The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-07-07

able to drag myself TO Cong, the weary ~
that seems TO have stretched out double sipcss
toes, and dragged them back with me, tk;nS
ing each ono Of them worth gold; for indsas
I'd seen thing done by the boy that sold ;s%
such as III warrant was never done In Ireland
before; there was o crowd Of poor psons
round the scales In the market place, ciamoo,ss
ing to get the first turn I; and when NV tr,s
came the sack was nearly empty. The ho,
that was selling sha shot ont shst nS was left
it, lady, there was one overweight and ~
took it back again and put it into his pookss ~
One potato It's that we've come to in ~.
lond now. to be grndeiDg each other the mat.
"And hope, Mary Joyce, you were ons a. 4
the early comers and secured yOur share. Yo-
must not spend the half Grown gave yon =.
anything bat seed-potatoes for your sasSsn
to give away, can assure you"
The two women looked sheepishly at each
other, and the younger took up the corner of
her head shawl and began to twist it round
az wish had waited till your husband cam.
back, Mary" said Ellen, reproachfully, 81
am afraid you are not to be trusted; how
angry he win be If you have thrown awsv
Well, then, I'LL speak for her." put in Mra.
Kelly, "for it's nothing che need be ashamed
CT she's done; and We won't tell lie about 4
holy thing. We're neghbors, and we agreed
ers and giving ne the money that day. Sure
We said, it's not the potatoes in themselves
thatll be any help to us, it's blessing to keep
them them from .t; tI;o.siDg in the ground we want bs.
money vent to Cong to buy all the potatoes
could for the two of ne, and she with hers set
out on pilgrimage to st. Patrick's Well to
sshst's come there % bless the water @ against aa
the disease. It's only o clip of our gardens
we've been able to plant this year, that's true,
but sure we know that what lie in it is safe
and seeing We ehave not begrudged the holy
will grow quite beyond our hopes, and have
twice ae many roots to them rs If they were
not blessed. Why should not they, since
there's God above allf
I'm afraid you have been deceived, Mrs.
Kelly. He could not be holy man who sold
You the water on such pretenoe; and surely
you know better than to think you can buy .
blessing for money"
"Wonld you have us grudge paying for 1t,
thenf Would we get any good that way at all,
do you think, Miss Eileen, alsuns7 Sure, after
all the destruction we've seen with the pota-
toes, we would not have had the heart to turn
up the ground or put the seed in il We had
not had something beyond the common to
trust to-"
A lecture on right grounds for trust would
have been ill.timed jnst then, even IL Ellsn
bad not the heart to quenoh q hope, however
false in it's foupdatiop, that wss bringing .
little glow of life again into Mary's Waseed
face. She had it on her lips to say, "Don't let
Mr.. Thornley, hear what you have done. or at
least take osre he does mot hear that gave
you the money )" for more than the loss of her
last half crown Ellen grudged to think of the
triumph such an illustration of the folly Of
giving money to the starving people would
enable him to hold over her the next time they
argued the point together. She recollected
herself just in time, however, to change the
words into q request that at least the women
would keep their own counsel, aud not send
their neighbors to waste their last farthing on
the holy mans doubtful wares.
They were ready enough to promise any
thing to psoify her now, and by degrees,
though slowly, the crowd dispersed, the people
moving languidly away towards the scattered
cabins in the valleys and on the hill-sides,
stopping often to rest by the wayside from
sheer weakness. It was long past noon before
the Autter Of the last red pettiooat disappear
ed ct the turn of the winding road, and the
scene became as solitary as when Ellen looked
out over it in the early morning.
tTo be continued.1