door, all anxious to
catch a glimpse of Barny and Granua Waile.

"Faix ay! Sure enough.. Sarra doubt if it! Wethen, I'd never mistrust
Barny!" might be heard in distinct exclamations from each.

"Faith he's a Trojan," said the _farithee_, an' must get lashins of
the best we have. Come in, childher, an' red the hob for him.

"'Och, Christmas comes but wanst a year,
An' Christmas comes but wanst a year;
An' the divil a mouth
Shall be friends wid drouth,
While I have whiskey, ale, or beer.

Och, Christmas comes but wanst a year,
An' Christmas comes but waust a year;
Wid han' in han',
An' can to can,
Then Hi for the whiskey, ale, and beer.

Och, Christmas comes but wanst a year,
An' Christmas comes but wanst a year;
Then the high and the low
Shall shake their toe,
When primed wid whiskey, ale, an' beer.'

For all that, the sorra fig I care for either ale or beer, barrin' in
regard of mere drouth; give me the whiskey, Eh, Alley--won't we have a
jorum any how?"

"Why, thin," replied the wife, "the devil be from me (the crass about
us for namin' him) but you're a greater _Brinoge_ than some of your
childher! I suppose its your capers Frank has in him. Will you behave
yourself, you old slingpoke? Behave, I say, an let me go. Childher,
will you help me to flake this man out o' the place? Look at him,
here, caperin' an' crackin' his fingers afore me, an' pullin' me out to
dance!"

"Och, och, murdher alive," exclaimed the good man out of breath, "I seen
the day, any way! An', maybe, could show a step or two yet, if I was
well fixed. You can't forget ould times, Alley? Eh, you thief?"

"Musha, have sinse, man alive," replied the wife, in a tone of placid
gravity, which only betrayed the pleasure she herself felt in his
happiness. "Have sinse, an' the strange man comin' in, an' don't let him
see you in such figaries."

The observation of the good woman produced a loud laugh among them.
"Arrah what are yez laughing at?" she inquired.

"Why, mother," said one of her daughters "how could Barny _Dhal_, a
blind man, see anybody?"

Alley herself laughed at her blunder, but wittily replied, "Faith,
avourneen, maybe he can often see as nately through his ear as you could
do wid your eyes open; sure they say he can hear the grass growin'."

"For that matther," observed the farithee, joining in the joke, "he can
see as far as any of us--while we'r