“‘Bring her to the other side, John, ma bouchal; it’s the safest,’ said Larry Carty.

“‘Will you let him alone, Carty?’ said Simon Tracy, who was the other, ‘you’ll only put him in a perplexity.’

“But Carty should order in spite of every thing.  He kept bawling out, however, so loud, that John raised his eye to see what he meant, and was near losing hold of Rose.  This was too much for Tracy, who ups with his fist, and downs him—­so they both at it; for no one there could take themselves off those that were in danger, to interfere between them.  But at all events, no earthly thing can happen among Irishmen without a fight.

“The father, during this, stood breathless, his hands clasped, and his eyes turned to heaven, praying in anguish for the delivery of his darling.  The mother’s look was still wild and fixed, her eyes glazed, and her muscles hard and stiff; evidently she was insensible to all that was going forward; while large drops of paralytic agony hung upon her cold brow.  Neither of the sisters had yet recovered, nor could those who supported them turn their eyes from the more imminent danger, to pay them any particular attention.  Many, also, of the other females, whose feelings were too much wound up when the accident occurred, now fainted, when they saw she was likely to be rescued; but most of them were weeping with delight and gratitude.

“When John brought her to the surface, he paused for a moment to recover breath and collectedness; he then caught her by the left arm, near the shoulder, and cut, in a slanting direction, down the stream, to a watering place, where a slope had been formed in the bank.  But he was already too far down to be able to work across the stream to this point; for it was here much stronger and more rapid than under the planks.  Instead, therefore, of reaching the slope, he found himself in spite of every effort to the contrary, about a perch below it; and, except he could gain this point, against the strong rush of the flood, there was very little hope of being able to save either her or himself—­for he was now much exhausted.

“Hitherto, therefore, all was still doubtful, whilst strength was fast failing him.  In this trying and almost hopeless situation, with an admirable presence of mind, he adopted the only expedient which could possibly enable him to reach the bank.  On finding himself receding down, instead of advancing up the current, he approached the bank, which was here very deep and perpendicular; he then sank his fingers into and pressed his right foot against the firm blue clay with which it was stratified, and by this means advanced, bit by bit, up the stream, having no other force by which to propel himself against it.  After this mode did he breast the current with all his strength—­which must have been prodigious, or he never could have borne it out—­until he reached the slope, and got from the influence of the tide, into dead water.  On arriving here,