into voting against his own party. In vain the poor gull protested he never meant to vote for Egan.

46 But you did it," cried Murphy.

"What the deuce have you done?" cried Scatterbrain's agent, in a

rage.

"I

"Of course, they know I wouldn't vote that way," said Furlong. couldn't vote that way-it's a mistake, and I pwotest against the twick." "We've got the trick, and we'll keep it, however," said Murphy. Scatterbrain's agent said 'twas unfair, and desired the polling-clerk not to record the vote.

"Didn't every one hear him say, 'I vote for Egan?" asked Murphy. “But he didn't mean it, sir,” said the agent.

"I don't care what he meant, but I know he said it," retorted Murphy; "and every one round knows he said it; and as I mean what I say myself, I suppose every other gentleman does the same— down with the vote, Mister polling-clerk."

A regular wrangle now took place between the two agents, amidst the laughter of the bystanders, whose merriment was increased by Furlong's vehement assurances he did not mean to vote as Murphy wanted to make it appear he had; but the more he protested the more the people laughed. This increased his energy in fighting out the point, until Scatterbrain's agent recommended him to desist, for that he was only interrupting their own voters from coming up. "Never mind now, sir," said the agent, "I'll appeal to the assessor about that vote." Appeal as much as you like," said Murtough; "that vote is as dead as a herring to you."

66

Furlong finding further remonstrance unavailing, as regarded his vote, delivered to the sheriff the message of O'Grady, who was boiling over with impatience, in the meantime, at the delay of his messenger, and anxiously expecting the arrival of sheriff and police to coerce the villanous trumpeter and chastise the applauding crowd, which became worse and worse every minute.

66

They exhibited a new source of provocation to O'Grady, by exposing a rat-trap hung at the end of a pole, with the caged vermin within, and vociferated Rat, rat," in the pauses of the trumpet. Scatterbrain remembering the hearing they gave him the previous day, hoped to silence them, and begged O'Grady to permit him to address them; but the whim of the mob was up, and could not be easily diverted, and Scatterbrain himself was hailed with the name of "Rat-catcher." "You cotch him—and I wish you joy of him!" cried one. "How much did you give for him?" shouted another.

"What did you bait your thrap with?" roared a third.

"A bit o' threasury bacon," was the answer from a stentorian voice amidst the multitude, who shouted with laughter at the apt rejoinder, which they reiterated from one end of the crowd to the other, and the cry of "threasury bacon" rang far and wide.

Scatterbrain and O'Grady consulted together on the hustings what was to be done, while Dick the Devil was throwing jokes to the crowd, and inflaming their mischievous merriment, and Growling looking on with an expression of internal delight at the fun, uproar and vexation

around him. It was just a dish to his taste, and he devoured it with silent satisfaction.

"What the deuce keeps that sneaking dandy?" cried O'Grady to Scatterbrain. "He should have returned long ago."-Oh! could he have only known at that moment, that his sweet son-in-law elect was voting against them, what would have been the consequence!

Another exhibition, insulting to O'Grady, now appeared in the crowd, -a chimney-pot and weathercock, after the fashion of his mother's, was stuck on a pole, and underneath was suspended an old coat turned inside out; this double indication of his change, so peculiarly insulting, was elevated before the hustings amidst the jeers and laughter of the people. O'Grady was nearly frantic-he rushed to the front of the platform, he shook his fist at the mockery, poured every abusive epithet on its perpetrators, and swore he would head the police himself and clear the crowd. In reply the crowd hooted, the rat-trap and weathercock were danced together after the fashion of Punch and Judy, to the music of the trumpet; and another pole made its appearance, with a piece of bacon on it, and a placard bearing the inscription of "Treasury bacon," all which Tom Durfy had run off to procure at a huckster's shop, the moment he heard the waggish answer which he thus turned

to account.

"The military must be called out!" said O'Grady; and with these words he left the platform to seek the sheriff.

Edward O'Connor, the moment he heard O'Grady's threat, quitted the hustings also, in company with old Growling.

"What a savage and dangerous temper that man has!" said Edward; "calling for the military when the people have committed no outrage to require such interference."

"They have poked up the bear with their poles, sir, and it is likely he'll give them a hug before he's done with them," answered the doctor.

