"
"And who were the five honorable exceptions?" asked his niece, smiling.
"They were the five fools of the parish, Maria--and yet I am wrong,
still--for Bob M'Cann was as thievish as the very devil whenever he had
an opportunity. And now, do you know the conclusion I come to from all
this?"
"I suppose," said his niece, "that no man's honest but a fool."
"Thank you, Maria, Well done--you've hit it. By the way, it's seems
M'Mahon's wife, of Carriglass, is dead."
"Is she?" said Harry; "that is a respectable family, father, by all
accounts."
"Why, they neither rob nor steal, I believe," replied his uncle. "They
are like most people, I suppose, honest in the eye of the law--honest
because the laws keep them so."
"I did not think your opinion of the world was so bad, uncle," said
Maria; "I hope it is not so bad as you say it is."
"All I can say, then," replied the old Cynic, "that if you wait till you
find an honest man for your husband, you'll die an old maid."
"Well, but excuse me, uncle, is that safe doctrine to lay down before
your nephew, or myself?"
"Pooh, as to you, you silly girl, what have you to do with it? We're
taikin' about men, now--about the world, I say, and life in general."
"And don't you wish Harry to be honest?"
"Yes, where it is his interest; and ditto to roguery, where it can be
done safely.
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