we have said that sir robert whitecraft was anything but a popular man—and we might have added that, unless among his own clique of bigots and persecutors, he was decidedly unpopular among protestants in general. in a few days after the events of the night we have described, reilly, by the advice of mr. brown's brother, an able and distinguished lawyer, gave up the possession of his immense farm, dwelling-house, and offices to the landlord. in point of fact, this man had taken the farm for reilly's father, in his own name, a step which many of the liberal and generous protestants of that period were in the habit of taking, to protect the property for the roman catholics, from such rapacious scoundrels as whitecraft, and others like him, who had accumulated the greater portion of their wealth and estates by the blackest and most iniquitous political profligacy and oppression. for about a month after the first night of the unsuccessful pursuit after reilly, the whole country was overrun with military parties, and such miserable inefficient police as then existed. in the meantime, reilly escaped every toil and snare that had been laid for him. sir robert whitecraft, seeing that hitherto he had set them at defiance, resolved to glut his vengeance on his property, since he could not arrest himself. a description of his person had been, almost from the commencement of the proceedings, published in the hue-and-cry, and he had been now outlawed. as even this failed, sir robert, as we said, came with a numerous party of his myrmidons, bringing along with them a large number of horses, carts, and cars. the house at this time was in the possession only of a keeper, a poor, feeble man, with a wife and a numerous family of small children, the other servants having fled from the danger in which their connection with reilly involved them. sir robert, however, very deliberately brought up his cars and other vehicles, and having dragged out all the most valuable part of the furniture, piled it up, and had it conveyed to his own outhouses, where it was carefully-stowed. this act, however, excited comparatively little attention, for such outrages were not unfrequently committed by those who had, or at least who thought they had; the law in their own hands. it was now dusk, and the house had been gutted of all that had been most valuable in it—but the most brilliant part of the performance was yet to come. we mean no contemptible pun. the young man's dwelling-house, and office-houses were ignited at this moment by this man's military and other official minions, and in about twenty minutes they were all wrapped in one red, merciless mass of flame. the country people, on observing this fearful conflagration, flocked from all quarters; but a cordon of outposts was stationed at some distance around the premises, to prevent the peasantry from marking the chief actors in this nefarious outrage. two gentlemen, however, approached, who, having given their names, were at once admitted to the burning premises. these were mr. brown, the clergyman, and mr. hastings, the actual and legal proprietor of all that had been considered reilly's property. both of them observed that sir robert was the busiest man among them, and upon making inquiries from the party, they were informed that they acted by his orders, and that, moreover, he was himself the very first individual who had set fire to the premises. the clergyman made his way to sir robert, on whose villainous countenance he could read a dark and diabolical triumph.
“sir robert whitecraft,” said mr. brown, “how conies such a wanton and unnecessary waste of property?”
“because, sir,” replied that gentleman, “it is the property of a popish rebel and outlaw, and is confiscated to the state.”
“but do you possess authority for this conduct?—are you the state?”
“in the spirit of our protestant constitution, certainly. i am a loyal protestant magistrate, and a man of rank, and will hold myself accountable for what i do and have done. come you, there,” he added, “who have knocked down the pump, take some straw, light it up, and put it with pitchforks upon the lower end of the stable; it has not yet caught the flames.”
this order was accordingly complied with, and in a few minutes the scene, if one could dissociate the mind from the hellish spirit which created it, had something terribly sublime in it.
mr. hastings, the gentleman who accompanied the clergyman, the real owner of the property, looked on with apparent indifference, but uttered not a word. indeed, he seemed rather to enjoy the novelty of the thing than otherwise, and passed with mr. brown from place to place, as if to obtain the best points for viewing the fire.
