twenty years."

"Do you travel much about?"

"All over North Wales, your hanner; to say nothing of the southern
country."

"I suppose you speak Welsh?"

"Not a word, your hanner. The Welsh speak their language so fast, that
divil a word could I ever contrive to pick up."

"Do you speak Irish?"

"I do, yer hanner; that is when people spake to me in it."

I spoke to him in Irish; after a little discourse he said in English:

"I see your hanner is a Munster man. Ah! all the learned men comes from
Munster. Father Toban comes from Munster."

"I have heard of him once or twice before," said I.

"I daresay your hanner has. Every one has heard of Father Toban; the
greatest scholar in the world, who they, say stands a better chance of
being made Pope, some day or other, than any saggart in Ireland."

"Will you take sixpence?"

"I will, your hanner; if your hanner offers it; but I never beg; I leave
that kind of work to my wife and daughter as I said before."

After giving him the sixpence, which he received with a lazy "thank your
hanner," I got up, and followed by my daughter returned to the town.

Henrietta went to the inn, and I again strolled about the town. As I was
standing in the middle of one of the business streets I suddenly heard a
loud and dissonant gabbling, and glancing around beheld a number of
wild-looking people, male and female. Wild looked the men, yet wilder
the women. The men were very lightly clad, and were all barefooted and
bareheaded; they carried stout sticks in their hands. The women were
barefooted too, but had for the most part head-dresses; their garments
consisted of blue cloaks and striped gingham gowns. All the females had
common tin articles in their hands which they offered for sale with
violent gestures to the people in the streets, as they walked along,
occasionally darting into the shops, from which, however, they were
almost invariably speedily ejected by the startled proprietors, with
looks of disgust and almost horror. Two ragged, red-haired lads led a
gaunt pony, drawing a creaking cart, stored with the same kind of
articles of tin, which the women bore. Poorly clad, dusty and soiled as
they were, they all walked with a free, independent, and almost graceful
carriage.

"Are those people from Ireland?" said I to a decent-looking man,
seemingly a mechanic, who stood near me, and was also looking at them,
but with anything but admiration.

"I am sorry to say t