At twelve o'clock that night we left prison, and made room for another squadron, who gave us their kennels. Such a luxury was sleep to me, however, that I felt not the slightest inconvenience from the vermin, though I certainly made a point to avoid the Scotchman and the cripple. On the following day I confessed; and never was an unfortunate soul so grievously afflicted with a bad memory as I was on that occasion--the whole thing altogether, but particularly the prison scene, had knocked me up, I could not therefore remember a tithe of my sins; and the priest, poor man, had really so much to do, and was in such a hurry, that he had me clean absolved before I had got half through the preface, or knew what I was about. I then went with a fresh batch to receive the sacrament, which I did from the hands of the good-natured gentleman who enjoyed so richly the praying talents of the hare-lipped devotee in the prison. I cannot avoid mentioning here a practice peculiar to Roman Catholics, which consists in an exchange of one or more prayers, by a stipulation between two persons: I offer up a pater and ave for you, and you again for me. It is called swapping or exchanging prayers. After I had received the sacrament, I observed a thin, sallow little man, with a pair of beads, as long as himself, moving from knot to knot, but never remaining long in the same place. At last he glided up to me, and in a whisper asked me if I knew him. I answered in the negative. “Oh, then, a lanna, ye war never here before?” “Never.” “Oh, I see that, acushla, you would a known me if you had: well then, did ye never hear of Sol Donnel, the pilgrim?” “I never did,” I replied, “but are we not all pilgrims while here?” “To be sure, aroon, but I'm a pilgrim every place else, you see, as well as here, my darlin' sweet young man.” “Then you're a pilgrim by profession?” “That's it, asthore machree; everybody that comes here the second time, sure, knows Sol Donnel, the blessed pilgrim.” “In that case it was impossible for me to know you, as I was-never here before.” “Acushla, I know that, but a good beginnin' are ye makin' of it--an' at your time of life too; but, avick, it must prosper wid ye, comin' here I mane.”