"Yez oughtn't to be kept here undher lock an' kay," said "His Majesty," "an' mesilf 'ud be the proud man to let yez out, ivery one av yez, but thin how do I know that I'd iver see yez agin? I must kape yez till me fate's decoided. I don't know yet that ye'd be willin' to come to terruuis; an' so ye're loike O'Rafferty in the song: "'Oh, a fine pair av handcuffs he wore, That the sheriff hiul nately adjusted, Because that official persayved That O'Rafferty couldn't be trusted.'" "Ah, sire," said Mrs. Russell, with a sigh, "Your Royal Majesty holds us by stronger bonds than bolts and bars." "Be jabers!" exclaimed "His Majesty," "that's good! that's nate! that's illigant! I couldn't bate that mesilf, an' I hope that all the ladies prisent will join in that sintimint." As he spoke, "His Majesty" looked hard at Katie, but that young lady did not catch the royal eye. "The throne av Spain," continued "His Majesty," "an' the crown an' sceptre av Spain, an' all the r'y'l regalia, an' all the moight an' majesty an' magnificence av its pomp an' power--be jabers! they're all goin' a beggin' in this room; an' there's one here that's only got to wink, an' it's hers, every bit av it." Mrs. Russell here made desperate efforts to catch the royal eye, but to no purpose, for that eye was fixed on Katie. "Yis," continued "His Majesty," "an' afore to-morrow noon it 'ud be all hers, any time at all--crown an' sceptre an' all--an' the marriage ceremony cud come off in the mornin', loike Tim: "'Oh, married was Tim at the dawn av day; His bride was a stout owld widdy; She owned a horse, an' she owned a shay, An' her maiden name was Biddy.'" The habits of this illustrious being were singular, and his tendency to make odd quotations, which were not always particularly relevant, was not the least surprising of his ways. In this last quotation Mrs. Russell found several objectionable expressions; but on the whole the idea was a flattering one, for the subject of the narrative was represented as "marrying a widow;" and this little circumstance was taken as a fresh proof of "His Majesty's" devotion. "Yez mustn't think," continued "His Majesty," "that there's any lack av our r'y'l attintion to yez because yez haven't got much to brag av in the way av food; begorra! I'm in the same box mesilf, an' it isn't much at all at all I can get here except mutton, an' it's mesilf that 'ud give all the mutton in Spain for a bit av a pratie. Howandiver, I hope to get some fish by to-morrow mornin'. If we could only get a taste av a few praties there'd be nothin' wantin'; for-- "'It's little I axes, Au' little I wish; If others want luxuries, let them; For praties and fish Make an illigant dish, If ye only have whiskey to wet them.'"