Standard Selections: A Collection and Adaptation of Superior Productions from Best Authors for Use in Class Room and on the Platform
General
Standard Selections: A Collection and Adaptation of Superior Productions from Best Authors for Use in Class Room and on the Platform
Recitations
"So I wint to bed an' waited, while th' Mickrobes had fun with me.
Monday all iv thim was quiet but thim in me stummick. They stayed up
late dhrinkin' an' carousin' an' dancin' jigs till wur-ruds come up
bechune th' Kerry Mickrobes an' thim fr'm Wixford an' th' whole pa-arty
wint over to me lift lung, where they could get th' air, an' had it out.
Th' nex' day th' little Mickrobes made a toboggan slide iv me spine an'
manetime some Mickrobes that was wur-r-kin' f'r th' tiliphone comp'ny
got it in their heads that me legs was poles, an' put on their spikes
an' climbed all night long.
"They was tired out th' nex' day till about 5 o'clock, whin thim that
was in me head begin flushin' out th' rooms an' I knew they're was goin'
to be doings in th' top flat. What did thim Mickrobes in me head do but
invite all th' other Mickrobes in f'r th' avnin'. They all come. Oh, by
gar, they was not wan iv thim stayed away. At 6 o'clock they begun to
move fr'm me shins to me thrawt. They come in platoons an' squads an'
dhroves. Some iv thim brought along brass bands an' more thin wan
hundred thousand iv thim dhruv through me pipes in dhrays. A throlley
line was started up me back an ivry car r-run into a wagon load iv scrap
iron at th' base iv me skull.
"Th' Mickrobes in me head must've done thimsilves proud. Ivery few
minutes some wan iv th' kids 'd be sint out with th' can an' I'd say to
mesilf: 'There they go, carryin' th' trade to Schwartzmeister's because
I'm sick an' can't wait on thim.' I was daffy, Jawn, d'ye mind? Th'
likes iv me fillin' a pitcher f'r a little boy-bug! Ho, ho! Such
dhreams. An' they had a game iv forty-fives, an' there was wan Mickrobe
there that larned to play th' game in th' County Tipp'rary, where 'tis
played on stone, an' iv'ry time he led thrumps he'd like to knock me
head off. 'Who's thrick is that?' says th' Tipp'rary Mickrobe. 'Tis
mine,' says a little red-headed Mickrobe fr'm th' County Roscommon. They
tipped over th' chairs an' tables, an' in less time thin it takes to
tell th' whole pa-arty was at it. They'd been a hurlin' game in th' back
iv me skull an' th' young folks was dancin' breakdowns an' havin'
leppin' matches in me forehead, but they all stopped to mix in. Oh,
'twas a grand shindig--tin millions iv thim min, women an' childher
rowlin' on th' flure, hands an' feet goin', icepicks an' hurlin' sticks,
clubs, brickbats an' beer kags flyin' in th' air. How manny iv thim was
kilt I'll niver know, f'r I wint as daft as a hen an' dhreamt iv
organizin' a Mickrobe Campaign club, that'd sweep th' prim'ries an'
maybe go acrost an' free Ireland. Whin I woke up me legs was as weak as
a day-old babby's an' me poor head impty as a cobbler's purse. I want no
more iv thim. Give me anny bug fr'm a cockroach to an aygle save an'
excipt thim wist iv Ireland fenians--th' Mickrobes."
A DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION
HARRY STILLWELL EDWARDS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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