him not a little that one of them was an old woman, and the other of indifferent morals; but still it exhibited the claim of three women upon one man, and that satisfied him.  His mode of proceeding with Peggy Donovan was regular, and according to the usages of the country.  The notice had been given that he and his father would go a courting, and of course they brought the whiskey with them, that being the custom among persons in their circumstances in life.  These humble courtships very much resemble the driving of a bargain between two chapmen; for, indeed, the closeness of the demands on the one side, and the reluctance of concession on the other, are almost incredible.  Many a time has a match been broken up by a refusal on the one part, to give a slip of a pig, or a pair of blankets, or a year-old calf.  These are small matters in themselves, but they are of importance to those who, perhaps, have nothing else on earth with which to begin the world.  The house to which Phelim and his father directed themselves was, like their own, of the-humblest description.  The floor of it was about sixteen feet by twelve; its furniture rude and scanty.  To the right of the fire was a bed, the four posts of which ran up to the low roof; it was curtained with straw mats, with the exception of an opening about a foot and a half wide on the side next the fire, through which those who slept in it passed.  A little below the foot of the bed were ranged a few shelves of deal, supported by pins of wood driven into the wall.  These constituted the dresser.  In the lower end of the house stood a potato-bin, made up of stakes driven into the floor, and wrought with strong wicker-work.  Tied to another stake beside this bin stood a cow, whose hinder part projected so close to the door, that those who entered the cabin were compelled to push her over out of their way.  This, indeed, was effected without much difficulty, for the animal became so habituated to the necessity of moving aside, that it was only necessary to lay the hand upon her.  Above the door in the inside, almost touching the roof, was the hen-roost, made also of wicker-work; and opposite the bed, on the other side of the fire, stood a meal-chest.

Its lid on a level with the little pane of glass which served as a window.  An old straw chair, a few stools, a couple of pots, some wooden vessels and crockery, completed the furniture of the house.  The pig to which Sheolah alluded was not kept within the cabin, that filthy custom being now less common than formerly.

This catalogue of cottage furniture may appear to our English readers very miserable.  We beg them to believe, however, that if every cabin in Ireland were equally comfortable, the country would be comparatively happy.  Still it is to be remembered, that the dramatis personae of our story are of the humblest class.