Produced by Jane Hyland, Audrey Longhurst and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: So there they were at last, the dream of half a life time. (p. 475.)] 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