reilly's residence was a long, large, two-story house, deeply thatched; the kitchen, containing pantry, laundry, scullery, and all the usual appurtenances connected with it, was a continuation of the larger house, but it was a story lower, and also deeply thatched. the out-offices ran in a long line behind the dwelling house, so that both ran parallel with each other, and stood pretty close besides, for the yard was a narrow one. in the meantime, the night, though dry, was dark and stormy. the wind howled through the adjoining trees like thunder, roared along the neighboring hills, and swept down in savage whirlwinds to the bottom of the lowest valleys. the greater portion of the crowd who were standing outside the cordon we have spoken of fled home, as the awful gusts grew stronger and stronger, in order to prevent their own houses from being stripped or unroofed, so that very few remained to witness the rage of the conflagration at its full height. the irish peasantry entertain a superstition that whenever a strong storm of wind, without rain, arises, it has been occasioned by the necromantic spell of some guilty sorcerer, who, first having sold himself to the devil, afterwards raises him for some wicked purpose; and nothing but the sacrifice of a black dog or a black cock—the one without a white hair, and the other without a white feather—can prevent him from carrying away, body and soul, the individual who called him up, accompanied by such terrors. in fact the night, independently of the terrible accessory of the fire, was indescribably awful. thatch portions of the ribs and roofs of houses were whirled along through the air; and the sweeping blast, in addition to its own howlings, was burdened with the loud screamings of women and children, and the stronger shoutings of men, as they attempted to make each other audible, amidst the roaring of the tempest.
this was terrible indeed; but on such a night, what must not the conflagration have been, fed by such pabulum—as sir robert himself would have said—as that on which it glutted its fiery and consuming appetite. we have said that the offices and dwelling-house ran parallel with each other, and such was the fact. what appeared singular, and not without the possibility of some dark supernatural causes, according to the impressions of the people, was, that the wind, on the night in question, started, as it were, along with the fire; but the truth is, it had been gamboling in its gigantic play before the fire commenced at all. in the meantime, as we said, the whole premises presented one fiery mass of red and waving flames, that shot and drifted up, from time to time, towards the sky, with the rapidity, and more than the terror, of the aurora borealis. as the conflagration proceeded, the high flames that arose from the mansion, and those that leaped up from the offices, several times met across the yard, and mingled, as if to exult in their fearful task of destruction, forming a long and distinct arch of flame, so exact and regular, that it seemed to proceed from the skill and effort of some powerful demon, who had made it, as it were, a fiery arbor for his kind. the whole country was visible to an astonishing distance, and overhead, the evening sky, into which the up-rushing pyramids seemed to pass, looked as if it had caught the conflagration, and was one red mass of glowing and burning copper. around the house and premises the eye could distinguish a pin; but the strong light was so fearfully red that the deep tinge it communicated to the earth seemed like blood, and made it appear as if it had been sprinkled with it.
it is impossible to look upon a large and extensive conflagration without feeling the mind filled with imagery and comparisons, drawn from moral and actual life. here, for instance, is a tyrant, in the unrestrained exercise of his power—he now has his enemy in his grip, and hear how he exults; listen to the mirthful and crackling laughter with which the fiendish despot rejoices, as he gains the victory; mark the diabolical gambols with which he sports, and the demon glee with which he performs his capricious but frightful exultations. but the tyrant, after all, will become exhausted—his strength and power will fail him; he will destroy his own subjects; he will become feeble, and when he has nothing further on which to exercise his power, he will, like many another tyrant before him, sink, and be lost in the ruin he has made.
again: would you behold industry? here have its terrible spirits been appointed their tasks. observe the energy, the activity, the persevering fury with which they discharge their separate duties. see how that eldest son of apollyon, with the appetite of hell, licks into his burning maw every thing that comes in contact with his tongue of fire. what quickness of execution, and how rapidly they pass from place to place! how they run about in quest of employment! how diligently and effectually they search every nook and corner, lest anything might escape them! mark the activity with which that strong fellow leaps across, from beam to beam, seizing upon each as he goes. a different task has been assigned to another: he attacks the rafters of the roof—he fails at first, but, like the constrictor, he first licks over his victim before he destroys it—bravo!—he is at it again—it gives way—he is upon it, and about it; and now his difficulties are over—the red wood glows, splits and crackles, and flies off in angry flakes, in order to become a minister to its active and devouring master. see! observe! what business—what a coil and turmoil of industry! every flame at work—no idle hand here—no lazy lounger reposing. no, no—the industry of a hive of bees is nothing to this. running up—running down—running in all directions: now they unite together to accomplish some general task, and again disperse themselves to perform their individual appointments.
