for at this season of the year there was hardly a sufficient depth of water to float a boat of her size if she stuck the party would get into the small boat and thus lightened the might be floated into the other arm of the lake a pleasant day indeed for a sail and in imagination he followed the down the lake past its different castles castle and castle and church island the island on which � the famous poet � had lived it seemed to him strange that he had never thought of visiting the ruined church when he lived close by at the northern end of the lake his time used to be entirely taken up with attending to the wants of his poor people and the first year he spent in he had thought only of the possibility of the government to build a bridge across the strait that bridge was badly wanted all the western side of the lake was cut off from railway communication was the but to get to one had to go round the the lake � lake either by the northern or the southern end and was always a question which was the longer abbey or by the bridge of many people said the southern road was shorter but the difference wasn t more than a mile if that and father preferred the northern road for it took him by his s house and he could always stop there and give his horse a feed and a rest and he liked to the abbey in which he had said mass for so long and in which mass had always been said for a thousand years even since had it the sheltered by an arch the congregation kneeling under the open sky whether it rained or the of the abbey and the of the strait were the two things that the parish was really interested in he had tried when he was in to obtain the s consent and was trying now he did not know that he was succeeding any better and father reflected a while on the peculiar temperament of their and getting down from the rock on which he had been sitting he wandered along the sunny shore thinking of the many letters he had addressed to the board of works on the subject of the bridge the board believed or pretended to believe that the parish could not afford the bridge as well might it be urged that a could not afford without doubt a public meeting should be held and some little indignation father began to think th public opinion should be roused and organized it w for him to do this he was the people s natural leader the lake for many months he had done nothing in the matter why he didn t know himself perhaps he needed a holiday perhaps he no longer believed the government susceptible to public opinion perhaps he had lost faith in the people themselves the people were the same always the people never change only individuals change and at the end of the sandy spit where some pines liad grown and he stood looking across the � very lake wondering if his had begun to the change that had come over him since rose left the parish as her name came into his mind his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices and turning from the lake he saw two wood coming down a little path through the bushes he often hid himself in the woods when he saw somebody coming but he couldn t do so now without betraying his intention and he stayed where he was the women passed on bent under their loads whether they saw him or not he couldn t tell they passed near enough for him to recognize them and he remembered that they were in church the day he had alluded to rose in his sermon a hundred yards farther on the women put down their loads and sat down to rest and father began to think what their conversation might be his habit of wandering away by himself had no doubt been noticed and once it was noticed it would become a topic of conversation and what they are saying now is ah sure he never has been the same man since he preached against the and what should he be doing by the lake if fear that she has the lake made away with herself weren t on his mind perhaps they are right he said to himself and he up the shore hoping that as soon as he was out of sight the women would cease to speak of him and rose all the morning he had been trying to avoid of her but now as he he could not put back the memory of the day he had met her for the first time was in the summer as nearly as possible two years a to day was the of may it was certainly later in the year it must have been in june for the day x very hot and he had been riding fast not wishing to keep s dinner waiting as he pushed his through the gate he saw the great cheery r father peter with a face like an apple walking up down under the reading his and t this moment he could hear his loud rough voice and feel the grasp of his great hand but he was earlier than he expected and father peter said that sign to them when her dinner was ready and they walked in the pleasant shade of the trees it must have been in june for the were in th field opposite in the field known as the priest s field though father peter had never it there had never been such weather in ireland before the sky was like boiled and he remembered how eagerly 