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odd and a methodist but takes the sacrament and is to be
seen any fair sabbath with a pair of his boys off Bullock har-
bour dapping on the sound with a heavybraked reel or in a
punt he has trailing for flounder and pollock and catches a
fine bag, I hear. In sum an infinite great fall of rain and all
refreshed and will much increase the harvest yet those in
ken say after wind and water fire shall come for a prognos-
tication of Malachi’s almanac (and I hear that Mr Russell
has done a prophetical charm of the same gist out of the
Hindustanish for his farmer’s gazette) to have three things
in all but this a mere fetch without bottom of reason for old
crones and bairns yet sometimes they are found in the right
guess with their queerities no telling how.
With this came up Lenehan to the feet of the table to say
how the letter was in that night’s gazette and he made a
show to find it about him (for he swore with an oath that he
had been at pains about it) but on Stephen’s persuasion he
gave over the search and was bidden to sit near by which he
did mighty brisk. He was a kind of sport gentleman that
went for a merryandrew or honest pickle and what belonged
of women, horseflesh or hot scandal he had it pat. To tell the
truth he was mean in fortunes and for the most part han-
kered about the coffeehouses and low taverns with crimps,
ostlers, bookies, Paul’s men, runners, flatcaps, waistcoa-
teers, ladies of the bagnio and other rogues of the game or
with a chanceable catchpole or a tipstaff often at nights till
broad day of whom he picked up between his sackpossets
much loose gossip. He took his ordinary at a boilingcook’s
and if he had but gotten into him a mess of broken victuals