HOME LIFE AND CORBESPONBENCE. 229 



fellows who seemed rather groggy. They had some wild talk 

 with the driver ; and, saying that they would be in Kenmare as 

 soon as the car, they jumped over the fence and started off 

 across the country. The car went on, and the circumstance 

 was nearly forgotten, when, on ascending one of the long hills 

 (it being now quite dark), the same two fellows jumped out 

 again on the road, laughing and boasting that they were before 

 the car. Up they mounted {sans ceremonie), and squeezed 

 themselves in between the passengers. Immediately they 

 became boisterous; singing rebellious songs and others, damn- 

 ing the Protestants and lauding the Pope, dealing in curses of 

 the most fearful character — and all this in both English and 

 Irish — till not only they, but the driver and all the passengers 

 (Mr. Moriarty excepted) got wild with excitement, whooping 

 and hallooing at the top of their voices. A pretty fix this for 

 a Protestant minister, and one who had rendered himself 

 obnoxious by his success in his anti-papal work ! No doubt 

 he felt rather uncomfortable, but had to make the best of it. 

 At length a pause came in the singing and hooting, and 

 he ventured to remark, " Well, boys, it is hardly fair to have 

 all the singing on your side, and I ready to join," &c. — some such 

 words to get a hearing. There was silence for a few minutes, 

 and he then began to sing in Irish a translation of Heber's 

 lines, " Thou art gone to the grave, but we will not deplore 

 thee," &c. (which has been beautifully translated into Irish by 

 Conellan), and this he sang to the exquisite old Irish air, 

 " Savourneen Deelish." The effect was instantaneous. The 

 rude and violent passions were quelled — the car was stopped — 

 he had to sing it again — then to repeat the words slowly, and 

 to end with expounding them. So, taking the song as his text, 

 he preached to them on the side of the road, in the darkness, 

 while they stood attentive and respectful listeners. During 

 the remainder of the journey into Kenmare, he was the chief 

 of the car. He had won their hearts completely, and this 

 just after the violence which had preceded ; so mercurial 

 are the Irish — so powerful is language to raise or to quell their 

 evil passions. I have given the anecdote very imperfectly. He 

 told it with much graphic power, and entirely without self- 

 laudation, and repeated for us the Irish words of the song, which, 

 without understanding them, seemed full of feeling; and we 



