harmony; but what harmony is equal to that in which five or six hundred men sing and shout, and leap and caper at each other, as a prelude to neighborly fighting where they beat time upon the drums of each other’s ears and heads with oak drumsticks?  That’s an Irishman’s music; and hard fortune to the garran* that wouldn’t have friendship and kindness in him to join and play a stave along with them!  ’Whoo; your sowl!  Hurroo!  Success to our side!  Hi for the O’Callaghans!  Where’s the blackguard to—­,’ I beg pardon, decent reader; I forgot myself for a moment, or rather I got new life in me, for I am nothing at all at all for the last five months—­a kind of nonentity I may say, ever since that vagabond Burges occasioned me to pay a visit to my distant relations, till my friends get that last matter of the collar-bone settled.

     * Garran—­a horse; but it is always used as meaning a bad
     one—­one without mettle.  When figuratively applied to a man,
     it means a coward

“The impulse which faction fighting gives to trade and business in Ireland is truly surprising; whereas party fighting depreciates both.  As soon as it is perceived that a party fight is to be expected, all buying and selling are nearly suspended for the day; and those who are not up*, and even many who are, take themselves and their property home as quickly as may be convenient.  But in a faction fight, as soon as there is any perspective of a row, depend upon it, there is quick work at all kinds of negotiation; and truly there is nothing like brevity and decision in buying and selling; for which reason, faction fighting, at all events, if only for the sake of national prosperity, should be encouraged and kept up.

     * Initiated into Whiteboyism

“Towards five o’clock, if a man was placed on an exalted station; so that he could look at the crowd, and wasn’t able to fight, he could have seen much that a man might envy him for.  Here a hat went up, or maybe a dozen of them; then followed a general huzza.  On the other side, two dozen caubeens sought the sky, like so many scaldy crows attempting their own element for the first time, only they were not so black.  Then another shout, which was answered by that of their friends on the opposite side; so that you would hardly know which side huzzaed loudest, the blending of both was so truly symphonius.  Now there was a shout for the face of an O’Callaghan; this was prosecuted on the very heels by another for the face of an O’Hallaghan.  Immediately a man of the O’Hallaghan side doffed his tattered frieze, and catching it by the very extremity of the sleeve, drew it with a tact, known only by an initiation of half a dozen street days, up the pavement after him.  On the instant, a blade from the O’Callaghan side peeled with equal alacrity, and stretching his home-made * at full length after him, proceeded triumphantly up the street, to meet the other.