After dinner to-night Mr. Tener gave me some interesting and edifying accounts of his experience in other parts of Ireland.

Some time ago, before the Plan of Campaign was adopted, one of his tenants in Cavan came to him with a doleful story of the bad times and the low prices, and wound up by saying he could pay no more than half a year’s rent.

“Now his rent had been reduced under the Land Act,” said Mr, Tener, “and I had voluntarily thrown off a lot of arrears, so I looked at him quietly and said, ’Mickey, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.  You have been very well treated, and you can perfectly well pay your rent.  Your wife would be ashamed of you if she knew you were trying to get out of it.’”

“Ah no, your honour!” he briskly replied; “indade she would approve it.  If you won’t discover on me, I’ll tell you the truth.  It was the wife herself, she’s a great schollard, and reads the papers, that tould me not to pay you more than half the rent—­for she says there’s a new Act coming to wipe it all out.  Will you take the half-year?”

“No, I will not.  Don’t be afraid of your wife, but pay what you owe, like a man.  You’ve got the money there in your pocket.”

This was a good shot.  Mickey couldn’t resist it, and his countenance broke into a broad smile.

“Ah no!  I’ve got it in two pockets.  Begorra, it was the wife herself made up the money in two parcels, and she put one into each pocket, to be sure—­and I wasn’t to give your honour but one, if you would take it.  But there’s the money, and I daresay it’s all for the best.”

On another occasion, when he was collecting the rents of a property in the county of Longford, one tenant came forward as the spokesman of the rest, admitted that the rents had been accepted fairly after a reduction under the Land Act, expressed the general wish of the tenants to meet their obligations, and wound up by asking a further abatement, “the times were so bad, and the money couldn’t be got, it couldn’t indeed!”

Mr. Tener listened patiently—­to listen patiently is the most essential quality of an agent in Ireland—­and finally said:—­

“Very well, if you haven’t got the money to pay in full, pay three-quarters of it, and I’ll give you time for the rest.”

“Thank your honour!” said Pat, “and that’ll be thirty pounds—­and here it is in one pound notes, and hard enough to get they are, these times!”

So Mr. Tener took the money, counted the notes twice over, and then, writing out a receipt, handed it to the tenant.

“All right, Pat, there’s your receipt for thirty-nine pounds, and I’m glad to see ten-pound notes going about the country in these hard times!”

By mistake the “distressful” orator had put one ten-pound note into his parcel!  He took his receipt, and went off without a word.  But the combination to get an “abatement” broke down then and there, and the other tenants came forward and put down their money.