THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 EDWIN CORLE 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 JEAN CORLE
 
 C
 
 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 THE IRISH DRAGOON
 
 Page 528.
 
 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 THE IRISH DRAGOON 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES LEVER 
 
 WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 ARTHUR RACKHAM 
 
 Hontion 
 
 SERVICE & PATON 
 
 5 HENRIETTA STREET 
 I8 97
 
 The Illustrations 
 
 in this Volume are the copyright of 
 SERVICE 6- PATON, London
 
 TO THE 
 
 MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF DOURO 
 M.P., D.C.L., ETC., ETC. 
 
 MY DEAB LORD, 
 
 The imperfect attempt to picture forth some semes of 
 the most brilliant period of my country's history might naturally 
 suggest their dedication to the son of him who gave tliat era its 
 glory. I feel, however, in the weakness of the effort, the pre- 
 sumption of such a thought, and would simply ask of you to 
 accept these volumes as a souvenir of many delightful hours 
 passed long since in your society, and a testimony of the deep 
 pride with which I regard the honour of your friendship. 
 Believe me, my dear Lord, 
 
 With every respect and esteem, 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 BRUXELLES, November 1841. 
 
 iii 
 
 2035264
 
 A WORD OF EXPLANATION 
 
 KIND PUBLIC, Having so lately taken my leave of the stage, in a 
 farewell benefit, it is but fitting that I should explain the circum- 
 stances which once more bring me before you that I may not appear 
 intrusive where I have met with but too much indulgence. 
 
 A blushing debutant entre nous, the most impudent Irishman that 
 ever swaggered down Sackville Street has requested me to present 
 him to your acquaintance. He has every ambition to be a favourite 
 with you ; but says God forgive him he is too bashful for the foot- 
 lights. 
 
 He has remarked as, doubtless, many others have done upon 
 what very slight grounds, and with what slender pretension, my 
 Confessions have met with favour at the hands of the Press and the 
 public ; and the idea has occurred to him to indite his own. Had his 
 determination ended here I should have nothing to object to ; but, 
 unfortunately, he expects me to become his Editor, and in some sort 
 responsible for the faults of his production. I have wasted much 
 eloquence and more breath in assuring him that I was no tried 
 favourite of the public, who dared to take liberties with them that 
 the small rag of reputation I enjoyed was a very scanty covering for 
 my own nakedness; that the plank which swam with one would most 
 inevitably sink with two ; and, lastly, that the indulgence so often 
 bestowed upon a first effort is as frequently converted into censure 
 on the older offender. My arguments have, however, totally failed, and 
 he remains obdurate and unmoved. Under these circumstances I have 
 yielded ; and as, happily for me, the short and pithy direction to the 
 river Thames, in the Critic, "to keep between its banks," has been 
 imitated by my friend, I find all that is required of me is to write 
 my name upon the title and go in peace. Such, he informs me, is 
 modern Editorship. 
 
 In conclusion, I would beg that if the debt he now incurs at your 
 hands remain unpaid, you would kindly bear in mind that your remedy 
 lies against the drawer of the bill, and not against its mere humble 
 indorser. 
 
 HARRY LORREQUER. 
 
 BRUSSELS, March 1840.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGK 
 
 A WORD OF EXPLANATION ...... iv 
 
 i. DALY'S CLUB HOUSE ...... 1 
 
 II. THE ESCAPE ........ 6 
 
 III. MR. BLAKE ........ 8 
 
 IV. THE HUNT ........ 14 
 
 V. THE DRAWING-ROOM ....... 19 
 
 VI. THE DINNER ........ 22 
 
 VII. THE PLIGHT FROM GURT-NA-MORKA .... 30 
 
 VIII. THE DUEL ........ 35 
 
 IX. THE RETURN ........ 40 
 
 X. THE ELECTION ........ 43 
 
 XI. AN ADVENTURE . . . . . . .49 
 
 XII. MICKEY FREE ........ 53 
 
 XIII. THE JOURNEY ........ 61 
 
 XIV. DUBLIN ......... 67 
 
 XV. CAPTAIN POWER ....... 73 
 
 XVI. THE VICE-PROVOST ....... 82 
 
 XVII. TRINITY COLLEGE A LECTURE ..... 85 
 
 XVIII. THE INVITATION THE WAGER ..... 90 
 
 XIX. THE BALL ........ 93 
 
 XX. THE LAST NIGHT IN TRINITY . . . . . 103 
 
 XXI. THE PHCRNIX PARK ....... 109 
 
 XXII. THE ROAD . . . . . . . .115 
 
 XXIII. CORK ......... 120 
 
 xxiv. THE ADJUTANT'S DINNER . . . . . .124 
 
 XXV. THE ENTANGLEMENT ...... 127 
 
 XXVI. THE PREPARATION ....... 130 
 
 XXVII. THE SUPPER ........ 134 
 
 XXVIII. THE VOYAGE ........ 140 
 
 xxix. THE ADJUTANT'S STORY LIFE IN DERRY . . . 145 
 
 xxx. FRED POWER'S ADVENTURE IN PHILIPSTOWN . . 152 
 
 XXXI. THE VOYAGE 159
 
 vj CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 xxxii. MR. SPARKS' STORY . . . . . . 162 
 
 XXXIII. THE SKIPPER .... ... 169 
 
 XXXIV. THE LAND ........ 180 
 
 XXXV. MAJOR MONSOON 183 
 
 XXXVI. THE LANDING 190 
 
 XXXVII. LISBON 197 
 
 XXXVIII. THE STRADA NUOVA ...... 201 
 
 XXXIX. THE VILLA 205 
 
 XL. THE DINNER ........ 208 
 
 XLI. THE ROUTE . . . . . . . .211 
 
 XL1I. THE FAREWELL 213 
 
 XLIII. THE MARCH . ... . . . . 216 
 
 XLIV. THE BIVOUAC 222 
 
 XLV. THE DOURO 228 
 
 XLVI. THE MORNING 235 
 
 XLVII. THE REVIEW . 238 
 
 XLVIII. THE QUARREL . 242 
 
 XUX. THE ROUTE ....'.-.. . . . . 246 
 
 L. THE WATCH FIRE 248 
 
 LI. THE MARCH . 254 
 
 LII. THE PAGE . . 256 
 
 LIII. ALVAS 260 
 
 LIV. THE SUPPER ........ 264 
 
 LV. THE LEGION . . ' . . . . . 268 
 
 LVI. THE DEPARTURE ....... 270 
 
 LVII. CUESTA 277 
 
 LVIII. THE LETTER . 279 
 
 LIX. MAJOR O'SHAUGHNESSY ..'.... 281 
 
 LX. PRELIMINARIES 284 
 
 LXI. ALL RIGHT 285 
 
 LXII. THE DUEL 287 
 
 LXI1I. NEWS FROM GALWAY 291 
 
 LXIV. AN ADVENTURE WITH SIR ARTHUR .... 296 
 
 IJCV. TALAVERA 298 
 
 LXVI. NIGHT AFTER TALAVERA 302 
 
 LXVII. THE OUTPOST ..... ... 305 
 
 L' ENVOI: 
 
 LETTER TO THE PUBLIC . . . . . 311 
 
 EPISTLE TO G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. . . .314 
 
 MR. JAMES'S REPLY ; WITH THE STORY OF THE 
 
 BANKER'S DAUGHTER 315
 
 CONTENTS vii 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 LXVIII. THE DOCTOR'S TAJLE ...... 323 
 
 LXIX. THE SKIRMISH ....... 331 
 
 LXX. THE LINES OF CIUDAD HODRIGO .... 336 
 
 LXXI. THE DOCTOR ....... 341 
 
 LXXII. THE COA ........ 344 
 
 LXXIII. THE NIGHT MARCH ...... 349 
 
 LXXIV. THE JOURNEY 353 
 
 LXXV. THE GHOST ........ 358 
 
 LXXVI. LISBON ........ 363 
 
 LXXVII. A PLEASANT PREDICAMENT ..... 369 
 
 LXXVIII. THE DINNER 372 
 
 LXXIX. THE LETTER ....... 375 
 
 LXXX. THE VILLA ........ 380 
 
 LXXXI. THE VISIT ........ 386 
 
 LXXXII. THE CONFESSION ....... 389 
 
 LXXXIII. MY CHARGER 394 
 
 LXXXIV. MAURICE ........ 397 
 
 LXXXV. THE MASQUERADE ....... 401 
 
 LXXXVI. THK LINES ... . . . . . . 409 
 
 LXXXVII. THE RETREAT OF THE FRENCH . . . .412 
 
 LXXX viii. PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA . . .415 
 
 LXXXIX. FUENTES D'oNORO ....... 428 
 
 XC. THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D'oNORO . . . 431 
 
 XCI. A RENCONTRE . . . . . . . 438 
 
 .\i II. ALMEIDA ........ 442 
 
 XCIII. A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA ..... 444 
 
 xciv. MIKE'S MISTAKE ....... 454 
 
 XCV. MONSOON IN TROUBLE ...... 459 
 
 XCVI. THE CONFIDENCE ....... 467 
 
 XCVII. THE CANTONMENT ...... 471 
 
 xcvin. MICKEY FREE'S ADVENTURE ..... 474 
 
 XCIX. THE SAN PETRO ....... 479 
 
 c. THE COUNT'S LETTER ...... 485 
 
 CI. THE TRENCHES ....... 489 
 
 CII. THE STORMING OF CIUDAI) RODRIGO . . . 493 
 
 CIII. AN UNEXPECTED CHECK ...... 495 
 
 CIV. THE DESPATCH ..... . 500 
 
 CV. THE LEAVE ........ 503 
 
 CVI. LONDON ........ 509 
 
 i VII. THE BELL AT BRISTOL ...... 513 
 
 CVIII. IRELAND 520
 
 viii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 CIX. THE RETURN 528 
 
 CX. HOME 531 
 
 CXI. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE . . . . . . 537 
 
 CXII. A SURPRISE 543 
 
 CXIII. NEW VIEWS 551 
 
 CXIV. A RECOGNITION 555 
 
 CXV. A MISTAKE 560 
 
 CXVI. BRUSSELS . 568 
 
 CXVII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 574 
 
 CXVI1I. THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL .... 581 
 
 CXIX. LES QUATRE BRAS 590 
 
 CXX. WATERLOO 603 
 
 CXXI. BRUSSELS ........ 616 
 
 (XXII. CONCLUSION ........ 620 
 
 L'ENVOI 625
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS 
 
 BY ARTHUR RACKHAM 
 
 " BAD LUCK TO YE," CRIED HE, APOSTROPHISING THE OFF HORSE 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 I SEIZED THE OPPORTUNITY OF PROSECUTING MY ACQUAINTANCE 
 
 WITH MISS DASHWOOD . . . . . . . .15 
 
 I LEVELLED MY HEAVY HUNTING-WHIP AT HIS HEAD ... 53 
 " MISS MACAN ".......... 97 
 
 THE " DALS ".......... 135 
 
 WITH ONE SPRING HE ROSE; AND CLEARED IT AT A BOUND . . 200 
 
 I PEEPED THROUGH THE DENSE LEAVES ..... 206 
 
 I DRESSED HIS WOUND, AND BOUND UP HIS SHATTERED ARM . 251 
 
 MICKEY FREE'S SONG ......... 275 
 
 IHIAWING MY PISTOL, I WHEELED SUDDENLY IN MY SADDLE, AND 
 
 FIRED STRAIGHT AT HIM ....... 341 
 
 " SAKE, BY JUPITER ! AND SPLENDIDLY DONE TOO "... 396 
 
 "DRINK WITH ME TO THE TWO GREATEST IRISHMEN THAT EVER 
 
 LIVED *ST. PATRICK AND LORD WELLINGTON*" . . . 417 
 
 " HA, HA, HA! WE HAVE HIM NOw!" SANG THEIR WILD VOICES . 497 
 
 I RECOGNISED MY FAIR COUSIN BABY, WHO, WITH A YOUNGER 
 
 BROTHER, WAS TAKING AN EVENING WALK .... 557 
 
 " LET THE LIFE GUARDS CHARGE THEM," SAID THE DUKE J . . . AND 
 
 I MYSELF BROUGHT THE ORDER TO LORD UXBRIDGE . . 613 
 
 J PRESSED HER HAND ONCE MORE TO MY LIPS . . 620
 
 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 THE IEISH DEAGOON 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 DALY'S CLUB HOUSE 
 
 THE rain was dashing in torrents against the window-panes, and the 
 wind sweeping in heavy and fitful gusts along the dreary and deserted 
 streets, as a party of three persons sat over their wine, in that stately 
 old pile which once formed the resort of the Irish Members, in College 
 Green, Dublin, and went by the name of Daly's Club House. The 
 clatter of falling tiles and chimney-pots the jarring of the window- 
 frames and howling of the storm without, seemed little to affect the 
 spirits of those within, as they drew closer to a blazing fire, before 
 which stood a small table covered with the debris of a dessert, and an 
 abundant supply of bottles, whose characteristic length of neck indi- 
 cated the rarest wines of France and Germany ; while the portly 
 magnum of claret the wine, par excellence, of every Irish gentleman 
 of the day passed rapidly from hand to hand, the conversation did 
 not languish, and many a deep and hearty laugh followed the stories 
 which every now and then were told, as some reminiscence of early 
 days was recalled, or some trait of a former companion remembered. 
 
 One of the party, however, was apparently engrossed by other 
 thoughts than those of the mirth and merriment around ; for, in the 
 midst of all, he would turn suddenly from the others, and devote him- 
 self to a number of scattered sheets of paper, upon which he had 
 written some lines, but whose crossed and blotted sentences attested 
 how little success had waited upon his literary labours. This indi- 
 vidual was a short, plethoric-looking, white-haired man, of about fifty, 
 with a deep, round voice, and a chuckling, smothering laugh, which, 
 whenever he indulged it, not only shook his own ample person, but 
 generally created a petty earthquake on every side of him. For the 
 present, I shall not stop to particularise him more closely ; but, when 
 I add that the person in question was a well-known Member of the 
 Irish House of Commons, whose acute understanding and practical 
 good sense were veiled under an affected and well-dissembled habit of 
 blundering, that did far more for his party than the most violent and 
 pointed attacks of his more accurate associates, some of my readers
 
 2 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 may anticipate me in pronouncing him to be Sir Harry Boyle. Upon 
 his left sat a figure the most unlike him possible : he was a tall, thin, 
 bony man, with a bolt-upright air, and a most saturnine expression ; 
 his eyes were covered by a deep green shade, which fell far over his 
 face, but failed to conceal a blue scar, that, crossing his cheek, ended 
 in the angle of his mouth, and imparted to that feature, when he spoke, 
 an apparently abortive attempt to extend towards his eyebrow ; his 
 upper lip was covered with a grizzly and ill-trimmed moustache, which 
 added much to the ferocity of his look, while a thin and pointed beard 
 on his chin gave an apparent length to the whole face that completed 
 its rueful character. His dress was a single-breasted, tightly buttoned 
 frock, in one button-hole of which a red ribbon was fastened, the deco- 
 ration of a foreign service, which conferred upon its wearer the title 
 of Count ; and though Billy Considine, as he was familiarly called by 
 his friends, was a thorough Irishman in all his feelings and affections, 
 yet he had no objection to the designation he had gained in the 
 Austrian army. The Count was certainly no beauty, but, somehow, 
 very few men of his day had a fancy for telling him so ; a deadlier 
 hand and a steadier eye never covered his man in the Phoenix ; and 
 though he never had a seat in the House, he was always regarded as 
 one of the Government party, who more than once had damped the 
 ardour of an Opposition Member by the very significant threat of 
 "setting Billy at him." The third figure of the group was a large, 
 powerfully built and handsome man, older than either of the others, but 
 not betraying in his voice and carriage any touch of time. He was 
 attired in the green coat and buff vest which formed the livery of the 
 Club ; and in his tall, ample forehead, clear, well-set eye, and still 
 handsome mouth, bore evidence that no great flattery was necessary at 
 the time which called Godfrey O'Malley the handsomest man in Ireland. 
 
 "Upon my conscience," said Sir Harry, throwing down his pen 
 with an air of ill-temper, " I can make nothing of it ; I have got 
 into such an infernal habit of making bulls, that I can't write sense 
 when I want it." 
 
 " Come, come," said O'Malley, " try again, my dear fellow. If you 
 can't succeed, I'm sure Billy and I have no chance." 
 
 "What have you written? Let us see," said Considine, drawing 
 the paper towards him, and holding it to the light ; " why, what the 
 devil is all this? you have made him ' drop down dead after dinner, of 
 a lingering illness, brought on by the debate of yesterday.' " 
 
 ' e Oh, impossible ! " 
 
 "Well, read it yourself; there it is, and, as if to make the thing 
 less credible, you talk of his ' Bill for the Better Recovery of Small 
 Debts.' I'm sure, O'Malley, your last moments were not employed 
 in that manner." 
 
 ( ' Come, now," said Sir Harry, " I'll set all to rights with a post- 
 script. 'Any one who questions the above statement is politely re- 
 quested to call on Mr. Considine, 16 Kildare Street, who will feel 
 happy to afford him every satisfaction upon Mr. O'Malley's decease, 
 or upon miscellaneous matters." 
 
 " Worse and worse," said O'Malley. " Killing another man will 
 never persuade the world that I'm dead."
 
 DALY'S CLUB HOUSE 3 
 
 " But we'll wake you, and have a glorious funeral." 
 
 <c And if any man doubt the statement, I'll call him out," said the 
 Count. 
 
 " Or, better still," said Sir Harry, " O'Malley has his action at law 
 for defamation. " 
 
 " I see I'll never get down to Galway at this rate," said O'Malley ; 
 (l and as the new election takes place on Tuesday week, time presses. 
 There are more writs flying after me this instant than for all the 
 Government boroughs." 
 
 " And there will be fewer returns, I fear," said Sir Harry. 
 
 " Who is the chief creditor ?" asked the Count. 
 
 " Old Stapleton the attorney, in Fleet Street, has most of the mort- 
 gages." 
 
 " Nothing to be done with him in this way," said Considine, balanc- 
 ing the cork-screw like a hair-trigger. 
 
 " No chance of it." 
 
 " Maybe," said Sir Harry, " he might come to terms if I were to 
 call and say you are anxious to close accounts, as your death has just 
 taken place. You know what I mean." 
 
 " I fear so should he, were you to say so. No, no, Boyle, just try 
 a plain straightforward paragraph about my death. We'll have it in 
 Falkner's paper to-morrow ; on Friday the funeral can take place, and, 
 with the blessing o' God, I'll come to life on Saturday at Athlone, in 
 time to canvass the market." 
 
 " I think it wouldn't be bad if your ghost were to appear to old 
 Timins the tanner, in Naas, on your way down ; you know he arrested 
 you once before." 
 
 " I prefer a night's sleep," said O'Malley; "but come, finish the 
 squib for the paper." 
 
 " Stay a little," said Sir Harry, musing ; " it just strikes me that if 
 ever the matter gets out, I may be in some confounded scrape. Who 
 knows if it is not a breach of privilege to report the death of a Member, 
 and, to tell you truth, I dread the Sergeant and the Speaker's warrant 
 with a very lively fear." 
 
 " Why, when did you make his acquaintance ? " said the Count. 
 
 <e Is it possible you never heard of Boyle's committal f " said 
 O'Malley ; " you surely must have been abroad at the time ; but it's 
 not too late to tell it yet. 
 
 " Well, it's about two years since old Townsend brought in his 
 Enlistment Bill, and the whole country was scoured for all our voters, 
 who were scattered here and there, never anticipating another call of 
 the House, and supposing that the Session was just over. Among 
 others, up came our friend Harry, here, and the night he arrived they 
 made him a ' monk of the screw,' and very soon made him forget his 
 senatorial dignities. 
 
 " On the evening after his reaching town the Bill was brought in, 
 and at two in the morning the division took place a vote was of too 
 much consequence not to look after it closely and a Castle messenger 
 was in waiting in Exchequer Street, who, when the debate was closing, 
 put Harry, with three others, into a coach, and brought them down to 
 the House. Unfortunately, however, they mistook their friends, voted
 
 4 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 against the Bill, and, amid the loudest cheering of the Opposition, the 
 Government party were defeated. The rage of the Ministers knew no 
 bounds, and looks of defiance and even threats were exchanged between 
 the Ministers and the deserters. Amid all this poor Harry fell fast 
 asleep, and dreamed that he was once more in Exchequer Street, pre- 
 siding among the monks, and mixing another tumbler. At length he 
 awoke and looked about him the clerk was j ust at the instant reading 
 out, in his usual routine manner, a clause of the new Bill, and the 
 remainder of the House was in dead silence. Harry looked again 
 around on every side, wondering where was the hot water, and what 
 had become of the whisky-bottle, and, above all, why the company 
 were so extremely dull and ungenial. At length, with a half shake, he 
 roused up a little, and giving a look of unequivocal contempt on every 
 side, called out, ' Upon my soul, you're pleasant companions but I'll 
 give you a chant to enliven you. ' So saying, he cleared his throat with 
 a couple of short coughs, and struck up, with the voice of a Stentor, 
 the following verse of a popular ballad : 
 
 " ' And they nibbled away both night and day, 
 
 Like mice in a round of Glo'ster ; 
 Great rogues they were all, both great and small, 
 From Flood to'Leslie Foster. 
 
 " ' Great rogues all.' 
 
 " ' Chorus, boys.' 
 
 " If he was not joined by the voices of his friends in the song, it was 
 probably because such a roar of laughing never was heard since the 
 walls were roofed over. The whole House rose in a mass, and my 
 friend Harry was hurried over the benches by the Sergeant-at-Arms, 
 and left for three weeks in Newgate to practise his melody." 
 
 " All true," said Sir Harry, " and worse luck to them for not 
 liking music ; but come, now, will this do ? ' It is our melancholy 
 duty to announce the death of Godfrey O'Malley, Esq., late Member 
 for the county of Galway, which took place on Friday evening, at 
 Daly's Club House. This esteemed gentleman's family one of the 
 oldest in Ireland, and among whom it was hereditary not to have any 
 children ' " 
 
 Here a burst of laughter from Considine and O'Malley interrupted 
 the reader, who with the greatest difficulty could be persuaded that he 
 was again bulling it. " The devil fly away with it," said he, " I'll 
 never succeed." 
 
 " Never mind," said O'Malley ; ' ' the first part will do admirably ; 
 and let us now turn our attention to other matters." 
 
 A fresh magnum was called for, and over its inspiring contents all 
 the details of the funeral were planned ; and, as the clock struck four, 
 the party separated for the night, well satisfied with the result of their 
 labours.
 
 THE ESCAPE 5 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE ESCAPE 
 
 WHEN the dissolution of Parliament was announced the following 
 morning in Dublin, its interest in certain circles was manifestly 
 increased by the fact that Godfrey O'Malley was at last open to arrest 
 for, as in olden times certain gifted individuals possessed some happy 
 immunity against death by fire or sword, so the worthy O'Malley 
 seemed to enjoy a no less valuable privilege, and for many a year had 
 passed, among the myrmidons of the law, as writ-proof. Now, how- 
 ever, the charm seemed to have yielded, and pretty much with the 
 same feeling as a storming party may be supposed to experience on the 
 day that a breach is reported as practicable, did the honest attorneys 
 retained in the various suits against him rally round each other that 
 morning in the Four Courts. 
 
 Bonds, mortgages, post-obits, promissory notes in fact, every 
 imaginable species of invention for raising the O'Malley exchequer, 
 for the preceding thirty years were handed about on all sides ; 
 suggesting to the mind of an uninterested observer, the notion that, 
 had the aforesaid O'Malley been an independent and absolute monarch, 
 instead of merely being the Member for Galway, the kingdom over 
 whose destinies he had been called to preside, would have suffered not 
 a little from a depreciated currency and an extravagant issue of paper. 
 Be that as it might, one thing was clear, the whole estates of the 
 family could not possibly pay one-fourth of the debt ; and the only 
 question was one which occasionally arises at a scanty dinner on a 
 mail-coach road who was to be the lucky individual to carve the 
 joint, where so many were sure to go off hungry. 
 
 It was now a trial of address between these various and highly gifted 
 gentlemen, who should first pounce upon the victim ; and when the 
 skill of their caste is taken into consideration, who will doubt that 
 every feasible expedient for securing him was resorted to? While 
 writs were struck against him in Dublin, emissaries were despatched 
 to the various surrounding counties, to procure others, in the event of 
 his escape. Ne exeats were sworn, and water bailiffs engaged to follow 
 him on the high seas ; and, as the great Nassau balloon did not exist 
 in those days, no imaginable mode of escape appeared possible, and 
 bets were offered at long odds, that within twenty-four hours the late 
 Member would be enjoying his otium cum dignitate in his Majesty's 
 gaol of Newgate. 
 
 Expectation was at the highest confidence hourly increasing 
 success all but certain when, in the midst of all this high-bounding 
 hope, the dreadful rumour spread that O'Malley was no more. One 
 had seen it just five minutes before, in the evening edition of Falkner's 
 paper another heard it in the courts a third overheard the Chief 
 Justice stating it to the Master of the Rolls and, lastly, a breathless 
 witness arrived from College Green, with the news that Daly's Club 
 House was shut up, and the shutters closed. To describe the conster-
 
 6 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 nation the intelligence caused on every side is impossible ; nothing in 
 history equals it, except, perhaps, the entrance of the French army 
 into Moscow, deserted and forsaken by its former inhabitants. While 
 terror and dismay, therefore, spread amid that wide and respectable 
 body who formed O'Malley's creditors, the preparations for his funeral 
 were going on with every rapidity relays of horses were ordered at 
 every stage of the journey ; and it was announced that, in testimony of 
 his worth, a large party of his friends were to accompany his remains 
 to Portumna Abbey a test much more indicative of resistance in the 
 event of any attempt to arrest the body, than of anything like reverence 
 for their departed friend. 
 
 Such was the state of matters in Dublin, when a letter reached me 
 one morning at O'Malley Castle, whose contents will at once explain 
 the writer's intention, and also serve to introduce my unworthy self to 
 my reader. It ran thus : 
 
 " DEAR CHARLEY, " Your uncle Godfrey, whose debts [God pardon 
 him] are more numerous than the hairs of his wig, was obliged to die 
 here last night. We did the thing for him completely ; and all doubts 
 as to the reality of the event are silenced by the circumstantial detail 
 of the newspaper 'that he was confined six weeks to his bed, from a 
 cold he caught ten days ago while on guard.' Repeat this, for it's 
 better we had all the same story, till he comes to life again, which, 
 maybe, will not take place before Tuesday or Wednesday. At the 
 same time, canvass the county for him, and say he'll be with his friends 
 next week, and up in Woodford, and the Scariff barony : say he died 
 a true Catholic ; it will serve him on the hustings. Meet us in Athlone 
 on Saturday, and bring your uncle's mare with you he says he'd 
 rather ride home ; and tell Father MacShane to have a bit of dinner 
 ready about four o'clock, for the corpse can get nothing after he leaves 
 Mouutmellick. No more now, from yours, ever. 
 
 " HARRY BOYLE. 
 ' ' Daly's, about eight in the evening. 
 
 "To CHARLES O'MALLEY, Esq., 
 
 "O'Malley Castle, Galway." 
 
 When this not over-clear document reached me, 1 was the sole in- 
 habitant of O'Malley Castle, a very ruinous pile of incongruous 
 masonry, that stood in a wild and dreary part of the county of Galway, 
 bordering on the Shannon. On every side stretched the property of 
 my uncle, or at least what had once been so ; and, indeed, so numerous 
 were its present claimants that he would have been a subtle lawyer 
 who could have pronounced upon the rightful owner. The demesne 
 around the castle contained some well-grown and handsome timber, 
 and, as the soil was undulating and fertile, presented many features of 
 beauty ; beyond it all was sterile, bleak, and barren. Long tracts of 
 brown heath-clad mountain, or not less unprofitable valleys of tall and 
 waving fern, were all that the eye could discern, except where the 
 broad Shannon, expanding into a tranquil and glassy lake, lay still 
 and motionless beneath the dark mountains ; a few islands, with some
 
 THE ESCAPE 7 
 
 ruined churches and a round tower, alone breaking the dreary waste of 
 water. 
 
 Here it was that I had passed my infancy and my youth, and here I 
 now stood at the age of seventeen, quite unconscious that the world 
 contained aught fairer and brighter than that gloomy valley, with its 
 rugged frame of mountains. 
 
 When a mere child I was left an orphan to the care of my worthy 
 uncle. My father, whose extravagance had well sustained the family 
 reputation, had squandered a large and handsome property in con- 
 testing elections for his native county, and in keeping up that system 
 of unlimited hospitality for which Ireland in general, and Galway 
 more especially, was renowned. The result was, as might be expected, 
 ruin and beggary : he died, leaving every one of his estates encum- 
 bered with heavy debts, and the only legacy he left to his brother was 
 a boy of four years of age, entreating him, with his last breath ' ' Be 
 anything you like to him, Godfrey, but a father, or at least such a one 
 as I have proved." 
 
 Godfrey O'Malley, some short time previous, had lost his wife, and 
 when this new trust was committed to him he resolved never to re- 
 marry, but to rear me up as his own child, and the inheritor of his 
 estates. How weighty and onerous an obligation this latter might 
 prove, the reader can form some idea ; the intention was, however, a 
 kind one ; and, to do my uncle justice, he loved me with all the affec- 
 tion of a warm and open heart. 
 
 From my earliest years his whole anxiety was to fit me for the part 
 of a country gentleman, as he regarded that character viz., I rode 
 boldly with foxhounds ; I was about the best shot within twenty miles 
 of us ; I could swim the Shannon at Holy Island ; I drove four-in-hand 
 better than the coachman himself ; and from finding a hare to hooking 
 a salmon, my equal could not be found from Killaloe to Banagher. 
 These were the staple of my endowments ; besides which, the parish 
 priest had taught me a little Latin, a little French, and a little 
 geometry, and a great deal of the life and opinions of St. Jago, who 
 presided over a holy well in the neighbourhood, and was held in very 
 considerable repute. 
 
 When I add to this portraiture of my accomplishments that I was 
 nearly six feet high, with more than a common share of activity and 
 strength for my years, and no inconsiderable portion of good looks, I 
 have finished my sketch, and stand before my reader. 
 
 It is now time that I should return to Sir Harry's letter, which so 
 completely bewildered me that, but for the assistance of Father Roach, 
 I should have been totally unable to make out the writer's inten- 
 tions. By his advice, I immediately set out for Athlone, where, when 
 I arrived, I found my uncle addressing the mob from the top of the 
 hearse, and recounting his miraculous escapes as a new claim upon 
 their gratitude. 
 
 " There was nothing else for it, boys ; the Dublin people insisted 
 on my being their Member, and besieged the club-house. I refused 
 they threatened I grew obstinate they furious. Til die first,' paid 
 I. 'Galway or nothing !'" "Hurrah!" from the mob. "O'Malley 
 for ever ! " " And ye see I kept my word, boys I did die ; 1 died
 
 8 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 that evening at a quarter past eight. There, read it for yourselves 
 there's the paper was waked and carried out, and here I am after all, 
 ready to die in earnest for you but never to desert you. " 
 
 The cheers here were deafening ; and my uncle was carried through 
 the market, down to the mayor's house, who, being a friend of the 
 opposite party, was complimented with three groans ; then up the 
 Mall to the chapel, beside which Father MacShane resided ; he was 
 then suffered to touch the earth once more, when, having shaken 
 hands with all of his constituency within reach, he entered within the 
 house, to partake of the kindest welcome and best reception the good 
 priest could afford him. 
 
 My uncle's progress homeward was a triumph ; the real secret of his 
 escape had somehow come out, and his popularity rose to a white heat. 
 " An' it's little O'Malley cares for the law bad luck to it ! it's himself 
 can laugh at judge and jury. Arrest him ! na bocklish catch a 
 weasel asleep," &c. Such were the encomiums that greeted him as 
 he passed on towards home ; while shouts of joy and blazing bonfires 
 attested that his success was regarded as a national triumph. 
 
 The west has certainly its strong features of identity. Had my 
 uncle possessed the claims of the immortal Howard had he united in 
 his person all the attributes which confer a lasting and an ennobling 
 fame upon humanity he might have passed on unnoticed and unob- 
 served ; but for the man that had duped a judge and escaped the 
 sheriff, nothing was sufficiently flattering to mark their approbation. 
 The success of the exploit was twofold : the news spread far and near, 
 and the very story canvassed the county better than Billy Daveni 
 himself, the Athlone attorney. 
 
 This was the prospect now before us ; and, however little my readers 
 may sympathise with my taste, I must honestly avow that I looked 
 forward to it with a most delighted feeling. O'Malley Castle was to 
 be the centre of operations, and filled with my uncle's supporters ; 
 while I, a mere stripling, and usually treated as a boy, was to be 
 entrusted with an important mission, and sent off to canvass a distant 
 relation, with whom my uncle was not upon terms, and who might 
 possibly be approachable by a younger branch of the family, with 
 whom he had never had any collision. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 MR. BLAKE 
 
 NOTHING but the exigency of the case could ever have persuaded my 
 uncle to stoop to the humiliation of canvassing the individual to whom 
 I was now about to proceed as envoy-extraordinary, with full powers 
 to make any or every amende, provided only his interest, and that of 
 his followers, should be thereby secured to the O'Malley cause. The 
 evening before I set out was devoted to giving me all the necessary 
 instructions how I was to proceed, and what difficulties I was to 
 avoid.
 
 MR. BLAKE 9 
 
 "Say your uncle's in high feather with the Government party/' 
 said Sir Harry, "and that he only votes against them as a ruse de 
 guerre, as the French call it." 
 
 ' ' Insist upon it, that I am sure of the election without him ; but 
 that for family reasons he should not stand aloof from me ; that 
 people are talking of it in the country." 
 
 " And drop a hint," said Considine, "that O'Malley is greatly im- 
 proving in his shooting." 
 
 " And don't get drunk too early in the evening, for Phil Blake has 
 beautiful claret," said* another. 
 
 "And be sure you don't make love to the red-headed girls," added 
 a third ; " he has four of them, each more sinfully ugly than the 
 other." 
 
 ' ( You'll be playing whist, too," said Boyle ; " and never mind 
 losing a few pounds. Mrs. B., long life to her, has a playful way of 
 turning the king." 
 
 " Charley will do it all well," said my uncle " leave him alone ; 
 and now let us have in the supper." 
 
 It was only on the following morning, as the tandem came round 
 to the door, that I began to feel the importance of my mission, and 
 certain misgivings came over me as to my ability to fulfil it. Mr. 
 Blake and his family, though estranged from my uncle for several 
 years past, had been always most kind and good-natured to me ; and 
 although I could not, with propriety, have cultivated any close intimacy 
 with them, I had every reason to suppose that they entertained towards 
 me nothing but sentiments of goodwill. The head of the family was a 
 Galway squire of the oldest and most genuine stock ; a great sports- 
 man, a negligent farmer, a most careless father ; he looked upon a fox 
 as an infinitely more precious part of the creation than a French 
 governess, and thought that riding well with hounds was a far better 
 gift than all the learning of a Porson. His daughters were after his 
 own heart the best-tempered, least-educated, most high-spirited, gay, 
 dashing, ugly girls in the country ready to ride over a four-foot paling 
 without a saddle, and to dance the " Wind that shakes the barley," 
 for four consecutive hours, against all the officers that their hard fate, 
 arid the Horse Guards, ever condemned to Galway. 
 
 The mamma was only remarkable for her liking for whist, and her 
 invariable good fortune thereat ; a circumstance the world were 
 agreed in ascribing less to the blind goddess than her own natural 
 endowments. 
 
 Lastly, the heir of the house was a stripling of about my own age, 
 whose accomplishments were limited to selling spavined and broken- 
 winded horses to the infantry officers, playing a ssife game at billiards, 
 and acting as jackal-general to his sisters at balls, providing them with 
 a sufficiency of partners, and making a strong fight for a place at the 
 supper-table for his mother. These fraternal and filial traits, more 
 honoured at home than abroad, had made Mr. Matthew Blake a rather 
 well-known individual in the neighbourhood where he lived. 
 
 Though Mr. Blake's property was ample, and, strange to say for his 
 country, unencumbered, the whole air and appearance of his house 
 and grounds betrayed anything rather than a sufficiency of means.
 
 10 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 The gate lodge was a miserable mud hovel, with a thatched and falling 
 roof; the gate itself a wooden contrivance, one-half of which was 
 boarded, and the other railed ; the avenue was covered with weeds, 
 and deep with ruts ; and the clumps of young plantation, which had 
 been planted and fenced with care, were now open to the cattle, and 
 either totally uprooted or denuded of their bark, and dying. The 
 lawn, a handsome one of some forty acres, had been devoted to an 
 exercise ground for training horses, and was cut up by their feet, 
 beyond all semblance of its original destination ; and the house itself, 
 a large and venerable structure of above a century old, displayed every 
 variety of contrivance, as well as the usual one of glass, to exclude the 
 weather from the windows. The hall door hung by a single hinge, 
 and required three persons, each morning and evening, to open and 
 shut it ; the remainder of the day it lay pensively open ; the steps 
 which led to it were broken and falling ; and the whole aspect of 
 things without was ruinous in the extreme. Within, matters were 
 somewhat better, for, though the furniture was old, and none of it 
 clean, yet an appearance of comfort was evident ; and the large grate 
 blazing with its pile of red-hot turf, the deep-cushioned chairs, the old 
 black mahogany dinner-table, and the soft carpet, albeit deep with 
 dust, were not to be despised on a winter's evening after a hard day's 
 run with the " Blazers." Here it was, however, that Mr. Philip Blake 
 had dispensed his hospitalities for above fifty years, and his father 
 before him ; and here, with a retinue of servants as gauche and ill- 
 ordered as all about them, was he accustomed to invite all that the 
 country possessed of rank and wealth, among which the officers quar- 
 tered in his neighbourhood were never neglected, the Misses Blake 
 having as decided a taste for the army as any young ladies of the West 
 of Ireland ; and, while the Galway squire with his cords and tops was 
 detailing the last news from Ballinasloe in one corner, the dandy from 
 St. James's Street might be seen displaying more arts of seductive flat- 
 tery in another, than his most accurate insouciance would permit him 
 to exercise in the elegant saloons of London or Paris ; and the same 
 man who would have " cut his brother," for a solecism of dress or 
 equipage, in Bond Street, was now to be seen quietly domesticated, 
 eating family dinners, rolling silk for the young ladies, going down the 
 middle in a country dance, and even descending to the indignity of 
 long whist at " tenpenny " points, with only the miserable consolation 
 that the company were not honest. 
 
 It was upon a clear frosty morning, when a bright blue sky and a 
 sharp but bracing air seemed to exercise upon the feelings a sense no 
 less pleasurable than the balmiest breeze and warmest sun of summer, 
 that I whipped my leader short round, and entered the precincts of 
 " Gurt-na-Morra." As I proceeded along the avenue, I was struck by 
 the slight traces of repairs here and there evident : a gate or two that 
 formerly had been parallel to the horizon, had been raised to the per- 
 pendicular ; some ineffectual efforts at paint were also perceptible 
 upon the palings ; and, in short, everything seemed to have undergone 
 a kind of attempt at improvement. 
 
 When I reached the door, instead of being surrounded, as of old, 
 by a tribe of menials frieze-coated, bare-headed, and bare-legged, my
 
 MR. BLAKE 11 
 
 presence was announced by a tremendous ringing of bells from the 
 hands of an old functionary, in a very formidable livery, who peeped 
 at me through the hall-window, and whom, with the greatest difficulty, 
 I recognised as my quondam acquaintance, the butler. His wig alone 
 would have graced a king's counsel ; and the high collar of his coat, and 
 the stiff pillory of his cravat, denoted an eternal adieu to so humble a 
 vocation as drawing a cork. Before I had time for any conjecture as 
 to the altered circumstances about, the activity of my friend at the 
 bell had surrounded me with " four others worse than himself" at 
 least, they were exactly similarly attired ; and, probably, from the 
 novelty of their costume, and the restraints of so unusual a thing as 
 dress, were as perfectly unable to assist themselves or others as the 
 Court of Aldermen would be were they to rig out in plate armour of 
 the fourteenth century. How much longer I might have gone on con- 
 jecturing the reasons for the masquerade around, I cannot say ; but 
 my servant, an Irish disciple of my uncle's, whispered in my ear, " It's 
 a red-breeches day, Master Charles they'll have the hoith of company 
 in the house." From the phrase, it needed little explanation to inform 
 me, that it was one of those occasions on which Mr. Blake attired all 
 the hangers-on of his house in livery, and that great preparations were 
 in progress for a more than usually splendid reception. 
 
 In the next moment I was ushered into the breakfast-room, where a 
 party of above a dozen persons were most gaily enjoying all the good 
 cheer for which the house had a well-deserved repute. After the usual 
 shaking of hands and hearty greetings were over, I was introduced in 
 all form to Sir George Dash wood, a tall and singularly handsome man 
 of about fifty, with an undress military frock and ribbon. His recep- 
 tion of me was somewhat strange, for, as they mentioned my relation- 
 ship to Godfrey O'Malley, he smiled slightly and whispered something 
 to Mr. Blake, who replied, " Oh ! no, no, not the least, a mere boy 
 and, besides " what he added I lost, for at that moment Nora Blake 
 was presenting me to Miss Dashwood. 
 
 If the sweetest blue eyes that ever beamed beneath a forehead of 
 snowy whiteness, over which dark brown and waving hair fell, less in 
 curls than masses of locky richness, could only have known what wild 
 work they were making of my poor heart, Miss Dashwood, I trust, 
 would have looked at her teacup or her muffin, rather than at me, as 
 she actually did on that fatal morning. If I were to judge from her 
 costume, she had only just arrived, and the morning air had left upon 
 her cheek a bloom that contributed greatly to the effect of her lovely 
 countenance. Although very young, her form had all the roundness 
 of womanhood ; while her gay and sprightly manner indicated all the 
 sans gene which only very young girls possess, and which, when 
 tempered with perfect good taste, and accompanied by beauty and no 
 small share of talent, form an irresistible power of attraction. 
 
 Beside her sat a tall handsome man of about five-and-thirty, or per- 
 haps forty years of age, with a most soldierly air, who, as I was pre- 
 sented to him, scarcely turned his head, and gave me a half-nod of very 
 unequivocal coldness. There are moments in life in which the heart 
 is, as it were, laid bare to any chance or casual impression, with a 
 wondrous sensibility of pleasure, or its opposite. This to me was one
 
 12 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 of those ; and, as I turned from the lovely girl who had received me 
 with a marked courtesy, to the cold air and repelling hauteur of the 
 dark-browed Captain, the blood rushed throbbing to my forehead ; 
 and, as I walked to my place at the table, I eagerly sought his eye to 
 return him a look of defiance and disdain, proud and contemptuous as 
 his own. Captain Hammersly, however, never took further notice of 
 me, but continued to recount, for the amusement of those about, several 
 excellent stories of his military career, which I confess were heard with 
 every test of delight by all save me. One thing galled me particularly 
 and how easy is it, when you have begun by disliking a person, to 
 supply food for your antipathy all his allusions to his military life 
 were coupled with half-hinted and ill-concealed sneers at civilians of 
 every kind, as though every man not a soldier were absolutely unfit 
 for common intercourse with the world still more, for any favourable 
 reception in ladies' society. 
 
 The young ladies of the family were a well-chosen auditory, for their 
 admiration of the army extended from the Life Guards to the Veteran 
 Battalion, the Sappers and Miners included ; and, as Miss Dashwood 
 was the daughter of a soldier, she, of course, coincided in many, if not 
 all his opinions. I turned towards my neighbour, a Clare gentleman, 
 and tried to engage him in conversation, but he was breathlessly at- 
 tending to the Captain. On my left sat Matthew Blake, whose eyes 
 were firmly riveted upon the same person, and heard his marvels with 
 an interest scarcely inferior to that of his sisters. Annoyed, and in 
 ill-temper, I ate my breakfast in silence, and resolved that the first 
 moment I could obtain a hearing from Mr. Blake I should open my 
 negotiation and take my leave at once of " Gurt-na-Morra." 
 
 We all assembled in a large room, called, by courtesy, the library, 
 when breakfast was over ; and then it was that Mr. Blake, taking me 
 aside, whispered, "Charley, it's right I should inform you that Sir 
 George Dashwood there is the Commander of the Forces, and is come 
 down here at this moment to " What for, or how it should con- 
 cern me, I was not to learn, for at that critical instant my informant's 
 attention was called off by Captain Hammersly asking if the hounds 
 were to hunt that day. 
 
 " My friend Charley, here, is the best authority upon that matter," 
 said Mr. Blake, turning towards me. 
 
 te They are to try the Priest's meadows," said I, with an air of some 
 importance; "but, if your guests desire a day's sport, I'll send word 
 over to Brackely to bring the dogs over here, and we are sure to find a 
 fox in your cover." 
 
 ' ' Oh, then, by all means," said the Captain, turning towards Mr. 
 Blake, and addressing himself to him " by all means ; and Miss 
 Dashwood, I'm sure, would like to see the hounds thrown off." 
 
 Whatever chagrin the first part of his speech caused me, the latter 
 set my heart a-throbbing, and I hastened from the room to despatch a 
 messenger to the huntsman to come over to Gurt-na-Morra, and also 
 another to O'Malley Castle, to bring my best horse and my riding 
 equipments, as quickly as possible. 
 
 " Matthew, who is this Captain ? " said I, as young Blake met me in 
 the hall.
 
 MR. BLAKE 13 
 
 " Oh ! he is the aide-de-camp of General Dashwood. A nice fellow, 
 isn't he ? " 
 
 " I don't know what you may think," said I, " but I take him for 
 the most impertinent, impudent, supercilious " 
 
 The rest of my civil speech was cut short by the appearance of the 
 very individual in question, who, with his hands in his pockets, and a 
 cigar in his mouth, sauntered forth down the steps, taking no more 
 notice of Matthew Blake and myself than of the two fox-terriers that 
 followed at his heels. 
 
 However anxious I might be to open negotiations on the subject of 
 my mission, for the present the thing was impossible, for I found that 
 Sir George Dashwood was closeted closely with Mr. Blake ; and re- 
 solved to wait till evening, when chance might afford me the oppor- 
 tunity I desired. 
 
 As the ladies had entered to dress for the hunt, and as I felt no 
 peculiar desire to ally myself with the unsocial Captain, I accompanied 
 Matthew to the stable to look after the cattle and make preparations 
 for the coming sport. 
 
 " There's Captain Hammersly's horse," said Matthew, as he pointed 
 out a highly bred but powerful English hunter ; " she came last night, 
 for, as he expected some sport, he sent his horses from Dublin on pur- 
 pose. The other will be here to-day. " 
 
 " What is his regiment ? " said I, with an appearance of carelessness, 
 but in reality feeling curious to know if the Captain was a cavalry or 
 infantry officer. 
 
 ' The th Light Dragoons," said Matthew. 
 
 ' You never saw him ride ? " said I. 
 
 ' Never ; but his groom there says he leads the way in his own 
 county." 
 
 ' And where may that be ? " 
 1 In Leicestershire, no less," said Matthew. 
 ' Does he know Gal way ? " 
 
 1 Never was in it before ; it's only this minute he asked Mosey Daly 
 if the ox-fences were high here." 
 
 " Ox-fences ! then he does not know what a wall is ? " 
 
 " Devil a bit ; but we'll teach him." 
 
 "That we will," said I, with as bitter a resolution to impart the in- 
 struction as ever schoolmaster did to whip Latin grammar into one of 
 the great unbreeched. 
 
 ' ' But I had better send the horses down to the Mill," said Matthew ; 
 <e we'll draw that cover first." 
 
 So saying, he turned towards the stable, while I sauntered alone 
 towards the road by which I expected the huntsman. I had not walked 
 half a mile before I heard the yelping of the dogs, and a little farther 
 on I saw old Brackely coming along at a brisk trot, cutting the hounds 
 on each side, and calling after the stragglers. 
 
 " Did you see my horse on the road, Brackely ? " said I. 
 
 (c I did, Misther Charles, and troth I'm sorry to see him ; sure 
 yerself knows better than to take out the Badger, the best steeple- 
 chaser in Ireland, in such a country as this nothing but awkward 
 stone-fences, and not a foot of sure ground in the whole of it."
 
 14 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " I know it well, Brackely ; but I have my reasons for it." 
 
 " Well, maybe you have ; what cover will yer honour try first? " 
 
 " They talk of the Mill," said I, " but I'd much rather try ' Morran- 
 a-Gowl.'" 
 
 ' ' Morran-a-Gowl ! do you want to break your neck entirely ? " 
 
 " No, Brackely, not mine. " 
 
 e< Whose then, alannah ? " 
 
 " An English Captain's, the devil fly away with him ! he's come 
 down here to-day, and from all I can see is a most impudent fellow ; 
 so, Brackely " 
 
 " I understand ; well, leave it to me, and, though I don't like the 
 ould deer-park wall on the hill, we'll try it this morning with the 
 blessing : I'll take him down by Woodford, over the ' Devil's Mouth ' 
 it's eighteen feet wide this minute with the late rains into the four 
 callows, then over the stone walls, down to Dangan ; then take a short 
 cast up the hill, blow him a bit, and give him the park wall at the top. 
 You must come in then fresh, and give him the whole run home over 
 Sleibhmich the Badger knows it all, and takes the road always in a 
 fly ; a mighty distressing thing for the horse that follows, more par- 
 ticularly if he does not understand a stone country. Well, if he lives 
 through this, give him the sunk fence and the stone wall at Mr. Blake's 
 clover-field, for the hounds will run into the fox about there ; and 
 though we never ride that leap since Mr. Malone broke his neck at it, 
 last October, yet, upon an occasion like this, and for the honour of 
 Gal way " 
 
 " To be sure, Brackely, and here's a guinea for you ; and now trot 
 on towards the house they must not see us together, or they might 
 suspect something. But, Brackely," said I, calling out after him, " if 
 he rides at all fair, what's to be done ? " 
 
 " Troth, then, myself doesn't know ; there's nothing so bad west of 
 Athlone. Have ye a great spite agin him ? " 
 
 " I have," said I fiercely. 
 
 " Could ye coax a fight out of him ? " 
 
 ' ' That's true," said I, " and now ride on as fast as you can. " 
 
 Brackely's last words imparted a lightness to my heart and my step, 
 and I strode along a very different man from what I had left the house 
 half-an-hour previously. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE HUNT 
 
 ALTHOUGH we had not the advantages of a " southerly wind and 
 clouded sky," the day, towards noon, became strongly overcast, and 
 promised to afford us good scenting weather, and, as we assembled at 
 the meet, mutual congratulations were exchanged upon the improved 
 appearance of the day. Young Blake had provided Miss Dashwood 
 with a quiet and well-trained horse, and his sisters were all mounted, 
 as usual, upon their own animals, giving to our turn-out quite a gay 
 and lively aspect. I myself came to cover upon a hackney, having
 
 THE HUNT 15 
 
 sent Badger with a groom, and longed ardently for the moment when, 
 casting the skin of my greatcoat and overalls, I should appear before 
 the world in my well-appointed " cords and tops." Captain Hammersly 
 had not as yet made his appearance, and many conjectures were afloat 
 as to whether " he might have missed the road, or changed his mind," 
 or forgot all about it, as Miss Dashwood hinted. 
 
 " Who, pray, pitched upon this cover?" said Caroline Blake, as she 
 looked with a practised eye over the country on either side. 
 
 (e There is no chance of a fox late in the day at the Mill," said the 
 huntsman, inventing a lie for the occasion. 
 
 " Then of course you never intend us to see much of the sport, for 
 after you break cover you are entirely lost to us." 
 
 ' ' I thought you always followed the hounds ? " said Miss Dashwood 
 timidly. 
 
 " Oh, to be sure we do, in any common country ; but here it is out 
 of the question the fences are too large for any one, and, if I am not 
 mistaken, these gentlemen will not ride far over this. There, look 
 yonder, where the river is rushing down the hill that stream widening 
 as it advances, crosses the cover nearly midway well, they must clear 
 that, and then you may see these walls of large loose stones, nearly 
 five feet in height ; that is the usual course the fox takes, unless he 
 heads towaras the hills, and goes towards Dangan, and then there's an 
 end of it; for the deer-park wall is usually a pull up to every one, 
 except, perhaps, to our friend Charley there, who has tried his fortune 
 against drowning more than once there. " 
 
 " Look, here he comes," said Matthew Blake, " and looking splen- 
 didly too a little too much in flesh, perhaps, if anything." 
 
 1 ' Captain Hammersly ! " said the four Miss Blakes in a breath ; 
 ' ' where is he ? " 
 
 " No, it's the Badger I'm speaking of," said Matthew, laughing, and 
 pointing with his finger towards a corner of the field where my servant 
 was leisurely throwing down a wall about two feet high to let him pass. 
 
 "Oh, how handsome what a charger for a dragoon!" said Miss 
 Dashwood. 
 
 Any other mode of praising my steed would have been much more 
 acceptable. The word dragoon was a thorn in my tenderest part that 
 rankled and lacerated at every stir. In a moment I was in the saddle, 
 and scarcely seated, when at once all the mauvaise honte of boyhood 
 left me, and I felt every inch a man. I often look back to that 
 moment of my life, and, comparing it with many similar ones, cannot 
 help acknowledging how purely is the self-possession which so often 
 wins success, the result of some slight and trivial association. My 
 confidence in my horsemanship suggested moral courage of a very 
 different kind, and I felt that Charles O'Malley curveting upon a 
 thoroughbred and the same man ambling upon a shelty were two and 
 very dissimilar individuals. 
 
 " No chance of the Captain," said Matthew, who had returned from 
 a reconnaissance upon the road, " and after all it's a pity, for the day 
 is getting quite favourable." 
 
 While the young ladies formed picquets to look out for the gallant 
 militaire, I seized the opportunity of prosecuting my acquaintance
 
 16 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 with Miss Dashwood ; and, even in the few and passing observations 
 that fell from her, learned how very different an order of being she 
 was from all I had hitherto seen of country belles. A mixture of 
 courtesy with na'ivete a wish to please, with a certain feminine gentle- 
 ness, that always flatters a man, and still more a boy that fain would 
 be one gained momentarily more and more upon me, and put me 
 also on my mettle to prove to my fair companion that I was not 
 altogether a mere uncultivated and unthinking creature, like the 
 remainder of those about me. 
 
 " Here he is, at last," said Helen Blake, as she cantered across a 
 field, waving her handkerchief as a signal to the Captain, who was 
 now seen approaching at a brisk trot. 
 
 As he came along, a small fence intervened ; he pressed his horse 
 a little, and, as he kissed hands to the fair Helen, cleared it in a bound, 
 and was in an instant in the midst of us. 
 
 " He sits his horse like a man, Misther Charles," said the old hunts- 
 man ; "troth, we must give him the worst bit of it." 
 
 Captain Hammersly was, despite all the critical acumen with which 
 I canvassed him, the very beau ideal of a gentleman rider ; indeed, 
 although a very heavy man, his powerful English thoroughbred, show- 
 ing not less bone than blood, took away all semblance of overweight ; 
 his saddle well fitting and well placed ; his large and broad-reined 
 snaffle ; his own costume of black coat, leathers and tops, was in per- 
 fect keeping, and even to his heavy-handled hunting-whip I could 
 find nothing to cavil at. As he rode up he paid his respects to the 
 ladies, in his usual free-and-easy manner, expressed some surprise, but 
 no regret at hearing that he was late, and never deigning any notice 
 of Matthew or myself, took his place beside Miss Dashwood, with 
 whom he conversed in a low and undertone. 
 
 " There they go," said Matthew, as five or six dogs, with their heads 
 up, ran yelping along a furrow, then stopped, howled again, and once 
 more set off together. In an instant all was commotion in the little 
 valley below us. The huntsman, with his hand to his mouth, was call- 
 ing off the stragglers, and the whipper-in following up the leading 
 dogs with the rest of the pack. "They're found! they're away!" 
 said Matthew ; and, as he spoke, a great yell burst from the valley, 
 and in an instant the whole pack were off at speed. Rather more 
 intent that moment upon showing off my horsemanship than any- 
 thing else, I dashed spurs into Badger's sides, and turned him towards 
 a rasping ditch before me ; over we went, hurling down behind us a 
 rotten bank of clay and small stones, showing how little safety there 
 had been in topping instead of clearing it at a bound. Before I was 
 well seated again, the Captain was beside me. " Now for it, then," 
 said I, and away we went. What might be the nature of his feelings, 
 I cannot pretend to state, but my own were a strange melange of wild 
 boyish enthusiasm, revenge, and recklessness. For my own neck I 
 cared little nothing ; and as I led the way by half a length I muttered 
 to myself, " Let him follow me fairly this day, and I ask no more." 
 
 The dogs had got somewhat the start of us, and as they were in full 
 cry, and going fast, we were a little behind. A thought therefore 
 struck me that, by appearing to take a short cut upon the hounds I
 
 THE HUNT 17 
 
 should come down upon the river where its breadth was greatest and 
 thus at one coup might try my friend's mettle and his horse's perform- 
 ance at the same time. On we went, our speed increasing, till the 
 roar of the river we were now approaching was plainly audible. I 
 looked half around, and now perceived that the Captain was standing 
 in his stirrups, as if to obtain a view of what was before him ; other- 
 wise his countenance was calm and unmoved, and not a muscle 
 betrayed that he was not cantering on a parade. I fixed myself firmly 
 in my seat, shook my horse a little together, and, with a shout whose 
 import every Galway hunter well knows, rushed him at the river. I 
 saw the water dashing among the large stones, I heard its splash, I 
 felt a bound like the ricochet of a shot, and we were over, but so 
 narrowly, that the bank had yielded beneath his hind legs, and it 
 needed a bold effort of the noble animal to regain his footing. Scarcely 
 was he once more firm, when Hammersly flew by me, taking the lead, and 
 sitting quietly in his saddle as if racing. I know of nothing in all my 
 after life like the agony of that moment ; for, although I was far, very 
 far, from wishing real ill to him, yet I would gladly have broken my 
 leg or my arm if he could not have been able to follow me. And now 
 there he was, actually a length and a half in advance ; and, worse than 
 all, Miss Dashwood must have witnessed the whole, and doubtless his 
 leap over the river was better and bolder than mine. One consolation 
 yet remained, and while I whispered it to myself, I felt comforted again. 
 " His is an English mare they understand these leaps but what can 
 he make of a Galway wall ? " The question was soon to be solved. 
 Before us, about three fields, were the hounds still in full ciy ; a large 
 stone wall lay between, and to it we both directed our course together. 
 Ha ! thought I, he is floored at last, as I perceived that the Captain 
 held his horse rather more in hand, and suffered me to lead. ' ' Now, 
 then, for it !" so saying, I rode at the largest part I could find, well 
 knowing that Badger's powers were here in their element. One spring, 
 one plunge, and away we were, galloping along at the other side. Not 
 so the Captain : his horse had refused the fence, and he was now 
 taking a circuit of the field for another trial of it. 
 
 ' ' Pounded, by Jove ! " said I, as I turned round in my saddle to 
 observe him. Once more she came at it, and once more baulked, 
 rearing up at the same time, almost so as to fall backward. 
 
 My triumph was complete, and I again was about to follow the 
 hounds ; when, throwing a look back, I saw Hammersly clearing the 
 wall in a most splendid manner, and taking a stretch of at least 
 thirteen feet beyond it. Once more he was on my flanks, and the 
 contest renewed. Whatever might be the sentiments of the riders 
 (mine I confess to), between the horses it now became a tremendous 
 struggle. The English mare, though evidently superior in stride and 
 strength, was still overweighted, and had not, besides, that cat-like 
 activity an Irish horse possesses ; so that the advantages and dis- 
 advantages on either side were about equalised. For about half-an- 
 hour now the pace was awful. We rode side by side, taking our leaps 
 exactly at the same instant, and not four feet apart. The hounds 
 were still considerably in advance, and were heading towards the 
 Shannon, when suddenly the fox doubled, took the hill-side, and made
 
 18 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 for Dangan. " Now, then, comes the trial of strength/' I said half 
 aloud, as I threw my eye up a steep and rugged mountain, covered 
 with wild furze and tall heath, around the crest of which ran, in a 
 zigzag direction, a broken and dilapidated wall, once the enclosure of 
 a deer-park. This wall, which varied from four to six feet in height, 
 was of solid masonry, and would in the most favourable ground have 
 been a bold leap. Here, at the summit of a mountain, with not a 
 yard of footing, it was absolutely desperation. 
 
 By the time that we reached the foot of the hill, the fox, followed 
 closely by the hounds, had passed through a breach in the wall, while 
 Matthew Blake, with the huntsmen and whipper-in, were riding along 
 in search of a gap to lead the horses through. Before I put spurs to 
 Badger, to face the hill, I turned one look towards Hammersly. There 
 was a slight curl, half-smile, half-sneer upon his lip, that actually 
 maddened me, and had a precipice yawned beneath my feet, I should 
 have dashed at it after that. The ascent was so steep that I was 
 obliged to take the hill in a slanting direction, and even thus, the 
 loose footing rendered it dangerous in the extreme. At length I 
 reached the crest, where the wall, more than five feet in height, stood 
 frowning above and seeming to defy me. I turned my horse full 
 round, so that his very chest almost touched the stones, and, with a 
 bold cut of the whip and a loud halloo, the gallant animal rose, as if 
 rearing, pawed for an instant to regain his balance, and then with a 
 frightful struggle fell backwards, and rolled from top to bottom of the 
 hill, carrying me along with him ; the last object that crossed my 
 sight, as I lay bruised and motionless, being the Captain as he took 
 the wall in a flying leap, and disappeared at the other side. After a 
 few scrambling efforts to rise, Badger regained his legs, and stood 
 beside me ; but such was the shock and concussion of my fall, that all 
 the objects around me seemed wavering and floating before me, while 
 showers of bright sparks fell in myriads before my eyes. I tried to 
 rise, but fell back helpless. Cold perspiration broke over my forehead, 
 and I fainted. From that moment I can remember nothing, till I felt 
 myself galloping along at full speed upon a level tableland, with the 
 hounds about three fields in advance, Hammersly riding foremost, and 
 taking all his leaps coolly as ever. As I swayed to either side upon 
 my saddle, from weakness, I was lost to all thought or recollection, 
 save a flickering memory of some plan of vengeance, which still urged 
 me forward. The chase had now lasted above an hour, and both 
 hounds and horses began to feel the pace they were going. As for 
 me, I rode mechanically ; I neither knew nor cared for the dangers 
 before me. My eye rested on but one object ; my whole being was 
 concentrated upon one vague and undetermined sense of revenge. At 
 this instant the huntsman came alongside of me. 
 
 ' ' Are you hurted, Misther Charles ? did you fall ? your cheek is all 
 blood, and your coat is torn in two ; and, Mother o' God, his boot is 
 ground to powder ; he does not hear me. Oh, pull up pull, for the 
 love of the Virgin ; there's the clover-field, and the sunk fence before 
 you, and you'll be killed on the spot." 
 
 " Where? " cried I, with the cry of a madman, " where's the clover- 
 field ? where's the sunk fence ? Ha ? I see it I see it now."
 
 THE DRAWING-ROOM 19 
 
 So saying, I dashed the rowels into my horse's flanks, and in an 
 instant was beyond the reach of the poor fellow's remonstrances. 
 Another moment I was beside the Captain. He turned round as I 
 came up : the same smile was upon his mouth I could have struck 
 him. About three hundred yards before us lay the sunk fence ; its 
 breadth was about twenty feet, and a wall of close brickwork formed 
 its face. Over this the hounds were now clambering ; some succeeded 
 in crossing, but by far the greater number fell back howling into the 
 ditch. 
 
 I turned towards Hammersly. He was standing high in his stirrups, 
 and, as he looked towards the yawning fence, down which the dogs 
 were tumbling in masses, I thought (perhaps it was but a thought) that 
 his cheek was paler. I looked again, he was pulling at his horse ; ha ! 
 it was true, then, he would not face it. I turned round in my saddle, 
 looked him full in the face, and, as I pointed with my whip to the 
 leap, called out in a voice hoarse with passion, e< Come on." I saw no 
 more. All objects were lost to me from that moment. When next 
 my senses cleared I was standing amid the dogs, where they had just 
 killed. Badger stood blown and trembling beside me, his head droop- 
 ing, and his flanks gored with spur marks. I looked about, but all 
 consciousness of the past had fled ; the concussion of my fall had 
 shaken my intellect, and I was like one but half awake. One glimpse, 
 short and fleeting, of what was taking place, shot through my brain, 
 as old Brackely whispered to me, <( By my soul, ye did for the Captain 
 there ! " I turned a vague look upon him, and my eyes fell upon the 
 figure of a man that lay stretched and bleeding upon a door before me. 
 His pale face was crossed with a purple stream of blood that trickled 
 from a wound beside his eyebrow ; his arms lay motionless and heavily 
 at either side. I knew him not A loud report of a pistol aroused me 
 from my stupor ; I looked back. J saw a crowd that broke suddenly 
 asunder and fled right and left. I heard a heavy crash upon the 
 ground ; I pointed with my finger, for I could not utter a word. 
 
 " It is the English mare, yer honor ; she was a beauty this moi'niug, 
 but she's broke her collar-bone and both her legs, and it was best to 
 put her out of pain." 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE DRAWING-ROOM 
 
 ON the fourth day following the adventure detailed in the last chapter 
 I made my appearance in the drawing-room ; my cheek well blanched 
 by copious bleeding, and my step tottering and uncertain. On entering 
 the room I looked about in vain for some one who might give me an 
 insight into the occurrences of the four preceding days, but no one was 
 to be met with. The ladies, I learned, were out riding ; Matthew was 
 buying a new setter ; Mr. Blake was canvassing ; and Captain Ham- 
 mersly was in bed. Where was Miss Dashwood ? in her room ; and 
 Sir George? he was with Mr. Blake. 
 ' ' What ! canvassing too ? "
 
 20 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Troth, that same was possible," was the intelligent reply of the old 
 butler, at which I could not help smiling. I sat down, therefore, in 
 the easiest chair I could find, and, unfolding the county paper, resolved 
 upon learning how matters were going on in the political world. But, 
 somehow, whether the editor was not brilliant, or the fire was hot, or 
 that my own dreams were pleasanter to indulge in than his fancies, I 
 fell sound asleep. 
 
 How differently is the mind attuned to the active busy world of 
 thought and action, when awakened from sleep by any sudden and 
 rude summons to arise and be stirring, and when called into existence 
 by the sweet and silvery notes of softest music, stealing over the senses, 
 and while they impart awakening thoughts of bliss and beauty, scarcely 
 dissipating the dreary influence of slumber ; such was my first thought 
 as, with closed lids, the thrilling cords of a harp broke upon my sleep, 
 and aroused me to a feeling of unutterable pleasure. I turned gently 
 round in my chair, and beheld Miss Dashwood. She was seated in the 
 recess of an old-fashioned window ; the pale yellow glow of a wintry 
 sun at evening fell upon her beautiful hair, and tinged it with such a 
 light as I have often since then seen in Rembrandt's pictures ; her head 
 leaned upon the harp, and, as she struck its cords at random, I saw 
 that her mind was far away from all round her ; as I looked, she sud- 
 denly started from her leaning attitude, and, parting back her curls 
 from her brow, she preluded a few chords, and then sighed forth, rather 
 than sang, that most beautiful of Moore's melodies : 
 
 " She is far from the land where her young hero sleeps." 
 
 Never before had such pathos, such deep utterance of feeling, met my 
 astonished sense. I listened breathlessly as the tears fell one by one 
 down my cheek ; my bosom heaved and fell ; and, when she ceased, I 
 hid my head between my hands and sobbed aloud. In an instant she 
 was beside me, and placing her hand upon my shoulder, said 
 
 " Poor dear boy, I never suspected you of being there, or I should 
 not have sung that mournful air. " 
 
 I started and looked up, and, from what I know not, but she sud- 
 denly crimsoned to her very forehead, while she added in a less assured 
 tone 
 
 " I hope, Mr. O'Malley, that you are much better, and 1 trust there 
 is no imprudence in your being here." 
 
 " For the latter I shall not answer," said I, with a sickly smile ; 
 " but already I feel your music has done me service." 
 
 " Then, pray let me sing more for you." 
 
 " If I am to have a choice, I should say, sit down and let me hear 
 you talk to me ; my illness and the doctor together, have made wild 
 work of my poor brain ; but, if you will, talk to me." 
 
 " Well, then, what shall it be about ? Shall I tell you a fairy tale ? " 
 
 " I need it not : I feel I am in one this instant." 
 
 ' ' Well, then, what say you to a legend, for I am rich in my stores 
 of them ? " 
 
 " The O'Malleys have their chronicles, \vild and barbarous enough, 
 without the aid of Thar and Woden."
 
 THE DRAWING-ROOM 2! 
 
 "Then, shall we chat of everyday matters? Should you like to 
 hear how the election and the canvass go on ? " 
 
 " Yes ; of all things." 
 
 " Well, then, most favourably. Two baronies, with most unspeak- 
 able names, have declared for us, and confidence is rapidly increasing 
 among our party. This I learned by chance yesterday for papa never 
 permits us to know anything of these matters ; not even the names of 
 the candidates." 
 
 " Well, that was the very point I was coming to, for the Govern- 
 ment were about to send down some one, just as I left home ; and I 
 am most anxious to learn who it is." 
 
 " Then am I utterly valueless ; for I really can't say what party the 
 Government espouses, and only know of our own." 
 
 ie Quite enough for me, that you wish it success," said I gallantly ; 
 " perhaps you can tell me if my uncle has heard of my accident? " 
 
 " Oh yes ; but, somehow, he has not been here himself, but sent 
 a friend, a Mr. Considine, I think ; a very strange person he seemed. 
 He demanded to see papa, and, it seems, asked him if your misfortune 
 had been a thing of his contrivance, and whether he was ready to 
 explain his conduct about it ; and, in fact, I believe he is mad " 
 
 " Heaven confound him ! " I muttered between my teeth. 
 
 ' ' And then he wished to have an interview with Captain Hammersly, 
 but he is too ill ; but as the doctor hoped he might be downstairs in 
 a week, Mr. Considine kindly hinted that he should wait." 
 
 ' ' Oh, then, do tell me how is the captain ? " 
 
 " Very much bruised, very much disfigured, they say," said she, half 
 smiling ; " but not so much hurt in body as in mind." 
 
 " As how, may I ask ? " said I, with an appearance of innocence. 
 
 " I don't exactly understand it ; but it would appear that there was 
 something like rivalry among you gentlemen chasseurs on that luckless 
 morning, and that, while you paid the penalty of a broken head, he 
 was destined to lose his horse and break his arm." 
 
 " I certainly am sorry most sincerely sorry for any share I might 
 have had in the catastrophe ; and my greatest regret, 1 confess, arises 
 from the fact that I should cause you unhappiriess. " 
 
 " Me pray explain?" 
 
 " Why, as Captain Hammersly " 
 
 " Mr. O'Malley, you are too young now, to make me suspect you 
 have an intention to offend ; but I caution you, never repeat this." 
 
 I saw that 1 had transgressed, but how, I must honestly confess, I 
 could not guess ; for though I certainly was the senior of my fair 
 companion in years, I was most lamentably her junior in tact and 
 discretion. 
 
 The grey dusk of evening had long fallen as we continued to chat 
 together beside the blazing wood embers she evidently amusing her- 
 self with the original notions of an untutored, unlettered boy, and I 
 drinking deep those draughts of love that nerved my heart through 
 many a breach and battlefield. 
 
 Our colloquy was at length interrupted by the entrance of Sir 
 George, who shook me most cordially by the hand, and made the 
 kindest inquiries about my health.
 
 22 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " They tell me you are to be a lawyer, Mr. O'Malley," said he ; 
 "and, if so, I must advise your taking better care of your head- 
 piece." 
 
 "A lawyer, papa? oh, dear me ! I should never have thought of 
 his being anything so stupid." 
 
 ' ' Why, silly girl, what would you have a man be ? " 
 
 " A dragoon, to be sure, papa," said the fond girl, as she pressed her 
 arm around his manly figure, and looked up in his face with an expres- 
 sion of mingled pride and affection. 
 
 That word sealed my destiny. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE DINNER 
 
 WHEN I retired to my room to dress for dinner, I found my servant 
 waiting with a note from my uncle, to which, he informed me, the 
 messenger expected an answer. 
 I broke the seal and read : 
 
 " DEAR CHARLEY, Do not lose a moment in securing old Blake if 
 you have not already done so, as information has just reached me that 
 the Government party has promised a cornetcy to young Matthew, 
 if he can bring over his father. And these are the people I have been 
 voting with a few private cases excepted for thirty odd years ! 
 
 te I am very sorry for your accident. Considine informs me that it 
 will need explanation at a later period. He has been in Athlone since 
 Tuesday, in hopes to catch the new candidate on his way down, and 
 get him into a little private quarrel before the day ; if he succeeds, it 
 will save the county much expense, and conduce greatly to the peace 
 and happiness of all parties. But 'these things,' as Father Roach 
 says, 'are in the hands of Providence.' You must also persuade old 
 Blake to write a few lines to Simon Mallock, about the Coolnamuck 
 mortgage. We can give him no satisfaction at present, at least such 
 as he looks for, and don't be philandering any longer where you are, 
 when your health permits a change of quarters. Your affectionate 
 uncle, GODFREY O'MALLEY. 
 
 "P.S. I have just heard from Considine ; he was out this morning 
 and shot a fellow in the knee, but finds that after all he was not the 
 candidate, but a tourist that was writing a book about Connemara. 
 
 "P.S. No. 2. Bear the mortgage in mind, for old Mallock is a 
 spiteful fellow, and has a grudge against me, since I horsewhipped his 
 son in Banagher. Oh, the world, the world ! G. O'M." 
 
 Until I had read this very clear epistle to the end, I had no very 
 precise conception how completely I had forgotten all my uncle's 
 interests, and neglected all his injunctions. Already five days had 
 elapsed, and I had not as much as mooted the question to Mr. Blake,
 
 THE DINNER 23 
 
 and probably all this time my uncle was calculating on the thing as 
 concluded ; but, with one hole in my head and some half-dozen in my 
 
 and 
 
 conc 
 
 heart, my memory was none of the best. 
 
 Snatching up the letter, therefore, I resolved to lose no more time ; 
 and proceeded at once to Mr. Blake's room, expecting that I should, 
 as the event proved, find him engaged in the very laborious duty of 
 making his toilette. 
 
 " Come in, Charley," said he, as I tapped gently at the door ; " it's 
 only Charley, my darling ; Mrs. B. won't mind you." 
 
 ft Not the least in life," responded Mrs. B. , disposing at the same 
 time a pair of her husband's corduroys, tippet fashion, across her 
 ample shoulders, which before were displayed in the plenitude and 
 breadth of colouring we find in a Rubens. " Sit down, Charley, and 
 tell us what's the matter." 
 
 As, until this moment, I was in perfect ignorance of the Adam 
 and Eve like simplicity in which the private economy of Mr. Blake's 
 household was conducted, I would have gladly retired from what I 
 found to be a mutual territory of dressing-room, had not Mr. Blake's 
 injunctions been issued somewhat like an order to remain. 
 
 ' ' It's only a letter, sir," said I, stuttering, " from my uncle, about 
 the election. He says that, as his majority is now certain, he should 
 feel better pleased in going to the poll witli all the family you know, 
 sir along with him. He wishes me just to sound your intentions 
 to make out how you feel disposed towards him ; and and, faith, as 
 I am but a poor diplomatist, I thought the best way was to come 
 straight to the point and tell you so." 
 
 " I perceive," said Mr. Blake, giving his chin, at the moment, an 
 awful gash with the razor, " I perceive, go on." 
 
 " Well, sir, I have little more to say ; my uncle knows what in- 
 fluence you have in Scariff, and expects you'll do what you can there." 
 
 " Anything more ? " said Blake, with a very dry and quizzical ex- 
 pression I didn't half like ; " anything more ? " 
 
 " Oh yes, you are to write a line to old Mallock." 
 
 " I understand ; about Coolnamuck, isn't it ? " 
 
 " Exactly : I believe that's all." 
 
 " Well now, Charley, you may go downstairs, and we'll talk it over 
 after dinner." 
 
 <e Yes, Charley dear, go down, for I'm going to draw on my 
 stockings," said the fair Mrs. Blake, with a look of very modest 
 consciousness. 
 
 When I had left the room I couldn't help muttering a "Thank 
 God," for the success of a mission I more than once feared for, and 
 hastened to despatch a note to my uncle, assuring him of the Blake 
 interest, and adding that, for propriety's sake, I should defer my 
 departure for a day or two longer. 
 
 This done, with a heart lightened of its load, and in high spirits at 
 my cleverness, I descended to the drawing-room. Here a very large 
 party were already assembled, and, at every opening of the door, a new 
 relay of Blakes, Burkes, and Bodkins was introduced. In the absence 
 of the host, Sir George Dashwood was " making the agreeable " to the 
 guests, and shook hands with every new arrival, with all the warmth
 
 24 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 and cordiality of old friendship. While thus he inquired for various 
 absent individuals, and asked, most affectionately, for sundry aunts, 
 and uncles, not forthcoming, a slight incident occurred, which, by its 
 ludicrous turn, served to shorten the long half-hour before dinner. 
 An individual of the party, a Mr, Blake, had, from certain peculiarities 
 of face, obtained in his boyhood the sobriquet of "Shave the wind." 
 This hatchet-like conformation had grown with his growth, and per- 
 petuated upon him a nickname, by which alone was he ever spoken of 
 among his friends and acquaintances ; the only difference being that, 
 as he came to man's estate, brevity, that soul of wit, had curtailed 
 the epithet to mere " Shave." Now, Sir George had been hearing 
 frequent reference made to him, always by this name, heard him 
 ever so addressed, and perceived him to reply to it ; so that, when 
 he was himself asked by some one, what sport he had found that 
 day among the woodcocks, he answered at once, with a bow of very 
 grateful acknowledgment, " Excellent, indeed ; but entirely owing 
 to where I was placed in the copse ; had it not been for Mr. Shave 
 there " 
 
 I need not say that the remainder of his speech, being heard on all 
 sides, became one universal shout of laughter, in which, to do him 
 justice, the excellent Shave himself heartily joined. Scarcely were the 
 sounds of mirth lulled into an apparent calm, when the door opened, 
 and the host and hostess appeared. Mrs. Blake advanced in all the 
 plenitude of her charms, arrayed in crimson satin, sorely injured in its 
 freshness by a patch of grease upon the front, about the same size and 
 shape as the continent of Europe in Arrowsmith's atlas ; a swansdown 
 ' tippet covered her shoulders ; massive bracelets ornamented her wrists ; 
 while from her ears descended two Irish diamond earrings, rivalling in 
 magnitude and value the glass pendants of a lustre. Her reception of 
 her guests made ample amends, in warmth and cordiality, for any 
 deficiency of elegance ; and, as she disposed her ample proportions 
 upon the sofa, and looked round upon the company, she appeared the 
 very impersonation of hospitality. 
 
 After several openings and shuttings of the drawing-room door, 
 accompanied by the appearance of old Simon, the butler, who counted 
 the party at least five times before he was certain that the score 
 was correct, dinner was at length announced. Now came a moment 
 of difficulty, and one which, as testing Mr. Blake's tact, he would 
 gladly have seen devolve upon some other shoulders ; for he well 
 knew that the marshalling a room full of mandarins, blue, green, 
 and yellow, was " cakes and gingerbread," to ushering a Galway party 
 in to dinner. 
 
 First, there was Mr. Miles Bodkin, whose grandfather would have 
 been a lord if Cromwell had not hanged him one fine morning. Then, 
 Mrs. Mosey Blake's first husband was promised the title of Kilmacud 
 if it was ever restored, whereas Mrs. French of Knocktumnor's mother 
 was then at law for a title ; and lastly, Mrs. Joe Burke was fourth 
 cousin to Lord ( 'lanricarde, as is or will be every Burke from this to 
 the day of judgment. Now, luckily for her prospects, the lord was 
 alive : and Mr. Blake remembering a very sage adage about ee dead 
 lions," &c. , solved the difficulty at once by gracefully tucking the lady
 
 THE DINNER 25 
 
 under his arm, and leading the way ; the others soon followed ; the 
 priest of Portumna and my worthy self bringing up the rear. 
 
 When, many a year afterwards, the hard ground of a mountain 
 bivouac, with its pitiful portion of pickled cork-tree, yclept mess-beef, 
 and that pyroligneous aqua-fortis they call corn-brandy, have been my 
 hard fare, I often looked back to that day's dinner with a most heart- 
 yearning sensation a turbot as big as the Waterloo shield ; a sirloin 
 that seemed cut from the sides of a rhinoceros ; a sauce-boat that con- 
 tained an oyster-bed. There was a turkey which singly would have 
 formed the main army of a French dinner, doing mere outpost duty 
 flanked by a picquet of ham and a detached squadron of chickens, care- 
 fully ambushed in a forest of greens ; potatoes not disguised a la maitre 
 d' hotel and tortured to resemble bad macaroni, but piled like shot in an 
 ordnance yard, were posted at different quarters : while massive de- 
 canters of port and sherry stood proudly up like standard-bearers amid 
 the goodly an'ay. This was none of your austere " great dinners," 
 where a cold and chilling plateau of artificial nonsense cuts off one-half 
 of the table from intercourse with the other where whispered sentences 
 constitute the conversation, and all the friendly recognition of wine- 
 drinking, which renews acquaintance and cements an intimacy, is re- 
 placed by the ceremonious filling of your glass by a lacquey where 
 smiles go current in lieu of kind speeches, and epigram and smartness 
 form the substitute for the broad jest and merry story. Far from it ; 
 here the company ate, drank, talked, laughed, did all but sing, and cer- 
 tainly enjoyed themselves heartily. As for me, I was little more than 
 a listener, and such was the crash of plates, the jingle of glasses, and 
 the clatter of voices, that fragments only of what was passing around 
 reached me, giving to the conversation of the party a character occa- 
 sionally somewhat incongruous. Thus, such sentences as the following 
 ran foul of each other every instant : 
 
 " No better land in Galway " ' ' where could you find such facilities " 
 ' ' for shooting Mr. Jones on his way home " " the truth, the whole 
 truth, and nothing but the truth " " kiss " " Miss Blake, she's the 
 girl with a foot and ankle " " Daly has never had wool on his sheep " 
 " how could he ? " " what does he pay for the mountain ? "- -" four 
 and tenpence a yard " ee not a penny less " " all the cabbage stalks 
 and potato skins, with some bog stuff through it"- " that's the thing 
 to' "make soup, with a red herring in it instead of salt"- -"and 
 when he proposed for my niece, ma'am, says he" "mix a strong 
 tumbler, and I'll make a shake down for you on the floor " " and may 
 the Lord have mercy on your soul" "and now, down the middle and 
 up again " " Captain Magan, my dear, he is the man "- ' to shave a 
 pig properly " " it's not money I'm looking for, says he, the girl of 
 my heart " " if she had not a wind gall and two spavins "- " I'd have 
 given her the rights of the Church, of coorse," said Father Roach, 
 bringing up the rear of this ill-assorted jargon. 
 
 Such were the scattered links of conversation I was condemned to 
 listen to, till a general rise on the part of the ladies left us alone to dis- 
 cuss our wine, and enter in good earnest upon the more serious duties 
 of the evening. 
 
 Scarcely was the door closed, when one of the company seizing
 
 26 
 
 the bell-rope, said, " With your leave, Blake, we'll have the ' dew ' 
 now." 
 
 " Good claret no better," said another : " but it sits mighty cold 
 on the stomach. " 
 
 " There's nothing like the groceries, after all eh, Sir George ? " said 
 an old Galway squire to the English General, who acceded to the fact, 
 which he understood in a very different sense. 
 
 " Oh, punch, you are my darlin'," hummed another, as a large 
 square half-gallon decanter of whisky was placed on the table the 
 various decanters of wine being now ignominiously sent down to the 
 end of the board, without any evidence of regret on any face, save Sir 
 George Dashwood's, who mixed his tumbler with a very rebellious 
 conscience. 
 
 Whatever were the noise and clamour of the company before, they 
 were nothing to what now ensued. As one party were discussing the 
 approaching contest, another was planning a steeplechase ; while two 
 individuals, unhappily removed from each other the entire length of 
 the table, were what is called " challenging each other's effects," in a 
 very remarkable manner, the process so tyled being an exchange of 
 property, when each party setting an imaginary value upon some 
 article, barters it for another, the amount of boot paid and received 
 being determined by a third person, who is the umpire. Thus a gold 
 breast-pin was swopped, as the phrase is, against a horse ; then a pair 
 of boots, then a Kerry bull, &c. , every imaginable species of property 
 coming into the market. Sometimes, as matters of very dubious value 
 turned up, great laughter was the result. In this very national pastime 
 a Mr. Miles Bodkin, a noted fire-eater of the West, was a great pro- 
 ficient, and, it is said, once so completely succeeded in despoiling an 
 uninitiated baud, that after winning in succession his horse, gig, 
 harness, &c., he proceeded, seriatim, to his watch, ring, clothes, and 
 portmanteau, and actually concluded by winning all he possessed, 
 and kindly lent him a card-cloth to cover him on his way to the hotel. 
 His success on the present occasion was considerable, and his spirits 
 proportionate. The decanter had thrice been replenished, and the 
 flushed faces and thickened utterance of the guests evinced that from 
 the cold properties of the claret there was but little to dread. As for 
 Mr. Bodkin, his manner was incapable of any higher flight, when under 
 the influence of whisky, from what it evinced on common occasions ; 
 and, as he sat at the end of the table, fronting Mr. Blake, he assumed 
 all the dignity of the ruler of the feast, with an energy no one seemed 
 disposed to question. In answer to some observations of Sir George, 
 he was led into something like an oration upon the peculiar excellences 
 of his native country, which ended in a declaration that there was 
 nothing like Galway. 
 
 "Why don't you give us a song, Miles? and maybe the General 
 would learn more from it than all your speech-making." 
 
 "To be sure," cried out several voices together; "to be sure : let 
 us hear the ' Man for Galway.'" 
 
 Sir George having joined most warmly in the request, Mr. Bodkin 
 filled up his glass to the brim, bespoke a chorus to his chant, and, 
 clearing his voice with a deep hem, began the following ditty, to the
 
 THE DINNER 27 
 
 air which Moore has since rendered immortal, by the "beautiful song, 
 ' ' Wreath the Bowl," &c. And although the words are well known in 
 the West, for the information of less favoured regions, I here tran- 
 scribe 
 
 "THE MAN FOR GALWAY." 
 
 To drink a toast, 
 A proctor roast, 
 
 Or bailiff, as the case is j 
 To kiss your wife, 
 Or take your life 
 
 At ten or fifteen paces ; 
 To keep game cocks to hunt the fox, 
 
 To drink in punch the Solway, 
 With debts galore, but fun far more ; 
 
 Oh ! that's "the man for Galway." 
 
 Chorus With debts, &c. 
 
 The King of Oude 
 Ts mighty proud, 
 
 And so were onst the Cay tars (Csosars) ; 
 But ould Giles Eyre 
 Would make them stare, 
 
 Av he had them with the Blazers. 
 To the devil I fling ould Rungeet Sing, 
 
 He's only a Prince in a small way, 
 And knows nothing at all of a six-foot wall ; 
 
 Oh ! he'd never " do for Galway." 
 
 Ye think the Blakes 
 Are no " great snakes ; " 
 
 They're all his blood relations, 
 And the Bodkins sneeze 
 At the grim Chinese, 
 
 For they come from the Phenaycians ; 
 So fill to the brim, and here's to him 
 
 Who'd drink in punch the Solway ; 
 With debts galore, but fun far more ; 
 
 Oh ! that's "the man for Galway." 
 
 Chorus With debts, &c. 
 
 I much fear that the reception of this very classic ode would not be 
 as favourable in general companies as it was on the occasion I first 
 heard it ; for certainly the applause was almost deafening ; and even 
 Sir George, the defects of whose English education left some of the 
 allusions out of his reach, was highly amused and laughed heartily. 
 
 The conversation once more reverted to the election, and although I 
 was too far from those who seemed best informed on the matter to 
 hear much, I could catch enough to discover that the feeling was a 
 confident one. This was gratifying to me, as I had some scruples 
 about my so long neglecting my good uncle's cause. 
 
 C( We have Scariff to a man," said Bodkin. 
 
 "And Mosey's tenantry," said another. "I swear that though 
 there's not a freehold registered on the estate, that they'll vote, every 
 mother's son of them, or devil a stone of the court-house they'll leave 
 standing on another,"
 
 28 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " And may the Lord look to the Returning Officer," said a third, 
 throwing up his eyes. 
 
 " Mosey's tenantry are droll boys, and, like their landlord, more by 
 token they never pay any rent." 
 
 " And what for shouldn't they vote ? " said a dry-looking little old 
 fellow in a red waistcoat : " when I was the dead agent " 
 
 " The dead agent," interrupted Sir George, with a start. 
 
 "Just so," said the old fellow, pulling down his spectacles from his 
 forehead, and casting a half angry look at Sir George, for what he had 
 suspected to be a doubt of his veracity. 
 
 e< The General does not know, maybe, what that is," said some one. 
 
 " You have just anticipated me," said Sir George; "I am really in 
 most profound ignorance." 
 
 " It is the dead agent," says Mr. Blake, " who always provides sub- 
 stitutes for any voters that may have died since the last election. A 
 very important fact in statistics may thus be gathered from the poll 
 books of this county, which proves to be the healthiest part of 
 Europe a freeholder has not died in it for the last fifty years." 
 
 "The ' Kiltopher boys"' won't come this time they say there's no use 
 trying to vote, when so many were transported last assizes for perjury." 
 
 " They're poor-spirited creatures," said another. 
 
 " Not they they are as decent boys as any we have they're willing 
 to wreck the town for fifty shillings' worth of spirits ; besides, if they 
 don't vote for the county, they will for the borough." 
 
 This declaration seemed to restore these interesting individuals to 
 favour, and now all attention was turned towards Bodkin, who was 
 detailing the plan of a grand attack upon the polling-booths, to be 
 headed by himself. By this time all the prudence and guardedness of 
 the party had given way whisky was in the ascendant, and every bold 
 stroke of election policy, every cunning artifice, every ingenious device, 
 was detailed and applauded, in a manner which proved that self- 
 respect was not the inevitable gift of "mountain dew." 
 
 The mirth and fun grew momentarily more boisterous, and Miles 
 Bodkin, who had twice before been prevented proposing some toast by 
 a telegraphic signal from the other end of the table, now swore that 
 nothing should prevent him any longer, and rising with a smoking 
 tumbler in his hand, delivered himself as follows ; 
 
 " No, no, Phil Blake, ye needn't be winkin' at me that way It's 
 little I care for the spawn of the ould serpent." [Here great cheers 
 greeted the speaker, in which, without well knowing why, I heartily 
 joined.] "I'm going to give you a toast, boys a real good toast 
 none of your sentimental things about wall-flowers, or the vernal 
 equinox, or that kind of thing, but a sensible, patriotic, manly, intrepid 
 toast ; a toast you must drink in the most universal, laborious, and 
 awful manner do ye see now?" [Loud cheers.] "If any man of 
 you here present doesn't drain this toast to the bottom " [here the 
 speaker looked fixedly at me, as did the rest of the company] " then, 
 by the great gun of Athlone, I'll make him eat the decanter, glass 
 stopper and all, for the good of his digestion d'ye see now." 
 
 The cheering at this mild determination prevented my hearing what 
 followed ; but the peroration consisted of a very glowing eulogy upon
 
 THE DINNER 29 
 
 some person unknown, and a speedy return to him as Member for 
 Galway. Amid all the noise and tumult at this critical moment, nearly 
 every eye at the table was turned upon me, and, as I concluded that 
 they had been drinking my uncle's health, I thundered away at the 
 mahogany with all my energy. At length, the hip, hipping, over, and 
 comparative quiet restored, I rose from my seat to return thanks, but, 
 strange enough, Sir George Dashwood did so likewise, and there we 
 both stood amid an uproar that might well have shaken the courage of 
 more practised orators ; while from every side came cries of " Hear, 
 hear " ' ' Go on, Sir George " ' ' Speak out, General " " Sit down, 
 Charley " " Confound the boy " " Knock the legs from under him," 
 &c. Not understanding why Sir George should interfere with what I 
 regarded as my peculiar duty, I resolved not to give way, and avowed 
 this determination in no very equivocal terms. "In that case," said 
 the General, " I am to suppose that the young gentleman moves an 
 amendment to your proposition, and, as the etiquette is in his favour, 
 I yield." Here he resumed his place, amid a most terrific scene of 
 noise and tumult, while several humane proposals, as to my treatment, 
 were made around me, and a kind suggestion thrown out to break my 
 neck, by a near neighbour. Mr. Blake at length prevailed upon the 
 party to hear what I had to say for he was certain I should not detain 
 them above a minute. The commotion having in some measure sub- 
 sided, I began " Gentlemen, as the adopted son of the worthy man 
 
 whose health you have just drunk " Heaven knows how I should 
 
 have continued but here my eloquence was met by such a roar of 
 laughing as I never before listened to ; from one end of the board to 
 the other it was one continued shout, and went on too as if all the 
 spare lungs of the party had been kept in reserve for the occasion. I 
 turned from one to the other I tried to smile, and seemed to partici- 
 pate in the joke, but failed I frowned I looked savagely about where 
 I could see enough to turn my wrath thitherward ; and, as it chanced, 
 not in vain ; for Mr. Miles Bodkin, with an intuitive perception of 
 my wishes, most suddenly ceased his mirth, and, assuming a look of 
 frowning defiance that had done him good service upon many former 
 occasions, rose and said : 
 
 " Well, sir, I hope you're proud of yourself you've made a nice 
 beginning of it, and a pretty story you'll have for your uncle. But if 
 you'd like to break the news by a letter, the General will have great 
 pleasure in franking it for you ; for, by the rock of Cashel, we'll carry 
 him in against all the O'Malleys that ever cheated the sheriff." 
 
 Scarcely were the words uttered, when I seized my wineglass, and 
 hurled it with all my force at his head ; so sudden was the act, and so 
 true the aim, that Mr. Bodkin measured his length upon the floor ere 
 his friends could appreciate his late eloquent effusion. The scene now 
 became terrific ; for, though the redoubted Miles was hors de combat, 
 his friends made a tremendous rush at, and would infallibly have suc- 
 ceeded in capturing me, had not Blake and four or five others interposed. 
 Amid a desperate struggle, which lasted for some minutes, I was torn 
 from the spot, carried bodily upstairs, and pitched headlong into my 
 own room, where, having doubly locked the door on the outside, they 
 left me to my own cool and not over-agreeable reflections.
 
 30 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE FLIGHT FROM GURT-NA-MORRA. 
 
 IT was by oue of those sudden and inexplicable revulsions which 
 occasionally restore to sense and intellect the maniac of years' stand- 
 ing, that I was no sooner left alone in my chamber, than I became 
 perfectly sober. The fumes of the wine and I had drunk deeply 
 were dissipated at once ; my head, which but a moment before 
 was half wild with excitement, was now cool, calm, and collected ; 
 and, stranger than all, I, who had only an hour since entered the 
 dining-room with all the unsuspecting freshness of boyhood, became, 
 by a mighty bound, a man a man in all my feelings of responsi- 
 bility, a man who, repelling an insult by an outrage, had resolved 
 to stake his life upon the chance. In an instant a new era in life 
 had opened before me the light-headed gaiety which fearlessness 
 and youth impart, was replaced by one absorbing thought one all- 
 engrossing, all-pervading impression, that if I did not follow up my 
 quarrel with Bodkin, I was dishonoured and disgraced ; my little 
 knowledge of such matters not being sufficient to assure me that I 
 was now the aggressor, and that any further steps in the affair should 
 come from his side. 
 
 So thoroughly did my own griefs occupy me, that I had no thought 
 for the disappointment my poor uncle was destined to meet with in 
 hearing that the Blake interest was lost to him, and the former breach 
 between the families irreparably widened by the events of t the evening. 
 Escape was my first thought ; but how to accomplish it ? the door, a 
 solid one of Irish oak, doubly locked and bolted, defied all my efforts 
 to break it open the window was at least five-aud-twenty feet from 
 the ground, and not a tree near to swing into. I shouted, I called 
 aloud, I opened the sash, and tried if any one outside were within 
 hearing, but in vain. Weary and exhausted, I sat down upon my bed 
 and ruminated over my fortunes. Vengeance, quick, entire, decisive 
 vengeance, I thirsted and panted for ; and every moment I lived under 
 the insult inflicted on me, seemed an age of torturing and maddening 
 agony. I rose with a leap, a thought had just occurred to me. I 
 drew the bed towards the window, and fastening the sheet to one of 
 the posts with a firm knot, I twisted it into a rope, and let myself 
 down to within about twelve feet of the ground, when I let go my 
 hold, and dropped upon the grass beneath, safe and uninjured ; a thin 
 misty rain was falling, and I now perceived, for the first time, that in 
 my haste I had forgotten my hat; this thought, however, gave me 
 little uneasiness, and I took my way towards the stable, resolving, if 
 I could, to saddle my horse, and get off before any intimation of my 
 escape reached the family. 
 
 When I gained the yard all was quiet and deserted ; the servants 
 were doubtless enjoying themselves below stairs, and I met no one in 
 the way. I entered the stable, threw the saddle upon ' ' Badger," and 
 before five minutes from my descent from the window, was galloping
 
 THE FLIGHT FROM GURT-NA-MORRA 31 
 
 towards O'Malley Castle at a pace that defied pursuit, had any one 
 thought of it 
 
 It was about five o'clock on a dark wintry morning as I led my horse 
 through the well-known defiles of out-houses and stables which formed 
 the long line of offices to my uncle's house. As yet no one was stirring, 
 and as I wished to have my arrival a secret from the family, after pro- 
 viding for the wants of my gallant grey, I lifted the latch of the kitchen 
 door, no other fastening being ever thought necessary, even at night, 
 and gently groped my way towards the stairs : all was perfectly still, 
 and the silence now recalled me to reflection as to what course I should 
 pursue. It was all-important that my uncle should know nothing of 
 my quarrel, otherwise he would inevitably make it his own, and, by 
 treating me like a boy in the matter, give the whole affair the very turn 
 I most dreaded. Then, as to Sir Harry Boyle, he would most certainly 
 turn the whole thing into ridicule, make a good story, perhaps a song 
 out of it, and laugh at my notions of demanding satisfaction. Consi- 
 dine, I knew, was my man ; but, then, he was at Athlone at least so 
 my uncle's letter mentioned : perhaps he might have returned, if not, 
 to Athlone I should set off at once. So resolving, I stole noiselessly 
 upstairs and reached the door of the Count's chamber : I opened it 
 gently, and entered, and, though my step was almost imperceptible to 
 myself, it was quite sufficient to alarm the watchful occupant of the 
 room, who, springing up in his bed, demanded gruffly, " Who's there?" 
 
 " Charles, sir," said I, shutting the door carefully, and approaching 
 his bedside. " Charles O'Malley, sir : I'm come to have a bit of your 
 advice : and, as the affair won't keep, I have been obliged to disturb 
 you." 
 
 " Never mind, Charley," said the Count : c ' sit down, there's a chair 
 somewhere near the bed have you found it ? There well, now, what 
 is it ? What news of Blake ? " 
 
 " Very bad, no worse ; but it is not exactly that I came about ; I've 
 got into a scrape, sir." 
 
 c< Run off with one of the daughters," said Considine. ' ( By jingo, I 
 knew what those affable devils would be after." 
 
 " Not so bad as that," said I, laughing : " it's just a row, a kind of 
 squabble something that must come " 
 
 " Ay, ay," said the Count, brightening up, " say you so, Charley? 
 Begad, the young ones will beat us all out of the field . Who is it with 
 not old Blake himself? how was it ? tell me all ! " 
 
 I immediately detailed the whole events of the preceding chapter, as 
 well as his frequent interruptions would permit, and concluded by 
 asking what further step was now to be taken, as I was resolved the 
 matter should be concluded before it came to my uncle's ears. 
 
 "There you are all right, quite correct, my boy; but there are 
 many points I should have wished otherwise in the conduct of the 
 affair hitherto." 
 
 Conceiving that he was displeased at my petulance and boldness, I 
 was about to commence a kind of defence, when he added 
 
 " Because, you see," said he, assuming an oracular tone of voice, 
 f( throwing a wineglass, with or without wine, in a man's face, is merely, 
 as you may observe, a mark of denial and displeasure at some observa-
 
 32 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tion he may have made, not in anywise intended to injure him, further 
 than in the wound to his honour at being so insulted, for which, of 
 course, he must subsequently call you out. Whereas, Charley, in the 
 present case the view I take is different ; the expression of Mr. 
 Bodkin, as regards your uncle, was insulting to a degree gratuitously 
 offensive, and warranting a blow. Therefore, my boy, you should, 
 under such circumstances, have preferred aiming at him with a decanter 
 a cut-glass decanter, well aimed, and low, I have seen do effective 
 service. However, as you remark, it was your first thing of the kind, 
 I am pleased with you very much pleased with you. Now, then, for 
 the next step ; " so saying, he arose from his bed, and striking a light 
 with a tinder-box, proceeded to dress himself as leisurely as if for a 
 dinner-party talking all the while. 
 
 " I will just take Godfrey's tax-cart and the roan mare on to Meelish ; 
 put them up at the little inn it is not above a mile from Bodkin's 
 and I'll go over and settle the thing for you : you must stay quiet till 
 I come back, and not leave the house on any account. I've got a case 
 of old broad barrels there that will answer you beautifully ; if you 
 were anything of a shot, I'd give you my own cross handles, but they'd 
 only spoil your shooting. " 
 
 " I can hit a wineglass in the stem at fifteen paces," said I, rather 
 nettled at the disparaging tone in which he spoke of my performance. 
 
 " I don't care sixpence for that : the wineglass had no pistol in his 
 hand. Take the old German, then ; see now, hold your pistol thus : 
 no finger on the guard there, those two on the trigger. They are not 
 hair-triggers ; drop the muzzle a bit ; bend your elbow a trifle more ; 
 sight your man outside your arm ; outside, mind, and take him in the 
 hip, and, if anywhere higher, no matter." 
 
 By this time the Count had completed his toilette, and taking the 
 small mahogany box, which contained his peace-makers, under his arm, 
 led the way towards the stables. When we reached the yard, the only 
 person stirring there was a kind of half-witted boy, who, being about 
 the house, was employed to run of messages for the servants, walk a 
 stranger's horse, or to do any of the many petty services that regular 
 domestics contrive always to devolve upon some adopted subordinate. 
 He was seated upon a stone step, formerly used for mounting, and, 
 though the day was scarcely breaking, and the weather severe and 
 piercing, the poor fellow was singing an Irish song, in a low mono- 
 tonous tone, as he chafed a curb chain between his hands with some 
 sand. As we came near he started up, and, as he pulled off his cap to 
 salute us, gave a sharp and piercing glance at the Count, then at me ; 
 then once more upon my companion, from whom his eyes were turned 
 to the brass-bound box beneath his arm, when, as if seized with a sudden 
 impulse, he started on his feet and set off towards the house with the 
 speed of a greyhound, not, however, before Considine's practised eye 
 had anticipated his plan ; for, throwing down the pistol-case, he dashed 
 after him, and in an instant had seized him by the collar. 
 
 "It won't do, Patsey," said the Count, "you can't double on me." 
 
 " Oh, Count, darlin , Mister Considine avick, don't do it, don't now," 
 said the poor fellow, falling on his knees, and blubbering like an 
 infant.
 
 THE FLIGHT PROM GURT-NA-MORRA 33 
 
 " Hold your tongue, you villain, or I'll cut it out of your head," 
 said Considine. 
 
 " And so I will ; but don't do it, don't, for the love of " 
 
 " Don't do what, you whimpering scoundrel ? What does he think 
 I'll do?" 
 
 " Don't I know very well what you're after, what you're always 
 after, too? oh, wirra, wirra !" Here he wrung his hands and swayed 
 himself backwards and forwards, a true picture of Irish grief. 
 
 " I'll stop his blubbering," said Considine, opening the box and 
 taking out a pistol, which he cocked leisurely, and pointed at the poor 
 fellow's head : ' ' another syllable now, and I'll scatter your brains 
 upon that pavement." 
 
 " And do, the devil thank you ; sure, it's your trade." 
 
 The coolness of the reply threw us both off our guard so completely, 
 that we burst out into a hearty fit of laughing. 
 
 " Come, come," said the Count at last, "this will never do; if he 
 goes on this way, we'll have the whole house about us. Come, then, 
 harness the roan mare, and here's half-a-crown for you." 
 
 " I wouldn't touch the best piece in your purse," said the poor boy ; 
 "sure it's blood-money, no less." 
 
 The words were scarcely spoken, when Considine seized him by the 
 collar with one hand, and by the wrist with the other, and carried him 
 over the yard to the stable, where, kicking open the door, he threw 
 him on a heap of stones, adding, ' ' If you stir now, I'll break every 
 bone in your body ; " a threat that seemed certainly considerably in- 
 creased in its terrors, from the rough grip he had already experienced, 
 for the lad rolled himself up like a ball, and sobbed as if his heart 
 were breaking. 
 
 Very few minutes sufficed us now to harness the mare in the tax- 
 cart, and, when all was ready, Considine seized the whip, and, locking 
 the stable door upon Patsey, was about to get up, when a sudden 
 thought struck him. (f Charley," said he, " that fellow will find some 
 means to give the alarm ; we must take him with us." So saying, he 
 opened the door, and, taking the poor fellow by the collar, flung him 
 at my feet in the tax-cart. 
 
 We had already lost some time, and the roan mare was put to her 
 fastest speed to make up for it. Our pace became, accordingly, a 
 sharp one, and, as the road was bad, and the tax-cart ' e no patent in- 
 audible," neither of us spoke. To me this was a great relief: the 
 events of the last few days had given them the semblance of years, and 
 all the reflection I could muster was little enough to make anything 
 out of the chaotic mass love, mischief, and misfortune in which I 
 had been involved since my leaving O'Malley Castle. 
 
 <e Here we are, Charley," said Considine, drawing up short at the 
 door of a little country alehouse, or, in Irish parlance, shebeen, which 
 stood at the meeting of four bleak roads, in a wild and barren moun- 
 tain tract, beside the Shannon. "Here we are, my boy! jump out, 
 and let us be stirring." 
 
 " Here, Patsey, my man," said the Count, unravelling the prostrate 
 and doubly knotted figure at our feet; "lend a hand, Patsey.' Much 
 to my astonishment, he obeyed the summons with alacrity, and pro-
 
 34 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ceeded to unharness the mare with the greatest despatch. My atten- 
 tion was, however, soon turned from him to my own more immediate 
 concerns, and I followed my companion into the house. 
 
 ' ' Joe," said the Count to the host, " is Mr. Bodkin up at the house 
 this morning ? " 
 
 " He's just passed this way, sir, with Mr. Malowuey of Tillnamuck, 
 in the gig, on their way from Mr. Blake's. They stopped here to 
 order horses to go over to O'Malley Castle, and the gossoon is gone to 
 look for a pair." 
 
 " All right," said Considiue ; and added in a whisper, ' ' We've done 
 it well, Charley, to be beforehand, or the governor would have found 
 it all out, and taken the affair into his own hands. Now, all you've 
 to do is, to stay quietly here till I come back, which will not be above 
 an hour at farthest. Joe, send me the pony keep an eye on Patsey, 
 that he doesn't play us a trick the short way to Mr. Bodkin's is 
 through Scariff ay, I know it well ; good-bye, Charley by the Lord, 
 we'll pepper him ! " 
 
 These were the last words of the worthy Count as he closed the door 
 behind him, and left me to my own not over-agreeable reflections. 
 Independently of my youth and perfect ignorance of the world, which 
 left me unable to form any correct judgment on my conduct, I knew 
 that I had taken a great deal of wine, and was highly excited when my 
 unhappy collision with Mr. Bodkin occurred. Whether, then, I had 
 been betrayed into anything which could fairly have provoked his 
 insulting retort or not, I could not remember ; and now my most 
 afflicting thought was, what opinion might be entertained of me by 
 those at Blake's table ; and, above all, what Miss Dashwood herself 
 would have, and what narrative of the occurrence would reach her. 
 The great effort of my last few days had been to stand well in her 
 estimation, to appear something better in feeling, something higher in 
 principle, than the rude and unpolished squirearchy about me ; and 
 now here was the end of it ! What would she, what could she think, 
 but that I was the same punch-drinking, rowing, quarrelling bumpkin 
 as those whom I had so lately been carefully endeavouring to separate 
 myself from? How I hated myself for the excess to which passion 
 had betrayed me, and how I detested my opponent as the cause of all 
 my present misery ! How very differently, thought I, her friend the 
 Captain would have conducted himself. His quiet and gentlemanly 
 manner would have done fully as much to wipe out an insult on his 
 honour as I could do, and after all, would neither have disturbed the 
 harmony of a dinner-table, nor made himself, as I shuddered to think 
 I had, a subject of rebuke, if not of ridicule. These harassing, tor- 
 turing reflections continued to press on me, and I paced the room with 
 my hands clasped and the perspiration upon my brow. " One thing is 
 certain I can never see her again," thought I ; " this disgraceful busi- 
 ness must, in some shape or other, become known to her, and all I 
 have been saying these last three days rise up in judgment against this 
 one act, and stamp me an impostor ; I that decried, nay derided, our 
 false notions of honour. Would that Considine were come ! What can 
 keep him now ? " I walked to the door : a boy belonging to the house 
 was walking the roan before the door. What had then become of
 
 THE DUEL 36 
 
 Pat, I inquired ; but no one could tell he had disappeared shortly 
 after our arrival, arid had not been seen afterwards. My own thoughts 
 were, however, too engrossing to permit me to think more of this 
 circumstance, and I turned again to enter the house, when I saw Con- 
 sidine advancing up the road at the full speed of his pony. 
 
 " Out with the mare, Charley be alive, my boy all's settled." So 
 saying, he sprang from the pony, and proceeded to harness the roan 
 with the greatest hate, informing me in broken sentences as he went 
 on with all the arrangements. 
 
 " We are to cross the bridge of Portumna. They won the ground, 
 and it seems Bodkin likes the spot : he shot Peyton there three years 
 ago. Worse luck now, Charley, you know : by all the rules of chance, 
 he can't expect the same thing twice never four by honours in two 
 deals didn't say that, though a sweet meadow, I know it well ; 
 small hillocks like molehills all over it caught him at breakfast ; I 
 don't think he expected the message to come from us, but said that it 
 was a very polite attention and so it was, you know." 
 
 So he continued to ramble on, as we once more took our seats in the 
 tax-cart, and set out for the ground. 
 
 " What are you thinking of, Charley ? " said the Count, as I kept 
 silent for some minutes. 
 
 " I'm thinking, sir, if I were to kill him, what I must do after." 
 
 " Right, my boy ; nothing like that, but I'll settle all for you. Upon 
 my conscience, if it wasn't for the chance of his getting into another 
 quarrel and spoiling the election, I'd go back for Godfrey ; he'll like 
 to see you break ground so prettily. And you say you're no shot ? " 
 
 " Never could do anything with the pistol to speak of, sir," said I, 
 remembering his rebuke of the morning. 
 
 " I don't mind that : you've a good eye ; never take it off him after 
 you're on the ground follow him everywhere ; poor Callaghan, that's 
 gone, shot his man always that way : he had a way of looking without 
 winking that was very fatal, at a short distance ; a very good thing to 
 learn, Charley, when you have a little spare time." 
 
 Half-an-hour's sharp driving brought us to the river side, where a 
 boat had been provided by Considine, to ferry us over. It was now 
 about eight o'clock, and a heavy, gloomy morning ; much rain had 
 fallen over night, and the dark and louring atmosphere seemed charged 
 with more. The mountains looked twice their real size, and all the 
 shadows were increased to an enormous extent. A very killing kind 
 of light it was, as the Count remarked. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE DUEL 
 
 As the boatmen pulled in towards the shore, we perceived, a few 
 hundred yards off, a group of persons standing, whom we soon recog- 
 nised as our opponents. " Charley," said the Count, grasping my arm 
 lightly, as I stood up to spring on the land, " Charley, although you
 
 36 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 are only a boy, as I may say, I have no fear for your courage ; but, 
 still, more than that is needful here. This Bodkin is a noted duellist, 
 and will try to shake your nerve. Now, mind that you take everything 
 that happens quite with an air of indifference don't let him think 
 that he has any advantage over you, and you'll see how the tables will 
 be turned in your favour." 
 
 " Trust to me, Count," said I, " I'll not disgrace you. " 
 
 He pressed my hand tightly, and I thought that I discerned some- 
 thing like a slight twitch about the corners of his grim mouth, as if 
 some sudden and painful thought had shot across his mind, but in a 
 moment he was calm and stern-looking as ever. 
 
 " Twenty minutes late, Mr. Cousidiue," said a short red-faced little 
 man, with a military frock and foraging cap, as he held out his watch 
 in evidence. 
 
 " I can only say, Captain Malowney, that we lost no time since we 
 parted ; we had some difficulty in finding a boat ; but, in any case, we 
 are here now, and that, I opine, is the important part of the matter." 
 
 " Quite right, very just indeed. Will you present me to your young 
 friend ? very proud to make your acquaintance, sir ; your uncle and 
 I met more than once in this kind of way. I was out with him in '92 
 was it. ? no, I think it was '93 when he shot Harry Burgoyne, who, 
 by-the-bye, was called the crack shot of our mess ; but, begad, your 
 uncle knocked his pistol hand to shivers, saying in his dry way, ' He 
 must try the left hand this morning.' Count, a little this side, if you 
 please." While Considine and the Captain walked a few paces apart 
 from where I stood, I had leisure to observe my antagonist, who stood 
 among a group of his friends, talking and laughing away in great 
 spirits. As the tone they spoke in was not of the lowest, 1 could catch 
 much of their conversation at the distance I was from them. They 
 were discussing the last occasion that Bodkin had visited this spot, and 
 talking of the fatal event which happened then. 
 
 " Poor devil," said Bodkin, " it wasn't his fault ; but you see some 
 
 of the th had been showing white feathers before that, and he was 
 
 obliged to go out. In fact, the Colonel himself said, f Fight, or leave 
 the corps.' Well, out he came : it was a cold morning in February, 
 with a frost the night before going off in a thin rain ; well, it seems 
 he had the consumption or something of that sort, with a great cough 
 and spitting of blood, and this weather made him worse, and he was 
 very weak when he came to the ground. Now, the moment I got a 
 glimpse of him, I said to myself, ' He's pluck enough, but as nervous 
 as a lady,' for his eyes wandered all about, and his mouth was constantly 
 twitching. 'Take off your greatcoat, Ned,' said one of his people, 
 when they were going to put him up ; ' take it off, man.' He seemed 
 to hesitate for an instant, when Michael Blake remarked, ' Arrah, let 
 him alone, it's his mother makes him wear it, for the cold he has.' 
 They all began to laugh at this, but I kept my eye upon him, and I 
 saw that his cheek grew quite livid, and a kind o/ a grey colour, and 
 his eyes filled up ; * I have you now,' said I to myself, and 1 shot him 
 through the lungs." 
 
 " And this poor fellow," thought I, " was the only sou of a widowed 
 mother." I walked from the spot to avoid hearing further, and felt as
 
 THE DUEL 37 
 
 I did so something like a spirit of vengeance within me for the fate of 
 one so untimely cut off. 
 
 " Here we are, all ready/' said Malowney, springing over a small 
 fence into the adjoining field " take your ground, gentlemen." 
 
 Considiue took my arm and walked forward. ' ' Charley," said he, 
 ' ' I am to give the signal I'll drop my glove when you are to fire, but 
 don't look at me at all, I'll manage to catch Bodkin's eye, and do you 
 watch him steadily, and fire when he does." 
 
 " I think that the ground we are leaving behind us is rather better," 
 said some one. 
 
 "So it is," said Bodkin; "but it was troublesome to carry the 
 young gentleman down that way here all is fair and easy." 
 
 The next instant we were placed, and I well remember the first 
 thought that struck me was that there could be no chance of either 
 of us escaping. 
 
 " Now, then," said the Count, " I'll walk twelve paces, turn and 
 drop this glove, at which signal you fire and together mind. The 
 man who reserves his shot falls by my hand." This very summary 
 denunciation seemed to meet general approbation, and the Count 
 strutted forth. Notwithstanding the advice of my friend, I could not 
 help turning my eyes from Bodkin to watch the retiring figure of the 
 Count. At length he stopped a second or two elapsed he wheeled 
 rapidly round and let fall the glove. My eye glanced towards my 
 opponent, I raised my pistol and fired. My hat turned half round 
 upon my head, and Bodkin fell motionless to the earth. I saw the 
 people around me rush forward ; I caught two or three glances thrown 
 at me with an expression of revengeful passion ; I felt some one grasp 
 me round the waist, and hurry rne from the spot, and it was at least 
 ten minutes after, as we were skimming the surface of the broad 
 Shannon, before I could well collect my scattered faculties to re- 
 member all that was passing, as Considine, pointing to the two 
 bullet-holes in my hat, remarked, ' ' Sharp practice, Charley ; it was 
 the overcharge saved you." 
 
 " Is he killed, sir? ' I asked. 
 
 " Not quite, I believe, but as good ; you took him just above 
 the hip." 
 
 ' ' Can he recover ? " said I, with a voice tremulous from agitation, 
 which I vainly endeavoured to conceal from my companion. 
 
 " Not if the doctor can help it," said Considine ; " for the fool keeps 
 poking about for the ball ; but now let's think of the next step you'll 
 have to leave this, and at once too." 
 
 Little more passed between us. As we rowed towards the shore 
 Considine was following up his reflections, and I had mine, alas 1 too 
 many and too bitter to escape from. 
 
 As we neared the land a strange spectacle caught our eye ; for a 
 considerable distance along the coast crowds of country people were 
 assembled, who, forming in groups, and breaking into parties of two 
 and three, were evidently watching with great anxiety what was taking 
 place at the opposite side. No\v, the distance was at least three miles, 
 and therefore any part of the transaction which had been enacting 
 there must have been quite beyond their view. While I was wondering
 
 88 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 at this, Considine cried out suddenly, " Too infamous, by Jove ; we're 
 murdered men." 
 
 ' e VVTiat do you mean ? " said I. 
 
 " Don't you see that ? " said he, pointing- to something black which 
 floated from a pole at the opposite side of the river. 
 
 " Yes, what is it ? " 
 
 " It's his coat they've put upon an oar to show the people lie's 
 killed, that's all. Every man here's his tenant, and look there ! 
 they're not giving 1 us much doubt as to their intention." Here a 
 tremendous yell burst forth from the mass of people along the shore, 
 which, rising to a terrific cry, sunk gradually down to a low wailing, 
 then rose and fell again several times, as the Irish death-cry filled the 
 air and rose to heaven, as if imploring vengeance on a murderer. 
 
 The appalling influence of the keen, as it is called, had been familiar 
 to me from my infancy, but it needed the awful situation I was placed 
 in to consummate its horrors. It was at once my accusation and my 
 doom. I knew well, none better, the vengeful character of the Irish 
 peasant of the west, and that my death was certain I had no doubt 
 The very crime that sat upon my heart quailed its courage and un- 
 nerved my arm. As the boatmen looked from us towards the shore, 
 and again at our faces, they, as if instinctively, lay upon their oars, 
 and waited for our decision as to what course to pursue. 
 
 " Rig the sprit-sail, my boys," said Considine, " and let her head lie 
 up the river, and be. alive, for I see they're baling a boat below the 
 little reef there, and will be after us in no time." 
 
 The poor fellows, who, although strangers to us, sympathised in 
 what they perceived to be our imminent danger, stepped the light spar 
 which acted as mast, and shook out their scanty rag of canvas in a 
 minute. Considine, meanwhile, went aft, and steadying her head with 
 an oar, held the small craft up to the wind, till she lay completely 
 over, and, as she rushed through the water, ran dipping her gunnel 
 through the white foam. 
 
 " Where can we make without tacking, boys ? " inquired the Count. 
 
 ( ' If it blows on as fresh, sir, we'll run you ashore within half a mile 
 of the castle." 
 
 " Put out an oar to leeward," said Considine, " and keep her up 
 more to the wind, and I promise you, my lads, you will not go home 
 fresh and fasting if you land us where you say." 
 
 " Here they come," said the other boatman, as he pointed back with 
 his finger towards a large yawl which shot suddenly from the shore, 
 with six sturdy fellows pulling at their oars, while three or four others 
 were endeavouring to get up their rigging, which appeared tangled 
 and confused at the bottom of the boat. The white splash of water 
 which fell each moment beside her showing that the process of baling 
 was still continued. 
 
 ft Ah, then, may I never av it isn't the ould Dolphin they have 
 launched for the cruise," said one of our fellows. 
 
 " \V r hat's the Dolphin, then ? " 
 
 "An ould boat of the Lord's (Lord Clanricarde's) that didn't see 
 water, except when it rained, these four years, and is sun-cracked from 
 stem to stern."
 
 THE DUEL 39 
 
 ( ' She can sail, however," said Considine, who watched, with a pain- 
 ful anxiety, the rapidity of her course through the water. 
 
 " Nabocklish, she was a smuggler's jolly-boat, and well used to it. 
 Look how they're pulling. God pardon them ; but they're in no 
 blessed humour this morning." 
 
 " Lay out upon your oars, boys ; the wind's failing us," cried the 
 Count, as the sail flapped lazily against the mast. 
 
 cc It's no use, your honour," said the elder ; " we'll be only breaking 
 our hearts to no purpose, they're sure to catch us." 
 
 " Do as I bade you, at all events. What's that ahead of us there?" 
 
 " The oat rock, sir ; a vessel with grain struck there and went down 
 with all aboard, four years last winter. There's no channel between 
 it and the shore all sunk rocks, every inch of it. There's the breeze ; " 
 the canvas fell over as he spoke, and the little craft lay down to it till 
 the foaming water bubbled over her lee bow " keep her head up, sir, 
 higher, higher still ; " but Considine little heeded the direction, steer- 
 ing straight for the narrow channel the man alluded to ce tear and 
 ages, but you're going right for the cloch na quirka." 
 
 " Arrah, an' the divel a taste I'll be drowned for your divarsion," 
 said the other, springing up. 
 
 " Sit down there and be still," roared Considine, as he drew a pistol 
 from the case at his feet, " if you don't want some leaden ballast to 
 keep you so. Here, Charley, take this, and if that fellow stirs hand 
 or foot you understand me." 
 
 The two men sat sulkily in the bottom of the boat, which now was 
 actually flying through the water. Considine's object was a clear one ; 
 he saw that in so sailing we were greatly overmatched, and that our 
 only chance lay in reaching the narrow and dangerous channel between 
 the oat rock and the shore, by which we should distance the pursuit ; 
 the long reef of rocks that ran out beyond requiring a wide berth to 
 escape from. Nothing but the danger behind us could warrant so rash 
 a daring ; the whole channel was dotted with patches of white and 
 breaking foam, the sure evidence of the mischief beneath, while here 
 and there a dash of spurting spray flew up from the dark water, where 
 some cleft rock lay hid below the flood. Escape seemed impossible ; but 
 who would not have preferred even so slender a chance with so fright- 
 ful an alternative behind them ! As if to add terror to the scene, 
 Considine had scarcely turned the boat ahead of the channel when a 
 tremendous blackness spread over all around the thunder pealed 
 forth, and, amid the crashing of the hail and the bright glare of light- 
 ning, a squall struck us, and laid us nearly keel uppermost for several 
 minutes. I well remember we rushed through the dark and blackening 
 water, our little craft more than half-filled, the oars floating off to 
 leeward, and we ourselves kneeling on the bottom planks for safety. 
 Roll after roll of loud thunder broke, as it were just above our heads ; 
 while, in the swift dashing rain that seemed to hiss around us, every 
 object was hidden, and even the other boat was lost to our view. The 
 two poor fellows ! I shall never forget their expression ; one, a devout 
 Catholic, had placed a little leaden image of a saint before him in the 
 bow, and implored its intercession with a torturing agony of suspense 
 that wrung my very heart ; the other, apparently less alive to such
 
 40 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 consolations as his Church afforded, remained with his hands clasped, 
 his mouth compressed, his brows knitted, and his dark eyes bent upon 
 me, with the fierce hatred of a deadly enemy ; his eyes were sunken 
 and bloodshot, and all told of some dreadful conflict within ; the wild 
 ferocity of his look fascinated my gaze, and amid all the terrors of the 
 scene I could not look from him. As I gazed, a second and more 
 awful squall struck the boat, the mast bent over, and, with a loud 
 report like a pistol shot, smashed at the thwart, and fell over, trailing 
 the sail along the milky sea behind us ; meanwhile the water rushed 
 clean over us, and the boat seemed settling. At this dreadful moment 
 the sailor's eye was bent upon me, his lips parted, and he muttered, as 
 if to himself, " This it is to go to sea with a murderer ! " O God ! the 
 agony of that moment the heartfelt and accusing conscience, that I 
 was judged and doomed, that the brand of Cain was upon my brow, 
 that my fellow-men had ceased for ever to regard me as a brother, that 
 I was an outcast and a wanderer for ever. I bent forward till my 
 forehead fell upon my knees and I wept. Meanwhile, the boat flew 
 through the water, and Considine, who alone among us seemed not to 
 lose his presence of mind, unshipped the mast, and sent it overboard. 
 The storm now began to abate, and, as the black mass of cloud now 
 broke from around us, we beheld the other boat, also dismasted, far 
 behind us, while all on board of her were employed in baling out the 
 water with which she seemed almost sinking. The curtain of mist 
 that had hidden us from each other no sooner broke, than they ceased 
 their labours for a moment, and, looking toward us, burst forth into a 
 yell so wild, so savage, and so dreadful, my very heart quailed as its 
 cadence fell upon my ear. 
 
 " Safe, my boy," said Considine, clapping me on the shoulder, as he 
 steered the boat forth from its narrow path of danger, and once more 
 reached the broad Shannon ; " safe, Charley ; though we've had a 
 brush for it." In a minute more we reached the land, and drawing 
 our gallant little craft on shore, set out for O'Malley Castle. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE RETURN 
 
 O'MALLEY CASTLE lay atout four miles from the spot we landed at, 
 and thither accordingly we bent our steps without loss of time. We 
 had not, however, proceeded far when, before us on the road, we per- 
 ceived a mixed assemblage of horse and foot, hurrying along at a 
 tremendous rate. The mob, which consisted of some hundred country 
 people, were armed with sticks, scythes, and pitchforks, and, although 
 not preserving any military aspect in their order of march, were still a 
 force quite formidable enough to make us call a halt, and deliberate 
 upon what we were to do. 
 
 " They've out-flanked us, Charley," said Considine ; " however, all 
 is not yet lost ; but see, they've got sight of us here they come." 
 
 At these words, the vast mass before us came pouring along, splash-
 
 THE RETURN 41 
 
 ing the mud on every side, and huzzaing like so many Indians. In 
 the front ran a bare-legged boy, waving his cap to encourage the rest, 
 who followed him at about fifty yards behind. 
 
 (f Leave that fellow for me," said the Count, coolly examining the 
 lock of his pistol ; " I'll pick him out, and load again in time for his 
 friend's arrival. Charley, is that a gentleman I see far back in the 
 crowd ? yes, to be sure it is ; he's on a large horse now he's pressing 
 forward, so let no ah ay it's Godfrey O'Malley himself, and these 
 are our own people." Scarcely were the words out when a tremendous 
 cheer arose from the multitude, who, recognising us at the same instant, 
 sprung from their horses and ran forward to welcome us. Among the 
 foremost was the scarecrow leader, whom I at once perceived to be 
 poor Patsey, who, escaping in the morning, had returned at full speed 
 to O'Malley Castle and raised the whole country to my rescue. Before 
 I could address one word to my faithful followers I was in my uncle's 
 arms. 
 
 <e Safe, my boy, quite safe ? " 
 
 ' e Quite safe, sir. " 
 
 cc No scratch anywhere ? " 
 
 " Nothing but a hat the worse, sir," said I, showing the two bullet 
 holes in my head-piece. 
 
 His lip quivered as he turned and whispered something into Consi- 
 dine's ear which I heard not ; but the Count's reply was, " Devil a bit, 
 as cool as you see him this minute." 
 
 ( ' And Bodkin, what of him ? " 
 
 " This day's work's his last," said Considine ; " the tail entered 
 here ; but come along, Godfrey, Charley's new at this kind of thing, 
 and we had better discuss matters in the house." 
 
 Half-an-hour's brisk trot for we were soon supplied with horses 
 brought us back to the Castle, much to the disappointment of our 
 cortege, who had been promised a scrimmage, and went back in very 
 ill-humour at the breach of contract. 
 
 The breakfast-room, as we entered, was filled with my uncle's sup- 
 porters, all busily engaged over poll-books and booth-tallies, in prepa- 
 ration for the eventful day of battle. These, however, were immediately 
 thrown aside to hasten round me, and inquire all the details of my 
 duel. Considine, happily for me, however, assumed all the dignity of 
 an historian, and recounted the events of the morning, so much to 
 my honour and glory, that I, who only a little before felt crushed and 
 bowed down by the misery of my late duel, began, amid the warm con- 
 gratulations and eulogiums about me, to think I was no small hero ; 
 and, in fact, something very much resembling " the Man for Galway." 
 To this feeling a circumstance that followed assisted in contributing : 
 while we were eagerly discussing the various results likely to arise 
 from the meeting, a horse galloped rapidly to the door, and a loud 
 voice called out, "I can't get off, but tell him to come here." We 
 rushed out and beheld Captain Malowney, Mr. Bodkin's second, covered 
 with mud from head to foot, and his horse reeking with foam and 
 sweat. " I am hurrying on to Athlone for another doctor ; but I've 
 called to tell you that the wound is not supposed to be mortal he 
 may recover yet," Without waiting for another word, he dashed spurs
 
 42 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 into his nag and rattled down the avenue at full gallop. Mr. Bodkin's 
 dearest friend on earth could not have received the intelligence with 
 more delight, and I now began to listen to the congratulations of my 
 friends with a more tranquil spirit. My uncle, too, seemed much 
 relieved by the information, and heard with great good temper my 
 narrative of the few days at Gurt-na-morra. " So then," said he, as I 
 concluded, " my opponent is at least a gentleman ; that is a comfort." 
 
 " Sir George "Dashwood," said I, ' ' from all I have seen, is a remark- 
 ably nice person, and I am certain you will meet with only the fair 
 and legitimate opposition of an opposing candidate in him no mean 
 or unmanly subterfuge. " 
 
 " All right, Charley ; well, now, your affair of this morning must 
 keep you quiet here for a few days, come what will ; by Monday next, 
 when the election takes place, Bodkin's fate will be pretty clear, one 
 way or the other, and if matters go well, you can come into town ; 
 otherwise I have arranged with Considine to take you over to the 
 Continent for a year or so ; but we'll discuss all this in the evening. 
 Now I must start on a canvass. Boyle expects to meet you at dinner 
 to-day ; he is coming from Athlone on purpose. Now, good-bye ! " 
 
 When my uncle had gone I sank into a chair and fell into a musing 
 fit over all the changes a few hours had wrought in me. From a mere 
 boy, whose most serious employment was stocking the house with 
 game, or inspecting the kennel, I had sprung at once into man's estate, 
 was complimented for my coolness, praised for my prowess, lauded for 
 my discretion, by those who were my seniors by nearly half a century ; 
 talked to in a tone of confidential intimacy by my uncle, and, in a 
 word, treated in all respects as an equal and such was all the work of 
 a few hours. But so it is, the eras in life are separated by a narrow 
 boundary : some trifling accident, some casual rencontre, impels us 
 across the Rubicon, and we pass from infancy to youth from youth 
 to manhood from manhood to age less by the slow and imperceptible 
 step of time than by some one decisive act or passion, which, occurring 
 at a critical moment, elicits a long latent feeling, and impresses our 
 existence with a colour that tinges it for many a long year. As for 
 me, I had cut the tie which bound me to the careless gaiety of boyhood 
 with a rude gash. In three short days I had fallen deeply, desperately 
 in love, and had wounded, if not killed, an antagonist in a duel. As I 
 meditated on these things I was aroused by the noise of horses' feet in 
 the yard beneath. I opened the window and beheld no less a person 
 than Captain Hammersly. He was handing a card to a servant, which 
 he was accompanying by a verbal message ; the impression of something 
 like hostility on the part of the Captain had never left my mind ; and 
 I hastened downstairs just in time to catch him as he turned from the 
 door. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. O'Malley ! " said he, in a most courteous tone, " they told 
 me you were not at home." 
 
 I apologised for the blunder, and begged of him to alight and 
 come in. 
 
 " I thank you very much ; but, in fact, my hours are now numbered 
 here, I have just received an order to join my regiment : we have been 
 ordered for service, and Sir George has most kindly permitted my
 
 THE ELECTION 43 
 
 giving 1 up my staff appointment. I could not, however, leave the 
 country without shaking hands with you. I owe you a lesson in 
 horsemanship, and I'm only sorry that we are not to have another day 
 together." 
 
 " Then, you are going out to the Peninsula?" said I. 
 
 ' ' Why, we hope so : the Commander-in-Chief, they say, is in great 
 want of cavalry, and we scarcely less in want of something to do. I'm 
 sorry you are not coming with us." 
 
 " Would to heaven I were !" said I, with an earnestness that almost 
 made my bi-ain start. 
 
 "Then, why not?" 
 
 " Unfortunately, I am peculiarly situated. My worthy uncle, who 
 is all to me in this world, would be quite alone if I were to leave him ; 
 and, although he has never said so, I know he dreads the possibility of 
 my suggesting such a thing to him : so that, between his fears and 
 mine, the matter is never broached by either party, nor do I think 
 ever can be." 
 
 " Devilish hard but I believe you are right : something, however, 
 may turn up yet to alter his mind, and, if so, and if you do take 
 to "dragooning, don't forget George Hammersly will be always most 
 delighted to meet you ; and so, good-bye, O'Malley, good-bye." 
 
 He turned his horse's head and was already some paces off, when he 
 returned to my side, and added in a low tone of voice 
 
 " I ought to mention to you that there has been much discussion on 
 your affair at Blake's table, and only one opinion on the matter among 
 all parties that you acted perfectly right Sir George Dashwood 
 no mean judge of such things quite approves of your conduct, and I 
 believe wishes you to know as much ; and now, once more, good-bye.' 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE ELECTION 
 
 THE important morning at length arrived, and, as I looked from my 
 bedroom window at daybreak, the crowd of carriages of all sorts and 
 shapes decorated with banners and placards ; the incessant bustle ; the 
 hurrying hither and thither ; the cheering as each new detachment of 
 voters came up, mounted on jaunting cars or on horses, whose whole 
 caparison consisted in a straw rope for a bridle, and a saddle of the 
 same frail material ; all informed me that the election-day was come. 
 I lost no further time, but proceeded to dress with all possible despatch. 
 When I appeared in the breakfast-room, it was already filled with some 
 seventy or eighty persons of all ranks and ages, mingled confusedly 
 together, and enjoying the hospitable fare of my uncle's house, while 
 they discussed all the details and prospects of the election. In the 
 hall the library the large drawing-room too, similar parties were 
 also assembled, and, as new-comers arrived, the servants were busy in 
 preparing tables before the door and up the large terrace that ran the 
 entire length of the building. Nothing could be more amusing thau
 
 44 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the incongruous mixture of the guests, who with every variety of 
 eatable that chance or inclination provided, were thus thrown into 
 close contact, having only this in common, the success of the cause 
 they were engaged in. Here was the old Galway squire, with an 
 ancestry that reached to Noah, sitting side by side with the poor 
 cottier, whose whole earthly possession was what, in Irish phrase, is 
 called a ' ' potato garden," meaning the exactly smallest possible patch 
 of ground out of which a very india-rubber conscience could presume 
 to vote. Here sat the old simple-minded farmer-like man, in close 
 conversation with a little white-foreheaded, keen-eyed personage, in a 
 black coat and eyeglass a flash attorney from Dublin, learned in 
 flaws of the registry, and deep in the subtleties of election law. There 
 was an Athlone horse-dealer, whose daily habitual practices in imposing 
 the halt, the lame, and the blind, upon the unsuspecting, for beasts of 
 blood and mettle, well qualified him for the trickery of a county con- 
 test. Then there were scores of squireen gentry, easily recognised on 
 common occasions by a green coat with brass buttons, dirty cords, and 
 dirtier top-boots, a lash-whip, and a half-bred foxhound ; but now, 
 fresh washed for the day, they presented something of the appearance 
 of a swell mob, adjusted to the meridian of Galway. A mass of frieze- 
 coated, brown-faced, bullet-headed peasantry filling up the large spaces, 
 dotted here and there with a sleek, roguish-eyed priest, or some low 
 electioneering agent, detailing, for the amusement of the country, some 
 of those cunning practices of former times, which, if known to the 
 proper authorities, would, in all likelihood, cause the talented narrator 
 to be improving the soil of Sydney, or fishing on the banks of the 
 Swan River, while at the head and foot of each table sat some personal 
 friend of my uncle, whose ready tongue, and still readier pistol, made 
 him a person of some consequence, not more to his own people than to 
 the enemy. While of such material were the company, the fare before 
 them was no less varied : here some rubicund squire was deep in amal- 
 gamating the contents of a venison pasty with some of Sneyd's oldest 
 claret ; his neighbour, less ambitious and less erudite in such matters, 
 was devouring rashers of bacon, with liberal potions of poteen ; some 
 pale-cheeked scion of the law, with all the dust of the Four Courts in 
 his throat, was sipping his humble beverage of black tea, beside four 
 sturdy cattle-dealers, from Ballinasloe, who were discussing hot whisky- 
 punch and spoleaion (boiled bee*) at the very primitive hour of eight 
 in the morning. Amid the clank of decanters, the crash of knives and 
 plates, the jingling of glasses, the laughter and voices of the guests 
 were audibly increasing, and the various modes of " running a buck " 
 (anglice, substituting a vote), or hunting a badger, were talked over on 
 all sides, while the price of a veal (a calf) or a voter was disputed with 
 all the energy of debate. 
 
 Refusing many an offered place, I went through the different rooms 
 in search of Considine, to whom circumstances of late had somehow 
 greatly attached me. 
 
 " Here, Charley," cried a voice I was very familiar with ; " here's a 
 place I've been keeping for you." 
 
 "Ah, Sir Harry, how do you do? Any of that grouse-pie to 
 spare ? "
 
 THE ELECTION 45 
 
 " Abundance, my boy ; but I'm afraid I can't say as much for the 
 liquor : I have been shouting for claret this half-hour in vain do get 
 us some nutriment down here, and the Lord will reward you. What 
 a pity it is/' he added in a lower tone to his neighbour, ' ' what a pity 
 a quart bottle won't hold a quart ; but I'll bring it before the House 
 one of these days." That he kept his word in this respect, a motion 
 on the books of the Honourable House will bear me witness. 
 
 " Is this it ? " said he, turning towards a farmer-like old man, who 
 had put some question to him across the table ; ' ( is it the apple-pie 
 you'll have ? " 
 
 " Many thanks to your honour I'd like it, av it was wholesome." 
 
 c ' And why shouldn't it be wholesome ? " said Sir Harry. 
 
 " Troth, then, myself does not know ; but my father, I heerd tell, 
 died of an apple-plexy, and I'm afeerd of it." 
 
 I at length found Considine, and learned that, as a very good account 
 of Bodkin had arrived, there was no reason why I should not proceed 
 to the hu stings ; but I was secretly charged not to take any prominent 
 part in the day's proceedings. My uncle I only saw for an instant : 
 he begged me to be careful, avoid all scrapes, and not to quit Considine. 
 It was past ten o'clock when our formidable procession got under way, 
 and headed towards the town of Galway. The road was for miles 
 crowded with our followers ; banners flying and music playing, we 
 presented something of the spectacle of a very ragged army on its 
 march. At every cross-road a mountain-path reinforcement awaited us, 
 and, as we wended along, our numbers were momentarily increasing : 
 here and there along the line some energetic and not over-sober adherent 
 was regaling his auditory with a speech in laudation of the O'Malleys 
 since the days of Moses, and more than one priest was heard threaten- 
 ing the terrors of his Church in aid of a cause to whose success he was 
 pledged and bound. I rode beside the Count, who, surrounded by a 
 group of choice spirits, recounted the various happy inventions by 
 which he had, on divers occasions, substituted a personal quarrel for a 
 contest. Boyle also contributed his share of election anecdote, and one 
 incident he related, which, I remember, amused me much at the time. 
 
 "Do you remember Billy Calvert that came down to contest Kil- 
 kenny ? " inquired Sir Harry. 
 
 " What ! ever forget him ! " said Considiue, ' ( with his well-powdered 
 wig, and his hessians. There never was his equal for lace ruffles nor 
 rings." 
 
 " You never heard, maybe, how he lost the election ? " 
 
 " He resigned, I believe, or something of that sort." 
 
 " No, no," said another ; <e he never came forward at all : there's 
 some secret in it, for Tom Butler was elected without a contest." 
 
 " Jack, I'll tell you how it happened. I was on my way up from 
 Cork, having finished my own business, and just carried the day, not 
 without a push for it. When we reached Lady Mary was with me 
 when we reached Kilkenny, the night before the election, I was not 
 ten minutes in town till Butler heard of it, and sent off express to see 
 me ; I was at my dinner when the messenger came, and promised to 
 go over when I'd done ; but, faith, Tom didn't wait, but came rushing 
 upstairs himself, and dashed into the room in the greatest hurry.
 
 46 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' Harry,' says he, ' I'm done for ! the corporation of free smiths, 
 that were always above bribery, having voted for myself and my father 
 before, for four pound ten a man, won't come forward under six 
 guineas and whisky. Calvert has the money : they know it the 
 devil a farthing we have ; and we've been paying all our fellows that 
 can't read in Hennessy's notes, and you know the bank's broke this 
 three weeks.' 
 
 " On he went, giving me a most disastrous picture of his cause, and 
 concluded by asking if I could suggest anything under the circum- 
 stances. 
 
 " ' You couldn't get a decent mob and clear the poll? ' 
 
 " ' I am afraid not,' said he despondingly. 
 
 ' ' ' Then I don't see what's to be done : if you can't pick a fight with 
 himself will he go out ? ' 
 
 " ' Lord knows ; they say he's so afraid of that, that it has prevented 
 him coming down till the very day : but he is arrived now ; he came 
 in the evening, and is stopping at Walsh's, in Patrick Street.' 
 
 " e Then I'll see what can be done,' said I. 
 
 " ' Is that Calvert, the little man that blushes when the Lady 
 Lieutenant speaks to him ? ' said Lady Mary. 
 
 " ' The veiy man.' 
 
 " ' Would it be of any use to you if he could not come on the 
 hustings to-morrow ? ' said she again. 
 
 " ' 'Twould gain us the day : half the voters don't believe he's here 
 at all, and his chief agent cheated all the people on the last election, 
 and if Calvert didn't appear, he wouldn't have ten votes to register. 
 But why do you ask ? ' 
 
 " ' Why, that, if you like, I'll bet you a pair of diamond earrings he 
 shan't show.' 
 
 " ' Done,' said Butler, ' and I promise a necklace into the bargain, if 
 you win ; but I'm afraid you're only quizzing me.' 
 
 e( ' Here's my hand on it,' said she ; ' and now let's talk of some- 
 thing else. ' 
 
 " As Lady Boyle never asked my assistance, and, as I knew she was 
 very well able to perform whatever she undertook, you may be sure I 
 gave myself very little trouble about the whole affair, and, when they 
 came, I went off to breakfast with Tom's committee, not knowing any- 
 thing that was to be done. 
 
 " Calvert had given orders that he was to be called at eight o'clock, 
 and so a few minutes before that time a gentle knock came to the 
 door. ( Come in,' said he, thinking it was the waiter, and covering 
 himself up in the clothes, for he was the most bashful creature ever 
 was seen ; ' Come in.' 
 
 "The door opened, and what was his horror to find that a lady 
 entered in her dressing-gown, her hair on her shoulders very much 
 tossed and dishevelled ! The moment she came in she closed the door 
 and locked it, and then sat leisurely down upon a chair. 
 
 "Billy's teeth chattered, and his limbs trembled, for this was an 
 adventure of a very novel kind for him. At last he took courage to 
 speak. ' I am afraid, madam,' said he, ' that you are under some 
 unhappy mistake, and that you suppose this chamber is '
 
 THE ELECTION 47 
 
 " ' Mr. Calvert's,' said the lady, with a solemn voice, ' is it not? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, madam, I am that person.' 
 
 " ' Thank God/ said the lady, with a very impressive tone, f here I 
 am safe.' 
 
 " Billy grew very much puzzled at these words ; but, hoping that 
 by his silence the lady would proceed to some explanation, he said no 
 more. She, however, seemed to think that nothing further was neces- 
 sary, and sat still and motionless, with her hands before her and her 
 eyes fixed on Billy. 
 
 " ' You seem to forget me, sir,' said she, with a faint smile. 
 
 " ' I do indeed, madam ; the half light, the novelty of your costume, 
 and the strangeness of the circumstance altogether, must plead for me 
 if I appear rude enough.' 
 
 " ' I am Lady Mary Boyle,' said she. 
 
 ' ' ' I do remember you, madam ; but may I ask ? ' 
 
 ' ' ' Yes, yes, I know what you would ask : you would say, why are 
 you here ? how comes it that you have so far outstepped the propriety 
 of which your whole life is an example, that alone at such a time you 
 appear in the chamber of a man whose character for gallantry ' 
 
 " ( Oh, indeed indeed, my lady, nothing of the kind.' 
 
 " ' Ah, alas ! how poor defenceless women learn too late : how con- 
 stantly associated is the retiring modesty which denies, with the pleasing 
 
 powers which ensure success ' Here she sobbed, Billy blushed, 
 
 and the clock struck nine. 
 
 1 ' ' May I then beg, madam ? ' 
 
 " Yes, yes, you shall hear it all ; but my poor scattered faculties 
 will not be the clearer by your hurrying me. You know, perhaps,' 
 continued she, 'that my maiden name was Rogers?' He of the 
 blankets bowed, and she resumed. ' It is now eighteen years since that 
 a young, unsuspecting, fond creature, reared in all the care and fond- 
 ness of doting parents, tempted her first step in life, and trusted her 
 fate to another's keeping. I am that unhappy person : the other, that 
 monster in human guise that smiled but to betray, that won but to 
 ruin and destroy, is he whom you know as Sir Harry Boyle.' Here 
 she sobbed for some minutes, wiped her eyes, and resumed her narra- 
 tive, beginning at the period of her marriage, detailed a number of 
 circumstances, which poor Calvert, in all his anxiety to come au 
 fond at matters, could never perceive bore upon the question in any 
 way ; but, as she recounted them all with great force and precision, 
 entreating him to bear in mind certain circumstances to which she 
 would recur by-and-by, his attention was kept on the stretch, and it 
 was only when the clock struck ten that he was fully aware how his 
 morning was passing, and what surmises his absence might originate. 
 
 ' ' ' May I interrupt you for a moment, dear madam ; was it nine or 
 ten o'clock which struck last ? ' 
 
 " ' How should I know ? ' said she frantically ; ' what are hours and 
 minutes to her who has passed long years of misery ? ' 
 
 ' ' ' Very true, very true,' replied he timidly, and rather fearing for 
 the intellects of his fair companion. 
 
 " She continued. 
 
 "The narrative, however, so far from becoming clearer grew
 
 48 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 gradually more confused and intricate, and as frequent references were 
 made by the lady to some previous statement, Calvert was more than 
 once rebuked for forgetfulness and inattention, where, in reality, 
 nothing less than shorthand could have borne him through. 
 
 " ' Was it in ninety-three I said that Sir Harry left me at Tuam ? ' 
 
 <e c Upon my life, madam, I am afraid to aver ; but it strikes 
 me ' 
 
 ' ' ' Gracious powers ! and this is he whom I fondly trusted to make 
 the depositary of my woes cruel, cruel man ! ' Here she sobbed con- 
 siderably for several minutes, and spoke not. 
 
 " A loud cheer of ( Butler for ever ! ' from the mob without now 
 burst upon their hearing, and recalled poor Calvert at once to the 
 thought that the hours were speeding fast, and no prospect of the 
 everlasting tale coming to an end. 
 
 " ' I am deeply, most deeply grieved, my dear madam,' said the 
 little man, sitting up in a pyramid of blankets, ' but hours, minutes, 
 are most precious to me this morning. I am about to be proposed as 
 Member for Kilkenny.' 
 
 " At these words the lady straightened her figure out, threw her 
 arms at either side, and burst into a fit of laughter, which poor Calvert 
 knew at once to be hysterics. Here was a pretty situation : the bell- 
 rope lay against the opposite wall, and, even if it did not, would he be 
 exactly warranted in pulling it ? 
 
 ' ' ' May the devil and all his angels take Sir Harry Boyle and his 
 whole connection to the fifth generation ! ' was his sincere prayer, as he 
 sat like a Chinese juggler under his canopy. 
 
 " At length the violence of the paroxysm seemed to subside, the 
 sobs became less frequent, the kicking less forcible, and the lady's 
 eyes closed, and she appeared to have fallen asleep. 'Now is the 
 moment,' said Billy : ' if I could only get as far as my dressing-gown.' 
 So saying he worked himself down noiselessly to the foot of his bed, 
 looked fixedly at the fallen lids of the sleeping lady, and essayed one 
 leg from the blankets. 'Now or never,' said he, pushing aside the 
 curtain and preparing for a spring one more look he cast at his com- 
 panion, and then leaped forth ; but just as he lit upon the floor, she 
 again roused herself, screaming with horror. Billy fell upon the bed, 
 and, rolling himself in the bedclothes, vowed never to rise again till 
 she was out of the visible horizon. ' What is all this ; what do you 
 mean, sir ? ' said the lady, reddening with indignation. 
 
 " ' Nothing, upon my soul, madam j it was only my dressing- 
 gown ! ' 
 
 " ' Your dressing-gown ! ' said she, with an emphasis worthy of 
 Siddons ; ' a likely story for Sir Harry to believe, sir ! fie, fie, sir I ' 
 
 " This last allusion seemed a settler ; for the luckless Calvert heaved 
 a profound sigh, and sunk down as if all hope had left him. ' Butler 
 for ever ! ' roared the mob ; * Calvert for ever ! ' cried a boy's voice 
 from without ; ' Three groans for the runaway ! ' answered this an- 
 nouncement ; and a very tender inquiry of ( Where is he ? ' was raised 
 by some hundred mouths. 
 
 " ' Madam/ said the almost frantic listener e madam, I must get 
 up ; I must dress. I beg of you to permit me.'
 
 AN ADVENTURE 49 
 
 ' ' ' I have nothing to refuse, sir ; alas ! disdain has long been my 
 only portion. Get up if you will.' 
 
 " ' But/ said the astonished man, who was well-nigh deranged at the 
 coolness of this reply, ' but how am I to do so, if you sit there ? ' 
 
 " ' Sorry for any inconvenience I may cause you ; but, in the crowded 
 state of the hotel, I hope you see the impropriety of my walking about 
 the passages in this costume ? ' 
 
 " ' And, great God! madam, why did you come out in it? ' 
 
 "A cheer from the mob prevented her reply being audible. One 
 o'clock tolled out from the great bell of the cathedral. 
 
 f ' ( There's one o'clock, as I live ! ' 
 
 " ' I heard it,' said the lady. 
 
 " ' The shouts are increasing. What is that I hear ? Butler is in I 
 Gracious mercy ! is the election over ? ' 
 
 " The lady stepped to the window, drew aside the curtain, and said, 
 ' Indeed, it would appear so ; the mob are chairing Mr. Butler. ' [A 
 deafening shout burst from the street.] ' Perhaps you'd like to see 
 the fun, so I'll not detain you any longer. So good-bye, Mr. Calvert ; 
 and, as your breakfast will be cold, in all likelihood, come down to 
 No. 4, for Sir Harry's a late man, and will be glad to see you.' " 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 AN ADVENTURE 
 
 As thus we lightened the road with chatting, the increasing concourse 
 of people, and the greater throng of carriages that filled the road, 
 announced that we had nearly reached our destination. 
 
 " Considine," said my uncle, riding up to where we were, " I have 
 just got a few lines from Davern. It seems Bodkin's people are afraid 
 to come in : they know what they must expect, and if so, more than 
 half of that barony is lost to our opponent. " 
 
 " Then he has no chance whatever." 
 
 " He never had, in my opinion," said Sir Harry. 
 
 " We'll see soon," said my uncle cheerfully, and rode to the post. 
 
 The remainder of the way was occupied in discussing the various 
 possibilities of the election, into which I was rejoiced to find that 
 defeat never entered. 
 
 In the goodly days I speak of, a county contest was a very different 
 thing indeed from the tame and insipid farce that now passes under 
 that name : where a briefless barrister, bullied by both sides, sits as 
 assessor a few drunken voters a radical O'Connellite grocer a 
 demagogue priest a deputy grand purple something from the Trinity 
 College lodge, with some half-dozen followers, shouting " to the devil 
 with Peel, or down with Dens'," form the whole corps de ballet. No, 
 no ; in the times I refer to the voters were some thousands in number, 
 and the adverse parties took the field, far less dependent for success 
 upon previous pledge or promise made them, than upon the actual 
 stratagem of the day. Each went forth like a general to battle, sur- 
 
 D
 
 .50 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 rounded by a numerous and well-chosen staff; one party of friends, 
 acting as commissariat, attending to the victualling of the voters, that 
 they obtained a due, or rather undue, allowance of liquor, and came 
 properly drunk to the poll ; others again broke into skirmishing parties, 
 and, scattered over the country, cut off the enemy's supplies, breaking 
 down their post-chaises, upsetting their jaunting cars, stealing their 
 poll-books, and kidnapping their agents. Then there were secret 
 service people, bribing the enemy and enticing them to desert ; and 
 lastly, there was a species of sapper-and-miner force, who invented 
 false documents, denied the identity of the opposite party's people, 
 and, when hard pushed, provided persons who took bribes from the 
 enemy, and gave evidence afterwards on a petition. Amid all these 
 encounters of wit and ingenuity, the personal friends of the candidate 
 formed a species of rifle brigade, picking out the enemy's officers, and 
 doing sore damage to their tactics, by shooting a proposer, or wounding 
 a seconder a considerable portion of every leading agent's fee being 
 intended as compensation for the duels he might, could, would, should, 
 or ought to fight during the election. Such, in brief, was a contest in 
 the olden time ; and, when it is taken into consideration, that it usually 
 lasted a fortnight or three weeks, that a considerable military force 
 was always engaged (for our Irish law permits this), and which, when 
 nothing pressing was doing, was regularly assailed by both parties 
 that far more dependence was placed in a bludgeon than a pistol and 
 that the man who registered a vote without a cracked pate, was regarded 
 as a kind of natural phenomenon, some faint idea may be formed how 
 much such a scene must have contributed to the peace of the county, 
 and the happiness and welfare of all concerned in it. 
 
 As we rode along, a loud cheer from a road that ran parallel to the 
 one we were pursuing attracted our attention, and we perceived that 
 the cortege of the opposite party was hastening on to the hustings. I 
 could distinguish the Blakes' girls on horseback among a crowd of 
 officers in undress, and saw something like a bonnet in the carriage 
 and four which headed the procession, and which I judged to be that 
 of Sir George Dashwood. My heart beat strongly as I strained my 
 eyes to see if Miss Dashwood were there, but I could not discern her, 
 and it was with a sense of relief that I reflected on the possibility of 
 our not meeting under circumstances wherein our feelings and interests 
 were so completely opposed. While I was engaged in making this 
 survey, I had accidentally dropped behind my companions ; my eyes 
 were firmly fixed upon that carriage, and, in the faint hope that it 
 contained the object of all my wishes, I forgot everything else. At 
 length the cortege entered the town, and, passing beneath a heavy 
 stone gateway, was lost to my view. I was still lost in reverie, when 
 an under agent of my uncle's rode up. " Oh ! Master Charles," said 
 he, "what's to be done? they've forgotten Mr. Holmes at Woodford, 
 and we haven't a carriage, chaise, or even a car left, to send for him. " 
 
 " Have you told Mr. Considine ? " inquired I. 
 
 " And sure you know yourself how little Mr. Considine thinks of a 
 lawyer. It's small comfort he'd give me if I went to tell him : if it 
 was a case of pistols or a bullet mould, he'd ride back the whole way 
 himself for them."
 
 AN ADVENTURE 51 
 
 " Try Sir Harry Boyle, then. " 
 
 " He's making a speech this moment before the court-house." 
 
 This had sufficed to show me how far behind my companions I had 
 been loitering, when a cheer from the distant road again turned my 
 eyes in that direction : it was the Dashwood carriage returning after 
 leaving Sir George at the hustings. The head of the britska, before 
 thrown open, was now closed, and I could not make out if any one 
 were inside. 
 
 " Devil a doubt of it," said the agent, in answer to some question of 
 a farmer who rode beside him ; c ' will you stand to me ? " 
 
 "Troth, to be sure I will." 
 
 " Here goes then," said he, gathering up his reins and turning his 
 horse towards the fence at the roadside ; " follow me now, boys." 
 
 The order was well obeyed, for, when he had cleared the ditch, a 
 dozen stout country fellows, well mounted, were beside him. Away 
 they went at a hunting pace, taking every leap before them, and 
 heading towards the road before us. 
 
 Without thinking further of the matter, I was laughing at the droll 
 effect the line of frieze coats presented as they rode side by side, over 
 the stone walls, when an observation near me aroused my attention. 
 
 ' ' Ah, then, av they know anything of Jim Finucane, they'll give it 
 up peaceably ; it's little he'd think of taking the coach from under the 
 judge himself." 
 
 " What are they about, boys ? " said I. 
 
 " Goin' to take the chaise and four forninst ye, yer honour," said 
 the man. 
 
 I waited not to hear more, but darting spurs into my horse's sides, 
 cleared the fence in one bound. My horse, a strong-knit half-bred, 
 was as fast as a racer for a short distance ; so that when the agent and 
 his party had come up with the carriage, I was only a few hundred 
 yards behind. I shouted out with all my might, but they either heard 
 not or heeded not, for scarcely was the first man over the fence into 
 the road, when the postillion on the leader was felled to the ground, 
 and his place supplied by his slayer the boy on the wheeler shared 
 the same fate, and in an instant, so well managed was the attack, the 
 carriage was in possession of the assailants. Four stout fellows had 
 climbed into the box and the rumble, and six others were climbing into 
 the interior, regardless of the aid of steps. 'By this time the Dashwood 
 party had got the alarm, and returned in full force not, however, 
 before the other had laid whip to the horses, and set out in full gallop ; 
 and now commenced the most terrific race I ever witnessed. 
 
 The four carriage horses, which were the property of Sir George, 
 were English thoroughbreds of great value, and totally unaccustomed 
 to the treatment they experienced, and dashed forward at a pace that 
 threatened annihilation to the carriage at every bound. The pursuers, 
 though well mounted, were speedily distanced, but followed at a pace 
 that, in the end, was certain to overtake the carriage. As for myself, 
 I rode on beside the road, at the full speed of my horse, shouting, 
 cursing, imploring, execrating, and beseeching at turns, but all in vain 
 the yells and shouts of the pursuers and pursued drowned all other 
 sounds, except when the thundering crash of the horses' feet rose above
 
 52 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 all. The road, like most western Irish roads, until the present century, 
 lay straight as an arrow for miles, regardless of every opposing barrier, 
 and in the instance in question, crossed a mountain at its very highest 
 point. Towards this pinnacle the pace had been tremendous ; but, 
 owing to the higher breeding of the cattle, the carriage party had still 
 the advance, and, when they reached the top, they procliimed the 
 victory by a cheer of triumph and derision. The carriage disappeared 
 beneath the crest of the mountain, and the pursuers halted, as if dis- 
 posed to relinquish the chase. 
 
 " Come on, boys. Never give up," cried I, springing over into the 
 road and heading the party, to which by every right I was opposed. 
 
 It was no time for deliberation, and they followed me with a hearty 
 cheer that convinced me I was unknown. The next instant we were 
 on the mountain top, and beheld the carriage, half way down beneath 
 us, still galloping at full stretch. 
 
 " We have them now," said a voice behind me, " they'll never turn 
 Lurra bridge, if we only press on." 
 
 The speaker was right : the road at the mountain foot turned at a 
 perfect right angle, and then crossed a lofty one-arched bridge, over a 
 mountain torrent that i-an deep and boisterously beneath. On we went, 
 gaining at every stride, for the fellows who rode postillion well knew 
 what was before them, and slackened their pace to secure a safe turn- 
 ing. A yell of victory rose from the pursuers, but was answered by the 
 others with a cheer of defiance. The space was now scarcely two 
 hundred yards between us, when the head of the britska was flung 
 down, and a figure that I at once recognised as the redoubted Tim 
 Finucane, one of the boldest and most reckless fellows in the country, 
 was seen standing on the seat holding, gracious heavens ! it was true 
 holding in his arms the apparently lifeless figure of Miss Dashwood. 
 
 " Hold in ! " shouted the ruffian, with a voice that rose high above 
 all the other sounds. " Hold in ! or, by the eternal, I'll throw her, 
 body and bones, into the Lurra gash," for such was the torrent called, 
 that boiled and foamed a few yards before us. 
 
 He had by this time got firmly planted on the hind seat, and held 
 the drooping form on one arm, with all the ease of a giant's grasp. 
 
 " For the love of God," said I, " pull up. I know him well he'll 
 do it to a certainty if you press on. " 
 
 " And we know you too," said a ruffianly fellow, with a dark whisker 
 meeting beneath his chin, ' ' and have some scores to settle ere we 
 part " 
 
 But I heard no more. With one tremendous effort I dashed my 
 horse forward. The carriage turned the angle of the road for an 
 instant was out of sight another moment I was behind it. 
 
 " Stop ! " I shouted, with a last effort, but in vain. The horses, 
 maddened and infuriated, sprang forward, and, heedless of all efforts 
 to turn them, the leaders sprang over the low parapet of the bridge, 
 and, hanging for a second by the traces, fell with a crash into the 
 swollen torrent beneath. By this time I was beside the carriage 
 Finucane had now clambered to the box, and, regardless of the death 
 and ruin around, bent upon his murderous object, he lifted the light 
 and girlish form above his head, bent backwards, as if to give greater
 
 MICKEY FREE 53 
 
 impulse to his effort, when, twining my lash around my wrist, I levelled 
 my heavy and loaded hunting-whip at his head : the weighted ball of 
 lead struck him exactly beneath his hat, he staggered, his hands re- 
 laxed, and he fell lifeless to the ground ; the same instant I was felled 
 to the earth by a blow from behind, and saw no more. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 MICKEY FREE 
 
 NEARLY three weeks followed the event I have just narrated ere I 
 again was restored to consciousness. The blow by which I was felled 
 from what hand coming it was never after discovered had brought 
 on concussion of the brain, and for several days my life was despaired 
 of. As by slow steps I advanced towards recovery, I learned from 
 Considine that Miss Dashwood, whose life was saved by my inter- 
 ference, had testified in the warmest manner her gratitude, and that 
 Sir George had, up to the period of his leaving the country, never 
 omitted a single day to ride over and inquire for me. 
 
 " You know, of course," said the Count, supposing such news was 
 the most likely to interest me, " you know we beat them." 
 
 f ' No. Pray tell me all. They've not let me hear anything 
 hitherto." 
 
 " One day finished the whole affair : we polled man for man till 
 past two o'clock, when our fellows lost all patience, and beat their 
 tallies out of the town ; the police came up, but they beat the police ; 
 then they got soldiers, but, begad, they were too strong for them too. 
 Sir George witnessed it all, and, knowing besides how little chance he 
 had of success, deemed it best to give in ; so that a little before five 
 o'clock he resigned. I must say no man could behave better : he came 
 across the hustings and shook hands with Godfrey, and, as the news of 
 the scrimmage with his daughter had just arrived, said that he was 
 sorry his prospect of success had not been greater, that,- in resigning, 
 he might testify how deeply he felt the debt the O'Malleys had laid 
 him under." 
 
 " And my uncle, how did he receive his advances ? " 
 
 " Like his own honest self grasped his hand firmly, and, upon my 
 soul, I think he was half sorry that he gained the day. Do you know, 
 he took a mighty fancy to that blue-eyed daughter of the old General's : 
 faith, Charley, if he were some twenty years younger, I would not 
 
 say but . Come, come, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings ; but I 
 
 have been staying here too long : I'll send up Mickey to sit with you ; 
 mind and don't be talking too much to him." 
 
 So saying, the worthy Count left the room, fully impressed that, in 
 hinting at the possibility of my uncle's marrying again, he had said 
 something to ruffle my temper. 
 
 For the next two or three weeks my life was one of the most tire- 
 some monotony. Strict injunctions had been given by the doctors to 
 avoid exciting me, and, consequently, every one that came in walked
 
 54 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 on tiptoe, spoke in whispers, and left me in five minutes. Reading 
 was absolutely forbidden, and with a sombre half light to sit in, and 
 chicken-broth to support me, I dragged out as dreary an existence as 
 any gentleman west of Athlone. 
 
 Whenever my uncle or Considine were not in the room, my com- 
 panion was my own servant, Michael, or, as he was better known, 
 " Mickey Free." Now, had Mickey been left to his own free and 
 unrestricted devices, the time would not have hung so heavily ; for 
 among Mike's manifold gifts, he was possessed of a very great flow of 
 gossiping conversation ; he knew all that was doing in the country, and 
 never was barren in his information wherever his imagination could 
 come into play. Mickey was the best hurler in the barony, no mean per- 
 former on the violin, could dance the national bolero of "Tatter Jack 
 Walsh " in a way that charmed more than one soft heart beneath a red 
 wolsey bodice, and had, withal, the peculiar free-and-easy, devil-may-care 
 kind of ofthand Irish way that never deserted him in the midst of his 
 wiliest and most subtle moments, giving |to a very deep and cunning 
 fellow all the apparent frankness and openness of a country lad. 
 
 He had attached himself to me as a kind of sporting companion : 
 and, growing daily more and more useful, had been gradually admitted 
 to the honours of the kitchen and the prerogative of cast clothes, 
 without ever having been actually engaged as a servant, and while thus 
 no warrant officer, as, in fact, he discharged all his duties well and 
 punctually, was rated among the ship's company ; though no one 
 could ever say at what precise period he changed his caterpillar exist- 
 ence and became a gay butterfly, with cords and tops, a striped vest, 
 and a most knowing jerry hat, who stalked about the stable-yard, and 
 bullied the helpers. Such was Mike ; he had made his fortune, such 
 as it was, and a most becoming pride in the fact that he made himself 
 indispensable to an establishment which, before he entered it, never 
 knew the want of him. As for me, he was everything to me : Mike 
 informed me what horse was wrong, why the chestnut mare couldn't 
 go out, and why the black horse could. He knew the arrival of a new 
 covey of partridge quicker than the Morning Post does of a noble 
 family from the Continent, and could tell their whereabouts twice as 
 accurately ; but his talents took a wider range than field sports afford, 
 and he was the faithful chronicler of every wake, station, wedding, or 
 christening for miles round, and, as I took no small pleasure in those 
 very national pastimes, the information was of great value to me. To 
 conclude this brief sketch, Mike was a devout Catholic, in the same 
 sense that he was enthusiastic about everything ; that is, he believed 
 and obeyed exactly as far as suited his own peculiar notions of comfort 
 and happiness ; beyond that his scepticism stepped in and saved him 
 from inconvenience, and, though he might have been somewhat puzzled 
 to reduce his faith to a rubric, still it answered his purpose, and that 
 was all he wanted. Such, in short, was my valet, Mickey Free, and who, 
 had not heavy injunctions been laid on him as to silence and discretion, 
 would well have lightened my weary hours. 
 
 " Ah ! then, Misther Charles," said he, with a half-suppressed yawn 
 at the long period of probation his tongue had been undergoing in 
 silence, (e ah 1 then, but ye were mighty near it."
 
 MICKEY FREE 65 
 
 " Near what ? " said I. 
 
 " Faith, then, myself doesn't well know ; some say it's purgathory ; 
 but it's hard to tell." 
 
 " I thought you were too good a Catholic, Mickey, to show any 
 doubts on the matter ? " 
 
 ' ' Maybe I am maybe I ain't," was the cautious reply. 
 
 " Wouldn't Father Roach explain any of your difficulties for you, if 
 you went over to him ? " 
 
 " Faix, it's little I'd mind his explainings." 
 
 ' ' And why not ? " 
 
 "Easy enough. If you ax ould Miles there without, what does he 
 be doing with all the powther and shot, wouldn't he tell you he's shoot- 
 ing the rooks, and the magpies, and some other varmint ; but myself 
 knows he sells it to Widow Casey, at two and fourpence a pound : so 
 belikes, Father Roach may be shooting away at the poor souls in pur- 
 gathory, that all this time are enjoying the hoith of fine living in 
 heaven, ye understand." 
 
 "And* you think that's the way of it, Mickey? " 
 
 ' ' Troth, it's likely. Anyhow, I know it's not the place they make 
 it out." 
 
 " Why, how do you mean ? " 
 
 " Well, then, I'll tell you, Misther Charles ; but you must not be 
 saying anything about it afther ; for I don't like to talk about these 
 kind of things." 
 
 Having pledged myself to the requisite silence and secrecy, Mickey 
 began : 
 
 " Maybe you heard tell of the way my father, rest his soul wherever 
 he is, came to his end. Well, I needn't mind particulars, but, in short, 
 he was murdered in Ballinasloe one night, when he was baitin the 
 whole town with a blackthorn stick he had, more betoken, a piece of a 
 scythe was stuck at the end of it ; a nate weapon, and one he was 
 mighty partial to ; but those murdering thieves, the cattle-dealers, that 
 never cared for diversion of any kind, fell on him and broke his skull. 
 
 " Well, we had a very agreeable wake, and plenty of the best of 
 everything, and to spare, and I thought it was all over ; but, somehow, 
 though I paid Father Roach fifteen shillings, and made him mighty 
 drunk, he always gave me a black look wherever I met him, and when 
 I took off my hat, he'd turn away his head displeased like. 
 
 ' ' c Murder and ages,' says I, e what's this for ? ' but as I've a light 
 heart I bore up, and didn't think more about it. One day, however, I 
 was coming home from Athlone market by myself on the road, when 
 Father Roach overtook me. e Devil a one a me 'ill take any notice of 
 you now,' says I, ' and we'll see what'll come out of it. ' So the priest 
 rid up, and looked me straight in the face. 
 
 " ' Mickey/ says he, ' Mickey.' 
 
 " ' Father,' says I. 
 
 "f Is it that way you salute your clargy,' says he, ' with your caubeen 
 on your head ? ' 
 
 " ' Faix/ says I, e it's little ye mind whether it's an or aff, for you 
 never take the trouble to say by your leave, or damn your soul, or any 
 other politeness, when we meet.'
 
 56 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' You're an ungrateful creature,' says he, f and if you only knew, 
 you'd be trembling in your skin before me this minute.' 
 
 " ' Devil a tremble,' says I, 'after walking six miles this way.' 
 
 " ( You're an obstinate, hard-hearted sinner,' says he, ' and it's no 
 use in telling you.' 
 
 " ' Telling me what?' says I, for I was getting curious to make out 
 what he meant. 
 
 ' ' ( Mickey,' says he, changing his voice, and putting his head down 
 close to me, 'Mickey, I saw your father last night' 
 
 " ' The saints be merciful to us,' said I, ' did ye ? 
 
 "'I did,' says ha 
 
 " ' Tear-an-ages,' says I, ( did he tell you what he did with the new 
 corduroys he bought in the fair?' 
 
 1 ' ' Oh, then, you are a cowld-hearted creature,' says he, ' and I'll 
 not lose time with you.' With that he was going to ride away, when I 
 took hold of the bridle. 
 
 ' ' ' Father, darling,' says I, e God pardon me, but them breeches is 
 goin' between me an' my night's rest ; but tell me about my father ! ' 
 
 " ' Oh ! then, he's in a melancholy state !' 
 
 " ' Whereabouts is he ? ' says I. 
 
 " ' In purgathory,' says he ; ' but he won't be there long.' 
 
 ee e Well,' says I, * that's a comfort, anyhow.' 
 
 ftt l am glad you think so,' says he ; ( but there's more of the other 
 opinion.' 
 
 "'What's that?' says I. 
 
 (( ' That hell's worse.' 
 
 " ( Oh ! meila murther,' says I, ' is that it ? ' 
 
 '" Ay, that's it.' 
 
 "Well, I was so terrified and frightened, I said nothing for some 
 time, but trotted along beside the priest's horse. 
 
 " ' Father,' says I, ' how long will it be before they send him where 
 you know ? ' 
 
 " e It will not be long now,' says he, ' for they're tired entirely with 
 him ; they've no peace night nor day,' says he. e Mickey, your father 
 is a mighty hard man.' 
 
 " ( True for you, Father Roach,' said I to myself : ( av he had only 
 the ould stick with the scythe in it, I wish them joy of his company.' 
 
 " ' Mickey,' says he, ' I see you're grieved, and I don't wonder ; sure, 
 it's a great disgrace to a decent family.' 
 
 " ' Troth, it is,' says I, ' but my father always liked low company. 
 Could nothing be done for him now, Father Roach ? ' says I, looking 
 up in the priest's face. 
 
 " ' I'm greatly afraid, Mickey, he was a bad man a very bad man.' 
 
 " ' And ye think he'll go there ? ' says I. 
 
 " ' Indeed, Mickey, 1 have my fears.' 
 
 " ' Upon my conscience,' says I, ' I believe you're right, he was 
 always a restless crayture.' 
 
 " ' But it doesn't depind on him,' says the priest crossly. 
 
 " ' And, then, who then ? ' says I. 
 
 " ' Upon yourself, Mickey Free,' says he ; ( God pardon you for it, 
 too.'
 
 MICKEY FREE 67 
 
 " e Upon me ? ' says I. 
 
 " ( Troth, no less,' says he ; ' how many masses was said for your 
 father's soul? how many aves? how many paters? answer me.' 
 
 " 'Devil a one of me knows ! maybe twenty.' 
 
 " l Twenty, twenty no, nor one.' 
 
 ' ' ' And why not ? ' says I, ' what for wouldn't you be helping a 
 poor crayture out of trouble, when it wouldn't cost you more nor a 
 handful of prayers ? ' 
 
 " ' Mickey, I see,' says he, in a solemn tone, ' you're worse nor a 
 haythen : but ye couldn't be other, ye never come to yer duties.' 
 
 " ( Well, Father,' says I, looking very penitent, ' how many masses 
 would get him out ? ' 
 
 " ' Now you talk like a sensible man,' says he ; ' now, Mickey, I've 
 hopes for you let me see ' here he went countin' upon his fingers, 
 and numberin' to himself for five minutes ' Mickey,' says he, ' I've a 
 batch coming out on Tuesday week, and, if you were to make great 
 exertions, perhaps your father would come with them ; that is, av 
 they made no objections.' 
 
 " ' And what for would they?' says I ; 'he was always the hoith of 
 company, and av singing's allowed in them parts ' 
 
 " ' God forgive you, Mickey, but yer in a benighted state,' says he, 
 sighing. 
 
 " ' Well,' says I, ' how'll we get him out Tuesday week ? for that's 
 bringing things to a focus.' 
 
 ' ' ' Two masses, in the morning, fastin'/ says Father Roach, half 
 loud, ( is two, and two in the afternoon is four, and two at vespers is 
 six,' says he ; ' six masses a day for nine days is close by sixty masses 
 say sixty,' says he, * and they'll cost you mind, Mickey, and don't 
 be telling it again for it's only to yourself I'd make them so cheap 
 a matter of three pounds.' 
 
 " ' Three pounds,' says I ; ' begorra, ye might as well ax me to give 
 you the rock of Cashel.' 
 
 " ' I'm sorry for ye, Mickey,' says he, gatherin' up the reins to ride 
 off; 'I'm sorry for you; and the day will come when the neglect of 
 your poor father will be a sore stroke agin yourself.' 
 
 " ' Wait a bit, your Reverence/ says I, ' wait a bit : would forty 
 shillings get him out ? '" 
 
 " ' Av coorse it wouldn't,' says he. 
 
 " ' Maybe/ says I, coaxing, ' maybe, av you said that his son was 
 a poor boy that lived by his indhustry, and the times was bad ? ' 
 
 " ' Not the least use,' says he. 
 
 " ' Arrah, but it's hard-hearted they are/ thinks I ; ' well, see now, 
 I'll give you the money but I can't afford it all at ou'st but I'll pay 
 five shillings a week will that do ? ' 
 
 " ' I'll do my endayvours/ says Father Roach ; ' and I'll speak to 
 them to trate him peaceably in the meantime.' 
 
 " ' Long life to your Reverence, and do. Well, here now, here's 
 five hogs to begin with ; and, musha, but I never thought I 'd be 
 spending my loose change that a way.' 
 
 " Father Roach put the six tmpiunies in the pocket of his black leather 
 breeches, said something in Latin, bid me good-morning, and rode off.
 
 58 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Well, to make my story short, I worked late and early to pay the 
 five shillings a week, and I did do it for three weeks regular : then I 
 brought four and fourpence then it came down to one and tenpence 
 halfpenny then ninepence and, at last, I had nothing at all to 
 bring. 
 
 " ' Mickey Free,' says the priest, ' ye must stir yourself your father 
 is mighty displeased at the way you've been doing of late : and av ye 
 kept your word, he'd be near out by this time.' 
 
 " ' Troth,' says I, 'it's a very expensive place.' 
 
 " ( By coorse it is,' says he : e sure all the quality of the land's there. 
 But, Mickey, my man, with a little exertion your father's business is 
 done. What are you jingling in your pocket there ? ' 
 
 " ' It's ten shillings, your Reverence, I have to buy seed potatoes.' 
 
 (t e Hand it here, my son. Isn't it better your father be enjoying 
 himself in Paradise, than ye were to have all the potatoes in Ireland ? ' 
 
 te ( And how do ye know,' says I, ' he is so near out ? ' 
 
 tf ' How do I know how do I know is it? didn't I see him ? ' 
 
 f ' ' See him ! tear-an-ages, was you down there again ? ' 
 
 e( ( I was,' says he, ' I was down there for three-quarters of an hour 
 yesterday evening, getting out Luke Kennedy's mother decent people 
 the Kennedys never spared expense.' 
 
 (e ' And ye seen my father ? ' says I. 
 
 " ' I did,' says he ; ' he has an ould flannel waistcoat on, and a pipe 
 sticking out of the pocket av it. ' 
 
 " ' That's him,' said I ; ' had he a hairy cap? ' 
 
 " f I didn't mind the cap,' says he, ' but av coorse he wouldn't have 
 it on his head in that place.' 
 
 ' ' ' There's for you,' says I, ' did he speak to you ? ' 
 
 " ' He did,' says Father Roach ; ' he spoke very hard about the way 
 he was treated down there, that they was always jibin' and jeerin' him 
 about drink, and fightin', and the course he led up here, and that it 
 was a queer thing, for the matter of ten shillings, he was to be kept 
 there so long.' 
 
 ' ( c Well,' says I, taking out the ten shillings and counting it ;ith 
 one hand, 'we must do our best, anyhow and ye think this 'ill get 
 him out surely ? ' 
 
 ' et I know it will,' says he ; ' for when Luke's mother was leaving 
 the place, yer father saw the door open, he made a rush at it, and, 
 begorra, before it was shut he got his head and one shoulder outside 
 av it, so that, ye see, a trifle more 'ill do it. ' 
 
 " f Faix, and yer Reverence,' says I, ( you've lightened my heart this 
 morning,' and I put the money back again in my pocket. 
 
 " ' Why, what do you mean ? ' says he, growing very red, for he was 
 angry. 
 
 " ' Just this,' says I, ' that I've saved my money ; for av it was my 
 father you seen, and that he got his head and one shoulder outside the 
 door, oh, then, by the powers/ says I, ' the devil a gaol or gaoler from 
 hell to Connaught id hould him ; so, Father Roach, I wish you the 
 top of the morning,' and I went away lau; hing ; and from that day 
 to this I never heard more of purgathory ; and ye see, Master Charles, 
 I think I was right"
 
 MICKEY FREE 59 
 
 Scarcely had Mike concluded when my door was suddenly burst 
 open, and Sir Harry Boyle, without assuming any of his usual pre- 
 cautions respecting silence and quiet, rushed into the room. A broad 
 grin upon his honest features, and his eyes twinkling in a way that 
 evidently showed me something had occurred to amuse him. 
 
 ' ' By Jove, Charley, I mustn't keep it from you, it's too good a 
 thing not to tell you : do you remember that very essenced young 
 
 fentleman who accompanied Sir George Dashwood from Dublin, as a 
 hid of electioneering friend ? " 
 
 " Do you mean Mr. Prettyman?" 
 
 " The very man ; he was, you are aware, an under-secretary in some 
 Government department. Well, it seems that he had come down 
 among us poor savages, as much from motives of learned research and 
 scientific inquiry, as though we had been South Sea Islanders ; report 
 had gifted us humble Galwagians with some very peculiar traits, and 
 this gifted individual resolved to record them. Whether the election 
 week might have sufficed his appetite for wonders I know not, but he 
 was peaceably taking his departure from the West on Saturday last, 
 when Phil Macnamara met him and pressed him to dine that day with a 
 few friends at his house. You know Phil ; so that when I tell you Sam 
 Burke, of Greenmount, and Roger Doolan were of the party, I need 
 not say that the English traveller was not left to his own unassisted 
 imagination for his facts ; such anecdotes of our habits and customs as 
 they crammed him with, it would appear never were heard before 
 nothing was too hot or too heavy for the luckless cockney, who, when 
 not sipping his claret, was faithfully recording in his tablet the mems. 
 for a very brilliant and very original work on Ireland. 
 
 <e ' Fine country splendid country glorious people gifted brave 
 intelligent but not happy alas ! Mr. Macnamara, not happy. But 
 we don't know you, gentlemen we don't indeed, at the other side of 
 the channel ; our notions regarding you are far, very far from just.' 
 
 " ' I hope and trust,' said old Burke, ' you'll help them to a better 
 understanding ere long.' 
 
 " f Such, my dear sir, will be the proudest task of my life. The facts 
 I have heard here this evening have made so profound an impression 
 upon me, that I burn for the moment when I can make them known 
 to the world at large. "To think just to think, that a portion of this 
 beautiful island should be so steeped in poverty that the people not 
 only live upon the mere potatoes, but are absolutely obliged to wear 
 the skins for raiment, as Mr. Doolan has just mentioned to me.' 
 
 " ' Which accounts for our cultivation of lumpers,' added Mr. 
 Doolan, ' they being the largest species of the root, and best adapted 
 for wearing apparel.' 
 
 " ' I should deem myself culpable, indeed I should, did I not inform 
 my countrymen upon the real condition of this great country.' 
 
 (( ( Why, after your great opportunities for judging,' said Phil, ' you 
 ought to speak out you've seen us in a way, I may fairly affirm, few 
 Englishmen have, and heard more.' 
 
 "' That's it, that's the very thing, Mr, Macnamara, I've looked at 
 you more closely, I've watched you more narrowly, I've witnessed what 
 the French call your vie intime.'
 
 60 CHAHLES (TMALLEY 
 
 f ' ( Begad you have,' said old Burke, with a grin, ' and profited by it 
 to the utmost.' 
 
 " ' I've been a spectator of your election contests I've partaken of 
 your hospitality I've witnessed your popular and national sports I've 
 been present at your weddings, your fairs, your wakes ; but no, I was 
 forgetting, I never saw a wake.' 
 
 " ( Never saw a wake ! ' repeated each of the company in turn, as 
 though the gentleman was uttering a sentiment of very dubious 
 veracity. 
 
 " ' Never,' said Mr. Prettyman, rather abashed at this proof of his 
 incapacity to instruct his English friends upon all matters of Irish 
 interest 
 
 " ' Well, then/ said Macnamara, ( with a blessing, we'll show you 
 one. Lord forbid that we shouldn't do the honours of our poor 
 country to an intelligent foreigner when he's good enough to come 
 amongst us.' 
 
 " ' Peter,' said he, turning to the servant behind him, ' who's dead 
 hereabouts ? ' 
 
 ' ' ' Sorra one, yer honour. Since the scrimmage at Portumna the 
 place is peaceable.' 
 
 " ' Who died lately, in the neighbourhood ? ' 
 
 " 'The Widow Macbride, yer honour.' 
 
 ' ' ' Couldn't they take her up again, Peter ? my friend here never 
 saw a wake.' 
 
 te ' I'm afeerd not, for it was the boys roasted her, and she 
 wouldn't be a decent corpse for to show a stranger,' said Peter, in a 
 whisper. 
 
 Mr. Prettyman shuddered at these peaceful indications of the neigh- 
 bourhood, and said nothing. 
 
 " ' Well, then, Peter, tell Jemmy Divine to take the old musket in 
 my bedroom, and go over to the Clunagh bog, he can't go wrong, 
 there's twelve families there that never pay a halfpenny rent, and when 
 it's done, let him give notice to the neighbourhood, and we'll have a 
 rousing wake.' 
 
 " e You don't mean, Mr. Macuamara, you don't mean to say ' 
 
 stammered out the cockney, with a face like a ghost. 
 
 " ' I only mean to say,' said Phil, laughing, ' that you're keeping the 
 decanter very long at your right hand.' 
 
 "Burke conlrived to interpose before the Englishman could ask any 
 explanation of what he had just heard and for some minutes he could 
 only wait in impatient anxiety when a loud report of a gun close 
 beside the house attracted the attention of the guests the next 
 moment old Peter entered, his face radiant with smiles. 
 
 " ( Well, what's that ? ' said Macnamara. 
 
 " ( 'Twas Jimmy, yer honour ; as the evening was rainy he said he'd 
 take one of the neighbours, and he hadn't to go far, for Andy Moore 
 was going home, and he brought him down at once.' 
 
 " ' Did he shoot him ? ' said Mr. Prettyman, while cold perspiration 
 broke over his forehead. ' Did he murder the man ? ' 
 
 te ' Sorra murder,' said Peter disdainfully ; ' but why wouldn't he 
 shoot him when the master bid him ? '
 
 THE JOURNEY 61 
 
 " I needn't tell you more, Charley ; but in ten minutes after, feign- 
 ing some excuse to leave the room, the terrified cockney took flight, 
 and offering twenty guineas for a horse to convey him to Athlone, he 
 left Galway, fully convinced ' that they don't yet know us on the other 
 side of the channel.' " 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE JOURNEY 
 
 THE election concluded the turmoil and excitement of the contest 
 over all was fast resuming its accustomed routine around us, when 
 one morning my uncle informed me that I was at length to leave my 
 native county, and enter upon the great world, as a student of Trinity 
 College, Dublin. Although long since in expectation of this eventful 
 change, it was with no slight feeling of emotion I contemplated the 
 step, which, removing me at once from all my early friends and associa- 
 tions, was to su:-round me with new companions and new influences, 
 and place before me very different objects of ambition from those I 
 had hitherto been regarding. 
 
 My destiny had been long ago decided ; the army had had its share 
 of the family, who brought little more back with them from the wars, 
 than a short allowance of members and shattered constitutions ; the 
 navy had proved, on more than one occasion, that the fate of the 
 O'JVf alleys did not incline to hanging ; so that, in Irish estimation, but 
 one alternative remained, and that was the bar. Besides, as my uncle 
 remarked with great truth and foresight, " Charley will be tolerably 
 independent of the public, at all events ; for, even if they never send 
 him a brief, there's law enough in the family to last his time" a 
 rather novel reason, by-the-bye, for making a man a lawyer, and which 
 induced Sir Harry, with his usual clearness, to observe to me 
 
 " Upon my conscience, boy, you are in luck ; if there had been a 
 Bible in the house, I firmly believe he'd have made you a parson." 
 
 Considine alone, of all my uncle's advisers, did not concur in this 
 determination respecting me. He set forth, with an eloquence that 
 certainly converted me, 'that my head was better calculated for bearing 
 hard knocks than unravelling knotty points ; that a shako would 
 become it infinitely better than a wig ; and declared roundly, that a 
 boy who began so well, and had such very pretty notions about shoot- 
 ing, was positively thrown away in the Four Cqurts. My uncle, how- 
 ever, was firm, and, as old Sir Harry supported him, the day was 
 decided against us, Considine murmuring, as he left the room, some- 
 thing that did not seem quite a brilliant anticipation of the success 
 awaiting me in my legal career. As for myself, though only a silent 
 spectator of the debate, all my wishes were with the Count. From my 
 earliest boyhood a military life had been my strongest desire ; the roll 
 of the drum, and the shrill fife that played through the little village, 
 with its ragged troop of recruits following, had charms for me I cannot 
 describe ; and, had a choice been allowed me, I would infinitely rather 
 have been a sergeant in the dragoons, than one of his Majesty's learned
 
 62 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 in the law. If, then, such had been the cherished feeling of many a 
 year, how much more strongly were my aspirations heightened by the 
 events of the last few days. The tone of superiority I had witnessed 
 in Hammersly, whose conduct to me at parting had placed him high in 
 my esteem the quiet contempt of civilians, implied in a thousand sly 
 ways the exalted estimate of his own profession, at once wounded my 
 pride and stimulated my ambition ; and, lastly, more than all, the 
 avowed preference that Lucy Dashwood evinced for a military life, 
 were stronger allies than my own conviction needed, to make me long 
 for the army. So completely did the thought possess me, that I felt, 
 if I were not a soldier, I cared not what became of me. Life had no 
 other object of ambition for me than military renown, no other success 
 for which I cared to struggle, or would value when obtained. Aut 
 Ccesar, aut nullus, thought I ; and, when my uncle determined I should 
 be a lawyer, I neither murmured nor objected, but hugged myself in 
 the prophecy of Considine, that hinted pretty broadly, " the devil a 
 stupider fellow ever opened a brief: but he'd have made a slashing 
 light dragoon." 
 
 The preliminaries were not long in arranging. It was settled that 
 I should be immediately despatched to Dublin, to the care of Doctor 
 Mooney, then a junior Fellow in the University, who would take me 
 into his especial charge ; while Sir Harry was to furnish me with a 
 letter to his old friend Dr. Barret, whose advice and assistance he 
 estimated at a very high price. Provided with such documents, I was 
 informed that the gates of knowledge were more than half ajar for 
 me, without an effort upon my part One only portion of all the arrange- 
 ments I heard with anything like pleasure ; it was decided that my 
 man Mickey was to accompany me to Dublin, and remain with me 
 during my stay. 
 
 It was upon a clear, sharp morning in January, of the year 18 , 
 that I took my place upon the box-seat of the old Galway Mail, and 
 set out on my journey. My heart was depressed and my spirits were 
 miserably low. I had all that feeling of sadness which leave-taking 
 inspires, and no sustaining prospect to cheer me in the distance. For 
 the first time in my life, I had seen a tear glisten in my poor uncle's 
 eye, and heard his voice falter as he said "Farewell! " Notwithstanding 
 the difference of age, we had been perfectly companions together ; and, 
 as I thought now over all the thousand kindnesses and affectionate 
 instances of his love I had received, my heart gave way, and the tears 
 coursed slowly down my cheeks. 1 turned to give one last look at the 
 tall chimneys and the old woods, my earliest friends ; but a turn of 
 the road had shut out the prospect, and thus I took my leave of 
 Galway. 
 
 My friend Mickey, who sat behind with the guard, participated but 
 little in my feelings of regret. The potatoes in the metropolis could 
 scarcely be as wet as the lumpers in Scariff ; he had heard that whisky 
 was not dearer; and looked forward to the other delights of the 
 capital with a longing heart. Meanwhile, resolved that no portion of 
 his career should be lost, he was lightening the road by anecdote and 
 song, and had an audience of four people, a very crusty-looking old 
 guard included, in roars of laughter. Mike had contrived, with his
 
 THE JOURNEY 63 
 
 usual savoir faire, to make himself very agreeable to an extremely 
 pretty-looking country girl, around whose waist he had most lovingly 
 passed his arm, under pretence of keeping her from falling, and to 
 whom, in the midst of all his attentions to the party at large, he 
 devoted himself considerably, pressing his suit with all the aid of his 
 native minstrelsy. 
 
 " Hould me tight, Miss Matilda, dear. " 
 
 " My name's Mary Brady, av ye plase." 
 
 " Av and I do plase. 
 
 ' ' ' Oh, Mary Brady, ye are my darlin', 
 
 Ye are my looking-glass from night till morning ; 
 
 I'd rather have ye without one farthen, 
 
 Nor Shusey Gallagher and her house and garden.' 
 
 May I never av I wouldn't then, and ye needn't be laughing. Is his 
 honour at home ? " 
 
 This speech was addressed to a gaping country fellow, that leaned 
 on his spade to see the coach pass. 
 
 " Is his honour at home ? I've something for him from Mr. Davern." 
 
 Mickey well knew that few Western gentlemen were without con- 
 stant intercourse with the Athlone attorney. The poor countryman 
 accordingly hastened through the fence, and pursued the coach with 
 all speed for above a mile, Mike pretending all the time to be in the 
 greatest anxiety for his overtaking them : until at last, as he stopped 
 in despair, a hearty roar of laughter told him that, in Mickey's parlance, 
 he was "sould." 
 
 " Taste it, my dear ; devil a harm it'll do ye ; it never paid the 
 king's sixpence." 
 
 Here he filled a little horn vessel from a black bottle he carried, 
 accompanying the action with a song, the air to which, if any of my 
 readers feel disposed to sing it, I may observe, bore a resemblance to 
 the well-known, "A fig for St. Denis of France." 
 
 POTTEEN, GOOD LUCK TO YE, DEAR. 
 
 " Av I was a monarch in state, 
 
 Like Romulus or Julius Caysar, 
 With the best of fine victuals to eat, 
 
 And drink like great Nebuchadnezzar, 
 A rasher of bacon I'd have, 
 
 And potatoes the finest was seen, sir ; 
 And for drink, it's no claret I'd crave, 
 But a keg of ould Mullens' potteen, sir. 
 
 With the smell of the smoke on it still. 
 
 They talk of the Romans of ould, 
 
 Whom they say in their own times was frisky ; 
 But, trust me, to keep out the cowld 
 
 The Romans at home here like whisky. 
 Sure it warms both the head and the heart, 
 
 It's the soul of all readin' and writin' ; 
 It teaches both science and art. 
 
 And disposes for love or for nghtin*. 
 
 Oh, potteen, good luck to ye, dear."
 
 64 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 This very classic production, and the black bottle which accompanied 
 it, completely established the singer's pre-eminence in the company ; 
 and I heard sundry sounds resembling drinking, with frequent good 
 wishes to the provider of the feast. " Long life to ye, Mr. Free," 
 " Your health and inclinations, Mr. Free," &c., to which Mr. Free 
 responded by drinking those of the company, " av they were vartuous." 
 The amicable relations thus happily established promised a very lasting 
 reign, and would doubtless have enjoyed such, had not a slight incident 
 occurred, which for a brief season interrupted them. At the village 
 where we stopped to breakfast, three very venerable figures presented 
 themselves for places in the inside of the coach : they were habited 
 in black coats, breeches, and gaiters, wore hats of a very ecclesiastic 
 breadth in their brim, and had altogether the peculiar air and bearing 
 which distinguishes their calling, being no less than three Roman 
 Catholic prelates on their way to Dublin to attend a convocation. 
 While Mickey and his friends, with the ready tact which every low 
 Irishman possesses, immediately perceived who and what these wor- 
 shipful individuals were, another traveller, who had just assumed his 
 place on the outside, participated but little in the feelings of reverence 
 so manifestly displayed, but gave a sneer of a very ominous kind, as 
 the skirt of the last black coat disappeared within the coach. This 
 latter individual was a short, thick-set, bandy-legged man, of about 
 fifty, with an enormous nose, which, whatever its habitual colouring, 
 on the morning in question was of a brilliant purple. He wore a blue 
 coat with bright buttons, upon which some letters were inscribed, and 
 around his neck was fastened a ribbon of the same colour, to which a 
 medal was attached. This he displayed with something of ostentation 
 whenever an opportunity occurred, and seemed altogether a person 
 who possessed a most satisfactory impression of his own importance. 
 In fact, had not this feeling been participated in by others, Mr. Billy 
 Crow would never have been deputed by No. 13,476 to carry their 
 warrant down to the west country, and establish the nucleus of an 
 Orange Lodge in the town of Foxleigh ; such being, in brief, the reason 
 why he, a very well-known manufacturer of " leather continuations " 
 in Dublin, had ventured upon the perilous journey from which he was 
 now returning. Billy was going on his way to town rejoicing, for he 
 had had a most brilliant success ; the brethren had feasted and feted 
 him ; he had made several splendid orations, with the usual number of 
 prophecies about the speedy downfall of Romanism ; the inevitable 
 return of Protestant ascendency ; the pleasing prospect that, with in- 
 creased effort and improved organisation, they should soon be able to 
 have everything their own way, and clear the green isle of the horrible 
 vermin St. Patrick forgot when banishing the others ; and that, if 
 Daniel O'Connell (whom might the Lord confound) could only be 
 hanged, and Sir Harcourt Lees made Primate of all Ireland, there were 
 still some hopes of peace and prosperity to the country. 
 
 Mr. Crow had no sooner assumed his place upon the coach than he 
 saw that he was in the camp of the enemy. Happily for all parties, 
 indeed, in Ireland, political differences have so completely stamped the 
 externals of each party that he must be a man 01 small penetration 
 who cannot, in the first five minutes he is thrown among strangers,
 
 THE JOURNEY 65 
 
 calculate with considerable certainty, whether it will be more conducive 
 to his happiness to sing, "Croppies, lie down," or "The Battle of 
 Ross. " As for Billy Crow, long life to him, you might as well attempt 
 to pass a turkey upon M. Audubon for a giraffe, as endeavour to 
 impose a papist upon him for a true follower of King William. He 
 could have given you more generic distinctions to guide you in the 
 decision, than ever did Cuvier to designate an antediluvian mammoth ; 
 so that no sooner had he seated himself upon the coach, than he 
 buttoned up his greatcoat, stuck his hands firmly in his side-pockets, 
 pursed up his lips, and looked altogether like a man that, feeling himself 
 out of his element, resolves to " bide his time " in patience, until chance 
 may throw him among more congenial associates. Mickey Free, who 
 was himself no mean proficient in reading character, at one glance saw 
 his man, and began hammering his brains to see if he could not over- 
 reach him. The small portmanteau which contained Billy's wardrobe, 
 bore the conspicuous announcement of his name ; and, as Mickey could 
 read, this was one important step already gained. 
 
 He accordingly took the first opportunity of seating himself beside him, 
 and opened the conversation by some very polite observation upon the 
 other's wearing apparel, which is always, in the West, considered a piece 
 of very courteous attention. By degrees the dialogue prospered, and 
 Mickey began to make some very important revelations about himself 
 and his master, intimating that the " state of the country " was such 
 that a man of his way of thinking had no peace or quiet in it. 
 
 "That's him there, foment ye/' said Mickey, "and a better Pro- 
 testant never hated mass. Ye understand." 
 
 " What ! " said Billy, unbuttoning the collar of his coat, to get a 
 fairer view at his companion ; " why, I thought you were 
 
 Here he made some resemblance of the usual manner of blessing 
 one's self. 
 
 " Me, devil a more nor yourself, Mr. Crow." 
 
 " Why, do you know me too ? " 
 
 "Troth, more knows you than you think." 
 
 Billy looked very much puzzled at all this ; at last he said : 
 
 " And ye tell me that your master there's the right sort ? " 
 
 " Thrue blue," said Mike, with a wink, "and so is his uncles." 
 
 " And where are they when they are at home ? " 
 
 " In Galway, no less ; but they're here now." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " Here." At this word he gave a knock of his heel to the coach, 
 as if to intimate their " whereabouts." 
 
 ' ' You don't mean in the coach do ye ? " 
 
 " To be sure I do ; and, troth, you can't know much of the West, av 
 ye don't know the three Mr. Trenches of Tallybash ! Them's they." 
 
 " You don't say so? " 
 
 "Faix, but I do." 
 
 " May I never drink the 12th July, if I didn't think they were priests." 
 
 "Priests !" said Mickey, in a roar of laughter, "priests !" 
 
 " Just priests." 
 
 "Begorra, though, ye had better keep that to yourself; for they're 
 not the men to have that same said to them."
 
 66 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Of course, I wouldn't offend them," said Mr. Crow ; (( faith, it's 
 not me would cast reflections upon such real out-and-outers as they 
 are. And where are they going now ? " 
 
 " To Dublin straight ; there's to be a grand lodge next week ; but 
 sure Mr. Crow knows better than me." 
 
 Billy after this became silent. A moody reverie seemed to steal 
 over him, and he was evidently displeased with himself for his want of 
 tact in not discovering the three Mr. Trenches of Tallybash, though 
 he only caught sight of their backs. 
 
 Mickey Free interrupted not the frame of mind in which he saw 
 conviction was slowly working its way, but by gently humming in an 
 undertone the loyal melody of " Croppies, lie down," fanned the flame 
 he had so dexterously kindled. At length they reached the small 
 town of Kinnegad. While the coach changed horses, Mr. Crow lost 
 not a moment in descending from the top, and rushing into the little 
 inn, disappeared for a few moments. When he again issued forth, he 
 carried a smoking tumbler of whisky-punch, which he continued to 
 stir with a spoon. As he approached the coach-door he tapped gently 
 with his knuckles, upon which the reverend prelate of Maronia, or 
 Mesopotamia, I forget which, inquired what he wanted. 
 
 fe I ask your pardon, gentlemen," said Billy, ' ' but I thought I'd 
 make bold to ax you to taste something warm this cold day." 
 
 " Many thanks, my good friend ; but we never do," said a bland 
 voice from within. 
 
 " I understand," said Billy, with a sly wink ; " but there are circum- 
 stances now and then and one might for the honour of the cause, you 
 know. Just put it to your lips, won't you ? " 
 
 " Excuse me," said a very rosy-cheeked little prelate, " but nothing 
 stronger than water." 
 
 " Botheration," thought Billy, as he regarded the speaker's nose. 
 " But I thought," said he aloud, "that you would not refuse this." 
 
 Here he made a peculiar manifestation in the air, which, whatever 
 respect and reverence it might carry to the honest brethren of 13,470, 
 seemed only to increase the wonder and astonishment of the bishops. 
 
 " What does he mean ? " said one. 
 
 " Is he mad ? " said another. 
 
 { ' Tear-and-ages/' said Mr. Crow, getting quite impatient at the 
 slowness of his friends' perception " tear-aud-ages, I'm one of your- 
 selves." 
 
 " One of us," said the three in chorus ' ' one of us ? " 
 
 " Ay, to be sure," here he took a long pull at the punch, " to be 
 sure I am ; here's ' no surrender,' your souls ! whoop " a loud yell 
 accompanying the toast as he drank it 
 
 " Do you mean to insult us ? " said Father P . " Guard, take 
 
 this fellow." 
 
 "Are we to be outraged in this manner?" chorused the priests. 
 
 " ' July the First, in Old Bridge town,' " sung Billy, ' c and here it is, 
 ( the glorious, pious, and immortal memory of the great and good ' " 
 
 fe Guard ! where is the guard ? " 
 
 " ' And good King William, that saved us from popery ' 
 
 ee Coachman ! guard ! " screamed Father .
 
 THE JOURNEY 67 
 
 " ' Brass money ' " 
 
 " Policeman ! policeman ! " shouted the priests. 
 
 " f Brass money, and wooden shoes ; ' devil may care who hears me," 
 said Billy, who, supposing the three Mr. Trenches were skulking- the 
 avowal of their principles, resolved to assert the pre-eminence of the 
 great cause, single-handed and alone. 
 
 " ' Here's the Pope in the pillory, and the devil pelting him with 
 priests.' " 
 
 At these words a kick from behind apprised the loyal champion that 
 a very ragged auditory, who, for some time past had not well under- 
 stood the gist of his eloquence, had at length comprehended enough to 
 be angry. Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute, certainly, in an Irish 
 row. ' f The merest urchin may light the train ; one handful of mud 
 often ignites a shindy that ends in a most bloody battle ; " and here, no 
 sooner did the vis a tergo impel Billy forward, than a severe rap of a 
 closed fist in the eye drove him back, and in one instant he became the 
 centre to a periphery of kicks, cuffs, pullings, and haulings, that left 
 the poor deputy grand not only orange, but blue. 
 
 He fought manfully, but numbers carried the day, and when the 
 coach drove off, which it did at last without him, the last thing visible 
 to the outside was the figure of Mr. Crow, whose hat, minus the crown, 
 had been driven over his head, down upon his neck, where it remained 
 like a dress cravat, buffeting a mob of ragged vagabonds, who had so 
 completely metamorphosed the unfortunate man with mud and bruises, 
 that a committee of the grand lodge might actually have been unable 
 to identify him. 
 
 As for Mickey and his friends behind, their mirth knew no bounds ; 
 and, except the respectable insides, there was not an individual about 
 the coach who ceased to think of, and laugh at the incident, till we 
 arrived in Dublin, and drew up at the Hibernian in Dawsou Street 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DUBLIN 
 
 No sooner had I arrived in Dublin than my first care was to present 
 myself to Dr. Mooney, by whom I was received in the most cordial 
 manner. In fact, in my utter ignorance of such persons, I had 
 imagined a College-fellow to be a character necessarily 'severe and 
 unbending ; and, as the only two very great people I had ever seen 
 in my life were the Archbishop of Tuam and the Chief Baron, when 
 on circuit, I pictured to myself that a University Fellow was, in all 
 probability, a cross between the two, and feared him accordingly. 
 
 The Doctor read over my uncle's letter attentively, invited me to 
 partake of his breakfast, and then entered upon something like an 
 account of the life before me, for which Sir Harry Boyle had, how- 
 ever, in some degree prepared me. 
 
 "Your uncle, I find, wishes you to live in college; perhaps it is 
 better, too ; so that I must look out for chambers for you. Let me
 
 68 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 see : it will be rather difficult just now to find them. Here he fell 
 for some moments into a musing fit, and merely muttered a few broken 
 sentences, as, " To be sure, if other chambers could be had but then 
 and, after all, perhaps, as he is young besides, Frank will certainly 
 be expelled before long, and then he will have them all to himself. I 
 say, O'Malley, I believe I must quarter you for the present with a 
 rather wild companion ; but, as your uncle says you're a prudent 
 fellow " here he smiled very much, as if my uncle had not said any 
 such thing " why, you must only take the better care of yourself 
 until we can make some better arrangement. My pupil, Frank 
 Webber, is at this moment in want of a ' chum,' as the phrase is ; 
 his last three having only been domesticated with him for as many 
 weeks, so that, until we find you a more quiet resting-place, you may 
 take up your abode with him." 
 
 During breakfast, the Doctor proceeded to inform me that my 
 destined companion was a young man of excellent family and good 
 fortune, who, with very considerable talents and acquirements, pre- 
 ferred a life of rackety and careless dissipation to prospects of great 
 success in public life, which his connection and family might have 
 secured for him ; that he had been originally entered at Oxford, which 
 he was obliged to leave : then tried Cambridge, from which he escaped 
 expulsion by being rusticated, that is, having incurred a sentence of 
 temporary banishment, and lastly, was endeavouring, with what he 
 himself believed to be a total reformation, to stumble on to a degree 
 in the " silent sister." 
 
 "This is his third year," said the Doctor, "and he is only a fresh- 
 man, having lost every examination, with abilities enough to sweep 
 the university of its prizes. But, come over now, and I'll present you 
 to him." 
 
 I followed him downstairs, across the court, to an angle of the old 
 square, where, up the first floor, left, to use the college direction, stood 
 the name of Mr. Webber, a large No. 2 being conspicuously painted in 
 the middle of the door, and not over it, as is usually the custom. As 
 we reached the spot, the observations of my companion were lost to 
 me in the tremendous noise and uproar that resounded from within. 
 It seemed as if a number of people were fighting, pretty much as a 
 banditti in a melodrama do, with considerably more of confusion than 
 requisite ; a fiddle and a French horn also lent their assistance to 
 shouts and cries, which, to say the best, were not exactly the aids of 
 study I expected in such a place. 
 
 Three times was the bell pulled, with a vigour that threatened its 
 downfall, when, at last, as the jingle of it rose above all other noises, 
 suddenly all became hushed and still ; a momentary pause succeeded, 
 and the door was opened by a very respectable-looking servant, who, 
 recognising the Doctor, at once introduced us into the apartment where 
 Mr. Webber was sitting. 
 
 In a large and very handsomely furnished room, where Brussels 
 carpeting and softly cushioned sofas contrasted strangely with the 
 meagre and comfortless chambers of the Doctor, sat a young man at a 
 small breakfast-table, beside the fire. He was attired in a silk dressing- 
 gown and black velvet slippers, and supported his forehead upon a
 
 DUBLIN 69 
 
 hand of most lady-like whiteness, whose fingers were absolutely covered 
 with rings of great beauty and price. His long silky brown hair fell 
 in rich profusion upon the back of his neck, and over his arm, and the 
 whole air and attitude was one which a painter might have copied. 
 So intent was he upon the volume before him, that he never raised his 
 head at our approach, but continued to read aloud, totally unaware of 
 our presence. 
 
 ' ' Dr. Mooney, sir," said the servant. 
 
 " Ton dapamey bominos, prosephe, crione Agamemnon" repeated the 
 student, in an ecstasy, and not paying the slightest attention to the 
 announcement. 
 
 " Dr. Mooney, sir," repeated the servant in a louder tone, while the 
 Doctor looked around on every side for an explanation of the late 
 uproar, with a face of the most puzzled astonishment. 
 
 " Be dakiown para thina dolekoskion enkos," said Mr. Webber, finish- 
 ing a cup of coffee at a draught. 
 
 " Well, Webber, hard at work, I see," said the Doctor. 
 
 " Ah, Doctor, I beg pardon ! Have you been long here?" said the 
 most soft and insinuating voice, while the speaker passed his taper 
 fingers across his brow, as if to dissipate the traces of deep thought 
 and study. 
 
 While the Doctor presented me to my future companion, I could 
 perceive in the restless and searching look he threw around, that the 
 fracas he had so lately heard was still an unexplained and vexata 
 questio in his mind. 
 
 "May I offer you a cup of coffee, Mr. O'Malley?" said the youth, 
 with an air of almost timid bashfulness. " The Doctor, I know, break- 
 fasts at a very early hour." 
 
 " I say, Webber," said the Doctor, who could no longer restrain his 
 curiosity, " what an awful row I heard here as I came up to the door ! 
 I thought Bedlam was broke loose. What could it have been ? " 
 
 " Ah, you heard it too, sir," said Mr. Webber, smiling most benignly. 
 
 " Heard it ; to be sure 'I did. O'Malley and I could not hear our- 
 selves talking with the uproar." 
 
 ' ' Yes, indeed, it is very provoking ; but, then, what's to be done ? 
 One can't complain under the circumstances. " 
 
 1 Why, what do you mean ? " said Mooney anxiously. 
 ' Nothing, sir ; nothing. I'd much rather you'd not ask me ; for, 
 after all, I'll change my chambers." 
 
 ' But why ? Explain this at once. I insist upon it." 
 ' Can I depend upon the discretion of your young friend ? " said Mr. 
 \\ ebber gravely. 
 
 ' Perfectly," said the Doctor, now wound up to the greatest anxiety 
 to learn a secret. 
 
 ' ' And you'll promise not to mention the thing, except among your 
 friends." 
 
 " I do," said the Doctor. 
 
 " Well, then," said he, in a low and confidential whisper, " it's the 
 Dean." 
 
 " The Dean ! " said Mooney, with a start. c ' The Dean ! Why, how 
 can it be the Dean ? "
 
 70 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Too true/' said Mr. Webber, making a sign of drinking ; et too 
 true, Doctor. And, then the moment he is so, he begins smashing the 
 furniture. Never was anything heard like it As for me, as I am now 
 becoming a reading man, I must go elsewhere. " 
 
 Now, it so chanced that the worthy Dean, albeit a man of most 
 abstemious habits, possessed a nose which, in colour and development, 
 was a most unfortunate witness to call to character, and as Mooney 
 heard Webber narrate circumstantially the frightful excesses of the 
 great functionary, I saw that something like conviction was stealing 
 over him. 
 
 " You'll, of course, never speak of this, except to your most intimate 
 friends," said Webber. 
 
 " Of course not," said the Doctor, as he shook his hand warmly, and 
 prepared to leave the room. " O'Malley, I leave you here," said he ; 
 " AV^ebber and you can talk over your arrangements." 
 
 Webber followed the Doctor to the door, whispered something in his 
 ear, to which the other replied, " Very well, I will write ; but if your 
 father sends the money, I must insist " the rest was lost in protes- 
 tations and professions of the most fervent kind, amid which the door 
 was shut, and Mr. Webber returned to the room. 
 
 Short as was the interspace from the door without to the room 
 within, it was still ample enough to effect a very thorough and remark- 
 able change in the whole external [appearance of Mr. Frank Webber ; 
 for, scarcely had the oaken panel shut out the Doctor, when he appeared 
 no longer the shy, timid, and silvery-toned gentleman of five minutes 
 before ; but dashing boldly forward, he seized a key-bugle that lay hid 
 beneath a sofa-cushion, and blew a tremendous blast. 
 
 " Come forth, ye demons of the lower world," said he, drawing a 
 cloth from a large table, and discovering the figures of three young 
 men, coiled up beneath. " Come forth, and fear not, most timorous 
 freshmen that ye are," said he, unlocking a pantry, and liberating 
 two others. " Gentlemen, let me introduce to your acquaintance 
 Mr. O'Malley. My chum, gentlemen. Mr. O'Malley, this is Harry 
 Nesbit, who has been in college since the days of Old Perpendicular, 
 and numbers more cautions than any man who ever had his name on 
 the books. Here is my particular friend, Cecil Cavendish, the only 
 man who could ever devil kidneys. Captain Power, Mr. O'Malley ; a 
 dashing dragoon, as you see ; aide-de-camp to his excellency the Lord 
 Lieutenant, and love-maker general to Merrion Square, West. 
 
 " These," said he, pointing to the late denizens of the pantry, " are 
 Jibs, whose names are neither known to the proctor nor the police- 
 office ; but, with due regard to their education and morals, we don't 
 despair." 
 
 " By no means," said Power ; " but come, let us resume our game." 
 At these words he took a folio atlas of maps from a small table, and 
 displayed beneath a pack of cards, dealt as if for whist The two 
 gentlemen to whom I was introduced by name, returned to their places ; 
 the unknown two put on their boxing-gloves, and all resumed the 
 hilarity which Dr. Mooney' s advent had so suddenly interrupted. 
 
 " Where's Moore ? " said Webber, as he once more seated himself at 
 bis breakfast
 
 DUBLIN 71 
 
 " Making a spatch-cock, sir," said the servant. At the same instant 
 a little dapper, jovial-looking personage appeared with the dish in 
 question. " Mr. O'Malley, Mr. Moore, the gentleman who, by repeated 
 remonstrances to the hoard, has succeeded in getting eatable food for 
 the inhabitants of this penitentiary, and has the honoured reputation 
 of reforming the commons of college." 
 
 ' ' Anything to Godfrey O'Malley, may I ask, sir ? " said Moore. 
 
 " His nephew," I replied. 
 
 ' ' Which of you winged the gentleman the other day for not passing 
 the decanter, or something of that sort ? " 
 
 "If you mean the affair with Mr. Bodkin, it was I." 
 
 ' ' Glorious that ! begad, I thought you were one of us. I say, Power, 
 it was he pinked Bodkin." 
 
 " Ah, indeed," said Power, not turning his head from his game, " a 
 pretty shot I heard two by honours and hit him fairly the odd 
 trick. Hammersly mentioned the thing to me." 
 
 " Oh, is he in town ? " said I. 
 
 "No, he sailed for Portsmouth yesterday ; he is to join the llth 
 game I say, Webber, you've lost the rubber." 
 
 ( ' Double or quits, and a dinner at Dunleary," said Webber ; <( we 
 must show O'Malley confound the Mister something of the place." 
 
 "Agreed." 
 
 The whist was resumed ; the boxers, now refreshed by a leg of the 
 spatch-cock, returned to their gloves. Mr. Moore took up his violin, 
 Mr. Webber his French horn, and I was left the only unemployed man 
 in the company. 
 
 " I say, Power, you'd better bring the drag over here for us ; we can 
 all go down together." 
 
 (e I must inform you," said Cavendish, " that, thanks to your philan- 
 thropic efforts last night, the passage from Grafton Street to Stephen's 
 Green is impracticable." A tremendous roar of laughter followed this 
 announcement ; and though at the time the cause was unknown to me, 
 I may as well mention it here, as I subsequently learned it from my 
 companions. 
 
 Among the many peculiar tastes which distinguished Mr. Francis 
 Webber, was an extraordinary fancy for street-begging ; he. had, over 
 and over, won large sums upon his success in that difficult walk ; and 
 so perfect were his disguises, both of dress, voice, and manner, that he 
 actually, at one time, succeeded in obtaining charity from his very 
 opponent in the wager. He wrote ballads with the greatest facility, 
 and sung them with infinite pathos and humour ; and the old woman 
 at the corner of College Green was certain of an audience when the 
 severity of the night would leave all other minstrelsy deserted. As 
 these feats of jonglerie usually terminated in a row, it was a most 
 amusing part of the transaction to see the singer's part taken by the 
 mob against the college men, who, growing impatient to carry him off 
 to supper somewhere, would invariably be obliged to have a fight for 
 the booty. 
 
 Now it chanced that a few evenings before, Mr. Webber was return- 
 ing with a pocket well lined with copper, from a musical reunion he 
 had held at the corner of York Street, when the idea struck him to
 
 72 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 stop at the end of Grafton Street, where a huge stone grating at that 
 time exhibited, perhaps it exhibits still, the descent to one of the great 
 main sewers of the city. 
 
 The light was shining brightly from a pastrycook's shop, and showed 
 the large bars of stone, between which the muddy water was rushing 
 rapidly down, and plashing in the torrent that ran boisterously several 
 feet beneath. 
 
 To stop in the street of any crowded city is, under any circum- 
 stances, an invitation to others to do likewise, which is rarely un- 
 accepted ; but when, in addition to this, you stand fixedly in one spot, 
 and regard with stern intensity any object near you, the chances are 
 ten to one that you have several companions in your curiosity before a 
 minute expires. 
 
 Now, Webber, who had at first stood still without any peculiar 
 thought in view, no sooner perceived that he was joined by others, 
 than the idea of making something out of it immediately occurred to 
 him. 
 
 "What is it, agra?" inquired an old woman, very much in his own 
 style of dress, pulling at the hood of his cloak. 
 
 " And can't you see for yourself, darlin' ? " replied he sharply, as he 
 knelt down, and looked most intensely at the sewer. 
 
 " Are ye long there, avick ? " inquired he of an imaginary individual 
 below, and then waiting as if for a reply, said, e ' Two hours ! Blessed 
 virgin ! he's two hours in the drain ! " 
 
 By this time the crowd had reached entirely across the street, and 
 the crushing and squeezing to get near the important spot was awful. 
 
 ' ' Where did he come from ? who is he ? how did he get there ? " 
 were questions on every side, and various surmises were afloat, till 
 Webber, rising from his knees, said, in a mysterious whisper to those 
 nearest him, ' ' He's made his escape to-night out o' Newgate by the big 
 drain, and lost his way ; he was looking for the Liffey, and took the 
 wrong turn." 
 
 To an Irish mob, what appeal could equal this ? A culprit, at any 
 time, has his claim upon their sympathy ; but let him be caught in 
 the very act of cheating the authorities and evading the law, and his 
 popularity knows no bounds. Webber knew this well, and, as the 
 mob thickened around him, sustained an imaginary conversation that 
 Savage Landor might have envied, imparting now and then such hints 
 concerning the runaway as raised their interest to the highest pitch, 
 and fifty different versions were related on all sides of the crime he 
 was guilty of the sentence that was passed on him and the day he 
 M-as to suffer. 
 
 "Do you see the light, dear?" said Webber, as some ingeniously 
 benevolent individual had lowered down a candle with a string " do 
 ye see the light? oh, he's fainted, the creature." A cry of horror 
 from the crowd burst forth at these words, followed by a universal 
 shout of e< break open the street. " 
 
 Pick-axes, shovels, spades, and crowbars seemed absolutely the 
 walking accompaniments of the crowd, so suddenly did they appear 
 upon the field of action, and the work of exhumation was begun with 
 a vigour that speedily covered nearly half of the street with mud and
 
 CAPTAIN POWER 73 
 
 paving stones ; parties relieved each other at the task, and, ere half-an- 
 hour, a hole capable of containing a mail coach was yawning in one 
 of the most frequented thoroughfares of Dublin. Meanwhile, as no 
 appearance of the culprit could be had, dreadful conjectures as to his 
 fate began to gain ground. By this time the authorities had received 
 intimation of what was going forward, and attempted to disperse the 
 crowd ; but Webber, who still continued to conduct the prosecution, 
 called on them to resist the police, and save the poor creature ; and 
 now began a most terrific fray ; the stones, forming a ready weapon, 
 were hurled at the unprepared constables, who, on their side, fought 
 manfully, but against superior numbers ; so that, at last, it was only 
 by the aid of a military force the mob could be dispersed, and a riot, 
 which had assumed a very serious character, got under. Meanwhile, 
 Webber had reached his chambers and changed his costume, and was 
 relating over a supper-table the narrative of his philanthropy to a very 
 admiring circle of his friends. 
 
 Such was my chum, Frank Webber, and, as this was the first anec- 
 dote I had heard of him, I relate it here, that my readers may be in 
 possession of the grounds upon which my opinion of that celebrated 
 character was founded, while yet our acquaintance was in its infancy. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 CAPTAIN POWER 
 
 WITHIN a few weeks after my arrival in town I had become a matricu- 
 lated student of the University,- and the possessor of chambers within 
 its walls, in conjunction with the sage and prudent gentleman I have 
 introduced to my readers in the last chapter. Had my intentions on 
 entering college been of the most studious and regular kind, the com- 
 panion into whose society I was then immediately thrown would have 
 quickly dissipated them. He voted morning chapels a bore, Greek 
 lectures a humbug, examinations a farce, and pronounced the statute- 
 book, with its attendant train of fines and punishment, an " unclean 
 thing." With all my country habits and predilections fresh upon me, 
 that I was an easily won disciple to his code, need not be wondered at, 
 and indeed, ere many days had passed over, my thorough indifference 
 to all college rules and regulations had given me a high place in the 
 esteem of Webber and his friends. As for myself, I was most agree- 
 ably surprised to find that what I had looked forward to as a very 
 melancholy banishment, was likely to prove a most agreeable sojourn. 
 Under Webber's direction, there was no hour of the day that hung 
 heavily upon our hands : we rose about eleven and breakfasted ; after 
 which succeeded fencing, sparring, billiards, or tennis in the park ; 
 about three got on horseback, and either cantered in the Phoenix or 
 about the squares till visiting time ; after which we made our calls, 
 arid then dressed for dinner, which we never thought of taking at 
 commons, but had it from Morrison's we both being reported sick in 
 the Dean's list, and thereby exempt from the meagre fare of the fellows'
 
 74 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 table. In the evening our occupations became still more pressing; 
 there were balls, suppers, whist parties, rows at the theatre, shindies 
 in the street, devilled drumsticks at Hayes's, select oyster parties at 
 the Carlingford ; in fact, every known method of remaining up all 
 night and appearing both pale and penitent the following morning. 
 
 Webber had a large acquaintance in Dublin, and soon made me 
 known to them all ; among others, the officers of the th Light 
 Dragoons, in which regiment Power was a captain, were his particular 
 friends, and we had frequent invitations to dine at their mess. There 
 it was first that military life presented itself to me in its most attrac- 
 tive possible form, and heightened the passion I had already so strongly 
 conceived for the army. Power, above all others, took my fancy : he was 
 a gay, dashing-looking, handsome fellow, of about eight-and-twenty, 
 who had already seen some service, having joined while his regiment was 
 in Portugal ; was in heart and soul a soldier, and had that species of 
 pride and enthusiasm in all that regarded a military career that form 
 no small part of the charm in the character of a young officer. 
 
 I sat near him the second day we dined at the mess, and was much 
 pleased at many slight attentions in his manner towards me. ' ' I 
 called on you to-day, Mr. O'Malley," said he, "in company with a 
 friend, who is most anxious to see you." 
 
 " Indeed," said I, " I did not hear of it." 
 
 ' ( We left no cards either of us, as we were determined to make you 
 out on another day ; my companion has most urgent reasons for seeing 
 you ; I see you are puzzled," said he ; " and, although I promised to 
 keep his secret, I must blab : it was Sir George Dashwood was with 
 me; he told us of your most romantic adventure in the West; and, 
 faith, there is no doubt you saved the lady's life." 
 
 " Was she worth the trouble of it?" said the old Major, whose con- 
 jugal experiences imparted a very crusty tone to the question. 
 
 " I think," said I, " I need only tell her name to convince you of it." 
 
 " Here's a bumper to her," said Power, filling his glass ; " and every 
 true man will follow my example." 
 
 When the hip, hipping which followed the toast was over, I found 
 myself enjoying no small share of the attention of the party as the 
 deliverer of Lucy Dashwood. 
 
 " Sir George is cudgelling his brain to show his gratitude to you," 
 said Power. 
 
 " What a pity, for the sake of his' peace of mind, that you're not in 
 the army," said another ; <( it's so easy to show a man a delicate regard 
 by a quick promotion." 
 
 " A devil of a pity for his own sake too," said Power again ; " they're 
 going to make a lawyer of as strapping a fellow as ever carried a 
 sabretasch. " 
 
 ' ' A lawyer ! " cried out half-a-dozen together, pretty much with the 
 same tone and emphasis as though he had said a twopenny postman ; 
 " the devil they are !" 
 
 " Cut the service at once : you'll get no promotion in it," said the 
 Colonel ; " a fellow with a black eye like you would look much better 
 at the head of a squadron than a string of witnesses. Trust me, you'd 
 shine more in conducting a picket than a prosecution."
 
 CAPTAIN POWER 75 
 
 "But if I can't?" said I. 
 
 "Then take my plan," said Power, "and make it cut you ' 
 
 " Yours," said two or three in a breath ; " yours ? " 
 
 " Ay, mine ; did you never know that I was bred to the bar ? Come, 
 come, if it was only for O'Malley's use and benefit as we say in the 
 parchments I must tell you the story." 
 
 The claret was pushed briskly round, chairs drawn up to fill any 
 vacant spaces, and Power began his story. 
 
 " As I am not over long-winded, don't be scared at my beginning 
 my history somewhat far back. I began life, that most unlucky of all 
 earthly contrivances for supplying casualties in case anything may 
 befall the heir of the house a species of domestic jury-mast, only 
 lugged out in a gale of wind a younger son. My brother Tom, a 
 thick-skulled, pudding-headed dog, that had no taste for anything, 
 save his dinner, took it into his wise head one morning that he would 
 go into the army, and, although I had been originally destined for a 
 soldier, no sooner was his choice made, than all regard for my taste 
 and inclinations was forgotten ; and, as the family interest was only 
 enough for one, it was decided that I should be put in what is called 
 a ' learned profession,' and let push my fortune. ' Take your choice, 
 Dick,' said my father, with a most benign smile, e take your choice, 
 boy : will you be a lawyer, a parson, or a doctor ? ' 
 
 "Had he said, 'Will you be put in the stocks, the pillory, or 
 publicly whipped,' I could not have looked more blank than at the 
 question. 
 
 "As a decent Protestant, he should have grudged me to the Church, 
 as a philanthropist, he might have scrupled at making me a physician ; 
 but, as he had lost deeply by lawsuits, there looked something very 
 like a lurking malice in sending me to the bar. Now, so far I con- 
 curred with him, for having no gift for enduring either sermons or 
 senna, I thought I'd make a bad administrator of either, and as I was 
 ever regarded in the family as rather of a shrewd and quick turn, with 
 a very natural taste for roguery, I began to believe he was right, and 
 that nature intended me for the circuit. 
 
 " From the hour my vocation was pronounced, it had been happy 
 for the family that they could have got rid of me. A certain ambition 
 to rise in my profession laid hold on me, and I meditated all day and 
 night how I was to get on. Every trick, every subtle invention to 
 cheat the enemy that I could read of, I treasured up carefully, being 
 fully impressed with the notion, that roguery meant law, and equity 
 was only another name for odd and even. 
 
 "My days were spent haranguing special juries of housemaids and 
 laundresses, cross-examining the cook, charging the under-butler, and 
 passing sentence of death upon the pantry boy, who, I may add, was 
 invariably hanged when the court rose. 
 
