General John Regan

positions so well that towards the end of their lives they are allowed to attend full dress evening parties with medals and stars hung round their necks or pinned on their coa

ealised. There is also a third kind of man, fortunately a very rare kind. He is capable of conceiving great ideas, and has besides an insatiable delight in work

ious and magnificent plan of bringing the Lord-Lieutenant to Ballymoy and wrestling from a reluctant treasury a sufficient sum of money to build a third pier on the beach below the town. There may have been oth

nyone inspecting or being inspected on Sunday afternoons. Mr. Gregg had taken advantage of the Government's respect for revealed religion, and had gone out with a fishing rod to catch trout. Mrs. Gregg was at home. Being a bride of not more than three months' s

o objection to presenting a bouquet to La

said Mrs. Gregg

ognised Major Kent as "a dear old boy," but he was quite unexciting. Mrs. Ford, the wife of a rather morose stipendiary magistrate, had severely snubbed Mrs

s coming with the Lord-Lieuten

rd something about the statue, but please tel

e statue. It's to be to the memory of General Jo

iven her. But Mrs. Gregg was quite content with it. She did not, in fact, want to know anything about the statue. She only asked a

," she said. "But I wonder

ce that Mrs. Gregg had not been listening to his account of th

e could do it, but we'd like to have it done re

said Mrs. Gregg. "I'd love to do it,

Then, when she stops opposite you and smiles-she'll be warned beforehand, of course-and she's had such a lot of practic

rs. Gregg, "

had over-emphasized the simplicity of the performance. Mrs. Gregg would have prefe

the illustrated papers afterwards, and there will be

do it," sai

d Dr. O'Grady, "we'll

d balances in their banks, spent his Sunday afternoons sleeping in an armchair. No one likes being awakened, either in a bedroom by a serva

speech at that meeting of yours on Tuesday, yo

jolly well you couldn't. Even if you could and would, we shouldn't want you. We have Father Mc

ou want," said the

If you were even in your normal condition of torpid sulkiness

you've dropped that statue foll

r better than that. We've decided to ask th

aid the Major, "so

en it's explaine

r him one of you

se you have to. But if you were the least bit sincere in what you say, you'd be delighted to hear that Doyle and Thady Gallagher-Thady hasn't actually been told yet, but when he is he'll be as pleased as everyone else-you ought to be simply overjoy

ch in Doyle's loyal

urs. He agrees with me that you are the first man who ought to be

of the Lord-Lieutenant coming. Do you think I want to stand

to present a bouque

dle of the street, while you pl

d to do all that,"

king me this minute, and if

n't you may as well

have hand, act, or part, in asking the Lord-Lieuten

aid Dr. O'Grady. "If your name is required at the b

ding to his own business, whatever it is, instead of coming here and starting all this fuss. There'll be

r Dr. O'Grady, and he was immediately justified by the event. Unfortunately he did not expect an immediate fulfilment of his words. Therefore he turned round in his chair and went to sleep again when the doctor left him. If he had been sanguine enough to expect that the doctor would be entangled in embarrassment

s of age. She always wore clothes which seemed, and probably were, much too tight for her. Her husband's position and income entitled him to keep a pony trap, therefore Mrs. Ford very seldom walked at all. Dr. O'Grady had never before seen her walk quickly. It was plain, too, that on this occasion Mrs. Ford was

face was purple in colour. It was generally red, and the unaccustomed exercise she was taking might account for the darker shade.

d Dr. O'Grady.

siest thing, under the circumstances, would have been to pass on without comment, and to wait patiently until Mrs. Ford either caught influenza or was so deeply offended with someone else as to forget her anger against him. Society in small country towns is held together very largely by the fact that it is highly inconvenient, if not actually impossible, to keep two quarrels burning briskly at the same time. When, a week or two before, Mrs. Ford had been seriously angry with Mrs. Gregg, she con

visit to Ballymoy, but he could not afford to take risks. No wise general likes to leave even a small wood on the flank of his line of march

bout the Lord-Lieutenant's visit to Bal

Dr. O'Grady was not the kind of man who is easil

al to Mr. Ford. We've all felt for a long time that his services

king before. This was a foolish thing to do. She was a fat and elderly lady. Some of her clothes, if not all of them, were c

d lunch, the best Doyle can do. Well, I confidently expect that when the Lord-Lieutenant finds out for himself what an able and energetic man Mr. Ford is-- After all, there are muc

something. Dr. O'Grady waited. He had to wait for some time,

said, "I believe

rybody had been spoken to plainly by Mrs. Ford at one time or another. Kerrigan, the

Dr. O'Grady, "ther

d, "that I think it was due to my position-h

On the c

strate that I, and not that Mrs. Gregg, should have be

he realised that he had

o isn't even a lady, bounced into my house, gigglin

'Grady. "But of course, you have far too mu

intentional, does not affect me in the least. If you knew me a little better than you do, Dr. O'Grad

presentation of a bouquet would have been infra dig. After all, what's a bouquet? Poor little Mrs. Gregg! Of course it's a great promotion for her and

Ford, "that I ought t

ou get my

on of visiting Ballymoy came to me from that Mrs. Gregg half an hour ago, w

le. He means well, but h

r. Doyle to

ter to post. Did yo

letter w

thing we did, the very first--Mrs. Gregg and the bouquet were a mere afterthought, we just tacked her on to the programme so that the poor

r which you say you po

d Doyle forgot to. It's in his p

was

the unanimous wish of the committee-the reception committee, you know-Major Kent's

tter were rea

you come back. Go into the hotel. You'll find Doyle in his own room drinking whisky and water with Thady Gallagher. Don't say a

o not care to have anything to do

his hour. It takes a l

ver does, I shall consult Mr. For

. "He'll realise the importance of the illuminated address.

. O'Grady," s

Ballymoy, and dismounted, very hot, at the door of the hotel. It was shut. He ran round to the back of the house and entered the yard. Constable Moriarty and Mary El

Doyle?" sai

Moriarty rousing himself and moving a little bit away from M

Doyle?" sai

Mary Ellen. "Where

oriarty, "and seeing that Mary Ellen might be a ne

d Doyle sitting over account books in his private-

ady. "Quick now, Doyle. I have my fou

he hurry?"

s every

letter, addressed it to Mrs.

and roll it round a few times. I want it to loo

ing of this at a

s house. Give that letter to the servant and tell her that you

ou tell

ut if you do meet her remember that you haven't seen me since yesterday. Have you got that clear in your head? Very well. Off with you. And, I say, I expect the letter will be looking all right when you take