“O Father in Heaven, if You ever send blessings to the Irish, send this one Irishman some now. I need it. O me God, I did not do annything. I changed me mind before I let him go, and he is here, and You can do as You plase with him. I am through with him. I think You will know what he needs, and give it to him. Have mercy on me, and him too, if he is deserving of it. I don’t think he is, but Your judgment is best, and use it, and be sure You use good judgment in my case, and help me out of this terrible perdicament, and if I never get in another, I won’t pray anny more. You will see I am in earnest and don’t delay the job. I am awfully sick, but I think I feel better now, and if the court will have mercy on me, and You do likewise, I know I will be well in a few minutes. Help Your wandering one all alone in this country. Me poor mother has been with You a long time, and if I was there too, I would not be here, in this fix. And now I have prayed for the first time in all me life, and if You don’t answer, I shall say my prayers were all in vain; but if You will let me know that they were heard, I will let you hear them again, if I get in trouble. Amen.” “The judge spoke: ‘Stand up, Pat. You are good on praying, and you have a nice way of doing it, if you did convict yourself. Go. I don’t think your crime is punishable, and I want to give you some orders. You had better learn to pray now, and do some of it. Don’t wait until you are in trouble and then ask the Lord to help you. Serve Him all the time, and you will then be guided, so you will not have to ask for help in time of trouble. Too many wayward boys like you, Pat, get in trouble before they ever think of praying. I hope that the Father to whom you prayed has heard your prayers. I feel that He did, and that is why I am going to turn you loose; so you may say your prayers were not in vain, but go from this court-room with prayers on your lips, and pray often. It will do you good. Now you may go, and may God bless you.’ “Well, if I ever get me another job, I will never get it in a prison—I may not get out so aisy next time; but the poor man, he is there yet, and I never told a word of his trying to give me all his money and fine clothes. “Well, I’ll be willing to work, now, for all I get. And I’ll say to meself: ‘Didn’t the man who was boss of the job make a fine spache to me?’ He must know nearly as much as the lowyer did, and I felt sorry for him when he felt sorry for me and told me to pray. Faith, and I will pray, and I will kape it up as long as I live, and after I am dead I will come back and scare some of the poor devils and make them pray like the new man. Oh, how he did pray when he thought he saw the dead woman! And it was that very thing got me started to praying, and only for that I belave they would of hanged me this very day of me life.”