ain stirred her love. She had
endeavoured to send to him when the piece was over; but he was gone,
and she saw him no more.

CHAPTER XX.

BOYCOTTING.

Frank Jones went back to County Galway, having caught a last glimpse
of his lady-love. But his lady-love could not very well make herself
known to him from the stage as she was occupied at the moment with
Trullo. And as he had left the theatre before her message had been
brought round, he did so with a bitter conviction that everything
between them was over. He felt very angry with her,--no doubt
unreasonably. The lady was about to make a pocketful of money; and
had offered to share it with him. He refused to take any part of
it, and declined altogether to incur any of the responsibilities of
marriage for the present. His father's circumstances too were of such
a nature as to make him almost hopeless for the future. What would he
have had her do? Nevertheless he was very angry with her.

As he made his way westward through Ireland he heard more and more of
the troubles of the country. He had not in fact been gone much more
than a week, but during that week sad things had happened. Boycotting
had commenced, and had already become very prevalent. To boycott
a man, or a house, or a firm, or a class of men, or a trade, or a
flock of sheep, or a drove of oxen, or unfortunately a county hunt,
had become an exact science, and was exactly obeyed. It must be
acknowledged that throughout the south and west of Ireland the
quickness and perfection with which this science was understood
and practised was very much to the credit of the intelligence of
the people. We can understand that boycotting should be studied in
Yorkshire, and practised,--after an experience of many years. Laying
on one side for the moment all ideas as to the honesty and expediency
of the measure, we think that Yorkshire might in half a century
learn how to boycott its neighbours. A Yorkshire man might boycott a
Lancashire man, or Lincoln might boycott Nottingham. It would require
much teaching;--many books would have to be written, and an infinite
amount of heavy slow imperfect practice would follow. But County Mayo
and County Galway rose to the requirements of the art almost in a
night! Gradually we Englishmen learned to know in a dull glimmering
way what they were about; but at the first whisper of the word all
Ireland knew how to ruin itself. This was done readily by people of
the poorer class,--