My New Curate

Gathered from the Stray Leaves of an Old Diary
Author of Geoffrey Austin: Student, The Triumph of Failure, &c.
BOSTON MARLIER & COMPANY, Limited 1902

So there they were at last, the dream of half a life time.
Gathered from Stray Leaves of an Old Diary by an Irish Parish Priest
THE CHANGE
It is all my own fault. I was too free with my tongue. I said in a moment of bitterness: What can a Bishop do with a parish priest? He's independent of him. It was not grammatical, and it was not respectful. But the bad grammar and the impertinence were carried to his Lordship, and he answered: What can I do ? I can send him a curate who will break his heart in six weeks.
I was not too much surprised, then, when one evening my dear old friend and curate, Father Tom Laverty, came to me, with tears in his eyes and an open letter in his hand:—
I am off, Father Dan. Look at this!