THE RECORDER OF BALLYPO11EEN. 



himself, as an additional claim to the honour of their suffrages, that 

 when he was not more than a gossoon, he had been " out doing busi- 

 ness" with the Whiteboys ; every one too knew that he had been 

 " taken up in '98" as a Croppy, and escaped, through " a flaw in the 

 indictment/' with the slight punishment of three hundred lashes j the 

 recollection of the good it did him, made him the most unsparing of 

 the rod of any pedagogue in the entire province of Munster. Be- 

 sides, he had the gift of the tongue, and could make a speech for three 

 hours in favour of the REPALE, and the entire abolition of all church 

 imposts and taxes. These were great, they were super-eminent quali- 

 fications for a Recorder, and if the popular vote could have decided 

 the election, Cornelius O'Kelly would be preferred to any other man 

 in the parish. But then, the humblest of " the Irish" party knew 

 that the very qualifications which made Cornelius a favourite with 

 them, were matters which would be objected against him by " the 

 enemies of the country." Even Corney himself admitted this, and 

 resigned* his hopes in favour of a less obnoxious candidate, Patrick 

 Hogan, who purchased the pedagogue's " vote and interest" by a 

 pound of tobacco, a gallon of government whiskey, and a firkin of 

 butter. 



Pat. Hogan, the nominee of " the Irish," possessed only one recog- 

 nizable claim upon his faction he was a papist, but unlike his bro- 

 ther parishioners, he was a cunning little fellow, who never busied 

 himself in any body's concerns but his own. He tilled a small farm 

 of ten acres, which he held at a low rent, and of which he acknow- 

 ledged the due value, by "always voting with his landlord, no 

 matter who was up for the county." He never read newspapers, 

 never talked on politics, but as he himself expressed it, " always kept 

 his tongue the right side of his cheek." He was very seldom seen 

 drunk, and was never in more than a dozen quarrels in his lifetime, 

 and was, in these respects, remarked as " one of the soberest, and 

 quietest boys that was ever beheld." It was well known that he was 

 " finely lamed," for he had, at school, gone through " Voster" three 

 times, " Dowling's Book-keeping'' twice, and had actually parsed 

 part of " Cordery," and read the'half of the first book of " Virgil !" 

 On this account, it was said that Patrick knew " almost, but not 

 quite, as much as the Clargy himself." Though Paddy was despised 

 for his want of public spirit, he was much respected for his abilities 

 and education, and generally loved for his unvarying good temper. 

 It was admitted that he was a handsome young fellow, and what the 

 intelligent matrons called " a clane, dacent lad ;" but still he was not 

 a favourite with " the ladies' 7 of his own party, because he was never 

 seen at chapel " to throw a sheep's eye at one of them." It was, 

 besides, more than suspected, that he was so heretical in his affec- 

 tions, as to have fallen in love with Miss Ann Switzer, the prettiest 

 girl that walked on a Sunday with a Protestant prayer-book in her 

 hand. 



It could not be denied that Ann Switzer had fine, large, rolling 

 black eyes, glossy dark hair, a well-rounded, plump little figure, the 

 prettiest feet that ever tripped over a cowslip, and as neatly moulded 

 an arm as was ever shaken over a milk-pail. Pat. Hogan certainly 