 " If the mutton were overdone, or the turkey burned, I drew up an 
 indictment against old Margaret, and against the kitchen-maid as 
 accomplice ; and the family hungered while I harangued ; and, in fact, 
 into such disrepute did I bring the legal profession, by the source of 
 annoyance of which I made it the vehicle, that my father got a kind of 
 holy horror of law courts, judges, and crown solicitors, and absented
 
 70 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 himself from the assizes the same year, for which, being a high sheriff, 
 he paid a penalty of 500. 
 
 " The next day I was sent off in disgrace to Dublin to begin my 
 career in college, and eat the usual quartos and folios of beef and 
 mutton which qualify a man for the woolsack. 
 
 " Years rolled over, in which, after an ineffectual effort to get 
 through college, the only examination I ever got being a jubilee for 
 the king's birthday, I was at length called to the Irish bar, and saluted 
 by my friends as Counsellor Power. The whole thing was so like a 
 joke to me, that it kept me in laughter for three terms, and, in fact, it 
 was the best thing could happen me, for I had nothing else to do. 
 The hall of the Four Courts was a very pleasant lounge, plenty of 
 agreeable fellows that never earned sixpence, or were likely to do so. 
 Then the circuits were so many country excursions, that supplied fun 
 of one kind or other, but no profit. As for me, I was what is called a 
 good junior : I knew how to look after the waiters, to inspect the 
 decanting of the wine, and the airing of the claret, and was always 
 attentive to the father of the circuit, the Grossest old villain that ever 
 was a king's counsel. These eminent qualities, and my being able to 
 sing a song in honour of our own bar, were recommendations enough 
 to make me a favourite, and I was one. 
 
 " Now the reputation I obtained was pleasant enough at first, but 
 somehow I wondered that I never got a brief. Somehow, if it rained 
 civil bills or declarations, devil a one would fall upon my head, and it 
 seemed as if the only object I had in life was to accompany the circuit, 
 a kind of deputy assistant commissary-general, never expected to come 
 into action. To be sure, I was not alone in misfortune : there were 
 several promising youths who cut great figures in Trinity in the same 
 predicament, the only difference being, that they attributed to jealousy 
 what I suspected was forgetfulness, for I don't think a single attorney 
 in Dublin knew one of us. 
 
 ' ' Two years passed over, and then I walked the hall with a bag filled 
 with newspapers, to look like briefs, and was regularly called by two 
 or three criers from one court to the other. It never took : even when 
 I used to seduce a country friend to visit the courts, and get him into 
 an animated conversation, in a corner between two pillars, devil a one 
 would believe him to be a client, and I was fairly nonplussed. 
 
 ' ' ' How is a man ever to distinguish himself in such a walk as this ? ' 
 was my eternal question to myself every morning as I put on my wig. 
 ' My face is as well known here as Lord Manners' : every one says, 
 ' How are you, Dick ? ' ' How goes it, Power ? ' but except Holmes, 
 that said one morning as he passed me, ' Eh, always busy,' no one 
 alludes to the possibility of my having anything to do. 
 
 " ' If I only could get a footing,' thought I, ' Lord, how I'd astonish 
 them ! ' as the song says 
 
 " ' Perhaps a recruit 
 Might chance to shoot 
 Great General Bounaparte.' 
 
 So said I to myself, ' I'll make these halls ring for it some day or other, 
 if the occasion ever present itself.' But, faith, it seemed as if some
 
 CAPTAIN POWER 77 
 
 cunning solicitor overheard me, and told his associates, for they 
 avoided me like a leprosy. The home circuit I had adopted for some 
 time past, for the very palpable reason that, being near town, it was 
 least expense, and it had all the advantages of any other for me in 
 getting me nothing to do. Well, one morning we were in Phillips- 
 town : I was lying awake in bed, thinking how long it would be before 
 I'd sum up resolution to cut the bar, where certainly my prospects 
 were not the most cheering, when some one tapped gently at my door. 
 
 " ' Come in,' said I. 
 
 " The waiter opened gently, and held out his hand with a large roll 
 of paper tied round with a piece of red tape. 
 
 " e Counsellor,' says he, 'handsel.' 
 
 " ' What doy ou mean ? ' said I, jumping out of bed ; c what is it, you 
 villain ? ' 
 
 " 'A brief.' 
 
 " ' A brief! so I see, but it's for Counsellor Kinshella, below stairs.' 
 That was the first name written on it. 
 
 " ' Bethershin,' said he, ' Mr. M'Grath bid me give it to you care- 
 fully.' 
 
 ' ' By this time I had opened the envelope and read my own name at 
 full length as junior counsel in the important case of Monaghan v. 
 M f Shane, to be tried in the Record Court, at Ballinasloe. 'That will 
 do,' said I, flinging it on the bed with a careless air, as if it were a very 
 everyday matter with me. 
 
 ' ' ' But, Counsellor, darlin', give us a thrifle to dhrink your health 
 with your first cause, and the Lord send you plenty of them.' 
 
 " ' My first,' said I, with a smile of most ineffable compassion at 
 his simplicity, ( I'm worn out with them ; do you know, Peter, I was 
 thinking seriously of leaving the bar when you came into the room. 
 Upon my conscience, it's in earnest I am.' 
 
 " Peter believed me, I think, for I saw him give a very peculiar look 
 as he pocketed his half-crown and left the room. 
 
 "The door was scarcely closed when I gave way to the free trans- 
 port of my ecstasy ; there it lay at last, the long-looked-for, long- 
 wished-for object of all my happiness, and, though I well knew that a 
 junior counsel has about as much to do in the conducting of a case as 
 a rusty handspike has in a naval engagement, yet I suffered not such 
 thoughts to mar the current of my happiness. There was my name in 
 conjunction with the two mighty leaders on the circuit, and though 
 they each pocketed a hundred I doubt very much if they received 
 their briefs with one-half the satisfaction. My joy at length a little 
 subdued, I opened the roll of paper and began carefully to peruse about 
 fifty pages of narrative regarding a watercourse that once had turned 
 a mill ; but, for some reasons doubtless known to itself or its friends, 
 would do so no longer, and thus set two respectable neighbours at 
 loggerheads, and involved them in a record that had been now heard 
 three several times. 
 
 "Quite forgetting the subordinate part I was destined to fill, I 
 opened the case in a most flowery oration, in which I descanted upon 
 the benefits accruing to mankind from water communication since the 
 days of Noah ; remarked upon the antiquity of mills, and especially
 
 78 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 of millers, and consumed half-an-hour in a preamble of generalities 
 that I hoped would make a very considerable impression upon the 
 court. Just at the critical moment when I was about to enter more 
 particularly into the case, three or four of the great unbriefed came 
 rattling into my room, and broke in upon the oration. 
 
 " ' I say, Power,' said one, ' come and have an hour's skating on the 
 canal : the courts are filled, and we shan't be missed.' 
 
 " e Skate, my dear friend,' said I, in a most dolorous tone, e out of 
 the question ; see, I am chained to a devilish knotty case with Kinshella 
 and Mills.' 
 
 " ' Confound your humbugging,' said another, ' that may do very 
 well in Dublin for the attorneys, but not with us.' 
 
 " ' I don't well understand you,' I replied ; ' there is the brief. 
 Henesy expects me to report upon it this evening, and I am so 
 hurried.' 
 
 " Here a very chorus of laughing broke forth, in which, after several 
 vain efforts to resist, I was forced to join, and kept it up with the 
 others. 
 
 ' ' When our mirth was over, my friends scrutinised the red-tape-tied 
 packet and pronounced it a real brief, with a degree of surprise that 
 certainly augured little for their familiarity with such objects of natural 
 history. 
 
 ' ' When they had left the room, I leisurely examined the all-impor- 
 tant document, spreading it out before me upon the table, and survey- 
 ing it as a newly-anointed sovereign might be supposed to contemplate 
 a map of his dominions. 
 
 " ' At last,' said I to myself, e at last, and here is the footstep to the 
 woolsack.' For more than an hour I sat motionless, my eyes fixed 
 upon the outspread paper, lost in a very maze of reverie. The ambi- 
 tion which disappointments had crushed and delay had chilled came 
 suddenly back, and all my day-dreams of legal success, my cherished 
 aspirations after silk gowns and patents of precedence rushed once 
 more upon me, and I resolved to do or die. Alas ! a very little reflec- 
 tion showed me that the latter was perfectly practicable ; but that, as 
 a junior counsel, five minutes of very commonplace recitation was all my 
 province, and with the main business of the day I had about as much 
 to do as the call-boy of a playhouse has with the success of a tragedy. 
 
 " ' My lord, this is an action brought by Timothy Higgins,' &c., and 
 down I go, no more to be remembered and thought of, than if I had 
 never existed. How different it would be were I the leader ! Zounds, 
 how I would worry the witnesses, browbeat the evidence, cajole the 
 jury, and soften the judges ! If the Lord were, in his mercy, to 
 remove old Mills and Kinshella before Tuesday, who knows but my 
 fortune might be made ? This supposition once started, set me specu- 
 lating upon all the possible chances that might cut off two king's 
 counsel in three days, and left me fairly convinced that my own eleva- 
 tion was certain, were they only removed from my path. 
 
 " For two whole days the thought never left my mind ; and, on the 
 evening of the second day, I sat moodily over my pint of port, in the 
 Clonbrock Arms, with my friend, Timothy Casey, Captain in the North 
 Cork Militia, for my companion.
 
 CAPTAIN POWER 79 
 
 " c Fred/ said Tim, ' take off your wine, man. When does this con- 
 founded trial come on ? ' 
 
 1 ' ' To-morrow,' said I, with a deep groan. 
 
 ' ' ' Well, well, and if it does, what matter ? ' he said, ' you'll do well 
 enough, never be afraid.' 
 
 " ' Alas I ' said I, ' you don't understand the cause of my depression.' 
 I here entered upon an account of my sorrows, which lasted for above 
 an hour, and only concluded, just as a tremendous noise in the street 
 without announced an arrival. For several minutes, such was the 
 excitement in the house, such running hither and thither such con- 
 fusion, and such hubbub, that we could not make out who had arrived. 
 
 " At last a door opened, quite near us, and we saw the waiter assist- 
 ing a very portly-looking gentleman off with his greatcoat, assuring 
 him the while, that if he would only walk into the coffee-room for ten 
 minutes, the fire in his apartment should be got ready. The stranger 
 accordingly entered and seated himself at the fireplace, having never 
 noticed that Casey and myself the only persons there were in the 
 room. 
 
 " 'I say, Phil, who is he?' inquired Casey of the waiter. 
 
 " ' Counsellor Mills, Captain,' said the waiter, and left the room. 
 
 " e That's your friend,' said Casey. 
 
 " ' I see,' said I ; ' and I wish, with all my heart, he was at home 
 with his pretty wife in Leeson Street.' 
 
 " ' Is she good-looking ? ' inquired Tim. 
 
 " ' Devil a bit,' said I, ' and he's as jealous as Old Nick.' 
 
 "'Hem,' said Tim, 'mind your cue, and I'll give him a start.' 
 Here he suddenly changed his whispering tone for one in a louder key, 
 and resumed : e I say, Power, it will make some work for you lawyers. 
 But who can she be? that's the question.' Here he took a much- 
 crumpled letter from his pocket, and pretended to read. 'A great 
 sensation was created in the neighbourhood of Merrion Square, 
 yesterday, by the sudden disappearance from her house of the hand- 
 some Mrs. ' Confound it what's that name? what a hand he 
 
 writes Hill or Miles, or something like that ' the lady of an eminent 
 barrister, now on circuit. The gay Lothario is, they say, the Hon. 
 
 George ' I was so thunderstruck at the rashness of the stroke, I 
 
 could say nothing ; while the old gentleman started as if he had sat 
 down on a pin. Casey, meanwhile, went on 
 
 " ' Hell and fury,' said the king's counsel, rushing over, ' what is it 
 you're saying ? ' 
 
 " ' You appear warm, old gentleman,' said Casey, putting up the 
 letter, and rising from the table. 
 
 " ' Show me that letter : show me that infernal letter, sir, this 
 instant !' 
 
 " ' Show you my letter,' said Casey ; f cool that, anyhow ; you are 
 certainly a good one. ' 
 
 " e Do you know me, sir ? answer me that,' said the lawyer, bursting 
 with passion. 
 
 " ' Not at present,' said Tim quietly ; e hut I hope to do so in the 
 morning, in explanation of your language and conduct' A tre- 
 mendous ringing of the bell here summoned a waiter to the room.
 
 80 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 te ' Who is that ?' inquired the lawyer. The epithet he judged 
 
 it safe to leave unsaid, as he pointed to Casey. 
 
 " ' Captain Casey, sir ; the commanding officer here.' 
 
 " ( Just so,' said Casey, 'and very much at your service, any hour 
 after five in the morning. ' 
 
 " ' Then you refuse, sir, to explain the paragraph I have just heard 
 you read.' 
 
 ' ' ' Well done, old gentleman ! so you have been listening to a 
 private conversation I held with my friend here. In that case we had 
 better retire to our room : ' so saying, he ordered the waiter to send a 
 fresh bottle and glasses to No. 14, and, taking my arm, very politely 
 wished Mr. Mills a good night, and left the coffee-room. 
 
 "Before we had reached the top of the stairs, the house was once 
 more in commotion. The new arrival had ordered out fresh horses, 
 and was hurrying every one in his impatience to get away. In ten 
 minutes the chaise rolled off from the door ; and Casey, putting his 
 head out of the window, wished him a pleasant journey ; while, turning 
 to me, he said 
 
 " ' There's one of them out of the way for you, if we are even obliged 
 to fight the other.' 
 
 ' ' The port was soon despatched, and with it went all the scruples of 
 conscience I had at first felt for the cruel ruse we had just practised. 
 Scarcely was the other bottle called for, when we heard the landlord 
 calling out in a stentorian voice 
 
 " ' Two horses for Goron Bridge, to meet Counsellor Kiushella.' 
 
 " c That's the other fellow,' said Casey. 
 
 " ' It is,' said I. 
 
 " ' Then we must be stirring,' said he. 'Waiter, a chaise and pair, 
 in five minutes d'ye hear ? Power, my boy, I don't want you ; stay 
 here, and study your brief. It's little trouble Counsellor Kinshella 
 will give you in the morning.' 
 
 " All he would tell me of his plans was that he didn't mean any 
 serious bodily harm to the Counsellor, but that certainly he was not 
 likely to be heard of for twenty-four hours. 
 
 ' ( ' Meanwhile, Power, go in and win, my boy,' said he ; e such 
 another walk-over may never occur.' 
 
 ff I must not make my story longer. The next morning the great 
 record of Monaghan v. M'Snane was called on, and, as the senior 
 counsel were not present, the attorney wished a postponement. I, 
 however, was firm ; told the court I was quite prepared, and with such 
 an air of assurance, that I actually puzzled the attorney. The case 
 was accordingly opened by me, in a very brilliant speech, and the 
 witnesses called : but, such was my unlucky ignorance of the whole 
 matter, that I actually broke down the testimony of our own, and 
 fought like a Trojan for the credit and character of the perjurers 
 against us ! The judge rubbed his eyes the jury looked amazed 
 and the whole bar laughed outright. However, on I went, blundering, 
 floundering, and foundering at every step, and, at half-past four, amid 
 the greatest and most uproarious mirth of the whole court, heard the 
 jury deliver a verdict against us, just as old Kinshella rushed into the 
 court covered with mud and spattered with clay. He had been sent
 
 CAPTAIN POWER 81 
 
 for twenty miles to make a will for Mr. Daly of Daly's Mount, who 
 was supposed to be at the point of death, but who, on his arrival, 
 threatened to shoot him for causing an alarm to his family by such an 
 imputation. 
 
 " The rest is soon told. They moved for a new trial, and I moved 
 out of the profession. I cut the bar, for it cut me ; I joined the 
 gallant 14th as a volunteer, and here I am without a single regret, I 
 must confess, that I didn't succeed in the great record of Monaghau v. 
 M' Shane." 
 
 Once more the claret went briskly round, and while we canvassed 
 Power's story, many an anecdote of military life was told, which every 
 instant extended the charm of that career 1 longed for. 
 
 " Another cooper, Major," said Power. 
 
 " With all my heart," said the rosy little officer, as he touched the 
 bell behind him ; " and now let's have a song." 
 
 " Yes, Power," said three or four together, " let us have ' The Irish 
 Dragoon,' if it's only to convert your friend O'Malley there." 
 
 " Here goes, then," said Dick, taking off a bumper as he began the 
 following chant to the air of " Love is the soul of a gay Irishman " : 
 
 THE IRISH DRAGOON. 
 
 " Oh, Love is the soul of an Irish Dragoon, 
 In battle, in bivouac, or in saloon 
 
 From the tip of his spur to t his bright sabretasche. 
 With his soldierly gait and his bearing so high, 
 His gay laughing look, and his light speaking eye, 
 He frowns at his rival, he ogles his wench, 
 He springs in his saddle and chassis the French 
 With his jingling spur and his bright sabretasche. 
 
 His spirits are high, and he little knows care, 
 Whether sipping his claret, or charging a square 
 
 With his jingling spur and his bright sabretasche. 
 As ready to sing or to skirmish he's found, 
 To take off his wine, or to take up his ground ; 
 When the bugle may call him, how little he fears, 
 To charge forth in column, and beat the Mounseers 
 
 With his jingling spur and his bright sabretasche. 
 
 When the battle is over he gaily rides back 
 To cheer every soul in the night bivouac 
 
 With his jingling spur and his bright sabretasche. 
 Oh ! there you may see him in full glory crown'd, 
 As he sits 'mid his friends on the hardly won ground, 
 And hear with what feeling the toast he will give, 
 As he drinks to the land where all Irishmen live 
 
 With his jingling spur and his bright sabretasche." 
 
 It was late when we broke up ; but among all the recollections of 
 that pleasant evening, none clung to me so forcibly, none ^ sunk so 
 deeply in my heart, as the gay and careless tone of Power's manly 
 voice ; and as I fell asleep towards morning, the words of the Irish 
 Dragoon were floating through my mind, and followed me in my 
 dreams.
 
 82 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE VICE-PROVOST 
 
 I HAD now been for some weeks a resident within the walls of the 
 University, and yet had never presented my letter of introduction to 
 Dr. Barret. Somehow, my thoughts and occupations had left me 
 little leisure to reflect upon my college course, and I had not felt the 
 necessity suggested by my friend Sir Harry of having a supporter in the 
 very learned and gifted individual to whom I was accredited. How long 
 I might have continued in this state of indifference, it is hard to say, 
 when chance brought about my acquaintance with the Doctor. 
 
 Were I not inditing a true history in this narrative of my life, to 
 the events and characters of which so many are living witnesses, I 
 should certainly fear to attempt anything like a description of this 
 very remarkable man, so liable would any sketch, however faint and 
 imperfect, be to the accusation of caricature, when all was so singular 
 and so eccentric. 
 
 Dr. Barret was, at the time I speak of, about sixty years of age, 
 scarcely five feet in height, and even that diminutive stature lessened 
 by a stoop. His face was thin, pointed, and russet-coloured ; his nose 
 so aquiline as nearly to meet his projecting chin ; and his small grey 
 eyes, red and bleary, peered beneath his well-worn cap with a glance 
 of mingled fear and suspicion. His dress was a suit of the rustiest 
 black, threadbare, and patched in several places, while a pair of large 
 brown leather slippers, far too big for his feet, imparted a sliding 
 motion to his walk, that added an air of indescribable meanness to his 
 appearance ; a gown that had been worn for twenty years, browned 
 and coated with the learned dust of the Fagel, covered his rusty habili- 
 ments, and completed the equipments of a figure that it was somewhat 
 difficult for the young student to recognise as the Vice-Provost of the 
 University. Such was he in externals. Within, a greater or more 
 profound scholar never graced the walls of the college : a distinguished 
 Grecian, learned in all the refinements of a hundred dialects ; a deep 
 Orientalist, cunning in all the varieties of Eastern languages, and able 
 to reason with a Moonshee, or chat with a Persian ambassador. AVith 
 a mind that never ceased acquiring, he possessed a memory ridiculous 
 for its retentiveness even of trifles ; no character in history, no event 
 in chronology, was unknown to him, and he was referred to by his 
 contemporaries for information in doubtful and disputed cases, as men 
 consult a lexicon or a dictionary. With an intellect thus stored with 
 deep and far-sought knowledge, in the affairs of the world he was a 
 child. Without the walls of the college, for above forty years, he 
 had not ventured half as many times, and knew absolutely nothing 
 of the busy active world that fussed and fumed so near him ; his 
 farthest excursion was to the Bank of Ireland, to which he made 
 occasional visits to fund the ample income of his office, and add to 
 the wealth which already had acquired for him a well-merited repute 
 of being the richest man in college.
 
 THE VICE-PROVOST 83 
 
 His little intercourse with the world had left him, in all his habits 
 and manners, in every respect exactly as when he entered college, 
 nearly half a century before ; and, as he had literally risen from the 
 ranks in the University, all the peculiarities of voice, accent, and pro- 
 nunciation which distinguished him as a youth, adhered to him in old 
 age. This was singular enough, and formed a very ludicrous contrast 
 with the learned and deep-read tone of his conversation ; but another 
 peculiarity still moi-e striking belonged to him. When he became a 
 fellow, he was obliged, by the rules of the college, to take holy orders, 
 as a sine qua non to his holding his fellowship ; this he did, as he 
 would have assumed a red hood or blue one, as bachelor of laws, or 
 doctor of medicine, and thought no more of it ; but, frequently, in 
 his moments of passionate excitement, the venerable character with 
 which he was invested was quite forgotten, and he would utter some 
 sudden and terrific oath, more productive of mirth to his auditors 
 than was seemly, and for which, once spoken, the poor Doctor felt 
 the greatest shame and contrition. These oaths were no less singular 
 than forcible, and many a trick was practised, and many a plan devised, 
 that the learned Vice-Provost might be entrapped into his favourite 
 exclamation of " May the devil admire me," which no place or pre- 
 sence could restrain. 
 
 My servant, Mickey, who had not been long in making himself 
 acquainted with all the originals about him, was the cause of my first 
 meeting the Doctor, before whom I received a summons to appear on the 
 very serious charge of treating with disrespect the heads of the college. 
 
 The circumstances were simply these : Mike had, among other 
 gossip of the place, heard frequent tales of the immense wealth and 
 great parsimony of the Doctor ; of his anxiety to amass money on all 
 occasions, and the avidity with which even the smallest trifle was 
 added to his gains. He accordingly resolved to amuse himself at the 
 expense of this trait, and proceeded thus : Boring a hole in a half- 
 penny, he attached a long string to it, and, having dropped it on the 
 Doctor's step, stationed himself at the opposite side of the court, con- 
 cealed from view by the angle of the common's wall. He waited 
 patiently for the chapel bell, at the first toll of which the door opened, 
 and the Doctor issued forth. Scarcely was his foot upon the step, 
 when he saw the piece of money, and as quickly stooped to seize it ; 
 but just as his finger had nearly touched it, it evaded his grasp, and 
 slowly retreated. He tried again, but with the like success. At last, 
 thinking he miscalculated the distance, he knelt leisurely down, and 
 put forth his hand ; but lo ! it again escaped him ; on which, slowly 
 .rising from his posture, he shambled on towards the chapel, where, 
 
 meeting the senior lecturer at the door, he cried out, " H to my 
 
 soul, Wall, but I saw the halfpenny walk away." 
 
 For the sake of the grave character whom he addressed, I need not 
 recount how such a speech was received ; suffice it to say, that Mike 
 had been seen by a college porter, who reported him as my servant. 
 
 I was in the very act of relating the anecdote to a large party at 
 breakfast in my rooms, when a summons arrived, requiring my imme- 
 diate attendance at the Board, then sitting in solemn conclave at the 
 Examination Hall.
 
 84 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I accordingly assumed my academic costume as speedily as possible, 
 and, escorted by that most august functionary, Mr. M'Alister, pre- 
 sented myself before the seniors. 
 
 The members of the Board, with the Provost at their head, were 
 seated at a long oak table, covered with books, papers, &c. , and from 
 the silence they maintained as I walked up the hall, I augured that a 
 very solemn scene was before me. 
 
 " Mr. O'Malley," said the Dean, reading my name from a paper he 
 held in his hand, " you have been summoned here at the desire of the 
 Vice-Provost, whose questions you will reply to." 
 
 I bowed ; a silence of a few minutes followed, when at length the 
 learned Doctor, hitching up his nether garments with both hands, put 
 his old and bleary eyes close to my face, while he croaked out with an 
 accent that no hackney coachman could have exceeded in vulgarity : 
 
 "Eh, O'Malley; you're quartos, I believe; ain't you?" 
 
 " I believe not. I think I'm the only person of that name now on 
 the books." 
 
 " That's thrue; but there was three O'Malleys before you. Godfrey 
 O'Malley, that construed calve Neroni to Nero the Calvinist ha ! ha ! 
 ha ! was cautioned in 1788." 
 
 " My uncle, I believe, sir." 
 
 "More than likely, from what I hear of you ex uno, &c. I see 
 your name every day on the punishment roll. Late hours, never at 
 chapel, seldom at morning lecture. Here ye are, sixteen shillings, 
 wearing a red coat." 
 
 ( ' Never knew any harm in that, Doctor. " 
 
 " Ay, but d'ye see me now ; ( grave raiment,' says the statute. And 
 then, ye keep numerous beasts of prey, dangerous in their habits, and 
 unseemly to behold." 
 
 ' ' A bull-terrier, sir, and two game-cocks, are, I assure you, the only 
 animals in my household." 
 
 " Well, I'll fine you for it." 
 
 " I believe, Doctor," said the Dean, interrupting in an undertone, 
 " that you cannot impose a penalty in this matter." 
 
 "Ah, but I can. Singing birds, says the statute, are forbidden 
 within the walls." 
 
 " And then, ye dazzled my eyes at commons, with a bit of looking- 
 glass, on Friday. I saw you. May the devil ahem as I was saying. 
 That's casting reflections on the heads of the college ; and your servant 
 it was, Hichaelis Liber, Mickey Free may the flames of ahem an 
 insolent varlet, called me a sweep. " 
 
 " You, Doctor ; impossible ! " said I, with pretended horror. 
 
 " Ay, but d'ye see me now ; it's thrue ; for I looked about me at the 
 time, and there wasn't another sweep in the place but myself. Hell to I 
 mean God forgive me for swearing; but I'll fine you a pound for this." 
 
 As I saw the Doctor was getting on at such a pace, I resolved, not- 
 withstanding the august presence of the Board, to try the efficacy of 
 Sir Harry's letter of introduction, which I had taken in my pocket, in 
 the event of its being wanted. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir, if the time be an unsuitable one, but may 
 I take the opportunity of presenting this letter to you ? "
 
 TRINITY COLLEGE A LECTURE 85 
 
 <c Ha ! I know the hand : Boyle's : Boyleg secundus. Hem, ha, ay. 
 ' My young friend ; and assist him by your advice.' To be sure ! Oh ! 
 of course. Eh ! tell me, young man, did Boyle say nothing to you 
 about the copy of Erasmus, bound in vellum, that I sold him in Trinity 
 term, 1782?" 
 
 " I rather think not, sir," said I doubtfully. 
 
 "Well, then, he might. He owes me two-and-fourpence of the 
 balance." 
 
 " Oh ! I beg pardon, sir ; I now remember he desired me to pay you 
 that sum ; but he had just sealed the letter when he recollected it." 
 
 1 ' Better late than never," said the Doctor, smiling graciously. 
 " Where's the money? Ay, half-a-crown. I haven't twopence ; never 
 mind. Go away, young man ; the case is dismissed. Vehementer miror 
 quare hue venuti. You're more fit for anything than a college life. 
 Keep good hours ; mind the terms, and dismiss Michaelis Liber. Ha, 
 
 ha, ha ! May the devil hem, that is, do " so saying, the little 
 
 Doctor's hand pushed me from the hall, his mind evidently relieved of 
 all the griefs from which he had been suffering, by the recovery of his 
 long-lost two-aud-fourpence. 
 
 Such was my first and last interview with the Vice-Provost, and it 
 made an impression upon me that all the intervening years have neither 
 dimmed nor erased. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 TRINITY COLLEGE A LECTURE 
 
 I HAD not been many weeks a resident of Old Trinity ere the flattering 
 reputation my chum, Mr. Francis Webber, had acquired, extended also 
 to myself; and, by universal consent, we were acknowledged the most 
 riotous, ill-conducted, and disorderly men on the books of the Uni- 
 versity. Were the lamps of the squares extinguished, and the College 
 left in total darkness, we were summoned before the Dean ; was the 
 Vice-Provost serenaded with a chorus of trombones and French horns, 
 to our taste in music was the attention ascribed ; did a sudden alarm 
 of fire disturb the congregation at morning chapel, Messrs. Webber and 
 O'Malley were brought before the Board ; and I must do them the 
 justice to say that the most trifling circumstantial evidence was ever 
 sufficient to bring a conviction. Reading men avoided the building 
 where we resided as they would have done the plague. Our doors, like 
 those of a certain classic precinct commemorated by a Latin writer, lay 
 open night and day ; while moustached dragoons, knowingly dressed 
 four-in-hand men, fox-hunters in pink, issuing forth to the Dubber, or 
 returning splashed from a run with the Kildare hounds, were ever- 
 lastingly seen passing and repassing. Within, the noise and confusion 
 resembled rather the mess-room of a regiment towards eleven at night 
 than the chambers of a college student ; while, with the double object 
 of affecting to be in ill-health, and to avoid the reflections that daylight 
 occasionally inspires, the shutters were never opened, but lamps and 
 candles kept always burning. Such was No. 2, Old Square, in the
 
 86 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 goodly days I write of. All the terrors of fines and punishments fell 
 scatheless on the head of my worthy chum ; in fact, like a well-known 
 political character, whose pleasure and amusement it has been for some 
 years past to drive through Acts of Parliament, and deride the powers 
 of the law, so did Mr. Webber tread his way, serpenting through the 
 statute-book, ever grazing, but rarely trespassing upon some forbidden 
 ground, which might involve the great punishment of expulsion. So 
 expert, too, had he become in his special pleadings, so dexterous in the 
 law of the University, that it was no easy matter to bring crime home 
 to him ; and even when this was done, his pleas in mitigation rarely 
 failed of success. 
 
 There was a sweetness of demeanour, a mild, subdued tone about 
 him, that constantly puzzled the worthy heads of the College, how the 
 accusations ever brought against him could be founded on truth ; that 
 the pale, delicate-looking student, whose harsh, hacking cough terrified 
 the hearers, could be the boisterous performer upon the key bugle, or 
 the terrific assailant of watchmen, was something too absurd for belief; 
 and when Mr. Webber, with his hand upon his heart, and in his most 
 dulcet accents, assured them that the hours he was not engaged in read- 
 ing for the medal were passed in the soothing society of a few select 
 and intimate friends of literary tastes and refined minds, who, know- 
 ing the delicacy of his health here he would cough were kind enough 
 to sit with him for an hour or so in the evening, the delusion was 
 perfect, and the story of the Dean's riotous habits having got abroad, 
 the charge was usually suppressed. 
 
 Like most idle men, Webber never had a moment to spare. Except 
 read, there was nothing he did not do training a hack for a race in 
 the Phoenix arranging a rowing match getting up a mock duel be- 
 tween two white feather acquaintances were his almost daily avoca- 
 tions ; besides that, he was at the head of many organised societies, 
 instituted for various benevolent purposes. One was called " The 
 Association for Discountenancing Watchmen," another, " The Board 
 of Works," whose object was principally devoted to the embellishment 
 of the University, in which, to do them justice, their labours were un- 
 ceasing, and what with the assistance of some black paint, a ladder, and 
 a few pounds of gunpowder, they certainly contrived to effect many 
 important changes. Upon an examination morning some hundred 
 luckless " jibs" might be seen perambulating the courts, in the vain 
 effort to discover their tutors' chambers, the names having undergone 
 an alteration that left all trace of their original proprietors unattain- 
 able. Doctor Francis Mooney having become Doctor Full Moon 
 Doctor Hare being, by the change of two letters, Doctor Ape Romney, 
 Robinson, Romulus and Remus, &c. While, upon occasions like these, 
 there could be but little doubt of Master Frank's intentions upon many 
 others, so subtle were his inventions, so well-contrived his plots, it 
 became a matter of considerable difficulty to say whether the mishap 
 which befell some luckless acquaintance were the result of design or 
 mere accident ; and not unfrequently well-disposed individuals were 
 found condoling with " poor Frank," upon his ignorance of some 
 college rule or etiquette, his breach of which had been long and deli- 
 berately planned. Of this latter description was a circumstance which
 
 TRINITY COLLEGE A LECTURE 87 
 
 occurred about this time, and which some who may throw an eye over 
 these pages will perhaps remember. 
 
 The Dean having heard (and indeed the preparations were not in- 
 tended to secure secrecy) that Webber designed to entertain a party of 
 his friends at dinner on a certain day, sent a most peremptory order 
 for his appearance at commons, his name being erased from the sick- 
 list, and a pretty strong hint conveyed to him, that any evasion on his 
 part would be certainly followed by an inquiry into the real reasons 
 for his absence. What was to be done ? That was the very day he 
 had destined for his dinner. To be sure, the majority of his guests 
 were college men, who would understand the difficulty at once ; but 
 still there were some others, officers of the 14th, with whom he was 
 constantly dining, and whom he could not so easily put off. The affair 
 was difficult, but still, Webber was the man for a difficulty ; in fact, he 
 rather liked one. A very brief consideration accordingly sufficed, and 
 he sat down and wrote to his friends at the Royal Barracks, thus : 
 
 " DEAR POWER, I have a better plan for Tuesday than that I had 
 proposed. Lunch here at three (we'll call it dinner) in the hall 
 with the great guns : I can't say much for the grub, but the company 
 glorious ! After that we'll start for Lucan in the drag take our 
 coffee, strawberries, &c., and return to No. 2, for supper, at ten. 
 Advertise your fellows of this change, and believe me, most unchange- 
 ably yours, FRANK WEBBER. 
 
 " Saturday." 
 
 Accordingly, as three o'clock struck, six dashing - looking light 
 dragoons were seen slowly sauntering up the middle of the diniug-hall, 
 escorted by Webber, who, in full academic costume, was leisurely 
 ciceroning his friends, and expatiating upon the excellences of the 
 very remarkable portraits which grace the walls. 
 
 The porters looked on with some surprise at the singular hour 
 selected for sight-seeing, but what was their astonishment to find that 
 the party, having arrived at the end of the hall, instead of turning 
 back again, very composedly unbuckled their belts, and having disposed 
 of their sabres in a corner, took their places at the Fellows' table, and 
 sat down amid the collective wisdom of Greek Lecturers and Regius 
 Professors, as though they had been mere mortals like themselves. 
 
 Scarcely was the long Latin grace concluded, when Webber, leaning 
 forward, enjoined his friends, in a very audible whisper, that if they 
 intended to dine no time was to be lost. 
 
 " We have but little ceremony here, gentlemen, and all we ask is a 
 fair start," said he, as he drew over the soup, and proceeded to help 
 himself. 
 
 The advice was not thrown away, for each man, with an alacrity a 
 campaign usually teaches, made himself master of some neighbouring 
 dish a very quick interchange of good things speedily following the 
 appropriation. It was in vain that the Senior Lecturer looked aghast 
 that the Professor of Astronomy frowned ; the whole table, indeed, 
 were thunderstruck-v-even to the poor Vice-Provost himself, who, albeit 
 given to the comforts of the table, could not lift a morsel to his mouth,
 
 88 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 but muttered between his teeth "May the devil admire me, but they're 
 dragoons." The first shock of surprise over, the porters proceeded to 
 inform them that except Fellows of the University or Fellow-Commoners, 
 none were admitted to the table. Webber, however, assured them that 
 it was a mistake, there being nothing in the statute to exclude the 
 14th Light Dragoons, as he was prepared to prove. Meanwhile dinner 
 proceeded, Power and his party performing with great self-satisfaction 
 upon the sirloins and saddles about them, regretting only from time to 
 time that there was a most unaccountable absence of wine, and suggest- 
 ing the propriety of napkins whenever they should dine there again. 
 Whatever chagrin these unexpected guests caused among their enter- 
 tainers of the upper table, in the lower part of the hall the laughter 
 was loud and unceasing, and long before the hour concluded, the Fellows 
 took their departure, leaving to Master Frank Webber the task of 
 doing the honours alone and unassisted. When summoned before the 
 Board for the offence on the following morning, Webber excused him- 
 self by throwing the blame upon his friends, with whom, he said, nothing 
 short of a personal quarrel a thing for a reading man not to be thought 
 of could have prevented intruding in the manner related. Nothing 
 less than his tact could have saved him on this occasion, and at last he 
 carried the day ; while by an act of the Board, the 14th Light Dragoons 
 were pronounced the most insolent corps in the service. 
 
 An adventure of his, however, got wind about this time, and served 
 to enlighten many persons as to his real character, who had hitherto 
 been most lenient in their expressions about him. Our worthy tutor, 
 with a zeal for our welfare far more praiseworthy than successful, was 
 in the habit of summoning to his chambers, on certain mornings of 
 the week, his various pupils, whom he lectured in the books for the 
 approaching examinations. Now, as these seances were held at six 
 o'clock in winter, as well as summer, in a cold, fireless chamber the 
 lecturer lying snug amid his blankets, while we stood shivering around 
 the walls the ardour of learning must indeed have proved strong that 
 prompted a regular attendance. As to Frank, he would have as soon 
 thought of attending chapel as of presenting himself on such an occa- 
 sion. Not so with me. I had not yet grown hackneyed enough to fly 
 in the face of authority, and I frequently left the whist table, or broke 
 off in a song, to hurry over to the Doctor's chambers, and spout Homer 
 and Hesiod. I suffered on in patience, till at last the bore became so 
 insupportable that I told my sorrows to my friend, who listened to me 
 out, and promised me succour. 
 
 It so chanced that upon some evening in each week Dr. Mooney was 
 in the habit of visiting some friends who resided at a short distance 
 from town, and spending the night at their house. He, of course, did 
 not lecture the following morning a paper placard, announcing no 
 lecture, being affixed to the door on such occasions. Frank waited 
 patiently till he perceived the Doctor affixing this announcement upon 
 his door one evening ; and no sooner had he left College, than he 
 withdrew the paper and departed. 
 
 On the next morning he rose early, and concealing himself on the 
 staircase, waited the arrival of the venerable damsel who acted as 
 servant to the Doctor. No sooner had she opened the door and groped
 
 TRINITY COLLEGE A LECTURE 89 
 
 her way into the sitting-room, than Frank crept forward, and, stealing 
 gently into the bed-room, sprung into the bed, and wrapped himself up 
 in the blankets. The great bell boomed forth at six o'clock, and soon 
 after the sounds of feet were heard upon the stairs one by one they 
 came along and gradually the room was filled with cold and shivering 
 wretches, more than half asleep, and trying to arouse themselves into 
 an approach to attention. 
 
 " Who's there ? " said Frank, mimicking the Doctor's voice, as he 
 yawned three or four times in succession, and turned in the bed. 
 
 " Collisson, O'Malley, Nesbitt," &c., said a number of voices, anxious 
 to have all the merit such a penance could confer. 
 
 "Where's Webber?" 
 
 "Absent, sir," chorused the whole party. 
 
 " Sorry for it," said the mock Doctor. " Webber is a man of first- 
 rate capacity, and were he only to apply, I am not certain to what 
 eminence his abilities might raise him. Come, Collisson any three 
 angles of a triangle are equal to are equal to what are they equal 
 to?" here he yawned as though he would dislocate his jaw. 
 
 " Any three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles," said 
 Collisson, in the usual sing-song tone of a freshman. 
 
 As he proceeded to prove the proposition, his monotonous tone 
 seemed to have lulled the Doctor into a doze, for in a few minutes a 
 deep long-drawn snore announced from the closed curtains that he 
 listened no longer. After a little time, however, a short snort from 
 the sleeper awoke him suddenly, and he called out : 
 
 " Go on ; I'm waiting. Do you think I can arouse at this hour of 
 the morning for nothing but to listen to your bungling? Can no one 
 give me a free translation of the passage ? " 
 
 This digression from mathematics to classics did not surprise the 
 hearers, though it somewhat confused 'them, no one being precisely 
 aware what the line in question might be. 
 
 " Try it, Nesbitt you, O'Malley silent all really this is too bad;" 
 an indistinct muttering here from the crowd was followed by an 
 announcement from the Doctor that " the speaker was an ass, and his 
 head a turnip ! Not one of you capable of translating a chorus from 
 Euripides ( Ou, Ou, papai, papai,' &c., which, after all, means no more 
 than ' Oh, whillelu, murder, why did you die,' &c. What are you 
 laughing at, gentlemen ? May I ask, does it become a set of ignorant, 
 ill-informed savages yes, savages, I repeat the word to behave in 
 this manner ? Webber is the only man I have with common intellect 
 the only man among you capable of distinguishing himself. But as 
 for you I'll bring you before the Board I'll write to your friends 
 I'll stop your college indulgences I'll confine you to the walls I'll be 
 damned, eh " 
 
 This lapse confused him ; he stammered, stuttered, endeavoured to 
 recover himself, but by this time we had approached the bed, just at 
 the moment when Master Frank, well knowing what he might expect if 
 detected, had bolted from the blankets and rushed from the room. In 
 an instant we were in pursuit ; but he regained his chambers, and 
 double-locked the door before we could overtake him, leaving us to 
 ponder over the insolent tirade we had so patiently submitted to.
 
 90 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 That morning the affair got wind all over the college. As for us, we 
 were scarcely so much laughed at as the Doctor ; the world wisely re- 
 membering, if such were the nature of our morning's orisons, we might 
 nearly as profitably have remained snug in our quarters. 
 
 Such was our life in Old Trinity ; and strange enough it is that one 
 should feel tempted to the confession, but I really must acknowledge 
 these were, after all, happy times, and I look back upon them with 
 mingled pleasure and sadness. The noble lord who so pathetically 
 lamented that the devil was not so strong in him as he used to be forty 
 years before, has an echo in my regrets, that the student is not as 
 young in me as when those scenes were enacting of which I write. 
 
 Alas, and alack ! those fingers that were wont to double up a watch- 
 man, are now doubled up in gout ; the ankles that once astonished the 
 fair, now only interest the faculty ; the very jests that set the table in 
 a roar are become as threadbare as my dress " continuations " ; and I, 
 Charles O'Malley, having passed through every gradation of coming 
 years, from long country dances to short whist from nine times nine, 
 and one cheer more to weak negus, and a fit of coughing for chorus 
 find myself at the wrong side of , but stop, this is becoming per- 
 sonal, so I shall conclude my chapter : and with a bow as graceful as 
 rheumatism permits, say to one and all my kind readers, for a brief 
 season, adieu. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE INVITATION THE WAGER 
 
 I WAS sitting at breakfast with Webber a few mornings after the mess 
 dinner I have spoken of, when Power came in hastily. 
 
 " Ha, the very man ! " said he. " I say, O'Malley, here's an invita- 
 tion for you from Sir George, to dine on Friday ; he desired me to say 
 a thousand civil things about his not having made you out, regrets that 
 he was not at home when you called yesterday, and all that. By Jove, 
 I know nothing like the favour you stand in ; and, as for Miss Dash- 
 wood, faith, the fair Lucy blushed, and tore her glove in most approved 
 style when the old General began his laudation of you." 
 
 " Pooh, nonsense," said I ; " that silly affair in the West." 
 
 " Oh, very probably ; there's reason the less for your looking so ex- 
 cessively conscious. But I must tell you, in all fairness, that you have 
 no chance ; nothing short of a dragoon will go down." 
 
 "Be assured," said I, somewhat nettled, "my pretensions do not 
 aspire to the fair Miss Dash wood." 
 
 <e Tant mieux et tantpis, man cher. I wish to heaven mine did : and, by 
 St. Patrick, if I only played the knight-errant half as gallantly as yourself, 
 I should not relinquish my claims to the Secretary-at-War himself." 
 
 "What the devil brought the old General down to your wild 
 regions ? " inquired Webber. 
 
 "To contest the county." 
 
 "A bright thought, truly. When a man was looking for a seat, 
 why not try a place where the law is occasionally heard of?"
 
 THE INVITATION THE WAGER 91 
 
 " I'm sure I can give you no information on that head ; nor have I 
 ever heard how Sir George came to learn that such a place as Galway 
 existed." 
 
 <( I believe I can enlighten you," said Power. " Lady Dashwood 
 rest her soul came west of the Shannon ; she had a large property 
 somewhere in Mayo, and owned some hundred acres of swamp, with 
 some thousand starving tenantry thereupon, that people dignified as 
 an estate, in Connaught. The first suggested to him the notion of 
 setting up for the county ; probably supposing that the people who 
 never paid in rent might like to do so in gratitude. How he was un- 
 deceived O'Malley there can inform us. Indeed, I believe the worthy 
 General, who was confoundedly hard up when he married, expected to 
 have got a great fortune, and little anticipated the three Chancery 
 suits he succeeded to, nor the fourteen rent-charges to his wife's rela- 
 tives that made up the bulk of the dower. It was an unlucky hit for 
 him when he fell in with the old ( maid ' at Bath ; and had she lived, 
 he must have gone to the Colonies. But the Lord took her one day, 
 and Major Dashwood was himself again. The Duke of York, the 
 story goes, saw him at Hounslow during a review was much struck 
 with his air and appeai'ance made some inquiries found him to be 
 of excellent family and irreproachable conduct made him aide-de- 
 camp and, in fact, made his fortune. I do not believe that while 
 doing so kind, he could by possibility have done a more popular thing. 
 Every man in the army rejoiced at his good fortune ; so that, after all, 
 though he has had some hard rubs, he has come well through, the only 
 vestige of his unfortunate matrimonial connection being a correspond- 
 ence kept up by a maiden sister of his late wife's with him. She 
 insists upon claiming the ties of kindred upon about twenty family 
 eras during the year, when she regularly writes a most loving and ill- 
 spelled epistle, containing the latest information from Mayo, with all 
 particulars of the Macau family, of which she is a worthy member. 
 To her constant hints of the acceptable nature of certain small remit- 
 tances, the poor General is never inattentive ; but to the pleasing 
 prospect of a visit in the flesh from Miss Judy Macan, the good man 
 is dead. In fact, nothing short of being broke by a general court- 
 martial could at all complete his sensations of horror at such a stroke 
 of fortune ; and I am not certain, if choice were allowed him, that he 
 would not prefer the latter." 
 
 ( ' Then he has never yet seen her ? " said Webber. 
 
 "Never," replied Power; "and he hopes to leave Ireland without 
 that blessing, the prospect of which, however remote and unlikely, 
 has, I know well, more than once terrified him since his arrival." 
 
 " I sav, Power, and has your worthy General sent me a card for his 
 ball?" 
 
 ec Not through me, Master Frank." 
 
 " Well, now, I call that devilish shabby, do you know. He asks 
 O'Malley there from my chambers, and never notices the other man, 
 the superior partner in the firm. Eh, O'Malley, what say you?" 
 
 "Why, I didn't know you were acquainted." 
 
 f ' And who said we were ? It was his fault though, entirely, that we 
 were uot. I am, as I have ever been, the most easy fellow in the world
 
 92 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 on that score never give myself airs to military people endure any- 
 thing, everything and you see the result hard, ain't it ? " 
 
 " But, Webber, Sir George must really be excused in this matter. He 
 has a daughter, a most attractive lovely daughter, just at that budding 
 unsuspecting age when the heart is most susceptible of impressions ; 
 and where, let me ask, could she run such risk as in the chance of a 
 casual meeting with the redoubted lady-killer, Master Frank Webber? 
 If he has not sought you out, then here be his apology. " 
 
 " A very strong case, certainly," said Frank ; " but, still, had he 
 confided his critical position to my honour and secrecy, he might have 
 depended on me ; now, having taken the other line " 
 
 " Well, what then ? " 
 
 " Why, he must abide the consequences. I'll make fierce love to 
 Louisa ; isn't that the name ? " 
 
 "Lucy, so please you." 
 
 "Well, be it so to Lucy to talk the little girl into a most de- 
 plorable attachment for me." 
 
 ' ' But how, may I ask, and when ? " 
 
 "I'll begin at the ball, man." 
 
 " Why, I thought you said you were not going." 
 
 ( ' There you mistake seriously. I merely said that I had not been 
 invited." 
 
 ' ' Then, of course," said I, " Webber, you can't think of going, in 
 any case, on my account." 
 
 ' ' My very dear friend, I go entirely upon my own. I not only shall 
 go, but I intend to have most particular notice and attention paid me. 
 I shall be prime favourite with Sir George kiss Lucy " 
 
 ' ' Come, come ; this is too strong." 
 
 " What do you bet I don't ? There now ; I'll give you a pony apiece 
 I do. Do you say done ? " 
 
 ' ' That you kiss Miss Dashwood, and are not kicked downstairs for 
 your pains ; are those the terms of the wager ? " inquired Power. 
 
 "With all my heart. That I kiss Miss Dashwood, and am not 
 kicked downstairs for my pains." 
 
 " Then I say done." 
 
 " And with you too, O'Malley." 
 
 " I thank you," said I coldly ; " I'm not disposed to make such a 
 return for Sir George Dashwood's hospitality as to make an insult to 
 his family the subject of a bet." 
 
 ' ' Why, man, what are you dreaming of? Miss Dashwood will not 
 refuse my chaste salute. Come, Power, I'll give you the other fifty." 
 
 " Agreed," said he ; " at the same time, understand me distinctly 
 that I hold myself perfectly eligible to winning the wager by my own 
 interference ; for, if you do kiss her, by Jove, I'll perform the re- 
 mainder of the compact." 
 
 ' l So I understand the agreement," said Webber, arranging his curls 
 before the looking-glass. ' ' Well, now, who's for Howth ; the drag 
 will be here in half-an-hour." 
 
 " Not I," said Power ; " I must return to the barracks." 
 
 " Nor I," said I, " for I shall take this opportunity of leaving my 
 card upon Sir George Dashwood."
 
 THE BALL 93 
 
 " I have won my fifty, however," said Power, as we walked out in 
 the courts. 
 
 " I am not quite certain " 
 
 ' ' Why, the devil, he would not risk a broken neck for that sum ; 
 besides, if he did, he loses the bet." 
 
 11 He's a devilish keen fellow." 
 
 " Let him be. In any case I am determined to be on my guard 
 here." 
 
 So chatting, we strolled along to the Royal Hospital, when, having 
 dropped my pasteboard, I returned to the College. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE BALL 
 
 I HAVE often dressed for a storming party with less of trepidation than 
 I felt on the evening of Sir George Dashwood's ball. Since the event- 
 ful day of the election I had never seen Miss Dashwood ; therefore, as 
 to what precise position I might occupy in her favour was a matter of 
 great doubt in my mind, and great import to my happiness. That I 
 myself loved her was a matter of which all the badinage of my friends 
 regarding her made me painfully conscious ; but that in our relative 
 positions such an attachment was all but hopeless, I could not disguise 
 from myself. Young as I was, I well knew to what a heritage of debt, 
 lawsuit, and difficulty I was born to succeed. In my own resources 
 and means of advancement I had no confidence whatever, had even 
 the profession to which I was destined been more of my choice. I daily 
 felt that it demanded greater exertions, if not far greater abilities, than 
 I could command, to make success at all likely ; and then, even if such 
 a result were in store, years, at least, must elapse before it could 
 happen, and where would she then be, and where should I where the 
 ardent affection I now felt and gloried in perhaps all the more for its 
 desperate hopelessness ; when the sanguine and buoyant spirit to com- 
 bat with difficulties which youth suggests, and which later manhood 
 refuses, should have passed away ? And, even if all these survived the 
 toil and labour of anxious days and painful nights, what of her ? Alas ! 
 I now reflected that, although only of my own age, her manner to me 
 had taken all that tone of superiority and patronage which an elder 
 assumes towards one younger, and which, in the spirit of protection it 
 proceeds upon, essentially bars up every inlet to a deeper or warmer 
 feeling at least, when the lady plays the former part. What, then, 
 is to be done, thought I ; forget her ? but how ? how shall I renounce all 
 my plans and unweave the web of life I have been spreading around 
 me for many a day, without that one golden thread that leant it more 
 than half its brilliancy and all its attraction? But, then, the alter- 
 native is even worse, if I encourage expectations and nurture hopes 
 never to be realised. Well, we meet to-night, after a long and eventful 
 absence ; let my future fate be ruled by the results of this meeting. 
 If Lucy Dashwood does care for me, if I can detect in her manner
 
 94 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 enough to show me that my affection may meet a return, the whole 
 effort of my life shall be to make her mine ; if not if my own feelings 
 be all that I have to depend upon, to extort a reciprocal affection 
 then shall I take my last look of her, and with it, the first and brightest 
 dream of happiness my life has hitherto presented. 
 
 It need not be wondered at if the brilliant coup d'ceil of the ball-room, 
 as I entered, struck me with astonishment, accustomed, as I had 
 hitherto been, to nothing more magnificent than an evening party of 
 squires and their squiresses, or the annual garrison ball at the barracks. 
 The glare of wax lights, the well-furnished saloons, the glitter of uni- 
 forms, and the blaze of jewelled and satined dames, with the clang of 
 military music, was a species of enchanted atmosphere which, breathing 
 for the first time, rarely fails to intoxicate. Never before had I seen 
 so much beauty lovely faces, dressed in all the seductive flattery of 
 smiles, were on every side ; and, as I walked from room to room, I felt 
 how much more fatal to a man's peace and heart's ease the whispered 
 words and silent glances of those fair damsels, than all the loud gaiety 
 and boisterous freedom of our country belles who sought to take the 
 heart by storm and escalade. 
 
 As yet I had seen neither Sir George nor his daughter, and, while I 
 looked on every side for Lucy Dashwood, it was with a beating and 
 anxious heart I longed to see how she would bear comparison with the 
 blaze of beauty around. 
 
 Just at this moment a very gorgeously dressed hussar stepped from 
 a doorway beside me, as if to make a passage for some one, and the 
 next moment she appeared, leaning upon the arm of another lady. 
 One look was all chat I had time for, when she recognised me. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. O'Malley how happy has Sir George has my father 
 seen you ? " 
 
 " I have only arrived this moment ; I trust he is quite well ? " 
 
 te Oh yes, thank you " 
 
 ee I beg your pardon with all humility, Miss Dashwood," said the 
 hussar, in a tone of the most knightly courtesy, " but they are waiting 
 for us." 
 
 fe But, Captain Fortescue, you must excuse me one moment more. 
 Mr. Lechmere, will you do me the kindness to find out Sir George ? 
 Mr. O'Maliey Mr. Lechmere." Here she said something in French 
 to her companion, but so rapidly that I could not detect what it was, 
 but merely heard the reply "pas mal" which, as the lady continued 
 to canvass me most deliberately through her eye-glass, I supposed 
 referred to me. ' ' And now, Captain Fortescue " and with a look of 
 most courteous kindness to me, she disappeared in the crowd. 
 
 The gentleman to whose guidance I was intrusted was one of the 
 aides-de-camp, and was not long in finding Sir George. No sooner had 
 the good old General heard my name, than he held out both his hands, 
 and shook mine most heartily. 
 
 "At last, O'Malley, at last I am able to thank you for the greatest 
 service ever man rendered me. He saved Lucy, my Lord, rescued her 
 under circumstances where anything short of his courage and determi- 
 nation must have cost her her life."
 
 THE BALL 95 
 
 <: Ah ! very pretty indeed," said a stiff old gentleman addressed, as 
 lie bowed a most superbly powdered scalp before me ; " most happy to 
 make your acquaintance." 
 
 " Who is he ? " added he, in nearly as loud a tone, to Sir George. 
 
 "Mr. O'Malley, of O'Malley Castle." 
 
 (< True, I forgot why is he not in uniform ? " 
 
 (C Because, unfortunately, my Lord, we don't own him ; he's not in 
 the army." 
 
 (( Ha, ha ! thought he was." 
 
 " You dance, O'Malley, I suppose ? I'm sure you'd rather be over 
 there than hearing all my protestations of gratitude, sincere and heart- 
 felt as they really are. Lechmere, introduce my friend Mr. O'Malley : 
 get him a partner." 
 
 I had not followed my new acquaintance many steps, when Power 
 came up to me. " I say, Charley," cried he, " I have been tormented 
 to death by half the ladies in the room, to present you to them, and 
 have been in quest of you this half-hour. Your brilliant exploit in 
 savage land has made you a regular preux chevalier ; and if you don't 
 trade on that adventure to your most lasting profit, you deserve to 
 be a lawyer. Come along here ; Lady Muckleman, the adjutant- 
 general's lady and chief, has four Scotch daughters you are to dance 
 with ; then, I am to introduce you in all form to the Dean of some- 
 thing's niece ; she is a good-looking girl, and has two livings in a safe 
 county. Then there's the town-major's wife, and, in fact, I have 
 several engagements from this to supper-time." 
 
 "A thousand thanks for all your kindness in prospective, but I 
 think, perhaps, it were right I should ask Miss Dashwood to dance, if 
 only as a matter of form : you understand." 
 
 " And, if Miss Dashwood should say, f with pleasure, sir,' only as 
 a matter of form : you understand," said a silvery voice beside me. I 
 turned, and saw Lucy Dashwood, who, having overheard my very free 
 and easy suggestion, replied to me in this manner. 
 
 I here blundered out my excuses. What I said, and what I did 
 not say, I cannot now remember : but, certainly, it was her turn now 
 to blush, and her arm trembled within mine as I led her to the top of 
 the room. In the little opportunity which our quadrille presented for 
 conversation, I could not help remarking that, after the surprise of her 
 first meeting with me, Miss Dashwood's manner became gradually 
 more and more reserved, and that there was an evident struggle between 
 her wish to appear grateful for what had occurred with a sense of the 
 necessity of not incurring a greater degree of intimacy. Such was my 
 impression, at least, and such the conclusion I drew from a certain 
 quiet tone in her manner that went farther to wound my feelings and 
 mar my happiness than any other line of conduct towards me could 
 possibly have effected. 
 
 Our quadrille over, I was about to conduct her to a seat, when Sir 
 George came hurriedly up, his face greatly flushed, and betraying every 
 semblance of high excitement. 
 
 "Dear papa, has anything occurred? pray, what is it?" in- 
 quired she. 
 
 He smiled faintly, and replied, ' ' Nothing very serious, my dear, that
 
 96 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I should alarm you in this way ; but, certainly, a more disagreeable 
 contretemps could scarcely occur." 
 
 " Do tell me ; what can it be? " 
 
 "Read this/' said he, presenting a very dirty-looking note, which 
 bore the mark of a red wafer most infernally plain upon its outside. 
 
 Miss Dashwood unfolded the billet, and after a moment's silence, 
 instead of participating, as he expected, in her father's feeling of dis- 
 tress, burst out a-laughing, while she said, " Why, really, papa, I do 
 not see why this should put you out much, after all. Aunt may be 
 somewhat of a character, as her note evinces, but after a few days " 
 
 " Nonsense, child ; there's nothing in this world I have such a dread 
 of as that confounded woman and to come at such a time." 
 
 (( When does she speak of paying her visit ? " 
 
 " I knew you had not read the note," said Sir George hastily ; te she's 
 coming here to-night, is on her way this instant, perhaps. What is to 
 be done ? If she forces her way in here, I shall go deranged outright. 
 O'Malley, my boy, read this note ; and you will not be surprised if I 
 appear in the humour you see me." 
 
 I took the billet from the hands of Miss Dashwood, and read as 
 follows : 
 
 " DEAR BROTHER, When this reaches your hand, I'll not be far off 
 I'm on my way up to town, to be under Dr. Dease for the ould com- 
 plaint. Cowley mistakes my case entirely ; he says it's nothing but 
 religion and wind. Father Magrath, who understands a good deal 
 about females, thinks otherwise but God knows who's right. Expect 
 me to tea, and, with love to Lucy, believe me, yours in haste, 
 
 ' ( JUDITH MACAN. 
 
 " Let the sheets be well aired in my room ; and, if you have a spare 
 bed, perhaps we could prevail upon Father Magrath to stop too." 
 
 I scarcely could contain my laughter till I got to the end of this 
 very free and easy epistle ; when at last I burst forth into a hearty fit, 
 in which I was joined by Miss Dashwood. 
 
 From the account Power had given me in the morning, I had no 
 difficulty in guessing that the writer was the maiden sister of the late 
 Lady Dashwood, and for whose relationship Sir George had ever testi- 
 fied the greatest dread, even at the distance of two hundred miles ; 
 and for whom, in any nearer intimacy, he was in nowise prepared. 
 
 " I say, Lucy," said he, " there's only one thing to be done ; if this 
 horrid woman does arrive, let her be shown to her room, and for the 
 few days of her stay in town, we'll neither see, nor be seen by any one." 
 
 Without waiting for a reply, Sir George was turning away to give 
 the necessary directions, when the door of the drawing-room was flung 
 open, and the servant announced, in his loudest voice, " Miss Macan." 
 Never shall I forget the poor General's look of horror as the words 
 reached him : for, as yet, he was too far to catch even a glimpse of its 
 fair owner. As for me, I was already so much interested in seeing 
 what she was like, that I made my way through the crowd towards 
 the door. It is no common occurrence that can distract the various
 
 THE BALL 97 
 
 occupations of a crowded ball-room, where, amid the crash of music 
 and the din of conversation, goes on the soft, low voice of insinuating 
 flattery or the light flirtation of a first acquaintance ; every clique, 
 every coterie, every little group of three or four, has its own separate 
 and private interests, forming a little world of its own, and caring and 
 heeding nothing that goes on around ; and, even when some striking 
 character or illustrious personage makes his entree, the attention he 
 attracts is so momentary that the buzz of conversation is scarcely, if at 
 all, interrupted, and the business of pleasure continues to flow on. 
 Not so now, however. No sooner had the servant pronounced the 
 magical name of Miss Macan, than all seemed to stand still. The spell 
 thus exercised over the luckless General seemed to have extended to 
 his company, for it was with difficulty that any one could continue his 
 train of conversation, while every eye was directed towards the door. 
 About two steps in advance of the servant, who still stood door in 
 hand, was a tall, elderly lady, dressed in an antique brocade silk, with 
 enormous flowers gaudily embroidered upon it. Her hair was powdered 
 and turned back, in the fashion of fifty years before ; while her high- 
 pointed and heeled shoes completed a costume that had not been seen 
 for nearly a century. Her short, skinny arms were bare and partly 
 covered by a falling shower of old point lace, while on her hands she 
 wore black silk mittens ; a pair of green spectacles scarcely dimmed 
 the lustre of a most peering pair of eyes, to whose effect a very pal- 
 pable touch of rouge certainly added brilliancy. There stood this 
 most singular apparition, holding before her a fan about the size of a 
 modern tea-tray, while, at each repetition of her name by the servant, 
 she courtesied deeply, returning the while upon the gay crowd before 
 her a very curious look of maidenly modesty at her solitary and un- 
 protected position. 
 
 As no one had ever heard of the fair Judith save one or two of Sir 
 George's most intimate friends, the greater part of the company were 
 disposed to regard Miss Macan as some one who had mistaken the 
 character of the invitation, and had come in a fancy dress. But this 
 delusion was but momentary, as Sir George, armed with the courage 
 of despair, forced his way through the crowd, and, taking her hand 
 affectionately, bid her welcome to Dublin. The fair Judy, at this, 
 threw her arms about his neck, and saluted him with a hearty smack, 
 that was heard all over the room. 
 
 " Where's Lucy, brother? let me embrace my little darling," said 
 the lady, in an accent that told more of Miss Macan than a three- 
 volume biography could have done ; " there she is, I'm sure ; kiss me, 
 my honey." 
 
 This office Miss Dashwood performed with an effort at courtesy really 
 admirable, while, taking her aunt's arm, she led her to a sofa. 
 
 It needed all the poor General's tact to get over the sensation of 
 this most mal apropos addition to his party ; but, by degrees, the 
 various groups renewed their occupations, although many a smile, and 
 more than one sarcastic glance at the sofa, betrayed that the maiden 
 aunt had not escaped criticism. 
 
 Power, whose propensity for fun very considerably outstripped his 
 sense of decorum to his commanding officer, had already made his
 
 98 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 way towards Miss Dashwood, and succeeded in obtaining a formal 
 introduction to Miss Macan. 
 
 " I hope you will do me the favour to dance next set with me. Miss 
 Macan ? " 
 
 " Really, Captain, it's very polite of you ; hut you must excuse me, 
 I was never anything great at quadrilles ; but if a reel, or a jig " 
 
 " Oh, dear aunt, don't think of it, I beg of you." 
 
 " Or even Sir Roger de Coverley," resumed Miss Macan. 
 
 " I assure you quite equally impossible." 
 
 " Then I'm certain you waltz," said Power. 
 
 ' ' What do you take me for, young man ? I hope I know better ; I 
 wish Father Magrath heard you ask me that question, and for all your 
 lace jacket " 
 
 " Dearest aunt, Captain Power didn't mean to offend you ; I'm 
 certain he " 
 
 " Well, why did he dare to " sob, sob ' ' did he see anything light 
 about me ? that he " sob, sob, sob " oh dear, oh dear ! is it for this 
 I came up from my little peaceful place in the west?" sob, sob, sob 
 1 ' General, George, dear ; Lucy, my love, I'm taken bad. Oh dear, oh 
 dear ! is there any whisky negus ? " 
 
 Whatever sympathy Miss Macan's sufferings might have excited in 
 the crowd about her before, this last question totally routed them, and 
 a most hearty fit of laughter broke forth from more than one of the 
 bystanders. 
 
 At length, however, she was comforted and her pacification com- 
 pletely effected by Sir George setting her down to a whist-table. 
 From this moment I lost sight of her for above two hours. Mean- 
 while, I had little opportunity of following up my intimacy with Miss 
 Dashwood, and, as I rather suspected that, on more than one occasion, 
 she seemed to avoid our meeting, I took especial care, on my part, to 
 spare her the annoyance. 
 
 For one instant only had I any opportunity of addressing her, and 
 then there was such an evident embarrassment in her manner that I 
 readily perceived how she felt circumstanced, and that the sense of 
 gratitude to one whose farther advances she might have feared, 
 rendered her constrained and awkward. "Too true," said I, "she 
 avoids me ; my being here is only a source of discomfort and pain to 
 her : therefore, I'll take my leave, and, whatever it may cost me, 
 never to return." With this intention, resolving to wish Sir George 
 very good night, I sought him out for some minutes. At length I 
 saw him in a corner conversing with the old nobleman to whom he 
 had presented me early in the evening. 
 
 " True, upon my honour, Sir George," said he ; "I saw it myself, 
 and she did it just as dexterously as the oldest blackleg in Paris." 
 
 " Why, you don't mean to say that she cheated ? " 
 
 ' ' Yes, but I do, though turned the ace every time. Lady Herbert 
 said to me, ' Very extraordinary it is four by honours again. ' So I 
 looked, and then I perceived it a very old trick it is ; but she did it 
 beautifully. What's her' name ? " 
 
 " Some western name ; I forget it," said the poor General, ready to 
 die with shame.
 
 THE BALL 99 
 
 "Clever old woman, very !" said the old lord, taking a pinch of 
 snuff ; " but revokes too often." 
 
 Supper was announced at this critical moment, and before I had 
 farther thought of my determination to escape, I felt myself hurried 
 along in the crowd towards the staircase. The party immediately in 
 front of me were Power and Miss Macan, who now appeared reconciled, 
 and certainly testified most openly their mutual feelings of goodwill. 
 
 " I say, Charley," whispered Power, as I came along, l< it is capital 
 fun never met anything equal to her ; but the poor General will 
 never live through it, and I'm certain of ten days' arrest for this 
 night's proceeding." 
 
 " Any news of Webber ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Oh yes, I fancy I can tell something of him ; for I heard of some 
 one presenting himself, and being refused the entree, so that Master 
 Frank has lost his money. Sit near us, I pray you, at supper : we 
 must take care of the dear aunt for the niece's sake, eh ? " 
 
 Not seeing the force of this reasoning, I soon separated myself from 
 them, aud secured a corner at a side-table. Every supper, on such an 
 occasion as this, is the same scene of soiled white muslin, faded flowers, 
 flushed faces, torn gloves, blushes, blanc-mange, cold chicken, jelly, 
 sponge cakes, spooney young gentlemen doing the attentive, and 
 watchful mammas calculating what precise degree of propinquity in 
 the crush is safe or seasonable for their daughters, to the moustachoed 
 and unmarrying lovers beside them. There are always the same set of 
 gratified elders, like the benchers in King's Inn, marched up to the 
 head of the table to eat, drink, and be happy removed from the more 
 profane looks and soft speeches of the younger part of the creation. 
 Then there are the oi polloi of outcasts, younger sons of younger brothers, 
 tutors, governesses, portionless cousins, and curates, all formed in a 
 phalanx round the side-tables, whose primitive habits and simple tastes 
 are evinced by their all eating off the same plate and drinking from nearly 
 the same wine-glass, too happy if some better-off acquaintance at the 
 long table invites them to "wine; " though the ceremony on their part 
 is limited to the pantomime of drinking. To this miserable tiers etat 
 I belonged, and bore my fate with unconcern, for, alas ! my spirits 
 were depressed and my heart heavy. Lucy's treatment of me was every 
 moment before me, contrasted with her gay and courteous demeanour 
 to all save myself; and I longed for the moment to get away. 
 
 Never had I seen her looking so beautiful : her brilliant eyes were 
 lit with pleasure, and her smile was enchantment itself. What would 
 I not have given for one moment's explanation, as I took my leave for 
 ever ! one brief avowal of my love, my unalterable devoted love ; for 
 which I sought not or expected return, but merely that I might not be 
 forgotten. 
 
 Such were my thoughts, when a dialogue quite near me aroused me 
 from my reverie. I was not long in detecting the speakers, who, with 
 their backs turned to us, were seated at the great table, discussing a 
 very liberal allowance of pigeon-pie, a flask of champagne standing 
 between them. 
 
 1 ' Don't now ! don't, I tell ye ; it's little ye know Galway, or you 
 wouldn't think to make up to me, squeezing my foot. "
 
 100 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Upon my soul, you're an angel, a regular angel ; I never saw a 
 woman suit my fancy before." 
 
 " Oh, behave now, Father Magrath says " 
 
 "Who's he?" 
 
 "The priest, no less." 
 
 "Oh ! confound him." 
 
 " Confound Father Magrath, young man ? " 
 
 " Well, then, Judy, don't be angry ; I only meant that a dragoon 
 knows rather more of these matters than a priest " 
 
 "Well, then, I'm not so sure of that. But, anyhow, I'd have you 
 to remember it ain't a Widow Malone you have beside you." 
 
 " Never heard of the lady," said Power. 
 
 " Sure, it's a song poor creature it's a song they made about her 
 in the North Cork, when they were quartered down in our country." 
 
 " I wish to heaven you'd sing it." 
 
 " What will you give me then, if I do ? " 
 
 " Anything everything my heart, my life." 
 
 " I wouldn't give a trauneen for all of them : give me that old green 
 ring on your finger, then." 
 
 " It's yours," said Power, placing it gracefully upon Miss Macan's 
 finger, "and now for your promise." 
 
 " Maybe my brother might not like it." 
 
 " He'd be delighted," said Power ; " he doats on music." 
 
 " Does he now ? " 
 
 " On my honour, he does." 
 
 " Well, mind, you get up a good chorus, for the song has one, and 
 here it is. " 
 
 " Miss Macan's song," said Power, tapping the table with his knife. 
 " Miss Macan's song " was re-echoed on all sides, and before the luck- 
 less General could interfere, she had begun. How to explain the air I 
 know not, for I never heard its name, but at the end of each verse a 
 species of echo followed the last word, that rendered it irresistibly 
 ridiculous. 
 
 THE WIDOW MALONE. 
 
 " Did ye hear of the Widow Malone, 
 
 Ohone ! 
 Who lived in the town of Athlone 
 
 Alone? 
 
 Oh ! she melted the hearts 
 Of the swains in them parts, 
 So lovely the Widow Malone, 
 
 Ohone ! 
 So lovely the Widow Malone. 
 
 Of lovers she had a full score, 
 
 Or more ; 
 
 And fortunes they all had galore, 
 
 In store ; 
 
 From the minister down 
 
 To the clerk of the crown, 
 
 All were courting the Widow Malone, 
 
 Ohone ! 
 
 All were courting the Widow Malone.
 
 THE BALL 101 
 
 But so modest was Mrs. Malone, 
 
 'Twos known 
 
 No one could ever see her alone, 
 
 Ohone ! 
 
 Let them ogle and sigh, 
 
 They could ne'er catch her eye, 
 
 So bashful the Widow Malone. 
 
 Ohone ! 
 
 So bashful the Widow Malone. 
 
 Till one Mister O'Brien from Clare, 
 
 How quare ! 
 It's little for blushin' they care 
 
 - Down there ; 
 Put his arm round her waist, 
 Gave ten kisses, at laste, 
 ' Oh,' says he, ' you're my Molly Malone, 
 
 My own ! 
 Oh ! ' says he, ' you're my Molly Malone.' 
 
 And the widow they all thought so shy, 
 
 My eye ! 
 Ne'er thought of a simper or sigh, 
 
 For why ? 
 
 But ' Lucius,' says she, 
 ' Since you've made now so free, 
 You may marry your Mary Malone, 
 
 Ohone ! 
 You may marry your Mary Malone.' 
 
 There's a moral contained in my song, 
 
 Not wrong ; 
 
 And one comfort it's not very long, 
 
 But strong ; 
 
 If for widows you die, 
 
 Larn to kiss, not to sigh, 
 
 For they're all like sweet Mistress Malone, 
 
 Ohone ! 
 
 Oh ! they're all like sweet Mistress Malone." 
 
 Never did song create such a sensation as Miss Macan's, and certainly 
 her desires as to the chorus were followed to the letter; for the 
 ' ' Widow Malone, ohone ! " resounded from one end of the table to the 
 other, amid one universal shout of laughter. None could resist the 
 ludicrous effect of her melody, and even poor Sir George, sinking under 
 the disgrace of his relationship, which she had contrived to make 
 public by frequent allusions to her dear brother the "General," yielded 
 at last, and joined in the mirth around him. 
 
 " I insist upon a copy of ( the widow,' Miss Macan," said Power. 
 
 " To be sure ; give me a call to-morrow ; let me see, about two, 
 Father Magrath won't be at home," said she, with a coquettish look. 
 
 " Where, pray, may I pay my respects ? " 
 
 " No. 22 South Anne Street, very respectable lodgings. I'll write 
 the address in your pocket-book." 
 
 Power produced a card and pencil, while Miss Macan wrote a few 
 lines, saying, as she handed it : 
 
 " There, now, don't read it here before the people ; they'll think it 
 mighty indelicate in me to make an appointment."
 
 102 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Power pocketed the card, and the next minute Miss Macau's carriage 
 was announced. 
 
 Sir George Dashwood, who little flattered himself that his fair guest 
 had any intention of departure, became now most considerably atten- 
 tive reminded her of the necessity of muffling against the night air 
 hoped she would escape cold, and wished her a most cordial good night, 
 with a promise of seeing her early the following day. 
 
 Notwithstanding Power's ambition to engross the attention of the 
 lady, Sir George himself saw her to her carriage, and only returned to 
 the room as a group was collected around the gallant Captain, to whom 
 he was relating some capital traits of his late conquest, for such he 
 dreamed she was. 
 
 " Doubt it who will," said he, f ' she has invited me to call on her 
 to-morrow written her address on my card told me the hour she is 
 certain of being alone. See here," at these words he pulled forth the 
 card, and handed it to Lechmere. 
 
 Scarcely were the eyes of the other thrown upon the writing, when 
 he said, <( So, this isn't it, Power." 
 
 " To be sure it is, man," said Power ; " Anne Street is devilish 
 seedy ; but that's the quarter." 
 
 " Why, confound it, man," said the other, " there's not a word of 
 that here." 
 
 " Read it out," said Power ; ' ' proclaim aloud my victory. " 
 
 Thus urged, Lechmere read : 
 
 ff DEAR P., Please pay to my credit, and soon, mark ye, the two 
 ponies lost this evening. I have done myself the pleasure of enjoying 
 your ball, kissed the lady, quizzed the papa, and walked into the 
 cunning Fred Power. Yours, FRANK WEBBER. 
 
 " 'The Widow Malone, ohone,' is at your service." 
 
 Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet, astonishment could not have' 
 equalled the result of this revelation. He stamped, swore, raved, 
 laughed, and almost went deranged. The joke was soon spread through 
 the room, and from Sir George to poor Lucy, now covered with blushes 
 at her part in the transaction, all was laughter and astonishment. 
 
 "Who is he? that is the question," said Sir George, who, with all 
 the ridicule of the affair hanging over him, felt no common relief at 
 the discovery of the imposition. 
 
 " A friend of O'Malley's," said Power, delighted, in his defeat, to 
 involve another with himself. 
 
 "Indeed !" said the General, regarding me with a look of very 
 mingled cast. 
 
 " Quite true, sir," said I, replying to the accusation that his manner 
 implied, ' ' but equally so, that I neither knew of his plot, nor recog- 
 nised him when here." 
 
 ' ' I am perfectly sure of it, my boy," said the General : ' e and, after 
 all, it was an excellent joke, carried a little far, it's true ; eh, Lucy ? " 
 
 But Lucy either heard not or affected not to hear, and, after some little 
 further assurance that he felt not the least annoyed, the General turned 
 to converse with some other friends ; while I, burning with indignation 
 against Webber, took a cold farewell of Miss Dashwood, and retired.
 
 THE LAST NIGHT IN TRINITY 103 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE LAST NIGHT IN TRINITY 
 
 How I might have met Master Webber after his impersonation of Miss 
 Macan, I cannot possibly figure to myself. Fortunately, indeed, for 
 all parties, he left town early the next morning; and it was some 
 weeks ere he returned. In the meanwhile, I became a daily visitor at 
 the General's, dined there usually three or -four times a week, rode out 
 with Lucy constantly, and accompanied her every evening either to the 
 theatre or into society. Sir George, possibly from my youth, seemed 
 to pay little attention to an intimacy which he perceived every hour 
 growing closer, and frequently gave his daughter into my charge in 
 our morning excursions on horseback. As for me, my happiness was 
 all but perfect I loved, and already began to hope that I was not 
 regarded with indifference ; for, although Lucy's manner never abso- 
 lutely evinced any decided preference towards me, yet many slight and 
 casual circumstances served to show me that my attentions to her were 
 neither unnoticed nor uncared for. Among the many gay and dashing 
 companions of our rides, I remarked that, however anxious for such a 
 distinction, none ever seemed to make any way in her good graces ; 
 and I had already gone far in my self-deception that I was destined for 
 good fortune, when a circumstance which occurred one morning at 
 length served to open my eyes to the truth, and blast, by one fatal 
 breath, the whole harvest of my hopes. 
 
 We were about to set out one morning on a long ride, when Sir 
 George's presence was required by the arrival of an officer who had 
 been sent from the Horse Guards on official business. After half-an- 
 hour's delay, Colonel Cameron, the officer in question, was introduced, 
 and entered into conversation with our party. He had only landed in 
 England from the Peninsula a few days before, and had abundant 
 information of the stirring events enacting there. At the conclusion 
 of an anecdote I forget what he turned suddenly round to Miss 
 Dashwood, who was standing beside me, and said, in a low voice : 
 
 " And, now, Miss Dashwood, I am reminded of a commission I 
 promised a very old brother officer to perform. Can I have one 
 moment's conversation with you in the window ? " 
 
 As he spoke, I perceived that he crumpled beneath his glove some- 
 thing like a letter. 
 
 ' ' To me ! " said Lucy, with a look of surprise that sadly puzzled me 
 whether to ascribe it to coquetry or innocence " to me ?" 
 
 " To you," said the Colonel, bowing ; " and I am sadly deceived by 
 my friend Hammersly " 
 
 " Captain Hammersly ! " said she, blushing deeply as she spoke. 
 
 I heard no more. She turned towards the window with the Colonel, 
 and all I saw was, that he handed her a letter, which, having hastily 
 broken open, and thrown her eyes over, she grew at first deadly pale 
 then red and, while her eyes filled with tears, I heard her say, " How 
 like him ! how truly generous this is ! " I listened for no more my
 
 104 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 brain was wheeling round; and my senses reeling I turned and left 
 the room in another moment I was on my horse, galloping from the 
 spot, despair, in all its blackness, in my heart and, in my broken- 
 hearted misery, wishing for death. 
 
 I was miles away from Dublin ere I remembered well what had 
 occurred, and even then not over clearly : the fact that Lucy Dash- 
 wood, whom I imagined to be my own in heart, loved another, was all 
 that I really knew. That one thought was all my mind was capable of, 
 and in it my misery, my wretchedness were centred. 
 
 Of all the grief my life has known, I have had no moments like the 
 long hours of that dreary night. My sorrow, in turn, took every shape 
 and assumed every guise : now I remembered how the Dashwoods had 
 courted my intimacy and encouraged my visits ; how Lucy herself had 
 evinced, in a thousand ways, that she felt a preference for me. I called 
 to mind the many unequivocal proofs I had given her that my feeling, 
 at least, was no common one ; and yet, how had they sported with my 
 affections and jested with my happiness ! That she loved Hammersly 
 I had now a palpable proof; that this affection must have been mutual 
 and prosecuted at the very moment I was not only professing my own 
 love for her, but actually receiving all but an avowal of its return oh ! 
 it was too, too base ; and in my deepest heart, I cursed my folly, and 
 vowed never to see her more. 
 
 It was late on the next day ere I retraced my steps towards town, 
 my heart sad and heavy, careless what became of me for the future, 
 and pondering whether I should not at once give up my College career, 
 and return to my uncle. When I reached my chambers, all was silent 
 and comfortless ; Webber had not returned ; my servant was from 
 home ; and I felt myself more than ever wretched in the solitude of 
 what had been so oft the scene of noisy and festive gaiety. I sat some 
 hours in a half musing state, every sad depressing thought that blighted 
 hopes can conjure up rising in turn before me. A loud knocking at 
 the door at length aroused me. I got up and opened it. No one was 
 there ; I looked around, as well as the coming gloom of evening would 
 permit, but saw nothing. I listened, and heard, at some distance off, 
 my friend Power's manly voice, as he sang 
 
 " Oh ! love is the soul of an Irish dragoon." 
 
 I hallooed out " Power ! " 
 
 "Eh, O'Malley, is that you ?" inquired he. " Why, then, it seems 
 it required some deliberation whether you opened your door or not. 
 Why, man, you can have no great gift of prophecy, or you wouldn't 
 have kept me so long there." 
 
 ' ' And you have been so ? " 
 
 ' ' Only twenty minutes ; for, as I saw the key in the lock, I had 
 determined to succeed, if noise would do it." 
 
 " How strange ! I never heard it." 
 
 " Glorious sleeper you must be ! but come, my dear fellow, you 
 don't appear altogether awake yet." 
 
 1 ' I have riot been quite well these few days." 
 
 " Oh ! indeed. The Dashwoods thought there must have been some- 
 thing of that kind the matter, by your brisk retreat. They sent me
 
 THE LAST NIGHT IN TRINITY 105 
 
 after you yesterday : but wherever you went heaven knows ; I never 
 could come up with you ; so that your great news has been keeping 
 these twenty-four hours longer than need be. " 
 
 " I am not aware what you allude to." 
 
 " Well, you are not over likely to be the wiser when you hear it, if 
 you can assume no more intelligent look than that. Why, man, there's 
 great luck in store for you." 
 
 " As how, pray ? Come, Power, out with it, though I can't pledge 
 myself to feel half as grateful for my good fortune as I should do. 
 What is it?" 
 
 11 You know Cameron ? " 
 
 " I have seen him," said I, reddening. 
 
 ' ' Well, old Camy, as we used to call him, has brought over, among 
 his other news, your gazette." 
 
 " My gazette ! what do you mean ? " 
 
 " Confound your uncommon stupidity this evening : I mean, man, 
 that you are one of us gazetted to the 14th Light the best fellows 
 for love, war, and whisky that ever sported a sabretasche. ( Oh, love is 
 the soul of an Irish dragoon.' By Jove ! I am as delighted to have 
 rescued you from the black harness of the King's Bench, as though you 
 had been a prisoner there. Know, then, friend Charley, that on 
 Wednesday we proceed to Fermoy, join some score of gallant fellows 
 all food for powder and, with the aid of a rotten transport, and the 
 stormy winds that blow, will be bronzing our beautiful faces in Portugal 
 before the month's out. But come, now, let's see about supper ; some 
 of ours are coming over here at eleven, and I promised them a devilled 
 bone ; and, as it's your last night among these classic precincts, let us 
 have a shindy of it. " 
 
 While 1 despatched Mike to Morrison's, to provide supper, I heard 
 from Power tnat Sir George Dashwood had interested himself so 
 strongly for me, that I had obtained my cornetcy in the 14th ; that, 
 fearful lest any disappointment might arise, he had never mentioned 
 the matter to me, but that he had previously obtained my uncle's 
 promise to concur in the arrangement, if his negotiation succeeded. It 
 had so done ; and now the long-sough t-for object of many days was 
 within my grasp ; but alas ! the circumstance which lent it all its fasci- 
 nations was a vanished dream ; and what, but two days before, had 
 rendered my happiness perfect, I listened to listlessly and almost with- 
 out interest. Indeed, my first impulse at finding that I owed my 
 promotion to Sir George was to return a positive refusal of the cornetcy ; 
 but then I remembered how deeply such conduct would hurt my poor 
 uncle, to whom I never could give an adequate explanation. So I 
 heard Power in silence to the end, and thanked him sincerely for his 
 own good-natured kindness in the matter, which already, by the interest 
 he had taken in me, went far to heal the wounds that my own solitary 
 musings were deepening in my heart. At eighteen, fortunately, con- 
 solations are attainable that become more difficult at eight-and-twenty, 
 and impossible at eight-and-thirty. 
 
 While Power continued to dilate upon the delights of a soldier's life 
 a theme which many a boyish dream had long since made hallowed 
 to my thoughts I gradually felt my enthusiasm rising, and a certain
 
 106 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 throbbing 1 at my heart betrayed to me that, sad and dispirited as I felt, 
 there was still within that buoyant spirit which youth possesses as its 
 privilege, and which answers to the call of enterprise as the war-horse 
 to the trumpet That a career worthy of manhood, great, glorious, 
 and inspiriting, opened before me, coming so soon after the late down- 
 fall of my hopes, was, in itself, a source of such true pleasure, that ere 
 long I listened to my friend, and heard his narrative with breathless 
 interest. A lingering sense of pique, too, had its share in all this. I 
 longed to come forward in some manly and dashing part, where my 
 youth might not be ever remembered against me, and when, having 
 brought myself to the test, I might no longer be looked upon and 
 treated as a boy. 
 
 We were joined at length by the other officers of the 14th, and, to 
 the number of twelve, sat down to supper. 
 
 It was to be my last night in Old Trinity, and we resolved that the 
 farewell should be a solemn one. Mansfield, one of the wildest young 
 fellows in the regiment, had vowed that the leave-taking should be 
 commemorated by some very decisive and open expression of our 
 feelings, and had already made some progress in arrangements for 
 blowing up the great bell, which had more than once obtruded upon 
 our morning convivialities ; but he was overruled by his more discreet 
 associates, and we at length assumed our places at table, in the midst 
 of which stood a hecatomb of all my college equipments, cap, gown, 
 bands, &c. A funeral pile of classics was arrayed upon the hearth, 
 surmounted by my "Book on the Cellar," and a punishment roll 
 waved its length, like a banner, over the doomed heroes of Greece 
 and Rome. 
 
 It is seldom that any very determined attempt to be gay par excellence 
 has a perfect success ; but certainly upon this evening ours had. Songs, 
 good stories, speeches, toasts, bright visions of the campaign before us, 
 the wild excitement which such a meeting cannot be free from, gradu- 
 ally, as the wine passed from hand to hand, seized upon all, and, about 
 four in the morning, such was the uproar we caused, and so terrific the 
 noise of our proceedings, that the accumulated force of porters, sent 
 one by one to demand admission, was now a formidable body at the 
 door ; and Mike, at last, came in to assure us that the bursar, the 
 most dread official of all collegians, was without, and insisted, with a 
 threat of his heaviest displeasure in case of refusal, that the door should 
 be opened. 
 
 A committee of the whole house immediately sat upon the question, 
 and it was at length resolved, nemine contradicente, that the request 
 should be complied with. A fresh bowl of punch, in honour of our 
 expected guest, was immediately concocted, a new broil put on the 
 gridiron, and, having seated ourselves with as great a semblance of 
 decorum as four bottles a man admits of, Curtis, the junior captain, 
 being most drunk, was deputed to receive the bursar at the door, and 
 introduce him to our august presence. 
 
 Mike's instructions were, that immediately on Dr. Stone, the bursar's 
 entering, the door was to be slammed to, and none of his followers 
 admitted. This done, the Doctor was to be ushered in and left to our 
 own polite attentions.
 
 THE LAST NIGHT IN TRINITY 107 
 
 A fresh thundering from without scarcely left time for further 
 deliberation ; and at last Curtis moved towards the door, in execution 
 of his mission. 
 
 " Is there any one there ? " said Mike, in a tone of most unsophis- 
 ticated innocence, to a rapping that, having lasted three-quarters of 
 an hour, threatened now to break in the panel. " Is there any one 
 there ? " 
 
 "Open the door this instant the senior bursar desires you this 
 instant." 
 
 " Sure, it's night, and we're all in bed," said Mike. 
 
 "Mr. Webber Mr. O'Malley," said the bursar, now boiling with 
 indignation, " I summon you, in the name of the Board, to admit me." 
 
 " Let the gemmen in," hiccuped Curtis ; and at the same instant 
 the heavy bars were withdrawn, and the door opened, but so sparingly 
 as with difficulty to permit the passage of the burly figure of the 
 bursar. 
 
 Forcing his way through, and regardless of what became of the rest, 
 he pushed on vigorously through the ante-chamber, and, before Curtis 
 could perform his functions of usher, stood in the midst of us. What 
 were his feelings at the scene before him, heaven knows. The number 
 of figures in uniform at once betrayed how little his jurisdiction 
 extended to the great mass of the company, and he immediately 
 turned towards me. 
 
 "Mr. Webber " 
 
 " O'Malley, if you please, Mr. Bursar," said I, bowing with most 
 ceremonious politeness. 
 
 "No matter, sir; arcades ambo, I believe." 
 
 " Both archdeacons," said Melville, translating, with a look of wither- 
 ing contempt upon the speaker. 
 
 The Doctor continued, addressing me : 
 
 ' ' May I ask, sir, if you believe yourself possessed of any privilege 
 for converting this university into a common tavern ? " 
 
 ' ' I wish to heaven he did," said Curtis ; " capital tap your old 
 commons would make." 
 
 ' ' Really, Mr. Bursar," replied I modestly, " I had begun to flatter 
 myself that our little innocent gaiety had inspired you with the idea 
 of joining our party." 
 
 "I humbly move that the old cove in the gown do take the chair," 
 sang out one. ' ' All who are of this opinion say ' Aye ' " a perfect 
 yell of ayes followed this. " All who are of the contrary say f No.' 
 The ayes have it" 
 
 Before the luckless Doctor had a moment for thought, his legs were 
 lifted from under him, and he was jerked rather than placed upon a 
 chair, and put sitting upon the table. 
 
 " Mr. O Malley, your expulsion within twenty-four hours " 
 
 " Hip, hip, hurra, hurra, hurra !" drowned the rest, while Power, 
 taking off the Doctor's cap, replaced it by a foraging cap, very much 
 to the amusement of the party. 
 
 " There is no penalty the law permits of, that I shall not " 
 
 " Help the Doctor, said Melville, placing a glass of punch in his 
 unconscious hand.
 
 108 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Now for a ' Viva la Compagnie,' " said Telford, seating himself 
 at the piano, and playing the first bars of that well-known air, to 
 which, iu our meetings, we are accustomed to improvise a doggrel 
 in turn : 
 
 " I drink to the graces, Law, Physic, Divinity, 
 
 Viva la Compagnie ; 
 And here's to the worthy old Bursar of Trinity, 
 
 Viva la Compagnie. " 
 
 "Viva, viva la va," &c., were chorussed with a shout that shook the 
 old walls, while Power took up the strain. 
 
 " Though with lace caps and gowns they look so like asses, 
 
 Viva la Compagnie. 
 They'd rather have punch than the springs of Parnassus, 
 
 Viva la Compagnie. 
 What a nose the old gentleman has by the way, 
 
 Viva la Compagnie. 
 Since he smelt out the devil from Botany Bay,* 
 
 Viva la Compagnie." 
 
 Words cannot give even the faintest idea of the poor bursar's feel- 
 ings while these demoniacal orgies were enacting around him. Held 
 fast in his chair by Lechmere and another, he glowered on the riotous 
 mob around him like a maniac, and astonishment that such liberties 
 could be taken with one in his situation seemed to have surpassed 
 even his rage and resentment; and every now and then a stray 
 thought would flash across his mind that we were mad, a sentiment 
 which, unfortunately, our conduct was but too well calculated to 
 inspire. 
 
 "So you're the morning lecturer, old gentleman, and have just 
 dropped in here in the way of business : pleasant life you must have 
 of it," said Casey, now by far the most tipsy man present. 
 
 { ' If you think, Mr. O'Malley, that the events of this evening are to 
 end here " 
 
 " Very far from it, Doctor," said Power : " I'll draw up a little 
 account of the affair for ' Saunders. ' They shall hear of it in every 
 corner and nook of the kingdom. " 
 
 e< The bursar of Trinity shall be a proverb for a good fellow that 
 loveth his lush," hiccuped" out Fegan. 
 
 " And if you believe that such conduct is academical," said the 
 Doctor with a withering sneer. 
 
 "Perhaps not," lisped Melville, tightening his belt; "but it's 
 devilish convivial eh, Doctor ? " 
 
 " Is that like him ? " said Moretoii, producing a caricature, which he 
 had just sketched. 
 
 " Capital very good perfect. M f Cleary shall have it in his window 
 by noon to-day," said Power. 
 
 At this instant some of the combustibles disposed among the rejected 
 habiliments of my late vocation caught fire, and squibs, crackers, and 
 detonating shots went off on all sides. The bursar, who had not been 
 
 * Botany Bay is the slang name given by College men to a new square rather 
 remotely situated from the remainder of the College.
 
 THE PHOENIX PARK 109 
 
 deaf to several hints and friendly suggestions, about setting fire to 
 him, blowing him up, &c., with one vigorous spring burst from his 
 antagonists, and, clearing the table at a bound, reached the floor. 
 Before he could be seized he had gained the door opened it, and was 
 away. We gave chase, yelling like so many devils ; but wine and 
 punch, songs and speeches, had done their work, and more than one 
 among the pursuers measured his length upon the pavement ; while 
 the terrified bursar, with the speed of terror, held on his way, and 
 gained his chambers, by about twenty yards in advance of Power and 
 Melville, whose pursuit only ended when the oaken panel of the 
 door shut them out from their victim. One loud cheer beneath his 
 window served for our farewell to our friend, and we returned to our 
 rooms. By this time a regiment of those classic functionaries, yclept 
 porters, had assembled round the door, and seemed bent upon giving 
 battle in honour of their maltreated ruler ; but Power explained to 
 them, in a neat speech, replete with Latin quotations, that their cause 
 was a weak one, that we were more than their match, and, finally, 
 proposed to them to finish the punch bowl, to which we were really 
 incompetent, a motion that met immediate acceptance ; and old 
 Duncan, with his helmet in one hand and a goblet in the other, 
 wished me many happy days, and every luck in this life, as I stepped 
 from the massive archway, and took my last farewell of Old Trinity. 
 
 Should any kind reader feel interested as to the ulterior course 
 assumed by the bursar, I have only to say that the terrors of the 
 " Board " were never fulminated against me, harmless and innocent 
 as I should have esteemed them. The threat of giving publicity to 
 the entire proceedings by the papers, and the dread of figuring in a 
 sixpenny caricature in M' deary's window, were too much for the 
 worthy Doctor, and he took the wiser course, under the circumstances, 
 and held his peace about the matter. I, too, have done so for many a 
 year, and only now recall the scene among the wild transactions of 
 early days and boyish follies. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE PHffiNIX PARK 
 
 WHAT a glorious thing it is, when our first waking thoughts not only 
 dispel some dark depressing dream, but arouse us to the consciousness 
 of a new and bright career suddenly opening before us, buoyant in 
 hope, rich in promise for the future. Life has nothing better than 
 this. The bold spring by which the mind clears the depth that sepa- 
 rates misery from happiness is ecstasy itself; and then, what a world 
 of bright visions come teeming before us ; what plans we form ; what 
 promises we make to ourselves in our own hearts ; how prolific is the 
 dullest imagination ; how excursive the tamest fancy, at such a 
 moment ! In a few short and fleeting seconds, the events of a whole 
 life are planned and pictured before us. Dreams of happiness and 
 visions of bliss, of which all our after-years are insufficient to eradicate
 
 110 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the prestige, come in myriads about us ; and from that narrow aperture, 
 through which this new hope pierces into our heart, a flood of light 
 is poured that illumines our path to the very verge of the grave. How 
 many a success in after days is reckoned as but one step in that ladder 
 of ambition some boyish review has framed, perhaps, after all, destined 
 to be the first and only one ! With what triumph we hail some goal 
 attained, some object of our wishes gained, less for its present benefit, 
 than as the accomplishment of some youthful prophecy, when, pictur- 
 ing to our hearts all that we would have in life, we whispered within 
 us the flattery of success. 
 
 Who is there who has not had some such moment, and who would 
 exchange it, with all the delusive and deceptive influences by which it 
 comes surrounded, for the greatest actual happiness he has partaken 
 of? Alas, alas ! it is only in the boundless expanse of such imagin- 
 ings, unreal and fictitious as they are, that we are truly blessed. Our 
 choicest blessings in life come ever so associated with some sources 
 of care, that the cup of enjoyment, is not pure, but dregged in 
 bitterness. 
 
 To such a world of bright anticipation did I awake on the morning 
 after the events I have detailed in my last chapter. The first thing 
 my eyes fell upon was an official letter from the Horse Guards : 
 
 "The Commander of the Forces desires that Mr. O'Malley will 
 repair immediately on the receipt of this letter to the headquarters of 
 the regiment to which he is gazetted." 
 
 Few and simple as the lines were, how brimful of pleasure they 
 sounded to my ears. The regiment to which I was gazetted ! and so I 
 was a soldier at last ; the first wish of my boyhood was then really 
 accomplished ; and my uncle, what will he say ? what will he think ? 
 
 " A letter, sir, by the post," said Mike at the moment. 
 
 I seized it eagerly ; it came from home, but was in Considine's hand- 
 writing ; how my heart failed me as I turned to look at the seal ! 
 "Thank God !" said I aloud, on perceiving that it was a red one. I 
 tore it open and read : 
 
 "MY DEAR CHARLEY, Godfrey, being laid up with the gout, has 
 desired me to write to you by this day's post. Your appointment 
 to the 14th, notwithstanding all his prejudices about the army, has 
 given him sincere pleasure. I believe, between ourselves, that your 
 college career, of which he has heard something, convinced him that 
 your forte did not lie in the classics ; you know I said so always, but 
 nobody minded me. Your new prospects are all that your best friends 
 could wish for you ; you begin early ; your corps is a crack one ; you 
 are ordered for service. What could you have more ? 
 
 " Your uncle hopes, if you can get a few days' leave, that you will 
 come down here before you join, and I hope so too ; for he is un- 
 usually low spirited, and talks about his never seeing you again, and 
 all that sort of thing. 
 
 " I have written to Merivale, your colonel, on this subject, as well 
 as generally on your behalf; we were cornets together forty years ago :
 
 THE PH(ENIX PARK 111 
 
 a strict fellow you'll find him, but a trump on service. If you can't 
 manage the leave, write a long letter home at all events, and so God 
 bless you, and all success. Yours sincerely, W. COXSIDINE. 
 
 ' ' I had thought of writing you a long letter of advice for your new 
 career, and, indeed, half accomplished one. After all, however, I can 
 tell you little that your own good sense will not teach you as you go on, 
 and experience is ever better than precept. I know of but one rule in 
 life which admits of scarcely any exception, and having followed it 
 upwards of sixty years, approve of it only the more. Never quarrel 
 when you can help it ; but meet any man your tailor, your hair- 
 dresser if he wishes to have you out. W. C." 
 
 I had scarcely come to the end of this very characteristic epistle, 
 when two more letters were placed upon my table. One was from Sir 
 George Dashwood, inviting me to dinner, to meet some of my ' ' brother 
 officers." How my heart beat at the expression ; the other was a short 
 note marked "private," from my late tutor, Dr. Mooney, saying "that 
 if I made a suitable apology to the bursar, for the late aifair at my 
 room, lie might probably be induced to abandon any further step, 
 otherwise ; " then followed innumerable threats about fine, penalties, 
 expulsion, &c., that fell most harmlessly upon my ears. I accepted 
 the invitation ; declined the apology ; and, having ordered my horse, 
 cantered off to the barracks to consult my friend Power as to all the 
 minor details of my career. 
 
 As the dinner hour drew near, my thoughts became again fixed upon 
 Miss Dashwood, and a thousand misgivings crossed my mind, as to 
 whether I should have nerve enough to meet her, without disclosing 
 in my manner the altered state of my feelings, a possibility which I 
 now dreaded fully as much as I had longed some days before to avow 
 my affection for her, however slight my prospects of return. All my 
 valiant resolves and well-contrived plans for appearing unmoved and 
 indifferent in her presence, with which I stored my mind while dressing, 
 and when on the way to dinner, were, however, needless, for it was a 
 party exclusively of men, and, as the coffee was served in the dinner- 
 room, no move was made to the drawing-room by any of the company. 
 " Quite as well as it is," was my muttered opinion, as I got into my cab 
 at the door. " All is at an end as regards me in her esteem, and I must 
 not spend my days sighing for a young lady that cares for another." 
 Very reasonable, very proper resolutions these ; but, alas ! I went 
 home to bed, only to think half the night long of the fair Lucy, and 
 dream of her the remainder of it. 
 
 When morning dawned, my first thought was, " Shall I see her once 
 more ? shall I leave her for ever thus abruptly ? or, rather, shall I not 
 unburthen my bosom of its secret, confess my love, and say farewell ? " 
 I felt such a course more in unison with my wishes than the day 
 before ; and, as Power had told me that before a week we should 
 present ourselves at Fermoy, I knew that no time was to be lost 
 
 My determination was taken. I ordered my horse, and, early as it 
 was, rode out to the Royal Hospital. My heart beat so strongly as I 
 rode up to the door, that I half resolved to return. I rang the bell.
 
 112 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 Sir George was in town. Miss Dash wood had just gone five minutes 
 before to spend some days at Carton. It is fate, thought I, as I turned 
 from the spot, and walked slowly beside my horse towards Dublin. 
 
 In the few days that intervened before my leaving town, my time 
 was occupied from morning to night : the various details of my 
 uniform, outfit, &c., were undertaken for me by Power. My horses 
 were sent for to Galway, and I myself, with innumerable persons to 
 see, and a mass of business to transact, contrived at least three times 
 a day to ride out to the Royal Hospital, always to make some trifling 
 inquiry for Sir George, and always to hear repeated that Miss Dash- 
 wood had not returned. 
 
 Thus passed five of my last six days in Dublin, and as the morning 
 of the last opened, it was with a sorrowing spirit that I felt my hour 
 of departure approach, without one only opportunity of seeing Lucy, 
 even to say good-bye. 
 
 While Mike was packing in one corner, and I in another was con- 
 cluding a long letter to my poor uncle, my door opened, and Webber 
 entered. 
 
 " Eh, O'Malley ! I'm only in time to say adieu, it seems. To my 
 surprise this morning I found you had cut the ' Silent Sister.' I feared 
 I should be too late to catch one glimpse of you ere you started for 
 the wars." 
 
 ' ' You are quite right, Master Frank, and I scarcely expected to have 
 seen you. Your last brilliant achievement at Sir George's very nearly 
 involved me in a serious scrape." 
 
 t( A mere trifle. How confoundedly silly Power must have looked, 
 eh ? Should like so much to have seen his face. He booked up next 
 day very proper fellow. By-the-bye, O'Malley, I rather like the 
 little girl ; she is decidedly pretty ; and her foot ; did you remark her 
 foot? capital." 
 
 " Yes, she's very good-looking," said I carelessly. 
 
 " I'm thinking of cultivating her a little," said Webber, pulling up 
 his cravat and adjusting his hair at the glass. " She's spoiled by all 
 the tinsel vapouring of her hussar and aide-de-camp acquaintances ; 
 but something may be done for her, eh f " 
 
 " With your most able assistance and kind intentions." 
 
 "That's what I mean exactly. Sorry you're going devilish sorry. 
 You served out Stone gloriously : perhaps it's as well though ; you 
 know they'd have expelled you : but still, something might turn up ; 
 soldiering is a bad style of thing, eh ? How the old General did take 
 his sister-in-law's presence to heart ! But he must forgive and forget, 
 for I'm going to be great friends with him and Lucy. Where are you 
 going now ? " 
 
 ' e I'm about to try a new horse before troops," said I. " He's staunch 
 enough with the cry of the fox-pack in his ears, but I don't know how 
 he'll stand a peal of artillery." 
 
 " Well, come along," said Webber, " I'll ride with you." So saying, 
 we mounted and set off to the Park, where two regiments of cavalry 
 and some horse artillery were ordered for inspection. 
 
 The review was over when we reached the exercising ground, and 
 we slowly walked our horses towards the end of the Park, intending
 
 THE PHCENIX PARK 113 
 
 to return to Dublin by the road. We had not proceeded far, when, 
 some hundred yards in advance, we perceived an officer riding with a 
 lady, followed by an orderly dragoon. 
 
 " There he goes," said Webber ; ' c I wonder if he'd ask me to dinner, 
 if 1 were to throw myself in his way?" 
 
 " Who do you mean ?" said I. 
 
 " Sir George Dashwood, to be sure, and, la voilh, Miss Lucy. The 
 little darling rides well, too ; how squarely she sits her horse. O'Malley, 
 I have weakness there ; upon my soul, I have." 
 
 "Very possibly," said I ; "I am aware- of another friend of mine 
 participating in the sentiment. " 
 
 " One Charles O'Malley, of his Majesty's " 
 
 " Nonsense, man no, no. I mean a different person, and, for all I 
 can see, with some reason to hope for success. " 
 
 ' ' Oh, as to that, we flatter ourselves the thing does not present any 
 very considerable difficulties." 
 
 " As how, pray ? " 
 
 "Why, of course, like all such matters, a very decisive deter- 
 mination. To be, to do, and to suffer, as Lindley Murray says, 
 carries the day. Tell her she's an angel every day for three weeks. 
 She may laugh a little at first, but she'll believe it in the end. 
 Tell her that you have not the slightest prospect of obtaining her 
 affection, but still persist in loving her. That, finally, you must die 
 from the effects of despair, &c. , but rather like the notion of it than 
 otherwise. That you know she has no fortune ; that you haven't a 
 sixpence ; and who should marry if people whose position in the world 
 was similar did not." 
 
 " But halt ; pray, how are you to get time and place for all such 
 interesting conversations ? " 
 
 ' ' Time and place ! Good heavens, what a question ! Is not every 
 hour of the twenty-four the fittest : is not every place the most suitable ? 
 A sudden pause in the organ in St. Patrick's did, it is true, catch me 
 once in a declaration of love, but the choir came in to my aid, and 
 drowned the lady's answer. My dear O'Malley, what could prevent 
 you this instant, if you are so disposed, from doing the amiable to the 
 darling Lucy, there ? " 
 
 " With the father for an umpire, in case we disagreed," said I. 
 
 " Not at all. I should soon get rid of him." 
 
 "Impossible, my dear friend." 
 
 " Come now, just for the sake of convincing your obstinacy. If you 
 like to say good-bye to the little girl without a witness, I'll take off 
 the he-dragon." 
 
 " You don't mean " 
 
 "1 do, man I do mean it." So saying, he drew a crimson silk 
 handkerchief from his pocket, and fastened it round his waist like an 
 officer's sash. This done, and telling me to keep in their wake, for 
 some minutes, he turned from me, and was soon concealed by a copse 
 of whitethorn near us. 
 
 I had not gone above a hundred yards further when I heard Sir 
 George's voice calling for the orderly. I looked and saw Webber at a 
 considerable distance in front, curveting and playing all species of
 
 114 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 antics. The distance between the General and myself was now so 
 short, that I overheard the following dialogue with the sentry : 
 
 " He's not in uniform, then ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; he has a round hat." 
 
 " A round hat ! " 
 
 " His sash " 
 
 ' ' A sword and sash. This is too bad. I'm determined to find him 
 out. Follow, then." 
 
 " How d'ye do, General ? " said Webber, as he rode towards the 
 trees. 
 
 11 Stop, sir," shouted Sir George. 
 
 <c Good day, Sir George," replied Webber, retiring. 
 
 <f Stay where you are, Lucy," said the General, as, dashing spurs 
 into his horse, he sprung forward at a gallop, incensed beyond endur- 
 ance that his most strict orders should be so openly and insultingly 
 transgressed. 
 
 Webber led on to a deep hollow, where the road passed between 
 two smooth slopes, covered with furze trees, and from which it emerged 
 afterwards in the thickest and most intricate part of the Park. Sir 
 George dashed boldly after, and, in less than half a minute, both were 
 lost to my view, leaving me in breathless amazement at Master Frank's 
 ingenuity, and some puzzle as to my own future movements. 
 
 " Now then, or never," said I, as I pushed boldly forward, and in an 
 instant was alongside of Miss Dashwood. 
 
 Her astonishment at seeing me so suddenly increased the confusion 
 from which I felt myself suffering, and, for some minutes, I could 
 scarcely speak. At last J plucked up courage a little and said : 
 
 "Miss Dashwood, I have looked most anxiously, for the last four 
 days, for the moment which chance has now given me. I wished, 
 before I parted for ever with those to whom I owe already so much, 
 that I should, at least, speak my gratitude ere I said good-bye." 
 
 ' ' But when do you think of going ? " 
 
 " To-morrow ; Captain Power, under whose command I am, has re- 
 ceived orders to embark immediately for Portugal." 
 
 I thought perhaps it was but a thought that her cheek grew some- 
 what paler as I spoke ; but she remained silent ; and I, scarcely know- 
 ing what 1 had said, or whether I had finished, spoke not either. 
 
 " Papa, I'm sure, is not aware," said she, after a long pause, " of 
 your intention of leaving so soon ; for only last night he spoke of 
 some letters he meant to give you to some friends in the Peninsula ; 
 besides, I know " here she smiled faintly " that he destined some 
 excellent advice for your ears, as to your new path in life, for he has 
 an immense opinion of the value of such to a young officer." 
 
 " I am, indeed, most grateful to Sir George, and truly never did any 
 one stand more in need of counsel than I do." This was said half 
 musingly, and not intending to be heard. 
 
 "Then, pray, consult papa," said she eagerly ; " he is much attached 
 to you, and will, I'm certain, do all in his power " 
 
 "Alas ! I fear not, Miss Dashwood." 
 
 ef Why, what can you mean ? has anything so serious occurred ? " 
 
 ' ' No, no : I'm but misleading you, and exciting your sympathy with
 
 THE ROAD 115 
 
 false pretences. Should I tell you all the truth, you would not pardon, 
 perhaps not hear me." 
 
 " You have, indeed, puzzled me ; but, if there is anything in which 
 my father " 
 
 ' ' Less him than his daughter," said I, fixing my eyes full upon her 
 as I spoke. " Yes, Lucy, I feel I must confess it, cost what it may. 
 I love you ; pray, hear me out : I know the fruitlessness, the utter 
 despair, that awaits such a sentiment. My own heart tells me that I 
 am not, cannot be loved in return ; yet, would I rather cherish in its 
 core my affection slighted and unblessed, such as it is, than own another 
 heart. I ask for nothing ; I hope for nothing ; I merely entreat that, 
 for my truth, I may meet belief, and, for my heart's worship of her 
 whom alone I can love, compassion. I see that you at least pity me. 
 Nay, one word more ; I have one favour more to ask ; it is my last, 
 my only one. Do not, when time and distance have separated us 
 perhaps, for ever think that the expressions I now use are prompted 
 by a mere sudden ebullition of boyish feeling : do not attribute to 
 the circumstance of my youth alone the warmth of the attachment 
 I profess ; for I swear to you, by every hope I have, that, in my heart 
 of hearts, my love to you is the source and spring of every action in 
 my life, of every aspiration in my heart ; and, when I cease to love 
 you, I shall cease to feel. 
 
 " And now, farewell ; farewell for ever." I pressed her hand to my 
 lips, gave one long last look, turned my horse rapidly away, and, ere a 
 minute, was far out of sight of where I left her. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE ROAD 
 
 POWEB was detained in town by some orders from the Adjutant- 
 General, so that I started for Cork the next morning, with no other 
 companion than my servant Mike. For the first few stages upon the 
 road, my own thoughts sufficiently occupied me, to render me insen- 
 sible or indifferent to all else. My opening career the prospects my 
 new life as a soldier held out my hopes of distinction my love of 
 Lucy, with all its train of doubts and fears passed in review before 
 me, and I took no note of time till far past noon. I now looked to 
 the back part of the coach, where Mike's voice had been, as usual, in 
 the ascendant for some time, and perceived that he was surrounded 
 by an eager auditory of four raw recruits, who, under the care of a 
 sergeant, were proceeding to Cork to be enrolled in their regiment. 
 The sergeant, whose minutes of wakefulness were only these, when 
 the coach stopped to change horses, and when he got down to mix a 
 "summat hot, paid little attention to his followers, leaving them per- 
 fectly free in all their movements, to listen to Mike's eloquence, and 
 profit by his suggestions, should they deem fit. Master Michael's 
 services to his new acquaintances, I began to perceive, were not exactly 
 of the same nature as Dibdin is reported to have rendered to our navy
 
 116 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 in the late war. Far from it ; his theme was no contemptuous disdain 
 for danger no patriotic enthusiasm to fight for home and country 
 no proud consciousness of British valour, mingled with the appropriate 
 hatred of our mutual enemies ; on the contrary, Mike's eloquence was 
 enlisted for the defendant. He detailed, and in no unimpressive way 
 either, the hardships of a soldier's life, its dangers, its vicissitudes, 
 its chances, its possible penalties, its inevitably small rewards, and, 
 in fact, so completely did he work on the feelings of his hearers, that 
 I perceived more than one glance exchanged between the victims, 
 that certainly betokened anything save the resolve to fight for King 
 George. It was at the close of a long and most powerful appeal upon 
 the superiority of any other line of life, petty larceny and small felony 
 inclusive, that he concluded with the following quotation : 
 ' ' Thrue for ye, boys ! 
 
 " ' With your red scarlet coat, 
 You're as proud as a goat, 
 And your long cap and feather.' 
 
 But, by the piper that played before Moses, it's more whipping nor 
 gingerbread is going on amongst them ; av ye knew but all, and heard 
 the misfortune that happened to my father." 
 
 ' ' And was he a sodger ? " inquired one. 
 
 " Troth was he, more sorrow to him, and wasn't he almost whipped 
 one day, for doing what he was bid." 
 
 "Musha, but that was hard." 
 
 " To be sure it was hard ; but, faix, when my father seen that they 
 didn't know their own minds, he thought, anyhow, he knew his, so he 
 ran away ; and divil a bit of him did they ever cotch afther. Maybe ye 
 might like to hear the story, and there's instruction in it for ye's too." 
 
 A general request to this end being preferred by the company, Mike 
 took a shrewd look at the sergeant, to be sure that he was still sleep- 
 ing, settled his coat comfortably across his knees, and began. 
 
 et Well, it's a good many years ago my father 'listed in the North 
 Cork, just to oblige Mr. Barry, the landlord there ; ' For,' says he, 
 ' Phil,' says he, ' it's not a soldier ye'll be at all, but my own man, to 
 brush my clothes and go errands, and the like o' that, and the king, 
 long life to him ! will help to pay ye for your trouble ye understand 
 me.' Well, my father agreed, and Mr. Barry was as good as his word. 
 Never a guard did my father mount, nor so much as a drill had he, nor 
 a roll-call, nor anything at all, save and except wait on the Captain, 
 his master, just as pleasant as need be, and no inconvenience in life. 
 
 <e Well, for three years, this went on as I'm telling, and the regiment 
 was ordered down to Banthry, because of a report that the ' boys ' was 
 rising down there ; and the second evening there was a night party 
 patrolling, with Captain Barry, for six hours in the rain, and the 
 Captain, God be marciful to him, tuk cowld and died : more betoken, 
 they said it was drink, but my father says it wasn't ; ' for,' says he, 
 'after he tuk eight tumblers comfortable,' my father mixed the ninth, 
 and the Captain waved his hand this way, as much as to say, he'd have 
 no more. 'Is it that ye mean,' says my father, and the Captain 
 nodded. f Musha, but it's sorry I am,' says my father, ' to see you
 
 THE ROAD 117 
 
 this way, for ye must be bad entirely to leave off in the beginning of 
 the evening.' And thrue for him, the Captain was dead in the 
 morning. 
 
 ' ' A sorrowful day it was for my father, when he died ; it was the 
 finest place in the world ; little to do ; plenty of divarsion ; and a kind 
 man he was when he was drunk. Well, then, when the Captain was 
 buried, and all was over, my father hoped they'd be for letting him 
 away, as he said, ' Sure, I'm no use in life to anybody, save the man 
 that's gone, for his ways are all I know, and I never was a sodger.' 
 But, upon my conscience, they had other thoughts in their heads ; for 
 they ordered him into the ranks to be drilled just like the recruits 
 they took the day before. 
 
 ' ' ' Musha, isn't this hard/ said my father ; ' here I am, an ould 
 vitrin that ought to be discharged on a pension, with two-and-sixpence 
 a day, obliged to go capering about the barrack-yard practising the 
 goose step, or some other nonsense not becoming my age nor my 
 habits ; ' but so it was. .Well, this went on for some time, and, sure, 
 if they were hard on my father, hadn't he his revenge, for he nigh 
 broke their hearts with his stupidity ; oh ! nothing in life could equal 
 him ; devil a thing, no matter how easy, he could learn at all, and, so 
 far from caring for being in confinement, it was that he liked best. 
 Every sergeant in the regiment had a trial of him, but all to no good, 
 and he seemed striving so hard to learn all the while, that they were 
 loath to punish him, the ould rogue ! 
 
 " This was going on for some time, when one day news came in that 
 a body of the rebels, as they called them, was coming down from the 
 Gap of Mulnavick, to storm the town, and burn all before them. The 
 whole regiment was of course under arms, and great preparations was 
 made for a battle ; meanwhile, patrols were ordered to scour the roads, 
 and sentries posted at every turn of the way and every rising ground, 
 to give warning when the boys came in sight, and my father was 
 placed at the bridge of Drumsnag, in the wildest and bleakest part of 
 the whole country, with nothing but furze mountains on every side, 
 and a straight road going over the top of them. 
 
 " c This is pleasant,' says my father, as soon as they left him there 
 alone by himself, with no human crayture to speak to, nor a whisky 
 shop within ten miles of him ; ' cowld comfort,' says he, ' on a winter's 
 day, and faix, but I've a mind to give ye the slip.' 
 
 " Well, he put his gun down on the bridge, and he lit his pipe, 
 and he sat down under an ould tree and began to ruminate upon his 
 affairs. 
 
 " ' Oh, then, it's wishing it well I am/ says he, 'for sodgering ; and, 
 bad luck to the hammer that struck the shilling that 'listed me, that's 
 all/ for he was mighty low in his heart. 
 
 " Just then a noise came rattling down near him ; he listened ; and 
 before he could get on his legs, down come the General, ould Cohoon, 
 with an orderly after him. 
 
 " ' Who goes that ? ' says my father. 
 
 "'The round/ says the General, looking about all the time to see 
 where was the sentry, for my father was snug under the tree. 
 
 " ' What round ? ' says my father.
 
 118 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' The grand round/ says the General, more puzzled than afore. 
 
 " ' Pass on, grand round, and God save you kindly/ says my father, 
 putting his pipe in his mouth again, for he thought all was over. 
 
 " ( D n your soul, where are you ? ' says the General ; for sorry 
 a bit of my father could he see yet. 
 
 " ' It's here I am,' says he, ' and a cowid place I have of it ; and av 
 it wasn't for the pip& I'd be lost entirely.' 
 
 ' ' The words wasn't well out of his mouth, when the General began 
 laughing till ye'd think he'd fall off his horse ; and the dragoon behind 
 him more by token, they say it wasn't right for him laughed as loud 
 as himself. 
 
 " ' Yer a droll sentry/ says the General, as soon as he could speak. 
 
 e< ' Begorra, it's little fun there's left in me,' says my father, ' with 
 this drilling, and parading, and blagaarding about the roads all 
 night' 
 
 " ' And is this the way you salute your officer ? ' says the General. 
 
 " ' Just so,' says my father ; ' devil a more politeness ever they 
 taught me.' 
 
 " ' What regiment do you belong to ? ' says the General. 
 
 <e ' The North Cork, bad luck to them,' says my father, with a sigh. 
 
 " ' They ought to be proud of ye,' says the General. 
 
 " ' I'm sorry for it,' says my father sorrowfully, ' for maybe they'll 
 keep me the longer.' 
 
 " ' Well, my good fellow,' says the General, ' I haven't more time to 
 waste here ; but let me teach you something before I go. Whenever 
 your officer passes, it's your duty to present arms to him.' 
 
 "'Arrah, it's jokin' ye are,' says my father. 
 
 " ' No, I'm in earnest,' says he, ' as ye might learn to your cost if I 
 brought you to a court-martiaL' 
 
 " ' Well, there's no knowing,' says my father, e what they'd be up 
 to ; but, sure, if that's all, I'll do it with all " the veins," whenever 
 yer coming this way again.' 
 
 " The General began to laugh again here, but said : 
 
 " ' I'm coming back in the evening,' says he, ' and mind you don't 
 forget your respect to your officer. ' 
 
 " ' Never fear, sir,' says my father ; e and many thanks to you for 
 your kindness for telling me.' 
 
 "Away went the General and the orderly after him, and in ten 
 minutes they were out of sight. 
 
 " The night was falling fast, and one half of the mountain was quite 
 dark already, when my father began to think they were forgetting him 
 entirely. He looked one way, and he looked another, but sorra bit of 
 a sergeant's guard was coming to relieve him. There he was, fresh 
 and fasting, and daren't go for the bare life. ' I'll give you a quarter 
 of an hour more,' says my father, ' till the light leaves that rock up 
 there ; after that,' says he, f by the mass ! I'll be off, av it cost me 
 what it may.' 
 
 1 ( Well, sure enough, his courage was not needed this time ; for what 
 did he see at the same moment but a shadow of something coming 
 down the road, opposite the bridge ; he looked again ; and then he 
 made out the General himself, that was walking his horse down the
 
 THE ROAD 119 
 
 steep part of the mountain followed by the orderly. My father im- 
 mediately took up his musket off the wall, settled his belts, shook the 
 ashes out of his pipe, and put it into his pocket, making himself as 
 smart and neat-looking as he could be, determining, when old Cohoon 
 came up, to ask him for leave to go home, at least for the night. Well, 
 by this time, the General was turning a sharp part of the cliff that 
 looks down upon the bridge, from where you might look five miles 
 round on every side. ' He sees me,' says my father ; ' but I'll be just 
 as quick as himself.' No sooner said than done : for, coming forward 
 to the parapet of the bridge, he up with, his musket to his shoulder, 
 and presented it straight at the General. It wasn't well there, when 
 the officer pulled up his horse quite short, and shouted out, ' Sentry 
 sentry !' 
 
 1 Anan ! ' says my father, still covering him. 
 
 ' Down with your musket, you rascal ; don't you see it's the grand 
 round ? ' 
 
 ' To he sure I do,' says my father, never changing for a minute. 
 ' The ruffian will shoot me,' says the General. 
 ' Devil a fear,' says my father, ' av it doesn't go off of itself.' 
 ' What do you mean by that, you villain ? ' says the General, scarce 
 able to speak with fright, for every turn he gave on his horse my 
 father followed with the gun ' What do you mean ? ' 
 
 1 ' ' Sure, ain't I presenting ? ' says my father ; ' blood an ages, do 
 you want me to fire next ? ' 
 
 "With that the General drew a pistol from his holster, and took 
 deliberate aim at my father ; and there they both stood for five 
 minutes, looking at each other, the orderly, all the while, breaking his 
 heart laughing behind a rock ; for, ye see, the General knew av he 
 retreated that my father might fire on purpose, and av he came on 
 that he might fire by chance ; and sorra bit he knew what was best to 
 be done. 
 
 " ' Are ye going to pass the evening up there, grand round ? ' says 
 my father, ' for it's tired I'm getting houldin' this so long ? ' 
 
 " ' Port arms,' shouted the General, as if on parade. 
 
 e ' ' Sure I can't, till yer passed,' says my father angrily, ' and my 
 hand's trembling already.' 
 
 " e By heavens ! I shall be shot,' says the General. 
 
 ' ( e Begorra, it's what I'm afraid of,' says my father ; and the words 
 wasn't out of his mouth before off went the musket, bang ! and down 
 fell the General smack on the ground, senseless. Well, the orderly 
 ran out at this, and took him up and examined his wound ; but it 
 wasn't a wound at all, only the wadding of the gun ; for my father 
 God be kind to him ye see, could do nothing right, and so he bit off 
 the wrong end of the cartridge when he put it in the gun, and by 
 reason there was no bullet in it. Well, from that day after they never 
 got sight of him, for the instant the General dropped, he sprung over 
 the bridge wall and got away ; and what between living in a lime-kiln 
 for two months, eating nothing but blackberries and sloes, and other 
 disguises, he never returned to the army, but ever after took to a civil 
 situation, and driv a hearse for many years." 
 
 How far Mike's narrative might have contributed to the support of
 
 120 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 his theory, I am unable to pronounce ; for his auditory were, at some 
 distance from Cork, made to descend from their lofty position, and join 
 a larger body of recruits, all proceeding to the same destination, under 
 a strong escort of infantry. For ourselves, we reached the " beautiful 
 city " in due time, and took up our quarters at the Old George hotel. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE undress rehearsal of a new piece, with its dirty-booted actors, its 
 cloaked and hooded actresses en papillate, bears about the same relation 
 to the gala, wax-lit and bespangled ballet, as the raw young gentleman 
 of yesterday to the epauletted, belted, and sabretasched dragoon, whose 
 transformation is due to a few hours of headquarters, and a few inter- 
 views with the adjutant. 
 
 So, at least, I felt it ; and it was with a very perfect concurrence in 
 his Majesty's taste in a uniform, and a most entire approval of the 
 regimental tailor, that I strutted down George's Street a very few 
 days after my arrival in Cork. The transports had not as yet come 
 round ; there was a great doubt of their doing so for a week or so 
 longer ; and 1 found myself, as the dashing cornet, the centre of a 
 thousand polite attentions and most kind civilities. 
 
 The officer under whose orders I was placed for the time was a great 
 friend of Sir George Dashwood's, and paid me, in consequence, much 
 attention. Major Dalrymple had been on the staff from the com- 
 mencement of his military career had served in the commissariat for 
 some time was much in foreign stations, but never, by any of the 
 many casualties of his life, never had seen what could be called service. 
 His ideas of the soldier's profession were, therefore, what might 
 almost be as readily picked up by a commission in the battle-axe guards, 
 as one in his Majesty's fiftieth. He was now a species of district pay- 
 master, employed in a thousand ways, either inspecting recruits, 
 examining accounts, revising sick certificates, or receiving contracts 
 for mess beef. Whether the nature of his manifold occupations had 
 enlarged the sphere of his talents and ambition, or whether the abilities 
 had suggested the variety of his duties, I know not ; but truly, the 
 Major was a man of all work. No sooner did a young ensign join 
 his regiment at Cork, than Major Dalrymple's card was left at his 
 quarters ; the next day came the Major himself; the third brought an 
 invitation to dinner ; on the fourth he was told to drop in in the 
 evening ; and from thenceforward, he was the ami de la maison, in 
 company with numerous others as newly-fledged and inexperienced as 
 himself. 
 
 One singular feature of the society at the house was that, although 
 the Major was as well known as the flag on Spike Island, yet, some- 
 how, no officer above the rank of an ensign was ever to be met with 
 there. It was not that he had not a large acquaintance ; in fact, the 
 " How are you, Major ? " " How goes it, Dalrymple ? " that kept ever-
 
 CORK 121 
 
 lastingly going on as he walked the streets, proved the reverse. But, 
 strange enough, his predilections leaned towards the newly-gazetted, 
 far before the bronzed and scarred campaigners who had seen the 
 world, and knew more about it The reasons for this line of conduct 
 were twofold. In the first place, there was not an article of outfit, 
 from a stock to a sword-belt, that he could not, and did not supply to 
 the young officer ; from the gorget of the infantry to the shako of the 
 grenadier, all came within his province ; not that he actually kept a 
 magaxin of these articles, but he had so completely interwoven his 
 interests with those of numerous shopkeepers in Cork, that he rarely 
 entered a shop over whose door Dalrymple & Co. might not have 
 figured on the signboard. His stables were filled with a perfect 
 infirmary of superannuated chargers, fattened and conditioned up to 
 a miracle, and groomed to perfection : he could get you only you 
 about three dozen of sherry, to take out with you as sea-store ; he 
 knew of such a servant ; he chanced upon such a camp-furniture 
 yesterday in his walks : in fact, why want for anything ? his resources 
 were inexhaustible -his kindness unbounded. 
 
 Then, money was no object hang it, you could pay when you liked 
 what signified it ? In other words, a bill at thirty-one days, cashed 
 and discounted by a friend of the Major's, would always do. While 
 such were the unlimited advantages his acquaintance conferred, the 
 sphere of his benefits took another range. The Major had two 
 daughters. Matilda and Fanny were as well known in the army as 
 Lord Fitzrov Somerset or Picton, from the Isle of Wight to Halifax, 
 from Cape Coast to Chatham, from Belfast to the Bermudas. Where 
 was the subaltern who had not knelt at the shrine of one or the other, 
 if not at both and vowed eternal love until a change of quarters ? 
 In plain words, the Major's solicitude for the service was such, that, 
 not content with providing the young officer with all the necessary 
 outfit of his profession, he longed also to supply him with a comforter 
 for his woes, a charmer for his solitary hours, in the person of one of 
 his amiable daughters. Unluckily, however, the necessity for a wife 
 is not enforced by " general orders," as is the cut of your coat, or the 
 length of your sabre ; consequently, the Major's success in the home 
 department of his diplomacy was not destined for the same happy 
 results that awaited it when engaged about drill-trousers and camp- 
 kettles, and the Misses Dalrymple remained Misses through every 
 clime and every campaign. And yet, why was it so? It is hard to 
 say. What would men have ? Matilda was a dark-haired, dark-eyed, 
 romantic-looking girl, with a tall figure and a slender waist, with more 
 poetry in her head than would have turned any ordinary brain ; always 
 unhappy ; in need of consolation : never meeting w ith the kindred 
 spirit that understood her ; destined to walk the world alone, her 
 fair thoughts smothered in the recesses of her own heart Devilish 
 hard to stand this, when you began in a kind of platonic friendship on 
 both sides. More than one poor fellow nearly succumbed, particularly 
 when she came to quote Cowley, and told, with tears in her eyes, 
 
 " There are hearts that live and love alone," &c. 
 I'm assured that this coup de grace rarely failed in being followed by
 
 122 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 a downright avowal of open love, which, somehow, what between the 
 route coming, what with waiting for leave from home, &c., never got 
 farther than a most tender scene, and exchange of love tokens ; and, in 
 fact, such became so often the termination, that Power swears Matty 
 had to make a firm resolve about cutting off any more hair, fearing a 
 premature baldness during the recruiting season. 
 
 Now, Fanny had selected another arm of the service. Her hair was 
 fair, her eyes blue, laughing, languishing, mischief-loving blue, with 
 long lashes, and a look in them that was wont to leave its impression 
 rather longer than you exactly knew of; then, her figure was petite, 
 but perfect ; her feet Canova might have copied ; and her hand was a 
 study for Titian ; her voice, too, was soft and musical, but full of that 
 gaiete de cosur that never fails to charm. While her sister's style was 
 il penseroso, hers was f allegro ; every imaginable thing, place, or person 
 supplied food for her mirth, and her sister's lovers all came in for 
 their share. She hunted with Smith Barry's hounds ; she yachted 
 with the Cove Club ; she coursed ; practised at a mark with a pistol ; 
 and played chicken hazard with all the cavalry ; for let it be remarked 
 as a physiological fact, Matilda's admirers were almost invariably taken 
 from the infantry, while Fanny's adorers were as regularly dragoons. 
 Whether the former be the romantic arm of the service, and the latter 
 be more adapted to dull realities, or whether the phenomenon had any 
 other explanation, I leave to the curious. Now, this arrangement, 
 proceeding upon that principle which has wrought such wonders in 
 Manchester and Sheffield the division of labour was a most wise 
 and equitable one ; each having her own separate and distinct field 
 of action, interference was impossible : not but that when, as in the 
 present instance, cavalry was in the ascendant, Fanny would willingly 
 spare a dragoon or two to her sister, who likewise would repay the debt 
 when occasion offered. 
 
 The mamma for it is time I should say something of the head 
 of the family was an excessively fat, coarse-looking, dark-skinned 
 personage of some fifty years, with a voice like a boatswain in a 
 quinsy. Heaven can tell, perhaps, why the worthy Major allied his 
 fortunes with hers, for she was evidently of a very inferior rank in 
 society ; could never have been aught than downright ugly ; and I 
 never heard that she brought him any money. Spoiled five, the 
 national amusement of her age and sex in Cork, scandal, the changes 
 in the army list, the failures in speculation of her luckless husband, 
 the forlorn fortunes of the girls, her daughters, kept her in occupa- 
 tion, and her days were passed in one perpetual unceasing current of 
 dissatisfaction and ill-temper with all around, that formed a heavy 
 counterpoise to the fascinations of the young ladies. The repeated 
 jiltings to which they had been subject had blunted any delicacy upon 
 the score of their marriage, and, if the newly introduced cornet or 
 ensign was not coming forward as became him, at the end of the 
 requisite number of days, he was sure of receiving a very palpable 
 admonition from Mrs. Dalrymple. Hints, at first dimly shadowed 
 that Matilda was not in spirits this morning ; that Fanny, poor child, 
 had a headache directed especially at the culprit in question, grew 
 gradually into those little motherly fondnesses in mamma, that, like
 
 CORK 123 
 
 the fascinations of the rattlesnake, only lure on to ruin. The doomed 
 man was pressed to dinner when all others were permitted to take 
 their leave ; he was treated like one of the family, God help him ! 
 After dinner, the Major would keep him an hour over his wine, 
 discussing the misery of an ill-assorted marriage, detailing his own 
 happiness in marrying a woman like the Tonga Islander I have men- 
 tioned ; hinting that girls should be brought up not only to become 
 companions to their husbands, but with ideas fitting their station ; if 
 his auditor were a military man, that none but an old officer (like him) 
 could know how to educate girls (like his) ; and that, feeling that he 
 possessed two such treasures, his whole aim in life was to guard and 
 keep them a difficult task, when proposals of the most flattering kind 
 were coming constantly before him. Then followed a fresh bottle, 
 during which the Major would consult his young friend upon a very 
 delicate affair, no less than a proposition for the hand of Miss Matilda, 
 or Fanny, whichever he was supposed to be soft upon. This was 
 generally a coup de maitre ; should he still resist, he was handed over 
 to Mrs. Dalrymple, with a strong indictment against him, and rarely 
 did he escape a heavy sentence. Now, is it not strange, that two really 
 pretty girls, with fully enough of amiable and pleasing qualities to 
 have excited the attention and won the affections of many a man, 
 should have gone on for years for, alas ! they did so in every climate, 
 under every sun to waste their sweetness in this miserable career of 
 intrigue and mantrap, and yet nothing come of it. But so it was : the 
 first question a newly landed regiment was asked, if coming from 
 where they resided, was, " Well, how are the girls ? " " Oh, gloriously. 
 Matty is there." "Ah, indeed ! poor thing." "Has Fan sported a 
 new habit ? " " Is it the old grey with the hussar braiding ? confound 
 it, that was seedy when I saw them in Corfu. And Mother Dal as fat 
 and vulgar as ever ? Dawson of ours was the last, and was called up 
 for sentence when we were ordered away : of course he bolted," &c. 
 Such was the invariable style of question and answer concerning them ; 
 and, although some few, either from good feeling or fastidiousness, 
 relished but little the mode in which it had become habitual to treat 
 them, I grieve to say that, generally, they were pronounced fair game 
 for every species of flirtation and love-making without any ' ' inten- 
 tions " for the future. I should not have trespassed so far upon my 
 readers' patience, were I not, in recounting these traits of my friends 
 above, narrating matters of history. How many are there who may cast 
 their eyes upon these pages, that will say, " Poor Matilda, I knew her at 
 Gibraltar. Little Fanny was the life and soul of us all in Quebec." 
 
 "Mr. O'Malley," said the Adjutant, as I presented myself on the 
 afternoon of my arrival in Cork to a short punchy little red-faced 
 gentleman in a short jacket and ducks, " you are, I perceive, appointed 
 to the 14th ; you will have the goodness to appear on parade to-morrow 
 
 morning. The riding-school hours are . 
 
 The morning drill is ; evening drill is_ 
 
 Mr. Minchin, you are a 14th man, I believe ; no, I beg pardon, a 
 Carbineer, but no matter Mr. O'Malley, Mr. Minchin ; Captain 
 Dounie, Mr. O'Malley : you'll dine with us to-day, and to-morrow you 
 shall be entered at the mess."
 
 124 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Yours are at Santarem, I believe?" said an old weather-beaten 
 looking officer with one arm. 
 
 " I'm ashamed to say I know nothing whatever of them. I received 
 my gazette unexpectedly enough." 
 
 ""Ever in Cork before, Mr. O'Malley?" 
 
 " Never," said I. 
 
 " Glorious place ! " lisped a white eyelashed, knock-kneed ensign ; 
 " splendid gals, eh ? " 
 
 " Ah, Burton," said Minchin, " you may boast a little ; but we 
 poor devils !' 
 
 " Know the Dais?" said the hero of the lisp, addressing me. 
 
 " I haven't that honour," I replied, scarcely able to guess whether 
 what he alluded to were objects of the picturesque, or a private family. 
 
 " Introduce him then at once," said the Adjutant; " we'll all go in 
 the evening. What will the old squaw think ? " 
 
 " Not I," said Minchin ; " she wrote to the Duke of York about my 
 helping Matilda at supper, and not having any honourable intentions 
 afterwards." 
 
 { ' We dine at ' The George ' to-day, Mr. O'Malley, sharp seven ; 
 
 until then " So saying, the little man bustled back to his 
 
 accounts, and I took my leave with the rest to stroll about the town 
 till dinner-time. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE ADJUTANT'S DINNER 
 
 THE Adjutant's dinner was as professional an affair as need be. A 
 circuit or a learned society could not have been more exclusively 
 devoted to their own separate and immediate topics than were we. 
 Pipeclay in all its varieties came on the tapis the last regulation cap 
 the new button the promotions the general orders the colonel, 
 and the colonel's wife stoppages, and the mess-fund, were all well 
 and ably discussed ; and, strange enough, while the conversation took 
 this wide range, not a chance allusion, not one stray hint, ever 
 wandered to the brave fellows who were covering the army with glory 
 in the Peninsula, nor one souvenir of him that was even then enjoy- 
 ing a fame as a leader, second to none in Europe. This surprised me 
 not a little at the time ; but I have, since that, learned how little 
 interest the real services of an army possess for the ears of certain 
 officials, who, stationed at home-quarters, pass their inglorious lives 
 in the details of drill, parade, mess-room gossip, and barrack scandal ; 
 such, in fact, were the dons of the present dinner. We had a Com- 
 missary - General, an Inspecting Brigade - Major of something, a 
 Physician to the Forces, the Adjutant himself, and Major Dalrymple; 
 the oi polloi consisting of the raw ensign, a newly fledged cornet, Mr. 
 Sparks, and myself. 
 
 The Commissary told some very pointless stories about his own 
 department, the Doctor read a dissertation upon Walcheren fever, the 
 Adjutant got very stupidly tipsy, and Major Dalrymple succeeded in
 
 THE ADJUTANT'S DINNER 125 
 
 engaging the three juniors of the party to tea, having previously 
 pledged us to purchase nothing whatever of outfit without his advice, 
 he well knowing (which he did) how young fellows like us were 
 cheated, and resolving to he a father to us (which he certainly tried 
 to be). 
 
 As we rose from the table about ten o'clock, I felt how soon a few 
 such dinners would succeed in disenchanting me of all my military 
 illusions ; for, young as I was, I saw that the Commissary was a vulgar 
 bore, the Doctor a humbug, the Adjutant a sot, and the Major himself 
 I greatly suspected to be an old rogue. 
 
 "You are coming with us, Sparks?" said Major Dalrymple, as he 
 took me by one arm and the ensign by the other. " We are going to 
 have a little tea with the ladies not five minutes' walk." 
 
 " Most happy, sir," said Mr. Sparks, with a very flattered expression 
 of countenance. 
 
 " O'Malley, you know Sparks, and Burton too ? " This served for a 
 species of triple introduction, at which we all bowed, simpered, and 
 bowed again ; we were very happy to have the pleasure, &c. 
 
 " How pleasant to get away from these fellows !" said the Major; 
 " they are so uncommonly prosy. That Commissary with his mess- 
 beef, and old Pritchard with black doses and rigors nothing so in- 
 suft'erable ! Besides, in reality, a young officer never needs all that 
 nonsense : a little medicine-chest ; I'll get you one each to-morrow 
 for five pounds : no, five pounds ten ; the same thing that will see 
 you all through the Peninsula. Remind me of it in the morning." 
 This we all promised to do, and the Major resumed, " I say, Sparks, 
 you've got a real prize in that grey horse, such a trooper as he is. 
 O'Malley, you'll be wanting something of that kind, if we can't find 
 it out for you." 
 
 "Many thanks, Major, but my cattle are on the way here already ; 
 I've only three horses, but I think they are tolerably good ones." 
 
 The Major now turned to Burton, and said something in a low tone, 
 to which the other replied, " Why, if you say so, I'll get it ; but it's 
 devilish dear." 
 
 ' ' Dear, my young friend ! Cheap dog cheap. Only think, 
 O'Malley, a whole brass bed, camp-stool, basin-stand, all complete 
 for sixty pounds ! If it was not that a widow was disposing of it in 
 great distress, one hundred could not buy it. Here we are ; come 
 along ; no ceremony mind the two steps ; that's it. Mrs. Dalrymple, 
 Mr. O'Malley ; Mr. Sparks, Mr. Burton, my daughters. Is tea over, 
 girls ? " 
 
 " Why, papa, it's near eleven o'clock ! " said Fanny, as she rose to 
 ring the bell, displaying, in so doing, the least possible portion of a 
 very well turned ankle. 
 
 Miss Matilda Dalrymple laid down her book, but, seemingly lost 
 in abstraction, did not deign to look at us. Mrs. Dalrymple, how- 
 ever, did the honours with much politeness ; and having, by a few 
 adroit and well-put queries, ascertained everything concerning out- 
 rank and position, seemed perfectly satisfied that our intrusion was 
 justifiable. 
 
 While my confrere., Mr. Sparks, was undergoing his examination, I
 
 126 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 had time to look at the ladies, whom I was much surprised at finding 
 so very well looking ; and, as the ensign had opened a conversation 
 with Fanny, I approached my chair towards the other, and having 
 carelessly turned over the leaves of the book she had been reading, 
 drew her on to talk of it. As my acquaintance with young ladies 
 hitherto had been limited to those who had " no soul," I felt some 
 difficulty at first in keeping up with the exalted tone of my fair com- 
 panion, but, by letting her take the lead for some time, I got to know 
 more of the ground. We went on tolerably together, every moment 
 increasing my stock of technicals, which were all that was needed to 
 sustain the conversation. How often have I found the same plan 
 succeed whether discussing a question of law or medicine with a 
 learned professor of either, or, what is still more difficult, canvas- 
 sing the merits of a preacher, or a doctrine, with a serious yonug 
 lady, whose f ' blessed privileges " were at first a little puzzling to 
 comprehend. 
 
 I so contrived it, too, that Miss Matilda should seem as much to be 
 making a convert to her views as to have found a person capable of 
 sympathising with her, and thus long before the little supper, with 
 which it was the Major's practice to regale his friends every evening, 
 made its appearance, we had established a perfect understanding to- 
 gether, a circumstance that, a bystander might have remarked, was 
 productive of a more widely diffused satisfaction than I could have 
 myself seen any just cause for. Mr. Burton was also progressing, as 
 the Yankees say, with the sister. Sparks had booked himself as pur- 
 chaser of military stores enough to make the campaign of the whole 
 globe, and then we were all evidently fulfilling our various vocations, 
 and affording perfect satisfaction to our entertainers. 
 
 Then came the spatchcock, and the sandwiches, and the negus, 
 which Fanny first mixed for papa, and, subsequently, with some little 
 pressing, for Mr. Burton ; Matilda the romantic assisted me. Sparks 
 helped himself; then we laughed, and told stories ; pressed Sparks to 
 sing, which, as he declined, we only pressed the more. How invariably, 
 by-the-bye, is it the custom to show one's appreciation of anything like 
 a butt by pressing him for a song ! The Major was in great spirits, 
 told us anecdotes of his early life in India, and how he once contracted 
 to supply the troops with milk, and made a purchase in consequence of 
 some score of cattle, which turned out to be bullocks. Matilda recited 
 some lines from Pope in my ear, Fanny challenged Burton to a rowing- 
 match, Sparks listened to all around him, and Mrs. Dalrymple mixed 
 a very little weak punch, which Dr. Lucas had recommended to her 
 to take the last thing at night Nodes ccenteque deorum. Say what 
 you will, these were very jovial little reunions. The girls were decidedly 
 very pretty we were in high favour, and, when we took leave at the 
 door, with a very cordial shake-hands, it was with no urricre pcnsiie we 
 promised to see them in the morning.
 
 THE ENTANGLEMENT 127 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE ENTANGLEMENT 
 
 WHKN we think for a moment over all the toils, all the anxieties, all 
 the fevered excitement of a grande passion, it is not a little singular 
 that love should so frequently be elicited by a state of mere idleness ; 
 and yet nothing-, after all, is so predisposing a cause as this. Where 
 is the man between eighteen and eight-aiid-thirty might I not say 
 forty ? who, without any very pressing duns, and having no taste for 
 strong liquor and rouge et noir, can possibly lounge through the long 
 hours of his day, without, at least, fancying himself in love? The 
 thousand little occupations it suggests become a necessity of existence ; 
 its very worries are like the wholesome opposition that purifies and 
 strengthens the frame of a free state. Then, what is there half so 
 sweet as the reflective flattery which results from our appreciation of 
 an object who, in return, deems us the ne plus ultra of perfection? 
 There it is, in fact : that confounded bump of self-esteem does it all, 
 and has more imprudent matches to answer for than all the occipital 
 protuberances that ever scared poor Harriet Martineau. 
 
 Now, to apply my moralising. I very soon, to use the mess phrase, 
 got devilish spooney about the " Dais." The morning drill, the riding- 
 school, and the parade were all most fervently consigned to a certain 
 military character that shall be nameless, as detaining me from some 
 appointment made the evening before ; for, as I supped there each 
 night, a party of one kind or another was always planned for the day 
 following. Sometimes we had a boating excursion to Cove ; some- 
 times a picnic at Foaty ; now a rowing party to Glanmire, or a ride, 
 at which I furnished the cavalry. These doings were all under my 
 especial direction, and I thus became speedily the organ of the Dalrymple 
 family ; and the simple phrase, ' ' It was Mr. O'Malley's arrangement," 
 " Mr. O'Malley wished it," was like the moi le roi of Louis XIV. 
 
 Though all this while we continued to carry on most pleasantly, 
 Mrs. Dalrymple, I could perceive, did not entirely sympathise with 
 our projects of amusement. As an experienced engineer might feel 
 when watching the course of some storming projectile some brilliant 
 congreve flying over a besieged fortress, yet never touching the walls, 
 nor harming the inhabitants, so she looked on at all these demonstra- 
 tions of attack with no small impatience, and wondered when would 
 the breach be reported practicable. Another puzzle also contributed 
 its share of anxiety which of the girls was itr To be sure, he spent 
 three hours every morning with Fanny ; but, then, he never left 
 Matilda the whole evening. He had given his miniature to one ; a 
 locket with his hair was a present to the sister. The Major thinks 
 he saw his arm round Matilda's waist in the garden ; the housemaid 
 swears she saw him kiss Fanny in the pantry. Matilda smiles when 
 we talk of his name with her sister's ; Fanny laughs outright, and 
 says, " Poor Matilda, the man never dreamed of her ! " This is be- 
 coming uncomfortable ; the Major must ask his intentions : it is, cer-
 
 128 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tainly, one or the other ; but then, we have a right to know which. 
 Such was a very condensed view of Mrs. Dalrymple's reflections on 
 this important topic a view taken with her usual tact and clear- 
 sightedness. 
 
 Matters were in this state when Power at length arrived in Cork to 
 take command of our detachment, and make the final preparations for 
 our departure. I had been, as usual, spending the evening at the 
 Major's, and had just reached my quarters, when I found my friend 
 sitting at my fire, smoking his cigar, and solacing himself with a little 
 brandy-and- water. 
 
 "At last," said he, as I entered, "at last ! Why, where the deuce 
 have you been till this hour past two o'clock ? There is no ball no 
 assembly going on, eh ? " 
 
 " No," said I, half blushing at the eagerness of the inquiry ; " I've 
 been spending the evening with a friend." 
 
 " Spending the evening ! say rather the night. Why, confound you, 
 man, what is there in Cork to keep you out of bed till near three ? " 
 
 " Well, if you must know, I've been supping at a Major Dalrymple's 
 a devilish good fellow with two such daughters ! " 
 
 ' ' Ahem ! " said Power, shutting one eye knowingly, and giving a 
 look like a Yorkshire horse-dealer ; " go on." 
 
 e ' Why, what do you mean ? " 
 
 " Go on continue." 
 
 " I've finished I've nothing more to tell." 
 
 " So they're here, are they?" said he reflectingly. 
 
 "Who? "said I. 
 
 " Matilda and Fanny, to be sure." 
 
 " Why, you know them, then ? " 
 
 "I should think I do." ' 
 
 " Where have you met them ? " 
 
 " Where have I not ? When I was in the Rifles, they were quartered 
 at Zante. Matilda was just then coming it rather strong with Villiers 
 of ours, a regular greenhorn. Fanny, also, nearly did for Harry 
 Nesbitt, by riding a hurdle-race. Then they left for Gibraltar in the 
 year what year was it ? " 
 
 " Come, come," said I, " this is a humbug : the girls are quite young ; 
 you have just heard their names." 
 
 " Well, perhaps so ; only tell me which is your peculiar weakness, 
 as they say in the West, and maybe I'll convince you. " 
 
 " Oh ! as to that," said I, laughing, " I'm not very far gone on either 
 side." 
 
 e< Then Matilda, probably, has not tried you with Cowley, eh ? You 
 look a 1 little pink ' There are hearts that live and love alone.' Oh, 
 poor fellow, you've got it ! By Jove, how you've been coming it, 
 though, in ten days ! She ought not to have got to that for a month, 
 at least ; and how like a young one it was to be caught by the poetry. 
 Oh ! Master Charley, I thought that the steeplechaser might have done 
 most with your Galway heart : the girl in the grey habit that sings 
 Muddi-dero ought to have been the prize. Halt ! by St. George, but 
 that tickles you also ! Why, zounds f if I go on, probably, at this rate, 
 I'll find a tender spot occupied by the ' black lady' herself."
 
 THE ENTANGLEMENT 129 
 
 It was no use concealing, or attempting to conceal, anything from 
 my inquisitive friend ; so I mixed my grog, and opened my whole 
 heart ; told how I had been conducting myself for the entire preceding 
 fortnight, and, when I concluded, sat silently awaiting Power's verdict, 
 as though a jury were about to pronounce upon my life. 
 
 1 ' Have you ever written ? " 
 
 " Never, except, perhaps, a few lines with tickets for the theatre, or 
 something of that kind." 
 
 "Have you copies of your correspondence?" 
 
 (e Of course not. Why, what do you mean ? " 
 
 " Has Mrs. Dal. been ever present, or, as the French say, has she 
 assisted, at any of your tender interviews with the young ladies ? " 
 
 " I'm not aware that one kisses a girl before mamma." 
 
 " I'm not speaking of that ; I merely allude to flirtation." 
 
 e< Oh ! I suppose she has seen me attentive." 
 
 " Very awkward, indeed ! There is only one point in your favour ; 
 for, as your attentions were not decided, and as the law does not, as 
 yet, permit polygamy " 
 
 " Come, come, you know I never thought of marrying." 
 
 "Ah! but they did." 
 
 "Not a bit of it." 
 
 " Ay, but they did. What do you wager but that the Major asks 
 your intentions, as he calls it, the moment he hears the transport has 
 arrived ? " 
 
 " By Jove ! now you remind me, he asked this evening when he 
 could have a few minutes' private conversation with me to-morrow, and 
 I thought it was about some confounded military chest, or sea-store, or 
 one of his infernal contrivances that he every day assures me are indis- 
 pensable ; though, if every officer had only as much baggage as I have 
 got, under his directions, it would take two armies, at least, to carry 
 the effects of the fighting one." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " said he, starting upon his legs, " what a burst you've 
 made of it ! " So saying, he began in a nasal twang 
 
 " I publish the banns of marriage between Charles O'Malley, of his 
 
 late Majesty's 14th Dragoons, and Dalrymple, spinster, of this 
 
 city " 
 
 " I'll be hanged if you do, though," said I, seeing pretty clearly by 
 this time something of the estimation my friends were held in. " Come, 
 Power, pull me through, like a dear fellow pull me through without 
 doing anything to hurt the girls' feelings." 
 
 " Well, we'll see about it," said he ; " we'll see about it in the 
 morning ; but, at the same time, let me assure you, the affair is not so 
 easy as you may, at first blush, suppose. These worthy people have 
 been so often ' done,' to use the cant phrase, before, that scarcely a 
 ruse remains untried. It is of no use pleading that your family won't 
 consent that your prospects are null that you are ordered for India 
 that you are engaged elsewhere that you have nothing but your pay 
 that you are too young, or too old : all such reasons, good and valid 
 with any other family, will avail you little here. Neither will it serve 
 your cause that you may be warranted by a doctor as subject to 
 periodical fits of insanity ; monomaniacal tendencies to cut somebody's
 
 130 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 throat, &c. Bless your heart, man, they have a soul above such little- 
 ness. They care nothing for consent of friends, means, age. health, 
 climate, prospects, or temper. Firmly believing matrimony to be a 
 lottery, they are not superstitious about the number they pitch upon ; 
 provided only that they get a ticket, they are content." 
 
 " Then it strikes me, if what you say is correct, that I have no earthly 
 chance of escape, except some kind friend will undertake to shoot me. ' 
 
 " That has been also tried." 
 
 " Why, how do you mean ? " 
 
 " A mock duel got up at mess ; we had one at Malta. Poor Vickers 
 was the hero of that affair. It was right well planned, too. One of 
 the letters was suffered by mere accident to fall into Mrs. Dal.'s hands, 
 and she was quite prepared for the event when he was reported shot 
 the next morning. Then, the young lady, of course, whether she cared 
 or not, was obliged to be perfectly unconcerned, lest the story of 
 engaged affections might get wind, and spoil another market. The 
 thing went on admirably, till one day, some few months later, they 
 saw, in a confounded army list, that the late George Vickers was pro- 
 moted to the 18th Dragoons, so that the trick was discovered, and is, 
 of course, stale at present" 
 
 "Then could I not have a wife already, and a large family of inter- 
 esting babes ? " 
 
 ' ' Xo go only swell the damages when they come to prosecute ; 
 besides, your age and looks forbid the assumption of such a fact. No, 
 no, we must go deeper to work." 
 
 " But where shall we go ? " said I impatiently ; ' ' for it appears to 
 me these good people have been treated to every trick and subterfuge 
 that ever ingenuity suggested." 
 
 " Come, I think I have it ; but it will need a little more reflection. 
 So, now, let us to bed. I'll give you the result of my lucubrations at 
 breakfast ; and, if I mistake not, we may get you through this without 
 any ill consequences. Good night, then, old boy ; and now dream 
 away of your lady-love till our next meeting." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE PREPARATION 
 
 To prevent needless repetitions in my story, I shall not record here the 
 conversation which passed between my friend Power and myself, on 
 the morning following, at breakfast : suffice it to say, that the plan 
 proposed by him for my rescue was one I agreed to adopt, reserving to 
 myself, in case of failure, a pis alter, of which I knew not the meaning, 
 but of whose efficacy Power assured me I need not doubt. 
 
 " If all fail," said he ; " if every bridge break down beneath you, 
 and no road of escape be left, why, then, I believe you must have 
 recourse to another alternative. Still, I should wish to avoid it, if 
 possible, and I put it to you, in honour, not to employ it unless as a 
 last expedient : you promise me this ? "
 
 THE PREPARATION 131 
 
 " Of course," said I, with great anxiety for the dread final measure. 
 "What is it?" 
 
 He paused, smiled dubiously, and resumed : ' ' And, after all ; but, to 
 be sure, there will not be need for it : the other plan will do must 
 do. Come, come, O'Malley, the Admiralty say, that nothing encour- 
 ages drowning in the navy like a life-buoy : the men have such a pros- 
 pect of being picked up, that they don't mind falling overboard : so if 
 I give you this life-preserver of mine, you'll not swim an inch ; is it 
 not so ? eh ? " 
 
 ' ' Far from it," said I ; c ' I shall feel in honour bound to exert myself 
 the more, because I now see how much it costs you to part with it. 5 ' 
 
 ' ' Well, then, hear it : when everything fails, when all your resources 
 are exhausted ; when you have totally lost your memory, in fact, and 
 your ingenuity in excuses, say but mind, Charley, not till then 
 say, that you must consult your friend, Captain Power, of the 14th, 
 that's all." 
 
 " And is this it ? " said I, quite disappointed at the lame and impotent 
 conclusion to all the high-sounding exordium ; ' ' is this all ? " 
 
 "Yes," said he, "that is all; but stop, Charley, is not the Major 
 crossing the street there ? yes, to be sure it is, and, by Jove ! he has 
 got on the old braided frock this morning ; had you not told me one 
 word of your critical position, I should have guessed there was some- 
 thing in the wind from that : that same vestment has caused many a 
 stout heart to tremble that never quailed before a shot or shell." 
 
 " How can that be? I should like to hear." 
 
 "Why, my dear boy, that's his explanation coat, as we called it 
 at Gibraltar ; he was never known to wear it except when asking some 
 poor fellow's ' intentions.' He would no more think of sporting it as 
 an everyday affair, than the Chief Justice would go .cock-shooting in 
 his black cap and ermine. Come, he is bound for your quarters, and, 
 as it will not answer our plans to let him see you now, you had better 
 hasten downstairs, and get round by the back way into George's Street, 
 and you'll be at his house before he can return." 
 
 Following Power's directions, I seized my foraging-cap, and got clear 
 out of the premises before the Major had reached them. It was 
 exactly noon as I sounded my loud and well-known summons at the 
 Major's knocker : the door was quickly opened, but instead of dashing 
 upstairs, four steps at a time, as was my wont, to the drawing-room, 1 
 turned short into the dingy-looking little parlour on the right, and 
 desired Matthew, the venerable servitor of the house, to say that I 
 wished particularly to see Mrs. Dalrymple for a few minutes, if the 
 hour were not inconvenient 
 
 There was something perhaps of excitement in my manner some 
 flurry in my look, or some trepidation in my voice or, perhaps, it was 
 the unusual hour or the still more remarkable circumstance of my 
 not going at once to the drawing-room, that raised some doubts in 
 Matthew's mind as to the object of my visit, and, instead of at once 
 complying with my request to inform Mrs. Dalrymple that I was there, 
 he cautiously closed the door, and, taking a quick but satisfactory 
 glance round the apartment, to assure himself that we were alone, he 
 placed his back against it, and heaved a deep sigh.
 
 1.32 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 We were both perfectly silent ; I in total amazement at what the 
 old man could possibly mean : he, following up the train of his own 
 thoughts, comprehended little or nothing of my surprise, and evidently 
 was so engrossed by his reflections, that he had neither ears nor eyes 
 for aught around him. There was a most singular semi-comic expres- 
 sion in the old withered face, that nearly made me laugh at first ; but, 
 as I continued to look steadily at it, I perceived that, despite the long- 
 worn wrinkles that low Irish drollery and fun had furrowed around 
 the angles of his mouth, the real character of his look was one of 
 sorrowful compassion. 
 
 Doubtless my readers have read many interesting narratives, wherein 
 the unconscious traveller in some remote land has been warned of a 
 plan to murder him, by some mere passing wink, a look, a sign, which 
 some one, less steeped in crime, less hardened in iniquity than his 
 fellows, has ventured for his rescue. Sometimes, according to the taste 
 of the narrator, the interesting individual is an old woman, sometimes 
 a young one, sometimes a black-bearded bandit, sometimes a child, and, 
 not unfrequently, a dog is humane enough to do this service. One 
 thing, however, never varies ; be the agent biped or quadruped, dumb 
 or speechful, young or old, the stranger invariably takes the hint, and 
 gets off scot free for his sharpness. This never-varying trick on the 
 doomed man I had often been sceptical enough to suspect ; however, I 
 had not been many minutes a spectator of the old man's countenance 
 when I most thoroughly recanted my errors, and acknowledged myself 
 wrong. If ever the look of a man conveyed a warning, his did, but 
 there was more in it than even that ; there was a tone of sad and 
 pitiful compassion, such as an old grey-bearded rat might be supposed 
 to put on at seeing a young and inexperienced one opening the hinge 
 of an iron trap, to try its efficacy upon his neck. Many a little occa- 
 sion had presented itself, during my intimacy with the family, of doing 
 Matthew some small services, of making him some trifling presents ; 
 so that, when he assumed before me the gesture and look I have 
 mentioned, I was not long in deciphering his intentions. 
 
 " Matthew," screamed a sharp voice, which I recognised at once for 
 that of Mrs. Dalrymple. " Matthew ! where is the old fool ? " 
 
 But Matthew heard not, or heeded not. 
 
 " Matthew, Matthew, I say ! " 
 
 " I'm comiu', ma'am," said he, with a sigh, as, opening the parlour- 
 door, he turned upon me one look of such import, that only the cir- 
 cumstances of my story can explain its force, or my reader's own 
 ingenious imagination can supply. 
 
 " Never fear, my good old friend," said I, grasping his hand warmly, 
 and leaving a guinea in the palm : " never fear !" 
 
 " God grant it, sir," said he, settling on his wig in preparation for 
 his appearance in the drawing-room. 
 
 "Matthew ! the old wretch !" 
 
 "Mr. O'Malley," said the often-called Matthew, as, opening the 
 door, he announced me unexpectedly among the ladies there assembled, 
 who, not hearing of my approach, were evidently not a little surprised 
 and astonished. 
 
 Had I really been the enamoured swain that the Dalrymple family
 
 THE PREPARATION 133 
 
 were willing to believe, I half suspect that the prospect before me 
 might have cured me of my passion. A round bullet head, papillotee 
 with the Cork Observer, where still-born babes and maids-of-all-work 
 were descanted upon in very legible type, was now the substitute for 
 the classic front and Italian ringlets of la belle Matilda, while the 
 chaste Fanny herself, whose feet had been a fortune for a statuary, 
 was in the most slatternly and slipshod attire, pacing the room in a 
 towering rage, at some thing, place, or person, unknown (to me). If 
 the ballet-master at the Academic could only learn to get his imps, 
 demons, angels, and goblins <e off " half as rapidly as the two young 
 ladies retreated on my being announced, I answer for the piece so 
 brought out having a run for half the season. Before my eyes had 
 regained their position parallel to the plane of the horizon, they were 
 gone, and I found myself alone with Mrs. Dalrymple. Now, she stood 
 her ground, partly to cover the retreat of the main body, partly, 
 too, because representing the baggage-waggons, ammunition stores, 
 hospital-staff, &c. her retirement from the field demanded more time 
 and circumspection than the light brigade. 
 
 Let not my readers suppose that the mere Dalrymple was so perfectly 
 faultless in costume that her remaining was a matter of actual in- 
 difference : far from it. She evidently had a struggle for it ; but a 
 sense of duty decided her, and, as Ney doggedly held back to cover 
 the retreating forces on the march from Moscow, so did she resolutely 
 lurk behind till the last flutter of the last petticoat assured her that 
 the fugitives were safe. Then did she hesitate for a moment what 
 course to take ; but, as I assumed my chair beside her, she composedly 
 sat down, and, crossing her hands before her, waited for an explanation 
 of this ill-timed visit. 
 
 Had the Horse Guards, in the plenitude of their power and the per- 
 fection of their taste, ordained that the 79th and 42nd regiments should 
 in future, in lieu of their respective tartans, wear flannel kilts, and black 
 worsted hose, I could readily have fallen into the error of mistaking 
 Mrs. Dalrymple for a Highlander in the new regulation dress ; the 
 philibeg finding no mean representation in a capacious pincushion that 
 hung down from her girdle, while a pair of shears, not scissors, corre- 
 sponded to the dirk. After several ineffectual efforts upon her part to 
 make her vestment (I know not its fitting designation) cover more of 
 her legs than its length could possibly effect, and after some most bland 
 smiles and half blushes at dishabille, &c., were over, and that I had 
 apologised most humbly for the unusually early hour of my call, I pro- 
 ceeded to open my negotiations, and unfurl my banner for the fray. 
 
 "The old Racehorse has arrived at last," said I, with a half sigh, 
 ' ' and I believe that we shall not obtain a very long time for our leave- 
 taking ; so that, trespassing upon your very great kindness, I have 
 ventured upon an early call." 
 
 " The Racehorse, surely, can't sail to-morrow !" said Mrs. Dalrymple, 
 whose experience of such matters made her a very competent judge ; 
 " her stores " 
 
 " Are taken in already," said I, " and an order from the Horse 
 Guards commands us to embark in twenty-four hours ; so that, in fact, 
 we scarcely have time to look about us."
 
 134 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Have you seeii the Major ? " inquired Mrs. Dalrymple eagerly. 
 
 " Not to-day/' I replied carelessly ; " but, of course, during the 
 morning we are sure to meet. I have many thanks yet to give him 
 for all his most kind attentions. " 
 
 ' ' I know he is most anxious to see you," said Mrs. Dalrymple, with 
 a very peculiar emphasis, and evidently desiring that I should inquire 
 the reasons of this anxiety. I, however, most heroically forebore 
 indulging my curiosity, and added that I should endeavour to find him 
 on my way to the barracks ; and then, hastily looking at my watch, I 
 pronounced it a full hour later than it really was, and, promising to 
 spend the evening my last evening with them, I took my leave, and 
 hurried away, in no small flurry to be once more out of reach of Mrs. 
 Dalrymple' s fire, which I every moment expected to open upon me. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE SUPPER 
 
 POWER and I dined together tete-a-tete at the hotel, and sat chatting 
 over my adventures with the Dalrymples till nearly nine o'clock. 
 
 " Come, Charley," said he at length, " I see your eye wandering 
 very often towards the timepiece another bumper, and I'll let you 
 off. What shall it be?" 
 
 " What you like," said I, upon whom three bottles of strong claret 
 had already made a very satisfactory impression. 
 
 1 ' Then champagne for the coup de grace. Nothing like your vin 
 mousseux for a critical moment : every bubble that rises sparkling to 
 the surface prompts some bright thought, or elicits some brilliant 
 idea that would only have been drowned in your more sober fluids. 
 Here's to the girl you love, whoever she be." 
 
 "To her bright eyes, then, be it," said I, clearing off a brimming 
 goblet of nearly half the bottle, while my friend Power seemed multi- 
 plied into any given number of gentlemen standing amid something 
 like a glass manufactory of decanters. 
 
 11 1 hope you feel steady enough for this business," said my friend, 
 examining me closely with the candle. 
 
 " I'm an archdeacon," muttered I, with one eye involuntarily closing. 
 
 ' ' You'll not let them double on you ? " 
 
 1 ' Trust me, old boy," said I, endeavouring to look knowing. 
 
 " I think you'll do," said he ; " so now march. I'll wait for you 
 here, and we'll go on board together ; for old Bloater, the skipper, 
 says he'll certainly weigh by daybreak." 
 
 " Till then," said I, as, opening the door, I proceeded very cautiously 
 to descend the stairs, affecting all the time considerable nonchalance, 
 and endeavouring, as well as my thickened utterance would permit, to 
 hum, " Oh ! love is the soul of an Irish dragoon." 
 
 If I was not in the most perfect possession of my faculties in the 
 house, the change to the open air certainly but little contributed to their 
 restoration, and I scarcely felt myself in the street when my brain
 
 THE SUPPER 135 
 
 became absolutely one whirl of maddened and confused excitement. 
 Time and space are nothing to a man thus enlightened, and so they 
 appeared to me ; scarcely a second had elapsed when I found myself 
 standing in the Dalrymples' drawing-room. 
 
 If a few hours had done much to metamorphose me, certes, they had 
 done something for my fair friends also : anything more unlike what 
 they appeared in the morning can scarcely be imagined : Matilda in 
 black, with her hair in heavy madonna bands upon her fair cheek, 
 now paler even than usual, never seemed so handsome ; while Fanny, 
 in a light blue dress, with blue flowers in her hair, and a blue sash, 
 looked the most lovely piece of coquetry ever man set his eyes upon. 
 The old Major too was smartened up, and put into an old regimental 
 coat that he had worn during the siege of Gibraltar, and lastly, Mrs. 
 Dalrymple herself was attired in a very imposing costume, that made 
 her, to my not over-accurate judgment, look very like an elderly bishop 
 in a flame-coloured cassock. Sparks was the only stranger, and wore 
 upon his countenance, as I entered, a look of very considerable em- 
 barrassment, that even my thick-sightedness could not fail of detecting. 
 
 Parlez moi de Famitie, my friends. Talk to me of the warm embrace 
 of your earliest friend, after years of absence ; the cordial and heart- 
 felt shake-hands of your old school companion when, in after years, a 
 chance meeting has brought you together, and you have had time and 
 opportunity for becoming distinguished and in repute, and are rather 
 a good hit to be known to, than otherwise ; of the close grip you give 
 your second when he comes up to say, that the gentleman with the 
 loaded detonator opposite won't fire that he feels he's in the wrong. 
 Any or all of these together, very effective and powerful though they 
 be, are light in the balance, when compared with the two-handed com- 
 pression you receive from the gentleman that expects you to marry 
 one of his daughters. 
 
 "My dear O'Malley, how goes it? Thought you'd never come," 
 said he, still holding me fast, and looking me full in the face, to calcu- 
 late the extent to which my potations rendered his flattery feasible. 
 
 " Hurried to death with preparations, I suppose," said Mrs. Dal- 
 rymple, smiling blandly. " Fanny, dear, some tea for him." 
 
 " Oh, mamma, he does not like all that sugar ; surely not," said she, 
 looking up with a most sweet expression, as though to say, " I at least 
 know his tastes." 
 
 c< I believed you were going without seeing us," whispered Matilda, 
 with a very glassy look about the corner of her eyes. 
 
 Eloquence was not just then my forte, so that 1 contented myself 
 with a very intelligible look at Fanny, and a tender squeeze of Matilda's 
 hand, as I seated myself at the table. 
 
 Scarcely had I placed myself at the tea-table with Matilda beside, 
 and Fanny opposite me, each vying with the other in their delicate 
 and kind attentions, when I totally forgot all my poor friend Power's 
 inj unctions and directions for my management. It is true, I remembered 
 that there was a scrape of some kind or other to be got out of, and 
 one requiring some dexterity too, but what, or with whom, I could 
 not for the life of me determine. What the wine had begun, the 
 bright eyes completed, and, amid the witchcraft of silky tresses and
 
 136 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 sweet looks, I lost all my reflection, till the impression of an impend- 
 ing difficulty remained fixed in my mind, and I tortured my poor weak 
 and erring intellect to detect it. At last, and by a mere chance, my 
 eyes fell upon Sparks, and, by what mechanism I contrived it I know 
 not, but I immediately saddled him with the whole of my annoyances, 
 and attributed to him and to his fault any embarrassment I laboured 
 under. 
 
 The physiological reason of the fact I'm very ignorant of, but for 
 the truth and frequency I can well vouch that there are certain people, 
 certain faces, certain voices, certain whiskers, legs, waistcoats, and 
 guard chains, that inevitably produce the most striking effects upon 
 the brain of a gentleman already excited by wine, and not exactly 
 cognisant of his own peculiar fallacies. 
 
 These effects are not produced merely among those who are quarrel- 
 some in their cups, for I call the whole 14th to witness that I am not 
 such ; but, to any person so disguised, the inoffensiveness of the object 
 is no security ; on the other hand, for I once knew an eight-day clock 
 kicked down a barrack stairs by an old Scotch major, because he 
 thought it was laughing at him. To this source alone, whatever it be, 
 can I attribute the feeling of rising indignation with which I contem- 
 plated the luckless cornet, who, seated at the fire, unnoticed and 
 uncared for, seemed a very unworthy object to vent anger or ill- 
 temper upon. 
 
 f< Mr. Sparks, I fear," said I, endeavouring at the time to call up a 
 look of very sovereign contempt, " Mr. Sparks, I fear, regards my visit 
 here in the light of an intrusion." 
 
 Had poor Mr. Sparks been told to proceed incontinently up the 
 chimney before him, he could not have looked more aghast. Reply 
 was quite out of his power; so sudden and unexpectedly was this 
 charge of mine made, that he could only stare vacantly from one to 
 the other, while I, warming with my subject, and perhaps but I'll 
 not swear it stimulated by a gentle pressure from a soft hand near 
 me, continued : " If he thinks, for one moment, that my attentions in 
 this family are in any way to be questioned by him, I can only say " 
 
 " My dear O'Malley, my dear boy," said the Major, with the look of 
 a father-in-law in his eye. 
 
 " The spirit of an officer and a gentleman spoke there," said Mrs. 
 Dalrymple, now carried beyond all prudence by the hope that my 
 attack might arouse my dormant friend into a counter declaration ; 
 nothing, however, was farther from poor Sparks, who began to think 
 he had been unconsciously drinking tea with five lunatics. 
 
 "If he supposes," said I, rising from my chair, "that his silence 
 will pass with me as any palliation " 
 
 " Oh dear, oh dear ! there will be a duel ; papa dear, why don't you 
 speak to Mr. O'Malley ! " 
 
 " There now, O'Malley, sit down ; don't you see you are quite in 
 error ? " 
 
 " Then let him say so," said I fiercely. 
 
 "Ah, yes, to be sure," said Fanny, "do, say it, say anything he 
 likes, Mr. Sparks." 
 
 " I must say," said Mrs. Dalrymple, ' ' however sorry I may feel in
 
 THE SUPPER 137 
 
 my own house to condemn any one, that Mr. Sparks is very much in 
 the wrong." 
 
 Poor Sparks looked like a man in a dream. 
 
 "If he will tell Charles Mr. O'Malley I mean/' said Matilda, 
 blushing scarlet, " that he meant nothing hy what he said." 
 
 " But I never spoke never opened my lips," cried out the wretched 
 man, at length, sufficiently recovered to defend himself. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Sparks!" 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Sparks!" 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Sparks !" chorused the three ladies. 
 
 While the old Major brought up the rear with an, " Oh, Sparks, I 
 must say " 
 
 " Then, by all the saints in the calendar, I must be mad," said he ; 
 " but if I have said anything to offend you, O'Malley, I am sincerely 
 sorry for it " 
 
 "That will do, sir," said I, with a look of royal condescension at 
 the amende I considered as somewhat late in coming, and resumed my 
 seat 
 
 This little intermezzo, it might be supposed, was rather calculated 
 to interrupt the harmony of our evening : not so, however. I had 
 apparently acquitted myself like a hero, and was evidently in a white 
 heat, in which I could be fashioned into any shape. Sparks was 
 humbled so far, that he would probably feel it a relief to make any 
 proposition ; so that, by our opposite courses, we had both arrived at a 
 point at which all the dexterity and address of the family had been long 
 since aiming without success. Conversation then resumed its flow, and, 
 in a few minutes, every trace of our \atefracas had disappeared. 
 
 By degrees, I felt myself more and more disposed to turn my atten- 
 tion towards Matilda, and, dropping my voice into a lower tone, 
 opened a flirtation of a most determined kind. Fanny had, meanwhile, 
 assumed a place beside Sparks, and, by the muttered tones that passed 
 between them, I could plainly perceive they were similarly occupied. 
 The Major took up the Southern Reporter, of which he appeared deep 
 in the contemplation, while Mrs. Dalrymple buried her head in her 
 embroidery, and neither heard nor saw anything around her. 
 
 I know, unfortunately, but very little what passed between myself 
 and my fair companion ; I can only say that, when supper was an- 
 nounced at twelve (an hour later than usual), I was sitting upon the 
 sofa, with my arm round her waist, my cheek so close, that already her 
 lovely tresses brushed my forehead, and her breath fanned my burning 
 brow. 
 
 " Supper, at last," said the Major, with a loud voice, to arouse us 
 from our trance of happiness, without taking any mean opportunity 
 of looking unobserved. " Supper, Sparks ; O'Malley, come now. It 
 will be some time before we all meet this way again." 
 
 " Perhaps not so long, after all," said I knowingly. 
 
 ' ' Very likely not," echoed Sparks, in the same key. 
 
 " I've proposed for Fanny," said he, whispering in my ear. 
 
 "Matildas mine," replied I, with the lock of an emperor. 
 
 " A word with you, Major," said Sparks, his eye flashing with enthu- 
 siasm, and his cheek scarlet ; " one word. I'll not detain you."
 
 138 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 They withdrew into a corner for a few seconds, during which Mrs. 
 Dalrymple amused herself by wondering what the secret could be, 
 why Mr. Sparks couldn't tell her ; and Fanny, meanwhile, pretended 
 to look for something at a side-table, and never turned her head round. 
 
 " Then give me your hand," said the Major, as he shook Sparks with 
 a warmth of whose sincerity there could be no question. ' ' Bess, my 
 love," said he, addressing his wife : the remainder was lost in a whisper ; 
 but, whatever it was, it evidently redounded to Sparks' credit, for, the 
 next moment, a repetition of the hand-shaking took place, and Sparks 
 looked the happiest of men. 
 
 " A mon tour," thought I, c ' now," as I touched the Major's arm, and 
 led him towards the window. What I said may be one day matter of 
 Major Dalrymple's memoirs, if he ever writes them ; but, for my part, 
 I have not the least idea. I only know that, while I was yet speaking, 
 he called over Mrs. Dal., who, in a frenzy of joy, seized me in her arms 
 and embraced me ; after which I kissed her, shook hands with the 
 Major, kissed Matilda's hand, and laughed prodigiously, as though I 
 had done something confoundedly droll, a sentiment evidently partici- 
 pated in by Sparks, who laughed too, as did the others, and a merrier, 
 happier party never sat down to supper. 
 
 e ' Make your company pleased with themselves," says Mr. Walker, in 
 his Original work upon dinner-giving, " and everything goes on well.'' 
 Now, Major Dalrymple, without having read the authority in question, 
 probably because it was not written at the time, understood the prin- 
 ciple fully as well as the police-magistrate, and certainly was a proficient 
 in the practice of it. 
 
 To be sure, he possessed one grand requisite for success, he seemed 
 most perfectly happy himself. There was that air dtyage about him 
 which, when an old man puts it on among his juniors, is so very 
 attractive. Then the ladies, too, were evidently well pleased ; and the 
 usually austere mamma had relaxed her ' c rigid front " into a smile, in 
 which any habitue of the house could have read our fate. 
 
 We ate, we drank, we ogled, smiled, squeezed hands beneath the 
 table, and, in fact, so pleasant a party had rarely assembled round the 
 Major's mahogany. As for me, I made a full disclosure of the most 
 burning love, backed by a resolve to marry my fair neighbour, and 
 settle upon her a considerably larger part of my native country than I 
 had ever even rode over. Sparks, on the other side, had opened his 
 fire more cautiously ; but, whether taking courage from my boldness, 
 or perceiving with envy the greater estimation I was held in, was now 
 going the pace as fast as myself, and had commenced explanations of 
 his intentions with regard to Fanny that evidently satisfied her friends. 
 
 Meanwhile, the wine was passing very freely, and the hints half 
 uttered an hour before began now to be more openly spoken and 
 canvassed. 
 
 Sparks and I hobnobbed across the table, and looked unspeakable 
 things at each other ; the girls held down their heads ; Mrs. Dal. 
 wiped her eyes; and the Major pronounced himself the happiest father 
 in Europe. 
 
 It was now wearing late, or rather early ; some grey streaks of 
 dubious light were faintly forcing their way through the half-closed
 
 THE SUPPER 139 
 
 curtains, and the dread thought of parting first presented itself. A 
 cavalry trumpet, too, at this moment sounded a call that aroused us 
 from our trance of pleasure, and warned us that our minutes were few. 
 A dead silence crept over all ; the solemn feeling which leave-taking 
 ever inspires was uppermost, and none spoke. The Major was the 
 first to oreak it. " O'Malley, my friend ; and you, Mr. Sparks ; I 
 must have a word with you, boys, before we part." 
 
 " Here let it be, then, Major," said I, holding his arm, as he turned 
 to leave the room : <( here, now ; we are all so deeply interested, no 
 place is so fit." 
 
 "Well, then," said the Major, "as you desire it, now that I'm to 
 regard you both in the light of my sons-in-law at least as pledged to 
 become so it is only fair as respects " 
 
 "I see I understand perfectly," interrupted I, whose passion for 
 conducting the whole affair myself was gradually gaining on me ; 
 " what you mean is, that we should make known our intentions before 
 some mutual friends ere we part; eh, Sparks? eh, Major?" 
 
 " Right, my boy, right on every point." 
 
 "Well, then, I thought of all that; and, if you just send your 
 servant over to my quarters for our Captain ; he's the fittest person, 
 you know, at such a time." 
 
 " How considerate ! " said Mrs. Dalrymple. 
 
 " How perfectly just his idea is !" said the Major. 
 
 " We'll, then, in his presence avow our present and unalterable 
 determination as regards your fair daughters, and as the time is 
 short " 
 
 Here I turned towards Matilda, who placed her arm within mine ; 
 Sparks possessed himself of Fanny's hand, while the Major and his 
 wife consulted for a few seconds. 
 
 " Well, O'Malley, all you propose is perfect. Now, then, for the 
 captain ; who shall he inquire for ? " 
 
 (e Oh, an old friend of yours," said I jocularly ; " you'll be glad to 
 see him." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said all together. 
 
 ' ' Oh yes, quite a surprise, I'll warrant it. " 
 
 " Who can it be ? who on earth is it? " 
 
 " You can't guess," added I, with a very knowing look ; " knew you 
 at Corfu ; a very intimate friend, indeed, if he tells the truth." 
 
 A look of something like embarrassment passed around the circle at 
 these words, while I, wishing to end the mystery, resumed : 
 
 11 Come, then, who can be so proper for all parties at a moment like 
 this, as our mutual friend, Captain Power ? " 
 
 Had a shell fallen into the cold grouse-pie in the midst of us, 
 scattering death and destruction on every side, the effect could scarcely 
 have been more frightful than that my last words produced. Mrs. 
 Dalrymple fell with a sough upon the floor, motionless as a corpse ; 
 Fanny threw herself screaming upon a sofa ; Matilda went off into 
 strong hysterics upon the hearthrug; while the Major, after giving me 
 a look a maniac might have envied, rushed from the room in search of 
 his pistols, with a most terrific oath to shoot somebody, whether Sparks 
 or myself, or both of us, on his return, I cannot say. Fanny's sobs,
 
 140 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 and Matilda's cries, assisted by a drumming process by Mrs. DaL's 
 heels upon the floor, made a most infernal concert, and effectually 
 prevented anything like thought or reflection, and, in all probability, 
 so overwhelmed was I at the sudden catastrophe I had so innocently 
 caused, I should have waited in due patience for the Major's return, 
 had not Sparks seized my arm, and cried out : 
 
 "Run for it, O'Malley, cut like fun, my boy, or we're done for." 
 
 " Run why ? what for ? where ? " said I, stupefied by the scene 
 before me. 
 
 " Here he is," called out Sparks, as, throwing up the window, he 
 sprung out upon the stone sill, and leaped into the street. I followed 
 mechanically, and jumped after him, just as the Major had reached 
 the window : a ball whizzed by me, that soon determined my further 
 movements ; so, putting on all speed, I flew down the street, turned 
 the corner, and regained the hotel breathless, and without a hat, while 
 Sparks arrived a moment later, pale as a ghost, and trembling like an 
 aspen leaf. 
 
 " Safe, by Jove ! " said Sparks, throwing himself into a chair, and 
 panting for breath. 
 
 " Safe, at last," said I, without well knowing why or for what. 
 
 " You've had a sharp run of it, apparently," said Power coolly, and 
 without any curiosity as to the cause ; " and, now, let us on board ; 
 there goes the trumpet again. The skipper is a surly old fellow, and 
 we must not lose his tide for him." So saying, he proceeded to collect 
 his cloaks, cane, &c. , and get ready for departure. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE VOYAGE 
 
 WHEN I awoke from the long sound sleep which succeeded my last 
 adventure, I had some difficulty in remembering where I was, or how 
 I had come there. From my narrow berth I looked out upon the now 
 empty cabin, and, at length, some misty and confused sense of my 
 situation crept slowly over me. I opened the little shutter beside me, 
 and looked out. The bold headlands of the southern coast were 
 frowning, in sullen and dark masses, about a couple of miles distant, 
 and I perceived that we were going fast through the water, which 
 was beautifully calm and still. I now looked at my watch ; it was 
 past eight o'clock ; and, as it must evidently be evening from the 
 appearance of the sky, I felt that I had slept soundly for above 
 twelve hours. 
 
 In the hurry of departure the cabin had not been set to rights, and 
 there lay every species of lumber and luggage in all imaginable con- 
 fusion. Trunks, gun-cases, baskets of eggs, umbrellas, hampers of 
 sea-store, cloaks, foraging caps, maps, and sword-belts, were scattered 
 on every side while the debris of a dinner, not over-remarkable for 
 its propriety in table equipage, added to the ludicrous effect The 
 heavy tramp of a foot overhead denoted the step of some one taking
 
 THE VOYAGE 141 
 
 his short walk of exercise ; while the rough voice of the skipper, as he 
 gave the word to "go about," all convinced me that we were at last 
 under weigh, and off to "the wars." 
 
 The confusion our last evening on shore produced in my brain was 
 such, that every effort I made to remember anything about it only 
 increased my difficulty, and I felt myself in a web so tangled and 
 inextricable, that all endeavour to escape free was impossible. Some- 
 times I thought that I had really married Matilda Dalrymple ; then, I 
 supposed that the father had called me out and wounded me in a duel ; 
 and, finally, I had some confused notion about a quarrel with Sparks, 
 but what for, when, and how it ended, I knew not. How tremendously 
 tipsy I must have been, was the only conclusion I could draw from all 
 these conflicting doubts ; and, after all, it was the only thing like fact 
 that beamed upon my mind. How I had come on board and reached 
 my berth was a matter I reserved for future inquiry ; resolving, that 
 about the real history of my last night on shore I should ask no ques- 
 tions, if others were equally disposed to let it pass in silence. 
 
 I next began to wonder if Mike had looked after all my luggage, 
 trunks, &c., and whether he himself had been forgotten in our hasty 
 departure. About this latter point I was not destined for much doubt ; 
 for a well-known voice from the foot of the companion-ladder at once 
 proclaimed my faithful follower and evidenced his feelings at his 
 departure from his home and country. 
 
 Mr. Free was, at the time I mention, gathered up like a ball opposite 
 a small, low window that looked upon the bluff headlands now fast 
 becoming dim and misty as the night approached. He was apparently 
 in low spirits ; and hummed in a species of low, droning voice the 
 following ballad, at the end of each verse of which came an Irish 
 chorus, which to the erudite in such matters will suggest the air of 
 Meddirederoo : 
 
 MICKEY TREE'S LAMENT. 
 
 "Then, fare ye well, ould Erin dear; 
 To part my heart does ache well, 
 From Carrickfergus to Cape Clear, 
 
 I'll never see your equal. 
 And, though to foreign parts we're bound, 
 
 Where cannibals may eat us, 
 We'll ne'er forget the holy ground 
 Of poteen and potatoes. 
 
 " Meddirederoo aroo, aroo," &c. 
 
 When good St. Patrick banished frogs, 
 
 And shook them from his garment, 
 He never thought we'd go abroad, 
 
 To live upon such varmint ; 
 Nor quit the land where whisky grew, 
 
 To wear King George's button, 
 Take vinegar for mountain dew, 
 
 And toads for mountain mutton. 
 
 " Meddirederoo aroo, aroo," &c. 
 
 " I say, Mike, stop that confounded keen, and tell me where are we." 
 " Off the Ould Head of Kinsale, sir."
 
 142 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Where is Captain Power ? " 
 
 " Smoking a cigar on deck with the captain, sir." 
 
 "And Mr. Sparks?" 
 
 "Mighty sick in his own state-room. Oh ! but it's himself has 
 enough of glory bad luck to it by this time ; he'd make your heart 
 break to look at him." 
 
 "Who have you got on board besides?" 
 
 "The Adjutant's here, sir, and an ould gentleman they call the 
 Major." 
 
 "Not Major Dalrymple," said I, starting up with terror at the 
 thought, "eh, Mike?" 
 
 "No, sir, another major; his name Mulroon, or Mundoon, or 
 something like that." 
 
 " Monsoon, you son of a lumper potato," cried out a surly, gruff 
 voice from a berth opposite, " Monsoon. Who's at the other side ? " 
 
 " Mr. O'Malley, 14th," said I, by way of introduction. 
 
 " My service to you, then," said the voice. " Going to join your 
 regiment ? " 
 
 ' ' Yes, and you ; are you bound on a similar errand ? " 
 
 "No, Heaven be praised ! I'm attached to the commissariat, and 
 only going to Lisbon. Have you had any dinner ? " 
 
 " Not a morsel. Have you ? " 
 
 "No more than yourself; but I always lie by for three or four days 
 this way, till I get used to the confounded rocking and pitching ; and, 
 with a little grog and some sleep, get over the time gaily enough. 
 Steward, another tumbler like the last : there very good that will 
 do. Your good health, Mr. , what was it you said?" 
 
 " O'Malley." 
 
 " O'Malley your good health good night ! " and so ended our brief 
 colloquy, and, in a few minutes more, a very decisive snore pronounced 
 my friend to be fulfilling his precept for killing the hours. 
 
 I now made the effort to emancipate myself from my crib, and at 
 last succeeded in getting on the floor, where, after one chassez at a 
 small looking-glass opposite, followed by a very impetuous rush at a 
 little brass stove, in which I was interrupted by a trunk, and laid 
 prostrate, I finally got my clothes on and made my way to the deck. 
 Little attuned as was my mind at the moment to admire anything like 
 scenery, it was impossible to be unmoved by the magnificent prospect 
 before me. It was a beautiful evening in summer ; the sun had set 
 above an hour before, leaving behind him in the west one vast arch 
 of rich and burnished gold, stretching along the whole horizon, and 
 tipping all the summits of the heavy rolling sea, as it rolled on, un- 
 broken by foam or ripple, in vast moving mountains from the far 
 coast of Labrador. We were already in blue water, though the bold 
 cliffs that were to form our departing point were but a few miles to 
 leeward. There lay the lofty bluff of Old Kinsale, whose crest, over- 
 hanging, peered from a summit of some hundred feet into the deep 
 water that swept its rocky base ; many a tangled lichen and straggling 
 bough trailing in the flood beneath. Here and there, upon the coast, 
 a twinkling gleam proclaimed the hut of the fisherman, whose swift 
 hookers had more than once shot by us, and disappeared in a moment.
 
 THE VOYAGE 143 
 
 The wind, which began to fall at sunset, freshened as the moon rose, 
 and the good ship, bending to the breeze, lay gently over, and rushed 
 through the waters with a sound of gladness. I was alone upon the 
 deck ; Power and the captain, whom I expected to have found, had 
 disappeared somehow, and I was, after all, not sorry to be left to my 
 own reflections uninterrupted. 
 
 My thoughts turned once more to my home to my first, my best, 
 earliest friend, whose hearth I had rendered lonely and desolate, and 
 my heart sunk within me as I remembered it. How deeply I reproach 
 myself for the selfish impetuosity with which I had ever followed any 
 rising fancy any new and sudden desire, and never thought of him 
 whose every hope was in, whose every wish was for, me. Alas ! alas ! 
 my poor uncle 1 how gladly would I resign every prospect my soldier's 
 life may hold out, with all its glittering promise, and all the flattery 
 of success, to be once more beside you ; to feel your warm and manly 
 grasp ; to see your smile ; to hear your voice ; to be again where all 
 our best feelings are born and nurtured, our cares assuaged, our joys 
 more joyed in, and our griefs more wept at home ! These very words 
 have more music to my ears than all the softest strains that ever siren 
 sung. They bring us back to all we have loved, by ties that are never 
 felt but through such simple associations. And in the earlier memories 
 called up, our childish feelings come back once more to visit us, like 
 better spirits, as we walk amid the dreary desolation that years of care 
 and uneasiness have spread around us. 
 
 Wretched must he be who ne'er has felt such bliss ; and thrice happy 
 he, who, feeling it, knows that still there lives for him that same early 
 home, with all its loved inmates, its every dear and devoted object 
 waiting his coming, and longing for his approach. 
 
 Such were my thoughts as I stood gazing at the bold line of coast 
 now gradually growing more and more dim while evening fell and we 
 continued to stand farther out to sea. So absorbed was I all this time 
 in my reflections that I never heard the voices which now suddenly 
 burst upon my ears quite close beside me. I turned, and saw for the 
 first time that, at the end of the quarter-deck, stood what is called a 
 round-house, a small cabin, from which the sounds proceeded. I walked 
 gently forward and peeped in, and certainly anything more in contrast 
 with my late reverie need not be conceived. There sat the skipper, a 
 bluff, round-faced, jolly-looking little tar, mixing a bowl of punch at 
 a table, at which sat my friend Power, the Adjutant, and a tall meagre- 
 looking Scotchman, whom I once met in Cork, and heard that he was 
 the doctor of some infantry regiment. Two or three black bottles, a 
 paper of cigars, and a tallow candle were all the table equipage ; but, 
 certainly, the party seemed not to want for spirits and fun, to judge 
 from the hearty bursts of laughter that every moment pealed forth, 
 and shook the little building that held them. Power, as usual with 
 him, seemed to be taking the lead, and was evidently amusing himself 
 with the peculiarities of his companions. 
 
 " Come, Adjutant, fill up : here's to the campaign before us ; we at 
 least have nothing but pleasure in the anticipation ; no lovely wife 
 behind ; no charming babes to fret, and be fretted for, eh ? " 
 
 " Vara true," said the Doctor, who was mated with a tartar ; " ye
 
 144 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 maun have less regrets at leaving hame ; but a married man is no 
 entirely denied his ain consolations." 
 
 ' ' Good sense in that," said the skipper ; " a wide berth and plenty 
 of sea-room are not bad things now and then." 
 
 ' ' Is that your experience also ? " said Power, with a knowing look. 
 " Come, come, Adjutant, we're not so ill off, you see ; but, by Jove ! I 
 can't imagine how it is a man ever comes to thirty without having at 
 least one wife, without counting his colonial possessions, of course." 
 
 "Yes," said the Adjutant, with a sigh, as he drained his glass to the 
 bottom. " It is devilish strange woman, lovely woman I" here he 
 filled and drank again, as though he had been proposing a toast for his 
 own peculiar drinking. 
 
 " I say, now," resumed Power, catching at once that there was some- 
 thing working in his mind ; " I say, now, how happened it that you, a 
 right good-looking, soldier-like fellow, that always made his way among 
 the fair ones, with that confounded roguish eye and slippery tongue, 
 how the deuce did it come to pass that you never married r " 
 
 " I've been more than once on the verge of it," said the Adjutant, 
 smiling blandly at the flattery. 
 
 " And nae bad notion yours just to stay there," said the Doctor, with 
 a very peculiar contortion of countenance. 
 
 ' ' No pleasing you, no contenting a fellow like you," said Power, re- 
 turning to the charge ; " that's the thing : you get a certain ascen- 
 dency ; you have a kind of success, that renders you, as the French 
 say, 'tete montte, and you think no woman rich enough, or good-looking 
 enough, or high enough." 
 
 "No, by Jove ! you're wrong," said the Adjutant, swallowing the 
 bait, hook and all, " quite wrong there ; for, somehow, all my life, I 
 was decidedly susceptible : not that I cared much for your blushing 
 sixteen or budding beauties in white muslin, fresh from a back-board 
 and a governess ; no, my taste inclined rather to the more sober charms 
 of two or three and thirty, the embonpoint, a good foot and ankle, a 
 sensible breadth about the shoulders " 
 
 " Somewhat Dutch-like, I take it," said the skipper, puffing out a 
 volume of smoke ; " a little bluff in the bows, and great stowage, eh ? " 
 
 ee You leaned, then, towards the widows ? " said Power. 
 
 " Exactly : I confess a widow always was my weakness. There was 
 something]! ever liked in the notion of a woman who had got over all 
 the awkward girlishness of early years, and had that self-possession 
 which habit and knowledge of the world confer, and knew enough of 
 herself to understand what she really wished and where she would 
 really go." 
 
 " Like the trade winds," puffed the skipper. 
 
 " Then as regards fortune, they have a decided superiority over the 
 spinster class. I defy any man breathing let him be half police 
 magistrate, half chancellor to find out the figure of a young lady's 
 dower. On your first introduction to the house, some kind friend 
 whispers, e Go it, old boy, forty thousand ; not a penny less ; ' a few 
 weeks later, as the siege progresses, a maiden aunt, disposed to puffing, 
 comes down to twenty ; this diminishes again one-half, but then ' the 
 money is in bank stock, hard three-and-a-half.' You go a little farther,
 
 THE ADJUTANT'S STORY LIFE IN DERRY 145 
 
 and, as you sit one day over your wine with papa, he suddenly 
 promulgates the fact that his daughter has five thousand pounds, 
 two of which turn out to be in Mexican bonds, and three in an Irish 
 mortgage." 
 
 " Happy for you," interrupted Power, " that it be not in Galway, 
 where a proposal to foreclose would be the signal for your being called 
 out, and shot without benefit of clergy." 
 
 "Bad luck to it, for Galway," said the Adjutant. fc I was nearly 
 taken in there once to marry a girl that her brother-in-law swore had 
 eight hundred a year, and it came out afterwards that so she had, but 
 it was for one year only ; and he challenged me for doubting his word 
 too." 
 
 " There's an old formula for finding out an Irish fortune," says 
 Power, " worth all the algebra they ever taught in Trinity. Take the 
 half of the assumed sum, and divide it by three, the quotient will be 
 a flattering representative of the figure sought for." 
 
 "Not in the north," said the Adjutant firmly ; "not in the north, 
 Power ; they are all well off there. There's a race of canny, thrifty, 
 half Scotch niggers your pardon, Doctor they are all Irish linen- 
 weaving, Presbyterian, yarn - factoring, long - nosed, hard - drinking 
 fellows, that lay by rather a snug thing now and then. Do you know, 
 I WHS very near it once in the north. I've half a mind to tell you the 
 story ; though, perhaps, you'll laugh at me." 
 
 The whole party at once protested that nothing could induce them 
 to deviate so widely from the line of propriety, and the skipper having 
 mixed a fresh bowl, and filled all the glasses round, the cigars were 
 lighted, and the Adjutant began. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 THE ADJUTANT'S STORY LIFE IN DERRY 
 
 "!T is now about eight, maybe ten, years since, that we were ordered 
 to march from Belfast, and take up our quarters in Londonderry. We 
 had not been more than a few weeks altogether in Ulster, when the 
 order came ; and as we had been, for the preceding two years, doing 
 duty in the south and west, we concluded that the island was tolerably 
 the same in all parts. We opened our campaign in the maiden city, 
 exactly as we had been doing with ' unparalleled success ' in Cashel, 
 Fermoy, Tuam, &c. , that is to say, we announced garrison balls and 
 private theatricals ; offered a cup to be run for in steeplechase ; turned 
 out a four-in-hand drag, with mottled greys ; and brought over two 
 Deal boats to challenge the north." 
 
 " The 18th found the place stupid," said we. 
 
 tf To be sure they did ; slow fellows like them must find any place 
 stupid. No dinners ; but they gave none. No fun ; but they had 
 none in themselves. In fact, we knew better : we understood how the 
 thing was to be done, and resolved that, as a mine of rich ore lay un- 
 worked, it was reserved for us to produce the shining metal that others,
 
 146 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 less discerning, had failed to discover. Little we knew of the matter ; 
 never was there a blunder like ours. Were you ever in Deny ? " 
 
 " Never," said the three listeners. 
 
 " Well, then, let me inform you that the place has its own peculiar 
 features. In the first place, all the large towns in the south and west 
 have, beside the country neighbourhood that surrounds them, a certain 
 sprinkling of gentlefolk, who, though with small fortunes and not 
 much usage of the world, are still a great accession to society, and 
 make up the blank which, even in the most thickly peopled country, 
 would be sadly felt without them. Now, in Derry, there is none of 
 this. After the great guns and per Baccho ! what great guns they 
 are ! you have nothing but the men engaged in commerce : sharp, 
 clever, shrewd, well-informed fellows ; they are deep in flax-seed, 
 cunning in molasses, and not to be excelled in all that pertains to 
 coffee, sassafras, cinnamon, gum, oakum, and elephants' teeth. The 
 place is a rich one, and the spirit of commerce is felt throughout it. 
 Nothing is cared for, nothing is talked of, nothing alluded to, that does 
 not bear upon this ; and, in fact, if you haven't a venture in Smyrna 
 figs, Memel timber, Dutch dolls, or some such commodity, you are 
 absolutely nothing, and might as well be at a ball with a cork leg, or 
 go deaf to the opera. 
 
 " Now, when I've told thus much, I leave you to guess what impres- 
 sion our triumphal entry into the city produced. Instead of the 
 admiring crowds that awaited us elsewhere, as we marched gaily into 
 quarters, here we saw nothing but grave, sober-looking, and, I confess 
 it, intelligent-looking faces, that scrutinised our appearance closely 
 enough, but evidently with no great approval, and less enthusiasm. 
 The men passed on hurriedly to the counting-houses and the wharfs ; 
 the women, with almost as little interest, peeped at us from the 
 windows, and walked away again. Oh ! how we wished for Galway ; 
 glorious Galway, that paradise of the infantry that lies west of the 
 Shannon ! Little we knew, as we ordered the band, in lively anticipa- 
 tion of the gaieties before us, to strike up ' Payne's first set,' that, to 
 the ears of the fair listeners in Ship Quay Street, the rumble of a 
 sugar hogshead, or the crank, crank of a weighing crane, were more 
 delightful music." 
 
 " By Jove ! " interrupted Power, " you are quite right. Women are 
 strongly imitative in their tastes. The lovely Italian, whose very 
 costume is a natural following of a Raphael, is no more like the pretty 
 Liverpool damsel than Genoa is to Glassnevin ; and yet, what the 
 deuce have they, dear souls, with their feet upon a soft carpet, and 
 their eyes upon the pages of Scott or Byron, to do with all the cotton 
 or dimity that ever was printed ? But let us not repine : that very 
 plastic character is our greatest blessing." 
 
 " I'm not so sure that it always exists," said the Doctor dubiously, 
 as though his own experience pointed otherwise. 
 
 "Well, go ahead," said the skipper, who evidently disliked the 
 digression thus interrupting the Adjutant's story. 
 
 " Well, we marched along, looking right and left at the pretty faces 
 and there were plenty of them too that a momentary curiosity 
 drew to the windows : but, although we smiled, and ogled, and leered,
 
 THE ADJUTANTS STORY LIFE IN DERRY 147 
 
 as only a newly arrived regiment can smile, ogle, or leer, by all that's 
 provoking, we might as well have wasted our blandishments upon the 
 Presbyterian meeting-house that frowned upon us, with its high-pitched 
 roof and round windows. 
 
 " ' Droll people, these,' said one ; ' Rather rum ones,' cried another ; 
 ' The black north, by Jove ! ' said a third ; and so went along to the 
 barracks, somewhat displeased to think that, though the 18th were 
 slow, they might have met their match. 
 
 " Disappointed, as we undoubtedly felt, at the little enthusiasm that 
 marked our entree, we still resolved to persist in our original plan, and, 
 accordingly, early the following morning, announced our intention of 
 giving amateur theatricals. The Mayor, who called upon our Colonel, 
 was the first to learn this, and received the information with pretty 
 much the same kind of look as the Archbishop of Canterbury might 
 be supposed to assume if requested by a friend to ride for the Derby. 
 The incredulous expression of the poor man's face, as he turned from 
 one of us to the other, evidently canvassing in his mind whether we 
 might not, by some special dispensation of Providence, be all insane, I 
 shall never forget. 
 
 " His visit was a very short one ; whether concluding that we were 
 not quite safe company, or whether our notification was too much for 
 his nerves, I know not. 
 
 " We were not to be balked, however : our plans for gaiety, long 
 planned and conned over, were soon announced in all form, and, though 
 we made efforts almost superhuman in the cause, our plays were per- 
 formed to empty benches, our balls were unattended, our picnic in- 
 vitations politely declined, and, in a word, all our advances treated with 
 a cold and chilling politeness that plainly said, ' We'll none of you. ' 
 
 " Each day brought some new discomfiture, and, as we met at mess, 
 instead of having, as heretofore, some prospect of pleasure and amuse- 
 ment to chat over, it was only to talk gloomily over our miserable 
 failures, and lament the dreary quarters that our fates had doomed 
 us to. 
 
 t( Some months wore on in this fashion, and at length what will 
 not time do ? we began, by degrees, to forget our woes. Some of us 
 took to late hours, and brandy-and-water ; others got sentimental, and 
 wrote journals, and novels, and poetry ; some few made acquaintances 
 among the townspeople, and cut in to a quiet rubber to pass the even- 
 ing, while another detachment, among which I was, got up a little love 
 affair, to while away the tedious hours and cheat the lazy sun. 
 
 " I have already said something of my taste in beauty ; now, Mrs. 
 Boggs was exactly the style of woman I fancied. She was a widow ; 
 she had black eyes not your jet black, sparkling, Dutch-doll eyes, 
 that roll about and twinkle, but mean nothing no ; hers had a soft, 
 subdued, downcast, pensive look about them, and were fully as melting 
 a pair of orbs as any blue eyes you ever looked at. 
 
 ' ' Then she had a short upper lip, and sweet teeth : by Jove ! they 
 were pearls ! and she showed them, too, pretty often. Her figure was 
 well rounded, plump, and what the French call nette. To complete all, 
 her instep and ankle were unexceptionable ; and lastly, her jointure 
 was seven hundred pounds per annum, with a trifle of eight thousand
 
 148 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 more, that the late lamented Boggs bequeathed, when, after four months 
 of uninterrupted bliss, he left Derry for another world. 
 
 " When chance first threw me in the way of the fair widow, some 
 casual coincidence of opinion happened to raise me in her estimation, 
 and I soon afterwards received an invitation to a small evening party 
 at her house, to which I alone of the regiment was asked. 
 
 " I shall not weary you witli the details of my intimacy ; it is enough 
 that I tell you I fell desperately in love. I began by visiting twice 
 or thrice a week, and, in less than two months, spent every morn- 
 ing at her house, and rarely left it till the ' roast beef announced 
 mess. 
 
 ' ' I soon discovered the widow's cue ; she was serious. Now, I had 
 conducted all manner of flirtations in my previous life ; timid young 
 ladies, manly young ladies, musical, artistical, poetical, and hysterical. 
 Bless you, I knew them all by heart ; but never before had I to deal 
 with a serious one, and a widow to boot. The case was a trying one. 
 For some weeks it was all very uphill work ; all the red shot of warm 
 affection I used to pour in on other occasions was of no use here. The 
 language of love, in which I was no mean proficient, availed me not. 
 Compliments and flattery, those rare skirmishers before the engage- 
 ment, were denied me ; and I verily think that a tender squeeze of 
 the hand would have cost me my dismissal. 
 
 <( ' How very slow, all this ! ' thought I, as, at the end of two 
 months' siege, I still found myself seated in the trenches, and not a 
 single breach in the fortress ; ' but, to be sure, it's the way they have 
 in the north, and one must be patient.' 
 
 " While thus I was in no very sanguine frame of mind as to my 
 prospects, in reality my progress was very considerable, having be- 
 come a member of Mr. M'rhun's congregation. I was gradually rising 
 in the estimation of the widow and her friends, whom my constant 
 attendance at meeting and my very serious demeanour had so far im- 
 pressed, that very grave deliberation was held whether I should not be 
 made an elder at the next brevet. 
 
 <( If the Widow Boggs had not been a very lovely and wealthy 
 widow, had she not possessed the eyes, lips, hips, ankles, and jointure 
 aforesaid, I honestly avow that not the charms of that sweet man Mr. 
 M'Phun's eloquence, nor even the flattering distinction in store for me, 
 would have induced me to prolong my suit. However, I was not going 
 to despair when in sight of land. The widow was evidently softened ; 
 a little time longer, and the most scrupulous moralist, the most rigid 
 advocate for employing time wisely, could not have objected to my 
 daily system of courtship. It was none of your sighing, dying, ogling, 
 hand-squeezing, waist -pressing, oath -swearing, everlasting -adoring 
 affairs, with an iuterchauge of rings and lockets ; not a bit of it. It 
 was confoundedly like a controversial meeting at the Rotundo, and I 
 myself had a far greater resemblance to Father Tom Maguire than a 
 gay Lothario. 
 
 " After all, when mess-time came, when the roast beef played and 
 we assembled at dinner, and the soup and fish had gone round, with 
 two glasses of sherry in, my spirits rallied, and a very jolly evening 
 consoled me for all my fatigues and exertions, and supplied me with
 
 THE ADJUTANTS STORY LIFE IN DERRY 149 
 
 energy for the morrow ; for, let me observe here, that I only made 
 love before dinner. The evenings I reserved for myself, assuring Mrs. 
 Boggs that my regimental duties required all my time after mess hour, 
 Ui which I was perfectly correct ; for at six we dined ; at seven I opened 
 the claret No. 1 ; at eight I had uncorked my second bottle ; by half- 
 past eight I was returning to the sherry ; and at nine, punctual to the 
 moment, I was returning to my quarters on the back of my servant, 
 Tim Daly, who had carried me safely for eight years, without a single 
 mistake, as the foxhunters say. This was a way we had in the th ; 
 every man was carried away from mess, some sooner, some later ; I 
 was always an early riser, and went betimes. 
 
 " Now, although I had very abundant proof, from circumstantial 
 evidence, that I was nightly removed from the mess-room to my bed 
 in the mode I mention, it would haA r e puzzled me sorely to prove the 
 fact in any direct way ; inasmuch as, by half-past nine, as the clock 
 chimed, Tim entered to take me. I was very innocent of all that was 
 going on, and except a certain vague sense of regret at leaving the 
 decanter, felt nothing whatever. 
 
 ' ' It so chanced what mere trifles are we ruled by in our destiny 
 that just as my suit with the widow had assumed its most favourable 
 footing, old General Hinks, that commanded the district, announced 
 his coming over to inspect our regiment. Over he came accordingly, 
 and, to be sure, we had a day of it. We were paraded for six mortal 
 hours ; then we were marching and countermarching ; moving into 
 line ; back again into column ; now forming open column, then into 
 square ; till, at last, we began to think that the old General was like 
 the Flying Dutchman, and was probably condemned to keep on drilling 
 us to the day of judgment. To be sure, he enlivened the proceedings 
 to me by pronouncing the regiment the worst-drilled and appointed 
 corps in the service, and the Adjutant (me !) the stupidest dunderhead 
 these were his words he had ever met with. 
 
 f< ' Never mind,' thought I, ' a few days more, and it's little I'll care 
 for the eighteen manoeuvres. It's small trouble your eyes right or 
 your left shoulders forward will give me. Ill sell out, and with the 
 Widow Boggs and seven hundred a year but no matter.' 
 
 "This confounded inspection lasted till half-past five - in the after- 
 noon ; so that our mess was delayed a full hour in consequence, and it 
 was past seven as we sat down to dinner. Our faces were grim enough 
 as we met together at first ; but what will not a good dinner and good 
 wine do for the surliest party? By eight o'clock we began to feel 
 somewhat more convivially disposed, and, before nine, the decanters 
 were performing a quick step round the table, in a fashion very ex- 
 hilarating, and very jovial to look at. 
 
 " ' No flinching to-night,' said the senior Major, 'we've had a severe 
 day ; let us also have a merry evening. ' 
 
 "'By Jove, Ormond,' cried another, 'we must not leave this to- 
 night ! Confound the old humbugs and their musty whist-party ; throw 
 them over.' 
 
 "'I say, Adjutant,' said Forbes, addressing me, 'you've nothing 
 particular to say to the fair widow this evening; you'll not bolt, I 
 hope/
 
 150 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' That he shan't/ said one near me, e he must make up for his 
 absence to-morrow ; for to-night we all stand fast.' 
 
 " ' Besides,' said another, ' she's at meeting by this. Old what- 
 d'ye-call-him is at fourteenthly before now.' 
 
 " ' A note for you, sir,' said the mess-waiter, presenting me with a 
 rose-coloured three-cornered billet. It was from la chere Boggs herself, 
 and ran thus : 
 
 " ' DEAR SIB, Mr. M'Phun and a few friends are coming to tea at 
 my house after meeting, perhaps you will also favour us with your 
 company. Yours truly, ELIZA BOGGS.' 
 
 " What was to be done? Quit the mess leave a jolly party just at 
 the j oiliest moment exchange Lafitte and red hermitage for a soiree 
 of elders presided over by that sweet man Mr. M'Phun? It was too 
 bad ; but then, how much was in the scale ! What would the widow 
 say if I declined ? What would she think ? I well knew that the 
 invitation meant nothing less than a full dress parade of me before 
 her friends, and that to decline was perhaps to forfeit all my hopes in 
 that quarter for ever. 
 
 " ' Any answer, sir ? ' said the waiter. 
 
 " ' Yes,' said I in a half whisper, ' I'll go ; tell the sen r ant I'll go. ' 
 
 " At this moment my tender epistle was subtracted from before me, 
 and, ere I turned round, had made the tour of half the table. I never 
 perceived the circumstance, however, and, filling my glass, professed 
 my resolve to sit to the last, with a mental reserve to take my 
 departure at the very first opportunity. Ormond and the paymaster 
 quitted the room for a moment, as if to give orders for a broil at 
 twelve, and now all seemed to promise a very convivial and well- 
 sustained party for the night. 
 
 e( ' Is that all arranged?' inquired the Major as Ormond entered. 
 
 " ' All right,' said he ; ( and now let us have a bumper and a song. 
 Adjutant, old boy, give us a chant.' 
 
 " ' What shall it be, then ? ' inquired I, anxious to cover my intended 
 retreat by any appearance of joviality. 
 
 " ( Give us 
 
 _ ' When I was in the Fusiloers, 
 Some fourteen years ago.' 
 
 "'No, no, confound it, I've heard nothing else since I joined the 
 regiment. Let us have the " Paymaster's Daughter." ' 
 
 " ' Ah ! that's pathetic ; I like that,' lisped a young ensign. 
 
 ' ' ' If I'm to have a vote/ grunted out the senior Major, ' I pronounce 
 for " West India Quarters." ' 
 
 <f 'Yes, yes/ said half-a-dozen voices together, 'let's have "West 
 India Quarters." Come, give him a glass of sherry, and let him 
 begin.' 
 
 " I had scarcely finished off my glass, and cleared my throat for my 
 song, when the clock on the chimney-piece chimed half-past nine, and 
 the same instant I felt a heavy hand fall upon my shoulder ; I turned, 
 and beheld my servant Tim. This, as I have already mentioned, was 
 the hour at which Tim was in the habit of taking me home to my
 
 THE ADJUTANTS STORY LIFE IN DERRY 151 
 
 quarters, and, though we had dined an hour later, he took no notice 
 of the circumstance, but, true to his custom, he was behind my chair. 
 A very cursory glance at my ' familiar ' was quite sufficient to show me 
 that we had somehow changed sides, for Tim, who was habitually the 
 most sober of mankind, was, on the present occasion, exceedingly 
 drunk, while I, a full hour before that consummation, was perfectly 
 sober. 
 
 " ' What d'ye want, sir?' inquired I, with something of severity in 
 my manner. 
 
 ' ' ' Come home,' said Tim, with a hiccup that set the whole table in 
 a roar. 
 
 " ' Leave the room this instant,' said I, feeling wrathy at being thus 
 made a butt of for his offences. ' Leave the room, or I'll kick you 
 out of it.' Now, this, let me add in a parenthesis, was somewhat of a 
 boast, for Tim was six feet three, and strong in proportion, and, when 
 in liquor, fearless as a tiger. 
 
 " ' You'll kick me out of the room ; eh ! will you ? Try ; only try 
 it; that's all.' Here a new roar of laughter burst forth, while Tim, 
 again placing an enormous paw upon my shoulder, continued, ' Don't 
 be sitting there making a baste of yourself, when you've got enough. 
 Don't you see you're drunk ! ' 
 
 " I sprung to my legs on this, and made a rush to the fireplace to 
 secure the poker, but Tim was beforehand with me, and seizing me by 
 the waist with both hands, flung me across his shoulders as though I 
 were a baby, saying at the same time, ( I'll take you away at half-past 
 eight to-morrow, av you're as rampageous again.' I kicked, I plunged, 
 I swore, I threatened, I even begged and implored to be set down ; 
 but, whether my voice was lost in the uproar around me, or that Tim 
 only regarded my denunciations in the light of cursing, I know not, 
 but he carried me bodily down the stairs, steadying himself by one 
 hand on the banisters, while with the other he held me as if in a vice. 
 I had but one consolation all this while ; it was this, that, as my 
 quarters lay immediately behind the mess-room, Tim's excursion 
 would soon come to an end, and I should be free once more ; but 
 guess my terror to find that the drunken scoundrel, instead of going, 
 as usual, to the left, turned short to the right hand, and marched 
 boldly into Ship Quay Street. Every window in the mess-room was 
 filled with our fellows, absolutely shouting with laughter. ' Go it, Tim 
 that's the fellow hold him tight never let go,' cried a dozen voices, 
 while the wretch, with the tenacity of drunkenness, gripped me still 
 harder, and took his way down the middle of the street. 
 
 " It was a beautiful evening in July, a soft summer night, as I made 
 this pleasing excursion down the most frequented thoroughfare in the 
 maiden city ; my struggles every moment exciting roars of laughter 
 from an increasing crowd of spectators, who seemed scarcely less 
 amused than puzzled at the exhibition. In the midst of a torrent of 
 imprecations against my torturer, a loud noise attracted me. I turned 
 my head and saw horror of horrors ! the door of the meeting-house 
 just flung open, and the congregation issuing forth en masse. Is it 
 any wonder if I remember no more ? There I was, the chosen one of 
 the Widow Boggs the elder elect the favoured friend and admired
 
 152 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 associate of Mr. M'Phun, taking an airing on a summer's evening on 
 the back of a drunken Irishman. Oh ! the thought was horrible ; 
 and; certainly, the short and pithy epithets by which I was charac- 
 terised in the crowd, neither improved my temper nor assuaged my 
 wrath ; and I feel bound to confess that my own language was neither 
 serious nor becoming. Tim, however, cared little for all this, and 
 pursued the even tenor of his way through the whole crowd, nor 
 stopped till, having made half the circuit of the wall, he deposited me 
 safe at my own door, adding, as he set me down, ( Oh ! av you're as 
 throublesome every evening, it's a wheelbarrow I'll be obleeged to 
 bring for you.' 
 
 " The next day I obtained a short leave of absence, and, ere a fort- 
 night expired, exchanged into the th, preferring Halifax itself to 
 the ridicule that awaited me in Londonderry." 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 FRED POWER'S ADVENTURE IN PHILIPSTOWN 
 
 THE lazy hours of the long summer day crept slowly over. The sea, 
 unbroken by foam or ripple, shone like a broad blue mirror, reflecting 
 here and there some fleecy patches of snow-white cloud as they stood 
 unmoved in the sky. The good ship rocked to and fro with a heavy 
 and lumbering motion ; the cordage rattled ; the bulkheads creaked ; 
 the sails flapped lazily against the masts ; the very sea-gulls seemed to 
 sleep as they rested on the long swell that bore them along ; and 
 everything in sea and sky bespoke a calm. No sailor trod the deck ; 
 no watch was stirring ; the very tiller ropes were deserted ; and, as 
 they traversed back and forwards with every roll of the vessel, told 
 that we had no steerage way, and lay a mere log upon the water. 
 
 I sat alone in the bow, and fell into a musing fit upon the past and 
 the future. How happily for us is it ordained that, in the most 
 stirring existences, there are every here and there such little resting- 
 spots of reflection, from which, as from some eminence, we look back 
 upon the road we have been treading in life, and cast a wistful glance 
 at the dark vista before us. When first we set out upon our worldly 
 pilgrimage, these are, indeed, precious moments, when with buoyant 
 heart and spirit high, believing all things, trusting all things, our very 
 youth comes back to us, reflected from every object we meet ; and, 
 like Narcissus, we are but worshipping our own image in the water. 
 As we go on in life, the cares, the anxieties, and the business of the 
 world, engross us more and more ; and such moments become fewer 
 and shorter. Many a bright dream has been dissolved, many a fairer 
 vision replaced, by some dark reality ; blighted hopes, false friendships, 
 have gradually worn callous the heart once alive to every gentle feel- 
 ing ; and time begins to tell upon us : yet still, as the well-remembered 
 melody to which we listened with delight in infancy brings to our 
 mature age a touch of early years, so will the very association of these 
 happy moments recur to us in our reverie, and make us young again
 
 FRED POWER'S ADVENTURE IN PHILIPSTOWN 153 
 
 in thought. Then it is that, as we look back upon our worldly career, 
 we become convinced how truly is the child the father of the man, 
 how frequently are the projects of our manhood the fruit of some 
 boyish predilection ; and that, in the emulative ardour that stirs the 
 schoolboy's heart, we may read the prestige of that high daring that 
 makes a hero of its possessor. 
 
 These moments, too, are scarcely more pleasurable than they are 
 salutary to us. Disengaged for the time of every worldly anxiety, we 
 pass in review before our own selves, and in the solitude of our own 
 hearts are we judged. That still, small voice of conscience, unheard 
 and unlistened to, amid the din and bustle of life, speaks audibly to 
 us now ; and whilst chastened on one side by regrets, we are sustained 
 on the other by some approving thought, and, with many a sorrow for 
 the past, and many a promise for the future, we begin to feel " how 
 good it is for us to be here." 
 
 The evening wore later ; the red sun sank down upon the sea, 
 growing larger and larger ; the long line of mellow gold that sheeted 
 along the distant horizon grew first of a dark, ruddy tinge, then paler 
 and paler, till it became almost grey ; a single star shone faintly in 
 the east, and darkness soon set in. With night came the wind, for 
 almost imperceptibly the sails swelled slowly out, a slight rustle at the 
 bow followed, the ship lay gently over, and we were once more in 
 motion. It struck four bells ; some casual resemblance in the sound 
 to the old pendulum that marked the hour at my uncle's house startled 
 me so that I actually knew not where I was. With lightning speed, 
 my once home rose up before me with its happy hearts ; the old familiar 
 faces were there ; the gay laugh was in my ears ; there sat my dear old 
 uncle, as with bright eye and mellow voice he looked a very welcome 
 to his guests ; there Boyle ; there Considine ; there the grim-visaged 
 portraits that graced the old walls, whose black oak wainscot stood in 
 broad light and shadow, as the blazing turf fire shone upon it ; there 
 was my own place, now vacant : methought my uncle's eye was turned 
 towards it, and that I heard him say, " My poor boy ! 1 wonder where 
 he is now !" My heart swelled ; my chest heaved ; the tears coursed 
 down my cheeks, as I asked myself, ' ' Shall I ever see them more ? " 
 Oh ! how little, how very little to us are the accustomed blessings of 
 our life, till some change has robbed us of them ; and how dear are 
 they when lost to us ! My uncle's dark foreboding that we should 
 never meet again on earth came, for the first time, forcibly to my mind, 
 and my heart was full to bursting. What could repay me for the agony 
 of that moment, as I thought of him my first, my best, my only friend 
 whom I had deserted ; and how gladly would I have resigned my 
 bright day-dawn of ambition to be once more beside his chair ; to hear 
 his voice ; to see his smile ; to feel his love for me. A loud laugh 
 from the cabin roused me from my sad, depressing reverie ; and at the 
 same instant Mike's well-known voice informed me that the Captain 
 was looking for me everywhere, as supper was on the table. Little as 
 I felt disposed to join the party at such a moment, as I knew there 
 was no escaping Power, I resolved to make the best of matters ; so 
 after a few minutes, I followed Mickey down the companion, and 
 entered the cabin.
 
 154 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 The scene before me was certainly not calculated to perpetuate 
 depressing 1 thoughts. At the head of a rude old-fashioned table, upon 
 which figured several black bottles, and various ill-looking drinking- 
 vessels of every shape and material, sat Fred Power ; on his right 
 was placed the skipper ; on his left the Doctor ; the bronzed, merry- 
 looking, weather-beaten features of the one contrasting ludicrously 
 with the pale, ascetic, acute-looking expression of the other. Sparks, 
 more than half-drunk, with the mark of a red-hot cigar upon his 
 nether lip, was lower down ; while Major Monsoon, to preserve the 
 symmetry of the party, had protruded his head, surmounted by a huge 
 red nightcap, from the berth opposite, and held out his goblet to be 
 replenished from the punch-bowl. 
 
 " Welcome, thrice welcome, thou man of Galway," cried out Power, 
 as he pointed to a seat, and pushed a wine-glass towards me. ' ' Just 
 in time, too, to pronounce upon a new brewery ; taste that ; a little 
 more of the lemon you would say, perhaps ; well, I agree with you ; 
 rum and brandy ; glenlivat and guava jelly ; limes, green tea, and a 
 slight suspicion of preserved ginger nothing else, upon honour and 
 the most simple mixture for the cure, the radical cure of blue devils 
 and debt I know of; eh, Doctor? You advise it yourself; to be 
 taken before bed-time ; nothing inflammatory in it ; nothing pugna- 
 cious ; a mere circulation of the better juices and more genial spirits of 
 the marly clay, without arousing any of the baser passions ; whisky is 
 the devil for that." 
 
 " I canna say that I dinna like whisky toddy," said the Doctor, " in 
 the cauld winter nights it's no sae bad." 
 
 " Ah ! that's it," said Power ; " there's the pull you Scotch have 
 upon us poor Patlanders ; cool, calculating, long-headed fellows, you 
 only come up to the mark after fifteen tumblers ; whereas we hot- 
 brained devils, with a blood at 212 of Fahrenheit and a high-pressure 
 engine of good spirits always ready for an explosion, we go clean mad 
 when tipsy ; not but I am fully convinced that a mad Irishman is worth 
 two sane people of any other country under heaven." 
 
 " If you mean by that insin insin avation to imply any disrespect 
 to the English," stuttered out Sparks, " I am bound to say that 1 for 
 one, and the Doctor, I am sure, for another " 
 
 " Na, na," interrupted the Doctor, ' ' ye mauna coont upon me ; I'm 
 no disposed to fecht ower our liquor." 
 
 "Then, Major Monsoon, I'm certain " 
 
 " Are ye, faith," said the Major, with a grin ; " blessed are they who 
 expect nothing^ of which number you are not for most decidedly you 
 shall be disappointed." 
 
 " Never mind, Sparks, take the whole fight to your own proper self, 
 and do battle like a man ; and here I stand, ready at all arms to prove 
 my position that we drink better, sing better, court better, fight 
 better, and make better punch than every John Bull from Berwick to 
 the Land's End." 
 
 Sparks, however, who seemed not exactly sure how far his antago- 
 nist was disposed to quiz, relapsed into a half-tipsy expression of con- 
 temptuous silence, and sipped his liquor without reply. 
 
 " Yes/' said Power, after a pause, " bad luck to it for whisky ; it
 
 FRED POWER'S ADVENTURE IN PHILIPSTOWN 155 
 
 nearly got me broke once, and poor Tom O'Reilly of the 5th, too, the 
 best-tempered fellow in the service ; we were as near it as touch and 
 go ; and all for some confounded Loughrea spirits, that we believed to 
 be perfectly innocent, and used to swill away freely, without suspicion 
 of any kind." 
 
