him wid his own consint."

"No, nor sorra that you'll do, nor could do," replied Traynor: "for,
along wid every thing else, he thinks he's not jist doated on by the
Findramore people, being one of the Ballyscanlan tribe. No, no; let two
of us go to his place, and purtind that we have other business in the
fair of Clansallagh on Monday next, and ax him in to dhrink, for he'll
not refuse that, any how; then, when he's half tipsy, ax him to convoy
us this far; we'll then meet you here, an' tell him some palaver or
other--sit down where we are now, and, afther making him dead dhrunk,
hoist a big stone in the creel, and Mat in the sack, on the other side,
wid his head out, and off wid him; and he will know neither act nor part
about it till we're at Findramore."

Having approved of this project, they pulled out each a substantial
complement of stout oaten bread, which served, along with the whiskey,
for breakfast. The two persons pitched on for decoying Mat were Dolan
and Traynor, who accordingly set out, full of glee at the singularity
and drollness of their undertaking. It is unnecessary to detail the
ingenuity with which they went about it, because, in consequence of
Kavanagh's love of drink, very little ingenuity was necessary.
One circumstance, however, came to light, which gave them much
encouragement, and that was a discovery that Mat by no means relished
his situation.

In the meantime, those who stayed behind in the glen felt their patience
begin to flag a little, because of the delay made by the others, who had
promised, if possible, to have the schoolmaster in the glen before
two o'clock. But the fact was, that Mat, who was far less deficient in
hospitality than in learning, brought them into his house, and not only
treated them to plenty of whiskey, but made the wife prepare a dinner,
for which he detained them, swearing, that except they stopped to
partake of it, he would not convoy them to the place appointed. Evening
was, therefore, tolerably far advanced, when they made their appearance
at the glen, in a very equivocal state of sobriety--Mat being by far the
steadiest of the three, but still considerably the worse for what he
had taken. He was now welcomed by a general huzza; and on his expressing
surprise at their appearance, they pointed to their horses, telling him
that they were bound for the fair of Clansallagh, for the purpose of
selling them. This was the more probable, as, when a fair occurs in
Ir