"But what need of military?" indignantly exclaimed Edward. "The people are only going on with the noise and disturbance common to any election, and the chances are, that savage man may influence the sheriff to provoke the people, by the presence of soldiers, to some act which would not have taken place but for their interference, and thus they themselves originate the offence which they are fore-armed with power to chastise. In England such extreme measures are never resorted to, until necessity compels them. How I have envied Englishmen, when on the occasion of assizes every soldier is marched from the town while the judge is sitting; in Ireland the place of trial bristles with bayonets! How much more must a people respect and love the laws, whose own purity and justice are their best safeguard! whose inherent majesty is sufficient for their own protection! The sword of justice should never need the assistance of the swords of dragoons, and in the election of their representatives, as well as at judicial sittings, a people should be free from military despotism.

"But, as an historian, my dear young friend," said the doctor, "I need not remind you that dragoons have been considered 'good lookers-on' in Ireland since the days of Strafford."

"Ay!" said Edward; "and scandalous it is, that the abuses of the seventeenth century should be perpetuated in the nineteenth.* While those who govern show, by the means they adopt for supporting their authority, that their rule requires undue force to uphold it, they tacitly teach resistance to the people, and their practices imply that the resistance is righteous."

66

My dear Master Ned," said the doctor, "you're a patriot, and I'm sorry for you; you inherit the free opinions of your namesake of the hill' of blessed memory; with such sentiments you may make a very good Irish barrister, but you'll never be an Irish judge-and as for a silk gown, 'faith you may leave the wearing of that to your wife, for stuff is all that will ever adorn your shoulders."

"Well, I would rather have stuff there, than in my head," answered Edward. "Let

"Very epigrammatic, indeed, Master Ned," said the doctor.

how will

us make a distich of it," added he, with a chuckle; "for, of a verity, some of the K. C.'s of our times are but dunces.-Let's see it go?"

Edward dashed off this couplet in a moment

"Of modern king's counsel this truth may be said,

They have silk on their shoulders, but stuff in their head."

"Neat enough," said the doctor; "but you might contrive more sting in it;-something to the tune of the impossibility of making 'a silk purse out of a sow's ear,' but the facility of manufacturing silk gowns out of bore's heads."

"That's out of your bitter pill-box, Doctor," said Ned, smiling.

"Put it into rhyme, Ned-and set it to music-and dedicate it to the bar mess, and see how you'll rise in your profession !-Good-b'yeI will be back again to see the fun as soon as I can, but I must go now and visit an old woman who is in doubt whether she stands most in need of me or the priest.—It's wonderful, how little people think of the other world till they are going to leave this; and with all their praises of heaven, how very anxious they are to stay out of it as long as they can !"

With this bit of characteristic sarcasm, the doctor and Edward separated. Edward had hardly left the hustings, when Murphy hurried on the platform and asked for him.

"He left, a few minutes ago," said Tom Durfy.

"Well, I dare say he's doing good, wherever he is," said Murtough; "I wanted to speak to him, but when he comes back send him to me.In the mean time, Tom, run down and bring up a good batch of voters -we're getting a little a-head, I think, with the bothering I'm giving them up there, and now I want to push them with good strong tallies -run down to the yard, like a good fellow, and march them up."

Off posted Tom Durfy on his mission, and Murphy returned to the court-house.

* When Strafford's infamous project of the wholesale robbery of Connaught was put in practice, not being quite certain of his juries, he writes that he will send 300 horse to the province during the proceedings, 66 as good lookers-on."

Tom, on reaching Murphy's house, found a strong possé of O'Grady's party hanging round the place, and one of the fellows had backed a car against the yard gate which opened on the street, and was the outlet for Egan's voters. By way of excuse for this, the car was piled with cabbages for sale, and a couple of very unruly pigs were tethered to the shafts, and the strapping fellow who owned all, kept guard over them. Tom immediately told him he should leave that place, and an altercation commenced; but even an electioneering dispute could not but savour of fun and repartee, between Paddies.

"Be off," said Tom.

"Sure I can't be off till the market's over," was the answer. "Well, you must take your car out of this."

"Indeed now, you'll let me stay, Misther Durfy.”

