ut
deemed it her duty to shake her head slightly and raise her eyebrows
in a manner which denoted that she was absolutely at fault.

"Well," pursued Pat, "every door in the whole place was shut up, an'
every windy was bolted an' barred, an' though the poor Spider ran this
way an' that way, an' round the house an' round the house, not a hole
nor a crack could he find; an' there he had to stop outside in the
wind an' the rain."

Roseen's face betokened extreme compassion for the Spider. Pat went
on, drawing in his breath with a sucking sound.

"Well then, very well then; next mornin' the sarvants was sweepin' and
clanin' an' dustin', here an' there an' everywhere, the way they do in
the houses of Quality. One o' them left the hall door open an' in
creeps the little Spider, an' away wid him acrass the hall, an' never
stops till he gets to the great big parlour. Up the wall wid him then
as fast as he could leg it, an' there if he doesn't go and make his
web in a corner of a great big gould pictur' frame. Well, there he
sat, the poor fellow, but ne'er a fly at all come next or nigh him,
an' by-an'-by in walks the housemaid wid her great big broom, an' if
she didn't--"

"You are afther forgettin'!" interrupted Roseen, quickly seizing the
opportunity of using her tongue, and proceeding with as close an
imitation of Pat's manner as she could muster. "In walks the
housemaid. 'Och,' says she, 'what brings you here at all, ye dirty
little spalpeen!'"

"To be sure," said Pat, "I was near forgettin' that altogether. 'Och,'
says she (in shrill tones of horror supposed to proceed from the
startled housemaid), 'what brings you here at all, ye dirty little
spalpeen? You infarnal little sckamer,' says she."

Roseen gave a delighted little cackle, this being an addition on Pat's
part and charming her by its vigour and originality.

"'You infarnal little sckamer, what brings you here at all?' And she
whips out her duster an' hot the poor Spider such a crack that his web
was destroyed on him altogether, an' it was on'y by the greatest good
luck he was able to creep out of her way behind the corner of the
frame, or she'd have had him killed as well. Well, the poor fellow,
there he sat the whole livelong day, niver so much as offerin' to spin
another web; an' sure if he had it 'ud have been no use, for there
wasn't the sign of a fly at all. When evenin' come the masther of the
house had company, an' there was atin' an' drinkin' an' t