Mulrooney, his mother, who lives in the next room to me, that he would
rather live on praties and bread, as they was a doin', than to ate
stinkin' porgies that nobody else would buy; I know the Mulrooneys was
jealous.

"_Judge._--Did Timothy create any disturbance then?

"_Witness._--No, yer honor, he didn't.

"_Judge._--Then why did you have him arrested?

"_Witness._--It was afther thin that the spalpeen made the disturbance.

"_Judge._--When was that?

"_Witness._--It was yestherday mornin'.

"_Judge._--What did Timothy do?

"_Witness._--It wasn't Tim, but his cat.

"_Judge._--Then it seems that you have entered a charge against Timothy
Mulrooney of disorderly conduct, which, by right, you should have made
against Timothy Mulrooney's cat, always provided that cats are amenable
to municipal law.

"_Witness._--By my sowl, yer honor, ye've got it mixed up again. Now why
didn't ye wait until I could tell ye.

"_Judge._--Go on; I am reconciled to my fate. As a particular favor, I
should like to have you finish within a half hour.

"_Witness._--Well, yer honor, as I was tellin' ye, the Mulrooneys was
jealous of us because we had fish and they didn't. Yestherday mornin'
Michael brought home more porgies (the Judge here heaved a deep sigh)
and I laid them on top of a barrel in the passage to wait till I could
dress them; what next, yer honor, did I see but Tim Mulrooney's big tom
cat on the barrel atin' the fish; I heaved a pratie at the cat and it
ran off wid the porgies; just thin I saw Tim Mulrooney laughing at what
the cat was doin'; I know the blackgaird had towld the cat to ate the
porgies; I called to Michael, and I run toward Tim to bate the tief as
he deserved, whin my foot slipped and I furled over on the broad of my
back; wid that Tim laughed the more, and Michael run to him, and was
about to give him a tap on the sconce, whin Tim struck Michael a blow in
his bowels, which quite prostrated him on the floor; with that I ran and
got the M.P., who brought the murderin' tief to the station-house.

"_Judge._--Well, Mrs. Flaherty, I think, according to your own story,
the prisoner acted more in his own defence than any other way.

"_Witness._--In his own definse! Bad luck to the tongue that says so.
Is--

"_Judge_ (to prisoner).--Timothy Mulrooney, I am by no means sure that
your cat did not eat the Flahertys' fish with your connivance. If the
cat did so, you did wrong; but for that you are sufficient