Hark!

Tolv two elf kater ten (it can't be) sax.

Hork!

Pedwar pemp foify tray (it must be) ^|7Twelve twelve^7|!

And low stole o'er the stillness the heartbeats of sleep.

Methought as I was dropping asleep somepart in nonland of where's please I heard at zero hour as 'twere the peal of vixen's laughter among midnight's chimes from out the belfry of the cute old speckled church tolling so faint a goodmantrue as nighthood's unseen violet rendered all animated ^|7British greatbritish^7| and Irish objects nonviewable to human watchers save 'twere perchance anon some glistery
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gleam darkling adown surface of affluvial flowandflow as again might seem garments of laundry reposing a leasward close at hand in full expectation. And as I was jogging along in a dream as dozing I was dawdling, arrah, methought broadtone was heard and all vociferated, echoating: Shaun! Shaun! Post the post! with a high voice and, O, the higher on high the deeper and low. I
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heard him so. And lo, meseemed somewhat came of the noise and somewho might amove among allmurk. Now 'twas as clump, now mayhap. When look was light and now 'twas as flasher, now more as the glow. Ah, in unlitness 'twas in verity, bless me, 'twas his belted lamp! Ay, he who so swayed a will of a wisp before me, dressed like an earl in just the correct wear, in a classy mac Frieze o'coat of far superior ruggedness, indigo braw, tracked and tramped, freeswinging from his shoulthern, and thick welted brogues on him hammered to suit the scotsmost public and climate, iron heels and sparable soles, and his jacket of providence wellprovided woollies with a softrolling lisp of a lapel to it and great sealingwax buttons and his invulnerable burlap whiskcoat and the damasker's overshirt he sported inside, a starspangled zephyr with a decidedly ^|7surplice surpliced^7| front with his motto through dear life embrothered over it in peas, rice and yeggyolk, R for royal, M for Mail, R.M.D. hard cash on the nail, and the most successfully carried trousers now you ever breaking over the ankle and hugging the shoeheel, everything the best, was none other from (Ah, then, may the turtle's blessings of God and Mary and Haggispatrick and Huggisbrigid be souptumbling all over him!) other than (and may his hundred thousand welcome stewed
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letters multiply, ay, faith, and plultiply!) Shaun himself.

Had I the concordant wiseheads of Messrs Gregory and Lyons alongside of Dr Tarpey's and the reverend Mr MacDougall's, but I, poor ass, am but as their fourpart tinckler's ass. Yet methought Shaun (holy messenger angels be uninterruptedly nudging him among and along the winding ways of random ever!) Shaun in proper person (now may all the bluebacksliding constellations continue to shape his changeable timetable!) stood before me. And I pledge you my word that young fellow looked the stuff, a prime card if ever was! Now without deceit it is hardly too much to say he was looking grand, so fired smart, in much more than his usual health. No mistaking that beamish brow! The heart of the roll! He was immense, topping swell, for he was after having a great time of it in a porterhouse if you want to know^|7', Saint ^|aLaurence Lawzenge^a| of Toole's,º^7'| where he had recruited his strength by means of mounds of food constituting his three principal meals plus a collation, his breakfast of, first, a bless us O blood and thirsthy orange, next, the half ^|7of^7| a pound of bacon with newlaid googs and a rice pudding and some cold steak from yesternight, then
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came along his dinner of a half a pound of round steak ^|7very rare,º^7| with a side of riceypeasy alla mellonge and bacon with a pair of chops ^|7and^7| thrown in ^|7from the silver gridº^7| by the proprietoress of the roastery who lives on a hill and gravy and a bulby onion ^|7and^7| as well and then finally to his regret his supper cum nightcap, vitellusit, bacon with broad beans and steak ^|7and^7| while 'twas after that he scoffed a ^|7duckeling drakeling^7| snuggily stuffed following cold loin of veal ^|7with more^7| cabbage and, in their green free state, peas, last. Drily thankful. Bread ^|7andº,^7| free of charge. And the best of wine ^|7and^7|. ^|7And Thus^7| thicker will he grow now, grow
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now. At the sign of ^|7Mistress Mesthress^7| Vanhungrig. Mind you, I don't mean to say for the moment that he was gluttonous as regards chewable edibles but he grubbed his tuck all right every time he felt like a bottle of porter ^|7on ^|awith alongwithº^a|7| a tart ^|7or^7|. And he was so jaunty with a romp of a schoolgirl's complexion sitting pretty over his printface and he was plainly out on the mash for he sproke.

When lo meheard I saw the voice of Shaun ^|7(+from Inchigeela call the way^+)7| how so it sighed to scented nightlife as softly as the loftly marconimasts from Clifden sigh open tireless secrets to Nova Scotia's listing sisterpoles.

