, moreover,
that the rector was the thaif of the world, and had been a gambler in his
youth, and had once been kicked out of a club house at Dublin for
cheating at cards, and after that circumstance had apparently reformed
and lived decently till the time when I came to the religious house with
my pack, but that the sight of that had brought him back to his ould
gambling. He told the cook, moreover, that the rector frequently went
out at night to the houses of the great clergy and cheated at cards.

'In this melancholy state, with respect to myself, things continued a
long time, when suddenly there was a report that his Holiness the Pope
intended to pay a visit to the religious house in order to examine into
its state of discipline. When I heard this I was glad, for I determined,
after the Pope had done what he had come to do, to fall upon my knees
before him, and make a regular complaint of the treatment I had received,
to tell him of the cheatings at cards of the rector, and to beg him to
make the ould thaif give me back my pack again. So the day of the visit
came, and his Holiness made his appearance with his attendants, and,
having looked over the religious house, he went into the rector's room
with the rector, the sub-rector, and the almoner. I intended to have
waited until his Holiness came out, but finding he stayed a long time, I
thought I would e'en go in to him, so I went up to the door without
anybody observing me--his attendants being walking about the
corridor--and opening it I slipped in, and there what do you think I saw?
Why, his Holiness the Pope, and his reverence the rector, and the
sub-rector, and the almoner seated at cards; and the ould thaif of a
rector was dealing out the cards which ye had given me, Shorsha, to his
Holiness the Pope, the sub-rector, the almoner, and himself.'

In this part of his history I interrupted Murtagh, saying that I was
afraid he was telling untruths, and that it was highly improbable that
the Pope would leave the Vatican to play cards with Irish at their
religious house, and that I was sure if on his, Murtagh's authority, I
were to tell the world so, the world would never believe it.

'Then the world, Shorsha, would be a fool, even as you were just now
saying you had frequently believed it to be; the grand thing, Shorsha, is
to be able to believe one's self; if ye can do that, it matters very
little whether the world believes ye or no. But a purty thing for you
a