familiar with his
aunt's cook.

As a schoolboy Harry spent most of his holidays at his aunt's house
in Dublin, and in those days Mrs. O'Halloran used to box his ears and
occasionally spank him. When he grew to be a man and was called in due
course to the Irish Bar, he was often at his aunt's house and still
visited Mrs. O'Halloran in her kitchen. She gave up smacking him but
she still called him "Master Harry," After the outbreak of war Harry
Devereux became a Second Lieutenant in the Wessex Regiment. He displayed
himself in his uniform to his aunt, who admired his appearance in her
placid way. He also showed himself to Mrs. O'Halloran, who snubbed him
sharply.

"So it's fighting you're for now, Master Harry," she said. "Well, it's
what'll suit you. It's my opinion that you're never out of mischief only
when you're in something worse. It is that way with you as long as
I know you and that's since you were born or pretty near. It's the
Germans, is it? Well, I'm sorry for them Germans if there's many like
you going to be soldiers."

Harry took this as a compliment It was his hope that the Germans would
be sorry for themselves when he got out to France with his platoon of
Wessex men.

After dinner. Molly, the parlourmaid, her day's work ended, became
sentimental. She said it was a terrible thing to think of all the fine
men that would be killed, and maybe young Mr. Devereux among them. Mrs.
O'Halloran checked her flow of feeling.

"Is it Master Harry be killed? Talk sense, can't you? Sure you couldn't
kill the like of that one. Haven't I seen him, not once but a dozen
times, climbing out on the roof of the house and playing himself to and
fro among the chimneys. If that wasn't the death of him, and him not
more than twelve years old at the time, is it likely the Germans would
be able to kill him? The like of him is the same as fleas that you'd
be squeezing with your finger and thumb or maybe drowning in a basin
of water. You know well they'd be hopping over you after the same as
before."

Molly sniffed. It was not wise to argue with "Ould Biddy," who had a
talent for forcible speech.

Mrs. O'Halloran had the best right in the world to the free use of
her tongue. She was a really good cook. She had satisfied Sir Joseph
Devereux while he lived. She satisfied Lady Devereux afterwards. And
Lady Devereux appreciated good cooking. Her husband dead, her three
daughters safely married, she had leisure to enjoy eating and