to himself, surely this must be death, and the old man's cares, and
sorrows, and hopes, are all passed forever.

Honor now bathed his face, and wet his lips with water, and as she
sprinkled and rubbed back the gray hair from his emaciate! temples,
there might be read there an expression of singular wildness that
resembles the wreck produced by insanity.

"He looks ill," observed O'Brien, who actually thought him dead; "but I
hope it won't signify."

"I trust in God's mercy it won't," replied Honor; "for till his heart,
poor man, is brought more to God--"

She paused with untaught delicacy, for she reflected that he was her
husband.

"For that matther, who is there," she continued, "that is fit to go to
their last account at a moment's warnin'? That's a good girl, Biddy;
give me the feathers; there's nothing like them. Dheah Gratihias! Dheah
Gratihias!" she exclaimed, "he's not--he's not--an' I was afeard he
was--no, he's recoverin'. Shake him; rouse him a little; Fardorougha,
dear!"

"Where--where am I?" exclaimed her husband; "what is this? what ails
me?"

He then looked inquiringly at his wife and O'Brien; but it appeared
that the presence of the latter revived in his mind the cause of his
excitement.

"Is it--is it thrue, young man? tell me--tell me!"

"How, dear, can any one have spirits to tell you good news, when you
can't bear it aither like a man or a Christian?"

"Good news! You say, then, it's thrue, an' he's not to be hanged by the
neck, as the judge said; an' my curse--my heavy curse upon him for a
judge!"

"I hate to hear the words of his sentence, Fardorougha," said the wife;
"but if you have patience you'll find that his life's granted to him;
an', for Heaven's sake, curse nobody. The judge only did his duty."

"Well," he exclaimed, sinking upon his knees, "now, from this day out,
let what will happen, I'll stick to my duty to God--I'll repent--I'll
repent and lead a new life. I will, an' while I'm alive I'll never say a
word against the will of my heavenly Saviour; never, never."

"Fardorougha," replied his--wife, "it's good, no doubt, to have a
grateful heart to God; but I'm afeard there's sin in what you're sayin',
for you know, dear, that, whether it plased the Almighty to take yur
boy, or not, what you've promised to do is your duty. It's like sayin',
'I'll now turn my heart bekase God has deserved it at my hands.' Still,
dear, I'm not goin' to condimn you, only I think it's betther