ittle ware.

"Hu--sh--be aisy now. There's Tom. He's ears for everything, and eyes
like a cat."

"What do I care for Tom?"

"And father 'll be coming in. Be aisy, I tell you. I won't now, Mr.
Aby; and that's enough. You'll break the bottle."

"D---- the bottle. That's smashed hany way. Come, Fan, what's a kiss
among friends?"

"Cock you up with kisses, indeed! how bad you are for dainties!
There; do you hear that? That's the old gentleman;" and then, as the
voice of Mr. Mollett senior was heard abusing the car-driver, Miss
O'Dwyer smoothed her apron, put her hands to her side hair, and
removed the debris of the broken bottle.

"Well, governor," said Aby, "how goes it?"

"How goes it, indeed! It goes pretty well, I dare say, in here, where
you can sit drinking toddy all the evening, and doing nothing."

"Why, what on hearth would you have me be doing? Better here than
paddling about in the streets, isn't it?"

"If you could do a stroke of work now and then to earn your bread,
it might be better." Now Aby knew from experience that whenever his
father talked to him about earning his bread, he was half drunk and
whole cross. So he made no immediate reply on that point.

"You are cold I suppose, governor, and had better get a bit of
something to eat, and a little tea."

"And put my feet in hot water, and tallow my nose, and go to bed,
hadn't I? Miss O'Dwyer, I'll trouble you to mix me a glass of
brandy-punch. Of all the roads I ever travelled, that's the longest
and hardest to get over. Dashed, if I didn't begin to think I'd never
be here." And so saying he flung himself into a chair, and put up his
feet on the two hobs.

There was a kettle on one of them, which the young lady pushed a
little nearer to the hot coals, in order to show that the water
should be boiling; and as she did so Aby gave her a wink over his
father's shoulder, by way of conveying to her an intimation that "the
governor was a little cut," or in other language tipsy, and that the
brandy-punch should be brewed with a discreet view to past events of
the same description. All which Miss O'Dwyer perfectly understood.

It may easily be conceived that Aby was especially anxious to
receive tidings of what had been done this day down in the Kanturk
neighbourhood. He had given his views to his father, as will be
remembered; and though Mr. Mollett senior had not professed himself
as absolutely agreeing with them, he had nevertheless owned that he