left, him stretched upon the stones.—­And now the work began:  for by this time the friends of both parties came up and joined them.  Such knocking down, such roaring among the men, and screeching and clapping of hands and wiping of heads among the women, when a brother, or a son, or a husband would get his gruel!  Indeed, out of a fair, I never saw anything to come up to it.  But during all this work, the busiest man among the whole set was the tailor, and what was worst of all for the poor creature, he should single himself out against both parties, bekase you see he thought they were cutting him out of his right to the bottle.

“They had now broken up the garden gate for weapons, all except one of the posts, and fought into the garden; when nothing should sarve Billy, but to take up the large heavy post, as if he could destroy the whole faction on each side.  Accordingly he came up to big Matthew Flanagan, and was rising it just as if he’d fell him, when Matt, catching him by the nape of the neck, and the waistband of the breeches, went over very quietly, and dropped him a second time, heels up, into the well; where he might have been yet, only for my mother-in-law, who dragged him out with a great deal to do:  for the well was too narrow to give him room to turn.

“As for myself and all my friends, as it happened to be my own wedding, and at our own place, we couldn’t take part with either of them; but we endeavored all in our power to red (* Pacify or separate) them, and a tough task we had of it, until we saw a pair of whips going hard and fast among them, belonging to Father Corrigan and Father James, his curate.  Well, its wonderful how soon a priest can clear up a quarrel!  In five minutes there wasn’t a hand up—­instead of that they were ready to run into mice-holes:—­

“‘What, you murderers,’ says his Reverence, ’are you bint to have each other’s blood upon your heads; ye vile infidels, ye cursed unchristian Anthemtarians?* are ye going to get yourself hanged like sheep-stalers? down with your sticks, I command you:  do you know—­will you give yourselves time to see who’s spaking to you—­you bloodthirsty set of Episcopalians?  I command you, in the name of the Catholic Church and the Blessed Virgin Mary, to stop this instant, if you don’t wish me,’ says he, ’to turn you into stocks and stones where you stand, and make world’s wonders of you as long as you live.—­Doran, if you rise your hand more, I’ll strike it dead on your body, and to your mouth you’ll never carry it while you have breath in your carcass,’ says he.—­’Clear off, you Flanagans, you butchers you—­or by St. Domnick I’ll turn the heads round upon your bodies, in the twinkling of an eye, so that you’ll not be able to look a quiet Christian in the face again.  Pretty respect you have for the decent couple at whose house you have kicked up such a hubbub.  Is this the way people are to be deprived of their dinners on your accounts, you fungaleering thieves!’