 " Let's hear the story," said I, " by all means." 
 
 " It's not a long one," said Power ; " so I don't care if I tell it ; 
 and besides, if I make a clean breast of my own sins, I'll insist upon 
 Monsoon's telling you afterwards how he stocked his cellar in Cadiz ; 
 eh, Major ? there's worse tipple than the King of Spain's sherry ? " 
 
 "You shall judge for yourself, old boy," said Monsoon good- 
 humouredly ; "and, as for the narrative, it is equally at your service. 
 Of course, it goes no farther. The commander-in-chief, long life to 
 him, is a glorious fellow ; but he has no more idea of a joke than the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, and it might chance to reach him." 
 
 " Recount and fear not," cried Power ; " we are discreet as the 
 worshipful company of apothecaries." 
 
 " But you forget you are to lead the way." 
 
 " Here goes then," said the jolly captain ; " not that the story has 
 any merit in it, but the moral is beautiful. 
 
 " Ireland, to be sure, is a beautiful country, but somehow it would 
 prove a very dull one to be quartered in, if it were not that the people 
 seem to have a natural taste for the army. From the belle of Merrion 
 Square down to the innkeeper's daughter in Tralee, the loveliest part 
 of the creation seem to have a perfect appreciation of our high acquire- 
 ments and advantages ; and, in no other part of the globe, the Tonga 
 Islands included, is a red-coat more in favour. To be sure, they would 
 be very ungrateful if it were not the case ; for we, upon our sides, 
 leave no stone unturned to make ourselves agreeable. We ride, drink, 
 play, and make love to the ladies, from Fairhead to Killarney, in a way 
 greatly calculated to render us popular ; and, as far as making the time 
 pass pleasantly, we are the boys for the ' greatest happiness ' principle. 
 I repeat it ; we deserve our popularity. Which of us does not get 
 over head and ears in debt with garrison balls and steeplechases, pic- 
 nics, regattas, and the thousand and one inventions to get rid of one's 
 spare cash, so-called for being so sparingly dealt out by our governors ? 
 Now and then, too, when all else fails, we take a newly joined ensign, 
 and make him marry some pretty but penniless lass, in a country town, 
 just to show the rest that we are not joking, but have serious ideas of 
 matrimony, in the midst of all our flirtation. If it were all like this, 
 the green isle would be a paradise ; but, unluckily, every now and then, 
 one is condemned to some infernal place, where there is neither a 
 pretty face nor light ankle ; where the priest himself is not a good 
 fellow ; and long, ill-paved, straggling streets, filled on market-days 
 with booths of striped calico and soapy cheese, is the only promenade ; 
 and a ruinous barrack, with mouldy walls and a tumbling chimney, the 
 only quarters. 
 
 " In vain on your return from your morning stroll, or afternoon 
 canter, you look on the chimney-piece for a shower of visiting-cards, 
 and pink notes of invitation ; in vain you ask your servant has any one 
 called. Alas ! your only visitor has been the gauger, to demand a
 
 16fl CHARLES O'AI ALLEY 
 
 party to assist in still-hunting 1 , amid that interesting class of the popu- 
 lation, who, having nothing to eat, are engaged in devising drink, and 
 care as much for the life of a red-coat, as you do for that of a crow or 
 a curlew. This may seem overdrawn ; but I would ask you, were you 
 ever for your sins quartered in that capital city of the Bog of Allen 
 they call Philipstown ? Oh, but it is a romantic spot ! They tell us 
 somewhere that much of the expression of the human face divine 
 depends upon the objects which constantly surround us. Thus the 
 inhabitants of mountain districts imbibe, as it were, a certain bold and 
 daring character of expression from the scenery, very different from 
 the placid and monotonous look of those who dwell in plains and 
 valleys ; and I can certainly credit the theory in this instance, for every 
 man, woman, and child you meet has a brown, baked, scruffy, turf- 
 like face that fully satisfy you that if Adam were formed of clay, the 
 Philipstown people were worse treated, and only made of bog-mould. 
 
 "Well, one fine morning, poor Tom and myself were marched off 
 from Birr, where one might ' live and love for ever,' to take up our 
 quarters at this sweet spot. Little we knew of Philipstown, and, like 
 my friend, the Adjutant there, when he laid siege to Derry, we made 
 our entree with all the pomp we could muster, and though we had 
 no band our drums and fifes did duty for it ; and we brushed along 
 through turf-creels and wicker-baskets of new brogues that obstructed 
 the street till we reached the barrack, the only testimony of admiration 
 we met with being, I feel bound to admit, from a ragged urchin of ten 
 years, who, with a wattle in his hand, imitated me as I marched along, 
 and, when I cried halt, took his leave of us by dexterously affixing his 
 thumb to the side of his nose, and outstretching his fingers, as if thus 
 to convey a very strong hint that we were not half so fine fellows as 
 we thought ourselves. Well, four mortal summer months of hot sun 
 and cloudless sky went over, and still we lingered in that vile village, 
 the everlasting monotony of our days being marked by the same brief 
 morning drill, the same blue-legged chicken dinner, the same smoky 
 Loughrea whisky, and the same evening stroll along the canal bank, 
 to watch for the Dublin packet-boat, with its never-varying cargo of 
 cattle-dealers, priests, and peelers, on their way to the west country, as 
 though the demand for such productions in these parts was insatiable. 
 This was pleasant, you will say ; but, what was to be done ? we had 
 nothing else. Now, nothing saps a man's temper like ennui. The 
 cranky, peevish people one meets with would be excellent folk if they 
 only had something to do. As for us, I'll venture to say, two men 
 more disposed to go pleasantly down the current of life it were hard 
 to meet with ; and, yet such was the consequence of these confounded 
 four months' sequestration from all other society, we became sour and 
 cross-grained ; everlastingly disputing about trifles, and continually 
 arguing about matters which neither were interested in, nor indeed 
 knew anything about. There were, it is true, few topics to discuss ; 
 newspapers we never saw ; sporting there was none ; but, then, the 
 drill, the return of duty, the probable chances of our being ordered for 
 service, were all daily subjects to be talked over, and usually with con- 
 siderable asperity and bitterness. One point, however, always served 
 us, when hard pushed for a bone of contention, and which, begun by a
 
 FRED POWER'S ADVENTURE IN PHILIPSTOWN 157 
 
 mere accideut at first, gradually increased to a sore aud techy subject, 
 and finally led to the consequences which I have hinted at in the 
 beginning this was no less than the respective merits of our mutual 
 servants ; each everlastingly indulging in a tirade against the other for 
 awkwardness, incivility, unhandiness, charges, I am bound to confess, 
 most amply proved on either side. 
 
 <e ' Well, I am sure, O'Reilly, if you can stand that fellow. It's no 
 affair of mine ; but such an ungainly savage I never met,' I would say. 
 
 "To which he would reply, ' Bad enough he is, certainly; but, by 
 Jove ! when I only think of your Hottentot, I feel grateful for what 
 I've got.' 
 
 " Then ensued a discussion, with attack, rejoinder, charge and re- 
 crimination, till we retired for the night, wearied with our exertions, 
 and not a little ashamed of ourselves at bottom for our absurd warmth 
 and excitement. In the morning the matter would be rigidly avoided 
 by each party, until some chance occasion had brought it on the tapis, 
 when hostilities would be immediately renewed, and carried on with 
 the same vigour, to end as before. 
 
 '' In this agreeable state of matters we sat one warm summer evening 
 before the mess-room, under the shade of a canvas awning, discussing, 
 by way of refrigerant, our eighth tumbler of whisky punch : we had 
 as usual been jarring away about everything under heaven. A lately 
 arrived post-chaise, with an old, stiff-looking gentleman in a queue, 
 had formed a kind of ' God-send ' for debate, as to who he was, whither 
 he was going, whether he really had intended to spend the night there, 
 or that he had only put up because the chaise was broken ; each, as 
 was customary, maintaining his own opinion with an obstinacy we have 
 often since laughed at, though, at the time, we had few mirthful 
 thoughts about the matter. 
 
 As the debate waxed warm, O'Reilly asserting that he positively 
 knew the individual in question to be a United Irishman travelling 
 with instructions from the French Government, while I laughed him 
 to scorn, by swearing that he was the rector of Tyrrel's Pass ; that I 
 knew him well, and, moreover, that he was the worst preacher in 
 Ireland. Singular enough it was, that all this while the disputed 
 identity was himself standing coolly at the inn window, with his snuff- 
 box in his hand, leisurely examining us as we sat, appearing, at least, 
 to take a very lively interest in our debate. 
 
 "'Come, now/ said O'Reilly, 'there's only one way to conclude 
 this, and make you pay for your obstinacy. What will you bet that 
 he's the rector of Tyrrel's Pass?' 
 
 " ' What odds will you take that he's Wolfe Tone ? ' inquired I 
 sueeringly. 
 
 ' ' ' Five to one against the rector,' said he exultingly. 
 
 " ' An elephant's molar to a toothpick against Wolfe Tone ? ' cried I. 
 
 <( ' Ten pound even that I'm nearer the mark than you,' said Tom, 
 with a smash of his fist upon the table. 
 
 " ' Done,' said 1, ( done ; but how are we to decide the wager ? ' 
 
 (C l That's soon done,' said he ; at the same instant he sprung to his 
 legs, and called out, ' Pat I say, Pat I want you to present my 
 respects to '
 
 158 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' No, no, I bar that no ex parte statements. Here, Jem, do you 
 simply tell that ' 
 
 " ' That fellow can't deliver a message. Do come here, Pat. Just 
 beg of ' 
 
 " ' He'll blunder it, the confounded fool ; so Jem, do you go.' 
 
 " The two individuals thus addressed were just in the act of convey- 
 ing a tray of glasses and a spiced round of beef for supper into the 
 mess-room ; and, as I may remark that they fully entered into the 
 feelings of jealousy their respective masters professed, each eyed the 
 other with a look of very unequivocal dislike. 
 
 " ' Arrah, you needn't be pushin' me that way,' said Pat, ' an' the 
 round o' beef in my hands.' 
 
 " Devil's luck to ye, it's the glasses you'll be breaking, with your 
 awkward elbow.' 
 
 " ' Then why don't ye leave the way : ain't I your suparior ? ' 
 
 " ' Ain't I the Captain's own man ? ' 
 
 ' ' ' Ay, and if ye war. Don't I belong to his betters ! Isn't my 
 master the two liftenants ? ' 
 
 1 c This, strange as it may sound, was so far true, as I held a commis- 
 sion in an African corps, with my lieutenancy in the 5th. 
 
 ' ' ' Begorra, av he was six there now, you've done it. ' 
 
 " At the same moment a tremendous crash took place, and the large 
 dish fell in a thousand pieces on the pavement, while the spiced round 
 rolled pensively down the yard. 
 
 " Scarcely was the noise heard, when, with one vigorous kick, the 
 tray of glasses was sent spinning into the air, and the next moment 
 the disputants were engaged in bloody battle. It was at this moment 
 that our attention was first drawn towards them, and I need not say 
 with what feelings of interest we looked on. 
 
 " ' Hit him, Pat there, Jem, under the guard that's it go in 
 well done, left hand by Jove ! that was a facer his eye's closed he's 
 down not a bit of it how do you like that ? unfair, unfair no such 
 thing I say it was not at all I deny it.' 
 
 f ' By this time we had approached the combatants, each man patting 
 his own fellow on the back and encouraging him by the most lavish 
 promises. Now it was, but in what way I never could exactly tell, 
 that I threw out my right hand to stop a blow that I saw coming rather 
 too near me, when, by some unhappy mischance, my doubled fist 
 lighted upon Tom O'Reilly's nose. Before I could express my sincere 
 regret for the accident, the blow was returned with double force, and 
 the next moment we were at it harder than the others. After five 
 minutes' sharp work, we both stopped for breath and incontinently 
 burst out a-laughing. There was Tom with a nose as large as three ; 
 a huge cheek on one side, and the whole head swinging round like a 
 harlequin's ; while I with one eye closed, and the other like a half- 
 shut cockle-shell, looked scarcely less rueful. We had not much time 
 for mirth, for at the same instant a sharp, full voice called out close 
 beside us : 
 
 " ' To your quarters, sirs. I put you both under arrest, from which 
 you are not to be released until the sentence of a court-martial decide 
 if conduct such as this becomes officers and gentlemen.'
 
 THE VOYAGE 159 
 
 11 1 looked round and saw the old fellow in the queue. 
 
 " ' Wolfe Tone, by all that's unlucky,' said I, with an attempt at a 
 smile. 
 
 " ' The rector of Tyrrel's Pass/ cried out Tom, with a snuffle ; ' the 
 worst preacher in Ireland ; eh, Fred?' 
 
 " We had not much time for further commentaries upon our friend, 
 for he at once opened his frock coat, and displayed to our horrified 
 gaze the uniform of a general officer. 
 
 " ' Yes, sir, General Johnston, if you will allow me to present him 
 to your acquaintance ; and now, guard, turn out. ' 
 
 (C In a few minutes more the orders were issued, and poor Tom and 
 myself found ourselves fast confined to our quarters, with a sentinel 
 at the door, and the pleasant prospect that in the space of about ten 
 days we should be broke, and dismissed the service ; which verdict, as 
 the general order would say, the Commander of the Forces has been 
 graciously pleased to approve. 
 
 ' ' However, when morning came, the old general, who was really 
 a trump, inquired a little further into the matter, saw it was partly 
 accidental, and after a severe reprimand, and a caution about Loughrea 
 whisky after the sixth tumbler, released us from arrest and forgave the 
 whole affair." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE VOYAGE 
 
 UGH ! what a miserable thing is a voyage ! Here we are now eight 
 days at sea ; the eternal sameness of all around growing every hour 
 less supportable. Sea and sky are beautiful things when seen from 
 the dark woods and waving meadows on shore ; but their picturesque 
 effect is sadly marred from want of contrast ; besides that, the " tou- 
 jours pork," with crystals of salt as long as your wife's fingers ; the 
 potatoes, that seemed varnished in French polish ; the tea, seasoned 
 with geological specimens from the basin of London, yclept maple 
 sugar ; and the butter ye gods ! the butter ! But why enumerate 
 these smaller features of discomfort, and omit the more glaring ones ! 
 The utter selfishness which blue water suggests, as inevitably as the 
 cold fit follows the ague ; the good fellow that shares his knapsack or 
 his last guinea on land, here forages out the best corner to hang his 
 hammock ; jockeys you into a comfortless crib, where the uncaulked 
 deck but filters every rain from heaven on your head ; he votes you 
 the corner at dinner, not only that he may place you with your back 
 to the thorough draught of the gangway ladder, but that he may eat, 
 drink, and lie down before you have even begun to feel the qualmish- 
 ness that the dinner of a troopship is well calculated to suggest ; cuts 
 his pencil with your best razor ; wears your shirts, as washing is scarce ; 
 and winds up all by having a good story of you every evening for the 
 edification of the other " sharp gentlemen," who being too wide-awake 
 to be humbugged themselves, enjoy his success prodigiously. This, 
 gentle reader, is neither confession nor avowal of mine. The passage
 
 160 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I have here presented to you I have taken from the journal of my 
 brother officer, Mr. Sparks, who, when not otherwise occupied, usually 
 employed his time in committing to paper his thoughts upon men, 
 manners, and things at sea in general ; though, sooth to say, his was 
 not an idle life; being voted by unanimous consent "a junior," he 
 was condemned to offices that the veriest fag in Eton or Harrow had 
 rebelled against. In the morning, under the pseudonym of Mrs. 
 Sparks, he presided at breakfast, having previously made tea, coffee, 
 and chocolate for the whole cabin, besides boiling about twenty eggs 
 at various degrees of hardness ; he was under heavy recognisances to 
 provide a plate of buttered toast of very alarming magnitude, fried 
 ham, kidneys, &c., to no end. Later on, when others sauntered about 
 the deck, vainly endeavouring to fix their attention upon a novel or 
 a review, the poor cornet might be seen with a white apron tucked 
 gracefully round his spare proportions, whipping eggs for pancakes, or, 
 with upturned shirt-sleeves, fashioning dough for a pudding. As the 
 day waned, the cook's galley became his haunt, where, exposed to a 
 roasting fire, he inspected the details of a cuisine, for which, whatever 
 his demerits, he was sure of an ample remuneration in abuse at dinner. 
 Then came the dinner itself, that dread ordeal, where nothing was 
 praised and everything censured. This was followed by the punch- 
 making, where the tastes of six different and differing individuals 
 were to be exclusively consulted in the self-same beverage ; and, lastly, 
 the supper at night, when Sparkie, as he was familiarly called, towards 
 evening, grown quite exhausted, became the subject of unmitigated 
 wrath and most unmeasured reprobation. 
 
 e ( I say, Sparks, it's getting late ; the spatchcock, old boy ; don't be 
 slumbering. " 
 
 1 ' By-the-bye, Sparkie, what a mess you made of that pea-soup 
 to-day ! By 'Jove ! I never felt so ill in my life." 
 
 " Na, na, it was na the soup ; it was something he pit in the punch, 
 that's burnin' me ever since I tuk it. Ou, man, but ye're an awfu' 
 creture wi' vittals." 
 
 " He'll improve, Major, he'll improve ; don't discourage him ; the 
 boy's young ; be alive now there ; where's the toast confound you 
 where's the toast?" 
 
 " There, Sparks, you like a drumstick, I know mustn't muzzle the 
 ox, eh ? Scripture for you, old boy ; eat away ; hang the expense ; 
 hand him over the jug empty eh, Charley ? Come, Sparkie, bear a 
 hand, the liquor's out." 
 
 "But won't you let me eat? " 
 
 "Eat ! Heavens, what a fellow for eating ! By George, such an 
 appetite is clean against the articles of war ! Come, man, it's drink 
 we're thinking of ; there's the rum, sugar, limes ; see to the hot water. 
 Well, skipper, how are we getting on ? " 
 
 " Lying our course ; eight knots off the log ; pass the call. Why, 
 Mister Sparks !" 
 
 " Eh, Sparks, what's this ? " 
 
 " Sparks, my man, confound it ! " and, then, omnes chorusing 
 " Sparks ! " in every key of the gamut, the luckless fellow would be 
 obliged to jump up from his meagre fare, and set to work at a fresh
 
 THE VOYAGE 161 
 
 brewage of punch for the others. The bowl and the glasses, filled by 
 some little management on Power's part, our friend, the cornet, would 
 be drawn out, as the phrase is, into some confession of his early years, 
 which seemed to have been exclusively spent in love-making, devotion 
 to the fair being as integral a portion of his character as tippling was 
 of the worthy Major's. 
 
 Like most men who pass their lives in over-studious efforts to please 
 however ungallant the confession be the amiable Sparks had had 
 little success : his love, if not, as it generally happened, totally un- 
 requited, was invariably the source of some awkward catastrophe, 
 there being no imaginable error he had not at some time or other 
 fallen into, nor any conceivable mischance to which he had not been 
 exposed. Inconsolable widows, attached wives, fond mothers, newly- 
 married brides, engaged young ladies, were, by some contretemps, con- 
 tinually the subject of his attachments ; and the least mishap which 
 followed the avowal of his passion was to be heartily laughed at, and 
 obliged to leave the neighbourhood. Duels, apologies, actions at law, 
 compensations, &c., were of every-day occurrence; and to such an 
 extent, too, that any man blessed with a smaller bump upon the occiput 
 would eventually have long since abandoned the pursuit, and taken to 
 some less expensive pleasure ; but poor Sparks, in the true spirit of a 
 martyr, only gloried the more the more he suffered : and, like the 
 worthy man who continued to purchase tickets in the lottery for thirty 
 years, with nothing but a succession of blanks, he ever imagined that 
 Fortune was only trying his patience, and had some cool forty thousand 
 pounds of happiness waiting his perseverance in the end. Whether 
 this prize ever did turn up in the course of years I am unable to say ; 
 but, certainly, up to the period of his history I now speak of, all had 
 been as gloomy and unrequiting as need be. Power, who knew some- 
 thing of every man's adventures, was aware of so much of poor Sparks' 
 career, and usually contrived to lay a trap for a confession that generally 
 served to amuse us during an evening, as much, 1 acknowledge, from 
 the manner of the recital, as anything contained in the story. There 
 was a species of serious matter-of-fact simplicity in his detail of the 
 most ridiculous scenes, that left you convinced that his bearing upon the 
 affair in question must have greatly heightened the absurdity ; nothing, 
 however comic or droll in itself, ever exciting in him the least approach 
 to a smile ; he sat with his large light-blue eyes, light hair, long upper 
 lip, and retreating chin, lisping out an account of an adventure, with 
 a look of Liston about him that was inconceivably amusing. 
 
 ' ' Come, Sparks," said Power, " I claim a promise you made me the 
 other night, on condition we let you off making the oyster-patties at 
 ten o'clock ; you can't forget what I mean." Here the Captain know- 
 ingly touched the tip of his ear, at which signal the cornet coloured 
 slightly, and drank off his wine in a hurried, confused way. " He 
 promised to tell us, Major, how he lost the tip of his left ear. I have 
 myself heard hints of the circumstance, but would much rather hear 
 Sparks' own version of it" 
 
 "Another love-story," said the Doctor, with a grin, " I'll be bound." 
 " Shot off in a duel r " said I inquiringly ; " close work, too." 
 "No such thing," replied Power; "but Sparks will enlighten you. 
 
 L
 
 162 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 It is, without exception, the most touching and beautiful thing I ever 
 heard ; as a simple story, it beats the 'Vicar of Wakefield' to sticks." 
 
 ' ' You don't say so ! " said poor Sparks, blushing. 
 
 " Ay, that I do, and maintain it too. I'd rather be the hero of that 
 little adventure, and be able to recount it as you do for, mark me, 
 that's no small part of the effect than I'd be full colonel of the regi- 
 ment. Well, I am sure I always thought it affecting ; but, somehow, 
 my dear friend, you don't know your powers ; you have that within 
 you would make the fortune of half the periodicals going. Ask Mon- 
 soon or O'Malley there if I did not say so at breakfast, when you were 
 grilling the old hen, which, by-the-bye, let me remark, was not one 
 of your chef-d'ceuvres." 
 
 "A. tougher beastie I never put a tooth in." 
 
 ' ' But the story the story ! " said I. 
 
 " Yes," said Power, with a tone of command, " the story, Sparks." 
 
 " Well, if you really think it worth telling, as I have always felt it a 
 very remarkable incident, here goes." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 MR. SPARKS' STORY. 
 
 " I SAT at breakfast one beautiful morning in the Goat Inn at Bar- 
 mouth, looking out by one window upon the lovely vale of Barmouth, 
 with its tall trees and brown trout-stream struggling through the woods ; 
 then turning to take a view of the calm sea, that, speckled over with 
 white-sailed fishing-boats, stretched away in the distance. The eggs 
 were fresh ; the trout newly caught ; the cream delicious. Before me 
 lay the Plwdwddlwn Advertiser, which among the fashionabble arrivals 
 at the sea, set forth Mr. Sparks, nephew of Sir Toby Sparks, of 
 Manchester, a paragraph, by the way, I always inserted. The English 
 are naturally an aristocratic people, and set a due value upon a title." 
 
 "A very just observation," remarked Power seriously, while Sparks 
 continued : 
 
 " However, as far as any result from the announcement, I might as 
 well have spared myself the trouble ; for not a single person called ; 
 not one solitary invitation to dinner ; not a picnic ; not a breakfast ; 
 no, nor even a tea-party was heard of. Barmouth, at the time I speak 
 of, was just in that transition state at which the caterpillar may be 
 imagined, when, having abandoned his reptile habits, he still has not 
 succeeded in becoming a butterfly. In fact, it had ceased to be a fish- 
 ing-village, but had not arrived at the dignity of a watering-place. 
 Now, I know nothing as bad as this. You have not on one hand the 
 quiet retirement of a little peaceful hamlet, with its humble dwellings 
 and cheap pleasures ; nor have you the gay and animated tableau of 
 fashion in miniature on the other ; but you have noise, din, bustle, 
 confusion, beautiful scenery, and lovely points of view marred and 
 ruined by vulgar associations ; every bold rock and jutting promontory 
 has its citizen occupants ; every sandy cove or tide-washed bay has its
 
 MR. SPARKS' STORY 163 
 
 myriads of squalling babes and red-baize clad bathing-women, those 
 veritable descendants of the nymphs of old. Pink parasols, donkey- 
 carts, baskets of bread and butter, reticules, guides to Barmouth, 
 specimens of ore, fragments of gypsum, meet you at every step, and 
 destroy every illusion of the picturesque. 
 
 " ' 1 shall leave this,' thought I. ' My dreams, my long-cherished 
 dreams of romantic walks upon the seashore, of evening strolls by 
 moonlight, through dell and dingle, are reduced to a short promenade 
 through an alley of bathing-boxes, amid a screaming population of 
 nursery-maids and sick children, with a thorough bass of "fresh 
 shrimps," discordant enough to frighten the very fish from the shores. 
 There is no peace, no quiet, no romance, no poetry, no love.' Alas ! 
 that most of all was wanting ; for, after all, what is it which lights up 
 the heart, save the flame of a mutual attachment ? what gilds the fair 
 stream of life save the bright ray of warm affection ? what " 
 
 " In a word," said Power, " it is the sugar in the punch-bowl of our 
 existence. Perge, Sparks, push on." 
 
 ' ' I was not long in making up my mind. I called for my bill ; I 
 packed my clothes ; I ordered post-horses ; I was ready to start ; one 
 item in the bill alone detained me. The frequent occurrence of the 
 enigmatical word ' cur,' following my servant's name, demanded an 
 explanation, which I was in the act of receiving, when a chaise and 
 four drove rapidly to the house. In a moment the blinds were drawn 
 up, and such a head appeared at the window ! Let me pause for one 
 moment to drink in the remembrance of that lovely being ; eyes where 
 heaven's own blue seemed concentrated were shaded by long deep 
 lashes of the darkest brown ; a brow fair, noble, and expansive, at each 
 side of which masses of dark brown hair waved, half in ringlets, half 
 in loose falling bands, shadowing her pale and downy cheek, where one 
 faint rosebud tinge seemed lingering ; lips slightly parted, as though 
 to speak, gave to the features all the play of animation which completed 
 this intellectual character, and made up " 
 
 (e What I should say was a devilish pretty girl," interrupted Power. 
 
 " Back the widow against her at long odds any day," murmured the 
 Adjutant. 
 
 e ' She was an angel, an angel ! " cried Sparks with enthusiasm. 
 
 " So was the widow, if you go to that," said the Adjutant hastily. 
 
 1 ' And so is Matilda Dalrymple," said Power, with a sly look at me. 
 (< We are all honourable men, eh, Charley ? " 
 
 " Go ahead with the story," said the skipper ; " I'm beginning to 
 feel an interest in it." 
 
 " ' Isabella,' said a man's voice, as a large well-dressed personage 
 assisted her to alight, ( Isabella, love, you must take a little rest here 
 before we proceed further.' 
 
 " ' I think she had better, sir,' said a matronly-looking woman with 
 a plaid cloak and a black bonnet. 
 
 "They disappeared within the house, and I was left alone. The 
 bright dream was passed ; she was there no longer ; but in my heart 
 her image lived, and I almost felt she was before me. I thought I 
 heard her voice ; I saw her move ; my limbs trembled ; my hands 
 tingled ; I rang the bell, ordered my trunks back again to No. 5, and
 
 164 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 as I sank upon the sofa, murmured to myself, ' This is indeed love at 
 first sight ! ' " 
 
 ' ' How devilish sudden it was/' said the skipper. 
 
 ' ( Exactly like camp fever," responded the Doctor : " one moment ye 
 are vara well ; the next ye are seized wi' a kind of shivering ; then 
 comes a kind of mandering, dandering, travelling a'overness. " 
 
 " D the camp fever !" interrupted Sparks. 
 
 " Well, as I observed, I fell in love ; and here let me take the op- 
 portunity of observing that all that we are in the habit of hearing about 
 single or only attachments is mere nonsense. No man is so capable of 
 feeling deeply as he who is in the daily practice of it. Love, like 
 everything else in this world, demands a species of cultivation. The 
 mere tyro in an affair of the heart thinks he has exhausted all its 
 pleasures and pains ; but only he who has made it his daily study for 
 years, familiarising his mind with every phase of the passion, can 
 properly or adequately appreciate it. Thus, the more you love, the 
 better you love, the more frequently has your heart yielded." 
 
 ' ' It's vara like the mucous membrane," said the Doctor. 
 
 " I'll break your neck with the decanter if you interrupt him again ! " 
 exclaimed Power. 
 
 ' ' For days I scarcely ever left the house," resumed Sparks, " watch- 
 ing to catch one glance of the lovely Isabella. My farthest excursion was 
 to the little garden of the inn, where I used to set every imaginable 
 species of snare, in the event of her venturing to walk there. One 
 day I would leave a volume of poetry ; another, a copy of ' Paul and 
 Virginia ' with a marked page ; sometimes, my guitar, with a broad blue 
 ribbon, would hang pensively from a tree ; but alas ! all in vain ; she 
 never appeared. At length, I took courage to ask the waiter about 
 her ; for some minutes he could not comprehend what I meant ; but, 
 at last, discovering my object, he cried out, ' Oh ! No. 8, sir, it is No. 8 
 you mean.' 
 
 " ' It may be,' said I, ' what of her, then ? ' 
 
 " ' Oh sir, she's gone these three days.' 
 
 11 ' Gone,' said I, with a groan. 
 
 ' ' ' Yes, sir ; she left this early on Tuesday with the same old gentle- 
 man and the old woman in a chaise and four : they ordered horses 
 at Dolgelly to meet them ; but I don't know which road they took 
 afterwards.' 
 
 " I fell back on my chair unable to speak. Here was 1 enacting 
 Romeo for three mortal days to a mere company of Welsh waiters and 
 chambermaids, sighing, serenading, reciting, attitudinising, rose-pluck- 
 ing, soliloquising, half-suiciding, and all for the edification of a set of 
 savages, with about as much civilisation as their own goats. 
 
 " 'The bill,' cried I, in a voice of thunder, ' my bill this instant.' 
 
 (( I had been imposed upon shamefully ; grossly imposed upon, and 
 would not remain another hour in the house. Such were my feelings, 
 at least, and so thinking, I sent for my servant, abused him for not 
 having my clothes ready packed ; he replied ; I reiterated ; and, as my 
 temper mounted, vented every imaginable epithet upon his head, and 
 concluded by paying him his wages, and sending him about his busi- 
 ness. In one hour more I was upon the road.
 
 MR. SPARKS' STORY 165 
 
 " ' What road, sir ? ' said the postillion, as he mounted into the 
 saddle. 
 
 " f To the devil, if you please,' said I, throwing myself back in the 
 carriage. 
 
 " ' Very well, sir,' replied the boy, putting spurs to his horse. 
 
 " That evening I arrived in Bedgellert. 
 
 ' ' The little humble inn of Bedgellert, with its thatched roof and 
 earthen floor, was a most welcome sight to me, after eleven hours' 
 travelling on a broiling July day. Behind the very house itself rose 
 the mighty Siiowdon, towering high above the other mountains, whose 
 lofty peaks were lost amid the clouds ; before me was the narrow 
 valley " 
 
 " Wake me up when he's under way again," said the skipper, yawn- 
 ing fearfully. 
 
 " Go on, Sparks," said Power encouragingly, " I was never more 
 interested in my life ; eh, O'Malley? " 
 
 11 Quite thrilling," responded I, and Sparks resumed. 
 
 " Three weeks did I loiter about that sweet spot, my mind filled 
 with images of the past and dreams of the future, my fishing-rod my 
 only companion ; not, indeed, that I ever caught anything ; for, some- 
 how, my tackle was always getting foul of some willow-tree or water- 
 lily, and, at last, I gave up even the pretence of whipping the streams. 
 Well, one day, I remember it as well as though it were but yesterday : 
 it was the 4th of August, I had set off upon an excursion to Llan- 
 beris. I had crossed Snowdon early, and reached the little lake on the 
 opposite side by breakfast time. There I sat down near the ruined 
 tower of Dolbadern, and, opening my knapsack, made a hearty meal. 
 I have ever been a day-dreamer ; and there are few things I like better 
 than to lie, upon some hot and sunny day, in the tall grass beneath the 
 shade of some deep boughs, with running water murmuring near, hear- 
 ing the summer bee buzzing monotonously, and at the distance, the 
 clear, sharp tinkle of the sheep-bell. In such a place, at such a time, 
 one's fancy strays playfully, like some happy child, and none but plea- 
 sant thoughts present themselves. Fatigued by my long walk, and 
 overcome by heat, I fell asleep. How long I lay there I cannot tell, 
 but the deep shadows were half-way down the tall mountain when I 
 awoke. A sound had startled me ; I thought I heard a voice speaking 
 close to me. I looked up, and for some seconds I could not believe 
 that I was not dreaming. Beside me, within a few paces, stood Isabella, 
 the beautiful vision that I had seen at Barmouth, but far a thousand 
 times more beautiful. She was dressed in something like a peasant's 
 dress, and wore the round hat which, in Wales at least, seems to suit 
 the character of the female face so well ; her long and waving ringlets 
 fell carelessly upon her shoulders, and her cheek flushed from walking. 
 Before I had a moment's notice to recover my roving thoughts, she 
 spoke : her voice was full and round, but soft and thrilling, as she 
 said : 
 
 " e l beg pardon, sir, for having disturbed you unconsciously ; but, 
 having done so, may I request you will assist me to fill this pitcher 
 with water ? ' 
 
 " She pointed at the same time to a small stream which trickled
 
 166 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 down a fissure in the rock and formed a little well of clear water 
 beneath. I bowed deeply, and murmuring something I know not 
 what took the pitcher from her hand, and scaling the rocky cliff, 
 mounted to the clear source above, where, having filled the vessel, I 
 descended. When I reached the ground beneath I discovered that she 
 was joined by another person, whom, in an instant, I recognised to be 
 the old gentleman I had seen with her at Barmouth, and who in the 
 most courteous manner apologised for the trouble I had been caused, 
 and informed me that a party of his friends were enjoying a little 
 picnic quite near, and invited me to make one of them. 
 
 " I need not say that I accepted the invitation, nor that with delight 
 I seized the opportunity of forming an acquaintance with Isabella, who, 
 I must confess, upon her part, showed no disinclination to the prospect 
 of my joining the party. 
 
 " After a few minutes' walking we came to a small rocky point which 
 projected for some distance into the lake and offered a view for several 
 miles of the vale of Llanberis. Upon this lovely spot we found the 
 party assembled : it consisted of about fourteen or fifteen persons, 
 all busily engaged in the arrangement of a very excellent cold dinner, 
 each individual having some peculiar province allotted to him or her to 
 be performed by their own hands. Thus, one elderly gentleman was 
 whipping cream under a chestnut tree ; while a very fashionably- 
 dressed young man was washing radishes in the lake ; an old lady with 
 spectacles was frying salmon over a wood fire, opposite to a short pursy 
 man with a bald head, and drab shorts, deep in the mystery of a chicken 
 salad, from which he never lifted his eyes, when I came up. It was 
 thus I found how the fair Isabella's lot had been cast, as a drawer of 
 water ; she, with the others, contributing her share of exertion for the 
 common good. The old gentleman who accompanied her seemed the 
 only unoccupied person, and appeared to be regarded as the ruler of 
 the feast ; at least, they all called him general, and implicitly followed 
 every suggestion he threw out. He was a man of a certain grave and 
 quiet manner, blended with a degree of mild good-nature and courtesy, 
 that struck me much at first, and gained greatly on me, even in the 
 few minutes I conversed with him as we came along. Just before he 
 presented me to his friends he gently touched my arm, and, drawing 
 me aside, whispered in my ear 
 
 " ' Don't be surprised at anything you may hear to-day here ; for I 
 must inform you this is a kind of club, as I may call it, where every 
 one assumes a certain character, and is bound to sustain it under a 
 penalty. We have these little meetings every now and then ; and, as 
 strangers are never present, I feel some explanation necessary, that 
 you may be able to enjoy the thing ; you understand ? ' 
 
 " ' Oh, perfectly,' said I, overjoyed at the novelty of the scene, and 
 anticipating much pleasure from my chance meeting with such very 
 original characters. 
 
 " ' Mr. Sparks, Mrs. Winterbottom. Allow me to present Mr. 
 Sparks.' 
 
 " ' Any news from Batavia, young gentleman ? ' said the sallow old 
 lady addressed. ' How is coffee ? ' 
 
 " The general passed on, introducing me rapidly as he went.
 
 MR. SPARKS' STORY 167 
 
 "'Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Sparks.' 
 
 "'Ah, how do you do, old boy?' said Mr. Doolittle ; 'sit down 
 beside me. We have forty thousand acres of pickle cabbage spoiling 
 for want of a little vinegar.' 
 
 " ' Fie, fie, Mr. Doolittle,' said the general, and passed on to 
 another. 
 
 " ' Mr. Sparks, Captain Crosstree.' 
 
 " ' Ah, Sparks, Sparks ; son of Old Blazes ! ha, ha, ha ! ' and the 
 captain fell back into an immoderate fit of laughter. 
 
 '" Le Roi est servi,' said the thin meagre figure in nankeens, bowing, 
 cap in hand, before the general ; arid, accordingly, we all assumed our 
 places upon the grass. 
 
 " ' Say it again ; say it again ! and I'll plunge this dagger in your 
 heart ! ' said a hollow voice, tremulous with agitation and rage, close 
 beside me. I turned my head, and saw an old gentleman with a wart 
 on his nose, sitting opposite a meat pie, which he was contemplating 
 with a look of fiery indignation. Before I could witness the sequel of 
 the scene, I felt a soft hand pressed upon mine. I turned. It was 
 Isabella herself, who, looking at me with an expression I shall never 
 forget, said : 
 
 " 'Don't mind poor Faddy ; he never hurts any one.' 
 
 " Meanwhile the business of dinner went on rapidly the servants, 
 of whom enormous numbers were now present, ran hither and thither ; 
 and duck, ham, pigeon-pie, cold veal, apple tarts, cheese, pickled 
 salmon, melon and rice pudding, flourished on every side. As for me, 
 whatever I might have gleaned from the conversation around under 
 other circumstances, I was too much occupied with Isabella to think of 
 any one else. My suit for such it was progressed rapidly. There 
 was evidently something favourable in the circumstances we last met 
 under ; for her manner had all the warmth and cordiality of old friend- 
 ship. It is true, that more than once I caught the general's eye fixed 
 upon us, with anything but an expression of pleasure, and I thought 
 that Isabella blushed and seemed confused also. ' What care I, how- 
 ever ? ' was my reflection ; ' my views are honourable, and the nephew 
 
 and heir of Sir Toby Sparks ' Just in the very act of making this 
 
 reflection, the old man in the shorts hit me in the eye with a roasted 
 apple, calling out at the moment 
 
 " ' When did you join, thou child of the pale faces ? ' 
 
 " ' Mr. Murdocks,' cried the general in a voice of thunder, and the 
 little man hung down his head, and spoke not. 
 
 " ' A word with you, young gentleman,' said a fat old lady, pinching 
 my arm above the elbow. 
 
 " ' Never mind her/ said Isabella, smiling ; ' poor dear old Dorking, 
 she thinks she's an hour-glass ; how droll, isn't it?' 
 
 " ' Young man, have you any feelings of humanity ? ' inquired the 
 old lady, with tears in her eyes as she spoke. ' Will you, dare you 
 assist a fellow-creature under my sad circumstances ? ' 
 
 " ' What can I do for you, madam ? ' said I, really feeling for her 
 distress. 
 
 '"Just, like a good dear soul, just turn me up, for I'm just run 
 out.'
 
 168 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Isabella burst out a-laughiug at the strange request, an excess 
 which, I confess, I was unable myself to repress ; upon which the old 
 lady, putting on a frown of most ominous blackness, said : 
 
 " ' You may laugh, madam ; but first, before you ridicule the misr 
 fortunes of others, ask yourself are you too free from infirmity ? When 
 did you see the ace of spades? Madam, answer me that.' 
 
 " Isabella became suddenly pale as death, her very lips blanched ; 
 and her voice, almost inaudible, muttered : 
 
 " ' Am I then deceived ? Is not this he ? ' so saying, she placed her 
 hand upon my shoulder. 
 
 " ' That the ace of spades ! ' exclaimed the old lady with a sneer : 
 e that the ace of spades P 
 
 ' c ' Are you, or are you not, sir ? ' said Isabella, fixing her deep and 
 languid eyes upon me ; e answer, as you are honest, are you the ace of 
 spades ? ' 
 
 " 'He is the King of Tuscarora ; look at his war paint !' cried an 
 elderly gentleman, putting a streak of mustard across my nose and 
 cheek. 
 
 " ' Then am I deceived ! ' said Isabella ; and, flying at me, she plucked 
 a handful of hair out of my whiskers. 
 
 " 'Cuckoo, cuckoo !' shouted one; f Bow, wow, wow !' roared an- 
 other ; ' Phiz ! ' went a third ; and, in an instant, such a scene of com- 
 motion and riot ensued ; plates, dishes, knives, forks, and decanters 
 flew right and left ; every one pitched into his neighbour with the 
 most fearful cries, and hell itself seemed broke loose ; the hour-glass 
 and the Moulah of Oude had got me down, and were pummelling me 
 to death, when a short thickset man came on all fours slap down upon 
 them, shouting out, ' Way, make way for the royal Bengal tiger,' at 
 which they both fled like lightning, leaving me to the encounter single- 
 handed. Fortunately, however, this was not of very long duration, 
 for some well-disposed Christians pulled him from off me ; not, how- 
 ever, before he had seized me in his grasp, and bitten off a portion of 
 my right ear, leaving me, as you see, thus mutilated for the rest of my 
 days." 
 
 " What an extraordinary club ! " broke in the Doctor. 
 
 ' ' Club ! sir, club ! it was a lunatic asylum. The general was no 
 other than the famous Dr. Andrew Moorville, that had the great mad- 
 house at Bangor, and who was in the habit of giving his patients 
 every now and then a kind of country party ; it being one remarkable 
 feature of the malady that, when one takes to his peculiar flight, 
 whatever it may be, the others immediately take the hint, and go off 
 at score : hence my agreeable adventure ; the Bengal tiger being a 
 Liverpool merchant, and the most vicious madman in England ; while 
 the hour-glass and the Moulah were both on an experimental tour 
 to see whether they should not be pronounced totally incurable for 
 life " 
 
 " And Isabella ? " inquired Power. 
 
 " Ah ! poor Isabella had been driven mad by a card-playing aunt at 
 Bath, and was, in fact, the most hopeless case there. The last words I 
 heard her speak confirmed my mournful impression of her case. 
 
 1 s ' Yes,' said she, as they removed her to her carriage, ' I must,
 
 THE SKIPPER 169 
 
 indeed, have but weak intellects, when I could have taken the nephew 
 of a Manchester cotton-spinner, with a face like a printed calico, for a 
 trump-card, and the best in the pack !' " 
 
 Poor Sparks uttered these last words with a faltering accent, and, 
 finishing his glass at one draught, withdrew without wishing us good 
 night. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THE SKIPPER 
 
 IN such like gossipings passed our days away, for our voyage itself had 
 nothing of adventure or incident to break its dull monotony ; save 
 some few hours of calm, we had been steadily following our seaward 
 track with a fair breeze, and the long pennant pointed ever to the land, 
 where our ardent expectations were hurrying before it. 
 
 The latest accounts which had reached us from the Peninsula, told 
 that our regiment was almost daily engaged ; and we burned with im- 
 patience to share with the others the glory they were reaping. Power, 
 who had seen service, felt less on this score than we who had not 
 " fleshed our maiden swords ; " but even he sometimes gave way ; and 
 when the wind fell, towards sunset, he would break out into some ex- 
 clamation of discontent, half fearing we should be too late ; " for," 
 said he, <( if they continue in this way, the regiment will be relieved, 
 and ordered home before we reach it.' 
 
 "Never fear, my boys, you'll have enough of it. Both sides like 
 the work too well to give in ; they've got a capital ground and plenty 
 of spare time," said the Major. 
 
 ' ' Only to think," cried Power, ' ' that we should be lounging away 
 our idle hours, when these gallant fellows are in the saddle, late and 
 early. It is too bad ; eh, O'Malley ? you'll not be pleased to go back 
 with the polish on your sabre. What will Lucy Dashwood say ? " 
 
 This was the first allusion Power had ever made to her, and I became 
 red to the very forehead. 
 
 " By-the-bye," added he, ' 1 1 have a letter for Hammersly, which 
 should rather have been intrusted to your keeping." 
 
 At these words I felt as cold as death, while he continued 
 
 " Poor fellow ! certainly he is most desperately smitten ; for, mark 
 me, when a man at his age takes the malady, it is forty times as severe 
 as with a younger fellow, like you. But then, to be sure, he began at 
 the wrong end in the matter : why commence with papa ? When a 
 man has his own consent for liking a girl, he must be a contemptible 
 fellow if he can't get her ; and, as to anything else being wanting, I 
 don't understand it. But the moment you begin by influencing the 
 heads of the house, good-bye to your chances with the dear thing her- 
 self, if she has any spirit whatever. It is, in fact, calling on her to 
 surrender without the honours of war ; and what girl would stand 
 that?" 
 
 ' ' It's vara true," said the Doctor, " there's a strong spirit of opposi- 
 tion in the sex, from physiological causes."
 
 170 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Curse your physiology, old Galen : what you call opposition is that 
 piquant resistance to oppression that makes half the charm of the sex. 
 It is with them with reverence he it spoken as with horses : the 
 dull, heavy-shouldered ones, that bore away with the bit in their 
 teeth, never caring whether you are pulling to the right or to the left, 
 are worth nothing : the real luxury is in the management of your 
 arching necked curveter, springing from side to side with every motion 
 of your wrist, madly bounding at restraint ; yet, to the practised hand, 
 held in check with a silk thread ; eh, skipper : am I not right ? " 
 
 e ' Well, 1 can't say I've had much to do with horse beasts, but I 
 believe you're not far wrong. The lively craft that answers the helm 
 quick, goes round well in stays, luffs up close within a point or two, 
 when you want her, is always a good sea-boat, even though she pitches 
 and rolls a bit ; but the heavy lugger that never knows whether your 
 helm is up or down, whether she's off the wind or on it, is only fit for 
 firewood ; you can do nothing with a ship or a woman, if she hasn't 
 got steerage way on her." 
 
 " Come, skipper, we've all been telling our stories ; let us hear one 
 of yours ? " 
 
 " My yarn won't come so well after your sky-scrapers of love and 
 courting, and all that : but, if you like to hear what happened to me 
 once, I have no objection to tell you. 
 
 ' ' I often think how little we know what's going to happen to us any 
 minute of our lives. To-day we have the breeze fair in our favour ; 
 we are going seven knots, studding-sails set, smooth water, and plenty 
 of sea room ; to-morrow the wind freshens to half a gale, the sea gets 
 up, a rocky coast is seen from the lee bow, and maybe to add to all 
 we spring a leak forward ; but then, after all, bad as it looks, mayhap 
 we rub through even this, and, with the next day, the prospect is as 
 bright and cheering as ever. You'll perhaps ask me what has all this 
 moralising to do with women and ships at sea ? Nothing at all with 
 them, except that I was a-going to say that when matters look worst, 
 very often the best is in store for us, and we should never say strike 
 when there is a timber together. Now for my story : 
 
 " It's about four years ago, I was strolling one evening down the 
 side of the harbour at Cove, with my hands in my pockets, having 
 nothing to do, nor no prospect of it, for my last ship had been wrecked 
 off the Bermudas, and nearly all the crew lost ; and, somehow, when 
 a man is in misfortune, the underwriters won't have him at no price. 
 Well, there I was looking about me at the craft that lay on every side 
 waiting for a fair wind to run down channel. All were active and 
 busy ; every one getting his vessel ship-shape and tidy, tarring, paint- 
 ing, mending sails, stretching new bunting, and getting in sea-store ; 
 boats were plying on every side, signals flying, guns firing from the 
 men-of-war, and everything was lively as might be ; all but me. There 
 I was, like an old water-logged timber-ship, never moving a spar, but 
 looking for all the world as though I were a settling fast to go down 
 stern foremost ; maybe as how I had no objection to that same ; but 
 that's neither here nor there. Well, I sat down on the fluke of an 
 anchor, and began a thinking if it wasn't better to go before the mast 
 than live on that way. Just before me, where I sat down, there was
 
 THE SKIPPER 171 
 
 an old schooner that lay moored in the same place for as long as I 
 could remember ; she was there when I was a boy, and never looked a 
 bit the fresher nor newer as long as I recollected ; her old bluff bows, 
 her high poop, her round stern, her flush deck, all Dutch like, I knew 
 them well, and many a time I delighted to think what queer kind of 
 a chap he was that first set her on the stocks, and pondered in what 
 trade she ever could have been. All the sailors about the port used to 
 call her Noah's Ark, and swear she was the identical craft that he 
 stowed away all the wild beasts in during the rainy season ; be that as 
 it might, since I fell into misfortune I got to feel a liking for the old 
 schooner ; she was like an old friend ; she never changed to me, fair 
 weather or foul ; there she was just the same as thirty years before, 
 when all the world were forgetting and steering wide away from me. 
 Every morning I used to go down to the harbour and have a look at 
 her, just to see that all was right, and nothing stirred ; and, if it blew 
 very hard at night, I'd get up and go down to look how she weathered 
 it, just as if I was at sea in her. Now and then I'd get some of the 
 watermen to row me aboard of her, and leave me there for a few hours, 
 when I used to be quite happy walking the deck, holding the old 
 worm-eaten wheel, looking out ahead, and going down below, just as 
 though I was in command of her. Day after day, this habit grew on 
 me, and at last my whole life was spent in watching her and looking 
 after her : there was something so much alike in our fortunes, that I 
 always thought of her. Like myself, she had had her day of life and 
 activity ; we had both braved the storm and the breeze ; her shattered 
 bulwarks and worn cutwater attested that she had, like myself, not 
 escaped her calamities. We both had survived our dangers, to be 
 neglected and forgotten, and to lie rotting on the stream of life till 
 the crumbling hand of time should break us up, timber by timber. 
 Is it any wonder if I loved the old craft ; nor if, by any chance, the 
 idle boys would venture aboard of her to play and amuse themselves, 
 that I hallooed them away ; or, when a newly arrived ship, not caring 
 for the old boat, would run foul of her, and carry away some spar or 
 piece of running rigging, I would suddenly call out to them to sheer 
 off, and not damage us ? By degrees, they came all to notice this ; 
 and I found that they thought me out of my senses, and many a trick 
 was played off upon old Noah, for that was the name the sailors 
 gave me. 
 
 " Well, this evening, as I was saying, I sat upon the fluke of the 
 anchor, waiting for a chance boat to put me aboard. It was past sun- 
 set, the tide was ebbing, and the old craft was surging to the fast 
 current that ran by with a short impatient jerk, as though she were 
 well weary, arid wished to be at rest : her loose back stays creaked 
 mournfully, and, as she yawed over, the sea ran from many a breach 
 in her worn sides, like blood trickling from a wound. ' Ay, ay,' 
 thought I, ' the hour is not far off : another stiff gale, and all that 
 remains of you will be found high and dry upon the shore.' My heart 
 was very heavy as I thought of this ; for, in my loneliness, the Old 
 Ark though that was not her name, as I'll tell you presently was 
 all the companion I had. I've heard of a poor prisoner who, for many 
 and many years, watched a spider that wove his web within his window,
 
 172 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 and never lost sight of him from morning till night ; and, somehow, I 
 can believe it well ; the heart will cling to something, and, if it has 
 no living object to press to, it will find a lifeless one : it can no more 
 stand alone than the shrouds can without the mast. The evening wore 
 on, as I was thinking thus ; the moon shone out, but no boat came, 
 and I was just determining to go home again for the night, when I 
 saw two men standing on the steps of the wharf below me, and looking 
 straight at the Ark. Now, I must tell you I always felt uneasy when 
 any one came to look at her, for I began to fear that some shipowner 
 or other would buy her to break up, though, except the copper fasten- 
 ings, there was little of any value about her. Now, the moment I saw 
 the two figures stop short and point to her, I said to myself, ' Ah ! 
 my old girl, so they won't even let the blue water finish you, but 
 they must set their carpenters and dockyard people to work upon 
 you.' This thought grieved me more and more. Had a stiff sou'- 
 wester laid her over, I should have felt it was natural, for her sand 
 was run out; but, just as this passed through my mind, I heard a 
 voice from one of the persons that I at once knew to be the Port 
 Admiral's : 
 
 ' ' ' Well, Dawkins,' said he to the other, ' if you think she'll hold 
 together, I'm sure I've no objection ; I don't like the job, I confess, 
 but still the Admiralty must be obeyed.' 
 
 " ' Oh, my lord,' said the other, ' she's the very thing ; she's a rakish- 
 looking craft, and will do admirably ; any repair we want, a few days 
 will effect : secrecy is the great thing.' 
 
 " ' Yes,' said the Admiral, after a pause, e as you observed, secrecy 
 is the great thing.' 
 
 " ' Ho ! ho ! ' thought I, ' there's something in the wind here ; ' so 
 I laid myself out upon the anchor-stock to listen better unobserved. 
 ' We must find a crew for her, give her a few carronades, make her 
 as ship-shape as we can, and, if the skipper ' ' Ay, but there is the 
 real difficulty,' said the Admiral hastily, ' where are we to find the 
 fellow that will suit us ? We can't every day find a man willing to 
 jeopardy himself in such a cause as this, even though the reward be 
 a great one.' 
 
 " ' Very true, my lord ; but I don't think there is any necessity for 
 our explaining to him the exact nature of the service.' 
 
 " ' Come, come, Dawkins, you can't mean that you'll lead a poor 
 fellow into such a scrape blindfolded ? ' 
 
 " ' Why, my lord, you never think it requisite to give a plan of your 
 cruise to your ship's crew before clearing out of harbour ; they are no 
 worse off than we shall be. ' 
 
 <( 'This may be perfectly just, but I don't like it,' said the Admiral. 
 
 " ' In that case, my lord, you are imparting the secrets of the 
 Admiralty to a party who may betray the whole plot.' 
 
 " ' I wish with all my soul they'd given the order to any one else,' 
 said the Admiral, with a sigh ; and, for a few moments, neither spoke 
 a word. 
 
 " ' Well, then, Dawkins, I believe there is nothing for it but what 
 you say ; meanwhile, let the repairs be got in hand, and see after a 
 crew. '
 
 THE SKIPPER 173 
 
 " ' Oh, as to that/ said the other, ' there are plenty of scoundrels in 
 the fleet here fit for nothing else. Any fellow who has been thrice 
 up for punishment in six months, we'll draft on board of her ; the 
 fellows who have only been once to the gangway, we'll make the 
 officers.' 
 
 " ' A pleasant ship's company/ thought I, ' if the devil would only 
 take the command.' 
 
 " ' And with a skipper proportionate to their merit," said Dawkins. 
 
 " ' Begad, I'll wish the French joy of them/ said the Admiral. 
 
 " ' Ho, ho ! ' thought I, ' I've found you out at last ; so this is a secret 
 expedition ; I see it all : they're fitting her out as a fire-ship, and going 
 to send her slap in among the French fleet at Brest. Well,' thought I, 
 ' even that's better ; that, at least, is a glorious end, though the poor 
 fellows have no chance of escape.' 
 
 " ' Now then/ said the Admiral, ' to-morrow you'll look out for the 
 fellow to take the command : he must be a smart seaman, a bold fellow 
 too, otherwise the ruffianly crew will be too much for him ; he may 
 bid high, we'll come to his price.' 
 
 " ' So you may/ thought I, ' when you are buying his life.' 
 
 " 'I hope sincerely/ continued the Admiral, ' that we may light 
 upon some one without wife or child ; I never could forgive my- 
 self ' 
 
 " ' Never fear, my lord,' said the other ; ' my care shall be to pitch 
 upon one whose loss no one would feel ; some one without friend or 
 home, who, setting his life for nought, cares less for the gain than the 
 very recklessness of the adventure.' 
 
 ' ' ' That's me/ said I, springing up from the anchor-stop, and spring- 
 ing between them. ' I'm that man.' 
 
 ' ' Had the very devil himself appeared at the moment I doubt if 
 they would have been more scared. The Admiral started a pace or 
 two backwards, while Dawkins, the first surprise over, seized me by 
 the collar, and held me fast. 
 
 " ' Who are you, scoundrel, and what brings you here?' said he, in 
 a voice hoarse with passion. 
 
 "'I'm Old Noah/ said I; for, somehow, I had been called by no 
 other name for so long, I never thought of my real one. 
 
 " ' Noah ! ' said the Admiral, f Noah ! Well, but, Noah, what were 
 you doing down here at this time of night?' 
 
 " ' I was a watching the Ark, my lord/ said I, bowing, as I took off 
 my hat. 
 
 " f l've heard of this fellow before, my lord/ said Dawkins; 'he's 
 a poor lunatic that is always wandering about the harbour, and, I 
 believe, has no harm in him.' 
 
 " ' Yes, but he has been listening, doubtless, to our conversation/ 
 said the Admiral. ' Eh, have you heard all that we have been saying? ' 
 
 "Every word of it, my lord.' 
 
 " At this the Admiral and Dawkins looked steadfastly at each other 
 for some minutes, but neither spoke ; at last Dawkins said, ' Well, 
 Noah, I have been told you are a man to be depended on : may we 
 rely upon your not repeating anything you overheard this evening ; at 
 least, for a year to come ? '
 
 174 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' You may,' said I. 
 
 " ' But, Dawkins,' said the Admiral in a half whisper, ' if the poor 
 fellow be mad ? ' 
 
 " ' My lord,' said I boldly, ( I am not mad. Misfortune and calamity 
 I have had enough of to make me so ; but, thank God, my brain has 
 been tougher than my poor heart. I was once the part owner and 
 commander of as goodly a craft as ever swept the sea, if not with a 
 broad pennon at her mast-head, with as light a spirit as ever lived 
 beneath one. I was rich ; I had a home and a child : I am now poor, 
 houseless, childless, friendless, and outcast. If, in my solitary wretched- 
 ness, I have loved to look upon that old bark, it is because its fortune 
 seemed like my own. It had outlived all that needed or cared for it ; 
 for this reason they have thought me mad, though there are those, and 
 not a few either, who can well bear testimony if stain or reproach lie 
 at my door, and if I can be reproached with aught save bad luck. I 
 have heard, by chance, what you have said this night ; I know that 
 you are fitting out a secret expedition ; I know its dangers, its in- 
 evitable dangers ; and I here offer myself to lead it ; I ask no reward ; 
 I look for no price. Alas ! who is left to me for whom I could labour 
 now? Give me but the opportunity to end my days with honour on 
 board the old craft where my heart still clings : give me but that. 
 Well, if you will not do so much, let me serve among the crew ; put 
 me before the mast. My lord, you'll not refuse this ; it is an old 
 man asks, one whose grey hairs have floated many a year ago before 
 the breeze.' 
 
 " * My poor fellow, you know not what you ask : this is no common 
 case of danger.' 
 
 e< e I know it all, my lord : I have heard it all.' 
 
 " ' Dawkins, what is to be done here ? ' inquired the Admiral. 
 
 " ( I say, friend,' inquired Dawkins, laying his hand upon my arm, 
 f what is your real name? Are you he who commanded the Dwarf 
 privateer in the Isle of France ? ' 
 ( The same.' 
 
 e Then you are known to Lord Collingwood ? ' 
 ' He knows me well, and can speak to my character.' 
 
 ' ' What he says of himself is all true, my lord.' 
 ( True,' said I, ' true ! you did not doubt it, did you ? ' 
 ' We,' said the Admiral, ' must speak together again ; be here to- 
 morrow night at this hour, keep your own counsel of what has passed, 
 and, now, good night.' So saying, the Admiral took Dawkins by the 
 arm, and returned slowly towards the town, leaving me, where I stood, 
 meditating on this singular meeting, and its possible consequences. 
 
 "The whole of the following day was passed by me in a state of 
 feverish excitement which I cannot describe ; this strange adventure, 
 breaking in so suddenly upon the dull monotony of my daily existence, 
 had so aroused and stimulated me, that I could neither rest nor eat. 
 How I longed for night to come ; for, sometimes, as the day wore later, 
 I began to fear that the whole scene of my meeting with the Admiral 
 had been merely some excited dream of a tortured and fretted mind ; 
 and, as I stood examining the ground where I believed the interview 
 to have occurred, I endeavoured to recall the position of different
 
 THE SKIPPER 175 
 
 objects as they stood around, to corroborate my own failing remem- 
 brance. 
 
 ' ' At last the evening closed in ; but, unlike the preceding one, the 
 sky was covered with masses of dark and watery cloud, that drifted 
 hurriedly across ; the air felt heavy and thick, and unnaturally still 
 aud calm ; the water of the harbour looked of a dull leaden hue, and 
 all the vessels seemed larger than they were, and stood out from the 
 landscape more clearly than usual ; now and then a low rumbling noise 
 was heard, somewhat alike in sound, but far too faint for distant 
 thunder ; while, occasionally, the boats and smaller craft rocked to 
 and fro, as though some ground swell stirred them without breaking 
 the languid surface of the sea above. 
 
 " A few drops of thick heavy rain fell just as the darkness came on, 
 and then all fell still and calm as before. I sat upon the anchor-stock, 
 my eyes fixed upon the old Ark, until gradually her outline grew 
 fainter and fainter against the dark sky, and her black hull could 
 scarcely be distinguished from the water beneath. I felt that I was 
 looking towards her ; for, long after I had lost sight of the tall mast and 
 high-pitched bowsprit, I feared to turn my head away, lest I should 
 lose the place where she lay. 
 
 " The time went slowly on, and, although in reality I had not been 
 long there, I felt as if years themselves had passed over my head. 
 Since I had come there, my mind brooded over all the misfortunes 
 of my life ; as I contrasted its outset, bright with hope and rich in 
 promise, with the sad reality, my heart grew heavy, and my chest 
 heaved painfully ; so sunk was I in my reflections, so lost in thought, 
 that I never knew that the storm had broken loose, and that the heavy 
 rain was falling in torrents. The very ground, parched with long 
 drought, smoked as it pattered upon it, while the low wailing cry of 
 the sea-gull, mingled with the deep growl of far-off thunder, told that 
 the night was a fearful one for those at sea. Wet through and shiver- 
 ing, I sat still, now listening, amid the noise of the hurricane and the 
 creeking of the cordage, for any footstep to approach ; and now re- 
 lapsing back into a half-despairing dread, that my heated brain alone 
 had conjured up the scene of the day before. Such were my dreary 
 reflections, when a loud crash aboard the schooner told me that some 
 old spar had given way. I strained my eyes through the dark to see 
 what had happened, but in vain ; the black vapour, thick with falling 
 rain, obscured everything, and all was hid from view. I could hear 
 that she worked violently as the waves beat against her worn sides, 
 and that her iron cable creaked as she pitched to the breaking sea. 
 The wind was momentarily increasing, and I began to fear lest I 
 should have taken my last look at the old craft, when my attention 
 was called off by hearing a loud voice cry out, ' Halloo there ! Where 
 are you ? ' 
 
 " ' Ay, ay, sir, I'm here.' In a moment the Admiral and his friend 
 were beside me. 
 
 "'What a night!' exclaimed the Admiral, as he shook the rain 
 from the heavy boat-cloak, and cowered in beneath some tall blocks of 
 granite near. e l began half to hope that might not have been my 
 poor fellow,' said the Admiral ; ' it's a dreadful time for one so poorly
 
 176 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 clad for a storm ; I say, Dawkins, let him have a pull at your flask.' 
 The brandy rallied me a little, and I felt that it cheered my drooping 
 courage. 
 
 " e This is not a time, nor is it a place, for much parley/ said the 
 Admiral ; ' so that we must even make short work of it. Since we 
 met here last night, I have satisfied myself that you are to be trusted, 
 that your character and reputation have nothing heavier against them 
 than misfortune, which, certainly, if I have been rightly informed, has 
 been largely dealt out to you. Now, then, I am willing to accept of 
 your offer of service, if you are still of the same mind as when you 
 made it, and if you are willing to undertake what we have to do, with- 
 out any question and inquiry as to points on which we must not and 
 dare not inform you. Whatever you may have overheard last night, 
 may or may not have put you in possession of our secret. If the 
 former, your determination can be made at once ; if the latter, you 
 have only to decide whether you are ready to go blindfolded in the 
 business. 
 
 " ' I am ready, my lord,' said I. 
 
 ' ' ' You perhaps are then aware what is the nature of the service ? ' 
 
 ' ' e I know it not,' said I. ' All that I heard, sir, leads me to sup- 
 pose it one of danger, but that's all.' 
 
 " ' I think, my lord,' said Dawkins, ' that no more need now be said. 
 Cupples is ready to engage, we are equally so to accept ; the thing is 
 pressing. When can you sail ? ' 
 
 " ' To-night/ said I, ' if you will.' 
 
 ' ' ' Really, Dawkins/ said the Admiral, ' I don't see why ' 
 
 " e My lord, I beg of you,' said the other, interrupting, ' let me now 
 complete the arrangement. This is the plan,' said he, turning towards 
 hie as he spoke : ' as soon as that old craft can be got ready for sea, 
 or some other, if she be not worth it, you will sail from this port with 
 a strong crew, well armed, and supplied with ammunition. Your 
 destination is Malta, your object to deliver to the Admiral stationed 
 there the despatches with which you will be entrusted ; they contain 
 information of immense importance, which, for certain reasons, cannot 
 be sent through a ship-of-war, but must be forwarded by a vessel that 
 may not attract peculiar notice. If you be attacked, your orders are 
 to resist ; if you be taken, on no account destroy the papers, for the 
 French vessel can scarcely escape recapture from our frigates, and it 
 is of great consequence these papers should remain. Such is a brief 
 sketch of our plan ; the details can be made known to you hereafter.' 
 
 " ' 1 am quite ready, my lord : I ask for no terms ; I make no stipu- 
 lations. If the result be favourable, it will be time enough to speak 
 of that When am I to sail ? ' 
 
 ' ' As I spoke, the Admiral turned suddenly round, and said some- 
 thing in a whisper to Dawkins, who appeared to overrule it, whatever 
 it might be, and finally brought him over to his own opinion. 
 
 " ' Come, Cupples,' said Dawkins, ' the affair is now settled ; to- 
 morrow a boat will be in waiting for you opposite Spike Island to 
 convey you on board the Semiramis, where every step in the whole 
 business shall be explained to you ; meanwhile, you have only to keep 
 your own counsel, and trust the secret to no one.'
 
 THE SKIPPER 177 
 
 "'Yes, Cupples/ said the Admiral, ' we rely upon you for that, so 
 good night.' As he spoke, he placed within my hands a crumpled note 
 for ten pounds, and, squeezing my fingers, departed. 
 
 " My yarn is spinning out to a far greater length than I intended, 
 so I'll try and shorten it a bit. The next day I went on board the 
 Semiramis, where, when I appeared upon the quarter-deck, I found 
 myself an object of some interest. The report that I was the man 
 about to command the Brian that was the real name of the old craft 
 had caused some curiosity among the officers, and they all spoke to 
 me with great courtesy. After waiting a short time, I was ordered to 
 go below, where the Admiral, his Flag-captain Dawkius, and the others 
 were seated. They repeated at greater length the conversation of the 
 night before, and finally decided that I was to sail in three weeks ; for, 
 although the old schooner was sadly damaged, they had lost no time, 
 but had her already high in dock, with two hundred ship carpenters at 
 work upon her. 
 
 ' ' I do not shorten sail here to tell you what reports were circulated 
 about Cork as to my extraordinary change in circumstances, nor how 
 I bore my altered fortunes. It is enough that I say that, in less than 
 three weeks, I weighed anchor, and stood out to sea one beautiful 
 morning in autumn, and set out upon my expedition. 
 
 " I have already told you something of the craft Let me complete 
 the picture by informing you that, before twenty-four hours passed 
 over, I discovered that so ungainly, so awkward, so unmanageable a 
 vessel never was put to sea : in light winds she scarcely stirred, or 
 moved as if she were water-logged ; if it came to blow upon the 
 quarter, she fell off from her helm at a fearful rate ; in wearing, she 
 endangered every spar she had, and, when you put her in stays, when 
 half round, she would fall back, and nearly carry away every stitch of 
 canvas with the shock. If the ship was bad, the crew was ten times 
 worse. What Dawkins said turned out to be literally true : every ill- 
 conducted, disorderly fellow who had been up the gangway once a 
 week or so, every unreclaimed landsman of bad character and no sea- 
 manship, was sent on board of us ; and, in fact, except that there was 
 scarcely any discipline and no restraint, we appeared like a floating 
 penitentiary of convicted felons. 
 
 " So long as we ran down channel with a slack sea and fair wind, 
 so long all went on tolerably well ; to be sure, they only kept watch 
 when they were tired below, and when they came up reeled about the 
 deck, did all just as they pleased, and treated me with no manner of 
 respect. After some vain efforts to repress their excesses vain, for I 
 had no one to second me I appeared to take no notice of their mis- 
 conduct, and contented myself with waiting for the time when, my 
 dreary voyage over, I should quit the command, and part company 
 with such associates for ever. At last, however, it came on to blow, 
 and the night we passed the Lizard was indeed a fearful one. As 
 morning broke, a sea running mountains high ; a wind strong from 
 the north-west was hurrying the old craft along at a rate I believed 
 impossible. I shall not stop to recount the frightful scenes of anarchy, 
 confusion, drunkenness, and insubordination which our crew exhibited ; 
 the recollection is too bad already, and I would spare you and myself 
 
 M
 
 178 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 the recital ; but on the fourth day from the setting in of the gale, as 
 we entered the Bay of Biscay, some one aloft descried a strange sail 
 to windward, bearing down as if in pursuit of us. Scarcely did the 
 news reach the deck, when, bad as it was before, matters became now 
 ten times worse, some resolving to give themselves up, if the chase 
 happened to be French, and vowing that before surrendering, the 
 spirit-room should be forced, and every man let drink as he pleased. 
 Others proposed, if there were anything like equality in the force, to 
 attack, and convert the captured vessel, if they succeeded, into a slaver, 
 and sail at once for Africa. Some were for blowing up the old Brian 
 with all on board ; and, in fact, every counsel that drunkenness, in- 
 sanity, and crime combined could suggest was offered and descanted 
 on. Meanwhile the chase gained rapidly upon us, and before noon 
 we discovered her to be a French letter of marque, with four guns, 
 and a long brass swivel upon the poop deck. As for us, every sheet 
 of canvas we could crowd was crammed on, but in vain ; and, as we 
 laboured through the heavy sea, our riotous crew grew every moment 
 worse, and, sitting down sulkily in groups upon the deck, declared 
 that, come what might, they would neither work the ship nor fight 
 her ; that they had been sent to sea in a rotten craft, merely to effect 
 their destruction, and that they cared little for the disgrace of a flag 
 they detested. Half furious with the taunting sarcasm I heard on 
 every side, and nearly mad from passion, and bewildered, my first im- 
 pulse was to rush amongst them with my drawn cutlass, and, ere I fell 
 their victim, take heavy vengeance upon the ringleaders, when suddenly 
 a sharp booming noise came thundering along, and a round shot went 
 flying over our heads. 
 
 " * Down with the ensign ! strike at once ! ' cried eight or ten voices 
 together, as the ball whizzed through the rigging. Anticipating this, 
 and resolving, whatever might happen, to fight her to the last, I had 
 made the mate, a staunch-hearted, resolute fellow, to make fast the 
 signal sailyard aloft, so that it was impossible for any one on deck to 
 lower the bunting. Bang went another gun, and, before the smoke 
 cleared away, a third ; which, truer in its aim than the rest, went clean 
 through the lower part of our mainsail. 
 
 " ' Steady then, boys, and clear for action/ said the mate. ' She's a 
 French smuggling craft, that will sheer off when we show fight, so that 
 we must not fire a shot till she comes alongside.' 
 
 " ' And harkee, lads,' said I, taking up the tone of encouragement he 
 spoke with, ' if we take her, I promise to claim nothing of the prize. 
 Whatever we capture you shall divide amongst yourselves.' 
 
 " ' It's very easy to divide what we never had,' said one ; f Nearly as 
 easy as to give it,' cried another ; ' I'll never light match or draw 
 cutlass in the cause,' said a third. 
 
 " ( Surrender ! ' ' Strike the flag ! ' c Down with the colours ! ' roared 
 several voices together. 
 
 " By this time the Frenchman was close up, and ranging his long 
 gun to sweep our decks : his crew were quite perceptible, about twenty 
 bronzed, stout-looking fellows, stripped to the waist, and carrying 
 pistols in broad flat belts slung over the shoulder. 
 
 " ' Come, my lads,' said I, raising my voice, as I drew a pistol from
 
 THE SKIPPER 179 
 
 my side and cocked it, c our time is short now ; I may as well tell you 
 that the first shot that strikes us amidship blows up the whole craft 
 and every man on board. We are nothing less than a fire-ship, destined 
 for Brest harbour to blow up the French fleet. If you are willing to 
 make an effort for your lives, follow me.' 
 
 " The men looked aghast. Whatever recklessness crime and drunken- 
 ness had given them, the awful feeling of inevitable death at once 
 repelled. Short as was the time for reflection, they felt that there 
 were many circumstances to encourage the assertion : the nature of the 
 vessel, her riotous, disorderly crew, the secret nature of the service, all 
 confirmed it, and they answered with a shout of despairing vengeance, 
 ' We'll board her ; lead us on ! ' As the cry rose up, the long swivel 
 from the chase rung sharply in our ears, and a tremendous discharge 
 of grape flew through our rigging : none of our men, however, fell ; 
 and, animated now with the desire for battle, they sprang to the 
 binnacle and seized their arms. 
 
 "In an instant the whole deck became a scene of excited bustle; 
 and scarcely was the ammunition dealt out and the boarding-party 
 drawn up, when the Frenchman broached to and lashed his bowsprit 
 to our own. 
 
 " One terrific yell rose from our fellows as they sprung from the 
 rigging and the poop upon the astonished Frenchmen, who thought 
 that the victory was already their own ; with death and ruin behind, 
 their only hope before, they dashed forward like madmen to the 
 fray. 
 
 " The conflict was bloody and terrific, though not a long one ; nearly 
 equal in number, but far superior in personal strength, and stimulated 
 by their sense of danger, our fellows rushed onward, carrying all before 
 them to the quarter-deck. Here the Frenchmen rallied, and for some 
 minutes had rather the advantage, until the mate, turning one of their 
 guns against them, prepared to sweep them down in a mass. Then it 
 was that they ceased their fire, and cried out for quarter. All save 
 their captain, a short, thickset fellow, with a grisly beard and mous- 
 tache, who, seeing his men fall back, turned on them one glance of 
 scowling indignation, and rushing forward, clove our boatswain to the 
 deck with one blow. Before the example could have been followed he 
 lay a bloody corpse upon the deck, while our people, roused to madness 
 by the loss of a favourite among the men, dashed impetuously forward, 
 and, dealing death on every side, left not one man living among their 
 unresisting enemies. My story is soon told now. We brought our 
 prize safe into Malta, which we reached in five days. In less than a 
 week our men were drafted into different men-of-war on the station. 
 I was appointed a warrant-officer in the Sheerwater, forty-four guns ; 
 and as the Admiral opened the despatch, the only words he spoke 
 puzzled me for many a day after. 
 
 " ' You have accomplished your orders too well,' said he ; ' that 
 privateer is but a poor compensation for the whole French navy.' " 
 
 " Well," inquired Power, " and did you never hear the meaning of 
 the words ? " 
 
 " Yes," said he, " many years after I found out that our despatches 
 were false ones, intended to have fallen into the hands of the
 
 180 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 French and mislead them as to Lord Nelson's fleet, which at that 
 time was cruising to the southward to catch them. This, of course, 
 explained what fate was destined for us a French prison, if not 
 death and, after all, either was fully good enough for the crew 
 that sailed in the old Brian." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 THE LAND 
 
 IT was late when we separated for the night, and the morning was 
 already far advanced ere I awoke ; the monotonous tramp overhead 
 showed me that the others were stirring, and I gently moved the shutter 
 of the narrow window beside me to look out, 
 
 The sea, slightly rippled upon its surface, shone like a plate of fretted 
 gold not a wave, not a breaker appeared but the rushing sound close 
 by showed that we were moving fast through the water. 
 
 " Always calm hereabouts," said a gruff voice on deck, which I soon 
 recognised as the skipper's ; " no sea whatever." 
 
 " 1 can make nothing of it," cried out Power, from the forepart of 
 the vessel ; " it appears to me all cloud." 
 
 ' ' No, no, sir, believe me, it's no fog-bank ; that large dark mass to 
 leeward there, that's Cintra." 
 
 "Land !" cried I, springing up and rushing upon deck ; e( where, 
 skipper where is the land ? " 
 
 " I say, Charley," said Power, " I hope you mean to adopt a little 
 more clothing on reaching Lisbon ; for, although the climate is a warm 
 one " 
 
 " Never mind, O'Malley," said the Major, " the Portuguese will 
 only be flattered by the attention, if you land as you are." 
 
 " Why, how so r " 
 
 ' ( Surely you remember what the niggers said when they saw the 
 79th Highlanders landing at St. Lucie. They had never seen a Scotch 
 regiment before, and were consequently somewhat puzzled at the 
 costume, till at last, one more cunning than the rest explained it by 
 saying, ' They are in such a hurry to kill the poor black men, they 
 came away without their breeches.' " 
 
 "Now, what say you?" cried the skipper, as he pointed with his 
 telescope to a dark blue mass in the distance ; " see there ! " 
 
 "Ah, true enough, that's Ciutra." 
 
 " Then we shall probably be in the Tagus before morning? " 
 
 " Before midnight, if the wind holds," said the skipper. 
 
 We breakfasted on deck, beneath an awning; the vessel scarcely 
 seemed to move as she cut her way through the calm water. 
 
 The misty outline of the coast grew gradually more denned, and at 
 length the blue mountains could be seen ; at first but dimly, but as the 
 day wore on their many-coloured hues shone forth, and patches of 
 green verdure dotted with sheep, or sheltered by dark foliage, met the 
 eye. The bulwarks were crowded with anxious faces ; each looked
 
 THE LAND 181 
 
 pointedly towards the shore, and many a stout heart beat high as the 
 land drew near, fated to cover with its earth more than one amongst us. 
 
 "And that's Portingale, Mr. Charles," said a voice behind me. I 
 turned, and saw my man Mike as, with anxious joy, he fixed his eyes 
 upon the shore. ' ' They tell me it's a beautiful place, with wine for 
 nothing and spirits for less. Isn't it a pity they won't be raisonable 
 and make peace with us ? " 
 
 " Why, my good fellow, we are excellent friends ; it's the French 
 who want to beat us all." 
 
 " Upon my conscience, that's not right. There's an ould saying 
 in Connaugtit it's not fair for one to fall upon twenty. Sergeant 
 Haggarty says that I'll see none of the divarsion at all." 
 
 " I don't well understand 
 
 " He does be telling me that, as I'm only your foot-boy, he'll send 
 me away to the rear, where there's nothing but wounded, and waggons, 
 and women." 
 
 ' ' I believe the sergeant is right there ; but, after all, Mike, it's a 
 safe place." 
 
 " Ah ! then, musha, for the safety ; I don't think much of it : sure, 
 they might circumvint us. And, av it wasn't displazing to you, I'd 
 rather 'list." 
 
 "Well, I've no objection, Mickey; would you like to join my 
 regiment ? " 
 
 " By coorse, your honour. I'd like to be near yourself; bekase, too, 
 if anything happens to you the Lord be betune us and harm " (here 
 he crossed himself piously) ' ' sure I'd like to be able to tell the master 
 how you died ; and, sure, there's Mister Considine God pardon him 
 he'll be beating my brains out, av I couldn't explain it all." 
 
 " Well, Mike, I'll speak to some of my friends here about you, and 
 we'll settle it all properly ; here's the Doctor." 
 
 "Arrah, Mister Charles, don't mind him ; he's a poor crayture en- 
 tirely ; devil a thing he knows." 
 
 " Why, what do you mean, man? he's physician to the forces !" 
 
 " Oh, by gorra, and so he may be," said Mike, with a toss of his 
 head ; " those army docthers isn't worth their salt. It's thruth I'm 
 telling you ; sure, didn't he come to see me when I was sick below in 
 the hould ? 
 
 " ' How do you feel ? ' says he. 
 
 "' Terribly "dhry in the mouth/ says I. 
 
 " ( But your bones,' says he, ' how's them ? ' 
 
 " ' As if cripples was kicking me,' says I. 
 
 ' ' Well, with that he wint away, and brought back two powders. 
 
 " ' Take them,' says he, ' and you'll be cured in no time.' 
 
 " ' What's them ? '" says I. 
 
 " ' They're ematics,' says he. 
 
 " e Blood and ages,' says I, e are they ? ' 
 
 " ' Devil a lie,' says he ; ( take them immediately.' 
 
 " And I tuk them and would you believe me, Mister Charles ? it's 
 thruth I'm telling you devil a one o' them would stay on my stomach. 
 So you see what a docther he is ! " 
 
 I could not help smiling at Mike's ideas of a medicine, as I turned
 
 182 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 away to talk to the Major, who was busily engaged beside me. His 
 occupation consisted in furbishing up a very tarnished and faded 
 uniform, whose white seams and threadbare lace betokened many years 
 of service. 
 
 1 ' Getting up our traps, you see, O'Malley," said he, as he looked 
 with no small pride at the faded glories of his old vestment ; ' ' astonish 
 them at Lisbon, we flatter ourselves. I say, Power, what a bad style 
 of dress they've got into latterly, with their tight waist and strapped 
 trousers nothing free, nothing easy, nothing degage about it. When 
 in a campaign a man ought to be able to stow prog for twenty-four 
 hours about his person, and no one the wiser. A very good rule, I 
 assure you, though it sometimes leads to awkward results. At Vimeira, 
 I got into a sad scrape that way. Old Sir Harry, that commanded 
 there, sent for the sick return. I was at dinner when the orderly 
 came ; so I packed up the eatables about me, and rode off. Just, 
 however, as I came up to the quarters, my horse stumbled, and threw 
 me slap on my head. 
 
 <e ' Is he killed ? ' said Sir Harry. 
 
 * ' ' Only stunned, your Excellency,' said some one. 
 
 ( ' ' Then he'll come to, I suppose. Look for the papers in his pocket. ' 
 
 " So they turned me on my back, and plunged a hand into my side- 
 pocket, but the devil take it they pulled out a roast hen. Well, the 
 laugh was scarcely over at this, when another fellow dived into my 
 coat behind, and lugged out three sausages ; and so they went on till 
 the ground was covered with ham, pigeon-pie, veal-kidney, and pota- 
 toes, and the only thing like a paper was a mess-roll of the 4th, with a 
 droll song about Sir Harry, written in pencil on the back of it. Devil 
 of a bad affair for me ; I was nearly broke for it ; but they only repri- 
 manded me a little ; and I was afterwards attached to the victualling 
 department." 
 
 What an anxious thing is the last day of a voyage ! how slowly creep 
 the hours, teeming with memories of the past and expectations of the 
 future ! 
 
 Every plan, every well-devised expedient to cheat the long and weary 
 days, is at once abandoned ; the chess-board and the new novel are 
 alike forgotten ; and the very quarter-deck walk, with its merry gossip 
 and careless chit-chat, becomes distasteful. One blue and misty moun- 
 tain, one faint outline of the far-off shore, has dispelled all thought of 
 these, and with straining eye and anxious heart, we watch for land. 
 
 As the day wears on apace, the excitement increases : the faint and 
 shadowy forms of distant objects grow gradually clearer. Where 
 before some tall and misty mountain-peak was seen, we now descry 
 patches of deepest blue and sombre olive ; the mellow corn and the 
 waving woods, the village spire and the lowly cot, come out of the 
 landscape ; and, like some well-remembered voice, they speak of home. 
 The objects we have seen, the sounds we have heard a hundred times 
 before without interest, become to us now things that stir the heart. 
 
 For a time, the bright glare of the noon-day sun dazzles the view, 
 and renders indistinct the prospect ; but, as evening falls, once more is 
 all fair, and bright, and rich before us. Rocked by the long and roll- 
 ing swell, I lay beside the bowsprit, watching the shore-birds that came
 
 MAJOR MONSOON 183 
 
 to rest upon the rigging, or following some long and tangled seaweed 
 as it floated by, my thoughts now wandering back to the brown hills 
 and the broad river of my early home now straying off in dreary 
 fancies of the future. 
 
 How flat and unprofitable does all ambition seem at such moments 
 as these ! how valueless, how poor, in our estimation, those worldly 
 distinctions we have so often longed and thirsted for, as with lowly 
 heart and simple spirit, we watch each humble cottage, weaving to our- 
 selves some story of its inmates as we pass ! 
 
 The night at length closed in, but it was a bright and starry one 
 lending to the landscape a hue of sombre shadow, while the outline of 
 the objects were still sharp and distinct as before. One solitary star 
 twinkled near the horizon. I watched it as, at intervals disappearing, 
 it would again shine out, marking the calm sea with a tall pillar of 
 light. 
 
 " Come down, Mr. O'Malley," cried the skipper's well-known voice ; 
 " come down below, and join us in a parting glass that's the Lisbon 
 light to leeward, and before two hours we drop our anchor in the 
 Tagus. " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 MAJOR MONSOON 
 
 OF my travelling companions I have already told my readers some- 
 thing. Power is now an old acquaintance ; to Sparks I have already 
 presented them ; of the Adj utant they are not entirely ignorant ; and 
 it therefore only remains for me to introduce to their notice Major 
 Monsoon. I should have some scruple for the digression which this 
 occasions in my narrative, were it not that with the worthy Major I 
 was destined to meet subsequently, and indeed served under his orders 
 for some months in the Peninsula. When Major Monsoon had entered 
 the army, or in what precise capacity, I never yet met the man who 
 could tell. There were traditionary accounts of his having served in 
 the East Indies and in Canada, in times long past His own peculiar 
 reminiscences extended to nearly every regiment in the service, " horse, 
 foot, and dragoons." There was not a clime he had not basked in ; not 
 an engagement he had not witnessed. His memory, or if you will, his 
 invention, was never at fault ; and from the siege of Seringapatam to 
 the battle of Corunna he was perfect : besides this, he possessed a mind 
 retentive of even the most trifling details of his profession ; from the 
 formation of a regiment to the introduction of a new button, from the 
 laying down of a parallel to the price of a camp-kettle, he knew it all. 
 To be sure, he had served in the commissary-general's department for a 
 number of years, and nothing instils such habits as this. 
 
 " The commissaries are to the army what the special pleaders are to 
 the bar," observed my friend Power ' ' dry dogs ; not over creditable 
 on the whole, but devilish useful." 
 
 The Major had begun life a two-bottle man, but, by a studious culti- 
 vation of his natural gifts, and a steady determination to succeed, he
 
 1B4 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 had, at the time I knew him, attained to his fifth. It need not be 
 wondered at, then, that his countenance bore some traces of his habits. 
 It was of a deep sunset purple, which, becoming tropical, at the tip of 
 the nose verged almost upon a plum-colour ; his mouth was large, 
 thick-lipped, and good-humoured ; his voice rich, mellow, and racy, and 
 contributed, with the aid of a certain dry, chuckling laugh, greatly to 
 increase the effect of the stories which he was ever ready to recount ; 
 and, as they most frequently bore in some degree against some of what 
 he called his little failings, they were ever well received, no man being 
 so popular with the world as he who flatters its vanity at his own 
 expense. To do this the Major was ever ready, but at no time more 
 so than when the evening wore late, and the last bottle of his series 
 seemed to imply that any caution regarding the nature of his commu- 
 nication was perfectly unnecessary. Indeed, from the commencement 
 of his evening to the close he seemed to pass through a number of 
 mental changes, all in a manner preparing him for this final consum- 
 mation, when he confessed anything and everything, and so well- 
 regulated had these stages become, that a friend dropping in upon him 
 suddenly could at once pronounce from the tone of his conversation 
 on what precise bottle the Major was then engaged. 
 
 Thus, in the outset he was gastronomic ; discussed the dinner from 
 the soup to the stilton ; criticised the cutlets ; pronounced upon the 
 merits of the mutton ; and threw out certain vague hints that he would 
 one day astonish the world by a little volume upon cookery. 
 
 With bottle No. 2 he took leave of the cuisine, and opened his battery 
 upon the wine. Bordeaux, burgundy, hock, and hermitage, all passed 
 in review before him ; their flavour discussed, their treatment descanted 
 upon, their virtues extolled ; from humble port to imperial tokay, he 
 was thoroughly conversant with all ; and not a vintage escaped as to 
 when the sun had suffered eclipse or when a comet had wagged his 
 tail over it. 
 
 With No. 3 he became pipe -clay ; talked army -list and eighteen 
 manoeuvres ; lamented the various changes in equipments which modern 
 innovation had introduced ; and feared the loss of pigtails might sap 
 the military spirit of the nation. 
 
 With No. 4 his anecdotic powers came into play ; he recounted 
 various incidents of the war, with his own individual adventures and 
 experience, told with an honest naivete that proved personal vanity 
 indeed, self-respect never marred the interest of the narrative ; besides, 
 as he had ever regarded a campaign something in the light of a foray, 
 and esteemed war as little else than a pillage excursion, his sentiments 
 were singularly amusing. 
 
 With his last bottle those feelings that seem inevitably connected 
 with whatever is last, appeared to steal over him : a tinge of sadness, 
 for pleasures fast passing and nearly passed, a kind of retrospective 
 glance at the fallacy of all our earthly enjoyments, insensibly suggest- 
 ing moral and edifying reflections, led him by degrees to confess that 
 he was not quite satisfied with himself, though " not very bad for a 
 commissary," and, finally, as the decanter waxed low, he would inter- 
 lard his meditations by passages of Scripture, singularly perverted, by 
 his misconception, from their true meaning, and alternately throwing
 
 MAJOR MONSOON 185 
 
 out prospects of censure or approval. Such was Major Monsoon : and, 
 to conclude in his own words this brief sketch, he " would have been 
 an excellent officer if Providence had not made him such a confounded 
 drunken old scoundrel." 
 
 ' ' Now, then, for the King of Spain's story. Out with it, old boy ; 
 we are all good men and true here/' cried Power, as we slowly came 
 along upon the tide up the Tagus, "so you've nothing to fear." 
 
 " Upon my life," replied the Major, " I don't half like the tone of 
 our conversation. There is a certain freedom young men affect now- 
 a-days regarding morals that is not at all to my taste. When I was 
 five or six and twenty " 
 
 " You were the greatest scamp in the service," cried Power. 
 
 " Fie, fie, Fred, If I was a little wild or so " here the Major's eyes 
 twinkled maliciously ' ' it was the ladies that spoiled me ; I was always 
 rather something of a favourite, just like our friend Sparks there. 
 Not that we fared very much alike in our little adventures ; for, some- 
 how, I believe I was generally in fault in most of mine, as many a good 
 man and many an excellent man has been before." Here his voice 
 dropped into a moralising key, as he added, " David, you know, didn't 
 behave well to old Uriah. Upon my life he did not, and he was a very 
 respectable man." 
 
 " The King of Spain's sherry the sherry !" cried I, fearing that the 
 Major's digression might lose us a good story. 
 
 " You shall not have a drop of it," replied the Major. 
 
 "But the story, Major, the story." 
 
 " Nor the story either. " 
 
 ' ' What," said Power, ' ' will you break faith with us ? " 
 
 " There's none to be kept with reprobates like you. Fill my glass." 
 
 " Hold there ! stop !" cried Power. " Not a spoonful till he redeem 
 his pledge." 
 
 (l Well, then, if you must have a story for most assuredly I must 
 drink I have no objection to give you a leaf from my early reminis- 
 cences, and, in compliment to Sparks there, my tale shall be of love. " 
 
 " I dinna like to lose the King's story. I hae my thoughts it was na 
 a bad ane." 
 
 " Nor I neither, Doctor, but " 
 
 <c Come, come, you shall have that too, the first night we meet in a 
 bivouac, and, as I fear the time may not be very far distant, don't be 
 impatient ; besides, a love story " 
 
 " Quite true," said Power; "a love story claims precedence: place 
 aux dames. There's a bumper for you, old Wickedness ; so go along." 
 
 The Major cleared off his glass, refilled it, sipped twice, and ogled it 
 as though he would have no peculiar objection to sip once more, took 
 a long pinch of snuff from a box nearly as long as, and something of 
 the shape of, a child's coffin ; looked around to see that we were all 
 attention, and thus began : 
 
 " When 1 have been in a moralising mood, as I very frequently am 
 about this hour in the morning, I have often felt surprised by what 
 little, trivial, and insignificant circumstances our lot in life seems to be 
 cast : I mean especially as regards the fair sex. You are prospering, 
 as it were, to-day ; to-morrow a new cut of your whiskers a novel
 
 186 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tie of your cravat, mars your destiny and spoils your future variant 
 et mutubile, as Horace has it. On the other hand, some equally slight 
 circumstance will do what all your ingenuity may have failed to effect. 
 I knew a fellow who married the greatest fortune in Bath, from the 
 mere habit he had of squeezing one's hand. The lady in question 
 thought it particular, looked conscious, and all that ; he followed up 
 the blow ; and, in a word, they were married in a week. So a friend 
 of mine, who could not help winking his left eye, once opened a flirta- 
 tion with a lively widow which cost him a special licence and a settle- 
 ment In fact, you are never safe. They are like the guerillas, and 
 they pick you off when you least expect it, and when you think there 
 is nothing to fear. Therefore, as young fellows beginning life, I 
 would caution you. On this head you can never be too circumspect. 
 Do you know, I was once nearly caught by so slight a habit as sitting 
 thus with my legs across." 
 
 Here the Major rested his right foot on his left knee, in illustration, 
 and continued : 
 
 ' ' We were quartered in Jamaica. I had not long joined, and was 
 about as raw a young gentleman as you could see : the only very clear 
 ideas in my head being that we were monstrous fine fellows in the 
 50th, and that the planters' daughters were deplorably in love with us. 
 Not that I was much wrong on either side. For brandy-and-water, 
 sangaree, Manilla cigars, and the ladies of colour, I'd have backed the 
 corps against the service. Proof was, of eighteen only two ever left 
 the island ; for what with the seductions of the coffee plantations, 
 the sugar-canes, the new rum, the brown skins, the rainy season, and 
 the yellow fever, most of us settled there. 
 
 "It's very hard to leave the West Indies if once you've been 
 quartered there." 
 
 " So I have heard," said Power. 
 
 " In fine, if you don't knock under to the climate, you become soon 
 totally unfit for living anywhere else. Preserved ginger, yams, flannel 
 jackets, and grog won't bear exportation ; and the free-and-easy chuck 
 under the chin, cherishing, waist-pressing kind of a way we get with 
 the ladies, would be quite misunderstood in less favoured regions, and 
 lead to very unpleasant consequences. 
 
 " It is a curious fact how much climate has to do with love-making. 
 In our cold country the progress is lamentably slow ; fogs, east winds, 
 sleet storms, and cutting March weather, nip many a budding flirta- 
 tion ; whereas warm, sunny days and bright moonlight nights, with 
 genial air and balmy zephyrs, open the heart, like the cup of a camellia, 
 and let us drink in the soft dew of " 
 
 ' c Devilish poetical that ! " said Power, evolving a long, blue line of 
 smoke from the corner of his mouth. 
 
 ' ' Isn't it, though ? " said the Major, smiling graciously. " Ton my 
 life, I thought so myself. Where was I ? " 
 
 " Out of my latitude altogether," said the poor skipper, who often 
 found it hard to follow the thread of a story. 
 
 " Yes, I remember. I was remarking that sangaree and calipash, 
 mangoes and guava jelly, dispose the heart to love, and so they do. I 
 was not more than six weeks in Jamaica when I felt it myself. Now,
 
 MAJOR MONSOON 187 
 
 it was a very dangerous symptom if you had it strong in you, for this 
 reason. Our Colonel, the most cross-grained old crabstick that ever 
 breathed, happened himself to be taken in when young, and resolving, 
 like the fox who lost his tail, and said it was not the fashion to wear 
 one, to pretend he did the thing for fun, resolved to make every fellow 
 marry on the slightest provocation. Begad, you might as well enter 
 a powder-magazine with a branch of candles in your hand, as go into 
 society in the island with a leaning towards the fair sex. Very hard 
 this was, for me particularly ; for, like poor Sparks there, my weakness 
 was ever for the petticoats. I had, besides, no petty, contemptible pre- 
 judices as to nation, habits, language, colour, or complexion ; black, 
 brown, or fair, from the Muscovite to the Malabar, from the voluptuous 
 embonpoint of the Adjutant's widow don't be angry, old boy to the 
 fairy form of Isabella herself, I loved them all round. But, were I to 
 give a preference anywhere, I should certainly do so to the West 
 Indies, if it were only for the sake of the planters' daughters. I say it 
 fearlessly, these colonies are the brightest jewels in the crown. Let's 
 drink to their health, for I'm as husky as a limekiln." 
 
 This ceremony being performed with suitable enthusiasm, the Major 
 cried out, "Another cheer for Polly Hackett, the sweetest girl in 
 Jamaica. By Jove, Power, if you only saw her, as I did, five and forty 
 years ago, \vith eyes black as jet, twinkling, ogling, leering, teasing, 
 and imploring, all at once, do you mind, and a mouthful of downright 
 pearls pouting and smiling at you, why, man, you'd have proposed for 
 her in the first half-hour, and shot yourself the next, when she refused 
 you. She was, indeed, a perfect little beauty ; rayther dark, to be 
 sure ; a little upon the rosewood tinge, but beautifully polished and a 
 very nice piece of furniture for a cottage orn6, as the French call it. 
 Alas, alas ! how these vanities do catch hold of us. My recollections 
 have made me quite feverish and thirsty ; is there any cold punch in 
 the bowl ? Thank you, O'Malley, that will do merely to touch my 
 lips. Well, well, it's all passed and gone now. But I was very fond 
 of Polly Hackett, and she was of me. We used to take our little 
 evening walks together through the coffee plantation ; very romantic 
 little strolls they were : she in white muslin, with a blue sash and 
 blue shoes ; I in a flannel jacket and trousers, straw hat and cravat ; 
 a Virginia cigar as long as a walking-stick in my mouth, puffing and 
 courting between times ; then we'd take a turn to the refining-house, 
 look in at the big boilers, quiz the niggers, and come back to Twang- 
 berry Moss to supper, where old Hackett, the father, sported a glorious 
 table at eleven o'clock. Great feeding it was. You were always sure 
 of a preserved monkey, a baked land-crab, or some such delicacy. And 
 such Madeira ! it makes me dry to think of it ! 
 
 " Talk of West India slavery indeed ! it's the only land of liberty. 
 There is nothing to compare with the perfect free-and-easy, devil-may- 
 care-kind-of-a-take-yourself way that every one has there. If it would 
 be any peculiar comfort for you to sit in the saddle of mutton, and put 
 your legs in a soup tureen at dinner, there would be found very few to 
 object to it. There is no nonsense of any kind about etiquette. You 
 eat, drink, and are merry, or, if you prefer, are sad ; just as you please. 
 You may wear uniform, or you may not ; it's your own affair ; and con-
 
 188 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 sequently, it may be imagined how insensibly such privileges gain upon 
 one, and how very reluctant we become ever to resign or abandon them. 
 
 ' ' I was the man to appreciate it all. The whole course of proceed- 
 ing seemed to have been invented for my peculiar convenience, and not 
 a man in the island enjoyed a more luxurious existence than myself, 
 not knowing all the while how dearly 1 was destined to pay for my 
 little comforts. Among my plenary after-dinner indulgences 1 had 
 contracted an inveterate habit of sitting cross-legged, as I showed you. 
 Now, this was become a perfect necessity of existence to me. I could 
 have dispensed with cheese, with my glass of port, my pickled mango, 
 my olive, my anchovy toast, my nutshell of cui^oa, but not my 
 favourite lounge. You may smile ; but I've read of a man who could 
 never dance except in the room with an old hairbrush. Now I'm 
 certain my stomach would not digest if my legs were perpendicular. 
 I don't mean to defend the thing. The attitude was not graceful ; it 
 was not imposing ; but it suited me somehow, and I liked it. 
 
 " From what I have already mentioned, you may suppose that West 
 India habits exercised but little control over my favourite practice, 
 which I indulged in every evening of my life. Well, one day, old 
 Hackett gave us a great blow-out a dinner of two-and-twenty souls ; 
 six days' notice ; turtle from St. Lucie, guinea fowl, claret of the year 
 forty, Madeira a discretion, and all that. Very well done the whole 
 thing : nothing wrong, nothing wanting. As for me, I was in great 
 feather. I took Polly in to dinner, greatly to the discomfiture of old 
 Belson, our Major, who was making up in that quarter ; for, you must 
 know, she was an only daughter, and had a very nice thing of it in 
 molasses and niggers. The papa preferred the Major, but Polly looked 
 sweetly upon me. Well, down we went, and really a most excellent 
 feed we had. Now, I must mention here that Polly had a favourite 
 Blenheim spaniel the old fellow detested : it was always tripping him 
 up and snarling at him ; for it was, except to herself, a beast of rather 
 vicious inclinations. With a true Jamaica taste, it was her pleasure to 
 bring the animal always into the dinner-room, where, if papa discovered 
 him, there was sure to be a row. Servants sent in one direction to hunt 
 him out ; others endeavouring to hide him, and so on : in fact, a tre- 
 mendous hubbub always followed his introduction and accompanied 
 his exit, upon which occasions I invariably exercised my gallantry by 
 protecting the beast, although I hated him like the devil all the time. 
 
 " To return to our dinner. After two mortal hours of hard eating 
 the pace began to slacken, and, as evening closed in, a sense of peace- 
 ful repose seemed to descend upon our labours. Pastilles shed an 
 aromatic vapour through the room. The well-iced decanters went 
 with measured pace along ; conversation, subdued to the meridian 
 of after-dinner comfort, just murmured ; the open jalousies displayed 
 upon the broad veranda the orange-tree in full blossom, slightly 
 stirring with the cool sea-breeze." 
 
 " And the piece of white muslin beside you, what of her?" 
 
 " Looked twenty times more bewitching than ever. Well, it was 
 just the hour when, opening the last two buttons of your white waist- 
 coat (remember we were in Jamaica), you stretch your legs to the full 
 extent, throw your arm carelessly over the back of your chair, look
 
 MAJOR MONSOON 189 
 
 contemplatively towards the ceiling, and wonder, within yourself, why 
 it is not all after-dinner in this same world of ours. Such, at least, 
 were my reflections as I assumed my attitude of supreme comfort and 
 inwardly ejaculated a health to Sneyd and Barton. Just at this 
 moment I heard Polly's voice gently whisper, ' Isn't he a love ? Isn't 
 he a darling ? ' ' Zounds,' thought I, as a pang of jealousy shot 
 through my heart, 'is it the Major she means r' for old Belson, with 
 his bag-wig and rouged cheeks, was seated on the other side of her. 
 
 ' ' e What a dear old thing it is ! ' said Polly. 
 
 fc ' Worse and worse,' said I ; ' it must be him.' 
 
 " ' I do so love his muzzy face.' 
 
 " ' It is him,' said I, throwing off a bumper, and boiling over with 
 passion at the moment. 
 
 " ' I wish I could take one look at him,' said she, laying down her 
 head as she spoke. 
 
 "The Major whispered something in her ear, to which she replied : 
 
 " ' Oh ! I dare not ; papa will see me at once.' 
 
 " ' Don't be afraid, madam,' said I fiercely ; ' your father perfectly 
 approves of your taste.' 
 
 " ' Are you sure of it ? ' said she, giving me such a look. 
 
 " ' I know it,' said 1, struggling violently with my agitation. 
 
 " The Major leaned over, as if to touch her hand beneath the cloth. 
 I almost sprung from my chair, when Polly, in her sweetest accents, 
 said : 
 
 ' ' ' You must be patient, dear thing, or you may be found out, and 
 then there will be such a piece of work. Though I'm sure, Major, 
 you would not betray me.' The Major smiled till he cracked the paint 
 upon his cheeks. ' And I am sure that Mr. Monsoon ' 
 
 " ' You may rely upon me,' said I half sneeringly. 
 
 "The Major and I exchanged glances of defiance, while Polly 
 continued : 
 
 " ' Now, come, don't be restless. You are very comfortable there. 
 Isn't he, Major ? ' The Major smiled again more graciously than before, 
 as he added : 
 
 "'May I take a look?' 
 
 " ' Just one peep, then, no more ! ' said she coquettishly ; ' poor dear 
 Wowski is so timid.' 
 
 " Scarcely had these words borne balm and comfort to my heart 
 for I now knew that to the dog, and not to my rival, were all the 
 flattering expressions applied when a slight scream from Polly, 
 and a tremendous oath from the Major, raised me from my dream 
 of happiness. 
 
 ' ' ' Take your foot down, sir. Mr. Monsoon, how could you do so ? ' 
 cried Polly. 
 
 " ' What the devil, sir, do you mean?' shouted the Major. 
 
 ' ' ' Oh ! I shall die of shame,' sobbed she. 
 
 ' ' ' I'll shoot him like a riddle,' muttered old Belson. 
 
 ( ' By this time the whole table had got at the story, and such peals 
 of laughter, mingled with suggestions for my personal maltreatment, 
 I never heard. All my attempts at explanation were in vain. I was 
 not listened to, much less believed, and the old Colonel finished the
 
 190 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 scene by ordering me to my quarters in a voice I shall never forget, 
 the whole room being, at the time I made my exit, one scene of 
 tumultuous laughter from one end to the other. Jamaica after this 
 became too hot for me. The story was repeated on every side ; for, 
 it seems, I had been sitting with my foot on Polly's lap ; but, so 
 occupied was I with my jealous vigilance of the Major, I was not aware 
 of the fact until she herself discovered it. 
 
 ' ' I need not say how the following morning brought with it every 
 possible offer of amende upon my part ; anything, from a written 
 apology to a proposition to marry the lady, I was ready for ; and how 
 the matter might have ended I know not, for, in the middle of the 
 negotiations, we were ordered off to Halifax, where, be assured, I 
 abandoned my attitude a la turque for many a long day after. " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 THE LANDING 
 
 WHAT a contrast to the dull monotony of our life at sea did the scene 
 present which awaited us on landing in Lisbon. The whole quay was 
 crowded with hundreds of people eagerly watching the vessel which 
 bore from her mast the broad ensign of Britain. Dark featured, 
 swarthy, moustached faces, with red caps rakishly set on one side, 
 mingled with the Saxon faces and fair-haired natives of our own 
 country. Men-of-war boats plied unceasingly to and fro across the 
 tranquil river, some slender reefer in the stern sheets ; while behind 
 him trailed the red pennon of some " tall amiral." 
 
 The din and clamour of a mighty city mingled with the far-off 
 sounds of military music ; and, in the vistas of the opening street, 
 masses of troops might be seen, in marching order ; and all betokened 
 the near approach of war. 
 
 Our anchor had scarcely been dropped, when an eight-oar gig, with 
 a midshipman steering, came alongside. 
 
 ' ( Ship ahoy, there ! You've troops on board ? " 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir." 
 
 Before the answer could be spoken, he was on the deck. 
 
 " May I ask," said he, touching his cap slightly, " who is the officer 
 in command of the detachment ? ' 
 
 " Captain Power : very much at your service," said Fred, returning 
 the salute. 
 
 " Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Douglas requests that you will do him 
 the favour to come on board immediately ; and bring your despatches 
 with you." 
 
 "I m quite ready," said Power, as he placed his papers in his sabre- 
 tasche ; " but first tell us what's doing here. Anything new lately? " 
 
 ' ' I have heard nothing, except of some affair with the Portuguese ; 
 they've been drubbed again ; but our people have not been engaged. 
 I say, we had better get under way : there's our first lieutenant, with 
 his telescope up ; he's looking straight at us. So come along. Good
 
 THE LANDING 191 
 
 evening, gentlemen ; " and in another moment the sharp craft was 
 cutting the clear water, while Power gaily \vaved us a good-bye. 
 
 te Who's for shore ? " said the skipper, as half-a-dozen hoats swarmed 
 around the side or held on by their boat-hooks to the rigging. 
 
 "Who is not?" said Monsoon, who now appeared in his old blue 
 frock covered with tarnished braiding, and a cocked hat that might 
 have roofed a pagoda. " Who is not, my old boy ? Is not every man 
 amongst us delighted with the prospect of fresh prog, cool wine, and 
 a bed somewhat longer than four feet six ? I say, O'Malley ! Sparks ! 
 Where's the Adjutant? Ah, there he is ! We'll not mind the Doctor ; 
 he's a very jovial little fellow, but a damned bore, entre nous; and 
 we'll have a cosy little supper at the Rua di Toledo. I know the place 
 well. Whew, now ! Get away, boy. Sit steady, Sparks ; she's only 
 a cockle-shell. There that's the Plaza de la Regna : there to the left. 
 There's the great cathedral you can't see it now. Another seventy- 
 four ! why, there's a whole fleet here ! I wish Power joy of his after- 
 noon with old Douglas." 
 
 " Do you know him then, Major?" 
 
 " Do I ! I should rather think I do. He was going to put me in 
 irons here in this river once. A great shame it was ; but I'll tell you 
 the story another time. There gently now ; that's it. That's it. 
 Thank God ! once more upon land. How I do hate a ship : upon my 
 life, a sauceboat is the only boat endurable in this world. " 
 
 We edged our way with difficulty through the dense crowd, and at 
 last reached the Plaza. Here the numbers were still greater, but of 
 a different class : several pretty and well-dressed women, with their 
 dark eyes twinkling above their black mantillas, as they held them 
 across their faces, watched with an intense curiosity one of the streets 
 that opened upon the square. 
 
 In a few moments the baud of a regiment was heard, and very 
 shortly after the regular tramp of troops followed, as the 87th marched 
 into the Plaza, and formed a line. 
 
 The music ceased ; the drums rolled along the line ; and the next 
 moment all was still. It was really an inspiriting sight to one whose 
 heart was interested in the career, to see those gallant fellows, as, with 
 their bronzed faces and stalwart frames, they stood motionless as a 
 rock. As I continued to look, the band marched into the middle of 
 the square, and struck up "Garryowen." Scarcely was the first part 
 played, when a tremendous cheer burst from the troopship in the 
 river. The welcome notes had reached the poor fellows there ; the 
 well-known sounds, that told of home and countrv, met their ears ; 
 and the loud cry of recognition bespoke their hearts 5 fulness. 
 
 " There they go. Your wild countrymen have heard their Ranis des 
 vacties, it seems. Lord ! how they frightened the poor Portuguese ! 
 look, how they're running ! " 
 
 Such was actually the case. The loud cheer uttered from the river was 
 taken up by others straggling on shore, and one universal shout betokened 
 that fully one-third of the red-coats around came from the dear island, 
 and, in their enthusiasm, had terrified the natives to no small extent. 
 
 " Is not that Ferguson there?" cried the Major, as an officer passed 
 us with his arm in a sling. " I say, Joe Ferguson : oh ! knew it was."
 
 192 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Monsoon, my hearty, how goes it? only just arrived, I see 
 delighted to meet you out here once more. Why, we've been dull as a 
 veteran battalion without you. These your friends? pray present me." 
 The ceremony of introduction over, the Major invited Ferguson to join 
 our party at supper. " No, not to-night, Major/' said he, "you must 
 be my guests this evening. My quarters are not five minutes' walk 
 from this I shall not promise you very luxurious fare." 
 
 ' ' A carbonade with olives, a roast duck, a bowl of bishop, and, if 
 you will, a few bottles of burgundy," said the Major : " don't put your- 
 self out for us soldiers' fare, eh ? " 
 
 I could not help smiling at the naive notion of simplicity so cun- 
 ningly suggested by old Monsoon. As I followed the party through 
 the streets, my step was light, my heart not less so ; for what sensa- 
 tions are more delightful than those of lauding after a voyage ; the 
 escape from the durance vile of shipboard, with its monotonous days 
 and dreary nights ; its ill-regulated appointments ; its cramped accom- 
 modation ; its uncertain duration ; its eternal round of unchanging 
 amusements ; for the freedom of the shore, with a land breeze, and a 
 firm footing to tread upon ; and, certainly, not least of all, the sight of 
 that brightest part of creation, whose soft eyes and tight ankles are, 
 perhaps, the greatest of all imaginable pleasures to him who has been 
 the dweller on blue water for several weeks long ? 
 
 " Here we are," cried out Ferguson, as we stopped at the door of a 
 large and handsome house. We followed up a spacious stair into an 
 ample room, sparingly, but not uncomfortably furnished : plans of 
 sieges, maps of the seat of war, pistols, sabres, and belts, decorated 
 the white walls, and a few books, and a stray army-list, betokened the 
 habits of the occupant. 
 
 While Ferguson disappeared to make some preparations for supper, 
 Monsoon commenced a congratulation to the party upon the good 
 fortune that had befallen them. " Capital fellow is Joe -never with- 
 out something good, and a rare one to pass the bottle. Oh ! here he 
 comes ; be alive there, Sparks ; take a corner of the cloth ; how delici- 
 ously juicy that ham looks ; pass the Madeira down there ; what's 
 under that cover stewed kidneys?" While Monsoon went on thus, 
 we took our places at table, and set to with an appetite which only 
 a new-lauded traveller ever knows. 
 
 " Another spoonful of the gravy ? Thank you. And so they say 
 we've not been faring over well latterly," said the Major. 
 
 ' ' Not a word of truth in the report : our people have not been 
 engaged. The only thing lately was a smart brush we had at the 
 Tamega. Poor Patrick, a countryman of ours, and myself, were serving 
 with the Portuguese brigade, when Laborde drove us back upon the 
 town, and actually routed us. The Portuguese General, caring little 
 for anything save his own safety, was making at once for the mountains, 
 when Patrick called upon his battalion to face about and charge ; and 
 nobly they did it, too. Down they came upon the advancing masses of 
 the French, and literally hurled them back upon the main body. The 
 other regiments, seeing this gallant stand, wheeled about and poured 
 in a volley, and then, fixing bayonets, stormed a little mount beside 
 the hedge, which commanded the whole suburb of Villa Heal. The
 
 THE LANDING 193 
 
 French, who soon recovered their order, now prepared for a second 
 attack, and came on in two dense columns, when Patrick, who had 
 little confidence in the steadiness of his people for any lengthened 
 resistance, resolved upon once more charging with the bayonet. The 
 order was scarcely given when the French were upon us, their flank 
 defended by some of La Houssaye's heavy dragoons. For an instant 
 the conflict was doubtful, until poor Patrick fell mortally wounded 
 upon the parapet, when the men, no longer hearing his bold cheer, nor 
 seeing his noble figure in the advance, turned and fled, pell-mell, back 
 upon the town. As for me, blocked up amid the mass, I was cut down 
 from the shoulder to the elbow, by a young fellow of about sixteen, 
 who galloped about like a schoolboy on a holiday. The wound was 
 only dangerous from the loss of blood, and so I contrived to reach 
 Amacante without much difficulty ; from whence, with three or four 
 others, I was ordered here until fit for service. " 
 
 ' ' But what news from our own headquarters ? " inquired I. 
 
 " All imaginable kind of rumours are afloat : some say that Craddock 
 is retiring ; others, that part of the army is in motion upon Caldas." 
 
 "Then we are not going to have a very long sojourn here after all, 
 eh, Major? Donna Maria de Tormes will be inconsolable. By-the- 
 bye, their house is just opposite us : have you never heard Monsoon 
 mention his friends there ? ' 
 
 c ' Come, come, Joe, how can you be so foolish ? " 
 
 "But, Major, my dear friend, what signifies your modesty? there 
 is not a man in the service does not know it, save those in the last 
 gazette. " 
 
 " Indeed, Joe, I am very angry with you." 
 
 " Well, then, by Jove, I must tell it myself; though faith, lads, you 
 lose not a little for want of Monsoon's tact in the narrative." 
 
 ' ' Anything is better than trusting to such a biographer, "cried the 
 Major, " so here goes : 
 
 " When I was Acting Commissary-General to the Portuguese forces, 
 some few years ago, I obtained great experience of the habits of the 
 people ; for, though naturally of an unsuspecting temperament myself, 
 I generally contrive to pick out the little foibles of my associates, even 
 upon a short acquaintance. Now, my appointment pleased me very 
 much on this score ; it gave me little opportunities of examining the 
 world : ' the greatest study of mankind is man ' Sparks would say 
 woman but no matter. 
 
 " Now, I soon discovered that our ancient and very excellent allies, 
 the Portuguese, with a beautiful climate, delicious wines, and very 
 delightful wives and daughters, were the most infernal rogues and 
 scoundrels ever met with. 'Make yourself thoroughly acquainted 
 with the leading features of the natives,' said old Sir Harry to me, in 
 a despatch from headquarters ; and, faith, it was not difficult ; such 
 open, palpable, undisguised rascals never were heard of. I thought I 
 knew a thing or two myself when I landed ; but, Lord love you, I 
 was a babe ; I was an infant in swaddling clothes, compared with 
 them ; and they humbugged me, ay, me! till I began to suspect that 
 I was only walking in my sleep. 
 
 " ( Why, Monsoon/ said the General, ' they told me you were a sharp
 
 194 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 fellow, and yet the people here seem to work round you every day. 
 This will never do. You must brighten up a little, or I shall be obliged 
 to send you back.' 
 
 " ' General/ said I, ' they used to call me no fool in England, but, 
 somehow, here ' 
 
 " ' I understand,' said he, ' you don't know the Portuguese ; there's 
 but one way with them : strike quickly, and strike home. Never give 
 them time for roguery ; for, if they have a moment's reflection, they'll 
 cheat the devil himself; but, when you see the plot working, come 
 slap down and decide the thing your own way.' 
 
 ' e Well, now, there never was anything so true as this advice, and, 
 for the eighteen months I acted upon it, I never knew it fail. 
 
 " ' I want a thousand measures of wheat. ' 
 
 " ' Senhor Excellenza, the crops have been miserably deficient 
 and ' 
 
 " ( Sergeant-major,' I would say, ' these poor people have no corn ; 
 it's a wine country ; let them make up the rations that way.' 
 
 ' ' The wheat came in that evening. 
 
 " ( One hundred and twenty bullocks wanted for the reserve.' 
 
 ' ' ' The cattle are all up the mountains. ' 
 
 " ' Let the alcalde catch them before night, or I'll catch him.' 
 
 " Lord bless you ! I had beef enough to feed the Peninsula. And 
 in this way, while the forces were eating short allowance and half 
 rations elsewhere, our brigade were plump as aldermen. 
 
 " When we lay in Andalusia this was easy enough. What a country 
 to be sure ! such vineyards, such gardens, such delicious valleys waving 
 with corn and fat with olives ; actually, it seemed a kind of dispensa- 
 tion of Providence to make war in. There was everything you could 
 desire ; and, then, the people, like all your wealthy ones, were so timid, 
 and so easily frightened, you could get what you pleased out of them 
 by a little terror. My scouts managed this very well. 
 
 " ' He is coming/ they would say, ( after to-morrow.' 
 
 "' MadredeDios!' 
 
 " ' I hope he won't burn the village ! ' 
 
 " ' Questos infernales Ingleses! how wicked they are.' 
 
 " ' You'd better try what a sack of moidores or doubloons might do 
 with him ; he may refuse them, but make the effort. ' 
 
 " Ha ! " said the Major, with a long-drawn sigh, " those were pleasant 
 times ; alas ! that they should ever come to an end. Well, among the 
 old hidalgos I met there was one Don Emanuel Selvio de Tormes, an 
 awful old miser, rich as Croesus, and suspicious as the arch fiend him- 
 self. Lord, how I melted him down ! I quartered two squadrons of 
 horse and a troop of flying artillery upon him. How the fellows did 
 eat ! such a consumption of wines was never heard of ; and, as they 
 began to slacken a little, I took care to replace them by fresh arrivals 
 fellows from the mountains cafadores they call them. At last my 
 friend Don Emanuel could stand it no longer, and he sent me a diplo- 
 matic envoy to negotiate terms, which, upon the whole, I must say, 
 were fair enough, and iu a few days after, the caf adores were with- 
 drawn, and I took up my quarters at the chdteau. I have had various 
 chances and changes in this wicked world, but I am free to confess
 
 THE LANDING 195 
 
 that I never passed a more agreeable time than the seven weeks I spent 
 there. Don Emanuel, when properly managed, became a very pleasant 
 little fellow ; Donna Maria, his wife, was a sweet creature. You need 
 not be winking that way. Upon my life she was ; rather fat, to be 
 sure, and her age something verging upon the fifties ; but she had such 
 eyes, black as sloes, and luscious as ripe grapes ; and she was always 
 smiling, and ogling, and looking so sweet. Confound me if I think 
 she wasn't the most enchanting being iu this world, with about ten 
 thousand pounds' worth of jewels upon her fingers and in her ears. I 
 have her before me at this instant, as she used to sit in the little arbour 
 in the garden, with a Manilla cigar in her mouth, and a little brandy- 
 and-water quite weak, you know beside her. 
 
 " ' Ah ! General,' she used to say she always called me General 
 ( what a glorious career yours is ! a soldier is indeed a man.' 
 
 ' s Then she would look at poor Emanuel, who used to sit in a corner, 
 holding his hand to his face for hours, calculating interest and cent, 
 per cent, till he fell asleep. 
 
 " Now, he laboured under a very singular malady not that I even 
 knew it at the time a kind of luxation of the lower jaw, which, when 
 it came on, happened somehow to press upon some vital nerve or other, 
 and left him perfectly paralysed till it was restored to its proper place. 
 In fact, during the time the agony lasted, he was like one in a trance, 
 for though he could see and hear, he could neither speak nor move, 
 and looked as if he had done with both for many a day to come. 
 
 " Well, as I was saying, I knew nothing of all this till a slight cir- 
 cumstance made it known to me. I was seated one evening in the 
 little arbour I mentioned with Donna Maria ; there was a little table 
 before us, covered with wine and fruits, a dish of olives, some Castile 
 oranges, and a fresh pine. I remember it well : my eye roved over the 
 little dessert, set out in old-fashioned rich silver dishes, then turned 
 towards the lady herself, with rings and brooches, earrings and chains 
 enough to reward one for sacking a town ; and I said to myself, ' Mon- 
 soon, Monsoon, this is better than long marches in the Pyrenees, with 
 a cork tree for a bed curtain, and wet grass for a mattress. How 
 pleasantly one might jog on in this world, with this little country-house 
 for his abode, and Donna Maria for a companion ? ' 
 
 " I tasted the port, it was delicious. Now I knew very little Portu- 
 guese, but I made some effort to ask if there was much of it in the 
 cellar. 
 
 " She smiled, and said, ' Oh yes !' 
 
 " ' What a luxurious life one might lead here ! ' thought I ; ' and, 
 after all, perhaps Providence might remove Don Emanuel.' 
 
 " I finished the bottle as I thus meditated. The next was, if pos- 
 sible, more crusty. 
 
 " 'This is a delicious retreat,' said I, soliloquising. 
 
 ' ' Donna Maria seemed to know what was passing in my mind, for 
 she smiled too. 
 
 u< Yes,' said I, in broken Portuguese, ' one ought to be very happy 
 here, Donna Maria.' 
 
 " She blushed, and I continued : 
 
 " ' What can one want for more in this life ? all the charms that
 
 196 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 rendered Paradise what it was ' I took her hand here ' and made 
 Adam blessed.' 
 
 " 'Ah, General !' said she, with a sigh, ' you are such a flatterer.' 
 
 " ' Who could flatter,' said I, with enthusiasm, ( when there are not 
 words enough to express what he feels ? ' this was true, for my Por- 
 tuguese was fast failing me ' but if I ever was happy, it is now.' 
 
 " I took another pull at the port. 
 
 " ' If I only thought,' said I, ( that my presence here was not thought 
 unwelcome ' 
 
 " ' Fie, General,' said she, ' how could you say such a thing ? ' 
 
 " ' If I only thought I was not hated,' said I tremblingly. 
 
 " e Oh ! ' said she again. 
 
 c ' ' Despised. ' 
 
 "<ohr 
 
 " < Loathed.' 
 
 " She pressed my hand ; I kissed hers ; she hurriedly snatched it 
 from me, and pointed towards a lime-tree near, beneath which, in the 
 cool enjoyment of his cigar, sat the spare and detested figure of Don 
 Email uel. 
 
 " ' Yes,' thought I, ' there he is, the only bar to my good fortune ; 
 were it not for him, I should not be long before I became possessor of 
 this excellent old chateau, with a most indiscretionary power over the 
 cellar. Don Mauricius Monsoon would speedily assume his place among 
 the grandees of Portugal.' 
 
 " I know not how long my reverie lasted, nor, indeed, how the evening 
 passed ; but I remember well the moon was up, and a sky bright with 
 a thousand stars was shining as I sat beside the fair Donna Maria, en- 
 deavouring, with such Portuguese as it pleased fate to bestow on me, 
 to instruct her touching my warlike services and deeds of arms. The 
 fourth bottle of port was ebbing beneath my eloquence, as responsively 
 her heart beat, when I heard a slight rustle in the branches near. I 
 looked, and, heavens, what a sight did I behold ! There was little Don 
 Emanuel stretched upon the grass, with his mouth wide open, his face 
 pale as death, his arms stretched out at either side, and his legs stiffened 
 straight out. I ran over and asked if he were ill, but no answer came. 
 I lifted up an arm, but it fell heavily upon the ground as I let it go ; 
 the leg did likewise. I touched his nose ; it was cold. 
 
 " ' Hullo,' thought I, * is it so ? this comes of mixing water with 
 your sherry. I saw where it would end.' 
 
 " Now, upon my life, I felt sorry for the little fellow : but, some- 
 how, one gets so familiarised with this sort of thing in a campaign, that 
 one only half feels in a case like this. 
 
 " ' Yes,' said I ; ' man is but grass ; but I, for one, must make hay 
 when the sun shines. Now for the Donna Maria,' for the poor thing 
 was asleep in the arbour all this while. 
 
 " ' Donna,' said I, shaking her by the elbow ; ' Donna,' said I, 
 ' don't be shocked at what I'm going to say. ' 
 
 " ' Ah ! General,' said she, with a sigh, ' say no more ; I must not 
 listen to you.' 
 
 ' ' ' You don't know that,' said I, with a knowing look ; ' you don't 
 know that.'
 
 LISBON 197 
 
 ' e ' Why, what cun you mean ? ' 
 
 ( ' e The little fellow is done for ; ' for the port was working strong now, 
 and destroyed all my fine sensibility. ' Yes, Donna,' said I, ' you are 
 free ' here I threw myself upon my knees ' free to make the happiest 
 of commissaries and the jolliest grandee of Portugal that ever ' 
 
 1 < < But Don Emanuel ? ' 
 
 " ' Run out dry empty,' inverting a finished decanter, to typify 
 my words as I spoke. 
 
 ' ' ' He is not dead ! ' said she, with a scream. 
 
 " ' Even so,' said I, with a hiccup ; ( ordered for service in a better 
 world, where there are neither inspections nor arrears.' 
 
 " Before the words were well out, she sprang from the bench and 
 rushed over to the spot where the little Don lay. What she said or 
 did I know not, but the next moment he sat bolt upright in the grass, 
 and, as he held his jaw with one hand and supported himself on the 
 other, vented such a torrent of abuse and insult at me, that, for want 
 of Portuguese enough to reply, I rejoined in English, in which I swore 
 pretty roundly for five minutes. Meanwhile, the Donna had summoned 
 the servants, who removed Don Emanuel to the house ; where, on my 
 return, I found my luggage displayed before the door, with a civil hint 
 to deploy in orderly time, and take ground elsewhere. 
 
 ' ' In a few days, however, his anger cooled down, and I received a 
 polite note from Donna Maria, that the Don at length began to under- 
 stand the joke, and begged I would return to the chateau, and that he 
 would expect me at dinner the same day." 
 
 ' e With which, of course, you complied ? " 
 
 "Which, of course, I did. Forgive your enemies, my dear boy it 
 is only Christian-like ; and, really, we lived very happily ever after : 
 the Donna was a mighty clever woman, and a dear good soul beside." 
 
 It was late when the Major concluded his story ; so, after wishing 
 Ferguson a good night, we took our leave, and retired for the night to 
 our quarters. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 LISBON 
 
 THE tramp of horses' feet and the sound of voices beneath my window 
 roused me from a deep sleep. I sprang up, and drew aside the curtain. 
 What a strange confusion beset me as I looked forth ! Before me lay 
 a broad and tranquil river, whose opposite shore, deeply wooded, and 
 studded with villas and cottages, rose abruptly from the water's edge : 
 vessels of war lay tranquilly in the stream, their pennants trailing in the 
 tide : the loud boom of a morning gun rolled along the surface, awaking 
 a hundred echoes as it passed, and the lazy smoke rested for some minutes 
 on the glassy water as it blended with the thick air of the morning. 
 
 " Where am I ? " was my first question to myself, as I continued to 
 look from side to side, unable to collect my scattered senses. 
 
 One word sufficed to recall me to myself, as I heard Power's voice 
 from without call out :
 
 198 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 " Charley ! O'Malley, I say ! Come down here ! " 
 
 I hurriedly threw on my clothes, and went to the door. 
 
 " Well, Charley ! I've been put in the harness rather sooner than I 
 expected. Here's old Douglas has been sitting up all night writing 
 despatches ; and I must hasten on to headquarters, without a moment's 
 delay. There's work before us, that's certain ; but when, where, and 
 how, of that I know nothing. You may expect the route every 
 moment ; the French are still advancing. Meanwhile, I have a couple 
 of commissions for you to execute. First, here's a packet for Ham- 
 mersly ; you are sure to meet him with the regiment in a day or two. 
 I have some scruples about asking you this but, confound it ! you're 
 too sensible a fellow to care " 
 
 Here he hesitated ; and, as I coloured to the eyes, for some minutes 
 he seemed uncertain how to proceed. At length, recovering himself, 
 he went on : 
 
 "Now for the other. This is a most loving epistle from a poor 
 devil of a midshipman, written last night, by a tallow candle, in the 
 cockpit, containing vows of eternal adoration and a lock of hair. I 
 promised faithfully to deliver it myself; for the Thunderer sails for 
 Gibraltar next tide, and he cannot go ashore for an instant. However, 
 as Sir Arthur's billet may be of more importance than the reefer's, I 
 must entrust its safe keeping to your hands. Now, then, don't look so 
 devilish sleepy ; but rub your eyes, and try to understand what I'm 
 saying. This is the address : ' La Senhora Inez da Silviero, Rua 
 Nuova, opposite the barber's ; ' you'll not neglect it. So now, my dear 
 boy, till our next meeting, adios!" 
 
 " Stop ! for Heaven's sake, not so fast, I pray. Where's the street ? " 
 
 "The Rua Nuova. Remember Figaro, my boy. Cinque perruche." 
 
 " But what am I to do ? " 
 
 " To do ? what a question ! Anything : everything. Be a good 
 diplomate ; speak of the torturing agony of the lover, for which I can 
 vouch (the boy is only fifteen) ; swear that he is to return in a month, 
 first lieutenant of the Thunder Bomb, with intentions that even Madame 
 Dalrymple would approve." 
 
 " What nonsense," said I, blushing to the eyes. 
 
 "And if that suffice not, I know of but one resource." 
 
 "Which is?" 
 
 " Make love to her yourself. Ay, even so. Don't look so con- 
 foundedly vinegar ; the girl, I hear, is a devilish pretty one ; the house 
 pleasant ; and I sincerely wish I could exchange duties with you; leaving 
 you to make your bows to his Excellency the C. O. F. , and myself free 
 to make mine to la Senhora. And now, push along, old red-cap." 
 
 So saying, he made a significant cut of his whip at the Portuguese 
 guide, and in another moment was out of sight. 
 
 My first thought was one of regret at Power's departure. For some 
 time past we had been inseparable companions ; and, notwithstanding 
 the reckless and wild gaiety of his conduct, I had ever found him ready 
 to assist me in every difficulty, and that with an address and dexterity a 
 more calculating adviser might not have possessed. I was now utterly 
 alone ; for, though Monsoon and the Adjutant were still in Lisbon, as 
 was also Sparks, I never could make intimates of them.
 
 LISBON 199 
 
 I ate my breakfast with a heavy heart, my solitary position again 
 suggesting thoughts of home and kindred. Just at this moment my 
 eyes fell upon the packet destined for Hammersly : I took it up, and 
 weighed it in my hand. "Alas ! " thought I, ' ' how much of my destiny 
 may lie within that envelope : how fatally may my after life he in- 
 fluenced by it ! " It felt heavy, as though there was something besides 
 letters. True, too true ; there was a picture Lucy's portrait ! The 
 cold drops of perspiration stood upon my forehead as my fingers traced 
 the outline of a miniature case in the parcel. I became deadly weak, 
 and sank half-fainting upon a chair. And such is the end of my first 
 dream of happiness ! How have I been duped, how have I deceived 
 myself ! For, alas ! though Lucy had never responded to my proffered 
 vows of affection, yet had I ever nurtured in my heart a secret hope 
 that I was not altogether uncared-for. Every look she had given me, 
 every word she had spoken, the tone of her voice, her step, her every 
 gesture, were before me, all confirming my delusion. And yet : J 
 could bear no more, and burst into tears. 
 
 The loud call of a cavalry trumpet aroused me. 
 
 How long I had passed in this state of sad despondency I knew not ; 
 but it was long past noon when I rallied myself. My charger was 
 already awaiting me ; and a second blast of the trumpet told that the 
 inspection in the Plaza was about to commence. 
 
 As I continued to dress I gradually rallied from my depressing 
 thoughts ; and, ere I belted my sabretasche, the current of my ideas 
 had turned from their train of sadness to one of hardihood and daring. 
 " Lucy Dashwood has treated me like a wilful schoolboy. Mayhap I 
 may prove myself as gallant a soldier as even him she has preferred 
 before me." 
 
 A third sound of the trumpet cut short my reflections, and I sprang 
 into the saddle, and hastened towards the Plaza. As I dashed along 
 the streets, my horse, maddened with the impulse that stirred my own 
 heart, curveted and plunged unceasingly. As I reached the Plaza, the 
 crowd became dense, and I was obliged to pull up. The sound of the 
 music, the parade, the tramp of the infantry, and the neighing of the 
 horses, were, however, too much for my mettlesome steed, and he 
 became nearly unmanageable : he plunged fearfully, and twice reared 
 as though he would have fallen back. As I scattered the foot-passengers 
 right and left with terror, my eye fell upon one lovely girl, who, tear- 
 ing herself from her companion, rushed wildly towards an open door- 
 way for shelter ; suddenly, however, changing her intention, she came 
 forward a few paces, and then, as if overcome by fear, stood stock-still, 
 her hands clasped upon her bosom, her eyes upturned, her features 
 deadly pale, while her knees seemed bending beneath her. Never did 
 I behold a more beautiful object ; her dark hair had fallen loose upon 
 her shoulder, and she stood the very ideal of the " Madonna suppli- 
 cating." My glance was short as a lightning flash ; for the same 
 instant my horse swerved, and dashed forwards right at the place 
 where she was standing. One terrific cry rose from the crowd, who 
 saw her danger. Beside her stood a muleteer, who had drawn up his 
 mule and cart close beside the footway for safety ; she made one effort 
 to reach it, but her outstretched arms alone moved, and, paralysed by
 
 200 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 terror, she sank motionless upon the pavement. There was but one 
 course open to me now, so collecting myself for the effort, I threw 
 my horse upon his haunches, and then, dashing the spurs into his 
 flanks, breasted him at the mule cart. With one spring he rose and 
 cleared it at a bound, while the very air rang with the acclamations of 
 the multitude, and a thousand bravos saluted me as I alighted upon 
 the opposite side. 
 
 ee Well done, O'Malley !" sang out the little Adjutant, as I flew past 
 and pulled up in the middle of the Plaza. 
 
 " Something devilish like Galway in that leap," said a very musical 
 voice beside me ; and at the same instant a tall, soldier-like man, in an 
 undress dragoon frock, touched his cap and said, " A Fourteenth man, I 
 perceive, sir. May I introduce myself? Major O'Shaughnessy." 
 
 I bowed, and shook the Major's proffered hand, while he continued : 
 
 <f Old Monsoon mentioned your name to us this morning. You came 
 out together, if I mistake not ? " 
 
 "Yes ; but, somehow, I've missed the Major since my landing." 
 
 " Oh, you'll see him presently ; he'll be on parade. By-the-bye, he 
 wishes particularly to meet you. We dine to-day, at the ' Quai de 
 
 Soderi,' and if you're not engaged Yes, this is the person," said 
 
 he, turning at the moment towards a servant, who, with a card in his 
 hand, seemed to search for some one in the crowd. 
 
 The man approached, and handed it to me. 
 
 " What can this mean ? " said I ; " Don Emanuel de Blacas y Silviero, 
 Rua Nuova." 
 
 " Why, that's the great Portuguese contractor ; the intendant of half 
 the army ; the richest fellow in Lisbon. Have you known him long ? " 
 
 e ' Never heard of him till now. " 
 
 " By Jove, you're in luck ! No man gives such dinners ; he has such 
 a cellar ! I'll wager a fifty it was his daughter you took in the flying 
 leap a while ago. I hear she is a beautiful creature." 
 
 " Yes," thought I, ' ' that must be it : and yet, strange enough, I 
 think the name and address are familiar to me. " 
 
 " Ten to one you've heard Monsoon speak of him ; he's most intimate 
 there. But here comes the Major." 
 
 And, as he spoke, the illustrious Commissary came forward, holding 
 a vast bundle of papers in one hand, and his snuff-box in the other ; 
 and followed by a long string of clerks, contractors, assistant-surgeons, 
 paymasters, &c., all eagerly pressing forward to be heard. 
 
 " It's quite impossible ; I can't do it to-day. Victualling and 
 physicking are very good things, but must be done in season. I have 
 been up all night at the accounts. Haven't I, O'Malley?" here he 
 winked at me most significantly "and then I have the forage and 
 stoppage fund to look through we dine at six, sharp," said he, sotto 
 voce e< which will leave me without one minute unoccupied for the 
 next twenty-four hours. Look to your toggery this evening ; I've some- 
 thing in my eye for you, O'Malley." 
 
 " Officers unattached to their several corps will fall into the middle 
 of the Plaza," said a deep voice among the crowd ; and, in obedience 
 to the order, I rode forward, and placed myself with a number of 
 others, apparently newly joined, in the open square. A short, grey-
 
 X
 
 THE STRADA NUOVA 201 
 
 haired old Colonel, with a dark eagle look, proceeded to inspect us, 
 reading from a paper as he came along : 
 
 "Mr. Hepton, 6th Foot; commission hearing date llth January; 
 drilled ; proceed to Ovar, and join his regiment." 
 
 <( Mr. Gronow, Fusilier Guards ; remains with depot." 
 
 " Captain Mortimer, 1st Dragoons ; appointed aide-de-camp to the 
 general commanding the cavalry brigade." 
 
 "Mr. Sparks where is Mr. Sparks? Mr. Sparks, absent from 
 parade ; make a note of it." 
 
 " Mr. O'Malley, 14th Light Dragoons. Mr. O'Malley oh, I re- 
 member ; I have received a letter from Sir George Dashwood concern- 
 ing you. You will hold yourself in readiness to march. Your friends 
 desire that before you may obtain any staff appointment you should 
 have the opportunity of seeing some service. Am I to understand 
 such is your wish ? " 
 
 " Most certainly." 
 
 ' ' May I have the pleasure of your company at dinner to-day ? " 
 
 ' ' I regret that I have already accepted an invitation to dine with 
 Major Monsoon." 
 
 " With Major Monsoon ! ah, indeed ! Perhaps it might be as well 
 I should mention but no matter. I wish you good morning. " 
 
 So saying, the little Colonel rode off, leaving me to suppose that my 
 dinner engagement had not raised me in his estimation, though why, I 
 could not exactly determine. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 THE STRADA NUOVA 
 
 OUR dinner was a long and uninteresting one, and, as I found that the 
 Major was likely to prefer his seat, as chairman of the party, to the 
 seductions of ladies' society, I took the first opportunity of escaping, 
 and left the room. 
 
 It was a rich moonlight night as I found myself in the street. My 
 way, which led along the banks of the Tagus, was almost as light as in 
 daytime, and crowded with walking parties, who sauntered carelessly 
 along, in the enjoyment of the cool refreshing night air. On inquiring, 
 I discovered that the Rua Nuova was at the extremity of the city ; but, 
 as the road led along by the river, I did not regret the distance, but 
 walked on with increasing pleasure at the charms of so heavenly a 
 climate and country. 
 
 After three-quarters of an hour's walk, the streets became by degrees 
 less and less crowded. A solitary party passed me now and then ; the 
 buzz of distant voices succeeded to the gay laughter and merry tones 
 of the passing groups, and, at length, my own footsteps alone awoke 
 the echoes along the deserted pathway. I stopped every now and then 
 to gaze upon the tranquil river, whose eddies were circling in the pale 
 silver of the moonlight. I listened with attentive ear, as the night 
 breeze wafted to me the far-off sounds of a guitar, and the deep tones
 
 202 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 of some lover's serenade ; while again the tender warbling of the 
 nightingale came borne across the stream, on a wind rich with the 
 odour of the orange-tree. 
 
 As thus I lingered on my way, the time stole on ; and it was near 
 midnight ere I roused myself from the reverie surrounding objects 
 had thrown about me. I stopped suddenly, and for some minutes I 
 struggled with myself to discover if I was really awake. As I walked 
 along, lost in my reflections, I had entered a little garden beside the 
 river ; fragrant plants and lovely flowers bloomed on every side ; the 
 orange, the camellia, the cactus, and the rich laurel of Portugal were 
 blending their green and golden hues around me, while the very air 
 was filled with delicious music. " Was it a dream, could such ecstasy 
 be real?" I asked myself, as the rich notes swelled upwards in their 
 strength, and sunk in soft cadence to tones of melting harmony, now 
 bursting forth in the full force of gladness, the voices blended together 
 in one stream of mellow music, and, suddenly ceasing, the soft but 
 thrilling shake of a female voice rose upon the air, and in its plaintive 
 beauty stirred the very heart. The proud tramp of martial music 
 succeeded to the low wailing cry of agony ; then came the crash of 
 battle, the clang of steel ; the thunder of the fight rolled on in all 
 its majesty, increasing in its maddening excitement till it ended in one 
 loud shout of victory. 
 
 All was still ; not a breath moved, not a leaf stirred, and again was 
 I relapsing into my dreamy scepticism, when again the notes swelled 
 upwards in concert. But now their accents were changed, and in low, 
 subdued tones, faintly and slowly uttered, the prayer of thanksgiving 
 rose to heaven, and spoke their gratefulness. I almost fell upon my 
 knees, and already the tears filled my eyes, as I drank in the sounds. 
 My heart was full to bursting, and, even now as I write it, my pulse 
 throbs as I remember the hymn of the Abencerrages. 
 
 When I rallied from my trance of excited pleasure my first thought 
 was where was I, and how came I there? Before I could resolve 
 my doubts upon the question, my attention was turned in another 
 direction, for close beside me the branches moved forwards, and a pair 
 of arms were thrown around my neck, while a delicious voice cried 
 out, in an accent of childish delight, ' ' Trovado ! " At the same instant 
 a lovely head sank upon my shoulder, covering it with tresses of long 
 brown hair. The arms pressed me still more closely, till I felt her 
 very heart beating against my side. 
 
 " Miofradre," said a soft trembling voice, as her fingers played in 
 my hair and patted my temples. 
 
 What a situation mine ! I well knew that some mistaken identity 
 had been the cause ; but still, I could not repress my inclination to 
 return the embrace, as I pressed my lips upon the fair forehead that 
 leaned upon my bosom : at the same moment she threw back her head, 
 as if to look me more fully in the face. One glance sufficed : blushing 
 deeply over her cheeks and neck, she sprang from my arms, and, utter- 
 ing a faint cry, staggered against a tree. In an instant I saw it was 
 the lovely girl I had met in the morning, and, without losing a second, 
 I poured out apologies for my intrusion with all the eloquence I was 
 master of, till she suddenly interrupted me by asking if I spoke French ?
 
 THE STRADA NUOVA 203 
 
 Scarcely had I recommenced my excuse in that language, when a third 
 party appeared upon the stage. This was a short elderly man, in a 
 green uniform, with several decorations upon his breast, and a cocked 
 hat, with a most flowing plume, in his right hand. 
 
 " May I beg to know whom I have the honour of receiving ? " in- 
 quired he, in very excellent English, as he advanced with a look of 
 very ceremonious but distant politeness. 
 
 I immediately explained that, presuming upon the card which his 
 servant had presented to me, I had resolved on paying my respects, 
 when a mistake had led me accidentally into his garden. 
 
 My apologies had not come to an end, when he folded me in his 
 arms and overwhelmed me with thanks ; at the same time saying a 
 few words in Portuguese to his daughter, she stooped down, and taking 
 my hand gently within her own, touched it with her lips. 
 
 This piece of touching courtesy which I afterwards found meant 
 little or nothing affected me deeply at the time, arid I felt the blood 
 rush to my face and forehead, half in pride, half in a sense of shame. 
 My confusion was, however, of short duration, for, taking my arm, 
 the old gentleman led me along a few paces, and turning round a small 
 clump of olives, entered a little summer-house. Here a considerable 
 party were assembled, which for their picturesque effect could scarcely 
 have been better managed on the stage. 
 
 Beneath the mild lustre of a large lamp of stained glass, half hid in 
 the overhanging boughs, was spread a table covered with vessels of 
 gold and silver plate of gorgeous richness ; drinking cups and goblets 
 of antique pattern shone among cups of Sevres china or Venetian glass ; 
 delicious fruit, looking a thousand times more tempting for being con- 
 tained in baskets of silver foliage, peeped from amid a profusion of fresh 
 flowers, whose odour was continually shed around by a slight jet d'eau 
 that played among the leaves. Around, upon the grass, seated upon 
 cushions or reclining on Genoa carpets, were several beautiful girls, in 
 most becoming costumes ; their dark locks and darker eyes speaking of 
 " the soft south," while their expressive gestures and animated looks 
 betokened a race whose temperament is glowing as their clime. There 
 were several men also, the greater number of whom appeared in uniform 
 bronzed, soldier-like fellows, who had the jaunty air and easy carriage 
 of their calling among whom was one Englishman, or at least so I 
 guessed, from his wearing the uniform of a heavy dragoon regiment. 
 
 " This is my daughter's file," said Don Emanuel, as he ushered me 
 into the assembly ; c ' her birthday ; a sad day it might have been for 
 us, had it not been for your courage and forethought" So saying, 
 he commenced a recital of my adventure to the bystanders, who over- 
 whelmed me with civil speeches and a shower of soft looks that com- 
 pleted the fascination of the fairy scene. Meanwhile, the fair Inez 
 had made room for me beside her, and I found myself at once the lion 
 of the party ; each vicing with her neighbour who should show me most 
 attention, La Senhora herself directing her conversation exclusively to 
 me : a circumstance which, considering the awkwardness of our first 
 meeting, I felt no small surprise at, and which led me, somewhat malici- 
 ously I confess, to make a half allusion to it, feeling some interest at 
 ascertaining for whom the flattering reception was really intended.
 
 204 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " I thought you were Charles/' said she, blushing in answer to my 
 question. 
 
 "And you were right," said I, " I am Charles." 
 
 "Nay, but I meant my Charles." 
 
 There was something of touching softness in the tones of these few 
 words that made me half wish I were her Charles. Whether my look 
 evinced as much or not, I cannot tell, but she speedily added : 
 
 " He is my brother ; he is captain in the caf adores, and I expected 
 him here this evening. Some one saw a figure pass the gate and con- 
 ceal himself in the trees, and I was sure it was he. " 
 
 ' ' What a disappointment ! " said I. 
 
 " Yes ; was it not ? " said she hurriedly ; and then, as if remembering 
 how ungracious was the speech, she blushed more deeply and hung 
 down her head. 
 
 Just at this moment, as I looked up, I caught the eye of the English 
 officer fixed steadfastly upon me. He was a tall, fine-looking fellow, 
 of about two or three and thirty, with marked and handsome features, 
 which, however, conveyed an expression of something sneering and 
 sinister, that struck me the moment I saw him. His glass was fixed in 
 his eye, and I perceived that he regarded us both with a look of no 
 common interest My attention did not, however, dwell long upon 
 the circumstance, for Don Emanuel, coming behind my shoulder, 
 asked me if I would not take out his daughter in the bolero they were 
 just forming. 
 
 To my shame I was obliged to confess that I had never seen the 
 dance ; and, while I continued to express my resolve to correct the 
 errors of my education, the Englishman came up and asked the Senhora 
 to be his partner. This put the very keystone upon my annoyance, 
 and I had half turned angrily away from the spot, when I heard her 
 decline his invitation, and avow her determination not to dance. 
 
 There was something which pleased me so much at this refusal, that 
 I could not help turning upon her a look of most grateful acknow- 
 ledgment ; but, as I did so, I once more encountered the gaze of the 
 Englishman, whose knitted brows and compressed lips were bent upon 
 me in a manner there was no mistaking. This was neither the fitting 
 time nor place to seek any explanation of the circumstance, so wisely 
 resolving to wait a better occasion, I turned away and resumed my 
 attentions towards my fair companion. 
 
 " Then you don't care for the bolero ? " said I, as she reseated her- 
 self upon the grass. 
 
 " Oh ! I delight in it," said she enthusiastically. 
 
 " But you refused to dance ? " 
 
 She hesitated, blushed, tried to mutter something, and was silent 
 
 "I had determined to learn it," said I, half jestingly ; <( but if you 
 will not dance with me " 
 
 " Yes ; that I will indeed I will." 
 
 " But you declined my countryman. Is it because he is inexpert ? " 
 
 The Senhora hesitated ; looked confused for some minutes ; at 
 length, colouring slightly, she said, " I have already made one rude 
 speech to you this evening ; I fear lest I shall make a second. Tell 
 me, is Captain Trevyllian your friend ? "
 
 THE VILLA 206 
 
 " If you mean that gentleman yonder, I never saw him before." 
 
 <e Nor heard of him r " 
 
 " Nor that either. We are total strangers to each other." 
 
 ' ' Well, then, I may confess it. I do not like him. My father pre- 
 fers him to any one else, invites him daily here, and, in ..fact, instals 
 him as his first favourite. But, still, I cannot like him ; and yet I 
 have done my best to do so." 
 
 " Indeed !" said I pointedly. "What are his chief demerits? Is 
 he not agreeable ? is he not clever ? " 
 
 ' ' Oh ! on the contrary, most agreeable ; fascinating, I should say, 
 in conversation ; has travelled ; seen a great deal of the world ; is 
 very accomplished, and has distinguished himself on several occasions : 
 he wears, as you see, a Portuguese order." 
 
 " And, with all that ? " 
 
 " And with all that, I cannot bear him. He is a duellist, a notorious 
 duellist. My brother, too, knows more of him, and avoids him. But 
 let us not speak further ; I see his eyes are again fixed on us ; and, 
 somehow, I fear him, without well knowing wherefore." 
 
 A movement among the party ; shawls and mantillas were sought for 
 on all sides ; and the preparations for leave-taking appeared general. 
 Before, however, I had time to express my thanks for my hospitable 
 reception, the guests had assembled in a circle around the Senhora, 
 and, toasting her with a parting bumper, they commenced in concert a 
 little Portuguese song of farewell ; each verse concluding with a good 
 night, which, as they separated and held their way homewards, might 
 now and then be heard rising upon the breeze, and wafting their last 
 thoughts back to her. The concluding verse, which struck me much, 
 I have essayed to translate. It ran somehow thus : 
 
 ' ' The morning breezes chill 
 
 Now close our joyous scene, 
 And yet we linger still, 
 
 Where we've so happy been. 
 How blest were it to live 
 
 With hearts like ours so light, 
 And only part to give 
 
 One long and last Good Night, 
 Good Night ! " 
 
 With many an invitation to renew my visit, most kindly proffered 
 by Don Emanuel, and warmly seconded by his daughter, I, too, wished 
 my good night, and turned my steps homeward. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 THE VILLA 
 
 THE first object which presented itself to my eye, the next morning, 
 was the midshipman's packet, entrusted to my care by Power. I turned 
 it over to read the address more carefully, and what was my surprise 
 to find that the name was that of my fair friend, Donna Inez ! 
 
 ( ' This certainly thickens the plot," thought I ; " and so I have now
 
 206 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 fallen upon the real Simon Pure, and the reefer has had the good 
 fortune to distance the dragoon. Well, thus much, I cannot say that 
 I regret it. Now, however, for the parade, and then for the villa." 
 
 " I say, O'M alley," cried out Monsoon, as I appeared on the Plaza, 
 " I have accepted an invitation for you to-day. We dine across the 
 river. Be at my quarters a little before six, and we'll go together." 
 
 I should rather have declined the invitation, but, not well knowing 
 why, and having no ready excuse, acceded, and promised to be punctual. 
 
 ' ' You were at Don Emanuel's last night ; I heard of you. " 
 
 "Yes ; I spent a most delightful evening." 
 
 ft That's your ground, my boy ; a million of moidores, and such a 
 campagna in Valencia ! a better thing than the Dalrymple affair. Don't 
 blush. I know it all. But stay ; here they come." 
 
 As he spoke, the General commanding, with a numerous staff, rode 
 forward. As they passed, I recognised a face which I had certainly 
 seen before, and in a moment remembered it was that of the dragoon 
 of the evening before. He passed quite close, and fixing his eyes 
 steadfastly on me, evinced no sign of recognition. 
 
 The parade lasted above two hours, and it was with a feeling of im- 
 patience I mounted a fresh horse to canter out to the villa. When I 
 arrived, the servant informed me that Don Emanuel was in the city, 
 but that the Senhora was in the garden ; offering, at the same time, 
 to escort me. Declining this honour, I entrusted my horse to his keep- 
 ing, and took my way towards the arbour where last I had seen her. 
 
 I had not walked many paces when the sound of a guitar struck 
 on my ear. I listened. It was the Senhora's voice. She was singing 
 a Venetian cauzonetta, in a low, soft, warbling tone, as one lost in a 
 reverie, as though the music was a mere accompaniment to some pleasant 
 thought. I peeped through the dense leaves, and there she sat upon a 
 low garden seat : an open book on the rustic table before her ; beside 
 her, embroidery, which seemed only lately abandoned. As I looked, 
 she placed her guitar upon the ground, and began to play with a small 
 spaniel, that seemed to have waited with impatience for some testimony 
 of favour. A moment more, and she grew weary of this ; then, heaving 
 a long but gentle sigh, leaned back upon her chair, and seemed lost in 
 thought. I now had ample time to regard her, and, certainly, never 
 beheld anything more lovely. There was a character of classic beauty, 
 and her brow, though fair and ample, was still strongly marked upon 
 the temples ; the eyes, being deep and squarely set, imparted a look 
 of intensity to her features which their own softness alone subdued ; 
 while the short upper lip, which trembled with every passing thought, 
 spoke of a nature tender and impressionable and yet impassioned. 
 Her foot and ankle peeped from beneath her dark robe, and, certainly, 
 nothing could be more faultless ; while her hand, fair as marble, blue 
 veined and dimpled, played amid the long tresses of her hair, that, as 
 if in the wantonness of beauty, fell carelessly upon her shoulders. 
 
 It was some time before I could tear myself from the fascination of 
 so much beauty, and it needed no common effort to leave the spot As 
 I made a short detour in the garden before approaching the arbour, she 
 saw me as I came forward, and, kissing her hand gently, made room 
 for me beside her.
 
 THE VILLA 207 
 
 " I have been fortunate in finding you alone, Seuhora," said I, as I 
 seated myself by her side ; " for I am the bearer of a letter to you. 
 How far it may interest you I know not, but to the writer's feelings 
 I am bound to testify." 
 
 " A letter to me? you jest, surely." 
 
 " That I am in earnest this will show," said I, producing the packet. 
 
 She took it from my hands, turned it about and about, examined the 
 seal, while, half doubtingly, she said : 
 
 " The name is mine ; but, still " 
 
 " You fear to open it : is it not so ? But after all, you need not be 
 surprised if it is from Howard : that's his name, I think." 
 
 " Howard ! from little Edward ! " exclaimed she enthusiastically ; 
 and, tearing open the letter, she pressed it to her lips, her eyes spark- 
 ling with pleasure, and her cheek glowing as she read. I watched her 
 as she ran rapidly over the lines ; and I confess that, more than once, 
 a pang of discontent shot through my heart that the midshipman's 
 letter could call up such interest ; not that I was in love with her my- 
 self, but yet, I know not how it was, I had fancied her affections un- 
 engaged, and, without asking myself wherefore, I wished as much. 
 
 " Poor, dear boy ! " said she, as she came to the end. 
 
 How these few and simple words sank into my heart as I remem- 
 bered how they had once been uttered to myself, and in perhaps no 
 very dissimilar circumstances. 
 
 " But where is the souvenir he speaks of?" said she. 
 
 " The souvenir, I'm not aware " 
 
 " Oh, I hope you have not lost the lock of hair he sent me ? " 
 
 I was quite dumfounded at this, and could not remember whether I 
 had received it from Power or not ; so answered at random : 
 
 " Yes ; I must have left it on my table." 
 
 " Promise me, then, to bring it to-morrow with you." 
 
 " Certainly," said I, with something of pique in my manner. " If I 
 find such a means of making my visit an agreeable one, I shall certainly 
 not omit it." 
 
 1 ' You are quite right," said she, either not noticing or not caring for 
 the tone of my reply. " You will indeed be a welcome messenger. Do 
 you know, he was one of my lovers ? " 
 
 ' f One of them ! Indeed ! Then pray how many do you number at 
 this moment ? " 
 
 " What a question ! as if I could possibly count them. Besides, 
 there are so many absent ; some on leave, some deserters, perhaps, that 
 I might be reckoning among my troops, but who, possibly, form part 
 of the forces of the enemy. Do you know little Howard ? " 
 
 " I cannot say that we are personally acquainted, but I am enabled, 
 through the medium of a friend, to say that his sentiments are not 
 strange to me. Besides, I have really pledged myself to support the 
 prayer of his petition." 
 
 " How very good of you ! for which reason, you've forgotten, if not 
 lost, the lock of hair." 
 
 " That you shall have to-morrow," said I, pressing my hand solemnly 
 to my heart. 
 
 " Well, then, don't forget it ; but hush ! here comes Captain
 
 208 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Trevyllian. So you say Lisbon really pleases you/' said she, ill a tone 
 of voice totally changed, as the dragoon of the preceding evening 
 approached. 
 
 "Mr. O'Malley, Captain Trevyllian." 
 
 We bowed stiffly and haughtily to each other, as two men salute 
 who are unavoidably obliged to bow, with every wish on either side to 
 avoid acquaintance. So, at least, I construed his bow ; so I certainly 
 intended my own. 
 
 It requires no common tact to give conversation the appearance of 
 unconstraint and ease when it is evident that each person opposite is 
 labouring under excited feelings ; so that, notwithstanding the Sen- 
 hora's efforts to engage our attention by the commonplaces of the day, 
 we remained almost silent, and, after a few observations of no interest, 
 took our several leaves. Here again a new source of awkwardness 
 arose ; for, as we walked together towards the house, where our horses 
 stood, neither party seemed disposed to speak. 
 
 " You are probably returning to Lisbon ? " said he coldly. 
 
 I assented by a bow. Upon which, drawing his bridle within his arm, 
 he bowed once more, and turned away in an opposite direction ; while 
 I, glad to be relieved of an unsought-for companionship, returned alone 
 to the town. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE DINNER 
 
 IT was with no peculiar pleasure that I dressed for our dinner party. 
 Major O'Shaughnessy, our host, was one of that class of my country- 
 men I cared least for a riotous, good-natured, noisy, loud-swearing, 
 punch-drinking western ; full of stories of impossible fox-hunts, and 
 unimaginable duels, which all were acted either by himself or some 
 member of his family. The company consisted of the Adjutant, Mon- 
 soon, Ferguson, Trevyllian, and some eight or ten officers with whom 
 I was acquainted. As is usual on such occasions, the wine circulated 
 freely, and, amid the din and clamour of excited conversation, the 
 fumes of Burgundy, and the vapour of cigar smoke, we most of us 
 became speedily mystified. As for me, my evil destiny would have it 
 that I was placed exactly opposite Trevyllian, with whom upon more 
 than one occasion I happened to differ in opinion, and the question was 
 in itself some trival and unimportant one ; yet the tone which he 
 assumed, and of which I too could not divest myself in reply, boded 
 anything rather than an amicable feeling between us. The noise and 
 turmoil about prevented the others remarking the circumstance ; but 
 I could perceive in his manner what I deemed a studied determination 
 to promote a quarrel, while I felt within myself a most unchristian-like 
 desire to indulge his fancy. 
 
 " Worse fellows at passing the bottle than Trevyllian and O'Malley 
 there, I have rarely sojourned with," cried the Major ; " look, if they 
 haven't got eight decanters between them : and here we are in a state 
 of African thirst. "
 
 THE DINNER 209 
 
 " How can you expect him to think of the thirst when such perfumed 
 billets as that come showering upon him?" said the Adjutant, alluding 
 to a rose-coloured epistle a servant had placed within my hands. 
 
 " Eight miles of a stone wall country in fifteen minutes ! devil a lie 
 in it ! " said O'Shaughnessy, striking the table with his clenched fist : 
 "show me the man 'id deny it !" 
 
 " Why, my dear fellow !" 
 
 Tf Don't be dearing me ! Is it no you'll be saying to me? Listen 
 now : there's O'Reilly there " 
 
 " Where is he ? " 
 
 1 ' He's under the table ! well, it's the same thing. His mother had 
 
 a fox : bad luck to you, don't scald me with the jug ! his mother 
 
 had a fox-cover in Shinrohan." 
 
 When O'Shaughnessy had gone thus far in his narrative, I had the 
 opportunity of opening my note, which merely contained the following 
 words : " Come to the ball at the Casino, and bring the cadeau you 
 promised me." 
 
 I had scarcely read this over once, when a roar of laughter at some- 
 thing said attracted my attention. I looked up and perceived Trevyl- 
 lian's eyes bent upon me with the fierceness of a tiger : the veins in his 
 forehead were swollen and distorted, and the whole expression of his 
 face betokened rage and passion. Resolved no longer to submit to 
 such evident determination to insult, I was rising from my place at 
 table, when, as if anticipating my intention, he pushed back his chair, 
 and left the room. Fearful of attracting attention by immediately 
 following him, I affected to join in the conversation around me, while my 
 temples throbbed, and my hands tingled with impatience to get away. 
 
 " Poor M'Manus," said O'Shaughnessy, " rest his soul, he'd have 
 puzzled the bench of bishops for hard words : upon my conscience I 
 believe he spent his mornings looking for them in the Old Testament ; 
 sure, ye might have heard what happened to him ; at Banagher, when 
 he commanded the Kilkennys ye never heard the story? well then, 
 ye shall : push the sherry along first, though old Monsoon there 
 always keeps it lingering beside his left arm ! 
 
 " Well, when Peter was lieutenant-colonel of the Kilkennys who, I 
 may remark, en passant, as the French say, were the seediest-looking 
 devils in the whole service he never let them alone from morning till 
 night, drilling, and pipe-claying, and polishing them up ! ' Nothing 
 will make soldiers of you,' said Peter ; ' but, by the rock of Cashel, I'll 
 keep you as clean as a new musket ! ' Now, poor Peter himself was 
 not a very warlike figure ; he measured five feet one in his tallest boots : 
 but certainly, if Nature denied him length of stature, she compensated 
 for it in another way, by giving him a taste for the longest words in 
 the language ! An extra syllable or so in a word was always a strong 
 recommendation ; and, whenever he could not find one to his mind, 
 he'd take some quaint, outlandish one, that more than once led to very 
 awkward results. Well, the regiment was one day drawn up for 
 parade in the town of Banagher, and, as M'Manus came down the 
 lines, he stopped opposite one of the men, whose face, hands, and 
 accoutrements exhibited a most woeful contempt of his orders. The 
 fellow looked more like a turf-stack than a light-company man !
 
 210 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ' Stand out, sir ! ' cried M'Manus in a boiling passion. ' Sergeant 
 O'Toole, inspect this individual.' Now the sergeant was rather a 
 favourite with Mac ; for he always pretended to understand his 
 phraseology, and, in consequence, was pronounced by the Colonel a 
 very superior man for his station in life. ' Sergeant,' said he, ' we 
 shall make an exemplary illustration of our system here ! ' 
 
 11 ' Yes, sir,' said the sergeant, sorely puzzled at the meaning of 
 what he spoke. 
 
 " ' Bear him to the Shannon, and lave him there ! ' this he said in a 
 kind of Coriolanus tone, with a toss up of his head, and a wave of his 
 right arm signs, whenever he made them, iucontestably showing that 
 further parley was out of the question, and that he had summed up 
 and charged the jury for good and all. 
 
 " ' Lave him in the river ? ' said O'Toole, his eyes starting from the 
 sockets, and his whole face working in strong anxiety ; ' is it lam him 
 in the river, yer honor means ? ' 
 
 ( ' ' I have spoken,' said the little man, bending an ominous frown 
 upon the sergeant ; which, whatever construction he might have put 
 upon his words, there was no mistaking. 
 
 " ( Well, well, av it's God's will he's drowned, it will not be on my 
 head,' says O'Toole, as he marched the fellow away between two rank 
 and file. 
 
 " The parade was nearly over when Mac happened to see the sergeant 
 coming up, all splashed with water, and looking quite tired. 
 
 " ' Have you obeyed my orders ? ' said he. 
 
 te ' Yes, yer honor ; and tough work we had of it, for he struggled 
 hard !' 
 
 " ' And where is he now ? ' 
 
 " ( Oh, troth he's there safe ! divil a fear he'll get out ! ' 
 
 " ' Where ? ' said Mac. 
 
 " ' In the river, yer honor.' 
 
 c< ' What have you done, you scoundrel ? ' 
 
 " ' Didn't I do as you bid me ? ' says he ; ' didn't I throw him in, and 
 lave [leave] him there ? ' And faith so they did ; and if he wasn't a 
 good swimmer, and got over to Moystown, there's little doubt but he d 
 have been drowned, and all because Peter M'Manus could not express 
 himself like a Christian." 
 
 In the laughter which followed O'Shaughnessy's story, I took the 
 opportunity of making my escape from the party, and succeeded in 
 gaining the street unobserved. Though the note I had just read was 
 not signed, I had no doubt from whom it came : so I hastened at once 
 to my quarters to make search for the lock of Joe Howard's hair, to 
 which the Senhora alluded. WTiat was my mortification, however, to 
 discover that no such thing could be found anywhere ! I searched all 
 my drawers ; I tossed about my papers and letters ; I hunted every 
 likely, every unlikely spot I could think of, but in vain ; now cursing 
 my carelessness for having lost it ; now swearing most solemnly to 
 myself that I never could have received it. What was to be done ? It 
 was already late : my only thought was how to replace it. If I only 
 knew the colour, any other lock of hair would, doubtless, do just as 
 well. The chances were, as Howard was young, and an Englishman,
 
 THE ROUTE 211 
 
 that his hair was light ; light-brown probably : something like my 
 own. Of course it was ! why didn't that thought occur to me before ? 
 how stupid I was ! So saying, I seized a pair of scissors and cut a long 
 lock beside my temple : this, in a calm moment, I might have hesitated 
 about. ' Yes,' thought I, ' she'll never discover the cheat ; and, besides, 
 I do feel I know not exactly why rather gratified to think that 1 
 shall have left this souvenir behind me, even though it call up other 
 recollections than of me.' So thinking, I wrapped my cloak about me 
 and hastened towards the Casino. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 THE ROUTE 
 
 I HAD scarcely gone a hundred yards from my quarters when the great 
 tramp of horses' feet attracted my attention. I stopped to listen, and 
 soon heard the jingle of dragoon accoutrements, as the noise came 
 nearer. The night was dark, but pei'fectly still ; and before I stood 
 many minutes, I heard the tones of a voice, which I well knew could 
 belong to but one, and that, Fred Power. 
 
 " Fred Power ! " said I, shouting at the same time at the top of my 
 voice, " Power !" 
 
 "Ah, Charley, that you? Come along to the Adjutant-General's 
 quarters. I'm charged with some important despatches, and can't stop 
 till I've delivered them. Come along, I've glorious news for you !" 
 So saying, he dashed spurs to his horse, and, followed by ten mounted 
 dragoons, galloped past. Power's few and hurried words had so excited 
 my curiosity, that I turned at once to follow him, questioning myself, 
 as I walked along, to what he could possibly allude. He knew of my 
 attachment to Lucy Dashwood could he mean anything of her? but 
 what could I expect there ? by what flattery could I picture to myself 
 any chance of success in that quarter? and yet what other news could 
 I care for or value, than what bore upon her fate, upon whom my own 
 depended ! Thus ruminating, I reached the door of the spacious build- 
 ing in which the Adjutant-General had taken up his abode, and soon 
 found myself among a crowd of persons whom the rumour of some im- 
 portant event had assembled there, though no one could tell what had 
 occurred. Before many minutes the door opened, and Power came out, 
 bowing hurriedly to a few, and, whispering a word or two as he passed 
 down the steps, he seized me by the arm, and led me across the street 
 
 " Charley," said he, " the curtain's rising ; the piece is about to 
 begin : a new Commander-in-Chief is sent out ; Sir Arthur Wellesley, 
 my boy, the finest fellow in England, is to head us on, and we march 
 to-morrow. There's news for you ! " A raw boy, unread, uninformed 
 as I was, I knew but little of his career whose name had even then 
 shed such lustre upon our army ; but the buoyant tone of Power as he 
 spoke, the kindling energy of his voice, roused me, and I felt every 
 inch a soldier. As I grasped his hand, in delightful enthusiasm, 1 lost 
 all memory of my disappointment, and, in the beating throb that shook
 
 212 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 my head, I felt how deeply slept the ardour of military glory that first 
 led me from my home to seek a battlefield. 
 
 " There goes the news ! " said Frederick, pointing as he spoke to a 
 rocket that shot up into the sky, and, as it broke into ten thousand 
 stars, illuminated the broad stream, where the ships of war lay darkly 
 resting ; in another moment the whole air shone with similar fires, 
 while the deep roll of the drum sounded along the silent streets, and 
 the city, so lately sunk in sleep, became, as if by magic, thronged with 
 crowds of people ; the sharp clang of the cavalry trumpet, blended with 
 the gay carol of the light-infantry bugle, and the heavy tramp of the 
 march was heard in the distance. All was excitement, all bustle ; but, 
 in the joyous tone of every voice was spoken the longing anxiety to meet 
 the enemy : the gay, reckless tone of an Irish song would occasionally 
 reach us, as some Connaught Ranger, or some 78th man passed, his 
 knapsack on his back ; or the low monotonous pibroch of the High- 
 lander, swelling into a war-cry, as some kilted corps drew up their 
 ranks together. We turned to regain our quarters, when, at the corner 
 of a street, we came suddenly upon a merry party, seated around a 
 table, before a little inn ; a large street-lamp, unhung for the occasion, 
 had been placed in the midst of them, and showed us the figures of 
 several soldiers in undress at the end, and, raised a little above his 
 compeers, sat one, whom, by the unfair proportion he assumed of the 
 conversation, not less than by the musical intonation of his voice, I 
 soon recognised as my man, Mickey Free. 
 
 " I'll be hanged if that's not your fellow there, Charley," said Power, 
 as he came to a dead stop a few yards off. 
 
 " What an impertinent varlet he is ! Only to think of him there, pre- 
 siding among a set of fellows that have fought all the battles in the Penin- 
 sular War ! At this moment, I'll be hanged if he is not going to sing." 
 
 Here a tremendous thumping upon the table announced the fact, 
 and, after a few preliminary observations from Mike, illustrative of 
 his respect to the service, in which he had so often distinguished him- 
 self, he began, to the air of the ' ' Young May Moon," a ditty, of which 
 I only recollect the following verses : 
 
 THE YOUNG MAY MOON. 
 
 " The pickets are fast retreating, boys, 
 The last tattoo is beating, boys ; 
 So let every man 
 Finish his can, 
 And drink to our next merry meeting, boys ! 
 
 The Colonel so gaily prancing, boys, 
 Has a wonderful trick of advancing, boys ! 
 
 When he sings out so large, 
 
 ' Fix bayonets and charge,' 
 He sets all the Frenchmen a-dancing, boys ! 
 
 Let Mounseer look ever so big, my boys, 
 Who cares for fighting a fig, my boys ? 
 
 When we play Garryowen, 
 
 He'd rather go home ; 
 For, somehow, he's no taste for a jig, my boys ! "
 
 THE FAREWELL 213 
 
 This admirable lyric seemed to have a perfect success, if one were 
 only to judge from the thundering of voices, hands, and drinking 
 vessels, which followed ; while a venerable grey-haired sergeant rose 
 to propose Mr. Free's health, and speedy promotion to him. 
 
 We stood for several minutes in admiration of the party ; when the 
 loud roll of the drums beating to arms awakened us to the thought 
 that our moments were numbered. 
 
 " Good night, Charley ! " said Power, as he shook my hand warmly ; 
 "good night ! It will be your last night under a curtain for some 
 months to come : make the most of it. Adieu ! " 
 
 So saying, we parted : he to his quarters, and I to all the confusion 
 of my baggage, which lay in most admired disorder about my room. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 THE FAREWELL 
 
 THE preparations for the march occupied me till near morning : and, 
 indeed, had I been disposed to sleep, the din and clamour of the world 
 M ithout would have totally prevented it. Before daybreak the advance 
 guard was already in motion, and some squadrons of heavy cavalry had 
 begun their march. 
 
 I looked around my now dismantled room as one does usually for 
 the last time ere leaving, and bethought me I had not forgotten any- 
 thing. Apparently all was remembered ; but stay what is this ? To 
 be sure, how forgetful I had become ! It was the packet I destined 
 for Donna Inez, and which, in the confusion of the night before, I had 
 omitted to bring to the Casino. 
 
 I immediately despatched Mike to the Commissary, with my luggage, 
 and orders to ascertain when we were expected to march. He soon 
 returned, with the intelligence that our corps was not to move before 
 noon ; so that I had yet some hours to spare and make my adieux to 
 the Senhora. 
 
 I cannot exactly explain the reason, but I certainly did bestow a 
 more than common attention upon my toilette that morning. The 
 Senhora was nothing to me. It is true, she had, as she lately most 
 candidly informed me, a score of admirers, among which I was not 
 even reckoned : she was evidently a coquette, whose greatest pleasure 
 was to sport and to amuse herself with the passions she excited in 
 others. And even if she were not if her heart were to be won 
 to-morrow, what claim what right had I to seek it? My affections 
 were already pledged ; promised, it is true, to one who gave nothing 
 in return, and who, perhaps, even loved another. Ah ! there was the 
 rub : that one confounded suspicion, lurking in the rear, chilled my 
 courage and piqued my spirit. 
 
 If there be anything more disheartening to an Irishman, in his little 
 affaires du coeur, than another, it is the sense of rivalry. The obstinacy 
 of fathers, the ill-will of mothers, the coldness, the indifference of the 
 lovely object herself obstacles though they be he has tact, spirit,
 
 214 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 perseverance to overcome them ; but, when a more successful candidate 
 for the fair presents himself when the eye that remains downcast at his 
 suit, lights up with animation at another's coming when the features, 
 whose cold and chilling apathy to him have blended in one smile of wel- 
 come to another it is all up with him : he sees the game lost, and throws 
 his cards upon the table. And yet, why is this ? why is it that he, whose 
 birthright it would seem to be sanguine when others despond to be con- 
 fident when all else are hopeless should find his courage fail him here ? 
 The reason is simply But, in good sooth, I am ashamed to confess it ! 
 
 Having jogged on so far with my reader, in all the sober seriousness 
 which the matter-of-fact material of these memoirs demands, I fear lest 
 a seeming paradox may cause me to lose my good name for veracity ; 
 and that, while merely maintaining a national trait of my country, I may 
 appear to be asserting some unheard-of and absurd proposition ; so far 
 have mere vulgar prejudices gone to sap our character as a people. 
 
 The reason, then, is this for I have gone too far to retreat the 
 Irishman is essentially bashful. Well, laugh if you wish ; for I con- 
 clude that, by this time, you have given way to a most immoderate 
 excess of risibility : but still, when you have perfectly recovered your 
 composure, I beg to repeat the Irishman is essentially a bashful man ! 
 
 Do not, for a moment, fancy that I would by this imply that, in any 
 new or unexpected situation that for any unforeseen conjuncture of 
 events the Irishman would feel confused or abashed, more than any 
 other ; far from it. The cold and habitual reserve of the Englishman, 
 the studied caution of the North Tweeder himself, would exhibit far 
 stronger evidences of awkwardness in such circumstances as these. 
 But, on the other hand, when measuring his capacity, his means of 
 success, his probabilities of being preferred, with those of the natives 
 of any other country, I back the Irishman against the world for dis- 
 trust of his own powers, for an under estimate of his real merits ; in 
 one word, for his bashfulness. Look at Daniel O'Connell ! look at 
 Spring Rice ! look at Remmy Sheehan ! But I promised faithfully 
 never to meddle with living celebrities ; besides that, I am really for- 
 getting myself in the digression. Let us return to Donna Inez. 
 
 As I rode up to the villa, I found the family assembled at breakfast. 
 Several officers were also present, among whom I was not sorry to 
 recognise my friend Monsoon. 
 
 " Ah, Charley ! " cried he, as I seated myself beside him, ' ' what a 
 pity all our fun is so soon to have an end ! Here's this confounded 
 Soult won't be quiet and peaceable ; but he must march upon Oporto, 
 and Heaven knows where besides, just as we were really beginning to 
 enjoy life. I had got such a contract for blankets ! and now they've 
 ordered me to join Beresford's corps in the mountains ; and you " 
 here he dropped his voice ' ' and you were getting on so devilish well 
 in this quarter : upon my life, I think you'd have carried the day ; 
 old Don Emanuel, you know, he's a friend of mine, he likes you very 
 much. And then, there's Sparks " 
 
 " Ay, Major, what of him ? I have not seen him for some days." 
 
 "Why, they've been frightening the poor devil out of his life. 
 O'Shaughnessy and a set of them they tried him by court-martial 
 yesterday, and sentenced him to mount guard with a wooden sword and a
 
 THE FAREWELL 215 
 
 shooting-jacket, which he did. Old Colbourne, it seems, saw him ; and, 
 faith, there would be the devil to pay if the route had not come. Some 
 of them would certainly have got a long leave to see their friends." 
 <e Why is not the Senhora here, Major? I don't see her at table." 
 ' ' A cold ; a sore throat ; a wet-feet affair of last night, I believe. 
 Pass that cold pie down here. Sherry, if you please. You didn't see 
 Power to-day ? " 
 
 " No : we parted late last night ; I have not been to bed." 
 " Very bad preparation for a march : take some burnt brandy in 
 your coffee." 
 
 ' ' Then you don't think the Senhora will appear ? " 
 " Very unlikely ; but stay, you know her room the small drawing- 
 room that looks out upon the flower-garden ; she usually passes the 
 morning there. Leap the little wooden paling round the corner, and 
 the chances are ten to one you find her." 
 
 I saw from the occupied air of Don Antonio that there was little fear 
 of interruption on his part ; so, taking an early moment to escape unob- 
 served, I rose and left the room. When I sprang over the oak fence, I 
 found myself in a delicious little garden, where roses, grown to a height 
 never seen in our colder climate, formed a deep bower of rich blossom. 
 
 The Major was right : the Senhora was in the room, and in one 
 moment I was beside her. 
 
 " Nothing but my fears of not bidding you farewell could palliate 
 my thus intruding, Donna Inez ; but as we are ordered away " 
 
 II When ? not so soon, surely ? " 
 
 " Even so ; to-day, this very hour ; but you see that, even in the 
 hurry of departure, I have not forgotten my trust ; this is the packet 
 I promised you." 
 
 So saying, I placed the paper with the lock of hair within her hand, 
 and, bending downwards, pressed my lips upon her taper fingers. She 
 hurriedly snatched her hand away, and, tearing open the enclosure, 
 took out the lock. She looked steadily for a moment at it, then at 
 me, and again at it, and at length, bursting into a fit of laughing, threw 
 herself upon a chair in a very ecstasy of mirth. 
 
 " Why, you don't mean to impose this auburn ringlet upon me for 
 one of poor Howard's jetty curls r What downright folly to think of 
 it ! and then, with how little taste the deception was practised upon 
 your very temples, too. One comfort is, you are utterly spoiled by it." 
 
 Here she again relapsed into a fit of laughter, leaving me perfectly 
 puzzled what to think of her as she resumed : 
 
 ' ' Well, tell me now, am I to reckon this as a pledge of your own 
 allegiance, or am I still to believe it to be Edward Howard's ? Speak, 
 and truly." 
 
 " Of my own, most certainly," said I, " if it will be accepted." 
 
 " Why, after such treachery, perhaps it ought not ; but, still, as you 
 have already done yourself such injury, and look so very silly withal 
 
 ' ' That you are even resolved to give me cause to look more so," 
 added I. 
 
 " Exactly," said she ; " for here, now, I reinstate you among my 
 true and faithful admirers. Kneel down, sir knight ! in token of 
 which you will wear this scarf "
 
 216 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 A sudden start which the Donna gave at these words brought me to 
 my feet. She was pale as death and trembling. 
 
 " What means this ? " said I. " What has happened ? " 
 
 She pointed with her finger towards the garden ; but, though her 
 lips moved, no voice came forth. J sprang through the open window. 
 I rushed into the copse the only one which might afford concealment 
 for a figure but no one was there. After a few minutes' vain endeavour 
 to discover any trace of an intruder, I returned to the chamber. The 
 Donna was there still ; but how changed ! her gaiety and animation 
 were gone, her pale cheek and trembling lip bespoke fear and suffering, 
 and her cold hand lay heavily beside her. 
 
 " 1 thought perhaps it was merely fancy but I thought I saw 
 Trevyllian beside the window." 
 
 " Impossible ! " said I. ' ' I have searched every walk and alley. It 
 was nothing but imagination believe me, no more. There, be assured ; 
 think no more of it." 
 
 While I endeavoured thus to reassure her, I was very far from feel- 
 ing perfectly at ease myself; the whole bearing and conduct of this 
 man had inspired me with a growing dislike of him, and I felt already 
 half convinced that he had established himself as a spy upon my actions. 
 
 ' ' Then you really believe I was mistaken ? " said the Donna, as she 
 placed her hand within mine. 
 
 ' ' Of course I do ; but speak no more of it. You must not forget 
 how few my moments are here. Already I have heard the tramp of 
 horses without ; ah ! there they are ; in a moment more I shall be 
 
 missed ; so, once more, fairest Inez Nay, I beg pardon if I have 
 
 dared to call you thus ; but think, if it be the first, it may also be the 
 last time I shall ever speak it." 
 
 Her head gently drooped as I said these words, till it sunk upon my 
 shoulder, her long and heavy hair falling upon my neck and across my 
 bosom. I felt her heart almost beat against my side. I muttered 
 some words, I know not what ; I felt them like a prayer. I pressed 
 her cold forehead to my lips, rushed from the room, cleared the fence 
 at a spring, and was far upon the road to Lisbon ere I could sufficiently 
 collect my senses to know whither I was going. Of little else was I 
 conscious ; my mind was full to bursting, and, in the confusion of my 
 excited brain, fiction and reality were so inextricably mingled as to 
 defy every endeavour at discrimination. But little time had I for 
 reflection : as I reached the city, the brigade to which I was attached 
 was already under arms, and Mike impatiently waiting my arrival with 
 the horses. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII 
 
 THE MARCH 
 
 WHAT a strange spectacle did the road to Oliveira present upon the 
 morning of the 7th of May ! A hurried or incautious observer might, 
 at first sight, have pronounced the long line of troops, which wended 
 their way through the valley, as the remains of a broken and routed
 
 THE MARCH 217 
 
 army, had not the ardent expression and bright eye that beamed on 
 every side assured him that men who looked thus could not be beaten 
 ones. Horse, foot, baggage, artillery, dismounted dragoons, even the 
 pale and scarcely recovered inhabitant of the hospital, might have been 
 seen hurrying on ; for the order " Forward ! " had been given at 
 Lisbon, and those whose wounds did not permit their joining were 
 more pitied for their loss than its cause. More than one officer was 
 seen at the head of his troop with an arm in a sling, or a bandaged 
 forehead ; while, among the men, similar evidences of devotion were 
 not unfrequent. As for me, long years and many reverses have not 
 obliterated scarcely blunted the impression that sight made on me. 
 The splendid spectacle of a review had often excited and delighted 
 me ; but here there was the glorious reality of war ; the bronzed faces, 
 the worn uniforms, the well-tattered flags, the roll of the heavy guns 
 mingling with the wild pibroch of the Highlander or scarcely less wild 
 recklessness of the Irish quickstep ; while the long line of cavalry, 
 their helmets and accoutrements shining in the morning sun, brought 
 back one's boyish dreams of joust and tournament, and made the heart 
 beat high with chivalrous enthusiasm. 
 
 " Yes," said I, half aloud, " this is indeed a realisation of what I 
 longed and thirsted for ; " the clang of the music and the tramp of the 
 cavalry responding to my throbbing pulses as we moved along. 
 
 ' ' Close up there. Trot ! " cried out a deep, manly voice, and imme- 
 diately a general officer rode by, followed by an aide-de-camp. 
 
 ' ' There goes Cotton," said Power. " You may feel easy in your 
 mind now, Charley ; there's some work before us." 
 
 "You have not heard our destination?" said I. 
 
 " Nothing is known for certain, yet. The report goes that Soult is 
 advancing upon Oporto ; and the chances are, Sir Arthur intends to 
 hasten us to its relief. Our fellows are at Ovar, with General Murray." 
 
 " I say, Charley, old Monsoon is in a devil of a flurry ; he expected 
 to have been peaceably settled down in Lisbon for the next six months, 
 and he has received orders to set out for Beresford's headquarters 
 immediately ; and, from what I hear, they have no idle time." 
 
 ( ' Well, Sparks, how goes it, man ? Better fun this than the cook's 
 galley, eh?' 
 
 "Why, do you know, these hurried movements put me out con- 
 foundedly. I found Lisbon very interesting, the little I could see of 
 it last night." 
 
 " Ah ! my dear fellow, think of the lovely Andalusian lasses, with 
 their brown transparent skins and liquid eyes ; why, you'd have been 
 over head and ears in love in twenty-four hours more, had we stayed. " 
 
 " Are they really so pretty ? " 
 
 " Pretty ! downright lovely, man. Why, they have a way of look- 
 ing at you, over their fans just one glance, short and fleeting, but so 
 melting, by Jove ! Then their walk if it be not profane to call that 
 springing elastic gesture by such a name w-hy, it's regular witchcraft ! 
 Sparks, my man, I tremble for you. Do you know, by-the-bye, that 
 same pace of theirs is a devilish hard thing to learn ? I never could 
 come it ; and yet, somehow, I was formerly rather a crack fellow at a 
 ballet. Old Alberto used to select me for a pas de zephyr among a
 
 218 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 host ; but there's a kind of a hop, and a slide, and a spring : in fact, 
 you must have been wearing petticoats for eighteen years, and have an 
 Andalusian instep, and an indiarubber sole to your foot, or it's no use 
 trying it How I used to make them laugh at the old San Josef con- 
 vent, formerly, by my efforts in the cause ! " 
 
 " Why, how did it ever occur to you to practise it?" 
 
 ' ' Many a man's legs have saved his head, Charley, and I put it to 
 mine to do a similar office for me." 
 
 " True ; but I never heard of a man that performed a pas seul before 
 the enemy." 
 
 " Not exactly ; but still, you're not very wide of the mark. If you'll 
 only wait till we reach Pontalegue, I'll tell you the story ; not that it 
 is worth the delay, but talking at this brisk pace I don't admire." 
 
 "You leave a detachment here, Captain Power," said an aide-de- 
 camp, riding hastily up, " and General Cotton requests you will send 
 a subaltern and two sergeants forward towards Berar, to reconnoitre 
 the pass. Franchesca's cavalry are reported in that quarter ; " so speak- 
 ing, he dashed spurs to his horse, and was out of sight in an instant. 
 
 Power, at the same moment, wheeled to the rear, from which he re- 
 turned in an instant, accompanied by three well mounted light dragoons. 
 "Sparks," said he, "now for an occasion of distinguishing yourself. 
 You heard the order, lose no time, and, as your horse is an able one 
 and fresh, lose not a second, but forward." 
 
 No sooner was Sparks despatched on what it was evident he felt to be 
 anything but a pleasant duty, than I turned towards Power and said, 
 with some tinge of disappointment in the tone, " Well, if you really felt 
 there was anything worth doing there I flattered myself that " 
 
 <e Speak out, man. That I should have sent you ; eh, is it not so ? " 
 
 "Yes, you've hit it." 
 
 " Well, Charley, my peace is easily made on this head : why, I selected 
 Sparks simply to spare you one of the most unpleasant duties that can 
 be imposed upon a man : a duty which, let him discharge it to the 
 uttermost, will never be acknowledged, and the slightest failure in 
 which will be remembered for many a day against him ; besides the 
 pleasant and very probable prospect of being selected as a bull's-eye for 
 a French rifle, or carried off a prisoner, eh, Charley ? there's no glory, 
 devil a ray of it ! Come, come, old fellow, Fred Power's not the man 
 to keep his friend out of the melee if only anything can be made by 
 being in it Poor Sparks, I'd swear, is as little satisfied with the 
 arrangement as yourself, if one knew but all. " 
 
 " I say, Power," said a tall, dashing-looking man of about five-and- 
 forty, with a Portuguese order on his breast ; " I say, Power, dine 
 with us at the halt" 
 
 " With pleasure, if I may bring my young friend here." 
 
 "Of course, pray introduce us." 
 
 "Major Hixley, Mr. O'Malley a 14th man, Hixley." 
 
 " Delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr. O'Malley. Knew a 
 famous fellow in Ireland of your name, a certain Godfrey O'Malley, 
 member for some county or other." 
 
 " My uncle," said I, blushing deeply with a pleasurable feeling at 
 even this slight praise of my oldest friend.
 
 THE MARCH 219 
 
 " Your xincle ! give me your hand. By Jove, his nephew has a right 
 to good treatment at my hands ; he saved my life in the year '98 ; and 
 how is old Godfrey ? " 
 
 " Quite well when I left him some months ago ; a little gout now 
 and then." 
 
 " To be sure he has ; no man deserves it better ; but it's a gentleman- 
 like gout, that merely jogs his memory in the morning of the good wine 
 he has drank over night ; by-the-bye, what became of a friend of his, a 
 devilish eccentric fellow, who held a command in the Austrian service ? " 
 "Oh, Considine the Count?" 
 "The same." 
 
 " As eccentric as ever : I left him on a visit with my uncle. And 
 Boyle, did you know Sir Harry Boyle ? " 
 
 " To be sure I did ! shall I ever forget him, and his capital blunders, 
 that kept me laughing the whole time I spent in Ireland? I was in 
 the house when he concluded a panegyric upon a friend by calling him 
 ' the father to the poor, and uncle to Lord Donoughmore.' " 
 
 " He was the only man who could render by a bull what it was im- 
 possible to convey more correctly," said Power. " You've heard of his 
 duel with Harry Toler ? " 
 " Never ; let's hear it." 
 
 " It was a bull from beginning to end. Boyle took it into his head 
 that Harry was a person with whom he had a serious row in Cork. 
 Harry, on the other hand, mistook Boyle for Old Caples, whom he had 
 been pursuing with horsewhipping intentions for some months ; they 
 met in Kildare Street Club, and very little colloquy satisfied them that 
 they were right in their conjectures ; each party being so eagerly ready 
 to meet the views of the other. It never was a difficult matter to find 
 a friend in Dublin ; and to do them justice, Irish seconds, generally 
 speaking, are perfectly free from any imputation upon the score of 
 good breeding. No men have less impertinent curiosity as to the cause 
 of the quarrel : wisely supposing that the principals know their own 
 affairs best, they cautiously abstain from indulging any prying spirit, 
 but proceed to discharge their functions as best they may. Accord- 
 ingly, Sir Harry and Dick were set, as the phrase is, at twelve paces, 
 and to use Boyle's own words, for I have heard him relate the story 
 
 ' ' ' We blazed away, sir, for three rounds. I put two in his hat, and 
 one in his neckcloth ; his shots went all through the skirt of my coat.' 
 " ' We'll spend the day here,' says Considiue, ( at this rate ; couldn't 
 you put them closer ? ' 
 
 " ' And give us a little more time in the word,' says I. 
 " < Exactly,' said Dick. 
 
 " ' Well, they moved us forward two paces, and set to loading the 
 pistols again. 
 
 " ' By this time we were so near that we had full opportunity to scan 
 each other's faces ; well, sir, I stared at him, and he at me. 
 ' What ! ' said I. 
 : Eh ! ' said he. 
 1 How's this ? ' said I. 
 ( You're not Billy Caples ? ' said he. 
 ' Devil a bit,' said I, ' nor I don't think you're Archy Devine ; ' arid,
 
 220 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 faith, sir, so it appeared we were fighting away all the morning for 
 nothing ; for somehow it turned out it was neither of us ! 
 
 What amused me most in this anecdote was the hearing it at such a 
 time and place ; that poor Sir Harry's eccentricities should turn up for 
 discussion on a march in Portugal, was singular enough ; but, after all, 
 life is full of such incongruous accidents. I remember once supping 
 with King Calzoo on the Blue Mountains in Jamaica. By way of 
 entertaining his guests, some English officers, he ordered one of his 
 suite to sing. We were of course pleased at the opportunity of hearing 
 an Indian war-chant, with a skull and thigh bone accompaniment ; but 
 what was our astonishment to hear the Indian a ferocious-looking 
 dog, with an awful scalp lock, and two streaks of red paint across his 
 chest clear his voice well for a few seconds, and then begin, without 
 discomposing a muscle of his gravity, " The Laird of Cockpeu." I 
 need not say that the " Great Racoon " was a Dumfries man, who had 
 quitted Scotland forty years before, and, with characteristic prosperity, 
 had attained his present rank in a foreign service. 
 
 " Halt, halt ! " cried a deep-toned manly voice in the leading column, 
 and the word was repeated from mouth to mouth to the rear. 
 
 We dismounted, and picketing our horses beneath the broad-leaved 
 foliage of the cork-trees, stretched out at full length upon the grass, 
 while our mess-men prepared the dinner. Our party at first consisted of 
 Hixley, Power, the Adjutant, and myself; but our number was soon in- 
 creased by three officers of the 6th Foot, about to join their regiment. 
 
 " Barring the ladies, God bless them !" said Power, " there's no such 
 picnics as campaigning presents ; the charms of scenery are greatly 
 enhanced by their coming unexpectedly on you. Your chance good 
 fortune in the prog has an interest that no ham-and-cold-chicken affair, 
 prepared by your servants beforehand, and got ready with a degree of 
 fuss and worry that converts the whole party into an assembly of 
 cooks, can ever afford ; and lastly, the excitement that this same life 
 of ours is never without, gives a zest " 
 
 "There you've hit it," cried Hixley; " it's that same feeling of un- 
 certainty that those who meet now may ever do so again, full as it is 
 of sorrowful reflection that still teaches us, as we become inured to 
 war, to economise our pleasures and be happy when we may. Your 
 health, O'Malley, and your Uncle Godfrey's too." 
 1 A little more of the pasty ? " 
 ' What a capital guinea-fowl this is ! " 
 c That's some of old Monsoon's own particular port. " 
 ' Pass it round here ; really, this is pleasant. " 
 
 ' My blessing on the man who left that vista yonder ; see what a 
 glorious valley stretches out there, undulating in its richness ; and look 
 at those dark trees, where just one streak of soft sunlight is kissing 
 their tops, giving them one chaste good night " 
 
 " Well done, Power ! " 
 
 ' ' Confound you, you've pulled me short, and I was about becoming 
 downright pastoral. Apropos of kissing, I understand Sir Arthur 
 won't allow the convents to be occupied by troops." 
 
 "And apropos of convents," said I, "let's hear your story: you 
 promised it awhile ago."
 
 THE MARCH 221 
 
 " My dear Charley, it's far too early in the evening for a story. 
 I should rather indulge my poetic fancies here, under the shade of 
 melancholy boughs ; and, besides, I'm not half screwed up yet." 
 
 "Come, Adjutant, let's have a song." 
 
 " I'll sing you a Portuguese serenade when the next bottle comes in. 
 What capital port ! Have you much of it ? " 
 
 1 ' Only three dozen. We got it late last night ; forged an order 
 from the commanding officer, and sent it up to old Monsoon 'for 
 hospital use. ' He gave it, with a tear in his eye, saying, as the sergeant 
 marched away, ' Only think of such wine for fellows that may be in 
 the next world before morning ; it's a downright sin ! ' " 
 
 " I say. Power, there's something going on there." 
 
 At this instant the trumpet sounded " boot and saddle ; " and, like 
 one man, the whole mass rose up ; when the scene, late so tranquil, 
 became one of excited bustle and confusion. An aide-de-camp galloped 
 past towards the river, followed by two orderly sergeants ; and the 
 next moment Sparks galloped up, his whole equipment giving evidence 
 of a hurried ride, while his cheek was deadly pale and haggard. 
 
 Power presented to him a goblet of sherry, which, having emptied 
 at a draught, he drew a long breath, and said : 
 
 ' ' They are coming coming in force ! " 
 
 ' ' Who are coming ? " said Power ; " take time, man, and collect 
 yourself." 
 
 " The French ! I saw them a devilish deal closer than I liked ; they 
 wounded one of the orderlies, and took the other pi-isoner." 
 
 1 ' Forward ! " cried out a hoarse voice in the front. ' ' March trot ! " 
 
 And before we could obtain any further information from Sparks, 
 whose faculties seemed to have received a terrific shock, we were once 
 more in the saddle, and moving at a brisk pace onward. 
 
 Sparks had barely time to tell us that a large body of French cavalry 
 occupied the pass of Berar, when he was sent for by General Cotton to 
 finish his report. 
 
 " How frightened the fellow is ! " said Hixley. 
 
 " I don't think the worse of poor Sparks for all that," said Power ; 
 ' ' he saw those fellows for the first time, and no bird's-eye view of them 
 either." 
 
 ' ( Then we are in for a skirmish, at least," said I. 
 
 " It would appear not, from that," said Hixley, pointing to the head of 
 the column, which, leaving the high road upon the left, entered the forest 
 by a deep cleft, that opened upon a valley traversed by a broad river. 
 
 " That looks very like taking up a position, though," said Power. 
 
 " Look ! look down yonder 1 " cried Hixley, pointing to a dip in the 
 plain beside the river ; " is not a cavalry picket there ? " 
 
 ' ' Right, by Jove ! I say, Fitzroy," said Power to an aide-de-camp 
 as he passed, " what's going on?" 
 
 ' ' Soult has carried Oporto," cried he ; " and Franchesca's cavalry 
 have escaped." 
 
 "And who are these fellows in the valley?" 
 
 " Our own people coming up." 
 
 In less than half-an-hour's brisk trotting we reached the stream, the 
 banks of which were occupied by two cavalry regiments advancing to
 
 222 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the main army ; and what was my delight to find that one of them was 
 our own corps, the 14th Light Dragoons. 
 
 <{ Hurra !" cried Power, waving his cap as he came up. " How are 
 you, Sedgwick ? Baker, my hearty, how goes it ? How is Hampton, 
 and the Colonel ? " 
 
 In an instant we were surrounded by our brother officers, who all 
 shook me cordially by the hand, and welcomed me to the regiment 
 with most gratifying warmth. 
 
 " One of us," said Power, with a knowing look, as he introduced me; 
 and the freemasonry of these few words secured me a hearty greeting. 
 
 " Halt, halt ! Dismount ! " sounded again from front to rear ; and 
 in a few minutes we were once more stretched upon the grass, beneath 
 the deep and mellow moonlight ; while the bright stream ran placidly 
 beside us, reflecting, on its calm surface, the varied groups as they 
 lounged or sat around the blazing fires of the bivouac. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV 
 
 THE BIVOUAC 
 
 WHEN I contrasted the gay and lively tone of the conversation which 
 ran on around our bivouac fire with the dry monotony and prosaic 
 tediousness of my first military dinner at Cork, 1 felt how much the 
 spirit and adventure of a soldier's life can impart of chivalrous en- 
 thusiasm to even the dullest and least susceptible. I saw even many 
 who, under common circumstances, would have possessed no interest, 
 nor excited any curiosity ; but now, connected as they were with the 
 great events occurring around them, absolutely became heroes. And 
 it was with a strange, wild throbbing of excitement I listened to the 
 details of movements and marches, whose objects I knew not, but in 
 which the magical words, Corunna, Vimiera, were mixed up, and gave 
 to the circumstances an interest of the highest character ; how proud, 
 too, I felt, to be the companion in arms of such fellows ! here they 
 sat, the tried and proved soldiers of a hundred fights, treating me as 
 their brother and their equal. Who need wonder if I felt a sense of 
 excited pleasure ? Had I needed such a stimulant, that night beneath 
 the cork-trees had been enough to arouse a passion for the army in my 
 heart, and an irrepressible determination to seek for a soldier's glory. 
 
 <e Fourteenth ! " called out a voice from the wood behind, and, in a 
 moment after, the aide-de-camp appeared with a mounted orderly. 
 
 te Colonel Merivale," said he, touching his cap to the stalwart soldier- 
 like figure before him. 
 
 The Colonel bowed. 
 
 " Sir Stapleton Cotton desires me to request that at an early hour 
 to-morrow you will occupy the pass, and cover the march of the troops. 
 It is his wish that all the reinforcements should arrive at Oporto by 
 noon. I need scarcely add that we expect to be engaged with the enemy. " 
 
 These few words were spoken hurriedly, and again saluting our party, 
 he turned his horse's head and continued his way towards the rear.
 
 THE BIVOUAC 223 
 
 " There's news for you, Charley," said Power, slapping me on the 
 shoulder. " Lucy Dashwood or Westminster Abbey !" 
 
 " The regiment was never in finer condition, that's certain," said the 
 Colonel, "and most eager for a brush with the enemy." 
 
 " How your old friend the Count would have liked this work," said 
 Hixley; "gallant fellow he was." 
 
 "Come," cried Power, "here's a fresh bowl coming. Let's drink 
 the ladies, wherever they be : we most of us have some soft spot on 
 that score." 
 
 " Yes," said the Adjutant, singing : 
 
 " Here's to the maiden of blushing fifteen, 
 
 Here's to the damsel that's merry, 
 Here's to the flaunting extravagant quean " 
 
 "And," sang Power, interrupting, 
 
 " Here's to the ' Widow of Deny.' " 
 
 " Come, come, Fred, no more quizzing on that score. It's the only 
 thing ever gives me a distaste to the service, is the souvenir of that 
 adventure. When I reflect what I might have been, and think what I 
 am ; when I contrast a Brussels carpet with wet grass, silk hangings 
 with a canvas tent, Sneyd claret with ration brandy, and Sir Arthur 
 for a commander-in-chief vice Boggs, a widow " 
 
 "Stop there," cried Hixley; "without disparaging the fair widow, 
 there's nothing beats campaigning after all, eh, Fred ? " 
 
 " And to prove it," said the Colonel, " Power will sing us a song." 
 
 Power took his pencil from his pocket, and placing the back of a letter 
 across his shako, commenced inditing his lyric ; saying, as he did so : 
 
 " I'm your man, in five minutes : just fill my glass in the meantime." 
 
 "That fellow beats Dibdin hollow," whispei-ed the Adjutant. "I'll 
 be hanged if he'll not knock you off a song like lightning." 
 
 " I understand," said Hixley, " they have some intention at the 
 Horse Guards of having all the general orders set to popular tunes, 
 and sung at every mess in the service. You've heard that, I suppose, 
 Sparks ? " 
 
 " I confess I had not before. " 
 
 " It will certainly come very hard on the subalterns," continued 
 Hixley, with much gravity ; " they'll have to brush up their sol mi 
 fas ; all the solos are to be their part." 
 
 ' ' What rhymes with slaughter ? " said Power. 
 
 " Brandy-and-water," said the Adjutant. 
 
 ' ' Now, then," said Power, " are you all ready ? " 
 
 "Ready!" 
 
 " You must chorus, mind ; and, mark me, take care you give the 
 hip, hip, hurra well, as that's the whole force of the chant. Take the 
 time from me. Now for it. Air ' Garryowen,' with spirit, but not too 
 quick : 
 
 "Now that we've pledged each eye of blue, 
 And every maiden fair and true, 
 And our green island homo to you 
 The ocean's wave adorning,
 
 224 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Let's give one hip, hip, hip, hurra ! 
 And drink e'en to the coming day, 
 
 When, squadron square, 
 
 We'll all be there, 
 To meet the French in the morning. 
 
 May his bright laurels never fade, 
 Who leads our fighting fifth brigade, 
 Those lads so true in heart and blade, 
 
 And famed for danger scorning ; 
 So join me in one hip, hurra ! 
 And drink e'en to the coming day, 
 When, squadron square, 
 We'll all be there, 
 To meet the French in the morning. 
 
 And when with years and honours crowned, 
 You sit some homeward hearth around, 
 And hear no more the stirring sound, 
 That spoke the trumpet's warning, 
 You'll fill, and drink, one hip, hurra ! 
 And pledge the memory of the day, 
 When, squadron square, 
 They all were there, 
 To meet the French in the morning." 
 
 " Gloriously done, Fred ! " cried Hixley. " If I ever get my deserts 
 in this world, I'll make you Laureate to the forces, with a hogshead of 
 your own native whisky for every victory of the army." 
 
 <e A devilish good chant," said Merivale ; ' ' but the air surpasses any- 
 thing I ever heard : thoroughly Irish, I take it." 
 
 "Irish ! upon my conscience, I believe you !" shouted O'Shaughnessy, 
 with an energy of force and manner that created a hearty laugh on all 
 sides. ' ' It's few people ever mistook it for a Venetian melody. Hand 
 over the punch the sherry, I mean. When I was in the Clare militia, 
 we always went in to dinner to ' Tatter Jack Walsh,' a sweet air, and 
 had ' Garryowen ' for a quickstep. Ould MacManus, when he got the 
 regiment, wanted to change ; he said they were damned vulgar tunes, 
 and wanted to have ' Rule Britannia,' or the ' Hundredth Psalm ' ; but 
 we would not stand it : there would have been a mutiny in the corps." 
 
 " The same fellow, wasn't he, that you told the story of, the other 
 evening, in Lisbon ? " said I. 
 
 " The same. Well, what a character he was ! As pompous and con- 
 ceited a little fellow as ever you met with : and then he was so bullied 
 by his wife, he always came down to revenge it on the regiment. She 
 was a fine, showy, vulgar woman, with a most cherishing affection for 
 all the good things in this life, except her husband, whom she held in 
 due contempt. 'Ye little crayture,' she'd say to him with a sneer, 
 ' it ill becomes you to drink and sing, and be making a man of yourself. 
 If you were like O'Shaughnessy there, six foot three in his stockings.' 
 Well, well : it looks like boasting ; but no matter : here's her health, 
 anyway." 
 
 " I knew you were tender in that quarter," said Power. " I heard 
 it when quartered in Limerick." 
 
 ' ' Maybe you heard, too, how I paid off Mac, when he came down 
 on a visit in that county ? "
 
 THE BIVOUAC 225 
 
 {e Never : let's hear it now." 
 
 " Ay, O'Shaughnessy, now's your time ; the fire's a good one, the 
 night fine, and liquor plenty." 
 
 ' ' I'm convenient," said O'Shauglinessy, as depositing his enormous 
 legs on each side of the burning faggots and placing a bottle between 
 his knees, he began his story : 
 
 " It was a cold rainy night in January, in the year '98, I took my 
 place in the Limerick mail, to go down for a few days to the west 
 country. As the waiter of the Hibernian came to the door with a 
 lantern, I just caught a glimpse of the other insides ; none of whom 
 were known to me, except Colonel MacManus, that I met once in a 
 boarding-house in Molesworth Street. I did not, at the time, think 
 him a very agreeable companion ; but, when morning broke, and we 
 began to pay our respects to each other in the coach, I leaned over, and 
 said, e I hope you're well, Colonel MacManus,' just by way of civility 
 like. He didn't hear me at first ; so that I said it again, a little louder. 
 
 " I wish you saw the look he gave me ; he drew himself up to the height 
 of his cotton umbrella, put his chin inside his cravat, pursed up his 
 dry shrivelled lips, and, with a voice he meant to be awful, replied : 
 
 " ' You appear to have the advantage of me.' 
 
 ' ' ' Upon my conscience, you're right,' said I, looking down at my- 
 self, and then over at him, at which the other travellers burst out a 
 laughing; 'I think there's few will dispute that point.' When the 
 laugh was over, I resumed, for I was determined not to let him off so 
 easily : ' Sure, I met you at Mrs. Cayle's,' said I ; ' and, by the same 
 token it was a Friday, I remember it well maybe you didn't pitch 
 into the salt cod ? I hope it didn't disagree with you ? ' 
 
 " e I beg to repeat, sir, that you are under a mistake,' said he. 
 
 " ' Maybe so, indeed,' said I. ' Maybe you're not Colonel MacManus 
 at all ; maybe you wasn't in a passion for losing seven-and-sixpence at 
 loo, with Mrs. Moriarty ; maybe you didn't break the lamp in the hall 
 with your umbrella, pretending you touched it with your head, and 
 wasn't within three feet of it ; maybe Counsellor Brady wasn't going 
 to put you in the box of the Foundling Hospital, if you wouldn't 
 behave quietly in the streets 
 
 " Well, with this the others laughed so heartily, that I could not go 
 on ; and the next stage the bold Colonel got outside with the guard, 
 and never came in till we reached Limerick. I'll never forget his face, 
 as he got down at Swinburne's Hotel. ' Good-bye, Colonel,' said I ; 
 but he wouldn't take the least notice of my politeness ; but, with a 
 frown of utter defiance, he turned on his heel and walked away. 
 
 " ( I haven't done with you yet,' says I ; and, faith, I kept my word. 
 
 " I hadn't gone ten yards down the street, when I met my old friend, 
 Darby O'Grady. 
 
 " ' Shaugh, my boy,' says he he called me that way for shortness 
 ' dine with me to-day, at Mosey's : a green goose and gooseberries ; 
 six to a minute.' 
 
 " ' Who have you ? ' says I. 
 
 " ' Tom Keane and the Wallers, a counsellor or two, and one 
 MacManus from Dublin.' 
 
 "' The Colonel?'
 
 220 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ' ' The same/ said he. 
 
 ' ' I'm there, Darby ! ' said I ; ' but mind, you never saw me before.' 
 ' < What ! ' said he. 
 
 ( ' You never set eyes on me before ; mind that.' 
 1 ' I understand/ said Darby, with a wink ; and we parted. 
 ' I certainly was never very particular about dressing for dinner, but 
 on this day I spent a considerable time at my toilette ; and, when I 
 looked in my glass at its completion, was well satisfied that I had done 
 myself justice. A waistcoat of brown rabbit-skin with flaps, a red 
 worsted comforter round my neck, an old grey shooting-jacket, with a 
 brown patch on the arm, corduroys and leather gaiters, with a tre- 
 mendous oak cudgel in my hand, made me a most presentable figure 
 for a dinner-party. 
 
 " ( Shall I do, Darby ? ' says I, as he came into my room before 
 dinner. 
 
 ' ' ' If it's for robbing the mail you are,' says he, ' nothing could be 
 better. Your father wouldn't know you ! ' 
 
 ' ' ( Would I be the better of a wig ? ' 
 
 " 'Leave your hair alone,' said he, 'it's painting the lily to alter it.' 
 
 "'Well, God's will be done/ says I, 'so come now.' 
 
 "Well, just as the clock struck six I saw the Colonel come out of 
 his room, in a suit of the most accurate sable, stockings, and pumps. 
 Downstairs he went, and I heard the waiter announce him. 
 
 " ' Now's my time,' thought I, as I followed slowly after him. 
 
 " When 1 reached the door I heard several voices within, among 
 which I recognised some ladies. Darby had not told me about them : 
 1 But no matter,' said I ; ' it's all as well ; ' so I gave a gentle tap at the 
 door with my knuckles. 
 
 " ' Come in,' said Darby. 
 
 "I opened the door slowly, and putting in only my head and 
 shoulders, took a cautious look round the room. 
 
 ( ' ' I beg pardon, gentlemen,' said I, ' but I was only looking for one 
 Colonel MacManus, and, as he is not here ' 
 
 "'Pray walk in, sir,' said O'Grady, with a polite bow. 'Colonel 
 MacManus is here. There's no intrusion whatever. I say, Colonel,' 
 said he, turning round, ' a gentleman here desires to ' 
 
 " 'Never mind it now,' said I, as I stepped cautiously into the room : 
 ' he's going to dinner, another time will do just as well.' 
 
 " ' Pray come in.' 
 
 '"I could not think of intruding ' 
 
 " ' I must protest/ said MacManus, colouring up, ' that I cannot 
 understand this gentleman's visit.' 
 
 " ' It is a little affair I have to settle with him/ said I, with a fierce 
 look, that I saw produced its effect. 
 
 " ' Then perhaps you will do me the very great favour to join him at 
 dinner,' said O'Grady. ' Any friend of Colonel MacManus ' 
 
 " ' You are really too good,' said I ; ' but as an utter stranger ' 
 
 " ' Never think of that for a moment. My friend's friend, as the 
 adage says.' 
 
 " ' Upon my conscience, a good saying,' said I, ' but you see there's 
 another difficulty. I've ordered a chop and potatoes up in No. 5.'
 
 THE BIVOUAC 227 
 
 " ' Let that be no obstacle/ said O'Grady. ' Tlie waiter shall put it 
 in my bill ; if you will only do me the pleasure.' 
 
 ' f f You're a trump,' said I. ' What's your name ? ' 
 
 " e O'Grady, at your service/ 
 
 ' ' ' Any relation of the counsellor ? ' said I. e They're all one family, 
 the O'Gradys. I'm Mr. O'Shaughnessy, from Enuis; won't you in- 
 troduce me to the ladies?' 
 
 " While the ceremony of presentation was going on, I caught one 
 
 fiance of MacManus, and had hard work not to roar out laughing, 
 uch an expression of surprise, amazement, indignation, rage, and 
 misery, never was mixed up in one face before. Speak he could not ; 
 and I saw that, except for myself, he had neither eyes, ears, nor senses 
 for anything around him. Just at this moment dinner was announced, 
 and in we went. I never was in such spirits in my life : the trick 
 upon MacManus had succeeded perfectly ; he believed in his heart that 
 I had never met O'Grady in my life before, and that, upon the faith of 
 our friendship, I had received my invitation. As for me, I spared him 
 but little. I kept up a running fire of droll stories ; had the ladies in 
 fits of laughing ; made everlasting allusions to the Colonel ; and, in a 
 word, ere the soup had disappeared, except himself, the company were 
 entirely with me. 
 
 " ' O'Grady/ said I, ' forgive the freedom, but I feel as if we were 
 old acquaintances.' 
 
 " ' As Colonel MacManus's friend,' said he, ' you can take no liberty 
 here to which you are not perfectly welcome.' 
 
 " ' Just what I expected,' said I. ' Mac and I ' I wish you saw his 
 face when I called him Mac ' Mac and I were schoolfellows five-and- 
 thirty years ago ; though he forgets me, I don't forget him ; to be 
 sure it would be hard for me. I'm just thinking of the day Bishop 
 Oulahan came over to visit the college. Mac was coming in at the 
 door of the refectory as the Bishop was going out. ' Take off your 
 caubeen, you young scoundrel, and kneel down for his reverence to 
 bless you,' said one of the masters, giving his hat a blow at the same 
 moment that sent it flying to the other end of the room, and, with it, 
 about twenty ripe pears that Mac had just stolen in the orchard, and 
 had in his hat. I wish you only saw the Bishop ; and Mac himself, he 
 was a picture. Well, well, you forget it all now, but I remember as if 
 it was only yesterday. Any champagne, Mr. O'Grady, I'm mighty dry ? ' 
 
 e( ' Of course,' said Darby. ' Waiter, some champagne here.' 
 
 " * Ah, it's himself was the boy for every kind of fun and devilment, 
 quiet and demure as he looks over there. Mac, your health. It's not 
 every day of the week we get champagne.' 
 
 " He laid down his knife and fork as I said this : his face and temples 
 grew deep purple, his eyes started as if they would spring from his head, 
 and he put both his hands to his forehead, as if trying to assure himself 
 that it was not some horrid dream. 
 
 " ' A little slice more of the turkey/ said I, ' and then, O'Grady, I'll 
 try your hock. It's a wine I'm mighty fond of, and so is Mac there. 
 Oh ! it's seldom, to tell you the truth, it troubles us. There, fill up 
 the glass ; that's it. Here now, Darby that's your name, I think 
 you'll not think I'm taking a liberty in giving a toast : here, then, I'll
 
 228 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 give MacManus's health, with all the honours ; though it's early yet, 
 to be sure, but we'll do it again by-and-by, when the whisky comes. 
 Here's MacManus's good health ; and, though his wife, they say, does 
 not treat him well, and keeps him down 
 
 ' ' The roar of laughing that interrupted me here was produced by 
 the expression of poor Mac's face. He had started up from table, and, 
 leaning with both his hands upon it, stared round upon the company 
 like a maniac his mouth and eyes wide open, and his hair actually 
 bristling with amazement. Thus he remained for a full minute, gasping 
 like a fish in a landing-net. It seemed a hard struggle for him to believe 
 that he was not deranged. At last his eyes fell upon me ; he uttered 
 a deep groan, and, with a voice tremulous with rage, thundered out 
 
 ' ' ' The scoundrel ! I never saw him before.' 
 
 " He rushed from the room and gained the street. Before our roar 
 of laughter was over, he had secured post-horses, and was galloping 
 towards Eunis at the top speed of his cattle. 
 
 " He exchanged at once into the line ; but they say that he caught a 
 glimpse of my name in the Army List, and sold out the next morning ; 
 be that as it may, we never met since." 
 
 I have related O'Shaughnessy's story here, rather from the memory 
 I have of how we all laughed at it at the time, than from any feeling 
 as to its real desert ; but, when I think of the voice, look, accent, and 
 gesture of the narrator, I can scarcely keep myself from again giving 
 way to laughter. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV 
 
 NEVER did the morning break more beautifully than on the 12th of 
 May 1809. Huge masses of fog-like vapour had succeeded to the 
 starry cloudless night, but, one by one, they moved onward towards 
 the sea, disclosing, as they passed, long tracts of lovely country, bathed 
 in a rich golden glow. The broad Douro, with its transparent current, 
 shone out like a bright coloured ribbon, meandering through the deep 
 garment of fairest green ; the darkly shadowed mountains, which 
 closed the background, loomed even larger than they were ; while 
 their summits were tipped with the yellow glory of the morning. The 
 air was calm and still, and the very smoke that arose from the peasant's 
 cot, laboured as it ascended through the perfumed air, and, save the 
 ripple of the stream, all was silent as the grave. 
 
 The squadrons of the 14th, with which I was, had diverged from 
 the road beside the river, and, to obtain a shorter path, had entered 
 the skirts of a dark pine wood : our pace was a sharp one ; an orderly 
 had already been despatched to hasten our arrival, and we pressed on 
 at a brisk trot In less than an hour we reached the verge of the 
 wood, and, as we rode out upon the plain, what a spectacle met our 
 eyes ! Before us, in a narrow valley, separated from the river by a 
 narrow ridge, were picketed three cavalry regiments ; their noiseless 
 gestures and perfect stillness bespeaking at once that they were
 
 THE DOURO 229 
 
 intended for a surprise party. Farther down the stream, and upon the 
 opposite side, rose the massive towers and tall spires of Oporto, dis- 
 playing from their summits the broad ensign of France ; while, far as 
 the eye could reach, the broad dark masses of troops might be seen ; 
 the intervals between their columns glittering with the bright equip- 
 ments of their cavalry, whose steel caps and lances were sparkling in 
 the sunbeams. The bivouac fires were still smouldering, and marking 
 where some part of the army had passed the night ; for, early as it 
 was, it was evident that their position had been changed ; and, even 
 now, the heavy masses of dark infantry might be seen moving from 
 place to place, while the long line of the road to Vallonga was marked 
 with a vast cloud of dust. The French drum and the light infantry 
 bugle told, from time to time, that orders were passing among the 
 troops ; while the glittering uniform of a staff officer, as he galloped 
 from the town, bespoke the note of preparation. 
 
 " Dismount. Steady : quietly, my lads," said the Colonel, as he 
 alighted upon the grass. " Let the men have their breakfast." 
 
 The little amphitheatre we occupied hid us entirely from all obser- 
 vation on the part of the enemy, but equally so excluded us from 
 perceiving their movements. It may readily be supposed, then, with 
 what impatience we waited here, while the din and clangour of the 
 French force, as they marched and countermarched so near us, were 
 clearly audible. The orders were, however, strict that none should 
 approach the bank of the river, and we lay anxiously awaiting the 
 moment when this inactivity should cease. More than one orderly 
 had arrived among us, bearing despatches from headquarters ; but 
 where our main body was, or what the nature of the orders, no one 
 could guess. As for me, my excitement was at its height, and I could 
 not speak for the very tension of my nerves. The officers stood in 
 little groups of two and three, whispering anxiously together ; but all 
 I could collect was, that Soult had already begun his retreat upon 
 Amarante, and that, with the broad stream of the Douro between us, 
 he defied our pursuit. 
 
 " Well, Charley," said Power, laying his arm upon my shoulder, " the 
 French have given us the slip this time : they are already in march, and, 
 even if we dared force a passage, in the face of such an enemy, it seems 
 there is not a boat to be found. I have just seen Hammersly." 
 
 " Indeed ! Where is he ? " said I. 
 
 " He's gone back to Villa de Conde ; he asked after you most par- 
 ticularly : don't blush, man ; I'd rather back your chance than his, 
 notwithstanding the long letter that Lucy sends him. Poor fellow ! he 
 has been badly wounded, but, it seems, declines going back to England. " 
 
 " Captain Power," said an orderly, touching his cap, " General 
 Murray desires to see you." 
 
 Power hastened away, but returned in a few moments. 
 
 " I say, Charley, there's something in the wind here. I have just 
 been ordered to try where the stream is fordable. I've mentioned your 
 name to the General, and I think you'll be sent for soon. Good-bye." 
 
 1 buckled on my sword, and, looking to my girths, stood watching 
 the groups around me ; when, suddenly, a dragoon pulled his horse 
 short up, and asked a man near me if Mr. O'Malley was there?
 
 230 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Yes; I am he." 
 
 " Orders from General Murray, sir," said the man, and rode off at a 
 canter. 
 
 I opened and saw that the despatch was addressed to Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley, with the mere words " with haste " on the envelope. 
 
 Now, which way to turn I knew not ; so, springing into the saddle, I 
 galloped to where Colonel Merivale was standing talking to the colonel 
 of a heavy dragoon regiment. 
 
 " May I ask, sir, by which road I am to proceed with this despatch ? " 
 
 " By the river, sir," said the heavy ; a large, dark-browed man, with 
 a most forbidding look. " You'll soon see the troops ; you'd better stir 
 yourself, sir, or Sir Arthur is not very likely to be pleased with you." 
 
 Without venturing a reply to what I felt a somewhat unnecessary 
 taunt, I dashed spurs to my horse, and turned towards the river. I 
 had not gained the bank above a minute, when the loud ringing of a 
 rifle struck upon my ear : bang went another, and another. I hurried 
 on, however, at the top of my speed, thinking only of my mission and 
 its pressing haste. As I turned an angle of the stream, the vast column 
 of the British came in sight, and scarcely had my eye rested upon them 
 when my horse staggered forwards, plunged twice with his head nearly 
 to the earth, and then, rearing madly up, fell backwards upon the 
 ground. Crushed and bruised as I felt by my fall, I was soon aroused 
 to the necessity of exertion ; for as I disengaged myself from the poor 
 beast, I discovered he had been killed by a bullet in the counter ; and 
 scarcely had I recovered my legs when a shot struck my shako and 
 grazed my temples. I quickly threw myself to the ground, and, 
 creeping on for some yards, reached at last some rising ground, from 
 which I rolled gently downwards into a little declivity, sheltered by 
 the bank from the French fire. 
 
 When I arrived at headquarters, I was dreadfully fatigued and 
 heated ; but resolving not to rest till I had delivered my despatches, I 
 hastened towards the convent of La Sierra, where I was told the com- 
 mander-in-chief was. 
 
 As I came into the court of the convent, filled with general officers 
 and people of the staff, I was turning to ask how I should proceed, 
 when Hixley caught my eye. 
 " Well, O'Malley, what brings you here ? " 
 
 <f Despatches from General Murray." 
 
 <c Indeed ; oh, follow me ! " 
 
 He hurried me rapidly through the buzzing crowd, and, ascending 
 a large gloomy stair, introduced me into a room where about a dozen 
 persons in uniform were writing at a long deal table. 
 
 " Captain Gordon," said he, addressing one of them, " despatches 
 requiring immediate perusal have just been brought by this officer." 
 
 Before the sentence was finished the door opened, and a short, slight 
 man, in a grey undress coat, with a white cravat and a cocked hat, 
 entered. The dead silence that ensued was not necessary to assure me 
 that he was one in authority ; the look of command his bold, stern 
 features presented ; the sharp piercing eye ; the compressed lip ; the 
 impressive expression of the whole face, told plainly that he was one 
 who held equally himself and others in mastery.
 
 THE DOURO 231 
 
 " Send General Sherbroke here," said he to an aide-de-camp. <( Let 
 the light brigade march into position ; " and then, turning suddenly to 
 me, " Whose despatches are these ? " 
 
 "General Murray's, sir." 
 
 I needed no more than a look to assure me that this was he of whom 
 I had heard so much, and of whom the world was still to hear so much 
 more. 
 
 He opened them quickly, and glancing his eye across the contents, 
 crushed the paper in his hand. Just as he did so a spot of blood upon 
 the envelope attracted his attention. 
 
 " How's this ! are you wounded ? " 
 
 ' ' No, sir ; my horse was killed ' 
 
 " Very well, sir : join your brigade. But stay, I shall have orders 
 for you. Well, Waters, what news?" 
 
 This question was addressed to an officer in a staff uniform who 
 entered at the moment, followed by the short and bulky figure of a 
 monk, his shaven crown and large cassock strongly contrasting with 
 the gorgeous glitter of the costumes around him. 
 
 " I say, who have we here?" 
 
 "The Prior of Amarante, sir," replied Waters, <e who has just come 
 over. We have already, by his aid, secured three large barges ' 
 
 " Let the artillery take up position in the convent at once," said Sir 
 Arthur, interrupting. "The boats will be brought round to the small 
 creek beneath the orchard. You, sir," turning to me, "will convey to 
 
 General Murray but you appear weak You, Gordon, will desire 
 
 Murray to effect a crossing at Avintas with the Germans and the 14th. 
 Sherbroke's division will occupy the Villa Nuova. What number of 
 men can that seminary take ? " 
 
 " From three to four hundred, sir. The padre mentions that all the 
 vigilance of the enemy is limited to the river below the town." 
 
 " I perceive it," was the short reply of Sir Arthur, as, placing his 
 hands carelessly behind his back, he walked towards the window and 
 looked out upon the river. 
 
 All was still as deatli in the council : not a lip murmured ; the feeling 
 of respect for him in whose presence we were standing, checked every 
 thought of utterance, while the stupendous gravity of the events before 
 us engrossed every mind and occupied every heart. I was standing 
 near the window ; the effect of my fall had stunned me for a time, but 
 I was gradually recovering, and watched with a thrilling heart the 
 scene before me. Great and absorbing as was my interest in what was 
 passing without, it was nothing compared with what I felt as I looked 
 at him upon whom our destiny was then hanging. I had ample time 
 to scan his features and canvass their every lineament. Never before 
 did I look upon such perfect impassibility : the cold determined ex- 
 pression was crossed by no show of passion or impatience. All was 
 rigid and motionless, and, whatever might have been the workings of 
 the spirit within, certainly no external sign betrayed them ; and yet 
 what a moment for him must that have been ! Before him, separated 
 by a deep and rapid river, lay the conquering legions of France, led on 
 by one second alone to him whose very name had been the preatige of 
 victory. Unprovided with every regular means of transport, iu the
 
 232 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 broad glare of day, in open defiance of their serried ranks and thunder- 
 ing artillery, he dared the deed. What must have been his confidence 
 in the soldiers he commanded ! what must have been his reliance upon 
 his own genius ! As such thoughts rushed through my mind, the door 
 opened and an officer entered hastily, and whispering a few words to 
 Colonel Waters, left the room. 
 
