The words were hardly out of his mouth when a dark, sober-looking old gentleman, not unlike a lawyer, walked up to him. Bill looked at the foot and saw the hoof.--"Morrow, Nick," says Bill.
"Morrow, Bill," says Nick. "Well, Bill, what's the news?"
"Devil a much myself hears of late," says Bill; "is there anything _fresh_ below?"
"I can't exactly say, Bill; I spend little of my time down now; the Tories are in office, and my hands are consequently too full of business here to pay much attention to anything else."
"A fine place this, sir," says Bill, "to take a constitutional walk in; when I want an appetite I often come this way myself--hem! _High_ feeding is very bad without exercise."
"High feeding! Come, come, Bill, you know you didn't taste a morsel these four-and-twenty hours."
"You know that's a bounce, Nick. I eat a breakfast this morning that would put a stone of flesh on you, if you only smelt at it."
"No matter; this is not to the purpose. What's that you were muttering to yourself awhile ago? If you want to come to the brunt, here I'm for you."
"Nick," said Bill, "you're complate; you want nothing barring a pair of Brian O'Lynn's breeches."
Bill, in fact, was bent on making his companion open the bargain, because he had often heard that, in that case, with proper care on his own part, he might defeat him in the long run. The other, however, was his match.
"What was the nature of Brian's garment," inquired Nick. "Why, you know the song," said Bill--
"'Brian O'Lynn had no breeches to wear, So he got a sheep's skin for to make him a pair; With the fleshy side out and the woolly side in, They'll be pleasant and _cool_, says Brian O'Lynn.'
"You're mighty waggish to-day, Misther Dawson."
"And good right I have," said Bill; "I'm a man snug and well to do in the world; have lots of money, plenty of good eating and drinking, and what more need a man wish for?"
"True," said the other; "in the meantime it's rather odd that so respectable a man should not have six inches of unbroken cloth in his apparel. You are as naked a tatterdemalion as I ever laid my eyes on; in full dress for a party of scare-crows, William."
"That's my own fancy, Nick; I don't work at my trade like a gentleman. This is my forge dress, you know."