r him,
proceeded triumphantly up the street, to meet the other.

* Irish frieze is mostly manufactured at home, which
accounts for the expression here.

"Thunder-an-ages, what's this for, at all, at all! I wish I hadn't begun
to manuscript an account of it, any how; 'tis like a hungry man dreaming
of a good dinner at a feast, and afterwards awaking and finding his
front ribs and back-bone on the point of union. Reader, is that a
black-thorn you carry--tut, where is my imagination bound for?----to
meet the other, I say.

"'Where's the rascally O'Callaghan that will place his toe or his
shillely on this frieze?' 'Is there no blackguard O'Hallaghan jist to
look crucked at the coat of an O'Callaghan, or say black's the white of
his eye?'

"'Troth and there is, Ned, avourneen, that same on the sod here.'

"'Is that Barney?'

"'The same, Ned, ma bouchal; and how is your mother's son, Ned?'

"'In good health at the present time, thank God and you; how is
yourself, Barney?'

"'Can't complain as time goes; only take this, any how, to mend your
health, ma bouchal.' (Whack.)

"'Success, Barney, and here's at your sarvice, avick, not making little
of what I got, any way.' (Crack.)

"About five o'clock on a May evening, in the fair of Knockimdowny, was
the ice thus broken, with all possible civility, by Ned and Barney. The
next moment a general rush took place towards the scene of action, and
ere you could bless yourself, Barney and Ned were both down, weltering
in their own and each other's blood. I scarcely know, indeed, though
with a mighty respectable quota of experimentality myself, how to
describe what followed. For the first twenty minutes the general harmony
of this fine row might be set to music, according to a scale something
like this:--Whick whack--crick crack--whick whack--crick crack--&c,
&c, &o. 'Here yer sowl--(crack)--there yer sowl--(whack). Whoo for
the O'Hallag-hans!'--(crack, crack, crack). 'Hurroo for the
O'Callaghans!--(whack, whack, whack). The O'Callaghans for
ever!'--(whack). 'The O'Hallaghans for ever!'--(crack). 'Mur-ther!
murther!--(crick, crack)--foul! foul!--(whack, whack). Blood and
turf!--(whack, whick)--tunther-an-ouns'--(crack, crick). 'Hurroo! my
darlings! handle your kip-peens--(crack, crack)--the O'Hallaghans are
going!'--(whack, whack).

"You are to suppose them, here to have been at it for about half an
hour.

"Whack, crack--'oh--oh--oh! have mercy upon me, boys--(cr