but hark! what comes here? room for another element. 'tis the windstorm, that comes to partake in the triumph of the victory which his ministers have assisted to gain. but lo! here he comes in person; and now they unite—or how?—do they oppose each other? here does the windstorm drive back the god of fire from his victim; again the fiery god attempts to reach it; and again he feels that he has met more than his match. once, twice, thrice he has failed in getting at it. but is this conflict real—this fierce battle between the elements? alas, no; they are both tyrants, and what is to be expected?
the wind god, always unsteady, wheels round, comes to the assistance of his opponent, and gives him new courage, new vigor, and new strength. but his inferior ministers must have a share of this dreadful repast. off go a thousand masses of burning material, whirling along. off go the; glowing timbers and rafters, on the wind, by which they are borne in thousands of red meteors across the sky. but hark, again! room for the whirlwind! here it comes, and addresses itself to yon tall and waving pyramid; they embrace; the pyramid is twisted into the figure of a gigantic corkscrew—round they go, rapid as thought; the thunder of the wind supplies them with the appropriate music, and continues until; this terrible and gigantic waltz of the elements is concluded. but now these fearful ravagers are satisfied, because they have nothing more on which they can glut themselves. they appear, however, to be seated. the wind has become low, and is only able to work up a feeble effort at its former strength. the flames, too, are subsiding—their power is gone; occasional jets of fire i come forth, but they instantly disappear. by degrees, and one after another, they vanish. nothing now is visible but smoke, and every thing is considered as over—when lo! like a great general, who has achieved a triumphant victory, it is deemed right to; take a last look at the position of the enemy. up, therefore, starts an unexpected burst of flame—blazes for a while; looks about it, as it were; sees that the victory is complete, and drops down into the darkness from which it came. the conflagration is over; the wind-storm is also appeased. small hollow gusts, amongst the trees and elsewhere, are now all that are heard. by degrees, even these cease; and the wind is now such as it was in the course of the evening, when the elements were comparatively quiet and still.
mr. brown and his friend, mr. hastings, having waited until they saw the last rafter of unfortunate reilly's house and premises sink into a black mass of smoking ruins, turned their steps to the parsonage, which they had no sooner entered than they went immediately to reilly's room, who was still there under concealment. mr. brown, however, went out again and returned with some wine, which he placed upon the table.
“gentlemen,” said reilly, “this has become an awful night; the wind has been tremendous, and has done a good deal of damage, i fear, to your house and premises, mr. brown. i heard the slates falling about in great numbers; and the inmates of the house were, as far as i could judge, exceedingly alarmed.”
“it was a dreadful night in more senses than one,” replied mr. brown.
“by the by,” said reilly, “was there not a fire somewhere in the neighborhood, i observed through the windows a strong light flickering and vibrating, as it were, over the whole country. what must it have been?”
“my dear reilly,” replied mr. brown, “be calm; your house and premises are, at this moment, one dark heap of smouldering ruins.”
“oh, yes—i understand,” replied reilly—“sir robert whitecraft.”
“sir robert whitecraft,” replied mr. brown; “it is too true, reilly—you are now houseless and homeless; and may god forgive him!”
reilly got up and paced the room several times, then sat down, and filling himself a glass of wine, drank it off; then looking at each of them, said, in a voice rendered hoarse by the indignation and resentment which he felt himself compelled, out of respect for his kind friends, to restrain, “gentlemen,” he repeated, “what do you call this”
“malice—persecution—vengeance,” replied mr. brown, whose resentment was scarcely less than that of reilly himself. “in the presence of god, and before all the world. i would pronounce it one of the most diabolical acts ever committed in the history of civil society. but you have one consolation, reilly; your money and papers are safe.”
