wasn't I that put it into the mouth of the three congregations. The old fool! He will be in the mouth of the three congregations now—himself and Sive. Humph!—I am sorry there should have been any mention of Short Mary's name. But how can I help it? Now I think of it, I wonder why she is called Short Mary, when she is as tall as any woman coming to the congregation. It is no wonder she should be. John Kittach himself is a fine big powerful man. He has the name of being the strongest man of his race, and the MacCarthys are strong men. She is a handsome woman! It is no mistake to call her a quiet, sensible girl. Three years ago there was no fear of her name being mentioned together with mine.
"It would be a queer thing for me to do, to marry, when I have only ten years now. They were not long going, those three years. There won't be much delay in three years more to follow them. There's half the time gone then. 'Won't it be soon enough for you to ask that question,' said he, 'when we are starting?' What good would it be for me to ask it then? He made me swear by the virtue of the Holy Things. I suppose there is no escape for me. Things are in a queer way for me. I working and making money as thick as gravel, and what am I getting by it? To many a poor man have I given help. Their gratitude is great—on their lips. I don't know if there is much of it in their hearts. I wonder if they are any the better of what I have given them. There are some of them of whom I think that it would have been better for them if they had never seen a halfpenny of it. There are some of them who, if the time were past and I were gone, would not grieve for me long.
