Mr. McGloin, the chief grocer and
hardware dealer of Kilbeggan. The terms of this circular seemed to indicate
importance, for it said--'To take into consideration a matter of vital
interest to the society.'

Though only the denizen of a very humble country town, McGloin possessed
certain gifts and qualities which might have graced a higher station. He
was the most self-contained and secret of men; he detected mysterious
meanings in every--the smallest--event of life; and as he divulged none of
his discoveries, and only pointed vaguely and dimly to the consequences, he
got credit for the correctness of his unuttered predictions as completely
as though he had registered his prophecies as copyright at Stationers'
Hall. It is needless to say that on every question, religious, social, or
political, he was the paramount authority of the town. It was but rarely
indeed that a rebellious spirit dared to set up an opinion in opposition to
his; but if such a hazardous event were to occur, he would suppress it with
a dignity of manner which derived no small aid from the resources of a
mind rich in historical parallel; and it was really curious for those who
believe that history is always repeating itself, to remark how frequently
John McGloin represented the mind and character of Lycurgus, and how often
poor old, dreary, and bog-surrounded Moate recalled the image of Sparta and
its 'sunny slopes.'

Now, there is one feature of Ireland which I am not quite sure is very
generally known or appreciated on the other side of St. George's Channel,
and this is the fierce spirit of indignation called up in a county
habitually quiet, when the newspapers bring it to public notice as the
scene of some lawless violence. For once there is union amongst Irishmen.
Every class, from the estated proprietor to the humblest peasant, is loud
in asserting that the story is an infamous falsehood. Magistrates, priests,
agents, middlemen, tax-gatherers, and tax-payers rush into print to abuse
the 'blackguard'--he is always the blackguard--who invented the lie;
and men upwards of ninety are quoted to show that so long as they could
remember, there never was a man injured, nor a rick burned, nor a heifer
hamstrung in the six baronies round! Old newspapers are adduced to show
how often the going judge of assize has complimented the grand-jury on the
catalogue of crime; in a word, the whole population is ready to make oath
that the county is little short of a