"
"Would you have me tell what isn't true?"
"I would."
"Well, then, I'll not do it. I've more respect for myself, let alone
the young lady, than to do the like."
"Don't take that tone with me," said Meldon, "for I'll not stand it.
There isn't a man in Ireland this minute that has a greater respect for
the truth than I have. It's a good thing--one of the best things there
is--in its proper place. But there's no bigger mistake than to suppose
that because a thing is good in one place at one time, it must
necessarily be good everywhere and always. Take the case of bottled
porter. You're not a teetotaller, are you?"
"I was one time," said Callaghan, "after the mission there did be going
round the country last spring. They had me pledged before I rightly
understood what it was they were doing; but, thanks be to God, I'm
through with it now, and can take a drop of drink as well as another."
"Very well. Then you'll appreciate what I say about bottled porter.
It's a good thing when you have it in a tumbler, and the tumbler in
your hand, and you thirsty."
"It is." Callaghan spoke with conviction. He was thirsty at the
moment, and he had some hope that Meldon might possibly have the bottle
of which he spoke in his pocket.
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