in' of nor to be
goin' afther Spiders. She left him alone in peace an' comfort, an' the
poor fellow thought he was in heaven, afther all he had to put up wid
at the other place. Well, there he lived till he died, an' he got so
fat wid all the flies he was afther killin' that it was an
_apple-complex_ that carried him off at the end!

"Well, Misther Gout went marching up the hill at a fine rate, an' when
he come to the rich man's house, who should he see, by the greatest
good luck, but the masther himself, standin' on the steps o' the hall
door, sayin' good-bye to the company. He lay quiet till the last of
the illigant carr'ages had drove off, an' the master stepped inside
again.

"'I think I'll have a smoke,' says he--here Pat assumed an
aristocratic air and spoke in refined and mincing tones--'before I go
to bed. William,' says he to one of the futmen, 'bring me me
slippers.' Well, the gentleman sat down in a grand soft armchair, an'
the futman brought his slippers--an' if the Gout didn't take the
opportunity an' pop into his big toe!"

Roseen jumped up from her stool with a chuckle of anticipation. Pat
proceeded to give utterance to a series of hollow and extraordinary
groans, and to writhe in a manner intended to convey the extreme agony
of the rich man. Roseen fairly danced about, imitating Pat's moanings
to the best of her ability. "Ou-ou-ou-ough! Ugh!" "'By this an' by
that,' says the gentleman, 'tare an' ages!' says he, 'thunder an'
turf!' he says, 'what in the world is the matter wid me big toe?'

"Well, the misthress comes runnin' down in a great state. 'My dear,'
she says (here Pat affected an extremely _Englified_ falsetto), 'I am
afeard you are very sick,' says she; 'ye'd best have a sup of port
wine,' says she.

"'Ou-ou-ough!' says the masther, 'maybe it would do me good. Fetch it
there, quick,' he says to the sarvants, 'or I'll be the death o' some
of yez!'

"Well, they brought him port wine, an' they brought him whisky, an'
they brought a beautiful velvet cushion an' put it under the
gentleman's fut; an' the Gout winks to himself, an' says he, 'Troth,
I'll not be in a hurry to quit out o' this. Sure it's in clover
altogether I am,' he says.

"Well, there ye have the story now, alanna, an' here's herself comin'
down the hill an' Mike afther her."

But Roseen was too much excited to heed the last announcement. "Was it
this way, the way the rich man was groanin'?" she asked, once more
imitating P