they were bitter _party-men_, being the ringleaders of every quarrel
Which took place between the Catholics and Protestants, or, I should
rather say, between the Orangemen and Whiteboys.

"From the moment Denis attached himself to the Murphys, until the day he
received the beating which subsequently occasioned his death, he never
withdrew from them. He was in all their battles; and in course of
time, induced his relations to follow his example; so that, by general
consent, they were nicknamed 'the Errigle Slashers.' Soon after you left
the country, and went to reside with my uncle, Denis married a daughter
of little Dick Magrath's, from the Race-road, with whom he got a little
money. She proved a kind, affectionate wife; and, to do him justice,
I believe he was an excellent husband. Shortly after his marriage his
father died, and Denis succeeded him in his farm; for you know
that, among the peasantry, the youngest generally gets the landed
property--the elder children being obliged to provide for themselves
according to their ability, as otherwise a population would multiply
upon a portion of land inadequate to its support.

"It was supposed that Kelly's marriage would have been the means of
producing a change in him for the better, but it did not. He was, in
fact, the slave of a low, vain ambition, which constantly occasioned him
to have some quarrel or other on his hands; and, as he possessed great
physical courage and strength, he became the champion of the parish.
It was in vain that his wife used every argument to induce him to
relinquish such practices; the only reply he was in the habit of making,
was a good-humored slap on the back and a laugh, saying,

"'That's it, Honor; sure and isn't that the Magraths, all over, that
would let the manest spalpeen that ever chewed cheese thramp upon them,
without raising a hand in their own defence; and I don't blame you for
being a coward, seeing that you have their blood in your veins--not but
that there ought to be something betther in you, afther all; for it's
the M'Karrons, by your mother's side, that had the good dhrop of their
own in them, anyhow--but you're a Magrath out and out.'

"'And, Denis,' Honor would reply, 'it would be a blessed day for the
parish, if all in it were as peaceable as the same Magraths. There would
be no sore heads, nor broken bones, nor fighting, nor slashing of one
another in fairs and markets, when people ought to be minding their
busine