his money for the repairs, and he told her that her name
would be put on the top of the subscription list.

"A subscription from Miss M'Hale--L10. A subscription from Miss M'Hale."

Biddy did not answer, and the priest could see that it would give her
no pleasure whatever to subscribe to mending the walls of his church,
and it annoyed him to see her sitting in his own chair stretching out
her hands to take the money back. He could see that her wish to benefit
the church was merely a pretext for the glorification of herself, and
the priest began to argue with the old woman. But he might have spared
himself the trouble of explaining that it was necessary to have a new
church before you could have a window. She understood well enough it
was useless to put a window up in a church that was going to fall down.
But her idea still was St. Joseph in a red cloak and the Virgin in blue
with a crown of gold on her head, and forgetful of everything else, she
asked him whether her window in the new church should be put over the
high altar, or if it should be a window lighting a side altar.

"But, my good woman, ten pounds will not pay for a window. You couldn't
get anything to speak of in the way of a window for less than fifty
pounds."

He had expected to astonish Biddy, but she did not seem astonished. She
said that although fifty pounds was a great deal of money she would not
mind spending all that money if she were to have her window all to
herself. She had thought at first of only putting in part of the
window, a round piece at the top of the window, and she had thought
that that could be bought for ten pounds. The priest could see that she
had been thinking a good deal of this window, and she seemed to know
more about it than he expected. "It is extraordinary," he said to
himself, "how a desire of immortality persecutes these second-class
souls. A desire of temporal immortality," he said, fearing he had been
guilty of a heresy.

"If I could have the whole window to myself, I would give you fifty
pounds, your reverence."

The priest had no idea she had saved as much money as that.

"The hins have been very good to me, your reverence, and I would like
to put up the window in the new church better than in the old church."

"But I've got no money, my good woman, to build the church."

"Ah, won't your reverence go to America and get the money. Aren't our
own kith and kin over there, and aren't they always willing to give us