no doubt it’s a fine illigant gintleman he was, and herself a handsome rich young lady, who dared not own me for fear of affronting the rich jintry, her father and mother.  Poor folk, sir, are never ashamed of their children; ’tis all the threasure they have, sir; but my parents were ashamed of me, and they thrust me out to the stranger and the hard bread of depindence.”  The poor lad signed deeply, and I began to feel a growing interest in his sad history.

“Have you been in the country long?”

“Four years, madam.  You know my masther, Mr. F—–­; he brought me out wid him as his apprentice, and during the voyage he trated me well.  But the young men, his sons, are tyrants, and full of durty pride; and I could not agree wid them at all at all.  Yesterday, I forgot to take the oxen out of the yoke, and Musther William tied me up to a stump, and bate me with the raw hide.  Shure the marks are on me showlthers yet.  I left the oxen and the yoke, and turned my back upon them all, for the hot blood was bilin’ widin me; and I felt that if I stayed it would be him that would get the worst of it.  No one had ever cared for me since I was born, so I thought it was high time to take care of myself.  I had heard your name, sir, and I thought I would find you out; and if you want a lad, I will work for you for my kape, and a few dacent clothes.”

A bargain was soon made.  Moodie agreed to give Monaghan six dollars a month, which he thankfully accepted; and I told Bell to prepare his bed in a corner of the kitchen.  But mistress Bell thought fit to rebel.  Having been guilty of one act of insubordination, she determined to be consistent, and throw off the yoke altogether.  She declared that she would do no such thing; that her life and that all our lives were in danger; and that she would never stay another night under the same roof with that Papist vagabond.

“Papist!” cried the indignant lad, his dark eyes flashing fire, “I’m no Papist, but a Protestant like yourself; and I hope a deuced dale better Christian.  You take me for a thief; yet shure a thief would have waited till you were all in bed and asleep, and not stepped in forenint you all in this fashion.”

There was both truth and nature in the lad’s argument; but Bell, like an obstinate woman as she was, chose to adhere to her own opinion.  Nay, she even carried her absurd prejudices so far that she brought her mattress and laid it down on the floor in my room, for fear that the Irish vagabond should murder her during the night.  By the break of day she was off; leaving me for the rest of the winter without a servant.  Monaghan did all in his power to supply her place; he lighted the fires, swept the house, milked the cows, nursed the baby, and often cooked the dinner for me, and endeavoured by a thousand little attentions to show the gratitude he really felt for our kindness.  To little Katie he attached himself in an extraordinary manner.  All his spare