“'Just,' says I; 'come St. Breedien's day; for it was the very week Jimmy Gorman was drowned, so it was: his wife married Tim Carroll, tin months after his wake,--for we waked Jimmy, though he wasn't at home, and drank long life to our absent friend, in the pitcher o' pothien he left in the cupboard,--so we did:--and she has now three children, by Tim; and Maurien, the little one, is two months ould, barring a week, or thereaway; and three nines is twinty-siven, and tin is tin more,--that's thirty-siven, and three months betuxt and betune each o' the children, makes nine more, that's forty-six: thin there's Maurien, she's two months ould, as I said; so that, taking them together, there's forty-eight months, one up or one down, and that many months is four years:--so that, by the rules of multiplication and population, Jimmy's dead four years--don't you see?' “'Arrah! don't be preaching,' says he; 'sure, meeself knew Jimmy well.' “'Ah! and is it yourself?' says I; 'and was he on visiting terms wid ye?' “'I knew him better than ever you did in your life, Mick,' says he. “'Not a bit of it,' says I; 'did you ever spend your money wid him, like meeself, at the sheebeen-house?--or at the pattarn there above, with the penny-whiff woman? Did you ever once trate him to a glass o' whiskey, sir?' says I;--'not yourself, in starch.' “'Mick,' says he, 'Jimmy and I lay in one bed for seven months.' “'In one bed!' “'Yes.' “'In a bed of oysthers, may be!' “'It was,' says he. “'Oh! thin, well and good, sir,' says I; 'but what has Jimmy to do with the mermaid?' “'Mick,' says he, 'the mermaid yourself saw below in the bay was him.' “'Is it Jim?--And now I recollect--what's as true as that my daddy Jack's a corpse,--the mermaid, sure enough, had a carrotty pole, and two whiskers, and a big jacket, to say nothing of the bradien, though they wouldn't believe me,--so they wouldn't; but betuxt ourselves, sir, by this pipe in my fist, she was dacently clothed as meeself, barring the breeches. Oh! thin, divil a saw saw I of breeches about her; and her legs,--sure, and wasn't her legs a fish? and didn't meeself say so?'