^|aSo And^a| there they were ^|atoo^a| listening in as hard as they could ^|ato the solans ^|b& the sycamores and the mistlethrushes^b| and all the birds^a| all four of them ^|alistening^a| they were the big four the four ^|amaster^a| waves of Erin all listening four there was Old ^|aTom Matt^a| Gregory and then besides Old ^|aTom Matt^a| there was Old ^|aPhelim O'Hogan Marcus Lyons^a| the four waves and oftentimes they used to be saying ^|agrace together right enough^a| here now we are the four of us Old ^|aTom Matt Gregory^a| and Old ^|aPhelim Marcus Lyons^a| and Old ^|aJeremy Luke Tarpey^a| the four of us and sure thank God there are no more of us and ^|asure now you won't go & leave out^a| Old ^|aJeff O'Gorman Johnny MacDougall^a| too four of us and no more of us and so now pass the fish for ^|athe lord's Christ'^a| sake amen the way they used to be saying grace before fish for auld lang syne there they were spraining their ears listening and listening to all the kissening with their eyes glistening all the four when he was ^|akiddling &^a| cuddling his colleen not the colleen no the colleen bawn cuddling her and kissing her with his pogue like Arrah na ^|apogue Pogue^{a| |a}the dear annual^a| they all four ^|aremembored how they^a| used to be cuddling and kissing ^|aunder the mistlethrush^a| and listening in the good ^|aold bygone^a| days Dion Boucicault ^|aof in^a| Arrah na Pogue ^|a|bin one of those centuries^b| when they knew the man on the door^a| when they were all four collegians in the queen's colleges it brought it all back again as fresh as ever Matt and Marcus and now there he was and his Arrah na Pogue before the four of them and now thank God there were no more of them and he poguing and poguing they were listening with their wat mouths watering so pass the pogue for Christ sake Amen listening & watering all the four Luke and Johnny MacDougall ^|aof the bygone times^a| for anything at all for a cup of
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of kindness yet for four big tumblers of woman squash with them all four listening and spraining their ears and ^|aall^a| their mouths making water

Ah well sure that's the way ^|aup^a| and there ^|aup^a| was poor Matt Gregory ^|aup^{a| |a}leaning on his staff of memory blank^a| and Gregory and ^|aup^a| the others and now really & truly they were four dear old heladies and they looked as so nice and respectable with their grey half tall hat and tailormade frock coat and then they had their fathom glasses to find out ^|aall^a| the fathoms and their tall hats just now like ^|alord the marquess of^a| Powerscourt ^|aonly for all the saltwater^a| or the auctioneer there ^|anear in front of^a| the place near that street ^|aThingmote? Essex. Sackville^{a| |a}the statue of Mrs ^|bDaniel O'Connell Dan O'Conn^{b|a| |a}behind^a| Trinity College that arranges all the auctions of ^|athe^a| valuable houses Smith like the auctioneer Smith or not Smith that sells all the fine houses & mansions James H North ^|aJP.^a| like ^|aNorth James^a| the ^|aauctioneer the jaypee^{a| |a}in Hoggin Green^a| going to the horseshow with all the people over from England and American visitors ^|aall over^a| in his grey half tall hat ^|ahow do you^a| and his fathomglasses ^|ahow do you do Mr James^a| to find out all the horses. And ^|anow that reminds me of^a| poor Marcus Lyons and poor Johnny and the four of us and there they were now listening ^|aright enough^a| the four saltwater widowers and all they could ^|aremember remembore^a| long long ago ^|awith ^|bMullaly Lally^b|a| when my heart knew no care the landing of sir Arthur Casement in 1132 and the coronation of Brian by ^|athe his grace^a| bishop ^|aJames H J.P. Bishop Senior ^|bin his shovel hat^b|a| and then there was the drowning of Pharaoh and they were ^|aall^a| drowned in the sea the red sea and then poor Martin Cunningham out of the castle when he was drowned off Dunleary in the red sea ^|a& thank God there are no more of us^{a| |a}Ay, ay. So he was.^a| and then
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there was the Flemish Armada all scattered and all drowned off the coast of Cunningham and Saint Patrick ^|a& St Kevin & Lapoleon our first marents^a| and all they ^|aremembered remembored^a| and then there was the French fleet in 1132 landing under general Boche ^|ain his grey ^|btall shovel^b| hat^a| and there he was cuddling and poguing her in Arranapogue Arrahnapogue behind the queen's colleges ^|abehind the ^|bman century^b| on the door in Alice's Street^a|. And then they used to give the ^|agrandest^a| lectures ^|aby the picture postcards ^|bunder the sycamores^b|a| in Roman history ^|ain to^a| all the four collegians ^|agreen & the old Senate^a| in the four trinity colleges Killorcure and Killthemall and Killeachother and Kilkelly-on-the-Flure those were the four great history colleges ^|aof the Jane Andersdaughter University^a| for auld lang syne all the Roman history ^|aof the spirit of nature as divinely developed in time all history^a| past and present and present and absent and past and present and future arma virumque romano. Ah dearo a dear how it all came back to them to hear him there kissing her & cuddling her in ^|ahis the^a| Roman arms ^|aby Cornelius nepos. ^|bNepos ^|cRoman. Mnepos.^c| Anumque. epos. ^|cManumque. Umque^c| Queh?^b|a| ah dearo dear it was so sorry for the four of us ^|aand ^|bMulally Lally^{b|a| |a}Poor Tim Tim Tam^a| Tarpey ^|a& Lapole^a| and the four ^|ashehusbands widowers^{a| |a}And that reminds me of^a| the four waves in their ^|atall shovel^a| hat ^|ain Chichester College^a| and thank God they were all summarily divorced by their ^|adear poor^a| shehusbands in ^|athe dear^a| bygone days but still they parted on the best of terms^|a. And so they parted. Ay, ay. Ah, well, sure that's the way. Ay, ay.^a| by decree absolute well they could ^|aremember remembore^a|
