still unbroken, and I
said that the inhabitants must have left voluntarily.

"Sure they did. Arn't we all going to America."

"Then it was not the landlord?"

"Ah, it's the landlord who'd have them back if he could."

"And the priest? How does he get his dues?"

"Those on the other side are always sending their money to their
friends and they pay the priest. Sure why should we be staying? Isn't
the most of us over there already. It's more like going home than
leaving home."

I told him we hoped to establish new looms in the country, and that
Father O'Hara had promised to help us.

"Father O'Hara is a great man," he said.

"Well, don't you think that with the revival of industries the people
might be induced to stay at home?"

"Sorra stay," said he.

I could see that he was not so convinced about the depopulation of
Father O'Hara's parish as he was about Father Madden's, and I tried to
induce him to speak his mind.

"Well, your honour, there's many that think there's a curse on the
parish."

"A curse! And who put the curse on the parish?"

"Isn't that the bell ringing for Mass, your honour?"

And listening I could head a doleful pealing in the grey sky.

"Does Father Madden know of this curse?"

"Indeed he does; none better."

"And does he believe in it?"

"There's many who will tell you that he has been saying Masses for the
last ten years, that the curse may be taken off the parish."

We could now hear the bell tolling quite distinctly, and the driver
pointed with his whip, and I could see the cross above the fir-trees.

"And there," he said, "is Bridget Coyne," and I saw a blind woman being
led along the road. At the moment I supposed he had pointed the woman
out because she was blind, though this did not seem a sufficient reason
for the note of wonder in his voice; but we were within a few yards of
the chapel and there was no time to ask him who Bridget Coyne was. I
had to speak to him about finding stabling for the horse. That, he
said, was not necessary, he would let the horse graze in the
chapel-yard while he himself knelt by the door, so that he could hear
Mass and keep an eye on his horse. "I shall want you half an hour after
Mass is over." Half an hour, I thought, would suffice to explain the
general scope of our movement to Father Madden. I had found that the
best way was to explain to each priest in turn the general scope of the
movement, and then to pay a second visit a few weeks l