sudden, there came to them
from the shore the sweet sound of a bell. Then Fair-shoulder called to
her brothers, and they all swam to the shore. And as soon as they were
on shore their form of swans was gone. Fair-shoulder was a beautiful
young girl again, and the brothers were strong, beautiful boys. They
walked up to the little chapel together, and there a monk baptized
them.

"And as soon as they were baptized they were young and strong no
longer. Fair-shoulder was an old, old woman, and her brothers were
old, old men. They were so weak with the age of a thousand years that
they fell upon the floor of the chapel. The monks took them up and
cared for them for a few days, and then they died. And so the word of
the Druid came to pass, that when the strange men should ring their
bells the children of Lir should be swans no longer, and should be
happy forever."

They all waited for a few minutes, to be sure that there was no more
of the story, and then John said: "Mother, it's easy for you to be
tellin' us them tales, and they may be all thrue enough, and I'm not
sayin' they're not. But what good are they to us? The word of the
Druid came thrue, but how long was it in comin' thrue? A thousand
years?"

"A thousand years or more," said his mother; "but the stories can
teach us to be patient, if they can do nothing else."

"They may do that," said John; "the blessed Lord He knows you've been
patient, and He knows the rest of us have tried to be. But what does
it all come to? We can't wait a thousand years for the betther times.
Pether, here, is right. The States would be a betther place for all of
us. If we had the money I'ld say that we ought to go there."

"It's not the bad times alone that's in it," said Peter. "As I told
you before, I could stand them. It's the bother that we're put to all
the time. It's that would make us go to the States this minute, if we
had the chance. But I suppose your mother could never be leavin'
Ireland now, John; she's gettin' so old now, maybe she couldn't stand
the journey."

"Have no fear about that," John answered; "mother's not so old as
you'ld make out, and she's likely to live longer now than some others
that's here this minute."

As he said this John felt Kitty's hand suddenly holding his closer,
and he knew that he ought not to have said it. "Don't mind what I'm
sayin'," he said to her in a whisper; "I dunno what I'm talkin' about,
but I didn't mean you at all, darlin', nor