time he heard all the cats purring and mewing about
the yard, whisking over the tombstones, and playing all sorts of
pranks among the graves. He felt the tails of one or two brush his
nose; and well for him it was that they did not discover him there,
as he afterwards found. At last--

'Silence!' said one of the cats, and they were all as mute as so many
mice in an instant. 'Now, all you cats of this great county, small and
large, gray, red, yellow, black, brown, mottled, and white, attend to
what I'm going to tell you in the name of your king and the master of
all the cats. The sun is down, and the moon is up, and the night is
silent, and no mortal hears us, and I may tell you a secret. You know
the king of Munster's daughter?'

'O yes, to be sure, and why wouldn't we? Go on with your story,' said
all the cats together.

'I have heard of her for one,' said a little dirty-faced black cat,
speaking after they had all done, 'for I'm the cat that sits upon the
hob of Owney and Owney-na-peak, the white-smiths, and I know many's
the time young Owney does be talking of her, when he sits by the fire
alone, rubbing me down and planning how he can get into her father's
court.'

'Whist, you natural!' says the cat that was making the speech, 'what
do you think we care for your Owney, or Owney-na-peak?'

'Murther, murther!' thinks Owney to himself, 'did anybody ever hear
the aiqual of this?'

'Well, gentlemen,' says the cat again, 'what I have to say is this.
The king was last week struck with blindness, and you all know well,
how and by what means any blindness may be cured. You know there is no
disorder that can ail mortal frame, that may not be removed by praying
a round at the well of Barrygowen[11] yonder, and the king's disorder
is such, that no other cure whatever can be had for it. Now, beware,
don't let the secret pass one o' yer lips, for there's a
great-grandson of Simon Magus, that is coming down to try his skill,
and he it is that must use the water and marry the princess, who is to
be given to any one so fortunate as to heal her father's eyes; and on
that day, gentlemen, we are all promised a feast of the fattest mice
that ever walked the ground.' This speech was wonderfully applauded by
all the cats, and presently after, the whole crew scampered off,
jumping, and mewing, and purring, down the hill.

[Footnote 11: The practice of praying rounds, with the view of healing
diseases, at Barrygowen well, in the C