gone by, when they
were all in their glory. Yesterday as we sat in the wood, with her
arm round my waist, `Ella, dear,' says I `who are these people that
you stay with?' And then she told me all she knew about their
history, and how Mary Sullivan was a nurse to the baby.

"`And what is the baby?' says I.

"`A boy, sure,' says she.

"`And Sullivan's baby?'

"`That's a girl.'

"`And is Mary Sullivan there now?'

"`No,' says she; `it's yestreen she left with her husband and baby, to
join the regiment that's going out to Ingy.'

"`Yesterday she left?' says I, starting up.

"`Yes,' replies she, `and what do you care about them?'

"`It's very much I care,' replied I, `for a little bird has whispered
a secret to me.'

"`And what may that be?' says she.

"`Only that the childer were changed, and you know it as well as I
do.' But she swore that she knew nothing about it, and that she was
not there when either of the children were born, and I believe that
she told the truth. `Well,' says I, `who tended the lady?'

"`My own mother,' says Ella. `And if it were so, who can know but
she?'

"`Then,' says I, `Ella, jewel, I've made a vow that I'll never marry,
till I find out the truth of this matter; so the sooner you get it out
of your mother the better.' Then she cried very much, and I was
almost ready to cry too, to see how the poor thing was vexed at the
idea of not being married. After a while she swabbed up her cheeks,
and kissing me, wished me good-bye, swearing by all the saints that
the truth should come out somehow or another.

"It's this morning that I saw her again, as agreed upon yesterday, and
red her eyes were with weeping, poor thing; and she clung to me and
begged me to forgive her, and not to leave her; and then she told me
that her mother was startled when she put the question to her, and
chewed it, and cursed her when she insisted upon the truth; and how
she had fallen on her knees, and begged her mother not to stand in the
way of her happiness, as she would die if she did (I leave you to
guess if my heart didn't smite me when she said that, Peter, but the
mischief was done), and how her mother had talked about her oath and
Father O'Toole, and said that she would speak to him.

"Now, Peter, I'm sure that the childer have been changed and that the
nurse has been sent to the Indies to be out of the way. They