250 STRAY-AWAYS 



you. that after Mr. Chute died, the owld man of all, 

 Mr. Tom's father — vou heerd of him? " " I recolleet 



to have heard of a fat man, that " " Fat ! " 



exclaimed LoAvry, in a voice of surprise, " you may 

 say fat ! There isn't that door on hinges that he'd 

 pass in, walkin' with a fair front, without he turned 

 sideways, or skamed in. one way or other ! '' 



Here is the authentic touch, and enchanting it is. 

 "Any way, fat or lain,'' goes on Lowry Looby, "he 

 was buried, an' all the world will tell you that he was 

 seen risinor a fortnight afther bv Dan Dawlev. in the 

 shape of a drove o' young pigs." And ^Master Kyrle 

 simpers. " AMiat a sharp eye he must have had, 

 Lowry. to recognise liis master under such a disguise ! " 

 " Oyeh ! He knew well what was there. 'Tisn't the 

 first time with Dan Dawley sccin' things o' the kind ! " 

 It Avould be both agreeable and easy to continue with 

 excerpts from the stories recounted by the admirable 

 Lowry, or to quote appreciatively the no less admir- 

 able ^Irs. Frawley. Foxy Dimat. and Fighting Poll 

 (and it cannot be denied that the length of many of the 

 stories would make excerpts advisable) ; but possibly 

 enough has been said in support of the contention 

 that the peasants of Griffin are. on the whole, creatures 

 real enouoh to outweigh the artiticialitv of their 

 masters and mistresses, and to give the book a value, 

 as an historical document, that is at least as great as 

 is the value of its contribution to melodrama. 



The temptation to turn aside for a few moments 

 from these three volumes to discuss other writers 

 of this period whose theme also is Ireland, must 

 not be yielded to : yet it may be said that, for 

 some dark and unfathomable reason, we find 

 in them all the same determination to extrava- 

 gance, alike in dealing with the peasants and with 

 ". the Quality." Lever and Lover raged along after 