 ' ' One boat is already brought up to the crossing-place, and entirely 
 concealed by the wall of the orchard." 
 
 ' ( Let the men cross," was the brief reply. 
 
 No other word was spoken as, turning from the window, he closed his 
 telescope, and, followed by all the others, descended to the courtyard. 
 
 This simple order was enough ; an officer with a company of the 
 Buffs, embarked, and thus began the passage of the Douro. 
 
 So engrossed was I in my vigilant observation of our leader, that I would 
 gladly have remained at the convent, when I received an order to join 
 my brigade, to which a detachment of artillery was already proceeding. 
 
 As I reached Avintas all was in motion. The cavalry was in readi- 
 ness beside the river ; but as yet no boats had been discovered, and, 
 such was the impatience of the men to cross, it was with difficulty they 
 were prevented trying the passage by swimming, when suddenly Power 
 appeared, followed by several fishermen. Three or four small skiffs 
 had been found, half sunk in mud, among the rushes, and with such 
 frail assistance we commenced to cross. 
 
 ' ' There will be something to write home to Galway soon, Charley, 
 or I'm terribly mistaken," said Fred, as he sprang into the boat beside 
 me ; ' c was I not a true prophet when I told you, ' We'd meet the 
 French in the morning ' ? " 
 
 " They' re at it already," said Hixley, as a wreath of blue smoke 
 floated across the stream below us, and the loud boom of a large gun 
 resounded through the air. 
 
 Then came a deafening shout, followed by a rattling volley of small 
 arms, gradually swelling into a hot sustained fire, through which the 
 cannon pealed at intervals. Several large meadows lay along the river 
 side, where our brigade was drawn up as the detachments landed from 
 the boats ; and here, although nearly a league distant from the town, 
 we now heard the din and crash of battle, which increased every 
 moment. The cannonade from the Sierra convent, which at first was 
 merely the fire of single guns, now thundered away in one long roll, 
 amid which the sounds of falling walls and crashing roofs were mingled. 
 It was evident to us, from the continual fire kept up, that the landing 
 had been effected, while the swelling tide of musketry told that fresh 
 troops were momentarily coming up. 
 
 In less than twenty minutes our brigade was formed, and we now 
 only waited for two light four-pounders to be landed, when an officer 
 galloped up in haste, and called out : 
 
 "The French are in retreat !" and, pointing at the same moment to 
 the Vallonga road, we saw a long line of smoke and dust leading from 
 the town, through which, as we gazed, the colours of the enemy might 
 be seen, as they defiled, while the unbroken line of the waggons and 
 heavy baggage proved that it was no partial movement, but the army 
 itself retreating.
 
 THE DOURO 233 
 
 " Fourteenth, threes about, close up, trot ! " called out the loud and 
 manly voice of our leader, and the heavy tramp of our squadrons shook 
 the very ground, as we advanced towards the road to Vallonga. 
 
 As we came on, the scene became one of overwhelming excitement ; 
 the masses of the enemy that poured unceasingly from the town could 
 now be distinguished more clearly, and amid all the crash of gun- 
 carriages and caissons, the voices of the staff officers rose high as they 
 hurried along the retreating battalions. A troop of flying artillery 
 galloped forth at top speed, and, wheeling their guns into position 
 with the speed of lightning, prepared by a flanking fire to cover the 
 retiring column. The gunners sprang from their seats, the guns were 
 already unlimbered, when Sir George Murray, riding up at our left, 
 called out : 
 
 " Forward close up charge ! " 
 
 The word was scarcely spoken when the loud cheer answered the 
 welcome sound, and the same instant the long line of shining helmets 
 passed with the speed of a whirlwind ; the pace increased at every 
 stride, the ranks grew closer, and, like the dread force of some mighty 
 engine, we fell upon the foe. I have felt all the glorious enthusiasm 
 of a fox-hunt, when the loud cry of the hound, answered by the cheer 
 of the joyous huntsman, stirred the very heart within, but never till 
 now did I know how far higher the excitement reaches, when, man to 
 man, sabre to sabre, arm to arm, we ride forward to the battlefield. 
 On we went, the loud shout of " Forward ! " still ringing in our ears. 
 One broken, irregular discharge from the French guns shook the head 
 of our advancing column, but stayed us not as we galloped madly on. 
 
 I remember no more : the din, the smoke, the crash the cry for 
 quarter, mingled with the shout of victory the flying enemy the 
 agonising shrieks of the wounded are all commingled in my mind, but 
 leave no trace of clearness or connection between them ; and it was 
 only when the column wheeled to re-form, behind the advancing 
 squadrons, that I awoke from my trance of maddening excitement, 
 and perceived that we had carried the position, and cut off the guns 
 of the enemy. 
 
 " Well done, 14th !" said an old grey-headed colonel, as he rode 
 along our line : " gallantly done, lads ! " The blood trickled from a 
 sabre-cut on his temple, along his cheek, as he spoke ; but he either 
 knew it not, or he heeded it not. 
 
 "There go the Germans !" said Power, pointing to the remainder 
 of our brigade, as they charged furiously upon the French infantry, 
 and rode them down in masses. 
 
 Our guns came up at this time, and a plunging fire was opened upon 
 the thick and retreating ranks of the enemy ; the carnage must have 
 been terrific, for the long breaches in their lines showed where the 
 squadrons of the cavalry had passed, or the most destructive tide of 
 the artillery had swept through them. The speed of the flying columns 
 grew momentarily more ; the road became blocked up, too, by broken 
 carriages and wounded : and, to add to their discomfiture, a damaging 
 fire now opened from the town upon the retreating column, while the 
 brigade of Guards and the 29th pressed hotly on their rear. 
 
 The scene was now beyond anything maddening in its interest.
 
 234 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 From the walls of Oporto the English infantry poured forth in pursuit ; 
 while the whole river was covered with boats, as they still continued 
 to cross over. The artillery thundered from the Sierra, to protect the 
 landing, for it was even still contested in places ; and the cavalry, 
 charging in flank, swept the broken ranks, and bore down upon their 
 squares. 
 
 It was now, when the full tide of victory ran highest in our favour, 
 that we were ordered to retire from the road. Column after column 
 passed before us, unmolested and unassailed ; and not even a cannon- 
 shot arrested their steps. 
 
 Some unaccountable timidity of our leader directed this movement ; 
 and, while before our very eyes the gallant infantry were charging the 
 retiring columns, we remained still and inactive. 
 
 How little did the sense of praise we had already won repay us for 
 the shame and indignation we experienced at this moment, as, with 
 burning cheek and compressed lip, we watched the retreating files. 
 " What can he mean ? " " Is there not some mistake ? " " Are we 
 never to charge?" were the muttered questions around, as a staff 
 officer galloped up with the order to take ground still farther back, 
 and nearer to the river. 
 
 The word was scarcely spoken when a young officer, in the uniform 
 of a general, dashed impetuously up ; he held his plumed cap high 
 above his head, as he called out, " 14th, follow me ! Left face wheel 
 charge ! " 
 
 So, with the word, we were upon them. The French rear-guard was 
 at this moment at the narrowest part of the road, which opened by a 
 bridge upon a large open space ; so that, forming with a narrow front, 
 and favoured by a declivity in the ground, we actually rode them down. 
 Twice the French formed, and twice were they broken. Meanwhile, 
 the carnage was dreadful on both sides ; our fellows dashing madly 
 forward where the ranks were thickest the enemy resisting with the 
 stubborn courage of men fighting for their last spot of ground. So 
 impetuous was the charge of our squadrons, that we stopped not till, 
 piercing the dense column of the retreating mass, we reached the open 
 ground beyond. Here we wheeled, and prepared once more to meet 
 them ; when suddenly some squadrons of cuirassiers debouched from 
 the road, and, supported by a field-piece, showed front against us. 
 This was the moment that the remainder of our brigade should have 
 come to our aid ; but not a man appeared. However, there was not 
 an instant to be lost ; already the plunging fire of the four-pounder 
 had swept through our files, and every moment increased our danger. 
 
 "Once more, my lads, forward !" cried out our gallant leader, Sir 
 Charles Stewart, as, waving his sabre, he dashed into the thickest of 
 the fray. 
 
 So sudden was our charge, that we were upon them before they were 
 prepared. And here ensued a terrific struggle ; for, as the cavalry of 
 the enemy gave way before us, we came upon the close ranks of the 
 infantry at half-pistol distance, who poured a withering volley into us 
 as we approached. But what could arrest the sweeping torrent of our 
 brave fellows, though every moment falling in numbers? 
 
 Harvey, our major, lost his arm near the shoulder : scarcely an officer
 
 THE MORNING 235 
 
 was not wounded. Power received a deep sabre-cut in the cheek, from 
 an aide-de-camp of General Foy, in return for a wound he gave the 
 General ; while I, in my endeavour to save General Laborde, when 
 unhorsed, was cut down through the helmet, and so stunned that I re- 
 membered no more around me : I kept my saddle, it is true, but I lost 
 every sense of consciousness ; my first glimmering of reason coming to 
 my aid as I lay upon the river bank, and felt my faithful follower Mike 
 bathing my temples with water, as he kept up a running fire of lamen- 
 tations for my being murthured so young. 
 
 " Are you better, Mister Charles ? Spake to me, alanah ; say that 
 you're not kilt, darling ; do now. Oh, wirra ! what'll I ever say to 
 the master ? and you doing so beautiful ! Wouldn't he give the best 
 haste in his stable to be looking at you to-day? There, take a sup; 
 it's only water. Bad luck to them, but it's hard work beatin' them ; 
 they're only gone now. That's right : now you're coming to." 
 
 " Where am I, Mike ? " 
 
 " It's here you are, darling, resting yourself." 
 
 " Well, Charley, my poor fellow, you've got sore bones too," cried 
 Power, as, his face swathed in bandages and covered with blood, he 
 lay down on the grass beside me. " It was a gallant thing while it 
 lasted, but has cost us dearly. Poor Hixley " 
 
 " What of him ? " said I anxiously. 
 
 ' ' Poor fellow ! he has seen his last battlefield. He fell across me 
 as we came out upon the road : I lifted him up in my arms, and bore 
 him along above fifty yards ; but he was stone dead : not a sigh, not 
 a word escaped him ; shot through the forehead." As he spoke his 
 lips trembled, and his voice sank to a mere whisper at the last words, 
 " You remember what he said last night. ' Poor fellow ! he was every 
 inch a soldier. 
 
 Such was his epitaph. 
 
 I turned my head towards the scene of our late encounter : some 
 dismounted guns and broken waggons alone marked the spot : while, 
 far in the distance, the dust of the retreating columns showed the 
 beaten enemy, as they hurried towards the frontiers of Spain. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI 
 
 THE MORNING 
 
 THERE are few sadder things in life than the day after a battle. The 
 high-beating hope, the bounding spirits have passed away ; and in 
 their stead comes the depressing reaction by which every overwrought 
 excitement is followed. With far different eyes do we look upon the 
 compact ranks and glistening files, 
 
 "With helm arrayed, 
 
 And lance and blade, 
 And plume in the gay wind dancing ! " 
 
 and upon the cold and barren heath, whose only memory of the past
 
 236 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 is the blood-stained turf, a mangled corpse, the broken gun, the 
 shattered wall, the well-trodden earth where columns stood, the cut-up 
 ground where cavalry had charged ; these are the sad relics of all the 
 chivalry of yesterday. 
 
 The morning which followed the battle of the Douro was one of the 
 most beautiful I ever remember. There was that kind of freshness 
 and elasticity in the air which certain days possess, and communicate 
 by some magic their properties to ourselves. The thrush was singing 
 gaily out from every grove and wooded dell ; the very river had a 
 sound of gladness as it rippled on against its sedgy banks ; the foliage, 
 too, sparkled in the fresh dew, as in its robes of holiday, and all looked 
 bright and happy. 
 
 We were picketed near the river, upon a gently rising ground, from 
 which the view extended for miles in every direction. Above us, the 
 stream came winding down amid broad and fertile fields of tall grass 
 and waving corn, backed by deep and mellow woods, which were lost 
 to the view upon the distant hills : below, the river, widening as it 
 went, pursued a straighter course, or turned with bolder curves, till, 
 passing beneath the town, it spread into a large sheet of glassy water, 
 as it opened to the sea. The sun was just rising as I looked upon this 
 glorious scene, and already the tall spires of Oporto were tipped with 
 a bright rosy hue, while the massive towers and dark walls threw their 
 lengthened shadows far across the plain. 
 
 The fires of the bivouac still burned ; but all slept around them : 
 not a sound was heard, save the tramp of a patrol, or the short quick 
 cry of the sentry. I sat lost in meditation, or rather in that state of 
 dreamy thoughtfulness in which the past and present are combined, 
 and the absent are alike before us as are the things we look upon. 
 
 One moment I felt as though I were describing to my uncle the 
 battle of the day before, pointing out where we stood, and how we 
 charged : then again I was at home beside the broad bleak Shannon, 
 and the brown hills of Scariff. I watched with beating heart the tall 
 Sierra, where our path lay for the future, and then turned my thoughts 
 to him whose name was so soon to be received in England with a nation's 
 pride and gratitude, and panted for a soldier's glory. 
 
 As thus I followed every rising fancy, I heard a step approach : it 
 was a figure muffled in a cavalry cloak, which I soon perceived to be 
 Power. 
 
 "Charley !" said he, in a half-whisper, "get up and come with me. 
 You are aware of the general order, that, while in pursuit of an enemy, 
 all military honours to the dead are forbidden ; but we wish to place 
 our poor comrade in the earth before we leave." 
 
 I followed down a little path, through a grove of tall beech-trees 
 that opened upon a little grassy terrace beside the river. A stunted 
 olive-tree stood by itself in the midst, and there I found five of our 
 brother officers standing, wrapped in their wide cloaks. As we pressed 
 each other's hands, not a word was spoken : each heart was full ; and 
 hard features that never quailed before the foe were now shaken with 
 the convulsive spasm of agony, or compressed with stern determination 
 to seem calm.
 
 THE MORNING 237 
 
 A cavalry helmet and a large blue cloak lay upon the grass. The 
 narrow grave was already dug beside it ; and, in the deathlike stillness 
 around, the service for the dead was read : the last words were over ; 
 we stooped and placed the corpse, wrapped up in the broad mantle, in 
 the earth ; we replaced the mould, and stood silently around the spot. 
 The trumpet of our regiment at this moment sounded the call ; its 
 clear notes rang sharply through the thin air ; it was the soldier's 
 requiem ! and we turned away without speaking, and returned to our 
 quarters. 
 
 I had never known poor Hixley till a day or two before, but some- 
 how my grief for him was deep and heartfelt. It was not that his 
 frank and manly bearing, his bold and military air, had gained upon 
 me. No, these were indeed qualities to attract and delight me ; but 
 he had obtained a stronger and faster hold upon my affections : he 
 spoke to me of home ! 
 
 Of all the ties that bind us to the chance acquaintances we meet 
 with in life, what can equal this one? What a claim upon your love has 
 he who can, by some passing word, some fast-flitting thought, bring 
 back the days of your youth ? What interest can he not excite, by 
 some anecdote of your boyish days, some well-remembered trait of 
 youthful daring, or early enterprise? Many a year of sunshine find 
 of storm has passed above my head ; I have not been without my 
 moments of gratified pride, and rewarded ambition ; but my heart has 
 never responded so fully, so thankfully, so proudly to these such as 
 they were as to the simple touching words of one who knew my early 
 home and loved its inmates. 
 
 "Well, Fitzroy, what news?" inquired I, roused from my musing, 
 as an aide-de-camp galloped up at full speed. 
 
 " Tell Merivale to get the regiment under arms at once. Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley will be here in less than half-an-hour. You may look for 
 the route immediately. Where are the Germans quartered ? " 
 
 II Lower down ; beside that grove of beech-trees, next the river." 
 Scarcely was my reply spoken, when he dashed spurs to his horse, 
 
 and was soon out of sight. Meanwhile, the plain beneath me pre- 
 sented an animated and splendid spectacle. The different corps were 
 falling into position to the enlivening sounds of their quickstep, the 
 trumpets of the cavalry rang loudly through the valley, and the clatter 
 of sabres and sabretasches joined with the hollow tramp of the horses 
 as the squadrons came up. 
 
 I had not a moment to lose ; so, hastening back to my quarters, I 
 found Mike waiting with my horse. 
 
 " Captain Power's before you, sir," said he, " and you'll have to 
 make haste. The regiments are under arms already. " 
 
 From the little mound where I stood, I could see the long line of 
 cavalry as they deployed into the plain, followed by the horse artillery, 
 which brought up the rear. 
 
 " This looks like a march," thought I, as I pressed forward to join 
 my companions. 
 
 I had not advanced above a hundred yards through a narrow ravine 
 when the measured tread of infantry fell upon my ears. I pulled up 
 to slacken my pace, just as the head of a column turned round the
 
 2.38 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 angle of the road and came in view. The tall caps of a grenadier 
 company were the first thing I beheld, as they came on without roll 
 of drum and sound of fife. I watched with a soldier's pride the manly 
 bearing and gallant step of the dense mass as they defiled before me. 
 I was struck no less by them than by a. certain look of a steady but 
 sombre cast which each man wore. 
 
 " What can this mean ? " thought I. 
 
 My first impression was, that a military execution was about to take 
 place ; the next moment solved my doubt ; for, as the last files of the 
 grenadiers wheeled round, a dense mass behind came in sight, whose 
 unarmed hands and downcast air at once bespoke them prisoners of war. 
 
 What a sad sight it was ! There was the old and weather-beaten 
 grenadier, erect in frame and firm in step, his grey moustache scarcely 
 concealing the scowl that curled his lip, handcuffed with the young 
 and daring conscript, even yet a mere boy : their march was regular, 
 their gaze steadfast ; no look of flinching courage there. On they 
 came, a long unbroken line. They looked not less proudly than their 
 captors around them. As I looked with heavy heart upon them, my 
 attention was attracted to one who marched alone behind the rest. 
 He was a middle-sized but handsome youth of some eighteen years at 
 most : his light helmet and waving plume bespoke him a chasseur a 
 cheval, and I could plainly perceive, in his careless, half-saucy air, how 
 indignantly he felt the position to which the fate of war had reduced 
 him. He caught my eyes fixed upon him, and, for an instant, turned 
 upon me a gaze of open and palpable defiance, drawing himself up to 
 his full height and crossing his arms upon his breast ; but, probably, 
 perceiving in my look more of interest than triumph, his countenance 
 suddenly changed, a deep blush suffused his cheek, his eye beamed 
 with a softened and kindly expression, and, carrying his hand to his 
 helmet, he saluted me, saying, in a voice of singular sweetness, " Je 
 vous souhaite un meilleur sort, camarade." 
 
 I bowed, and muttering something in return, was about to make 
 some inquiry concerning him, when the loud call of the trumpet rang 
 through the valley, and apprised me that, in my interest for the 
 prisoners, I had forgotten all else, and was probably incurring censure 
 for my absence. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII 
 
 THE REVIEW 
 
 WHEN I joined the group of my brother officers, who stood gaily 
 chatting and laughing together before our lines, I was much surprised 
 nay, almost shocked -to find how little seeming impression had been 
 made upon them by the sad duty we had performed that morning. 
 
 When last we met, each eye was downcast, each heart was full : 
 sorrow for him we had lost from amongst us for ever, mingling with 
 the awful sense of our own uncertain tenure here, had laid its impress 
 on each brow ; but now, scarcely an hour elapsed, and all were cheer- 
 ful and elated. The last shovelful of earth upon the grave seemed to
 
 THE REVIEW 239 
 
 have buried both the dead and the mourning. And such is war ! and 
 such the temperament it forms ! Events so strikingly opposite in 
 their character and influences succeed so rapidly one upon another, 
 that the mind is kept in one whirl of excitement, and at length 
 accustoms itself to change with every phase of circumstances ; and 
 between joy and grief, hope and despondency, enthusiasm and de- 
 pression, there is neither breadth nor interval : they follow each other 
 as naturally as morning succeeds to night. 
 
 I had not much time for such reflections : scarcely had I saluted the 
 officers about me, when the loud prolonged roll of the drums along the 
 line of infantry in the valley, followed by the sharp clatter of muskets 
 as they were raised to the shoulder, announced the troops were under 
 arms and the review begun. 
 
 " Have you seen fhe general order this morning, Power ? " inquired 
 an old officer beside me. 
 
 " No ; they say, however, that ours are mentioned." 
 
 " Harvey is going on favourably," cried a young cornet, as he 
 galloped up to our party. 
 
 " Take ground to the left !" sung out the clear voice of the Colonel, 
 as he rode along in front. " Fourteenth ! I am happy to inform you 
 that your conduct has met approval in the highest quarter. I have 
 just received the general orders, in which this occurs : 
 
 "'THE TIMELY PASSAGE OF THE DoURO, AND SUBSEQUENT 3IOVEMENTS 
 UPON THE ENEMY'S FLANK, BY LIEUTENANT-GENERAL, SHERBROKE, 
 WITH THE GUARDS AND 29TH REGIMENT, AND THE BRAVERY OP THE 
 TWO SQUADRONS OF THE 14TH LlGHT DRAGOONS, UNDER THE COMMAND 
 OK MAJOR HARVEY, AND LED BY THE HONOURABLE BRIGADIER-GENERAL 
 CHARLES STEWART, OBTAINED THE VICTORY ' Mark that, my lads !-^ 
 obtained the victory c WHICH HAS CONTRIBUTED so MUCH TO THE 
 
 HONOUR OF THE TROOPS ON THIS DAY.'" 
 
 The words were hardly spoken, when a tremendous cheer burst from 
 the whole line at once. 
 
 "Steady, 14th ! steady, lads !" said the gallant old Colonel, as he 
 raised his hand gently ; " the staff is approaching." 
 
 At the same moment, the white plumes appeared rising above the 
 brow of the hill. On they came, glittering in all the splendour of 
 aiguillettes and orders ; all save one. He rode foremost, upon a small 
 compact black horse : his dress, a plain grey frock, fastened at the 
 waist by a red sash ; his cocked hat alone bespoke, in its plume, the 
 general officer. He galloped rapidly on till he came to the centre of 
 the line ; then, turning short round, he scanned the ranks from end to 
 end with an eagle glance. 
 
 "Colonel Merivale, you have made known to your regiment my 
 opinion of them, as expressed in general orders ? " 
 
 The Colonel bowed low in acquiescence. 
 
 " Fitzroy, you have got the memorandum, I hope?" 
 
 The aide-de-camp here presented to Sir Arthur a slip of paper, 
 which he continued to regard attentively for some minutes. 
 
 "Captain Powel Power, I mean. Captain Power !" 
 
 Power rode out from the line. 
 
 " Your very distinguished conduct yesterday has been reported to
 
 240 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 me. I shall have sincere pleasure iu forwarding your name for the 
 vacant majority." 
 
 " You have forgotten, Colonel Merivale, to send in the name of the 
 officer who saved General Laborde's life." 
 
 "I believe I have mentioned it, Sir Arthur. Mr. O'Malley." 
 
 " True, I beg pardon ; so you have Mr. O'Malley a very young 
 officer indeed : ha, an Irishman ! the south of Ireland, eh?" 
 
 "No, sir; the west." 
 
 "Oh yes. Well, Mr. O'Malley, you are promoted. You have the 
 lieutenancy in your own regiment. By-the-bye, Merivale" here his 
 voice changed into a half-laughing tone " ere I forget it, pray let me 
 beg of you to look into this honest fellow's claim ; he has given me no 
 peace the entire morning." 
 
 As he spoke, I turned my eyes in the direction he pointed, and, to 
 my utter consternation, beheld my man Mickey Free standing among 
 the staff; the position he occupied, and the presence he stood in, 
 having no more perceptible effect upon his nerves than if he were 
 assisting at an Irish wake ; but so completely was I overwhelmed witli 
 shame at the moment, that the staff were already far down the lines 
 ere I recovered my self-possession, to which, certainly, I was in some 
 degree recalled by Master Mike's addressing me in a somewhat im- 
 ploring tone : 
 
 ' ' Arrah, spake for me, Master Charles, alauah ; sure they might do 
 something for me now, av it was only to make me a gauger." 
 
 Mickey's ideas of promotion, thus insinuatingly put forward, threw 
 the whole party around into one burst of laughter. 
 
 " I have him down there," said he, pointing, as he spoke, to a thick 
 grove of cork-trees at a little distance. 
 
 " Who have you got there, Mike?" inquired Power. 
 
 fe Devil a one o' me knows his name," replied he ; " maybe, it's Bony 
 himself." 
 
 ' ' And how do you know he's there still ? " 
 
 ce How do I know, is it? Didn't I tie him last night." 
 
 Curiosity to find out what Mickey could possibly allude to, induced 
 Power and myself to follow him down the slope to the clump of trees 
 I have mentioned. As we came near, the very distinct denunciations 
 that issued from the thicket proved pretty plainly the nature of the 
 affair. It was nothing less than a French officer of cavalry that Mike 
 had unhorsed in the melee, and wishing probably to preserve some 
 testimony of his prowess, had made prisoner, and tied fast to a cork- 
 tree the preceding evening. 
 
 " Sacrebleu!" said the poor Frenchman, as we approached, " que ce 
 sont des muvages!" 
 
 " Av it's making your sowl ye are," said Mike, " you're right ; for, 
 may be, they won't let me keep you alive." 
 
 Mike's idea of a tame prisoner threw me into a fit of laughing, while 
 Power asked : 
 
 " And what do you want to do with him, Mickey ? " 
 
 "The sorra one o'me knows, for he spakes no dacent tongue. Thegium 
 thoo," said he, addressing the prisoner, with a poke in the ribs at the 
 same moment: "but sure, Master Charles, he might tache me French."
 
 THE REVIEW 241 
 
 There was something so irresistibly ludicrous in his tone and look 
 as he said these words, that both Power and myself absolutely roared 
 with laughter. We began, however, to feel not a little ashamed of 
 our position in the business, and explained to the Frenchman that our 
 worthy countryman had but little experience of the usages of war, 
 while we proceeded to unbind him, and liberate him from his miserable 
 bondage. 
 
 " It's letting him loose, you are, Captain ? Master Charles, take 
 care ; begorra, av you had as much trouble in catching him as I had, 
 you'd think twice about letting him out. Listen to me, now" here 
 he placed his closed fist within an inch of the poor prisoner's nose 
 " listen to me : av you say peas, by the morteal, I'll not lave a whole 
 bone in your skin." 
 
 With some difficulty we persuaded Mike that his conduct, so far 
 from leading to his promotion, might, if known in another quarter, 
 procure him an acquaintance with the provost-marshal, a fact which, 
 it was plain to perceive, gave him but a very poor impression of 
 military gratitude. 
 
 " Oh, then, if they were in swarms foment me, devil receave the 
 prisoner I'll take again." 
 
 So saying, he slowly returned to the regiment, while Power and I, 
 having conducted the Frenchman to the rear, cantered towards the 
 town to learn the news of the day. 
 
 The city on that day presented a most singular aspect the streets, 
 filled with the townspeople and the soldiery, were decorated with flags 
 and garlands the cafes were crowded with merry groups, and the 
 sounds of music and laughter resounded on all sides. The houses 
 seemed to be quite inadequate to afford accommodation to the numerous 
 guests, and, in consequence, bullock cars and forage waggons were con- 
 verted into temporary hotels, and many a jovial party were collected 
 in both. Military music, church bells, drinking choruses, were all 
 commingled in the din and turmoil ; processions in honour of our 
 " Lady of Succour" were jammed up among bacchanalian orgies, and 
 their very chant half drowned in the cries of the wounded, as they 
 passed on to the hospitals. With difficulty we pushed our way through 
 the dense mob, as we turned our steps towards the seminary. We 
 both felt naturally curious to see the place where our first detachment 
 landed, and to examine the opportunities of defence it presented. The 
 building itself was a large and irregular one, of an oblong form, sur- 
 rounded by a high wall of solid masonry, the only entrance being by 
 a heavy iron gate. 
 
 At this spot the battle appeared to have raged with violence ; one 
 side of the massive gate was torn from its hinges, and lay flat upon the 
 ground ; the walls were breached in many places ; and pieces of torn 
 uniforms, broken bayonets, and bruised shakos, attested that the conflict 
 was a close one. The seminary itself was in a falling state ; the roof, 
 from which Paget had given his orders, and where he was wounded, 
 had fallen in. The French cannon had fissured the building from top 
 to bottom, and it seemed only awaiting the slightest impulse to crumble 
 into ruin. When we regarded the spot, and examined the narrow 
 doorway which, opening upon a flight of a few steps to the river, 
 
 Q
 
 242 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 admitted our first party, we could not help feeling struck anew with 
 the gallantry of that mere handful of brave fellows, who thus threw 
 themselves amid the overwhelming legions of the enemy, and at once, 
 without waiting for a single reinforcement, opened a fire upon their 
 ranks. Bold as the enterprise unquestionably was, we still felt with 
 what consummate judgment it had been planned ; a bend of the river 
 concealed entirely the passage of the troops, the guns of the Sierra 
 covered their landing, and completely swept one approach to the semi- 
 nary. The French, being thus obliged to attack by the gate, were 
 compelled to make a considerable detour before they reached it, all of 
 which gave time for our divisions to cross, while the brigade of Guards, 
 under General Sherbroke, profiting by the confusion, passed the river 
 below the town, and took the enemy unexpectedly in rear. 
 
 Brief as was the struggle within the town, it must have been a 
 terrific one : the artillery were firing at musket range ; cavalry and 
 infantry were fighting hand to hand in narrow streets, a destructive 
 musketry pouring all the while from windows and house-tops. 
 
 At the Amarante gate, where the French defiled, the carnage was 
 also great : their light artillery unlimbered some guns here, to cover 
 the columns as they deployed ; but Murray's cavalry having carried 
 these, the flank of the infantry became entirely exposed to the galling 
 fire of small arms from the seminary, and the far more destructive 
 shower of grape that poured unceasingly from the Sierra. 
 
 Our brigade did the rest ; and in less than one hour from the land- 
 ing of the first man, the French were in full retreat upon Vallonga. 
 
 "A glorious thing, Charley," said Power, after a pause, "and a 
 proud souvenir for hereafter. " 
 
 A truth I felt deeply at the time, and one my heart responds to 
 not less fully as I am writing. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII 
 
 THE QUARREL 
 
 ON the evening of the 12th, orders were received for the German 
 brigade and three squadrons of our regiment to pursue the French 
 upon the Terracinthe Road, by daybreak on the following morning. 
 
 I was busily occupied in my preparations for a hurried march, when 
 Mike came up to say that an officer desired to speak with me ; and the 
 moment after Captain Hammersly appeared. A sudden flush coloured 
 his pale and sickly features, as he held out his hand and said : 
 
 "I've come to wish you joy, O'Malley : I just this instant heard of 
 your promotion. I am sincerely glad of it; pray tell me the whole 
 affair. ' 
 
 " That is the very thing I am unable to do. I have some very vague, 
 indistinct remembrance of warding off a sabre-cut from the head of a 
 wounded and unhorsed officer in the melee of yesterday ; but more I 
 know not. In fact, it was my first day under fire : I've a tolerably 
 clear recollection of all the events of the morning, but the word
 
 THE QUARREL 243 
 
 ' Charge ! ' once given, I remember very little more. But you, where 
 have you been ? how have we not met before ? " 
 
 " I ve exchanged into a heavy dragoon regiment, and am now em- 
 ployed upon the staff." 
 
 f< You are aware that I have letters for you." 
 
 " Power hinted, I think, something of the kind : I saw him very 
 hurriedly." 
 
 These words were spoken with an effort at nonchalance that evidently 
 cost him much. 
 
 As for me, my agitation was scarcely less, as, fumbling for some 
 seconds in my portmanteau, I drew forth the long destined packet. As 
 I placed it in his hands he grew deadly pale, and a slight spasmodic 
 twitch in his upper lip bespoke some unusual struggle. He broke the 
 seal suddenly, and, as he did so, the morocco case of a miniature fell 
 upon the ground : his eyes ran rapidly across the letter ; the livid 
 colour of his lips, as the blood forced itself to them, added to the 
 corpse-like hue of his countenance. 
 
 ' ' You, probably, are aware of the contents of this letter, Mr. 
 O'Malley ? " said he, in an altered voice, whose tones, half in anger, 
 half in suppressed irony, cut to my very heart. 
 
 l( I am in complete ignorance of them," said I calmly. 
 
 " Indeed, sir ! " replied he, with a sarcastic curl of his mouth as he 
 spoke. " Then, perhaps, you will tell me, too, that your very success 
 is a secret to you." 
 
 " I am really not aware " 
 
 ce You think, probably, sir, that the pastime is an amusing one, to 
 interfere where the affections of thersoare concerned. I've heard of 
 you, sir : your conduct at Lisbon is known to me ; and, though Captain 
 Trevyllian may bear " 
 
 " Stop, Captain Hammersly ! " said I, with a tremendous effort to be 
 calm : " stop, you have said enough, quite enough, to convince me 
 of what your object was in seeking me here to-day. You shall not be 
 disappointed. I trust that assurance will save you from any further 
 display of temper." 
 
 " I thank you : most humbly I thank you for the quickness of your 
 apprehension ; and I shall now take my leave. Good evening, Mr. 
 (J'Malley. I wish you much joy : you have my very fullest congratu- 
 lations upon all your good fortune." 
 
 The sneering emphasis the last words were spoken with remained 
 fixed in my mind long after he took his departure : and, indeed, so 
 completely did the whole seem like a dream to me, that were it not 
 for the fragments of the miniature that lay upon the ground, where 
 he had crushed them with his heel, I could scarcely credit myself that 
 I was awake. My first impulse was to seek Power, upon whose judg- 
 ment and discretion I could with confidence rely. 
 
 I had not long to wait ; for, scarcely had I thrown my cloak around 
 me, when he rode up. He had just seen Hammersly, and learned 
 something of our interview. 
 
 ' ( Why, Charley, my dear fellow ! what is this ? How have you 
 treated poor Hammersly ? " 
 
 " Treated him I say, sather, how has he treated me 1 "
 
 244 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I here entered into a short but accurate detail of our meeting ; 
 during which Power listened with great composure, while I could per- 
 ceive, from the questions he asked, that some very different impression 
 had been previously made upon his mind. 
 
 ' And this was all that passed ? " 
 All." 
 
 But what of the business at Lisbon ? " 
 I don't understand." 
 
 ' Why, he speaks he has heard some foolish account of your having 
 made some ridiculous speech there, about your successful rivalry of 
 him in Ireland Lucy Dashwood, I suppose, is referred to. Some one 
 has been good-natured enough to repeat the thing to him." 
 
 ' ' But it never occurred : I never did. " 
 
 " Are you sure, Charley ? " 
 
 " I am sure : I know 1 never did." 
 
 " The poor fellow, he has been duped ! Come, Charley, you must 
 not take it ill. Poor Hammersly has never recovered a sabre wound 
 he received some months since upon the head : his intellects are really 
 affected by it. Leave it all to me. Promise not to leave your quarters 
 till I return ; and I'll put everything right again." 
 
 I gave the required pledge, while Power, springing into the saddle, 
 left me to my own reflections. 
 
 My frame of mind, as Power left me, was by no means an enviable 
 one. A quarrel is rarely a happy incident in one's life, still less is it 
 so when the difference arises with one we are disposed to like and 
 respect. Such was Hammersly ; his manly, straightforward character 
 had won my esteem and regard, and it was with no common scrutiny 
 I taxed my memory to think what could have given rise to the im- 
 pression he laboured under, of my having injured him. His chance 
 mention of Trevyllian suggested to me some suspicion that his dislike 
 of me, wherefore arising I knew not, might have its share in the 
 matter ; and in this state of doubt and uncertainty I paced impatiently 
 up and down, anxiously watching' for Power's return, in the hope of at 
 length getting some real insight into the difficulty. 
 
 My patience was fast ebbing, Power had been absent above an hour, 
 and no appearance of him could I detect, when suddenly the tramp of 
 a horse came rapidly up the hill. I looked out, and saw a rider coming 
 forward at a very fast pace. Before I had time for even a guess as to 
 who it was, he drew up, and I recognised Captain Trevyllian. There 
 was a certain look of easy impertinence and half-smiling satisfaction 
 about his features I had never seen before, as he touched his cap in 
 salute, and said : 
 
 " May I have the honour of a few words' conversation with 
 you ? " 
 
 I bowed silently, while he dismounted, and passing his bridle beneath 
 his arm, walked on beside me. 
 
 " My friend, Captain Hammersly, has commissioned me to wait upon 
 you about this unpleasant affair " 
 
 " I beg pardon for the interruption, Captain Trevyllian, but as I 
 have yet to learn to what you or your friend alludes, perhaps it may 
 facilitate matters if you will explicitly state your meaning."
 
 THE QUARREL 245 
 
 He grew crimson on the cheek as I said this, while, with a voice per- 
 fectly unmoved, he continued : 
 
 " I am not sufficiently in my friend's confidence to know the whole 
 of the affair in question, nor have I his permission to enter into any 
 of it, he probably presuming, as I certainly did myself, that your own 
 sense of honour would have deemed further parley and discussion both 
 unnecessary and unseasonable." 
 
 " In fact, then, if I understand, it is expected that I should meet 
 Captain Hammersly for some reason unknown " 
 
 " He certainly desires a meeting with you," was the dry reply. 
 
 "And as certainly I shall not give it, before understanding upon 
 what grounds." 
 
 " And such I am to report as your answer ? " said he, looking at 
 me at the moment with an expression of ill-repressed triumph as he 
 spoke. 
 
 There was something in these few words, as well as in the tone in 
 which they were spoken, that sunk deeply in my heart. Was it that 
 by some trick of diplomacy he was endeavouring to compromise my 
 honour and character ? was it possible that my refusal might be con- 
 strued into any other than the real cause ? I was too young, too in- 
 experienced in the world to decide the question for myself, and no time 
 was allowed me to seek another's counsel. What a trying moment 
 was that for me ! my temples throbbed, my heart beat almost audibly, 
 and I stood afraid to speak ; dreading, on the one hand, lest my com- 
 pliance might involve me in an act to embitter my life for ever, and 
 fearful, on the other, that my refusal might be reported as a trait of 
 cowardice. 
 
 He saw, he read my difficulty at a glance, and, with a smile of most 
 supercilious expression, repeated coolly his former question. In an 
 instant all thought of Hammersly was forgotten. I remembered no 
 more. I saw him before me, he who had, since my first meeting, con- 
 tinually contrived to pass some inappreciable slight upon me. My 
 eyes flashed, my hands tingled with ill-repressed rage, as I said : 
 
 " With Captain Hammersly I am conscious of no quarrel, nor have I 
 ever shown by any act or look an intention to provoke one. Indeed, 
 such demonstrations are not always successful ; there are persons most 
 rigidly scrupulous for a friend's honour, little disposed to guard their 
 own." 
 
 " You mistake," said he, interrupting me, as I spoke these words 
 with a look as insulting as I could make it ; ' ' you mistake. I have 
 sworn a solemn oath never to send a challenge." 
 
 The emphasis upon the word " send," explained fully his meaning, 
 when I said : 
 
 " But you will not decline " 
 
 " Most certainly not," said he, again interrupting, while with spark- 
 ling eye and elated look he drew himself up to his full height. " Your 
 friend is " 
 
 " Captain Power : and yours " 
 
 *'Sir Harry Beaufort. I may observe that, as the troops are in 
 marching order, the matter had better not be delayed." 
 
 " There shall be none on my part."
 
 246 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 1 ' Nor mine/' said lie, as with a low bow, and a look of most ineffable 
 triumph, he sprang into his saddle ; then, " Au revoir, Mr. O'Malley," 
 said he, gathering up his reins ; " Beaufort is on the staff, and quartered 
 at Oporto." So saying, he cantered easily down the slope, and once 
 more I was alone. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX 
 
 THE ROUTE 
 
 I WAS leisurely examining my pistols poor Considine's last present 
 to me on leaving home when an orderly sergeant rode rapidly up, and 
 delivered into my hands the following order : 
 
 " Lieutenant O'Malley will hold himself in immediate readiness to 
 proceed upon a particular service. 
 
 " By order of his Excellency the Commander of the Forces. 
 
 "(Signed) S. GORDON, Military Secretary." 
 
 " What can this mean ? " thought I. " It is not possible that any 
 rumour of my intended meeting could have got abroad, and that my 
 present destination could be intended as a punishment ? " 
 
 I walked hurriedly to the door of the little hut which formed my 
 quarters : below me, in the plain, all was activity and preparation ; 
 the infantry were drawn up in marching order ; baggage waggons, 
 ordnance stores and artillery seemed all in active preparation, and 
 some cavalry squadrons might be already seen, with forage allowances 
 behind the saddle, as if only waiting the order to set out. I strained 
 my eyes to see if Power was coming, but no horseman approached in 
 the direction. I stood, and I hesitated whether I should not rather 
 seek him at once, than continue to wait on in my present uncertainty ; 
 but then, what if I should miss him ? and I had pledged myself to 
 remain till he returned. 
 
 While I deliberated thus with myself, weighing the various chances 
 for and against each plan, I saw two mounted officers coming towards 
 me at a brisk trot. As they came nearer, I recognised one as my 
 Colonel : the other was an officer of the staff. 
 
 Supposing that their mission had some relation to the order I had 
 so lately received, and which, until now, I had forgotten, I hastily re- 
 turned, and ordered Mike to my presence. 
 
 " How are the horses, Mike?" said I. 
 
 " Never better, sir. Badger was wounded slightly by a spent shot 
 in the counter, but he's never the worse this morning, and the black 
 horse is capering like a filly." 
 
 " Get ready my pack, feed the cattle, and be prepared to set out at 
 a moment's warning." 
 
 " Good advice, O'Malley," said the Colonel, as he overheard the last 
 direction to my servant. " I hope the nags are in condition." 
 
 "Why, yes, sir, I believe they are." 
 
 "All the better; you've a sharp ride before you. Meanwhile, let
 
 THE ROUTE 247 
 
 me introduce my friend ; Captain Beaumont, Mr. O'Malley. I think 
 we had better be seated." 
 
 " These are your instructions, Mr. O'Malley," said Captain Beaumont, 
 unfolding a map as he spoke. " You will proceed from this, with half 
 a troop of your regiment, by forced marches, towards the frontier, 
 passing through the town of Calenco, and Guarda, and the Estrella 
 pass. On arriving at the headquarters of the Lusitanian Legion, 
 which you will find there, you are to put yourself under the orders of 
 Major Monsoon, commanding that force. Any Portuguese cavalry he 
 may have with him will be attached to yours, and under your com- 
 mand ; your rank, for the time, being that of captain. You will, as 
 far as possible, acquaint yourself with the habits and capabilities of 
 the native cavalry, and make such report as you judge necessary there- 
 upon to his Excellency the Commander of the Forces. I think it only 
 fair to add, that you are indebted to my friend Colonel Merivale for 
 the very flattering position thus opened to your skill arid enterprise." 
 
 " My dear Colonel, let me assure you " 
 
 11 Not a word, my boy. I knew the thing would suit you, and I 
 am sure I can count upon your not disappointing my expectations of 
 you. Sir Arthur perfectly remembers your name : he only asked two 
 questions : 
 
 " ' Is he well mounted ? ' 
 " ( Admirably,' was my answer. 
 " ' Can you depend upon his promptitude ? ' 
 " ' He'll leave in half-an-hour.' 
 
 e ' So you see, O'Malley, I have already pledged myself for you ; and 
 now I must say adieu : the regiments are about to take up a more 
 advanced position ; so good-bye. I hope you'll have a pleasant time 
 of it till we meet again. " 
 
 " It is now twelve o'clock, Mr. O'Malley," said Beaumont ; ft we 
 may rely upon your immediate departure. Your written instructions 
 and despatches will be here within a quarter of an hour." 
 
 I muttered something what, I cannot remember ; I bowed my 
 thanks to my worthy Colonel, shook his hand warmly, and saw him 
 ride down the hill and disappear in the crowd of soldiery beneath, 
 before I could recall my faculties, and think over my situation. 
 
 Then, all at once, did the full difficulty of my position break sud- 
 denly upon me. If I accepted my present employment, I must cer- 
 tainly fail in my engagement to Trevyllian. But I had already pledged 
 myself to its acceptance. What was to be done? No time was left 
 for deliberation. The very minutes I should have spent in preparation 
 were fast passing. Would that Power might appear. Alas ! he came 
 not My state of doubt and uncertainty increased every moment. I 
 saw nothing but ruin before me, even at a moment when Fortune 
 promised most fairly for the future, and opened a field of enterprise 
 my heart had so often and so ardently desired. Nothing was left me 
 but to hasten to Colonel Merivale and decline my appointment ; to do 
 so, was to prejudice my character in his estimation for ever ; for I 
 dared not allege my reasons, and, in all probability, my conduct might 
 require my leaving the army. 
 
 " Be it so, then," said I, in an accent of despair ; " the die is cast."
 
 248 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I ordered my horse round. I wrote a few words to Power, to explain 
 my absence, should he come while I was away, and leaped into the 
 saddle. As I reached the plain my pace became a gallop, and I pressed 
 my horse with all the impatience my heart was burning with. I dashed 
 along- the lines towards Oporto, neither hearing nor seeing aught 
 around me, when suddenly the clank of cavalry accoutrements behind 
 induced me to turn my head, and I perceived an orderly dragoon at 
 full gallop in pursuit. I pulled up till he came alongside. 
 
 " Lieutenant O'Malley, sir," said the man, saluting, "these despatches 
 are for you." 
 
 I took them hurriedly, and was about to continue my route, when 
 the attitude of the dragoon arrested my attention. He had reined in 
 his horse to the side of the narrow causeway, and, holding him still 
 and steadily, sat motionless as a statue. I looked behind, and saw the 
 whole staff approaching at a brisk trot. Before I had a moment for 
 thought they were beside me. 
 
 " Ah ! O'Malley," cried Merivale, " you have your orders ; don't 
 wait ; his Excellency is coming up." 
 
 "Get along, I advise you," said another, " or you'll catch it, as some 
 of us have done this morning." 
 
 "All is right, Charley; you can go in safety," said a whispering 
 voice, as Power passed in a sharp canter. 
 
 That one sentence was enough ; my heart bounded like a deer, my 
 cheek beamed with the glow of delighted pleasure, I closed my spur 
 upon my gallant grey, and dashed across the plain. 
 
 When I arrived at my quarters the men were drawn up in waiting, 
 and provided with rations for three days' march : Mike was also pre- 
 pared for the road, and nothing more remained to delay me. 
 
 " Captain Power has been here, sir, and left a note." 
 
 I took it and thrust it hastily into my sabretasche. I knew from 
 the few words he had spoken that my present step involved me in no 
 ill consequences ; so, giving the word to wheel into column, I rode to 
 the front, and set out upon my march to Alcantara. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE WATCH FIRE 
 
 THERE are few things so inspiriting to a young soldier, as the being 
 employed with a separate command ; the picket and outpost duty 
 have a charm for him no other portion of his career possesses. The 
 field seems open for individual boldness and heroism ; success, if 
 obtained, must redound to his own credit ; and what can equal in its 
 spirit-stirring eiithusiasm that first moment when we become in any 
 way the arbiter of our fortunes ? 
 
 Such were my happy thoughts, as, with a proud and elated heart, I 
 set forth upon my march. The notice the Commander-in-Chief had 
 bestowed upon me had already done much : it had raised me in my 
 own estimation, and implanted within me a longing desire for further
 
 THE WATCH FIRE 249 
 
 distinction. I thought, too, of those far, far away, who were yet to 
 hear of my successes. 
 
 I fancied to myself how they would severally receive the news. My 
 poor uncle, with tearful eye and quivering lip, was before me, as I saw 
 him read the despatch, then wipe his glasses, and read on, till at last, 
 with one long-drawn breath, his manly voice, tremulous with emotion, 
 would break forth, " My boy! my own Charley !" Then I pictured 
 Considine, with port erect, and stern features, listening silently ; not a 
 syllable, not a motion, betraying that he felt interested in my fate, till, 
 as if impatient, at length he would break in, " I knew it I said so ; and 
 yet you thought to make him a lawyer !" And then old Sir Harry : his 
 warm heart glowing with pleasure, and his good-humoured face beaming 
 with happiness. How many a blunder he would make in retailing the 
 news, and how many a hearty laugh his version of it would give rise to ! 
 
 I passed in review before me the old servants, as they lingered in 
 the room to hear the story. Poor old Matthew, the butler, fumbling 
 with his corkscrew to gain a little time ; then looking in my uncle's 
 face, half entreatingly, as he asked, ' ' Any news of Master Charles, sir, 
 from the wars?" 
 
 While thus my mind wandered back to the scenes and faces of my 
 early home, I feared to ask myself how she would feel to whom my 
 heart was now turning ? Too deeply did I know how poor my chances 
 were in that quarter to nourish hope, and yet I could not bring myself 
 to abandon it altogether. Hammersly's strange conduct suggested to 
 me that he, at least, could not be my rival, while I plainly perceived 
 that lie regarded me as his. There was a mystery in all this I could 
 not fathom, and I ardently longed for my next meeting with Power, 
 to learn the nature of his interview, and also in what manner the 
 affair had been arranged. 
 
 Such were my passing thoughts as I pressed forward. My men, 
 picked no less for themselves than their horses, came rapidly along ; 
 and, ere evening, we had accomplished twelve leagues of our journey. 
 
 The country through which we journeyed, though wild and romantic 
 in its character, was singularly rich and fertile cultivation reaching 
 to the very summits of the rugged mountains, and patches of wheat 
 and Indian corn peeping amid masses of granite rock and tangled 
 brushwood. The vine and the olive grew wild on every side ; while 
 the orange and the arbutus, loading the air with perfume, were mingled 
 with prickly pear-trees and variegated hollies. We followed no regular 
 track, but cantered along over hill and valley, through forest and 
 prairie ; now in long file through some tall field of waving corn, now 
 in open order upon some level plain ; our Portuguese guide riding a 
 little in advance of us upon a jet black mule, carolling merrily some 
 vild Galician melody as he went. 
 
 As the sun was setting^ we arrived beside a little stream, that, flow- 
 ing along a rocky bed, skirted a vast forest of tall cork-trees. Here we 
 called a halt ; and picketing our horses, proceeded to make our arrange- 
 ments for a bivouac. 
 
 Never do I remember a more lovely night. The watch-fires sent up 
 a delicious odour from the perfumed shrubs ; while the glassy water 
 reflected on its still surface the starry sky that, unshadowed and un-
 
 250 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 clouded, stretched above us. 1 wrapped myself in my trooper's mantle, 
 and lay down beneath a tree but not to sleep. There was a some- 
 thing so exciting, and withal so tranquillising, that I had no thought 
 of slumber, but fell into a musing reverie. There was a character of 
 adventure in my position that charmed me much. My men were 
 gathered in little groups beside the fires ; some sunk in slumber, cithers 
 sat smoking silently, or chatting, in a low and undertone, of some 
 bygone scene of battle or bivouac ; here and there were picketed the 
 horses ; the heavy panoply and piled carbines nickering in the red 
 glare of the watch-fires, which ever and anon threw a flitting glow upon 
 the stern and swarthy faces of my bold troopers. Upon the trees around, 
 sabres and helmets, holsters and cross-belts, were hung like armorial 
 bearings in some antique hall, the dark foliage spreading its heavy 
 shadow around us. Farther off, upon a little rocky ledge, the erect 
 figure of the sentry, with his short carbine resting in the hollow of his 
 arm, was seen slowly pacing in measured tread, or standing for a moment 
 silently, as he looked upon the fair and tranquil sky his thoughts 
 doubtless far, far away beyond the sea, to some humble home, where 
 
 " The hum of the spreading sycamore, 
 That grew beside his cottage door," 
 
 was again in his ears, while the merry laugh of his children stirred his 
 bold heart. It was a Salvator Rosa scene, and brought me back in fancy 
 to the bandit legends I had read in boyhood. By the uncertain light of 
 the wood embers I endeavoured to sketch the group that lay before me. 
 
 The night wore on. One by one the soldiers stretched themselves 
 to sleep, and all was still. As the hours rolled by, a drowsy feeling 
 crept gradually over me. I placed my pistols by my side, and, having 
 replenished the fire by some fresh logs, disposed myself comfortably 
 before it 
 
 It was during that half-dreamy state that intervenes between waking 
 and sleep, that a rustling sound of the branches behind attracted my 
 attention. The air was too calm to attribute this to the wind, so I 
 listened for some minutes ; but sleep, too long deferred, was over- 
 powerful, and my head sank upon my grassy pillow, and I was soon 
 sound asleep. How long 1 remained so I know not ; but I awoke 
 suddenly. I fancied some one had shaken me rudely by the shoulder ; 
 but yet all was tranquil. My men were sleeping soundly as I saw them 
 last : the fires were becoming low, and a grey streak in the sky, as well 
 as a sharp cold feeling of the air, betokened the approach of day. 
 Once more I heaped some dry branches together, and was about again 
 to stretch myself to rest, when I felt a hand upon my shoulder. I 
 turned quickly round, and by the imperfect light of the fire, saw the 
 figure of a man standing motionless beside me ; his head was bare, and 
 his hair fell in long curls upon his shoulders ; one hand was pressed 
 upon his bosom, and with the other he motioned me to silence. My 
 first impression was that our party were surprised by some French 
 patrol ; but as I looked again I recognised, to my amazement, that the 
 individual before me was the young French officer I had seen that 
 morning a prisoner beside the Douro. 
 
 " How came you here? " said I, in a low voice, to him in French.
 
 THE WATCH FIRE 251 
 
 " Escaped. One of my own men threw himself between me and the 
 sentry ; I swam the Douro, received a musket-ball through my arm, 
 lost my shako and here I am." 
 
 ' ' You are aware you are again a prisoner. " 
 
 "If you desire it, of course I am/' said he, in a voice full of feel- 
 ing, that made my very heart creep. " I thought you were a party of 
 Lorge's Dragoons, scouring the country for forage ; tracked you the 
 entire day, and have only now come up with you." 
 
 The poor fellow, who had neither eaten nor drank since daybreak, 
 wounded and footsore, had accomplished twe'lve leagues of a march, 
 only once more to fall into the hands of his enemies. His years could 
 scarcely have numbered nineteen ; his countenance was singularly pre- 
 possessing ; and, though bleeding and torn, with tattered uniform, 
 and without a covering to his head, there was no mistaking for a 
 moment that he was of gentle blood. Noiselessly and cautiously I 
 made him sit down beside the fire, while I spread before him the 
 sparing remnant of my last night's supper, and shared my solitary 
 bottle of sherry with him. 
 
 From the moment he spoke I never entertained a thought of making 
 him a prisoner ; but, as I knew not how far I was culpable in per- 
 mitting, if not actually facilitating, his escape, I resolved to keep the 
 circumstance a secret from my party, and, if possible, get him away 
 before daybreak. 
 
 No sooner did he learn my intentions regarding him, than in an 
 instant all memory of his past misfortune, all thoughts of his present 
 destitute condition, seemed to have fled ; and, while I dressed his 
 wound and bound up his shattered arm, he chatted away as uncon- 
 cernedly about the past and the future as though seated by the side 
 of his own bivouac, and surrounded by his own brother officers. 
 
 e< You took us by surprise the other day," said he. " Our marshal 
 looked for the attack from the mouth of the river ; we received infor- 
 mation that your ships were expected there. In any case, our retreat 
 was an orderly one, and must have been effected with slight loss." 
 
 I smiled at the self-complacency of this reasoning, but did not con- 
 tradict him. 
 
 " Your loss must indeed have been great ; your men crossed under 
 the fire of a whole battery." 
 
 " Not exactly," said I ; " our first party were quietly stationed in 
 Oporto before you knew anything about it." 
 
 " Ah ! sacre Dieu ! Treachery ! " cried he, striking his forehead 
 with his clenched fist. 
 
 " Not so ; mere daring nothing more. But come, tell me some- 
 thing of your own adventures. How were you taken?" 
 
 " Simply thus : I was sent to the rear with orders to the artillery to 
 cut their traces, and leave the guns ; and when coming back, my horse 
 grew tired in the heavy grounds, and I was spurring him to the utmost, 
 when one of your heavy dragoons, an officer too, dashed at me, and 
 actually rode me down, horse and all. I lay for some time bruised by the 
 fall, when an infantry soldier passing by, seized me by the collar, and 
 brought me to the rear. No matter, however, here I am now. You will 
 not give me up ; and, perhaps, I may one day live to repay the kindness."
 
 252 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " You have not long joined ? " 
 
 " It was my first battle ; my epaulettes were very smart things 
 yesterday, though they do look a little passees to-day. You are ad- 
 vancing, I suppose ? " 
 
 I smiled, without answering this question. 
 
 " Ah, I see you don't wish to speak ; never mind, your discretion is 
 thrown away upon me ; for, if I rejoined my regiment to-morrow, I 
 should have forgotten all you told me all but your great kindness." 
 These last words he spoke, bowing slightly his head, and colouring as 
 he said them. 
 
 "You are a dragoon, I think?" said I, endeavouring to change the 
 topic. 
 
 " I was, two days ago, chasseur a cheval, a sous-lieutenant in the 
 regiment of my father, the General St. Croix. " 
 
 ' ' The name is familiar to me," I replied ; " and I am sincerely happy 
 to be in a position to serve the son of so distinguished an officer." 
 
 " The son of so distinguished an officer is most deeply obliged ; but 
 wishes with all his heart and soul he had never sought glory under 
 such very excellent auspices. You look surprised, man cher ; but, let 
 me tell you, my military ardour is considerably abated in the last three 
 days ; hunger, thirst, imprisonment, and this " lifting his wounded 
 limb as he spoke "are sharp lessons in so short a campaign, and for 
 one, too, whose life hitherto had much more of ease than adventure 
 to boast of. Shall I tell you how I became a soldier ? " 
 
 " By all means ; give me your glass first ; and now for a fresh log 
 to the fire ; I'm your man." 
 
 " But stay, before I begin, look to this." 
 
 The blood was flowing rapidly from his wound, which, with some 
 difficulty, I succeeded in staunching. He drank off his wine hastily, 
 held out his glass to be refilled, and then began his story. 
 
 " You have never seen the Emperor ? " 
 
 "Never." 
 
 " Sacrebleu ! What a man he is ! I'd rather stand under the fire of 
 your grenadiers than meet his eye. When in a passion, he does not 
 say much, it is true ; but what he does comes with a kind of hissing, 
 rushing sound, while the very fire seems to kindle in his look. I have 
 him before me this instant, and, though you will confess that my 
 present condition has nothing very pleasing in it, I should be sorry, 
 indeed, to change it for the last time I stood in his presence. 
 
 " Two months ago, I sported the gay light blue and silver of a page 
 to the Emperor, and certainly, what with balls, bonbons, flirtation, 
 gossip, and champagne suppers, led a very gay, reckless, and indolent 
 life of it. Somehow I may tell you more accurately at another period, 
 if we ever meet I got myself into disgrace, and, as a punishment, 
 was ordered to absent myself from the Tuileries, and retire, for some 
 weeks, to St. Cloud. Siberia to a Russian would scarcely be a heavier 
 infliction than was this banishment to me. There was no court, no 
 levee, no military parade, no ball, no opera. A small household of 
 the Emperor's chosen servants quietly kept house there. The gloomy 
 walls re-echoed to no music ; the dark alleys of the dreary garden 
 seemed the very impersonation of solitude and decay. Nothing broke
 
 THE WATCH FIRE 253 
 
 the dull monotony of the tiresome day, except when occasionally, near 
 sunset, the clash of the guard would be heard turning out, and the 
 clank of presenting arms, followed hy the roll of a heavy carriage into 
 the gloomy courtyard. One lamp, shining like a star, in a small 
 chamber on the second floor, would remain till near four, sometimes five 
 o'clock, iu the morning. The same sounds of the guard and the same 
 dull roll of the carriage would break the stillness of the early morning ; 
 and the Emperor for it was he would be on his road back to Paris. 
 
 " We never saw him I say we, for, like myself, some half-dozen 
 others were also there, expiating their follies by a life of cheerless ennui. 
 
 " It was upon a calm evening in April, we sat together chatting over 
 the various misdeeds which had consigned us to exile, when some one 
 proposed, by way of passing the time, that we should visit the small 
 flower-garden that was parted off from the rest, and reserved for the 
 Emperor alone. It was already beyond the hour he usually came ; 
 besides that, even should he arrive, there was abundant time to get 
 back before he could possibly reach it. The garden we had often seen, 
 but there was something in the fact that our going there was a trans- 
 gression that so pleased us all, that we agreed at once, and set forth. 
 For above an hour we loitered about the lonely and deserted walks, 
 where already the Emperor's foot-tracks had worn a marked pathway, 
 when we grew weary, and were about to return, just as one of the 
 party suggested, half in ridicule of the sanctity of the spot, that we 
 should have a game of leap-frog ere we left it. The idea pleased us, 
 and was at once adopted. Our plan was this : each person stationed 
 himself in some by-walk or alley, and waited till the other, whose 
 turn it was, came and leaped over him ; so that, besides the activity 
 displayed, there was a knowledge of the locale necessary ; for, to any 
 one passed over, a forfeit was to be paid. Our game began at once, and 
 certainly I doubt if ever those green alleys and shady groves rang to 
 such hearty laughter. Here would be seen a couple rolling over to- 
 gether on the grass ; there some luckless wight counting out his pocket- 
 money, to pay his penalty. The hours passed quietly over, and the 
 moon rose, and at last it came to my turn to make the tour of the 
 garden. As 1 was supposed to know all its intricacies better than the 
 rest, a longer time was given for them to conceal themselves ; at length 
 the word was given, and I started. 
 
 " Anxious to acquit myself well, I hurried along at top speed, but 
 guess my surprise to discover that nowhere could I find one of my 
 companions ; down one walk I scampered, up another, across a third, 
 but all was still and silent ; not a sound, not a breath, could I detect. 
 There was still one part of the garden unexplored. It was a small 
 open space before a little pond, which usually contained the gold fish 
 the Emperor was so fond of. Thither I bent my steps, and had not 
 gone far when, in the pale moonlight, I saw at length one of my com- 
 panions waiting patiently for my coming, his head bent forward, and 
 his shoulders rounded. Anxious to repay him for my own disap- 
 pointment, I crept silently forward at tiptoe, till quite near, when, 
 rushing madly on, I sprang upon his back ; just, however, as I rose 
 to leap over he raised his head, and staggered by the impulse of my 
 spring he was thrown forward, and after an ineffectual effort to keep
 
 254 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 his legs, flell flat upon his face in the grass. Bursting with laughter 
 I fell over him on the ground, and was turning to assist him, when 
 suddenly he sprang upon his feet, and horror of horrors ! it was 
 Napoleon himself; his usually pale features were purple with rage; 
 but not a word, not a syllable escaped him. 
 
 1 ' ' Qui etes vous ? ' said he, at length. 
 
 " ' St. Croix, sire,' said I, still kneeling before him, while my very 
 heart leaped into my mouth. 
 
 ' ' ' St. Croix ! toujours St. Croix ! Come here ; approach me,' cried 
 he, in a voice of stifled passion. 
 
 " I rose, but before I could take a step forward, he sprang at me, 
 and tearing off my epaulettes, trampled them beneath his feet, and 
 then he shouted out, rather than spoke, the one word ' Allex ! ' 
 
 " I did not wait for a second intimation, but clearing the paling at a 
 spring, was many a mile from Fontainebleau before daybreak." 
 
 CHAPTER LI 
 
 THE MARCH 
 
 TWICE the reveille sounded ; the horses champed impatiently their heavy 
 bits ; my men stood waiting for the order to mount, ere I could arouse 
 myself from the deep sleep I had fallen into. The young Frenchman 
 and his story were in my dreams, and when I awoke, his figure, as lie 
 lay sleeping beside the wood embers, was the first object I perceived. 
 There he lay, to all seeming as forgetful of his fate as though he still 
 inhabited the gorgeous halls and gilded saloons of the Tuileries ; his 
 pale and handsome features wore even a placid smile as, doubtless, 
 some dream of other days flitted across him ; his long hair waved in 
 luxurious curls upon his neck, and his light brown moustache, slightly 
 curled at the top, gave to his mild and youthful features an air of 
 saucy fiertt that heightened their effect. A narrow blue riband, which 
 he wore round his throat, gently peeped from his open bosom. 1 
 could not resist the curiosity I felt to see what it meant, and drawing 
 it softly forth, I perceived that a small miniature was attached to it. 
 It was beautifully painted, and surrounded with brilliants of some 
 value. One glance showed me for I had seen more than one engrav- 
 ing before of her that it was the portrait of the Empress Josephine. 
 Poor boy ! He doubtless was a favourite at court ; indeed, everything 
 in his air and manner bespoke him such. I gently replaced the precious 
 locket, and turned from the spot, to think over what was best to be 
 done for him. Knowing the vindictive feeling of the Portuguese 
 towards their invaders, I feared to take Pietro, our guide, into my 
 confidence. I accordingly summoned my man Mike to my aid, who, 
 with all his country's readiness, soon found out an expedient. It was 
 to pretend to Pietro that the prisoner was merely an English officer, 
 who had made his escape from the French army, in which, against his 
 will, he had been serving for some time. 
 
 This plan succeeded perfectly ; and, when St. Croix, mounted upon
 
 THE MARCH 255 
 
 one of my led horses, set out upon his march beside me, none was more 
 profuse of his attentions than the dark-browed guide, whose hatred of 
 a Frenchman was beyond belief. 
 
 By thus giving him safe-conduct through Portugal, I knew that 
 when we reached the frontier, lie could easily manage to come up with 
 some part of Marshal Victor's force, the advanced guard of which lay 
 on the left bank of the Tagus. 
 
 To me the companionship was the greatest boon ; the gay and 
 buoyant spirit that no reverse of fortune, no untoward event, could 
 subdue, lightened many an hour of the journey ; and though, at times, 
 the gasconade tone of the Frenchman would peep through, there was 
 still such a fund of good-tempered raillery in all he said, that it was 
 impossible to feel angry with him. His implicit faith in the Emperor's 
 invincibility also amused me. Of the unbounded confidence of the 
 nation in general, and the army particularly, in Napoleon, I had till 
 then no conception. It was not that in the profound skill and immense 
 resources of the general they trusted, but they actually regarded him 
 as one placed above all the common accidents of fortune, and revered 
 him as something more than human. 
 
 " // viendra, et puis " was the continued explanation of the young 
 
 Frenchman. Any notion of our successfully resisting the overwhelm- 
 ing might of the Emperor, he \vould have laughed to scorn, and so I 
 let him go on prophesying our future misfortunes till the time when, 
 driven back upon Lisbon, we should be compelled to evacuate the 
 Peninsula, and, under favour of a convention, be permitted to return to 
 England. All this was sufficiently ridiculous, coming from a youth of 
 nineteen, wounded, in misery, a prisoner ; but further experience of 
 his nation has shown me that St. Croix was not the exception, but the 
 rule. The conviction in the ultimate success of their army, whatever 
 be the merely momentary mishap, is the one present thought of a 
 Frenchman ; a victory with them is a conquest ; a defeat if they are 
 by any chance driven to acknowledge one afutalite. 
 
 I was too young a man, and, still more, too young a soldier, to 
 bear with this absurd affectation of superiority as I ought, and, con- 
 sequently, was glad to wander whenever I could from the contested 
 point of our national superiority to other topics. St. Croix, although 
 young, had seen much of the world, as a page in the splendid court of 
 the Tuileries ; the scenes passing before his eyes were calculated to 
 make a strong impression ; and by many an anecdote of his former 
 life he lightened the road as we passed along. 
 
 ' ' You promised, by-the-bye, to tell me of your banishment. How 
 did that occur, St. Croix ? " 
 
 " Ah / par Dieu, that was an unfortunate affair for me ; then began 
 all my mishaps ; but for that, I should never have been sent to St. 
 Cloud ; never have played leap-frog with the Emperor ; never have 
 been sent a soldier into Spain. True," said he, laughing, " J should 
 never have had the happiness of your acquaintance. But still, I'd 
 much rather have met you first in the Place des Victoires than in the 
 Estrella Mountains." 
 
 "Who knows?" said I; "perhaps your good genius prevailed in 
 all this."
 
 256 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Perhaps/' said he, interrupting me, " that's exactly what the 
 Empress said she was my godmother ' Jules will be a Marechal 
 de France yet.' But, certainly, it must be confessed, I have made a 
 bad beginning. However, you wish to hear of my disgrace at court. 
 Allans, done. But had we not better wait for a halt ? " 
 
 " Agreed," said I ; " and so let us now press forward." 
 
 CHAPTER LII 
 
 THE PAGE 
 
 UNDER the deep shade of some tall trees, sheltered from the noonday 
 sun, we lay down to rest ourselves, and enjoy a most patriarchal dinner 
 some dry biscuits, a few bunches of grapes, and a little weak wine, 
 savouring more of the borachio-skin than the vine-juice, were all we 
 boasted ; yet they were not ungrateful at such a time and place. 
 
 " Whose health did you pledge, then ? " inquired St. Croix, with a 
 half malicious smile, as I raised the glass silently to my lips. 
 
 I blushed deeply, and looked confused. 
 
 " A ses beaux yeux, whoever she be," said he, gaily tossing off his wine : 
 " and now, if you feel disposed, I'll tell you my story. In good truth, it 
 is not worth relating, but it may serve to set you asleep, at all events. 
 
 ' ' I have already told you I was a page. Alas ! the impressions you 
 may feel of that functionary, from having seen Clierubino, give but a 
 faint notion^ of him when pertaining to the household of the Emperor 
 Napoleon. 
 
 " The farfallone amoroso basked in the soft smiles and sunny looks 
 of the Countess Almavia ; we met but the cold impassive look of 
 Talleyrand, the piercing and penetrating stare of Savary or the 
 ambiguous smile, half menace, half mockery, of Monsieur Fouche. 
 While on service, our days were passed in the ante-chamber, beside 
 the suite d'audience of the Emperor reclining against the closed door, 
 watching attentively for the gentle tinkle of the little bell which sum- 
 moned us to open for the exit of some haughty diplomate, or the entree 
 of some redoubted general. Thus passed we the weary hours ; the 
 illustrious visitors by whom we were surrounded had no novelty, con- 
 sequently no attraction for us, and the names already historical were 
 but household words with us. 
 
 " We often remarked, too, the proud and distant hearing the Emperor 
 assumed towards those of his generals who had been his former com- 
 panions in arms. Whatever familiarity or freedom may have existed 
 in the campaign or in the battlefield, the air of the Tuileries certainly 
 chilled it. I have often heard that the ceremonious observances and 
 rigid etiquette of the old Bourbon court were far more preferable than 
 the stern reserve and unbending stiffness of the Imperial one. 
 
 " The ante-chamber is but the reflection of the reception-room ; and, 
 whatever be the whims, the caprices, the littleness of the Great Man, 
 they are speedily assumed by his inferiors, and the dark temper of one 
 casts a lowering shadow on every menial by whom he is surrounded.
 
 THE PAGE 257 
 
 {< As for us, we were certainly not long in catching somewhat of 
 the spirit of the Emperor ; and I doubt much if the impertinence of 
 the waiting-room was not more dreaded and detested than the ahrupt 
 speech and searching look of Napoleon himself. 
 
 " What a malicious pleasure have I not felt in arresting the step of 
 M. de Talleyrand, as he approached the Emperor's closet ! with what 
 easy insolence have I lisped out, ' Pardon, monsieur, but his Majesty 
 cannot receive you,' or ' Monsieur le Due, his Majesty has given no 
 orders for your admission.' How amusing it was to watch the baffled 
 look of each, as he retired once more to his place among the crowd ; 
 the wily diplomat covering his chagrin with a practised smile, while 
 the stern Marshal would blush to his very eyes with indignation. This 
 was the great pleasure our position afforded us ; and, with a boyish 
 spirit of mischief, we cultivated it to perfection, and became at last 
 the very horror and detestation of all who frequented the levees ; and 
 the ambassador, whose fearless voice was heard among the councils of 
 kings, became soft and conciliating in his approaches to us ; and the 
 hardy General, who would have charged upon a brigade of artillery, 
 was timid as a girl in addressing us a mere question. 
 
 " Among the amiable class thus characterised, I was most conspicuous, 
 preserving cautiously a tone of civility that left nothing openly to 
 complain of. I assumed an indifference and impartiality of manner 
 that no exigency of affairs, no pressing haste, could discompose or 
 disturb ; and my bow of recognition to Soult or Massena was as coolly 
 measured as my monosyllabic answer was accurately conned over. 
 
 " Upon ordinary occasions, the Emperor, at the close of each person's 
 audience, rang his little bell for the admission of the next in order as 
 they arrived in the waiting-room ; yet, when anything important was 
 under consideration, a list was given us in the morning of the names to 
 be presented in rotation, which no casual circumstance was ever suffered 
 to interfere with. 
 
 " It is now about four months since, one fine morning, such a list 
 was placed within my hands. His Majesty was just then occupied with 
 an inquiry into the naval force of the kingdom ; and, as I cast my 
 eyes carelessly over the names, I read little else than Vice-Admiral 
 so-and-so, Commander such-a-one, and Chef d'Escadron such another, 
 and the levee presented accordingly, instead of its usual brilliant arrays 
 of gorgeous uniform and aiguilletted Marshals, the simple blue and gold 
 of the naval service. 
 
 "The marine was not in high favour with the Emperor, and truly, 
 my reception of these unfrequent visitors was anything but flattering. 
 The early part of the morning was, as usual, occupied by the audience 
 of the Minister of Police, and the Due de Bassano, who evidently, 
 from the length of time they remained, had matters of importance to 
 communicate. Meanwhile, the ante-chamber filled rapidly, and before 
 noon was actually crowded. It was just at this moment that the fold- 
 ing door slowly opened ^ and a figure entered, such as I had never 
 before seen in our brilliant saloon ; he was a man of five or six-and- 
 fifty > short, thick-set, and strongly built, with a bronzed and weather- 
 ijeaten face, and a b,road open forehead, deeply scarred with a sabre-cut; 
 a shaggy, grey moustache curleo 1 over and concealed his mouth; while 
 
 h
 
 258 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 eyebrows of the same colour shaded his dark and piercing eyes. His 
 dress was a coarse coat of blue cloth, such as the fishermen wear in 
 Bretagne, fastened at the waist by a broad belt of black leather, from 
 which hung a short broad-bladed cutlass ; his loose trousers, of the 
 same material, were turned up at the ankles, to show a pair of strong 
 legs coarsely cased in blue stockings and thick-soled shoes a broad- 
 leaved oilskin hat was held in one hand, and the other stuck carelessly 
 in his pocket, as he entered ; he came in with a careless air, and fami- 
 liarly saluting one or two officers in the room, he sat himself down 
 near the door, appearing lost in his own reflections. 
 
 " ' Who can you be, my worthy friend?' was my question to myself, 
 as I surveyed this singular apparition, at the same time casting my 
 eyes down the list, I perceived that several pilots of the coast of Havre, 
 Calais, and Boulogne, had been summoned to Paris to give some infor- 
 mation upon the soundings and depth of water along the shore. 
 
 " ' Ha 1 ' thought I, ' I have it the good man has mistaken his place, 
 and instead of remaining without, has walked boldly forward to the 
 ante-chamber.' There was something so strange and so original in the 
 grim look of the old fellow, as he sat there alone, that I suffered him 
 to remain quietly in his delusion, rather than order him back to the 
 waiting-room without ; besides, I perceived that a kind of sensation 
 was created among the others by his appearance there, which amused 
 me greatly. 
 
 " As the day wore on, the officers formed into little groups of three 
 or four, chatting together in an undertone of voice ; all, save the old 
 pilot ; he had taken a huge tobacco-box from his capacious breast 
 pocket, and inserting an immense piece of the bitter weed in his mouth, 
 began to chew it as leisurely as though he were walking the quarter- 
 deck. The cool insouciance of such a proceeding amused me much, 
 and I resolved to draw him out a little. 
 
 " His strong, broad Breton features, his deep voice, his dry, blunt 
 manner, were all in admirable keeping with his exterior, and amused 
 me highly. 
 
 " ' Par Dieu ! my lad,' said he, after chatting some time, ' had you 
 not better tell the Emperor that I am waiting? It's now past noon, 
 and I must eat something.' 
 
 " ' Have a little patience,' said I ; ' his Majesty is going to invite 
 you to dinner.' 
 
 " ( Be it so,' said he gravely ; ' provided the hour be an early one, 
 I'm his man.' 
 
 " With difficulty did I keep down my laughter as he said this, and 
 continued : 
 
 " 'So you know the Emperor already, it seems?' 
 
 " ( Yes, that I do ! I remember him when he was no higher than 
 yourself.' 
 
 " ' How delighted he'll be to find you here I hope you have brought 
 up some of your family with you, as the Emperor would be so flattered 
 by it?' 
 
 " e No, I've left them at home ; this place don't suit us over well. 
 We have plenty to do, besides spending our time and money among all 
 you fine folks here.'
 
 THE PAGE 259 
 
 " ' And not a bad life of it, either,' added I, t fishing for cod and 
 herrings stripping a wreck now and then.' 
 
 " He stared at me as I said this, like a tiger on the spring, but spoke 
 not a word. 
 
 " c And how many young sea-wolves may you have in your den at 
 home ? ' 
 
 " ' Six ; and all o' them able to carry you with one hand at arm's 
 length ! ' 
 
 " ' I have no doubt ; I shall certainly not test their ability. But you 
 yourself, how do you like the capital ? ' 
 
 " ' Not over well, and I'll tell you why ' 
 
 "As he said this, the door of the audience-chamber opened, and the 
 Emperor appeared. His eyes flashed fire, as he looked hurriedly 
 around the room. 
 
 " ' Who is in waiting here ? ' 
 
 " ' I am, please, your Majesty,' said I, bowing deeply, as I started 
 from my seat. 
 
 " ' And where is the Admiral Truguet ? Why was he not admitted ? ' 
 
 " ' Not present, your Majesty,' said I, trembling with fear. 
 
 " ' Hold there, young fellow. Not so fast ; here he is.' 
 
 lf ' Ah, Truguet, man ami ! ' cried the Emperor, placing both hands 
 on the old fellow's shoulders ; ( how long have you been in waiting ? ' 
 
 " ' Two hours and a half,' said he, producing in evidence a watch like 
 a saucer. 
 
 " ' What ! two hours and a half, and I not know it ! ' 
 
 " ' No matter ; I am always happy to serve your Majesty. But if 
 that fine fellow had not told me that you were going to ask me to 
 dinner ' 
 
 " ' He ! he said so, did he?' said Napoleon, turning on me a glance 
 like a wild beast. ' Yes, Truguet, so I am ; you shall dine with me 
 to-day. And you, sir,' said he, dropping his voice to a whisper, as he 
 came closer towards me, ' and you have dared to speak thus ? Call in 
 a guard there ; Capitaine, put this person under arrest ; he is dis- 
 graced ; he is no longer page of the palace. Out of my presence ! 
 away, sir ! ' 
 
 " The room wheeled round ; my legs tottered ; my senses reeled ; 
 and I saw no more. 
 
 "Three weeks' bread and water in St. Pelagie, however, brought me 
 to my recollection ; and at last my kind my more than kind friend, the 
 Empress, obtained my pardon, and sent me to St. Cloud, till the Emperor 
 should forget all about it. How I contrived again to refresh his memory 
 I have already told you ; and certainly you will acknowledge that I 
 have not been fortunate in my interviews with Napoleon." 
 
 I am conscious how much St Croix's story loses in my telling. The 
 naive expressions, the grace of the narrative, were its charms ; and 
 these, alas ! I can neither translate nor imitate, no more than I can 
 convey the strange mixture of deep feeling and levity, shrewdness and 
 simplicity, that constituted the manner of the narrator. 
 
 With many a story of his courtly career he amused me as we trotted 
 along ; when, towards nightfall of the third day, a peasant informed 
 us that a body of French cavalry occupied the convent of San Cristoval,
 
 260 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 about three leagues off. The opportunity of his return to his own 
 army pleased him far less than I expected ; he heard without any show 
 of satisfaction that the time of his liberation had arrived, and when 
 the moment of leave-taking drew near, he became deeply affected. 
 
 " Eh bien, Charles," said he, smiling sadly through his dimmed and 
 tearful eyes. " You've been a kind friend to me. Is the time never 
 to come when I can repay you ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes : we'll meet again, be assured of it. Meanwhile, there is 
 one way you can more than repay anything I have done for you." 
 
 " Oh ! name it at once." 
 
 " Many a brave fellow of ours is now, and doubtless many more 
 will be, prisoners with your army in this war. Whenever, therefore, 
 your lot brings you in contact with such " 
 
 " They shall be my brothers," said he, springing towards me, and 
 throwing his arms round my neck. " Adieu, adieu ! " With that he 
 rushed from the spot, and, before I could speak again, was mounted 
 upon the peasant's horse and waving his hand to me in farewelk 
 
 I looked after him as he rode at a fast gallop down the slope of the 
 green mountain, the noise of the horse's feet echoing along the silent 
 plain. I turned at length to leave the spot, and then perceived for 
 the first time that, when taking his farewell of me, he had hung 
 around my neck his miniature of the Empress. Poor boy ! how sor- 
 rowful I felt thus to rob him of what he held so dear ! How gladly 
 would I have overtaken him to restore it ! It was the only keepsake 
 he possessed, and knowing that I would not accept it if offered, he 
 took this way of compelling me to keep it. 
 
 Through the long hours of the summer's night I thought of him ; 
 and when at last I slept, towards morning, my first thought on waking 
 was of the solitary day before me. The miles no longer slipped im- 
 perceptibly along ; no longer did the noon and night seem fast to 
 follow. Alas ! that one should grow old ! The very sorrows of our 
 early years have something soft and touching in them. Arising less 
 from deep wrong than slight mischances, the grief they cause comes ever 
 with an alloy of pleasant thoughts, telling of the tender past ; and, 'mid 
 the tears called up, forming some bright rainbow of future hope. 
 
 Poor St. Croix had already won greatly upon me ; and I felt lonely 
 and desolate when he departed. 
 
 NOTHING of incident marked our further progress towards the frontiers 
 of Spain, and at length we reached the small town of Alvas. It was 
 past sunset as we arrived ; and, instead of the usual quiet and repose 
 of a little village, we found the streets crowded with people, on horse- 
 back and on foot ; mules, bullocks, carts, and waggons blocked up the 
 way, and the oath^ of the drivers and the screaming of women and 
 children resounded on all sides.
 
 ALVAS 261 
 
 With what little Spanish I possessed I questioned some of those 
 near me, and learned, in reply, that a dreadful engagement had taken 
 place that day between the advanced guard of the French, under 
 Victor, and the Lusitaniau legion ; that the Portuguese troops had 
 been beaten and completely routed, losing all their artillery and bag- 
 gage ; that the French were rapidly advancing, and expected hourly 
 to arrive at Alvas, in consequence of which the terror-stricken in- 
 habitants were packing up their possessions and hurrying away. 
 
 Here then was a point of considerable difficulty for me at once. My 
 instructions had never provided for such a conjuncture, and I was 
 totally unable to determine what was best to be done. Both my men 
 and their horses were completely tired by a march of fourteen leagues, 
 and had a pressing need of some rest. On every side of me the pre- 
 parations for flight were proceeding with all the speed that fear inspires ; 
 and to my urgent request for some information as to food and shelter, 
 I could obtain no other reply than muttered menaces of the fate before 
 me if I remained, and exaggerated accounts of French cruelty. 
 
 Amid all this bustle and confusion a tremendous fall of heavy rain 
 set in, which at once determined me, come what might, to house my 
 party, and provide forage for our horses. 
 
 As we pushed our way slowly through the encumbered streets, look- 
 ing on every side for some appearance of a village inn, a tremendous 
 shout rose in our rear, and a rush of the people towards us induced 
 us to suppose that the French were upon us. For some minutes the 
 din and uproar were terrific the clatter of horses' feet, the braying of 
 trumpets, the yelling of the mob, all mingling in one frightful concert. 
 
 I formed my men in close column, and waited steadily for the 
 attack, resolving, if possible, to charge through the advancing files ; 
 any retreat through the crowded and blocked-up thoroughfares being 
 totally out of the question. The rain was falling in such torrents that 
 nothing could be seen a few yards off, when suddenly a pause of a few 
 seconds occurred, and from the clash of accoutrements, and the hoarse 
 tones of a loud voice, I judged that the body of men before us were 
 forming for attack. 
 
 Resolving, therefore, to take them by surprise, I gave the word to 
 charge, and, spurring our jaded cattle, onward we dashed. The mob 
 fled right and left from us as we came on ; and through the dense mist 
 we could just perceive a body of cavalry before us. 
 
 In an instant we were among them ; down they went on every side, 
 men and horses rolling pell-mell over each other not a blow, not a 
 shot striking us as we pressed on. Never did I witness such total con- 
 sternation : some threw themselves from their horses, and fled towards 
 the house ; others turned, and tried to fall back, but the increasing 
 pressure from behind held them, and finally succeeded in blocking us 
 up amongst them. 
 
 It was just at this critical moment that a sudden gleam of light from 
 a window fell upon the disordered mass, and to my astonishment 
 need not say, to my delight I perceived that they were Portuguese 
 troops. Before I had well time to halt my party, my convictions were 
 pretty well strengthened by hearing a well-known voice in the rear of 
 the mass call out :
 
 202 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Charge, ye devils ! charge, will ye ? illustrious Hidalgos ! cut them 
 down ! los infidelos sacrificados los scatter them like chaff ! " 
 
 One roar of laughter was my only answer to this energetic appeal 
 for my destruction, and the moment after the dry features and pleasant 
 face of old Monsoon beamed on me by the light of a pine torch he 
 carried in his right hand. 
 
 " Are they prisoners ? have they surrendered ? " inquired he, riding 
 up. " It is well for them ; we'd have made mincemeat of them other- 
 wise ; now they shall be well treated, and ransomed if they prefer." 
 
 " Gracios excellenze ! " said I, in a feigned voice. 
 
 " Give up your sword," said the Major, in an undertone. " You 
 behaved gallantly, but you fought against invincibles. Lord love them \ 
 but they are the most terrified invincibles." 
 
 I nearly burst aloud at this. 
 
 "It was a close thing which of us ran first," muttered the Major, as 
 he turned to give some directions to an aide-de-camp. " Ask them 
 who they are," said he, in Spanish. 
 
 By this time I came closely alongside of him, and placing my mouth 
 close to his ear, holloed out : 
 
 "Monsoon, old fellow, how goes the King of Spain's sherry?" 
 
 " Eh ! what why upon my life, and so it is Charley, my boy, so 
 it's you, is it egad, how good ; and we were so near being the death 
 of you ! My poor fellow, how came you here ? " 
 
 A few words of explanation sufficed to inform the Major why we 
 were there, and still more to comfort him with the assurance that he 
 had not been charging the General's staff, and the Commander-in-Chief 
 himself. 
 
 ' ' Upon my life, you gave me a great start ; though, as long as I 
 thought you were French, it was very well." 
 
 " True, Major, but certainly the invincibles were merciful as they 
 were strong." 
 
 ' ( They were tired, Charley, nothing more ; why, lad, we've been 
 fighting since daybreak ; beat Victor at six o'clock ; drove him back 
 behind the Tagus ; took a cold dinner, and had at him again in the 
 afternoon. Lord love you ! we immortalised ourselves ; but you must 
 never speak of this little business here ; it tells devilish ill for the dis- 
 cipline of your fellows, upon my life it does." 
 
 This was rather an original turn to give the transaction, but I did 
 not oppose ; and thus chatting, we entered the little inn, where, confi- 
 dence once restored, some semblance of comfort already appeared. 
 
 "And so you're come to reinforce us?" said Monsoon ; "there was 
 never anything more opportune ; though we surprised ourselves to-day 
 with valour, I don't think we could persevere." 
 
 " Yes, Major, the appointment gave me sincere pleasure ; to see a 
 little service under your orders, I greatly desired. Shall I present you 
 with my despatches ? " 
 
 " Not now, Charley not now, my lad. Supper is the first thing 
 at this moment; besides, now that you remind me, I must send off 
 a despatch myself. Upon my life, it's a great piece of fortune that 
 you're here ; you shall be Secretary at War, and write it for me ; here 
 now how lucky that I thought of it, to be sure ! and it was just a
 
 ALVAS 263 
 
 mere chance ; one has so many things " Muttering such broken 
 
 disjointed sentences, the Major opened a large portfolio with writing 
 materials, which he displayed before me as he rubbed his hands with 
 satisfaction, and said, " Write away, lad." 
 
 "But, my dear Major, you forget; I was not in the action. You 
 must describe ; 1 can only follow you." 
 
 " Begin then thus : 
 
 " ' HEADQUARTERS, ALVAS, June 26. 
 
 " < YOUR EXCELLENCY, Having learned from Don Alphonzo Xaviero 
 da Minto, an officer upon my personal staff ' 
 
 " Luckily sober at that moment 
 
 ' ' ' That the advanced guard of the eighth corps of the French 
 army ' 
 
 " Stay, though, was it the eighth ? Upon my life, I'm not quite 
 clear as to that ; blot the word a little and go on 
 
 " f That the corps, under Marshal Victor, had commenced a 
 
 forward movement towards Alcantara, I immediately ordered a flank 
 movement of the light infantry regiment to cover the bridge over the 
 Tagus. After breakfast ' 
 
 " I'm afraid, Major, that is not precise enough." 
 
 " ' Well, about eleven o'clock, the French skirmishers attacked, and 
 drove in our pickets that were posted in front of our position, and follow- 
 ing rapidly up with cavalry, they took a few prisoners, and killed old 
 Alphonzo ; he ran like a man, they say, but they caught him in the rear.' 
 
 " You needn't put that in, if you don't like. 
 
 " '1 now directed a charge of the cavalry brigade under Don Asturias 
 Y'Hajos, that cut them up in fine style. Our artillery, posted on the 
 heights, mowing away at their columns like fun. 
 
 " ' Victor didn't like this, and got into a wood, when we all went to 
 dinner : it was about two o'clock then. 
 
 " ( After dinner, the Portuguese light corps, under Silva da Onorha, 
 having made an attack upon the enemy's left, without my orders, got 
 devilishly well trounced, and served them right ; but coming up to 
 their assistance with the heavy brigade of guns, and the cavalry, we 
 drove back the French, and took several prisoners, none of whom we 
 put to death.' 
 
 " Dash that Sir Arthur likes respect for the usages of war Lord, 
 how dry I'm getting ! 
 
 " ' The French were soon seen to retire their heavy guns, and 
 speedily afterwards retreated. We pursued them for some time, but 
 they showed fight, and as it was getting dark I drew off my forces, 
 and came here to supper. Your Excellency will perceive, by the 
 enclosed return, that our loss has been considerable. 
 
 " ' I send this despatch by Don Emmanuel Forgales, whose ser- 
 vices ' 
 
 " I back him for mutton hash with onions against the whole regi- 
 ment 
 
 " ' Have been of a most distinguished nature, and beg to recommend 
 him to your Excellency's favour. I have the honour, &c.' 
 
 " Is it finished, Charley ? Egad, I'm glad of it, for here conies supper."
 
 264 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 The door opened as he spoke, and displayed a tempting tray of 
 smoking viands, flanked by several bottles an officer of the Major's 
 staff accompanied it, and showed, by his attentions to the etiquette of 
 the table, and the proper arrangement of the meal, that his functions 
 in his superior's household were more than military. 
 
 We were speedily joined by two others in rich uniform, whose names 
 I now forget, but to whom the Major presented me in all form ; in- 
 troducing me, as well as I could interpret his Spanish, as his most 
 illustrious ally and friend, Don Carlos O'Malley. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV 
 
 THE SUPPER 
 
 I HAVE often partaken of more luxurious cookery and rarer wines ; 
 but never do 1 remember enjoying a more welcome supper than on this 
 occasion. 
 
 Our Portuguese guests left us soon, and the Major and myself were 
 once more tete-a-tete beside a cheerful fire ; a well-chosen array of 
 bottles guaranteeing that, for some time at least, no necessity of leave- 
 taking should arise from any deficiency of wine. 
 
 " That sherry is very near the thing, Charley ; a little, a very little 
 sharp ; but the after-taste perfect : and now, my buy, how have you 
 been faring since we parted t " 
 
 "Not so badly, Major. I have already got a step in promotion. 
 The affair at the Douro gave me a lieutenancy." 
 
 ' I wish you joy with all my heart. I'll call you captain always 
 while you're with me. Upon my life, I will. Why, man, they style 
 me your Excellency here. Bless your heart ! we are great folk among 
 the Portuguese ; and had no bad service after all." 
 
 " I should think not, Major. You seem to have always made a good 
 thing of it." 
 
 " No, Charley ; no, my boy. They overlook us greatly in general 
 orders and despatches. Had the brilliant action of to-day been 
 fought by the British but no matter ; they may behave well in 
 England, after all ; and, when I'm called to the Upper House as Baron 
 Monsoon of the Tagus is that better than Lord Alcantara ? " 
 
 " I prefer the latter." 
 
 "Well, then, I'll have it. Lord ! what a treaty I'll move for with 
 Portugal, to let us have wine cheap. Wine, you know, as David says, 
 gives us a pleasant countenance ; and oil I forget what oil does, 
 pass over the decanter. And how is Sir Arthur, Charley? A fine 
 fellow, but sadly deficient in knowledge of the supplies. Never would 
 have made any character in the commissariat. Bless your heart, he 
 pays for everything here as if he were in Cheapside." 
 
 "How absurd, to be sure !" 
 
 " Isn't it, though ? That was not my way, when I was commissary- 
 general about a year or two ago. To be sure, how I did puzzle them ! 
 They tried to audit my accounts : and what do you think I did ? I
 
 THE SUPPER 265 
 
 brought them in three thousand pounds in my debt. They never 
 tried on that game any more. ( No ! no !' said the Junta, 'Beresford 
 and Monsoon are great men, and must be treated with respect.' Do 
 you think we'd let them search our pockets ? But the rogues doubled 
 ou us after all ; they sent us to the northward, a poor country " 
 
 " So that, except a little commonplace pillage of the convents and 
 nunneries, you had little or nothing ? " 
 
 " Exactly so ; and then I got a great shock about that time, that 
 affected my spirits for a considerable while." 
 
 " Indeed, Major ! some illness?" 
 
 " No, I was quite well ; but Lord ! how thirsty it makes me to think 
 of it ! my throat is absolutely parched, I was near being hanged ! " 
 
 "Hanged !" 
 
 "Yes. Upon my life it's true very horrible, ain't it? It had a 
 great effect upon my nervous system ; and they never thought of any 
 little pension to me as a recompense for my sufferings." 
 
 " And who was barbarous enough to think of such a thing, Major ? " 
 
 "Sir Arthur Wellesley himself; none other, Charley." 
 
 "Oh, it was a mistake, Major, or a joke." 
 
 "It was devilish near being a practical one, though. I'll tell you 
 how it occurred. After the battle of Vimeira, the brigade to which I 
 was attached had their headquarters at San Pietro, a large convent 
 where all the church plate for miles around was stored up for safety. 
 A sergeant's guard was accordingly stationed over the refectory, and 
 every precaution taken to prevent pillage, Sir Arthur himself having 
 given particular orders on the subject. Well, somehow, 1 never could 
 find out how, but, in leaving the place, all the waggons of our brigade 
 had got some trifling articles of small value scattered, as it might be, 
 among their stores gold cups, silver candlesticks, Virgin Marys, ivory 
 crucifixes, saints' eyes set in topazes, and martyrs' toes in silver fila- 
 gree, and a hundred other similar things. 
 
 " One of these confounded bullock-cars broke down just at the angle 
 of the road where the Commander-in-Chief was standing with his staff 
 to watch the troops defile, and out rolled, among bread rations and salt 
 beef, a whole avalanche of precious relics and church ornaments. 
 Every one stood aghast ! Never was there such a misfortune. No 
 one endeavoured to repair the mishap ; but all looked on in terrified 
 amazement as to what was to follow. 
 
 " ' Who has the command of this detachment?' shouted out Sir 
 Arthur, in a voice that made more than one of us tremble. 
 
 " ' Monsoon, your Excellency Major Monsoon, of the Portuguese 
 brigade,' 
 
 "'The d d old rogue ! I know him.' Upon my life, that's what 
 he said. ' Hang him up on the spot,' pointing with his finger as he 
 spoke ' we shall see if this practice cannot be put a stop to.' And 
 with these words he rode leisurely away, as if he had been merely 
 ordering dinner for a small party. 
 
 " When I came up to the place the halberts were fixed, and Gronow, 
 with a company of the Fusileers, under arms beside them. 
 
 " ' Devilish sorry for it, Major,' said lie. ' It's confoundedly un- 
 pleasant ; but cau't be helped. We've got orders to see you hanged ! '
 
 266 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Faith, it was just so he said it, tapping his suuff-box as he spoke, 
 aud looking carelessly about him. Now, had it not been for the fixed 
 halberts and the provost-marshal, I'd not have believed him ; but one 
 glance at them, and another at the bullock-cart with all the holy 
 images, told me at once what had happened. 
 
 " ' He only means to frighten me a little? Isn't that all, Gronow?' 
 cried I, in a supplicating voice. 
 
 " ' Very possibly, Major/ said he ; ' but I must execute my orders.' 
 
 ' e ' You'll surely not ' Before I could finish, up came Dan 
 
 Mackinnon cantering smartly. " Going to hang old Monsoon ; eh, 
 Gronow ? What fun ! ' 
 
 " 'Ain't it, though !' said I, half blubbering. 
 
 " ' Well, if you're a good Catholic, you may have your choice of a 
 saint, for, by Jupiter ! there's a strong muster of them here.' This 
 cruel allusion was made in reference to the gold and silver effigies that 
 lay scattered about the highway. 
 
 " ' Dan,' said I, in a whisper, ' intercede for me do, like a good 
 kind fellow. You have influence witli Sir Arthur." 
 
 " ' You old sinner,' said he ; ' it's useless.' 
 
 ft ' Dan, I'll forgive you the fifteen pounds. ' 
 
 " ' That you owe me,' said Dan, laughing. 
 
 " ' Who'll ever be the father to you I have been ? Who'll mix your 
 punch with burnt Madeira when I'm gone?' said I. 
 
 " ' Well, really, I am sorry for you, Monsoon. I say, Gronow, 
 don't tuck him up for a few minutes, I'll speak for the old villain, and 
 if I succeed, I'll wave my handkerchief.' 
 
 " Well, away went Dan at a full gallop. Gronow sat down on a 
 bank, and I fidgeted about in no very enviable frame of mind, the 
 confounded provost-marshal eyeing me all the while. 
 
 1 ' ' I can only give you five minutes more, Major,' said Gronow, 
 placing his watch beside him on the grass. I tried to pray a little, and 
 said three or four of Solomon's proverbs, when he again called out : 
 'There, you see it won't do ! Sir Arthur is shaking his head.' 
 
 ' ' ' What's that waving yonder ? ' 
 
 " 'The colours of the 6th Foot. Come, Major, off with your stock.' 
 
 fe ' Where is Dan now what is he doing ? ' for I could see nothing 
 myself. 
 
 <e ' He's riding beside Sir Arthur. They all seem laughing.' 
 
 " ' God forgive them ! what an awful retrospect this will prove to 
 some of them.' 
 
 "'Time's up,' said Gronow, j umpiug up and replacing his watch in 
 his pocket. 
 
 " ' Provost-marshal, be quick now ' 
 
 " 'Eh ! what's that? there, I see it waving ! there's a shout, too !' 
 
 " 'Ay, by Jove ! so it is ; well, you're saved this time, Major that's 
 the signal.' 
 
 "So saying, Gronow formed his fellows in line, and resumed his 
 march quite coolly, leaving me alone on the roadside to meditate over 
 martial law and my pernicious taste for relics. 
 
 " Well, Charley, this gave me a great shock, and I think, too, it must 
 have had a great effect upon Sir Arthur himself ; but, upon my life, he
 
 THE SUPPER 207 
 
 has wonderful nerves ; I met him one day afterwards at dinner in 
 Lisbon ; he looked at me very hard for a few seconds' Eh ! Monsoon ! 
 Major Monsoon, I think?' 
 
 " e Yes, your Excellency/ said I briefly, thinking how painful it 
 must be for him to meet me. 
 
 " ' Thought I had hanged you know I intended it no matter a 
 glass of wine with you.' 
 
 " Upon my life, that was all ; how easily some people can forgive 
 themselves ! But, Charley, my hearty, we are getting on slowly with 
 the tipple : are they all empty ? so they are ! let us make a sortie on 
 the cellar ; bring a candle with you, and come along." 
 
 We had scarcely proceeded a few steps from the door, when a most 
 vociferous sound of mirth arising from a neighbouring apartment 
 arrested our progress. 
 
 "Are the Dons so convivial, Major?" said I, as a hearty burst of 
 laughter broke forth at the moment. 
 
 " Upon my life, they surprise me ; I begin to fear they have taken 
 some of our wine." 
 
 We now perceived that the sounds of merriment came from the 
 kitchen, which opened upon a little courtyard. Into this we crept 
 stealthily, and approaching noiselessly to the window, obtained a peep 
 at the scene within. 
 
 Around a blazing fire, over which hung by a chain a massive iron 
 pot, sat a goodly party of some half-dozen people. One group lay in 
 dark shadow, but the others were brilliantly lighted up by the cheer- 
 ful blaze, and showed up a portly Dominican friar, with a beard down 
 to his waist; a buxom dark-eyed girl of some eighteen years; and 
 between the two, most comfortably leaning back with an arm round 
 each, no less a person than my trusty man, Mickey Free. 
 
 It was evident, from the alternate motion of his head, that his 
 attentions were evenly divided between the Church and the fair sex. 
 Although, to confess the truth, they seemed much more favourably 
 received by the latter than the former a brown earthen flagon ap- 
 pearing to absorb all the worthy monk's thoughts that he could spare 
 from the contemplation of heavenly objects. 
 
 " Mary, my darlin', don't be looking at me that way, through the 
 corner of your eye ; I know you're fond of me but the girls always 
 was you think I'm joking, but troth I wouldn't say a lie before the 
 holy man beside me ; sure I wouldn't, father?" 
 
 The friar grunted out something in reply, not very unlike, in sound 
 at least, a hearty anathema. 
 
 " Ah, then, isn't it yourself has the illigant time of it, father dear," 
 said he, tapping him familiarly upon his ample paunch, " and nothing 
 to trouble you ; the best of divarsion wherever you go, and whether 
 it's Badahos or Ballykilruddery, it's all one ; the women is fond of ye. 
 Father Murphy, the coadjutor in Scariff, was just such another as 
 yourself, and he'd coax the birds off the trees with the tongue of him. 
 Give us a pull at the pipkin before it's all gone, and I'll give you a 
 chant." 
 
 With this he seized the jar, and drained it to the bottom ; the smack 
 of his lips as he concluded, and the disappointed look of the friar, as
 
 208 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 he peered into the vessel, throwing the others once more into a loud 
 burst of laughter. 
 
 ' s And now, your rev'rence, a good chorus is all I'll ask, and you'll 
 not refuse it, for the honour of the Church." 
 
 So saying, he turned a look of most droll expression upon the monk, 
 and began the following ditty to the air of " St. Patrick was a Gentle- 
 man " : 
 
 " What an illigant life a friar leads, 
 
 With a fat round paunch before him ; 
 He mutters a prayer and counts his beads, 
 
 And all the women adore him. 
 It's little he's troubled to work or think, 
 
 Wherever devotion leads him : 
 A ' pater ' pays for his dinner and drink, 
 
 For the Church good luck to her ! feeds him. 
 
 From the cow in the field to the pig in the stye, 
 
 From the maid to the lady in satin, 
 They tremble wherever he turns an eye ; 
 
 He can talk to the devil in Latin ! 
 He's mighty severe to the ugly and ould, 
 
 And curses like mad when he's near 'em ; 
 But one beautiful trait of him, I've been tould, 
 
 The innocent craytures don't fear him. 
 
 It's little for spirits or ghosts he cares ; 
 
 For 'tis true, as the world supposes, 
 With an ave he'd make them march downstairs, 
 
 Av they dared to show their noses. 
 The devil himself 's afraid, 'tis said, 
 
 And dares not to deride him : 
 For ' angels make each night his bed. 
 
 And then lie down beside him.' " 
 
 A perfect burst of laughter from Monsoon prevented my hearing how 
 Mike's minstrelsy succeeded within doors but, when I looked again, I 
 found that the friar had decamped, leaving the field open to his rival 
 a circumstance, I could plainly perceive, not disliked by either party. 
 
 " Come back, Charley that villain of yours has given me the cramp, 
 standing here on the cold pavement. We'll have a little warm posset 
 very small thin, as they say in 'Tom Jones,' and then to bed." 
 
 Notwithstanding the abstemious intentions of the Major, it was day- 
 break ere we separated, and neither party in a condition for performing 
 upon the tight-rope. 
 
 CHAPTER LV 
 
 THE LEGION 
 
 MY services, while with the Legion, were of no very distinguished 
 character, and require no lengthened chronicle. Their great feat of 
 arms, the repulse of an advanced guard of Victor's corps, had taken 
 place the very morning I had joined them, and the ensuing mouth was 
 passed iu soft repose upon their laurels.
 
 THE LEGION 269 
 
 For the first few days, indeed, a multiplicity of cares beset the 
 worthy Major. There was a despatch to be written to Beresford 
 another to the Supreme. Junta a letter to Wilson, at that time with a 
 corps of observation to the eastward. There were some wounded to 
 be looked after a speech to be made to the conquering heroes them- 
 selves and, lastly, a few prisoners were taken, whose fate seemed 
 certainly to partake of the most uncertain of war's proverbial chances. 
 
 The despatches gave little trouble ; with some very slight altera- 
 tions, the great original, already sent forward to Sir Arthur, served as 
 a basis for the rest. The wounded were forwarded to Alcantara, with 
 a medical staff, to whom Monsoon, at parting, pleasantly hinted, that 
 he expected to see all the sick at their duty by an early day, or he 
 would be compelled to report the doctors. The speech, which was in- 
 tended as a kind of general order, he deferred for some favourable 
 afternoon, when he could get up his Portuguese ; and lastly came the 
 prisoners, by far the most difficult of all his cares. As for the few 
 common soldiers taken, they gave him little uneasiness ; as Sir John 
 has it, they ' ' were mortal men, and food for powder ; " but there was 
 a staff-officer among them, aiguilletted and epauletted. The very 
 decorations he wore were no common temptation. Now the Major 
 deliberated a long time with himself, whether the usages of modern 
 war might not admit of the ancient time-honoured practice of ransom. 
 The battle, save in glory, had been singularly unproductive plunder 
 there was none the few ammunition-waggons and gun-carriages were 
 worth little or nothing ; so that, save the prisoners, nothing remained. 
 It was late in the evening the mellow hour of the Major's meditations 
 when he ventured to open his heart to me upon the matter. 
 
 " I was just thinking, Charley, how very superior they were in olden 
 time to us moderns in many matters, and nothing more than in their 
 treatment of prisoners. They never took them away from their friends 
 and country : they always ransomed them if they had wherewithal to 
 pay their way. So good-natured upon my life it was a most excellent 
 custom. They took any little valuables they found about them, and 
 then put them up at auction. Moses and Eleazar, a priest, we are told, 
 took every piece of gold, and their wrought jewels meaning their 
 watches and earrings. You needn't laugh, they all wore earrings, those 
 fellows did. Now, why shouldn't I profit by their good example? I 
 have taken Agag, the King of the Amalekites no, but, upon my life, 
 I have got a French major, and I'd let him go for fifty doubloons." 
 
 It was not without much laughing and some eloquence that I could 
 persuade Monsoon that Sir Arthur's military notions might not accept 
 of even the authority of Moses ; and, as our headquarters were at no 
 great distance, the danger of such a step as he meditated was too con- 
 siderable at such a moment. 
 
 As for ourselves, no fatiguing drills, no harassing field-days, and no 
 provoking inspections, interfered with the easy current of our lives. 
 Foraging parties there were, it is true, and some occasional outpost 
 duty was performed ; but the officers for both were selected with a 
 tact that proved the Major's appreciation of character ; for while the 
 gay joyous fellow that sung a jovial song and loved his liquor was 
 certain of being entertained at headquarters, the less-gifted and less
 
 270 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 congenial spirit had the happiness of scouring the country for forage, 
 and presenting himself as a target to a French rifle. 
 
 My own endeavours to fulfil my instructions met with but little 
 encouragement or support : and, although I laboured hard at my task, 
 I must confess that the soil was a most ungrateful one. The cavalry 
 were, it is true, composed mostly of young fellows well appointed, and 
 in most cases well mounted ; but a more disorderly, careless, undisci- 
 plined set of good-humoured fellows never formed a corps in the world. 
 
 Monsoon's opinions were felt in every branch of the service, from 
 the Adjutant to the drum-boy the same reckless, indolent, plunder- 
 loving spirit prevailed everywhere. And although, under fire, they 
 showed no lack of gallantry or courage, the moment of danger passed, 
 discipline departed with it, and their only conception of benefiting by 
 a victory consisted in the amount of pillage that resulted from it. 
 
 From time to time the rumours of great events reached us. We 
 heard that Soult, having succeeded in reorganising his beaten army, 
 was, in conjunction with Ney's corps, returning from the north ; that 
 the marshals were consolidating their forces in the neighbourhood of 
 Talavera, and that King Joseph himself, at the head of a large army, 
 had marched for Madrid. 
 
 Menacing as such an aspect of affairs was, it had little disturbed the 
 Major's equanimity ; and when our advanced posts reported daily the 
 intelligence that the French were in retreat, he cared little with what 
 object of concentrating they retired, provided the interval between us 
 grew gradually wider. His speculations upon the future were singu- 
 larly prophetic. " You'll see, Charley, what will happen ; old Cuesta 
 will pursue them, and get thrashed. The English will come up, and, 
 perhaps, get thrashed too ; but we God bless us ! are only a small 
 force, partially organised and ill to depend on : we'll go up the 
 mountains till all is over." Thus did the Major's discretion not only 
 extend to the avoidance of danger, but he actually disqualified himself 
 from ever making its acquaintance. 
 
 Meanwhile, our operations consisted in making easy marches to 
 Almarez, halting wherever the commissariat reported a well-stocked 
 cellar or well-furnished hen-roost ; taking the primrose path in life, 
 and being, in the words of the Major, " contented and grateful, even 
 amid great perils ! " 
 
 CHAPTER LVI 
 
 THE DEPARTURE 
 
 ON the morning of the 10th July a despatch reached us announcing 
 that Sir Arthur Wellesley had taken up his headquarters at Placentia, 
 for the purpose of communicating with Cuesta, then at Casa del Puerto, 
 and ordering me immediately to repair to the Spanish headquarters, 
 and await Sir Arthur's arrival, to make my report upon the effective 
 state of our corps. As for me, I was heartily tired of the inaction of 
 my present life, and, much as I relished the eccentricities of my friend 
 the Major, longed ardently for a different sphere of action.
 
 THE DEPARTURE 271 
 
 Not so Monsoon : the prospect of active employment, and the 
 thoughts of heing left once more alone for his Portuguese staff 
 afforded him little society depressed him greatly, and, as the hour of 
 my departure drew near, he appeared lower in spirits than I had ever 
 seen him. 
 
 " 1 shall be very lonely without you, Charley," said he, with a sigh, 
 as we sat the last evening together beside our cheerful wood fire. " I 
 have little intercourse with the Dons ; for my Portuguese is none of 
 the best, and only comes when the evening is far advanced, and, be- 
 sides, the villains, I fear, may remember the sherry affair. Two of 
 my present staff were with me then." 
 
 " Is that the story Power so often alluded to, Major, the King of 
 Spain's " 
 
 " There, Charley, hush : be cautious, my boy ; I'd rather not speak 
 about that till we get amongst our own fellows." 
 
 "Just as you like, Major; but, do you know, I have a strong 
 curiosity to hear the narrative." 
 
 " If I am not mistaken there is some one listening at the door : 
 gently ; that's it, eh ? " 
 
 " No ; we are perfectly alone ; the night's early ; who knows when 
 we shall have as quiet an hour again together ? Let me hear it, by all 
 means." 
 
 " Well, I don't care ; the thing, Heaven knows ! is tolerably well 
 known ; so, if you'll amuse yourself making a devil of the turkey's 
 legs there, I'll tell you the story. It's very short, Charley, and there's 
 no moral ; so you're not likely to repeat it" 
 
 So saying, the Major filled up his glass, drew a little closer to the 
 fire, and began. 
 
 ' ' When the French troops under Laborde were marching upon 
 Alcobaca, in concert with Loison's corps, I was ordered to convey a 
 very valuable present of sherry the Due d'Albuquerque was making to 
 the Supreme Junta no less than ten hogsheads of the best sherry 
 the royal cellars of Madrid had formerly contained. 
 
 1 ' It was stored in the San Vincente convent ; and the Junta, know- 
 ing a little about monkish tastes and the wants of the Church, pru- 
 dently thought it would be quite as well at Lisbon. I was accordingly 
 ordered, with a sufficient force to provide for its safe conduct and 
 secure arrival, and set out upon my march one lovely morning in April 
 with my precious convoy. 
 
 " I don't know, I never could understand, why temptations are 
 thrown in our way in this life, except for the pleasure of yielding to 
 them. As for me, I'm a stoic when there's nothing to be had ; but 
 let me get a scent of a well-kept haunch, the odour of a wine-bin once 
 in my nose, I forget everything except appropriation. That bone 
 smells deliciously, Charley ; a little garlic would improve it vastly. 
 
 "Our road lay through cross paths and mountain tracts for the 
 French were scouring the country on every side and my fellows, 
 only twenty altogether, trembled at the very name of them ; so that 
 our only chance was to avoid falling in with any forage parties. We 
 journeyed along for several days, rarely making more than a few 
 leagues between sunrise and sunset, a scout always in advance to assure
 
 272 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 us that all was safe. The road was a lonesome one and the way weary 
 for I had no one to speak to or converse with so I fell into a kind 
 of musing fit about the old wine in the great brown casks : I thought 
 on its lucious flavour, its rich straw tint, it's oily look as it flowed into 
 the glass, the mellow after-taste, warming the heart as it went down, 
 and I absolutely thought I could smell it through the cask. 
 
 " How I longed to broach one of them, if it were only to see if my 
 dreams about it were correct ; ' Maybe it's brown sherry,' thought I, 
 ' and I am all wrong.' This was a very distressing reflection : I men- 
 tioned it to the Portuguese Intendant, who travelled with us as a kind 
 of supercargo ; but the villain only grinned, and said something about 
 the Junta and the galleys for life ; so I did not recur to it afterwards. 
 Well, it was upon the third evening of our march that the scout 
 reported that at Merida, about a league distant, we harl fallen in with 
 an English cavalry regiment, who were on their march to the northern 
 provinces, and remaining that night in the village. As soon, therefore, 
 as I had made all my arrangements for the night, I took a fresh horse 
 and cantered over to have a look at my countrymen, and hear the 
 news. When I arrived it was dark night ; but I was not long in 
 finding out our fellows: they were the llth Light Dragoons, com- 
 manded by my old friend Bowes, and with as jolly a mess as any in 
 the service. 
 
 " Before half-an-hour's time I was in the midst of them, hearing all 
 about the campaign, and telling them in return about my convoy 
 dilating upon the qualities of the wine as if I had been drinking it 
 every day at dinner. 
 
 " We had a very mellow night of it, and before four o'clock the 
 senior major and four captains were under the table, and all the subs 
 in a state unprovided for by the articles of war. So I thought I'd be 
 going, and wishing the sober ones a good-bye, set out on my road to 
 join my own party. 
 
 ' ' 1 had not gone above a hundred yards when I heard some one run- 
 ning after, and calling out my name. 
 
 " ' I say, Monsoon ; Major : confound you, pull up." 
 
 " ' Well, what's the matter ? has any more lush turned up ? ' inquired 
 I ; for we had drunk the tap dry when I left 
 
 " 'Not a drop, old fellow,' said he; 'but I was thinking of what 
 you've been saying about that sherry.' 
 
 " ' Well ! What then ? ' 
 
 " ' Why, I want to know how we could get a taste of it? ' 
 
 " ' You'd better get elected one of the Cortes,' said 1, laughing ; ' for 
 it does not seem likely you'll do so in any other way. ' 
 
 " ' I'm not so sure of that,' said he, smiling. ' What road do you 
 travel to-morrow ? ' 
 
 " ' By Cavalhos and Reina.' 
 
 " Whereabouts may you happen to be towards sunset ? ' 
 
 " ' I fear we shall be in the mountains,' said I, with a knowing look, 
 ' where ambuscades and surprise parties would be highly dangerous.' 
 
 " e And your party consists of ? ' 
 
 '"About twenty Portuguese, all ready to run at the first shot.' 
 
 " ' I'll do it, Monsoon ! I'll be hanged if I don't'
 
 THE DEPARTURE 273 
 
 " ' But, Tom/ said I, ' don't make any blunder ; only blank cartridge, 
 my boy.' 
 
 " ' Honour bright ! ' cried he ; ' your fellows are armed, of course ? ' 
 
 " ( Never think of that; they may shoot each other in the confu- 
 sion ; but, if you only make plenty of noise coming on, they'll never 
 wait for you.' 
 
 " ' What capital fellows they must be ! ' 
 
 " ' Crack troops, Tom ; so don't hurt them : and now good night.' 
 
 " As I cantered off, I began to think over O'Flaherty's idea, and, upon 
 my life, I didn't half like it ; he was a reckless, devil-may-care fellow, 
 and it was just as likely he would really put his scheme into practice. 
 
 ' ' When morning broke, however, we got under way again, and I 
 amused myself all the forenoon in detailing stories of French cruelty ; 
 so that, before we had marched ten miles, there was not a man 
 amongst us not ready to run at the slightest sound of attack on any 
 side. As evening was falling we reached Morento, a little mountain 
 pass which follows the course of a small river, and where, in many 
 places, the mule carts had barely space enough to pass between the 
 cliffs and the stream. 'What a place for Tom O'Flaherty and his 
 foragers ! ' thought I, as we entered the little mountain gorge ; but all 
 was silent as the grave ; except the tramp of our party, not a sound 
 was heard. There was something solemn and still in the great brown 
 mountain, rising like vast walls on either side, with a narrow streak of 
 grey sky at the top, and in the dark sluggish stream, that seemed to 
 awe us, and no one spoke ; the muleteer ceased his merry song, and 
 did not crack or flourish his long whip as before, but chid his beasts 
 in a half-muttered voice, and urged them faster, to reach the village 
 before nightfall. 
 
 " Egad, somehow I felt uncommonly uncomfortable ; I could not 
 divest my mind of the impression that some disaster was impending, 
 and I wished O'Flaherty and his project in a very warm climate. ' He'll 
 attack us,' thought I, ' where we can't run : fair play for ever ; but, if 
 they are not able to get away, even the militia will fight. ' However, 
 the evening crept on, and no sign of his coming appeared on any side, 
 and, to my sincere satisfaction, I could see, about half a league distant, 
 the twinkling light of the little village where we were to halt for the 
 night. It was just at this time that a scout I had sent out some few 
 hundred yards in advance came galloping up, almost breathless. 
 
 "'The French, captain ; the French are upon us !' said he, with a 
 face like a ghost. 
 
 " Whew T Which way? how many?' said I, not at all sure that he 
 might be telling the truth. 
 
 " ' Coming in force !' said the fellow ; ' Dragoons ! by this road.' 
 
 <e ' Dragoons ? By this road ? ' repeated every man of the party, 
 looking at each other like men sentenced to be hanged. 
 
 ' ' Scarcely had they spoken, when we heard the distant noise of 
 cavalry advancing at a brisk trot. Lord, what a scene ensued ! the 
 soldiers ran hither and thither like frightened sheep ; some pulled out 
 crucifixes and began to say their prayers ; others fired off their muskets 
 in a panic ; the mule drivers cut their traces, and endeavoured to get 
 away by riding ; and the Intendant took to his heels, screaming out to 
 
 s
 
 274 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 us, as he went, to fight manfully to the last, and that he'd report us 
 favourably to the Junta. 
 
 " Just at this moment the dragoons came in sight : they came gallop- 
 ing up, shouting like madmen. One look was enough for my fellows ; 
 they sprang to their legs from their devotions, fired a volley straight 
 at the new moon, and ran like men. 
 
 " I was knocked down in the rush ; as I regained my legs, Tom 
 O'Flaherty was standing beside me, laughing like mad. 
 
 " ' Eh, Monsoon ! I've kept my word, old fellow ! What legs they 
 have ! we shall make no prisoners, that's certain. Now, lads, here it 
 is ! put the horses to here. We shall take but one, Monsoon, so that 
 your gallant defence of the rest will please the Junta. Good night ! 
 good night ! J will drink your health every night these two months.' 
 
 "So saying, Tom sprang to his saddle, and in less time than I've 
 been telling it the whole was over, and I sitting by myself in the grey 
 moonlight, meditating on all I saw, and now and then shouting for my 
 Portuguese friends to come back again. They came in time, by twos 
 and threes, and at last the whole party reassembled, and we set forth 
 again every man, from the Intendant to the drummer, lauding my 
 valour, and saying that Don Monsoon was a match for the Cid." 
 
 " And how did the Junta behave ? " 
 
 " Like trumps, Charley. Made me a Knight of Battalha, and kissed 
 me on both cheeks, having sent twelve dozen of the rescued wine to my 
 quarters, as a small testimony of their esteem. I have laughed very often 
 at it since. But hush, Charley ! What's that I hear without there? " 
 
 (< Oh, it's my fellow, Mike. He asked my leave to entertain friends 
 before parting, and I perceive he is delighting them with a song." 
 
 ' ' But what a confounded air it is ! are the words Hebrew ? " 
 
 tl Irish, Major ; most classical Irish, too, I'll be bound." 
 
 " Irish ! I've heard most tongues ; but that certainly surprises me. 
 Call him in, Charley, and let us have the canticle." 
 
 In a few minutes more Mr. Free appeared in a state of very satis- 
 factory elevation, his eyebrows alternately rising and falling, his mouth 
 a little drawn to one side, and a side motion in his knee-joints that 
 might puzzle a physiologist to account for. 
 
 "A very sweet little song of yours, Mike," said the Major ; "a very 
 sweet thing, indeed. Wet your lips, Mickey." 
 
 " Long life to your honour, and Master Charles there too, and them 
 that belongs to both of yer. May a gooseberry skin make a nightcap 
 for the man that would harm either of yer." 
 
 " Thank you, Mike. And now about that song ? " 
 
 <e It's the ouldest tune ever was sung," said Mike, with a hiccup, 
 " barring Adam had a taste for music ; but the words the poethry is 
 hot so ould." 
 
 "And how comes that?" 
 
 "The poethry, ye see, was put to it by one of my ancesthors ; he 
 was a great inventhor in times past, and made beautiful songs ; and 
 ye'd never guess what it's all about" 
 
 "Love, mayhap?" quoth Monsoon. 
 
 " Sorry taste of kissing from beginning to end." 
 
 "A drinking song?" said I.
 
 THE DEPARTURE 278 
 
 "Whisky is never mentioned." 
 
 " Fighting is the only other national pastime. It must be in praise 
 of sudden death ? " 
 
 " You're out again ; but, sure, you'd nivver guess it/' said Mike. 
 " Well, ye see, here's what it is. It's the praise and glory of ould 
 Ireland in the great days that's gone, when we were all Phenayceans 
 and Armenians, and when we worked all manner of beautiful con- 
 trivances in goold and silver ; bracelets, and collars, and teapots, elegant 
 to look at ; and read Roosian and Latin, and played the harp and the 
 barrel-organ ; and ate and drank of the best, for nothing but asking." 
 
 " Blessed times, upon my life," quoth the Major. " I wish we had 
 them back again." 
 
 " There's more of your mind," said Mike, steadying himself. " My 
 ancesthors was great people in them days ; and, sure, it isn't in my 
 present situation I'd be, av we had them back again : sorra bit, faith ! 
 It isn't, 'Come here, Mickey bad luck to you, Mike !' or, 'That 
 blackguard, Mickey Free ! ' people'd be calling me. But no matter. 
 Here's your health again, Major Monsoon ' 
 
 " Never mind vain regrets, Mike. Let us hear your song : the 
 Major has taken a great fancy to it." 
 
 " Ah, then, it's joking you are, Mister Charles," said Mike, affecting 
 an air of most bashful coyness. 
 
 " By no means. We want to hear you sing it." 
 
 "To be sure we do. Sing it by all means. Never be ashamed. 
 King David was very fond of singing : upon my life he was." 
 
 " But you'd never understand a word of it, sir." 
 
 " No matter : we know what it's about. That's the way with the 
 Legion : they don't know much English, but they generally guess 
 what I'm at." 
 
 This argument seemed to satisfy all Mike's remaining scruples ; so, 
 placing himself in an attitude of considerable pretension as to grace, 
 he began, with a voice of no very measured compass, an air of -which, 
 neither by name nor otherwise, can I give any conception my principal 
 amusement being derived from a tol-de-rol chorus of the Major, which 
 concluded each verse, and, indeed, in a lower key, accompanied the 
 singer throughout. 
 
 Since that I have succeeded in obtaining a free-and-easy translation 
 of the lyric ; but, in my anxiety to preserve the metre and something 
 of the spirit of the original, I have made several blunders and many 
 anachronisms : Mr. Free, however, pronounces my version a good one, 
 and the world must take his word till some more worthy translator 
 shall have consigned it to immortal verse. 
 
 With this apology, therefore, I present Mr. Free's song : 
 
 Air " Na GuUloch y' Goulen." 
 
 I. 
 
 "Oh ! once we were illigant people, 
 
 Though wo now live in cabins of mud ; 
 And the land that yo see from the steeple 
 Belonged to us all from the flood,
 
 276 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 My father was then King of Connaught, 
 My grand-aunt Viceroy of Tralee ; 
 
 But the Sassenach came, and, signs on it I 
 The devil an acre have we. 
 
 The least of us then were all earls, 
 
 And jewels we wore without name ; 
 We drank punch out of rubies and pearls 
 
 Mr. Petrie can tell you the same. 
 But, except some turf mould and potatoes, 
 
 There's nothing our own we can call : 
 And the English bad luck to them ! hate us, 
 
 Because we've more fun than them all ! 
 
 in. 
 
 My grand-aunt was niece to St. Kevin, 
 
 That's the reason my name's Mickey Free ! 
 Priest's nieces but sure he's in Heaven, 
 
 And his failin's is nothing to me. 
 And we still might get on without doctors, 
 
 If they'd let the ould Island alone, 
 And if purple men, priests, and tithe-proctors, 
 
 Were crammed down the great gun of Athlone." 
 
 As Mike's melody proceeded, the Major's thorough bass waxed 
 beautifully less : now and then, it's true, roused by some momentary 
 strain, it swelled upwards in full chorus ; but gradually these passing 
 nights grew rarer, and finally all ceased, save a long, low, droning 
 sound, like the expiring sigh of a wearied bagpipe. His fingers still 
 continued mechanically to beat time upon the table, and still his head 
 nodded sympathetically to the music ; his eyelids closed in sleep, and, 
 as the last verse concluded, a full-drawn snore announced that Monsoon, 
 if not in the land of dreams, was, at least, in a happy oblivion of all 
 terrestrial concerns, and caring as little for the woes of green Erin 
 and the altered fortunes of the Free family as any Saxon that ever 
 oppressed them. 
 
 There he sat, the finished decanter and empty goblet testifying that 
 his labours had only ceased from the pressure of necessity ; but the 
 broken, half-uttered words that fell from his lips evinced that he 
 reposed on the last bottle of the series. 
 
 "Oh, thin, he's a fine ould gentleman !" said Mike, after a pause 
 of some minutes, during which he had been contemplating the Major 
 with all the critical acumen Chantrey or Canova would have bestowed 
 upon an antique statue : ' ' a fine ould gentleman, every inch of him ; 
 and it's the master would like to have him up at the Castle." 
 
 te Quite true, Mike ; but let us not forget the road. Look to the 
 cattle, and be ready to start within an hour." 
 
 When he left the room for this purpose, I endeavoured to shake the 
 Major into momentary consciousness ere we parted. 
 
 "Major, Major," said I, " time is up. I must start." 
 
 fe Yes, it's all true, your Excellency ; they pillaged a little ; and, if 
 they did change their facings, there was a great temptation. All the 
 red velvet they found in the churches "
 
 CUESTA 277 
 
 e< Good-bye, old fellow, good-bye ! " 
 
 " Stand at ease ! " 
 
 fe Can't, unfortunately, yet awhile : so farewell. I'll make a capital 
 report of the Legion to Sir Arthur ; shall I add anything particularly 
 from yourself? " 
 
 This, and the shake that accompanied it, aroused him : he started up, 
 and looked about him for a few seconds. 
 
 " Eh, Charley ! You didn't say Sir Arthur was here, did you ? " 
 
 " No, Major, don't be frightened ; he's many a league off. I asked 
 if you had anything to say when I met him ? " 
 
 " Oh yes, Charley. Tell him we've capital troops in our own little 
 way in the mountains ; would never do in pitched battles ; skirmishing's 
 our forte ; and, for cutting off stragglers or sacking a town, back them 
 at any odds." 
 
 "Yes, yes, I know all that : you've nothing more?" 
 
 " Nothing," said he, once more closing his eyes and crossing his 
 hands before him, while his lips continued to mutter on, " nothing 
 more, except you may say from me, he knows me, Sir Arthur does. 
 Tell him to guard himself from intemperance : a fine fellow if he 
 wouldn't drink." 
 
 " You horrid old humbug, what nonsense are you muttering 
 there ? " 
 
 ' ' Yes, yes ; Solomon says, ' Who hath red eyes and carbuncles ? ' 
 they that mix their lush. Pure Sneyd never injured any one. Tell 
 him so from me : it's an old man's advice, and I have drunk some 
 hogsheads of it." 
 
 With these words he ceased to speak, while his head, falling gently 
 forward upon his chest, proclaimed him sound asleep. 
 
 " Adieu ! then, for the last time," said I, slapping him gently on the 
 shoulder ; "and now for the road." 
 
 CHAFFER LVII 
 
 CUESTA 
 
 THE second day of our journey was drawing to a close as we came in 
 view of the Spanish army. 
 
 The position they occupied was an undulating plain beside the Teitar 
 river ; the country presented no striking feature of picturesque beauty, 
 but the scene before us needed no such aid to make it one of the most 
 interesting kind. From the little mountain path we travelled, we 
 beheld beneath a force of thirty thousand men drawn up in battle 
 array ; dense columns of infantry alternating with squadrons of horse 
 or dark masses of artillery dotted the wide plain, the bright steel 
 glittering in the rich sunset of a July evening, when not a breath of 
 air was stirring : the very banners hung down listlessly ; and not a 
 sound broke the solemn stillness of the hour. All was silent : so im- 
 pressive and so strange was the spectacle of the vast army thus resting 
 mutely under arms, that 1 reined in my horse and almost doubted the
 
 278 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 reality of the scene as I gazed upon it The dark shadows of the tall 
 mountain were falling across the valley, and a starry sky was already 
 replacing the ruddy glow of sunset as we reached the plain ; but still 
 no change took place in the position of the Spanish army. 
 
 ' ' Who goes there ? " cried a hoarse voice as we issued from the 
 mountain gorge, and in a moment we found ourselves surrounded by 
 an outpost party. Having explained as well as I was able who I was 
 and for what reason I was there, I proceeded to accompany the officer 
 towards the camp. 
 
 On my way thither I learned the reason of the singular display of 
 troops which had been so puzzling to me. From an early hour of that 
 day Sir Arthur Wellesley's arrival had been expected, and old Cuesta 
 had drawn up his men for inspection, and remained thus for several 
 hours patiently awaiting his coming ; he himself, overwhelmed with 
 years and infirmity, sitting upon his horse the entire time. 
 
 As it was not necessary that I should be presented to the general, 
 my report being for the ear of Sir Arthur himself, I willingly availed 
 myself of the hospitality proffered by a Spanish officer of cavalry ; 
 and, having provided for the comforts of my tired cattle and taken 
 a hasty supper, issued forth to look at the troops, which, although it 
 was now growing late, were still in the same attitude. 
 
 Scarcely had I been half-an-hour thus occupied, when the stillness 
 of the scene was suddenly interrupted by the loud report of a large 
 gun, immediately followed by a long roll of musketry, while, at the 
 same moment, the bands of the different regiments struck up ; and as 
 if by magic a blaze of red light streamed across the dark ranks ; this 
 was effected by pine torches held aloft at intervals, throwing a lurid 
 glow upon the grim and swarthy features of the Spaniards, whose 
 brown uniforms and slouching hats presented a most picturesque effect 
 as the red light fell upon them. 
 
 The swell of the thundering cannon grew louder and nearer ; the 
 shouldering of muskets, the clash of sabres, and the hoarse roll of 
 the drum, mingling in one common din. I at once guessed that Sir 
 Arthur had arrived, and, as I turned the flank of a battalion, I saw 
 the staff approaching. 
 
 Nothing can be conceived more striking than their advance. In the 
 front rode old Cuesta himself, clad in the costume of a past century ; 
 his slashed doublet and trunk hose reminding one of a more chivalrous 
 period ; his heavy, unwieldy figure looming from side to side, and 
 threatening at each moment to fall from his saddle. On each side of 
 him walked two figures gorgeously dressed, whose duty appeared to be 
 to sustain the chief in his seat. At his side rode a fai different figure : 
 mounted upon a slight-made, active thoroughbred, whose drawn flanks 
 bespoke a long and weary journey, sat Sir Arthur \V r ellesley, a plain 
 blue frock and grey trousers being his unpretending costume ; but the 
 eagle glance which he threw around on every side, the quick motion 
 of his hand as he pointed hither and thither among the dense battalions, 
 bespoke him every inch a soldier. Behind them came a brilliant staff, 
 glittering in aiguillettes and golden trappings, among whom I recog- 
 nised some well-remembered faces ; our gallant leader at the Douro, 
 Sir Charles Stewart, among the number.
 
 THE LKTTEll 279 
 
 As they passed the spot where I was standing 1 , the torch of a foot 
 soldier behind me flared suddenly out, and threw a strong flash upon 
 the party. Cuesta's horse grew frightened, and plunged so fearfully 
 for a minute, that the poor old man could scarcely keep his seat. A 
 smile shot across Sir Arthur's features at the moment ; but the next 
 instant he was grave and steadfast as before. 
 
 A wretched hovel, thatched and in ruins, formed the headquarters 
 of the Spanish army, and thither the staff now bent their steps ; a 
 supper being provided there for our Commander-in-Chief and the 
 officers of his suite. Although not of the privileged party I lingered 
 round the spot for some time, anxiously expecting to find some friend 
 or acquaintance, who might tell me the news of our people, and what 
 events had occurred in my absence. 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII 
 
 THE LETTER 
 
 THE hours passed slowly over, and I at length grew weary of waiting. 
 For some time I had amused myself with observing the slouching gait 
 and uusoldier-like air of the Spaniards as they lounged carelessly 
 about ; looking, in dress, gesture, and appointment, far more like a 
 guerilla than a regular force ; then, again, the strange contrast of the 
 miserable hut, with falling chimney and ruined walls, to the glitter of 
 the mounted guard of honour who sat motionless beside it, served to 
 pass the time ; but, as the night was already far advanced, I turned 
 towards my quarters, hoping that the next morning might gratify my 
 curiosity about my friends. 
 
 Beside the tent where I was billeted I found Mike in waiting, who, 
 the moment he saw me, came hastily forward with a letter in his hand. 
 An officer of Sir Arthur's staff had left it while I was absent, desiring 
 Mike on no account to omit its delivery the first instant he met me. 
 The hand not a very legible one was perfectly unknown to me, and 
 the appearance of the billet such as betrayed no over-scrupulous care 
 in the writer. 
 
 I trimmed my lamp leisurely, threw a fresh log upon the fire, dis- 
 posed myself completely at full length beside it, and then proceeded 
 to. form acquaintance with my unknown correspondent. I will not 
 attempt any description of the feelings which gradually filled me as I 
 read on. The letter itself will suggest them to those who know my 
 story. It ran thus : 
 
 "PLACENTIA, July 8th, 1809. 
 
 " DEAR O'MALLEY, Although I'd rather march to Lisbon barefoot 
 than write three lines, Fred Power insists upon my turning scribe, 
 as he has a notion you'll be up at Cuesta's headquarters about this 
 time. You're in a nice scrape, devil a lie in it ; here has Fred been 
 fighting that fellow Trevyllian for you : all because you would not have 
 patience and fight him yourself the morning you left the Douro. So 
 much for haste : let it be a lesson to you all your life.
 
 280 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ' ' Poor Fred got the ball in his hip, and the devil a one of the doctors 
 can find it ; but lie's getting better anyway, and going to Lisbon for 
 change of air. Meanwhile, since Power's been wounded, Trevyllian's 
 speaking very hardly of you, and they all say here you must come 
 back no matter how and put matters to rights. Fred has placed 
 the thing in my hands, and I'm thinking we'd better call out the 
 'heavies' by turns ; for most of them stand by Trevyllian. Maurice 
 Quill and myself sat up considering it last night ; but, somehow, we 
 don't clearly remember to-day a beautiful plan we hit upon : however, 
 we'll have at it again this evening. Meanwhile, come over here, and 
 let us be doing something. We hear that old Monsoon has blown 
 up a town, a bridge, and a big convent ; they must have been hiding 
 the plunder very closely, or he'd never have been reduced to such 
 extremities. We'll have a brush with the French soon. Yours most 
 eagerly, D. O'SHAUGHNESSY." 
 
 My first thought, as I ran my eye over these lines, was to seek for 
 Power's note, written on the morning we parted. I opened it, and to 
 my horror found that it only related to my quarrel with Hammersly. 
 My meeting with Trevyllian had been during Fred's absence, and 
 when he assured me that all was satisfactorily arranged, and a full 
 explanation tendered, that nothing interfered with my departure I 
 utterly forgot that he was only aware of one-half my troubles ; and, 
 in the haste and bustle of my departure, had not a moment left me to 
 collect myself and think calmly on the matter. The two letters lay 
 before me, and, Jis I thought over the stain upon my character thus 
 unwittingly incurred the blast I have thrown upon my reputation, 
 the wound of my poor friend, who exposed himself for my sake I 
 grew sick at heart, and the bitter tears of agony burst from my 
 eyes. 
 
 That weary night passed slowly over ; the blight of all my prospects 
 when they seemed fairest and brightest, presented itself to me in a 
 hundred shapes ; and when, overcome by fatigue and exhaustion, I 
 closed my eyes to sleep, it was only to follow up in my dreams my 
 waking thoughts. Morning came at length ; but its bright sunshine 
 and balmy air brought no comfort to me : I absolutely dreaded to 
 meet my brother officers ; I felt that in such a position as I stood no 
 half or partial explanation could suffice to set me right in their estima- 
 tion : and yet, what opportunity had I for aught else ? Irresolute 
 how to act I sat leaning my head upon my hands, when I heai-d a 
 footstep approach. I looked up, and saw before me no other than my 
 poor friend Sparks, from whom I had been separated so long. Any 
 other adviser at such a moment would, I acknowledge, have been as 
 welcome ; for the poor fellow knew but little of the world and still 
 less of the service. However, one glance convinced me that his heart 
 at least was true, and I shook his outstretched hand with delight. In 
 a few words he informed me that Merivale had secretly commissioned 
 him to come over in the hope of meeting me ; that, although all the 14th 
 men were persuaded that I was not to blame in what had occurred, 
 yet that reports so injurious had gone abroad, so many partial and im- 
 perfect statements were circulated, that nothing but my return to head-
 
 MAJOR O'SHAUGHNESSY 281 
 
 quarters would avail, and that I must not lose a moment in having 
 Trevyllian out, with whom all the misrepresentation had originated. 
 
 "This, of course," said Sparks, "is to be a secret; Merivale being 
 our Colonel " 
 
 "Of course/' said I, "he cannot countenance, much less counsel, 
 such a proceeding. Now, then, for the road." 
 
 ' ( Yes ; but you cannot leave before making your report. Gordon 
 expects to see you at eleven ; he told me so last night." 
 
 " I cannot help it : I shall not wait ; my mind is made up. My 
 career here matters but little in comparison with this horrid charge. 
 I shall be broke, but I shall be avenged." 
 
 "Come, come, O'Malley ; you are in our hands now, and you must 
 be guided. You ahull wait ; you shall see Gordon : half-an-hour will 
 make your report, and I have relays of horses along the road, and we 
 shall reach I'lacentia by nightfall." 
 
 There was a tone of firmness in this, so unlike anything I ever looked 
 for in the speaker, arid withal so much of foresight and precaution, 
 that I could scarcely credit my senses as he spoke. Having at length 
 agreed to his proposal, Sparks left me to think over my return to the 
 Legion, promising that immediately after my interview with the mili- 
 tary secretary we should start together for headquarters. 
 
 CHAFFER LIX 
 
 MAJOR O'SHAUGHNESSY 
 
 " THIS is Major O'Shaughnessy's quarters, sir," said a sergeant, as he 
 stopped short at the door of a small low house in the midst of an olive 
 plantation ; an Irish wolf-dog the well-known companion of the Major 
 lay stretched across the entrance watching with eager and bloodshot 
 eyes the process of cutting up a bullock, which two soldiers in undress 
 jackets were performing within a few yards of the spot. 
 
 Stepping cautiously across the savage-looking sentinel, I entered the 
 little hall, and, finding no one near, passed into a small room, the door 
 of which lay half open. 
 
 A very palpable odour of cigars and brandy proclaimed, even with- 
 out his presence, that this was O'Shaughnessy's sitting-room ; so I sat 
 myself down upon an old-fashioned sofa to wait patiently for his return, 
 which I heard would be immediately after the evening parade. Sparks 
 had become knocked up during our ride ; so that for the last three 
 leagues I was alone, and, like most men in such circumstances, 
 pressed on only the harder. Completely worn out for want of rest, I 
 had scarcely placed myself on the sofa when I fell sound asleep. When 
 I awoke all was dark around me, save the faint flickering of the wood 
 embers on the hearth, and for some moments I could not remember 
 where I was : but by degrees recollection came, and, as I thought 
 over my position and its possible consequences, I was again nearly 
 dropping to sleep, when the door suddenly opened and a heavy step 
 sounded on the floor.
 
 282 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I lay still and spoke not as a large figure in a cloak approached the 
 fireplace, and stooping down, endeavoured to light a candle at the fast 
 expiring fire. 
 
 I had little difficulty in detecting the Major, even by the half light : 
 a muttered execration upon the caudle, given with an energy that only 
 an Irishman ever bestows upon slight matters, soon satisfied me on 
 this head. 
 
 " May the devil fly away with the commissary and the chandler to 
 the forces ! Ah ! you've lit at last." 
 
 With these words he stood up, and his eyes falling on me at the 
 moment, he sprang a yard or two backwards, exclaiming as he did 
 so, " The blessed Virgin be near us, what's this ? " a most energetic 
 crossing of himself accompanying his words. My pale and haggard 
 face, when suddenly presented to his, having suggested to the worthy 
 Major the impression of a supernatural visitor : a hearty burst of 
 laughter, which I could not resist, was my only answer ; and the next 
 moment O'Shaughnessy was wrenching my hand in a grasp like a 
 steel vice. 
 
 " Upon my conscience, I thought it was your ghost ; and, if you 
 kept quiet a minute longer, I was going to promise you Christian 
 burial, and as many masses for your soul as my uncle the bishop could 
 say between this and Easter. How are you, my boy ? a little thin 
 and something paler, I think, than when you left us." 
 
 Having assured him that fatigue and hunger were in a great measure 
 the cause of my sickly looks, the Major proceeded to place before me 
 the debris of his day's dinner, with a sufficiency of bottles to satisfy a 
 mess-table, keeping up as he went a running fire of conversation. 
 
 "I'm as glad as if the Lord took the senior major, to see you here 
 this night. With the blessing of Providence, we'll shoot Trevylliau 
 in the morning, and any more of the heavies that like it. You are an 
 ill-treated man, that's what it is; and Dan O'Shaughnessy says it. 
 Help yourself, my boy : crusty old port in that bottle as ever you 
 touched your lips to. Power's getting all right. It was contract 
 powder, warranted not to kill. Bad luck to the commissaries once 
 more ! With such ammunition Sir Arthur does right to trust most 
 to the bayonet. And how is Monsoon, the old rogue ? " 
 
 " Gloriously : living in the midst of wine and olives." 
 
 "No fear of him, the old sinner : but he is a fine fellow, after all ! 
 Charley, you are eating nothing, boy." 
 
 "To tell you the truth, I'm far more anxious to talk with you at 
 this moment than aught else." 
 
 "So you shall: the night's young. Meanwhile, I had better not 
 delay matters : you want to have Trevylliau out : is not that so ? " 
 
 " Of course you are aware how it happened ? " 
 
 " I know everything. Go on with your supper, and don't mind me ; 
 I'll be back in twenty minutes or less." 
 
 Without waiting for any reply, he once more threw his cloak around 
 him, and strode out of the room. Once more I was alone : but already 
 my frame of mind was altered : the cheering tone of my reckless 
 gallant countryman had raised my spirits, and I felt animated by his 
 very manner.
 
 MAJOR O'SHAUGHNESSY 283 
 
 An hour elapsed before the Major returned, and when he did come, 
 his appearance and gestures bespoke anger and disappointment. He 
 threw himself hurriedly into a seat, and for some minutes never 
 spoke. 
 
 " The world's beautifully changed, anyhow, since I began it, O'Malley 
 when you thanked a man civilly that asked you to fight him : the 
 devil take the cowards, say I." 
 
 " What has happened ? tell me, I beseech you ! " 
 
 " He won't fight/' said the Major, blurting out the words as if they 
 would choke him. 
 
 " He'll not fight ! and why?" 
 
 The Major was silent : he seemed confused and embarrassed ; he 
 turned from the fire to the table, from the table to the fire, filled out a 
 glass of wine, drank it hastily off, and springing from his chair paced 
 the room with long impatient strides. 
 
 " My dear O'Shaughnessy, explain, I beg of you. Does he refuse to 
 meet me for any reason " 
 
 " He does," said the Major, turning on me a look of deep feeling as 
 he spoke ; " and he does it to ruin you, my boy ; but, as sure as my 
 name is Dan, he'll fail this time. He was sitting with his friend Beau- 
 fort when I reached his quarters, and received me with all the cere- 
 monious politeness he well knows how to assume. I told him in a few 
 words the object of my visit ; upon which Trevyllian, standing up, 
 referred me to his friend for a reply, and left the room. I thought 
 that all was right, and sat down to discuss, as I believed, preliminaries, 
 when the cool puppy, with his back to the fire, carelessly lisped out, 
 ' It can't be, Major, your friend is too late !' 
 
 " ' Too late ! too late ? ' said I. 
 
 " ' Yes, precisely so : not up to time ; the affair should have come 
 off some six weeks since. We won't meet him now.' 
 
 " e This is really your answer ?' 
 
 " ' This is really my answer ; and not only so, but the decision of 
 our mess.' 
 
 " What I said after this he may remember. Devil take me if / can ; 
 but I have a vague recollection of saying something that the aforesaid 
 mess will never petition the Horse Guards to put on their regimental 
 colours : and here I am " 
 
 With these words the Major gulped down a full goblet of wine, and 
 once more resumed his walk through the room. I shall not attempt 
 to record the feelings which agitated me during the Major's recital. 
 In one rapid glance I saw the aim of my vindictive enemy. My 
 honour, not my life, was the object he sought for ; and ten thousand 
 times more than ever did I pant for the opportunity to confront him 
 in a deadly combat. 
 
 " Charley," said O'Shaughnessy, at length, placing his hand upon 
 my shoulder, " you must get to bed now nothing more can be done 
 to-night in any way. Be assured of one thing, my boy: I'll not 
 desert you ; and if that assurance can give you a sound sleep, you'll 
 not need a lullaby."
 
 284 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER LX 
 
 PRELIMINARIES 
 
 I AWOKE refreshed on the following morning, and came down to break- 
 fast with a lighter heart than I had even hoped for ; a secret feeling 
 that all would go well had somehow taken possession of me, and 1 
 longed for O'Shaughnessy's coming, trusting that he might be able to 
 confirm my hopes. His servant informed me that the Major had been 
 absent since daybreak, and left orders that he was not to be waited 
 for at breakfast. 
 
 I was not destined, however, to pass a solitary time in his absence ; 
 for every moment brought some new arrival to visit me, and during 
 the morning the Colonel and every officer of the regiment not on actual 
 duty came over. I soon learned that the feeling respecting Trevyllian's 
 conduct was one of unmixed condemnation among my own corps ; but 
 that a kind of party spirit which had subsisted for some months between 
 the regiment he belonged to and the 14th had given a graver character 
 to the affair, and induced many men to take up his views of the trans- 
 action ; and although I heard of none who attributed my absence to 
 any dislike to a meeting, yet there were several who conceived that, 
 by not going at the time, I had forfeited all claim to satisfaction at 
 his hands. 
 
 "Now that Merivale is gone," said an officer to me as the Colonel 
 left the room, " I may confess to you that he sees nothing to blame in 
 your conduct throughout, and even had you been aware of how matters 
 were circumstanced, your duty was too imperative to have preferred 
 your personal considerations to it ! " 
 
 " Does any one know where Conyers is ? " said Baker. 
 
 " The story goes that Conyers can assist us here. Couyers is at 
 Zarza la Mayor with the 28th : but what can he do ? " 
 
 " That I'm not able to tell you ; but I know O'Shaughnessy heard 
 something at parade this morning, and has set off in search of him on 
 every side." 
 
 " Was Conyers ever out with Trevyllian ? " 
 
 " Not as a principal, I believe. The report is, however, that he 
 knows more about him than other people, as Tom certainly does of 
 everybody." 
 
 " It is rather a new thing for Trevyllian to refuse a meeting. They 
 say, O'Malley, he has heard of your shooting ! " 
 
 " No, no," says another, " he cares very little for any man's pistol. 
 If the story be true, he fires a second or two before his adversary ; at 
 least, it was in that way he killed Carysfort ! " 
 
 " Here comes the great O'Shaughnessy ! " cried some one at the 
 window ; and the next moment the heavy gallop of a horse was heard 
 along the causeway. 
 
 In an instant we all rushed to the door to receive him. 
 
 " It's all right, lads ! " cried he, as he came up ; ( ' we have him this 
 time."
 
 ALL RIGHT 285 
 
 " How ? when ? why ? In what way have you managed ? " fell from 
 a dozen voices, as the Major elbowed his way through the crowd to 
 the sitting-room. 
 
 " In the first place," said O'Shaughnessy, drawing a long breath, ' ( I 
 have promised secrecy as to the steps of this transaction : secondly, if 
 I hadn't, it would puzzle me to break it ; for I'll be hanged if I know 
 more than yourselves. Tom Conyers wrote me a few lines for 
 Trevyllian ; and Trevylliaii pledges himself to meet our friend ; and 
 that's all we need know or care for." 
 
 (f Then you have seen Trevyllian this morning ? " 
 
 "No, Beaufort met me at the village : but even now it seems this 
 affair is never to come off. Trevyllian has been sent with a forage 
 party towards Lesca : however, that can't be a long absence. But, for 
 Heaven's sake ! let me have some breakfast." 
 
 While O' Shau ghnessy proceeded to the attack of the viands before 
 him, the others chatted about in little groups ; but all wore the pleased 
 and happy looks of men who had rescued their friend from a menaced 
 danger. As for myself, my heart swelled with gratitude to the kind 
 fellows around me. 
 
 e< How has Conyers assisted us at this juncture ? " was my first ques- 
 tion to O'Shaughnessy, when we were once more alone. 
 
 " I am not at liberty to speak on that subject, Charley. But be 
 satisfied, the reasons for which Trevyllian meets you are fair and 
 honourable." 
 
 "I am content." 
 
 " The only thing now to be done is, to have the meeting as soon as 
 possible." 
 
 " We are all agreed upon that point," said I ; "and the more so as 
 the matter had better be decided before Sir Arthur's return." 
 
 ' ' Quite true ; and now, O'Malley, you had better join your people 
 as soon as may be, and it will put a stop to all talking about the matter." 
 
 The advice was good, and I lost no time in complying with it, and 
 when I joined the regiment that day at mess, it was with a light heart 
 and a cheerful spirit ; for, come what might of the affair, of one thing 
 I was certain my character was now put above any reach of aspersion, 
 and my reputation beyond attack. 
 
 CHAPTER LXI 
 
 ALL RIGHT 
 
 SOMK days after coming back to headquarters, I was returning from a 
 visit I had been making to a friend at one of the outposts, when an 
 officer whom I knew slightly overtook me and informed me that Major 
 O'Shaughnessy had been to my quarters in search of me, and had sent 
 persons in different directions to find me. 
 
 Suspecting the object of the Major's haste I hurried on at once, and, 
 as I rode up to the spot, found him in the midst of a group of officers 
 engaged, to all appearance, in most eager conversation. "Oh, here
 
 286 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 he comes ! " cried he, as I cantered up. " Come, my boy, doff the 
 blue frock, as soon as you can, and turn out in your best fitting black. 
 Everything has been settled for this evening at seven o'clock, and we 
 have no time to lose." 
 
 "I understand you," said I, "and shall not keep you waiting." So 
 saying, I sprang from the saddle and hastened to my quarters ; as I 
 entered the room I was followed by O'Shaughnessy, who closed the 
 door after him as he came in, and having turned the key in it sat 
 down beside the table, and folding his arms seemed buried in reflec- 
 tion. As I proceeded with my toilet he returned no answers to the 
 numerous questions I put to him either as to the time of Trevyllian's 
 return, the place of the meeting, or any other part of the transaction. 
 
 His attention seemed to wander far from all around and about him ; 
 and, as he muttered indistinctly to himself, the few words I could 
 catch bore not in the remotest degree upon the matter before us. 
 
 " I have written a letter or two here, Major," said I, opening my 
 writing-desk ; " in case anything happens, you will look to a few things 
 I have mentioned here. Somehow, I could not write to poor Fred 
 Power ; but you must tell him from me that his noble conduct towards 
 me was the last thing I spoke of." 
 
 ' ' What confounded nonsense you are talking ! " said O'Shaughnessy, 
 springing from his seat and crossing the room with tremendous strides, 
 " croaking away there as if the bullet was in your thorax. Hang it, 
 man, bear up !' 
 
 " But, Major, my dear friend, what the deuce are you thinking of? 
 The few things I mentioned " 
 
 " The devil ! you are not going over it all again, are you ? " said he, 
 in a voice of no measured tone. 
 
 I now began to feel irritated in turn, and really looked at him for 
 some seconds in considerable amazement. That he should have mis- 
 taken the directions I was giving him and attributed them to any 
 cowardice, was too insulting a thought to bear ; and yet how other- 
 wise was I to understand the very coarse style of his interruption ? 
 
 At length my temper got the victory, and with a voice of most 
 measured calmness, I said, " Major O'Shaughnessy, I am grateful, most 
 deeply grateful, for the part you have acted towards me in this diffi- 
 cult business : at the same time, as you now appear to disapprove of 
 my conduct and bearing, when I am most firmly determined to alter 
 nothing, I shall beg to relieve you of the unpleasant office of my friend." 
 
 " Heaven grant that you could do so ! " said he, interrupting me, 
 while his clasped hands and eager look attested the vehemence of the 
 wish. He paused for a moment ; then, springing from his chair, 
 rushed towards me, and threw his arms around me. " No, my boy, 
 I can't do it ; I can't do it. I have tried to bully myself into insensi- 
 bility for this evening's work I have endeavoured to be rude to you, 
 that you might insult me, and steel my heart against what might 
 happen : but it won't do, Charley ; it won't do. " 
 
 With these words the big tears rolled down his stern cheeks, and his 
 voice became thick with emotion. 
 
 " But for me, and all this need not have happened. I know it ; I 
 feel it ; I hurried on this meeting ; your character stood fair and un-
 
 THE DUEL 287 
 
 blemished without that at least, they tell me so now ; and I still have 
 to assure you " 
 
 " Come, my dear, kind friend, don't give way in this fashion. You 
 have stood manfully by me through every step of the road ; don't 
 desert me on the threshold of " 
 
 "The grave, O'Malley?" 
 
 " I don't think so, Major ; but see, half-past six. Look to these 
 pistols for me. Are they likely to object to hair-triggers?" 
 
 A knocking at the door turned off our attention, and the next 
 moment Baker's voice was heard. 
 
 " O'Malley, you'll be close run for time : the meeting-place is full 
 three miles from this ! " 
 
 I seized the key and opened the door ; at the same instant O'Shaugh- 
 nessy rose and turned towards the window, holding one of the pistols 
 in his hand. 
 
 " Look at that, Baker ; what a sweet tool it is ! " said he, in a voice 
 that actually made me start ; not a trace of his late excitement remained. 
 His usually dry, half-humorous manner had returned, and his droll 
 features were as full of their own easy devil-may-care fun as ever. 
 
 ' ' Here comes the drag," said Baker. " We can drive nearly all the 
 way, unless you prefer riding." 
 
 " Of course not. Keep your hand steady, Charley, and if you don't 
 bring him down with that saw-handle, you're not your uncle's nephew." 
 
 With these words we mounted into the tax-cart, and set off for the 
 meeting-place. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII 
 
 THE DUEL 
 
 ' 
 
 A SMAIJL and narrow ravine between two furze-covered dells led to the 
 open space where the meeting had been arranged for. As we reached 
 this, therefore, we were obliged to descend from the drag, and proceed 
 the remainder of the way afoot. We had not gone many yards when 
 a step was heard approaching, and the next moment Beaufort appeared. 
 His usually easy and degagt air was certainly tinged with somewhat of 
 constraint ; and, though his soft voice and half smile were as perfect as 
 ever, a slightly flurried expression about the lip, and a quick and nervous 
 motion of his eyebrow, bespoke a heart not completely at ease. He lifted 
 his foraging cap most ceremoniously to salute us as we came up, and, cast- 
 ing an anxious look to see if any others were following, stood quite still. 
 
 " I think it right to mention, Major O'Shaughnessy," said he, in a 
 voice of most dulcet sweetness, "that I am the only friend of Captain 
 Trevyllian on the ground ; and, though I have not the slightest objec- 
 tion to Captain Baker being present, I hope you will see the propriety 
 of limiting the witnesses to the three persons now here." 
 
 " Upon my conscience, as far as I am concerned, or my friend either, 
 we are perfectly indifferent if we fight before three, or three thousand. 
 In Ireland we rather like a crowd." 
 
 " Of course, then, as you see no objection to my proposition, I may
 
 288 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 count upon your co-operation in the event of any intrusion ; I mean, 
 that while we, upon our sides, will not permit any of our friends to 
 come forward, you will equally exert yourself with yours." 
 
 " Here we are, Baker and myself; neither more nor less ; we expect 
 no one, and want no one ; so that I humbly conceive all the prelimi- 
 naries you are talking of will never be required." 
 
 Beaufort tried to smile and bit his lips, while a small red spot upon 
 his cheek spoke that some deeper feeling- of irritation than the mere 
 careless manner of the Major could account for, still rankled in his 
 bosom. We now walked on without speaking, except when occasionally 
 some passing observation of Beaufort upon the fineness of the evening, 
 or the rugged nature of the road, broke the silence. As we emerged 
 from the little mountain pass into the open meadow land, the tall and 
 soldier-like figure of Trevyllian was the first object that presented 
 itself; he was standing beside a little stone cross that stood above a holy 
 well, and seemed occupied in deciphering the inscription. He turned 
 at the noise of our approach, and calmly awaited our coming. His eye 
 glanced quickly from the features of O'Shaughnessy to those of Baker ; 
 but seeming rapidly reassured as he walked forward, his face at once 
 recovered its usual severity and its cold impressive look of sternness. 
 
 "All right," said Beaufort in a whisper, the tones of which I over- 
 heard as he drew near to his friend. Trevyllian smiled in return, but 
 did not speak. During the few moments which passed in conversation 
 between the seconds, I turned from the spot with Baker, and had 
 scarcely time to address a question to him, when O'Shaughnessy called 
 out, " Hullo, Baker ! come here a moment !" The three seemed now 
 in eager discussion for some minutes, when Baker walked towards 
 Trevyllian, and saying something, appeared to wait for his reply. 
 This being obtained, he joined the others, and the moment afterwards 
 came to where I was standing. 
 
 " You are to toss for first shot, O'Malley. O'Shaughnessy has made 
 that proposition, and the others agree that with two crack marksmen, 
 it is perhaps the fairest way. I suppose you have no objection ? " 
 
 " Of course, I shall make none. Whatever O'Shaughnessy decides 
 for me I am ready to abide by." 
 
 " Well, then, as to the distance?" said Beaufort, loud enough to be 
 heard by me where I was standing. O'Shaughnessy's reply I could not 
 catch, but it was evident from the tone of both parties that some 
 difference existed on the point. 
 
 11 Captain Baker shall decide between us," said Beaufort at length, 
 and they all walked away to some distance. During all the while I 
 could perceive that Trevyllian's uneasiness and impatience seemed 
 extreme he looked from the speakers to the little mountain pass, and 
 strained his eyes in every direction. It was clear that he dreaded 
 some interruption. At last, unable any longer to control his feelings, 
 he called out : " Beaufort, I say, what the devil are we waiting for now ? " 
 
 " Nothing at present," said Beaufort, as he came forward with a 
 dollar in his hand. " Come, Major O'Shaughnessy, you shall call for 
 your friend." 
 
 He pitched the. piece of money as he spoke high into the air, and 
 watched it as it fell on the soft grass beneath.
 
 THE DUEL 289 
 
 " Head ! for a thousand," cried O'Shaughnessy, running over and 
 stooping down ; ' ' and head it is ! " 
 
 " You've won the first shot/' whispered Baker ; ' ' for Heaven's sake 
 be cool I " 
 
 Beaufort grew deadly pale as he bent over the crown piece, and 
 seemed scarcely to have courage to look his friend in the face. Not so 
 Trevyllian ; he pulled off his gloves without the slightest semblance of 
 emotion, buttoned up his well-fitting black frock to the throat, and, 
 throwing a rapid glance around, seemed only too eager to begin the 
 combat. 
 
 ' l Fifteen paces, and the words ' One two ' ' 
 
 " Exactly. My cane shall mark that spot " 
 
 " Devilish long paces you make them," said O'Shaughuessy, who did 
 not seem to approve of the distance. ' ' They have some confounded 
 advantage in this, depend upon it," said the Major in a whisper to 
 Baker. 
 
 " Are you ready?" inquired Beaufort. 
 
 " Ready, quite ready ! " 
 
 " Take your ground, then ! " 
 
 As Trevyllian moved forward to his place, he muttered something to 
 his friend. I did not hear the first part, but the latter words which 
 met me were ominous enough, " for as I intend to shoot him, 'tis just 
 as well as it is." 
 
 Whether this was meant to be overheard and intimidate I knew not ; 
 but its effect proved directly opposite. My firm resolution to hit my 
 antagonist was now confirmed, and no compunctious visitings unnerved 
 my arm. As we took our places some little delay again took place, the 
 flint of my pistol having fallen ; and thus we remained full ten or 
 twelve seconds steadily regarding each other. At length, O'Shaugh- 
 nessy came forward, and, putting my weapon in my hand, whispered 
 low, " Remember you have but one chance." 
 
 "You are both ready?" cried Beaufort. 
 
 "tteady !" 
 
 " Then, one two " 
 
 The last word was lost in the report of my pistol, which went off at 
 the instant. For a second the flash and smoke obstructed my view ; 
 but the moment after I saw Trevyllian stretched upon the ground, 
 with his friend kneeling beside him. My first impulse was to rush 
 over, for now all feeling of enmity was buried in most heartfelt anxiety 
 for his fate ; but as I was stepping forward O'Shaughnessy called out, 
 " Stand fast, boy, he's only wounded I " and the same moment he rose 
 slowly from the ground, with the assistance of his friend, and looked 
 with the same wild gaze around him. Such a look ! I shall never for- 
 get it ; there was that intense expression of searching anxiety, as if he 
 sought to trace the outlines of some visionary spirit as it receded 
 before him : quickly reassured, as it seemed, by the glance he threw 
 on all sides, his countenance lighted up, not with pleasure, but with a 
 fiendish expression of revengeful triumph, which even his voice evinced 
 as he called out, " It's my turn now." 
 
 I felt the words in their full force, as I stood silently awaiting 
 my death wound ; the pause was a long one : twice did he interrupt 
 
 T
 
 290 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 his frieiid as he was about to give the word, by au expression of 
 suffering, pressing his hand upon his side, and seeming to writhe with 
 torture ; and yet this was mere counterfeit. 
 
 O'Shaughnessy was now coming forward to interfere and prevent 
 these interruptions, when Trevyllian called out in a firm tone, " I'm 
 ready I " The words " One, two," the pistol slowly rose, his dark 
 eye measured me coolly, steadily : his lip curled, and just as I felt that 
 my last moment of life had arrived, a heavy sound of a horse galloping 
 along the rocky causeway seemed to take off his attention. His frame 
 trembled, his hand shook, and jerking upwards his weapon the ball 
 passed high above my head. 
 
 " You bear me witness, J fired in the air," said Trevylliau, while the 
 large drops of perspiration rolled from his forehead, and his features 
 worked as if in a fit. 
 
 " You saw it, sir, and you, Beaufort, my friend you also speak ! 
 Why will you not speak ? ' 
 
 " Be calm, Trevyllian ; be calm, for Heaven's sake. What's the 
 matter with you ? " 
 
 " The affair is then ended," said Baker, ' ' and most happily so. You 
 are, I hope, not dangerously wounded ? " 
 
 As he spoke Trevylliau's features grew deadly livid ; his half-open 
 mouth quivered slightly ; his eyes became fixed, and his arm dropped 
 heavily beside him, and with one low faint moan he fell fainting to the 
 ground. 
 
 As we bent over him I now perceived that another person had joined 
 our party : he was a short, determined-looking man of about forty, with 
 black eyes and acquiliue features. Before I had time to guess who it 
 might be, I heard O'Shaughnessy address him as Colonel Conyers. 
 
 " He is dying ! " said Beaufort, still stooping over his friend, whose 
 cold hand he grasped within his own ; " poor, poor fellow ! " 
 
 " He fired in the air," said Baker, as he spoke in reply to a question 
 from Coiiyers ; what he answered I heard not, but Baker rejoined 
 
 " Yes, I am certain of it. We all saw it." 
 
 " Had you not better examine his wounds," said Coiiyers, in a tone 
 of sarcastic irony I could almost have struck him for. 
 
 ' ' Is your friend not hit : perhaps he is bleeding ? " 
 
 " Yes," said O'Shaughnessy, "let us look to the poor fellow now." 
 So saying, with Beaufort's aid, he unbuttoned his frock and succeeded 
 in opening the waistcoat : there was no trace of blood anywhere, and 
 the idea of internal hemorrhage at once occurred to us. Then Conyers, 
 stooping down, pushed me aside, saying at the same time, " Your fears 
 for his safety need not distress you much : look here." As he spoke 
 he tore open his shirt, and disclosed to our almost doubting senses 
 a vest of chain mail armour fitting close next the skin and completely 
 pistol proof. 
 
 I cannot describe the effect this sight produced upon us. Beaufort 
 sprang to his feet with a bound as he screamed out, rather than spoke, 
 " No man believes me to have been aware " 
 
 ft No, no, Beaufort ; your reputation is very far removed from such 
 a stain," said Conyers. 
 
 O'Shaughuessy was perfectly speechless : he looked from one to the
 
 NEWS FROM GALWAY 291 
 
 other, as though some unexplained mystery still remained, and only 
 seemed restored to any sense of consciousness as Baker said, " I can feel 
 no pulse at his wrist : his heart, too, does not beat" Conyers placed his 
 hand upon his bosom, then felt along his throat, lifted up an arm, and 
 letting it fall heavily upon the ground, lie muttered, " He is dead." 
 
 It was true. No wound had pierced him : the pistol bullet was found 
 within his clothes. Some tremendous conflict of the spirit within had 
 snapped the cords of life, and the strong man had perished in his agony. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII 
 
 NEWS FROM GALWAY 
 
 I HAVE but a vague and most imperfect recollection of the events which 
 followed this dreadful scene ; for some days my faculties seemed stunned 
 and paralysed, and my thoughts clung to the minute detail of the 
 ground the persons about the mountain path and, most of all, the 
 half-stifled cry that spoke the broken heart, with a tenacity that verged 
 upon madness. 
 
 A court-martial was appointed to inquire into the affair ; and although 
 I have been since told that my deportment was calm, and my answers 
 were firm and collected, yet I remember nothing of the proceedings. 
 
 The inquiry, through a feeling of delicacy for the friends of him who 
 was no more, was made as brief and as private as possible. Beaufort 
 proved the facts which exonerated me from any imputation in the 
 matter ; and upon the same day the court delivered the decision, " that 
 Lieutenant O'Malley was not guilty of the charges preferred against 
 him, and that he should be released from arrest, and join his regiment." 
 
 Nothing could be more kind and considerate than the conduct of my 
 brother officers ; a hundred little plans and devices for making me for- 
 get the late unhappy event were suggested and practised ; and I look 
 back to that melancholy period, marked as it was by the saddest cir- 
 cumstance of my life, as one in which I received more of truly friendly 
 companionship than even my palmiest days of prosperity boasted. 
 
 While, therefore, I deeply felt the good part my friends were per- 
 forming towards me, I was still totally unsuited to join in the happy 
 current of their daily pleasures and amusements ; the gay and unreflect- 
 ing character of O'Shaughnessy the careless merriment of my brother 
 officers jarred upon my nerves, and rendered me irritable and excited ; 
 and I sought in lonely rides, and unfrequented walks, the peace of 
 spirit that calm reflection and a firm purpose for the future rarely fail 
 to lead to. 
 
 There is in deep sorrow a touch of the prophetic. It is at seasons 
 when the heart is bowed down with grief, and the spirit wasted with 
 suffering, that the veil which conceals the future seems to be removed, 
 and a glance, short and- fleeting as the lightning flash, is permitted us 
 into the gloomy valley before us. 
 
 Misfortunes, too, come not singly the seared heart is not suffered 
 to heal from one affliction ere another succeeds it : and this auticipa-
 
 292 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tion of the coming evil is, perhaps, one of the most poignant features 
 of grief the ever watchful apprehension the ever rising question, 
 " What next ? " is a torture that never sleeps. 
 
 This was the frame of my mind for several days after I returned to 
 my duty a morbid sense of some threatened danger being my last 
 thought at night, and my first on awakening. I had not heard from 
 home since my arrival in the Peninsula : a thousand vague fancies 
 haunted me now, that some brooding misfortune awaited me. My 
 poor uncle never left my thoughts. Was he well? was he happy? 
 Was he, as he ever wished to be, surrounded by the friends he loved 
 the old familiar faces, around the hospitable hearth his kindliness had 
 hallowed in my memory as something sacred ? Oh ! could I but see 
 his manly smile, or hear his voice ! Could I but feel his hand upon 
 my head as he was wont to press it, while words of comfort fell from 
 his lips, and sunk into my heart ! 
 
 Such were my thoughts one morning as I sauntered from my quarters 
 alone and unaccompanied. I had not gone far when my attention was 
 aroused by the noise of a mule cart, whose jingling bells and clattering 
 timber announced its approach by the road I was walking. Another 
 turn of the way brought it into view, and I saw from the gay costume 
 of the driver, as well as a small orange flag which decorated the convey- 
 ance, that it was the mail-cart with letters from Lisbon. 
 
 Full as my mind was with thoughts of home, I turned hastily back 
 and retraced my steps towards the camp. When I reached the 
 Adjutant-General's quarters I found a considerable number of officers 
 assembled ; the report that the post had come was a rumour of interest 
 to all, and accordingly every moment brought fresh arrivals, pouring 
 in from all sides, and eagerly inquiring " if the bags had been opened ? " 
 The scene of riot, confusion, and excitement when that event did take 
 place, exceeded all belief, each man reading his letter half aloud, as if 
 his private affairs and domestic concerns must interest his neighbours, 
 amid a volley of exclamations of surprise, pleasure, or occasionally 
 anger, as the intelligence severally suggested the disappointed ex- 
 pectants cursing their idle correspondents, bemoaning their fate about 
 remittances that never arrived, or drafts never honoured, while here 
 and there some public benefactor, with an outspread Times or Chronicle, 
 was retailing the narrative of our own exploits in the Peninsula, or 
 the more novel changes in the world of politics since we left England. 
 A cross-fire of news and London gossip ringing on every side made up 
 a perfect Babel, most difficult to form an idea of. The jargon partook 
 of every accent and intonation the empire boasts of, and from the 
 sharp precision of the North Tweeder to the broad Doric of Kerry, 
 every portion, almost every county of Great Britain had its representa- 
 tive. Here was a Scotch paymaster in a lugubrious tone detailing to his 
 friend the apparently not over-welcome news that Mistress M'Elwaiii 
 had just been safely delivered of twins, which with their mother were 
 doing as well as possible. Here an eager Irishman, turning over the 
 pages rather than reading his letter, while he exclaimed to his friend : 
 
 " Oh, the devil a rap she's sent me. The old story about runaway 
 tenants and distress notices sorrow else tenants seem to do in Ireland 
 than run away every half year."
 
 NEWS FROM GALWAY 293 
 
 A little apart some sentimental-looking cockney was devouring a 
 very crossed epistle, which he pressed to his lips whenever any one 
 looked at him, while a host of others satisfied themselves by reading 
 in a kind of buzzing undertone, every now and then interrupting 
 themselves with some broken exclamation as commentary, such as c< of 
 com-se she will ! " ' ' never knew him better ! " ' ' that's the girl for 
 my money !" (f fifty per cent. the devil !" and so on. At last I 
 was beginning to weary of the scene, and finding that there appeared 
 to be nothing for me, was turning to leave the place, when I saw 
 a group of two or three endeavouring to spell out the address of a 
 letter. 
 
 ' ' That's an Irish post-mark, I'll swear," said one ; ( ' but who can 
 make anything of the name ? It's devilish like Otaheite isn't it ? " 
 
 ( ( I wish my tailor wrote as illegibly," said another ; " I'd keep up a 
 most animated correspondence with him." 
 
 cc Here, O'Shaughnessy, you know something of savage life spell 
 us this word here." 
 
 " Show it here what nonsense it's as plain as the nose on my face ! 
 ( Master Charles O'Malley, in foreign parts ! ' " 
 
 A roar of laughter followed the announcement : which at any other 
 time perhaps I should have joined in, but which now grated sadly 
 upon my ruffled feelings. 
 
 " Here, Charley, this is for you," said the Major ; and added in a 
 whisper " and upon my conscience, between ourselves, your friend, 
 whoever he is, has a strong action against his writing-master devil 
 such a fist ever I looked at !" 
 
 One glance satisfied me as to my correspondent. It was from Father 
 Rush, my old tutor. I hurried eagerly from the spot, and regaining 
 my quarters locked the door, and with a beating heart broke the seal, 
 and began as well as I was able to decipher his letter. The hand was 
 cramped and stiffened with age, and the bold upright letters were 
 gnarled and twisted like a rustic fence, and demanded great patience 
 and much time in unravelling. It ran thus : 
 
 "THE PRIORY, Lady-day, 1809. 
 
 ee MY DEAR MASTER CHARLES, Your uncle's feet are so big and so 
 uneasy that he can't write, and I am obliged to take up the pen my- 
 self, to tell you how we are doing here since you left us. And, first of 
 all, the master lost the lawsuit in Dublin, all for want of a Galway 
 jury ; but they don't go up to town for strong reasons they had ; and 
 the Curranolick property is gone to Ned MacManus, and may the 
 devil do him good with it ! Peggy Maher left this on Tuesday ; she 
 was complaining of a weakness ; she's gone to consult the doctors. I'm 
 sorry for poor Peggy. 
 
 " Owen M'Neil beat the Slatterys out of Portumna on Saturday, 
 and Jem, they say, is fractured. I trust it's true, for he never was 
 good, root nor branch, and we've strong reasons to suspect him for 
 drawing the river with a net at night. Sir Harry Boyle sprained his 
 wrist breaking open his bedroom that he locked when he was inside. 
 The Count and the Master were laughing all the evening at him. 
 Matters are going very hard in the country; the people paying their
 
 294 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 rents regularly, and not caring half as much as they used ahout the 
 real gentry, and the old families. 
 
 ' ' We kept your birthday at the Castle in great style had the militia 
 band from the town, and all the tenants. Mr. James Daly danced 
 with your old friend, Mary Green, and sang a beautiful song ; and was 
 going to raise the devil, but I interfered ; he burnt down half the blue 
 drawing-room the last night with his tricks ; not that your uncle cares, 
 God preserve him to us ! it's little anything like that would fret him. 
 The Count quarrelled with a young gentleman in the course of the 
 evening, but found out he was only an attorney from Dublin, so he 
 didn't shoot him ; but he was ducked in the pond by the people, and 
 your uncle says he hopes they have a true copy of him at home, as 
 they'll never know the original. 
 
 " Peter died soon after you went away, but Tim hunts the dogs just 
 as well ; they had a beautiful run last Wednesday, and the Lord* sent 
 for him and gave him a five-pound note, but he says he'd rather see 
 yourself back again than twice as much : they killed near the big 
 turnip field, and all went down to see where you leaped Badger over 
 the sunk fence ; they call it e Hammersly's Nose ' ever since. Bodkin 
 was at Ballinasloe the last fair, limping about with a stick ; he's twice 
 as quiet as he used to be, and never beat any one since that morning. 
 
 " Nelly Guire, at the cross roads, wants to send you four pairs of 
 stockings she knitted for you ; and I have a keg of poteen of 
 Barney's own making this two months, not knowing how to send 
 it ; maybe Sir Arthur himself would like a taste ; he's an Irishman 
 himself, and one we're proud of, too ! The Maynooth chaps are 
 flying all about the country, and making us all uncomfortable God's 
 will be done, but we used to think ourselves good enough ! Your 
 foster sister, Kitty Doolan, had a fine boy : it's to be called after you ; 
 and your uncle's to give a christening. He bids me tell you to draw 
 on him when you want money, and that there's 400 ready for you 
 now somewhere in Dublin : I forget the name, and as he's asleep I 
 don't like asking him. There was a droll devil down here in the 
 summer that knew you well a Mr. Webber. The master treated him 
 like the Lord Lieutenant ; had dinner parties for him, and gave him 
 Oliver Cromwell to ride over to Meelish. He is expected again for 
 the cock-shooting, for the master likes him greatly. I'm done at 
 last, for my paper is finished, and the candle just out ; so with 
 every good wish and every good thought, remember your own old 
 friend, PETER RUSH. 
 
 " P.S. It's Smart and Sykes, Fleet Street, has the money. Father 
 O'Shaughnessy, of Ennis, bids me ask if you ever met his nephew. If 
 you do, make him sing ' Larry McHale ' : I hear it's a treat. 
 
 " How is Mickey Free going on ? There are three decent young 
 women in the parish he promised to marry ; and I suppose he's 
 pursuing the same game with the Portuguese. But he was never 
 remarkable for minding his duties. Tell him I am keeping my eye on 
 him. P. R." 
 
 * To excuse Father Rush for any apparent impiety, I must add that, by the 
 " Lord," he means " Lord Clanricarde.
 
 NEWS FROM GALWAY 295 
 
 Here concluded this long epistle, and though there were many 
 parts I could not help smiling at, yet upon the whole I felt sad and 
 dispirited. What I had long foreseen and anticipated was gradually 
 accomplishing : the wreck of an old and honoured house ; the fall of a 
 name once the watchword for all that was benevolent and hospitable 
 in the land. The termination of the lawsuit I knew must have been 
 a heavy blow to my poor uncle, who, every consideration of money 
 apart, felt in a legal combat all the enthusiasm and excitement of a 
 personal conflict : with him there was less a question of to whom the 
 broad acres reverted, so much as whether that ' ( scoundrel Tom Bassett 
 the attorney at Athlone should triumph over us ; " or " MacManus live 
 in the house as master, where his father had officiated as butler." It 
 was at this his Irish pride took offence, and straitened circumstances 
 and narrowed fortunes bore little upon him in comparison with this 
 feeling. 
 
 I could see, too, that with breaking fortunes bad health was making 
 heavy inroads upon him ; and while, with the reckless desperation of 
 ruin, he still kept open house, I could picture to myself his cheerful 
 eye and handsome smile but ill concealing the slow but certain march 
 of a broken heart. 
 
 My position was doubly painful ; for any advice, had I been calcu- 
 lated to give it, would have seemed an act of indelicate interference 
 from one who was to benefit by his own counsel : and although I had 
 been reared and educated as my uncle's heir, I had no title nor pre- 
 tension to succeed him other than his kind feelings respecting me. I 
 could therefore only look on in silence, and watch the painful progress 
 of our downfall without a power to arrest it. 
 
 These were sad thoughts, and came when my heart was already 
 bowed down with its affliction. That my poor uncle might be spared 
 the misery which sooner or later seemed inevitable, was now my only 
 wish ; that he might go down to the grave without the embittering 
 feelings which a ruined fortune and a fallen house bring home to the 
 heart, was all my prayer. Let him but close his eyes in the old wains- 
 coted bedroom, beneath the old roof where his fathers and grandfathers 
 have done so for centuries. Let the faithful followers he has known 
 since his childhood stand round his bed : while his fast failing sight 
 recognises each old and well-remembered object, and the same bell 
 which rung its farewell to the spirit of his ancestors tolls for him the 
 last of his race ; and, as for me, there was the wide world before me, 
 and a narrow resting-place would suffice for a soldier's sepulchre. 
 
 As the mail-cart was returning the next day to Lisbon, I immediately 
 sat down and replied to the worthy Father s letter : speaking as en- 
 couragingly as I could of my own prospects. I dwelt much upon what 
 was nearest my heart, and begged of the good priest to watch over my 
 uncle's health, to cheer his spirits, and support his courage ; and that 
 I trusted the day was not far distant when I should be once more 
 among them, with many a story of fray and battlefield to enliven their 
 firesides ; pressing him to write frequently to me, I closed my hurried 
 letter, and having despatched it, sat sorrowfully down to muse over 
 my fortunes,
 
 296 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV 
 
 AN ADVENTURE WITH SIR ARTHUR 
 
 THE events of the last few days had impressed me with the weight of 
 years. The awful circumstances of that evening lay heavily at my 
 heart, and though guiltless of Trevyllian's blood, the reproach that 
 conscience ever carries, when one has been involved in a death-scene, 
 never left my thoughts. 
 
 For some time previously I had been depressed and dispirited, and 
 the awful shock I had sustained broke my nerve and unmanned me 
 greatly. 
 
 There are times when our sorrows tinge all the colourings of our 
 thoughts, and one pervading hue of melancholy spreads like a pall 
 upon what we have of fairest and brightest on earth. So was it now : 
 I had lost hope and ambition a sad feeling that my career was destined 
 to misfortune and mishap gained hourly upon me : and all the bright 
 aspirations of a soldier's glory all my enthusiasm for the pojnp and 
 circumstance of glorious war, fell coldly upon my heart ; and I looked 
 upon the chivalry of a soldier's life as the empty pageant of a dream. 
 
 In this sad frame of mind I avoided all intercourse with my brother 
 officers their gay and joyous spirits only jarred upon my brooding 
 thoughts, and, feigning illness, I kept almost entirely to my quarters. 
 
 The inactivity of our present life weighed also heavily upon me. 
 The stirring events of a campaign the march, the bivouac, the picket, 
 calls forth a certain physical exertion that never fails to react upon 
 the torpid mind. 
 
 Forgetting all around me, I thought of home ; I thought of those 
 whose hearts I felt were now turning towards me, and considered 
 within myself how I could have exchanged the home the days of 
 peaceful happiness there, for the life of misery and disappointment I 
 now endured. 
 
 A brooding melancholy gained daily more and more upon me. A 
 wish to return to Ireland a vague and indistinct feeling that my 
 career was not destined for aught of great and good, crept upon me, 
 and I longed to sink into oblivion, forgotten and forgot. 
 
 I record this painful feeling here, while it is still a painful memory, 
 as one of the dark shadows that cross the bright sky of our happiest 
 days. 
 
 Happy indeed they are, as we look back to them, and remember the 
 times we have pronounced ourselves " the most miserable of mankind." 
 This somehow is a confession we never make later on in life, when 
 real troubles and true afflictions assail us. Whether we call in more 
 philosophy to our aid, or that our senses become less acute and dis- 
 cerning, I'm sure I know not. 
 
 As for me, I confess by far the greater portion of my sorrow seemed 
 to come in that budding period of existence when life is ever fairest 
 and most captivating. Not, perhaps, that the fact was really so, but the 
 spoiled and humoured child, whose caprices were a law, felt heavily
 
 AN ADVENTURE WITH SIR ARTHUR 297 
 
 the threatening difficulties of his first voyage. While, as he continued 
 to sail over the ocean of life, he braved the storm and the squall, and 
 felt only gratitude for the favouring breeze that wafted him upon his 
 course. 
 
 What an admirable remedy for misanthropy is the being placed in a 
 subordinate condition in life I Had I at the period I write been Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley had I even been Marshal Beresford, to all certainty 
 I'd have played the very devil with his Majesty's forces. I'd have 
 brought my rascals to where they'd have been well peppered. That's 
 certain. 
 
 But, as luckily for the sake of humanity in general, and the well- 
 being of the service in particular, I was merely Lieutenant O'Malley, 
 14th Light Dragoons the case was very different. With what heavy 
 censure did I condemn the Commander of the Forces in my own mind 
 for his want of daring and enterprise. WTiole nights did I pass en- 
 deavouring to account for his inactivity and lethargy. Why he did 
 not seriatim fall upon Soult, Ney, and Victor, annihilate the French 
 forces, and sack Madrid, I looked upon as little less than a riddle ; and 
 yet there he waited, drilling, exercising, and foraging, as if we were at 
 Hounslow. Now most unfortunately here again I was not Sir Arthur. 
 
 Something in this frame of mind I was taking one evening a solitary 
 ride some miles from the camp. Without noticing the circumstance, 
 I had entered a little mountain track, when, the ground being broken 
 and uneven, I dismounted and proceeded afoot, with the bridle within 
 my arm. I had not gone far when the clatter of a horse's hoofs came 
 rapidly towards me, and, though there was something startling in the 
 pace over such a piece of road, I never lifted my eyes as the horseman 
 came up, but continued my slow progress onwards, my head sunk upon 
 my bosom. 
 
 " Holloa, sir," cried a sharp voice, whose tones seemed somehow not 
 heard for the first time. I looked up, saw a slight figure closely buttoned 
 up in a blue horseman's cloak, the collar of which almost entirely hid 
 his features ; he wore a plain cocked hat without a feather, and was 
 mounted upon a sharp wiry-looking hack. 
 
 " Holloa, sir ! What regiment do you belong to ? " 
 
 As I had nothing of the soldier about me, save a blue foraging cap, 
 to denote my corps, the tone of the demand was little calculated to 
 elicit a very polished reply ; but, preferring as was most impertinent, 
 to make no answer, I passed on without speaking. 
 
 "Did you hear, sir?" cried the same voice in a still louder key. 
 " What's your regiment ? " 
 
 I now turned round, resolved to question the other in turn ; when, 
 to my inexpressible shame and confusion, he had lowered the collar of 
 his cloak, and I saw the features of Sir Arthur Wellesley. 
 
 " Fourteenth Light Dragoons, sir," said I, blushing as I spoke. 
 
 " Have you not read the general order, sir ? Why have you left the 
 camp ? " 
 
 Now I had not read a general order, nor even heard one, for above a 
 fortnight. So I stammered out some bungling answer. 
 
 " To your quarters, sir, and report yourself under arrest. What's 
 your name ? "
 
 298 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 <e Lieutenant O'Malley, sir." 
 
 " Well, sir, your passion for rambling shall be indulged. You shall 
 be sent to the rear with despatches ; and as the army is in advance, 
 probably the lesson may be serviceable." So saying, he pressed spurs 
 to his horse and was out of sight in a moment. 
 
 CHAPTER LXV 
 
 TALAVERA 
 
 HAVING been despatched to the rear with orders for General Crawford, 
 I did not reach Talavera till the morning of the 28th. Two days' hard 
 fighting had left the contending armies still face to face, and without 
 any decided advantage on either side. 
 
 When I arrived upon the battlefield the combat of the morning was 
 over. It was then ten o'clock, and the troops were at breakfast, if the 
 few ounces of wheat, sparingly dealt out amongst them, could be dignified 
 by that name. All was, however, life and animation on every side : 
 the merry laugh, the passing jest, the careless look, bespoke the free 
 and daring character of the soldiery, as they sat in groups upon the 
 grass ; and except when a fatigue party passed by, bearing some 
 wounded comrade to the rear, no touch of seriousness rested upon their 
 hardy features. The morning was indeed a glorious one ; a sky of un- 
 clouded blue stretched above a landscape unsurpassed in loveliness. 
 Far to the right rolled on in placid stream the broad Tagus, bathing in 
 its eddies the very walls of Talavera, the ground from which, to our 
 position, gently undulated across a plain of most fertile richness, and 
 terminated on our extreme left in a bold height, protected in front by 
 a ravine, and flanked by a deep and rugged valley. 
 
 The Spaniards occupied the right of the line, connecting with our 
 troops at a rising ground, upon which a strong redoubt had been hastily 
 thrown up. The fourth division and the Guards were stationed here, 
 next to whom came Cameron's brigade and the Germans ; Mackenzie 
 and Hill holding the extreme left of all, which might be called the key 
 of our position. In the valley beneath the latter were picketed three 
 cavalry regiments, among which I was not long in detecting my gallant 
 friends of the Twenty-third. 
 
 As I rode rapidly past, saluting some old familiar face at each moment, 
 I could not help feeling struck at the evidence of the desperate battle 
 that so lately had raged there. The whole surface of the hill was 
 one mass of dead and dying, the bearskin of the French grenadier 
 lying side by side with the tartan of the Highlander. Deep furrows 
 in the soil showed the track of the furious cannonade, and the terrible 
 evidences of a bayonet charge were written in the mangled corpses 
 around. 
 
 The fight had been maintained without any intermission from day- 
 break till near nine o'clock that morning, and the slaughter on both 
 sides was dreadful ; the mounds of fresh earth on every side told of 
 the soldier's sepulchre, and the unceasing tramp of the pioneers struck
 
 TALAVERA 299 
 
 sadly upon the ear, as the groans of the wounded blended with the 
 funeral sounds around them. 
 
 In front were drawn up the dark legions of France ; massive columns 
 of infantry, with dense bodies of artillery, alternating along the line. 
 They, too, occupied a gently rising ground, the valley between the two 
 armies being crossed half way by a little rivulet ; and here, during the 
 sultry heat of the morning, the troops on both sides met and mingled to 
 quench their thirst ere the trumpet again called them to the slaughter. 
 
 In a small ravine, near the centre of our line, were drawn up Cotton's 
 brigade, of whom the Fusileers formed a part. Directly in front of 
 this were Campbell's brigade, to the left of which, upon a gentle slope, 
 the staff were now assembled. Thither, accordingly, I bent my steps, 
 and, as I came up the little scarp, found myself among the Generals 
 of Division, hastily summoned by Sir Arthur to deliberate upon a 
 forward movement. The council lasted scarcely a quarter-of-an-hour, 
 and, when I presented myself to deliver my report, all the dispositions 
 for the battle had been decided upon, and the Commander of the 
 Forces, seated upon the grass at his breakfast, looked by far the most 
 unconcerned and uninterested man I had seen that morning. 
 
 He turned his head rapidly as I came up, and, before the aide-de- 
 camp could announce me, called out : 
 
 " Well, sir, what news of the reinforcements ? " 
 
 ce They cannot reach Talavera before to-morrow, sir." 
 
 te Then, before that we shall not want them. That will do, sir." 
 
 So saying he resumed his breakfast, and I retired, more than ever 
 struck with the surprising coolness of the man upon whom no disap- 
 pointment seemed to have the slightest influence. 
 
 I had scarcely rejoined my regiment, and was giving an account to 
 my brother officers of my journey, when an aide-de-camp came gallop- 
 ing at full speed down the line, and communicating with the several 
 commanding officers as he passed. 
 
 What might be the nature of the orders we could not guess at ; for 
 no word to fall in followed, and yet it was evident something of im- 
 portance was at hand. Upon the hill where the staff were assembled 
 no unusual bustle appeared, and we could see the grey cob of Sir 
 Arthur still being led up and down by the groom, with a dragoon's 
 mantle thrown over him. The soldiers, overcome by the heat and 
 fatigue of the morning, lay stretched around upon the grass, and every- 
 thing bespoke a period of rest and refreshment. 
 
 " We are going to advance, depend upon it," said a young officer 
 beside me ; " the repulse of this morning has been a smart lesson to 
 the French, and Sir Arthur won't leave them without impressing it 
 upon them." 
 
 "Hark! what's that?" cried Baker; "listen." 
 
 As he spoke a strain of most delicious music came wafted across the 
 plain. It was from the band of a French regiment, and mellowed by 
 the distance it seemed, in the calm stillness of the morning air, like 
 something less of earth than heaven. As we listened the notes swelled 
 upwards yet fuller ; and one by one the different bands seemed to join, 
 till at last the whole air seemed full of the rich flood of melody. 
 
 We could now perceive the stragglers were rapidly falling back,
 
 300 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 while, high above all other sounds, the clanging notes of the trumpet 
 were heard along the line. The horse drum now beat to arms, and 
 soon after a brilliant staff rode slowly from between two dense bodies 
 of infantry, and, advancing some distance into the plain, seemed to 
 reconnoitre us. A cloud of Polish cavalry, distinguished by their long 
 lances and floating banners, loitered in their rear. 
 
 We had not time for further observation, when the drums on our 
 side beat to arms, and the hoarse cry, e ' Fall in, fall in there, lads ! " 
 resounded along the line. 
 
 It was now one o'clock, and before half-an-hour the troops had 
 resumed the position of the morning, and stood silent and anxious 
 spectators of the scene before them. 
 
 Upon the table-land, near the centre of the French position, we 
 could descry the gorgeous tent of King Joseph, around which a large 
 and splendidly accoutred staff were seen standing. Here, too, the 
 bustle and excitement seemed considerable, for to this point the dark 
 masses of the infantry seemed converging from the extreme right, and 
 here we could perceive the royal guards and the reserve now forming 
 in column of attack. 
 
 From the crest of the hill down to the very valley the dark dense 
 ranks extended, the flanks protected by a powerful artillery and deep 
 masses of heavy cavalry. It was evident that the attack was not to 
 commence on our side, and the greatest and most intense anxiety per- 
 vaded us as to what part of our line was first to be assailed. 
 
 Meanwhile, Sir Arthur Wellesley, who, from the height, had been 
 patiently observing the field of battle, despatched an aide-de-camp at 
 full gallop towards Campbell's brigade, posted directly in advance of 
 us. As he passed swiftly along, he called out, " You're in for it, 14th. 
 You'll have to open the ball to-day." 
 
 Scarcely were the words spoken, when a signal gun from the French 
 boomed heavily through the still air. The vast echo was growing 
 fainter, and the heavy smoke breaking into mist, when the most 
 deafening thunder ever my ears heard came pealing around us : eighty 
 pieces of artillery had opened upon us, sending a very tempest of 
 bullets upon our line, while midst the smoke and dust we could see 
 the light troops advancing with a run, followed by the broad and 
 massive column in all the terror and majesty of war. 
 
 " What a splendid attack ! How gallantly they come on ! " cried 
 an old veteran officer beside me, forgetting all rivalry in his noble 
 admiration of our enemy. 
 
 The intervening space was soon passed, and the tirailleurs falling 
 back as the column came on, the towering masses bore down upon 
 Campbell's division with a loud cry of defiance. Silently and steadily 
 the English infantry awaited the attack, and returning the fire with 
 one withering volley, were ordered to charge. Scarcely were the 
 bayonets lowered, when the head of the advancing column broke and 
 fled, while Mackenzie's brigade, overlapping the flank, pushed boldly 
 forward, and a scene of frightful carnage followed : for a moment a 
 hand-to-hand combat was sustained, but the unbroken files and im- 
 pregnable bayonets of the English conquered, and the French fled 
 back, leaving six guns behind them.
 
 TALAVERA 301 
 
 The gallant enemy were troops of tried and proved courage, and 
 scarcely had they retreated when they again formed ; but just as they 
 prepared to come forward a tremendous shower of grape opened upon 
 them from our batteries, while a cloud of Spanish horse assailed them 
 in flank, and nearly cut them in pieces. 
 
 While this was passing on the right, a tremendous attack menaced 
 the hill upon which our left was posted. Two powerful columns of 
 French infantry, supported by some regiments of light cavalry, came 
 steadily forward to the attack. Alison's brigade were ordered to 
 charge. 
 
 Away they went at top speed, but had not gone a few hundred yards 
 when they were suddenly arrested by a deep chasm : here the German 
 hussars pulled short up ; but the 23rd dashing impetuously forward, 
 a scene of terrific carnage ensued men and horses rolling indiscrimi- 
 nately together under a withering fire from the French squares. Even 
 here, however, British valour quailed not ; for Major Francis Ponsonby, 
 forming all who came up, rode boldly upon a brigade of French 
 chasseurs in the rear. Victor, who from the first had watched the 
 movement, at once despatched a lancer regiment against them, and 
 then these brave fellows were absolutely cut to atoms ; the few who 
 escaped having passed through the French columns and reached Basse- 
 cour's Spanish division on the far right. 
 
 During this time the hill was again assailed, and even more desper- 
 ately than before, while Victor himself led on the fourth corps to an 
 attack upon our right and centre. 
 
 The Guards waited without flinching the impetuous rush of the 
 advancing columns ; and, when at length within a short distance, 
 dashed forward with the bayonet, driving everything before them. 
 The French fell back upon their sustaining masses, and rallying in an 
 instant again came forward, supported by a tremendous fire from their 
 batteries. The Guards drew back, and the German Legion, suddenly 
 thrown into confusion, began to retire in disorder. This was the 
 most critical moment of the day ; for, although successful upon the 
 extreme right and left of our line, our centre was absolutely broken. 
 Just at this moment Gordon rode up to our brigade ; his face was pale, 
 and his look flurried and excited. 
 
 "The 48th are coming : here they are ; support them, 14th." 
 
 These few words were all he spoke, and the next moment the 
 measured tread of a column was heard behind us. On they came like 
 one man, their compact and dense formation looking like some massive 
 wall. Wheeling by companies, they suffered the Guards and Germans 
 to retire behind them, and then reforming into line they rushed for- 
 ward witli the bayonet. Our artillery opened with a deafening thunder 
 behind them, and then we were ordered to charge. 
 
 We came on at a trot : the Guards, who had now recovered their 
 formation, cheering us as we proceeded ; the smoke of the cannonade 
 obscured everything until we had advanced some distance ; but just as 
 we emerged beyond the line of the gallant 48th, the splendid panorama 
 of the battlefield broke suddenly upon us. 
 
 ' ' Charge ! forward ! " cried the hoarse voice of our Colonel, and we 
 were upon them. The French infantry, already broken by the wither-
 
 302 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ing musketry of our people, gave way before us, and, unable to form 
 a square, retired fighting, but in confusion, and with tremendous loss, 
 to their position. One glorious cheer from left to right of our line 
 proclaimed the victory, while a deafening discharge of artillery from 
 the French replied to this defiance, and the battle was over. Had the 
 Spanish army been capable of a forward movement, our successes at 
 this moment would have been much more considerable ; but they did 
 not dare to change their position, and the repulse of our enemy was 
 destined to be all our glory. The French, however, suffered much 
 more severely than we did ; and retiring during the night fell back 
 behind the Alberche, leaving us the victory and the battlefield. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI 
 
 NIGHT AFTER TALAVERA 
 
 THE night which followed the battle was a sad one. Through the 
 darkness, and under a fast falling rain, the hours were spent in search- 
 ing for our wounded comrades amid the heap of slain upon the field : 
 and the glimmering of the lanterns, as they flickered far and near 
 across the wide plain, bespoke the track of the fatigue parties in their 
 mournful round ; while the groans of the wounded rose amid the 
 silence with an accent of heartrending anguish : so true was it, as our 
 great commander said, " There is nothing more sad than a victory, 
 except a defeat. " 
 
 Around our bivouac fires, the feeling of sorrowful depression was 
 also evident. We had gained a great victory, it was true : we had 
 beaten the far-famed legions of France upon a ground of their own 
 choosing, led by the most celebrated of their marshals, and under the 
 eyes of the Emperor's own brother ; but still we felt all the hazardous 
 daring of our position, and had no confidence whatever in the courage 
 or discipline of our allies ; and we saw that in the very melee of the 
 battle the efforts of the enemy were directed almost exclusively against 
 our line, so confidently did they undervalue the efforts of the Spanish 
 troops. Morning broke at length, and scarcely was the heavy mist 
 clearing before the red sunlight, when the sounds of fife and drum 
 were heard from a distant part of the field. The notes swelled or 
 sunk as the breeze rose or fell, and many a conjecture was hazarded 
 as to their meaning, for no object was well visible for more than a few 
 hundred yards off : gradually, however, they grew nearer and nearer, 
 and at length, as the air cleared, and the hazy vapour evaporated, the 
 bright scarlet uniform of a British regiment was seen advancing at 
 a quick step. 
 
 As they came nearer the well-known march of the gallant 43rd was 
 recognised by some of our people, and immediately the rumour fled 
 like lightning ' ' It is Crawford's brigade ; " and so it was : the noble 
 fellow had marched his division the unparalleled distance of sixty 
 English miles in twenty-seven hours. Over a burning sandy soil, 
 exposed to a raging sun, without rations, almost without water, these
 
 NIGHT AFTER TALAVERA 803 
 
 gallant troops pressed on in the unwearied hope of sharing the glory 
 of the battlefield. One tremendous cheer welcomed the head of the 
 column as they marched past, and continued till the last file had 
 deployed before us. 
 
 As these splendid regiments moved by, we could not help feeling 
 what signal service they might have rendered us but a few hours 
 before : their soldier-like bearing, their high and effective state of 
 discipline, their well-known reputation, were in every mouth ; and I 
 scarcely think that any corps who stood the brunt of the mighty battle 
 were the subject of more encomium than the brave fellows who had 
 just joined us. 
 
 The mournful duties of the night were soon forgotten in the gay 
 and buoyant sounds on every side. Congratulations, shaking of hands, 
 kind inquiries went round ; and as we looked to the hilly ground 
 where so lately were drawn up in battle array the dark columns of 
 our enemy, and where not one sentinel now remained, the proud feel- 
 ing of our victory came home to our hearts with the ever thrilling 
 thought, " What will they say at home ? " 
 
 I was standing amid a group of my brother officers, when I received 
 an order from the Colonel to ride down to Talavera for the return of 
 our wounded, as the arrival of the Commauder-in-Chief was momen- 
 tarily looked for. I threw myself upon my horse, and setting out at 
 a brisk pace, soon reached the gates. 
 
 On entering the town I was obliged to dismount and proceed on 
 foot. The streets were completely filled with people, treading their 
 way among waggons, forage-carts, and sick-litters : here was a booth 
 filled with all imaginable wares for sale ; there a temporary gin shop 
 established beneath a broken baggage waggon ; here might be seen a 
 merry party throwing dice for a turkey or a kid there a wounded 
 man with bloodless cheek and tottering step, inquiring the road to the 
 hospital ; the accents of agony mingled with the drunken chorus, and 
 the sharp crack of the provost-marshal's whip was heard above the 
 boisterous revelling of the debauchee. All was confusion, bustle, and 
 excitement. The staff-officer, with his flowing plume and glittering 
 epaulettes, wended his way on foot amid the din and bustle un- 
 noticed and uncared for ; while the little drummer amused an admiring 
 audience of simple country folk by some wondrous tale of the great 
 victory. 
 
 My passage through this dense mass was necessarily a slow one. No 
 one made way for another ; discipline for the time was at an end, and 
 with it all respect for rank or position. It was what nothing of mere 
 vicissitude in the fortune of war can equal the wild orgies of an army 
 the day after a battle. 
 
 On turning the corner of a narrow street my attention was attracted 
 by a crowd which, gathered round a small fountain, seemed, as well as 
 I could perceive, to witness some proceeding with a more than ordi- 
 nary interest. Exclamations in Portuguese, expressive of surprise and 
 admiration, were mingled with English oaths and Irish ejaculations, 
 while high above all rose other sounds the cries of some one in pain 
 and suffering. Forcing my way through the dense group, I at length 
 reached the interior of the crowd, when, to my astonishment, I perceived
 
 304 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 a short, fat, punchy-looking man, stripped of his coat and waistcoat, 
 and with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, busily employed 
 in operating upon a wounded soldier. Amputation knives, tourniquets, 
 bandages, and all other imaginable instruments for giving and alleviat- 
 ing torture were strewed about him, and from the arrangement and 
 preparation, it was clear that he had pitched upon this spot as a hospital 
 for his patients. While he continued to perform his functions with a 
 singular speed and dexterity, he never for a moment ceased a running 
 fire of small talk, now addressed to the patient in particular, now to the 
 crowd at large sometimes a soliloquy to himself, and not unfrequently, 
 abstractedly, upon things in general. These little specimens of oratory, 
 delivered in such a place at such a time, and, not least of all in the 
 richest imaginable Cork accent, were sufficient to arrest my steps, and 
 1 stopped for some time to observe him. 
 
 The patient, who was a large, powerfully built fellow, had been 
 wounded in both legs by the explosion of a shell, but yet not so severely 
 as to require amputation. 
 
 11 Does that plaze you, then ? " said the doctor, as he applied some 
 powerful caustic to a wounded vessel ; " there's no satisfying the like 
 of you. Quite warm and comfortable ye'll be this morning after that. 
 I saw that same shell coming, and I called out to Maurice Blake, ' By 
 your leave, Maurice, let that fellow pass, he's in a hurry ; ' and faith, 
 I said to myself, ' There's more where you came from : you're not an 
 only child, and I never liked the family,' what are ye grinning for, 
 ye brown thieves?" this was addressed to the Portuguese. "There, 
 now, keep the limb quiet and easy. Upon my conscience, if that shell 
 fell into ould Lundy Foot's shop this morning, there'd be plenty of 
 sneezing in Sackville Street. Who's next?" said he, looking round 
 with an expression that seemed to threaten that if no wounded man 
 was ready, he was quite prepared to carve out a patient for himself. 
 Not exactly relishing the invitation or the searching that accompanied 
 it, I backed my way through the crowd, and continued my path towards 
 the hospital. 
 
 Here the scene which presented itself was shocking beyond belief 
 frightful and ghastly wounds from shells and cannon shot were seen 
 on all sides ; every imaginable species of suffering that man is capable 
 of was presented to view ; while, amid the dead and dying, operations 
 the most painful were proceeding with a haste and bustle that plainly 
 showed how many more waited their turn for similar offices. The 
 stairs were blocked up with fresh arrivals of wounded men, and even 
 upon the corridors and landing-places the sick were strewn on all 
 sides. 
 
 I hurried to that part of the building where my own people were, and 
 soon learned that our loss was confined to about fourteen wounded ; 
 five of them were officers : but, fortunately, we lost not a man of our 
 gallant fellows, and Talavera brought us no mourning for a comrade 
 to damp the exultation we felt in our victory.
 
 THE OUTPOST 305 
 
 CHAPTER LXVII 
 
 THE OUTPOST 
 
 DURING the three days which succeeded the battle all things remained 
 as they were before : the enemy had gradually withdrawn all his forces., 
 and our most advanced pickets never came in sight of a French detach- 
 ment. Still, although we had gained a great victory, our situation 
 was anything but flattering. The most strenuous exertions of the 
 commissariat were barely sufficient to provision the troops ; and we 
 had even already but too much experience of how little trust or reliance 
 could be reposed in the most lavish promises of our allies. It was 
 true, our spirits failed us not, but it was rather from an implicit and 
 never-failing confidence in the resources of our great leader, than that 
 any amongst us could see his way through the dense cloud of difficulty 
 and danger that seemed to envelop us on every side. 
 
 To add to the pressing emergency of our position, we learned on 
 the evening of the 31st that Soult was advancing from the north, and 
 at the head of fourteen thousand chosen troops in full march upon 
 Placentia ; thus threatening our rear, at the very moment, too, when 
 any further advance was evidently impossible. 
 
 On the morning of the 1st of August I was ordered with a small 
 party to push forward in the direction of the Alberche, upon the left 
 bank of which it was reported that the French were again concentrating 
 their forces, and, if possible, to obtain information as to their future 
 movements. Meanwhile the army was about to fall back upon Oropesa, 
 there to await Soult's advance, and, if necessary, to give him battle 
 Cuesta engaging with his Spaniards to secure Talavera, with its stores 
 and hospitals, against any present movement from Victor. 
 
 After a hearty breakfast, and a kind " Good-bye ! " from my brother 
 officers, I set out. My road along the Tagus, for several miles of the 
 way, was a narrow path scarped from the rocky ledge of the river, 
 shaded by rich olive plantations that threw a friendly shade over us 
 during the noonday heat. 
 
 We travelled along silently, sparing our cattle from time to time, 
 but endeavouring ere nightfall to reach Torrijos, in which village we 
 had heard several French soldiers were in hospital. Our information 
 leading us to believe them very inadequately guarded, we hoped to 
 make some prisoners, from whom the information we sought could in 
 all likelihood be obtained. More than once during the day our road 
 was crossed by parties similar to our own, sent forward to reconnoitre, 
 and towards evening a party of the 23rd Light Dragoons, returning 
 towards Talavera, informed us that the French had retired from 
 Torrijos, which was now occupied by an English detachment, under 
 my old friend O'Shaughnessy. 
 
 I need not say with what pleasure I heard this piece of news, and 
 eagerly pressed forward, preferring the warm shelter and hospitable 
 board the Major was certain of possessing, to the cold blast and 
 dripping grass of a bivouac. Night, however, fell fast ; darkness 
 
 u
 
 306 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 without an intervening twilight set in, and we lost our way. A bleak 
 table-land, with here and there a stunted leafless tree, was all that we 
 could discern by the pale light of a new moon. An apparently inter- 
 minable heath, uncrossed by path or foot-track, was before us, and our 
 jaded cattle seemed to feel the dreary uncertainty of the prospect as 
 sensitively as ourselves stumbling and over-reaching at every step. 
 
 Cursing my ill-luck for such a misadventure, and once more picturing 
 to my mind the bright blazing hearth and smoking supper I had hoped 
 to partake of, I called a halt, and prepared to pass the night. My 
 decision was hastened by finding myself suddenly in a little grove of 
 pine-trees, whose shelter was not to be despised ; besides that, our 
 bivouac fires were now sure of being supplied. 
 
 It was fortunate the night was fine, though dark. In a calm, still 
 atmosphere, when not a leaf moved nor a branch stirred, we picketed 
 our tired horses, and, shaking out their forage, heaped up in the midst 
 a blazing fire of the fir-tree. Our humble supper was procured, and, 
 even with the still lingering reverie of the Major and his happier 
 destiny, I began to feel comfortable. 
 
 My troopers, who probably had not been flattering their imagina- 
 tions with such gourmand reflections and views, sat happily around 
 their cheerful blaze, chatting over the great battle they had so lately 
 witnessed, and mingling their stories of some comrade's prowess with 
 sorrows for the dead and proud hopes for the future. In the midst, 
 upon his knees beside the flame, was Mike, disputing, detailing, guess- 
 ing, and occasionally inventing all his arguments only tending to one 
 view of the late victory <( that it was the Lord's mercy the most of 
 the 48th was Irish, or we wouldn't be sitting there now ! " 
 
 Despite Mr. Free's conversational gifts, however, his audience one 
 by one dropped off in sleep, leaving him sole monarch of the watch- 
 fire, and what he thought more of a small brass kettle nearly full 
 of brandy and water. This latter I perceived he produced when all 
 was tranquil, and seemed, as he cast a furtive glance around, to assure 
 himself that he was the only company present. 
 
 Lying some yards off I watched him for about an hour, as he sat rub- 
 bing his hands before the blaze, or lifting the little vessel to his lips ; his 
 droll features ever and anon seemed acted upon by some passing dream 
 of former devilment, as he smiled and muttered some sentences in an 
 under-voice. Sleep at length overpowered me ; but my last waking 
 thoughts were haunted by a singular ditty by which Mike accompanied 
 himself as he kept burnishing the buttons of my jacket before the fire, 
 now and then interrupting the melody by a recourse to the copper. 
 
 " Well, well ; you're clean enough now, and sure it's little good 
 brightening you up, when you'll be as bad to-morrow. Like him ; like 
 his father's son, devil a lie in it. Nothing would serve him but his best 
 blue jacket to fight in, as if the French was particular what they killed 
 us in. Pleasant trade, upon my conscience ! Well, never mind. That's 
 beautiful sperets, anyhow. Your health, Mickey Free ; it's yourself that 
 stands to me." 
 
 " It's little for glory I care ; 
 
 Sure ambition is only a fable ; 
 I'd as soon be myself as Lord Mayor, 
 With lashings of drink on the table.
 
 THE OUTPOST 307 
 
 I like to lie down in the sun 
 And drame when my faytures is scorchin', 
 
 That when I'm too ould for more fun, 
 Why, I'll marry a wife with a fortune. 
 
 And, in winter, with bacon and eggs, 
 
 And a place at the turf fire basking, 
 Sip my punch as I roasted my legs, 
 
 Oh ! the devil a more I'd be asking. 
 For I haven't ajanius for work, 
 
 It was never the gift of the Bradies, 
 But I'd make a most illigant Turk, 
 
 For I'm fond of tobacco and ladies." 
 
 This confounded refrain kept ringing through my dreamland " tobacco 
 and ladies " mingled with my thoughts of storm and battlefield long 
 after their very gifted author had composed himself to my slumber. 
 
 Sleep, and sound sleep, came at length, and many hours had elapsed 
 ere I awoke. When I did so my fire was reduced to its last embers. 
 Mike, like the others, had sunk in slumber, and mid the grey dawn 
 that precedes the morning, I could just perceive the dark shadows of 
 troopers as they lay in groups around. 
 
 The fatigues of the previous day had so completely overcome me, 
 that it was with difficulty I could arouse myself so far as to heap fresh 
 logs upon the fire. This I did with my eyes half closed, and in that 
 listless, dreamy state which seems the twilight of sleep. 
 
 I managed so much, however, and was returning to my couch 
 beneath a tree, when suddenly an object presented itself to my eyes 
 that absolutely rooted me to the spot. At about twenty or thirty 
 yards distant, where, but the moment before, the long line of horizon 
 terminated the view, there now stood a huge figure of some ten or 
 twelve feet in height two heads which surmounted this colossal 
 personage moved alternately from side to side, while several arms 
 waved loosely to and fro in the most strange and uncouth manner. 
 My first impression was that a dream had conjui'ed up this distorted 
 image ; but when I had assured myself by repeated pinchings and 
 shakings that I was really awake, still it remained there. I was never 
 much given to believe in ghosts : but even had I been so, this strange 
 apparition must have puzzled me as much as ever, for it could not have 
 been the representative of anything I ever heard of before. 
 
 A vague suspicion that some French trickery was concerned, induced 
 me to challenge it in French, so, without advancing a step, I halloed 
 out, ' l Qui va la ? " 
 
 My voice aroused a sleeping soldier, who, springing up beside me, 
 had his carbine at the cock ; while, equally thunderstruck with my- 
 self, he gazed at the monster. 
 
 1 f Qui va Id ? " shouted I again, and no answer was returned, when 
 suddenly the huge object wheeled rapidly around, and, without waiting 
 for any further parley, made for the thicket. 
 
 The tramp of a horse's feet now assured me as to the nature of, at 
 least, part of the spectacle, when click went the trigger behind me, and 
 the trooper's ball rushed whistling through the brushwood. In a 
 moment the whole party were up and stirring.
 
 308 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " This way, lads ! " cried I, as, drawing my sabre, I dashed into the 
 pine wood. For a few moments all was dark as midnight ; but as we 
 proceeded further we came out upon a little open space, which com- 
 manded the plain beneath for a great extent 
 
 ''There it goes," said one of the men, pointing to a narrow beaten 
 path, in which the tall figure moved at a slow and stately pace, while 
 still the same wild gestures of heads and limbs continued. 
 
 " Don't fire, men ; don't fire ! " I cried ; " but follow me," as I set 
 forward as hard as I could. 
 
 As we neared it the frantic gesticulations grew more and more 
 remarkable, while some stray words which we half caught sounded 
 like English in our ears. We were now within pistol-shot distance, 
 when suddenly the horse for that much, at least, we were assured of 
 stumbled and fell forward, precipitating the remainder of the object 
 headlong into the road. 
 
 In a second we were upon the spot, when the first sounds which 
 greeted me were the following, uttered in an accent by no means new 
 to me : 
 
 "Oh ! blessed Virgin ; wasn't it yourself that threw me in the mud, 
 or my nose was done for? Shaugh, Shaugh, my boy, since we are 
 taken, tip them the blarney, and say we're generals of division." 
 
 I need not say with what a burst of laughter I received this very 
 original declaration. 
 
 " I ought to know that laugh," cried a voice I at once knew to be 
 my friend O'Shaughnessy. " Are you Charles O'Malley, by any chance 
 in life ? " 
 
 " The same, Major, and delighted to meet you ; though, faith, we 
 were near giving you a rather warm reception. What in the devil's 
 name did you represent just now ? " 
 
 " Ask Maurice there, bad luck to him ! I wish the devil had him 
 when he persuaded me into it." 
 
 " Introduce me to your friend," replied the other, rubbing his shins 
 as he spoke. " Mr. O'Mealey " so he called me " I think ; happy 
 to meet you ; my mother was a Ryan of Killdooley, married to a 
 first cousin of your father's before she took Mr. Quill, my respected 
 progenitor. I'm Dr. Quill of the 48th, more commonly called Maurice 
 Quill. Tear and ages ! how sore my back is. It was all the fault of 
 the baste, Mr. O'Mealey ; we set out in search of you this morning, to 
 bring you back with us to Torrijos, but we fell in with a very pleasant 
 funeral at Barca venter, and joined them ; they invited us, I may say, 
 to spend the day, and a very jovial day it was. I was a chief mourner, 
 and carried a very big candle through the village, in consideration of 
 as fine a meat pie, and as much lush as my grief permitted me to 
 indulge in afterwards ; but, my dear sir, when it was all finished, we 
 found ourselves nine miles from our quarters, and as neither of us were 
 in a very befitting condition for pedestrian exercise, we stole one of the 
 leaders out of the hearse velvet, plumes, and all, and set off home. 
 
 " When we came upon your party, we were not over clear whether 
 you were English, Portuguese, or French ; and that was the reason I 
 called out to you, ( God save all here,' in Irish : your polite answer was 
 a shot, which struck the old horse in the knee, and although we
 
 THE OUTPOST 309 
 
 wheeled about in double quick, we could never get him out of his pro- 
 fessional habits on the road. He had a strong notion he was engaged 
 in another funeral as he was very likely to be ; and the devil a bit 
 faster than a dead march could we get him to, with all our thrashing. 
 Orderly time, for men in a hurry, with a whole platoon blazing away 
 behind them ! but long life to the cavalry, they merit anything. ' 
 
 While he continued to run on in this manner, we reached our watch- 
 fire, when what was my surprise to discover in my newly made ac- 
 quaintance the worthy doctor I had seen a day or two before operating 
 at the fountain of Talavera. 
 
 "Well, Mr. O'Mealey," said he, as he seated himself before the 
 blaze, " what is the state of the larder ? Anything savoury anything 
 drink-inspiring to be had ? " 
 
 ' ' I fear, Doctor, my fare is of the very humblest ; but still " 
 
 "What are the fluids, Charley?" cried the Major; "the cruel per- 
 formance I have been enacting on that cursed beast has left me in a 
 fever." 
 
 " This was a pigeon pie, formerly," said Dr. Quill, investigating the 
 ruined walls of a pasty ; " and but come, here's a duck ; and if my 
 nose deceive me not, a very tolerable ham. Peter Larry Patsy 
 What's the name of your familiar there ? " 
 
 " Mickey Mickey Free." 
 
 " Mickey Free, then : come here, avick ! Devise a little drink, my 
 son not of the weakest no lemon hot ! You understand, hot ! 
 That chap has an eye for punch ; there's no mistaking an Irish fellow, 
 nature has endowed them richly fine features, and a beautiful absor- 
 bent system ! that's the gift just look at him, blowing up the fire 
 isn't he a picture? Well, O'Mealey, I was fretting that we hadn't 
 you up at Torrijos ; we were enjoying life very respectably : we estab- 
 lished a little system of small tithes upon fowl, sheep, pig's heads and 
 wine-skins, that throve remarkably for the time. Here's the lush ! 
 put it down there, Mickey, in the middle : that's right. Your health, 
 Shaugh. O'Mealey, here's a troop to you ; and in the meantime I'll 
 give you a chaunt : 
 
 " ' Come, ye jovial souls, don't over the bowl be sleeping, 
 Nor let the grog go round like a cripple creeping ; 
 If your care comes up in the liquor sink it, 
 Pass along the lush I'm the boy can drink it. 
 
 Isn't that so, Mrs. Mary Callaghan ? 
 
 Isn't that so, Mrs. Mary Callaghan ? ' 
 
 " Shaugh, my hearty, this begins to feel comfortable. 
 
 " Your man, O'Mealey, has a most judicious notion of punch for a 
 small party ; and though one has prejudices about a table, chairs, and 
 that sort of thing, take my word for it it's better than fighting the 
 French, any day." 
 
 " Well, Charley, it certainly did look quite awkward enough the 
 other day towards three o'clock, when the legion fell back before that 
 French column, and broke the Guards behind them." 
 
 " Yes, you're quite right ; but I think every one felt that the con- 
 fusion was but momentary ; the gallant 48th was up in an instant." 
 
 " Faith ! I can answer for their alacrity," said the Doctor. " 1 was
 
 310 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 making my way to the rear with all convenient despatch, when an aide- 
 de-camp called out : 
 
 " ' Cavalry coming ! take care, 48th.' 
 
 " ' Left face, wheel ! Fall in there ! Fall in there ! ' I heard on 
 every side, and soon found myself standing in a square, with Sir 
 Arthur himself, and Hill, and the rest of them all around me. 
 
 ft ' Steady, men ! Steady, now ! ' said Hill, as he rode around the 
 ranks, while we saw an awful column of cuirassiers forming on the 
 rising ground to our left. 
 
 " ' Here they come ! ' said Sir Arthur, as the French came powdering 
 along, making the very earth tremble beneath them. 
 
 ' e My first thought was, ' The devils are mad, and they'll ride down 
 into us, before they know they're kilt ! ' and sure enough smash into 
 our first rank they pitched, sabreing and cutting all before them ; 
 when at last the word ' Fire ! ' was given, and the whole head of the 
 column broke like a shell, and rolled horse over man on the earth. 
 
 " ' Very well done ! very well, indeed ! ' said Sir Arthur, turning as 
 coolly round to me as if he was asking for more gravy. 
 
 " ' Mighty well done,' said I in reply, and resolving not to be outdone 
 in coolness, I pulled out my snuff-box and offered him a pinch, saying, 
 'The real thing, Sir Arthur; our own countryman blackguard.' He 
 gave a little grim kind of a smile, took a pinch, and then called out : 
 
 " ' Let Sherbrooke advance ! ' while turning again towards me, he 
 said, ' Where are your people, Colonel ? ' 
 
 " ' Colonel ! ' thought I. ' Is it possible he's going to promote me ? ' 
 but before I could answer he was talking to another. Meanwhile, 
 Hill came up, and looking at me steadily, burst out with : 
 
 " ( Why the devil are you here, sir ? Why ain't you at the rear ? ' 
 
 " ' Upon my conscience,' said I, ' that's the very thing I'm puzzling 
 myself about this minute ! but if you think it's pride in me, you're 
 greatly mistaken, for I'd rather the greatest scoundrel in Dublin was 
 kicking me down Sackville Street than be here now ! ' 
 
 " You'd think it was fun I was making, if you heard how they all 
 laughed, Hill and Cameron and the others, louder than any. 
 
 " ' Who is he ? ' said Sir Arthur quickly. 
 
 " ( Dr. Quill, surgeon of the 33rd, where I exchanged, to be near my 
 brother, sir, in the 34th.' 
 
 "'A doctor a surgeon ! That fellow a surgeon ! Damn him, I 
 took him for Colonel Grosvenor ! I say, Gordon, these medical officers 
 must be docked of their fine feathers, there's no knowing them from 
 the staff; look to that in the next general order.' 
 
 "And sure enough they left us bare and naked the next morning; 
 and if the French sharp-shooters pick us down now, devil mend them 
 for wasting powder, for if they look in the orderly books, they'll find 
 their mistake." 
 
 " Ah, Maurice, Maurice," said Shaugh, with a sigh ; " you'll never 
 improve you'll never improve ! " 
 
 "Why the devil would I?" said he. "Ain't I at the top of my 
 profession full surgeon with nothing to expect nothing to hope 
 for? Oh, if I only remained in the light company, what wouldn't I 
 be now ? "
 
 L'ENVOY 311 
 
 "Then you were not always a doctor?" said I. 
 
 " Upon my conscience I wasn't/' said he. " When Shaugh knew me 
 first, I was the Adonis of the Roscommon Militia, with more heiresses 
 in my list than any man in the regiment, but Shaugh and myself were 
 always unlucky." 
 
 " Poor Mrs. Rogers ! " said the Major pathetically, drinking off his 
 glass and heaving a profound sigh. 
 
 "Ah, the darling!" said the Doctor. "If it wasn't for a jug of 
 punch that lay on the hall table, our fortune in life would be very 
 different. " 
 
 ' ' True for you, Maurice ! " quoth O'Shaughnessy. 
 
 "I should like much to hear that story," said \, pushing the jug 
 briskly round. 
 
 " He'll tell it you," said O'Shaughnessy, lighting his cigar and lean- 
 ing pensively back against a tree, "he'll tell it you." 
 
 " I will with pleasure," said Maurice. " Let Mr. Free meantime 
 amuse himself with the punch bowl, and I'll relate it." 
 
 But the relation itself, for reasons mentioned in the following pages, 
 must be left to our next chapter. 
 
 MOST KIND PUBLIC, It is now nearly two years since we opened an 
 acquaintance with you. With what pleasure to ourselves the intimacy 
 has been cultivated, we need not repeat here. Your indulgence, your 
 good-nature, your untiring kindness, have been present with us through 
 every page we wrote ; and, whether our heart was heavy or our spirits 
 light, towards you we had but one feeling the deepest gratitude for 
 all your favours, with an ardent wish to preserve them to the last. 
 
 A hundred times have we asked ourselves, Why were you pleased 
 with us, and for what? which among the characters of our veracious 
 history had taken your fancy, and wherefore ? 
 
 Have you sympathised in the Irish waywardness and reckless good- 
 nature of Fred Power? Have you felt for the unmerited sorrows of 
 the fair Dalrymples? Have you warmed with generous enthusiasm 
 for the moral sentiments and pious effusions of Monsoon ? or have you 
 smiled at the vagrant fancies and cunning conceits of Mickey Free? 
 Alas, we know not. We are merely aware, upon the whole, that you 
 are not altogether weary of us ; but which is the attraction of the 
 piece, which the star of our company, we are totally ignorant. 
 
 Such were our wandering thoughts as we sat beside our Christmas 
 fire, and in a bumper of our oldest and raciest, pledged you ay, your 
 own excellent self as the best of patrons and most kind of masters. 
 Many a passing thought of friendly import suggested itself, as we 
 puzzled our brains how we best might testify our gratitude at this 
 season of mutual good wishes. Many a plan presented itself in turn, 
 and in return was rejected as far too weak for the expression of our 
 feelings ; when, suddenly, the current of our thoughts received a sad 
 and fatal shock, which, while it rendered our present desire unattain- 
 able, only promised to lay us under deeper obligations for the future. 
 
 The misfortune we allude to was briefly this :
 
 312 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 In a fire which took place in Dublin on the morning of the 2nd of 
 January, the whole of the premises in which the printing of our book 
 was carried on were burned to the ground. The violence of the flames 
 even melted the very type in the frames ; and where a tall and goodly 
 building had stood but yesterday, a mouldering and smoking ruin now 
 marks the spot. In this sad conjuncture our first thought was for the 
 proprietor, an upright and industrious man, whose calamity is a most 
 heavy one. His property was, we believe, uninsured, and the loss 
 involves great part of that competence which years of toil and labour 
 had accumulated. 
 
 Our next regret believe us, it came after a long, a long interval 
 was for ourselves. Our own misfortunes nothing in comparison with 
 his consisted in the loss of our MSS. The record of our campaigns 
 our days of battle and nights of bivouac met the fate of many 
 worthier pages, and were utterly consumed. 
 
