est. How can luck or grace attind the
marriage of any young couple that there's such work at? Before you leave
this, you must all shake hands, and promise never to quarrel with each
other while grass grows or water runs; and if you don't, by the blessed
St. Domnick, I'll exkimnicate* ye both, and all belonging to you into
the bargain; so that ye'll be the pitiful examples and shows to all that
look upon you.'

* Excommunicate. It is generally pronounced as above by the people.

"'Well, well, your Reverence,' says my father-in-law, 'let all by-gones be
by-gones; and please God, they will, before they go, be better friends
than ever they were. Go now an' clane yourselves, take the blood from
about your faces, for the dinner's ready an hour agone; but if you all
respect the place you're in, you'll show it, in regard of the young
crathurs that's going, in the name of God, to face the world together,
and of coorse wishes that this day at laste should pass in pace and
quietness: little did I think there was any friend or neighbor here that
would make so little of the place or people, as was done for nothing at
all, in the face of the country.'

"'God he sees,' says my mother-in-law, 'that there's them here this day
we didn't desarve this from, to rise such a _norration_, as if the house
was a shebeen or a public-house! It's myself didn't think either me or
my poor coolleen here, not to mention the dacent people she's joined
to, would be made so little of, as to have our place turned into a
play-acthur--for a play-acthur couldn't be worse.'

"'Well,' says my uncle, 'there's no help for spilt milk, I tell you,
nor for spilt blood either; tare-an-ounty, sure we're all Irishmen,
relations, and Catholics through other, and we oughtn't to be this way.
Come away to the dinner--by the powers, we'll duck the first man that
says a loud word for the remainder of the day. Come, Father Corrigan,
and carve the goose, or the geese, for us--for, by my sannies, I bleeve
there's a baker's dozen of them; but we've plenty of Latin for them,
and your Reverence and Father James here understands that langidge, any
how--larned enough there, I think, gintlemen.'

"'That's right, Brian,' shouts the tailor--'that's right; there must
be no fighting: by the powers, the first man attempts it, I'll brain
him--fell him to the earth like an ox, if all belonging to him was in my
way.'

"This threat from the tailor went farther, I think, in putting