interrupted by the rattle of spoons."

They obeyed; and while they are mixing their punch, we will just turn over
a fresh page, and devote a new Chapter to the following

MARVELLOUS LEGEND




CHAPTER XXIII

MURTOUGH MURPHY'S STORY; BEING YE MARVELLOUS LEGEND OF TOM CONNOR'S CAT


"There was a man in these parts, sir, you must know, called Tom Connor,
and he had a cat that was equal to any dozen of rat-traps, and he was
proud of the baste, and with rayson; for she was worth her weight in goold
to him in saving his sacks of meal from the thievery of the rats and mice;
for Tom was an extensive dealer in corn, and influenced the rise and fall
of that article in the market, to the extent of a full dozen of sacks at a
time, which he either kept or sold, as the spirit of free trade or
monopoly came over him. Indeed, at one time, Tom had serious thoughts of
applying to the government for a military force to protect his granary
when there was a threatened famine in the county."

"Pooh! pooh! sir," said the matter-of-fact little man: "as if a dozen
sacks could be of the smallest consequence in a whole county--pooh! pooh!"

"Well, sir," said Murphy, "I can't help if you don't believe; but it's