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 ! I L 57 (V^T t & a\^-^ ■ P H i ii^L^N-Sl 
 
 
 r 
 
 ■5
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 CHAELES LEVER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "harry LORREQUER," "tHE KNIGHT OF GWYNNE," 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY PHIZ. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 
 
 MDCCCLX.
 
 r : • •• 
 
 • * • • 
 
 . ' « 4 
 
 '..^ •.
 
 V.I 
 
 TO 
 
 a p. R. JAMES, ESQ. 
 
 My dear James, 
 
 You, once upon a time, dedicated to me a tale of deep and 
 thrilling interest. Let me now inscribe to you this volume on 
 the plea of that classic authority who, in the interchange of 
 armom-, " gave Brass for Gold." 
 
 It is, however, far less to repay the obligation of a debt by 
 giving you a "Roland" — not for your "Oliver," but your 
 " Stepmother" — than for the pleasure of recording one " Fact " 
 in a bulky tome of Fiction, that I now write your name at the 
 head of this page — that fact being, the warm memory I cherish 
 of all our pleasant hours of intercourse, and the sincere value I 
 ])lace upon the honour of your friendship. 
 
 Yours, in all esteem and affection, 
 
 CnAiiLES Lever. 
 
 Palazzo Xinienes, Florence, 
 October -20, 1849. 
 
 5f
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. L 
 
 Maritana — Frontispiece. page 
 
 Vignette Title-page. 
 
 The Game at Monte 4- 
 
 The IVIanolo 43 
 
 The Two Sisters 50 
 
 A Prairie — ^Evening Ride 67 
 
 Bravo, Toro ! . . . 73 
 
 The Dean shows how to take the Bull by the Horns . . . 101 
 
 The Cottage . . 115 
 
 The Major " Stops the Way" 141 
 
 The Money-Lender 145 
 
 A Meeting under the Greenwood Tree 159 
 
 A Domestic Detective 174 
 
 The Picture-Gallery — Sir Andrew Puzzled . . . . .192 
 
 An Evening Scene 208 
 
 How TO WORK A Patent Pump 232 
 
 The Fisherman's Hut . . . » 252 
 
 The Discovery 262 
 
 " The Sassenachs" 264 
 
 Jim 291 
 
 Coronation of Miss Meek 302
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 And thus they lived ye merrie yeare, 
 
 For they were a jollie crewe 
 Of pleasante laddes that knewe no feare, 
 
 And — as little of lioiiestie too. 
 
 Ballade of Capt. Pike. 
 
 Our tale opens on a gorgeous night of MidsiuTimer — at an era so 
 little remote, that to name the precise year could have no interest for 
 the reader, and in a region whicli seemed to combine all that is de- 
 lightful in climate with whatever is luxuriant and splendid in vegeta- 
 tion. It was upon the bank of a small river, a tributary of the 
 Oronoco, not v.ery distant from the picturesque city of Barcelouetta, 
 that a beautiful villa stood, the elegance of whose architecture, and 
 the lavish magnificence of whose decorations, were alike evidence that 
 neither taste nor wealtb were wanting to its proprietor. 
 
 In this land where Nature had been so prodigal of her gifts, the 
 luxurious appointments of this princely abode seemed to partake of 
 the character of a fairy palace ; and the admixture of objects of high 
 art, the treasures of Italian galleries and Spanish collections, with, the 
 more vivid realities of the scene, favoured this illusion. The fortunate 
 owner of this paradise was a certain Pedro Eica, who, for something 
 like fourteen years, had been a resident of Columbia. A widower, 
 witb an only child, then an infant of scarce a year old, he had arrived 
 in that country seeking, as he said, by new scenes, and new associa- 
 tions, to erase, so far as might be, the painful memory of his late be- 
 reavement. 
 
 "While he gave it to be understood that he was a Spaniard by birth, 
 some averred that he was a Mexican ; others, that he was a Texan ; 
 and one or two alleged that he was an American of the States, an as- 
 sumption that the ease and fluency of his English went far to cor- 
 roborate. Of whatever nation he came, certain it is that a mystery 
 hung over both his native land and his history ; and as he showed little 
 
 YOL, I. B
 
 EOLA.ND CASHEL. 
 
 disposition to enlighten the world on these subjects, as is usual in 
 such cases, his neighbours took their revenge by inventing a hundred 
 stories about hiui, each one only worse than the other. At one time 
 it was said that his wealth was acquired by piracy ; at another, that 
 he absconded from a Texan city, with a large sum belonging to the 
 government ; forgery — breach of trust, were among the commonest 
 allegations ; and the most charitable only averred that he made his 
 money in the slave-trade. 
 
 It is but fair to say, that the sole foundation for these various 
 rumours lay in the stern distance of his manner, and the cold, almost 
 repulsive, austerity with which he declined all acquaintance with the 
 neighbourhood. These traits, added to the voluptuous splendour of 
 a retinvie and a style of living infinitely above all around, gradually 
 estranged from him the few w^ho attempted to form an intimacy, and 
 left him to live — as it seemed he preferred — a life of solitary magni- 
 ficence ; an object of affected pity to many, but of real envy to all. 
 
 As his daughter grew up, he was accustomed to visit the sea-coast 
 each summer for some weeks, and from these absences he, now, usually 
 returned with one or two acquaintances, for the most part officers of 
 the Columbian navy, with whom he had formed an intimacy at the 
 sea-side. Such acquaintanceship seemed to increase from year to 
 year, till at last each autumn saw the " Villa de las Noches Entre- 
 tenidas," " of the pleasant nights," crowded with guests, whose wild 
 orgies were in strange contrast to the former stillness and quietude 
 within those walls. 
 
 A more motley and discordant assemblage it would be hard to con- 
 ceive, consisting as they did of adventurers from every land of Europe. 
 The wild and reckless outcast of every clime and country, the beg- 
 gared speculator, the ruined gambler, the duellist with blood upon 
 his hand, the defaulter w'ith shame upon his forehead. All that good 
 morals reject, and the law pursues, mingled with others whose faults 
 went no further than waste or improvidence, or the more venial sin, 
 that they came poor into the world, and were stamped " Adventurers" 
 from the cradle. 
 
 A service that never exercised too nice a scrutiny into the habits of 
 its followers, and whose buccaneer life had all the freedom of piracy, 
 with the assumption of a recognised class, offered no mean attraction 
 to the lover of enterprise ; and certainly, if the standard of morals 
 was low, that of daring, reckless adventure, was the very opposite. 
 
 Amid this pleasant company, we must now ask pardon for intro- 
 ducing our reader, with this saving assurance, that he shall not have 
 long to commune with such compauionsliip. It was, as we have said, 
 a summer's night. A sky, all glittering with stars, spread its dark 
 blue canopy over a scene where, amid the banana, the manioc, and
 
 EOLAIfB CASHEL. 
 
 the plantain, flowers of every bright hue were blooming, and foun- 
 tains gushing; while, through an atmosphere, tremulous with the 
 song of the mocking-bird, fire-flies were glancing and glittering. 
 
 In the deep piazza before the Villa was now assembled a numerous 
 party of men disposed in every attitude of lounging, ease, and aban- 
 donment ; they seemed, though perhaps after very different estimates, 
 to be enjoying the delicious balm and freshness of the night air. 
 They were of various ages ; and although the greater number showed 
 by their dress that they belonged to the naval service, other signs, 
 not less distinctive, pronounced that they were drawn from classes of 
 life as varied as they were numerous; while, here and there, a 
 Caballero might be seen attired in the picturesque costume of the 
 Caraccas, his many-coloured scarf and plumed hat aiding, in no in- 
 considerable degree, the picturesque effect of a scene Salvator might 
 have painted. 
 
 Not only beneath the piazza itself, but on the marble steps, and 
 even beneath them again, on the close-shaveu turf, the party lay, 
 sated as it were with splendour, and recruiting strength for new dis- 
 sipations. Some sat talking in low and whispering voices, as if un- 
 willing, even by a sound, to break the stilly calm. Others, in perfect 
 silence, seemed to drink in the soothing influence of that tranquil 
 moment, or smoked the cigarettes in dreamy indolence; while at in- 
 tervals, from the leafy groves, a merry laugh, or the tinkling of a 
 guitar, would mingle with the bubbling murmur of the fountains, 
 making the very stillness yet more still as they ceased. Behind the 
 piazza, and opening by several large windows upon it, could be seen 
 a splendid saloon, resplendent with wax-lights, and still displaying on 
 the loaded table the remnants of a sumptuous repast, amid which 
 vessels of gold and vases of flowers appeared. Here, yet lingered two 
 or three guests — spirits who set no store on an entertainment if it did 
 not degenerate into debauch. 
 
 A broad alley, flanked by tall hedges of the prickly pear, led from 
 the Villa to a little mound, on which a chesnut-tree stood, the patri- 
 arch of the wood ; a splendid tree it was, and worthy of a better 
 destiny than it now fulfilled, as, lighted up by several lanterns sus- 
 pended from the branches, it spread its shade over a large table where 
 a party were playing at "Monte." 
 
 Even without the suggestive aid of the large heaps of gold beside 
 each player, and piled in the middle of the table, the grave and stead- 
 fast faces of some, the excited look of others, and the painfid intensity 
 of interest in all, showed that the play was high. Still, although such 
 was the case, and while the players were men whose hot blood and 
 reckless lives did but little dispose them to put the curb upon their 
 tempers, not a word was spoken aloiid ; nor did a gesture or a look 
 
 b2
 
 4 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 betray the terrible vacillations of hope and fear the cbaugeful fortune 
 of the game engendered. Standing near the table, but not mingling 
 in the play, stood Don Pedi'o himself, his sallow and melancholy 
 featiu'es fixed upon the game, with an expression that might mean 
 sorrow or deep anxiety, it were difficult to say which. Beside him, 
 at a small table littered with papers and writing materials, sat his 
 steward, or inteudant, a German named Greizheimer, a beetle-browed, 
 white-cheeked, thick-lipped fellow, whose aquiline features and gut- 
 tural accents told that lending money at enormous interest was no 
 uncongenial occupation. Such was his present, and indeed almost his 
 only duty ; for, while Don Pedro seldom or never played, gaming was 
 the invariable occupation of the guests, whose means to support it 
 were freely supplied by the steward ; the borrowers either passing a 
 simple note for repayment, or, vrhen the sum was a heavy one, mort- 
 gaging their share in the next prize they should capture. Other 
 contracts, it was rumoured, were occasionally resorted to, but of such 
 we shall speak anon. 
 
 At a short distance from the table, but sufficiently near to observe 
 the game, stood one on whom nothing short of tlie passion of play 
 could have prevented every eye being bent. But so it was ; she 
 stood alone and unmarked, while all the interest was concentrated 
 upon the game. Dressed in a white tunic or chemise, fastened rou.nd 
 the waist by a gold girdle, stood Maritana Eica, her large and lustrous 
 black eyes eagerly turned to where two youths were standing intensely 
 occupied by the play. Her neck, arms, and shoulders were bare, in 
 Mexican fashion, and even the mantilla she wore over her head was 
 less as a protection than as a necessary accompaniment of a costume, 
 which certainly is of the simplest kind. Except the chemise, she 
 had no other garment, save a jupe of thin lama-wool, beautifully 
 embroidered and studded with precious stones ; this terminated 
 below the middle of the leg, displaying an ankle and foot no Grrecian 
 statue ever surpassed in beaut}'. 
 
 If the deep brown of her skin almost conveyed the reproach — and 
 such it is — of Indian blood, a passing glance at the delicate outline 
 of her features, and, in particular, of her mouth, at once contradicted 
 the suspicion. The lips were beautifully arched, and, althougli plump 
 and rounded, had none of the fulness of the degraded race. These 
 were now slightl}- parted, displaying teeth of surprising whiteness, 
 and imparting to the whole expression a character of speaking ani- 
 mation. Although not yet sixteen, her figure had all the graceful 
 development of womanhood, without having entirely lost a certain air 
 of fawn-lilce elasticity, which, from time to time, her gestures of impa- 
 tience displayed. 
 
 The two young men, on whom her interest seemed fixed, were
 
 EOLA.KD CASHEL. 5 
 
 playing in partnership, and, in their highly-wrought passion, never 
 once looked up from the board. One, somewhat taller and older by 
 a few years, appeared to exercise the guidance of their play ; and it 
 was easy to see, in the swollen and knotted veins of his forehead, in 
 the clenched hands, and in the tremulous lip, the passionate nature 
 of a confirmed gambler. The younger, whose dress of green velvet, 
 slashed and braided in Mexican taste, and whose wide-leaved sombrero 
 was decorated with a long sash of light blue silk, whose deep gold 
 fringe hung upon his shoulder, was evidently one less enamoured of 
 play, and more than once busied himself in arranging the details of 
 his costume, of which he seemed somewhat vain. It was in one of 
 these moments that his eyes met those of Maritana fixed steadfastly 
 upon him, and, fascinated by her unmoved stare, he felt his cheek 
 grow hot, and, whether from a sense of shame or a still more tender 
 motive, the blush spread over his face and forehead. Maritana 
 looked steadily, almost sternly, at him, and then, with a slight toss of 
 her head, so slight that none save he who had watched her intently 
 could read its scornful import, she turned away. The youth did not 
 wait a moment, but, slipping from his place, followed along the alley 
 he had seen her take. 
 
 He who remained, unconscious of his friend's departure, continued 
 to mutter about the chances of the game, and speculate on the 
 amount he would dare to hazard. " She is against us every time, 
 Eoland !" said he, in a low, half-whispering voice. " Fortune will not 
 smile, woo her how we may! Speak, amigo mio, shall we risk all ?" 
 As he spoke, he began counting the piles of glittering gold before 
 him, but his hand trembled, and the pieces clung to his moist fingers, 
 so that he was too late for the deal. 
 
 " Sixteen hundred," muttered he to himself " Ten — twenty — 
 thirty." 
 
 " The bank loses !" cried the croupier, announcing the game. 
 
 " Loses !" screamed the young man, in an accent whose piercing 
 agony startled the whole board — " loses ! because it was the only time 
 I had no wager. See, Eoland, see how true it is ; there is a curse 
 upon xis." He seized the arm of the person at his side, and clenched 
 it with a convulsive energy as he spoke. 
 
 " Saperlote ! my young friend : you'll never change luck by tearing 
 my old uniform," growled out a rugged-looking German skipper, who, 
 commanding a small privateer, affected the rank and style of a naval 
 officer. 
 
 "Oh, is it you, Hans ?" said the youth, carelessly; " I thought it 
 had been one of our own fellows. Only think the bank should lose, 
 because I made no stake ; see now, watch this. Halt!" cried he to 
 the dealer, in a voice that at once arrested his hand. ''You give one
 
 6 E*OI,A.ND CA.SHEL. 
 
 no time, Sir, to decide upon his game," said he, with a savage irasci- 
 bility, which continued bad luck had carried to the highest pitch. 
 '• Players who risk their two or three crowns may not object ; but, if 
 a man desires to make a heavy stake, it is but common courtesy to 
 wait a moment. A thousand doubloons, the red queen — fifteen hun- 
 dred," added he, quickly, "fifteen, and thirty-five — or eight." So 
 saying, he pushed with both hands the great heap of gold pieces into 
 the middle of the table ; and then, with eyes bloodshot and glaring, 
 he watched each card that fell from the banker's fingers. "When the 
 first row of cards were dealt, all was in his favour, and, as the banker 
 took up the second pack, a loiug suppressed sigh broke from the 
 gambler's bosom. It seemed, at length, as if fortune had grown 
 weary of persecuting him. 
 
 " Come, Enrique," said a handsomely-dressed and fine-looking man, 
 who stood opposite to him, " luck has turned at last, there is nothing 
 but the queen of spades against you !" 
 
 As if by some magic spell he haid called the card, the words were 
 not out when it dropped upon the table. A cry of mingled amaze- 
 ment and horror burst from the players, whose natures would seem 
 to recognise some superstitious iufluence in such marked casualties. 
 As for Enrique, he stood perfectly still and silent ; a horrible smile, 
 the ghastly evidence of an hysterical efibrt, sat upon his rigid fea- 
 tures, and at length two or three heavy drops of blood tricliled from 
 his nostril, and fell upon his shirt. 
 
 '' "Wliere's Eoland ?" said he, in a fiiint whisper, to a young man 
 behind him. 
 
 " I saw him with Maritana, walking towards the three fountains." 
 
 Enrique's pallid cheek grew scarlet, and rudely pushing his wa}^ 
 through the crowd, he disappeared from view. 
 
 " There goes a man in a good humour to board a prize," said one 
 of the bystanders, coolly, and the play proceeded without a moment's 
 interruption. 
 
 With his broad-leaved hat drawn down upon liis brows, and his 
 head sunk upon his bosom, he traversed the winding walks with the 
 step of one who knew their every turning ; at last he reached a 
 lonely and unfrequented part of the garden, where the path, leading 
 for some distauce along the margin of a small lake, suddenly turned 
 off" towards a flower terrace, in the midst of which " the three foun- 
 tains" stood. 
 
 Instead of taking the shortest way to the spot, Enrique left the 
 walk and entered a grove of trees, through whose thick shade he pro- 
 ceeded silently and cautiously. The air was calm and motionless, 
 and none save one who had received the education of a prairie hunter, 
 could have followed that track so noiselessly. By degrees the wood
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 7 
 
 became open, and his progress more circumspect, Trlien he suddenly 
 halted. 
 
 Directly in front of him, not twenty paces from where he stood, -n-as 
 the terrace, over which, in the stilly night air, the fountain threw a 
 light spray-like shower, rustling as it fell upon the leaves, with a mur- 
 muring sound. Lower down, was a little basin surrounded by a 
 border of white marble, and beside this two figures were now stand- 
 ing, whom, by the clear starlight, he could easily recognise to be Ro- 
 land and Maritana. 
 
 The former, with folded arms, and head bent down, as if in thought, 
 leaned against a tree, while Maritana stood beside the fountain, 
 moving her foot to and fro in the clear water, and, as though entirely 
 engrossed by her childish pastime, never bestowed a look upon her 
 companion. At last, she ceased suddenly, and turning abruptly 
 round, so as to stand full in front of him, said, "Well, Senhor, am I 
 to hope our pleasant interview is ended, or have I still to hear more 
 of your complaints, those gentle remonstrances that sound, to my ears 
 at least, more wearisome than words of downright anger ?" 
 
 " Tou have not heard me patiently," said the youth, advancing to- 
 wards her, while the slightly shaken tones of his voice contrasted 
 strangely with the assured and haughty accents in which he spoke. 
 
 " Patiently!" echoed she, with a scornful laugh. " And where was 
 this same goodly gift to be learned ? Among the pleasant company 
 we have quitted, Senhor ? whose friendships of a night are cele- 
 brated by a brawl on the morrow ! From the most exemplary crew 
 of the Esmeralda, and, in particular, the worthy lieutenant, Don Eo- 
 land da Castel, who, if report speaks truly, husbands the virtue so 
 rigidly that he cannot spare the smallest portion to expend upon his 
 friends ?" 
 
 " If my thrift had extended to other matters," said the youth, 
 bitterly, " mayhap I should not have to listen to language like this." 
 
 " What say you, Sir ?" cried the girl, passionately, as she stamped 
 upon the ground with a gesture of violent anger. " Do you affect to 
 say, that it matters to me whether you stood there as loaded with 
 gold as on the morning you brought back that Mexican prize, and 
 played the hero with such martial modesty ; or as poor — as poor — as 
 bad luck at cards can make you ? If I loved you, I'd have as little 
 care for one event as the other !" 
 
 " Tou certainly thought more favourably of me then, than now, 
 Maritana!" said Eoland, diffidently. 
 
 " I know not why you say so !" 
 
 " At least you accepted mj hand in betrothal " 
 
 " Stay !" cried she, impetuously. " Did I not tell you, then, be- 
 fore the assembled witnesses — before my father — what a mockery
 
 8 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 this same ceremony was — that its whole aim and object was to take 
 advantage of that disgraceful law that can make an unmarried girl, a 
 widow, to inherit the fortune of one she never would have accepted 
 as her husband ? Speak, Sir ! — and say, did I not tell you this, and 
 more too, that such a bridal ceremony brought little fortune to the 
 bridegroom, for that already I had been thrice a widowed bride? 
 Nay, more, you heard me swear as solemnly, that while I regarded 
 the act as one of deep profanation, I felt in no wise bound by it. It 
 is idle, then, to speak of our betrothal!" 
 
 " It is true, Maritaiia, you said all this ; although, perhaps, you had 
 not now remembered it, had not some other succeeded to that place 
 in your regard " 
 
 " There, there !" cried she, stopping him impatiently. " I will not 
 listen again to the bead-roll of your jealousies. People must have 
 loved very little, or too much, to endure that kind of torture. Be- 
 sides, why tell me of these things ? You are, they say, a most ac- 
 complished hunter, and can answer me, — if, when in chase of an ante- 
 lope, a jaguar joins the sport, you do not turn upon him at once, the 
 worthier and nobler enemy, and thus, as it were, protect what had 
 been your prey ?" 
 
 Tlie youth seemed stung to the quick by this pitiless sarcasm ; and, 
 although he made no reply, his hands, convulsively clutched, bespoke 
 the torrent of agitation within him. " You are right, Maritaiia !" 
 said he, after a pause. " It is idle to talk of our betrothal — I release 
 you." 
 
 " Eelease one .'" said she, laughing contemptuously ; " this is a task 
 I always perform for myself, Senhor, and by the shortest of methods, 
 as thus." As she spoke, she struggled to tear from her finger a riug, 
 which resisted all her efforts ; at last, by a violent wrench, she suc- 
 ceeded, and holding it up for a second, till the large diamond glittered 
 like a star, she threw it into the still fountain at her feet. " There, 
 amigo mio, I release yoii. — never was freedom more willingly ac- 
 corded !" 
 
 " Never was there a slave more weary of his servitude!" said the 
 youth, bitterly. " If Don Pedro Eica but tear his accursed bond, I 
 should feel myself my own again." 
 
 " He will scarce refuse you. Sir, if tlie rumour be correct that says 
 you have lost eleven thousand doubloons at play. The wealthy con- 
 queror stands on very different ground from the ruined gambler. Go 
 to him at once \ Ask back the paper ! Tell him you have neither 
 a heart nor a fortune to bestow upon his daughter! That, as a 
 gambler, fettered by tlie lust for play, you have lost all soul for those 
 hazardous enterprises that win a girl's love, and a father's consent." 
 
 She waited for a moment, that he might reply ; and then, im-
 
 EOLAKD CASHEL. 9 
 
 patleut, perhaps, at bis silence, added — "I did uot[tliink, Seulior, 
 you esteemed yourself so rich a prize ! Be of good cheer, however ! 
 They who are less cognisant of your deserts will be more eager to 
 secure them." 
 
 With these slighting words she turned away. Eoland advanced as 
 if to follow her, but with a contemptuous gesture of the hand she 
 waved him back, and he stood like one spell-bound, gazing after her, 
 till she disappeared in the dark distance. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 " La diche viene quando no se aguarda." — Spanish Proverb. 
 (Good luck comes wlien it is not looked for.) 
 
 Eoland looked for some minutes in the direction by which Mari- 
 tafia had gone, and then, with a sudden start, as if of some newly taken 
 resolve, took the path towards the Villa. He had not gone far when, 
 at the turn of the way, he came in front of Enrique, who, with hasty 
 steps, was advancing towards him. 
 
 " Lost, everything lost!" exclaimed the latter, with a mournful 
 gesture of his hands. 
 
 " All gone !" cried Eoland. 
 
 " Every crown in the world !" 
 
 Be it so ; there is an end of gambling, at least !" 
 
 cc 
 
 Tou bear your losses nobly, Senhor !" said Enrique, sneeringiy ; 
 " and, before a fitting avidience, might claim the merit of an accom- 
 plished gamester. I am, however, most unworthy to witness such 
 fine philosophy. I recognise in beggary nothing but disgrace!" 
 
 " Bear it, then, and the whole load, too!" said Eoland, sneeringiy. 
 " To your solicitations only I yielded in taking my place at that ac- 
 cursed table. I had neither a passion for play, nor the lust for money- 
 getting ; you thought to teach me both, and, peradventure, you have 
 made me despise them more than ever." 
 
 " "What a moralist!" cried Enrique, laughing insolently, "who dis- 
 covers that he has cared neither for his mistress nor his money till 
 he has lost both." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" said Eoland, trembling Avith passion. 
 
 " I never speak in riddles," was the cool reply. 
 
 " Tliis, then,_is meant as insult," said Eoland, approaching closer, 
 and speaking in a still lower voice ; " or is it merely the passion of a 
 disappointed gambler r"
 
 10 BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " And if it were, amigo mio," retorted the other, " what more 
 fitting stake to set against the anger of a rejected lover ?" 
 
 " Be it so!" cried Roland, fiercely; "yon never caught up a man 
 more disposed to indulge youj- humour. Shallit be now?" 
 
 " Could not so much courage keep warm till daylight ?" said 
 Enrique, calmly. " Below the fountains there is a very quiet spot," 
 
 " At sunrise ?" 
 
 " At simrise," echoed Enrique, bowing with afi'ected courtesy, till 
 the streamers from his hat touched the ground. 
 
 " Now for my worthy father-in-law elect," said Eoland ; "and to 
 see him before he may hear of this business, or I may find it difficult 
 to obtain my divorce." When the youth arrived at the Villa, the 
 party were assembled at supper. The great saloon, crowded with 
 guests and hurrying menials, was a scene of joyous but reckless con- 
 viviality, the loud laughter and the louder voices of the company 
 striking on Eoland's ear with a grating discordance he had never ex- 
 perienced before. The sounds of that festivity he had been wont to 
 recognise, as the pleasant evidence of free and high-souled enjoyment, 
 now jarred heavily on his senses, and he wondered within himself 
 how long he had lived in such companionship. 
 
 Well knowing that the supper party would not remain long at 
 table, while high play continued to have its hold upon the guests, he 
 strolled into one of the shady alleys, watching from time to time for 
 the breaking up of the entertainment. At last some two or three 
 arose, and preceded by servants with lighted flambeaux, took the way 
 towards the gaming-table. They were speedily followed by others, 
 so that in a brief space — except by the usual group of hard-drinking 
 souls, who ventured upon no stake save that of health — the room was 
 deserted. 
 
 He looked eagerly for Don Pedro, but could not see him, as it was 
 occasionally his practice to retire to his library, long before his guests 
 sought their repose. Eoland made a circuit of the Villa, and soon 
 came to the door of this apartment, which led into a small flower- 
 garden. Tapping gently here, he received a summons to enter, and 
 found himself before Don Pedro, who, seated before a table, appeared 
 deeply immersed in matters of business. 
 
 Eoland did not need the cold and almost stern reception of his 
 host to make him feel his intrusion very painfully ; and he hastened 
 to express his extreme regret that he should be compelled by any 
 circumstances to trespass on leisure so evidently destined for privacy. 
 "But a few moments' patient hearing," continued he, "will show 
 that to me at least the object of this visit did not admit of delay." 
 
 " Be seated, Senhor ; and, if I may ask it without incivility, be brief, 
 for I have weighty matters before me."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 11 
 
 " I will endeavour to be so," said Eoland, civilly, and resumed : 
 " This evening, Don Pedro, has seen the last of twenty-eight thousand 
 Spanish dollars, which, five weeks since, I carried here along with me. 
 They were my share, as commander of the Esmeralda, when she cap- 
 tured a Mexican bark in May last. They were won with hard blows 
 and some danger — they were squandered in disgrace at the gaming- 
 table." 
 
 " Forgive me," said Don Pedro, " you can scarcely adhere to your 
 pledge of brevity if you permit yourself to be led away by moralising ; 
 just say how this event concerns me, and wherefore the present visit." 
 
 Eoland became red with anger and shame, and when he resumed it 
 was in a voice tremulous with ill-suppressed passion. " I did not come 
 here for your sympathy, Senhor. If the circumstance I have men- 
 tioned had no relation to yourself, you had not seen me here. I say 
 that I have now lost all that I was possessed of in the world." 
 
 " Again I must interrupt you, Senhor Eoland, by saying that these 
 are details for Geizheimer, not for me. He, as you well know, 
 transacts all matters of money, aad if you desire a loan, or are in want 
 of any immediate assistance, I'm sure you'll find him in every way 
 disposed to meet your wishes." 
 
 " Thanks, Senhor, but I am not inclined for such aid. I will neither 
 mortgage my blood nor my courage, nor promise three hundred per 
 cent, for the means of a night at the gambling-table." 
 
 " Then pray. Sir, how am I to understand your visit? Is it in- 
 tended for the sake of retailing to me your want of fortune at play, 
 and charging me with the results of your want of skill or luck ?" 
 
 " Far from it, Senhor. It is simply to make known that I am 
 ruined ; that I have nothing left me in the world ; and that as one 
 whose fortune has deserted him, I have come to ask back that bond 
 by which I accepted your daughter's hand in betrothal." 
 
 A burst of laughter from Don Pedro here stopped the speaker, 
 who, with flushed cheek and glaring eyeballs, stared at this sudden 
 outbreak. " Do you know for what you ask me, Senhor ?" said Eica, 
 smiling insolently. 
 
 " Yes, I ask for what you never could think to enforce — ^to make 
 me, a beggar, the husband of your daughter." 
 
 " Moat true — I never thought of such an alliance. 1 believe you 
 were told that Columbian law gives these contracts the force of a 
 legal claim, in the event of survivorship ; and you flattered yourself, 
 perhaps too hastily, that other ties more binding still might grow 
 from it. If Fortune was as fickle with you here as at the card-table, 
 the fault is not in me." 
 
 " But of what avail is it now ?" said Eoland, passionately. " If I 
 died to-morrow, there is not sufficient substance left to buy a suit of 
 mourning for my poor widow."
 
 12 EOLAIS'D OASUEL. 
 
 " She could, perhaps, dispense with outward grief," said Pedro, 
 sneeringly. 
 
 " I say again," cried Eoland, witli increased agitation, " this bond 
 is not worth the paper it is written on. I leave the service — I sail 
 into another latitude, and it is invalid — a mere mockery !" 
 
 " Not so fast. Sir," said Pedro, slowly, " there is a redeeming clause, 
 by which you, on paying seventy thousand doubloons, are released of 
 your contract, with my concurrence. Mark that well — with my con- 
 currence it must be. Now, I have the opinion of learned counsel, in 
 countries where mayhap your adventurous fancy has already carried 
 you, that this clause embraces the option which side of the contract 
 I should desire to enforce." 
 
 " Such may be your law here ; I can have little doubt that any 
 infamy may pass for justice in this favoured region," said Eoland ; 
 " but I'll never believe that so base a judgment could be uttered 
 where civilisation prevails. At all events, I'll try the case. I now 
 tell you frankly, that, to-morrow, I mean to resign my rank and com- 
 mission in this service ; I mean to quit this country, with no inten- 
 tion ever to revisit it. If you still choose to retain a contract whose 
 illegality needs no stronger proof than that it aifects to bind one 
 party only, I'll not waste further time by thinking of it." 
 
 "I will keep it, Senhor," interrupted Pedro, calmly. " I knew 
 a youth, once, who had as humble an opinion of his fortunes as you 
 have now ; and yet he died — not in this service, indeed, but in these 
 seas — and his fortune well requited the trouble of its claimant." 
 
 " I have no right to trespass longer on you, Sir," said Eoland, 
 bowing. " I wish I could thank you for all your hospitality to me 
 with a more fitting courtesy ; I must confess myself your debtor 
 without hope of repayment." 
 
 " Have you signified to Don Gomez Noronja your intention to 
 resign ?" 
 
 " I shall do it within half an hour." 
 
 " Ton forget that your resignation must be accepted by the 
 Minister ; that no peremptory permission can be accorded by a cap- 
 tain in commission, save under a guarantee of ten thousand crowns 
 for a captain, and seven for a lieutenant, the sum to be estreated if 
 tlie individual quit the service without leave. This, at least, is law 
 you cannot dispute !" 
 
 Eoland hung down his head, thunderstruck by an announcement 
 which, at one swoop, dashed away all his hopes. As he stood silent 
 and overwhelmed, Don Pedro continued : " Tou see. Sir, that the 
 service knows how to value its officers, even when they set little store 
 by the service. Knowing that young men are fickle and fanciful, 
 with caprices that carry them faster than sound judgment, they have 
 made the enactment I speak of. And, even were you to give the
 
 KOLAH^^D CASHEL. 13 
 
 preliminary notice, where will you be wlien the time expires ? In 
 what parallel south of Cape Horn ? Among the islands of the 
 Southern Pacific"; perhaps upon the coast of Africa ? No, no ; take 
 mv advice ; do not abandon your career ; it is one in which you have 
 already won distinction. Losses at play are easily repaired in these 
 seas. Our navy " 
 
 " Is nothing better than a system of piracy !" broke in Roland, 
 savagely. " So long as, in ignorance of its real character, I walked 
 beneath your flag, the heaviest crime that could be imputed to me was 
 but the folly of a rash-brained boy. I feel that I know better now ; 
 I'll serve under it no more." 
 
 " Dangerous words, these, Senhor, if reported in the quarter where 
 they w^ould be noticed." 
 
 Roland turned an indignant glance at him as he uttered this threat, 
 and with an expression so full of passion, that Rica, for a few seconds, 
 seemed to feel that he had gone too far. " I did but suggest caution, 
 Senhor," said he, timidly. 
 
 " Take care that you practise as well as preach the habit," mut- 
 tered Roland, " or you'll fi.nd that you have exploded your own 
 mine." 
 
 This, which he uttered as he left the room, was in reality nothing 
 mflre than a vague menace ; but it was understood in a very different 
 sense by Pedro, who stood pale and trembling with agitation, gazing 
 at the door by which the youth departed. At last he moved forward, 
 and opening it, called out — " Senhor Roland ! Roland, come back ! 
 Let me speak to you again." But already he was far beyond hearing, 
 as with all his speed he hastened down the alley. 
 
 Don Pedro's resolves were soon formed ; he rang his bell at once, 
 and summoning a servant, asked if Don Gomez Naronja was still at 
 table ? 
 
 " He has retired to his room, Seuhor," was the reply. 
 
 A few moments after, Rica entered the chamber of his guest, where 
 he remained in close conversation till nigh daybreak. As he reached 
 his' own apartment, the sound of horses' feet and carriage-wheels was 
 heard upon the gravel, and throwing up the window, Rica called out — 
 
 " Is that Don Enrique ?" 
 
 " Yes, Senhor, taking Prench leave, as you. would call it. A bad 
 return for a Spanish welcome ; but duty leaves no alternative." 
 
 " Are you for the coast, then ?" 
 
 " "With all speed. Our captain received important despatches in 
 the night. We shall be afloat before forty hours. Adios !" 
 
 The farewell was cordially re-echoed by Rica, who closed the window, 
 muttering to himself—" So ! all will go well at last." 
 
 "While Enrique was making all the speed towards the sea-shore a 
 light calcche and four horses could accomplish, Roland was pacing
 
 14 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 witli impatient steps the little plot of grass where so soon he expected 
 to find himself in deadly conflict with his enemy. 
 
 Never was a man's mind more suited to the purpose for which he 
 waited. Dejected, insulted, and ruined in one night, he had little to 
 live for, and felt far less eager to be revenged of his adversary, than 
 to rid himself of a hated existence. It was to no purpose that he 
 could say, and say truly, that he had never cared for any of these 
 things, of which he now saw himself stripped. His liking for Mari- 
 taiia had never gone beyond great admiration for her beauty, and a 
 certain spitefiil pleasure in exciting those bursts of passion over which 
 she exercised not the slightest control. It was caprice, not love ; the 
 delight of a schoolboy in the power to torment, without the wish to 
 retain. His self-love, then, it was, was wounded on finding that 
 she, with whose temper he had sported, could tiu'u so terribly upon 
 himself. The same feeling was outraged by Enrique, who seemed 
 to know and exult over his defeat. These sources of bitterness, 
 being all aggravated by the insulting manner of Don Pedro, made up 
 a mass of indignant and angry feelings which warred and goaded him 
 almost to madness. 
 
 The long-expected dawn broke slowly, and although, a few moments 
 after sunrise, the whole sky became of a rich rose colour, these few 
 moments seemed like an age to the impatient thoughts of him wlio 
 thirsted for his vengeance. 
 
 He walked hastily up and down the space, waiting now and again 
 to listen, and then, disappointed, resumed his path, with some gesture 
 of impatience. At last he heard footsteps approaching. They came 
 nearer and nearer ; and now, he could hear the branches and the trees 
 bend and crack, as some one forced a passage through them. A swell- 
 ing feeling about the heart bespoke the anxiety with which he lis- 
 tened, when a figure appeared, which even at a glance he knew to 
 be not Enrique's. As the man approached he took off his hat re- 
 spectfully, and presented a letter. 
 
 " From Don Enrique?" said Eoland ; and tlien tearing open the 
 paper, he read : 
 
 " ' Amigo Mro, — Not mine the fault that I do not stand before 
 you now instead of these few lines ; but Noronja has received news 
 of these Chilian fellows, and sent me to get the craft ready for sea at 
 once. We shall meet thera in a few hours ; and if so, let it be as 
 comrades. The service and our own rules forbid a duel so long as 
 we are afloat and on duty. Whatever be your humour when next 
 we touch shore again, rely upon finding me ready to meet it, either 
 as an enemy or as 
 
 " 'Tour friend, 
 
 " ' EWEIQIJE DA COEDOTA.' "
 
 EOLAXD CASHEL. 15 
 
 A single exclamation of disappointment broke from Eoland, but 
 the moment after all former anger was gone. The old spirit of 
 comrade-affection began to seek its accustomed channels, and ke left 
 the spot, happy to think how different had been his feeling, than if 
 he were quitting it with the blood of his shipmate on his hands. 
 
 Althougli he now saw that his continuance in the service for the 
 present was inevitable, he had fullj made up his mind to leave it, 
 and, with it, habits of life whose low excesses had now become in- 
 tolerable. So long as the spirit of adventure and daring sustained 
 him, so long the respite of a few months' shore life was a season of 
 pleasure and delight ; but as by degrees the real character of his 
 associates became clearer, and he saw in them men who cared for 
 enterprise no further than for its gain, and calculated each hazardous 
 exploit by its profit, he felt that he was now following the career of a 
 bravo, who hires out his arm and sells his courage. This revolted 
 every sentiment of his mind, and come what would, he resolved to 
 abandon it. In these day-dreams of a new existence the memory of 
 two years passed in the Pampas constantly mingled, and he could not 
 help contrasting the happy and healthful contentment of the simple 
 liunter with the voluptuous but cankered pleasui'es of the wealthy 
 buccaneer. Once more beneath the wooded shades of the tall banana, 
 he thought how free and peaceful his days would glide by, free from 
 the rude conflicts he now witnessed, and the miserable jealousies of 
 these ill-assorted companionships. For some hours he wandered, re- 
 volving thoughts like these ; and at length turned his steps towards 
 the Villa, determined, so long as his captain remained, that he would 
 take up his quarters at Barcelonetta, nor in future accept of the 
 hospitality of Don Eica's house. "With this intention he was return- 
 ing to arrange for the removal of his luggage, when his attention was 
 excited by tbe loud cracking of whips, and the shrill cries that ac- 
 companied the sounds of " The Post ! the Post !" 
 
 In a moment, every window of the Yilla was thrown open, and 
 heads, in every species of night-gear, and every stage of sleepy 
 astonishment, thrust out ; for the Post, be it observed, was but a 
 monthly phenomenon, and the arrival of letters was very often the 
 signal for a total break-up of the wliole household. 
 
 Tlie long waggpn, drawn by four black mules, and driven by a 
 fellow whose wide-tasseled sombrero and long moustaches seemed to 
 savour more of the character of a melodrama than real life, stopped 
 before the chief entrance of the Villa, and was immediately sur- 
 rounded by the guests, whose hurried wardrobe could only be excused 
 in so mild a climate. 
 
 " Anything for me, Truxillo ?" cried one, holding up a dollar 
 temptingly between finger and thumb. 
 
 " Where are my cigarettes ?"
 
 16 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " And my mantle ?" 
 
 " And my gim ?" 
 
 " And the Senbora's embroidered slippers ?" cried a maid, as she 
 ransacked every corner where the packages lay. 
 
 The driver, however, paid little attention to these various demands ; 
 but loosening the bridles of his beasts, he proceeded to wash their 
 mouths with some water fetched from the fountain, coolly telling the 
 applicants that they might help themselves, only to spare something 
 for the people of Barcelonetta, for he knew there was a letter or two 
 for that place. 
 
 " What have we here ?" cried one of the guests, as a mass of some- 
 thing enveloped in a horse-sheet lay rolled up in the foot of the 
 caleche, where the driver sat. 
 
 "Ah ! par Dies !" cried the man, laughing, " I had nearly forgotten 
 that fellow. He is asleep, poor devil ! He nearly died of cold in the 
 night!" 
 
 " "Who is he — what is he ?" 
 
 "A traveller from beyond San Luis in search of Don Pedro." 
 
 " Of me?" said Don Pedro, whose agitation became, in spite of all 
 his eflbrts, visible to every one ; at the same instant that, pulling 
 back the cloak rudely, he gazed at the sleeping stranger — " I never 
 saw him before." 
 
 " Come, awake — stir up, Senhor!" said the driver, poking the pas- 
 senger very unceremoniously with his whip. " We are arrived — this 
 is the Villa de las ]N"oches Entretenidas — here is Don Pedro himself !" 
 
 " The Lord be praised!" said a short, round-faced little man, who, 
 with a nightcap drawn over his ears, and a huge cravat enveloping 
 his chin, now struggled to look around him. " At last!" sighed he ; 
 " I'm sure I almost gave up all hope of it." Tliese words were 
 spoken in English, but even that evidence was not necessary to show 
 that the little plump figure in drab gaiters and shorts was not a 
 Spaniard. 
 
 "Are you Don Peter, Sir — are you really Don Peter?" said he, 
 rubbing his eyes, and looking hurriedly around to assure himself he 
 was not dreaming. 
 
 " What is your business with me — or have you any ?" said Eica, 
 in a voice barely above a whisper. 
 
 " Have I ! — Did I come six thousand miles in search of you ? Oh 
 dear, oh dear. I can scarcely think it all over, even now. But still 
 there may be nothing doue if he isn't here." 
 
 " AVhat do you mean ?" said Rica, impatiently. 
 
 " Mr. Eoland Cashel ; Eoland Cashel, Esq., I should call him now, 
 Sir." 
 
 " That's my name !" said the youth, forcing his way through the 
 crowd, and standing in front of the traveller.
 
 EOLA:yD CASHEL. 17 
 
 The little man put his hand into a breast-pocket, and drew out a 
 little book, opening which he began to read, comparing the detail as 
 he went on, with the object before him. 
 
 " Six foot and an inch in height, at least, olive-brown complexion, 
 dark eyes and hair, straight nose, short upper lip, frowns slightly 
 when he speaks ; — just talk a little, will you ?" 
 
 Cashel could not help smiling at the request ; when tlie other 
 added, " Shows his teeth greatly when he laughs." 
 
 " Am I a runaway negro from New Orleans that you have taken 
 my portrait so accurately, Sir ?" 
 
 " Grot that at Demerara," said the little man, putting up the book, 
 " and must say it was very near indeed !" 
 
 " I have been at Demerara," said Cashel, hoping by the admission 
 to obtain some further insight into the traveller's intentions. 
 
 " I know that," said the little man. " I tracked you thence to St. 
 Kitts, then to Antigua. I lost you there, but I got up the scent 
 again in Honduras, but only for a short time, and had to try Deme- 
 rara again ; then I dodged down the coast by Pernambuco, but lost 
 you entirely in June : some damned Indian expedition, I believe. 
 But I met a fellow at New Orleans who had seen you at St. Louis, 
 and so I tracked away south " 
 
 " And in one w^ord, having found me, what was the cause of so 
 much solicitude. Sir ?" said Cashel, who felt by no means comfortable 
 at such a hot and unwearied pursuit. 
 
 " This can all be better said in the house," interposed Don Eica, 
 who, relieved of any uneasiness on his own account, had suddenly 
 resumed his habitual quiet demeanour. 
 
 " So I'm thinking too!" said the traveller; " but let me first land 
 my portmanteau ; all the papers are there ; I have not lost sight of 
 it since I started." 
 
 The parcels were carefully removed under his own inspection, and, 
 accompanied by Doii Pedro Eica and Eoland, the little man entered 
 the Villa. 
 
 There could be no greater contrast than that between the calm 
 and placid bearing Don Pedro had now assumed, and the agitated and 
 anxious appearance Avhich Cashel exhibited. The very last interview 
 he had sustained in that same spot still dwelt upon his mind ; and 
 when he declined Don Pedro's polite request to be seated, and stood 
 with folded arms before the table, which the traveller had now covered 
 with his papers, a prisoner awaiting the words of his judgment could 
 not have endured a more intense feeling of anxiety. 
 
 " 'Eoland Cashel, born in York, a.d. 18 — , son of Godfrey Cashel 
 and Sarah, his wife,' " read the little man ; then murmured to him- 
 self, " Certificate of baptism, signed by Joshua Grorgeous, Preben- 
 
 TOL. I. c
 
 18 EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 dary of the Cathedral ; all right, so far. Now we come to tlie wan- 
 derings. Tour father was quartered at Port-au-Prince, in the year 
 18—, I believe ?" 
 
 " He was. I w^as then nine years old," said Cashel. 
 
 " Qiute correct ; he died there, I understand ?" 
 
 Cashel assented by a nod. 
 
 " Upon which event you joined, or was supposed to join, the Broivn 
 Peg, a sloop in the African trade, vrrecked off Fernando Po, same 
 winter ?" 
 
 " Tes : she was scuttled by the second mate, in a mutiny. But 
 what has all this secret history of me to mean ? Did you come here. 
 Sir, to glean particulars to write my life and adventures ?" 
 
 " I crave your pardon, most humbly, Mr. Cashel," said the little 
 man, in a perfect agony of humiliation. " I was only recapitulating 
 a few collateral circumstances, by way of proof I was, so to say, 
 testing — that is, I was " 
 
 " Satisfying yourself as to this gentleman's identity," added Don 
 Pedro. 
 
 " Exactly so, Sir ; the very words upon the tip of my tongue — 
 satisfying myself that you were the individual alluded to here" — as 
 he spoke, he drew forth a copy of the Times newspaper, whose well- 
 worn and much-thumbed edges bespoke frequent reference — " in this 
 advertisem_ent," said he, handing the paper to Don Pedro, who at 
 once read aloud — 
 
 " ' Eewaed or 500Z. — Any person giving such information as may 
 lead to the discovery of a young gentleman named Eolaud Cashel, 
 who served for some years on board of various merchant vessels in 
 the Levant, the African, and the "West India trade, and was seen in 
 New Orleans in the autumn of 18 — , will receive the above reward. 
 He was last heard 'of in Mexico, but it is believed that he has since 
 entered the Chilian or Columbian service. He is well known in the 
 Spanish Main, and in many of the cities on the coast, as tlie Ca- 
 ballero.' " 
 
 Cashel's face was one burning surface of scarlet, as he heard the 
 words of an advertisement which, in his ideas, at once associated him 
 with runaway negroes and escaped felons ; and it was with something 
 like suffocation that he restrained his temper, as he asked wliy, and 
 by whose authority, he was thus described ? 
 
 The little man looked amazed and confounded at a question which, 
 it w^ould seem, he believed his information had long since anticipated. 
 
 " Mr. Cashel wishes to know the object of this inquiry — who sent 
 you hither, in fact," said DonEica, beginning himself to lose patience 
 at the slowness of the strangei's appreliensiou. 
 
 " Mr. Keunyfeck, of Dublin, the law-agent, sent me."
 
 E0LA1S"D CASHEl. 19 
 
 " Upon -nhat grounds — ■svith what purpose ?" 
 
 " To tell him that the suit is gained ; that he is now the rightful 
 OAvner of the whole of the Godfrey and Godfrey Browne estates, and 
 lands of Ben Currig, Tulough Callaghau, Knock Swinery, Kildal- 
 looran, Tullimeoran, Ballycanderigan, with all the manorial rights, 
 privileges, and perquisites appertaining to — in a word, Sir, for I see 
 your impatience, to something, a mere trifle, under seventeen thou- 
 sand per annum, not to speak of a sum, at present not exactly known, 
 in bank, besides foreign bonds and securities to a large amount." 
 
 "While Mr. Simms recited this, with the practised volubility of one 
 who had often gone over the same catalogue before, Cashel stood 
 amazed, and almost stupified, iinable to grasp in his mind the full 
 extent of his good fortune, but catching, here and there, glimpses of 
 the truth, in the few circumstances of family history alluded to. 
 Not so Don Eica ; neither confusion nor hesitation troubled the 
 free working of his acute faculties, but he sat still, patiently watching 
 the efiect of this iatellicrence on the youth before him. At length, 
 perceiving that he did not speak, he himself turned towards the 
 stranger, and saidj 
 
 " Tou are, doiibtless, a man of the world, Sir, andiieedno apologies 
 for my remarking that good news demands a scrirfciny not less search- 
 ing than its opposite. As the friend of Senhor Cashel" — here he 
 turned a glance beneath his heavy brows at the youth, who, however, 
 seemed not to notice the word — " as his friend, I repeat, deeply inte- 
 rested in whatever afli'ects him, I may, perhaps, be permitted to ask 
 the details of this very remarkable event." 
 
 " If you mean the trial. Sir, or rather the trials, for there were 
 three at bar, not to mention a suit in equity, and a bill of dis- 
 covery " 
 
 " No, I should be sorry to trespass so far upon you," interrupted 
 Eica. " What I meant was something in the shape of an assurance 
 — somethmg like satisfactory proof that this narrative, so agreeable to 
 believe, sliould have all the foundation we wish it." 
 
 " Nothing easier," said Mr. Simms, producing an enormous black 
 leather pocket-book from the breast of his coat, and opening it 
 leisurely on the table before him. " Here are, I fancy, documents 
 quite sufficient to answer all your inqviiries. This is the memo- 
 randum of the verdict taken at Bath, with the note of the Attorney- 
 Oeneral, and the point reserved, in which motion for a new trial was 
 made." 
 
 " "What is this ?" asked Cashel, now speaking for the first time, 
 
 as he took up a small book of strange shape, and looked curiously 
 at it. 
 
 " Cheque-book of the bank of Pordyce and Grange, Lombard- 
 
 c2
 
 20 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 street," replied Simms ; '• and here, the authority by which you are 
 at liberty to draw on the firm for the balance abeady iu their hands, 
 amounting to — let me see" — here he rapidly set down certain figures 
 on the corner of a piece of paper, and with the speed of lightning 
 performed a sum iu arithmetic — "the sum of one hundred and 
 tAventy-three thousand pounds seven and elevenpence, errors ex- 
 cepted." 
 
 " This sum is mine!" cried Cashel, as his eyes flashed fire, and his 
 dark cheek grew darker with excitement. 
 
 " It is only a moiety of your funded property," said Simms. " Cas- 
 tellan and Biggen, the notaries, certify to a much larger amount in 
 the Three per Cents." 
 
 " And I am at liberty to draw at once for whatever amount I re- 
 quire ?" 
 
 " Within that sum, certainly. Though, if you desire more, I'm 
 sure they'll not refuse your order." 
 
 " Leave us for a moment, Sir," said Cashel, in an accent whose 
 trembling eagerness bespoke the agitation he laboured under. " I 
 have something of importance to tell this gentleman." 
 
 " If you will step this way, Sir," said Don Eica, politel3\ " I have 
 ordered some refreshment in this room, and I believe you will find it 
 awaiting you," 
 
 Mr. Simms gladly accepted the offered hospitality, and retired. 
 The door was not well closed, when Don Eica advanced with extended 
 hands towards Cashel, and said, 
 
 " "With all my heart I give you joy — such good fortune as this may, 
 indeed, oblitei-ate every little cloud that has passed between us, and 
 make us once more the friends we have ever been." 
 
 Cashel crossed his arms on his breast, and coldly replied, " I thank 
 you. But a few hours back, and one-half as much kindness would 
 have made a child of me in feeling. Now it serves only to arouse my 
 indignation, and my anger." 
 
 " Are you indeed so unjust — so ungenerous as this !" exclaimed 
 Eica, in a tone whose anguish seemed wrung from the very heart. 
 
 " Unjust — ungenerous ! how?" cried Cashel, passionately. 
 
 " Both, Sir," said Eica, in a voice of almost commanding severity. 
 " Unjust to suppose, that in thwarting your last resolve to leave a 
 service in which you have already won fame and honour, I was not 
 your best and truest friend ; that in offering every opposition in my 
 power to such a hot-headed resolution, I was not consulting your 
 best interests ; ungenerous to imagine tliat I could feel any other 
 sentiment than delight at your altered fortunes, I, who gave you 
 all tliat was dearest and nearest to me, on earth, my child — my 
 Maritaua." 
 
 Had it not been for the passionate emotion of the last few words,
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 21 
 
 Cashel's anger would have suggested a reply not less indignant than 
 his question ; but the siglit of the hard, the stern, the unflinching 
 Pedro Eica, as he now stood — his face covered by his hands, while 
 his strong chest heaved and throbbed with convulsive energy — this 
 was more than he felt prepared to look on. It was then only by a 
 great effort he could say, " Tou seem to forget, Senhor Eica, how 
 differently you interpreted this same contract but a few hours ago. 
 Tou told me then — I think I hear the words still ringing in my ears 
 — that you never thought of such an alliance ; that your calculations 
 took a less flattering estimate of my relationship." 
 
 " I spoke in anger, Eoland ; anger caused by your passionate re- 
 solve. Eemember, too, that I preferred holding you to your contract, 
 in preference to allowing you to redeem it by paying the penalty." 
 
 " Easy alternative," said Cashel, with a scornful laugh ; " you 
 scarcely expected a beggar, a ruined gambler, could pay seventy 
 thousand doubloons. But times are changed, Sir. I am rich now ! 
 rich enough to double the sum you stipulated for. Although I well 
 Ivuow the contract is not worth the pen that wrote it, I am willing to 
 recomise it, at least so far as the forfeit is concerned." 
 
 " My poor child, my darling Maritana," said Pedro, but in a voice 
 barely audible. The words seemed the feeble utterance of a break- 
 ing heart, 
 
 " Sorrow not for her, Senhor," said Cashel, hastily. " She has no 
 griefs herself on such a score. It is but a few hours since she told 
 me so." 
 
 Don Pedro was silent ; but a mournful shake of the head, and a 
 still more mournful smile, seemed to intimate his dissent. 
 
 " I tell you. Sir, that your own scorn of my alliance was inferior to 
 hers !" cried Cashel, in a voice of deep exasperation. " She even 
 went so far as to say that she was a party to the contract only on the 
 condition of its utter worthlessness. Do not, then, let me hear of 
 regrets for TierT 
 
 " And you believe this ?" 
 
 " I believe what I have myself witnessed." 
 
 '• What, then, if you be a witness to the very opposite ? "What if 
 your ears reveal to you the evidence as strongly against, as now you 
 deem it in favour of, your opinion ?" 
 
 " I do not catch your meauiug." 
 
 " I would say, what if from Maritana's own lips you heard an 
 avowal of her affection, would you conceive yourself at liberty to re- 
 deem a contract to which you were only one party, and by mere 
 money — I care not how large you call the sum — to reject the heart 
 you have made your own ?" 
 
 " IS^o, no, this cannot be/' cried Cashel, struggling in a conflict of 
 uncertainty and fear.
 
 22 E0LA5D. CASHEL. 
 
 " I know my daugliter, Sir," said. Eedx'o, witli au air of pride lie 
 well knew when and how to assume. 
 
 " If I but thought so," muttered Cashel to himself, aJid low as the 
 words were, Eica heard them. 
 
 " I ask you for nothing short of your own conviction — ^the con- 
 viction of youx own ears and eyes. You shall, if you please, remain 
 concealed in her apartment while I question her on the siibject of this 
 attachment. If you. ever supposed me base enough to coerce her 
 judgment, you know Jier too well to believe it to be possible. But I 
 will not insult myself by either supposition. I offer you this test of 
 what I have said ; accept it if you will, and Vvith this condition, that 
 you shall then be free to tear this contract, if you. like, but never be- 
 lieve that I can barter the acknowledged affection of my child, and 
 take money for her misery." 
 
 Cashel was moved by the truth-like energy of the words he heard ; 
 the very aspect of emotion in one he had never seen save calm, cold, 
 and self-possessed, had its iufluence on him, and he replied, " I con- 
 sent." So faintly, however, were the- words uttered, that he was 
 obliged to repeat them ere they reached Don Pedro's ears. 
 
 " I will come for you after supper this evening," said E.iea, " Let 
 me find you in the arbour at the end of the ' Hacienda.' Till then, 
 adios." So saying, he motioned to Cashel to follow the stranger. 
 Boland obeyed the suggestion, and they parted. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 He told them of men tluit cared not a d — n 
 
 For the law or the new police, 
 And had very few scruples for killing a lamh, 
 
 If they fancied they wanted the fleece. 
 
 Sib Petek's Lament; 
 
 "When Eoland Cashel rejoined Mr. Simms, he found that worthy 
 individual solacing himself for the privations of prairie travel, by such 
 a breakfast as only Don Pedro's larder would produce. Surrounded 
 by various dishes whoso appetising qualities might have suffered some 
 impairment from a more accurate knowledge of their contents — suck- 
 ing-monkeys and young squiiTels among the number — he tasted and 
 sipped, and sipped again, till between the seductions of Sangaree and 
 Cura9oa punch, he had produced that pleasing frame, of miud when 
 even a less gorgeous scene than the windows of the Villa displayed 
 before him, would have appeared delightful. 
 
 Whether poor JMr. Simms's excess — and such we are compelled to
 
 EOLAlfD CASHEL. 2S 
 
 confess it was — could be excused on the score of long fasting, or the 
 consciousness that he had a right to some indulgence in the hour of 
 victory, he, assuredly, revelled in the fullest enjoyment of this 
 luxurious banquet, and, as Cashel entered the room, had reached the 
 delicious dream-land of misty consciousness, where his late adventures 
 and his former life became most pleasingly commingled ; and Jagiuars, 
 Alligators, Gambusinos, and Eancheros, danced through his brain in 
 company with Barons of the Exchequer and Masters in Chancery. 
 
 Elevated by the scenes of danger he had passed through— some 
 real, the far greater number imaginary — into the dignity of a hero, he 
 preferred rather to discuss prairie life and scenes in the Havanaiah, 
 to dwelling on the topics so nearly interesting to CasheL- ISTor was 
 E-oland a very patient listener to digressions, which, at ever}'' moment, 
 left the higb road, and wandered into eyery absurd by-path of personal 
 history. 
 
 '■ I always thought. Sir," said Simms, " and used to say it every- 
 where, too, what a splendid change for you this piece of good fortune 
 would be, springing at a bound, as a body might say, from a powder- 
 monkey into the wealth of a peer of the realm ; but, egad, when I 
 see the glorious life you lead hereabouts, such grog, such tipple, 
 capital house, magnificent country, and, if I may pronounce from tlie 
 view beneath my window, no lack of company, too ! I begin, to feel 
 doubts about it." 
 
 If Cashel was scarcely pleased at the allusions to himself in this 
 speech, he speedily forgave them in his amusement at the commentary 
 Simms passed on life at the Villa ; but yet would willingly have turned 
 from either theme to that most engrossing one, the circumstances of 
 his altered fortune. Simms, however, was above such grovelling sub- 
 jects ; and, as he sat, glass in hand, gazing out upon the garden, where 
 strolling parties came and went, and loitering groups lingered in the 
 shade, he really fancied the scene a perfect paradise. 
 
 '' Very hard to leave this, you'll find it!" exclaimed Simms. "I 
 can well imagine life here must be rare fua. How jolly they do seem 
 down there," said he, with a half-longing look at the strange figures, 
 who now and then favoiired him with a salute or a gesture of the hand, 
 as they passed. 
 
 " Come, let us join them," said Cashel, who, despairing of recalling 
 him to the wished-for topic, was fain to consent to indulge the 
 stranger's humour. 
 
 " AR naval men ?" asked Simms,.as they issued forth into the lawn. 
 
 " Most of them are sailors !" said Cashel, equivocating. 
 
 " That's a fine-looking old fellow beneath the beech-tree, with the 
 long Turkish pipe in his mouth. He's captain of a seventy-four, I 
 take it."
 
 24 ROLAND CASHEL, 
 
 " He's a Greek inerchantmaD," -nliispered Cashel ; " don't look so 
 hard at him, for he observes you, and is somewhat irascible in temper 
 if stared at," 
 
 " Indeed, I shouldn't have thouglit " 
 
 " No matter, do as I tell you ; he stabbed a travelling artist the 
 other day, who fancied he was a fine study, and wished to make a 
 drawing of his head." 
 
 Simms's jaw dropped suddenly, and a sickly faintness stole over 
 him, that even all his late potations could not supply courage enough 
 to hear such a story unmoved. 
 
 " And who is he, Sir, yonder ?" asked he, as a youth, with no other 
 clothing than a shirt and trousers, was fencing against a tree, prac- 
 tising, by bounds and springs, every imaginable species of attack and 
 assault. 
 
 " A young Spaniard from the Basque," said Cashel, coolly ; " he has 
 a duel to-morrow with some fellow in Barcelouetta, and he's getting 
 his wrist into play." Then calling out, he said, " Ah, Jose, you mean 
 to let blood, I see !" 
 
 " He's only a student," said the youth, with an insolent toss of his 
 head. " But who have we here ?" 
 
 " A friend and countryman of mine, Mr. Simms," said Cashel, in- 
 troducing tlie little man, who performed a whole circuit round the 
 young Spaniard in salutations. 
 
 " Come to join us?" asked the youth, surveying him with cool im- 
 pertinence. " What in the devil's name hast thou done that thou 
 shouldst leave the Old World at thy time of life ? Virtuous living 
 or hypocrisy ought to have become a Imbit with thee ere now, old 
 boy ! eh ?" 
 
 " He's only on a visit," said Cashel, laughing; "he can return to 
 good society ; not like all of us here." 
 
 " Would you infer from that. Sir " 
 
 " Keep your temper, Jose," said Cashel, Avith an indescribable as- 
 sumption of insolent superiority ; " or, if you cannot, keep your cou- 
 rage for the students, whose broils best suit you." 
 
 " You presume somewhat too far on your skill with the rapier, 
 Senhor Cashel," said the other, but in a voice far less elevated than 
 before. 
 
 " Ton can test the presumption at any momeiit," said Cashel, inso- 
 lently ; " now, if you like it." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Cashel! oh, Mr. Eoland! for mercy's sake, don't!" ex- 
 claimed Simms. 
 
 " Never fear," interposed Cashel ; " that excellent young man has 
 better principles than you fancy, and never neglects, though he some- 
 times forgets himself."
 
 BOIAND CASHEL. 25 
 
 So saying, he leisurely passed his arm beneath Simms's, and led him 
 forward. 
 
 " Good day, Senhor Cashel," said a tall and well-dressed man, who 
 made his salutations with a certain air of distinction, that induced 
 Simms to inquire who and what he was. 
 
 " A general in the service of one of the minor states of Germany," 
 said Cashel ; " a man of great professional skill ; and, it is said, of 
 great personal bravery." 
 
 " And in what capacity is he here ?" 
 
 " A refugee. His sentence to be shot was commuted to imprison- 
 ment for life. He made his escape from Spandau, and came here." 
 
 " What was his crime ?" 
 
 " Treachery, the very basest one can well conceive ; he commanded 
 the fort of Bergstein, which the French attacked on their advance in 
 the second Austrian campaign. The assailants had no heavy artillery, 
 nor any material for escalade ; but they had money, and gold proved 
 a better battering-train than lead. Plittersdorf — that's the general's 
 name — fired over their heads till he had expended all his ammunition, 
 and then surrendered, with the garrison, as prisoners of war. The 
 French, however, exchanged him afterwards, and he very nearly paid 
 the penalty of his false faith." 
 
 " And now is he shunned — do people avoid him ?" 
 
 " How should they — how many here are privileged to look down on 
 a traitor ? Is it the runaway merchant, the defaulting bank clerk, the 
 filching commissary, that can say shame to one whose crime stands 
 higher in the scale of oftence ? the best we can know of any one here 
 is, that his rascality took an aspiring turn ; and yet there are some 
 fellows one would not like to think ill of. Here comes one such ; and 
 as I have something like business to treat of with him, I'll ask you to 
 wait for me, on this bench, till I join you." 
 
 Without waiting for any reply, Cashel hastened forward, and taking 
 off" his hat, saluted a sallow-looking man of some eight-and-forty or 
 fifty years of age, who, in a loose morning-gown, and with a book in 
 his liand, was strolling along one of the alleys. 
 
 " Ha, Lieutenant," said the other, as lifting up his eyes he recog- 
 nised Cashel — " making the most of these short hours of pleasure, 
 eh ? You've heard the news, I suppose ; we shall be soon afloat 
 again." 
 
 " So I've heard. Captain !" replied Cashel ; " but I believe we have 
 taken our last cruise together." 
 
 " How so, lad ! yoib look well, and in spirits ; and as for myself, I 
 never felt in better humour to try a bout with our friends on the 
 western coast." 
 
 " You have no friend, Captain, can better like to hear you say so ;
 
 26 ROLAND CASHEE. 
 
 and as for me, the cliances of fortune have changed. I have disco- 
 vered that I need risk neither head nor limhs for gold ; a worthy 
 man has arrived here to-day with tidings that I am the owner of a 
 large estate, and mare money than I shall well know how to squander, 
 
 and so " 
 
 " And so you'll leave us for the land where men have learnt that 
 art ? Quite right, Cashel. At your age a man can accustom himself 
 to any and everything ; at mine — a little later — at mine, for instance, 
 the task is harder. I remember myself some years ago fancying that 
 I should enjoy prodigiously that life of voluptuous civilisation they 
 possess in the ' Old World,' where men's wants are met ere they are 
 well felt, and hundreds, ay thousands, are toiling and thinking to 
 minister to the rich man's pleasures. It so chanced that I took a 
 prize a few weeks after ; she. was a Portuguese barque with specie, 
 broad doubloons and gold bars for the mint at Lisbon, and so I threw 
 up my command and went over to France and to Paris. The first 
 dash was glorious ; all was new, glittering, and splendid ; every sense 
 steeped in a voluptuous entrancement ; thought was out of the ques- 
 tion, and one only could wonder at the barbarism that before seemed 
 to represent life and sorrow for years lost and wasted in grosser en- 
 joyment. Then came a reaction, at first slight, but each day stronger ; 
 the headache of the debauch, the doubt of your mistress's fidelity, 
 your friend's truth,, your own enduring good fortune, all these lie in 
 wait together, and spring out ort you in some gloomy hour, like 
 Malays boarding a vessel at night, and crowding down from maintop 
 and mizen ! There is no withstanding ; you must strilse or fly. I 
 took the last alternative, and, leaving my splendid quarters one morn- 
 ing at daybreak, hastened to Havre. J^ot a thought of regret crossed 
 me ; so quiet a life seemed, to sap my very courage, and prey upon 
 my vitals ; that same night I swung once more in a hammock, with 
 the rushing water beside my ear, and never again tried those dissipa- 
 tions that pall from their very excess ; for, after all, no pleasure is 
 lasting which is not dashed with the sense of danger." 
 
 While he was yet speaking, a female figure, closely veiled, passed 
 close to where they stood, and, without attracting any notice, slipped 
 into Cashel' s hand a slip of paper. Few as the words it contained 
 were, they seemed to excite his very deepest emotion, and it was with 
 a faltering voice he asked the Captain by what step he could most 
 speedily obtain liis release from the service ? 
 
 A tiresome statement of official forms was the answer, but Eoland's 
 impatience did not hear it out, as he said, 
 
 " And is there no other way — by gold, for instance ?" 
 
 A cold shrug of the shoulders met this sally, and the Captain said,
 
 BOLAND CASHEL. 27 
 
 " To corrupt the officials of the Government is called treason hj 
 our laws, and is punishable by death, just like desertion." 
 
 " Therefore is desertion the better course, as it inyolves none but 
 oncj" said Cashel, laughing, as he turned awar. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IMan being reasonable, must dine out; 
 The best of life is. but a dinner-party. 
 
 AaiPHYTEioN, Canto IV. 
 
 It was about half-past six of an autumn evening, just as the grey 
 twilight was darkening into the gloom that precedes night, that a 
 servant, dressed in the most decorous black, drew down the window- 
 blinds of a large and splendidly furnished drawing-room of a house in 
 Merrion- square, Dublin. 
 
 Having- arranged certain portly deep-cushioned chairs into the 
 orderly disorder that invites social groupings, and having disposed 
 various other articles of furniture according to those notions of do- 
 mestic landscape so popular at the present day, he stirred the fire and 
 ^vithdrew : — all these motions being performed with the noiseless de- 
 corum of a church. 
 
 A glance at the apartment, even by the fitful light of the coal-fire, 
 showed that it was richly, even magnificently furnished. The look- 
 ing-glasses were immense in size, and framed with all that the most 
 lavish art of the carver could display. The hangings were costly 
 Lyons silk, the sofas, tables, and cabinets were all exquisite specimens 
 of modern skill and elegance, while the carpet almost rose above the 
 foot in the delicate softness of its velvet pile. A harp, a grand piafno- 
 forte, and several richly-bound gilded volumes strewed about gave 
 evidence of tastes above the mere voluptuous enjoyment of ease, and 
 in one window stood an embroidery-frame, with its unfinished labour, 
 from which the threads depended in that fashion, that showed it had 
 lately occupied the fair hands of the artist. 
 
 This very enviable apartment belonged to Mr. Mountjoy Kenny- 
 feck, the leading solicitor of Dublin, a man, who, for something more 
 than thirty years, had stood at the head of his walk in the capital, 
 and was reputed to be one of its most respected and richest citizens. 
 Mrs. Mountjoy Kennyfeck — -neither for our own nor our reader's 
 convenience dare we omit the " prenom" — was of a western family 
 considerably above that of her liege lord and master in matter of 
 genealogy, but whose quarterings had so far survived the family
 
 28 KOLA^'D CASHEL. 
 
 acres, that she was fain to accept the hand of a wealthy attorney, 
 after having for some years been the belle of her county, and the ad- 
 mired beauty of Castle balls and drawing-rooms. 
 
 It had been at first, indeed, a very hard struggle for the O'Haras 
 to adopt the style and title of Kennyfeck, and poor Matilda was 
 pitied in all the moods and tenses for exchanging the riotous feu- 
 dalism of Mayo for the decorous quietude and wealthy " insouciance" 
 of a Dublin mansion ; and the various scions of the house did not 
 scruple to express very unqualified opinions on the subject of her fall ; 
 but Time— that heals so much — Time and Mr. Kennyfeck's claret, of 
 which they all drank most liberally during the visits to town, assuaged 
 the rancour of these prejudices, and " Matty," it was hinted, might 
 have done worse ; while some hardy spirit averred that " Kennyfeck, 
 though not one of ourselves, has a great deal of the gentleman about 
 him, notwithstanding." 
 
 A word of Mr. Kennyfeck himself, and even a word will almost 
 suffice. He was a very tall, pompous-looking personage, with a re- 
 tiring forehead, and a large prominent nose ; he wore a profusion of 
 powder, and always dressed in the most scrupulous black ; he spoke 
 little, and that slowly ; he laughed never. It was not that he was 
 melancholy or depressed ; it seemed rather that his nature had been 
 fashioned in conformity with the onerous responsibilities of his pur- 
 suit, and that he would have deemed any exhibition of mirthful emo- 
 tion unseemly and unbecoming one who, so to say, was a kind of high 
 priest in the temple of equity. Next to the Chancellor's he venerated 
 the decisions of Mrs. Kennyfeck ; after Mrs. Kennyfeck came the 
 Master of the Eolls. This was his brief aud simple faith, and it is 
 astonishing in what simple rules of guidance men amass vast fortunes, 
 and obtain the highest suffrages of civic honour and respect ! 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck's family consisted of two daughters : the eldest had 
 been a beauty for some years, and, even at the period our tale opens, 
 had lost few of her attractions. She was tall, dark-haired, and dark- 
 eyed, with an air of what in the Irish capital is called " decided 
 fashion" about her, but in less competent circles might have been 
 called almost eff'rontery. She looked strangers very steadily in the 
 face, spoke with a voice full, firm, and unabashed — no matter what 
 tlie subject, or who the audience — and gave her opinions on people 
 and events with a careless indifference to consequences, that many 
 mistook for high genius, rebellious against control. 
 
 Olivia, three years younger than her sister, had just come out ; and 
 wlietlicr that her beauty — and she was very handsome — required a 
 different style, or that she saw more clearly " the mistake" in Miss 
 Kennyfeck's manner, but she took a path perfectly her own. She 
 was tenderness itself; a delicacy, .too susceptible for this work-a-day
 
 EOLAKD CASHEI. 29 
 
 world, pervaded all she said and did — a retiring sensitiveness that she 
 knew, as she plaintively said, would never " let her be loved," overlaid 
 her nature, and made her the victim of her own feelings. Her sketches, 
 everlasting Madonnas dissolved in tears — her music, the most 
 mournful of the melodies — her reading, the most disastrously ending 
 of modern poems — all accorded with this tone ; which, after all, 
 scarcely consorted well with a very blooming cheek, bright hazel 
 eyes, and an air and carriage that showed a full consciousness of her 
 captivations, and no small reliance on her capacity to exercise them. 
 
 A brief interval after the servant left the room the door opened, 
 and Mrs. Keunyfeck entered. She was dressed for dinner, and if not 
 exactly attired for the reception of a large company, exhibited, in 
 various details of her costume, unequivocal signs of more than com- 
 mon care. A massive diamond brooch fastened the front of her dark 
 velvet dress, and on her fingers sevei'al rings of great value glittered. 
 Miss Keunyfeck, too, who followed her, was, though simply, most 
 becomingly dressed ; the light and floating material of her robe con- 
 trasting well with the more stately folds of the matronly costume of 
 her mother. 
 
 " I am surprised they are not here before this," said Mrs. Kenny- 
 feck, lying back in the deep recess of a luxiu'ious chair, and placing a 
 screen between herself and the fire. " Tour father said positively on 
 the 5th, and as the weather has been most favourable, I cannot un- 
 derstand the delay. The packets arrive at four, I think ?" 
 
 " Yes, at four, and the carriage left this at three to fetch them." 
 
 " Eead the note again — he writes so very briefly always. I'm sure 
 I wish the dear man would understand that I am not a client, and 
 that a letter is not exactly all it might be, because it can be charged 
 its thirteen and fourpence, or six and eightpeuce, or whatever it is." 
 
 Miss Keunyfeck took an open note from the chimney, and read : 
 
 "'Dear Mrs. Kenxtfeck, — We have made all the necessary 
 arrangements in London, and shall leave on the 2nd, so as to arrive 
 
 at Merrion-square by the 5th. Mr. C would, I believe, rather 
 
 have remained another day in town, but there is no possibility of 
 doing so, as the " Chancellor" will sit on Tuesday. Love to the girls, 
 and believe me, yours, very truly, 
 
 " ' M. Kennteeck. 
 
 " ' Invite Jones and Softly to meet us at dinner.' " 
 
 The clock on the mantelpiece now struck seven, and scarcely had 
 the last chime died away as a carriage drove up to the door. 
 
 " Here they come, I suppose," said Mrs. Keunyfeck, with a half- 
 sigh.
 
 •30 BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " No, mamma ; it is a liackuey-coacli. Mr. Jones, or Mr. Softly, 
 perhaps." 
 
 " Oh dear ! I had forgotten them. How absurd it was to ask 
 these people, and your father not here!" 
 
 The door opened, and the servant announced the Eev. Mr. Knos 
 Softly. A very tall, handsome young man entered, and made a most 
 respectful but cordial salutation to the ladies. He was in look and 
 mien the heau ideal of health, strength, and activity, with bright, 
 full, blue eyes, and cheeks rosy as the May. His voice, however, was 
 subdued to the dulcet accent of a low whisper, and his step, as he 
 crossed the room, had the stealthy noiselessness of a cat's approach. 
 
 " Mr. Kennyfeck quite restored, I hope, from the fatigue of his 
 journey?" 
 
 " "We've not seen him yet," replied his lady, almost tartly. " He 
 ought to have been here at four o'clock, and yet it's past seven!" 
 
 " I think I hear a carriasre." 
 
 "Another " hackney. Miss Kennyfeck was about to say, when 
 
 she stopped herself, and, at the instant, Counsellor Clare Jones was 
 announced. 
 
 This gentleman was a rising light of the Irish bar, who had the 
 good fortune to attract Mr. Kennyfeck's attention, and was suddenly 
 transferred from the dull duties of civil bills and declarations to 
 business of a more profitable kind. He had been somewhat success- 
 ful in his college career — carried oif some minor honours — was a noisy 
 member of a debating society, wrote leaders for some provincial 
 papers, and witli overbearing powers of impudence, and a good 
 memory, was a very likely candidate for high forensic honour. 
 
 Unlike the first arrival, the Counsellor had few, if any, of the forms 
 of good society in his manner or address. His costume, too, was 
 singularly negligent ; and as he ran a very dubious hand through a 
 mass of thick and tangled hair on entering, it was easy to see that 
 the greatest part of his toilet was then and there performed. The 
 splashed appearance of his nether garments, and of shoes that mio-ht 
 have done honour to snipe-shooting, also showed that the carriage 
 which brought him was a mere ceremonial observance, and, as he 
 would himself say, " the act of conveyance was a surplusage." 
 
 Those who saw him in court pronounced him the most imabashed 
 and cool of men ; but there was certainly a somewhat of haste and 
 impetuosity in his drawing-room manner, that even a weak observer 
 would have ascribed to awkwardness. 
 
 " How do you do, Mrs. Kennyfeck ? — how do you do. Miss Ken- 
 nyfeck ?— glad to see you. Ah ! Mr. Softly— well, I hope ? Is he 
 come — has he arrived ?" A shake of the head replied in the negative. 
 " Very strange— I can't understand it. We have a consultation with
 
 BOIAND CASHEL. 31 
 
 the Solicitor- General to-morrow, and a meeting in chambers at 
 four." 
 
 " I shouldn't wonder if Mr. Cashel detained papa ; he is very 
 young, you know; and London must be so new and strange to him, 
 poor lad!" 
 
 " Yes; but your father would scarce permit it," said Mrs. Kenny- 
 feck, smartly. " I rather think it must have heen some accidental 
 circumstance — coaches are constantly upsetting, and post-horses can- 
 not always be had." 
 
 Mr, Knox Softly smiled benignly, as though to say in these sug- 
 gestions Mrs. Kennyfeck was displaying a very laudable spirit of un- 
 certainty as to the course of human events. 
 
 " Here's Olivia," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, as her younger daughter 
 entered. " Let us hear her impressions — full of forebodings, I don't 
 doubt." 
 
 Miss Olivia Kennyfeck performed her salutations to the guests 
 with the most faultless grace, throwing into her curtsey to the curate 
 a certain air of filial reverence very pretty to behold, and only a 
 little objectionable on the score of the gentleman's youth and per- 
 sonal attractions ; and then, turning to her mother, said, 
 
 " You are not uneasy, mamma, I hope ? though, after all, this is 
 about the period of the equinox." 
 
 " Nonsense, child ! packets are never lost now-a-days in the Irish 
 Channel. It's merely some sudden freak of gaiety — some London 
 distraction detains them. "Will you touch that bell, Mr. Clare Jones ? 
 It is better to order dinner." 
 
 There was something peremptory in the lady's tone and manner 
 that rather damped the efforts at small-talk — never very vigorous or 
 well-sustained at these ante-dinner moments — nor were any of the 
 party very sorry when the servant announced that the soup was served. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 The sherry iced— the company still colder. 
 
 Bell's Images. 
 
 The party who now took th^eir seats at table were not made of 
 those ingredients whose admixture accomplishes a social meeting. 
 Their natures, pursuits, and tastes were only sufficiently imlike to 
 suggest want of agreement, without possessing the broad contrasts 
 that invite conversation by their own contrariety. Besides this, there 
 was a sense of constraint over every one, from the abseojce of the
 
 32 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 host and his expected guest ; and lastly, the very aspect of a gorge- 
 ously-decorated table with vacant places, has always a chilling influ- 
 ence over those who sit around. A certain amount of propinquity 
 is as essential to conversation, as good roads and easy distances are 
 a necessary condition to a visiting neighbourhood. If you cannot 
 address him or her who sits beside you without attracting the atten- 
 tion of the whole table to your remark, you are equally debarred from 
 the common-j^laces that induce table-talli, or the smart thing that 
 cannot well be said too publicly. 
 
 The dinner here proceeded in very stately quietude, nor were the 
 efforts of Mr. Jones to introduce a conversational spirit at all suc- 
 cessful ; indeed, that gifted gentleman would have willingly exchanged 
 the unexceptionable cooker}^, and admirably- conditioned wine before 
 him, for the riotous freedom of a bar mess — where sour sherry and 
 nisi-prius jokes abounded, and Father Somebody's song was sure to 
 give the scene a conviviality that only yielded its fascination to blind 
 hookey, or spoiled five. 
 
 Far otherwise the curate. The angelic smile that sat upon his 
 features mechanically ; his low, soft, liquid voice ; his gentle gestures, 
 and even his little sallies of pleasantry, were in perfect accordance 
 with the decorous solemnity of a scene where the chink of a cut de- 
 canter, or the tingling sound of a silver dish-cover, was heard above 
 the stillness of the company. 
 
 If, then, Mr. Knox Softly accompanied the ladies to tlie door, and 
 followed them out with his eyes, with an expression beaming regret- 
 fulness at their departure, the Counsellor, very differently-minded, 
 surrounded himself with an array of the dessert-dishes and decanters, 
 and prepared to discuss his wine and walnuts to his perfect content- 
 ment. 
 
 " You have never met this Mr. Eolaud Casliel, I believe ?" said Mr. 
 Softly, as he filled a very large claret glass and tasted it enjoyably. 
 
 " Never," replied Jones, whose teeth were busily engaged in 
 smasliing almonds and filberts, in open defiance of a tray of silver 
 nutcrackers before him. " I don't think he has been in Ireland 
 since a mere child, and very little in England." 
 
 " Then his recovery of the estate was quite unexpected ?" 
 
 " Mere accident. Kennyfeck came upon the proofs when making 
 some searches for a collateral claim. The story is very short. This 
 lad's father, whose name was Godfrey Cashel, was a poor lieutenant 
 in the 81st, and quartered at Bath, when he chanced to discover that 
 a rich old bachelor there, a certain Godfrey Browne, was a distant re- 
 lation of his mother. He lost no time in making liis acquaintance 
 and explaining the relationsliip, which, however, brought him no more 
 substantial benefit than certain invitations to dinner, and whist 
 parties, where the unfortunate lieutenant lost his half-crowns.
 
 EOLAND CA3HEL. 33 
 
 " At length a note came one morning inviting him to breakfast 
 and to ' transact a little matter of business.' Poor Grodfrey read the 
 words with every commentary that could flatter his hopes, and set 
 out in better spirits than he had known for many a year before . 
 What then was his dismay to discover that he was only wanted to 
 witness the old gentleman's will ! — a very significant proof that he 
 was not to benefit by its provisions. 
 
 " With a very ill-repressed sigh, the poor lieutenant threw a glance 
 over the half-opened leaves, where leasehold, and copyhold, and free- 
 liold, and every other ' hold' figured among funded property, consols, 
 and reduced annuities — with money lent on mortgages, shares in 
 various companies, and what not, — a list only to be equalled by the 
 long catalogue of those ' next of kin,' who, to the number of seven- 
 teen, were mentioned as reversionary heirs. 
 
 " ' You are to sign your name here, Mr. Cashel,' said the solicitor, 
 pointing to a carefully-scratched portion of the parchment, where 
 already the initials were pencilled for his guidance. 
 
 " 'Paith ! and it's at the other side of the book I'd rather see it,' 
 said the lieutenant, with a sigh. 
 
 " ' Not, surely, after seventeen others !' exclaimed the astonished 
 attorney. 
 
 " ' Even so — a chance is better than nothing.' 
 
 " 'What's that he's saying?' interposed the old man, who sat 
 reading his newspaper at the fire. The matter was soon explained 
 by the attorney, and when he finished, Cashel added — ' That's just 
 it; and I'm to sail for the Cape on the 4th of next month, and if 
 you'll put me down among the rest of the fellows, I'll send you the 
 best pipe of Constantia you ever tasted, as sure as my name is 
 Godfrey Cashel.' 
 
 " The old man threw his spectacles up on his forehead, wiped his 
 eyes, and then replacing his glasses, took a deliberate survey of the 
 poor lieutenant who had proposed such a very ' soft' bargain. ' Eh ! 
 Clinchet,' said he to the attorney, ' can we do this for him ?' 
 
 " ' Nothing easier. Sir, — let the gentleman come in last, as residuary 
 legatee, and it alters nothing.' 
 
 " ' I suppose you count on your good luck,' said old Browne, grin- 
 ning. 
 
 " ' Oh, then, it's not from my great experience that way,' said 
 Cashel. 'I've been on the 'Duke's list' for promotion seventeen 
 years already, and, for all I see, not a bit nearer it than the first day ; 
 but there's no reason my poor boy should be such an unfortunate 
 devil. Who knows but fortune may make amends to him one of 
 these days ? Come, Sir — is it a bargain ?' 
 
 " ' To be sure. I'm quite willing — only don't forget the €911- 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 stantia. It's a wine I like a glass of very well indeed, after my 
 dinner.' 
 
 " The remainder is easily told : the Lieutenant sailed for the Cape, 
 and kept his word, even though it cost him a debt that mortgaged his 
 commission. Old Browne gave a great dinner when the wine arrived, 
 and the very first name on the list of legatees, his nephew, caught a 
 fever on his way home from it, and died in three weeks. 
 
 " Kennyfeck could tell us, if he were here, what became of each of 
 them in succession ; four were lost, out yachting, at once ; but, sin- 
 gular as it may seem, in nineteen years from the day of that will, 
 every life lapsed — and stranger still, without heirs — and the fortune 
 has now descended to poor Godfrey Cashel's boy, the Lieutenant 
 himself having died in the West Lidies, where he exchanged into a 
 native regiment. That is the whole story, and probably in a romance 
 one would say that the thing was exaggerated, so much more strange 
 is truth than fiction." 
 
 " And what kind of education did the young man get ?" 
 
 " I suppose very little, if any. So long as his father lived, he of 
 course held the position of an ofB.cer's son — poor, but in the rank of 
 gentleman. After that, without parents — his mother died when he 
 was an infant — he was thrown upon the world, and after various 
 vicissitudes, became a cabin-boy on board of a merchantman ; then, he 
 was said to be a mate of a vessel in the African trade, employed on the 
 Grold Coast ; just as probably a slaver — and last of all, he was lieu- 
 tenant in the Columbian navy, which, I take it, is a very good name 
 for piracy. It was in the Havannah we got a trace of him, and I 
 assure you, strange as it may sound, Kennyfeck's agent had no small 
 difiiculty in persuading him to abandon that very free and easy ser- 
 vice, to assume the rights and immunities of a very large property. 
 
 " Kennyfeck was to meet him on his arrival in England, about ten 
 
 days ago, and they spent a few days in London, and were But 
 
 hark ! there comes a carriage now — yes, I know the step of his horses 
 — here they are !" 
 
 CHAPTEE. VI. 
 
 Ne'er mind his torn, ill -fashioned doublet, 
 Beshrew me! if he's not a pretty man. 
 
 Don Lopez. 
 
 The movement and bustle in the hall showed that Mr. Jones's 
 surmise was correct, for scarcely had the carriage stopped than the
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 35 
 
 street-door was fluBg wide open, and ]\ir. Pearse, the butler, followed 
 by a strong detachment of bright-liveried menials, stood bowing their 
 respectful compliments to their master and his guest. As Mr. Ken- 
 nyfeck entered the house, he walked slowly and with difficulty, en- 
 deavouring at the same time to avoid all scrutiny of his appearance 
 as he passed through the crowded hall ; but, although his hat was 
 pressed firmly over his brows, it could not entirely conceal a very 
 suspiciously-tinted margin around one eye, while the care with which 
 he defended his left arm, and which he carried in his waistcoat, looked 
 like injury there, also. 
 
 He, however, made an attempt at a little sprightliness of manner, 
 as, shaking his companion's hand with cordial warmth, he said, 
 
 " Welcome to Ireland, Mr. Cashel. I hope I shall very often ex- 
 perience the happiness of seeing you under this roof." 
 
 The person addressed was a remarkably handsome young man, 
 whose air and carriage bespoke, however, much more the confidence 
 that results from a sense of personal gifts, and a bold, daring tem- 
 perament, than that more tempered ease which is the consequence of 
 fashionable breeding. 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck's felicitations on their arrival were scarce uttered, 
 ere Cashel had sufficiently recovered from his surprise at the unex- 
 pected magnificence of the house, to make any reply ; for, although 
 as yet advanced no further than the hall, a marble group by Canova, 
 a centre lamp of costly Sevres, and some chairs of carved ebony, 
 served to indicate the expensive style of the remainder of the 
 mansion. 
 
 "While Cashel, then, muttered his acknowledgments, he added to 
 himself, but jn a voice scarcely less loud, 
 
 " Devilsh good crib this, Master Kennyfeck." 
 " Pearse," said the host, " is dinner ready ?" 
 " My mistress and the young ladies have dined, Sir ; but Mr. Jones 
 and Mr. Softly are in the parlour." 
 
 " "Well, let us have something at once ; — or, would you prefer, Mr. 
 Cashel, making any change in your dress first ?" 
 
 " I say dinner above all things," said the youth, disencumbering 
 himself of a great Mexican mantle. 
 
 "Perfectly right; quite agree with you," said Kennyfeck, en- 
 deavouring to assume a little of his guest's dash ; " and here "we are. 
 Ah, Jones, how d'ye do ? Mr. Cashel, this is my friend Mr. Jones. 
 Mr. Softly, very glad to see you. Mr. Softly — Mr. Cashel. Don't 
 stir, I beg ; keep your places, we'll have a bit of dinner here, and join 
 you at your wine afterwards. Meanwhile, I'll just step up-stairs, and 
 be back again in a moment — you'll excuse me, I'ni sure ?" 
 
 " Oh, certainly," cried Cashel, who appeared as if he could excuse 
 
 3)2
 
 36 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 anything witli a better grace than the ceremonious slowness of the 
 butler's arrangements. 
 
 There was a pause of a few seconds as Mr. Kenuyfeclc left the 
 room, broken at last by Mr. Jones asking if they had not been de- 
 tained by contrary winds. 
 
 " No, I think not ; I fancy the weather was pretty average kind of 
 weather. Had we been expected here earlier?" 
 
 " Yes ; Mrs. Kenny feck mentioned to me Monday, and afterwards 
 Tuesday, as the very latest day for your arrival." 
 
 Cashel made no remark, and, soon after, Mr. Pearse's entrance 
 with the soup put an end to the conversation. " Mr. Kennyfeck 
 desired me to say, Sir, not to wait for him — he'll be down presently." 
 
 " What do you call this soup ?" 
 
 " Mock-turtle, Sir." 
 
 " Rather too much Madeira iu it for my taste ; but that shan't 
 prevent my having a glass of wine. Will you permit me, gentlemen ?" 
 
 The parties bowed politely ; but still the intercourse did not pro- 
 gress ; and in the exchanged glances of those at the large table, and 
 the sidelong looks Cashel occasionally threw towards them, it was 
 easy to see that neither party had made way with the other. 
 
 " I fear Kennyfeck is not going to make his appearance," said 
 Cashel, as he seemed to hesitate about proceeding with his dinner. 
 
 " I shouldn't advise you waiting," cried Jones ; " the fish is grow- 
 ing cold." 
 
 "I suspect Mr. Kennyfeck is fatigued by his journey. Sir," said 
 Mr. Softly, in his most bland of voices ; " I thought I remarked it by 
 his face." 
 
 " Oh, did you ?" said Cashel, with a very peculiar look of knowing- 
 ness. 
 
 " Tes ; you are aware, Mr. Cashel," interrupted Jones, " our friend 
 isn't much used to that kind of thing. I suppose it's some years 
 since he has had so much knocking about as in these last few days." 
 
 " I fancy so," said Casliel, with a significant smile that puzzled tho 
 lawyer exceedingly, and he ate on without making a further remark. 
 
 The two or three efforts made by Jones and Softly to converse to- 
 gether were, like nearly all similar attempts at perfect ease and self- 
 possession, complete failures, and gradually slided down into mono- 
 syllables, and tlien to silence, when Cashel, wlio seemed to be enjoying 
 his venison and Bordeaux with perfect zest, leaned back in his chair 
 and said, "What kind of place is this same good city of Dublin? 
 What goes forward here ?" 
 
 As this question was more directly addressed to Jones, that gen- 
 tleman prepared himself, not unwillingly, for an elaborate reply. 
 
 " Dublin, Mr. Cashel," said he, pretty much in the same tone he
 
 EOLAND CASHEI. 37 
 
 would have used in opening an address to a jury — "Dublin is a city, 
 which, from a great variety of causes, will always be exposed to very 
 variable and opposing criticism. To begin : it is provincial " 
 
 " Is it slow?" interrupted Cashel, who listened to this exordium 
 with palpable signs of impatience. 
 
 " If you mean, has it its share of those habits of dissipation, those 
 excesses so detrimental alike to health and fortune " 
 
 " 'No, no ; I merely ask what goes on here — how do people amuse 
 themselves ?" said Cashel, fencing to avoid any very lengthened ex- 
 posure of the other's views. 
 
 " They dine, dance, drink tea, talk politics and scandal, like other 
 folk ; but if you ask what are the distinguishing features of the so- 
 ciety " 
 
 " "What kind of sport does the country afford ?" interrupted Eolaud, 
 somewhat unceremoniously. 
 
 " Hunting, shooting, fishing, coursing " 
 
 " What do you mean by hunting — a fox is it ?" 
 
 " Tes, fox-hunting and hare-hunting too." 
 
 A very insolent laugli was Cashel's answer, as, turning to Mr. 
 Softly, he said, " "Well, I own, all this does strike me as a very tire- 
 some kind of life. Do you like Ireland, Sir ?" 
 
 " I feel a deep interest in it," said the curate, with a most solemn 
 manner. 
 
 " Tes, that's all very well ; but do you like it ?" 
 
 " "Were it not for its darkness," said Mr. Softly, sighing, " I should 
 say I liked it." 
 
 " Darkness," echoed Cashel, " darkness ; why, hang it, you are 
 pretty far north here. "What is the darkness you speak of?" 
 
 " I alluded to Popery, Sir — to the obscuring mists of superstition 
 and ignorance," replied Mr. Softly, with a kind of energetic timidity 
 that made himself blush. 
 
 " Oh — I perceive — yes — I understand," muttered Cashel, who cer- 
 tainly felt all the awkwardness of a man caught in a lie. 
 
 " "We have a very agreeable society among the Bar men," said 
 Jones, returning to the charge in a new direction ; " a great deal of 
 pleasantry and fun goes on at our messes." 
 
 " Droll fellows, I suppose," said Cashel, carelessly. " I remember 
 I knew a lawyer once, he was mate of a small clipper in the African 
 trade — mischievous kind of devil he was, too — always setting the 
 slaves by the ears, and getting money for settling the differences. 
 They played him a good trick at last." Here he laughed heartily at 
 the recollection for several minutes. 
 
 ""What was it?" asked Jones, in some curiosity to learn how the 
 Bar was respected on the banks of the Niger. 

 
 38 KOLAXD CASHEL. 
 
 " Tliey painted him black and sold him at Cuba," said Cashel, who 
 once more broke out into laughter at the exceUeuce of the jest. 
 
 Jones's and Softly's eyes met with a most complete accordance in 
 the glances exchanged. Meanwhile, Cashel drawing his chair towards 
 the larger table, filled his glass and proceeded to smash his walnuts 
 with all the easy contentment of a man who had dined well. 
 
 "I perceive Mr. Kenny feck is not likely to join us," said Softly, 
 with a half-suggestive look towards the door. 
 
 "Tired, perhaps," said Jones, affecting what he opined to be the 
 cool indiiference of the highest fashion. 
 
 "More than that, I suspect," said Cashel, with a most unfeigned 
 carelessness. " Did you remark his eye ?" 
 
 " Yes !" exclaimed both together. " "What could that mean ?" 
 
 " A slight bit of a scrimmage we had on the way from town — 
 a " 
 
 "Mr. Kennyfeck engaged in a row !" cried Softly, almost incredible 
 at the tidings. 
 
 " Yes. I fancy that is about the best word for it," said Cashel, 
 sipping his wine. " I suppose one ought not to mention these kiud 
 of things, but of course they are safe with you. They'U never go 
 further, I am certain." 
 
 " Oh, never — not a syllable," chimed in the two. 
 
