as a man, in Ireland the priestly office
invests the man with a character entirely different from his own, and
covers everything. These poor folks felt the pinch of hard times, and
the agitators, backed by their Church, saw their opportunity and
commenced to use it. Hence the Kerry moonlighters, poor fellows,
fighting in their rude and uncouth way for what they believed to be
patriotism and freedom. They should be pitied rather than blamed, for
they were assuredly acting up to their light, and upon the advice of
men they had from childhood been taught to regard as wise, sincere,
and disinterested counsellors.

"Ah me, what terrible times we had in Cork! Belfast may boast, but
Belfast is not in it. We were in the centre of the fire. The
shopkeepers of Patrick Street deserve the fullest recognition from the
British nation. They had to furnish juries to well and truly try the
moonlighters of Kerry, Clare, and several other counties. They sat for
eight months, had to adjourn over Christmas, and those men returned
true bills at the peril of their lives. The venue was changed to Cork
for all these counties, and every man jack of the jury knew full well
that any day some fanatic friend of the convicted men might shoot or
stab him in the street. The loyalty of Belfast is all the talk, but it
has never undergone so severe a test. There the Loyalists have it all
their own way. Here the Loyalists, instead of being three to one, are
only one to three. The Ulstermen are the entrenched army; the Cork
Unionists are the advanced picket. More judges got promotion from Cork
than elsewhere. We changed the barristers' silk to ermine, too. All
this shows what we went through. Everything is quiet now; Balfour
terrified the life out of them, and Captain Moonlight at the mention
of that name would skip like spring-heeled Jack."

The Kerry folks turned out bright as their reputation. It was hard to
believe that these simple, kindly peasants had ever stained their
beautiful pastoral country with the bloodiest, cruellest deeds of
recent times. They have a polite, deferential manner without
servility, and a pious way of interpolating prayer and thanksgiving
with their ordinary conversation.

"Good morning, Sir."

"Good mornin', an' God save ye, Sorr."

"Fine weather."

"'Tis indeed foine weather, glory be to God."

"Nice country."

"Troth, it is a splindid country. The Lord keep us in it."

A prosperous-looking shop with a portly perso