Chapter 11 A SPRIG OF SHAMROCK

"Amid the roses fierce Repentance rears

Her snaky crest."

(Thomson's Seasons--"Spring")

"Shamrock in Scotland!" I seem to hear some captious critic exclaim. I do not attribute Scottish birth to the particular sprig of shamrock which is to figure in these pages, dear reader. Like all true shamrock, it was grown in the Emerald Isle. Neverthe