— How good you ^|v6are are! but now But^v6| could you, of course, decent Lettrechaun ^|v6to (to^v6| change your name if not your ^|v6nation nation)^v6|, we knew, while still in the barrel, read the ^|v6strangewritten strangewrote^v6| anaglyptics of those Shemletters patent ^|6to for^6| His ^|v6Em. Christian's Em?^v6|

— ^|v6Greek? Greek!^v6| Shaun replied, pointing to the cinnamon quill behind his ^|v6ear, acoustrolobe.^v6| Look at that for a ridingpin! I am letterpotent to play the same backwards like anything ^|6off the types
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of my finklers^{6| |v6}on in the^v6| draught ^|v6and in bottle or with bottles,^v6| with my ^|v6eyes shut ops thickshut^v6| and all. But it is horrebrew bad on the corns and callouses. As far as that goes I associate myself with your ^|v6remarks remark^v6| just now re furloined notepaper and quite agree in your ^|v6descriptions prescriptions^v6| for indeed I am in juxtaposition to say it is not a nice production. It is a pinch of scribble. Overdrawn! Nothing beyond clerical horrors et ^|v6omnia omnibus^v6| to be entered for the ^|v6foreigner foreign^v6| as secondclass matter.
{f39, 420}
Flummery is what I would call it if you were to ask me to put it ^|v6in on^v6| a single dimension what pronounced opinion I might ^|v6possibly^v6| have about them bagses of trash which the mother and Mr Unmentionable has reduced to writing ^|v6by making use without making news out^v6| of my sootyname. An infant sailing eggshells on the floor of a wet day would have more sabby.

Letter, carried ^|v6by of^v6| Shaun, son of ^|v6Hec Hek^v6|, written ^|v6by of^v6| Shem, brother of Shaun, for Alp, mother of Shem, ^|v6about for Hec Hek^v6|, father of Shaun.

— Kind Shaun, we all requested, much as we hate to say it but since you ^|v6came rose^v6| to the use of money have you not, without suggesting for an instant, millions of ^|v6times ways^v6| used ^|v6up^v6| slanguage ten times as worse as the penmarks used ^|v6up out^v6| by your ^|v6celebrated cerebrated^v6| brother — excuse me not mentioningahem?

— ^|v6Celebrated CelebrAted^v6|! Shaun replied, vigorously rubbing his magic lantern to a ^|v6glimmer glow^v6| of fullconsciousness. Notorious I rather would feel inclined ^|v6in to^v6| myself in the first place to describe Mr O'Shem the Draper as should I be called upon to pass my ^|v6opinion opinions ^v6|. But I would not ^|v6like care^v6| to be so insulting to my own ^|v6self part^v6| as to swear for the moment positively as to the views of Denmark but let me say my every belief before my ^|v6God ^|ahigh^a| Gee^v6| is that I much doubt of it. She, the mother, was put up to it by him, the iniquity, that ought to be placed in irons into some drapery institution ^|v6of off^v6| the antipopees for wordsharping only if he could pass the panel ^|v6doctors doctors. for For^v6| that is well celibated before the four divorce courts and all the King's wenches how he ^|v6has^v6| seen snakes and has consumption on ^|v6the his^v6| premises where he can be thinking himself to death. Rot him! Flannelfeet! Homo! Then putting his bedfellow on me! Is he on ^|v6my keeping whosekeeping^v6| or are my? With his unique hornbook and his prince of the apauper's pride, blundering all over the two worlds! If he waits till I ^|6give buy^6| him a present! He's no halfcousin of ^|6mine. mine, pigdish!^6| Nor wants ^|6to. to!^6|

— May we petition you, ^|v6clean Shaun Shaun illustrious^v6|, then, to unravel in your own ^|v6sweet^v6| words to your very humble ^|v6and most obsequient^v6|, we suggested, as to how?

— You may and welcome, Shaun replied, taking at the same time a hearty bite out of the honeycomb of his hat. Ann wunkum. Sure I ^|v6thought thunkum^v6| you knew ^|v6all^v6| about that through thelementary channels long ^|v6ago agum^v6|. Sure that is as ^|v6commonplease commonpleas^v6| now and ^|v6hunkum bunkum^v6| as Nelson his pillar. For two days she kept howling ^|v6down^v6| for noisy priors and bawling ^|v6out^v6| in Shemish and him like an ^|6ambitrickster ambitrickster,^6| slooped in his ^|v6polthroonechair polthronechair^{v6| |6}with his sixth finger between his ^|aring catseye^a| and ^|aunread theº index^a|,^6| engrossing to his ganderpan what he invented under hicks hyssop. I gave him that toock, imitator! And it was entirely theck latter to blame. It was given ^|v6meck meeck ^v6| to assist at the whole thing byck special chancery licence. As often as I think of that unbloody housewarmer Shem ^|v6Skrivener Skrivenitch^v6|, ^|v6always^v6| cutting my ^|6prose prhose^6| to please his ^|v6phrase. phrase,^v6| I declare I get the ^|v6jawache. jawache!^v6| You know, he's peculiar, that eggschicker. ^|v6Always taking a ham for a violin.^v6| He was grey at three. ^|6Then he was pushed out of school for itching.^6| One ^|v6tempe temp ^{v6| |6}he the freak^6| wanted to put his bilingual head intentionally through the Irish Tames. Inkupot! Your ^|v6pudding puddin^v6| is cooked! You're served, ^|v6damn you cram ye^v6|!