 " Well, then, on our way here, I learned that there were to be 
 races a few nailes from Coventry, and as I saw our friend Kennyfeck 
 had no fancy for the sight, I just slipped a few half-crowns into the 
 postboy's hand and told him to drive there instead of taking the 
 Liverpool road. Away we went at a good pace, and in less than an 
 hour reached the course. I wish you saw the old gentleman's face 
 when he awoke from a sound nap, and saw the grand stand with its 
 thousand faces, all in a row, and the" cords, the betting ring, and the 
 whole circumstance of a race-ground. By good luck, too, the sharp 
 jerk of our pvill-up smashed 6. spring, and so we had nothing for it 
 but to leave the chaise and wait till it could be repaired. While my 
 servant was away in search of some kind of a drag or other, to go 
 about the field — there was no walking, what with the crowd and the 
 press of horses, not to speak of the mud that rose over the ankles — 
 we pushed on, that is, I did, with a stout grip of Keunyfeck's arm, 
 lest he should escape — we pushed on, into the ring. Here there was 
 rare fun going forward, every fellow screaming out his bets, and 
 booking them as fast as he could. At first, of course, the whole was 
 all ancient Grreeli to me. I neither knew what they meant by the 
 * favourite,' or 'the odds,' or 'the field,' but one somehow always can 
 pick up a thing quickly, if it be but ' game,' *and so, by watching 
 here, and listening there, I managed to get a kind of inkling of the
 
 HOLAJJl) CASHEL. 39 
 
 whole afiair, and by dint of some pushing and elbowing, I reached 
 the very centre of the ring where the great Dons of the course were 
 betting together. 
 
 " ' Taurus even against the field/ cried one. 
 
 " ' Taurus against the field,' shouted another. 
 
 " And this same cry was heard on every side. 
 
 " ' G-ive it in fifties — hundreds if you like better,' said a young 
 fellow, mounted on a smart-looking pony, to his friend, who appeared 
 to reflect on the offer. ' Come, hurry on, man. Let's have a bet, 
 just to give one an interest in the race.' The other shook his head, 
 and the first went on, 'What a slow set, to be sure. — Is no one 
 willing to back the field, even ? Come, then, here's a hundred pound 
 to any man who'll take the field against Taurus, for two thousand.' 
 
 " ' Let me have your cob,' said I, ' and I'll take the bet.' 
 
 " He turned round in his saddle, and stared at me, as if I were 
 something more or less than human, while a very general roar of 
 laughing ran around the entire circle. 
 
 " ' Come away, come away at once,' whispered Kennyfeck, trem- 
 bling with fright. 
 
 " ' Yes, you had better move off", my frieud,' said a thick-set, 
 rough-looking fellow, in a white coat. 
 
 " ' What say you to five thousand. Sir, does that suit your book ?' 
 cried the young fellow to me, in a most insolent tone. 
 
 " ' Oh, let liim alone, my Lord,' said another. ' Take no notice of 
 him.' 
 
 " ' I say, Grrindle,' cried a tall thin man with moustaches, ' who let 
 these people inside the ring ?' 
 
 " ' They forces their way, my Lud,' said a little knocker-kneed crea- 
 ture, in a coat four times too big for' him, ' and I says to BUI, de — 
 pend upon it. Bill, them's the swell mob.' 
 
 " The words were scarcely out of the fellow^'s mouth, when a 
 general cry of the ' swell mob' resounded on ever}' side, and at once 
 they closed upon us — some pushing — others elbowing — driving — and 
 forcing, so that what with the dense crowd, and the tight hold Ken- 
 nyfeck now kept of me, I was pinioned, and could do nothing. At 
 last, by a vigorous twist, I shook them off" from me, and laid two of 
 the foremost at my feet. This I did with a Mexican trick I saw they 
 knew nothing about : you first make a feint at the face, and then, 
 dropping on the Imee, seize the fellow by both legs, and hurl him 
 back on his head — ^just stand up, I'll not hurt you." 
 
 " Thank you — I understand the description perfectly," said Mr. 
 Softly, pale with terror at the proposed experiment. 
 
 " Well, the remainder is soon told. They now got in upon us, and 
 of course I needn't say we got confoundedly thrashed — Kennyfeck
 
 40 EOLAND CASnEL. 
 
 was tumbled about like a football, every one tbat bad notbing else to 
 do bad a kick at bim, and tbere's no saying bow it migbt liave ended 
 bad not a certain Sir Greorge Somebody recognised our poor friend, 
 and rescued bim. I'm not quite sure tbat I was quite myself about 
 tbis time — Kennyfeck bas some stoiy of my getting on some one's 
 borse, and riding about tbe course in searcb of tbe originators of tbe 
 fray ; tbe end of it, bowever, was, we reacbed Liverpool witb sorer 
 bones tban was altogetber pleasant, and altbougb, wben Kennyfeck 
 went to bed, I went to tbe tbeatre, tbe noise only increased my bead- 
 acbe, and it needed a good nigbt's sleep to set me all rigbt agaiu." 
 
 " Mr. Kennyfeck taken for one of tbe swell mob !" exclaimed 
 Softly, witb a sort of boly borror tbat seemed to sum up bis wbole 
 opinion of tbe narrative. 
 
 " Very bad, wasn't it ?" said Casbel, pusbing tbe wine past ; " but 
 be's a capital fellow, took tbe wbdle thing in sucb good part, and 
 seems only anxious tbat tbe story sbouldn't get abroad. Of course I 
 needn't repeat my caution on tbat subject ?" 
 
 " Ob, certainly not ! Sball we join tbe ladies ?" said Mr. Jonea, 
 as be surveyed bis wbiskers, and arranged tbe tie of bis cravat before 
 tbe glass. 
 
 " I'm quite ready," said Casbel, wbo bad quietly set down in bis 
 own mind tbat tbe ladies of the Kennyfeck family were a kind of 
 female fac-simile of tbe stiff-looking old attorney, and, tberefore, felt 
 very few qualms on tbe subject of bis disordered and slovenly ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 Scarcely bad Casbel entered tbe drawing-room tban be found bis 
 band grasped in Mr. Kennyfeck's, wben, witli a most dulcet accent, 
 he said, 
 
 " I knew you'd forgive me — -I told Mrs. Kennyfeck you'd excuse 
 me for not joining you at dinner, but I was really so fatigued. Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck — Mr. Casbel. My daughter, Mr. Casbel. My daughter 
 Olivia. Well now, have you dined heartily — I liope my friends here 
 took care of you?" 
 
 " I thank you. I never dined better — only sorry not to have had 
 your company. "We have our apologies to make, Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 for not being earlier ; but, of course, you've beard tbat we did our 
 very utmost." 
 
 " Ob ! yes, yes ; I explained everything," interrupted Kennyfeck, 
 most eager to stop a possible exposure. " Mrs. Kennyfeck knows 
 it all." 
 
 Altbougb Casbel's manner and address were of a kind to subject 
 bim to the most severe criticism of the ladies of the Kennyfeck 
 family, they evinced tbe most laudable spirit in their hospitable and 
 even cordial reception of him, Mrs. Kennyfeck makiug room for bim
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 41 
 
 to sit on the sofa beside her — a post of honour that even the Castle 
 Aides-de-camp only enjoyed by great favour — while the daughters 
 listened vrith an attention as flattering to Mm as it was galling to tlie 
 other two guests. 
 
 Mr. Softly, however, resigned himself to this neglect as to a passing 
 cloud of forgetfulness, and betook himself to the columns of the 
 Morning Post for consolation, occasionally glancing over the margin 
 to watch the laughing group around the fire. As for Jones, Mr. 
 .Keunyfeck had withdrawn with that gentleman into a window, where 
 the tactics of some bill in equity engaged their attention, manifestly, 
 however, to the young Barrister's discontent, as his frequent stolen 
 looks towards the ladies evidenced. 
 
 It was the first time that the Kennyfeeks had ever deigned to listen 
 to any one whose claims to a hearing rested on higher grounds than 
 the light gossip and small-talk of the capital, the small fashionable 
 chit-chat of a provincial city, and which bears the same resemblance 
 to the table-talk of the greater metropolis as do larks to ortolans, 
 when disguised in the same kind of sauce, only those accustomed to 
 the higher flavour being able to detect the difference. It was, then, 
 with as much surprise as pleasure that they found themselves listen- 
 ing to the narratives in which not a single noble or lordly personage 
 figured, nor one single incident occurred reflecting on the taste, the 
 wealth, or the morals of their acquaintance. It was no less a novelty, 
 too, for Cashel, to find any one a listener to descriptions of scenes and 
 habits in whose familiarity he saw nothing strange or remarkable ; so 
 that when the young ladies, at first, attracted by mere curiosity, be- 
 came gradually more and more interested in his stories, his flattered 
 vanity gave new warmth to an enthusiasm always ardent, and he 
 spoke of Prairie life and adventure with a degree of eloquence and 
 power that might have captivated even less indulgent auditors. 
 
 It was, besides, the first time that they ever had seen great wealth 
 unallied with immense pretension. Cashel, perhaps from character, 
 or that his accession to fortune was too recent, and his consequent 
 ignorance of all that money can do, whichever of these the cause, was 
 certainly the most unassuming young man they had ever met. In com- 
 parison with him, the Aides-de-camp were princes of the blood ; even 
 Mr. Jones put forth a degree of pretension on the score of his abilities, 
 which stood in strong contrast with the unaffected and simple mo- 
 desty of Eoland Cashel. 
 
 It is but fair to all parties to add, that dark and flashing eyes, 
 shaded by long and drooping lashes ; a high and massive forehead ; a 
 brown, almost Spanish complexion, whose character was increased by 
 a pair of sliort, coal-black moustaches, did not detract from the merit 
 of tales, which, as they chiefly related to feats of personal daring and
 
 42 EOIAND CASHEL. 
 
 address, were well corroborated by the admirable symmetry and 
 handsome proportions of the relater. 
 
 Story followed story : now, the scene lay in the low and misty 
 swamps of the Niger, where night resounds with the dull roar of the 
 beasts of prey, and the heavy plash of the sluggish alligator on the 
 muddy shore ; now, it was in the green wood of the Spice Islands, 
 amid an atmosphere scented with perfume, and glittering with every 
 gorgeous hue of plumage and verdure. At one moment he would de- 
 scribe a chase at sea, with all its high and maddening excitement, as 
 each new vicissitude of success or failure arose ; and then he would 
 present some little quiet picture of shore life in a land where the 
 boimdless resources of Nature supply, even anticipate, the wants and 
 luxuries of man. 
 
 Whatever the interest, and occasionally it rose to a high pitch, that 
 attended his narratives of danger and daring, the little sketches he 
 gave from time to time of the domestic life of these far-away people, 
 seemed to attract the most delighted attention of his fair hearers, par- 
 ticularly when his narrative touched upon the traits, whether of beauty, 
 dress, or demeanour, that distinguish the belles of New Spain. 
 
 " How difficult," said Miss Kenny feck, " I could almost say, how 
 impossible, to leave a land so abounding in the romance of life, for 
 all the dull and common-place realities of European existence." 
 
 " How hard to do so without leaving behind the heart that could 
 feel such ecstasies," murmured Olivia, with a half -raised eyelid, and a 
 glance that made Cashel flush with delight. 
 
 " How shall we ever make Ireland compensate you for quitting so 
 lovely a country," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, with a smile rarely accorded 
 to anything lower that a Viscount. 
 
 " We have a Mexican proverb. Madam," said Cashel, gaily, " which 
 says, ' Wherever the sun shines, bright eyes shine also ;' but enough 
 of these tiresome memories, in which my egotism will always involve 
 me. Shall we have a Fandango ?" 
 
 '' I don't know it ; I never saw it danced." 
 "Well, the Manolo, then." 
 " Nor that either," said both girls, laughing. 
 
 "Well, will you learn? I'll teach you the Manolo. It's very 
 simple. If you'll play the air. Miss Kennyfeck, it runs thus." Here 
 he opened the pianoforte, and after a few chords, struck with a mas- 
 terly linger, he jjlayed a little Spanish dance ; but with a spirit of 
 execution, and in such an exciting character of time and raeasui'e, 
 that a general exclamation of delight broke from the whole room ; 
 Mr. Jones himself forgetting all rivalry, and Mr. Softly laying down 
 his newspaper to listen, and for a moment carried away by the fasci- 
 nation of the spirit-stirring melody.
 
 ROLAND CA8HEL. 43 
 
 " That is the Manolo ; come, now, and let me teach you, first the 
 air and then the dance." 
 
 " Oh, I never could succeed to give it that character of bold and 
 haughty defiance it breathes from you," said Miss Kenny feck. 
 
 " Nay, nay, a man's hand is always so rude and heavy, it needs the 
 taper finger of a lady," — here Cashel bent and kissed the hand he 
 held, but with such a deference and respect in the salute, that de- 
 prived the action, so novel to oiir eyes, of any appearance of a liberty, 
 — "of a lady," he resumed, "to impart the ringing brilliancy of the 
 saucy Manolo." 
 
 " Then play it over once more, and I'll try," said Miss Kenny feck, 
 vrho was a most accomplished musician, and had even already caught 
 up the greater part of the air. 
 
 Cashel obeyed, and again the plaudits followed even more en- 
 thusiastically than the first time. "With a precision that called 
 forth many a hearty " bravo" from Eoland, Miss Kenny feck 
 played over the air, catching up all the spirit of its transitions 
 from gay to plaintive, and from tender to a strain bold, daring, and 
 energetic. 
 
 " Now for the dance," exclaimed Cashel, eagerly, as he busied 
 himself in removing chairs and pushing back sofas. " Will you be 
 kind enough to assist me with this table ?" 
 
 Mr. Softly, the gentleman thus addressed, rose to comply, his face 
 exhibiting a very amusing struggle between shame and astonishment 
 at tlie position he occupied. 
 
 The space cleared, Eoland took Olivia's hand, and led her forward 
 with an air of exceeding deference. 
 
 " Now, Miss Kennyfeck, the step is the easiest thing in the world. 
 It goes so, one two, one, two, three, and then, change— exactly, quite 
 right, you have it perfectly. This is, as it were, an introduction to 
 the dance, but the same step is preserved throughout, merely chang- 
 ing its time with the measure." 
 
 It would be as impossible to follow, as it would be unfair to weary 
 the reader with the lesson which now began, and yet we would like 
 to linger on the theme, as our memory brings up every graceful 
 gesture, and every proud attitude of the fascinating Manolo. Re- 
 presenting as it does, by pantomimic action, a little episode of devo- 
 tion, in which pursuit and flight, entreaty, rejection, seductive soft- 
 ness, haughty defiance, timid fear, and an even insolent boldness, 
 alternate and succeed each other, all the movements which expressive 
 action can command, whether of figure or feature, are called forth. 
 Now, it is the retii'ing delicacy of shrinking, timid loveliness, half 
 hoping, half fearing, to be pvu'sued — now, the stately defiance of 
 haughty beauty, demanding homage as its due. At one moment, the
 
 44 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 winning seductiveness that invites pursuit, and then, sudden aa the 
 lightning, the disdain that repels advance. 
 
 Not the least interesting part of the present scene was to watch 
 how Olivia, who, at first, made each step and gesture with diffidence 
 and fear, as she went on, became, as it were, seized with the charac- 
 teristic spirit of the measure ; her features varying with each motive 
 of the music ; her eyes, at one instant half closed in dreamy languor, 
 and at the next flashing in all the brilliancy of conscious beauty. As 
 for Eoland, forgetting, as well he might, all his functions as teacher, 
 he moved with the enthusiastic spirit of the dance — his rapturous 
 gaze displaying the admiration that fettered him ; and when at last, 
 as it were yielding to long-proved devotion, she gave her hand, it 
 needed the explanation, of its being a Mexican fashion to excuse the 
 ardour with which he pressed it to his lips. 
 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck's applause, however, was none the less warm ; and, 
 if any of the company disapproved, they prudently said nothing ; even 
 Mr. Softly, who only evinced his feeling by a somewhat hasty resump- 
 tion of the Morning Post, while the elder sister, rising from the piano, 
 whispered, as she passed her sister, " Bad jockeyship, Livy dear, to 
 make fast running so early." 
 
 " And that is the— what d'ye call it, Mr. Cashel ?" said Mrs. 
 Kenny feck. 
 
 " The Manolo, Madam. It is of Italian origin, rather than Spanish : 
 Calabrian, I fancy ; but, in Mexico, it has become national, and well 
 suits the changeful temper of our Spanish belles, and the style of their 
 light and floating costume." 
 
 " Tes, I suspect it has a better effect with short drapery than with 
 the sweeping folds of our less picturesque dress," said Miss Kenny- 
 feck, who, for reasons we must not inquire, took a pleasure in quali- 
 fying her approval. 
 
 " I never saw it appear more graceful," said Cashel, witli a blunt 
 abruptness far more flattering than a studied compliment. Olivia 
 blushed ; ]\Irs. Kennyfeck looked happy, and the elder sister bit her 
 lips, and threw up her eyebrows, with an expression we cannot attempt 
 to render in words. 
 
 " May I not have the honour of introducing you to tlie Manolo ?" 
 said Cashel, presenting himself before her with a deep bow. 
 
 " Thank you, I prefer being a spectator ; besides, we could have no 
 music — my sister does not play." 
 
 Olivia blushed ; and, in her hasty look, there was an expression of 
 gently conveyed reproach, as though to say, " This is unfair." 
 
 " Do you like music, Mr. Cashel ?" continued Miss Kennyfeck, who 
 saw the slight cloud of disappointment that crossed Eoland's features. 
 "Oh, I'm certain vou do, and 1 know vou sin2;!"
 
 EOLA^D CASHEl. 45 
 
 " Tes," said Cashel, carelessly ; " as every one sings in that merry 
 land I come from ; but I fear the wild caroUings of a Eanchero would 
 scarce find acceptance in tlie polished ears of Europe." 
 
 " AVhat are the melodies like, then ?" asked Miss Kennyfeck, throw- 
 ing into the question a most eager interest. 
 
 " Tou shall hear, if you like," said Eoland, taking up a guitar, and 
 striking a few full chords with a practised hand. " This is one of the 
 war songs ;" and without further preface he began. Had he even 
 been less gifted than he w"as as to voice and musical taste, there was 
 enough in the bold and manly energy of his manner, in the fiery 
 daring of his dark eyes, and the expressive earnestness of his whole 
 bearing, to attract the admiration of his hearers. But besides these 
 advantages, he was not unskilled in the science of music, and even 
 made so poor an instrument a full and masterly accompaniment, imi- 
 tating, as few but Spaniards can do, the distant sound of drums, the 
 dropping fire of cannon, the wild abrupt changes of battle, and the 
 low plaintive sounds of suff"ering and defeat ; so that, as he concluded, 
 the whole character of the performance had ceased to be regarded as 
 a mere musical display, but had the absolute effect of a powerfully- 
 told story. 
 
 The Keunyfecks had often been called on in society to award their 
 praises to amateur performances, in w^hose, applause, be it said, en pas- 
 sant, a grateful sense of their being concluded always contributes the 
 enthusiasm ; but real admiration and pleasure now made them silent, 
 and as their eyes first turned on the singer and then met, there was a 
 W'Orld of intelligence in that one quiet, fleeting glance, that revealed 
 more of secret thought and feeling than we, as mere chroniclers of 
 events, dare inqvure into. 
 
 Whether it was that this silence, prolonged for some seconds, sug- 
 gested the move, or that Mr. Jones began to feel how ignoble a part 
 he had been cast for in the whole evening's entertainment, but he 
 rose to take his leave at once, throwing into his manner a certain air 
 of easy self-sufficiency, with which in the " Courts" he had often dis- 
 missed a witness under cross-examination, and by a mere look and 
 gesture contrived to disparage his testimony. 
 
 None, save Miss Kennyfeck, perceived his tactic. She saw it, how- 
 ever, and, with a readiness all her own, replied by a slight elevation 
 of the eyebrow. Jones saw his " signal acknowledged," and went 
 home contented. Poor man, he was not the first w^ho has been taken 
 into partnership because his small resources were all "ready," and 
 who is ejected from the firm when wider and grander speculations are 
 entered on. I am not certain either that he will be the last ! 
 
 Mr. Softly next withdrew, his leave-taking having all the blended 
 humility and cordiality of his first arrival ; and now Mr. Kennyfeck
 
 46 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 was awakened out of a very sound nap by his wife saying in his ear, 
 " "Will you ask Mr. Cashel if he'll take a biscuit and a glass of wine 
 before lie retires ?" 
 
 This proposition was politely declined, and after a very cordial 
 band- shaking with all the members of the family, Cashel said his 
 good night, and retired. 
 
 CHxiPTEE VII. 
 
 Ich mochte ihu im Schlafrock sehen. 
 
 Der Reisende Teufel. 
 I'd like to see him in his robe de chambre. 
 
 The Travelling Devil. 
 
 There has always appeared to us something of treachery, not to 
 speak of indelicacy, in the privileges authors are wont to assume in 
 following their characters into their most secret retirement, watching 
 there their every movement and gesture, overhearing their confiden- 
 tial whisperings, nay, sometimes sapping their very thoughts, for the 
 mere indulgence of a prying, intrusive curiosity. 
 
 For this reason, highly appreciating, as we must do, the admirable 
 wit of the " Diable Boiteip:," and the pleasant familiar humour of 
 the " Hermite de la Chaussee d'Antin," we never could entirely re- 
 concile ourselves to the means by which such amusing views of life 
 were obtained, while we entertain grave doubts if we, that is, the 
 world at large, have any right to form our judgments of people from 
 any other evidence than what is before the public. It appears to us 
 somewhat as if, that following Eomeo or Desdemona into the " Green- 
 room," we should be severe upon the want of keeping which sug- 
 gested the indulgence of a cigar or a pot of porter, and angry at the 
 high-flown illusions so grossly routed and dispelled. 
 
 "Act well your part — there all the honour lies," said the poet 
 moralist ; but it's rather hard to say, that you are to " act" it, off, as 
 well as on the stage ; and if it be true that no man is a hero to his 
 valet, the valet should say nothing about it ; aud this is the very 
 offence we think novel writers commit, everlastingly stripping off the 
 decorations and destroying the illusions they take such trouble to 
 create, for little else than the vain boastfulness of saying : — See, upon 
 what flimsy materials I can move you to sentiments of grief, laughter, 
 pity, or contempt. Behold of what vulgar ingredients are made up 
 the highest aspirations of genius— the most graceful fascinations of 
 beauty. 
 
 Having denounced, by this recorded protest, the practice, and dis- 
 claiming, as we must do, all desire to benefit by its enjoyment, we
 
 EOLAIfD CASHEL. 47 
 
 deaire our reader, particularly if he be of the less worthy gender, to 
 feel a due sense of the obligation he owes us, if we claim his com- 
 pany for half an hour on such a voyage of discovery. Step softly, 
 there is no excuse for noise, as the stair-carpet is thick, and not a 
 sound need be heard. G-ently, as you pass that green door — that is 
 the bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Kennyfeck. We will not linger there, 
 nor invade the sanctity of those precincts, within which the mono- 
 tonous tones of Mrs. K. are heard, revelling in that species of do- 
 mestic eloquence which, like the liberty of the press, is oftener plea- 
 sant to those who employ, than to those who receive its judgments. 
 Here, for a few minutes, let us stay. This is Eoland Cashel's apart- 
 ment ; and, strange enough, instead of sleeping, he is up at his table, 
 writing too, he, of all men, the least epistolary. There may be no 
 great indication of character in mere handwriting, but the manner, 
 the gesture, the degree of rapidity of the writer, as seen at the 
 moment, are all full of individuality. Mark, then, with what speed 
 his pen moves ; not the daisy- cutting sling of the accomplished rider, 
 but the slashing gallop of the heavy charger. Many a blot, never an 
 erasure — so, there it goes — "Tours ever, Roland Cashel." And now, 
 be begins another. Come, these are no times for squeamishness. 
 Let us anticipate " Sir James," and read before he seals it. 
 
 " Dublin. 
 
 " Mt deab Comeade, — We are neither of us very gifted letter- 
 writers, but events are always enough to tell, even when style be 
 wanting ; and here am I, so overwhelmed by the rush of new sensa- 
 tions, that I know not where to begin, or how to tell what has really 
 happened since we parted, nor distinguish actual stubborn facts from 
 my own fancies. My brief note from Porto Giacomo told you that 
 I had succeeded to something like fifteen thousand pounds a year. I 
 believe it is rather more, with a good round sum, I don't know how 
 much, in bank; and now, here I am, just arrived, but marvellously 
 at home, in the house of the worthy fellow that has established my 
 claim. 
 
 " If I only knew so much of my good luck, I'd say it was no bad 
 thing to be pleasantly domesticated in a capital mansion, with every 
 refinement and luxury at band, and two such girls, the daughters ! 
 Oh, amigo mio, you'd think wondrous little of the Barcelonetta 
 belles, if I could show you these damsels ! Such tempting shyness — 
 such shrinking playful modesty, and then so frank, without that slap- 
 dash abruptness — Never mind — I own freely that Maritana is lovely 
 — there is not such a mouth — As to a foot — Avell, well. I wish I 
 could take a peep at you all again, just as night closes, and she comes 
 out to take her walk upon the grass, and hear her singing as she
 
 48 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 went, or watch her as she danced the Manolo, which — by the way- 
 one of the girls liere caught up wonderfully, and in almost an instant, 
 too. But the Manolo, with a long, sweeping, flounced, and furbe- 
 lowed petticoat ! Only think of the absurdity. Not but she looked 
 exceedingly pretty the while, but liow much better had she, if one 
 could only have cut half a yard off" her drapery ! 
 
 " Have you received the pistols I sent from London ? I hope 
 you'll think them handsome— I know they are true, having tried them 
 at thirty-five, and even fifty paces. The yataghan I'm certain you'll 
 admire ; it has the peculiar handle and hilt you're fond of. Pray let 
 ' our friends on the Chilian side learn something of the qualities of 
 the blade itself I have been thinking since about the emeralds— 
 and, perhaps, Maritana may refuse them. If so, do what you will 
 with them, so that I hear no more of the matter. And now for the 
 bond ; — release me from that tie by all means. It is not that I really 
 feel it in the light of a contract — Maritana never did— but I have it 
 ever on my mind like a debt. I give you full powers ; draw upon me 
 for the sum you please, and I promise not to dishonour the cheque. 
 Pedro likes a good bargain, and don't balk him ! 
 
 " I don't know what your own views are in that quarter, but I tell 
 you frankly that Maritana has higher and bolder aspirations than 
 either you or I were likely to aid her in attaining. She is a proud girl, 
 Enrique, and will never care for any man that is not able and willing 
 to elevate her into a very different sphere from that she moves in. I 
 never actually loved her — I certainly do not do so now — and yet I 
 cannot get her out of my head. 
 
 '• Before I forget it, let me ask you to pay Euy Dias two hundred 
 doubloons for me. The horse I killed was not worth forty, but these 
 are not times for bargaining, and the fellow didn't want to part with 
 the beast. Alconetti— the Italian in the Plaza— has something 
 against me ; pay it too ; and now that I am on the subject of debts, 
 whenever you next cruise off" Ventillanos, send a party on shore to 
 catch the Dean, and give him four- and- twenty with a rope's-end ; say 
 it is from me ; he'll know why, and so shall you, wlien you inform me 
 that it has been cleverly effected. 
 
 " Above all, my dear boy, write ; I so long to hear about you all, 
 and to know all that has happened since I left you. Send the old 
 trunks with my uniform to the agents in the Ilavannah ; I'd like to 
 see them once more, Pran9ois may keep anything else of mine, 
 except what you would like to select as a ' souvenir.' Don't let Eica 
 write to me. I feel I should have no chance in a correspondence 
 with him ; nor need I have any, because, whatever you say, I agree 
 to — remember that. 
 
 " If you can manage about the emeralds, it would be the most
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 49 
 
 gratifying news to me. You might tell lier tbat we are so certain of 
 
 never meeting again, and that all is now over for ever, and so on. — It 
 
 would have an air of unkindness to reject them. Besides, I see no 
 
 reason why she should! No matter; I needn't multiply reasons, 
 
 where if one will not suffice, a thousand must fail, and the chances are, 
 
 if she suspect my anxiety on the subject, it will decide her against 
 
 me. Do it, then, all in your own way. 
 
 " Have I said all I wanted ? Heaven knows, my head is fall ; my 
 
 heart, too, is not without its load. I wish you were here. I wish it 
 
 for many reasons. I already begin to suspect you are right about the 
 
 sudden effect a spring into wealth may produce, but I hope that all 
 
 you said on that score may not be true. If I thought so, I'd 
 
 No matter, I'll endeavour to show that you are unjust, and that is 
 
 better. — Tours ever, " Eolaij^d Cashel. 
 
 " Don Enrique da Cordova, 
 Lieutenant of the Columbian frigate Esmeralda. 
 Care of Messrs. Eustache et Le Moine, merchants, Havannah." 
 
 The next epistle which followed was far more brief. It was thus : 
 
 " Messrs. Vanderhaeghen und Droek, Antwerp. 
 
 " Enclosed is an order on Hamerton for seventeen thousand four 
 hundred and forty-eight gulden, principal and interest for three years, 
 of an unjust demand made by you on me before the tribunal of Bruges. 
 
 " You failed, even with all the aid of your knavish laws, and more 
 knavish countrymen, to establish this iniquitous claim ; and only suc- 
 ceeded in exhibiting yourselves as rogues and swindlers, good burgher- 
 like qualities in your commercial city. 
 
 " I have now paid what I never owed, but there still remains be- 
 tween us an unsettled score. Let my present punctuality guarantee 
 the honourable intentions I entertain of settling it one day, till when, 
 as you have shown yourselves my enemy, 
 
 " Believe me to be yours, 
 
 "EoLAND Cashel." 
 
 The order on the Banker ran as follows : 
 
 " Pay to Vanderhaeghen und Droek, two of the greatest knaves 
 alive, seventeen thousand four hundred and forty-eight gulden, being 
 the principal and interest for three years of a dishonest claim made 
 upon " EoLAND Cashel. 
 
 " To Hamerton and Co., Cheapside." 
 
 "With all that soothing consciousness we hear is the result of good 
 actions, Cashel lay down on his bed immediately ou concluding this 
 
 TOL. I. E
 
 50 KOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 last epistle, and was fast asleep almost before tlie superscription was 
 dried. 
 
 And now, worthy reader, another peep, and we have done. As- 
 cending cautiously the stairs, you pass through a little conservatory, 
 at the end of which a heavy cloth curtain conceals a door. It is that 
 of a dressing-room — off which, at opposite sides, two bedrooms lie. 
 This same dressing-room, with its rose-coloured curtains and ottoman, 
 its kittle toilet-tables of satin-wood, its mirrors framed in alabaster, 
 its cabinets of Buhl, and the book-shelves so coquettishly curtained 
 with Malines lace, is the common property of the two sisters whom 
 we so lately introduced to your notice. 
 
 There were they wont to sit for hours after the return from a ball, 
 discussing tlie people they had met, their dress, their manner, their 
 foibles and flirtations ; criticising with no mean acuteness all the 
 varied games of match-making mammas and intriguing aunts, and 
 canvassing the schemes and snares ao rife around them. And, oh, ye 
 simple worshippers of muslin-robed innocence ! oh, ye devoted slaves 
 of ringleted loveliness and blooming freshness ! bethink ye what wily 
 projects lie crouching in hearts that would seem the very homes of 
 careless happiness — what calculations — what devices — how many 
 subtleties that only beauty wields or simple man is vanquished by ! 
 
 It was considerably past midnight as the two girls sat at the fire, 
 their dressing-gowns and slippered feet showing that they had pre- 
 pared for bed ; but the long luxuriant hair, as yet uncurled, flowed 
 in heavy masses on their neck and shoulders. They did not, as usual, 
 converse freely together ; a silence and a kind of constraint sat upon 
 each, and although Olivia held a book before her, it was less for the 
 purpose of reading than as a screen against the fire, while her sister 
 sat with folded arms and gently drooping head, apparently lost in 
 thought. It was after a very lengthened silence, and in a voice 
 which showed that the speaker was following up some train of 
 tliought. Miss Kennyfeck said, 
 
 " And do you really think him handsome, Olivia ?" 
 
 " Of whom are you speaking, dear ?" said Olivia, with the very 
 softest accent. 
 
 Miss Kennyfeck started, her pale cheeks became slightly red, as, 
 with a most keen irony, she replied : " Could you not guess ? Can 
 I mean any one but Mr. Clare Jones ?" 
 
 " Oh, he's a downright fright," answered the other ; " but what 
 could have made yon think of him ?" 
 
 " I was not thinldng of him, nor were you either, sister dear," said 
 Miss Kennyfeck, fixing her eyes full upon her; "we were both think- 
 ing of the same person. Come, what use in such subterfuges? 
 Honesty, Livy, may not be the * best policy,' but it has one great
 
 . - .^^^^v 
 
 Til '^ '^^'•1 f •■ !~^ "^ s ^ '- 
 
 TS
 
 EOLANB CASHEL. ' 51 
 
 advantage, it saves a deal of time ; and so I repeat my question, do 
 you think him handsome ?" 
 
 " If you mean Mr. Cashel, dearest," said the younger, half bash- 
 fully, " I rather incline to say he is. His eyes are very good ; his 
 
 forehead and brow " 
 
 " There — no inventory, I beg — the man is very well-looking, I dare 
 say; but I own he strikes me as ' tant soit peit, sauvage.'' Don't you 
 think so ?" 
 
 " True, his manners " 
 
 " "Why he has none ; the man has a certain rakish free-and-easy de- 
 meanour, that, with somewhat more breeding, would rise as high as 
 ' tigerism,' but now is detestable vulgarity." 
 " Oh, dearest, you are severe." 
 " I rather suspect that you are partial." 
 
 " I, my dear ! not I, in the least. He is not, by any means, the 
 style of person I like. He can be very amusing, perhaps ; he cer- 
 tainly is very odd — very original." 
 
 " He is very rich, Livy," said the elder sister, with a most dry 
 gravity. 
 
 " That can scarcely be called a fault, still less a misfortune," replied 
 Olivia, slyly. 
 
 " AVell, well, let us have done with aphorisms, and speak openly. 
 If you are really pleased with his manner and address, say so at once, 
 and I'll promise never to criticise too closely a demeanour which, I 
 vow, does not impress me highly — only be candid." 
 
 " But I do not see any occasion for such candour, my dear. He 
 is no more to me than he is to you. I ask no protestations from you 
 about this Mr. Eolaud Cashel." 
 
 Miss Keuuyfeck bit her lip and seemed to repress a rising tempta- 
 tion to reply, but was silent for a moment, when she said, in a care- 
 less, easy tone, 
 
 " Do you know, Livy dearest, that this same Manolo you danced 
 this evening is not by any means a graceful performance to look at, 
 at least when danced with long, sweeping drapery, flapping here and 
 flouncing there. It may suit those half-dressed Mexican damsels 
 who want to display a high arched instep and a rounded ankle, and 
 who know that they are not transgressing the ordinary limits of de- 
 corum in the display ; but certainly yoitr friend Mr. Softly did not 
 accord all his approval. Did you remark him?" 
 
 " I did not ; I was too much engaged in learning the figure ; but 
 Mr. Sofily disapproves of all dancing." 
 
 " Oh, I know he does," yawned Miss Kenny feck, as if the very 
 mention of his name, suggested sleep, " the dear man has his own 
 notions of pleasantry— little holy jokes about Adam and Eve. There 
 
 e2
 
 52 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 is notliing so intolerable to me as the insipid playfulness of your 
 young parson, except, perhaps, the coarse fun of your rising barrister. 
 How I hate Mr. Clare Jones." 
 
 " He is very under-bred." 
 
 " He is worse — the rudest person I ever met — so familiar." 
 
 " AYhy will he always insist on shaking hands ?" 
 
 " Why will he not at least wash his own, occasionally ?" 
 
 " And then his jests from the Queen's Bench — the last mot — I'm 
 sure I often wish it were so literally — of some stupid Chief Justice. 
 Well, really, in comparison, your savage friend is a mirror of good 
 looks and good manners." 
 
 " Good night, my dear," said Olivia, rising, as though to decline a 
 renewal of the combat. 
 
 " Good night," echoed her sister, bluntly, " and pleasant dreams 
 of ' Eoland the brave — Roland the true ;' the latter quality being the 
 one more in request at this moment." And so, humming the well. 
 known air, she took her candle, and retired. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Ay I marry — they have wiles, 
 
 Compared to which, our schemes are honesty ! 
 
 The Lawyer's Dadghter. 
 
 ilS'oTWiTHSTANniXG all that we hear said against Castle-building, 
 how few among the uubought pleasures of life are so amusing, nor 
 are we certain that these shadowy speculations — these '' white lies" 
 that we tell to our own conscience — are not so many incentives to noble 
 deeds and generous actions. These " imaginary conversations" lift 
 us out of the jog-trot path of daily intercourse, and call up hopes and 
 aspirations that lie buried under the heavy load of wearisome common- 
 places of w]iich life is made up, and thus permit a man immersed as 
 he may be in the fatigues of a profession, or a counting-house, 
 liarassed by law, or worried by the Three per Cents., to be a hero to 
 his own heart at least for a few minutes once a week. 
 
 But if " Castle-building" be so pleasurable when a mere visionary 
 scheme, what is it when it comes associated with all the necessary 
 conditions for accomplishment — when not alone the plan and eleva- 
 tion of the edifice are there, but aU the materials and every appliance 
 to realise the conception ? 
 
 Just fancy yourself " two or three and twenty," waking out of a 
 souud and dreamless sleep, to see the mellow sun of an autumnal 
 morning straining its rays through the curtains of your bedroom. 
 Conceive the short and easy struggle by which, banishing all load of 
 cares and duties by which you were once immersed, you spring, as by
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 53 
 
 a bound, to tbe joyous fact that you are the owner of a princely for- 
 tune, with health and ardent spirit, a temper capable of, nay, eager 
 for engagement, a fearless courage, and a heart unchilled. Think of 
 this, and say, is not the first-waking half-hour of such thoughts the 
 brightest spot of a whole existence ? 
 
 Such was the frame of mind in which our hero awoke, and lay for 
 some time to revel in ! We could not, if we would, follow the com- 
 plex tissue of day-dreams that wandered over every clime, and in the 
 luxuriant rapture of power, created scenes of pleasure, of ingredients 
 the most far-fetched and remote. The " actual" demands our atten- 
 tion more urgently than the " ideal," so tliat we are constrained to 
 follow the unpoetical steps of so ignoble a personage as Mr. Phillis 
 — Cashel's new valet — who now broke in upon his master's reveries, 
 as he entered with hot water, and the morning papers. 
 
 " "What have you got there?" cried Cashel, not altogether pleased 
 at the intrusion. 
 
 " The morning papers! Lord Ettlecombe" — his former master, and 
 his universal type — " always read the Post, Sir, before he got out of 
 bed." 
 
 " Well, let me see it," said Cashel, who, already impressed with the 
 necessity of conforming to a new code, was satisfied to take the law 
 even from so humble an authority as his own man. 
 
 " Tes, Sir. Our arrival is announced very handsomely among the 
 fashionable intelligence, and the Diiblin Mail has copied the para- 
 graph stating that we are speedily about to visit our Irish estates." 
 
 " Ah, indeed," said Cashel, somewhat flattered at his new-born no- 
 toriety ; " where is all this ?" 
 
 " Here, Sir, under ' Movements in High Life ;' ' The Duke of 
 Uxoter to Lord Debbington's beautiful villa at Maulish — Sir Harry 
 
 and Lady Emeline Morpas, &c., — Eosenorris — Lord Fetcherton ' 
 
 No, here we have it. Sir — ]Mr. Eoland Cashel and suite' — Kennyfeck 
 and self. Sir — ' from Mivart's, for Ireland. We understand that this 
 milUonnaire proprietor is now about to visit his estates in this coun- 
 try, 'preparatory to taking up a residence finally amongst us. If 
 report speak truly, he is as accomplished as wealthy, and will be a 
 very welcome accession to the ranks of our country gentry.' " 
 
 " How strange that these worthy people should affect to know or 
 care anything about me or my future intentions," said Cashel, inno- 
 cently. 
 
 " Oh, Sir, they really know nothing — that little thing is mine." 
 
 " Tours ! how yours ?" 
 
 " Why, I wrote it, Sir. When I lived with Sir Giles Heathcote, 
 we always fired off a certain number of these signal-guns when we 
 came to a new place. Once the thing was set a-going, the newspaper 
 fellows followed up the lead themselves. They look upon a well-
 
 54 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 known name as of the same value as a fire, or a case of larceny. I 
 have known a case of seduction by a Marquis to take the ' pas' of the 
 last miu'der in the Edgeware-road." 
 
 " I have no fancy for this species of publicity," said Cashel, seri- 
 ously. 
 
 " Believe me, Sir, there is nothing to be done without it. The 
 press, Six', is the fourth estate. They can ignore anything now-a- 
 days, from a speech in Parliament to the last new novel, — from the 
 young beauty just come out to the newly-Iauuched liue-of-battle-ship. 
 A friend of mine, some time back, tried the thing to his cost, Sir. 
 He invented an admirable moustache-paste ; he even paid a guinea to 
 an Oxford man for a Greek name for it ; well, Sir, he would not 
 advertise in the dailies, but only in bills. Mark the consequence. 
 One of the morning journals, in announcing the arrival of the Prince 
 of Koemundkuttingeu on a visit to Colonel Sibthorp, mentioned, 
 that in the fraternal embrace of these two distinguished personages, 
 their moustaches, anointed with the new patent adhesive Eukanthe- 
 rostickostecon, became actually so fastened together (as the fellow 
 said, like two clothes-brushes), that after a quarter of an hour's vain 
 struggle they had to be cut asunder. From that moment, Sir, the 
 paste was done up ; he sold it as harness stuff the week after, and left 
 the hair and beard line altogether." 
 
 As Cashel's dressing proceeded, Mr. Phillis continued to impose 
 upon him those various hints and suggestions respecting costume, for 
 which that accomplished gentleman's gentleman was renowned. 
 
 " Excuse me, but you are not going to wear that coat, I hope. A 
 morning dress should always incline to what artists call 'neutral 
 tints;' there should also be nothing striking, nothing that would 
 particularly strike the eye, except in those peculiar cases, where the 
 wearer, adopting a certain colour, not usually seen, adheres strictly 
 to it, just as we see my Lord Blenneville with his old coffee-coloured 
 cut-away, and Sir Erancis Homing with his light-blue frock ; Colonel 
 Mordaunt's Hessians are the same kind of thing." 
 
 " This is all mere trifling," said Cashel, impatiently ; " I don't in- 
 tend to dress like the show-figure in a tailor's shop, to be stared at." 
 
 " Exactly so, Su- ; that is what I have been saying ; any notoriety 
 is to be avoided where a gentleman has a real position. Now, with a 
 dark frock, grey trousers, and this plain, single-breasted vest, your 
 costume is correct." 
 
 If Cashel appeared to submit to these dictations with impatience, 
 he, really, received them as laws to which he was, in virtue of his 
 station, to be bound. He had taken Mr. Phillis, exactly as he had 
 engaged the services of a celebrated French cook, as a person to 
 whom a " department" was to be entrusted, and feeling that he was 
 about to enter on a world whose habits of thinking and prejudices
 
 eolajStb cashzl. 55 
 
 were all strange, he resolved to accept of guidance, with the implicit- 
 ness that he would Jiave shown in taking a pilot to navigate him 
 through a newly-visited channel. Between this sense of submission, 
 and a certain feeling of shame at the mock importance of these consi- 
 derations, Cashel exhibited many symptoms of impatience, as Mr. 
 PhiUis continued his revelations on dress, and was sincerely happy 
 when that refined individual, having slowly surveyed him, pronounced 
 a faint " Yes, very near it," and withdrew. 
 
 There was a half-glimmering suspicion, like a straggling ray of 
 sunlight stealing tlnrough a torn and ragged cloud, breaking on 
 Eoland's mind, that if wealth were to entail a great many require- 
 ments, no matter how small each, of obedience to the world's pre- 
 scription, he, for one, would prefer his untrammelled freedom to 
 any amount of riches. This was but a fleeting doubt, which he had 
 no time to dwell upon, for already he was informed by the butler that 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck was waiting breakfast for him. 
 
 Descending the stairs rapidly, he had just reached the landing 
 opposite the drawing-room, when he heard the sounds of a guitar 
 accompaniment, and the sweet silvery tones of a female voice. He 
 listened, and to his amazement heard that the singer was endeavour- 
 ing, and with considerable success, too, to remember his own Mexican 
 air, that he had sung the preceding evening. 
 
 Somehow, it struck him he had never thought the melody so pretty 
 before ; there was a tenderness in the plaintive parts he could not 
 have conceived. Not so the singer, for after a few efforts to imitate 
 one of Eoland's bolder passages, she drew her finger impatiently 
 across the chords, and exclaimed, " It is of no use, it is only the 
 Caballero himself can do it." 
 
 " Let him teach you, then !" cried Cashel, as he sprang into the 
 room, wild with delight. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Cashel, what a start you've given me !" said Olivia 
 Kennyfeck, as, covered with blushes, and trembling with agitation, 
 she leaned on the back of a chair. . 
 
 " Oh, pray forgive me," said he, eagerly ; " but I was so surprised, 
 so delighted to hear you recalling that little song, I really forgot 
 everything else. Have I startled you, then ?" 
 
 " Oh, no ;. it's nothing. I was trying a few chords. I thought I 
 was quite alone." 
 
 " But you'll permit me to teach you some of our Mexican songs, 
 won't you ? I should be so charmed to hear them sung as you could 
 sing them." 
 
 " It is too kind of you," said she, timidly ; " but I am no musician. 
 My sister is a most skilful performer ; but I really know nothing — a 
 simple ballad — and a canzonette — are the extent of my efforts." 
 
 " For our Prairie songs, it is the feeling supplies all the character.
 
 56 ■ EOLAND OASHEL. 
 
 Tliey are wild, fanciful things, with no higher pretensions than to 
 recal some trait of the land they belong to, and I should be so 
 flattered if you would take an interest in the Par West." 
 
 " How you must love it ! How you must long to return to it !" 
 said Olivia, raising her long drooping lashes, and letting her eyes 
 rest, with an expression of tender melancholy, on Cashel. 
 
 What he might have said there is no guessing, — nay, for his sake, 
 and for hers too, it is better not even to speculate on it ; but ere he 
 could reply, another speaker joined in the colloquy, saying — 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Cashel. Pray don't forget, when the lesson 
 is over, that we are waiting breakfast." So saying, and with a laugh 
 of saucy railler}". Miss Kennyfeck passed down the stairs, not remain- 
 inn; to hear his answer. 
 
 " Oil, Mr. Cashel !" exclaimed Olivia, with a tone half reproachful, 
 half shy, " we shall be scolded, — at least, I shall," added she. " It 
 is the unforgivable offence in this house to be late at breakfast." 
 
 Cashel would very willingly have risked all the consequences of 
 delay for a few minutes longer of their interview, but already she had 
 tripped on down stairs, and with such speed as to enter the break- 
 fast-parlour a few seconds before him. Eoland was welcomed by the 
 family without the slightest shade of dissatisfaction at his late ap- 
 pearance, cordial greetings and friendly inquiries as to how he had 
 rested pouring in on every side. 
 
 " What's to be done with Mr. Cashel to-day ? I hope he is not 
 to be teased by business people and red-tapery," said Mrs. Kenny- 
 feck to her husband. 
 
 " I am afraid," said the silky attorney — " I am very much afraid, 
 I must trespass on his kindness to accompany me to the Master's 
 office. There are some little matters which will not wait." 
 
 " Oh, they must," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, peremptorily. " Who istlie 
 Master — Liddard — isn't it ? Well, tell him to put it off: Mr. Casliel 
 must really have a little peace and quietness after all his fatigues." 
 
 " It will only take an hour at most, Mrs. Kennyfeck," remonstrated 
 her submissive mate. 
 
 "Well, tliat is nothing," cried Cashel. "I'm not in the least 
 tired, and the day is long enough for everything." 
 
 " Then we have a little affair which we can manage at home here 
 about the mortgages. I told you " 
 
 " I believe you did," replied Cashel, laughing ; " but I don't re- 
 member a word of it. It's about paying some money, isn't it ?" 
 
 "Yes, it's the redemption of two very heavy claims," exclaimed 
 Kennyfeck, perfectly shocked at the indifference displayed by the 
 young man, — " claims for which we are paying five and a half per cent." 
 
 "And it would be better to clear them off?" said Cahel, assuming 
 a show of interest in the matter he was far from feeling.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 57 
 
 " Of course it would. There is a very large sum laying to your 
 credit at Falkner's, for which you receive only three per cent." 
 
 " Don't you perceive how tiresome you are, dear Mr. Kennyfeck ?" 
 said his wife. " Mr. Cashel is bored to death with all this." 
 
 " Oil, no ! not in the least, Madam. It ought to interest me im- 
 mensely ; and so all these things will, I'm sure ; but I was just 
 thinking at what hour that fellow we met on the packet was to show 
 us those horses he spoke of?" 
 
 " At four," said Mr. Kennyfeck, with a half-sigh of resignation; 
 " but you'll have ample time for that. I shall only ask you to attend 
 at the Judges' chambers after our consultation." 
 
 " Well, you are really intolerable !" cried his wife. " "Why cannot 
 you and Jones, and the rest of you, do all this tiresome nonsense, and 
 leave Mr. Cashel to us ? I want to bring him out to visit two or 
 three people ; and the girls have been planning a canter in the Park." 
 
 " The canter, by all means," said Cashel. " I'm sure, my dear 
 Mr. Kennyfeck, you'll do everything far better without me. I have 
 no head for anything like business ; and so pray, let me accompany 
 the riding party." 
 
 " The attendance at the Master's is peremptory," sighed the 
 attorney ; " there is no deferring that ; and as to the mortgages, the 
 funds are falling every hour. I should seriously advise selling out 
 at once." 
 
 " Well, sell out, in Heaven's name. Do all and anything you like, 
 and I promise my most unqualified satisfaction at the result." 
 
 " There, now," interposed Mrs. Kennyfeck, authoritatively; " don't 
 worry any more, you see how tiresome you are !" 
 
 And poor Mr. Kennyfeck seemed to see and feel it too, for he 
 hung his head, and sipped his tea in silence. 
 
 " To-day we dine alone, Mr. Cashel," said Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " but 
 to-morrow I will try to show you some of the Dublin notorieties; at 
 least, such as are to be had in the season. On Friday we plan a little 
 country party into Wicklow ; and I have promised to keep Saturday 
 free, if the Blackenburgs want us." 
 
 " What shall we say, then, about Tubber-beg, Mr. Cashel ?" said 
 Kennyfeck, withdrawing him into a window-recess. " We ought to 
 give the answer at once." 
 
 " Faith ! I forgot all about it," said Cashel. " Is that the fishery 
 you told me of ?" 
 
 " Oh no !" sighed the disconsolate man of law. " It's the farm 
 on the terminable lease, at present held by Cornelius Corrigan ; he 
 asks for a renewal." 
 
 " Well, let him have it," said Cashel, bluntly, while his eyes were 
 turned towards the fire, where the two sisters, with arms entwined, 
 stood in the most graceful of attitudes.
 
 58 I10LA>-D CASHEL. 
 
 " Tes, but have you considered the matter maturely ?" rejoined 
 Kennyfeck, laying his hand on Cashel's arm. " Have you taken into 
 account that he only pays eight and sevenpence per acre — the Irish 
 acre, too ; and that a considerable part of that land adjoining the 
 Boat Quay is let, as building plots, for two and sixpence a foot ?" 
 
 " A devilish pretty foot it is, too," murmured Cashel, musingly. 
 
 " Eh ! what ?" exclaimed Kennyfeck, perfectly mystified at this 
 response. 
 
 " Oh ! I meant that I agreed with you," rejoined the young man, 
 reddening, and endeavouring to appear deeply interested. " I quite 
 coincide with your views. Sir." 
 
 Kennyfeck seemed surprised at this, for he had not, to his know- 
 ledge, ventured on any opinion. 
 
 " Perhaps," said he, takiug breath for a last effort, " if you'd kiudly 
 look at the map of the estate, and just see where this farm trenches 
 on your own limits, you could judge better about the propriety of the 
 renewal." 
 
 " Oh, with pleasure!" exclaimed Cashel, while he suffered himself 
 to be led into the study, his face exhibiting very indifferent signs of 
 satisfaction. 
 
 "Shall we assist iu the consultation, Mr. Cashel?" said Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck, smiling in reply to his reluctant look at leaving. 
 
 " Oh, by all means !" cried he, enthusiastically : " do come, and 
 give me your advice. Pray, come." 
 
 " Come, girls," said the mother, " although I perceive Mr. Kenny- 
 feck is terribly shocked at the bare thought of our intrusion ; but be 
 of good courage, we only accompany Mr. Cashel to save him from any 
 long imprisonment." And so she moved majestically forward, her 
 daughters following her. 
 
 An alchemist would probably have received company in his labo- 
 ratory, or a hermit admitted a jovial party iu his cell, with less of con- 
 straint and dissatisfaction than did Mr. Kennyfeck watch the approach 
 of his wife and daughters to the sanctum of his study. 
 
 Save at rare intervals, when a disconsolate widow had come to re- 
 solve a question of administration, or a no less forlorn damsel had 
 entered to consult upon an action for "breach of promise," St. Kevin 
 himself had never been less exposed to female intervention. It needed 
 then all his reverence and fear of Mrs. Kennyfeck to sustain the shock 
 to his feelings, as he saw her seat herself in his office-chair, and look 
 around with the air of command that he alone used to exhibit in these 
 regions. 
 
 " Now for this same map, Mr. Kennyfeck, and let us hear the ques- 
 tion for which this Privy Council has been convened." 
 
 " This is the map," said Mr. Kennyfeck, unfolding a large scroll,
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 59 
 
 " and I believe a single glance will enable Mr. Casbel to perceive that 
 some little deliberation would be advisable before continuing in pos- 
 session a tenant whose holding completely destroys the best feature 
 of the demesne. This red line here is yovu' boundary towards the 
 Limerick road ; here stands the house, which, from the first, was a 
 great mistake. It is built in a hollow without a particle of view ; 
 whereas, had it been placed here, where this cross is marked, the pro- 
 spect would have extended over the whole of Scariff Bay, and by the 
 west, down to Killaloe." 
 
 " Well, what's to prevent our building it there yet?" interrupted 
 Cashel. " I think it would be rare fun building a house, at least if I 
 may judge from all the amusement I've had in constructing one of 
 leaves and buffalo-hides, in the Prairies." 
 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck and her eldest daughter smiled their blandest ap- 
 probation, while Olivia murmured in her sister's ear, " Oh dear, he is 
 so very natural, isn't he ?" 
 
 " That will be a point for ulterior consideration," said Mr. Kenny- 
 feck, who saw the danger of at all wandering from the topic in hand. 
 " Give me your attention now for one moment, Mr. Cashel. Another 
 inconvenience in the situation of the present house is, that it stands 
 scarcely a thousand yards from this red and yellow line here." 
 
 " WeU, what is that ?" inquired Cashel, who already began to feel 
 interested in the localities. 
 
 " This — pray observe it well. Sir — this red and yellow line, enclos- 
 ing a tract which borders on the Shannon, and runs, as you may re- 
 mark, into the very heart of the demesne, this is Tubber-beg, the 
 farm in question ; not only encroaching upon your limits, but actually 
 cutting you off from the river, at least your access is limited to a very 
 circuitous road, and which opens upon a very shallow part of the 
 stream." 
 
 " And who or what is this tenant ?" asked Cashel. 
 
 " His name is Corrigan, a gentleman by birth, but of a very limited 
 fortune ; he is now an old man, upwards of seventy, I understand." 
 
 " And how came it that he ever obtained possession of a tract so cir- 
 cumstanced, marring, as you most justly observe, the whole character 
 of the demesne ?" 
 
 " That would be a long story. Sir — enough, if I mention that his 
 ancestors were the ancient owners of the entire estate, which was lost 
 by an act of confiscation in the year forty-five ; some extenuating 
 circumstances, however, induced the Grovernment to confer upon a 
 younger branch of the family a lease of this small tract called Tubber- 
 beg, to distinguish it from Tubbermore, the larger portion, and this 
 lease it is whose expiration, in a few years, induces the present quere." 
 
 " Has Mr. Corrigan children ?"
 
 60 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " No ; his only cliild, a daughter, is dead, but a granddaughter lives 
 now with the old man." 
 
 " Then what is it he asks ? Is it a renewal of the lease, on the 
 former terms." 
 
 " "Why, not precisely. I believe he would be willing to pay more." 
 
 "That's not what I mean," replied Cashel, reddening; "I ask, 
 what terms, as to time, he seeks for. "Would it content him to have 
 the land for his own life ?" 
 
 " Mr. Kennyfeck, you are really very culpable to leave Mr. Cashel 
 to the decision of matters of this kind — matters in which his kind- 
 liness of heart and inexperience will always betray him into a forget- 
 fulness of his own interest. What has Mr. Cashel to think about this 
 old creature's ancestors, who were rebels, it appears, or his daughter, 
 or his granddaughter ? Here is a simple question of a farm, which 
 actually makes the demesne worthless, and which, by a singular piece 
 of good fortune, is in Mr. Cashel's power to secure." 
 
 " This is a very correct view, doubtless," said her meek husband, 
 submissively, " but we should also remember " 
 
 " We have nothing to remember," interrupted Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 stoutly ; " nothing, save bis interests, who, as I have observed, is of 
 too generous a nature to be trusted with such matters." 
 
 " Is there no other farm — have we nothing on the property he'd 
 like as well as this ?" asked Cashel. 
 
 " I fear not. The attachment to a place inhabited for centuries by 
 his ancestry " 
 
 '' By his fiddlestick," struck in Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " two and six- 
 pence an acre difference would be all the necessary compensation. 
 Mr. Kennyfeck, how can you trifle in this manner, when you see how 
 it will injure the demesne ?" 
 
 " Oh, ruin it utterly!" exclaimed Miss Kennyfeck. 
 
 " It completely cuts off the beautiful river and those dear islands," 
 said Olivia. 
 
 " So it does," said Cashel, musing. 
 
 " I wonder are they wooded ? I declare I believe they are. Papa, 
 are these little scrubby things meant to represent trees ?" 
 
 " Oaks and chesnut-trees," responded Mr. Kennyfeck, gravely. 
 
 " Oh, how I should love a cottage on that island — a real Swiss cot- 
 tage, with its carved galleries, and deep-eaved roof. Who owns these 
 delicious islands ?" , 
 
 " Mr. Cashel, my dear," said Papa, still bent on examining the map. 
 
 " Do I, indeed!" cried Eoland, in an ecstasy, "then you shall have 
 your wish, Miss Kennyfeck. J promise you the prettiest Swiss cot- 
 tage that your own taste can devise." 
 
 " Oh dear, oh pray forgive me." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Eoland Cashel. don't think of such a thing! Olivia
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 61 
 
 was merely speaking at random. How silly, child, you are to talk 
 that way." 
 
 ''■ Eeally, Mamma, I had not the slightest suspicion — I wouldn't for 
 the world have said anything if I thought " 
 
 " Of course not, dear, but pray be guarded. Indeed, I own I never 
 did hear you make a lapse of the kind before ; but you see, Mr. Cashel, 
 you have really made us forget that we were strangers but yesterday, 
 and you are paying the penalty of yoiu* own exceeding kindness. 
 Porget, then, I beseech you, this first transgression." 
 
 " I shall assuredly keep my promise, Madam," said Cashel, proudly ; 
 " and I have only to hope Miss Kennyfeck will not offend me by de- 
 clining so very humble a present. Now, Sir, for our worthy friend, 
 Mr. Corrigan." 
 
 " Too fast, a great deal too fast, love," whispered the elder sister 
 in the ear of the younger, and who, to the credit of her tact and in- 
 genuity be it spoken, only gave the most heavenly smile in reply. 
 
 " I really am puzzled. Sir, what advice to give," said the Attorney, 
 musing. 
 
 " I have no difficulties of this sentimental kiud," said Mrs. Ken- 
 nyfeck, with a glance of profound depreciation towards her husband ; 
 " and I beg Mr. Cashel to remember that the opportunity now ofiered 
 will possibly never occur again. If the old man is to retain his farm, 
 of course Mr. Cashel would not think of building a new mansion, 
 which must be ill-circumstanced, from what I can hear of the present 
 house. It is equally certain that he would not reside in that." 
 
 " Is it so very bad ?" asked Cashel, smiling. 
 
 " It was ill-planned originally, added to in, if possible, worse taste, 
 and then suffered to fall into ruin. It is now something more than 
 eighty years since it saw any other inhabitant than a care-taker." 
 
 " Well, the picture is certainly not seductive. I rather opine that 
 the best thing we can do, is to throw this old rumbling concern down, 
 at all events : and now once more — what shall we do with Mr. Cor- 
 
 j 
 
 rigau 
 
 ?" 
 
 " I should advise you not giving any reply before you visit the pro- 
 perty yourself. All business matters will be completed here, I trust, 
 by Saturday. What, then, if we go over on Monday to Tubbermore ?" 
 
 " Agreed. I have a kind of anxiety to look at the place ; indeed, a 
 mere glance would decide me if I ever care to return to it again." 
 
 " Then, I perceive, our counsel is of no avail here," said Mrs. Ken- 
 nyfeck, rising, with a very Hi-concealed chagrin. 
 
 " Nay, Madam, don't say so. Ton never got so far as to give it," 
 cried Cashel. 
 
 " Oh yes, you forget that I said it would be absurd to hesitate 
 about resuming possession." 
 
 " Unquestionably," echoed Miss Kennyfeck. " It is merely to in-
 
 62 KOLANI) CASHEL. 
 
 dulge an old man's caprice at tlie cost of your own comfort and con- 
 venience." 
 
 " But lie may cling to the spot, sister dear," said Olivia, in an accent 
 only loud enough to be audible by Casbel. 
 
 " Tou are right," said Eoland in her ear, with a look that spoke his 
 approval far more eloquently. 
 
 Although Miss Kennyfeck had heard nothing that passed, her 
 quickuess detected the looks of intelligence that were so speedily in- 
 terchanged, and as she left the room, she took occasion to whisper, 
 " Do take advice, dear; there is no keeping up a pace like that." 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Bravo, Toro! 
 
 As it chanced that many of Mr. Kennyfeck's clients were western 
 gentlemen, whose tastes have an unequivocal tendency to all matters 
 relating to horse-flesh, his stable was not less choicely furnished 
 than his cellar; for, besides being always able to command the 
 shrewdest judgments when he decided to make a purchase, many an 
 outstanding balance of long duration, many a debt significantly pen- 
 cilled " doubtful" or " bad," in his note-book, was cleared off by 
 some tall, sinewy steeple-chaser from Galway, or some redoubted per- 
 former with the " Blazers." 
 
 So well known was this fiict, that several needed no other standard 
 of a neighbour's circumstances, than whether he had contributed or 
 not to the Kennyfeck stud. This brief explanation we have been in- 
 duced to make, to account for the sporting character of a stable whose 
 proprietor never was once seen in the saddle. Par otherwise the 
 ladies of the house ; the mother and daughters, but in particular the 
 elder, rode with all the native grace of Galway ; and as they were 
 invariably well mounted, and their grooms the smartest and best ap- 
 pointed, their "turn-out" was the admiration of tlie capital. 
 
 It was in vain that the English officials at the Castle, whose super- 
 lative tastes were wont to overshadow mere Irish pretension, endea- 
 voured to compete with these noted equestrians. Secretaries' wives 
 and Chamberlains' daughters, however they might domineer in other 
 matters, were here, at least, surpassed, and it was a conceded fact, 
 that the Kenny fecks rode better, dressed better, and looked better on 
 horseback, than any otlier girls in tlie country. If all tlie critics as 
 to horsemanship pronounced tlie elder unequivocally the superior 
 rider, mere admirers of gracefulness preferred tlie younger sister,
 
 BOLAND CASHEL. 63 
 
 who, less courageous and self-possessed, invested ter skill with a cer- 
 tain character of timidity that increased the interest her appearance 
 excited. 
 
 They never rode out without an immense cortege of followers, every 
 well-looking and well-mounted man about town deeming it his devoir 
 to join this party, just as the box of the reigning belle at the Opera 
 is besieged by assiduous visitors. The very being seen in this train 
 was a kind of brevet promotion in fashionable esteem, to which each 
 newly-arrived cornet aspired, and thus the party usually presented a 
 group of brilliant uniforms and dancing plumes, that rivalled in bril- 
 liancy, and far excelled iu amusement, the staff of the Viceroy himself. 
 
 It would be unfair to suppose that, with all their natural innocence 
 and artlessness, they were entirely ignorant of the sway they thus 
 exercised ; indeed, such a degree of modesty would have trenched 
 upon the incredulous, for how could they doubt what commanders of 
 the forces and deputy-assistant-adjutants assured them, still less ques- 
 tion the veracity of a priace royal, who positively asserted that they 
 "rode better than Quentin's daughter." 
 
 It was thus a source of no small excitement among the mounted 
 loungers of the capital, when the Kennyfecks issued forth on horse- 
 back, and not, as usual, making the tour of the " Square" to collect 
 their forces, they rode at once down Grafton-street, accompanied by 
 a single cavalier. 
 
 " "Who have the Kennyfeck girls got with them ?" said a thin- 
 waisted looking Aide-de-camp to a lanky, well-whiskered fellow in a 
 dragoon undress at the Castle gate. 
 
 " He is new to me — never saw him before. — I say, Lucas, who is 
 that tall fellow on Kennyfeck's brown horse — do you know him ?" 
 
 " Don't know — can't say," drawled out a very diminutive Hussar 
 Cornet. 
 
 " He has a look of Merrington," said another, joining the party. 
 
 " Not a bit of it ; he's much larger. I shouldn't wonder if he's 
 one of the Esterhazys they've caught. There is one of them over 
 here — a Paul or a Nicholas, of the younger branch; — but here's 
 Linton, he'll tell us, if any man can." 
 
 This speech was addressed to a very dapper, well-dressed man of 
 about thirty, mounted on a small thorough-bred pony, whose splashed 
 and heaving flanks bespoke a hasty ride. 
 
 " I say, Tom, you met the Kennyfecks — who was that with them ?" 
 
 " Don't you know him, my Lord ?" said a sharp ringing voice, 
 " that's our newly-arrived millionnaire — Eoland Cashel, our Tipperary 
 Croesus ; — the man with I won't say how many hundred thousands a 
 year, and millions in bank besides." 
 
 " The devil it is— a good-looking fellow, too."
 
 64 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Spooney, I should say," drawled out the Hussar, caressing bis 
 moustache. 
 
 " One needn't be as smart a fellow as you, Wheeler, with forty 
 thousand a year," said Linton, with a sly glance at the others. 
 
 " You don't suppose, Tom," said the former speaker, " that the 
 Kennyfecks have any designs in that quarter — egad ! that would be 
 rather aspiring, eh ?" 
 
 " Very unwise in us to permit it, my Lord," said Linton, in a low 
 tone. " That's a dish wiU bear carving, and let every one have his 
 share." 
 
 My Lord laughed with a low cuuniug laugh at the suggestion, and 
 nodded an easy assent. 
 
 Meanwhile the Kennyfecks rode slowly on, and crossing Essex 
 Bridge, continued their way at a foot pace towards the Park, passing 
 in front of the Four Courts, where a very large knot of idlers unco- 
 vered their heads in polite salutation as they went. 
 
 " That's Kennyfeck's newly-discovered client," cried one ; " a great 
 card, if they can only secure him for one of the girls." 
 
 " I say, did you remark how the eldest had hira engaged ? She 
 never noticed any of us." 
 
 " I back Olivia," said another ; " she's a quiet one, but devilish sly 
 for all that." 
 
 " Depend upon it," interposed an older speaker, " the fellow is up 
 to all that sort of thing." 
 
 " Jones met him at dinner yesterday at Kennyfeck's, and says he is 
 a regular soft one, and if the girls don't run in opposition to each 
 othei', one is sure to win." 
 
 " "Why not toss up for him, then ? that would be fairer." 
 
 " Ay, and more sisterly, too," said the elder speaker. " Jones 
 would be right glad to claim the beaten horse." 
 
 " Jones, indeed — I can tell you they detest Jones," said a young 
 fellow. 
 
 "They told you so, eh, Hammond?" said another; while a very 
 hearty laugh at the discomfited youth broke from the remainder. 
 
 And now to follow our mounted friends, who, having reached the 
 Park, continued still at a walking pace to thread the grassy paths that 
 led through that pleasant tract ; now, hid amid the shade of ancient 
 thorn-trees, now, gaining the open expanse of plain, with its bold 
 background of blue mountains. 
 
 From the evident attention bestowed by the two sisters, it was clear 
 that Cashel was narrating something of interest, for he spoke of an 
 event which had happened to himself in his Prairie life ; and this alone, 
 independent of all else, w as enough to make the theme amusing. 
 
 " Does this convey any idea of a Prairie, Mr. Cashel ?" said Miss
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 65 
 
 Kennyfeck, as they emerged from a grove of beech-trees, and came 
 upon the wide and stretching plain, so well known to Dubliners as the 
 Fifteen Acres, but which is, in reality, much greater in extent. " I 
 have always fancied tliis great grassy expanse must be like a Prairie." 
 
 " About as like as yonder cattle to a herd of wild buffaloes," re- 
 plied Eoland, smiling. 
 
 " Then what is a Prairie like? Do tell us," said Olivia, eagerly. 
 
 " I can scarcely do so, nor, if I were a painter, do I suppose that I 
 could make a picture of one, because it is less the presence than the 
 total absence of all features of landscape that constitutes the wild and 
 lonely solitude of a Prairie. But fancy a great plain — gently — very 
 gently undulating — not a tree, not a shrub, not a stream to break 
 the dreary uniformity — sometimes, but even that rarely, a little 
 muddy pond of rain-water, stagnant and yellow, is met with, but only 
 seen soon after heavy showers, for the hot sun rapidly absorbs it. Tlie 
 only vegetation, a short yellowed burnt-up grass — not a wild flower 
 or a daisy, if you travelled hundreds of hundreds of miles. On you 
 go, days and days, but the scene never changes. Large cloud sha- 
 dows rest upon the barren expanse, and move slowly and sluggishly 
 away, or sometimes a sharp and pelting shower is borne along, tra- 
 versing hundreds of miles in its course, but these are the only traits 
 of motion in the death-like stillness. At last, perliaps after weeks of 
 wandering, you descry, a long way off, some dark objects dotting the 
 surface, these are buffaloes ; or at sunset, when the thin atmospliere 
 makes everything sharp and distinct, some black spectral shapes seem 
 to glide between you and the red twilight, these are Indian hunters, 
 seen miles off, and by some strange law of nature they are presented 
 to the vision when far, far beyond the range of sight. Such strange 
 apparitions, the consequence of refraction, have led to the most ab- 
 surd superstitions, and all the stories the Germans tell you of their 
 wild huntsmen are nothing to the tales every trapper can recount of 
 war parties seen in the air, and tribes of red men in pursuit of deer 
 and buffaloes, through the clear sky of an autumn evening." 
 
 " And haveyouyourself met with these wild children of the desert?" 
 said Olivia ; "have you ever been amongst them ?" 
 
 " Somewhat longer than I fancied," replied Eoland, smiling. "I 
 was a prisoner once with the Camanches." 
 
 " Oh, let us hear all about it — how did it happen ?" cried both to- 
 gether. 
 
 " It happened absurdly enough, at least you will say so, when I tell 
 you ; but to a Prairie-hunter the adventure would seem nothing sin- 
 gular. It chanced that some years ago I made one of a hunting 
 party into the Eocky Mountains, and finally as far as Pueblo Santo, 
 tlie last station before entering the hunting-grouuds of the Caman- 
 
 voL. I. r
 
 G6 EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 clies, a verv fierce tribe, and one with whom all the American traders 
 have failed to establish any relations of friendship or commerce. 
 They care nothing for the inventions of civilisation, and, unlike all 
 other Indians, prefer their own bows and arrows to fire-arms. 
 
 " "We had been now four days within their boundary, and yet never 
 met one of the tribe. Some averred that they always learned by tlie 
 scouts whenever any invasion took place, and retired till they were in 
 sufiicient force to pour down and crush the intruders. Others, who 
 proved better informed, said that they were hunting in a remote tract, 
 several days' journey distant. "We were doubly disappointed, for 
 besides not seeing the Camanches, for which we had a great curiosity, 
 we did not discover any game. The two or three trails we followed 
 led to nothing, nor could a hoof-track be seen for miles and miles of 
 Prairie. In this state of discomfiture, we were sitting one evening 
 around our fires, and debating with ourselves whether to turn back 
 or go on, when, the dispute waxing warm between those of different 
 opinions, I, who hated all disagreements of the kind, slipped quietly 
 away, and throwing the bridle on my horse, I set out for a solitary 
 ramble over the Prairie. 
 
 " I have the whole scene before me this instant, the solemn desola- 
 tion of that dreary track ! for scarcely had I gone a mile over what 
 seemed a perfectly level plain, when the swelling inequalities of the 
 ground shut out the watch-fires of my companions, and now there 
 was nothing to be seen but the vast expanse of land and sky, each 
 colovired with the same dull leaden tint of coming night ; no horizon 
 was visible, not a star appeared, and in the midst of this grey mono- 
 tony, a stillness prevailed that smote the heart with something more 
 appalling than mere fear. No storm that ever I listened to at sea, 
 not the loudest thunder that ever crashed, or the heaviest sea that 
 ever broke upon a leeward shore at midnight, ever chilled my blood 
 like that terrible stillness. I thought that the dreadful roll of an 
 avalanche, or the heaving ground- swell of an earthquake, had been 
 easier to bear. I believe I actually prayed for something like sound 
 to relieve the horrible tension of my nerves, when, just as if my wish 
 was heard, a low booming sound, like the sea within a rocky cavern, 
 came borne along on the night wind. Then it lulled again, and after 
 a time grew louder. Tliis happened two or three times, so that, half 
 suspecting some self-delusion, I stopped my ears, and then on remov- 
 ing my hands, I heard the noise increasing till it swelled into one 
 dull roaring 'sound, that made the very air vibrate. I thought it 
 must be an earthquake, of which it is said many occur in these re- 
 gions, but, from the dreary uniformity, leave no trace behind. 
 
 " I resolved to regain my companions at once ; danger is always 
 easier to confront in company, and so I turned my horse's head to
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. ' 67 
 
 go back. The noise was now deafening, and so stunning that the 
 very ground seemed to give it forth. My poor horse became terrified, 
 his flanks heaved, and he hiboured in his stride as if overcome by 
 fatigue. This again induced me to suspect an earthquake, for 1 knew 
 by what singular instincts animals are apprised of its approach. I 
 therefore gave him the spur, and urged him on with every effort, when 
 suddenly he made a tremendous bound to one side, and set off with 
 the speed of a racer. Stretched to his fullest stride, I was perfectly 
 powerless to restrain him : meanwhile, the loud thundering sounds 
 filled the entire air — more deafening than the greatest artillery ; the 
 crashing uproar smote my ears, and made my brain ring with the vi- 
 bration, and then suddenly the whole plain grew dark behind and at 
 either side of me ; the shadow swept on and on, nearer and nearer, 
 as the sounds increased, till the black surface seemed, as it were, 
 about to close around me ; and now I perceived that the great Prairie, 
 far as my eyes could stretch, was covered by a herd of wild buffaloes ; 
 struck by some sudden terror, they had taken what is called * the 
 Stampedo,' and set out at full speed. In an instant they were around 
 me on every side — a great moving sea of dark-backed monsters — 
 r oaring in terrible uproar, and tossing their savage heads wildly to 
 and fro, in all the paroxysm of terror. To return, or even to estri- 
 c ate myself, was impossible ; the dense mass pressed like a wall at 
 either side of me, and I was borne along in the midst of the heaving 
 herd, without the slightest hope of rescue. I cannot — you would Hot 
 ask me, if even I could — recal the terrors of that dreadful night, 
 w hich in its dark hours compassed the agonies of years. Until the 
 moon got up, I hoped that the herd might pass on, and at last leave 
 me at liberty behind ; but when she rose, and I looked back, I saw 
 the dark sea of hides, aa if covering the whole wide Prairie, while the 
 deep thunder from afar mingled with the louder bellowing of the 
 herd around me. 
 
 " I suppose my reeling brain became maddened by the excitement ; 
 for even yet, when by any accident I suffer slight illness, terrible 
 fancies of that dreadful scene come back ; and I have been told that, 
 in my wild cries and shouts, I seem encouraging and urging on the 
 infuriate herd, and by my gestures appearing to control and direct 
 their headlong course. Had it been possible, I believe I should have 
 thrown myself to the earth and sought death at once, even in this 
 dreadful form, than live to die the thousand deaths of agony that 
 night inflicted ; but this could not be, and so, as day broke, I was 
 still carried on, not, indeed, with the same speed as before ; weariness 
 weighed on the vast moving mass, but the pressiu-e of those behind 
 still drove them onward. I thought the long hours of darkness were 
 terrible ; and the appalling gloom of night added tortures to my suf- 
 
 1^2
 
 G8 KOLAND CASHEl. 
 
 ferings ; but the glare of daylight, the burning sun, and the clouds of 
 dust, were still worse. I remember, too, when exhaustion had nearly 
 spent my last frail energy, and when my powerless hands, letting fall 
 the bridle, dropped heavily to my side, that the herd suddenly halted 
 — halted, as if arrested by some gigantic hand ; and then the pressure 
 became so dreadful that my bones seemed almost bursting from my 
 flesh, and I screamed aloud in my agony. After this, I remember 
 little else. The other events of that terrible ride are like the sha- 
 dowy spectres of a magic lantern; vague .memories of sufferings, 
 pangs that even yet chill my blood, steal over me, but unconnected 
 and incoherent, so that when, as I afterwards heard, the herd dashed 
 into the Camanche encampment, I have no recollection of anything, 
 except the terror-struck faces of the red men, as they bent before me, 
 and seemed to worship me as a deity. Tes, this terrible tribe, who 
 had scarcely ever been known to spare a white man, not only did not 
 injure, but they treated me with the tenderest care and attention. A 
 singiilar incident had favoured me : one of the wise men had foretold 
 some days before that a herd of wild buflaloes, sent by their god, 
 Anadongu, would speedily appear, and rescue the tribe from the 
 horrors of impending starvation. The prediction was possibly based 
 upon some optical delusion, like that I have mentioned. Whatever 
 its origin, the accomplishment was hailed with ecstasy ; and I myself, 
 a poor, almost dying creature, stained with blood, crushed and speech- 
 less, was regarded as their deliverer and preserver." 
 
 " How long did you remain amongst them ?" cried Miss Kenny- 
 feck. 
 
 " And how did you escape ?" asked Olivia. 
 
 " Were they always equally kind ?" 
 
 " Were you sorry to leave them ?" were the questions rapidly 
 poured in ere Cashel could reply to any one of them. 
 
 "I have often heard," said Miss Kennyfeck, " that the greater 
 mental ability of the white man is certain to secure him an ascen- 
 dancy over the minds of savage tribes, and that, if he be spared at 
 first, he is sure in the end to become their chief." 
 
 " I believe they actually worship any display of intelligence above 
 their own," said Olivia. 
 
 " These are exaggerated accounts," said Cashel, smiling. " Mar- 
 riage is among savage as among civilised nations, a great stepping- 
 stone to eminence. When a white man is allied with a princess " 
 
 " Oh, how shocking !" cried both together. " I'm sure no person, 
 anything akin to a gentleman, could dream of such a thing," said 
 Miss Kennyfeck. 
 
 " It happens now and then, notwithstanding," said Cashel, willi a 
 most provoking gravity.
 
 KOIAND CASHEL. 69 
 
 While the sisters would have been well pleased had Cashel's per- 
 sonal revelations continued on this theme, they did not venture to 
 explore so dangerous a path, and were both silent. Roland, too, ap- 
 peared buried in some recollection of the past, for he rode on for some 
 time without speaking — a preoccupation on his part which seemed in 
 no wise agreeable to his fair companions. 
 
 " There are the MacFarlines, Livy," said Miss Kennyfeck ; " and 
 Linton, and Lord Charles, and the rest of them. I declare, I believe 
 they see us, and are coming this way." 
 
 " "What a bore ! Is there no means of escape ? Mr. Cashel, pray 
 invent one." 
 
 " I beg pardon. What was it you said ? I have been dreaming for 
 the last three minutes." 
 
 " Pleasant dreams, I'm certain they were," said Miss Kennyfeck, 
 with a very significant smile ; " eVoked, doubtless, by some little 
 memory of your life among the Camanches." 
 
 Cashel started and grew red, while his astonishment rendered him 
 speechless. 
 
 " Here they come ; how provoking," exclaimed Livy. 
 
 " Who are coming ?" 
 
 " Some friends of ours, who, strange to say, have the misfortune to 
 be peculiarly disagreeable to my sister Livy to-day, although I have 
 certainly seen Lord Charles contrive to make his company less dis- 
 tasteful at other times." 
 
 " Oh, my dear Caroline, you know perfectly well " broke in 
 
 Olivia, with a tone of unfeigned reproach. 
 
 " Let us ride for it, then," said Miss Kennyfeck, without permit- 
 ting her to finish. " jSTow, Mr. Cashel, a canter — a gallop, if you will." 
 
 " Quite ready," said Cashel, his animation at once returning at the 
 bare mention ; and away they set, down a gentle slope with wooded 
 sides, then they gained another grassy plain, skirted with trees, at 
 .the end of which a small picturesque cottage stood, the residence of 
 a ranger ; passing this, they arrived at a thick wood, and then slack- 
 ened their pace, as all pursuit might be deemed fruitless. This por- 
 tion of the Park, unlike the rest, seemed devoted to various experi- 
 ments in agriculture and gardening. Here were little enclosed plots 
 of Indian corn and Swedish turnips ; here, small plantations of fruit- 
 trees. Each succeeding Secretary seemed to have left behind him 
 some trace of his own favourite system for the improvement of Ire- 
 land, and one might recal the names of long departed ofl&cials in little 
 experimental specimens of drainage, or fencing, or drill culture, 
 around. Less interested by these patchwork devices, Cashel stood 
 gazing on a beautiful white bull, who grazed in a little paddock care- 
 fully fenced by a strong oak paling. Although of a small breed, he
 
 70 EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 was a perfect specimen of strength and proportion, liis massive and 
 muscular neck and powerful loins contrasting with the lankj and 
 tendonous form of the wild animal of the Prairies. 
 
 The girls had not remarked that Eoland, beckoning to his servant, 
 despatched him at full speed on an errand, for each was loitering 
 about, amusing herself with some object of the scene. 
 
 " What has fascinated you, yonder ?" said Miss Kennyfeck, riding 
 up to where Eoland still stood in wondering admiration at the noble 
 animal. 
 
 " The handsomest bull I ever saw 1" cried he, in all the ecstasy of 
 a " Torero ;" "who ever beheld such a magnificent feUow ? Mark 
 the breadth of his chest, and the immense fore-arm. See how he 
 lashes his tail about. No need of bandilleros to rouse your temper." 
 
 " Is there no danger of the creature springing over the paling ?" 
 said Olivia, drawing closer to Cashel, and looking at him with a most 
 trustful dependence. 
 
 Alas for Eoland'a gallantry, he answered the words and not the 
 glance that accompanied them. 
 
 " No ; he'd never thick of it, if not excited to some excess of 
 passion. I'd not answer for his patience, or our safety either, if 
 reaUy provoked. See ! is not that glorious ?" This burst of enthu- 
 siasm was called forth by the bull, seized with some sudden caprice, 
 taking a circuit of the paddock at fuU speed, his head now raised 
 majestically aloft, and now bent to the ground ; he snatched some 
 tufts of the grass as he went, and fliuig them from him in wild sport. 
 
 " Bravo, toro!" cried Cashel, in all the excitement of delight and 
 admiration. " Viva el toro !" shouted he; "not a ' Corrida' of the 
 Old "World or the New ever saw a braver beast." 
 
 Whether in compliance with his humour, or that she really caught 
 up the enthusiasm from Cashel, Miss Kennyfeck joined in all his 
 admiration, and seemed to watch the playful pranks of the great 
 animal with delight. 
 
 " How you would enjoy a real ' toro machia,' " said Cashel, as he 
 turned towards her, and felt that she was far handsomer than he had 
 ever believed before. Indeed, the heightened colour of exercise, and 
 the flashing brilliancy of her eyes, made her seem so without the 
 additional charm derived from sympathy with his humour. 
 
 " I should delight in it," cried she, with enthusiasm. "Oh, if I 
 could but see one!" 
 
 Cashel drew nearer as she spoke, his dark and piercing eyes fixed 
 ■with a look of steadfast admiration, when in a low half whisper he 
 said, " Would you really like it ? Have these wild and desperate 
 games an attraction for you ?" 
 
 " Oh, do not ask me," she said, in the same low voice. " Why 
 should I confess a wish for that which can never be ?"
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 71 
 
 " How can you say that ? Have not far greater and less likely 
 things happened to almost all of us ? Think of me, for instance. 
 Travelling with the Gambusiuos a few months back, and now — now 
 your companion here." 
 
 If there was not a great deal in the mere words themselves, there 
 was enough in the look of the speaker to make them deeply felt. 
 How much further Cashel might have adventured, and with what 
 additional speculations invested the future, is not for us to say, for, 
 just then, his groom rode up at speed, holding in his hand a great 
 coil of rope, to one end of which a small round ball of wood was 
 fastened. 
 
 " "What is that for, Mr. Cashel ?" inquired both the girls together, 
 as they saw him adjust the coils lightly on his left arm, and poise the 
 ball in his right hand, 
 
 " Cannot you guess what it means ?" said Eoland, smiling. " Have 
 you never heard of a lasso ?" 
 
 "A lasso!" exclaimed both in amazement. "You surely could 
 never intend " 
 
 " You shall see," cried he, as he made three or four casts vsdth the 
 rope in the air, and caught up the loops again with astonishing dex- 
 terity. " Now only promise me not to be afraid, nor, if possible, let a 
 cry escape, and I'll show you some rare sport. Just take your places 
 here; the horses will stand perfectly quiet." Without waiting for a 
 reply, he ordered the grooms to remain at either side of the young 
 ladies, and then dismounting, he forced open the lock and led his 
 horse into the paddock. This done, he leisurely closed the gate and 
 mounted, every motion being as free from haste and excitement as if 
 made upon the high road. As for the bull, at the noise of the gate 
 on its hinges he lifted up his head, but as it were indiiferent to the 
 cause, he resumed his grazing attitude the moment after. 
 
 Cashel's first care seemed to be to reconnoitre the ground, for at a 
 slow walk he traversed the space in various directions, carefully exa- 
 mining the footing and watching for any accidental circumstance that 
 might vary the surface. He then rode up to the paling, where in 
 unfeigned terror the two girls sat, silently following him in every 
 motion. 
 
 " Now, remember," said he, smiling, ''no fears, no terrors. If you 
 were to make me nervous, I should probably miss my cast, and the 
 disgrace, not to speak of anything else, would be dreadful." 
 
 " Oh ! we'll behave very well," said Miss Kennyfeck, trying to as- 
 sume a composure that her pale cheek and compressed Hps very ill 
 corroborated. As for Olivia, too terrified for words, she merely looked 
 at him, while the tears rolled heavily down her cheeks. 
 
 " Now, to see if my hand has not forgot its cunning !" said Eoland, 
 as he pressed his horse's flanks, and pushing into a half-gaUop, made
 
 72 KOLAND CA3HEL. 
 
 a circuit around tLe bull. The scene was a picturesque as well as an 
 excitiug one. The mettlesome horse, on wliich the rider sat with con- 
 summate ease, in his right hand the loose coils of the lasso, with 
 which to accustom his horse he flourished and shook around the head 
 and ears of the animal as he went ; while, with head bent down, and 
 the strong neck slightly retracted, the bull seemed to watch him as he 
 passed, and at length, slowly turning, continued to fix his eyes upon 
 the daring intruder. Grradually narrowing his circle, Cashel was cau- 
 tiously approaching within a suitable distance for the cast, when the 
 bull, as it were losing patience, gave one short hoarse cry and made 
 at him, so sudden the spring, and so infuriate the action, that a 
 scream, from both the sisters together, showed how near the danger 
 must have appeared. Eoland, however, had foreseen from the attitude 
 of the beast what was coming, and by a rapid wheel escaped the 
 charge, and passed close beside the creature's flank unharmed. Twice 
 or thrice the same manoeuvre occurred with the same result, and al- 
 though the horse was terrified to that degree that his sides were one 
 sheet of foam, the control of the rider was perfect, and his every ges- 
 ture bespoke ease and confidence. 
 
 Suddenly the bull stopped, and retiring till his haunches touched 
 the paling, he seemed surveying the field, and contemplating another 
 and more successful mode of attack. The concentrated passion of 
 the creature's attitude at this moment was very fine, as with red eye- 
 balls and frothed lips he stood, slowly and in heavy strokes lashing 
 his flanks with his long tail. 
 
 " Is he tired ?" said Miss Kennyfeck, as Cashel stood close to the 
 paling, and breathed his horse, for what he foresaw might be a sharp 
 encounter. 
 
 " No ! far from it," answered Eoland ; " the fellow has the cunning 
 of an old ' Corridor ;' you'll soon see him attack." 
 
 The words were not well uttered, when, with a low deep roar, the 
 bull bounded forward, not in a straight line, however, but zig-zagging 
 from left to right, and right to left, as if with the intention of pinning 
 the horseman into a corner. The terrific springs of the great beast, 
 and his still more terrific cries, appeared to paralyse the horse, who 
 stood immovable, nor was it till the savage animal had approached 
 within a few yards of him, that at last he reared up straight, and then, 
 as if overcome by terror, dashed oft' at speed, the bull following. 
 
 The scene was now one of almost maddening excitement, for al- 
 though the speed of the horse far exceeded that of his pursuer, the 
 bull, by taking a small circle, was rapidly gaining on him, and, before 
 the third circuit of the field was made, was actually almost side by 
 side. Eoland saw all his danger ; he knew well that the slightest 
 swerve, a " single mistake," would be fiital ; but he had been trained
 
 J^'

 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 73 
 
 to peril, and this was not the first time he had played for life and won. 
 It was, then, just at the instant when the bull, narrowing his distance, 
 was ready, by one bound, to drive his horns into the horse's flank, 
 that the youth suddenly reined up, and, throwing the horse nearly on 
 his haunches, suffered his pursuer to shoot ahead. The same instant, 
 at least so it seemed, he rose in his stirrups, and winding the rope 
 three or four times above his head, hurled it forth. Away went the 
 floating coils through the air, and with a sharp snap they caught the 
 animal's fore-legs in their fast embrace. Maddened by the restraint, 
 he plunged forward, but ere he gained the ground, a dexterous pull of 
 the lasso jerked the legs backwards, and the huge beast fell flounder- 
 ing to the earth. The stunning force seemed enough to have extin- 
 guished life, and he lay indeed motionless for a few seconds, when, 
 by a mighty effort, he strove to burst his bonds. Eoland, meanwhile, 
 after a severe struggle to induce his horse to approach, abandoning 
 the eff'ort, sprang to the ground, and by three or foior adroit turns of 
 the lasso over the head and between the horns, completely fettered him, 
 and at each fresh struggle passing new tmms of tlie rope, he so bound 
 liim that the creature lay panting and powerless, his quivering sides 
 and distended nostrils breathing the deep rage that possessed him. 
 
 " Ah ! Mosquito mio" — the Toridor's usual pet name for a young 
 buR — "you were an easy victory after all, though I believe with a 
 little more practice of the game I should only get off" second best." 
 
 Tiiere was, if we must confess it, a certain little bit of boastfulness 
 in the speech, the truth being, that the struggle, though brief, had 
 been a sharp one, and so Cashel's air and look bespoke it, as he led 
 his horse out of the paddock. 
 
 It would be a somewhat nice point — happily, it is not requisite to 
 decide it — whether Eoland was more flattered by the enthusiastic 
 praise of the elder sister, or touched by the silent, but eloquent, look 
 with which Olivia received ])im. 
 
 "What a splendid sight, what a noble achievement!" said Miss 
 Kenny feck ; " how I thank you for thus giving me, as it were, a peep 
 into Spain, and letting me feel the glorious enthusiasm a deed of 
 heroism can inspire !" 
 
 '• Are you certain you are not hurt ?" whispered Olivia ; *' the 
 creature's horns certainly grazed you. Oh dear ! how terrible it was 
 at one moment." 
 
 " Are you going to leave him in his toils ?" said Miss Kennyfeck. 
 
 " Oh, certainly," replied Cashel, laughing ; " I commit the pleasant 
 office of liberating him to other hands." And so saying, he carelessly 
 mounted his horse, while they pressed him with a hundred questions 
 and inquiries about the late combat. 
 
 " I shall be amused to hear the reports that will be current to-
 
 74 EOLAISD CASHEL. 
 
 morrow," said Miss Kennyfeck, " about this aflair. I'm certain the 
 truth will be the last to ooze out. My groom says that the creature 
 belongs to the Lord- Lieutenant, and if so, there will be no end to the 
 stories." 
 
 Cashel did not seem as much impressed as the sisters expected at 
 this announcement, nor at all aware that he had been constructively 
 afirontiug the Vice-Majesty of the land, and so he chatted away in 
 pleasant indiiference while they continued their ride towards home. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 How kindness all its spirit lends, 
 When we discuss our dearest friends, 
 Not meanly faults and follies hiding. 
 But frankly owning each backsliding, 
 Confessing with polite compassion, 
 " They're very had, but still the fashion." 
 
 The Mode. 
 
 The Kennyfecks were without strangers that day, and Cashel, who 
 was now, as it were by unanimous election, received into the bosom 
 of the family, enjoyed for the first time in his life a peep into the 
 science of dinner-giving, in the discussions occasioned by the approach- 
 ing banquet. 
 
 No sooner were they assembled around the drawing-room fire, 
 than Mrs. Kennyfeck, whose whole soul was occupied by the one 
 event, took occasion, as it were by pure accident, to remember that 
 they " were to have some people to-morrow." Now, the easy non- 
 chalance of the reminiscence and the shortness of the invitation 
 would seem to imply that it was merely one of those slight deviations 
 from daily routine which adds two or three guests to the family 
 table, and so, indeed, did it impress Cashel, who little knew that the 
 dinner in question had been devised, planned, and arranged full three 
 weeks before, and the company packed with a degree of care and 
 selection that evinced all the importance of the event. 
 
 Time was when the Irish capital enjoyed, and justly, the highest 
 reputation for all that constitutes social success, when around the 
 dinner-tables of the city were met men of the highest order of intel- 
 ligence, men pleased to exercise, without effort or display, all the 
 charm of wit and eloquence, and to make society a brilliant reunion 
 of those gifts which, in the wider sphere of active life, won fame and 
 honours. 
 
 As the race of these bright conversers died out — for, alas! they 
 belonged to a past era — their places were assumed by others of very 
 dissimilar tastes. Many educated at English universities brought
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 75 
 
 back with them to Ireland the more reserved and cautious demeanour 
 of the other country, and thus, if not by their influence, by their 
 mere presence, threw a degree of constraint over the tone of society, 
 which, in destroying its freedom, despoiled it of all its charm. 
 
 Fashion, that idol of an Englishman's heart, soon became an Irish 
 deity too, and it now grew the " ton" to be English, or at least what 
 was supposed to be such, in dress and manner, in hours, accent, and 
 demeanour. The attempt was never successful ; the reserve and 
 placidity which sit with gracefulness on the high-bred Englishman, 
 was a stiff, uncourteous manner in the more cordial and volatile Irish- 
 man. His own demeanour was a tree that would not bear grafting, 
 and the fruit lost all its raciness by the admixture. 
 
 The English officials at the Castle, the little staff of a Commander 
 of the Forces, the 'newly-made Bishop fresh from Oxford, even the 
 officers of the last arrived dragoon regiment, became, by right of 
 "accent," the types of manner and breeding in circles where, in the 
 actual enjoyment of social qualities, they were manifestly beneath 
 those over whom they held sway ; however, they were stamped at the 
 great metropolitan mint, and the competitors were deemed a mere 
 depreciated currency, which a few years more would cancel for ever. 
 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck, as a fashionable dinner-giver, of course selected 
 her company from this more choice section ; a fact which deserves to 
 be recorded, to the credit of her hospitality ; for it was a very rare 
 occurrence, indeed, when she found herself invited by any of those 
 distinguished personages who figured the oftenest at her own table. 
 They thought, perhaps justly, that their condescension was sufficiently 
 great to demand no further acknowledgment ; and that, as virtue is 
 said to be its own reward, theirs was abundantly exhibited in the 
 frankness with which they ate Kennyfeck' s venison and drank his 
 Burgundy, both of which were excellent. 
 
 Every one dined there, because they knew " they'd meet every one." 
 A pretender in the world of fashion, unlike a pretender to monarchy, 
 is sure to have the best company in his salon ; and so, although you 
 might have met many at the tables of the first men of the country, 
 who were there by virtue of their talents or abilities, at Kennyfeck's 
 the company was sure to be " select." They could not afford dilution, 
 lest they should find themselves at ease ! 
 
 " Olivia, pray take that newspaper from Mr. Kennyfeck, and let us 
 hear who he has asked to dinner to-morrow," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 gracefully imitating an attitude of Lady Londonderry in the " Book 
 of Beauty." 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck heard the request, and started ; his surprise had 
 not been greater if the Chancellor had addressed him as " Tom." It 
 was the first time in his life that an allusion had ever been made to
 
 76 KOLA.ND CASHEL. 
 
 the bare possibility of his iD.viting the companv of a grand dinner— a 
 prerogative he had never so much as dreamt of— and now he actually 
 heard his wife refer to him, as if he were even a party to the deed. 
 
