he public house, and
each Monday night, in the Bevington Hall, he provided a concert or some
other kind of entertainment; giving, in the interval between the first
and second part a stirring address and the temperance pledge. As there
was a stage and scenery in the hall, we often had dramatic sketches. The
drama I wrote for Father Nugent had a temperance moral. It was called
"The Germans of Glenmore." It was played several Monday nights in
succession, and was well received.

Some years afterwards I made it into a story, calling it "The Reapers of
Kilbride." This appeared over a frequent signature of mine, "Slieve
Donard," in the "United Irishman," the organ of the Home Rule
Confederation.

Singularly enough, I found that part of it had been changed back again
into the first act of a drama by Mr. Hubert O'Grady, the well-known
Irish comedian.

That gentleman was giving a performance for the benefit of the newly
released political prisoners at one of our Liverpool theatres. Being
somewhat late, I was making my way upstairs in company with Michael
Davitt, and the play had commenced. I could hear on the stage part of
the dialogue, which seemed familiar to me, and, sure enough, when I
took my seat and listened to the rest of the act, the dialogue was
pretty nearly, word for word, from "The Reapers of Kilbride." The
compiler of the play being acted had also drawn upon another drama of
mine for his last act, "Rosaleen Dhu, or the Twelve Pins of Bin-a-Bola."
The play we were witnessing was very cleverly constructed, for Mr.
O'Grady, with his strong dramatic instincts and experience, could tell
exactly what would go well, and could use material accordingly. The
transformation of the story as it appeared in the "United Irishman" back
again into a play would be easily effected, as, leaving out the
descriptive part, the dialogue itself, with the necessary stage
directions, told the story. This, no doubt, Mr. O'Grady had perceived.

Later still, I carried out a similar transformation with another of my
own productions. I have a piece in three acts which, as a play, has
never been published or performed. It is called "The Curse of
Columbkille." This drama I changed into a story, which has appeared in
the series of 6d. novels published by Messrs. Sealy, Bryers and Walker.
The most striking character in it is Olaf, a Dane, who believes himself
to be a re-incarnation of one of the old Danish sea rovers. A member of
the firm, the la