do not

treat you, for the sake of my father-I implore you by the memory of In uttering these words, there was a long pause, and we could just hear him pronounce the word "Ellen" in a tone scarcely audible, and with great difficulty, as if its utterance had been accompanied with pain; but finding that he could not speak on this topic without an emotion which he was too weak to bear, he turned round, and looked on Dr. Upton with such an expression of mingled entreaty and sorrow, as will never leave my memory. The Doctor understood him, and going over to him, said " James, I am to blame for this want of firmness, and doubly so, when I consider your situation; but I assure you, my dear, it was involuntary,forgive me now-it is past and I will summon more courage." Father Butler made no reply, but a shade like that of death seemed to come over his countenance. The Doctor now retired, and promised to call early in the evening. "Your father, James," said he, as he was going, "will live with me-we will be at least united in our affliction we will shed our tears together we will console each other, and prepare ourselves for a better life. When he visits the spot in which you rest, I will accompany him; and when I look upon the grave of my child, he will be with me; and we will then remember the Christian's privilege, and pass through faith from the house of clay before us, to that, where your spirits will be in happiness." He now withdrew to another room, and Mr. Driscoll was about to depart, when Father Butler detained him a few moments: "Mr. Driscoll," said he, "I wish to remove an impression which has gone abroad, unfavourable to this gentleman, which is, that the change in my religious principles was brought about through his means-I beg as an act of justice to him, that you will correct this misconception, for I assure you he had nothing to do in it-it was the work of God, I trust, and not of man--this is sufficient-and now farewell! my friend, I may not see you again in this life-but oh ! may we meet in the presence of that God who will reject no soul, that bows down before him in spirit and in truth, in whatever church he may live or die." He then extended his hand to him, and Father Driscoll, who was evidently affected, said as he held it," farewell! James-you were once my brother, and I am sincerely sorry you do not die sofor surely I must feel sorrow, when I consider that I cannot utter one prayer, nor offer one sacrifice for the repose of your departed soul this, James, is what I feel for; but I should belie my heart and my faith, and you know I should, if I said, that I hope to meet you in glory." As he said this he withdrew in much agitation. I now departed, after having informed them that I was determined to return about ten in the evening, and remain with them during the night, and Mr. Simpson promised to send his son to remain with me. When I got home, I found Nolan and the constable waiting for me-and the former gave me to understand, that Devlin and Dimnick were both at the station, and that Devlin would stop in Dimnick's for some time. "Well," said I, 66 we will not trouble our heads about them, at all events, until to-morrow, for the day is too far advanced at present." At ten that night, I got my cloak and a case of pistols, and set

out, Nolan accompanying me, for Mr. Butler's-we went on foot across the fields, thus shortening the distance very much. We had advanced as far as a piece of dark firm moor, that lay half way between my own house and his, when we espied the Pilgrim striding before us in the usual trim. He was then returning from the station, and the manner in which he amused himself, convinced me that he had not attended it in vain. I have already given the reader an account of the size of his person; but it was only now that I got a notion of the tremendous depth and loudness of his voice-it seems he had got fuddled at the station, and took it into his head to amuse himself by singing what is called by the country people a rhan, of which, that which follows, is a faithful transcript. I must observe, however, that in getting along, when he arrived at any break or chasm on the surface of the moor, he would probe about with his cant, until he got the end of it fixed upon a root of heath, and then leaning upon it, spring over by a kind of swing, with an agility, which, when I considered his size, and the weight and number of his bags, was truly astonishing. The rhan was as follows:

THE BLESSED SCAPULAR.

A holy Rhanh composed by St. Patrick, St. Colm- Kilh, an' St. Bridged, and havin' been lost to the faithful for many centries aftherwurds revaled to a blessed friar in a dhrame.

Och! St. Jozeph was a carpenther iv credit and renown,
St. Pether was a fisher-man an' lived in Jeroozlern town:

St. Paul to be a tint-maker he willin'ly did choose,

And in passin' thro' the Wildherness he made them for the Jews.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

When first the holy scapular St. Abraham had got,

He gave id to his daughter Madge, an' she gave id to Lot,

An' Lot bein' now a Carmelite he gav'd id to his wife,

Who for the mere refusin' id had like to lose her life.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithes astore wuil boiroh orht!

