Scattered about the fire and through the cavern were a party of countrymen who came to purchase whiskey for a wedding, and three or four publicans and shebeenmen who had come on professional business.  Some were drinking, some indulging in song, and some were already lying drunk or asleep in different parts of this subterraneous pandemonium.  Exalted in what was considered the position of honor sat a country hedge-schoolmaster, his mellow eye beaming with something between natural humor, a sense of his own importance, and the influence of pure whiskey, fresh it is called, from the Still-eye.

“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.  It was often observed, however, that in such conversations he occasionally arranged the matter of those who could use only English to him, in such a way as proved pretty clearly that he must have possessed a greater mastery over that language than he acknowledged.  We believe the fact to be, however, that Teddy, as an illicit distiller, had found it, on some peculiar occasions connected with his profession, rather an inconvenient accomplishment to know English.  He had given some evidence in his day, and proved, or attempted to prove, a few alibies on behalf of his friends; and he always found, as there is good reason to believe, that the Irish language, when properly enunciated through the medium of an interpreter, was rather the safer of the two, especially when resorted to within the precincts of the country court-house and in hearing of the judge.