These incidents occurred to Mr. Tener himself.  Not less amusing and instructive was a similar mistake on a larger scale made by an over-crafty tenant in dealing with one of Mr. Tener’s friends a few years ago in the county of Leitrim.  This tenant, whom we will call Denis, was the fugleman also of a combination.  He was a cattle dealer as well as a farmer, and having spent a couple of hours in idly eloquent attempts to bring about a general abatement of the rents, he lost his patience.

“Ah, well, your honour!” he said, “I can’t stay here all day talking like these men, I must go to the fair at Boyle.  Will you take a deposit-receipt of the bank for ten pounds and give me the pound change? that’ll just be the nine pounds for the half-year’s rent.  But all the same, yer honour, those men are all farmers, and it’s not out of the farm at all I made the ten pounds, it’s out of the dealing!”

“But you couldn’t deal without a farm, Denis, for the stock,” said the agent, as he glanced at the receipt.  He hastily turned it over, and went on, “Just indorse the receipt, and I’ll consider your proposition.”

The receipt was indorsed, and at once taken off by the agent’s clerk to the bank to bring back pound-notes for it, while the agent quietly proceeded to fill out the regular form of receipt for a full year’s rent, eighteen pounds.  Denis noted what he supposed of course to be the agent’s blunder, but like an astute person held his peace.  The clerk came back with the notes.  Denis took up his receipt, and the agent quietly began handing him note after note across the table.

“But, your honour!” exclaimed Denis, “what on earth are ye giving me all this money for?”

“It’s your change,” said the agent, quite imperturbably.  “You gave me a bank receipt for one hundred pounds.  I have given you a receipt for your full year’s rent, and here are eighty-two pounds in notes, and with it eighteen shillings in silver—­that’s five per cent. reduction.  I would have made it ten per cent., only you were so very sharp, first about not having the money, and then about the full receipt!”

In an instant all eyes were fastened upon Denis.  Ichabod! the glory had departed.  The chorus went up from his disenchanted followers:—­

“Ah, glory be to God, you were not bright enough for the agent, Denis!”

And so that day the agent made a very full and handsome collection—­and there was a slight reduction in the deposit-accounts of the local bank!

In the evening Mr. Tener gave me the details of some cases of direct intimidation with the names of the tenants concerned.  One man, whose farm he visited, told him he had paid his rent not long before to the previous agent.  “Well,” said Mr. Tener, “show me your receipt!” On this the tenant said that he dare not keep the receipt about him, nor even in the house, lest it should be demanded by the emissaries of the League, who went round to keep the tenants up to the “Plan of Campaign,” and that it was hidden in his stable.  And he went out to the stable and brought it in.