“Well, well, sir,” replied Kelly, who now experienced a community of feeling upon the subject with his Reverence, that instantly threw him into a familiarity of manner which he thought the point between them justified—­“who knows, sir?” said he with a knowing smile, “there’s a good time coming, yer Rev’rence.”

“Ay,” said Father Philemy, “wait till we get once into the Big* House, and if we don’t turn the scales—­if the Established Church doesn’t go down, why, it won’t be our fault.  Now, Kelly, all’s right but the money—­have you brought your dues?”

     * Parliament.  This was written before the passing of
     the Emancipation Bill.

“Here it is, sir,” said Kelly, handing him his dues for the last year.

It is to be observed here, that, according as the penitents went to be examined, or to kneel down to confess, a certain sum was exacted from each, which varied according to the arrears that might have been due to the priest.  Indeed, it is not unusual for the host and hostess, on these occasions, to be refused a participation in the sacrament, until they pay this money, notwithstanding the considerable expense they are put to in entertaining not only the clergy, but a certain number of their own friends and relations.

“Well, stand aside, I’ll hear you first; and now, come up here, you young gentleman, that laughed so heartily a while ago at my joke—­ha, ha, ha!—­come up here, child.”

A lad now approached him, whose face, on a first view, had something simple and thoughtless in it, but in which, on a closer inspection, might be traced a lurking, sarcastic humor, of which his Reverence never dreamt.

“You’re for confession, of course?” said the priest.

“Of coorse,” said the lad, echoing him, and laying a stress upon the word, which did not much elevate the meaning of the compliance in general with the rite in question.

“Oh!” exclaimed the priest, recognizing him when he approached—­“you are Dan Fagan’s son, and designed for the church yourself; you are a good Latinist, for I remember examining you in Erasmus about two years ago—­Quomodo sehabet corpus tuum, charum lignum sacredotis”

“Valde, Domine,” replied the lad, “Quomodo se habet anima tua, charum exemplar sacerdotage, et fulcrum robustissium Ecclesiae sacrosancte?”

“Very good, Harry,” replied his Reverence, laughing—­“stand aside; I’ll hear you after Kelly.”

He then called up a man with a long melancholy face, which he noticed before to have been proof against his joke, and after making two or three additional and fruitless experiments upon his gravity, he commenced a cross fire of peevish interrogatories, which would have excluded him from the “tribunal” on that occasion, were it not that the man was remarkably well prepared, and answered the priest’s questions very pertinently.

This over, he repaired to his room, where the work of absolution commenced; and, as there was a considerable number to be rendered sinless before the hour of dinner, he contrived to unsin them with an alacrity that was really surprising.