r two hundred dollars by my employer, and all through the
influence of a villanous parson who got divorced from his wife, on
account of a short answer I made him?"

"What was the answer, Murty? I suppose it must be droll."

"One day," said Murty, "this Parson Boorman dined where I worked for two
years, and, to convert me from the error of my ways for observing
abstinence on Friday, commenced saying, 'Don't you see, Murty, how
foolish and unreasonable you act? You eat butter and use milk that come
from the cow, and you refuse to eat her flesh. It's all the same, my
Irish friend,' continued the dominie, pitying my ignorance. 'I have no
great desire, Mr. Dominie,' said I, 'now, for controversy, being
fatigued after my hard day's work; though it takes but little learning
to refute your profound logic. If there is no difference between
drinking milk and eating flesh, then you may as well eat your mother's
flesh, parson, as suck her breast; and as you, I expect, have done the
latter, therefore, dominie, you must be a cannibal. How do you like
this?' said I.

"'O,' said the dominie, 'the butter, you know, that comes from the cow,
what do you say to that?' 'I say, parson, that there is another
substance besides butter that comes from the cow, and you would not like
to dine on it.' At this the whole company laughed outright in his face,
and from that time to this the dominie never ceased to persecute me."

"That was a very queer way you took to silence the dominie," said Paul;
"but I presume, after that ludicrous answer, you met with very little
religious controversy afterwards."

"That's true," said Murty; "but I have suffered the loss of my wages
through the unrelenting malice of the Presbyterian dominie."

"Never mind, Murty; do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, pray for those who persecute and calumniate you. For your kindness
to Bridget while I was away, I feel bound to give you some remuneration.
Have courage, have courage, and think better of the Yankees. The more
you know of them, the better you will like them. They have their
faults,--as what nation has not?--but they have their virtues also."

This conversation took place between Paul and Murty in the farm house of
Mr. Clarke, where he had just arrived, as well to spend the vacation as
to make arrangements regarding the future of his brothers and sister.
Murty, upon hearing of his arrival, lost not a moment's time in going
across lots from t