My New Curate   By: Patrick Augustine Sheehan (1852-1913)

MY NEW CURATE

A STORY

Gathered from the Stray Leaves of an Old Diary

By the Rev. P. A. SHEEHAN, P. P. DONERAILE (DIOCESE OF CLOYNE)

Author of "Geoffrey Austin: Student," "The Triumph of Failure," &c.

BOSTON MARLIER & COMPANY, Limited 1902

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The Change 1

II. A Retrospect 14

III. A Night Call 23

IV. The Pantechnicon 34

V. A Slight Misunderstanding 48

VI. At the Station 61

VII. Scruples 74

VIII. Our Concert 83

IX. Severely Reprimanded 97

X. Over the Walnuts, and the 113

XI. Beside the Singing River 129

XII. Church Improvements 140

XIII. "All Things to All Men" 154

XIV. First Fridays 170

XV. Holly and Ivy 187

XVI. Violent Contrasts 205

XVII. A Clerical Symposium 226

XVIII. The Kampaner Thal 241

XIX. Literary Attempts 255

XX. Madonna Mia 272

XXI. The Factory 297

XXII. The May Conference 316

XXIII. A Battle of Giants 332

XXIV. The Sermon 349

XXV. May Devotions 364

XXVI. At the Zenith 378

XXVII. The "Star of the Sea" 394

XXVIII. Sub Nube 410

XXIX. Stigmata? 429

XXX. All's Well 449

XXXI. Farewell! 475

Illustrations

Page

"So there they were at last, the dream of half a lifetime" Frontispiece

"You will take something?" I said. "You have had a long drive" facing 10

"My door was suddenly flung open, and a bunch of keys was thrown angrily on the table" 49

"Do you call that clean?" 54

"Here I am, your Reverence!" facing 56

"Good Heavens!" was all I could say facing 94

"The orator was caught by the nape of the neck" 133

"'T is the way we wants to go to confession, Fader" 176

"And why don't you tell his reverence about the rice puddin'?" 223

"It broke in my fingers and revealed the little dreams and ambitions of nearly forty years ago" 262

"Was there anything wrong with the chicken?" facing 294

"I read that over three times to make quite sure of it" 321

"Ahem! Reginald Ormsby, wilt thou take Mrs. Darcy " facing 390

"Come down to Mrs. Haley's; there isn't a better dhrop betune this and Dublin" facing 450

"Come on, you ruffian!" 451

"For the love of God, Jem, is 't yourself or your ghost?" 453

"Hallo, there!... who the are ye?" facing 460

Waiting for my New Curate 479

MY NEW CURATE

Gathered from Stray Leaves of an Old Diary by an Irish Parish Priest

CHAPTER I

THE CHANGE