orts of prison
discipline, and all the miseries of confinement; but yet even there,
in gaol and committed to take his trial for life--though doomed
to the monotony of that dull cell for six months--still he felt
infinitely less wretched than he had done whilst sitting in Andy
McEvoy's cabin, wondering at the torpidity of its owner. The feeling
of suspense, of inactivity, the dread of being found and dragged
away, joined to the horror he felt at remaining in so desolate a
place, would have driven him mad. Now he knew that he had no daily
accident to fear--no new misfortune to dread--and he nerved himself
to bear the six long coming months with fortitude and patience.
Though the time was long, and his weary days generally unbroken by
anything that could interest or enliven them, still, from the hour
when Father John first spoke to him at his hall-door, to that in
which he was led into the Court-house dock as a prisoner to take
his trial for his life, he never once repented that he had quitted
Aughacashel and his mountain security, to give himself up as a
prisoner to the authorities of Carrick.

CHAPTER XXV.

RETROSPECTIVE.

As story-tellers of every description have, from time immemorial,
been considered free from those niceties by which all attempts in
the nobler classes of literature are, or should be restrained, we
consider no apology necessary for requesting the reader to leap over
with us the space of four months; but still, before we continue our
tale from that date, it will be as well that we should give a short
outline of the principal events which produced the state in which the
circumstances of the Macdermots will then be found, and we are sorry
to say that they were not such as could offer much consolation to
them.

It will be remembered that Pat Brady was commissioned by his master
to take Ussher's body to the police station at Carrick, in Fred
Brown's gig. This commission he promptly performed, and also that
of restoring the gig to its owner; and after having thus completed
his master's behests like a good servant, he paid a visit on his own
account to Mr. Keegan.

Although it was late, he still found that active gentleman up,
and gave him a tolerably accurate account of what had happened at
Ballycloran, adding that "the young masther had gone off to join the
boys, at laste that's what he supposed he'd be afther now." As soon
as Keegan's surprise was a little abated, he perceived that the
aff