"

("Give him the money, Pether," from a hundred voices--"give his
Reverence the money, you nager you--give him the silver, you dirty
spalpeen you--hand it out, you misert.")

"Pether, if you don't give it dacently, I'll not take it; and in that
case--"

"Here, here, your Reverence--here it is; sure I wouldn't have your
ill-will for all I'm worth."

"Why, you nager, if I wasn't the first orathor livin', barrin' Cicero or
Demosthenes himself, I couldn't schrew a penny out o' you! Now, Pether,
there's a specimen of logic for you; an' if it wasn't good, depind upon
it the money would be in your pocket still. I've never known you to give
a penny for any charitable purpose, since ever I saw your face: but I'm
doin' a good action in your behalf for once; so if you have any movin'
words to say to the money in question, say them, for you'll never finger
it more."

A burst of the most uproarious mirth followed this manoeuvre, in which
the simple priest himself joined heartily; whilst the melancholy
of Peter's face was ludicrously contrasted with the glee which
characterized those who surrounded him.

"Hem!--Secondly--A man, you see, may have money, or he may not, when his
follow creature who stands in need of it makes an appale to his dacency
and his feelings; and sorry I'd be to think that there's a man before
me, or a woman either, who'd refuse to assist the distresses of any
one, of any creed, church, or persuasion, whether white, black, or
yallow--no; I don't except even the blue-bellies themselves. It's what I
never taught you, nor never will tache you to the day of my death! To be
sure, a fellow-creature may say, 'Help me, my brother, I am distressed,'
or, 'I am bent on a good purpose, that your kindness can enable me to
accomplish.' But suppose that you have not the money about you at the
time, wouldn't you feel sorry to the back-bone? Ay, would yez--to the
very core of the heart itself. Or if any man--an' he'd be' nothing else
than a bodagh that would say it--if any man would tell me that you would
not, I'd--yes--I'd give him his answer, as good as I gave to ould Cokely
long ago, and you all know what that was.

"The next point is, what would you do if you hadn't it about you?
It's that can tell you what you'd do:--you'd say, 'I haven't got it,
brother,'--for ev'ry created bein' of the human kind is your brother,
barrin' the women, an' they are your sisters--[this produced a grin upon
many faces]--'but,' says yo