 It is needless to express our regrets for the mishap ; and, indeed, we 
 should not have obtruded our sorrows upon you, were it not that an 
 apology is requisite to account for our maimed and imperfect appear- 
 ance. The melting pathos that was destined to stir your bosom, the 
 merry tale we calculated on for a laugh, the song we hoped you'd sing, 
 are lost to us for ever; and the heavy plash of the "Sun" and " Phoenix" 
 have done more to extinguish our fire, than, unhappily, they have 
 effected for that of our printer. 
 
 It is but poor sport to tell you what deeds of prowess we effected, 
 what battles we braved, what skirmishes we fought, how Monsoon 
 preached and Mike chanted, how Power laughed and O'Shaughnessy 
 blundered. Alas, and alas, the record was not fated to elicit laughter ; 
 and the only tears it called forth came from the fire-engines. 
 
 That we were about to become most interesting, most witty, most 
 moving, and most melancholy, we are ready to swear before any justice 
 in the commission ; that anything we had hitherto done was as nothing 
 compared to what we had in store, we solemnly adjure; and we 
 entreat you to believe what we ourselves are convinced of, that what 
 we held in reserve was the whole force of our history. 
 
 Lend us, then, most amiable reader, all your spare sympathy ; the 
 compliments of the season, despite the temperature we write in, have 
 been far too warm for us, and we must be excused desiring " many 
 returns of them for the future. " 
 
 Meanwhile, our worthy publisher, who has as much compassion for 
 a burnt MS. as the steward of a steamer has for the sufferings of a 
 passenger, bids us be of " good cheer." 
 
 (< Never mind it," quoth he. ' ' It's provoking, to be sure ; but come 
 out with a capital number in February, and they'll think nothing of it." 
 
 They meaning you, my Public you'll think nothing of what? Of 
 what took us months to indite of Mike's songs, of which no copies 
 are in existence of the various sayings and doings, thoughts, acts, 
 and opinions of Messrs. Monsoon, Power, Webber, Quill, O'Shaugh- 
 nessy & Co., who are at this moment scattered here and there about 
 the globe, and, except Monsoon, not a man of them to be bribed by 
 hock or hermitage to recount a single incident of their lives. 
 
 Some of our characters have grown serious, and don't like this men-
 
 I/ENVOY 313 
 
 tion of them at all. Others are married, and have vixenish wives, 
 highly indignant at the early pranks of their venerable partners. Many 
 want to write their own adventures, and don't fancy our poaching over 
 their manor ; and not a few are diners-out, depending for their turtle 
 and claret upon the very stories we have been giving you this year past. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these obstacles we are told " not to mind it." 
 " A capital No. plenty of drollery none of your long yarns about 
 the Douro, but fun Irish fun Mickey Free and Monsoon that's 
 what we want." Confound the man ! does he think we're inventing 
 our life ? does he suppose we are detailing a fictitious and not a real 
 history ? No, no ; there is no one better than himself aware that our 
 characters are real people, who, however little pleased they may be at 
 being painted at all, will never condescend to be caricatured. Never 
 did a man stand more stoutly upon his prerogative, and resolutely 
 reject all advances, till he gently hinted that our very amiable friend, 
 Frank Webber, had offered himself to complete the volume this 
 threat was really too much for us, and we knocked under. 
 
 The next question was as to time. It was impossible for us at a 
 moment to rewrite our lost pages ; and in our distress we sought the 
 aid and assistance of our literary friends among others, the talented 
 author of "Darnley" and "The Gipsy." He came to our succour 
 with a readiness no less a proof of his friendship than his genius, and, 
 in a story of intense interest and great beauty, has done much to con- 
 sole us. It is now before us ; we intend that it should be before you. 
 
 Though little apology is necessary, that having invited you to par- 
 take of tough mutton, we have presented you with racy venison, and 
 though well knowing that when enjoying "James" you have no 
 regrets for " Harry," we deem it only respectful towards you, or fitting 
 in us, to explain what has occurred, and to add that, before the next 
 period of appearing before you, we shall have done everything in our 
 power to recover the true web of our narrative. 
 
 Here, then, you have our story and our apology while we earnestly 
 entreat you to believe none genuine except signed by Charles O'Malley. 
 There is no reliance to be placed in the many versions abroad. It is 
 not true that our book is pronounced " doubly hazardous " by the 
 Insurance Companies, and not acceptable under a ft parson premium" ; 
 there is no truth in the story that the fire was a malicious act, originat- 
 ing among the junior bar ; there is no truth in the statement that a 
 gigantic and powerful individual interposed his strong arm to prevent 
 the engines playing upon the manuscript-room, declaring at the time 
 that he " should see us burned to ashes." 
 
 We cannot conclude without publicly testifying our gratitude to 
 O'Shaughnessy. He arrived here post from Strasburgh, the moment 
 he heard of our mishap, and has been administering every comfort and 
 consolation in his power. 
 
 " It's maybe the best thing ever happened you, Charley. It's truth 
 I'm telling you hear me out. My father God rest him had two 
 pounds ten in French notes when the bank broke, and to the hour of 
 his death he never paid a creditor, always alleging that if it hadn't 
 been for that d d bank, he'd not owe sixpence ! Take the hint, my 
 boy. If they complain that you're dull that you are growing prosy
 
 314 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 and tiresome that Moiisoon is a bore, and yourself not much better, 
 tell them it's all the fault of the fire ; and if you manage it well, the 
 excuse will last your lifetime." 
 
 Let me now conclude with this assurance, while I forestall the moral 
 of my friend James's beautiful story, and assure you that I feel a fire 
 can be a happy incident ; for, had not my pages been burnt, I should 
 never have been able to present you with his. I am most respectfully 
 and faithfully yours, 
 
 CHARLES O'MALLEY. 
 
 BBTJSSELS, Jan. 18, 1841. 
 
 To G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. 
 
 HOTEL DE REQENCE. 
 
 With a scrap of note paper, just saved from the flames, 
 
 1 sit down to write you a line, my dear James, 
 
 And explain, if I'm able my spirits to rally, 
 
 The misfortune that's happened to poor Charles O'Malley. 
 
 In Ireland, where once they were proud of their learning, 
 
 They've taken, of late years, to roasting and burning ; 
 
 And, not satisfied now, with destroying a parson, 
 
 They've given a poor author a touch of their arson. 
 
 About these good people I rarely was critical, 
 
 Seldom religious, and never political ; 
 
 I never subscribed to the Post, nor the Mail, 
 
 Nor cried "No Surrender," nor "Up with Repale." 
 
 Though I've listened to arguments over and over, 
 
 I've confounded M'Hale with the King of Hanover ; 
 
 And never by chance could find out what they mean, 
 
 When asked if I didn't like blue before green ; 
 
 In a word, my dear friend, I confess, as a man 
 
 I relished Young Butt, and admired, too, Old Dan. 
 
 They were Irishmen both not a touch of the Norman, 
 
 No more than great Nicholas Purcell O'Gormau. 
 
 From Kinsale to the Causeway Athloue or Armagh 
 
 They are Paddies all over from Erin-go-bragh ; 
 
 I loved the gay fellows, and cared not a crown, 
 
 Did they sing " Bloody Billy," or " Croppies lie down ; " 
 
 As ready with one as the other to tope, 
 
 To cry "Down with the Church," " Bloody end to the Pope." / 
 
 They might wear in their neckcloth pea-green or sky-blue, 
 
 Provided their hearts were but honest and true ; 
 
 And, however Whigs, Tories, and Radicals talk, 
 
 Like the leaves of the shamrock, they spring fi'om one stalk ; 
 
 They've their root in the soil, and they wish not to sever, 
 
 But adorn the hills of their country for ever. 
 
 But at last, to come back, for I'm sure you suppose 
 I've lost, in digressing, all sight of my woes, 
 And forget how the devil the printer's, I say 
 Set fire to my book on the last New Year's Day ;
 
 'ree, 
 
 :- j 
 
 ;oon ! ) 
 
 L'ENVOY 315 
 
 And, just as the Ribbonmen treated old Kinsela, 
 They roasted the horses that fought the Peninsula. 
 They left not a character living for me, 
 Frank Webber, and Power, and poor Mickey Free, 
 And even the " Dais," and the Major Monsoon, 
 They sent up in fragments as high as the moon- 
 On my conscience they finished the Irish Dragoe 
 Not a man could escape, nor lie hid in a nook, 
 The wretches, they even laid hands on the <( Duke ; " 
 And from what I have heard this between me and you 
 He shone full as bright as at great Waterloo ; 
 And though firemen played, like some journals we'd name, 
 They could not extinguish one spark of his fame, 
 As when rising on high, and upon earth no more he 
 Illumined the land of his birth with his glory. 
 
 But to come back once more these eternal digressions, 
 Are like record appeals from the last quarter sessions, 
 Where the judges wish both sides were fast in the stocks 
 And the jury are all sound asleep in the box 
 They've burnt my book not a story nor sally, 
 Not a love scene, nor fight, now remains of O'Malley ; 
 Not a battle or bivouac, ever you'll see, 
 Not even a chant from our friend Mickey Free. 
 
 So with labouring brain, and with faculties turning, 
 I sit trying to find out a cause for this burning 
 Was it some scheme of a clique or a closet ? or 
 Was it the fault of a drowsy compositor ? 
 Was it some story with which I've been rash in ? 
 Or was it some foe to my good friend M'Glashan ? 
 Was it Otway or Carleton, or was it Sam Lover ? 
 Alas, I'm afraid I shall never discover. 
 I don't think it true, but it's whispered to me 
 That More had grown jealous of poor Mickey Free, 
 For he sings his own songs when he's asked out to tea. 
 
 But come over, dear friend, and partake of my prog, 
 And suggest what to do for an unlucky dog ; 
 Who never gives way long to grief and to sorry care, 
 For somehow they but ill suit your friend, 
 
 HARRY LORREQLER. 
 
 J A M E s's ANSWER. 
 
 VOLUME THE FIRST. 
 
 
 
 MY DEAR LORREQUER, When I received your note the sun was 
 shining as brightly as if it had been summer, and on the golden 
 background of the evening sky the thin tracery of the leafless twigs 
 was finely marked, offering many a beautiful form and graceful line, 
 though the foliage of a brighter season had departed. They were like
 
 316 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the memories of hopes long passed away ; and I could not help think- 
 ing 1 , as I read the account of what had befallen you, that you, like 
 those bare branches though you had lost one crop of leaves in this 
 untimely manner, might very soon produce another as fertile of hope 
 as those which were gone. The news of the burning of the printing- 
 house, and the loss it occasioned you, grieved me deeply, but did not 
 surprise me in the least. I have always expected it ; for who would 
 doubt that, after you had gone on eating fire so long, fire would 
 sometime or another turn round and eat you? Besides, my dear 
 Lorrequer, there is something so very inflammatory in your nature that 
 I wonder any printer would let your sheets within his door. No one 
 ever speaks of you without finding ideas of combustion naturally sug- 
 gest themselves ; and the wife of a great general, in describing to me, 
 the other day, a visit you had paid her with a worthy gentleman from 
 Scotland, said, that it was the strongest contrast she had ever seen, for 
 he burned like a port-fire, while you went off like a sky-rocket. Why, 
 your good and your bad qualities all tend to the same effect, and your 
 very books are enough to make a man call a fire-engine. Warm- 
 hearted though you be, you cannot deny that you are as fiery as a box 
 of lucifers, and have been in a flame of one kind or another all your 
 life ; and when we take into consideration your flashy wit, and your 
 blazing style, I cannot but think that the printer who takes in your 
 MS. without warning his neighbours, might be indicted for a nuisance. 
 I have a strong notion that you are Swing in disguise, so lay the fault 
 upon nobody but yourself. 
 
 However, let me see if I can give you some consolation ; and, first 
 in the true style of all comforters, let me try to persuade you that a 
 great misfortune is the best possible thing that could happen to you. 
 After all is done and over, my good friend, a fire is not so bad a thing. 
 You may say ' ' granted ; a small quantity of the element : but that 
 one may have too much of a good thing. That a fire in a grate is a 
 good thing in its way, but a house on fire is to be avoided, when 
 possible." Still, however, I hold to my text and reply, that a house 
 on fire is not always so bad a thing as people think. I recollect a very 
 sweet girl being saved from drowning in the middle of the Atlantic y 
 a house on fire. Come, I will tell you the story, and that s. 1 ill 
 be 
 
 VOLUME THE SECOND. 
 
 <e THERE was once a great banker in London, who had a very fine house 
 in Portland Place, and a very dirty old house in the city ; and if the 
 latter looked the image of business and riches, the former looked the 
 picture of luxury and display. He himself was a mild man, whose 
 ostentation was of a quiet, but not the less of an active kind. His 
 movements were always calm and tranquil, and his clothes plain ; but 
 the former were stately, the latter were in the best fashion. Holditch 
 was his coachmaker in those days ; Ude's first cousin was his cook : 
 his servants walked upstairs to announce a visitor to the tune of the 
 Dead March in Saul, and opened both valves of the folding-doors at 
 once with a grace that could only be acquired by long practice. 
 Everything seemed to move in his house by rule, and nothing was ever
 
 L'ENVOY 317 
 
 seen to go wrong. All the lackeys wore powder, and the women- 
 servants had their caps prescribed to them. His wife was the daughter 
 of a country gentleman of very old race, a woman of good manners 
 and a warm heart. Though there were two carriages always at her 
 especial command, she sometimes walked on her feet, even in London, 
 and would not suffer an account of her parties to find its way into the 
 Morning Post. The banker and his wife had but one child, a daughter, 
 and a very pretty and very sweet girl she was as ever my eyes saw. 
 She was not very tall, though very beautifully formed, and exquisitely 
 graceful. She was the least affected person that ever was seen ; for, 
 accustomed from her earliest days to perfect ease in every respect 
 denied nothing that was virtuous and right, taught by her mother to 
 estimate high qualities too much habituated to wealth to regard it as 
 an object and too frequently brought in contact with rank to esti- 
 mate it above its value she had nothing to covet, and nothing to 
 assume. Her face was sweet and thoughtful, though the thoughts 
 were evidently cheerful ones, and her voice was full of melody and 
 gentleness. Her name was Alice Herbert, and she was soon the 
 admired of all admirers. People looked for her at the opera and the 
 park, declared her beautiful, adorable, divine ; she became the wonder, 
 the rage, the fashion ; and everybody added, when they spoke about 
 her, that she would have half a million at the least. Now Mr. Herbert 
 himself was not at all anxious that his daughter should marry any of 
 the men that first presented themselves, because none of them were 
 above the rank of a baron : nor was Mrs. Herbert anxious either, 
 because she did not wish to part with her daughter ; nor was Alice 
 herself I do not know well why perhaps she thought that a part of 
 the men who surrounded her were fops, and as many were libertines, 
 and the rest were fools, and Alice did not feel more inclined to choose 
 out of those three classes than her father did out of the three inferior 
 grades of our nobility. There was, indeed, a young man in the 
 Guards, distantly connected with her mother's family, who was neither 
 fop, libertine, nor fool a gentleman, an accomplished man, and a man 
 of good feeling, who was often at Mr. Herbert's house, but father, 
 mother, and daughter, all thought him quite out of the question : the 
 father because he was not a duke ; the mother because he was a 
 soldier ; the daughter because he had never given her the slightest 
 reason to believe that he either admired or loved her. As he had 
 some two thousand a year, he might have been a good match for a 
 clergyman's daughter, but could not pretend to Miss Herbert. Alice 
 certainly liked him better than any man she had ever seen, and once 
 she found his eyes fixed upon her from the other side of a ball-room 
 with an expression that made her forget what her partner was saying 
 to her. The colour came up into her cheek, too, and that seemed to 
 give Henry Ashton courage to come up, and ask her to dance. She 
 danced with him on the following night, too ; and Mr. Herbert, who 
 remarked the fact, judged that it would be but right to give Henry 
 Ashton a hint. Two days after, as Alice's father was just about to go 
 out, the young Guardsman himself was ushered into his library, and 
 the banker prepared to give his hint, and give it plainly, too. He was 
 saved the trouble, however ; for Ashton's first speech was, ' 1 have
 
 318 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 come to bid you farewell, Mr. Herbert. We are ordered to Canada to 
 put down the evil spirit there. I set out in an hour to take leave of 
 my mother, in Staffordshire, and then embark with all speed.' 
 
 " Mr. Herbert economised his hint, and wished his young friend all 
 success. ' By the way,' he added, e Mrs. Herbert may like to write a 
 few lines by you to her brother at Montreal. You know he is her 
 only brother : he made a sad business of it, what with building and 
 planting, and farming and such things. So I got him an appointment 
 in Canada just that he might retrieve. She would like to write, I 
 know. You will find her upstairs. I must go out myself. Good 
 fortune attend you.' 
 
 (( Good fortune did attend him, for he found Alice Herbert alone in 
 the very first room he entered. There was a table before her, and she 
 was leaning over it as if very busy, but when Henry Ashton approached 
 her, he found that she had been carelessly drawing wild leaves on a 
 scrap of paper, while her thoughts were far away. She coloured when 
 she saw him, and was evidently agitated ; but she was still more so 
 when he repeated what he had told her father. She turned red, and 
 she turned pale, and she sat still, and she said nothing. Henry Ashton 
 became agitated himself. ' It is all in vain,' he said to himself. ' It 
 is all in vain, I know her father too well ; ' and he rose, asking where 
 he should find her mother. 
 
 <( Alice answered in a faint voice, ' In the little room beyond the 
 back drawing-room.' 
 
 ' ' Henry paused a moment longer : the temptation was too great to 
 be resisted ; he took the sweet girl's hand ; he pressed it to his lips, 
 and said, ' Farewell, Miss Herbert ! farewell ! I know I shall never 
 see any one like you again ; but, at least it is a blessing to have known 
 you though it be but to regret that fortune has not favoured me still 
 farther ! Farewell ! farewell !' 
 
 " Henry Ashton sailed for Canada, and saw some service there. He 
 distinguished himself as an officer, and his name was in several de- 
 spatches. A remnant of the old chivalrous spirit made him often 
 think, when he was attacking a fortified village, or charging a body of 
 insurgents, ' Alice Herbert will hear of this ! ' but often too, he would 
 ask himself, ' I wonder if she be married yet ? ' and his companions 
 used to jest with him upon always looking first at the woman's part 
 of the newspaper the births, deaths, and marriages. 
 
 " His fears, if we can venture to call them such, were vain. Alice 
 did not marry, although about a year after Henry Ashton had quitted 
 England, her father descended a little from his high ambition, and 
 hinted that if she thought fit, she might listen to the young Earl 
 
 of . Alice was not inclined to listen, and gave the Earl plainly to 
 
 understand that she was not inclined to become his Countess. The 
 Earl, however, persevered, and Mr. Herbert now began to add his 
 influence ; but Alice was obdurate, and reminded her father of a 
 promise he had made, never to press her marriage with any one. Mr. 
 Herbert seemed more annoyed than Alice expected, walked up and 
 down the room in silence, and on leaving it, shut himself up with Mrs. 
 Herbert for nearly two hours. What took place Alice did not know ; 
 but Mrs. Herbert from that moment looked grave and anxious. Mr.
 
 L'ENVOY 319 
 
 Herbert insisted that the Earl should be received at the house as a 
 friend, though he urged his daughter no more ; and balls and parties 
 succeeded each other so rapidly that the quieter inhabitants of Portland 
 Place wished the banker and his family where Alice herself wished 
 to be in Canada. In the meantime, Alice became alarmed for her 
 mother, whose health was evidently suffering from some cause ; but 
 Mrs. Herbert would consult no physician, and her husband seemed 
 never to perceive the state of weakness and depression into which she 
 was sinking. Alice resolved to call the matter to her father's notice, 
 and as he now went out every morning at an early horn-, she rose one 
 day sooner than usual, and knocked at the door of his dressing-room. 
 There was no answer, and unclosing the door she looked in to see if 
 he were already gone. The curtains were still drawn, but through 
 them some of the morning beams found their way, and by the dim 
 sickly light Alice beheld an object that made her clasp her hands and 
 tremble violently. Her father's chair before the dressing-table was 
 vacant ; but beside it lay upon the floor something like the figure of 
 a man asleep. Alice approached, with her heart beating so violently 
 that she could hear it ; and there was no other sound in the room. 
 She knelt down beside him : it was her father. She could not hear 
 him breathe, and she drew back the curtains. He was as pale as 
 marble, and his eyes were open, but fixed. She uttered not a sound, 
 but with wild eyes gazed around the room, thinking of what she 
 should do. Her mother was in the chamber at the side of the dress- 
 ing-room ; but Alice, thoughtful even in the deepest agitation, feared 
 to call her, and rang the bell for her father's valet. The man came 
 and raised his master, but Mr. Herbert had evidently been dead some 
 hours. Poor Alice wept terribly, but still she thought of her mother, 
 and she made no noise, and the valet was silent too ; for, in lifting 
 the dead body to the sofa, he had found a small vial, and was gazing 
 on it intently. 
 
 " ' I had better put this away, Miss Herbert,' he said at length in a 
 low voice ; ' I had better put this away before any one else comes.' 
 
 "Alice gazed at the vial with her tearful eyes. It was marked 
 ( Prussic acid ! poison ! ' 
 
 " This was but the commencement of many sorrows. Though the 
 coroner's jury pronounced that Mr. Herbert had died a natural death, 
 yet every one declared he had poisoned himself, especially when it was 
 found that he had died utterly insolvent ; that all his last great specu- 
 lations had failed, and that the news of his absolute beggary had 
 reached him on the night preceding his decease. Then came all the 
 horrors of such circumstances to poor Alice and her mother : the 
 funeral ; the examination of the papers ; the sale of the house and 
 furniture ; the tiger claws of the law rending open the house in all its 
 dearest associations ; the commiseration of friends ; the taunts and 
 scoffs of those who had envied and hated in silence. Then for poor 
 Alice herself came the last worst blow, the sickness and deathbed of a 
 mother : sickness and death in poverty. The last scene was just over : 
 the earth was just laid upon the coffin of Mrs. Herbert, and Alice sat 
 with her eyes dropping fast, thinking of the sad ' What next?' when a 
 letter was given to her, and she saw the handwriting of her uncle in
 
 .320 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Canada. She had written to him on her father's death, and now he 
 answered full of tenderness and affection, begging his sister and niece 
 instantly to join him in the new land which he had made his country. 
 All the topics of consolation which philosophy ever discovered or 
 devised to soothe man under the manifold sorrows and cares of life 
 are not worth a blade of rye grass in comparison with one word of 
 true affection. It was the only balm that Alice Herbert's heart could 
 have received, and though it did not heal the wound it tranquillised 
 its aching. 
 
 " Mrs. Herbert, though not rich, had not been altogether portion- 
 less, and her small fortune was all that Alice now condescended to call 
 her own. There had been, indeed, a considerable jointure, but that 
 Alice renounced with feelings that you will understand. Economy, 
 however, was now a necessity, and after taking a passage in one of the 
 cheapest vessels she could find bound for Quebec a vessel that all the 
 world has heard of, named the St. Lawrence she set out for the good 
 city of Bristol, where she arrived in safety on the 16th day of May, 
 183 . I must now, however, turn to the history of Henry Ashton, 
 and that shall be 
 
 "VOLUME THE THIRD. 
 
 "!T was just after the business in Canada was settled that he entered 
 a room in Quebec, where several of the officers of his regiment were 
 assembled in various occupations one writing a letter to go by the 
 packet which was just about to sail, two looking out of the window at 
 the nothing which was doing in the streets, and one reading the news- 
 paper. There were three or four other journals on the table, and 
 Ashton took up one of them. As usual he turned to the record of 
 the three great things in life, and read, first the marriages then the 
 deaths ; and, as he did so, he saw, ' Suddenly, at his house in Portland 
 Place, William Anthony Herbert, Esq.' The paper did not drop from 
 his hand, although he was much moved and surprised ; but his sensa- 
 tions were very mixed, and although, be it said truly, he gave his first 
 thoughts, and they were sorrowful, to the dead, the second were given 
 to Alice Herbert, and he asked himself, ' Is it possible that she can ever 
 be mine ? She was certainly much agitated when I left her ! ' 
 
 " ' Here's a bad business ! ' cried the man who was reading the other 
 newspaper. 'The Herberts are all gone to smash, and I had six 
 hundred pounds there. You are in for it too, Ashtou. Look there ! 
 They talk of three shillings in the pound.' 
 
 " Henry Ashton took the paper and read the account of all that had 
 occurred in London, and he then took his hat and walked to head- 
 quarters. What he said or did there is nobody's business but his own, 
 but certain it is that by the beginning of the very next week he was in 
 the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Fair winds wafted him soon to England ; 
 but in St. George's Channel all went contrary, and the ship was 
 knocked about for three days without making much way. A fit of 
 impatience had come upon Henry Ashton, and when he thought of 
 Alice Herbert and all she must have suffered, his heart beat strangely. 
 One of those little incidents occurred about this time that make or mar 
 men's destinies. A coasting boat from Swansea to Weston came within
 
 I/ENVOY 321 
 
 hail, and Ashton, tired of the other vessel, put a portmanteau, a 
 servant, and himself into the little skimmer of the seas, and was in 
 a few hours landed safely at the pleasant watering-place of Weston- 
 super-Mare. It wanted yet an hour or two of night, and therefore 
 a post-chaise was soon rolling the young officer, his servant, and his 
 portmanteau towards Bristol, on their way to London. He arrived 
 at a reasonable hour, hut yet some one of the many things that fill 
 inns had happened in Bristol that day, and Henry drove to the Bush, 
 to the Falcon, and the Fountain, and several others before he could 
 get a place of rest. At length he found two comfortable rooms in a 
 small hotel near the port, and had sat down to his supper by a warm 
 fire, when an Irish sailor put his head into the room and asked if he 
 were the lady that was to go down to the St. Lawrence the next day. 
 Henry Ashton informed him that he was not a lady, and that as he 
 had just come from the St. Lawrence, he was not going back again, 
 upon which the man withdrew to seek further. 
 
 " Ten, eleven, twelve o'clock struck, and Henry Ashtoii pulled off 
 his boots and went to bed. At two o'clock he awoke, feeling heated 
 and feverish ; and to cool himself he began to think of Alice Herbert. 
 He found it by no means a good plan, for he felt warmer than before, 
 and soon a suffocating feeling came over him, and he thought he smelt 
 a strong smell of burning wood. His bedroom was one of those un- 
 fortunate inn bedrooms that are placed under the immediate care and 
 protection of a sitting-room, which, like a Spanish duenna, will let 
 nobody in who does not pass by their door. He put on his dressing- 
 gown, therefore, and issued out into the sitting-room, and there the 
 smell was stronger : there was a considerable crackling and roaring 
 too, which had something alarming in it, and he consequently opened 
 the outer door. All he could now see was a thick smoke filling the 
 corridor, through which came a red glare from the direction of the 
 staircase ; but he heard those sounds of burning wood which are not to 
 be mistaken, and in a minute after loud knocking at doors, ringing of 
 bells, and shouts of e Fire ! fire !' showed that the calamity had become 
 apparent to the people in the street. He saw all the rushing forth of 
 naked men and women which generally follows such a catastrophe, and 
 the opening all the doors of the house, as if for the express purpose of 
 blowing the fire into a flame. There were hallooings and shoutings, 
 there \vere screamings and tears, and what between 1 the rushing sound 
 of the devouring element, and the voice of human suffering or fear, 
 the noise was enough to wake the dead. 
 
 " Henry Ashton thought of his portmanteau, and wondered where 
 his servant was ; but seeing by a number of people driven back from the 
 great staircase by flames that there was no time to be lost, he made his 
 way down by a smaller one, and in a minute or two reached the street. 
 The engines by this time had arrived ; an immense crowd was gathering 
 together, the terrified tenants of the inn were rushing forth, and in the 
 midst Henry Ashton remarked one young woman wringing her hands 
 and exclaiming, e Oh, my poor young mistress ! my poor young lady ! ' 
 
 " ' Where is she, my good girl ? ' demanded the young soldier. 
 
 " e In number eleven,' cried the girl ; ' in number eleven ! Her bed- 
 room is within the sitting-room, and she will never hear the noise.'
 
 322 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' There she is ! ' cried one of the bystanders who overheard ; 
 ' there she is, I dare say I ' 
 
 ( ' Ashton looked up towards the house, through the lower windows 
 of which the flames were pouring forth ; and, across the casement 
 which seemed next to the very room he himself had occupied, he saw 
 the figure of a woman in her night-dress pass rapidly. 
 
 ' ' ' A ladder ! ' he cried ; ' a ladder, for God's sake ! there is some 
 one there, whoever it be ! ' 
 
 ' ' No ladder could be got, and Henry Ashton looked round in vain. 
 
 " ' The back staircase is of stone/ he cried, ' she may be saved that 
 way !' 
 
 ' ' ' Ay, but the corridor is on fire,' said one of the waiters ; ' you'd 
 better not try, sir ; it cannot be done.' 
 
 " Henry Ashton darted away ; into the inn : up the staircase ; but 
 the corridor was on fire, as the man had said, and the flames rushing 
 up to the very door of the rooms he had lately tenanted. He rushed 
 on, however, recollecting that he had seen a side door out of his own 
 sitting-room. He dashed in, caught the handle of the lock of the side 
 door, and shook it violently, for it was fastened. 
 
 " ' I will open it,' cried a voice from within that sounded strangely 
 familiar to his ear. 
 
 " The lock turned the door opened and Henry Ashton and Alice 
 Herbert stood face to face. 
 
 " f God of heaven !' he exclaimed, catching her in his arms. But 
 he gave no time for explanation, and hurried back with her towards 
 the door of his own room. The corridor, however, was impassable. 
 
 ' ' ' You will be lost ! you will be lost ! ' he exclaimed, holding her to 
 his heart 
 
 c ' ' And you have thrown away your own life to save mine ! ' said 
 Alice. 
 
 " f I will die with you, at least!' replied Henry Ashton ; 'that is 
 some consolation. But no, thank God, they have got a ladder they 
 are raising it up dear girl, you are saved ! ' 
 
 " He felt Alice lie heavy on his bosom, and when he looked down, 
 whether it was feai', or the effect of the stifling heat, or hearing such 
 words from his lips, he found that she had fainted. 
 
 " ' It is as well,' he said ; e it is as well ! ' and as soon as the ladder 
 was raised he bore her out, holding her firmly yet tenderly to his 
 bosom. There was a death-like stillness below. The ladder shook 
 under his feet ; the flames came forth and licked the rounds on which 
 his steps were placed ; but steadily, firmly, calmly, the young soldier 
 pursued his way. He bore all that he valued on earth in his arms, and 
 it was no moment to give one thought to fear. 
 
 " When his last footstep touched the ground a universal shout burst 
 forth from the crowd, and even reached the ear of Alice herself; but 
 ere she could recover completely, she was in the comfortable drawing- 
 room of a good merchant's house some way further down the same street. 
 
 " The St. Lawrence sailed on the following day for Quebec, and, as 
 you well know, went down in the terrible hurricane which swept the 
 Atlantic in the summer of that year, bearing with her to the depths of the 
 ocean every living thing that she had carried out from England. But
 
 THE DOCTOR'S TALE 323 
 
 on the day that she weighed anchor Alice sat in the drawing-room of 
 the merchant's house with her hand clasped in that of Henry Ashton ; 
 and ere many months were over, the tears for those dearj beings she 
 had lost were chased by happier drops, as she gave her hand to the man 
 she loved with all the depth of first affection, but whom she would 
 never have seen again had it not been for THE FIRE." 
 
 Such, my dear Lorrequer, is the story ; and now let us consider what 
 can be done to remedy the burning of your new number. On my 
 honour, I see nothing for it but to publish the " O'Malley Correspon- 
 dence " on the subject, with a portrait of the fire-engine, and a wood- 
 cut of the Fire. 
 
 Think of it, my dear fellow, and whether you take my advice or 
 not, believe me ever yours, G. P. R. JAMES. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIII 
 
 THE DOCTOR'S TALE * 
 
 " IT is now some fifteen years since if it wasn't for O'Shaughnessy's 
 wrinkles I could not believe it five we were quartered in Loughrea. 
 There were, besides our regiment, the fiftieth and the seventy-third, 
 and a troop or two of horse artillery, and the whole town was literally 
 a barrack, and, as you may suppose, the pleasantest place imaginable. 
 All the young ladies, and indeed all those that had got their brevet 
 some years before, came flocking into the town, not knowing but the 
 devil might persuade a raw ensign or so to marry some of them. 
 
 " Such dinner-parties such routs and balls never were heard of 
 west of Athlone. The gaieties were incessant ; and if good feeding, 
 plenty of claret, short whist, country dances, and kissing could have 
 done the thing, there wouldn't have been a bachelor with a red coat for 
 six miles around. 
 
 "You know the west, O'Mealey ; so I needn't tell you what the 
 Galway girls are like ; fine, hearty, free-and-easy, talking, laughing 
 devils, but as deep and as cute as a master in chancery ready for any 
 fun or merriment ; but always keeping a sly look-out for a proposal or 
 a tender acknowledgment, which what between the heat of a ball- 
 room, whisky negus, white satin shoes, and a quarrel with your 
 guardian it's ten to one you fall into before you're a week in the 
 same town with them. 
 
 ' ' As for the men, I don't admire them so much : pleasant and cheer- 
 
 * I cannot permit the reader to fall into the same blunder with regard to the 
 worthy "Maurice," as my friend Charles O'Malley has done. It is only fair to 
 state that the Doctor in the following tale was hoaxing the "Dragoon." A 
 braver and a better fellow than Quill never existed : equally beloved by his 
 brother officers, as delighted in for his convivial talents. His favourite amuse- 
 ment was to invent some story or adventure, in which, mixing up his own name 
 with that of some friend or companion, the Veracity of the whole was never 
 questioned. Of this nature was the pedigree he devised in the last chapter 
 to impose upon O'Malley, who believed implicitly all he told him. 
 
 HARRY LORREQUER.
 
 324 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ful enough, when they're handicapping the coat off your back, and 
 your new tilbury for a spavined pony and a cotton umbrella ; but regular 
 devils if you come to cross them the least in life : nothing but ten paces 
 three shot apiece to begin and end with something like Roger de 
 Coverley, when every one has a pull at his neighbour. I'm not saying 
 they're not agreeable, well-informed, and mild in their habits ; but 
 they lean overmuch to corduroys, and coroner's inquests for one's taste 
 farther south. However, they're a fine people, take them all in all ; 
 and, if they were not interfered with, and their national customs 
 invaded with road-making, petty-sessions, grand jury laws, and a stray 
 commission now and then, they are capable of great things, and would 
 astonish the world. 
 
 "But, as I was saying, we were ordered to Loughrea, after being 
 fifteen months in detachments about Birr, Tullamore, Kilbeggan, and 
 all that country : the change was indeed a delightful one ; and we soon 
 found ourselves the centre of the most marked and determined civilities. 
 I told you they were wise people in the west ; this was their calcula- 
 tion : the Line ours was the Roscommon Militia are here to-day, there 
 to-morrow ; they may be flirting in Tralee this week, and fighting 011 
 the Tagus the next ; not that there was any fighting there in those 
 times, but then there was always Nova Scotia and St. John's, and a 
 hundred other places that a Galway young lady knew nothing about, 
 except that people never came back from them. Now, what good, 
 what use was there in falling in love with them ? mere transitory and 
 passing pleasure that was. But as for us there we were ; if not in 
 Kilkenny, we were in Cork. Safe cut and come again, no getting 
 away under pretence of foreign service ; no excuse for not marrying 
 by any cruel pictures of the colonies, where they make spatchcocks 
 of the officers' wives, and scrape their infant families to death with a 
 small-tooth comb. In a word, my dear O'Mealey, we were at a high 
 premium ; and even O'Shaughnessy, with his red head and the legs 
 you see, had his admirers there, now, don't be angry, Dan the men, 
 at least, were mighty partial to you. 
 
 te Loughrea, if it was a pleasant, was a very expensive place. White 
 gloves, and car hire there wasn't a chaise in the town short whist, 
 too (God forgive me if I wrong them, but I wonder were they honest ?), 
 cost money ; and as our popularity rose our purses fell, till at length, 
 when the one was at the flood the other was something very like low 
 water. 
 
 "Now, the Roscommon was a beautiful corps no petty jealousies, 
 no little squabbling among the officers, no small spleen between the 
 major's wife and the paymaster's sister all was amiable, kind, brotherly, 
 and affectionate. To proceed : I need only mention one fine trait of 
 them ; no man ever refused to endorse a brother officer's bill. To 
 think of asking the amount, or even the date, would be taken person- 
 ally ; and thus we went on, mutually aiding and assisting each other 
 the colonel drawing on me, I on the major, the senior captain on the 
 surgeon, and so on a regular cross fire of ' promises to pay,' all 
 stamped and regular. 
 
 f( Not but that the system had its inconveniences ; for sometimes an 
 obstinate tailor or bootmaker would make a row for his money, and
 
 THE DOCTOR'S TALE 325 
 
 then we'd be obliged to get up a little quarrel between the drawer and 
 acceptor of the bill : they couldn't speak for some days ; and a mutual 
 friend to both would tell the creditor that the slightest imprudence on 
 his part would lead to bloodshed : and the Lord help him ! if there 
 was a duel he'd be proved the whole cause of it. This, and twenty 
 other plans were employed, and finally the matter would be left to 
 arbitration among our brother officers ; and I need not say they 
 behaved like trumps. But, notwithstanding all this, we were fre- 
 quently hard pressed for cash ; as the Colonel said, ' It's a mighty ex- 
 pensive corps.' Our dress was costly, not that it had much lace and 
 gold on it, but that, what between falling on the road at night, shindies 
 at mess, and other devilment, a coat lasted no time. Wine, too, was 
 heavy on us ; for, though we often changed our wine-merchant, and 
 rarely paid him, there was an awful consumption at the mess ! 
 
 " Now, what I have mentioned may prepare you for the fact, that 
 before we were eight weeks in garrison, Shaugh and myself, upon an 
 accurate calculation of our conjoint finances, discovered that, except 
 some vague promises of discounting here and there through the town, 
 and seven-and-fourpence in specie, we were innocent of any pecuniary 
 treasures. This was embarrassing ; we had both embarked in several 
 small schemes of pleasurable amusement ; had a couple of hunters each, 
 a tandem, and a running account I think it galloped at every shop 
 in the town. 
 
 " Let me pause for a moment here, O'Mealey, while I moralise a 
 little in a strain I hope may benefit you. Have you ever considered 
 of course you have not, you're too young and unreflecting how 
 beautifully every climate and every soil possesses some one antidote or 
 another to its own noxious influences. The tropics have their succulent 
 and juicy fruits, cooling and refreshing ; the northern latitudes have 
 their beasts with fur and warm skin to keep out the frost-bites ; and 
 so it is in Ireland : nowhere on the face of the habitable globe does a 
 man contract such habits of small debt, and nowhere, I'll be sworn, 
 can he so easily get out of any scrape concerning them. They have 
 their tigers in the east, their antelopes in the south, their white bears 
 in Norway, their buffaloes in America ; but we have an animal in 
 Ireland that beats them all hollow a country attorney ! 
 
 t( Now, let me introduce you to Mr. Matthew Donevan. Mat, as he 
 was familiarly called by his numerous acquaintances, was a short, florid, 
 rosy little gentleman of some four or five and forty, with a well-curled 
 wig of the fairest imaginable auburn, the gentle wave of the front locks, 
 which played in infantine loveliness upon his little bullet forehead, con- 
 trasting strongly enough with a cunning leer of his eye, and a certain 
 nisi prius laugh that, however it might please a client, rarely brought 
 pleasurable feelings to his opponent in a cause. 
 
 " Mat was a character in his way : deep, double, and tricky in every- 
 thing that concerned his profession ; he affected the gay fellow ; liked 
 a jolly dinner at Brown's hotel ; would go twenty miles to see a steeple- 
 chase and a coursing match ; bet with any one, when the odds were 
 strong in his favour, with an easy indifference about money that made 
 him seem, when winning, rather the victim of good luck than anything 
 else. As he kept a rather pleasant bachelor's house, and liked the
 
 326 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 military much, we soon became acquainted. Upon him, therefore, for 
 reasons I can't explain, both our hopes reposed ; and Shaugh and my- 
 self at once agreed that, if Mat could not assist us in our distresses, 
 the case was a bad one. 
 
 " A pretty little epistle was accordingly concocted, inviting the 
 worthy attorney to a small dinner at five o'clock the next day, in- 
 timating that we were to be perfectly alone, and had a little business 
 to discuss. True to the hour, Mat was there ; and, as if instantly 
 guessing that ours was no regular party of pleasure, his look, dress, 
 and manner were all in keeping with the occasion quiet, subdued, 
 and searching. 
 
 " When the claret had been superseded by the whisky, and the con- 
 fidential hours were approaching, by an adroit allusion to some heavy 
 wager then pending we brought our finances upon the tapis. The 
 thing was done beautifully ; an easy adagio movement no violent 
 transition ; but hang me if old Mat didn't catch the matter at once. 
 
 " ' Oh ! it's there ye are, Captain,' said he, with his peculiar grin ; 
 ' two-and-sixpence in the pound, and no assets. ' 
 
 " ' The last is nearer the mark, my old boy,' said Shaugh, blurting 
 out the whole truth at once. The wily attorney finished his tumbler 
 slowly, as if giving himself time for reflection, and then, smacking his 
 lips in a preparatory manner, took a quick survey of the room with his 
 piercing green eye. 
 
 ' ' ' A very sweet mare of yours, that little mouse-coloured one is, 
 with the dip in the back, and she has a trifling curb maybe it's a 
 spavin .indeed in the near hind leg. You gave five-and-twenty for 
 her, now, I'll be bound ? ' 
 
 " 'Sixty guineas, as sure as my name's Dan,' said Shaugh, not at all 
 pleased at the value put upon his hackney : ' and, as to spavin or curb, 
 I'll wager double the sum she has neither the slightest trace of one or 
 the other.' 
 
 " ' I'll not take the bet,' said Mat drily ; ' money's scarce in these 
 parts.' 
 
 " This hit silenced us both ; and our friend continued 
 
 " ' Then there's the bay horse, a great strapping leggy beast he is 
 for a tilbury ; and the hunters, worth nothing here ; they don't know 
 this country : them's neat pistols, and the tilbury is not bad ' 
 
 " ' Confound you ! ' said I, losing all patience, ' we didn't ask you here 
 to apprise our movables ; we want to raise the wind without that.' 
 
 " e I see I perceive,' said Mat, taking a pinch of snuff very leisurely 
 as he spoke; 'I see. Well, that is difficult; very difficult just now. 
 I've mortgaged every acre of ground in the two counties near us, 
 and a sixpence more is not to be had that way. Are you lucky at 
 the races ? ' 
 
 " ' Never win a sixpence.' 
 
 " ' What can you do at whist? ' 
 
 " ' Revoke, and get cursed by my partner devil a more.' 
 
 ' ' ' That's mighty bad ; for, otherwise, we might arrange something 
 for you. Well, I only see one thing for it ; you must marry : a wife 
 with some money will get you out of your present difficulties, and 
 we'll manage that easily enough.'
 
 THE DOCTOR'S TALE 327 
 
 " ' Come, Dan,' said I, for Shaugh was dropping asleep, ' cheer up, old 
 fellow. Donevan has found the way to pull us through our misfor- 
 tunes. A girl with forty thousand pounds, the best cock-shooting in 
 Ireland ; an old family, a capital cellar, all await ye . rouse up there ! ' 
 
 " ' I'm couvanient,' said Shaugh, with a look intended to be knowing, 
 but really very tipsy. 
 
 " ( I didn't say much for her personal attractions, Captain,' said Mat ; 
 ' nor, indeed, did I specify the exact sum ; but Mrs. Rogers Dooley of 
 Clonakilty might be a princess ' 
 
 ' ' ' And so she shall be, Mat ; the O'Shaughnessys were kings of 
 Ennis in the time of Nero ; and I'm only waiting for a trifle of money 
 to revive the title. What's her name ? ' 
 
 " f Mrs. Rogers Dooley.' 
 
 " ' Here's her health, and long life to her : 
 
 " ' And may the devil cut the toes 
 Of all her foes, 
 That we may know them by their limping.' 
 
 ce This benevolent wish uttered, Dan fell flat upon the hearthrug, 
 and was soon sound asleep. I must hasten on ; so need only say that 
 before we parted that night Mat and myself had finished the half 
 gallon bottle of Loughrea whisky, and concluded a treaty for the hand 
 and fortune of Mrs. Rogers Dooley ; he being guaranteed a very 
 handsome percentage on the property, and the lady being reserved for 
 choice between Dan and myself, which, however, I was determined 
 should fall upon my more fortunate friend. 
 
 "The first object which presented itself to my aching senses the 
 following morning was a very spacious card of invitation from Mr. 
 Jonas Malone, requesting me to favour him with the seductions of my 
 society the next evening to a ball. At the bottom of which, in Mr. 
 Donevan's hand, I read 
 
 " ' Don't fail ; you know who is to be there. I've not been idle 
 since I saw you. Would the Captain take twenty-five for the mare ? ' 
 
 " ' So far, so good,' thought I, as, entering O'Shaughnessy's quarters, 
 I discovered him endeavouring to spell out his card, which, however, 
 had no postscript. We soon agreed that Mat should have his price ; 
 so, sending a polite answer to the invitation, we despatched a still 
 more civil note to the attorney, and begged of him, as a weak mark of 
 esteem, to accept the mouse-coloured mare as a present." 
 
 Here O'Shaughnessy sighed deeply, and even seemed affected by 
 the souvenir. 
 
 " Come, Dan, we did it alf for the best. Oh 1 O'Mealey, he was a 
 cunning fellow ; but no matter. We went to the ball, and, to be sure, 
 it was a great sight. Two hundred and fifty souls, where there was 
 not good room for the odd fifty : such laughing, such squeezing, such 
 pressing of hands and waists in the staircase 1 and then such a row 
 and riot at the top four fiddles, a key bugle, and a bagpipe, playing, 
 ' Haste to the wedding,' amid the crash of refreshment trays, the 
 tramp of feet, and the sounds of merriment on all sides I 
 
 " It's only in Ireland, after all, people have fun : old and young, 
 merry and morose, the gay and cross-grained, are crammed into a lively
 
 328 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 country dance ; and, ill-matched, ill-suited, go jigging away together 
 to the blast of a bad band, till, their heads hair turned by the noise, 
 the heat, the novelty, and the hubbub, they all get as tipsy as if they 
 were really deep in liquor. 
 
 "Then there is that particularly free-and-easy tone in every one 
 about ; here go a couple capering daintily out of the ball-room to take 
 a little fresh air on the stairs, where every step has its own separate 
 flirtation party ; there, a riotous old gentleman, with a boarding-school 
 girl for his partner, has plunged smack into a party at loo, upsetting 
 cards and counters, and drawing down curses innumerable. Here are 
 a merry knot round the refreshments, and well they may be ; for the 
 negus is strong punch, and the biscuit is tipsy cake and all this with 
 a running-fire of good stories, jokes, and witticisms on all sides, in the 
 laughter for which even the droll-looking servants join as heartily as 
 the rest. 
 
 "We were not long in finding out Mrs. Rogers, who sat in the 
 middle of a very high sofa, with her feet just touching the floor. She 
 was short, fat, wore her hair in a crop, had a species of shining yellow 
 skin, and a turned up nose, all of which were by no means prepossess- 
 ing. Shaugh and myself were too hard-up to be particular, and so we 
 invited her to dance alternately for two consecutive hours, plying her 
 assiduously with negus during the lulls in the music. 
 
 " Supper was at last announced, and enabled us to recruit for new 
 efforts ; and so, after an awful consumption of fowl, pigeon-pie, ham, 
 and brandy cherries, Mrs. Rogers brightened up considerably, and 
 professed her willingness to join the dancers. As for us, partly from 
 exhaustion, partly to stimulate our energies, and in some degree to 
 drown reflection, we drank deep, and when we reached the drawing- 
 room, not only the agreeable guests themselves, but even the furni- 
 ture, the venerable chairs and the stiff old sofa seemed performing 
 'Sir Roger de Coverley.' How we conducted ourselves till five in the 
 morning, let our cramps confess ; for we were both bedridden for ten 
 days after ; however, at last Mrs. Rogers gave in ; and, reclining 
 gracefully upon a window-seat, pronounced it a most elegant party, 
 and asked me to look for her shawl. While I perambulated the stair- 
 case with her bonnet on my head, and more wearing apparel than 
 would stock a magazine, Shaugh was roaring himself hoarse in the 
 street, calling Mrs. Rogers's coach. 
 
 " ' Sure, Captain,' said the lady, with a tender leer, ' it's only a 
 chair.' 
 
 " ' And here it is,' said I, surveying a very portly-looking old sedan, 
 newly painted and varnished, that blocked up half the hall. 
 
 " ' You'll catch cold, my angel,' said Shaugh in a whisper, for he was 
 coming it very strong by this ; ' get into the chair. Maurice, can't you 
 find those fellows ? ' said he to me ; for the chairmen had gone down- 
 stairs, and were making very merry among the servants. 
 
 " ' She's fast now,' said I, shutting the door to. l Let us do the 
 gallant thing and carry her home ourselves.' Shaugh thought this a 
 great notion ; and in a minute we mounted the poles and sallied forth, 
 amid a great chorus of laughing from all the footmen, maids, and tea- 
 boys that filled the passage.
 
 THE DOCTOR'S TALE 329 
 
 ( ' e The big house, with the bow window and the pillars, Captain/ 
 said a fellow, as we issued upon our journey. 
 
 '"I know it,' said I. ' Turn to the left after you pass the square.' 
 
 " f Isn't she heavy ? ' said Shaugh, as he meandered across the 
 narrow streets with a sidelong motion, that must have suggested to our 
 fair inside passenger some notions of a sea voyage. In truth, I must 
 confess, her progress was rather a devious one ; now zig-zagging from 
 side to side ; now getting into a sharp trot and then suddenly pulling 
 up at a dead stop, or running the machine chuck against a wall, to 
 enable us to stand still and gain breath. 
 
 ft e Which way now ? ' cried he, as we swung round the angle of a 
 street, and entered the large market-place ; ' I'm getting terribly tired.' 
 
 " ' Never give in, Dan ; think of Clonakilty, and the old lady herself,' 
 and here I gave the chair a hoist that evidently astonished our fair 
 friend ; for a very imploring cry issued forth immediately after. 
 
 '"To the right, quick step, forward charge ! ' cried I ; and we set 
 off at a brisk trot down a steep narrow lane. 
 
 (f ( Here it is now : the light in the window ; cheer up \' 
 
 " As I said this, we came short up to a fine portly-looking doorway, 
 with great stone pillars and cornice. 
 
 " ' Make yourself at home, Maurice,' said he ; ( bring her in,' and so 
 saying we pushed forward for the door was open and passed boldly 
 into a great flagged hall, silent and cold, and dark as the night itself. 
 ( Are you sure we're right ? ' said he. 
 
 " ' All right/ said I, ' go ahead. ' 
 
 c ' And so we did till we came in sight of a small candle that burned 
 dimly at a distance from us. 
 
 " 'Make for the light/ said I; but just as I said so Shaugh slipped 
 and fell flat on the flagway. The noise of his fall sent up a hundred 
 echoes in the silent building, and terrified us both dreadfully ; and, 
 after a minute's pause, by one consent we turned and made for the door : 
 falling almost at every step, and frightened out of our senses, we came 
 tumbling together into the porch, and out in the street, and never drew 
 breath till we reached the barracks. Meanwhile, let me return to Mrs. 
 Rogers. The dear old lady, who had passed an awful time since she 
 left the ball, had just rallied out of a fainting fit when we took to our 
 heels ; so, after screaming and crying her best, she at last managed to 
 open the top of the chair, and, by dint of great exertions, succeeded in 
 forcing the door, and at length freed herself from bondage. She was 
 leisurely groping her way round it in the dark, when her lamentations 
 being heard without, woke upihe old sexton of the chapel for it was 
 there we placed her who, entering cautiously with a light, no sooner 
 caught a glimpse of the great black sedan and the figure beside it, than 
 he also took to his heels, and ran like a madman to the priest's house. 
 
 <e ' Come, your reverence, come, for the love of marcy ! sure didn't 
 I see him myself ! O wirra, wirra ! ' 
 
 " 'What is it, ye ould fool?' said M 'Kenny. 
 
 " ' It's Father Con Doran, your reverence, that was buried last week, 
 and there he is up now, coffin and all ! saying a midnight mass as 
 lively as ever.' 
 
 " Poor Mrs. Rogers, God help her ! It was a trying sight for her,
 
 330 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 when the priest and the two coadjutors, and three little boys and the 
 sexton, all came in to lay her spirit ; and the shock she received that 
 night, they say, she never got over. 
 
 " Need I say, my dear O'Mealey, that our acquaintance with Mrs. 
 Rogers was closed ? The dear woman had a hard struggle for it after- 
 wards : her character was assailed by all the elderly ladies in Loughrea 
 for going off in our company, and her blue satin piped with scarlet 
 utterly ruined by a deluge of holy water bestowed on her by the pious 
 sexton. It was in vain that she originated twenty different reports to 
 mystify the world and even ten pounds spent in masses for the 
 eternal repose of Father Con Doran only increased the laughter this 
 unfortunate affair gave rise to. As for us, we exchanged into the 
 Line, and foreign service took us out of the road of duns, debts, and 
 devilment, and we soon reformed, and eschewed such low company." 
 
 The day was breaking ere we separated, and amid the rich and 
 fragrant vapours that exhaled from the earth, the faint traces of sun- 
 light dimly stealing, told of the morning. My two friends set out for 
 Torrijos, and I pushed boldly forward in the direction of the Alberche. 
 
 It was a strange thing that, although but two days before the roads 
 we were then travelling had been the line of retreat of the whole 
 French army, not a vestige of their equipment, nor a trace of their 
 matSriel, had been left behind. In vain we searched each thicket by 
 the wayside for some straggling soldier, some wounded or wearied 
 man : nothing of the kind was to be seen. Except the deeply-rutted 
 road, torn by the heavy wheels of the artillery, and the white ashes of 
 a wood fire, nothing marked their progress. 
 
 Our journey was a lonely one. Not a man was to be met with ; the 
 houses stood untenanted, the doors lay open ; no smoke wreathed from 
 their deserted hearths : the peasantry had taken to the mountains, and, 
 although the plains were yellow with the ripe harvest, and the peach 
 hung temptingly upon the trees, all was deserted and forsaken. I had 
 often seen the blackened walls and broken rafters, the traces of the 
 wild revenge and reckless pillage of a retiring army ; the ruined castle, 
 and the desecrated altar, are sad things to look upon ; but, somehow, 
 a far heavier depression sunk into my heart as my eye ranged over the 
 wide valleys and broad hills, all redolent of comfort, of beauty, and of 
 happiness, and yet not one man to say, " This is my home, these are 
 my household gods." The birds carolled gaily in each leafy thicket, 
 the bright stream sung merrily as it rippled through the rocks, the 
 tall corn, gently stirred by the breeze, seemed to swell the concert of 
 sweet sounds : but no human voice awoke the echoes there. It was as 
 if the earth was speaking in thankfulness to its Maker ; while man, 
 ungrateful and unworthy man, pursuing his ruthless path of devastation 
 and destruction, had left no being to say, " I thank Thee for all these." 
 
 The day was closing as we drew near the Alberche, and came in sight 
 of the watch-fires of the enemy. Far as the eye could reach their 
 column extended ; but in the dim twilight nothing could be seen with 
 accuracy. Yet from the position their artillery occupied, and the 
 unceasing din of baggage waggons, and heavy carriages towards the 
 rear, I came to the conclusion that a still further retreat was medi-
 
 THE SKIRMISH 331 
 
 tated ; a picket of light cavalry was posted upon the river's bank, and 
 seemed to watch with vigilance the approaches to the stream. 
 
 Our bivouac was a dense copse of pine-trees, exactly opposite to the 
 French advanced posts, and there we passed the night fortunately a 
 calm and starlight one for we dared not light fires, fearful of attract- 
 ing attention. 
 
 During the long hours I lay patiently watching the movements of 
 the enemy, till the dark shadows hid all from my sight ; and even then, 
 as my ears caught the challenge of a sentry, or the footsteps of some 
 officer in his round, my thoughts were riveted upon them, and a 
 hundred vague fancies as to the future were based upon no stronger 
 foundation than the click of a firelock, or the low-muttered song of 
 a patrol. 
 
 Towards morning I slept, and when day broke my first glance was 
 towards the riverside ; but the French were gone noiselessly 
 rapidly. Like one man, that vast army had departed ; and a dense 
 column of dust towards the horizon alone marked the long line of 
 march where the martial legions were retreating. 
 
 My mission was thus ended ; and, hastily partaking of the humble 
 breakfast my friend Mike provided for me, I once more set out, and 
 took the road towards headquarters. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX 
 
 THE SKIRMISH 
 
 FOR several months after the battle of Talavera my life presented 
 nothing which I feel worth recording. Our good fortune seemed to 
 have deserted us when our hopes were highest ; for from the day of 
 that splendid victory we began our retrograde movement upon Por- 
 tugal. Pressed hard by overwhelming masses of the enemy, we saw 
 the fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida fall successively into 
 their hands. The Spaniards were defeated wherever they ventured 
 upon a battle ; and our own troops, thinned by sickness and deser- 
 tion, presented but a shadow of that brilliant army which only a few 
 months previous had followed the retiring French beyond the frontiers 
 of Portugal. 
 
 However willing I now anf and who is not? to recognise the 
 genius and foresight of that great man who then held the destinies of 
 the Peninsula within his hands, I confess, at the time I speak of, I 
 could ill comprehend, and still less feel contented with the successive 
 retreats our forces made ; and while the words Torres Vedras brought 
 nothing to my mind but the last resting-place before embarkation, the 
 sad fortunes of Corunna were now before me, and it was with a gloomy 
 and desponding spirit I followed the routine of my daily duty. 
 
 During these weary months, if my life was devoid of stirring interest 
 or adventure, it was not profitless. Constantly employed at the out- 
 posts, I became thoroughly inured to all the roughing of a soldier's 
 life, and learned in the best of schools that tacit obedience which alone
 
 332 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 can form the subordinate, or ultimately fit its possessor for command 
 himself. 
 
 Humble and unobtrusive as such a career must ever be, it was not 
 without its occasional rewards. From General Crawford I more than 
 once obtained most kind mention in his despatches, and felt that I was 
 not unknown or unnoticed by Sir Arthur Wellesley himself. At that 
 time, these testimonies, slight and passing as they were, contributed to 
 the pride and glory of my existence ; and even now shall I confess 
 it ? when some grey hairs are mingling with the brown, and when my 
 old dragoon swagger is taming down into a kind of half-pay shamble, 
 I feel my heart warm at the recollection of them. 
 
 Be it so : I care not who smiles at the avowal. I know of little 
 better worth remembering, as we grow old, than what pleased us 
 while we were young. With the memory of the kind words once 
 spoken, come back the still kinder looks of those who spoke them ; 
 and, better than all, that early feeling of budding manhood, when 
 there was neither fear nor distrust. Alas ! these are the things, and 
 not weak eyes and tottering limbs, which form the burden of old age. 
 Oh ! if we could only go on believing, go on trusting, go on hoping to 
 the last, who would shed tears for the bygone feats of his youthful 
 days, when the spirit that evoked them lived young and vivid as 
 before ? 
 
 But to my story. While Ciudad Rodrigo still held out against the 
 besieging French, its battered walls and breached ramparts sadly fore- 
 telling the fate inevitably impending, we were ordered, together with 
 the 16th Light Dragoons, to proceed to Gallegos, to reinforce Craw- 
 ford's division, then forming a corps of observation upon Massena's 
 movements. 
 
 The position he occupied was a most commanding one the crown of 
 a long mountain ridge, studded with pine copse and cork trees, pre- 
 senting every facility for light infantry movements ; and here and 
 there, gently sloping towards the plain, offering a field for cavalry 
 manoeuvres. Beneath, in the vast plain, were encamped the dark 
 legions of France, their heavy siege artillery planted against the 
 doomed fortress, while clouds of their cavalry caracolled proudly before 
 us, as if in taunted sarcasm at our inactivity. 
 
 Every artifice which his natural cunning could suggest, every taunt 
 a Frenchman's vocabulary contains, had been used by Massena to in- 
 duce Sir Arthur Wellesley to come to the assistance of the beleaguered 
 fortress ; but in vain. In vain he relaxed the energy of the siege, and 
 affected carelessness. In vain he asserted in his proclamations that 
 the English were either afraid, or else traitors to their allies. The 
 mind of him he thus assailed was neither accessible to menace nor to 
 sarcasm. Patiently abiding his time, he watched the progress of events, 
 and provided for that future which was to crown his country's arms 
 with success, and himself with undying glory. 
 
 Of a far different mettle was the General formed, under whose 
 orders we were now placed. Hot, passionate, and impetuous, relying 
 upon bold and headlong heroism, rather than upon cool judgment and 
 well-matured plans, Crawford felt in war all the asperity and bitter- 
 ness of a personal conflict. Ill brooking the insulting tone of the wily
 
 THE SKIRMISH 333 
 
 Frenchman, he thirsted for any occasion of a battle ; and his proud 
 spirit chafed against the colder counsels of his superior. 
 
 On the very morning we joined, the pickets brought in the intelli- 
 gence that the French patrols were nightly in the habit of visiting the 
 villages at the outposts, and committing every species of cruel indignity 
 upon the wretched inhabitants. Fired at this daring insult, our General 
 resolved to cut them off, arid formed two ambuscades for the purpose. 
 
 Six squadrons of the 14th were despatched to Villa del Puerco, three 
 of the 16th to Baguetto, while some companies of the 95th and the 
 ca9adores, supported by artillery, were ordered to hold themselves in 
 reserve ; for the enemy were in force at no great distance from us. 
 
 The morning was just breaking as an aide-de-camp galloped up with 
 the intelligence that the French had been seen near the Villa del 
 Puerco ; a body of infantry and some cavalry having crossed the plain 
 and disappeared in that direction. While our Colonel was forming us, 
 with the intention of getting between them and their main body, the 
 tramp of horses was heard in the wood behind, and in a few moments 
 two officers rode up. The foremost, who was a short stoutly built 
 man of about forty, with a bronzed face and eye of piercing black, 
 shouted out as we wheeled into column : 
 
 "Halt, there ! Why, were the devil are you going? That's your 
 ground." So saying, and pointing straight towards the village with 
 his hand, he would not listen to our Colonel's explanation that several 
 stone fences and enclosures would interfere with cavalry movements, 
 but added, " Forward, I say ! Proceed ! " 
 
 Unfortunately, the nature of the ground separated our squadron, as 
 the Colonel anticipated ; and, although we came on at a topping pace, 
 the French had time to form in square upon a hill to await us, and 
 when we charged they stood firmly, and, firing with a low and steady 
 aim, several of our troopers fell. As we wheeled round we found our- 
 selves exactly in front of their cavalry coming out of Baguilles ; so, 
 dashing straight at them, we revenged ourselves for our first repulse 
 by capturing twenty-nine prisoners and wounding several others. 
 
 The French infantry were, however, still unbroken ; and Colonel 
 Talbot rode boldly up with five squandrons of the 14th ; but the charge, 
 pressed home with all its gallantry, failed also, and the Colonel fell 
 mortally wounded, and fourteen of his troopers around him. Twice 
 we rode round the square, seeking for a weak point, but in vain ; the 
 gallant Frenchman who commanded, Captain Guache, stood fearlessly 
 amid his brave followers, and we could hear him as he called out from 
 time to time 
 
 " (Test fa, mes enfans! bienfait, mes braves!" 
 
 And at length they made good their retreat, while we returned to 
 the camp, leaving thirty-two troopers and our brave Colonel dead upon 
 the field in this disastrous affair. 
 
 The repulse we had met with, so contrary to all our hopes and 
 expectations, made that a most gloomy day to all of us. The brave 
 fellows w r e had left behind us, the taunting cheers of the French 
 infantry, the unbroken ranks against which we rode time after time 
 in vain, never left our minds ; and a sense of shame of what might
 
 334 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 be thought of us at headquarters rendered the reflection still more 
 painful. 
 
 Our bivouac, notwithstanding all our efforts, was a sad one ; and 
 when the moon rose some drops of heavy rain falling at intervals in 
 the still, unruffled air, threatened a night of storm ; gradually the 
 sky grew darker and darker, the clouds hung nearer to the earth, and 
 a dense thick mass of dark mist shrouded every object ; the heavy 
 cannonade of the siege was stilled, nothing betrayed that a vast army 
 was encamped near us, their bivouac fires were even imperceptible, 
 and the only sound we heard was the great bell of Ciudad Rodrigo 
 as it struck the hour and seemed in the mournful cadence of its chime 
 like the knell of the doomed citadel. 
 
 The patrol which I commanded had to visit on its rounds the most 
 advanced post of our position. This was a small farm-house which, 
 standing upon a little rising ledge of ground, was separated from the 
 French lines by a little stream tributary to the Aguda. A party of the 
 14th were picketed here, and beneath them, in the valley, scarce five 
 hundred yards distant, was the detachment of Cuirassiers which formed 
 the French outpost. As we neared our picket, the deep voice of the 
 sentry challenged us, and, while all else was silent as the grave, we 
 could hear from the opposite side the merry chorus of a French chanson 
 a boire, with its clattering accompaniment of glasses, as some gay com- 
 panions were making merry together. 
 
 Within the little hut which contained our fellows, the scene was 
 a different one ; the three officers who commanded sat moodily over 
 a wretched fire of wet wood, a solitary candle dimly lighted the dis- 
 mantled room, where a table but ill supplied with cheer stood unminded 
 and uncared for. 
 
 " Well, O'Malley," cried Baker, as I came in ; " what is the night 
 about, and what's Crawford for next ? " 
 
 " We hear," cried another, " that he means to give battle to-morrow ; 
 but surely Sir Arthur's orders are positive enough. Gordon himself 
 told me that he was forbid to fight beyond the Coa, but to retreat at 
 the first advance of the enemy. " 
 
 " I'm afraid," replied I, " that retreating is his last thought just now. 
 Ammunition has j ust been served out, and I know the horse artillery 
 have orders to be in readiness by daybreak." 
 
 " All right," said Hampden, with a half bitter tone. " Nothing like 
 going through with it. If he is to be brought to court-martial for dis- 
 obedience, he'll take good care we shan't be there to see it. " 
 
 <( Why, the French are fifty thousand strong !" said Baker. 
 
 " Look there ! what does that mean now ? That's a signal from the 
 town." As he spoke a rocket of great brilliancy shot up into the sky, 
 and, bursting, at length fell in millions of red lustrous sparks on every 
 side, showing forth the tall fortress and the encamped army around it, 
 with all the clearness of noonday. It was a most splendid sight ; and, 
 though the next moment all was dark as before, we gazed still fixedly 
 into the gloomy distance, straining our eye to observe what was hid 
 from our view for ever. 
 
 ' ' That must be a signal," repeated Baker. 
 
 " Begad ! if Crawford sees it, he'll interpret it as a reason for fight-
 
 THE SKIRMISH 335 
 
 ing. I trust he's asleep by this time," said Hampden. " By-the-bye, 
 O'Malley, did you see the fellows at work in the trenches? How 
 beautifully clear it was towards the southward ! " 
 
 " Yes, I remarked that ! and what surprised me was the openness 
 of their position in that direction. Towards the San Benito mole, I 
 could not see a man." 
 
 " Ah ! they'll not attack 011 that side but if we really are " 
 
 " Stay, Hampden," said I, interrupting ; " a thought has just struck 
 me. At sunset I saw through my telescope the French Engineers 
 marking with their white tape the line of a new entrenchment in that 
 quarter. Would it not be a glorious thing to move the tape, and bring 
 the fellows under the fire of San Benito?" 
 
 " By Jove ! O'Malley, that is a thought worth a troop to you." 
 
 ' ' Far more likely to forward his promotion in the next world than 
 in this," said Baker, smiling. 
 
 ' ' By 110 means," added I ; ' ' I marked the ground this evening, 
 and have it perfectly in my mind. If we were to follow the bend of 
 the river, I'll be bound to come right upon the spot : by nearing the 
 fortress we'll escape the sentries ; and all this portion is open to us." 
 
 The project thus loosely thrown out was now discussed in all its 
 bearings. Whatever difficulties it presented were combated so much 
 to our own satisfaction, that at last its very facility damped our ardour. 
 Meanwhile, the night wore on, and the storm of rain so long impend- 
 ing began to descend in very torrents : hissing along the parched 
 ground it rose in a mist, while overhead the heavy thunder rolled in 
 long unbroken peals, the crazy door threatened to give way at each 
 moment, and the whole building trembled to its foundation. 
 
 ' ' Pass the brandy down here, Hampdeu, and thank your stars you're 
 where you are. Eh, O'Malley ? You'll defer your trip to San Benito 
 for finer weather." 
 
 " Why, in good earnest," said Hampden, " I'd rather begin my 
 engineering at a more favourable season ; but if O'Malley's for it " 
 
 " And O'Malley is for it," said I suddenly. 
 
 " Then, faith, I'm not the man to baulk his fancy ; and as Crawford 
 is so bent upon fighting to-morrow, it don't make much difference. Is 
 it a bargain ? " 
 
 " It is ; here's my hand on it." 
 
 " Come, come, boys ; I'll have none of this ; we've been prettily 
 cut up this morning already. You shall not go upon this foolish 
 excursion." 
 
 " Confound it, old fellow ! it's all very well for you to talk, with the 
 majority before you, next step ; but here we are, if peace came to-morrow, 
 scarcely better than we left England. No, no, if O'Malley's ready 
 and I see he is so before me What have you got there ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I see ; that's our tape line ; capital fun, by George ! the 
 worst of it is, they'll make us Colonels of Engineers." 
 
 " Now then, what's your plan on foot or mounted ? " 
 
 " Mounted, and for this reason : the country is all open : if we are 
 to have a run for it, our thoroughbreds ought to distance them ; and, 
 as we must expect to pass some of their sentries, our only chance is on 
 horseback. "
 
 .336 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " My mind is relieved of a great load," said Hampden ; " 1 was 
 trembling in my skin lest you should make it a walking party. I'll do 
 anything you like in the saddle, from robbing the mail to cutting out 
 a frigate ; but I never was much of a footpad." 
 
 e ' Well, Mike," said I, as I returned to my room with my trusty 
 follower, " are the cattle to be depended on ? " 
 
 " If we had a snaffle in Malachi Daly's mouth " (my brown horse), 
 " I'd be afeard of nothing, sir ; but, if it comes to fencing, with that 
 
 cruel bit but sure, you've a light hand, and let him have his head, 
 
 if it's wall. " 
 
 ' ' By Jove, he thinks it a fox-chase ! " said Hampden. 
 
 " Isn't it the same, sir ? " said Mike, with a seriousness that made 
 the whole party smile. 
 
 " Well, I hope we shall not be earthed, anyway," said I. " Now the 
 next thing is, who has a lantern ? ah ! the very thing ; nothing better. 
 Look to your pistols, Hampden ; and, Mike, here's a glass of grog for 
 you ; we'll want you. And now, one bumper for good luck. Eh, 
 Baker, won't you pledge us ? " 
 
 " And spare a little for me," said Hampden. " How it does rain ! 
 If one didn't expect to be waterproofed before morning, they really 
 wouldn't go out in such weather." 
 
 While I busied myself in arranging my few preparations, Hampden 
 proceeded gravely to inform Mike that we were going to the assist- 
 ance of the besieged fortress, which could not possibly go on with- 
 out us. 
 
 "Tare and ages," said Mike, " that's mighty quare ; and the blue 
 rocket was a letter of invitation, I suppose ? ' 
 
 " Exactly," said Hampden ; " and you see there's no ceremony be- 
 tween us. We'll just drop in, in the evening, in a friendly way." 
 
 " Well, then, upon my conscience, I'd wait, if I was you, till the 
 family wasn't in confusion. They have enough on their hands just 
 now." 
 
 ' ' So you'll not be persuaded ? " said Baker. ' ' Well, I frankly tell 
 you, that come what will of it, as your senior officer, I'll report you to- 
 morrow. I'll not risk myself for any such hare-brained expeditions." 
 
 " A mighty pleasant look-out for me," said Mike ; " if I'm not shot 
 to-night, still I may be flogged in the morning." 
 
 This speech once more threw us into a hearty fit of laughter, amid 
 which we took leave of our friendsj and set forth upon our way. 
 
 CHAPTER LXX 
 
 THE LINES OF CIUDAD RODRIGO 
 
 THE small twinkling lights which shone from the ramparts of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo were our only guide, as we issued forth upon our perilous 
 expedition. The storm raged, if possible, even more violently than 
 before ; and gusts of wind swept along the ground with the force of 
 a hurricane ; so that, at first, our horses could scarcely face the tempest.
 
 THE LINES OF CIUDAD RODRIGO 337 
 
 Our path lay along the little stream for a considerahle way ; after 
 which, fording the rivulet, we entered upon the open plain ; taking 
 care to avoid the French outpost in the extreme left, which was marked 
 by a bivouac fire, burning under the heavy downpour of rain, and look- 
 ing larger through the dim atmosphere around it. 
 
 I rode foremost, followed closely by Hampden and Mike ; not a 
 word was spoken after we crossed the stream. Our plan was, if 
 challenged by a patrol, to reply in French and press on ; so small 
 a party could never suggest the idea of attack ; and we hoped in this 
 manner to escape. 
 
 The violence of the storm was such, that many of our precautions as 
 to silence were quite unnecessary ; and we had advanced to a con- 
 siderable extent into the plain before any appearance of the encamp- 
 ment struck us. At length, on mounting a little rising ground, we 
 perceived several fires, stretching far away to the northward ; while, 
 still to our left, there blazed one larger and brighter than the others. 
 We now found that we had not outflanked their position as we in- 
 tended, and learning, from the situation of the fires, that we were still 
 only at the outposts, we pressed sharply forward, directing our course 
 by the twin stars that shone from the fortress. 
 
 " How heavy the ground is here ! " whispered Hampden, as our 
 horses sunk above the fetlocks ; " we had better stretch away to the 
 right, the rise of the hill will favour us." 
 
 " Hark ! " said I, e ' did you not hear something ? Pull up ; silence 
 now ; yes, there they come. It's a patrol, I hear their tramp." As I 
 spoke, the measured tread of infantry was heard above the storm, and 
 soon after a lantern was seen coming along the causeway near us. The 
 column passed within a few yards of where we stood. I could even 
 recognise the black covering of the shakos as the light fell on them. 
 " Let us follow them," whispered I ; and the next moment we fell in 
 upon their track, holding our cattle well in hand, and ready to start 
 at a moment. 
 
 " Qui eat Id, ? " a sentry demanded. 
 
 1 ' La deuxieme division," cried a hoarse voice. 
 
 " Halt Id ! le consigns 1 " 
 
 " Wagram!" repeated the same voice as before, while his party 
 resumed their march ; and the next moment the patrol was again upon 
 his post, silent and motionless as before. 
 
 " En awnt, messieurs ! " said I aloud, as soon as the infantry had 
 proceeded some distance ; " en avant!" 
 
 " Qui est Id ? " demanded the sentry, as we came along at a sharp trot. 
 
 " L'ttat-major, Wagram," responded I, pressing on without drawing 
 rein ; and in a moment we had regained our former position behind 
 the infantry. We had scarcely time to congratulate ourselves upon 
 the success of our scheme, when a tremendous clattering noise in 
 front, mingled with the galloping of horses and the cracking of whips, 
 announced the approach of the artillery as they came along by a 
 narrow road which bisected our path ; and as they passed between us 
 and the column, we could hear the muttered sentences of the drivers, 
 cursing the unseasonable time for an attack, and swearing at their 
 cattle in no measured tones.
 
 338 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Did you hear that?" whispered Hampden ; " the battery is about 
 to be directed against the San Benito, which must be far away to the 
 left. I heard one of the troop saying that they were to open their 
 fire at daybreak." 
 
 " All right now," said I, " look there ! " 
 
 From the hill we now stood upon, a range of lanterns was distinctly 
 visible, stretching away for nearly half a mile. 
 
 " There are the trenches ; they must be at work, too ; see how the 
 lights are moving from place to place ! Straight, now : forward ! " 
 
 So saying, I pressed my horse boldly on. 
 
 We had not proceeded many minutes, when the sounds of galloping 
 were heard coming along behind us. 
 
 " To the right, in the hollow," cried I ; "be still." 
 
 Scarcely had we moved off when several horsemen galloped up, and, 
 drawing their reins to breathe their horses up the hill, we could hear 
 their voices as they conversed together. 
 
 In the few broken words we could catch, we guessed that the attack 
 upon San Benito was only a feint to induce Crawford to hold his 
 position, while the French, marching upon his flank and front, were to 
 attack him with overwhelming masses and crush him. 
 
 " You hear what's in store for us, O'Malley," whispered Hampden. 
 ' ' I think we could not possibly do better than hasten back with the 
 intelligence. " 
 
 " We must not forget what we came for, first," said I ; and the next 
 moment we were following the horsemen, who, from their helmets, 
 seemed horse artillery officers. 
 
 The pace that our guides rode at showed us that they knew their 
 ground. We passed several sentries, muttering something at each 
 time, and seeming as if only anxious to keep up with our party. 
 
 " They've halted," said I. " Now to the left there ; gently here, 
 for we must be in the midst of their lines. Ha ! I knew we were 
 right, see there !" 
 
 Before us, now, at a few hundred yards, we could perceive a number 
 of men engaged upon the field. Lights were moving from place to 
 place rapidly, while immediately in front, a strong picket of cavalry 
 were halted. 
 
 " By Jove, there's sharp work of it to-night ! " whispered Hampden ; 
 " they do intend to surprise us to-morrow. ' 
 
 " Gently now, to the left," said I, as, cautiously skirting the little 
 hill, I kept my eye firmly fixed upon the watch-fire. 
 
 The storm, which for some time had abated considerably, was now 
 nearly quelled, and the moon again peeped forth amid masses of black 
 and watery clouds. 
 
 " What good fortune for us ! " thought I, at this moment, as I 
 surveyed the plain before me. 
 
 " I say, O'Malley, what are those fellows at yonder, where the blue 
 light is burning ? " 
 
 " Ah ! the very people we want ; these are the sappers. Now for 
 it that's our ground : we'll soon come upon their track now. " 
 
 We pressed rapidly forward, passing an infantry party as we went 
 The blue light was scarcely a hundred yards off : we could even hear
 
 THE LINES OF CIUDAD RODRIGO 339 
 
 the shouting of the officers to their men in the trenches, when suddenly 
 my horse came down upon his head, and rolling over, crushed me to 
 the earth. 
 
 " Not hurt, my boy," cried I, in a subdued tone, as Hampden jumped 
 down beside me. 
 
 It was the angle of a trench I had fallen into ; and though both my 
 horse and myself felt stunned for the moment, we rallied the next 
 minute. 
 
 ' ' Here is the very spot," said I. " Now, Mike, catch the bridles 
 and follow us closely." 
 
 Guiding ourselves along the edge of the trench, we crept stealthily 
 forward ; the only watch-fire near was where the engineer party was 
 halted, and our object was to get outside of this. 
 
 " My turn this time," said Hampdeu, as he tripped suddenly, and 
 fell head foremost upon the grass. 
 
 As I assisted him to rise, something caught my ankle, and, on stoop- 
 ing, I found it was a cord pegged fast into the ground, and lying only 
 a few inches above it. 
 
 " Now, steady ! see here ; this is their working line ; pass your hand 
 along it there, and let us follow it out." 
 
 While Hampden accordingly crept along on one side, I tracked the 
 cord upon the other ; here I found it terminating upon a small mound, 
 where probably some battery was to be erected. I accordingly gathered 
 it carefully up, and was returning towards my friend, when what was 
 my horror to hear Mike's voice, conversimg, as it seemed to me, with 
 some one in French. 
 
 I stood fixed to the spot, my very heart beating almost in my mouth 
 as I listened. 
 
 ' ' Qui etes vous done, mon ami ? " inquired a hoarse, deep voice, a few 
 yards off. 
 
 "Bon cheval, bon beast, sacre nom de Dim!" A hearty burst of 
 laughter prevented my hearing the conclusion of Mike's French. 
 
 I now crept forward upon my hands and knees till I could catch 
 the dark outline of the horses, one hand fixed upon my pistol trigger, 
 and my sword drawn in the other. Meanwhile, the dialogue con- 
 tinued. 
 
 " Vous etes d' Alsace n'est ce pas?" asked the Frenchman, kindly 
 supposing that Mike's French savoured of Strasburg. 
 
 ' ' Oh, blessed Virgin ! av I might shoot him," was the muttered reply. 
 
 Before I had time to see the effect of the last speech, I pressed for- 
 ward with a bold spring, and felled the Frenchman to the earth ; my 
 hand had scarcely pressed upon his mouth, when Hampdeu was beside 
 me. Snatching up the pistol I let fall, he held it to the man's chest, 
 and commanded him to be silent. To unfasten his girdle, and bind the 
 Frenchman's hands behind him was the work of a moment ; and, as 
 the sharp click of the pistol-cock seemed to calm his efforts to escape, 
 we soon succeeded in fastening a handkerchief tight across his mouth, 
 and the next minute he was placed behind Mike's saddle, firmly attached 
 to this worthy individual by his sword-belt. 
 
 " Now for a clear run home for it, and a fair start," said Hampden, 
 as he sprung into the saddle.
 
 340 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Now, then, for it," I replied ; as, turning my horse's head towards 
 our lines, I dashed madly forward. 
 
 The moon was again obscured, but still the dark outline of the hill 
 which formed our encampment was discernible on the horizon. Riding 
 side by side, on we hurried ; now splashing through the deep and wet 
 marshes, now plunging through small streams. Our horses were high 
 in mettle, and we spared them not ; by taking a wide detour we had 
 outflanked the French pickets, and were almost out of all risk, when, 
 suddenly, on coming to the verge of a rather steep hill, we perceived 
 beneath us a strong cavalry picket standing around a watch-fire ; their 
 horses were ready saddled, the men accoutred, and quite prepared for 
 the field. While we conversed together in whispers as to the course 
 to follow, our deliberations were very rapidly cut short. The French 
 prisoner, who hitherto had given neither trouble nor resistance, had 
 managed to free his mouth from the encumbrance of the handkerchief ; 
 and, as we stood qiiietly discussing our plans, with one tremendous 
 effort he endeavoured to hurl himself and Mike from the saddle, shout- 
 ing out as he did so : 
 
 " A mot, camarades I sauvex moi ! " 
 
 Hampden's pistol leaped from the holster as he spoke, and, levelling 
 it with a deadly aim, he pulled the trigger ; but I threw up his arm, 
 and the ball passed high above his head. To have killed the French- 
 man would have been to lose my faithful follower, who struggled man- 
 fully with his adversary, and at length, by throwing himself flatly 
 forward upon the mane of his horse, completely disabled him. Mean- 
 while, the picket had sprung to their saddles, and looked wildly about 
 on every side. 
 
 Not a moment to be lost ; so, turning our horses' heads towards the 
 plain, away we went. One loud cheer announced to us that we had 
 been seen, and the next instant the clash of the pursuing cavalry was 
 heard behind us. It was now entirely a question of speed, and little 
 need we have feared, had Mike's horse not been doubly weighted. How- 
 ever, as we still had considerably the start, and the grey dawn of day 
 enabled us to see the ground, the odds were in our favour. " Never 
 let your horse's head go," was my often repeated direction to Mike, 
 as he spurred with all the desperation of madness. Already the low 
 meadow land was in sight which flanked the stream we had crossed in 
 the morning ; but, unfortunately, the heavy rains had swollen it now 
 to a considerable depth, and the muddy current, choked with branches 
 of trees and great stones, was hurrying down like a torrent. ' ' Take 
 the river : never flinch it ! " was my cry to my companions, as I turned 
 my head and saw a French dragoon, followed by two others, gaining 
 rapidly upon us. As I spoke, Mike dashed in, followed by Hampden, 
 and the same moment the sharp ring of a carbine whizzed past me. 
 To take off the pursuit from the others, I now wheeled my horse 
 suddenly round, as if I feared to take the stream, and dashed along by 
 the river's bank. 
 
 Beneath me, in the foaming current, the two horsemen laboured ; 
 now stemming the rush of water, now reeling almost beneath. A sharp 
 cry burst from Mike as I looked ; and I saw the poor fellow bend nearly 
 to his saddle. I could see no more, for the chase was now hot upon
 
 THE DOCTOR 341 
 
 myself; behind me rode a French dragoon, his carhine pressed tightly 
 to his side, ready to fire as he pressed on in pursuit. I had but one 
 chance : so, drawing my pistol, I wheeled suddenly in my saddle, and 
 fired straight at him. The Frenchman fell, while a regular volley from 
 his party rung around me : one ball striking my horse, and another 
 lodging in the pummel of my saddle. The noble animal reeled nearly 
 to the earth, but, as if rallying for a last effort, sprung forward with 
 renewed energy and plunged boldly into the river. 
 
 For a moment, so sudden was my leap, my pursuers lost sight of 
 me ; but the bank being somewhat steep, the efforts of my horse to 
 climb again discovered me, and before I reached the field two pistol- 
 balls took effect upon me : one slightly grazed my side, but my bridle 
 arm was broken by the other, and my hand fell motionless to my side. 
 A cheer of defiance was, however, my reply as I turned round in my 
 saddle, and the next moment I was far beyond the range of their fire. 
 
 Not a man durst follow, and the last sight I had of them was the 
 dismounted group who stood around their dead comrade, before me 
 rode Hampden and Mike, still at top speed, and never turning their 
 heads backwards. I hastened after them ; but my poor wounded horse, 
 nearly ham-strung by the shot, became dead lame ; and it was past 
 daybreak ere I reached the first outposts of our lines. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI 
 
 THE DOCTOR 
 
 his wound ? Is it a serious one ? " said a round full voice, as 
 the Doctor left my room, at the conclusion of his visit. 
 
 <( No, sir ; a fractured bone is the worst of it ; the bullet grazed, but 
 did not cut the artery ; and as " 
 
 "Well, how soon will he be about again?" 
 
 " In a few weeks, if no fever sets in." 
 
 fc There is no objection to my seeing him ? a few minutes only I 
 shall be cautious." So saying, and, as it seemed to me, without wait- 
 ing for a reply, the door was opened by an aide-de-camp, who, an- 
 nouncing General Crawford, closed it again and withdrew. 
 
 The first glance I threw upon the General enabled me to recognise 
 the officer who on the previous morning had rode up to the picket and 
 given us the orders to charge. I essayed to rise a little as he came 
 forward, but he motioned me with his hand to lie still, while, placing 
 a chair close beside my bed, he sat down. 
 
 " Very sorry for your mishap, sir ; but glad it is no worse. Moreton 
 says that nothing of consequence is injured : there, you mustn't speak, 
 except I ask you. Hampden has told me everything necessary ; at 
 least, as far as he knew. Is it your opinion, also, that any movement 
 is in contemplation ? and from what circumstance ? " 
 
 I immediately explained, and, as briefly as I was able, the reasons 
 for suspecting such, with which he seemed* quite satisfied. I detailed 
 the various changes in the positions of the troops that were taking
 
 342 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 place during the night, the march of the artillery, and the strong 
 bodies of cavalry that were posted in reserve along the river. 
 
 " Very well, sir ; they'll not move ; your prisoner, sir, quartermaster 
 of an infantry battalion, says not also . Yours was a bold stroke, but 
 could not possibly have been of service, and the best thing I can do 
 for you is not to mention it ; a court-martial is but a poor recompense 
 for a gunshot wound. Meanwhile, when this blows over, I'll appoint 
 you on my personal staff. There, not a word, I beg ; and now good- 
 bye." So saying, and waving me an adieu with his hand, the gallant 
 veteran withdrew before I could express my gratitude for his kindness. 
 
 I had little time for reflecting over my past adventure, such numbers 
 of my brother officers poured in upon me. All the Doctor's cautions 
 respecting quietness and rest were disregarded, and a perfect levee sat 
 the entire morning in my bedroom. I was delighted to learn that 
 Mike's wound, though painful at the moment, was of no consequence ; 
 and indeed, Hampden, who escaped both steel and shot, was the worst 
 off amongst us : his plunge in the river having brought on an ague he 
 had laboured under years before. 
 
 te The illustrious Maurice has been twice here this morning, but they 
 wouldn't admit him. Your Scotch physician is afraid of his Irish con- 
 frere, and they had a rare set-to about Galen and Hippocrates outside," 
 said Baker. 
 
 " By-the-bye," said another, " did you see how Sparks looked when 
 Quill joined us? Egad, I never saw a fellow in such a fright; he 
 reddened up, then grew pale, turned his back, and slunk away at the 
 very first moment." 
 
 ' ' Yes, I remember it. We must find out the reason ; for Maurice, 
 depend upon it, has been hoaxing the poor fellow." 
 
 " Well, O'Malley," growled out the senior Major, " you certainly did 
 give Hampden a benefit. He'd not trust himself in such company 
 again ; and begad, he says, the man is as bad as the master. That 
 fellow of yours never let go his prisoner till he reached the Quarter- 
 master-General, and they were both bathed in blood by that time." 
 
 <e Poor Mike, we must do something for him. " 
 
 " Oh ! he's as happy as a king. Maurice has been in to see him, and 
 they've had a long chat about Ireland, and all the national pastimes of 
 whisky drinking and smashing skulls. My very temples ache at the 
 recollection." 
 
 " Is Mister O'Mealey at home ? " said a very rich Cork accent, as the 
 well-known and most droll features of Dr. Maurice Quill appeared at 
 the door. 
 
 " Come in, Maurice," said the Major ; " and for Heaven's sake behave 
 properly. The poor fellow must not have a row about his bedside." 
 
 " A row ! a row ! Upon my conscience, it is little you know about a 
 row, and there's worse things going than a row." 
 
 "AVhichlegisit?" 
 
 " It's an arm, Doctor, I'm happy to say." 
 
 ' ' Not your punch hand, I hope. No ; all's right. A neat fellow 
 you have for a servant, that Mickey Free. I was asking him about a 
 townsman of his own one Tim Delany the very cut of himself; the 
 best servant I ever had. I never could make out what became of him.
 
 THE DOCTOR 343 
 
 Old Hobson, of the 95th, gave him to me, saying, ' There, he's for you, 
 Maurice, and a bigger thief and a greater blackguard there's not in 
 the 60th.' 
 
 " ' Strong words,' said I. 
 
 ' ' ' And true,' said he ; ' he'd steal your molar tooth while you were 
 laughing at him.' 
 
 " ' Let me have him, and try my hand on him, anyway. I've got no 
 one just now. Anything is better than nothing.' 
 
 " Well, I took Tim, and sending for him to my room, I locked the 
 door, and sitting down gravely before him, explained, in a few words, 
 that I was quite aware of his little propensities. 
 
 ' c c Now,' said I, ' if you like to behave well, I'll think you as honest 
 as the Chief-Justice ; but, if I catch you stealing, if it be only the 
 value of a brass snuff-box, I'll have you flogged before the regiment, 
 as sure as my name's Maurice.' 
 
 " Oh ! I wish you heard the volley of protestations that fell from 
 him fast as hail. He was a calumniated man ; the world conspired to 
 wrong him ; he was never a thief nor a rogue in his life. He had a 
 weakness, he confessed, for the ladies ; but, except that, he hoped he 
 might die so thin, that he could shave himself with his shin bone if he 
 ever so much as took a pinch of salt that wasn't his own. 
 
 " However this might be, nothing could be better than the way 
 Tim and 1 got on together. Everything was in its place nothing 
 missing ; and, in fact, for upwards of a year, I went on wondering 
 when he was to show out in his true colours ; for hitherto he had been 
 a phoenix. 
 
 "At last we were quartered in Limerick at the time every 
 morning used to bring accounts of all manner of petty thefts in the 
 barracks ; one fellow had lost his belt, another his shoes, a third had 
 three-and-sixpence in his pocket when he went to bed, and woke with- 
 out a farthing, and so on. Everybody, save myself, was mulct of 
 something. At length some rumours of Tim's former propensities got 
 abroad ; suspicion was excited ; my friend Delany was rigidly watched, 
 and some very dubious circumstances attached to the way he spent his 
 evenings. 
 
 " My brother officers called upon me about the matter, and, although 
 nothing had transpired like proof, I sent for Tim, and opened my mind 
 on the subject. 
 
 " You may talk of the look of conscious innocence, but I defy you 
 to conceive anything finer than the stare of offended honour Tim gave 
 me as I begun. 
 
 "'They say it's me, Doctor,' said he, 'do they? And you you 
 believe them ? You allow them to revile me that way ? Well, well, 
 the world is "come to a pretty pass, anyhow. Now, let me ask your 
 honour a few questions? How many shirts had yourself when I 
 entered your service? Two, and one was more like a fishing-net ! 
 And how many have ye now ? Eighteen ; ay, eighteen bran new 
 cambric ones; devil a hole in one of them ! How many pairs of 
 stockings had you ? Three and an odd one. You have two dozen 
 this minute. How many pocket-handkerchiefs? One ; devil a more ! 
 You could only blow your nose two days in the week, and now you
 
 344 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 may every hour of the twenty-four ! And, as to the trifling articles 
 of small value, snuff-boxes, gloves, bootjacks, nightcaps, and ' 
 
 ' ' ' Stop, Tim, that's enough ' 
 
 " ' No, sir, it is not/ said Tim, drawing himself up to his full height ; 
 ' you have wounded my feelings in a way I can't forget. It is im- 
 possible we can have that mutual respect our position demands. Fare- 
 well, farewell, Doctor, and for ever ! ' 
 
 fe Before I could say another word the fellow had left the room, and 
 closed the door after him ; and from that hour to this, I never set eyes 
 on him." 
 
 In this vein did the worthy Doctor run on, till some more discreet 
 friend suggested that, however well-intentioned the visit, I did not seem 
 to be fully equal to it, my flushed cheek and anxious eye betraying 
 that the fever of my wound had commenced ; they left me, therefore,, 
 once more alone, and to my solitary musings over the vicissitudes of 
 my fortune. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII 
 
 THE COA 
 
 WITHIN a week from the occurrence of the events just mentioned, 
 Ciudad Rodrigo surrendered, and Crawford assumed another position 
 beneath the walls of Almeida ; the Spanish contingent having left us, 
 we were reinforced by the arrival of two battalions, renewed orders 
 being sent not to risk a battle, but if the French should advance, to 
 retire beyond the Coa. 
 
 On the evening of the 21st July, a strong body of French cavalry 
 advanced into the plain, supported by some heavy guns ; upon which 
 Crawford retired upon the Coa, intending, as we supposed, to place 
 that river between himself and the enemy. Three days, however, 
 passed over without any movement upon either side, and we still 
 continued, with a force of scarcely four thousand infantry and a 
 thousand dragoons, to stand opposite to an army of nearly fifty 
 thousand men. Such was our position as the night of the 24th set 
 in. I was sitting alone in my quarters ; Mike, whose wound had been 
 severer than at first was supposed, had been sent to Almeida, and I 
 was musing in solitude upon the events of the campaign, when the 
 noise and bustle without excited my attention ; the roll of artillery 
 waggons, the clash of musketry, and the distant sounds of marching, 
 all proved that the troops were effecting some new movement, and I 
 burned with anxiety to learn what it was. My brother officers, how- 
 ever, came not as usual to my quarters ; and although I waited with 
 impatience while the hours rolled by, no one appeared. 
 
 Long, low moaning gusts of wind swept along the earth, carrying 
 the leaves as they tore them from the trees, and mingling their sad 
 sounds with the noises of the retiring troops ; for 1 could perceive that 
 gradually the sounds grew more and more remote, and only now and 
 then could I trace their position as the roll of a distant drum swelled 
 upon the breeze, or the more shrill cry of a pibroch broke upon my
 
 THE COA 345 
 
 ear ; a heavy downpour of rain followed soon after, and in its unceasing 
 plash drowned all other sounds. 
 
 As the little building shook beneath the peals of loud thunder, the 
 lightning flashed in broad sheets upon the rapid river, which, swollen 
 and foaming, dashed impetuously beside my window. By the uncer- 
 tain but vivid glare of the flashes I endeavoured to ascertain where our 
 force was posted ; but in vain. Never did I witness such a night of 
 storm : the deep booming of the thunder seeming never for a moment 
 to cease, while the rush of the torrent grew gradually louder, till at 
 length it swelled into one deep and sullen roar like that of distant 
 artillery. 
 
 Weak and nervous as I felt from the effects of my wound, feverish 
 and exhausted by days of suffering and sleepless nights, I paced my 
 little room with tottering but impatient steps. The sense of my sad 
 and imprisoned state impressed me deeply ; and while from time to 
 time I replenished my fire, and hoped to hear some friendly step upon 
 the stair, my heart grew gradually heavier, and every gloomy and de- 
 pressing thought suggested itself to my imagination. My most constant 
 impression was, that the troops were retiring beyond the Coa, and that, 
 forgotten in the haste and confusion of a night march, I had been left 
 behind to fall a prisoner to the enemy. 
 
 The sounds of the troops retiring gradually farther and farther 
 favoured the idea, in which I was still more strengthened on finding 
 that the peasants who inhabited the little hut had departed, leaving 
 me utterly alone. From the moment I ascertained this fact, my im- 
 patience knew no bounds, and, in proportion as I began to feel some 
 exertion necessary on my part, so much more did my nervousness in- 
 crease my debility, that at last I sank exhausted upon my bed, while 
 a cold perspiration broke out upon my temples. 
 
 I have mentioned that the Coa was immediately beneath the house ; 
 I must also add, that the little building occupied the angle of a steep 
 but narrow gorge, which descended from the plain to the bridge across 
 the stream. This, as far as I knew, was the only means we possessed 
 of passing the river ; so that, when the last retiring sounds of the troops 
 were heard by me, I began to suspect that Crawford, in compliance 
 with his orders, was making a backward movement, leaving the bridge 
 open to the French, to draw them on to his line of march, while he 
 should cross over at some more distant point. 
 
 As the night grew later, the storm seemed to increase : the waves of 
 the foaming river dashed against the frail walls of the hut while its 
 roof, rent by the blast, fell in fragments upon the stream, and all 
 threatened a speedy and perfect ruin. 
 
 How I longed for morning ! The doubt and uncertainty I suffered 
 nearly drove me distracted. Of all the casualties my career as a soldier 
 opened, none had such terrors for me as imprisonment : the very 
 thought of the long years of inaction and inglorious idleness was worse 
 than any death. My wounds, and the state of fever I was in, increased 
 the morbid dread upon me, and, had the French captured me at the 
 time, I know not that madness of which I was not capable. Day broke 
 at last, but slowly and sullenly ; the grey clouds hurried past upon the 
 storm, pouring down the rain in torrents as they went, and the deso-
 
 34(5 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 lation and dreariness on all sides was scarcely preferable to the dark- 
 ness and gloom of night. My eyes were turned ever towards the 
 plain, across which the winter wind bore the plashing rain in vast 
 sheets of water : the thunder crashed louder and louder ; but except 
 the sounds of the storm, none others met my ear. Not a man, not a 
 human figure could I see, as I strained my sight towards the distant 
 horizon. 
 
 The morning crept over, but the storm abated not, and the same 
 unchanged aspect of dreary desolation prevailed without. At times I 
 thought I could hear amidst the noises of the tempest something like 
 the roll of distant artillery ; but the thunder swelled in sullen roar 
 above all, and left me uncertain as before. 
 
 At last, in a momentary pause of the storm, a tremendous peal of 
 heavy guns caught my ear, followed by the long rattling of small arms. 
 My heart bounded with ecstasy. The thought of the battlefield, with 
 all its changing fortunes, was better, a thousand times better, than the 
 despairing sense of desertion I laboured under. I listened now with 
 eagerness, but the rain bore down again in torrents, and the crumbling 
 walls and falling timbers left no other sounds to be heard. Far as my 
 eye could reach, nothing could still be seen, save the dreary monotony 
 of the vast plain, undulating slightly here and there, but unmarked by 
 a sign of man. 
 
 Far away towards the horizon, I had remarked for some time past 
 that the clouds resting upon the earth grew blacker and blacker, 
 spreading out to either side in vast masses, and not broken or wafted 
 along like the rest. As I watched the phenomenon with an anxious 
 eye, I perceived the dense mass suddenly appear, as it were, rent 
 asunder, while a volume of liquid flame rushed wildly out, throwing a 
 lurid glare on every side. One terrific clap, louder than any thunder, 
 shook the air at this moment, while the very earth trembled beneath 
 the shock. 
 
 As I hesitated what it might be, the heavy din of great guns again 
 was heard, and from the midst of the black smoke rode forth a dark 
 mass, which I soon recognised as the horse artillery at full gallop. 
 They were directing their course towards the bridge. 
 
 As they mounted the little rising ground, they wheeled and unlim- 
 bered with the speed of lightning, just as a strong column of cavalry 
 showed above the ridge. One tremendous discharge again shook the 
 field, and, ere the smoke cleared away, they were again far in retreat. 
 
 So much was my attention occupied with this movement, that I had 
 not perceived the long line of infantry that came from the extreme 
 left, and were now advancing also towards the bridge at a brisk quick 
 step : scattered bodies of cavalry came up from different parts, while 
 from the little valley every now and then a rifleman would mount the 
 rising ground, turning to fire as he retreated. All this boded a rapid 
 and disorderly retreat, and, although as yet I could see nothing of the 
 pursuing enemy, I knew too well the relative forces of each to have a 
 doubt for the result. 
 
 At last the head of a French column appeared above the mist, and I 
 could plainly distinguish the gestures of the officers as they hurried 
 their men onwards. Meanwhile, a loud hurra attracted my attention,
 
 THE COA 347 
 
 and I turned my eyes towards the road which led to the river. Here 
 a small body of the 95th had hurriedly assembled ; and formed again, 
 were standing to cover the retreat of the broken infantry as they 
 passed on eagerly to the bridge ; in a second after the French Cuiras- 
 siers appeared. Little anticipating resistance from a flying and dis- 
 ordered mass, they rode headlong forward, and although the firm 
 attitude and steady bearing of the Highlanders might have appalled 
 them, they rode heedlessly down upon the square, sabreing the very 
 men in the front rank. Till now not a trigger had been pulled, when 
 suddenly the word ( ' Fire ! " was given, and a withering volley of balls 
 sent the cavalry column in shivers. One hearty cheer broke from the 
 infantry in the rear, and I could hear " Gallant Ninety-fifth ! " shouted 
 on every side along the plain. 
 
 The whole vast space before me was now one animated battle- 
 ground. Our own troops, retiring in haste before the overwhelming 
 forces of the French, occupied every little vantage ground with their 
 guns and light infantry, charges of cavalry coursing hither and 
 thither ; while, as the French pressed forward, the retreating columns 
 again formed into squares to permit stragglers to come up. The 
 rattle of small-arms, the heavy peal of artillery, the earthquake crash 
 of cavalry, rose on every side, while the cheers which alternately told 
 of the vacillating fortune of the fight arose amidst the wild pibroch of 
 the Highlanders. 
 
 A tremendous noise now took place on the floor beneath me, and, 
 looking down, I perceived that a sergeant and party of the sappers had 
 taken possession of the little hut, and were busily engaged piercing the 
 walls for the musketry ; and before many minutes had elapsed, a com- 
 pany of the Rifles were thrown into the building, which, from its 
 commanding position above the road, enfiladed the whole line of 
 march. The officer in command briefly informed me that we had been 
 attacked that morning by the French in force and <e devilishly well 
 thrashed ; " that we were now in retreat beyond the Coa, where we 
 ought to have been three days previously, and desired me to cross the 
 bridge and get myself out of the way as soon as I possibly could. 
 
 A twenty-four pounder from the French lines struck the angle of 
 the house as he spoke, scattering the mortar and broken bricks about 
 us on all sides. This was warning sufficient for me, wounded and dis- 
 abled as I was ; so, taking the few things I could save in my haste, I 
 hurried from the hut, and, descending the path, now slippery by the 
 heavy rain, I took my way across the bridge and established myself on 
 a little rising knoll of ground beyond, from which a clear view could 
 be obtained of the whole field. 
 
 I had not been many minutes in my present position ere the pass 
 which led down to the bridge became thronged with troops, waggons, 
 ammunition carts, and hospital stores, pressing thickly forward amid 
 shouting and uproar ; the hills on either side of the way were crowded 
 with troops, who formed as they came up, the ai-tillery taking up their 
 position on every rising ground. The firing had already begun, and 
 the heavy booming of the large guns was heard at intervals amid the 
 rattling crash of musketry. Except the narrow road before me, and 
 the high bank of the stream, I could see nothing : but the tumult and
 
 348 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 din, winch grew momentarily louder, told that the tide of battle waged 
 nearer and nearer. Still the retreat continued ; and at length the 
 heavy artillery came thundering across the narrow bridge, followed by 
 stragglers, of all arms, and wounded, hurrying to the rear : the sharp- 
 shooters and the Highlanders held the heights above the stream, thus 
 covering the retiring columns ; but I could plainly perceive that their 
 fire was gradually slackening, and that the guns which flanked their 
 position were withdrawn, and everything bespoke a speedy retreat. A 
 tremendous discharge of musketry at this moment, accompanied by a 
 deafening cheer, announced the advance of the French, and soon the 
 head of the Highland brigade was seen descending towards the bridge, 
 followed by the Rifles and the 95th ; the cavalry, consisting of the llth 
 and 14th Light Dragoons, were now formed in column of attack, and 
 the infantry deployed into line ; and, in an instant after, high above 
 the din and crash of battle, I heard the word (< Charge !" The rising 
 crest of the hill hid them from my sight, but my heart bounded with 
 ecstasy as I listened to the clanging sound of the cavalry advance. 
 Meanwhile, the infantry pressed on, and, forming upon the bank, took 
 up a strong position in front of the bridge : the heavy guns were also 
 unlimbered : riflemen scattered through the low copse wood, and every 
 precaution taken to defend the pass to the last . for a moment all my 
 attention was riveted to the movements upon our own side of the 
 stream, when suddenly the cavalry bugle sounded the recall, and the 
 same moment the staff came galloping across the bridge. One officer, 
 I could perceive, covered with orders and trappings ; his head was bare, 
 and his horse, splashed with blood and foam, moved lamely and with 
 difficulty ; he turned in the middle of the bridge as if irresolute 
 whether to retreat farther : one glance at him showed me the bronzed 
 manly features of our leader. Whatever his resolve, the matter was 
 soon decided for him ; for the cavalry came galloping swiftly down 
 the slope, and in an instant the bridge was blocked up by the retreating 
 forces ; while the French, as suddenly appearing above the height, 
 opened a plunging fire upon their defenceless enemies ; their cheer 
 of triumph was answered by our fellows from the opposite bank, and 
 a heavy cannonade thundered along the rocky valley, sending up a 
 hundred echoes as it went. 
 
 The scene now became one of overwhelming interest ; the French, 
 posting their guns upon the height, replied to our fire : while their 
 column, breaking into skirmishers, descended the banks to the river 
 edge, and poured in one sheet of galling musketry. The road to the 
 bridge, swept by our artillery, presented not a single file, and, although 
 a movement among the French announced the threat of an attack, the 
 deadly service of the artillery seemed to pronounce it hopeless. 
 
 A strong cavalry force stood inactively spectators of the combat on 
 the French side, among whom I now remarked some bustle and pre- 
 paration, and, as I looked, an officer rode boldly to the river edge, and, 
 spurring his horse forward, plunged into the stream. The swollen and 
 angry torrent, increased by the late rains, boiled like barm and foamed 
 around him as he advanced, when suddenly his horse appeared to have 
 lost its footing, and the rapid current, circling around him, bore him 
 along with it. He laboured madly, but in vain, to retrace his steps ;
 
 THE NIGHT MARCH 349 
 
 the rolling torrent rose above his saddle, and all that his gallant steed 
 could do was barely sufficient to keep afloat : both man and horse 
 were carried down between the contending armies. I could see him 
 wave his hand to his comrades as if in adieu : one deafening cheer of 
 admiration rose from the French lines, and the next moment he was 
 seen to fall from his seat, and his body, shattered with balls, floated 
 mournfully upon the stream. 
 
 This little incident, to which both armies were witnesses, seemed to 
 have called forth all the fiercer passions of the contending forces ; a 
 loud yell of taunting triumph rose from the Highlanders, responded to 
 by a cry of vengeance from the French, and the same moment the 
 head of a column was seen descending the narrow causeway to the 
 bridge ; while an officer with a whole blaze of decorations and crosses 
 sprung from his horse and took the lead. The little drummer, a child 
 of scarcely ten years old, tripped gaily on, beating his little pas de 
 charge, seeming rather like the play of infancy than the summons to 
 death and carnage, as the heavy guns of the French opened a volume 
 of fire and flame to cover the attacking column ; for a moment all was 
 hid from our eyes ; the moment after the grape-shot swept along the 
 narrow causeway, and the edge, which till a second before was crowded 
 with the life and courage of a noble column, was now one heap of dead 
 and dying ; the gallant fellow who led them on fell among the first 
 rank, and the little child, as if kneeling, was struck dead beside the 
 parapet ; his fair hair floated across his cold features, and seemed in 
 its motion to lend a look of life, when the heart's throb had ceased for 
 ever. The artillery again reopened upon us, and, when the smoke 
 had cleared away, we discovered that the French had advanced to the 
 middle of the bridge and carried off the body of their General. Twice 
 they essayed to cross, and twice the death-dealing fire of our guns 
 covered the narrow bridge with slain, while, by the wild pibroch of 
 the Forty-second swelling madly into notes of exultation and triumph, 
 the Highlanders could scarcely be prevented from advancing hand to 
 hand with the foe. Gradually the French slackened their fire, their 
 great guns were one by one withdrawn from the heights, and a drop- 
 ping irregular musketry at intervals sustained the fight, which ere sun- 
 set ceased altogether ; and thus terminated the Battle of the Coa. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIII 
 
 THE NIGHT MARCH 
 
 SCARCELY had the night fallen when our retreat commenced. Tired 
 and weary as our brave fellows felt, but little repose was allowed 
 them ; their bivouac fires were blazing brightly, and they hud just 
 thrown themselves in groups around them, when the word to fall in 
 was passed from troop to troop, and from battalion to battalion ; 
 no trumpet, no bugle called them to their ranks. It was necessary 
 that all should be done noiselessly and speedily ; while, therefore, 
 the wounded were marched to the front, and the heavy artillery with
 
 350 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 them, a brigade of light four-pounders, and two squadrons of cavalry 
 held the heights above the bridge, and the infantry, forming into three 
 columns, began their march. 
 
 My wound, forgotten in the heat and excitement of the conflict, was 
 now becoming excessively painful, and I gladly availed myself of a 
 place in a waggon, where, stretched upon some fresh straw, with no 
 other covering save the starry sky, I soon fell sound asleep, and neither 
 the heavy jolting of the rough conveyance nor the deep and rutty road 
 were able to disturb my slumbers. Still through my sleep I heard the 
 sounds around me, the heavy tramp of infantry, the clash of the 
 moving squadrons, and the dull roll of artillery ; and ever and anon 
 the half-stifled cry of pain, mingling with the reckless carol of some 
 drinking song, all flitted through my dreams, lending to my thoughts 
 of home and friends a memory of glorious war. 
 
 All the vicissitudes of a soldier's life passed then in review before 
 me, elicited in some measure by the things about. The pomp and 
 grandeur, the misery and meanness, the triumph, the defeat, the 
 moment of victory, and the hour of death were there, and in that vivid 
 dream I lived a life long. 
 
 I awoke at length, the cold and chilling air which follows midnight 
 blew around me, and my wounded arm felt as though it were frozen. 
 1 tried to cover myself beneath the straw, but in vain, and as my 
 limbs trembled, and my teeth chattered, I thought again of home, 
 where at that moment the poorest menial of my uncle's house was better 
 lodged than I, and strange to say, something of pride mingled with the 
 thought, and in my lonely heart a feeling of elation cheered me. 
 
 These reflections were interrupted by the sound of a voice near me, 
 which I at once knew to be O'Shaughnessy's : he was on foot, and 
 speaking evidently in some excitement. 
 
 " I tell you, Maurice, some confounded blunder there must be : sure 
 he was left in that cottage near the bridge, and no one ever saw him 
 after.' 
 
 " The French took it from the Rifles before we crossed the river. 
 By Jove ! I'll wager my chance of promotion against a pint of sherry 
 he'll turn up somewhere in the morning ; those Galway chaps have as 
 many lives as a cat" 
 
 "See, now, Maurice, I wouldn't for a full colonelcy anything would 
 happen to him 1 like the boy." 
 
 " So do I myself ; but I tell you there's no danger of him : did you 
 ask Sparks anything ? " 
 
 " Ask Sparks, God help you ! Sparks would go off in a fit at the 
 sight of me. No, no poor creature, it's little use it would be my 
 speaking to him." 
 
 " Why so, Doctor ? " cried I from my straw couch. 
 
 <f May I never, if it's not him ! Charley, my son, I'm glad you're 
 safe. Faith, I thought you were on your way to Verdun by this 
 time. " 
 
 " Sure, I told you he'd find his way here but, O'AIeaiey, dear 
 you're mighty cowld a rigor, as old M'Lauchlan would call it" 
 
 <e E'en sae, Maister Quill," said a broad Scotch accent behind him ; 
 "and I canna see ony objection to giein' things their right names."
 
 THE NIGHT MARCH 351 
 
 ' ' The top of the morning to you," said Quill, familiarly patting him 
 on the back, " how goes it, old brimstone ? " 
 
 The conversation might not have taken a very amicable turn, had 
 M'Lauchlan heard the latter part of this speech ; but as happily he 
 was engaged unpacking a small canteen which he had placed in the 
 waggon, it passed unnoticed. 
 
 " Ye'll nae dislike a toothfu' of something warm, Major," said 
 he, presenting a glass to O'Shaughnessy, " and if ye'll permit me, Mr. 
 O'Mealey, to help you " 
 
 ' ' A thousand thanks, Doctor ; but I fear a broken arm " 
 
 <c There's naething in the whisky to prevent the proper formation of 
 callus." 
 
 ' ( By the rock of Cashel, it never made any one callous," said 
 O'Shaughnessy, mistaking the import of the phrase. 
 
 " Ye are nae drinking frae the flask," said the Doctor, turning in 
 some agitation towards Quill. 
 
 " Devil a bit, my darling. I've a little horn convaniency here, that 
 holds half a pint, nice measure." 
 
 I don't imagine that our worthy friend participated in Quill's ad- 
 miration of the " convaniency," for he added in a dry tone : 
 
 ' ' Ye may as weel tak your liquor frae a glass, like a Christian, as 
 stick your nose in a coo's horn." 
 
 "By my conscience, you're no small judge of spirits, wherever you 
 learned it," said the Major. " It's like Islay malt." 
 
 " I was aye reckoned a gude ane," said the Doctor, " and my mither's 
 brither, Caimbogie, had na his like in the north country. Ye maybe 
 heerd tell what he aince said to the Duchess of Argyle, when she sent 
 for him to taste her claret." 
 
 <c Never heard of it," quoth Quill ; " let's have it by all means. I'd 
 like to hear what the Duchess said to him." 
 
 " It was na what the Duchess said to him, but what he said to the 
 Duchess, ye ken. The way of it was this. My uncle, Caimbogie, was 
 aye up at the Castle, for besides his knowledge of liquor, there was nae 
 his match for deer-stalking or spearing a salmon in those parts. He 
 was a great rough carle, it s true, but ane ye'd rather crack wi' than 
 fight wi'. 
 
 " Weel, ae day they had a grand dinner at the Duke's, and there 
 were plenty o' great southron lords and braw leddies in velvets and 
 satin ; and vara muckle surprised they were at my uncle, when he 
 came in wi' his tartan kilt, in full Highland dress, as the head of a clan 
 ought to do. Caimbogie, however, pe'd nae attention to them, but lie 
 ate his dinner and drank his wine, and talked away about fallow and 
 red deer, and at last the Duchess, for she was aye fond o' him, addressed 
 him frae the head o' the table : 
 
 f ' ' Caimbogie,' quoth she, ' I'd like to hae your opinion about that 
 wine. It's some the Duke has just received, and we should like to 
 hear what you think of it.' 
 
 " ' It's nae sae bad, my leddy,' said my uncle ; for ye see he was a 
 man of few words, and never flattered onybody. 
 
 <e ' Then you don't approve much of it?' said the Duchess. 
 
 " ' I've drank better, and I've drank waur/ quo' he.
 
 352 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " ' I'm sorry you don't like it, Caimbogie,' said the Duchess, e for it can 
 never be popular now, we have such a dependence upon your taste.' 
 
 "'I canua say ower muckle for my taste, my leddy, but ae thing I 
 will say I've a most damnable SMELL.' 
 
 " I hear that never since the auld wall stood was there ever the like 
 of the laughing that followed : the puir Duke himsel' was carried away 
 and nearly had a fit, and a' the grand lords and leddies a' most died of it. 
 But, see here, the carle has nae left a drap o' whisky in the flask." 
 
 " The last glass I drained to your respectable uncle's health," said 
 Quill, with a most professional gravity : ( ' now, Charley, make a little 
 room for me in the straw." 
 
 The Doctor soon mounted beside me, and giving me a share of his 
 ample cloak, considerably ameliorated my situation. 
 
 " So you knew Sparks, Doctor ? " said I, with a strong curiosity to 
 hear something of his early acquaintance. 
 
 " That I did : I knew him when he was an ensign in the 10th Foot ; 
 and, to say the truth, he is not much changed since that time ; the 
 same lively look of a sick cod-fish about his grey eyes ; the same dis- 
 orderly wave of his yellow hair ; the same sad whining voice, and that 
 confounded apothecary's laugh." 
 
 " Come, come, Doctor, Sparks is a good fellow at heart : I won't 
 have him abused. I never knew he had been in the infantry ; I should 
 think it must have been another of the same name." 
 
 " Not at all ; there's only one like him in the service, and that's 
 himself. Confound it, man, I'd know his skin upon a bush ; he was 
 only three weeks in the 10th, and, indeed, your humble servant has the 
 whole merit of his leaving it so soon. " 
 
 <( Do let me hear how that happened." 
 
 " Simply thus the jolly 10th were some four years ago the plea- 
 santest corps in the army ; from the lieutenant-colonel down to the last 
 joined sub. all were out-and-outers real gay fellows. The mess was, 
 in fact, like a pleasant club, and if you did not suit it, the best thing 
 you could do was to sell out or exchange into a slower regiment ; and, 
 indeed, this very wholesome truth was not very long in reaching your 
 ears some way or other, and a man that could remain after being given 
 this hint was likely to go afterwards without one." 
 
 Just as Doctor Quill reached this part of his story an orderly dragoon 
 galloped furiously past, and the next moment an aide-de-camp rode by, 
 calling, as he passed us : 
 
 " Close up there close up ! Get forward, my lads get forward ! " 
 
 It was evident, from the stir and bustle about, that some movement 
 was being made ; and soon after a dropping irregular fire from the rear 
 showed that our cavalry were engaged with the enemy : the affair was 
 scarcely of five minutes' duration, and our march resumed all its former 
 regularity immediately after. 
 
 I now turned to the Doctor to resume his story, but he was gone ; 
 at what moment he left I could not say, but O'Shaughnessy was also 
 absent ; nor did I again meet with them for a considerable time after. 
 
 Towards daybreak we halted at Bonares, when, my wound demand- 
 ing rest and attention, I was billeted in the village, and consigned to 
 all the miseries of a sick-bed.
 
 THE JOURNEY 353 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIV 
 
 THE JOURNEY 
 
 WITH that disastrous day my campaigning was destined, for some time 
 at least, to conclude. My wound, which grew from hour to hour more 
 threatening, at length began to menace the loss of the arm, and by 
 the recommendation of the regimental surgeons I was ordered back to 
 Lisbon. 
 
 Mike, by this time perfectly restored, prepared everything for my 
 departure, and on the third day after the battle of the Coa I began 
 my journey with downcast spirits and depressed heart. The poor fellow 
 was, however, a kind and affectionate nurse, and, unlike many others, 
 his cares were not limited to the mere bodily wants of his patient : he 
 sustained, as well as he was able, my drooping resolution, rallied my 
 spirits, and cheered my courage. With the very little Portuguese he 
 possessed he contrived to make every imaginable species of bargain ; 
 always managed a good billet ; kept every one in good humour, and 
 rarely left his quarters in the morning without a most affecting leave- 
 taking, and reiterated promises to renew his visit. 
 
 Our journeys were usually short ones, and already two days had 
 elapsed, when towards nightfall we entered the little hamlet of Jaffra. 
 During the entire of that day the pain of my wounded limb had been 
 excruciating : the fatigue of the road and the heat had brought back 
 violent inflammation, and when at last the little village came in sight 
 my reason was fast yielding to the torturing agonies of my wound ; 
 but the transports with which I greeted my resting-place were soon 
 destined to a change ; for, as we drew near, not a light was to be seen, 
 not a sound to be heard, not even a dog barked, as the heavy mule cart 
 rattled over the uneven road. No ti-ace of any living thing was there : 
 the little hamlet lay sleeping in the pale moonlight, its streets deserted, 
 and its homes tenantless ; our own footsteps alone echoed along the 
 dreary causeway ; here and there, as we advanced farther, we found 
 some relics of broken furniture and house gear ; most of the doors 
 lay open, but nothing remained within save bare walls ; the embers 
 still smoked in many places upon the hearth, and showed us that the 
 flight of the inhabitants had been recent. Yet everything convinced 
 us that the French had not been there ; there was no trace of the 
 reckless violence and wanton cruelty which marked their footsteps 
 everywhere. 
 
 All proved that the desertion had been voluntary : perhaps in com- 
 pliance with an order from our commander-in-chief, who frequently 
 desired any intended line of march of the enemy to be left thus a 
 desert. As we sauntered slowly on from street to street, half hoping 
 that some one human being yet remained behind, and casting our eyes 
 from side to side in search of quarters for the night, Mike suddenly 
 came running up, saying : 
 
 " I have it, sir I've found it out there's people living down that 
 small street there I saw a light this minute as I passed." 
 
 z
 
 354 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I turned immediately, and, accompanied by the mule driver, followed 
 Mike across a little open square into a small and narrow street, at the 
 end of which a light was seen faintly twinkling ; we hurried on, and 
 in a few minutes reached a high wall of solid masonry, from a niche 
 of which we now discovered, to our utter disappointment, the light pro- 
 ceeded. It was a small lamp placed before a little waxen image of the 
 Virgin, and was probably the last act of piety of some poor villager 
 ere he left his home and hearth for ever : there it burned brightly and 
 tranquilly, throwing its mellow ray upon the cold deserted stones. 
 
 Whatever impatience I might have given way to in a moment of 
 chagrin was soon repressed, as I saw my two followers, uncovering 
 their heads in silent reverence, kneel down before the little shrine. 
 There was something at once touching and solemn in this simultaneous 
 feeling of homage from the hearts of those removed in country, 
 language, and in blood ; they bent meekly down their heads bowed 
 upon their bosoms, while with muttering voices each offered up his 
 prayer. All sense of their disappointment, all memory of their forlorn 
 state, seemed to have yielded to more powerful and absorbing thoughts 
 as they opened their hearts in prayer. 
 
 My eyes were still fixed upon them, when suddenly Mike, whose 
 devotion seemed of the briefest, sprung to his legs, and with a spirit 
 of levity but little in accordance with his late proceedings, commenced 
 a series of kicking, rapping, and knocking at a small oak postern, suffi- 
 cient to have aroused a whole convent from their cells. ' ' House, there ! 
 good people within ! " bang ! bang ! bang ! but the echoes alone 
 responded to his call, and the sounds died away at length in the distant 
 streets, leaving all as silent and dreary as before. 
 
 Our Portuguese friend, who by this time had finished his orisons, 
 now began a vigorous attack upon the small door, and, with the 
 assistance of Mike, armed with a fragment of granite about the size of 
 a man's head, at length separated the frame from the hinges, and sent 
 the whole mass prostrate before us. 
 
 The moon was just rising as we entered the little park, where 
 gravelled walks, neatly kept and well trimmed, bespoke recent care 
 and attention ; following a handsome alley of lime trees, we reached a 
 little jet d'eau, whose sparkling fountain shone like diamonds in the 
 moonbeams ; and, escaping from the edge of a vast shell, i - an murmur- 
 ing amid mossy stones and water-lilies, that, however naturally they 
 seemed thrown around, bespoke also the hand of taste in their position. 
 On turning from the spot, we came directly in front of an old but 
 handsome chateau, before which stretched a terrace of considerable 
 extent. Its balustraded parapet, lined with orange trees, now in full 
 blossom, scented the still air with their delicious odour ; marble statues 
 peeped here and there amid the foliage, while a rich acacia, loaded with 
 flowers, covered the walls of the building, and hung in vast masses of 
 variegated blossom across the tall windows. 
 
 As, leaning on Mike's arm, I slowly ascended the steps of the terrace, 
 I was more than ever struck with the silence and death-like stillness 
 around ; except the gentle plash of the fountain, all was at rest ; the 
 very plants seemed to sleep in the yellow moonlight, and not a trace 
 of any living thing was there.
 
 THE JOURNEY 355 
 
 The massive door lay open as we entered the spacious hall, flagged 
 with marble, and surrounded with armorial bearings. We advanced 
 farther, and came to a broad and handsome stair, which led us to a 
 long gallery, from which a suite of rooms opened, looking towards the 
 front part of the building. Wherever we went the furniture appeared 
 perfectly untouched ; nothing was removed ; the very chairs were 
 grouped around the windows and the tables ; books, as if suddenly 
 dropped from their readers' hands, were scattered upon the sofas and 
 the ottomans ; and in one small apartment, whose blue satin walls 
 and damask drapery bespoke a boudoir, a rich mantilla of black velvet 
 and a silk glove were thrown upon a chair. It was clear the desertion 
 had been most recent ; and everything indicated that no time had 
 been given to the fugitives to prepare for flight. What a sad picture 
 of war was there ! to think of those whose home, endeared to them by 
 all the refinements of cultivated life, and all the associations of years 
 of happiness, sent out upon the wide world wanderers, and house- 
 less : while their hearth, sacred by every tie that binds us to our 
 kindred, was to be desecrated by the ruthless and savage hands of a 
 ruffian soldiery. I thought of them : perhaps at that very hour their 
 thoughts were clinging round the old walls ; remembering each well- 
 beloved spot, while they took their lonely path through mountain and 
 through valley : and felt ashamed and abashed at my own intrusion 
 there. While thus my reverie ran on, I had not perceived that 
 Mike, whose views were very practical on all occasions, had lighted a 
 most cheerful fire upon the hearth, and, disposing a large sofa before 
 it, had carefully closed the curtains, and was, in fact, making him- 
 self and his master as much at home as though he had spent his life 
 there. 
 
 ' ' Isn't it a beautiful place, Misther Charles ? and this little room, 
 doesn't it remind you of the blue bedroom in O'Malley Castle, 
 barrin' the elegant view out upon the Shannon, and the mountain 
 of Scariff?" 
 
 Nothing short of Mike's patriotism could forgive such a comparison ; 
 but, however, I did not contradict him, as he ran on : 
 
 " Faith, I knew well there was luck in store for us this evening ; and 
 ye see the handful of prayers I threw away outside wasn't lost. Jose's 
 making the beasts comfortable in the stable, and I'm thinking we'll 
 none of us complain of our quarters. But you're not eating your 
 supper ; and the beautiful hare pie that I stole this morning, won't 
 you taste it? Well, a glass of Malaga? not a glass of Malaga? Oh, 
 mother of Moses ! what's this for ? " 
 
 Unfortunately, the fever, produced by the long and toilsome journey, 
 had gained considerably on me, and, except copious libations of cold 
 water, I could touch nothing ; my arm, too, was much more painful 
 than before. Mike soon perceived that rest and quietness were most 
 important to me at the moment, and having with difficulty been pre- 
 vailed upon to swallow a few hurried mouthfuls, the poor fellow, 
 having disposed cushions around me in every imaginable form for 
 comfort, and having placed my wounded limb in its easiest position, 
 extinguished the lamp, and sat silently down beside the hearth, without 
 speaking another word.
 
 356 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Fatigue and exhaustion, more powerful than pain, soon produced 
 their effects upon me, and I fell asleep ; but it was no refreshing 
 slumber which visited my heavy eyelids ; the! slow fever of suffering 
 had been hour by hour increasing, and my dreams presented nothing 
 but scenes of agony and torture. Now I thought that, unhorsed and 
 wounded, I was trampled beneath the clanging hoofs of charging 
 cavalry ; now I felt the sharp steel piercing my flesh, and heard the 
 loud cry of a victorious enemy ; then methought I was stretched upon 
 a litter, covered with gore and mangled by a grape-shot. I thought I 
 saw my brother officers approach and look sadly upon me, while one, 
 whose face I could not remember, muttered, " I should not have 
 known him." The dreadful hospital of Talavera, and all its scenes of 
 agony, came up before me, and I thought that I lay waiting my turn 
 for amputation. This last impression, more horrible to me than all 
 the rest, made me spring from my couch, and I awoke : the cold drops 
 of perspiration stood upon my brow, my mouth was parched and open, 
 and my temples throbbed so that I could count their beatings ; for 
 some seconds I could not throw off the frightful illusion I laboured 
 under, and it was only by degrees I recovered consciousness and re- 
 membered where I was. Before me, and on one side of the bright 
 wood fire, sat Mike, who, apparently deep in thought, gazed fixedly at 
 the blaze ; the start I gave on awakening had not attracted his atten- 
 tion, and I could see, as the flickering glare fell upon his features, that 
 he was pale and ghastly, while his eyes were riveted upon the fire ; his 
 lips moved rapidly, as if in prayer, and his locked hands were pressed 
 firmly upon his bosom ; his voice, at first inaudible, I could gradually 
 distinguish, and at length heard the following muttered sentences : 
 
 (( Oh, mother of mercy ! so far from his home and his people, and 
 so young, to die in a strange land : there it is again." Here he ap- 
 peared listening to some sounds from without. ' c Oh, wirra, wirra, I 
 know it well ! the winding-sheet, the winding-sheet ! there it is, my 
 own eyes saw it ! " The tears coursed fast upon his pale cheeks, and 
 his voice grew almost inaudible : as rocking to and fro, for some time 
 he seemed in a very stupor of grief, when at last, in a faint subdued 
 tone, he broke into one of those sad and plaintive airs of his country 
 which only need the moment of depression to make them wring the 
 very heart in agony. 
 
 His song was that to which Moore has appended the beautiful words, 
 ' ( Come, rest on this bosom ; " but the burden of his sad melody ran 
 thus : 
 
 "The day was declining, 
 
 The dark night drew near, 
 And the old Lord grew sadder, 
 
 And paler with fear. 
 ' Come listen, my daughter, 
 
 Come nearer oh ! near, 
 Is't the wind or the water 
 
 That sighs in my ear ? ' 
 
 Not the wind nor the water 
 
 Now stirr'd the night air, 
 But a warning far sadder 
 
 The banshee was there !
 
 THE JOURNEY 357 
 
 Now rising, now swelling, 
 
 On the night wind it bore 
 One cadence, still telling 
 
 ' I want thee, Rossmore ! ' 
 
 And then fast came his breath, 
 
 And more fix'd grew his eye ; 
 And the shadow of death 
 
 Told his hour was nigh. 
 Ere the dawn of that morning 
 
 The struggle was o'er, 
 For when thrice came the warning 
 
 A corpse was Rossmore ! " 
 
 The plaintive air to which these words were sung fell heavily upon 
 my heart, and it needed but the low and nervous condition I was in to 
 make me feel their application to myself. But so it is, the very super- 
 stition your reason rejects and your sense spurns, has from old associa- 
 tion, from habit, and from mere nationality, too, a hold upon your 
 hopes and fears that demands more firmness and courage than a sick- 
 bed possesses to combat with success, and I now listened with an eager 
 ear to mark if the banshee cried, rather than sought to fortify myself 
 by any recurrence to my own convictions. Meanwhile, Mike's attitude 
 became one of listening attention : not a finger moved ; he scarce 
 seemed even to breathe : the state of suspense I suffered from was 
 maddening, and, at last, unable to bear it longer, I was about to speak, 
 when suddenly from the floor beneath us one long-sustained note 
 swelled upon the air and died away again, and immediately after, to 
 the cheerful sounds of a guitar, we heard the husky voice of our 
 Portuguese guide indulging himself in a love ditty. 
 
 Ashamed of myself for my fears, I kept silent ; but Mike, who felt 
 only one sensation that of unmixed satisfaction at his mistake 
 rubbed his hands pleasantly, filled up his glass, drank it, and refilled ; 
 while with an accent of reassured courage he briefly remarked : 
 
 e ' Well, Mr. Jose, if that be singing, upon my conscience, I wonder 
 what crying is like ! " 
 
 I could not forbear a laugh at the criticism, and in a moment 
 the poor fellow, who up to that moment believed me sleeping, was 
 beside me. I saw from his manner that he dreaded lest I had been 
 listening to his melancholy song, and had overheard any of his gloomy 
 forebodings, and, as he cheered my spirits, and spoke encouragingly, I 
 could remark that he made more than usual endeavours to appear 
 light-hearted and at ease. Determined, however, not to let him 
 escape so easily, I questioned him about his belief in ghosts and 
 spirits ; at which he endeavoured, as he ever did when the subject was 
 an unpleasing one, to avoid the discussion ; but rather perceiving that 
 I indulged in no irreverent disrespect of these matters, he grew 
 gradually more open, treating the affair with that strange mixture of 
 credulity and mockery, which formed his estimate of most things 
 now seeming to suppose that any palpable rejection of them might 
 entail sad consequences in future ; now half ashamed to go the whole 
 length in his credulity. 
 
 " And so, Mike, you never saw a ghost yourself? that you acknow- 
 ledge?"
 
 368 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " No, sir, I never saw a real ghost ; but sure there's many a thing I 
 never saw ; but Mrs. Moore, the housekeeper, seen two. And your 
 grandfather that's gone, the Lord be good to him ! used to walk 
 once a year in Lurra Abbey ; and sure you know the story about Tim 
 Clinchy, that was seen every Saturday night coming out of the cellar 
 with a candle and a mug of wine, and a pipe in his mouth, till Mr. 
 Barry laid him. It cost his honour your uncle ten pounds in masses 
 to make him easy ; not to speak of a new lock and two bolts on the 
 cellar door." 
 
 ' ' I have heard all about that ; but, as you never yourself saw any of 
 these things " 
 
 " But sure my father did, and that's the same any day. My lather 
 seen the greatest ghost that ever was seen in the county Cork and 
 spent the evening with him, that's more." 
 
 " Spent the evening with him ! what do you mean ? " 
 
 " Just that, devil a more nor less. If your honour wasn't so weak, 
 and the story wasn't a trying one, I'd like to tell it to you." 
 
 ee Out with it, by all means, Mike ; I am not disposed to sleep ; and 
 now that we are upon these matters my curiosity is strongly excited 
 by your worthy father's experience." 
 
 Thus encouraged, having trimmed the fire, and reseated himself 
 beside the blaze, Mike began. But, as a ghost is no everyday person- 
 age in our history, I must give him a chapter to himself. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXV 
 
 THE GHOST 
 
 te WELL, I believe your honour heard me tell long ago how my father 
 left the army, and the way that he took to another line of life that was 
 more to his liking. And so it was, he was happy as the day was long ; 
 he drove a hearse for Mr. Callaghan of Cork for many years, and 
 a pleasant place it was : for, ye see, my father was a cute man, and 
 knew something of the world, and, though he was a droll devil, and 
 could sing a funny song when he was among the boys, no sooner 
 had he the big black cloak on him and the weepers, and he seated on 
 the high box with the six long-tailed blacks before him, you'd really 
 think it was his own mother was inside, he looked so melancholy and 
 miserable The sexton and gravedigger was nothing to my father ; 
 and he had a look about his eye, to be sure there was a reason for it, 
 that you'd think he was up all night crying ; though it's little indul- 
 gence he took that way. 
 
 "Well, of all Mr. Callaghan's men there was none so great a 
 favourite as my father : the neighbours were all fond of him. 
 
 " ' A kind crayture every inch of him,' the women would say. ' Did 
 ye see his face at Mrs. Delany's funeral ? ' 
 
 e ' e True for you,' another would remark ; ( he mistook the road with 
 grief, and stopped at a shebeen house instead of Kilmurry church.' 
 
 <e I need say no more, only one thing, that it was principally among
 
 THE GHOST 359 
 
 the farmers and the country people my father was liked so much. The 
 great people and the quality I ax your pardon : but sure isn't it true, 
 Mister Charles, they don't fret so much after their fathers and brothers, 
 and they care little who's driving them, whether it was a decent 
 respectable man like my father, or a chap with a grin on him like 
 a rat-trap? And so it happened that my father used to travel half 
 the country ; going here and there wherever there was trade stirring ; 
 and, faix, a man didn't think himself rightly buried if my father wasn't 
 there : for ye see he knew all about it ; he could tell to a quart 
 of spirits what would be wanting for a wake ; he knew all the good 
 criers for miles round ; and I've heard it was a beautiful sight to see 
 him standing on a hill, arranging the procession, as they walked into 
 the churchyard, and giving the word like a captain. 
 
 " ' Come on, the stiff, now the friends of the stiff, now de 
 poplace. ' 
 
 " That's what he used to say, and, troth, he was always repeating it, 
 when he was a little gone in drink, for that's the time his spirits 
 would rise, and he'd think he was burying half Munster. 
 
 " And sure it was a real pleasure and a pride to be buried in them 
 times ; for av it was only a small farmer with a potato garden my 
 father would come down with the black cloak on him, and three yards 
 of crape behind his hat, and set all the children crying and yelling for 
 half a mile round ; and then the way he'd walk before them with a 
 spade on his shoulder, and sticking it down in the ground, clap his hat 
 on the top of it, to make it look like a chief mourner. It was a 
 beautiful sight ! " 
 
 "But, Mike, if you indulge much longer in this flattering recol- 
 lection of your father, I'm afraid we shall lose sight of the ghost 
 entirely." 
 
 " No fear in life, your honour, I'm coming to him now : well, it was 
 this way it happened. In the winter of the great frost, about forty- 
 two or forty-three years ago, the ould priest of Tulloughmurray took 
 ill and died ; he was sixty years priest of the parish, and mightily 
 beloved by all the people, and good reason for it : a pleasanter man 
 and a more social crayture never lived : 'twas himself was the life of 
 the whole country-side. A wedding nor a christening wasn't lucky av 
 he wasn't there, sitting at the top of the table, with maybe his arm 
 round the bride herself, or the baby on his lap, a smoking jug of punch 
 before him, and as much kindness in his eye as would make the fortunes 
 of twenty hypocrites if they had it among them. And then he was so 
 good to the poor ; the Priory was always so full of ould men and ould 
 women, sitting around the big fire in the kitchen, that the cook could 
 hardly get near it. There they were eating their meals and burning 
 their shins, till they were speckled like a trout's back, and grumbling 
 all the time ; but Father Dwyer liked them, and he would have them. 
 
 " ( Where have they to go,' he'd say, ' av it wasn't to me ? Give 
 Molly Kinshela a lock of that bacon. Tim, it's a cowld morning. 
 Will ye have a taste of the " dew " ?' 
 
 ' e Ah ! that's the way he'd spake to them : but sure goodness is no 
 warrant for living, any more than devilment ; and so he got cowld in 
 his feet at a station, and he rode home in a heavy snow without his
 
 360 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 big coat, for he gave it away to a blind man on the road in three 
 days he was dead. 
 
 " I see you're getting impatient ; so I'll not stop to say what grief 
 was in the parish when it was known : but truth, there never was seen 
 the like before ; not a crayture would lift a spade for two days ; and 
 there was more whisky sold in that time than at the whole Ulster fair. 
 Well, on the third day the funeral set out, and never was the equal of 
 it in them parts ; first, there was my father ; he came special from Cork 
 with the six horses all in new black, and plumes like little poplar 
 trees ; then came Father Dwyer, followed by the two coadjutors in 
 beautiful surplices, walking bareheaded, with the little boys of the 
 Priory school, two and two." 
 
 " Well, Mike, I'm sure it was very fine ! but for Heaven's sake spare 
 me all these descriptions, and get on to the ghost." 
 
 (e Faith, your honour's in a great hurry for the ghost ; maybe you 
 won't like him when ye have him, but I'll go faster if you please. 
 Well, Father Dwyer, ye see, was born at Aghan-lish, of an ould family, 
 and he left it in his will that he was to be buried in the family vault ; 
 and as Aghan-lish was eighteen miles up the mountains, it was getting 
 late when they drew near. By that time the great procession was all 
 broke up and gone home. The coadjutors stopped to dine at the 
 ' Blue Bellows ' at the cross-roads ; the little boys took to pelting 
 snowballs ; there was a fight or two on the way besides, and, in fact, 
 except an ould deaf fellow that my father took to mind the horses, he 
 was quite alone. Not that he minded that same ; for when the crowd 
 was gone my father began to sing a droll song, and tould the deaf chap 
 that it was a lamentation. At last they came in sight of Aghan-lish. 
 It was a lonesome, melancholy looking place, with nothing near it 
 except two or three ould fir trees, and a small slated house with one 
 window, where the sexton lived, and even that same was shut up, and 
 a padlock on the door. Well, my father was not over-much pleased 
 at the look of matters ; but, as he was never hard put to what to do, 
 he managed to get the coffin into the vestry ; and then, when he 
 unharnessed the horses, he sent the deaf fellow with them down to the 
 village to tell the priest that the corpse was there, and to come up early 
 in the morning and perform mass. The next thing to do was to make 
 himself comfortable for the night ; and then he made a roaring fire on 
 the ould hearth for there was plenty of bog fir there closed the 
 windows with the black cloaks, and wrapping two round himself, he 
 sat down to cook a little supper he brought with him in case of need. 
 
 " Well, you may think it was melancholy enough to pass the night 
 up there alone, with a corpse in an old ruined church in the middle of 
 the mountains, the wind howling about on every side, and the snow- 
 drift beating against the walls ; but as the fire burned brightly, and 
 the little plate of rashers and eggs smoked temptingly before him, my 
 father mixed a jug of the strongest punch, and sat down as happy as a 
 king. As long as he was eating away he had no time to be thinking of 
 anything else ; but, when all was done, and he looked about him, he 
 began to feel very low and melancholy in his heart. There was the 
 great black coffin on three chairs in one corner ; and then the mourn- 
 ing cloaks that he had stuck up against the windows moved backward
 
 THE GHOST 361 
 
 and forward like living things ; and, outside, the wild cry of the plover 
 as he flew past, and the night-owl sitting* in a nook of the old church. 
 f I wish it was morning, anyhow,' said my father ; e for this is a lone- 
 some place to be in ; and, faix, he'll be a cunning fellow that catches 
 me passing the night this way again.' Now there was one thing dis- 
 tressed him most of all : my father used always to make fun of the 
 ghosts and spirits the neighbours would tell of, pretending there was 
 no such thing ; and now the thought came to him, ' Maybe they'll 
 revenge themselves on me to-night when they have me up here alone ; ' 
 and with that he made another jug stronger than the first, and tried 
 to remember a few prayers in case of need : but somehow his mind 
 was not too clear, and he said afterwards he was always mixing up ould 
 songs and toasts with the prayers, and when he thought he had just 
 got hold of a beautiful psalm, it would turn out to be ' Tatter Jack 
 Walsh,' or ' Limping James,' or something like that The storm, 
 meanwhile, was rising every moment, and parts of the old abbey were 
 falling, as the wind shook the ruin, and my father's sperits, notwith- 
 standing the punch, were lower than ever. 
 
 " ( I made it too weak,' said he, as he set to work on a new jorum ; 
 and troth this time that was not the fault of it, for the first sup nearly 
 choked him. 
 
 " ' Ah ! ' said he now, e I knew what it was ; this is like the thing ; 
 and, Mr. Free, you are beginning to feel easy and comfortable : pass 
 the jug : your very good health and song. I'm a little hoarse, it's 
 true, but if the company will excuse ' 
 
 " And then he began knocking on the table with his knuckles as if 
 there was a room full of people asking him to sing. In short, my 
 father was drunk as a fiddler ; the last brew finished him ; and he 
 began roaring away all kinds of droll songs and telling all manner of 
 stories, as if he was at a great party. 
 
 " While he was capering this way about the room he knocked down 
 his hat, and with it a pack of cards he put into it before leaving home, 
 for he was mighty fond of a game. 
 
 ' ' ' Will ye take a hand, Mr. Free ? ' said he, as he gathered them up 
 and sat down beside the fire. 
 
 " ' I'm convanient,' said he, and began dealing out as if there was a 
 partner fornenst him. 
 
 1 e When my father used to get this far in the story he became very 
 confused. He says fhat once or twice he mistook the liquor, and took 
 a pull at the bottle of poteen instead of the punch ; and the last thing 
 he remembers was asking poor Father Dwyer if he would draw near 
 to the fire, and not be lying there near the door. 
 
 " With that he slipped down on the ground and fell fast asleep. 
 How long he lay that way he could never tell. When he awoke and 
 looked up his hair nearly stood on an end with fright. What do you 
 think he seen fornenst him, sitting at the other side of the fire, but 
 Father Dwyer himself: there he was, divil a lie in it, wrapped up in 
 one of the mourning cloaks, trying to warm his hands at the fire. 
 
 " '' Salve hoc nomine patri!' said my father, crossing himself; 'av 
 it's your ghost, God presarve me ! ' 
 
 "'Good ^vening t'ye, Mr. Free,' said the ghost; f and av I might
 
 362 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 be bould, what's in the jug?' for ye see my father had it under his 
 arm fast, and never let it go when he was asleep. 
 
 " e Pater noster qui es in poteen, sir/ said my father, for the ghost 
 didn't look pleased at his talking Latin. 
 
 ' ' ' Ye might have the politeness to ax if one had a mouth on him,' 
 then says the ghost. 
 
 " ' Sure, I didn't think the like of you would taste sperits.' 
 
 " ' Try me,' said the ghost ; and with that he filled out a glass, and 
 tossed it off like a Christian. 
 
 ' ' ' Beamish ! ' says the ghost, smacking his lips. 
 
 " ' The same,' says my father ; ' and sure what's happened you has 
 not spoilt your taste.' 
 
 " ' If you'd mix a little hot,' says the ghost, ' I'm thinking it would 
 be better ; the night is mighty sevare.' 
 
 " ' Anything that your reverence pleases,' says my father, as he 
 began to blow up a good fire to boil the water. 
 
 <( ' And what news is stirring? ' says the ghost. 
 
 " ' Devil a word, your reverence : your own funeral was the only 
 thing doing last week ; times is bad ; except the measles, there's 
 nothing in our parts.' 
 
 " ' And we're quite dead hereabouts, too,' says the ghost. 
 
 " ' There's some of us so, anyhow,' says my father with a sly look. 
 'Taste that, your reverence.' 
 
 " ' Pleasant and refreshing,' says the ghost ; ' and now, Mr. Free, 
 what do you say to a little spoil-five or beggar-my-neighbour ? ' 
 
 "'What will we play for?' says my father; for a thought just 
 struck him { maybe it's some trick of the devil to catch my soul.' 
 
 ' ' ' A pint of Beamish,' says the ghost 
 
 " ' Done ! ' says my father ; ' cut for deal ; the ace of clubs ; you 
 have it.' 
 
 "Now the whole time the ghost was dealing the cards my father 
 never took his eyes off of him, for he wasn't quite asy in his mind at 
 all : but when he saw him turn up the trump, and take a strong drink 
 afterwards, he got more at ease, and began the game. 
 
 " How long they played it was never rightly known ; but one thing 
 is sure, they drank a cruel deal of sperits ; three quart bottles my 
 father brought with him were all finished, and by that time his brain 
 was so confused with the liquor, and all he lost for somehow he never 
 won a game that he was getting very quarrelsome. 
 
 " ' You have your own luck to it,' says he at last. 
 
 " ' True for you ; and, besides, we play a great deal where I come 
 from.' 
 
 " ' I've heard so,' says my father. ' I lead the knave, sir. Spades ! 
 bad cess to it, lost again.' 
 
 ' ' Now it was really very distressing ; for by this time, though they 
 only began for a pint of Beamish, my father went on betting till he 
 lost the hearse and all the six horses, mourning cloaks, plumes, and 
 everything. 
 
 " ' Are you tired, Mr. Free ? Maybe you'd like to stop ? ' 
 
 " ' Stop ! faith, it's a nice time to stop ; of course not. ' 
 
 " ' Well, what will ye play for now ? '
 
 LISBON 363 
 
 "The way he said these words brought a trembling all over my 
 father, and his blood curdled in his heart. ' Oh murther !' says he to 
 himself, ' it's my sowl he is wanting all the time.' 
 
 1 e ' I've mighty little left,' says my father, looking at him keenly, 
 while he kept shuffling the cards quick as lightning. 
 
 " e Mighty little ? no matter, we'll give you plenty of time to pay, 
 and if you can't do it, it shall never trouble you as long as you live.' 
 
 " ' Oh, you murtheriug devil !' says my father, flying at him with a 
 spade that he had behind his chair, ' I've found you out.' 
 
 " With one blow he knocked him down ; and now a terrible fight 
 begun, for the ghost was very strong, too : but my father's blood was 
 up, and he'd have faced the devil himself then. They rolled over each 
 other several times, the broken bottles cutting them to pieces, and the 
 chairs and tables crashing under them. At last the ghost took the 
 bottle that lay on the hearth, and levelled my father to the ground 
 with one blow ; down he fell, and the bottle and the whisky were both 
 dashed into the fire ; that was the end of it, for the ghost disappeared 
 that moment in a blue flame that nearly set fire to my father as he lay 
 on the floor. 
 
 ' ' Och ! it was a cruel sight to see him next morning, with his cheek 
 cut open, and his hands all bloody, lying there by himself; all the 
 broken glass, and the cards all round him : the coffin, too, was knocked 
 down off the chairs, maybe the ghost had trouble getting into it. 
 However that was, the funeral was put off for a day, for my father 
 couldn't speak, and as for the sexton, it was a queer thing, but when 
 they came to call him in the morning he had two black eyes, and a gash 
 over his ear, and he never knew how he got them. It was easy enough 
 to know the ghost did it ; but my father kept the secret, and never 
 told it to any man, woman, or child in them parts." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVI 
 
 LISBON 
 
 I HAVE little power to trace the events which occupied the succeeding 
 three weeks of my history. The lingering fever which attended my 
 wound detained me during that time at the chateau ; and when at 
 last I did reach Lisbon the winter was already beginning, and it was 
 upon a cold, raw evening that I once more took possession of my old 
 quarters at the Quay de Soderi. 
 
 My eagerness and anxiety to learn something of the campaign was 
 ever uppermost, and no sooner had I reached my destination than I 
 despatched Mike to the quarter-master's office to pick up some news 
 and hear which of my friends and brother officers were then at Lisbon. 
 I was sitting in a state of nervous impatience watching for his return, 
 when at length I heard footsteps approaching my room, and the next 
 moment Mike's voice saying, "The ould room, sir, where he was 
 before." The door suddenly opened, and my friend Power stood 
 before me.
 
 364 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Charley, my boy !" "Fred, my fine fellow !" was all either could 
 say for some minutes. Upon my part, the recollection of his bold and 
 manly bearing in my behalf choked all utterance ; while, upon his, my 
 haggard cheek and worn look produced an effect so sudden and un- 
 expected that he became speechless. 
 
 In a few minutes, however, we both rallied, and opened our store of 
 mutual remembrances since we parted. My career I found he was 
 perfectly acquainted with, and his consisted of nothing but one un- 
 ceasing round of gaiety and pleasure. Lisbon had been delightful 
 during the summer ; parties to Cintra, excursions through the sur- 
 rounding country, were of daily occurrence ; and, as my friend was a 
 favourite everywhere, his life was one of continued amusement. 
 
 " Do you know, Charley, had it been any other man than yourself, I 
 should not have spared him : for I have fallen head over ears in love 
 with your little dark-eyed Portuguese." 
 
 " Ah ! Donna Inez, you mean ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is her I mean, and you need not affect such an air of un- 
 common nonchalance. She's the loveliest girl in Lisbon, and with 
 fortune enough to pay off all the mortgages in Connemara." 
 
 " Oh ! faith, I admire her amazingly ; but, as I never flattered my- 
 self upon any preference " 
 
 " Come, come, Charley, no concealment, my old fellow ; every one 
 knows the thing's settled. Your old friend, Sir George Dashwood, 
 told me yesterday." 
 
 " Yesterday ! Why, is he here at Lisbon ? " 
 
 "To be sure he is; didn't I tell you that before? Confound it! 
 what a head I have ! Why, man, he's come out as deputy-adjutant- 
 general ; but for him I should not have got renewed leave." 
 
 " And Miss Dashwood, is she here ? " 
 
 " Yes, she came with him. By Jove, how handsome she is ! quite a 
 different style of thing from our dark friend : but, to my thinking, even 
 handsomer. Hammersly seems of my opinion too." 
 
 " How ! is Hammersly at Lisbon ? " 
 
 " On the staff here. But, confound it ! what makes you so red, you 
 have no ill-feeling towards him now ? I know he speaks most warmly 
 of you ; no later than last night at Sir George's " 
 
 What Power was about to add I know not, for I sprung from my 
 chair with a sudden start, and walked to the window to conceal my 
 agitation from him. 
 
 "And so," said I, at length regaining my composure in some 
 measure, " Sir George also spoke of my name in connection with the 
 Senhora ? " 
 
 " To be sure he did. All Lisbon does. Why, what can you mean ? 
 But I see, my dear boy ; you know you are not of the strongest ; and 
 we've been talking far too long. Come now, Charley, I'll say good night. 
 I'll be with you at breakfast to-morrow, and tell you all the gossip ; 
 meanwhile, promise me to get quietly to bed, and so good night." 
 
 Such was the conflicting state of feeling I suffered from that I made 
 no effort to detain Power. I longed to be once more alone, to think 
 calmly, if I could over the position I stood in, and to resolve upon 
 my plans for the future.
 
 LISBON 365 
 
 My love for Lucy Dashwood had been long rather a devotion than 
 a hope. My earliest dawn of manly ambition was associated with the 
 first hour I met her. She it was who first touched my boyish heart, 
 and suggested a sense of chivalrous ardour within me ; and, even 
 though lost to me for ever, I could still regard her as the mainspring 
 of my actions, and dwell upon my passion as the thing that hallowed 
 every enterprise of my life. 
 
 In a word, my love, however little it might reach her heart, was 
 everything to mine. It was the worship of the devotee to his protect- 
 ing saint. It was the faith that made me rise above misfortune and 
 mishap, and led me onward ; and in this way I could have borne any- 
 thing, everything, rather than the imputation of fickleness. 
 
 Lucy might not nay, I felt she did not love me. It was possible 
 that some other was preferred before me ; but to doubt my own affec- 
 tion, to suspect my own truth, was to destroy all the charm of my 
 existence, and to extinguish within me for ever the enthusiasm that 
 made me a hero to my own heart. 
 
 It may seem but poor philosophy ; but, alas ! how many of our 
 happiest, how many of our brightest thoughts here are but delusions 
 like this ! The day-spring of youth gilds the tops of the distant 
 mountains before us, and many a weary day through life, when clouds 
 and storms are thickening around us, we live upon the mere memory 
 of the past. Some fast-flitting prospect of a bright future, some passing 
 glimpse of a sun-lit valley, tinges all our after years. 
 
 It is true that he will suffer fewer disappointments, he will incur 
 fewer of the mishaps of the world, who indulges in no fancies such as 
 these ; but equally true is it that he will taste none of that exuberant 
 happiness which is that man's portion who weaves out a story of his 
 life, and who, in connecting the promise of early years with the per- 
 formance of later, will seek to fulfil a fate and destiny. 
 
 Weaving such fancies, I fell sound asleep, nor woke before the stir 
 and bustle of the great city aroused me. Power, I found, had been 
 twice at my quarters that morning, but, fearing to disturb me, had 
 merely left a few lines to say that, as he should be engaged on service 
 during the day, we could not meet before the evening. There were 
 certain preliminaries requisite regarding my leave which demanded my 
 appearing before a board of medical officers, and I immediately set 
 about dressing, resolving that, as soon as they were completed, I should, 
 if permitted, retire to one of the small cottages on the opposite bank 
 of the Tagus, there to remain until my restored health allowed me to 
 rejoin my regiment. 
 
 I dreaded meeting the Dashwoods. I anticipated with a heavy heart 
 how effectually one passing interview would destroy all my day-dreams 
 of happiness, and I preferred anything to the sad conviction of hope- 
 lessness such a meeting must lead to. 
 
 While I thus balanced with myself how to proceed, a gentle step came 
 to the door, and as it opened slowly, a servant in a dark livery entered. 
 
 "Mr. O'Malley, sir?" 
 
 " Yes," said I, wondering to whom my arrival could be thus early 
 known. 
 
 " Sir George Dashwood requests you will step over to him as soon as
 
 360 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 you go out/' continued the man ; tf he is so engaged that he cannot 
 leave home, but is most desirous to see you." 
 
 11 It is not far from here ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; scarcely five minutes' walk." 
 
 "Well, then, if you will show me the way, I'll follow you." 
 
 I cast one passing glance at myself to see that all was right about my 
 costume, and sallied forth. 
 
 In the middle of the Black Horse Square, at the door of a large 
 stone-fronted building, a group of military men were assembled, chat- 
 ting and laughing away together ; some reading the lately arrived 
 English papers ; others were lounging upon the stone parapet, care- 
 lessly puffing their cigars. None of the faces were known to me ; so 
 threading my way through the crowd, I reached the steps. Just as I 
 did so, a half-muttered whisper met my ear : 
 
 ' ' Who did you say ? " 
 
 ' ' O'Malley, the young Irishman who behaved so gallantly at the 
 Douro." 
 
 The blood rushed hotly to my cheek ; my heart bounded with exul- 
 tation ; my step, infirm and tottering but a moment before, became 
 fixed and steady, and I felt a thrill of proud enthusiasm playing through 
 my veins. How little did the speaker of these few and random words 
 know what courage he had given to a drooping heart, what renewed 
 energy to a breaking spirit. The voice of praise, too, coming from 
 those to whom we had thought ourselves unknown, has a magic about 
 it that must be felt to be understood. So it happened, that in a few 
 seconds a revolution had taken place in all my thoughts and feelings, 
 and I, who had left my quarters dispirited and depressed, now walked 
 confidently and proudly forward. 
 
 " Mr. O'Malley, sir, ' said the servant to the officer in waiting, as we 
 entered the ante-chamber. 
 
 c< Ah ! Mr. O'Malley," said the aide-de-camp, in his blandest accent, 
 " I hope you're better. Sir George is most anxious to see you ; he is 
 at present engaged with the staff " 
 
 A bell rang at the moment, and cut short the sentence ; he flew to 
 the door of the inner room, and returning in an instant said : 
 
 " Will you follow me ? This way, if you please." 
 
 The room was crowded with general officers and aides-de-camp, so 
 that for a second or two I could not distinguish the parties ; but no 
 sooner was my name announced than Sir George Dashwood, forcing 
 his way through, rushed forward to meet me. 
 
 ' ' O'Malley, my brave fellow ! delighted to shake your hand again ! 
 How much grown you are twice the man I knew you ! and the arm, 
 too, is it getting on well ? " 
 
 Scarcely giving me a moment to reply, and still holding my hand 
 tightly in his grasp, he introduced me on every side. 
 
 " My young Irish friend, Sir Edward, the man of the Douro. My 
 lord, allow me to present Lieutenant O'Malley, of the 14th." 
 
 " A very dashing thing that of yours, sir, at Ciudad Rodrigo." 
 
 " A very senseless one, I fear, my lord." 
 
 " No, no, I don't agree with you at all ; even when no great results 
 follow, the morale of an army benefits by acts of daring."
 
 LISBON 367 
 
 A running fire of kind and civil speeches poured in on me from all 
 quarters, and, amid all that crowd of bronzed and war-worn veterans, I 
 felt myself the lion of the moment. Crawford, it appeared, had spoken 
 most handsomely of my name, and I was thus made known to many of 
 those whose own reputations were then extending over Europe. 
 
 In this happy trance of excited pleasure I passed the morning. All 
 the military chit-chat of the day around me, treated as an equal by 
 the greatest and the most distinguished, I heard all the confidential 
 opinions upon the campaign and its leaders ; and in that most entranc- 
 ing of all flatteries the easy tone of companionship of our elders and 
 betters forgot all my griefs, and half believed I was destined for great 
 things. 
 
 Fearing at length that I had prolonged my visit too far, I approached 
 Sir George to take my leave, when, drawing my arm within his, he 
 retired towards one of the windows. 
 
 <e A word, O'Malley, before you go. I've arranged a little plan for 
 you : mind, I shall insist upon obedience. They'll make some difficulty 
 about your remaining here, so that I have appointed you one of our 
 extra aides-de-camp : that will free you from all trouble, and I shall 
 not be very exacting in my demands upon you. You must, however, 
 commence your duties to-day, and, as we dine at seven precisely, I 
 shall expect you. I am aware of your wish to stay in Lisbon, my boy, 
 and, if all I hear be true, congratulate you sincerely ; but more of 
 this another time, and so good-bye." So saying, he shook my hand 
 once more, warmly, and, without well feeling how or why, I found 
 myself in the street. 
 
 The last few words Sir George had spoken threw a gloom over all 
 my thoughts. I saw at once that the report Power had alluded to had 
 gained currency at Lisbon. Sir George believed it ; doubtless, Lucy, 
 too ; and, forgetting in an instant all the emulative ardour that so 
 lately stirred my heart, I took my path beside the river, and sauntered 
 slowly along, lost in my reflections. 
 
 I had walked for above an hour, before paying any attention to the 
 path I followed. Mechanically, as it were, retreating from the noise 
 and tumult of the city, I wandered towards the country. My thoughts 
 fixed upon one theme, I had neither ears nor eyes for aught around 
 me ; the great difficulty of my present position now appearing to me 
 in this light my attachment to Lucy Dashwood, unrequited and un- 
 returned as I felt it, did not permit of my rebutting any report which 
 might have reached her concerning Donna Inez. I had no right or 
 claim to suppose her sufficiently interested about me to listen to such 
 an explanation, had I even the opportunity to make it. One thing 
 was thus clear to me all my hopes had ended in that quarter ; and, as 
 this conclusion sunk into my mind, a species of dogged resolution to 
 brave my fortune crept upon me, which only waited the first moment 
 of my meeting her to overthrow and destroy for ever. 
 
 Meanwhile I walked on ; now rapidly, as some momentary rush of 
 passionate excitement ; now slowly, as some depressing and gloomy 
 notion succeeded ; when suddenly my path was arrested by a long file 
 of bullock cars which blocked up the way. Some chance squabble had 
 arisen among the drivers, and, to avoid the crowd and collision, I
 
 368 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 turned into a gateway which opened beside me, and soon found myself 
 in a lawn handsomely planted, and adorned with flowering shrubs and 
 ornamental trees. 
 
 In the half dreamy state my musings had brought me to I struggled 
 to recollect why the aspect of the place did not seem altogether new. 
 My thoughts were, however, far away ; now blending some memory 
 of my distant home with scenes of battle and bloodshed, or resting 
 upon my first interview with her whose chance word, carelessly and 
 lightly spoken, had written the story of my life. From this reverie 
 I was rudely awakened by a rustling noise in the trees behind me, and, 
 before I could turn my head, the two forepaws of a large staghound 
 were planted upon my shoulders, while the open mouth and panting 
 tongue were close beside my face. My day-dream was dispelled quick 
 as lightning : it was Juan himself, the favourite dog of the Senhora, 
 who gave me this rude welcome, and who now, by a thousand wild 
 gestures and bounding caresses, seemed to do the honours of his house. 
 There was something so like home in these joyful greetings that I 
 yielded myself at once his prisoner, and followed, or rather was ac- 
 companied, by him towards the villa. 
 
 Of course, sooner or later, I should have called upon my kind 
 friends ; then why not now, when chance had already brought me so 
 near. Besides, if I held to my resolution, which I meant to do of 
 retiring to some quiet and sequestered cottage till my health was 
 restored the opportunity might not readily present itself again. This 
 line of argument perfectly satisfied my reason, while a strong feeling of 
 something like curiosity piqued me to proceed, and, before many 
 minutes elapsed, I reached the house. The door, as usual, lay wide 
 open, and the ample hall, furnished like a sitting-room, had its 
 customary litter of books, music, and flowers scattered upon the tables. 
 My friend Juan, however, suffered me not to linger here, but, rushing 
 furiously at the door before me, began a vigorous attack for admit- 
 tance. 
 
 As I knew this to be the drawing-room I opened the door and 
 walked in, but no one was to be seen ; a half-open book lay upon an 
 ottoman, and a fan, which I recognised as an old acquaintance, was 
 beside it, but the owner was absent. 
 
 I sat down, resolved to wait patiently for her coming, without any 
 announcement of my being there. I was not sorry indeed to have 
 some moments to collect my thoughts and restore my errant faculties 
 to something like order. 
 
 As 1 looked about the room it seemed as if I had been there but 
 yesterday : the folding doors lay open to the garden, just as I had 
 seen them last ; and, save that the flowers seemed fewer, and those 
 which remained of a darker and more sombre tint, all seemed un- 
 changed ; there lay the guitar, to whose thrilling chords my heart 
 had bounded ; there, the drawing over which I had bent in admiring 
 pleasure, suggesting some tints of light or shadow, as the fairy fingers 
 traced them ; every chair was known to me, and I greeted them as 
 things I cared for. 
 
 While thus I scanned each object around me, I was struck by a little 
 china vase, which, unlike its other brethren, contained a bouquet of
 
 A PLEASANT PREDICAMENT 369 
 
 dead and faded flowers ; the blood rushed to my cheek ; I started up ; 
 it was one I had myself presented to her the day before we parted. 
 It was in the same vase I placed it ; the very table, too, stood in the 
 same position beside that narrow window. What a rush of thoughts 
 came pouring on me ! and oh ! shall I confess it ? how deeply did such 
 a mute testimony of remembrance speak to my heart, at the moment 
 that I felt myself unloved and uncared for by another ! I walked 
 hurriedly up and down ; a maze of conflicting 1 resolves combating in 
 my mind, while one thought ever recurred " would that I had not 
 come here ; and yet, after all, it may mean nothing ; some piece of 
 passing ^coquetry, which she will be the very first to laugh at." I 
 remembered how she spoke of poor Howard ; what folly to take 
 it otherwise ; ' ( be it so, then," said I, half aloud ; " and now for my 
 part of the game ; " and with this I took from my helmet the light blue 
 scarf she had given me the morning we parted, and, throwing it over 
 my shoulder, prepared to perform my part in what I had fully per- 
 suaded myself to be a comedy. The time, however, passed on, and 
 she came not ; a thousand high-flown Spanish phrases had time to be 
 conned over again and again by me, and I had abundant leisure 
 to enact my coming part ; but still the curtain did not rise as the day 
 was wearing. I resolved at last to write a few lines, expressive of my 
 regret at not meeting her, and promising myself an early opportunity 
 of paying my respects under more fortunate circumstances. I sat 
 down accordingly, and, drawing the paper towards me, began in 
 a mixture of French and Portuguese, as it happened, to indite my 
 billet. 
 
 ' ' Senhora Inez " no ce ma chere Mademoiselle Inez " confound it, 
 that's too intimate ; well, here goes ' ' Monsieur O'Malley presents ses 
 respects " that will never do ; and then, after twenty other abortive 
 attempts, I began thoughtlessly sketching heads upon the paper, and 
 scribbling with wonderful facility in fifty different ways, " Ma char- 
 mante amie, ma plus chere Inez," &c., and in this most useful arid 
 profitable occupation did I pass another half-hour. 
 
 How long I should have persisted in such an employment it is 
 difficult to say, had not an incident intervened, which suddenly but 
 most effectually put an end to it. As the circumstance is, however, 
 one which, however little striking in itself, had the greatest and most 
 lasting influence upon my future career, I shall, perhaps, be excused 
 in devoting another chapter to its recital. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVII 
 
 A PLEASANT PREDICAMENT 
 
 As I sat vainly endeavouring to fix upon some suitable and appropriate 
 epithet by which to commence my note ; my back was turned towards 
 the door of the garden, and so occupied was I in my meditations that, 
 even had any one entered at the time, in all probability I should not 
 have perceived it. At length, however, I was aroused from my study 
 
 2 A
 
 370 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 by a burst of laughter, whose girlish joyousness was not quite new to 
 me. I knew it well, it was the Seuhora herself, and the next moment 
 I heard her voice. 
 
 " I tell you I'm quite certain I saw his face in the mirror as I passed. 
 Oh ! how delightful and you'll be charmed with him ; so, mind, you 
 must not steal him from me ; I shall never forgive you if you do ; and 
 look, only look, he has got the blue scarf I gave him when he marched 
 to the Douro." 
 
 While I perceived that I was myself seen, I could see nothing of the 
 speaker, and wishing to hear something further, appeared more than 
 ever occupied in the writing before me. 
 
 What her companion replied I could not however catch, but only 
 guess at its import by the Senhora's answer. 
 
 " Fi done! I really am very fond of him ; but, never fear, I shall 
 be as stately as a queen. You shall see how meekly he will kiss my 
 hand, and with what unbending reserve I'll receive him. " 
 
 " Indeed," thought I, ' ' mayhap, I'll mar your plot a little ; but let 
 us listen." 
 
 Again her friend spoke, but too low to be heard. 
 
 " It is so provoking," continued Inez ; " I never can remember 
 names, and his was something too absurd ; but, never mind, I shall 
 make him a grandee of Portugal. Well, but come along, I long to 
 present him to you. " 
 
 Here a gentle struggle seemed to ensue ; for I heard the Senhora 
 coaxingly entreat her, while her companion steadily resisted. 
 
 " I know very well you think I shall be so silly, and perhaps wrong ; 
 eh, is it not so ? but you're quite mistaken. You'll be surprised at my 
 cold and dignified manner. I shall draw myself proudly up, thus, and 
 curtseying deeply, say, e Monsieur, j'ai 1'honneur de vous saluer.' " 
 
 A laugh twice as mirthful as before interrupted her account of her- 
 self, while I could hear the tones of her friend, evidently in expostula- 
 tion. 
 
 " Well, then, to be sure, you are provoking, but you really promise 
 to follow me. Be it so ; then give me that moss rose. How you have 
 fluttered me ; now for it." 
 
 So saying, I heard her foot upon the gravel, and the next instant 
 upon the marble step of the door. There is something in expectation 
 that sets the heart beating, and mine throbbed against my side. I 
 waited, however, till she entered, before lifting my head, and then 
 springing suddenly up, with one bound clasped her in my arms, and 
 pressing my lips upon her roseate cheek, said : 
 
 "Ma charmante amie!" To disengage herself from me, and to 
 spring suddenly back was her first effort ; to burst into an immode- 
 rate fit of laughing her second ; her cheek was, however, covered 
 with a deep blush, and 1 already repented that my malice had gone 
 so far. 
 
 " Pardon, mademoiselle," said I, in affected innocence, " if I have 
 so far forgotten myself as to assume a habit of my own country to a 
 stranger." 
 
 A half-angry toss of the head was her only reply, and, turning 
 towards the garden, she called to her friend.
 
 A PLEASANT PREDICAMENT 371 
 
 " Come here, dearest, and instruct my ignorance upon your national 
 custom ; but first let me present to you, I never knew his name, 
 the Chevalier de What is it ? " 
 
 The glass door opened as she spoke ; a tall and graceful figure 
 entered, and, turning suddenly round, showed me the features of Lucy 
 Dashwood. We both stood opposite each other, each mute with 
 amazement. My feelings let me not attempt to convey ; shame, for 
 the first moment stronger than aught else, sent the blood rushing to 
 my face and temples, and the next I was cold and pale as death. As 
 for her, I cannot guess at what passed in her mind. She courtesied 
 deeply to me, and with a half smile of scarce recognition passed by 
 me, and walked towards a window. 
 
 " Comment vous etes aimable I " said the lively Portuguese, \vho com- 
 prehended little of this dumb show ; " here have I been flattering 
 myself what friends you'd be the very moment you met, and now you'll 
 not even look at each other. " 
 
 What was to be done? The situation was every instant growing 
 more and more embarrassing ; nothing but downright effrontery could 
 get through with it now; and never did a man's heart more fail him 
 than did mine at this conjuncture. I made the effort, however, and 
 stammered out certain unmeaning commonplaces. Inez replied, and 
 I felt myself conversing with the headlong recklessness of one march- 
 ing to a scaffold, a coward's fear at his heart, while he essayed to seem 
 careless and indifferent. 
 
 Anxious to reach what I esteemed safe ground, I gladly adverted 
 to the campaign ; and, at last, hurried on by the impulse to cover my 
 embarrassment, was describing some skirmish with a French outpost. 
 Without intending, I had succeeded in exciting the Senhora's interest, 
 and she listened with sparkling eye and parted lips to the description 
 of a sweeping charge in which a square was broken, and several 
 prisoners carried off. Warming with the eager avidity of her atten- 
 tion, I grew myself more excited, when just as my narrative had 
 reached its climax, Miss Dashwood walked gently towards the bell, 
 rang it, and ordered her carriage ; the tone of perfect nonchalance of 
 the whole proceeding struck me dumb. I faltered, stammered, hesi- 
 tated, and was silent. Donna Inez turned from the one to the other 
 of us with a look of unfeigned astonishment, and I heard her mutter 
 to herself something like a reflection upon " national eccentricities." 
 Happily, however, her attention was now exclusively turned towards 
 her friend, and, while assisting her to shawl, and extorting innumer- 
 able promises of an early visit, I got a momentary reprieve ; the 
 carriage drew up also, and, as the gravel flew right and left beneath 
 the horses' feet, the very noise and bustle relieved me. 
 
 " Adios!" then said Inez, as she kissed her for the last time, while 
 she motioned to me to escort her to her carriage. I advanced stopped 
 made another step forward, and again grew irresolute ; but Miss 
 Dashwood speedily terminated the difficulty ; for, making me a formal 
 courtesy, she declined my scarce proffered attention, and left the 
 room. 
 
 As she did so, I perceived that on passing the table, her eyes fell 
 upon the paper I had been scribbling over so long, and 1 thought that
 
 372 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 for an instant an expression of ineffable scorn seemed to pass across 
 her features, save which and perhaps even in this I was mistaken 
 her manner was perfectly calm, easy, and indifferent 
 
 Scarce had the carriage rolled from the door, when the Senhora, 
 throwing herself upon a chair, clapped her hands in childish ecstasy, 
 while she fell into a fit of laughing that I thought would never have 
 an end. ' ' Such a scene ! " cried she ; " I would not have lost it for the 
 world : what cordiality ! what empressement to form acquaintance ! I 
 shall never forget it, Monsieur le Chevalier ; your national customs 
 seem to run sadly in extremes. One would have thought you deadly 
 enemies : and poor me ! after a thousand delightful plans about you 
 both !" 
 
 As she ran on thus, scarce able to control her mirth at each sentence, 
 I walked the room with impatient strides, now resolving to hasten after 
 the carriage, stop it, explain in a few words how all had happened, 
 and then fly from her for ever ; then the remembrance of her cold 
 impassive look crossed me, and I thought that one bold leap into the 
 Tagus might be the shortest and easiest solution to all my miseries ; 
 perfect abasement, thorough self-contempt, had broken all my courage, 
 and I could have cried like a child. What I said, or how I comported 
 myself after, I know not ; but my first consciousness came to me, as I 
 felt myself running at the top of my speed far upon the road towards 
 Lisbon. 
 
 CHAFfER LXXVIII 
 
 THE DINNER 
 
 IT may easily be imagined that I had little inclination to keep my 
 promise of dining that day with Sir George Dashwood. However, 
 there was nothing else for it : the die was cast my prospects as re- 
 garded Lucy were ruined for ever. We were not, we never could be, 
 anything to each other ; and as for me, the sooner I braved my altered 
 fortunes the better ; and, after all, why should I call them altered 
 she evidently never had cared for me, and, even supposing that my 
 fervent declaration of attachment had interested her, the apparent 
 duplicity and falseness of my late conduct could only fall the more 
 heavily upon me. 
 
 I endeavoured to philosophise myself into calmness and indifference. 
 One by one I exhausted every argument for my defence, which, how- 
 ever ingeniously put forward, brought no comfort to my own conscience. 
 I pleaded the unerring devotion of my heart the uprightness of my 
 motives and when called on for the proofs alas ! except the blue 
 scarf I wore in memory of another, and my absurd conduct at the villa, 
 I had none. From the current gossip of Lisbon, down to my own dis- 
 graceful folly, all all was against me. 
 
 Honesty of intention rectitude of purpose, may be, doubtless they 
 are, admirable supports to a rightly constituted mind ; but even then 
 they must come supported by such claims to probability as make the 
 injured man feel he has not lost the sympathy of all his fellows. Now,
 
 THE DINNER 373 
 
 I had none of these, had even my temperament, broken by sickness, and 
 harassed by unlucky conjectures, permitted my appreciating them. 
 
 I endeavoured to call my wounded pride to my aid, and thought 
 over the glance of haughty disdain she gave me as she passed on to her 
 carriage, but even this turned against me, and a humiliating sense 
 of my own degraded position sunk deeply into my heart. ' ' This im- 
 pression at least," thought I, " must be effaced. I cannot permit her 
 to believe " 
 
 ' ' His Excellency is waiting dinner, sir," said a lacquey, introducing a 
 finely powdered head gently within the door. I looked at my watch ; 
 it was eight o'clock ; so, snatching my sabre and shocked at my delay, 
 I hastily followed the servant downstairs, and thus at once cut short 
 my deliberations. 
 
 The man must be but little observant, or deeply sunk in his own 
 reveries, who, arriving half-an-hour too late for dinner, fails to detect 
 in the faces of the assembled and expecting guests a very palpable 
 expression of discontent and displeasure. It is truly a moment of 
 awkwardness, and one in which few are found to manage with success ; 
 the blushing, hesitating, blundering apology of the absent man, is 
 scarcely better than the ill-affected surprise of the more practised 
 offender. The bashfulness of the one is as distasteful as the cool 
 impertinence of the other : both are so thoroughly out of place, for we 
 are thinking of neither ; our thoughts are wandering to cold soups and 
 rechauffeed pates, and we neither care for nor estimate the cause, but 
 satisfy our spleen by cursing the offender. 
 
 Happily for me I was clad in a triple insensibility to such feelings, 
 and with an air of most perfect unconstraint and composure walked 
 into a drawing-room where about twenty persons were busily discussing 
 what peculiar amiability in my character could compensate for my 
 present conduct. 
 
 ' ' At last, O'Malley ; at last ! " said Sir George. " Why, my dear 
 boy, how very late you are." 
 
 I muttered something about a long walk distance from Lisbon, &c. 
 
 " Ah, that was it. I was right, you see !" said an old lady in a 
 spangled turban, as she whispered something to her friend beside her, 
 who appeared excessively shocked at the information conveyed. While 
 a fat, round-faced little general, after eyeing me steadily through his 
 glass, expressed a sub voce wish that I was upon his staff. I felt my 
 cheek reddening at the moment, and stared around me like one whose 
 trials were becoming downright insufferable, when happily dinner was 
 announced, and terminated my embarrassment. 
 
 As the party filed past I perceived that Miss Dashwood was not 
 amongst them, and with a heart relieved for the moment by the cir- 
 cumstance, and inventing a hundred conjectures to account for it, I 
 followed with the aides-de-camp and the staff to the dinner-room. 
 
 The temperament is very Irish, I believe, which renders a man so 
 elastic that from the extreme of depression to the very climax of high 
 spirits there is but one spring. To this I myself plead guilty, and 
 thus scarcely was I freed from the embarrassment which a meeting 
 with Lucy Dashwood must have caused, when my heart bounded with 
 lightness.
 
 374 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 When the ladies withdrew, the events of the campaign became the 
 subject of conversation, and upon these, very much to my astonish- 
 ment, I found myself consulted as an authority. The Douro, from 
 some fortunate circumstance, had given me a reputation I never dreamed 
 of, and I heard my opinions quoted upon topics of which my standing 
 as an officer and my rank in the service could not imply a very extended 
 observation. Power was absent on duty ; and, happily for my supre- 
 macy, the company consisted entirely of generals in the commissariat 
 or new arrivals from England, all of whom knew still less than myself. 
 
 What will not iced champagne and flattery do? Singly, they are 
 strong impulses ; combined, their power is irresistible. I now heard 
 for the first time that our great leader had been elevated to the peerage 
 by the title of Lord Wellington ; and I sincerely believe, however now 
 I may smile at the confession, that at the moment I felt more elation 
 at the circumstance than he did. The glorious sensation of being in 
 any way, no matter how remotely, linked with the career of those whose 
 path is a high one, and whose destinies are cast for great events, thrilled 
 through me ; and in all the warmth of my admiration and pride for 
 our great captain, a secret pleasure stirred within me as I whispered 
 to myself, " And I, too, am a soldier ! " 
 
 I fear me that very little adulation is sufficient to turn the head of 
 a young man of eighteen ; and as I yielded to the ' c pleasant incense," 
 let my apology be, that I was not used to it ; and lastly, let me avow, 
 if I did get tipsy I liked the liquor. And why not ? It is the only 
 tipple I know of that leaves no headache the next morning, to punish 
 you for the glories of the past night. It may, like all other strong 
 potations, it is true, induce you to make a fool of yourself when under 
 its influence ; but, like the nitrous oxide gas, its effects are passing, 
 and as the pleasure is an ecstasy for the time, and your constitution 
 none the worse when it is over, I really see no harm in it. 
 
 Then the benefits are manifest ; for while he who gives, becomes 
 never the poorer for his benevolence, the receiver is made rich indeed. 
 It matters little that some dear kind friend is ready with his bitter 
 draught, to remedy what he is pleased to call its unwholesome sweet- 
 ness ; you betake yourself with only the more pleasure to the " blessed 
 elixir," whose fascinations neither the poverty of your pocket nor the 
 penury of your brain can withstand, and by the magic of whose spell 
 you are great and gifted. Vive la Bagatelle ! sayeth the Frenchman. 
 Long live flattery, say I, come from what quarter it will : the only 
 wealth of the poor man the only reward of the unknown ; the arm 
 that supports us in failure the hand that crowns us in success ; the 
 comforter in our affliction the gay companion in our hours of 
 pleasure ; the lullaby of the infant the staff of old age ; the secret 
 treasure we lock up in our own hearts, and which ever grows greater 
 as we count it over. Let me not be told that the coin is fictitious, and 
 the gold not genuine ; its clink is as musical to the ear as though it 
 bore the last impression of the mint, and I'm not the man to cast an 
 aspersion upon its value. 
 
 This little digression, however seemingly out of place, may serve to 
 illustrate what it might be difficult to convey in other words namely, 
 that if Charles O'Malley became in his own estimation a very con-
 
 THE DINNER 375 
 
 siderable personage that day at dinner, the fault lay not entirely with 
 himself, but with his friends, who told him he was such. In fact, my 
 good reader, I was the lion of the party the man who saved Laborde 
 who charged through a brigade of guns, who performed feats which news- 
 papers quoted, though he never heard of them himself. At no time is a 
 man so successful in society as when his reputation chaperones him, and 
 it needs but little conversational eloquence to talk well, if you have but 
 a willing and ready auditory. Of mine, I could certainly not complain ; 
 and as, drinking deeply, I poured forth a whole tide of campaigning 
 recital, I saw the old colonels of recruiting districts exchanging looks of 
 wonder and admiration with officers of the ordnance, while Sir George 
 himself, evidently pleased at my debut, went back to an early period of 
 our acquaintance and related the rescue of his daughter in Galway. 
 
 In an instant the whole current of my thoughts was changed. My 
 first meeting with Lucy, my boyhood's dream of ambition, my plighted 
 faith, my thought of our last parting in Dublin, when in a moment of 
 excited madness I told my tale of love. I remember her downcast look, 
 as her cheek, now flushing, now growing pale, she trembled while I 
 spoke. I thought of her as in the crash of battle her image flashed 
 across my brain, and made me feel a rush of chivalrous enthusiasm to 
 win her heart by " doughty deeds." 
 
 I forgot all around and about me. My head reeled, the wine, the 
 excitement, my long previous illness, all pressed upon me ; and as my 
 temples throbbed loudly and painfully, a chaotic rush of discordant, 
 ill-connected ideas flitted across my mind. There seemed some stir 
 and confusion in the room, but why or wherefore I could not think, 
 nor could I recall my scattered senses, till Sir George Dashwood's voice 
 roused me once again to consciousness. 
 
 " We are going to have some coffee, O'Malley. Miss Dashwood 
 expects us in the drawing-room. You have not seen her yet ? " 
 
 I know not my reply ; but he continued : 
 
 " She has some letters for you, I think." 
 
 I muttered something, and suffered him to pass on ; no sooner had 
 he done so, however, than I turned towards the door, and rushed into 
 the street. The cold night air suddenly recalled me to myself, and I 
 stood for a moment, endeavouring to collect myself; as I did so, a 
 servant stopped, and, saluting me, presented me with a letter. For a 
 second, a cold chill came over me ; I knew not what fear beset me. 
 The letter I at last remembered must be that one alluded to by Sir 
 George, so I took it in silence and walked on. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIX 
 
 THE LETTER 
 
 As 1 hurried to my quarters I made a hundred guesses from whom the 
 letter could have come ; a kind of presentiment told me, that it bore, 
 in some measure, upon the present crisis of my life, and I burned with 
 anxiety to read it.
 
 376 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 No sooner had I reached the light than all my hopes on this head 
 vanished ; the envelope bore the well-known name of my old college 
 chum Frank Webber, and none could, at the moment, have more com- 
 pletely dispelled all chance of interesting me. I threw it from me with 
 disappointment, and sat moodily down to brood over my fate. 
 
 At length, however, and almost without knowing it, I drew the lamp 
 towards me, and broke the seal. The reader being already acquainted 
 with my amiable friend, there is the less indiscretion in communicating 
 the contents, which ran thus : 
 
 "TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, No. 2, 
 Oct. 5, 1810. 
 
 " MY DEAB O'MAMJEY, Nothing short of your death and burial, 
 with or without military honours, can possibly excuse your very dis- 
 graceful neglect of your old friends here. Nesbitt has never heard of 
 you, neither has Smith. Ottley swears never to have seen your hand- 
 writing, save on the back of a protested bill. You have totally for- 
 gotten me, and the Dean informs me that you have never condescended 
 a single line to him ; which latter inquiry on my part nearly cost me 
 a rustication. 
 
 " A hundred conjectures to account for your silence a new feature 
 in you since you were here are afloat. Some assert that your soldier- 
 ing has turned your head, and that you are above corresponding with 
 civilians. Your friends, however, who know you better, and value 
 your worth, think otherwise ; and having seen a paragraph about one 
 something O'Malley being tried by court-martial for stealing a goose, 
 and maltreating the woman that owned it, ascribe your not writing to 
 other motives. Do, in any case, relieve our minds ; say is it yourself, 
 or only a relative that's mentioned ? 
 
 " Herbert came over from London with a long story about your 
 doing wonderful things capturing cannon and general officers by 
 scores, but devil a word of it is extant ; and if you have really com- 
 mitted these acts, they have ' misused the king's press damnably : ' for 
 neither in the Times nor the Post are you heard of. Answer this 
 point ; and say also if you have got promotion ; for what precise sign 
 you are algebraically expressed by at this writing, may do Fitzgerald 
 for a fellowship question. As for us, we are jogging along semper 
 eadem that is, worse and worse. Dear Cecil Cavendish, our gifted 
 friend, slight of limb and soft of voice, has been rusticated for im- 
 mersing four bricklayers in that green receptacle of stagnant water 
 and duckweed, yclept the ' Haha.' Roper, equally unlucky, has taken 
 to reading for honours, and obtained a medal, I fancy : at least, his 
 friends shy him, and it must be something of that kind. Belson 
 poor Belson (fortunately for him he was born in the nineteenth not 
 the sixteenth century, or he'd be most likely ornamenting a pile of 
 faggots) ventured upon some stray excursions into the Hebrew verbs 
 the Professor himself never having transgressed beyond the de- 
 clensions ; and the consequence is, he is in disgrace among the seniors. 
 And as for me, a heavy charge hangs over my devoted head even while 
 I write. The senior lecturer, it appears, has been for some time past 
 instituting some very singular researches into the original state of our
 
 THE LETTER 377 
 
 goodly college at its founding. Plans and specifications showing its 
 extent and magnificence have been continually before the board for 
 the last month ; and in such repute have been a smashed door-sill or 
 an old arch, that freshmen have now abandoned conic sections for 
 crowbars, and instead of the Principia have taken up the pickaxe. 
 You know, my dear fellow, with what enthusiasm I enter into any 
 scheme for the aggrandisement of our Alma Mater, so I need not tell 
 you how ardently I adventured into the career now opened to me. 
 My time was completely devoted to the matter : neither means nor 
 health did I spare, and in my search for antiquarian lore I have actually 
 undermined the old wall of the fellows' garden, and am each morning 
 in expectation of hearing that the big bell near the commons hall has 
 descended from its lofty and most noisy eminence, and is snugly 
 reposing in the mud. Meanwhile, accident put me in possession of a 
 most singular and remarkable discovery. Our chambers I call them 
 ours for old association sake are, you may remember, in the old 
 square. Well, I have been fortunate enough within the very precincts 
 of my own dwelling to contribute a very wonderful fact to the history 
 of the University alone unassisted unaided I laboured at my dis- 
 covery. Few can estimate the pleasure I felt the fame and reputation 
 I anticipated. I drew up a little memoir for the board, most respect- 
 fully and civilly worded, having for title the following : 
 
 " ' ACCOUNT 
 
 Of a remarkable Subterranean Passage lately discovered in the Old 
 Building of Trinity College, Dublin. 
 
 With Remarks upon its Extent, Antiquity, and Probable Use. 
 By F. WEBBER, Senior Freshman.' 
 
 " My dear O'Malley, I'll not dwell upon the pride I felt in my new 
 character of antiquarian. It is enough to state that my very remark- 
 able tract was well considered and received, and a commission appointed 
 to investigate the discovery, consisting of the vice-provost, the senior 
 lecturer, old Woodhouse, the sub-dean, and a few more. 
 
 " On Tuesday last they came accordingly in full academic costume, 
 I being habited most accurately in the like manner, and conducting 
 them with all form into my bedroom, where a large screen concealed 
 from view the entrance to the tunnel alluded to. Assuming a very 
 John Kembleish attitude, I struck this down with one hand, pointing 
 with the other to the wall, as I exclaimed, ( There ! look there ! ' 
 
 " I need only quote Barrett's exclamation to enlighten you upon my 
 discovery, as, drawing in his breath with a strong effort, he burst out : 
 
 " ' May the devil admire me, but it's a rat-hole.' 
 
 "I fear, Charley, he's right; and what's more, that the board will 
 think so, for this moment a very warm discussion is going on among 
 that amiable and learned body, whether I shall any longer remain an 
 ornament to the University. In fact, the terror with which they fled 
 from my chambers, overturning each other in the passage, seemed to 
 imply that they thought me mad ; and I do believe my voice, look, and 
 attitude would not have disgraced a blue cotton dressing-gown and
 
 378 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 a cell in 'Swift's.' Be this as it may, few men have done more for 
 college than I have. The sun never stood still for Joshua with more 
 resolution than I have rested in my career of freshman ; and if I have 
 contributed little to the fame, I have done much for the funds of the 
 university ; and when they come to compute the various sums I have 
 paid in, for fines, penalties, and what they call properly ' impositions,' 
 if they don't place a portrait of me in the examination-hall between 
 Archbishop Ussher and Flood, then do I say there is no gratitude in 
 mankind ; not to mention the impulse I have given to the various 
 artisans whose business it is to repair lamps, windows, chimneys, iron 
 railings, and watchmen, all of which I have devoted myself to, with an 
 enthusiasm for political economy well known, and registered in the 
 College Street police-office. 
 
 " After all, Charley, I miss you greatly. Your second in a ballad 
 is not to be replaced ; besides, Carlisle Bridge has got low ; medical 
 students and young attorneys affect minstrelsy, and actually frequent 
 the haunts sacred to our muse. 
 
 " Dublin is upon the whole, I think, worse ; though one scarcely 
 ever gets tired laughing at the small celebrities " 
 
 Master Frank gets here indiscreet, so I shall skip. 
 
 " And so the Dashwoods are going too ; this will make mine a 
 pitiable condition, for I really did begin to feel tender in that quarter. 
 You may have heard she refused me ; this, however, is not correct, 
 though I have little doubt it might have been had I asked her. 
 
 " Hammersly has, you know, got his conge. I wonder how the 
 poor fellow took it, when Power gave him back his letters and his 
 picture. How you are to be treated remains to be seen : in any case 
 you certainly stand first favourite." 
 
 I laid down the letter at this passage, unable to read further. Here, 
 then, was the solution of the whole chaos of mystery ; here the full 
 explanation of what had puzzled my aching brain for many a night 
 long. These were the very letters I had myself delivered into Ham- 
 mersly's hands ; this the picture he had trodden to dust beneath his 
 heel the morning of our meeting. I now felt the reason of his taunting 
 allusion to my ' ' success," his cutting sarcasm, his intemperate passion. 
 A flood of light poured at once across all the dark passages of my 
 history and Lucy too dare I think of her ? A rapid thought shot 
 through my brain. What if she had really cared for me ! What if 
 for me she had rejected another's love ! What, if trusting to my faith, 
 my pledged and sworn faith, she had given me her heart ! Oh, the 
 bitter agony of that thought ! to think that all my hopes were ship- 
 wrecked with the very land in sight. 
 
 I sprung to my feet with some sudden impulse, but as I did so the 
 blood rushed madly to my face and temples, which beat violently ; a 
 parched and swollen feeling came about my throat ; I endeavoured to 
 open my collar, and undo my stock, but my disabled arm prevented 
 me. I tried to call my servant, but my utterance was thick, and my 
 words would not come ; a frightful suspicion crossed me that my 
 reason was tottering. I made towards the door, but as I did so the 
 objects around me became confused and mingled, my limbs trembled,
 
 THE LETTER 379 
 
 and I fell heavily upon the floor ; a pang of dreadful pain shot through 
 me as I fell my arm was broken ; after this I knew no more ; all the 
 accumulated excitement of the evening boi-e down with one fell swoop 
 upon my brain ; ere day broke I was delirious. 
 
 I have a vague and indistinct remembrance of hurried and anxious 
 faces around my bed, of whispered words and sorrowful looks ; but 
 my own thoughts careered over the bold hills of the far west as I 
 trod them in my boyhood, free and high of heart, or recurred to 
 the din and crash of the battlefield, with the mad bounding of my 
 war-horse, and the loud clang of the trumpet ; perhaps the acute pain 
 of my swollen and suffering arm gave the character to my mental 
 aberration ; for I have more than once observed among the wounded 
 in battle, that even when torn and mangled by grape from a howitzer 
 their ravings have partaken of a high feature of enthusiasm, shouts of 
 triumph, and exclamations of pleasure ; even songs have I heard but 
 never once the low muttering of despair, and the scarce stifled cry of 
 sorrow and affliction. 
 
 Such were the few gleams of consciousness which visited me, and 
 even to such as these I became soon insensible. 
 
 Few like to chronicle, fewer still to read, the sad history of a sick-bed. 
 Of mine I know but little. The throbbing pulses of the erring brain, 
 the wild fancies of lunacy, take no note of time. There is no past nor 
 future a dreadful present, full of its hurried and confused impres- 
 sions, is all that the mind beholds ; and even when some gleams of 
 returning reason flash upon the mad confusion of the brain, they come 
 like sunbeams through a cloud, dimmed, darkened, and perverted. 
 
 It is the restless activity of the mind in fever that constitutes its 
 most painful anguish ; the fast-flitting thoughts, that rush ever on- 
 wards, crowding sensation on sensation, an endless train of exciting 
 images, without purpose or repose ; or even worse, the straining effort 
 to pursue some vague and shadowy conception, which evades us ever as 
 we follow, but which mingles with all around and about us haunting 
 us at midnight as in the noon-time. 
 
 Of this nature was a vision which came constantly before me, till 
 at length by its very recurrence it had assumed a kind of real and 
 palpable existence ; and, as I watched it, my heart thrilled with the 
 high ardour of enthusiasm and delight, or sank into the dark abyss of 
 sorrow and despair. The dawning of morning, the daylight sinking, 
 brought no other image to my aching sight, and of this alone, of all the 
 impressions of the period, has my mind retained any consciousness. 
 
 Methought I stood within an old and venerable cathedral, where the 
 dim yellow light fell with a rich but solemn glow upon the fretted 
 capitals, or the grotesque tracings of the oaken carvings, lighting up 
 the faded gildings of the stately monuments, and tinting the varied 
 hues of time-worn banners. The mellow notes of a deep organ filled 
 the air, and seemed to attune the sense to all the awe and reverence 
 of the place, where the very footfall, ' magnified by its many echoes, 
 seemed half a profanation. I stood before an altar, beside me a young 
 and lovely girl, whose bright brown tresses waved in loose masses upon 
 a neck of snowy whiteness ; her hand, cold and pale, rested within my 
 own ; we knelt together, not in prayer, but a feeling of deep reverence
 
 380 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 stole over my heart, as she repeated some few half-uttered words after 
 me ; I knew that she was mine. Oh ! the ecstasy of that moment, as, 
 springing to my feet, I darted forwards to press her to my heart, when 
 suddenly an arm was interposed between us, while a low but solemn 
 voice rung in my ears, " Stir not ! for thou art false and traitorous ; 
 thy vow a perjury ; and thy heart a lie ! " Slowly and silently the fair 
 form of my loved Lucy, for it was her, receded from my sight. One 
 look, one last look of sorrow it was scarce reproach fell upon me, 
 and I sunk back upon the cold pavement broken-hearted and forsaken. 
 This dream came with daybreak, and with the calm repose of even- 
 ing ; the still hours of the waking night brought no other image to my 
 eyes, and when its sad influence had spread a gloom and desolation 
 over my wounded heart, a secret hope crept over me, that again the 
 bright moment of happiness would return, and once more beside that 
 ancient altar I'd kneel beside my bride, and call her mine. 
 
 For the rest, my memory retains but little ; the kind looks which 
 came around my bedside brought but a brief pleasure, for in their 
 affectionate beaming I could read the gloomy presage of my fate. The 
 hurried but cautious step, the whispered sentences, the averted gaze of 
 those who sorrowed for me, sunk far deeper into my heart than my 
 friends then thought of. Little do they think, who minister to the 
 sick or dying, how each passing word, each flitting glance is noted, 
 and how the pale and stilly figure, which lies all but lifeless before 
 them, counts over the hours he has to live by the smiles or tears 
 around him. 
 
 Hours, days, weeks rolled over, and still my fate hung in the 
 balance ; and while in the wild enthusiasm of my erring faculties 
 I wandered far in spirit from my bed of suffering and pain, some well- 
 remembered voice beside me would strike upon my ear, bringing me 
 back, as if by magic, to all the realities of life, and investing my almost 
 unconscious state with all the hopes and fears about me. 
 
 One by one, at length, these fancies fled from me, and to the 
 delirium of fever succeeded the sad and helpless consciousness of ill- 
 ness, far, far more depressing ; for as the conviction of sense came back, 
 the sorrowful aspect of a dreary future came with them. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXX 
 
 THE VILLA 
 
 THE gentle twilight of an autumnal evening, calm, serene, and 
 mellow, was falling, as I opened my eyes to consciousness of life and 
 being, 'and looked around me. I lay in a large and handsomely 
 furnished apartment, in which the hand of taste was as evident in all 
 the decorations as the unsparing employment of wealth ; the silk 
 draperies of my bed, the inlaid tables, the ormolu ornaments which 
 glittered upon the chimney, were one by one so many puzzles to my 
 erring senses, and I opened and shut my eyes again and again, and
 
 THE VILLA 381 
 
 essayed by every means in my power to ascertain if they were not the 
 visionary creations of a fevered mind. I stretched out my hands to 
 feel the objects ; and even while holding the freshly plucked flowers in 
 my grasp I could scarce persuade myself that they were real. A thrill 
 of pain at this instant recalled me to other thoughts, and I turned my 
 eyes upon my wounded arm, which, swollen and stiffened, lay motion- 
 less beside me. Gradually my memory came back, and to my weak 
 faculties some passages of my former life were presented, not collectedly, 
 it is true, nor in any order, but scattered isolated scenes. While such 
 thoughts flew past, my ever rising question to myself was, ' ' Where am 
 I now?" The vague feeling which illness leaves upon the mind 
 whispered to me of kind looks and soft voices ; and I had a dreamy 
 consciousness about me of being watched and cared for, but wherefore 
 or by whom I knew not 
 
 From a partly open door which led into a garden, a mild and balmy 
 air fanned my temples, and soothed my heated brow ; and as the light 
 curtain waved to arid fro with the breeze, the odour of the rose and 
 the orange tree filled the apartment. 
 
 There is something in the feeling of weakness which succeeds to 
 long illness of the most delicious and refined enjoyment. The spirit 
 emerging, as it were, from the thraldom of its grosser prison, rises high 
 and triumphant above the meaner thoughts and more petty ambitions 
 of daily life. Purer feelings, more ennobling hopes succeed ; and 
 gleams of our childhood, mingling with our promises for the future, 
 make up an ideal existence in which the low passions and cares of 
 ordinary life enter not or are forgotten. 'Tis then we learn to hold 
 converse with ourselves ; 'tis then we ask how has our manhood per- 
 formed the promises of its youth? or, have our ripened prospects 
 borne out the pledges of our boyhood? 'Tis then, in the calm justice 
 of our lonely hearts, we learn how our failures are but another name 
 for our faults, and that what we looked on as the vicissitudes of 
 fortune, are but the fruits of our own vices. Alas ! how short-lived 
 are such intervals ! Like the fitful sunshine in the wintry sky, they 
 throw one bright and joyous tint over the dark landscape ; for a 
 moment the valley and the mountain-top are bathed in a ruddy glow ; 
 the leafless tree and the dark moss seem to feel a touch of spring ; but 
 the next instant it is past : the lowering clouds and dark shadows 
 intervene, and the cold blast, the moaning wind, and the dreary waste 
 are once more before us. 
 
 I endeavoured to recall the latest events of my career, but in vain ; 
 the real and the visionary were inextricably mingled ; and the scenes 
 of my campaigns were blended with hopes, and fears, and doubts, 
 which had no existence save in my dreams. My curiosity to know 
 where I was grew now my strongest feeling, and 1 raised myself with 
 one arm to look around me. In the room all was still and silent, but 
 nothing seemed to intimate what I sought for. As I looked, however, 
 the wind blew back the curtain which half concealed the sash door, 
 and disclosed to me the figure of a man, seated at a table ; his back 
 was towards me : but his broad sombrero hat and brown mantle 
 bespoke his nation ; the light blue curl of smoke which wreathed 
 gently upwards, and the ample display of long-necked, straw-wrapped
 
 382 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 flasks, also attested that he was enjoying himself with true peninsular 
 gusto, having probably partaken of a long siesta. 
 
 It was a perfect picture in its way of the indolent luxury of the 
 South ; the rich and perfumed flowers, half closing to the night air, 
 but sighing forth a perfumed " buonas noches" as they betook them- 
 selves to rest ; the slender shadows of the tall shrubs, stretching 
 motionless across the walks, the very attitude of the figur,e himself 
 was in keeping, as, supported by easy chairs, he lounged at full length, 
 raising his head ever and anon, as if to watch the wreath of eddying 
 smoke as it rose upwards from his cigar and melted away in the 
 distance. 
 
 " Yes," thought I, as I looked for some time, ' ' such is the very type 
 of his nation. Surrounded by every luxury of climate, blessed with 
 all that earth can offer of its best and fairest, and yet only using such 
 gifts as mere sensual gratifications." Starting with this theme, I wove 
 a whole story for the unknown personage, whom, in my wandering 
 fancy, I began by creating a grandee of Portugal, invested with rank, 
 honours, and riches ; but who, effeminated by the habits and usages of 
 his country, had become the mere idle voluptuary, living a life of easy 
 and inglorious indolence. My further musings were interrupted at 
 this moment, for the individual to whom I had been so complimentary 
 in my reverie, slowly arose from his recumbent position, flung his loose 
 mantle carelessly across his left shoulder, and, pushing open the sash 
 door, entered my chamber. Directing his steps to a large mirror, he 
 stood for some minutes contemplating himself with what, from his 
 attitude, I judged to be no small satisfaction. Though his back was 
 still towards me, and the dim twilight of the room too uncertain to 
 see much, yet I could perceive that he was evidently admiring himself 
 in the glass. Of this fact I had soon the most complete proof; for as 
 I looked, he slowly raised his broad-leafed Spanish hat with an air of 
 most imposing pretension, and bowed reverently to himself. 
 
 " Gome va, vostra senoria," said he. 
 
 The whole gesture and style of this proceeding struck me as so 
 ridiculous that, in spite of all my efforts, I could scarcely repress a 
 laugh. He turned quickly round, and approached the bed. The deep 
 shadow of the sombrero darkened the upper part of his features, but 
 I could distinguish a pair of fierce-looking moustaches beneath, which 
 curled upwards towards his eyes, while a stiff point beard stuck straight 
 from his chin. Fearing lest my rude interruption had been overheard, 
 I was framing some polite speech in Portuguese, when he opened the 
 dialogue by asking, in that language, how I did. 
 
 I replied, and was about to ask some questions relative to where, and 
 in whose protection I then was, when my grave-looking friend, giving 
 a pirouette upon one leg, sent his hat flying into the air, and cried out 
 in a voice that not even my memory could fail to recognise : 
 
 ' ' By the rock of Cashel he's cured ! he's cured the fever's over ! 
 Oh, Master Charles, dear ; oh, master, darling ! and you ain't mad, 
 after all ? " 
 
 te Mad I no, faith ; but I shrewdly suspect you must be. " 
 
 " Oh, devil a taste ! but spake to me, honey spake to mo, 
 acushla."
 
 THE VILLA ,383 
 
 " Where am I ? whose house is this ? What do you mean by that 
 disguise that beard " 
 
 " Whist, I'll tell you all, av you have patience ; but are you cured ? 
 tell me that first : sure, they was going to cut the arm off you, 'till 
 you got out of bed, and with your pistols sent them flying, one out of 
 the window and the other downstairs ; and I bate the little chap with 
 the saw myself 'till he couldn't know himself in the glass." 
 
 While Mike ran on at this rate, I never took my eyes from him, and 
 it was all my poor faculties were equal to, to convince myself that the 
 whole scene was not some vision of a wandering intellect. Gradually, 
 however, the well-known features recalled me to myself, and, as my 
 doubts gave way at length, I laughed long and heartily at the masquerade 
 absurdity of his appearance. Mike, meanwhile, whose face expressed 
 no small mistrust at the sincerity of my mirth, having uncloaked 
 himself, proceeded to lay aside his beard and moustaches, saying, as 
 he did so : 
 
 " There now, darling: there now, master dear; don't be grinning 
 that way ; I'll not be a Portigee any more, av you'll be quiet and listen 
 to reason." 
 
 " But, Mike, where am I ? Answer me that one question." 
 
 <e You're at home, dear ; where else would you be ? " 
 
 ' ' At home ? " said I, with a start, as my eye ranged over the various 
 articles of luxury and elegance around, so unlike the more simple and 
 unpretending features of my uncle's house ; ' ' at home ? " 
 
 (C Ay, just so ; sure, isn't it the same thing? It's ould Don Emanuel 
 that owns it ; and won't it be your own when you're married to the 
 lovely crayture herself? " 
 
 I started up, and placing my hand upon my throbbing temple, asked 
 myself if I were really awake ; or if some flight of fancy had not carried 
 me away beyond the bounds of reason and sense. " Go on, go on," 
 said I at length, in a hollow voice, anxious to gather from his words 
 something like a clue to this mystery. " How did this happen ? " 
 
 " Av ye mean how you came here, faith it was just this way : After 
 you got the fever, and beat the doctors, devil a one would go near you 
 but myself and the Major." 
 
 " The Major Major Monsoon ?" 
 
 " No, Major Power himself. Well, he told your friends up here how 
 it was going very hard with you, and that you were like to die ; and 
 the same evening they sent down a beautiful litter, as like a hearse as 
 two peas, for you., and brought you up here in state ; devil a thing was 
 wanting but a few people to raise the cry, to make it as fine a funeral 
 as ever I seen ; and sure I set up a whillilew myself in the Black Horse 
 Square, and the devils only laughed at me. 
 
 " Well, you see, they put you into a beautiful elegant bed, and the 
 young lady herself sat down beside you, betuue times fanning you 
 with a big fan, and then drying her eyes, for she was weeping like a 
 waterfall. ' Don Miguel,' says she to me for, ye see, I put your cloak 
 on by mistake when I was leaving the quarters ' Don Miguel, questa 
 hidalgo e vostro amigo ? ' 
 
 " ' My most particular friend/ says I, e God spare him many years to 
 be so.'
 
 384 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 " ' Then take up your quarters here/ said she, ' and don't leave him ; 
 we'll do everything in our power to make you comfortable.' 
 
 " ' I'm not particular,' says I ; ' the run of the house ' " 
 
 " Then this is the Villa Nuova?" said I, with a faint sigh. 
 
 ' ' The same," replied Mike ; " and a sweet place it is for eating and 
 drinking for wine in bucketsful, av ye axed for it for dancing and 
 singing every evening, with as pretty craytures as ever I set eyes upon. 
 Upon my conscience, it's as good as Galway ; and good manners it is 
 they have. What's more, none of your liberties nor familiarities with 
 strangers, but it's Don Miguel, devil a less. ' Don Miguel, av it's 
 plazing to you to take a drop of Xeres before your meat or would 
 you have a shaugh of a pipe or cigar when you're done : ' that's the way 
 of it." 
 
 " And Sir George Dashwood," said 1, " has he been here ? has he 
 inquired for me ? " 
 
 " Every day, either himself or one of the staff comes galloping up at 
 luncheon time to ask after you ; and then they have a bit of tender 
 discoorse with the Senhora herself. Oh ! devil a bit need ye fear them, 
 she's true blue ; and it isn't the Major's fault upon my conscience it 
 isn't ; for he does be coming the'blarney over her in beautiful style. " 
 
 ' ' Does Miss Dashwood ever visit here ? " said I, with a voice falter- 
 ing and uncertain enough to have awakened suspicion in a more 
 practised observer. 
 
 ' ' Never once ; and that's what I call unnatural behaviour after you 
 saving her life ; and if she wasn't " 
 
 " Be silent, I say." 
 
 " Well well, there ; I won't say any more ; and sure it's time for 
 me to be putting on my beard again. I'm going to the casino with 
 Catrina, and sure it's with real ladies I might be going av it wasn't 
 for Major Power, that told them I wasn't a officer ; but it's all right 
 again. I gave them a great history of the Frees, from the time of 
 Cuilla na Toole, that was one of the family, and a cousin of Moses, I 
 believe ; and they behave well to one that comes from an ould stock." 
 
 1 ' Don Miguel ! Don Miguel ! " said a voice from the garden. 
 
 "I'm coming, my angel; I'm coming, my turtle-dove !" said Mike, 
 arranging his moustaches and beard with amazing dexterity. " Ah, 
 but it would do your heart good av ye could take a peep at us about 
 twelve o'clock, dancing ' dirty James' for a bolero, and just see Miss 
 Catrina, the lady's-maid, doing ' cover the buckle ' as neat as nature. 
 There, now, there's the lemonade near your hand, and I'll leave you 
 the lamp, and you may go asleep as soon as you please, for Miss Inez 
 won't come in to-night to play the guitar, for the doctor said it might 
 do you harm now." 
 
 So saying, and before I could summon presence of mind to ask an- 
 other question, Don Miguel wrapped himself in the broad folds of his 
 Spanish cloak, and strode from the room with the air of an hidalgo. 
 
 I slept but little that night ; the full tide of memory rushing in 
 upon me brought back the hour of my return to Lisbon, and the wreck 
 of all my hopes, which, from the narrative of my servant, I now per- 
 ceived to be complete. I dare not venture upon recording how many 
 plans suggested themselves to my troubled spirit, and were in turn
 
 THE VILLA 385 
 
 rejected. To meet Lucy Dashwood to make a full and candid declara- 
 tion to acknowledge that flirtation alone with Donna Inez a mere 
 passing, boyish flirtation had given the colouring to my innocent 
 passion, and that in heart and soul I was hers and hers only. This 
 was my first resolve, but alas ! if I had not courage to sustain a common 
 interview, to meet her in the careless crowd of a drawing-room, what 
 could I do under circumstances like these ? Besides, the matter would 
 be cut very short by her coolly declaring that she had neither right nor 
 inclination to listen to such a declaration. The recollection of her 
 look as she passed me to her carriage came flashing across my brain 
 and decided this point. No, no ! I'll not encounter that ; however 
 appearances for the moment had been against me, she should not 
 have treated me thus coldly and disdainfully. It was quite clear she 
 had never cared for me ; wounded pride had been her only feeling ; 
 and so, as I reasoned, I ended by satisfying myself that in that quarter 
 all was at an end for ever. 
 
 Now, then, for dilemma number two, I thought. The senhora my 
 first impulse was one of anything but gratitude to her, by whose kind, 
 tender care my hours of pain and suffering had been soothed and 
 alleviated. But for her, and I should have been spared all my present 
 embarrassment all my shipwrecked fortunes ; but for her I should 
 now be the aide-de-camp residing in Sir George Dashwood's own house, 
 meeting with Lucy every hour of the day, dining beside her, riding 
 out with her, pressing my suit by every means and with every advan- 
 tage of my position ; but for her, and her dark eyes and, by-the-bye, 
 what eyes they are how full of brilliancy, yet how teeming with an 
 expression of soft and melting sweetness ; and her mouth, too, how 
 perfectly chiselled those full lips how different from the cold un- 
 bending firmness of Miss Dashwood's not but I have seen Lucy smile 
 too, and what a sweet smile ! how it lighted up her fair cheek, and 
 made her blue eyes darken and deepen till they looked like heaven's 
 own vault. Yes, there is more poetry in a blue eye. But still Inez is 
 a very lovely girl, and her foot never was surpassed ; she is a coquette, 
 too, about that foot and ankle I rather like a woman to be so. What 
 a sensation she would make in England how she would be the rage ! 
 and then I thought of home and Galway, and the astonishment of 
 some, the admiration of others, as I presented her as my wife ; the 
 congratulations of my friends, the wonder of the men, the tempered 
 envy of the women. Methought I saw my uncle, as he pressed her in 
 his arms, say, " Yes, Charley, this is a prize worth campaigning for." 
 
 The stray sounds of a guitar, which came from the garden, broke in 
 upon my musings at this moment. It seemed as if a finger was stray- 
 ing heedlessly across the strings. I started up, and to my surprise 
 perceived it was Inez. Before I had time to collect myself, a gentle 
 tap at the window aroused me ; it opened softly, while from an unseen 
 hand a bouquet of fresh flowers was thrown upon my bed ; before I 
 could collect myself to speak, the sash closed again, and I was alone. 
 
 2 u
 
 386 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXI 
 
 THE VISIT 
 
 MIKE'S performances at the masquerade had doubtless been of the 
 most distinguished character, and demanded a compensating period 
 of repose, for he did not make his appearance the entire morning. 
 Towards noon, however, the door from the garden gently opened, and 
 I heard a step upon the stone terrace, and something which sounded 
 to my ears like the clank of a sabre. I lifted my head and saw Fred 
 Power beside me. 
 
 I shall spare my readers the recital of my friend, which, however, 
 more full and explanatory of past events, contained in reality little 
 more than Mickey Free had already told me. In fine, he informed 
 me that our army by a succession of retreating movements had deserted 
 the northern provinces, and now occupied the entrenched lines of 
 Torres Vedras. That Massena, with a powerful force, was still in 
 march ; reinforcements daily pouring in upon him and every expec- 
 tation pointing to the probability that he would attempt to storm our 
 position. 
 
 " The wise heads," remarked Power, " talk of our speedy embarka- 
 tion the sanguine and the hot-brained rave of a great victory, and 
 the retreat of Massena ; but I was up at headquarters last week with 
 despatches, and saw Lord Wellington myself." 
 
 " Well, what did you make out ? did he drop any hint of his own 
 views ? " 
 
 " Faith, I can't say he did : he asked me some questions about the 
 troops just landed he spoke a little of the commissary department 
 damned the blankets said that green forage was bad food for the 
 artillery horses sent me an English paper to read about the O. P. 
 riots, and said the harriers would throw off about six o'clock, and that 
 he hoped to see me at dinner." 
 
 I could not restrain a laugh at Power's catalogue of his lordship's 
 topics. " So," said I, " he at least does not take any gloomy views of 
 our present situation." 
 
 te Who can tell what he thinks ? he's ready to fight, if fighting will 
 do anything and to retreat if that be better. But that he'll sleep an 
 hour less, or drink a glass of claret more come what will of it I'll 
 believe from no man living." 
 
 " We've lost one gallant thing in any case, Charley," resumed Power. 
 " Busaco was, I'm told, a glorious day, and our people were in the heat 
 of it. So that if we do leave the Peninsula now that will be a con- 
 founded chagrin. Not for you, my poor fellow, for you could not stir ; 
 but I was so cursed foolish to take the staff appointment, thus one 
 folly ever entails another. " 
 
 There was a tone of bitterness in which these words were uttered that 
 left no doubt upon my mind some arribre pemee remained lurking 
 behind them. My eyes met his he bit his lip, and colouring deeply, 
 rose from the chair, and walked towards the window.
 
 THE VISIT 887 
 
 The chance allusion of my man Mike flashed upon me at the moment, 
 and I dared not trust myself to break silence. I now thought I could 
 trace in my friend's manner less of that gay and careless buoyancy 
 which ever marked him. There was a tone, it seemed, of more grave 
 and sombre character, and even when he jested the smile his features 
 bore was not his usual frank and happy one, and speedily gave way to 
 an expression I had never before remarked. Our silence, which had 
 now lasted for some minutes, was becoming embarrassing that strange 
 consciousness, that to a certain extent we were reading each other's 
 thoughts, made us both cautious of breaking it ; and when, at length, 
 turning abruptly round, he asked, ' ' When I hoped to be up, and about 
 again?" I felt my heart relieved from what I knew not well what load 
 of doubt and difficulty that oppressed it. We chatted on for some 
 little time longer ; the news of Lisbon and the daily gossip furnishing 
 our topics. 
 
 ' ' Plenty of gaiety, Charley, dinners and balls to no end ; so get well, 
 my boy, and make the most of it." 
 
 " Yes," I replied, " I'll do my best ; but be assured the first use I'll 
 make of health will be to join the regiment. I am heartily ashamed 
 of myself for all I have lost already though not altogether my fault." 
 
 " And will you really join at once ? " said Power, with a look of 
 eager anxiety I could not possibly account for. 
 
 " Of course, I will what have I what can I have to detain me 
 here ? " 
 
 What reply he was about to make at this moment I know not but 
 the door opened, and Mike announced Sir George Dashwood. 
 
 11 Gently, my worthy man, not so loud if you please," said the 
 mild voice of the General, as he stepped noiselessly across the room, 
 evidently shocked at the indiscreet tone of my follower. (< Ah, Power, 
 you here ! and our poor friend, how is he ? " 
 
 "Able to answer for himself at last, Sir George," said I, grasping 
 his proffered hand. 
 
 " My poor lad, you've had a long bout of it ; but you've saved your 
 arm, and that's well worth the lost time. Well, I've come to bring you 
 good news ; there's been a very sharp cavalry affair, and our fellows 
 have been the conquerors." 
 
 " There again, Power ; listen to that : we are losing everything." 
 
 cc Not so ; not so, my boy," said Sir George, smiling blandly but 
 archly. " There are conquests to be won here as well as there ; 
 and, in your present state, I rather think you better fitted for such as 
 these." Power's brow grew clouded, he essayed a smile, but it failed ; 
 and he rose and hurried towards the window. 
 
 As for me, my confusion must have led to a very erroneous impres- 
 sion of my real feelings ; and I perceived Sir George anxious to turn 
 the channel of the conversation. 
 
 " You see but little of your host, O'Malley," he resumed ; " he is 
 ever from home ; but I believe nothing could be kinder than his 
 arrangements for you. You are aware that he kidnapped you from us ! 
 I had sent Forbes over to bring you to us, your room was prepared, 
 everything in readiness, when he met your man Mike, setting forth 
 upon a mule, who told him you had just taken your departure for the
 
 388 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 villa. We both had our claim upon you, and, I believe, pretty much 
 on the same score. By-the-bye, you have not seen Lucy since your 
 arrival. I never knew it till yesterday, when I asked if she did not 
 find you altered." 
 
 I blundered out some absurd reply, blushed, corrected myself, and 
 got confused ; which Sir George attributing doubtless to my weak 
 state, rose soon after, and, taking Power along with him, remarked, as 
 he left the room, " We are too much for him yet I see that : so we'll 
 leave him quiet some time longer." Thanking him in my heart for his 
 true appreciation of my state, I sunk back upon my pillow to think 
 over all I had heard and seen. 
 
 e< Well, Mister Charles," said Mike, as he came forward with a smile, 
 ee I suppose you heard the news ? The 14th beat the French down at 
 Merca there and took seventy prisoners ; but, sure, it's little good it'll 
 do after all " 
 
 ' ' And why not, Mike ? " 
 
 " Musha, isn't Boney coming himself? He's bringing all the 
 Roosians down with him, and going to destroy us entirely." 
 
 " Not at all, man ; you mistake. He's nothing to do with Russia, 
 and has quite enough on his hands at this moment." 
 
 " God grant it was truth you were talking ! But, you see, I read it 
 myself in the papers or Sergeant Haggarty did, which is the same 
 thing that he's coming with the Cusacks." 
 
 " With who ? with what? " 
 
 "With the Cusacks." 
 
 " What the devil do you mean ? Who are they ? " 
 
 " Oh, Tower of Ivory ! did you never hear of the Cusacks, with the 
 red beards, and the red breeches, and long poles with pike-heads on 
 them, that does all the devilment on horseback spiking and spitting 
 the people like larks ? " 
 
 " The Cossacks, is it you mean ? The Cossacks ? " 
 
 "Ay, just so, the Cusacks. They're from Clare Island and there- 
 abouts ; and there's more of them in Meath. They're my mother's 
 people, and was always real devils for fighting." 
 
 I burst out into an immoderate fit of laughing at Mike's etymology, 
 which thus converted Hetman Platoff into a Galway man. 
 
 1 ' Oh, murder ! isn't it cruel to hear you laugh that way ! There 
 now, alana ! be asy, and I'll tell you more news. We've the house to 
 ourselves to-day. The ould gentleman's down at Behlem, and the 
 daughter's in Lisbon, making great preparation for a grand ball they're 
 to give when you're quite well." 
 
 " I hope I shall be with the army in a few days, Mike ; and certainly, 
 if I'm able to move about, I'll not remain longer at Lisbon. " 
 
 " Arrah, don't say so, now ! When was you ever so comfortable ? 
 Upon my conscience, it's more like Paradise than anything else. If 
 ye see the dinner we sit down to every day ! and as for drink if it 
 wasn't that I sleep on a ground floor I'd seldom see a blanket." 
 
 " Well, certainly, Mike, I agree with you, these are hard things to 
 tear ourselves away from." 
 
 " Aren't they now, sir ? and then Miss Catherine, I'm taching her 
 Irish 1 "
 
 THE CONFESSION 389 
 
 " Teaching her Irish ! for Heaven's sake, what use can she make of 
 Irish?" 
 
 " Ah, the creature, she doesn't know better ; and, as she was always 
 bothering me to learn her English, I promised one day to do it ; but 
 ye see, somehow, I never was very proficient in strange tongues ; so I 
 thought to myself, Irish will do as well. So, you perceive, we're taking 
 a course of Irish literature, as Mr. Lynch says in Athlone ; and upon 
 my conscience, she's an apt scholar. 
 
 " ' Good morning to you, Katey,' says Mr. Power to her the other 
 day, as he passed through the hall. * Good morning, my dear, I hear 
 you speak English perfectly now ? ' 
 
 " ' Honia mon diaoul,' says she, making a courtesy. 
 
 ' ' Be the powers, I thought he'd die with the laughing. 
 
 " ' Well, my dear, I hope you don't mean it do you know what 
 you're saying ? ' 
 
 ' ' ' Honour bright, Major ! ' says I ; ' honour bright ! ' and I gave him 
 a wink at the same time. 
 
 <e ' Oh ! that's it,' said he, e is it ? ' and so he went off holding his 
 hands to his sides with the bare laughing ; and your honour knows it 
 wasn't a blessing she wished him, for all that." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXII 
 
 THE CONFESSION 
 
 WHAT a strange position this of mine ! thought I, a few mornings 
 after the events detailed in the last chapter. How very fascinating in 
 some respects how full of all the charm of romance, and how con- 
 foundedly difficult to see one's way through ! 
 
 To understand my cogitation right, figures; vous, my dear reader, a 
 large and splendidly furnished drawing-room, from one end of which 
 an orangery in full blossom opens ; from the other side is seen a 
 delicious little boudoir, where books, bronzes, pictures, and statues, in 
 all the artistic disorder of a lady's sanctum, are bathed in a deep purple 
 light from a stained-glass window of the thirteenth century. 
 
 At a small table beside the wood fire, whose mellow light is flirting 
 with the sunbeams upon the carpet, stands an antique silver breakfast 
 service, which none but the hand of Benvenuto could have chiselled ; 
 beside it sits a girl, young and beautiful : her dark eyes beaming beneath 
 their long lashes, are fixed with an expression of watchful interest 
 upon a pale and sickly youth who, lounging upon a sofa opposite, is 
 carelessly turning over the leaves of a new journal, or gazing stead- 
 fastly on the fretted gothic of the ceiling, while his thoughts are 
 travelling many a mile away. The lady being the Senhora Inez ; the 
 nonchalant invalid, your unworthy acquaintance, Charles O'Malley. 
 
 What a very strange position, to be sure ! 
 
 " Then you are not equal to this ball to-night ? " said she, after a 
 pause of some minutes. 
 
 I turned as she spoke ; her words had struck audibly upon my ear
 
 390 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 but, lost in my reverie, I could but repeat my own fixed thought how 
 strange to be so situated ! 
 
 " You are really very tiresome, signor ; I assure you, you are. I 
 have been giving you a most elegant description of the Casino fete, and 
 the beautiful costume of our Lisbon belles, but I can get nothing from 
 you but this muttered something, which may be very shocking for 
 aught I know. I'm sure your friend Major Power would be much 
 more attentive to me, that is," added she archly, " if Miss Dashwood 
 were not present." 
 
 " What why you don't mean that there is anything there that 
 Power is paying attention to " 
 
 " Madre divina I how that seems to interest you, and how red you 
 are ! If it were not that you never met her before, and that your 
 acquaintance did not seem to make rapid progress, then I should say 
 you are in love with her yourself." 
 
 I had to laugh at this, but felt my face flushing more and more. 
 " And so," said I, affecting a careless and indifferent tone, " the gay 
 Fred Power is smitten at last ! " 
 
 "Was it so very difficult a thing to accomplish?" said she slily. 
 
 ' ' He seems to say so, at least And the lady, how does she appear 
 to receive his attentions ? " 
 
 " Oh, I should say with evident pleasure and satisfaction, as all girls 
 do the advances of men they don't care for, nor intend to care for." 
 
 " Indeed," said I slowly ; " indeed, senhora," looking into her eyes 
 as I spoke, as if to read if the lesson were destined for my benefit. 
 
 "There, don't stare so ! every one knows that." 
 
 " So you don't think, then, that Lucy I mean Miss Dashwood 
 why are you laughing so ? " 
 
 " How can I help it ? your calling her Lucy is so good, I wish she 
 heard it ; she's the very proudest girl I ever knew." 
 
 " But to come back ; you really think she does not care for 
 him ? " 
 
 "No more than for you; and I may be pardoned for the simile, 
 having seen your meeting. But let me give you the news of our own 
 fete. Saturday is the day fixed ; and you must be quite well I insist 
 upon it. Miss Dashwood has promised to come no small concession ; 
 for, after all, she has never once been here since the day you frightened 
 her. I can't help laughing at my blunder the two people I had 
 promised myself should fall desperately in love with each other, and 
 who will scarcely meet." 
 
 " But I trusted," said I pettishly, " that you were not disposed to 
 resign your own interest in me ? " 
 
 " Neither was I," said she, with an easy smile, " except that I have 
 so many admirers. I might even spare you to my friends ; though, 
 after all, I should be sorry to lose you I like you.' 
 
