because of her bitterness of tongue-had for many years thought fit to look on Pat with a favor which he was as innocent of holding as he had been of earning, all laughed at the Master's sally, whilst Pat hung his head and blushed. I felt very happy, seeing the happiness of Nuala and the innocent pride of Pat, and the wholehearted gladness of everyone at having such a pretty girl, and bright girl-such a sunny girl, come to live among them, and to cheer Pat's cottage and Pat's life. But my happiness was near taking absolute flight when I saw no other than big Matthew McCourt stride in. I shrank back into the shade, whilst Matt went forward, and softening his gruff manner as best he could, took Nuala's hand in his big, horny paw, and shook it saying, “Ye're hearty welcome, wee wan. May ye live long with us, and every bone in yer body be as soun' sixty years from now as it is the day." He stroked Nuala's head, and backed away to sit down on my knee. And when he found the obstruction he, by my collar, lifted me into the light, as the most convenient way of finding who I was. "Eh! It isn't you, Dinny O'Friel, is it?" I had to admit that it was. Oh, ye natarnal villain ye! Ye scamp of the divil!" and he was shaking me violently. "Haven't ye got anything better to do, nor no school to go to "the murder was out-" only playin' off yer natarnal thricks upon an oul' man and a sore-workin' wan? Troth, yer Masther should be proud of ye-and there he's sittin'!" Nuala was watching my punishment pitifully, so my mortification was much greater than my bodily pain. The Master put his hand on my shoulder, when Matthew had let me go, and sat himself down in my seat. "Dionysius O'Friel," he said, "what has been the depredation which begot in my valued friend Matthew this wrath?" But Matthew himself told the story. And when I not only saw the muscles about the Master's mouth tremble, but saw Nuala look at me and laugh a ringing laugh, I picked up heart, and I smiled tentatively myself. 66 Dionysius, why absented you school today?" asked the Master. Then I trembled, and could not reply. "Did you scheme?" I made no motion for a minute; then I inclined my head. "What tempted your steps aside from the path that leads to lore and my Academy?" he said with severity. I told him truthfully that I had gone to cut diarcan and gather brásna for Corney Higarty. He shook his head sadly, and he said, "To cut diarcan-and to gather brásna-for Corney Higarty! Alas! Alas! 66 Dionysius, why not have ideals, and try faithfully to live up to them? Did you ever hear of Plato, of Julius Cæsar, of Plutarch, of Napoleon Bonaparte, of Virgil, of Solon, of Boethius?" I confessed I had heard of some of them. "And, Dionysius, did you ever in all your life hear-or in all your reading meet with anything to give color to the supposition that Plato ever schemed school to cut diarcan, or Plutarch to gather brásna, or Pliny, or Virgil? Fancy Solon ascending a tree in Eamon's Grove to call cuckoo! to frighten Matthew McCourt! Do you think if Bonaparte and Boethius and Anacreon had gone cutting diarcan for Corney Higarty, and collecting brásna for him, when their Uncle Donal believed them to be under the Master's solicitous care, and their Master labored under the vain delusion that they were being unavoidably detained at home by their Uncle Donal-do you, I say again, think or suppose their names would ever coruscate with that lustre which has lit them down the ages past, and will light them down dim ages to come? And," he said, rising to a climax, "did you ever in all the wide pages of history read of any single mortal that ever won renown, and had his name and his fame bequeathed to all future ages by-collecting brásna and cutting diarcan?" The Widow's Pat, who was very deeply im pressed by the Master's argument, sympathetically whispered in my ear, “O, Dinny, what did I warn ye!" Corney, like the gallant knight he ever was, rushed to my rescue. "Arrah Masther, go aisy with ye!" he said with a shade of sarcasm. "It's little meself knows about most of the lads ye mention (barrin' wan or two), and less I care; but this I'll say, that if they never done worse nor gatherin' brásna, nor committed a greater crime than cuttin' diarcan, or callin' 'Cuckoo!' in Eamon's Grove, they'd have little to be ashamed of; and, moreover, there's men that has cut diarcan and has gathered brásna who wouldn't count it no great honor to sup out of the same side of a stirabout-pot with them. Put that in yer pipe and smoke it." "And," said Nuala gently, patting the back of the Master's hand, " you know it was little Dinny that gathered the lovely Mayflowers, and scattered them at Uncle Pat's door and windows here, while Uncle was away for me. Don't be sore on him." The Master was looking into her pleading eyes, and smiling, as she spoke. "Little Yellow-head," he said, "you are all-persuasive. I shall even pardon his champion Cornelius, who wields the weapon that was never tempered in the stream of Logic." I gave my Uncle Donal an enthusiastic account |