y at the window, he
caused the melody to subside and the shutter to open. When the priest,
looking out, saw Dan Loftus in his deshabille, I believe he thought for
a moment it was something from the neighbouring churchyard.

However, his reverence came out and stood on the steps, enveloped in a
hospital aroma of broiled bones, lemons, and alcohol, and shaking his
visitor affectionately by the hand--for he bore no malice, and the
Lenten ditty he quite forgave as being no worse in modern parlance than
an unhappy 'fluke'--was about to pull him into the parlour, where there
was ensconced, he told him, 'a noble friend of his.' This was 'Pat
Mahony, from beyond Killarney, just arrived--a man of parts and
conversation, and a lovely singer.'

But Dan resisted, and told his tale in an earnest whisper in the hall.
The priest made his mouth into a round queer little O, through which he
sucked a long breath, elevating his brows, and rolling his eyes slowly
about.

'A jewel! And Nutter, of all the men on the face of the airth--though I
often heerd he was a fine shot, and a sweet little fencer in his youth,
an' game, too--oh, be the powers! you can see that still--game to the
back-bone--and--whisht a bit now--who's the other?'

'Lieutenant O'Flaherty.'

(A low whistle from his reverence). 'That's a boy that comes from a
fighting county--Galway. I wish you saw them at an election time. Why,
there's no end of divarsion--the divarsion of _stopping_ them, of
course, I mean (observing a sudden alteration in Loftus's countenance).
An' _you_, av coorse, want to stop it? And so, av coorse, do I, my dear.
Well, then, wait a bit, now--we must have our eyes open. Don't be in a
hurry--let us be harrumless as sarpints, but _wise_ as doves. Now, 'tis
a fine thing, no doubt, to put an end to a jewel by active
intherfarence, though I have known cases, my dear child, where
suppressing a simple jewel has been the cause of half a dozen breaking
out afterwards in the same neighbourhood, and on the very same quarrel,
d'ye mind--though, of coorse, that's no reason here or there, my dear
boy! But take it that a jewel is breaking down and coming to the ground
of itself (here a hugely cunning wink), in an aisy, natural,
accommodating way, the only effect of intherfarence is to bolster it up,
d'ye see, so just considher how things are, my dear. Lave it all to me,
and mind my words, it _can't_ take place without a second. The officers
have refused, so has