

 Crowpatherick,* an' so be as wan was teu drap on the head 

 av yer 'anner, ut's desthroyed entoirely ye'd be, leastwise 

 unless yer ' anner 's skull is as thick as Johnny McDonald's 

 spach afther an illegant wake." 



" But what's it all about, Michael ? " 



" Aw, just nothin' at all, at all, yer 'anner ; just a bit av 

 pleasanthry loike. Faith ut's a custom. Phwat wud be anny 

 use in a grand ball loike phwat yer 'anner more power to 

 yez has give the bhoys, if so be a free foight wus not teu 

 end ut ? " 



" But why do the women shriek like that ? " 



" Aw, ut's the nature av women folk, yer 'anner. Shure 

 ut's givin' tongue they are, so by they may encourage the men 

 folk av thim teu foight ut out ! " 



I had to leave it at that. 



Next day, I regret to say that cousin Ted so far forgot his 

 marital vows, and his usually strict observance of the " safety 

 first " principle, as to follow up his adventure with the fair 

 Nannie McGoorty, whose mother's cabin was some two Irish 

 miles over the hills. He found the really pretty colleen all 

 right, and according to his own account, was most graciously 

 received ; his excuse for the call being a parching thirst, 

 which nothing could assuage short of a glass of milk straight 

 from the McGoorty cow (Ted really loathed milk as an un- 

 mixed beverage). Moreover he succeeded in getting Mrs. 

 McGoorty out of the way ; but just as he was about to beg 



* Crowpatrick, the most conspicuous mountain of Connemara, from which 

 St. Patrick is said to have driven all the snakes and reptiles into the sea. 



