your duty? Aren't you wet to the skin a'most every Sunday? Oh, God is good to you! to put you in mind of your duty, giving you such bitther cowlds that you are coughing and sneezin' every Sunday to that degree that you can't hear the blessed mass for a comfort and a benefit to you; and so you'll go on sneezin' until you put a good thatch on the place, and prevent the appearance of the evidence from Heaven against you every Sunday, which is condemning you before your faces, and behind your backs, too, for don't I see this minnit a strame o' wather that might turn a mill running down Micky Macavoy's back, between the collar of his coat and his shirt?”

Here a laugh ensued at the expense of Micky Macavoy, who certainly was under a very heavy drip from the imperfect roof.

"And is it laughing you are, you haythens?" said Father Phil, reproving the merriment which he himself had purposely created, that he might reprove it. "Laughing is it you are, at your backslidings and insensibility to the honor of God-laughing because when you come here to be saved, you are lost entirely with the wet; and how, I ask you, are my words of comfort to enter your hearts when the rain is pouring down your backs at the same time? Sure I have no chance of turning your hearts while you are under rain that might turn a mill— but once put a good roof on the house, and I will inundate you with piety! Maybe it's Father Dominick you would like to have coming among you, who would grind your hearts to powdher with his heavy words." (Here a low murmur of dissent ran through the throng.) "Ha! ha! so you would n't like it, I see very well, very well, take care, then, for if I find you insensible to my modcrate reproofs, you hard-hearted haythens, you malefac

thors and cruel persecuthors, that won't put your hands in your pockets because your mild and quiet poor fool of a pasthor has no tongue in his head! I say, your mild, quiet, poor fool of a pasthor, (for I know my own faults. partly, God forgive me!) and I can't spake to you as you deserve, you hard-living vagabonds, that are as insensible to your duties as you are to the weather. I wish it was sugar or salt that you were made of, and then the rain might melt you if I could n't; but no, them naked rafthers grins in your face to no purpose-you chate the house of God—but take care, maybe you won't chate the Divil so aisy." (Here there was a sensation.) "Ha! ha! that makes you open your ears, does it? More shame for you; you ought to despise that dirty enemy of man, and depend on something better-but I see I must call you to a sense of your situation with the bottomless pit undher you, and no roof over you. Oh dear! dear! dear! I'm ashamed of you—throth, if I had time and sthraw enough, I'd rather thatch the place myself than lose my time talking to you; sure the place is more like a stable than a chapel. Oh, think of that!-the house of God to be like a stable-for though our Redeemer was born in a stable, that is no reason why you are to keep his house always like one.

"And now I will read you the list of subscribers, and it will make you ashamed when you hear the names of several good and worthy Protestants in the parish, and out of it, too, who have given more than the Catholics."

He then proceeded to read the following list, which he interlarded copiously with observations of his own; making viva voce marginal notes as it were upon the subscribers, which were not unfrequently answered by the persons so noticed, from the body of the chapel, and laughter was often the consequence of these rejoinders,

which Father Phil never permitted to pass without a retort. Nor must all this be considered in the least irreverent. A certain period is allowed between two particular portions of the mass, when the priest may address his congregation on any public matter, an approaching pattern, or fair, or the like, in which exhortations to propriety of conduct, or warnings against factions, fights, etc., are his themes. Then only they listen in reverence. But when a subscription for such an object as that already mentioned is under discussion, the flock consider themselves entitled to "put in a word" in case of necessity. This preliminary hint is given to the reader, that he may better enter into the spirit of Father Phil's

SUBSCRIPTION LIST

For the Repairs and Enlargement of Ballysloughgutthery

Chapel.

PHILIP BLAKE, P. P. Micky Hicky, £0 78. 6d. "He might as well have made it ten shillings; but half a loaf is better than no bread."

"Plaze your reverence," says Mick, from the body of the chapel, "sure seven and sixpence is more than the half of ten shillings." (A laugh.)

"Oh, how witty you are! Faith, if you knew your prayers as well as your arithmetic, it would be betther for you, Micky."

66

Here the father turned the laugh against Mick. Billy Riley, £0 3s. 4d. "Of course he means to subscribe again."

John Dwyer, £0 158. Od.

"That's something like!

I'll be bound he's only keeping back the odd five shillings for a brush full o' paint for the althar; it's as black as a crow, instead o' being as a dove."

He then hurried over rapidly some small subscriber as follows:

Peter Hefferman, £0 1s. 8d.
James Murphy, £0 28. 6d.
Mat Donovan, £0 18. 3d.
Luke Dannely, £0 3s. Od.
Jack Quigley, £0 2s. 1d.

Pat Finnegan, £0 28. 2d.

EDWARD O'CONNOR, Esq., £2 08. Od. "There's for you! Edward O'Connor, Esq.-a Protestant in the parish -two pounds."

"Long life to him," cried a voice in the chapel.

"Amen!" said Father Phil; "I'm not ashamed to be clerk to so good a prayer."

Nicholas Fagan, £0 2s. 6d.

Young Nicholas Fagan, £0 5s. Od.

betther than owld Nick, you see."

Tim Doyle, £0 7s. 6d.

"Young Nick is

Owny Doyle, £1 08. Od. "Well done, Owny na Coppal-you deserve to prosper, for you make good use of your thrivings."

Simon Leary, £0 2s. 6d.; Bridget Murphy, £0 10s. Od. "You ought to be ashamed o' yourself, Simon; a lone widow woman gives more than you.”

Simon answered, "I have a large family, sir, and she has no childers."

"That's not her fault," said the priest-" and maybe she 'll-mend o' that yet." This excited much merriment, for the widow was buxom, and had recently buried an old husband, and by all accounts was cocking her cap at a handsome young fellow in the parish.

Jude Moylan, £0 5s. Od. “Very good, Judy; the women are behaving like gentlemen; they'll have their reward in the next world."

Pat Finnerty, £0 88. 4d.

"I'm not sure if it is 88. 4d. or 38. 4d., for the figure is blotted, but I believe it is 88. 4d."

"It was three and fourpince I gave your reverence," said Pat, from the crowd.

"Well, Pat, as I said eight and fourpence, you must not let me go back o' my word, so bring me five shillings next week."

"Sure, you would n't have me pay for a blot, sir?" "Yis, I would-that's the rule of backmannon, you know, Pat. When I hit the mark you pay for it."

Here his reverence turned round, as if looking for some one, and called out, "Rafferty! Rafferty! Rafferty! where are you, Rafferty?"

An old gray-headed man appeared, bearing a large plate, and Father Phil continued

"There now, be active-I'm sending him among you, good people, and such as cannot give as much as you would like to be read before your neighbors, give what little you can towards the repairs, and I will continue to read out the names by way of encouragement to you, and the next name I see is that of Squire Egan. Long life to him!"

SQUIRE EGAN, £5 0s. Od. "Squire Egan-five pounds -listen to that-a Protestant in the parish-five pounds! Faith, the Protestants will make you ashamed of yourselves if you don't take care.”

Mrs. Flanagan, £2 0s. Od. "Not her own parish, either. A fine lady."

James Milligan, of Roundtown, £1 08. Od. "And here I must remark that the people of Roundtown haven't been backward in coming forward on this occasion. I have a list from Roundtown-I will read it separate." He then proceeded at a great pace, jumbling the town