"Well," sais I, "mother, if you won't whisper a syllable to anybody
about it, I'll tell you."
"Who, me," sais she, "Sammy?" She always called me Sammy when she
wanted to come over me. "Me tell? A person who can keep her own
secrets can keep yours, Sammy. There are some things I never told your
father."
"Such as what?" sais I.
"A-hem," said she. "A-hem--such as he oughtn't to know, dear. Why,
Sam, I am as secret as the grave! How is it, dear?"
"Well," sais I, "I will tell you. This is the way: I drop Pat and
Paddy altogether, and I call him Mr Monaghan, and never say a word
about the priest."
"Why, Sammy," said she, "where in the world did you pick up all your
cuteness? I do declare you are as sharp as a needle. Well, I never.
How you do take after me! boys are mothers' sons. It's only galls who
take after their father."
It's cheap coin, is civility, and kindness is a nice bank to fund it
in, Squire: for it comes back with compound interest. He used to call
Josiah, Jo, and brother Eldad, Dad, and then yoke 'em both together,
as "spalpeens," or "rapscallions," and he'd vex them by calling
mother, when he spoke to them of her, the "ould woman," and Sally,
"that young cratur, Sal." But he'd show the difference when he
mentioned me; it was always "the young master," and when I was with
him, it was "your Honour." Lord, I shall never forget wunst, when I
was a practisin' of ball-shooting at a target, Pat brought out one of
my muskits, and sais he: "Would your Honour just let me take a crack
at it.
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