tenants to Mr. Thady
here--and they did be saying that av so--av Mr. Thady would jine them
in putting down the peelers and the Captain--they'd undhertake Mr.
Keegan'd never put a second foot on the lands of Ballycloran; and
they war the more hot about this, as they knew Mr. Thady war agin the
Captain about his sisther, for he thought thim two were too thick
like; and he used to be saying as how Ussher war playing his thricks
with Miss Feemy. Well, along of this--and knowing as how the masther
were agin Mr. Keegan too, they thought he'd jine in; and to bring
him round, they swore niver to pay the rint afore he did. Well, yer
honour, I was one night at the Widdy's, that's Mother Mulready's,
for I'd gone there knowing as how the tenants 'd be in it, and I war
noticing them to be up with the masther on Friday next about the
rint. Afther I'd been telling 'em all to be up at Ballycloran, they
got swearing that divil a foot they'd stir to the place, or divil a
penny they'd pay any more, because Mr. Thady here war so thick with
the Captain. This war jist afther the row up to Loch Sheen, when
three boys war locked up about some squall--and this made the rest
more bitter agin the Captain. Well, when they got swearing this
way, I axed 'em, why not go to the masther like a man, and tell
him what they thought. Wid that they agreed to come up to Mary's
wedding--that's Mary McGovery, yer honour, as is my sisther, and who
war to be married the Thursday; and so they parted, and a lot on 'em
swore that blessed night that the Captain should be under the sod
that day six months. Well, yer honour, the next morning Mr. Keegan
called down to Ballycloran about law business, and somehow there war
words atwixt him and Mr. Thady, and from that they got to blows, and
I b'lieve somehow Mr. Keegan got the best of it, and Mr. Thady was a
little hurted, and this made him bittherer nor iver."

"But that did not make him bitterer against Captain Ussher, did it?"
asked a juror.

"Faix thin, I think it did, yer honour," answered Pat. "It seemed to
make him bitther altogether agin everybody; when I war talking to him
aftherwards about coming down to the wedding, he seemed to be trating
all the world alike. But the Captain and Mr. Keegan especial. Well,
when the supper war over, and the boys were begun dancing, Mr. Thady
come down and immediately comed into the inside room, where the men
war sitting dhrinking, and I war wid them: thin one of the men, a