The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-10-03
A SUPERVISORS STORY.


| A SUPERVISORS STORY.
1t was at -, in Yorkshire, that I
first met with my friend the supervisor.
had the pleasure of an evenings con-
versation with him, an evening and a
morning, as may say, for I'VE didn't go
to bed thatall night, and the tots of toddy
reached a total that caused Reason to
totter on her throne. We were CONVEX
sing, among other topics, upon Fenian-
ism and I remarked to my friend the
supervisor, that I felt little tender in
touching on the theme, for that didn't
exactly know, although I was certain he
was a Scotchman, whether he mightn't
be an Irishman as we'll. You'll bear in
mind that we'd reached the stage of our
"toddy tournament" which might be
termed the melee, or the mellow, in TIE
vernacular; anyhow, we were getting
mixed in our ideas.
And am not surprised at that same,
said Sandy, for I lived many years in
Ireland, when I was Just a gauger, and
\ I grew 50 intimate with the Irish, that
my tongue got a twist that it's never re-
covered from to this day. And to tell
4 you the truth, it was the pleasantest
a
/ Great Britain. Why, a man who was a
crown officer, and had ready money once
quarter, was equal to a lord ; and
there was. something in the air of the
| country that was wholesome to that de-
4 gree, that We might be drinking whisky
| all the day, and be never a penny the
/ worse for it at night. l was in Wild
| ish part of the country, up among the
bogs of Tipperary. was just raw
laddie then, upon my appreciation as it
were, and was gey active, ye may be
sure, routing about the country hunting
for stills and shebeens, searching auld
wives barrels" trying to speer out
something that might be feather in
my cap, and bring me speedy promo
ton. But never a drop of potheen or
the Whit of a still I could come across,
though they were swarming about me
the whiles.
But one day, as sat on the top of a
bit hillock, looking over the wild coun-
try, and thinking of the braes o Kirko-
kyrie, I spied man coming along wee
bit track over the moor, and ne was
fou as the laird O. Craigdarroch.
He was a stranger to the parts, too,
and didn't know the face of me, and he
came rolling and sliddering along to
where I was sitting.
"God save you, friend p said I.
"The s-saints purtect you'll" said my
friend.
cts the decent drop O. liquor you
get up there beyant."
BE me soul, it is"
"And it's q decent gossoon that sells
it, went on.
"Indeed, he is.
"Will there be drop left ia the jug
up beyant."
"Theres lashings of it"
Maybe We like drop more of that
same ?"
"Indeed, would"
"Then I'll be for treating you,
friend;" and linked my arm with his,
and away we went over hill and dale,
while we come to lone hut in a bit
hag or dingle, where there was reek of
peat-smoke and bit of bummling noise
that was the poor fellows inside singing.
Well, my friend gave sort of counter
sign that 1 couldn't see the trick of, and
he and both walked in and sOt down
on a heap of turfs by the door, and
called for the potheen, and I paid for
it, and never one of them was the
wiser. But they hadn't got the still
L
among the bogs somewhere. and ] was
hoping they'd let drep something that'd
give me a line to where it was, when all
of sudden there dropped in little
man, a grocer from the town, and the
shine of the door as it opened upon me
lit up my face, and in the surprise of
the moment he sang out:
Lads, ye've got the gauger among
ye."
There was a great kish of turf just
behind me. and before I could stir a
hand, somebody had cl8pped it over
me like an extinguisher, and what with
the dust of the turf, and wheen few
trifes that was among it, and the reek
and the stink, [ didn't come to my
senses for a minute or two and when |
popped my head out of the basket,
never a soul was there but the old
grandmother snoring away in her old
chair by the fire.
But though they saved their STILL
they couldn't get over the selling of the
drink: that was plain enough against
them against Terence Mccarthy, that
is, who lived in the cabin. He was just
the cat's-paw of the men that worked
the still; but he got all the punishment,
moce's TIE pity! Well, I summoned
Terence, and got him fined e100; and
as there was nothing in the world in his
hut but the old turf kish as I'd kicked
the bottom out of, and his grand
mothers chair that had been matched
with bit oat straw, took out body
warrant, as we call it, and made up my
mind I'd have to take my friend to
Dublin castle.
Now, Ir Glands different country al
together from this and after we'd bad
our sessions, and the magistrates had
signed the warrant against poor Terence,
we went into the public house close by
the whole lot of us, magistrates and
all-and began to drink whisky like |
fish.
"Sandv. me boy" said Mike Hachett |
we remember Mike ?-'S andy, isn't it |
trembling We are with apprehension? |
He was very particular in his conversa- |
ton, was Mike "Isn't it shaking We |
re, from the crown of your occupit to |
the very phalanxes of your pedals at the |
job you've got in hand to incarcerate |
Terence Mccarthy"
''They say twas he shot the bailiff, |
shouted one.
"Divil one than he murthered the |
sheriff's officer" cried another.
go he'll take detachment of dra-
goons from Killoo," called third.
"Come," said at last, getting rather |
cross the way they was chatting me
''come, I'll bet gallon of potheen with
any sportsman in the room, that TIL
take the boy 70 Dublin castle all by my
self"
"Done with you !" cried a dozen
voices.
And 1 was booked for about a hogs
head of whisky before / knew where I
was. But I wouldn't go back only
when the excitement of the drink was
ont of me, felt as if I'd deal rather