 " Invite ! Mrs. Kennyfeck. I'm sure I never thought " 
 
 " No matter what you thought," said his spouse, reddening at his 
 stupidity. " I wanted to remember who are coming, that we may let 
 Mr. Cashel learn something of our Dublin folk." 
 
 "Here's a list. Mamma," said Olivia; "and I believe there are 
 no apologies. Shall I read it ?" 
 
 " Do so, child," said she, but evidently out of humour that the de- 
 lightful little display of indifference and ignorance should not have 
 succeeded better. 
 
 " Sir Andrew and Lady Janet Macrarline, of course !" cried Miss 
 Kennyfeck; "ain't they first?" • 
 
 " They are," replied her sister. 
 
 " Sir Andrew, Mr. Cashel," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, " is a very distin- 
 guished officer, a K.C.B., and something else besides. He was in all 
 the Duke's battles in Spain ; a most gallant officer, but a little rough 
 
 in manner — Scotch, you know. Lady Janet was sister to Lord 
 
 "What is that Lord, Caroline? I always forget." 
 
 " Dumkeeran, Mamma." 
 
 " Tes, that's it. She's a charming person, but very proud ; very 
 proud indeed — will not visit with the Dublin people ; with us, I must 
 say, I have never seen anything like her kindness ; we are absolutely 
 like sisters. Go on, Olivia." 
 
 " Lord Charles Trobisher." 
 
 " And the Honourable Elliot St. Jolm," chimed in her sister ; 
 " Damon and Pythias, where a dinner is concerned." This was said 
 in a whisper. 
 
 "They are the Aides-de-camp to the Lord-Lieutenant. Lord 
 Charles is younger brother to the Duke of Derweut ; quite the man 
 of fashion, and so amusing ! Oh, he's delightful!" 
 
 " Charming !" dueted the two sisters. 
 
 " Mr. St. John is a very nice person, too ; but one never knows 
 him like Lord Charles ; he is more reserved. Olivia, however, says 
 he has a great deal in him." 
 
 " Oh, Mamma ! I'm sure I don't know ; I only thought him much 
 more conversable than he gets credit for." 
 
 " "Well, I meant no more," said lier mother, who did not fancy the 
 gathering gloom on Cashel's face at this allusion ; " read on again, 
 child." 
 
 " Lord Chief Justice Malone." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Kennyfeck," said she, playfully, " this is your doing ; I 
 suspected, from your confusion a while ago, Avhat you were at." Tlien,
 
 KOLAIfB CASHEL. 77 
 
 turning to Eoland, she said : " He is always playing us this trick, 
 Mr. Cashel ; whenever we have a few friends together, he will insist 
 upon inviting some of his old bar cronies !" 
 
 A deep groan from Mr. Iveunyfeck at the terrible profanity of thus 
 styling the chief of the Common Pleas, made every one start ; but 
 even this, like a skilful tactician, Mrs. Kennyfeck turned to her own 
 advantage. 
 
 " Pray don't sigli that way. He is a most excellent person, a great 
 lawyer, and, they say, must eventually have the peerage." She nodded 
 to Olivia to proceed, who read on. 
 
 " The Attorney- Greneral and Mrs. Knivett." 
 
 " Oh, really, Mr. Kennyfeck, this is pushing prerogative ; don't 
 you think so, Mr. Cashel ? Not but you know the Attorney-General 
 is a great personage in this poor country ; he is member for — where 
 is it?" 
 
 " Baldoyle, Mamma." 
 
 " Yes, Member for Baldoyle ; and she was a Miss Gamett, of Eed 
 Gamett, in Antrim ; a most respectable connexion ; so I think we 
 may forgive him. Yes, Mr. Kennyfeck, you are, at least, reprieved." 
 
 " Here come the "Whites, Mamma. I suppose we may reckon on 
 both, though she, as usual, sends her hopes and fears about being with 
 us at dinner, but will be delighted to come in the evening." 
 
 " That apology is stereotyped," broke in Miss Kennyfeck, "as well 
 as the little simpering speecb she makes on entering the drawing- 
 room : ' So you see, my dear Mrs. Kennyfeck, there is no resisting 
 you. Colonel "White assured me that your pleasant dinners always 
 set him up for a month — he, he, he.' " 
 
 If Cashel had not laughed heartily at the lisping imitation, it is 
 possible Mrs. Kennyfeck might have been displeased, but as the quiz 
 " took," she showed no umbrage whatever. 
 
 " The Honourable Downie Meek, Under Secretary of State," read 
 Olivia, with a little more of emphasis than on the last-mentioned 
 names. 
 
 " A person you'll be charmed with, Mr. Cashel — so highly in- 
 formed, so well bred, so perfectly habituated to move in the very 
 highest circles," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, giving herself, as she spoke, 
 certain graces of gesture, which she deemed illustrative of distin- 
 guished fashion. 
 
 " A cucumber dressed in oil," whispered Miss Kennyfeck, who 
 showed more than once a degree of impatience at these eulogistic de- 
 scriptions. 
 
 " The Dean of Drumcondera, your great favourite. Mamma." 
 
 " So he is, my dear. Now, Mr. Cashel, I shall insist upon you 
 liking my Dean. I call him my Dean, because one day last spring "
 
 78 EOLA.ND CASHEL. 
 
 " Mrs. Biles wants to speak to you, Ma'am, for a minute," said the 
 butler, from behind the chair; and, although the interruption was 
 anything but pleasant, yet the summons must be obeyed, for Mrs, 
 Biles was the housekeeper, and any approach to treating her with 
 indifference or contempt on the eve of a great dinner would be about as 
 impolitic as insulting a general who was about to command in a great 
 battle ; so that Mrs. Kennyfeck rose to comply, not even venturing a 
 word of complaint, lest the formidable functionary should hear of it, 
 and take her revenge on the made dishes. 
 
 " Now for the Dean. Is Mamma out of hearinc: ?" said Miss 
 Kennyfeck, who rejoiced at the casual opportunity of a little portrait- 
 painting in a different style. " Conceive a tall, pompous man, with 
 large white features, and a high bald head with a conical top ; a 
 sharp, clear, but unpleasant voice, always uttering grave nonsense, or 
 sublime absurdity. He was a brilliant light at Oxford, and came 
 over to illumine our darkness, and if pedantry could only supply the 
 deficiency in the potato crop, he would be a providence to the land. 
 His affectation is to know everything, from chuck-farthing to conic 
 sections, and so to diffuse his information as always to talk science to 
 young ladies, and discuss the royal game of goose with Lords of the 
 Treasury. His failures in these attempts at Admirable Crichtonism, 
 would abasli even confidence great as his, but that he is surrounded 
 by a little staff of admirers, who fend off the sneers of the audience, 
 and, like buffers, they break the rude shocks of worldly collision. 
 Socially, he is the tyrant of this capital ; from having learning enough 
 to be more than a match for those he encounters, and skill enough to 
 give his paradoxes a mock air of authority, he usurps a degree of dic- 
 tation and rule that makes society mere slavery. You'll meet him to- 
 morrow evening, and you'll see if he does not know more of Mexico 
 and Savannah life than you do. Take care, I say, that you venture 
 not into the wilds of the Pampas, for you'll have his companionship, 
 not as fellow-traveller, but as guide and instructor. As for myself, 
 whenever I read in the papers of meetings to petition Parliament to 
 repeal this, or redress that, in the name of ' Justice to Ireland,' I ask, 
 why does nobody pray for the recal of the Dean of Drumcondera ?" 
 
 " Here's Mamma," whispered Olivia, as the drawing-room door 
 opened. 
 
 " We've done the Dean, Mamma," said Miss Kennyfeck, with calm 
 composure. 
 
 " "Well, don't you feel that you love him already ? Mr. Cashel, 
 confess that you participate in all my raptures. Oli dear ! I do so 
 admire talent and genius," exclaimed Mrs. Kennyfeck, theatrically. 
 
 Cashel smiled, and muttered something unintelligible ; and Olivia 
 read on, but with a rapidity that showed the names required no
 
 EOLAND OASHEL. 79 
 
 special notice. "The Craiifurds, the Smythes, Mrs. Felix Brown, 
 Lady Ernmeline Grrove." 
 
 " Oh, that dear Lady Ernmeline ! a most gifted creature ; slie's the 
 authoress of some sweet poems. She wrote that touching sonnet in 
 the ' Nobility's Gallery of Loveliness,' beginning, ' Twin Sister of the 
 Evening Star.' — I'm sure you know it." 
 
 " I'm unfortunate enough never to have seen it," said Cashel. 
 
 " Well, you shall see the writer to-morrow evening ; I must really 
 take care that you are acquainted. People will tell you that she is 
 affected, and takes airs of authorship ; but remember her literary suc- 
 cess — think of her contributions to the Court Journal.''^ 
 
 " Those sweet flatteries of the nobility tbat Linton calls court- 
 plaister. Mamma," said Miss Kennyfeck, laughing maliciously. 
 
 " Linton is very abusive," said her mother, tartly ; " he never has 
 a good word for any one." 
 
 " He used to be a pet of yours, Mamma," insinuated Olivia. 
 
 " So he was till he became so intimate with those atrocious Eother- 
 giUs." 
 
 " Who is he ?" said Cashel. 
 
 " He's a son of a Sir Greorge Linton." 
 
 " That's one story. Mamma ; but as nobody ever saw the aforesaid 
 Sir George, the presumption is it may be incorrect. The last version 
 is that he was found, like Moses, the discoverer being Lady Harriet 
 Dropmore, who, with a humanity never to be forgotten — or forgiven," 
 whispered Olivia, " for she has been often tamited with it — took care 
 of the creature, and had it reared — nay, better again, she sent it to 
 Eugby and to Cambridge, got it into Parliament for Elmwood, and 
 has now made it Master of the Horse in Ireland." 
 
 " He is the most sarcastic person I ever met." 
 
 " It is such an easy talent," said Miss Kennyfeck ; "the worst of 
 wine makes capital vinegar." 
 
 " Then here follow a set of soldier people," said Olivia ; " Hussars 
 and Queen's Bays, and a Captain Tanker of the Eoyal Navy — oh, I 
 remember, he has but one arm — and then the Pelertons and the 
 Cuffes." 
 
 " Well, are we at the end of our muster-roll ?" 
 
 " Tes, we have nearly reached the dregs of the cup. I see Mr. 
 Knox Softly, and the Townleys !" 
 
 " Oh, the Townleys ! Poor Mrs. Townley, with her yellow turban 
 and red feathers, that Lord Dunbrock mistook for a vol-movent gar- 
 nished with shrimps." 
 
 " Caroline t" cried Mrs. Kennyfeck, reprovingly, for her daughter's 
 sallies had more than once verged upon the exhaustion of her pa- 
 tience.
 
 80 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " We shall not weary you with any description of the ' refreshers,' 
 Mr. Cashel." 
 
 " Pray who and what are they ?" inquired Cashel. 
 
 " The ' refreshers' are that amiable but undervalued class in society 
 who are always asked for the evening when the other members of the 
 family are invited to dine. They are the young lady and young gen- 
 tleman class ; the household with ten daughters, and a governess that 
 sings like, anything but, Persiani. They are briefless barristers, with 
 smart whiskers ; and young men reading for the Church, with mous- 
 taches ; infantry officers, old maids, fellows of college, and the gentle- 
 man who tells Irish stories." 
 
 " Caroline, I really must request " 
 
 " But, Mamma, Mr. Casliel surely ought to learn the map of the 
 country he is to live in." 
 
 " I am delighted to acquire my geography so pleasantly," cried 
 Cashel. " Pray go on." 
 
 " I am bound over," said she, smiling ; " Mamma is looking pen- 
 knives at me, so I suppose I must stop. But as to these same ' re- 
 freshers,' you will easilj'' distinguish tliem from the dinner company. 
 The young ladies are always fresher in their white muslin ; they walk 
 about in gangs, and eat a prodigious deal of bread-and-butter at tea. 
 Well, I have done. Mamma, though I'm sure I was not aware of my 
 transgressions." 
 
 " I declare Mr. Kennyfeck is asleep again. — Mr. Kennyfeck, have 
 the goodness to wake up and say who is to make the whist-table for 
 Lady Blennerbore." 
 
 " Yes, my Lord," said Mr. Kennyfeck, waking up and rubbing his 
 eyes, " we'll take a verdict for the plaintiff, leaving the points re- 
 served." 
 
 A very general laugh here recalled him to himself, as with extreme 
 confusion he continued, " I was so fatigued in the Eolls to-day. It 
 was an argument relative to a trust, Mr. Cashel, which it is of great 
 moment you should be relieved of." 
 
 " Oh, never trouble your head about it now, Sir," said Cashel, 
 good naturedly. " I am quite grieved at the weariness and fatigue 
 my affairs are costing you." 
 
 " I was asking about Lady Blennerbore's whist," interposed Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck. " Who have you for her party besides the Chief Jus- 
 tice ?" 
 
 " Major M'Cartney says he can't aff"ord it, Mamma," said the eldest 
 daughter, slyly. " She is so very lucky with the honours !" 
 
 " Where is Thorpe," cried Mrs. Kennyfeck, not deigning to notice 
 this speech — "he used to like his rubber ?" 
 
 " He told me," said Miss Kennyfeck, " that he wouldn't play with
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 81 
 
 her Ladyship any more ; that one had some chance formerly, but that 
 since she has had that touch of the palsy, she does what she likes with 
 the Kings and Aces." 
 
 " This is atrocious ; never let me hear it again," said the Mamma, 
 indignantly; "at all events, old Mr. Moore Hacket will do." 
 
 " Poor old man, he is so blind that he has to thumb the cards aU 
 over to try and know them by the feel, and then he always washes the 
 King and Queen's faces with a snuffy handkerchief, so that the others 
 are sneezing at every trick they play." 
 
 " Caroline, you permit yourself to take the most improper free- 
 doms ; I desire that we may have no more of this." 
 
 " I rather like old Mr. Hacket," said the incorrigible assailant ; 
 " he mistook Mr. Pottinger's bald and polished head for a silver 
 salver, and laid his teacup on it, the last evening he was here." 
 
 If Cashel could not help smiling at Miss Kennyfeck's sallies, he 
 felt it was in rather a strange spirit of hospitality the approacliing 
 entertainment was given, since few of the guests were spared the 
 most slighting sarcasms, and scarcely for any was there professed the 
 least friendship or affection. He was, however, very new to "the 
 world," and the strange understanding on which its daily intercourse, 
 its social life of dinners, visits, and dejeuners subsists, was perfectly 
 unknown to him. He had much to learn ; but as his nature was of 
 an inquiring character, he was as equal as he was well inclined to its 
 task. It was then, with less enjoyment of the scene for its absur- 
 dity, than actually as an occasion to acquire knowledge of people 
 and modes of living hitherto unknown, he listened gravely to the 
 present discussion, and sat with attentive ears to hear who was to 
 take ill Lady Janet, and whether Sir Archy should precede the Chief 
 Justice or not ; if a Dragoon Colonel should take the pas of an At- 
 torney-General, and whether it made the same difference in an indi- 
 vidual's rank that it did, in his comfort, that he was on the half-pay 
 list. When real rank is concerned, few things are easier than the 
 arrangement of such details; the rules are simple, the exceptions 
 few, if any ; but in a society where the distinctions are inappreciable, 
 where the designations are purely professional, an algebraic equation 
 is simpler of solution than such difficulties. 
 
 Then came a very animated debate as to the places at table, wherein 
 lay the extreme difficulty of having every one away from the fire and 
 nobody in a draught, except of course those little valued guests who 
 really appeared to play the ignoble part of mortar in a great edifice, 
 being merely the cohesive ingredient that averted friction between 
 more important materials. Next came the oft-disputed question as 
 to whether the champagne should be served with the petits fates, 
 after the fish, or at a remote stage of the second course, the young 
 VOL. r. G
 
 S2 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 ladies being eager advocates of the former, Mrs. Kennyfeck as firmly 
 denouncing the practice as a new-fangled thing, that " the Dean " 
 himself said he had never seen at Christchurch ; but the really great 
 debate arose on a still more knotty point, and one on which it ap- 
 peared the family had brought in various bills, withovit ever discover- 
 ing the real remedy : it was by what means — of course, moral force 
 jneans — it were possible to induce old Lady Blennerbore to rise from 
 table whenever Mrs. Kennyfeck had decreed that move to be ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 It was really moving to listen to Mrs. Kennyfeck's narratives of 
 signals unnoticed and signs unattended to ; that even on the very 
 last day her Ladyship had dined there, Mrs. Kennyfeck had done 
 little else for three-quarters of an hour than half stand and sit down 
 again, to the misery of herself and the discomfort of her neighbours. 
 
 " Poor dear old thing," said Olivia, " she is so very near-sighted." 
 
 " Not a bit of it," said her sister ; " don't tell me of bad sight that 
 can distinguish the decanter of port from the claret, which I have 
 Been her do some half-dozen times without one blunder." 
 
 " I'd certainly stop the supplies," said Cashel ; " wouldn't that do ?" 
 
 " Impossible !" said Miss Kennyfeck ; " you couldn't starve the 
 whole garrison for one refractory subject." 
 
 " Mr. Linton's plan was a perfect failure, too," said Mrs. Kenny- 
 feck. " He thought by the introduction of some topic ladies do not 
 usually discuss, that she would certainly withdraw ; on the contrary, 
 her Ladyship called out to me, ' I see your impatience, my dear, but 
 I must hear the end of this naughty story.' We tried the French 
 plan, too, and made the gentlemen rise with us ; but reaUy they were 
 so rude and ill-tempered the entire evening after, I'll never venture 
 on it again." 
 
 Ilere the whole party sighed and were silent, as if the Avished-for 
 mode of relief were as distant as ever. 
 
 " Must we really ask those Claridge girls to sing, Mamma ?" said 
 , Miss Kennyfeck, after a long pause. 
 
 *' Of course you must. They were taught by Costa, and they are 
 always asked wherever they go." 
 
 " As a matter of curiosity, Mr. Cashel, the thing is worth hearing. 
 Paganini's monochord was nothing to it, for they'll go through a 
 whole scena of Donizetti with only one note on their voice. Oh dear ! 
 how very tiresome it all is : tlie same little scene of pressings, and 
 refusals, and entreaties, and rejections, and the oft-repeated dispute 
 of the sisters between ' Notte divina' and ' Non vedro mai ' ending 
 in that Tyrolese thing, which is on every organ in the streets, and 
 has not the merit of tlie little shaved dog with the hat in his mouth, 
 to make it droll. And then" — hei'e Miss Kennyfeck caught a side
 
 EOLAIfD CASHEL. 83 
 
 glance of a most rebuking frown on her mother's fa ce, so that adroitly 
 addressing herself to Cashel, she seemed unaware of it — " and then 
 when the singing is over, and those who detest music are taking their 
 revenge by abusing the singers, and people are endeavouring to patch 
 up the interrupted chattings— then, I suppose, we are, quite suddenly, 
 without the slightest premeditation, to suggest a quadrille or carpet- 
 dance. This is to be proposed as a most new and original idea that 
 never occurred to any one before, and is certain to be hailed with a 
 warm enthusiasm : all the young ladies smiling and smirking, and 
 the gentlemen fumbling for their soiled kid gloves— clean ones would 
 destroy the merit of the impromptu." 
 
 " I'm certain Mr. Cashel's impression of our society here will 
 scarcely be flattering, from what he has heard this evening," said Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck, rising. 
 
 " He'll see with his own eyes to-morrow night," said Miss Kenny- 
 feck, coolly. 
 
 " Will you favour me with a little of your time in the morning ?" 
 said Mr. Kennyfeck to Cashel. " I find that I cannot avoid troubling 
 you ; there are s everal documents for signature, and if you could de- 
 vote an hour, or, if possible, two " 
 
 " I am perfectly atyoiu? orders," said Cashel; "the ladies say that 
 they will not ride, and therefore dispose of me as you like." 
 
 A hearty good night followed, and the party broke up. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 " Geld kann vieles in der Welt."— Wienek Lied. 
 (Money can do much in this world.) 
 
 Whe^ Cashel descended the stairs to breakfast, he took a peep into 
 the draA\-ing-room as he went, some slight hope of seeing Olivia, per- 
 haps, suggesting the step. He was disappointed, however ; except a 
 sen^ant arranging candles in tlie lustres, the room was empty. The 
 same fate awaited him in the breakfast-room, where a small table, 
 most significantly laid for two, showed that a tete-a-tete with his host 
 was in store for him. Xo wonder, then, if Mr. Kennyfeck saw some- 
 thing of impatience in the air of his young guest, whose eyes turned 
 to the door each time it opened, or were as hastily directed to the 
 garden at each stir without— evident signs of thoughts dii-ected in 
 channels different from the worthy solicitor's. 
 
 Confess, my dear reader— if you be of the sex to judge of these 
 matters— confess it is excessively provoking, when you have prepared 
 your mind, sharpened your wit— perhaps, too, curled your whiskers 
 
 g2
 
 84 ROLAND CASHEL, 
 
 — witli a latent hope that you are to meet and converse witli two 
 very handsome aad sprightly girls, that the interview is converted 
 into a scene with " Papa." For ourselves, who acknowledge to have 
 a kind of Catholicism in these affairs, who like the dear creatures in 
 all the flaunting dash of a riding-hat and habit, cantering away of a 
 breezy day, with laughing voice and half-uncurled hair ; who delight 
 to see them lounging in a britschka or lolling in a phaeton ; who gaze 
 wdtli rapture on charms heightened by the blaze of full-dress, and 
 splendid in all the brilliancy of jewels and flowers ; we own that we 
 have a kind of fondness, almost amounting to a preference, to the 
 prim coquettishness of a morning-dress — some light muslin thing, 
 floating and gauzy — showing the figure to perfection, and in its sim- 
 plicity suiting well the two braids of hair so innocently banded on 
 the cheeks. There is something of conscious power in the quiet 
 garb, a sense of trustfulness ; it is like the warrior advancing without 
 his weapons to a conference that is exceedingly pleasing, seeming to 
 say, You see that I am not a being of tulle, and gauze, and point de 
 Bruxelles, of white satin,'and turquoise, and pink camellias, but a crea- 
 ture whose duties may be in the daily round of life, meant to sit, be- 
 side, on a grassy slope as much as on a velvet ottoman, to talk with, as 
 well as flirt with. 
 
 We have no means of knowing if Cashel was of our mind, and 
 whether these demi-toilette visions w^ere as suggestive to his as they 
 are to our imagination, but that he bore his disappointment with a 
 very bad grace we can perfectly answer for, and showed, by his dis- 
 tracted manner and inattentive air, that the Papa's companionship 
 was a very poor substitute for the daughters'. 
 
 It must be owned, too, that Mr. Kennyfeck was scarcely a brilliant 
 eonverser, nor, had he been so, was the matter under consideration of 
 a kind to develop and display his abilities. The worthy solicitor had 
 often promised himself the pleasure he now enjoyed of recounting 
 the whole story of the law proceedings. It was the great event of 
 his own life, " his Waterloo," and he dwelt on every detail with a 
 prosy dalliance that was death to the listener. Legal subtleties, 
 shrewd and cunning devices of crafty counsellors, all the artful dodges 
 of the profession, Cashel heard with a scornful indifference or a down- 
 right apath^r, and it demanded all Mr. Kennyfeck's own enthusiasm 
 in the case to make him persist in a narrative so uninteresting to its 
 only auditor. 
 
 " I fear I weary you, Mr. Cashel," said the solicitor, " with these 
 details, but I really supposed that you must feel desirous of knowing 
 not only the exact circumstances of your estate, but of learning the 
 very singular history by which your claim was substantiated." 
 
 " If I am to be frank," said Cashel, boldly, " I must tell you that
 
 EOLAXD CASHEL. 85 
 
 these things possess not the slightest interest for me. "When I was 
 a gambler — which, unfortunately, I was at one time — whether I won 
 or lost, I never could endure to discuss the game after it was over. 
 So long as there was a goal to reach, few men could feel more ardour 
 in the pursuit. I believe I have the passion for success as strong 
 as my neighbours, but, the struggle over, the prize won, whether 
 hj myself or another, it mattered not, it ceased to have any hold upon 
 me. I could address myself to a new contest, but never look back on 
 the old one." 
 
 '•' So that," said Kenny feck, drawing a long breath to conceal a 
 sigh, " I am to conclude that this is a topic you would not desire to 
 renew. "Well, I yield, of course ; only pray how am I to obtain your 
 opinion on questions concerning your property ?" 
 
 " My opinions," said Cashel, " must be mere arbitrary decisions, 
 <;ome to without any knowledge ; that you are well aware of I know 
 nothing of this country — neither its interests, its feelings, nor its 
 iastes. I know just as little of what wealth will do, and what it will 
 not do. Tell me, therefore, in a few words, what other men, situated 
 ■as I am, would pursue, what habits they would adopt, how live, and 
 with whom. If I can conform, without any great sacrifice of per- 
 sonal freedom, I'll do so, because I know of no slavery so bad as 
 notoriety. Just then give me your counsel, and I ask, intending to 
 follow it." 
 
 Few men were less able than Mr. Kennyfeck to offer a valuable 
 ■opinion on these difficult subjects, but the daily routine of his profes- 
 'Sional life had made him acquainted with a certain detail that seemed, 
 •to himself at least, an undeviating rule of procedure. He knew 
 that, to the heir of a large estate coming of age, a wife and a seat in 
 Parliament were the two first objects. He had so often been engaged 
 'in drawing up settlements for the one and raising money for the 
 -other contingency, that they became as associated in his mind with 
 -one-and-twenty years of age as though intended by Nature to de- 
 note it. 
 
 "With some reserve, which we must not scrutinise, be began with 
 the political object. 
 
 " I suppose, Sir," said he, " you will desire to enter Parliament r" 
 
 " I should like it," said Cashel, earnestly, " if a sense of inferiority 
 ■would not weigh too heavily on me to compensate for the pleasure. 
 With an education so neglected as mine, I should run the hazard of 
 either unjustly depreciating my own judgment, or, what is worse, 
 esteeming it at more than its worth. Now, though I suspect that 
 the interest of politics would have a great attraction for me, I should 
 always occupy too humble a station regarding them, to make that 
 interest a higli one. Omit Parliament, then, and what next ?"
 
 86 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " The duties of a country gentleman are various and important — 
 the management of your estates " 
 
 " This I must leave in your hands," said Cashel, abruptly. " Sug-. 
 gest something else..", 
 
 " "Well, of course, these come in a far less important category ; but 
 the style of your living, the maintenance of a house befitting your 
 rank and property, the reception of your country neighbours — all 
 these are duties." 
 
 " I am very ignorant of forms," said Cashel, haughtily ; " but I 
 opine that if a man spare no money, with a good cook, a good cellar, 
 a good stable, and ' carte hlanche' from the owner to make free with 
 everything, these duties are not very difficult to perform." 
 
 Had ]\Ir. Kennyfeck known more of such matters, he might have 
 told him that something was still wanting — that something which can 
 throw its perfume of good-breeding and elegance over the humble 
 dinner-party in a cottage, and yet be absent from the gorgeous splen- 
 dour of a banquet in a palace. Mr. Kennyfeck did not know this, 
 so he accorded his fullest assent to Cashel's opinion. 
 
 " "What comes next ?" said Eoland, impatiently, " for as I am neither 
 politician nor country gentleman, nor can I make a pursuit of mere 
 hospitality, I really do not see what career is open to me." 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck had been on the eve of introducing the topic of 
 marriage, when this sally suddenly routed the attempt. The man 
 who saw nothing to occupy him in politics, property, or social inter- 
 course, would scarcely deem a wife an all-sufficient ambition. Mr. 
 Kennyfeck was posed. 
 
 " I see, Sir, your task is a hard one ; it is no less than to try and 
 conform my savage tastes and habits to civilised usages — a difficult 
 thing, I am certain ; however, I promise compliance with any ritual 
 for a while. I have often been told that the possession of fortune in 
 these countries imposes more restraints in the shape of duties, than 
 does poverty elsewhere. Let me try the problem for myself Now, 
 dictate, and I obey." 
 
 " After all," said ]\Ir. Kennyfeck, taking courage, '' few men would 
 deem it a hard condition in which to^find themselves — master of above 
 1G,000Z. a year, to enter Parliament, to keep a good house, and marry 
 — as every person in your circumstances may — the person of his 
 choice." 
 
 " Oh ! Is matrimony another article of the code ?" said Cashel, 
 smiling. " "Well, that is the greatest feature, because the others are 
 things to abandon, if not found to suit your temper or inclination — 
 but a wife — that does look somewhat more permanent. ISTo matter, 
 I'll adventure all and everything — of course depending on your 
 guidance for the path."
 
 KOIi^ND CASHEL. 87 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck was too happy at these signs of confidence to neg- 
 lect an opportunity for strengthening the ties, and commenced a very 
 prudent harangue upon the necessity of Cashel's using great caution 
 in his first steps, and not committing himself by anything like po- 
 litical pledges, till he had firmly decided which side to adopt. " As 
 to society," said he, " of course you will select those who please you 
 most for your intimates ; but in politics there are many considera- 
 tions very different from mere liking. Be only guarded, , however, in 
 the beginning, and you risk nothing by waiting." 
 
 " And as to the other count in the indictment," said Cashel, inter- 
 •rupting a rather prosy dissertation about political parties — " as to the 
 other count — Matrimony I mean. I conclude, as the world is so 
 exceedingly kind as to take a profound interest in all the sayings and 
 doings of a man with money, that perhaps it is not indiiferent regard- 
 ing so eventful a step as his Marriage. Now, pray, Mr. Kennyfeck, 
 having entered Parliament, kept open house, hunted, shot, raced, 
 dined, gambled, duelled, and the rest, to please society, how must I 
 satisfy its exigencies in this last particular ? I mean-, is there any 
 peculiar style of lady — tall, short, brunette or fair, dark-eyed or blue- 
 eyed, or what, in short, is the person I must marry if I woidd avoid 
 transgressing any of those formidable rules which seem to regulate 
 every action of your lives, and, if I may believe Mr. Phillis, superin- 
 tend the very colour of your cravat and the shape of your hat ?" 
 
 " Oh, believe me," replied Mr. Kennyfeck, with a bland persuasive- 
 ness, " fashion is only exigeant in small matters ; the really moment- 
 ous affairs of life are always at a man's own disposal. Whoever is 
 fortunate enough to be Mr. Cashel's choice, becomes, by the fact, as 
 elevated above envious criticisms, as she will be above the sphere 
 where they alone prevail." 
 
 " So far that is very flattering. "Now for another point. There is 
 an old shipmate of mine — a young Spanish officer — who has lived 
 rather a rakish kind of life. I'm not quite sure he has not had a 
 brush or two with our flag, for he dealt a little in ebony — you under- 
 stand — the slave-trade, I mean. How wovild these fine gentlemen, I 
 should like to know, receive him ? Would they look coldly and dis- 
 tantly at him ? I should naturally wish to see him at my house, but 
 not that he might be offered anything like slight or insult." 
 ''- " I should defer it, certainly. I would recommend you not press- 
 ing this visit, till you have surrounded yourself with a certain set, a 
 party by whom you will be known and upheld." 
 
 " So then, if I understand you aright, I must obtain a kind of 
 security for my social good conduct before the world will trust me ? 
 Now, this does seem rather hard, particularly as no man is guilty till 
 he has been convicted."
 
 88 EOLA.ND CASHEL. 
 
 " The bail-bond is little else tlian a matter of form," said Mr. 
 Kennyfeck, smiling, and glad to cap an allusion wbicb bis profes- 
 sional pursuits made easy of comprehension. 
 
 "Well!" sighed Cashel, "I'm not quite certain that this same 
 world of yours and I shall be long friends, if even we begin as such. 
 I have all my life been somewhat of a rebel, except where authority 
 was lax enough to make resistance unnecessary. How am I to get 
 on here, hemmed in and fenced by a hundred restrictions ?" 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck could not explain to him that these barriers were 
 less restrictions against personal liberty than defences against ag- 
 gression ; so he only murmured some common-places about " getting 
 habituated," and " time," and so on, and apologised for what he, in 
 reality, might have expatiated on as privileges. 
 
 " My mistress wishes to know, Sir," said a footman, at this junc- 
 ture, " if Mr. Cashel will drive out with her ? the carriage is at the 
 door." 
 
 " Delighted !" cried Cashel, looking at the same time mostuncour- 
 teously pleased to get away from his tiresome companion. 
 
 Cashel found Mrs. Kennyfeck and her daughters seated in a hand- 
 some barouche, whose appointments, bating, perhaps, some little 
 exuberance in display, were all perfect. The ladies, too, were most 
 becomingly attired, and the transition from the little cobwebbed den 
 of tlie solicitor to the free air and pleasant companionship, excited 
 his spirits to the utmost. 
 
 " How bored you must have been by that interview !" said Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck, as they drove away. 
 
 " Why do you say so ?" said Cashel, smiling. 
 " You looked so weary, so thoroughly tired out, when you joined 
 us. I'm certain Mr. Kennyfeck has been reading aloud all the deeds 
 and documents of the trial, and reciting the hundred-and-one diffi- 
 culties which his surpassing acuteness, poor dear man ! could alone 
 overcome." 
 
 " No, indeed you wrong him," said Eoland, witli a laugh ; " lie 
 scarcely alluded to what he might have reasonably dwelt upon with 
 pride, and what demands all my gratitude. He was rather giving me, 
 what I so much stand in need of, a little lecture on my duties and 
 devoirs as a possessor of fortune ; a code, I shame to confess, perfectly 
 strange to me." 
 
 A very significant glance from Mrs. Kennyfeck towards the girls 
 revealed the full measure of her contempt for the hardihood of poor 
 Mr. Kennyfeck's daring, but quickly assuming a smile, she said, 
 " And are we to be permitted to hear what these excellent counsels 
 were, or are these what the Admiralty calls ' secret instructions ?' " 
 " Not in the least. Mr. Kennyfeck sees plainly enough — it is but
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 89 
 
 too palpable — that I am as ignorant of this new world as he himself 
 would be, if dropped down suddenly in an Indian encampment, and 
 that as the thing I detest most in this life is any unnecessary noto- 
 riety, I want to do, as far as in me lies, like my neighbours. I own 
 to you, that the little sketcli with which lie favoured me is not too 
 fascinating, but he assures me that with time, and patience, and zeal, 
 I'll get over my difficulties, and make a very tolerable country gen- 
 tleman." 
 
 " But, my dear Mr. Cashel," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, with a great 
 emphasis on the epithet, " why do you think of listening to Mr. Ken- 
 nyfeck on such a subject ? Poor man, he takes all his notions of men 
 and manners from the Exchequer and Common Pleas." 
 
 " Papa's models are all in horse-hair wigs — fat mummies in ermine!" 
 said Miss Kennyfeck. 
 
 " "When Mr. Cashel knows Lord Charles," said Olivia. 
 
 " Or Mr. Linton " 
 
 " Or the Dean," broke in Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " for although a Church- 
 man, his information on every subject is boundless." 
 
 Miss Kennyfeck gave a sly look towards Cashel, which very pro- 
 bably entered a dissent to her Mamma's opinion. 
 
 " If I were you," resumed she, tenderly, " I know what I should 
 do ; coolly rejecting all their counsels, I should fashion my life as it 
 pleased myself to live, well assured that in following my bent, I 
 should find plenty of people only too happy to lend me their compa- 
 nionship. Just reflect, for a moment, how very agreeable you can 
 make your house, without in the least compromising any taste or in- 
 clination of your own ; without, in fact, occupying your mind on the 
 subject." 
 
 *' But the world," remarked Mrs. Kennyfeck, " must be cared for ! 
 It would not do for one in Mr. Cashel's station to form his associates 
 only among those whose agreeability is their recommendation." 
 
 " Then let him know the Dean, Mummii," said Miss Kennyfeck, 
 
 slyly- 
 
 " Yes, my dear," rejoined Mrs. Kennyfeck, not detecting the sar- 
 casm, " I cannot fancy one more capable of affording judicious 
 counsel. You spoke about ordering plate, Mr. Cashel ; but of course 
 you will apply to Storr and Mortimer. Everything is so much better 
 in London ; otherwise, here we are at Leonard's." 
 
 The carriage drove up, as she spoke, to the door of a very splendid- 
 looking shop, where, in all the attractive display modern taste has 
 invented, plate and jewellery glittered and dazzled. 
 
 " It was part of Mr. Kennyfeck's counsel this morning," said 
 Cashel, " that I should purchase anything I want in Ireland, so far, . 
 at least, as practicable ; so, if you will aid me in choosing, we'll take 
 the present opportunity."
 
 90 EOLAND CA.SHEL. 
 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck was overjoyed at the bare mention of sucli an 
 occasion of display, and sailed into the shop with an air that spoke 
 plain as words themselves, " I'm 'come to make your fortune." So 
 palpable, indeed, was the manner of her approach, that the shopman 
 hastily retired to seek the proprietor of the establishment — a little 
 pompous man, with a bald head — who, having a great number of " bad 
 debts" among his high clients, had taken to treating great folk with 
 a very cool assumption of equality. 
 
 " Mr. Cashel is come to look about some plate, Mr. Leonard. Let 
 U3 see your book of drawiugs ; and have you those models you made 
 for Lord Kelloraue?" 
 
 "We have better. Ma'am," said Leonard. ""We have the plate 
 itself. If you will step up-stairs. It is all laid out on the tables. 
 The fact is" — here he dropped his voice — " his Lordsliip's marriage 
 with Miss Fenchurch is broken off, and he will not want the plate, 
 and we have his orders to sell it at once." 
 
 " Aaid is that beautiful pony phaeton, with the two black Arabians, 
 to be sold ?" asked Mrs. Kennyfeck, eagerly. " He only drove them 
 once, I think." 
 
 " Yes, Madam, everything : they are all to be auctioned at Dycer's 
 to-day." 
 
 "At what hour?" inquired Cashel. 
 
 " At three, precisely. Sir." 
 
 " Then it wants but five minutes of the time," said Cashel, looking 
 at his watch. 
 
 *' But the plate. Sir ? Such an opportunity may never occur again," 
 broke in Leonard, fearful of seeing his customer depart unprofitably. 
 
 " Oh, to be sure. Let us see it," said Cashel, as he handed Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck up-stairs. * 
 
 An exclamation of surprise and delight burst from the party at the 
 magnificent display which greeted them on entering the room. How 
 splendid — what taste — how very beautiful — so elegant — so massive — 
 so chaste ! and fifty other encomiastic phrases. 
 
 " Very fine, indeed, Ma'am," chimed in Leonard ; " cost fifteen and 
 sevenpence an ounce throughout, and now to be sold for thirteen 
 shillings." 
 
 " What is the price ?" said Cashel, in a low whisper. 
 
 " There are, if I remember right. Sir, but I'll ascertain in a mo- 
 ment, eight thousand ounces." 
 
 " I want to know the sum in one word," rejoined Cashel, hastily. 
 
 " It will be something like three thousand seven hundred and " 
 
 "Well, say three thousand seven hundred, it is mine." 
 
 " These ice-pails are not included, Sir." 
 
 " Well, send them also, and let me know the price. How handsome
 
 EOLAJS'D CASHEL. 91 
 
 that brooch is ! Let me see it on your velvet dress, Mrs. Kennyfeck. 
 Yes, that really looks well. Pray let it remain there." 
 
 " Oh, I could not think of such a thing ! It is far too costly. It 
 is the most splendid " 
 
 " You'll not refuse me, I hope, a first request. Madam," said he, 
 with a half-offended air. 
 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck, really overwhelmed by the splendour of the gift, 
 complied with a reluctant shame. 
 
 " These are the diamonds that were ordered for the bride," said 
 Leonard, opening a jewel-casket, and exhibiting a most magnificent 
 suite. 
 
 " Oh, how sorry she must be !" cried Miss Kennyfeck, as she sur- 
 veyed the glittering mass. 
 
 " If she loved him," murmured Olivia, in a low whisper, as if to 
 herself, but overheard by Cashel, who kept his eyes towards her with 
 an expression of deep interest. 
 
 " If the gentleman stood in need of such a set," said Leonard, " I 
 am empowered to dispose of them at the actual cost. It is old Mr. 
 Tenchurch who suffers all the loss, and he can very well afford it. As 
 a wedding present, Sir " 
 
 " But I am not going to be married, that I know of," said Cashel, 
 smiling. 
 
 " Perhaps not this week. Sir, or the next," rejoined the self-suffi- 
 cient jeweller ; " but, of course, that time will come. Two thousand 
 pounds for such a suite is positively getting them a present, to break 
 them up and reset them." 
 
 " How shocking !" cried Miss Kennyfeck. 
 
 " Yes, Madam ; but what is to be done ? they only suit large fortunes 
 in their present form ; these, unfortunately, are very rare with us." 
 
 " A quarter past three !" exclaimed Cashel ; " we shall be too late." 
 
 " And the diamonds, Sir ?" said Leonard, following him down stairs. 
 
 " DoyoM think them so handsome?" said Cashel to Olivia, as she 
 walked at his side. 
 
 " Oh, they are most beautiful," replied she, with a bashful falling 
 of her eyelids. 
 
 " I'll take them also," whispered Cashel to Leonard, who, for per- 
 haps the only time for years past, accompanied the party, bare-headed, 
 to their carriage, and continued bowing till they drove away. 
 
 " Dycer's," said Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " and as fast as you can." 
 
 AVith all their speed they came too late. The beautiful equipage 
 had been already disposed of, and was driving from the gate as they 
 drew up. 
 
 " How provoking !— how terribly provoking !" exclaimed Mrs. Ken- 
 nyfeck.
 
 92 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 ^' I declare, I tliiuk them handsomer than ever," said Miss Kenny- 
 feck, as she surveyed the two well-matched and highly-bred ponies. 
 
 " Who bought them ?" asked Mrs. Kennyfeck. 
 
 " I am the fortunate individual, or rather the unhappy one, who 
 excites such warm regrets," said Mr. Linton, as he lounged on the 
 door of the carriage. " I would I were Eothschdd, or his son, or his 
 godson, to beg your acceptance of them." 
 
 " What did you give for them, Mr. Linton ?" asked Mrs. Kennyfeck. 
 
 " How unfair to ask ; and you, too, who understand these things so 
 well." 
 
 "I want to purchase them," said she, laughing; "that was ray 
 reason." 
 
 " To you, then, the price is what I have just paid — a hundred and 
 fifty." 
 
 " How cheap !" 
 
 " Absolutely for nothing. I bought them on no other account. I 
 really do not want such an equipage." 
 
 " To be serious, then," resumed Mrs. Kennyfeck, " we came here 
 with Mr. Cashel to purchase them, and just arrived a few minutes 
 too late." 
 
 " Quite early enough to allow of my being able to render you a 
 slight service ; without, however, the satisfaction of its having de- 
 manded any effort from me. Will you present me to Mr. Cashel ?" 
 The gentlemen bowed and smiled, and Linton resumed. " If you 
 care for the ponies, Mr. Cashel, I am delighted to say they are at 
 your service. I really bought them, as 1 say, because they were 
 going for nothing." Cashel did not know how to return the gene- 
 rosity, but accepted the offer, trusting that time would open an occa- 
 sion to repay the favour. 
 
 " Shall I send them home to you, or will you drive them ?" 
 
 " Will you venture to accompany me ?" said Cashel, turning to 
 Olivia Kennyfeck ; who, seeing at once the impropriety of a pro- 
 posal which Eoland's ignorance of the world alone could have com- 
 mitted, was silent and confused. 
 
 " Are you afraid, my dear ?" inquired Mrs. Kennyfeck, to show that 
 all other objections might be waived. 
 " Oh no, Mamma, if you are not." 
 " The ponies are perfectly quiet," said Linton. 
 " I'm certain nothing will happen," said Miss Kennyfeck, with a 
 most significant glance at her sister. 
 
 " Take care of her, Mr. Cashel," said the Mamma, asEoland handed 
 the blushing girl to her place. " I haA'e never trusted her in any one's 
 
 charge before, and if I had not such implicit confidence " Before 
 
 the sentence was finished, the ponies sprang forward in a ti'ot, the 
 equipage ia a moment fled and disappeared from view.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL, 03 
 
 "A fine young fellow he seems to be," said Linton, as he raised 
 his hat in adieu; "and so frank, too!" There was a something in 
 his smile that looked too intelligent, but Mrs. Kennyfeck affected not 
 to notice it, as she said " Good-by." 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 There were lords and ladies — I saw myself — 
 
 A duke with his Garter, a kniglit with his Guelph, 
 
 " Orders" — as bright as the eye could see, 
 
 The " Golden Fleece," and the " Saint Esprit;" 
 
 Black Eagles, and Lions, and even a Lamb, 
 
 Such an odd-looking thing from the great " Nizam;" 
 
 Shamrocks and Thistles there were in a heap, 
 
 And the Legion of Honour from " Louis Philippe," 
 
 So I asked myself — Does it not seem queer. 
 
 What can bring this goodly company here? 
 
 Mrs. Thorpe's Fete at Twickenham. 
 
 Although Mrs. Kennyfeck's company were invited for seven 
 o'clock, it was already something more than half-past ere the first 
 guest made his appearance, and he found himself alone in the dra'w- 
 ing-room ; Mrs. Kennyfeck, who was a very shrewd observer of every- 
 thing in high life, having remembered, that it twice occurred to her- 
 self and Mr. K. to have arrived the first at the Secretary's " Lodge," 
 in the Park, and that the noble hostess did not descend till at least 
 some two or three others had joined them. 
 
 The "first man" to a dinner is the next most miserable thing to 
 the " last man" at leaving it. The cold air of solitude, the awkward- 
 ness of seeming too eager to be punctual, the certainty, almost in- 
 evitable, that the next person who arrives is perfectly odious to you, 
 and that you will have to sustain a tete-a-tete with the man of all 
 others you dislike, all these are the agreeables of the first man ; but 
 he who now liad to sustain them was, happily, indifferent to their 
 tortures. He was an old, very deaf gentleman, who had figured at 
 the dinner-tables of the capital for half a century, on no one plea that 
 any one covdd discover, save that he was a "Eight Honourable." 
 The 'privilege of sitting at the Council had conferred the far plea- 
 santer one of assisting at dinners, and his political career, if not very 
 ambitious, had been, what few men can say, unruffled. 
 
 He seated himself, then, in a very well-cushioned chair, and with 
 that easy smile of benevolent meaning which certain deaf people 
 assume as a counterpoise for the want of colloquial gifts, prepared to 
 be, or at least to look, a very agreeable old gentleman to the next
 
 94 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 arrival. A full quarter of an hour passed over, without anything to 
 break the decorous stillness of the house ; when suddenly the door 
 was thrown wide, and the butler announced Sir Harvey Upton and 
 Captain Jennings. These were two Hussar officers, who entered with 
 that admirable accompaniment of ■clinking sabres, sabretasches, and 
 spurs, so essential to a cavalry appearance. , 
 
 " Early, by Jove !" cried one, approaching the mirror over the 
 chimney-piece, and arranging his moustaches, perfectly unmindful of 
 the presence of the Eight Honourable who sat near it. 
 
 " They are growing worse and worse in this house, I think," cried 
 the other. " The last time I dined here, we sat down at a quarter to 
 nine." 
 
 " It's all Linton's fault," drawled out the first speaker; "he told a 
 story about Long Wellesley asking some one for ' ten,' and apologis- 
 ing for an early dinner, as he had to speak in the House afterwards. 
 "Who is here ? neat steppers, those horses !" 
 
 " It is KUgofi", and his new wife, — do you know her ?" 
 
 " No ; she's not one of those pale girls we used to ride with at 
 Leamington?" 
 
 There was no time for reply, when the names were announced, 
 "Lord and Lady KHgoff !" and a very weakly-looking old man, with 
 a blue inside vest, and enormous diamond studs in his shirt, entered, 
 supporting a very beautiful young woman, whose proud step and 
 glancing eye were strange contrasts to his feeble and vacant expres- 
 sion. The Hussars exchanged significant but hasty glances, and fell 
 back, while the others advanced up the room. 
 
 " Our excellent hostess," said my Lord, in a low, but distinct voice, 
 " will soon shame WUton-crescent itself in late hoiu-s. I fancy it's 
 nigh eight o'clock." 
 
 "It's not their fault, poor things," said she, lying back in a chair 
 and disposing her magnificent dress into the most becoming folds ; 
 " people will come late, do what one may." 
 
 " They may do «o, that's very true ; but I would beg to observe 
 you need not wait for them." This was said with a smUe towards the 
 Hussars, as though to imply — " There is no reason why you should 
 not express an opinion, if it agree with mine." 
 
 The Baronet immediately bowed, and smiling so as to show a very 
 white range of teeth beneath his dark moustache, said : " In part, I 
 agree with your Lordship ; but it requires the high hand of fashion 
 to reform the abuse." Here a most insidious glance at her Ladyship 
 most efi"ectually conveyed the point of his meaning. 
 
 Just then, in all the majesty of crimson velvet, Mrs. Kennyfeck 
 appeared, her comely person heaving under the accumulated splendour 
 of lace, flowers, and jewellery. Her daughters, more siuiply, but still
 
 EOLANB CASHEL. 95 
 
 handsomely dressed, followed, Mr. Kennyfeck bringing up tlie rear, 
 in very evident confusion at having torn his kid gloves — a misfortune 
 which he was not clear should be buried in silence, or made the sub- 
 ject of public apology. 
 
 Lady Kilgoff received Mrs. Kennyfeck's excuses for being late 
 with a very quiet, gentle smile ; but my Lord, less given to forgive- 
 ness, held his watch towards Mr. Kennyfeck, and said : " There's 
 always an excuse for a man of business, Sir, or this would be very 
 reprehensible." Fortunately for all parties the company now poured 
 in faster, every instant saw some two or three arrive : indeed, with 
 such speed did they appear, it seemed as if they had all waited for a 
 movement en masse : Judges and Generals, with nieces and daughters 
 manifold, country gentlemen, clients, the elite of Dublin diners-out, 
 the "Whites, the Eigbys, with their ringleted girls, the young Member 
 for Macturk, the Solicitor- General and Mrs. Knivett, and, at last, 
 escorted by his staff of curates and small vicars, came "the Dean" 
 himself, conducting a very learned dissertation on the musical pvo- 
 perties of the " Chickgaukazoo," a three-stringed instrument of an 
 African tribe, and wliich he professed to think " admirably adapted 
 for country congregations too poor to buy an organ!" "Any one 
 could play it. Softly could play it, Mrs. Kennyfeck could " 
 
 " How do you do, IMr. Dean ?" said that lady, in her sweetest of 
 voices. 
 
 The Dean accepted the offered hand, but, without attending to the 
 salutation, went on with a very dubious argument respecting the 
 vocal chords in the human throat, which he promised to demonstrate 
 on any thin lady in the company. 
 
 The Chief Secretary's fortunate arrival, however, rescued the de- 
 voted fair one from the Dean's scientific ardour, for ]\Ir. Meek was a 
 great personage in the chief circles of Dublin. Ajiy ordinary man- 
 ner, in comparison with IMr. Downie Meek's, would be as linsey- 
 wolsey to three-pile velvet ! There was a yielding softness, a deli- 
 cious compliance about him, which won him the world's esteem, and 
 pointed him out to the Cabinet as the very man to be " Secretaiy for 
 Ireland." Conciliation would be a weak word to express the stcave 
 but winning gentleness of his official dealings. The most frank of 
 men, he was unbounded in professions, and if so elegant a person 
 could have taken a hint from so humble a source, we should say, that 
 he had made his zoological studies available and imitated the cuttle- 
 fish, since when close-penned by an enemy he could always escape, 
 bj muddying the water. In this great dialectic of the Castlereagh 
 school he was perfect, and could become totally unintelligible at the 
 shortest notice. 
 
 After a few almost whispered words to his hostess, Mr. Meek
 
 96 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 bumbly requested to be presented to Mr, Casliel. Eoland, who was 
 then standing beside Miss Kennyfeck, and listening to a rather 
 amusing catalogue of the guests, advanced to make the Secretary's 
 acquaintance. Mr. Downie Meek's approaches were perfect, and in 
 the few words he spoke, most favourably impressed Cushel with his 
 unpretentious, unaffected demeanour. 
 
 " Are we waiting for any one, Mr. Kennyfeck ?" said his spouse, 
 with a delicious simplicity of voice. 
 
 " Oh, certainly !" exclaimed her less accomplished husband, " Sir 
 Andrew and Lady Janet MacFarliue, and Lord Charles Probisher, 
 have not arrived." 
 
 '' It appears to me" — a favourite expression of his Lordship, with 
 a strong emphasis on the pronoun — " it appears to me," said Lord 
 Kilgoff, " that Sir Andrew MacFarline waits for the tattoo at the 
 Eoyal Barrack to dress for dinner ;" and he added, somewhat lower, 
 " I made a vow, which I regret to have broken to-day, never to dine 
 wherever he is invited." 
 
 " Here they come ! here they come at last !" cried out several 
 voices together, as the heavy tread of carriage-horses was heard ad- 
 vancing, and the loud summons of the footman resounded through 
 the square. 
 
 Sir Andrew and Lady Janet MacFarline were announced in Mr. 
 Pearse's most impressive manner ; and then, after a slight pause, as 
 if to enable the company to recover themselves from the shock of 
 such august names. Lord Charles Erobisher and Captain Foster. 
 
 Sir Andrew was a tall, raw-boned, high-cheeked old man, with a 
 white head, red nose, and a very Scotch accent, whose manners, after 
 forty years' training, still spoke of the time that he carried a halberd 
 in the " Black "Watch." Lady Janet was a little, grim-faced, grey- 
 eyed old lady, with a hunch, who with a most inveterate peevishness 
 of voice, and a most decided tendency to make people unhappy, was 
 the terror of the garrison. 
 
 " "We hae na kept ye waitiu, Mrs. Kannyfack, I humbly hope ?" 
 said Sir Andrew. 
 
 "A good forty minutes. Sir Andrew," broke in Lord Kilgoff, 
 showing his watch ; "but you are always the last." 
 
 " He was not recorded as such in the official despatch from ' Maida,' 
 my Lord," said Lady Janet, fiercely ; " but with some people there 
 is more virtue in being early at dinner than first up the breach in an 
 assault !" 
 
 " The siege will always keep hot, my Lady," interposed a very 
 well whiskered gentleman in a blue coat and two inside-waistcoats, 
 " the soup will not." 
 
 " Ah ! Mr. Linton," said she, holding out two fingers. " Why 
 weren't you at our pic-nic ?" Then she added, lower : " Give me
 
 KOLAXD CASHEL. 97 
 
 your arm in to dinner. I can't bear that tiresome old man." Linton 
 bowed and seemed delighted, while a scarcely perceptible motion of 
 the brows conveyed an apology to Miss Kennyfeck. 
 
 Dinner was at length announced, and after a little of what Sir An- 
 drew called " clubbing the battalions," tliey descended in a long pro- 
 cession. Cashel, after vainly essaying to secure either of the Kenny- 
 feck girls as his companion, being obliged to pair off with Mrs. White, 
 the lady who always declined, but never failed to come. 
 
 It is a singular fact in the physiology of Amphytrio^ism, that 
 second-class people can always succeed in a "great dinner," though 
 they fail egregiously in all attempts at a small party. We reserve 
 the reason for another time, to record the fact, that Mrs Kennyfeck's 
 table was both costly and splendid : the soups were admirable, the 
 Madeira perfect in flavour, the pafes as hot, and the champagne as 
 cold, the fish as fresh, and the venison as long kept, the curry as high 
 seasoned, and the pine-apple ice as delicately simple, as the most re- 
 fined taste could demand. The material enjoyments were provided 
 with elegance and abundance, and the guests — the little chagrin of 
 the long waiting over— all disposed to be chatty and agreeable. 
 
 Like a tide first breaking on alow strand, in small and tiny ripples, 
 then gradually coming bolder in, with courage more assured, and 
 greater force, the convel^ation of a dinner usually runs ; till at last 
 at the high flood the great waves tumble madly one upon another, 
 and the wild chorus of the clashing water wakes up " the spirit of 
 the storm." 
 
 Even without the aid of the " Pliysiologie du Gout," people will 
 talk of eating while they eat, and so the chit-chat was cuisine in all 
 its moods and tenses, each bringing to the common stock some new 
 device in cookery, and some anecdotes of his travelled experience in 
 " gourmaudise," and while Mr. Linton and Lord Charles celebrated 
 the skill of the " Cadran," or the " Schwan" at Vienna, the "Dean" 
 was critically explaining to poor Mrs. Kennyfeck, that Homer's heroes 
 had probably the most "perfect roti that ever was served, the juices of 
 the meat being preserved in such large masses. 
 
 " Soles, with a 'gratin' of flue gingerbread, I saw at Metternich's," 
 said Mr. Linton, " and they were excellent." 
 
 " I like old Jules Perregaux's idea better, what he calls his cote- 
 lettes a la financier e.''^ 
 
 " What are they ? I never tasted them." 
 
 " Very good mutton cutlets en papillate, the envelopes being 
 billets de banque of a thousand francs each." 
 
 " Is it permitted to help one's self twice, my Lord?" 
 
 " I called for the dish again, but found it had been too successful. 
 De Brigues did a neat thing that way, in a little supper he gave to 
 the artistes of the Opera-Comique ; the jellies were all served with 
 
 TOL. I. H
 
 98 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 rings in them — turquoise, diamond, emerald, pearl, and so on — so 
 that the fair guests had all the excitement of a lottery as the plat 
 came round to them." 
 
 " The kickshaws required something o' that kind to make them 
 endurable," said Sir Andrew, gruffly ; "gie me a haggis, or a cockie- 
 leekie." 
 
 "What is that?" said Miss Kennyfeck, who saw with a sharp 
 malice how angrily Lady Janet looked at the notion of the coming 
 explanation. 
 
 " I'll tell ye wi' pleasure. Miss Kannyfack, hoo to mak' a cockie- 
 leekie!" 
 
 " Cockie-leekie, «n(?e derivatur cock\e-\eQk\eV cried the Dean, who 
 having taken a breathing canter through Homer and Horace, was 
 quite ready for the moderns. 
 
 " What, Sir ?" asked Sir Andrew, not understanding the question. 
 
 " I say, what's the derivation of your cockie-leekie — the etymology 
 of the phrase ?" 
 
 " I diuna ken, an' I dinna care. It's mair needfu' that one kens 
 hoo to mak' it, than to speer wha gave it the name of cockie-leekie." 
 
 " More properly pronounced, coc[ a lecher,^^ said the inexorable 
 Dean. " The dish is a French one." 
 
 " Did ever any one hear the like ?" exclaimed Sir Andrew, utterly 
 confounded by the assertion. 
 
 " I confess. Sir Andrew," said Linton, " it's rather hard on Scot- 
 land. They say you stole all your ballad-music from Italy, and now 
 they claim your cookery for France !" 
 
 " The record," said the Attorney- General across the table, " was 
 tried at Trim. Tour Lordships sat with the Chief Baron." 
 
 " I remember perfectly ; we agreed that the King's Bench ruled 
 right, and that the minor's claim was substantiated." Then turning 
 to Mrs. Kennyfeck, who, out of politeness, had affected to take in- 
 terest in what she could not even understand a syllable of, he entered 
 into a very learned dissertation on " heritaWe property," and the 
 great difficulties that lay in the way of defining its limits. 
 
 Meanwhile, " Pipeclay," as is not unsuitably styled mess-table talk, 
 passed among the military, with the usual quizzing about regimental 
 oddities. Brownrigg's cob — Hanshaw's whiskers — Talbot's buggy — 
 and Carey's inimitable recipe for punch, the Dean throwing in his 
 negatives here and there, to show that nothing was " too hot or too 
 heavy" for his intellectual fingers. 
 
 " Bad law ! Mr. Chief Justice," said he, in an authoritative tone. 
 " Doves in a cot, and coneys in a warren, go to the heir. With re- 
 spect to deer " 
 
 " Oil dear, how tiresome!" whispered Mrs. White to Cashel, wha 
 most heartily assented to the exclamation.
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 99 
 
 " What's the name o' that beastie, young gentleman ?" said Sir 
 Andrew, who overheard Casliel recounting some circumstances of 
 Mexican life. 
 
 " The chiguire — the wild hog of the Caraccas," said Cashel. " They 
 are a harmless sort of animal, and lead somewhat an unhappy life of 
 it ; for when they escape the crocodile in the river, they are certain 
 to fall into the jaws of the jaguar on land." 
 
 " Pretty much like a member o' the Scotch Kirk in Ireland," said 
 Sir Andrew, "wi' Episcopaalians on the tae haun, and Papishes on 
 the tither. Are thae creatures gude to eat. Sir ?" 
 
 " The flesh is excellent," broke in the Dean. " They are the Oavia- 
 Capyhara of Linnaeus, and far superior to our European swine." 
 
 " I only know," said Cashel, abruptly, " that tve never eat them, 
 
 except when nothing else was to be had. They are rancid and fishy." 
 
 " A mere prejudice. Sir," responded the Dean. " If you taste the 
 
 chiguire, to use the vulgar name, and let him lie in steep in a white- 
 
 "wine vinegar, en marinade, as the French say " 
 
 " "Where are you to find the white-wine vinegar in the Savannahs ?" 
 said Cashel. " Tou forget, Sir, that we are speaking of a country 
 where a fowl roasted in its* own feathers is a delicacy." 
 
 " Oh, how very singidar ! Do you mean that you eat it, feathers 
 and all ?" said Mrs. White. 
 
 " No, Madam. It's a Prairie dish, which I assure you, after all, is 
 not to be despised. The^7«^ is made this way. You take a fowl — 
 the wild turkey, when lucky enough to find one — and cover him all 
 over with soft red clay : the river clay is the best. Tou envelop him 
 completely ; in fact, you make a great ball, somewhat the size of a 
 man's head. This done, you light a fire, and bake the mass. It re- 
 quires, probably, five or six hours to make the clay perfectly hard and 
 dry. When it cracks, the dish is done. You then break open the 
 shell, to the outside of which the feathers adhere, and the fowl, 
 deliciously roasted, stands before you." 
 
 " How very excellent — le poulet braise' of the French, exactly," said 
 Lord Kilgofi". 
 
 " How cruel !" " How droll !" " How very shocking !" resounded 
 through the table ; the Dean the only one silent, for it was a theme 
 on which, most singular to say, he could neither record a denial nor 
 a correction. 
 
 " I vote for a pic-nic," cried Mrs. White, " and that Mr. Cashel 
 shall cook us his dinde a la Mexicaine." 
 
 " An excellent thought," said several of the younger part of the 
 company. , 
 
 " A very bad one, in my notion," said Lord Kilgofi", who had no 
 fancy for seeing her Ladyship scaling cliffs, and descending steep 
 paths, when his own frail limbs did not permit of accompanying 
 
 h2
 
 100 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 her. " Pic-nics are about as vulgar a pastime as one can imagine. 
 Tour dinner is ever a failure ; your wine detestable ; your table 
 equipage arrives, smashed, or topsy-turvy " 
 
 " TJnde topsy-turvy ? — unde topsy-turvy, Softly ?" said the Dean, 
 turning fiercely on the Curate. " Whence topsy-turvy ? Do you 
 give it up ? Do you, Mr. Attorney? Do you, my Lord ? do you 
 give it up, eh ? I thought so ! Topsy-turvy, quasi, top side t'other 
 way." 
 
 " It's vera ingenious," said Sir Andrew ; " but I maun say I see no 
 neecessity to be always looking back to whare a word gat his birth, 
 parentage, or eddication." 
 
 " It suggests unpleasant associations," said Lord KilgofF, looking 
 maliciously towards Linton, who was playing too agreeable to her 
 Ladyship. " The etymology is the key to the true meaning. Sir, 
 many of those expressions popularly termed Bulls " 
 
 " Oh, a propos of Bulls," said Mr. Meek, in his sweetest accent, 
 " did you hear of a very singular outrage committed yesterday upon 
 the Lord-Lieutenaat's beautiful Swiss bull ?" 
 
 "Did the Dean pass an hour with him?" whispered Linton to 
 Lady Janet, who hated the dignitary. 
 
 " It must have been done by Mesmerism, I fancy," rejoined Mr. 
 Meek. " The animal, a most fierce one, was discovered lying in his 
 paddock, so perfectly fettered, head, horns, and feet, that he could 
 not stir. There is every reason to connect the outrage with a 
 political meaning, for in this morning's paper. The Green Isle, there 
 is a letter from Mr. O'Bleather, with a most significant allusion to 
 the occurrence. 'The time is not distant,' says he, 'when John 
 Bull' — mark the phrase — 'tied, fettered, and trammelled, shall lie 
 prostrate at the feet of the once victim of his tyranny.' " 
 
 " The sedition is most completely proven by the significance of the 
 act," cried out the Chief Justice. 
 
 " We have, consequently, offered a reward for the discovery of the 
 perpetrators of this insolent offence, alike a crime against property, 
 as an act subversive of the respectful feeling due to the representa- 
 tive of the Sovereign." 
 
 "What is the amount offered ?" said Cashel. 
 
 " One hundred pounds, for such information as may lead to the 
 conviction of the person or persons transgressing," replied the At- 
 torney-General. 
 
 " I feel it would be very unfair to suff'er the Government to pro- 
 ceed in an error as to the aflfair in question ; so that I shall claim the 
 reward, and deliver up the offender," replied Cashel, smiling. 
 
 " Who can it be ?" cried Mr. Meek, in astonishment. 
 
 " Myself, Sir," said Cashel. " If you should proceed by indict- 
 ment, as you speak of, I hope the Misses Kenuyfeck may not have to
 
 BOLAND CA8HEL. 101 
 
 figure as ' aiding and abetting,' for they were present when I lasso'd 
 the animal." 
 
 " Lasso'd the Swiss bull !" exclaimed several together. 
 
 "Nothing more simple," said the Dean, holding up his napkin over 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck's head, to the manifest terror of that lady for her 
 yellow turban. " Tou take the loop of a long light rope, and, 
 measuring the distance with your eye, you make the east, in this 
 manner " 
 
 " Oh dear! oh, Mr. Dean! my bird-of-paradise plume!" 
 
 " When you represent a bull. Ma'am, you should not have fea- 
 thers," rejoined the implacable Dean, with a very rough endeavour 
 to restore the broken plume. " Had you held your head lower down, 
 in the attitude of a bull's attack, I should have lasso'd you at once, 
 and without difficulty." 
 
 " Lasso is part of the verb ' to weary,' ' to fatigue,' ' to ennuyer^ 
 in fact," said Mr. Linton, with an admirably-put-on simplicity ; and 
 a very general smile ran through the company. 
 
 ""When did you see Gosford?" said Meek, addressing one of the 
 Hussar officers, eagrer to relieve the momentarv embarrassment. 
 
 " Not for six months ; he's in Paris now." 
 
 " Does he mention me in his letter to you ?" 
 
 " He does," said the other, but with an evident constraint, and a 
 side-look as he ended. 
 
 " Yes, faith, he forgets nane of us," said Sir Andrew, with a grin. 
 " He asks after Kannyfack — ould sax-and-eightpence he ca's you 
 — and says he wished you were at Paris, to gie him a dinner at the — 
 what d'ye ca' it ? — the Roshy de something. I see he has a word for 
 ye, my Lord Kilgoff. He wants to know whether my Leddie is like 
 to gie ye an heir to the ancient house o' Kilgoff, in whilk case he'll 
 no be so fond of playing ecarte wi' George Lushington, wha has 
 naething to pay wi' except post-obits on yer Lordship — he ! he ! he ! 
 Ay, and Charlie, my man," continued he, turning to the Aide-de- 
 camp, Lord Charles Frobisher, " he asks if ye hauld four by honours 
 as often as ye used formerly ; he says there's a fellow at Paris ye 
 couldn't hold a candle to — he never deals the adversary a card higher 
 than the nine." 
 
 The whole company, probably in relief to the evident dismay created 
 by the allusion to Lord Kilgoff, laughed heartily at this sally, and 
 none more than the good-looking fellow the object of it. 
 
 " But what of Meek, Sir ? — what does he say of Downie ?" 
 
 " He says vera little about Mister Meek, ava ; he only inquires 
 what changes we have in the poleetical world, and where is that d — d 
 humbug, Downie Meek ?" 
 
 Another and a heartier laugh now ran through the room, in which 
 Mr. Downie Meek cast tlie most imploring looks around him.
 
 102 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 ""Well," cried^lie, at last, " that's not fair; it is really not fair of 
 Gosford. I appeal to this excellent company if I deserve the title ?" 
 A chorus of negatives went the round, with most energetic as- 
 surances of dissenting from the censure of the letter. 
 
 " Come now, Sir Andrew," said Meek, who, for once, losing his 
 balance, would not even omit him in the number of approving voices 
 — "come now, Sir Andx'ew, I ask you frankly — am I a humbug?" 
 
 " I canna tell," said the cautious old General, with a sly shake of 
 the head ; " I can only say, Sir, be ma saul, ye never humbugged me/" 
 This time the laugh was sincere, and actually shook the table. INIrs. 
 Kennyfeck, who now saw that Sir Andrew, to use the phrase em- 
 ployed by his acquaintances, "was up," determined to withdraw, and 
 made her telegraphic signals, which soon were answered along the 
 line, save ^by Lady Janet, who stubbornly adhered to her glass of 
 claret, with some faint hope that the lagging decanter might arrive 
 in her neighbourhood time enough for another. 
 
 Poor Mrs. Keunyfeck's devices to catch her eye were all in vain ; 
 as well might some bore of the " House" hope for the Speaker's when 
 he was fixedly exchanging glances with " Sir Eobert." She ogled and 
 smiled, but to no purpose. 
 
 " My Leddy — Leddy Janet," said Sir Andrew. 
 " I hear you, Sir ; I heard you twice already. If you please, my 
 Lord, a very little — Mr. Linton, I beg for the water. I believe, Sir 
 Andrew, you have forgotten Mr. Gosford's kind remembrances to the 
 Dean." 
 
 " Faith, and so I did, my Leddy. He asks after ye, Mr. Dean, wi' 
 muckle kindness and affection, and says he iiever had a hearty laugh 
 syne the day ye tried to teach Lady Caroline Jedyard to catch a 
 sheep !" 
 
 The Dean looked stern, and Linton asked for the secret. 
 " It was by handing the beast atweeu yer knees, and so when the 
 Dean pit himself i' the proper position, wi' his legs out, and the shep- 
 hei'd drove the flock towards him, by sair ill-luck it was a ram cam 
 first, and he hoisted his Eeverence up i' the air, and then laid him flat 
 on his back, amaist dead. Ech, Sirs ! but it was a sair fa', no to 
 speak o' the damage done to his black breeches !" 
 
 This was too much for Lady Janet's endurance, and, amid the loud 
 laughter of some, and the more difiicultly suppressed mirth of others, 
 the ladies arose. 
 
 " Yer na going, leddies ! I hope that naething I said — Leddy 
 Kilgoff", Leddy Janet, ech. We mun e'en console ourselves wi' the 
 claret." This was saidsotto, as the door closed and the party reseated 
 themselves at the table. 
 
 " My jo Janet does like to bide a wee," muttered he, half aloud.
 
 KOLAKD CASHEL. 103 
 
 " Jo !" cried the Dean, " is derived from the Italian ; it's a term of 
 endearment in both languages. It's a corruption of Oioia mia.^' 
 
 " "What may that mean ?" 
 
 "My joy! my life!" 
 
 " Eh, that's it, is it ? Ah, Sir, these derivatives gat mony a twist 
 and turn in the way from one land to the tither." And with this 
 profound bit of moralising, he sipped his glass in reverie. 
 
 The conversation now became more general, fewer personalities 
 arose, and as the Dean, after a few efforts to correct statements 
 respecting the " pedigrees of race-horses," " the odds at hazard," 
 "the soundings upon the coral reefs," "the best harpoons for the 
 sulphur-bottomed whales," only made new failures, he sulked and sat 
 silent, permitting talk to take its course uninterrupted. The Hussar 
 Baronet paid marked attention to Cashel, and invited him to the mess 
 for the day following. Lord Charles overheard the invitation, and 
 said, "I'll join the party ;" while Mr. Meek, leaning over the table, 
 in a low whisper begged Cashel to preserve the whole bull adventure 
 a secret, as the press was really a most malevolent thing in Ireland ! 
 
 During the while the Chief Justice slept profoundly, only waking 
 as the bottle came before him, and then dropping off again. The 
 Attorney-General, an overworked man of business, spoke little and 
 guardedly, so that the conversation, principally left to the younger 
 members of the party, ranged over the accustomed topics of hunting, 
 shooting, and deer-stalking, varied by allusion, on Cashel's part, to 
 sports of far higher, because more dangerous, excitement. 
 
 In the pleasant flurry of being attentively listened to — a new sen- 
 sation for Eoland — he arose and ascended to the drawing-room, where 
 already a numerous party of refreshers had arrived. Here again 
 Cashel discovered that he was a person of notoriety ; and as, notwith- 
 standing all Mr. Downie Meek's precaution, the " Lasso" story had 
 got abroad, the most wonderful versions of the incident were re- 
 peated on every side. 
 
 " How did you say he effected it, Mr. Linton?" said the old deaf 
 Countess of Dumdrum, making an ear-trumpet of her hand. 
 
 " By doing what Mr. Meek won't do with the Catholics, my Lady, 
 taking the bull by the horns." 
 
 " Don't you think he found conciliation of service besides ?" sug- 
 gested Mr. Meek, with an angelic simplicity. 
 
 " Isn't he handsome ! how graceful 1 So like a Corsair— one of 
 Byron's heroes. I'm dying to know him. Dear me, how those 
 Kennyfeck girls eat him up. Olivia never takes her eyes off him. 
 He looks so bored, poor fellow! he's longing to be let alone." Such 
 were the muttered comments on the new object of Dublin curiosity, 
 who himself was very far from suspecting that his personal distinc-
 
 104 KOLA.ND CASHEL. 
 
 tion had less share iu his popularity than his rent-roll and his parch- 
 ments. 
 
 As we are more desirous of recording the impression he him- 
 self created, than of tracing how others appeared to him, we shall 
 make a noiseless turn of the salons, and, spy -fashion, listen behind 
 the chairs. 
 
 " So you don't think him even good-looking, Lady Kilgoff ?" said 
 Mr. Linton, as he stood half behind her seat. 
 
 " Certainly not more than good-looking, and not so much as nice- 
 looking — very awkward, and ill at ease he seems." 
 
 " That will wear oif, when he has the good taste to give up talking 
 to young ladies, and devote himself to the married ones." 
 
 " Enchanting, positively enchanting, my dear," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Leicester White to a young friend beside her. " That description of 
 the forest, over which the lianas formed an actual roof, the golden 
 fruit hanging a hundred feet above the head, was the most gorgeous 
 picture I ever beheld." 
 
 " I wish you could persuade him," lisped a young lady with large 
 blue eyes, and a profusiou of yellow hair in ringlets, " to write tliat 
 little story of the Zambo for Lady Blumter's Annual." 
 
 " I say, Charlie," whispered the Baronet to the Aide-de-camp, 
 " but he's wide awake that Master Cashel ; he's a very shrewd fellow, 
 you'll see." 
 
 " Do you mean to couch his eyes, Tom ?" said Lord Charles, with 
 his usual slow, lazy intonation ; " what does he say about the races, 
 will he come ?" 
 
 " Oh, he can't promise ; old Kenny feck has a hold upon him just 
 now about law business." 
 
 " Tou will impress upon him, my dear Mr. Kennyfeck," said Mr. 
 Meek, who held the lappet of the other's coat, " that there are posi- 
 tively — so to say — but two parties in the country — the Gentleman 
 and the Jacobin. Whig and Tory, orange and green, have had their 
 day ; and the question is now between those who have something to 
 lose, and those who have everything to gain." 
 
 " I really could wish that you, who are so far better qualified than 
 
 I am to explain " 
 
 " So I will — I intend, my dear Sir. Now, when can you dine with 
 me ? Tou must come this week, next I shall be obliged to be in 
 London. Shall we say Wednesday ? Wednesday be it. Above all, 
 take care that he doesn't even meet any of that dangerous faction — 
 those Morgans. Tliey arc the very people to try a game of ascend- 
 ancy over a young man of great prospects and large fortune. 0' Growl 
 wants a few men of standing to give an air of substance and respect- 
 ability to the movement. Lord Witherton will be most kind to your 
 young friend, but you must press upon him the necessity of being
 
 EOLAlfD CASHEL. 105 
 
 presented at once — we want to make him a D.L,, and if he enters 
 Parliament, to give him the Lieutenancy of the County," 
 
 "While all these various criticisms were circulating, and amid an 
 atmosphere, as it were, impregnated by plots and schemes of every 
 kind, Cashel stood a very amused spectator of a scene wherein he 
 never knew he was the chief actor. It would indeed have seemed 
 incredible to him that he eouM, by any change of fortune, become an 
 object of interested speculation to Lords, Ladies, Members of the 
 Government, Church Dignitaries, and others. He was unaware that 
 the man of fortune, with a hand to oifer, a considerable share of the 
 influence property always gives, livings to bestow, and money to lose, 
 may be a very legitimate mark for the enterprising schemes of 
 Mammas and Ministers, suggesting hopes alike to black-coats and 
 black-legs. 
 
 Perhaps, among the pleasant bits of credulity which we enjoy 
 through life, there is none sweeter than that implicit faith we repose 
 in the cordial expressions and flattering opinions bestowed upon us, 
 when starting in the race, by many who merely, in the jockey phrase, 
 " standing to win" upon us, have their own, and not our interest 
 before them in the encouragement they bestow. 
 
 The discovery of the cheat is soon made, and we are too prone to 
 revenge our own over-confidence by a general distrust, from which, 
 again, experience, later on, rallies us. So that a young man's course 
 is usually from over-simplicity to over-shrewdness, and then again to 
 that negligent half-faith which either, according to the calibre of the 
 wearer, conceals deep knowledge of life, or hides a mistaken notion 
 of it. Let us return to Cashel, who now stood at a table, around 
 which a considerable number of tlie party were grouped, examining a 
 number of drawings, which Mr. Pepystell, the fashionable architect, 
 had that day sent for Roland's inspection : — Houses, villas, castles, 
 cottages, abbeys, shooting-boxes, gate-lodges, Tudor and Saxon, Nor- 
 man and Saracenic, — everything that the morbid imagination of 
 arcliitecture run mad could devise and amalgamate between the chaste 
 elegance of the. Greek and the tinkling absurdity of the Chinese. 
 
 " I do so love a cottage ornee," said Mrs. White, taking up a 
 very beautiful representation of one, where rose-coloured curtains, and 
 a group on a grass-plot, with gay dresses and parasols, entered into 
 the composite architecture. " To my fancy, that would be a very 
 Paradise." 
 
 " Oh, Mamma! isn't that so like dear old Kilgoran!" said a tall, 
 thin young lady, handing an Abbey, as large as Westminster, to 
 another in widow's black. 
 
 " Oh, Maria ! I wonder at your showing me what must bring up 
 sucli sad memories !" said the Mamma, affectedly, while she pressed 
 her handkerchief to her eyes.
 
 106 EOLAND CASUEL. 
 
 " If she means her father's house," said Lady Janet to Liuton, 
 " it's about as like a like as — Lord Kilgoff to the Farnese Hercules ; 
 or his ■wife to any other lady in the Peerage." 
 
 " Tou remember Kilgoran, my Lord," said the lady in black to the 
 Chief Justice ; " does that remind you of it ?" 
 
 " Very like — very like, indeed. Madam," said the old Judge, look- 
 ing at a rock-work grotto in a fish-pond. 
 
 ""What's this?" cried another, taking up a great Saxon fortress, 
 with bastions, and gate-towers, and curtains, as gloomy and sombre 
 as Indian-ink could make it. 
 
 " As a residence, I think that is far too solemn-looking and sad." 
 
 •' What did you say it was, Sir ?" asked the Judge. 
 
 " The elevation for tlie new gaol at Naas, my Lord," replied Linton, 
 gravely. 
 
 " I'm very glad to hear it. We have been sadly crippled for room 
 there latterly." 
 
 " Do you approve of the Panopticon plan, my Lord ?" said Mrs. 
 White, who never omitted a question when a hard word could be 
 introduced. 
 
 "It is, Madam — you are perfectly correct," said the obsequious 
 old Judge — " very much the same kind of thing as the Pantech- 
 nicon." 
 
 " Talking of Panopticon, where's Kilgoff?" whispered Linton to 
 one of the Hussars. 
 
 " Don't you see him yonder, behind the harp ? How that poor 
 woman must be bored by such espionnage /" 
 
 " If you mean to build a house. Sir," said Lady Janet, addressing 
 Cashel with a tone of authority, " don't, I entreat of you, adopt any 
 of these absurd outrages upon taste and convenience, but have a good 
 square stone edifice." 
 
 " Pour, or even five stories high," broke in Linton, gravely. 
 
 "Four quite enough," resumed she, "with a roomy hall, and all 
 the reception-rooms leading off it. Let your bedrooms " 
 
 "Be numerous enough, at all events," said Linton again. 
 
 " Of course ; and so arranged that you can devote one story to 
 families exclusively." 
 
 " Tes ; the gargons should have their dens as remote as possible 
 from the quieter regions." 
 
 " Have a mass of small sitting-rooms beside the larger salons. In 
 a country-house there's nothing like letting people form their own 
 little coteries." 
 
 " Wouldn't you have a theatre ?" asked Mrs. White. 
 
 " There might be, if the circumstances admitted. But with a 
 
 billiard-room and a ball-room " 
 
 " And a snug crib for smoking," whispered one of the military.
 
 ROLAKD CASHKL. 107 
 
 "I don't see any better style of house," said Linton, gravely, 
 " than those great hotels one finds on the Ehine, and in Germany 
 generally : they have ample accommodation, and are so divided that 
 you can have your own suite of rooms to yourself." 
 
 " Mathews used to keep house after that fashion," said Lord Kil- 
 gofl', approaching the table. " Every one ordered his own dinner, 
 and eat it either in his own apartment or in the dining-room. Tou 
 were invited for four days, never more." 
 
 " That was a great error ; except in that particular, I should re- 
 commend the plan to Mr. Eoland Cash el's consideration." 
 
 " I never heard of it before," said Cashel ; " pray enlighten me on 
 the subject." 
 
 "Avery respectable country gentleman. Sir," said Lord Kilgofl", 
 "who had the whim to see his company without paying what he 
 deemed the heaviest penalty — the fatigue of playing host. He there- 
 fore invited his friends to come and do what they pleased — eat, drink, 
 drive, ride, play — exactly as they fancied ; only never to notice him 
 otherwise than as one of the j^ests." 
 
 " I like his notion prodigiously," cried Cashel ; " I should be de- 
 lighted to imitate him." 
 
 " Nothing easier, Sir," said my Lord; " with Mr. Linton for your 
 Prime Minister, the administration is perfectly practicable." 
 
 " Might I venture on such a liberty ?" 
 
 "Too happy to be President of your Council," said Linton, gaily. 
 
 A very entreating kind of look from Olivia Kennyfeck here met 
 Cashel's eyes, and he remarked that she left the place beside the 
 table and walked into the other room ; he himself, although dying to 
 follow herj had no alternative but to remain and continue the con- 
 versation. 
 
 " The first point, then," resumed Linton, " is the house. In what 
 state is your present mansion ?" 
 
 "A ruin, I believe," said Cashel. 
 
 " How picturesque !" exclaimed Mrs. Leicester "White. 
 
 " I fancy not. Madam," rejoined Cashel. " I understand it is about 
 the least prepossessing bit of stone and mortar the country can ex- 
 hibit." 
 
 " No matter, let us see it ; we'll improvise something, and get it 
 ready for the Christmas holidays," said Linton. "We have — let us 
 see — we have about two months for our preparation, and, therefore, 
 no time to lose. "We must premise to the honourable company that 
 our accommodation is of the simplest ; ' roughing' shall be the order 
 of the day. Ladies are not to look for Lyons silk ottomans in their 
 dressing-rooms, nor shall we promise that our conservatory furnish a 
 fresh bouquet for each fair guest at breakfast." 
 
 "Two months are four centuries!" said Mrs. "White; we shall
 
 108 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 accept of no apologies for any short-comings, after such an age of 
 time to prepare." 
 
 " You can have your fish from Limerick every day," said an old 
 bluff-looking gentleman in a brown wig. 
 
 " There's a capital fellow, called Tom Cox, by the way, somewhere 
 down in that country, who used to paint our scenes for the Garrison 
 Theatricals. Could you make him out, he'd be so useful," said one 
 of the military. 
 
 " By all means get up some hurdle-racing," cried another. 
 
 Meanwhile, Eoland Cashel approached Olivia Kennyfeck, who was 
 affecting to seek for some piece of music on the pianoforte. 
 
 " Why do you look so sad ?" said he, in a low tone, and seeming to 
 assist her in the search. 
 
 " Do I ?" said she, with the most graceful look of artlessness. 
 " I'm sure I didn't know it." 
 
 " There again, what a deep sigh that was ; come, pray tell me, if I 
 dare to know, what has grieved you ?" 
 
 " Oh, nothing, nothing whatever. I'm sure I never felt in better 
 spirits. Dear me ! Mr. Cashel, how terrified I am, there's that 
 dreadful Lady Janet has seen us talking together." 
 
 "Well, and what then?" 
 
 " Oh, she is so mischievous, and says such horrid, spiteful things. 
 It was she that said it " 
 
 " Said what — what did she say r" cried he, eagerly. 
 
 "Oh, what have I done!" exclaimed she, covering her face with 
 her hands. " Not for the world would I have said the words. Oh, 
 Mr. Cashel, you, who are so good and so generous, do not ask me 
 more." 
 
 " I really comprehend nothing of all this," said Cashel, who now 
 began to suspect that she had overheard some speecli reflecting upon 
 him, and had, without intending, revealed it ; " at the same time. I 
 must say, if I had the right, I should insist on knovring what you 
 heard." 
 
 " Perhaps he has the right," muttered she, lialf aloud, as if speak- 
 ing unconsciously; " I believe he lias." 
 
 " Yes, yes, be assured of it ; — what were the words r" 
 
 " Oh, I shall die of shame. I'll never be able to speak to you 
 again ; but don't look angry, promise that you'll forget them, swear 
 you'll never think of my liaving told them, and I'll try." 
 
 " Yes, anything, everything ; let me hear them." 
 
 "Well," — here she hung her head till the long ringlets fell straight 
 from her fair forehead, and half concealed the blushing cheek, which 
 each moment grew redder — " I am so terrified, but you'll forgive it 
 — I know you will — well, she said, looking towards you, ' I am not 
 acquainted with this young gentleman yet, but if 1 should have that
 
 nOLAND CASHEL. 109 
 
 honour soou, I'll take the liberty to tell him that the worthy father's 
 zeal in his service is iU-requited by his stealing the affections of his 
 youngest daughter.' " Scarcely were the words uttered, when, as if 
 the strength that sustained her up to that moment suddenly failed, 
 she reeled back and sank fainting on a sofa. 
 
 Happily for Cashel's character for propriety, a very general rush of 
 ladies, old and young, to the spot, prevented him taking her in his 
 arms and carrying her to the balcony for air ; but a universal demand 
 for sal volatile, aromatic vinegar, open windows, and all the usual 
 restoratives, concealed his agitation, which really was extreme. 
 
 " You are quite well now, dearest," said her Mamma, bathing her 
 temples, and so artistically, as to make her pale face seem even more 
 beautiful in the slight dishevelment of her hair. " It was the heat." 
 
 " Yes, Mamma," muttered she, quite low. 
 
 " Hem ! I thought so," whispered Lady Janet to a neighbour. 
 " She was too warm." 
 
 " I really wish that young ladies would reserve these scenes for 
 fitting times and places. That open window has brought back my 
 lumbago," said Lord Kilgoff. 
 
 " The true treatment for syncope," broke in the Dean, " is not by 
 stimulants. The want of blood on the brain is produced by mecha- 
 nical causes, and you have merely to hold the person up by the 
 legs " 
 
 " Oh, Mr, Dean ! Oh, fie 1" cried twenty voices together. 
 
 " The Dean is only exemplifying his etymology on ' top side t'other 
 way,' " cried Linton. 
 
 " Lord Kilgoff's carriage stops the way," said a servant. And now, 
 the first announcement given, a very general air of leave-taking per- 
 vaded the company. 
 
 " Won't you have some more muffling ? — nothing round your 
 throat? — a little negus, my Lord, before venturing into the night 
 air."—" How early !"— " How late 1" — " What a pleasant evening 1" 
 — " What a fine night!" — " May I offer you my arm ? — mind that 
 step — good-by, good-by — don't forget to-morrow." — " Your shawl is 
 blue— that's Lady Janet's."—" Which is your hat?"—" That's not 
 mine. Thanks — don't take so much trouble." — " Not your carriage, 
 it is the next but one — mind the draught." — A hundred good nights, 
 and they are gone ! So ends a dinner-party, and of all the company 
 not a vestige is seen, save the blaze of the low-burned wax-lights, the 
 faded flowers, the deranged furniture, and the jaded looks of those, 
 whose faces wreathed in smiles for six mortal hours, seek at last the 
 hard-bought and well-earned iudulgence of a hearty yawn !
 
 110 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 He was, the world said, a jovial fellow, 
 Who ne'er was known at Fortune to repine ; 
 
 Increasing years had rendered him more mellow, 
 And age improved him — as it did his wine. 
 
 Sir Gavin Gwtnne. 
 
 The Sliannon, after expanding into that noble sheet of water called 
 Lough Derg, suddenly turns to the southward, and.enters the valley 
 of KiUaloe, one of the most beautiful tracts of country which Ireland, 
 so rich in river scenery, can boast. The transition from the wide 
 lake with its sombre background of grey mountain and rocky islands, 
 bleak and bare, to the cultivated aspect of this favoured spot, is like 
 that experienced in passing from beneath the gloom of lowering 
 thunder-clouds into light and joyous sunshine, Eich waving woods 
 of every tint and hue of foliage, with here and there some spreading 
 lawns of deepest green, clothe the mountains on either side, while in 
 bright eddies the rapid river glides in between, circling and winding 
 as in playful wantonness, till on the far distance it is seen passing 
 beneath the ancient bridge of Killaloe, whose cathedral towers stand 
 out against the sky. 
 
 On first emerging from the Lake, the river takes an abrupt bend 
 round a rocky point, and then sweeping back again in a bold curve, 
 forms a little bay of deep and tranquil water, descending towards 
 which the rich meadows ai-e seen, dotted with groups of ancient forest 
 trees, and backed by a dense skirting of timber. At one spot, wliere 
 the steep declivity of the groimd scarce affords footing for the tall 
 asli-trees, stands a little cottage, at the extremity of which is an old 
 square tower ; this is Tubber-beg. 
 
 As you sail down the river you catch but one fleeting glance at the 
 cottage, and when you look again it is gone ! The projecting head- 
 lands, with the tall trees, have hidden it, and you almost fancy that 
 you had not seen it. If you enter the little bay, however, and leaving 
 the strong current, run into the deep water under shore, you arrive at 
 a spot which your memory will retain for many a day after. 
 
 In front of the cottage, and descending by a series of terraces, to 
 which art has but little contributed, are a number of flower plots, 
 whose delicious odours float over the still water, while in every gorgeous 
 hue are seen the camellia, the oleander, and the cactus, with the tulip, 
 the ranunculus, and the carnation, all flourishing in a luxuriance, 
 which care, and the favoured aspect of this sheltered nook, combine 
 to effect. Behind and around, on either side, the dark-leaved hoUy,
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. Ill 
 
 the laiirustinus, and the arbutus, are seen in all the profusion of leaf 
 and hlossom a mild, moist air secures, and forming a framework, in 
 which stands the cottage itself, its deep-tliatched eave, and porch of 
 rustic-work trellised and festooned with creeping plants, almost 
 blending its colour witli the surrounding foliage. Through the open 
 windows a peep within displays the handsomely disposed rooms, 
 abounding in all the evidences of cultivated taste and refinement. 
 Books, in several of the modern languages, are scattered on the table, 
 music, drawings of the surrounding scenery, in water-colour or pencil, 
 all that can betoken minds carefully trained and exercised, and by 
 their very diversity showing in what a world of self-stored resources 
 their possessors must live ; the easel, the embroidery-frame, the chess- 
 board, the half-finished manuscript, the newly-copied music, the very 
 sprig of fern which marks the page in the little volume on Botany, 
 slight things in themselves, but revealing so much of daily life! 
 
 If the cottage be an almost ideal representation of rustic elegance 
 and simplicity, its situation is still more remarkable for beauty, for 
 while Art has developed all the resources of the ground, Nature, in 
 her own boundless profusion, has assembled here almost every ingre- 
 dient of the picturesque, and as if to impart a sense of life and motion 
 to the stilly calm, a tumbling sheet of water gushes down between 
 the rocks, and in bounding leaps descends towards the Shannon, of 
 which it is a tributary. 
 
 A narrow path, defended by a little railing of rustic-work, sepa- 
 rates the end of the cottage from the deep gorge of the waterfall, but 
 through the open window the eye can peer down into the boiling 
 abyss of spray and foam beneath, and catch a glimpse of the bridge, 
 which, formed of a fallen ash-tree, spans the torrent. 
 
 Traversed in every direction by paths, some galleried along the 
 face, others cut in the substance of the rock, you can pass hours in 
 rambling among these wikl and leafy solitudes, now, lost in shade, 
 now, emerging again, to see the great river gliding along, the white 
 sails dotting its calm surface. 
 
 "Well did Mr. Kennyfeek observe to Eoland Cashel, that it was the 
 most beautiful feature of his whole demesne, and that its possession 
 by another not only cut him off from the Shannon in its handsomest 
 part, but actually deprived the place of all pretension to extent and 
 grandeur. The spreading woods of Tubbermore were, as it seemed, 
 the background to the cottage scene, and possessed no cliaracter to 
 show that they were the property of the greater proprietor. 
 
 The house itself Avas not likely to vindicate the claim the locality- 
 denied. It was built M'ith a total disregard to aspect or architecture. 
 It was a large four-storied edifice, to which, by way of taking off from 
 the unpicturesque height, two wings bad been planned ; one of these 
 only was finished, the otlier, half-built, had been suffered to fall into,
 
 112 BOLAND CASHBL. 
 
 ruin. At the back, a high brick wall enclosed a space inteuded for a 
 garden, but never put into cultivation, and now a mere nursery of tall 
 docks and thistles, whose gigantic size almost overtopped the wall. 
 All the dirt and slovenliness of a cottier habitant — for the house was 
 occupied by what is misnamed " a care-taker" — were seen on every 
 baud. One of the great rooms held the family ; its fellow, on the 
 opposite side of the hall, contained a cow and two pigs ; cabbage- 
 stalks and half-rotting potato-tops steamed their pestilential vapours 
 beneath the windows ; while half-naked children added the discord, 
 the only thing wanting to complete the sum of miserable, squalid 
 discomfort, so sadly general among the peasantry. 
 
 If one needed an illustration of the evils of absenteeism, a better 
 could not be found than in the ruinous, damp, discoloured building, 
 with its falling roof and broken windows. The wide and spreading 
 lawn, thick grown with thistles ; the trees broken or barked by cattle ; 
 tlie gates that hung by a single hinge, or were broken up piecemeal 
 for firing, all evidenced the sad state of neglectful indifference by 
 which property is wrecked and a country ruined ! Nor was the figure 
 then seated on the broken door-step an unfitting accompaniment to 
 such a scene ; — a mau somewhat past the middle period of life, whose 
 ragged, tattered dress bespoke great poverty, his hat drawn down 
 over his eyes, so as partly to conceal a countenance by no means pre- 
 possessing; beside him lay a long, old-fashioned musket, the stock 
 mended by some rude country hand. This was Tom Keane, the 
 " care-taker," who in all the indolent enjoyment of ofiice, sat smoking 
 his " dudeen," and calmly surveying tlie process by w^hich a young 
 heifer was cropping the yearling shoots of an ash-tree. 
 
 Twice was his name called by a w^oman's voice from within the 
 house before he took any notice of it. 
 
 " Arrah, Tom, are ye asleep ?" said she, coming to the door, and 
 showing a figure whose wretchedness was even greater than his own ; 
 while a certain delicacy of feature, an expression of a mild and 
 pleasing character, still lingered on a face where want and privation 
 had set many a mark. " Tom, alanah !" said she, in a tone of coaxing 
 softness, " sure it's time to go down to the post-office. Ye know how 
 anxious the ould man is for a letter." 
 
 " Ay, and he has rayson, too," said Tom, without stirring. 
 
 " And Miss Mary herself was up here yesterday evening to bid you 
 go early, and, if there was a letter, to bring it in all haste." 
 
 " And what for need I make haste ?" said the man, sulkily. " Is 
 it any matther to me whether he gets one or no. Will / be richer 
 or poorer? Poorer!" added he, with a savage laugh; "be gorra! 
 that wud be hard, anyhow. That's a comfort old Corrigan hasn't. 
 If they turn him out of the place, then he'll know what it ia to be 
 poor!"
 
 IIOLAND CASHEL. 113 
 
 " Oh, Tom, acushla ! don't say that, and he so good to us, and the 
 young lady that was so kind when the childer had the measles, comin' 
 twice — no, bub three times a day, with everything she could think of." 
 
