“Oh! to do him justice, as one should do to every one,” said the old man, “he behaved very handsome to me when I was brought to trial; and told the whole truth, only blamed himself more than I would have done, and said it was all his fault for laughing at me and my nation more than a man could bear, situated as I was. They acquitted me through his means. We shook hands, and he hoped all would go right with me, he said; but nothing ever went right with me after. I took little note ever after of worldly matters: all belonging to me went to rack and ruin. The hand of God was upon me: I could not help myself, nor settle mind or body to any thing. I heard them say sometimes I was a little touched in my head: however that might be I cannot say. But at the last I found it was as good for me to give all that was left to my friends, who were better able to manage, and more eager for it than I; and fancying a roving life would agree with me best, I quitted the place, taking nothing with me, but resolved to walk the world, and just trust to the charity of good Christians, or die, as it should please God. How I have lived so long He only knows, and his will be done.” CHAPTER X. IRISH WIT AND ELOQUENCE. “Wild wit, invention ever new,” appear in high perfection amongst even the youngest inhabitants of an Irish cottage. The word _wit_, amongst the lower classes of Ireland, means not only quickness of repartee, but cleverness in action; it implies invention and address, with no slight mixture of cunning; all which is expressed in their dialect by the single word _‘cuteness_ (acuteness). Examples will give a better notion of this than can be conveyed by any definition. An Irish boy (a ‘cute lad) saw a train of his companions leading their cars, loaded with kishes[51] of turf, coming towards his father’s cabin; his father had no turf, and the question was how some should be obtained. To beg he was ashamed; to dig he was unwilling--but his head went to work directly. He took up a turf which had fallen from one of the cars the preceding day, and stuck it on the top of a pole near the cabin. When the cars were passing, he appeared throwing turf at the mark. “Boys!” cried he, “which of ye will hit?” Each leader of the car, as he passed, could not forbear to fling a turf at the mark; the turf fell at the foot of the pole, and when all the cars had passed, there was a heap left sufficient to reward the ingenuity of our little Spartan.