he end of the bed-post. 'You'll be tired now,' he
went on, 'so it's time we were sleeping; and, I humbly beg your
pardon, might I ask your name?' I told him.

'Well, good night so,' he said, 'and may you have a good sleep your
first night in this island.'

Then he put out the candle and we settled to sleep. In a few minutes
I could hear that he was in his dreams, and just as my own ideas
were beginning to wander the house door opened, and the son of the
place, a young man of about twenty, came in and walked into our
room, close to my bed, with another candle in his hand. I lay with
my eyes closed, and the young man did not seem pleased with my
presence, though he looked at me with curiosity. When he was
satisfied he went back to the kitchen and took a drink of whisky and
said his prayers; then, after loitering about for some time and
playing with a little mongrel greyhound that seemed to adore him, he
took off his clothes, clambered over his father, and stretched out
on the inner side of the bed.

I awoke in the morning about six o'clock, and not long afterwards
the host awoke also, and asked how I did. Then he wanted to know if
I ever drank whisky; and when he heard that I did so, he began
calling for one of his daughters at the top of his voice. In a few
moments the younger girl came in, her eyes closing with sleep, and,
at the host's bidding, got the whisky bottle, some water, and a
green wine-glass out of the kitchen. She came first to my bedside
and gave me a dram, then she did the same for her father and
brother, handed us our pipes and tobacco, and went back to the
kitchen.

There were to be sports at noon in Ballyferriter, and when we had
talked for a while I asked the host if he would think well of my
going over to see them. 'I would not,' he said 'you'd do better to
stay quiet in this place where you are; the men will be all drunk
coming back, fighting and kicking in the canoes, and a man the like
of you, who aren't used to us, would be frightened. Then, if you
went, the people would be taking you into one public-house, and then
into another, till you'd maybe get drunk yourself, and that wouldn't
be a nice thing for a gentleman. Stay where you are in this island
and you'll be safest so.'

When the son got up later and began going in and out of the kitchen,
some of the neighbours, who had already come in, stared at me with
curiosity as I lay in my bed; then I got up myself and went into
the kitchen. The