ran a little to the one side, upsetting Sonsy Mary that sat a
little beyond him. He then called over my mother-in-law to the dresser,
and after some collogin (* whispering) she slipped two fat fowl, that
had never been touched, into one of his coat pockets, that was big
enough to hould a leg of mutton. My father then called me over and said,
'Shane,' says he, 'hadn't you better slip Father Rooney a bottle or two
of that whiskey; there's plenty of it there that wasn't touched, and
you won't be a bit the poorer of it, may be, this day twelve months.' I
accordingly dropped two bottles of it into the other pocket, so that his
Reverence was well balanced any how.

"'Now,' said he, 'before I go, kneel down both of you, till I give you my
benediction.'

"We accordingly knelt down, and he gave us his blessing in Latin before
he bid us good-night!

"After they went, Mary threw the stocking--all the unmarried folks
coming in the dark, to see who it would hit. Bless my sowl, but she
was the droll Mary--for what did she do, only put a big brogue of her
father's into it, that was near two pounds weight; and who should it hit
on the bare sconce, but Billy Cormick, the tailor--who thought he was
fairly shot, for it levelled the crathur at once; though that wasn't
hard to do any how.

"This was the last ceremony: and Billy was well continted to get the
knock, for you all know, whoever the stocking strikes upon is to be
married first. After this, my mother and mother-in-law set them to the
dancing--and 'twas themselves that kept it up till long after daylight
the next morning--but first they called me into the next room where Mary
was; and--and--so ends my wedding; by the same token that I'm as dry as
a stick."

"Come, Nancy," says Andy Morrow, "replenish again for us all, with a
double measure for Shane Fadh--because he well desarves it."

"Why, Shane," observed Alick, "you must have a terrible memory of your
own, or you couldn't tell it all so exact."

"There's not a man in the four provinces has sich a memory," replied
Shane. "I never hard that story yet, but I could repate it in fifty
years afterwards. I could walk up any town in the kingdom, and let me
look at the signs and I would give them to you agin jist exactly as they
stood."

Thus ended the account of Shane Fadh's wedding; and, after finishing the
porter, they all returned home, with an understanding that they were to
meet the next night in the same place.