'How so, father?' said I, scarce able to repress my laughter at the
expression of his face.

'I was coming down the main street yesterday evening with Doctor
Plunkett, the bishop, beside me, discoursing a little theology, and
looking as pious and respectable as may be, when that villain Burke came
running out of a shop, and pulling out his pocket-book, cried--

'"Wait a bit, Father Tom, you know I'm a little in your debt about that
race; and as you're a sporting character, it's only fair to book up at
once."

'"What is this I hear, Father Loftus?" says the bishop.

'"Oh, my lord," say I, "he's a _jocosus puer_--a humbugging bla-guard;
a _farceur_, your reverence, and that's the way he is always cutting his
jokes upon the people."

"'And so he does not owe you this money?" said the bishop, looking
mighty hard at us both.

'"Not a farthing of it, my lord."

'"That's comfortable, anyhow," says Burke, putting up his pocket-book;
"and 'faith, my lord," said he with a wink, "I wish I had a loan of you
for an hour or two every settling day, for troth you 're a trump!" And
with that he went off laughing, till ye'd have thought he'd split his
sides--and I am sure I wish he had.'

I don't think Mr. Burke himself could have laughed louder or longer at
his scheme than did we in hearing it, The priest at length joined in the
mirth, and I could perceive, as the punch made more inroads upon him
and the evening wore on, that his holy horror of duelling was gradually
melting away before the warmth of his Hibernian propensities, like a wet
sponge passed across the surface of a dark picture, bringing forth from
the gloom many a figure and feature indistinct before, and displaying
touches of light not hitherto appreciable, so whisky seems to exercise
some strange power of displaying its votaries in all their breadth of
character, divesting them of the adventitious clothes in which position
or profession has invested them. Thus a tipsy Irishman stands forth in
the exuberance of his nationality, _Hibernicis Hibernior_. Forgetting
all his moral declamation on duelling, oblivious of his late indignation
against his cousin, he rubbed his hands pleasantly, and related story
after story of his own early experiences, some of them not a little
amusing.

The Major, however, seemed not fully to enjoy the priest's anecdotical
powers, but sipped his glass with a grave and sententious air. 'Very
true, Tom,' said he at length, breaking silenc