knows. I can bear poverty
and distress, sickness and want will' you, but I can't bear to think
that you should ever forget to love me as you do now, or your heart
should ever cool to me: but I'm sure,' says she, 'you'll never forget
this night--and the solemn promises you made me, before God and the
blessed skies above us.'

"We were sitting at the time under the shade of a rowan-tree, and I had
only one answer to make--I pulled her to my breast, where she laid her
head and cried like a child with her cheek against mine. My own eyes
weren't dry, although I felt no sorrow, but--but--I never forgot that
night--and I never will."

He now paused a few minutes, being too much affected to proceed.

"Poor Shane," said Nancy, in a whisper to Andy Morrow, "night and day
he's thinking about that woman; she's now dead going on a year, and you
would think by him, although he bears up very well before company
that she died only yestherday--but indeed it's he that was always the
kind-hearted, affectionate man; and a better husband never broke bread."

"Well," said Shane, resuming the story, and clearing his voice, "it's
great consolation to me, now that she's gone, to think that I never
broke the promise I made her that night; for as I tould you, except in
regard to the duck-egg, a bitther word never passed between us. I was
in a passion then, for a wonder, and bent upon showing her that I was a
dangerous man to provoke; so just to give her a _spice_ of what I could
do, I made _Larry_ feel it--and may God forgive me for raising my hand
even then to her. But sure he would be a brute that would beat such
a woman except by proxy. When it was clear dark we set off, and after
crossing the country for two miles, reached my uncle's, where a great
many of my friends were expecting us. As soon as we came to the door I
struck it two or three times, for that was the sign, and my aunt came
out, and taking Mary in her arms, kissed her, and, with a thousand
welcomes, brought us both in.

"You all know that the best of aiting and dhrinking is provided when a
runaway couple is expected; and indeed there was galore of both there.
My uncle and all that were within welcomed us again; and many a good
song and hearty jug of punch was sent round that night. The next morning
my uncle went to her father's, and broke the business to him at once:
indeed it wasn't very hard to do, for I believe it reached him afore
he saw my uncle at all; so she was broug