This employment stirred my blood a little, and I got much lighter.  I could now pay some attention to the scene about me, and the first object that engaged it was a fellow with a hare-lip, who had completely taken the lead at prayer.  The organs of speech seemed to have been transferred from his mouth to his nose, and, although Irish was his vernacular language, either some fool or knave had taught him to say his prayers in English:  and you may take this as an observation founded on fact, that the language which a Roman Catholic of the lower class does not understand, is the one in which it is disposed to pray.  As for him he had lots of English prayers, though he was totally ignorant of that language.  The twang from the nose, the loud and rapid tone in which he spoke, and the malaproprian happiness with which he travestied every prayer he uttered, would have compelled any man to smile.  The priests laughed outright before the whole congregation, particularly one of them, whom I well knew; the other turned his face towards the altar, and leaning over a silver pix, in which, according to their own tenets, the Redeemer of the world must have been at that moment, as it contained the consecrated wafers, gave full vent to his risibility.  Now it is remarkable that no one present attached the slightest impropriety to this—­I for one did not; although it certainly occurred to me with full force at a subsequent period.

When morning came, the blessed light of the sun broke the leaden charm of the prison, and infused into us a wonderful portion of fresh vigor.  This day being the second from our arrival, we had our second station to perform, and consequently all the sharp spikes to re-traverse.  We were not permitted at all to taste food during these twenty-four hours, so that our weakness was really very great.  I beg leave, however, to return my special acknowledgments for the truly hospitable allowance of wine with which I, in common with every other pilgrim, was treated.  This wine is made by filling a large pot with the lake water, and making it lukewarm.  It is then handed round in jugs and wooden noggins—­to their credit be it recorded—­in the greatest possible abundance.  On this alone I breakfasted, dined, and supped, during the second or prison day of my pilgrimage.

At twelve o’clock that night we left prison, and made room for another squadron, who gave us their kennels.  Such a luxury was sleep to me, however, that I felt not the slightest inconvenience from the vermin, though I certainly made a point to avoid the Scotchman and the cripple.  On the following day I confessed; and never was an unfortunate soul so grievously afflicted with a bad memory as I was on that occasion—­the whole thing altogether, but particularly the prison scene, had knocked me up, I could not therefore remember a tithe of my sins; and the priest, poor man, had really so much to do, and was in such a hurry, that he had me clean absolved before I had got half through the preface, or knew what I was about.  I then went with a fresh batch to receive the sacrament, which I did from the hands of the good-natured gentleman who enjoyed so richly the praying talents of the hare-lipped devotee in the prison.