CHAPTER XVII.-continued.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 313, 18 April 1879, Page 17

CHAPTER XVII.-continued.

XVll.—continued. Take it off, this instant," she continued, making a lunge at the article in question. "O me bades, me bootiful bades! You sha'n't have 'em, you sba'n't!" screamed Nora, resisting with all her might, and dancing with passion. In the scuffle the chain of the rosary —for such it was —snapped, and the littie blue beads fell with a rattle on the ground. " O mother, she's broke me bades intirely, she has; my illigant bades that grannie gave me, whin ye fitched me wid ye to Neville Town yisterday afternoon," cried the child, sobbing bitterly ; "- and jist as the taycher-aad got Father Donovan to bless 'em. 0, what will Ido j-what will I do ?" and Nora wrung her little bands in childish TJrief. If Nora had tried she could not have made a speech less apropos to the occasion, seeing that —as Biddy afterwards phrased it to her husband —" she wint and let two cats out o' the bag at wonst." It would be impossible to describe the glance of withering indignation with which Miss Barbara, relinquishing her hold of Nora, strode across the floor and confronted the mother. " Very well, Mrs. Murphy; so you went to Neville Town yesterday afternoon, did you ? Then pray how could you have' heard Mr. Giles's sermon 1 And Nora goes to a school where the priest blesses beads, does she ? I thought at the time how much truth there was in the story you trumped up about the influenza. Where's your husband ?" " Throth. my leddy, an' that's more than I can tell yiz," said Biddy, in utter dismay. Like her husband she had grown tired of the new way, and had quite countenanced the alteration he had seen proper to make with regard to the children's school. Still she had hoped that their recalcitration might have been kept a secret from Miss Barbara, and had already been spending in imagination the douceur with which that lafly's visit to them generally terminated. No longer able to deny the fact, she tried whines, excuses, and lies of every possible shade of blackness and whiteness. But- it was all to no purpose ; for with the air of one whose confidence has been betrayed Miss Barbara swept out of the cabin, and took the road towards the Glebe House. In the meantime Tim, fancying that he had seen Mies Barbara depart about ten minutes before, was quietly sauntering homewards, still congratulating himself upon his escape, and greatly was he astonished when at a turn of the road he encountered her face to face. She immediately accused him with his recusancy, and after denials and equivocations innumerable Tim was compelled to acknowledge that he had been sending his children to the Catholic school, and not attended the Protestant Church for three Sundays, nor had even heard Mr. Giles's sermon. For a few minutes the resolution he had made after his conversation with his sister-in-law held good, and he tried to tell her that he liked the ould faith better, but it was only for a few minutes. We will not enter into the details of the conversation that followed, characterised by shameless bribery on the one side, and cowardly yielding up of principle on the other, nor of the still more abominable bargain that concluded it. Suffice it to say that Miss Barbara went on her way rejoicing over a promise re-extorted, and that Tim Murphy entered his cabin with a hang-dog look on his face, but the price of a new pig in his pocket, which he started off and purchased that very afternoon.