len what she must do. It so
happened that he had heard only the other day that goat's milk was the
exact equivalent to human, but it was often difficult to procure. "You
will find no difficulty," he said, "at the foot of the Dublin mountains
in procuring goat's milk." His thoughts rushed on, and he remembered
the peasant women. One could easily be found who would put her baby on
goat's milk and come and nurse his child for a few shillings--ten or
fifteen shillings a week; Ellen's beauty was worth a great deal more.
The hands of the clock went on, he had to close his letter and post it;
and no sooner was it posted than he was beset by qualms of conscience.
During the meeting he wondered what Ellen would think of his letter,
and he feared it would shock her and trouble her; for, while
considering the rights of the child, she would remember his admiration
of her.

He passed the following days uneasily, and when the seventh day came he
had no difficulty in imagining Ellen reading his letter, and the scene
he imagined was very like what really happened. His letter troubled
Ellen greatly. She had been thinking only of her baby, she had been
suckling it for several days, and it had given her pleasure to suckle
it. She had not thought of herself at all, and Ned's order that she
should pass her child on to another, and consider her personal charm
for him, troubled her even to tears; and when she told the nurse her
husband's wishes the nurse was sorry that Mrs. Carmady had been
troubled, for she was still very weak. Now the child was crying; Ellen
put it to her little cup-like breast, which was, nevertheless, full of
milk, and it was for the nurse to tell her that a foster-mother could
easily be found in the village; but this did not console her and she
cried very bitterly. The doctor called. He did not think there was
anything strange in Ned's letter. He approved of it! He said that Ellen
was delicate and had nursed her baby long enough, and it appeared that
he had been thinking of recommending a nurse to her, and he spoke of a
peasant woman he had just seen. He spoke with so much assurance that
Ellen was soothed, but he had not left her very long before she felt
that medical opinion would not satisfy her, that she must have
theological opinion as well, and she wrote a letter to Father Brennan
asking him to come down to see her, mentioning that she had had a baby
and could not go to see him. It would be a great relief to her to