"Here, Teddy," said one of the countrymen, "will you fill the bottle
again."
"No," replied Teddy, who though as cunning as the devil himself, could
seldom be got to speak anything better than broken English, and that of
such a character that it was often scarcely intelligible.
"No," he replied; "I gav'd you wan bottle 'idout payment fwhor her, an'
by shapers I won't give none oder."
"Why, you burning beauty, aren't we takin' ten gallons, an' will you
begrudge us a second bottle?"
"Shiss--devil purshue de bottle more ye'll drunk here 'idout de
_airigad_, (* Money) dat's fwhat you will."
"Teddy," said the schoolmaster, "I drink propitiation to you as a
profissional gintle-man! No man uses more indepindent language than you
do. You are under no earthly obligation to Messrs. Syntax and Prosody.
Grammar, my worthy friend, is banished as an intruder from your
elocution, just as you would exclude a gauger from your Still-house."
"Fwhat about de gagur!" exclaimed Teddy, starting; "d--n him an'
shun-tax an' every oder tax, rint an' all--hee! hee! hee!"
We may as well let our readers know, before we proceed farther, that in
the opinion of many, Teddy Phats understood and could speak English as
well as any man of his station in the country. In fairs or markets, or
other public places, he spoke, it is true, nothing but Irish unless in a
private way, and only to persons in whom he thought he could place every
confidence.
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