" I'm not going to be hard on you," said the good-



THE GEOGRAPHY OF AN IRISH OATH. 1 83

natured priest ; " I only called to tell you a dream
that your son Dan had last ni^t about you and his
mother."

" About EUish ! Oh, for heaven's sake, what about
her, fariier, avourneen ? "

" She appeared to him last night," replied Father
Mulcahy, " and told him that your drilling kept her out
of happiness."

" Queen of Heaven ! " exclaimed Peter, deeply affected,
" is that true ? Oh," said he, dropping on his knees,
" father, abagur machree, pardon me — oh, forgive me !
I now promise, solemnly and seriously, to drink neither
in the house nor out of it, for the time to come, not one
drop at all, good, bad, or indifferent, of either whi^y,
wine, or pxinch — barrin' one glass. Are you now
satisfied ? An' do you think she'll get to happiness ? "

" All will be well, I trust," said the priest. " I shall
mention this to Dan and the rest, and, depend upon it,
they, too, will be happy to hear it."

" Here's what Mr. O'Flaherty an' myself made up,"
said Peter ; " burn it, father — ^take it out of my sight,
for it's now no use to me."

" What is this at all ? " said Mr. Mulcahy, looking
into it. " Is it an oath .? "

" It's the joggraphy of one I swore some time ago ;
but it's now out of date — ^I'm done wid it."

The priest could not avoid smiling when he perused
it ; and on getting from Peter's lips an explanation
of the hieroglyphics, he laughed heartily at the ingenious
shifts they had made to guide his memory.
