A Protestant peasant had seduced a Catholic young woman of considerable attractions, and was prevailed upon to marry her, in order to legitimize the infant which she was about to bear.

Our poor priest, anxious to do as much good, and to prevent as much evil as he could, was prevailed upon to perform the ceremony, contrary to the law in that case made and provided.

Ever since that, the poor man had been upon his keeping like a felon, as the law had made him; but so well known were his harmless life, his goodness of heart, and his general benevolence of disposition--for, alas! he was incapable of being benevolent in any practical sense--that, unless among the bigoted officials of the day, there existed no very strong disposition to hand him over to the clutches of the terrible statute which he had, good easy man, been prevailed on to violate.
In the meantime, the formidable body who had saved Reilly's life and his own dispersed, or disappeared at least; but not until they had shaken hands most cordially with Reilly and the priest, who now found themselves much in the same position in which they stood previous to their surprise and arrest.
"Now," said Reilly, "the question is, what are we to do?
where are we to go?
and next, how did you come to know of the existence in this precise locality of such a body of men ?" "Because I have set my face against such meetings," replied the priest.
"One of those who was engaged to be present happened to mention the fact to me as a clergyman, but you know that, as a clergyman, I can proceed no further." "I understand," said Reilly, "I perfectly understand you.

It is not necessary.

And now let me say--" "Always trust in God, my friend," replied the priest, in an accent quite different from that which he had used to the peasantry.