THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 285
its
comforts. I am now going to die. I have no child to whom I might leave
the little I possess, nor have I any near of kin who might prefer any
claim to it; in either case the treasure I possess and which I hold
dear as life should not have left the family of Mulholland, in which it
has been for ages and generations handed down. But I am the last of my
race and you are the best friend I have. I therefore give it to you,
and when I am gone, dig in the garden at a certain spot, and you will
find a box there: take it up and treasure its contents for my sake."
Mr.
MacClean dug in the place indicated and found an oak box within which
lay the bell and its shrine and beside them a worn copy of Bedell's
quarto Irish Bible. Mr. MacClean had the precious relic in his
possession for a number of years, but unhappily he did not at first
keep it under lock and key. The result was what might have been
foretold by any one acquainted with the depredations committed by the
enlightened vermin known as " relic-hunters." Priceless bits of gold
tracery were stolen by the servants and visitors until the cruelly
denuded panels aroused Mr. MacClean to a sense of his danger. He then
locked up the shrine.
