ree to you as the air you breathe." Such had been the eloquence of
Mr. O'Meagher; and it had stirred the mind of Kit Mooney and made
him feel that life should be recommenced by him under new principles.
Things had not quite gone swimmingly with him since, because Nicholas
Bodkin's agent had caused a sheriff's bailiff to appear upon the
scene, and the notion of keeping the landlord's rent in the pocket
had been found to be surrounded with difficulties. But the great
principle was there, and there had come another eloquent man, who had
also been in America; and Kit Mooney was now a confirmed Landleaguer.

"Faix thin, yer honour, it isn't much hunting the quality will see
this day out of Moytubber; nor yet nowhere round, av the boys are as
good as their word."

"Why should they not hunt at Moytubber?" said Mr. Daly, who, as he
looked around saw indeed ample cause why there should be no hunting.
He had thought as he trotted along the road that some individual
Landleaguer would hold his horse by the rein and cause him to stop
him in the performance of his duty; but there were two hundred
footmen there roaming at will through the sacred precincts of the
gorse, and Daly knew well that no fox could have remained there with
such a crowd around him.

"The boys are just taking their pleasure themselves this fine
Christmas morning," said Kit, who had not moved from the bank on
which he had been found sitting. "Begorra, you'll find 'em all out
about the counthry, intirely, Mr. Daly. They're out to make your
honour welcome. There is lashings of 'em across in Phil French's
woods and all down to Peter Brown's, away at Oranmore. There is not
a boy in the barony but what is out to bid yer honour welcome this
morning."

Kit Mooney could not have given a more exact account of what was
being done by "the boys" on that morning had he owned all those
rich gifts of eloquence which Mr. O'Meagher possessed. Tom Daly at
once saw that there was no need for shooting any culprit, and was
thankful. The interruption to the sport of the county had become much
more general than he had expected, and it was apparently so organised
as to have spread itself over all that portion of County Galway, in
which his hounds ran. "Bedad, Mr. Daly, what Kit says is thrue," said
another man whom he did not know. "You'll find 'em out everywhere.
Why ain't the boys to be having their fun?"

It was useless to allow a hound to go into the covert of Moytubber.
The c