 "Wasn't it to please herself? Who axed her?" said Tom, 
 savagely. 
 
 "Oh dear! oh. dear!" sighed the woman. "Them's the hard 
 words — 'to please herself !' " 
 
 " Ay, just so ! When ye know them people as well as me, you'll 
 say the same. That's what they like — to make themselves great 
 among the poor ; giving a trifle here, and a penny there ; making 
 gruel for this one, and tay for that ; marchin' in as if they owned the 
 house, and turning up their noses at everything they see. ' Why 
 don't you sweep before the door, Nancy ?' — ' Has the pig any right 
 to be eating there out of the kish with the childer ?' — ' Te ought to 
 send that child to school' — and, ' What's your husband doing ?' — 
 that's the cry with them. 'What's your husband doing? — Is he 
 getting the wheat in, or is he at the potatoes ?' Tear and ages !" 
 cried he, with a wild energy, " what does any one of themselves do from 
 morning till night, that they're come to spyin' after a poor man, to 
 ax ' Is he workin' like a naygur ?' But, we'll teach them something 
 yet — a lesson they're long wanting. Listen to this." 
 
 He took, as he spoke, a soiled and ragged newspaper from his 
 ]iocket, and after seeking some minutes for the place, he read in a 
 broken voice: 
 
 " ' The days to come' — ay, here it is — ' The days to come. — Let the 
 poor man remember tliat there is a future before him, that, if he have 
 but courage and boldness, will pay for the past. Turn about's fair 
 play, my Lords and Gentlemen ! You've had the pack in your own 
 hands long enough, and dealt yourselves all the trumps. Now, give 
 us the cards for a while. Tou say our fingers are dirty ; so they are, 
 with work and toil, black and dirty ! but not as black as your own 
 hearts. Hurrah ! for a new deal on a bran-new table ; Ireland the 
 stakes, and the players her own stout sons !' Them's fine sintiments," 
 said he, putting up the paper — " fine sintiments ! and the sooner 
 we thry them the better. That's the real song," said he, reciting 
 with energy — 
 
 " Oh ! the days to come, the days to come, 
 When Erin shall have her own, boys! 
 When we'll pay the debts our fathers owed, 
 And reap what they have sown, boys!" 
 
 He sprang to his feet as he concluded, shouldering his musket, 
 strode out, as if in a marching step, and repeating to himself, as he 
 went, the last line of the song. About half an hour's brisk walking 
 brought him to a low wicket, which opened on the high road, a little 
 distance from which stood the small village of Derraheeny, the post- 
 
 TOL. I. I
 
 114 , EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 town of the neighbourliood. The little crowd wliicli usually as- 
 sembled at the passing of the coach had already dispersed, when Tom 
 Keane presented himself at the window, and asked, in a tone of 
 voice subdued almost to softness — 
 
 " Have you anything for Mr. Corrigan this morning, Ma'am ?" 
 " Yes ; there are two letters and a newspaper," replied a sharp 
 voice from within. " One-and-foUrpence to pay." 
 
 " She didn't give me any money, Ma'am, but Miss Mary said " 
 
 " Tou can take them," interrupted the post-mistress, hastily handing 
 them out, and slamming the little window to at the same instant. 
 
 " There's more' of it !" muttered Tom ; " and if it was for one the 
 letters was, I might sell my cow before I'd get trust for the price of 
 them !" And with this reflection he plodded moodily homeward. 
 Scarcely, however, had he entered the thick plantation, than he seated 
 himself beneath a tree, and proceeded to take a careful and strict 
 scrutiny of the two letters ; carefully spelling over each address, and 
 poising them in his hands, as if the weight could assist his guesses as 
 to the contents. " That's Mr. Kennyfeck's big seal. I know it well," 
 said he, gazing on the pretentious coat of arms which emblazoned the 
 attorney's letter, " I can make nothing of the other at all. ' Cor- 
 nelius Corrigan, Esq., Tubber-beg, Derraheeny' — sorra more!" It 
 was in vain that he held it open, lozenge fashion, to peep within — 
 but one page only was written, and he could not see that. Kennyfeck's 
 letter was enclosed in an envelope, so that here, too, he was balked, 
 and at last was fain to slip the newspaper from its cover — a last re- 
 source to learn sometliing underhand ! The newspaper did not contain 
 anything peculiarly interesting, save in a single paragraph, which 
 announced the intention of Eoland Cashel, Esq., of Tubbermore 
 Castle, to contest the County at the approaching General Election. 
 " We are informed," said the writer, " on competent authority, that 
 this gentleman intends to make the ancestral seat his chief residence 
 in future ; and that already preparations are making to render this 
 princely mansion in every respect worthy of the vast fortune of 
 its proprietor." 
 
 " Eaith, and the ' princely mansion' requires a thing or two to make 
 it all perfect," said Tom, with a sardonic laugh, while in a lower tone 
 he muttered — " maybe, for all the time he'll stay there, it's not worth 
 his while to spend the money on it," Having re-read the paragraph, 
 he carefully replaced the paper in its cover and continued his way, 
 not, however, towards his own home, but entering a little woodland 
 path that led direct towards the Shannon. After passing a short dis- 
 tance he came to a little low hedge of beech and birch, through which 
 a neat rustic gate led and opened upon a closely-shaven lawn. The 
 neatly-gravelled walk, the flower-beds^ the delicious perfume that 
 was diff'used on every side, the occasional peeps at the eddying river,
 
 
 The Cotl-a^e
 
 EOIAND CASHEL. 115 
 
 and tlie cottage itself, seen at intervals between the evergreens that 
 studded the lawn, were wide contrasts to the ruinous desolation of 
 tlie " Great House," and as if unwilling to feel their influence, Tom 
 pulled his hat deeper over his brows, and never" looked at either side 
 as he advanced. The part of the cottage towards which he was ap- 
 proaching contained a long verandah, supported by pillars of rustic- 
 work, within which, opening by three large windows, was the prin- 
 cipal drawing-room. Here, now, at a small writing-table, sat a young 
 girl, whose white dress admirably set off the graceful outline of her 
 figure, seen within the half-darkened room : her features were pale, 
 but beautiftdly regular, and the masses of her hair, black as night, 
 which she wore twisted on the back of the head, like a cameo, gave a 
 character of classic elegance and simplicity to the whole. 
 
 TVithout, and under the verandah, an old man, tall, and slightly 
 bowed in the shoulders, walked slowly up and down. It needed not 
 the careful nicety of his long queue, the spotless whiteness of his 
 cambric shu't and vest, nor the perfection of his nicely-fitting nankeen 
 pantaloons, to bespeak him a gentleman of the past day. There was 
 a certain suave gentleness in his bland look, an air of easy courtesy 
 in his every motion, a kind of well-bred mannerism in the very car- 
 riage of his gold-headed cane, that told of a time when the graces of 
 deportment were a study, and when our modern careless freedom had 
 been deemed the very acme of rudeness. He was dictating, as was 
 his wont each morning, some reminiscence of his early life, when he 
 had served in the Body- Guard of Louis XVI., and where he had 
 borne his part in the stormy scenes of that eventful era. The me- 
 mory of that most benevolent monarch, the fascinations of that Queen 
 whom to serve was to idolise, had sufficed to soften the hardships of' 
 a life, which from year to year pressed more heavily, and were at last, 
 after many a struggle, impressing their lines upon a brow where age 
 alone had never written grief. 
 
 On the morning in question, instead of rapidly pouring forth his 
 recollections, which usually came in groups, pressing one upon the 
 other, he hesitated often, sometimes forgetting " where he was," in 
 his narrative, and more than once ceasing to speak altogether ; he 
 walked in reverie, and seeming deeply preoccupied. 
 
 His granddaughter had noticed this change, but cautiously abstain- 
 ing from anything that might betray her consciousness, she sat, pen 
 in hand, waiting, her lustrous eyes watching each gesture with an 
 intensity of interest that amounted to actual suffering. 
 
 " I fear, Mary," said he, with an effort to smile, " we must give it 
 up for to-day. The present is too strong for the past, just as sorrow 
 is always an overmatch for joy. Watching for the post has routed 
 all my thoughts, and I can think of nothing but what tidings may 
 reach me from Dublin." 
 
 i2
 
 116 EOLANO CASHEL. 
 
 " Tou have no fears, Sir," said she, rising and drawing her arm 
 within his, " that your application could be rejected ; you ask nothing 
 unusual or unreasonable — a brief renewal of a lease where you have 
 expended a fortune." 
 
 " True, true, dear child. Let us, however, not look on the case 
 with our eyes alone, but see it as others may. But here comes Tom. 
 — Well, what news, Tom ; are there letters ?" 
 
 " Yes, Sir, here's two ; there's one-and-fourpence to be paid." 
 
 " Let me see them," cried the old man, impatiently, as he snatched 
 them, and hastily re-entered the house. 
 
 " Is Cathleen better to-day '?" said the young lady, addressing the 
 peasant. 
 
 " Yes, Miss, glory be to Grod, she's betther. Thanks to yourself 
 and Him. Oh, then, it's of yer beautiful face she does be dramin' 
 every night. Says she, ' It's Miss Mary, I think, is singing to me, 
 when I hear the birds in my sleep.' " 
 
 " Poor child, give her this little book for me, and say I'll come up 
 and see her this evening, if I can. Mrs. Moore will send her the 
 broth ; I hope she'll soon be able to eat something. Good-by, Tom." 
 
 A deep-drawn heavy sigh from within the cottage here made her 
 abruptly conclude the interview and hasten in. The door of her 
 grandfather's little dressing-room was, however, locked, and after a 
 noiseless effort to turn the handle, she withdrew to the drawing-room, 
 to wait in deep anxiety for his coming. 
 
 The old man sat with his head supported on both hands, gazing 
 steadfastly at two open letters, which lay on the table before him ; 
 had they contained a sentence of death his aspect could scarce have 
 been more sad and sorrow-struck ! One was from Mr. Kennyfeck, 
 aud ran thus : 
 
 " Dear Me. Coreigan, — I have had a brief conversation with Mr. 
 Koland Cashel on the subject of your renewal, and I am grieved to 
 say that he does not seem disposed to accede to your wishes. Enter- 
 taining, as he does, the intention to make Tubbermore his chief resi- 
 dence in Ireland, his desire is, I believe, to connect the farm in your . 
 holding with the demesne. This will at once explain that it is not a 
 question of demanding a higher rent from you, but simply of carry- 
 ing out a plan for the enlargement and improvement of the grounds 
 pertaining to the ' Hall.' 
 
 " The matter is, however, by no means decided upon ; nor will it 
 be, in all probability, before you have an opportunity of meeting Mr. 
 Cashel personally. His present intention is to visit your neighbour- 
 hood next week. 
 
 " I am, dear Sir, truly yours, 
 
 " M. Kennyfeck. 
 " Cornelius Corrigan, Esq., Tubber-beg Cottage."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 117 
 
 The second letter was as follows : 
 
 " Simpkins and Green have the honour to forward for acceptance 
 the enclosed bill for two hundred and seventeen pounds, at three 
 months, Mr. Heneage Leicester, of New Orleans, on Mr. Corrigan. 
 
 "They are authorised also to state that Mr. Leicester's affairs have 
 suffered considerably from the consequence of the commercial distress 
 at N. 0., and his personal property has been totally lost by the earth- 
 quake which took place on the 11th and 12th ultimo. He therefore 
 
 trusts to Mr. C 's efforts to contribute to his aid by a greater 
 
 exertion than usual, and will draw upon him for two sums of one 
 hundred, at dates of six and nine months, which he hopes may suit 
 his convenience, and be duly honoured. Mr. Leicester continues to 
 hope that he may be able to visit Europe in the spring, where his 
 great anxiety to see his daughter will call him." 
 
 " The ruin is now complete," said the old man. " I have struggled 
 for years with poverty and privation to ward off this hour — but, like 
 destiny, it will not be averted ! Despoiled of fortune — turned from 
 the home where I have lived from my childhood — bereft of all ! I 
 could bear up still if she were but left to me — but now, he threatens 
 to take her, my child, my hope, my life ! And the world will stand 
 by him, and say, 'He is her father! He, that broke the mother's 
 heart — my own darling girl ! — and now comes to rob me — a poor 
 helpless old man, of all my companionship and my pride. Alas, 
 alas ! the pride, perhaps, deserves the chastisement. Poor Mary — 
 how will she ever learn to look on him with a daughter's affection ? 
 — What a life will hers be ! And this deception, how will it, how 
 can it ever be explained ? I have always said that he was dead." 
 
 Such, in broken half-sentences, were the words he spoke, while 
 thick-coming sobs almost choked his utterance. 
 
 " This cannot be helped," said he, taking up the pen and writing his 
 name across the bill. " So much I can meet, by selling our little fur- 
 niture here ; we shall need it no more, for we have no longer a home.- 
 Where to, then.?" 
 
 He shook his hands in mournful despair, and walked towards the 
 window. Mary was standing outside, in the little flower-garden, as- 
 sisting the old gardener to fasten some stray tendrils of a japonica 
 between two trees. 
 
 " We must try and shelter this window, Ned," said she, "from the 
 morning sun. It comes in too strongly here in Papa's library. By 
 next summer, I hope to see a thick trellis of leaves across the whole 
 casement." 
 
 " By next summer," repeated the old man, from within, with a 
 trembling voice ; " and M"ho Avill be here to see it ?"
 
 118 KOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " This little hedge, too, must be overgrown with that creeping plant 
 we got from America, the white liana. I want the beech to be com- 
 pletely hid beneath the blossoms, and they come out in May." 
 
 " In May!" said the poor old man, with an accent of inexpressible 
 sadness, as though the very promise of spring had unfolded a deep 
 vista of years of sufiering. " But why care for the home, if she, who 
 made its sunshine, is taken from me ? What matters it where I 
 linger on, or how, the last few hours of a life, bereft of its only enjoy- 
 ment ? — she, that in my old age, renewed all the memories of my early 
 and my happy days." 
 
 He sat down and covered his face with his hands, and when he 
 withdrew them, the whole character and expression of the counte- 
 nance had changed ; a dull, meaningless look had replaced the mild 
 and cheerful beam of his soft blue eyes ; the cheeks were flattened, 
 and the mouth, so ready with its gentle smile, now remained partly 
 open, and slightly drawn to one side. He made an effort to speak, 
 but a thickened guttural utterance rendered the words scarcely 
 intelligible. He approached the window and beckoned with his 
 hand. The next instant, pale with terror, but still composed and 
 seeming calm, Mary was beside him. 
 
 " You are not well, dear Papa," she said, with a great effort to 
 appear at ease. " You must lie down — here will do — on this sofa ; 
 I'll close the curtain, and send over for Tiernay ; he said he should 
 be back from Limerick this morning." 
 
 A gentle pressure of her hand to his lips, and a faint smile, seemed 
 to assent. 
 
 She opened the window, and whispered a few words to the gardener, 
 and then closing it, noiselessly, drew the curtain, and sat down on a 
 low stool beside the sofa where he lay. 
 
 So still and motionless did he remain, that she thought he slept ; 
 indeed, the long-drawn breathing, and the repose of his attitude, 
 betokened sleep. 
 
 Mary did not venture to move, but sat, one hand clasped in his, the 
 other resting on his forehead, still and silent. 
 
 The darkened room, the unbroken silence, the figure of him in 
 whom was centred her every thought and hope, lying sick before her, 
 sank with a dreary weight upon her heart ; and in the gloom of her 
 sorrow dark foreboding of future evil arose, vague terrors of trials, 
 new and hard to bear! That strange prescience, which never is 
 wanting in great afilictions, and seems itself a Heaven-sent warning 
 to prepare for the coming blow, revealed a time of sore trouble and 
 calamity before her. " Let him be but spared to me," she cried, in 
 her heart-uttered prayer, "and let me be so fashioned in spirit and 
 temper that I may minister to him through every hour — cheering, 
 consoling, and encouraging. Giving of my youth its gift of hope-
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 119 
 
 fulness and trust, and borrowing of Ms age its serenity and resigna- 
 tion. But oh, that I may not be left solitary and alone, unfriended 
 and unsupported !" A gusb. of tears, the first she shed, here burst 
 forth, and, in the transport of her grief, brought calm to her mind 
 once more. 
 
 A low tap at the window, and a voice in whisper, aroused her. " It 
 is the doctor. Miss — Dr. Tiernay," said the gardener. 
 * A motion to admit him was all her reply, and with noiseless step 
 the physician entered and approached the sofa. He felt the pulse, 
 and listened to the respiration of the sick man, and then, withdrawing 
 the curtain so as to let the light fall upon his features, steadily con- 
 templated their expression. As he looked, his own countenance grew 
 graver and sadder ; and it was with an air of deep solemnity that he 
 took Mary's hand, and led her from the room. 
 
 With a weight like lead upon her heart Mary moved away. " When 
 did it happen ?" whispered he, when he had closed the door behind 
 them. 
 
 " Happen !" gasped she, in agony; "what do you mean ?" 
 
 "I meant when — this — occurred," replied he, faltering; "was he 
 in his usual health this morning ?" 
 
 " Tes, perfectly — a little less composed — anxious about his letters 
 — uneasy at the delay — but no more." 
 
 " Ton do not know if he received any unpleasant tidings, or heard 
 anything to distress him ?" 
 
 '•' He may have done so," answered she, sadly, " for he locked his 
 door and read over his letters by himself. When I saw him next, he 
 was standing at the window, and beckoning to me." 
 
 A gentle tap at the door here interrupted the colloquy, and the old 
 housekeeper whispered, " The master. Miss, wants to spake with the 
 doctor ; he's better now." 
 
 " Oh, let me see him," cried Mary, springing towards the door. 
 But Dr. Tiernay interposed gently, and said, " No, this might prove 
 dangerous; remain here till I have seen and spoken with him." 
 Mary assented by a gesture, and sat down without speaking. 
 
 " Sit down, Tiernay," said the sick man, as the Doctor came to his 
 bedside — " sit down, and let me speak while I have strength. Every- 
 thing is against us, Tiernay. We are not to get the renewal : this 
 young Mr. Cashel wants the cottage — we must tdrn out. I'll have 
 to do so, even before the gale-day ; but what matter about me ! It's 
 
 that poor child I'm thinking of " Here he stopped, and was 
 
 some minutes before he could resume. " There — read that ; that will 
 teU you all." 
 
 Tiernay took the crumpled letter, wMch the old man had all this 
 while held firmly in his closed grasp, and read it, 
 
 " Well, that's bad news, isn't it ?" said Corrigan ; " not the biU —
 
 120 BOLAJs'T) CASHEL. 
 
 I don't mean that ; but he's coming back ; do you see the threat ?— 
 he's coming back again." 
 
 " How can he ?" said the Doctor. " The man committed a forgery ; 
 how will he dare to return here and place his neck in a halter?" 
 
 " Tou forget whose evidence alone can convict him — mine ; the 
 name he forged was mine, the sum he took was mine — nearly all I 
 had in the world— but he has nothing to fear from me, whatever I 
 may have to dread from /«»?." 
 
 " How can he have any terror for you .'"' 
 
 " He can take her away ; not from me, for she'll soon be separated 
 by a stronger hand than his, but I can't bear to think that she'll be 
 in his power. Tiernay, this is what is cutting into my heart now as 
 I lie here, and leaves me no rest to think of the brief minutes before 
 me. Tell me, is there no way to avoid this ? Think of something, 
 my old friend — take this weight off ray dying heart, and my last 
 breath will bless you." 
 
 " Are there any relations, or friends ?" 
 
 " None, not one ; I'm the last of the tree — the one old rotten 
 branch left. I was thinking of a nunnery, Tiernay, one of those con- 
 vents in France or the Low Countries ; but even there, if he found 
 her out, he coiild legally demand her to be restored to him ; and he 
 would find her, ay, that he would ! There never was a thing yet that 
 man couldn't do when he set his heart on it; and, the more the 
 obstacles, the greater his wish. I heard him say it with his own lips, 
 that he never had any fancy for my poor Lucy, till he overheard lier 
 one day saying, that ' she never hated any one till she knew him.' 
 From that hour, he swore to himself she should be his wife ! Heaven 
 knows if the hate was not better bestowed than the love ; and yet, 
 she did love him to the last, ay, even after cruelty and desertion — 
 ay, after his supposed death ; when she heard that he married another, 
 and was living in splendour at Cadiz, ay, Tiernay ! after all that, she 
 told me, on her death-bed, she loved him still !" 
 
 " I think the nunnery is the best resource," said the Doctor, re- 
 calling the sick man from a theme where his emotions were already 
 too powerfully excited. 
 
 " I believe it is," said the old man, with more of energy than be- 
 fore : " and I feel almost as if Providence would give me strength and 
 health to take her there myself, and see her safe before I die. Feel 
 that pulse now — isn't it stronger ?" 
 
 " You are better, much better already," said the Doctor ; " and 
 now, keep quiet and composed. Don't speak — if it was possible, I'd 
 say don't think — for a few hours. The worst is nigh over." 
 
 " I thought so, Tiernay. I felt it was what old Joe Henchy used 
 to call ' a run-away knock.' " And, with a faint smile, the old man 
 pressed his hand, and said, " Good-by."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 121 
 
 Scarcely, bowever, had the Doctor reached the door, when he called 
 him back. 
 
 " Tiernay," said he, " it's of no use telling me to lie still, and keep 
 quiet, and the rest of it. I continue, asleep or awake, to think over 
 what's coming. There is but one way to give me peace — give me 
 some hope. I'll tell you now how that is to be done ; but, first of 
 all, can you spare three days from home ?" 
 
 " To be sure I can ; a week, if it would serve you. Where am I 
 to go?" 
 
 " To Dublin ! Tiernay. You'll have to go up there, and see this 
 young man, Cashel, yourself, and speak to him for me. Tell him 
 nothing of our present distress or poverty, but just let him see who 
 it is that he is turning out of the lands where their fathers lived for 
 hundreds of years. Tell liim, that the Corrigans is the oldest stock 
 in the whole country; that the time was, from the old square tower 
 on Garraguin, you couldn't see a spot of ground that wasn't our 
 own ! Tell him" — and, as he spoke, his flashing eye and heightened 
 colour showed how the theme agitated and excited him — " tell him, 
 that if he turns us from hearth and home, it is not as if it was like 
 
 some poor cotter " He paused, his lips trembled, and the big 
 
 tears burst from his eyes and rolled heavily down his face. " Oh ! 
 God forgive me for saying the words !" cried he, in an accent of deep 
 agony. " Why wouldn't the humblest peasant that ever crouched to 
 his meal of potatoes beside the little turf fire of his cabin, love his 
 home as well as the best blood in the land ? No, no, Mat, it's little 
 kindness we'd deserve on such a plea as that." 
 
 " There, there, don't agitate yourself. I know what you mean, 
 and what you'd like me to say." 
 
 " You do not," rejoined the old man, querulously, " for I haven't 
 said it yet. Nor I can't think of it now. Ah, Mat" — here his voice 
 softened once more into its habitual key — " that was a cruel thought 
 of me, a while ago ; and faith, Mr. Cashel might well suspect, if he 
 heard it, that I wasn't one of the old good blood of the Corrigans, 
 that could talk that way of the poor ; but so it is. There isn't a bad 
 trait in a man's heart that is not the twin-brother of his selfishness. 
 And now I'll say no more ; do the best you can for us, that's all. ^ I 
 was going to bid you tell him that we have an old claim on the whole 
 estate, that some of the lawyers say is 'good — that the Crown have 
 taken off" the confiscation in the time of my great father, Phil Cor- 
 rigan — but sure he wouldn't mind that ; besides, that's not the way 
 to ask a favour." 
 
 *' You mustn't go on talking this way ; see how hot your hand is." 
 
 "Well, maybe it will be cold enough soon! There is another 
 
 thing, Mat. You must call on Murphy with the bill of sale of the 
 
 furniture and the books, and get money to meet these bills. There
 
 122 ROLAND CASHEl. 
 
 they are ; I endorsed them this morniug. Tell Green it's no use 
 sending me the other bills ; I'U not have means to take them up, 
 and it would he only disgracing my name for nothing to write it on 
 them. I'll be longing to see you back again, Mat, and hear your 
 tidings ; so God bless you, and send you safe home to us." 
 
 " I'll set off to-night," said the Doctor, rising and shaking his 
 hand ; " your attack is passed over, and there's no more danger, if 
 you'll keep quiet." 
 
 " There's another thing. Mat," said the sick man, smiling faintly, 
 and with a strange meaning. " Call at 28, Drogheda-street, and ask 
 the people to show you the room Con Corrigan fought the duel in 
 with Colonel Battley. It was only twelve feet long and ten wide, a 
 little place off the drawing-room, and the Colonel woiddn't even con- 
 sent that we should stand in the corners. Look and see if the bullet 
 is in the wall still. The old Marquis used to have it fresh painted 
 red every year, on the anniversary of the day. Oh dear, oh dear, but 
 they were the strange times, then ! ay, and pleasant times too." 
 And with such reflections on the past, he fell off" into a dreamy half- 
 consciousness, during which Tiernay stole from the room, and left 
 him alone. 
 
 Eaint and trembling with agitation, Mary Leicester was standing 
 all this while at the door of the sick-chamber. " Did I hear aright, 
 Doctor ?" said she ; " was that his voice that sounded so cheerfully ?" 
 
 " Yes, my dear Miss Mary, the peril is by, but be cautious. Let 
 him not speak so much, even with you. This is a sweet, quiet spot. 
 Heaven grant he may long enjoy it." 
 
 Mary's lips muttered some words inaudibly, and they parted. She 
 sat down alone, in the little porch under the eave ; the day was a 
 delicious one in autumn, calm, mellow, and peaceful ; a breeze, too 
 faint to ripple the river, stirred the flowers, and shook forth their 
 odour. The cottage, the leafy shade, through which the tempered 
 sunlight fell in fanciful shapes upon the gravel — the many-coloured 
 blossoms of the rich garden — the clear and tranquil river — the hum 
 of the distant waterfall — they were all such sights and sounds as 
 breathe of home and home's happiness, and so had she felt them to 
 be tin an unknown fear found entrance into her heart, and spread 
 its darkness there. What a terrible sensation comes with a first 
 sorrow !
 
 KOI.AXD CASHEL, 123 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 With fame and fortune on the cast, 
 
 He never rose a winner: 
 And learned to know himself at last, 
 
 " A miserable sinner." 
 
 Bell. 
 
 It was about ten days or a fortnight after the great Kennyfeck 
 dinner, when ail the gossip about its pretension, duhiess, and bad 
 taste had died away, and the worthy guests so bored by the festivity 
 began to wonder " when they would give another," that a gentleman 
 sat at breakfast in one of those large, dingy-looking, low-ceilinged 
 apartments which are the choice abodes of the Vice-Eegal stalf in 
 the Castle of Dublin. The tawdry and time-discoloured gildings, the 
 worn and faded silk hangings, the portraits of bygone state coun- 
 cillors and commanders-in-chief, grievously riddled by rapier-points 
 and pistol-shots, were not without an emblematic meaning of the past 
 glories of that seat of Government, now so sadly fallen from its once 
 high and palmy state. 
 
 Although still a young man, the present occupant of the chamber 
 appeared middle-aged, so much had dissipation and excess done the 
 work of time on his constitution. A jaded, wearied look, a sleepy, 
 indolent expression of the eye, certain hard lines about the angles of 
 the mouth, betokened one who played a high game with life, and 
 rarely arose a winner. Although his whole appearance bespoke 
 birth and blood rather than intellect or ability, there was enough in 
 Lis high and squarely-shaped head, his deep dark eye, and his firm, 
 sharply-cut mouth, to. augur that incapacity could not be reckoned 
 among the causes of any failures he incurred in his career. He was 
 in every respect the heau ideal of that strange solecism in our social 
 code, "the younger son." His brother, the Duke of Derwent, had 
 eighty thousand a year. He had exactly three hundred. His Grace 
 owned three houses, which might well be called palaces, besides a 
 grouse lodge in the Highlands, a yachting station at Cowes, and a 
 villa at Hyeres in France. My Lord was but too happy to be the 
 possessor of the three cobwebbed chambers of a Vice-Eegal Aide-de- 
 camp, and enjoy the pay of his troop without joining his regiment. 
 
 Yet these two men were reared exactly alike ! As much habituated 
 to evei'y requirement and luxury of wealth as his elder brother, the 
 younger suddenly discovered that, once beyond the shadow of his 
 father's house, aU his worldly resources were something more than 
 what the cook, and something less than the valet, received. He had
 
 124 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 been taught one valuable lesson, however, which was, that as the State 
 loves a rich aristocracy, it burdens itself with the maintenance of all 
 those who might prove a drain on its resources, and that it is ever 
 careful to provide for the Lord Georges and Lord Charleses of its 
 noble houses. To this provision he believed he had a legal claim : at 
 all events, he knew it to be a right uncontested by those less highly 
 born. 
 
 The system which excludes men from the career of commerce, in 
 compensation opens the billiard-room, the whist-table, and the betting- 
 ring, and many a high capacity has been exercised in such spheres as 
 these, whose resources might have won honour and distinction in very 
 different fields of enterprise. "Whether Lord Charles Frobisher knew 
 this, and felt that there was better in him, or whether his successes 
 were below his hopes, certain is it, he was a depressed, dejected man, 
 who lounged through life in a languid indolence, caring for nothing, 
 not even himself. 
 
 There was some story of an unfortunate attachment, some love 
 affair, with a very beautiful but portionless cousin, who married a 
 Marquis, to which many ascribed the prevailing melancholy of liis 
 character, but they who remembered him as a schoolboy said he was 
 always shy and reserved, and saw nothing strange in his bearing as a 
 man. The breakfast-table, covered with all that could stimulate ap- 
 petite, and yet, with all untasted, was not a bad emblem of one who 
 with many a gift to win an upward way, yet lived on in all the tawdry 
 insignificance of a Court Aide-de-camp. A very weak glass of claret 
 and water, with a piece of dry toast, formed his meal, and even these 
 stood on the corner of a writing-table, at which he sat, rising some- 
 times to look out of the window, or pace the room with slow, uncer- 
 tain steps. Before him lay an unfinished letter, which, to judge from 
 the slow progress it made, and the frequent interruptions to its course, 
 seemed to occasion some difficulty in the composition, and yet the 
 same epistle began " My dear Sydney," and was addressed to his 
 brother. Here it is : 
 
 " Mt dear Sydney, — I suppose, from not hearing from you some 
 weeks back, that my last, which I addressed to the Clarendon, has 
 never reached you, nor is it of any consequence. It would be too late 
 now to ask you about Scott's horses. Cobham told us how you stood 
 yourself, and that was enough to guide the poor devils here with their 
 ponies and fifties. We all got a squeeze on the ' Mare.' I hear you 
 won seven thousand besides the stakes. I hope the report may be 
 true. Is Raucus in training for the Spring Meeting or not ? If so, 
 let me have some trifle on him in your own book. 
 
 " I perceive you voted on Brougham's amendment against our 
 people ; I conclude you were right, but it will malie them very stub-
 
 EOLAKD CASHEL. 125 
 
 born witla me about tbe excbange. N bas ab-eady remarked 
 
 upou wbat be calls tbe 'intolerable independence of some Noble 
 Lords.' I wisb I knew tbe clue to your proceeding — are you at 
 liberty to give it ? I did not answer tbe question in your last letter. 
 — Of course I am tired of Ireland, but as tbe alternatives are a ' Com- 
 pound in Calcutta, or tbe Grovernraent House, Quebec,' I may as well 
 remain wbere I am. I don't know tbat a Staff-officer, like Madeira, 
 improves by a sea-voyage. 
 
 " Tou say nothing of Georgina, so tbat I bope ber cbest is better, 
 and tbat Nice may not be necessary. I believe, if climate were 
 needed, you would find Lisbon, or ratber Cintra, better than any 
 part of Italy, and possessed of one great advantage — few of our 
 
 rambling countrymen. N commended your bauncb so bigbly, 
 
 and took sucb pains to record bis praises, tbat I suspect be looks for 
 a repetition of the favour. If you are shooting bucks, perhaps you 
 would send him a quarter." 
 
 Two sentences, half finished and erased, here showed that tbe 
 writer experienced a difficulty in continuing. Indeed, bis flurried 
 manner as be resumed tbe letter proved it. At last be went on. 
 
 " I bate asking favours, my dear Sydney, but there is one which, 
 if not positively repugnant to you to grant, will much oblige me. 
 There is a young millionnaire here, a Mr. Casbel, wishes to be a 
 member of your Tacbt Club, and as I have given a promise to make 
 interest in his behalf with you, it would be conferring a great obliga- 
 tion on me were I to make the request successfully. So far as I can 
 learn, there is no reason against bis admission, and as regards pro- 
 perty, many reasons in his favour. If you can do this for me, then, 
 you will render me a considerable service. 
 
 " Of course I do not intend to fix any acquaintanceship upon you, 
 nor in any other way, save the bean in the ballot-box, and a civil word 
 in proposing, inflict you witb wbat Eigby calls 'Protective Duties.' 
 I should have been spared in giving you this trouble but for Tom 
 Linton, who, witb bis accustomed good nature at other men's cost, 
 suggested tbe step to Casbel, and told him, besides, that my brother 
 was Vice- Admiral of tbe Yacht Tleet. 
 
 " If Emily wants a match for tbe chesnut pony, I know of one here 
 perfect in every respect, and to be had very cheap. Let me know 
 about this soon ; and also tbe club matter, as I have promised to visit 
 Casliel at bis country-house ; and in case of refusal on your part, this 
 would be unpleasant. Thanks for your invitation for Christmas, 
 which I cannot accept of. Hope and Eversbam are both on leave, so 
 
 tbat I must remain here. N continues to ask you here ; but my 
 
 advice is, as it bas ever been, not to come. The climate detestable — 
 the houses dull and dirty ; no shooting, nor any bunting, at least witb 
 such horses as you are accustomed to ride.
 
 126 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " I am glad you took my counsel about the mortgagie. There is no 
 property here worth seventeen years' purcliase, iu the present aspect 
 of politics. Love to Jane and the girls, and believe me ever yours, 
 
 " Chaeles Eeobishee." 
 
 This task completed, he turned to the morning papers ; which, with 
 a mass of tradesmen's bills, notes, and cards of invitation, littered 
 the table. He had not read long, when a deep-drawn yawn from the 
 further end of the room aroused him, and Frobisher arose and walked 
 towards a sofa, on which Avas stretched a man, somewhat about the 
 middle of life, but whose bright eye and fresh complexion showed little 
 touch of time. His dress, slightly disordered, was a dinner costume, 
 and rather inclined towards over-particularity ; at least, the jewelled 
 buttons of his vest and shirt evinced a taste for display that seemed 
 not ill to consort with the easy effrontery of his look. 
 
 Taking his watch from his pocket he held it to his ear, saying, 
 " There is an accomplishment, Charley, I've never been able to acquire 
 — to wind my watch at supper-time. What hour is it ?" 
 
 " Two," said the other, laconically. 
 
 " By Jove ! how I must have slept. Have you been to bed ?" 
 
 " Of course. But, I'd swear with less success than you have had 
 on that old sofa. I scarcely closed my eyes for ten minutes together." 
 
 " That downy sleep only comes of a good conscience and a heart 
 at ease with itself," said the other. " Tou young gentlemen, who 
 lead bad lives, know very little about the balmy repose of the tranquil 
 mind." 
 
 " Have you forgotten that you were to ride out with Lady Cecilia 
 this morning ?" said Frobisber, abruptly. 
 
 " Not a bit of it. I even dreamed we were cantering together 
 along the sands, where I was amusing her Ladyship with some choice 
 morceaux of scandal from that set in society she professes to hold in 
 such horror that she will not receive them at Court, but for whose 
 daily sayings and doings she has the keenest zest." 
 
 " Foster is gone with her," rejoined Lord Charles, " and I suspect 
 she is just as well pleased. Before this he has told her everything 
 about our late sitting, and the play, and the rest of it !" 
 
 " Of course he has ; and she is dying to ask Mr. Softly, the young 
 chaplain's advice, whether rooting us all out would not be a ' good 
 work.' " 
 
 " Since when have you become so squeamish about card-playing, 
 Mr. Linton ?" 
 
 " I ? Not in the least ! I'm only afraid that some of my friends 
 may turn to be so, when they hear of my successes. Tou know what 
 happened to Wycherley, wlien he got that knack of always turning up 
 a King ? Some one asked Kuxton what was to be done about it. ' Is
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 127 
 
 it certain ?' said be. ' Perfectly certain ; we have seen him do it a 
 hundred times !' ' Then back him,' said old Euxton ; ' that's my 
 advice to you.' " As he said this, he drew a chair towards the table, 
 and proceeded to fill out a cup of chocolate. " Where do you get 
 these anchovies, Charley ? Burke has got some, but not half the 
 
 size." 
 
 " They are ordered for the household. Lawson can tell you aU 
 about 'em," said the other, carelessly. " But, I say, what bets did you 
 book on Laplander?" 
 
 " Took him against the field for seven hundred even." 
 
 " A bad bet then — I call it a very bad bet." 
 
 " So should I, if I didn't know Erebus is dead lame." 
 
 " I've seen a horse run to win with a contracted heel before now," 
 said Lord Charles, with a most knowing look. 
 
 " So have I ! but not on stony ground. No ! no ! you may depend 
 upon it !" 
 
 " I don't want to depend upon it," said the other, snappishly. " I 
 shall not venture five pounds on the race. I remember once some- 
 thing of an implicit reliance on a piece of information of the kind." 
 
 " Well ! you know how that happened. I gave Hilyard's valet fifty 
 pounds to get a peep at his master's betting-book, and the fellow told 
 Hilyard, who immediately made up a book express, and let us all in 
 for a smart sum. I am sure I was the heaviest loser in the affair." 
 
 " So you ought, too. The contrivance was a very rascally one ; and 
 deserved its penalty." 
 
 " The expression is not parliamentary, my Lord," said Linton, with 
 a slight flushing of the cheek, " and so I must call you to order." 
 
 " Is Turcoman to run?" asked Lord Charles, negligently. 
 
 " No ! I have persuaded Cashel to buy him, and he has taken him 
 out of training." 
 
 " Well, you really go very straightforward in your work, Linton. 
 I must say, you are as plucky a rogue as I've ever heard of. Pray, 
 now, how do you manage to keep up your influence over that youth ? 
 he always appears to me to be a rash-headed, wilful kind of fellow there 
 would be no guiding." 
 
 " Simply, by always keeping him in occupation. There are people 
 like spavined horses, and one must always get them warm in their 
 woi^, and they never show the blemish. Now, I have been eternally 
 alongside of Cashel. One day buying horses — another, pictures — 
 another time, it was furniture— carriages — saddlery — till we have 
 fiUed that great old house of the ex-Chancellor's with an assemblage 
 of objects, living and inanimate, it would take a month to chronicle." 
 
 " Some kind friend may open his eye to aU this one of these days, 
 Master Linton — and then " 
 
 "By that time," said Linton, "his clairvoyance will be too late.
 
 128 nOLAXD CASHEL. 
 
 Like many a man I've known, he'll be a capital judge of claret when 
 his cellar has been emptied." 
 
 " You were a large winner last night, Linton ?" 
 
 " Twelve hundred and fifty. It might have been double the 
 amount, but I've taken a hint from Splasher's Physiology. He says 
 nothing encourages a plethora like small bleedings. And you Charley; 
 what did you do?" 
 
 " Sixty pounds !" replied he, shortly. " I never venture out of my 
 depth." 
 
 " And you mean to infer that J do, my Lord," said Linton, trying 
 to smile, while evidently piqued by the remark. "Well, I plead 
 guilty to the charge. I have a notion in my head that seven feet 
 of water drowns a man just as effectually as seven hundred fiithoms 
 in the blue Atlantic. Now you know, as well as 1, that neither of 
 us could afford to lose sixty pounds thrice running, so let us not 
 talk of venturing out of our depth; which, I take it, would be to 
 paddle in very shallow water indeed." 
 
 For an instant it seemed as if Lord Charles would have given an 
 angry reply to this sally : but, as hastily checking the emotion, he 
 walked to the window, and appeared to be lost in thought; while 
 Liuton continued his breakfast with all the zest of a hungry man. 
 
 " I'll give up play altogether," said Frobisher. " That I've resolved 
 upon. This will go abroad, rely upon it. Some of the papers will 
 get hold of it, and we shall see some startling paragraphs about — 
 'Eecent Discoveries in the Vice-Eegal Household' — 'Nefarious 
 System of High Play at the Castle,' and so on. Now, it's all very 
 well for you, who neither care who's in or out, or hold any appoint- 
 ment here ; but, remember, there are others — myself, for instance — 
 who have no fancy for this kind of publicity." 
 
 " In the first place," interrupted Linton, " there is no danger; 
 and, in the second, if there were, it's right well remunerated. Tour 
 appointment here, with all its contingent advantages, of which, not to 
 excite your blushes, we shall say nothing, is some three or four hundred 
 a year. Now, a lucky evening, and courage to back the luck — a 
 quality, by the way, I never yet found in one Englishman in a 
 hundred — is worth this twice or thrice told. Besides, remember, 
 that this wild bull of the Prairies has come of himself into our 
 hunting-grounds. If we don't harpoon him, somebody else will. A 
 beast of such fat on the haunches is not going to escape scot free ; 
 and lastly, by falling into good hands, he shall have the advantage of 
 being cut up artistically, and not mauled and mangled by the rude 
 fingers of the ignorant. Faith, as for myself, I think I richly merit 
 all the spoils I shall obtain !" 
 
 " As how, pray ?" asked Lord Charles, languidly. 
 
 " lu the first place, to speak of the present — I have ridden out
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 129 
 
 with him — sat beside him on the box of his drag — he is seen with me in 
 public, and has been heard to call me ' Linton,' on the ride at Dycer's. 
 My tradespeople have become his tradespeople. The tailor who re- 
 served his master-stroke of genius for me, now shares his favours with 
 him. In fact, Charley, we are one. Secondly, as regards the future, 
 see from what perils I shall rescue him. He shall not marry Livy 
 Kennyfeck— he shall not go into Parliament for the Liberal interest — • 
 nor for any interest, if I can help it — he shall not muddle away a fine 
 fortune in fattening Durham bulls, and Berkshire boars ; neither shall 
 he excel in rearing mangel-wurzel or beetroot. I'll teach him to have 
 a soul above subsoiling, and a spirit above green crops. He shall 
 not fall into the hands of Downie Meek, and barter his birthright for 
 a Whig baronetcy ; neither shall he be the victim of right honourable 
 artifices, and marry a Lady Juliana, or Cecilia. In fine, I'll secure 
 him from public meetings, and agricultural societies, twaddling 
 dinners, horticultural breakfasts, the Irish Academy, and Mrs. 
 White." 
 
 " These are great deservings indeed," said Lord Charles, affectedly. 
 
 " So they are," said the other ; " nor do I believe there ie another 
 man about town could pilot the channel but myself. It is only 
 reasonable, then, if I save the craft, that I should claim the salvage. 
 Now, the next point is, will you be one of the crew ? I'll take you 
 with pleasure, but there's no impressment. All I ask is secrecy, 
 whether you say yea or nay." 
 
 " Let me hear what the service is to be like." 
 
 " Well, we shall first of all cruise — confound metaphors — let us 
 talk plainly. Cashel has given me a carte hlancJie to fill his house 
 with guests and good things. The company and the cuisine are both 
 to be among my attributions, and I intend tliat we should do the 
 thing right royally. Selection and exclusiveness are, of course, out 
 of the question. There are so many cock-tails to run — there can be 
 no disqualification. Our savage friend, in fact, insists on asking every- 
 body he sees, and we are lucky if we escape the Infantry and the 
 Junior Bar. Here's the list — a goodly catalogue truly, and such a 
 Macedoine of incongruities has been rarely assembled, even at old 
 Kennyfeck' s dinner- table." 
 
 " Why, I see few others than the people we met there t'other day." 
 
 " Not many ; but please to remember that even a country-house 
 has limits, and that some of the guests, at least, must have separate 
 rooms. To be serious, Charley, I have misused the King's press 
 damnably ; we have such a party as few have ever witnessed. There 
 are tlie Kilgoft's, the Whites, the Hamiltons, along with the Clau 
 Kennyfeck, the Eidleys, and Mathew Hannigan, Esquire, of Bally- 
 Hannigan, the new JMember of Parliament for Dunrone, and the last 
 convert to the soothing doctrines of Downie Meek." 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 ' ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Is Downie coining ?" lisped the Aide-de-camp, 
 
 " Ay, and his daughter too. He wrote one of his velvety epistles, 
 setting forth the prayer of his petition, in favour of ' a little girl, yet 
 only in the nursery.' " 
 
 " Tes, yes ; I know all that. Well, I'm not sorry. I like Jemmy. 
 She is a confounded deal better than her father, and is a capital 
 weight to put on a young horse, and a very neat hand too. "Who 
 next ? Not the Dean, I hope." 
 
 " No ; we divided on the Dean, and carried his exclusion by a 
 large majority. Mrs. Kennyfeck was, I believe, alone in the lobby." 
 
 " Glad of that ! No one can expect an Irish visit in the country 
 without rain, and he's an awful fellow to be caged with, when out- 
 o'-door work is impracticable." 
 
 " Then there are the Latrobes and the Heatherbys ; in fact, the 
 old set, with a Polish fellow, of course a Count — Deuroominski ; a 
 literary tourist, brought by Mrs. White, called Howie ; and a small 
 little dark man, one used to see two seasons ago, that sings the melo- 
 dies and tells Irish legends — I forget the name." 
 
 " Promiscuous and varied, certainly ; and what is the order of the 
 course ? Are there to be games, rural sports, fireworks, soaped pigs, 
 and other like intellectualities ?" 
 
 " Precisely ; a kind of coming-of-age thing on a grand scale. I 
 have engaged Somerton's clief; he has just left his place. Gunter 
 sends over one of his people ; and Dubos, of the Cadran Bleu, is to 
 forward two hampers per week from Paris. Hicksley is also to pro- 
 vide all requisites for private theatricals. In fact, nearly everything 
 has been attended to, save the horse department ; I wish you'd take 
 that under your protectorate ; we shall want any number of screyrs, 
 for saddle and harness, with drags, breaks, and machines of all kinds, 
 to drive about in. Do, pray, be master of the horse." 
 
 " Thanks ; but I hate and detest trouble of all kinds. So far as 
 selling you two of my own — a wall-eye and a bone-spavin included — 
 I consent." 
 
 " Agreed ; everything in your stable carries a side-saddle, that I 
 know, so name your figure." 
 
 " A hundred ; they'd bring close on fifty at Dycer's any day ; so, I 
 am not exorbitant, as these are election times." 
 
 " There's the ticket, then," said Linton, taking out a cheque-book 
 and filling up a leaf for the sum, which he tore out and presented to 
 Lord Charles. 
 
 " What, has he really so far installed you as to " 
 
 " As to give blank cheques," said the other, holding up the book in 
 evidence, where "Roland Cashel" was written on a vast number of 
 pages. " I never knew the glorious sense of generosity before, 
 Charley. I have heard a great deal about liberal sentiments, and all
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 131 
 
 that kind o' tiling ; but now, for the first time, do I feel the real en- 
 joyment of indulgence. To understand this liberty aright, however, 
 a man must have a squeeze — such a squeeze as I have experienced 
 myself once or twice in life ; and then, my boy, as the song says," — 
 here, with a bold rattling air, he sang to a popular melody — 
 
 When of luck you've no card up, 
 
 And feel yourself " hard-up," 
 And cannot imagine a method to win ; 
 
 When " friends" take to shy you. 
 
 And Jews to deny you, 
 How pleasant to dip in another man's tin. 
 
 Not seeking nor craving, 
 
 Some pettiful saving, 
 You draw as you like upon Drummond or Gwynne, 
 
 And while pleasure pursuing, 
 
 You know there's no ruing 
 The cost that comes out of another man's tin. 
 
 Eh, Charley ! that's the toast we ' Chevaliers Modernes' should drink 
 before the health of the Eoyal Family." 
 
 " The Royal Family," sneered Frobisher ; " I never observed that 
 loyalty was a very remarkable trait in your character." 
 
 " The greater injustice yours, then," said Linton. " I conceived a 
 very early attachment to Monarchy, on learning the importance of the 
 King at ecarte." 
 
 " I should have thought the Knave had !uore of your sympathy," 
 said the other. 
 
 " Inasmuch as he follows the Queen, I suppose," said Linton, 
 good-humouredly, laughing ; " but come, don't look so grave, old 
 fellow ; had I been a political ' intrigant'' and devoted these goodly 
 talents of mine to small state rogueries in committees and adjourned 
 debates, I'd have been somebody in these dull times of aspiring me- 
 diocrity, but as my ambitions have never soared beyond the posses- 
 sion of what may carry on the war of life, irrespective of its graver 
 honours, you moralists — Heaven bless the mark ! — rather regard me 
 distrustfully. Now, let me tell you a secret, and it's one worth the 
 knowing. There is nothing so fatal to a man's success in life as ' a 
 little character ;' a really great one may dispense with every kind of 
 ability and acquirement : get your name once up in our English 
 public, and you may talk, preach, and write the most rank nonsense 
 with a very long impunity ; -but a little character, like a small swim- 
 ming bladder, only buoys you up long enough to reach deep water, 
 and be drowned. To journey the road of life with this, is to 'carry 
 weight.' Take my advice — I give it in all sincerity — you are as poor 
 a man as myself; there are thousands of luxuries you can afford your- 
 self, but this is too costly an indulgence for a small fortune. Your 
 ' little character' is a kind of cankering conscience, not strong enough 
 to keep you out of wickedness, but sufficiently active to make you 
 
 k2
 
 332 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 miserable afterwards. An everlasting suggester of small scruples, it 
 leaves a man no time for anything but petty expedients and devices, 
 and you hang suspended all your life between desire and denial, with- 
 out the comfort of the one or the credit of the other." 
 
 " Is the sermon over f " said Lord Charles, rather aifectedly than 
 really feeling tired of the " tirade," " or are you only rehearsing the 
 homily before you preach it to E-oland Cashel ?" 
 
 " Quite wrong there, my Lord," said Linton, with the same imper- 
 turbable temper. " Cashel is rich enough to afford himself any ca- 
 price, even a good name, if he like it. Tou and I must take ours as 
 "we do railway tickets, any number that's given us!" And with this 
 speech, delivered in an air of perfect quietude, but still emphatically 
 slow, he settled his hat on before the glass, arranged his whiskers, and 
 walked away. 
 
 Lord Charles, for a second, seemed disposed to make an angry 
 reply, but correcting the impulse, he Avalked to the window in silence, 
 " I have half a mind to spoil your game, my worthy friend," muttered 
 be, as the other passed across the court-yard ; " one word to Cashel 
 would do it. To be sure it is exploding the mine with one's own 
 hand to the fusee ; that's to be thought of." And so saying, he lay 
 down on the sofa to ruminate. 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Not half so skilled in means and ways, 
 The " hungry Greek" of classic days 
 His cards with far less cunning plays. 
 
 Than eke, our modern sharper ! 
 
 When Linton had determined within himself to make Cashel " his 
 own," his first care was to withdraw him from the daily society of the 
 Kennyfecks, by whose familiar intercourse a great share of influence 
 was already enjoyed over their young guest. This was not so easy a 
 task as he had at first imagined. Cashel had tasted of the pleasant 
 fascination of easy intimacy with two young and pretty girls, eagerly 
 bent on being agreeable to him. He was in all the full enjoyment of 
 that rare union, the pleasure of being at home and yet an honoured 
 guest ; and it was only when Linton suggested that late hours and 
 irregular habits were but little in accordance with the decorous pro- 
 priety of a family, that Cashel yielded, and consented to remove his 
 residence to a great furnished house in " Stephen's Green," where 
 some bygone Chancellor once held his state. 
 
 Linton well knew that if " Necessity" be the mother of invention,
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 133 
 
 " Propinquity" is the father of love ; that there is notliing so sug- 
 gestive of the tender passion as that lackadaisical state to which 
 lounging at home contributes, and the chance meetings with a pretty 
 girl. The little intercourse on the stairs going down to breakfast, the 
 dalliance in the conservatory, the chit-chat before dinner, are far 
 more formidable than all the formal meetings under the blaze of wax- 
 liglits, and amid the crush of white satin. 
 
 " If I leave him much longer among them," said he to himself, 
 " he'll marry one of these girls ; and then adieu to all influence over 
 him ! No more ecarte — no more indiscriminate purchases of every- 
 thing T propose — no more giving ' the odds against the field,' A wife 
 and a wife's family are heavy recognisances against a bachelor friend's 
 counsels." 
 
 Cashel was really sorry to leave the house where his time had passed 
 so pleasantly. The very alternation of his interest regarding the two 
 sisters had kept his mind in a state of pleasant incertitude, now, see- 
 ing something to prefer in this, now in that, while, at the same time, 
 suggesting on their part greater efforts to please and amuse him. If 
 Mr. Kennyfeck deemed Cashel's removal a very natural step, and one 
 which his position in some sort demanded, not so his wife. She in- 
 veiglied powerfully against the dangerous intimacy of Linton, and the 
 ruinous consequences such an ascendancy would lead to. " Tou 
 should tell Mr. Cashel who this man is," said she, imperiously. 
 
 " But that is exactly what nobody knows," meekly responded Mr. 
 Kenny feck. 
 
 " Pshaw, every one knows all about him ! Tou can tell him how 
 he ruined young Rushbrook, and in less than two years left him 
 without a shilling." 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck shook his head, as though to say that the evidence 
 was by no means conclusive on that count. 
 
 "Tes, you may affect not to believe it," said she, angrily, "but 
 didn't George Lawson see the cheque for eight thousand paid to 
 Linton at Latouche's bank, and that was one evening's work." 
 " There was a great deal of high play, I've heard, among them." 
 "Oh, indeed! you've heard that much," said she, scornfully; 
 " probably, too, you heard how Linton paid seventy thousand pounds 
 for part of the Dangwood estate — he, that had not sixpence three 
 months previous. I tell you, Mr. Kennyfeck, that you have laboured 
 to very little purpose to establish this young man's claim, if you are 
 to stand by and see his property portioned among sliarpers. There ! 
 don't start and look so frightened ; there's nobody listening, and if 
 there were, too, I don't care. I tell you, Mr. Kennyfeck, that if it 
 weren't for your' foolish insufficiency, Cashel would propose for 
 Olivia. Yes! the thing is plain as possible. He fell in love with 
 her the very night he arrived. Every one saw it. Jane Lyons told
 
 134 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 me how it was remarked the day the company dined here. Leonard 
 told over Dublin how she chose the diamonds, and that Cashel dis- 
 tinctly referred to her before buying them. Then, they were seen 
 together driving through the streets. What more would you have ? 
 And now you suffer all this to be undone for the selfish objects of 
 Mr. Linton ; but I tell you, Mr. Kennyfeck, if you're a fool, I am 
 not." 
 
 " But really I don't see " 
 
 " You don't see ! I'm sure you do not. You'd see, however, if it 
 were a case for an action in the Courts — a vulgar appeal to twelve 
 greasy jurors — you'd see then. There is quite enough for a shabby 
 verdict ! But I regard the affair very differently, and I tell you 
 franldy, if I see Cashel draw off in his attentions, I'll send for my 
 cousin O'Grorman. I believe you can assure your young client that 
 he'll find there's no joking with him." 
 
 Now this was the " most unkindest cut of all ;" for if report spoke 
 truly, Mr. Kennyfeck had himself experienced from that gentleman 
 a species of moral force impulsion which left the most unpleasant 
 reminiscences behind. 
 
 " I beseech you to remember, Mrs. Kennyfeck, that this agency is 
 one of the best in Ireland." 
 
 " So much the more reason to have the principal your son-in-law." 
 
 " I'd have you reflect how little success coercion is like to have with 
 a person of Mr. Cashel's temper," 
 
 " Peter is the best shot in Ballinasloe," rejoined Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 sententiously. 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck nodded a full assent ; but seemed to hazard a 
 doubt as to the efficiency of such skill. 
 
 " I repeat, Sir, I'll send for him. Peter knows pretty well what 
 ought to be done in such matters, and it's a comfort to think there 
 is some spirit on one side of the family, at least." Whether to afford 
 a practical illustration, albeit negatively, or that he dreaded a con- 
 tinuance of the controversy, Mr. Kennyfeck feigned a business ap- 
 pointment, and retired, leaving his spouse to ponder over her threat, 
 and resolve with herself as to the advantage of Peter's alliance. 
 
 While this conjugal discussion engaged Papa and Mamma, Cashel 
 was endeavouring to explain to the fair daughters the reasons for his 
 departure, affecting to see that the multiplicity of his engagements 
 and duties required a step which he owned was far from agreeable to 
 bis feelings. 
 
 " I suspected how soon you would weary of us," said Olivia, in a 
 half whisper. 
 
 " We ouglit to have remembered, Livy," said the elder sister, " how 
 little woidd our claims upon Mr. Cashel appear, when confronted 
 with those of a higher station in the world."
 
 EOLAND CASIIEL. 135 
 
 " I assure you, 3 ou wrong both yourselves and me. I never " 
 
 " Oh, I am certain you never imagined this step. I can well 
 believe, tliat if it were not for advice — not very disinterested, per- 
 haps — you would have still condescended to regard this as your 
 liorae." 
 
 " If I suspected that this removal would in the least affect the sen- 
 timents I entertain for my kind friends here, or in any way alter 
 those I trust they feel for me, I'd never have adopted, or, having 
 adopted, never execute it." 
 
 " We are really very much to blame, Mr. Cashel," said Olivia, 
 bashfully, " in suffering our feelings to sway you on a matter like 
 this. It was only too kind of you to come here at first : and per- 
 haps even yet you will come occasionally to see us." 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Cashel, Livy is right ; we are very selfish in our wishes, 
 and very inconsiderate besides. Your position in the world requires 
 a certain mode of living, a certain class of acquaintances, which are 
 not ours. It is far better, then, that we should resign ourselves to 
 an interruption, than wait for an actual breach of intimacy." 
 
 Cashel was totally at a loss to see how his mere change of residence 
 could possibly imply a whole train of altered feelings and relations, 
 and was about to express his astonishment on that score, when Linton's 
 phaeton drove up to the door, according to an appointment they had 
 made the day before, to breakfast with the officers of a regiment 
 quartered a short distance from town. 
 
 " There is your friend, Mr. Cashel," said Miss Kennyfeck, with a 
 marked emphasis on the word. Cashel muttered something about a 
 rendezvous, and took up his hat, when a servant entered to request 
 he would favour Mr. Kennyfeck with a brief interview before going 
 out. 
 
 " Are we to see you at dinner to-day ?" said Olivia, languidly, 
 
 " I hope so. Mrs. Kennyfeck has been kind enough to ask me, 
 and I hope to have the pleasure." 
 
 " Will Mr. Linton give leave?" said Miss Kennyfeck, laughing; 
 and then, seeing a cloud on Cashel's brow, added, " I meant, if you 
 had made no appointment with him." 
 
 " I'm self-willed enough to follow my own bent generally," said he, 
 abruptly, and left the room. 
 
 " You owe that gentleman a heavy grudge, Livy," said Miss Ken- 
 nyfeck, as she approached the window and looked out. 
 
 " Whom do you mean, dear ?" 
 
 " Mr. Linton. Were it not for him, I half think you might have 
 succeeded." 
 
 " I really cannot comprehend you," cried the younger, witli well- 
 assumed astonishment. 
 
 " Of course not, my dear. Still, it was a difficult game, even if left
 
 136 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 all to yourself. He was always likely to smash the tackle at the 
 moment when almost caught. There, don't look so puzzled, dear ; I 
 was only following out a little reverie — that's all." 
 
 Meanwhile Cashel hastily descended the stairs, not over good- 
 humouredly commenting on Mr. Kennyfeck's ill-chosen moment for 
 a business conversation. " I can only stay a few minutes, or ratlier 
 seconds," cried he, as he opened tlie door of the study ; and then 
 checked himself as he perceived a short, stout, elderly man, of vene- 
 rable appearance, who rose respectfully from his chair as he came in. 
 " Doctor Tiernay — Mr. Cashel," said Kennyfeck, presenting the 
 stranger. " I have taken the liberty to delay you. Sir, since it would 
 be a great convenience if you could accord this gentleman a brief 
 hearing at present ; he has come above a hundred miles to crave it, 
 and must leave Dublin by the afternoon mail." 
 
 " Without it be Mr. Cashel's pleasure to detain me," said the Doctor, 
 submissivel3\ 
 
 " He is a tenant of your Tubbertnore estate, Sir," resumed Ken- 
 nyfeck, " a very near neighbour." 
 
 " I regret that I am pressed for time at this moment. Sir," said 
 Cashel, drawing on his gloves impatiently ; " but I believe it is the 
 less consequence, inasmuch as I really know nothing — absolutely no- 
 thing — and you, Mr. Kennyfeck, know everything, aboiit that pro- 
 perty, and are by far the best person to hear and decide upon this 
 gentleman's proposition, whatever it be." 
 
 *' It is a case that must be decided by yourself, Sir," said the Doctor. 
 " It is neither a matter of law nor right, but a simple question of 
 whether you will do an act of great kindness to the oldest tenant on 
 your property, a man who, now overtaken by years and sickness, may 
 not, perhaps, be alive at ray return, to hear of your benevolence." 
 
 " It is about this renewal. Sir," interposed Kennyfeck, who saw 
 Cashel's increasing impatience to be away. " Mr. Corrigan's lease 
 expires on the 25th." 
 
 " He is now struck by paralysis," interrupted the Doctor ; " and 
 his only prayer is to be sufiered to die beneath the roof where he has 
 lived for fifty years." 
 
 " A tenant at will," interposed Kennyfeck. 
 
 " Gri'acious Heaven ! how could he suppose I should dream of dis- 
 possessing him ?" cried Cashel. " Of course. Sir, the house is his 
 own so long as he pleases to hold it. Tell him so. Mr. Kennyfeck 
 will tell him from me, that he need not give the matter another 
 thought. I am sincerely grieved that it should have already caused 
 him so much anxiety." 
 
 " Ah, Sir," cried the Doctor, while two very dubious drops twinkled 
 in his eyes, " you are, indeed, worthy of the good fortune that has 
 bduJlun you. My poor old friend will bless you with a prouder heart
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. " 137 
 
 in his belief in human nature, than even his gratitude could suggest. 
 Farewell, Sir, and may you long live to be as happy as you know how 
 to make others," 
 
 With an impulse of irrepressible warmth the old man seized Cashel's 
 hand in both his own, and pressed it cordially, when the door sud- 
 denly opened, and Linton, dressed in a riding costume, appeared. 
 
 " AVhat, Eoland, at business so early ? Do you know you're an 
 hour behind time ?" 
 
 " I do ; but I couldn't help it — in fact, this was unexpected " 
 
 " It was an act of benevolence, Sir, detained Mr. Cashel," inter- 
 rupted the Doctor. " I believe no appointment can be broken with 
 a safer apology." 
 
 " Ho ! ho !" said Linton, throwing up his eyebrows, as if he sus- 
 pected a snare to his friend's simplicity. " Which of the Missions 
 to convert the Blacks, or what family of continuous twins are you 
 patronising?" 
 
 " Good-by, Sir," said the Doctor, turning towards Cashel. " I'd 
 ask your pardon for the liberty I have already taken with you, it I 
 were not about to transgress again." Here he looked Linton fully 
 in the face. " Mr. Cashel has done a kind and worthy action this 
 morning. Sir ; but if he does many more such, and keep your com- 
 pany, he is not only a good man, but the strongest principled one I 
 ever met wdth." 
 
 As the last word was uttered, the door closed after him, and he was 
 gone. 
 
 " So then, I'm the Mephistopheles to your Faust," said Linton, 
 laughing heartily ; " but what piece of credulous benevolence has cost 
 you this panegyric and me this censure ?" 
 
 " Oh, a mere trifle," said Cashel, preparing to leave — •" a simple 
 grant of renewal to an old tenant on my estate." 
 
 " Only that," said Linton, affecting the coolest indifference, while 
 by a keen glance at Kennyfeck he revealed a profound consciousness 
 of his friend's simplicity. 
 
 " Nothing more, upon my honour ; that little cottage of Tubber- 
 beg." 
 
 " Not that fishing lodge beside the river, in an angle of your own 
 demesne ?" asked Linton, eagerly. 
 
 " The same— why, what of it ?" 
 
 " Nothing, save that your magnanimity is but one-sided, since only 
 so late as Thursday last, when we looked over the map together, you 
 gave me that cottage until such time as you should include the farm 
 within the demesne." 
 
 "By Jupiter, and so I did!" exclaimed Cashel, while a flush of 
 shame covered his face and forehead : " what a confounded memory 
 I have ! What is to be done ?"
 
 138 ■ EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Ob, never fret about it," said Linton, taking bis arm, and leading 
 liim away. " The tbing is easily settled. Wbat do I want with a 
 cottage ? The old gentleman is, doubtless, a far more rural personage 
 tban I should prove. Let us not forget Aubrey's breakfast, which, ' 
 if we wait mucb longer, will be a luncheon. The ladies well, Mr. 
 Kennyfeck ?" This was the first time be bad noticed tbat gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 " Quite well, Mr. Linton," said he, bowing politely. 
 
 " Pray present my respects. By the way, you don't want a side- 
 saddle horse, do you ?" 
 
 " I thank you, we are supplied." 
 
 " "Wbat a pity ! I've got such a grey, witb tbat swinging low can- 
 tering action Miss Kennyfeck likes ; she rides so well ! I wish siie'd 
 try bim." 
 
 A shake of the bead and a bland smile intimated a mild refusal. 
 
 " Inexorable fatber ! Come, Casbel, you shall make the amende 
 for baviag given away my cottage ; you must buy Reginald, and make 
 bim a present to the lady." 
 
 " Agreed," said Casbel ; " send bim over to-day ; be's mine, or ratber 
 Miss Kennyfeck's. Nay, Sir, really I will not be opposed. Mr. Ken- 
 nyfeck, I insist." 
 
 The wortby attorney yielded, but not without reluctance, and saw 
 them depart, witb grave misgivings tbat the old Doctor's sentiment 
 was truly spoken, and tbat Linton's companionsbip was a most un- 
 bappy accident. 
 
 " I must get into Parliament," said Linton, as be seated bimself 
 beside Casbel in tbe pbaeton, " if it were only to quote you as oue of 
 that much-belied class, tbe Irisb Landlord. Tbe man who grants 
 renewals of bis best land on terms contracted three hundred years 
 ago, is very mucb wanting just now. AVhat a sensation it will create 
 in the House, when they cry ' Name, name !' and I reply tbat I am 
 uuder a positive personal injunction not to name, and then Sharman 
 Crawford, or one of tbat set, rises and avers that be believed tbe Ho- 
 nourable and Learned Gentleman's statement to be perfectly un- 
 founded. Amid a deluge of ' Ohs !' I stand up and boldly declare 
 tbat further reserve is no longer possible, and that tbe gentleman 
 whom I am so proud to call my friend is Eoland Casbel, Esq., of Tub- 
 bermore. There's immortality for you, for that evening at any rate. 
 You'll be toasted at Bellamy's, at supper, and by tbe white-beaded 
 old crentlemen who sit in the window at tlie Carlton." 
 
 " You'll not bint that I had already made a present of the lauds 
 wbeti I displayed so much munificence," said Casbel, smiling. 
 
 " Not a syllable ; but I'll tell tbe secret to the Opposition, if you 
 ever grow restive," said Linton, with a laugh, in which, bad Eoland 
 studied Lavater, he might have read a valuable lesson.
 
 EOLAND CA8UEL. 139 
 
 ^^ Apropos of Parliament, Kennyfeck persists in boring me about 
 it, and that Mr. Downie Meek seems to have it at heart that I am to 
 represent sometliing or somebody, well knowing, the while, that I 
 cannot possibly be supposed to understand anything of the interests 
 wliereon I should be called to vote and legislate." 
 
 "That's not so much consequence," said Linton; "you'd find a 
 very strong section of the House very like yourself, but the thing 
 would bore you ; you would neither like the fatigue nor the slavery 
 of it ; and, positively, there is no excitement, save for the half-dozen 
 who really contest the race. Meek, and others of the same stamp 
 will tell you that property should be represented in the Legislature. 
 I agree fully with the sentiment, so it should. So also should a man's 
 rents be collected, but that's no reason he should be his own agent, 
 when he can find another, far more capable, ready for oflice. — Touch 
 that off-side horse, he'll skulk his collar when he can. — Now, if you 
 have county or borough influence going a begging, send in your no- 
 minee, any fellow who'll suit your views, and express your opinions 
 — myself, for instance," said he, laughing, " for want of a better. — 
 Those manes don't lie right ; that near-sider's falls on the wrong side 
 of the neck, — The great secret for any man situated as you are, is to 
 avoid all complications, political, social, and matrimonial. You have 
 a glorious open country before you, if there be no cross-riding to 
 spoil your run." 
 
 "Well, I am. not above taking advice," said Cashel, "but really I 
 must own that, from the little I've seen of the matter, it seems harder 
 to go through life with a good fortune than without a shilling. I 
 know that as a poor man, very lately " 
 
 " Come, come, you know very little of what poverty means ; you've 
 been leading a gay life in a land where men do, by one bold enter- 
 prise, the work which costs years of slow toil in our tamer regions. 
 Now I should have liked that kind of thing myself. Ay, you may 
 smile, that a man who devotes a large share of each day to the tie of 
 his cravat, and the immaculate elegance of his boots, should venture 
 to talk of Prairie life and adventure. Take care — by Jove ! I thought 
 vou were into that apple-stall." 
 
 " Never say it twice," cried Cashel, gaily. " I'm beginning to feel 
 confoundedly tired of this life here ; and, if I don't find that it im- 
 proves on acquaintance, I'll take a run down west, just to refresh my 
 spirits. "Will you come with me ?" 
 
 " With my whole heart I join the proposal ; but you are not serious ; 
 I know you are merely jesting in all this." 
 
 " Perfectly serious. I am decidedly weary of seven o'clock din- 
 ners and morning calls. But here we are." 
 
 As he spoke, they drove into the barrack-yard, where groups of 
 lounging officers, in every variety of undress, were seen in all the
 
 14.0 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 insipid enjoyment of that cigar-smoking existence, which forms the 
 first article in our military code of education. 
 
 The gallant — th Light Dragoons were a " fast regiment," and the 
 inventors of that new locomotive on the road to ruin, called a " mess 
 breakfast" — a meal where champagne flows with a profusion rarely 
 seen at dinner, and by which men begin the day in a frame of mind 
 that would not be very decorous even when concluding it. Cashel, 
 being an honoured guest, drank wine with every one, not to speak of 
 participating in various little bibatory trios and quartets, so that 
 when the entertainment drew to a close, he was very far from that 
 self-possession and command which, with all his high spirit, seldom 
 deserted him. 
 
 A tremendous fall of rain, that showed no prospect of ceasing, had 
 just set in, so that the party agreed to repair to the Major's rooms, 
 and make a pool at ecarte. After some talking about play in general, 
 and some quizzing about not being able to bet a sum such as Cashel 
 would care to play for, the game began. 
 
 Notwithstanding the apologies, the play was high, so much so, that 
 Cashel, never a very shrewd observer, could not help remarking that 
 several of the players could not conceal the anxiety the game inspired. 
 
 Roland himself joined less from inclination than fellowship, and 
 far better pleased to be at liberty to chat with some of the others, 
 than to be seated at the table, he arose each time he lost, well content 
 to pay for freedom by his gold. His natural indifference, added to a 
 perfect carelessness about money, induced him to accept any bet that 
 was offered, and these were freely proposed, since, in play parlance, 
 " the run was against him ;" so that, ere the trumpet-call announced 
 the time to dress for the mess, he had lost heavily. 
 
 " You have no idea how much you have lost," said Linton, in a 
 low voice, and with a gravity of manner almost reproacliful. 
 
 " Not the slightest," said Cashel, laughing. 
 
 " I can tell you then, for Lhave totted it up. This morning's work 
 has cost you seven thousand some hundred pounds." 
 
 "Indeed!" said Cashel, a flush rather of shame than displeasure 
 mantling on his features. " I'll give it up, in future." 
 
 " No, no ! not till you've had your revenge," whispered Linton. 
 " We'll stay for the mess, and have at them again. The night is ter- 
 rific, and no possibility of leaving." 
 
 The mess followed, and although play was to succeed it, the party 
 drank freely, and sat long over tlieir wine, even Linton himself seem- 
 ing to linger at the table, and leave it with regret. 
 
 As for Cashel, for the first time in his life he wished to play. No 
 desire for money-getting, no mean passion for gain suggested the 
 wish, it was simply a piqued vanity at being beaten; a sense of in- 
 dignity that his inferiority should seem to be implied, even in so
 
 / 
 
 f 
 
 >"'X. -r-t^
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 141 
 
 trifling a matter, urged him on, and he was one of the first to vote 
 for a return to ecarte. 
 
 Except Linton, there was not probably one who could be called a 
 good player in the party — but luck, which has more than the mastery 
 over skill, supplied the place of knowledge, and Cashel was the only 
 heavy loser of the whole assembly. Stung by continued failure, too, 
 he betted madly and foolishly, so that as the day was breaking, and 
 the stir in the barrack-yard announced the approaching parade, his 
 losses reached more than double what they had been in the morning. 
 
 " I say, lads !" said the Major, as they all arose from the table, " one 
 word before you go." So saying, he turned the key in the door, and 
 stood with his back against it. " Before any one leaves the room, each 
 must promise on his honour not to mention a syllable of this night's 
 business. "We all know that we have been playing far higher stakes 
 than ever we've been in the habit of. The report, if it get abroad, 
 would ruin the regiment." 
 
 " Oh, we all promise not a word shall be said about it," cried out 
 several voices together. " There's the second trumpet !" So saying, 
 they hastened pell-mell to dress for the parade, while Cashel, taking 
 Linton's arm, set out homewards. 
 
 *' I say, Tom !" said Roland, after they had walked on for some time 
 in silence, " I am somewhat ashamed of this exploit of mine, and 
 would not for a great deal that Kennyfeck should know it. Is there 
 no way of getting this money by loan— for if I draw now " 
 
 " Make your mind quite easy ; I'll arrange that for you. Don't 
 worry yourself about it. It's a bore, of course, to lose a round sum 
 like that ; but you can afford it, my boy, that's one comfort. If it 
 had been I, by Jove, the half of it would have drained the well !" 
 This said, he hastily changed the topic, and they walked along chatting 
 of everything save the late party. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 The money that " at play" ia spent, 
 Must oft be raised at " cent, per cent." 
 
 The Mode. 
 
 " Good night, or rather good morrow," said Linton, as he stood 
 with Cashel on the steps of his newly-taken residence. 
 
 Cashel made no reply ; his thoughts were recurring to the scene of 
 the late debauch, and in some pangs of self-reproach he was "recalling 
 the heavy sum he had lost. " You spoke of my being able to raise
 
 142 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 this money, Linton, without Kennyfeck's knowing ; for I am really 
 ashamed of the affair. Tell me how can it be done ?" 
 
 " Nothing easier." 
 
 " Nay, but when ? for if I must confess it, I can think of nothing 
 else till it be arranged." 
 
 " What a timid conscience yours must be," said Linton, laughing, 
 "that cannot sleep lest the ghosts of his I. O.'s should haunt him." 
 
 " The fact is so, nevertheless. The very gloomy moments of my 
 life have been associated with play transactions. This shall be the 
 last." 
 
 " What folly ! Tou suffer mere passing impressions to wear deep 
 into your nature ; you that should be a man of nerve and vigour. 
 What can it possibly signify that you have thrown away a few hun- 
 dreds, or a few thousands either ?" 
 
 " Very little as regards the money, I own ; but I'm not certain how 
 long my indifference respecting play might last. I am not sure how 
 long I could endure being beaten — for that is the sense losing sug- 
 gests — without a desire to conquer in turn. Now up to this I have 
 played to oblige others, without interest or excitement of any kind. 
 What if I should change and become a gambler from clioice ?" 
 
 " Why, if you propound the question with that solemn air, you'll 
 almost frighten me into believing it would be something very terrible ; 
 but if you ask me simply what would be the result of your growing 
 fond of play, I'll tell you fairly, it's a pleasure gained, one of the few 
 resources which only a rich man can afford with impunity, so much 
 the more fascinating, that it can be indulged in such perfect accord- 
 ance with every humour of a man's mind. If you are so inclined, 
 you play low, and coquet with fortune, or if lavishly given, you throw 
 the reins loose and go free. Now it seems to me that nothing could 
 better suit tlie careless, open-banded freedom of your habits than the 
 vacillations of high play. It's the only way that even for a moment 
 you can taste the sensation of being hard pressed, while in the high 
 flood of luck you can feel that gushing sense of power that somehow 
 seems to be the secret soul of gold !" 
 
 " Men must lose with a very different look upon their features 
 before I can win with the ecstasy you speak of," cried Cashel. " But 
 where are we straying to— what part of the town have we got into ?" 
 " This is the cattle-market," said Linton, " and I have brought you 
 here because I saw you'd not close your eyes till that silly affair was 
 settled, and here we are now at Dan Iloare's counting-house, the man 
 of all others to aid us. Follow me ; I ouglit to know the stairs well, 
 • in daylight or dark." 
 
 Cautiously following his guide, Cashel mounted a half-rotten, creaky 
 stair, which passed up between two damp and mildewed walls, and
 
 BOLAND CASHEL. 143 
 
 entered a small chamber whose one window looked ont in a dirty 
 court. The only furniture consisted of two deal chairs and a table, 
 on which various inscriptions made by penknives betokened the 
 patience and zeal of former visitors. 
 
 Linton passed on to the end of the chamber, where was a narrow 
 door, but suddenly halted as his eye caught a little slip of paper 
 attached to a sliding panel, and which bore the word " Engaged." 
 " Ha !" cried he, " one here already ! Tou see, early as it is, Dan is 
 at work, discounting and protesting as usual. By the way, I have 
 forgot one essential : he never gives a stamp, and so I must provide 
 one. "Wait for me here ; there is a place in the neighbourhood where 
 they can be had, and I'll be back presently." 
 
 Cashel sat himself down in the cheerless little den, thinking of the 
 many who might have waited there before, in so many frames of 
 anxiety and torturing suspense. His own memory could recal a some- 
 what similar character in Geizheimer, and while he was thus remem- 
 bering some features of the past, he fell into a reverie, forgetting time 
 and place together, the sound of voices from the adjoining room 
 serving rather to lidl than arouse his attention. At last a word 
 caught his ear. He started suddenly, and looking about him for a 
 second, experienced almost a difficulty to remember where he was. 
 Could it be possible, or was it mere fancy ? but he believed he heard 
 his name mentioned by some one within that room. Less caring to 
 know how or by whom the name was spoken than if the fact were 
 actually so, he leaned forward on his chair, and bent his ear to listen, 
 when he heard, in a voice louder than had been used before, the fol- 
 lowing words : 
 
 " It may be all as you say, Sir ; I won't pretend to throw a doubt 
 upon your words ; but, as a mere man of business, I may be per- 
 mitted to say that this promise, however satisfactory to your friend's 
 feelings, is not worth a sixpence in law. Corrigan asks for a renewal 
 of his lease, and the other says, ' Keep your holding — don't disturb 
 yourself,' and there he is, a tenant at will. 'Now, for the purposes 
 you have in view towards me, that pledge goes for nothing. I cannot 
 renew these bills upon such frail security. If the old man cannot 
 find means to meet them, Leicester must, that's all." 
 
 " Leicester is a villain !" cried another and a deeper voice, whose 
 tones seemed not quite strange to Eoland's ears. " He has ruined 
 my poor old friend ; he will soon leave him houseless, and he threatens 
 to leave hiui almost friendless too." 
 
 "He told me," said the other, "he should certainly claim his 
 daughter, and means to return next summer for that purpose." 
 
 " I almost hope poor Con will never live to see that day," said the 
 former, with a heavy sigh.
 
 144 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Well, to return to our own affair, Sir, I tell you, frankly, I don't 
 consider Cashel's promise deserving of any consideration. He, doubt- 
 less, means to keep it ; that's the very most anybody can say about 
 it. But remember what a life he is leading: he has drawn above 
 thirty thousand out of Latrobe's hands in three months — no one 
 knows for what. He has got among a set of men who play high, and 
 cannot pay if they lose. Now, his estate is a good one ; but it can't 
 last for ever. My notion is that the young fellow will end as he began, 
 and become a buccaneer once more." 
 
 " He has a long course to run ere that comes," said the other, 
 
 " Not so long as you fancy. There are demands upon liim from 
 quarters you little suspect, or that, for the moment, lie little suspects 
 himself. It would surprise you to hear that he is in Leicester's hands 
 too." 
 
 " Eoland Cashel — Mr. Cashel, in Leicester's hands ! How do you 
 mean?" 
 
 Just at this instant Linton's foot was heard ascending the stairs, 
 and Cashel, whose eagerness to hear the remainder became a perfect 
 torture of anxiety, was forced to lose the opportunity. 
 
 " What a hunt I have had," said Linton, as he entered, flushed and 
 ■weary-looking. " Our amount is rather above the ordinary mark, and 
 I found it almost impossible to procure the stamps. Are you tired 
 waiting ?" 
 
 " No — nothing to speak of," said Cashel, confusedly. 
 
 " Well, I fancy our friend here has had much more than his share 
 of an audience. I'll see and unearth him." 
 
 And so saying, Linton knocked with his cane at the door. A low 
 murmuring of voices succeeded, the sound of feet followed, and soon 
 after the door was opened, and a small, thin, pale-faced man in black 
 appeared. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Hoare. Here have we been playing ante- 
 chamber to your serene highness for full an hour. This is Mr. Eoland 
 Cashel, Mr. Hoare, who wishes to make your acquaintance." 
 
 The little man turned his quick grey eyes towards Cashel with a 
 most scrutinising keenness ; but, as suddenly withdrawing them, in- 
 vited both to enter. 
 
 " Be seated, gentlemen. Pardon the bumble accommodation of 
 this place. Take a chair, Mr. Linton." 
 
 " We want tin, Mr. Hoare," said Linton, slapping his boot with 
 his cane : " that most universal and vulgar want. My friend here 
 desires to raise a sum, without having recourse to his agent, and I 
 believe no man can aid in a little secret-service transaction Like your- 
 self." 
 
 " Is the sum a large one, Sir ?" said Hoare, addressing Cashel.
 
 j: 
 
 / 
 
 i
 
 '!'!> 
 
 Mont V .Ljtj,
 
 KOLAND CASIIEL. 145 
 
 " I cannot tell you exactly," said Cashel, in some confusion at the 
 confession of his ignorance. " I fancy it must be close on ten or 
 twelve thousand pounds." 
 
 " More like twenty !" cried Linton, coolly. Then turning to Hoare, 
 he went on: " My friend here is, happily for him, very little skilled 
 in affairs of this kind ; and as his security is about the best that can 
 be offered, he need not buy his experience very dearly. Now just 
 tell us, frankly, how, when, and on what terms he can have this 
 money." 
 
 " Money is scarce just now, Sir," said Hoare ; " but as to securities, 
 ]\Jr. Cashel's bills are quite sufficient. There is no necessity for any 
 legal expenses whatever. I need not say that the transaction shall 
 be perfectly secret ; in fact, I'll keep the bills in my own hands till 
 due." 
 
 " There, that's the man I told you he was," cried Linton. " A 
 Croesus in generosity as in gold. I would I were your son, or your 
 son-in-law, Hoare." 
 
 " Too much honour, Mr. Linton," said the money-lender, whose 
 slight flush did not betoken a concurrence in his own words. " Now 
 to business," continued he, addressing Cashel. "If you favour me 
 with your name on four bills for five thousand each, and the accom- 
 panying charges for interest, discount, commission, and so on, I'll 
 engage that you have this money within the week." 
 
 " Could it not be to-morrow ? I should like greatly to have the 
 whole off my mind ; and as I mean not to play again " 
 
 "Pooh, pooh," said Linton, stopping an explanation he was by no 
 means pleased Hoare should hear; "time enough for resolutions, and 
 time enough for payment too. By the end of the week, Hoare, will 
 do perfectly. Tou can bring the bills with you to my quarters, say 
 on Saturday morning, and we'll drive over to Mr. Cashel's." 
 
 " Very well. I'll be punctual. At eleven on Saturday expect 
 me. May I bring that little thing of yours for 200^. with it, Mr. 
 Linton ?" 
 
 " Of course you may not. "Where do you expect me to find money 
 for the debts of last year ? My dear Hoare, I have no more memory 
 for such things than I have for tlie sorrows of ciiildhood." 
 
 " Ah, very well. Sir, we'll keep it over," said Hoare, smiling. 
 
 " Let him bring it," whispered Cashel, " and include it in one of my 
 bills. There's nothing so worrying as an overhanging debt." 
 
 " Do you think so ?" replied Linton. " Bless me, I never felt 
 that. A life without duns is like a sky without a cloud, very agree- 
 able for a short time, but soon becoming wearisome from very mono- 
 tony. You grow as sick of uninterrupted blue as ever you did of 
 impending rain and storm. Let me have the landscape effect of light 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 14G ROLAND CASnEL. 
 
 and shadow over existencp. The brilliant bits are then ten times as 
 glorious in colour, and the dark shadows of one's mortgages only 
 heighten the warmth of the picture. Ask Hoare, there, ^e'll tell you. 
 I actually cherish my debts." 
 
 " Very true, Sir ; you cannot bear to part with them either." 
 
 " Well said, old Moses ; the ' interest' they inspire is too strong 
 for one's feelings. But hark ! 1 hear some fresh arrivals without. 
 Another boat-load of the d d has crossed the Styx." 
 
 " Thanks for the simile. Sir," said Hoare, smiling faintly. " On 
 Saturday." 
 
 " On Saturday," repeated Linton. 
 
 Cashel lingered as he left tlie room ; a longing desire to speak one 
 word, to ask one question of Hoare — who was this Leicester of whom 
 he spoke ? — was uppermost in his mind, and yet he did not dare to 
 own he had heard the words. He could have wished, too, to com- 
 municate his thoughts to Linton, but a secret fear told him that per- 
 haps the mystery might be one he would not wish revealed. 
 
 " Why so thoughtful, Eoland ?" said Linton, after traversing some 
 streets in silence. " My friend Hoare has not terrified you ?" 
 
 " JS^o, I was not thinking of him," said Cashel. "What kind of 
 character does he bear ?" 
 
 " Pretty much that of all his class. Sharp enough, when sharpness 
 is called for, and seemingly liberal if liberality pays better. To me 
 he has been ever generous. Why, Heaven knows ; I suppose the 
 secret will out one of these days. I'm sure I don't ask for it." 
 
 Linton's flippancy, for the first time, was distasteful to Cashel. If 
 the school in which he was bred taught little remorse about the sin of 
 incurring debt, it inculcated, however, a manly self-reliance, to clear 
 off the encumbrance by some personal effort, and he by no means 
 sympathised with the cool indifference of Linton's philosophy. 
 Linton, always shrewd enough to know when he had not " made 
 a hit," at once turned the conversation into another cliannel, by 
 asking at what time Cashel proposed to receive his visitors at Tub- 
 bermore. 
 
 "Is the honour seriously intended me ?" said Cashel, "or is it 
 merely a piece of fashionable quizzing this promised visit, for I owti 
 I scarcely supposed so many fine people would like to encounter the 
 hard usage of such an old ruin as I hear this must be." 
 
 " You'll have them to a certainty. 1 doubt if there will be a single 
 apology. I know at this instant the most urgent solicitations have 
 been employed to procure invitations." 
 
 "With all my heart, then," cried Cashel; "only remember the 
 order of the course depends on you. I know nothing of how they 
 ought to be entertained or amused. Take the whole affair into your 
 own hands, and I shall concur in everything."
 
 ROLAXD CASH EL. 147 
 
 " Originality is always better than imitation, but still if one cannot 
 strike out a totally new line, what do you think of taking old 
 Mathews of Johnstown for our model, and invite all our guests w'ith 
 free permission to dine, breakfast, and sup at what hour, and in what 
 parties they please ? This combines the unbridled freedom of an inn 
 with the hospitality of a country house. Groups form as fancy dic- 
 tates. New combinations spring up each day — no fatigue, no ennui 
 can ensue with such endless changes in companionship, and you your- 
 self, instead of the fatiguing duties of a host, are at liberty, like any 
 of your guests, to join this party or that." 
 
 " I like the notion immensely — how would our friends take it, for 
 that is the point ?" 
 
 " It w^ould be popular with every one, for it will suit your people 
 who know and like to mix with every set in society, and at the same 
 time gratify your ' exclusives,' who can form their own little coteries 
 with all the jealous selection they love. Besides, it avoids another 
 and a great difficulty. Had you received in ordinary fashion, you 
 must have asked some lady-friend to have done tlie honours for you. 
 This would have been a matter of the greatest embarrassment. The 
 Kennyfecks have not rank enough — old Lady Janet would have 
 frightened every one away— Mrs. White would have filled the house 
 with her own ' blues,' and banished every one else — and as for Lady 
 Kilgoff — w^ho besides being a very pretty woman and well-mannered, 
 has an exceedingly fascinating way with strangers — ' My Lord' is so 
 jealous, so absurdly, madly jealous, that she dare not ask after the 
 success of a shooting-party without his suspecting an allegorical allu- 
 sion to Cupid and his shafts." 
 
 " Well, then, let us resolve to receive ' en Mathews,' and now, when 
 shall we name the day ?" 
 
 " Let us wait till the result of the division be known in Parliament. 
 A change of Ministers is hinted at, and if it were to occur, you'll 
 have every one hastening away to his county for the new election ; 
 by Saturday we shall learn everything, and that will be time enougli." 
 
 " In any case, I had better set off and see what can be done to put 
 the house in a fit state to receive them," 
 
 " Leave all that to me. I'll take Popham, the architect, down with 
 me, and you need never trouble your head about the matter. It's 
 quite clear people who accept an invitation like the present, must put 
 up with a hundred small penalties on convenience. The liberty of 
 such a house always repays whatever is wanting on the score of cere- 
 monial and order, and your fine guests, who would perhaps give 
 themselves airs towards the Kennyfecks and their set — if meetino- 
 them elsewhere — will here affect, at least, a tone of good-natured 
 equality, just as in revolutionary times people shake hands with their 
 hairdresser." 
 
 l2
 
 148 ROLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 " But how to amuse or even occupy them, tliat is a great puzzle 
 to me." 
 
 " Leave them perfectly to their own devices. In fun there should 
 be always free-trade. Protection ruins it. But all this is Egyptian 
 to you, so go to bed and sleep soundly, and leave the cares of state 
 to me. 
 
 On me the glory or disgrace, 
 
 The pride of triumph or the shame of fall." 
 
 "Then I'll think no more of the matter," said Cashel ; "and so 
 good-by." 
 
 " Now for a twenty-four hours' sleep," said Linton, " and then, 
 once more, to roll the stone of life, which, by the way, gives the lie 
 to the old adage, for unquestionably it does ' gather moss' as we grow 
 older." 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Confound their politics ! — National Anthem. 
 
 LiNTOK was very far from indulging that dreamy inactivity of which 
 he spoke. Plans and schemes of various kinds occupied his thoughts 
 too intently to admit of slumber. Indeed, his theory was, that if a 
 man could not dream of some happy mode of advancing his fortune, 
 sleep was a fearful inroad upon his worldly career. 
 
 He at once hastened home to read his letters and newspapers, and 
 so important did their intelligence seem, that he only delayed to 
 change his dress and eat a hurried breakfast, when he repaired to the 
 Castle, where a few minutes previously the Secretary, Mr. Downie 
 Meek, had arrived from his lodge in the Park. 
 
 " Safe once more. Meek," said he, entering the official chamber, 
 where, immersed in printed returns, petitions, and remonstrances, sat 
 the busy Secretary. 
 
 " Ah, Linton !" you are the lienvenu. "We are to have another 
 heat for the race, though I own it scarcely looks promising." 
 
 " Particularly as you are going to carry weight," said Linton, 
 laughing. "It's true, I suppose, that the Irish party have joined 
 you ?" 
 
 " There was no help for it," said the Secretary, with a despondent 
 gesture of the eyebrows ; " we had no alternative save accepting the 
 greasy voices, or go out. Some deemed the former the better course, 
 but others remembered the story of the Brahmin, who engaged to 
 teach the ass to speak in ten years, or else forfeit his ow^n head."
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 149 
 
 " And perfectly right," interrupted Linton. " Tlie Brahmin had 
 only three chances in his favour. Now, your King may die too, and 
 you have any number of asses to be got rid of." 
 
 " Let us be serious, Tom. What are our prospects at a general 
 election? Are the lauded gentry growing afraid of the 0' Gorman 
 party, or are they still hanging back, resentful of Peel's desertion?" 
 
 " They are very conservative — that is, they want to keep their 
 properties, and pay the least possible taxation. Be cautious, how- 
 ever, and you have thera all your own. The Irish party being now 
 Avith you, begin by some marked favour to the Protestant Church. 
 Hear me out. This will alarm the Romanists, and cause a kind of 
 split amongst them. Such as have, or expect to have place, will 
 stand by you ; the others will show fight. You have then an oppor- 
 tunity of proclaiming yourselves a strong Protestant Cabinet, and 
 the ultras, who hate Peel, will at least affect to believe you. While 
 the country is thus agitated, go to the elections. Tour friends, amid 
 so many unsettled opinions, cannot be expected to take pledges, or, 
 better still, they cannot accept any, subject to various contingencies 
 never to arise." 
 
 " I am sorely afraid of this splitting up the forces," said Meek, 
 doubtfully. 
 
 " It's your true game, depend upon it," said Linton. " These Irish 
 allies are unwieldy — when numerous. I remember once calling on 
 Tom Scott, the trainer, one day, and while we went through the 
 stables, I could not help remarking the fine family of boys he had. 
 ' Tes, Sir,' said Tom, modestly, ' they're good-looking chaps, and 
 smart ones. God Almighty keep 'em little. Sir!' " 
 
 " Ah, very true," sighed Meek; " God Almighty keep 'em little !" 
 
 " Then," resumed Linton, " you have never played out that golden 
 game of Irish legislation, which consists in enacting a law, and always 
 ruling against it. Decide for the Education System, but promote the 
 men who oppose it. Condemn the public conduct of certain parties, 
 and then let them figure as Baronets, or Lieutenants of Counties, in 
 the next Gazette, and to crown all, seek out every now and then some 
 red-hot supporter of Government, and degrade him from the bench 
 of magistrates for maladministration ! This, which in England would 
 seem rather chaotic legislation, will, to Irish intelligence, smack like 
 even-handed justice." 
 
 " We have a bad press," said Meek, peevishly. 
 
 " No matter, it has the less influence. Believe me, it will be an 
 evil day for you Downing-street gentlemen when Ireland possesses a 
 really able and independent press — when, avoiding topics of mere 
 irritating tendency, men address themselves to the actual wants of 
 tiie country, exemplifying, as they disclose them, the inaptitude and 
 lolly of English legislation. Don't wait for that day, Meek. In all
 
 150 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 tikeliliood it is distant euougli, but iu any case don't hasten its coming 
 by your prayers." 
 
 " Tou mustn't broacb these doctrines out of doors, Tom," said 
 Meeli, in a soft, caressing tone ; " there is a horrid cant getting up 
 just now against English rule, and in favour of native manufactures." 
 
 " Which be they Meek ? I never heard of them. Maynooth is 
 the only factory I know of in the land, and a brisk trade it has, home 
 and colonial." 
 
 " Tou know as well as any man the benefits we have conferred on 
 this country." 
 
 " Tes, it demands no great tax on memory to repeat them. You 
 found a starving peasantry of a couple of millions, and being unable 
 or incompetent to aid them, you ruined the gentry to keep them 
 company. Tou saw a mangy miserable dog with famine in his flank 
 and death in his eye, and answering his appeal to your compassion, 
 you cut an inch oS his tail and told him to eat it." 
 
 "Tou are too bad, Tom — a great deal too bad. What are you 
 looking for ?" 
 
 " Nothing at present," was the cool reply. 
 
 " What in prospective, then ?" 
 
 " I should like to be the Secretary for Ireland, Meek, whenever 
 they shelve you among the other unredeemed pledges in that pawn- 
 office, the Board of Trade." 
 
 Meek affected a laugh, but not over successfully, while, to turn the 
 conversation, he said, " A propos to your friend Cashel, I have not 
 been able to show him any attentions, so occupied have I been with 
 one thing and another. Let us make a dinner for him." 
 
 " No, no, he doesn't care for such things. Come and join his house- 
 warming on the Shannon, that will be far better." 
 
 " I mean it, but I should like, also, to see him here. He knows 
 the Kilgoff's, doesn't he ?" 
 
 " Slightly. By the way, what are you going to do vnth my Lord ? 
 He wants, like Sancho, to be Governor of an island." 
 
 " What an old bore! without brains, fortune, or influence." 
 
 " He has a very pretty wife. Meek. Don't you think the Foreign 
 Office would recognise that claim ?" 
 
 " So they send him out of this, I am content. But to return to 
 ■what we were talking about. Shall we say Friday ? or will Saturday 
 suit you ? and we'll make up a small party." 
 
 " I fear not. I mean to leave town by the end of the w^eek." 
 