— But for what, Shaun of grace? ^|v6we weakly weakly we^v6| went on to ask ^|v6now^v6| of the gracious one. Vouchsafe to say. You will now, goodness, won't you?

— For his language, Shaun replied as he blessed himself devotionally ^|v6with like^v6| a crossbun, ^|v6(what the ^|athickens thickuns^a| else?)^v6| which he ^|v6put inside picksticked into^v6| his lettruce ^|6invention. invrention.^6|

— But you could come near it, we suppose, strong Shaun O', we supposed.

— ^|v6Peace, peace! Peace! Peace!^v6| Shaun replied in penultimatum. No-one ^|6in his senses^6| could, as I have before said, only you missed my drift, for it's being incendiary. The lowquacity of ^|v6him. him!^v6|
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^|v6His With his^v6| threestar monothong! The last word in stolentelling! And what's more, ^|v6Rightdown rightdown^v6| lowbrown ^|6schisthematic^6| robblemint! Yes. As he was ^|v6riding rising^v6|
{f39, 425}
my ^|v6ladder lather^v6|. Like you. And as I was ^|v6picking ^|asucking plucking^a|v6| his goosybone. Like yea. He store the ^|v6tail tale^v6| of ^|v6my shirt me shir^v6|. Like yup.

— Still in a way, not to flatter you, we fancy you that are so strikingly brainy and well ^|v6lettered in yourself letterread ^|ain onº^a| yourshelves^v6| could use worse ^|v6of^v6| yourself, ingenious Shaun, we still fancied, if only you would take the trouble of so doing it.

— Undoubtedly but that is show, Shaun replied, and by the ^|v6powers power^v6| of ^|v6bloody wars blurry wards^v6| I could ^|v6introvent do^v6| it (I am convicted of ^|v6it it!^v6|) any time ever I liked with the greatest transfusiasm as, you see, while I can talk better than ^|v6most most,^v6| it is an ^|v6open air openear^v6| secret^|6, be it said,^6| how I am extremely ^|6ingenious ingenuous^{6| |v6}with^v6| at the clerking even with my left hand and as easy as a bottle of the best and my ^|v6trifoliom trifolium^v6| librotto would far exceed what that bogus bolshy of a ^|v6Shem Shame^v6|, my soamheis brother, is conversant with in audible black and ^|v6prink prink. and And^v6| one of ^|v6those these^v6| fine days^|v6, man dear,^v6| that I may cut my throat with my tongue tonight but I will be moved to introvent it just like a work of merit, mark my words, that will open your eye for you, broather brooher, only for as an immature and a hundred and one other things I would never for anything take so much trouble of so doing. And why so? Because I am altogether a chap too fly and ^|6hairy hairyman^6| for to do the like of that. And by all I hold sacred I swear to you on my pipe
{f39, 426}
and oath by the awe of Shaun (and that's a hell of a name!) that I will commission to the flames any incendiarist whosoever who would endeavour to set ever a moother of mine on fire. I will soho!

And big hottempered husky pugiliser such as he was, he all but broke down on the mooherhead,
{f10, 331}
overpowered by himself with the love of the tearsilver that he twined through her hair, for sure he was the soft slob of the world and as innocent as the freshfallen calf. Still he laughed it off with a gulp apologetic. Mind you, that he was in the dumpest of earnest orthough him jawr war hoo hleepy hor halk urthing hurther. Like that only he stopped short and, in looking up from his timeshackled wrists upon the heavens as they were not but will be to feel out what age he might find by Charles' Wain his thumbs fell into his fists and over he balanced by the mightyfine weight of his barrel and, as the wisest course he could take, collapsed together and rolled buoyantly backwards in less than a twinkling via Rattigan's corner out of further earshot with his highly curious mode of slipashod motion with corks and staves and more bubbles to his keelrow a fairish and easy way enough behind the times in the direction of MacAuliffe's, the crucethouse, before he was really uprighted.

Well, it is to be regretted that thou art passing hence, able Shaun, from carnal relations and familiar faces, more is the pity, but for all your deeds of goodness you were forever doing, as our humbler classes, whose favourite virtue is humility, can tell, it is hardly we can part you, for you were the walking saint, you were. Musha, be thinking of us poor twelve o'clock scholars sometime or other any time you find the time. Wisha, be coming back to us one way or the other anyhow, we miss your smile.
{f39, 428}
And may the moss of prosperousness gather you rolling home! May foggy dews bediamondise your hooprings! May the fireplug of filiality reinsure your bunghole! May the barleywind behind glow luck to your bathershins! 'Tis well we know you were loth to leave us, winding your hobbledehorn, right royal post, but sure, pulse of our slumber, you will round up some boxing day or other like the good man you are with your pockets turned inside out for fresh remittances, and from that till this in any case may the grass grow quickly under your feet and the daisies trip lightly over your toetops.