"If the right honourable gentleman has challenged this part of his Majesty's dominions to civil war, we accept the challenge." This temper soon had ugly expression.

On June 29th an excursion party of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (the Roman Catholic counterpart to the Orange Order) met with another excursion party of Protestants, mainly Sunday-school children, at a place called Castledawson.

Taunts were exchanged and one of the Hibernians tried to snatch a flag from the other procession; so a disturbance began in which some of the children were hurt and many frightened.

This discreditable incident was magnified with all the rancour of partisanship--as in the state of feeling must have been expected.

But the reprisals were startling.