stly imposed on you for your
smugglin' and distillin' whiskey--not that I'm runin' down our whiskey,
because it's the best drinkin of that kind we have, and drinks beautiful
as scalhleen, wid a bit of butther and sugar in it--but it's notorious
that you went to Vanston, and offered if he'd get the fine off you,
that you'd give him your vote; an' if that's not sellin' yourself to the
devil, I don't know what is. Judas did the same thing when he betrayed
our Savior--the only difference is--that he got a thirty shilling
note--an' God knows it was a beggarly bargain--when his hand was in he
ought to have done the thing dacent--and you got the fine taken off
you; that's the difference--that's the difference. But there's more to
come--more corruption where that was. Along wid the removal of the fine
you got a better note than Mr. Judas got. Do you happen to know anything
about a fifty pound note cut in two halves? Eh? Am I tickling you? Do
you happen to know anything about that, you traicherous apostate? If
you don't, I do; and plaise God before many hours the public will know
enough of it, too. How dare you, then, polute the house of God, or come
in presence of His Holy altar, wid such a crust of crimes upon your
soul? Can you deny that you entered into a league of hell wid the devil
and Major Vanston, and that you promised him your vote if he'd get the
fine removed?"

"I can," replied Bryan; "there's not one word of truth in it."

"Do you hear that, my friends?" exclaimed the priest; "he calls your
priest a liar upon the altar of the livin' God."

Here M'Mahon was assailed by such a storm of groans and hisses as, to
say the least of it, was considerably at variance with the principles of
religion and the worship of God.

"Do you deny," the priest proceeded, "that you received a bribe of fifty
pounds on the very day you voted? Answer me that."

"I did receive a fifty-pound note in a--"

Further he could not proceed. It was in vain that he attempted to give
a true account of the letter and its enclosure; the enmity was not
confined to either groans or hisses. He was seized upon in the very
chapel, dragged about in all directions, kicked, punched, and beaten,
until the apprehension of having a murder committed in presence of
God's altar caused the priest to interfere. M'Mahon, however, was
ejected from the chapel; but in such a state that, for some minutes, it
could scarcely be ascertained whether he was alive or dead. A