 " Not for any time ?" 
 
 " A few days only, and then I sliall be at your orders — meanwhile, 
 leave Cashel to himself; he has got some suspicions — Heaven knows 
 whence or how — that his borough influence makes him a very im- 
 portant card just now ; therefore don't notice him — starve him out,
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 151 
 
 and you'll liave him come forth with a white flag one of these days. 
 I know him well, and the chances are, that if he were to attribute 
 any of your civilities to the score of your calculation respecting his 
 political influence, he would at once become your most determined 
 opponent." 
 
 " But his borough " 
 
 " Let him represent it himself, Meek, and it's the next best thing 
 to disfranchisement." 
 
 " He would not be likely to accept any advice from us ?" asked 
 Meek, half timidly. 
 
 " To a certainty he would not, although proffered in your own most 
 insinuating manner. Come, Meek, no nonsense ; you must look out 
 for a seat for your 'protege, Clare .Tones, elsewhere ; though I tell 
 you frankly he is not worth the trouble." 
 
 " I declare you are all wroiig, Linton — quite wrong ; I was think- 
 ing whether from motives of delicacy you would not like to press your 
 own claim, which we might, with so much propriety." 
 
 " Tlianks," said Linton ; while a sly twinkle of his eye showed 
 that he did not care to disguise the spirit of mistrust with which he 
 heard the speech. " Thanks ; you are too generous, and I am too 
 modest, so let us not think more of the matter." 
 
 " What is Cashel's real fortune ?" said Meek, not sorry to turn 
 the conversation into a less dangerous channel ; " one hears so many 
 absurd and extravagant reports, it is hard to know what to believe." 
 
 " Kennyfeck calls it fourteen thousand a year above all charges and 
 cost of collection." 
 
 " And your own opinion ?" 
 
 Linton shrugged his shoulders carelessly, and said, " There or 
 thereabouts. I fancy that his ready money has been greatly over- 
 rated. But why do you ask ? Tour people wouldn't give him a 
 peerage, would they ?" 
 
 " Not now, of course," said Meek, hesitating. 
 
 " Nor at any time, I trust," said Linton, authoritatively. 
 
 " The man does not know how to behave as a plain country gentle- 
 man ; why increase his embarrassments by making him a Lord ? 
 Besides, you should take cai'e in these new creations who are your 
 peeresses, or one of these days you'll have old Kennyfeck fancying 
 that he is a noble himself." 
 
 "There is no danger to be apprehended in that quarter ?" asked 
 Meek, with some trepidation of manner. 
 
 " Yes, but there is, though, and very considerable, too. He has 
 been living in the house with those girls — clever and shrewd girls, 
 too. He is more at his ease there than elsewhere. They listen 
 patiently to his tiresome Prairie stories, and are indulgent to all his 
 little ' escapades' — as a ' lianchero ;' in a word, he is a hero there.
 
 152 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 and never leaves the tlireshold without losing some of the charms 
 of the illusion." 
 
 " And you saw all this ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And suffered it ?" 
 
 " Yes. What would you have me do? Had there been only one 
 girl in the case — I might have married her. But it is only in Botany, 
 or the Bay of that name, that the English permit polygamy." 
 
 " I am very sorry to hear this," said Meek, gravely. 
 
 " I am very sorry to have it to tell, Meek," said the other. 
 
 " He might marry so well !" muttered Meek, half in soliloquy. 
 
 " To be sure he might ; and in good hands — I mean in those of a 
 man who sees his way in life — cut a very fair figure, too. But it won t 
 do to appear in London with a second or third-rate woman, whose 
 only recommendation is the prettiness that has fascinated ' Castle 
 Bails' in Dublin." 
 
 " Let us talk over this again, Liuton," said Meek, arranging his 
 papers, and affecting to be busied. 
 
 " With all my heart ; indeed, it was a subject I intended to speak 
 to you about. I have a little theory thereanent myself.'' 
 
 " Have you, indeed ?" said Meek, looking up with animation. 
 
 "Yes, but it needs your counsel — perhaps something more, I 
 should say — but another time — good-by, good by." And without 
 waiting to say or hear more, Linton lounged out of the room, leaving 
 the Secretary thoughtful and serious, behind him. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Nor lives the heart so cold and dark 
 But in its depths some lingering spark 
 Ot love is cherished there ! 
 
 The Outlaw. 
 
 When Tom Linton parted with Mr. Meek he repaired to the club 
 in Kildare-street to listen to the gossip on the rumoured dissolution 
 of Parliament, and pick up what he could of the prevailing tone 
 among the country gentry. 
 
 His appearance was eagerly hailed^by many, who regarded him as 
 generally well informed on all the changes and turns of party war- 
 fare ; but, as he professed the most complete ignorance of everything, 
 and seemed to devour with greedy curiosity the most common-place 
 announcements, he waa speedily deserted and suffered to pursue his 
 work of inquiry imiiiolested. Not that indeed there was much to
 
 ROLAND CASIIEL. 
 
 153 
 
 learn ; the tone of banter and raillery with which, from want of all 
 real political influence, men in Ireland accustom themselves to dis- 
 cuss grave questions, concealing tlieir real sentiments, or investing 
 tliem with a ludicrous exaggeration, oftentimes foiled even the shrewd 
 perception of Tom Linton. 
 
 He did, however, learn so much as showed him that all the ordinary 
 landmarks of party being lost, men were beginning to feel themselves 
 at liberty to adopt any leadership which pleased them, without suffer- 
 ing the stain of desertion. They thought themselves betrayed by 
 each of the great political chiefs in turn, and began to fancy that the 
 best course for them in future would be to make specific terms for 
 any support they should accord. Suggestions to this end thrown out 
 iu all the bantering gaiety of Irish manner might mean anytliing, or 
 notliing, and so Linton well knew, as he listened to them. 
 
 He had taken liis place at a whist-table, that he might, while seem- 
 ingly preocupied, hear what was said around him, and although no 
 error of play, nor a single mistake in the game, marked the different 
 direction of his attention, he contrived to learn much of the opinion 
 prevalent in certain circles. 
 
 " That is the luckiest fellow in Europe," said one of his late an- 
 tagonists ; " as usual, he rises the only winner." 
 
 " You can scarcely call it luck," said another ; " he is a irst-rate 
 player, and always so cool." 
 
 Meanwhile, Linton, mounting his horse, rode slowly along the 
 streets till he arrived at Bilton's Hotel, where a handsome britschka 
 was standing, whose large up-standing horses and richly-mounted 
 harnessing gave token of London rather than of Dublin taste. 
 
 " Is her Ladyship going out, Halpin !" said he to the footman. 
 
 " Her Ladyship ordered the carriage for four precisely. Sir," 
 
 Linton mused for a second or two, and then asked if Lord KilgofF 
 were at home ; and not waiting for a reply, passed on. 
 
 No sooner, however, had he reached the landing-place, and was be- 
 yond the observation of the servant, than he halted and appeared to 
 reflect. At last, as if having made his resolve, he turned to descend 
 the stairs, when the drawing-room door opened and Lord KilgofF ap- 
 peared. 
 
 " Tlie very man I wanted. Linton, come here," cried he, re-enter- 
 ing the room. 
 
 " I was just on my way to you, my Lord," said Linton, with well- 
 aflfected eagerness. 
 
 " Are they out, Linton, are they ' out ?' " said he, in breathless 
 impatience. 
 
 " No, my Lord. I've seen Meek ; they're safe for the present. A 
 coalition has been formed with O'Morgan and his party, which secures 
 a working majority of forty-five or fifty."
 
 15f BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " This is certain, Linton — may I rely upon it ?" 
 
 " You may, my Lord, with confidence." 
 
 " Then I suppose the moment is come wlien my adhesion would 
 be most well-timed. It's a grave question, Tom ; everything depends 
 on it. If I join them and they go out " 
 
 " Why your Lordship goes out too, without ever having the satis- 
 faction of being ' in.' " 
 
 " Not if they gave me the mission to Florence, Tom. They never 
 remove the smaller legations in any change of parties." 
 
 " But you could not help resigning, ray Lord ; you should 
 follow your friends," said Linton, with an assumed air of high prin- 
 ciple. 
 
 " Not a bit of it; I'd hold on. I see no reason whatever for such 
 a course. I have made a rough draft of a letter, which Hindley 
 should show to Peel. See here, this is the important passage. I 
 presuppose that I had already given Hindley my resignation to hand 
 in to Aberdeen, but that yielding to his arguments, who refuses to 
 deliver it, I have reconsidered the matter. Now, listen : — ' Ton say 
 that my functions are not of a nature to admit any line of partisan- 
 ship, and that a man of honourable views can serve his country under 
 a Whig or Tory administration, irrespective of his own preference 
 for one ©r the other. I feel this to be true. I know that, in my own 
 official career, I have always forgotten the peculiar politics of my 
 masters ; but another question arises, — how shall I be judged by 
 others ? for while I confess to you that I entertain for Peel's capacity 
 a respect I have never been able to feel for the Whig leaders, yet 
 family prejudices, connexions, a hundred minor circumstances, some 
 purely accidental, threw me among the ranks of that party, and a 
 sense of consistency kept me where very probably unbiased judgment 
 had never suffered me to remain.' " 
 
 " Amazingly good ! very well done, indeed !" said Linton, in whose 
 dubious smile younger eyes than Lord KilgofF's might have red the 
 most insolent expression of contempt ; not, indeed, at the hypocriwy, 
 but at tlie poor attempt to give it colour. " There could be no thought 
 of removing a man with such sentiments." 
 
 " I think not, Linton. It would be a gross and flagrant case of 
 official tyranny to do so, — a case for inquiry in tlie House, — a motion 
 to produce the correspondence " 
 
 " Better not, my Lord," said Linton, dryly ; " that is an admirable 
 letter addressed to your friend Lord Hiiulley ; but in a blue book it 
 won't read so well. Take my advice : hold on if you can, go if you 
 must, but don't ask questions, at all events." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right, Tom," said Kilgoif, musing. 
 
 " Now for another point, my Lord ; this visit to Mr. Cashel " 
 
 " I've declined it," said Lord Kilgoff, reddening, and with a look of
 
 KOLAND CAS II EL. 155 
 
 extreme irritation. "The note is there sealed on the table, and shall 
 be sent within an hour." 
 
 " I am not at liberty to ask your reasons, my Lord," said Linton, 
 gravely and respectfully, " but I am certainly free to state my own, 
 why I think you ought most positively to go there." 
 
 " You may, certainly," said Lord Kilgoff, rising impatiently, and 
 pacing the room ; " I shall not interrupt you, but I shall also pledge 
 myself not to let them influence me in the slightest degree. My mind 
 is made up. Sir." 
 
 "Then I shall speak with more freedom," said Linton, boldly; 
 " because, having no pretension to change your sentiments, I am 
 merely desirous to record my own." 
 
 Lord Kilgoff made no reply, but continued his walk, while Linton 
 resumed : 
 
 " Now, I see your impatience, my Lord, and will not trespass on 
 it. Here, in three words, is my case. The borough of Drumkeeran 
 returns a member to Parliament ; Hebden, who represents it, is about 
 to accept the Hundreds ; Cashel owns the town." 
 
 " And if he does, Sir, what signifies it to me ?" broke in Lord 
 Kilgoff; "I have not the slightest influence over that gentleman's 
 opinions. He was rude enough to give me a very flat contradiction 
 in the only discussion we ever held together. I venture to assert, 
 from what I have seen of him, that any direction of his course in 
 Parliament would be totally impossible. He is self-willed, obstinate, 
 and opinionated." 
 
 " Granted, my Lord ; he is the very calibre to run through his own, 
 and ruin any other man's fortune." 
 
 " Well, Sir, and this is the person whose services you think it 
 worth my while obtaining ?" 
 
 " I never said so, my Lord." 
 
 " "What, didn't I hear you this moment " 
 
 " No, you heard me say that the borough is his, but you never 
 heard me say that he ought to be its member. For that honour I had 
 another in my eye, one over whom your Lordship's influence has 
 never yet been doubted." 
 
 " Whom do you mean ?" 
 
 " Tom Linton, my Lord ; a very unworthy, but a most devoted, 
 partisan of your Lordship's." 
 
 " What ! Tom,— t/ou in Parliament ?" 
 
 " Even so, my Lord," said Linton, for once in his life — perliaps, the 
 only time — that a flash of angry meaning coloured his calm features. 
 "1 am sorry that the notion should so palpably wake your Lordship's 
 amazement." 
 
 " No — no — no ! I didn't mean that. I was only surprised. In 
 fact, you took me unawares — we were talking of Casbel." '
 
 156 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Precisely, ray Lord ; we were discussing the probable career of a 
 person so eminently gifted with statesmanlike qualities ; then, how 
 could I possibly hope for patience when introducing to your notice 
 abilities so humble as my own ?" 
 
 " But is it possible — is this practicable, Linton ?" 
 
 " "With your assistance it is certain. The influence of your Lord- 
 ship's rank would give such weight to your opinions, that if you were 
 only to say to him, * Send Linton into Parliament as your member,' 
 the thing is done." 
 
 " I have my doubts." 
 
 " I have none whatever — I know the man well. He is dying to 
 conform to anything that he supposes to be the discipline of his class. 
 Tell him he ought, and he never resists." 
 
 " I had resolved on not paying this visit," said KilgofT, after a 
 brief pause ; " reasons of sufficient weight determined me." 
 
 " Oh, my Lord, pardon the freedom, but I must say that they had 
 need be strong reasons to weigh against all the advantages I can show 
 from the opposite course." 
 
 " They are. Sir, very strong reasons, nor do I deem it necessary to 
 advert to them again ; enough that I esteem them sufficient." 
 
 " Of course, my Lord, I never dreamed of calling them in ques- 
 tion : they must needs be cogent arguments which counterpoise the 
 opposite scale — a high diplomatic career — a representative Peerage — 
 this there could be no doubt of." 
 
 " How do you mean ?" broke in Kilgoff, abruptly. 
 
 " Simply that this young man becomes your trump card, if you only 
 please to take him up. As yet he has resisted the advances made by 
 Downie Meek and his set, because of my watchfulness, but sooner or 
 later some party will catch him, and when one thinks how few men 
 with a large unencumbered fortune we possess here, with a great 
 county interest, two boroughs — for he owns Knockgarvan as well— the 
 prize is really worth having, particularly as it only needs the stretch- 
 ing out the hand to take." 
 
 Lord Kilgoff mused and seemed to ponder over the words. He 
 entertained small doubts of his "friend" Linton's capacity; but he 
 had very considerable suspicions of his principles, and it is a strange 
 fact that people willing to commit very gross breaches of fair dealing 
 themselves are exceedingly scrupulous respecting the fair fame of 
 their associates in iniquity, so admirably accommodating is a worldly 
 conscience ! 
 
 " Well, Sir," said he, at length, " the price— name the price. What 
 are we to pay for the article ? — that is the question." 
 
 " I have said, my Lord, it is to be bad for asking. Tour Lordship 
 has only to take the territory, as our naval men do the chance islands
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 157 
 
 they meet with in the Southern Pacific. Land and plant your flag — 
 voila toutV 
 
 " But you have heard me observe already," said he, in a querulous 
 tone, " that I dislike the prospect of this visit — that in fact it would 
 be exceedingly disagreeable to me." 
 
 " Then I have nothing more to say, my Lord," said Linton, coolly, 
 while he took up his hat and gloves. " 1 can only congratulate you 
 on the excellence of your political prospects, which can dispense with 
 a strong alliance to be had so easily." 
 
 " Our measures of value are very different, Mr. Linton," said Lord 
 Kilgoff, proudly. " Still, to prove that this is no caprice on my 
 part" — here he stopped abruptly, while his heightened colour showed 
 the degree of embarrassment he laboured under — " to show you that 
 I have— in order to explain my motives " Here he took a cau- 
 tious glance around the room, walked to the door, opened and shut it 
 again, and then drawing his arm within Linton's, led him towards a 
 window. For a second or two he seemed undecided, and at last, by 
 a great effort, he whispered a few words in Linton's ear. 
 
 Had any third party been there to watch the effect of the whispered 
 confidence, he might easily have read in the speaking brilliancy of 
 Linton's eyes and in his assured look, that it was of a nature to give 
 him the greatest pleasure. But scarce had his Lordship done speak- 
 ing, when these signs of pleasure gave way to a cold, almost stern air 
 of morality, and he said, " But surely, my Lord, it were far better to 
 leave her Ladyship to deal with such insolent pretension " 
 
 " Hush, not so loud ; speak lower. So I should, Linton, but women 
 never will see anything in these airs of puppyism. They persist in 
 thinking or saying, at least, that they are mere modern fashionable 
 manners, and this endurance on their part gives encouragement. And 
 then, when there happens to be some disparity of years — Lady Kil- 
 goff is my junior — the censorious world seizes on the shadow of a 
 scandal ; in fact. Sir, I will not consent to afford matter for news- 
 paper asterisks or figurative description." 
 
 " Tour Lordship never had a better opportunity of giving open 
 defiance to botli. These airs of Cashel are, as you remark, mere 
 puppyism, assumed to get credit for a certain fashionable character 
 for levity. To avoid him would be to acknowledge that there was 
 danger in his society. I don't go so far as to say that he would 
 assert as much, but most assuredly the world would for him. I think 
 I hear the ready comments on your absence : ' Were not the Kilgofts 
 expected here ?' ' Oh, they were invited, but Lord Kilgoff was afraid 
 to venture. Cashel had been paying attentions.' In a word, every 
 species of impertinence that malevolence and envy can fancy would 
 be fabricated. Tour Lordship knows tlie world far better than I do ;
 
 158 KOLA.NI) CASHEL. 
 
 and knows, besides, the heavy*price a man pays for being the pos- 
 sessor of a bigh capacity and a bandsoaie wife ; these are two insults 
 that the less fortunate in life never do, or never can forgive." 
 
 " Well, what is it you counsel ?" 
 
 " To meet these calumnies in the face ; small slanders, like weak 
 fires, are to be trampled out ; to tamper with such, is to fan the flame, 
 which at last will scorch you. Besides, to take another view of the 
 matter : her Ladyship is young, and has been much admired ; how 
 will she accept this seclusion? I don't speak of the present case; 
 besides, I suppose that this country visit would bore her beyond 
 measure. But how will slie regard it in other instances ? Is it not 
 an implied fear on your Lordship's part ? you, who have really no- 
 thing to dread in competition with any man. I only know, if I were 
 in your place, how I should actually seize the very opportunity of 
 openly flouting such calumnious rumour ; never was there an occa- 
 sion to do so on cheaper terms. This Eoland Cashel is an underbred 
 boy." 
 
 " There is a great deal in what you say, Linton. But as jealousy 
 is a feeling of which I have never had any experience, I was only- 
 anxious on Lady Kilgofi^s account, that the thoughtless gaiety of a 
 very young and handsome woman should not expose her to the sar- 
 castic insinuations of an impertinent world. She is gay in manner — 
 there is an air of lively imagination " 
 
 " No more than what the French call ' amahilite,' my Lord, which, 
 like the famed armour of Milan, is not the less defensive that it is so 
 beautiful in all its details." 
 
 " "Well, then, I'll not send the note," said Lord Kilgoff", as he took 
 up the letter, and tearing it, threw the fragments into the fire. " Of 
 course, Linton, this conversation is strictly confidential ?" 
 
 " Tour Lordship has never found me unworthy of such a trust." 
 
 " Never ; nor, I must say, would it be for your advantage to become 
 so." 
 
 Linton bit his lip, and for a second or two seemed burning to make 
 a rejoinder, but overcoming the temptation, assumed his careless 
 smile, and said, 
 
 " I leave you, my Lord, greatly gratified that chance led me to pay 
 this visit. I sincerely believe that in the counsels I have offered, I 
 have at least been able to be of service to you." 
 
 Lord Kilgoff" presented his hand in aclmowledgment of the speech, 
 but it was accorded with an air which seemed to say, " Well, here is 
 a receipt in full for your devotedness." 
 
 Linton took it in the same spirit, and left the room, as though 
 deeply impressed with all the honour he enjoyed in such a noble 
 friendship.
 
 kolajs^d cashel. 159 
 
 Hastening down the stairs, he sprang into the saddle of his horse, 
 and cauterinw up the street, turned towards the road which leads to 
 the PhcEuix Park. It was about the hour when the equipages were 
 wont to throng that promenade, but Linton did not seem desirous of 
 joiniu"- that gay crowd, for he took a cross path through the fields, 
 and after a sharp ride of half an hour, reached a low paling whicli 
 skirted the Park on the eastward ; here, at a small cottage kept by 
 one of the rangers, a little door led in, passing through which he 
 found himself in one of the long green alleys of that beautiful tract. 
 A boy, who seemed to be ready waiting, now took his horse, and 
 Linton entered the wood and disappeared. He did not proceed far, 
 however, within the shady copse, for after going a short distance he 
 perceived a carriage standing in the lane, by the door of which a 
 footman waited, with a shawl upon his arm. The coachman, with 
 his whip poled, sat talking with his fellow-servant, so that Linton 
 saw" that the carriage had no occupant. 
 
 He now hastened along, and speedily emerging at a little grassy 
 opening of the wood, came in sight of a lady walking at some distance 
 in front. The fashionable air and splendid dress, which might have 
 suited the most brilliant promenade of a great city, seemed strange 
 in such a lone, unvisited spot. Linton lost no time in overtaking 
 her, only diminishing his speed as he came closer, when, with his hat 
 removed, and in an attitude of the most hiunble deference, he said, 
 
 " Pray let me stand excused if I am somewhat behind my time ; 
 the fault was not my own." 
 
 " Oh, say nothing about it," said a soft musical voice, and Lady 
 Kilgoif turned an easy smile towards him. " ' Qui s'excuse, s'accuse,' 
 savs the French proverb, and /never dreamt of the accusation. Is 
 it not a lovely day here ?" 
 
 Linton was too much piqued to answer at once, but recovering, he 
 said : " Without seeking to apologise for an absence that was not felt, 
 let me return to the subject. I assure your Ladyship that I had been 
 detained by Lord Kilgoff who was pleased to bestow a more than 
 ordinary share of his confidence upon me, and even condescended to 
 ask my counsel." 
 
 "• How flattering ! Which you gave, I hope, with all the sincerity 
 for which you are famous." 
 
 Linton tried to smile, but not very successfully. 
 
 " What then was this wonderful mystery ? Not the representa- 
 tive Peerage, I trust ; I'm sure I hope that question is at rest for 
 ever." 
 
 " Tou are quite safe there — he never mentioned it." 
 
 " Oh, then it was his Diplomatic ambition— ain't I right ? Ah, I 
 knew it. How very silly, or how very wacked you must be, Mr.
 
 160 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Linton, to encourage these day-dreams— you who have not the excuse 
 of hallucinations, wlio read the book of life as it is written, without 
 fanciful interpretations." 
 
 " I certainly must disclaim your panegyric. I had one hallucina- 
 tion, if so you term it ; it was that you wished, ardently wished, for 
 the position which a foreign ' mission' bestows. A very natural wish, 
 I freely own, in one so worthy in every way to grace and adorn it." 
 
 " Well, so I did some time back, but I've changed my mind. I 
 don't think I should like it— I have been reconsidering the subject." 
 
 " And your Ladyship inclines now rather to seclusion and rural 
 pleasures— how fortunate that I should have been able to serve your 
 interests there also." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" said she, with a stare, while a deep scarlet 
 
 suffused her clieek. 
 
 " I alluded to a country visit which you fancied might be made so 
 agreeably, but which his Lordship had the bad taste to regard less 
 favourably." 
 
 " AVell, Sir, you did not presume to give any opinion ?" 
 
 " I really did. I had all the hardihood to brave Lord Kilgoff's 
 most fixed resolves. Tou were aware that he declined Mr. Cashel's 
 invitation ?" 
 
 She nodded, and he went on. 
 
 " Probably, too, knowing the reasons for that refusal ?" 
 
 " No, Sir ; the matter was indifferent to me, so I never troubled 
 my head about it. My Lord said we shouldn't go, and I said, ' Very 
 well,' and there it ended." 
 
 Now, although this was spoken with a most admirably feigned in- 
 difference, Linton was too shrewd an observer not to penetrate the 
 deception. 
 
 " I am doubly unlucky this day," said he, at last, " first to employ 
 all my artifices to plan a ministerial success to which you are actually 
 averse, and secondly, to carry a point to which you are indifferent." 
 
 " Dare I ask, if the question be not an indiscreet one, what peculiar 
 interest Mr. Liuton can have, either in our acceptance or refusal of 
 this invitation ?" 
 
 " Have I not said that I believed you desired it ?" replied he, with 
 a most meaning look. 
 
 " Indeed you read inclinations most skilfully, only that you in- 
 terpret them by anticipation." 
 
 " This is too much," said Linton, in a voice whose passionate ear- 
 nestness showed that all dissimulation was at an end, " far too much ! 
 The genteel comedy that we play before the world, Madam, might be 
 laid aside for a few moments here. When I asked for this interview, 
 and you consented to give it "
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 161 
 
 ^' It -n-as on the express stipulation that you should treat me as you 
 do in society, Sir," broke she in — " that there should be no attempt 
 to fixll back upon an intimacy -which can never be resumed." 
 
 " When I promised, I intended to have kept my word, Laura," said 
 he, in deep dejection ; " I believed I could have stifled the passion 
 that consumes me, and talked to you in the words of sincere, devoted 
 friendship, but I cannot. Old memories of once happiness, brought 
 up too vividly by seeing you, as I used to see you, when in many a 
 country walk we sauntered on, dreaming of the time when, mine, by 
 every tie of right, as by aflection " 
 
 " How you requited that affection, Linton !" said she, in a tone 
 whose deep reproach seemed actually to stun him. Then suddenly 
 changing to an air of disdainful anger, she continued : " Tou are a 
 bold man, Linton. I thought it would be too much for even ^our 
 hardihood to recur to a theme so full of humiliation for yourself; but 
 I know your theory, Sir : you think there is a kind of heroism in 
 exaggerated baseness, and that it is no less great to transcend men in 
 crime than in virtue. Tou dare to speak of an affection that you be- 
 trayed and bartered for money!" 
 
 " I made you a Peeress, Madam. "When you were Laura Gardiner, 
 you couldn't have spoken to me as you now speak." 
 
 " If I consented to the vile contract, it was that, when I discovered 
 your baseness, any refuge was preferable to being the wife of one like 
 you!" 
 
 " A most complimentary assurance, not only to myself, but his 
 Lordship," said Linton, with an insolent smile. 
 
 " 'Now, hear me," said she, not noticing the taunt, but speaking 
 with a voice of deep collected earnestness. " It is in vain to build 
 i;pon time or perseverance— the allies you trust so deeply — to renew 
 the ties broken for ever. If I had no other higher and more sustain- 
 ing motive, my knowledge of you would be enough to rescue me from 
 this danger. I know you well, Linton. Tou have often told me 
 what an enemy you could be. This, at least, I believe of all that you 
 have ever sworn I I have a full faith, too, in your ingenuity and skill : 
 and yet I would rather brave botli — ay, both hate and craft — than 
 trust to what you call your honour." 
 
 " Tou do indeed know me well, Laura," said he, in a voice broken 
 and faltering, " or you never had dared to speak such words to me. 
 There is not one breathing could have uttered them and not pay the 
 penalty, save yourself. I feel in my inmost heart how deeply I have 
 wronged you, but is not my whole life an atonement for the wrong ? 
 Am I not heart-broken and wretched, without a hope or a future ? 
 "What greater punishment did any one ever incur than to live in the 
 daily sight and contemplation of a bliss that his own folly or madness 
 
 TOL. I. M
 
 1G2 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Las for ever denied 'liim ; and yet, to tliat same suffering do I cling, 
 as the last tie that binds me to existence. To see you in the world, 
 to watch you, to mark the effect your grace and beauty are making 
 on all around you — how every fascination calls up its tribute of admi- 
 ration — how with each day some new excellence develops itself, till 
 you seem inexhaustible in all the traits of graceful womanhood, this 
 has been the cherished happiness of my life ! It was to this end I 
 laboured to induce the acceptance of that invitation that once more, 
 beneath the same roof, I should see you for days long. Tour own 
 heart must confess how I have never before the world forgotten the 
 distance that separates us. There is then no fear that I should 
 resign every joy that yet remains to me for any momentary indul- 
 gence of speaking to you as my heart feels. No, no, Laura, you have 
 nothing to dread either from my hate or my love." 
 
 " To what end, then, was it that you asked me to meet you here 
 to-day?" said she, in a voice in which a touch of compassionate 
 sorrow was blended. 
 
 " Simply to entreat, that if I should succeed in persuading his Lord- 
 ship to accept this visit, you would throw no obstacle in the way on 
 your side." 
 
 " And if I consent, shall I have no cause to rue my compliance ?" 
 
 " So far as depends on me, none, on my honour." 
 
 It had been better for Linton's cause that he had omitted the last 
 words ; at least, as Laura turned away her head, a curl of insolent 
 meaning was on her lip, but she did not speak, and they now walked 
 along, side by side, in silence. 
 
 " Tou will go, then ?" said he, at last, in a low whisper. 
 
 " Tes," said she, faintly. 
 
 Linton stole a glance at her unperceived, and suddenly the sparkle 
 of his eyes and the elation of his whole expression showed the trans- 
 port of pleasure he experienced. 
 
 "Now for one word of caution," said Linton, as drawing closer to 
 her side he assumed the tone of sincere friendship. " Lord Kilgoff 
 has just revealed to me, in deep confidence, that he has been much 
 offended by certain attentions shown to you by this Mr. Cash el, and 
 which were of so marked a nature that he was almost determined 
 never to admit his intimacy in future. Had his Lordship known you 
 as well as I do, he might have spared himself this anxiety. I believe 
 such savage excellence as his has few attractions for you, nor, save 
 the admiration that all must yield you, has the youth taste or feeling 
 to appreciate your excellence. However, ' my Lord' is jealous ; let 
 it be your care, by knowledge of the fact, not to incur anything to 
 sustain the suspicion." 
 
 " How very absurd all this is. Do you know that Mr. Cashel did 
 not condescend to pay me the poor compliment of a special invitation 
 
 I
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 163 
 
 to his house, but asked my Lord to come, and hoped I would accom- 
 pany him ; just as people invite their humbler acquaintances, hoping 
 that only half the request may be accorded." 
 
 " He is underbred even to barbarism," said Linton. 
 
 " He seems a most good-natured creature and full of generosity." 
 
 " Overwealth has sometimes that air. When the glass is brimful, 
 none but the steadiest hand can carry, without spilling, the wine." 
 
 " He does not appear even to make the effort. They tell me he has 
 squandered some thousands already, making presents to every one who 
 will accept them." 
 
 " He gave me this cane," said Linton, superciliously, exhibiting a, 
 little riding-cane, which he had taken himself out of Cashel's hand, 
 and was of no value whatever. " Not any great evidence of exag- 
 gerated generosity," said he. " As to his house, however, I trust its 
 honours may be well done ; he has given me carte hlancTie, and I must 
 only try and not disgrace my prerogative." 
 
 "How very late it is— nearly seven," said Lady Kilgoff, looking at 
 her watch. 
 
 " Shall I see your Ladyship to your carriage ?" said Linton. 
 
 " I think not," said she, blushing slightly ; " as I left it unaccom- 
 panied, so I shall return to it. Grood-by." 
 
 She held out her hand as she spoke, but slightly averted her head, 
 so that Linton could not mark the expression of her features. As it 
 was, he pressed the gloved fingers to his lips, but, when doing so, 
 contrived to unclasp her bracelet, a singularly rich one, and a present 
 from Lord Kilgoff on the day of her marriage. This he let fall noise- 
 lessly on the grass, and murmured, in a low, sad voice, " Good-by," 
 
 Lady Kilgoff, hastily wrapping her shawl about her, left the spot. 
 Linton watched her till he had seen her seated in the carriage, and 
 continued to gaze after it, as it drove rapidly away, and so intently 
 occupied by his thoughts, that he did not notice the approach of a 
 horseman, who came up at a walking pace behind him. 
 
 " Eh, Tom !" cried out Lord Charles Erobisher, " this is flying at 
 high game !" 
 
 "Ton are mistaken, Charley," said he, in some confusion. " This 
 ' meeting under the greenwood-tree' was nothing less than a love 
 affair." 
 
 " Oh, hang your morality, Mr. Joseph ; it's rather good fun to see 
 the ' insolent beauty' of the season capitulating." 
 
 " Wrong again," said Linton, affecting a laugh, " Everton is in a 
 scrape, and his v/ife wants me to get him out of the way " 
 
 " Nonsense, man, I saw the carriage ; there is no need of mystify- 
 ing here. Besides, it's no affair of mine — I'm sure I wish it were ! 
 But come, what are the odds on Hitchley's colt— are seven to two 
 taken ?" 
 
 m2
 
 164 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Don't bet," said Linton, knowingly ; " there is something ' wrong' 
 in that stable, and I hav'n't found out the secret." 
 
 " "What a deep fellow you are, Tom." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, Charley. If I were, you'd never have dis- 
 covered it. Tour only deep fellow is he that the world deems shallow 
 — your light-hearted, rattling knave, whose imputed thoughtlessness 
 covers every breach of faith, and makes his veriest schemes seem 
 purely accident. But, once get the repute of beiug a clever or a smart 
 fellow, and success is tenfold more difficidt. The world, then, only 
 plays with you as one does with a sharper, betting small stakes, and 
 keeping a steady eye on the cards. Tour own sleepy eye, Charley, 
 your languid, careless look, are a better provision than most men give 
 their younger children." 
 
 Lord Charles lifted his long eyelashes lazily, and, for a second, 
 something like a sparkle lit up his cold, dark eye, but it was gone in 
 a moment, and his habitually lethargic expression once more returned. 
 " Ton heard that we were nearly ' out,' I suppose ?" said he, after a 
 pause." 
 
 " Tes. This is the second time that I bought Downie Meek's 
 carriage-horses on the rumour of a change of administration." 
 
 "And sold them back again at double the price, when he found 
 that the ministry were safe !" 
 
 " To be sure ; wasn't it a ' good hedge' for him to be Secretary for 
 Ireland at the cost of a hundred or so ?" 
 
 " Tou'll get the name of spreading the false intelligence, Tom, if 
 you always profit so much by it." 
 
 " With all my heart. I wish sincerely some good-natured fellow 
 would lay to my charge a little roguery that I had no share in. I 
 Lave experienced all manner and shades of sensations, but injured in- 
 nocence, that would really be new to me." 
 
 " Well," sighed Lord Charles, with a yawn, " I suppose we have 
 only a short time before us here. The end of the session will scarcely 
 see us in office." 
 
 " About that : by keeping all hands at the pumps we may float the 
 ship into harbour, but no more." 
 
 " And what's to become of us ?" said the Aide-de-Camp, with a 
 deep depression in his accent. 
 
 " The usual lot of a crew paid ofi",'' cried Linton, laughing ; " look 
 out for a new craft in commission, and go to sea again. As for you, 
 Charley, you can either marry something in the printed calico line, 
 with a hundred and fifty thousand, or, if you prefer it, exchange into 
 -a light cavalry corps at Suntanterabund." 
 
 " And you ?" said Lord Charles, with something almost of stern- 
 ness. 
 
 " I ? Oh, as for me, I have many alternatives. I can remain a
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 165 
 
 Whig, and demand ofl&ce from the Tories — a claim Peel has never 
 resisted. I can turn Eepealer, and be pensioned by something in the 
 Colonies. I can be a ^Yaiter on Providence, and live on all parties by 
 turns. In fact, Charley, there never was a better age for your ' ad- 
 venturer' tlian this year of our Lord 18 — . All the geography of 
 party has been erased, and it is open to every man to lay down new 
 territorial limits." 
 
 "But for any case of the kind you should have a seat in Parlia- 
 ment." 
 
 " So I mean it, my boy. I intend to represent I'm sure I 
 
 forget the name of my constituency — in the next assemblage of the 
 collective wisdom." 
 
 " How do you manage the qualification ?" said the Aide-de-Camp, 
 
 slyly- , 
 
 " The man wlio gives the borough must take care of that ; it's no 
 affair of mine," said Linton, carelessly. " I only supply the politics ?" 
 
 " And what are they to be ?" 
 
 " Cela dei^end. Tou might as well ask me what dress I'll wear in 
 the changeable climate of an Irish July." 
 
 " Then you'll take no pledges ?" 
 
 " To be sure I will ; every one asked of me. I only stipulate to 
 accompany each with a crotchet of my own, so that, like^the gentle- 
 man who emptied his snuff-box over the peas, I'll leave the dish un- 
 eatable by any but myself" 
 
 " "Well, good-by, Tom," said Lord Charles, laughing. " If you 
 only be as loyal in love as you promise to be in politics, our fair friend 
 is scarcely fortvinate." And so saying, he cantered slowly away. 
 
 " Poor fellow !" said Linton, contemptuously, " your little bit of 
 principle haunts you like a superstition." And with this reflection, 
 he stepped out briskly to where the boy was standing with his horse. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Linton, darlin', only sixpence ! and I here this two 
 hours?" said the ragged urchin, with a cunning leer, half roguery, 
 half shame. 
 
 " And where could you have earned sixpence, you scoundrel, in 
 that time?" cried Linton, affecting anger. 
 
 " Paix, I'd have earned half-a-crown if I'd got up on the beast and 
 rode down to Bilton's," said the fellow, grinning. 
 
 " You'd have bad your skull cracked with this cane the next time 
 I met you for your pains," said the other, really enraged, while he 
 chucked a shilling at him. 
 
 " Success to your honour — all's right," said the boy. And touch- 
 ing his cap, he scampered off into the wood, and disappeared. 
 
 " Tou shall have a sea voyage, my friend," said Linton, looking 
 after him ; " a young gentleman with such powers of observation 
 would have a fine opeuiug in our colonies." And away he rode
 
 166 EOLAliirD CASHEL. 
 
 towards town, liis brain revolving many a complex scheme and lucky- 
 stratagem, but still with ready smile acknowledging each salutation 
 of bis friends, and conveying tbe impression of being one whose easy 
 nature was unruffled by a care. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 Of " sweet fifteen" no mortal e'er afraid is, 
 Your real " man-traps" are old maiden ladies. 
 
 The Legacy. 
 
 It was late that same afternoon ere Cashel awoke. Mr. PhiUis 
 had twice adventured into the room on tiptoe, and as stealthily re- 
 tired, and was now, for the third time, about to retreat, when Eoland 
 called him back. 
 
 " Beg pardon. Sir ; but Mrs. Kennyfeck's footman has been here 
 twice for the answer to this note." 
 
 " Let me see it," said Cashel, taking a highly-perfumed epistle, 
 whose tinted paper, seal, and superscription were all in the perfection 
 of epistolary coquetry. 
 
 " Dear Me. Cashel, — Mamma desires me to convey her reproaches 
 for your shocking forgetfulness of yesterday, when, after promising 
 to dine here, you never appeared. She will, however, not only for- 
 give the past, but be grateful for the present, if you will come to us 
 to-day at seven. 
 
 " Believe me, very truly yours, 
 
 " Olivia Kennyfeck." 
 
 Simple and common-place as the words were, Cashel read them over 
 more than once. 
 
 I know not if any of my male readers can corroborate me, but I 
 have always thought there is some mysterious attraction in even the 
 most every-day epistle of a young and pretty woman. The commonest 
 social forms assume a different meaning, and we read the four letters 
 which spell " dear" in any acceptation very remote from what they 
 inspire when written by one's law agent ; and then, the concluding 
 " yours truly," or " faithfully yours," or better again, " ever yours," 
 what suggestive little words they are ! how insinuating in their por- 
 traiture of a tie, which possibly might, but does not, actually bind 
 the parties. 
 
 If my readers concur not in these sympathies, I have great satis-
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 167 
 
 faction in saying that Eoland Casliel did. He not only sat gazing at 
 the few lines, but lie looked so long at them as to half believe that the 
 first word was a superlative ; then, suddenly rousing himself, he asked 
 the hour. It was abeady past six. He had only time, then, for a 
 verbal " "With pleasure," and to dress for dinner. 
 
 It seemed like a reproach on his late mode of living, the pile of un- 
 opened letters, which in imposing mass INIr. Phillis had arrayed on his 
 master's dressing-table. They contained specimens of everything 
 epistolary which falls to the lot of those favoured children of fortune 
 who, having " much to give," are great favourites with the world. 
 There were dear little pressing invitations signed by the lady of the 
 house, and indited in all the caligraphy of the governess. There were 
 begging letters from clergymen with large families, men who gave so 
 " many hostages to fortune," that they actually ruined themselves in 
 their own " recognisances." Platteries, which, if not written on 
 tinted paper, might have made it blush to bear them, mixed up with 
 tradesmen's assurances of fidelity and punctuality ; and bashful apolo- 
 gies for the indelicacy of any allusion to money. 
 
 Oh, it is a very sweet world this of ours, and amiable withal ! save 
 that the angelic smile it bestows on one part of the creation has a 
 sorry counterpart in the sardonic grin with which it regards the other. 
 Our friend Cashel was in the former category, and he tossed over the 
 letters carelessly, rarely breaking a seal, and, even then, satisfied with 
 a mere glance at the contents, or the name of the writer, when he 
 suddenly caught sight of a large square-shaped epistle, marked " Sea 
 letter." It was in a hand he well knew, that of his old comrade 
 Enrique, and burning with anxiety to hear of him, he threw himself 
 into a chair, and broke the seal. 
 
 The very first words which met his eye shocked him. 
 
 " St. Kitt's, Jamaica. 
 
 " Ay, Eoland, even so. St. Kitt's, Jamaica ! heavily ironed in a 
 cell at the top of a strong tower over the sea, with an armed sentry 
 at my door, I write this ! a prisoner fettered and chained, I, that 
 could not brook the very orders of discipline ! "Well, well, it is only 
 cowardice to repine. Truth is, amigo, I've had no luck since you 
 left us. It was doubtless yours that sustained me so long, and when 
 you withdrew from the firm, I became bankrupt, and yet, this is pretty 
 much what we used once, in merry mood, to predict for each other, 
 'the loop and the leap.' 
 
 " How shall I teU you so briefly as neither to weary you to read, 
 nor myself to write it, my last sad misfortune. I say the last, because 
 the bad luck took a run against me. Pirst, I lost everything I 
 possessed at play — the very pistols you sent me, I staked and lost. 
 "Worse still, Roland — and faith I don't think I could make the con-
 
 168 EOLAND CASIIEL. 
 
 fessiou, if a few hours, or a few days more, were not to hide my sliame 
 in a felon's grave — I played the jewels you sent liere for Maritaiia. 
 She refused them with words of bitterness and anger. Partly from 
 the irritated feeling of the moment, partly from the curse of a 
 gambler's spirit — the hope to weary out the malice of Fortune — I 
 threw them on the Monte-table. Of course I lost. It was soon after 
 this Barcelonetta was laid in ruin by a shock of earthquake, the 
 gi-eatest ever experienced here. The ' Quadro' is a mere mass of 
 chaotic rubbish. The ' Puerta Mayor,' with all its statues, is en- 
 gulphed, and an arm of the sea now washes np and over the beautiful 
 gardens where the Governor gave his fete. The Villa, too, rent from 
 roof to basement, is a ruin ; vast yawning gnlfs intersect the par- 
 terres everywliere ; the fountains are dried up ; the trees blasted by 
 lightning ; and a red-brown surface of ashes strewn over the beauteous 
 turf where we used to stroll by moonlight. The old tree that shel- 
 tered our Monte-table stands uninjured, as if in mockery over our 
 disasters ! Maritaiia's hammock was slung beneath the branches, 
 and there she lay, careless of — nay, I could almost say, if the words 
 did not seem too strange for trutli, actually pleased by — the dreadful 
 event. I went to take leave of her; it was the last night we were to 
 spend on shore. I little knew it was to be the last time we should 
 ever meet. Pedro passed the night among the ruins of the Villa, 
 endeavouring to recover papers and valuables amid that disastrous 
 mass. Geizheimer was always with him, and as IN'oronja and the rest 
 soon fell off to sleep, wearied by a day of great fatigue, I sat alone 
 beside her hammock till day was breaking. Oh, would that night 
 could have lasted for years, so sweetly tranquil were the starlit hours, 
 so calm and yet so full of hopeful promise. What brilliant pictures 
 of ambition did slie, that young, untaught girl, present to my eyes — 
 how teach me to long for a cause whose rewards were higher, and 
 greater, and nobler than the prizes of tliis wayward life. I would 
 have spoken of my affection, my deep-felt, long-cherished love, but, 
 with a half-scornful laugh, she stopped me, saying, ' Is this leafy 
 shade so like a fair lady's boudoir that you can persuade yourself to 
 trifle thus, or is your own position so dazzling that you deem the offer 
 to share it a flattery ?' " 
 
 " I'm afraid, Sir," said Mr. Phillis, here obtruding his head into 
 the room, " that you'll be very late. It is already more than half- 
 past seven o'clock." 
 
 " So it is!" exclaimed Cashcl, starting up, while he muttered some- 
 thing not exceedingly complimentary to liis host's engagement. " Is 
 the carriage ready?" Aud without staying to hear the reply, hurried 
 down stairs, the open letter still in his hand. 
 
 Scarcely seated in the carriage, Cashel resumed the reading of the
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 169 
 
 letter. Eager to trace the circumstance wliicli led to liis friend's 
 captivity, he hastily ran his eyes over the lines till he came to the 
 followinir : " There could be no doubt of it. The Esmeralda, our 
 noble frigate, was not in the service of the Eepiiblic, but by some 
 ■ infamous treaty between Pedro and Narochez, the minister, was per- 
 mitted to carry the flag of Columbia. We were slavers, buccaneers, 
 pirates — not sailors of a state. When, therefore, the British war- 
 brig Scoi-pion sent a gun across our bows, with an order to lie to, and 
 we replied by showing our main-deck ports open, and our long 
 eighteens all ready, the challenge could not be mistaken. We were 
 near enough to hear the cheering, and it seemed, too, they heard ours; 
 we wanted but you, Eoland, among us to have made our excitement 
 madness!" 
 
 The carriage drew up at Kenuyfeck's door as Cashel had read thus 
 far, and in a state of mind bordering on fever he entered the hall and 
 passed up the stairs. The clock struck eight as he presented himself 
 in the drawing-room, where the family were assembled, the number 
 increased by two strangers, who were introduced to Eoland as Mrs. 
 Keunyfeck's sister. Miss O'Hara, an elderly maiden lady, with a light 
 brown wig ; and a raw-boned, much- freckled young man, Peter O' Gor- 
 man, her nephew. 
 
 Nothing could be more cordial than the reception of the Kenny- 
 fecks ; they afiected not to think that it was so late, vowed that the 
 clock was too fast, was certain that Mr. Cashel's watch was right ; in 
 fact, his presence was a receipt in full for all the anxieties of delay, 
 and so they made him feel it. 
 
 There was a little quizzing of Eoland, as they seated themselves 
 at table, over his forgetfulness of the day before, but so good- 
 humouredly as not to occasion, even to himself, the slightest embar- 
 rassment. 
 
 "At breakfast at the barrack!" repeated Miss Kennyfeck after 
 him. " What a formidable affair, if it always lasts twenty-four hours." 
 
 " What do you mean? How do you know that ?" asked Eoland, 
 half in shame, half in surprise, at this knowledge of his movements. 
 
 " Not to speak of the brilliant conversation, heightened by all the 
 excitement of wit, champagne, and hazard — dreadful competitors with 
 such tiresome society as ours," said Olivia. 
 
 " Never mind them, Mr. Cashel," broke in Miss O'Hara, in a 
 mellifluous Doric ; " 'tis jealous they are, because you liked the 
 officers better than themselves." 
 
 A most energetic dissent was entered by Cashel to this supposi- 
 tion, who nevertheless felt grateful for the advocacy of the old lady. 
 
 " When I was in the Cape Coast Pencibles," broke in Peter, with 
 an accent that would have induced one to believe Africa was on the
 
 170 V EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Shannon, " we used to sit up all night, — it was so hot in the day ; 
 
 but we always called it breakfast, for you see -" 
 
 " And when are we to visit your pictures, ]\Ir. Cashel ?" said Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck, whose efforts to suppress Peter were not merely vocal, 
 as that injured individual's shins might attest. 
 
 " That depends entirely on you, Madam," said Eoland, bowing. 
 " I have only to say, the earlier the more agreeable to me." 
 
 " He has such a beautiful collection," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, turning 
 to her sister. 
 
 " Indeed, then, I delight in pictures," said "Aunt Panny," as her 
 nieces called her. " I went the other day to Mount Bennett, to see 
 a portrait painted by Eousseau." 
 
 " By Eubens, I suppose you mean, Aunt," interposed IMiss Kenny- 
 feck, tartly. 
 
 " So it may be, my dear, I never know the names right ; but it was 
 a dark old man, with a hairy cap and a long grey beard, as like Father 
 Morris Heffernan as ever it could stare." 
 
 " Is your new Carlo Dolce so very like Olivia?" interposed Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck, who was sadly hampered by her country relatives and 
 their reminiscences. 
 
 " So very like, Madam, that I beg you to accept it as a portrait," 
 replied Eoland. 
 
 " Upon my word, then, young gentleman, you're not so fond of a 
 pretty face as you might be," broke in Aunt Fanny, " or you wouldn't 
 be so ready to give it away." A very hearty laugh at the old lady's 
 eccentricity relieved Cashel from all necessity of explanation. 
 
 " The old masters are so good," said ]Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " I delight 
 in their fine vigorous touch." 
 
 " "Why don't they put more clothes on their figures," said Aunt 
 Fanny ; " even a warm climate is no excuse for the way the creatures 
 went about." 
 
 " If you saw them in Hickweretickanookee," said Peter, " King 
 John never wore anything but a cocked- hat and a pair of short black 
 gaiters the missionary gave him for learning the Lord's Prayer." 
 
 " I hear that Lady Janet said Cary would be an excellent study 
 for Helen M'Gregor," said Mrs. Kennyfeck. " It was scarcely civil, 
 however." 
 
 " It was more— downright rude," said Cashel, reddening ; " but 
 Miss Kennyfeck can afi"ord to pay the penalty beauty always yields 
 to its opposite." 
 
 " There, my dear, that's a compliment," said Aunt Fanny, " and 
 don't be displeased. I say, darling, didn't he say a while ago you 
 were like somebody at Carlow ?" 
 
 " A Carlo Dolce, Aimt," broke in both sisters, laughing ; and so 
 the dinner proceeded amid common-places, relieved occasionally from
 
 EQLAND CASHEL. 171 
 
 their flatness by the absurdities of Aunt Fanny, -who seemed as good- 
 naturedly proof against ridicule as she was likely to evoke it. 
 
 Peter was the first to rise from table, as he was anxious to go to 
 "the play," aud the ladies soon retired to the drawing-room, Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck slyly whispering, as she passed behind Roland's chair, an 
 entreaty that he would not long delay in following them. Cash el's 
 anxiety to close his tete-a-tete arose from another cause — his burning 
 anxiety to finish Enrique's letter ; while Kennyfeck himself seemed 
 beating about, uncertain how to open subjects he desired to have dis- 
 cussed. After a long pause, he said : 
 
 " I was speaking to Pepystell yesterday, and he is of opinion that 
 there is no use in preserving any part of the old structure at Tubber- 
 more — the great difficulty of adapting a new character of architec- 
 ture to the old would not repay the cost." 
 
 Cashel nodded a careless assent, and, after a pause, Eennyfeck 
 resumed : 
 
 " It might be of some convenience at present, however, to let the 
 building stand as it is. A residence of one kind or other you will 
 want, particularly as the elections are approaching." 
 
 Another nod in silence was all the reply. 
 
 " Pepystell's estimate is large — don't you think so ?" 
 
 He nodded again. 
 
 " Nearly seventy thousand pounds ! And that does not include 
 the gate tower, which seems a point for after consideration." 
 
 " I remember," muttered Cashel, in a voice that implied anything 
 rather than a mind attentive to the subject before it, 
 
 " Now, it would be as well," said Mr. Kennyfeck, drawing a long 
 breath, and as it were preparing himself for a great eff"ort, " to put a 
 little order into our afiairs. Your first year or two will be costly 
 ones — building expenses, equipage, horses, furniture, election charges. 
 Much of your capital is vested in foreign securities, which it would be 
 injurious to sell at this moment. Don't you think" — here he changed 
 his voice to an almost insinuating softness — " don't you think that by 
 devoting a certain portion of your income — say a third, or one-half, 
 
 perhaps — for the present, to meet these charges " He paused, 
 
 for he saw from Cashel's occupied look that he was not attending to 
 his words. 
 
 " Well — continue," said Eoland, affecting to wait for his conclusion. 
 
 " I was about to ask, Sir," said Kennyfeck, boldly, " what sum 
 would you deem sufilcient for your yearly expenditure ?" 
 
 " "What is the amount of my income ?" asked Cashel, bluntly. 
 
 " In good years, something above sixteen thousand pounds ; in bad 
 ones somewhat less than twelve." 
 
 " "Well, then — you have the scale of my expenditure at once." 
 
 " Not your whole income ?" exclaimed Kennyfeck, astonished.
 
 172 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Even so. I see no earthly reason for boarding. I do not find 
 tliat squandering money is any very liigh enjoyment ; I am certain 
 scraping and saving it would aftbrd me still less pleasure." 
 
 " But there are always casualties demanding extraordinary expense 
 — a contested election, for instance." 
 
 " I'll not try it — I don't intend to enter Parliament." 
 
 " "When you marry " 
 
 " Perhaps I shall not do that either." 
 
 " "Well, suras lost at play — the turf has pressed on many a strong 
 pocket." 
 
 " Play has no fascination for me, I can give it up — I may almost 
 say I have done so." 
 
 " Not without paying a heavy penalty, however," said Kennyfeck, 
 whose animation showed that he had at last approached the territory 
 he was so long in searcli of. 
 
 "How do you mean?" said Cashel, blushing deeply, as he began 
 to fear that by some accident his secret visit to the money-lender had 
 reached Kennyfeck's ears. 
 
 " Your drafts on Latrobe, Sir, whose account I have received to- 
 day, are very heavy." 
 
 " Oh, is that all?" said Cashel, carelessly. 
 
 " All ! all !" repeated Kennyfeck ; then, suddenly correcting him- 
 self, he added, " I am almost certain. Sir, that your generous habits 
 have over-mastered your prudence. Are you aware of having drawn 
 fifty thousand pounds?" 
 
 " No, I really was not," replied Cashel, smiling more at the attor- 
 ney's look of consternation than anything else. " I fancied about half 
 as much. Pray tell me some of the items. No, no, not from book ; 
 that looks too formal — just from memory." 
 
 " Well, there are horses without number — one bought with all his 
 engagements for the Oaks, which amount to a forfeiture of four thou- 
 sand pounds." 
 
 " I remember that— a piece of Linton's blundering ; but he lost 
 more heavily himself, poor fellow, our steed Lanzknecht having turned 
 out a dead failure." 
 
 " Then there is something about a villa at Cowes, which I. am cer- 
 tain you never saw." 
 
 " No ; but I have a drawing of it somewhere— a pretty thing under 
 a cliff, with a beautiful bay of deep water, and good anchorage. Linton 
 knows all about it." 
 
 " Twelve thousand pounds is a large sum to give without ever seeing 
 the purchase." 
 
 " So it is — but go on." 
 
 " I cannot remember one-half ; but there is plate and jewels ; suras
 
 BOLAKD CASHEL. 173 
 
 advanced for building ; subscriptions to everything and everybody ; a 
 heavy amount transmitted to the Havannah." 
 
 " Very true ; and that reminds me of a letter which I received at 
 the very moment I was leaving home. Have I your leave to finish 
 the reading ? It is from au old and valued comrade." 
 
 " Of course — don't think of me for an instant," said Kennyfeck, 
 scarcely able to repress an open acknowledgment of his amazement at 
 the coolness which could turn from so interesting a topic to the 
 doubtless common-place narrative of some Mexican sailor. 
 
 Casliel was, meanwhile, searching every pocket for the letter, which 
 he well remembered, after reading in the carriage, to have crushed in 
 his hand as he ascended the stairs. " I have dropped this letter," 
 said he, in a voice of great agitation. " May I ask if your servants 
 have found it ?" 
 
 The bell was rung, and the butler at once interrogated. He had 
 seen nothing, neither had the footman. They both remembered, 
 however, that Mr. Phillis had accompanied his master to the foot of 
 the stairs to receive some directions, and then left him to return with 
 the carriage. 
 
 " So, then, Phillis must have found it," said Cashel, rising hastily ; 
 and, without a word of apology or excuse, he bade his host a hurried 
 good evening, and left the room. 
 
 " Won't you have the carriage ? "Will you not stay for a cup of 
 tea?" cried Mr. Kennyfeck, hastening after him. But the hall-door 
 had already banged heavily behind him, and he was gone. "When 
 Cashel reached his house, it was to endure increased anxiety, for Mr. 
 Phillis had gone out, and, like a true gentleman's gentleman, none of 
 the other servants knew anything of his haunts, or when he woidd 
 return. Leaving Cashel, then, to the tortures of a suspense which 
 his fervid nature made almost intolerable, we shall return for a brief 
 space to the house he had just quitted, and to the drawing-room, 
 ■where, in momentary expectation of his appearance, the ladies sat, 
 maintaining that species of "staccato" conversation which can afford 
 interruption with least inconvenience. It is our duty to add, that we 
 bring the reader back here less with any direct object as to what is 
 actually going forward, than to make hiiu better acquainted with the 
 new arrival. 
 
 Had Miss O'Hara been the mere quiet, easy-going, simple-minded 
 elderly maiden she seemed to Cashel's eyes, the step on our part had 
 not been needed ; she might, like some other characters of our tale, 
 have been suffered to glide by, as ghosts or stage-supernumeraries 
 do, unquestioned and undetained ; but she possessed qualities of a 
 kind to demand somewhat more consideration. Aunt Fanny, to give 
 her the title by which she was best known, was, in reality, a person of
 
 174 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 tlie keenest insiglit into others — reading people at sight, and endowed 
 with a species of intuitive perception of all the possible motives which 
 lead to any action. Eesiding totally in a small town in the west of 
 Ireland, she rarely visited the capital, and was now, in fact, brought 
 up " special" by her sister, Mrs. Kennyfeck, who desired to have her 
 advice and counsel on the prospect of securing Cashel for one or other 
 of her daughters. It was so far a wise step, that in such a conjunc- 
 ture no higher opinion could have been obtained. 
 
 " It was like getting a private hint from the Chancellor about a 
 cause in equity." This was Mr. Kennyfeck's own illustration. 
 
 Aunt Panny was then there in the guise of a Domestic Detective, 
 to Avatch proceedings and report on them — a function which simplifies 
 the due conduct of a case, be it in love or law, beyond anything. 
 
 " How agreeable your Papa must be tliis evening, my dear," said 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck, as with a glance at the clock on the mantelpiece she 
 recognised that it was near ten. 
 
 " I'm sure he is deep in one of his interminable kw arguments, 
 which always make Mr, Cashel so sleepy and so stupid, that he never 
 recovers for the rest of the evening." 
 
 " He ought to find the drawing-room all the pleasanter for the 
 contrast," remarked Miss O'Hara, dryly. " I like to see young men 
 — mind me well, young men, it doesn't do with old ones — thoroughly 
 bored before they come among the ladies. The sudden change to the 
 tea, and the wax-lights and the bright eyes are trying stimulants. 
 Let tliem, however, be what they call ' pleasant' below stairs, and 
 they are sure to come up flushed and excited, well satisfied with the 
 host's claret, and only anxious to order the carriage. "What o'clock 
 is it now ?" 
 
 " A quarter-past ten, Aunt," 
 
 " Too late ; full three-quarters too late," ejaculated she, with the 
 tone of an oracle. " Tliere is nothing your father could have to say 
 should have detained him till now. Play that little Mexican thing 
 again, my dear ; and, Livy, love, leave the door a little open ; don't 
 you find the heat of this room intolerable ?" 
 
 The young ladies obeyed, and meanwhile Aunt Fanny, drawing her 
 chair closer to her sister's, said, in a low tone : 
 
 " "Well, explain the matter more clearly. Did he give her the dia- 
 monds ?" 
 
 " No ; that is the strangest of all," responded Mrs. Kennyfeck. 
 " He just told Leonard to send them home, and we never heard more 
 about them." 
 
 Aunt Panny shook her head. 
 
 " Ton know, he asked Olivia, as they were going down stairs, what 
 she thought of them ; and she replied, ' They're beautiful.' "
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 n-
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 175 
 
 " How did she say it, tliough — was it like a mere casual remark, or 
 did she make it with feeliug ?" 
 
 " With feeling," echoed IVIrs. Kennyfeck, pursing up her lips. 
 
 " Well ?" 
 
 " Well," he just said, ' I'll take them,' and there was an end of it." 
 
 Aunt Fanny seemed to reflect, and, after some time, said : 
 
 " Now, as to the horse, when did he make her a present of that ?" 
 
 " It was to Caroline he gave the horse ; sure I told you already." 
 
 " Very true, so you did : a had feature of the case, too ! She ought 
 to have declined it somehow." 
 
 " So she would," broke in Mrs. Kennyfeck; "but, you perceive, it 
 was very doubtful, at the time, which of the girls he preferred." 
 
 " And you teU me this Mr. Linton has such influence over him." 
 
 " The most absolute. It is only a few weeks since they became ac- 
 quainted, and now they are inseparable." 
 
 " "WTiat is he like — Linton himself?" 
 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck gave a most significant signal, by closing up her 
 lips, and slowly nodding her head — a gesture that seemed weU under- 
 stood. 
 
 " Does Kennyfeck know nothing of his affairs — has he no private 
 history of the man, which might be useful to us ?" 
 
 " Don't think of that, my dear," rejoined Mrs. Kennyfeck, know-, 
 ingly ; " but here they come at last." This was said with reference 
 to the sound of footsteps on the stairs, which gradually approached, 
 and at last Mr. Kennyfeck made his appearance in the drawing-room. 
 
 " Where is Mr. Cashel — is he gone ?" asked Mrs. Kennyfeck, in an 
 accent of unusual anxiety. 
 
 " He went away above an hour ago. He wanted to see a letter, 
 or to write one, or to look for one he had lost — I forget which." 
 
 " I'm certain you do !" observed Mrs. Kennyfeck, with an expres- 
 sion of unequivocal contempt. " I am perfectly certain we need not 
 look to you for either information or assistance." 
 
 Poor Mr. Kennyfeck was dumbfounded. The very words were 
 riddles to him, and he turned to each person about him id silent en- 
 treaty for explanation — but none came. 
 
 " What had you been conversing about ?" asked Aunt Fanny, in 
 that encouraging tone lawyers sometimes use to draw out a reluctant 
 or bashful witness. 
 
 " Of his money afi'airs. Miss O'Hara ; and I am grieved to say that 
 the subject had so little interest for him, tliat he started up and left 
 me on suddenly remembering something about a letter." 
 
 " Which something you have totally forgotten," remarked Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck, tartly. 
 
 " And yet it would be a most important fact for us," observed Aunt
 
 176 KOLAXD CASHEL. 
 
 Fanny, "witli judicial solemnity ; " a letter, whether to read or to write, 
 of such pressing necessity, implies much." 
 
 " Come, Livy, dear," said Miss Kennyfeck, rising from the piano- 
 forte, and addressing her sister, who sat reading on the sofa, "?wy 
 canzonette and ?/oz«' beautiful attitude are so much sweetness thrown 
 away. He's gone without even a thought of either ! There, there, 
 don't look so innocently vacant — you understand me perfectly." 
 
 A very gentle smile was all the younger sister's reply as she left 
 the room. 
 
 " Depend upon it, my dear," said Miss O'Hara to Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 "that youjig man had made some unhappy connexion, that's the 
 secret of this letter, and when tliey get into a scrape of the kind it 
 puts marriage out of their heads aKogether. It was the same with 
 Captain Morris" — here she whispered still lower, the only audible 
 words being, "without my ever suspecting — one evening — a low 
 creature — never set eyes upon — ah, man, man !" And with this ex- 
 clamation aloud, Aunt Fanny took her candle and retired. 
 
 About a minute after, however, she re-entered tlie drawing-room, 
 and advancing close to her sister, said, with all the solemnity of deep 
 thought : 
 
 " Peter is no good in this case, my dear ; send him home at once. 
 That man will ' blaze' for the asking." And with a nod of immense 
 significance she finally withdrew. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Arcades ambo — Blackguards both. 
 
 In tlie window of a very pretty cottage room overlooking the LifFey, 
 and that romantic drive so well known to Dubliners as the " low 
 road" to Lucan, sat Tom Linton. He was enjoying a cigar and a 
 glass of weak negus, as a man may enjoy such luxuries seated in the 
 easiest of chairs, looking out upon one of the sweetest of woodland 
 landscapes, and feeling the while that the whole was "his own." If 
 conscientious scruples had been any part of the gentleman's life phi- 
 losophy, he might have suifered some misgivings, seeing that the 
 cottage itself, its furniture, the plate, the very horses in the stable and 
 the grooms about it, had been won at the liazard-table, and from one 
 wliose beggary ended in suicide. But Linton did not dwell on sucli 
 things, and if they did for an instant cross his mind, he dismissed 
 them at once with a contemptuous pity for the man who could not
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 177 
 
 build up a fortune by the arts with which he had lost one. He had 
 not begun the world himself with much principle, and all his expe- 
 riences went to prove that even less would suffice, and that for the 
 purposes of the station he occupied, and the society he frequented, it 
 was only necessary that he should not transgress in his dealings with 
 men of a certain rank and condition ; so that while every transaction 
 Avith people of class and fashion should be strictly on "the square," 
 he was at perfect liberty to practise any number of sharp things with 
 all beneath them. It was the old axiom of knight-errantry adapted 
 to our own century, which made every weapon fair used against the 
 plebeian ! 
 
 From a pleasant reverie over some late successes and some future 
 ones in anticipation, he was aroused by a gentle tap at the door. 
 
 " Come in," said he ; " I think I guess who it is — Phillis, eh ?" 
 
 " Yes, Sir, you're quite correct," said that individual, advancing 
 from the misty twilight of the room, which was only partly lighted 
 by a single alabaster lamp. " I thought I'd find you at home. Sir, 
 and I knew this letter might interest you. He dropped it when 
 going up the stairs at Kennyfeck's, and could scarcely have read it 
 through." 
 
 " Sit down, George — sit down, man — what will you take ? I see 
 you've had a fast drive ; if that was your car I heard on the road, 
 your pace was tremendous. "What shall it be — claret — sherry — 
 brandy-and-water ?" 
 
 " If you please. Sir, sherry. I have lost all palate for Bordeaux 
 since I came to Mr. Cashel. "We get abominable wine from CuUan." 
 
 " So I remarked myself; but this must be looked to. Come, try 
 that ; it's some of Gordon's, and he would not send a bad bottle to 
 me." 
 
 '' I'm very certain of that, Sir. It is excellent." 
 
 " Now then for the epistle." So saying, he lighted a taper and 
 prepared to read. " Jamaica — oh, a shipmate's letter." 
 
 " A curious one, too. Sir, as you'll say when you read it." 
 
 Linton, without reply, began to read, nor did he break silence till 
 he finished, when, laying down the paper, he said, " And this very 
 fellow who writes this lie actually spoke of inviting to Ireland — to 
 stay some time at his house — to be introduced, in fact, to his ac- 
 quaintances as a personal friend." 
 
 " It's very sad, Sir," sighed Phillis. " I have long been of opinion 
 that I must leave him. The appointments, it is true, are good, per- 
 quisites, too, very handsome — but the future, Mr. Linton — what a 
 future it will be!" 
 
 " It need not be a very near one, at all events," said Linton, 
 smiling ; " you've read this ?" 
 
 " Jusfc threw an eye over it. Sir !" 
 
 TOL. I. N
 
 178 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Well, you see that your excellent master has been little better 
 than a pirate or a slaver." 
 
 " Very shocking, indeed, Sir !" 
 
 " Of coiirse this must not get abroad, George." 
 
 " It would ruin me utterly, Sir." 
 
 " To be sure it would. No nobleman, nor any gentleman of rank 
 or fashion, could think of engaging your services after such an ap- 
 pointment. Happily, Greorge, you may not require such, if you only 
 mind your hits. Tour master can afford to make your fortune, and 
 never know himself the poorer, Come, how go on matters latterly at 
 No. 50?" 
 
 " Pretty much as usual, Sir ; two dinner-parties last week." 
 
 " I know all about them, though I affected to be engaged and didn't 
 dine there. "What I want is, to hear of these Kennyfecks — do they 
 come much after him ?" 
 
 " Only once. Sir, when they came to see the house and stopped to 
 luncheon." 
 
 " Well, was he particular in his attentions to either of the daugh- 
 ters ?" 
 
 " Very attentive indeed. Sir, to the younger. She dropped her 
 handkerchief in the gallery, and ran back for it, and so did he, Sir." 
 
 " Tou followed, of course ?" 
 
 " I did, Sir, and she was blushing very much as I came in, and I 
 heard her say something about ' forgiving him,' and then they left the 
 room." 
 
 " And what of Kennyfeck, has he had any conversations with him 
 on business ?" 
 
 " None, Sir ; I have strictly followed your orders, and never ad- 
 mitted him." 
 
 " Lord Charles Trobisher was a large winner t'other night ?" said 
 Linton, after a pause. 
 
 " Yes, Sir, so I heard them say at supper, and Mr. Cashel first gave 
 him a cheque and then changed his mind, and I saw him hand, over a 
 heavy sum in notes." 
 
 "Indeed!" muttered Linton to himself; "and my worthy friend 
 Charley did not confess this to me. — Have you taken care that the 
 people don't send in their bills and accounts, as I meutioned ?" 
 
 " Tes, Sir ; with few exceptions, nothing of the kind comes." 
 
 " What brought that Mr. Clare Jones so frequently of late?" 
 
 " He came twice in Mr. Downie Meek's carriage. Sir, but sat all 
 the while outside, while Mr. Meek was with my master ; the third 
 day, however, he was sent for to come in, and spent nearly an hour in 
 the study." 
 
 " Well, what took place ?" 
 
 " I could only hear part of the conversation, Sir, as I feared I might
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 179 
 
 be sent for. The subject was a seat in Parliament, which Mr. Cashel 
 owns, and that Mr. Meek is desirous of procuring for Jones." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! my little Judas ! is that your game ? Go on, George, 
 this interests me." 
 
 " I have little more to tell, Sir, for Mr. Meek always speaks so low, 
 and my master scarcely said anything." 
 
 "And Jones?" 
 
 " He merely remarked on the identity of his political principles 
 with those of the present Government." 
 
 " Of course ; the fellow began as a Eadical, and then turned Tory, 
 and now is a "Whig. Blue and yellow when mixed always make green. 
 But how did it end ?" 
 
 " As well as I could perceive. Sir, without any promise. My master 
 was to deliberate and send his answer." 
 
 " Let neither have access to him till you hear from me again — mark 
 that ?" 
 
 " You shall be obeyed, Sir." 
 
 " Did Lord Kilgoff call ?" 
 
 " Twice, Sir ; but my master was out. I followed your directions, 
 however, and said that her Ladyship was with him, and he seemed 
 much provoked at not finding him at home." 
 
 " Well, how did he take it — did he make any remark ?" 
 
 " A half smile, Sir ; nothing more." 
 
 " But said nothing ?" 
 
 " Not a word, Sir." 
 
 Linton arose and walked the room in deep meditation ; at last he 
 said, 
 
 " Tou had better let him have those letters we held back the last 
 two days, to-day. He'll not think deeply over his losses on the Derby 
 while dwelling on this missing letter." 
 
 " I don't suspect his losses. Sir, will cause much uneasiness on any 
 score ; money occupies very little of his thoughts." 
 
 " True ; but here the sum is a very heavy one. I made the book 
 myself, and stood to win thirty thousand pounds ; but no matter, it 
 can't be helped now — better luck another time. Now, another point. 
 It strikes me of late, that he seems bored somewhat by the kind of 
 life he is leading, and that these carouses at the messes are becoming 
 just as distasteful to him as the heavy dinner-parties with the Dean 
 and the rest of them. Is that your opinion ?" 
 
 " Perfectly, Sir. He even said as much to me t'other evening, 
 when he came back from a late supper. He is always wishing for the 
 yacht to come over — speaks every now and then of taking a run over 
 to London and Paris—in fact, Sir, he is bored here. There is no dis- 
 guising it." 
 
 " I feared as much, George ; I suspected, many a day ago, he would 
 
 n2
 
 180 EOLAND CASHEL, 
 
 not be long satisfied with the provincial boards. But this must not 
 be ; once away from Dublin, he is lost to us for ever. I know, and 
 so do you know, the hands be would fall into in town. Better let him 
 get back to his old prairie haunts, for a while, than that." 
 
 " Not so very unlikely, Sir. He sits poring over maps and charts 
 for hours together, and scans the new coast survey like a man bent 
 on exploring the scenes for himself. It is hard to say what is best 
 to do with him." 
 
 "I'll tell you what lie must not be permitted to do with himself: 
 he must not leave Ireland — be must not marry — he must not enter 
 Parliament — and, for the moment, to employ his thoughts and banish 
 ennui, we'll get up the house-warming at Tubbermore. I mean to 
 set off thither to-morrow." 
 "WithoutMr. Cashel, Sir?" 
 
 " Of course ; be it your care that matters are well looked to in my 
 absence, and as Kenny feck's house is safer than the barracks, he may 
 dine there as often as he pleases. Keep a watch on Jones — not that 
 I think he'll be very dangerous ; see after Lord Charles, whether he 
 may try to profit by my absence ; and, above all, write me a bulletin 
 each day." 
 
 Mr. Phillis promised a strict obedience to orders, and rose to retire, 
 pleading the necessity of his being at home when his master returned. 
 " What of this letter, Sir? Shall I contrive to place it in his 
 pocket, and discover it as he is undressing ? He never suspects any- 
 thing or anybody." 
 
 " No, George, I'll keep it ; it may turn out useful to us one of 
 these days, there's no knowing when or how. I'm curious, too, to 
 see how he will act witli reference to it — whether he will venture on 
 any confidence towards me. I suspect not; he never alludes to his 
 bygones. The only terror his mind is capable of would seem the 
 fear of fashionable contempt. If he ever lose this, he's lost to us 
 for ever." This was said rather in soliloquy than addressed to Phillis, 
 who did not appear to catch the meaning of the remark. " Tou'U 
 leave this note on his table, and take care he sees it. It is to remind 
 him of an appointment here to-morrow with Hoare, the money-lender, 
 at eleven o'clock, punctually." 
 
 Phillis took the note, and after a very respectful leave-taking, 
 withdrew. 
 
 " Yes," said Linton, musing, as he leaned against the window, " all 
 goes fairly so far. Mr. Phillis may live to see himself once more a 
 Merchant-Tailor in Cheapside, and Tom Linton, luider the buckler 
 of his M.P., defy duns and bums, and be again a denizen of the only 
 city worth living in." 
 
 He then reseated himticif in an easy-chaii", and prepared to con 
 over the letter, to which he had only given a passing attention. The
 
 EOLAKD CASHEIi. 181 
 
 narrative of Enrique, full of exciting details and halr-breadtli 'scapes, 
 ■was, however, far less an object of interest to Linton than the con- 
 sideration how far a character like this might be made use of for the 
 purpose of threat and intimidation over Cashel. 
 
 His reflections ran somewhat thus : Tlie day may come, — is, per- 
 haps, even now nigh, — when Cashel shall reject my influence and 
 ascendancy. There never has been anything which could even coun- 
 terfeit friendship between us — close intimacy has been all. To main- 
 tain that hold over him so necessary to my fortunes, I must be in a 
 position to menace. Eoland, himself, has opened the way to this by 
 his own reserve. The very concealment he has practised implies fear ; 
 — otherwise, wh}^, in all the openness of our familiar intercourse, 
 never have mentioned Enrique's name ; still more, never once alluded 
 to this Maritaria ? It is clear enough with what shame he looks back 
 on the past. Let mine be the task to increase that feeling, and build 
 up the fear of the world's ridicule, till he shall be the slave of every 
 ■whisper that syllables his name ! The higher his path in society, the 
 greater the depth to which disclosures may consign him ; and what 
 disclosure so certainly ruinous as to connect him with the lawless 
 marauders of the Spanish Main — the slave and the pirate ? His 
 dear friend, a felon, taken in open fight by a Bwtish cruiser ! Mari- 
 tana,' too, may serye us ; her name as mistress — or, if need be, as 
 "wife — will effectually oppose any matrimonial speculations here. So 
 far, this letter has been a rare piece of fortune ! 
 
 Eor some moments he walked the room with excited and animated 
 looks, the alternating shades of pleasure and its opposite flitting 
 rapidly across his strong features. At last he broke out in words : 
 " Ay, Cashel, I am as suddenly enriched as yourself, — but with a 
 difierent heritage. Tours was Gold. Mine, Eevenge ! And there 
 are many to wliom I could pay the old debt home. There's Forster, 
 with his story of Ascot, and his black-ball ' at Graham's ! — a double 
 debt, with years of heavy interest upon it. There's Howard, too, 
 that closed his book at Tattersall's, after tearing out the leaf that 
 had my name ! Frobisher himself daring his petty insolence at every 
 turn! — all these cry for acquittance, and shall have it. There are few 
 men of my own standing, that with moneyed means at my command, 
 I could not ruin ! And, ungallant as the boast may be, some fair 
 ladies, too ! How I have longed for the day, how I have schemed 
 and plotted for it! and now it comes almost unlocked for. 
 
 " Another month or two of this wasteful extravagance, and Cashel 
 will be deeply, seriously embarrassed. Kennyfeck will suggest re- 
 trenchment and economy ; that shall be met with an insidious doubt 
 of the '^good man's honesty. And how easy to impeach it ! The 
 schemes of his wife and daughter will aid the accusation. Eolanv\ 
 shall, meanwhile, learn the discomfort of being ' hard up.' The im-
 
 182 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 portunity — nay, the insolence — of duns shall assail him at every post 
 and every hour. From this there is but one bold, short step — and 
 take it he must — make me his agent. That done, all the rest is easy. 
 Embarrassment and injurious reports will soon drive him from the 
 country, 'and from an estate he shall never revisit as his own ! So far 
 — the first act of the drama. The second discovers Tom Linton the 
 owner of Tubbermore, and the host of Lord and Lady Kilgofi", who 
 have condescendingly agreed to pass the Easter recess with him. Mr. 
 Linton has made a very splendid maiden speech, which, however, 
 puzzles the Ministers and the Times, and, if he were not a man per- 
 fectly indifferent to place, would expose him to the imputation of 
 courting it. 
 
 " And Laura all this while !" said he, in a voice whose accents 
 trembled with intense feeling, " can she forgive the past ? Will old 
 memories revive old affections, or will they rot into hatred ? Well," 
 cried he, sternly, " whichever way they turn, I'm prepared." 
 
 There was a tone of triumphant meaning in his last words that 
 seemed to thrill through his frame, and as he threw himself back upon 
 a seat, and gazed out upon the starry sky,: his features wore the look of 
 proud and insolent defiance. " So is it," said he, after a pause ; " one 
 must be alone — friendless, and alone — in life, to dare the world so 
 fearlessly." He filled a goblet of sherry, and, as he drank it off", cried, 
 " Courage ! Tom Linton against ' the field !' " 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Eternal friendship let us swear, 
 
 In fraud at least — " nous serons freres." 
 
 Robert Macaike. 
 
 Cashel passed a night of feverish anxiety. Enrique's uncertain 
 fate was never out of his thoughts ; and if for a moment he dropped 
 off" to sleep, he immediately awoke with a sudden start, — some fancied 
 cry for help, — some heart-uttered appeal to him for assistance break- 
 ing in upon his weary slumber. 
 
 How ardently did he wish for some one friend to whom he might 
 confide his difficulty, and from whom receive advice and counsel. 
 Linton's shrewdness and knowledge of life pointed him out as the 
 fittest ; but how to reveal to his fashionable friend the secrets of that 
 buccaneering life he had himself so lately quitted ? How expose 
 himself to the dreaded depreciation a " fine gentleman" might visit 
 on a career passed amid slavera and pirates ? A month or two pre-
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 183 
 
 vious, be could not have understood ^ucli scruples ; but already tlie 
 frivolities and excesses of daily habit had throvra an air of savage 
 rudeness over the memory of his Western existence, and he had not 
 the courage to brave the comments it might suggest. To this false 
 shame had Linton brought him, acting on a naturally sensitive nature, 
 by those insidious and imperceptible counsels which represent the 
 world — meaning, thereby, that portion of it who are in the purple 
 and fine linen category — as the last appeal in all cases, not alone of a 
 man's breeding and pretensions, but of his honour and independence. 
 
 It was not without many a severe struggle, and many a heartfelt 
 repining, Cashel felt himself surrender the free action of his natural 
 independence to the petty and formal restrictions of a code like this. 
 But there was an innate dread of notoriety, a sensitive shrinking from 
 remark, that made him actually timid about transgressing whatever 
 he was told to be an ordinance of fashion. To dress in a particular 
 way — to frequent certain places — to be known to certain people — to 
 go out at certain hours — and so on, were become to his mind as the 
 actual requirements of his station, and often did he regret the hour 
 when he had parted with his untrammelled freedom to live a life of 
 routine and monotony. 
 
 Shrinking, then, from any confidence in Linton, he next thought of 
 Kennyfeck ; and, although not placing a high value on his skill and 
 correctness in such a difficulty, he resolved, at all hazards, to consult 
 him on the course to be followed. He had been often told how 
 gladly Government favours the possessor of fortune and influence. 
 Now, thought he, is the time to test the problem. " All of mine is 
 at their service, if they but liberate my poor comrade." 
 
 So saying to himself, he had just reached the hall, when the sound 
 of wheels approached the door. A carriage drew up, and Linton, 
 followed by Mr. Hoare, the money-lender, descended. 
 
 " Oh, I had entirely forgotten this afiair," cried Cashel, as he met 
 them ; " can we not fix another day ?" 
 
 " Impossible, Sir; I leave town to-night." 
 
 " Another hour to-day, then ?" said Cashel, impatiently. 
 
 " This will be very difficult. Sir. I have some very pressing en- 
 gagements, all of which were formed subject to your convenience in 
 this business." 
 
 " But while you are discussing the postponement, you could finish 
 the whole afiair," cried Linton, drawing his arm within Cashel's, and 
 leading him along towards the library. " By Jove ! it does give a 
 man a sublime idea of wealth, to be sure," said he, laughing, " to see 
 the cool indifference with which you can propose to defer an inter- 
 view that brings you some fifteen thousand pounds. As for me, I'd 
 make the Viceroy himself play ' ante-chamber,' if little Hoare paid 
 me a visit."
 
 184 EOLAITD CASHEI. 
 
 ""Well, be it so; only let us despatch," said Casliel, "for I am 
 anxious to catcli Kennyfeck before be goes down to Court." 
 
 " I'll not detain you many minutes, Sir," said Hoare, drawing fortb 
 a very capacious black leather pocket-book and opening it on the 
 table. " There are the bills drawn as agreed upon — at three and six 
 months — here is a statement of the charges for interest, commission, 
 and " 
 
 " I am quite satisfied it is all right," said Cashel, pushing the paper 
 carelessly from him. " I have borrowed money onceor twice in my 
 life, and always thought anything liberal which did not exceed cent, 
 per cent." 
 
 " "We are content with much less. Sir, as you will perceive," said 
 Hoare, smiling. Six per cent, interest, one-half commission " 
 
 " Yes, yes — it is all perfectly correct," broke in Cashel. " I sign 
 my name here — and here ?" 
 
 " And here, also, Sir. There is also a policy of insurance on your 
 life." 
 
 " "What does that mean ?" 
 
 " Oh, a usual kind of security in these cases," said Linton ; " be- 
 cause if you were to die before the bills came due " 
 
 " I see it all — whatever you please," said Cashel, taking up his hat 
 and gloves. " Now, will you pardon me for taking a very abrupt 
 leave ?" 
 
 " Tou are forgetting a very material point. Sir," said Hoare ; " this 
 is an order on Frend and Beggan for the money." 
 
 " Very true. The fact is, gentlemen, my head is none of the clearest 
 to-day. Good-by — good-by." 
 
 " Ten to one all that haste is to keep some appointment with one of 
 Kennyfeck's daughters," said Hoare, as he shook the sand over the 
 freshly-signed bills, when the heavy bang of the hall-door announced 
 Cashel's departure. 
 
 " I fancy not," said Linton, musing ; " I believe I can guess the 
 secret." 
 
 " "What am I to do with these, Mr. Linton ?" said the other, not 
 heeding the last observation, as he took two pieces of paper from the 
 pocket of his book. 
 
 " What are they ?" said Linton, stretcliing at full length on a sofa. 
 
 "Two bills, Avith the endorsement of Thomas Linton." 
 
 " Then are two ten-shilling stamps spoiled and good for nothing,'' 
 replied Linton, "which, without that respectable signature, might 
 have helped to ruin somebody worth ruining." 
 
 " One will be due on Saturday, the 12th. The other " 
 
 "Don't trouble yourself about the dates, Hoare. I'll renew as 
 often as you please — I'll do anything but pay."
 
 KOLAXD CASHEL. 185 
 
 " Come, Sir, I'll make a generous proposition : I liave made a good 
 morning's work. Tou shall have them both for a hundred." 
 
 " Thanks for the liberality," said Linton, laughing. " Tou bought 
 them for fifty." 
 
 " I know that very well ; but remember, you were a very depre- 
 ciated stock at that time. Now, you are at a premium. I hear you 
 Lave been a considerable winner from our friend here." 
 
 " Then you are misinformed. I have won less than the others — far 
 less than I might have done. The fact is, Hoare, I have been playing 
 a back game — what jockeys call holding my stride." 
 
 " Well, take care you don't wait too long," said Hoare, senten- 
 tiously. 
 
 " How do you mean ?" said Linton, sitting up, and showing more 
 animation than he had exhibited before. 
 
 " You have your secret — I have mine," replied Hoare, dryly, as he 
 replaced the bills in his pocket-book, and clasped it. 
 
 " "What if we exchange prisoners, Hoare ?" 
 
 " It would be like most of your compacts, Mr. Linton, all the odds 
 in your own favour." 
 
 " I doubt whether any man makes such compacts with yo?^," 
 replied Linton ; " but why higgle this way ? ' Eemember,' as 
 JPeacham says, * that we could hang one another ;' and there is an 
 ugly adage about what happens — when people sucb as you and I ' fall 
 out.' " 
 
 "So there is; and, strange enough, I was just thinking of it. Come, 
 what is your secret ?" 
 
 " Eead that," said Linton, placing Enrique's letter in his hand, 
 while he sat down, directly in front, to watch the effect it might 
 produce. 
 
 Hoare read slowly and attentively ; some passages he re-read three 
 or four times ; and then, laying down the letter, he seemed to reflect 
 on its contents. 
 
 " Tou scarcely thought what kind of company our friend used to 
 keep formerly ?" asked Linton, sneeringly. 
 
 " I knew all about that tolerably well. I was rather puzzling 
 myself a little about this Pedro Eica ; that same trick of capturing 
 the slavers, and then selling the slaves, is worthy of one I could men- 
 tion, not to speak of the double treachery of informing against his 
 comrades, and sending the English frigate after them." 
 
 " A deep hand he must be," remarked Linton, coolly. 
 
 " A very deep one ; but what is Cashel likely to do here ?" 
 
 " Nothing ; he has no clue whatever to the business ; the letter 
 itself he had not time to read through, when he dropped it, and " 
 
 " I understand — perfectly. This accounts for his agitation. "Well,
 
 186 EOLAITD CASHEL. 
 
 I must say, my secret is tlie better of the two, and, as usual, you have 
 made a good bargain." 
 
 " Not better than your morning's work here, Hoare ; — confess 
 that." 
 
 " Ah, there will not be many more such harvests to reap," said he, 
 sighing. 
 
 " How so ? his fortune is scarcely breached, as yet." 
 
 " He spends money fast," said Hoare, gravely ; " even now, see 
 what sums he has squandered — think of the presents he has lavished 
 — diamonds — h orses ' ' 
 
 " As to the Kennyfeck affair, it was better than getting into a ma- 
 trimonial scrape, which I fancy I have rescued him from." 
 
 " Oh no, nothing of the kind. Pirate as he is, he wouldn't ven- 
 ture on that." 
 
 " "Why so — what do you mean ?" 
 
 " Simply, that he is married already ; at least, that species of be- 
 trothal which goes for marriage in his free and easy country." 
 
 " Married !" exclaimed Linton, in utter amazement ; " and he never 
 even hinted in the most distant manner to this," 
 
 " And yet the obligation is sufficiently binding, according to Co- 
 lumbian law, to give his widow the benefit of. all property he might 
 die possessed of in that Eepublic." 
 
 " And he knows this himself?" 
 
 " So well, that he has already proposed a very large sum as forfeit 
 to break the contract." 
 
 " And this has been refused ?" 
 
 " Yes. The girl's father has thought it better to follow your own 
 plan, and make a ' waiting race,' well knowing, that if Cashel does 
 not return to claim her as his wife — or that, which is not improbable, 
 she may marry more advantageously — he will always be ready to pay 
 the forfeit." 
 
 " May I learn his name ?" 
 
 "No!" 
 
 " Nor his daughter's ? — the Christian name, I mean." 
 
 " To what end ? It would be a mere idle curiosity, for I should 
 exact a pledge of your never divulging it." 
 
 " Of course," said Linton, carelessly. " It was, as you say, a mere 
 idle wish. Was this a love affair, then, for it has a most commercial 
 air?" 
 
 " I really don't know that ; I fancy that they were both very young, 
 and very ignorant of what they were pledging, and just as indifferent 
 to the consequences." 
 
 " She was handsome, this " 
 
 " Maritaiia is beautiful, they say," said Hoare, who inadvertently 
 let slip the name he had refused to divulge.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 187 
 
 Linton's quick ear caught it at once, but as rapidly affected not to 
 notice it, as he said, 
 
 " But I really do not see as yet how this affects what we were just 
 speaking of?" 
 
 " It will do so, however — and ere long. These people, who were 
 immensely rich some time back, are now, by one of the convulsions 
 so frequent in those countries, reduced to absolute poverty. They 
 will, doubtless, follow Cashel here, and seek a fulfilment of his con- 
 tract. I need not tell you, Mr. Linton, what must ensue on such a 
 demand. It would be hard to say whether acceptance or refusal would 
 be worse. In a word, the father-in-law is a man of such a character, 
 there is only one thing would be more ruinous than his enmity, and that 
 is, any alliance with him. Let him but arrive in this country, and 
 every gentleman of station and class will fall back from Cashel's in- 
 timacy ; and even those — I'll not mention names," said he, smiling — 
 " who could gloss over some of their prejudices with gold-leaf, will 
 soon discover that a shrewder eye than Cashel's will be on them, and 
 that all attempts to profit by his easiness of temper and reckless 
 nature, will be met by one who has never yet been foiled in a game of 
 artifice and deceit." 
 
 " Then I perceive we have a very short tether," said Linton, 
 gravely ; " when may this worthy gentleman be looked for ?" 
 
 " At any moment. I believe early in spring, however, will be the 
 time." 
 
 " Well, that gives us a few months ; during which I must contrive 
 
 to 'get in for this borough of Derraheeny But hark! is that a 
 
 carriage at the door ? — yes, by Jove ! , The Kennyfecks. I remember, 
 he had asked them to-day to come and see his pictures. I say, Hoare, 
 step out by the back way — we must not be caught together here. 
 I'll make my escape afterwards." 
 
 Already the thundering knock of the footman resounded through 
 the house, and Hoare, not losing a moment, left the library, and 
 hastened through the garden at the rear of the house ; while Linton, 
 seizing some writing materials, hurried up-stairs, and established 
 himself in a small boudoir off one of the drawing-rooms, carefully 
 letting down the Venetians as he entered, and leaving the chamber 
 but half lighted ; this done, he drew a screen in front of him, and 
 waited patiently.
 
 188 . EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Ignored the schools of France and Spain, 
 
 And of the Netherlands not surer, 
 He knew not Cuyp from Claude Lorraine, 
 
 Nor Dow from Albert Durer. 
 
 Bell's Images. 
 
 Scarcely had the Kennyfecks' carriage driven from the door, when 
 the stately equipage of the MacFarlines drew up, which was soon 
 after followed by the very small pony phaeton of Mrs. Leicester 
 White, that lady herself driving, and having for her companion a 
 large high-shouldered, spectacled gentleman, whose glances, at once 
 inquiring and critical, pronounced him as one of her numerous 
 proteges in art, science, or letters. 
 
 This visit to the " Cashel Gallery," as she somewhat grandilo- 
 quently designated the collection, had been a thing of her own plan- 
 ning ; first, because Mrs. "White was an adept in that skilful diplo- 
 macy which so happily makes plans for pleasure at other people's 
 houses — and oh, what numbers there are! — delightful, charming 
 people as the world calls them ! whose gift goes no further than this, 
 that they keep a registry of their friends' accommodation, and know 
 to a nicety the season to dine here, to sup there, to pic-nic at one 
 place, and to " spend the day" — horrible expression of a more horrible 
 fact — at another. But Mrs. White had also another object in view 
 on the present occasion, which was, to introduce her companion, Mr. 
 Elias Howie, to her Dublin acquaintance. 
 
 Mr. Elias Howie was one of a peculiar class, which this age, so 
 fertile in inventions, has engendered, a publisber's man-of-all-work, 
 ready for everything, from statistics to satire, and equally prepared 
 to expound prophecy, or write squibs for " Punch." 
 
 Not that lodgings were not inhabited in Grub-street before our 
 day, but that it remained for the glory of this century to see that 
 numerous horde of Tourist authors held in leash by fashionable book- 
 sellers, and every now and then let slip over some country, to which 
 plague, pestilence, or famine, had given a newer and more terrible 
 interest. In this novel walk of literature Mr. Howie was one of the 
 chief proficients ; he was the creator of that new school of travel 
 which, writing expressly for London readers, refers everything to the 
 standard of "town ;" and whether it be a trait of Icelandic life, or 
 some remnant of old world existence in the far East, all must be 
 brought for trial to the bar of " Seven Dials," or stand to plead in the
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 189 
 
 dock of Pall-mall or Piccadilly. "Whatever errors or misconceptions 
 he miglit fall into respecting his subjects, he made none regarding his 
 readers. He knew them by heart — their leanings, their weakness, 
 and their prejudices ; and how pleasantly could he flatter their town- 
 bred self-sufficiency — how slyly insinuate their vast superiority over 
 all other citizens, insidiously assuring them that the Thames at Eich- 
 mond was infinitely finer than the Ehine or the Danube, and that a 
 trip to Margate was richer in repayal than a visit to the Bosphorus ! 
 Ireland was, just at the time we speak of, a splendid field for hia 
 peculiar talents. The misery-mongers had had their day. The world 
 was somewhat weary of Landlordism, Pauperism, and Protestantism, 
 and all the other " isms" of that unhappy country. 
 
 There was nothing that had not been said over the overgrown 
 Church establishment, — the devouring Middleman, — Cottier misery 
 — and Celtic barbarism ; people grew weary of hearing about a nation 
 so endowed with capabilities, and which yet did nothing, and rather 
 than puzzle their heads any further, they voted Ireland a " bore." It 
 was just then that "this inspired Cockney" determined to try a new 
 phase of the subject, and this was not to counsel nor console, not to 
 lament over nor bewail our varied mass of errors and misfortunes, but 
 to laugh at us. To hunt out as many incongruities — many, real 
 enough, some, fictitious — as he could find ; to unveil all that he could 
 discover of social anomaly ; and, without any reference to, or any 
 knowledge of, the people, to bring them up for judgment before his 
 less volatile and more happily circumstanced countrymen, certain of 
 the verdict he sought for — a hearty laugh. His mission was to make 
 " Punch" out of Ireland, and none more capable than he for the 
 office. 
 
 A word of Mr. Howie in the flesh, and we have done. He was 
 large and heavily built, but neither muscular nor athletic ; his frame 
 and all his gestures indicated weakness and uncertainty. His head 
 was capacious, but not remarkable for what phrenologists call moral 
 development, while the sinister expression of his eyes — half submis- 
 sive, half satirical — suggested doubts of his sincerity. There was 
 nothing honest about him but his mouth ; this was large, full, thick- 
 lipped, and sensual ; the mouth of one who loved to dine well, and 
 yet felt that his agreeability was an ample receipt in full for the best 
 entertainment that ever graced Blackwall or the " Preres." 
 
 It is a heavy infliction that we story-tellers are compelled to lay 
 upon our readers and ourselves, thus to interrupt our narrative by a 
 lengthened description of a character not essentially belonging to our 
 story ; we had rather, far rather, been enabled to imitate Mrs. AVhite, 
 as she advanced into the circle in the drawing-room, saying, " Mr. 
 Cashel, allow me to present to your favourable notice my distinguished 
 friend, Mr. Howie, Lady Janet MacParline, Mr. Howie" — soUo —
 
 190 KOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " the author of ' Snooks in the Holy Land,' — the wittiest thing 
 of the day, — Sir Andrew will be delighted with him, — has been 
 all over the scenes of the Peninsular war. — Mrs. Kennyfeck, ]Mr. 
 Howie." 
 
