acent
woman she was by all accounts."

Jane forgot to crow over him in her interest. "What'd she die of,
Patsy?" she said.

Patsy stopped. "Ye know that wee public-house as ye go into town, just
as ye turn down North Street?" he said. Jane nodded. "She kep' that,
the man tould me, an' she died a' hard work.'

"I niver heerd of any person dyin' of that afore," said Jane.

"Well, she did," said Patsy, "for I heard the sexton ast the man, an'
he said she died a' labour."

"I wonder if it's catchin'?" said Jane.

Patsy walked on whistling.

"But what tuk ye to the woman's feeneral at all, Patsy?" Jane asked.

"I just went for the fun a' the thing," he said.

"Sure, there's no fun in that," said Jane.

"Isn't there just?" said Patsy. "That's all you know; I tell ye it's
the quare ould sport." He stopped, and counted up on his fingers:
"That makes two weman's, two childers', and one man's feeneral I've
been chief mourner to since Christmas."

"But ye can't be chief mourner if ye're no relation," said Jane.

"Ye can just. I walked close behind the hearse of every one of them,"
he said. "When I see the feeneral comin' up the road I take off my
hat, an' they make room for me to walk with the best."

He bound Jane over by a promise not to tell. In return for her promise
he showed her where he kept Mick's coat and hat--wrapped up in a
newspaper, and covered with sods, under an old bell-glass at the top of
the garden--and promised, on his part, he would tell her what the
people died of whose funerals he attended in the future.

But, as it happened, that was the last one he went to. When they got
home they found the secret was out. Mick met them. He knew all about
it, he said; and Lull knew too, and was cross. Teressa had told. Her
sister, who was in service at the Parsonage at Castle Magee, had been
to see her, and told her all about the little gentleman from Rowallan
who came to every funeral in the churchyard.

"She sez," Mick went on, "that ye were the thoughtful wee man, Patsy,
an' it'd melt the heart of a stone to see ye standin' at the grave like
an' ould judge, holdin' the mourner's black kid gloves."

"Bah!" said Patsy.

But Lull threatened awful things if Patsy ever went to a funeral again.
"Mind, I'll tell yer mother if I ever hear tell of it," she said; "dear
knows what disease ye'll be bringin' home to us."

The lesson was impressed more deeply on Patsy's mind by Lull being ill
that