How dare you, then, polute the house of God, or come
in presence of His Holy altar, wid such a crust of crimes upon your
soul? Can you deny that you entered into a league of hell wid the devil
and Major Vanston, and that you promised him your vote if he'd get the
fine removed?"
"I can," replied Bryan; "there's not one word of truth in it."
"Do you hear that, my friends?" exclaimed the priest; "he calls your
priest a liar upon the altar of the livin' God."
Here M'Mahon was assailed by such a storm of groans and hisses as, to
say the least of it, was considerably at variance with the principles of
religion and the worship of God.
"Do you deny," the priest proceeded, "that you received a bribe of fifty
pounds on the very day you voted? Answer me that."
"I did receive a fifty-pound note in a--"
Further he could not proceed. It was in vain that he attempted to give
a true account of the letter and its enclosure; the enmity was not
confined to either groans or hisses. He was seized upon in the very
chapel, dragged about in all directions, kicked, punched, and beaten,
until the apprehension of having a murder committed in presence of
God's altar caused the priest to interfere. M'Mahon, however, was
ejected from the chapel; but in such a state that, for some minutes, it
could scarcely be ascertained whether he was alive or dead.
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