Well, the story goes that at last the divil (God bless us) kem to him, and promised him hapes o' money, and all his heart could desire and more, too, if he'd sell his sowl in exchange.

 

He was too cunnin' for that; bad as he was—and he was bad enough[96] God knows—he had some regard for his poor sinful sowl, and he would not give himself up to the divil, all out; but, the villain², he thought he might make a bargain with the old chap, and get all he wanted, and keep himself out of harm's way still: for he was mighty³ 'cute—and, throth, he was able for Owld Nick any day.

 

Well, the bargain was struck, and it was this-a-way: the divil was to give him all the goold ever he'd ask for, and was to let him alone as long as he could; and the timpter promised him a long day, and said 'twould be a great while before he'd want him at all, at all; and whin that time kem, he was to keep his hands aff him, as long as the other could give him some work he couldn't do.

 

So, when the bargain was made, 'Now,' says the colonel to the divil, 'give me all the money I want.'

 

'As much as you like,' says Owld Nick; 'how much will you have?'[97]

 

'You must fill me that room,' says he, pointin' into a murtherin' big room that he emptied out on purpose—'you must fill that room,' says he, 'up to the very ceilin' with goolden guineas.'

 

'And welkem,' says the divil.

 

With that, sir, he began to shovel⁴ the guineas into the room like mad; and the colonel towld him, that as soon as he was done, to come to him in his own parlour below, and that he would then go up and see if the divil was as good as his word, and had filled the room with the goolden guineas. So the colonel went downstairs, and the owld fellow worked away as busy as a nailer, shovellin' in the guineas by hundherds and thousands.

 

Well, he worked away for an hour and more, and at last he began to get tired; and he thought it mighty odd that the room wasn't fillin' fasther. Well, afther restin' for awhile, he began agin, and he put his shouldher to the[98] work in airnest; but still the room was no fuller at all, at all.

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