ely because it
comes from me."

"You may be sure I shall not put my father against anything which
would be good for him or Feemy--"

"Well, Mr. Thady, so far so good; and I'm sure you wouldn't; besides,
what I've got to say is greatly to your own advantage."

"Well, Mr. Keegan, out with it."

"Why, you see, Mr. Macdermot,"--and the attorney turned to the
father, who sat poring over the fire, as if he was determined not to
hear a word that passed,--"you see, Mr. Macdermot, Mr. Flannelly is
thinking how much better it would be to settle the affair of this
mortgage out and out. He's getting very old, Mr. Macdermot. Why,
Thady, he's more than thirty years older than your father; and you
see he wants to arrange all his money matters. Between us and the
bedpost, by the by, I wish he didn't think so much of those nephews
of his. However, he wishes the matter settled, and I explained to him
that after knowing one another so long, it wouldn't be fair--though,
for the matter of that, of course it would be fair, but, in fact,
the old man doesn't exactly wish it himself--that is, you know, to
foreclose at once, and sell the estate--"

Here he paused; while Larry merely fidgeted in his chair, and Thady
said, "Well, Mr. Keegan?"

"So, you see, he just wishes the affair to be settled amicably.
I fear, Mr. Thady, your father hasn't just got the amount of the
principal debt."

"Oh! you know that of yourself, Mr. Keegan; you know he hasn't the
interest itself, till I screw it out of them poor devils of tenants."

"Well, Mr. Macdermot, as you haven't the money to pay the principal
debt, of course you can't clear the estate. Why, you see, the
interest amounts to L198 odd shillings a year; and before that's
paid--times is so bad, you see--Mr. Flannelly is obliged--obliged,
in his own defence, you see--to run you to great expense. Well, now,
perhaps you'd say, if Flannelly wants his money at once, you'd borrow
it on another mortgage--that is, sell the mortgage, Mr. Thady; but
money's so scarce these days, and the property is so little improved,
and the tenants so bad, that you couldn't raise the money on it--you
couldn't possibly raise the money on it."

"Why, Mr. Keegan, father pays Mr. Flannelly L5 per cent., and the
property is near to L400 a year, even now."

"Well, of course, if you think so, I wouldn't advise you to the
contrary; only, if so, Mr. Flannelly must foreclose at once, in which
case the property would be sold o