St. Augustin meetin' Lot wan day afore he was converted,

Began to scoff the Scapular an' all that Lot assarted,

Bud says Lot, says he, id's plain that you're an Antithrinitaarian,
Bud afore you die, it'll come to pass that you'll die a Scaperlaarian.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

Then came the flood for forty years an' swept away the arth,
In which the chronicle does tell there was a mighty darth,

Bud all this time the Scapular was never in the dark,
Bekase that St. Mathoosalem he wore id in the ark.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

Then next upon this blessed Rhanh does come St. Simon Stock,
Who the blessed Virgin did pronounce the flower iv the flock;
'Twas he that first invinted id, as you may undherstand,
An' recav'd the blessed patthern from the Virgin Mary's hand.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

When Jonas he sojournied in the belly iv the whale,
'Twas he that had the Scapular upon 'im i'll be bale,
Duv ye think that af he had'n't the whale 'ud be so slack,
As that he would be the customer to ever let 'im back?
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

Then glory to the Scapular, an' may id never fail,
May every wan that wears id be as pious as the whale,
Whoever has the tooth-ache will have a good reward,
For iv they ware the Scapular they'll never get it hard.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

All pious Christhens that repate this Rhan wud thrue devotion,
They need not be afeard iv all the wather in the ocean;
The blessed Virgin, too, will grant whatever they desire,
An' they'll be always saved both from wather an' from fire.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, an' Jahn,

Purtect the bed that we lie an.

Whack! vanithee astore wuil boiroh orht!

He was advancing with great strides and much confidence, whilst he sang these blessed stanzas; congratulating himself, no doubt, on possessing such a powerful charm against fire and water; we kept behind him all the time, judging from the various sections he was in the habit of performing across every part of the country, both plain and mountain, that he must be a safe guide--but he was at least not an infallible one; for just as the last stanza was concluded, he came to a long trench out of which turf had been cut; and as he stooped to search with his cant, for something firm whereon to fix it, that he might swing himself across, he lost his balance, and down he went into the water, bags, blanket, scapular, rhan, and all-We were at this time about two perches behind him, and he descended so quickly, that we found our philosophy by no means capable of solving the phenomenon

of his disappearance-" Holy St. Pether," exclaimed Nolan, "bud may be, yer honour, it was his fetch, an' not 'imself that we seen all the time!" Nolan," I replied, "I rather think that no fetch ever possessed such a tremendous voice as that, did you not hear the echoes of it reverberating down the glen, there, like thunder." "At any rate," said Nolan, "he stharted the grouse from the heath, as he went along-so he did-bud we will soon see what has become iv 'im." We then found ourselves on the bank, and on looking closely down into the trench, we perceived him about five or six yards below the spot where he had been swamped, instead of performing a rhan for his deliverance, tugging stoutly for that purpose at a bush of heath. In this he proved successful; for it appeared that owing to the dryness of the season the trench was not very deep. He was not now aware that any person was near him, for in consequence of the noise made in the water by his efforts to recover himself, he did not hear our conversation. As soon as he was free and on his legs, he gave utterance to a volley of oaths, and commenced cursing not only the dike, but those who made it-" Musha, bad end to them, an' may they never thrive that had a hand in makin' ye, at all at all, ye decavin corragh, there's a crown's worth iv male lost wud ye that I had to help to buy a broad-cloth coat for Shoneen, in Maynewth-ye thief iv a pit!-Hould! I vow to St. Pether, bud I bleeve my whiskey's gone, an' the false bottom knocked out iv my milk-horn-no, by dad, that's safe, any way; by the same token, that i'll take a dacent slug iv id, jist to keep the wet from doin' my stomach any harm." After having suited the action to the word, he gave himself a shake to throw off the water, and bent his course at a kind of trot to Paddy Dimnick's; so that as our way lay in a direction somewhat different, we saw no more of him for that night.

