"Judge.—Then why did you have him arrested?
"Witness.—It was afther thin that the spalpeen made the disturbance.
"Judge.—When was that?
"Witness.—It was yestherday mornin'.
"Judge.—What did Timothy do?
"Witness.—It wasn't Tim, but his cat.
"Judge.—Then it seems that you have entered a charge against Timothy Mulrooney of disorderly conduct, which, by right, you should have made against Timothy Mulrooney's cat, always provided that cats are amenable to municipal law.
"Witness.—By my sowl, yer honor, ye've got it mixed up again. Now why didn't ye wait until I could tell ye.
"Judge.—Go on; I am reconciled to my fate. As a particular favor, I should like to have you finish within a half hour.
"Witness.—Well, yer honor, as I was tellin' ye, the Mulrooneys was jealous of us because we had fish and they didn't. Yestherday mornin' Michael brought home more porgies (the Judge here heaved a deep sigh) and I laid them on top of a barrel in the passage to wait till I could dress them; what next, yer honor, did I see but Tim Mulrooney's big tom cat on the barrel atin' the fish; I heaved a pratie at the cat and it ran off wid the porgies; just thin I saw Tim Mulrooney laughing at what the cat was doin'; I know the blackgaird had towld the cat to ate the porgies; I called to Michael, and I run toward Tim to bate the tief as he deserved, whin my foot slipped and I furled over on the broad of my back; wid that Tim laughed the more, and Michael run to him, and was about to give him a tap on the sconce, whin Tim struck Michael a blow in his bowels, which quite prostrated him on the floor; with that I ran and got the M.P., who brought the murderin' tief to the station-house.