 " Yes," said I, half bitterly, " as girls do those they never intend 
 to care for ; is it not so ? " 
 
 ' ' Perhaps, yes, and perhaps but is it going to rain ? How pro- 
 voking ! and I have ordered my horse. Well, Signor Carlos, I leave 
 you to your delightful newspaper, and all the magnificent descriptions 
 of battles, and sieges, and skirmishes for which you seem doomed to
 
 THE CONFESSION 391 
 
 pine without ceasing. There, don't kiss my hand twice; that's not 
 right" 
 
 " Well, let me begin again " 
 
 ' ' I shall not breakfast with you any more ; but, tell me, am I to 
 order a costume for you in Lisbon ; or will you arrange all that your- 
 self? You must come to ihejete, you know." 
 
 "If you would be so very kind." 
 
 "1 will then be so very kind ; and, once more, adios." So saying, 
 and with a slight motion of her hand, she smiled a good-bye and left 
 me. 
 
 "What a lovely girl!" thought I, as I rose and walked to the 
 window, muttering to myself Othello's line, and 
 
 "When I love thee not, chaos is come again." 
 
 In fact, it was the perfect expression of my feeling the only solution 
 to all the difficulties surrounding me, being to fall desperately, irre- 
 trievably, in love with the fair senhora, which, all things considered, 
 was not a very desperate resource for a gentleman in trouble. As I 
 thought over the hopelessness of one attachment, I turned calmly to 
 consider all the favourable points of the other. She was truly beauti- 
 ful, attractive in every sense ; her manner most fascinating, and her 
 disposition, so far as I could pronounce, perfectly amiable. I felt 
 already something more than interest about her ; how very easy would 
 be the transition to a stronger feeling ! There was an eclat, too, about 
 being her accepted lover that had its charm. She was the belle par 
 excellence of Lisbon ; and then a sense of pique crossed my mind as I 
 reflected what would Lucy say of him whom she had slighted and in- 
 sulted, when he became the husband of the beautiful and millionaire 
 Senhora Inez ? 
 
 As my meditations had reached thus far, the door opened stealthily, 
 and Catherine appeared, her finger upon her lips, and her gesture indi- 
 cating caution. She carried on her arm a mass of drapery covered by 
 a large mantle, which, throwing off as she entered, she displayed before 
 me a rich blue domino with silver embroidery. It was large and loose 
 in its folds, so as thoroughly to conceal the figure of any wearer. This 
 she held up before me for an instant, without speaking, when at length, 
 seeing my curiosity fully excited, she said 
 
 "This is the senhora's domino. I should be ruined if she knew I 
 showed it ; but I promised that is, I told " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I understand," relieving her embarrassment about the 
 source of her civilities ; "go on." 
 
 " Well, there are several others like it, but with this small difference, 
 instead of a carnation, which all the others have embroidered upon the 
 cuff, I have made it a rose ; you perceive. La Senhora knows nothing 
 of this ; none save yourself knows it. I'm sure I may trust you with 
 the secret." 
 
 " Fear not in the least, Catherine ; you have rendered me a great 
 service. Let me look at it once more : ah ! there's no difficulty in 
 detecting it. And you are certain she is unaware of it?" 
 
 " Perfectly so ; she has several other costumes, but in this one I 
 know she intends some surprise : so be upon^our guard."
 
 392 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 With these words, carefully once more concealing the rich dress 
 beneath the mantle, she withdrew ; while I strolled forth to wonder 
 what mystery might lie beneath this scheme, and speculate how far I 
 myself was included in the plot she spoke of. 
 
 For the few days which succeeded I passed my time much alone. The 
 senhora was but seldom at home ; and I remarked that Power rarely 
 came to see me. A strange feeling of half coolness had latterly grown 
 between us, and, instead of the open confidence we formerly indulged 
 in when together, we appeared now rather to chat over things of mere 
 everyday interest than our own immediate plans and prospects. There 
 was a kind of preoccupation, too, in his manlier that struck me : his 
 mind seemed ever straying from the topics he talked of to something 
 remote ; and altogether he was no longer the frank and reckless dragoon 
 I had ever known him. What could be the meaning of this change? 
 Had he found out by any accident that I was to blame in my conduct 
 towards Lucy had any erroneous impression of my interview with her 
 reached his ears? This was most improbable; besides, there was 
 nothing in that to draw down his censure or condemnation, however 
 represented ; and was it that he was himself in love with her that, 
 devoted heart and soul to Lucy, he regarded me as a successful rival, 
 preferred before him 1 Oh, how could I have so long blinded myself 
 to the fact ! This was the true solution of the whole difficulty. I had 
 more than once suspected this to be so : now all the circumstances 
 of proof poured in upon me. I called to mind his agitated manner 
 the night of my arrival in Lisbon, his thousand questions concerning 
 the reasons of my furlough : and then, lately, the look of unfeigned 
 pleasure with which he heard me resolve to join my regiment the 
 moment I was sufficiently recovered. I also remembered how assidu- 
 ously he pressed his intimacy with the senhora, Lucy's dearest friend 
 here ; his continual visits at the villa ; those long walks in the garden, 
 where his very look betokened some confidential mission of the heart. 
 Yes, there was no doubt of it ; he loved Lucy Dashwood ! Alas ! 
 there seemed to be no end to the complication of my misfortunes ; one 
 by one I appeared fated to lose whatever had a hold upon my affections, 
 and to stand alone unloved and uncared for in the world. My thoughts 
 turned towards the senhora, but I could not deceive myself into any 
 hope there. My own feelings were untouched, and hers I felt to be 
 equally so. Young as I was, there was no mistaking the easy smile of 
 coquetry, the merry laugh of nattered vanity, for a deeper and holier 
 feeling. And then I did not wish it otherwise. One only had taught 
 me to feel how ennobling, how elevating, in all its impulses can be a 
 deep-rooted passion for a; young and beautiful girl ! from her eyes 
 alone had I caught the inspiration that made me pant for glory and 
 distinction. I could not transfer the allegiance of my heart, since it 
 had taught that very heart to beat high and proudly. Lucy, lost to 
 me for ever as she must be, was still more than any other woman ever 
 could be. All the past clung to her memory, all the prestige of the 
 future must point to it also. 
 
 And Power, why had he not trusted, why had he not confided in 
 me ? Was this like my old and tried friend ?" Alas ! I was forgetting
 
 THE CONFESSION 393 
 
 that in his eye I was the favoured rival, and not the despised, rejected 
 suitor. 
 
 It is passed now, thought I, as I rose and walked into the garden ; 
 the dream that made life a fairy tale is dispelled ; the cold reality of 
 the world is before me, and my path lies a lonely and a solitary one. 
 My first resolution was to see Power, and relieve his mind of any 
 uneasiness as regarded my pretensions ; they existed no longer. As 
 for me, I was no obstacle to his happiness ; it was then but fair and 
 honourable that I should tell him so ; this done, I should leave Lisbon 
 at once : the cavalry had for the most part been ordered to the rear, 
 still there was always something going forward at the outposts. 
 
 The idea of active service, the excitement of a campaigning life, 
 cheered me, and I advanced along the dark alley of the garden with 
 a lighter and a freer heart. My resolves were not destined to meet 
 delay ; as I turned the angle of a walk Power was before me ; he was 
 leaning against a tree, his hands crossed upon his bosom, his head bowed 
 forward, and his whole air and attitude betokening deep reflection. 
 
 He started as I came up, and seemed almost to change colour. 
 
 e< Well, Charley," said he, after a moment's pause, " you look better 
 this morning ; how goes the arm ? " 
 
 " The arm is ready for service again, and its owner most anxious for 
 it. Do you know, Fred, I'm thoroughly weary of this life." 
 
 " They're little better, however, at the lines ; the French are in 
 position but never adventure a movement, and except some few affairs 
 at the pickets there is really nothing to do." 
 
 "No matter, remaining here can never serve one's interests, and 
 besides, I have accomplished what I came for " 
 
 I was about to add ' e the restoration of my health," when he suddenly 
 interrupted me, eyeing me fixedly as he spoke : 
 
 " Indeed ! indeed ! is that so ? " 
 
 1 ' Yes," said I, half puzzled at the tone and manner of the speech ; 
 " I can join now when I please ; meanwhile, Fred, I have been think- 
 ing of you. Yes, don't be surprised, at the very moment we met, you 
 were in my thoughts." 
 
 I took his arm as I said this, and led him down the alley. 
 
 " We are too old and, I trust, too true friends, Fred, to have secrets 
 from each other, and yet we have been playing this silly game for some 
 weeks past ; now, my dear fellow, I have yours, and it is only fair 
 justice you should have mine, and, faith, I feel you'd have discovered 
 it long since, had your thoughts been as free as I have known them to 
 be. Fred, you are in love ; there, don't wince, man, I know it ; but 
 hear me out. You believe me to be so also nay, more, you think 
 that my chances of success are better, stronger, than your own ; learn, 
 then, that I have none, absolutely none. Don't interrupt me now, for 
 this avowal cuts me deeply ; my own heart alone knows what 1 suffer 
 as I record my wrecked fortunes, but I repeat it, my hopes are at an 
 end for ever ; but, Fred, my boy, I cannot lose my friend too. If I 
 have been the obstacle to your path, I am so no more. Ask me not 
 why ; it is enough that I speak in all truth and sincerity. Ere three 
 days I shall leave this, and with it all the hopes that once beamed 
 upon my fortunes, and all the happiness nay, not all, my boy, for
 
 394 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I feel some thrill at my heart yet as I thiuk that I have been true 
 to you." 
 
 I know not what more I spoke, nor how he replied to me. I felt 
 the warm grasp of his hand, I saw his delighted smile ; the words of 
 grateful acknowledgment his lips uttered conveyed but an imperfect 
 meaning to my ear, and I remembered no more. 
 
 The courage which sustained me for the moment sunk gradually as 
 I meditated over my avowal, and I could scarce help accusing Power 
 of a breach of friendship for exacting a confession which, in reality, I 
 had volunteered to give him. How Lucy herself would think of my 
 conduct was ever occurring to my thoughts, and I felt, as I ruminated 
 upon the conjectures it might give rise to, how much more likely 
 a favourable opinion might now be formed of me, than when such an 
 estimation could have crowned me with delight. " Yes," thought I, 
 " she will at" last learn to know him, who loved her with truth, and 
 with devoted affection ; and, when the blight of all his hopes is accom- 
 plished, the fair fame of his fidelity will be proved. The march, the 
 bivouac, the battlefield, are now all to me ; and the campaign alone 
 presents a prospect which may fill up the aching void that disappointed 
 and ruined hopes have left behind them." 
 
 How I longed for the loud call of the trumpet, the clash of the 
 steel, the tramp of the war-horse ; though the proud distinction of a 
 soldier's life were less to me in the distance, than the mad and whirl- 
 wind passion of a charge, and the loud din of the rolling artillery. 
 
 It was only some hours after, as I sat alone in my chamber, that all 
 the circumstances of our meeting came back clearly to my memory, 
 and I could not help muttering to myself, ' ' It is indeed a hard lot, 
 that to cheer the heart of my friend I must bear witness to the despair 
 that sheds darkness on my own." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIII 
 
 MY CHARGER 
 
 ALTHOUGH I felt my heart relieved of a heavy load by the confession 
 I had made to Power, yet still I shrank from meeting him for some 
 days after ; a kind of fear lest he should in any way recur to our con- 
 versation continually beset me, and I felt that the courage which bore 
 me up for my first effort would desert me on the next occasion. 
 
 My determination to join my regiment was now made up, and I sent 
 forward a resignation of my appointment to Sir George Dashwood's 
 staff, which I had never been in health to fulfil, and commenced with 
 energy all my preparations for a speedy departure. 
 
 The reply to my rather formal letter was a most kind note written 
 by himself. He regretted the unhappy cause which had so long 
 separated us, and though wishing, as he expressed it, to have me near 
 him, perfectly approved of my resolution. 
 
 " Active service alone, my dear boy, can ever place you in the position 
 you ought to occupy, and I rejoice the more at your decision in this
 
 MY CHARGER 395 
 
 matter, as I feared the truth of certain reports here, which attributed 
 to you other plans than those which a campaign suggests. My mind is 
 now easy on this score, and I pray you forgive me if my congratula- 
 tions are mul a propos." 
 
 After some hints for my future management, and a promise of some 
 letters to his friends at headquarters, he concludes : 
 
 ' ' As this climate does not seem to suit my daughter, I have applied 
 for a change, and am in daily hope of obtaining it ; before going, 
 however, I must beg your acceptance of the charger which my groom 
 will deliver to your servant with this. I was so struck with his figure 
 and action, that I purchased him before leaving England without well 
 knowing why or wherefore. Pray let him see some service under your 
 auspices, which he is most unlikely to do under mine. He has plenty 
 of bone to be a weight-carrier, and they tell me also that he has speed 
 enough for anything." 
 
 Mike's voice on the lawn beneath interrupted my reading farther, 
 and on looking out I perceived him and Sir George Dashwood's servant 
 standing beside a large and striking-looking horse, which they were 
 both examining with all the critical accuracy of adepts. 
 
 " Arrah, isn't he a darling, a real beauty, every inch of him?" 
 
 " That 'ere splint don't signify nothing ; he aren't the worst of it," 
 said the English groom. 
 
 ' ' Of coorse it doesn't," replied Mike. ' ' What a forehand ! and the 
 legs, clean as a whip." 
 
 " There's the best of him, though," interrupted the other, patting 
 the strong hindquarters with his hand. " There's the stuff to push 
 him along through heavy ground and carry him over timber." 
 
 e * Or a stone wall," said Mike, thinking of Galway. 
 
 My own impatience to survey my present had now brought me into 
 the conclave, and before many minutes were over I had him saddled, 
 and was caracoling around the lawn with a spirit and energy I had not 
 felt for months long. Some small fences lay before me, and over these 
 he carried me with all the ease and freedom of a trained hunter. My 
 courage mounted with the excitement, and I looked eagerly around for 
 some more bold and dashing leap. 
 
 " You may take him over the avenue gate," said the English groom, 
 divining with a jockey's readiness what I looked for ; " he'll do it, 
 never fear him." 
 
 Strange as my equipment was, with an undress jacket flying loosely 
 open, and a bare head, away I went. The gate which the groom spoke 
 of was a strongly barred one of oak timber, nearly five feet high its 
 difficulty as a leap only consisted in the winding approach ; and the 
 fact that it opened upon a hard road beyond it. 
 
 In a second or two a kind of half fear came across me. My long 
 illness had unnerved me, and my limbs felt weak and yielding but as 
 I pressed into the canter, that secret sympathy between the horse and 
 his rider shot suddenly through me, I pressed my spurs to his flanks 
 and dashed him at it. 
 
 Unaccustomed to such treatment, the noble animal bounded madly 
 forward : with two tremendous plunges he sprang wildly in the air, 
 and shaking his long mane with passion, stretched out at the gallop.
 
 396 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 My own blood boiled now as tempestuously as his : and with a shout 
 of reckless triumph I rose him at the gate. Just at the instant two 
 figures appeared before it the copse had concealed their approach 
 hitherto but they stood now, as if transfixed ; the wild attitude of 
 the horse, the not less wild cry of his rider, had deprived them for the 
 time of all energy ; and overcome by the sudden danger, they seemed 
 rooted to the ground. What I said, spoke, begged, or imprecated, 
 Heaven knows not I. But they stirred not ! one moment more, and 
 they must lie trampled beneath my horse's hoofs he was already on 
 his haunches for the bound, when, wheeling half aside, I faced him at 
 the wall. It was, at least, a foot higher, and of solid stone masonry, 
 and as I did so, I felt that I was perilling my life to save theirs. One 
 vigorous dash of the spur I gave him, as I lifted him to the leap he 
 bounded beneath it quick as lightning still, with a spring like a 
 rocket, he rose into the air, cleared the wall, and stood trembling and 
 frightened on the road outside. 
 
 " Safe, by Jupiter ! and splendidly done too," cried a voice near me, 
 that I immediately recognised as Sir George Dashwood's. 
 
 " Lucy, my love, look up Lucy, my dear, there's no danger now. 
 She has fainted O'Malley, fetch some water fast Poor fellow your 
 own nerves seem shaken. Why, you've let your horse go ! Come here, 
 for Heaven's sake support her for an instant. I'll fetch some water." 
 
 It appeared to me like a dream I leaned against the pillar of the 
 gate the cold and death-like features of Lucy Dashwood lay motion- 
 less upon my arm her hand, falling heavily upon my shoulder, touched 
 my cheek the tramp of my horse, as he galloped onward, was the 
 only sound that broke the silence, as I stood there, gazing steadfastly 
 upon the pale brow and paler cheek, down which a solitary tear was 
 slowly stealing. I know not how the minutes passed my memory 
 took no note of time, but at length a gentle tremor thrilled her frame, 
 a slight, scarce perceptible blush coloured her fair face, her lips slightly 
 parted, and heaving a deep sigh she looked around her gradually her 
 eyes turned and met mine. Oh, the bliss unutterable of that moment. 
 It was no longer the look of cold scorn she had given me last the ex- 
 pression was one of soft and speaking gratitude she seemed to read 
 my very heart, and know its truth : there was a tone of deep and com- 
 passionate interest in the glance ; and forgetting all everything that 
 had passed all save my unaltered, unalterable love, I kneeled beside 
 her, and, in words burning as my own heart burned, poured out my 
 tale of mingled sorrow and affection, with all the eloquence of passion. 
 I vindicated my unshaken faith reconciling the conflicting evidences 
 with the proofs I proffered of my attachment. If my moments were 
 measured I spent them not idly ; I called to witness how every 
 action of my soldier's life emanated from her how few and chance 
 words had decided the character of my fate if aught of fame or 
 honour were my portion, to her I owed it. As hurried onwards by my 
 ardent hopes, I forgot Power and all about him a step up the gravel 
 walk came rapidly nearer, and I had but time to assume my former 
 attitude beside Lucy, as her father came up. 
 
 "Well, Charley, is she better? Oh, I see she is : here we have the 
 whole household at our heels." So saying, he pointed to a string of
 
 MAURICE 397 
 
 servants pressing eagerly forward with every species of restorative that 
 Portuguese ingenuity has invented. 
 
 The next moment we were joined hy the Senhora, who, pale with 
 fear, seemed scarcely less in need of assistance than her friend. 
 
 Amid questions innumerable explanations sought for on all sides 
 mistakes and misconceptions as to the whole occurrence we took our 
 way towards the villa, Lucy walking between Sir George and Donna 
 Inez, while I followed, leaning upon Power's arm. 
 
 ( ' They've caught him again, O'Malley," said the General, turning 
 half round to me ; ce he, too, seemed as much frightened as any of us." 
 
 " It is time, Sir George, I should think of thanking you. I never 
 was so mounted in my life " 
 
 "A splendid charger, by Jove !" said Power: "but, Charley, my 
 lad, no more feats of this nature, if you love me : no girl's heart will 
 stand such continual assaults as your winning horsemanship submits 
 it to." 
 
 I was about making some half angry reply, when he continued : 
 " There, don't look sulky, I have news for you. Quill has just arrived. 
 I met him at Lisbon ; he has got leave of absence for a few days, and 
 is coming to our masquerade here this evening." 
 
 ' ' This evening ! " said I, in amazement ; <( why, is it so soon ? " 
 
 " Of course it is. Have you not got all your trappings ready ? The 
 Dashwoods came out here on purpose to spend the day but come, I'll 
 drive you into town. My tilbury is ready, and we'll both look out for 
 our costumes." So saying, he led me along towards the house, when, 
 after a rapid change of my toilet, we set out to Lisbon. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIV 
 
 MAURICE 
 
 IT seemed a conceded matter between Power and myself that we should 
 never recur to the conversation we held in the garden ; and so, although 
 we dined tete-u-tete that day, neither of us ventured by any allusion 
 the most distant to advert to what it was equally evident was upper- 
 most in the minds of both. 
 
 All our endeavours, therefore, to seem easy and unconcerned were 
 in vain ; a restless anxiety to seem interested about things and persons 
 we were totally indifferent to pervaded all our essays at conversation. 
 By degrees, we grew weary of the parts we were acting, and each re- 
 lapsed into a moody silence, thinking over his plans and projects and 
 totally forgetting the existence of the other. 
 
 The decanter was passed across the table without speaking, a half 
 nod intimated the bottle was standing, and, except an occasional male- 
 diction upon an intractable cigar, nothing was heard. 
 
 Such was the agreeable occupation we were engaged in, when towards 
 nine o'clock the door opened, and the great Maurice himself stood 
 before us. 
 
 " Pleasant fellows, upon my conscience, and jovial over their liquor !
 
 398 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 Confound your smoking : that may do very well in a bivouac. Let us 
 have something warm ! " 
 
 Quill's interruption was a most welcome one to both parties, and we 
 rejoiced with a sincere pleasure at his coming. 
 
 "What shall it be, Maurice? Port or sherry mulled, and an 
 anchovy ? " 
 
 ' e Or what say you to a bowl of bishop ? " said I. 
 
 " Hurra for the Church, Charley ! Let us have the bishop ; and, not 
 to disparage Fred's taste, we'll be eating the anchovy while the liquor's 
 concocting. " 
 
 " Well, Maurice, and now for the news. How are matters at Torres 
 Vedras ? Anything like movement in that quarter ? " 
 
 "Nothing very remarkable. Massena made a reconnaissance some 
 days since, and one of our batteries threw a shower of grape among 
 the staff, which spoiled the procession, and sent them back in very 
 disorderly time. Then we've had a few skirmishes to the front with 
 no great results a few court-martials bad grub, and plenty of 
 grumbling." 
 
 " Why, what would they have ? it's a great thing to hold the French 
 army in check, within a few marches of Lisbon." 
 
 "Charley, my man, who cares twopence for the French army, or 
 Lisbon, or the Portuguese, or the Junta, or anything about it ? every 
 man is pondering over his own affairs. One fellow wants to get home 
 again, and be sent upon some recruiting station. Another wishes to 
 get a step or two in promotion, to come to Torres Vedras, where even 
 the grande armee can't Then some of us are in love, and some more 
 of us are in debt. There is neither glory nor profit to be had. But 
 here's the bishop, smoking and steaming, with an odour of nectar." 
 
 " And our fellows, have you seen them lately ? " 
 
 " I dined with yours on Tuesday. Was it Tuesday ? Yes. I dined 
 with them. By-the-bye, Sparks was taken prisoner that morning." 
 
 " Sparks taken prisoner ! Poor fellow ! I am sincerely sorry. How 
 did it happen, Maurice ? " 
 
 " Very simply. Sparks had a forage patrol towards Vieda, and set 
 out early in the morning with his party. It seemed that they succeeded 
 perfectly, and were returning to the lines, when poor Sparks, always 
 susceptible where the sex are concerned, saw, or thought he saw, a 
 lattice gently open as he rode from the village, and a very taper finger 
 make a signal to him. Dropping a little behind the rest, he waited till 
 his men had debouched upon the road, when, riding quietly up, he 
 coughed a couple of times to attract the fair unknown a handkerchief 
 waved from the lattice in reply, which was speedily closed, and our 
 valiant cornet accordingly dismounted and entered the house. 
 
 " The remainder of the adventure is soon told : for in a few seconds 
 after, two men mounted on one horse were seen galloping at top speed 
 towards the French lines. The foremost being a French officer of the 
 4th Cuirassiers ; the gentleman, with his face to the tail, our friend 
 Sparks ; the lovely unknown being a vieille moustache of Loison's corps, 
 who had been wounded in a skirmish some days before, and lay wait- 
 ing an opportunity of rejoining his party. One of our prisoners knew 
 this fellow well ; he had been promoted from the ranks, and was a
 
 MAURICE 399 
 
 Hercules for feats of strength : so that, after all, Sparks could not 
 help himself." 
 
 " Well, I'm really sorry, but, as you say, Sparks's tender nature is 
 always the ruin of him." 
 
 " Of him ! ay, and of you and of Power and of myself of all of 
 us. Isn't it the sweet creatures that make fools of us from Father 
 Adam down to Maurice Quill, neither sparing age nor rank in the 
 service, half-pay, nor the veteran battalion ? it's all one ! Pass the 
 jug there. O'Shaughnessy " 
 
 "Ah, by-the-bye, how's the Major?" 
 
 " Charmingly ; only in a little bit of a scrape just now. Sir Arthur 
 Lord Wellington, I mean had him up for his fellows being caught 
 pillaging, and gave him a devil of a rowing a few days ago. 
 
 "'Very disorderly corps yours, Major O'Shaughnessy,' said the 
 General ; ' more men up for punishment than any regiment in the 
 service.' 
 
 " Sliaugh muttered something, but his voice was lost in a loud 
 cock-a-doo-do-doo, that some bold chanticleer set up at the moment. 
 
 <e 'If the officers do their duty, Major O'Shaughnessy, these acts of 
 insubordination do not occur.' 
 
 tf ' Cock-a-doo-do-doo,' was the reply. Some of the staff found it 
 hard not to laugh ; but the General went on 
 
 " ' If, therefore, the practice does not cease, I'll draft the men into 
 West India regiments.' 
 
 " ' Cock-a-doo-do-doo.' 
 
 " ' And if any articles pillaged from the inhabitants are detected in 
 the quarters, or about the person of the troops ' 
 
 " ' Cock-a-doo-do-rfoo,' screamed louder than ever. 
 
 " ' Damn that cock ! Where is it ? ' 
 
 " There was a general look around on all sides, which seemed in 
 vain ; when a tremendous repetition of the cry resounded from 
 O'Shaughnessy's coat pocket ; thus detecting the valiant Major him- 
 self in the very practice of his corps. There was no standing this : 
 every one burst out into a peal of laughing ; and Lord Wellington 
 himself could not resist, but turned away muttering to himself, as he 
 went, ' Damned robbers every man of them ! ' while a final war-note 
 from the Major's pocket closed the interview." 
 
 " Confound you, Maurice ; you've always some villainous narrative 
 or other. You never crossed a street for shelter without making some- 
 thing out of it." 
 
 " True this time, as sure as my name's Maurice ; but the bowl is 
 empty !" 
 
 "Never mind, here comes its successor. How long can you stay 
 amongst us ? " 
 
 " A few days at most. Just took a run off to see the sights ; I was 
 all over Lisbon this morning : saw the Inquisition and the cells, and 
 the place where they tried the fellows the kind of grand jury-room, 
 with the great picture of Adam and Eve at the end of it. What a 
 beautiful creature she is ! hair down to her waist, and such eyes ! 
 ' Ah, ye darling ! ' said I to myself, ' small blame to him for what he 
 did. Wouldn't I ate every crab in the garden, if ye asked me ! '
 
 400 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " I must certainly go see her, Maurice. Is she very Portuguese 
 iu her style ? " 
 
 " Devil a bit of it. She might be a Limerick woman, with elegant 
 brown hair, and blue eyes, and a skin like snow." 
 
 " Come, come, they've pretty girls in Lisbon too, Doctor." 
 
 "Yes, faith," said Power, " that they have." 
 
 ' ' Nothing like Ireland, boys ; not a bit of it ; they're the girls for 
 my money ; and where's the man who can resist them ? From St 
 Patrick, that had to go live in the Wicklow mountains " 
 
 "St. Kevin, you mean, Doctor." 
 
 " Sure it's all the same, they were twins. I made a little song about 
 them one evening last week the women, I mean." 
 
 " Let us have it, Maurice ; let us have it, old fellow. What's the 
 measure ? " 
 
 " Short measure : four little verses, devil a more." 
 
 " But the time, I mean ? " 
 
 " Whenever you like to sing it ; here it is." 
 
 THE GIRLS OF THE WEST 
 
 Air "Teddy, ye Grander." 
 (Withfeding; but not too slow.) 
 
 " You may talk, if you please, 
 
 Of the brown Portuguese, 
 But, wherever you roam, wherever you roam, 
 
 You nothing will meet, 
 
 Half so lovely or sweet, 
 As the girls at home, the girls at home. 
 
 Their eyes are not sloes, 
 
 Nor so long is their nose, 
 But, between me and you, between me and you, 
 
 They are just as alarming, 
 
 And ten times more charming, 
 With hazel and blue, with hazel and blue. 
 
 They don't ogle a man 
 
 O'er the top of their fan, 
 Till his heart's in a flame, his heart's in a flame ; 
 
 But though bashful and shy, 
 
 They've a look in their eye, 
 That just comes to the same, just comes to the same. 
 
 No mantillas they sport, 
 
 But a petticoat short, 
 Shows an ankle the best, an ankle the best, 
 
 And a leg ; but, murther ! 
 
 I dare not go further, 
 So here's to the West ; so here's to the West." 
 
 " Now that really is a sweet little thing. Moore's, isn't it? " 
 " Not a bit of it ; my own muse, every word of it" 
 " And the music ? " said I. 
 
 " My own, too. Too much spice in that bowl ; that's an invariable 
 error in your devisers of drink, to suppose that the tipple you start
 
 THE MASQUERADE 401 
 
 with can please your palate to the last ; they forget that as we advance 
 either in years or lush, our tastes simplify." 
 
 " Nous revenons a nos premieres amours. Isn't that it ? " 
 
 ' ' No, not exactly, for we go even further ; for if you mark the pro- 
 gression of a sensible man's fluids, you'll find what an emblem of life 
 it presents to you. What is his initiatory glass of ' Chablis ' that he 
 throws down with his oysters, but the budding expectancy of boyhood 
 the appetising sense of pleasure to come ? then follows the sherry 
 with his soup, that warming glow, which strength and vigour in all 
 their consciousness impart, as a glimpse of life is opening before him. 
 Then youth succeeds buoyant, wild, tempestuous youth foaming and 
 sparkling, like the bright champagne, whose stormy surface subsides 
 into a myriad of bright stars." 
 
 " CEil de perdrijc. " 
 
 " Not a bit of it ; woman's own eye ; brilliant, sparkling, life- 
 giving " 
 
 " Devil take the fellow, he/s getting poetical." 
 
 " Ah, Fred ! if that could only last ; but one must come to the 
 burgundies with his maturer years. Your first glass of hermitage is 
 the algebraic sign for five-and-thirty the glorious burst is over ; the 
 pace is still good, to be sure, but the great enthusiasm is past. You 
 can afford to look forward, but, confound it, you've a long way to look 
 back also." 
 
 1 ' I say, Charley, our friend has contrived to finish the bishop during 
 his disquisition ; the bowl's quite empty." 
 
 " You don't say so, Fred. To be sure, how a man does forget him- 
 self in abstract speculations : but let us have a little more, I've not 
 concluded my homily." 
 
 "Not a glass, Maurice ; it's already past nine; we are all pledged 
 to the masquerade, and before we've dressed and got there, 'twill be 
 late enough." 
 
 " But I'm not disguised yet, my boy, not half." 
 
 " Well, they must take you an naturel, as our countrymen do their 
 potatoes." 
 
 " Yes, Doctor, Fred's right ; we had better start" 
 
 "Well, I can't help it ; I've recorded my opposition to the motion, 
 but I must submit ; and now that I'm on my legs, explain to me 
 what's that very dull-looking old lamp up there?" 
 
 "That's the moon, man ; the full moon." 
 
 " Well, I've no objection : I'm full too ; so come along, lads." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXV 
 
 THE MASQUERADE 
 
 To form one's impression of a masked ball from the attempts at this 
 mode of entertainment in our country, is but to conceive a most im- 
 perfect and erroneous notion. With us the first coup d'ueil is every- 
 thing ; the nuns, the shepherdesses, the Turks, sailors, eastern princes, 
 
 2 c
 
 402 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 watchmen, moonshees, milestones, devils, and Quakers, are all very 
 well in their way as they pass in review before us, but when we come 
 to mix in the crowd, we discover that except the turban and the cowl, 
 the crook and the broadbrim, no further disguise is attempted or 
 thought of. The nun, forgetting her vow and her vestments, is flirt- 
 ing with the devil ; the watchman, a very fastidious elegant, is ogling 
 the fishwoman through his glass, while the Quaker is performing a 
 pas seul Alberti might be proud of in a quadrille of riotous Turks and 
 half-tipsy Hindoos ; in fact, the whole wit of the scene consists in 
 absurd associations ; apart from this, the actors have rarely any claims 
 upon your attention ; for even supposing a person clever enough to 
 sustain his character, whatever it be, you must also supply the other 
 personages of the drama ; or, in stage phi'ase, he'll have nothing to 
 "play up to." What would be Bardolf without Pistol? what Sir 
 Lucius O'Trigger without Acres ? It is the relief which throws out 
 the disparities and contradictions of life that affords us most amuse- 
 ment ; hence it is that one swallow can no more make a summer, than 
 one well-sustained character can give life to a masquerade. Without 
 such sympathies, such points of contact, all the leading features of the 
 individual, making him act and be acted upon, are lost ; the characters 
 being mere parallel lines, which, however near they approach, never 
 bisect or cross each other. 
 
 This is not the case abroad : the domino, which serves for mere con- 
 cealment, is almost the only dress assumed, and the real disguise is 
 therefore thrown from necessity upon the talents, whatever they be, 
 of the wearer. It is no longer a question of a beard or a spangled 
 mantle, a Polish dress or a pasteboard nose ; the mutation of voice, 
 the assumption of a different manner, walk, gesture, and mode of 
 expression, are all necessary, and no small tact is required to effect 
 this successfully. 
 
 I may be pardoned this little digression, as it serves to explain in 
 some measure how I felt on entering the splendidly lit up salons of the 
 villa, crowded with hundreds of figures in all the varied costumes of a 
 carnival. The sounds of laughter, mingled with the crash of the music ; 
 the hurrying hither and thither of servants with refreshments : the 
 crowds gathered around fortune-tellers, whose predictions threw the 
 parties at each moment into shouts of merriment ; the eager following 
 of some disappointed domino, interrogating every one to find out a 
 lost mask. For some time I stood an astonished spectator at the kind 
 of secret intelligence which seemed to pervade the whole assemblage, 
 when suddenly a mask, who for some time had been standing beside 
 me, whispered in French 
 
 f< If you pass your time in this manner, you must not feel surprised 
 if your place be occupied." 
 
 I turned hastily round, but she was gone. She, I say, for the voice 
 was clearly a woman's ; her pink domino could be no guide, for 
 hundreds of the same colour passed me every instant ; the meaning of 
 the allusion I had little doubt of. I turned to speak to Power, but he 
 was gone, and for the first moment of my life the bitterness of rivalry 
 crossed my mind. It was true I had resigned all pretensions in his 
 favour ; my last meeting with Lucy had been merely to justify my
 
 THE MASQUERADE 403 
 
 own character against an impression that weighed heavily on me ; still, 
 I thought he might have waited ; another day, and I should be far 
 away, neither to witness nor grieve over his successes. 
 
 " You still hesitate," whispered some one near me. 
 
 I wheeled round suddenly, but could not detect the speaker, and was 
 again relapsing into my own musings, when the same voice repeated : 
 
 " The white domino with the blue cape. Adieu." 
 
 Without waiting to reflect upon the singularity of the occurrence, I 
 now hurried along through the dense crowd, searching on every side 
 for the domino. 
 
 " Isn't that O'Malley ? " said an Englishman to his friend. 
 
 ee Yes," replied the other, ' ( the very man we want. O'Malley, find 
 me a partner ; we have been searching a vis-a-vis this ten minutes." 
 The speaker was an officer I had met at Sir George Dash wood's. 
 
 " How did you discover me ? " said I suddenly. 
 
 ee Not a very difficult thing, if you carry your mask in your hand 
 that way," was the answer. 
 
 And I now perceived that in the distraction of my thoughts I had 
 been carrying my mask in this manner since my coming into the room. 
 
 " There now, what say you to the blue domino ? I saw her foot, 
 and a girl with such an instep must be a waltzer." 
 
 I looked round, a confused effort at memory passing across my mind ; 
 my eyes fell at the instant upon the embroidered sleeve of the domino, 
 where a rosebud worked in silver at once reminded me of Catrina's 
 secret. "Ah !" thought I, "La Senhora herself." She was leaning 
 upon the arm of a tall and portly figure in black. Who this was I 
 knew not, nor sought to discover, but at once advancing towards Donna 
 Inez, asked her to waltz. 
 
 Without replying to me, she turned towards her companion, who 
 seemed as it were to press her acceptance of my offer. She hesitated, 
 however, for an instant, and, curtseying deeply, declined it. " Well," 
 thought I, "she at least has not recognised me." 
 
 " And yet, senhora," said I, half jestingly, "I have seen you join a 
 bolero before now." 
 
 " You evidently mistake me," was the reply, but in a voice so well 
 feigned as almost to convince me she was right 
 
 " Nay, more," said I ; " under your own fair auspices did I myself 
 first adventure one." 
 
 " Still in error, believe me ; I am not known to you." 
 
 "And yet 1 have a talisman to refresh your memory, should you 
 dare me further." 
 
 At this instant my hand was grasped warmly by a passing mask. I 
 turned round rapidly, and Power whispered in my ear : 
 
 "Yours for ever, Charley. You've made my fortune." 
 
 As he hurried on I could perceive that he supported a lady on his 
 arm, and that she wore a loose white domino with a deep-blue cape. 
 In a second all thought of Inez was forgotten, and anxious only to 
 conceal my emotion, I turned away and mingled in the crowd. Lost 
 to all around me, I wandered carelessly, heedlessly on, neither noticing 
 the glittering throng around, nor feeling a thought in common with 
 the gay and joyous spirits that flitted by. The night wore on, my
 
 404 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 melancholy and depression growing ever deeper, yet so spellbound 
 was I that I could not leave the place. A secret sense that it was the 
 last time we were to meet had gained entire possession of me, and I 
 longed to speak a few words ere we parted for ever. 
 
 I was leaning at a window which looked out upon the courtyard, 
 when suddenly the tramp of horses attracted my attention, and I saw 
 by the clear moonlight a group of mounted men, whose long cloaks 
 and tall helmets announced dragoons, standing around the porch. At 
 the same moment the door of the salon opened, and an officer in 
 undress, splashed and travel-stained, entered. Making his way rapidly 
 through the crowd, he followed the servant who introduced him towards 
 the supper-room. Thither the dense mass now pressed to learn the 
 meaning of the singular apparition : while my own curiosity, not less 
 excited, led me towards the door. As I crossed the hall, however, my 
 progress was interrupted by a group of persons, among whom I saw an 
 aide-de-camp r f Lord Wellington's staff, narrating, as it were, some 
 piece of newly arrived intelligence. I had no time for further inquiry, 
 when a door opened near me, and Sir George Dashwood, accompanied 
 by several general officers, came forth, the officer I had first seen enter 
 the ball-room along with them. Every one was by this unmasked, 
 and eagerly looking to hear what had occurred. 
 
 " Then, Dashwood, you'll send an orderly at once to Lisbon ? " said 
 an old general officer beside me. 
 
 " This instant, my lord. I'll despatch an aide-de-camp. The troops 
 shall be in marching order before noon. Oh, here's the man I want ! 
 O'Malley, come here. Mount your horse and dash into town. Send 
 for Brotherton and McGregor to quarters, and announce the news as 
 quickly as possible." 
 
 " But what am I to announce, Sir George ? " 
 
 " That the French are in retreat Massena in retreat, my lad." 
 
 A tremendous cheer at this instant burst from the hundreds in the 
 salon, who now heard the glorious tidings. Another cheer and another 
 followed ten thousand vivas rose amid the crash of the band, as it 
 broke into a patriotic war chant. Such a scene of enthusiasm and 
 excitement I never witnessed. Some wept with joy. Others threw 
 themselves into their friends' arms. 
 
 " They're all mad, every mother's son of them ! " said Maurice Quill, 
 as he elbowed his way through the mass ; " and here's an old vestal 
 won't leave my arm. She has already embraced me three times, and 
 we've finished a flask of Malaga between us." 
 
 " Come, O'Malley, are you ready for the road ? " 
 
 My horse was by this time standing saddled at the front. I sprung 
 at once to the saddle, and, without waiting for a second order, set out 
 for Lisbon. Ten minutes had scarce elapsed the very shouts of joy 
 of the delighted city were still ringing in my ears when I was once 
 again back at the villa. As I mounted the steps into the hall, a 
 carriage drew up : it was Sir George Dashwood's ; he came forward 
 his daughter leaning upon his arm. 
 
 " Why, O'Malley, I thought you had gone." 
 
 " I have returned, Sir George. Colonel Brotherton is in waiting, 
 and the staff also. I have received orders to set out for Benejos,
 
 THE MASQUERADE 405 
 
 where the 14th are stationed, and have merely delayed to say 
 adieu. " 
 
 " Adieu, my dear boy, and God bless you ! " said the warm-hearted 
 old man, as he pressed my hand between both his. " Lucy, here's 
 your old friend about to leave ; come and say good-bye." 
 
 Miss Dashwood had stopped behind to adjust her shawl. I flew to 
 her assistance. 
 
 " Adieu, Miss Dashwood, and for ever," said I, in a broken voice, as 
 I took her hand in mine. " This is not your domino," said I eagerly, 
 as a blue silk one peeped from beneath her mantle ; " and the sleeve, 
 too did you wear this ? " She blushed slightly, and assented. 
 ' I changed with the senhora, who wore mine all the evening." 
 ' And Power, then, was not your partner ? " 
 ' I should think not for I never danced." 
 ' Lucy, my love, are you ready? Come, be quick." 
 ' Good-bye, Mr. O'Malley, and au revoir, nest ce pas ? " 
 
 I drew her glove from her hand as she spoke, and, pressing my lips 
 upon her fingers, placed her within the carriage. (( Adieu, and au 
 revoir ! " said I ; the carriage turned away, and a white glove was all 
 that remained to me of Lucy Dashwood. 
 
 The carriage had turned the angle of the road, and its retiring 
 sounds were growing gradually fainter, ere I recovered myself suffi- 
 ciently to know where I stood. One absorbing thought alone possessed 
 me. Lucy was not lost to me for ever ; Power was not my rival in 
 that quarter that was enough for me. I needed no more to nerve 
 my arm and steel my heart. As I reflected thus, the long loud blast 
 of a trumpet broke upon the silence of the night, and admonished me 
 to depart. I hurried to my room to make my few preparations for 
 the road, but Mike had already anticipated everything here, and all 
 was in readiness. 
 
 But one thing now remained to make my adieu to the senhora. 
 With this intent I descended a narrow winding stair which led from 
 my dressing-room, and opened by a little terrace upon the flower- 
 garden beside her apartments. 
 
 As I crossed the gravelled alley, I could not but think of the last 
 time I had been there. Jt was on the eve of departure for the Douro. 
 I recalled the few and fleeting moments of our leave-taking, and a 
 thought flashed upon me ' ' What if she cared for me ! what if, half 
 in coquetry, half in reality, her heart was mixed up in those passages 
 which daily association gives rise to ? " 
 
 I could not altogether acquit myself of all desire to make her believe 
 me her admirer ; nay, more, with the indolent abandon of my country, 
 I had fallen into a thousand little schemes to cheat the long hours 
 away, which, having no other object than the happiness of the moment, 
 might yet colour all her after life with sorrow. 
 
 Let no one rashly pronounce me a coxcomb, vain and pretentious, 
 for all this. In my inmost heart I had no feeling of selfishness mingled 
 with the consideration. It was from no sense of my own merits, no 
 calculation of my own chances of success, that I thought thus. For- 
 tunately, at eighteen one's heart is uncontaminated with such an alloy 
 of vanity. The first emotions of youth are pure and holy things,
 
 406 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tempering our fiercer passions, and calming the rude effervescence of our 
 boyish spirit : and when we strive to please, and hope to win affection, 
 we insensibly fashion ourselves to nobler and higher thoughts, catching 
 from the source of our devotion a portion of that charm that idealises 
 daily life, and makes our path in it a glorious and a bright one. 
 
 Who would not exchange all the triumph of his later days, the 
 proudest moments of successful ambition, the richest trophies of hard 
 won daring, for the short and vivid flash that first shot through his 
 heart and told him he was loved. It is the opening consciousness of life, 
 the first sense of power that makes of the mere boy a man a man in 
 all his daring and his pride, and hence it is that in early life we feel ever 
 prone to indulge those fancied attachments which elevate and raise us in 
 our own esteem. Such was the frame of my mind as I entered the little 
 boudoir, where once before I had ventured on a similar errand. 
 
 As I closed the sash door behind me, the grey dawn of breaking day 
 scarcely permitted my seeing anything around me, and I felt my way 
 towards the door of an adjoining room, where I supposed it was likely 
 I should find the senhora. As I proceeded thus with cautious step 
 and beating heart, I thought I heard a sound near me. I stopped and 
 listened, and was about again to move on, when a half-stifled sob fell 
 upon my ear. Slowly and silently guiding my steps towards the 
 sounds, I reached a sofa, when my eyes growing by degrees more 
 accustomed to the faint light, I could detect a figure which, at a glance, 
 I recognised as Donna Inez. A cashmere shawl was loosely thrown 
 round her, and her face was buried in her hands. As she lay, to all 
 seeming, still and insensible before me, her beautiful hair fell heavily 
 upon her back and across her arm, and her whole attitude denoted the 
 very abandonment to grief. A short convulsive shudder which slightly 
 shook her frame alone gave evidence of life, except when a sob, barely 
 audible in the death-like silence, escaped her. 
 
 I knelt silently down beside her, and gently withdrawing her hand, 
 placed it within mine. A dreadful feeling of self-condemnation shot 
 through me as I felt the gentle pressure of her taper fingers, which 
 rested without a struggle in my grasp. My tears fell hot and fast upon 
 that pale hand, as I bent in sadness over it, unable to utter a word ; a 
 rush of conflicting thoughts passed through my brain, and I knew not 
 what to do. I now had no doubt upon my mind that she loved me, and 
 that her present affliction was caused by my approaching departure. 
 
 " Dearest Inez," I stammered out at length, as I pressed her hands 
 to my lips ; " dearest Inez " a faint sob and a slight pressure of her 
 hand was the only reply ' ' I have come to say, ' good-bye,' " continued 
 I, gaining a little courage as I spoke ; " a long good-bye, too, in all 
 likelihood. You have heard that we are ordered away there, don't 
 sob, dearest, and believe me, I had wished ere we parted to have 
 spoken to you calmly and openly ; but, alas ! I cannot I scarcely 
 know what I say." 
 
 " You will not forget me ? " said she, in a low voice, that sunk into 
 my very heart. "You will not forget me?" As she spoke her hand 
 dropped heavily upon my shoulder, and her rich luxuriant hair fell 
 upon my cheek. What a devil of a thing is proximity to a downy 
 cheek and a black eyelash, more especially when they belong to one
 
 THE MASQUERADE 407 
 
 whom you are disposed to believe not indifferent to you ! What I did at 
 this precise moment there is no necessity for recording, even had not 
 an adage interdicted such confessions, nor can I now remember what I 
 said ; but I can well recollect how, gradually warming with my subject, 
 I entered into a kind of half-declaration of attachment, intended most 
 honestly to be a mere expose of my own unworthiness to win her favour, 
 and my resolution to leave Lisbon and its neighbourhood for ever. 
 
 Let not any one blame me rashly if he has not experienced the diffi- 
 culty of my position. The impetus of love-making is like the ardour 
 of a fox-hunt. You care little that the six-bar gate before you is the 
 boundary of another gentleman's preserves, or the fence of his pleasure- 
 ground. You go slap along at a smashing pace, with your head up, and 
 your hand low, clearing all before you, the opposing difficulties to your 
 progress giving half the zest, because all the danger to your career. So it 
 is with love : the gambling spirit urges one ever onward, and the chance 
 of failure is a reason for pursuit, where no other argument exists. 
 
 " And you do love me ? " said the senhora, with a soft, low whisper, 
 that most unaccountably suggested anything but comfort to me. 
 
 " Love you, Inez ? By this kiss I'm in an infernal scrape ! " said 
 
 I, muttering this last half of my sentence to myself. 
 
 ' ' And you'll never be jealous again ? " 
 
 " Never, by all that's lovely your own sweet lips. That's the very 
 last thing to reproach me with." 
 
 " And you promise me not to mind that foolish boy ? For, after all, 
 you know, it was mere flirtation if even that." 
 
 " I'll never think of him again," said I, while my brain was burning 
 to make out her meaning. "But, dearest, there goes the trumpet 
 call " 
 
 "And as for Pedro Mascarenhas, I never liked him." 
 
 ' ' Are you quite sure, Inez ? " 
 
 " I swear to it so no more of him . Gonzales Cordenza I've broke 
 with him long since. So that you see, dearest Frederick " 
 
 "Frederick !" said I, starting almost to my feet with amazement, 
 while she continued : 
 
 ' ' I'm your own all your own ! " 
 
 " Oh, the coquette, the heartless jilt," groaned I, half aloud ; " and 
 O'Malley, Inez, poor Charley ! what of him?" 
 
 " Poor thing ! I can't help him. But he's such a puppy, the lesson 
 may do him good." 
 
 " But perhaps he loved you, Inez ? " 
 
 " To be sure he did : I wished him to do so I can't bear not to be 
 loved but, Frederick, tell me, may I trust you will you keep faithful 
 to me?" 
 
 " Sweetest Inez, by this last kiss I swear, that such as I kneel before 
 you now, you'll ever find me." 
 
 A foot upon the gravel walks without now called me to my feet I 
 sprang towards the door, and before Inez had lifted her head from the 
 sofa, I had reached the garden. A figure muffled in a cavalry cloak 
 passed near me, but without noticing me, and the next moment I had 
 cleared the paling and was hurrying towards the stable where I had 
 ordered Mike to be in waiting.
 
 408 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 The faint streak of dull pink which announces the coining day 
 stretched beneath the dark clouds of the night, and the chill air of the 
 morning was already stirring in the leaves. 
 
 As I passed along by a low beech hedge which skirted the avenue, I 
 was struck by the sound of voices near me. I stopped to listen, and 
 soon detected in one of the speakers my friend Mickey Free ; of the 
 other I was not long in ignorance. 
 
 " Love you, is it, bathershin ? It's worship you adore you, my 
 darling that's the word there acushla, don't cry dry your eyes 
 oh, murther, it's a cruel thing to tear one's self away from the best of 
 living with the run of the house in drink and kissing. Bad luck to it 
 for campaigning, anyway, I never liked it ! " 
 
 Catrina's reply for it was she I could not gather ; but Mike re- 
 sumed : 
 
 "Ah, just so, sore bones and wet grass, accident?, and half rations. 
 Oh, that I ever saw the day when I took to it. Listen to me now, 
 honey ; here it is on my knees I am before you and throth it's not more 
 nor three, maybe four, young women I'd say the like to ; bad scran to 
 me if I wouldn't marry you out of a face this blessed morning just as 
 soon as I'd look at ye. Arrah, there now, don't be screeching and 
 bawling ; what'll the neighbours think of us, and my own heart's 
 destroyed with grief entirely." 
 
 Poor Catrina's voice returned an inaudible answer, and not wishing 
 any longer to play the eavesdropper, I continued my path towards the 
 stable. The distant noises from the city announced a state of move- 
 ment and preparation, and more than one orderly passed the road near 
 me at a gallop. As I tunied into the wide courtyard, Mike, breathless 
 and flurried with running, overtook me. 
 
 " Are the horses ready, Mike ? " said I ; " we must start this instant." 
 
 "They've just finished a peck of oats apiece, and faix that same may 
 be a stranger to them this day six months." 
 
 ' ' And the baggage, too ? " 
 
 " On the cars, with the staff and the light brigade. It was down 
 there I was now, to see all was right." 
 
 " Oh, I'm quite aware ; and now bring out the cattle. I hope Catrina 
 received your little consolations well. That seems a very sad affair." 
 
 f< Murder, real murder, devil a less ! It's no matter where you go, 
 from Clonmel to Chayney, it's all one ; they've a way of getting round 
 you. Upon my soul it's like the pigs they are." 
 
 "Like pigs, Mike? That appears a strange compliment you've 
 selected to pay them." 
 
 "Ay, just like the pigs, no less. Maybe you never heard what 
 happened to myself up at Moronha ? " 
 
 " Look to that girth there. Well, go on." 
 
 "I was coming along one morning, just as day was beginning to 
 break, when I sees a slip of a pig trotting before me, with nobody near 
 him ; but as the road was lonely, and myself rather down in heart, I 
 thought, musha ! but yer fine company anyhow, av a body could only 
 keep you with him. But, ye see, a pig saving your presence is a 
 baste not easily flattered, so I didn't waste time and blarney upon him, 
 but I took off my belt, and put it round its neck as neat as need be ;
 
 THE LINES 409 
 
 hut, as the devil's luck would have it, I didn't go half-an-hour when 
 a horse came galloping up hehind me. I turned round, and, by the 
 blessed light, it was Sir Dinny himself was in it ! " 
 
 " Sir Dennis Pack ? " 
 
 " Yes, bad luck to his hook nose. e What are you doing there, my fine 
 fellow ? ' says he. ' What's that you have dragging there behind you ? ' 
 
 " ' A boneen, sir,' says I ; ' isn't he a fine crayture ? av he wasn't so 
 troublesome/ 
 
 " ' Troublesome, troublesome what do you mean ? ' 
 
 " ' Just so/ says I ; ( isn't he parsecuting the life out of me the 
 whole morning, following me about everywhere I go ? Contrary 
 bastes they always was.' 
 
 " ' I advise you to try and part company, my friend, notwithstand- 
 ing/ says he ; 'or maybe it's the same end you'll be coming to, and 
 not long either.' And faix, I took his advice; and ye see, Misther 
 Charles, it's just as I was saying, they're like the women, the least 
 thing in life is enough to bring them after us, av ye only put the 
 f comether' upon them." 
 
 ' ' And now adieu to the Villa Nuova," said I, as I rode slowly down 
 the avenue, turning ever and anon in my saddle to look back on each 
 well-known spot. 
 
 A heavy sigh from Mike responded to my words. 
 
 " A long, a last farewell ! " said I, waving my hand towards the 
 trellised walls, now half hidden by the trees, and as I spoke, that 
 heaviness of the heart came over me that seems inseparable from 
 leave-taking. The hour of parting seems like a warning to us, that all 
 our enjoyments and pleasures here are destined to a short and merely 
 fleeting existence ; and, as each scene of life passes away never to 
 return, we are made to feel that youth and hope are passing with 
 them ; and that, although the fair world be as bright, and its pleasures 
 as rich in abundance, our capacity of enjoyment is daily, hourly 
 diminishing, and while all around us smiles in beauty and happiness, 
 that we, alas ! are not what we were. 
 
 Such was the tenor of my thoughts as I reached the road, when they 
 were suddenly interrupted by my man Mike, whose meditations were 
 following a somewhat similar channel, though at last inclining to 
 different conclusions. He coughed a couple of times as if to attract 
 my attention, and then, as it were, half thinking aloud, he muttered : 
 
 " I wonder if we treated the young ladies well, anyhow, Mister 
 Charles, for, faix, I've my doubts on it." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVI 
 
 THE LINES 
 
 WHKN we reached Lescas, we found that an officer of Lord Wellington's 
 staff had just arrived from the lines, and was occupied in making 
 known the general order from headquarters ; which set forth, with 
 customary brevity, that the French armies, under the command of
 
 410 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Massena, had retired from their position, and were in full retreat ; the 
 second and third corps, which had been stationed at Villa Franca, 
 having marched during the night of the loth in the direction of Manal. 
 The officers in command of divisions were ordered to repair instantly 
 to Pero Negro, to consult upon a forward movement, Admiral Berkeley 
 being written to, to provide launches to pass over General Hill's, or 
 any other corps which might be selected, to the left bank of the Tagus. 
 All was now excitement, heightened by the unexpected nature of an 
 occurrence which not even speculation had calculated upon. It was 
 but a few days before, and the news had reached Torres Vedras that 
 a powerful reinforcement was in march to join Massena's army, and 
 their advanced guard had actually reached Santarem. The confident 
 expectation was, therefore, that an attack upon the lines was meditated. 
 Now, however, this prospect existed no longer ; for scarcely had the 
 heavy mists of the lowering day disappeared, when the vast plain, so 
 lately peopled by the thickened ranks and dark masses of a great army, 
 was seen in its whole extent deserted and uutenanted. 
 
 The smouldering fires of the pickets alone marked where the troops 
 were posted, but not a man of that immense force was to be seen. 
 General Fane, who had been despatched with a brigade of Portuguese 
 cavalry and some artillery, hung upon the rear of the retiring army, 
 and from him we learned that the enemy were continuing their retreat 
 northward, having occupied Santarem with a strong force to cover the 
 movement. Crawford was ordered to the front with the light division, 
 the whole army following in the same direction, except Hill's corps, 
 which, crossing the river at Velada, was intended to harass the enemy's 
 flank, and assist our future operations. 
 
 Such, in brief, was the state of affairs when I reached Villa Franca 
 towards noon, and received orders to join my regiment, then forming 
 part of Sir Stapleton Cotton's brigade. 
 
 It must be felt to be thoroughly appreciated, the enthusiastic 
 pleasure with which one greets his old corps after some months of 
 separation ; the bounding ecstasy with which the eye rests on the old 
 familiar faces, dear by every association of affection and brotherhood ; 
 the anxious look for this one, and for that ; the thrill of delight sent 
 through the heart as the well-remembered march swells upon the ear ; 
 the very notes of that rough voice, which we have heard amid the 
 crash of battle and the rolling of artillery, speaks softly to our senses, 
 like a father's welcome : from the well-tattered flag that waves above 
 us, to the proud steed of the war-worn trumpeter, each has a niche in 
 our affection. 
 
 If ever there was a corps calculated to increase and foster these 
 sentiments, the 14th Light Dragoons was such. The warm affection, 
 the truly heartfelt regard, which existed among my brother officers, 
 made of our mess a happy home. Our veteran Colonel, grown grey in 
 campaigning, was like a father to us ; while the senior officers, temper- 
 ing the warm blood of impetuous youth with their hard-won experience, 
 threw a charm of peace and tranquillity over all our intercourse that 
 made us happy when together, and taught us to feel that, whether seated 
 around the watch-fire, or charging amid the squadrons of the enemy, 
 we were surrounded by those devoted heart and soul to aid us.
 
 THE LINES 411 
 
 Gallant 14th ! ever first in every gay scheme of youthful jollity, as 
 foremost in the van to meet the foe how happy am I to recall the 
 memory of your bright looks and bold hearts ! of your manly daring 
 and your bold frankness of your merry voices, as I have heard them 
 in the battle or in the bivouac ! Alas, and alas ! that I should indulge 
 such recollections alone ! How few how very few are left of those 
 with whom I trod the early steps of life ! whose bold cheer I have 
 heard above the clashing sabres of the enemy whose broken voice I 
 have listened to above the grave of a comrade. The dark pines of the 
 Pyrenees wave above some ; the burning sands of India cover others ; 
 and the wide plains of Salamanca are now your abiding-place. 
 
 1 ' Here comes O'Malley ! " shouted out a well-known voice, as I rode 
 down the little slope, at the foot of which a group of officers were 
 standing beside their horses. 
 
 " Welcome, thou man of Galway ! " cried Hampden ; " delighted to 
 have you once more amongst us. How confoundedly well the fellow 
 is looking ! " 
 
 "Lisbon beef seems better prog than commissariat biscuit!" said 
 another. 
 
 " A'weel, Charley ? " said my friend the Scotch doctor ; ' ' how's a' wi' 
 ye, man ? Ye seem to thrive on your mishaps ! How cam ye by that 
 braw beastie ye're mounted on ? " 
 
 " A present, Doctor ; the gift of a very warm friend." 
 
 " I hope you invited him to the mess, O'Malley ! For, by Jove, our 
 stables stand in need of his kind offices ! There he goes ! Look at 
 him ! What a slashing pace for a heavy fellow !" This observation 
 was made with reference to a well-known officer on the Commander-in- 
 chief's staff, whose weight some eight-and-twenty stone never was 
 any impediment to his bold riding. 
 
 " Egad, O'Malley, you'll soon be as pretty a light weight as our friend 
 yonder. Ah ! there's a storm going on there ! Here comes the Colonel ! " 
 
 "Well, O'Malley, are you come back to us? Happy to see you, 
 boy ! hope we shall not lose you again in a hurry ! We can't spare 
 the scapegraces ! There's plenty of skirmishing going on ! Crawford 
 always asks for the scapegraces for the pickets !" 
 
 I shook my gallant Colonel's hand, while I acknowledged as best I 
 might his ambiguous compliment. 
 
 " I say, lads," resumed the Colonel ; ' ' squad your men and form on 
 the road ! Lord Wellington's coming down this way to have a look at 
 you ! O'Malley, I have General Crawford's orders to offer you your 
 old appointment on his staff; without you prefer remaining with the 
 regiment !" 
 
 "I can never be sufficiently grateful, sir, to the General; but, in 
 fact, I think that is, I believe " 
 
 " You'd rather be among your own fellows. Out with it, boy ! I 
 like you all the better ! but come, we mustn't let the General know 
 that ; so that I shall forget to tell you all about it. Eh ? isn't that 
 the best ? But join your troop now ; I hear the staff coming this way. " 
 
 As he spoke, a crowd of horsemen were seen advancing towards us 
 at a sharp trot ; their waving plumes and gorgeous aiguillettes denoting 
 their rank as generals of division. In the midst, as they came nearer,
 
 412 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I could distinguish one whom, once seen, there was no forgetting ; his 
 plain blue frock and grey trousers unstrapped beneath his boots, not a 
 little unlike the trim accuracy of costume around him. As he rode to 
 the head of the leading squadron, the staff fell back and he stood alone 
 before us ; for a second there was a dead silence, but the next instant 
 by what impulse tell who can one tremendous cheer burst from the 
 entire regiment. It was like the act of one man ; so sudden, so spon- 
 taneous. While every cheek glowed, and every eye sparkled with 
 enthusiasm, he alone seemed cool and unexcited, as, gently raising his 
 hand, he motioned them to silence. 
 
 " Fourteenth, you are to be where you always desire to be in the 
 advanced guard of the army. I have nothing to say on the subject of 
 your conduct in the field, I know you ; but if in pursuit of the enemy 
 I hear of any misconduct towards the people of the country, or any 
 transgression of the general orders regarding pillage, by G , I'll punish 
 you as severely as the worst corps in the service, and you know me." 
 
 " Oh, tear and ages, listen to that ; and there's to be no plunder after 
 all," said Mickey Free, and for an instant the most I could do was not 
 to burst into a fit of laughter. The word ' ' Forward ! " was given at 
 the moment, and we moved past in close column, while that penetrating 
 eye, which seemed to read our very thoughts, scanned us from one end 
 of the line to the other. 
 
 " I say, Charley," said the captain of my troop in a whisper, ' c I say, 
 that confounded cheer we gave got us that lesson ; he can't stand that 
 kind of thing." 
 
 " By Jove ! I never felt more disposed than to repeat it," said I. 
 
 (( No, no, my boy, we'll give him the honours, nine times nine ; but 
 wait till evening. Look at old Merivale there. I'll swear he's saying 
 something devilish civil to him. Do you see the old fellow's happy look?" 
 
 And so it was ; the bronzed hard-cast features of the veteran soldier 
 were softened into an expression of almost boyish delight, as he sat, 
 bare-headed, bowing to his very saddle, while Lord Wellington was 
 speaking. 
 
 As I looked, my heart throbbed painfully against my side, my breath 
 came quick, and I muttered to myself, " What would I not give to be in 
 his place now ! " 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVII 
 
 THE RETREAT OP THE FRENCH 
 
 IT is not my intention, were I even adequate to the task, to trace with 
 anything like accuracy the events of the war at this period. In fact, 
 to those who, like myself, were performing a mere subaltern character, 
 the daily movements of our own troops, not to speak of the continual 
 changes of the enemy, were perfectly unknown, and an English news- 
 paper was more ardently longed for in the Peninsula, than by the 
 most eager crowd of a London coffee-room ; nay, the results of the 
 very engagements we were ourselves concerned in, more than once, 
 first reached us through the press of our own country. It is easy
 
 THE RETREAT OF THE FRENCH 413 
 
 enough to understand this. The officer in command of u regiment, 
 and how much more the captain of a troop, or the subaltern under 
 him, knows nothing beyond the sphere of his own immediate duty ; 
 by the success or failure of his own party his knowledge is bounded, 
 but how far he or his may influence the fortune of the day, or of what 
 is taking place elsewhere, he is totally ignorant ; and an old 14th man 
 did not badly explain his ideas on the matter, who described Busaco 
 as ' ' a great noise and a great smoke, booming artillery and rattling 
 small-arms, infernal confusion, and to all seeming incessant blundering, 
 orders and counter-orders, ending with a crushing charge, when, not 
 being hurt himself nor having hurt anybody, he felt much pleased to 
 learn that they had gained a victory." It is then sufficient for all the 
 purposes of my narrative, when I mention that Massena continued his 
 retreat by Santarem and Thomar, followed by the allied army, who, 
 however desirous of pressing upon the rear of their enemy, were still 
 obliged to maintain their communication with the lines, and also to 
 watch the movement of the large armies which, under Ney and Soult, 
 threatened at any unguarded moment to attack them in flank. 
 
 The position which Massena occupied at Santarem, naturally one 
 of great strength, and further improved by iiitrenchments, defied any 
 attack on the part of Lord Wellington, until the arrival of the long- 
 expected reinforcements from England. These had sailed in the early 
 part of January, but, delayed by adverse winds, only reached Lisbon 
 on the 2nd of March, and so correctly was the French marshal apprised 
 of the circumstance, and so accurately did he anticipate the probable 
 result, that on the 4th he broke up his encampment, and recommenced 
 his retrograde movement, with an army now reduced to 40,000 fighting 
 men, and with 2000 sick ; destroying all his baggage and guns that could 
 not be horsed. By a demonstration of advancing upon the Zezere, by 
 which he held the Allies in check, he succeeded in passing his wounded 
 to the rear, while Ney, appearing with a large force suddenly at Leiria, 
 seemed bent upon attacking the lines : by these stratagems two days' 
 march were gained, and the French retreated upon Torres Novas and 
 Thomar, destroying the bridges behind them as they passed. 
 
 The day was breaking on the 12th of March, when the British first 
 came in sight of the retiring enemy. We were then ordered to the 
 front, and, broken up into small parties, threw out our skirmishers. 
 The French Chasseurs, usually not indisposed to accept this species of 
 encounter, showed now less of inclination than usual, and either re- 
 treated before us, or hovered in masses to check our advance ; in this 
 way the morning was passed, when towards noon we perceived that 
 the enemy was drawn up in battle array, occupying the height above 
 the village of Redinha. This little straggling village is situated in a 
 hollow traversed by a narrow causeway, which opens by a long and 
 dangerous defile upon a bridge ; on either side of which a dense wood 
 afforded a shelter for light troops, while upon the commanding emi- 
 nence above a battery of heavy guns was seen in position. 
 
 In front of the village a brigade of artillery and a division of in- 
 fantry were drawn up so skilfully as to give the appearance of a con- 
 siderable force ; so that when Lord Wellington came up, he spent some 
 time in examining the enemy's position. Erskiue's brigade was imme-
 
 414 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 diately ordered up, and the 52nd and 94th, and a company of the 43rd, 
 were led against the wooded slopes upon the French right. Picton 
 simultaneously attacked the left, and in less than an hour both were 
 successful, and Ney's position was laid bare : his skirmishers, however, 
 continued to hold their ground in front, and La Ferriere, a Colonel of 
 Hussars, dashing boldly forward at this very moment, carried off four- 
 teen prisoners from the very front of our line. Deceived by the con- 
 fidence of the enemy, Lord Wellington now prepared for an attack in 
 force. The infantry were therefore formed into line, and, at the signal 
 of three shots fired from the centre, began their foremost movement. 
 
 Bending up a gentle curve, the whole plain glistened with the glanc- 
 ing bayonets, and the troops marched majestically onward ; while the 
 light artillery and the cavalry bounding forward from the left and 
 centre rushed eagerly towards the foe. One deafening discharge from 
 the French guns opened at the moment, with a general volley of small 
 arms. The smoke for an instant obscured everything ; and when that 
 cleared away, no enemy was to be seen. 
 
 The British pressed madly on, like heated bloodhounds ; but, when 
 they descended the slope, the village of Redinha was in flames, and 
 the French in full retreat beyond it. A single howitzer seemed our 
 only trophy, and even this we were not destined to boast of, for from 
 the midst of the crashing flame and dense smoke of the burning village, a 
 troop of dragoons rushed forward, and, charging our infantry, carried it 
 off. The struggle, though but for a moment, cost them dear : twenty 
 of their comrades lay dead upon the spot ; but they were resolute and 
 determined, and the officer who led them on, fighting hand to hand with 
 a soldier of the 42nd, cheered them as they retired. His gallant bear- 
 ing, and his coat covered with decorations, bespoke him one of note, 
 and well it might : he who thus perilled his life to maintain the courage 
 of his soldiers at the commencement of a retreat was no other than 
 Ney himself, le plus brave des braves. The British pressed hotly on, 
 and the light troops crossed the river almost at the same time with the 
 French. Ney, however, fell back upon Condeixa, where his main body 
 was posted, and all further pursuit was for the present abandoned. 
 
 At Casa Noval and at Foz d'Aronce the Allies were successful : but 
 the French still continued to retire, burning the towns and villages in 
 their rear, and devastating the country along the whole line of march 
 by every expedient of cruelty the heart of man has ever conceived. 
 In the words of one whose descriptions, however fraught with the 
 most wonderful power of painting, are equally marked by truth : 
 " Every horror that could make war hideous attended this dreadful 
 march. Distress, conflagration, death in all modes from wounds, from 
 fatigue, from water, from the flames, from starvation vengeance, un- 
 limited vengeance was on every side. " The country was a desert ! 
 
 Such was the exhaustion of the Allies, who suffered even greater 
 privations than the enemy, that they halted upon the 16th, unable to 
 proceed further, and the river Ceira, swollen and unfordable, flowed 
 between the rival armies. 
 
 The repose of even one day was a most grateful interruption, to the 
 harassing career we had pursued for some time past ; and it seemed 
 that my comrades felt, like myself, that such an opportunity was by
 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 415 
 
 no means to be neglected ; but, while I am devoting so much space 
 and trespassing on my reader's patience thus far with narrative of flood 
 and field, let me steal a chapter for what will sometimes seem a scarcely 
 less congenial topic, and bring back the recollection of a glorious night 
 in the Peninsula. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVII1 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 
 
 THE reveille had not yet sounded, when I felt my shoulder shaken 
 gently as I lay wrapped in my cloak beneath a prickly pear tree. 
 
 " Lieutenant O'Malley, sir ; a letter, sir ; a bit of a note, your 
 honour," said a voice that bespoke the bearer and myself were country- 
 men. I opened it, and with difficulty by the uncertain light read as 
 follows : 
 
 CHARLEY, As Lord Wellington, like a good Irishman as he 
 is, wouldn't spoil Patrick's Day by marching, we've got a little dinner 
 at our quarters to celebrate the holy times, as my uncle would call it. 
 Maurice, Phil Grady, and some regular trumps, will all come ; so don't 
 disappoint us. I've been making punch all night, and Casey, who has 
 a knack at pastry, has made a goose-pie as big as a portmanteau. Sharp 
 seven, after parade. The second battalion of the Fusiliers are quar- 
 tered at Melante, and we are next them. Bring any of yours worth 
 their liquor. Power is, I know, absent with the staff; perhaps the 
 Scotch doctor would come try him. Carry over a little mustard with 
 you, if there be such in your parts. Yours, 
 
 " D. O'SHAUGHNESSY." 
 ce Patrick's Day, and raining like blazes." 
 
 Seeing that the bearer expected an answer, I scrawled the words, 
 " I'm there " with my pencil on the back of the note, and again turned 
 myself round to sleep. My slumbers were, however, soon interrupted 
 once more ; for the bugles of the light infantry, and the hoarse trumpet 
 of the cavalry sounded the call, and I found to my surprise that, 
 though halted, we were by no means destined to a day of idleness. 
 Dragoons were already mounted carrying orders hither and thither, 
 and staff-officers were galloping right and left. A general order com- 
 manded an inspection of the troops, and within less than an hour from 
 daybreak the whole army was drawn up under arms. A thin, drizzling 
 rain continued to fall during the early part of the day, but the sun 
 gradually dispelled the heavy vapour ; and, as the bright verdure 
 glittered in its beams, sending up all the perfumes of a southern clime, 
 I thought I had never seen a more lovely morning. The staff were 
 stationed upon a little knoll beside the river, round the base of which 
 the troops defiled, at first in orderly, then in quick time, the bands 
 playing, and the colours flying. In the same brigade with us the 88th 
 came, and as they neared the Commander-in-Chief, their quick step 
 was suddenly stopped, and, after a pause of a few seconds, the band 
 struck up " St. Patrick's Day," the notes were caught up by the other
 
 416 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Irish regiments, and, amid one prolonged cheer from the whole line, 
 the gallant fellows moved past. 
 
 The grenadier company were drawn up beside the road, and I was not 
 long in detecting my friend O'Shaughnessy, who wore a tremendous 
 shamrock in his shako. " Left face, wheel ! quick, march ! Don't forget 
 the mustard ! " said the bold Major ; and a loud roar of laughing from 
 my brother officers followed him off the ground. I soon explained the 
 injunction, and having invited some three or four to accompany me to 
 the dinner, waited with all patience for the conclusion of the parade. 
 
 The sun was setting as I mounted, and, joined by Hampden, Baker, 
 the Doctor, and another, set out for O'Shaughuessy's quarters. As 
 we rode along, we were continually falling in with others bent upon 
 the same errand as ourselves, and ere we arrived at Melante our party 
 was some thirty strong ; and truly a most extraordinary procession 
 did we form. Few of the invited came without some contribution to 
 the general stock ; and, while a staff-officer nourished a ham, a smart 
 hussar might be seen with a plucked turkey, trussed for roasting ; 
 most carried bottles, as the consumption of fluid was likely to be con- 
 siderable ; and one fat old major jogged along on a broken- winded 
 pony, with a basket of potatoes on his arm. Good fellowship was the 
 order of the day, and certainly a more jovial squadron seldom was met 
 together than ours. As we turned the angle of a rising ground a 
 hearty cheer greeted us, and we beheld in front of an old ordnance 
 marquee a party of some fifty fellows engaged in all the pleasing 
 duties of the cuisine. Maurice, conspicuous above all, with a white 
 apron and a ladle in his hand, was running hither and thither, advising, 
 admonishing, instructing, and occasionally imprecating. Ceasing for a 
 second his function, he gave us a cheer and a yell like that of an Indian 
 savage, and then resumed his duties beside a huge boiler, which, from the 
 frequency of his explorations into its contents, we judged to be punch. 
 
 " Charley, my son, I've a place for you ; don't forget. Where's my 
 learned brother ? haven't you brought him with you ? Ah, Doctor, 
 how goes it ? " 
 
 " Nae that bad, Master Quell ; a' things considered, we've had an 
 awfu' time of it lately." 
 
 " You know my friend Hampden, Maurice. Let me introduce Mr. 
 Baker Mr. Maurice Quill. Where's the Major ? " 
 
 " Here I am, my darling, and delighted to see you. Some of yours, 
 O'Malley, ain't they ? Proud to have you, gentlemen. Charley, we 
 are obliged to have several tables ; but you are to be beside Maurice, 
 so take your friends with you. There goes the ' Roast Beef; my 
 heart warms to that old tune." 
 
 Amid a hurried recognition, and shakings of hands on every side, I 
 elbowed my way into the tent, and soon reached a corner, where, at a 
 table for eight, I found Maurice seated at one end ; a huge, purple- 
 faced old major, whom he presented to us as Bob Mahou, occupied the 
 other. O'Shaughnessy presided at the table next us, but near enough 
 to join in all the conviviality of ours. 
 
 One must have lived for some months upon hard biscuit and harder 
 beef to relish as we did the fare before us, and to form an estimate of 
 our satisfaction. If the reader cannot fancy Van Amburgh's lions in
 
 tvtr l>vti /Sr
 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 417 
 
 red coats and epaulettes, he must be content to lose the effect of the 
 picture. A turkey rarely fed more than two people, and few were 
 abstemious enough to be satisfied with one chicken. The order of the 
 viands, too, observed no common routine, each party being happy to 
 get what he could, and satisfied to follow up his pudding with fish, or his 
 tart with a sausage. Sherry, champagne, London porter, Malaga, and 
 even, I believe, Harvey's sauce, were hobnobbed in ; while hot punch, 
 in tea-cups or tin vessels, was unsparingly distributed on all sides. 
 Achilles himself, they say, got tired of eating, and though he consumed 
 something like a prize ox to his own cheek, he at length had to call for 
 cheese, so that we at last gave in, and having cleared away the broken 
 tumbrels and baggage-carts of our army, cleared for a general action. 
 
 " Now, lads," cried the Major, e< I'm not going to lose your time and 
 mine by speaking, but there are a couple of toasts I must insist upon 
 your drinking with all the honours ; and, as I like despatch, we'll 
 couple them. It so happens that our old island boasts of two of the 
 finest fellows that ever wore Russia ducks. None of your nonsensical 
 geniuses, like poets, or painters, or anything like that ; but downright, 
 straightforward, no humbug sort of devil-may-care and bad-luck-to- 
 you kind of chaps real Irishmen ! Now it's a strange thing that they 
 both had such an antipathy to vermin, they spent their life in hunting 
 them down and destroying them ; and whether they met toads at 
 home, or Johnny Crapaud abroad, it was all one. (Cheers. ) Just so, 
 boys ; they made them leave that ; but I see you are impatient, so I'll 
 not delay you, but fill to the brim, and with the best cheer in your 
 body, drink with me the two greatest Irishmen that ever lived ' St. 
 Patrick and Lord Wellington.' " 
 
 The Englishmen laughed long and loud, while we cheered with an 
 energy that satisfied even the Major. 
 
 " Who is to give us the chant ? Who is to sing St. Patrick ? " cried 
 Maurice. " Come, Bob, out with it." 
 
 1 ' I'm four tumblers too low for that yet, ""growled out the Major. 
 
 " Well, then, Charley, be you the man ; or why not Dennis himself? 
 Come, Dennis, we cannot better begin our evening than with a song ; 
 let us have our old friend Larry M'Hale." 
 
 <f Larry M'Hale," resounded from all parts of the room, while 
 O'Shaughnessy rose once more to his legs. 
 
 " Faith, boys, I'm always ready to follow your lead, but what analogy 
 can exist been Larry M'Hale and the toast we have just drunk I can't 
 see, for the life of me ; not but Larry would have made a strapping 
 light company man had he joined the army." 
 
 ' ( The song, the song ! " cried several voices. 
 
 "Well, if you will have it, here goes." 
 
 "LARRY M'HALE." 
 
 Air " It's a lit of a thing" ttc. 
 
 ' Oh ! Larry M'Hale he had little to fear, 
 
 And never could want when the crops didn't fail, 
 
 He'd a house and demesne and eight hundred a year, 
 
 And the heart for to spend it, had Larry M'Hale ! 
 
 2 D
 
 418 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 The soul of a party, the life of a feast, 
 
 And an illigant song he could sing, I'll be bail ; 
 
 He would ride with the rector, and drink with the priest, 
 Oh ! the broth of a boy was old Larry M'Hale. 
 
 It's little he cared for the judge or recorde_r, 
 
 His house was as big and as strong as a jail ; 
 With a cruel four-pounder, he kept all in great order, 
 
 He'd murder the country, would Larry M'Hale. 
 He'd a blunderbuss too : of horse pistols a pair ; 
 
 But his favourite weapon was always a flail ; 
 I wish you could see how he'd empty a fair, 
 
 For he handled it neatly, did Larry M'Hale. 
 
 His ancestors were kings before Moses was born, 
 
 His mother descended from great Grana Uaile : 
 He laughed all the Blakes and the Frenches to scorn ; 
 
 They were mushrooms compared to old Larry M'Hale. 
 He sat down every day to a beautiful dinner, 
 
 With cousins and uncles enough for a tail ; 
 And though loaded with debt, oh ! the devil a thinner 
 
 Could law or the sheriff make Larry M'Hale. 
 
 With a larder supplied and a cellar well stored, 
 
 None lived half so well, from Fair-Head to Kinsale ; 
 As he piously said, ' I've a plentiful board, 
 
 And the Lord He is good to old Larry M'Hale.' 
 So fill up your glass, and a high bumper give him, 
 
 It's little we'd care for the tithes or repale ; 
 For ould Erin would be a fine country to live in, 
 
 If we only had plenty, like LARKY M'HALE." 
 
 " Very singular style of person, your friend Mr. M'Hale," lisped a 
 spooney-looking cornet at the end of the table. 
 
 " Not in the country he belongs to, I assure you," said Maurice ; 
 " but I presume you were never in Ireland." 
 
 "You are mistaken there," resumed the other; "I was in Ireland, 
 though I confess not for a long time." 
 
 " If I might be so bold," cried Maurice, " how long ? " 
 
 " Half-an-hour, by a stop-watch," said the other, pulling up his stock ; 
 " and I had quite enough of it in that time." 
 
 ' e Pray give us your experiences," cried out Bob Mahon ; l ' they 
 should be interesting, considering your opportunities." 
 
 " You are right," said the cornet ; " they were so ; and as they 
 illustrate a feature in your amiable country, you shall have them." 
 
 A general knocking upon the table announced the impatience of the 
 company, and when silence was restored the cornet began : 
 
 " When the Bermuda transport sailed from Portsmouth for Lisbon 
 I happened to make one of some four hundred interesting individuals 
 who, before they became food for powder, were destined to try their 
 constitutions on pickled pork. The second day after our sailing, the 
 winds became adverse ; it blew a hurricane from every corner of the 
 compass but the one it ought, and the good ship, that should have been 
 standing straight for the Bay of Biscay, was scudding away under a 
 double-reefed topsail towards the coast of Labrador. For six days we 
 experienced every sea-manoeuvre that usually preludes a shipwreck ;
 
 and at length when, what from sea-sickness and fear, we had become 
 utterly indifferent to the result, the storm abated, the sea went down, 
 and we found ourselves lying comfortably in the harbour of Cork, with 
 a strange suspicion on our minds that the frightful scenes of the past 
 week had been nothing but a dream. 
 
 " ( Come, Mr. Medlicot,' said the skipper to me, ' we shall be here for 
 a couple of days to refit ; had you not better go ashore and see the 
 country ? ' 
 
 " I sprang to my legs with delight ; visions of cowslips, larks, daisies, 
 and mutton chops floated before my excited imagination, and in ten 
 minutes I found myself standing at that pleasant little inn at Cove 
 which, opposite Spike Island, rejoices in the name of the Goat and 
 Garters. 
 
 " ' Breakfast, waiter,' said I ; ' a beefsteak fresh beef, mark ye ; 
 fresh eggs, bread, milk, and butter, all fresh.' No more hard tack, 
 thought I, no salt butter, but a genuine land breakfast. 
 
 " ' Upstairs, No. 4, sir,' said the waiter, as he flourished a dirty 
 napkin, indicating the way. 
 
 " Upstairs I went, and in due time the appetising little dejeuner made 
 its appearance. Never did a minor's eye revel over his broad acres 
 with more complacent enjoyment than did mine skim over the mutton 
 and the muffin, the teapot, the trout, and the devilled kidney, so in- 
 vitingly spread out before me. Yes, thought I, as I smacked my lips, 
 this is the reward of virtue ; pickled pork is a probationary state that 
 admirably fits us for future enjoyments. I arranged my napkin upon 
 my knee, seized my knife and fork, and proceeded with most critical 
 acumen to bisect a beefsteak. Scarcely, however, had I touched it, 
 when with a loud crash the plate smashed beneath it, and the gravy 
 ran piteously across the cloth. Before I had time to account for the 
 phenomenon the door opened hastily, and the waiter rushed into the 
 room, his face beaming with smiles, while he rubbed his hands in an 
 ecstasy of delight. 
 
 " ( It's all over, sir,' said he, ' glory be to God ! it's all done.' 
 
 " ' What's over ? what's done ? ' inquired I, with impatience. 
 
 "'Mr. M'Mahon is satisfied,' replied he, 'and so is the other 
 gentleman.' 
 
 " ' Who and what the devil do you mean ? ' 
 
 " ' It's over, sir, I say,' replied the waiter again ; ' he fired in the air.' 
 
 " ' Fired in the air ! Was there a duel in the room below stairs ? ' 
 
 " ( Yes, sir,' said the waiter, with a benign smile. 
 
 "'That will do,' said I, as, seizing my hat, I rushed out of the 
 house, and hurrying to the beach, took a boat for the ship. Exactly 
 half-an-hour had elapsed since my landing, but even those short thirty 
 minutes had fully as many reasons that, although there may be few 
 more amusing, there are some safer places to live in than the green 
 island." 
 
 A general burst of laughter followed the cornet's story, which was 
 heightened in its effect by the gravity with which he told it. 
 
 " And, after all," said Maurice Quill, " now that people have given 
 up making fortunes for the insurance companies, by living to the age 
 of Methuselah, there's nothing like being an Irishman. In what other
 
 420 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 part of the habitable globe can you cram so much of adventure into 
 one year ? Where can you be so often in love, in liquor, or in debt ? 
 and where can you get so merrily out of the three? Where are 
 promises to marry and promises to pay treated with the same gentle- 
 manlike forbearance ? and where, when you have lost your heart and 
 your fortune, are people found so ready to comfort you in your 
 reverses? Yes," said Maurice, as he filled his glass up to the brim, 
 and eyed it lusciously for a moment, ' e yes, darling, here's your 
 health ; the only girl I ever loved in that part of the country J mean. 
 Give her a bumper, lads, and I'll give you a chant ! " 
 
 " Name ! name ! name ! " shouted several voices from different parts 
 of the table. 
 
 "Mary Draper !" said Maurice, filling his glass once more, while 
 the name was re-echoed by every lip at table. 
 
 " The song ! the song ! " 
 
 " Faith, I hope I haven't forgotten it," quoth Maurice. " No ; here 
 it is." 
 
 So saying, after a couple of efforts to assure the pitch of his voice, the 
 worthy Doctor began the following words to that very popular melody, 
 " Nancy Dawson " : 
 
 "MARY DRAPER." 
 
 " Don't talk to me of London dames, 
 Nor rave about your foreign flames, 
 That never lived, except in drames, 
 
 Nor shone, except on paper ; 
 I'll sing you 'bout a girl I knew, 
 Who lived in Ballywhacmacrew, 
 And, let me tell you, mighty few 
 
 Could equal Mary Draper. 
 
 Her cheeks were red, her eyes were blue, 
 Her hair was brown, of deepest hue, 
 Her foot was small, and neat to view, 
 
 Her waist was slight and taper ; 
 Her voice was music to your ear, 
 A lovely brogue, so rich and clear, 
 Oh, the like I ne'er again shall hear 
 
 As from sweet Mary Draper. 
 
 She'd ride a wall, she'd drive a team, 
 
 Or with a fly she'd whip a stream, 
 
 Or maybe sing you ' Rousseau's Dream,' 
 
 For nothing could escape her ; 
 I've seen her too upon my word 
 At sixty yards bring down her bird. 
 Oh ! she charmed all the Forty-third ! 
 
 Did lovely Mary Draper. 
 
 And at the spring assizes ball, 
 The junior bar would one and all 
 For all her fav'rite dances call, 
 
 And Harry Deane would caper ; 
 Lord Clare would then forget his lore, 
 King's Counsel, voting law a bore, 
 Were proud to figure on the floor, 
 
 For love of Mary Draper.
 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 421 
 
 The parson, priest, sub-sheriff too, 
 Were all her slaves, and so would you, 
 If you had only but one view 
 
 Of such a face and shape, or 
 Her pretty ankles but, ohone, 
 It's only west of old Athlone 
 Such girls were found and now they're gone ; 
 
 So here's to Mary Draper." 
 
 ' ' So here's to Mary Draper ! " sang out every voice, in such efforts 
 to catch the tune as pleased the taste of the motley assembly. 
 
 " For Mary Draper and Co. I thank you," said Maurice. " Quill 
 drinks to Dennis," added he in a grave tone, as he nodded to O'Shaugh- 
 nessy. " Yes, Shaugh, few men better than ourselves know these 
 matters, and few have had more experience of the three perils of 
 Irishmen love, liquor, and the law of arrest" 
 
 "It's little the latter has ever troubled my father's son," replied 
 O'Shaughnessy ; " our family have been writ proof for centuries, and 
 he'd have been a bold man who would have ventured with an original 
 or a true copy within the precincts of Killinahoula." 
 
 " Your father had a touch of Larry M'Hule in him," said I, 
 " apparently." 
 
 " Exactly so," replied Dennis ; "not but they caught him at last; 
 and a scurvy trick it was, and well worthy of him who did it ! Yes," 
 said he, with a sigh, " it is only another among the many instances 
 where the better features of our nationality have been used by our 
 enemies as instruments for our destruction ; and, should we seek for 
 the causes of unhappiness in our wretched country, we should find 
 them rather in our virtues than in our vices, and in the bright rather 
 than in the darker phases of our character." 
 
 "Metaphysics, by Jove !" cried Quill; "but all true at the same 
 time. There was a messmate of mine in the Roscommon, who never 
 paid car-hire in his life. f Head or harp, Paddy ! ' he would cry. ' Two 
 tenpennies or nothing.' ' Harp ! for the honour of ould Ireland,' was 
 the invariable response, and my friend was equally sure to make head 
 come uppermost ; and, upon my soul, they seem to know the trick at 
 the Home Office." 
 
 " That must have been the same fellow that took my father," cried 
 O'Shaughnessy with energy. 
 
 " Let us hear the story, Dennis," said I. 
 
 ee Yes," said Maurice, " for the benefit of self and fellows, let us hear 
 the stratagem ! " 
 
 "The way of it was this," resumed O'Shaughnessy; "my father, 
 who, for reasons registered in the King's. Bench, spent a great many 
 years of his life in that part of Ireland geographically known as lying 
 west of the law, was obliged for certain reasons of family to come up 
 to Dublin. This he proceeded to do with due caution ; two trusty 
 servants formed an advanced guard, and patrolled the country for at 
 least five miles in advance ; after them came a skirmishing body of a 
 few tenants, who, for the consideration of never paying rent, would 
 have charged the whole Court of Chancery, if needful. My father 
 himself, in an old chaise victualled like a fortress, brought up the
 
 422 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 rear ; and, as I said before, he were a bold man who would have 
 attempted to have laid siege to him. As the column advanced into 
 the enemy's country, they assumed a closer order, the patrol and the 
 picket falling back upon the main body ; and in this way they reached 
 that most interesting city called Kilbeggan. What a fortunate thing 
 it is for us in Ireland that we can see so much of the world without 
 foreign travel, and that any gentleman for six-and-eightpence can 
 leave Dublin in the morning and visit Timbuctoo against dinner- 
 time ! Don't stare ! it's truth I'm telling ; for dirt, misery, smoke, 
 unaffected behaviour, and black faces, I'll back Kilbeggan against all 
 Africa ; free-and-easy pleasant people ye are, with a skin as begrimed 
 and as rugged as your own potatoes ! But to resume : the sun was 
 just rising in a delicious morning of June, when my father whose 
 loyal antipathies I have mentioned made him also an early riser was 
 preparing for the road. A stout escort of his followers were as usual 
 under arms to see him safe in the chaise, the passage to and from 
 which every day being the critical moment of my father's life. 
 
 ' ' ' It's all right, your honour,' said his own man as, armed with a 
 blunderbuss, he opened the bedroom door. 
 
 ' ' e Time enough, Tim,' said my father ; e close the door, for 1 
 haven't finished my breakfast.' 
 
 ' ' Now, the real truth was that my father's attention was at that 
 moment withdrawn from his own concerns by a scene which was taking 
 place in a field beneath his window. 
 
 " But a few minutes before a hack-chaise had stopped upon the 
 roadside, out of which sprang three gentlemen, who, proceeding into 
 the field, seemed bent upon something which, whether a survey or a 
 duel, my father could not make out. He was not long, however, to 
 remain in ignorance. One with an easy lounging gait strode towards 
 a distant corner ; another took an opposite direction ; while the third, 
 a short pursy gentleman, in a red handkerchief and rabbit-skin waist- 
 coat, proceeded to open a mahogany box, which, to the critical eyes 
 of my respected father, was agreeably suggestive of bloodshed and 
 murder. 
 
 " ' A duel, by Jupiter ! ' said my father, rubbing his hands. ( What 
 a heavenly morning the scoundrels have ; not a leaf stirring, and a sod 
 like a billiard table.' 
 
 " Meanwhile the little man, who officiated as second, it would appear, 
 to both parties, bustled about with an activity little congenial to his 
 shape ; and, what between snapping the pistols, examining the flints, 
 and ramming down the charges, had got himself into a sufficient per- 
 spiration before he commenced to measure out the ground. 
 
 " ' Short distance and no quarter ! ' shouted one of the combatants 
 from the corner of the field. 
 
 " c Across a handkerchief if you like ! ' roared the other. 
 
 ' ' ' Gentlemen every inch of them ! ' responded my father. 
 
 " ' Twelve paces ! ' cried the little man. ' No more and no less. 
 Don't forget that I am alone in this business ! ' 
 
 ' ' ' A very true remark ! ' observed my father ; ( and an awkward pre- 
 dicament yours will be if they are not both shot ! ' 
 
 " By this time the combatants had taken their places, and the little
 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 423 
 
 man, having delivered the pistols, was leisurely retiring to give the 
 word. My father, however, whose critical eye was never at fault, 
 detected a circumstance which promised an immense advantage to 
 one at the expense of the other ; in fact, one of the parties was so 
 placed with his back to the sun that his shadow extended in a straight 
 line to the very foot of his antagonist. 
 
 ' ' ' Unfair ! unfair ! ' cried my father, opening the window as he 
 spoke, and addressing himself to him of the rabbit-skin. ' I crave your 
 pardon for the interruption,' said he ; ' but I feel bound to observe that 
 that gentleman's shadow is likely to make a shade of him. ' 
 
 " c And so it is/ observed the short man : f a thousand thanks for 
 your kindness ; but the truth is, I am totally unaccustomed to this 
 kind of thing, and the affair will not admit of delay.' 
 
 ' ' ' Not an hour ! ' said one. 
 
 " ' Not five minutes ! ' growled the other of the combatants. 
 
 1 ' e Put them up north and south ! ' said mv father. 
 
 "' Is it thus?' 
 
 " ' Exactly so : but now again the gentleman in the brown coat ia 
 covered with the ash-tree.' 
 
 ' ' ' And so he is ! ' said Rabbit-skin, wiping his forehead with agitation. 
 
 " ' Move them a little to the left,' said he. 
 
 " ' That brings me upon an eminence/ said the gentleman in blue ; 
 ' I'll be d d if I be made a cock-shot of ! ' 
 
 " ' What an awkward little thing it is in the hairy waistcoat ! ' said 
 my father ; ' he's lucky if he don't get shot himself.' 
 
 " ' May I never ! if I'm not sick of you both !' ejaculated Rabbit-skin 
 in a passion. ' I've moved you round every point of the compass, and 
 the devil a nearer we are than ever.' 
 
 " ' Give us the word,' said one. 
 
 "< The word!' 
 
 " ' Downright murder,' said my father. 
 
 " ' I don't care/ said the little man ; ' we shall be here till dooms- 
 day !' 
 
 '"1 can't permit this/ said my father. 'Allow me' so saying, he 
 stepped upon the window-sill, and leaped down into the field. 
 
 " ' Before I can accept of your politeness,' said he of the rabbit-skin, 
 may I beg to know your name and position in society ? ' 
 
 " ' Nothing more reasonable,' said my father. ' I'm Miles O'Shaugh- 
 nessy, Colonel of the Royal Raspers : here is my card.' 
 
 "The piece of pasteboard was complacently handed from one to 
 the other of the party, who saluted my father with a smile of most 
 courteous benignity. 
 
 " ' Colonel O'Shaughnessy/ said one. 
 
 " ' Miles O'Shaughuessy/ said another. 
 
 "' Of Killinahoula Castle/ said the third. 
 
 " ' At your service/ said my father, bowing as he presented his 
 snuff-box : ( and now to business, if you please ; for my time also is 
 limited.' 
 
 " ' Very true/ observed he of the rabbit-skin, ' and, as you observe, 
 now to business ; in virtue of which, Colonel Miles O'Shaughnessy, I 
 hereby arrest you in the King's name. Here is the writ : it's at the
 
 424 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 suit of Barnaby Kelly, of Loughrea, for the sum of 1482, 19s. 7|d., 
 which ' 
 
 c ' Before he could conclude the sentence, my father discharged one 
 obligation by implanting his closed knuckles in his face. The blow, 
 well aimed and well intentioned, sent the little fellow summersetting 
 like a sugar hogshead. But, alas ! it was of no use ; the others, strong 
 and able-bodied, fell both upon him, and after a desperate struggle 
 succeeded in getting him down. To tie his hands and convey him to 
 the chaise was the work of a few moments ; and, as my father drove 
 by the inn, the last object which caught his view was a bloody en- 
 counter between his own people and the myrmidons of the law, who 
 in great numbers had laid siege to the house during his capture. Thus 
 was my father taken ; and thus, in reward for yielding to a virtuous 
 weakness in his character, was he consigned to the ignominious durance 
 of a prison. Was I not right, then, in saying that such is the melan- 
 choly position of our country, the most beautiful traits in our character 
 are converted into the elements of our ruin ? " 
 
 " I dinna think ye hae made out your case, Major," said the Scotch 
 doctor, who felt sorely puzzled at my friend's logic. " If your faether 
 had na gi'en the bond " 
 
 "There is no saying what he wouldn't have done to the bailiffs," 
 interrupted Dennis, who was following up a very different train of 
 reasoning. 
 
 " I fear me, Doctor," observed Quill, ' ( you are very much behind 
 us in Scotland. Not but that some of your chieftains are respectable 
 men, and wouldn't get on badly even in Gal way." 
 
 " I thank ye muckle for the compliment," said the Doctor dryly ; 
 tc but I hae my doubts they'd think it ane, and they're crusty carls 
 that's no' ower safe to meddle wi'." 
 
 " I'd as soon propose a hand of spoiled five to the Pope of Rome as 
 a joke to one of them," returned Maurice. 
 
 "Maybe ye are na wrang there, Maister Quell." 
 
 " Well," cried Hampden, ' ' if I may be allowed an opinion, I can 
 safely aver I know no quarters like Scotland. Edinburgh beyond any- 
 thing or anywhere I was ever placed in." 
 
 " Always after Dublin," interposed Maurice, while a general chorus 
 of voices re-echoed the sentiment. 
 
 "You are certainly a strong majority," said my friend, " against 
 me ; but still I recant not my original opinion. Edinburgh before the 
 world. For a hospitality that never tires ; for pleasant fellows that 
 improve every day of your acquaintance ; for pretty girls that make 
 you long for a repeal of the canon about being only singly blessed, and 
 lead you to long for a score of them ; Edinburgh, I say again, before 
 the world." 
 
 " Their ankles are devilish thick," whispered Maurice. 
 
 f ' A calumny, a base calumny ! " 
 
 " And then they drink " 
 
 "Oh " 
 
 " Yes ; they drink very strong tea. " 
 
 <c Shall we ha'e a glass o' sherry together, Hampden ? " said the Scotch 
 doctor, willing to acknowledge his defence of Auld Reekie.
 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 425 
 
 " And we'll take O'Malley in," said Hampden ; " he looks im- 
 ploringly." 
 
 ' ' And now to return to the charge," quoth Maurice. " In what par- 
 ticular dare ye contend the palm with Dublin? We'll not speak of 
 beauty. I can't suffer any such profane turn in the conversation as to 
 dispute the superiority of Irish women's lips, eyes, noses, and eyebrows, 
 to anything under heaven. We'll not talk of gay fellows ; egad, we 
 needn't. I'll give you the garrison ; a decent present, and I'll back the 
 Irish bar for more genuine drollery, more wit, more epigram, more 
 ready sparkling fun, than the whole rest of the empire ay, and all her 
 colonies can boast of." 
 
 " They are nae remarkable for passing the bottle, if they resemble 
 their very gifted advocate," observed the Scotchman. 
 
 "But they are for filling and emptying both, making its current 
 as it glides by like a rich stream glittering in the sunbeams with the 
 sparkling lustre of their wit. Lord, how I'm blown ! Fill my panni- 
 kin, Charley ; there's no subduing a Scot. Talk with him, drink with 
 him, fight with him, and he'll always have the last of it : there's only 
 one way of concluding the treaty " 
 
 "And that is " 
 
 ' ' Blarney him. Lord bless you, he can't stand it. Tell him Holy- 
 rood's like Versailles, and the Trossachs finer than Mont Blanc ; that 
 Geordie Buchanan was Homer, and the Canongate Herculaneum 
 then we have him on the hip. Now ye never can humbug an Irish- 
 man that way ; he'll know you're quizzing him when you praise his 
 country." 
 
 " Ye are right, Hampden," said the Scotch doctor, in reply to some 
 observation. " We are vara primitive in the Hielands, and we keep to 
 our ain national customs in dress and everything ; and we are vara 
 slow to learn ; and even when we try we are nae ower successfu' in 
 our imitations, which sometimes cost us dearly enough. Ye may have 
 heard, maybe, of the M'Nab o' that ilk, and what happened him with 
 the King's equerry ? " 
 
 " I'm not quite certain," said Hampden, " if I ever heard the story." 
 
 " It's nae muckle of a story ; but the way of it was this : When 
 Montrose came back from London he brought with him a few 
 Englishers to show them the Highlands, and let them see something of 
 deer-stalking. Among the rest, a certain Sir George Sowerby, an aide- 
 de-camp or an equerry of the Prince. He was a vara fine gentleman, 
 that never loaded his ain gun, and a'most thought it too much trouble 
 to pull the trigger. He went out every morning to shoot with his hair 
 curled like a woman, and dressed like a dancing-master. Now, there 
 happened to be at the same time at the Castle the Laird o' M'Nab ; he 
 was a kind of cousin of the Montrose, and a rough old tyke of the 
 true Highland breed wha* thought that the head of a clan was fully 
 equal to any king or prince. He sat opposite to Sir George at dinner 
 the day of his arrival, and could not conceal his surprise at the many 
 new-fangled ways of feeding himself the Englisher adopted. He ate 
 his saumon wi' his fork in ae hand, and a bittock of bread in the other ; 
 he would na touch the whisky ; helped himself to a cutlet wi' his 
 fingers ; but, what was maist extraordinary of all, he wore a pair of
 
 426 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 braw white gloves during the whole time o' dinner ; and, when they 
 came to tak away the cloth, he drew them off with a great air, and 
 threw them into the middle of it, and then, leisurely taking anither 
 pair off a silver salver which his ain man presented, he pat them on 
 for the dessert The M'Nab, who, although an auld-fashioned carle, 
 was aye fond of bringing something new hame to his friends, remarked 
 the Englisher's proceeding with great care, and the next day he ap- 
 peared at dinner wi' a huge pair of Highland mittens, which he wore 
 to the astonishment of all and the amusement of most, through the 
 whole three courses ; and exactly as the Englishman changed his 
 gloves, the M'Nab produced a fresh pair of goat's wool, four times as 
 large as the first, which, drawing on with prodigious gravity, he threw 
 the others into the middle of the cloth, remarking as he did so : 
 
 " ( Ye see, Captain, we are never ower auld to learn.' 
 . " All propriety was now at an end, and a hearty burst of laughter from 
 one end of the table to the other convulsed the whole company ; the 
 M^Nab and the Englishman being the only persons who did not join 
 in it, but sat glowering at each other like twa tigers : and, indeed, 
 it needed a' the Montrose's interference that they had na quarrelled 
 upon it in the morning." 
 
 ; "The M'Nab was a man after my own heart," said Maurice ; "there 
 was something very Irish in the lesson he gave the Englishman." 
 
 1 ' I'd rather ye'd told him that than me," said the Doctor dryly ; 
 "he would na hae thanked ye for mistaking him for ane of your 
 countrymen." 
 
 " Come, Doctor ! " said Dennis, ' ' could not ye give us a stave ? 
 Have ye nothing that smacks of the brown fern and the blue lakes in 
 your memory?' 
 
 " I have ua a sang in my mind just noo except ' Johnny Cope ' ; which 
 maybe might na be ower pleasant for the Englishers to listen to." 
 
 " I never heard a Scotch song worth sixpence," quoth Maurice, who 
 seemed bent on provoking the Doctor's ire. " They contain nothing 
 save some puling sentimentality about lasses with lint-white locks, or 
 some absurd laudations of the barley bree." 
 
 " Hear till him ! hear till him ! said the Doctor, reddening with 
 impatience. 
 
 " Show me anything," said Maurice, " like the ' Cruiskeen Lawn ' 
 or the ' Jug of Punch ' ; but who can blame them after all ? You can't 
 expect much from a people with an imagination as naked as their own 
 knees." 
 
 "Maurice, Maurice!" cried O'Shaughnessy reprovingly, who saw 
 that he was pushing the other's endurance beyond all bounds. 
 
 ' ' I mind weel," said the Scotchman, ' ' what happened to ane o' your 
 countrymen wha took upon him to jest as you are doing now. It was 
 to Laurie Cameron he did it" 
 
 c ' And what said the redoubted Laurie in reply ? " 
 
 " He did na say muckle, but he did something." 
 
 " And what might it be ? " inquired Maurice. 
 
 " He threw him over the brig of Ayr into the water, and he was 
 drowned !" 
 
 " And did Laurie come to no harm about the matter? "
 
 PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA 427 
 
 " Ay ! they tried him for it and found him guilty ; but when they 
 asked him what he had to say in his defence, he merely replied, ' When 
 the carle sneered about Scotland I did na suspect that he did na ken 
 how to swim ; ' and so the end of it was they did naething to Laurie. " 
 
 ' ' Cool that, certainly/' said I. 
 
 ' ' I prefer your friend with the mittens, I confess," said Maurice ; 
 " though I'm sure both were most agreeable companions. But come, 
 Doctor, couldn't you give us 
 
 " ' Sit ye down my heartie, and gie us a crack, 
 
 Let the wind tak' the care o' the world on his back.' " 
 
 "You mauna attempt English poethry, my freend Quell; for it 
 must be confessed ye've a damnable accent of your ain." 
 
 f ' Milesian-Phcenician-Corkacian : nothing more, my boy ; and a 
 coaxing kind of recitative it is, after all. Don't tell me of your soft 
 Etruscan your plethoric Hoch Deutsch your flattering French. To 
 woo and win the girl of your heart, give me a rich brogue and the 
 least taste in life of blarney ! 
 
 " There's nothing like it, believe me every inflection of your voice 
 suggesting some tender pressure of her soft hand or taper waist ; every 
 cadence falling upon her gentle heart like a sea-breeze on a burning 
 coast, or a soft sirocco over a rose-tree ; and then think, my boys 
 and it is a fine thought after all what a glorious gift that is, out of 
 the reach of kings to give or to take, what neither depends upon the 
 Act of Union nor the Habeas Corpus. No ! they may starve us 
 laugh at us tax us transport us. They may take our mountains, 
 our valleys, and our bogs ; but, bad luck to them, they can't steal our 
 ' blarney ' ; that's the privilege one and indivisible with our identity ; 
 and while an Englishman raves of his liberty a Scotchman of his 
 oatmeal blarney's our birthright, and a prettier portion I'd never ask 
 to leave behind me to my sons. If I'd as large a family as the ould 
 gentleman, called Priam, we used to hear of at school, it's the only 
 inheritance I'd give them ; and one comfort there would be besides 
 the legacy duty would be only a trifle. Charley, my son, I see you're 
 listening to me, and nothing satisfies me more than to instruct aspiring 
 youth ; so never forget the old song 
 
 " 'If at your ease the girls you'd please, 
 And win them, like Kate Kearney, 
 There's but one way, I've heard them say 
 Go kiss the " Stone of Blarney." ' 
 
 ' ' What do you say, Shaugh, if we drink it with all the honours ? " 
 
 " But, gently : do I hear a trumpet there? " 
 
 ' ' Ah, there go the bugles. Can it be daybreak already ? " 
 
 1 ' How short the nights are at this season ! " said Quill. 
 
 ee What an infernal rumpus they're making ! it's not possible the 
 troops are to march so early ? " 
 
 ' ' It wouldn't surprise me in the least," quoth Maurice ; ' c there is no 
 knowing what the Commander-in-Chief'a not capable of : the reason's 
 clear enough." 
 
 "And why, Maurice?"
 
 428 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " There's not a bit of blarney about him." 
 
 The reveille rang out from every brigade, and the drums beat to fall 
 in, while Mike came galloping up at full speed to say that the bridge 
 of boats was completed, and that the 12th were already ordered to 
 cross. Not a moment was, therefore, to be lost ; one parting cup we 
 drained to our next meeting, and amid a hundred " good-byes " we 
 mounted our horses poor Hampden's brains sadly confused by the 
 wine and the laughing ; he knew little of what was going on around 
 him, and passed the entire time of our homeward ride in a vain 
 endeavour to adapt " Mary Draper " to the air of " Rule Britannia." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIX 
 
 FUENTES D'ONORO 
 
 FROM this period the French continued their retreat, closely followed by 
 the allied armies, and on the 5th of April Massena once more crossed 
 the frontier into Spain, leaving 30,000 of his bravest troops behind him, 
 14,000 of whom had fallen, or been taken prisoners : reinforcements, 
 however, came rapidly pouring in. Two divisions of the Ninth Corps 
 had already arrived, and Drouet, with 11,000 infantry and cavalry, was 
 preparing to march to his assistance. Thus strengthened, the French 
 army marched towards the Portuguese frontier, and Lord Wellington, 
 who had determined not to hazard much by his blockade of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo, fell back upon the large table-land between the Turones and 
 the Dos Casas, with his left at Fort Conception, and his right resting 
 upon Fueutes d'Onoro. His position extended to about five miles ; and 
 here, although vastly inferior in numbers, yet relying upon the bravery 
 of the troops and the moral ascendency acquired by their pursuit of 
 the enemy, he finally resolved upon giving them battle. 
 
 Being sent with despatches to Pack's brigade, which formed the 
 blockading force at Almeida, I did not reach Fueutes d'Onoro until 
 the evening of the third. The thundering of the guns which, even 
 at the distance I was at, was plainly heard, announced that an attack 
 had taken place, but it by no means prepared me for the scene which 
 presented itself on my return. 
 
 The village of Fuentes d'Onoro, one of the most beautiful in Spain, 
 is situated in a lovely valley, where all the charms of verdure so 
 peculiar to the Peninsula seem to have been scattered with a lavish 
 hand. The citron and the arbutus, growing wild, sheltered every 
 cottage door, and the olive and the laurel threw their shadows across 
 the little rivulet which traversed the village. The houses, observing 
 no uniform arrangement, stood wherever the caprice or the inclina- 
 tion of the builder suggested, surrounded with little gardens ; the 
 inequality of the ground imparting a picturesque feature to even the 
 lowliest hut, while, upon a craggy eminence above the rest, an ancient 
 convent and a ruined chapel looked down upon the little peaceful 
 hamlet with an air of tender protection. 
 
 Hitherto this lovely spot had escaped all the ravages of war. The
 
 FUENTES D'ONORO 429 
 
 light division of our army had occupied it for months long ; and every 
 family was gratefully remembered by some one or other of our officers ; 
 and more than one of our wounded found in the kind and affectionate 
 watching of these poor peasants the solace which sickness rarely meets 
 with when far from home and country. 
 
 It was, then, with an anxious heart I pressed my horse forward into the 
 gallop as the night drew near. The artillery had been distinctly heard 
 during the day, and while I burned with eagerness to know the result, 
 I felt scarcely less anxious for the fate of that little hamlet whose 
 name many a kind story had implanted in my memory. The moon 
 was shining brightly as I passed the outpost ; and, leading my horse 
 by the bridle, descended the steep and rugged causeway to the village 
 beneath me. The lanterns were moving rapidly to and fro ; the 
 measured tread of infantry at night that ominous sound which falls 
 upon the heart so sadly told me that they were burying the dead. 
 The air was still and breathless ; not a sound was stirring save the step 
 of the soldiery, and the harsh clash of the shovel as it struck the earth. 
 I felt sad, and sick at heart, and leaned against a tree ; a nightingale 
 concealed in the leaves was pouring forth its plaintive notes to the 
 night air, and its low warble sounded like the dirge of the departed. 
 Far beyond, in the plain, the French watch-fires were burning, and I 
 could see from time to time the fatigue parties moving in search of 
 their wounded. At this moment the clock of the convent struck eleven, 
 and a merry chime rang out, and was taken up by the echoes, till it 
 melted away in the distance. Alas ! where were those whose hearts 
 were wont to feel cheered at that happy peal, whose infancy it had 
 gladdened, whose old age it had hallowed : the fallen walls, the broken 
 roof trees, the ruin and desolation on every side, told too plainly that 
 they had passed away for ever ! The smoking embers, the torn-up 
 pathway, denoted the hard-fought struggle ; and as I passed along I 
 could see that every garden, whei-e the cherry and the apple blossom 
 were even still perfuming the air, had now its sepulchre. 
 
 ' ' Halt there ! " cried a hoarse voice in front. " You cannot pass this 
 way ; the Commander-in-Chiefs quarters." 
 
 I looked up, and beheld a small but neat-looking cottage which 
 seemed to have suffered less than the others around. Lights were 
 shining brightly from the windows, and I could even detect from time 
 to time a figure muffled up in a cloak passing to and fro across the 
 window ; while another, seated at a table, was occupied in writing. I 
 turned into a narrow path which led into the little square of the village, 
 and here, as I approached, the hum and murmur of voices announced 
 a bivouac party. Stopping to ask what had been the result of the day, 
 I learned that a tremendous attack had been made by the French in 
 column upon the village, which was at first successful ; but that after- 
 wards the 7lst and 79th, marching down from the heights, had repulsed 
 the enemy, and driven them beyond the Dos Casas : five hundred had 
 fallen in that fierce encounter, which was continued through every 
 street and alley of the little hamlet. The gallant Highlanders now 
 occupied the battlefield ; and, hearing that the cavalry brigade was 
 some miles distant, I willingly accepted their offer to share their 
 bivouac, and passed the remainder of the night among them.
 
 4.30 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 When day broke our troops were under arms, but the enemy showed 
 no disposition to renew the attack. We could perceive, however, from 
 the road to the southward, by the long columns of dust, that reinforce- 
 ments were still arriving ; and learned during the morning, from a 
 deserter, that Massena himself had come up, and Bessieres also, with 
 twelve hundred cavalry, and a battery of the Imperial Guard. 
 
 From the movements observable in the enemy it was soon evident 
 that the battle, though deferred, was not abandoned ; and the march of 
 a strong force towards the left of their position induced our Comman- 
 der-in-Chief to despatch the Seventh Division, under Houston, to occupy 
 the height of Naval d'Aver our extreme right in support of which 
 our brigade of cavalry marched as a covering force. The British position 
 was thus unavoidably extended to the enormous length of seven miles, 
 occupying a succession of small eminences, from the division at Fort 
 Conception to the height of Naval d'Aver, Fuentes d'Onoro forming 
 nearly the centre of the line. 
 
 It was evident, from the thickening combinations of the French, 
 that a more dreadful battle was still in reserve for us ; and yet never 
 did men look more anxiously for the morrow. 
 
 As for myself, I felt a species of exhilaration I had never before 
 experienced ; the events of the preceding day came dropping in upon 
 me from every side, and at every new tale of gallantry or daring I 
 felt my heart bounding with excited eagerness to win also my meed of 
 honourable praise. 
 
 Crawford, too, had recognised me in the kindest manner : and, while 
 saying that he did not wish to withdraw me from my regiment on a day 
 of battle, added that he would make use of me for the present on his staff. 
 Thus was I engaged, from early in the morning till late in the evening, 
 bringing orders and despatches along the line : the troop-horse 1 rode 
 for I reserved my grey for the following day was scarcely able to carry 
 me along, as towards dusk I journeyed along in the direction of Naval 
 d'Aver. When I did reach our quarters the fires were lighted, and around 
 one of them I had the good fortune to find a party of the 14th occupied 
 in discussing a very appetising little supper : the clatter of plates and the 
 popping of champagne corks were most agreeable sounds. Indeed, the 
 latter appeared to me so much too flattering an illusion, that I hesitated 
 giving credit to my senses in the matter, when Baker called out : 
 
 "Come, Charley, sit down ; you're just in the nick. Tom Marsden 
 is giving us a benefit : you know Tom " 
 
 And here he presented me in due form to that best of commissaries 
 and most hospitable of horse-dealers. 
 
 " I can't introduce you to my friend on my right," continued Baker, 
 " for my Spanish is only a skeleton battalion ; but he's a trump that 
 I'll vouch for ; never flinches his glass, and looks as though he enjoyed 
 all our nonsense." 
 
 The Spaniard, who appeared to comprehend that he was alluded to, 
 gravely saluted me with a low bow, and offered his glass to hobnob 
 with me. I returned the courtesy with becoming ceremony ; while 
 Hampden whispered in my ear 
 
 " A fine-looking fellow. You know who he is ? Julian, the Guerilla 
 chief. "
 
 FUENTES D'ONORO 431 
 
 I had heard much of both the strangers. Tom Marsden was a house- 
 hold word in every cavalry brigade, equally celebrated for his contracts 
 and his claret. He knew every one, from Lord Wellington to the last 
 joined cornet ; and, while upon a march, there was no piece of better 
 fortune than to be asked to dine with him. So, in the very thick of 
 a battle, Tom's critical eye was scanning the squadrons engaged, with 
 an accuracy as to the number of fresh horses that would be required 
 upon the morrow that nothing but long practice and infinite coolness 
 could have conferred. 
 
 Of the Guerilla I need not speak. The bold feats he accomplished, 
 the aid he rendered to the cause of his country, have made his name 
 historical. Yet still, with all this, fatigue, more powerful than my 
 curiosity, prevailed, and I sank into a heavy sleep upon the grass ; 
 while my merry companions kept up their revels till near morning. 
 The last piece of consciousness I am sensible of was seeing Julian 
 spreading his wide mantle over me as I lay, while I heard his deep 
 voice whisper a kind wish for my repose. 
 
 CHAPTER XC 
 
 So soundly did I sleep that the tumult and confusion of the morning 
 never awoke me ; and the Guerilla, whose cavalry were stationed along 
 the edge of the ravine near the heights of Echora, would not permit of 
 my being roused before the last moment. Mike stood near me with 
 my horses, and it was only when the squadrons were actually forming 
 that I sprang to my feet and looked around me. 
 
 The day was just breaking ; a thick mist lay upon the parched 
 earth, and concealed everything a hundred yards from where we stood. 
 From this dense vapour the cavalry defiled along the base of the hill, 
 followed by the horse artillery and the Guards, disappearing again as 
 they passed us, but proving, by the mass of troops now assembled, that 
 our position was regarded as the probable point of attack. 
 
 While the troops continued to take up their position the sun shone 
 out, and a slight breeze blowing at the same moment the heavy clouds 
 moved past, and we beheld the magnificent panorama of the battle- 
 field. Before us, at the distance of less than half a league, the French 
 cavalry were drawn up in three strong columns : the Cuirassiers of the 
 Guard, plainly distinguished by their steel cuirasses, flanked by the 
 Polish Lancers, and a strong Hussar brigade ; a powerful artillery 
 train supported the left, and an infantry force occupied the entire 
 space between the right and the rising ground opposite Poo Velho. 
 Farther to their right again the column destined for the attack of 
 Fuentes d'Onoro were forming, and we could see that, profiting by 
 their past experience, they were bent upon attacking the village with 
 an overwhelming force. 
 
 For above two hours the French continued to manoeuvre, more than 
 one alteration having taken place in their disposition ; fresh battalions
 
 432 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 were moved towards the front, and gradually the whole of their 
 cavalry was assembled on the extreme left in front of our position. 
 Our people were ordered to breakfast where we stood ; and a little 
 after seven o'clock a staff officer came riding down the line, followed 
 in a few moments after by General Crawford, when, no sooner was his 
 well-known brown cob recognised by the troops, than a hearty cheer 
 greeted him along the whole division. 
 
 " Thank ye, boys ; thank ye, boys, with all my heart. No man 
 feels more sensibly what that cheer means than I do. Guards ! 
 Lord Wellington relies upon your maintaining this position, which is 
 essential to the safety of the whole line. You will be supported by the 
 Light Division. I need say no more. If such troops cannot keep their 
 ground, none can. Fourteenth, there's your place ; the Artillery and 
 the Sixteenth are with you. They've the odds of us in numbers, lads ; 
 but it will tell all the better in the Gazette. 1 see they're moving ; so 
 fall in, now ; fall in, and, Merivale, move to the front. Ramsey, pre- 
 pare to open your fire on the attacking squadrons." 
 
 As he spoke, the low, murmuring sound of distant moving cavalry 
 crept along the earth, growing louder and louder, till at length we 
 could detect the heavy tramp of the squadrons as they came on in a 
 trot, our pace being merely a walk. While we thus advanced into the 
 plain the artillery unlimbered behind us, and the Spanish cavalry, 
 breaking into skirmishers, dashed boldly to the front. 
 
 It was an exciting moment. The ground dipped between the two 
 armies, so as to conceal the head of the advancing column of the 
 French, and, as the Spanish skirmishers disappeared down the ridge, 
 our beating hearts and straining eyes followed their last horseman. 
 
 f c Halt ! halt!" was passed from squadron to squadron, and the 
 same instant the sharp ring of the pistol shots, and the clash of steel 
 from the valley, told us the battle had begun. We could hear the 
 Guerilla war-cry mingle with the French shout, while the thickening 
 crash of firearms implied a sharper conflict. Our fellows were already 
 manifesting some impatience to press on, when a Spanish horseman 
 appeared above the ridge another followed, and another and then 
 pell-mell, broken and disordered, they fell back before the pursuing 
 cavalry in flying masses ; while the French, charging them hotly home, 
 utterly routed and repulsed them. 
 
 The leading squadrons of the French now fell back upon their 
 support ; the column of attack thickened, and a thundering noise be- 
 tween their masses announced their brigade of light guns as they 
 galloped to the front. It was then for the first time that I felt dis- 
 pirited ; far as my eye could stretch the dense mass of sabres extended, 
 defiling from the distant hills and winding its slow length across the 
 
 Elain. I turned to look at our line, scarce 1000 strong, and could not 
 elp feeling that our hour was come : the feeling flashed vividly across 
 my mind, but the next instant I felt my cheek redden with shame as I 
 gazed upon the sparkling eyes and bold looks around me the lips com- 
 pressed, the hands knitted to their sabres ; all were motionless, but 
 burning to advance. 
 
 The French had halted on the brow of the hill to form, when Merivale 
 came cantering up to us.
 
 THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D'OXORO 433 
 
 ' ' Fourteenth, are ye ready ? Are ye ready, lads ? " 
 
 ' ' Ready, sir ! ready ! " re-echoed along the line. 
 
 " Then push them home and charge ! Charge ! " cried he, raising 
 his voice to a shout at the last word. 
 
 Heavens ! what a crash was there ! Our horses, in top condition, no 
 sooner felt the spur than they bounded madly onwards. The pace 
 for the distance did not exceed four hundred yards was like racing. 
 To resist the impetus of our approach was impossible ; and without a 
 shot fired, scarcely a sabre-cut exchanged, we actually rode down thdr 
 advanced squadrons hurling them headlong upon their supporting 
 division, and rolling men and horses beneath us on every side. The 
 French fell back upon their artillery ; but, before they could succeed 
 in opening their fire upon us, we had wheeled, and, carrying off about 
 seventy prisoners, galloped back to our position with the loss of but 
 two men in the whole affair. The whole thing was so sudden, so bold, 
 and so successful, that I remember well as we rode back a hearty burst 
 of laughter was ringing through the squadron at the ludicrous display 
 of horsemanship the French presented as they tumbled headlong down 
 the hill ; and I cannot help treasuring the recollection, for, from that 
 moment, all thought of anything short of victory completely quitted 
 my mind, and many of my brother officers who had participated in my 
 feelings at the commencement of the day confessed to me afterwards that 
 it was then for the first time they felt assured of beating the enemy. 
 
 While we slowly fell back to our position, the French were seen 
 advancing in great force from the village of Alameda, to the attack of 
 Poco Velho ; they came on at a rapid pace, their artillery upon their 
 front and flank, large masses of cavalry hovering around them. The 
 attack upon the village was now opened by the large guns ; and amid 
 the booming of the artillery and the crashing volleys of small firearms 
 rose the shout of the assailants and the wild cry of the Guerilla cavalry, 
 who had formed in front of the village. The French advanced firmly, 
 driving back the pickets, and actually inundated the devoted village 
 with a shower of grape ; the blazing fires burst from the ignited roofs ; 
 and the black dense smoke rising on high seemed to rest like a pall 
 over the little hamlet. 
 
 The conflict was now a tremendous one : our Seventh Division held 
 the village with the bayonet, but the French, continuing to pour in 
 mass upon mass, drove them back with loss, and, at the end of an 
 hour's hard fighting, took possession of the place. 
 
 The wood upon the left flank was now seen to swarm with light 
 infantry, and the advancement of their whole left proved that they 
 meditated to turn our flank : the space between the village and the hill 
 of Naval d'Aver became now the central position ; and here the Guerilla 
 force, led on by Julian Sanches, seemed to await the French with 
 confidence. Soon, however, the Cuirassiers came galloping to the spot, 
 and, almost without exchanging a sabre-cut, the Guerillas fell back, 
 and retired behind the Turones. This movement of Julian was more 
 attributable to anger than to fear ; for his favourite lieutenant, being 
 mistaken for a French officer, was shot by a soldier of the Guards a 
 few minutes before. 
 
 Montbrun pursued the Guerillas with some squadrons of horse, but 
 
 2 E
 
 434 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 they turned resolutely upon the French, and not till overwhelmed by 
 numbers did they show any disposition to retreat 
 
 The French, however, now threw forward their whole cavalry, and, 
 driving back the English horse, succeeded in turning the right of the 
 Seventh Division. The battle by this time was general. The staff 
 officers who came up from the left informed us that Fuentes d'Onoro 
 was attacked in force, Massena himself leading the assault in person. 
 While thus for seven miles the fight was maintained hotly at intervals, 
 it was evident that upon the maintenance of our position the fortune 
 of the day depended. Hitherto we had been repulsed from the village 
 and the wood ; and the dark masses of infantry which were assembled 
 upon our right seemed to threaten the hill of Naval d'Aver with as sad 
 a catastrophe. 
 
 Crawford came now galloping up amongst us, his eye flashing fire, 
 and his uniform splashed and covered with foam : 
 
 <e Steady, Sixteenth, steady ! Don't blow your horses ! Have your 
 fellows advanced, Malcolm ? " said he, turning to an officer who stood 
 beside him ; e ' ay, there they go," pointing with his finger to the wood, 
 where, as he spoke, the short ringing of the British rifle proclaimed 
 the advance of that brigade. f ' Let the cavalry prepare to charge ! 
 And now, Ramsey, let us give it them home ! " 
 
 Scarcely were the words spoken, when the squadrons were formed, 
 and, in an instant after, the French light infantry were seen retreating 
 from the wood, and flying in disorderly masses across the plain. Our 
 squadrons, riding down amongst them, actually cut them to atoms, 
 while the light artillery, unlimbering, threw in a deadly discharge of 
 grape-shot. 
 
 " To the right, Fourteenth, to the right ! " cried General Stewart. 
 " Have at their hussars ! " 
 
 Whirling by them, we advanced at a gallop, and dashed towards the 
 enemy, who, not less resolutely bent, came boldly forward to meet us : 
 the shock was terrific : the leading squadrons on both sides went down 
 almost to a man, and, all order being lost, the encounter became one 
 of hand to hand. 
 
 The struggle was deadly ; neither party would give way ; and while 
 fortune now inclined hither and thither, Sir Charles Stewart singled 
 out the French general, Lamotte, and carried him off his prisoner. 
 Meanwhile Montbrun's cavalry and the Cuirassiers came riding up, and, 
 the retreat now sounding through our ranks, we were obliged to fall 
 back upon the infantry. The French pursued us hotly ; and so rapid 
 was their movement that, before Ramsey's brigade could limber up 
 and away, their squadrons had surrounded him and captured his guns. 
 
 " Where is Ramsey?" cried Crawford, as he galloped to the head of 
 
 our division. " Cut off cut off ! Taken, by G ! There he goes !" 
 
 said he, pointing with his finger, as a dense cloud of mingled smoke and 
 dust moved darkly across the plain. "Form into column once more !" 
 
 As he spoke, the dense mass before us seemed agitated by some 
 mighty commotion ; the flashing of blades and the rattling of small 
 arms, mingled with shouts of triumph or defiance, burst forth, and the 
 ominous cloud lowering more darkly seemed peopled by those in 
 deadly strife. An English cheer pealed high above all other sounds ;
 
 THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D'ONORO 435 
 
 a second followed ; the mass was rent asunder, and, like the forked 
 lightning 1 from a thunder-cloud, Ramsey rode forth at the head of his 
 battery, his horses bounding madly, while the guns sprang behind them, 
 like things of no weight ; the gunners leaped to their places, and, fight- 
 ing hand to hand with the French cavalry, they flew across the plain. 
 
 ( ' Nobly done, gallant Ramsey ! " said a voice behind me. I turned 
 at the sound ; it was Lord Wellington who spoke. My eye fixed upon 
 his stern features, I forgot all else, when he suddenly recalled me to 
 my recollection by saying : 
 
 " Follow your brigade, sir. Charge ! " 
 
 In an instant I was with my people, who, intervening betwixt 
 Ramsey and his pursuers, repulsed the enemy with loss, and carried 
 off several prisoners. The French, however, came up in greater 
 strength ; overwhelming masses of cavalry came sweeping upon us, 
 and we were obliged to retire behind the Light Division, which rapidly 
 formed into squares to resist the cavalry. The Seventh Division, 
 which was more advanced, were, however, too late for this move- 
 ment, and before they could effect their formation the French were 
 upon them. At this moment they owed their safety to the Chasseurs 
 Britanniques, who poured in a flanking fire, so close, and with so 
 deadly aim, that their foes recoiled, beaten and bewildered. 
 
 Meanwhile, the French had become masters of Poo Velho ; the 
 formidable masses had nearly outflanked us on the right. The battle 
 was lost, if we could not fall back upon our original position, and con- 
 centrate our force upon Fuentes d'Onoro. To effect this was a work 
 of great difficulty ; but no time was to be lost. The Seventh Division 
 were ordered to cross the Turones, while Crawford, forming the Light 
 Division into squares, covered their retreat, and, supported by the 
 cavalry, sustained the whole force of the enemy's attack. 
 
 Then was the moment to witness the cool and steady bravery of 
 British infantry ; the squares dotted across the enormous plain seemed 
 as nothing amid that confused and flying multitude, composed of com- 
 missariat baggage, camp followers, peasants, and, finally, broken pickets 
 and videttes arriving from the wood. A cloud of cavalry hovered and 
 darkened around them ; the Polish Lancers shook their long spears, 
 impatient of delay, and the wild huzzas burst momentarily from their 
 squadrons as they waited for the word to attack. But the British 
 stood firm and undaunted ; and although the enemy rode round their 
 squares, Montbrun himself at their head, they never dared to charge 
 them. Meanwhile the 7th fell back as if on a parade, and, crossing 
 the river, took up their ground at Frenacla, pivoting upon the First 
 Division ; the remainder of the line fell also back, and assumed a 
 position at right angles with their former ones, the cavalry forming in 
 front, and holding the French in check during the movement. This 
 was a splendid manoeuvre, and, when made in face of an overnumbering 
 enemy, one unmatched during the whole war. 
 
 At sight of this new front the French stopped short, and opened a 
 fire from their heavy guns. The Britisli batteries replied with vigour, 
 and silenced the enemy's cannon. The cavalry drew out of range, and 
 the infantry gradually fell back to their former position. While this 
 was going on, the attack upon Fuentes d'Ouoro was continued with
 
 436 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 unabated vigour. The three British regiments in the lower town were 
 pierced by the French tirailleurs, who poured upon them in over- 
 whelming numbers ; the 79th were broken, ten companies taken, and 
 Cameron, their Colonel, mortally wounded. Thus the lower village 
 was in the hands of the enemy, while from the upper town the in- 
 cessant roll of musketry proclaimed the obstinate resistance of the 
 British. 
 
 At this period our reserves were called up from the right, in time to 
 resist the additional troops which Drouet continued to bring on. The 
 French, reinforced by the whole Sixth Corps, now came forward at a 
 quick step. Dashing through the ruined streets of the lower town 
 they crossed the rivulet, fighting bravely, and charged against the 
 height. Already their leading files had gained the crag beside the 
 chapel. A French colonel, holding his cap upon his sword point, 
 waved on his men. 
 
 The grizzly features of the Grenadiers soon appeared, and the dark 
 column, half climbing, half running, were seen scaling the height. A 
 rifle-bullet sent the French leader tumbling from the precipice ; and a 
 cheer mad and reckless as the war-cry of an Indian rent the sky, as 
 the 7lst and the 79th Highlanders sprang upon the enemy. 
 
 Our part was a short one ; advancing in half squadrons, we were con- 
 cealed from the observation of the enemy by the thick vineyards which 
 skirted the lower town ; waiting, with impatience, the moment when 
 our gallant infantry should succeed in turning the tide of battle. We 
 were ordered to dismount, and stood with our bridles on our arms, 
 anxious and expectant. The charge of the French column was made 
 close to where we were standing the inspiriting cheers of the officers, 
 the loud vivas of the men, were plainly heard by us as they rushed to 
 the assault ; but the space between us was intersected by walls and 
 brushwood, which totally prevented the movements of cavalry. 
 
 Fearlessly their dark column moved up the heights, fixing their 
 bayonets as they went. No tirailleurs preceded them, but the tall 
 shako of the grenadier of the guard was seen in the first rank. Long 
 before the end of the column had passed us the leading files were in 
 action. A deafening peal of musketry so loud, so dense, it seemed 
 like artillery burst forth. A volume of black smoke rolled heavily 
 down from the heights and hid all from our view, except when the 
 vivid lightning of the platoon firing rent the veil asunder, and showed 
 us the troops almost in hand-to-hand conflict. 
 
 " It's Pictou's Division, I'm certain/' cried Merivale ; e< I hear the 
 bagpipes of the Highlanders." 
 
 " You are right, sir," said Hampden, ' ' the Seventy-First are in the 
 same brigade, and I know their bugles well. There they go again." 
 
 f( Fourteenth ! Fourteenth ! " cried a voice from behind, and at the 
 same moment a staff-officer without his hat, and his horse bleeding 
 from a recent sabre-cut, came up. " You must move to the rear, 
 Colonel Merivale ; the French have gained the heights. Move round 
 by the causeway ; bring up your squadrons quickly as you can and 
 support the infantry." 
 
 In a moment we were in our saddles, but scarcely was the word 
 to fall in given, when a loud cheer rent the very air ; the musketry
 
 THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D'ORONO 487 
 
 seemed suddenly to cease, and the dark mass which continued to 
 struggle up the heights wavered, broke, and turned. 
 
 " What can that be ? " said Merivale. " What can it mean ? " 
 
 " I can tell you, sir," said I proudly, while 1 felt my heart as though 
 it would bound from my bosom. 
 
 " And what is it, boy? Speak ! " 
 
 " There it goes again ! That was an Irish shout ! the Eighty-Eighth 
 are at them ! " 
 
 " By Jove ! here they come," said Hampden ; " God help the 
 Frenchmen now !" 
 
 The words were not well spoken, when the red coats of our gallant 
 fellows were seen dashing through the vineyard. 
 
 ' ' The steel, boys nothing but the steel ! " shouted a loud voice from 
 the crag above our heads. 
 
 I looked up. It was the stern Picton himself who spoke. 
 
 The 88th now led the pursuit, and sprang from rock to rock in all 
 the mad impetuosity of battle ; and like some mighty billow rolling 
 before the gale, the French went down the heights. 
 
 " Gallant Eighty-Eighth ! Gloriously done ! " cried Picton, as he 
 raised his hat. 
 
 ee Aren't we Connaught robbers, now ? " shouted a rich brogue, as its 
 owner, breathless and bleeding, pressed forward in the charge. 
 
 A hearty burst of laughter mingled with the din of the battle. 
 
 " Now for it, boys ! Now for our work ! " said old Merivale, drawing 
 his sabre as he spoke. " Forward ! and charge ! " 
 
 We waited not a second bidding, but bursting from our concealment, 
 galloped down into the broken column. It was no regular charge, but 
 an indiscriminate rush. Scarcely offering resistance, the enemy fell 
 beneath our sabres, or the still more deadly bayonets of the infantry, 
 who were inextricably mingled up in the conflict. 
 
 The chase was followed up for above half a mile, when we fell back, 
 fortunately, in good time ; for the French had opened a heavy fire from 
 their artillery, and, regardless of their own retreating column, poured a 
 shower of grape among our squadrons. As we retired, the straggling 
 files of the Rangers joined us their faces and accoutrements blackened 
 and begrimed with powder ; many of them, themselves wounded, had 
 captured prisoners : and one huge fellow of the grenadier company was 
 seen driving before him a no less powerful Frenchman, and to whom, 
 as he turned from time to time reluctantly and scowled upon his gaoler, 
 the other vociferated some Irish imprecation, whose harsh intentions 
 were made most palpably evident by a flourish of a drawn bayonet. 
 
 " Who is he ? " said Mike ; ' ' who is he, ahagur ? " 
 
 " Sorrow one o' me knows," said the other ; " but it's the chap that 
 shot Lieutenant Mahony, and I never took my eye off" him after ; and 
 if the Lieutenant's not dead, sure it'll be a satisfaction to him that I 
 cotch him." 
 
 The lower town was now evacuated by the French, who retired be- 
 yond the range of our artillery ; the upper continued in the occupation 
 of our troops ; and worn out and exhausted, surrounded by dead and 
 dying, both parties abandoned the contest and the battle was over.
 
 438 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Both sides laid claim to the victory : the French, because, having 
 taken the village of Po9o Velho, they had pierced the British line, and 
 compelled them to fall back and assume a new position ; the British, 
 because the attack upon Fuentes d'Onoro had been successfully re- 
 sisted, and the blockade of Almeida the real object of the battle 
 maintained. The loss to each was tremendous : 1500 men and officers, 
 of whom 300 were prisoners, were lost by the Allies, and a far greater 
 number fell among the forces of the enemy. 
 
 After the action, a brigade of the Light Division released the troops 
 in the village, and the armies bivouacked once more in sight of each 
 other. 
 
 CHAPTER XCI 
 
 A RENCONTRE 
 
 " LIEUTENANT O'MALLEY, 14th Light Dragoons, is appointed an extra 
 aide-de-camp to Major-General Crawford, until the pleasure of his 
 Royal Highness the Prince Regent is known." Such was the first 
 paragraph of a general order, dated Fuentes d'Onoro, the day after the 
 battle, which met me as I awoke from a sound and heavy slumber, the 
 result of thirteen hours on horseback. 
 
 A staff appointment was not exactly what I coveted at the moment ; 
 but I knew that with Crawford my duties were more likely to be at 
 the pickets and advanced posts of the army than in the mere details of 
 note-writing or despatch-bearing ; besides that, I felt whenever any- 
 thing of importance was to be done, I should always obtain his per- 
 mission to do duty with my regiment. 
 
 Taking a hurried breakfast, therefore, I mounted my horse and 
 cantered over to Villa Formosa, where the General's quarters were, to 
 return my thanks for the promotion, and take the necessary steps for 
 assuming my new functions. 
 
 Although the sun had risen about two hours, the fatigue of the pre- 
 vious day had impressed itself upon all around. The cavalry, men and 
 horses, were still stretched upon the sward, sunk in sleep ; the videttes, 
 weary and tired, seemed anxiously watching for the relief, and the 
 disordered and confused appearance of everything bespoke that dis- 
 cipline had relaxed its stern features, in compassion for the bold 
 exertions of the preceding day. The only contrast to this general air 
 of exhaustion and weariness on every side was a corps of sappers, who 
 were busily employed upon the high grounds above the village. Early 
 as it was, they seemed to have been at work some hours at least so 
 their labours bespoke ; for already a rampart of considerable extent 
 had been thrown up, stockades implanted, and a breastwork was in a 
 state of active preparation. The officer of the party, wrapped up in a 
 loose cloak, and mounted upon a sharp-looking hackney, rode hither 
 and thither, as the occasion warranted, and seemed, as well as from the 
 distance I could guess, something of a tartar. At least, I could not 
 help remarking that at his approach, the several inferior officers seemed 
 suddenly so much more on the alert, and the men worked with an
 
 A RENCONTRE 439 
 
 additional vigour and activity. I stopped for some minutes to watch 
 him, and seeing an engineer captain of my acquaintance among the 
 party, couldn't resist calling out : 
 
 "I say, Hachard, your friend on the chestnut mare must have had 
 an easier day yesterday than some of us, or I'll be hanged if he'd be so 
 active this morning." 
 
 Hachard hung his head in some confusion, and did not reply ; and, 
 on my looking round, whom should I see before me but the identical 
 individual I had so coolly been criticising, and who, to my utter horror 
 and dismay, was no other than Lord Wellington himself. I did not 
 wait for a second peep : helter-skelter, through water, thickets, and 
 brambles, away I went, clattering down the causeway like a madman. 
 If a French squadron had been behind me I should have had a stouter 
 heart, although I did not fear pursuit. I felt his eye was upon me 
 his sharp and piercing glance, that shot like an arrow into me ; and 
 his firm look stared at me in every object around. 
 
 Onward I pressed, feeling in the very recklessness of my course some 
 relief to my sense of shame, and ardently hoping that some accident 
 some smashed arm or broken collar-bone might befall me, and 
 rescue me from any notice my conduct might otherwise call for. I 
 never drew rein till I reached the Villa Formosa, and pulled up short 
 at a small cottage, where a double sentry apprised me of the General's 
 quarters. As I came up, the low lattice sprang quickly open, and a 
 figure, half-dressed, and more than half asleep, protruded his head : 
 
 ' ' Well ! what has happened ? Anything wrong ? " said he, whom I 
 now recognised to be General Crawford. 
 
 "No; nothing wrong, sir," stammered I, with evident confusion; 
 "I'm merely come to thank you for your kindness in my behalf." 
 
 "You seemed in a devil of a hurry to do it, if I'm to judge by the 
 pace you came at Come in and take your breakfast with us : I shall 
 be dressed presently, and you'll meet some of your brother aides-de- 
 camp." 
 
 Having given my horse to an orderly, I walked into a little room 
 whose humble accommodations and unpretending appearance seemed 
 in perfect keeping with the simple and unostentatious character of the 
 General. The preparations for a good and substantial breakfast were, 
 however, before me ; and an English newspaper, of a late date, spread 
 its most ample pages to welcome me. I had not been long absorbed in 
 my reading when the door opened, and the General, whose toilet was 
 not yet completed, made his appearance. 
 
 ' ' Egad, O'Malley, you startled me this morning : I thought we were 
 in for it again." 
 
 I took this as the most seasonable opportunity to recount my mishap 
 of the morning, and accordingly, without more ado, detailed the un- 
 lucky meeting with the Commander-in-Chief. When I came to the 
 end, Crawford threw himself into a chair and laughed till the very 
 tears coursed down his bronzed features. 
 
 " You don't say so, boy ? You don't really tell me you said that ? 
 By Jove ! I had rather have faced a platoon of musketry than have 
 stood in your shoes ! You did not wait for a reply, I think ? " 
 
 ' ( No, faith, sir, that I did not ! "
 
 440 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Do you suspect he knows you ? " 
 " I trust not, sir ; the whole thing passed so rapidly." 
 " Well, it's most unlucky in more ways than one ! " He paused for 
 n few moments as he said this, and then added, " Have you seen the 
 general order ? " pushing towards me a written paper as he spoke. It 
 ran thus : 
 
 "G.O. ADJUTANT-GENBRAL'S OFFICE, VILLA FORMOSA, 
 
 " Memorandum. Commanding-officers are requested to send in to the military 
 secretary, as soon as possible, the names of officers they may wish to have pro- 
 moted in succession to those who have fallen in action." 
 
 " Now look at this list. The Honourable Harvey Howard, Grenadier 
 Guards, to be first lieutenant, vice - . No, not that ; Henry 
 Beauchamp George Villiers. Ay, here it is ! Captain Lyttleton, 
 14th Light Dragoons, to be Major in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, vice 
 Godwin, killed in action ; Lieutenant O'Malley to be Captain, vice 
 Lyttleton, promoted. You see, boy, I did not forget you : you were 
 to have had the vacant troop in your own regiment. Now, I almost 
 doubt the prudence of bringing your name under Lord Wellington's 
 notice ! He may have recognised you ; and if he did so why, I 
 rather think that is, I suspect I mean, the quieter you keep the 
 better ! " 
 
 While I poured forth my gratitude as warmly as I was able for the 
 General's great kindness to me, I expressed my perfect concurrence in 
 his views. 
 
 (< Believe me, sir," said I, " I should much rather wait any number 
 of years for my promotion, than incur the risk of a reprimand ; the 
 more so as it is not the first time I have blundered with his lordship." 
 I here narrated my former meeting with Sir Arthur, at which Craw- 
 ford's mirth again burst forth, and he paced the room, holding his 
 sides in an ecstasy of merriment. 
 
 " Come, come, lad, we'll hope for the best ; we'll give you the chance 
 that he has not seen your face, and send the list forward as it is : but 
 here come our fellows." 
 
 As he spoke, the door opened and three officers of his staff entered, 
 to whom, being severally introduced, we chatted away about the news 
 of the morning until breakfast. 
 
 "I've frequently heard of you from my friend Hammersly," said 
 Captain Fitzroy, addressing me ; " you were intimately acquainted, I 
 believe ? " 
 
 " Oh yes ! Pray, where is he now ? We have not met for a long 
 time." 
 
 " Poor Fred's invalided ; that sabre-cut upon his head has turned 
 out a sad affair, and he's gone back to England on a sick leave. Old 
 Dashwood took him back with him as private secretary, or something 
 of that sort." 
 
 11 Ah ! " said another, " Dashwood has daughters, hasn't he ? No bad 
 notion of his ; for Hammersly will be a baronet some of these days, 
 with a rent-roll of some eight or nine thousand per annum." 
 
 ' ' Sir George Dashwood," said I, ' ' has but one daughter, and I am
 
 A RENCONTRE 441 
 
 quite sure that, in his kindness to Hammersly, no intentions of the 
 kind you mention were mixed up." 
 
 " Well, I don't know," said the third, a pale sickly youth, with hand- 
 some but delicate features. " I was on Dashwood's staff until a few 
 weeks ago, and certainly I thought there was something going on 
 between Fred arid Miss Lucy, who, be it spoken, is a devilish fine girl, 
 though rather disposed to give herself airs. " 
 
 I felt my cheek and my temples boiling like a furnace ; my hand 
 trembled as I lifted my coffee to my lips ; and I would have given my 
 expected promotion twice over to have had any reasonable ground of 
 quarrel with the speaker. 
 
 " Egad, lads," said Crawford, " that's the very best thing I know 
 about a command. As a bishop is always sure to portion off his 
 daughters with deaneries and rectories, so your knowing old General 
 always marries his among his staff. " 
 
 This sally was met with the ready laughter of the subordinates, in 
 which, however little disposed, I was obliged to join. 
 
 "You are quite right, sir," rejoined the pale youth; "and Sir 
 George has no fortune to give his daughter." 
 
 "How came it, Horace, that you got safe?" said Fitzroy, with a 
 certain air of affected seriousness in his voice and manner ; " I wonder 
 they let such a prize escape them. " 
 
 " Well, it was not exactly their fault, I do confess. Old Dashwood 
 did the civil towards me ; and la belle Lucie herself was condescending 
 enough to be less cruel than to the rest of the staff. Her father threw 
 us a good deal together ; and, in fact, I believe I fear that is that 
 I didn't behave quite well ! " 
 
 " You may rest perfectly assured of it, sir," said I ; " whatever your 
 previous conduct may have been, you have completely relieved your 
 mind on this occasion, and behaved most ill." 
 
 Had a shell fallen in the midst of us, the faces around me could not 
 have been more horror-struck, than when, in a cool, determined tone, I 
 spoke these few words. Fitzroy pushed his chair slightly back from 
 the table, and fixed his eyes full upon me ; Crawford grew dark-purple 
 over his whole face and forehead, and looked from one to the other of 
 us without speaking ; while the Honourable Horace Delawar, the in- 
 dividual addressed, never changed a muscle of his wan and sickly 
 features, but lifting his eyes slowly from his muffin lisped softly out : 
 
 " You think so ? How very good ! " 
 
 "General Crawford," said I, the moment I could collect myself 
 sufficiently to speak, " I am deeply grieved that I should so far have 
 forgotten myself as to disturb the harmony of your table ; but when 
 I tell you that Sir George Dashwood is one of my warmest friends on 
 earth ; that, from my intimate knowledge of him, I am certain that 
 gentleman's statements are either the mere outpourings of folly or 
 worse " 
 
 " By Jove, O'Malley, you have a very singular mode of explaining 
 away the matter. Delawar, sit down again. Gentlemen, I have only 
 one word to say about this transaction : I'll have no squabbles nor 
 broils here. From this room to the guard-house is a five minutes' 
 walk ; promise me, upon your honours, this altercation ends here, orj
 
 442 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 as sure as my name's Crawford, you shall both be placed under arrest, 
 and the man who refuses to obey me shall be sent back to England. " 
 
 Before I well knew in what way to proceed, Mr. Delawar rose and 
 bowed formally to the General, while I imitating his example silently, 
 we resumed our places ; and, after the pause of a few moments, the 
 current of conversation was resumed, and other topics discussed, but 
 with such evident awkwardness and constraint that all parties felt 
 relieved when the General rose from table. 
 
 " I say, O'Malley, have you forwarded the returns to the Adjutant- 
 General's office ? " 
 
 ' ' Yes, sir ; I despatched them this morning before leaving my 
 quarters." 
 
 " I'm glad of it ; the irregularities on this score have called forth a 
 heavy reprimand at headquarters." 
 
 I was also glad of it, and it chanced that by mere accident I remem- 
 bered to charge Mike with the papers, which, had they not been lying 
 unsealed upon the table before me, would, in all likelihood, have 
 escaped my attention. The post started to Lisbon that same morning, 
 to take advantage of which I had sat up writing for half the night. 
 Little was I aware at the moment what a mass of trouble and annoy- 
 ance was in store for me from the circumstance. 
 
 CHAPTER XCII 
 
 ALMEIDA 
 
 ON the morning of the 7th we perceived, from a movement in the 
 French camp, that the wounded were being sent to the rear, and shortly 
 afterwards the main body of their army commenced its retreat. They 
 moved off with slow, and, as it were, reluctant steps ; and Bessieres, 
 who commanded the Imperial Guards, turned his eyes more than once 
 to that position which all the bravery of his troops was unavailing to 
 capture. Although our cavalry lay in force to the front of our line, 
 no attempt was made to molest the retreating French ; and Massena, 
 having retired beyond the Aguada, left a strong force to watch the ford, 
 while the remainder of the army fell back upon Ciudad Rodrigo. 
 
 During this time we had succeeded in fortifying our position at 
 Fuentes d'Onoro so strongly as to resist any new attack, and Lord 
 Wellington now turned his whole attention to the blockade of Almeida, 
 which, by Massena's retreat, was abandoned to its fate. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th I accompanied General Crawford in a 
 reconnaissance of the fortress, which, from the intelligence we had 
 lately received, could not much longer hold out against our blockade. 
 The fire from the enemy's artillery was, however, hotly maintained ; 
 and, as night fell, some squadrons of the 14th, who were picketed near, 
 were unable to light their watch-fires, being within reach of their shot. 
 As the darkness increased, so did the cannonade, and the bright flashes 
 from the walls, and the deep booming of the artillery, became incessant. 
 
 A hundred conjectures were afloat to account for the circumstance ;
 
 ALMEIDA 443 
 
 some asserting that what we heard were mere signals to Massena's 
 army; and others, that Brennier was destroying and mutilating the 
 fortress before he evacuated it to the allies. 
 
 It was a little past midnight when, tired from the fatigues of the day, 
 I had fallen asleep beneath a tree, an explosion louder than any which 
 preceded it burst suddenly forth, and, as I awoke and looked about me, 
 I perceived the whole heavens illuminated by one bright glare, while 
 the crashing noises of falling stones and crumbling masonry told me 
 that a mine had been sprung : the moment after all was calm, and 
 still, and motionless ; a thick black smoke, increasing the sombre dark- 
 ness of the night, shut out every star from view, and some drops of 
 heavy rain began to fall. 
 
 The silence, ten times more appalling than the din which preceded 
 it, weighed heavily upon my senses, and a dread of some unknown 
 danger crept over me : the exhaustion, however, was greater than my 
 fear, and again I sank into slumber. 
 
 Scarcely had I been half-an-hour asleep when the blast of a trumpet 
 again awoke me, and I found, amid the confusion and excitement 
 about, that something of importance had occurred. Questions were 
 eagerly asked on all sides, but no one could explain what had happened. 
 Towards the town all was still as death, but a dropping irregular fire 
 of musketry issued from the valley beside the Aguada. f< What can 
 this mean ? what can it be ? " we asked of each other. ' ' A sortie from 
 the garrison," said one ; e( A night attack by Massena's troops," cried 
 another ; and while thus we disputed and argued, a horseman was 
 heard advancing along the road at the top of his speed. 
 
 " Where are the cavalry?" cried a voice I recognised as one of my 
 brother aides-de-camp. " Where are the Fourteenth ? " 
 
 A cheer from our party answered his question, and the next moment, 
 breathless and agitated, he rode in amongst us. 
 
 ' ' What is it ? are we attacked ? " 
 
 " Would to Heaven that were all. But come along, lads, follow me." 
 
 " What can it be, then ? " said I again, while my anxiety knew no 
 bounds. 
 
 ' ' Brennier has escaped ; burst his way through Pack's Division ; and 
 has already reached Valde Mula." 
 
 "The French have escaped !" was repeated from mouth to mouth, 
 while pressing spurs to our horses we broke into a gallop, and dashed 
 forward in the direction of the musketry. We soon came up with the 
 36th infantry, who, having thrown away their knapsacks, were rapidly 
 pressing the pursuit, the maledictions which burst from every side prov- 
 ing how severely the misfortune was felt by all, while the eager advance 
 of the men bespoke how ardently they longed to repair the mishap. 
 
 Dark as was the night, we passed them in a gallop, when suddenly 
 the officer who commanded the leading squadron called out to halt. 
 
 ' ' Take care there, lads," cried he ; "I hear the infantry before us ; 
 we shall be down upon our own people." 
 
 The words were hardly spoken when a bright flash blazed out before 
 us, and a smashing volley was poured into the squadron. 
 
 "The French ! the French, by Jove !" said Hampden. "Forward, 
 boys ! charge them ! "
 
 444 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Breaking into open order, to avoid our wounded comrades, several 
 of whom had fallen by the fire, we rode down amongst them. In 
 a moment their order was broken, their ranks pierced, and fresh 
 squadrons coming up at the instant, they were sabred to a man. 
 
 After this the French pursued their march in silence, and, even 
 when, assembling in force, we rode down upon their squares, they 
 never halted nor fired a shot. At Barba del Puerco, the ground being 
 unfit for cavalry, the 3Cth took our place, and pressed them hotly 
 home. Several of the French were killed, and above three hundred 
 made prisoners, but our fellows following up the pursuit too rashly, 
 came upon an advanced body of Massena's force, drawn up to await 
 and cover Brennier's retreat ; the result was the loss of above thirty 
 men in killed or wounded. 
 
 Thus were the great efforts of the three preceding days rendered 
 fruitless and nugatory. To maintain this blockade, Lord Wellington, 
 with an inferior force and a position by no means strong, had ventured 
 to give the enemy battle, and now, by the unskilfulness of some and 
 the negligence of others, were all his combinations thwarted, and the 
 French General enabled to march his force through the midst of the 
 blockading columns almost unmolested and uninjured. 
 
 Lord Wellington's indignation was great, as well it might be ; the 
 prize for which he had contested was torn from his grasp at the very 
 moment he had won it, and although the gallantry of the troops in the 
 pursuit might, under other circumstances, have called forth eulogium, 
 his only observation on the matter was a half sarcastic allusion to the 
 inconclusive effects of undisciplined bravery. " Notwithstanding," 
 says the general order of the day, ' ' what has been printed in gazettes 
 and newspapers, we have never seen small bodies unsupported success- 
 fully opposed to large, nor has the experience of any officer realised 
 the stories? which all have read, of whole armies being driven by a 
 handful of light infantry and dragoons." 
 
 CHAPTER XCIII 
 
 A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA 
 
 MASSENA was now recalled, and Marmont having assumed the command 
 of the French army, retired towards Salamanca, while our troops went 
 into cantonments upon the Aguada. A period of inaction succeeded 
 to our previous life of bustle and excitement, and the whole interest 
 of the campaign was now centred in Beresford's army exposed to Soult 
 in Estremadura. 
 
 On the loth, Lord Wellington set out for that province, having 
 already directed a strong force to march upon Badajos. 
 
 " Well, O'Malley," said Crawford, as he returned from bidding Lord 
 Wellington good-bye ; " your business is all right ; the Commander-in- 
 Chief has signed my recommendation, and you will get your troop." 
 
 While I continued to express my grateful acknowledgments for his 
 kindness, the General, apparently inattentive to all J was saying, paced
 
 A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA 445 
 
 the room with hurried steps, stopping every now and then to glance at 
 a large map of Spain which covered one wall of the apartment, while 
 he muttered to himself some broken and disjointed sentences. 
 
 ' ' Eight leagues too weak in cavalry with the left upon 
 
 Fuenta Grenaldo a strong position . O'Malley, you'll take a 
 
 troop of dragoons and patrol the countiy towards Castro ; you'll 
 reconnoitre the position the 6th corps occupies, but avoid any collision 
 with the enemy's pickets, keeping the Azava between you and them. 
 Take rations for three days." 
 
 " When shall I set out, sir ? " 
 
 ' c Now ! " was the reply. 
 
 Knowing with what pleasure the hardy veteran recognised anything 
 like alacrity and despatch, I resolved to gratify him, and, before half- 
 an-hour had elapsed, was ready with my troop to receive his final 
 orders. 
 
 "Well done, boy !" said he, as he came to the door of the hut. 
 " You've lost no time. I don't believe I have any fm-ther instructions 
 to give you : to ascertain as far as possible the probable movement of 
 the enemy is my object, that's all." As he spoke this, he waved his 
 hand, and wishing me " good-bye," walked leisurely back into the house. 
 I saw that his mind was occupied by other thoughts, and, although I 
 desired to obtain some more accurate information for my guidance, 
 knowing his dislike to questions, I merely returned his salute, and set 
 forth upon my journey. 
 
 The morning was beautiful ; the sun had risen about an hour, and 
 the earth, refreshed by the heavy dew of the night, was breathing forth 
 all its luxuriant fragrance. The river, which flowed beside us, was 
 clear as crystal, showing beneath its eddying current the shining 
 pebbly bed, while upon the surface the water-lilies floated, or sank, as 
 the motion of the stream inclined. The tall cork trees spread their 
 shadows about us, and the richly plumed birds hopped from branch to 
 branch, awakening the echoes with their notes. 
 
 It is but seldom that the heart of man is thoroughly attuned to the 
 circumstances of the scenery around him. How often do we need a 
 struggle with ourselves to enjoy the rich and beautiful landscape which 
 lies smiling in its freshness before us ! How frequently do the blue 
 sky and the calm air look down upon the heart darkened and shadowed 
 with affliction ! and how often have we felt the discrepancy between 
 the lowering look of winter and the glad sunshine of our own hearts ! 
 The harmony of the woi'ld without, with our thoughts within, is one 
 of the purest, as it is one of the greatest sources of happiness. Our 
 hopes and our ambitions lose their selfish character when feeling that 
 fortune smiles upon us from all around, and the flattery which speaks 
 to our hearts from the bright stars and the blue sky, the peaked 
 mountain or the humble flower, is greater in its mute eloquence than 
 all the tongue of man can tell us. 
 
 This feeling did I experience in all its fulness, as I ruminated upon 
 my bettered fortunes, and felt within myself that secret instinct that 
 tells of happiness to come. In such moods of mind my thoughts 
 strayed ever homewards, and I could not help confessing how little 
 were all my successes in my eyes, did I not hope for the day when I
 
 446 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 should pour forth my tale of war and battlefield to the ears of those 
 who loved me. 
 
 I resolved to write home at once to my uncle. I longed to tell him 
 each incident of my career, and my heart glowed as I thought over the 
 broken and disjointed sentences which every cottier around would 
 whisper of my fortunes, far prouder as they would be in the humble deeds 
 of one they knew, than in the proudest triumphs of a nation's glory. 
 
 Indeed, Mike himself gave the current to my thoughts. After 
 riding beside me for some time in silence, he remarked : 
 
 ' ' And isn't it Father Rush will be proud when he sees your honour's 
 a captain ; to think of the little boy that he used to take before him 
 on the ould grey mare for a ride down the avenue ; to think of him 
 being a real captain, six feet two without his boots, and galloping over 
 the French as if they were lurchers. Peggy Mahon, that nursed you, 
 will be the proud woman the day she hears it ; and there won't be a 
 soldier sober in his quarters that night in Portumna barracks. Ton 
 my soul, there's not a thing with a red coat on it, if it was even a 
 scarecrow to frighten the birds from the barley, that won't be treated 
 with respect when they hear of the news. " 
 
 The country through which we travelled was marked at every step 
 by the traces of a retreating army ; the fields of rich corn lay flattened 
 beneath the tramp of cavalry or the wheels of the baggage-waggons : 
 the roads, cut up and nearly impassable, were studded here and there 
 with marks which indicated a bivouac ; at the same time everything 
 around bore a very different aspect from what we had observed in 
 Portugal ; there, the vindictive cruelty of the French soldiery had been 
 seen in full sway. The ruined chateaux, the burned villages, the 
 desecrated altars, the murdered peasantry, all attested the revengeful 
 spirit of a beaten and baffled enemy. No sooner, however, had they 
 crossed the frontiers than, as if by magic, their character became totally 
 changed. Discipline and obedience succeeded to recklessness and pil- 
 lage ; and, instead of treating the natives with inhumanity and cruelty, 
 in all their intercourse with the Spaniards the French behaved with 
 moderation and even kindness. Paying for everything, obtaining 
 their billets peaceably and quietly, marching with order and regularity, 
 they advanced into the heart of the country, showing, by the most 
 irrefragable proof, the astonishing evidences of a discipline which, by 
 a word, could convert the lawless irregularities of a ruffian soldiery into 
 the orderly habits and obedient conduct of a highly organised army. 
 
 As we neared the Azava, the tracks of the retiring enemy became 
 gradually less perceptible, and the country, uninjured by the march, 
 extended for miles around us in all the richness and abundance of a 
 favoured climate. The tall corn waving its yellow gold, reflected like 
 a sea the clouds that moved slowly above it. The wild gentian and 
 the laurel grew thickly around, and the cattle stood basking in the 
 clear streams, while some listless peasant lounged upon the bank beside 
 them. Strange as all these evidences of peace and tranquillity were so 
 near to the devastating track of a mighty army, yet I have more than 
 once witnessed the fact, and remarked, how but a short distance from 
 the line of our hurried march the country lay untouched and uninjured ; 
 and, though the clank of arms and the dull roll of the artillery may
 
 A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA 447 
 
 have struck upon the ear of the far-off dweller in his native valley, he 
 listened as he would have done to the passing thunder as it crashed 
 above him, and when the bright sky and pure air succeeded to the lower- 
 ing atmosphere and the darkening storm, he looked forth upon his 
 smiling fields and happy home, while he muttered to his heart a prayer 
 of thanksgiving that the scourge was passed. 
 
 We bivouacked upon the bank of the river, a truly Salvator Rossi 
 scene ; the rocks, towering high above us, were fissured by the channel 
 of many a trickling stream, seeking in its zigzag current the bright 
 river below. The dark pine-tree and the oak mingled their foliage 
 with the graceful cedar, which spread its fan-like branches about us. 
 Through the thick shade some occasional glimpses of a starry sky could 
 yet be seen, and a faint yellow streak upon the silent river told that 
 the queen of night was there. 
 
 When I had eaten my frugal supper, I wandered forth alone upon 
 the bank of the stream, now standing to watch its bold sweeps as it 
 traversed the lonely valley before me, now turning to catch a passing 
 glance at our red watch-fires and the hardy features which sat around. 
 The hoarse and careless laugh, the deep-toned voice of some old cam- 
 paigner holding forth his tale of flood and field, were the only sounds 
 I heard ; and gradually I strolled beyond the reach of even these. The 
 path beside the river, which seemed scarped from the rock, was barely 
 sufficient for the passage of one man a rude balustrade of w r ood being 
 the only defence against the precipice which, from a height of full 
 thirty feet, looked down upon the stream. Here and there some broad 
 gleam of moonlight would fall upon the opposite bank, which, unlike 
 the one I occupied, stretched out into rich meadow and pasturage, 
 broken by occasional clumps of ilex and beech. River scenery had 
 been ever a passion with me. I can glory in the bold and broken out- 
 line of a mighty mountain ; I can gaze with delighted eyes upon the 
 boundless sea, and know not whether to like it more in all the mighty 
 outpouring of its wrath, when the white waves lift their heads to 
 heaven, and break themselves in foam upon the rocky beach, or in the 
 calm beauty of its broad and mirrored surface, in which the bright 
 world of sun and sky are seen full many a fathom deep. But far 
 before these, I love the happy and tranquil beauty of some bright 
 river, tracing its winding current through valley and through plain, 
 now spreading into some calm and waveless lake, now narrowing to an 
 eddying stream, with mossy rocks and waving trees darkening over it. 
 There's not a hut, however lowly, where the net of the fisherman is 
 stretched upon the sward, around whose hearth I do not picture before 
 me the faces of happy toil and humble contentment, while, from the 
 ruined tower upon the crag, methinks I hear the ancient sounds of 
 wassail and of welcome ; and though the keep be fissured and the 
 curtain fallen, and though for banners there e< waves some tall wall- 
 flower," I can people its crumbling walls with images of the past ; and 
 the merry laugh of the warder, and the clanking tread of the mailed 
 warrior, are as palpably before me as the tangled lichen that now trails 
 from its battlements. 
 
 As I wandered on, I reached a little rustic stair, which led down- 
 ward from the path to the riverside ; and, on examining further, per-
 
 448 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ceived that in this place the stream was fordable : a huge flat rock 
 filling up a great part of the river's bed, occupied the middle, on 
 either side of which the current ran with increased force. 
 
 Bent upon exploring, I descended the cliff, and was preparing to 
 cross, when my attention was attracted by the twinkle of a fire at 
 some distance from me on the opposite side ; the flame rose and fell 
 in fitful flashes, as though some hand were ministering to it at the 
 moment : as it was impossible, from the silence on every side, that it 
 could proceed from a bivouac of the enemy, I resolved on approaching 
 it and examining it for myself. I knew that the shepherds in remote 
 districts were accustomed thus to pass the summer nights with no 
 other covering save the blue vault above them. It was not impossible, 
 too, that it might prove a guerilla party, who frequently, in small 
 numbers, hang upon the rear of a retreating army. Thus conjecturing, 
 I crossed the stream, and quickening my pace, walked forward in the 
 direction of the blaze. For a moment a projecting rock obstructed my 
 progress ; and, while I was devising some means of proceeding further, 
 the sound of voices near me arrested my attention. I listened, and 
 what was my astonishment to hear that they spoke in French ; I now 
 crept cautiously to the verge of the rock and looked over : the moon 
 was streaming in its full brilliancy upon a little shelving strand beside 
 the stream ; and here I now beheld the figure of a French officer. He 
 was habited in the undress uniform of a chasseur a cheval, but wore 
 no arms ; indeed, his occupation at the moment was anything but a 
 warlike one, he being leisurely employed in collecting some flasks of 
 champagne which apparently had been left to cool within the stream. 
 
 " Eh bien, Alphonse ! " said a voice in the direction of the fire, ' e what 
 are you delaying for ? " 
 
 *' I'm coming, I'm coming," said the other ; " but, par Dieu ! I can 
 only find five of our bottles : one seems to have been carried away by 
 the stream." 
 
 " No matter," replied the other, (< we are but three of us, and one is, 
 or should be, on the sick list. " 
 
 The only answer to this was the muttered chorus of a French drink- 
 ing song, interrupted at intervals by an imprecation upon the missing 
 flask. It chanced at this moment a slight clinking noise attracted me, 
 and on looking down I perceived at the foot of the rock the prize he 
 sought for. It had been, as he conceived, carried away by an eddy of 
 the stream, and was borne, as a true prisoner of war, within my grasp. 
 I avow that from this moment my interest in the scene became con- 
 siderably heightened : such a waif as a bottle of champagne was not to 
 be despised in circumstances like mine ; and I watched with anxious 
 eyes every gesture of the impatient Frenchman, and alternately vibrated 
 between hope and fear, as he neared or receded from the coveted flask. 
 
 " Let it go to the devil," shouted his companion once more. 
 "Jacques has lost all patience with you." 
 
 "Be it so, then," said the other, as he prepared to take up his 
 burthen. At this instant I made a slight effort so to change my 
 position as to obtain a view of the rest of the party. The branch by 
 which I supported myself, however, gave way beneath my grasp with 
 a loud crash. I lost my footing, and slipping downward from the
 
 A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA 449 
 
 rock, came plump into the stream below. The noise, the splash, and, 
 more than all, the sudden appearance of a man beside him, astounded 
 the Frenchman, who almost let fall his pannier, and thus we stood 
 confronting each other for at least a couple of minutes in silence. A 
 hearty burst of laughter from both parties terminated this awkward 
 moment, while the Frenchman, with the readiness of his country, was 
 the first to open the negotiation. 
 
 " Sacre Dieu ! " said he, ' ' what can you be doing here ? You're 
 English, without doubt." 
 
 " Even so," said I ; " but that is the very question I was about to 
 ask you ; what are you doing here ? " 
 
 " Eh bien," replied the other gaily, " you shall be answered in all 
 frankness. Our Captain was wounded in the action of the 8th, and 
 we heard had been carried up the country by some peasants. As the 
 army fell back, we obtained permission to go in search of him : for 
 two days all was fruitless ; the peasantry fled at our approach ; and, 
 although we captured some of our stolen property among other things 
 the contents of this basket yet we never came upon the track of our 
 comrade till this evening. A good-hearted shepherd had taken him to 
 his hut, and treated him with every kindness, but no sooner did he 
 hear the gallop of our horses and the clank of our equipments, than, 
 fearing himself to be made a prisoner, he fled up the mountains, leaving 
 our friend behind him. Voild notre histoire. Here we are, three in 
 all, one of us with a deep sabre-cut in his shoulder. If you are the 
 stronger party, we are, I suppose, your prisoners ; if not " 
 
 What was to have followed I know not, for at this moment his com- 
 panion, who had finally lost all patience, came suddenly to the spot. 
 
 " A prisoner," cried he, placing a heavy hand upon my shoulder, 
 while with the other he held his drawn sword pointed towards my 
 breast 
 
 To draw a pistol from my bosom was the work of a second ; and 
 while gently turning the point of his weapon away, I coolly said : 
 
 f ' Not so fast, my friend, not so fast ! The game is in my hands, 
 not yours. I have only to pull this trigger, and my dragoons are upon 
 you ; whatever fate befall me, yours is certain." 
 
 A half scornful laugh betrayed the incredulity of him I addressed, 
 while the other, apparently anxious to relieve the awkwardness of the 
 moment, suddenly broke in with : 
 
 " He is right, Auguste, and you are wrong ; we are in his power ; 
 that is," added he, smiling, " if he believes there is any triumph in 
 capturing such pauvres diables as ourselves." 
 
 The features of him he addressed suddenly lost their scornful ex- 
 pression, and sheathing his sword with an air of almost melodramatic 
 solemnity, he gravely pulled up his moustaches, and, after a pause of a 
 few seconds, solemnly ejaculated a malediction upon his fortune. 
 
 " C'est toujours ainsi" said he, with a bitterness that only a French- 
 man can convey when cursing his destiny. 
 
 " Soyez bon enfant, and see what will come of it. Only be good- 
 natured, only be kind, and if you haven't bad luck at the end of it, it's 
 only because fortune has a heavier stroke in reserve for you hereafter." 
 
 I could not help smiling at the Frenchman's philosophy, which, 
 
 2 F
 
 460 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 assuming as a good augury, he gaily said, " So, then, you'll not make 
 us prisoners. Isn't it so?" 
 
 " Prisoners," said the other : " nothing of the kind. Come and sup 
 with us, I'll venture to say our larder is as well stocked as your own ; 
 in any case an omelette, a cold chicken, and a glass of champagne are 
 not bad things in our circumstances." 
 
 I could not help laughing outright at the strangeness of the pro- 
 posal. et I fear I must decline," said I ; " you seem to forget I am 
 placed here to watch, not to join you." 
 
 " A la bonne heure," cried the younger of the two ; " do both. Come 
 along ; soyess bon camarade ; you are always near your own people, so 
 don't refuse us." 
 
 In proportion as I declined, they both became more pressing in their 
 entreaties, and at last I began to dread lest my refusal might seem to 
 proceed from some fear as to the good faith of the invitation, and I never 
 felt so awkwardly placed as when one plumply pressed me by saying : 
 
 " Mais pourquoi pas, mon cher? " 
 
 I stammered out something about duty and discipline, when they 
 both interrupted me by a long burst of laughter. 
 
 ' ' Come, come ! " said they ; " in an hour in half-an-hour, if you 
 will you shall be back with your own people. We've had plenty of 
 fighting latterly, and we are likely to have enough in future ; we know 
 something of each other by this time in the field ; let us see how we 
 get on in the bivouac ! " 
 
 Resolving not to be outdone in generosity, I replied at once, " Here 
 goes then ! ' 
 
 Five minutes afterwards I found myself seated at their bivouac fire. 
 The Captain, who was the oldest of the party, was a fine soldier-like 
 fellow, of some forty years old ; he had served in the Imperial Guard 
 through all the campaigns of Italy and Austria, and abounded in 
 anecdotes of the French army. From him I learned many of those 
 characteristic traits which so eminently distinguish the Imperial troops, 
 and saw how completely their bravest and boldest feats of arms depended 
 upon the personal valour of him who led them on. From the daring 
 enterprise of Napoleon at Lodi, to the conduct of the lowest corporal 
 in the grande armte, the picture presents nothing but a series of brilliant 
 and splendid chivalry ; while, at the same time, the warlike character 
 of the nation is displayed by that instinctive appreciation of courage 
 and daring which teaches them to follow their officers to the very 
 cannon's mouth. 
 
 "It was at Elchingen," said the Captain, "you should have seen 
 them. The regiment in which I was a lieutenant was ordered to form 
 close column and charge through a narrow ravine to carry a brigade 
 of guns, which, by a flanking fire, were devastating our troops. Before 
 we could reach the causeway, we were obliged to pass an open plain 
 in which the ground dipped for about a hundred yards ; the column 
 moved on, and, though it descended one hill, not a man ever mounted 
 the opposite one. A very avalanche of balls swept the entire valley ; 
 and yet, amid the thunder and the smoke, the red glare of the artillery, 
 and the carnage around them, our Grenadiers marched firmly up. At 
 last, Marshal Ney sent an aide-de-camp with orders to the troops to
 
 A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA 4.51 
 
 lay flat down, and in this position the artillery played over us for 
 above half-an-hour. The Austrians gradually slackened, and finally 
 discontinued their fire : this was the moment to resume the attack. I 
 crept cautiously to my knees and looked about. One word brought 
 my men around me ; but I found to my horror that of a battalion who 
 came into action fourteen hundred strong, not five hundred remained ; 
 and that I myself, a mere lieutenant, was now the senior officer of the 
 regiment. Our gallant Colonel lay dead beside my feet. At this 
 instant a thought struck me. I remembered a habit he possessed, in 
 moments of difficulty and danger, of placing in his shako a small red 
 plume which he commonly carried in his belt. I searched for it, and 
 found it. As I held it aloft a maddening cheer burst around me, while 
 from out the line each officer sprang madly forward and rushed to the 
 head of the column. It was no longer a march ; with a loud cry of 
 vengeance the mass rushed forward, the men trying to outstrip their 
 officers, and come first in contact with the foe. Like tigers on the 
 spring they fell upon the enemy, who, crushed, overwhelmed, and 
 massacred, lay in slaughtered heaps around the cannon ; the cavalry 
 of the guard came thundering on behind us, a whole division followed, 
 and three thousand five hundred prisoners and fourteen pieces of 
 artillery were captured. 
 
 " I sat upon the carriage of a gun, my face begrimed with powder, 
 and my uniform blackened and blood-stained ; the whole thing ap- 
 peared like some shocking dream. I felt a hand upon my shoulder, 
 while a rough voice called in my ear, ' Capitaine du soixante-neuvieme, 
 tu es monfrere!' 
 
 " It was Ney who spoke. This," added the brave Captain, his eyes 
 fillipg as he said the words, " this is the sabre he gave me." 
 
 I know not why I have narrated this anecdote, it has little in itself, 
 but somehow to me it brings back in all its fulness the recollection of 
 that night. 
 
 There was something so strongly characteristic of the old Napoleonist 
 in the tone of his narrative that I listened throughout with breathless 
 attention. I began to feel, too, for the first time, what a powerful arm 
 in war the Emperor had created by fostering the spirit of individual 
 enterprise. The field this opened to fame and distinction left no 
 bounds to the ambition of any. The humble conscript, as he tore him- 
 self from the embraces of his mother, wiped his tearful eyes to see 
 before him in the distance the baton of a marshal. The bold soldier 
 who stormed a battery felt his heart heat more proudly and more 
 securely beneath the cordon of the Legion than behind a cuirass of 
 steel, and to a people in whom the sense of duty alone would seem 
 cold, barren, and inglorious, he had substituted a highly-wrought 
 chivalrous enthusiasm, and, by the prestige of his own name, the proud 
 memory of his battles and the glory of those mighty tournaments at 
 which all Europe were the spectators, he had converted a nation into 
 an army. 
 
 By a silent and instinctive compact we appeared to avoid those 
 topics of the campaign in which the honour of our respective arms was 
 interested ; and once, when by mere accident, the youngest of the 
 party adverted to Fueutes d'Onoro, the old Captain adroitly turned
 
 452 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the current of the conversation by saying, " Come, Alphonse, let's have 
 a song." 
 
 " Yes," said the other, " Le Pas de Charge." 
 
 " No, no," said the Captain : " if I am to have a choice, let it be that 
 little Breton song you gave us on the Danube." 
 
 " So be it, then," said Alphonse. " Here goes." 
 
 I have endeavoured to convey, by a translation, the words he sang ; 
 but I feel conscious how totally their feeling and simplicity are lost 
 when deprived of their own patois, and the wild but touching melody 
 that accompanied them. 
 
 "THE BRETON HOME." 
 
 " When the battle is o'er, and the sounds of fight 
 
 Have closed with the closing day, 
 How happy, around the watch-fire's light, 
 
 To chat the long hours away ; 
 To chat the long hours away, my boy, 
 
 And talk of the days to come, 
 Or a better still, and a purer joy, 
 
 To think of our far-off home. 
 
 How many a cheek will then grow pale, 
 
 That never felt a tear ! 
 And many a stalwart heart will quail, 
 
 That never quailed in fear ! 
 And the breast that like some mighty rock 
 
 Amid the foaming sea, 
 Bore high against the battle's shock, 
 
 Now heaves like infancy. 
 
 And those who knew each other not, 
 
 Their hands together steal, 
 Each tliinks of some long-hallowed spot, 
 
 And all like brothers feel : 
 Such holy thoughts to all are given ; 
 
 The lowliest has his part ; 
 The love of home, like love of heaven, 
 
 Is woven in our heart." 
 
 There was a pause as he concluded, each sunk in his own reflections. 
 How long we should have thus remained I know not ; but we were 
 speedily aroused from our reverie by the tramp of horses near us. We 
 listened, and could plainly detect in their rude voices and coarse 
 laughter the approach of a body of guerillas. We looked from one to 
 the other in silence and in fear. Nothing could be more unfortunate, 
 should we be discovered. Upon this point we were left little time to 
 deliberate ; for, with a loud cheer, four Spanish horsemen galloped up 
 to the spot, their carbines in the rest. The Frenchmen sprang to their 
 feet and seized their sabres, bent upon making a resolute resistance. 
 As for me, my determination was at once taken. Remaining quietly 
 seated upon the grass, I stirred not for a moment, but, addressing him 
 who appeared to be the chief of the guerillas, said in Spanish : 
 
 " These are my prisoners ; I am a British officer of dragoons, and 
 my party is yonder. " 
 
 This evidently unexpected declaration seemed to surprise them, and
 
 A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA 453 
 
 they conferred for a few moments together. Meanwhile they were 
 joined by two others, in one of whom we could recognise by his 
 costume the real leader of the party. 
 
 " I am Captain in the Light Dragoons," said I, repeating my de- 
 claration. 
 
 " Mart de Dios ! " replied he ; " it is false ; you are a spy ! " 
 
 The word was repeated from lip to lip by his party, and I saw in 
 their lowering looks and darkening features that the moment was a 
 critical one for me. 
 
 t ' Down with your arms ! " cried he, turning to the Frenchmen. 
 " Surrender yourselves our prisoners ; I'll not bid ye twice !" 
 
 The Frenchmen turned upon me an inquiring look, as though to say 
 that upon me now their hopes entirely reposed. 
 
 " Do as he bids you," said I ; while at the same moment I sprang to 
 my legs, and gave a loud shrill whistle, the last echo of which had not 
 died away in the distance, ere it was replied to. 
 
 " Make no resistance now," said I to the Frenchmen, " our safety 
 depends on this." 
 
 While this was passing, two of the Spaniards had dismounted, and, 
 detaching a coil of rope which hung from their saddle peak, were pro- 
 ceeding to tie the prisoners wrist to wrist, the others, with their car- 
 bines to their shoulder, covered us man by man, the chief of the party 
 having singled out me as his peculiar prey. 
 
 " The fate of Mascarenhas might have taught you better," said he, 
 "than to play this game." And then added, with a grim smile, " But 
 we'll see if an Englishman will not make as good a carbonado as a 
 Portuguese !" 
 
 This cruel speech made my blood run cold, for I knew well to what 
 he alluded. I was at Lisbon at the time it happened ; but the melan- 
 choly fate of Julian Mascarenhas, the Portuguese spy, had reached me 
 there. He was burned to death at Torres Vedras ! 
 
 The Spaniard's triumph over my terror was short-lived indeed ; for 
 scarcely had the words fallen from his lips, when a party of the 14th, 
 dashing through the river at a gallop, came riding up. The attitude 
 of the guerillas, as they sat with presented arms, was sufficient for my 
 fellows, who needed not the exhortation of him who rode foremost of 
 the party : 
 
 " Ride them down, boys ! Tumble them over ! Flatten their broad 
 beavers, the infernal thieves ! " 
 
 ' ' Whoop ! " shouted Mike, as he rode at the chief, with the force of 
 a catapult. Down went the Spaniard, horse and all, and before he 
 could disentangle himself, Mike was upon him, his knee pressed upon 
 his neck. 
 
 1 ( Isn't it enough for ye to pillage the whole country, without rob- 
 bing the king's throops r " cried he, as he held him fast to the earth 
 with one hand, while he presented a loaded pistol to his face. 
 
 By this time the scene around me was sufficiently ludicrous. Such 
 of the guerillas as had not been thrown by force from their saddles, 
 had slid peaceably down, and, depositing their arms upon the ground, 
 dropped upon their knees in a semicircle around us, and amid the 
 hoarse laughter of the troopers and the irrepressible merriment of the
 
 454 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Frenchmen, rose up the muttered prayers of the miserable Spaniards, 
 who believed that now their last hour was come. 
 
 " Madre de Dios, indeed ! " cried Mike, imitating the tone of a re- 
 pentant old sinner in a patched mantle. " It's much the blessed 
 Virgin thinks of the like o' ye, thieves and rogues as ye are ; it a'most 
 puts me beyond my senses, to see ye there crossing yourselves like 
 rale Christians." 
 
 I could not help indulging myself in this retributive cruelty towards 
 the chief, and leaving him to the tender mercies of Mike, I ordered the 
 others to rise and form in line before me. Affecting to occupy myself 
 entirely with them, I withdrew the attention of all from the French 
 officers, who remained quiet spectators of the scene around them. 
 
 "Point de fatfons, gentlemen," said I, in a whisper. " Get to your 
 horses and away ! now's your time : good-bye ! " 
 
 A warm grasp of the hand from each was the only reply, and I turned 
 once more to my discomfited friends, the guerillas. 
 
 ' ' There, Mike, let the poor devil rise. I confess appearances were 
 strong against me, just now. Well, Capitaine, are you convinced by 
 this time that I was not deceiving you ? " 
 
 The guerilla muttered some words of apology between his teeth, 
 and while he shook the dust from his cloak, and arranged the broken 
 feather of his hat, cast a look of scowling and indignant meaning upon 
 Mike, whose rough treatment he had evidently not forgiven. 
 
 " Don't be looking at me that way, you black thief ! or I'll " 
 
 " Hold there !" said I; "no more of this. Come, gentlemen, we 
 must be friends. If I mistake not, we've got something like refresh- 
 ment at our bivouac. In any case you'll partake of our watch-fire till 
 morning." 
 
 They gladly accepted our invitation, and ere half-an-hour elapsed, 
 Mike's performance in the part of host had completely erased every 
 unpleasant impression his first appearance gave rise to ; and as for 
 myself, when I did sleep at last, the confused mixture of Spanish and 
 Irish airs which issued from the thicket beside me, proved that a most 
 intimate alliance had grown up between the parties. 
 
 CHAPTER XCIV 
 
 MIKE'S MISTAKE 
 
 AN hour before daybreak the guerillas were in motion, and having 
 taken a most ceremonious leave of us, they mounted their horses and 
 set out upon their journey. I saw their gaunt figures wind down the 
 valley, and watched them till they disappeared in the distance. " Yes, 
 brigands though they be," thought I, " there is something fine, something 
 heroic, in the spirit of their unrelenting vengeance ; the sleuth-hound 
 never followed the lair of his victim with a more ravening appetite 
 for blood than they track the retreating columns of the enemy. Hover- 
 ing around the line of march, they sometimes swoop down in masses 
 and carry off a part of the baggage, or the wounded. The wearied
 
 MIKE'S MISTAKE 455 
 
 soldier, overcome by heat and exhaustion, who drops behind his ranks, 
 is their certain victim ; the sentry on an advanced post is scarcely less 
 so. Whole pickets are sometimes attacked and carried off to a man ; 
 and, when traversing the lonely passes of some mountain gorge, or de- 
 filing through the dense shadows of a wooded glen, the stoutest heart 
 has felt a fear, lest from behind the rock that frowned above him, or 
 from the leafy thicket, whose branches stirred without a breeze, the 
 sharp ring of a guerilla carbine might sound his death-knell." 
 
 It was thus in the retreat upon Corunna fell Colonel Lefebre. Ever 
 foremost in the attack upon our rear-guard, this gallant youth (he 
 was scarce six-and-twenty), a colonel of his regiment, and decorated 
 with the legion of honour, led on every charge of his bold sabreurs, 
 riding up to the very bayonets of our squares, waving his hat above 
 his head, and seeming actually to court his death-wound ; but so struck 
 were our brave fellows with his gallant bearing, that they cheered him 
 as he came on. 
 
 It was in one of these moments as, rising high in his stirrups, he bore 
 down upon the unflinching ranks of the British infantry, the shrill 
 whistle of a ball strewed the leaves upon the roadside, the exulting 
 shout of a guerilla followed it, and the same instant Lefebre fell 
 forward upon his horse's mane, a deluge of blood bursting from his 
 bosom. A broken cry escaped his lips, a last effort to cheer on his 
 men ; his noble charger galloped forward between our squares, bearing 
 to us as our prisoner the corpse of his rider. 
 
 f( Captain O'Malley," said a mounted dragoon to the advanced sentry 
 at the bottom of the little hill upon which I was standing ; " despatches 
 from headquarters, sir," delivering into my hand a large sealed packet 
 from the Adjutant-General's office. While he proceeded to search for 
 another letter of which he was the bearer, I broke the seal and read 
 as follows: 
 
 "ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, May 15th. 
 
 " SIR, On the receipt of this order you are directed, having pre- 
 viously resigned your command to the officer next in seniority, to 
 repair to headquarters at Fuentes d'Onoro, there to report yourself 
 under arrest. I have the honour to be your obedient servant, 
 
 " GEOUGE HOPETOX, 
 
 " Military Secretary." 
 
 11 What the devil can this mean ? " said I to myself, as I read the 
 lines over again and again. " What have I done lately, or what have I 
 left undone to involve me in this scrape ? Ah ! " thought I, ' ' to be sure 
 it can be nothing else. Lord Wellington did recognise me that unlucky 
 morning, and has determined not to let me pass unpunished. How 
 unfortunate ! scarcely twenty-four hours have elapsed since fortune 
 seemed to smile upon me from every side, and now the very destiny 
 I most dreaded stares me fully in the face." A reprimand or the sen- 
 tence of a court-martial, I shrunk from with a coward's fear : it mat- 
 tered comparatively little from what source arising, the injury to my 
 pride as a man and my spirit as a soldier would be almost the same. 
 
 "This is the letter, sir," said the orderly, presenting me with a 
 packet, the address of which was in Power's handwriting. Eagerly
 
 456 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tearing it open, I sought for something which might explain my un- 
 happy position. It bore the same date as the official letter, and ran 
 thus 
 
 f< MY DEAR CHARLEY, I joined yesterday, just in time to enjoy the 
 heartiest laugh I have had since our meeting. If notoriety can gratify 
 you, by Jove you have it ; for Charles O'Malley and his man Mickey 
 Free are bywords in every mess from Villa Formosa to the rear-guard. 
 As it's only fair you should participate a little in the fun you've origi- 
 nated, let me explain the cause : Your inimitable man Mike, to whom 
 it appears you entrusted the report of killed and wounded for the 
 Adjutant-General, having just at that moment accomplished a letter 
 to his friends at home, substituted his correspondence for your returns, 
 and doubtless sent the list of the casualties as very interesting informa- 
 tion to his sweetheart in Ireland. If such be the case, I hope and trust 
 she has taken the blunder in better part than old Colbourn, who swears 
 he'll bring you to a court-martial, under Heaven knows what charges. 
 In fact, his passion has known no bounds since the event ; and a fit of 
 jaundice has given his face a kind of neutral tint between green and 
 yellow, like nothing I know of except the facings of the ' dirty half- 
 hundred.' * 
 
 fe As Mr. Free's letter may be as great a curiosity to you as it has 
 been to us, I enclose you a copy of it, which Hopeton obtained for me. 
 It certainly places the estimable Mike in a strong light as a despatch- 
 writer. The occasional interruption to the current of the letter, you 
 will perceive, arises from Mike having used the pen of a comrade, 
 writing being, doubtless, an accomplishment forgotten in the haste of 
 preparing Mr. Free for the world ; and the amanuensis has, in more 
 than one instance, committed to paper more than was meant by the 
 author : 
 
 te ' MRS. M'GRA, Tear-an'-ages, sure I need not be treating her 
 that way. Now just say, Mrs. Mary ay, that'll do Mrs. Mary, it's 
 may be surprised you'll be to be reading a letter from your humble 
 servant, sitting on the top of the Alps. Arrah, maybe it's not the 
 Alps ; but sure she'll never know foment the whole French army, 
 with Bony himself and all his jinnerals God be between us and harm 
 ready to murther every mother's son of us, av they was able, Molly 
 darlin' ; but, with the blessing of Providence, and Lord Wellington, 
 and Misther Charles, we'll bate them yet, as we bate them afore. 
 
 <e ' My lips is wathering at the thought o the plunder. I often think 
 of Tim Riley, that was hanged for sheep-stealing ; he'd be worth his 
 weight in gold here. 
 
 " 'Misther Charles is now a Captain devil a less and myself might 
 be something that same, but ye see I was always of a bashful nature, 
 and recommended the masther in my place. " He's mighty young, 
 Misther Charles is," says my Lord Wellington to me " he's mighty 
 young, Mr. Free." "He is, my lord," says I; "he's young, as you 
 obsarve, but he's as much divilment in him as many that might be his 
 
 * For the information of my unmilitary readers I may remark that this 
 sobriquet was applied to the 50th Regiment.
 
 .MIKE'S MISTAKE 457 
 
 father. " "That's something Mr. Free/' says my lord ; "ye say he comes 
 of a good stock ? " " The rale sort, my lord/' says I ; " an ould ancient 
 family, that's spent every sixpence they had in treating their neigh- 
 bours. My father lived near them for years" you see, Molly, I said 
 that to season the discoorse. fc We'll make him a Captain," says my 
 lord ; "but, Mr. Free, could we do nothing for you?" " Nothing, at 
 present, my lord. When my friends come into power," says I, " they'll 
 think of me. There's many a little thing to give away in Ireland, and 
 they often find it mighty hard to find a man for Lord-Lieutenant ; and 
 
 if that same, or a tide-waiter's place was vacant " " Just tell me," 
 
 says my lord. " It's what I'll do," says I. " And now, wishing you 
 happy dreams, I'll take my lave." Just so, Molly, it's hand and glove 
 we are. A pleasant face, agreeable manners, seasoned with natural 
 modesty, and a good pair of legs, them's the gifts to push a man's way 
 in the world. And even with the ladies but sure I'm forgetting, my 
 masther was proposed for, and your humble servant, too, by two illi- 
 gant creatures in Lisbon ; but it wouldn't do, Molly, it's higher nor 
 that we'll be looking rale princesses, the devil a less. Tell Kitty 
 Hannigan I hope she's well ; she was a disarving young woman in her 
 situation in life. Shusey Dogherty, at the cross-roads if I don't for- 
 get the name was a good-looking slip too ; give her my affectionate 
 salutations, as we say in the Portuguese. I hope I'll be able to bear 
 the inclementuous nature of your climate when I go back ; but I can't 
 expect to stay long for Lord Wellington can't do without me. We play 
 duets on the guitar together every evening. The masthur is shouting 
 for a blanket, so no more at present from your very affectionate friend, 
 
 "' MICKEY FREE. 
 
 " ' P.8. I don't write this myself, for the Spanish tongue puts me 
 out o' the habit of English. Tell Father Rush, if he'd study the Por- 
 tuguese, I'd use my interest for him with the Bishop of Toledo. It's 
 a country he'd like no regular stations, but promiscuous eating and 
 drinking, and as pretty girls as ever confessed their sins.' 
 
 1 ' My poor Charley, I think I am looking at you. I think I can see 
 the struggle between indignation and laughter, which every line of 
 this letter inflicts upon you. Get back as quickly as you can, and 
 we'll try if Crawford won't pull you through the business. In any 
 case, expect no sympathy, and if you feel disposed to be angry with 
 all who laugh at you, you had better publish a challenge in the next 
 general order. George Scott, of the Greys, bids me say, that if you're 
 hard up for cash, he'll give you a couple of hundred for Mickey Free. 
 I told him I thought you'd accept it, as your uncle has the breed of 
 those fellows upon his estate, and might have no objection to weed 
 his stud. Hammersly's gone back with the Pcishwoods ; but I don't 
 think you need fear anything in that quarter. At the same time, if you 
 wish for success, make a bold push for the peerage, and half-a-dozen 
 decorations, for Miss Lucy is most decidedly gone wild about military 
 distinction. As for me, my affairs go on well ; I've had half-a-dozen 
 quarrels with Inez, but we parted good friends, and my bad Portuguese 
 has got me out of all difficulties with papa, who pressed me tolerably
 
 458 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 close as to fortune. I shall want your assistance in this matter yet. 
 If parchments will satisfy him, I think I could get up a qualification ; 
 but somehow the matter must be done, for I'm resolved to have his 
 daughter. 
 
 " The orderly is starting, so no more till we meet. Yours ever, 
 
 " FRED POWER." 
 
 " Godwin," said I, as I closed the letter, " I find myself in a scrape 
 at headquarters : you are to take the command of the detachment, for 
 I must set out at once." 
 
 " Nothing serious, I hope, O'Malley ? " 
 
 " Oh no ! nothing of consequence. A most absurd blunder of my 
 rascally servant." 
 
 ' ' The Irish fellow, yonder ? " 
 
 " The same." 
 
 " He seems to take it easily, however." 
 
 " Oh, confound him ! he does not know what trouble he has involved 
 me in ; not that he'll care much when he does." 
 
 " Why, he does not seem to be of a very desponding temperament. 
 Listen to the fellow ! I'll be hanged if he's not singing ! " 
 
 ce I'm devilishly disposed to spoil his mirth. They tell me, however, 
 he always keeps the troop in good humour : and see, the fellows are 
 actually cleaning his horses for him, while he is sitting on the bank." 
 
 " Faith, O'Malley, that fellow knows the world. Just hear him." 
 
 Mr. Free was, as Godwin described, most leisurely reposing on a 
 bank, a mug of something drinkable beside him, and a pipe of that 
 curtailed proportion which an Irishman loves, held daintily between his 
 fingers. He appeared to be giving his directions to some soldiers of the 
 troop, who were busily cleaning his horses and accoutrements for him. 
 
 " That's it, Jim ! Rub 'em down along the hocks ; he won't kick : 
 it's only play. Scrub away, honey ; that's the devil's own carbine to 
 get clean." 
 
 " Well, I say, Mr. Free, are you going to give us that 'ere song ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I'll be danged if I burnish your sabre if you don't sing." 
 
 " Tear an' ages ! ain't I composiu' it ? Av I was Tommy Moore I 
 couldn't be quicker." 
 
 " Well, come along, my hearty ; let's hear it." 
 
 e< Oh murther ! " said Mike, draining the pot to its last few drops, 
 which he poured pathetically upon the grass before him, and then, 
 having emptied the ashes from his pipe, he heaved a deep sigh, as 
 though to say life had no more pleasures in store for him. A brief 
 pause followed, after which, to the evident delight of his expectant 
 audience, he began the following song, to the popular air of ' ' Paddy 
 O'Carroll " : 
 
 "BAD LUCK TO THIS MARCHING." 
 
 ' ' Bad luck to this marching, 
 
 Pipeclaying and starching ; 
 How neat one must be to be killed by the French ! 
 
 I'm sick of parading, 
 
 Through wet and cowld wading, 
 Or standing all night to be shot in a trench.
 
 MONSOON IN TROUBLE 459 
 
 To the tune of a fife, 
 
 They dispose of your life, 
 You surrender your soul to some illigant lilt, 
 
 Now I like Garryowen, 
 
 When I hear it at home, 
 But it's not half so sweet when you're going to be kilt. 
 
 Then though up late and early, 
 
 Our pay comes so rarely, 
 The devil a farthing we've ever to spare. 
 
 They say some disaster 
 
 Befell the paymaster ; 
 On my conscience I think that the money's not there 
 
 And, just think what a blunder, 
 
 They won't let us plunder, 
 While the convents invite us to rob them, 'tis clear ; 
 
 Though there isn't a village, 
 
 But cries, ' Come and pillage,' 
 Yet we leave all the mutton behind for Mounseer. 
 
 Like a sailor that's nigh land, 
 
 I long for that island 
 Where even the kisses we steal if we please : 
 
 Where it is no disgrace 
 
 If you don't wash your face, 
 And you've nothing to do but to stand at your ease. 
 
 With no sergeant t'abuse us, 
 
 We fight to amuse us, 
 Sure it's better beat Christian than kick a baboon ; 
 
 How I'd dance like a fairy, 
 
 To see ould Dunleary, 
 And think twice ere I'd leave it to be a dragoon ! " 
 
 " There's a sweet little bit for you," said Mike, as he concluded ; 
 " thrown off as aisy as a game of football." 
 
 " I say, Mr. Free, the Captain's looking for you ; he's just received 
 despatches from the camp, and wants his horses." 
 
 " In that case, gentlemen, I must take my leave of you with the 
 more regret too, that I was thinking of treating you to a supper this 
 evening. You needn't be laughing, it's in earnest I am. Coming, 
 sir ! coming !" shouted he in a louder tone, answering some imaginary 
 call, as an excuse for his exit. 
 
 When he appeared before me an air of most business-like alacrity had 
 succeeded to his late appearance, and having taken my orders to get the 
 horses in readiness, he left me at once, and in less than half-au-hour we 
 were upon the road. 
 
 CHAFFER XCV 
 
 MONSOON IN TROUBLE 
 
 As I rode along towards Fueutes d'Onoro I could not help feeling pro- 
 voked at the absurd circumstances in which I was involved. To be 
 made the subject of laughter for a whole army was by no means a 
 pleasant consideration ; but what I felt far worse was the possibility 
 that the mention of my name in connection with a reprimand might 
 reach the ears of those who knew nothing of the cause.
 
 460 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Mr. Free himself seemed little under the influence of similar feel- 
 ings ; for when, after a silence of a couple of hours, I turned suddenly 
 towards him with a half angry look, and remarked, " You see, sir, 
 what your confounded blundering has done," his cool reply was : 
 
 "Ah, then, won't Mrs. M f Gra be frightened out of her life when she 
 reads all about the killed and wounded in your honour's report ! 1 
 wonder if they ever had the manners to send my own letter afterwards, 
 when they found out their mistake ! " 
 
 " Their mistake ! do you say? rather yours! You appear to have a 
 happy knack of shifting blame from your own shoulders ; and do you 
 fancy that they've nothing else to do than to trouble their heads about 
 your absurd letters?" 
 
 " Faith ! it's easily seen you never saw my letter, or you wouldn't 
 be saying that ; and sure it's not much trouble it would give Colonel 
 Fitzroy, or any o' the staff that write a good hand, just to put in a 
 line to Mrs. M'Gra, to prevent her feeling alarmed about that 
 murthering paper Well, well, it's God's blessing. I don't think 
 there's anybody of the name of Mickey Free high up in the army but 
 myself ; so that the family won't be going into mourning for me on a 
 false alarm." 
 
 I had not patience to participate in this view of the case ; so that I 
 continued my journey without speaking. We had jogged along for 
 some time after dark, when the distant twinkle of the watch-fires 
 announced our approach to the camp. A detachment of the 14th 
 formed the advanced post, and from the officer in command I learned 
 that Power was quartered at a small mill about half a mile distant ; 
 thither I accordingly turned my steps, but finding that the path which 
 led abruptly down to it was broken, and cut up in many places, I sent 
 Mike back with the horses, and continued my way alone on foot. 
 
 The night was deliciously calm, and as I approached the little rustic 
 mill, I could not help feeling struck with Power's taste in a billet. 
 
 A little vine-clad cottage, built close against a rock nearly concealed 
 by the dense foliage around it, stood beside a clear rivulet, whose 
 eddying current supplied water to the mill, and rose in a dew-like spray 
 which sparkled like gems in the pale moonlight. All was still within, 
 but as I came nearer I thought I could detect the chords of a guitar. 
 " Can it be," thought I, " that Master Fred has given himself up to 
 minstrelsy ? or is it some little dress rehearsal for a serenade ? But, 
 no," thought I, " that certainly is not Power's voice. " I crept stealthily 
 down the little path, and approached the window ; the lattice lay open, 
 and, as the curtain waved to and fro with the night air, I could see 
 plainly all who were in the room. 
 
 Close beside the window sat a large dark-featured Spaniard, his 
 hands crossed upon his bosom, and his head inclined heavily forward ; 
 the attitude perfectly denoting deep sleep, even had not his cigar, 
 which remained passively between his lips, ceased to give forth its 
 blue smoke-wreath. At a little distance from him sat a young girl, 
 who even by the uncertain light I could perceive was possessed of all 
 that delicacy of form and gracefulness of carriage which characterise 
 her nation. Her pale features, paler still from the contrast with her 
 jet black hair and dark costume, were lit up with an expression of
 
 MONSOON IN TROUBLE 461 
 
 animation and enthusiasm as her fingers swept rapidly and boldly 
 across the strings of a guitar. 
 
 ' ' And you're not tired of it yet ? " said she, bending her head down- 
 wards towards one whom I now for the first time perceived. 
 
 Reclining carelessly at her feet, his arm leaning upon her chair, 
 whilst his hand occasionally touched her taper fingers, lay my good 
 friend Master Fred Power. An undress jacket thrown loosely open, 
 and a black neckcloth negligently knotted, bespoke the easy nonchal- 
 ance with which he prosecuted his courtship. 
 
 " Do sing it again !" said he, pressing her fingers to his lips. 
 What she replied I could not catch ; but Fred resumed " No, no, 
 he never wakes : the infernal clatter of that mill is his lullaby." 
 ' ' But your friend will be here soon," said she ; " is it not so ? " 
 " Oh, poor Charley ! I'd almost forgotten him ; by-the-bye, you 
 mustn't fall in love with him : there, now, do not look angry ; I only 
 meant thai, as I knew he'd be desperately smitten, you shouldn't let 
 him fancy he got any encouragement." 
 
 "What would you have me do?" said she artlessly. 
 " I've been thinking over that too. In the first place, you'd better 
 never let him hear you sing ; scarcely ever smile ; and, as far as 
 possible, keep out of his sight." 
 
 " One would think, senhor, that all these precautions were to be 
 taken more on my account than his. Is he so very dangerous, then ? " 
 " Not a bit of it ! good-looking enough he is, but only a boy ; at 
 the same time, a devilish bold one ! and he'd think no more of spring- 
 ing through that window, and throwing his arms round your neck, the 
 very first moment of his arrival, than I should of whispering how much 
 I love you." 
 
 " How very odd he must be ! I'm sure I should like him." 
 "Many thanks to both for your kind hints, and now to take ad- 
 vantage of them." So saying, I stepped lightly upon the window-sill, 
 cleared the miller with one spring, and before rower could recover his 
 legs, or Margeritta her astonishment, I clasped her in my arms, and 
 kissed her on either cheek. 
 
 f( Charley ! Charley ! Damn it, man, it won't do," cried Fred, while the 
 young lady, evidently more amused at his discomfiture than affronted 
 at the liberty, threw herself into a seat, and laughed immoderately. 
 
 " Ha ! Holloa there ! What is't ?" shouted the miller, rousing him- 
 self from his nap, and looking eagerly around. "Are they coming? 
 Are the French coming?" 
 
 A hearty renewal of his daughter's laughter was the only reply ; 
 while Power relieved his anxiety by saying : 
 
 " No, no, Pedrillo ; not the French ; a mere marauding party : 
 nothing more. I say, Charley," continued he in a lower tone, " you 
 had better lose no time in reporting yourself at headquarters. We'll 
 walk up together. Devilish awkward scrape yours." 
 
 " Never fear, Fred ; time enough for all that. For the present, if you 
 permit me, I'll follow up my acquaintance with our fair friend here." 
 
 " Gently, gently ! " said he, with a look of most imposing seriousness. 
 " Don't mistake her ; she's not a mere country girl : you understand 
 been bred in a convent here rather superior kind of thing."
 
 462 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Come, come, Fred, I'm not the man to interfere with you for a 
 moment." 
 
 "Good night, senhor," said the old miller, who had been waiting 
 patiently all this time to pay his respects before going. 
 
 " Yes, that's it !" cried Power eagerly. " Good night, Pedrillo." 
 
 " Buenos noches," lisped out Margeritta, with a slight courtesy. 
 
 I sprang forward to acknowledge her salutation, when Power coolly 
 interposed between us, and, closing the door after them, placed his back 
 against it. 
 
 " Master Charley, I must read you a lesson 
 
 "You inveterate hypocrite, don't attempt this nonsense with me. 
 But come, tell me how long you have been here." 
 
 " Just twenty-four of the shortest hours I ever passed at an outpost. 
 But listen do you know that voice ? Isn't it O'Shaughnessy ? " 
 
 "To be sure it is : hear the fellow's song." 
 
 " My father cared little for shot or shell, 
 
 He laughed at death and dangers ; 
 
 And he'd storm the very gates of hell, 
 
 With a company of the ' Rangers. ' 
 
 So sing tow, row, row, row, row," &c. 
 
 " Ah then, Mister Power, it's twice I'd think of returning your visit 
 if I knew the state of your avenue. If there's a grand jury in Spain 
 they might give you a presentment for this bit of road. My knees are 
 as bare as a commissary's conscience, and I've knocked as much flesh 
 off my shinbones as would make a cornet in the hussars." 
 
 A regular roar of laughter from both of us apprised Dennis of our 
 vicinity. 
 
 " And it's laughing ye are ! Wouldn't it be as polite just to hold a 
 candle or lantern for me, in this confounded watercourse ? " 
 
 " How goes it, Major?" cried I, extending my hand to him through 
 the window. 
 
 " Charley Charley O'Malley, my son ! I'm glad to see you. It's a 
 hearty laugh you gave us this morning. My friend Mickey's a plea- 
 sant fellow for a secretary-at-war. But it's all settled now. Crawford 
 arranged it for you this afternoon." 
 
 " You don't say so ! Pray tell me all about it." 
 
 " That's just what I won't; for, ye see, I don't know it; but I be- 
 lieve old Monsoon's affair has put everything out of their heads." 
 
 " Monsoon's affair ! what is that? Out with it, Dennis." 
 
 " Faith, I'll be just as discreet about that as your own business. All 
 I can tell you is, that they brought him up to headquarters this even- 
 ing, with a sergeant's guard, and they say he's to be tried by court- 
 martial ; and Picton is in a blessed humour about it." 
 
 " What could it possibly have been ? Some plundering affair, depend 
 on it" 
 
 ' ' Faith, you may swear it wasn't for his litttle charities, as Dr. 
 Pangloss calls them, they've pulled him up," cried Power. 
 
 " Maurice is in high feather about it," said Dennis. ' ' There are five of 
 them up at Fuentes, making a list of charges to send to Monsoon ; for Bob 
 Mahon, it seems, heard of the old fellow's doings up the mountains."
 
 MONSOON IN TROUBLE 463 
 
 " What glorious fun !" said Power. ''Let's haste and join them, boys." 
 
 " Agreed/' said I. "Is it far from this?" 
 
 " Another stage. When we've got something to eat," said the 
 Major, " if Power has any intentions that way " 
 
 " Well, I really did begin to fear Fred's memory was lapsing ; but, 
 somehow, poor fellow, smiles have been more in his way than sand- 
 wiches lately." 
 
 An admonishing look from Power was his only reply, as he walked 
 towards the door. Bent upon teasing him, however, I continued : 
 
 " My only fear is, he may do something silly. " 
 
 " Who ? Monsoon is it ?" " 
 
 " No, no. Not Monsoon ; another friend of ours." 
 
 " Faith, I scarcely thought your fears of old Monsoon were called 
 for. He's a fox the devil a less." 
 
 "No, no, Dennis. I wasn't thinking of him. My anxieties were 
 for a most soft-hearted young gentleman one Fred Power." 
 
 * ' Charley ! Charley ! " said Fred from the door, where he had been 
 giving directions to his servant 'about supper. ' ' A man can scarce 
 do a more silly thing than marry in the army ; all the disagreeables of 
 married life, with none of its better features." 
 
 " Marry marry ! " shouted O'Shaughnessy ; " upon my conscience, 
 it's incomprehensible to me how a man can be guilty of it. To be 
 sure, I don't mean to say that there are not circumstances such as 
 half-pay, old age, infirmity, the loss of your limbs, and the like ; but 
 that, with good health and a small balance at your banker's, you should 
 be led into such an embarrassment " 
 
 " Men will flirt," said I, interrupting ; " men will press taper fingers, 
 look into bright eyes, and feel their witchery ; and although the fair 
 owners be only quizzing them half the time, and amusing themselves 
 the other, and though they be the veriest hackneyed coquettes " 
 
 "Did you ever meet the Dalrymple girls, Dennis?" said Fred, with 
 a look I shall never forget. 
 
 What the reply was, I cannot tell. My shame and confusion were 
 overwhelming, and Power's victory complete. 
 
 " Here comes the prog," cried Dennis, as Power's servant entered 
 with a very plausible-looking tray, while Fred proceeded to place before 
 us a strong army of decanters. 
 
 Our supper was excellent ; and we were enjoying ourselves to the 
 utmost, when an orderly sergeant suddenly opened the door, and rais- 
 ing his hand to his cap, asked if Major Power was there. 
 
 " A letter for you, sir." 
 
 " Monsoon's writing, by Jove ! Come, boys, let us see what it 
 means. W r hat a hand the old fellow writes ! the letters look all crazy, 
 and are tumbling against each other on every side. Did you ever see 
 anything half so tipsy as the crossing of that t ? " 
 
 " Read it read it out, Fred ! " 
 
 " Twsday evening. 
 
 "DEAR POWER, I'm in such a scrape ! Come up and see me at 
 once : bring a little sherry with you ; and we'll talk over what's to be 
 done. Yours ever, B. MONSOON. 
 
 " QUARTER-GENERAL."
 
 404 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 We resolved to finish our evening with the Major : so that, each 
 having armed himself with a bottle or two, and the remnants of our 
 supper, we set out towards his quarters, under the guidance of the 
 orderly. After a sharp walk of half-an-hour, we reached a small hut, 
 where two sentries of the 88th were posted at the door. 
 
 O'Shaughnessy procured admittance for us, and in we went At a 
 small table, lighted by a thin tallow candle, sat old Monsoon, who, the 
 weather being hot, had neither coat nor wig on ; an old cracked china 
 teapot, in which, as we found afterwards, he had mixed a little grog, 
 stood before him, and a large mass of papers lay scattered around on 
 every side : he himself being occupied in poring over their contents, 
 and taking occasional draughts from his uncouth goblet. 
 
 As we entered noiselessly he never perceived us, but continued to 
 mumble over in a low tone, from the documents before him 
 
 " Upon my life, it's like a dream to me. What infernal stuif this 
 brandy is ! 
 
 " 'CHARGE No. 8. For conduct highly unbecoming an officer and a 
 gentleman, in forcing the cellar of the San Nicolas convent at Banos, 
 taking large quantities of wine therefrom, and subsequently compelling 
 the prior to dance a bolero, thus creating a riot, and tending to destroy 
 the harmony between the British and the Portuguese, so strongly in- 
 culcated to be preserved by the general orders.' 
 
 ' ' Destroying the harmony ! Bless their hearts ! How little they 
 know of it 1 I've never seen a jollier night in the Peninsula ! The 
 prior's a trump, and, as for the bolero, he would dance it. I hope they 
 say nothing about my hornpipe. 
 
 " ' CHARGE No 9. For a gross violation of his duty as an officer, in 
 sending a part of his brigade to attack and pillage the alcalde of Banos ; 
 thereby endangering the public peace of the town, being a flagrant 
 breach of discipline and direct violation of the articles of war. ' 
 
 " Well, I'm afraid I was rather sharp on the alcalde, but we did him 
 no harm except the fright. What sherry the fellow had ! 'twould have 
 been a sin to let it fall into the hands of the French. 
 
 " ' CHARGE No. 10. For threatening on or about the night of the 
 3rd to place the town of Banos under contribution, and subsequently 
 forcing the authorities to walk in procession before him, in absurd 
 and ridiculous costumes.' 
 
 " Lord, how good it was ! I shall never forget the old alcalde ! One 
 of my fellows fastened a dead lamb round his neck, and told him it was 
 the golden fleece. The Commander-in-Chief would have laughed himself 
 if he had been there. Picton's much too grave ; never likes a joke. 
 
 "'CHARGE No. 11. For insubordination and disobedience, in refus- 
 ing to give up his sword, and rendering it necessary for the Portuguese 
 guard to take it by force ; thereby placing himself in a situation highly 
 degrading to a British officer.' 
 
 " Didn't I lay about me before they got it ! Who's that ? Who's 
 
 laughing there ? Ah ! boys, I'm glad to see you. How are you, Fred ? 
 Well, Charley, I've heard of your scrape ; very sad thing for so 
 
 {oung a fellow as you are ; I don't think you'll be broke ; I'll do what 
 can I'll see what I can do with Picton ; we are very old friends 
 were at Eton together. "
 
 MONSOON IN TROUBLE 465 
 
 il Many thanks, Major ; but I hear your own affairs are not flourish- 
 ing. What's all this court-martial about?" 
 
 " A mere trifle ; some little insubordination in the legion. Those 
 Portuguese are sad dogs. How very good of you, Fred, to think of 
 that little supper." 
 
 While the Major was speaking, his servant, with a dexterity the 
 fruit of long habit, had garnished the table with the contents of our 
 baskets, and Monsoon, apologising for not putting on his wig, sat 
 down amongst us with a face as cheerful as though the floor was not 
 covered with the charges of the court-martial to be held on him. 
 
 As we chatted away over the campaign and its chances, Monsoon 
 seemed little disposed to recur to his own fortunes. In fact, he 
 appeared to suffer much more from what he termed my unlucky pre- 
 dicament than from his own mishaps. At the same time, as the evening 
 wore on, and the sherry began to tell upon him, his heart expanded 
 into its habitual moral tendency, and by an easy transition, he was led 
 from the religious association of convents to the pleasures of pillaging 
 them. 
 
 " What wine they have in their old cellars ! It's such fun drinking 
 it out of great silver vessels as old as Methuselah. f There's much 
 treasure in the house of the righteous,' as David says ; and any one who 
 has ever sacked a nunnery knows that." 
 
 " I should like to have seen that prior dancing the bolero," said 
 Power. 
 
 " Wasn't it good, though ; he grew jealous of me, for I performed 
 a hornpipe. Very good fellow the prior ; not like the alcalde : there 
 was no fun in him. Lord bless him, he'll never forget me." 
 
 "What did you do with him, Major?" 
 
 " Well, I'll tell you ; but you mustn't let it be known, for I see they 
 have not put it in the court-martial. Is there no more sherry there ? 
 There, that will do ; I'm always contented ' Better a dry morsel with 
 quietness,' as Moses says. Ah, Charley, never forget ' and a merry 
 heart is just like medicine.' Job found that out, you know." 
 
 " Well, but the alcalde, Major?" 
 
 " Oh, the alcalde, to be sure : these pious meditations make me 
 forget earthly matters. 
 
 " This old alcalde at Banos, I found out, was quite spoiled by Lord 
 Wellington : he used to read all the general orders, and got an absurd 
 notion in his head that because we were his allies we were not allowed 
 to plunder. Only think, he used to snap his fingers at Beresford ; 
 didn't care twopence about the legion ; and laughed outright at Wilson : 
 so when I was ordered down there I took another way with him ; I 
 waited till nightfall, ordered two squadrons to turn their jackets, and 
 sent forward one of my aides-de-camp with a few troopers to the alcalde's 
 house. They galloped into the courtyard, blowing trumpets and making 
 an infernal hubbub. Down came the alcalde in a passion. ' Prepare 
 quarters quickly, and rations for eight hundred men.' 
 
 " ' Who dares to issue such an order ? ' said he. 
 
 "The aide-de-camp whispered one word in his ear, and the old fellow 
 grew pale as death. ' Is he here ? is he coming ? ' said he, trembling 
 from head to foot. 
 
 S G
 
 468 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 began to profit by your absence in pressing my suit than she turned 
 short round, treated me with marked coldness, exhibited a hundred 
 wilful and capricious fancies, and concluded one day by quietly con- 
 fessing to me you were the only man she cared for. " 
 
 ' ' You are not serious in all this, Fred ? " said I. 
 
 " Ain't I, though, by Jove ! I wish to Heaven I were not ! My 
 dear Charley, the girl is an inveterate flirt a decided coquette. 
 Whether she has a particle of heart or not I can't say ; but certainly, 
 her greatest pleasure is to trifle with that of another. Some absurd 
 suspicion that you were in love with Lucy Dash wood piqued her 
 vanity, and the anxiety to recover a lapsing allegiance led her to 
 suppose herself attached to you, and made her treat all my advances 
 with a most frigid indifference, or wayward caprice : the more provok- 
 ing," continued he, with a kind of bitterness in his tone, " as her father 
 was disposed to take the thing favourably ; and, if I must say it, I felt 
 devilish spooney about her myself. 
 
 " It was only two days before I left, that, in a conversation with 
 Don Emauuel, he consented to receive my addresses to his daughter 
 on my becoming Lieutenant-Colonel. I hastened back with delight to 
 bring her the intelligence, and found her with a lock of hair on the 
 book before her, over which she was weeping. Confound me, if it was 
 not yours ! I don't know what I said, nor what she replied ; but when 
 we parted it was with a perfect understanding we were never to meet 
 again. Strange girl ! She came that evening, put her arm within 
 mine as I was walking alone in the garden, and, half in jest, half in 
 earnest, talked me out of all my suspicions, and left me fifty times 
 more in love with her than ever. Egad ! I thought 1 used to know 
 something about women, but here is a chapter I've yet to read. Come, 
 now, Charley, be frank with me : tell me all you know." 
 
 " My poor Fred ! if you were not over head and ears in love, you 
 would see as plainly as I do that your affairs prosper. And after all, 
 how invariable is it that the man who has been the veriest flirt with 
 women sighing, serenading, sonneteering, flinging himself at the feet 
 of every pretty girl he meets with should become the most thorough 
 dupe to his own feelings when his heart is really touched. Your man 
 of eight-and-thirty is always the greatest fool about women." 
 
 " Confound your impertinence ! How the devil can a fellow with a 
 moustache not stronger than a Circassian's eyebrow read such a lecture 
 to me ? " 
 
 " Just for the very reason you've mentioned : you glide into an 
 attachment at my time of life ; you fall in love at yours." 
 
 "Yes," said Power musingly, "there is some truth in that. This 
 flirting is sad work. It is just like sparring with a friend : you put on 
 the gloves in perfect good humour, with the most friendly intentions 
 of exchanging a few amicable blows ; you find yourself insensibly warm 
 with the enthusiasm of the conflict, and some unlucky hard knock 
 decides the matter, and it ends in a downright fight. 
 
 " Few men, believe me, are regular seducers ; and, among those who 
 behave 'vilely' (as they call it), three-fourths of the number have been 
 more sinned against than sinning. You adventure upon love as upon 
 a voyage to India ; leaving the cold northern latitudes of first acquaint-
 
 THE CONFIDENCE 469 
 
 ance behind you, you gradually glide into the warmer and more genial 
 climate of intimacy. Each day you travel southwards shortens the 
 miles and the hours of your existence : so tranquil is the passage, and 
 so easy the transition, you suffer no shock by the change of tempera- 
 ture about you. Happy were it for us, that, in our courtship, as 
 in our voyage, there were some certain Rubicon to remind us of the 
 miles we have journeyed ! Well were it if there were some equinox 
 in love !" 
 
 " I'm not sure, Fred, that there is not that same shaving process 
 they practise on the line occasionally performed for us by parents and 
 guardians at home ; and I'm not certain that the iron hoop of old 
 Neptune is not a pleasanter acquaintance than the hair-trigger of some 
 indignant and fire-eating brother. But come, Fred, you have not told 
 me the most important point How fare your fortunes now? or, in 
 other words What are your present prospects as regards the senhora? " 
 
 " What a question to ask me ! why not request me to tell you where 
 Soult will fight us next, and when Marmont will cross the frontier ? 
 My dear boy, I have not seen her for a week, an entire week seven 
 full days and nights, each with their twenty-four hours of change and 
 vacillation." 
 
 " Well, then, give me the last bulletin from the seat of war ; that at 
 least you can do : tell me how you parted." 
 
 " Strangely enough. You must know we had a grand dinner at the 
 Villa the day before I left : and when we adjourned for our coffee 
 to the garden my spirits were at the top of their bent. Inez never 
 looked so beautiful never was one-half so gracious ; and, as she leaned 
 upon my arm, instead of following the others towards the little 
 summer-house, I turned, as if inadvertently, into a narrow dark alley 
 that skirts the lake." 
 
 "I know it well : continue." 
 
 Power reddened slightly, and went on : 
 
 ( ' ' Why are we taking this path ? ' said Donna Inez ; ' this is surely 
 not a short way.' 
 
 " ' Oh ! I wished to make my adieux to my old friends the swans. 
 You know I go to-morrow.' 
 
 " ( Ah ! that's true,' added she. ' I'd quite forgotten it.' 
 
 "This speech was not very encouraging ; but, as I felt myself in for 
 the battle, I was not going to retreat at the skirmish. Now or never, 
 thought I. I'll not tell you what I said : I couldn't, if I would. It is 
 only with a pretty woman upon one's arm it is only when stealing a 
 glance at her bright eyes, as you bend beyond the border of her 
 bonnet that you know what it is to be eloquent : watching the 
 changeful colour of her cheek with a more anxious heart than ever did 
 mariner gaze upon the fitful sky above him, you pour out your whole 
 soul in love ; you leave no time for doubt, you leave no space for 
 reply ; the difficulties that shoot across her mind you reply to ere she 
 is well conscious of them : and when you feel her hand tremble, or 
 see her eyelid fall, like the leader of a storming-party, when the guns 
 slacken in their fire, you spring boldly forward in the breach, and, 
 blind to every danger around you, rush madly on, and plant your 
 standard upon the walls."
 
 468 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 began to profit by your absence in pressing my suit than she turned 
 short round, treated me with marked coldness, exhibited a hundred 
 wilful and capricious fancies, and concluded one day by quietly con- 
 fessing to me you were the only man she cared for." 
 
 " You are not serious in all this, Fred ? " said I. 
 
 ' ' Ain't I, though, by Jove ! I wish to Heaven I were not ! My 
 dear Charley, the girl is an inveterate flirt a decided coquette. 
 Whether she has a particle of heart or not I can't say ; but certainly, 
 her greatest pleasure is to trifle with that of another. Some absurd 
 suspicion that you were in love with Lucy Dashwood piqued her 
 vanity, and the anxiety to recover a lapsing allegiance led her to 
 suppose herself attached to you, and made her treat all my advances 
 with a most frigid indifference, or wayward caprice : the more provok- 
 ing," continued he, with a kind of bitterness in his tone, ' ' as her father 
 was disposed to take the thing favourably ; and, if I must say it, I felt 
 devilish spooney about her myself. 
 
 <e It was only two days before I left, that, in a conversation with 
 Don Emauuel, he consented to receive my addresses to his daughter 
 on my becoming Lieutenant-Colonel. I hastened back with delight to 
 bring her the intelligence, and found her with a lock of hair on the 
 book before her, over which she was weeping. Confound me, if it was 
 not yours ! I don't know what I said, nor what she replied ; but when 
 we parted it was with a perfect understanding we were never to meet 
 again. Strange girl ! She came that evening, put her arm within 
 mine as I was walking alone in the garden, and, half in jest, half in 
 earnest, talked me out of all my suspicions, and left me fifty times 
 more in love with her than ever. Egad ! I thought 1 used to know 
 something about women, but here is a chapter I've yet to read. Come, 
 now, Charley, be frank with me : tell me all you know." 
 
 " My poor Fred ! if you were not over head and ears in love, you 
 would see as plainly as I do that your affairs prosper. And after all, 
 how invariable is it that the man who has been the veriest flirt with 
 women sighing, serenading, sonneteering, flinging himself at the feet 
 of every pretty girl he meets with should become the most thorough 
 dupe to his own feelings when his heart is really touched. Your man 
 of eight-and-thirty is always the greatest fool about women." 
 
 " Confound your impertinence ! How the devil can a fellow with a 
 moustache not stronger than a Circassian's eyebrow read such a lecture 
 to me?" 
 
 " Just for the very reason you've mentioned : you glide into an 
 attachment at my time of life ; you fall in love at yours." 
 
 "Yes," said Power musingly, "there is some truth in that. This 
 flirting is sad work. It is just like sparring with a friend : you put on 
 the gloves in perfect good humour, with the most friendly intentions 
 of exchanging a few amicable blows ; you find yourself insensibly warm 
 with the enthusiasm of the conflict, and some unlucky hard knock 
 decides the matter, and it ends in a downright fight. 
 
 " Few men, believe me, are regular seducers ; and, among those who 
 behave ' vilely ' (as they call it), three-fourths of the number have been 
 more sinned against than sinning. You adventure upon love as upon 
 a voyage to India ; leaving the cold northern latitudes of first acquaint-
 
 THE CONFIDENCE 469 
 
 ance behind you, you gradually glide into the warmer and more genial 
 climate of intimacy. Each day you travel southwards shortens the 
 miles and the hours of your existence : so tranquil is the passage, and 
 so easy the transition, you suffer 110 shock by the change of tempera- 
 ture about you. Happy were it for us, that, in our courtship, as 
 in our voyage, there were some certain Rubicon to remind us of the 
 miles we have journeyed ! Well were it if there were some equinox 
 in love ! " 
 
 " I'm not sure, Fred, that there is not that same shaving process 
 they practise on the line occasionally performed for us by parents and 
 guardians at home ; and I'm not certain that the iron hoop of old 
 Neptune is not a pleasanter acquaintance than the hair-trigger of some 
 indignant and fire-eating brother. But come, Fred, you have not told 
 me the most important point How fare your fortunes now? or, in 
 other words What are your present prospects as regards the senhora? " 
 
 " What a question to ask me ! why not request me to tell you where 
 Soult will fight us next, and when Marmont will cross the frontier ? 
 My dear boy, I have not seen her for a week, an entire week seven 
 full days and nights, each with their twenty-four hours of change and 
 vacillation." 
 
