and' ere the night was half spent found himself
in the highest region of pedantry.

"I would not," said he, "turn my back upon any other candidate in the
province, in point of preparatory excellence and ardency of imagination.
I say, sitting here beside you, my worthy and logical father, I would
not retrograde from any candidate for the honors of the Catholic Church
in the province--in the kingdom--in Europe; and it is not improbable but
I might progradiate another step, and say Christendom at large. And now,
what's a candidate? Father, you have some apprehension in you, and are a
passable second-hand controversialist--what's a candidate? Will you tell
me?"

"I give it up, Denis; but you'll tell us."

"Yes, I will tell you. Candidate signifies a man dressed in fustian; it
comes from _candidus_, which is partly Greek, partly Latin, and partly
Hebrew. It was the learned designation for Irish linen, too, which in
the time of the Romans was in great request at Home; but it was changed
to signify fustian, because it was found that everything a man promised
on becoming a candidate for any office, turned out to be only fustian
when he got it."

"Denis, avourneen," said his mother, "the greatest comfort myself has is
to be thinkin' that when you're a priest, you can be sayin' masses for
my poor sinful sowl."

"Yes, there is undoubtedly comfort in, that reflection; and depend
upon it, my dear mother, that I'll be sure to clinch your masses in
the surest mode. I'll not fly over them like Camilla across a field
of potato oats, without discommoding a single walk, as too many of my
worthy brethren--I mane as! too many of those whose worthy brother I
will soon be--do in this present year of grace. I'm no fool at the
Latin, but, as I'm an unworthy candidate for Maynooth, I cannot even
understand every fifteenth word they say when reading mass,
independently of the utter scorn with which they treat; these two
Scholastic old worthies, called! Syntax and Prosody."

"Denis," said the father, "nothing would give me greater delight than to
be present at your first mass, an' your first sarmon; and next to that I
would like to be stumpin' about wid a dacent staff in my hand, maybe wid
a bit of silver on the head of it, takin' care of your place when you'd
have a parish."

"At all events, if you're not with me, father, I'll keep you comfortable
wherever you'll be, whether in this world or the other; for, plase
goodness, I'll have som