" "How will you do that?" said the parson. "Faith! I'll
tell the boys and girls to go across." And the story relates that when
the Bishop came down he actually found the church full of "boys and
girls" who, for the moment, figured as Protestants.

The second story comes from Ulster, and seems to show that there is
some softening even in the rigour of that climate. It is said that
"once upon a time," when July 11th came round one of the Orange
drummers found that on the last occasion he had broken his drum, and
could not get it mended. Finding himself faced with disgrace, he
wandered through the town after a drum, and finally found himself
looking at a very beautiful specimen of its kind standing in a Catholic
schoolroom. After much heart-searching, the Orangeman at last went in,
and timidly told the Catholic priest the extremity of his Protestant
need. "You shall have the drum," said the priest; "but you must not
break it this time." And so, on that condition, the drum was handed
over.

Perhaps if such relations were to become more common the drums would
actually beat more softly in the north of Ireland.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[47] Take the facts given by Mr. John J. Horgan, in his interesting
pamphlet entitled "Home Rule--A Critical Consideration":--"In a country
of which three-fourths of the population are Catholic there has not
been a Catholic Viceroy since 1688. There never was a Catholic Chief
Secretary. There have been three Catholic Under-Secretaries. There have
been two Catholic Chancellors. In the High Court of Justice there are
seventeen Judges; _three_ of them are Catholics. There are twenty-one
County Court Judges and Recorders; eight of them are Catholics. There
are thirty-seven County Inspectors of Police; five of them are
Catholics. There are 202 District Inspectors of Police; sixty-two of
them are Catholics. There are over 5,000 Justices of the Peace; a
little more than one-fifth of them are Catholics. There are sixty-eight
Privy Councillors; eight of them are Catholics.

"Let us now consider some of the large Government Departments. Take the
Local Government Board. This body consists of two elements--the
nominated and highly paid officials and those who secure admission
through competitive examinations. From the latter class Catholics
cannot, of course, be excluded. The permanent Vice-President is to all
intents and purposes the Local Government Board. He is a Prot