“it is not that,” replied reilly; “i think not of them. it is the vindictive and persecuting spirit of that man—that monster—and the personal motives from which he acts, that torture me, and that plant in my heart a principle of vengeance more fearful than his. but you do not understand me, gentlemen; i could smile at all he has done to myself yet. it is of the serpent-tooth which will destroy the peace of others, that i think. all these motives being considered, what do you think that man deserves at my hand?”
“my dear reilly,” said the clergyman, “recollect that there is a providence; and that we cannot assume to ourselves the disposition of his judgments, or the knowledge of his wisdom. have patience. your situation is one of great distress and almost unexampled difficulty. at all events, you are, for the present, safe under this roof; and although i grant you have much to suffer, still you have a free conscience, and, i dare say, would not exchange your position for that of your persecutor.”
“no,” said reilly; “most assuredly not—most assuredly not; no, not for worlds. yet is it not strange, gentlemen, that that man will sleep sound and happily to-night, whilst i will lie upon a bed of thorns?”
at this moment mrs. brown tapped gently at the door, which was cautiously opened by her husband.
“john,” said she, “here is a note which i was desired to give to you without a moment's delay.”
“thank you, my love; i will read it instantly.”.
he then bolted the door, and coming to the table took up one of the candles and read the letter, which he handed to mr. hastings. now we have already stated that this gentleman, whilst looking on at the destruction of reilly's property, never once opened his lips. neither did he, from the moment they entered reilly's room. he sat like a dumb man, occasionally helping himself to a glass of wine. after having perused the note he merely nodded, but said not a word; he seemed to have lost the faculty of speech. at length mr. brown spoke:
“this is really too bad, my dear reilly; here is a note signed h.f., which informs me that your residence, concealment, or whatever it is, has been discovered by sir robert whitecraft, and that the military are on their way here to arrest you; you must instantly fly.”
hastings then got up, and taking reilly's hand, said:
“yes, reilly, you must escape—disguise yourself—take all shapes—since you will not leave the country; but there is one fact i wish to impress upon you: meddle not with—injure not—sir robert whitecraft. leave him to me.”
“go out by the back way,” said mr. brown, “and fly into the fields, lest they should surround the house and render escape impossible. god bless you and preserve you from the violence of your enemies!”
it is unnecessary to relate what subsequently occurred. mr. brown's premises, as he had anticipated, were completely surrounded ere the party in search of reilly had demanded admittance. the whole house was searched from top to bottom, but, as usual, without success. sir robert whitecraft himself was not with them, but the party were all but intoxicated, and, were it not for the calm and unshrinking firmness of mr. brown, would have been guilty of a very offensive degree of insolence.
reilly, in the meantime, did not pass far from the house. on the contrary, he resolved to watch from a safe place the motions of those who were in pursuit of him. in order to do this more securely, he mounted into the branches of a magnificent oak tree that stood in the centre of a field adjoining a kind of back lawn that stretched from the walled garden of the parsonage. the fact is, that the clergyman's house had two hall-doors—one in front, and the other in the rear—and as the rooms commanded a view of the scenery behind the house, which was much finer than that in front, on this account the back hall-door was necessary, as it gave them a free and easy egress to the lawn we have mentioned, from which a magnificent prospect was visible.
it was obvious that the party, though unsuccessful, had been very accurately informed. finding, however, that the bird had flown, several of them galloped across the lawn—it was a cavalry party, having been sent out for speed and passed into the field where the tree grew in which reilly was concealed. after a useless search, however, they returned, and pulled up their horses under the oak.
