or; "nothing's more easy; come, be
merry."

The caitiff, for he was a coward, and wanted bottom, upon getting a
little wind, whilst the other held him by the throat, gave three of the
most ludicrous, but disastrous, howls that ever were witnessed. On his
opponent letting him go, he took to his heels, but got a kick on going
out that was rather calculated to accelerate his flight. Legislators,
therefore, ought to know that no political whipping will ever make a
people laugh at the pleasure of it.

But to resume our narrative. England, now apprehensive, as we have said,
of a descent of the French upon her southern coast, and startled by the
successes of the young Pretender, who had cut Cope's army to pieces,
deemed it expedient to send over the celebrated Earl of Chesterfield
as Viceroy, with instructions to relax the rigor of the laws, and
conciliate the Catholics, as well as he could, so, at least, as to
prevent them from joining the Pretender, whose object it was understood
to be to cross the frontier and march upon London. Lord Chesterfield's
policy afforded great gratification to the Catholics, who were now
restored to their usual privileges; and its political object was so far
successful that, as we have said, not a single man of them ever joined
the Pretender. Still, the liberal Protestants, or, as they were termed,
the patriotic party, were not satisfied with the mere removal of the
Catholic restrictions. Ireland, at that time, was studded with men, or
rather with monsters, like Smellpriest and Whitecraft, who were stained
with the blood of their fellow-subjects and fellow-Christians. Sir
Robert Whitecraft, especially, was now in a bad position, although he
himself was ignorant of it. The French Ambassador demanded satisfaction,
in the name of his Court and the French nation, for the outrage that had
been committed upon a French. subject, and by which international
law was so grossly violated. We must say here that Whitecraft, in the
abundance of his loyalty and zeal, was in the habit, in his searches
after priests, and suspected lay Catholics, to pay domiciliary visits to
the houses of many Protestant magistrates, clergymen, and even gentlemen
of wealth and distinction, who were suspected, from their known enmity
to persecution, of harboring Catholic priests and others of that
persuasion; so that, in point of fact, he had created more enemies in
the country than any man living. The Marquis of------, Mr. Hastings