hing at the head of them through the
town, down towards the new college that was building--it's Maynooth, I'm
speaking about--and then we turned to the left, my father scraping away
all the time every tune he thought they 'd like; and if now and then
by mistake he 'd play anything that did not plaze them, they'd damn and
blast him with the dreadfullest curses, and stick a pike into him, till
the blood would come running down his back; and then my father would cry
out--

'"I'll tell my friends on you for this--divil a lie in it, but I will"

'At last we came to the duke's wall, and then my father sat down on the
roadside, and cried out that he wouldn't go a step farther, for I was
crying away with sore feet at the pace we were going, and asking every
moment to be let sit down to rest myself.

'"Look at the child," said he, "his feet's all bleeding."

'"Ye have only a little farther to go," says one of them that had
crossed belts on and a green sash about him.

'"The divil resave another step," says my father.

'"Tell Billy to play us 'The Parmer's Daughter' before he goes," says
one in the crowd.

'"I 'd rather hear 'The Little Bowld Fox,'" says another.

'"No, no, 'Baltiorum! Baltiorum!'" says many more behind.

'"Ye shall have them all," says my father, "and that'll plaze ye."

'And so he set to, and played the three tunes as beautiful as ever ye
heard; and when he was done, the man with the belts ups and says to
him--

'"Ye're a fine hand, Billy, and it's a pity to lose you, and your
friends will be sorry for you," and he said this with a grin; "but take
the spade there and dig a hole, for we must be jogging, it's nigh day."

'Well, my father, though he was tired enough, took the spade, and began
digging as they told him; for he thought to himself, "The boys is going
to hide the pikes and the carbines before they go home." Well, when he
worked half an hour, he threw off his coat, and set to again; and at
last he grew tired and sat down on the side of the big hole, and called
out--

'"Isn't it big enough now, boys?"

'"No," says the captain, "nor half."

'So my father set to once more, and worked away with all his might; and
they all stood by, talking and laughing with one another.

'"Will it do now?" says my father; "for sure enough I'm clean beat."

'"Maybe it might," says one of them; "lie down, and see if it's the
length."

'"Well, is it that it's for?" says my father; "faix, I never guessed i