ause, being somewhat of a belle, she was
unaccustomed to uncomplimentary criticisms and much affronted by them.
Furthermore, for the same reason, she escorted Annie home, and stayed so
long talking, that Joe before she returned had to go off about his
milking, which annoyed him a good deal.

However, he had quite forgotten his vexation next morning, as he hurried
through his early tasks with a day's pleasuring before him. He worked at
the Kellys', whose land is bounded north and south by the Junction lane
and the sea; and as he walked about the fresh April fields he was in
view of Howth, dark pansy-purple against the eastern amber, confronting
the sweep of the Dublin mountains, outlined in wild hyacinth-coloured
mist, across the dancing silver of the bay. The calves had been fed so
expeditiously that Joe found he could spare time to stop at the starred
bank under the hedge and pick a bunch of primroses, some of which
Nelly's mother would proudly keep in a jam-pot on the window-stool,
while Nelly herself might like to wear a few at the circus, brightening
up her brown-striped shawl.

But when he was compressing a thick sheaf of the cool soft stalks in one
hard hand, he chanced to look up, and saw what thrilled him with dismay.
Bobbing along over the jagged edge of the wall, a short way down the
lane went a gleaming white object, which he at once recognised as
Nelly's new hat. He ran aghast to look through the gate, and despite
intercepting road-curves and obstructive hedges, the hat it unmistakably
was, making for the Junction station. So Nelly, intending a serious
quarrel, had thrown him over and joined the Rathbeg party. A pleasure,
hoarded in anticipation for many a month, shrivelled into dead leaves
suddenly like fairy gold, as he perceived how certainly this must be the
case.

His first angry impulse was a resort to Haskin's Public at Portbrendan,
where he might spend his spoilt holiday taking drinks and making bets in
the society of some cronies. What hindered him from immediately acting
upon it was a compunctious forecast of the concern which would prevail
in his family, if he absented himself contrary to expectation. "There's
me mother's never aisy," he reflected, "unless she's persuadin' herself
some of us are kilt on her." This made him resolve to postpone
Portbrendan till after breakfast, and he turned lothfully homewards. As
he passed along the Kellys' yard-wall, he relieved his feelings by
tossing his nos