“well,” said one of them, “it's a dear case that the scoundrel can make himself invisible. we have orders from sir eobert to shoot him, and to put the matter upon the principle of resistance against the law, on his side. sir robert has been most credibly informed that that disloyal parson has concealed him in his house for nearly the last month. now who could ever think of looking for a popish rebel in the house of a protestant parson? what the deuce is keeping those fellows? i hope they won't go too far into the country.”
“any man that says mr. brown is a disloyal parson is a liar,” said one of them in a stem voice.
“and i say,” said another, with a hiccough, “that, hang me, but i think this same reilly is as loyal a man as e'er a one amongst us. my name is george johnston, and i'm not ashamed of it; and the truth is, that only miss folliard fell in love with reilly, and refused to marry sir robert, reilly would have been a loyal man still, and no ill-will against him. but, by —- it was too bad to burn his house and place—and see whether sir robert will come off the better of it. i myself am a good protestant—show me the man that will deny that, and i'll become his schoolmaster only for five minutes. i do say, and i'll tell it to sir robert's face, that there's something wrong somewhere. give me a papish that breaks the law, let him be priest or layman, and i'm the boy that will take a grip of him if i can get him. but, confound me, if i like to be sent out to hunt innocent, inoffensive papishes, who commit no crime except that of having property that chaps like sir robert have their eye on. now suppose the papishes had the upper hand, and that they treated us so, what would you say?”
“all i can say is,” replied another of them, “that i'd wish to get the reward.”
“curse the reward,” said johnston, “i like fair play.”
“but how did sir robert come to know?” asked another, “that reilly was with the parson'?”
“who the deuce here can tell that?” replied several.
“the thing was a hoax,” said johnston, “and a cursed uncomfortable one for us. but here comes these fellows, just as they went, it seems. well, boys, no trail of this cunning fox?”
“trail!” exclaimed the others. “gad, you might as well hunt for your grandmother's needle in a bottle of straw. the truth is, the man's not in the country, and whoever gave the information as to the parson keeping him was some enemy of the parson's more than of reilly's, i'll go bail. come, now, let us go back, and give an account of our luck, and then to our barracks.”
now at this period it was usual for men who were prominent for rank and loyalty, and whose attachment to the constitution and government was indicated by such acts and principles as those which we have hitherto read in the life of sir robert. whitecraft—we say, it was usual for such as him to be allowed a small detachment of military, whose numbers were mostly rated, according to the services he required of them, by the zeal and activity of their employer, as well as for his protection; and, in order to their accommodation, some uninhabited house in the neighborhood was converted into a barrack for the purpose. such was the case in the instance of sir robert whitecraft, who, independently of his zeal for the public good, was supposed to have an eye in this disposition of things, to his own personal safety. he consequently, had his little barrack so closely adjoining his house that a notice of five minutes could at any time have its inmates at his premises, or in his presence.
after these men went away, reilly, having waited a few minutes, until he was satisfied that they had actually, one and all of them, disappeared, came down from the tree, and once more betook himself to the road. whither to go he knew not. in consequence of having received his education abroad, his personal knowledge of the inhabitants belonging to the neighborhood was very limited. go somewhere, however, he must. accordingly, he resolved to advance, at all events, as far as he might be able to travel before bed-time, and then resign himself to chance for a night's shelter. one might imagine, indeed, that his position as a wealthy roman catholic gentleman, suffering persecution from the tool and scourge of a hostile government, might have calculated upon shelter and secrecy from those belonging to his own creed. and so, indeed, in nineteen cases out of twenty he might; but in what predicament should he find himself if the twentieth proved treacherous? and against this he had no guarantee. that age was peculiarly marked by the foulest personal perfidy, precipitated into action by rapacity, ingratitude, and the blackest ambition. the son of a roman catholic gentleman, for instance, had nothing more to do than change his creed, attach himself to the government, become a spy and informer on his family, and he ousted his own father at once out of his hereditary property—an ungrateful and heinous proceeding, that was too common in the time of which we write. then, as to the people themselves, they were, in general, steeped in poverty and ignorance, and this is certainly not surprising when we consider that no man durst educate them. the government rewards, therefore, assailed them with a double temptation. in the first, the amount of it—taking their poverty into consideration—was calculated to grapple with and overcome their scruples; and in the next, they were certain by their treachery to secure the protection of government for themselves.
