AND OTHER SKETCHES 295 



challenge, Sir, and propose right here to settle this ques- 

 tion." Looking him straight in the face, I raised my 

 voice and said: "Will you. Sir, as a minister of the 

 Gospel and on your honor as an honest man, deny before 

 this meeting that the Connemara and Bog of Allan nar- 

 row gauge railway in Ireland is not a great success to-day 

 and paying over five per cent, dividend to its stock- 

 holders? I pause, Sir, for a reply." One glance at the 

 astounded gentleman's face showed me he was thor- 

 oughly befogged and he stammered out: '*I am very 

 sorry, Mr. Chairman, if I have said anything untrue. I 

 had never heard of the Connemara and Bog of Allan 

 Kailroad, therefore, my friends will excuse my mistake." 

 Needless to say, I gave him no chance to proceed further, 

 but immediately complimented him on the honesty of his 

 character in apologizing and admitting he was not ac- 

 quainted with the subject he was discussing. At this 

 stage my friend Canavan, in the broadest of Irish accents, 

 guaranteed that if the preacher would visit him in his 

 Connemara home he would introduce him to many other 

 pleasant things in addition to the narrow gauge rail- 

 ways. Canavan then sang "The Boys of Connemara" 

 in fine style, every Irishman present joining in the 

 chorus. 



We then addressed the electors in favor of the Toronto 

 scheme, carried the meeting with three times three and 

 a tiger, adjourned to the hotel, where a kindly disposed 

 landlord "set 'em up" for the crowd, while we took the 

 leading lights into the dining room and treated them to 

 an oyster supper and — N.B. — The Connemara and Bog 

 of Allan Eailway was not constructed owing to some 

 difficulty in floating the bonds, but the vote in Priceville 

 neighborhood three days later was almost unanimous in 

 favor of the Toronto scheme, and thus was the founda- 

 tion laid for the superb railway system that now serves 

 that northern country. 



