The Sun.
London, England, 1834-04-01 00:00:00

IRISH S I O:tY-TELLERS.

The travelling genealogists and wandering minstrels of
Ireland have been succeeded by a race of harmless fie.
tionists, peculiar to that country. One of the most me-
morable of these was Jack Hasnett, of Kerry, celebrated
for his adventures with the self-same boar which gave old
Crohoore so much trouble, as in,,y still be seen at page
425, Vol. 11. of .‘ Tait's Magazine." Jack was a decent
shopkeeper in the town, much devoted to three friends,
drinking, disputing, and fighting; but with this diffe-
rence, that while he really cultivated the society of the
two former, his acquaintance with the latter was more a
matter of boasting than anything else. If you were to
believe himself, " he'd beat P'nune M'Chooil, and Uschur
along with him ; and, as to disputation, why, from Aris-
totle to the Reading Made Easy' (for Jack, like almost
all the shopkeepers of Kerry, had received a classical edu-
ca ion), the world could not produce a match fir him."
The world, and his wife, to be sure, thought differently ;
but in drinking, undoubtedly be was a hero. What he
would have done with some of the Roman Emperors is
perhaps bard to say, as they drank wine; but for whisky
punch, he might be backed against any man dead or alive.
Twelve tumblers were nothing to him. Six muddled
him; but from that out there was no perceptible change.
He could not be made more drunk, and you might as well
go on pouring punch into the Bog of Allan as into Jack.
There he sat, unable to stir any part of his body--.:always
excepting his hand, which was never known to fail while
a glass was before him—witta a look of great wisdam,
arguing some question, and it made very little difference
whether there waB any one present or not. He could
maintain both sides, in a friendly way, with the tumbler,
and never cared for a more numerous audience. But one
night Jack had been drinking at Ned Price's; there was
a dispute as usual, and thinking he had received some af-
front, he rose to go away. Atter. a number of experi-
ment:, as the " Library of Useful Knowledge" would say,
to ascertain the position of fide centre of gravity, and brieg
it into a condition of unstable equilibrium over the point
of support, he effected this at last, hut instead of going to
the street door, be turned towards the back door. The
town, whenever there is a heavy fall of rain, is flooded;
and this night it bvpened that the water was about five
or six inches deep in the yard, except at one part higher
than the rest, where this young villain of a boar had his
stye. The threshold of the back door was raised some
steps above the yard ; and when Jack came to the steps,
of course be stumbled and fell forward into the water,
where he lay quite at his ease.

The boar, as soon as he beard the splash, thinking he
had got something gre,t, made three standing leaps up to
Jack; and seiz'ng the skirt of his surtout, began to tear
away at •it ; but finding no substance in this, be soon
quitted it, and laid hold of rack's arm, which he began
to chew. " Eh ! what's that !" says Jack, raising him-
self on one elbow, anti hitting with the other at the boar ;
" fair play—don't strike a man when down." The boar
paying no attention to this protest, planted his fore legs
on Jack's body, and seized him by the shoulder, " Fair
play," says J.ck again—" don't strike a man when down.
box you over a garter." The hoar grunted. " What's
that you say, eh ? what's that you say ? Can't you speak
plain, man, like me," muttered Jack ; " let me get up,
and I'll box you over a garter." But the boar became
desirous of dragging Jack up towards his stye out of the
water, and looking tor a convenient part to lay hold of for
that purpose, he began to walk in all directions over his
body, and seized first his legs and then his arm again.
During all this, of course, Jack was not idle. He made
several remonstrances, several appeals to the boar's chival-
rous feeling, and offered to fight them all one after another,
but in vain. At length, luckily for Jack, as the boar
would probably have killed him, drunk and helpless as he
was, a maid servant beard his expostulations. " For
God's sake, come here !" says she, " there's something in
the yard ;" and alie alarmed the whole house. Lights
were brought, and they found Jack, leaning on his elbow,
issuing his protocols and protests with a look or the most
drunken gravity ; his face being turned towards the boar,
from which he was not a foot distant, though he could
n,:ver see his adversary. They took him up, changed his
clothes, and placed him, 'sitting before a large fire, with a'
tumbler of punch, smoking hot on the table near him. In
tl is position his spirits soon revived, and he WAS able to

VVHITEt.:HAPEL HAY id A Rite. I.—March 29.
Hay 555. Od. to 803. Od. I( lover 60$. Od. to 90s. Od.
_ _

Straw.

28,. Od. to 325. ed.