 " Well, then, give me the last bulletin from the seat of war ; that at 
 least you can do : tell me how you parted." 
 
 ' ' Strangely enough. You must know we had a grand dinner at the 
 Villa the day before I left : and when we adjourned for our coffee 
 to the garden my spirits were at the top of their bent. Inez never 
 looked so beautiful never was one-half so gracious ; and, as she leaned 
 upon my arm, instead of following the others towai'ds the little 
 summer-house, I turned, as if inadvertently, into a narrow dark alley 
 that skirts the lake." 
 
 " I know it well : continue." 
 
 Power reddened slightly, and went on : 
 
 " ' Why are we taking this path ? ' said Donna Inez ; ' this is surely 
 not a short way.' 
 
 " ' Oh ! I wished to make my adieux to my old friends the swans. 
 You know I go to-morrow.' 
 
 " 'Ah ! that's true,' added she. ' I'd quite forgotten it.' 
 
 "This speech was not very encouraging ; but, as I felt myself in for 
 the battle, I was not going to retreat at the skirmish. Now or never, 
 thought I. I'll not tell you what I said : I couldn't, if I would. It is 
 only with a pretty woman upon one's arm it is only when stealing a 
 glance at her bright eyes, as you bend beyond the border of her 
 bonnet that you know what it is to be eloquent : watching the 
 changeful colour of her cheek with a more anxious heart than ever did 
 mariner gaze upon the fitful sky above him, you pour out your whole 
 soul in love ; you leave no time for doubt, you leave no space for 
 reply ; the difficulties that shoot across her mind you reply to ere she 
 is well conscious of them : and when you feel her hand tremble, or 
 see her eyelid fall, like the leader of a storming-party, when the guns 
 slacken in their fire, you spring boldly forward in the breach, and, 
 blind to every diinger around you, rush madly on, and plant your 
 standard upon the walls."
 
 470 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 "I hope you allow the vanquished the honours of war," said I, in- 
 terrupting. 
 
 Without noticing my observation, he continued : 
 
 " I was on my knee before her, her hand passively resting in mine, 
 her eyes bent upon me softly and tearfully " 
 
 "The game was your own, in fact." 
 
 " You shall hear." 
 
 " ' Have we stood long enough thus, senhor ? ' said she, bursting 
 into a fit of laughter. 
 
 ' ' 1 sprang to my legs in anger and indignation. 
 
 " ' There, don't be passionate ; it is so tiresome. What do you call 
 that tree there ? ' 
 
 ' ' c It is a tulip tree,' said I coldly. 
 
 <c ' Then, to put your gallantry to the test, do climb up there and 
 
 pluck me that flower No, the far one. If you fall into the lake 
 
 and are drowned, why, it would put an end to this foolish interview.' 
 
 "'And if not?' said I. 
 
 " ' Oh, then I shall take twelve hours to consider of it ; and, if my 
 decision be in your favour, I'll give you the flower ere you leave to- 
 morrow.' 
 
 " It's somewhat about thirty years since I went bird-nesting ; and, 
 hang me ! if a tight jacket and spurs are the best equipment for climb- 
 ing a tree ; but up I went, and, amid a running fire of laughter and 
 quizzing, reached the branch and brought it down safely. 
 
 " Inez took especial care to avoid me the rest of the evening ; we 
 did not meet until breakfast the next morning. I perceived then that 
 she wore the flower in her belt ; but, alas ! I knew her too well to augur 
 favourably from that ; besides that, instead of any trace of sorrow or 
 depression at my approaching departure, she was in high spirits, and 
 the life of the party. ' How can I manage to speak with her ? ' said I 
 to myself; 'but one word I already anticipate what it must be ; but 
 let the blow fall anything is better than this uncertainty.' 
 
 " ' The General and the staff have passed the gate, sir,' said my 
 servant at this moment 
 
 ' ' ' Are my horses ready ? ' 
 
 " ' At the door, sir ; and the baggage gone forward.' 
 
 ' ' I gave Inez one look. 
 
 ' ' ' Did you say more coffee ? ' said she, smiling. 
 
 " I bowed coldly, and rose from the table. They all assembled upon 
 the terrace to see me ride away. 
 
 <e ' You'll let us hear from you,' said Don Emanuel. 
 
 " ' And pray don't forget the letter to my brother,' cried old Madame 
 Forjas. 
 
 "Twenty similar injunctions burst from the party; but not a word 
 said Inez. 
 
 " ' Adieu, then ! ' said I. e Farewell ! ' 
 
 " e Adios ! Go with God ! ' chorused the party. 
 
 " ' Good-bye, senhora,' said I. ' Have you nothing to tell me ere 
 we part ? ' 
 
 " ' Not that I remember,' said she carelessly. ' I hope you'll have 
 good weather.'
 
 THE CANTONMENT 471 
 
 " 'There is a storm threatening/ said I gloomily. 
 
 11 ' Well ! a soldier cares little for a wet jacket.' 
 
 " ' Adieu ! ' said I sharply, darting at her a look that spoke my 
 meaning. 
 
 " ' Farewell ! ' repeated she, curtseying slightly, and giving one of 
 her sweetest smiles. 
 
 " I drove the spurs into my horse's flanks, but holding him firmly 
 on the curb at the same moment, instead of dashing forward, he 
 bounded madly in the air. 
 
 " ' What a pretty creature ! ' said she, as she turned towards the 
 house ; then, stopping carelessly, she looked round : ' Should you like 
 this bouquet ? ' 
 
 f< Before I could reply, she disengaged it from her belt and threw 
 it towards me. The door closed behind her as she spoke ; I galloped 
 on to overtake the staff et voild tout. Now, Charley, read my fate for 
 me, and tell me what this portends." 
 
 11 1 confess I only see one thing certain in the whole." 
 
 (< And that is ? " said Power. 
 
 "That Master Fred Power is more irretrievably in love than any 
 gentleman on full pay I ever met with." 
 
 " By Jove ! I half fear as much ! Is that orderly waiting for you, 
 Charley ? Who do you want, my man ? " 
 
 " Captain O'Malley, sir : General Crawford desires to see you at 
 h ead q uarters i mm ediately. ' ' 
 
 " Come, Charley, I'm going towards Fuentes. Take your cap : 
 we'll walk down together." 
 
 So saying, we cantered towards the village, where we separated 
 Power to join some 14th men stationed there on duty, and I to the 
 General's quarters to receive my orders. 
 
 CHAPTER XCVII 
 
 THE CANTONMENT 
 
 SOON after this the army broke up from Caja, and went into canton- 
 ments along the Tagus ; the headquarters being at Portalegre. We 
 were here joined by four regiments of infantry lately arrived from 
 England, and the 12th Light Dragoons. I shall not readily forget the 
 first impressions created among our reinforcements by the habit of our 
 life at this period. 
 
 Brimful of expectation, they had landed at Lisbon ; their minds 
 filled with all the glorious expectancy of a brilliant campaign : sieges, 
 storming, and battlefields floated before their excited imagination. 
 Scarcely, however, had they reached the camp when these illusions 
 were dissipated. Breakfasts, dinners, private theatricals, pigeon 
 matches, formed our daily occupation. Lord Wellington's hounds 
 threw off regularly twice a week, and here might be seen every 
 imaginable species of equipment, from the artillery officer, mounted on 
 his heavy troop horse, to the infantry subaltern, on a Spanish jennet.
 
 472 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Never was anything more ludicrous than our turn-out : every quadruped 
 in the army was put into requisition ; and even those who rolled not 
 from their saddles from sheer necessity were most likely to do so from 
 laughing at their neighbours. The pace may not have equalled 
 Melton, nor the fences have been as stubborn as in Leicestershire, but 
 I'll be sworn there was more laughter, more fun, and more merriment 
 in one day with us than in a whole season with the best organised pack 
 in England. With a lively trust that the country was open, and the 
 leaps easy, every man took the field ; indeed, the only anxiety evinced 
 at all was to appear at the meet in something like jockey fashion, and 
 I must confess that this feeling was particularly conspicuous among 
 the infantry. Happy the man whose kit boasted a pair of cords, or 
 buckskins ; thrice happy he who sported a pair of tops. I myself was 
 in that enviable position, and well remember with what pride of heart 
 I cantered up to cover, in all the superior eclat of my costume, though, 
 if truth were to be spoken, I doubt if I should have passed muster 
 among my friends of the "Blazers." A round cavalry jacket and a 
 foraging cap with a hanging tassel were the strange accompaniments of 
 my more befitting nether garments. Whatever our costumes, the scene 
 was a most animated one. Here the shell jacket of a heavy dragoon 
 was seen storming the fence of a vineyard. There the dark green of 
 a rifleman was going the pace over the plain. The unsportsman-like 
 figure of a staiF-officer might be observed emerging from a drain, while 
 some neck-or-nothing Irishman, with light infantry wings, was flying 
 at every fence before him, and overturning all in his way. The rules 
 and regulations of the service prevailed not here ; the starred and 
 gartered General, the plumed and aiguilletted Colonel, obtained but 
 little deference, and less mercy, from his more humble subaltern. In 
 fact, I am half disposed to think that many an old grudge of rigid 
 discipline, or severe duty, met with its retribution here. More than 
 once have I heard the muttered sentences around me which boded 
 something like this : 
 
 " Go the pace, Harry ! never flinch it ! There's old Colquhoun 
 take him in the haunches roll him over." 
 
 " See here, boys watch how I'll scatter the staff beg your pardon, 
 General, hope I haven't hurt you. Turn about fair play I have 
 taught you to take up a position now." 
 
 I need scarcely say there was one whose person was sacred from all 
 such attacks : he was well mounted upon a strong half-bred horse ; 
 rode always foremost, following the hounds with the same steady 
 pertinacity with which he would have followed the enemy ; his com- 
 pressed lip rarely opening for a laugh, when even the most ludicrous 
 misadventure was enacting before him ; and when, by chance, he would 
 give way, the short ha ! ha ! was over in a moment, and the cold stern 
 features were as fixed and impassive as before. 
 
 All the excitement, all the enthusiasm of a hunting-field, seemed 
 powerless to turn his mind from the preoccupation which the mighty 
 interests he presided over exacted. I remember once an incident 
 which, however trivial in itself, is worth recording, as illustrative of 
 what I mean. We were going along at a topping pace, the hounds, a 
 few fields in advance, were hidden from our view by a small beech
 
 THE CANTONMENT 473 
 
 copse : the party consisted of not more than six persons, one of whom 
 was Lord Wellington himself. Our run had heen a splendid one, and, 
 as we were pursuing 1 the fox to earth, every man of us pushed his horse 
 to his full stride in the hot enthusiasm of such a moment. 
 
 ee This way, my lord this way," said Colonel Conyers, an old Melton 
 man, who led the way. ' ' The hounds are in the valley keep to the 
 left." As no reply was made, after a few moments' pause, Conyers 
 repeated his admonition. ' e You are_wrong, my lord, the hounds are 
 hunting yonder." 
 
 " I know it ! " was the brief answer, given with a shortness that 
 almost savoured of asperity : for a second or two, not a word was 
 spoken. 
 
 ' How far is Niza, Gordon ? " inquired Lord Wellington. 
 
 1 About five leagues, my lord," replied the astonished aide-de-camp. 
 
 1 That's the direction, is it not ? " 
 
 ' Yes, my lord. " 
 
 ' Let's go over and inspect the wounded." 
 
 No more was said, and before a second was given for consideration, 
 away went his lordship, followed by his aide.-de-camp ; his pace the 
 same stretching gallop, and apparently feeling as much excitement as 
 he dashed onward towards the hospital as though following in all the 
 headlong enthusiasm of a fox-chase. 
 
 Thus passed our summer ; a life of happy ease and recreation suc- 
 ceeding to the harassing fatigues and severe privations of the pre- 
 ceding campaign. Such are the lights and shadows of a soldier's life ; 
 such the checkered surface of his fortunes ; constituting by their very 
 change that buoyant temperament, that happy indifference, which 
 enables him to derive its full enjoyment from each passing incident of 
 his career. 
 
 While thus we indulged in all the fascinations of a life of pleasure, 
 the rigid discipline of the army was never for a moment forgotten : 
 reviews, parades, and inspections were of daily occurrence, and even a 
 superficial observer could not fail to detect that under this apparent 
 devotion to amusement and enjoyment our Commander-in-Chief con- 
 cealed a deep stroke of his policy. 
 
 The spirits of both men and officers, broken, in spite of their suc- 
 cesses, by the incessant privations they had endured, imperatively de- 
 manded this period of rest and repose. The infantry, many of whom 
 had served in the ill-fated campaign of Walcheren, were still suffering 
 from the effects of the intermittent fever. The cavalry, from deficient 
 forage, severe marches, and unremitting service, were in great part 
 unfit for duty. To take the field under circumstances like these was 
 therefore impossible ; and, with the double object of restoring their 
 wonted spirit to his troops, and checking the ravages which sickness 
 and the casualties of war had made within his ranks, Lord Wellington 
 embraced the opportunity of the enemy's inaction to take up his present 
 position on the Tagus. 
 
 Meanwhile, that we enjoyed all the pleasures of a country life, en- 
 hanced tenfold by daily association with gay and cheerful companions, 
 the master mind, whose reach extended from the profoundest calcula- 
 tions of strategy to the minutest details of military organisation, was
 
 474 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 never idle. Foreseeing that a period of inaction, like the present, must 
 only be like the solemn calm that preludes the storm, he prepared for 
 the future by those bold conceptions and unrivalled combinations which 
 were to guide him through many a field of battle and of danger, to end 
 his career of glory in the liberation of the Peninsula. 
 
 The failure of the attack upon Badajos had neither damped his 
 ardour nor changed his views ; and he proceeded to the investment of 
 Ciudad Rodrigo with the same intense determination of uprooting the 
 French occupation in Spain, by destroying their strongholds and cut- 
 ting off their resources. Carrying aggressive war in one hand, he 
 turned the other towards the maintenance of those defences which, in 
 the event of disaster or defeat, must prove the refuge of the army. 
 
 To the lines of Torres Vedras he once more directed his attention. 
 Engineer officers were despatched thither ; the fortresses were put into 
 repair ; the bridges broken or injured during the French invasion were 
 restored ; the batteries upon the Tagus were rendered more effective, 
 and furnaces for heating shot were added to them. 
 
 The inactivity and apathy of the Portuguese Government but ill 
 corresponded with his unwearied exertions ; and, despite of continual 
 remonstrances and unceasing representations, the bridges over the 
 Leira and Alva were left unrepaired, and the roads leading to them, so 
 broken as to be almost impassable, might seriously have endangered 
 the retreat of the army, should such a movement be deemed necessary. 
 
 It was in the first week of September I was sent with despatches for 
 the engineer officer in command at the lines, and during the fortnight 
 of my absence was enabled for the first time to examine those extra- 
 ordinary defences which, for the space of thirty miles, extended over a 
 country undulating in hill and valley, and presenting by a succession 
 of natural and artificial resources the strongest and most impregnable 
 barrier that has ever been presented against the advance of a conquer- 
 ing army. 
 
 CHAPTER XCVIII 
 MICKEY TREE'S ADVENTURE 
 
 WHEN I returned to the camp I found the greatest excitement prevail- 
 ing on all sides. Each day brought in fresh rumours that Marmont 
 was advancing in force ; that 60,000 Frenchmen were in full march 
 upon Ciudad Rodrigo, to raise the blockade and renew the invasion 
 of Portugal. Intercepted letters corroborated these reports ; and the 
 guerillas who joined us spoke of large convoys which they had seen 
 upon the roads from Salamanca and Tamanes. 
 
 Except the Light Division, which, under the command of Crawford, 
 were posted upon the right of the Aguada, the whole of our army 
 occupied the country from El Bodon to Gallegos ; the Fourth Division 
 being stationed at Fuente Guenaldo, where some entrenchments had 
 been hastily thrown up. 
 
 To this position Lord Wellington resolved upon retreating, as 
 affording points of greater strength and more capability of defence
 
 MICKEY FREE'S ADVENTURE 475 
 
 than the other line of road, which led by Almeida upon the Coa. Of 
 the enemy's intentions we were not long to remain in doubt : for on 
 the morning of the 24th a strong body were seen descending from the 
 pass above Ciudad Rodrigo, and cautiously reconnoitring the banks of 
 the Aguada. Far in the distance a countless train of waggons, bullock- 
 carts, and loaded mules were seen winding their slow length along, 
 accompanied by several squadrons of dragoons. 
 
 Their progress was slow, but as evening fell they entered the gates 
 of the fortress, and the cheering of the garrison mixing with the strains 
 of martial music, faint from distance, reached us where we lay upon 
 the far-off heights of El Bodon. So long as the light lasted we could 
 perceive fresh troops arriving ; and even when the darkness came on 
 we could detect the position of the reinforcing columns, by the bright 
 watch-fires which gleamed along the plain. 
 
 By daybreak we were under arms, anxiously watching for the inten- 
 tions of our enemy, which soon became no longer dubious. Twenty- 
 five squadrons of cavalry, supported by a whole division of infantry, 
 were seen to defile along the great road from Ciudad Rodrigo to 
 Guenaldo. Another column, equally numerous, marched straight upon 
 Espeja : nothing could be more beautiful, nothing more martial than 
 their appearances ; emerging from a close mountain-gorge they wound 
 along the narrow road, and appeared upon the bridge of the Aguada, 
 just as the morning sun was bursting forth ; his bright beams tipping 
 the polished cuirassiers and their glittering equipments, they shone in 
 their panoply like the gay troop of some ancient tournament. The 
 lancers of Berg, distinguished by their scarlet dolmans and gorgeous 
 trappings, were followed by the Cuirassiers of the Guard, who again 
 were succeeded by the chasseurs d cheval, their bright steel helmets and 
 light blue uniforms, their floating plumes and dappled chargers, look- 
 ing the very beau ideal of light horsemen ; behind, the dark masses of 
 the infantry pressed forward, and deployed into the plain ; while bring- 
 ing up the rear, the rolling din, like distant thunder, announced the 
 " dread artillery." 
 
 On they came, the seemingly interminable line converging on to 
 that one spot upon whose summit now we assembled a force of scarcely 
 10,000 bayonets. 
 
 While this brilliant panorama was passing before our eyes we our- 
 selves were not idle. Orders had been sent to Picton to come up from 
 the left with his division. Alten's cavalry and a brigade of artillery 
 were sent to the front, and every preparation which the nature of the 
 ground admitted was made to resist the advance of the enemy. While 
 these movements on either side occupied some hours, the scene was 
 every moment increasing in interest. The large body of cavalry was 
 now seen forming into columns of attack. Nine battalions of infantry 
 moved up to their support, and forming into columns, echelons, and 
 squares, performed before us all the manoeuvres of a review with the 
 most admirable precision and rapidity. But from these our attention 
 was soon taken by a brilliant display upon our left. Here, emerging 
 from the wood which flanked the Aguada, were now to be seen the 
 gorgeous staff of Marmont himself. Advancing at a walk, they came 
 forward amid the vivas of the assembled thousands, burning with
 
 476 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ardour and thirsting for victory. For a moment, as 1 looked, I could 
 detect the Marshal himself, as, holding his plumed hat above his head, 
 he returned the salute of a lancer regiment who proudly waved their 
 banners as he passed ; but, hark ! what are those clanging sounds, 
 which, rising high above the rest, seem like the war-cry of a warrior ? 
 
 " I can't mistake those tones," said a bronzed old veteran beside me. 
 e( Those are the brass bands of the Imperial Guard. Can Napoleon be 
 there? see ! there they come." As he spoke, the head of a column 
 emerged from the wood, and deploying as they came, poured into the 
 plain. For above an hour that mighty tide flowed on, and before 
 noon a force of 60,000 men was collected in the space beneath us. 
 
 J was not long to remain an unoccupied spectator of this brilliant 
 display ; for I soon received orders to move down with my squadron 
 to the support of the Eleventh Light Dragoons, who were posted at 
 the base of the hill. The order at the moment was anything but 
 agreeable, for I was mounted upon a hack pony, on which I had 
 ridden over from Crawford's division early in the morning, and sus- 
 pecting that there might be some hot work during the day, had ordered 
 Mike to follow with my horse. There was no time, however, for 
 hesitation, and I moved my men down the slope in the direction of 
 the skirmishers. 
 
 The position we occupied was singularly favourable : our flanks de- 
 fended on either side by brushwood, we could only be assailed in front ; 
 and here, notwithstanding our vast inferiority of force, we steadily 
 awaited the attack. As I rode from out the thick wood I could not 
 help feeling surprised at the sounds which greeted me. Instead of the 
 usual low and murmuring tones the muttered sentences which precede 
 a cavalry advance a roar of laughter shook the entire division, while 
 exclamations burst from every side around me : " Look at him now ! " 
 ' ' They have him ! by heavens they have him ! " " Well done ! 
 well done!" "How the fellow rides!" "He's hit! he's hit!" 
 " No ! no ! " ' ' Is he down ? " " He's down ! " 
 
 A loud cheer rent the air at this moment, and I reached the front in 
 time to learn the reason of all this excitement. In the wide plain 
 before me a horseman was seen, having passed the ford of the Aguada, 
 to advance at the top of his speed towards the British lines. As he 
 came nearer, it was perceived that he was accompanied by a led horse, 
 and, apparently with total disregard of the presence of an enemy, rode 
 boldly and carelessly forward : behind him rode three lancers, their 
 lances couched, their horses at speed : the pace was tremendous, and 
 the excitement intense ; for sometimes, as the leading horseman of the 
 pursuit neared the fugitive, he would bend suddenly upon his saddle 
 and, swerving to the right or the left, totally evade him, while again 
 at others, with a loud cry of bold defiance, rising in his stirrups, he 
 would press on, and, with a shake of his bridle that bespoke the jockey, 
 almost distance the enemy. 
 
 1 ' That must be your fellow, O'Malley ; that must be your Irish 
 groom," cried a brother officer. There could be no doubt of it. It 
 was Mike himself. 
 
 ' ' I'll be hanged if he's not playing with them," said Baker. ' ' Look 
 at the villain ! He's holding in : that's more than the Frenchmen are
 
 MICKEY FREE'S ADVENTURE 477 
 
 doing. Look, look at the fellow on the grey horse ; he has flung his 
 trumpet to his back, and drawn his sabre.' 
 
 A loud cheer burst from the French lines : the trumpeter was gain- 
 ing at every stride. Mike had got into deep ground, and the horses 
 would not keep together. " Let the brown horse go ! let him go, 
 man ! " shouted the dragoons, while I re-echoed the cry with my utmost 
 might. But not so : Mike held firmly on, and, spun-ing madly, he 
 lifted his horse at each stride ; turning from time to time a glance at 
 his pursuer. A shout of triumph rose from the French side : the 
 trumpeter was beside him ; his arm was uplifted ; the sabre above his 
 head. A yell broke from the British, and with difficulty could the 
 squadron be restrained. For above a minute the horses went side by 
 side, but the Frenchman delayed his stroke until he could get a little 
 in the front. My excitement had rendered me speechless : if a word 
 could have saved my poor fellow, I could not have spoken. A mist 
 seemed to gather across my eyes, and the whole plain, and its peopled 
 thousands, danced before my eyes. 
 
 "He's down !" " He's down ! by heavens !" ee No ! no ! no !" 
 " Look there nobly done ! " " Gallant fellow !" " He has him ! he 
 
 has him by " A cheer that rent the very air above us broke from 
 
 the squadrons, and Mike galloped in amongst us, holding the French- 
 man by the throat with one hand ; the bridle of his horse he firmly 
 grasped with his own in the other. 
 
 "How was it? How did he do it?" cried I. 
 
 ' ' He broke his sword-arm with a blow, and the Frenchman's sabre 
 fell to the earth." 
 
 " Here he is, Misther Charles ; and musha, but it's trouble he gave 
 me to catch him ! and J hope your honour won't be displeased at me 
 losing the brown horse. I was obliged to let him go when the thief 
 closed on me ; but sure, there he is : may I never ! if he's not 
 galloping into the lines by himself." As he spoke, my brown charger 
 came cantering up to the squadrons, and took his place in the line 
 with the rest. 
 
 I had scarcely time to mount my horse, amid a buzz of congratula- 
 tions, when our squadron was ordered to the front. Mixed up with 
 detachments from the llth and 16th, we continued to resist the enemy 
 for above two hours. 
 
 Our charges were quick, sharp, and successive, pouring in our 
 numbers wherever the enemy appeared for a moment to be broken, 
 and then retreating under cover of our infantry, when the oppoMiiir 
 cavalry came down upon us in overwhelming numbers. 
 
 Nothing could be more perfect than the manner in which the dif- 
 ferent troops relieved each other during this part of the day. When 
 the French squadrons advanced ours met them as boldly. When the 
 ground became no longer tenable we broke and fell back, and the 
 bayonets of the infantry arrested their progress. If the cavalry 
 pressed heavily upon the squares, ours came up to the relief, and, 
 as they were beaten back, the artillery opened upon them with an 
 avalanche of grape-shot. 
 
 I have seen many battles of greater duration, and more important in 
 result many there have been in which more tactic was displayed, and
 
 478 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 greater combinations called forth ; but never did I witness a more 
 desperate hand-to-hand conflict than on the heights of El Bodon. 
 
 Baffled by our resistance, Montbruu advanced with the Cuirassiers of 
 the Guard. Riding down our advanced squadrons, they poured upon 
 us like some mighty river, overwhelming all before it, and charged, 
 cheering, up the heights. Our brave troopers were thrown back upon 
 the artillery, and many of them cut down beside the guns. The 
 artillery-men and the drivers shared the same fate, and the cannon 
 were captured. A cheer of exultation burst from the French, and 
 their vivas rent the air. Their exultation was short-lived, and that 
 cheer their death-cry ; for the 5th Foot, who had hitherto lain con- 
 cealed in the grass, sprang madly to their feet, their gallant Major 
 Ridge at their head. With a yell of vengeance they rushed upon the 
 foe : the glistening bayonets glanced amid the cavalry of the French ; 
 the troops pressed hotly home ; and while the cuirassiers were driven 
 down the hill, the guns were recaptured, limbered up, and brought 
 away. This brilliant charge was the first recorded instance of cavalry 
 being assailed by infantry in line. 
 
 But the hill could no longer be held ; the French were advancing 
 on either flank; overwhelming numbers pressed upon the front, and 
 retreat was unavoidable. The cavalry were ordered to the rear, and 
 Picton's division, throwing themselves into square, covered the retreat- 
 ing movement 
 
 The French dragoons bore down upon every face of those devoted 
 battalions ; the shouts of triumph cheered them as the earth trembled 
 beneath their charge ; but the British infantry, reserving their fire 
 until the sabres clanked with the bayonet, poured in a shattering 
 volley, and the cry of the wounded and the groans of the dying rose 
 from the smoke around them. 
 
 i Again and again the French came on ; and the same fate ever 
 awaited them ; the only movement in the British square was closing 
 up the spaces as their comrades fell or sank wounded to the earth. 
 
 At last reinforcements came up from the left : the whole retreated 
 across the plain, until, as they approached Guenaldo, our cavalry, 
 having reformed, came to their aid with one crushing charge, which 
 closed the day. 
 
 The same night Lord Wellington fell back, and concentrating his 
 troops within a narrow loop of land bounded on either flank by the 
 Coa, awaited the arrival of the Light Division, which joined us at three 
 in the morning. 
 
 The following day Marmont again made a demonstration of his force, 
 but no attack followed : the position was too formidable to be easily 
 assailed, and the experience of the preceding day had taught him that, 
 however inferior in numbers, the troops he was opposed to were as 
 valiant as they were ably commanded. 
 
 Soon after this Marmont retired on the valley of the Tagus. 
 Dorsenne also fell back, and, for the present, at least, no further effort 
 was made to prosecute the invasion of Portugal.
 
 THE SAN PETRO 479 
 
 CHAPTER XC1X 
 
 THE SAN PETRO 
 
 " NOT badly wounded, O'Malley, I hope ? " said General Crawford, as I 
 waited upon him soon after the action. 
 
 I could not help starting at the question, while he repeated it, point- 
 ing at the same time to my left shoulder, from which a stream of blood 
 was now flowing down my coat-sleeve. 
 
 " 1 never noticed it, sir, till this moment : it can't be of much con- 
 sequence, for I have been on horseback the entire day, and never 
 felt it." 
 
 " Look to it at once, boy ; a man wants all his blood for this cam- 
 paign. Go to your quarters ; I shall not need you for the present, so 
 pray see the doctor at once." 
 
 As I left the General's quarters I began to feel sensible of pain, and 
 before a quarter of an hour had elapsed had quite convinced myself 
 that my wound was a severe one. The hand and arm were swollen, 
 heavy, and distended with hemorrhage beneath the skin : my thirst 
 became great, and a cold shuddering sensation passed over me from 
 time to time. 
 
 I sat down for a moment upon the grass, and was just reflecting 
 within myself what course I should pursue, when I heard the tramp of 
 feet approaching. 1 looked up, and perceived some soldiers in fatigue 
 dresses, followed by a few others, who, from their noiseless gesture 
 and sad countenances, I guessed were carrying some wounded comrade 
 to the rear. 
 
 ' ' Who is it, boys ? " cried I. 
 
 " It's the Major, sir : the Lord be good to him ! " said a hardy-look- 
 ing Eighty-eighth man, wiping his eye with the cuff of his coat as he 
 spoke. 
 
 "Not your Major? not Major O'Shaughnessy ? " said I, jumping up, 
 and rushing forward towards the litter. Alas ! too true, it was the 
 gallant fellow himself; there he lay, pale and cold ; his bloodless 
 cheek and parted lips looking like death itself. A thin blue rivulet 
 trickled from his forehead, but his most serious wound appeared to be 
 in his side ; his coat was open, and showed a mass of congealed and 
 clotted blood, from the midst of which, with every motion of the way, 
 a fresh stream kept welling upward. Whether from the shock, or my 
 loss of blood, or from both together, I know not, but I sank fainting 
 to the ground. 
 
 It would have needed a clearer brain and a cooler judgment than I 
 possessed to have conjectured where I was, and what had occurred to 
 me when next I recovered my senses. Weak, fevered, and with a 
 burning thirst, I lay unable to move, and could merely perceive the 
 objects which lay within the immediate reach of my vision. The place 
 was cold, calm, and still as the grave. A lamp which hung high above 
 my head threw a faint light around, and showed me, within a niche of
 
 480 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the opposite wall, the figure of a gorgeously dressed female : she ap- 
 peared to be standing motionless, but as the pale light flickered upon 
 her features, I thought I could detect the semblance of a smile. The 
 splendour of her costume, and the glittering gems which shone upon 
 her spotless robe, gleamed through the darkness with an almost super- 
 natural brilliancy, and so beautiful did she look, so calm her pale 
 features, that, as I opened and shut my eyes and rubbed my lids, I 
 scarcely dared to trust my erring senses, and believe it could be real. 
 What could it mean ? Whence this silence this cold sense of awe 
 and reverence ; was it a dream ? was it the fitful vision of disordered 
 intellect ? Could it be death ? My eyes were riveted upon that beau- 
 tiful figure : I essayed to speak, but could not : I would have beckoned 
 her towards me, but my hands refused their office. I felt I know not 
 what charm she possessed to calm my throbbing brain and burning 
 heart ; but, as I turned from the gloom and darkness around, to gaze 
 upon her fair brow and unmoved features, I felt like the prisoner who 
 turns from the cheerless desolation of his cell, and looks upon the fair 
 world and the smiling valleys lying sunlit and shadowed before him. 
 
 Sleep at length came over me ; and when I awoke the day seemed 
 breaking, for a faint grey tint stole through a stained-glass window, 
 and fell in many-coloured patches upon the pavement. A low mutter- 
 ing sound attracted me ; I listened it was Mike's voice. With diffi- 
 culty raising myself upon one arm, I endeavoured to see more around 
 me. Scarcely had I assumed this position, when my eyes once more 
 fell upon the white-clad figui'e of the preceding night. At her feet 
 knelt Mike, his hands clasped, and his head bowed upon his bosom. 
 Shall I confess my surprise my disappointment ! It was no other 
 than an image of the Blessed Virgin, decked out in all the gorgeous 
 splendour which Catholic piety bestows upon her saints. The features, 
 which the imperfect light and my more imperfect faculties had en- 
 dowed with an expression of calm angelic beauty, were to my waking 
 senses but the cold and barren mockery of loveliness ; the eyes, which 
 my excited brain gifted with looks of tenderness and pity, stared with no 
 speculation in them ; yet, contrasting my feelings of the night before, 
 full as they were of their deceptions, with my now waking thoughts, 
 I longed once more for that delusion which threw a dreamy pleasure 
 over me, and subdued the stormy passions of my soul into rest and 
 repose. 
 
 "Who knows," thought I, "but he who kneels yonder feels now 
 as I did then ? Who can tell how little the cold unmeaning reality 
 before him resembles the spiritualised creation the fervour of his love 
 and the ardour of his devotion may have placed upon that altar ? Who 
 can limit or bound the depth of that adoration for an object whose 
 attributes appeal not only to every sentiment of the heart, but also 
 to every sense of the brain? I fancy that I can picture to myself 
 how these tinselled relics, these tasteless wax-works, changed by the 
 magic of devotion and of dread, become to the humble worshipper 
 images of loveliness and beauty. The dim religious light ; the rever- 
 berating footsteps echoing along those solemn aisles ; the vaulted 
 arches, into whose misty heights the sacred incense floats upwards, 
 while the deep organ is pealing its notes of praise or prayer : these are
 
 THE SAN PETRO 481 
 
 no slight accessories to all the pomp and grandeur of a Church whose 
 forms and ceremonial, unchanged for ages, and hallowed by a thousand 
 associations, appeal to the mind of the humblest peasant or the 
 proudest noble, by all the weaknesses as by all the more favoured 
 features of our nature." 
 
 How long I might have continued to meditate in this strain I know 
 not, when a muttered observation from Mike turned the whole current 
 of my thoughts. His devotion over, he had seated himself upon the 
 steps of the altar, and appeared to be resolving some doubts within 
 himself concerning his late pious duties. 
 
 ''Masses is dearer here than in Galway. Father Rush would be 
 well pleased at two-and-sixpence for what 1 paid three doubloons for 
 this morning. And sure it's droll enough. How expensive an amuse- 
 ment it is to kill the French. Here's half a dollar I gave for the soul 
 of a cuirassier that I kilt yesterday, and nearly twice as much for an 
 artillery-man I cut down at the guns ; and because the villain swore 
 like a haythen, Father Pedro told me he'd cost more nor if he died 
 like a decent man." 
 
 At these words he turned suddenly round towards the Virgin, and 
 crossing himself devoutly, added : 
 
 ' ' And sure it's yourself knows if it's fair to make me pay for devils 
 that don't know their duties; and, after all, if you don't understand 
 English nor Irish, I've been wasting my time here this two hours." 
 
 "I say, Mike, how's the Major? How's Major O'Shaughnessy?" 
 
 ' ' Charmingly, sir. It was only loss of blood that ailed him : a thief 
 with a pike one of the chaps they call Poles, bekase of the long sticks 
 they carry with them struck the Major in the ribs ; but Doctor Quill 
 God reward him ! he's a great doctor, and a funny devil too he 
 cured him in no time." 
 
 ' ' And where is he now, Mike ? " 
 
 " Just convanient, in a small chapel off the saci'isty ; and throuble 
 enough we have to keep him quiet. He gave up the confusion of roses 
 and took to punch ; and faith it isn't hymns nor paslams (psalms) he's 
 singing all night. And they had me there mixing materials and sing- 
 ing songs till I heard the bell for matins, and what between the punch 
 and the prayers I never closed my eyes." 
 
 " What do they call the convent? " 
 
 ' ' It is a hard word, I misremember ; it's something like saltpetre. 
 But how's your honour? it's time to ask." 
 
 ' ' Much better, Mike ; much better. But, as I see that either your 
 drink or your devotion seems to have affected your nerves, you'd better 
 lie down for an hour or two. I shall not want you." 
 
 "That's just what I can't; for you see I'm making a song for this 
 evening. The Rangers has a little supper, and I'm to be there ; and 
 though I've made one, I'm not sure it'll do. Maybe your honour 
 would give me your opinion about it ? " 
 
 "With all my heart, Mike ; let's hear it." 
 
 " Arrah ! is it here, before the Virgin and the two blessed saints 
 that's up there in the glass cases? But sure, when they make an 
 hospital of the place, and after the Major's songs last night " 
 
 "Exactly so, Mike : out with it." 
 
 2 ii
 
 482 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ' ' Well, ma'am," said he, turning towards the Virgin, " as I suspect 
 you don't know English, maybe you'll think it's my offices I'm singing. 
 So, saving your favour, here it is : 
 
 MR. TREE'S SONG. 
 Air " Arrah, Catty, now, can't you be asy ? " 
 
 " Oh, what stories I'll tell when my sodgering's o'er, 
 
 And the gallant Fourteenth is disbanded, 
 Not a drill nor parade will I hear of no more, 
 
 When safely in Ireland landed. 
 With the blood that I spilt the Frenchmen I kilt, 
 
 I'll drive the young girls half crazy ; 
 And some 'cute one will cry, with a wink of her eye, 
 
 ' Mister Free, now why can't you be asy ?' 
 
 I'll tell how we routed the squadrons in fight, 
 
 And destroyed them all at ' Talavera,' 
 And then I'll just add, how we finished the night. 
 
 In learning to dance the ' bolera' ; 
 How by the moonshine we drank raal wine. 
 
 And rose next day fresh as a daisy ; 
 Then some one will cry, with a look mighty sly, 
 
 ' Arrah, Mickey now can't you be asy ?' 
 
 I'll tell how the nights with Sir Arthur we spent, 
 
 Around a big fire in the air too, 
 Or maybe enjoying ourselves in a tent, 
 
 Exactly like Donnybrook Fair, too ; 
 How he'd call out to me 'Pass the wine, Mr. Free, 
 
 For you're a man never is lazy ! ' 
 Then some one will cry, with a wink of her eye, 
 
 'Arrah, Mickey dear can't you be asyf 
 
 I'll tell, too, the long years in fighting we passed, 
 
 Till Mounseer asked Bony to lead him ; 
 And Sir Arthur, grown tired of glory at last, 
 
 Begged of one Mickey Free to succeed him. 
 ' But acushla,' says I, ' the truth is I'm shy ! 
 
 There's a lady in Ballymacrazy ! 
 And I swore on the book ' he gave me a look, 
 
 And cried, ' Mickey, now can't you be asy f " 
 
 fc Arrah ! Mickey, now can't you be asy ? " sang out a voice in chorus, 
 and the next moment Dr. Quill himself made his appearance. 
 
 " Well, O'Malley, is it a penitential psalm you're singing, or is my 
 friend Mike endeavouring to raise your spirits with a Galway sonata ? " 
 
 <e A little bit of his own muse, Doctor, nothing more ; but tell me, 
 how goes it with the Major is the poor fellow out of danger? " 
 
 " Except from the excess of his appetite I know of no risk he runs. 
 His servant is making gruel for him all day in a thing like the grog 
 tub of a frigate : but you've heard the news Sparks has been exchanged; 
 lie came here last night, but the moment he caught sight of me he 
 took his departure. Begad, I'm sure he'd rather pass a month in 
 Verdun than a week in my company." 
 
 " By-the-bye, Doctor, you never told me how this same antipathy of 
 Sparks for you had its origin. " 
 
 " Sure, I drove him out of the Tenth, before he was three weeks 
 with the regiment. "
 
 THE SAN PETRO 483 
 
 "Ay, I remember you began the story for me one night on the 
 retreat from the Coa, but something broke it off in the middle." 
 
 e ' Just so ; I was sent for to the rear to take off some gentleman's 
 legs that weren't in dancing condition : but, as there's no fear of inter- 
 ruption now, I'll finish the story. But first let us have a peep at the 
 wounded. What beautiful anatomists they are in the French artillery. 
 Do you feel the thing I have now in my forceps there, don't jump 
 that's a bit of the brachial nerve, most beautifully displayed ; faith, I 
 think I'll give Mike a demonstration." 
 
 " Oh ! Misther Quill dear ! Oh ! Doctor, darling ! " 
 
 " Arrah ! Mickey, now can't ye be asy ? " sang out Maurice, with a 
 perfect imitation of Mike's voice and manner. 
 
 "A little lint here bend your arm that's it don't move your 
 fingers. Now, Mickey, make me a cup of coffee with a glass of brandy 
 in it. And now, Charley, for Sparks. I believe I told you what kind 
 of fellows the Tenth were regular out-and-outers ; we hadn't three 
 men in the regiment that were not from the south of Ireland : the 
 Bocca Corkana on their lips, fun and devilment in their eyes, and more 
 drollery and humbug in their hearts than in all the messes in the 
 service put together. No man had any chance among them if he 
 wasn't a real droll one : every man wrote his own songs, and sang 
 them too : it was no small promotion could tempt a fellow to exchange 
 out of the corps. You may think, then, what a prize your friend 
 Sparks proved to us. We held a court-martial upon him the week after 
 he joined ; it was proved in evidence that he had never said a good 
 thing in his life, and had about as much notion of a joke as a Cherokee 
 has of the Court of Chancery ; and, as to singing, Lord bless you ! he 
 had a tune with wooden turns to it, it was most cruel to hear ; and 
 then the look of him : those eyes, like dropsical oysters, and the hair 
 standing every way, like a field of insane flax, and the mouth, with a 
 curl in it like the slit in the side of a fiddle. A pleasant fellow that 
 for a mess that always boasted the best-looking chaps in the service. 
 
 " ' What's to be done with him?' said the Major; 'shall we tell 
 him we are ordered to India, and terrify him about his liver ? ' 
 
 " ' Or drill him into a hectic fever?' 
 
 " ' Or drink him dry ? ' 
 
 " ' Or get him into a fight and wing him ? ' 
 
 " ' Oh no,' said I, ( leave him to me ; we'll laugh him out of the 
 corps.' 
 
 " ' Yes, we'll leave him to you, Maurice,' said the rest. 
 
 " And that day week you might read in the Gazette, ' Pierce Flynn 
 O'Haygerty, to be ensign 10th Foot, vice Sparks, exchanged.' " 
 
 " But how was it done, Maurice? You haven't told me that." 
 
 " Nothing easier. I affected great intimacy with Sparks ; bemoaned 
 our hard fate mutually in being attached to such a regiment ' A 
 damnable corps this low, vulgar fellows practical jokes ; not the 
 kind of thing one expects in the army. But as for me, I've joined 
 it partly from necessity. You, however, who might be in a crack 
 regiment, I can't conceive your remaining in it.' 
 
 " 'But why did you join, Doctor?' said he; 'what necessity could 
 have induced you?
 
 484 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " f Ah ! my friend,' said I, 'that is the secret; that is the hidden 
 grief that must lie buried in my own bosom.' 
 
 11 1 saw that his curiosity was excited, and took every means to 
 increase it further. At length, as if yielding to a sudden impulse of 
 friendship, and having sworn him to secrecy, I took him aside and 
 began thus : 
 
 " ( I may trust you, Sparks, I feel I may, and when I tell you that 
 my honour, my reputation, my whole fortune is at stake, you will 
 judge of the importance of the trust.' 
 
 "The goggle eyes rolled fearfully, and his features exhibited the 
 most craving anxiety to hear my story. 
 
 e ' ' You wish to know why I left the Fifty-sixth. Now I'll tell you, 
 but mind, you're pledged, you're sworn never to divulge it.' 
 
 (t e Honour bright.' 
 
 " ( There, that's enough : I'm satisfied. It was a slight infraction of 
 the articles of war ; a little breach of the rules and regulations of the 
 service ; a trifling misconception of the mess code ; they caught me 
 one evening leaving the mess with what do you think in my pocket? 
 but you'll never tell ! No, no, I know you'll not : eight forks and ;i 
 gravy-spoon ; silver forks every one of them ; devil a lie in it.' 
 
 " ( There now,' said I, grasping his hand, e you have my secret ; my 
 fame and character are in your hands ; for you see they made me quit 
 the regiment : a man can't stay in a corps where he is laughed at.' 
 
 " Covering my face with my handkerchief, as if to conceal my shame, 
 I turned away and left Sparks to his meditations. That same evening 
 we happened to have some strangers at mess, the bottle was passing 
 freely round, and as usual the good spirits of the party at the top of 
 their bent, when suddenly, from the lower end of the table, a voice 
 was heard demanding, in tones of the most pompous importance, per- 
 mission to address the president upon a topic where the honour of the 
 whole regiment was concerned. 
 
 " ( I rise, gentlemen,' said Mr. Sparks, ' with feelings the most 
 painful, whatever may have been the laxity of habit and freedom of 
 conversation habitual in this regiment, I never believed that so 
 flagrant an instance as this morning came to my ears ' 
 
 " ' Oh ! murder,' said I ; ' O Sparks, darling, sure you're not going 
 to tell?' 
 
 " ' Doctor Quill,' replied he, in an austere tone, ' it is impossible for 
 me to conceal it.' 
 
 ' ' ' Oh ! Sparks, dear, will you betray me ? ' 
 
 {C I gave him here a look of the most imploring entreaty, to which 
 he replied by one of unflinching sternness. 
 
 " ' I have made up my mind, sir,' continued he ; ' it is possible the 
 officers of this corps may look more leniently than I do upon this 
 transaction ; but know it they shall.' 
 
 ' ' ' Out with it, Sparks tell it by all means,' cried a number of 
 voices, for it was clear to every one by this time that he was involved 
 in a hoax. 
 
 " Amid, therefore, a confused volley of entreaty on one side, and my 
 reiterated prayers for his silence on the other, Sparks thus began : 
 
 " ' Are you aware, gentlemen, why Dr. Quill left the Fifty-sixth ? '
 
 THE COUNTS LETTER 485 
 
 , no, no,' rang from all sides, 'let's have it.' 
 
 " ' No, sir ! ' said he, turning towards me, ' concealment is impos- 
 sible : an officer detected with the mess plate in his pocket ' 
 
 " They never let him finish, for a roar of laughter shook the table 
 from one end to the other, while Sparks, horror-struck at the lack of 
 feeling and propriety that could make men treat such a matter with 
 ridicule, glared around him on every side. 
 
 " ' Oh f Maurice, Maurice,' cried the Major, wiping his eyes, ' this 
 is too bad this is too bad.' 
 
 " 'Gracious heaven !' screamed Sparks, ' can you laugh at it?' 
 
 " ' Laugh at it,' re-echoed the Paymaster. ' God grant I only don't 
 burst a blood-vessel ; ' and once more the sounds of merriment rang 
 out anew, and lasted for several minutes. 
 
 ' ' ' Oh ! Maurice Quill,' cried an old Captain, ( you've been too heavy 
 on the lad : why, Sparks, man, he's been humbugging you.' 
 
 " Scarcely were the words spoken when he sprang from the room : 
 the whole truth flashed at once upon his mind ; in an instant he saw 
 that he had exposed himself to the merciless ridicule of a mess-table, 
 and that all peace for him in that regiment at least was over. 
 
 " We got a glorious fellow in exchange for him ; and Sparks de- 
 scended into a cavalry regiment I ask your pardon, Charley where, 
 as you are well aware, sharp wit and quick intellect are by no means 
 indispensable. There, now, don't be angry, or you'll do yourself harm ; 
 so good-bye for an hour or two." 
 
 CHAPTER C 
 
 THE COUNT'S LETTER 
 
 O'SHAUGHNESSY'S wound, like my own, was happily only formidable 
 from the loss of blood. The sabre or the lance are rarely, indeed, so 
 death-dealing as the musket or the bayonet ; and the murderous fire 
 from a square of infantry is far more terrific in its consequences than 
 the heaviest charge of a cavalry column. In a few weeks, therefore, 
 we were once more about, and fit for duty ; but for the present the 
 campaign was ended ; the rainy season, with its attendant train of 
 sickness and sorrow, set in ; the troops were cantoned along the line 
 of the frontier, the infantry occupying the villages, and the cavalry 
 being stationed wherever forage could be obtained. 
 
 The Fourteenth were posted at Avintas ; but I saw little of them. 
 I was continually employed upon the staff ; and, as General Crawford's 
 activity suffered no diminution from the interruption of the campaign, 
 rarely passed a day without being eight or nine hours on horseback. 
 
 The preparations for the siege of Ciudad llodrigo occupied our 
 undivided attention. To the reduction of this fortress and of Badajos 
 Lord Wellington looked as the most important objects, and prosecuted 
 his plans with unremitting zeal. To my staff appointment 1 owed the 
 opportunity of witnessing that stupendous feature of war, a siege, and 
 as many of my friends formed part of the blockading force I spent
 
 486 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 more than one night in the trenches. Indeed, except for this, the 
 tiresome monotony of life was most irksome at this period. Day after 
 day the incessant rain poured down ; the supplies were bad, scanty, 
 and irregular ; the hospitals crowded with sick ; field sports impracti- 
 cable ; books there were none ; and a dulness and spiritless depression 
 prevailed on every side. Those who were actively engaged around 
 Ciudad Rodrigo had, of course, the excitement and interest which the 
 enterprise involved : but even there the works made slow progress ; 
 the breaching artillery was defective in every way ; the rain under- 
 mined the faces of the bastions ; the clayey soil sank beneath the 
 weight of the heavy guns ; and the storms of one night frequently 
 destroyed more than a whole week's labour had effected. 
 
 Thus passed the dreary months along ; the cheeriest and gayest 
 amongst us broken in spirit, and subdued in heart, by the tedium of 
 our life. The very news which reached us partook of the gloomy 
 features of our prospects : we heard only of strong reinforcements 
 marching to the support of the French in Estremadura ; we were told 
 that the Emperor, whose successes in Germany enabled him to turn his 
 entire attention to the Spanish campaign, would himself be present in 
 the coming spring, with overwhelming odds, and a firm determination 
 to drive us from the Peninsula. 
 
 In that frame of mind which such gloomy and depressing prospects 
 are well calculated to suggest, I was returning one night to my quarters 
 at Mucia, when suddenly I beheld Mike galloping towards me with a 
 large packet in his hand, which he held aloft to catch my attention : 
 " Letters from England, sir," said he ; " just arrived with the General's 
 despatches." I broke the envelope at once, which bore the War-office 
 seal, and, as I did so, a perfect avalanche of letters fell at my feet : the 
 first which caught my eye was an official intimation from the Horse 
 Guards, that the Prince Regent had been graciously pleased to confirm 
 my promotion to the troop, my commission to bear date from the 
 appointment, &c., &c. I could not help feeling struck, as my eye ran 
 rapidly across the lines, that, although the letter came from Sir George 
 Dashwood's office, it contained not a word of congratulation nor 
 remembrance on his part, but was couched in the usual cold and formal 
 language of an official document. Impatient, however, to look over 
 my other letters, I thought but little of this ; so throwing them 
 hurriedly into my sabretasche, I cantered on to my quarters without 
 delay. Once more alone and in silence, I sat down to commune with 
 my far-off friends ; and yet, with all my anxiety to hear of home, 
 passed several minutes in turning over the letters, guessing from whom 
 they might have come, and picturing to myself their probable contents. 
 " Ah ! Frank Webber, I recognise your slap-dash, bold hand, without 
 the aid of the initials in the corner ; and this what can it be ? this 
 queer, misshapen thing, representing nothing save the forty-seventh 
 proposition of Euclid, and the address seemingly put on with a cat's 
 tail dipped in lampblack ? Yes ! true enough, it is for Misther Free 
 himself ; and what have we here ? this queer, quaint hand is no new 
 acquaintance : how many a time have I looked upon it as the ne plus 
 ultra of caligraphy ! But here is one I'm not so sure of: who could 
 have written this bold-upright old-fashioned superscription ; not a
 
 THE COUNTS LETTER 487 
 
 letter of which seems on speaking terms with its neighbour the 
 very O absolutely turns it back upon the M, in O'Malley, and the final 
 Y wags his tail with a kind of independent shake, as if he did not care 
 a curse for his predecessors ! and the seal too : surely I know that 
 griffin's head, and that stern motto <e Non rogo sed capio" To be sure, 
 it is Billy Considine's, the Count himself. The very paper, yellow and 
 time-stained, looks coeval with his youth, and I could even venture to 
 wager that his sturdy pen was nibbed half a century since. I'll not 
 look further among this confused mass of three-cornered billets, and 
 long, treacherous-looking epistles, the very folding of which denote the 
 dun : here goes for the Count ! " So saying to myself, I drew closer to 
 the fire, and began the following epistle : 
 
 " O'MALLEY CASTLE, November 3rd. 
 
 " DEAR. CHARLEY, Here we sit in the little parlour, with your last 
 letter, the Times, and a big map before us, drinking your health, and 
 wishing you a long career of the same glorious success you have hitherto 
 enjoyed. Old as I am eighty-two or eighty-three (I forget which) in 
 June I envy you with all my heart. Luck has stood to you, my boy ; 
 arid if a French sabre or a bayonet finish you now, you've at least had 
 a splendid burst of it. I was right in my opinion of you, and Godfrey 
 himself owns it now ; a lawyer, indeed ! Bad luck to them ! we've had 
 enough of lawyers : there's old Henessy honest Jack, as they used to 
 call him that your uncle trusted for the last forty years, has raised 
 18,000 on the title-deeds, and gone off to America. The old 
 scoundrel but it's no use talking ; the blow is a sore one to Godfrey, 
 and the gout more troublesome than ever. Drumgold is making a 
 motion in Chancery about it, to break the sale, and the tenants are 
 in open rebellion, and swear they'll murther a receiver, if one is sent 
 down among them. Indeed, they came in such force into Galway, 
 during the assizes, and did so much mischief, that the cases for trial 
 were adjourned, and the judges left with a military escort to protect 
 them. This, of course, is gratifying to our feelings ; for, thank Pro- 
 vidence, there is some good in the world yet. Kilmurry was sold last 
 week for 12,000. Andy Blake would foreclose the mortgage, although 
 we offered him every kind of satisfaction. This has done Godfrey a 
 deal of harm ; and some pitiful economy taking only two bottles of 
 claret after his dinner has driven the gout to his head. They've been 
 telling him he'd lengthen his days by this, and I tried it myself, and 
 faith it was the longest day I ever spent in my life. I hope and trust 
 you take your liquor like a gentleman and an Irish gentleman. 
 
 " Kinshela, we hear, has issued an execution against the house and 
 furniture ; but the attempt to sell the demesne nearly killed your 
 uncle. It was advertised in a London paper, and an offer made for it 
 by an old general, whom you may remember when down here. Indeed, 
 if I mistake not, he was rather kind to you in the beginning. It would 
 appear lie did not wish to have his name known, but we found him 
 out, and such a letter as we sent him ! It's little liking he'll have to 
 buy a Galway gentleman's estate over his head that same Sir George 
 Dashwood. Godfrey offered to meet him anywhere he pleased, and, 
 if the doctor thought he could bear the sea voyage, he'd even go over
 
 488 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 to Holyhead ; but the sneaking fellow sent an apologetic kind of a 
 letter, with some humbug excuse about very different motives, &c. 
 But we've done with him, and I think he with us." 
 
 When I had read thus far, I laid down the letter, unable to go on ; 
 the accumulated misfortunes of one I loved best in the world following 
 so fast one upon another ; the insult, unprovoked, gratuitous insult to 
 him upon whom my hopes of future happiness so much depended, com- 
 pletely overwhelmed me. I tried to continue : alas ! the catalogue of 
 evils went on ; each line bore testimony to some further wreck of 
 fortune some clearer evidence of a ruined house. 
 
 All that my gloomiest and darkest forebodings had pictured was come 
 to pass ; sickness, poverty, harassing, unfeeling creditors, treachery 
 and ingratitude, were goading to madness and despair a spirit whose 
 kindliness of nature was unequalled. The shock of blasted fortunes 
 was falling upon the dying heart ; the convictions which a long life 
 had never brought home, that men were false, and their words a lie, 
 were stealing over the man upon the brink of the grave ; and he who 
 had loved his neighbour like a brother was to be taught, at the eleventh 
 hour, that the beings he trusted were perjured and forsworn. 
 
 A more unsuitable adviser than Considine, in difficulties like these, 
 there could not be ; his very contempt for all the forms of law and 
 justice was sufficient to embroil my poor uncle still further, so that I 
 resolved at once to apply for leave, and if refused, and no other alter- 
 native offered, to leave the service. It was not without a sense of 
 sorrow bordering on despair that I came to this determination. My 
 soldier's life had become a passion with me : I loved it for its bold 
 and chivalrous enthusiasm, its hour of battle and strife, its days of 
 endurance and hardship : its trials, its triumphs, its very reverses were 
 endeared by those they were shared with ; and the spirit of adventure, 
 and the love of danger that most exciting of all gambling had now 
 entwined themselves in my very nature : to surrender all these at once, 
 and to exchange the daily, hourly enthusiasm of a campaign for the 
 prospects now before me, was almost maddening. But still a sustaining 
 sense of duty, of what I owed to him who, in his love, had sacrificed all 
 for me, overpowered every other consideration : my mind was made up. 
 
 Father Rush's letter was little more than a recapitulation of the 
 Count's. Debt, distress, sickness, and the heartburnings of altered 
 fortunes filled it, and when I closed it, I felt like one over all whose 
 views in life a dark and ill-omened cloud was closing for ever. Webber's 
 I could not read : the light and cheerful raillery of a friend would 
 have seemed, at such a time, like the cold, unfeeling sarcasm of an 
 enemy. I sat down, at last, to write to the General, enclosing my 
 application for leave, and begging of him to forward it with a favour- 
 able recommendation to headquarters. 
 
 This done, I lay down upon my bed, and, overcome by fatigue and 
 fretting, fell asleep to dream of my home and those I had left there, 
 which, strangely too, were presented to my mind with all the happy 
 features that made them so dear to my infancy.
 
 THE TRENCHES 489 
 
 CHAPTER CI 
 
 THE TRENCHES 
 
 " I HAVE not had time, O'Malley, to think of your application/' said 
 Crawford, ' ' nor is it likely I can for a day or two. Read that. " So say- 
 ing, he pushed towards me a note, written in pencil, which ran thus : 
 
 CIUDAD RODEIGO, ISth December. 
 
 " DEAR C. , Fletcher tells me that the breaches will be practicable 
 by to-morrow evening, and I think so myself. Come over, then, at 
 once, for we shall not lose any time. Yours, W." 
 
 " I have some despatches for your regiment, but if you prefer coming 
 along with me " 
 
 " My dear General, dare I ask for such a favour? " 
 
 " Well, come along ; only remember that, although my division will 
 be engaged, I cannot promise you anything to do ; so now get your 
 horses ready ; let's away." 
 
 It was in the afternoon of the following day that we rode into the 
 large plain before Ciudad Rodrigo, and in which the allied armies 
 were now assembled to the number of 12,000 men. The loud booming 
 of the siege artillery had been heard by me for some hours before ; 
 but, notwithstanding this prelude and my own high-wrought expecta- 
 tions, I was far from anticipating the magnificent spectacle which burst 
 upon my astonished view. The air was calm and still ; a clear blue 
 wintry sky stretched overhead, but below the dense blue smoke of 
 the deafening guns rolled in mighty volumes along the earth, and 
 entirely concealed the lower part of the fortress ; above this, the tall 
 towers and battlemented parapets rose into the thin transparent sky, 
 like fairy palaces. A bright flash of flame would now and then burst 
 forth from the walls, and a clanging crash of the brass metal be heard ; 
 but the unceasing roll of our artillery nearly drowned all other sounds, 
 save when a loud cheer would burst from the trenches ; while the 
 clattering fall of masonry, and the crumbling stones as they rolled 
 down, bespoke the reason of the cry. The utmost activity prevailed 
 on all sides ; troops pressed forward to the reliefs in the parallels ; 
 ammunition waggons moved to the front ; general and staff officers 
 rode furiously about the plain ; and all betokened that the hour of 
 attack was no longer far distant. 
 
 While all parties were anxiously awaiting the decision of our chief, 
 the general order was made known, which, after briefly detailing the 
 necessary arrangements, concluded with the emphatic words, " Ciudad 
 Rodrigo must be stormed to-night." All speculation as to the troops 
 to be engaged in this daring enterprise was soon at an end ; for, with 
 his characteristic sense of duty, Lord Wellington made no invidious 
 selection, but merely commanded that the attack should be made by 
 whatever divisions might chance to be that day in the trenches. Upon 
 the Third and Light Divisions, therefore, this glorious task devolved ;
 
 490 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the former was to attack the main breach : to Crawford's division was 
 assigned the, if possible, more difficult enterprise of carrying the lesser 
 one, while Pack s Portuguese brigade were to menace the convent of 
 La Caridad by a feint attack, to be converted into a real one if cir- 
 cumstances should permit. 
 
 The decision, however matured and comprehensive in all its details, 
 was finally adopted so suddenly that every staff-officer upon the ground 
 was actively engaged during the entire evening in conveying the 
 orders to the different regiments. As the day drew to a close the 
 cannonade slackened on either side, a solitary gun would be heard at 
 intervals, and, in the calm stillness around, its booming thunder re- 
 echoed along the valleys of the Sierra ; but as the moon rose and 
 night set in, these were no longer heard, and a perfect stillness and 
 tranquillity prevailed around. Even in the trenches, crowded with 
 armed and anxious soldiers, not a whisper was heard ; and amid that 
 mighty host which filled the plain, the tramp of a patrol could be dis- 
 tinctly noted, and the hoarse voice of the French sentry upon the walls 
 telling that all was well in Ciudad Rodrigo. 
 
 The massive fortress, looming larger as its dark shadow stood out 
 from the sky, was still as the grave ; while in the greater breach a 
 faint light was seen to twinkle for a moment, and then suddenly to 
 disappear, leaving all gloomy and dark as before. 
 
 Having been sent with orders to the Third Division, of which the 
 88th formed a part, I took the opportunity of finding out O'Shaugh- 
 nessy, who was himself to lead an escalade party in M'Kinnon's 
 brigade. He sprang towards me as I came forward, and, grasping my 
 hand with a more than usual earnestness, called out : 
 
 " The very man I wanted ! Charley, my boy, do us a service now ! " 
 Before I could reply, he continued in a lower tone, " A young fellow 
 of ours, Harry Beauclerc, has been badly wounded in the trenches, 
 but by some blunder his injury is reported as a slight one, and al- 
 though the poor fellow can scarcely stand, he insists upon going with 
 the stormers." 
 
 " Come here, Major ! come here ! " cried a voice at a little distance. 
 
 ee Follow me, O'Malley," cried O'Shaughuessy, moving in the direc- 
 tion of the speaker. 
 
 By the light of a lantern we could descry two officers kneeling upon 
 the ground ; between them, on the grass, lay the figure of a third, 
 upon whose features, as the pale light fell, the hand of death seemed 
 rapidly stealing. A slight froth, tinged with blood, rested on his lip, 
 and the florid blood which stained the buff facing of his uniform 
 indicated that his wound was through the lungs. 
 
 " He has fainted," said one of the officers in a low tone. 
 
 "Are you certain it is fainting?" said the other in a still lower. 
 
 " You see how it is, Charley," said O'Shaughnessy ; ' ' this poor boy 
 must be carried to the rear. Will you then, like a kind fellow, hasten 
 back to Colonel Campbell and mention the fact It will kill Beauclerc, 
 should any doubt rest upon his conduct, if he ever recover this." 
 
 While he spoke, four soldiers of the regiment placed the wounded 
 officer in a blanket. A long sigh escaped him, and he muttered a few 
 broken words.
 
 THE TRENCHES 491 
 
 "Poor fellow ! it's his mother he's talking of. He only joined a 
 month since, and is a mere boy. Come, O'Malley, lose no time. By 
 Jove ! it is too late ; there goes the first rocket for the columns to 
 form. In ten minutes more the stormers must fall in." 
 
 " What's the matter, Giles ? " said he to one of the officers, who had 
 stopped the soldiers as they were moving off with their burden ; " what 
 is it? " 
 
 " I have been cutting the white tape off his arm ; for if he sees it on 
 waking, he'll remember all about the storming." 
 
 "Quite right thoughtfully done!" said the other; "but who is 
 to lead his fellows? He was in the forlorn hope." 
 
 " I'll do it," cried I, with eagerness. " Come, O'Shaughnessy, you'll 
 not refuse me." 
 
 " Refuse you, boy ! " said he, grasping my hand within both of his. 
 " Never! but you must change your coat. The gallant Eight-eight 
 will never mistake their countryman's voice. But your uniform would 
 be devilish likely to get you a bayonet through it ; so come back with 
 me, and we'll make you a Ranger in no time." 
 
 " I can give your friend a cap." 
 
 " And I," said the other, " a brandy flask, which, after all, is not the 
 worst part of a storming equipage." 
 
 " I hope," said O'Shaughnessy, "they may find Maurice in the rear. 
 Beauclerc's all safe in his hands." 
 
 "That they'll not," said Giles, "you may swear. Quill is this 
 moment in the trenches, and will not be the last man at the breach." 
 
 " Follow me now, lads," said O'Shaughnessy, in a low voice. " Our 
 fellows are at the angle of this trench. Who the deuce can that be 
 talking so loud ? " 
 
 " It must be Maurice," said Giles. 
 
 The question was soon decided by the Doctor himself, who appeared 
 giving directions to his hospital sergeant. 
 
 " Yes, Peter, take the tools up to a convenient spot near the breach. 
 There's many a snug corner there in the ruins, and, although we 
 mayn't have as good an operation room as in old f Steevens's,' yet we'll 
 beat them hollow in cases." 
 
 " Listen to the fellow," said Giles, with a shudder. " The thought 
 of his confounded thumb-screws and tourniquets is worse to me than 
 a French howitzer." 
 
 " The devil a kinder-hearted fellow than Maurice," said O'Shaugh- 
 nessy, " for all that ; and if his heart was to be known this moment, 
 he'd rather handle a sword than a saw." 
 
 " True for you, Dennis," said Quill, overhearing him ; " but we are 
 both useful in our way, as the hangman said to Lord Clare." 
 
 " But should you not be in the rear, Maurice? " said I. 
 
 " You are right, O'Malley," said he in a whisper ; " but you see I 
 owe the Cork Insurance Company a spite, for making me pay a gout 
 premium, and that's the reason I'm here. I warned them at the time 
 that their stinginess would come to no good." 
 
 " I say, Captain O'Malley," said Giles, " I find I can't be as good as 
 my word with you ; my servant has moved to the rear with all my traps." 
 
 " What is to be done?" said I.
 
 492 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Is it shaving utensils you want ? " said Maurice. " Would a scalpel 
 serve your turn? " 
 
 " No, Doctor., I'm going to take a turn of duty with your fellows 
 to-night. " 
 
 " In the breach ? with the stormers ? " 
 
 " With the forlorn hope," said O'Shaughnessy. t( Beauclerc is so 
 badly wounded that we've sent him back, and Charley, like a good 
 fellow, has taken his place." 
 
 " Martin told me," said Maurice, ' ' that Beauclerc was only stunned, 
 but, upon my conscience, the hospital-mates nowadays are no better 
 than the watchmakers ; they can't tell what's wrong with the instru- 
 ment, till they pick it to pieces. Whiz ! there goes a blue light" 
 
 " Move on, move on," whispered O'Shaughnessy : " they're telling- 
 off the stormers. That rocket is the order to fall in." 
 
 " But what am I to do for a coat? " 
 
 " Take mine, my boy," said Maurice, throwing off an upper garment 
 of coarse grey frieze as he spoke. 
 
 " There's a neat bit of uniform," continued he, turning himself round 
 for our admiration ; " don't I look mighty like the pictures of George 
 the First at the battle of Dettingen ? " A burst of approving laughter 
 was our only answer to this speech, while Maurice proceeded to denude 
 himself of his most extraordinary garment 
 
 " What, in the name of Heaven, is it? " said I. 
 
 " Don't despise it, Charley ; it knows the smell of gunpowder as 
 well as any bit of scarlet in the service ; " while he added in a whisper, 
 " it's the ould Roscommon yeomanry. My uncle commanded them in 
 the year '42, and this was his coat. I don't mean to say that it was 
 new then, for you see it's a kind of heirloom in the Quill family, and 
 it's not every one I'd be giving it to." 
 
 " A thousand thanks, Maurice," said I, as I buttoned it on, amid an 
 ill-suppressed titter of laughter. 
 
 "It fits you like a sentry-box," said Maurice, as he surveyed me 
 with a lantern. "The skirts separate behind in the most picturesque 
 manner, and when you button the collar, it will keep your head up so 
 high, that the devil a bit you'll see except the blessed moon. It's a 
 thousand pities you haven't the three-cocked hat with the feather 
 trimming. If you wouldn't frighten the French my name's not 
 Maurice. Turn about here till I admire you. If you only saw your- 
 self in a glass, you'd never join the dragoons again. And look now, 
 don't be exposin' yourself, for I wouldn't have those blue facings 
 destroyed for a week's pay." 
 
 fc Ah, then, it's yourself is the darling, Doctor dear," said a voice 
 behind me. I turned round : it was Mickey Free, who was standing 
 with a most profound admiration of Maurice beaming in every feature 
 of his face. " It's yourself has a joke for every hour o' the day." 
 
 " Get to the rear, Mike, get to the rear with the cattle ; this is no 
 place for you or them." 
 
 " Good night, Mickey," said Maurice. 
 
 "Goodnight, your honour," muttered Mike to himself; "may I 
 never die till you set a leg for me. " 
 
 "Are you dressed for the ball?" said Maurice, fastening the white
 
 THE STORMING OF CIUDAD RODRIGO 493 
 
 tape upon my arm. "There now, my boy, move on, for I think I hear 
 Picton's voice ; not that it signifies now, for he's always in a heavenly 
 temper when any one's going to be killed. I'm sure he'd behave like 
 an angel if he only knew the ground was mined under his feet." 
 
 " Charley, Charley," called out O'Shaughnessy in a suppressed voice, 
 " come up quickly." 
 
 "No. 24, John Forbes here ; Edward Gillespie here !" 
 
 " Who leads this party, Major O'Shaughnessy?" 
 
 " Mr. Beauclerc, sir," replied O'Shaughnessy, pushing me forward 
 by the arm while he spoke. 
 
 " Keep your people together, sir ; spare the powder and trust to your 
 cold iron." He grasped my hand within his iron grip, and rode on. 
 
 ' ' Who was it, Dennis ? " said I. 
 
 " Don't you know him, Charley ? That was Picton." 
 
 CHAPTER CII 
 
 THE STORMING OF CIUDAD RODRIGO 
 
 WHATEVER the levity of the previous moment, the scene before us now 
 repressed it effectually. The deep-toned bell of the cathedral tolled 
 seven, and scarcely were its notes dying away in the distance when the 
 march of the columns was heard stealing along the ground. A low 
 murmuring whisper ran along the advanced files of the forlorn hope ; 
 stocks were loosened, packs and knapsacks thrown to the ground ; each 
 man pressed his cap more firmly down upon his brow, and with lip 
 compressed and steadfast eye, waited for the word to move. 
 
 It came at last : the word " March ! " passed in whispers from rank 
 to rank, and the dark mass moved on. What a moment was that, as 
 we advanced to the foot of the breach ! The consciousness that, at the 
 same instant from different points of that vast plain, similar parties 
 were moving on ; the feeling that, at a word, the flame of the artillery 
 and the flash of steel would spring from that dense cloud, and death 
 and carnage in every shape our imagination can conceive be dealt on 
 all sides. The hurried, fitful thought of home ; the years long past, 
 compressed into one minute's space ; the last adieu of all we've loved, 
 mingling with the muttered prayer to Heaven, while, high above all, 
 the deep pervading sense that earth has no temptation strong enough 
 to turn us from that path whose ending must be a sepulchre ! 
 
 Each heart was too full for words. We followed noiselessly along 
 the turf, the dark figure of our leader guiding us through the gloom. 
 On arriving at the ditch, the party with the ladders moved to the 
 front. Already some hay-packs were thrown in, arid the forlorn hope 
 sprang forward. 
 
 All was still and silent as the grave. " Quietly, my men quietly ! " 
 said M'Kinnon ; ' ' don't press." Scarcely had he spoken when a musket, 
 whose charge, contrary to orders, had not been drawn, went off. The 
 whizzing bullet could not have struck the wall, when suddenly a bright 
 flame burst forth from the ramparts, and shot upwards towards the
 
 494 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 sky. For an instant the whole scene before us was bright as noonday. 
 On one side the dark ranks and glistening bayonets of the enemy ; 
 on the other, the red uniform of the British columns : compressed like 
 some solid wall, they stretched along the plain. 
 
 A deafening roll of musketry from the extreme right announced 
 that the Third Division was already in action, while the loud cry of our 
 leader as he sprang into the trench, summoned us to the charge. The 
 leading sections, not waiting for the ladders, jumped down, others 
 pressing rapidly behind them, when a loud rumbling thunder crept 
 along the earth, a hissing, crackling noise followed, and from the dark 
 ditch a forked and livid lightning burst like the flame from a volcano, 
 and a mine exploded. Hundreds of shells and grenades scattered 
 along the ground were ignited at the same moment ; the air sparkled 
 with the whizzing fuses ; the musketry plied incessantly from the walls, 
 and every man of the leading company of the storm ers was blown to 
 pieces. While this dreadful catastrophe was enacting before our eyes, 
 the different assaults were made on all sides ; the whole fortress seemed 
 girt around with fire. From every part arose the yells of triumph and 
 the shouts of the assailants. As for us, we stood upon the verge of the 
 ditch breathless, hesitating, and horror-struck. A sudden darkness 
 succeeded to the bright glare, but from the midst of the gloom the 
 agonising cries of the wounded and the dying rent our very hearts. 
 
 " Make way there ! make way ! here comes Mackie's party," cried an 
 officer in the front, and as he spoke the forlorn hope of the 88th came 
 forward at a run ; jumping recklessly into the ditch, they made towards 
 the breach ; the supporting division of stormers gave one inspiring 
 cheer, and sprang after them. The rush was tremendous ; for scarcely 
 had we reached the crumbling ruins of the rampart, when the vast 
 column, pressing on like some mighty torrent, bore down upon our 
 rear. Now commenced a scene to which nothing I ever before con- 
 ceived of war could in any degree compare : the whole ground, covered 
 with combustibles of every deadly and destructive contrivance, was rent 
 open with a crash ; the huge masses of masonry bounded into the air 
 like things of no weight ; the ringing clangour of the iron howitzers, 
 the crackling of the fuses, the blazing splinters, the shouts of defiance, 
 the more than savage yell of those in whose ranks alone the dead and 
 the dying were numbered, made up a mass of sights and sounds almost 
 maddening with their excitement On we struggled ; the mutilated 
 bodies of the leading files almost filling the way. 
 
 By this time the Third Division had joined us, and the crush of our 
 thickening ranks was dreadful : every moment some well-known leader 
 fell dead or mortally wounded, and his place was supplied by some 
 gallant fellow, who, springing from the leading files, would scarcely have 
 uttered his cheer of encouragement ere he himself was laid low. Many 
 a voice with whose notes I was familiar would break upon my ear in tones 
 of heroic daring, and the next moment burst forth in a death-cry. For 
 above an hour the frightful carnage continued, fresh troops continually 
 advancing, but scarcely a foot of ground was made ; the earth belched 
 forth its volcanic fires, and that terrible barrier did no man pass. In 
 turn the bravest and the boldest would leap into the whizzing flame, and 
 the taunting cheers of the enemy triumphed in derision at the effort.
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CHECK 495 
 
 " Stormers, to the front ! only the bayonet ! trust to nothing but 
 the bayonet ! " cried a voice, whose almost cheerful accents contrasted 
 strangely with the death-notes around, and Gurwood, who led the for- 
 lorn hope of the 52ud, bounded into the chasm ; all the officers sprang 
 simultaneously after him ; the men pressed madly on ; a roll of 
 withering musketry crashed upon them ; a furious shout replied to it. 
 The British, springing over the dead and dying, bounded like blood- 
 hounds on their prey. Meanwhile, the ramparts trembled beneath the 
 tramp of the Light Division, who, having forced the lesser breach, came 
 down upon the flank of the French. The garrison, however, thickened 
 their numbers, and bravely held their ground. Man to man now was 
 the combat. No cry for quarter. No supplicating look for mercy ; it 
 was the death struggle of vengeance and despair. At this instant an 
 explosion louder than the loudest thunder shook the air ; t;he rent and 
 torn up ramparts sprang into the sky ; the conquering and the con- 
 quered were alike the victims ; for one of the greatest magazines had 
 been ignited by a shell ; the black smoke, streaked with a lurid flame, 
 hung above the dead and the dying. The artillery and the murderous 
 musketry were stilled, paralysed, as it were, by the ruin and devasta- 
 tion before them: both sides stood leaning upon their arms; the pause 
 was but momentary ; the cries of wounded comrades called upon their 
 hearts. A fierce burst of vengeance rent the air ; the British closed 
 upon the foe ; for an instant they were met ; the next, the bayonets 
 gleamed upon the ramparts, and Ciudad Rodrigo was won. 
 
 CHAPTER CIII 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CHECK 
 
 WHILE such were the scenes passing around me, of my own part in 
 them I absolutely knew nothing ; for, until the moment that the 
 glancing bayonets of the Light Division came rushing on the foe, and 
 the loud, long cheer of victory burst above us, I felt like one in a 
 trance. Then I leaned against an angle of the rampart, overpowered 
 and exhausted ; a bayonet wound, which some soldier of our own ranks 
 had given me when mounting the breach, pained me somewhat ; my 
 uniform was actually torn to rags ; my head bare ; of my sword, the 
 hilt and four inches of the blade alone remained, while my left hand 
 firmly grasped the rammer of a cannon, but why or wherefore I could 
 not even guess. As thus I stood, the unceasing tide of soldiery pressed 
 on ; fresh divisions came pouring in, eager for plunder, and thirsting 
 for the spoil. The dead and the dying were alike trampled beneath 
 the feet of that remorseless mass, who, actuated by vengeance and by 
 rapine, sprang fiercely up the breach. 
 
 Weak and exhausted, faint from my wound, and overcome by my 
 exertions, I sank among the crumbling ruin. The loud shouts which 
 rose from the town, mingled with cries and screams, told the work of 
 pillage was begun ; while still a dropping musketry could be heard on 
 the distant rampart, where even yet the French made resistance. At
 
 496 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 last even this was hushed, but to it succeeded the far move horrifying 
 sounds of rapine and of murder ; the forked flames of burning houses 
 rose here and there amid the black darkness of the night ; and through 
 the crackling of the timbers, and the falling crash of roofs, the heart- 
 rending shriek of agony rent the very air. Officers pressed forward, 
 but in vain were their efforts to restrain their men : the savage cruelty 
 of the moment knew no bounds of restraint More than one gallant 
 fellow perished in his fruitless endeavour to enforce obedience ; and 
 the most awful denunciations were now uttered against those whom, 
 at any other time, they dared not mutter before. 
 
 Thus passed the long night : far more terrible to me than all the 
 dangers of the storm itself, with all its death and destruction-dealing 
 around it. I know not if I slept ; if so, the horrors on every side 
 were pictured in my dreams ; and when the grey dawn was breaking, 
 the cries from the doomed city were still ringing in my ears. Close 
 around me the scene was still and silent ; the wounded had been re- 
 moved during the night, but the thickly-packed dead lay side by side 
 where they fell. It was a fearful sight to see them, as blood-stained 
 and naked (for already the camp-followers had stripped the bodies) 
 they covered the entire breach. From the rampart to the ditch, the 
 ranks lay where they had stood in life : a faint phosphoric flame 
 flickered above their ghastly corpses, making even death still more 
 horrible. I was gazing steadfastly, with all that stupid intensity which 
 imperfect senses and exhausted faculties possess, when the sounds of 
 voices near aroused me. 
 
 " Bring him along : this way, Bob. Over the breach with the 
 scoundrel, into the fosse." 
 
 " He shall die no soldier's death, by Heaven ! " cried another and a 
 deeper voice, " if I lay his skull open with my axe." 
 
 ' ' O mercy, mercy ! as you hope for " 
 
 "Traitor ! don't dare to mutter here !" As the last words were 
 spoken, four infantry soldiers, reeling from drunkenness, dragged for- 
 ward a pale and haggard wretch, whose limbs trailed behind him like 
 those of palsy ; his uniform was that of a French chasseur, but his 
 voice bespoke him English. 
 
 ' ' Kneel down there, and die like a man ! You were one once ! " 
 
 " Not so, Bill ; never. Fix bayonets, boys ! That's right ! Now 
 take the word from me." 
 
 "Oh, forgive me ! for the love of Heaven forgive me !" screamed 
 the voice of the victim ; but his last accents ended in a death-cry, for 
 as he spoke the bayonets flashed for an instant in the air, and the 
 next were plunged into his body. Twice I had essayed to speak, but 
 my voice, hoarse from shouting, came not ; and I could not but look 
 upon this terrible murder with staring eyes and burning brain. At 
 last speech came, as if wrested by the very excess of my agony, and I 
 muttered aloud, " O God ! " The words were not well spoken, when 
 the muskets were brought to the shoulders, and, reeking with the blood 
 of the murdered man, their savage faces scowled at me as I lay. 
 
 A short and heartfelt prayer burst from my lips, and I was still. 
 The leader of the party called out, " Be steady ! and together. One, 
 two ! Ground arms, boys ! Ground arms ! " roared he in a voice of
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CHECK 49? 
 
 thunder; "it's the Captain himself." Down went the muskets with 
 a crash : while, springing towards me, the fellows caught me in their 
 arms, and with one jerk mounted me upon their shoulders, the cheer 
 that accompanied the sudden movement seeming like the yell of 
 maniacs. ' ' Ha, ha, ha ! we have him now ! " sang their wild voices ; 
 as, with blood-stained hands and infuriated features, they bore me 
 down the rampart. My sensations of disgust and repugnance to the 
 party seemed at once to have evidenced themselves, for the corporal, 
 turning abruptly round, called out : 
 
 " Don't pity him, Captain ; the scoundrel was a deserter ; he escaped 
 from the picket two nights ago, and brought information of all our 
 plans to the enemy." 
 
 "Ay," cried another, "and, what's worse, he fired through an 
 embrasure near the breach for two hours upon his own regiment. It 
 was there we found him. This way, lads." 
 
 So saying, they turned short from the walls, and dashed down a dark 
 and narrow lane into the town. My struggles to get free were per- 
 fectly ineffectual, and to my entreaties they were totally indifferent. 
 
 In this way, therefore, we made our entrance into the Plaza, where 
 some hundred soldiers, of different regiments, were bivouacked. A 
 shout of recognition welcomed the fellows as they came ; while 
 suddenly a party of the 88th men, springing from the ground, rushed 
 forward with drawn bayonets, calling out, " Give him up this minute, 
 or by the Father of Moses, we'll make short work of ye ! " 
 
 The order was made by men who seemed well disposed to execute 
 it ; and I was accordingly grounded with a shock and a rapidity that 
 savoured much more of ready compliance than any respect for my in- 
 dividual comfort. A roar of laughter rang through the motley mass, 
 and every powder-stained face around me seemed convulsed with merri- 
 ment. As I sat passively upon the ground, looking ruefully about, 
 whether my gestures or my words increased the absurdity of my ap- 
 pearance, it is hard to say ; but certainly the laughter increased at each 
 moment, and the drunken wretches danced round me in ecstasy. 
 
 "Where is your Major? Major O'Shaughnessy, lads?" said I. 
 
 " He's in the church with the General, your honour," said the 
 sergeant of the regiment ; upon whom the mention of his officer's 
 name seemed at once to have a sobering influence. Assisting me to 
 rise (for I was weak as a child), he led me through the dense crowd, 
 who, such is the influence of example, now formed into line, and, as 
 well as their state permitted, gave me a military salute as I passed. 
 " Follow me, sir," said the sergeant ; " this little dark street to the 
 left will take us to the private door of the chapel." 
 
 " Wherefore are they there, sergeant?" 
 
 "There's a General of Division mortally wounded." 
 
 " You did not hear his name?" 
 
 " No, sir. All I know is, he was one of the storming party at the 
 lesser breach." 
 
 A cold, sickening shudder came over me ; I dare not ask further, 
 but pressed on, with anxious steps, towards the chapel. 
 
 "There, sir ; yonder, where you see the light ; that's the door." 
 
 So saying, the sergeant stopped suddenly, and placed his hand to his 
 
 2 I
 
 498 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 cap. I saw at once that he was sufficiently aware of his condition, 
 not to desire to appear before his officers ; so hurriedly thanking him, 
 I walked forward. 
 
 " Halt, there ! and give the countersign," cried a sentinel, who, with 
 fixed bayonet, stood before the door. 
 
 1 1 am an officer," said I, endeavouring to pass in. 
 
 ' Stand back ; stand back," said the harsh voice of the Highlander, 
 
 for 
 
 such he was. 
 
 ' Is Major O'Shaughuessy in the church ? " 
 ' I dimia ken," was the short, rough answer. 
 
 ' Who is the officer so badly wounded ? " 
 
 ' I dinna ken," repeated he as gruffly as before ; while he added in 
 a louder key, " Stand back, I tell ye, mun : diuna ye see the staff 
 coming ? " 
 
 I turned round hastily, and at the same instant several officers, who 
 apparently from precaution had dismounted at the end of the street, 
 were seen approaching. They came hurriedly forward, but without 
 speaking. He who was in advance of the party wore a short blue cape, 
 over an undress uniform ; the rest were in full regimentals. I had 
 scarcely time to throw a passing glance upon him, when the officer I 
 have mentioned as coming first called out in a stern voice : 
 
 " Who are you, sir ? " 
 
 I started at the sounds : it was not the first time those accents had 
 been heard by me. 
 
 " Captain O'Malley, Fourteenth Light Dragoons." 
 
 " What brings you here, sir? Your regiment is at " 
 
 " I have been employed as acting aide-de-camp to General Crawford," 
 said I hesitatingly. 
 
 " Is that your staff uniform ? " said he, as with compressed brow and 
 stern looks he fixed his eyes upon my coat. Before I had time to reply, 
 or indeed before I well knew how to do so, a gruff voice from behind 
 called out : 
 
 " Damn me ! if that ain't the fellow that led the stormers through 
 a broken embrasure. I say, my lord, that's the yeoman I was telling 
 you of. Is it not so, sir ? " continued he, turning towards me. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I led a party of the Eighty-eighth at the breach." 
 
 " And devilish well you did it, too ! " added Pictou, for it was he who 
 recognised me. " I saw him, my lord, spring down from the parapet 
 upon a French gunner, and break his sword as he cleft his helmet in 
 two. Yes, yes ; I shall not forget in a hurry how you laid about you 
 with the rammer of the gun : by Jove, that's it he has in his hand." 
 
 While Picton ran thus hurriedly on, Lord Wellington's calm but 
 stern features never changed their expression. The looks of those 
 around were bent upon me with interest and even admiration ; but his 
 evinced nothing of either. 
 
 Reverting at once to my absence from my post, he asked me : 
 
 " Did you obtain leave for a particular service, sir ? " 
 
 " No, ray lord. It was simply from an accidental circumstance 
 that " 
 
 "Then report yourself at your quarters as under arrest." 
 
 " But, my lord," said Picton.
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CHECK 499 
 
 Lord Wellington waited not for the explanation, but walked firmly 
 forward, and strode into the church. The staff followed in silence, 
 Picton turning 1 one look of kindness on me as he went, as though to 
 say " I'll not forget you." 
 
 "The devil take it," cried I, as I found myself once more alone, 
 " but I am unlucky. What would turn out with other men the very 
 basis of their fortune is ever with me the source of ill-luck." 
 
 It was evident from Picton's account that I had distinguished myself 
 in the breach ; and yet nothing was more clear than that my conduct 
 had displeased the Commander-in-Chief. Picturing him ever to my 
 mind's eye as the beau ideal of a .military leader, by some fatality of 
 fortune 1 was continually incurring his displeasure, for whose praise I 
 would have risked my life. And this confounded costume, what, in 
 the name of every absurdity, could ever have persuaded me to put it 
 on ? What signifies it though a man should cover himself with glory, 
 if in the end he is to be laughed at ! Well, well ! it matters not much, 
 now my soldiering's over. And yet I could have wished that the last 
 act of my campaigning had brought with it pleasanter recollections. 
 
 As thus I ruminated, the click of the soldier's musket near aroused 
 me : Picton was passing out. A shade of gloom and depression was 
 visible upon his features, and his lip trembled as he muttered some 
 sentences to himself. 
 
 " Ha ! Captain 1 forget the name. Yes Captain O'Malley, you 
 
 are released from arrest. General Crawford has spoken very well of 
 you, and Lord Wellington has heard the circumstances of your case." 
 
 " Is it General Crawford, then, that is wounded, sir ? " said I eagerly. 
 
 Picton paused for a moment, while, with an effort, he controlled his 
 features into their stern and impassive expression, then added hurriedly 
 and almost harshly : 
 
 " Yes, sir : badly wounded ; through the arm and in the lung. He 
 mentioned you to the notice of the Commauder-in-Chief, and your 
 application for leave is granted : in fact, you are to have the dis- 
 tinguished honour of carrying back despatches. There, now : you'd 
 better join your brigade." 
 
 " Could I not see my General once more ? It may be for the last 
 time." 
 
 " No, sir," sternly replied Picton. " Lord Wellington believes you 
 under arrest. It is as well he should suppose you obeyed his orders." 
 
 There was a tone of sarcasm in these words that prevented my reply ; 
 and, muttering my gratitude for his well-timed and kindly interference 
 in my behalf, I bowed deeply and turned away. 
 
 1 ' I say, sir," said Picton, as he returned towards the church, " should 
 anything befall that is, if unfortunately circumstances should make 
 you in want and desirous of a staff appointment, remember that you 
 are known to General Picton." 
 
 Downcast and depressed by the news of my poor General, I wended 
 my way with slow and uncertain steps towards the rampart. A clear, 
 cold, wintry sky, and a sharp, bracing air, made my wound, slight as it 
 was, more painful, and I endeavoured to reach the reserves, where I 
 knew the hospital staff had established, for the present, their quarters. 
 
 1 had not gone far when, from a marauding party, I learned that my
 
 500 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 man Mike was in search of me through the plain. A report of my 
 death had reached him, and the poor fellow was half distracted. 
 
 Longing anxiously to allay his fears on my account, which I well 
 knew might lead him into any act of folly or insanity, I pressed forward ; 
 besides shall I confess it ? that amid the manifold thoughts of sorrow 
 and affliction which weighed me down, I could not divest myself of the 
 feeling that so long as I wore my present absurd costume I could be 
 nothing but an object of laughter and ridicule to all who met me. 
 
 I had not long to look for my worthy follower, for I soon beheld 
 him cantering about the plain. A loud shout brought him beside me ; 
 and truly the poor fellow's delight was great and sincere. With a 
 thousand protestations of his satisfaction, and reiterated assurances of 
 what he would not have done to the French prisoners if anything had 
 happened me, we took our way together towards the camp. 
 
 CHAPTER CIV 
 
 THE DESPATCH 
 
 I WAS preparing to visit the town on the following morning, when my 
 attention was attracted by a dialogue which took place beneath my 
 window. 
 
 "I say, my good friend," cried a mounted orderly to Mike, who 
 was busily employed in brushing a jacket ; " I say, are you Captain 
 O'Malley's man ? 
 
 " The least taste in life o' that same," replied he, with a half jocular 
 expression. 
 
 " Well, then," said the other, " take up these letters to your master. 
 Be alive, my fine fellow, for they are despatches, and I must have a 
 written return for them." 
 
 " Won't ye get off, and take a drop of somethin' refreshing ? the air 
 is cowld this morning." 
 
 " I can't stay, my good friend, but thank you all the same ; so be 
 alive, will you ? " 
 
 " Arrah ! there's no hurry in life. Sure, it's an invitation to dinner 
 to Lord Wellington, or a tea-party at Sir Denny's ; sure, my master's 
 bothered with them every day o' the week ; that's the misfortune of 
 being an agreeable creature ; and I'd be led into dissipation myself if 
 I wasn't reared prudent." 
 
 " Well, come along, take these letters, for I must be off ; my time is 
 short." 
 
 " That's more nor your nose is, honey," said Mike, evidently piqued 
 at the little effect his advances had produced upon the Englishman. 
 " Give them here," continued he, while he turned the various papers 
 in every direction, affecting to read their addresses. " There's nothing 
 for me here, I see. Did none o' the generals ask after me ? " 
 
 " You are a queer one," said the dragoon, not a little puzzled what 
 to make of him. 
 
 Mike meanwhile thrust the papers carelessly into his pocket, and
 
 THE DESPATCH 601 
 
 strode into the house, whistling a quickstep as he went, with the air 
 of a man perfectly devoid of care or occupation. The next moment, 
 however, he appeared at my door, wiping his forehead with the back 
 of his hand, and apparently breathless with haste. 
 
 " Despatches, Misther Charles despatches from Lord Wellington. 
 The orderly is waiting below for a return." 
 
 " Tell him he shall have it in one moment," replied I ; ' ' and now 
 bring me a light." 
 
 Before I had broken the seal of the envelope Mike was once more 
 at the porch. 
 
 te My masther is writing a few .lines to say he'll do it. Don't be 
 talking of it," added he, dropping his voice ; " but they want him to 
 take another fortress." 
 
 What turn the dialogue subsequently took I cannot say, for I was 
 entirely occupied by a letter which accompanied the despatches ; it 
 ran as follows : 
 
 SIB, The Commander-in-Chief has been kind enough to 
 accord you the leave of absence you applied for, and takes the oppor- 
 tunity of your return to England to send you the accompanying letters 
 for his Royal Highness the Duke of York. To his approval of your 
 conduct in the assault of last night you owe this distinguished mark of 
 Lord Wellington's favour, which I hope will be duly appreciated by 
 you, and serve to increase your zeal for that service in which you have 
 already distinguished yourself. 
 
 " Believe me that I am most happy in being made the medium of 
 this communication, and have the honour to be, very truly yours, 
 
 " PICTON. 
 
 " QUARTER-GENERAL, 
 CIUDAD RODRIGO, Jan. 20, 1812." 
 
 I read and re-read this note again and again. Every line was conned 
 over by me, and every phrase weighed and balanced in my mind. 
 Nothing could be more gratifying, nothing more satisfactory to my 
 feelings, and I would not have exchanged its possession for the brevet 
 of a lieutenant-colonel. 
 
 1 ' Halloo, orderly," cried I, from the window, as I hurriedly sealed 
 my few words of acknowledgment, ' ( take this note back to General 
 Picton, and here's a guinea for yourself." So saying, I pitched into 
 his ready hand one of the very few which remained to me in the 
 world. " This is indeed good news," said I to myself; " this is indeed 
 a moment of unmixed happiness." 
 
 As I closed the window, I could hear Mike pronouncing a glowing 
 eulogium upon my liberality, from which he could not, however, help in 
 some degree detracting, as he added, " But the devil thank him after 
 all ; sure it's himself has the illigant fortune and the fine place of it. " 
 
 Scarcely were the last sounds of the retiring horseman dying away 
 in the distance when Mike's meditations took another form, and he 
 muttered between his teeth : 
 
 " Oh ! holy Agatha ! a guinea, a real gold guinea to the thief of a 
 dragoon that come with the letter, and here am I wearing a picture of 
 the holy family for a back to my waistcoat, all out of economy ; and
 
 502 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 sure, God knows, but maybe they'll take their dealing trick out of me 
 in purgatory for this hereafter ; and faith, it's a beautiful pair of 
 breeches I'd have had if I wasn't ashamed to put the twelve disciples 
 on my legs." 
 
 While Mike ran on at this rate my eyes fell upon a few lines of 
 postscript in Picton's letter, which I had not previously noticed. 
 
 " The official despatches of the storming are of course entrusted to 
 senior officers, but I need scarcely remind you that it will be a polite 
 and a proper attention to his Royal Highness to present your letters 
 with as little delay as possible. Not a moment is to be lost on your 
 landing in England." 
 
 ' ' Mike," cried I, "how look the cattle for a journey?" 
 
 " The chestnut is a little low in flesh, but in great wind, your honour ; 
 and the black horse is jumping like a filly." 
 
 "And Badger?" said I. 
 
 " Howld him, if you can, that's all ; but it's murthering work this, 
 carrying despatches day after day." 
 
 "This time, however, Mike, we must not grumble." 
 
 " Maybe it isn't far. " 
 
 "Why, as to that, I shall not promise much. I'm bound for 
 England, Mickey." 
 
 " For England ? " 
 
 " Yes, Mike, and for Ireland." 
 
 " For Ireland ! whoop ! " shouted he, as he shied his cap into one 
 corner of the room, the jacket he was brushing into the other, and began 
 dancing round the table with no bad imitation of an Indian war dance. 
 
 " How I'll dance like a fairy 
 
 To see ould Dunleary, 
 And think twice ere I leave it to be a dragoon." 
 
 " Oh ! blessed hour ! isn't it beautiful to think of the illuminations 
 and dinners, and speeches, and shaking of hands, huzzaing, and hip, 
 hipping. Maybe there won't be pictures of us in all the shops 
 Misther Charles and his man Misther Free. Maybe they won't make 
 plays out of us ; myself dressed in the grey coat with the red cuffs, 
 the cords, the tops, and the Caroline hat a little cocked, with the phiz 
 in the side of it." Here he made a sign with his expanded fingers to 
 represent a cockade, which he designated by this word. " I think I see 
 myself dining with the Corporation, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin 
 getting up to propose the hero of El Bodon, Misther Free ! and three 
 times three, hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! Musha, but it's dry I'm gettin' 
 with the thoughts of the punch and the poteen negus." 
 
 " If you go on at this rate we're not likely to be soon at our journey's 
 end ; so be alive now, pack up my kit : I shall start by twelve o'clock." 
 
 With one spring Mike cleared the stairs, and overthrowing every- 
 thing and everybody in his way, hurried towards the stable, chanting 
 at the top of his voice the very poetical strain he had indulged me with 
 a few minutes before. 
 
 My preparations were rapidly made : a hurried few lines of leave- 
 taking to the good fellows I had lived so much with and felt so 
 strongly attached to, with a firm assurance that I should join them
 
 THE LEAVE 503 
 
 again ere long, was all that my time permitted. To Power I wrote 
 more at length, detailing the circumstances which my own letters in- 
 formed me of, and also those which invited me to return home. This 
 done, I lost not another moment, but set out upon my journey. 
 
 CHAPTER CV 
 
 THE LEAVE 
 
 AFTER an hour's sharp riding we reached the Aguada, where the river 
 was yet fordable : crossing this, we mounted the Sierra by a narrow 
 and winding pass which leads through the mountains towards Almeida. 
 Here I turned once more to cast a last and farewell look at the scene 
 of our late encounter. It was but a few hours that I had stood almost 
 on the same spot, and yet how altered was all around. The wide 
 plain, then bustling with all the life and animation of a large army, 
 was now nearly deserted ; some dismounted guns, some broken up dis- 
 mantled batteries, around which a few sentinels seemed to loiter rather 
 than to keep guard ; a strong detachment of infantry could be seen 
 wending their way towards the fortress, and a confused mass of camp 
 followers, sutlers, and peasants following their steps for protection 
 against the pillagers and the still ruder assaults of their own guerillas. 
 The fortress, too, was changed indeed. Those mighty walls, before 
 whose steep sides the bravest fell back baffled and beaten, were now 
 a mass of ruin and decay ; the muleteer could be seen driving his mule 
 along through the rugged ascent of that breach, to win whose top the 
 best blood of Albion's chivalry was shed ; and the peasant child looked 
 timidly from those dark enclosures into the deep fosse below, where 
 perished hundreds of our best and bravest. The air was calm, clear, and 
 unclouded ; no smoke obscured the transparent atmosphere ; the cannon 
 had ceased, and the voices that rang so late in accents of triumphant 
 victory were stilled in death. Everything, indeed, had undergone a 
 mighty change ; but nothing brought the altered fortunes of the scene 
 so vividly to my mind as when I remembered that when last I had seen 
 those walls the dark shako of the French grenadiers peered above their 
 battlements, and now the gay tartan of the Highlander fluttered above 
 them, and the red flag of England waved boldly in the breeze. 
 
 Up to that moment my sensations were those of unmixed pleasure ; 
 the thought of my home, my friends, my country, the feeling that I was 
 returning with the bronze of the battle upon my cheek, and the voice 
 of praise still ringing in my heart ; these were proud thoughts, and my 
 bosom heaved short and quickly as I revolved them ; but as I turned 
 my gaze for the last time towards the gallant army I was leaving, a 
 pang of sorrow, of self-reproach, shot through me, and I could not help 
 feeling how far less worthily was I acting in yielding to the impulse of 
 my wishes than had I remained to share the fortunes of the campaign. 
 
 So powerfully did these sensations possess me that I sat motionless for 
 some time, uncertain whether to proceed ; forgetting that I was the 
 bearer of important information, I only remembered that by my own
 
 504 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 desire I was there ; my reason but half convinced me that the part I 
 had adopted was right and honourable, and more than once my resolu- 
 tion to proceed hung in the balance. It was just at this critical moment 
 of my doubts, when Mike, who had been hitherto behind, came up. 
 
 "Is it the upper road, sir?" said he, pointing to a steep and rugged 
 path, which led by a zigzag ascent towards the crest of the mountain. 
 
 I nodded in reply, when he added : 
 
 " Doesn't this remind your honour of Sleibh More above the Shan- 
 non, where we used to be grouse shooting? and there's the keeper's 
 house in the valley ; and that might be your uncle, the master himself, 
 waving his hat to you." 
 
 Had he known the state of my conflicting feelings at the moment 
 he could not more readily have decided this doubt. I turned abruptly 
 away, put spurs to my horse, and dashed up the steep pass at a pace 
 which evidently surprised, and as evidently displeased, my follower. 
 
 How natural it is even to experience a reaction of depression and 
 lowness after the first burst of unexpected joy ; the moment of happi- 
 ness is scarce experienced ere come the doubts of its reality, the fears 
 for its continuance ; the higher the state of pleasurable excitement, 
 the more painful and the more pressing the anxieties that await on it ; 
 the tension of delighted feelings cannot last, and our over-wrought 
 faculties seek repose in regrets. Happy he who can so temper his 
 enjoyments as to view them in their shadows as in their sunshine : he 
 may not, it is true, behold the landscape and the blaze of its noonday 
 brightness ; but he need not fear the thundercloud nor the hurricane. 
 The calm autumn of his bliss, if it dazzle not in its brilliancy, will not 
 any more be shrouded in darkness and in gloom. 
 
 My first burst of pleasure over, the thought of my uncle's changed 
 fortunes pressed deeply on my heart, and a hundred plans suggested 
 themselves in turn to my mind to relieve his present embarrassments ; 
 but I knew how impracticable they would all prove when opposed by 
 his prejudices. To sell the old home of his forefathers, to wander 
 from the roof which had sheltered his name for generations, he would 
 never consent to ; the law might by force expel him, and drive him a 
 wanderer and an exile, but of his own free will the thing was hopeless. 
 Cousidine, too, would encourage rather than repress such feelings ; his 
 feudalism would lead him to any lengths, and in defence of what he 
 would esteem a right, he would as soon shoot a sheriff as a snipe, 
 and, old as he was, ask for no better amusement than to arm the old 
 tenantry and give battle to the king's troops on the wide plain of 
 Scariff. Amid such conflicting thoughts I travelled on moodily and 
 in silence, to the palpable astonishment of Mike, who could not help 
 regarding me as one from whom fortune met the most ungrateful 
 returns. At every new turn of the road he would endeavour to attract 
 my attention by the objects around ; no white-turreted chateau, no 
 tapered spire in the distance escaped him ; he kept up a constant ripple 
 of half-muttered praise and censure upon all he saw, and instituted 
 unceasing comparisons between the country and his own, in which 1 am 
 bound to say Ireland rarely, if ever, had to complain of his patriotism. 
 
 AVhen we arrived at Almeida I learned that the Medea sloop of war 
 was lying off Oporto, and expected to sail for England in a few days.
 
 THE LEAVE 505 
 
 The opportunity was not to be neglected : the official despatches I was 
 aware would be sent through Lisbon where the Gorgon frigate was in 
 waiting to convey them ; but should I be fortunate enough to reach 
 Oporto in time, I* had little doubt of arriving in England with the first 
 intelligence of the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo. Reducing my luggage, 
 therefore, to the smallest possible compass, and having provided myself 
 with a juvenile guide for the pass of La Reyua, I threw myself, without 
 undressing, upon the bed, and waited anxiously for the break of day 
 to resume my journey. 
 
 As I ruminated over the prospect my return presented, I suddenly 
 remembered Frank Webber's letter, which I had hastily thrust into a 
 portfolio without reading, so occupied was I by Considine's epistle : 
 with a little searching 1 discovered it, and trimming my lamp, as I felt 
 no inclination to sleep, I proceeded to the examination of what seemed 
 a more than usually voluminous epistle. It contained four closely 
 written pages, accompanied by something like a plan in an engineering 
 sketch. My curiosity becoming further stimulated by this, I sat down 
 to peruse it. It began thus : 
 
 " Official Despatch of Lieutenant-General Francis Webber to Lord 
 Castlereagh ; detailing the assault and capture of the old pump, in 
 Trinity College, Dublin, on the night of the second of December, 
 eighteen hundred and eleven, with returns of killed, wounded, and 
 missing ; with other information from the seat of war. 
 
 < ' HEADQUARTERS, No. 2, OLD SQUARE. 
 
 "My LORD, In compliance with the instructions contained in your 
 lordship's despatch of the twenty-first ultimo, I concentrated the force 
 under my command, and, assembling the Generals of Division, made 
 known my intentions in the following general order : 
 
 "A. G. O. 
 
 "The following troops will this evening assemble at head- 
 quarters, and, having partaken of a sufficient dinner for the next two 
 days with punch for four, will hold themselves in readiness to march, 
 in the following order : 
 
 t( Harry Nesbitt's brigade of incorrigibles will form a blockading 
 force, iu the line extending from the Vice-Provost's house to the 
 library. The Light Division, under Mark Waller, will skirmish from 
 the gate towards the middle of the square, obstructing the march of 
 the cuirassiers of the guard, which, under the command of old Duncan, 
 the porter, are expected to move in that direction. Two columns of 
 attack will be formed by the senior sophisters of the old guard, and a 
 forlorn hope of the ' cautioned ' men at the last four examinations will 
 form, under the orders of Timothy O'llourke, beneath the shadow of 
 the dining-hall. 
 
 ' ' At the signal of the Dean's bell the stormers will move forward. A 
 cheer from the united corps will then announce the moment of attack. 
 
 <{ The word for the night will be, ' May the devil admire me !' 
 
 "The commander of the forces desires that the different corps 
 should be as strong as possible, and expects that no man will remain, 
 on any pretence whatever, in the rear with the lush. During the
 
 606 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 main assault, Cecil Cavendish will make a feint upon the Provost's 
 windows, to be converted into a real attack if the ladies scream. 
 
 "General Order, The Commissary-General Foley will supply the 
 following articles for the use of the troops : Two hams, eight pair of 
 chickens, the same to be roasted ; a devilled turkey ; sixteen lobsters ; 
 eight hundred of oysters, with a proportionate quantity of cold sherry 
 and hot punch. 
 
 1 ' The army will get drunk by ten o'clock to-night. 
 
 " Having made these dispositions, my lord, I proceed to mislead the 
 enemy as to our intentions, in suffering my servant to be taken with 
 an intercepted despatch. This, being a prescription by Dr. Colles, 
 would convey to the Dean's mind the impression that I was still upon 
 the sick list. This being done, and four canisters of Dartford gun- 
 powder being procured on tick, our military chest being in a most 
 deplorable condition, I waited for the moment of attack. 
 
 (e A heavy rain, accompanied with a frightful hurricane, prevailed 
 during the entire day, rendering the march of the troops who came 
 from the neighbourhood of Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Street, a 
 service of considerable fatigue. The outlying pickets in College Green, 
 being induced probably by the inclemency of the season, were rather 
 tipsy on joining, and, having engaged in a skirmish with old M'Calister, 
 tying his red uniform over his head, the moment of attack was pre- 
 cipitated, and we moved to the trenches by half-past nine o'clock. 
 
 "Nothing could be more orderly, nothing more perfect, than the 
 march of the troops. As we approached the corner of the commons'- 
 hall a skirmish on the rear apprised us that our intentions had become 
 known ; and I soon heard from my aide-de-camp, Bob Moore, that the 
 attack was made by a strong column of the enemy, under the command 
 of old Fitzgerald. 
 
 " Perpendicular (as your lordship is aware he is styled by the army) 
 came on in a determined manner, and before many minutes had 
 elapsed had taken several prisoners, among others Tom Drummond 
 Long Tom who, having fallen on all fours, was mistaken for a long 
 eighteen. The success, however, was but momentary ; Nesbitt's 
 brigade attacked them in flank, rescued the prisoners, extinguished 
 the Dean's lantern, and having beaten back the heavy porters, took 
 Perpendicular himself prisoner. 
 
 " An express from the left informed me that the attack upon the 
 Provost's house had proved equally successful : there wasn't a whole 
 pane of glass in the front, and from a footman who deserted it was 
 learned that Mrs. Hutchinson was in hysterics. 
 
 " While I was reading this despatch, a strong feeling of the line 
 towards the right announced that something was taking place in that 
 direction. Bob Moore, who rode by on Drummond's back, hurriedly 
 informed me that Williams had put the lighted end of his cigar to one 
 of the fuses, but the powder being wet, did not explode, notwithstand- 
 ing his efforts to effect it. Upon this, I hastened to the front, where 
 I found the individual in question kneeling upon the ground, and en- 
 deavouring, as far as punch would permit him, to kindle a flame at 
 the portfire. Before I could interfere, the spark had caught ; a loud
 
 THE LEAVE 507 
 
 hissing noise followed ; the different magazines successively became 
 ignited, and at length the fire reached the great four-pound charge. 
 
 " I cannot convey to your lordship, by any words of mine, an idea 
 of this terrible explosion : the blazing splinters were hurled into the 
 air and fell in fiery masses on every side from the park to King 
 William : Ivey, the bell-ringer, was precipitated from the scaffold 
 beside the bell, and fell headlong into the mud beneath ; the surround- 
 ing buildings trembled at the shock : the windows were shattered, and, 
 in fact, a scene of perfect devastation ensued on all sides. 
 
 " When the smoke cleared away I rose from my recumbent position, 
 and perceived with delight that not a vestige of the pump remained. 
 The old iron handle was imbedded in the wall of the dining-hall, and 
 its round knob stood out like the end of a queue. 
 
 " Our loss was of course considerable ; and ordering the wounded 
 to the rear, I proceeded to make an orderly and regular retreat. At 
 this time, however, the enemy had assembled in force. Two battalions 
 of porters, led on by Dr. Dobbin, charged us on the flank ; a heavy 
 brigade poured down upon us from the battery, and, but for the 
 exertions of Harry Nesbitt, our communication with our reserves must 
 have been cut off. Cecil Cavendish also came up ; for, although beaten 
 in his great attack, the forces under his command had penetrated by the 
 kitchen windows, and carried off a considerable quantity of cold meat. 
 
 " Concentrating the different corps, I made an echelon movement 
 upon the chapel, to admit of the Light Division coming up. This they 
 did in a few moments, informing me that they had left Perpendicular 
 in the haha, which, as your lordship is aware, is a fosse of the very 
 greenest and most stagnant nature. We now made good our retreat 
 upon number two, carrying our wounded with us : the plunder we also 
 secured, but we kicked the prisoners and suffered them to escape. 
 
 " Thus terminated, my lord, one of the brightest achievements of 
 the undergraduate career. I enclose a list of the wounded, as also an 
 account of the various articles returned in the Commissary-General's list. 
 
 " Harry Nesbitt : severely wounded ; no coat nor hat ; a black eye ; 
 left shoe missing. 
 
 " Cecil Cavendish : face severely scratched ; supposed to have re- 
 ceived his wound in the attack upon the kitchen. 
 
 "Tom Drummond : not recognisable by his friends; his features 
 resembling a transparency disfigured by the smoke of the preceding 
 night's illumination. 
 
 " Bob Moore : slightly wounded. 
 
 " I would beg particularly to recommend all these officers to your 
 lordship's notice ; indeed, the conduct of Moore in kicking the Dean's 
 lantern out of the porter's hand, was marked by great promptitude and 
 decision. This officer will present to H. R. H. the following trophies 
 taken from the enemy : The Dean's cap and tassel ; the key of his 
 chambers ; Dr. Dobbin's wig and bands ; four porters' helmets, and a 
 book on the cellar. I have the honour to remain, 
 
 "My Lord, &c., 
 
 tt 
 
 "G. O. 
 
 "The commander of the forces returns his thanks to the various
 
 308 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 officers and soldiers employed in the late assault, for their persevering 
 gallantry and courage. The splendour of the achievement can only he 
 equalled by the humanity and good conduct of the troops. It only 
 remains for me to add, that the less they say about the transaction, 
 and the sooner they are severally confined to their beds with symptoms 
 of contagious fever, the better. 
 
 ' ( Meanwhile, to concert upon the future measures of the campaign, 
 the army will sup to-night at Morisson's." 
 
 Here ended this precious epistle, rendering one fact sufficiently 
 evident that, however my worthy friend advanced in years, he had 
 not grown in wisdom. 
 
 While ruminating upon the strange infatuation which could per- 
 suade a gifted and an able man to lavish upon dissipation and reckless 
 absurdity the talent that must, if well directed, raise him to eminence 
 and distinction, a few lines of a newspaper paragraph fell from the 
 paper I was reading. It ran thus : 
 
 " LATE OUTRAGE IN TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. 
 
 " We have great pleasure in stating that the serious disturbance 
 which took place within the walls of our University a few evenings 
 since, was in nowise attributable to the conduct of the students. A 
 party of ill-disposed townspeople were, it would appear, the instiga- 
 tors and perpetrators of the outrage. That their object was the total 
 destruction of our venerated University there can be but little doubt. 
 Fortunately, however, they did not calculate upon the esprit de corps of 
 the students, a body of whom, under the direction of Mr. Webber, suc- 
 cessfully opposed the assailants, and finally drove them from the walls. 
 
 "It is, we understand, the intention of the board to confer some 
 mark of approbation upon Mr. Webber, who, independently of this, 
 has strong claims upon their notice, his collegiate success pointing him 
 out as the most extraordinary man of his day." 
 
 e< This, my dear Charley, will give you some faint conception of one 
 of the most brilliant exploits of modern days. The bulletin, believe 
 me, is not Napoleonised into any bombastic extravagance of success. 
 The thing was splendid ; from the brilliant firework of the old pump 
 itself to the figure of Perpendicular dripping with duckweed, like an 
 insane river-god, it was unequalled. Our fellows behaved like trumps ; 
 and, to do them justice, so did the enemy. But, unfortunately, not- 
 withstanding this, and the plausible paragraphs of the morning papers, 
 I have been summoned before the board for Tuesday next. 
 
 ''Meanwhile, I employ myself in throwing off a shower of small 
 squibs for the journals, so that if the board deal not mercifully with 
 me, I may meet with sympathy from the public. I have just despatched 
 a little editorial bit for the Times, calling, in terms of parental tender- 
 ness upon the University to say : 
 
 " ' How long will the extraordinary excesses of a learned functionary 
 
 be suffered to disgrace college ? Is Doctor to be permitted to 
 
 exhibit an example of more riotous insubordination than would be 
 endured in an undergraduate ? More on this subject hereafter.'
 
 LONDON 609 
 
 "'Sounders' Newsletter. Dr. Barrett appeared at the head police 
 office, before Alderman Darley, to make oath that neither he nor 
 Catty were concerned in the late outrage upon the pump/ &c. , &c. 
 
 " Paragraphs like these are flying about in every provincial paper 
 of the Empire. People shake their heads when they speak of the 
 University, and respectable females rather cross over by King William 
 and the Bank than pass near its precincts. 
 
 " Tuesday Evening. 
 
 " Would you believe it, they've expelled me ! Address your next 
 letter as usual, for they haven't got rid of me yet. Yours, F. W." 
 
 " So I shall find him in his old quarters," thought I, ' ' and evidently 
 not much altered since we parted." It was not without a feeling of 
 (I trust pardonable) pride that I thought over my own career in the 
 interval. My three years of campaigning life had given me some insight 
 into the world, and some knowledge of myself, and conferred upon me 
 a boon, of which I know not the equal ; that, while yet young, and 
 upon the very threshold of life, I should have tasted the enthusiastic 
 pleasures of a soldier's fortune, and braved the dangers and difficulties 
 of a campaign at a time when, under other auspices, I might have 
 wasted my years in unprofitable idleness or careless dissipation. 
 
 CHAPTER CVI 
 
 LONDON 
 
 TWELVE hours after my arrival in England I entered London. I 
 cannot attempt to record the sensations which thronged my mind as 
 the din and tumult of that mighty city awoke me from a sound sleep I 
 had fallen into in the corner of the chaise. The seemingly intermin- 
 able lines of lamplight, the crash of carriages, the glare of the shops, 
 the buzz of voices, made up a chaotic mass of sights and sounds, leaving 
 my efforts at thought vain and fruitless. 
 
 Obedient to my instructions, I lost not a moment in my preparations 
 to deliver my despatches. Having dressed myself in the full uniform 
 of my corps, I drove to the Horse Guards. It was now nine o'clock, 
 and I learned that his Royal Highness hud gone to dinner at Carlton 
 House. In a few words which I spoke with the aide-de-camp I dis- 
 covered that no information of the fall of C'iudad Rodrigo had yet 
 reached England. The greatest anxiety prevailed as to the events of 
 the Peninsula, from which no despatches had been received for several 
 weeks past. 
 
 To Carlton House I accordingly bent my steps, without any precise 
 determination how I should proceed when there, nor knowing how far 
 etiquette might be an obstacle to the accomplishment of my mission. 
 The news of which I was the bearer was, however, of too important a 
 character to permit me to hesitate, and I presented myself to the aide- 
 de-camp in waiting, simply stating that I was entrusted with important
 
 510 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 letters to his Royal Highness, the purport of which did not admit of 
 delay. 
 
 " They have not gone to dinner yet," lisped out the aide-de-camp, 
 "and if you would permit me to deliver the letters " 
 
 "Mine are despatches/' said I somewhat proudly, and in nowise 
 disposed to cede to another the honour of personally delivering them 
 into the hands of the Duke. 
 
 "Then you had better present yourself at the levee to-morrow 
 morning/' replied he carelessly, while he turned into one of the 
 window recesses, and resumed the conversation with one of the gentle- 
 men-in-waiting. 
 
 I stood for some moments uncertain and undecided ; reluctant on 
 the one part to relinquish my claim as the bearer of despatches, and 
 equally unwilling to defer their delivery till the following day. 
 
 Adopting the former alternative, I took my papers from my sabre- 
 tasche, and was about to place them in the hands of the aide-de-camp, 
 when the folding-doors at the end of the apartment suddenly flew 
 open, and a large and handsome man, with a high bald forehead, 
 entered hastily. 
 
 The different persons in waiting sprung from their lounging attitudes 
 upon the sofas, and bowed respectfully as he passed on towards another 
 door. His dress was a plain blue coat, buttoned to the collar, and his 
 only decoration a brilliant star upon the breast. There was that air, 
 however, of high birth and bearing about him that left no doubt upon 
 my mind that he was of the blood royal. 
 
 As the aide-de-camp to whom I had been speaking opened the door 
 for him to pass out, I could hear some words in a low voice, in which 
 the phrases, "letters of importance," and "your Royal Highness," 
 occurred. The individual addressed turned suddenly about, and cast- 
 ing a rapid glance around the room, without deigning a word in reply, 
 walked straight up to where I was standing. 
 
 " Despatches for me, sir ? " said he shortly, taking, as he spoke, the 
 packet from my hand. 
 
 " For his Royal Highness the Commander-hi-Chief," said I, bowing 
 respectfully, and still uncertain in whose presence J was standing. He 
 broke the seal without answering, and, as his eye caught the first lines 
 of the despatch, broke out into an exclamation of : 
 ' Ha ! Peninsula news ! When did you arrive, sir ? " 
 ' An hour since, sir. " 
 
 ' And these letters are from " 
 
 ' General Picton, your Royal Highness. " 
 
 ' How glorious how splendidly done J" muttered he to himself, as 
 he ran his eyes rapidly over the letter. 
 
 ' f Are you Captain O'Malley, whose name is mentioned ' here so 
 favourably?" 
 
 I bowed deeply in reply. 
 
 " You are most highly spoken of, and it will give me sincere pleasure 
 to recommend you to the notice of the Prince Regent But stay a 
 moment." So saying, hurriedly he passed from the room, leaving me 
 overwhelmed at the suddenness of the incident, and a mark of no 
 small astonishment to the different persons in waiting, who had
 
 LONDON 511 
 
 hitherto no other idea but that my despatches were from Houuslow 
 or Knightsbridge. 
 
 ' ' Captain O'Malley," said au officer covered witli decorations, and 
 whose slightly foreign accent bespoke the Hanoverian, "his Royal 
 Highness requests you will accompany me." 
 
 The door opened as he spoke, and I found myself in a most splendidly 
 lit up apartment; the walls covered with pictures, and the ceiling 
 divided into panels, resplendent with the richest gilding. A group of 
 persons in court-dresses were conversing in a low tone as we entered, 
 but suddenly ceased, and, saluting my conductor respectfully, made 
 way for us to pass on. The folding-doors again opened as we ap- 
 proached, and we found ourselves in a long gallery, whose sumptuous 
 furniture and costly decorations shone beneath the rich tints of a 
 massive lustre of ruby glass, diffusing a glow resembling the most 
 gorgeous sunset. Here also some persons in handsome uniform were 
 conversing, one of whom accosted my companion by the title of 
 "Baron" ; nodding familiarly as he muttered a few words in German, 
 he passed forward, and the next moment the doors were thrown suddenly 
 wide, and we entered the drawing-room. 
 
 The buzz of voices and the sound of laughter reassured me as I 
 came forward, and, before 1 had well time to think where and why 
 I was there, the Duke of York advanced towards me with a smile of 
 peculiar sweetness in its expression, and said, as he turned towards 
 one side : 
 
 " Your Royal Highness Captain O'Malley ! " 
 
 As he spoke, the Prince moved forward, and bowed slightly. 
 
 "You've brought us capital news, Mr. O'Malley. May I beg, if 
 you're not too much tired, you'll join us at dinner. I am most anxious 
 to learn the particulars of the assault." 
 
 As I bowed my acknowledgments to the gracious invitation, he 
 continued : 
 
 " Are you acquainted with your countryman but of course you can 
 scarcely be you began too early as a soldier. So let me present you 
 to my friend, Mr. Burke." A middle-aged man, whose broad white 
 forehead and deep-set eyes evinced the character of features that were 
 otherwise not remarkable in expression, bowed somewhat stiffly. 
 
 Before he had concluded a somewhat laboured compliment to me, 
 we were joined by a third person, whose strikingly handsome features 
 were lit up with an expression of the most animated kind. He accosted 
 the Prince with an air of easy familiarity, and while he led him from 
 the group, appeared to be relating some anecdote, which actually con- 
 vulsed his Royal Highness with laughter. 
 
 Before I had time or opportunity to inquire who the individual 
 could be, dinner was announced, and the wide folding-doors being 
 thrown open, displayed the magnificent dining-room of Carlton House 
 in all the blaze and splendour of its magnificence. 
 
 The sudden change from the rough vicissitudes of campaigning life 
 to all the luxury and voluptuous elegance of a brilliant court, created 
 too much confusion in my mind to permit of my impressions being 
 the most accurate or most collected. The splendour of the scene, the 
 rank, but even more, the talent of individuals by whom I was sur-
 
 512 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 rounded, had all their full effect upon me ; and, although I found, 
 from the tone of the conversation about, how immeasurably I was their 
 inferior, yet, by a delicate and courteous interest in the scene of which 
 I had lately partaken, they took away the awkwardness which, in some 
 degree, was inseparable from the novelty of my position among them. 
 
 Conversing about the Peninsula with a degree of knowledge which 
 I could in nowise comprehend from those not engaged in the war, 
 they appeared perfectly acquainted with all the details of the campaign ; 
 and I heard on every side of me anecdotes and stories which I scarcely 
 believed known beyond the precincts of a regiment. The Prince him- 
 self, the grace and charm of whose narrative talents have never been 
 excelled, was particularly conspicuous, and I could not help feeling' 
 struck with his admirable imitations of voice and manner ; the most 
 accomplished actor could not have personated the canny calculating 
 spirit of the Scot, or the rollicking recklessness of the Irishman, with 
 more tact and finesse. But far above all this shone the person I have 
 already alluded to as speaking to his Royal Highness in the drawing- 
 room, combining the happiest conversational eloquence with a quick, 
 ready, and brilliant fancy. He threw from him, in all the careless 
 profusion of boundless resource, a shower of pointed and epigrammatic 
 witticisms ; now, illustrating a really difficult subject by one happy 
 touch, as the blaze of the lightning will light up the whole surface of 
 the dark landscape beneath it ; now, turning the force of an adver- 
 sary's argument by some fallacious but unanswerable jest ; accom- 
 panying the whole by those fascinations of voice, look, gesture, and 
 manner which have made those who once have seen, never able to 
 forget Brinsley Sheridan. 
 
 I am not able, were I even disposed, to record more particularly the 
 details of that most brilliant evening of my life. On every side of 
 me I heard the names of those whose fame as statesmen, or whose 
 repute as men of letters, was ringing throughout Europe ; they were 
 then, too, not in the easy indolence of ordinary life, but displaying 
 with their utmost effort those powers of wit, fancy, imagination, and 
 eloquence which had won for them elsewhere their high and exalted 
 position. The masculine understanding and powerful intellect of 
 Burke vied with the brilliant and dazzling conceptions of Sheridan. 
 The easy bonhomie and English heartiness of Fox contrasted with the 
 cutting sarcasm and sharp raillery of Erskine. While contesting the 
 palm with each himself, the Prince evinced powers of mind and 
 eloquent facilities of expression that, in any walk of life, must have 
 made their possessor a most distinguished man. Politics, war, women, 
 literature, the turf, the navy, the opposition, architecture, and the 
 drama, were all discussed with a degree of information and knowledge 
 that proved to me how much of real acquirements can be obtained by 
 those whose exalted station surrounds them with the collective intellect 
 of a nation. As for myself, the time flew past unconsciously. So 
 brilliant a display of all that was courtly and fascinating in manner, 
 and all that was brightest in genius, was so novel to me, that I really 
 felt like one entranced. To this hour, my impression, however 
 confused in details, is as vivid as though that evening were but yester- 
 night ; and although since that period I have enjoyed numerous oppor-
 
 THE BELL AT BRISTOL 513 
 
 tunities of meeting with the great and the gifted, yet I treasure the 
 memory of that night as by far the most delightful of my whole life. 
 
 While I abstain from any mention of the many incidents of the 
 evening, I cannot pass over one which, occurring to myself, is valuable 
 but as showing, by one slight and passing trait, the amiable and kind 
 feeling of one whose memory is hallowed in the service. 
 
 A little lower than myself, on the opposite side of the table, I per- 
 ceived an old military acquaintance whom I first met in Lisbon : he 
 was then in Sir Charles Stewart's staff, and we met almost daily. 
 Wishing to commend myself to his recollection I endeavoured for 
 some time to catch his eye, but in vain ; at last, when I thought I had 
 succeeded, I called to him : 
 
 " I say, Fred, a glass of wine with you ? " 
 
 When suddenly the Duke of York, who was speaking to Lord , 
 
 turned quickly around, and taking the decanter in his hand, replied : 
 
 " With pleasure, O'Malley ; what shall it be, my boy?" 
 
 I shall never forget the manly good-humour of his look, as he sat 
 waiting for my answer. He had taken my speech as addressed to him- 
 self, and concluding that, from fatigue, the novelty of the scene, my 
 youth, &c., I was not over-collected, vouchsafed in this kind way to 
 receive it. 
 
 " So," said he, as I stammered out my explanation, " I was deceived ; 
 however, don't cheat me out of my glass. Let us have it now." 
 
 With this little anecdote, whose truth I vouch for, I shall conclude. 
 More than one now living was a witness to it, and my only regret, in 
 the mention of it, is my inability to convey the readiness with which 
 he seized the moment of apparent difficulty to throw the protection of 
 his kind and warm-hearted nature over the apparent folly of a boy. 
 
 It was late when the party broke up, and as I took my leave of the 
 Prince, he once more expressed himself in gracious terms towards me, 
 and gave me personally an invitation to a breakfast at Hounslow on the 
 following Saturday. 
 
 CHAPTER CVI1 
 
 THE BELL AT BRISTOL 
 
 Ox the morning after my dinner at Carlton House I found my break- 
 fast-table covered with cards and invitations. The news of the storm- 
 ing of Ciudad Rodrigo was published in all the morning papers, and 
 my own humble name in letters of three feet long was exhibited in 
 placards throughout the city. Less to this circumstance, however, 
 than to the kind and gracious notice of the Prince was I indebted for 
 the attentions which were shown me on all sides ; and indeed so flat- 
 tering was the reception I met with, and so overwhelming the civility 
 showered on me from all sides, that it required no small effort on my 
 part not to believe myself as much a hero as they would make me. An 
 eternal round of dinners, balls, breakfasts, and entertainments filled 
 up the entire week. I was included in every invitation to Carlton 
 
 2 K
 
 514 CHARLES O'MALLEV 
 
 House, and never appeared without receiving from his Royal High- 
 ness the most striking marks of attention. Captivating as all this un- 
 doubtedly was, and fascinating as I felt in being the lion of London, 
 the courted and sought after by the high, the titled, and the talented 
 of the great city of the universe, yet, amid all the splendour and 
 seduction of that new world, my heart instinctively turned from the 
 glare and brilliancy of gorgeous saloons from the soft looks and 
 softer voices of beauty from the words of praise, as they fell from 
 the lips of those whose notice was fame itself, to my humble home 
 amid the mountains of the west. Delighted and charmed as I felt by 
 that tribute of flattery which associated my name with one of the most 
 brilliant actions of my country, yet hitherto I had experienced no 
 touch of home or fatherland. England was to me as the high and 
 powerful head of my house, whose greatness and whose glory shed a 
 halo far and near, from the proudest to the humblest of those that 
 call themselves Britons ; but Ireland was the land of my birth the 
 land of my earliest ties, my dearest associations the kind mother, 
 whose breath had fanned my brow in infancy ; and for her in my man- 
 hood my heart beat with every throb of filial affection. Need I say, 
 then, how ardently I longed to turn homeward, for, independent of all 
 else, I could not avoid some self-reproach on thinking what might be 
 the condition of those I prized the most on earth, at that very moment 
 I was engaging in all the voluptuous abandonment, and all the fasci- 
 nating excesses of a life of pleasure. I wrote several letters home, but 
 received no answer ; nor did I, in the whole round of London society, 
 meet with a single person who could give me information of my family 
 or my friends. The Easter recess had sent the different members of 
 Parliament to their homes ; and thus, within a comparatively short 
 distance of all I cared for, I could learn nothing of their fate. 
 
 The invitations of the Prince Regent, which were, of course, to be 
 regarded as commands, still detained me in London ; and I knew not 
 in what manner to escape from the fresh engagements which each day 
 heaped upon me. In my anxiety upon the subject, I communicated 
 my wishes to a friend on the Duke's staff, and the following morning 
 as I presented myself at his levee, he called me towards him and 
 addressed me : 
 
 " What leave have you got, Captain O'Malley ? " 
 
 " Three months, your Royal Highness." 
 
 " Do you desire an unattached troop ? for, if so, an opportunity 
 occurs just at this moment? " 
 
 " I thank you most sincerely, sir, for your condescension in think- 
 ing of me ; but my wish is to join my regiment at the expiration of 
 my leave." 
 
 " Why, I thought they told me you wanted to spend some time in 
 Ireland ? " 
 
 " Only sufficient to see my friends, your Royal Highness. That 
 done, I'd rather join my regiment immediately." 
 
 " Ah ! that alters the case ; so then, probably, you'd like to leave us 
 at once. I see how it is : you've been staying here against your will 
 all this while. There, don't say a word. I'll make your excuses at 
 Carlton House ; and the better to cover your retreat I'll employ you
 
 THE BELL AT BRISTOL 615 
 
 on service. Here, Gordon, let Captain O'Malley have the despatches 
 for Sir Henry Howard at Cork." As he said this, he turned towards 
 me with an air of affected sternness in his manner, and continued : 
 " I expect, Captain O'Malley, that you will deliver the despatches 
 entrusted to your care without a moment's loss of time. You will 
 leave London within an hour. The instructions for your journey will 
 be sent to your hotel. And now," said he, again changing his voice to 
 its natural tone of kindliness and courtesy, ec and now, my boy, good- 
 bye, and a safe journey to you. These letters will pay your expenses, 
 and the occasion save you all the worry of leave-taking." 
 
 I stood confused and speechless, unable to utter a single word of 
 gratitude for such unexpected kindness. The Duke saw at once my 
 difficulty, and, as he shook me warmly by the hand, added in a laugh- 
 ing tone : 
 
 ee Don't wait now. You mustn't forget that your despatches are 
 pressing." 
 
 I bowed deeply, attempted a few words of acknowledgment, hesi- 
 tated, blundered, and broke down ; and at last got out of the room, 
 Heaven knows how ! and found myself running towards Long's at 
 the top of my speed. Within that same hour I was rattling along 
 towards Bristol as fast as four posters could spurn the pavement, 
 thinking with ecstasy over the pleasures of my reception in England, 
 but, far more than all, of the kindness evinced towards me by him 
 who, in every feeling of his nature, and in every feature of his deport- 
 ment, was " every inch a prince." 
 
 However astonished I had been at the warmth by which I was 
 treated in London, I was still less prepared for the enthusiasm which 
 greeted me in every town through which I passed. There was not a 
 village where we stopped to change horses whose inhabitants did not 
 simultaneously pour forth to welcome me with every demonstration of 
 delight. That the fact of four horses and a yellow chaise should have 
 elicited such testimonies of satisfaction was somewhat difficult to 
 conceive ; and, even had the important news that I was the bearer 
 of despatches been telegraphed from London by successive post-boys, 
 still the extraordinary excitement was unaccountable. It was only on 
 reaching Bristol that I learned to what circumstance my popularity 
 was owing. My friend Mike, in humble imitation of election practices, 
 had posted a large placard on the back of the chaise, announcing, in 
 letters of portentous length, somethingjlike the following : 
 
 " Bloody news ! Fall of Ciudad Rodrigo five thousand prisoners 
 and two hundred pieces of cannon taken account of the siege and the 
 assault, with a letter from Captain O'Malley, who led the stormers !" 
 
 This veracious and satisfactory statement, aided by Mike's personal 
 exertions, and an unwearied performance on the trumpet he had taken 
 from the French dragoon, had roused the population of every hamlet, 
 and made our journey from London to Bristol one scene of uproar, 
 noise, and confusion. All my attempts to suppress Mike's oratory or 
 music were perfectly unavailing. In fact, he had pledged my health 
 so many times during the day he had drunk so many toasts to the 
 success of the British arms so many to the English nation so many 
 in honour of Ireland and so many in honour of Mickey Free himself,
 
 516 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 that all respect for my authority was lost in his enthusiasm for my 
 greatness, and his shouts became wilder, and the blasts from the 
 trumpet more fearful and incoherent; and finally, on the last stage 
 of our journey, having exhausted as it were every tribute of his lungs, 
 he seemed (if I were to judge by the evidence of my ears) to be per- 
 forming something very like a hornpipe on the roof of the chaise. 
 
 Happily for me there is a limit to all human efforts, and even his 
 powers at length succumbed ; so that, when we arrived at Bristol, I 
 persuaded him to go to bed, and I once more was left to the enjoyment 
 of some quiet. To fill up the few hours which intervened before bed- 
 time I strolled into the coffee-room. The English look of every one and 
 everything around, had still its charm for me ; and I was contempla- 
 ting, with no small admiration, that air of neatness and propriety so 
 observable from the bright-faced clock, that ticked unweariedly upon 
 the mantelpiece, to the trim waiter himself, with noiseless step, and 
 that mixed look of vigilance and vacancy. The perfect stillness struck 
 me, save when a deep voice called for ' ' another brandy and water," 
 and some more modestly toned request would utter a desire for " more 
 cream." The absorbed attention of each man, in the folds of his 
 voluminous newspaper, scarcely deigning a glance at the newcomer 
 who entered, were all in keeping, giving, in their solemnity and gravity, 
 a character of almost religious seriousness, to what, in any other land, 
 would be a scene of riotous noise and discordant tumult. I was watch- 
 ing all these with a more than common interest, when the door opened, 
 and the waiter entered with a large placard. He was followed by 
 another with a ladder, by whose assistance he succeeded in attaching 
 the large square of paper to the wall, above the fireplace. Every one 
 about rose up, curious to ascertain what was going forward ; and I, 
 myself, joined in the crowd around the fire. The first glance of the 
 announcement showed me what it meant ; and it was with a strange 
 mixture of shame and confusion I read : 
 
 " Fall of Ciudad Rodrigo ; with a full and detailed account of the 
 storming of the great breach capture of the enemy's cannon, &c. by 
 Michael Free, Fourteenth Light Dragoons." 
 
 Leaving the many around me busied in conjecturing who the afore- 
 said Mr. Free might be, and what peculiar opportunities he might 
 have enjoyed for his report, I hurried from the room and called the 
 waiter. 
 
 " What's the meaning of the announcement you've just put up in the 
 coffee-room ? where did it come from ? " 
 
 " Most important news, sir ; exclusively in the columns of the Bristol 
 Telegraph; the gentleman has just arrived " 
 
 "Who, pray? what gentleman ?" 
 
 "Mr. Free, sir, No. 13 large bedroom blue damask supper for 
 one oysters a devil brandy and water mulled port" 
 
 " What the devil do you mean? Is the fellow at supper?" 
 
 Somewhat shocked by the tone I ventured to assume towards the 
 illustrious narrator, the waiter merely bowed his reply. 
 
 " Show me to his room," said I ; " I should like to see him." 
 
 " Follow me, if you please, sir this way what name shall I say, 
 sir ? "
 
 THE BELL AT BRISTOL 517 
 
 " You need not mind announcing me I am an old acquaintance 
 just show me the room." 
 
 ' ' I beg 1 pardon, sir, but Mr. Meekins, the editor of the Telegraph, 
 is engaged with him at present ; and positive orders are given not to 
 suffer any interruption." 
 
 ' ' No matter : do as I bid you. Is that it ? Oh, I hear his voice. 
 There, that will do : you may go downstairs, I'll introduce myself." 
 
 So saying, and slipping a crown into the waiter's hand, I proceeded 
 cautiously towards the door, and opened it stealthily. My caution 
 was, however, needless ; for a large screen was drawn across this part 
 of the room, completely concealing the door ; closing which behind 
 me, I took my place beneath the shelter of this ambuscade, determined 
 on no account to be perceived by the parties. 
 
 Seated in a large arm-chair, a smoking tumbler of mulled port before 
 him, sat my friend Mike, dressed in my full regimentals, even to the 
 helmet, which unfortunately, however, for the effect, he had put on 
 back foremost ; a short ' ' dudeen " graced his lip, and the trumpet, so 
 frequently alluded to, lay near him. 
 
 Opposite him sat a short, puny, round-faced little gentleman, with 
 rolling eyes and a turned-up nose. Numerous sheets of paper, pens, 
 &c. , lay scattered about : and he evinced, by his air and gesture, the 
 most marked and eager attention to Mr. Free's narrative, whose fre- 
 quent interruptions, caused by the drink and the oysters, were viewed 
 with no small impatience by the anxious editor. 
 
 " You must remember, Captain, time's passing ; the placards are all 
 out ; must be at press before one o'clock to-night ; the morning edition 
 is everything with us. You were at the first parallel, I think?" 
 
 " Devil a one o' me knows. Just ring that bell near you : them's 
 elegant oysters ; and you're not taking your drop of liquor ; here's a 
 toast for you : ' May ' whoop raal Carlingford's upon my con- 
 science. See now, if I won't hit that little black chap up there the 
 first shot." 
 
 Scarcely were the words spoken, when a little painted bust of Shake- 
 speare fell in fragments on the floor, as an oyster-shell laid him low. 
 
 A faint effort at a laugh at the eccentricities of his friend was all the 
 poor editor could accomplish, while Mike's triumph knew no bounds. 
 
 " Didn't I tell you ? But come now, are you ready ? Give the pen 
 a drink, if you won't take one yourself. " 
 
 f ' I'm ready, quite ready," responded the editor. 
 
 " Faith, and it's more nor I am. See now, here it is : The night 
 was murthering dark ; you could not see a stim." 
 
 te Not see a a what? " 
 
 " A stim ! bad luck to you ; don't you know English ? Hand me 
 the hot water. Have you that down yet? " 
 
 " Yes. Pray proceed." 
 
 " The Fifth Division was orthered up bekase they were fighting chaps ; 
 the Eighty-eighth was among them ; the Rangers oh ! upon my soul, 
 we must drink the Rangers. Here, devil a one o' me will go on till we 
 give them all the honours hip begin." 
 
 " Hip," sighed the luckless editor, as he rose from his chair, obedient 
 to the command.
 
 518 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 " Hurra hurra hurra ! Well done ! there's stuff in you yet, ould 
 foolscap ! the little bottle's empty ring again , if ye plaze. 
 
 "'Ob, Father Magan, 
 
 Was a beautiful man, 
 But a bit of a rogue, a bit of a rogue. 
 
 He was just six feet high, 
 
 Had a cast in his eye, 
 And an illigant brogue, an illigant brogue. 
 
 He was born in Killarney, 
 
 And reared up in Blarney ' 
 
 . 
 
 " Arrah, don't be looking miserable and dissolate, that way. Sure 
 I'm only screwing myself up for you ; besides, you can print the song 
 av you like : it's a sweet tune, ' Teddy, you Gander.' " 
 
 "Really, Mr. Free, I see no prospect of our ever getting done." 
 
 " The saints in heaven forbid," interrupted Mike piously ; ' ' the 
 evening's young, and drink plenty ; here now, make ready ! " 
 
 The editor once more made a gesture of preparation. 
 
 " Well, as I was saying," resumed Mike, ' ' it was pitch dark when 
 the columns moved up, and a cold raw night with a little thin rain 
 falling. Have you that down ? " 
 
 " Yes. Pray go on." 
 
 " Well, just as it might be here at the corner of the trench I met 
 Doctor Quill. ' They're waiting for you, Misther Free,' says he, ' down 
 there. Picton's asking for you.' 'Faith, and he must wait,' says I, 
 ' for I'm terrible dry.' With that he pulled out his canteen and mixed 
 me a little brandy and water. ' Are you taking it without a toast ? ' 
 says Doctor Maurice. ' Never fear,' says I. ' Here's Mary Brady ' " 
 
 " But, my dear sir," interposed Mr. Meekins, " pray do remember 
 this is somewhat irrelevant. In fifteen minutes it will be twelve 
 o'clock." 
 
 ' ' I know it, ould boy, I know it. I see what you're at. You were 
 going to observe how much better we'd be for a broiled bone." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, I assure you. For Heaven's sake no more 
 eating and drinking." 
 
 " No more eating nor drinking ! Why not ? You've a nice notion 
 of a convivial evening. Faith, we'll have the broiled bone sure enough, 
 and, what's more, a half gallon of the strongest punch they can make 
 us ; an' I hope that, grave as you are, you'll favour the company with 
 a song." 
 
 " Really, Mr. Free " 
 
 " Arrah ! none of your blarney. Don't be misthering me. Call me 
 Mickey, or Mickey Free, if you like better." 
 
 " I protest," said the editor, with dismay, " that here we are for two 
 hours at work, and we haven't got to the foot of the great breach. " 
 
 "And wasn't the army three months and a half in just getting that 
 far, with a battering train, and mortars, and the finest troops ever 
 were seen ? and there you sit, a little fat creature, with your pen in 
 your hand, grumbling that you can't do more than the whole British 
 army. Take care you don't provoke me to beat you ; for I am quiet 
 till I am roused. But, by the Rock o' Cashel "
 
 THE BELL AT BRISTOL 519 
 
 Here he grasped the brass trumpet with an energy that made the 
 editor spring from his chair. 
 
 " For mercy's sake, Mr. Free " 
 
 ' ' Well, I won't ; but sit down there, and don't be bothering me 
 about sieges, and battles, and things you know nothing about." 
 
 "I protest," rejoined Mr. Meekins, " that, had you not sent to my 
 office intimating your wish to communicate an account of the siege, I 
 never should have thought of intruding myself upon you. And now, 
 since you appear indisposed to afford the information in question, if 
 you will permit me, I'll wish you a very good night." 
 
 " Faith, and so you shall, and help me to pass one too ; for not a 
 step out o' that chair shall you take till morning. Do ye think I am 
 going to be left here by myself, all alone ? " 
 
 " I must observe " said Mr. Meekins. 
 
 " To be sure, to be sure," said Mickey ; " I see what you mean. 
 
 You're not the best of company, it's true ; but at a pinch like this 
 
 There now, take your liquor." 
 
 " Once for all, sir," said the editor, " I would beg you to recollect 
 that on the faith of your message to me, I have announced an account 
 of the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo for our morning edition. Are you 
 prepared, may I ask, for the consequences of my disappointing ten 
 thousand readers ? " 
 
 " It's little I care for one of them. I never knew much of reading 
 myself." 
 
 " If you think to make a jest of me " interposed Mr. Meekins, 
 
 reddening with passion. 
 
 " A jest of you ! Troth, it's little fun I can get out of you ; you're 
 as tiresome a creature as ever I spent an evening with. See, now, 
 I told you before not to provoke me : we'll have a little more drink ; 
 ring the bell : who knows but you'll turn out better by-aud-by?" 
 
 As Mike rose at these words to summon the waiter, Mr. Meekins 
 seized the opportunity to make his escape. Scarcely had he reached 
 the door, however, when he was perceived by Mickey, who hurled the 
 trumpet at him with all his force, while he uttered a shout that nearly 
 left the poor editor lifeless with terror. This time, happily, Mr. Free's 
 aim failed him, and before he could arrest the progress of his victim, 
 he had gained the corridor, and with one bound cleared the first flight 
 of the staircase, his pace increasing every moment as Mike's denuncia- 
 tions grew louder and louder, till at last, as he reached the street, Mr. 
 Free's delight overcame his indignation, and he threw himself upon a 
 chair and laughed immoderately. 
 
 " Oh, may I never ! if I didn't frighten the editor. The little spal- 
 peen couldn't eat his oysters and take his punch like a man. But sure 
 if he didn't, there's more left for his betters." So saying, he filled 
 himself a goblet and drank it off. ' ( Mr. Free, we won't say much for 
 your inclinations, for maybe they are not the best ; but here's bad luck 
 to the fellow that doesn't think you good company ; and here," added 
 he, again filling his glass, " and here's may the devil take editors, and 
 authors, and compositors, that won't let us alone, but must be taking 
 our lives, and our songs, and our little devilments, that belongs to one's 
 own family, and tell them all over the world. A lazy set of thieves
 
 520 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 you are, every one of you ; spending 1 your time inventing lies, devil a 
 more nor less ; and here " this time he filled again " and here's a hot 
 
 corner and Kilkenny coals, that's half sulphur, to the villain " 
 
 For what particular class of offenders Mike's penal code was now 
 devised I was not destined to learn ; for, overcome by punch and in- 
 dignation, he gave one loud whoop, and measured his length upon 
 the floor. Having committed him to the care of the waiters, from 
 whom I learned more fully the particulars of his acquaintance with 
 Mr. Meekins, I enjoined them strictly not to mention that I knew 
 anything of the matter ; and betook myself to my bed, sincerely re- 
 joicing that in a few hours more Mike would be again in that land 
 where even his eccentricities and excesses would be viewed with a 
 more favourable and forgiving eye. 
 
 CHAPTER CVIII 
 
 IRELAND 
 
 " YOU'D better call your master up," said the skipper to Mickey Free, 
 on the second evening after our departure from Bristol ; <f he said he'd 
 like to have a look at the coast." 
 
 The words were overheard by me as I lay between sleeping and 
 waking in the cabin of the packet, and without waiting for a second 
 invitation, I rushed upon deck. The sun was setting, and one vast 
 surface of yellow golden light played upon the water, as it rippled 
 beneath a gentle gale. The white foam curled at our prow, and the 
 rushing sound told the speed we were going at. The little craft was 
 staggering under every sheet of canvas, and her spars creaked as her 
 white sails bent before the breeze. Before us, but to my landsman's 
 eyes scarcely perceptible, was the ill-defined outlines of cloudy dark- 
 ness they called land, and which I continued to gaze at with a strange 
 sense of interest, while I heard the names of certain well-known head- 
 lands assigned to apparently mere masses of fog-bank and vapour. 
 
 He who has never been separated in early years, while yet the 
 budding affections of his heart are tender shoots, from the land of his 
 birth and of his home, knows nothing of the throng of sensations that 
 crowd upon him as he nears the shore of his country. The names, 
 familiar as household words, come with a train of long buried thoughts ; 
 the feeling of attachment to all we call our own that patriotism of 
 the heart stirs strongly within him, as the mingled thrills of hope 
 and fear alternately move him to joy or sadness. 
 
 Hard as are the worldly struggles between the daily cares of him 
 who carves out his own career and fortune, yet he has never experienced 
 the darkest poverty of fate who has not felt what it is to be a wan- 
 derer, without a country to lay claim to. Of all the desolations that 
 visit us, this is the gloomiest and the worst. The outcast from the 
 land of his fathers, whose voice must never be heard within the walls 
 where his infancy was nurtured, nor his step be free upon the mountains 
 where he gambolled in his youth, this is indeed wretchedness. The
 
 IRELAND 521 
 
 instinct of country grows and strengthens with our years ; the joys of 
 early life are linked with it ; the hopes of age point towards it ; and he 
 who knows not the thrill of ecstasy some well-remembered, long-lost- 
 sight-of place can bring to his heart when returning after years of 
 absence, is ignorant of one of the purest sources of happiness of our 
 nature. 
 
 With what a yearning of the heart, then, did I look upon the dim 
 and misty cliffs, that mighty frame-work of my island home, their stern 
 sides lashed by the blue waters of the ocean, and their summits lost 
 within the clouds. With what an easy and natural transition did my 
 mind turn from the wild mountains and the green valleys to their 
 hardy sons, who toiled beneath the burning sun of the Peninsula ! and 
 how, as some twinkling light of the distant shore would catch my eye, 
 did I wonder within myself whether beside that hearth and board 
 there might not sit some, whose thoughts were wandering over the 
 sea beside the bold steeps of El Bodon, or the death-strewn plain of 
 Talavera ! their memories calling up some trait of him who was the 
 idol of his home ; whose closing lids some fond mother has watched 
 over ; above whose peaceful slumber her prayers have fallen ; but 
 whose narrow bed was now beneath the breach of Badajos, and his 
 sleep the sleep that knows no waking. 
 
 I know not if in my sad and sorrowing spirit I did not envy him 
 who thus had met a soldier's fate, for what of promise had my own ? 
 My hopes of being in any way instrumental to my poor uncle's happi- 
 ness grew hourly less, his prejudices were deep rooted and of long 
 standing : to have asked him to surrender any of what he looked upon 
 as the prerogatives of his house and name would be to risk the loss of 
 his esteem. What, then, remained for me? Was I to watch, day by 
 day and hour by hour, the falling ruin of our fortunes ? Was I to 
 involve myself in the petty warfare of unavailing resistance to the law ? 
 and could I stand aloof from my best, my truest, my earliest friend, 
 and see him, alone and unaided, oppose his weak and final struggle to 
 the unrelenting career of persecution ? Between these two alternatives 
 the former could be my only choice ; and what a choice ! 
 
 Oh, how I thought over the wild heroism of the battlefield, the reck- 
 less fury of the charge, the crash, the death cry, and the sad picture 
 of the morrow, when all was past, and a soldier's glory alone remained 
 to shed its high halo over the faults and follies of the dead. 
 
 As night fell, the twinkling of the distant lighthouses, some throw- 
 ing a column of light from the verge of the horizon, others shining 
 brightly, like stars, from some lofty promontory, marked the different 
 outlines of the coast, and conveyed to me the memory of that broken 
 and wild mountain tract that forms the bulwark of the green isle 
 against the waves of the Atlantic. Alone and silently I trod the deck, 
 now turning to look towards the shore, where I thought I could detect 
 the position of some well-known headland, now straining my eyes sea- 
 ward to watch some bright and flitting star, as it rose from or merged 
 beneath the foaming water, denoting the track of the swift pilot-boat 
 or the hardy lugger of the fisherman : while the shrill whistle of the 
 floating sea-gull was the only sound, save the rushing waves that broke 
 in spray upon our quarter.
 
 522 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 What is it that so inevitably inspires sad and impressive thoughts 
 as we walk the deck of some little craft, in the silence of the night's 
 dark hours ? No sense of danger near, we hold on our course swiftly 
 and steadily, cleaving the dark waves, and bending gracefully beneath 
 the freshening breeze. Yet still the motion which, in the bright sun- 
 shine of the noonday tells of joy and gladness, brings now no touch of 
 pleasure to our hearts. The dark and frowning sky, the boundless 
 expanse of gloomy water, spread like some gigantic pall around us, 
 and our thoughts either turn back upon the saddest features of the 
 past, or look forward to the future with a sickly hope that all may not 
 be as we fear it. 
 
 Mine were indeed of the gloomiest, and the selfishness alone of the 
 thought prevented me from wishing that, like many another, I had 
 fallen by a soldier's death on the plains of the Peninsula. 
 
 As the night wore on I wrapped myself in my cloak and lay down 
 beneath the bulwark. The whole of my past life came in review before 
 me, and I thought over my first meeting with Lucy Dashwood ; the 
 thrill of boyish admiration gliding into love ; the hopes, the fears, that 
 stirred my heart ; the firm resolve to merit her affection, which made 
 me a soldier. Alas ! how little thought she of him to whose whole 
 life she had been a guide-star and a beacon ! And, as I thought over 
 the hard-fought fields, the long, fatiguing marches, the nights around 
 the watch-fires, and felt how in the whirl and enthusiasm of a soldier's 
 life, the cares and sorrows of everyday existence are forgotten, I 
 shuddered to reflect upon the career that might now open before me. 
 To abandon, perhaps for ever, the glorious path J had been pursuing, 
 for a life of indolence and weariness, and my name, that had already, 
 by the chance of some fortunate circumstances, begun to be mentioned 
 with a testimony of approval, should be lost in oblivion, or remem- 
 bered but as that of one whose early promise was not borne out by the 
 deeds of his manhood. 
 
 As day broke, overcome by watching, I slept ; but was soon awoke 
 by the stir and bustle around me. The breeze had freshened, and we 
 were running under a reefed mainsail and foresail ; and as the little 
 craft bounded above the blue water, the white foam crested above her 
 prow, and ran in boiling rivulets along towards the after-deck. The 
 tramp of the seamen, the hoarse voice of the captain, the shrill cry of 
 the sea-birds, betokened, however, nothing of dread or danger ; and 
 listlessly I leant upon my elbow, and asked what was going forward. 
 
 " Nothing, sir, only making ready to drop our anchor." 
 
 " Are we so near shore, then ? " said I. 
 
 " You've only to round that point, to windward, and give a clear run 
 into Cork harbour." 
 
 I sprang at once to my legs ; the land-fog prevented my seeing any- 
 thing whatever ; but I thought that, in the breeze, fresh and balmy as 
 it blew, I could feel the wind of shore. 
 
 "At last," said I, "at last!" as I stepped into the little wherry 
 which shot alongside of us, and we glided into the still basin of Cove. 
 How I remember every white-walled cottage, and the beetling cliffs, 
 and that bold headland beside which the valley opens, with its dark 
 green woods ; and then Spike Island ; and what a stir is yonder, early
 
 IRELAND 523 
 
 as it is ; the men-of-war tenders seem alive with people, while still the 
 little village is sunk in slumbers, not a smoke-wreath rising from its 
 silent hearths : every plash of the oars in the calm water, as I neared 
 the land, every chance word of the bronzed and hardy fisherman, told 
 upon my heart. I felt it was my home. 
 
 " Isn't it beautiful, sir; isn't it elegant?" said a voice behind me, 
 which there could be little doubt in my detecting, although I had not 
 seen the individual since I left England. 
 
 " Is not what beautiful ? " replied I, rather harshly, in the interrup- 
 tion of my own thoughts. 
 
 " Ireland, to be sure ; and long life to her ! " cried he, with a cheer, 
 that soon found its responsive echoes in the hearts of our sailors, who 
 seconded the sentiment with all their energy. 
 
 "How am I to get up to Cork, lads?" said I; "I am pressed for 
 time, and must get forward." 
 
 " We'll row your honour the whole way, av it's plazing to you." 
 
 " Why, thank you, I'd rather find some quicker mode of proceeding." 
 
 " Maybe you'd have a chaise ; there's an elegant one at M'Cassidy's." 
 
 " Sure the blind mare's in foal," said the bow oar ; " the divil a step 
 she can go out of a walk ; so, your honour, take Tim Riley's car, and 
 you'll get up cheap. Not that you care for money ; but he's going up 
 at eight o'clock with two young ladies." 
 
 ' ' Oh ! begorra," said the other, ' ' and so he is ; and, faix, ye might 
 do worse they're nice craytures." 
 
 " Well," said I, ' ' your advice seems good ; but perhaps they might 
 object to my company." 
 
 " I've no fear ; they're always with the officers. Sure the Miss Dal- 
 rymples " 
 
 f ' The Miss Dalrymples ! push ahead, boys ; it must be later than I 
 thought ; we must get the chaise ; I can't wait." 
 
 Ten minutes more brought us to land. 
 
 My arrangements were soon made, and as my impatience to press 
 forward became greater the nearer I drew to my destination, I lost not 
 a moment. 
 
 The yellow chaise sole glory of Cove was brought forth at my 
 request ; and, by good fortune, four posters who had been down the 
 preceding evening from Cork to some gentleman's seat near were about 
 to return. These we also pressed into my service ; and just as the first 
 early riser of the little village was drawing his curtain to take a half- 
 closed eye-glance upon the breaking morning, I rattled forth upon my 
 journey at a pace which, could I only have secured its continuance, 
 must soon have terminated my weary way. 
 
 Beautiful as the whole line of country is, I was totally unconscious 
 of it ; and even Mike's conversational powers, divided as they were 
 between myself and the two postillions, were fruitless in arousing me 
 from the deep preoccupation of my mind by thoughts of home. 
 
 It was, then, with some astonishment I heard the boy upon the 
 wheeler ask whither he should drive me to. 
 
 " Tell his honour to wake up, we're in Cork now ! " 
 
 "In Cork ! impossible already."
 
 524 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 <f Faith, maybe so but it's Cork sure enough." 
 
 " Drive to the ' George ' ; it's not far from the Commander-in- 
 chief's quarters." 
 
 ' ' 'Tis five minutes' walk, sir you'll be there before they're put to 
 again." 
 
 " Horses for Fermoy !" shouted out the postillions, as we tore up to 
 the door in a gallop. J sprang out, and by the assistance of the waiter, 
 discovered Sir Henry Howard's quarters, to whom my despatches were 
 addressed. Having delivered them into the hands of an aide-de-camp, 
 who sat bolt upright in his bed, rubbing his eyes to appear awake, I 
 again hurried downstairs, and throwing myself into the chaise, con- 
 tinued my journey. 
 
 " Them's beautiful streets, anyhow ! " said Mike, ' ' av they wasn't 
 kept so dirty, and the houses so dark, and the pavement bad. That's 
 Mr. Beamish that fine house there, with the brass rapper and the 
 green lamp beside it ; and there's the hospital faix, and there's the 
 place we beat the police, when I was here before ; and the house with 
 the sign of the Highlander's thrown down ; and what's the big build- 
 ing there, with the stone posts at the door ? " 
 
 " The bank, sir," said the postillion, with a most deferential air, as 
 Mike addressed him. 
 
 " What bank, acushla ? " 
 
 " Not a one of me knows, sir ; but they call it the bank, though it's 
 only an empty house." 
 
 " Gary and Moore's bank, perhaps," said I, having heard that in days 
 long past some such names had failed in Cork for a large amount. 
 
 " So it is ; your honour's right," cried the postillion ; while Mike, 
 standing up on the box, and menacing the house with his clenched fist, 
 shouted at the very top of his voice : 
 
 " Oh, bad luck to your cobwebbed windows and iron railings ! sure 
 it's my father's son ought to hate the sight of you." 
 
 "I hope, Mike, your father never trusted his property in such 
 hands ? " 
 
 " I don't suspect he did, your honour ; he never put much belief in 
 the banks, but the house cost him dear enough without that." 
 
 As I could not help feeling some curiosity in this matter, I pressed 
 Mickey for an explanation. 
 
 " But maybe it's not Gary and Moore's, after all ; and I'm, maybe, 
 cursing decent people." 
 
 Having reassured his mind, by telling him that the reservation he 
 made by the doubt would tell in their favour should he prove mistaken, 
 he afforded me the following information : 
 
 " When my father the heavens be his bed was in the ' Cork,' they 
 put him one night on guard at that same big house you just passed 
 av it was the same ; but if it wasn't that it was another ; and it was a 
 beautiful fine night in August, and the moon up, and plenty of people 
 walking about, and all kinds of fun and devilment going on drinking, 
 and dancing, and everything. 
 
 " Well, my father was stuck up there, with his musket, to walk up 
 and down, and not say ' God save you kindly,' or the time of day, or 
 anything, but just march as if he was in the barrack-yard ; and by
 
 IRELAND 525 
 
 reason of his being the man he was he didn't like it half, but kept 
 cursing and swearing to himself like mad when he saw pleasant fellows 
 and pretty girls going by, laughing and joking : 
 
 " e Good evening, Mickey,' says one ; e fine sport ye have all to 
 yourself, with your long feather in your cap.' 
 
 " e Arrah, look how proud he is,' says another, ' with his head up as 
 if he didn't see a body. 
 
 11 ' Shoulder too ! ' cried a drunken chap with a shovel in his hand : 
 they all began laughing away at my father. 
 
 " ' Let the decent man alone,' said an old fellow in a wig ; ' isn't he 
 guarding the bank, wid all the money in it ? ' 
 
 " f Faix, he isn't,' says another, 'for there's none left.' 
 
 " ' What's that your saying?' says my father. 
 
 " ' Just that the bank's broke, devil a more,' says he. 
 
 ' ' ' And there's no goold in it ? ' says my father. 
 
 <c ( Devil a guinea.' 
 
 " ( Nor silver ? ' 
 
 "' No, nor silver, nor as much as sixpence, either.' 
 
 " ' Didn't ye hear that all day yesterday, when the people was coming 
 in with their notes, the chaps there were heating the guineas in a 
 frying-pan, pretending they were making them as fast as they could ; 
 and sure, when they had a batch red-hot they spread them out to cool ; 
 and what betune the hating and the cooling, and the burning the 
 fingers counting them ; they kept the bank open to three o'clock, and 
 then they ran away.' 
 
 " ( Is it truth yer telling ? ' says my father. 
 
 (e ' Sorra word o' lie in it ! myself had two-and-fourpence of their 
 notes.' 
 
 " ' And so they're broke,' says my father ; ' and nothing left.' 
 
 " ' Not a brass fartheu.' 
 
 " ' And what am I staying here for, I wonder, if there's nothing to 
 guard !' 
 
 " ' Faix, if it isn't for the pride of the thing - ' 
 
 " ' Oh, sorra taste.' 
 
 " ' Well, maybe for divarsion.' 
 that either.' 
 
 " ' Faix ! then, you're a droll man to spend the evening that way,' 
 says he, and all the crowd for there was a crowd said the same. So 
 with that my father unscrewed his bayonet, and put his piece on his 
 shoulder, and walked on to his bed in the barrack as paceable as need 
 be. But, well, when they came to relieve him wasn't there a raal 
 commotion? and, faith, you see, it went mighty hard with my father 
 the next morning ; for the bank was open just as usual, and my father 
 was sintenced to fifty lashes, but got off with a week in prison, and 
 three more rowling a big stone in the barrack-yard." 
 
 Thus chatting away, the time passed over, until we arrived at 
 Fermoy. Here there was some little delay in procuring horses ; and 
 during the negotiation, Mike, who usually made himself master of the 
 circumstances of every place through which he passed, discovered that 
 the grocer's shop of the village was kept by a namesake, and possibly 
 a relation of his own.
 
 526 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " I always had a notion, Misther Charles, that I came from a good 
 stock ; and, sure enough, here's ' Mary Free ' over the door there, and 
 a beautiful place inside ; full of tay, and sugar, and gingerbread, and 
 glue, and coffee, and bran, pickled herrings, soap, and many other 
 commodities." 
 
 " Perhaps you'd like to claim kindred, Mike," said I, interrupting ; 
 " I'm sure she'd feel flattered to discover a relative in a Peninsular 
 hero." 
 
 " It's just what I'm thinking ; av we were going to pass the evening 
 here I'd try if I couldn't make her out a second cousin at least." 
 
 Fortune, upon this occasion, seconded Mike's wishes, for when the 
 horses made their appearance, I learned to my surprise that the near 
 side one would not bear a saddle, and the off-sider could only run on 
 his own side. In this conjuncture the postillion was obliged to drive 
 from what, Hibernicd speaking, is called the perch ; no ill-applied 
 denomination to a piece of wood which, about the thickness of one's 
 arm, is hung between the two fore-springs, and serves as a resting- 
 place, in which the luckless wight, weary of the saddle, is not sorry to 
 repose himself. 
 
 " What's to be done ? " cried I. l ' There's no room within ; my traps 
 barely leave space for myself amongst them." 
 
 " Sure, sir," said the postillion, " the other gentleman can follow in 
 the morning coach ; and if any accident happens to yourself on the 
 road by reason of a breakdown, he'll be there as soon as yourself." 
 
 This, at least, was an agreeable suggestion, and, as I saw it chimed 
 with Mike's notions, I acceded at once ; he came running up at the 
 moment. 
 
 "I had a look at her through the window, Misther Charles, and, 
 faix, she has a great look of the family." 
 
 "Well, Mickey, I'll leave you twenty-four hours to cultivate the 
 acquaintance, and to a man like you the time I know is ample. Follow 
 me by the morning's coach. Till then, good-bye." 
 
 Away we rattled once more, and soon left the town behind us. The 
 wild mountain tract which stretched on either side of the road pre- 
 sented one bleak and brown surface, unrelieved by any trace of tillage 
 or habitation an apparently endless succession of fern-clad hills lay 
 on every side above, a gloomy sky of leaden, lowering aspect frowned 
 darkly the sad and wailing cry of the peewit or plover was the only 
 sound that broke the stillness and far as the eye could reach a dreary 
 waste extended; the air, too, was cold and chilly: it was one of 
 those days which in our springs seemed to cast a retrospective glance 
 towards the winter they have left behind them. The prospect was no 
 cheering one. From heaven above nor earth below there came no 
 sight nor sound of gladness the rich glow of the Peninsular landscape 
 was still fresh in my memory the luxurious verdure the olive, the 
 citron, and the vine the fair valleys teeming with abundance the 
 mountains terraced with their vineyards the blue transparent sky 
 spreading o'er all while the very air was rife with the cheering song 
 of birds that peopled every grove. What a contrast was here ! We 
 travelled on for miles, but no village nor one human face did we see. 
 Far in the distance, a thin wreath of smoke curled upwards, but it
 
 IRELAND 527 
 
 came from no hearth : it arose from one of those field fires by which 
 spendthrift husbandry cultivates the ground. It was indeed sad ; and 
 yet, I know not how, it spoke more home to my heart than all the 
 brilliant display and all the voluptuous splendour I had witnessed in 
 London. The homely garb, the sorrowing state of those we love, is no 
 bar to our affection ; on the contrary, we are drawn closer to them as 
 they bend their heads beneath the heavy stroke of worldly injustice or 
 neglect, and a sense of indignation mingles with and strengthens our 
 attachment when we see those whose destinies should have won a 
 proud and a powerful position, become, by the hard turn of fortune, 
 lost, neglected, and abandoned. But a few days before, and I ex- 
 perienced to its fullest extent my pride in being a Briton ; but now, 
 unexcited by flattery, unwarmed by any sense of beauty around, I felt, 
 as the memory of former days came back, as by some secret magic, the 
 face and fashion of my country came rushing into my heart, that I 
 gloried in being an Irishman. By degrees some traces of wood made 
 their appearance, and as we descended the mountain towards Cahir, 
 the country assumed a more cultivated and cheerful look patches of 
 corn or of meadow-land stretched on either side, and the voice of 
 children, and the lowing of oxen, mingled with the cawing of the 
 rooks as in dense clouds they followed the ploughman's track. The 
 changed features of the prospect resembled the alternate phases of 
 temperament of the dweller on the soil the gloomy determination 
 the smiling carelessness the dark spirit of boding the reckless jollity 
 the almost savage ferocity of purpose followed by a child-like 
 docility and a womanly softness the grave, the gay, the resolute, the 
 fickle the firm, the yielding, the unsparing and the tender-hearted, 
 blending their contrarieties into one nature, of whose capabilities one 
 cannot predicate the bounds, but to whom, by some luckless fatality 
 of fortune, the great rewards of life have been generally withheld 
 until one begins to feel that the curse of Swift was less the sarcasm 
 rung from indignant failures than the cold and stern prophecy of the 
 moralist. 
 
 But how have I fallen into this strain? Let me rather turn my 
 eyes forward towards my home ; how shall I find all there ? Have his 
 altered fortunes damped the warm ardour of my poor uncle's heart? 
 Is his smile sicklied over by sorrow? or shall I hear his merry laugh, 
 and his cheerful voice, as in days of yore ? How I longed to take my 
 place beside that hearth, and in the same oak-chair where I have sat 
 telling the bold adventures of a fox-chase, or some long day upon the 
 moors, speak of the scenes of my campaigning life, and make known 
 to him those gallant fellows, by whose side I have charged in battle, 
 or sat in the bivouac ! How will he glory in the soldier-like spirit and 
 daring energy of Fred Power ! how will he chuckle over the blunder- 
 ing earnestness and Irish warmth of O'Shaughnessy ! how will he 
 laugh at the quaint stories, and quainter jests, of Maurice Quill ! and 
 how often will he wish once more to be young in hand as in heart to 
 mingle with such gay fellows, with no other care, no other sorrow to 
 depress him, save the passing fortune of a soldier's life !
 
 528 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER CIX 
 
 THE RETURN 
 
 A RUDE shock awoke me as I lay asleep in the corner of the chaise : a 
 shout followed, and the next moment the door was torn open, and I 
 heard the postillion's voice crying to me : 
 
 " Spring out : jump out quickly, sir ! " 
 
 A whole battery of kicks upon the front panel drowned the rest 
 of his speech ; but before I could obey his injunction he was pitched 
 upon the road, the chaise rolled over, and the pole snapped short in 
 the middle, while the two horses belaboured the carriage and each 
 other with all their might. Managing, as well as I was able, to extricate 
 myself, I leaped out upon the road, and by the aid of a knife and at 
 the cost of some bruises, succeeded in freeing the horses from their 
 tackle. The postboy, who had escaped without any serious injury, 
 laboured manfully to aid me, blubbering the whole time upon the con- 
 sequences his misfortune would bring down upon his head. 
 
 "Bad luck to ye !" cried he, apostrophising the off horse : a tall, 
 raw-boned beast, with a roman nose, a dipped back, and a tail ragged 
 and jagged like a hand-saw. "Bad luck to ye ! there never was a 
 good one of your colour ! " 
 
 This, for the information of the " unjockeyed," I may add, was a 
 species of brindled grey. 
 
 " How did it happen, Patsey ? how did it happen, my lad ? " 
 
 " It was the heap o' stones they left in the road since last autumn : 
 and though I riz him at it fairly, he dragged the ould mare over it and 
 broke the pole. Oh wirra, wirra !" cried he, wringing his hands in an 
 agony of grief, " sure there's neither luck nor grace to be had with ye 
 since the day you drew the judge down to the last assizes." 
 
 "Well ! what's to be done?" 
 
 " Sorra a bit o' me knows : the shay's ruined entirely, and the ould 
 devil there knows he's conquered us. Look at him there, listening to 
 every word we're saying ! You eternal thief ! maybe it's ploughing 
 you'd like better." 
 
 " Come, come," said I, " this will never get us forward. What part 
 of the country are we in ? " 
 
 " We left Banagher about four miles behind us ; that's Killimur you 
 see with the smoke, there in the hollow." 
 
 Now, although I did not see Killimur (for the grey mist of the 
 morning prevented me recognising any object a few hundred yards 
 distant), yet, from the direction in which he pointed, and from the 
 course of the Shannon, which I could trace indistinctly for miles, 
 I obtained a pretty accurate notion of where we were. 
 
 " Then we are not very far from Portumna?" 
 
 "Just a pleasant walk before your breakfast." 
 
 "And is there not a short cut to O'Malley Castle over that mountain?" 
 
 " Faix and so there is ; and ye can be no stranger to these parts if 
 ye know that. "
 
 THE RETURN 529 
 
 " I have travelled it before now. Just tell me, is the wooden bridge 
 standing over the little stream? It used to be carried away every 
 winter in my time." 
 
 11 It's just the same now. You'll have to pass by the upper ford ; 
 but it comes to the same, for that will bring you to the back gate of 
 the demesne, and one way is just as short as the other." 
 
 "I know it, I know it; so now do you follow. me with my luggage 
 to the castle, and I'll set out on foot." 
 
 So saying, I threw off my cloak and prepared myself for a sharp 
 walk of some eight miles over the mountain. As I reached the little 
 knoll of land which, overlooking the Shannon, affords a view of 
 several miles in every direction, I stopped to gaze upon the scene 
 where every object around was familiar to me from infancy. The 
 broad, majestic river sweeping in bold curves between the wild moun- 
 tains of Connaught and the wooded hills and cultivated slopes of the 
 more fertile Munster, the tall chimneys of many a house rose above 
 the dense woods, where in my boyhood I had spent hours and days 
 of happiness. One last look I turned towards the scene of my late 
 catastrophe, ere I began to descend the mountain. The postboy, with 
 the happy fatalism of his country, and a firm trust in the future, had 
 established himself in the interior of the chaise, from which a blue curl 
 of smoke wreathed upwards from his pipe ; the horses grazed con- 
 tentedly by the roadside, and, were I to judge from the evidence before 
 me, I should say that I was the only member of the party incon- 
 venienced by the accident. A thin sleeting of rain began to fall, the 
 wind blew sharply in my face, and the dark clouds collecting in masses 
 above seemed to threaten a storm. Without stopping for even a 
 passing look at the many well-known spots about, I pressed rapidly 
 on. My old experience upon the moors had taught me that sling 
 trot in which, jumping from hillock to hillock, over the boggy surface, 
 you succeed in accomplishing your journey not only with considerable 
 speed, but perfectly dryshod. 
 
 By the lonely path which I travelled, it was unlikely I should meet 
 any one : it was rarely traversed except by the foot of the sportsman 
 or some stray messenger from the castle to the town of Banagher. Its 
 solitude, however, was in nowise distasteful to me ; my heart was full 
 to bursting. Each moment as I walked, some new feature of my home 
 presented itself before me : now, it was all happiness and comfort ; 
 the scene of its ancient hospitable board, its warm hearth, its happy 
 faces, and its ready welcome, were all before me, and I increased my 
 speed to the utmost, when suddenly a sense of sad and sorrowing fore- 
 boding would draw around me, and the image of my uncle's sick-bed, 
 his worn features, his pallid look, his broken voice, would strike upon 
 my heart, and all the changes that poverty, desertion, and decay can 
 bring to pass would fall upon my heart, and weak and trembling I 
 would stand for some moments unable to proceed. 
 
 Oh ! how many a reproachful thought came home to me at what I 
 scrupled not to call to myself the desertion of my home. Oh ! how 
 many a prayer I uttered in all the fervour of devotion, that my selfish 
 waywardness, and my yearning for ambition might not bring upon me, 
 in after life, years of unavailing regret. As I thought thus, I reached 
 
 2 L
 
 530 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the brow of a little mountain ridge, beneath which, at the distance of 
 scarcely more than a mile, the dark woods of O'Malley Castle stretched 
 before me. The house itself was not visible, for it was situated in a 
 valley beside the river ; but there lay the whole scene of my boyhood, 
 there the little creek where my boat was kept, and where I landed on 
 the morning after my duel with Bodkin ; there stretched, for many 
 a mile, the large callow meadows, where I trained my horses, and 
 schooled them for the coming season ; and far in the distance, the 
 brown and rugged peak of old Scariff was lost in the clouds. The rain 
 by this time had ceased, the wind had fallen, and an almost unnatural 
 stillness prevailed arouiid. But yet the heavy masses of vapour 
 frowned ominously, and the leaden hue of land and water wore a 
 gloomy and depressing aspect. My impatience to get on increased 
 every moment, and descending the mountain at the top of my speed, 
 I at length reached the little oak paling that skirted the wood, opened 
 the little wicket, and entered the path. It was the selfsame one I had 
 trod in reverie and meditation the night before I left my home. I 
 remembered, too, sitting down beside the little well, which, enclosed 
 in a frame of rock, ran trickling across the path, to be lost among the 
 gnarled roots and fallen leaves around. Yes, this was the very spot. 
 
 Overcome for the instant by my exertion and by my emotion, 1 sat 
 down upon the stone, and taking off my cap bathed my heated and 
 throbbing temples in the cold spring. Refreshed at once, I^vas about 
 to rise and press onward, when suddenly my attention was caught by 
 a sound which, faint from distance, scarce struck upon my ear. I 
 listened again, but all was still and silent ; the dull plash of the river, 
 as it broke upon the reedy shore, was the only sound I heard. Think- 
 ing it probably some mere delusion of my heated imagination, I rose 
 to push forward ; but at the moment a slight breeze stirred in the 
 leaves around me, the light branches rustled and bent beneath it, and 
 a low, moaning sound swelled upwards, increasing each instant as it 
 came : like the distant roar of some mighty torrent, it grew louder as 
 the wind bore it towards me, and now falling, now swelling, it burst 
 forth into one loud prolonged cry of agony and grief. O God ! it 
 was the death-wail. I fell upon my knees, my hands clasped in agony, 
 the sweat of misery dropped off my brow, and with a heart bleeding 
 and breaking, I prayed I know not what. Again the terrible cry 
 smote upon my ear, and I could mark the horrible cadences of the 
 death-song, as the voices of the mourners joined in chorus. 
 
 My suspense became too great to bear, I dashed madly forward, one 
 sound still ringing in my ears, one, horrid image before my eyes. I 
 reached the garden-wall ; I cleared the little rivulet beside the flower- 
 garden ; I traversed its beds, neglected and decayed ; I gained the 
 avenue, taking no heed of the crowds before me, some on foot, some 
 on horseback, others mounted upon the low country car, many seated 
 in groups upon the grass, their heads bowed upon their bosoms, silent 
 and speechless. As I neared the house, the whole approach was 
 crowded with carriages and horsemen ; at the foot of the large flight 
 of steps stood the black and mournful hearse, its plumes nodding 
 in the breeze. With the speed of madness and the recklessness of 
 despair I tore my way through the thickly standing groups upon the
 
 HOME 531 
 
 steps ; I could not speak, I could not utter. Once more the frightful 
 cry swelled upwards, and in its wild notes seemed to paralyse me ; for, 
 with my hands upon my temples, I stood motionless and still. A 
 heavy footfall, as of persons marching in procession, came nearer and 
 nearer, and as the sounds without sank into sobs of bitterness and woe, 
 the black pall of a coffin, borne on men's shoulders, appeared at the 
 door, and an old man, whose grey hair floated in the breeze, and across 
 whose stern features a struggle for self-mastery a kind of paralytic 
 jerk was playing, held out his hand to enforce silence. His eye, 
 lack-lustre and dimmed with age, roved over the assembled multitude, 
 but there was no recognition in his look until at last he turned it on 
 me ; a slight hectic flush covered his pale cheek, his lip trembled, he 
 essayed to speak but could not ; I sprang towards him, but, choked by 
 agony, I could not utter ; my look, however, spoke what my tongue 
 could not : he threw his arms around me, and muttering the words, 
 " Poor Godfrey," pointed to the coffin. 
 
 CHAPTER CX 
 
 HOME 
 
 MANY, many years have passed away since the time I am now about to 
 speak of, and yet I cannot revert, even for a moment, to the period 
 without a sad and depressing feeling at my heart. The wreck of 
 fortune, the thwarting of ambition, the failure in enterprise, great 
 though they be, are endurable evils; the never-dying hope that 
 youth is blessed with, will find its resting-place still within the breast, 
 and the bafHed and beaten will struggle on unconquered : but for the 
 death of friends, for the loss of those in whom our dearest affections 
 were centred, there is no solace; the terrible "never" of the grave 
 knows no remorse, and even memory, that in our saddest hours can 
 bring bright images and smiling faces before us, calls up here only the 
 departed shade of happiness, a passing look at that Eden of our joys 
 from which we are separated for ever. And the desolation of the heart 
 is never perfect till it has felt the echoes of a last farewell on earth, 
 reverberating within it. 
 
 Oh, with what tortures of self-reproach we think of all former 
 intercourse with him that is gone ! How would we wish to live our 
 lives once more, correcting each passage of unkindness or neglect ! 
 How deeply do we blame ourselves for occasions of benefit lost, and 
 opportunities unprofited by ! and how unceasingly through after-life 
 the memory of the departed recurs to us. In all the ties which 
 affection and kindred weave around us, one vacant spot is there, unseen 
 and unknown by others, which no blandishments of love, no caresses 
 of friendship, can fill up ; although the rank grass and the tall weeds 
 of the churchyard may close around the humble tomb, the cemetery 
 of the heart is holy and sacred, pure from all the troubled thoughts 
 and daily cares of the busy world. To that hallowed spot do we retire 
 as into our chamber, and when unrewarded efforts bring discomfiture
 
 532 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 and misery to our minds, when friends are false, and cherished hopes 
 are blasted, we think on those who never ceased to love till they had 
 ceased to live, and in the lonely solitude of our affliction we call'upon 
 those who hear not, and may never return. 
 
 Mine was a desolate hearth. I sat moodily down in the old oak 
 parlour, my heart howed down with grief. The noiseless steps the 
 mourning garments of the old servants the unnatural silence of those 
 walls, within which from my infancy the sounds of merriment and mirth 
 had been familiar the large old-fashioned chair where he was wont to 
 sit, now placed against the wall all spoke of the sad past. Yet, when 
 some footsteps would draw near, and the door would open, 1 could not 
 repress a thrill of hope that he was coming ; more than once I rushed 
 to the window and looked out ; I could have sworn I heard his voice. 
 
 The old cob pony he used to ride was grazing peacefully before the 
 door ; poor Carlo, his favourite spaniel, lay stretched upon the terrace, 
 turning ever and anon a look towards the window, and then, as if 
 wearied watching for him who came not, he would utter a long, low, 
 wailing cry, and lie down again to sleep. The rich lawn, decked with 
 field flowers of many a hue, stretched away towards the river, upon 
 whose calm surface the white-sailed lugger scarce seemed to move ; the 
 sounds of a well-known Irish air came, softened by distance, as some 
 poor fisherman sat mending his net upon the shore, and the laugh of 
 children floated on the breeze. Yes, they were happy ! 
 
 Two months had elapsed since my return home ; how passed by me 
 I knew not ; a lethargic stupor had settled upon me. Whole days long 
 I sat at the window, looking listlessly at the tranquil river, and watch- 
 ing the white foam as, borne down from the rapids, it floated lazily 
 along. The Count had left me soon, being called up to Dublin by some 
 business, and I was utterly alone. The different families about called 
 frequently to ask after me, and would, doubtless, have done all in their 
 power to alleviate my sorrow, and lighten the load of my affliction ; but 
 with a morbid fear I avoided every one, and rarely left the house, except 
 at nightfall, and then only to stroll by some lonely and deserted path. 
 
 Life had lost its charm for me ; my gratified ambition had ended in 
 the blackest disappointment ; and all for which I had laboured and 
 longed, was only attained that I might feel it valueless. 
 
 Of my circumstances as to fortune I knew nothing, and cared not 
 more ; poverty and riches could matter little now ; all my day-dreams 
 were dissipated and gone ; and I only waited for Considine's return to 
 leave Ireland for ever. I had made up my mind, if, by any unexpected 
 turn of fate, the war should cease in the Peninsula, to exchange into 
 an India regiment. The daily association with objects which recalled 
 but one image to my brain, and that ever accompanied by remorse of 
 conscience, gave me not a moment's peace. My every thought of 
 happiness was mixed up with scenes which now presented nothing but 
 the evidences of blighted hope ; to remain then where I was would be 
 to sink into the heartless misanthrope, and I resolved that, with my 
 sword, I should carve out a soldier's fortune and a soldier's grave. 
 
 Considine came at last. I was sitting alone at my usual post beside 
 the window, when the chaise rattled up to the door ; for an instant I
 
 HOME 533 
 
 started to my legs ; a vague sense of something like hope shot through 
 
 me ; the whole might be a dream, and he the next moment I 
 
 became cold and sick ; a faintish giddiness obscured my sight ; and, 
 though I felt his grasp as he took my hand, I saw him not. 
 
 An indistinct impression still dwells upon my mind of his chiding 
 me for my weakness in thus giving way, of his calling upon me to 
 assert my position, and discharge the duties of him whose successor I 
 now was. I heard him in silence ; and when he concluded, faintly 
 pledging myself to obey him, I hurried to my room, and throwing 
 myself upon my bed, burst into an agony of tears. Hitherto my pent- 
 up sorrow had wasted me day by day, but the rock was now smote ; 
 and in that gush of misery my heart found relief. 
 
 When I appeared the following morning, the Count was struck with 
 my altered looks : a settled sorrow could not conceal the changes which 
 time and manhood had made upon me, and, as from a kind of fear of 
 showing how deeply I grieved, I endeavoured to conceal it, by degrees I 
 was enabled to converse calmly and dispassionately upon my fortunes. 
 
 " Poor Godfrey," said he, " appointed me the sole executor a few 
 days before it happened ; he knew the time was drawing near, and, 
 strange enough, Charley, though he heard of your return to England, 
 he would not let us write. The papers spoke of you as being at Carl- 
 ton House almost daily ; your name appeared at every great festival ; 
 and, while his heart warmed at your brilliant success, he absolutely 
 dreaded your coming home . ' Poor fellow,' he would say, ( what a 
 change for him, to leave the splendour and magnificence of his Prince's 
 board, for our meagre fare and altered fortunes ! and then,' he added, 
 ' as for me God forgive me ! I can go now but how should I bear 
 to part with him, if he comes back to me.' And now," said the Count, 
 when he had concluded a detailed history of my dear uncle's last 
 illness, " and now, Charley, what are your plans? " 
 
 Briefly and in a few words I stated to him my intentions. Without 
 placing much stress upon the strongest of my reasons my distaste 
 to what had once been home I avowed my wish to join my regiment 
 at once. 
 
 He heard me with evident impatience ; and, as I finished, seized my 
 arm in his strong grasp. ' ( No, no, boy, none of this ; your tone of 
 assumed composure cannot impose on Bill Considine. You must not 
 return to the Peninsula at least, not yet awhile ; the disgust of life may 
 be strong at twenty, but it's not lasting ; besides, Charley " here his 
 voice faltered slightly ' ' his wishes you'll not treat lightly. Read this. " 
 
 As he spoke, he took a blotted and ill-written letter from his breast- 
 pocket, and handed it to me. It was in my poor uncle's hand, and 
 dated the very morning of his death. It ran thus : 
 
 ' ' DEAR BILL, Charley must never part with the old house, come 
 what will ; I leave too many ties behind for a stranger's heritage ; he 
 must live among my old friends, and watch, protect, and comfort them. 
 He has done enough for fame ; let him now do something for affection. 
 We have none of us been over-good to these poor people ; one of the 
 name must try and save our credit. God bless you both ; it is, perhaps, 
 the last time I shall utter it. G. O'M."
 
 534 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 I read these few and, to me, affecting lines, over and over, forgetful 
 of all, save of him who penned them ; when Considine, who supposed 
 that my silence was attributable to doubt and hesitation, called out : 
 
 "Well, what now?" 
 
 " I remain," said I briefly. 
 
 He seized me in his arms with transport, as he said : 
 
 " I knew it, boy ; I knew it. They told me you were spoiled by 
 flattery, and your head turned by fortune ; they said that home and 
 country would weigh lightly in the balance against fame and glory ; 
 but I said no, I knew you better. I told them indignantly that I had 
 nursed you on my knee ; that I watched you from infancy to boyhood, 
 from boy to man ; that he of whose stock you came had one feeling 
 paramount to all, love of his own fatherland, and that you would not 
 disgrace him. Besides, Charley, there's not a humble hearth for 
 many a long mile around us, where, amid the winter's blast, tempered, 
 not excluded, by the frail walls, and poverty that would elsewhere dry 
 up the fountain of the heart ; there's not one such, but where poor 
 Godfrey's name rises each night in prayer, and blessings are invoked 
 on him by those who never felt them." 
 
 " I'll not desert them." 
 
 " I know you'll not, boy ; I know you'll not. Now for the means." 
 
 Here he entered into a long and complicated exposure of my dear 
 uncle's many difficulties ; by which it appeared, that, in order to leave 
 the estate free of debt to me, he had for years past undergone severe 
 privations : these, however such is the misfortune of unguided effort 
 had but ill-succeeded, and there was scarcely a farm on the property 
 without its mortgage. Upon the house and demesne, a bond of three 
 thousand pounds still remained ; and to pay off this, Considine advised 
 my selling a portion of the property. 
 
 " It's old Blake lent the money ; and, only a week before your uncle 
 died, he served a notice for repayment. I never told Godfrey ; it was 
 no use ; it could only embitter his last hours ; and, besides, we had 
 six months to think of it. The half of that time has now elapsed, 
 however : we must see to this." 
 
 "And did Blake really make this demand knowing my poor uncle's 
 difficulties ? " 
 
 if Why, I half think he did not ; for Godfrey was too fine a fellow 
 ever to acknowledge anything of the sort. He had twelve sheep killed 
 for the poor in Scariff, at a time when not a servant of the house tasted 
 meat for months : ay, and our own table, too, none of the most abun- 
 dant, I assure you." 
 
 What a picture was this ! and how forcibly did it remind me of what 
 I had witnessed in times past. Thus meditating, we returned to the 
 house : and Considine, whose activity never slumbered, sat down to 
 con over the rent-roll with old Maguire the steward. 
 
 When I joined the Count in the evening I found him surrounded by 
 maps, rent-rolls, surveys, and leases. He had been poring over these 
 various documents, to ascertain from which portion of the property we 
 could best recruit our falling finances : to judge from the embarrassed 
 look and manner with which he met me, the matter was one of no 
 small difficulty. The encumbrances upon the estate had been incurred
 
 HOME 535 
 
 with an unsparing hand ; and except where some irreclaimable tract of 
 bog or mountain rendered a loan impracticable, each portion of the 
 property had its share of debt. 
 
 " You can't sell Killantry, for Basset has above six thousand pounds 
 on it already ; to be sure, there's the Priest's meadows, fine land and 
 in good heart ; but Malony was an old tenant of the family, and I 
 cannot recommend your turning him over to a stranger ; the widow 
 M'Bride's farm is perhaps the best, after all, and it would certainly 
 bring the sum we want ; still, poor Mary was your nurse, Charley, and 
 it would break her heart to do it." 
 
 Thus, wherever we turned, some obstacle presented itself, if not 
 from money causes, at least from those ties and associations which, in 
 an attached and faithful tenantry, are sure to grow up between them 
 and the owner of the soil. 
 
 Feeling how all-important these things were endeavouring as I was 
 to fulfil the will and work out the intentions of my uncle I saw at 
 once, that to sell any portion of the property must separate me, to a 
 certain extent, from those who long looked up to our house, and who, 
 in the feudalism of the west, could ill withdraw their allegiance from 
 their own chief to swear fealty to a stranger. The richer tenants were 
 those whose industry and habits rendered them objects of worth and 
 attachment : to the poorer ones, to whose improvidence and whose 
 follies (if you will) their poverty was owing, I was bound by those ties 
 which the ancient habit of my house had contracted for centuries ; the 
 bond of benefit conferred can be stronger than the debt of gratitude 
 itself. What was I then to do ? My income would certainly permit 
 of my paying the interest upon the several mortgages, and still retaining 
 wherewithal to live ; the payment of Blake's bond was my only diffi- 
 culty, and small as it was, it was still a difficulty. 
 
 ' ' I have it, Charley ! " said Considine ; " I've found out the way of 
 doing it. Blake will have no objection, I'm sure, to take the widow's 
 farm in payment of his debt, giving you a power of redemption within 
 five years. In that time, what with economy some management 
 perhaps " added he, smiling slightly <( perhaps a wife with money, 
 may relieve all your embarrassments at once. Well, well, I know you 
 are not thinking of that just now ; but come, what say you to my plan ? " 
 
 " I know not well what to say. It seems to be the best : but still I 
 have my misgivings." 
 
 " Of course you have, my boy : nor could I love you if you'd part 
 with an old and faithful follower without them. But, after all, she is 
 only a hostage to the enemy : we'll win her back, Charley. " 
 
 " If you think so " 
 
 " I do. I know it." 
 
 " Well, then, be it so ; only one thing I bargain, she must herself 
 consent to this change of masters. It will seem to her a harsh measure, 
 that the child she had nursed and fondled in her arms should live to 
 
 disunite her from those her oldest attachments upon earth . We 
 
 must take care, sir, that Blake cannot dispossess her : this would be 
 too hard." 
 
 " No, no ; that we'll guard against : and now, Charley, with prudence 
 and caution we'll clear off every encumbrance, and O'Malley Castle
 
 536 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 shall yet be what it was in days of yore. Ay, boy ; with the descendant 
 of the old house for its master, and uot that General how do you call 
 him ? that came down here to contest the county, who, with his offer 
 of thirty thousand pounds, thought to uproot the oldest family of the 
 west. Did I ever show you the letter we wrote him ? " 
 
 " No, sir," replied I, trembling with agitation as I spoke ; ' ' you 
 merely alluded to it in one of yours." 
 
 "Look here, lad !" said he, drawing it from the recess of a black 
 leather pocket-book. ee I took a copy of it : read that." 
 
 The document was dated " O'Malley Castle, Dec. 9th." It ran thus : 
 
 " SIR, I have this moment leanied from my agent that you, or some 
 one empowered by you for the purpose, made an offer of several thou- 
 sand pounds to buy up the different mortgages upon my property, with 
 a subsequent intention of becoming its possessor. Now, sir, I beg to 
 tell you that if your ungentlemanlike and underhand plot had succeeded, 
 you dared not darken with your shadow the door-sill of the house you 
 purchased. Neither your gold nor your flattery and I hear you are 
 rich in both could wipe out from the minds and hearts of my poor 
 tenantry the kindness of centuries. Be advised then, sir ; withdraw 
 your offer : let a Galway gentleman settle his own difficulties his own 
 way ; his troubles and cares are quite sufficient, without your adding 
 to them. There can be but one mode in which your interference with 
 him could be deemed acceptable : need I tell you, sir, who are a 
 soldier, how that is ? As I know your official duties are important, 
 and as my nephew who feels with me perfectly in this business is 
 abroad, I can only say that failing health and a broken frame shall not 
 prevent my undertaking a journey to England, should my doing so 
 meet your wishes on this occasion. I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 ' ' GODFREY O'MALLEY. " 
 
 "This letter," continued Coiisidine, "I enclosed in an envelope, 
 with the following few lines of my own : 
 
 " ' Count Considine presents his compliments to Lieutenant-General 
 Dashwood ; and feeling that, as the friend of Mr. Godfrey O'Malley, 
 the mild course pursued by that gentleman may possibly be attributed 
 to his suggestion, he begs to assure General Dashwood that the reverse 
 was the case, and that he strenuously counselled the propriety of laying 
 a horsewhip upon the General's shoulders, as a preliminary step in the 
 transaction. 
 
 " ' Count Considiue's address is No. 1G Kildare Street.' " 
 
 " Great God ! " said I, " is this possible?" 
 
 " Well may you say so, my boy; for would you believe it? after 
 all that, he writes a long blundering apology, protesting, I know not 
 what, about motives of former friendship, and terminating with a civil 
 hint that we have done with him for ever. And of my paragraph lie 
 takes no notice : and thus ends the whole affair." 
 
 <e And with it my last hope also ! " muttered I to myself. 
 
 That Sir George Dashwood's intentions had been misconstrued and 
 mistaken 1 knew perfectly well ; that nothing but the accumulated 
 evils of poverty and sickness could have induced my poor uncle to
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 537 
 
 write such a letter I was well aware : but now, the mischief was ac- 
 complished, the evil was done, and nothing remained but to bear with 
 patience and submission, and to endeavour to forget what thus became 
 irremediable. 
 
 1 ' Sir George Dashwood made no allusion to me, sir, in his reply?" 
 inquired I, catching at anything like a hope. 
 
 ' ' Your name never occurs in his letter. But you look pale, boy ; 
 all these discussions come too early upon you j besides, you stay too 
 much at home, and take no exercise." 
 
 So saying, Considine bustled off towards the stables to look after 
 some young horses that had just been taken up ; and I walked out 
 alone to ponder over what I had heard, and meditate on my plans for 
 the future. 
 
 CHAFfER CXI 
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 
 
 As I wandered on, the irritation of my spirit gradually subsided. It 
 was, to be sure, distressing to think over the light in which my uncle's 
 letter had placed me before Sir George Dashwood, had even my repu- 
 tation only with him been at stake ; but, with my attachment to his 
 daughter, it was almost maddening. And yet there was nothing to be 
 done : to disavow my participation would be to throw discredit upon 
 my uncle. Thus were my hopes blighted ; and thus, at that season 
 when life was opening upon me, did I feel careless and indifferent to 
 everything. Had my military career still remained to me, that, at 
 least, would have suggested scenes sufficient to distract me from the 
 past : but now my days must be spent where every spot teemed with 
 memories of bygone happiness and joys never to come back again. 
 
 My mind was, however, made up ; and, without speaking a word to 
 Considine, I turned homeward, and sat down at my writing-table. In 
 a few brief lines I informed my army-agent of my intention of leaving 
 the service, and desired that he would sell out for me at once. Fear- 
 ing lest my resolution might not be proof against the advice and solici- 
 tation of my friends, I cautioned him against giving my address, or 
 any clue by which letters might reach me. 
 
 This done, I addressed a short note to Mr. Blake, requesting to 
 know the name of his solicitor, in whose hands the bond was placed, 
 and announcing my intention of immediate repayment. 
 
 Trifling as these details were in themselves, I cannot help recording 
 how completely they changed the whole current of my thoughts. A 
 new train of interest began to spring up within me ; and where so 
 lately the clang of the battle the ardour of the march the careless 
 ease of the bivouac had engrossed every feeling, now more humble 
 and homely thoughts succeeded ; and, as my personal ambition had 
 lost its stimulant, I turned with pleasure to those of whose fate and 
 fortunes I was in some sort the guardian. There may be many a land 
 where the verdure blooms more in fragrance and in richness where 
 the clime breathes softer, and a brighter sky lights up the landscape ;
 
 538 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 but there is none I have travelled through many an one where more 
 touching and heart-bound associations are blended with the features 
 of the soil than in Ireland, and cold must be the spirit, and barren the 
 affections, of him who can dwell amid its mountains and its valleys, its 
 tranquil lakes, its wooded fens, without feeling their humanising in- 
 fluence upon him. Thus gradually new impressions and new duties 
 succeeded ; and, ere four months elapsed, the quiet monotony of my 
 daily life healed up the wounds of my suffering, and, in the calm 
 current of my present existence, a sense of content, if not of happi- 
 ness, crept gently over me, and I ceased to long for the clash of arms 
 and the loud blast of the trumpet. 
 
 Unlike all my former habits, I completely abandoned the sports of the 
 field. He who had participated in them with me was no longer there ; 
 and the very sight of the tackle itself suggested sad and depressing 
 thoughts. 
 
 My horses I took but little pleasure in. To gratify the good and 
 kind people about, I would walk through the stables, and make some 
 passing remark, as if to show some interest ; but I felt it not No : it 
 was only by the total change of all the ordinary channels of my ideas, 
 that I could bear up : and now my days were passed in the fields, 
 either listlessly strolling along, or in watching the labourers as they 
 worked. Of my neighbours I saw nothing ; returning their cards, 
 when they called upon me, was the extent of our intercourse ; and I 
 had no desire for any further. As Considine had left me to visit some 
 friends in" the south, I was quite alone ; and, for the first time in my life, 
 felt how soothing can be such solitude. In each happy face in every 
 grateful look around me I felt that I was fulfilling my uncle's last 
 behest ; and the sense of duty, so strong when it falls upon the heart 
 accompanied by the sense of power, made my days pass rapidly away. 
 
 It was towards the close of autumn, when I one morning received 
 a letter from London, informing me that my troop had been sold, 
 and the purchase-money about 4000 lodged to my credit at my 
 banker's. 
 
 As Mr. Blake had merely answered my former note by a civil 
 message that the matter in question was by no means pressing, I lost 
 not a moment, when this news reached me, to despatch Mike to Gurt- 
 uamorra, with a few lines, expressing my anxious desire to finish the 
 transaction, and begging of Mr. Blake to appoint a day for the purpose. 
 
 To this application Mr. Blake's reply was, that he would do himself 
 the honour of waiting upon me the following day, when the arrange- 
 ments I desired could be agreed upon. Now this was exactly what I 
 wished, if possible, to avoid. Of all my neighbours, he was the one 1 
 predetermined to have no intercourse with ; I had not forgotten my 
 last evening at his house, nor had I forgiven his conduct to my uncle. 
 However, there was nothing for it but submission : the interview need 
 not be a long, and it should be a last one. Thus resolving, I waited in 
 patience for the morrow. 
 
 I was seated at my breakfast the next morning, conning between 
 whiles the columns of the last paper, and feeding my spaniel, who sat 
 upon a large chair beside me, when the door opened, and a servant 
 announced ' ' Mr. Blake " ; and the instant after that gentleman bustled
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 539 
 
 in, holding out both his hands with all evidences of most friendly 
 warmth, and calling out : 
 
 " Charley O'Malley, my lad ! I'm delighted to see you at last !" 
 
 Now, although the distance from the door to the table at which I sat 
 was not many paces, yet was it quite sufficient to chill down all my 
 respectable relative's ardour before he approached : his rapid pace be- 
 came gradually a shuffle, a slide, and finally a dead stop ; his extended 
 arms were reduced to one hand, barely advanced beyond his waistcoat ; 
 his voice, losing the easy confidence of its former tone, got husky and 
 dry, and broke into a cough ; and all these changes were indebted to 
 the mere fact of my reception of him consisting in a cold and distant 
 bow, as I told the servant to place a chair and leave the room. 
 
 Without any preliminary whatever, I opened the subject of our 
 negotiation, expressed my regret that it should have waited so long, 
 and my desire to complete it. 
 
 Whether it was that the firm and resolute tone I assumed had its 
 effect at once, or that, disappointed at the mode in which I received 
 his advances, he wished to conclude our interview as soon as need be, 
 I know not ; but he speedily withdrew from a capacious pocket a docu- 
 ment in parchment, which having spread at large upon the table, and 
 having leisurely put on his spectacles, he began to hum over its con- 
 tents to himself in an undertone. 
 
 " Yes, sir, here it is," said he. " f Deed of conveyance between 
 Godfrey O'Malley, of O'Malley Castle, Esq. , on the one part ' perhaps 
 you'd like your solicitor to examine it, ' and Blake, of Gurt' because 
 there is no hurry, Captain O'Malley ' on the other.' In fact, after 
 all, it is a mere matter of form between relatives," said he, as I declined 
 the intervention of a lawyer. f ' I'm not in want of the money ' all 
 the lands and tenements adjoining, in trust, for the payment of the 
 
 said three thousand ' Thank God, Captain, the sum is a trifle that 
 
 does not inconvenience me : the boys are provided for ; and the girls 
 
 the pickpockets, as I call them, ha, ha, ha ! not ill-off neither ; 
 
 ' with rights of turbary on the said premises ' who are most anxious 
 to have the pleasure of seeing you. Indeed, I could scarcely keep 
 Jane from going over to-day. ' Sure he's my cousin,' says she ; t and 
 what harm would it be if I went to see him ? ' Wild, good-natured 
 girls, Captain ! And your old friend Matthew you haven't forgot 
 Matthew? has been keeping three coveys of partridge for you this 
 fortnight. ' Charley,' says he they call you Charley still, Captain 
 'shall have them, and no one else.' And poor Mary she was a child 
 when you were here Mary is working a sash for you. But I'm for- 
 getting I know you have so much business on your hands " 
 
 " Pray, Mr. Blake, be seated. I know nothing of any more impor- 
 tance than the matter before us. If you will permit me to give you a 
 cheque for this money. The papers, I'm sure, are perfectly correct." 
 
 " If I only thought it did not inconvenience you " 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, I assure you. Shall I say at sight, or in ten 
 days hence ? " 
 
 ' ' Whenever you please, Captain. But it's sorry I am to come troub- 
 ling you about such things, when I know you're thinking of other 
 matters. And, as I said before, the money does not signify to me ;
 
 540 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 the times, thauk God, are good, and I've never beeii very impro- 
 vident" 
 
 " I think you'll find that correct." 
 
 ' ' Oh, to be sure it is ! Well, well ; I'm going away without saying 
 half what I intended " 
 
 "Pray do not hurry yourself. I have not asked have you break- 
 fasted, for I remember Galway habits too well for that. But if I 
 might offer you a glass of sherry and water after your ride ? " 
 
 " Will you think me a beast if I say yes, Captain? Time was when 
 I didn't care for a canter of ten or fifteen miles in the morning no 
 more than yourself ; and that's no small boast, God forgive me : but 
 1 never see that clover field where you pounded the Englishman, with- 
 out swearing there never was a leap made before or since . Is this 
 
 Mickey, Captain? faith, and it's a fine, brown, hearty-looking chap 
 you're grown, Mickey. That's mighty pleasant sherry ! but where 
 would there be good wine if it wasn't here? Oh, I remember now 
 what it was I wanted. Peter my son Peter, a slip of a boy he's 
 only sixteen well, d'you see, he's downright deranged about the 
 army : he used to see your name in the papers every day, and that 
 terrible business at what's the name of the place ? where you rode 
 on the chap's back up the breach." 
 
 ' ' Ciudad Rodrigo, perhaps," said I scarcely able to repress a laugh. 
 
 " Well, sir, since that he'll hear of nothing but going into the army ; 
 ay, and into the dragoons too. Now, Captain, isn't it mighty expen- 
 sive in the dragoons? " 
 
 " Why, no, not particularly so at least, in the regiment I served 
 with." 
 
 " I promised him I'd ask you : the boy's mad, that the fact. I wish, 
 Captain, you'd just reason with him a little ; he'll mind what you say ; 
 there's no fear of that ; and you see, though I'd like to do what's fair, 
 I'm not going to cut off the girls for the sake of the boys ; with the 
 blessing of Providence they'll never be able to reproach me for that. 
 What I say is this : treat me well, and I'll treat you the same. Marry 
 the man my choice would pick out for you, and it's not a matter of a 
 thousand or two I'll care for. There was Bodkin you remember 
 him ? " said he with a grin ; " he proposed for Mary, but since the 
 quarrel with you, she could never bear the sight of him, and Ally 
 wouldn't come down to dinner if he was in the house. Mary's greatly 
 altered. I wish you heard her sing, ' I'd mourn the hopes that leave 
 me ; ' queer girl she is ; she was little more than a child when you were 
 here, and she remembers you just as if it was yesterday." 
 
 While Mr. Blake ran on at this rate ; now dilating upon my own 
 manifold virtues and accomplishments ; now expatiating upon the 
 more congenial theme the fascinations of his fair daughters and the 
 various merits of his sons, I could not help feeling how changed our 
 relative position was since our last meeting ; the tone of cool and 
 vulgar patronage he then assumed towards the unformed country lad 
 was now converted into an air of fawning and deferential submission 
 still more distasteful. 
 
 Young as I was, however, I had already seen a good deal of the 
 world ; my soldiering had at least taught me something of men, and I
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE .541 
 
 had far less difficulty in deciphering the intentions and objects of my 
 worthy relative than I should have had in the enigmatical mazes of the 
 parchment bond of which he was the bearer. After all, to how very 
 narrow an extent in life are we fashioned by our own estimate of our- 
 selves ! My changed condition affected me but little, until I saw how 
 it affected others ; that the position I occupied should seem better, 
 now that life had lost the great stimulus of ambition, was somewhat 
 strange ; and that flattery should pay its homage to the mourning coat, 
 which it would have refused to my soldier's garb, somewhat surprised 
 me ; still my bettered fortunes shone only brightly by reflected light, 
 for in my own heart I was sad, spiritless, and oppressed. 
 
 Feeling somewhat ashamed of the coldness with which I treated a 
 man so much my elder, I gradually assumed towards Mr. Blake a 
 manner less reserved : he quickly availed himself of the change, and 
 launched out into an eloquent expose of my advantages and capabili- 
 ties ; the only immediate effect of which was, to convince me that my 
 property and my prospects must have been very accurately conned 
 over and considered by that worthy gentleman, before he could speak 
 of the one or the other with such perfect knowledge. 
 
 " When you get rid of these little encumbrances, your rent-roll will 
 be close on four thousand a year. There's Basset, sure, by only 
 reducing his interest from ten to five per cent., will give you a clear 
 eight hundred per annum ; let him refuse, and I'll advance the money : 
 and, besides, look at Freney's farm ; there's two hundred acres let for 
 one-third of the value, and you must look to these things ; for, you 
 see, Captain, we'll want you to go into Parliament ; you can't help 
 coming forward at the next election, and by the great gun of Athlone 
 we'll return you." 
 
 Here Mr. Blake swallowed a full bumper of sherry, and, getting up 
 a little false enthusiasm for the moment, grasped me by both hands, 
 and shook me violently ; this done, like a skilful general, who, having 
 fired the last shot of his artillery, takes care to secure his retreat, he 
 retired towards the door, where his hat and coat were lying. 
 
 ' e I've a hundred apologies to make for encroaching upon your time ; 
 but, upon my soul, Captain, you are so agreeable, and the hours have 
 
 passed away so pleasantly . May I never, if it is not one o'clock ! 
 
 but you must forgive me." 
 
 My sense of justice, which showed me that the agreeability had been 
 all on Mr. Blake's side, prevented me from acknowledging this com- 
 pliment as it deserved ; so I merely bowed stiffly, without speaking. 
 By this time he had succeeded in putting on his greatcoat, but still 
 by some mischance or other, the moment of his leave-taking WHS 
 deferred ; one time he buttoned it awry, and had to undo it all again : 
 then, when it was properly adjusted, he discovered that his pocket- 
 handkerchief was not available, being left in the inner coat pocket ; to 
 this succeeded a doubt as to the safety of the cheque, which instituted 
 another search, and it was full ten minutes before he was completely 
 caparisoned and ready for the road. 
 
 " Good-bye, Captain ; good-bye," said he warmly, yet warily, not 
 knowing at what precise temperature the metal of my heart was 
 fusible. At a mild heat I had been evidently unsinged, and the white
 
 542 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 glow of his flattery seemed only to harden me. The interview was 
 now over, and, as I thought sufficient had been done to convince my 
 friend that the terms of distant acquaintance were to be the limits of 
 our future intercourse, I assumed a little show of friendliness, and 
 shook his hand warmly. 
 
 ' ' Good-bye, Mr. Blake ; pray present my respectful compliments to 
 your friends. Allow me to ring for your horse : you are not going to 
 have a shower, I hope." 
 
 "No, no, Captain, only a passing cloud," said he, warming up 
 perceptibly under the influence of my advances, "nothing more. 
 Why, what is it I am forgetting now ? Oh, I have it ! Maybe I'm 
 too bold ; but sure an old friend and relation may take a liberty some- 
 times. It was just a little request of Mrs. Blake as I was leaving the 
 house." He stopped here as if to take soundings, and perceiving no 
 change in my countenance, continued, " It was just to beg, that, in a 
 kind and friendly way, you'd come over and eat your dinner with us 
 on Sunday nobody but the family, not a soul Mrs. Blake and the 
 girls a boiled leg of mutton Matthew a fresh trout, if we can catch 
 one plain and homely but a hearty welcome, and a bottle of old 
 claret, maybe, too ah ! ah ! ah ! " 
 
 Before the cadence of Mr. Blake's laugh had died away, I politely but 
 resolutely declined the proffered invitation, and, by way of setting the 
 question at rest for ever, gave him to understand that, from impaired 
 health, and other causes, I had resolved upon strictly confining myself 
 to the limits of my own house and grounds, at least for the present. 
 
 Mr. Blake then saluted me for the last time, and left the room. As 
 he mounted his hackney, I could not help overhearing an abortive 
 effort he made to draw Mike into something like conversation ; but 
 it proved an utter failure, and it was evident he deemed the man as 
 incorrigible as the master. 
 
 " A very fine young man the Captain is remarkable ! and it's 
 proud I am to have him for a nephew." 
 
 So saying, he cantered down the avenue, while Mickey, as he looked 
 after him, muttered between his teeth, ' ' And faix, it's prouder you'd 
 be av he was your son-in-law." 
 
 Mike's soliloquy seemed to show me, in a new light, the meaning of 
 my relative's manner. It was for the first time in my life that such a 
 thought had occurred to me, and it was not without a sense of shame 
 that I now admitted it. 
 
 If there be something which elevates and exalts us in our esteem, 
 tinging our hearts with heroism, and our souls with pride, in the love 
 and attachment of some fair and beautiful girl, there is something 
 equally humiliating in being the object of cold and speculative cal- 
 culation to a match-making family. Your character studied your 
 pursuits watched your tastes conned over your very temperament 
 inquired into surrounded by snares, environed by practised attentions, 
 one eye fixed upon the registered testament of your relative, the other 
 riveted upon your own caprices, and then those thousand little cares 
 and kindnesses which come so pleasurably upon the heart, when the 
 offspring of true affection, perverted as they are by base views and 
 sordid interest, are so many shocks to the feeling and understanding :
 
 A SURPRISE 543 
 
 like the Eastern sirocco, which seems to breathe of freshness and of 
 health, and yet bears but pestilence and death upon its breezes, so 
 these calculated and well-considered traits of affection only render 
 callous and harden the heart, which had responded warmly, openly, 
 and abundantly to the true outpourings of affection. At how many a 
 previously happy hearth has the seed of this fatal passion planted its 
 discord ! how many a fair and lovely girl, with beauty and attraction 
 sufficient to win all that her heart could wish of fondness and devo- 
 tion, has, by this pernicious passion, become a cold, heartless, worldly 
 coquette, weighing men's characters by the adventitious circumstances 
 of their birth and fortune, and scrutinising the eligibility of a match, 
 with the practised acumen with which a notary investigates the solvency 
 of a creditor ! How do the traits of beauty, gesture, voice, and manner 
 become converted into the commonplace and distasteful trickery of 
 the world ! The very hospitality of the house becomes suspect, their 
 friendship is but fictitious ; those rare and goodly gifts of fondness 
 and sisterly affection which grow up in happier circumstances, are 
 here but rivalry, envy, and ill-concealed hatred ; the very accomplish- 
 ments which cultivate and adorn life, that light but graceful frieze 
 which girds the temple of homely happiness, are here but the medi- 
 tated and well-considered occasions of display : all the bright features 
 of womanhood, all the freshness of youth, and all its fascinations are 
 but like those richly coloured and beautiful fruits, seductive to the 
 eye, and fair to look upon, but which within contain nothing but a 
 core of rottenness and decay. 
 
 No, no ; unblessed by all which makes a hearth a home, I may travel 
 on my weary way through life but such an one as this I will not make 
 the partner of my sorrows and my joys come what will of it ! 
 
 CHAPTER CXII 
 
 A SURPRISE 
 
 FROM the hour of Mr. Blake's departure, my life was no longer 
 molested. My declaration, which had evidently, under his auspices, 
 been made the subject of conversation through the country, was at 
 least so far successful, as it permitted me to spend my time in the way 
 I liked best, and without the necessity of maintaining the show of in- 
 tercourse, when in reality I kept up none, with the neighbourhood. 
 While thus, therefore, my life passed on equably and tranquilly, many 
 months glided over, and I found myself already a year at home, with- 
 out it appearing more than a few weeks. Nothing seems so short in 
 retrospect as monotony ; the number, the variety, the interest of the 
 events which occupy us, making our hours pass glibly and flowiugly, 
 will still suggest to the mind the impressions of a longer period than 
 when the daily routine of our occupations assumes a character of con- 
 tinued uniformity. It seems to be the amende made by hours of 
 weariness and tedium, that, in looking back upon them, they appear 
 to have passed rapidly over. Not that my life, at the period I speak
 
 544 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 of, was devoid of interest : on the contrary, devoting myself with zeal 
 and earnestness to the new duties of my station, I made myself 
 thoroughly acquainted with the condition of my property, the in- 
 terests of my tenantry, their prospects, their hopes, their objects. 
 Investigating them as only he can who is the owner of the soil, I en- 
 deavoured to remedy the ancient vices of the land the habits of care- 
 less, reckless waste, of indifference for the morrow and, by instilling 
 a feature of prudent foresight into that boundless confidence in the 
 future, upon which every Irishman of every rank lives, I succeeded 
 at last in so far ameliorating their situation, that a walk through my 
 property, instead of presenting as it at first did a crowd of eager and 
 anxious supplicants, entreating for abatements in rent, succour for 
 their sick, and sometimes even food itself, showed me now a happy 
 and industrious people, confident in themselves, and firmly relying on 
 their own resources. 
 
 Another spring was now opening, and a feeling of calm and tranquil 
 happiness the result of my successful management of my property, 
 made my days pass pleasantly along. I was sitting at a late breakfast 
 in my little library ; the open window afforded a far and wide prospect 
 of the country blooming in all the promise of the season, while the 
 drops of the passing shower still lingered upon the grass, and were 
 sparkling like jewels under the bright sunshine. Masses of white and 
 pillowy cloud moved swiftly through the air, colouring the broad river 
 with many a shadow as they passed. The birds sang merrily ; the 
 trees shook their leaves in concert ; and there was that sense of move- 
 ment in everything on earth and sky which gives to spring its character 
 of lightness and exhilaration. The youth of the year, like the youth 
 of our own existence, is beautiful in the restless activity which marks 
 it The tender flower, that seems to open as we look ; the grass, that 
 springs before our eyes all speak of promise. The changing phases of 
 the sky, like the smiles and tears of infancy, excite without weariness, 
 and, while they engage our sympathies, they fatigue not our compassion. 
 
 Partly lost in thought, as I looked upon the fair and varied scene 
 before me, now turning to the pages of the book upon the breakfast- 
 table, the hours of the morning passed quickly over, and it was already 
 beyond noon. I was startled from my reverie by sounds which I could 
 scarcely trust my ears to believe real. I listened again, and thought I 
 could detect them distinctly. It seemed as though some one were 
 rapidly running over the keys of a pianoforte, essaying with the voice 
 to follow the notes, and sometimes striking two or three bold and suc- 
 cessive chords then a merry laugh would follow, and drown all other 
 sounds. " What can it be?" thought I. "There is, to be sure, a 
 pianoforte in the large drawing-room ; but then, who would venture 
 upon such a liberty as this? besides, who is capable of it? There ! 
 it can be no inexpei-ienced performer gave that shake ; my worthy 
 housekeeper never accomplished that." So saying, I jumped from the 
 breakfast-table, and set off in the direction of the sound. A small 
 drawing-room and the billiard-room lay between me and the large 
 drawing-room ; and, as I traversed them, the music grew gradually 
 louder. Conjecturing that, whoever it might be, the performance 
 would cease on my entrance, I listened for a few moments before
 
 A SURPRISE 545 
 
 opening the door. Nothing could be more singular nothing more 
 strange than the effect of those unaccustomed sounds in that silent 
 and deserted place. The character of the music, too, contributed not 
 a little to this : rapidly passing from grave to gay, from the melting 
 softness of some plaintive air to the reckless hurry and confusion of 
 an Irish jig, the player seemed, as it were, to run wild through all 
 the floating fancies of his memory ; now breaking suddenly off in the 
 saddest cadence of a song, the notes would change into some quaint, 
 old-fashioned croon, in which the singer seemed so much at home, and 
 gave the queer drollery of the words that expression of archness so emi- 
 nently the character of certain Irish airs. "But what the deuce is 
 this? ' said I, as, rattling over the keys with a flowing but brilliant 
 finger, she for it was unquestionably a woman, with a clear and sweet 
 voice, broken by laughter, began to sing the words of Mr. Bodkin's 
 song, ee The Man for Galway ; " when she had finished the last verse, 
 her hand strayed, as it were, carelessly across the instrument, while 
 she herself gave way to a free burst of merriment ; and then, suddenly 
 resuming the air, she chanted forth the following words, with a spirit 
 and effect I can convey no idea of: 
 
 " To live at home, 
 
 And never roam ; 
 To pass his days in sighing ; 
 
 To wear sad looks, 
 
 Read stupid books, 
 And look half dead or dying : 
 
 Not show his face, 
 
 Nor join the chase, 
 But dwell a hermit alway : 
 
 Oh ! Charley dear ! 
 
 To me 'tis clear, 
 You are not the man for Galway ! " 
 
 " You're not the man for Galway ! " repeated she once more, while 
 she closed the piano with a loud bang. 
 
 " And why not, my dear ? why not the man for Galway ? " said I, 
 as, bursting open the door, I sprang into the room. 
 
 ' ' Oh ! it's you, is it ? at last ! So I have unearthed you, have I ? " 
 
 With these words she burst into an immoderate fit of laughter ; 
 leaving me, who intended to be the party giving the surprise, amazed, 
 confused, and speechless, in the middle of the floor. 
 
 That my reader may sympathise a little in my distresses, let me 
 present him with the tableau before me. Seated upon the piano-stool 
 was a young lady, of at most eighteen years ; her face, had it not been 
 for its expression of exuberant drollery and malicious fun, would have 
 been downright beautiful ; her eyes, of the deepest blue, and shaded 
 by long lashes, instead of indulging the character of pensive and 
 thoughtful beauty for which nature destined them, sparkled with a 
 most animated brightness ; her nose, which, rather short, was still 
 beautifully proportioned, gave, with her well-curled upper lip, a 
 look of sauciness to the features quite bewitching ; her hair that 
 brilliant auburn we see in a Carlo Dolci fell in wild and massive 
 curls upon her shoulders. Her costume was a dark green riding-habit, 
 
 2 M
 
 546 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 not of the newest in its fashion, and displaying more than one rent in 
 its careless folds ; her hat, whip, and gloves lay on the floor beside her ; 
 arid her whole attitude and bearing indicated the most perfect ease and 
 carelessness. 
 
 " So you are caught taken alive ! " said she, as she pressed her 
 hands upon her sides in a fresh burst of laughter. 
 
 " By Jove ! this is a surprise indeed ! " said I ; " and pray into whose 
 fair hands have I fallen a captive ? " recovering myself a little, and 
 assuming a half air of gallantry. 
 
 " So you don't know me ! don't you?" 
 
 " Upon my life I do not. " 
 
 " How good ! Why, I'm Baby Blake. " 
 
 " Baby Blake !" said I, thinking that a rather strange appellation 
 for one whose well-developed proportions betokened nothing of infancy. 
 "Baby Blake !" 
 
 "To be sure ; your cousin Baby." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said I, springing forward. " Let me embrace my 
 relative. " 
 
 Accepting my proffered salutation with the most exemplary coolness, 
 she said : 
 
 " Get a chair now, and let's have a talk together." 
 
 ' ' Why the devil do they call you Baby ? " said I, still puzzled by this 
 palpable misnomer. 
 
 " Because I am the youngest, and was always the baby," replied she, 
 adjusting her ringlets with the most rural coquetry. "Now, tell me 
 something : why do you live shut up here like a madman, and not 
 come near us at Gurtuamorra ? " 
 
 " Oh ! that's a long story, Baby. But, since we are asking questions, 
 how did you get in here ? " 
 
 " Just through the window, my dear ; and I've torn my habit, as 
 you see." 
 
 So saying, she exhibited a rent of about two feet long, thrusting 
 through it a very pretty foot and ankle at the same time. 
 
 " As my inhospitable customs have cost you a habit, you must let me 
 make you a present of one." 
 
 " No ! will you, though ? that's a good fellow. Lord ! I told them I 
 knew you weren't a miser ; that you were only odd that's all." 
 
 "And how did you come over, Baby?" 
 
 " Just cantered over with Little Paddy Byrne. I made him take all 
 the walls and ditches we met, and they're scraping the mud off him 
 ever since. I'm glad I made you laugh, Charley ; they say you are so 
 sad. Dear me ! how thirsty I am ! have you any beer? " 
 
 " To be sure, Baby. But wouldn't you like some luncheon?" 
 
 " Of all things. Well, this is fun ! " said she, as, taking my arm, I 
 led her from the drawing-room. ' ' They don't know where I'm gone 
 not one of them ; and I've a great mind not to tell them, if you 
 wouldn't blab." 
 
 ef Would it be quite proper ? " 
 
 "Proper ! " cried she, imitating my voice : " I like that ! as if I was 
 going to run away with you. Dear me ! what a pretty house ! and 
 what nice pictures ! Who is the old fellow up there in the armour ? "
 
 A SURPRISE 647 
 
 " That's Sir Hildebrand O'Malley," said I, with some pride in recog- 
 nising an ancestor of the thirteenth century. 
 
 " And the other old fright with the wig, and his hands stuck in his 
 pockets?" 
 
 "My grandfather, Baby." 
 
 " Lord ! how ugly he is ! Why, Charley, he hasn't a look of you ; 
 one would think, too, he was angry at us. Ay, old gentleman ! you 
 don't like to see me leaning on Cousin Charley's arm. That must be 
 the luncheon, I'm sure ; I hear knives and forks rattling there." 
 
 The old butler's astonishment was not inferior to my own a few 
 minutes before, when 1 entered the dining-room with my fair cousin 
 upon my arm. As I drew a chair towards the table, a thought struck 
 me that possibly it might only be a due attention to my fair guest, if 
 I invited the housekeeper, Mrs. Magra, to favour us with her presence ; 
 and accordingly, in an undertone, so as not to be overheard by old 
 Simon, I said : 
 
 " Perhaps, Baby, you'd like to have Mrs. Magra, to keep us 
 company?" 
 
 ' ' Who's she ? " was the brief answer. 
 
 " The housekeeper ; a very respectable old matron." 
 
 " Is she funny ? " 
 
 "Funny! Not a bit." 
 
 " Oh, then, never mind her. What made you think of her ? " 
 
 " Why, I thought perhaps you'd think that is, people might say 
 in fact, I was doing a little bit proper on your account ' 
 
 " Oh ! that was it, was it ? Thank you for nothing, my dear ; Baby 
 Blake can take care of herself. And now, just help me to that wing 
 there. Do you know, Cousin Charley, I think you're an old quiz, and 
 not half as good a fellow as you used to be." 
 
 " Come, come, Baby, don't be in such a hurry to pronounce upon 
 me. Let us take a glass of wine. Fill Miss Blake's glass, Simon." 
 
 " Well, you may be better when one comes to know you. I detest 
 sherry ; no, never mind, I'll take it as it's there. Charley, I'll not 
 compliment you upon your ham : they don't know how to save them 
 here. I'll give you such a receipt when you come over to see us. But 
 will you come, that's the question ? " 
 
 <e How can you ask me ! Don't you think I'll return your visit ? " 
 
 e ' Oh ! hang your ceremony. Come and see us, like a good-natured 
 fellow, that knew us since we played together, and quarrelled over our 
 toys on the grass. Is that your sword up there ? Did you hear that 
 noise? that was thunder : there it comes. Look at that !" 
 
 As she spoke, a darkness like night overspread the landscape ; the 
 waves of the river became greatly agitated, and the rain, descending in 
 torrents, beat with tremendous force against the windows ; clap after 
 clap of thunder followed ; the lightning flashed fearfully through the 
 gloom, and the wind, growing every moment stronger, drove the rain 
 with redoubled violence against the glass. For a while we amused 
 ourselves with watching the effects of the storm without; the poor 
 labourers flying from their work ; the dripping figures seeking shelter 
 beneath the trees ; the barques, the very loaded carts themselves, all 
 interested Miss Baby, whose eye roved from the shore to the Shannon,
 
 648 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 recognising, with a practised eye, every house upon its banks, and 
 every barque that rocked and pitched beneath the gale. 
 
 " Well, this is pleasant to look out at," said she at length ; and after 
 the storm had lasted for above an hour without evincing any show of 
 abatement, " but what's to become of me ? " 
 
 Now, that was the very question I had been asking myself for the 
 last twenty minutes, without ever being able to find the answer. 
 
