in a short time to clear the stable than you would for years.’  ’Why, thin, avour-neen, it goes to my heart to refuse you; but, for all that, may I never see yesterday, if a taste of it will go into your purty, white fingers,’ says the thief, praising her to her face all the time—­’my head may go off, any day, and welcome, but death before dishonor.  Say no more, darling; but tell your father I’ll be to my dinner immediately.’

“Notwithstanding all this, by jingo, the lady would not be put off; like a raal woman, she’d have her own way; so on telling Jack that she didn’t intend to work with the shovel, at all, at all, but only to take it for a minute in her hand, at long last he gave it to her; she then struck it three times on the threshel of the door, and, giving it back into his hand, tould him to try what he could do.  Well, sure enough, now there was a change; for, instead of three shovelfuls coming in, as before, when he threw one out, there went nine more along with it.  Jack, in coorse, couldn’t do less than thank the lovely crathur for her assistance; but when he raised his head to speak to her, she was gone.  I needn’t say, howsomever, that he went in to his dinner with a light heart and a murdhering appetite; and when the ould fellow axed him how he was coming on, Jack tould him he was doing gloriously.  ’Remember the empty hook, Jack,’ said he.  ‘Never fear, your honor,’ answered Jack, ’if I don’t finish my task, you may bob my head off anytime.’

“Jack now went out, and was a short time getting through his job, for before the sun set it was finished, and he came into the kitchen, ate his supper, and, sitting down before the fire, sung ’Love among the Roses,’ and the ‘Black Joke,’ to vex the ould fellow.

“This was one task over, and his head was safe for that bout; but that night, before he went to bed, his master called him upstairs, brought him into the bloody room, and gave him his orders for the next day.  ‘Jack,’ says he, ’I have a wild filly that has never been caught, and you must go to my demesne to-morrow, and catch her, or if you don’t—­look there,’ says the big blackguard, ’on that hook it hangs, before to-morrow, if you havn’t her at sunset in the stable that you claned yesterday.’  ‘Very well, your honor,’ said Jack, carelessly, ’I’ll do every thing in my power, and if I fail, I can’t help it.’

“The next morning, Jack was out with a bridle in his hand, going to catch the filly.  As soon as he got into the domain, sure enough, there she was in the middle of a green field, grazing quite at her ase.  When Jack saw this he went over towards her, houlding out his hat as if it was full of oats; but he kept the hand that had the bridle in it behind his back, for fraid she’d see it and make off.  Well, my dear, on he went till he was almost within grip of her, cock-sure that he had nothing more to do than slip the bridle over her neck and secure her; but he made a bit of a mistake in his reckoning, for