t's no wondher it should. Och, I'd give the world wide that
his conscience was lightened of the load that's upon it! My mother's
lameness is nothin'; but the child, poor thing! An' it was only widin
three days of her lyin'-in. Och, it was a cruel sthroke, father! An'
when I seen its little innocent face, dead an' me widout a brother, I
thought my heart would break, thinkin' upon who did it!" The tears fell
in showers from her eyes, as she added, "Father, I don't want to vex
you; but I wish you to feel sorrow for that at laste. Oh, if you'd bring
the priest, an' give up sich coorses, father dear, how happy we'd be,
an' how happy yourself 'ud be!"

Conscience for a moment started from her sleep, and uttered a cry of
guilt in his spirit; his face became ghastly, and his eyes full of
horror: his lips quivered, and he' was about to upbraid his daughter
with more harshness than usual, when a low whistle, resembling that of
a curlew, was heard at a chink of the door. In a moment he gulped down
another glass of spirits, and was on his feet: "Go, Denis, an' get the
arms," said he to his brother, "while I let them in."

On opening the door, three men entered, having their great coats muffled
about them, and their hats slouched. One of them, named Kenny, was a
short villain, but of a thick-set, hairy frame. The other was known as
"the Big Mower," in consequence of his following that employment every
season, and of his great skill in performing it. He had a deep-rooted
objection against permitting the palm of his hand to be seen; a
reluctance which common fame attributed to the fact of his having
received on that part the impress of a hot iron, in the shape of the
letter T, not forgetting to add, that T was the hieroglyphic for Thief.
The villain himself affirmed it was simply the mark of a cross, burned
into it by a blessed friar, as a charm against St. Vitus's dance,
to which he had once been subject. The people, however, were rather
sceptical, not of the friar's power to cure that malady, but of the
fact of his ever having moved a limb under it; and they concluded with
telling him, good-humoredly enough, that notwithstanding the charm, he
was destined to die "wid the threble of it in his toe." The third was a
noted pedlar called Martin, who, under pretence of selling tape,
pins, scissors, etc., was very useful in setting such premises as this
virtuous fraternity might, without much risk, make a descent upon.

"I thought yez wo