priests are all knaves and rogues, every one of them."

"Are they, faith," said Darby, "here's an answer for that, anyhow."

"Text for text, you Popish rascal."

A fierce battle took place on the open highway, which was fought with
intense' bitterness on both sides. The contest, which was pretty equal,
might, however, have been terminated by the defeat of one of them,
had they been permitted to fight without support on either side; this,
however, was not to be. A tolerably large crowd, composed of an equal
number of Catholics and Protestants, collected from the adjoining
fields, where they had been at labor, immediately joined them. Their
appearance, unhappily, had only the effect of renewing the battle.
The Catholics, ignorant of the turn which the controversy had taken,
supported Bob and Protestantism; whilst the Protestants, owing to a
similar mistake, fought like devils for Darby and the Pope. A pretty
smart skirmish, in fact, which lasted more than twenty minutes, took
place between the parties, and were it not that their wives, sisters,
daughters, and mothers, assisted by many who were more peaceably
disposed, threw themselves between them, it might have been much more
serious than it was. If the weapons of warfare ceased, however, so did
not their tongues; there was abundance of rustic controversy exchanged
between them, that is to say, polemical scurrility much of the same
enlightened character as that in the preceding dialogue. The fact of
the two parties, too, that came to their assistance, having mistaken the
proper grounds of the quarrel, reduced Darby and Bob to the necessity
of retracing their steps, and hoisting once more their new colors,
otherwise their respective friends, had they discovered the blunder they
had committed, would, unquestionably, have fought the battle a second
time on its proper merits. Bob, escorted by his Catholic friends, who
shouted and huzza'd as they went along, proceeded to Father M'Cabe's;
whilst Darby and his adherents, following their example, went towards
M'Clutchy's, and having left him within sight of Constitution Cottage,
they returned to their labor.

We have already said, that neither M'Clutchy nor M'Slime was at all a
favorite with Darby. Darby was naturally as avaricious, and griping, and
oppressive as either of them; and as he was the principal instrument of
their rapacity and extortion, he deemed it but fair and just that they
should leave him at least a reasonab