such, exactly, was the state of the country on the night when reilly found himself a solitary traveller on the road, ignorant of his destiny, and uncertain where or in what quarter he might seek shelter until morning.
he had not gone far when he overtook another traveller, with whom he entered into conversation.
“god save you, my friend.”
“god save you kindly, sir,” replied the other; “was not this an awful night?”
“if you may say so,” returned reilly unconsciously, and for the moment forgetting himself, “well may i, my friend.”
indeed it is probable that reilly was thrown somewhat off his guard by the accent of his companion, from which he at once inferred that he was a catholic.
“why, sir,” replied the man, “how could it be more awful to you than to any other man?”
“suppose my house was blown down,” said reilly, “and that yours was not, would not that be cause sufficient?”
“my house!” exclaimed the man with a deep sigh; “but sure you ought to know, sir, that it's not every man has a house.”
“and perhaps i do know it.”
“wasn't that a terrible act, sir—the burning of mr. reilly's house and place?”
“who is mr. reilly?” asked the other.
“a catholic gintleman, sir, that the soldiers are afther,” replied the man.
“and perhaps it is right that they should be after him. what did he do? the catholics are too much in the habit of violating the law, especially their priests, who persist in marrying protestants and papists together, although they know it is a hanging matter. if they deliberately put their necks into the noose, who can pity them?”
“it seems they do, then,” replied the man in a subdued voice; “and what is still more strange, it very often happens that persons of their own creed are somewhat too ready to come down wid a harsh word upon 'em.”
“well, my friend,” responded reilly, “let them not deserve it; let them obey the law.”
“and are you, of opinion, sir,” asked the man with a significant emphasis upon the personal pronoun which we have put in italics; “are you of opinion, sir, that obedience to the law is always a security to either person or property?”
the direct force of the question could not be easily parried, at least by reilly, to whose circumstances it applied so powerfully, and he consequently paused for a little to shape his thoughts into the language he wished to adopt; the man, however, proceeded:
“i wonder what mr. reilly would say if such a question was put to him?”
“i suppose,” replied reilly, “he would say much as i say—that neither innocence nor obedience is always a security under any law or any constitution either.”
his companion made no reply, and they walked on for some time in silence. such indeed was the precarious state of the country then that, although the stranger, from the opening words of their conversation, suspected his companion to be no other than willy reilly himself, yet he hesitated to avow the suspicions he entertained of his identity, although he felt anxious to repose the fullest confidence in him; and reilly, on the other hand, though perfectly aware of the true character of his companion, was influenced in their conversation by a similar feeling. distrust it could not be termed on either side, but simply the operation of that general caution which was generated by the state of the times, when it was extremely difficult to know the individual on whom you could place dependence. reilly's generous nature, however, could bear this miserable manoeuvring no longer.
“come, my friend,” said he, “we have been beating about the bush with each other to no purpose; although i know not your name, yet i think i do your profession.”
“and i would hold a wager,” replied other, “that mr. reilly, whose house was burned down by a villain this night, is not a thousand miles from me.”
“and suppose you are right?”
“then, upon my veracity, you're safe, if i am. it would ill become my cloth and character to act dishonorably or contrary to the spirit of my religion.
'non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco.'
you see, mr. reilly, i couldn't make use of any other gender but the feminine without violating prosody; for although i'm not so sharp at my latin as i was, still i couldn't use ignarus, as you see, without fairly committing myself as a scholar; and indeed, if i went to that, it would surely be the first time i have been mistaken for a dunce.”
the honest priest, now that the ice was broken, and conscious that he was in safe hands, fell at once into his easy and natural manner, and rattled away very much to the amusement of his companion. “ah!” he proceeded, “many a character i have been forced to assume.”
