246 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



a murder to see the clargy making such fools of them- 

 selves now ! When I was young, priest and minister 

 were hand-and-glove. It seems to me but yesterday, 

 when Father Patt Joyce, the Lord be good to him ! lent 

 Mr. Carson a congregation." 



** Eh ! what, Antony ? " said the Colonel. " A 

 congregation appears rather an extraordinary article to 

 borrow." 



" Faith," said the otter-killer, ** it's true. I was there 

 myself, and I'll tell you the story. It was in the time 

 of Bishop Beresford, that beautiful old man, — many a 

 half-crown he gave me, for I used often to bring game 

 and fish to the palace from the master's father. He was 

 the handsomest gentleman I ever laid my eyes on ; and, 

 och hone ! it was he that knew how to live like a bishop. 

 He never went a step without four long-tailed black horses 

 to his carriage, and two mounted grooms behind him. 

 His own body-man told me, one time I went with a 

 haunch of red-deer and a bittern to the palace, that never 

 less than twenty sat down in the parlour, and, in troth, 

 there was double that number in the hall, for nobody 

 came or went without being well taken care of. 



" Well, it came into old Lord Peter's head that he 

 would build a church, and settle a colony of northmen 

 away in the West. Faith, he managed the one easy 

 enough ; but it failed him to do the other, for devil 

 an inch the northmen would come ; for, says they, 

 * Hell and Connaught's bad enough, but what is either 

 to Connemara ? ' 



" Well, the minister came down, and a nice little 

 man he was, one Mr. Carson. Father Patt Flyn had the 

 parish then, and faith, in course of time they two became 

 as thick as inkle- weavers. 



