This was said by the brazen attorney, from his seat at a side-table, which was amply provided with a large dish of boiled potatoes, capacious jugs of milk, a quantity of cold meat and game. Murphy had his mouth half filled with potatoes as he spoke, and swallowed a large draught of milk as the stranger swallowed Murphy's lie.
"You don't eat potatoes, I perceive, sir," said Murphy.
"Finest things in the world, sir, for the intellect," said Murphy. "I attribute the natural intelligence of the Irish entirely to their eating them."
"Oh, they are thometimes tho thleepy at the Cathtle," said Fanny.
"Weally!" said the exquisite, with the utmost simplicity.
"Fanny is very provoking, Mr. Furlong," said Mrs. Egan, who was obliged to say something with a smile, to avoid the laugh which continued silence would have forced upon her.
"Oh, no!" said the dandy, looking tenderly at Fanny; "only vewy agweable--fond of a little wepa'tee."
"They call me thatirical here," said Fanny, "only fanthy!" and she cast down her eyes with an exquisite affectation of innocence.
"By-the-bye, when does your post awive here--the mail I mean?" said Furlong.
"About nine in the morning," said the Squire.
"And how far is the post town fwom your house?"
"Then you can answer your letters by wetu'n of post?"
"Oh dear, no!" said the Squire; "the boy takes any letters that may be for the post the following morning, as he goes to the town to look for letters."
"But you lose a post by that," said Furlong.
The official's notions of regularity were somewhat startled by the Squire's answer; so he pushed him with a few more questions. In reply to one of the last, the Squire represented that the post-boy was saved going twice a day by the present arrangement.
"Ay, but you lose a post, my dear sir," said Furlong, who still clung with pertinacity to the fitness of saving a post. "Don't you see that you might weceive your letter at half-past ten; well, then you'll have a full hour to wite you' answer; that's quite enough time, I should think, for you wetu'ning an answer."
"But, my dear sir," said Murtough Murphy, "our grand object in Ireland is _not_ to answer letters."
"Oh!--ah!--hum!--indeed!--well, that's odd; how _vewy_ odd you Iwish are!"