University of Virginia Library

“You're very late
On the road,” he says—and waein' and woin'—
And—“How are you on the road alone?
Extrorn'ry!” says the Pazon—“What!
Alone!” he says—and this and that,
But kind—aw, bless ye! kind thallure —
And—“Nessy, Nessy, to be sure!”
And—“Get up, and tell me all aburrit.”
So Nessy seen there was nothin' for it
But up she must in the Pazon's gig:
And then she tould him all the rig—
Well—maybe not all—not raisonable—
A gel, you know—they're hardly able—
Aisy! aisy with the lek!
All! God bless ye! you musn' expeck—
And talkin' to a Pazon—eh?
And didn' know hardly what to say,
But tould him—Says she, “I didn' lave Doolish
Alone at all”; and rather foolish
She was feelin' of coorse, aw sartinly—
“There was two people tuk the road with me,”
Says Nessy. “Two,” says the Pazon, “aw dear!
And did you meet them in the feer!”
“The feer?” says Nessy, “no—at laste
It might ha been—a nisy place
In a field,” she says, “there was hosses there—
Is that what people is callin' the feer?
Hosses, and gingerbread, and pop,
And cows, and calves—but I didn' stop.”
“Didn' ye?” says the Pazon then;
“And was it two women, or was it two men
You tuk the road with?” Aw, not a word
From Nessy. “I think,” says the Pazon, “I heard
Your friends down there on the Whitebridge hill.”
“Aw,” says Nessy, “are they fightin' still?”
“No,” says the Pazon, “they warn' together,
One was far ahead of the other,
Shoutin' though, the two of them—
Yes, I think it'll be the same;
And you'll 'scuse me,” he says—sittin up like a crowbar
Was the Pazon then—“they were hardly sober,
Hardly,” he says; and then his vice
Gev a little hem! like puttin' a splice
On his kind ould throat—“a little,” he says,
“A little tossicated—yes—
A little, I think; a little queer;
And usin' language, I think they were,
Language—aye—”