Ireland for the Irish

Irish extremists defeated at the polls de- clare that it might be necessary to pro- tect with their lives the subversion of the public.

"I do be wondherin' sometimes," said
Michael Madigan, as he sat by the fire
in his home in the bush. "I do be won-
dhrin' sometimes if there wud be anny
Irish left in Ireland these days. 'Tis
forty year since I left the ould cart,
 an' in thim days the O'Briens an'
the O'Connors an' the Madigans an' the
Maloneys was a power in the land.
But I see be the papers that the Green
Isle do be gettin' mildewed. For what
do they have the Spaniards an' the
Poles an' the English—Hiven help us,
the English!—trapassin' about an'
settlin' themselves up as Kings in Ire-
land?"

"An' who wud be thim Poles an'
Spaniards an' English that ye talk of?"
asked his friend.

"Did iver ye know," asked Madigan,
"Did iver ye know a Valery to crack
a head at Limerick Fair in the ould
days? Did iver ye know a Mackevitch,
or a Markevitch, or whativer they call
themselves, to dig a sod whin you was
a bhoy? Did iver ye know a Childers
to be brew'n a dhrop iv the Mountain
Dew back in the hills? Ye didn't.
What's come to the ould land, that there
do be no wan in it to lead but that wan
bhoy wid the good name—that Mick
Collins?"

His friend picked up a newspaper
and glanced down the column.

"I see," he said, "that thim fur-
riners do be gettin' it in the neck. There's
Markevitch out an' the Englishter, Chil-
ders, out; an' this Valery do be dis-
appointed an' talkin' iv another revo-
lution."

"Do it give the names iv the win-
ners?" asked Madigan.

"It do not," replied his friend.

"Thin I'll be bettin'," said Madigan.
"I'll be bettin' it's thim O'Connors, an'
O'Briens an' Madigans an' Maloneys
comin' back again. An' Mick Collins is
the bhoy to lead 'em."

"But the Valery man," said his
friend, "do be talkin' agin iv a re-
public."

"Let him," said Madigan. "Let him.
An' let him talk it in his own language.
Let him take his furriners—his Span-
iards an' his Poles, an' his English
Childers—away to some place where
they can revolush be thimselves. What
for shud they be interferin' wid the
Irish? Tell me: is that mahn, Mick
Collins, in the lead?"

"It do seem so," answered the
friend.

"The Lord be praised!" said Mi-
chael Madigan. "Ireland do be once
again in the hands iv the Irish."