 Mr. Howie made his round of salutations, and although by his 
 awkwardness tacitly acknowledging that they were palpably more 
 habituated to the world's ways than himself, yet inwardly consoled 
 by remarking certaia little traits of manner and accent sufficiently 
 provincial to be treasured up, and become very droll in print or a 
 copper etching. 
 
 " It's a vara new pleasure ye are able to confer upon your friends, 
 Mr. Cashel," said Sir Andrew, " to show them so fine a collection o' 
 pictures in Ireland, whar, methinks, the arts ha' no enjoyed too mickle 
 encouragement." 
 
 " I confess," said Cashel, modestly, " I am but ill qualified to ex- 
 tend the kind of patronage that would be serviceable, had I even the 
 means ; I have not the slightest pretension to knowledge or judgment. 
 The few I have purchased have been as articles of furniture, pleasant 
 to look at, without any pretension to high excellence." 
 
 " Just as Admiral Dalrymple paid ten pounds for a dunghill when 
 he turned farmer," whispered Mr. Howie in Mrs. "White's ear, "and 
 then said, ' he had only bought it because some one said it was a good 
 thing, but tliat, now, he'd give any man "twenty" to teU him what 
 to do with it.' " 
 
 Mrs. White burst into a loud fit of laughter, exclaiming, 
 
 " Oh, how clever, how good ! Pray, Mr. Howie, tell Lady Janet, 
 —tell Mr. Cashel that." 
 
 " Oh, Madam!" cried the terrified tourist, who had not discovered 
 before the very shallow discrimination of his gifted acquaintance. 
 
 " If it is so vara good," said Sir Andrew, " we maun insist on hearin' 
 it." 
 
 " No, no ! nothing of the kind," interposed Howie ; " besides, the 
 observation was only intended for Mrs. White's ear." 
 
 " Very true," said that lady, affecting a look of consciousness. 
 
 " The odious woman," whispered Miss Kennyfeck to her sister ; 
 " see how delighted she looks to be compromised." 
 
 " If we had Linton," said Cashel, politely offering his arm to Lady 
 Janet, as he led her into the so-called gallery, " he could explain every- 
 thing for us. We have, however, a kind of catalogue here. This 
 large landscape is said to be by Both." 
 
 " If she be a coo," said Sir Andrew, " I maun say it's the first time 
 I ever seen ane wi' the head ower the tail." 
 
 " Nonsense," said Lady Janet ; " don't ye perceive that the animal 
 is fore-shortened, and is represented lookiug backwards ?" 
 
 " I ken nothing aboot that ; she may be shortened in the fore-parts,
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 191 
 
 an ye say, and that may be some peculiar breed, but what brings her 
 head ower her rump ?" 
 
 Sir Andrew was left to finish his criticism alone, the company 
 moving on to a portrait assigned to Vandyck, as Diedrich von Aeveng- 
 hem, Burgomaster of Antwerp. 
 
 "A fine head!" exclaimed Mrs. Wliite, authpritatively ; "don't 
 you think so, IVIr. Howie ?" 
 
 " A very choice specimen of the great master, for which, doubtless, 
 you gave a large sum ?" 
 
 " Four hundred, if I remember aright," said Cashel. 
 
 " I think he maught hae a clean face for that money," broke in Sir 
 Andrew. 
 
 *' What do you mean. Sir ?" said Miss Kennyfeck, insidiously, and 
 delighted at the misery Lady Janet endured from his remarks. 
 ."■ Don't ye mind the smut he has on ane cheek ?" 
 
 " It's the shadow of his nose. Sir Andrew," broke in Lady Janet, 
 with a sharpness of rebuke there was no misunderstanding. 
 
 " Eh, my Leddy, so it may, but ye need na bite mine off, for a' that I" 
 And so saying, the discomfited veteran fell back in high dudgeon. 
 
 The party now broke into the twos and threes invariable on such 
 occasions, and while INIrs. Kennyfeck and her elder daughter paid their 
 most devoted attentions to Lady Janet, Mrs. "White and the author 
 paired ofi", leaving Olivia Kennyfeck to the guidance of Cashel. 
 
 " So you'U positively not tell me what it is that preys on your mind 
 this morning ?" said she, in the most insinuating of soft accents. 
 
 Cashel shook his head moiirnfully, and said : 
 
 " "Why should I tell you of what it is impossible you could give me 
 any counsel in, while your sympathy would only cause imeasiness 
 to yourself?" 
 
 " But you forget our compact," said she, archly ; "there was to be 
 perfect confidence on both sides, was there not ?" 
 
 " Certainly. Now, when shall we begin ?" 
 
 " Have you not begun already ?" 
 
 " I fancy not. Do you remember two evenings ago, when I came 
 suddenly into the drawing-room and found you pencil in hand, and 
 you, instead of at once showing me what you had been sketching, 
 shut the portfolio, and carried it off, despite all my entreaties— nay, 
 aU my just demands ?" 
 
 " Oh, but," said she, smiling, "confidence is one thing— confession 
 is another." 
 
 " Too subtle distinctions for me," cried Cashel. " I foolishly sup- 
 posed that there was to be an unreserved " 
 
 " Speak lower, for mercy sake !— don't you perceive Lady Janet 
 trying to hear everything you. say." This was said in a soft whisper, 
 while she added aloud, " I think you said it was a Corregio, Mr.
 
 192 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Casliel," as they stood before a very liglitly-clad Magdalen, wlio seemed 
 endeavouring to make up for tlie deficiency of her costume by draping 
 across her bosom the voluptuous masses of her golden hair. 
 
 " I think a Corregio," said Cashel, confused at the sudden artifice ; 
 "but who has the catalogue ? — oh, Sir Andrew; tell us about number 
 fifty-eight." 
 
 " Fefty-eight, fefty-eight," mumbled Sir Andrew a number of times 
 to himself, and then, having found the number, he approached the 
 picture and surveyed it attentively. 
 
 " Well, Sir, what is it called ?" said Olivia. 
 
 " It's vara singular," said Sir Andrew, still gazing at the canvas, 
 " but doubtless Corregio knew weel what he was aboot. . This," 
 said he, "is a picture of Sain John the Baaptist in a raiment of 
 caamel's hair." 
 
 No sense of propriety was proof against this announcement ; a 
 laugh, loud and general, burst forth, during which Lady Janet, snatch- 
 ing the book indignantly from his hands, cried, 
 
 " You were looking at sixty-eight, Sir Andrew, not fifty-eight ; and 
 you have made yourself perfectly ridiculous." 
 
 " By my saul, I believe so," muttered the old gentleman, in deep 
 anger; " I've been looking at ' saxty-eight' ower long already!" 
 
 Fortunately, this sarcasm was not heard by her against whom it 
 was directed, and they who did hear it were fain to suppress their 
 laughter as .well as they were able. The party was now increased by 
 the arrival of the Dean and liis " ancient," Mr. Softly, to the mani- 
 fest delight of Mrs. Kennyfeck, who at once exclaimed, 
 
 " Ah, we shall now hear something really instructive." 
 
 The erudite churchman, after a very abrupt notice of the com- 
 pany, started at speed without losing a moment. 
 
 His attention being caught by some curious tableau of the interior 
 of tlie great Pyramid, he immediately commenced an explanation of 
 the various figures, the costumes and weapons, which he said were 
 all masonicj showing that Pharaoh, wore an apron exactly like the 
 Duke of Sussex, and that every emblem of the " arch" was to be 
 found among the great of Ancient Egypt. 
 
 Wliile thus employed, Mr. Howie, seated in a corner, was busily 
 sketching the whole. party for an illustration to his new book on Ire- 
 land, and once more Cashel and his com2)anion found themselves, of 
 course by the merest accident, standing opposite the sathe picture in 
 a little boudoir off the large gallery. The subject was a scene from 
 Faust, where Marguerite, leaning on her lover's arm, is walking in 
 a garden by moonlight, and seeking by a mode of divination common 
 in Germany to ascertain his truth, which is by plucking one by one 
 the petals of a flower, saying alternately, " He loves me, he loves me 
 not ;" and then, by the result of the last-plucked leaf, deciding which
 
 The Piclur.e-^'Tnllerv. ''.ir Aiuiro 
 
 •O W 1 1 I I vv In(;j
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 193 
 
 fate is accomplislied. CasLel first explained the meaning of the trial 
 and then taking a rose from one of the flower vases, he said, 
 
 " Let me see if you can understand my teaching ; you have only to 
 say ' Er liebfc mich,' and ' Er liebt mich nicht.' " 
 
 " But how can I ?" said she, with a look of beaming innocence, " if 
 there be none who " 
 
 " No matter," said Cashel ; " besides, is it not possible you could 
 be loved, and yet never know it ? Now for the ordeal." 
 
 " Er liebt mich nicht," said Olivia, with a low, silvery voice, as she 
 plucked the first petal ofl", and threw it on the floor. 
 
 " You begin inauspiciously, and, I must say, unfairly, too," said 
 Cashel. " The first augury is in favour of love." 
 
 " Er liebt niich," said she, tremulously, and the leaf broke in her 
 fingers. " Ha!" sighed she, " what does that imply? Is it, that he 
 only loves by half his heart ?" 
 
 " That cannot be," said Cashel; " it is rather that you treated his 
 aflectiou harshly." 
 
 " Should it not bear a little ? — ought it to give way at once ?" 
 
 " Nor will it," said he, more earnestly, " if you deal but fairly. 
 Come, I will teach you a still more simple, and yet unerring test." 
 
 A heavy sigh from behind the Chinese screen made both the speakers 
 start ; and while Olivia, pale with terror, sank into a chair, Cashel 
 hastened to see what had caused the alarm. 
 
 "Linton, upon my life!" exclaimed he, in a low whisper, as, on 
 tiptoe, he returned to the place beside her. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Cashel; oh dear, Mr. Cashel " 
 
 " Dearest Olivia " 
 
 " Heigho !" broke in Linton ; and Eoland and his companion slipped 
 noiselessly from the room, and, unperceived, mixed with the general 
 company, who sat in rapt attention while the Dean explained that 
 Painting was nothing more nor less than an optical delusion — a theory 
 which seemed to delight Mrs. Kennyfeck in the same proportion that 
 it puzzled her. Fortunately, the announcement that luncheon was 
 on the table cut short the dissertation, and the party descended, all 
 more or less content, to make material enjoyments succeed to intel- 
 lectual ones. 
 
 " Well," whispered Miss Kennyfeck to her sister, as they descended 
 the stairs, " did he ?" 
 
 An almost inaudible " No" was the reply. 
 
 " Tour eyes are very red for nothing, my dear," rejoined the elder. 
 
 " I diuna ken. Sir," said Sir Andrew to Softly, as he made use of 
 his arm for support — " I dinna ken how ye understand your theory 
 aboot optical delusions, but I maun say, it seems to me a vara strange 
 way for men o' your cloth to pass the morning' starin' at naked 
 weemen — creatures, too, that if they ever leeved at all, must ha' led 
 
 VOL. I, O .
 
 194; EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 the maist abondoned lives. I take it, that Diana herself was no better 
 than a cuttie ; do ye mark hoo she does no scruple to show a bra pair 
 of legs " 
 
 " "With respect to the Heathen Mythology," broke in Softly, in a 
 voice he hoped might subdue the discussion 
 
 " Don't tell me aboot the Haythins, Sir ; flesh and bluid is a' the 
 same, whatever Kirk it follows." 
 
 Before they were seated at table, Linton had joiaed them, explain- 
 ing, in the most natural way in the world, that, having sat down to 
 write in the boudoir, he had fallen fast asleep, and was only awakened 
 by Mr, Phillis having accidentally discovered him. A look of quick 
 intelligence passed between Cashel and Olivia at this narrative ; the 
 young lady soon appeared to have recovered from her former em- 
 barrassment, and the luncheon proceeded pleasantly to all parties. 
 Mr. Howie enjoyed himself to the utmost, not only by the reflection 
 that a hearty luncheon at two would save an hotel dinner at six, but 
 that the Dean and Sir Andrew were two originals worth five pound 
 apiece even for " Punch." As to Cashel, a glance at the author's 
 note-book would show how he impressed that gifted personage : 
 " ' E. C. :' — a snob — rich — and gullible ; his pictures, all the house- 
 hold gods at Christie's, the Vandyck, late a sign of the Marquis of 
 Granby, at Windsor. Mem. : not over safe to quiz him." " But 
 we'll see later on." " Visit him at his country seat, ' if pos.' " 
 
 " Who is our spectacled friend ?" said Linton, as they drove away 
 from the door. 
 
 " Some distinguished author, whose name I have forgotten." 
 
 " Shrewd-looking fellow, — think I have seen him at Ascot. What 
 brings him over here?" 
 
 " To write a book, I fancy." 
 
 " What a bore. This is the age of detectives with a vengeance. 
 Well, don't let him in again, that's all. By Jove ! it's easier, now-a- 
 days, to escape the Queen's Bench than the Illustrated News." 
 
 " A note from Mr. Kenny feck. Sir," said Mr. Phillis, " and the man 
 waits for an answer." 
 
 Linton, taking up a book, affected to read, but in reality placed 
 himself so as to watch Cashel's features as he perused the letter, 
 whose size and shape pronounced to be something unusual. Hurriedly 
 mumbling over a rather tedious exordium on the various views the 
 writer had taken of a subject, Cashel's eyes suddenly flashed as he 
 drew forth a small printed paragraph, cut from the column of a news- 
 paper, and which went thus : — " It will be, doubtless, in our readers' 
 recollection how a short time back an armed slaver, sailiug under the 
 flag of Columbia, was taken, after a most severe and sanguinary en- 
 gagement by H.M. brig Hornet. The commander, a young Spaniard 
 of singularly handsome exterior, and with all the bearing and appear-
 
 EOIAND CASHEL. 195 
 
 ance of a rank very different from his mode of life, was carried off and 
 confined in St. Kitt's till such time as he could be hrou'ght to trial. 
 Eepresentatious from the Grovernment of the Eepublic were, however, 
 made, and a claim preferred for indemnity, not only for the loss of the 
 vessel and property, but for the loss of life and other injury incurred 
 on the capture. While this singular demand was under investigation, 
 the young Spaniard alluded to contrived to break his bonds and 
 escape : the only mode of doing which was by a leap into the sea 
 from the parapet of the fortress, a height, we are informed, of nigh 
 one hundred feet. They who are acquainted with the locality assert 
 that if he even survived the desperate leap, he must inevitably have 
 fallen a victim to the sharks who frequent the bay to catch the bodies 
 of all who die in the prison, and who, it would appear, are thus un- 
 ceremoniously disposed of. This supposition would seem, however, 
 in some respect, contradicted, by the circumstance that a Venezuelan 
 cruiser, which hung about the shore for the two preceding days, 
 sailed on the very night of his escape, and, in all probability, with 
 him on board." 
 
 " I could swear he is safe !" cried Cashel, in an ecstasy of enthu- 
 siasm ; " he's a glorious fellow." 
 
 " "Who is that ?" said Linton, looking up ; " any one I know ?" 
 
 " ISfo, indeed !" said Cashel. Then suddenly checking himself in a 
 speech whose opening accents were far from flattering, he added, 
 " One you never even heard of." 
 
 He once more addressed himself to the letter, which, however, 
 merely contained some not very brilliant commentaries of Mr. 
 Kennyfeck over the preceding extract, and which, after enumerating 
 a great many modes of investigating the event, concluded with the 
 only thing like common-sense in the whole, by recommending a strict 
 silence and secrecy about it all. 
 
 Cashel was closing the epistle, when he caught on the turn-down 
 the following lines : 
 
 " Mr. Linton has written to me about something like a legal transfer 
 of the cottage' and lands of Tubber-beg, which he mentions your 
 having presented to him. "What reply am I to return to this ? I 
 stated that you had already assured Mr. Corrigau, the present tenant, 
 of an undisturbed possession of the tenure, but Mr. L. interrupted 
 my explanation by saying that he only desired an assignment of the 
 property, such as would give a Parliamentary qualification, and that 
 all pledges made to Mr. C. he would regard as equally binding on 
 himself." 
 
 Cashel' s first impulse, when he had read thus for, was to show 
 Linton the paragraph, and frankly ask him what he wished to be 
 done ; indeed, he had already advanced towards him with that object, 
 when he checked himself. " It might seem ungracious to ask any 
 
 o2
 
 196 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 explanation. There liad been already a moment of awkwardness 
 about that same cottage, and Linton bad behaved so well ; and, of 
 course, only asking bim for the possession as a means of qualifying, 
 Corrigan need never hear of it. Besides, he could make Linton a pre- 
 sent of mucb greater real value as soon as the circumstances of the 
 estate became better known." Such and sucb-like reasonings passed 
 bastily througb bis brain ; and as all bis resolves were quickly formed, 
 and as quickly acted on, he sat down and wrote : 
 
 " Dear Me. Kennyfeck, — Many thanks for the information of 
 your note, wbicb has served to allay all my anxiety for a valued 
 friend. As to Linton, you will bave the goodness to satisfy bim in 
 every particular, and make all and every legal title be desires to tbe 
 cottage and grounds of Tubber-beg. Althougb be is now at my side 
 while I write, I bave not alluded to the subject, feeling tbe awkward- 
 ness of touching on a theme so delicate. Say, however, for me, that 
 Corrigan is not to be disturbed, nor any pledge I bave made towards 
 bim — no matter bow liberally construed by bim — to be, in any re- 
 spect, infringed. — Tours, in great haste, " E. C 
 
 )5 
 
 " "Why you are quite a man of business to-day, Casbel, with your 
 correspondence and letter-writing ; and I'm sorry for it, for I wanted 
 to bave a bit of serious talk with you — that is, if it do not bore you." 
 
 " 'Not in the least. I was, I own it, nervous and uneasy this morn- 
 ing ; now, however, my mind is at ease, and I am quite ready for 
 anything." 
 
 " Well, then, without preamble, are you still of tbe same mind 
 about Parliament, because tbe time is hastening on when you ought 
 to come to some decision on the matter ?" 
 
 " I bave never bestowed a thought on the matter since," said 
 Casbel. " Tbe truth is, when I bear people talk politics in society, 
 I am only astonished at their seeming bigotry and one-sidedness ; and 
 when I read newspapers of opposite opinions, I am equally confounded 
 at tbe excellent arguments they display for diametrically contradictory 
 lines of action, so that mypolitical education makes but little progress." 
 
 " What you say is perfectly just," said Linton, appearing to reflect 
 profoundly. " A man of real independeuce — not tlie mere independ- 
 ence of fortune, but the far liigher independence of personal character 
 — has much to endure in our tangled and complex system of legisla- 
 tion. As for yourself, for instance, who can afi'ord to despise pa- 
 tronage, who have neither sons to advance in the Navy, nor nepliews 
 in tbe Foreign Office, wlio neitlier want the Bath nor a Baronetcy, 
 who would be as sick of tbe flatteries as you would be disgusted with 
 the servility of party — why you should submit to tbe dust and beat, 
 the turmoil and fatigue of a session, I can't think. And how you
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 197 
 
 would be bored — bored by the ceaseless reiterations niglit after nigbt, 
 the same arguments growing gradually weaker as the echo grew 
 fainter : bored by the bits of ' Horace' got off by heart to wind up 
 with ; bored by the bad jests of witty members ; bored by Peel's 
 candour, and Palmerston's petulance ; by Cobden's unblushing effron- 
 tery, and Hume's tiresome placidity. Tou'd never know a happy day 
 nor a joyous hour till you accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and cut 
 them all. IS'o ; the better course for you would be, choose a nominee 
 for your borough ; select a man in whom you have confidence. Think 
 of some one over whom your influence would be complete, who would 
 have no other aim than in following out your suggestions ; some one, 
 in fact, who unites sufiicient ability with personal friendship. "What 
 d'ye think of Kennyfeck ?" 
 
 " Poor Kennyfeck," said Cashel, laughing, " he'd never think of 
 such a thing." 
 
 " I don't know," said Linton, musing ; " it might not suit him, but 
 his wife would like it prodigiously." 
 
 " Shall I propose it, then ?" said Cashel. 
 
 " Better not, perhaps," said Linton, appearing to reflect ; " his in- 
 come, which is a right good one, is professional. This, of course, he'd 
 forfeit by accepting a seat in the House. Besides, really, the poor 
 man would make no way. No, we must think of some one else. Do 
 you like White ?" 
 
 " Leicester "White ? I detest the man, and the wife too." 
 
 " Well, there's Probisher, a fellow of good name and family. I'd 
 not go bail for his preferring your interests to his own, but as times 
 go, you might chance upon worse. Will you have Probisher ?" 
 
 " I have no objection," said Cashel, carelessly; "would he like it 
 himself?" 
 
 " Would he like anything that might help him to a step in the 
 regiment, or place him in a position to sell himself, you, and the 
 borough constituency, to the highest bidder?" said Linton, irritated 
 at Cashel's half assent. 
 
 " AVell, if these be his principles," cried Cashel, laughing, " I think 
 we'd better put him aside." 
 
 " You're right ; he'd never do,"_said Linton, recovering all his self- 
 possession ; " what you want, is a man sufiiciently unconnected with 
 ties of family or party, to see in you his patron and his object, and 
 who, with cleverness enough to enunciate the views you desire to see 
 prevail, has also the strong bond of personal regard to make him 
 always even more the friend than the follower." 
 
 " I only know of one man who realises all this combination," said 
 Cashel, smiling, " and Tie wouldn't answer." 
 
 "Who is he, — and why ?" asked Linton, in vain endeavouring to 
 look easy and unconcerned.
 
 198 E0LA5s'D CASHEL. 
 
 " Tom Linton is the man, and liis invincible laziness the ' why.' 
 Isn't that true ?" 
 
 " By George, Cashel, if you're content with the first part of the 
 assertion, I'll pledge mjself to remedy the latter. I own, frankly, it 
 is a career for which I have no predilection ; if I had, I should have 
 been ' in' many years ago. I have all my life held very cheap your 
 great Political leaders, both as regards capacity and character, and I 
 have ever fancied that I should have had some success in the lists ; 
 but I have always loved ease, and that best of ease, independence. 
 If you think, however, that I can worthily represent you in Parlia- 
 ment, and that you could safely trust to my discretion the knotty 
 question of Political war, say the word, my boy, and I'll fling my 
 ' far niente' habits to the wind, and you shall have all the merit of 
 
 developing the promising member for what's the name of it ?" 
 
 " Derraheeny." 
 
 " Exactly, — the honourable and learned — for Derraheeny. I rather 
 like the title." 
 
 " "Well, Linton, if you are really serious " 
 
 " Most assuredly, serious ; and more, to prove it, I shall ask you to 
 clench our bargain at once. It is not enough that you make me your 
 nominee, but you must also render me eligible to become so." 
 
 " I don't clearly compreliend " 
 
 " I'll enlighten you. Our venerable Constitution, perfectly irre- 
 spective of the Tom Lintons of this world, — a race which, by the way, 
 never dies out, probably because they have avoided intermarriage, — 
 has decided that a man must possess something besides his wits to be 
 qualified as ' Member of Parliament ;' a strange law, because the afore- 
 said wits are all that the Honourable House has any reason to lay 
 claim to. This same something which guarantees that a man has a 
 legislative capacity, amounts to some hundreds a year. Don't be im- 
 patient, and come out with any piece of rash generosity ; I don't want 
 you to make a present of an estate — only to lend me one ! To be 
 qualified, either as a candidate for the House or a Gentleman rider, 
 one only needs a friend, — a well-to-do friend, — who'll say, ' He's all 
 right.' " 
 
 " I'm quite ready to vouch for you, Tom ; but you'll have to take 
 the aifair into your own management." 
 
 " Oh, it's easy enough. That same cottage and the farm which we 
 spoke of the other day, Kennyfeck can make out a kind of conveyance, 
 or whatever the instrument is called, by which it acknowledges me 
 for its owner, vice Eoland Cashel, Esquire. This, properly sealed, 
 signed, and so on, will defy the most searching Committee that ever 
 pried into any gentleman's private circumstances." 
 
 " Then explain it all to Kennyfeck, and say that I wish it done at 
 once."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 199 
 
 " Nay, Cashel, pardon me. My ugliest enemy will not call me 
 punctilious, but I must stand upon a bit of ceremony here. This 
 must be ordered by yourself. Tou are doing a gracious thing — a 
 devilish kind thing — it must not be done by halves. "Were I to com- 
 municate this to Kennyfeck, he'll unquestionably obey the direction, 
 but most certainly he'd say, to the first man he met, ' See how Linton 
 has managed to trick Cashel out of a very considerable slice of landed 
 property.' He'd not take much trouble to state the nature of our 
 compact ; he'd rather blink the whole arrangement altogether, and 
 make the thing seem a direct gift. Now, I have too much pride on 
 your account, and my own too, to stand this." 
 
 " "Well, well, it shall be as you like ; only I trow I disagree with 
 you about old Kennyfeck: he's a fine straight-hearted fellow — 
 he's " 
 
 " He's an attorney, Cashel. These fellows can no more compre- 
 hend a transfer of property without a trial at bar, or a suit in Equity, 
 than an Irish second can understand a falling out without one of the 
 parties being brought home on a door. Besides, he has rather a 
 grudge against me. I never told you — indeed, I never meant to tell 
 you — but I can have no secrets from you. Tou know the youngest 
 girl, Olivia ?" 
 
 " Tes, go on," said Cashel, red and pale by turns. 
 
 " "Well, I flirted a good deal last winter with her. Upon my life, 
 I did not intend it to have gone so far ; I suppose it must have gone 
 far, though, because she became desperately in love. She is very 
 pretty, certainly, and a really good little girl — mais, que voulez-vous ? 
 If I tie a fly on my hook I can't aflford to see a flounder or a perch 
 walk ofi" with it — it's the speckled monster of the stream I fish for. 
 They ought to have known that themselves, — I've no doubt they did, 
 too ; but they were determined, as they say here, to die ' innocent,' 
 and so one fine morning I was just going to join the hounds at Finglas, 
 when old Kennyfeck, very trimly dressed and looking unutterable 
 importance, entered my lodgings. There's a formula for these kind 
 of explanations — I've gone through seven of these myself, and I'll 
 swear that every papa has opened the conference with a solemn ap- 
 peal to Heaven ' that he never was aware of the attentions shown his 
 daughter, nor the state of his dear child's afieetions, till last evening.' 
 They always assiu'e you, besides, that if they could give a million and 
 a half as dowry, you are the very man — the actual one individual — 
 they would have selected ; so that on an average most young ladies 
 have met with at least half a dozen parties whom the fathers have 
 pronounced to be, separately, the one most valued. Kennyfeck be- 
 haved, I must say, admirably. His wife would have a Galway cousin 
 sent for, and a duel ; some other kind friend suggested to have me 
 waylaid and thrashed. He calmly heard me for about ten minutes,
 
 200 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 and tlien taking up His hat and gloves, said, ' Take your rule,' and so 
 it ended. I dined there the next Sunday — yes, that's part of my 
 system : I never permit people to nourish small grudges, and go about 
 abusing me to my acquaintances. If they will do that, I overwhelm 
 them by their duplicity, as I am seen constantly in their intimacy, 
 and remarkable for always speaking well of them, so that the world 
 will certainly give it against them. The gist of all this tiresome story 
 is, that Kennyfeck and the ladies would, if occasion served, pay off 
 the old debt to me ; therefore, beware if you hear me canvassed in 
 that quarter!" 
 
 Linton, like many other cunning people, very often lapsed into 
 little confessions of the tactics by vrhich he played his game in the 
 ■world, and although Cashel was not by any means a dangerous con- 
 fidant to such disclosures, he now marked with feelings not all akin 
 to satisfaction this acknowledgment of his friend's skill. 
 
 " Tou'd never have shown your face there again, I'll wager a hun- 
 dred !" said Linton, reading in the black look of Eoland's counte- 
 nance an expression he did not fancy. 
 
 " You are right. I should have deemed it unfair to impose on the 
 young lady a part so full of awkwardness as every meeting must 
 necessitate." 
 
 " That comes of your innocence about women, my dear friend. 
 They have face for anything. It is not hypocrisy, it is not that they 
 do not feel, and feel deeply, but their sense of command, their in- 
 stinct of what is becoming, is a thousand times finer than ours ; and 
 I am certain that when we take all manner of care to, what is called, 
 spare their feelings, we are in reality only sparing them a cherished 
 opportunity of exercising a control over those feelings \vhich we 
 foolishly suppose to be as ungovernable as our own." 
 
 Either not agreeing with the sentiment, or unable to cope with its 
 subtlety, Cashel sat some time without speaking. Prom Olivia Ken- 
 nyfeck his thoughts reverted to one in every respect unlike her — the 
 daring, impetuous Maritaiia. He wondered wdthin himself w^hether 
 Iter bold, impassioned nature could be comprehended within Linton's 
 category, and a secret sense of rejoicing thrilled through him as he 
 replied to himself in the negative. 
 
 " I'd wager a trifle, Eoland, from that easy smile you wear, that 
 your memory has called up one example, at least, luifavourable to my 
 theory. Eh ! I have guessed aright. Come then, out with it, man — 
 who is this peerless paragon of pure ingenuous truth ? — who is she 
 whose natui'e is the transparent crystal where fair thoughts are en- 
 shrined ? No denizen of our misty northland, I'll be sworn, but 
 some fair Mexican, with as little disguise as drapery. Confess, I say 
 — there is a confession, I'll be sworn — and so make a clean breast 
 of it."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 201 
 
 It struck CasTiel, wlille Linton was speaking, liow effectually Ma- 
 ritaiia herself, by one proud look, one haughty gesture, would have 
 silenced such flippant raillery ; and he could not help feeling it a kind 
 of treason to their old friendship that he should listen to it in patient 
 endurance. 
 
 "Listen to me, amigo mio," said he, in a tone of earnest passion, 
 that seemed almost estranged from his nature latterly — "listen to 
 me, while I tell you that in those far-away countries, whose people 
 you regard with such contemptuous pity, there are women — ay, young 
 girls — whose daring spirit would shame the courage of many of those 
 fine gentlemen we spend our lives with ; and I, for one, have so 
 much of the Indian in me, as to think that courage is the first of 
 virtues," 
 
 " I cannot help fancying," said Linton, with an almost impercep- 
 tible raillery, " that there are other qualities would please me as well 
 in a wife or a mistress." 
 
 " I have no doubt of it, — and suit you better, too," said Cashel, 
 savagely ; then hastily correcting 'himself for his rude speech, he 
 added, " I believe, in good earnest, that you would as little sympa- 
 thise with that land and its people, as I do with this. Ay, if you 
 want a confession, there's one for you. I'm longing to be back once 
 more among the vast prairies of the "West, galloping free after the 
 dark-backed bisons, and strolling along in the silent forests. The 
 enervation of this life wearies and depresses me, — worse than all, I 
 feel that, with a little more of it, I shall lose all energy and zest for 
 that activity of body, which, to men like myself, supplies the place 
 of thought, — a little more of it, and I shall sink into that languid 
 routine where dissipation supplies the only excitement." 
 
 " This is a mere passing caprice ; a man who has wealth " 
 
 " There it is," cried Cashel, interrupting him impetuously ; "that 
 is the eternal burden of your song. As if wealth, in forestalling the 
 necessity for labour, did not, at the same time, deprive life of all the 
 zeal of enterprise. "When I have stepped into my boat to board a 
 Chilian frigate, I have had a prouder throbbing at my heart than ever 
 the sight of that banker's cheque-book has given me. There's many 
 a Gambusino in the Eocky Mountains a happier — ay, and a finer 
 fellow, too, than the gayest of those gallants that ever squandered the 
 gold Jie quarried ! But why go on ? — we are speaking in unknown 
 tongues to each other." 
 
 The tone of irritation into which, as it seems unconsciously, Cashel 
 had fallen, was not lost on the keen perception of Linton, and he was 
 not sorry to feign a pretext for closing an interview whose continuance 
 might be unpleasant. 
 
 " I was thinking of a hurried trip down to Tubbermore," said he, 
 rising; "we shall have these guests of yours in open rebellion, if we
 
 202 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 don't affect at least sometliing like preparation for their reception. 
 I'll take Perystell along with me, and we'll see what can be done to 
 get the old house in trim." 
 
 " Thanks," said Cashel, as he walked up and down, his thoughts 
 seeming engaged on some other theme. 
 
 " I'll write to you a report of the actual condition of the fortress," 
 said Linton, assuming all his habitual easy freedom of manner, " and 
 then, if you think of anything to suggest, you'll let me hear." 
 
 " Yes, I'll write," said Cashel, still musing on his own thoughts. 
 
 " I see pretty plainly," cried Linton, laughing, "there is no earthly 
 use in asking you questions just now, your brain being otherwise oc- 
 cupied, and so, good-by." 
 
 " Good-by — good-by," said Cashel, endeavouring, but not with a 
 very good grace, to shake off his preoccupation while he shook hands 
 with him ; and Linton descended the stairs, humming an opera air, 
 with all the seeming light-heartedness of a very careless nature. 
 
 Cashel, meanwhile, sat down, and with his head resting on his hand, 
 pondered over their late interview. There were two circumstances 
 which both puzzled and distressed him. How came it that Linton 
 should have written this note to Ivennyfeck on a subject which only 
 seemed to have actually suggested itself in the course of this their 
 very last conversation ? Had he already planned the whole campaign 
 respecting the seat in Parliament and the qualification, and was his 
 apparently chance allusion to these topics a thing studied and devised 
 beforehand ? This, if true, would argue very ill for his friend's 
 candour and fair dealing ; and yet, how explain it otherwise ? "Was 
 there any other seat open to him for which to need a qualification ? 
 If so, he had never spoken of it. It was the first time in his life that 
 Cashel had conceived a suspicion of one whom he had regarded in the 
 light of friend, and only they who have undergone a similar trial can 
 understand the poignant suffering of the feeling ; and yet, palpable as 
 the cause for such a doubt was, he had never entertained it had not 
 Linton spoken disparagingly of the Kennyfecks ! This is a curious 
 trait of human nature, but one wortli consideration ; and while leav- 
 ing it to the elucidation the penetration of each reader may suggest, 
 we only reiterate the fact, that while Cashel could, without an effort, 
 have forgiven the duplicity practised on himself, the levity Linton 
 employed respecting Olivia engendered doubts of his honour too grave 
 to be easily combated. 
 
 As for Linton, scarcely had he quitted Cashel, than he hastened to 
 call on Kcnnyfeck ; he had written the note already alluded to, to 
 leave at the house should the solicitor be from home ; but having left it, 
 by accident, on his writing-table, his servant, discovering it to be sealed 
 and addressed, had, without further question, left it at Kennyfeck's
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 203 
 
 house. As Linton went along, he searched his pockets for the epistle, 
 but consoled himself by remembering how he had left it at home. 
 
 A few moments later found him at Kennyfeck's door. The at- 
 torney was at home, and, without any announcement, Linton entered 
 the study where he sat. 
 
 " I was this instant writing to you, Sir," said Kennyfeck, rising, 
 and placing a seat for him ; " Mr. Cashel, on being informed of the 
 wish expressed in your note " 
 
 " Of what note ?" said Linton, in a voice of, for him, very unusual 
 agitation. 
 
 " This note — here. Sir — dated — no, by-the-by, it is not dated, but 
 brought by your servant two hours ago." 
 
 Linton took the paper, glanced his eye over it, and then, in mingled 
 chagrin and forgetfuluess, tore it, and threw the fragments into the 
 fire. 
 
 " There is some mistake about this," said he, slowly, and giving 
 himself time to consider what turn he should lend it. 
 
 " This is Mr. Cashel's reply, Sir," said Kennyfeck, after pausing 
 some moments, but in vain, for tlie explanation. 
 
 Linton eagerly caught the letter and read it through, and whatever 
 scruples or fear he might have conceived from any other man's it 
 seemed as if he had little dread of Cashel's penetration, for his as- 
 sured and easy smile at once showed that he had regained his wonted 
 tranquillity. 
 
 " You will then take the necessary steps without delay, Kenny- 
 feck," said he. "The elections cannot be very distant, and it is 
 better to be prepared." As he spoke he threw the letter back upon 
 the table, but in a moment afterwards, while taking oif his gloves, 
 managed to seize it and convey it to his pocket. " You know far 
 better than I do, Kennyfeck," resumed he, " how sharp the lawyers 
 can be in picking out any flaw respecting title and so forth ; for this 
 reason be careful that this document shall be as regular and binding 
 as need be." 
 
 " It shall be submitted for counsel's opinion this evening, Sir " 
 
 " Not to Jones, then ; I don't fancy that gentleman, although I 
 know he has some of your confidence ; send it to Hammond." 
 
 " As you please, Sir." 
 
 " Another point. You'll not insert any clause respecting the tenant 
 in possession ; it would only be hampering us with another defence 
 against some legal subtlety or other." 
 
 " Mr. Cashel does not desire this, Sir." 
 
 " Of course not, — you understand what the whole thing means. 
 Well, I must say good-by ; you'll have all ready by the time I return 
 to town. My respects to the drawing-room. Adieu."
 
 204- EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 " That was a bad blunder about the note," muttered Linton, as he 
 walked along towards home, " and might have lost the game, if the 
 antagonist had any skill whatever." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Let's see the field, and mark it well, 
 For, here, will be the battle. 
 
 Ottocae. 
 
 " Does this path lead to the house, friend ?" said a gentleman, 
 whose dress bespoke recent travel, to the haggard, discontented figure 
 of a man, who, seated on a stone beside a low and broken wicket, was 
 lazily filling his pipe, and occasionally throwing stealthy glances at 
 the stranger. A short nod of the head was the reply. " You belong 
 to the place, I suppose?" 
 
 " Maybe I do ; and what then ?" 
 
 " Simply that, as I am desirous of going thither, I shoiild be glad 
 of your showing me the way." 
 
 " Troth, an' there's little to see when you get there," rejoined the 
 other, sarcastically. " What are you by trade, if it's not displeasin' 
 to ye ?" 
 
 " That's the very question I was about to ask you," said Linton, 
 for it was himself ; " you appear to have a very easy mode of life, 
 whatever it be, since you are so indifterent about earning half-a- 
 crown." 
 
 Tom Keane arose from his seat, and made an awkward attempt at 
 saluting, as he said, 
 
 " 'Tis the dusk o' the evening prevented me seeing yer Honer, or I 
 wouldn't be so bowld. This is tlie way to the Hall, sure enough." 
 
 " This place has been greatly neglected of late," said Linton, as 
 they walked along side by side, and endeavouring by a tone of fami- 
 liarity, to set his companion at ease. 
 
 " Troth, it is neglected, and always was as long as I remember. I 
 was reared in it, and I never knew it other ; thistles and docks as big 
 as your leg, everywhere, and the grass choked up with moss." 
 
 " How came it to be so completely left to ruin ?" 
 
 " Anan !" muttered he, as if not well comprehending the question, 
 but, in reality, a mere device employed to give him more time to scan 
 the stranger, and guess at his probable object. 
 
 " I was asking," said Linton, " how it happened that a fine old place 
 like this was suffered to go to wreck and ruin ?"
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 205 
 
 " Faix, it's ould enough, anyhow," said the other, with a coarse 
 laugh. 
 
 " And large too." 
 
 " Ter Houer was here afore ?" said Tom, stealthily glancing at 
 him under his brows. " I'm thinking I remember yer Honer's 
 faytures. You wouldn't be the gentleman that came down with Mr. 
 Duffy ?" 
 
 '■ JSTo ; this is my first visit to these parts ; now, where does this 
 little road lead ? It seems to be better cared for than the rest, and 
 the gate, too, is neatly kept." 
 
 " That goes down to the cottage. Sir, — Tubber-beg, as they call it. 
 Ter Honer isn't Mr. Cashel himself ?" said Tom, reverentially taking 
 off his tattered hat, and attempting an air of com'tesy, which sat mar- 
 vellously ill upon him. 
 
 " I have not that good luck, my friend." 
 
 " 'Tis good luck ye may call it," sighed Tom, — " a good luck that 
 doesn't fall to many ; but, maybe, ye don't want it ; maybe, yer 
 Honer " 
 
 " And who lives in the cottage of Tubber-beg ?" said Linton, inter- 
 rupting. 
 
 " One Corrigan, Sir ; an ould man and his granddaughter." 
 
 " Good kind of people, are they ?" 
 
 " Ayeh ! there's worse, and there's betther ! They're as proud as 
 Lucifer, and poor as naygurs." 
 
 " And this is the Hall itself!" exclaimed Linton, as he stopped 
 directly in front of the old dilapidated building, whose deformities 
 were only exaggerated by the patchy effect of a faint moonlight. 
 
 " Ay, there it is," grinned Tom, "and no beauty either; and ugly 
 as it looks without, it's worse within ! There's cracks in the walls ye 
 could put your hand through, and the windows is rotten, where they 
 stand." 
 
 " It is not very tempting, certainly, as a residence," said Linton, 
 smiling. 
 
 " Ah, but if ye heerd the cats, the way they do be racin' and huntin' 
 each other at night, and the wind bellowsin' down the chimbleys, such 
 screechin' and yellin' as it keeps, and then, the slates rattlin', till ye'd 
 think the ould roof was comin' off altogether — be my soul, there's 
 many a man wouldn't take the property and sleep a night in that 
 house." 
 
 ^' One would do a great deal, notwithstanding, for a fine estate like 
 this," said Linton, dryly. 
 
 There was something, either in the words or the accent, that 
 touched Tom Keane's sympathy for the speaker ; some strange sus- 
 picion, perhaps, that he was one, whose fortune, like his own, was not 
 beyond the casualties and chances of life, and it was with a species of
 
 206 ROLAND CASHEIi. 
 
 coarse friendship that lie said, " Ali, if we had it between us we'd do 
 well." 
 
 " Eight well, — no need to ask for better," said Linton, with a 
 heartiness of assent that made the other perfectly at ease. " I'm cu- 
 rious to have a look at the inside of the place ; I suppose there is no 
 hindrance?" 
 
 " None in life ! I live below, and, faix, there's no living anywhere 
 else, for most of the stairs is burned, and, as I towld ye, the rats has 
 up-stairs all to themselves. Nancy, give us a light," cried he, pass- 
 ing into the dark and spacious hall, " I'm going to show a gentleman 
 the curiosities. I ax your Honer's pardon, the place isn't so clean 
 as it might be." 
 
 Linton gave one peep into the long and gloomy chamber, where the 
 whole family were huddled together in all the wretchedness and dis- 
 order of a cabin, and at once drew back. 
 
 "The cows is on the other side," said the man "and, beyond, 
 there's four rooms was never plastered ; and there, where you see the 
 straw, that's the billiard-room, and inside of it again, there's a place 
 for play-actin', and, more by token, there's a quare thing there." 
 
 " What's that ?" asked Linton, whose curiosity was excited by the 
 remark. 
 
 " Come, and I'll show yer Honer." 
 
 So saying, he led on through a narrow corridor, and passing through 
 two or three dilapidated, ruined chambers, they entered a large and 
 spacious apartment, whose sloping floor at once showed Linton that 
 they were standing on the stage of a theatre. 
 
 Tom Keane held up the flickering light, that the other might see 
 the torn and tattered remnants of the decorations, and the fragments 
 of scenes, as they flapped to and fro. " It's a dbroU place, anyhow," 
 said he, " and there's scarce a bit of it hasn't a trap-door, or some 
 other contrivance of the like ; but here's one stranger than all ; this 
 is what I towld yer Honer about." He walked, as he spoke, to the 
 back wall of the building, where, on the surface of the plaster, a rude 
 scene, representing a wood, was painted, at one side of which a 
 massive pile of rock, overgrown with creepers, stood. " Now, ye'd 
 never guess what was there," said Tom, holding the candle in diff'erent 
 situations to exhibit the scene ; " and, indeed, I found it by chance 
 myself; see this," — and he pressed a small but scarcely perceptible 
 knob of brass in the wall, and at once, what appeared to be the sur- 
 face of the rock, slid back, discovering a dark space beliind. " Come 
 on now, after me," continued he. Linton followed, and they ascended 
 a narrow stair constructed in the substance of the wall, and barely 
 sufficient to admit one person. 
 
 Arriving at the top, after a few seconds' delay, Tom opened a small 
 door, and they stood in a large, and well-proportioned room, where
 
 EOLAND CASHEL, 207 
 
 some wormeaten bed furniture yet remained. The door had been 
 once, as a small fragment of glass showed, the frame of a large mirror, 
 and must have been quite beyond the reach of ordinary powers of de- 
 tection. 
 
 " That was a cunning way to steal down among the play aethers," 
 said Keane, grinning, while Linton, with the greatest attention, re- 
 marked the position of the door and its secret fastening. 
 
 " I suppose no one but yourself knows of this stair?" said Linton. 
 
 " Sorra one. Sir, except, maybe, some of the smugglers that used to 
 come here long ago from the mouth of the Shannon. This was one 
 of their hiding-places." 
 
 " "WeU, if this old mansion comes ever to be inhabited, one might 
 have rare fun by means of that passage ; so be sure you keep the 
 secret well. Let that be a padlock on your lips." And, so saying, 
 he took a sovereign from his purse and gave it him. " Tour name 
 
 is " 
 
 " Tom, yer Honer — Tom Keane ; and, by this and by that, I'm 
 
 ready to do yer Honer's bidding from this hour out " 
 
 " "Well, we shall be good friends, I see," interrupted Linton ; " you 
 may, perhaps, be useful to me, and I can also be able to serve you. 
 Now, which is the regular entrance to this chamber ?" 
 
 " There, Sir ; it's the last door as ye see in the long passage. • Them 
 is all bedrooms along there, but it's not safe to walk down, for the 
 floor is rotten." 
 
 Linton noted down in a memory far from defective the circum- 
 stances of the chamber, and then followed his guide through the re- 
 mainder of the house, which in every quarter presented the same pic- 
 ture of ruin and decay. 
 
 " The bit of candle is near out," said Tom, " but sure there isn't 
 much more to be seen; there's rooms there was never opened, and 
 more, on the other side, the same. The place is as big as a barrack, 
 and here we are once more on the grand stair." 
 
 Por once, the name was not ill applied, as, constructed of Portland 
 stone, and railed with massive banisters of iron, it presented features 
 of solidity and endurance, in marked contrast to the other portions of 
 the edifice. Linton cast one more glance around the gloomy entrance, 
 and sallied forth into the free air. " I'll see you to-morrow, Tom," 
 said he, " and we'll have some talk together. Good night." 
 
 " Good night, and good luck to yer Honer ; but won't you let me 
 see your Honer out of the grounds— as far as the big gate, at least ?" 
 " Thanks ; I know the road perfectly already, and I rather like a 
 lonely stroll of a fine night like this." 
 
 Tom, accordingly, reiterated his good wishes, and Linton was suf- 
 fered to pursue his way unaccompanied. Increasing his speed as he 
 arrived at a turn of the road, he took the path which led off the main
 
 208 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 approach, and led down by the river-side to the cottage of Tubber- 
 beg. There was a feeling of strong interest which prompted him to 
 see this cottage, which now he might call his own ; and as he went, 
 he regarded the little clumps of ornamental planting, the well-kept 
 walks, the neat palings, the quaint benches beneath the trees, with 
 very different feelings from those he had bestowed on the last- visited 
 scene. JS'or was he insensible to the landscape beauty which certain 
 vistas opened, and, seen even by the faint light of a new moon, were 
 still rich promises of picturesque situation. 
 
 Suddenly, and without any anticipation, he found himself, on turn- 
 ing a little copse of evergreens, in front of the cottage, and almost 
 beneath the shadow of its deep porch. Whatever his previous feel- 
 ings of self-iuterest in every detail around, they were speedily routed 
 by the scene before him. 
 
 In a large and well-furnished drawing-room, where a single lamp 
 was shining, sat an old man in an easy chair, his features, his attitude, 
 and his whole bearing indicating the traces of recent illness. Beside 
 him, on a low stool, almost at his feet, was a young girl of singular 
 beauty — the plastic grace of her figure, the easy motion of thehead, 
 as from time to time she raised it to throw upwards a look of affec- 
 tionate reverence, and the long, loose masses of her hair, which, acci- 
 dentally unfastened, fell on either- shoulder, making rather one of 
 those ideals which a Eaphael can conceive than a mere creature of 
 every-day existence. Although late autumn, the windows lay open 
 to the ground, for, as yet, no touch of coming vrinter had visited this 
 secluded and favoured spot. In the still quiet of the night, Iter voice, 
 for she alone spoke, could be hea:rd ; at first, the mere murmur of the 
 accents reached Linton's ears, but even from them he could gather 
 the tone of cheering and encouragement in which she spoke. At 
 length he heard her say,' in a voice of almost tremulous enthusiasm, 
 " It was so like you, dear papa, not to tell this Mr. Cashel that you 
 had yourself a claim, and, as many think, a rightful one, to this same 
 estate, and -thus "not trouble the stream of his munificence." 
 
 " Nay, child, it, had been as impolitic as unworthy to do so," said 
 the old man ; " he who stoops to receive a favour should detract no- 
 thing from the generous sentiment of the granter." 
 
 " Tor my part, I would tell him," said she, eagerly, " that his noble 
 conduct has for ever barred my prosecuting such a claim, and that if, 
 to-morrow, the fairest proofs of my right should reach me, I'd throw 
 them in the fire." 
 
 " To get credit for such self-sacrifice, Mary, one must be inde- 
 pendent of all hypothesis ; one must do, and not merely promise. 
 Now, it would be hard to expect Mr. Cashel to feel the same convic- 
 tion I do, that this confiscation was repealed by letters under the 
 hand of Majesty itself. The Brownes, through whom Cashel inherits,
 
 An Evenings Scene
 
 KOLAND CAS EEL. 209 
 
 were the stewards of my ancestors, entrusted with all their secret 
 affairs, and cognisant of all their family matters. From the humble 
 position of dependents, they suddenly sprang into wealth and fortune 
 and ended by purchasing the very estate they once lived on as day- 
 labourers — sold as it was, like all confiscated estates, for a mere frac- 
 tion of its value." 
 
 " Ob, base ingratitude !" 
 
 " Worse still ; it is said, and with great reason to believe it true, 
 that Hammond Browne, who was sent over to London by my great- 
 grandfather to negotiate with tlie Government, actually received the 
 free pardon and the release of the confiscation, but concealed and 
 made away with both, and, to prevent my grandfather bein<y driven 
 to further pursuit, gave him the lease of this cottage on the low terms 
 we continue to hold it." 
 
 A low, faint cough from the old man warned his granddaughter of 
 the danger of the night air, and she arose and closed the windows. 
 They still continued their conversation, but Linton, unable to hear 
 more, returned to his inn, deeply reflecting over the strange dis- 
 closures he had overheard. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 How cold is treacliery ! — Play. 
 
 " Who can Mr. Linton be, my dear ?" said old Mr. Corrigan, as 
 he sat at breakfast the next day, and pondered over the card which, 
 with a polite request for an interview, the servant had just delivered. 
 " I cannot remember the name, if I ever heard it before ; but should 
 we not invite him to join us at breakfast ?" 
 
 " Where is he, Simon ?" asked Miss Leicester. 
 
 " At the door. Miss, and a very nice-looking gentleman as ever I 
 
 saw." 
 
 " Say that I have been ill, Simon, and cannot walk to the door, and 
 beg he'll be kind enough to come in to breakfast." 
 
 With a manner where ease and deference were admirably blended, 
 Linton entered the room, and, apologising for his intrusion, said, " I 
 have come down here. Sir, on a little business matter for my friend 
 Eoland Cashel, and I could not think of returning to town without 
 making the acquaintance of one for whom my friend has already con- 
 ceived the strongest feeling of interest and regard. It will be the 
 first question I shall hear when I get back, ' Well, what of Mr. Cor- 
 rigan, and how is he ?' " 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 210 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 While maKing tliis speech, which he delivered in a tone of perfect 
 frankness, he seemed never to have noticed the presence of Mias 
 Leicester, who had. retired a little as he entered the room, and now, 
 on being introduced to her, made his acknowledgments with a grave 
 courtesy. 
 
 " And so our young landlord is thinking of taking up his residence 
 amongst us?" said Corrigan, as Linton assumed his place at the 
 breakfast-table. 
 
 " For a few weeks he purposes to do so, but I question greatly if 
 the tranquil pleasures and homely duties of a country life will con- 
 tinue long to attract him ; he is very young, and the world so new to 
 him, that he will scarcely settle down anywhere, or to anything, for 
 some time to come." 
 
 " Experience is a capital thing, no doubt, Mr. Linton, but I'd rather 
 trust the generous impulses of a good-hearted youth in a country 
 like this, long neglected by its gentry. Let him once take an interest 
 in the place and the people, and I'll vouch for the rest. Is he a 
 sportsman?" 
 
 " He was, when in Mexico ; but buffalo and antelope hunting are 
 very different from what this country offers." 
 
 " Does he read ? — is he studious ?" said Mary. 
 
 " Not even a newspaper, Miss Leicester. He is a fine, high- 
 spirited, dashing fellow, and if good nature and honourable intentions 
 could compensate for defective education and training, he would be 
 perfect." 
 
 " They'U go very far, depend on it, Mr. Linton. In these days, a 
 man of wealth can buy almost anything. Grood sense, judgment, 
 skill, are all in the market ; but a generous nature and a warm heart 
 are God's gifts, and can neither be grafted nor transplanted." 
 
 " You'll like him, I'm certain, Mr. Corrigan." 
 
 " I know I shall. I have reason for the anticipation ; Tiernay told 
 me the handsome words he used when according me a favour, — and 
 here comes the Doctor himself." As he spoke. Dr. Tiernay entered 
 the room, his flushed face and hurried breathing bespeaking a hasty 
 walk, " G-ood morrow, Tiernay. Mr. Linton, let me present our 
 doctor ; not the least among our local advantages, as you can tell 
 your friend Mr. Cashel." 
 
 " "We've met before. Sir," said Tiernay, scanning, with a steady 
 gaze, the countenance which, wreathed in smiles, seemed to invite 
 rather than dread recognition. 
 
 " I am happy to be remembered. Dr. Tiernay," said Linton, " al- 
 though I fancy our meeting was too brief for much acquaintance j 
 but we'll know each other better, I trust, hereafter." 
 
 " No need. Sir," whispered Tiernay, as he passed close to his side ; 
 " I believe we read each other perfectly already."
 
 EOLAOT)^ CASHIL. 211 
 
 Linton smiled, and bowed, as though accepting the speech in some 
 complimentary sense, and turned towards Miss Leicester, who was 
 busily arranging some dried plants in a volume. 
 
 "These are not specimens of this neighbourhood ?" said Linton 
 taking up some heaths, "which are seldom found save in Alpine 
 regions." 
 
 " Yes, Sir," interrupted Tiernay, "you'll be surprised to find here 
 productions which would not seem native to these wilds." 
 
 "^ If you take an interest in such things," said old Corrigan;"you 
 can't have a better guide than my granddaughter and Tiernay ; they 
 know every crag and glen for twenty miles round ; all I bargain for 
 IS, don't be late back for dinner. You'll give us your companv I 
 hope, Sir, at six ?" "" 
 
 Linton assented, with a cordial pleasure that deUghted his invitor ; 
 and Mary, so happy to see the gratified expression of her grandfather's 
 face, looked gratefully at the stranger for his polite compHance. 
 
 "A word with you. Sir," whispered Tiernay in Linton's ear; and 
 he passed out into the Kttle flower-garden, saying, as he went, '« I'll 
 show Mr. Linton the grounds. Miss Mary, and you shaU not have to 
 neglect your household cares." 
 
 Linton followed him without speaking, nor was a word interchanged 
 between them till they had left the cottage a considerable distance 
 behind them. " Well, Sir," said Linton, coming to a halt, and speak- 
 ing m a voice of cold and steadfast purpose, " how far do you propose 
 that I am to bear you company ?" 
 
 " Only tm we are beyond the danger of being overheard," said 
 Tiernay, turning round. " Here wiU do perfectly. You will doubt- 
 less say. Sir, that in asking you for an explanation of why I see you 
 in this cottage, that I am exceeding the bounds of what right and duty 
 alone impose." 
 
 " You anticipate me precisely," said Linton, sarcastically, " and to 
 save you the embarrassment of so obviously impertinent a proceedino-, 
 I beg to say that I shall neither aff^ord you the slightest satisfaction 
 on^this or any other subject of inqnirf. Now, Sir, what next ?" 
 
 " Do you forget the occasion of our first meeting ?" said the Doctor, 
 who actuaUy was abashed beneath the practised efirontery of his 
 adversary. 
 
 " Not in the least, Sir. You permitted yourself on that occasion 
 to take a liberty, which from your age and other circumstances I con- 
 sented to pass unnoticed. I shall not always vouch for the same 
 patient endurance on my part ; and so pray be cautious how you pro- 
 voke it." ^ 
 
 " It was at that meeting," said the Doctor, with passionate earnest- 
 ness, '-that I heard you endeavour to dissuade your friend from a 
 tavourable consideration of that man's claim, whose hospitality you 
 
 p2
 
 212 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 now accept of. It was with an insolent sneer at Mr. Cashel's sim- 
 plicity " 
 
 " Pray stop, Sir — not too far, I beseech you. The whole affair, 
 into which by some extraordinary self-delusion you consider yourself 
 privileged to obtrude, is very simple. This cottage and the grounds 
 appertaining to it are mine. This old gentleman, for whom I enter- 
 tain the highest respect, is my tenant. The legal proof of what I say, 
 I promise to submit to you within the week ; and it was to rescue 
 Mr, Cashel from the inconsistency of pledging himself to what was 
 beyond his powers of performance, that I interfered. Your very ill- 
 advised zeal prevented this ; and rather than increase the awkward- 
 ness of a painful situation, I endured a very unprovoked and imperti- 
 nent remark. Now, Sir, you have the full explanation of my conduct, 
 and my opinion of yours ; and I s^e no reason to continue the inter- 
 view." So saying, Linton touched his hat and turned back towards 
 the cottage. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Ay, Sir, the knave is a deep one. — Old Plat. 
 
 To save our reader the tedious task of following Mr. Linton's move- 
 ments, however necessary to our storv some insight into them may be, 
 we take the shorter, and therefore pleasanter course, of submitting 
 one of his own brief notes to Eoland Cashel, written some three days 
 after his arrival at Tubbermore : 
 
 " Still here, my dear Cashel, still in this Tipperary Siberia, where 
 our devotion to your service has called and still retains us — and what 
 difficulties and dangers have been ours ! What a land ! — and what a 
 people ! Of a truth, I no longer envy the rich landed proprietor — as, 
 in my ignorance, I used to do some weeks back. To begin. Tour 
 Chateau de Tubbermore, which seems a cross between a gaol and a 
 county hospital without, and is a downright ruin within, stands in a 
 park of thistles and docks, whose luxuriant growth are a contemptuous 
 reflexion upon your trees, which positively don't grow at all. So in- 
 geniously placed is this desirable residence, that although the country, 
 the river, and the mountains, offer some fine landscape effects, not a 
 vestige of any of them can be seen from your windows. Tour dining- 
 room, late a nursery for an interesting family of small pigs, looks out 
 upon the stables, picturesque as they are in fissured walls and tum- 
 bling rafters ; and one of the drawing-rooms — they call it the blue 
 room — a tint so likely to be caught up by the spectators — opens upon
 
 BOLA.VD CA3HBL. 213 
 
 a garden — but what a garden ! Fruit-trees there are none — stay, I 
 am unjust, two have been left standing to give support to a clothes- 
 line, where the amiable household of your care-taker, Mr. Cane, are 
 pictorially represented by various garments, crescendo from the tunic 
 of tender years to the full-grown ' toga.' But why enumerate small 
 details ? Let me rather deal in negatives, and tell you there is not a 
 whole pane of glass in the entire building — not a grate — few doors 
 — little flooring, and actually no roof. The slates, where there are 
 .such, are so loose that the wind rattles among them like the keys of 
 a gigantic piano, and usually ends with a grand Freischutz effect, 
 which uncovers a room or two. The walls are everywhere so rotten, 
 that if you would break a loophole, you throw down enough to drive 
 a ' break' through ; and as for the chimneys, the jackdaw may plead 
 the Statute of Limitations, and defy to surrender a possession which 
 certainly dates from the past century ! Perystell is in despair ; he 
 goes about sticking his thumb through the rotting timbers, and knock- 
 ing down partitions with a kick of his foot, and exclaiming against 
 the ignorance of the last age of architects, who, I take it, were pretty 
 much like their successors, save in the thefts committed from Greek 
 and Eoman models. This is not tempting, nor the remedy for it easy. 
 Stone and mortar are as great luxuries here as ice-cream at Calcutta ; 
 there are no workmen, or the few are merely artificers in mud. Tim- 
 ber is an exotic — glass and iron are traditions ; so that if you desire 
 to be an Irish country gentleman, your pursuit of territorial ascen- 
 dancy has all the merit of difficulty. Now — que faire ? Shall we 
 restore, or, rather, rebuild, or shall we put forty pounds of Dartford 
 gunpowder in one of the cellars, and blow the whole concern to him 
 who must have devised it ? Such is the course I should certainly 
 adopt myself, and only feel regret at the ignoble service of the honest 
 explosive. 
 
 " Perystell, like all his tribe, is a pedant, and begins by asking for 
 two years, and I won't say how many thousand pounds. My reply 
 is, ' Months and hundreds vice years and thousands,' — and so we are 
 at issue. I know your anxiety to receive the people you have invited, 
 and I feel how fruitless it would be to tell you with what apologies 
 I, if in your place, should put them off ; so pray instruct me how to 
 act. Shall I commission Perystell to go to work in all form, and 
 meanwhile make a portion of the edifice habitable ? or shall I — and 
 I rather admire the plan— get a corps of stage artificers from Drury 
 Lane, and dress up the house as they run up a provincial theatre ? I 
 know you don't care about cost, which, after all, is the only real ob- 
 jection to the scheme, and if you incline to my suggestion about the 
 fireworks, for a finish, it will be perfectly appropriate. 
 
 " ' My own cottage'— so far, at least, as I could see of it without 
 intruding on the present occupant — is very pretty : roses, and honey-
 
 214 aOXAlTD OABHEX. 
 
 suckle, and jasmines, and. such-like ruralities, actually enveloping it. 
 It is well placed,, too, in a snug little nook, sheltered from the north, 
 and with a peep at the river in front— just the sort of place where 
 baflBled ambition and disappointment would retire to, and where, 
 doubtless, some of these days, Tom Linton, not being selected by her 
 Majesty as Chief Secretary for the Home Office, will be announced 
 in the papers to have withdrawn from pubHc life, ' to prosecute the 
 more congenial career of literature.' There is a delicious little 
 boudoir, too — such is it at present ; you or I would make it a smok- 
 ing crib — looking over the Shannon, and with a. fine bold mountain, 
 well wooded, beyond. I should like a gossip with you, in. that bay- 
 window, in the mellow hour, when confidence, which hates candles, is 
 at its full. 
 
 " Have^I told you everything ? I scarcely know, my head is so fuH of 
 roof-trees, rafters, joists, gables, and parapets. Halt ! I was forgetting 
 a pretty — that is not the word — a handsome girl, daughter or grand- 
 daughter of our tenant Mr. Corrigan, one of those saintly, virginal 
 heads Eaphael painted, with finely pencilled eyebrows, delicate be- 
 yond expression above ; severe, in the cold, unimpassioned character 
 of the mouth and lips ; clever, too, or, what comes to nearly the same, 
 odd and eccentric, being educated by an old St. Omer. priest, who 
 taught her Latin, French, Italian, with a dash of Theology, and, 
 better than all, to sing Provencal songs to her own accompaniment 
 on the piano. You'll say, with such companionship, Siberia is not so 
 bad after all, nor would it, perhaps, if we, hadj nothing else to think 
 of. Besides, she is as proud as an Austrian Archduchess — has the 
 blood of, God knows how many, kings — Irish, of course — in her 
 veins, and looks upon me — Saxon that I am — as a mountain-ash might 
 do on a mushroom." 
 
 There was no erasure but one, and that very slight, and seeming 
 unimportant : he had written Tubber-beg at the top of the letter, and, 
 perceiving it, had changed it to Tubbermore, the fact being that he 
 had already established himself as an inmate of the " Cottage," and 
 a guest of Mr. Corrigan. We need not dweU on the arts by which 
 Linton accomplished this object, to which, indeed, Mr. Corrigan's 
 hospitable habits contributed no difficulty. The "Doctor" alone 
 could have interposed any obstacle, and he, knowing [the extent of 
 Linton's power, did not dare to do so, contenting himself to watch 
 narrowly all his proceedings, and warn his friend whenever warning 
 could no longer be delayed. 
 
 Without enjoying the advantages of a careful education, Linton's 
 natural quickness counterfeited knowledge so well that few, in every- 
 day intercourse, could detect the imposition. He never read a book 
 through, but he skimmed some thousands, and was thoroughly familial
 
 EOLAND CASHBL. • 215 
 
 with that process so popular [in our Universities, and technically 
 termed " cramming" an autlaor. In this way, there were few subjects 
 on which he could not speak fairly, a faculty to which considerable 
 fluency and an easy play of fancy lent great assistance. His great 
 craft, however, was — and whatever may be said on the subject, it 
 would seem the peculiar gift of certain organisations — that he was 
 able, in an inconceivably short time, to worm himself into the con- 
 fidence of almost all with whom he came in contact. His natural 
 good sense, his singularly clear views, his ever-ready sympathy, but, 
 more than all, the dexterity with which he could aff"ect acquaintance 
 with topics he was all but totally ignorant of, pointed him out as the 
 very person to hear the secrets of a family. 
 
 Mr. Corrigan was not one to exact any great efforts of Linton's 
 tact in this walk ; his long isolation from the world, joined to a cha- 
 racter naturally frank, made him communicative and open ; and 
 before Linton had passed a week under his roof, he had heard all the 
 circiunstances of the old forfeiture, and the traditionary belief of the 
 family that it had been withdrawn under a special order of the King 
 in covmcil. 
 
 " Tou are quite right," said Linton, one night, as this theme had 
 been discussed for some hours, " never to have alluded to this in any 
 correspondence with Cashel. His hasty and excitable temper would 
 have construed the whole into a threat — and there is no saying how 
 he might have resented it." 
 
 " I did not speak of it for a very different reason," said old Cor- 
 rigan, proudly ; " I had just accepted a favour — and a great one — 
 at his hands, and I would not tarnish the lustre of his noble conduct 
 by even the possibility of self-interest." 
 
 Linton was silent — a struggle of some kind seemed working within 
 him, but he did not speak, and at last sauntered from the room, and 
 passed out into the little garden in front. 
 
 He had not gone far, when he heard a light footstep on the gravel 
 behind him. He turned, and saw Mary Leicester. 
 
 " I have followed you, jMr. Linton," said she, in a voice whose agi- 
 tation was perceptible, " because I thought it possible that some time 
 or other, in your close intimacy with Mr. Cashel, you might allude to 
 this topic, and I knew what distress such a communication would oc- 
 casion to my grandfather. Our claim — if the word be not inappli- 
 cable — can never be revived; for myself, there is no condition of 
 privation I would not rather meet, than encounter the harassing 
 vicissitudes of a struggle which should embitter my poor dear grand' 
 father's few years on earth. The very mention of the theme is sure, 
 to render him irritable and unhappy. Promise me, then, to avoid 
 the subject as much as possible, here, and never to advert to it, else- 
 where."
 
 216 BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Should I not be doing you a gross injustice by such a pledge ?' 
 said Linton, mildly. 
 
 " I can endure that ; I cannot support the alternative. Make me 
 this promise." 
 
 " I make it, truly and solemnly ; would it were in my power to 
 pledge myself to aught of real service to Miss Leicester." 
 
 " There is one such," said Mary, after a pause, " and yet I am 
 ashamed to ask it— ashamed of the presumption it would imply — and 
 yet I feel acquitted to my own heart." 
 
 " "What is it ? — only tell me how I can serve you," said Linton, 
 passionately. 
 
 " I have scarce courage for the avowal," said she, in a low, faint 
 voice. " It is not that my self-love can be wounded by any judgment 
 that may be pronounced, — it is rather that I dread failure for itself. 
 In a word, Mr. Linton, certain circumstances of fortune have pressed 
 upon my grandfather's resources, some of which I am aware of — of 
 others ignorant. So much, however, do I know, that the comforts so 
 necessary to his age and habits, have diminished one by one — each 
 year seeing some new privations, where increasing infirmity would 
 demand more ease. In this emergency, I have thought of an effort — 
 you will smile at the folly, perhaps, but be lenient for the motive — I 
 have endeavoured to make some of the many reminiscences of his own 
 . early years contribute to his old age, and have written certain short 
 sketches of the time, when, as a youth, he served as a soldier of the 
 body-guard of Louis XVI. I know how utterly valueless they are in 
 a literary point of view — but I have thought that, as true pictures of 
 a time now probably passed away never to return, they might have 
 their interest. Such is my secret. My entreaty is, to ask of you to 
 look at them, and, if not utterly unworthy, to assist me regarding 
 their publication." 
 
 " I not only promise this, but I can pledge myself to the success," 
 said Linton ; " such recitals of life and manners as I have listened to 
 jfrom Mr. Corrigan would be invaluable ; we know so little in Eng- 
 land " 
 
 " JS'ay, let me stop you ; they are written in French. My hope is 
 to procure their insertion in some French journal, as is the custom 
 now-a-days. Here they are," said she, handing him a packet with a 
 trembling hand. " I have but to say, that if they be all I fear them, 
 you will be too true a friend to peril me by a rejection." And with- 
 out waiting for a reply, she hurried back to the house. 
 
 Many minutes had not elapsed ere Linton found himself in his 
 room, with the open manuscript before him. It was quite true, he 
 had not in anticipation conceived a very high idea of Miss Leicester's 
 efforts, because his habit, like that of a great number of shrewd 
 people, was to regard all amateur performances as very inferior, and
 
 BOLAWD CASHBL. 217 
 
 that only they who give themselves wholly up to any pursuit attain 
 even mediocrity. He had not, however, read many pages ere he was 
 struck by the evidence of high ability. The style was everywhere 
 simple, chaste, and elegant ; the illustrations natural and graceful ; 
 and the dialogue, when occurring, marked by all the epigrammatic 
 smartness which characterised the era. 
 
 The sketches also had the merit of life pictures — real characters of 
 the day, being drawn with a vigour that only actual knowledge could 
 impart. All these excellences Linton could perceive and estimate ; 
 but there were many very far above his power of appreciation. As 
 it was, he read on, fascinated by the interest the scenes inspired, nor 
 ceased till the last page was completed, when, throwing himself on his 
 bed, he fell soon asleep, and dreamed of Mary Leicester. 
 
 His very first care, on waking, was to resume the manuscript, and 
 see how far the impression first made might be corroborated by after- 
 thought. It was while reading, that the post had just arrived, bring- 
 ing, among other letters, one^in Phillis's hand, which was, though brief, 
 significant : 
 
 " SiE, — There is no time to be lost. The K.'s are here every day, 
 
 and Lord C spends every morning here till three or four O'C. 
 
 Mr. Meek has written to ask for Mr. C.'s interest in the borough — 
 what answer given not known. Mr. C. would seem to be again 
 pressed for money. He was here twice yesterday. The rumour is, 
 that Mr. C. will marry Miss 0. K. immediately. Pearse overheard 
 Mr. K. warning Mr. C. against Mr. Linton as a very dangerous inti- 
 mate. Ld. C. P. said, when sitting here yesterday, ' I have known 
 Master Tom some years, and never knew the man he did not help to 
 ruin with whom he had any influence.' Mr. C. said something about 
 being on his guard, and ' suspecting'— but the exact words were not 
 heard. Lord K. and Lady breakfasted with Mr. C. to-day, and stayed 
 till two. Lady K. swept down with her dress a Sevres jar in the 
 boudoir — heard Mr. C. say that he would not give the fragments for 
 the most precious vase in the Tuileries. Lord K. asked what he said, 
 and her Ladyship replied that Mr. C.'s vase was unhappily the fellow 
 of one in the Tuileries, and looked confused at the accident. Mr. 
 Linton is warned to lose no time, as Mr. C. is hourly falling deeper 
 into other influences — and every day something occurs to injure Mr. 
 L.'s interest. — Honoured Sir, in duty yours, " P. 
 
 " N.B.— The yacht came into harbour from Cowes last night." 
 
 The same day which brought this secret despatch saw one from 
 Linton to Cashel, saying, that by the aid of four hundred workmen in 
 various crafts, unceasing tod, and unwearied zeal, Tubbermore would 
 be ready to receive his guests by the following "Wednesday. A steamer, 
 hired specially, had brought over from Loudon nearly everything
 
 218 
 
 EOLAND CASHEL, 
 
 which constitutes the internal arrangement of a house, and as money 
 had been spent without control, difficulties melted away into mere 
 momentary embarrassments— impossibilities there were none. The 
 letter contained a long list of commissions for Gashel to execute, 
 given, however, with no other object than to occupy his time for the 
 remaining few days in town as much as possible. This written and 
 sent"off, Linton addressed himself to his task of preparation with an 
 energy few could surpass, and while the tradespeople were stimulated 
 by increased pay to greater efforts, and the work was carried on 
 through the night by torchlight, the whole demesne swarmed with 
 labourers, by whom roads were cut, paths gravelled, fences levelled, 
 flower.plots devised, even the garden— that labyrinth of giant weeds 
 —was reduced to order, till in the hourly changing aspect of the 
 place it was hard not to recognise the wand of enchantment. It was, 
 indeed, like magic to see how fountains sprang up, and threw their 
 sprayey showers over the new-planted shrubs ; new paths led away 
 into dense groves of trees ; windows, so late half walled up, now opened 
 upon smooth shaven turf, or disclosed a reach of swelling landscape ; 
 and chambers, that a few days back were the gloomy abode of the bat 
 and the night-owl, became of a sudden cheerful and lightsome. 
 
 Stuccoed ceiliQgs, mirror-panelled windows, gUded cornices, and 
 carved architraves— all of which would imply time and long labour- 
 were there at once and on the moment, for the Good Pairy who did 
 these things knows not failure— the Banker's Cheque-book. From 
 the great hall to the uppermost chamber the aspect of all bespoke 
 comfort. The elegances of life, Liaton well knew, are like all other 
 refinements, not capable of being " improvised," but the daily com- 
 forts are. The meaner objects which make up the sum of hourly 
 want— the lazy ottoman, the downy-pillowed fauteuils, the little 
 squabs that sit ia windows to provoke flirtations and inspire confi- 
 dences ; the tempting little writing-tables that suggest pen and ink ; 
 the billiard-table, opening on the flower-garden, so redolent of sweet 
 odours, that you feel exonerated for the shame of an in-door occupa- 
 tion ; the pianos, and guitars, and harps scattered about in various 
 places, as though to be ever ready to the touch ; the books, and prints, 
 and portfolios, that give excuse to the lounging mood, and text for 
 that indolent chit-chat, so pleasant of a morning,— all these, and a 
 thousand other things, seen through the long perspective of a hand- 
 some suite of rooms, do make up that sum, for which our own dear 
 epithet, "comfort," has no foreign equivalent. 
 
 We have been often compelled, in this veracious history, to reflect 
 with harshness on certain traits of Mr. Linton's morality. Let us 
 make him the small amende in our power to say, that in his present 
 functions he was unsurpassable— and here, for the moment, we leave 
 him.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 219 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 They alle agrede to disagree, 
 A moste united Familie ! 
 
 Gejiat was the excitement and bustle in the Kennyfeck family on 
 the arrival of a brief note from Eoland Cashel, setting forth that the 
 house at Tubbermore was at length in a state to receive his guests, 
 who w^e invited for the following Wednesday. 
 
 Although this visit had rarely been alluded to in Cashel's presence, 
 it was a very frequent topic of the family in secret committee, and 
 many were the fears inspired by long postponement that the event 
 would never come off. Each, indeed, looked forward to it with very 
 different feelings. Independent of all more purely personal views, 
 Mxa. Kennyfeck speculated on the immense increase of importance 
 she should obtain socially, in the fact of being domesticated in the. 
 same house with a Commander of the Forces and his lady, not to 
 speak of Secretaries, Aides-de-Camp, and Heaven knows what other 
 functionaries. The young ladies had prospective visions of another 
 order, and poor Kennyfeck fancied himself a kind of agricultural 
 Metternich, who was about, at the mere suggestion of his will, to lay 
 down new territorial limits on the estate, and cut and carve the 
 boundaries at his pleasure. 
 
 Aunt Eanny, alone, was not warmed by the enthusiasm around her ; 
 first of all, there were grave doubts if she could accompany the 
 others, as no precise invitation had ever been accorded to her ; and 
 although Mrs. Kennyfeck stoutly averred "she was as good as 
 asked," the elder daughter plainly hinted at the possible awkward- 
 ness of such a step, Olivia preserving between the two a docile neu- 
 trality. 
 
 " I'm sorry for yow sake, my dear," said Miss O'Hara to Olivia, 
 with an accent almost tart, " because I thought I might be useful." 
 
 " It is very provoking for all our sakes," said Miss Kennyfeck, as 
 though quietly suffering the judgment to be pronounced ; " we should 
 have been so happy all together." 
 
 " If your father was any good, he'd manage it at once," said 
 Mrs. K., with a resentful glance towards poor Mr. Kennyfeck, who, 
 with spectacles on his forehead, and the newspaper on his knee, fancied 
 he was thinking. 
 
 " We should have some very impertinent remark upon it, I'm cer- 
 tain," said Miss K., who, for reasons we must leave to the reader's
 
 220 BOLA.ND CASHEL. 
 
 own acuteness, was greatly averse to her Aunt accompanying them, 
 " so many of one family ! I know how Linton will apeak of it." 
 
 " Let him, if he dare ; I wonder whose exertions placed CasheJ 
 himself in the position he enjoys," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, angrily, and 
 darting a look of profound contempt at her husband, recognising, 
 doubtless, the axiom of the ignoble means through which Providence 
 occasionally affects our destinies. 
 
 " I can remain here, Mamma, for that matter," said Olivia, in a 
 voice of angelic innocence. 
 
 , " Sweet — artless creature," whispered her sister, " not to know how 
 all our devices are exercised for her." 
 
 " It's really too provoking, Fanny," said Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " you 
 were just beginning to acquire that kind of influence over him which 
 would be so serviceable, and once in the country, where so many op- 
 portunities for joining him in his walks would occur, I calculated 
 immensely on your assistance." 
 
 " WeU, my dear, it can't be helped," sighed Aunt Fanny. 
 
 " Couldn't we allude to it to-day, when Cashel calls, and say some- 
 thing about your going away to the country, and oui regrets at part- 
 ing, and so on ? Olivia, you might do that very easily." 
 
 " It wouldn't do for Olivia," said Aunt Fanny, very sententiously. 
 
 *' Quite right, Aunt," chimed in Miss Kennyfeck ; " that would be 
 like old Admiral Martin, who shot away all his ammunition firing 
 salutes." 
 
 " Mr. Kennyfeck!" said his spouse, with a voice of command; " I 
 vow he is deafer every day — Mr. Kennyfeck, you must call on Mr. 
 Cashel this morning, and say that we really cannot think of inflicting 
 him with an entire family; that you and I alone — or you and 
 OHvia -" 
 
 " No — no, Mr. Kennyfeck and Caroline," interposed Aunt Fanny, 
 " say that." 
 
 " Thanks for the preference," said Miss Kennyfeck, with a short 
 nod ; " I am to play lightning-conductor ; isn't it so ?" 
 
 " Or shall I propose going alone ?" interposed Mr. Kennyfeck, in 
 all the solemnity of self-importance. 
 
 " Isn't he too bad ?" exclaimed his wife, turning to the others ; 
 " did you ever conceive there could be anything as dull as that man ? 
 We cannot trust you with any part of the transaction." 
 
 " Here comes Mr. Cashel himself," said Miss Kennyfeck, as a 
 phaeton drove rapidly to the door, and Cashel, accompanied by a friend, 
 descended. 
 
 " Not a word of what we were speaking, Mr. Kennyfeck !" said his 
 wife, sternly, for she reposed slight reliance on his tact. 
 
 " Who is witii him ?" whispered Olivia to her sister ; but not heed- 
 ing the question. Miss Kennyfeck said ;
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 221 
 
 " Take my advice, Livy, and get rid of your Duenna. You'll play 
 your own game better." 
 
 Before there was time for rejoinder, Lord Charles Frobisher and 
 Cashel entered the drawing-room. 
 
 " You received my note, I hope, Mrs. Kennyfeck," said Eoland, as 
 he accepted her cordially offered hand. " I only this morning got 
 Linton's last bulletin, and immediately wrote off to tell you." 
 
 " That is significant," whispered Miss Kennyfeck to Olivia. " To 
 give lis the earliest intelligence." 
 
 " I trust the announcement is not too abrupt." 
 
 " Of course not, — our only scruple is, the largeness of our party. 
 "We are really shocked at the notion of inflicting an entire family upon 
 you." 
 
 " Beware the Bear," whispered Lord C, in a very adroit under 
 tone, — " don't invite the Aunt." 
 
 " My poor house will only be the more honoured," said Cashel, 
 bowing, and sorely puzzled how to act. 
 
 " You'll have a very numerous muster, Cashel, I fancy," said Lord 
 Charles, aloud ; " not to speak of the invited, but those ' Umbrae,' as 
 the Eomans called them, who follow in the suite of such fascinating 
 people as Mrs. White," 
 
 " Not one too many, if there be but room for them ; my great 
 anxiety is, that my personal friends should not be worst off, and I 
 have come to beg, if not inconvenient, that you would start from this 
 on Tuesday." 
 
 " Do you contract to bring us all down ?" said Frobisher. " I 
 really think you ought ; the geography of that district is not very 
 familiar to most of us. What says Miss Kennyfeck ?" 
 
 "I like everything that promises pleasure and amusement." 
 
 " What says her sister ?" whispered Cashel to Olivia. 
 
 "How do you mean to travel, Mr. Cashel?" said she, in a tone 
 which might be construed into perfect artlessness or the most intense 
 interest. 
 
 " With you — if you permit," said Cashel, in a low voice. " I have 
 been thinking of asking Mrs. Kennyfeck if she would like to go down 
 by sea, and sail up the Shannon. My yacht has just arrived." 
 
 " Mamma cannot bear the water, or it would be delightful," said 
 Olivia. 
 
 " Cannot we manage a Lady Patroness, then ?" said Cashel ; " would 
 Miss O'Hara kindly consent ?" 
 
 " Aunt Fanny, Mr. Cashel wishes to speak to you." 
 
 " Gare la tante !" said Frobisher, between his teeth. 
 
 " We were speaking — or rather, I was expressing a hope," said 
 Cashel, diffidently, " that a yacht exciirsion round the southern coast, 
 and so up the Shannon, might not be an inappropriate way of reach-
 
 222 EOLAND CASHBL. 
 
 ing Tubbermore. "Would Miss O'Hara feel any objection to be of 
 the party ?" 
 
 "With Caroline and me," said Olivia, innocently. 
 
 Miss O'Hara smiled, and shook her head doubtfully, 
 
 "It is very tempting, Mr. Oashel — too tempting, indeed; but it 
 requires consideration. May I speak a word with you ?" And so 
 saying, she withdrew with Cashel into a window recess. 
 
 The interview was brief ; but as they returned to the circle, Cashel 
 was heard to say, 
 
 " I am really the worst man in the world to solve such difficulties ; 
 for in my ignorance of all forms, I incur the risk of undervaluing them ; 
 but if you thought by my inviting Lord and Lady KilgofF — — " 
 
 " Oh, by no means. My sister would never consent to that. But 
 I will just confer with her for an instant." 
 
 " If the Kilgoifs are asked, it spoils all," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, in 
 reply to a whispered communication of her sister. 
 
 " I'll manage that," said Aunt Fanny ; " I half hinted you didn't 
 like the companionship for the girls." 
 
 " He'll invite Mrs. Leicester "White, or Lady Janet, perhaps." 
 
 " He shan't, I'll take the whole upon myself." 
 
 " Tou Jiave done it, I see," said Frobisher, coming close to Cashel, 
 and affecting to examine his watch-guard, " and I warned you, not- 
 withstanding." 
 
 ""What could I do?" said Cashel, hopelessly. 
 
 " "What you must do later on," said Lord Charles, coolly ; " cut the 
 whole concern altogether." 
 
 " Have you invited the Dean, Mr. Cashel ?" interposed Mrs. 
 Kennyfeck. 
 
 " I really cannot inform you. Madam. There has been so much 
 confusion — Linton promising to do everything, and ask everybody ; 
 but the omission — if such " 
 
 " Should be left where it is," muttered Frobisher. 
 
 " How long should we probably be on the voyage, Mr. Cashel ?" 
 asked Miss O'Hara. 
 
 " Three — four — or five days — perhaps more," 
 
 " I'll give you a month's sail, and back ' Time' after all," said Lord 
 Charles. 
 
 " Oh, that is out of the question — we couldn't think of such an ex- 
 cursion," said Aunt Fanny. 
 
 Olivia cast a most imploring look ou her Aunt, and was silent. 
 
 " Another point, Mr. Cashel," said Miss O'Hara, speaking in a very 
 low whisper ; " my sister, who is so particular about her girls — ^you 
 know how they have been brought up, so rigidly, and so carefully — 
 she is afraid of that kind of intimacy that might possibly grow up 
 
 J
 
 EOLAND CASILEL. 223 
 
 between them and — and " Here she came to a full stop. " Didn't 
 
 I hear you speak of Lady Kilgoff ?" 
 
 "Yes; I thought her exactly the kind of person you'd like to 
 have?". 
 
 " Oh, she is charming — most delightful ; but she is a woman of the 
 world, Mr. Cashei," said Aunt Fanny, shaking her head. 
 
 " Indeed !" muttered Eoland, not in the least guessing the drift of 
 the remark. 
 
 " No, no, Mr, Cashei, that would never do. These sweet children 
 have no knowledge of such people, further than the common inter- 
 course of society. Lady KilgofF and Mrs. White " 
 
 " Is she another ?" 
 
 " She is another, Mr. Cashei," said Aunt Fanny, oraculonsly. 
 " Then I see nothing for it but limiting the party to myself and my 
 yacht commander — Lieutenant Sickleton, of the Navy — and I believe 
 we have as little of the world about us as any one could desire." 
 
 It was full a minute or two before Miss O'Hara could satisfy her- 
 self that this speech was not uttered ironically ; but the good-natured 
 and frank look of the speaker at last dispelled the fear, and she said, 
 " WeU, if you really ask my opinion, I'd say, you are right. For 
 our parts — that is, for tlie girls and myself, I mean — we should like 
 it all the better, and if you wouldn't find us too tiresome compa- 
 nions " 
 
 ]Miss O'Hara was interrupted here by Mrs. Kennyfeck, who, with 
 considerable agitation in her manner, said, " I must beg pardon for 
 disturbing your agreeable tete-a-tete, Mr. Cashei, but I wish to say 
 one word to my sister." 
 
 As they retired together, Frobisher came up, and, drawing his arm 
 within Eoland's, led him to a window : " I say, old fellow, you are 
 going too fast here ; hold in a bit, I advise you." 
 " How do you mean ? — what have I done ?" 
 " It's no afiair of mine, you know, and you may say I'm devilish 
 impertinent to mix myself up in it, but I don't like to see a fellow 
 ' sold,' notwithstanding." 
 
 " Pray be explicit and frank — what is it ?" 
 
 " WeU, if you'U not take it Ul " 
 
 " I promise I shall not — go ou." 
 
 " Do you mean to marry that little girl yonder, with the blue flower 
 in her hair ?" 
 
 " I cannot say that I do, or that I do not," said Eoland, getting 
 very red. 
 
 " Then, you're making a very bad book, that's all." 
 " Oh, you're quite mistaken ; I don't suspect her of the slightest 
 feeling towards me "
 
 224 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 ** What has that to say to it, my dear fellow ?" interrupted Pro- 
 bisher. " I didn't imply that she was in love with you ! I wanted to 
 warn you about the mess you're getting into — the family fracas — the 
 explanation asking — the sermonising — the letter-writing — the tears, 
 reproaches, distractions — ay, and the damages, too ! — devilish heavy 
 they'd be against one like you, with plenty of ' ready.' Hush ! they're 
 coming." 
 
 Miss O'Hara advanced towards Cashel, and Frobisher retired ; her 
 mien and carriage were, however, statelier and more imposing, with 
 less of cordiality than before. " We cannot agree upon the details of 
 this excursion, I find, Sir ; my sister's scruples — Mr. Kennyfeck's 
 doubts — the difficiilties, in short, of every kind, are such, that I fear 
 we must relinquish it." 
 
 Cashel bowed deeply, without uttering a word ; the insinuations of 
 Frobisher were added in his mind to the suspicion that some secret 
 game was being played against him, and his manly nature was insulted 
 by the doubt. 
 
 Aunt Fanny, perhaps, perceived she had gone too far, for, reas- 
 suming her former smile, she said, " Not that we despair of one day 
 or other taking a pleasure-trip in your beautiful vessel." 
 
 " Tou do me too much honour by expressing such a hope," said 
 Cashel, gravely ; and then turning to Frobisher, added, " Will you 
 drive me down to Kingstown ? I want to go on board for a few 
 minutes." 
 
 " We see you at seven o'clock, I hope ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, in 
 a whisper. 
 
 " I regret to have made an engagement for to-day, Madam," re- 
 plied Cashel, stiffly. " Good morning, ladies. Very sorry, Miss 
 O'Hara, our sea intentions have been a failure. Let me hope for 
 better luck on land." 
 
 " Will you not be here this evening ?" said Olivia, as he passed 
 close to her; and there was in the swimming eye and tremulous 
 voice enough to have melted a harder heart than Eoland's ; but this 
 time he was proof against all blandishments, and with a very cold ne- 
 gative, he departed. 
 
 " There is hope for you yet, old fellow," said Lord Charles, as he 
 walked down stairs beside him ; " you did that extremely well." 
 
 Now, although Eoland was far from knowing what he had done, or 
 how to merit the praises, he was too well pleased with the momentary 
 repose the flattery afforded to question further. Meanwhile, a very 
 excited scene took place in the bouse they had just quitted, and to 
 which, for a brief space, we must return. 
 
 On a sofa in one corner of the room sat Olivia Kennyfeck, pale 
 and trembling, her eyes tearful, and her whole air bespeaking grief 
 and agitation. At the window close by stood Miss Kennyfeck, the
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 225 
 
 calm composure of her face, the ease of her attitude, the very types 
 of internal quiet. She looked out, up the square, and playing on 
 the woodwork of the window an imaginary pianoforte air, while in the 
 back drawing-room sat Mrs. Kennyfeok and Miss O'Hara, side by 
 side on a sofa, their excited looks and heightened complexions attest- 
 ing the animation of the controversy, for such in reality it was, 
 
 " I thought you would go too far — I knew you would," said Mrs. 
 Ivennyfeck, with an angry gesture of tlie hand. 
 
 " What do you mean by too far ?" rejoined her sister. " Is it in 
 the face of a letter like this that you would permit him to continue 
 his attentions, and, worse still, let the girls go off for an excursion of 
 maybe a week or two ? Read that." 
 
 " The letter is anonymous, and may be untrue from end to end." 
 
 " Then why not let me test its truth by some allusion to its con- 
 tents ?" 
 
 " And banish him from the house ever after," rejoined Mrs. Kenny- 
 feck, bitterly. " !N^o, no, Eanny, you mistake him very much ; he 
 isn't like one of your old County Clare admirers, that can be huffed 
 to-day, and asked to dinner to-morrow — not that, indeed, you showed 
 much judgment in your management even of them." 
 
 This allusion to Aunt Fanny's spinsterhood was too palpable to 
 pass unnoticed, and she arose from the sofa with a face of outraged 
 temper. 
 
 " It might be a question, my dear, between us, which had the least 
 success — I, who never got a husband — or you, who married that one." 
 
 If Mr. Kenuyfeck had intended by a tableau to have pointed the 
 moral of this allusion, he could not have succeeded better, as he sat 
 bolt upright in his chair, endeavouring through the murky cloud of 
 his crude ideas to catch one ray of light upon all he witnessed — he 
 looked the very ideal of hopeless stupidity. Miss O'Hara, like a 
 skilful general, left the field under the smoke of her last fire, and Mrs. 
 Ivennyfeck sat alone, with what Homer would call '' a heart con- 
 suming rage," to meditate on the past. 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 EOIAND CASHEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. . 
 
 , The mariner's chart 
 He knew by heart 
 And every current, rock, and shore, 
 From the drifting sand 
 Off Newfoundland, 
 To the sun-split cliffs of Singapore. 
 
 Captain Pike. 
 
 LoBD Chaeles Frobisheb was never a very talkative companion, 
 and as Cashel's present mood was not communicative, they drove 
 along, scarcely interchanging a sentence, till the harbour of Kings- 
 town came in sight, and with it the gay pennons that fluttered from 
 the mast of Eoland's schooner. 
 
 " I suppose that is your yacht — the large craft yonder ?" 
 
 " I hope so," said Cashel, enthusiastically ; " she sits the water Hke 
 a duck, and has a fine rakish look about her." 
 
 " So, then, you never saw her before ?" 
 
 " Never. I purchased her from description, taking her crew, com- 
 mander, and all, just as she sailed into Southampton from Zante, a 
 month ago. They sent me a drawing of her, her measurement, ton- 
 nage, and draught of water, as also the log of her run in the Mediter- 
 ranean; — yes, that's she, I can recognise the waterrliue from the 
 sketch." 
 
 " Is your visit on board going to be a long one ?" drawled out Lord 
 Charles, languidly, " for I own I am not the least aquatic, and were 
 it not for lobsters and whitebait I vote the sea a humbug." 
 
 " Then I'll say good-by," said Cashel. " That blue water, that 
 curling ripple, and the fluttering of that bunting, have sent me a 
 thinking about a hundred things." 
 
 " Tou'll dine with us at seven, won't you ?" 
 
 " No, I'll dine on board, or not dine at all," said he, as he sprang 
 from the carriage, and waving his hand in adieu, made his way to the 
 harbour. Taking the first boat that offered, Cashel rowed out to the 
 yacht, just in time to catch Lieutenant Sickleton, who, in full yacht 
 costume, was about to wait on his principal. He was a bluff', good- 
 natured, blunt fellow, wlio, having neither patronage nor interest in 
 the service, had left the a\ ardroom for the easier, but less ambitious 
 life of a yacht commander; a thoroughly good seaman, and brave 
 as a lion, he saw himself reduced to a position almost menial from 
 hard and galling necessity. He had twice been to Alexandria with 
 touring Lords, who, while treating him well in all essentials, yet
 
 EOLAXD CASHEL. 227 
 
 mingled so much of condescension in their courtesy, as to be all but 
 unendurable. He had gone to America with a young Oxford man, 
 the son of a great Loudon brewer, w'hose overbearing insolence he 
 had been obliged to repel by a threat of personal consequences. He 
 had taken an invalid family to Madeira, and a ruined Duke to Greece, 
 and was now, with the yacht and its company, transferred to Cashel's 
 hands, not knowing — scarce caring — with whom or where his future 
 destinies were to be cast. 
 
 The Freemasonry of the sea has a stronger tie than the mere use 
 of technicals. Cashel was not ten minutes on board ere Sickleton 
 and he were like old acquaintances. The Lucciola was, in Sickleton's 
 ideas, the best thing that ever ran on a keel. There was nothing she 
 couldn't do — fair weather or foul. She could outsail a Yankee smack in 
 a gale off" the coast of Labrador, or beat a felucca in the light winds off 
 the Gulf of Genoa. If these tidings were delightful to Cashel's ears 
 — the most exciting and heart-stirring he had listened to for many a 
 day — the gratification was no less to Sickleton, that he was about to 
 sail with one who really loved the sea, and thoroughly understood, 
 and could value, the qualities of his noble craft. 
 
 From the vessel, they turned the conversation to all the possible 
 places the world's map afforded for a cruise. Sickleton's experiences 
 were chiefly Eastern — he Imew the Mediterranean as well as he did 
 the Downs — while Cashel's could vie with him in both coasts of the 
 great Spanish peninsula, and all the various channels of the West 
 India Islands. For hours they sat discussing soundings, and trade 
 winds, and shore currents, with all the bearings of land points, bluffs, 
 and lighthouses. In talk, they visited half the globe — now staggering 
 under a lialf-reefed "topsail in the Bay of Biscay — now swimming 
 along, W'ith winged and stretching sails, under the blue cliffs of Bahia. 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know how you ever could lead a shore life," said 
 Sickleton, as Cashel described with warm enthusiasm some passages 
 of his rover's existence. 
 
 " JSTor do I understand how I have borne it so long," said Cashel; 
 "its dissipations weary — its deceits provoke me. I have lost — if not 
 all — great part of that buoyancy which mingled peril and pleasure 
 create, and I suppose, in a month or two more, I should be about as 
 apathetic, as indolent, and as selfish as any fine gentleman ought to 
 be. Ah, if we had a war !" 
 
 " Tliat's it — that's what I say every day and every night — if we 
 had a war, the world would be worth living in or dying for. Fellows 
 like myself, for instance, are never thought of iu a peace, but they 
 ' look us all out' — just as they do a storm-jib, when it comes on to 
 blow — no laughing a man out of position, then — no, faith !" 
 