“how is that?” inquired reilly. “how did it happen that you were forced into such a variety of characters?”
“why, you see, mr. reilly—troth and maybe i had better not be naming you aloud; walls have ears, and so may hedges. how, you ask? why, you see, i'm not registered, and consequently have no permission from government to exercise my functions.”
“why,” said reilly, “you labor under a mistake, my friend; the bill for registering catholic priests did not pass; it was lost by a majority of two. so far make your mind easy. the consequence is, that if you labor under no ecclesiastical censure you may exercise all the functions of your office—that is, as well as you can, and as far as you dare.”
“well, that same's a comfort,” said the priest; “but the report was, and is, that we are to be registered. however, be that as it may, i have been a perfect proteus. the metamorphoses of ovid were nothing to mine. i have represented every character in society at large; to-day i've been a farmer, and to-morrow a poor man (a mendicant), sometimes a fool—a rare character, you know, in this world—and sometimes a tiddler, for i play a little.”
“and which character did you prefer among them all?” asked reilly, with a smile which he could not repress.
“oh, in troth, you needn't ask that, mr. r.—hem—you needn't ask that. the first morning i took to the fiddle i was about to give myself up to government at once. as for my part, i'd be ashamed to tell you how sent those that were unlucky enough to ear my music scampering across the country.”
“and, pray, how long is that since?”
“why, something better than three weeks, the lord pity me!”
“and what description of dress did you wear on that occasion?” asked reilly.
“dress-why, then, an old yellow caubeen, a blue frieze coat, and—movrone, oh! a striped breeches. and the worst of it was, that big paddy mullin, from mullaghmore, having met me in old darby doyle's, poor man, where i went to take a little refreshment, ordered in something to eat, and began to make me play for him. there was a protestant in the house, too, so that i couldn't tell him who i was, and i accordingly began, and soon cleared the house of them. god bless you, sir, you could little dream of all i went through. i was one day set in the house i was concealed in, in the town of ballyrogan, and only for the town fool, art m'kenna, i suppose i'd have swung before this.”
“how was that?” asked reilly.
“why, sir, one day i got the hard word that they would be into the house where i was in a few minutes. to escape them in my own dress i knew was impossible; and what was to be done? the poor fool, who was as true as steel, came to my relief. 'here,' said he, 'exchange wid me. i'll put on your black clothes, and you'll put on my red ones'—he was dressed like an old soldier—'then i'll take to my scrapers, an' while they are in pursuit of me you can escape to some friend's house, where you may get another dress. 'god knows,' said he, with a grin on him i didn't like, 'it's a poor exchange on my part. you can play the fool, and cock your cap, without any one to ask you for authority,' says he, 'and if i only marry a wrong couple i may be hanged. go off now.' well, sir, out i walked, dressed in a red coat, military hat, white knee-breeches, and black leggings. as i was going out i met the soldiers. 'is the priest inside, art?' they asked. i pointed in a wrong direction. 'up by kilclay?' i nodded. they first searched the house, however, but found neither priest nor fool; only one of them, something sharper than the rest, went out of the back door, and saw unfortunate art, dressed in black, running for the bare life. of course they thought it was me they had. off they started; and a tolerable chase art put them to. at last he was caught, after a run across the country of about four miles; but ne'er a word came out of his lips, till a keen fellow, on looking closely at him, discovered the mistake. some of them were then going to kill the poor fool, but others interfered, and wouldn't allow him to be touched; and many of them laughed heartily when they saw art turned into a clergyman, as they said. art, however, was no coward, and threatened to read every man of them out from the altar. 'i'll exkimnicate every mother's son of you,' said he. 'i'm a reverend clargy; and, by the contents of my soger's cap, i'll close the mouths on your faces, so that a blessed pratie or a boult of fat bacon will never go down one of your villainous throats again; and then,' he added, 'i'll sell you for scarecrows to the pope o' room, who wants a dozen or two of you to sweep out his palace.' it was then, sir, that, while i was getting out of my red clothes, i was transformed again; but, indeed, the most of us are so now, god help us!”
they had now arrived at a narrow part of the road, when the priest stood.
