“I had been privately told that this tenant would pay; but that he would first produce a doctor’s certificate that his old mother could not be moved.  He did give the Sheriff a carefully worded document to show this, but it was so vague that I objected to its being received by the Sheriff.  Upon this (not before! mark the craft of even a well-disposed Irish tenant in those evil days), I was asked to go into the house.  I went in and entered the parlour.  There the tenant told me he would pay the year’s rent and the costs, amounting to L50.  He had risen from his seat to fetch the money, when, lo!  Father Egan (the priest upon whose head the widow of the murdered Finlay called down the curse of God in the open street of Woodford) appeared in the doorway.  He had come in on a pretence of seeing the old mother of the tenant, who had (for that occasion) taken to her bed.  The bedroom lay beyond the parlour, and was entered from it.  The tenant actually shook with fear as Father Egan passed through, and I thought all hope of a settlement gone, when suddenly the officer of the police came in, passed into the bedroom, and told Father Egan he must withdraw.  This Father Egan refused to do, whereupon the officer said very quietly, ’I shall remove you forthwith if you do not go out quietly.’  Upon this Father Egan hastily left.  The tenant then went into the bedroom and soon reappeared with the L50 in bank-notes, which he paid me.  All this was dramatic enough.  But the comedy was next performed in front of the house, where all could see it, of handing to the Sheriff the alleged doctor’s certificate, and of my saying aloud that ‘in the circumstances’ I had no objection to his receiving it!  After this all the forces proceeded to take their luncheon on the green bank sloping down to the Shannon in front of the farm-house.  There is a fine orchard on the place, and it recalled to me some of the farms I saw in Virginia.

“I had gone into the house again, and was standing near the fire in the kitchen, where some of my escort were taking their luncheon.  It is a large kitchen, and perhaps a dozen people were in it, when in came Father Egan again and called to the tenant Fahey, ’Put out those policemen, and do not suffer one of them to remain.’

“The sergeant instantly said, ’We are here on duty, Father Egan, and if you dare to try to intimidate this tenant, I shall either put you out or arrest you.’

“‘Yes,’ I interposed, looking at the sergeant, ’you are certainly here on duty, and in the name of the law, and it is sad to see a clergyman here in the interest of an illegal, criminal, and rebellious movement, and of the immoral Plan of Campaign.’

“‘Oh!’ exclaimed Father Egan, ’the opinion of the agent of the Marquis of Clanricarde is valuable, truly!’

“‘I give you,’ I said, ’not my opinion, but the opinion of Dr. Healy and Dr. O’Dwyer, bishops of your Church, and men worthy of all respect and reverence.  And I am sorry to know that some ecclesiastics deserve no respect, but that at their doors lies the main responsibility for the misery and the crime which afflict our unhappy country.  I feel sure a just God will punish them in due time.’