"Indeed I won't."

"Arrah! what harm ?"

"You're stopping up the gate on purpose, and you must go." "Sure your honour wouldn't spile my stand!"

"Faith, I'll spoil more than your stand, if you don't leave that."

Not finer cabbage in the world."

"Go out o' that now, 6 while your

shoes are good,'"* said Tom, seeing he had none; for in speaking of shoes, Tom had no intention of alluding to the word choux, and thus making a French pun upon the cabbage, for Tom did not understand French, but rather despised it as a jack-a-dandy acquirement.

65

'Sure, you wouldn't ruin my market, Misther Durfy!"

"None of your humbugging-but be off at once," said Tom, whose tone indicated he was very much in earnest.

"Not a nicer slip of a pig in the market than the same pigs-I'm expectin' thirty shillin's a piece for them."

"Faith, you'll get more than thirty shillings," cried Tom, "in less than thirty seconds, if you don't take your dirty cabbages and blackguard pigs out o' that!"

66

Dirty cabbages!" echoed the fellow, in a tone of surprise.

The order to depart was renewed.

66

Blackguard pigs !" cried Paddy, in affected wonder.-"Ah, Masther Tom, one would think it was afther dinner you wor."

"What do you mean, you rap ?—do you intend to say I'm drunk?" "Oh no, sir!-But if it's not afther dinner wid you, I think you wouldn't turn up your nose at bacon and greens."

"Oh, with all your joking," said Tom, laughing, "you won't find me a chicken to pluck for your bacon and greens, my boy; so, start!-vanish! -disperse !-my bacon merchant!

While this dialogue was going forward, several cars were gathered round the place, with a seeming view to hem in Egan's voters, and interrupt their progress to the poll; but the gate of the yard suddenly opened, and the fellows within soon upset the car which impeded their egress, gave freedom to the pigs, who used their liberty in eating the cabbages, while their owner was making cause with his party of O'Gradyites against the

* A saying among the Irish peasantry,-meaning, there is danger in delay.

outbreak of Egan's men.

The affair was not one of importance; the numbers were not sufficient to constitute a good row-it was but a hustling affair, after all, and a slight scrimmage enabled Tom Durfy to head his men in a rush to the poll.

The polling was now prosecuted vigorously on both sides, each party anxious to establish a majority on the first day; and of course the usual practices for facilitating their own, and retarding their opponent's progress, were resorted to.

Scatterbrain's party, to counteract the energetic movement of the enemy's voters, and Murphy's activity, got up a mode of interruption seldom made use of, but of which they availed themselves on the present occasion. It was determined to put the oath of allegiance to all the Roman Catholics, by which some loss of time to the Eganite party was effected.

This gave rise to odd scenes and answers, occasionally ;-some of the fellows did not know what the oath of allegiance meant; some did not know whether there might not be a scruple of conscience against taking it; others, indignant at what they felt to be an insulting mode of address, on the part of the person who said to them, in a tone savouring of supremacy—" You're a Roman Catholic,"-would not answer immediately, and gave dogged looks, and sometimes dogged answers; and it required address on the part of Egan's agents to make them overcome such feelings, and expedite the work of voting. At last, the same herculean fellow who gave O'Grady the fierce answer about the blunderbuss tenure he enjoyed, came up to vote, and fairly bothered the querist with his ready replies, which, purposely, were never to the purpose; the examination ran nearly thus:

"You're a Roman Catholic ?"

"Am I?" said the fellow.

66 Are you not?" demanded the agent.

"You say I am," was the answer.

"Come, sir, answer- -What's your religion?"

"The thrue religion."

"What religion is that?"

"My religion."

"And what's your religion?"

My mother's religion."

"And what was your mother's religion ?"

"She tuk whisky in her tay."

"Come, now, I'll find you out, as cunning as you are," said the agent, piqued into an encounter of the wits with this fellow, whose baffling of every question pleased the crowd.

"You bless yourself, don't you?"

"When I'm done with you, I think I ought."

"What place of worship do you go to?"

"The most convaynient.'

"But of what persuasion are you?"

My persuasion is that you won't find it out."

"What is your belief?"

"My belief is that you're puzzled."