Mrs. Branaghan withdrew her dudeen at these words, and gazed at the little fellow with unmixed astonishment, who, in obedience to the summons, took his place beside Kerry's chair, and prepared to commence his task.
“Where will I begin, sir?”
“Begin at the news, av coorse,” said Kerry, somewhat puzzled to decide what kind of intelligence he most desired. “What's this here with a large P in the first of it?”
“Prosperity of Ireland, sir,” said the child.
“Ay, read about that, Mickey,” said the cook, resuming her pipe.
With a sing-song intonation, which neither regarded paragraph nor period, but held on equably throughout a column, the little fellow began—
“The prospect of an abundant harvest is now very general throughout the country; and should we have a continuance off the heavenly weather for a week or so longer, we hope the corn will all be saved.”
As the allusion made here by the journalist, was to a period of several years previous, the listeners might be excused for not feeling a perfect concurrence in the statement.'