“Sure, he up an he towld us that the onwhowlsome lookin house wor a lazaretto, an the ghosts of people there wor lepers--nothin else--an he said he wor the leper praste, an spint the most of his time wid thim same--sittin wid thim--talkin wid thim--feelin thim--handlin thim--an brathin the poison leper air. An he towld us that the wather was the leper wather, where the lepers bathed. An I had bathed there,” cried Pat, with a burst of despair. “An I’d tuk a shwirn there,” he cried, with another burst. “An I’d been in the house of the leper praste,”--a groan--“an I’d sat on his chairs,”--another groan--“an I’d ate at his table,”--a howl--“an I’d swallowed his fud,”--another howl--“an I’d been gettin the leprosy meself all the time,” and a cry that was something like a yell of despair terminated Pat’s story. Phil listened to all this, and felt puzzled. “I don’t know what you mean by lazarettos,” said he, “and lepers. I did’nt know the disease was in this country.” “Well, it is, thin,” moaned Pat. “An I’ll soon be there too, so I will.” “Nonsense,” said Phil, impatiently. “Did you ask the priest if there was any danger?” “Och, sure he wouldn’t be afther committin himsilf.” “Didn’t he say anything about it?” “He did, thin.” “What did he say?” “Why, he said he had lived among the lepers all his life, an visited thim almost every day; but wor as well a man as anybody. An he said the disease couldn’t be caught.” “Did he say that?” cried Phil. “Why, of course. I knew that. You are mistaken altogether.” “Sure, an how does the praste know? His time’ll come yit, so it will.” “Nonsense! This isn’t the real leprosy, at all. It’s some disease that’s hereditary, I dare say; but it isn’t contagious. Pooh! how absurd! Why, Pat, what could have put such a notion into your head. The leper water is all nonsense. What harm could it do you to bathe in the sea? If all the lepers in the world were bathing at the same time, they couldn’t affect the sea water.” Phil now began to reason with Pat, and he spoke so earnestly and so confidently, that at last Pat’s fears began to yield. Phil showed him that he couldn’t possibly have the leprosy yet, and assured him that he wasn’t going to have it. Finally, he told him the story of the most famous of all lepers--Naaman the Syrian. From this story he proved so conclusively that there were some kinds of leprosy that were not contagious, that Pat hadn’t a word to say. The story produced a profound and most beneficial effect upon Pat’s mind. “Sure an I niver thought of him before. Why didn’t I think of ould Naymin? An him the chafe gineral of the Misaypytamyins, so he was. Sure an there wer nothin contagious in that leprosy. The leper Naymin! Sure an what a fool I wor niver to think of the leper Naymin!” XX.