E-text prepared by David Garcia and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) CHANGING WINDS * * * * * _BY THE SAME AUTHOR_ _Novels._ MRS. MARTIN'S MAN. ALICE AND A FAMILY. _Short Stories._ EIGHT O'CLOCK AND OTHER STUDIES. _Plays._ FOUR IRISH PLAYS MIXED MARRIAGE. THE MAGNANIMOUS LOVER. THE CRITICS. THE ORANGEMAN. JANE CLEGG. JOHN FERGUSON. _Political Study._ SIR EDWARD CARSON AND THE ULSTER MOVEMENT. * * * * * CHANGING WINDS A Novel by ST. JOHN G. ERVINE New York The Macmillan Company 1917 All rights reserved Copyright, 1917, by St. John G. Ervine. Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1917. Reprinted March, twice, May, twice, July, August, September, November, 1917. TO THE MEMORY OF RUPERT BROOKE The translations from the Gaelic on pages 77 and 78 were made by the late P. H. Pearse, who was executed in Dublin for his part in the Easter Rebellion. The translations appeared in _New Ireland_, and I am indebted to the Editor of that review for permission to reprint them here. THE FIRST BOOK OF CHANGING WINDS There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter, And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after, Frost, with a gesture, stays the winds that dance And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white, Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance, A width, a shining peace, under the night. RUPERT BROOKE. CHANGING WINDS THE FIRST CHAPTER 1 It would be absurd to say of Mr. Quinn that he was an ill-tempered man, but it would also be absurd to say that he was of a mild disposition. William Henry Matier, a talker by profession and a gardener in his leisure moments, summarised Mr. Quinn's character thus: "He'd ate the head off you, thon lad would, an' beg your pardon the minute after!" That, on the whole, was a just and adequate description of Mr. Quinn, and certainly no one had better qualifications for forming an estimate of his employer's character than William Henry Matier; for he had spent many years of his life in Mr. Quinn's service and had, on an average, been discharged from it about ten times per annum.