The union Democrat., 1870-08-27

A NEwrouNpLAND FIsH SroRY.-A cerfee.
pondect of the New York Ereaing Post re-
lates the following:
One of those glib-tongued, stout danes, a
well-kaown s'character, noted for her ready
wit and unscrupulous sharpness in bargain
making, presented herself one morning al the
door Of the late Roman Catholic Bishop, with
a fine salmon In her basket. | NAV az we'll
say that her name was Peg Stack-'or Peg
does not care a button about her ma me ppear-
ing in the pages Of the Ecenins Post. Ills
lordship happened to be about the entrance.
and Peg piled ell tongue power to induce the
Bishop to purchase her fish. Her praises of
the "craythur," as she called the salmon,
were loud and profuse. She begged his lord.
ship to remark its splendid development Of
shoulder, but above all, the unusual plump
ness Of the abdominal region, showing that il
must have come of good stock aad been Welt
brought up. "Nono o. yir poor starved
things, as thin as herrin' mot fit for lin.
tleman's table," When the fish came to be
weighed, itcertainly justified Pegs euloginm;
its weight, in fact, quite astonished his lord
ship, considering the size of the fish. Peg
got her money and parted in triumph. Soon
after. the cook proceeded to operate on the
salmon, and, to her horror and amazement.
she found its whole interior closely packed
with smooth, water-worn pebbles. Tie inn
pious Peg. reckless of consequences in the
unseen hereafter. Drawing all porgatorial
pains and penalties, had actually cheated his
lordship the bishop in this barefaced fashion.
Naturally ono would have fancied that Peg,
after such transaction, would be shy of the
palace" door for some time. But no His
lordship saw the audacious Peg the very next
day ascending the steps Of his mansion with
another salmon for sale, and apparently as
unconscious of wrong and as placidly inno-
cent as babe. With stern countenance
his lordship opened the door himself and let
loose the tiood-gates of his wrath upon Pegs
devoted head reproaching her severely with
her shameful dishonesty. But Peg quailed
not before the storm. She held up her hands
and called upon all the saints in heaven to
witness her innocence and repudiated tho vile
charge made against her. The Bishops
wrath then became terrible. and, in stern
tones he demanded to be informed whence
came the four pounds Of pebbles with which
the salmon was stuffed. "Arrah shure,
yer lordship ought to know by this time, +" re-
piled the imperturbable Peg, ''that the sal
mon, the craythurs, always take in ballast
when gale of wind is risin'; and, more be-
token, doesn't your lordship remember that
there was a bad blast of an easterly wind
the very night before the beauty was cotched;
and ye see he hadn't time to get his ballast
thrown overheard before he was hooked"
The Bishop was q good-natured man at bot
tom, and dearly loved Joke. This was too
much fer his gravity. He burst into an un-
controlable fl of laughter; and the incorrigi-
BILE Peg saw in moment that the day was
her own. 1t is said that she dined that day
sumptuously in the "palace" Kitchen; and
many time afterward did his fordship set
his guests in roar by narrating, in his own
iniu1itable manner, the story of "Peg Stack
and the Ballasted Salmon"