 " How do you mean ?" said Cashel, who saw in the intense expres- 
 sion of the speaker how much the words covered. 
 
 q2
 
 228 ROLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 " Just what happened to myself — that's all," said Sickleton ; "but 
 if you like to hear how — the story isn't long, or anyway remarkable 
 — we'll have a bit of luncheon here, and I'll tell it to you." 
 
 Cashel willingly assented, and very quickly a most appetising meal 
 made its appearance in the cabin, to which Sickleton did tlie honours 
 most creditably. 
 
 " I'm impatient for that anecdote you promised me," said Cashel, 
 as the dessert made its appearance, and they sat in all the pleasant 
 enjoyment of social ease. 
 
 " You shall hear it — though, as I said before, it's not much of a 
 story either ; nor should I tell it, if I didn't see that you feel a sort 
 of interest about myself — unhappily its hero. I'll not weary you by 
 telling you the story that thousands can repeat, of a service without 
 patronage, no sooner afloat than paid off again, and no chance of em- 
 ployment, save in a ten-gun brig off the coast of Guinea, and I sup- 
 pose you know what that is ?" 
 
 Cashel nodded, and Sickleton went on. 
 
 " Well, I passed as lieutenant, and went through my yellow fever 
 in the Niger very creditably. I was the only one of a ship's com- 
 pany in the gun-room on the way back to England, after a two years' 
 cruise ; I suppose because life was less an object to me than the 
 other fellows, who had mothers, and sisters, and so on. So it was, I 
 brought the old Amphion safe into dock, and was passed off to wander 
 about the world, with something under forty pounds in my pocket, 
 and a ' good-service letter' from tlie Admiralty — a document that 
 costs a man some trouble to gain, but that would not get you a third- 
 class place in the rail to Croydon, when you have it. What was I to 
 do ? — I had no interest for the Coast-Guard. I tried to become 
 keeper of a lighthouse, but failed. It was no use to try and be a 
 clerk — there were plenty of fellows better qualified than myself, 
 walking the streets supperless. So I set myself a thinking if I 
 couldn't do something for ' the service' that might get me into notice, 
 and make the ' Lords' take me up. There was one chap made his for- 
 tune by ' round sterns,' though they were known in the Dutch Navy 
 for two centuries. There was another invented a life-boat ; a third, 
 a new floating buoy — and so on. Now I'm sure I passed many a 
 sleepless night thinking of something that might aid me; at one time 
 it was a new mode of reefing topsails in a gale — at another it was a 
 change in signalling the distant ships of a squadron— now an anchor 
 for rocky bottoms — now a contrivance for lowering quarter-boats in 
 a heavy sea, — till at last, by dint of downright hard thought and per- 
 severance, I did fall upon a lucky notion. I invented a new hand- 
 pump, applicable for launches and gun-boats — a thing greatly wanted 
 • — very simple of contrivance, and easy to work. It was a blessed 
 moment, to be sure, when my mind, instead of wandering over every-
 
 BOLAND CASHKL. 229 
 
 tliiog from the round top to the taffrail, at last settled down on this 
 same pump ! 
 
 " It was not mere labour and study this invention caused me. No ! 
 it swallowed up nearly every shilling of my little hoard. I was obliged 
 to make a model, and what with lead and zinc, and solder and leather, 
 and caoutchouc and copper, I was very soon left without ' tin ;' but 
 I had hope, and hope makes up for half rations ! At last, my pump 
 was perfect ; the next thing was to make it known. There was no 
 use in trying this through any unprofessional channels. Landsmen 
 thiuk that as they pay for the Navy, they need not bother their heads 
 about it further. ' My Lords,' I knew well, wouldn't mind me, be- 
 cause mv father wasn't in Parliament, and so I thought of one of those 
 Magazines that devote themselves to the interests of the two services, 
 and I wrote a paper accordingly, and accompanied it by a kind of 
 diagram of my pump. I waited for a month — two — three months — 
 but heard nothing — saw nothing of my invention. I wrote, but could 
 get no answer. I called, but could see no Editor : and at last was 
 meditating some personal vengeance, when I received a note. It was 
 then much after Midsummer, few people in town, and the Magazines 
 were printing anything — as no one reads them in the dog-days — stat- 
 ing that if Lieutenant Sickleton would procure a woodcut of his 
 pump, the paper descriptive of it should appear in the next number. 
 That was a civil way of asking me for five pounds ; but help there 
 was none, and so I complied. 
 
 " At length I read in the list of the contents, ' Lieutenant Sickle- 
 ton's New Hand-Pump, with an Illustration' — and my heart bounded 
 at the words. It was the nineteenth article — near the end of the 
 number. I forget what the others were — something of course about 
 Waterloo, and] Albuera, and the Albert chako, and such-like stuff. 
 My pump, I knew, put it where they would, was the paper of the 
 month. This feeling was a little abated on finding that, as I walked 
 down Fleet-street on tlie day of publication, I didn't perceive any 
 sign of public notice or recognition ; no one said as I passed, ' That's 
 Sickleton, the fellow who invented the new pump.' I remembered, 
 however, that if my pump was known, J was not as yet, and that 
 though the portrait of my invention had become fame, my own was 
 still in obscurity. 
 
 " I betook myself to the office of the journal, expecting there at 
 least to find that enthusiastic reception the knowledge of my merits 
 must secure, but hang me, if one of the clerks — as to the Editor, 
 there was no seeing him — took the slightest trouble about me. I told 
 him, with, I trust, a pardonable swelling of the bosom, that I was 
 ' Sickleton.' I didn't say the famous Sickleton, and I thought I was 
 modest in the omission ; but he wasn't in the least struck by the an- 
 nouncement, and I quitted the place in disgust.
 
 230 ■ BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Worse than all, when I came to read over my paper, I found, by 
 the errors of the press, that the whole diagram was spoiled. The 
 letters had been misplaced, and the Fiend himself, if he wanted it, 
 couldn't work my pump. Tou see that C D represented the angular 
 crank, P was the stopcock, and T the trigger that closed the piston. 
 Hang me, if they didn't make P the trigger, and instead of B being the 
 cistern, it was made the jet ; so that when you began to work, all the 
 water squirted through the sluices at O P Q over the operator. I 
 went nearly mad. I wrote a furious letter to the Editor — I wrote 
 another to the Times — I wrote to the Olohe, the Post, and the Herald. 
 I explained — I elucidated — I asked for the Englishman's birthright, 
 as they call it — 'Justice' — but no use! In fact, my reclamations 
 could only be inserted as advertisements, and would cost me about a 
 hundred pounds to publish. So I sat down to grieve over my inven- 
 tion, and curse the hour I ever thought of serving my country. 
 
 " It was about six months after this — I had been living on some 
 relations nearly as poor as myself — when I one day received an order 
 to ' wait at the Admiralty the next morning.' I went, but without 
 hope or interest. I couldn't guess why I was sent for, but no touch 
 of expectancy made me anxious for the result. 
 
 " I waited from eleven till four in the ante-room ; and at last, after 
 some fifty had had audiences, Lieutenant Sickleton was calle d. The 
 time was I would have trembled at such an interview to the very 
 marrow of my bones. Disappointment, however, had nerved me now, 
 and I stood as much at ease and composed as I sit here . 
 
 " ' You are Mr. Sickleton ?' said the First Lord, who was a * Tartar.' 
 
 " ' Yes, my Lord.' 
 
 " ' You invented a kind of pump — a hand-pump for launches and 
 small craft, I think ?' 
 
 " * Yes, my Lord.' 
 
 " ' You have a model of the invention, too ?' 
 
 " ' Yes, my Lord.' 
 
 " ' Can you describe the principle of your discovery — is there any- 
 thing which, for its novelty, demands the peculiar attention of the 
 Admiralty ?' 
 
 " ' Yes — at least I think so, my Lord,' said I, the last embers of 
 hope beginning to flicker into a faint flame within. ' The whole is 
 so simple, that I can, with your permission, make it perfectly intel- 
 ligible even here. There is a small double-acting piston -' 
 
 " * Confound the fellow ! don't let him bore us now,' said Admiral 
 
 M , in a whisper quite loud enough for me to overhear it. ' If 
 
 it amuse his Majesty, that's enough. Tell him what's wanted, and 
 let him go.' 
 
 " ' Oh, very well,' said the First Lord, who seemed terribly afraid 
 of his colleague. ' It is the King's wish, Mr. Sickleton, that your
 
 BOLAND CASHEL. 231 
 
 invention should be tested under his Majesty's personal inspection, 
 and you are therefore commanded to present yourself at Windsor on 
 Monday next, with your model, at eleven o'clock. It is not very 
 cumbrous, I suppose ?' 
 
 " ' No, my Lord, It only weighs four and a half hundred-weight.' 
 
 " ' Pretty well for a model : but here is an order for a waggon. 
 You'll present this at Woolwich.' He bowed, and turned his back, 
 and I retreated. 
 
 " Sharp to the hour of eleven I found myself at Windsor on the 
 following Monday. It was past two, however, before his Majesty 
 could see me. There were audiences and foreign Ambassadors, papers 
 to read, commissions to sign — in fact, when two o'clock came, the 
 King had only got through a part of his day's work, and then it was 
 luncheon-time. This was over about three ; and at last his Majesty, 
 with the First Lord, two Admirals, and an old Post- Captain, who, by 
 the way, had once put me in irons for not saluting his Majesty's guard 
 when coming up to the watch at midnight, appeared on the terrace. 
 
 " The place selected for the trial was a neat little parterre outside 
 one of the small drawing-rooms. There was a fountain supplied by 
 two running streams, and this I was to experiment upon with my new 
 pump. It was trying enough to stand there before such a presence ; 
 but the uppermost thought in my mind was about my invention, and 
 I almost forgot the exalted rank of my audience. 
 
 " After due presentation to his Majesty, and a few common-place 
 questions about where I had served, and how long, and so on, the 
 King said, ' Come now, Sir. Let us see the pump at work, for we 
 haven't much time to lose.' 
 
 " I immediately adjusted the apparatus, and when all was ready, I 
 looked about in some dismay, for I saw no one to assist the working. 
 There were present, besides the King and the three naval officers, only 
 two fellows in full dress liveries, a devilish-sight more pompous-look- 
 ing than the King or the First Lord. What was to be done ? It was 
 a dilemma I had never anticipated ; and, in my dire distress, I stepped 
 back and whispered a word to old Admiral Beaufort, who was the 
 kindest-looking of the party. 
 
 " ' What is he saying ? — what does he want ?" said the King, who 
 partly overheard the whisper. 
 
 " ' Mr. Sickleton remarks, your Majesty, that he will need assist- 
 ance to exhibit his invention — that he requires some one to work the 
 pump.' 
 
 " ' Then why didn't he bring hands with him ?" said the King, 
 testily. ' I suppose the machine is not self-acting, and that he knew 
 that before he came here.' 
 
 • ." I thought I'd have fainted at this rebuke from the lips of royalty 
 itself, and so I stammered out some miserable excuse abovit not know-
 
 232 EOLAJfD CASIIEL. 
 
 ing if I were empowered to have brought aid — my ignorance of Court 
 etiquette — in fact, I blundered — aud so far, that the King cut me 
 short by saying, ' Take those people there, Sir, and don't delay us ;' 
 pointing to the two gentlemen in cocked hats, bags, and swords, that 
 looked as if they could have danced on my grave with delight. 
 
 " In a flurry — compared to which a fever was composure — I in- 
 structed my two new assistants in the duty, and stationing myself 
 with the hose to direct the operation of the jet, I gave the word to 
 begiu. Well! instead of a great dash of water spurting out some 
 fifty feet in height, and fizzing through the air like a rocket, there 
 came a trickling, miserable dribble, that puddled at my very feet ! I 
 thought the sucker was clogged — the piston stopped — the valves im- 
 peded — twenty things did I fancy — but the sober truth was, these 
 gilded rascals wouldn't do more than touch the crank with the tips 
 of their fingers, and barely put sufiicient force in the pressure to 
 move the arm up and down. *' "Work it harder — put more strength 
 to it,' I whispered, in mortal fear to be overheard, but they never 
 minded me in the least. Indeed, I almost think one fellow wiuked 
 his eye ironically when I addressed him. 
 
 " ' Eh — what !' said the King, after ten minutes of an exhibition 
 that were to me ten years at the galleys, ' these pumps do next to no- 
 thing. They make noise enough, but don't bring up any water at all.' 
 
 " The Eirst Lord shook his head in assent. Old Beaufort made me 
 a sign to give up the trial, and the Post- Captain blurted out, in a 
 half- whisper, something about a ' blundering son of a dog's wife,' that 
 nearly drove me mad. 
 
 " ' I say, Sickleton,' said the King, ' your invention's not worth the 
 solder it cost you. You couldn't sprinkle the geraniums yonder in 
 three weeks with it.' 
 
 " ' It's all the fault of these d — d buffers, please your Majesty,' said 
 I, driven clean out of my senses by failure and disgrace — and, to be 
 sure, as hearty a roar of laughter followed as ever I listened to in my 
 life ; ' if they'd only bear a hand and work the crank as I showed 
 them— — ' As I spoke, I leaned over and took hold of the crank 
 myself, letting the hose rest on my shoulder. 
 
 " With two vigorous pulls I filled the pistons full, and, at the third, 
 rush went the streaui with the force of a Congreve — not, indeed, over 
 the trees, as T expected, but full in the face of the First Lord. Scarcely 
 was his cry uttered, when a fourth dash laid him full upon his back, 
 drenched from head to foot, and nearly senseless from the shock. The 
 King screamed with laughing — the Admiral shouted — the old Post- 
 Captain swore — and I, not knowing one word of all that was happen- 
 ing behind my back, worked away for tlie bare life, till the two foot- 
 men, at a signal from the Admiral, laid hold of me by main force, aud
 
 a
 
 EOLAND CASHED. 233 
 
 dragged me away, the perspiration dripping from my forehead, and 
 my uniform all in rags by the exertion. 
 
 " ' Get away as fast as you can, Sir,' whispered old B., ' and thank 
 God if your day's work only puts you at the end of the list.' I 
 followed the counsel — I don't know how — I never could recollect one 
 event from that moment till I awoke the next morning at my aunt's 
 cottage at Blackwall, and saw my coat in tatters, and the one epaulette 
 hanging by a thread ; then I remembered my blessed invention, and 
 I think I showed good pluck by not going clean out of my mind." 
 
 There was an earnestness in poor Sickleton's manner that efiectually 
 repressed any mirth on Cashel's part — indeed, his sense of the 
 ludicrous gave way before his feeling of sorrow for the hard fortune 
 of the man without a friend. In the partial civilisation of the Far 
 West, personal prowess and energy were always enough to seciu'e any 
 man's success; but here, each day's experience taught him how much 
 was to be laid to the score of family — of fortune — name — address — 
 and the thousand other accessories of fortune. He had just begun 
 to express his wonder that Sickleton had never tried life in the New 
 AYorld, when the mate appeared at the cabin-door to say that a shore 
 boat was rowing out to the yacht. 
 
 A movement of impatience broke from Sickleton. " More of 'em, 
 I suppose," cried he; "we've had such a lot of sight-seers this 
 morning, since we dropped anchor ! most of them aifecting to be 
 intimate friends of yours, and all so well acquainted with your habits 
 of life, that I should have become perfectly informed on every par- 
 ticular of your private history only by listening." 
 
 "The chances are," broke in Cashel, "I did not personally know 
 a man amongst them." 
 
 " I half suspect as much. They spoke far too confidently to be 
 authentic. One would have it you were half ruined already, and had 
 got the yacht over to clear away, and be ofi". Another, that you were 
 going to be married to a lady with an immense fortune — a rumour 
 contradicted by a third saying it was an attorney's daughter without 
 a shilling." 
 
 " There's a lady, I see, Sir, coming onboard," said the mate, putting 
 in his head once more." 
 
 " I'd swear there was," growled Sickleton. 
 
 "You give them luncheon, I hope ?" said Cashel, smiling at the 
 other's impatience. 
 
 " Yes ; w^e've had something like an ordinary here, to-day, and as I 
 heard that to-morrow would be busier still, I have had my boat going 
 backwards and forwards all the morning to prepare." 
 
 " I am desired to show you this card. Sir," said the mate, handing 
 one to Sickleton, who passed it to Cashel.
 
 234l " EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " Lord KilgofF — indeed !" said be, surprised, and at once hastened 
 to the deck. 
 
 "Mr. Cashel himself here !" exclaimed ray Lady, from the stern of 
 a small boat alongside ; and afte^ an exchange of friendly recognition, 
 the party ascended the gangway. 
 
 " This was a pleasure we scarcely looked for, to meet you here," 
 said his Lordship, blandly. " We had just taken our drive down to 
 the harbour, when accidentally hearing your yacht had arrived, Lady 
 Kilgoff grew desirous to see it." 
 
 *' A yacht in harbour is a horse in stable," said Cashel. " Will you 
 permit me to give you a cruise ?" 
 
 *' I should like nothing in the world so well." 
 
 " It is late — almost six o'clock," said Lord Kilgoff, looking at his 
 watch. 
 
 " And if it be," said my Lady, coaxingly, " you know Dr. Grover 
 recommended you the sea air and sea excursions. I declare you look 
 better already ; don't you think so, Mr. Cashel ?" 
 
 " I protest I do," said Cashel, thus appealed to ; "and if you will 
 only pardon the deficiencies of a floating cuisine, and dine here — i — " 
 
 "How delightful!" broke in my Lady, not suffering even time for 
 an apology. 
 
 " It appeared to me there was a haunch of venison hanging over 
 the stern when we came on board ?" said my Lord, vrith his glass to 
 his eye. 
 
 " Yes, my Lord," said Sickleton, touching his hat in salutation; 
 " I've had it there for two hours every day since Tuesday week." 
 
 " And is the wind, and the tide, and everything else as it should be, 
 Mr. Cashel ?" said Lady Kilgoff. 
 
 " Everything — when you have only uttered your consent," said he, 
 gallantly. 
 
 " What is this, Sir ?" said my Lord, as, having requested something 
 to drink, Sickleton poured him out a large glassful of scarcely frothing 
 liquid. 
 
 " Dry champagne, my Lord. Meet's." 
 
 " And very excellent too. EeaUy, Laura, I am very sorry it should 
 be so late, and we were to have dined with Meek at seven " 
 
 " But only alone — no party, remember that," said she, persuasively; 
 " how easy to send the carriage back with an apology." 
 
 Cashel looked his thanks, but without speaking. 
 
 " Take those red partridges out of ice," said Sickleton, from the 
 cook's galley, " and let us have those Ostend oysters to-day." 
 
 " I yield," said my Lord. " Mr. Cashel must take all the conse- 
 quences of my breach of faith upon himself." 
 
 " I promise to do so, my Lord." 
 
 " A pen and ink, and some paper, Mr. Cashel," said her Ladyship.
 
 EOLA.ND CASHEL. 235 
 
 "TVill you permit me to show you the way," said he, handing her 
 ,down into the little cabin, whose arrangement was all in the perfec- 
 tion of modern taste and elegance. 
 
 " How beautiful !" cried she. " Oh ! Mr. Cashel, I really do envy 
 you the possession of this fairy ship. You don't know how pas- 
 sionately I love the sea." 
 
 " There are but few things I could hear you say with so much plea- 
 sure to me," said Cashel, gazing with a strange feeling of emotion at 
 the brilliant colour and heightened expression of her handsome fea- 
 tures. 
 
 " There ! that is finished," said she, closing the hastily-written note. 
 " Now, Mr. Cashel, we are yours," However much of course the 
 words were in themselves, her eyes met Cashel's as she spoke them, 
 and as suddenly fell ; while he, taking the letter, left the cabin with- 
 out speaking — a world of curious conjecture warring in his heart. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVIII. 
 
 Like " cat and dog !" not so ! their strife 
 Tbey carried on like " man and wife." 
 
 Family Jabs. 
 
 It may easily have escaped our reader's memory, that on Eoland 
 Cashel's hasty departure from Mr. Kennyfeck's, the seeds of a very 
 serious schism had been sown in that respectable family, IVIrs. Kenny- 
 feck being firmly persuaded that her liege lord had grossly mis- 
 managed his influence over the young proprietor ; the girls as reso- 
 lutely opposed to each other ; and all, with a most laudable unani- 
 mity, agreed in thinking that Aunt Fanny " had spoiled every- 
 thing," and that but for her odious interference there never would 
 have arisen the slightest coolness between them and their distin- 
 guished acquaintance. 
 
 " I may lose the agency!" said Mr. Kennyfeck, with a sigh of 
 afflicting sincerity. 
 
 " I shouldn't wonder if he avoids the house," quoth his wife. 
 
 " He evidently rejects all attempts at domination," said Miss Ken- 
 nyfeck, with a glance at her aunt. Olivia said nothing ; but it was 
 not difficult to see that her thoughts were full of the theme. Mean- 
 while, Miss O'Hara, in all the dignity of injured rectitude, sat seem- 
 ingly unconscious of the popular feeling against her, repeating from 
 time to time the ominous words, " We shall see — we shall see ;" a 
 species of prophetic warning that, come what may, can always assert 
 its accomplishment.
 
 236 KOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 With such elements of discord and discontent, the breakfast pro- 
 ceeded gradually, and the broken attempts to talk had subsided into 
 a sullen silence, vnhej). the butler entered to say that Mr. Phillis 
 begged to speak a few words with Mr. Kennyfeck. 
 
 " Let him come in here," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, as her husband was 
 rising to leave the room. " I think, if there are to be no more 
 blunders, we had better be present at the conference." 
 
 " Show him in, Pearce," said Mr. Kennyfeck, in a meek voice ; and 
 the gentleman's gentleman entered, in all that easy self-sufficiency so 
 peculiar to his class. 
 
 " "What is it, Mr. Phillis ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, in a commanding 
 tone, meant to convey the information of " where the Court sat," and 
 to whom he should address his pleading. 
 
 ■" It's a little matter on which I wanted advice, Ma'am, for I am 
 really puzzled how to act. Tou know, Ma'am, that we are expecting 
 large company at our place in the country — Tubb — something " 
 
 " Tubbermore," interposed Mr. Kennyfeck. 
 
 " Yes, Sir, Tubbermore. Well ! there have been at least twenty 
 messages this morning from different families, who want to know the 
 best way of going, and when Mr. Cashel means to go himself, and 
 where post-horses are to be had, and how they are to get forward 
 where there are none, and so on." 
 
 "Is your master not the person to dictate the answer to these 
 queries ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, with her grandest air. 
 
 " Of course, Ma'am, but he's not here." 
 
 " Where is he then ?" asked she, eagerly. 
 
 " He's gone. Ma'am ; he went last night." 
 
 " Gone ! — gone where ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, with an eagerness 
 no artifice could cover. 
 
 " It's hard to say, Ma'am ; but he went down to Kingstown last 
 night, and sailed in the yacht ; and from the preparations and sea stores 
 taken from the hotel, it would seem like a long cruise." 
 
 " And did he not mention anything of his intention to you, Mr. 
 Phillis ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, with a flattering emphasis on the 
 pronoun. 
 
 " A few lines in pencil, Ma'am, dated from the harbour, was all I 
 received. Here they are." And he handed a piece of note-paper 
 across the table. 
 
 The contents ran thus : 
 
 " Phillis, send word to Sir Harvey Upton's that I shan't dine there 
 
 to-morrow. Give the bearer of this my dressing-case, and clothes for 
 
 some days, and have the fourgon ready packed to start for Tubbermore 
 
 on receiving my next orders. 
 
 " E. C— Kingstown Harbour."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 237 
 
 " And who brought this note ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, who fancied 
 she was conducting the inquiry in true judicial form. 
 
 " One of the yacht sailors, Ma'am ; he came up on Lord Kilgoif 's 
 carriage." 
 
 " On Lord Kilgoff's carriage — how did that happen ?" 
 
 " The carriage came into town, Ma'am, to bring some things my 
 Lady sent for ; at least so the sailor told me." 
 
 " And were Lord and Lady Kilgoff on board the yacht ?" 
 
 " Tes, Ma'am ; they both sailed in her last night." 
 
 As though drawn by some irresistible influence, every eye was now 
 turned to Aunt Fanny, who, up to this, had listened to Mr. Phillis 
 with a breathless attention, and if looks could be translated, every 
 glance thus thrown said plainly, " This is your doing." 
 
 " Are you certain that the yacht has not returned to Kingstown ?" 
 said Miss O'Hara. 
 
 " Perfectly, Ma'am. It blew a storm last night, and the sailors 
 about the harbour told me it was a great chance that any small vessel 
 could outlive the gale." 
 
 Olivia Kennyfeck became deadly pale at these words, and whispered 
 something in her sister's ear. 
 
 " Of course," replied the other, aloud ; then turning to Phillis, said, 
 " Had they a pilot with them ?" 
 
 " I believe so. Miss, but there are so many contradictory reports, 
 one don't know what to credit ; some say that Lord Kilgoff was 
 greatly opposed to the cruise, but that her Ladyship insisted, and 
 that, in fact, they got under weigh at last without my Lord's know- 
 infr, and while thev were at dinner." 
 
 " It was a fearful night !" said Mr. Kennyfeck, whose mind was 
 entirely engrossed by the one idea. 
 
 " Take him into the next room, and I'll join you presently," said 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck to her husband, for that keen-sighted lady had re- 
 marked the intense interest with which Mr. Phillis listened to every 
 remark made around him. 
 
 " Here's a pretty piece of business!" cried she, as the door closed 
 after her husband and the valet ; " and certainly, I must say, we've 
 no one to thank for it but you, Fanny!" 
 
 " Unquestionably not,'' said Miss Kennyfeck. " Aunt Fanny has 
 the entire merit of this catastrophe." 
 
 " It is most cruel," sighed Olivia, as she wiped the tears from her 
 eyes, and bent upon her stern relative a glance of most reproachful 
 sadness. 
 
 " Are you all mad ?" said the assailed individual, her courage and 
 her colour rising together. " How can you pretend to connect me 
 with this disgraceful proceeding ? Here's a case as clearly prearranged 
 as ever was heard of."
 
 238 EOLA^TD CASHEL. 
 
 " Impossible !" cried Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " didn't he invite us only 
 yesterday to go down to Tubbermore by sea ?" 
 
 " And didn't you yourself offer the only impediment ?" said Miss 
 Kennyfeck. 
 
 " You are very cruel, Aunt," sobbed Olivia. 
 
 " You'll drive me out of my senses," said Miss O'Hara ; and cer- 
 tainly her look did not belie her words. " I endeavour to rescue you 
 from the snares of a young debauchee, who, as you well know, has a 
 a wife still living " 
 
 " There, I hope you are content now," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, as 
 Olivia fell fainting into her arms ; and the window was thrown open, 
 and all were busied in employing the wonted restoratives for such 
 attacks. Meanwhile, hostilities were continued, but in a less rigorous 
 fashion. " You know you've ruined everything — you know well how 
 your officious meddling has destroyed this poor child's fortune ; rub 
 her temples, Gary." 
 
 " I know that he is a dissipated, abandoned wretch, that would 
 desert her to-morrow as he has done that unhappy " 
 
 " Hush, she is coming to. You want to kill her." 
 
 " Humph !" muttered Aunt Eanny ; " this scene might be very 
 effective with the young gentleman, but is quite thrown away upon 
 me." 
 
 " Aunt ! aunt !" cried Miss Kennyfeck, reprovingly. 
 
 " If we had just followed our own counsels, we should have this 
 very hour been on the way to Tubbermore, perhaps never to leave it !" 
 
 Aunt Fanny shook her head. 
 
 " Yes. You may affect to doubt and hesitate, and all that, but 
 where is the wonderful condescension in a Mr. Cashel proposing for 
 the grand-niece of Eoger Miles O'Hara, of Kilmurray O'Hara of 
 Mayo, the second cousin of Lawrence O'Hara Kelly, that ought to be 
 Lord Bally Kelly?" 
 
 " Fairly enough, if that was all," slipped in Miss O'Hara, hoping 
 to escape from all danger by climbing up the genealogical tree whereon 
 her sister was perched. 
 
 " If that was all !" repeated Mrs. Kennyfeck, indignantly, catching 
 at the last words ; " and what more is wanting, I'd be glad to ask ? 
 But, to be sure, it was rather a mistake to call to our counsels, in such 
 a case, one that never could succeed in her own." 
 
 This terrible taunt at Miss O'Hara's celibacy didn't go unpunished, 
 for, throwing all attempts at conciliation behind her, she rose, with 
 flashing eyes and trembling lips. 
 
 " So, it is you that tell me this," said she — "yow,that dare to sneer 
 at my being unmarried — you, that were fain to take up with a Dublin 
 attorney — poor Tom Kennyfeck — the hack of the quarter sessions, 
 serving latitats and tithe notices over the country in his old gig . ■- . ...
 
 EOLAND OASHEL. 239 
 
 Indeed, girls, I'm sorry to speak that way of your father, but it's well 
 known " 
 
 A loud shriek interrupted the speech, and Mrs. Kennyfeck, in strong 
 hysterics, took her place beside Olivia. 
 
 " It will do her good, my dear," said Aunt Fanny to her niece, as 
 she chafed the hands and bathed the temples of her mother. " I was 
 only telling the truth ; she'd never have married your father if Major 
 Kennedy hadn't jilted her ; and good luck it was he did, for he had 
 two other wives living at the time — ^just as your friend, Mr. Cashel, 
 wanted to do with your sister." 
 
 " Aunt — aunt — I entreat you to have done. Haven't you made 
 mischief enough ?" 
 
 " Eaten up with vanity and self-conceit," resumed the old lady, 
 not heeding the interruption. " A French cook and a coach-and-four 
 — nothing less! Let her scream, child — sure I know it's good for 
 her — it stretches the lungs." 
 
 " Leave me — leave the room !" cried Miss Kennyfeck, whose 
 efforts at calmness were rendered fruitless by the torrent of her 
 aunt's eloquence. 
 
 " Indeed I will, my dear ; I'll leave the house, too. Sorry I am 
 that I ever set foot in it. What with the noise and the racket night 
 and day, it's more like a lunatic asylum than a respectable resi- 
 dence," 
 
 " Send her away — send her away !" screamed Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 with a cry of horror. 
 
 " Do, aunt — do leave the room." 
 
 " I'm going — I'm going, young lady ; but I suppose I may drink 
 my cup of tea first — it's the last I'll ever taste in the same house ;" 
 and she reseated herself at the table with a most provoking compo- 
 sure. " I came here," resumed she, " for no advantage of mine. I 
 leave you without regret, because I see how your poor fool of a father, 
 and your vain, conceited mother " 
 
 " Aunt, you are really too bad. Have you no feeling?" 
 
 " That's just what comes of it," said she, stirring her tea tranquilly. 
 " Tou set up for people of fashion, and you don't know that people 
 of fashion are twice as shrewd and 'cute as yourself. Faith, my dear, 
 they'd buy and sell you, every one. "What are they at all day, but 
 roguery and schemes of one kind or other, and then after ' doing' you, 
 home they go, and laugh at your mother's vulgarity !" 
 
 A fresh torrent of cries from Mrs. Kennyfeck seemed to show that 
 unconsciousness was not among her symptoms, and Miss Kennyfeck 
 now hastened from the room to summon her fathef to her aid. 
 
 " Well, you've come to turn me out, I suppose ?" said Aunt Fanny, 
 as the old gentleman entered in a state of perplexity that might have 
 evoked the compassion of a less determined enemy.
 
 240 HOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " My dear Miss Fanny " 
 
 " None of your Pour Courts blarney with me, Sir ; I'm ready to go 
 — I'll leave by the coach to-night. I conclude you'll have the decency 
 to pay for my place, and my dinner too, for I'll go to Dawson's Hotel 
 this minute. Tell your mother, and that poor dawdle there, your sister, 
 that they'd be thankful they'd have followed my advice. The rate 
 you're living, old gentleman, might even frighten you. There's more 
 waste in your kitchen than in Lord Clondooney's. As for yourself, 
 Caroline, you're the best of the lot ; but your tongue, darling — your 
 tongue !" And here she made a gesture of far more expressive force 
 than any mere words could give. 
 
 " Is she gone ?" said Mrs. Kennyfeck, as a slight lull succeeded. 
 
 " Tes, Mamma," whispered Miss Kennyfeck ; " but speak low, for 
 Mr. Phillis is in the hall." 
 
 " I'll never see her again — I'll never set eyes on her," muttered 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck. 
 
 " I shouldn't wonder, Mamma, if that anonymous letter was 
 written by herself," said Caroline. " She never forgave Mr. Cashel 
 for not specially inviting her ; and this, I'm almost sure, was the way 
 she took to revenge herself." 
 
 " So it was," cried Mrs. Kennyfeck, eagerly seizing at the notion. 
 " Hush, take care Livy doesn't hear you." 
 
 " As for the yacht expedition, it was just the kind of thing Lady 
 Kilgoff was ready for. She is dying to be talked of." 
 
 " And that poor, weak creature, Cashel, will be so flattered by the 
 soft words of a Peeress, he'll be intolerable ever after." 
 
 " Aunt Tanny — Aunt Tanny !" sighed Miss Kennyfeck, with a 
 mournful cadence. 
 
 " If I only was sure — that is, perfectly certain — that she wrote 
 
 that letter about Cashel But here comes your father — take 
 
 Olivia, and leave me alone." 
 
 Miss Kennyfeck assisted her sister from the sofa, and led her in 
 silence from the room, while Mr. Kennyfeck sat down, with folded 
 hands and bent-down head, a perfect picture of dismay and bewilder- 
 ment. 
 
 " Well," said his wife, after a reasonable interval of patient expec- 
 tation that he would speak — " well, what have you to say for yourself 
 now. Sir?" 
 
 The poor solicitor, who never suspected that he was under any 
 indictment, looked up with an expression of almost comic innocence. 
 
 " Did you hear me, Mr. Kennyfeck, or is it that you want to pass 
 off your dulness for deafness ? Did you hear me, I say ?" 
 
 " Yes, I heard — but I really do not know — that is, I am unaware 
 how — I cannot see " 
 
 " Oh, the old story," sighed bhe — " injured innocence ! Well, Sir,
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 241 
 
 I vras asking you if you felt gratified with our present prospects ? 
 Linton's intimacy was bad enough, but the Kilgoff friendship is abso- 
 lute, utter ruin. That crafty, old, undermining Peer, as proud as 
 poor, will soon ensnare him, and my Lady, with her new airs of a 
 Viscountess, only anxious to qualify for London by losing her cha- 
 racter before she appears there !" 
 
 " As to the agency " 
 
 " The agency !" echoed she, indignantly, " do your thoughts never 
 by any chance. Sir, take a higher flight than five per cent. ? — are you 
 always dreaming of your little petty gains at rent-day ? I told 
 you, Sir, how the patron might be converted into a son-in-law — did 
 i not ?" 
 
 " Tou did, indeed, and I'm certain I never threw any impediment 
 in the way of it." 
 
 " Tou never threw any impediment in the way of your child suc- 
 ceeding to a fortune of sixteen thousand a year ! Tou really are an 
 exemplary father." 
 
 " I'd have forwarded it if I only knew how." 
 
 " How good of you. I suppose you'd have drawn up the settle- 
 ments if ordered. But so it is — all my efforts through life have been 
 thwarted by you ! I have laboured and toiled day and night to place 
 my children in the sphere that their birth, on one side at least, would 
 entitle them to, and you know it." 
 
 jS^ow this Mr. Kennyfeck really did not know. In his dull fatuity 
 lie always imagined that he was the honey-gatherer of the domestic 
 hive, and that Mrs. Kennyfeck had in her own person monopolised 
 the functions of queen bee and wasp together. 
 
 " Tour low, pettifogging ambition never soared above a Softly or a 
 Clare Jones for your daughters, while I was planning alliances that 
 would have placed them among the best in the land — and how have 
 I been rewarded ? Indifference, coolness, perhaps contempt !" Here 
 a flood of tears, that had remained dammed up since the last torrent, 
 burst forth in convulsive sobs. '' Ungrateful man, who ought never 
 to have forgotten the sacrifice I made in marrying him — the rupture 
 with every member of my family — th§ severance of every tie that 
 united me to my own." 
 
 She ceased, and here, be it remembered, Mrs. Kennyfeck seemed 
 to address herself to some invisible jury empannelled to try lsh\ 
 Kennyfeck on a serious charge. 
 
 ■ '■ He came like a serpent into the bosom of our peaceful circle, and 
 with the arts that his crafty calling but too well supplied, seduced 
 my young afi"ections." 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck started. It had never before occurred to him that 
 Don Juan was among his range of parts. 
 
 '•' False and unfeeling both," resumed she. '* Luring with pro- 
 
 YOL. I. B
 
 242 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 mises never intended for performance, you took me from a home the 
 very sanctuary of peace !" 
 
 Mr. Keunyfeck wiped Ms forehead in perplexity ; his recollection 
 of the home in question was different. Sanctuary it might have been, 
 but it was against the officers of the law and the sheriff, and so far as 
 a well-fastened hall door and barricaded windows went, the epithet 
 did not seem quite unsuitable. * 
 
 " Ah !" sighed she — for it is right to remark that Mrs. Kennyfeck 
 was a mistress of that domestic harmony which consists in every 
 modulation, from the grand adagio of indignant accusation to the 
 rattling andante of open abuse — " had I listened to those older and 
 wiser than I, and who foretold the destiny that awaited me, I had 
 never seen this unhappy day ! No, Sir ! I had not lived to see myself 
 outraged and insulted, and my only sister turned out of the house 
 like a discarded menial." 
 
 Had Mr. Kennyfeck been informed that for courteously making 
 way for a Bencher in the Hall he was stripped of his gown and 
 degraded from his professional rank, he could not have been more 
 thoroughly amazed and thunderstruck. He actually gasped with ex- 
 cess of astonishment, and, if breath had been left him, would have 
 spoken ; but so it was, the very force of the charge stunned him, and 
 he could not utter a word. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mrs. Kennyfeck, who in the ardour of combat had imi- 
 tated certain Spanish sailors, who in the enthusiasm of a sea-fight 
 loaded their cannons with whatever came next to hand, was actually 
 shocked by the effect of her own fire. For the grandeur of a perora- 
 tion she had taken a flying leap over all truth, and would gladly have 
 been safe back again at the other side of the fence. 
 
 Eor an instant not a word dropped from either side, and it was 
 clear that he who spoke first had gained the victory. This was the 
 lady. 
 
 " Go, Sir" — and she wiped her eyes with that calm dignity by 
 which a scolding wife seems to call up all Christian forgiveness of her- 
 self, and stand acquitted before her own conscience — " go, Sir, and 
 find out what these people that Cashel has invited mean to do ; and 
 if it be their intention to repair to Tubbermore, let us lose no time in 
 setting out ; and if we are to go, Mr. Kennyfeck, let us do so as be- 
 comes us." 
 
 Mr. Kennyfeck stifled a rising sigh — for he knew what the words 
 denoted — and departed; while Mrs. Kennyfeck, with her heart 
 lightened of a heavy load, rose to join her daughters, and discuss 
 dress and "toilette," the great commissariat of the approaching 
 campaign.
 
 EOLAND CA3HEL. ' 243 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Tut, never mind the swell, love, 
 
 The sails may sweep the brine ; 
 But the craft will steer as well, love, 
 
 With your soft hand in mine. 
 
 The Ckuise. 
 
 It was upon a delicious evening, a little before sunset, that a yacht 
 worked out of the harbour of Kingstown, all her canvas spread to 
 catch the light air of wind, which scarcely ruffled the glassy surface 
 of the bay. The craft, with her snow-white sails, her tall and taper 
 spars, her gay bunting from gaff and peak, was all that the scene 
 wanted to render it a perfect picture ; and so, to all seeming, thought 
 the many spectators who crowded the pier and the shore, and gazed 
 with admiration at the graceful vessel, as she glided silently above her 
 own image in the water. 
 
 Various were the comments and criticisms from those who surveyed 
 her course ; some, in wondering conjecture whither she was bound ; 
 others, not a whit better informed, boldly affecting some secret know- 
 ledge of her destination, and even, by such petty pretension, assuming 
 airs of superiority. 
 
 " She belongs to that rich young fellow, Eoland Cashel," said one 
 of these, " who, by the way, is getting through his fortune tolerably 
 fast. The story goes, that he has spent two hundred thousand already, 
 and is borrowing at immense interest." 
 
 " Wasn't he a smuggler, or a privateer's-man, or something of the 
 kind ?" 
 
 " JN'o ; he made all the money in the slave trade." 
 
 " I always heard that he succeeded to a landed estate," softly in- 
 sinuated a modest-looking old gentleman. 
 
 " Not at all, Sir. Such, I am aware, was the common belief; the 
 fact, however, is, that he had invested large sums in land, and was 
 then able to escape the scrutiny many would have instituted regard- 
 ing the origin of his wealth." 
 
 " Who is it he is always riding with about town — a handsome girl, 
 on a brown horse ?" 
 
 " On a grey, you mean." 
 
 " No, a brown, with a bang tail." 
 
 " No, no, it's a grey. She's a daughter of Tom Kennyfeck, the 
 attorney." 
 
 r2
 
 244 ~ ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " The gentleman is right," interposed a third. " I've seen him very 
 often with a lady mounted on a brown thorough -bredf 
 
 " Oh ! that's Lady Kilgoff, the handsomest woman in Ireland." 
 
 " She was much better- looking two years ago," simpered out an 
 Eusign, afiectedly. " I used to dance with her and her sister at the 
 race balls at Ashby." 
 
 The group immediately fell back, in tacit acknowledgment of the 
 claims of one so aristocratically associated. 
 
 " Didn't you know her, Hipsley ?" lisped out the Ensign to a 
 brother officer, who was admiring a very green baby on the arm of a 
 very blooming mu-sery-maid. " Tou knew the Craycrofts, didn't 
 you ?" 
 
 " Lady Kilgoff's maiden name, Sir, was Gardiner," said the timid 
 old gentleman who spoke before. 
 
 The Ensign stuck his glass in one eye, and gazed at him for a 
 second or two, with consummate effrontery, and then, in a voice in^ 
 tended for the most cutting drollery, said : 
 
 " Are you certain it wasn't ' Snooks ?' " — a rejoinder so infinitely 
 amusing, that the bystanders laughed immoderately, and the bashful 
 man retired, overwhelmed in confusion. 
 
 " They're off for a good long cruise," said one, looking through his 
 pocket telescope at the yacht, which now was steering to the south- 
 ward, with a fresher breeze. 
 
 " I suspect so. They took on board five or six hampers from the 
 hotel, just before they sailed." 
 
 A very warm controversy now arose as to where the yacht was 
 bound for, and who were the parties who went on board of her in the 
 harbour ; points which, in the absence of all real knowledge, admitted 
 of a most animated debate. Meanwhile, an old weather-beaten sailor, 
 in a pilot coat, continued to gaze alternately from the sky to the sea, 
 and back again, and at last murmured to himself: 
 
 " They'll catch it before midnight, if they don't haul their wind, 
 and get into shelter." 
 
 Some drifting clovids, dropping slight rain as they passed, soon 
 after cleared the pier of its loiterers, and night fell, dark and starless, 
 while the wind freshened, and the sea fretted and chafed upon the 
 rocks, and even sent its spray high against the strong lighthouse. 
 
 Let us now quit the shore, and bear company with the party on 
 board, who, having dined sumptuously, sat sipping their coffee on 
 deck, while the swift craft skimmed the calm waters of the Bay, and 
 unfolded in her course the beautiful panorama of the shore — the bold 
 steep bluff of Brayhead, the curved strand of Killiney, the two " Sugar 
 Loaves" rising from the bosom of dark woods, and, in the distance, 
 the higher chain of the Wicklow mountains, while on the opposite
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 245 
 
 side Howth seemed like a blue island studding the clear surface of 
 the Bay. Lord Kilgoff and Mr. Sickleton paid but passing attention 
 to the bright picture around. A learned discussion on naval matters, 
 wherein my Lord took the opportunity of storing his mind with a 
 goodly stock of technicals, to be used at some future occasion, occu- 
 pied them altogether, leaving her Ladyship and Eoland Cashel to the 
 undisturbed enjoyment of the scene and its associations. 
 
 They paid the highest tribute the picturesque can exact — they sat 
 in silence watching the changing tints, which from red faded to violet, 
 then grey, and at last grew dark with closing night, while the wind 
 freshening sent the sea rushing swiftly past, and made their light 
 craft heave and pitch heavily. 
 
 " We are returning to Kingstown, I trust?" said my Lord to 
 Sickleton, who had left him for a moment, to give orders about short- 
 ening sail. " It appears to me like a threatening night." 
 
 " It looks dirty, my Lord," said Sickleton, dryly, as he walked aft 
 with the Pilot, and conferred with him in a low tone. 
 
 "Are we making for Kingstown, Mr. Cashel?" said my Lord, in a 
 voice he was not able to divest of anxiety. 
 
 " I believe not," said Cashel, rising, and approaching the compass. 
 " No, we are lying down Channel straight as we can go." 
 
 " Ay, and very well for us that we can do it," growled out the Pilot, 
 " If we make the Hook Light before we tack, I shall say we're lucky." 
 
 " Does he mean there is any danger, Mr. Cashel?" said Lady Kil- 
 goff, but in a voice devoid of tremor. 
 
 " None whatever ; but I am sadly distressed at having carried you 
 out so far, since I find that in the present state of the tide, and with 
 the wind still driving more to the north, we cannot bear up for Kings- 
 town, but must run along tlie shore." 
 
 " Think nothing of that," said she, gaily ; " real perU I have no 
 fancy for — a mere inconvenience is of no moment whatever ; but" — 
 here she dropped her voice very low — " say something to ray Lord — 
 give him some encouragement." 
 
 " It blows fresh, my Lord, and if it were not for the trespass on 
 your comfort, I should almost rejoice at the occasion of showing you 
 my yacht's qualities as a sailing-boat." 
 
 " I should prefer taking your word for them. Sir," said Lord Kilgoff, 
 tartly ; " a pleasure-trip is one thing, a night in a small vessel exposed 
 to a heavy gale is another." 
 
 " You're right, my Lord," said the Pilot, who heard but a part of 
 the observation ; " it will be a gale before morning." 
 
 " Luff! luff, there!" shouted Sickleton; and at the same instant a 
 heavy sea thundered against the bow and broke over the forepart of 
 the vessel with a crashing sound.
 
 246 KOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " I tliink wlien we see tlie Liglitliouse of Kingstown so near us," 
 said Lord Kilgoff, " there ought to be no great difficulty in re- 
 turning." 
 
 " That's not the Harhour-light you see yonder — that's the Kish, my 
 Lord," said the Pilot. " Keep her up, my men, keep her up, the wind 
 is freshening." 
 
 " Will you indeed forgive me for this disastrous turn of our 
 cruise ?" said Cashel, as he fastened his boat cloak around Lady Elil- 
 goff's throat, after several vain efforts to induce her to go below. 
 
 " If you only prevent my Lord from scolding, I shall enjoy it im- 
 mensely," said she, in a half whisper. 
 
 " I trust, Lady Kilgoff," said his Lordship, approaching, and stea- 
 dying himself by the bulwarks, " that this night's experience will 
 induce you to distrust your own judgment when in opposition to 
 mine. I foresaw the whole of it. It is now blowing a fierce gale " 
 
 " Not a bit of it, my Lord," interposed the Pilot, bluntly ; " but it 
 will blow great guns 'fore daybreak, or I'm mistaken." 
 
 " And where shall we be then ?" asked my Lord, querulously. 
 
 " Eayther hard to tell," said the Pilot, laughing. " If she be as 
 good a sea-boat as they say, and that we don't carry away any of our 
 spars, we may run for Cove. I take it " 
 
 " Tor Cove ! Gracious mercy ! and if she be not as good a vessel 
 as it is said she is. Sir, what then, pray ?" 
 
 The Pilot made no reply, but gave orders to set the jib, as she was 
 labouring too much by the head. 
 
 The wind increased, and with it the sea, which, dividing at the 
 bow, fell in great cataracts over the vessel, sweeping along the entire 
 deck at every plunge she gave. 
 
 "I wish she were a little deeper in the water," whispered Sickleton 
 to Cashel. " We haven't within fifteen tons of our ballast on board. 
 But she's a sweet craft, ain't she ? Keep her, there — steady, man." 
 
 " We couldn't stand round in stays, and bear up for the harbour ?" 
 asked Cashel, on whom Lord Kilgoff's face of misery had made a 
 strong impression. 
 
 " Impossible !" At least the Pilot, who knows this coast well, says 
 there is a shore current here runs eight knots." 
 
 " What shall we do with him ? He'll scarce live through the night." 
 
 " Let us get him down below, and, once snug in a berth, he'll fall 
 asleep, and forget everything." 
 
 Cashel shook his head doubtfully, but determined to try the plan 
 at all hazards. 
 
 " Would my Lord be persuaded to lie down, do you think ?" said 
 Eoland, approaching Lady Kilgofi', who, enveloped in the folds of the 
 heavy boat-cloak, sat calm and collected near the wheel. 
 
 "Is there danger?" asked she, hurriedly.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 247 
 
 *' Not the least ; but lie seems so ill, and every sea rushes over him 
 as he stands." 
 
 " Tou should go down, my dear Lord," said she, addressing him ; 
 "]\Ir. Cashel is afraid you'll catch cold here." 
 
 "Ah, is he indeed?" said Lord KiigofF, in a snappish asperity. 
 " He is too good to bestow a thought upon me." 
 
 " I am only anxious, my Lord, that you shouldn't suffer from your 
 complaisance so unhappily rewarded." 
 
 " Very kind, exceedingly kind, Sir. It is as you say, most unhappy 
 — a perfect storm — a hurricane. Gracious mercy ! what's that ?" 
 
 This exclamation was caused by a loud smash, like the report of a 
 cannon-shot, and at the same moment the taper topmast fell crashing 
 down, with all its cordage clattering round it. The confusion of the 
 accident, the shouting of voices, the thundering splash of the sea, as, 
 the peak having fallen, the craft had lost the steadying influence of 
 the mainsail, all seemed to threaten immediate danger. Cashel was 
 about to spring forward and assist in cutting away the entangled 
 rigging, when he felt his hand firmly grasped by another, whose taper 
 fingers left no doubt to whom it belonged. 
 
 " Don't be alarmed — it is nothing," whispered he, encouragingly ; 
 " the mishap is repaired in a second." 
 
 "You'll not leave me," said she, in a low tone, which thrilled 
 through every fibre of his heart. He pressed her hand more closely, 
 and tried, but in vain, to catch a glimpse at her face. 
 
 Meanwhile, the disordered rigging had been repaired, and two men 
 under Sickleton's direction, lifting the drooping and scarce conscious 
 Peer from the deck, carried him down below. 
 
 If the old instincts of Eoland Cashel's saUor life would have ren- 
 dered the scene interesting to him, watching as he did the way his 
 craft " behaved," and marking well the fine qualities she possessed as 
 a sea-boat, there was another and far more intense feeling then occu- 
 pying him as he stood close beside that swathed and muffled figure, 
 who, pale and silent, marked by some gesture, from time to time, her 
 dependence upon him. To Eoland, the rattle of the gale, the hissing 
 sea, the strained and creaking cordage, all, not only brought back old 
 memories of his once life, but effectually seemed to dispel the colder 
 mood of mind which admixture with the world of fashion had im- 
 pressed upon him. He was again, if not in reality, in heart and spirit, 
 the bold Buccaneer that walked the "Western seas, bursting with life, 
 and eager for adventure. Every plunge that sent the bowsprit down, 
 every squaU that bent the taper mast, and laid the vessel half-seas 
 under, inspirited and excited him, not the less that the wild storm 
 called forth every form of encouragement to her, who vibrated be- 
 tween actual terror and a strange sense of delight. 
 
 Eoland lay at her feet, partly as a barrier against the surging water
 
 248 KOLAND OASHEL. 
 
 that, breaking over the bow, swept the entire deck, partly that he 
 might mark those beauteous features, on which the binuacle light 
 occasionally cast its glare. 
 
 " It is fine," murmured she, in a low soft voice, "and I almost feel 
 as if my own terrors should serve to heighten the sense of ecstasy. 
 I tremble while I delight in it." 
 
 There was an expression of intense excitement in her eyes as she 
 spoke, and her pale features for an instant flushed, as Koland's look 
 met hers. 
 
 " How I glory in your words," cried he, wild with enthusiasm ; " I 
 feel like one who suddenly awakes to life out of some long and dreary 
 sleep — rather this is the sleep — this is itself the vision in which I 
 lie, here, beneath your smile, while we are borne onward through the 
 hissing foam. Oh, would it but last — woidd that this dark and star- 
 less night could be for years, and that we might thus cleave the black 
 waters on and on." 
 
 " And whither to ?" asked she, in a whisper scarcely breathed. 
 
 " Whither to ?" echoed he ; '" what matters it, while we journey 
 thus ? The sun-tipped icebergs of the North Sea, or the rosy moun- 
 tains of the Spice Islands ; the balmy shores of Quito, or tlie bleak 
 coast of Labrador — all are alike to me." 
 
 " A large vessel under the lee !" sang out a voice from the bow, and 
 the cry was repeated still louder, while the Pilot shouted, " Show a 
 light at the mast-head ; put your helm hard up." The double com- 
 mand was scarce obeyed, when a huge black mass heaved past them, 
 her great yards almost seeming to grate the cordage. The looming 
 size of the immense object that towered overhead, and the death-like 
 stillness of the yacht's crew till the danger was past, thrilled with a 
 cold terror through her, and instinctively she grasped Roland's hand 
 more closely. The gale had now become furious, and as the light 
 spars were barely able to sustain evea the little canvas spread, the 
 sea swept over the vessel as she lay storm-tossed and scarce navigable. 
 The hatches were fastened down, the boats strongly secured, and 
 every precaution of seamanship adopted ; and so long as these were 
 in performance, and a certain activity and bustle prevailed, so long 
 did Lady KilgofF's courage appear to support her ; but when all was 
 done, and the men resumed their places in watchful silence, and her 
 mind was left to the conteuiplation of the raging hurricane alone, she 
 seemed to sink, and, with a faint low sigh, glided from the seat and 
 fell fainting to the deck. 
 
 " You cannot take her below," said Sickleton, as Cashel, raising 
 her in his arms, was about to carry her to the cabin ; " we dare not 
 open the hatches. See, there it comes again !" and, as he spoke, a 
 great wave broke over the vessel's quarter and fell in torrents over
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 249 
 
 the deck, washing, as it receded, several loose spars overboard. By 
 the aid of coats and cloaks innumerable, Cashel at last succeeded in 
 enveloping the fair form beside him, and, supporting her head upon 
 his arm as he sat, he saw, to his unspeakable delight, that she soon 
 dropped into a calm sleep. 
 
 " This is a disastrous bit of pleasuring," said Sickleton, as he stood 
 holding on by one of the braces ; " who could have supposed such a 
 gale was brewing ?" 
 
 " "Well, well," replied Cashel, " if it comes no worse " 
 
 " If it does, we can't stand through it, that's all," said the Lieu- 
 tenant, dryly ; " the old Pilot says we shall have to make a tack to 
 keep clear of the Hook, but what boat can sail on a wind with a storm- 
 jib and three-reefed topsail?" 
 
 " She behaves nobly," said Roland, as he gazed at the sleeping form, 
 to guard which seemed all his care. 
 
 Sickleton mistook the remark, and said, " Ay, that I knew she 
 would ; but the sea is tremendous for a small craft, and see how close 
 we have the land under our lee — that black mass yonder." 
 
 " I'd give all I own in the world that she were safe on shore," 
 murmured Cashel, not heeding the other's observation ; " I cannot 
 forgive myself for having induced her to venture out." 
 
 The Lieutenant made no reply, but peered for a few seconds 
 through the skylight of the cabin. " My Lord is lying like a dead 
 man," said he ; " fright and sea-sickness together have nearly done 
 for him, and yet it was only two hours back he thought he'd make a 
 good figure at the Admiralty. There," continued he, " day is break- 
 ing yonder ; we shall soon know our fate ; if the gale freshens after 
 sunrise it is all up vvith us." 
 
 " Run the craft in shore and I'll engage to save Tier" said Cashel, 
 eagerly. " I'm a strong swimmer in surf; I rescued a Malabar girl 
 once, and in a sea nearly as heavy as this." 
 
 Sickleton smiled incredulously, and turned away. 
 
 " It is freshening, by Jove !" said he, as a squall struck the vessel, 
 and laid her almost on her beam ends, while every plank shivered as 
 though she were rending in pieces. 
 
 " It's coming stronger. Sir," said the Pilot, as he shook the sea 
 from his rough coat and bent his gaze steadfastly towards the east ; 
 " I'd rather not see that red sunrise. Keep her away, man, keep her 
 away!" 
 
 " Shall we try it ?" muttered Sickleton, to some whispered observa- 
 tions of the other. 
 
 " We may as well," rejoined the Pilot ; " she'll never hold steerage 
 way with her present canvas, and if she won't bear the mainsail we 
 must go on shore, and no help for it."
 
 250 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 *• Bear a hand there, boys," cried Sickleton ; " shake out the main- 
 sail." 
 
 " You'll carry away the mast," cried Cashel, as he heard the order. 
 
 " It's like enough," growled the Pilot, " but yonder's the lee-shore." 
 
 " I could save her — I'm certain I could save her," said Cashel, 
 
 " He's thinking of the lady !" said the Pilot to Sickleton ; and the 
 contemptuous tone showed how humbly he estimated him. 
 
 " Breakers ahead! — shoal water!" shouted a voice from the bow. 
 
 " 'Bout ship !" cried Sickleton ; " stand by sheets and tacks there — 
 down helm. Are ye ready, men ?" And the next moment the obe- 
 dient vessel span round, and was cleaving the water on another tack. 
 
 " What is it ? — where am I ? — is this a dream ?" said Lady Kilgoff, 
 as she moved back the hair from her eyes, and looked up at Cashel, 
 who for hours had never moved or stirred. 
 
 " To me, it has been a delicious dream," said Cashel, as he met her 
 glance ; " and if it were not that you may feel alarmed, it would be 
 still such." 
 
 " What a terrible sea ! Where are we ?" 
 
 "Not far from shore," said Cashel, encouragingly. 
 
 " A devilish deal too near it, though," muttered the Pilot, under 
 his breath. * 
 
 " Oh, I remember all now. Where is my Lord, Mr. Cashel ? Is 
 he ill ?" 
 
 " He's gone below — he is sleeping, I believe. It has been a wild 
 night for you; and you've passed it here on the deck." 
 
 " Here ?" said she, looking up and blushing, for she still lay sup- 
 ported against Eoland, and one of his hands held the boat-cloak 
 across her. 
 
 " Yes, here," said Cashel, with a voice and manner that made the 
 colour mount to her cheeks and as suddenly desert them again. 
 
 Meanwhile the Lieutenant had gone below, and reappeared with a 
 chart, over which he and the Pilot now bent in the deepest consi- 
 deration. 
 
 " Then that must have been the ' Calf' Light we saw to the east- 
 ward," said Sickleton, pointing to the map. 
 
 " I'd say so too," replied the other, " if such a run didn't seem im- 
 possible ; but we only tripped our anchor last night, before sunset." 
 
 " Ten hours, though ! — one can do a deal in ten hours!" said the 
 Lieutenant. 
 
 " It may be worth as many years sometimes !" said Cashel, in a 
 whisper to her at his side. 
 
 " Breakers right ahead !" shouted the man in the bow. 
 "We're among the 'Barrels!'" cried the Pilot; "back the top- 
 sail — down mainsail " 
 
 But it was too late ! Like a sea-bird rising to its flight, the light
 
 EOLAND OASHEL. 251 
 
 craft bounded forward, till her shining copper glanced above the 
 waves, and then, with a spring, dashed onward, amid the foam and 
 spray that rose like a mist around her. The frothy shower flew over 
 the deck, while the hissing water spirted up on every side with a 
 crashing splintering sound. The keel came down, and while a loud 
 cry broke forth, '' She's struck !" the mast snapped suddenly across, 
 and fell with its draped rigging into the sea. 
 
 " Stand by — cut away the boats !V shouted Sickleton ; and seizing 
 a hatchet, gave the example himself, while Cashel, lifting the now 
 lifeless form of Lady KilgoflF, placed her in the boat. The confusion 
 and terror became now extreme. The breaking sea already had forced 
 its way through the vessel's bottom, and issued in a clear jet of blue 
 water from the hatchways. The first boat launched was rapidly 
 crowded, and scarcely had it touched the water than it was swamped. 
 For an instant the struggling figures were seen battling with the 
 waves, but, in a moment after, they were gone ! 
 
 Mainly through Sickleton and Cashel' s exertions, the second boat 
 was got ready, and just about to be launched, when Roland turned to 
 seek Lord Kilgoff, whom, up to that moment, he had entirely for- 
 gotten. Scarcely had he reached the binnacle, when the old man, pale 
 and almost dead with terror, stood before him. " Is she safe. Sir ? — 
 is my Lady safe ?" cried he, tremiilously. 
 
 " Quite so — come along, there's not a moment to lose." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Cashel, do not leave me !" cried Lady Kilgofi", as the boat 
 was lifted from its place, and swung by the halyards from side to side. 
 
 " You cannot surely resist that appeal, Sir," said Lord Kilgofi", his 
 withered and worn features flushed with a pang of sudden anger. 
 
 " I must see to your safety, my Lord, or none else is likely to do 
 it," said Cashel, sternly ; and as he spoke he lifted the old man and 
 placed him in the boat. " Stay where you are, Sickleton," cried he 
 to the Lieutenant; "I'll cut her adrift. So there! my boys, all 
 together — larboard now." And as the vessel heaved over to the 
 surge the boat was launched. A shrill cry of terror was heard above 
 the raging storm ; for Cashel, in his eagerness to secure the other's 
 safety, had perilled his own, and now the boiling surf rushed between 
 the yacht and the boat, defying every effort to approach. 
 
 " Never fear for me," said Eoland, boldly ; " the distance is short, 
 and I've swum in many a heavier surf." And he swung himself, as 
 he spoke, by a loose stay into the sea. Nobly breasting the mad 
 waves, he was seen at intervals, now borne on the white-crested 
 billows, now deep down in the dark trough of waters. His Indian 
 teaching had taught him, too, to dive at times through the coming 
 surf, and thus escape its force, and so did he emerge from the great 
 mass of waters that seemed almost to have buried him. Eending to 
 the oars, the boat's crew pulled manfully through the tide, and at
 
 252 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 last gaining a little bay, floated into calm water, just as Cashel had 
 got a footing on a reef of rock, a short distance from land. 
 
 " Safe !" cried he, as he drew his wearied limbs up the little craggy 
 eminence, from which he could see the yacht still storm-lashed and 
 heaving, and follow with his eyes the boat, as with bounding speed 
 she made for shore. 
 
 No sooner had Sickleton safely landed his freight, than he put out 
 again to rescue those in the yacht, while Cashel, bruised, bleeding, 
 and torn, made his way slowly to the little hut, where Lord and Lady 
 Kilffoff had taken shelter. 
 
 His entrance was little noticed. The cabin was full of country 
 people and fishermen — some earnestly proffering advice and counsel, 
 others as eagerly questioning all about the recent calamity. In a 
 great straw chair, beside the fire, sat Lord Kilgofi", his head resting 
 on a country-woman's shoulder, while another bathed his temples to 
 restore animation. 
 
 " Where is she?" said Cashel, passionately; and the tone and look 
 of the speaker turned attention towards him. 
 
 " 'Tis her husband," whispered the woman of the house, curtseying 
 respectfully to the youth, who, in all the torn disorder of his dress, 
 looked the gentleman ; and with that she drew him into an inner 
 room, where upon a low settle lay the pale and scarce breathing form 
 of Lady Kilgoff. 
 
 " Don't be afeard, yer Honer, she'll be betther in a minute or two. 
 She has more courage than her father there." And she pointed to 
 the outside room where Lord Kilgofi" sat. " Indeed, the first word 
 she spoke was about yerself." 
 
 Cashel made a gesture to be silent, and sat down beside the settle, 
 his gaze fixed on the features, which, in their calm loveliness, had 
 never seemed more beautiful. 
 
 The stillness that now reigned in the little cabin, only broken by 
 the low whisperings without — the calm tranquillity, so suddenly suc- 
 ceeding to the terrible convulsion — the crowd of sensations pressing 
 on the brain, and, above all, the immense fatigue he had gone through, 
 brought on such a sense of stupor, that Cashel fell heavily on the 
 floor, and, with his head leaning against the settle, fell into a sound 
 sleep. 
 
 Before evening had closed in most of the party had recovered from 
 their fatigues, and sat grouped in various attitudes round the blazing 
 fire of the cabin. In a deep, old-fashioned straw chair, reclined, 
 rather than sat, Lady Kilgofi"; a slightly feverish flush lent a bril- 
 liancy to her otherwise pale features, deepening the expression of 
 her full soft eyes, and giving a more animated character to the placid 
 beauty of her face. Her hair, in aril the loose freedom of its uncared-
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 253 
 
 for state, fell in great voluptuous masses along her neck and shoul- 
 ders, while part of a finely-turned arm peeped out beneath the folds 
 of the wide scarlet cloak which the fisherman's wife had lent her in 
 lieu of her own costly " Cashmere." 
 
 Next to her sat Eoiand; and although dressed in the rough jacket 
 of a sailor, his throat encircled by a rude cravat of coloured worsted, 
 he seemed in the very costume to have regained some of his long-lost 
 joyousness, and notwithstanding the sad event of the night, to be in 
 a very ecstasy of high spirits. Sickleton, too, seemed like one who 
 regarded the whole adventure as a circumstance too common-place for 
 much thought, and busied himself writing letters to various persons 
 at Cashel's dictation, sorely puzzled from time to time to follow out 
 the thread of an intention, which Eoland's devotion to the lady at his 
 side more than once interrupted. 
 
 The most disconsolate and woe-begone of all was the poor Peer, 
 who, propped up by cushions, sat with unmeaning gaze steadily 
 riveted on the fire. There was something so horridly absurd, too, in 
 the costume in which he was clad, that converted all pity into a sense 
 of ridicule. A great wide pea-jacket encircled his shrunken, wasted 
 figure to the knees, where the thin, attenuated legs appeared, clad in 
 blue worsted stockings, whose wide folds fell in a hundred wrinkles 
 around them ; a woollen cap of red and orange stripes covered his 
 head, giving a most grotesque expression to the small and fine-cut 
 features of his face. If Lady KilgofF and Cashel had not been too 
 much interested on other topics, they could not have failed to dis- 
 cover, in the occasional stealthy glances that Sickleton cast on the 
 old Lord, that the costume had been a thing of his own devising, and 
 tliat the rakish air of the nightcap, set sideways on the head, was 
 owing to the sailor's inveterate fondness for a joke, no matter how ill- 
 timed the moment, or ill-suited the. subject of it. 
 
 Behind them, and in a wider circle, sat the fisherman and his 
 family, the occasional flash of the fire lighting up the gloom where 
 they sat, and showing, as in a Eembrandt, the strong and vigorous 
 lines of features where health and hardship were united, — the whole 
 forming in the light and shadow a perfect subject for a painter. 
 
 From the first moment of the mishap, Lord Kilgoff had sunk into 
 a state of almost child-like imbecility, neither remembering where he 
 was, or taking interest in anything, an occasional fractious or im- 
 patient remark at some passing inconvenience being all the evidence 
 he gave of thought. It devolved, therefore, upon Cashel to make 
 every arrangement necessary — an assumption on his part which his 
 natural respect and delicacy made no small difficulty. As for Lady 
 Kilgoff", she appeared implicitly to yield to his judgment on every 
 point ; and when Roland suggested that, instead of returning to
 
 254 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Dublin and all its inevitable rumours, tbey should at once proceed to 
 Tubbermore, sbe assented at once, and most willingly. 
 
 It was with this object, then, that Sickleton sat, pen in hand^ 
 making notes of Cashel's directions, and from time to time writing at 
 his dictation to various tradesmen whose services he stood in need of. 
 It would certainly have called for a clearer head, and a calmer than 
 E/oland's, to have conducted the conversation with the lady and the 
 command to the gentleman, who sat at either side of him. Many a 
 sad blimder did he make, and more than once did the reply intended 
 for her Ladyship find its way into the epistle of the Lieutenant, nor 
 did the mistake appear till a reading of the document announced it. 
 At these, a burst of laughter was sure to break forth, and then my 
 Lord would look up, and, passing his fingers across his temples, seem 
 trying to recal his lost and wandering faculties — efforts that the 
 changeful play of his features showed to be alternately failing and 
 succeeding, as reason, tide-like, ebbed and flowed within his brain. 
 
 It was as Sickleton wrote down at Cashel's direction the order for 
 a considerable sum of money to be distributed among the crew of the 
 yacht, that Lord Kilgoff", catching as it were in a momentary lucid- 
 ness the meaning of the words, said aloud : " This is not munificence, 
 Sir. I tell you this is the wasteful extravagance of the buccaneer, not 
 the generosity of a true gentleman." 
 
 The other suddenly started at the words, and while Lady Kilgoff*'s 
 deep flush of passion and Cashel's look of astonishment exhibited their 
 feelings, Sickleton's hearty laugh showed the racy enjoyment deficient 
 delicacy can always reap from an awkward dilemma. 
 
 "But, my Lord, you mistake Mr. Cashel," said Lady KilgoflF, 
 eagerly, bending forward as she spoke. " His noble gift is to com- 
 pensate these brave fellows for a loss, as well as reward them for an 
 act of devotion. How silly in me to reason with him! see, Mr. 
 Cashel, his mind his quite shaken by this calamity." 
 
 "Tour defence compensates a hundred such reproofs," said Cashel, 
 with warmth. " Well, Mr. Sickleton," said he, anxious to quit a 
 painful topic, " what of this schooner yacht you spoke of a while 
 ago?" 
 
 " The handsomest craft that ever swam," said the Lieutenant, de- 
 lighted to discuss a favourite theme. " Lord Wellingham has married, 
 and they say won't keep her any longer. You'll get her for ten 
 thousand, and the story is she cost about fourteen." 
 
 " But perhaps Mr. Cashel may soon follow her noble owner's ex- 
 ample," said Lady Kilgoftj smiling, and with a subdued look towards 
 Eoland. 
 
 " Don't give him bad counsel, my Lady." 
 
 " It really does seem to me a kind of inveteracy thus to talk of 
 buying a new yacht within a few hours after losing one."
 
 E0LA2TD CASHEL. 255 
 
 " Like a widower looking out for a new wife, I suppose," said tte 
 Lieutenant, laughing. 
 
 " No, Sir, I beg to correct you," broke in my Lord, with a snap- 
 pisbness tbat made the bearers start ; " ber Ladysbip is not yet a 
 widow, although ber levity might seem to imply it." 
 
 " My Lord, I must protest against this sarcastic humour," said 
 she, with a mild dignity. " Our terrible catastrophe may have dis- 
 turbed your right judgment, but I pray select another theme for mis- 
 construction. Mr. Casbel, I will wish you a good night. In the 
 difficulty in which I am placed, I can only say that my perfect con- 
 fidence in your counsel satisfies me it will be such as you ought to 
 give and I to follow." 
 
 " Yes, Sir, of course ; when the lady says, ' EoUow,' I hope you 
 know a gentleman's devoir better than to disobey." These words 
 were uttered by the old man with a sneering impertinence that 
 augured no absence of mind ; but ere the door closed upon Lady 
 KilgofF his face had again put on its former dull and vacant stare, and 
 it was clear that the momentary intelligence was passed and over. 
 
 " Now, Sickleton," said Casbel, as if at length able to give his mind 
 to the details before him, " you will haste to Dublin ; send us the 
 carriages with all the speed you can muster ; pack off her Ladyship's 
 maid and the wardrobe, and don't forget that dressing-case at Seward's. 
 I should like to have her crest upon it, but there's no time for that — 
 besides, we should only have more scandal in Dublin when it got 
 abroad. Then for Kennyfeck : tell him I have no money, and stand 
 much in need of it ; for, as my Lord says, mine are buccaneer's habits ; 
 and lastly, run over to Cowes and secure the yacht — we must have 
 her. I'm much mistaken, or our friends here will take a cruise with 
 us among the Greek Islands one of these days." 
 
 " Treacherous navigation, too !" said Sickleton, with a dryness that 
 seemed to imply more than the mere words. 
 
 " What if it be, man ! they say there's nothing much worse any- 
 where than the line of coast here beside us." 
 
 " "Well, and haven't we suffered enough to make us credit the re- 
 port ?" He paused, and then dropping his voice to a low and cautious 
 whisper, added, " Not but that I shall call you lucky if aU the danger 
 has ended with the loss of the vessel." 
 
 " How ? what do you mean ?" asked Cashel, in a tone of great 
 eagerness. 
 
 " Cannot you guess ?" said the other, with an imperturbable cool- 
 ness. 
 
 " No, on my honour, I haven't a thought whither your words 
 point." 
 
 " Then, faith, the peril is fifty times greater and nearer than I sus- 
 pected," cried he, warmly. " When a man cracks on all that he can
 
 256 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 carry, and more than is safe, you at least give him credit for knowing 
 the channel, and understanding its bearings, but when he tells you that 
 he neither knows the course nor the soundings, why you set him down 
 as mad." 
 
 " I shall not be very far removed from that condition if you'll not 
 condescend to explain yourself more freely," said Cashel, with some 
 irritation of manner. " Where is this danger ? and what is it ?" 
 
 Sickleton looked at him for a second or two — then at the old Peer 
 — and, at last, with a scarcely perceptible movement of his liead, mo- 
 tioned towards the door by which Lady Kilgoff had jiist passed out. 
 
 " Tou surely cannot mean — you do not suppose " 
 
 " No matter what I suppose ; all I say is, there are worse breakers 
 ahead of you just now than the Lucciola had last night ; haul your 
 wind, and draw off while you have time. Besides, look yonder" — and 
 he pointed with a jerk of his thumb to Lord KilgofF, who still sat with 
 stolid gaze fixed upon the red embers of the fire — " that would be a 
 victory with but little honour!" 
 
 Cashel started to his feet, and passing his hand over his forehead, 
 seemed, as it were, trying to disabuse his mind of some painful illusion. 
 His features, flashed and animated an instant before, had grown al- 
 most livid in pallor ; and he stood, with one hand leaning on the 
 chair from which he had risen, like one recovering from a fainting fit. 
 At last, and with a voice husky and hoarse from emotion, he said, 
 " Sickleton, if I had thought this — if, I say, I even believed what you 
 hint at possible " 
 
 " Pooh ! pooh !" broke in the other; " why anchor in three fiithoms 
 when you've deep water beside you ? You'll not hug a lee-shore 
 with a fresh breeze on your quarter ; and all I ask is, that you'd 
 not risk the loss of that noble craft merely that you may spoil the 
 wreck." 
 
 Cashel grasped the rough seaman's hand in both his own, and shook 
 it with warmth. 
 
 " I can only say this," said the bluff" Lieutenant, rising, " if such 
 be the object of your cruises, you must seek another shipmate than 
 Bob Sickleton ; and so good night." 
 
 " Are you going ?" said Cashel, with a sorrowful voice. " I wish 
 you were not about to leave thus." 
 
 " I have given you your bearings ; that ought to be enough for 
 you. Good night, once more." And with this the honest-hearted 
 Lieutenant threw his boat-cloak around him, and sallied forth to the 
 door, before which a chaise was in waiting to convey him to Dublin, 
 
 As for Eoland, his agitated and excited mind banished all desire 
 for sleep, and he wandered out upon the bead), where, resolving many 
 a good intention for the future, he walked to and fro till day was 
 breaking.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 257 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Old walls have mouths as "well as ears. 
 
 The Convent: a Play. 
 
 To us of the present day, who see what Genii are guineas, fairy- 
 tales are mere allegories. Tour true sorcerer is a credit " on Coutts " 
 and anything may be esteemed within his power who reckons by tens 
 of thousands. 
 
 Tom Linton was experimenting on this problem somewhat largely 
 at Tubbermore, where the old, misshapen, ugly house had undergone 
 such a series of transformations inside and out, that the oldest inha- 
 bitant might have failed to recognise it. Eoman cement and stucco 
 — those cosmetics of architecture — had given to the front a most 
 plausible air, and what with a great flagged terrace beneath, and a 
 balustrade parapet above, the whole had put on a wonderful look of 
 solidity and importance. French windows and plate-glass, stuccoed 
 architraves and richly traceried balconies, from which access was had 
 to various terraces and flower-plats, contributed an appearance of 
 lightness to the building, and what was lost in architectural elegance 
 was fully recompensed by convenience and facility of enjoyment. 
 
 Within, the arrangements were excellent, and, as regarded the ob- 
 ject in view, perfect — various suites of. apartments, so separated as to 
 be actually like residences, abounded throughout, so that the guests 
 might either indulge their solitude undisturbed, or mix in the wide 
 circle of the general company. For the latter, a magnificent suite of 
 rooms led along the entire basement story. Here, considering the 
 shortness of the time and the difiiculties encountered, Linton's skill 
 was pre-eminently distinguished. Painting was too slow a process 
 for such an emergency, and accordingly the halls were hung with rich 
 silks and stufls from the looms of Lyons, draped in a hundred grace- 
 ful fashions, while the floors, laid down in the rough, were concealed 
 by the massive texture of Persian carpets, the most costly ever 
 brought to this country. The air of comfort and " livableness" — if 
 we may coin a word — depicted on every side, took away the reproach 
 of ostentatious splendour, which perhaps might have been applied to 
 rich decorations and gorgeous details in a mere country-house. And 
 this was managed with no mean skill, and he must have been a stern 
 critic who could have canvassed too rigidly the merit of appliances so 
 manifestly provided for his own enjoyment. Books and pictures — 
 the Penates of domesticity — were there, and everything possible was 
 done to give a semblance of long habitation to that which but a few- 
 weeks back had been a dreary ruin. 
 
 TOL. I. s
 
 258 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 A critical eye miglit liave detected in many instances tlie evidences 
 of a more refined taste tban Mr. Linton's, and so was it. Miss 
 Leicester had frequently aided him by her advice and suggestions, * 
 and every day, when the vi^eather permitted, saw old Mr. Corrigan 
 and his granddaughter repair to Tubbermore, whose progress they 
 watched with a degree of interest only felt by those whose retirement 
 admits few sources of amusement. There was a secret cause of pride, 
 too, in seeing the old residence of the family — marred as had been 
 its proportions by frequent and tasteless additions — resume some- 
 thing of its once grandeur. Mary, whose earliest lessons in infancy 
 had been the tales of her powerful ancestors, who lorded over an 
 almost princely tract, entered heart and soul into a course which fa- 
 voured so many of fancy's pleasantest fictions. Her greatest delight, 
 however, was in the restoration of one part of the building, which all 
 former innovators had apparently despaired of, and left as a species 
 of storehouse for every kind of lumber. This was a great square 
 tower, with an adjoining chapel, the floor of which was formed by the 
 tombstones of her earliest ancestors. One compartment of a stained- 
 glass window showed " the helmet and torch," the arms of the 
 O'Eegans, from which the family, by a corruption, took the name of 
 Corrigan, and various other mementos abounded to prove the high 
 station they had once supported. 
 
 Strongly imbued with a knowledge of the tales and customs of the 
 period, Mary restored the chapel to all the emblazoned splendour of 
 the sixteenth century. The rich carvings, that modern research has 
 discovered and carried away from the chateaux of the Low Countries, 
 were adapted to the place, and speedily the interior put on an air of 
 highly preserved and cherished antiquity. 
 
 The tower adjoining was also converted into a great chamber of 
 audience — a " E-itter-Saal," hung round with weapons of the chase 
 and war, while great bufiiets displayed a wealth of antique plate and 
 china, of gem- wrought cup and massive flagons, that lent a lustre to 
 its otherwise too stern appearance. Lighted by a range of stained 
 windows far from the ground, the tempered sunlight cast a mellow 
 glance on every object ; and here, in the silence of the noon, when the 
 workmen had gone to dinner, Mary used to sit alone, some strange 
 spell fascinating her to a spot where echoes had once awoke to the 
 tramp of her own kinsmen's footsteps. 
 
 " TeU me, Mr. Linton," said she, as He entered suddenly, and 
 found her seated in her favourite place, " what part of the chapel 
 adjoins the wall we see yonder ?" 
 
 " That," said Linton, musing for a second — " that, if I mistake ' 
 not, must be what you styled the crypt ; the " 
 
 " Exactly!" cried she, with animation. " The crypt is somewhat 
 lower than this cliamber, two steps or so ?"
 
 EOLAlfD CASHEI. 259 
 
 " About as much." 
 
 " How strange, how very strange!" she said, lialf to herself. 
 
 " "What is strange ?" said Linton, smiling at the intense preoccu- 
 pation of her features. 
 
 "You will laugh outright," said she, "if I tell you. It was a 
 dream I had last night about this chamber." 
 
 " Pray let me hear it," said Linton, seating himself, and affecting 
 a deep interest. " I own to a most implicit confidence in dreams." 
 
 " Which is more than I do," said she, laughing. " This has, how- 
 ever, so much of truth about it, as the locality is concerned, and thus 
 far it is curious. Are you certain that you never told me before that 
 the crypt lay outside of that wall ?" 
 
 *' Perfectly ; since I only learned as much myself about an hour 
 ago." 
 
 " How singular 1" 
 
 " Come, do not torture my curiosity further. Let us have your 
 dream." 
 
 " It was very short. I dreamed that I was sitting here musing 
 and thinking over the lives and fortunes of some of those who once 
 dwelt within these walls, and comparing their destiny with that of 
 their descendants, only admitted, as it were, on sufferance, when sud- 
 denly a door opened slowly there — there, in the very midst of that 
 wall — and I could see down into the crypt, and the chapel beyond it. 
 On the altar there were candles lighted, and I thought the figure of 
 a man crossed and recrossed below the steps, as if settling and 
 arranging the books and cushions ; and, at last, he turned round, and 
 I perceived that he carried in his hands a small and strongly-clasped 
 box, and, as he came towards me, he seemed to hold this out for me 
 to take ; but, as I did not move or stir, he laid it down within the 
 doorway, and, as he did so, the wall gradually closed up again, and no 
 vestige of the door could be seen. jVay, so perfectly unshaken did all 
 appear, that I remember remarking a cobweb that stretched from the 
 frame of a picture, and hung over the spot where the door seemed to 
 be ; and there," cried she, starting up — " there, Mr. Linton, as I live, 
 there is the cobweb !" 
 
 " Which, without doubt, you observed yesterday," said Linton, 
 " and in your sleep the vision of our neglect was renewed." 
 
 " No, no ; I never saw it before. I am confident that I never 
 noticed it yesterday. I am sorry I revealed my dream to you," said 
 she, perceiving that, in spite of all his tact, incredulity had lent a look 
 of pitying compassion to his features. 
 
 " On the contrary, I beg of you to believe in all my interest for 
 your recital ; nay, I'll prove it too." 
 
 " How so ?" said she, eagerly. 
 
 *' Simply enough. I'll give orders at once to have a door made 
 
 s2
 
 260 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 here, and then we shall see if the view you describe of the crypt and 
 the chapel can be seen from this point." 
 
 " "Why don't you add, and of the figure with the casket, too ?" said 
 she, smiling, "for I see you regard them all as alike veracious." 
 
 " In any case," cried Linton, "if he lay down the treasure — and 
 treasure it must be — here in the doorway, I'll take care that the 
 walls do not swallow it up again ; we shall be able to find it in the 
 morning." 
 
 " And will you really have this done ?" 
 
 " I'll give the orders this very day." 
 
 " I must not be so silly," said she, after a pause ; " the whole is too 
 absurd. No, Mr. Linton, do not, I beg of you, do not take any notice 
 of my folly." 
 
 " At all events," said Linton, " your dream is a most happy inspi- 
 ration ; a door here will be a great improvement, and if the vista 
 takes in the chapel, so much the better. Eemember, too," added he, 
 in a lower and more feeling voice — " remember what I've told you so 
 often, that whatever we do here has, so to say, no other reward than 
 the pleasure it gives me the doing. Our great patron has about as 
 much gratefulness in his composition as taste. He will neither feel 
 thankful for our exertions, nor sensible of their success, and is just as 
 likely to desecrate yon Eitter-Saai, by making it his smoking room." 
 
 "If I thought so " said she, proudly, and then stopped sud- 
 denly. "But how can it concern me? I have only to wonder how 
 you can accept of an intimacy so distasteful." 
 
 This, in its very abruptness, was a home-tlirust, and so much did 
 Linton feel it, that he reddened, at first with shame, and then with 
 anger at his want of composure. 
 
 " There are many circumstances in life. Miss Leicester," said he, 
 gravely, " which demand heavy sacrifices of personal feeling, and 
 happy if sometimes the recompense come in seeing that our self- 
 devotion has worked well for others. I may one day explain myself 
 more fully on this head." 
 
 Before Mary covJd answer, a messenger came to say that her grand- 
 father was waiting to return with her to the cottage, and she bid 
 Linton good-by with a degree of interest for him she had never felt 
 before. Linton stood in a window and watched her as she went, nor 
 did his eye quit the graceful form till it disappeared in the covering 
 of the trees. "Yes," said he to himself, "I have struck the right 
 chord at last ! She neither is to be dazzled by the splendour, nor 
 excited by the ambitions of the great world. The key to the mystery 
 of her nature lies in the very fact of her position in life — the indig- 
 nant struggle against a condition she feels beneath her; she can 
 sympathise with this. She is just the very girl, too, to awaken 
 Laura's jealousy, so brilliantly handsome, so much of elegance in mien
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 261 
 
 and deportment. Ay I tlie game will win. I may stake all upon it. 
 "Who is that ?" said he, starting suddenly, as a door banged behind 
 him, and he saw Tom Keane, who had been a silent listener to his 
 soliloquy. Linton well knew that shrewd as the man was, the words 
 could have conveyed little or nothing to his intelligence, and carelessly 
 asked what had the post brought. 
 
 ''' A heap of letters, yer Honer," said he, laying the heavily-loaded 
 bag on the table. " I never see as many come to the town afore." 
 
 As Linton unlocked the bag and emptied its contents before him, 
 his face suddenly grew dark and angry, for none of the letters, as he 
 turned them over, were for himself ; they were all addressed Eoland 
 Cashel, Esq., and marked " private." At last he saw one with his own 
 name, and motioning to Keane to leave him undisturbed, he sat down 
 to read it. It came from his correspondent Mr. Phillis, and was of 
 the briefest. 
 
 " SiE, — All has gone wrong. — E. C. sailed last night on a yachting 
 excursion with Lord and Lady K., some say for "Wales, others for the 
 Isle of "Wight. The truth I cannot ascertain. The persons invited 
 to Tubbermore are all preparing to set out, but eagerly asking where 
 C. is to be found. There has been something like a breach at K.'s, 
 and I fancy it is about Lady KilgofF's going in the yacht, which, 
 although seeming accident, must have been planned previously. If 
 you had been here the matter might have taken another turn, as C. 
 appears very tired of K.'s agency, and the difficulty of obtaining 
 money from him. 
 
 " I have received a few lines from C, dated from 'the Harbour,' 
 to order a ' fourgon' to be got ready ; but I shall pretend not to have 
 received the note, and leave this, if you desire it, for Tubbermore on 
 
 hearing from you. 
 
 " Tours, in duty, 
 
 « E. Phillis." 
 
 Linton crushed the note passionately in his fingers, and with a 
 cheek almost purple, and swollen knotted veins about the forehead 
 and temples, he hastily walked to and fro in the apartment. " So, 
 Madam," said he, "is this, then, the reason of your compliance? 
 "Was this the source of that yielding to my wishes, that induced you 
 to come here? And to dare this towards me.'" A fiendish laugh 
 burst from him as he said, " Silly fool, so long as you played fair, the 
 advantage was all on your own side. Try to cheat, and you'll see 
 who's the victor! And the cub, too," added he, with a hoarse pas- 
 sion, " who ventures a rivalry with me ! Hate has an inspiration that 
 never deceives ; from the first moment I saw him, I felt that for him." 
 
 " Tou say you wanted the masons, Sir," said Keane, opening the
 
 262 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 door, where he had beeu endeavouring, but ineffectuallj, to catch the 
 clue of Linton's words. 
 
 " Yes, let them come here," said he, with his ordinary composure. 
 " Tou are to break a door there," said he, as the men entered, " and 
 I wish to have it done with all speed. You'll work all night, and be 
 doubly paid." As he spoke, he sauntered out to muse over the late 
 tidings he had received, and plan within himself the coming campaign. 
 
 Thus loitering and reflecting, time slipped by and evening drew 
 near. 
 
 " "We must have a light here," said one of the masons. " Tliis 
 room is never very bright, and now it is almost dark as night. Bu.t 
 what have we here ?" And at the moment his hammer sent forth a 
 ringing sound as if it had struck upon metal. 
 
 " "What can it be ?" said the other ; " it seems like a plate of iron." 
 
 Linton now drew nigh, as he overheard these words, and station- 
 ing himself at a small window, beheld the two men as they laboured 
 to detach what seemed a heavy stone in the wall. • 
 
 " It's not a plate of iron, but a box," cried one. 
 
 " Hush," said the other, cautioning silence ; " if it's money there's 
 in it, let us consider a bit where we'll hide it." ^^ 
 
 " It sounds empty, anyhow," said the first, as the metal rang clearly 
 out under the hammer. Meanwhile Linton stood overwhelmed at 
 the strange connexion between the dream and the discovery. " It is 
 a box, and here's the key fastened to it by a chain," cried the former 
 speaker. He had scarcely succeeded in removing the box from the 
 wall, when Linton was standing, unseen and noiseless, behind him. 
 
 " "We'll share it fair, whatever it is," said the second. 
 
 " Of course," said the other. " Let us see what there is to share." 
 And so he threw back the lid, and beheld, to his great dismay, nothing 
 but a roll of parchment fastened by a strap of what had once been 
 red leather, but which crumbled away as he touched it. 
 
 " 'Tis Latin," said the first, who seemed the more intelligent of 
 the two, after a vain eflTort to decipher the heavily engrossed line at 
 the top. 
 
 " You are right," said Linton ; and the two men started with terror 
 on seeing him so near. " It is Latin, boys ; it was the custom of the 
 monks to bury their pi'ayers in that way once, and to beg, whoever 
 might discover the document, to say so many masses for the writer's 
 soul ; and Protestant though I be, I do not think badly of the prac- 
 tice. Let us find out the name." And thus saying, he took up the 
 roll and perused it steadily. Por a long time the evening darkness — 
 the difficulty of the letters — and the style of the record, impeded 
 Him, but as he read on, the colour came and went in his cheek, his 
 hand trembled with agitation, and had there been light enough to 
 have noted him well, even tlie workmen must have perceived the ex- 
 citement under which he laboured.
 
 The Discovery
 
 EOLAND CASHEL, 263 
 
 " Tes," said he, at last, " it is exactly as I said. It was written by 
 a monk. This was an old convent once, and Father Angelo asks our 
 prayers for his eternal repose, which assuredly he shall have, heretic 
 that I am ! Here, boys, here's a pound note for you ; Father E-usli 
 will tell you how to use it for the best. Get a light and go on with 
 your work, and if you don't like to spend the money in masses, say 
 nothing about the box, and I'll not betray your secret." 
 
 A dry laugh and a significant leer of the eye showed that he had 
 accurately read his hearers' inmost thoughts, and Linton sat down as 
 if to await their return ; but no sooner had they left the spot than he 
 hastened with all speed to the inn, to con over his newly discovered 
 treasure, and satisfy himself as to its importance and authenticity. 
 
 Drawing close the curtains of his windows, and locking the door 
 of his room, like one who would be alone, he again opened the casket, 
 and took out the scroll. "With bent-down head and steady gaze he 
 perused it from end to end, and then sat with riveted eyes fixed upon 
 the signature and massive seal which were appended to the foot of 
 the document. " That this should have been revealed in a dream," 
 said he, at length, " is almost enough to shake one's faith in the 
 whole! Am I myself awake, and is it real what I see before me?" 
 He walked the room with uncertain steps — then opened wide the 
 window — then closed it again — once more took up the paper and 
 studied it. In fact, it was dear to see that a sceptical nature, the 
 very habit of doubt, had indisposed him to believe in even that which 
 his very senses corroborated. 
 
 "What would I give for some lawyer's craft at this moment!" said 
 he, as the drops of perspiration stood upon his forehead, and his 
 clenched hands were clasped together in strong emotion, — "what 
 would I give for the keenness that could pierce through every line of 
 this, and see it free of flaw — ay, that is the point I And then. Master 
 Eoland," — here his voice grew full and round, — " and then we should 
 see who is the master and who the dependent, if with a word — with one 
 word — I could unmake you, and from the insolence of your sudden 
 wealth bring you down once more to your fitting station. Never did 
 Fortune stand by me like this ! Let me, however, not lose the game 
 from over-strength. Caution is needed here. Before Corrigan shall 
 know himself the rightful owner of Tubbermore, he must be satisfied 
 to see Tom Linton his son-in-law. A glorious hit that deals vengeance 
 on every hand. Ay, my Lady, we shall acquit our debt to you also !" 
 From the heat of overwhelming passion he again turned to the docu- 
 ment which lay open on the table. " What if it were only a copy ? 
 But this is scarce possible. The signatures look real, and the seal 
 cannot be counterfeit. Whom could I trust to inspect it ? With 
 whom dare I place it for a day, or even an hour ? No ! I'll never 
 sufi'er it out of my own keeping ! I know not if the power to strike 
 is not the very acme of revenge !"
 
 264! EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 As lie walked tlie room in deepest agitation he chanced for an in- 
 stant to catch a glimpse of Tubbermore, which, in the bright light of 
 a newly-risen moon, could be seen above the trees. 
 
 " So then it may chance that I have not expended my labour in vain, 
 and that this same house may be yet my own. Mine!" cried he, in 
 ecstasy — " mine those swelling woods — that princely park — the high 
 position whieli wealth bestows, and the power that I could speedily 
 accomplish in political life. There may be many who have more am- 
 bition to strive for — I'll swear there are few men living have more 
 grudges to pay off." 
 
 And vsdth this speech, uttered in an accent of withering hate and 
 scorn, he again returned to gaze at the open parchment. 
 
 The document, surmounted by the royal arms and engrossed in a 
 stiff old-fashioned hand, was a free pardon accorded by His Majesty 
 George the Second to Miles Hardress Corrigan, and a full and un- 
 qualified restoration to his once forfeited estates. 
 
 Certain legal formalities were also enjoined to be taken, and certain 
 oaths to be made, as the recognition of this act of his Sovereign's 
 grace. 
 
 Such was the important document on which now he gazed, reading 
 and re-reading it, till every word became riveted on his memory. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXI. 
 
 Hark, they come ! they come ! 
 
 Ak unusual bustle and commotion in the little inn awoke Linton 
 early on the following morning. These were caused by the arrival of 
 a host of cooks, coachmen, grooms, footmen, and scullions, with a due 
 proportion of the other sex, all engaged in London, and despatched — 
 "as per order" — to form the houseliold of Tubbermore. 
 
 As Linton proceeded with his dressing, he overheard the multi- 
 farious complaints and lamentations of this town-reared population 
 over the dirt and destitution of their newly-adopted land ; criticisms 
 which, as they scrupled not to detail aloud, evoked rejoinders not a 
 whit more complimentary to the Saxon, the hostess of the Goat — 
 being an energetic disciple of that great authority who has pronounced 
 both the land and its people as the paragons of creation — leading the 
 van of the attack, and certainly making up for any deficiencies in her 
 cause by the force of her eloquence. 
 
 " Arrah ! who wanted ye here at all ?" said she, addressing the 
 circle, stunned into silence by her volubility. " "Who axed ye ? "Was 
 it to plaze us, or to fill yer pockets with the goold of ould Ireland, ye 
 kem? Oil, murther ! murther — isn't it the sin and tbe shame to
 
 u 
 
 —I 
 H 
 
 a; 
 -0 

 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 265 
 
 think how the craytures is eatiu' us up ! Faix ! maybe ye'll be sorry 
 enough for it yet. There's more than one amongst you would like to 
 be safe home again, afore long ! A set of lazy thieves, no less. The 
 heavens be my bed, but I never thought I'd see the day they'd be 
 bringing a ' Naygiir' to Ireland to teach us music !" 
 
 This singular apostrophe, which seemed to fill the measure of her 
 woe, so far attracted Linton's curiosity to comprehend it, that he 
 opened the window and looked out, and at once discovered, by the 
 direction of the eyes of the circle, the object of the sarcasm. He 
 was a well-built man, of a dark swarthy complexion and immense 
 beard and moustache, who sat on a stone bench before the door, occu- 
 pied in arranging the strings of his guitar. The air of unmoved 
 tranquillity showed that he did not suspect himself to be the butt of 
 any sarcasm, and he pursued his task with a composure that vouched 
 for his ignorance of the language. 
 
 " Who is our friend ?" said Linton, addressing the coachman, and 
 pointing to the musician. 
 
 " We calls him Eobinson Crusoe, Sir," replied the other ; " we 
 took him up on the road from Limerick. We never seed him afore." 
 
 " So, then, he doesn't belong to our force. I really had begun to 
 fear that Mr. Gunter had pushed enlistment too far." 
 
 Meanwhile the stranger, attracted by the voice, looked up, and 
 seeing Linton, immediately removed his cap, with an air of quiet 
 courtesy that was not lost upon the shrewd observer to whom it was 
 tendered. 
 
