“If you did your duty, you weren’t without a good example, at all events,” replied the priest; “I taught you how to hate the accursed impost—­but at the same time, you know I always told you to make a distinction between the tithes and the—­hem—­”

“An’ what, your reverence?”

“Hem—­why you know, Con, that we’re commanded to love our enemies, and it was upon this ground that I always taught you to make a distinction, as I say, between the tithes and the parsons themselves.  And by the way, now, I don’t know but it would be our duty,” he proceeded, “to render the same parsons, now that they’re suffering, as much good for evil as possible.  It would be punishing the thieves by heaping, as the Scripture says, coals of fire upon their heads.”

“And do you think, your reverence,” replied the other, who was too quick of apprehension not to suspect what the priest was driving at, “do you think that I have been so long listening to your advice, not to know that such a coorse was my duty?”

“That’s the way,” continued the priest, “to punish them like a Christian.”

“Ay, to punish them, your reverence, as you say—­an’ in troth, I’m the man myself that ’ud go any length to do it.”

“But where are you bound to now, Con, and what—­ahem—­what is that you are carrying?” asked the priest.

“Why then, it’s the butt-end of a sack o’ pittities,” replied Con, giving an answer only to the easiest side of the query.

“Well, but who are you bringing them?” he asked again, “because, thank God, there’s not much poverty in this neighborhood at present.”

“Well, then, God forgive me!” replied the other, concealing his benevolence by a grin, which he could not prevent at his own ingenuity, but which he endeavored to conceal as well as he could; “God forgive me! but hearin’ that Goodison the parson here, and his family were in great distress, I thought I might as well have my revenge aginst him, by fetchin’ him a load o’ praties, which is all I can spare the poor ould—­hem—­the heretical ould creature—­and so, says I to myself, it’s a good opportunity of heapin’ the coals upon him that you spoke about, sir.  And upon my conscience, as far as a good weighty butt o’ praties goes, I’ll punish him this very night.”

The priest gave a short hiccup or two, as if laboring under some momentary affection of the throat, which soon extended to the eyes, for with some difficulty he put up his naked hand and wiped away a kind of moisture, that in ordinary cases would have very much resembled tears.

“Ah, I see, Con!” he said, after clearing his throat a little, “you had a grudge against him like myself, and you determined to—­ay—­just so—­you see, Con, here’s the way of it; he didn’t visit me yet since I came to the parish—­do you understand?—­and I tell you, flesh or blood couldn’t overlook such a slight; so I’m glad, at all events, that you had the spirit to follow my advice—­for