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Mrs Justice Squelchman ^|ain her ^|bfullbottom^b| wig & beard^a| in 1132 at the Married Male ^|aOffenders' Auctioneers'^a| Court in Arrah-napogue. Poor Johnny MacDougall & the four masters because she he was ^|aweak in so slow at^a| backscratching all divorced by their ^|afour master dear faithful^a| and poor Marcus Powerscourt ^|apersecuted by everybody he was^a| by decree absolute all because he ^|abroke made^a| wind ^|a& water^a| in the pew and because he forgot ^|ato remembore^a| to ^|amake a request sign an old paper to hereby^{a| |a}to herself^a| in writing on stamped ^|apaper parchment^a| before saying his grace before fish and then there was poor Dion Boucicault all ^|adivorced drowned^a| too poor Dion ^|abefore the world & her husband^a| because he attempted to well ^|ahe was a bit bad in his health ^|bhe said^b| with shingles falling on them^a| he ah well now sure we won't be too hard on him ^|aas a presbyterian ^|b& he well he went to confession to Mother Evangelist Sweeney^b| well he ah now there were faults on both sides well he^a| attempted some hunnish familiarities after eating a bad crab in the red sea ^|aand sure he was ^|bdead seasick deadseasickabed^{b| |b}in the hospice for the dying^b| he ah the poor fellow & holding ^|b& trying to blank^b| the nurse's hand & dying^a| ah dearo dearo dear and where do you leave Matt ^|athey were all so sorry for p^a| poor Matt in his ^|agrey frock saltwater^a| hat ^|atoo big for ^|bhim it^{b|a| |a}and his overalls all falling over him in folds sure he hadn't the energy to pull them old ^|bDaddy Dwyer Matt the old matriarch that queenly man^b| sitting there ^|bwith his head to the west^b| in sight of the poorhouse with his can of tea & two bits of ^|bbacon brown loaf & & dilisk waiting for the end to come^b| God of Heaven when you think of it^a| all divorced by woman squelch and all on account ^|athe appearance of his face poor Matt Gregory of the smell of brown loaf^a| of his mouth watering ^|aby act of parliament^a| so now pass the face for Christ' sake Amen. ^|aAnd so. And all.^a|

^|aPoor Martin Cunningham! ^|bPoor Matt Gregory Ah God be good to us. Poor Martin Cunningham. Ay. Ay.^b|a| And still and all they were always ^|aup^a| thinking of ^|athe ^|bold auld^b| man syne and^{a| |a}up^a| their four masters that were four ^|aup^a| beautiful sisters and there they were always counting the lovely periwinkle buttons in the front part of their dresses ^|a|b& up^b| one ^|b& up^b| two ^|b& up^b| five ^|b& two up four^b|a| and there
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she was the beautiful four sisters and that was her name and they ^|awere used to be getting up and^a| looking for her everywhere in all the fathoms ^|awhen they couldn't sleep with changing beds^a| and then they had their tentacles and they used to be all ^|anightº^a| hanging around all the waists of the ships the steamships and ^|atheir bottlegreen eyes^a| peering in through the steaming windows into the honeymoon cabins on board the big ^|asteamers steamadory^a| and ^|athe^a| saloon ladies toilet apartments and rubbing off the ^|asalty^a| cataract off the windows ^|alistening^a| to see all the ^|ahoneymooners ^|bhunnimooners hunnishmooners^b|a| and all the toilet ladies and their familiarities saying their grace before ^|ameals steamadory^{a| |a}pass the ^|bpot jool^b| for Christ sake Amen^a| and wateringº and thereº they used to be ^|aall trembling & shaking &^a| counting all their peributtons to remember her beautiful name ^|ain his dreams^{a| |a}poor Gregory and Johnny Greg and Doug & poor Greg^a| the four sisters and there she was now ^|athe lovely lady^a| asthore as in days of yore of planxty Gregory they used to be always singing ^|around the ^|bwet^b| fire with ^|btheir feet asleep in^b| their blankets and shawls ^|band bowls of stale ^|cbrew & milk bread & milky^c| waiting for poor ^|cTarp Mucus to pass the teeth for Christ sake Chokus sake amenschtrek^c|b| when they had the ^|bphlegmish^b| hooping cough ^|bfrom eating bad cramps ^|cwith a farthing dip^c| and^b| reading ^|ball a word or two^b| about the lakes of Killarney through their green spentacles^a| and so now they started their singing ^|athe ^|bsteamadory steamadorion^b|a| and old Luke for auld luke syne and ^|awe make she wail^a| a ^|acupboard koinerset for the pays cupboar coiner set on the praze^a| savole hang shanghai.º