“mr. reilly,” said he, “i am very tired; but, as it is, we must go on a couple of miles further, until we reach glen dhu, where i think i can promise you a night's lodging, such as it will be.”
“i am easily satisfied,” replied his companion; “it would be a soft bed that would win me to repose on this night, at least.”
“it will certainly be a rude and a rough one,” said the priest, “and there will be few hearts there free from care, no more than yours, mr. reilly. alas! that i should be obliged to say so in a christian country.”
“you say you are fatigued,” said reilly. “take my arm; i am strong enough to yield you some support.”
the priest did so, and they proceeded at a slower pace, until they got over the next two miles, when the priest stopped again.
“i must rest a little,” said he, “although we are now within a hundred yards of our berth for the night. do you know where you are?”
“perfectly,” replied reilly; “but, good mercy! sure there is neither house nor home within two miles of us. we are in the moors, at the very mouth of glen dhu.'
“yes,” replied his companion, “and i am glad we are here.”
the poor hunted priest felt himself, indeed, very much exhausted, so much so that, if the termination of his journey had been at a much longer distance from thence, he would scarcely have been able to reach it.
“god help our unhappy church,” said he, “for she is suffering much; but still she is suffering nobly, and with such christian fortitude as will make her days of trial and endurance the brightest in her annals. all that power and persecution can direct against us is put in force a thousand ways; but we act under the consciousness that we have god and truth on our side, and this gives us strength and courage to suffer. and if we fly, mr. reilly, and hide ourselves, it is not from any moral cowardice we do so. it certainly is not true courage to expose our lives wantonly and unnecessarily to the vengeance of our enemies. read the old testament and history, and you will find how many good and pious men have sought shelter in wildernesses and caves, as we have done. the truth is, we feel ourselves called upon, for the sake of our suffering and neglected flocks, to remain in the country, and to afford them all the consolation and religious support in our power, god help them.”
“i admire the justice of your sentiments,” replied reilly, “and the spirit in which they are—expressed. indeed i am of opinion that if those who foster and stimulate this detestable spirit of persecution against you only knew how certainly and surely it defeats their purpose, by cementing your hearts and the hearts of your flocks together, they would not, from principles even of worldly policy, persist in it. the man who attempted to break down the arch by heaping additional weight upon it ultimately found that the greater the weight the stronger the arch, and so i trust it will be with us.”
“it would seem,” said the priest, “to be an attempt to exterminate the religion of the people by depriving them of their pastors, and consequently of their church, in order to bring them to the impression that, upon the principle of any church being better than no church, they may gradually be absorbed into protestantism. this seems to be their policy; but how can any policy, based upon such persecution, and so grossly at variance with human liberty, ever succeed? as it is, we go out in the dead hours of the night, when even persecution is asleep, and administer the consolations of religion to the sick, the dying, and the destitute. now these stolen visits are sweeter, perhaps, and more efficacious, than if they took place in freedom and the open day. again, we educate their children in the principles of their creed, during the same lonely hours, in waste houses, where we are obliged to keep the windows stuffed with straw, or covered with blinds of some sort, lest a chance of discovery might ensue. such is the life we lead—a life of want and misery and suffering, but we complain not; on the contrary, we submit ourselves to the will of god, and receive this severe visitation as a chastisement intended for our good.”
the necessities of our narrative, however, compel us to leave them here for the present; but not without a hope that they found shelter for the night, as we trust we shall be able to show.
