“Good Christians—­This is the day—­howandiver, it’s night now, Glory be to God—­that the angel Lucifer appeared to Shud’orth, Meeshach, an’ To-bed-we-go, in the village of Constantinople, near Jerooslem.  The heavens be praised for it, ‘twas a blessed an’ holy night, an’ remains so from that day to this—­Oxis doxis glorioxis, Amin!  Well, the sarra one of him but appeared to thim at the hour o’ midnight, but they were asleep at the time, you see, and didn’t persave him go—­wid that he pulled out a horn like mine—­an’, by the same token, it’s lucky to wear horns about one from that day to this—­an’ he put it to his lips, an’ tuck a good dacent—­I mane, gave a good dacent blast that soon roused them.  ‘Are yez asleep?’ says he, when they awoke:  ’why then, bud-an’-age!’ says he, ‘isn’t it a burnin’ shame for able stout fellows like yez to be asleep at the hour o’ midnight of all hours o’ the night.  Tare-an’-age!’ says he, ’get up wid yez, you dirty spalpeens!  There’s St. Pathrick in Jerooslem beyant; the Pope’s signin’ his mittimus to Ireland, to bless it in regard that neither corn, nor barley, nor phaties will grow on the land in consequence of a set of varmints called Black-dugs that ates it up; an’ there’s not a glass o’ whiskey to be had in Ireland for love or money,’ says Lucifer.  ‘Get up wid yez,’ says he, ‘an’ go in an’ get his blessin’; sure there’s not a Catholic-in the counthry, barrin’ Swaddlers, but’s in the town by this,’ says he:  ‘ay, an’ many of the Protestants themselves, and the Black-mouths, an’ Blue-bellies, (* Different denominations of Dissenters) are gone in to get a share of it.  And now,’ says he, ’bekase you wor so heavy-headed, I ordher it from this out, that the present night is to be obsarved in the Catholic church all over the world, an’ must be kept holy; an’ no thrue Catholic ever will miss from this pariod an opportunity of bein’ awake at midnight,’ says he, ‘glory be to God!’ An’ now, good Christians, you have an account o’ the blessed Carol I was singin’ for yez.  They’re but hapuns a-piece; an’ anybody that has the grace to keep one o’ these about them, will never meet wid sudden deaths or accidents, sich as hangin’, or drownin’, or bein’ taken suddenly wid a configuration inwardly.  I wanst knew a holy man that had a dhrame—­about a friend of his, it was——­Will any of yez take one?—­

“Thank you, a colleen:  my blessin’, the bless-in’ o’ the pilgrim, be an you!  God bless you, Mike Reillaghan; an’ I’m proud that he put it into your heart to buy one for the rasons you know.  An’ now that Father Hoolaghan’s comin’, any of yez that ’ill want them ’ill find me here agin when mass is over—­Oxis doxis glorioxis, Amin!”

The priest at this time made his appearance, and those who had been assembled on the cross-roads joined the crowd at the chapel.  No sooner was it bruited among them that their pastor had arrived, than the noise, gabble, singing, and laughing were immediately hushed; the shebeen and public-houses were left untenanted; and all flocked to the chapel-green, where mass was to be said, as the crowd was too large to be contained within the small chapel.