rve with
you--die with you. But when I am gone, remember, that I gave up all
my hopes, that you might succeed in yours. I'm sure that is love. Now,
Denis, we must return our promises, the time is passin', and we'll both
be missed from home."

"Susan, for the sake of my happiness, both in this world and in the
next, don't take away all hope. Make me not miserable and wretched; send
me not into the church a hypocrite. If you do, I will charge you with
my guilt; I will charge you with the crimes of a man who will care but
little what he does."

"You will have friends, Denis; pious men, who will direct you and guide
you and wean your heart from me and the world. You will soon bless me
for this. Denis," she added, with a smile of unutterable misery, "my mind
is made up. I belong now to the Virgin Mother of God. I never will be
so wicked as to forsake her for a mortal. If I was to marry you--with
a broken vow upon me, I could not prosper. The curse of God and of his
Blessed Mother would follow us both."

Denis felt perfectly aware of the view entertained by Susan, respecting
such a vow as she had taken. To reason with her, was only to attack
a prejudice which scorned reason. Besides this, he was not himself
altogether free from the impression of its being a vow too solemn to be
broken without the sanction of the Church.

"Let us go," said Susan, "to the same spot where we first promised.
It was under this tree, in this month, last year. Let us give it back
there."

The hand-promise in Ireland between the marriageable young of both
sexes, is considered the most solemn and binding of all obligations. Few
would rely upon the word or oath of any man who had been known to break
a hand-promise. And, perhaps, few of the country girls would marry or
countenance the addresses of a yoking person known to have violated
such a pledge. The vow is a solemn one, and of course, given by mutual
consent, by mutual consent, also, must it be withdrawn, otherwise, it
is considered still binding. Whenever death removes one of the parties,
without the other having had an opportunity of "giving it back," the
surviving party comes, and in the presence of witnesses first grasping
the hand of the deceased, repeats the form of words usual in withdrawing
it. Some of these scenes are very touching and impressive, particularly
one which the author had an opportunity of witnessing. It is supposed
that in cases of death, if the promise be not thus diss