are, ma'am, if he was your father. I know he is ignorant or
malicious, either one or the other, or maybe both, or he would not speak
of the Catholic Church as he does. Oh, dear," she cried, bursting into
tears of anger, "what a 'free country' it is! The Protestants in Ireland
were decent. They came, attended by the peelers, to their tenants,
telling them they must conform to the will of the landlord, or quit
their homes; but here ye say all religions are equal, and yet ye try to
compel us to go to listen to low, ignorant preachers, who know they are
lying about the Church of Christ. Ye want us to change the religion of
St. Patrick and of the martyrs for such ridiculous churches as ye have
here. Oh, dear! oh, dear!" said the poor girl, as she contrasted her
present situation with what it was when she was at home at her father's,
where she heard Mass daily, and knew not what it was to suffer
persecution for conscience' sake.

While scenes such as we have here described were taking place in the
farmers' houses, and such scenes are not occasional nor unusual, all was
busy preparation at the shanties. The largest shanty in the "patch" was
cleared of all sorts of lumber. Forms, chairs, tables, pots, flour and
beef barrels, molasses casks, and other necessary stores were all put
outside doors. The walls, if so we can call them, of the shanty, were
then hung round with newspapers, white linen tablecloths, and other
choice tapestry, while a good large shawl, spread in front of the altar,
served as a carpet on which his reverence was to kneel and stand while
officiating. Green boughs were cut in a neighboring wood lot and planted
around the entrance by the men, while around the altar and over it were
wreaths of wild flowers and blossoms, gathered by the little girls of
the "patch" in the adjacent meadows, in order to prepare a decent place
for the holy Mass. At an early hour the priest made his appearance, and
was very much pleased to see the transformation which the piety of
these poor, hard-working people wrought in the appearance of the humble
shanty. For fifteen miles along the line the crowds were gathering, and
the works were suspended for the day. The overseers and contractors, to
do them justice, had no objection to this occasional interruption of
their profits. At all events, they knew it was a holy day; and even
they, with all their irresponsible control over their men, had ample
proof that, even in the wild deserts and