66

On arriving at Mr. Butler's, I found Father James, though not better, much easier. I and young Mr. Simpson sat up with him that night towards morning he fell asleep, and as Dr. Upton, who slept there, came to relieve us about five o'clock, we departed. I had desired Nolan to come for me about that hour, and I accordingly found him waiting to accompany me home. Well, Sir," said he, as I was going home from Mr. Butler's last night, I thought I'd never die another death, wud laughin'." "Why Nolan," I enquired, "what occasioned your mirth ?" "War ye ever at a Station, Sir ?" he asked. "No," said I, "what makes you enquire?" "Bekase, Sir, these voteens, when they get to a station, are ten times worse than them that makes no rout about religion.' Undoubtedly," said I, "Pharisees of every persuasion are so." "There's Paddy Dimnick now," said he, "that pretends to fast, and he'll never scruple to get drunk, an' eats more mutton at wan down-sitting, when he's at a station, than any three, and that bekase he thinks it no sin when the priest's in company. Last night, Sir, Owen Devlin was nothing to 'im-I overtook him on the way, as I tould ye, an' its he that was as full as a friar." "Did you speak to 'im, Lanty ?" "Not I, Sir-I knew he would ony

66

scould and abuse me about my Bible-an' I didn't wish to have any call to 'im." "In that case, Lanty, you were certainly right," said I," and be sure always to avoid unnecessary bickerings about religion." "An' I used, Sir, not long since, to be a great man entirely for arguin' scripthur; bud, plaze God, I'll never put myself into a passion about it, to the day o' my death." No, Lanty," said I, nor about any thing else. But what about Paddy last night ?" "Why, Sir, afther I left you, an' got as far as Tim Neal's craft, I saw a man before me going sometimes to the right, and sometimes to the left; an' on comin' up wud 'im, I found id was Paddy-so, says I to myself, I'll jist walk asy afther 'im, till I see what he's about-an' shure enuff, Sir, there he was, spakin' wud 'imself as hard as he could." Well, Lanty, let us hear what the nature of his soliloquy was ?" "Indeed, yer honour, id wouldn't hould together well to repate id afther im-for there was Latin, an' Irish, an' English prayers, all mixed up together-he repated what they call a de profundis, Sir, for the sowl iv his father an' mother-or at least part iv id; for whin he'd be half done, maybe he'd stagger, and then he'd forget what he was at, an' begin somethin' else-sometimes he'd take a kink* iv laughin', an' laugh into 'imself till he'd be tired-id was about some wan that he had bate in arguin' about religion-an' it seems he was tellin' id to Father Driscoll an' his curate, at the dinner, an' that they praised 'im up to the skies for id. At last, Sir, he lost 'imself entirely, an' didn't know where he was-for he thought 'imself on his own land, an' took out the bades. He then looked at the moon- Aye,' says he, spakin' to her, 'you're there, avourneen, in the ould place, over Ned Gallagher's barn-an' may be I'm not up to you, any how: Rosary point for ever, jist und her the plough, an' within four stars iv the clusther. Well, maybe I'm not a quare fellow-hee, hee, hee-the terror iv Bible-men and heretics-ha, ha, ha-how I did button up that fellow's lip, at Father Butler's padlocked 'im, as Father Ned said. Go on, go on-(to the moon) I'm not late. Well, at any rate, the punch bates the raw whiskey hollow-a man never feels 'imself dhrinkin' id, so he doesn't. An' how comfortable a man is when he has made a clane breast at confession. Bud now I'll jist turn in here an' finish my rosary, aback o' this ditch. God forbid I should neglect that so soon afther bein' at my duty; bud I'm none o' that sort, I think, drunk or sober I'm not the man to forget id.' So sayin', Sir, he went and knelt down-and I left 'im prayin' away for the life of 'im." "Well, Nolan, I hope," I observed," that it's not necessary for me to make any comment on what you saw. I trust I need not tell you what such gross and perverted notions of moral and religious duty must lead to ?" Why, wud the blessin' iv God, Sir, I hope I'm a changed man from what I was. Indeed I remimber when I thought that if I went to mass iv a Sunday or holy day, an' sed my prayers, no matther how, that I done my duty; bud, Sir, I've far different notions now."

VOL. VII,

"And