Oh, Larry M’Hale he had little to fear, And never could want when the crops didn’t fail; He’d a house and demesne and eight hundred a year, And the heart for to spend it, had Larry M’Hale! The soul of a party, the life of a feast, And an illigant song he could sing, I’ll be bail; He would ride with the rector, and drink with the priest, Oh, the broth of a boy was old Larry M’Hale! It’s little he cared for the judge or recorder, His house was as big and as strong as a jail; With a cruel four-pounder, he kept in great order, He’d murder the country, would Larry M’Hale. He’d a blunderbuss too, of horse-pistols a pair; But his favorite weapon was always a flail. I wish you could see how he’d empty a fair, For he handled it neatly, did Larry M’Hale. His ancestors were kings before Moses was born, His mother descended from great Grana Uaile; He laughed all the Blakes and the Frenches to scorn; They were mushrooms compared to old Larry M’Hale. He sat down every day to a beautiful dinner, With cousins and uncles enough for a tail; And, though loaded with debt, oh, the devil a thinner, Could law or the sheriff make Larry M’Hale! With a larder supplied and a cellar well stored, None lived half so well, from Fair-Head to Kinsale, As he piously said, “I’ve a plentiful board, And the Lord he is good to old Larry M’Hale.” So fill up your glass, and a high bumper give him, It’s little we’d care for the tithes or repale; For ould Erin would be a fine country to live in, If we only had plenty like LARRY M’HALE. “Very singular style of person your friend Mr. M’Hale,” lisped a spooney-looking cornet at the end of the table. “Not in the country he belongs to, I assure you,” said Maurice; “but I presume you were never in Ireland.” “You are mistaken there,” resumed the other; “I was in Ireland, though I confess not for a long time.” “If I might be so bold,” cried Maurice, “how long?” “Half an hour, by a stop-watch,” said the other, pulling up his stock; “and I had quite enough of it in that time.” “Pray give us your experiences,” cried out Bob Mahon; “they should be interesting, considering your opportunities.” “You are right,” said the cornet; “they were so; and as they illustrate a feature in your amiable country, you shall have them.” A general knocking upon the table announced the impatience of the company, and when silence was restored the cornet began:--