lass in his house, an' they said Will ye join?
An' he said No, twice. They bate his servants next, an' said Will ye
join? An' he said No, three times. They threw explosives into the
house, an' said Will ye join? An' he broke down. He was afeard for his
life. He wint in wid the rest, an' refused to pay rint', an' iv coorse
he got evicted, an' lost his five thousand pounds he put into the
farm, an' then he lost his business, an' before long he died with a
broken heart. An' where did he die? Just in the workhouse. 'Twas all
thro' William O'Brien, the great frind iv Oireland, that this
happened. An' if O'Brien an' his frinds got into power, why wouldn't
it happen again? But we're afeard to breathe almost in this
unfortunate counthry, God help us!"

Amid the varying opinions of the Irish people there is one point on
which they are unanimous. They have no confidence in their present
leaders, whom they freely accuse of blackguardism, lying, and flagrant
dishonesty. Business men, although Home Rulers, agree that the
destinies of the country should not be trusted to either or any of the
jarring factions, which like unclean birds of evil omen hover darkling
around, already disputing with horrid dissonance possession of the
carcase on which they hope to batten. At the Station Hotel, Limerick
Junction, a warm Nationalist said to me, "The country will be ruined
with those blackguards. We have a right to Home Rule, an abstract
right to manage our own affairs, and I believe in the principle. But I
want such men as Andrew Jameson, or Jonathan Hogg, or that other
Quaker, Pym, the big draper. There we have honourable gentlemen, whom
we or the English alike might trust, either as to ability or
integrity. We might place ourselves in the hands of such men and close
our eyes with perfect confidence. Our misfortune is that our men, as a
whole, are a long way below par. They inspire no confidence, they
carry no weight, and nobody has any respect for them." Here my friend
mentioned names, and spoke of an Irish M.P.'s conduct at Sligo. I give
his story exactly as I heard it, premising that my informant's _tout
ensemble_ was satisfactory, and that he assured me I might rely on his
words:--"At the Imperial Hotel a discussion arose--a merely political
discussion--and blows were exchanged, the 'honourable gentleman' and
others rolling about the floor like so many savage bull dogs in a
regular rough-and-tumble fight. The poor 'boots' got his face bad