 " You are a sailor, I perceive ?" said Tom, as he walked out in front 
 of the inn. The other shook his head dubiously. 
 
 " I was asking," said Linton, changing his language to French, "if 
 you had been a sailor ?" 
 
 "Yes, Sir," replied he, again removing his cap, "a sailor from 
 Trieste." 
 
 " And how came you here ?" 
 
 " Our vessel was lost off the Blasquets, Sir, on Wednesday night. 
 We were bound for Bristol with fruit from Sicily, and caught in a 
 gale ; we struck, and all were lost, except myseK and another, now in 
 hospital in the large city yonder." 
 
 "Were you a petty officer, or a common seaman?" said Linton, 
 who had been scanning with keen eye the well-knit frame and grace- 
 ful ease of the speaker. 
 
 " A common sailor. Sir," rejoined he, modestly. 
 
 " And how comes it that you are a musician, friend ?" asked Linton, 
 shrewdly. 
 
 " Every one is in my country, Sir — at least with such humble skill 
 as I possess." 
 
 " What good fortune it was to have saved your guitar from ship-
 
 266 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 wreck," rejoined Linton, witli an incredulous twinkle of his grey 
 eyes. 
 
 " I did not do so, Sir," said the sailor, who either did not, or 
 would not, notice the sarcasm. " My good friends here" — pointing 
 to the servants — " bought this for me in the last town we came 
 through." 
 
 Linton again fixed his eyes upon him ; it was evident that he was 
 hesitating between belief and an habitual sense of distrust, that ex- 
 tended to everything and everybody. At last he said : 
 
 " And what led you hither, my friend ?" 
 
 " Chance," said the man, shrugging his shoulders. " I could have 
 no preferences for one road over another — all were strange — all un- 
 known to me. I hoped, with the aid of my guitar, to get some 
 clothes once more together, and then to find some vessel bound for the 
 Adriatic." 
 
 " What can you do besides that?" said Linton, "for it strikes me 
 a fellow with thews and sinews like yours was scarcely intended to 
 thrum catgut." 
 
 " I can do most things where a steady eye, and a strong hand, and 
 a quick foot are needed. I've been a hunter in the forests of Dal- 
 matia — herded the half-wild cattle on the Campagna at Eome — sailed 
 a felucca in the worst Levanters of the Gulf — and to swim in a higli 
 sea, or to ride an unbroken horse, I'll yield to but one man living." 
 
 " And who may he be ?" said Linton, aroused at the southern en- 
 thusiasm so suddenly excited. 
 
 "A countryman of mine," said the sailor, sententiously ; "his 
 name is not known to you." 
 
 " How sad svich gifts as these should have so little recompense in 
 our days," said Linton, with an afiected sincerity. " There was a 
 time, in your own country, too, when a fellow like yourself would not 
 have had long to seek for a patron." 
 
 The Italian's cheek grew deeper in its flush, and his dark eyes 
 seemed almost to kindle beneath the shaggy brows ; then correcting, 
 as it seemed, the passionate impulse, he said : " Ay, true enough. Sir ; 
 there were many who had the gold to squander, who had not the 
 hand to strike, and, as you say, fellows like me were high in the 
 market." 
 
 " And no great hardship in it either," said Linton. " There is a 
 Justice surer and quicker than the Law, which I, for one, think right 
 weU of." 
 
 Either not following the import of the speech, or not caring to 
 concur in it, the Italian did not reply. 
 
 " I have a notion that we may find out some employment for you 
 here," said Linton. " What name are we to call you ?" 
 
 " Griovanni," said the sailor, after a moment's hesitation, which did 
 not escape the shrewdness of his questioner.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 267 
 
 " Giovanni be it," said Linton, easily ; "as good as anotlier." 
 
 " Just so," rejoined the Italian, with a hardihood that seemed to 
 sit easily upon him. 
 
 " I think, friend," said Linton, drawing nearer to him — and, 
 although the foreign language in which he spoke effectually pre- 
 vented the others from understanding what passed, instantly his voice 
 dropped into a lower and more confidential tone — " I think, friend, we 
 shall soon understand each other well. Tou are in want of a pro- 
 tector ; I may yet stand in need of an attached and zealous fellow. I 
 read people quickly, and it seems to me that we are well met. Stay 
 here, then ; we shall soon have a large company arriving, and I'll try 
 and find out some exercise for your abilities." 
 
 The Italian's dark eyes flashed and twinkled as though his subtle 
 nature had already enlarged upon the shadowy suggestions of the 
 other, and he made a significant gesture of assent. 
 
 " Eemember, now, in whose service you are," said Linton, taking 
 out his purse, and seeking among its contents for the precise piece of 
 coin he wanted — "remember that I am not the master here, but one 
 who has to the full as much power, and that I can prove a strong 
 friend, and, some say, a very dangerous enemy. Here is the earnest 
 of our bargain," said he, handing him a guinea in gold ; " from this 
 hour I count upon you." 
 
 The Italian nodded twice, and pocketing the money with a cool 
 audacity that told that such contracts were easily comprehended by 
 him, touched his cap, and sauntered away, as though to follow out 
 some path of his own choosing. Linton looked after him for a mo- 
 ment, but the next his attention was taken off by seeing that Mr. 
 Corrigan and his granddaughter were advancing hastily towards 
 him. 
 
 " So you have really accepted] my suggestion," said Mary, with a 
 flush of pleasure on her cheek ; " the door has been opened, and the 
 vista is exactly as my dream revealed it." 
 
 " In all save the chief ingredient," replied Linton, laughing ; " we 
 want the monk and the casket." 
 
 "Hush!" said she, cautiously; "grandpapa is a firm believer in 
 all dreams and visions, and would not hear them spoken of irre- 
 verently." 
 
 " Assuredly, I never was less in the mind to do so," replied Linton, 
 with a degree of earnestness that made Mary smile, little suspecting 
 at the time to what his speech owed its fervour. 
 
 " We've come to take a last look at the ' Hall,' Mr. Linton," said 
 the old man. " Tom Keane tells me that your gay company will soon 
 arrive ; indeed, rumour says, that some have already reached Limerick, 
 and will be here to-morrow." 
 
 " This is more than I knew of," said Linton ; " but here comes the 
 redoubted Tom himself, and with a full letter-bag, too." Hastily
 
 268 nOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 unlocking the leather sack, Tom Linton emptied its contents upon a 
 grassy bench, where the party seated themselves to learn the news. 
 " There are no secrets here," said Linton, tossing over the letters, with 
 nearly all of whose handwriting he was familiar ; " help me. Miss 
 Leicester, I beg, to get through my task. Pray break some of the 
 seals, and tell us who our dear friends are whose presence is so soon 
 to charm and enliven us. And will you, too, Sir, bear your part ?" 
 Thus invited, old Mr. Corrigau put on his spectacles, and slowly pre- 
 pared to assist in the labour. 
 
 " That's the Dean's hand. Miss Leicester — the Dean of Drumcon- 
 dera. I hope he's not coming ; I'm sure he was never invited." 
 
 " He regrets he cannot be with you this week, but will certainly 
 come next, and take the liberty of presenting his distinguished friend, 
 the Hofrath von Dunnersleben, Professor of Oriental Literature at 
 Hochenkanperhausen." 
 
 " This is painting the lily with a vengeance ; ' colour on colour' is 
 bad heraldry, but what shall we say of the taste that brings ' Bore 
 upon bore ?' " 
 
 " Mrs. Leicester White has prevailed upon Mr. Howie to defer his 
 departure from Ireland " 
 
 " This is too bad," interrupted Linton. " "What fortune have you, 
 Sir ? I hope better tidings than Miss Leicester." 
 
 " This is a strange kind of scrawl enough," said the old man ; " it 
 runs thus : ' Dear Tom, we are starting for your wild regions this 
 evening — two drags and a mail phaeton. I have sent Gripsy and the 
 white fetlocked colt by Hericks, and will bring Tom Edwards with 
 nae. The mare looks well, but fleshy ; you must look to it that we 
 haven't heavy ground ' " 
 
 " Oh, I know who that's from," said Linton, hastily taking the 
 letter from Corrigan's hand ; " It's Lord Charles Frobisher — a silly 
 fellow, that never thinks of anything but horse-racing and training." 
 
 " He would seem to speculate on something of the kind here," said 
 Corrigan ; " at least, it looks very like premeditation this sending ofl" 
 grooms and racers." 
 
 " He does so everywhere he goes," said Linton, affecting to laugh ; 
 " a.surgeon would no more travel without his lancets, than Charley 
 without some chance of a ' match.' But what's this ? 
 
 " ' Dear Me. Cashbl, — I and my little girl are already " en route" 
 for your hospitable castle, too happy to assist in the celebration of 
 your house-warming ' 
 
 " Oh, that's Meek," said Linton. "And now for this rugged little 
 hand here. 
 
 " ' Lady Janet and Sir Andrew MacFarline ' " 
 
 " Strange style, — the lady first," interposed Miss Leicester. 
 
 " She is always so," said Linton, continuing the perusal — " ' will
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 269 
 
 reach Tubbermore by Tuesday, and have only to request that their 
 apartments may not have a north aspect, as Lady J. has still a heavy 
 cold hanging over her. Sir A.'s man, Flint, will arrange the rooms 
 himself, and, with Mr. Cashel's permission, give directions about 
 double doors — if there be none. 
 
 " ' Sir A. has taken the liberty of mentioning to Gordon that the 
 sherry is far too hot and acrid, and hopes Mr. Cashel will pardon his 
 having ordered some dozens of " Amontillado" for trial. Lady J. 
 asks, as a favour, that plants and flowers may be banished from the 
 house during her brief stay. Dr. Grimes positively forbidding all 
 herbaceous odours ; and if the cook could make the " cuisine" parti- 
 cularly simple, it would also oblige her, as Dr. G. says she ought not 
 to be exposed to the irritation of tempting viands, even to see them 
 at table. 
 
 " ' Lady J. hopes that the society will be cheerful without dissipa- 
 tion, and gay without debauch ; above all, she stipulates for early 
 hours, and trusts that by eleven, at latest, the house will have retired 
 to rest. Lady Janet has no objection to meeting any one Mr. 
 Cashel may honour with his invitation, but leaves it to Mr. C.'s dis- 
 cretion not to abuse this liberality. Were she to particularise, she 
 should merely suggest, that the Kennyfecks, except perhaps the 
 elder girl, are odious — Mrs. White, a perfect horror — the Meeks, 
 something too atrocious — and that rather than meet the Kilgofts and 
 their set. Lady J. would almost prefer to relinquish all her much- 
 anticipated pleasure. Mr. Linton can be, and very often is, gentle- 
 manlike and amusing, but " Lintonism," as occasionally practised, is 
 intolerable, 
 
 " ' Lady Janet has ventured on these remarks, far less for her own 
 convenience, than in the discharge of what she feels to be a duty to 
 a very young and inexperienced man, whose unsuspecting nature will 
 inevitably expose him to the very insidious attacks of selfishness, 
 cunning, and to that species of dictation that sooner or later ends in 
 debasing and degrading him who permits himself to be its subject. 
 
 " 'Janet MacFabline.' " 
 
 " What a chaste specimen of disinterestedness her Ladyship's own 
 letter," said Mary. " Is she a near relative, or a very old friend of 
 Mr. Cashel's family ?" 
 
 " Neither ; a mere acquaintance, undistinguished by anything like 
 even a passing preference." 
 
 " She is a Lady Janet," interposed old Corrigan, "and it is sur- 
 prising what charms of influence pertain to those segments of great 
 families, as they descend a scale in society, and live among the un- 
 titled of the world ; besides that, whatever they want in power they 
 ' take out' in pretension, and it does quite as well." 
 
 "She is ' mauvaise langue,' " ?aid Linton; "and there are few
 
 270 EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 qualities obtain such sway in society. But who comes here in such 
 haste ? It is Tom Keane. "Well, Tom, what has happened — is the 
 Hall on fire ?" 
 
 " No, Sir ; but the company's comin' rowlin' in as fast as ' pays' 
 down the big avenue, and into the coort ; there was three coaches all 
 together, and I see two more near the gate." 
 
 *' Then we shall leave you to your cares of host," said Corrigan, 
 rising ; " but don't forget that when affairs of state permit, we shall 
 be delighted to see you at the cottage." 
 
 " Oh, by all means, Mr. Linton. I have acquired the most intense 
 curiosity to hear about your fiue company, and their doings — pray 
 compassionate my inquisitiveness." 
 
 " But will you not join us sometimes ?" said Linton ; " can 1 not 
 persuade you to make part of our little company ? for I trust we shall 
 be able to have some society worth showing you." 
 
 The old man shook his head and made a gesture of refusal. 
 
 " Nay," said he, " I am so unfitted for such scenes, and so grown 
 out of the world's ways, that I am going to play hermit, and be 
 churlish enough to lock the wicket that leads down to the cottage 
 during the stay of your visitors — not against you., however. You'll 
 always find the key at the foot of the holly-tree." 
 
 " Thanks — I'll not forget it," said Linton; and he took a cordial 
 leave of his friends, and returned to the house, wondering as he went 
 who were the punctual guests whose coming had anticipated his ex- 
 pectations. 
 
 He was not long in doubt upon this point, as he perceived Mr. 
 Phillis, who, standing on the terrace before the chief entrance, was 
 giving directions to the people about, in a tone of no small authority. 
 
 " "What, Phillis! has your master arx'ived?" cried Linton, in asto- 
 nishment. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Linton!" cried the other, obsequiously, as hat in hand 
 he made his approaches, " there has been such a business since I 
 wrote " 
 
 " Is he here ? Is he come ?" asked Linton, impatiently. 
 
 " No, Sir, not yet ; nor can he arrive before to-morrow evening. 
 Tou received my letter, I suppose, about the result of the yachting 
 party and Lady Kilgofi"?" 
 
 " No ! I know not one word about it," said Linton, with a firmness 
 that showed how well he could repress any trace of anxiety or excite- 
 ment. " Come this way, out of the hearing of these people, and tell 
 me everytliing from the beginning." 
 
 Phillis obeyed, and walked along beside him, eagerly narrating the 
 
 whole story of Cashel's departure, to the moment when the yacht 
 
 foundered, and the party were shipwrecked off the coast of Wexford. 
 
 " Well, go on," said Linton, as the other came to a full stop, 
 
 " What then ?"
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 271 
 
 " A few lines came from Mr. Cashel, Sir, witli orders for certain 
 things to be sent down to a little village on the coast, and directions 
 for me to proceed at once to Tubbermore and await his arrival." 
 
 Linton did not speak for some minutes, and seemed totally occupied 
 with his own reflections, when by hazard he caught the words " her 
 Ladyship doing exactly as she pleases " 
 
 " With whom ?" asked he, sternly. 
 
 " "With Mr. Cashel, Sir ; for it seems that notwithstanding all the 
 terror and danger of the late mishap, Mr. Sickleton has been de- 
 spatched to Cowes to purchase the Queen of the Sarem, Lord "Wel- 
 lingham's new yacht, and this at Lady Kilgoff's special instigation. 
 Mr. Sickleton slept one night at our house in town, and I took a look 
 at his papers ; there was nothing of any consequence, however, except 
 a memorandum about ' Charts for the Mediterranean,' which looks 
 suspicious." 
 
 " I thought, Phillis, I had warned you about the EUgofi" intimacy. 
 I thought I had impressed you with the necessity of keeping them 
 from him." 
 
 " So you had. Sir ; and, to the very utmost of my power, I did so ; 
 but here was a mere accident that foiled all my care and watchful- 
 ness." 
 
 "As accidents ever do," muttered Linton, with suppressed passion. 
 " The game of Life, like every other game, is less to skill than chance ! 
 "Well, when can they be here ?" 
 
 " To-morrow afternoon, Sir, if not delayed by something unfore- 
 seen ; though this is not at all unlikely, seeing the difficulty of getting 
 posters. There are from thirty to forty horses engaged at every 
 stage." 
 
 " "Whom have we here ?" cried Linton, as a large travelling-carriage 
 suddenly swept round the drive, and entered the court. 
 
 " Sir Andrew MacEarline's baggage, Sir ; I passed them at the last 
 change. One would say, from the preparations, that they speculate 
 on a somewhat lengthy visit. What rooms are we to assign them, 
 Sir?" 
 
 " Tbe four that look north over the billiard-room and the haU ; 
 they are the coldest and the most cheerless in the house. Tour 
 master wiU occupy the apartments now mine ; see, here is a plan of 
 the house : Lord and 'Lady Kilgoff" have 4, 5, and 6. These that are 
 not marked you may distribute how you will. My quarters are those 
 two, beyond the library." 
 
 Linton was here interrupted by the advance of a tall, stifi'-looking 
 old fellow, who, carrying his hand to his hat in military guise, stood 
 straight before him, saying, in a very broad accent, " The Gen'ral's 
 mon. Sir, an't please ye." 
 
 " Well, friend, and what then ?" replied Linton, half testily. 
 
 " I've my Leddy's orders, Sir, to tak up a good position, and a
 
 272 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 warm ane, in the hoos younder, and if it's no askin' too m.uch, I'd 
 like to speer the premises first." 
 
 " Mr. Phillis, look after this, if you please," said Linton, turning 
 away, " and remember my directions." 
 
 " Come with me, friend," said Phillis; " your mistress, I suppose, 
 does not like cold apartments?" 
 
 " Be ma saul, if she finds them so, she'll mak the rest of the hoos 
 over warm for the others," said he, with a sardonic grin, that left 
 small doubt of his sincere conviction. 
 
 "And your master ?" said Phillis, in that interrogatory tone which 
 invites a confidence. 
 
 " The Gen'ral's too auld a soldier no to respec deescepline," said be, 
 dryly. 
 
 " Oh, that's it, Sanders." 
 
 " Ma name's Bob Plint, and no Saunders — Gunner and Driver i' the 
 Eoyal Artillery," said the other, drawing himself up proudly ; " an' 
 if we ai'e to be mair acquaint, it's just as well ye'd mind that same." 
 
 As Bob Plint possessed that indescribable something which would 
 seem, by an instinct, to save its owner from impertinences, Mr. Phillis 
 did not venture upon any renewed familiarity, but led the way into 
 the house in silence. 
 
 " That's a bra' cookin' place ye've got yonder," said Bob, as he 
 stopped for a second at the door of the great kitchen, where already 
 the cooks were busied in the various preparations ; " but I'm no so 
 certain my Leddy wad like to see a bra' giggot scooped out in tha' 
 fashion just to mak room for a wheen black potatoes inside o' it ;" — 
 the operation alluded to so sarcastically being the stuffing of a shoulder 
 of mutton with truffles, in Provencal mode. 
 
 " I suppose her Ladyship will be satisfied with criticising what 
 comes to table," said Phillis, " without descending to the kitchen to 
 make objections." 
 
 " If she does, then," said Plint, " she's mair ceevil to ye here than 
 she was in the last hoos we spent a fortnight, whar she discharged twa 
 maids for no making the beds as she taw'd them, forbye getting the 
 coachman turned off because the carriage horses held their tails ower 
 high for her fancy." 
 
 " We'll scarce put up with that here," said Phillis, with offended 
 dignity. 
 
 " I dinna ken," said Bob, thoughtfully; " she made her ain nephew 
 carry a pound o' dips from the chandler's, just, as she said, to scratch 
 his pride a bit. I'd ha' ye mind a wee hoo ye please her fancy. 
 Te're abonnie mon, but she'll think leetle aboot sending ye packing." 
 
 Mr. Phillis did not deign a reply to tliis speech, but led the way to 
 the suite destined for her Ladyship's accommodation.
 
 KOLAND CASHEL. 273 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXII. 
 
 They come — they come ! — Harold. 
 
 LiNToN' passed tbe greater part of the night in letter-writing. 
 Combinations were thickening around him, and it demanded all the 
 watchful activity he could command to prevent himself being over- 
 taken by events. To a confidential lawyer he submitted a case re- 
 specting Corrigan's title, but, so hypothetically and with such reserve, 
 that it betrayed no knowledge of his secret — for he trusted no man. 
 IMary Leicester's manuscript was his next care, and this he entrusted 
 to a former acquaintance connected with the French press, entreating 
 his influence to obtain it the honour of publication, and, instead of 
 remuneration, asking for some flattering acknowledgment of its merits. 
 His last occupation was to write his address to the constituency of his 
 borough, where high-sounding phrases and generous professions took 
 the place of any awkward avowals of political opinion. This finished, 
 and wearied by the long-sustained exertion, he threw himself on his- 
 bed. His head, however, was far too deeply engaged to permit of 
 sleep. The plot was thickening rapidly — events, whose course he 
 hoped to shape at his leisure, were hurrying on, and although few men 
 could summon to their aid more of cold calculation in a moment of 
 difiiculty, his wonted calm was now disturbed by one circumstance — 
 this being, as he called it to himself — Laura's treachery. No men 
 bear breaches of faith so ill as they who practise them with the world. 
 To most persons the yacht voyage would have seemed, too, a chance 
 occurrence, where an accidental intimacy was formed, to wane and 
 die out with the circumstance that created it. Not so did lie regard 
 it. He read a prearranged plan in every step she had taken — he saw 
 in her game the woman's vanity to wield an influence over one for 
 whom so many contended — he knew, too, how in the great world an 
 "ecZa^" can always cover an "indiscretion" — and that, in the society 
 of that metropolis to which she aspired, the reputation of chaperoning 
 the rich Eoland Cashel would be of incalculable service. 
 
 If Linton had often foiled deeper snares, here, a deep personal 
 wrong disturbed his powers of judgment, and irritated him beyond all 
 calm prudential thoughts. Eevenge upon her, the only one he had 
 ever cared for, was now his uppermost thought, and left little place 
 for any other. 
 
 Wearied and worn out, he fell asleep at last, but only to be sud- 
 denly awakened by the rattling of wheels and the quick tramp of 
 
 TOL. I. T
 
 274 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 horses on tlie gravel beneath his window. The one absorbing idea 
 pervading his mind, he started up, muttering, " She is here." As he 
 opened his window and looked down, he at once perceived his mistake 
 — Mrs. Kennyfeck's well-known voice was heard, giving directions 
 about her luggage — and Linton closed the casement, half relieved and 
 half disappointed. 
 
 Eor a brief space the house seemed astir. Mrs. Kennyfeck made 
 her way along the corridor in a mingled commentary on the hand- 
 some decorations of the mansion and Mr. Kennyfeck's stupidity, who 
 had put Archbold's " Criminal Practice" into her bag instead of 
 Debrett's " Peerage," while Linton could overhear a little quizzing 
 conversation between the daughters, wherein the elder reproached 
 her sister for not having the politeness to bid them " welcome." The 
 slight commotion gradually subsided, and all became still, but only 
 for a brief space. Again the same sound of crashing wheels was 
 heard, and once more Linton flung open his window and peered out 
 into the darkness. It was now raining tremendously, and the wind 
 howling in long and dreary cadences. 
 
 " What a climate !" exclaimed a voice Linton knew to be Downie 
 Meek's. His plaint ran thus : 
 
 " I often said they should pension ofi" the Irish Secretary after three 
 years, as they do the Chief Justice of Gambia." 
 
 " It will make the ground very heavy for running, I fear," said the 
 deep full tone of a speaker who assisted a lady to alight. 
 
 "How you are always thinking of the turf, Lord Charles!" said 
 she, as he rather carried than aided her to the shelter of the porch. 
 
 Linton did not wait for the reply, but shut the window, and again 
 lay down. 
 
 In that half-waking state, where sleep and fatigue contest the 
 ground with watchfulness, Linton continued to hear the sound of 
 several arrivals, and the indistinct impressions became commingled 
 till all were lost in heavy slumber. So is it. Childhood itself, in all 
 its guileless freedom, enjoys no sounder, deeper sleep than he whose 
 head is full of wily schemes and subtle plots, when once exhausted 
 nature gains the victory. 
 
 So profound was that dreamless state in which he lay, that he was 
 never once aware that the door by which his chamber communicated 
 with the adjoining one, had been opened, while a select committee 
 were debating about the disposition of the furniture, in total ignorance 
 that he made part of it. 
 
 " Why couldn't Sir Andrew take that small room, and leave this 
 for me ? I like an alcove vastly," said Lady Janet, as, candle in hand, 
 she took a survey of the chamber. 
 
 *' Yes, my Leddy," responded Plint, who, loaded with cloaks, man- 
 tles, and shawls, looked like an ambulating wardrobe.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 275 
 
 " Tou can make him a kind of camp-bed there ; he'll do very ^vell." 
 
 " Tes, my Leddy." 
 
 " And don't suffer that mipertinent Mr. Phillis to poke his head in 
 here and interfere with our arrangements. These appear to me to 
 be the best rooms here, and I'll take them." 
 
 " Tes, my Leddy." 
 
 " Where's Sir Andrew ?" 
 
 " He's takiu' a wee drap warm, my Leddy, in the butler's room ; 
 he was ower wat in the ' dickey' behind." 
 
 ." It rained smartly, but I'm sure the country wanted it," dryly 
 observed Lady Janet. — "AYell, Sir, t/oic here again ?" This sharp in- 
 terrogatory was addressed to Mr. Phillis, who, after a vain search for 
 her Ladyship over half the house, at length discovered her. 
 
 " You are not aware, my Lady," said he, in a tone of obsequious 
 deference, that nearly cost him an apoplexy, " that these rooms are 
 reserved for my master." 
 
 " "Well, Sir ; and am I to understand that a guest's accommodation 
 is a matter of less importance than a valet's caprice ! for as Mr. 
 Cashel never was here himself, and consequently never could have 
 made a choice, I believe I am not wrong in the source of the selection." 
 
 '• It was Mr. Linton, my Lady, who made the arrangement." 
 
 " And who is Mr. Linton, Sir, who ventures to give orders here ? 
 — I ask you, who is Mr. Linton ?" As there was something exces- 
 sively puzzling to Mr. Phillis in this brief interrogatory, and as Lady 
 Janet perceived as much, she repeated the phrase in a still louder and 
 more authoritative tone, till, in the fulness of the accents, they fell 
 upon the ears of him who, if not best able to give the answer, was, 
 at least, most interested in its nature. 
 
 He started, and sat up ; and although, from the position of his bed 
 in a deep alcove he was himself screened from observation, the others 
 were palpable enough to his eyes. 
 
 " Yes," cried Lady Janet, for the third time — " I ask, who is Mr. 
 Linton ?" 
 
 " Upon my life, your Ladyship has almost made me doubt if there 
 be such a person," said Tom, protruding his head through the cur- 
 tains. 
 
 " I vow he's in the bed yonder !" said Lady Janet, starting back. 
 '• Pliut, I think you are really ^too bad ; this is all your doing — or yours. 
 Sir," turning to Phillis with a face of anger. 
 
 " Ye^, my Leddy, it's a' his meddlin'." 
 
 " Eh, Leddy Janet, what's this ?" said Sir Andrew, suddenly join- 
 ing the party, after a very dangerous excursion along dark corridors 
 and back stairs, 
 
 " We've strayed into Mr. Linton's room, I find," said she, gather- 
 ing up various small articles she had on entering thrown on the table. 
 
 t2
 
 276 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " I must only reserve my apologies for a more fitting time and place, 
 and wisli him good night." 
 
 " I've even dune something o' the samewi' Mrs. Kannyfack," said 
 Sir Andrew. " She was in hed, though, and so I made my retreat 
 undiscovered." 
 
 " I regret, Lady Janet," said Linton, politely, "tbat my present 
 toilet does not permit me to show vou to your apartment, but if you 
 will allow Mr. PhiUis " 
 
 " Dinna get up, man," broke in Sir Andrew, as he half pushed the 
 invading party out of the door ; '" we'll find it vara weel, I've na 
 doubt." And in a confused hubbub of excuses and grumblings they 
 withdrew, leaving Linton once more to court slumber, if he could. 
 
 " I beg pardon, Sir," said Phillis, popping in his head the minute 
 after, " but Mr. Downie Meek has taken the rooms you meant for 
 Lady Janet ; they've pillaged all the chambers at either side for easy- 
 chairs and cushions to " 
 
 " "With all my heart ; let them settle the question between them, 
 or leave it to arbitration. Shut the door, pray." 
 
 " Mrs. "White, too, and a large party are in the library, and I don't 
 know where to show them into." 
 
 " Anywhere but here, Phillis. Good night ; there's a good man, 
 good night." 
 
 " They're all asking for you. Sir; just tell me what to say." 
 
 " Merely that I have passed a shocking night, and request I may 
 not be disturbed till late in the afternoon." 
 
 Phillis retired with a groan, and soon a confused hum of many 
 voices could be heard along the corridor, in every accent of irritation 
 and remonstrance. Self-reproaches on the mistaken and abused con- 
 fidence which had led the visitors to journey so many miles to " such 
 a place ;" mutual condolences over misfortune ; abuse of the whole 
 establishment, and " that insufi"erable puppy the valet," in particular, 
 went round, till at last, like a storm that had spent its fury, a lull 
 succeeded ; one by one grumblers slipped away, and just as day was 
 breaking the house was buried in the soundest sleep. 
 
 About an hour later, when the fresh-risen sun was glistening and 
 glittering among the leaves, lightly tipped with the hoar-frost of an 
 autumnal morning, a handsomely-appointed travelling-carriage, with 
 four posters, drove rapidly up to the door, and an active-looking figure 
 springing from the box, applied himself to the bell with a vigorous 
 hand, and the next minute, flinging open the carriage-door, said, 
 " AVelcome — at last, I am able to say — welcome to Tubbermore." 
 
 A graceful person, wrapped in a large shawl, emerged, and, lean- 
 ing on his arm, entered the house ; but in a moment he returned to 
 assist another and a far more helpless traveller, an old and feeble
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 277 
 
 man, who suffered himself to be carried, rather than walked, into the 
 hall. 
 
 " This is Tubbermore, my Lord," said the lady, bending down, 
 and with a hand slightly touching his shoulder, seeming to awake hia 
 attention. 
 
 " Tes — ^thank you — perfectly well," said he, in a low soft voice, 
 while a smile of courteous but vacant meaning stole over his sickly 
 features. 
 
 " Not over-fatigued, my Lord ?" said Eoland, kindly. 
 
 " No, Sir — we saw the 'Lightship' quite near us." 
 
 " Still thinking of that dreadful night," said her Ladyship, as she 
 arranged two braids of her fair brown hair more becomingly on her 
 forehead ; and then, turning to a very comely personage, who per- 
 formed a series of curtseys, like minute guns, at intervals, added, 
 " If you please, then, we'll retire to our apartment. Tour house- 
 keeper, I suppose, 'Mr. Cashel?" 
 
 " I conclude so," said Eoland ; " but I am equally a stranger here 
 with yourself." 
 
 " Mrs. Moss, at your service, Sir," said the housekeeper, with an- 
 other curtsey. 
 
 " Mrs. Moss, then," said Eolaud, in an under tone, " I have only 
 to remark that Lord and Lady Kilgoff must want for nothing here." 
 
 " I understand. Sir," said Mrs. Moss ; and whether the words, or 
 the look that accompanied them, should bear the blame, but they 
 certainly made Cashel look half angry, half ashamed. 
 
 " Then good night — or good morrow, I believe it should be," said 
 Lady Kilgoff. " I'm sure, in charity, we should not keep you from 
 your bed a minute longer. You had a severe night outside." 
 . , " Good night — good night, my Lord," said Cashel: and the hand- 
 some form of the lady moved proudly on, while the servant assisted 
 the poor decrepid husband slowly after. 
 
 Eoland looked after them for an instant, and whether from some 
 curiosity to see the possessions which called him master, or that he 
 felt indisposed to sleep, he passed out into the lawn and stood some 
 minutes gazing at the strange and somewhat incongruous pile before 
 him. 
 
 Perhaps something of disappointment mingled with his thoughts — 
 perhaps it was only that strange revulsion which succeeds to all long- 
 excited expectation, when the moment of satisfying it has come, and 
 speculation is at an end for ever — but he was turning away, in half 
 sadness, when he caught sight of a hand waving to him a salute from 
 one of the windows. He had just time to answer the gesture, when 
 the shutter was closed. There was one other saw the motion, and 
 noted well the chamber from whence it came. Linton, awoke bv the
 
 278 ROLAND CASHEL. 
 
 arrival of tlie carriage, had watched every step that followed, and now 
 sat, with half- drawn curtains, eagerly marking everything that might 
 minister to his jealous anger. 
 
 As for Cashel, he sauntered on into the wood, his mind wandering 
 on themes separated by nearly half the world from where his steps 
 were straying. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIII. 
 
 And ■while the scene around them smiled, 
 With x^leasant talk the way beguiled. 
 
 Haile's Kambles. 
 
 As Eoland Cashel strolled along alone, he could not divest himself 
 of a certain feeling of disappointment, that, up to the present, at 
 least, all his wealth had so little contributed to realise those illusions 
 he had so often fancied. The plots, the wiles, and cunning schemes 
 by which he had been surrounded, were gradually revealing them- 
 selves to his senses, and he was rapidly nearing the fatal "bourne" 
 which separates credulity from distrust. 
 
 If we have passed over the events which succeeded the loss of the 
 yacht with some appearance of scant ceremony to our reader, it is be- 
 cause, though in themselves not totally devoid of interest, they formed 
 a species of episode, which only in one respect bore reference to the 
 current of our story. It is not necessary, no more than it would be 
 gratifying, to us to inquire with what precise intentions Lady Kilgofif 
 had sought to distinguish Eoland by marks of preference. Enough, if 
 we say that he was neither puppy enough to ascribe the feeling 
 to anything but a caprice, nor was he sufficiently hackneyed in the 
 world's ways to suspect it could mean more. 
 
 That he was flattered by the notice, and fascinated by the charms 
 of a very lovely and agreeable woman, whose dependence upon him 
 each day increasing drew closer the ties of intimacy, is neither strange 
 nor uncommon, no more than that she, shrewdly remarking the bounds 
 of respectful deference by which he ever governed his acquaintance, 
 should use greater freedoms and less restricted familiarity with him, 
 than had he been one of those fashionable young men about town 
 with whom the repute of a conquest would be a triumph. 
 
 It is very difficult to say on what terms they lived in each other's 
 society. It were easier, perhaps, to describe it by negatives, and say 
 that assuredly if it were not love, the feeling between them was just 
 as little that which subsists between brother and sister. There was 
 an almost unbounded confidence — an unlimited trust — much asking
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 279 
 
 of advice, and, in fact, as many of my readers will say, fully as much 
 peril as need be. 
 
 From her Casbel first learned to see the stratagems and schemes 
 by which bis daily life was beset. Too proud to bestow more than a 
 mere passing allusion to the Kennyfecks, she directed the whole 
 force of her attack upon that far more dangerous group in whose 
 society Eolaud had lately lived. For a time she abstained altogether 
 from even a cbance reference to Linton ; but at length, as their inti- 
 macy ripened, she avowed her fear of him in all its fillness. When 
 men will build up the edifice of mistrust, it is wonderful with what 
 ingenuity they will gather all the scattered materials of doubt, and 
 with what skill arrange and combine them ! A hundred little circum- 
 stances of a suspicious nature now rushed to Roland's memory, and 
 his own conscience corroborated the history she drew of the possible 
 mode by which Linton acquired an influence over him. 
 
 That Linton had been the " evil genius" of many, Cashel had often 
 heard before, but always from the lips of men ; and it is astonishing, 
 whether the source be pride, or something less stubborn, but the 
 warning which we reject so cavalierly from our fellows, comes with a 
 wondrous force of conviction from the gentler sex. 
 
 For the heavy sums he liad lost at play — for all the wasteful outlay 
 of his money, Cashel cared little ; but for the humiliating sense of 
 being a " dupe" and a " tool," his outraged pride suffered deeply ; and 
 when Lady Kilgoff drew a picture, half real, half imaginary, of the 
 game which his subtle associate was playing, Roland could scarce 
 restrain himself from openly declaring a rupture, and, if need be, a 
 quarrel with him. 
 
 It needed all her persuasions to oppose this course ; and, indeed, if 
 she had not made use of one unanswerable argument, could she have 
 succeeded. This was the inevitable injury Linton could inflict upon 
 her, by ascribing the breach to her influence. It would be easy 
 enough from such materials as late events suggested, to compose a 
 history that would ruin her. Lord Kilgoff's lamentable imbecility, 
 the result of that fatal night of danger — Cashel's assiduovis care of 
 her — her own most natural dependence upon him — all these, touched 
 on with a woman's tact and delicacy, she urged, and at last obtained 
 his pledge that he would leave to time and opportunity the mode of 
 terminating an intimacy he had begun to think of with abhorrence. 
 
 If there be certain minds to whom the very air they breathe is 
 doubt, there are others to whom distrust is absolute misery. Of 
 these latter Cashel was one. Nature had made him frank and free- 
 spoken, and the circumstances of his early life had encouraged the 
 habit. To nourish a grudge would have been as repulsive to his sense 
 of honour as it would be opposed to all the habits of his buccaneering 
 life. To settle a dispute with the sword was invariably the appeal
 
 280 • BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 among liis old comrades, and such arbitraments are those which cer- 
 tainly leave the fewest traces of lingering malice behind them. To 
 cherish and store up a secret wrong, and wait in patience for the day 
 of reckoning, had something of the Indian about it that, in Eoland's 
 eyes, augmented its atrocity. 
 
 Oppressed with thoughts like these, and associating every vexation 
 he suffered as in some way connected with that wealth whose posses- 
 sion he fancied was to satisfy every wish, and every ambition, he 
 sauntered on, little disposed to derive pleasure from the presence of 
 those external objects which fortune had made his own. 
 
 " "When I was poor," thought he, " I had warm and attached 
 friends, ready to exult in my successes, and sympathise with me in 
 my sorrows. If I had enemies, they were brave fellows, as willing to 
 defend their cause with the sword as myself. None flattered or 
 frowned on him who was richer than the rest. No subtle schemes 
 lay in wait for him, whose unsuspecting frankness exposed him to 
 deception ; we were ' bons camarades,' at least," said he, aloud, " and 
 from what I have seen of the great world, I've lived to prize the dis- 
 tinction." 
 
 From this reverie he was suddenly recalled by observing, directly 
 in front of him, an elderly gentleman, who, in a stooping posture, 
 seemed to seek for something among the dry leaves and branches be- 
 side a low wicket. 
 
 " This is the first fruit of our gay neighbourhood," said the old man, 
 testily, as he poked the dead leaves with his cane ; " we're lucky if 
 they leave us without more serious inconvenience." 
 
 " Can I assist you in your search ? — have you lost something ?" 
 said Cashel, approaching. 
 
 " There is a key— the key of the wicket, hid somewhere hereabouts, 
 young man," said the other, who, scarcely bestowing a look uponKo- 
 land, continued his investigation as busily as before. 
 
 Cashel, undaunted by the somewhat ungracious reception, now 
 aided him in his search, while the other continued : " I've known this 
 path for nigh forty years, and never remember this wicket to have 
 been locked before. But so it is. My old friend is afraid of the in- 
 vasion of this noisy neighbourhood, and has taken to lock and key to 
 keep them out. The key he promised to hide at the foot of this tree." 
 
 "And here it is," said Cashel, as he unlocked the. wicket and flung 
 it wide. 
 
 " Many thanks for your help, but you have a better reward than 
 my gratitude, in eyes some five-and- thirty years younger," said the 
 old man, with the same half-testy voice as before. " Perhaps you'd 
 like to see the grounds here, yourself: come along. The place is small, 
 but far better kept than tlie great demesne, I assure you ; just as many 
 an humble household is more orderly than many a proud retinue."
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 281 
 
 Eoland was rather pleased by the quaint oddity of his new com- 
 panion, of -whom he thought, but could not remember where, he had 
 seen the features before. 
 
 "■ You are a stranger in these parts, I conclude ?" said the old man. 
 
 "Yes. I only arrived here about an hour ago, and have seen 
 nothing save the path from the Hall to this spot." 
 
 " There's little more worth the seeing on yonder side of the paling, 
 Sir. A great bleak expanse, with stunted trees and a tasteless man- 
 sion, full of, I take it, very dubious company ; but perhaps you are 
 one of them ?" 
 
 " I confess as much," said Eoland, laughing ; " but as I have not 
 seen them, don't be afraid I'll take up the cudgels for my associates." 
 
 " Labour lost if you did," said the other, bluntly, " I only know 
 of them what the newspapers tell us, but their names are enough." 
 
 " Are they all in the same category, then ?" asked Cashel, smiling. 
 
 " Pigeons or hawks — dupes or swindlers — an ugly alternative to 
 choose from." 
 
 " You are candid, certainly, friend," said Cashel, half angrily ; "but 
 don't you fancy there is rather too much of frankness in saying this 
 to one who has already said he is of the party?" 
 
 " Just as he likes to take it," said the old man, bluntly. " The wise 
 man takes warning where the fool takes umbrage. There's a fine view 
 for you — see ! there's a glorious bit of landscape," cried he, enthusi- 
 astically, as they came to an opening of the wood and beheld the wade 
 expanse of Lough Deny, with its dotted islands and ruined tower. 
 
 Eoland stood still, silently gazing on the scene, whose beauty was 
 heightened by all the strong effect of light and shade. 
 
 "I see you have an eye for landscape," said the old man, as he 
 watched the expression of Cashel's features, 
 
 '• I've been a lover of scenery in lands where the pursuit was well 
 rewarded," said Eoland, thougbtfully. 
 
 " That you may ; but never in a country where the contemplation 
 called for more thought than in this before you. See, yonder, where 
 the lazy smoke rises heavily from the mountain-side, high up there 
 amid the fern and the tall heath, that, is a human dwelling — there, 
 lives some cottier a life of poverty as uncheered and unpitied as 
 though he made no part of the great family of man. For miles and 
 miles of that dreary mountain some small speck may be traced where 
 men live and grow old and die out, unthought of and uncared for by 
 all beside. This misery would seem at its full, if now and then seasons 
 of sickness did not show how fever and ague can augment the sad 
 calamities of daily life. There are men, ay, and old men, too, who 
 never have seen bread for years, I say, save when some gamekeeper 
 has broken it to feed the greyhounds in a coursing party." 
 
 ''And whose the fault of all this ?" said Cashel, eagerly.
 
 382 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 ''It is easy to see, Sir," said the other, "that you are no landed 
 proprietor, for not only you had not asked the question, but you had 
 not shown so much emotion when putting it. So it is," muttered he 
 to himself. " It is so, ever. They have most sympathy with the poor 
 who have least the power to help them." 
 
 " But I ask again, whose the fault of such a system?" cried Cashel. 
 
 " Ask your host yonder, and you'll soon have an answer to your 
 question. You'll hear enough of landlords' calaraities — wrecking 
 tenantry — people in barbarism — irreclaimably bad — sunk in crime, 
 black in ingratitude. Ask the peasant, and he'll tell you of clear- 
 ances — whole families turned out to starve and die in the highways— 
 the iron pressure of the agent in the dreary season of famine and 
 fever. Ask the priest, and he will say, it is the galling tyranny of 
 the 'rich man's church' establishment consuming the substance, but 
 restoring nothing to the people. Ask the rector, and he'll prove it 
 is Popery — the debasing slavery of the very blackest of all supersti- 
 tions, and so on ; each tlirows upon another the load which he refuses 
 to bear his share of, and the end is, we have a reckless gentry and a 
 ruined people ; all the embittering hatred of a controversy, and little 
 of the active working of Christian charity. Good-by, Sir. I ask 
 pardon for inflicting something like a sermon upon you. Good-by." 
 
 " And yet," said Cashel, "you have only made me anxious to hear 
 more from you. May I ask if we are likely to meet again, and 
 where ?" 
 
 " If you should chance to be sick dimng your visit here, and send 
 for the doctor, it's likely they'll fetch me, as there is no other here." 
 
 Cashel started, for he at once remembered that the speaker was Dr. 
 Tiernay, the friend of his tenant Mr. Corrigan ; as the Doctor did not 
 recognise him, however, Eoland resolved to keep his secret as long as 
 he could. 
 
 " There, Sir," said Cashel, " I see some friends accosting you. I'll 
 say good-by." 
 
 " Too late to do so now," said the other, half sulkily. " Mr. Cor- 
 rigan would feel it a slight if you turned back, when his table was 
 spread for a meal. You'll have to breakfast here." 
 
 Before Eoland could answer, Mr. Corrigan came forward from be- 
 neath the porch, and, with a hand to each, bid them welcome. 
 
 " I was telling this gentleman," said Tiernay, " that he is too far 
 within your boundaries for retreat. He was about to turn back." 
 
 " Nay, nay," said the old man, smiling ; " an old fellow like you 
 or I may do a churlish thing, but a young man's nature is fresher 
 and warmer. I tell you, Tiernay, you're quite wrong, this gentleman 
 will breakfast here." 
 
 " "With pleasure," said Cashel, cordially, and entered the cottage.
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 283 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIY. 
 
 Ay, Sir, I saw him 'hind the arras. — Sir Gavin. 
 
 Cashel would have devoted more attention to the tasteful arrange- 
 ment of the drawing-room into which they were ushered, if he had 
 not been struck with the handsome and graceful form of a young 
 girl, who from time to time passed before his eyes in an inner cham- 
 ber, engaged in the office of preparing breakfast, and whom he at 
 once recognised as the granddaughter of whom Linton wrote. 
 
 " We were talking of poor Ireland," said Tiernay, " and all her 
 sorrows." 
 
 " I'll engage you were," cried Corrigan, laughing, " and I'll swear 
 you did not make a mournful topic a whit less gloomy by your way 
 of treating it ; and that's what he calls entertaining a stranger, Su- ; 
 like a bankrupt merchant amusing a party by a sight of his schedule. 
 Now, I'll wager a trifle my young friend would rather hear where a 
 brace of cocks was to be found, or the sight of a neat grass country 
 to ride over after the foxhounds — and I can do both one and the other. 
 But here comes Mary. My granddaughter, Miss Leicester, Sir." 
 
 Mary saluted the stranger with an easy gracefulness, and she shook 
 the doctor's hand cordially. 
 
 " Ton are a little late. Doctor," said she, as she led the way into 
 the breakfast-room. 
 
 " That was in part owing to that rogue Keane, who has taken to 
 locking the gate of the avenue, by way of seeming regular, and some 
 one else has done the same with the wicket here. Now, as for fifty 
 years back all the cows of the country have strayed through the one, 
 and all the beggars through the other, I dou't know what's to come 
 of it." 
 
 " I suppose the great house is fiUing ?" said Mary, to withdraw him 
 from a grumblins: theme : " we heard the noise of several arrivals this 
 morning early." 
 
 " This gentleman can inform you best upon all that," said Tiernay ; 
 " he himself is one of the company." 
 
 " But I am ignorant of everything," said Cashel; " I only arrived 
 here a little after daybreak, and not caring to sleep, I strolled out, 
 when my good fortune threw me into your way." 
 
 " Tour friends are likely to have fine weather, and I am glad of it,'* 
 said Corrigan. "This country, pretty enough in sunshine, looks
 
 284! BOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 bleak and dreary when tlie sky is louring ; but I've no doubt ?/ow'd 
 rather have 
 
 A southerly wind, and a cloudy sky, 
 
 as the song says, than the brightest morning that ever welcomed a 
 lark. Are you fond of hunting ?" 
 
 " I like every kind of sport, where horse, or gun, or hound can 
 enter; but I've seen most of such pastimes in distant countries, 
 where the game is different from here, and the character of the people 
 just as unlike." 
 
 " I have hunted the wild boar myself," said old Corrigan, proudly, 
 " in the royal forests at Meudon and Pontainebleau." 
 
 " I speak of the antelope and the jaguar — the dark leopard of 
 Guiana, or the brown bison of the Andes." 
 
 " That is, indeed, a manly pastime!" said Mary, enthusiastically. 
 
 " It is so," said Cashel, warmed by the encouragement of her 
 remark ; " more even for the endurance and persevering energy it 
 demands than for its peril. The long days of toil in search of game, 
 the nights of waking watchfulness, and then the strange characters 
 and adventures among which you are thrown, all make up a kind of 
 life so unlike the daily world." 
 
 " There is, as you say, something highly exciting in all that," said 
 Corrigan ; " but, to my thinking, hunting is a royal pastime, and 
 loses half of its prestige when deprived of the pomp and circumstance 
 of its courtly following. When I think of the old forest echoing to 
 the tantarara of the cor de cJiasse, the scarlet-clad ' piqueurs ' with 
 lance and cutlass, the train of courtiers mounted on their high- 
 mettled steeds, displaying all the address of the salon, and all the 
 skill of the chase, to him who was the centre of the group — the King 
 himself " 
 
 "Are you not forgetting the fairest part of the pageant, Papa?" 
 broke in Mary. 
 
 " No, my dear, that group usually waited to join us as we returned. 
 Then, when the * Betour de la CJiasse^ rang out from every horn, and 
 the whole wood re-echoed with the triumphant sounds, then might be 
 seen the Queen and her ladies advancing to meet us. I think I see 
 her yet, the fair-haired Queen, the noblest and most beautiful in all 
 that lovely circle, mounted on her spotted Arabian, who bore himself 
 proudly beneath his precious burden. Ah ! too truly did Burke say 
 ' the Age of Chivalry was past,' or never had such sorrows gone un- 
 avenged. Young gentleman, I know not whether you have already 
 conceived strong opinions upon politics, and whether you incline to 
 one or other of the great parties that divide the kingdom, but one 
 thing I would beseech you — be a Monarchist. There is a steadfast
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 285 
 
 perseverance in clinging to the legitimate Sovereign. Like tlie very 
 observance of truth itself, shake the conviction once, and there is no 
 limit to scepticism." 
 
 "Humph!" mutteredTiernay, half aloud. " Considering how royalty 
 treated your ancestors, your ardour in their favour might be cooled a 
 little." 
 
 " What's Tiernay saying ?" said the old man. 
 
 " Grrumbling, as usual, Papa," said Mary, laughing, and not vs^illing 
 to repeat the remark. 
 
 " Trying to give a man a bias in politics," said the Doctor, sarcas- 
 tically, " is absurd, except you accompany the advice with a place. A 
 man's political opinions are born with him, and he has as much to do 
 with the choice of his own Christian name, as whether he'll be a 
 Whig or a Tory." 
 
 " Never mind him. Sir," said Corrigan to Cashel; "one might 
 travesty the well-known epigram, and say of him that he never said 
 a kind thing, nor did a rude one, in his life." 
 
 " The greater fool he, then," muttered Tiernay, " for the world likes 
 him best who does the exact opposite ; and here comes one to illus- 
 trate my theory. There, I see him yonder ; so I'll step into the 
 library and look over the newspaper." 
 
 " He cannot endure a very agreeable neighbour of ours — a Mr. 
 Linton," said Corrigan, as the Doctor retired ; " and makes so little 
 secret of his dislike, that I am always glad when they avoid a 
 meeting." 
 
 " Mr. Linton is certainly more generous," said Mary, " for he enjoys 
 the Doctor's eccentricity without taking offence at his rude humour." 
 
 " Grood breeding can be almost a virtue," said the old man, with a 
 smile. 
 
 " It has this disadvantage, however," said Cashel; "it deceives 
 men, who, like myself, have little knowledge of life, to expect far 
 more from politeness than it is ever meant to imply ; just as on the 
 Lima shore, when we carried oiF a gold Madonna, we were never sa- 
 tisfied if we missed the diamond eyes of the image." 
 
 The old man and his granddaughter almost started at the strange 
 illustration ; but their attention was now called off by the approach 
 of Linton, whom they met as he reached the porch. 
 
 " Come here a moment. Sir," said the Doctor, addressmg Casho:. 
 from the little boudoir ; " here are some weapons of very old date 
 found among the ruins beside where we stand." And Emand had 
 just time to quit the breakfast-room before Linton entered it. 
 
 " The menagerie fills fast," said Linton, as he advanced gaily into 
 the apartment ; " some of our principal lions have come ; more are 
 expected ; and all the small cages have got their occupants."
 
 286 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 " I am dying of curiosity," said Mary. " Tell us everything about 
 everybody. Who have arrived ?" 
 
 " "We have everything of a household save the host. He is absent ; 
 and, stranger than all, no one knows where." 
 
 " How singular !" exclaimed Corrigan. 
 
 " Is it not ? He arrived this morning with the Kilgoffs, and has 
 not since been heard of. I left his amiable guests at the breakfast- 
 table conversing on his absence, and endeavouring to account for it 
 under every variety of ' shocking accident' one reads of in the morning 
 papers. The more delicately minded were even discussing, in whispers, 
 how long it would be decent to stay in a house if the owner committed 
 suicide." 
 
 " This is too shocking," said Mary. 
 
 " And yet there are men who do these things ! Talleyrand it was, 
 I believe, who said that the fellow who shot himself showed a great 
 want of ' savoir vivre.' "Well, to come back : we have the Kilgoffs, 
 whom I have not seen as yet ; the Meeks, father and daughter ; the 
 MacFarUnes ; IVIrs. White and her familiar, a distinguished author ; 
 the whole Kennyfeck tribe ; Frobisher ; some five or six cavalry 
 subalterns ; and a large mob of strange-looking people of both sexes, 
 making up what in racing slang is caUed the ' ruck' of the party." 
 
 " Will ifc not tax your ingenuity, Mr. Linton, to amuse, or even to 
 preserve concord among such a heterogeneous multitude ?" said 
 Mary. 
 
 " I shall amuse them by keeping them at feud with each other, and, 
 when they weary of that, let them have a grand attack of the whole 
 line upon their worthy host and entertainer. Indeed, already signs 
 of rebellious ingratitude have displayed themselves. Tou must know 
 that there has been a kind of petty scandal going about respecting 
 Lady Kilgoff and Mr. Cashel." 
 
 " My dear Sir," said Mr. Corrigan, gravely, but with much courtesy, 
 " when my granddaughter asked you for the latest news of your gay 
 household, she did so in aU the inconsiderate ignorance lier habits and 
 age may w^arrant ; but neither she nor I cared to liear more of your 
 guests than they ought to have reported of them, or should be re- 
 peated to the ears of a young lady." 
 
 " I accept the rebuke with less pain," said Linton, smiling easily, 
 " because it is, in part at least, unmerited. If you had permitted me 
 to continue, you should have seen as much." Then, turning to IMiss 
 Leicester, Be added : " You spoke of amusement, and you'll acknow- 
 ledge we are not idle. Lord Charles Frobisher is already marking 
 out a race-course; Meek is exploring the political leaning of the 
 borough ; the Kennyfecks are trying their voices together in every 
 room of the house; and Lady Janet has every 'cnsserole' in the 
 kitchen engaged in the preparation of various vegetable abominations
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 287 
 
 wliicli slie and Sir Andrew take before breakfast ; and what witli tlie 
 taking down and putting up of beds, the tuning of pianofortes, sol- 
 fa-ing bere, bells ringing tbere — cracking of tandem whips — firing 
 off" percussion caps — screaming to grooms out of window, and slam- 
 ming of doors, Babel was a scene of peaceful retirement in com- 
 parison. As this, too, is but the beginning, pray forgive me if my 
 visits here be more frequent and enduring than ever;" 
 
 "Tour picture of the company is certainly not flattering," said 
 Mary. 
 
 " tip to their merits, notwithstanding! but how could it be other- 
 wise ? To make a house pleasant, to bring agreeable people together — 
 to assemble those particles whose aggregate solidifies into that com- 
 pact mass called society — is far harder than is generally believed ; 
 vulgar folk attempt it by getting some celebrity to visit them. But 
 ■what a failure that is ! One lion will no more make a party than one 
 swallow a summer. New people, like our friend Cashel, try it by 
 asking everybody. They hope, by firing a heavy charge, tliat some 
 of the shot will hit. Another mistake ! He little knows how many 
 jealousies, rivalries, and small animosities are now at breakfast 
 together at his house, and how ready they are, when no other game 
 ofiers, to make him the object of all their spite and scandal." 
 
 " But why ?" said Mary. " Is not his hospitality as princely as 
 it is generously ofi'ered ? Can they cavil with anything in either the 
 reception itself or the manner of it ?" 
 
 "As that part of the entertainment entered into ony functions, 
 Miss Leicester, I should say, certainly not. The whole has been 
 well ' got up.' I can answer for everything save Cashel himself; as 
 Curran said, ' I can elevate all save the host.' He is irreclaimably 
 * en arriere' — half dandy, half Delaw^are, aftecting the man of fashion, 
 but, at heart, a prairie hunter." 
 
 "Hold, Sir!" cried Cashel, entering suddenly, his face crimson 
 with passion. " By what right do you presume to speak of me in 
 
 this wise ?" . 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha ! broke out Linton, as he fell into a chair in a burst 
 of admirably feigned laughter. " I told you, Miss Leicester, how it 
 would be ; did I not say I should imearth the fox ? Ah ! Eoland, 
 confess it ; you were completely taken in." 
 
 Cashel stared around for an explanation, and in the astonishment 
 of each countenance he fancied he read a condemnation of his con- 
 duct. All his impulses were quick as thought, and so he blushed 
 deeply for his passionate outbreiik, as he said : 
 
 " I ask pardon of you. Sir, and tliis lady, for my unseemly anger. 
 This gentleman certainly deserves no apology from me. Confound 
 it, Master Tom, but assuredly you don't fire blank cartridge to startle 
 your game."
 
 288 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 "No use to tickle lions with straws," said Linton; and the in- 
 sinuated flattery succeeded. 
 
 " Let me now bid you welcome to my cottage, Mr. Cashel," said 
 Corrigan; "although this incognito visit was an accident, I feel 
 happy to see you here." 
 
 " Thank you, thank you," replied Cashel. " I shall be even more 
 grateful still if you permit me to join in Linton's petition, and occa- 
 sionally escape from the noisy festivities of the Hall and come here." 
 
 While Corrigan and Cashel continued to interchange mutual 
 assurances of esteem and regard, Linton walked to a window vrith 
 Miss Leicester. 
 
 "We had no conception that our guest was Mr. Cashel," said 
 Mary ; " he met Dr. Tiernay accidentally in the park, and came along 
 with him to breakfast." 
 
 " And did not the Doctor remember him ?" asked Linton, shrewdly. 
 
 " Oh no ; he may probably recollect something of having met him 
 before, three weeks hence, but he is so absent!" 
 
 "I thought Roland would have takeu the quizzing better," said 
 Linton, thoughtfully. " There's no knowing any man, or — woman 
 either. You perceived what I was at, certainly ?" 
 
 " No, indeed. I was as much deceived as Mr. Cashel. I thought, 
 to be sure, that you were unusually severe, but I never suspected 
 the object." 
 
 " How droll ! Well, I am a better actor than I fancied," said 
 Linton, laughing ; then added, in a lower tone, " not that the lesson 
 should be lost upon him ; for, in sober earnest, there was much truth 
 in it." 
 
 " We were greatly pleased with him," said Mary ; " and now, know- 
 ing who he is, and what temptations such a young man has to over- 
 estimate himself, are even more struck by his unassuming quietude." 
 
 Linton only smiled, but it was a smile of most compassionate pity. 
 
 " I conclude that you mean to show yourself to your company, 
 then, Mr. Cashel ?" said he, turning suddenly about. 
 
 " I'm ready," said Eoland. " I'd go, however, \^th an easier con- 
 science, if Mr. Corrigan would only promise me to come and see us 
 there sometimes." 
 
 " I'm a very old fellow, Mr. Cashel, and have almost outlived the 
 habits of society ; but if any one's invitation shall bring me beyond 
 taese wal)?, Jc shall be yours." 
 
 " I must be content with that," said Eoland, as he shook the prof- 
 fered hand ; and then, with a cordial farewell to Miss Leicester, took 
 Linton's arm, and retired.
 
 ltOLA2fD CASHEL. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 If you show him in Hyde Park — Lauk ! how they will stare ! 
 Though a very smart figure in Bloorasbury-square. 
 
 The Snob. 
 
 Cashel's was not a uature to dwell upon a grievance, and he 
 would have, at once and for ever, forgotten the late scene with Lin- 
 ton if it were not coupled in his mind with suspicions derived from 
 various different sources. This made him silent and reserved as he 
 walked along, and so palpably inattentive to all his companion's efforts 
 at agreeability, that Linton at last said, " Well, Cashel, if you can 
 dispense with sleep, you certainly seem to take the compensation in 
 dreaming. Here have I been retailing for you the choicest bits of 
 gossip and small-talk, not only without the slightest gratitude, but 
 even without common attention on your part !" 
 
 " Very true," said Cashel ; " the reproach is quite just, and no man 
 can be more agreeable at the expense of his friends than yourself" 
 
 " Still harping on my daughter — eh ?" cried Linton. " I never 
 thought you the man to misconstrue a jest, but if you really are 
 offended with ray folly " 
 
 " If I really were offended," said Cashel, almost sternly, " I should 
 not leave it to be inferred from my manner." 
 
 " That I am sure of," cried Linton, assuming an air of frankness y. 
 " and now, since all that silly affair is forgotten " 
 
 "I did not say so much," interrupted Cashel. "I cannot forget 
 it, and that is the very reason I am annoyed with myself, with you, 
 and with all the world." 
 
 " Pooh ! nonsense, man. Tou were not used to be so thin-skinned. 
 Let us talk of something else. Here are all our gay friends as- 
 sembled — how are we to occupy and amuse them ?" 
 
 Cashel made no reply, but walked on, seemingly lost in thought. 
 
 " By the way," said Linton, " you've told me nothing of your ad- 
 ventures. Haven't you had something very like a shipwreck ?" 
 
 " The yacht is lost," said Cashel, dryly. 
 
 "Actually lost!" echoed the other, with well-assumed astonish- 
 ment. " How fortunate not to have had the Kennyfeck party on 
 board, as I believe you expected." 
 
 " I had the Kilgoffs, however," rejoined Eoland. 
 
 " The Kilgoffs ! you amaze me. How did my Lord ever consent 
 to trust his most precious self on such an enterprise ?" 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Cashel shrugged Ms slioulders, without uttering a word in reply. 
 
 "But come, do condescend to be a little more communicative. 
 How, and when, and where did the mishap occur ?" 
 
 " She foundered on the southern coast sometime after midnight on 
 the 15th. The crew and passengers escaped by the boats, and the 
 craft went to pieces." 
 
 " And the Kilgoffs, how did they behave in the moment of peril ?" 
 
 " My Lord seemed insensible to all around ; Lady Kilgoff, with a 
 dignified courage quite admirable." 
 
 " Indeed !" said Linton, slowly, while he fixed his eyes on Cashel's 
 face, where an expression of increased animation now displayed itself. 
 
 " She has a fine generous nature," continued Cashel, not lieeding 
 the remark. " It is one of the saddest things to think of, how she 
 has been mated." 
 
 " She is a Peeress," said Linton, curtly. 
 
 " And what of that ? Do your aristocratic distinctions close the 
 heart against every high and noble sentiment, or can they compensate 
 for the absence of every tie that attaches one to life ? Is not some 
 poor Indian girl who follows her wild Eanchero husband through the 
 dark valleys of Gruiana, not only a happier, but a better wife than 
 your proud Peeress ?" 
 
 Linton shook his head and smiled, but did not reply. 
 
 " I see how my old prejudices shock you," said Cashel. " I only 
 grieve to think how many of them have left me, for I am sick — sick 
 at heart — of your gay and polished world. I am weary of its double- 
 dealing, and tired of its gilded falsehood. Since I have been a rich 
 man, I have seen nothing but the servile flattery of sycophancy, or 
 the insidious snares of deeper iniquity. There i^ no equality for one 
 like myself. The high-born wealthy would treat me as a parvenu, 
 the vulgar rich only reflect back my own errors in broader deformity. 
 I have known no other use of wealth than to squander it to please 
 others; I have played high, and lost deeply; I have purchased a 
 hundred things simply because some others wished to sell them ; I 
 have entertained and sat among my company, waiting to catch and 
 resent the covert insult that men pass upon such as I ; and will you 
 teU me — you, who know the world well — that such a life repays one ?" 
 
 " Now, let me write the credit side of the account," said Linton, 
 laughing, and affecting a manner of easy jocularity. " Tou are young, 
 healthy, and high-spirited, with courage for anything, and more 
 money than even recklessness can get rid of. Tou are the most 
 popular fellow among men, and the greatest favourite of. the other 
 sex, going. Tou get credit for everything you do, and a hundred 
 others that men know you could, but have not done. Tou have 
 warm, attached friends ; I can answer for one, at least, who'll lay 
 down his life for you." He paused, expecting some recognition, but
 
 \'^iik.t%^^^'^'^'^^'^ ^ ^
 
 EOLAIfD CASHEL. 291 
 
 Casliel made no sign, and he resumed. " Tou liave onlj to propose 
 some object to your ambition, whether it be rank, place, or a high 
 alliance, to feel that you are a favourite with fortune." 
 
 " And is it by knowing beforeliaud that one is sure to win that gam- 
 bling fascinates ?" said Eoland, slowly. 
 
 " If you only knew how the dark presage of failure deters the un- 
 lucky man, you'd scarce ask the question !" rejoined Linton, with an 
 accent of sorrow, by which he hoped to awaken sympathy. The stroke 
 failed, however, for Cashel took no notice of it. 
 
 " There goes one whose philosophy of life is simple enough," said 
 Lintqn, as he stopped at a break in the lioUy hedge, beside which they 
 were walking, and pointed to Lord Charles, who, mounted on a blood- 
 horse, was leading the way for a lady, equally well carried, over some 
 sporting-looking fences. 
 
 " I say, Jim," cried Frobisher, "let her go a little free at them ; 
 she's always too hot when you hold her back." 
 
 " You don't know, perhaps, that Jim is the lady," whispered 
 Linton, and withdrawing for seerecv behind the cover of the hedsre. 
 " Jim," continued Linton, " is the familiar for Jemima. She's Meek's 
 daughter, and the wildest romp " 
 
 " By Jove ! how well she cleareci it. Here she comes back again," 
 cried Cashel, in all the excitement of a favourite sport. 
 
 " That's all very pretty, Jim," called out Frobisher, " but let me 
 observe it's a very Brummagem style of thing after all. I want you 
 to ride up to 3'our fence with your mare in hand, touch her lightly on 
 the flank, and pop her over quietly." 
 
 " She is too fiery for all that," said the girl, as she held in the met- 
 tlesome animal, and endeavoured to calm her by patting her neck. 
 
 " How gracefully she sits her saddle," muttered Cashel ; and the 
 praise might have been forgiven from even a less ardent admirer of 
 equestrianism, for she was a young, fresh-looking girl, with large 
 hazel eyes, and a profusion of bright auburn hair, which floated and 
 flaunted in every graceful wave around her neck and shoulders. She 
 possessed, besides, that inestimable advantage as a rider which perfect 
 fearlessness supplies, and seemed to be inspired with every eager im- 
 pulse of the bounding animal beneath her. 
 
 As Cashel continued to look, slie had taken the mare a canter rou.nd 
 a large grass field, and was evidently endeavouring, by a light hand 
 and a soothing, caressing voice, to calm down her temper ; stooping, 
 as she went, in the saddle to pat the animal's shoulder, and almost 
 bending her own auburn curls to the counter, 
 
 " She is perfect !" cried Eoland, in a very ecstasy. " See that, 
 Linton ! Mark how she sways herself in her saddle." 
 
 " That comes of wearing no stays," said Linton, dryly, as he pro- 
 ceeded to light a cigar. 
 
 v2
 
 292 llOLAXD CASHEL. 
 
 " Now she's at it. Here she comes!" cried Cashel almost breath- 
 less with anxiety; for the mare, chafed by the delay, no sooner was 
 turned towards the fence once more, than she stretched out and dashed 
 wildly at it. 
 
 It was a moment of intense interest, for the speed was far too great 
 to clear a high leap with safety ; the fear was, however, but momen- 
 tary, for, with a tremendous bound, the mare cleared the fence, and, 
 after a couple of minutes' cantering, stood with heaving flanks and 
 swelling nostril beside the other horse. 
 
 " Tou see my misfortune, I suppose ?" said the girl, addressing 
 Frobisher. 
 
 " No. She's not cut about the legs ?" said he, as he bent down in 
 his saddle and took a most searching survey of the animal. 
 
 " No, the hack is all right. But don't you perceive that bit of blue 
 cloth flaunting yonder on the hedge ? — that is part of my habit. See 
 what a tremendous rent is here; I declare, Charley, it is scarcely 
 decent." And to illustrate the remark, she wheeled her horse 
 round so as to show the fringed and jagged end of her riding- 
 habit, beneath which a very finely turned ankle and foot were now 
 seen. 
 
 "Then why don't you wear trousers, like everybody else?" said 
 Frobisher, gruffly, and scarce bestowing even a passing glance at the 
 well-arched instep. 
 
 " Because I never get time to dress like any one else. Tou 
 order me out like one of your Newmarket boys," replied she, 
 pettishly. 
 
 " By Jove ! I wish any one of them had got your hand." 
 
 " To say nothing of the foot, Charley," said she, roguishly, and en- 
 deavouring to arrange her torn drapery to the best advantage. 
 
 " No. That may do to astonish our friend Cashel, and make ' my 
 Lady' jealous. By the way, Jim, I don't see why you shouldn't 
 ' enter for the plate' as well as the Kennyfeck girls." 
 
 " I like you better, Charley," said she, curveting her horse and 
 passaging him alternately from side to side. 
 
 " This is the second time to-day I have played the eavesdropper 
 unconsciously," said E-oland, in a whisper, " and with the proverbial 
 fortune of the listener in both cases." And with these words he 
 moved on, leaving Linton still standing opposite the opening of the 
 hedge. 
 
 Cashel had not advanced many paces beneath the shelter of the tall 
 hollies, when Frobisher accidentally caught sight of Linton, and 
 called out, " Ha, Tom — found you at last ! "Where have you been 
 hiding the whole morning — you that should, at least, represent our 
 host here ?"
 
 EOLANU CASHEL. 293 
 
 Lintou muttered something, while, by a gesture, he endeavoured to 
 caution. Frobisher, and apprise him of Cashel's vicinity. The fretful 
 motion of his horse, however, prevented his seeing the signal, and he 
 resumed : 
 
 " One of my people tells me that Cashel came with the Kilgoffs this 
 morning. I say, Tom, you'll have to look sharp in that quarter. Soh, 
 there — quiet, Grustave — gently, man." 
 
 " He's too fat, I think. You always have your cattle too heavy," 
 said Linton, hoping to change the topic. 
 
 " He carries flesh well. But what is it I had to tell you ? Oh, I 
 remember now — about the Yacht Club. I have just got a letter from 
 Derwent, in which he says the thing is impossible. His remark is 
 more true than courteous. He says, ' It's all very well in such a 
 place as Ireland to know such people, but that it won't do in Eng- 
 land ; besides that, if Cashel does wish to get among men of the 
 world, he ought to join some light cavalry corps for a year or so, and 
 stand plucking by Stanhope, and Dashfield, and the rest of them. 
 They'll bring him out if he'll only pay handsomely.' Soh, there, man 
 — do be quiet, will you? The end of it is, that Derwent will not put 
 his name up. I must say it's a disappointment to me, but, as a 
 younger brother, I have only to smile and submit." 
 
 "While Lord Charles was retailing this piece of information in no 
 very measured tone, and only interrupted by the occasional impatience 
 of his horse, Linton's eyes were fixed on Cashel, who, at the first men- 
 tion of his own name, increased his speed, so as to suggest the fond 
 hope that some, at least, of this unwelcome intelligence might have 
 escaped him. 
 
 " You'll have to break the thing to him, Tom," resumed Lord 
 Charles. " You know him better than any of us, and how the matter 
 can be best touched upon." 
 
 " Not the slightest necessity for that, 11010,"" said Linton, with a low, 
 deliberate voice. 
 
 " Why so ?" 
 
 " Because you have just done so yourself. If you had only paid 
 the least attention to my signal, you'd have seen that Cashel was only 
 a few yards in front of me during the entire of your agreeable revela- 
 tions." 
 
 " By Jove !" exclaimed Frobisher, aa his head dropped forward in 
 overwhelming confusion. " "What is to be done ?" 
 
 " Eather difficult to say, if he heard all," said Linton, coolly. 
 
 " You'd say it was a quiz, Tom. Tbii'd pretend that you saw him 
 all the while, and only did the thing for joke's sake — eh ?" 
 
 " Possibly enough /might," replied Linton ; "but yoic couldn't." 
 
 " How very awkward, to be sure!" exclaimed Frobisher. " I say.
 
 294 KOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 Jim, I wish you'd make up to Casliel a bit, and get us out of this 
 scrape. There's Tom ready to aid and abet you, if only to take him 
 out of the Ivilgoffs' way." 
 
 " There never was a more propitious moment, Miss Meek," said 
 Linton, passing through the hedge, and approaching close to her. 
 " He's a great prize — the best estate in Ireland." 
 
 " The nicest stable of horses in the whole country," echoed Fro- 
 bisher. 
 
 " A good-looking fellow, too ; only wanting a little training to make 
 presentable anywhere." 
 
 " That white barb, with the flea-bitten flank, would carry you to 
 perfection, Jim." 
 
 " He'll be a Peer one of these days, if he is only patient enough not 
 to commit himself in politics." 
 
 " And such a hunting-country for you,^^ said Frobisher, in ecstasy. 
 
 " I tell you I don't care for him ; I never did," said the girl, 
 as a flush of half-angry meaning coloured her almost childish fea- 
 tures. 
 
 " But don't you care to be mistress of fifteen thousand a year, and 
 the finest stud in Ireland ?" 
 
 " Mayhap a Countess," said Linton, quietly. " Tour papa would 
 soon manage that." 
 
 " I'd rather be mistress of myself, and this brown mare ' Joan,' 
 here, that's all I know ; and I'll have nothing to do with any of your 
 plots and schemes," said she, in a voice whose utterance was that of 
 emotion. 
 
 " That's it," said Frobisher, in a low tone to Linton ; " there's no 
 getting them, at that age, with a particle of brains." 
 
 " They make up surprisingly for it afterwards," replied Linton, 
 
 dryly. 
 
 " So you'll not consent, Jim?" said Frobisher, in a half-coasing 
 manner to the young girl, who, with averted head, sat in mingled 
 sorrow and displeasure. " Well, don't be pettish about it ; I'm sure 
 I thought it very generous in me, considering " 
 
 She looked round at this moment, and her large eyes were bent 
 upon him with a look which their very tears made passionately 
 meaning. 
 
 " Considering what a neat finger you have on a young horse," said 
 he. And she turned abruptly away, and, as if to hide her emotion, 
 spurred her mare into a boimding canter. 
 
 " Take care, Charley — take care what you're doing," said Linton? 
 vdth a look of consummate shrewdness. 
 
 Frobisher looked after her for a minute or two, and then seemed 
 to drop into a reverie, for he made no reply whatever. 
 
 " Let the matter stop where it is," said Linton, quietly, as if re-
 
 ROLAND CASHEL. 295 
 
 plying to some acknowledgment of the other ; " let it stop there, I 
 say, and one of these days, when she marries — as she unquestionably 
 will do, through Papa Downie's means, somebody of influence — she'll 
 be a steadfast, warm friend, never forgetting, nor ever wishing to 
 forget, her childhood's companion. Go a little further, however, and 
 you'll just have an equally determined enemy. I know a little of 
 both sides of the question," added he, meditatively, " and it needs 
 slight reflection which to prefer." 
 
 " How are you going to amuse us here, IMr. Linton," said she, 
 cantering up at this moment, " for it seems to me, as old Lord Kilgoff 
 says, that we are like to have a very dull house. People are ordering 
 dinner for their own small parties as unsocially as though they were 
 at the Crown Inn, at Brighton." 
 
 " Yes, by-the-by," said Frobisher, " I want to ask you about that. 
 Don't you think it were better to dash a little bit of ' communism' 
 through your administration ?" 
 
 " I intend to send in my resignation as Premier, now that the head 
 of the State- has arrived," said Linton, smiling dubiously. 
 
 " I perceive," said Frobisher, shrewdly, " you expect that the Go- 
 vernment will go to pieces, if you leave it." 
 
 " The truth is, Charley," said he, dropping his voice to a low 
 whisper, and leaning his hand on the horse's mane, "our friend 
 Eoland is rather too far in the category ' Savage' for long endurance. 
 He grows capricious and self-opinionated. The thin plating comes 
 off" and shows the Buccaneer at every slight abrasion." 
 
 " "What of that ?" said Frobisher, languidly, " His book onCoutts's 
 is unexceptionable. Come, Tom, you are the only man here who 
 has a head for these things. Do exert yourself and set something 
 a-going?" 
 
 "Well, what shall it be ?" said he, gaily. " Shall we get the country- 
 people together, and have hack races ? — shall we assemble the squires, 
 and have a ball ? — shall we start private theatricals ? What says Miss 
 Meek?" 
 
 " I vote for all three. Pray do, Mr. Linton, you who are so clever, 
 and can do everything, make us gay. If we only go on as we have 
 begun, the house will be like a model prison — on the separate and 
 silent system." 
 
 " As you wisli it," said Linton, bowing with assumed gallantry ; 
 " and now to work at once." So saying, he turned towards the house, 
 the others riding on either side of him. 
 
 " What shall we do about Derwent's letter, Tom ?" asked Frobisher. 
 
 " Never speak of it ; the chances are that he has heard enough to 
 satisfy the most gluttonous curiosity. Besides, he has lost his yacht." 
 Here he dropped his voice to a low muttering, as he said, " And, may 
 soon have a heavier loss !"
 
 296 . EOLAND CASUEL. 
 
 " Is his pace too fast ?" said Frobislier, who caught up the mean- 
 ing:, although not the words. 
 
 ; Linton made no reply, for his thoughts were on another track ; then 
 suddenly catching himself, he said, " Come, and let us have a look at 
 the stables. I've not seen our stud yet." And they turned off from 
 the main approach and entered the wood once more. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 And at last they find out to their greatest surprise, 
 That 'tis easier far to be " merry than wise." 
 
 Bell's Images. 
 
 " Here is Mr. Cashel ! here he- is !" exclaimed a number of voices, 
 as Eoland, with a heart full of indignant anger, ascended the ter- 
 race upon which tlie great drawing-room opened, and at every window 
 of which stood groups of his gay company. Cashel looked up, and 
 beheld the crowd of pleased faces wreathed into smiles of gracious 
 welcome, and then he suddenly remembered that it was he who had 
 invited all that brilliant assemblage ; that, for him, all those winning 
 graces were assumed ; and that his gloomy thoughts, and gloomier 
 looks, were but a sorry reception to offer them. 
 
 "With a bold effort, then, to shake off the load that oppressed him, 
 he approached one of the windows, where Mrs. Kennyfeck and her 
 two daughters were standing, with a considerable sprinkling of young 
 dragoons around them. 
 
 " We are not to let you in, Mr. Cashel," said Mrs. Kennyfeck, 
 from within. " There has been a vote of the House, against your 
 admission." 
 
 "Not, surely, to condemn me unheard," said Eoland ; " I might 
 even say, unaccused." 
 
 " How so ?" cried Mrs. Kennyfeck ; " is not your present position 
 your accusation ? AVhy are you there, while we are here ?" 
 
 " I went out for a walk, and lost myself in tlie woods." 
 
 " "What does he say, my dear?" said Aunt Fanny, fearful of losing 
 a word of the dialogue. 
 
 " That he lost himself. Madam," said one of the dragoons, dryly. 
 
 " So, indeed, we heard, Sir," said the maiden lady, piteously ; " but 
 I may say I foresaw it all." 
 
 " "Ton are an old fool, and, worse still, every one sees it," whispered 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck, in an accent that there was no mistaking, althougli 
 only a wliisper.
 
 EOLA^'D CASHEL. 297 
 
 " AVe considered that you had abdicated, Mr. CasHel," said Mrs. 
 Wliite, who having in vain waited for Eoland to approach the window 
 she occupied, was fain at last to join the others, " and we were de- 
 bating on what form of Government to adopt — a Presidency, with 
 Mr. Linton " 
 
 " I see you are no Legitimist," slyly remarked Miss Kennyfeck. 
 But the other went on, 
 
 " Or an open Democracy." 
 
 " I'm for that," said a joUy-looldng cavalry Captain. " Pray, Miss 
 Olivia Kennyfeck, vote for it too. I should like nothing so much as 
 a little fraternising." 
 
 " I have a better suggestion than either," said Eoland, gaily ; " but 
 you must admit me ere I make it." 
 
 " A device of the enemy," called out Mrs. White; " he wants to 
 secure his own return to power." 
 
 " J^ay, on honour," said he, solemnly ; " I shall descend to the rank 
 of the humblest citizen, if my advice be acceded to, — to the humblest 
 subject of the realm." 
 
 " Ye mauiina open the window. Leddy Janet has the rheumatics 
 a' dandering aboot her back a' the morning," said Sir Andrew, ap- 
 proaching the group ; and then turning to Cashel, said, " Glad to 
 see ye. Sir, very glad, indeed ; though, like Prince Charlie, you're on 
 the wrang side o' the wa'." 
 
 " Dear me !" sighed Meek, lifting his eyes from the newspaper, and 
 assuming that softly compassionate tone in which he always delivered 
 the most common-place sentiments, " how shocking, to keep you out 
 of your own house, and the air quite damp ! Do pray be careful and 
 change your clothes before you come in here." Then he finished in 
 a whisper to Lady Janet, " One never gets through a country visit 
 without a cold." 
 
 " Upon my word, I'll let him in," said Aunt Fanny,, with a native 
 richness of accent that made her fair nieces blush. 
 
 " At last !" said Cashel, as he entered the room, and proceeded to 
 salute the company, with many of whom he had but the very slightest 
 acquaintance — of some he did not eveu remember the names. 
 
 The genial warmtli of his character soon compelled him to feel 
 heartily what he had begun by feigning, and he bade them welcome 
 with a cordiality that spread its kindly influence over all. 
 
 " I see," said he, after some minutes, " Lady Kilgoif has not joined 
 us ; but her fatigue has been very great." 
 /' They say my Lord's clean daft," said Sir Andrew. 
 
 " Oh no, Sir Andrew," rejoined Eoland ; " our misfortune has shaken 
 his nerves a good deal, but a few days' rest and quiet will restore him." 
 
 " He was na ower wise at the best, puir man," sighed the veteran, 
 AS he moved away.
 
 298 EOLAl^fD CASHEL. 
 
 " Her Ladyship was quite a heroine — isn't that so ?" said Lady- 
 Janet, tartly. 
 
 " She held the rudder, or did something with the compass, I heard," 
 simpered a young lady in long flaxen ringlets. 
 
 Cashel smiled, but made no answer. 
 
 " Oh dear," sighed Meek, " and there was a dog that swam — or 
 was it you that swam ashore with a rope in your mouth ?" 
 
 " I grieve to say, neither man nor dog performed the achievement." 
 
 " And it would appear that the horrid wretch — what's his name ?" 
 asked Mrs. White of her friend Howie. 
 
 " Whose name. Madam ?" 
 
 " The man — the dreadful man, who planned it all. Sick — Sicka- 
 more — no, not Sickamore " 
 
 " Sickleton, perhaps," said Cashel, strangely puzzled to make out 
 what was coming. 
 
 " Yes, Sickleton had actually done the very same thing twice before, 
 just to get possession of the rich plate and all the things on board." 
 
 " This is too bad !" cried Cashel, indignantly ; " really. Madam, you 
 must pardon my warmth, if it even verges on rudeness ; but the 
 gentleman whose name you have associated with such iniquitous sus- 
 picions saved all our lives." 
 
 " That's what I like in him better than all," whispered Aunt Fanny 
 to Olivia ; " he stands by his friends like a trump." 
 
 " You have compelled me," resumed Cashel, " to speak of what 
 really I had much rather forget ; but I shall insist upon your patience 
 now for a few minutes, simply to rectify any error which may prevail 
 upon this affair." 
 
 With this brief prelude, Cashel commenced a narrative of the 
 voyage from the evening of the departure from Kingstown to the 
 moment of the vessel's sinking ofi" the south coast. 
 
 If most of his auditors only listened as to an interesting anecdote, 
 to others the story had a deeper meaning. The Kennyfecks were 
 longing to learn how the excursion originated, and whether Lady 
 Kilgoff's presence had been a prearranged plan, or a mere accidental 
 occiirrence. 
 
 " All's not lost yet, Livy," whispered Miss Kennyfeck in her sis- 
 ter's ear. " I give you joy ;" while a significant nod from Aunt Fanny 
 seemed to divine the sentiment and agree with it. 
 
 " And I suppose ye had na the vessel insured ?" said Sir Andrew, 
 at the close of the narrative ; " what a sair thing to think o'." 
 
 " Oh dear, yes, to be sure !" ejaculated Meek, piteously ; " and the 
 cold, and the wetting, and the rest of it ! for of course you must have 
 met few comforts in that miserable fishing-hut." 
 
 " How picturesque it must have been," interposed Mrs. White; 
 " and what a pity you had no means of having a drawing made of it.
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 299 
 
 The scene at the moment of the yacht striking — the despair-struck 
 seamen " 
 
 '■ Pardon me, Madam, for destroying even a particle of so inge- 
 nious a fancy ; but the men evinced nothing of the kind ; they be- 
 haved well, and with the calmest steadiness." 
 
 "It is scarcely too late yet," resumed the lady, unabashed; "if 
 you would just describe it all carefully to Mr. Howie, he could make 
 a sketch in oils one would swear was taken on the spot." 
 
 " Quite impossible — out of the question," said Howie, who was 
 always ashamed at the absurdities which compromised himself, al- 
 though keenly alive to those which involved his neighbours. 
 
 " "VVe have heard much of Lady Kilgoff 's courage and presence of 
 mind," said ]Mrs. Kennyfeck, returning to a theme by which she cal- 
 culated on exploring into Cashel's sentiments towards that lady. 
 " Were they indeed so conspicuous ?" 
 
 " Can you doubt it, Madam ?" said Lady Janet, tartly ; " she gave 
 the most unequivocal proof of both — she remembered her husband !" 
 
 The tartness of this impertinent speech was infinitely increased by 
 the voice and manner of the speaker, and a half-suppressed titter 
 ran through the room, Cashel alone, of all, feeling annoyed and angry. 
 Aunt Fanny, always less occupied with herself than her neighbours, 
 quickly saw his irritation, and resolved to change a topic which more 
 than once had verged on danger. 
 
 " And now, jMr. Cashel," said she, " let us not forget the pledge on 
 which we admitted you." 
 
 "Quite right," exclaimed Eoland; "I promised a suggestion; 
 here it is " 
 
 "Pardon me for interruptmg," said Miss Kennyfeck; "but in 
 what capacity do you make this suggestion ? Are you still King, or 
 have you abdicated ?" 
 
 " Abdicated in all form," replied Eoland, bowing with well-assumed 
 humility ; " as simple citizen I propose that we elect a ' Queen ' to 
 rule despotically in all things ; uncontrolled and irresponsible." 
 
 " Oh, delightful ! admirable !" exclaimed a number of voices, among 
 which all the men and the yoimger ladies might be heard : Lady Janet 
 and IMrs. Kennyfeck, and a few others " of the senior service," as 
 Mr. Lmton would have called them, seeming to canvass the motion 
 with more cautious reserve. 
 
 " As it is to be an elective monarchy. Sir," said Lady Janet, with a 
 shrewd glance over all the possible candidates, " how do you propose 
 the choice is to be made ?" 
 
 " That is to be for after consideration," replied Eoland ; " we may 
 have universal suffrage and the ballot." 
 
 " No, no, by Jove !" exclaimed Sir Harvey Upton ; " we must not 
 enter upon our new reign by a rebellion. Let only the men vote."
 
 300 EOLAKD CASHEL. 
 
 " How gallant!" said Miss Kennyfeck, sueeringly ; while a cliorus 
 of " How unfair!" " How ungenerous !" went through the room. 
 
 " What say ye to the plan they hae wi' the Pope ?" said Sir Andrew, 
 grinning maliciously ; " tak the auldest o' the company." 
 
 This suggestion caused a laugh, in which certain parties did not join 
 over heartily. Just at this moment the door opened, and Lord Kil- 
 goff, leaning on the arm of two servants, entered. He was deathly 
 pale, and seemed several years older ; but his face had acquired some- 
 thing of its wonted expression ; and it was with a sad, but courteous 
 smile, he returned the salutations of the company. 
 
 " Grlad to see you amongst us, my Lord," said Cash el, as he placed 
 an arm-chair, and assisted the old man to his seat. " I have just been 
 telling my friends that our country air and quiet will speedily restore 
 you." 
 
 "Thank you very much, Sir," said he, taking Cashel's hand. "AVe 
 are both greatly indebted to your kindness, nor can we indeed ever 
 hope to I'epay it." 
 
 " Make him a receiver on the estate, then," whispered Lady Janet 
 in Miss Kennyfeck's ear, '• and he'll soon pay himself." 
 
 " Tell my Lord about our newly intended government, Mr. Cashel," 
 said Mrs. Kennyfeck ; "I'm sure it will amuse him." And Cashel, 
 more in obedience to the request than from any conviction of its pru- 
 dence, proceeded to obey. One word only, however, seemed to fix 
 itself on the old man's memory : 
 
 " Queen ! Queen !" repeated lie several times to himself. " Oh, in- 
 deed! You expect her Majesty will honour you with a visit. Sir?" 
 
 Cashel endeavoured to correct the misconception, but to no purpose ; 
 the feeble intelligence could not relinquish its grasp so easily, and he 
 went on in a low muttering tone, 
 
 " Lady Kilgoff is the only Peeress here, Sir, remember that ; you 
 should speak to her about it, Mr. Cashel." 
 
 " I hope we are soon to have the pleasure of seeing Lady Kilgoff, 
 my Lord," whispered Cashel, half to concur with, half to turn the 
 course of conversation. 
 
 " She will be here presently," said he, somewhat stiffly, as if some 
 unpleasant recollection was passing through his mind ; and Cashel 
 turned away to speak with the others, who eagerly awaited to resume 
 the interrupted conversation. 
 
 " Tour plan, Mr. Cashel ; we are dying to hear it," cried one. 
 
 " Oh, by all means ; how are we to elect the Queen ?" said another. 
 
 " What say you to a lottery ?" said lie, " or something equally the 
 upshot of chance. For instance, let the first lady who enters the 
 room be Queen." 
 
 "Very good indeed," said Lady Janet, aloud ; then added, in a
 
 EOLAND CASUEl. 301 
 
 whisper, " I see that old Mrs. Malone with her husbaud toddliug up 
 the avenue this instant," 
 
 " Olivia, my love," whispered Mrs. Kennyfeck to her daughter, 
 " fetch me my work here, and don't be a moment away, child. He's 
 so amusing!" And the young lady glided unseen from the room at 
 her mamma's bidding. After a short but animated conversation, it 
 was decided that this mode of choice should be adopted ; and now all 
 stood in anxious expectancy to see who first should enter. At last 
 footsteps were heard approaching, and the interest rose higher. 
 
 " Leddy Janet was right," said Sir Andrew, with a grin ; " ye'll hae 
 Mrs. Malone for your Sovereign, I ken her step weel." 
 
 " By Jove !" cried Upton, " I'll dispute the succession ; that would 
 never do." 
 
 " That's a lighter tread and a faster," said Cashel, listening. 
 
 " There are two coming," cried Mrs. "White ; " I hear voices ; how 
 are we then to decide ?" 
 
 There was no time to canvass this knotty point, when a hand was 
 heard upon the door-handle ; it turned, and just as the door moved, 
 a sound of feet upon the terrace without — running at full speed — 
 turned every eye in that direction, and the same instant Miss Meek 
 sprang into the room through the window, while Lord Charles and 
 Linton hurried after her, at the same moment that Lady Kilgoff, 
 followed by Olivia Kennyfeck, entered by the door. 
 
 Miss Meek's appearance might have astonished the company, had 
 even her entree been more ceremonious, for she was without hat, her 
 hair falling in long dishevelled masses about her shoulders, and her 
 riding-habit, torn and ragged, was carried over one arm, with a free- 
 dom much more in accordance with speed than grace. 
 
 " Beat by two lengths, Charley," cried she, in a joyous, merry 
 laugh ; " beat in a canter — Mr. Linton, nowhere." 
 
 " Oh dear me, what is all this, Jemima love ?" softly sighed her 
 bland papa ; " you've not been riding, I hope ?" 
 
 " Schooling a bit with Charley, Pa, and as we left the nags at the 
 stable, they challenged me to a race home ; I don't think they'll do it 
 again. Do look how they're blown." 
 
 Some of the company laughed good humouredly at the girlish 
 gaiety of the scene. Others, among whom, it is sad to say, were 
 many of the younger ladies, made significant signs of being sliocked 
 by the indecorum, and gathered in groups to canvass the papa's in- 
 difi'erence and the daughter's indelicacy. Meanwhile Cashel had 
 been completely occupied with Lady KilgofF, making the usual in- 
 quiries regarding fatigue and rest, but in a manner that bespoke all 
 his interest in a favoured guest. 
 
 " Are you aware to what high destiny the Fates have called you?"
 
 302 EOLAND CASHEL. 
 
 said he, laugLing. " Some attain fortune by being first to seek lier 
 — you, on the contrary, win by dallying. "We had decided, a few 
 moments before you came in, that the first lady who entered should 
 be the Queen of our party — this lot is yours." 
 
 " I beg to correct you, Mr. Cashel," cried Lady Janet, smartly ; 
 " Miss Meek entered before her Ladyship." 
 
 " Oh yes !" " Certainly !" '• Without a doubt !" resounded from 
 the whole company, who were not sorry to confer their suflrages on 
 the madcap girl rather than the fashionable beauty. 
 
 "How distressing!" sighed Mr. Meek. "Oh dear! I hope this 
 is not so — nay, I'm sure, Jemima, it cannot be the case." 
 
 " You're thinking of George Colman, Meek — I see you are," cried 
 Linton. 
 
 " No, indeed — no, upon my honour. "What was it about Colman ?" 
 
 " The story is everybody's story. The Prince insisted once that 
 George was his senior, and George only corrected him of bis mistake 
 by saying that ' he could not possibly have had the rudeness to enter 
 the world before his Eoyal Highness.' " 
 
 " Ah ! yes — very true — so it was," sighed Meek, who affected not 
 to perceive the covert sneer at his assumed courtesy. 
 
 While, therefore, the party gathered around Cashel, with eager 
 assurance of Miss Meek's precedence, Lady Kilgoff, rising, crossed 
 the room to where that young lady was standing, and gracefull}"" 
 arranging her loose-flowing ringlets into a linot at the back of the 
 head, fastened them by a splendid comb which she took from her own, 
 and whose top was fashioned into a handsome coronet of gold, saying, 
 " The question of legitimacy is solved for ever — the Pretender yields 
 her crown to the true Sovereign." 
 
 The gracefulness and tact of this sudden movement called forth 
 the warmest acknowledgments of all save Lady Janet, who whispered 
 to Miss Kennyfeck :. " It is pretty clear, I fancy, who is to pay for 
 the crown jewels !" 
 
 " Am I really the Queen ?" cried the young girl, half wild with 
 delight. 
 
 " Most assuredly, Madam," said Linton, kissing her hand in deep 
 reverence. " I beg to be first to tender my homage." 
 
 "That's so like him!" cried she, laughing; " but you shall be no 
 ojficer of mine. Whei-e's Cliai-ley ? I Avant to make him Master of 
 the Buckhounds, if there be buGkhonnds." 
 
 "Will you not appoint your ladies first. Madam?" said Lady 
 Janet ; " or, are your preferences for the other sex to leave us quite 
 forgotten P" 
 
 " Be all of you everything you please," rejoined the chilJisli, merry 
 voice, " with Charley Probisher for Master of the Horse."
 
 ^^
 
 v^. 
 
 V
 
 EOLAND CASHEL. 303 
 
 " Linton for Master of the Eevels," said some one. 
 
 " Agreed," said she. 
 
 " Mr. Casliel Lad better be Eirst Lord of the Treasury, I suspect," 
 said Lady Janet, snappishly, " if the Administration is to last." 
 
 " And if ye a'ways wear drapery o' this fashion," said Sir Andrew, 
 taking up the torn fragment of her riding-habit as he spoke, " I maun 
 say that the Mistress of the Eobes will na be a sinecure." 
 
 " Will any one tell me what are my powers ?" said she, sitting down 
 with an air of mock dignity. 
 
 " Will any one dare to say what they are not ?" responded Cashel. 
 
 " Have I unlimited command in everything?" 
 
 " In everything. Madam ; I, and all mine, are at your orders." 
 
 " That's what the farce will end in," whispered Lady Janet to 
 Mrs. Kennyfeck. 
 
 " Well, then, to begin. The Court will dine with us to-day — to- 
 morrow we will hunt in our royal forest ; our private band Have 
 
 we a private band, Mr. Linton?" 
 
 " Certainly, your Majesty ; so private as to be almost undiscover- 
 
 able." 
 
 *' Then our private band will perform in the evening ; perhaps, too, 
 we shaU. dance. Eemember, my Lords and Ladies, we are a young 
 Sovereign who loves pleasure, and that a sad face, or a mournful one, 
 is treason to our person. Come forward now, and let us name our 
 household." 
 
 While the group gathered around the wild and high-spirited girl, 
 in whose merry mood even the least disposed were drawn to partici- 
 pate, Linton approached Lady Kilgoff, who had seated herself near a 
 window, and was affecting to arrange a frame of embroidery, on which 
 she rarely bestowed a moment's labour. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
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