— Alo, alass, aladdin, amobus! Shaun yawned ^|7(thatº was previousday's pork)^7|, addressing himself ex alto and complaining it was so close as of the fact of him
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earning his board in the sweat of his feet as, having moistened his mouth upon the quiet and scooping
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molars and grinders clean with his two forefingers, he sank down at once, (disgusted with himself that the combined weight was too much for him), upon the native heath he loved, covered ⁽⁺⁷kneehighº^+)7| with virgin bush. Well, I'm literally shot seeing myself in this trim! How all too ^|7unworthy unwordy^7| am I, a mere mailman of peace, a poor hastehater of the first degree, for such eminence, or unpro promenade rather, to be much more exact, as to be the bearer extraordinary of these missive on his majesty's service. I cannot on my solemn merits recollect ever having done of anything of the kind to deserve of such. Saint Anthony Guide!

— But have we until now ever besought you, dear Shaun, we remembered, who it was, to begin with, who gave you the permit?
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— Goodbye, Shaun replied. Everybody. My heaviest crux it is. I have it from Saint Columbkiller's prophecies.

— Then, we explained, you possibly might be so by order?

— Forgive me, Shaun repeated from his liquid lipes, it was condemned on me primatially and there does be a power coming
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over me that is put upon me from on high and so as it is becoming hairydittary I have nothing in view to look forward at ⁽⁷unless it is Swann and beating the blindquarters out of my oldfellow's orologium oloss oloriumº⁷⁾. Almost might I say I am now becoming about fed up be going about and that is why I was utterly complexed by thinking of the river as a way out or bury meself deep in my wineupon pontoon as I am hopeless to be doing anything concerning.

— Honest Shaun, we agreed, a whisper reaches us that in the end it may well turn
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out to be you who will bear these open letter.

— As, Shaun replied patly, to that I have the power and that has a lot to say with everything.

— Would you mind telling us, Shaun honey, we proposed to such a dear youth, where mostly are you able to work?

— I, Shaun replied while he was fondling one of his cowheel cuffs, mostly am able to walk, being too soft for work proper. I am always telling them how
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it was foretold for me by brevet, while possessing stout legs, to be disbarred after holy orders from unnecessary servile work of all sorts for the relics of my time, for otherwise I would get into a blame there ^|7where thieves fall out.º Excelsior tips the best^7|. His hungry will be done! But, believe me, in my simplicity I am awful good, I believe, so I am, at the root of me. And I can now truthfully declare with my fleshfettered palums on the epizzles that I do my reasonabler's best to recite my grocery beans for mummy and dummy regular, genuflections enclosed. In fact, always have, I believe.

— Yet one minute's observation, dear dogmestic Shaun, as we point out how you have while away painted our town a wearing green.

— O murder mere, how did you hear? Shaun replied, smiling the oily way up his lampsleeve, so shy of light was he then. Well, so be it! The gloom hath rays, her lamp is love. And I will confess to have, yes. And I am afraid it wouldn't
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be my first coat's wasting like the regular redshank I am. Somebody may perhaps say I was wrong. No such a thing! You never made a more fruitful mistake! But it is grandiose, by my ways of thinking, from the prophecies. New worlds for all! And they were scotographically arranged for gentlemen only by a scripchewer in Whofoundland who finds he is a relative. And it was with my extravert davy, moyhard's daynoight, tomthumb.

— Do you mean, we gathered substantively, whether varnish would or verdure dyes?

— It is a confoundyous injective so to say, Shaun, the fiery boy, shouted, naturally incensed, as he shook the red pepper out of his auricles. And another time please confine your glaring intinuations to some other mordant body. What on the physiog of this furnished planet would I be doing besides your verjuice? That is more than I can fix anyway. So let I and you now kindly drop that, angryman! Understand me when I tell you that under the past purcell's office, so deeply deplored by my erstwhile elder friend, Miss Sanders, poachmistress in particular to the Scotic Poor Men's Cow Society, allbethey blessed with twentytwo thousand sorters out of a biggest poss of twentytwo thousand, mine's won, too much privet stationery was ate up larchly by those nettlesome goats out of pension greed. It is also one of my avowal's intentions at some time, ^|7pease Pod,º^7| when I am not prepaid to say, to comprose quite the makings of a verdigrease savingsbook surrounding this matter so long as,
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thanks to force of destiny, I am propaired.

— Otherwise, frank Shaun, we pursued, what would be the autobiography of your softbodied funiform?

— None whomsoever, Shaun replied (he ^|7hadº intendedº and^7| was peering now rather close to the paste of his winklering), though it ought to be more or less rococo romantical. All of it, I might say, pay and perks
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, was handled over spondaneously by me in the name of Mr van Howten among my prodigits nabobs and navious of every subscription, entitled our evicted tenants. What I say is (and I am ^|7no greenhorn noen roehorn^7|, permit me to tell ^|7you) you,º if ⁽⁺uninformed,) uninformed),^+)7| I never spont it. Nor have I the ghost of a nation on me the way to. It went anyway ^|7(+like hot pappadums^+)7|. Therefore I am as plain as portable enveloped, inhowmuch you will shortly receive, care of one of Mooseyears Guinness's registered barrels.