"Well, sir, Hogan is Cy in th' play; an' th' beak is pa-art iv him.
What does he do? He goes up to Toolan, an' says he: 'Ye don't like me
nose. It's an ilicthric light globe. Blow it out. It's a Swiss cheese.
Cut it off, if ye want to. It's a brick in a hat. Kick it. It's a
balloon. Hang a basket on it, an' we'll have an' ascinsion. It's a
dure-bell knob. Ring it. It's a punchin' bag. Hit it, if ye dahr. F'r
two pins I'd push in th' face iv ye.' An', mind ye, Hinnissy, Toolan
had said not wan wurrud about th' beak,--not wan wurrud. An' ivry wan
in th' house was talkin' about it, an' wondhrin' whin it 'd come off
an' smash somewan's fut. I looked f'r a fight there an' thin. But
Toolan's a poor-spirited thing, an' he wint away. At that up comes
Scanlan; an' says he: 'Look here, young fellow,' he says, 'don't get
gay,' he says, 'don't get gay,' he says. 'What's that?' says Hogan.
Whin a man says, 'What's that?' in a bar-room, it manes a fight, if he
says it wanst. If he says it twict, it manes a fut race. 'I say,' says
Scanlan, 'that, if ye make anny more funny cracks, I'll hitch a horse
to that basket fender,' he says, 'an' dhrag it fr'm ye,' he says. At
that Hogan dhrew his soord, an' says he: 'Come on,' he says, 'come on,
an' take a lickin,' he says. An' Scanlan dhrew his soord, too. 'Wait,'
says Hogan. 'Wait a minyit,' he says. 'I must think,' he says. 'I must
think a pome,' he says. 'Whiniver I fight,' he says, 'I always have a
pome,' he says. 'Glory be,' says I, 'there's Scanlan's chanst to give
it to him,' I says. But Scanlan was as slow as a dhray; an', before he
cud get action, Hogan was at him, l'adin' with th' pome an' counthrin'
with the soord. 'I'll call this pome,' he says, 'a pome about a gazabo
I wanst had a dool with in Finucane's hall,' he says. 'I'll threat ye
r-right,' he says, 'an' at the last line I'll hand ye wan,' he says.
An' he done it. 'Go in,' he says in th' pome, 'go in an' do ye'er
worst,' he says. 'I make a pass at ye'er stomach,' he says, 'I cross
ye with me right,' he says; 'an,' he says at th' last line, he says,
'I soak ye,' he says. An' he done it. Th' minyit 'twas over with th'
pome 'twas off with Scanlan. Th' soord wint into him, an' he sunk down
to th' flure; an' they had to carry him off. Well, sir, Hogan was that
proud ye cudden't hold him f'r th' rest iv th' night. He wint around
ivrywhere stickin' people an' soakin' thim with pothry. He's a gr-reat
pote is this here Hogan, an' a gr-reat fighter. He done thim all at
both; but, like me ol' frind Jawn L., he come to th' end. A man
dhropped a two-be-four on his head wan day, an' he died. Honoria Casey
was with him as he passed away, an' she says, 'How d'ye feel?' 'All
right,' says Hogan. 'But wan thing I'll tell ye has made life worth
livin',' he says. 'What's that?' says Miss Casey. 'I know,' says I.
'Annywan cud guess it. He manes his nose,' I says. But ivrywan on th'
stage give it up. 'Ye don't know,' says Hogan. ''Tis me hat,' he says;
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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