king, and
then he was very bad to me, and tried to frighten me, and so, you see,
I come down to your mother till we could be friends again."

Anty's apology for being at the inn, was perhaps unnecessary; but, with
the feeling so natural to a woman, she was half afraid that Martin
would fancy she had run after him, and she therefore thought it as well
to tell him that it was only a temporary measure. Poor Anty! At the
moment she said so, she trembled at the very idea of putting herself
again in her brother's power.

"Frinds, indeed!" said Meg; "how can you iver be frinds with the like
of him? What nonsense you talk, Anty! Why, Martin, he was like to
murdher her!--he raised his fist to her, and knocked her down--and,
afther that, swore to her he'd kill her outright av' she wouldn't sware
that she'd niver--"

"Whist, Meg! How can you go on that way?" said Anty, interrupting her,
and blushing. "I'll not stop in the room; don't you know he was dhrunk
when he done all that?"

"And won't he be dhrunk again, Anty?" suggested Jane.

"Shure he will: he'll be dhrunk always, now he's once begun," replied
Meg, who, of all the family was the most anxious to push her brother's
suit; and who, though really fond of her friend, thought the present
opportunity a great deal too good to be thrown away, and could not bear
the idea of Anty's even thinking of being reconciled to her brother.
"Won't he be always dhrunk now?" she continued; "and ain't we all
frinds here? and why shouldn't you let me tell Martin all? Afther
all's said and done, isn't he the best frind you've got?"--Here Anty
blushed very red, and to tell the truth, so did Martin too--"well so he
is, and unless you tell him what's happened, how's he to know what to
advise; and, to tell the truth, wouldn't you sooner do what he says
than any one else?"

"I'm sure I'm very much obliged to Mr Martin"--it had been plain Martin
before Meg's appeal; "but your mother knows what's best for me, and
I'll do whatever she says. Av' it hadn't been for her, I don't know
where I'd be now."

"But you needn't quarrel with Martin because you're frinds with
mother," answered Meg.

"Nonsense, Meg," said Jane, "Anty's not going to quarrel with him. You
hurry her too much."

Martin looked rather stupid all this time, but he plucked up courage
and said, "Who's going to quarrel? I'm shure, Anty, you and I won't;
but, whatever it is Barry did to you, I hope you won't go back there
again, now