was a thin, bigoted
Protestant, of that kind which used to be common in Ireland. Mr.
Armstrong was a gentleman, who held it to be an established fact
that a Roman Catholic must necessarily go to the devil. In all the
moralities he was perfect. He was a married man, with a wife and
six children, all of whom he brought up and educated on L250 a year.
He never was in debt; he performed all his duties--such as they
were--and passed his time in making rude and unavailing attempts to
convert his poorer neighbours. There was a union,--or poor-house--in
the neighbourhood, to which he would carry morsels of meat in his
pocket on Friday, thinking that the poor wretches who had flown in
the face of their priest by eating the unhallowed morsels, would then
have made a first step towards Protestantism. He was charitable, with
so little means for charity; he was very eager in his discourses,
in the course of which he would preach to a dozen Protestants for
three-quarters of an hour, and would confine himself to one subject,
the iniquities of the Roman Catholic religion. He had heard of
Florian's perversion, and had made it the topic on which he had
declaimed for two Sundays. He had attempted to argue with Father
Brosnan, but had been like a babe in his hands. He ate and drank of
the poorest, and clothed himself so as just to maintain his clerical
aspect. All his aspirations were of such a nature as to entitle him
to a crown of martyrdom. But they were certainly not of a nature to
justify him in expecting any promotion on this earth. Such was Mr.
Joseph Armstrong, of Headford, and from him no aid, or counsel, or
pleasant friendship could be expected in this matter.

The trouble of Florian's education fell for the nonce into Edith's
hands. He had hitherto worked under various preceptors; his father,
his sister, and his brother; also a private school at Galway for a
time had had the charge of him. But now Edith alone undertook the
duty. Gradually the boy began to have a way of his own, and to tell
himself that he was only bound to be obedient during certain hours of
the morning. In this way the whole day after twelve o'clock was at
his own disposal, and he never told any of the family what he then
did. Peter, the butler, perhaps knew where he went, but even to Peter
the butler, the knowledge was a trouble; for Peter, though a stanch
Roman Catholic, was not inclined to side with anyone against his own
master. Florian, in truth, did see