d when
she heard the principal man take on so, she said: 'But I suppose you know
what to do?' 'I do not,' said he. 'Then hir mi devlis,' said she, 'you
are a fool. But leave the matter to me, I know how to dispose of her in
Roman fashion.' Why she wanted to interfere in the matter, brother, I
don't know, unless it was from pure brimstoneness of disposition--she had
no hand in the matter which had brought the party into trouble, she was
only on a visit, and it had happened before she came; but she was always
ready to give dangerous advice. Well, brother, the principal man
listened to what she had to say, and let her do what she would; and she
made a pudding, a very nice one, no doubt--for, besides plums, she put in
drows and all the Roman condiments that she knew of; and she gave it to
the principal man, and the principal man put it into a basket and
directed it to the woman in --- Castle, and the woman in the castle took
it and--"

"Ate of it," said I, "just like my case?"

"Quite different, brother; she took it, it is true, but instead of giving
way to her appetite as you might have done, she put it before the rest
whom she was going to impeach--perhaps she wished to see how they liked
it before she tasted it herself--and all the rest were poisoned, and one
died, and there was a precious outcry, and the woman cried loudest of
all; and she said: 'It was my death was sought for; I know the man, and
I'll be revenged,' and then the Poknees spoke to her and said, 'Where can
we find him?' and she said, 'I am awake to his motions; three weeks from
hence, the night before the full moon, at such and such an hour, he will
pass down such a lane with such a man'."

"Well," said I, "and what did the Poknees do?"

"Do, brother, sent for a plastramengro from Bow Street, quite secretly,
and told him what the woman had said; and the night before the full moon,
the plastramengro went to the place which the juwa had pointed out, all
alone, brother; and, in order that he might not be too late, he went two
hours before his time. I know the place well, brother, where the
plastramengro placed himself behind a thick holly tree, at the end of a
lane, where a gate leads into various fields, through which there is a
path for carts and horses. The lane is called the dark lane by the
Gorgios, being much shaded by trees; so the plastramengro placed himself
in the dark lane behind the holly tree; it was a cold February night,
dreary, thou