hey call by that noble name, to keep it respectable,
procured him this office as a reward for his hypocrisy.

This was the official who startled the inmates of our house of mourning
about five o'clock in the morning, when, thrusting his head inside the
door, he cried out, "A corpse there, eh?"

"The Lord save us! Who are you, or what brings you here this hour o'
night?" said old granny Doherty, suspecting him as "nothing good."

"Like you Irish, allers asking questions," said he, discharging a mass
of tobacco almost in her face. "I am the poormaster; and, having
received a report that there was a dead pauper here, thought I would
have it put out of the way early, before the folks would get up."

"You are a very polite gintleman, God bless you. I hope she won't be
buried so soon. This is not the custom in any Christian country. After
to-morrow will be soon enough. You need not be in a hurry. We expect the
priest here to see to the children, as he has already left some help,
God bless him."

"She must be enterred this morning, having died with the ship fever, I
suppose. The citizens expect me to do my _dooty_; and that I will do, if
the Lord spares me."

"The dickens a ship fever nor no other fever she had; but the poor
woman's heart broke, seeing what she had come to in a strange country,"
said Mrs. Doherty, pityingly.

"Wal, wal, if she had trusted in the Lord, and knew the word of God, he
would not have deserted her as he has," hypocritically answered the
official.

"I beg your pardon, sir, don't judge rashly. She was not deserted by
God, but died content and happy, after all the rites of her holy
religion were administered to her," was the prompt reply.

"You think so; but I want to know how she could love God without the
Bible; and you Roman Catholics are not allowed its use."

"God help those that can't read so," said Mrs. Doherty. "There is no
chance for me or my old man, for neither of us can read it; but not so
Mrs. O'Clery, God be good to her. She had her Bible, and many more good
books."

"Yes, sir," said Paul, joining in the dialogue. "We have always had the
true Catholic Bible, and mother always read it on her knees."

"Wal, my good lad, you are _pooty_ smart; and now get you ready, with
the rest of you little critters, and come on the sleigh I will send for
you. Let's see how many of you there are. One, two, three, four--a great
lot of ye. As I was saying, be ready to come up to the county hous