Irish Humour 135 



and sixpence. Although the man received four shillings 

 and sixpence in advance, he could not make up his mind 

 to carry out the deed and earn the remainder of the blood- 

 money, and six months passed without his attempting to 

 carry out the bargain. Anne then began to reproach him, 

 even publicly, for his dilatoriness, so that at last it was 

 arranged between them that the bloody deed should be 

 accomplished on the following morning. At 8 a.m. he 

 accordingly presented himself at the cottage, Anne then 

 being still in bed in the front room. On seeing the man 

 enter her nerve failed her, and she began to shriek, where- 

 upon, just to quiet her, he took a shot at her, the ball 

 lodging in her shoulder. In the meantime the mother and 

 younger daughter had rushed into the inner room, and set 

 their backs against the door, when the ruffian, after making 

 out the position of the poor girl, shot her through the thin 

 door and killed her. 



The whole tragedy was over by a quarter past eight, 

 and happening to go into my garden about that time for 

 a few minutes' stroll before breakfast, an old man who 

 worked for me, after furtively looking round to see if we 

 were observed, told me of the murder that was to take 

 place at 8 a.m. He had hardly finished speaking when 

 some of the other gardeners rushed in, exclaiming that the 

 deed had been done. Anne Croghan had to be removed 

 into hospital for her wound to be attended to, and when 

 she was recovered she was transferred to Dublin, to be 

 tried at the Assizes for the murder of her sister — it being 

 thought by the authorities that there would be no chance 

 of a conviction if the trial took place at Mullingar. 

 Notorious as the facts connected with the crime were, to 

 the astonishment of everyone, the judge who tried the 



