cret did not at all transpire. His
reverence, however, was by no means so fortunate. The next morning,
he and his curate were under the necessity of holding a station in a
distant part of the parish. Father Anthony, however, feeling himself
fatigued by his burthen of the preceding night, sent the curate on
before him, with an assurance that he would follow him in an hour or
two. He accordingly did so, but, with his usual inattention to dress,
was seen the next morning, about ten o'clock, riding along the public
road--which was a great thoroughfare--towards the locality of the
station with the history of the previous night's transaction written
as clearly oh his back as if it had been labelled there in large and
legible print. The truth is, the humane and charitable priest had
neglected to get his coat brushed--an operation which it never underwent
unless on a Sunday morning--and the consequence was, that whilst the
front part of his dress was tolerably black, the back part of it would
have done credit to the coat of a miller. The sagacity of the people
was not for a moment at fault. Both circumstances were immediately
connected; his reverence's secret took wind, and before the expiration
of forty-eight hours was known to the whole parish.

CHAPTER XVI.--Massacre of Carrickshock

--Mogue Moglan's Anxiety for the Safety of the Purcels--Tithe
Distraint--Good News for Mr. Temple.

Matters had now arrived at such a crisis, that either the law must be
vindicated, or tithes should be considered as put down by violence on
the one hand, and passive resistance on the other; for, as the question
stood, it had to grapple with both. The clergymen of the establishment,
cramped by poverty, and harassed by delay, were not now in a condition
to recover their incomes by the tedious and expensive processes that
were hitherto resorted to. Some point, however, was made, or some
antiquated statute was ferreted out, owing to the black-letter craft
of certain astute lawyers, by which the parson or proctor, we believe,
as the case might have been, instead of being forced to incur enormous
expense for the recovery of any individual responsibility, was enabled,
through what was termed a "Writ of Rebellion," to join the greater
part of a parish, if not the whole of it, in the same legal process, by
inserting their names in the writ. At first, however, and in the early
stage of the proceedings, the resistance was by no means passive.
Exp