The San Francisco call., 1905-06-04

"a NE faculty with which Owen "a
4 Slaivin was blessed was the
4 happy knack of sleeping where
and when and for what length
of time he chose. If Owen came
III from his days work with a keen
appetite for his supper and found that
the pratie pot did not yet show signs
Of boiling-found that "the white
horses" were not in it-"Why." he
would say to Peggy, "rll just bah an
eye till they're ready for teenin'." and.
sitting on his creepie stool, to the one
side of tho fire, he would simply bow
his head and sleeI soundly and refresh
ingly for the five minutes or the ten
minutes (as the case might be) which
were to spare before his services were
requiaitioned TO link off the big pot
and TEEN 1T from the doorstep. The
Bummadier prophesied that when poor
Owens time had come to die (Which
God keep afarD, and Peggy and the
priest were standing by his bedside
watching for the dread moment, Owen
would surely ask them how many
minutes they thought he had, and
forthwith proceed to "bab an eye" for
the allotted time.
And though we youngsters were
amused at Ovens power of falling
asleep, and keeping so, in the most
awkward position and under the most
unfavorab bic conditions, it was by times
agf ravating. When we were in the
humor for hearing one of the many
brilliant stories, both traditional and
made to order, that Owen could recite
so racily, and when Owen. to our joy,
had consented to ''reharse US a rattlin'
good yarn" and we therefore had
quieted down from our frolics and
drawn the circle close around O3en's
hearth fire leach upon his hauacaes
upon the clay fioor), supporting our
backs by ciasping our hands around
our knees, it was just then a tribe
trying to find that Owen had been
seized with the bright idea of '-babbing
an eye" while we settled ourselves.
Rut-Owen's story was always worth
waiting for, as witness this one:
At the time that good Sent PathIiek
(nnay the heavens be his bedD was
convartin' Irelan' from haythendoin,
an afther he'd screenged the kingdom
high up an low down, mainin' not to
laive thrace or thrack of anything
haythenish atween the four says. an
when he thought at last he could sit
down an thank God, an wipe the
sweat off of his forehead. doesn't there
come word till him that there was still
wan haythen-a hardened villain-liv-
in in the neighborhood iv Athlone.
who refused to be convarted, an
wouldn't be either coaxed or kicked
Until Christianity.
The Sent was purity vexed, as you
may suppose, at this, an Upon my
varity," siz Pathrick. siz he, '1'll make
him sorry his gran mother was iver
born"
Now, at this time, the Sent had most
all the sarpints gathered into the say.
for as he went up an down convartin'.
he used, as he sayed himself, to kill
two birds with the wan stone, an
gather the sarpints afore him as he
went an livery time he came con-
vaynient to the say he'd throt them
out an over with them. But he had
yet to go wan other journey to gather
up all the missed an sthrayed vans.
So to his feet he gets, an spittin' on
his fist. takes good grip of his goold-
headed pastoral staff, an off with him.
He started at the Joyants Causeway,
an gathered all afore him as he come
down. intendin' for to run them all Until
the ocean at the Cove iv Cork When
he reached as far as In the neighbor
hood of Athlone, he inquired for the
residence of the haythen, an the peo-
pie diracted him. So Pathrick driv his
sarpints that way, an when he come
to the house of the haythen he ordhered
that lad to come out till he's put him
through mis- p's an as. The haythen