 " Eh, Charley, what's to become of me ? " 
 
 f ' Oh, never fear : one thing's quite certain, you cannot leave this 
 in such weather : the river is certainly impassable by this time at the 
 ford, and to go by the road is out of the question ; it is fully twelve 
 miles. I have it, Baby ; you, as I've said before, can't leave this, but 
 I can. Now, I'll go over to Gurtnamorra, and return in the morning 
 to bring you back ; it will be fine by that time." 
 
 " Well, I like your notion ; you'll leave me all alone here to drink 
 tea, I suppose, with your friend Mrs. Magra ; a pleasant evening I'd 
 have of it : not a bit " 
 
 " Well, Baby, don't be cross ; I only meant this arrangement really 
 for your sake. I needn't tell you how very much I'd prefer doing the 
 honours of my poor house in person." 
 
 " Oh, I see what you mean more propers. Well, well, I've a great 
 deal to learn : but, look, I think it's growing lighter." 
 
 " No, far from it ; it's only that grey mass along the horizon that 
 always bodes continual rain. " 
 
 As the prospect without had little cheering to look upon, we sat 
 down beside the fire, and chatted away, forgetting very soon, in a 
 hundred mutual recollections and inquiries, the rain and the wind, the 
 thunder and the hurricane. Now and then, as some louder crash would 
 resound above our heads, for a moment we would turn to the window, 
 and comment upon the dreadful weather ; but the next we had forgotten 
 all about it, and were deep in our confabulations. 
 
 As for my fair cousin, who at first was full of contrivances to pass the 
 time : such as the piano ; a game at backgammon ; chicken hazard ; 
 battledore ; she at last became mightily interested in some of my 
 soldiering adventures, and it was six o'clock ere we again thought that 
 some final measure must be adopted for restoring Baby to her friends, 
 or, at least, guarding against the consequences her simple and guileless 
 nature might have involved her in. 
 
 Mike was called into the conference, and, at his suggestion, it was 
 decided that we should have out the phaeton, and that I should myself 
 drive Miss Blake home ; a plan which offered no other difficulties than 
 this one, namely, that of above thirty horses in my stables, I had not a 
 single pair which had ever been harnessed. 
 
 This, so far from proving the obstacle I deemed it, seemed, on the 
 contrary, to overwhelm Baby with delight 
 
 " Let's have them. Come, Charley ; this will be rare fun ; we 
 couldn't have a team of four, could we? " 
 
 " Six, if you like it, my dear coz only, who's to hold them : they're 
 young thoroughbreds ; most of them never backed : some not bitted. 
 In fact, I know nothing of my stable. I say, Mike, is there anything 
 fit to take out ? "
 
 A SURPRISE 49 
 
 "Yes, sir; there's Miss Wildespin : she's in training, to be sure, 
 but we can't help that ; and the brown colt they call f Billy the Bolter ' : 
 they're the likeliest we have ; without your honour would take the two 
 chestnuts we took up last week ; they're raal devils to go ; and, if the 
 tackle will hold them, they'll bring you to Mr. Blake's door in forty 
 minutes." 
 
 ' c I vote for the chestnuts/' said Baby, slapping her boot with her 
 horsewhip. 
 
 " I move an amendment in favour of Miss Wildespin," said I doubt- 
 fully. 
 
 (e He'll never do for Galway," sang Baby, laying her whip on my 
 shoulder with no tender hand ; " yet you used to cross the country iii 
 good style when you were here before." 
 
 " And might do so again, Baby." 
 
 " Ah, no ; that vile dragoon seat, with your long stirrup, and your 
 heel dropped, and your elbow this way, and your head that ! How 
 could you ever screw your horse up to his fence, lifting him along as 
 you came up through the heavy ground, and with a stroke of your 
 hand, sending him pop over, with his hind legs well under him ? " Here 
 she burst into a fit of laughter at my look of amazement, as with voice, 
 gesture, and look she actually dramatised the scene she described. 
 
 By the time that I had costumed my fair friend in my dragoon 
 cloak and a foraging cap, with a gold band around it, which was the 
 extent of muffling my establishment could muster, a distant noise 
 without apprised us that the phaeton was approaching. Certainly, the 
 mode in which that equipage came up to the door might have inspired 
 sentiments of fear in any heart less steeled against danger than my 
 fair cousin's. The two blood chestnuts (for it was those Mike har- 
 nessed, having a groom's dislike to take a racer out of training) were 
 surrounded by about twenty people : some at their heads ; some pat- 
 ting them on the flanks ; some spoking the wheels ; and a few, the 
 more cautious of the party, standing at a respectable distance, and 
 offering advice. The mode of progression was simply a spring, a 
 plunge, a rear, a lounge, and a kick, and, considering it was the first 
 time they ever performed together, nothing could be moi'e uniform 
 than their display : sometimes the pole would be seen to point straight 
 upwards, like a lightning-conductor, while the infuriated animals 
 appeared sparring with their fore-legs at an imaginary enemy. Some- 
 times, like the picture in a schoolbook on mythology, they would seem 
 in the. act of diving, while with their hind legs they dashed the splash- 
 board into fragments behind them ; their eyes flashing fire, their 
 nostrils distended, their flanks heaving, and every limb trembling with 
 passion and excitement. 
 
 " That's what I call a rare turn out," said Baby, who enjoyed the 
 proceeding amazingly. 
 
 " Yes ; but remember," said I, " we're not to have all these running 
 footmen the whole way." 
 
 " I like that near sider with the white fetlock." 
 
 " You're right, miss," said Mike, who entered at the moment, and 
 felt quite gratified at the criticism. " You're right, miss, it's himself 
 can do it,"
 
 550 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Come, Baby, are you ready ? " 
 
 " All right, sir," said she, touching her cap knowingly with her fore- 
 finger. 
 
 " Will the tackle hold, Mike?" said I. 
 
 " We'll take this with us, at any rate," pointing, as he spoke, to a con- 
 siderable coil of rope, a hammer, and a basket of nails he carried on his 
 arm. " It's the brake harness we have, and it ought to be strong enough ; 
 but sure, if the thunder comes on again, they'd smash a chain cable." 
 
 " Now, Charley," cried Baby, " keep their heads straight ; for when 
 they go that way, they mean going." 
 
 ' ' Well, Baby, let's start ; but pray remember one thing. If I'm not 
 as agreeable on the journey as I ought to be ; if I don't say as many 
 pretty things to my pretty coz, it's because these confounded beasts 
 will give me as much as I can do." 
 
 " Oh yes, look after the cattle, and take another time for squeezing 
 
 my baud I say, Charley, you'd like to smoke, now, wouldn't you ? 
 
 if so, don't mind me." 
 
 " A thousand thanks for thinking of it ; but I'll not commit such a 
 trespass on good-breeding." 
 
 When we reached the door, the prospect looked dark and dismal 
 enough ; the rain had almost ceased, but masses of black cloud were 
 hurrying across the sky, and the low rumbling noise of a gathering 
 storm crept along the ground. Our panting equipage, with its two 
 mounted grooms behind for, to provide against all accidents, Mike 
 ordered two such to follow us stood in waiting ; Miss Blake's horse, 
 held by the smallest imaginary bit of boyhood, bringing up the rear. 
 
 " Look at Paddy Byrne's face," said Baby, directing my attention to 
 the little individual in question. 
 
 Now, small as the aforesaid face was, it contrived, within its limits, 
 to exhibit an expression of unqualified fear. I had no time, however, 
 to give a second look, when I jumped into the phaeton and seized the 
 reins. Mike sprang up behind, at a look from me, and, without speak- 
 ing a word, the stablemen and helpers flew right and left. The chest- 
 nuts, seeing all free before them, made one tremendous plunge, carry- 
 ing the fore carriage clear off the ground, and straining every nut, 
 bolt, screw, and strap about us with the effort. 
 
 " They're off, now," cried Mickey. 
 
 " Yes, they are off, now," said Baby. " Keep them going." 
 
 Nothing could be easier to follow than this advice ; and, in fact, so 
 little merit had I in obeying it, that I never spoke a word. Down the 
 avenue we went, at the speed of lightning, the stones, and the water 
 from the late rain, flying and splashing about us. In one series of 
 plunges, agreeably diversified by a strong bang upon the splashboard, 
 we reached the gate. Before I had time to utter a prayer for our 
 safety, we were through, and fairly upon the highroad. 
 
 " Musha, but the masther's mad," cried the old dame of the gate lodge ; 
 (< he wasn't out of this gate for a year and a half, and look now " 
 
 The rest was lost in the clear ringing laugh of Baby, who clapped 
 her hands in ecstasy and delight 
 
 " What a spanking pair they are ! I suppose you wouldn't let me get 
 my hand on them ? " said she, making a gesture as if to take the reins.
 
 NEW VIEWS 551 
 
 " Heaven forbid, my dear," said I ; " they've nearly pulled my wrists 
 off already." 
 
 Our road, like many in the west of Ireland, lay through a level tract 
 of bog ; deep ditches, half filled with water, on either side of us, but, 
 fortunately, neither hill nor valley for several miles. 
 
 " There's the mail," said Baby, pointing to a dark speck at a long 
 distance off. 
 
 Ere many minutes elapsed, our stretching gallop, for such had our 
 pace sobered into, brought us up with it, and- as we flew by, at top 
 speed, Baby jumped to her feet, and turning a waggish look at our 
 beaten rivals, burst out into a fit of triumphant laughter. 
 
 Mike was correct as to time ; in some few seconds less than forty 
 minutes we turned into the avenue of Gurtnamorra. Tearing along like 
 the very moment of their starting, the hot and fiery animals galloped up 
 the approach, and at length came to a stop in a deep ploughed field, into 
 which, fortunately for us, Mr. Blake, animated less by the picturesque 
 than the profitable, had converted his green lawn. This check, however, 
 was less owing to my agency than to that of my servants ; for, dismount- 
 ing in haste, they flew to the horses' heads, and with ready tact, and 
 before I had helped my cousin to the ground, succeeded in unharnessing 
 them from the carriage, and led them, blown and panting, covered with 
 foam, and splashed with mud, into the space before the door. 
 
 By this time we were joined by the whole Blake family, who poured 
 forth in astonishment at our strange and sudden appearance. Expla- 
 nation on my part was unnecessary, for Baby, with a volubility quite 
 her own, gave the whole recital in less than three minutes. From the 
 moment of her advent to her departure, they had it all ; and while she 
 mingled her ridicule at my surprise, her praise at my luncheon, her 
 jests at my prudence, the whole family joined heartily in her mirth, 
 while they welcomed, with most unequivocal warmth, my first visit to 
 Gurtnamorra. 
 
 I confess it was with no slight gratification I remarked that Baby's 
 visit was as much a matter of surprise to them as to me. Believing 
 her to have gone to visit at Portumna Castle, they felt no uneasiness 
 at her absence ; so that, in her descent upon me, she was really only 
 guided by her own wilful fancy, and that total absence of all conscious- 
 ness of wrong which makes a truly innocent girl the hardiest of all 
 God's creatures. I was reassured by this feeling, and satisfied that, 
 whatever the intentions of the elder members of the Blake family, Baby 
 was, at least, no participator in their plots, or sharer in their intrigues. 
 
 CHAPTER CXIII 
 
 NEW VIEWS 
 
 WHEN I found myself the next morning at home, I could not help 
 ruminating over the strange adventures of the preceding day, and felt 
 a kind of self-reproach at the frigid manner in which I had hitherto 
 treated all the Blake advances, contrasting so ill for me with the un-
 
 552 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 affected warmth and kind good nature of their reception. Never 
 alluding, even by accident, to my late estrangement ; never, by a 
 chance speech, indicating that they felt any soreness for the past, they 
 talked away about the gossip of the country, its feuds, its dinners, 
 its assizes, its balls, its garrisons, all the varied subjects of country 
 life were gaily and laughingly discussed ; and when, as I entered my 
 own silent and deserted home, and contrasted its look of melancholy 
 and gloom with the gay and merry scene I so lately parted from ; 
 when my echoing steps reverberated along the flagged hall, I thought 
 of the happy tableaux defamille 1 left behind me, and could not help 
 avowing to myself, that the goods of fortune I possessed were but ill 
 dispensed, when, in the midst of every means and appliance for comfort 
 and happiness, I lived a solitary man, companionless and alone. 
 
 I arose from breakfast a hundred times ; now walking impatiently 
 towards the window, now strolling into the drawing-room. Around, 
 on every side, lay scattered the prints and drawings, as Baby had thrown 
 them carelessly upon the floor : her handkerchief was also there. I 
 took it up ; I know not why ; some lurking leaven of old romance 
 perhaps suggested it ; but I hoped it might prove of delicate texture, 
 and bespeaking that lady-like coquetry which so pleasantly associates 
 with the sex in our minds. Alas ! no. Nothing could be more 
 palpably the opposite : torn, and with a knot some hint to memory 
 upon one corner, it was no aid to my careering fancy. And yet 
 and yet, what a handsome girl she is ! how finely, how delicately 
 formed that Greek outline of forehead and brow ! how transparently 
 soft that downy pink upon her cheek ! with what varied expression 
 those eyes can beam ! ay, that they can : but, confound it ! there's 
 this fault, their very archness their sly malice will be interpreted 
 by the ill-judging world to any but the real motive. " How like a 
 flirt!" will one say; " How impertinent! how ill-bred!" The con- 
 ventional stare of cold, patched, and painted beauty, upon whose 
 unblushing cheek no stray tinge of modesty has wandered, will be 
 tolerated even admired ; while the artless beamings of the soul upon 
 the face of rural loveliness will be condemned without appeal. 
 
 Such a girl may a man marry, who destines his days to the wild 
 west ; but woe unto him ! woe unto him ! should he migrate among 
 the more civilised and less charitable coteries of our neighbours. 
 
 "Ah ! here are the papers, and I was forgetting. Let me see 
 ' Bayonne ' ay, ' march of the troops sixth corps.' What can that be 
 without ? I say, Mike, who is cantering along the avenue ? " 
 
 " It's me, sir. I'm training the brown filly for Miss Mary, as your 
 honour bid me last night." 
 
 " Ah, very true. Does she go quietly ? " 
 
 " Like a lamb, sir ; barring she does give a kick now and then at the 
 sheet, when it bangs against her legs." 
 
 "Am I to go over with the books now, sir?" said a wild-looking 
 shock-head appearing within the door. 
 
 " Yes, take them over, with my compliments ; and say I hope Miss 
 Mary Blake has caught no cold." 
 
 " You were speaking about a habit and hat, sir?" said Mrs. Magra, 
 curtseying as she entered.
 
 NEW VIEWS 553 
 
 " Yes, Mrs. Magra ; I want your advice Oh, tell Barnes I really 
 
 cannot be bored about those eternal turnips every day of my life. And', 
 Mike, I wish you'd make them look over the four-horse harness. I 
 wish to try those greys ; they tell me they'll run well together. Well, 
 Freney, more complaints, I hope ? nothing but trespasses ; I don't 
 care, so you'd not worry me, if they eat up every blade of clover in 
 the grounds ; I'm sick of being bored this way. Did you say that we'd 
 eight couple of good dogs? quite enough to begin with. Tell Jones 
 to ride into Banagher, and look after that box : Buckmaster sent it 
 from London two months ago, and it has been lying there ever since. 
 And, Mrs. Magra, pray let the windows be opened, and the house well 
 aired : that drawing-room would be all the better for new papering." 
 
 These few and broken directions may serve to show my readers 
 what certainly they failed to convince myself of that a new chapter 
 of my life had opened before me ; and that, in proportion to the 
 length of time my feelings had found neither vent nor outlet, they 
 now rushed madly, tempestuously, into their new channels, suffering 
 no impediment to arrest, no obstacle to oppose their current. 
 
 Nothing can be conceived more opposite to my late, than my present 
 habits now became : the house, the grounds, the gardens, all seemed 
 to participate in the new influence which beamed upon myself; the 
 stir and bustle of active life was everywhere perceptible, and, amid 
 numerous preparations for the moors and the hunting-field, for pleasure 
 parties upon the river, and fishing excursions up the mountains, my 
 days were spent. The Blakes, without even for a moment pressing 
 their attentions upon me, permitted me to go and come amongst them 
 unquestioned and unasked. When nearly every morning I appeared 
 in the breakfast-room, I felt exactly like a member of the family : the 
 hundred little discrepancies of thought and habit which struck me 
 forcibly at first, looked daily less apparent ; the careless inattentions 
 of my fair cousins as to dress, their free-and-easy boisterous manner, 
 their very accents which fell so harshly on my ear, gradually made 
 less and less impression, until at last, when a raw English ensign just 
 arrived in the neighbourhood, remarked to me in confidence what 
 devilish fine girls they were, if they were not so confoundedly Irish, I 
 could not help wondering what the fellow meant, and attributed the 
 observation more to his ignorance than to its truth. 
 
 Papa and mamma Blake, like prudent generals, so long as they saw the 
 forces of the enemy daily wasting before them, so long as they could with 
 impunity carry on the war at his expense, resolved to risk nothing by a 
 pitched battle. Unlike the Dalrymples, they could leave all to time. 
 
 Oh ! tell me not of dark eyes swimming in their own ethereal 
 essence ; tell me not of pouting lips, of glossy ringlets, of taper fingers, 
 and well-rounded insteps. Speak not to me of soft voices, whose 
 seductive sounds ring sweetly in our hearts ; preach not of those 
 thousand womanly graces so dear to every man, and doubly to him 
 who lives apart from all their influences and their fascinations ; neither 
 dwell upon congenial temperament, similarity of taste, of disposition, 
 and of thought ; these are not the great risks a man runs in life. Of 
 all the temptations, strong as these may be, there is one greater than 
 them all, and that is propinquity !
 
 .554 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Show me the man who has ever stood this test ; show me the man, 
 deserving the name of such, who has become daily and hourly exposed 
 to the breaching artillery of flashing eyes, of soft voices, of winning 
 smiles, and kind speeches, and who hasn't felt, and that too soon too, 
 a breach within the rampart of his heart. He may, it is true, nay, he 
 will in many cases, make a bold and vigorous defence sometimes will 
 he re-entrench himself within the stockades of his prudence, but, alas ! 
 it is only to defer the moment when he must lay down his arms. He 
 may, like a wise man, who sees his fate inevitable, make a virtue of 
 necessity, and surrender at discretion, or, like a crafty foe, seeing his 
 doom before him under the cover of the night, he may make a sortie 
 from the garrison, and run for his life. Ignominious as such a course 
 must be, it is often the only one left 
 
 But, to come back. Love, like the small-pox, is most dangerous 
 when you take it in the natural way ; those made matches, which 
 Heaven is supposed to have a hand in, when placing an unmarried 
 gentleman's property in the neighbourhood of an unmarried lady's, 
 who destine two people for each other in life, because their well- 
 judging friends have agreed " they'll do very well : they were made 
 for each other," these are the mild cases of the malady ; this process of 
 friendly vaccination takes out the poison of the disease, substituting a 
 more harmless and less exciting affection ; but the really dangerous 
 instances are those from contact, that same propinquity, that con- 
 founded tendency every man yields to, to fall into a railroad of habit ; 
 that is the risk, that is the danger. What a bore it is to find that the 
 absence of one person, with whom you're in nowise in love, will spoil 
 your morning's canter, or your rowing party upon the river ! How 
 much put out are you, when she to whom you always gave your arm 
 in to dinner, does not make her appearance in the drawing-room ; and 
 your tea, too, some careless one, indifferent to your taste, puts a lump 
 
 of sugar too little, or cream too much, while she ; but no matter ; 
 
 habit has done for you what no direct influence of beauty could do, 
 and a slave to your own selfish indulgences and the cultivation of that 
 ease you prize so highly, you fall over head and ears in love. 
 
 Now, you are not, my good reader, by any means to suppose that 
 this was my case. No, no, I was too much what the world terms the 
 " old soldier " for that. To continue my illustration : like the fortress 
 that has been often besieged, the sentry upon the walls keeps more 
 vigilant watch ; his ear detects the far-off clank of the dread artillery ; 
 he marks each parallel ; he notes down every breaching battery ; and, 
 if he be conquered, if he be captured, at least, it is in fair fight. 
 
 Such were some of my reflections, as I rode slowly home one evening 
 from Gurtnamorra. Many a time, latterly, had I contrasted my own 
 lonely and deserted hearth with the smiling looks, the happy faces, 
 and the merry voices I had left behind me ; and many a time did I 
 ask myself, " Am I never to partake of a happiness like this ? " How 
 many a man is seduced into matrimony from this very feeling ! How 
 many a man whose hours have passed fleetingly at the pleasant tea- 
 table, or by the warm hearth of some old country house, going forth 
 into the cold and cheerless night, reaches his far-off home only to find 
 it dark and gloomy, joyless and companionless ? how often has the hard-
 
 A RECOGNITION 555 
 
 visaged look of his old butler, as, with sleepy eyes and yawning face, 
 he hands a bedroom candle, suggested thoughts of married happiness. 
 Of the perils of propinquity I have already spoken : the risks of contrast 
 are also great. Have you never, in strolling through some fragrant and 
 rich conservatory, fixed your eye upon a fair and lovely flower, whose 
 blossoming beauty seems to give all the lustre and all the incense of the 
 scene around ? and how have you thought it would adorn and grace 
 the precincts of your home, diffusing fragrance on every side. Alas ! 
 the experiment is not always successful. Much of the charm and many 
 of the fascinations which delight you are the result of association of 
 time and of place. The lovely voice, whose tones have spoken to your 
 heart, may, like some instrument, be delightful in the harmony of the 
 orchestra, but, after all, prove a very middling performer in a duet. 
 
 I say not this to deter men from matrimony, but to warn them from 
 a miscalculation which may mar their happiness. Flirtation is a very 
 fine thing, but it's only a state of transition, after all : the tadpole 
 existence of the lover would be great fun, if one was never to become 
 a frog under the hands of the parson. I say all this dispassionately 
 and advisedly : like the poet of my country, for many years of my life, 
 " My only books were women's looks," 
 
 and certainly I subscribed to a circulating library. 
 
 All this long digression may perhaps bring the reader to where it 
 brought me, the very palpable conviction, that, though not in love with 
 my cousin Baby, I could not tell when I might eventually become so. 
 
 CHAPTER CXIV 
 
 A RECOGNITION 
 
 TIIR most pleasing part about retrospect is the memory of our bygone 
 hopes. The past, however happy, however blissful, few would wish to 
 live over again ; but who is there that does not long for, does not pine 
 after the day-dream which gilded the future which looked ever forward 
 to the time to come as to a realisation of all that was dear to us : lighten- 
 ing our present cares, soothing our passing sorrows by that one thought? 
 Life is marked out in periods in which, like stages in a journey, we 
 rest and repose ourselves, casting a look now back upon the road we 
 have been travelling ; now throwing a keener glance towards the path 
 left us. It is at such spots as these remembrance comes full upon us, 
 and that we feel how little our intentions have swayed our career 
 or influenced our actions ; the aspirations, the resolves of youth, are 
 either looked upon as puerile follies, or a most distant day settled on for 
 their realisation. The principles we fondly looked to, like our guide- 
 stars, are dimly visible, not seen ; the friends we cherished are changed 
 and gone ; the scenes themselves seem no longer the sunshine and the 
 shade we loved ; and, in fact, we are living in a new world, where our 
 own altered condition gives the type to all around us ; the only link that 
 binds us to the past being that same memory, that, like a sad curfew, 
 tolls the twilight of our fairest dreams and most cherished wishes.
 
 556 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 That these glimpses of the bygone season of our youth should be but 
 fitful and passing, tinging, not colouring the landscape of our life, 
 we should be engaged in all the active bustle and turmoil of the world, 
 surrounded by objects of hope, love, and ambition, stemming the strong 
 tide in whose fountain is fortune. 
 
 He, however, who lives apart, a dreamy and a passionless existence, 
 will find that in the past, more than in the future, his thoughts have found 
 their resting-place ; memory usurps the place of hope, and he travels 
 through life like one walking onward ; his eyes still turning towards some 
 loved forsaken spot, teeming with all the associations of his happiest 
 hours, and preserving, even in distance, the outline that he loved. 
 
 Distance in time, as in space, smooths down all the inequalities of 
 surface ; and, as the cragged and rugged mountain, darkened by cliff 
 and precipice, shows to the far-off traveller but some blue and misty 
 mass, so the long-lost sight of hours lose all the cares and griefs that 
 tinged them ; and, to our mental eye, are but objects of uniform love- 
 liness and beauty ; and if we do not think of 
 
 " "The smiles the tears 
 Of boyhood's years," 
 
 it is because, like April showers, they but chequer the spring of our 
 existence. 
 
 For myself, baffled in hope at a period when most men but begin to 
 feel it, I thought myself much older than I really was ; the disappoint- 
 ments of the world, like the storms of the ocean, impart a false sense 
 of experience to the young heart as he sails forth upon his voyage, and 
 it is an easy error to mistake trials for time. 
 
 The goods of fortune by which I was surrounded took nothing from 
 the bitterness of my retrospect : on the contrary, I could not help feel- 
 ing that every luxury of my life was bought by my surrender of that 
 career which had elated me in my own esteem ; and which, setting a 
 high and noble object of ambition before me, taught me to be a man. 
 
 To be happy, one must not only fulfil the duties and exactions of his 
 station, but the station itself must answer to his views and aspirations 
 in life. Now mine did not sustain this condition ; all that my life had 
 of promise was connected with the memory of her who never could 
 share my fortunes ; of her for whom I had earned praise and honour : 
 becoming ambitious as the road to her affection, only to learn after, 
 that my hopes were but a dream, and my paradise a wilderness. 
 
 While thus the inglorious current of my life ran on, I was not in- 
 different to the mighty events the great continent of Europe was witness- 
 ing : the successes of the Peninsula campaign ; the triumphant entry 
 of the British into France ; the downfall of Napoleon ; the restoration 
 of the Bourbons, followed each other with the rapidity of the most 
 commonplace occurrences ; and in the few short years in which I had 
 sprung from boyhood to man's estate, the whole condition of the world 
 was altered ; kings deposed ; great armies disbanded ; rightful sovereigns 
 restored to their dominions ; banished and exiled men returned to their 
 country, invested with rank and riches ; and peace, in the fullest tide of 
 its blessing, poured down upon the earth devastated and blood-stained. 
 
 Years passed on ; and between the careless abandonment to the
 
 A RECOGNITION 557 
 
 mere amusement of the hour, and the darker meditation upon the past, 
 time slipped away. From my old friends and brother officers I heard 
 hut rarely. Power, who at first wrote frequently, grew gradually less 
 and less communicative. Webber, who had gone to Paris at the peace, 
 had written but one letter ; while, from the rest, a few straggling lines 
 was all I received. In truth, be it told, my own negligence and in- 
 ability to reply cost me this apparent neglect. 
 
 It was a fine evening in May, when, rigging up a spritsail, I jumped 
 into my yawl, and dropped easily down the river ; the light wind 
 gently curled the crested water ; the trees waved gently and shook 
 their branches in the breeze, and my little barque, bending slightly 
 beneath, rustled on her foamy track with that joyous bounding motion 
 so inspiriting to one's heart The clouds were flying swiftly past, 
 tinging with their shadows the mountains beneath ; the Munster shore, 
 glowing with a rich sunlight, showed every sheep-cot and every hedge- 
 row clearly out, while the deep shadow of tall Scariff darkened the 
 silent river where Holy Island, with its ruined churches and melancholy 
 tower, were reflected in the still water. 
 
 It was a thoroughly Irish landscape : the changeful sky ; the fast 
 flitting shadows ; the brilliant sunlight ; the plenteous fields ; the 
 broad and swelling stream ; the dark mountain, from whose brown 
 crest a wreath of thin blue smoke was rising were all there smiling, 
 yet sadly, like her own sous, across whose lowering brow some fitful 
 flash of fancy ever playing, dallies like sunbeams on a darkening stream, 
 nor marks the depth that lies below. 
 
 I sat musing over the strange harmony of nature with the tempera- 
 ment of man, every phase of his passionate existence seeming to have 
 its type in things inanimate : when a loud cheer from the laud aroused 
 me, and the words " Charley ! Cousin Charley ! " came wafted over the 
 water to where I lay. 
 
 For some time I could but distinguish the faint outline of some 
 figures on the shore, but as I came nearer, I recognised my fair cousin 
 Baby, who, with a younger brother of some eight or nine years old, 
 was taking an evening walk. 
 
 " Do you know, Charley," said she, " the boys have gone over to the 
 Castle to look for you : we want you particularly this evening." 
 
 " Indeed, Baby ; well, I fear you must make my excuses." 
 
 " Then, once for all, I will not. I know this is one of your sulky 
 moods, arid I tell you frankly I'll not put up with them any more." 
 
 " No, no, Baby, not so : out of spirits if you will, but not out of 
 temper." 
 
 " The distinction is much too fine for me, if there be any ; but there, 
 now, do be a good fellow ; come up with us come up with me ! " 
 
 As she said this, she placed her arm within mine. I thought, too 
 perhaps it was but a thought she pressed me gently. I know she 
 blushed and turned away her head to hide it. 
 
 " I don't pretend to be proof to your entreaty, Cousin Baby," said I, 
 with half-affected gallantry, putting her fingers to my lips. 
 
 " There, how can you be so foolish ; look at William yonder ; I am sure 
 he must have seen you." But William, God bless him, was bird's-nest- 
 ing, or butterfly-hunting, or daisy-picking, or something of that kind.
 
 558 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Oh ye young brothers, who, sufficiently old to be deemed com- 
 panions and chaperons, but yet young enough to be regarded as having 
 neither eyes nor ears, what mischief have ye to answer for ! what a 
 long reckoning of tender speeches of soft looks of pressed hands 
 lies at your door ! what an incentive to flirtation is the wily imp who 
 turns ever and anon from his careless gambols, to throw his laughter- 
 loving eyes upon you, calling up the mantling blush to both your cheeks ! 
 He seems to chronicle the hours of your dalliance, making your secrets 
 known unto each other ; we have gone through our share of flirtation 
 in this life : match-making mothers, prying aunts, choleric uncles, 
 benevolent and open-hearted fathers, we understand to the life, and 
 care no more for such man-traps, than a Melton man, well mounted on 
 his strong-boned thoroughbred, does for a four-barred ox-fence that 
 lies before him. Like him, we take them flying : never relaxing the 
 slapping stride of our loose gallop, we go straight ahead, never turning 
 aside, except for a laugh at those who flounder in the swamps we sneer 
 at. But we confess honestly, we fear the little brother, the small 
 urchin who, with nankeen trousers and three rows of buttons, per- 
 forms the part of Cupid ; he strikes real terror into our heart ; he it 
 is who, with a cunning wink, or sly smile, seems to confirm the soft non- 
 sense we are weaving ; by some slight gesture he seems to check off 
 the long reckoning of our attentions, bringing us every moment nearer 
 to the time when the score must be settled, and the debt paid ; he it 
 is who, by a memory delightfully oblivious of his task and his table- 
 book, is tenacious to the life of what you said to Fanny ; how you put 
 your head under Lucy's bonnet ; he can imitate to perfection the way 
 you kneeled upon the grass ; and the wretch has learnt to smack his lips 
 like a gourmand, that he may convey another stage of your proceedings. 
 
 Oh, for infant schools for everything under the age of ten ! Oh, 
 for factories for the children of the rich ! The age of prying curiosity 
 is from four-and-a-half to nine, and Fouche himself might get a lesson 
 in police from an urchin in his alphabet. 
 
 I contrived soon, however, to forget the presence of even the little 
 brother. The night was falling ; Baby appeared getting fatigued with 
 her walk, for she leaned somewhat more heavily upon my arm, and I 
 I cannot tell wherefore fell into that train of thinking aloud, which 
 somehow, upon a summer's eve, with a fair girl beside one, is the very 
 nearest thing to love-making. 
 
 " There, Charley don't now ah, don't do let go my hand they 
 are coming down the avenue." 
 
 I had scarcely time to obey the injunction, when Mr. Blake called out : 
 
 " Well, indeed ! Charley, this is really fortunate, we have got a 
 friend to take tea with us, and wanted you to meet him. " 
 
 Muttering an internal prayer for something, not exactly the welfare 
 of the aforesaid friend, whom I judged to be some Gal way squire, I 
 professed aloud the pleasure I felt in having come in so opportunely. 
 
 ' ' He wishes particularly to make your acquaintance. " 
 
 " So much the worse," thought I to myself : " it rarely happens that 
 this feeling is mutual." 
 
 Evidently provoked at the little curiosity I exhibited, Blake added : 
 
 " He's on his way to Fermoy with a detachment."
 
 A RECOGNITION 659 
 
 "Indeed ! what regiment, pray?" 
 
 "The Twenty-eighth Foot." 
 
 "Ah ! I don't know them." 
 
 By this time we reached the steps of the hall-door, and, just as 
 we did so, the door opened suddenly, and a tall figure in uniform 
 presented himself. With one spring he seized my hand and nearly 
 wrung it off. 
 
 " Why, what," said I, ' e can this be ? Is it really " 
 
 " Sparks," said he, ' ' your old friend Sparks, my boy ; I've changed 
 into the infantry, and here I am. Heard by chance you were in the 
 neighbourhood met Mr. Blake, your friend here, at the inn, and ac- 
 cepted his invitation to meet you." 
 
 Poor Sparks, albeit the difference in his costume, was the same as 
 ever. Having left the 14th soon after I quitted them, he knew but 
 little of their fortunes ; and he himself had been on recruiting stations 
 nearly the whole time since we had met before. 
 
 While we each continued to extol the good fortune of the other, 
 he mine as being no longer in the service, and I his for still being so, 
 we learned the various changes which had happened to each of us 
 during our separation. Although his destination was ultimately Fermoy, 
 Portumna was ordered to be his present quarter ; and I felt delighted to 
 have once more an old companion within reach, to chat over former 
 days of campaigning and nights of merriment in the Peninsula. Sparks 
 soon became a constant visitor and a guest at Gurtnamorra ; his good 
 temper, his easy habits, his simplicity of character, rapidly enabled him 
 to fall into all their ways ; and, although evidently not what Baby 
 would call e ' the man for Galway," he endeavoured with all his might 
 to please every one, and certainly succeeded to a considerable extent. 
 
 Baby alone seemed to take pleasure in tormenting the poor sub. 
 Long before she met with him having heard much from me of his 
 exploits abroad, she was continually bringing up some anecdote of 
 his unhappy loves or misplaced passions ; which he evidently smarted 
 under the more, from the circumstance that he appeared rather inclined 
 to like my fair cousin. 
 
 As she continued this for some time, I remarked that Sparks, who 
 at first was all gaiety and high spirits, grew gradually more depressed 
 and dispirited. I became convinced that the poor fellow was in love ; 
 very little management on my part was necessary to obtain his confes- 
 sion ; and, accordingly, the same evening the thought first struck me, 
 as we were riding slowly home towards O'Malley Castle, I touched at 
 first generally upon the merits of the Blakes, their hospitality, &c. ; 
 then diverged to the accomplishments and perfections of the girls ; and, 
 lastly, Baby herself, in all form, came up for sentence. 
 
 " Ah, yes ! " said Sparks, with a deep sigh, " it is quite as you say ; 
 she is a lovely girl ; and that liveliness in her character, that elasticity 
 in her temperament, chastened down as it might be by the feeling of 
 respect for the man she loved. I say, Charley, is it a very long attach- 
 ment of yours ? " 
 
 " A long attachment of mine ! Why, my dear Sparks, you can't 
 suppose that there is anything between us f I pledge you my word 
 most faithfully."
 
 560 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Oh no, don't tell me that ; what good can there be in mystify- 
 ing me ? " 
 
 " I have no such intention, believe me. My cousin Baby, however I 
 like and admire her, has no other place in my affection, than a very 
 charming girl who has lightened a great many dreary and tiresome 
 hours, and made my banishment from the world less irksome than 1 
 should have found it without her." 
 
 " And you are really not in love ? " 
 
 "Not a bit of it!" 
 
 " Nor going to marry her either ? " 
 
 "Not the least notion of it ! a fact. Baby and I are excellent 
 friends, for the very reason that we were never lovers ; we have had 
 no petits jeux of fallings out and makings up ; no hide-and-seek trials 
 of affected indifference and real disappointments ; no secrets, no griefs 
 nor grudges ; neither quarrels nor keepsakes. In fact, we are capital 
 cousins ; quizzing every one for our own amusement ; riding, walking, 
 boating together ; in fact, doing and thinking of everything, save sighs 
 and declarations ; always happy to meet, and never broken-hearted 
 when we parted. And I can only add, as a proof of my sincerity, that, 
 if you feel as I suspect you do from your questions, I'll be your ambas- 
 sador to the court of Gurtnamorra with sincere pleasure." 
 
 " Will you really ? Will you, indeed, Charley, do this for me ? 
 Will you strengthen my wishes by your aid, and give me all your 
 influence with the family?" 
 
 I could scarcely help smiling at poor Sparks's eagerness, or the un- 
 warrantable value he put upon my alliance, in a case where his own 
 unassisted efforts did not threaten much failure. 
 
 " I repeat it, Sparks, I'll make a proposal for you in all form, aided 
 and abetted by everything recommendatory and laudatory I can think 
 of ; I'll talk of you as a Peninsular of no small note and promise ; and 
 observe rigid silence about your Welsh flirtation and your Spanish 
 elopement." 
 
 ' ' You'll not blab about the Dalrymples, I hope ? " 
 
 II Trust me ; I only hope you will be always equally discreet ; but 
 now when shall it be ? Should you like to consider the matter more ? " 
 
 ' ' Oh, no ! nothing of the kind ; let it be to-morrow ; at once ; if I 
 am to fail, even that, anything's better than suspense." 
 
 " Well, then, to-morrow be it," said I. 
 
 So I wished him a good night, and a stout heart to bear his fortune 
 withal. 
 
 CHAPTER CXV 
 
 A MISTAKE 
 
 I ORDERED my horses at an early hour, and long before Sparks lover 
 that he was had opened his eyes to the light, was already on my way 
 towards Gurtnamorra. Several miles slipped away before I well deter- 
 mined how I should open my negotiations : whether to papa Blake, in 
 the first instance, or to madame, to whose peculiar province these secrets
 
 A MISTAKE 561 
 
 of the home department belonged ; or why not at once to Baby ? 
 because, after all, with her it rested finally to accept or refuse. To 
 address myself to the heads of the department seemed the more formal 
 course, and, as I was acting entirely as an envoyt extraordinaire, I 
 deemed this the fitting mode of proceeding. 
 
 It was exactly eight o'clock as I drove up to the door. Mr. Blake 
 was standing at the open window of the breakfast-room snuffing the 
 fresh air of the morning. The Blake mother was busily engaged with 
 the economy of the tea-table ; a very simple style of morning costume, 
 and a nightcap with a flounce like a petticoat," marking her unaffected 
 toilet. Above stairs, more than one head en papillate took a furtive 
 peep between the curtains ; and the butler of the family, in corduroys 
 and a fur cap, was weeding turnips in the lawn before the door. 
 
 Mrs. Blake had barely time to take a hurried departure, when her 
 husband came out upon the steps to bid me welcome. There is no 
 physiognomist like your father of a family, or your mother with 
 marriageable daughters. Lavater was nothing to them, in reading the 
 secret springs of action the hidden sources of all character. Had 
 there been a good respectable bump allotted by Spurzheim to " honour- 
 able intentions," the matter had been all fair and easy the very first 
 salute of the gentleman would have pronounced upon his views : but, 
 alas ! no such guide is forthcoming ; and the science, as it now exists, 
 is enveloped in doubt and difficulty. The gay laughing temperament 
 of some, the dark and serious composure of others ; the cautious and 
 reserved, the open and the candid, the witty, the sententious, the 
 clever, the dull, the prudent, the reckless, in a word, every variety 
 which the innumerable hues of character imprint upon the human face 
 divine, are their study. Their convictions are the slow and patient 
 fruits of intense observation and logical accuracy. Carefully noting 
 down every lineament and feature their change, their action, and 
 their development they track a lurking motive with the scent of a 
 bloodhound, and run down a growing passion with an unrelenting 
 speed. I have been in the witness-box, exposed to the licensed badger- 
 ing and privileged impertinence of a lawyer ; winked, leered, frowned, 
 and sneered at with all the long-practised tact of a nisi prius torturer ; 
 J have stood before the cold, fish-like, but searching eye of a prefect of 
 police, as he compared my passport with my person, and thought he 
 could detect a discrepancy in both : but I never felt the same sense of 
 total exposure as when glanced at by the half cautious, half prying 
 look of a worthy father or mother, in a family where there are 
 daughters to marry, and " nobody coming to woo." 
 
 "You're early, Charley," said Mr. Blake, with an affected mixture 
 of carelessness and warmth. " You have not had breakfast ? " 
 
 " No, sir. I have come to claim a part of yours ; and, if I mistake 
 not, you seem a little later than usual." 
 
 " Not more than a few minutes. The girls will be down presently ; 
 they're early risers, Charley ; good habits are just as easy ,-is b.-ul ones ; 
 and, the Lord be praised ! my girls were never brought up with any 
 other." 
 
 " I am well aware of it, sir ; and, indeed, if I may be permitted to 
 take advantage of the apropos, it was on the subject of one of your 
 
 2 N
 
 562 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 daughters that I wished to speak with you this morning, and which 
 brought me over at this uncivilised hour, hoping to find you alone." 
 
 Mr. Blake's look for a moment was one of triumphant satisfaction : 
 it was but a glance, however, and repressed the very instant after, as 
 he said, with a well-got-up indifference : 
 
 " Just step with me into the study, and we're sure not to be inter- 
 rupted." 
 
 Now, although I have little time or space for such dallying, I cannot 
 help dwelling for a moment upon the aspect of what Mr. Blake digni- 
 fied with the name of his study. It was a small apartment, with one 
 window, the panes of which, independent of all aid from a curtain, 
 tempered the daylight through the medium of cobwebs, dust, and the 
 ill-trained branches of some wall tree without. 
 
 Three oak chairs and a small table were the only articles of furni- 
 ture ; while around on all sides, lay the disjecta membra of Mr. Blake's 
 hunting, fishing, shooting, and coursing equipments old top boots, 
 driving-whips, odd spurs, a racing saddle, a blunderbuss, the helmet of 
 the Galway light horse, a salmon net, a large map of the county with 
 a marginal index to the several mortgages marked with a cross, a stable 
 lantern, the rudder of a boat, and several other articles representative 
 of his daily associations ; but not one book, save an odd volume of 
 Watty Cox's Magazine, whose pages seemed as much the receptacle of 
 brown hackles for trout fishing as the resource of literary leisure. 
 
 "Here we'll be quite cosy, and to ourselves," said Mr. Blake, as, 
 placing a chair for me, he sat down himself, with the air of a man 
 resolved to assist, by advice and counsel, the dilemma of some dear 
 friend. 
 
 After a few preliminary observations, which, like a breathing canter 
 before a race, serves to get your courage up, and settle you well in 
 your seat, I opened my negotiation by some very broad and sweeping 
 truism about the misfortunes of a bachelor existence, the discomforts 
 of his position, his want of home and happiness, the necessity for his 
 one day thinking seriously about marriage ; it being in a measure 
 almost as inevitable a termination of a free-and-easy career of his 
 single life as transportation for seven years is to that of a poacher. 
 " You cannot go on, sir," said I, e ' trespassing for ever upon your 
 neighbours' preserves ; you must be apprehended sooner or later ; 
 therefore, I think, the better way is to take out a licence." 
 
 Never was a small sally of wit more thoroughly successful. Mr. 
 Blake laughed till he cried, and when he had done, wiped his eyes with 
 a snuffy handkerchief, and cried till he laughed again. As, somehow, 
 I could not conceal from myself a suspicion as to the sincerity of my 
 friend's mirth, I merely consoled myself with the French adage, that 
 he laughs best who laughs last ; and went on : 
 
 " It will not be deemed surprising, sir, that a man should come to 
 the discovery I have just mentioned much more rapidly by having 
 enjoyed the pleasure of intimacy with your family ; not only by the 
 example of perfect domestic happiness presented to him, but by the 
 prospect held out that a heritage of the fair gifts which adorn and 
 grace married life, may reasonably be looked for among the daughters 
 of those, themselves the realisation of conjugal felicity."
 
 A MISTAKE 603 
 
 Here was a canter., with a vengeance ; and as I felt blown, I slackened 
 my pace, coughed, and resumed. 
 
 " Miss Mary Blake, sir, is then the object of my present communi- 
 cation ; she it is, who has made an existence that seemed fair and 
 pleasurable before, appear blank and unprofitable without her. I have, 
 therefore to come at once to the point visited you this morning, 
 formally to ask her hand in marriage : her fortune, I may observe at 
 once, is perfectly immaterial a matter of no consequence (so Mr. 
 Blake thought also); a competence fully equal to every reasonable 
 notion of expenditure " 
 
 " Therethere ; don't don't," said Mr. Blake, wiping his eyes with 
 a sob like a hiccup, : ' don't speak of money. I know what you'd say ; 
 a handsome settlement a well-secured jointure, and all that. Yes, 
 yes, I feel it all." 
 
 ' ' Why, yes, sir, I believe I may add, that everything in this respect 
 will answer your expectations." 
 
 " Of course ; to be sure. My poor dear Baby ; how to do without 
 
 all, to learn the lady's disposition in the matter 
 
 Ah, Charley ! none of this with me, you sly dog ! You think I 
 don't know you. Why, I've been watching that is, I have seen no, 
 I mean I've heard they they : people will talk, you know." 
 
 " Very true, sir. But, as I was going to remark " 
 
 Just at this moment the door opened, and Miss Baby herself, looking 
 most annoyingly handsome, put in her head. 
 
 ' ' Papa, we're waiting breakfast. Ah, Charley, how d'ye do ? " 
 
 ' ' Come in, Baby," said Mr. Blake, ' ' you haven't given me my kiss 
 this morning." 
 
 The lovely girl threw her arms around his neck, while her bright and 
 flowing locks fell richly upon his shoulder. I turned rather sulkily 
 away : the thing always provokes me. There is as much cold selfish 
 cruelty in such coram publico endearments, as in the luscious display of 
 rich rounds and sirloins in a chop-house, to the eyes of the starved and 
 penniless wretch without, who, with dripping rags and watering lip, 
 eats imaginary slices, while the pains of hunger are torturing him. 
 
 "There's Tim I" said Mr. Blake suddenly. "Tim Cronin ! Tim !" 
 shouted he to as it seemed to me an imaginary individual outside ; 
 while, in the eagerness of pursuit, he rushed out of the study, banging 
 the door as he went, and leaving Baby and myself to our mutual 
 edification. 
 
 I should have preferred it being otherwise ; but, as the Fates willed 
 it thus, I took Baby's hand, and led her to the window. Now there is 
 one feature of my countrymen which, having recognised strongly in 
 myself, I would fain proclaim ; and writing, as I do however little 
 people may suspect me solely for the sake of a moral, would gladly 
 warn the unsuspecting against. I mean, a very decided tendency to 
 become the consoler, the confidant of young ladies ; seeking out oppor- 
 tunities of cissuaging their sorrow, reconciling their afflictions, breaking 
 eventful passages to their ears ; not from any inherent pleasure in the
 
 504 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 tragic phases of the intercourse, but for the semi-tenderness of manner, 
 that harmless hand-squeezing, that innocent waist-pressing, without 
 which consolation is but like salmon without lobster a thing maimed, 
 wanting, and imperfect. 
 
 Now, whether this with me was a natural gift, or merely a " way we 
 have in the army," as the song says, I shall not pretend to say ; but I 
 venture to affirm that few men could excel me in the practice I speak 
 of some five-and-twenty years ago. Fair reader, do, pray, if I have the 
 happiness of being known to you, deduct them from my age before you 
 subtract from my merits. 
 
 "Well, Baby dear, I have just been speaking about you to papa. 
 Yes, dear don't look so incredulous even of your own sweet self. 
 Well, do you know I almost prefer your hair worn that way ; those 
 same silky masses look better falling thus heavily " 
 
 "There now, Charley ! ah, don't." 
 
 " Well, Baby, as I was saying, before you stopped me, I have been 
 asking your papa a very important question, and he has referred me to 
 you for the answer. And now will you tell me, in all frankness and 
 honesty, your mind on the matter ? " 
 
 She grew deadly pale as I spoke these words ; then suddenly flushed 
 up again, but said not a word. I could perceive, however, from her 
 heaving chest and restless manner, that no common agitation was 
 stirring her bosom. It was cruelty to be silent, so I continued 
 
 f( One who loves you well, Baby dear, has asked his own heart the 
 question, and learned that without you he has no chance of happiness ; 
 that your bright eyes are to him bluer than the deep sky above him ; 
 that your soft voice, your winning smile and what a smile it is ! 
 have taught him that he loves, nay, adores you. Then, dearest, 
 what pretty fingers those are ! Ah ! wha tis this ? whence came that 
 emerald ? I never saw that ring before, Baby. " 
 
 " Oh, that " said she, blushing deeply, " that is a ring the foolish 
 creature Sparks gave me a couple of days ago ; but I don't like it I 
 don't intend to keep it. " 
 
 So saying, she endeavoured to draw it from her finger, but in vain. 
 
 " But why, Baby, why take it off? Is it to give him the pleasure 
 of putting it on again ? There, don't look angry ; we must not fall 
 out, surely." 
 
 " No, Charley, if you are not vexed with me if you are not ' 
 
 e ' No, no, my dear Baby ; nothing of the kind. Sparks was quite 
 right in not trusting his entire fortune to my diplomacy ; but, at least, 
 he ought to have told me that he had opened the negotiation. Now 
 the question simply is Do you love him? or, rather, because that 
 shortens matters Will you accept him ? " 
 
 ' ' Love who ? " 
 
 " Love whom ! Why, Sparks, to be sure." 
 
 A flash of indignant surprise passed across her features, now pale as 
 marble ; her lips were slightly parted ; her large full eyes were fixed 
 upon me steadfastly ; and her hand, which I had held in mine, she 
 suddenly withdrew from my grasp. 
 
 " And so and so it is of Mr. Sparks' s cause you are so ardently the 
 advocate ? " said she at length, after a pause of most awkward duration.
 
 A MISTAKE 565 
 
 " Why, of course, my dear cousin. It was at his suit and solicitation 
 1 called on your father ; it was he himself who entreated me to take 
 this step ; it was he " 
 
 But before I could conclude, she burst into a torrent of tears, and 
 rushed from the room. 
 
 Here was a situation ! What the deuce was the matter? Did she, 
 or did she not, care for him ? Was her pride or her delicacy hurt at 
 my being made the means of the communication to her father ? What 
 had Sparks done or said to put himself and me in such a devil of a 
 predicament ? Could she care for any one else ? 
 
 " Well, Charley ! " cried Mr. Blake, as he entered rubbing his hands 
 in a perfect paroxysm of good temper. " Well, Charley, has love- 
 making driven breakfast out of your head ?" 
 
 ' ' Why, faith, sir, I greatly fear I have blundered my mission sadly. 
 My cousin Mary does not appear so perfectly satisfied ; her manner 
 
 " Don't tell me such nonsense the girl's manner ! Why, man, I 
 thought you were too old a soldier to be taken in that way." 
 
 " Well then, sir, the best thing, under the circumstances, is to send 
 over Sparks himself. Your consent, I may tell him, is already obtained." 
 
 " Yes, my boy ; and my daughter's is equally sure. But I don't see 
 what we want with Sparks at all ; among old friends and relatives, as 
 we are, there is, I think, no need of a stranger." 
 
 " A stranger ! Very true, sir, he is a stranger ; but when that 
 stranger is about to become your son-in-law " 
 
 "About to become what? " said Mr. Blake, rubbing his spectacles, and 
 placing them leisurely on his nose to regard me ; " to become what ? " 
 
 ' ' Your son-in-law. I hope I have been sufficiently explicit, sir, in 
 making known Mr. Sparks's wishes to you." 
 
 " Mr. Sparks ! Why, damn me, sir that is I beg pardon for the 
 warmth you you never mentioned his name to-day till now. You 
 led me to suppose that in fact, you told me most clearly " 
 
 Here, from the united effects of rage and a struggle for concealment, 
 Mr. Blake was unable to proceed, and walked the room with a melo- 
 dramatic stamp perfectly awfuL 
 
 " Really, sir/' said I at last, ' ' while I deeply regret any misconcep- 
 tion or mistake I have been the cause of, I must in justice to myself 
 say, that I am perfectly unconscious of having misled you. I came 
 here this morning with a proposition for the hand of your daughter on 
 behalf of " 
 
 " Yourself, sir ! Yes, yourself. I'll be no ! I'll not swear : but 
 
 but just answer me, if you ever mentioned one word of Mr. Sparks ; 
 if you ever alluded to him till the last few minutes ? " 
 
 I was perfectly astounded. It might be ; alas ! it was exactly as he 
 stated. In my unlucky effort at extreme delicacy, I became only so 
 very mysterious, that I left the matter open for them to suppose that 
 the Khan of Tartary was in love with Baby. 
 
 There was but one course now open. I most humbly apologised for 
 my blunder ; repeated, by every expression I could summon up, my 
 sorrow for what had happened, and was beginning a renewal of negotia- 
 tion "in re Sparks," when, overcome by his passion, Mr. Blake could 
 hear no more, but snatched up his hat and left the room.
 
 566 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Had it not been for Baby's share in the transaction, I should have 
 laughed outright. As it was, I felt anything but mirthful ; and the 
 only clear and collected idea in my mind was, to hurry home with all 
 speed and fasten a quarrel on Sparks, the innocent cause of the whole 
 mishap. Why this thought struck me let physiologists decide. 
 
 A few moments' reflection satisfied me, that, under present circum- 
 stances, it would be particularly awkward to meet with any others of 
 the family. Ardently desiring to secure my retreat, I succeeded, after 
 some little time, in opening the window sash ; consoling myself for 
 any injury I was about to inflict upon Mr. Blake's young plantation in 
 my descent, by the thought of the service I was rendering him while 
 admitting a little fresh air into his sanctum. 
 
 For my patriotism's sake I will not record my sensations as I took my 
 way through the shrubbery towards the stable. Men are ever so prone 
 to revenge their faults and their follies upon such inoffensive agencies 
 as time and place, wind or weather, that I was quite convinced that 
 to any other but Galway ears my expose would have been perfectly 
 clear and intelligible ; and that in no other country under heaven 
 would a man be expected to marry a young lady from a blunder in his 
 grammar. 
 
 Baby may be quite right, thought I ; but one thing is assuredly true, 
 if I'll never do for Galway, Galway will never do for me. No, hang 
 it ! I have endured enough for above two years. I have lived in 
 banishment, away from society, supposing that, at least, if I isolated 
 myself from the pleasures of the world, I was exempt from its annoy- 
 ances ; but no ; in the seclusion of my remote abode troubles found 
 their entrance as easily as elsewhere, so that I determined at once to 
 leave home ; where for, I knew not. If life had few charms, it had 
 still fewer ties for me ; if I was not bound by the bonds of kindred, I 
 was untrammelled by their restraints. 
 
 The resolution once taken, I burned to put it into effect ; and so 
 impatiently did I press forward, as to call forth more than one remon- 
 strance on the part of Mike at the pace we were proceeding at As 
 I neared home, the shrill but stirring sounds of drum and fife met 
 me ; and shortly after, a crowd of country people filled the road. 
 Supposing it some mere recruiting party, I was endeavouring to press 
 on, when the sounds of a full military baud, in the exhilarating 
 measure of a quickstep, convinced me of my error ; and, as I drew to 
 one side of the road, the advanced guard of an infantry regiment came 
 forward. The men's faces were flushed, their uniform dusty and 
 travel-stained, their knapsacks strapped firmly on, and their gait the 
 steady tramp of the march. Saluting the subaltern, I asked if any- 
 thing of consequence had occurred in the south, that the troops were 
 so suddenly under orders. The officer stared at me for a moment or 
 two without speaking ; and while a slight smile half curled his lip, 
 answered : 
 
 ' ( Apparently, sir, you seem very indifferent to military news, other- 
 wise you can scarcely be ignorant of the cause of our route." 
 
 " On the contrary," said I, " I am, though a young man, an old 
 soldier, and feel most anxious about everything connected with the 
 service."
 
 A MISTAKE 567 
 
 " Then it is very strange, sir, you should not have heard the news. 
 Bonaparte has returned from Elba, has arrived at Paris, been received 
 with the most overwhelming enthusiasm, and at this moment the 
 preparations for war are resounding from Venice to the Vistula. All 
 our forces disposable are on the march for embarkation. The Duke 
 of Wellington has taken the command, and already I may say the 
 campaign has begun." 
 
 The tone of enthusiasm in which the young officer spoke, the 
 astounding intelligence itself, contrasting with the apathetic indolence 
 of my own life, made me blush deeply, as I muttered some miserable 
 apology for my ignorance. 
 
 " And you are now en route 1 " 
 
 " For Fermoy ; from which we march to Cove for embarkation. 
 The first battalion of our regiment sailed for the West Indies a week 
 since, but a frigate has been sent after them to bring them back ; and 
 we hope all to meet in the Netherlands before the month is over. But 
 I must beg your pardon for saying adieu. Good-bye, sir." 
 
 " Good-bye, sir : good-bye," said I, as, still standing in the road, 
 I was so overwhelmed with surprise that I could scarcely credit my 
 senses. 
 
 A little farther on I came up with the main body of the regiment, 
 from whom I learned the corroboration of the news, and also the 
 additional intelligence that Sparks had been ordered off with his 
 detachment early in the morning, a veteran battalion being sent into 
 garrison in the various towns of the south and west. 
 
 "Do you happen to know a Mr. O'Malley, sir?" said the Major, 
 coming up with a note in his hand. 
 
 ' ' I beg to present him to you," said I, bowing. 
 
 " Well, sir, Sparks gave me this note, which he wrote with a pencil 
 as we crossed each other on the road this morning. He told me you 
 were an old Fourteenth man ; but your regiment is in India, I believe ; 
 at least, Power said they were under orders when we met him." 
 
 "Fred Power! are you acquainted with him? Where is he now, 
 pray ? " 
 
 " Fred is on the staff with General Vandeleur and is now in 
 Belgium." 
 
 " Indeed !" said I, every moment increasing my surprise at some new 
 piece of intelligence. " And the Eighty-eighth ? " said I, recurring to 
 my old friends in that regiment. 
 
 "Oh, the Eighty-eighth are at Gibraltar, or somewhere in the 
 Mediterranean : at least, I know they are not near enough to open the 
 present campaign with us. But if you'd like to hear any more news, 
 you must come over to Borrisokane ; we stop there to-night." 
 
 "Then I'll certainly do so." 
 
 " Come at six, then, and dine with us." 
 
 "Agreed," said I ; "and now, good morning." 
 
 So saying, I once more drove on; my .head full of all that I had 
 been hearing, and my heart bursting with eagerness to join the gallant 
 fellows now bound for the campaign.
 
 568 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER CXVI 
 
 BRUSSELS 
 
 I MUST not protract a tale already far too long by the recital of my 
 acquaintance with the gallant 26th. It is sufficient that I should say 
 that, having given Mike orders to follow me to Cove, I joined the 
 regiment on their march, and accompanied them to Cork. Every hour 
 of each day brought us in news of moment and importance ; and amid all 
 the stirring preparations for the war, the account of the splendid spectacle 
 of the Champ de Mai burst upon astonished Europe, and the intelligence 
 spread far and near, that the enthusiasm of France never rose higher 
 in favour of the Emperor ; and, while the whole world prepared for 
 the deadly combat, Napoleon surpassed even himself by the magnificent 
 conceptions for the coming conflict, and the stupendous nature of those 
 plans by which he resolved on resisting combined and united Europe. 
 
 While our admiration and wonder of the mighty spirit that ruled 
 the destinies of the Continent rose high, so did our own ardent and 
 burning desire for the day when the open field of fight should place us 
 once more in front of each other. 
 
 Every hard-fought engagement of the Spanish war was thought of 
 and talked over ; from Talavera to Toulouse, all was remembered ; 
 and, while among the old Peninsulars the military ai'dour was so 
 universally displayed, among the regiments who had not shared the 
 glories of Spain and Portugal, an equal, perhaps a greater, impulse was 
 created for the approaching campaign. 
 
 When we arrived at Cork, the scene of bustle and excitement ex- 
 ceeded anything I ever witnessed ; troops were mustering in every 
 quarter ; regiments arriving and embarking ; fresh bodies of men 
 pouring in ; drills, parades, and inspections going forward ; arms, 
 ammunition, and military stores distributing ; and, amid all, a spirit 
 of burning enthusiasm animating every rank for the approaching glory 
 of the newly arisen war. 
 
 While thus each was full of his own hopes and expectations, I alone 
 felt depressed and downhearted. My military caste was lost to me for 
 ever ; my regiment many, many a mile from the scene of the coming 
 strife ; though young, 1 felt like one already old and bygone. The 
 last-joined ensign seemed, in his glowing aspiration, a better soldier 
 than I, as, sad and dispirited, I wandered through the busy crowds, 
 surveying with curious eye each gallant horseman as he rode proudly 
 past. What was wealth and fortune to me ? What had they ever 
 been, compared with all they cost me ? the abandonment of the career 
 I loved the path in life I sought and panted for. Day after day I 
 lingered on, watching with beating heart each detachment as they left 
 the shore ; and when their parting cheer rang high above the breeze, 
 turned sadly back to mourn over a life that had failed in its promise, 
 and an existence now shorn of its enjoyment. 
 
 It was on the evening of the 3rd of June that I was slowly wending 
 my way back towards my hotel latterly 1 had refused all invitations 
 to dine at the mess and by a strange spirit of contradiction, while I
 
 BRUSSELS 669 
 
 avoided society, could yet not tear myself away from the spot where 
 every remembrance of my past life was daily embittered by the scenes 
 around me. But so it was : the movement of the troops, their reviews, 
 their arrivals and departures, possessed the most thrilling interest for 
 me ; while I could not endure to hear the mention of those high hopes 
 and glorious vows each brave fellow muttered. 
 
 It was, as I remember, on the evening of the 3rd of June I entered 
 my hotel lower in spirits even than usual : the bugles of the gallant 
 71st, as they dropped down with the tide, played a well-known march 
 I had heard the night before Talavera ; all my bold and hardy days 
 came rushing madly to my mind ; and my present life seemed no 
 longer endurable. The last army list and the newspapers lay on my 
 table, and I turned to read the latest promotions with that feeling of 
 bitterness by which an unhappy man loves to tamper with his misery. 
 Almost the first paragraph I threw my eyes upon, ran thus : 
 
 "OSTKXD, May 24:th. The Vixen, sloop-of-war, which arrived off 
 our port this morning, brought, among several other officers of inferior 
 note, Lieutenant-General Sir George Dashwood, appointed as Assistant- 
 Adjutant-General on the staff of His Grace the Duke of Wellington ; 
 the gallant General was accompanied by his lovely and accomplished 
 daughter, and his military secretary and aide-de-camp, Major Ham- 
 mersly, of the Second Life Guards. They partook of a hurried 
 dejeuner with the burgomaster, and left immediately after for Brussels." 
 
 Twice I read this over, while a burning hot sensation settled upon 
 my throat and temples. So Hammersly still persists he still hopes 
 and what then ? what can it be to me ? my prospects have long 
 since faded and vanished ; doubtless, ere this, I am as much forgotten 
 as though we had never met : would that we never had ! I threw up 
 the window sash ; a light breeze was gently stirring, and, as it fanned 
 my hot and bursting head, I felt cooled and relieved. Some soldiers were 
 talking beneath the window, and among them I recognised Mike's voice. 
 
 "And so you sail at daybreak, sergeant?" 
 
 " Yes, Mister Free : we have our orders to be on board before the 
 flood-tide ; the Thunderer drops down the harbour to-night, and we 
 are merely here to collect our stragglers." 
 
 " Faix, it's little I thought I'd ever envy a sodger any more ; but, 
 some way, I wish I was going with you." 
 
 " Nothing easier, Mike," said another, laughing. 
 
 " Oh, true for you, but that's not the way I'd like to do it ; if my 
 master, now, would just get over his low spirits, and spake a word to 
 the Duke of York, devil a doubt but he'd give him his commission 
 back again, and then one might go in comfort" 
 
 "Your master likes his feather pillow better than a mossy stone 
 under his head, I'm thinking, and he ain't far wrong either." 
 
 " You're out there, neighbour ; it's himself cares as little for hard- 
 ship as any one of you ; and sure it's not becoming me to say it, but 
 the best blood and the best bred was always the last to give in for 
 either cold or hunger, ay, or even complain of it." 
 
 Mike's few words shot upon me a new and a sudden conviction. 
 What was to prevent my joining once more? Obvious as such a
 
 570 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 thought now was, yet never until this moment did it present itself so 
 palpably. So habituated does the mind become to a certain train of 
 reasoning, framing its convictions according to one preconceived plan, 
 and making every fact and every circumstance concur in strengthening 
 what often may be but a prejudice that the absence of the old 14th 
 in India, the sale of my commission, the want of rank in the service, 
 all seemed to present an insurmountable barrier to my re-entering the 
 army. A few chance words now changed all this, and I saw that, as a 
 volunteer at least, the path of glory was still open, and the thought 
 was no sooner conceived than the resolve to execute it. While, there- 
 fore, I walked hurriedly up and down, devising, planning, plotting, and 
 contriving, each instant I would stop to ask myself how it happened I 
 had not determined upon this before. 
 
 As I summoned Mike before me, I could not repress a feeling of 
 false shame, as I remembered how suddenly so natural a resolve must 
 seem to have been adopted ; and it was with somewhat of hesitation 
 that I opened the conversation. 
 
 " And so, sir, you are going, after all, long life to you ; but I never 
 doubted it : sure you wouldn't be your father's son, and not join 
 divarsion when there was any going." 
 
 The poor fellow's eyes brightened up, his look gladdened, and before 
 he reached the foot of the stairs I heard his loud cheer of delight, that 
 once more we were off to the wars. 
 
 The packet sailed for Liverpool the next morning ; by it we took 
 our passage, and on the third morning I found myself in the waiting- 
 room at the Horse Guards, expecting the moment of his Royal High- 
 ness's arrival ; my determination being to serve as a volunteer in any 
 regiment the Duke might suggest, until such time as a prospect pre- 
 sented itself of entering the service as a subaltern. 
 
 The room was crowded by officers of every rank and arm in the 
 service : the old grey-headed general of division ; the tall, stout-looking 
 captain of infantry ; the thin and boyish figure of the newly gazetted 
 cornet, were all there : every accent, every look that mark each trait 
 of national distinction in the empire, had its representative : the reserved 
 and distant Scotchman ; the gay, laughing, exuberant Patlander ; the 
 dark-eyed and dark-browed North Briton, collected in groups, talked 
 eagerly together ; while every instant, as some new arrival would enter, 
 all eyes would turn to the spot in eager expectation of the Duke's 
 coming. At last the clash of arms, as the guard turned out, apprised 
 us of his approach, and we had scarcely time to stand up and stop the 
 buzz of voices when the door opened, and an aide-de-camp proclaimed 
 in a full tone, "His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief. " 
 
 Bowing courteously on every side, he advanced through the crowd, 
 turning his rapid and piercing look here and there through the room, 
 while with that tact, the essential gift of his family, he recognised 
 each person by his name, directing from one to the other some passing 
 observation. 
 
 " Ah, Sir George Cockburn, how d'ye do ? your son's appointment 
 is made out Major Conyers, that application shall be looked to. 
 Forbes, you must explain that I cannot possibly put men in the regi- 
 ment of their choice the service is the first thing. Lord L , your
 
 BRUSSELS 671 
 
 memorial is before the Prince Regent the cavalry command will, I 
 believe, however, include your name." 
 
 While he spoke thus, he approached the place where I was standing, 
 when suddenly checking himself, he looked at me for a moment some- 
 what sternly, " Why not in uniform, sir ? " 
 
 " Your Royal Highness, 1 am not in the army." 
 
 "Not in the army? not in the army? and why, may I beg to 
 know, have you , but I'm speaking to Captain O'Malley, if I mis- 
 take not?" 
 
 "I held that rank, sir, once, but family necessities compelled me to 
 sell out ; I have now no commission in the service, but am come to 
 beseech your Royal Highness's permission to serve as a volunteer." 
 
 " As a volunteer, eh ? a volunteer ? come, that's right, I like that ; 
 but still, we want such fellows as you ; the man of Ciudad Rodrigo ? Yes, 
 
 my Lord L , this is one of the stormers ; fought his way through 
 
 the trench among the first ; must not be neglected. Hold yourself in 
 readiness, Captain hang it, I was forgetting Mr. O'Malley, I mean 
 hold yourself in readiness for a staff appointment ; Smithson, take a note 
 of this." So saying, he wended on, and I found myself in the street, 
 with a heart bounding with delight, and a step proud as an emperor's. 
 
 With such rapidity the events of my life now followed one upon the 
 other, that I could take no note of time as it passed. On the fourth 
 day after my conversation with the Duke, I found myself in Brussels. 
 As yet I heard nothing of the appointment, nor was I gazetted to any 
 regiment or any situation on the staff. It was strange enough, too, I 
 met but few of my old associates, and not one of those with whom I 
 had been most intimate in my Peninsular career ; but it so chanced 
 that very many of the regiments which most distinguished themselves 
 in the Spanish campaigns, at the peace of 1814, were sent on foreign 
 service. My old friend Power was, I learned, quartered at Courtrai, 
 and, as I was perfectly at liberty to dispose of my movements at 
 present, I resolved to visit him there. 
 
 It was a beautiful evening on the 12th June ; I had been inquiring 
 concerning post horses for my journey, and was returning slowly 
 through the park. The hour was late, near midnight, but a pale 
 moonlight, a calm unruffled air, and stronger inducements still, the 
 song of the nightingales that abound in this place, prevailed on many 
 of the loungers to prolong their stay ; and so, from many a shady walk 
 and tangled arbour, the clank of a sabre would strike upon the ear, or 
 the low soft voice of woman would mingle her dulcet sound with the 
 deep tones of her companion. I wandered on thoughtful and alone ; 
 my mind preoccupied so completely with the mighty events passing 
 before me, I totally forgot my own humble career, and the circum- 
 stances of my fortune. As I turned into an alley which leads from the 
 Great Walk towards the palace of the Prince of Orange, I found my 
 path obstructed by three persons who were walking slowly along in 
 front of me. I was, as I have mentioned, deeply absorbed in thought, 
 so that I found myself close behind them before I was aware of their 
 presence. Two of the party were in uniform, and, by their plumes, 
 upon which a passing ray of moonlight nickered, I could detect they 
 were general officers ; the third was a lady. Unable to pass them, anil
 
 572 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 unwilling to turn back, I was unavoidably compelled to follow, and, 
 however unwilling, to overhear somewhat of their conversation. 
 
 11 You mistake, George, you mistake ; depend upon it this will be 
 no lengthened campaign ; victory will soon decide for one side or the 
 other. If Napoleon beat the Prussians one day, and beat us the next, 
 the German States will rally to his standard, and the old Confederation 
 of the Rhine will spring up once more, in all the plenitude of its 
 power. The Champs de Mai has shown the enthusiasm of France for 
 their emperor. Louis XVIII. -fled from his capital, with few to follow, 
 and none to say ' God bless him ! ' the warlike spirit of the nation is 
 roused again ; the interval of peace, too short to teach habits of patient 
 and enduring industry, is yet sufficient to whet the appetite for carnage, 
 and nothing was wanting, save the presence of Napoleon alone, to restore 
 all the brilliant delusions and intoxicating splendours of the empire." 
 
 te I confess," said the other, " I take a very different view from yours 
 in this matter : to me it seems that France is as tired of battles as of 
 the Bourbons " 
 
 I heard no more ; for, though the speaker continued, a misty con- 
 fusion passed across my mind. The tones of his voice, well remem- 
 bered as they were by me, left me unable to think ; and as I stood 
 motionless on the spot, I muttered half aloud, " Sir George Dashwood." 
 It was he, indeed, and she who leaned upon his arm could be no other 
 than Lucy herself. I know not how it was ; for many a long month 
 I had schooled my heart, and taught myself to believe that time had 
 dulled the deep impression she had made upon me ; and that, were we 
 to meet again, it would be with more sorrow on my part, for my broken 
 dream of happiness, than of attachment and affection for her who in- 
 spired it : but now, scarcely was I near her ; I had not gazed upon her 
 looks ; I had not even heard her voice ; and yet, in all their ancient force, 
 came back the early passages of my love ; and, as her footfall sounded 
 gently upon the ground, my heart beat scarce less audibly. Alas ! I 
 could no longer disguise from myself the avowal that she it was, and 
 she only, who implanted in my heart the thirst for distinction ; and the 
 moment was ever present to my mind, in which, as she threw her arms 
 around her father's neck, she muttered, " Oh, why not a soldier ? " 
 
 As I thus reflected, an officer in full dress passed me hurriedly, and 
 taking off his hat as he came up with the party before me, bowed 
 obsequiously. 
 
 "My Lord , I believe, and Sir George Dashwood?" They 
 
 replied by a bow. " Sir Thomas Picton wishes to speak with you 
 both for a moment; he is standing beside the ' Basin.' If you will 
 permit " said he, looking towards Lucy. 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Sir George ; " if you will have the goodness 
 to accompany us, my daughter will wait our coming here. Sit down, 
 Lucy, we shall not be long away." 
 
 The next moment she was alone ; the last echoes of their retiring 
 footsteps had died away in the grassy walk, and in the calm and death- 
 like stillness, I could hear every rustle of her silk dress ; the moon- 
 light fell in fitful straggling gleams between the leafy branches, and 
 showed me her countenance, pale as marble ; her eyes were upturned 
 slightly ; her brown hair, divided upon her fair forehead, sparkled
 
 BRUSSELS 573 
 
 with a wreath of brilliants, which heightened the lustrous effect of 
 her calm beauty ; and now, I could perceive her dress bespoke that 
 she had been at some of the splendid entertainments which followed 
 day after day in the busy capital. 
 
 Thus I stood within a few paces of her, to be near to whom, a few 
 hours before, I would willingly have given all I possessed in the world, 
 and yet now a barrier, far more insurmountable than time and space, 
 intervened between us; still, it seemed as though fortune had pre- 
 sented this incident as a last farewell between us. Why should I not 
 take advantage of it? why should I not seize the only opportunity 
 that might ever occur, of rescuing myself from the apparent load of 
 ingratitude which weighed on my memory? I felt, in the cold despair 
 of my heart, that I could have no hold upon her affection ; but a pride 
 scarce less strong than the attachment that.gave rise to it, urged me 
 to speak. By one violent effort I summoned up my courage, and 
 while I resolved to limit the few words I should say merely to my 
 vindication, I prepared to advance. Just at this instant, however, a 
 shadow crossed the path ; a rustling sound was heard among the 
 branches, and the tall figure of a man in a dragoon cloak stood before 
 me. Lucy turned suddenly at the sound ; but scarcely had her eyes 
 been bent in the direction, when, throwing off his cloak, he sprang for- 
 ward, and dropped on one knee at her feet. All my feeling of shame 
 at the part I was performing was now succeeded by a sense of savage 
 and revengeful hatred. It was enough that I should be brought to 
 look upon her whom I had lost for ever, without the added bitterness 
 of witnessing her preference for a rival. The whirlwind passion of 
 my brain stunned and stupefied me. Unconsciously I drew my sword 
 from my scabbard, and it was only as the pale light fell upon the keen 
 blade that the thought flashed across me, " What could I mean to do? " 
 
 ( ' No, Hammersly " it was he indeed said she, " it is unkind, it 
 is unfair, nay, it is unmanly, to press me thus ; I would not pain you, 
 were it not that in sparing you now, I should entail deeper injury 
 upon you hereafter ; ask me to be your sister your friend ; ask me 
 to feel proudly in your triumphs to glory in your success ; all this I 
 do feel, but oh ! I beseech you, as you value your happiness as you 
 prize mine ask me no more than this." 
 
 There was a pause of some seconds ; and at length the low tones of 
 a man's voice, broken and uncertain in their utterance, said : 
 
 " I know it I feel it my heart never bade me hope and now 
 'tis over." 
 
 He stood up as he spoke, and while he threw the white folds of his 
 mantle around him a gleam of light fell upon his features ; they were 
 pale as death ; two dark circles surrounded his sunken eyes, and his 
 bloodless lip looked still more ghastly, from the dark moustache that 
 drooped above it. 
 
 " Fare ye well," said he slowly, as he crossed his arms sadly upon his 
 breast, " I will not pain you more." 
 
 " Oh, go not thus from me," said she, as her voice became tremulous 
 with emotion ; " do not add to the sorrow that weighs upon my heart. 
 I cannot, indeed I cannot, be other than I am, and I do but hate myself, 
 to think that I cannot give my love where I have given all my esteem. If
 
 574 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 time " but before she could continue further the noise of approach- 
 ing footsteps was heard, and the voice of Sir George, as he came near. 
 Hammersly disappeared at once, and Lucy, with rapid steps, advanced 
 to meet her father, while I remained riveted upon the spot. What a 
 torrent of emotions then rushed upon my heart ! what hopes, long 
 dead or dying, sprang up to life again ! what visions of long-abandoned 
 happiness flitted before me ! Could it be, then ? dare I trust myself to 
 think it, that Lucy cared for me ? The thought was maddening ; with 
 a bounding sense of ecstasy I dashed across the park, resolving, at all 
 hazards, to risk everything upon the chance, and wait the next morning 
 upon Sir George Dashwood. As I thought thus I reached my hotel, 
 where I found Mike in waiting with a letter. As I walked towards the 
 lamp in the porte cochere, my eye fell upon the address ; it was General 
 Dashwood's hand ; I tore it open and read as follows : 
 
 " DEAR SIB, Circumstances, into which you will excuse me entering 
 at present, having placed an insurmountable barrier to our former terms 
 of intimacy, you will, I trust, excuse me declining the honour of any 
 nearer acquaintance, and also forgive the liberty I take in informing 
 you of it, which step, however unpleasant to my feelings, will save us 
 both the great pain of a meeting. 
 
 " I have only this moment heard of your arrival in Brussels, and 
 take thus the earliest opportunity of communicating with you. 
 
 "With every assurance of my respect for you personally, and an 
 earnest desire to serve you in your military career, I beg to remain, 
 very faithfully yours, GEORGE DASHWOOD." 
 
 " Another note, sir," said Mike, as he thrust into my unconscious 
 hands a letter he had just received from an orderly. 
 
 Stunned, half stupefied, I broke the seal. The contents were but 
 three lines : 
 
 ' ' SIR, I have the honour to inform you that Sir Thomas Picton 
 has appointed you an extra aide-de-camp on his personal staff. You 
 will, therefore, present yourself to-morrow morning at the Adjutant- 
 General's office to receive your appointment and instructions. I have 
 the honour to be, &c., G. FITZROY." 
 
 Crushing the two letters in my fevered hand, I retired to my room, 
 and threw myself, dressed as I was, upon my bed. Sleep, that seems 
 to visit us in the saddest, as in the happiest times of our existence, 
 came over me, and I did not awake until the bugles of the 95th were 
 sounding the reveille through the park, and the bright gleams of the 
 morning sun were peering through the window. 
 
 CHAPTER CXVII 
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 
 
 " MR. O'MALLEY," said a voice, as my door opened, and an officer in 
 undress entered. e ' Mr. O'Malley, I believe you received your appoint- 
 ment last night on General Picton's staff?"
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 575 
 
 I bowed in reply, as he resumed : 
 
 " Sir Thomas desires you will proceed to Courtrai with these 
 despatches, in all haste. I don't know if you are well mounted, but I 
 recommend you, in any case, not to spare your cattle." 
 
 So saying, he wished me a good morning, and left me in a state of 
 no small doubt and difficulty to my own reflections. What the deuce 
 was I to do ? I had no horse ; I knew not where to find one. What 
 uniform should I wear? for, although appointed on the staff, I was 
 not gazetted to any regiment that I knew of, and hitherto had been 
 
 proceeded to put 
 
 14th uniform, wondering whether my costume might not cost me a 
 reprimand in the very outset of my career.* Meanwhile I despatched 
 Mike to see after a horse, caring little for the time, the merits, or the 
 price of the animal, provided he served my present purpose. 
 
 In less than twenty minutes my worthy follower appeared beneath 
 my window, surrounded by a considerable mob, who seemed to take no 
 small interest in the proceedings. 
 
 " What the deuce is the matter ? " cried I, as I opened the sash, and 
 looked out. 
 
 " Mighty little's the matter, your honour ; it's the savages here 
 that's admiring my horsemanship," said Mike, as he belaboured a tall, 
 scraggy-looking mule with a stick which bore an uncommon resem- 
 blance to a broom handle. 
 
 " What do you mean to do with that beast ? " said I. " You surely 
 don't expect me to ride a mule to Courtrai ? " 
 
 " Faith, and if you don't you are likely to walk the journey ; for 
 there isn't a horse to be had for love or money in the town : but I am 
 told that Mr. Marsden is coming up to-morrow with plenty, so that 
 you may as well take the journey out of the soft horns as spoil a 
 better ; and if he only makes as good use of his forelegs as he does of 
 the hind ones, he'll think little of the road." 
 
 A vicious lash out behind served in a moment to corroborate Mike's 
 assertion, and to scatter the crowd on every side. 
 
 However indisposed to exhibit myself with such a turn-out, my time 
 did not admit of any delay ; and so, arming myself with my despatches, 
 and having procured the necessary information as to the road, I set out 
 from the Belle-Vue, amid an ill-suppressed titter of merriment from 
 the mob, which nothing but fear of Mike and his broomstick pre- 
 vented becoming a regular shout of laughter. 
 
 It was near nightfall, as, tired and weary of the road, I entered the 
 little village of Halle. All was silent and noiseless in the deserted 
 streets ; not a lamp threw its glare upon the pavement, not even a 
 solitary candle flickered through the casement. Unlike a town garri- 
 soned by troops, neither sentry nor out.post was to be met with ; 
 nothing gave evidence that the place was held by a large body of men ; 
 and I could not help feeling struck, as the footsteps of my mule were 
 echoed along the causeway, with the silence almost of desolation around 
 me. By the creaking of the sign, as it swung mournfully to and fro, I was 
 directed to the door of the village inn, where, dismounting, I knocked
 
 .570 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 for some moments, but without success. At length, when I had made 
 an uproar sufficient to alarm the entire village, the casement above 
 the door slowly opened, and a head enveloped in a huge cotton night- 
 cap so, at least, it appeared to me from the size protruded itself. 
 After muttering a curse in about the most barbarous French I ever 
 heard, he asked me what I wanted there ; to which I replied most 
 nationally, by asking, in return, where the British dragoons were 
 quartered. 
 
 " They have left for Nivelle, this morning, to join some regiments of 
 your own country." 
 
 " Ah, ah," thought I, ' ' he mistakes me for a Brunswicker ; " to 
 which, by the uncertain light, my uniform gave me some resemblance. 
 As it was now impossible for me to proceed further, I begged to ask 
 where I could procure accommodation for the night. 
 
 " At the burgomaster's : turn to your left at the end of the street, 
 and you will soon find it. They have got some English officers there 
 who, I believe in my soul, never sleep. " 
 
 This was, at least, pleasant intelligence, and promised a better ter- 
 mination to my journey than I had begun to hope for ; so, wishing my 
 friend a good night, to which he willingly responded, I resumed my 
 way down the street. As he closed the window, once more leaving me 
 to my own reflections, I began to wonder within myself to what arm 
 of the service belonged these officers, to whose convivial gifts he bore 
 testimony. As I turned the corner of the street, I soon discovered the 
 correctness of his information. A broad glare of light stretched across 
 the entire pavement from a large house with a clumsy stone portico 
 before it. On coming nearer, the sound of voices, the roar of laughter, 
 the shouts of merriment that issued forth, plainly bespoke that a jovial 
 party were seated within. The half shutter which closed the lower 
 part of the windows prevented my obtaining a view of the proceedings; 
 but, having cautiously approached the casement, I managed to creep 
 on the window-sill and look in the room. 
 
 There the scene was certainly a curious one. Around a large table 
 sat a party of some twenty persons, the singularity of whose appearance 
 may be conjectured when I mention that all those who appeared to be 
 British officers were dressed in the robes of the echevins (or aldermen) 
 of the village ; while some others, whose looks bespoke them as sturdy 
 Flemings, sported the cocked hats and cavalry helmets of their associates. 
 He who appeared the ruler of the feast sat with his back towards me, 
 and wore, in addition to the dress of burgomaster, a herald's tabard, 
 which gave him something the air of a grotesque screen at its potations. 
 A huge fire blazed upon the ample hearth, before which were spread 
 several staff uniforms, whose drabbled and soaked appearance denoted 
 the reason of the party's change of habiliments. Every imaginable 
 species of drinking-vessel figured upon the board, from the rich flagon 
 of chaste silver to the humble cruche we see in a Teniers' picture. As 
 well as I could hear, the language of the company seemed to be French, 
 or, at least, such an imitation of that language which served as a species 
 of neutral territory for both parties to meet in. 
 
 He of the tabard spoke louder than the others ; and although, from 
 the execrable endeavours he made to express himself in French, his
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 577 
 
 natural voice was much altered, there was yet something iu his accents 
 which seemed perfectly familiar to me. 
 
 " Mosheer I' Abbey," said he, placing his arm familiarly on the shoulder 
 of a portly personage, whose shaven crown strangely contrasted with a 
 pair of corked moustachios. " Monsieur I' Abbey, nous sommes freres, 
 et moi, savex-vous, suis ' eveque,' 'pon my life it's true ; I might have 
 been Bishop of Saragossa, if I only consented to leave the Twenty- 
 third. Je suis bon Catholique. Lord bless you, if you saw how I loved 
 the nunneries in Spain. J'ai tres jolly souvenirs of those nunneries ; a 
 goodly company of little silver saints ; and this waistcoat you see 
 mong gilet was a satin petticoat on our Lady of Loretto." 
 
 Need I say, that before this speech was concluded, I had recognised 
 in the speaker nobody but that inveterate old villain Monsoon himself. 
 
 ee Permettez votre excellence," said a hale, jolly-looking personage on 
 his left, as he filled the Major's goblet with obsequious politeness. 
 
 "Bong engfong," replied Monsoon, tapping him familiarly on the 
 head. " Burgomaster, you are a trump ; and when I get my promotion, 
 I'll make you prefect in a wine district. Pass the lush, and don't look 
 sleepy. ' Drowsiness,' says Solomon, ' clothes a man iu rags ; ' and no 
 man knew the world better than Solomon. Don't you be laughing, you 
 raw boys. Never mind them, ' abbey ' ; Us sont petits gar$ons fags from 
 Eton and Harrow ; better judges of mutton broth than sherry negus." 
 
 <( I say, Major, you are forgetting this song you promised us." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said several voices together ; " the song, Major ! the song !" 
 
 " Time enough for that ; we're doing very well as it is. Upon my 
 life, though, they hold a deal of wine. I thought we'd have had them 
 fit to bargain with before ten, and see, it's near midnight ; and I must 
 have my forage accounts ready for the Commissary-General by to- 
 morrow morning." 
 
 This speech having informed me the reason of the Major's presence 
 there, I resolved to wait no longer a mere spectator of their proceed- 
 ings ; so, dismounting from my position, I commenced a vigorous attack 
 upon the door. 
 
 It was some time before I was heard ; but at length the door was 
 opened, and I was accosted by an Englishman, who, in a strange com- 
 pound of French and English, asked what the devil 1 meant by all that 
 uproar. Determining to startle my old friend the Major, I replied 
 that I was an aide-de-camp to General Pictou, and had come down on 
 very unpleasant business. By this time the noise of the party within 
 had completely subsided, and, from a few whispered sentences, and 
 their thickened breathing, I perceived that they were listening. 
 
 "May I ask, sir," continued I, "if Major Monsoon is herer" 
 
 " Yes," stammered out the ensign, for such he was. 
 
 ' ( Sorry for it, for his sake," said I ; " but my orders are peremptory." 
 
 A deep groan from within, and a muttered request to pass down the 
 sherry, nearly overcame my gravity ; but I resumed : 
 
 "If you'll permit me, I will make the affair as short as possible. 
 The Major, I presume, is here?" 
 
 So saying, I pushed forward into the room, where now a slight 
 scuffling noise and murmur of voices had succeeded silence. Brief as 
 was the interval of our colloquy, the scene within had notwithstanding 
 
 2 o
 
 578 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 undergone considerable change. The English officers, hastily throwing 
 off their aldermauic robes, were busily arraying themselves in their 
 uniforms, while Monsoon himself, with a huge basin and water before 
 him, was endeavouring to wash the cork from his countenance in the 
 corner of his tabard. 
 
 <f Very hard upon me all this ; upon my life, so it is. Picton is always 
 at me, just as if we had not been schoolfellows. The service is getting 
 worse every day. jRegardez-moi, curey, mong face est propre ? Eh ? 
 There, thank you. Good fellow the curey is, but takes a deal of fluid. 
 Oh, burgomaster ! I fear it is all up with me ; no more fun, no more 
 jollification, no more plunder and how I did do it ! nothing like watch- 
 ing one's little chances. ' The poor is hated even by his neighbour.' 
 Oui, curey, it is Solomon says that, and they must have had a heavy 
 poor-rate in his day to make him say so. Another glass of sherry." 
 
 By this time I approached the back of his chair, and, slapping him 
 heartily on the shoulder, called out : 
 
 "Major ! old boy, how goes it?" 
 
 fe Eh ? what ? how ! who is this ? It can't be egad, sure it is, 
 though. Charley ! Charley O'Malley, you scapegrace, where have you 
 been ? when did you join ? " 
 
 " A week ago, Major. I could resist it no longer : I did my best to be 
 a country gentleman, and behave respectably, but the old temptation 
 was too strong for me. Fred Power and yourself, Major, had ruined 
 my education ; and here I am once more amongst you." 
 
 " And so Picton, and the arrest, and all that, was nothing but a 
 joke ? " said the old fellow, rolling his wicked eyes with a most cunning 
 expression. 
 
 " Nothing more, Major : set your heart at rest." 
 
 " What a scamp you are," said he, with another grin. <e II est mon 
 fits il est mon fits, curey," presenting me, as he spoke, while the 
 burgomaster, in whose eyes the Major seemed no inconsiderable per- 
 sonage, saluted me with profound respect. 
 
 Turning at once towards this functionary, I explained that I was the 
 bearer of important despatches, and that my horse I was ashamed to 
 say my mule having fallen lame, I was unable to proceed. 
 
 "Can you procure me a remount, monsieur?" said I ; "for I must 
 hasten on to Courtrai." 
 
 " In half-an-hour you shall be provided, as well as with a mounted 
 guide for the road. Le fils de son excellence," said he, with emphasis, 
 bowing to the Major as he spoke ; who, in his turn, repaid the 
 courtesy with a still lower obeisance. 
 
 " Sit down, Charley : here is a clean glass. 1 am delighted to see 
 you, my boy. They tell me you have got a capital estate, and plenty 
 of ready. Lord ! we so wanted you, and there's scarcely a fellow with 
 sixpence among us. Give me the lad that can do a bit of paper at 
 three months, and always be ready for a renewal. You haven't got a 
 twenty-pound note ? " This was said sotto voce. " Never mind, ten 
 will do ; you will give me the remainder at Brussels. Strange, is it 
 not, I have not seen a bit of clean bank paper like this for above 
 a twelvemonth ? " This was said, as he thrust his hand into his 
 pocket, with one of those peculiar leers upon his countenance which
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 679 
 
 unfortunately betrayed more satisfaction at his success than gratitude 
 for the service. " You are looking fat, too fat, I think/' said he, 
 scrutinising- me from head to foot : "but the life we are leading just 
 now will soon take that off. The slave-trade is luxurious indolence 
 compared to it. Post haste to Nivelle one day ; down to Ghent the 
 next ; forty miles over a paved road in a hand gallop, and an aide-de- 
 camp with a watch in his hand at the end of it, to report if you are 
 ten minutes too late. And there is Wellington has his eye everywhere ; 
 there is not a truss of hay served to the cavalry, nor a pair of shoes 
 half-soled in the regiment, that he don't know of it. I've got it over 
 the knuckles alreadv." 
 
 " How so, Major? how was that?" 
 
 " Why, he ordered me to picket two squadrons of the Seventh, and 
 a supper was waiting. I didn't like to leave my quarters ; so I took up 
 my telescope, and pitched upon a sweet little spot of ground on a hill ; 
 rather difficult to get up, to be sure, but a beautiful view when you're 
 on it. ' There is your ground, Captain,' said I, as I sent one of 
 my people to mark the spot He did not like it much : however, he 
 was obliged to go. And would you believe it ? so much for bad luck ! 
 there turned out to be no water within two miles of it : not a drop, 
 Charley : and so, about eleven at night the two squadrons moved 
 down into Grammont to wet their lips, and, what is worse, to report 
 me to the commanding-officer. And, only think ! they put me under 
 arrest, because Providence did not make a river run up a mountain." 
 
 Just as the Major finished speaking, the distant clatter of horses' 
 feet and the clank of cavalry was heard approaching. We all rushed 
 eagerly to the door, and scarcely had we done so, when a squadron of 
 dragoons came riding up the street at a fast trot. 
 
 " I say, good people," cried the officer in French, ' ( where does the 
 burgomaster live here ? " 
 
 11 Fred Power, 'pon my life ! " shouted the Major. 
 
 " Eh, Monsoon ! that you ? Give me a tumbler of wine, old boy ; 
 you are sure to have some, and I am desperately blown." 
 
 "Get down, Fred get down ; we have an old friend here." 
 
 "Who the deuce d'ye mean?" said he, as, throwing himself from 
 the saddle, he strode into the room. 
 
 " Charley O'Malley ! By all that's glorious ! " 
 
 ' ' Fred, my gallant fellow ! " said I. 
 
 " It was but this morning, Charley, that I so wished for you here. 
 The French are advancing, my lad : they have crossed the frontier ; 
 Ziethen's corps has been attacked, and driven in ; Blucher is falling 
 back upon Ligny ; and the campaign is open. But I must pn->< 
 forward ; the regiment is close behind me, and we are ordered to push 
 for Brussels in all haste. " 
 
 "Then these despatches," said I, showing my packet, "'tis unneces- 
 sary to proceed with." 
 
 " Quite so. Get into the saddle, and come back with us." 
 
 The burgomaster had kept his word with me : so, mounted upon a 
 strong hackney, I set out with Power on the road to Brussels. I hnve 
 more than once had occasion to ask pardon of my reader for the 
 prolixity of my narrative ; so I shall not trespass on him here, by the
 
 580 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 detail of our conversation as we jogged along. Of me and my adven- 
 tures he already knows enough perhaps too much. My friend Power's 
 career, abounding as it did in striking incidents and all the light and 
 shadow of a soldier's life, yet not bearing upon any of the characters I 
 have presented to your acquaintance, except in one instance, of that 
 only shall I speak. 
 
 " And the senhora, Fred how goes your fortune in that quarter ? " 
 
 ' ' Gloriously, Charley. I am every day expecting the promotion in 
 my regiment which is to make her mine." 
 
 " You have heard from her lately, then ? " 
 
 " Heard from her ! Why, man, she is in Brussels." 
 
 <( In Brussels ! " 
 
 " To be sure. Don Emanuel is in high favour with the Duke, and 
 is now Commissary-General with the army ; and the senhora is the 
 belle of the Rue Royale, or, at least, it's a divided sovereignty between 
 her and Lucy Dash wood. And now, Charley, let me ask, what of her ? 
 There there, don't blush, man : there is quite enough moonlight to 
 show how tender you are in that quarter. " 
 
 " Once for all, Fred, pray spare me on that subject You have been 
 far too fortunate in your affaire du cceur, and I too much the reverse, 
 to permit much sympathy between us." 
 
 " Do you not visit, then? or is it a cut between you?" 
 
 " I have never met her since the night of the masquerade of the 
 Villa at least, to speak to " 
 
 " Well, I must confess, you seem to manage your own affairs much 
 worse than your friends' ; not but that in so doing you are exhibiting 
 a very Irish feature in your character. In any case, you will come to 
 the ball : Inez will be delighted to see you ; and I have got over all 
 my jealousy." 
 
 " What ball ? I never heard of it" 
 
 " Never heard of it ? why, the Duchess of Richmond's, of course ; 
 pooh, pooh ! man ; not invited ? of course you are invited ; the staff 
 are never left out on such occasions : you will find your card at your 
 hotel on your return." 
 
 " In any case, Fred " 
 
 " I shall insist upon your going. I have no arriere pemee about a 
 reconciliation with the Dashwoods ; no subtle scheme, on my honour ; 
 but simply, I feel that you will never give yourself fair chances in the 
 world, by indulging your habit of shrinking from every embarrassment. 
 Don't be offended, boy ; I know you have pluck enough to storm a 
 battery ; I have seen you under fire before now. What avails your 
 courage in the field, if you have not presence of mind in the drawing- 
 room ? Besides, everything else out of the question, it is a breach of 
 etiquette towards your chief to decline such an invitation." 
 
 " You think so ? " 
 
 " Think so? no, I am sure of it !" 
 
 " Then as to uniform, Fred ? " 
 
 " Oh, as to that, easily managed ; and now I think of it, they have 
 sent me an unattached uniform which you can have, but remember, my 
 boy, if I put you in my coat, I don't want you to stand in my shoes. 
 Don't forget, also, that I am your debtor in horseflesh, and fortunately
 
 THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL 581 
 
 .able to repay you ; I have got such a charger, your own favourite 
 colour, dark chestnut, and, except one white leg, not a spot about him ; 
 can carry sixteen stone over a five-foot fence, and as steady as a rock 
 under fire. " 
 
 " But, Fred, how are you ?" 
 
 " Oh, never mind me ; I have six in my stable, and intend to share 
 with you. The fact is, I have been transferred from one staff to 
 another for the last six months, and four of my number are presents. 
 Is Mike with you ? Ah, glad to hear it ! You will never get on with- 
 out that fellow ; besides, it is a capital thing to have such a connecting 
 link with one's nationality ; no fear of your ever forgetting Ireland, 
 with Mr. Free in your company ; you are not aware that we have been 
 correspondents a fact, I assure you. Mike wrote me two letters, and 
 such letters they were ; the last was a Jeremiad over your decline and 
 fall, with a very ominous picture of a certain Miss Baby Blake ! " 
 
 " Confound the rascal !" 
 
 " By Jove, though, Charley, you were coming it rather strong with 
 Baby. Inez saw the letter, and as well as she could decipher Mike's 
 hieroglyphics, saw there was something in it ; but the name Baby 
 puzzled her immensely, and she set the whole thing down to your great 
 love of children. I don't think that Lucy quite agreed with her." 
 
 " Did she tell it to Miss Dashwood ? " I inquired, with fear and 
 trembling. 
 
 " Oh, that she did ; in fact, Inez never ceases talking of you to Lucy. 
 But come, lad, don't look so grave ; let's have another brush with the 
 enemy ; capture a battery of their guns ; carry off a French marshal or 
 two ; get the bath for your services ; and be thanked in general orders ; 
 and I will wager all my chateaux en Espagne that everything goes well." 
 
 Thus chatting away, sometimes over the past, of our former friends 
 and gay companions, of our days of storm and sunshine, sometimes 
 indulging in prospects for the future, we trotted along, and, as the 
 day was breaking, mounted the ridge of low hills from whence, at the 
 distance of a couple of leagues, the city of Brussels came into view. 
 
 CHAPTER CXVIII 
 
 THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL 
 
 WHETHER we regard the illustrious and distinguished personages who 
 thronged around, or we think of the portentous moment in which it 
 was given, the Duchess of Richmond's ball, on the night of the 15th 
 June 1815, was not only one of the most memorable, but in its 
 interest the most exciting entertainment that the memory of any one 
 now living can compass. 
 
 There is always something of no common interest in seeing the 
 bronzed and war-worn soldier mixing in the crowd of light-hearted and 
 brilliant beauty. To watch the eye whose proud glance has flashed 
 o'er the mail-clad squadrons, now bending meekly beneath the look of 
 some timid girl ; to hear the voice that, high above the battle or the
 
 582 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 breeze, has shouted the hoarse word " Charge ! " now subdued into the 
 low soft murmur of flattery or compliment ; this, at any time, is a 
 
 Sicture full of its own charm ; but when we see these heroes of a 
 undred fights ; when we look upon those hardy veterans, upon whose 
 worn brows the whitened locks of time are telling, indulging themselves 
 iu the careless gaiety of a moment, snatched as it were from the 
 arduous career of their existence, while the tramp of the advancing 
 enemy shakes the very soil they stand on, and where it may be doubted 
 whether each aide-de-camp who enters comes a new votary of pleasure 
 or the bearer of tidings that the troops of the foe are advancing, and 
 already the work of death has begun, this is, indeed, a scene to make 
 the heart throb, and the pulse beat high ; this is a moment, second in 
 its proud excitement only to the very crash and din of battle itself ; 
 and into this entrancing whirlwind of passion and of pleasure, of 
 brilliant beauty and ennobled greatness, of all that is lovely in woman, 
 and all that is chivalrous and heroic in man, I brought a heart which, 
 young in years, was yet tempered by disappointment ; still, such was 
 the fascination, such the brilliancy of the spectacle, that scarcely had I 
 entered, than I felt a change come over me the old spirit of my boyish 
 ardour that high-wrought enthusiasm to do something to be some- 
 thing which men may speak of shot suddenly through me, and I felt 
 my cheek tingle, and my temples throb, as name after name of starred 
 and titled officers was announced, to think that to me also the path of 
 glorious enterprise was opening. 
 
 " Come along, come along," said Power, catching me by the arm, 
 " you've not been presented to the Duchess ; I know her, I'll do it for 
 you or perhaps it is better Sir Thomas Picton should ; in any case, 
 'filez' after me, for the dark-eyed senhora is surely expecting us. 
 There, do you see that dark intelligent-looking fellow leaning over the 
 end of the sofa ? that is Aliva ; and there, you know who that is, that 
 beau ideal of a hussar ? Look how jauntingly he carries himself ; see 
 the careless but graceful sling with which he edges through the crowd ; 
 and look ! mark his bow ! did you see that, Charley ? did you catch 
 the quick glance he shot yonder, and the soft smile that snowed his 
 white teeth ? Depend upon it, boy, some fair heart is not the better 
 nor the easier for that look. " 
 
 "Who is it?" said I. 
 
 " Lord Uxbridge, to be sure ; the handsomest fellow in the service : 
 and there goes Vandeleur, talking with Vivian ; the other, to the left, 
 is Ponsonby." 
 
 ' ' But stay, Fred, tell me who that is ? " For a moment or two, I 
 had some difficulty in directing his attention to the quarter 1 desired. 
 The individual I pointed out was somewhat above the middle size ; his 
 uniform of blue and gold, though singularly plain, had a look of ric'h- 
 ness about it ; besides that, among the orders which covered his breast, 
 he wore one star of great brilliancy and size. This, however, was his 
 least distinction ; for although surrounded on every side by those who 
 might be deemed the very types and pictures of their caste, there was 
 something in the easy but upright carriage of his head, the intrepid 
 character of his features, the bold and vigorous flashing of his deep 
 blue eye, that marked him as no common man, He was talking with
 
 THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL 583 
 
 an old and prosy-looking personage, in civilian dress ; and while I 
 could detect an anxiety to get free from a tiresome companion, there 
 was an air of deferential and even kind attention in his manner, abso- 
 lutely captivating. 
 
 " A thorough gentleman, Fred, whoever he be," said I. 
 
 " I should think so," replied Power drily, " and as our countrymen 
 would say, * the devil thank him for it ; ' that is the Prince of Orange ; 
 but see, look at him now, his features have learned another fashion ; " 
 and true it was : with a smile of the most winning softness, and with 
 a voice whose slightly foreign accent took nothing from its interest, I 
 heard him engaging a partner for a waltz. 
 
 There was a flutter of excitement in the circle as the lady rose to 
 take his arm, and a muttered sound of, ' ' How very beautiful, quelle 
 est belle! dent un ange!" on all sides. I leaned forward to catch a 
 glance as she passed it was Lucy Dashwood. Beautiful beyond any- 
 thing I had ever seen her, her lovely features lit up with pleasure and 
 with pride, she looked in every way worthy to lean upon the arm of 
 royalty. The graceful majesty of her walk, the placid loveliness of 
 her gentle smile, struck every one as she passed on. As for me, totally 
 forgetting all else, not seeing or hearing aught around me, I followed 
 her with my eye until she was lost amongst the crowd, and then with 
 an impulse of which I was not master followed in her steps. 
 
 " This way, this way," said Power : " I see the senhora." So saying, 
 we entered a little boudoir, where a party was playing at cards. Lean- 
 ing on the back of a chair, Inez was endeavouring, with that mixture 
 of coquetry and half malice she possessed, to distract the attention of 
 the player. As Power came near she scarcely turned her head to give 
 him a kind of saucy smile. While, seeing me, she held out her hand 
 with friendly warmth, and seemed quite happy to meet me. 
 
 " Do, pray, take her away : get her to dance, to eat ice, or flirt with 
 you, for Heaven's sake," said the half-laughing voice of her victim. 
 " I have revoked twice, and misdealed four times since she has been 
 here. Believe me, I shall take it as the greatest favour if you'll ' 
 
 As he got thus far he turned round towards me, and I perceived it 
 was Sir George Dashwood. The meeting was as awkward for him as 
 for me ; and while a deep flush covered my face, he muttered some un- 
 intelligible apology, and Inez burst into a very fit of laughter at the 
 ludicrous contretemps of our situation. 
 
 ' ' I will dance with you now if you like," said she, ( ' and that will be 
 punishing all three. Eh, Master Fred ? " 
 
 So saying she took my arm as I led her towards the ball-room. 
 
 " And so you really are not friends with the Dashwoods ? How very 
 provoking, and how foolish too ! But really, chevalier, I must say you 
 treat ladies very ill. I don't forget your conduct to me. Dear me, I 
 wish we could move forward, there is some one pushing me dreadfully." 
 
 "Get on, ma'am, get on," said a sharp decided voice behind me. I 
 turned, half smiling, to see the speaker. Jt was the Duke of Welling- 
 ton himself, who, with his eye fixed upon some person at a distance, 
 seemed to care very little for any intervening obstruction. As I made 
 way for him to pass between us, he looked hard at me, while he said 
 in a short quick way, " Know your face very well : how d'ye do?"
 
 o84 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 With this brief recognition he passed on, leaving me to console Inez 
 for her crushed sleeve by informing her who had done it. 
 
 The ball was now at its height. The waltzers whirled past in the 
 wild excitement of the dance. The inspiriting strains of the music, 
 the sounds of laughter, the din, the tumult, all made up that strange 
 medley which, reacting upon the minds of those who cause it, increases 
 the feeling of pleasurable abandonment ; making the old feel young, 
 and the young intoxicated with delight. 
 
 As the senhora leaned upon me, fatigued with waltzing, I was en- 
 deavouring to sustain a conversation with her ; while my thoughts were 
 wandering with my eyes to where I had last seen Lucy Dashwood. 
 
 c< It must be something of importance : I'm sure it is," said she, at 
 the conclusion of a speech of which I had not heard one word. " Look 
 at General Picton's face." 
 
 ' ( Very pretty, indeed," said I ; " but the hair is unbecoming," re- 
 plying to some previous observation she had made, and still lost in 
 a reverie. A hearty burst of laughter was her answer as she gently 
 shook my arm, saying, ' ' You really are too bad. You never listened 
 to one word I've been telling you, but keep continually staring with 
 your eyes here and there, turning this way and looking that ; and the 
 dull and vacant unmeaning smile ; answering at random, in the most 
 provoking manner. There now, pray pay attention, and tell me what 
 that means." As she said this, she pointed with her fan to where a 
 dragoon officer in splashed and spattered uniform was standing, talking 
 to some three or four general officers. ' ' But here comes the Duke : it 
 can't be anything of consequence. " 
 
 At the same instant the Duke of Wellington passed with the Duchess 
 of Richmond on his arm. 
 
 ' ' No, Duchess ; nothing to alarm you. Did you say ice ? " 
 
 " There, you heard that, I hope ? ' 5 said Inez ; ' ' there is nothing to 
 alarm us." 
 
 " Go to General Picton at once ; but don't let it be remarked," said 
 an officer, in a whisper, as he passed close by me. 
 
 " Inez, I have the greatest curiosity to learn what that new arrival 
 has to say for himself ; and, if you will permit me, I'll leave you with 
 Lady Gordon for one moment " 
 
 " Delighted, of all things. You are, without exception, the most 
 tiresome Good-bye." 
 
 "Sans adieu," said I, as I hurried through the crowd towards an 
 open window, on the balcony outside of which Sir Thomas Picton was 
 standing. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. O'Malley ; have you a pencil? There, that'll do. Ride 
 down to Etterbeek with this order for Godwin. You have heard the 
 news, I suppose, that the French are in advance. The Seventy-ninth 
 will muster in the Grande Place. The Ninety-second and the Twenty- 
 eighth along the Park and the Boulevard. Napoleon left Frasnes this 
 morning. The Prussians have fallen back. Ziethen has been beaten. 
 We march at once. " 
 
 e( To-morrow, sir ? " 
 
 ' ' No, sir ; to-night. There ! don't delay. But, above all, let every- 
 thing be done quietly and noiselessly. The Duke will remain here for
 
 THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL 685 
 
 an hour longer, to prevent suspicion. When you've executed your 
 orders, come back here." 
 
 I mounted the first horse I could find at the door, and galloped with 
 top speed over the heavy causeway to Etterbeek. In two minutes the 
 drum beat to arms ; and the men were mustering as I left. Thence I 
 hastened to the barracks of the Highland brigade, and the 28th regi- 
 ment ; and before half-an-hour was back in the ball-room, where, from 
 the din and tumult, I guessed the scene of pleasure and dissipation 
 continued unabated. As I hurried up the staircase, a throng of persons 
 were coming down, and I was obliged to step aside to let them pass. 
 
 " All ! come here, pray," said Picton, who, with a lady, cloaked and 
 hooded, leaning upon his arm, was struggling to make way through the 
 crowd. " The very man ! " 
 
 " Will you excuse me, if I commit you to the care of my aide-de- 
 camp, who will see you to your carriage? The Duke has just desired 
 to see me." This he said in a hurried and excited tone ; and the same 
 moment beckoned to me to take the lady's arm. 
 
 It was with some difficulty 1 succeeded in reaching the spot, and 
 had only time to ask whose carriage I should call for, ere we arrived 
 in the hall. 
 
 " Sir George Dashwood's," said a low soft voice, whose accents sank 
 into my very heart. Heaven ! it was Lucy herself: it was her arm 
 that leaned on mine, her locks that fluttered beside me, her hand that 
 hung so near, and yet I could not speak. I tried one word ; but a 
 choking feeling in my throat prevented utterance, and already we were 
 upon the doorsteps. 
 
 " Sir George Dashwood's carriage," shouted the footman, and the 
 announcement was repeated by the porter. The steps were hurried 
 down ; the footman stood, door in hand ; and I led her forward, mute 
 and trembling : did she know me ? I assisted her as she stepped in ; 
 her hand touched mine : it was the work of a second ; to me it was 
 the bliss of years. She leaned a little forward ; and, as the servant 
 put up the steps, said, in her soft sweet tone, " Thank you, sir. Good 
 night ! " 
 
 I felt my shoulder touched by some one, who, it appeared, was 
 standing close to me for some seconds ; but so occupied was I in gazing 
 at her that I paid no attention to the circumstance. The carriage 
 drove away, and disappeared in the thick darkness of a starless night 
 I turned to re-enter the house, and, as I did so, the night lamp of the 
 hall fell upon the features of the man beside me, and showed me the 
 pale and corpse-like face of Fred Hammersly. His eye was bent upon 
 me with an expression of fierce and fiery passion, in which the sadness 
 of long suffering also mingled. His bloodless lips parted, moved as 
 though speaking, while yet no sound issued ; and his nostril, dilating 
 and contracting by turns, seemed to denote some deep and hidden 
 emotion that worked within him. 
 
 "Hammersly," said I, holding out my hand towards him. " H;nn- 
 mersly, do not always mistake me." 
 
 He shook his head mournfully as it fell forward upon his breast ; 
 and, covering his arm, moved slowly away without speaking. 
 
 General Picton's voice, as he descended the stairs, accompanied by
 
 oRH CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Generals Vandeleur and Vivian, aroused me at once, and I hurried 
 towards him. 
 
 " Now, sir ; to horse. The troops will defile by the Namur gate ; 
 and meet me there in an hour. Meanwhile, tell Colonel Cameron that 
 he must march with the light companies of his own and the Ninety- 
 second at once." 
 
 " I say, Picton, they'll say we were taken hy surprise in England, 
 won't they?" said a sharp strong voice, in a half-laughi;:'!' tone, from 
 hehind. 
 
 1 ' No, your Grace," said Sir Thomas, bowing slightly ; ' ' they'll 
 scarcely do so, when they hear the time we took to get under arms." 
 
 I heard no more ; but, throwing myself into the saddle of my troop 
 horse, once more rode back to Belle Vue, to make ready for the road. 
 
 The thin pale crescent of a new moon, across which masses of dark 
 and inky clouds were hurrying, tipped with its faint and sickly light 
 the tall minarets of the Hotel de Ville, as I rode into the Grande 
 Place. Although midnight, the streets were as crowded as at noon- 
 day ; horse, foot, and dragoons passing and hurrying hither ; the wild 
 pibroch of the Highlander ; the mellow bugle of the 71st ; the hoarse 
 trumpet of the cavalry ; the incessant roll of the drum, mingled their 
 sounds with the tide of human voices, in which every accent was heard, 
 from the reckless cheer of anticipated victory to the heart-piercing 
 shriek of woman's agony. Lights gleamed from every window ; from 
 the doors of almost every house poured forth a crowd of soldiers and 
 townsfolk. The sergeants, on one side, might be seen telling off their 
 men, their cool and steady countenances evidencing no semblance of 
 emotion ; while near them some young ensign, whose beardless cheek 
 and vacant smile bespoke the mere boy, looked on with mingled pride 
 and wonder at the wild scene before him. Every now and then some 
 general officer, with his staff, came cantering past ; and, as the efforts 
 to muster and form the troops grew more pressing, I could mark how 
 soon we were destined to meet the enemy. 
 
 There are few finer monuments of the architecture of the Middle 
 Ages than the Grande Place of Brussels ; the rich facade of the Hotel 
 de Ville, with its long colonnade of graceful arches, upon every key- 
 stone of which some grim, grotesque head is peering ; the massive 
 cornices ; the heavy corbels carved into ten thousand strange and un- 
 couth fancies ; but, finer than all, the taper and stately spire, fretted 
 and perforated like some silver filigree, stretches upwards towards the 
 sky, its airy pinnacle growing finer and more beautiful as it nears the 
 stars it points to. How full of historic associations is every dark 
 embrasure, every narrow casement around ! Here may have stood the 
 great Emperor Charles V., meditating upon that greatness he was 
 about to forego for ever : here, from this tall window, may have looked 
 the sad and sickly features of Jeanne Laffolle, as, with wandering eye 
 and idiot smile, she gazed upon the gorgeous procession beneath. There 
 is not a stone that has not echoed to the tread of haughty prince or 
 bold baron ; yet never, in the palmiest days of ancient chivalry, did 
 those proud dwellings of the great of old look out upon a braver and 
 more valiant host than now thronged beneath their shadow. It was 
 indeed a splendid sight, where the bright gleams of torch and lantern
 
 THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL .587 
 
 threw the red light around, to watch the measured tread and steady 
 tramp of the Highland regiments as they denied into the open space ; 
 each footstep, as it met the ground, seeming, in its proud and firm 
 tread, to move in more than sympathy with the wild notes of their 
 native mountains : silent and still they moved along ; no voice spoke 
 within their ranks, save that of some command, to " Close up take 
 ground to the right rear rank close order." Except such brief 
 words as these, or the low muttered praise of some veteran general as 
 he rode down the line, all was orderly and steady as on a parade. 
 Meanwhile, from an angle of the square, the band of an approaching 
 regiment was heard ; and to the inspiriting quickness of " The Young 
 May Moon," the gallant 28th came forward, and took up their ground 
 opposite to the Highlanders. 
 
 The deep bell of the Hotel de Ville tolled one. The solemn sound 
 rang out and died away in many an echo, leaving upon the heart a 
 sense of some unknown depression : and there was something like a 
 knell in the deep cadence of its bay ; and over many a cheek a rapid 
 trace of gloomy thought now passed ; and true too true, alas ! how 
 many now listened for the last time ! 
 
 "March ! march !" passed from front to rear; and, as the bauds 
 burst forth again in streams of spirit-stirring harmony, the 79th moved 
 on ; the 28th followed, and as they debouched from the " Place," the 
 71st and the 92nd succeeded them. Like wave after wave the tide of 
 armed men pressed on, and mounted the steep and narrow street 
 towards the upper town of Brussels. Here Pack's brigade was form- 
 ing in the Place Royale ; and a crowd of staff officers dictating orders, 
 and writing hurriedly on the drum-heads, were also seen. A troop of 
 dragoons stood beside their horses at the door of the Belle Vue, and 
 several grooms with led horses walked to and fro. 
 
 " Ride forward, sir, to the Bois de Cambre," said Picton, " and pivot 
 the troops on the road to Mount St. Jean. You will then wait for my 
 coming up, or further orders." 
 
 This command, which was given to me, I hastened to obey, and with 
 difficulty forcing my way through the opposing crowd, at length readied 
 the Namur gate. Here I found a detachment of the Guards, who as 
 yet had got no orders to march, and were somewhat surprised to learn 
 the forward movement Ten minutes' riding brought me to the angle 
 of the wood, whence I wrote a few lines to my host of the Belle Vue, 
 desiring him to send Mike after me with my horses and my kit. The 
 night was cold, dark, and threatening : the wind howled with a low 
 and wailing cry through the dark pine trees ; and, as I stood alone and 
 in solitude, I had time to think of the eventful hours before me, and 
 of that field which, ere long, was to witness the triumph or the down- 
 fall of my country's arms. The road which led through the forest of 
 Soignies caught an additional gloom from the dark dense woods around. 
 The faint moon only showed at intervals ; and a louring sky, without 
 a single star, stretched above us. It was an awful and a solemn thing 
 to hear the deep and thundering roll of that mighty column awaking 
 the echoes of the silent forest as they went. So hurried was the move- 
 ment that we had scarcely any artillery, and that of the lightest calibre ; 
 but the crash and dank of the cavalry, the heavy monotonous tramp
 
 588 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 of Infantry, were there ; and, as division followed after division, staff 
 officers rode hurriedly to and fro, pressing the eager troops still on. 
 
 " Move up there, Ninety-fifth. Ah ! Forty-second, we've work before 
 us," said Picton, as he rode up to the head of his brigade. The air of 
 depression which usually sat upon his careworn features now changed 
 for a light and laughing look, while his voice was softened and sub- 
 dued into a low and pleasing tone. Although it was midsummer, the 
 roads were heavy and deep with mud. For some weeks previously the 
 weather had been rainy ; and this, added to the haste and discomfort 
 of the night march, considerably increased the fatigue of the troops. 
 Notwithstanding these disadvantages, not a murmur nor complaint was 
 heard on any side. 
 
 " I'm unco glad to get a blink o' them onyhow," said a tall, raw- 
 boned sergeant, who marched beside me. 
 
 " Faith, and may be you won't be over pleased at the expression of 
 their faces when you see them," said Mike, whose satisfaction at the 
 prospect before him was still as great as that of any other amid the 
 thousands there. 
 
 The day was slowly breaking as a Prussian officer, splashed, and 
 covered with foam, came galloping at full speed past us. While I was 
 yet conjecturing what might be the intelligence he brought, Power 
 rode up to my side. 
 
 " We're in for it, Charley," said he. ' ' The whole French army are 
 in march ; and Blucher's aide-de-camp, who has arrived, gives the 
 number at 150,000 men. The Prussians are drawn up between Saint 
 Amand and Sombref ; and the Nassau and Dutch troops are at Quatre 
 Bras, both expecting to be attacked." 
 
 " Quatre Bras was the original rallying spot for our troops, was it 
 not?" said I. 
 
 " Yes, yes. It is that we're now marching upon ; but our Prussian 
 friend seems to think we shall arrive full late. Strong French corps 
 are already at Frasnes, under the command, it is said, of Marshal Ney." 
 
 The great object of the British Commander-in-Chief was to arrive 
 at Quatre Bras in sufficient time to effect his junction with Blucher 
 before a battle should be fought. To effect this no exertion was 
 spared ; efforts almost superhuman were made ; for, however prepared 
 for a forward movement, it was impossible to have anticipated any- 
 thing until the intentions of Napoleon became clearly manifest. 
 While Nivelles and Charleroi were exposed to him on one side, Namur 
 lay open on the other ; and he could either march upon Brussels by 
 Mons or Hal, or, as he subsequently attempted, by Quatre Bras and 
 Waterloo. No sooner, however, were his intentions unmasked, and 
 the line of his operations manifested, than Lord Wellington, with an 
 energy equal to the mighty occasion that demanded it, poured down 
 with the whole force under his command to meet him. 
 
 The march was a most distressing one ; upwards of three-and-twenty 
 miles with deep and cut-up roads, in hot oppressive weather, in a 
 country almost destitute of water : still the troops pressed forward, 
 and by noon came within hearing of the heavy cannonade in front, 
 which indicated the situation of the battle. From this time aide-de- 
 camp followed aide-de-camp in quick succession, who, from their scared
 
 THE DUCHESS OP RICHMOND'S BALL 689 
 
 looks and hurried gestures, seemed to bode but ill-fortune to the cause 
 we cared for. What the precise situation of the rival armies might 
 be we knew not ; but we heard the French were in overwhelming 
 numbers ; that the Dutch troops had abandoned their position ; the 
 Hanoverians being driven back, the Duke of Brunswick, the brave 
 sovereign of a gallant people, fell, charging at the head of his black 
 hussars. From one phrase, which constantly met our ears, it seemed 
 that the Bois de Boussu was the key of the position : this had been 
 won and lost repeatedly by both sides ; and, as we neared the battle- 
 field, a despatch hurriedly announced to Picton the importance of at 
 once recovering this contested post The 95th were ordered up to the 
 attack. Scarcely was the word given, when fatigue, thirst, and ex- 
 haustion were forgotten : with one cheer the gallant regiment formed 
 into line, and advanced upon the wood. Meanwhile the Highland 
 brigade moved down toward the right; the Royals and the 28th 
 debouched upon the left of the road ; and in less than half-an-hour 
 after our arrival our whole force was in action. 
 
 There is something appalling, to the bravest army, in coming up 
 to battle at the time that an overwhelming and conquering foe are 
 carrying victory triumphantly before them : such was our position 
 at Quatre Bras. Bravely and gloriously as the forces of the Prince 
 of Orange fought, the day, however, was not theirs. The Bois de 
 Boussu, which opened to the enemy the road to Brussels, was held by 
 their tirailleurs ; the valley to the right was rode over by their mounted 
 squadrons, who, with lance and sabre, carried all before them ; 
 their dark columns pressed steadily on ; and a death-dealing artillery 
 swept the allied ranks from flank to flank. Such was the field when 
 the British arrived, and, throwing themselves into squares, opposed 
 their unaided force to the dreadful charges of the enemy. The 
 batteries showered down their storms of grape ; Milhaud's heavy 
 dragoons, assisted by crowds of lancers, rushed upon the squares, but 
 they stood unbroken and undaunted, as sometimes upon three sides 
 of their position the infuriated horsemen of the enemy came down. 
 Once, and only once, were the French successful ; the 42nd, who were 
 stationed amid tall cornfields, were surrounded with cavalry before 
 they knew it : the word was given to form square. The lancers were 
 already among them ; and, fighting back to back, the gallant High- 
 landers met the foe. Fresh numbers poured down upon them, and 
 already half the regiment was disabled and their Colonel killed ; these 
 brave fellows were rescued by the 44th, who, throwing in a withering 
 volley, fixed bayonets and charged. Meanwhile, the 95th had won and 
 lost the wood, "which, now in the possession of the French tirailleurs, 
 threatened to turn the left of our position. It was at this time that a 
 body of cavalry were seen standing to the left of the Enghien road, as 
 if in observation. An officer, sent forward to reconnoitre, returned 
 with the intelligence that they were British troops, for he had seen 
 their red uniforms. 
 
 " I can't think it, sir," said Picton. " It is hardly possible that any 
 regiment from Enghien could have arrived already. Ride forward, 
 O'Malley, and if they be our fellows, let them carry that height 
 yonder : there are two guns there cutting the Ninety-second to pieces.'
 
 590 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 I put spurs to my horse, cleared the road at once, and dashing across 
 the open space to the left of the wood, rode on in the direction of the 
 horsemen. When I came within the distance of three hundred yards, 
 I examined them with my glass, and could plainly detect the scarlet 
 coats and bright helmets. ' ' Ha," thought I, ' ' the First Dragoon 
 Guards, no doubt" Muttering to myself thus much, I galloped straight 
 on ; and waving my hand as I came near, announced that I was the 
 bearer of an order. Scarcely had I done so, when four horsemen, 
 dashing spurs into their steeds, plunged hastily out from the line, and, 
 before I could speak, surrounded me. While the foremost called out, 
 as he flourished his sabre above his head, " Rendez-vous prisonnier." 
 At the same moment I was seized on each side, and led back a captive 
 into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 " We guess your mistake, Capitaine/' said the French officer before 
 whom I was brought. " We are the regiment of Berg, and our scarlet 
 uniform cost us dearly enough yesterday. " 
 
 This allusion, I afterwards learnt, was in reference to a charge by a 
 cuirassier regiment, which, in mistaking them for English, poured a 
 volley into them and killed and wounded above twenty of their number. 
 
 CHAPTER CXIX 
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 
 
 THOSE who have visited the field of Quatre Bras will remember that 
 on the left of the high road, and nearly r.t the extremity of the Bois 
 de Boussu, stands a large Flemish farmhouse, whose high-pitched roof, 
 pointed gables, and quaint old-fashioned chimneys remind one of the 
 architecture so frequently seen in Teuiers' pictures. The house, which, 
 with its dependencies of stables, granaries, and out-houses, resembles a 
 little village, is surrounded by a large straggling orchard of aged fruit 
 trees, through which the approach from the high road leads. The in- 
 terior of this quaint dwelling, like all those of its class, is only remark- 
 able for a succession of small, dark, low-ceiled rooms, leading one into 
 another ; their gloomy aspect increased by the dark oak furniture, the 
 heavy armories, and old-fashioned presses, carved in the grotesque taste 
 of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Those who visit it now 
 may mark the trace of cannon shot here and there through the build- 
 ing ; more than one deep crack will attest the force of the dread 
 artillery : still the traveller will feel struck with the rural peace and 
 quietude of the scene ; the speckled oxen that stand lowing in the 
 deep meadows ; the splash of the silvery trout as he sports in the 
 bright stream that ripples along over its gravelly bed ; the cawing of the 
 old rooks in the tall beech trees ; but, more than all, the happy laugh 
 of children speak of the spot as one of retired and tranquil beauty : 
 yet when my eyes opened upon it on the morning of the 17th of June, 
 the scene presented features of a widely different interest. The day 
 was breaking as the deep full sound of the French bugles announced 
 the reveille : forgetful of where I was, I sprang from my bed and
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 691 
 
 rushed to the window ; the prospect before me at once recalled me to 
 my recollection, and I remembered that I was a prisoner. The excit- 
 ing events around me left but little time, and as little inclination, to 
 think over my own misfortunes ; and I watched with all the interest 
 of a soldier the movement of the French troops in the orchard beneath. 
 A squadron of dragoons, who seemed to have passed the night beside 
 their horses, lay stretched or seated in all the picturesque groupings of 
 a bivouac : some already up and stirring ; others leaned half-listlessly 
 upon their elbows, and looked about as if unwilling to believe the 
 night was over ; and some stretched in deep slumber, woke not with 
 the noise and tumult around them. The room in which I was confined 
 looked out upon the road to Charleroi : I could, therefore, see the 
 British troops ; and, as the French army had fallen back during the 
 night, only an advance guard maintaining the position, I was left to 
 my unaided conjectures as to the fortune of the preceding day of 
 battle. What a period of anxiety and agitation was that morning to 
 me ; what would I not have given to learn the result of the action at 
 the moment of my capture ! Stubborn as our resistance had been, we 
 were evidently getting the worst of it ; and, if the Guards had not 
 arrived in time, I knew we must have been beaten. 
 
 I walked up and down my narrow room tortured and agonised by 
 my doubts, now stopping to reason over the possibilities of success, 
 now looking from the window to try if, in the gesture and bearing of 
 those without, I could conjecture anything that passed. Too well I 
 knew the reckless character of the French soldiers, in defeat as in 
 victory, to put much confidence in their bearing. While, however, I 
 watched them with an eager eye, I heard the tramp of horsemen 
 coming along the paved causeway. From the moment my ear caught 
 the sound to that of their arrival at the gate of the orchard, but few 
 minutes elapsed : their pace was, indeed, a severe one, and as they 
 galloped through the narrow path that led to the farmhouse, they 
 never drew rein till they reached the porch. The party consisted of 
 about a dozen persons, whose plumed hats bespoke them staff officers ; 
 but their uniforms were concealed beneath their greatcoats. As they 
 came along, the picket sprang to their feet, and the guard at the door 
 beneath presented arms : this left no doubt upon my mind that some 
 officer of rank was among them, and, as I knew that Ney himself com- 
 manded on the preceding day, I thought it might be he. The sound 
 of voices beneath informed me that the party occupied the room under 
 that in which I was, and, although I listened attentively, I could hear 
 nothing but the confused murmur of persons conversing together 
 without detecting even a word. My thoughts now fell into another 
 channel, and, as I ruminated over my old position, I heard the noise 
 of the sentry at my door as he brought Kis musket to the shoulder, 
 and the next moment an officer in the uniform of the chasseurs of the 
 guard entered. Bowing politely as he advanced to the middle of the 
 room, he addressed me thus : 
 
 "You speak French, sir?" and, as I replied in the affirmative, con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " Will you, then, have the goodness to follow me this way ? " 
 
 Although burning with anxiety to learn what had taken place, yet
 
 592 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 somehow I could not bring myself to ask the question. A secret pride 
 mingled with my fear that all had not gone well with us, and I durst 
 not expose myself to hear of our defeat from the lips of an enemy. I 
 had barely time to ask into whose presence 1 was about to be ushered, 
 when, with a slight smile of a strange meaning, he opened the door 
 and introduced me into the saloon. Although I had seen at least 
 twelve or fourteen horsemen arrive, there were but three persons in 
 the room as I entered. One of these, who sat writing at a small table 
 near the window, never lifted his head on my entrance, but continued 
 assiduously his occupation. Another, a tall, fine-looking man of some 
 sixty years or upwards, whose high bald forehead and drooping mous- 
 tache, white as snow, looked in every way the old soldier of the empire, 
 stood leaning upon his sabre, while the third, whose stature, somewhat 
 below the middle size, was yet cast in a strong and muscular mould, 
 stood with his back to the fire, holding on his arms the skirts of a grey 
 surtout which he wore over his uniform ; his legs were cased in the 
 tall bottes a Feuyere worn by the chasseur-a-cheval, and on his head a 
 low cocked hat, without plume or feather, completed his costume. 
 There was something which, at the very moment of my entrance, struck 
 me as uncommon in his air and bearing, so much so that when my eyes 
 had once rested on his pale but placid countenance, his regular, hand- 
 some, but somewhat stern features, I totally forgot the presence of the 
 others and looked only at him. 
 
 c< What's your rank, sir ? " said he hurriedly, and with a tone which 
 bespoke command. 
 
 " I have none at present, save " 
 
 " Why do you wear epaulettes, then, sir?" said he harshly, while 
 from his impatient look and hurried gesture 1 saw he put no faith in 
 my reply. 
 
 " I am an aide-de-camp to General Pictou, but without regimental 
 rank. " 
 
 " What was the British force under arms yesterday ? " 
 
 " I do not feel myself at liberty to give you any information as to 
 the number or the movements of our army." 
 
 11 Diantre ! Diantre ! " said he, slapping his boot with his horsewhip, 
 "do you know what you've been saying there, eh, Cambronne, you 
 heard him, did you?" 
 
 " Yes, sire, and if your Majesty would permit me to deal with him, 
 I would have his information, if he possess any, and that ere long too." 
 
 " Eh, gaillard," said he, laughing, as he pinched the old General's 
 ear in jest, " I believe you, with all my heart. " 
 
 The full truth flashed upon my mind. I was in presence of the 
 Emperor himself. As, however, up to this moment I was unconscious 
 of his presence, I resolved now to affect ignorance of it throughout. 
 
 ' ' Had you despatches, sir ? " said he, turning towards me with a look 
 of stern severity. 
 
 " Were any despatches found upon him when he was taken ? " This 
 latter question was addressed to the aide-de-camp who introduced me, 
 and who still remained at the door. 
 
 " No, sire, nothing was found upon him except this locket." 
 
 As he said these words he placed in Napoleon's hands the keepsake
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 593 
 
 which St. Croix had left with me years before in Spain, and which, as 
 the reader may remember, was a miniature of the Empress Josephine. 
 
 The moment the Emperor threw his eyes upon it, the flush which 
 excitement had called into his cheek disappeared at once ; he became 
 pale as death, his very lips as bloodless as his wan cheek. 
 
 " Leave me, Lefevre ; leave me, Cambronne, for a moment : I will 
 speak with this gentleman alone." 
 
 As the door closed upon them he leaned his arm upon the mantel- 
 piece, and with his head sunk upon his bosom remained some moments 
 without speaking. 
 
 " Un mauvais augure," muttered he within his teeth, as his piercing 
 gaze was riveted upon the picture before him. ' ' Voila la troisiemefois ; 
 peut-etre la derniere." Then suddenly rousing himself, he advanced 
 close to me, and seizing me by the arm with a grasp like iron, inquired : 
 
 " How came you by this picture ? The truth, sir ; mark me, the 
 truth." 
 
 Without showing any sign of feeling hurt at the insinuation of his 
 question, I detailed, in as few words as I could, the circumstance by 
 which the locket became mine. Long before I had concluded, how- 
 ever, I could mark that his attention flagged, and finally wandered far 
 away from the matter before him. 
 
 " Why will you not give me the information I look for : I seek for 
 no breach of faith. The campaign is all but over. The Prussians 
 were beaten at Ligny, their army routed, their artillery captured, ten 
 thousand prisoners taken. Your troops and the Dutch were conquered 
 yesterday, and they are in full retreat on Brussels. By to-morrow 
 evening I shall date my bulletin from the palace at Laeken. Antwerp 
 will be in my possession within twenty-four hours. Namur is already 
 mine. Cambronne, Lefevre," cried he, ' l cet homme-la ne salt rien," point- 
 ing to me as he spoke. " Let us see the other." With this he motioned 
 slightly with his hand, as a sign for me to withdraw, and the next 
 moment I was once more in the solitude of my prison-room, thinking 
 over the singular interview I had just had with the great Emperor. 
 
 How anxiously pass the hours of one who, deprived of other means 
 of information, is left to form his conjectures by some passing object, 
 or some chance murmur. The things which in the ordinary course of 
 life are passed by unnoticed and unregarded are now matters of 
 moment ; with what scrutiny he examines the features of those whom 
 he dares not question ; with what patient ear he listens to each pass- 
 ing word : thus, to me, a prisoner, the hours went by tardily, yet 
 anxiously ; no sabre clanked ; no war-horse neighed ; no heavy-booted 
 cuirassier tramped in the courtyard beneath my window, without 
 setting a hundred conjectures afloat as to what was about to happen. 
 For some time there had been a considerable noise and bustle in and 
 about the dwelling. Horsemen came and went continually. The 
 sounds of galloping could be heard along the paved causeway ; then 
 the challenge of the sentry at the gate ; then the nearer tread of 
 approaching steps, and many voices speaking together, would seem to 
 indicate that some messenger had arrived with despatches. At length 
 all these sounds became hushed and still; no longer were the voices 
 heard ; and except the measured tread of the heavy cuirassier, as he 
 
 2 P
 
 594 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 paced on the flags beneath, nothing was to be heard. My state of 
 suspense, doubly greater now than when the noise and tumult suggested 
 food for conjecture, continued now till towards noon, when a soldier 
 in undress brought me some breakfast, and told me to prepare speedily 
 for the road. 
 
 Scarcely had he left the room when the rumbling noise of waggons 
 was heard below, and a train of artillery carts moved into the little 
 courtyard, loaded with wounded men. It was a sad and frightful 
 sight to see those poor fellows, as crammed side by side in the straw of 
 the charette they lay, their ghastly wounds opening with every motion 
 of the waggon, while their wan pale faces were convulsed with agony 
 and suffering : of every rank, from the sous-lieutenant to the humble 
 soldier, from every arm of the service, from the heavy cuirassier of 
 the guard to the light and intrepid tirailleur, they were there ! I well 
 remember one, an artilleryman of the guard, whom, as they lifted him 
 forth from the cart, presented the horrifying spectacle of one, both of 
 whose legs had been carried away by a cannon shot ; pale, cold, and 
 corpse-like, he lay in their arms ; his head fell heavily to one side, 
 and his arms fell passively, as in death. It was at this moment a troop 
 of lancers, the advanced guard of D'Erlon's division, came trotting up 
 the road; the cry of "Vive F Empereur ! " burst from them as they 
 approached ; its echo rang within the walls of the farm-house, when 
 suddenly the dying man, as though some magic touch had called him 
 back to life and vigour, sprang up erect between his bearers, his filmy 
 eye flashing fire, a burning spot of red colouring his bloodless cheek ; 
 he cast one wild and hurried look around him, like one called back 
 from death to look upon the living ; and, as he waved his bloodstained 
 hand above his head, shouted in a heart-piercing cry, ( ' Vive PEmpereur!" 
 The effort was his last. It was the expiring tribute of allegiance to the 
 chief he adored. The blood spouted in cataracts from his half-closed 
 wounds, a convulsive spasm worked through his frame, his eyes rolled 
 fearfully, as his outstretched hands seemed striving to clutch some 
 object before them and he was dead. Fresh arrivals of wounded 
 continued to pour in ; and now I thought I could detect at intervals 
 the distant noise of a cannonade ; the wind, however, was from the 
 southward, and the sounds were too indistinct to be relied on. 
 
 ''Allans! Allans! man cher!" said a rough but good-humoured 
 looking fellow, as he strode into my room ; he was the Quartermaster 
 of Milhaud's dragoons, under whose care I was now placed, and came 
 to inform me that we were to set out immediately. 
 
 Monsieur Bonnard was a character in his way ; and, if it were not 
 so near the conclusion of my history, I should like to present him to 
 my readers. As it is, I shall merely say he was a thorough specimen 
 of one class of his countrymen a loud talker, a loud swearer, a vapour- 
 ing, boasting, overbearing, good-natured, and even soft-hearted fellow, 
 who firmly believed that Frenchmen were the climax of the species, 
 and Napoleon the climax of Frenchmen. Being a great bavard, he 
 speedily told me all that had taken place during the last two days. 
 From him I learned that the Prussians had really been beaten at Ligny, 
 and had fallen back, he knew not where : they were, however, he said, 
 hotly pursued by Grouchy, with thirty-five thousand men, while the
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 595 
 
 Emperor himself was now following the British and Dutch armies with 
 seventy thousand more. 
 
 "You see," continued he, "I 'affaire estfinie: who can resist the 
 Emperor ? " 
 
 These were sad tidings for me ; and, although I did not place implicit 
 confidence in my informant, I had still my fears that much of what 
 he said was true. 
 
 " And the British, now," said I, " what direction have they taken ? " 
 
 " Bah ! they're in retreat on Brussels, and will probably capitulate 
 to-morrow." 
 
 "Capitulate !" 
 
 "Oui, oui : ne vous fdchez pas, camarade" said he, laughing. " What 
 could you do against Napoleon ? -you did not expect to heat him, 
 surely ? But come, we must move on ; I have my orders to bring you 
 to Planchenoit this evening, and our horses are tired enough already." 
 
 " Mine, methinks, should be fresh," said I. 
 
 "Parbleu, non," replied he : te he has twice made the journey to 
 Frasnes this morning with despatches for Marshal Ney : the Emperor 
 is enraged with the Marshal for having retreated last night, having the 
 wood in his possession : he says he should have waited till daybreak, 
 and then fallen upon your retreating columns. As it is, you are getting 
 away without much loss. Sacristie, that was a fine charge !" These 
 last words he muttered to himself; adding, between his teeth, "sixty- 
 four killed and wounded." 
 
 " What was that ? who were they ? " said I. 
 
 " Our fellows," replied he frankly : " the Emperor ordered up two 
 twelve-pounders, and eight squadrons of lancers ; they fell upon your 
 light dragoons in a narrow part of the high road. But suddenly we 
 heard a noise in front ; your hussars fell back, and a column of your 
 heavy dragoons came thundering down upon us. Parbleu, they swept 
 over us as if we were broken infantry : and there ! there ! " said he, 
 pointing to the courtyard, from whence the groans of the wounded 
 still rose, " there are the fruits of that terrible charge." 
 
 I could not restrain an outbreak of triumphant pleasure at this 
 gallant feat of my countrymen. 
 
 " Yes, yes," said the honest Quartermaster, " it was a fine thing ; but 
 a heavy reckoning is at hand. But, come now, let us take the road." 
 
 In a few moments more I found myself seated upon a heavy Norman 
 horse, whose lumbering demi-peak saddle was nearly cleft in two by a 
 sabre cut. 
 
 " Ay, ay," said Monsieur Bonnard, as he saw my eye fixed on the 
 spot, " it was one of your fellows did that, and the same cut clove poor 
 Pierre from the neck to the seat. " 
 
 " I hope," said I, laughing, " the saddle may not prove an unlucky 
 one." 
 
 " No, no," said the Frenchman seriously, " it has paid its debt to 
 fate." 
 
 As we pressed on our road, which, broken by the heavy guns and 
 ploughed up in many places by the artillery, was nearly impassable, 
 we could distinctly hear from time to time the distant boom of the 
 large guns, as the retiring and pursuing armies replied to each other ;
 
 596 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 while behind us, but still a long way off, a dark mass appeared on the 
 horizon : they were the advancing columns of Ney's division. 
 
 " Have the troops come in contact more than once this morning? " 
 
 " Not closely/' said the Quartermaster, ' ' the armies have kept a 
 respectful distance : they were like nothing I can think of," said the 
 figurative Frenchman, ee except two hideous serpents wallowing in 
 mire, and vomiting at each other whole rivers of fire and flame." 
 
 As we approached Planchenoit we came up to the rear-guard of the 
 French army ; from them we learned that Ney's division, consisting of 
 the Eighth Corps, had joined the Emperor : that the British were still 
 in retreat, but that nothing of any importance had occurred between 
 the rival armies ; the French merely firing their heavy guns from time 
 to time, to ascertain by the reply the position of the retreating forces : 
 the rain poured down in torrents ; gusts of cold and stormy wind swept 
 across the wide plains, or moaned sorrowfully through the dense forest. 
 As I rode on by the side of my companion I could not help remarking 
 how little the effects of a fatiguing march and unfavourable weather 
 were apparent on those around me. The spirit of excited gaiety 
 pervaded every rank ; and, unlike the stern features which the disci- 
 pline of our service enforces, the French soldiers were talking, laugh- 
 ing, and even singing, as they marched ; the canteens passed freely 
 from hand to hand, and jests and toasts flew from front to rear along 
 the dark columns ; many carried their loaves of dark rye bread on the 
 tops of their bayonets ! and to look upon that noisy and tumultuous 
 mass as they poured along, it would have needed a practised eye to 
 believe them the most disciplined of European armies. 
 
 The sun was just setting, as mounting a ridge of land beside the 
 high road, my companion pointed with his finger to a small farm-house, 
 which, standing alone in the plain, commands an extensive view on 
 every side of it. 
 
 " There," said he, "there is the quartier-gtneral ; the Emperor 
 sleeps there to-night ; the King of Holland will afford him a bed 
 to-morrow night." 
 
 The dark shadows of the coming night were rapidly falling as I 
 strained my eyes to trace the British position. A hollow rumbling 
 sound announced the movement of artillery in our front. 
 
 " What is it, Arnotte ? " said the Quartermaster to a dragoon officer 
 who rode past 
 
 " It is nothing," replied the other, laughing, " but a ruse of the 
 Emperor ; he wishes to ascertain if the enemy are in force, or if we 
 have only a strong rear-guard before us." 
 
 As he spoke, fifteen heavy guns opened their fire, and the still air 
 reverberated with a loud thunder : the sound had not died away, the 
 very smoke lay yet heavily upon the moist earth, when forty pieces 
 of British cannon rang out their answer, and the very plain trembled 
 beneath the shock. 
 
 " Ha ! they are there, then," exclaimed the dragoon, as his eyes 
 flashed with ecstasy. " Look ! see ! the artillery are limbering up 
 already. The Emperor is satisfied." 
 
 And so it was : a dark column of twelve hundred horse that 
 accompanied the guns into the plain now wheeled slowly round, and
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 697 
 
 wound their long track far away to the right The rain fell in 
 torrents ; the wind was hushed, and, as the night fell in darkness, the 
 columns moved severally to their destinations. The bivouacs were 
 formed ; the watch-fires were lighted, and seventy thousand men and 
 two hundred pieces of cannon occupied the heights of Planchenoit. 
 
 " My orders are to bring you to La Caillou," said the Quartermaster ; 
 " and, if you only can spur your jaded horse into a trot, we shall soon 
 reach it" 
 
 About a hundred yards from the little farm-house stood a small 
 cottage of a peasant Here some officers of Marshal Soult's staff had 
 taken up their quarters ; and thither my guide now bent his steps. 
 
 " Comment! Bonnard," said an aide-de-camp, as we rode up, " another 
 prisoner. Sacre bleu I we shall have the whole British staff among us. 
 You are in better luck than your countryman, the general, I hope," 
 said the aide-de-camp; "his is a . sad affair, and I'm sorry for it too ; 
 he's a fine soldier-like looking fellow." 
 
 " Pray, what has happened ? " said I. " To what do you allude ? " 
 
 " Merely to one of your people who has just been taken with some 
 letters and papers of Bourmont's in his possession. The Emperor is in 
 no very amicable humour towards that traitor, and resolves to pay off 
 some part of his debt on his British correspondent" 
 
 " How cruel ! how unjust !" 
 
 " VV^hy, yes, it is hard, I confess, to befusilie for the fault of another. 
 Mais, que voulez-vous ? " 
 
 " And when is this atrocious act to take place ? " 
 
 "By daybreak to-morrow," said he, bowing as he turned towards 
 the hut " Meanwhile, let me counsel you, if you would not make 
 another in the party, to reserve your indignation for your return to 
 England." 
 
 "Come along," said the Quartermaster, "I find they have got 
 quarters for you in the granary of the farm. I'll not forget you at 
 supper time." 
 
 So saying, he gave his horse to an orderly, and led me by a little 
 path to a back entrance of the dwelling. Had I time or inclination 
 for such a scene, I might have lingered long to gaze at the spectacle 
 before me. The guard held their bivouac around the quarters of the 
 Emperor ; and here, beside the watch-fires, sat the bronzed and scarred 
 veterans who had braved every death and danger, from the Pyramids 
 to the Kremlin. On every side I heard the names of those whom 
 history has already consigned to immortality ; and, as the fitful blaze 
 of a wood fire flashed from within the house, I could mark the figure 
 of one who, with his hands behind his back, walked leisurely to and 
 fro, his head leaned a little forward, as though in deep thought ; but, 
 as the light fell upon his pale and placid features, there was nothing 
 there to indicate the stormy strife of hope and fear that raged beneath. 
 From the rapid survey I took around, I was roused by an officer, who, 
 saluting me, politely desired me to follow him. We mounted a flight 
 of stone steps, which, outside the wall of the building, led to the upper 
 storey of a large but ruined granary ; here a sentry was posted, who 
 permitting us to pass forward, I found myself in a small, mean-looking 
 apartment, whose few articles of coarse 'furniture were dimly lighted
 
 598 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 by the feeble glimmer of a lamp. At the further end of the room sat 
 a man, wrapped in a large blue cavalry cloak, whose face, covered with 
 his hands as he bent downwards, was completely concealed from view ; 
 the noise of the opening door did not appear to arouse him, nor did 
 he notice my approach. As I entered, a faint sigh broke from him as 
 he turned his back upon the light, but he spoke not a word. 
 
 I sat for some time in silence, unwilling to obtrude myself upon the 
 sorrows of one to whom I was unknown ; and, as I walked up and down 
 the gloomy chamber, my thoughts became riveted so completely upon 
 my own fortunes that I ceased to remember my fellow-prisoner. The 
 hours passed thus lazily along, when the door suddenly opened, and an 
 officer in the dress of a lancer of the guard stood for an instant before me, 
 and then, springing forward, clasped me by both hands, and called out : 
 
 " Charles, man ami, c'est Men toi ? " 
 
 The voice recalled to my recollection what his features, altered by 
 time and years, had failed to do. It was Jules St. Croix, my former 
 prisoner in the Peninsula. I cannot paint the delight with which I 
 saw him again ; his presence now, while it brought back the memory of 
 some of my happiest days, also assured me that I was not friendless. 
 
 His visit was a brief one, for he was in attendance on Marshal Lobau's 
 staff. In the few minutes, however, of his stay, he said : 
 
 ' e I have a debt to pay, Charles, and have come to discharge it. In 
 an hour hence I shall leave this with despatches for the left of our 
 line ; before I go, I'll come here with two or three others, as it were 
 to wish you a good night ; I'll take care to carry a second cloak and 
 a foraging cap : I'll provide a fast horse : you shall accompany us for 
 some distance. I'll see you safe across our pickets. For the rest, you 
 must trust to yourself. C'est arrange : riestcepas?" 
 
 One firm grasp of his hand, to which I responded by another, 
 followed, and he was gone. 
 
 Everything concurred to show me that a tremendous battle must 
 ensue on the morrow, if the British forces but held their position. It 
 was then with a feeling of excitement approaching to madness that 1 
 saw my liberty before me ; that once more I should join in the bold 
 charge and the rude shock of arms, hear the wild cry of my gallant 
 countrymen, and either live to triumph with them in victory, or wait 
 not to witness our defeat. Thus flew my hopes as with increasing 
 impatience I waited St. Croix's coming, and with anxious heart listened 
 to every sound upon the stairs which might indicate his approach. At 
 length he came : I heard the gay and laughing voices of his companions 
 as they came along ; the door opened, and affecting the familiarity of 
 old acquaintance, to deceive the sentry, they all shook me by the hand, 
 and spoke in terms of intimacy. 
 
 " Labedoyere is below," said St. Croix, in a whisper ; " you must 
 wait here a few moments longer, and I'll return for you ; put on the 
 cloak and cap, and speak not a word as you pass out. The sentry will 
 suppose that one of our party has remained behind ; for I shall call out 
 as if speaking to him as I leave the room. " 
 
 The voice of an officer calling in tones of impatience for the party 
 to come down cut short the interview, and again assuring me of their 
 determination to stand by me, they left the chamber, and descended
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 599 
 
 into the court. Scarcely had the door closed behind them, when my 
 fellow-prisoner, whom I had totally forgotten, sprang on his legs and 
 came towards me. His figure screening the lamp-light as he stood, 
 prevented my recognising his features ; but the first tones of his voice 
 told me who he was. 
 
 "Stay, sir," cried he, as he placed his hand upon my arm : " I have 
 overheard your project. In an hour hence you will be free. Can you 
 will you, perform a service for one, who will esteem it not the less, 
 that it will be the last that man can render me ? The few lines that I 
 have written here with my pencil are for my daughter. " 
 
 I could bear no more, and called out, in a voice broken as his own : 
 
 " Oh, be not deceived, sir. Will you, even in an hour like this, 
 accept a service from one whom you have banished from your house ? " 
 
 The old man stai-ted as I spoke ; his hand trembled till it shook my 
 very arm, and after a pause, and with an effort to seem calm and 
 collected, lie added : 
 
 ' ' My hours are few. Some despatches of General Bourmont with 
 which the Duke entrusted me were found in my possession. My 
 sentence is a hurried one and it is death ! By to-morrow's sun- 
 rise " 
 
 " Stay, stay," said I : ' ' you shall escape ; my life is in no danger. 
 I have, as you see, even friends among the staff; besides, I have done 
 nothing to compromise or endanger my position." 
 
 " No, sir," said he sternly, " I will not act such a part as this. The 
 tears you have seen in these old eyes are not for myself. I fear not 
 death. Better it were it should have come upon the field of glorious 
 battle ; but as it is, my soldier's honour is intact, untainted." 
 
 " You refuse the service on account of him who proffers it," said I, 
 as I fell heavily upon a seat, my head bowed upon my bosom. 
 
 ' e Not so, not so, my boy," replied he kindly ; " the near approach of 
 death, like the fading light of day, gives us a longer and a clearer view 
 before us. 1 feel that I have wronged you ; that I have imputed to you 
 the errors of others ; but, believe me, if I have wronged you, I have 
 punished my own heart ; for, Charles, I have loved you like a son." 
 
 " Then prove it," said I, "and let me act towards you as towards a 
 father. You will not? you refuse me still ? Then, by Heaven, I remain 
 to share your fate. I well know the temper of him who has sentenced 
 you, and that, by one word of mine, my destiny is sealed for ever." 
 
 ' ' No, no, boy : this is but rash and insane folly. Another year or 
 two, nay, perhaps a few months more, and in the common course of 
 nature I had ceased to be ; but you, with youth, with fortune, and with 
 hope " 
 
 " Oh, not with hope," said I, in a voice of agony. 
 
 " Nay, say not so," replied he calmly, while a sickly smile played 
 sadly over his face : "you will give this letter to my daughter, you 
 will tell her that we parted as friends should part ; and if, after that, 
 when time shall have smoothed down her grief, and her sorrow be 
 rather a dark dream of the past than a present suffering ; if then you 
 love her, and if " 
 
 "Oh, tempt me not thus," said I, as the warm tears gushed from 
 my eyes; "lead me not thus astray from what my honour tells me 1
 
 600 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 should do. Hark ! they are coming already. I hear the clank of their 
 sabres ; they are mounting the steps : not a moment is to be lost Do 
 you refuse me still ? " 
 
 " I do," replied he firmly ; " I am resolved to bide my fate." 
 
 " Then so do I," cried I, as, folding my arms, I sat down beside the 
 window, determined on my course. 
 
 " Charley, Charley," said he, stooping over me, " my friend, my last 
 hope, the protector of my child " 
 
 " I will not go," said I, in a hollow whisper. 
 
 Already they were at the door ; I heard their voices as they 
 challenged the sentry ; I heard his musket as he raised it to his 
 shoulder. The thought flashed across me : I jumped up, and throw- 
 ing the loose mantle of the French dragoon around him, and replacing 
 his own with the foraging cap of St. Croix, I sprang into a corner of the 
 room, and seating myself so as to conceal my face, waited the result. 
 The door opened, the party entered laughing and talking together. 
 
 ' ' Come, Eugene," said one, taking Sir George by the arm, ' ' you have 
 spent long enough time here to learn the English language. We shall 
 be late at the outpost. Messieurs les Anglais, good night ; good night. " 
 
 This was repeated by the others as they passed out with Sir George 
 Dashwood among them, who, seeing that my determination was not to 
 be shaken, and that any demur on his part must necessarily com- 
 promise both, yielded then to a coup de main what he never would 
 have consented to from an appeal to his reason. The door closed ; 
 their steps died away in the distance. Again a faint sound struck my 
 ear : it was the challenge of the sentry beneath, and I heard the tramp 
 of horses' feet. All was still, and in a burst of heartfelt gratitude 1 
 sank upon my knees, and thanked God that he was safe. 
 
 So soundly did I sleep, that not before I was shaken several times 
 by the shoulder could I awake on the following morning. 
 
 " I thought there were two prisoners here," said a gruff voice, as an 
 old moustached-looking veteran cast a searching look about the room. 
 " However, we shall have enough of them before sunset. Get up, get 
 up : Monsieur le Due de Dalmatic desires some information you can 
 give him." 
 
 As he said this, he led me from the room, and, descending the flight 
 of stone steps, we entered the courtyard. It was but four o'clock, the 
 rain still falling in torrents ; yet every one was up and stirring. 
 
 " Mount this horse," said my gruff friend, " and come with me 
 towards the left ; the Marshal has already gone forward." 
 
 The heavy mist of the morning, darkened by the lowering clouds 
 which almost rested on the earth, prevented our seeing above a hundred 
 yards before us ; but the hazy light of the watch-fires showed me the 
 extent of the French position, as it stretched away along the ridge 
 towards the Hal road ; we rode forward at a trot, but in the deep 
 clayey soil we sunk at each moment to our horses' fetlocks ; I turned 
 my head as I heard the tramp and splash of horsemen behind, and 
 perceived that I was followed by two dragoons, who, with their carbines 
 on the rest, kept their eyes steadily upon me to prevent any chance of 
 escape. In a slight hollow of the ground before us stood a number of 
 horsemen, who conversed together in a low tone as we came up.
 
 LES QUATRE BRAS 601 
 
 " There ! that is the Marshal," said my companion in a whisper, as 
 we joined the party. 
 
 " Yes, Monsieur le Due/' said an engineer colonel, who stood be- 
 side Soult's horse, with a coloured plan in his hand. "Yes, that is 
 the Chateau de Goumont yonder. It is, as you perceive, completely 
 covered by the rising ground marked here ; they will doubtless place 
 a strong artillery force in this quarter. " 
 
 "Ah ! who is this?" said the Marshal, turning his eyes suddenly 
 upon me, and then casting a look of displeasure around him, lest I 
 should have overheard any portion of their conversation. e< You are 
 deficient in cavalry, it would appear, sir ? " said he to me. 
 
 " You must feel, Monsieur le Due," said I calmly, " how impossible 
 it is for me, as a man of honour and a soldier, to afford you any infor- 
 mation as to the army I belong to." 
 
 " I do not see that, sir ; you are a prisoner in our hands : your 
 treatment your fortune your very life depends on us. Besides," sir, 
 when French officers fall into the power of your people, I have heard, 
 they meet not very ceremonious treatment." 
 
 "Those who say so, say falsely," said I, "and wrong both your 
 countrymen and mine. In any case " 
 
 " The Guards are an untried force in your service," said he, with a 
 mixture of inquiry and assertion. 
 
 I replied not a word. 
 
 " You must see, sir," continued he, " that all the chances are against 
 you. The Prussians beaten, the Dutch discouraged, the Belgians only 
 waiting for victory to incline to our standard, to desert your ranks, 
 and pass over to ours ; while your troops, scarcely forty thousand, nay, 
 I might say, not more than thirty-five thousand. Is it not so?" 
 
 Here was another question, so insidiously conveyed that even a 
 change of feature on my part might have given the answer. A half 
 smile, however, and a slight bow, was all my reply ; while Soult 
 muttered something between his teeth, which called forth a laugh from 
 those around him. 
 
 " You may retire, sir, a little," said he drily to me. 
 
 Not sorry to be freed from the awkwardness of my position, I fell 
 back to the little rising ground behind. Although the rain poured 
 down without ceasing, the rising sun dispelled, in part, the heavy 
 vapour, and by degrees different portions of the wide plain presented 
 themselves to view ; and, as the dense masses of fog moved slowly 
 along, I could detect, but still faintly, the outline of the large irregular 
 building which I had heard them call the Chateau de Goumont, and 
 from whence I could hear the clank of masonry, as, at intervals, the 
 wind bore the sounds towards me. These were the sappers crene/ling 
 the walls for musketry ; and this I could now perceive was looked upon 
 as a position of no small importance. Surrounded by a straggling 
 orchard of aged fruit trees, the chateau lay some hundred yards in 
 advance of the British line, commanded by two eminences ; one of 
 which, in the possession of the French, was already occupied by a park 
 of eleven guns ; of the other 1 knew nothing, except the passing glance 
 I had obtained of its position on the map. The Second Corps, under 
 Jerome Buonaparte, with Foy and Kellerman's brigade of Light
 
 602 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 Artillery, stretched behind us. On the right of these came D'Erlon's 
 corps, extending to a small wood, which my companion told me was 
 Frischermont ; while Lobau's division was stationed to the extreme 
 right towards St. Lambert, to maintain the communication with Grouchy 
 at Wavre, or, if need be, to repel the advance of the Prussians, and 
 prevent their junction with the Anglo-Dutch army. The Imperial 
 Guard with the cavalry formed the reserve. Such was in substance 
 the information given me by my guide, who seemed to expatiate with 
 pleasure over the magnificent array of battle, while he felt a pride in 
 displaying his knowledge of the various divisions and their leaders. 
 
 " I see the Marshal moving towards the right," said he ; " we had 
 better follow him." 
 
 It was now about eight o'clock, as from the extremity of the line I 
 could see a party of horsemen advancing at a sharp canter. 
 
 " That must be Ney," said my companion. " See how rashly he 
 approaches the English lines ! " 
 
 And so it was. The party in question rode fearlessly down the 
 slope, and did not halt until they reached within about three hundred 
 yards of what appeared a ruined church. 
 
 " What is that building yonder?" 
 
 " That that/' replied he, after a moment's thought, " that must be 
 La Haye Sainte ; and yonder to the right of it is the road to Brussels. 
 There, look now, your people are in motion. See ! a column is moving 
 towards the right, and the cavalry are defiling on the other side of the 
 road. I was mistaken : that cannot be Ney. Sucre Dieu! it was the 
 Emperor himself, and here he comes." 
 
 As he spoke, the party galloped forward, and pulled up short within 
 a few yards of where we stood. 
 
 " Ha !" cried he, as his sharp glance fell upon me, "there is my 
 taciturn friend of Quatre Bras. You see, sir, I can dispense with your 
 assistance now; the chess-board is before me;" and then added, in atone 
 he intended not to be overheard, " Everything depends on Grouchy." 
 
 " Well, Haxo," he called out to an officer who galloped up, chateau 
 in hand, " what say you? are they entrenched in that position?" 
 
 " No, sire, the ground is open, and in two hours more will be firm 
 enough for the guns to manoeuvre." 
 
 "Now, then, for breakfast," said Napoleon, as with an easy and 
 tranquil smile he turned his horse's head, and cantered gently up the 
 heights towards La Belle Alliance. As he approached the lines, the 
 cry of " Vive I'Empereur!" burst forth. Regiment after regiment took 
 it up ; and from the distant wood of Frischermont to the far left be- 
 side Merke-braine, the shout resounded. So sudden, so simultaneous 
 the outbreak, that he himself, accustomed as he well was to the en- 
 thusiasm of his army, seemed, as he reined in his horse, and looked 
 with proud and elated eye upon the countless thousands, astounded 
 and amazed. He lifted with slow and graceful action his unplumed 
 hat above his head, and, while he bowed that proud front before which 
 kings have trembled, the acclamation burst forth anew, and rent the 
 very air. 
 
 At this moment the sun shone brilliantly out from the dark clouds, 
 and flashed upon the shining blades and glistening bayonets along the
 
 WATERLOO 603 
 
 line. A dark and lowering shadow hung gloomily over the British 
 position, while the French sparkled and glittered in the sunbeams. 
 His quick glance passed with lightning speed from one to the other, 
 and I thought that, in his look, upturned to heaven, I could detect the 
 flitting thought which made him hope it was an augury. The bands 
 of the Imperial Guard burst forth in joyous and triumphant strains ; 
 and amid the still repeated cries of " I'Empereur ! I'Empereur I " he rode 
 slowly along towards La Belle Alliance. 
 
 CHAPTER CXX 
 
 WATERLOO 
 
 NAPOLEON'S first intention was to open the battle by an attack upon 
 the extreme right ; but Ney, who returned from an observation of the 
 ground, informed him that a rivulet swollen by the late rains had now 
 become a foaming torrent, perfectly impassable to infantry. To avoid 
 this difficulty he abandoned his favourite manoeuvre of a flank move- 
 ment, and resolved to attack the enemy by the centre. Launching his 
 cavalry and artillery by the road to Brussels, he hoped thus to cut the 
 communication of the British with their own left, as well as with the 
 Prussians, for whom he trusted that Grouchy would be more than a 
 match. 
 
 The reserves were in consequence all brought up to the centre. 
 Seven thousand cavalry and a massive artillery assembled upon the 
 heights of La Belle Alliance, and waited but the order to march. It 
 was eleven o'clock, and Napoleon mounted his horse and rode slowly 
 along the line ; again the cry of (( Vive I'Empereur!" resounded, and 
 the bands of the various regiments struck up their spirit-stirring 
 strains as the gorgeous staff moved along. On the British side all was 
 tranquil ; and still the different divisions appeared to have taken up 
 their ground, and the long ridge from Ter la Haye to Merke-braine 
 bristled with bayonets. Nothing could possibly be more equal than the 
 circumstances of the field. Each army possessed an eminence whence 
 their artillery might play. A broad and slightly undulating valley lay 
 between both. The ground permitted in all places both cavalry and 
 infantry movements, and except the crumbling walls of the chateau of 
 Hougoumont, or the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte, both of which were 
 occupied by the British, no advantage either by nature or art inclined 
 to either side. It was a fair stand-up fight. It was the mighty tourna- 
 ment, not only of the two greatest nations, but the two deadliest rivals 
 and bitterest enemies, led on by the two greatest military geniuses that 
 the world has ever seen : it might not be too much to say, or ever will 
 see. As for me, condemned to be an inactive spectator of the mighty 
 struggle, doomed to witness all the deep-laid schemes and well-devised 
 plans of attack which were destined for the overthrow of my country's 
 arms, my state was one of torture and suspense. I sat upon the little 
 rising ground of Rossomme : before me, in the valley, where vet the 
 tall corn waved in ripe luxuriance, stood the quiet and peacefuitlooking
 
 604 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 old chateau of Hougoumont, and the blossoming branches of the orchard ; 
 the birds were gaily singing their songs, the shrill whistle of the fatal 
 musketry was to be heard, and through my glass I could detect the uni- 
 form of the soldiers who held the position, and my heart beat anxiously 
 and proudly as I recognised the Guards. In the orchard and the garden 
 were stationed some riflemen, at least their dress and the scattered 
 order they assumed bespoke them such. While I looked, the tirailleurs 
 of Jerome's division advanced from the front of the line, and, descend- 
 ing the hill in a sling trot, broke into scattered parties, keeping up as 
 they went a desultory arid irregular fire. The English skirmishers, 
 less expert in this peculiar service, soon fell back, and the head of 
 Reile's brigade began their march towards the chateau. The English 
 artillery is unmasked and opens its fire. Kellerman advances at a 
 gallop his twelve pieces of artillery ; the chateau is concealed from view 
 by the dense smoke, and as the attack thickens fresh troops pour 
 forward, the artillery thundering on either side ; the entire line of both 
 armies stand motionless spectators of the terrific combat, while every 
 eye is turned towards that devoted spot from whose dense mass of 
 cloud and smoke the bright glare of artillery is flashing, as the crashing 
 masonry, the burning rafters, and the loud yell of battle add to the 
 frightful interest of the scene. For above an hour the tremendous 
 attack continues without cessation ; the artillery stationed upon the 
 height has now found its range, and every ringing shot tells upon the 
 tottering walls ; some wounded soldiers return faint and bleeding from 
 the conflict, but there are few who escape. A crashing volley of fire- 
 arms is now heard from the side where the orchard stands ; a second, 
 and a third succeed, one after the other, as rapid as lightning itself. 
 A silence follows, when after a few moments a deafening cheer bursts 
 forth, and an aide-de-camp gallops up to say that the orchard has been 
 carried at the point of the bayonet, the Nassau sharpshooters, who held 
 it, having, after a desperate resistance, retired before the irresistible 
 onset of the French infantry. " A vous maintenant ! " said General 
 Foy as he drew his sabre, and rode down to the head of his splendid 
 division, which, anxious for the word to advance, were standing in the 
 valley. "En avant! mes braves," cried he, while, pointing to the 
 chateau with his sword, he dashed boldly forward. Scarcely had he 
 advanced a hundred yards when a cannon shot, ricocheting as it went, 
 struck his horse in the counter and rolled him dead on the plain ; dis- 
 engaging himself from the lifeless animal, at once he sprang to his feet 
 and hurried forward. The column was soon hid from my view, and I 
 was left to mourn over the seemingly inevitable fate that impended 
 over my gallant countrymen. 
 
 In the intense interest which chained me to this part of the field I 
 had not noticed till this moment that the Emperor and his staff were 
 standing scarcely thirty yards from where I was. Napoleon, seated 
 upon a grey, almost white, Arabian, had suffered the reins to fall 
 loosely on the neck, as he held with both hands his telescope to his 
 eye ; his dress, the usual green coat with white facings, the uniform of 
 the chasseurs-d-cheval, was distinguished merely by the cross of the 
 legion ; his high boots were splashed and mud-stained, from riding 
 through the deep and clayey soil ; his compact and clean-bred charger
 
 WATERLOO 005 
 
 looked also slightly blown and heated, but he himself, and I watched 
 his features well, looked calm, composed, and tranquil. How anxiously 
 did I scrutinise that face ; with what a throbbing heart did I canvass 
 every gesture, hoping to find some passing trait of doubt, of difficulty, 
 or of hesitation ; but none was there : unlike one who looked upon the 
 harrowing spectacle of a battlefield, whose all was depending on the 
 game before him ; gambling with one throw his last, his only stake, 
 and that the empire of the world. Yet, could I picture to myself one 
 who felt at peace within himself; naught of reproach, naught of regret 
 to move or stir his spirit, whose tranquil barque had glided over the 
 calm sea of life, unruffled by the breath of passion, I should have 
 fancied such was he. 
 
 Beside him sat one whose flashing eye and changing features looked 
 in every way his opposite ; watching with intense anxiety the scene of 
 the deadly struggle round the chateau, every look, every gesture told 
 the changing fortune of the moment ; his broad and brawny chest 
 glittered with orders and decorations, but his heavy brow and lowering 
 look, flushed almost black with excitement, could not easily be for- 
 gotten. It was Soult, who in his quality of Major-General accompanied 
 the Emperor throughout the day. 
 
 " They have lost it again, sire," said the Marshal passionately, "and 
 see they are forming beneath the cross fire of the artillery ; the head 
 of the column keeps not its formation two minutes together ; why does 
 he not move up ? " 
 
 f ' Domont, you know the British ; what troops are those in the 
 orchard? they use the bayonet well." 
 
 The officer addressed pointed his glass for a moment to the spot : 
 then turning to the Emperor replied, as he touched his hat, " They are 
 the Guards, sire." 
 
 During this time Napoleon spoke not a word ; his eye ever bent 
 upon the battle, he seemed to pay little, if any, attention to the con- 
 versation about him. As he looked, an aide-de-camp, breathless and 
 heated, galloped up. 
 
 " The columns of attack are formed, sire ; everything is ready, and 
 the Marshal only waits the order." 
 
 Napoleon turned upon his saddle, and directing his glass towards 
 Ney's division, looked fixedly for some moments at them. His eye 
 moved from front to rear slowly, and at last carrying his telescope 
 along the line, he fixed it steadily upon the far left. Here, towards 
 St. Lambert, a slight cloud seemed to rest on the horizon, as the 
 Emperor continued to gaze steadfastly at it : every glass of the staff 
 was speedily turned in that direction. 
 
 " It is nothing but a cloud ; some exhalation from the low grounds 
 in that quarter," whispered one. 
 
 "To me," said another, "they look like trees, part of the Bois de 
 Wavre. " 
 
 " They are men," said the Emperor, speaking for the first time. 
 " Est-ce Grouchy ? Est-ce Bhicher ? " 
 
 Soult inclines to believe it to be the former, and proceeds to give 
 his reasons, but the Emperor without listening turns towards Domont 
 and orders him, with his division of light cavalry and Subervic's
 
 006 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 brigade to proceed thither at once. If it be Grouchy, to establish a 
 junction with him ; to resist, should it prove to be the advanced guard 
 of Marshal Blucher. Scarcely is the order given when a column of 
 cavalry wheeling fours about unravels itself from the immense mass, 
 and seems to serpentine like an enormous snake between the squares 
 of the mighty army. The pace increases at every moment, and at 
 length we see them merge from the extreme right and draw up, as if 
 on parade, above half a mile from the wood. This movement, which 
 by its precision and beauty had attracted our entire attention, not only 
 from the attack upon Hougoumont, but also an incident which had 
 taken place close beside us. This was the appearance of a Prussian 
 hussar who had been taken prisoner between Wane and Planchenoit : 
 he was the bearer of a letter from Bulow to Wellington, announcing 
 his arrival at St. Lambert, and asking for orders. 
 
 This at once explains the appearance on the right ; but the prisoner 
 also adds, that the three Prussian corps were at Wavre, having pushed 
 their patrols two leagues from that town without ever encountering 
 any portion of the force under the command of Grouchy. For a 
 moment not a word is spoken. A silence like a panic pervades the 
 staff; the Emperor himself is the first to break it. 
 
 "This morning," said he, turning towards Soult, " the chances were 
 ninety to one in our favour ; Bulow's arrival has already lost us thirty 
 of the number : but the odds are still sufficient if Grouchy but repair 
 the horrible fault he has committed." 
 
 He paused for a moment, and, as he lifted up his open hands, and 
 turned a look of indignant passion towards the staff, added in a voice, 
 the sarcasm of whose tone there is no forgetting : 
 
 (< II s' amuse a Gembloux ! Still," said he, speaking rapidly and with 
 more energy than I had hitherto noticed, " Bulow may be entirely cut 
 off. " Let an officer approach. Take this letter, sir," giving as he spoke 
 Bulow's letter to Lord Wellington, " give this letter to Marshal Grouchy ; 
 tell him that at this moment he should be before Wavre ; tell him that 
 
 already, had he obeyed his orders But no, tell him to march at 
 
 once, to press forward his cavalry, to come up in two hours, in three at 
 farthest. You have but five leagues to ride ; see, sir, that you reach 
 him within an hour." 
 
 As the officer hurries away at the top of his speed, an aide-de-camp 
 from General Domont confirms the news ; they are the Prussians whom 
 he has before him. As yet, however, they are debouching from the 
 wood, and have attempted no forward movement. 
 
 " What's Bulow's force, Marshal ? " 
 
 "Thirty thousand, sire." 
 
 " Let Lobau take ten thousand, with the cuirassiers of the young 
 guard, and hold the Prussians in check." 
 
 <f Maintenant, pour les autres." This he said with a smile as he turned 
 his eyes once more towards the field of battle. The aide-de-camp of 
 Marshal Ney, who, bareheaded and expectant, sat waiting for orders, 
 presented himself to view. The Emperor turned towards him as he 
 said, with a clear and firm voice : 
 
 " Tell the Marshal to open the fire of his batteries ; to carry La 
 Haye Sainte with the bayonet, and leaving an infantry division for its
 
 WATERLOO 607 
 
 protection, to march against La Papelotte and La Haye. They must 
 be carried by the bayonet." 
 
 The aide-de-camp was gone : Napoleon's eye followed him as he 
 crossed the open plain and was lost in the dense ranks of the dark 
 columns. Scarcely five minutes elapsed when eighty guns thundered 
 out together, and, as the earth shook and trembled beneath, the mighty 
 movement of the day began its execution. From Hougoumont, where 
 the slaughter and the carnage continued unslackened and unstayed, 
 every eye was now turned towards the right. I knew not what troops 
 occupied La Haye Sainte, or whether they were British who crowned 
 the heights above it ; but, in my heart, how fervently did I pray that 
 they might be so. Oh ! in that moment of suspense and agonising 
 doubt, what would I not have given to know that Picton himself, and 
 the fighting 5th were there ; that behind that ridge the Greys, the 
 Royals, and the Enniskillens sat motionless, but burning to advance ; 
 that the breath of battle waved among the tartans of the Highlanders, 
 and blew upon the flashing features of my own island countrymen. 
 Had I known this, I could have marked the onset with a less failing 
 spirit. 
 
 " There goes Marcognet's division," said my companion, springing to 
 his legs ; " they're moving to the right of the road. I should like to 
 see the troops that will stand before them." 
 
 So saying, he mounted his horse, and, desiring me to accompany 
 him, rode to the height beside La Belle Alliance. The battle was now 
 raging from the Chateau de Hougoumont to St. Lambert, where the 
 Prussian tirailleurs, as they issued from the wood, were skirmishing 
 with the advanced posts of Lobau's brigade. The attack upon the 
 centre, however, engrossed all my attention, and I watched the dark 
 columns as they descended into the plain, while the incessant roll of 
 the artillery played about them. To the right of Ney's attack, D'Erlon 
 advanced with three divisions, and the artillery of the Guard. Towards 
 this part of the field my companion moved. General Le Vasseur 
 desired to know if the division on the Brussels road were English or 
 Hanoverian troops, and I was sent for to answer the question. We 
 passed from square to square until at length we found ourselves upon 
 the flank of D'Erlon's division. Le Vasseur, who at the head of his 
 cuirassiers waited but the order to charge, waved impatiently with his 
 sword for us to approach. We were now to the right of the high road, 
 and about four hundred yards from the crest of the hill where, pro- 
 tected by a slight edge, Picton with Kempt's brigade waited the attack 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Just at this moment an incident took place which, while in itself 
 one of the most brilliant achievements of the day, changed in a signal 
 manner my own fortunes. The head of D'Erlon's column pressed with 
 fixed bayonets up the gentle slope. Already the Belgian infantry give 
 way befoi'e them. The brave Brunswickers, overwhelmed by the 
 heavy cavalry of France, at first begin to waver ; then are broken ; 
 and at last retreat in disorder up the road, a whirlwind of pursuing 
 squadrons thundering behind them. " En avant ! enavant! toiijmirs 
 la victoire est a nous," is shouted madly through the impatient ranks ; 
 and the artillery is called up to play upon the British squares, upon
 
 608 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 which, fixed and immovable, the cuirassiers have charged without 
 success. Like a thunderbolt, the flying artillery dashes to the front ; 
 but scarcely has it reached the bottom of the ascent, when, from the 
 deep ground, the guns become embedded in the soil : the wheels refuse 
 to move. In vain the artillery drivers whip and spur their labouring 
 cattle. Impatiently the leading files of the column prick with their 
 bayonets the struggling horses. The hesitation is fatal ; for Welling- 
 ton, who, with eagle glance, watches from an eminence beside the high 
 road the advancing column, sees the accident. An order is given ; 
 and, with one fell swoop, the heavy cavalry brigade pour down. 
 Picton's division deploys into line : the bayonets glance about the 
 ridge : and with a shout that tells above the battle, on they come, 
 the fighting 5th. One volley is exchanged ; but the bayonet is now 
 brought to the charge, and the French division retreat in close column, 
 pursued by their gallant enemy. Scarcely had the leading divisions 
 fallen back, and the rear pressed down upon, or thrown into disorder, 
 when the cavalry trumpets sound a charge : the bright helmets of the 
 Enniskilleners come flashing in the sunbeams, and the Scots Greys, 
 like a white-crested wave, are rolling upon the foe. Marcognet's 
 division is surrounded ; the dragoons ride them down on every side ; 
 the guns are captured, the drivers cut down, and two thousand 
 prisoners are carried off. A sudden panic seems to seize upon the 
 French, as cavalry, infantry, and artillery are hurried back on each 
 other. Vainly the French attempt to rally ; the untiring enemy press 
 madly on : the household brigade, led on by Lord Uxbridge, come 
 thundering down the road, riding down with their gigantic force the 
 mailed cuirassiers of France. Borne along with the retreating torrents, 
 I was carried on amidst the densely commingled mass. The British 
 cavalry, which, like the lightnings that sever the thundercloud, pierce 
 through in every direction, plunged madly upon us. The roar of 
 battle grew louder, as hand to hand they fought. Milhaud's heavy 
 dragoons, with the Fourth Lancers, came up at a gallop. Picton presses 
 forward, waving his plumed hat above his head ; his proud eye flashes 
 with the fire of victory. That moment is his last. Struck in the 
 forehead by a musket ball, he falls dead from the saddle ; and the 
 wild yell of the Irish regiments, as they ring his death-cry, are the last 
 sounds which he hears. Meanwhile the Life Guards are among us ; 
 prisoners of rank are captured on every side ; and I, seizing the moment, 
 throw myself among the ranks of my countrymen, and am borne to the 
 rear with the retiring squadrons. 
 
 As we reached the crest of the hill above the road, a loud cheer in 
 the valley beneath us burst forth, and from the midst of the dense 
 smoke a bright and pointed flame shot up towards the sky. It was 
 the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte, which the French had succeeded in 
 setting fire to with hot shot ; for some time past the ammunition of 
 the corps that held it had failed, and a dropping irregular musketry 
 was the only reply to the incessant rattle of the enemy. As the smoke 
 cleared away we discovered that the French had carried the position ; 
 and, as no quarter was given in that deadly hand-to-hand conflict, not 
 one returned to our ranks to tell the tale of their defeat. 
 
 ' c This is the officer that I spoke of," said an aide-de-camp, as he rode
 
 WATERLOO 609 
 
 up to where I was standing, bareheaded and without a sword. " He 
 has just made his escape from the French lines, and will be able to give 
 your lordship some information." 
 
 The handsome features and gorgeous costume of Lord Uxbridge 
 were known to me : but I was not aware, till afterwards, that a 
 soldier-like, resolute-looking officer beside him was General Graham. 
 It was the latter who first addressed me. 
 
 " Are you aware, sir," said he, " if Grouchy's force is arrived ? " 
 
 " They had not ; on the contrary, as, shortly before I escaped, an 
 aide-de-camp was despatched to Gembloux, to hasten his coming. And 
 the troops, for they must be troops, were debouching from the wood 
 yonder : they seem to form a junction with the corps to the right; 
 they are the Prussians. They arrived there before noon from St. 
 Lambert, and are part of Bulow's corps. Count Lobau and his 
 division of ten thousand men were despatched about an hour since to 
 hold them in check." 
 
 ' ' This is great news," said Lord Uxbridge. " Fitzroy must know it 
 at once." 
 
 So saying, he dashed spurs into his horse, and soon disappeared amid 
 the crowd on the hill-top. 
 
 " You had better see the Duke, sir," said Graham ; " your informa- 
 tion is too important to be delayed. Captain Calvert, let this officer 
 have a horse, his own is too tired to go much further." 
 
 " And a cap, I beg of you," added I, in an undertone ; " for I have 
 already found a sabre." 
 
 By a slight circuitous route we reached the road upon which a mass 
 of dismounted artillery-carts, baggage-waggons, and tumbrels were 
 heaped together as a barricade against the attack of the French 
 dragoons, who more than once had penetrated to the very crest of our 
 position. Close to this, and on a little rising ground, from which a 
 view of the entire field extended from Hougoumont to the far left, the 
 Duke of Wellington stood surrounded by his staff. His eye was bent 
 upon the valley before him, where the advancing columns of Ney's 
 attack still pressed onwards ; while the fire of sixty great guns poured 
 death and carnage into his lines. The second Belgian division, routed 
 and broken, had fallen back upon the 27th regiment, who had merely 
 time to throw themselves into square, when Milhaud's cuirassiers, 
 armed with a terrible long straight sword, came sweeping down upon 
 them. A line of impassable bayonets, a living chevaux-de-frise of the 
 best blood of Britain, stood firm and motionless before the shock ; the 
 French mitraille played mercilessly on the ranks ; but the chasms were 
 filled up like magic, and in vain the bold horsemen of Gaul galloped 
 round the bristling files. At length the word "Fire!" was heard 
 within the square, and as the bullets at pistol range rattled upon 
 them, the cuirass afforded them no defence against the deadly volley. 
 Men and horses rolled indiscriminately upon the earth ; then would 
 come a charge of our dashing squadrons, who, riding recklessly upon 
 the foe, were in their turn to be repulsed by numbers, and fresh 
 attacks poured down upon our unshaken infantry. 
 
 "That column yonder is wavering: why does he not bring up his 
 supporting squadrons?" inquired the Duke, pointing to a Belgian 
 
 2Q
 
 610 CHARLES O'M ALLEY 
 
 regiment of Light Dragoons, who were formed in the same brigade 
 with the Seventh Hussars. 
 
 " He refuses to oppose his light cavalry to cuirassiers, my lord," said 
 an aide-de-camp, who had just returned from the division in question. 
 
 " Tell him to march his men off the ground," said the Duke, with a 
 quiet and impassive tone. 
 
 In less than ten minutes the regiment was seen to defile from the 
 mass, and take the road to Brussels, to increase the panic of that city, 
 by circulating and strengthening the report that the English were 
 beaten, and Napoleon in full march upon the capital. 
 
 ' ' What's Ney's force ? can you guess, sir ? " said Lord Wellington, 
 turning to me. 
 
 " About twelve thousand men, my lord. " 
 
 " Are the Guard among them ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; the Guard are in reserve above La Belle Alliance." 
 
 " In what part of the field is Buonaparte ? " 
 
 " Nearly opposite to where we stand." 
 
 " I told you, gentlemen, Hougoumont never was the great attack. 
 The battle must be decided here," pointing, as he spoke, to the plain 
 beneath us, where still Ney poured on his devoted columns, where yet 
 the French cavalry rode down upon our firm squares. 
 
 As he spoke an aide-de-camp rode up from the valley. 
 
 " The Ninety-second requires support, my lord they cannot maintain 
 their position half-an-hour longer without it. " 
 
 " Have they given way, sir ? " 
 
 No " 
 
 f< Well, then, they must stand where they are. I hear cannon to- 
 wards the left; yonder, near Frischermont. " 
 
 At this moment the light cavalry swept past the base of the hill on 
 which we stood, hotly followed by the French heavy cuirassier brigade. 
 Three of our guns were taken ; and the cheering of the French 
 infantry, as they advanced to the charge, presaged their hope of 
 victory. 
 
 " Do it, then," said the Duke, in reply to some whispered question 
 of Lord Uxbridge ; and shortly after the heavy trot of advancing 
 squadrons was heard behind. 
 
 They were the Life Guards and the Blues, who, with the first 
 Dragoon Guards and the Enniskillens, were formed into close column. 
 
 " I know the ground, my lord," said I to Lord Uxbridge. 
 
 " Come along, sir, come along," said he, as he threw his hussar jacket 
 loosely behind him, to give freedom to his sword-arm " Forward, my 
 men, forward ; but steady, hold your horses in hand, threes about, and 
 together charge." 
 
 " Charge ! " he shouted ; while, as the word flew from squadron to 
 squadron, each horseman bent upon his saddle, and that mighty mass, 
 as though instinct with but one spirit, dashed like a thunderbolt upon 
 the column beneath them. The French, blown and exhausted, inferior 
 besides in weight, both of man and horse, offered but a short resistance. 
 As the tall corn bends beneath the sweeping hurricane, wave succeed- 
 ing wave, so did the steel-clad squadrons of France fall before the 
 nervous arm of Britain's cavalry. Onward they went, carrying death
 
 WATERLOO 611 
 
 and ruin before them, and never stayed their course until the guns 
 were recaptured, and the cuirassiers, repulsed, disordered, and broken, 
 had retired beneath the protection of their artillery. 
 
 There was, as a brilliant and eloquent writer on the subject mentions, 
 a terrible sameness in the whole of this battle. Incessant charges of 
 cavalry upon the squares of our infantry, whose sole manoeuvre con- 
 sisted in either deploying into line to resist the attack of infantry, or 
 falling back into square when the cavalry advanced ; performing those 
 two evolutions under the devastating fire of artillery, before the un- 
 flinching heroism of that veteran infantry whose glories had been 
 reaped upon the blood-stained fields of Austerlitz, Marengo, and 
 Wagram, or opposing an unbroken front to the whirlwind swoop of 
 infuriated cavalry. Such were the enduring and devoted services 
 demanded from the English troops, and such they failed not to render. 
 Once or twice had temper nearly failed them, and the cry ran through 
 the ranks, "Are we never to move forward? Only let us at them !" 
 But the word was not yet spoken which was to undam the pent-up 
 torrent, and bear down with unrelenting vengeance upon the now 
 exulting columns of the enemy. 
 
 It was six o'clock : the battle had continued with unchanged fortune 
 for three hours. The French, masters of La Haye Sainte, could never 
 advance further into our position. They had gained the orchard of 
 Hougoumont, but the chateau was still held by the British Guards, 
 although its blazing roof and crumbling walls made its occupation 
 rather the desperate stand of unflinching valour than the maintenance 
 of an important position. The smoke which hung upon the field rolled 
 in slow and heavy masses back upon the French lines, and gradually 
 discovered to our view the entire of the army. We quickly perceived 
 that a change was taking place in their position. The troops which on 
 their left stretched far beyond Hougoumont, were now moved nearer 
 to the centre. The attack upon the chateau seemed less vigorously 
 supported, while the oblique direction of their right wing, which, 
 pivoting upon Planchenoit, opposed a face, to the Prussians, all denoted 
 a change in their order of battle. It was now the hour when Napoleon, 
 at last convinced that nothing but the carnage he could no longer sup- 
 port could destroy the unyielding ranks of British infantry ; that 
 although Hougoumont had been partially, La Haye Sainte completely 
 won ; that upon the right of the road the farm-houses Papelotte and 
 La Haye were nearly surrounded by his troops, which with any other 
 army must prove the forerunner of defeat : yet still the victory was 
 beyond his grasp. The bold stratagems, whose success the experience 
 of a life had proved, were here to be found powerless. The decisive 
 manoeuvre of carrying one important point of the enemy's lines, of 
 turning him upon the flank, or piercing him through the centre, were 
 here found impracticable. He might launch his avalanche of grape- 
 shot, he might pour down his crashing columns of cavalry, he might 
 send forth the iron storm of his brave infantry ; but, though death in 
 every shape heralded their approach, still were others found to fill the 
 fallen ranks, and feed with their heart's blood the unslaked thirst for 
 slaughter. Well might the gallant leader of this gallant host, as he 
 watched the reckless onslaught of the untiring enemy, and looked
 
 612 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 upon the unflinching few who, bearing the proud badge of Britain, 
 alone sustained the fight, well might he exclaim, " Night or Blucher !" 
 
 It was now seven o'clock, when a dark mass was seen to form upon 
 the heights above the French centre, and divide into three gigantic 
 columns, of which the right occupied the Brussels road. These were 
 the reserves, consisting of the Old and Young Guards, and amounting 
 to twelve thousand the elite of the French army reserved by the 
 Emperor for a great coup de mam. These veterans of a hundred 
 battles had been stationed, from the beginning of the day, inactive 
 spectators of the fight ; their hour was now come, and, with a shout of 
 " Vive I'Empereur!" which rose triumphantly over the din and crash 
 of battle, they began their march. Meanwhile, aides-de-camp galloped 
 along the lines, announcing the arrival of Grouchy, to reanimate the 
 drooping spirits of the men ; for, at last, a doubt of victory was break- 
 ing upon the minds of those who never before, in the most adverse hour 
 of fortune, deemed his star could set that led them on to glory. 
 
 " They are coming : the attack will be made on the centre, my 
 lord," said Lord Fitzroy Somerset, as he directed his glass upon the 
 column. Scarcely had he spoken when the telescope fell from his 
 hand, as his arm, shattered by a French bullet, fell motionless to 
 his side. 
 
 " I see it," was the cool reply of the Duke, as he ordered the Guards 
 to deploy into line, and lie down behind the ridge, which now the 
 French artillery had found the range of, and were labouring at their 
 guns. In front of them the Fifty-second, Seventy-first, and Ninety-fifth 
 were formed ; the artillery stationed above and partly upon the road, 
 loaded with grape, and waited but the word to open. 
 
 It was an awful, a dreadful moment : the Prussian cannon thundered 
 on our left ; but, so desperate was the French resistance, they made 
 but little progress ; the dark columns of the Guard had now com- 
 menced the ascent, and the artillery ceased their fire as the bayonets of 
 the grenadiers showed themselves upon the slope. Then began that 
 tremendous cheer from right to left of our line which those who heard 
 never can forget. It was the impatient, long-restrained burst of 
 unslaked vengeance. With the instinct which valour teaches, they 
 knew the hour of trial was come ; and that wild cry flew from rank to 
 rank, echoing from the blood-stained walls of Hougoumont to the far- 
 off valley of La Papelotte. "They come ! they come ! " was the cry ; 
 and the shout of e( Vive I'Empereur!" mingled, with the outburst of the 
 British line. 
 
 Under an overwhelming shower of grape, to which succeeded a 
 charge of cavalry of the Imperial Guard, the head of Ney's column fired 
 its volley and advanced with the bayonet. The British artillery now 
 opened at half range, and, although the plunging fire scathed and 
 devastated the dark ranks of the Guards, on they came ; Ney himself, 
 on foot, at their head. Twice the leading division of that gallant 
 column turned completely round, as the withering fire wasted and con- 
 sumed them ; but they were resolved to win. 
 
 Already they gained the crest of the hill, and the first line of the 
 British were falling back before them. The artillery closes up ; the 
 flanking fire from the guns upon the road opens upon them ; the head
 
 ris cKargz. Vn ' ** 
 Imystlf krtmff
 
 WATERLOO 613 
 
 of their column breaks like a shell ; the Duke seizes the moment, and 
 advances on foot towards the ridge. 
 
 " Up, Guards, and at them ! " he cried. 
 
 The hour of triumph and vengeance had arrived. In a moment the 
 Guards were on their feet ; one volley was poured in ; the bayonets 
 were brought to the charge ; they closed upon the enemy : then was 
 seen the most dreadful struggle that the history of all war can present. 
 Furious with long restrained passion, the Guards rushed upon the 
 leading divisions ; the Seventy-first, and Ninety-fifth, and Twenty-sixth 
 overlapped them on the flanks. Their generals fell thickly on every 
 side : Michel, Jamier, and Mallet are killed ; Friant lies wounded 
 upon the ground ; Ney, his dress pierced and ragged with balls, shouts 
 still to advance ; but the leading files waver ; they fall back ; the 
 supporting division thicken ; confusion, panic succeeds ; the British 
 press down ; the cavalry come galloping up to their assistance ; and, 
 at last, pell-mell, overwhelmed and beaten, the French fall back upon 
 the Old Guard. This was the decisive moment of the day the Duke 
 closed his glass, as he said : 
 
 " The field is won. Order the whole line to advance." 
 
 On they came, four deep, and poured like a torrent from the height. 
 
 "Let the Life Guards charge them/' said the Duke; but every 
 aide-de-camp on his staff was wounded, and I myself brought the order 
 to Lord Uxbridge. 
 
 Lord Uxbridge had already anticipated his orders, and bore down 
 with four regiments of heavy cavalry upon the French centre. The 
 Prussian artillery thundered upon their flank, and at their rear. The 
 British bayonet was in their front ; while a panic fear spread through 
 their ranks, and the cry of " Sauve qui pent ! " resounded on all sides. 
 In vain Ney, the bravest of the brave; in vain Soult, Bertraud, 
 Gourgaud, and Labedoyere, burst from the broken disorganised mass, 
 and called on them to stand fast. A battalion of the Old Guard, with 
 Cambronne at their head, alone obeyed the summons: forming into 
 square, they stood between the pursuers and their prey, offering them- 
 selves a sacrifice to the tarnished honour of their arms : to the order 
 to surrender they answered with a cry of defiance ; and, as our cavalry 
 flushed and elated with victory, rode round their bristling ranks, no 
 quailing look, no craven spirit was there. The Emperor himself 
 endeavoured to repair the disaster; he rode with lightning speed 
 hither and thither, commanding, ordering, nay, imploring too; but 
 already the night was falling, the confusion became each moment more 
 inextricable, and the effort was a fruitless one. A regiment of the 
 Guards and two batteries were in reserve behind Plancheuoit : he 
 threw them rapidly into position ; but the overwhelming impulse of 
 flight drove the mass upon them, and they were carried away upon the 
 torrent of the beaten army. No sooner did the Emperor see this ins 
 last hope desert him, than he dismounted from his horse, and, draw- 
 ing his sword, threw himself into a square, which the first regiment 
 of chasseurs of the Old Guard had formed with a remnant of the 
 battalion ; Jerome followed him as he called out : 
 
 " You are right, brother : here should perish all who bear the name 
 of Buonaparte."
 
 014 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 The same moment the Prussian light artillery rend their ranks 
 asunder, and the cavalry charge down upon the scattered fragments. 
 A few of his staff, who never left him, place the Emperor upon a horse 
 and fly through the death-dealing artillery and musketry. A squadron 
 of the Life Guards, to which I had attached myself, came up at the 
 moment, and as Blucher's hussars rode madly here and there, where 
 so lately the crowd of staff officers had denoted the presence of 
 Napoleon, expressed their rage and disappointment in curses and 
 cries of vengeance. 
 
 Cambronue's battalion stood yet unbroken, and seemed to defy every 
 attack that was brought against them. To the second summons to 
 surrender they replied as indignantly as at first ; and Vivian's brigade 
 was ordered to charge them. A cloud of British horse bore down on 
 every face of the devoted square ; but firm as in their hour of victory, 
 the heroes of Marengo never quailed ; and twice the bravest blood of 
 Britain recoiled, baffled and dismayed. There was a pause for some 
 minutes, and even then, as we surveyed our broken and blood-stained 
 squadrons, a cry of admiration burst from our ranks at the gallant 
 bearing of that glorious infantry. Suddenly the tramp of approaching 
 cavalry was heard ; I turned my head and saw two squadrons of the 
 Second Life Guards. The officer who led them on was bareheaded ; 
 his long dark hair streaming wildly behind him and upon his pale 
 features, to which not even the headlong enthusiasm of battle had 
 lent one touch of colour. He rode straight to where I was standing, 
 his dark eyes fixed upon me with a look so fierce, so penetrating, that 
 I could not look away ; the features, save in this respect, had almost a 
 look of idiocy. It was Hammersly. 
 
 <( Ha !" he cried at last, " I have sought you out the entire day, but 
 in vain. It it not yet too late. Give me your hand, boy. You once 
 called on me to follow .you, and I did not refuse ; I trust you'll do the 
 like by me. Is it not so ? " 
 
 A terrible perception of his meaning shot through my mind as 
 I clasped his clay-cold hand in mine, and for a moment I did not 
 speak. 
 
 " I hoped for better than this," said he bitterly, and as a glance of 
 withering scorn flashed from his eye. " I did trust that he who was 
 preferred before me was at least not a coward." 
 
 As the word fell from his lips I nearly leaped from my saddle, and 
 mechanically raised my sabre to cleave him on the spot. 
 
 "Then follow me," shouted he, pointing with his sword to the 
 glistening ranks before us. 
 
 t( Come on," said I, with a voice hoarse with passion, while, burying 
 my spurs in my horse's flanks, I sprang on a full length before him, 
 and bore down upon the enemy. A loud shout, a deafening volley, the 
 agonising cry of the wounded and the dying, were all I heard, as my 
 horse, rearing madly upwards, plunged twice into the air, and then fell 
 dead upon the earth, crushing me beneath his cumbrous weight, lifeless 
 and insensible. 
 
 The day was breaking ; the cold, grey light of morning was strug- 
 gling through the misty darkness, when I once more recovered my
 
 WATERLOO 615 
 
 consciousness. There are moments in life when memory can so 
 suddenly conjure up the whole past before us that there is scarcely 
 time for a doubt, ere the disputed reality is palpable to our senses. 
 Such was this to me. One hurried glance upon the wide, bleak plain 
 before me, and every circumstance of the battlefield was present to 
 my recollection. The dismounted guns, the broken waggons, the heaps 
 of dead or dying, the straggling parties who on foot or horseback 
 traversed the field, and the dark litters which carried the wounded, all 
 betokened the sad evidences of the preceding day's battle. 
 
 Close around me where I lay the ground was marked with the 
 bodies of our cavalry, intermixed with the soldiers of the Old Guard ; 
 the broad brow and stalwart chest of the Saxon lay bleaching beside 
 the bronzed and bearded warrior of Gaul, while the torn-up ground 
 attested the desperation of that struggle which closed the day. 
 
 As my eye ranged over this harrowing spectacle a dreadful anxiety 
 shot through me as I asked myself whose had been the victory. A 
 certain confused impression of flight and of pursuit remained in my 
 mind ; but, at the moment, the circumstances of my own position in 
 the early part of the day increased the difficulty of reflection, and left 
 me in a state of intense and agonising uncertainty. Although not 
 wounded, I had been so crushed by my fall that it was not without 
 pain I got upon my legs. I soon perceived that the spot around me 
 had not yet been visited by those vultures of the battlefield who strip 
 alike the dead and dying. The distance of the place from where the 
 great conflict of the battle had occurred was probably the reason ; and 
 now, as the straggling sunbeams fell upon the earth, I could trace the 
 helmet of the Enniskilleners, or the tall bear-skin of the Scots Greys, 
 lying in thick confusion, where the steel cuirass and long sword of the 
 French Dragoons showed the fight had been hottest. As I turned my 
 eyes hither and thither I could see no living thing near me. In every 
 attitude of struggling agony they lay around, some buried beneath 
 their horses, some bathed in blood, some, with clenched hands and 
 darting eye-balls, seemed struggling even in death : but all was still ; 
 not a word, not a sigh, not a groan was there. I was turning to 
 leave the spot, and, uncertain which way to direct my steps, looked 
 once more around, when my glance rested upon the pale and marble 
 features of one who even in that moment of doubt and difficulty there 
 was no mistaking. His coat, torn widely open, was grasped in either 
 hand ; while his breast was shattered with balls, and bathed in gore. 
 Gashed and mutilated as he lay, still the features wore no trace of 
 
 over and whispered his name ; I placed my hand upon his heart, whore 
 even still the life blood was warm : but he was dead. Poor Ham- 
 mersly ! His was a gallant soul ; and as I looked upon his blood- 
 stained corpse, my tears fell fast and hot upon his brow to think how 
 far I had myself been the cause of a life blighted in its hope, and a 
 death like his.
 
 616 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 CHAPTER CXXI 
 
 BRUSSELS 
 
 O.VCB more I would entreat my reader's indulgence for the prolixity of 
 a narrative which has grown beneath my hands to a length I had never 
 intended. This shall, however, be the last time for either the offence 
 or the apology. My story is now soon concluded. 
 
 After wandering about for some time, uncertain which way to take, 
 I at length reached the Charleroi road, now blocked by carriages and 
 waggons, conveying the wounded towards Brussels. Here I learnt 'for 
 the first time that we had gained the battle, and heard of the total 
 annihilation of the French army, and the downfall of the Emperor. 
 On arriving at the farm-house of Mont St. Jean I found a number of 
 officers, whose wounds prevented their accompanying the army in its 
 forward movement. One of them witli whom I was slightly acquainted 
 informed me that General Dashwood had spent the greater part of the 
 night upon the field in search of me, and that my servant, Mike, was 
 in a state of distraction at my absence, that bordered on insanity. 
 While he was speaking, a burst of laughter and the tones of a well- 
 remembered voice behind attracted my attention. 
 
 " Made a very good thing of it, upon my life. A dressing-case 
 not gold, you know, but silver gilt a dozen knives, with blood-stone 
 handles, and a little coffee-pot, with the imperial arms not to speak 
 of three hundred Naps in a green silk purse Lord ! it reminds me of 
 the Peninsula. Do you know, those Prussians are mere barbarians 
 haven't a notion of civilised war. Bless your heart, my fellows in the 
 legion would have ransacked the old coach from the boot to the sword- 
 case in half the time they took to cut down the coachman." 
 
 "The Major ! as I live," said I. "How goes it, Major?" 
 
 " Eh, Charley, when did you turn up ? Delighted to see you. They 
 told me you were badly wounded, or killed, or something of that 
 kind ; but I should have paid the little debt to your executors, all 
 the same." 
 
 " All the same, no doubt, Major ; but where, in Heaven's name, did 
 you fall upon that mine of pillage you have just been talking of? " 
 
 " In the Emperor's carriage, to be sure, boy. While the Duke was 
 watching all day the advance of Ney's columns, and keeping an anxious 
 look-out for the Prussians, I sat in a window in this old farm-house, 
 and never took my eye off the garden at Plauchenoit. I saw the 
 imperial carriage there in the morning it was there also at noon and 
 they never put the horses to it till past seven in the evening. The 
 roads were very heavy, and the crowd was great I judged the pace 
 couldn't be a fast one ; and with four of the Enniskilleners I charged 
 it like a man. The Prussians, however, had the start of us ; and, if 
 they hadn't thought, from my seat on horseback and my general 
 appearance, that I was Lord Oxbridge, I should have got but a younger 
 son's portion. However, I got in first, filled my pockets with a few 
 little souvenirs of the Emperor, and then, laying my hands upon what
 
 BRUSSELS 617 
 
 was readiest, got out in time to escape being shot ; for two of Blucher's 
 hussars, thinking I must be the Emperor, fired at me through the 
 window. " 
 
 e ' What an escape you had ! " 
 
 "Hadn't I, though? Fortunate, too, my Enniskilleners saw the 
 whole thing ; for I intend to make the circumstance the ground of an 
 application for a pension. Harkye, Charley, don't say anything about 
 the coffee-pot and the knives : the Duke, you know, has strange notions 
 of his own on these matters. But isn't that your fellow fighting his 
 way yonder ? " 
 
 " Tare-an'-ages, don't hould me that's himself devil a one 
 else." 
 
 This exclamation came from Mickey Free, who, with his dress torn 
 and dishevelled, his eyes bloodshot and strained, was upsetting and 
 elbowing all before him, as he made his way towards me through the 
 crowd. 
 
 " Take that fellow to the guard-house ! Lay hold of him, sergeant ! 
 Knock him down ! Who is the scoundrel ? " 
 
 Such were the greetings he met with on every side. Regardless 
 of everything and everybody, he burst his way through the dense 
 mass. 
 
 " Oh, murther ! oh, Mary ! oh, Moses ! is he safe here after all?" 
 
 The poor fellow could say no more, but burst into a torrent of 
 tears. 
 
 A roar of laughter around him soon, however, turned the current of 
 his emotions ; when, dashing the scalding drops from his eyelids, lie 
 glared fiercely like a tiger on every side. 
 
 " Ye're laughing at me, are ye? " cried he, " bekase I love the hand 
 that fed me, and the master that stood to me. But let us see, now, 
 which of us two has the stoutest heart ; you, with your grin on you, 
 or myself with the salt tears on my face." 
 
 As he spoke, he sprang upon them like a madman, striking right and 
 left at everything before him. Down they went beneath his blows, 
 levelled with the united strength of energy and passion, till at length, 
 rushing upon him in numbers, he was overpowered and thrown to the 
 ground. It was with some difficulty I accomplished his rescue ; for 
 his enemies felt by no means assured how far his amicable propensities 
 for the future could be relied upon ; and, indeed, Mike himself had a 
 most constitutional antipathy to binding himself by any pledge. With 
 some persuasion, however, I reconciled all parties ; and having, by the 
 kindness of a brother officer, provided myself with a couple of troop 
 horses, I mounted and set out for Brussels, followed by Mickey, who 
 had effectually cured his auditory of any tendency to laughter at his 
 cost. 
 
 As J rode up to the Belle Vue I saw Sir George Dashwood in the 
 window. He was speaking to the Ambassador, Lord Clancarty ; but 
 the moment he caught my eye, hurried down to meet me. 
 
 " Charley, safe safe, my boy. Now am I really happy. The 
 glorious day had been one of sorrow to me for the rest of my life, had 
 anything happened to you. Come up with me at once ; I have more 
 than one friend here who longs to thank you."
 
 618 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 So saying, he hurried me along, and before I could well remember 
 where I was, introduced me to a number of persons in the saloon. 
 
 " Ah, very happy to know you, sir," said Lord Clancarty ; " perhaps 
 we had better walk this way. My friend Dashwood has explained to 
 me the very pressing reasons there are for this step ; and I, for my 
 part, see no objection." 
 
 c ' What, in Heaven's name, can he mean ? " thought I, as he stopped 
 short, expecting me to say something, while, in utter confusion, I 
 smiled, simpered, and muttered some flat nothings. 
 
 "Love and war, sir," resumed the Ambassador, "very admirable 
 associates, and you certainly have contrived to couple them most 
 closely together. A long attachment, I believe ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, a very long attachment," stammered I, not knowing which 
 of us was about to become insane. 
 
 " A very charming person indeed ; I have seen the lady," replied his 
 lordship, as he opened the door of a small room, and beckoned me to 
 follow. The table was covered with paper and materials for writing ; 
 but before I had time to ask for any explanation of this unaccountable 
 mystery, he added, " Oh, I was forgetting, this must be witnessed : 
 wait one moment " 
 
 With these words he left the room, while I, amazed and thunder- 
 struck, vacillating between fear and hope, trembling lest the delusive 
 glimmering of happiness should give way at every moment, and yet 
 totally unable to explain by any possible supposition how fortune could 
 so far have favoured me. 
 
 While yet I stood hesitating and uncertain, the door opened, and the 
 senhora entered. She looked a little pale, though not less beautiful 
 than ever ; and her features wore a slight trace of seriousness, which 
 rather heightened than took from the character of her loveliness. 
 
 (t I heard you had come, chevalier," said she, " and so I ran down to 
 shake hands with you : we may not meet again for some time." 
 
 " How so, senhora ? you are not going to leave us, I trust ? " 
 
 " Then you have not seen Fred ? Oh, I forgot, you know nothing 
 of our plans." 
 
 " Here we are at last," said the Ambassador, as he came in, followed 
 by Sir George, Power, and two other officers. " Ah, ma belle, how 
 fortunate to find you here ? I assure you it is a matter of no small 
 difficulty to get people together at such a time as this." 
 
 " Charley, my dear friend," cried Power, " I scarcely hoped to have 
 had a shake hands with you ere I left." 
 
 " Do, Fred, tell me what all this means ? I am in a perfect 
 maze of doubt and difficulty, and cannot comprehend a word I hear 
 about me." 
 
 " Faith, my boy, I have little time for explanation. The man who 
 was at Waterloo yesterday, is to be married to-morrow, and to sail for 
 India in a week, has quite enough upon his hands." 
 
 " Colonel Power, you will please to put your signature here," said 
 Lord Clancarty, addressing himself to me. 
 
 " If you will allow me," said Fred, " I had rather represent myself." 
 
 "Is not this the Colonel, then? Why, confound it, I have been 
 wishing him joy the last quarter of an hour."
 
 BRUSSELS 619 
 
 A burst of laughter from the whole party, in which it was pretty 
 evident I took no part, followed this announcement 
 
 " And so you are not Colonel Power ? Nor going to be married 
 
 1 1 ~ 
 
 either ? 
 
 I stammered out something, while, overwhelmed with confusion, 1 
 stooped down to sign the paper. Scarcely had I done so, when a 
 renewed burst of laughter broke from the party. 
 
 " Nothing but blunders, upon my soul," said the Ambassador, as he 
 handed the paper from one to another. 
 
 What was my confusion to discover that, instead of Charles O'Malley, 
 I had written the name, Lucy Dashwood ! I could bear no more. 
 The laughing and raillery of my friends came upon my wounded and 
 irritated feelings like the most poignant sarcasm. I seized my cap and 
 rushed from the room. Desirous of escaping from all that knew me, 
 anxious to bury my agitated and distracted thoughts in solitude and 
 quiet, I opened the first door before me, and, seeing it an empty and 
 unoccupied room, threw myself upon the sofa, and buried my head 
 within my hands. Oh ! how often had the phantom of happiness 
 passed within my reach, but still glided from my grasp. How often 
 had I beheld the goal I aimed at, as it were before me, and the next 
 moment all all the bleak reality of my evil fortune was louring 
 around me ! 
 
 II Oh, Lucy ! Lucy ! " I exclaimed aloud, " but for you and a few 
 words carelessly spoken, I had never trod that path of ambition whose 
 end has been the wreck of all my happiness. But for you I had never 
 loved so fondly ; I had never filled my mind with one image which, 
 excluding every other thought, leaves no pleasure but in it alone. 
 Yes, Lucy, but for you I should have gone tranquilly down the stream 
 of life with nought of grief or care, save such as are inseparable from 
 the passing chances of mortality. Loved, perhaps, and cared for by 
 some one who would have deemed it no disgrace to have linked her 
 fortune to my own. But for you, and 1 had never been " 
 
 " A soldier, you would say," whispered a soft voice, as a light hand 
 gently touched my shoulder. " I had come," continued she, " to thank 
 you for a gift no gratitude can repay my father's life ; but, truly, I 
 did not think to hear the words you have spoken, nor, having heard 
 them, can I feel their justice. No, Mr. O'Malley, deeply grateful as I 
 am to you for the service you once rendered myself, bound as I am by 
 every tie of thankfulness, by the greater one to my father, yet do I 
 feel that in the impulse I have given to your life, if so be that to mo 
 you owe it, I have done more to repay my debt to you, than by all the 
 friendship, all the esteem I owe you ; if, indeed, by my means, you 
 became a soldier, if my few and random words raised within your 
 breast that fire of ambition which has been your beacon-light to honour 
 and to glory, then am I indeed proud." 
 
 " Alas ! alas ! Lucy Miss Dashwood, I would say forgive me if I 
 know not the very words I utter. How has my career fulfilled the 
 promise that gave it birth? For you, and you only, to gain your 
 affection, to win your heart, I became a soldier ; hardship, danger, even 
 death itself were courted by me, supported by the one thought, that 
 you had cared for, or had pitied me ; and now, and now "
 
 G20 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " And now," said she, while her eyes beamed upon me with a very 
 flood of tenderness, " is it nothing that in my woman's heart I have 
 glowed with pride at triumphs I could read of, but dared not share 
 in? Is it nothing that you have lent to my hours of solitude and 
 of musing the fervour of that career, the maddening enthusiasm 
 of that glorious path my sex denied me ? I have followed you in 
 my thoughts across the burning plains of the Peninsula, through 
 the long hours of the march in the dreary nights, even to the battle- 
 field. I have thought of you ; I have dreamed of you ; I have prayed 
 for you." 
 
 <e Alas ! Lucy, but not loved me." 
 
 The very words, as I spoke them, sank with a despairing cadence 
 upon my heart. Her hand, which had fallen upon mine, trembled 
 violently ; I pressed my lips upon it, but she moved it not. I dared 
 to look up, her head was turned away, but her heaving bosom betrayed 
 her emotion. 
 
 "No, no, Lucy," cried I passionately, " I will not deceive myself, I 
 ask for more than you can give me. Farewell ! " 
 
 Now, and for the last time, I pressed her hand once more to my lips, 
 my hot tears fell fast upon it. I turned to go, and threw one last look 
 upon her. Our eyes met I cannot say what it was but, in a moment 
 the whole current of my thoughts was changed ; her look was bent 
 upon me beaming with softness and affection, her hand gently pressed 
 my own, and her lips murmured my name. 
 
 The door burst open at this moment, and Sir George Dashwood 
 appeared. Lucy turned one fleeting look upon her father, and fell 
 fainting into my arms. 
 
 "God bless you, my boy," said the old General, as he hurriedly 
 wiped a tear from his eye, " I am now indeed a happy father." 
 
 CHAPTER CXXII 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 THE sun had set about half-au-hour. Already were the dusky shadows 
 blending with the faint twilight, as on a lovely June evening we entered 
 the little village of Portumna : we, I say, for Lucy was beside me. 
 For the last few miles of the way I had spoken little ; thoughts of the 
 many times I had travelled that same road, in how many moods, occu- 
 pied my mind, and although, as we flew rapidly along, some well-known 
 face would every now and then present itself, I had but time for the 
 recognition ere we were past. Arousing myself from my reverie, I 
 was pointing out to Lucy certain well-known spots in the landscape, 
 and directing her attention to places, with the names of which she had 
 been for some time familiar, when suddenly a loud shout rent the air, 
 and the next moment the carriage was surrounded by hundreds of 
 country people, some of whom brandished blazing pine torches, others 
 carried rude banners in their hands ; but all testified the most fervent
 
 '
 
 CONCLUSION 621 
 
 joy as they hade us welcome. The horses were speedily unharnessed, 
 and their places occupied hy a crowd of every age and sex, who hurried 
 us along through the straggling street of the village, now a perfect 
 blaze of bonfires. 
 
 Mounds of turf, bog-fir, and tar barrels sent up their ruddy blaze, 
 while hundreds of wild but happy faces flitted around and through 
 them now dancing merrily in chorus ; now plunging madly into the 
 midst of the fire, and scattering the red embers on every side. Pipers 
 were there, too, mounted upon cars or turf-kishes ; even the very 
 roof-tops rang out their merry notes ; the ensigns of the little fishing- 
 craft waved in the breeze, and seemed to feel the general joy around 
 them, while over the door of the village inn stood a brilliant lighted 
 transparency, representing the head of the O'Malleys holding a very 
 scantily-robed young lady by the tips of the fingers ; but whether this 
 damsel was intended to represent the genius of the west, or my wife, I 
 did not venture to inquire. 
 
 If the welcome were rude, assuredly it was a hearty one. Kind 
 wishes and blessings poured in on every side, and even our own hap- 
 piness took a brighter colouring from the beaming looks around us. 
 The scene was wild : the lurid glare of the red torchlight, the frantic 
 
 festures, the maddening shouts, the forked flames rising amidst the 
 ark shadows of the little hamlet, had something strange and almost 
 unearthly in their effect ; but Lucy showed no touch of fear : it is 
 true she grasped my hand a little closer, but her fair cheek glowed with 
 pleasure, and her eye brightened as she looked, and as the rich light 
 fell upon her beauteous features, how many a blessing, heartfelt and 
 deep, how many a word of fervent praise was spoken ! 
 
 " Ah ! then the Lord be good to you ; it's yourself has the darling 
 blue eyes. Look at them, Mary ; ain't they like the blossoms on a 
 peacock's tail ? Musha, may sorrow never put a crease in that beautiful 
 cheek ! the saints watch over you ! for your mouth is like a moss rose. 
 Be good to her, yer honour, for she's a raal gem : divil fear you, Mr. 
 Charles, but you'd have a beauty." 
 
 We wended our way slowly, the crowd ever thickening around us, 
 until we reached the market-place. Here the procession came to a 
 stand, and I could perceive by certain efforts around me that some 
 endeavour was making to enforce silence. 
 
 " Whist there ; hould your prate ; be still, Paddy. Tare-an'-ages, 
 Molly Blake, don't be holding me that way ; let us hear his reverence : 
 put him up on the barrel : haven't you got a chair for the priest ? 
 
 Run and bring a table out of Mat Haley's Here, father here, 
 
 your reverence take care, will you ? you'll have the holy man in the 
 blaze !" 
 
 By this time I could perceive that my worthy old friend, Father 
 Rush, was in the midst of the mob, with what appeared to be a written 
 oration, as long as the tail of a kite, between his hands. 
 
 " Be asy, there, ye savages who's tearing the back of my neck ? 
 hould me up straight steady, now hem ! " " Take the laste taste in 
 life to wet your lips, your riverence," said a kind voice, while at the 
 same moment a smoking tumbler of what seemed to be punch appeared 
 on the heads of the crowd.
 
 622 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 " Thank ye, Judy/' said the father, as he drained the cup. " Hould 
 the light up higher ; I can't read my speech ; there now ; be quiet, 
 will ye? Here goes. Peter, stand to me now and give me the 
 word. " 
 
 This admonition was addressed to a figure on a barrel behind the 
 priest, who, as well as the imperfect light would permit me to descry, 
 was the coadjutor of the parish, Peter Nolan. Silence being perfectly 
 established, Father Rush began : 
 
 ' ' When Mars, the god of war on high, 
 
 Of battles first did think, 
 He girt his sword upon his thigh, 
 And 
 
 And what is't, Peter ? " 
 
 " And mixed a drop of drink." 
 
 "And mixed a drop of drink," quoth Father Rush, with great 
 emphasis ; when scarcely were the words spoken than a loud shout of 
 laughter showed him his mistake, and he overturned upon the luckless 
 curate the full vial of his wrath. 
 
 " What is it you mean, Father Peter ? I'm ashamed of ye ; faith, 
 it's maybe yourself, not Mars, you are speaking of. " 
 
 The roar of merriment around prevented me hearing what passed ; 
 but I could see by Peter's gestures for it was too dark to see his face 
 that he was expressing deep sorrow for the mistake. After a little 
 time, order was again established, and Father Rush resumed : 
 
 " But love drove battles from his head, 
 
 And sick of wounds and scars ; 
 To Venus bright he knelt, and said 
 
 And said and said ; what the blazes did he say ? " 
 
 " I'll make you Mrs. Man?," 
 
 shouted Peter, loud enough to be heard. 
 
 "Bad luck to you, Peter Nolan, it's yoursilf s the ruin of me this 
 blessed night. Here have I come four miles with my speech in my 
 pocket, 'per imbres et ignes.' " Here the crowd blessed themselves 
 devoutly. "Ay, just so ; and he spoilt it for me entirely." At the 
 earnest entreaty, however, of the crowd, Father Rush, with renewed 
 caution to his unhappy prompter, again returned to the charge. 
 
 ' ' Thus love compelled the god to yield 
 
 And seek for purer joys ; 
 He laid aside his helm and shield, 
 And took 
 
 Took took " 
 
 " And took to corduroys," 
 cried Father Nolan. 
 
 This time, however, the good priest's patience could endure no more, 
 and he levelled a blow at his luckless colleague, which, missing its aim,
 
 CONCLUSION 623 
 
 lost him his own balance, and brought him down from his eminence 
 upon the heads of the mob. 
 
 Scarcely had I recovered the perfect convulsion of laughter into 
 which this scene had thrown me, when the broad brim of Father 
 Nolan's hat appeared at the window of the carriage. Before I had 
 time to address him he took it reverently from his head, disclosing in 
 the act the ever-memorable features of Master Frank Webber ! 
 
 "What ! eh ! can it be?" said I. 
 
 " It is surely not," said Lucy, hesitating at the name. 
 
 " Your aunt, Miss Judy Macan. No more than the Rev. Peter 
 Nolan, I assure you ; though, I confess, it has cost me much more to 
 personate the latter character than the former, and the reward by no 
 means so tempting." 
 
 Here poor Lucy blushed deeply at the remembrance of the scene 
 alluded to : and, anxious to turn the conversation, I asked by what 
 stratagem he had succeeded to the functions of the worthy Peter. 
 
 ' ' At the cost of twelve tumblers of the strongest punch ever brewed 
 at the O'Malley Arms. The good father gave in only ten minutes 
 before the oration began ; and I had barely time to change my dress 
 and mount the barrel without a moment's preparation." 
 
 The procession once more resumed its march, and hurried along 
 through the town ; we soon reached the avenue. Here fresh prepara- 
 tions for welcoming us had also been made ; but, regardless of blazing 
 tar barrels and burning logs, the reckless crowd pressed madly on, their 
 wild cheers waking the echoes as they went. We soon reached the 
 house, but with a courtesy which even the humblest and poorest native 
 of this countiy is never devoid of, the preparations of noise and 
 festivity had not extended to the precincts of the dwelling. With a 
 tact which those of higher birth and older blood might be proud of, 
 they limited the excesses of their reckless and careless merriment to 
 their own village : so that, as we approached the terrace, all was peace- 
 ful, still, and quiet. 
 
 I lifted Lucy from the carriage, and, passing my arm around her, 
 was assisting her to mount the steps, when a bright gleam of moon- 
 light burst forth, and lit up the whole scene. It was, indeed, an 
 impressive one ; among the assembled hundreds there who stood bare- 
 headed beneath the cold moonlight, not a word was now spoken ; not 
 a whisper stirred. I turned from the lawn, where the tall beech trees 
 were throwing their gigantic shadows, to where the river, peering at 
 intervals through the foliage, was flowing on its silvery track, plashing 
 amid the tall flaggers that b'ned its banks ; all were familiar, all were 
 dear to me from childhood. How doubly were they so now ! I lifted 
 up my eyes towards the door, and what was my surprise at the object 
 before them. Seated in a large chair was an old man, whose white 
 hair, flowing in straggling masses upon his neck and shoulders, stirred 
 with the night air ; his hands rested upon his knees, and his eyes, 
 turned slightly upwards, seemed to seek for some one he found it 
 difficult to recognise. Changed as he was by time, heavily as years 
 had done their work upon him, the stern features were not to be mis- 
 tit ken ; but, as I looked, he called out, in a voice whose unshaken firm- 
 ness seemed to defy the touch of time :
 
 R24 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 "Charley O'Malley ! come here, my hoy. Bring her to me, till I 
 bless you both. I've done you much wrong ; but you'll forgive an old 
 man who never asked as much from any other, living. Come here, 
 Lucy : I may call you so. Come here, my children. I have tried to 
 live on to see this day, when the head of an old house comes back with 
 honour, with fame, and with fortune, to dwell amidst his own people 
 in the old home of his fathers." 
 
 The old man bent above us, his white hair falling upon the fair locks 
 of her who knelt beside him, and pressed his cold and quivering hand 
 within her own. 
 
 " Yes, Lucy," said I, as I led her within the house, ' ' this is 
 home." 
 
 Here now ends my story. The patient reader who has followed me 
 so far, deserves at my hands that I should not trespass upon his kind- 
 ness one moment beyond the necessity : if, however, any lurking- 
 interest may remain, for some of those who have accompanied me 
 through this my history, it may be as well that I should say a few 
 words further, ere they disappear for ever. 
 
 Power went to India, immediately after his marriage, distinguished 
 himself repeatedly in the Burmese war, and finally rose to a high 
 command that he this moment holds, with honour to himself and 
 advantage to his country. 
 
 O'Shaughnessy, on half-pay, wanders about the Continent ; passing 
 his summers on the Rhine, his winters at Florence or Geneva. Known 
 to and by everybody, his interest in the service keeps him au courant 
 to every change and regulation, rendering him an invaluable com- 
 panion to all to whom an army-list is inaccessible. He is the same 
 good fellow he ever was, and adds to his many excellent qualities 
 the additional one of being the only man who can make a bull in 
 French ! 
 
 Monsoon, the Major, when last I saw him, was standing on the 
 pier at Calais, endeavouring, with a cheap telescope, to make out 
 the Dover cliffs, from a nearer prospect of which certain little family 
 circumstances might possibly debar him. He recognised me in a 
 moment, and held out his hand, while his eye twinkled with its ancient 
 drollery. 
 
 " Charley, my son, how goes it? delighted to see you. What a pity 
 I did not meet you yesterday ! Had a little dinner at Crillon's. 
 Harding, Vivian, and a few others ; they all wished for you, 'pon my 
 life they did." 
 
 " Civil, certainly," thought I, " as I have not the honour of being 
 known to them." 
 
 " You are at Meurice's," resumed he ; " a very good house, but give 
 you bad wine if they don't know you : they know me," added he, in a 
 whisper : " never try any tricks upon me. I'll just drop in upon you 
 at six." 
 
 " It is most unfortunate, Major ; I can't have the pleasure you speak 
 of we start in half-an-hour." 
 
 " Never mind, Charley, never mind; another time. By-the-bye, 
 now I think of it : don't you remember something of a ten-pound note 
 you owe me ? "
 
 L'ENVOI 625 
 
 " As well as I remember, Major, the circumstance was reversed : you 
 are the debtor." 
 
 " Upon my life, you are right ; how droll. No matter, let me have 
 the ten, and I'll give you a cheque for the whole." 
 
 The Major thrust his tongue into his cheek as he spoke, gave another 
 leer, pocketed the note, and sauntered down the pier, muttering some- 
 thing to himself about King David and greenhorns ; but how they 
 were connected I could not precisely overhear. 
 
 Baby Blake, or Mrs. Sparks, to call her by her more fitting appella- 
 tion, is a fine, fat, comely, good-looking, and gaudily dressed woman, 
 going through life as happily as need be ; her greatest difficulties and 
 her severest trials being her ineffectual efforts to convert Sparks into 
 something like a man for Galway. 
 
 Last of all, Mickey Free. Mike remains attached to our fortune 
 firmly, as at first he opened his career ; the same gay, rollicksome 
 Irishman : making songs, making love, and occasionally making punch, 
 he spends his days and his nights pretty much as he was wont to do 
 some thirty years ago. He obtains an occasional leave of absence 
 for a week or so, but for what precise purpose, or with what exact 
 object, I have never been completely able to ascertain. I have heard 
 it as true, that a very fascinating companion, and a most agreeable 
 gentleman, frequents a certain oyster-house in Dublin, called Bui-ton 
 Bindon's. I have also been told of a distinguished foreigner, whose 
 black moustache and broken English were the admiration of Chelten- 
 ham for the last two winters. I greatly fear, from the high tone of 
 the conversation in the former, and for the taste in Continental char- 
 acters in the latter resort, that I could fix upon the individual whose 
 convivial and social gifts have won so much of their esteem and 
 admiration ; but were I to run on thus I should recur to every char- 
 acter of my story, with each and all of whom you have, doubtless, 
 grown well wearied ; so here, for the last time, and with every kind 
 wish, I say adieu ! 
 
 L'ENVOI 
 
 KIND FRIENDS, It is somewhat unfortunate that the record of the 
 happiest portion of my friend's life should prove the saddest part of 
 my duty as his editor, and for this reason, that it brings me to that 
 spot where my acquaintance with you must close, and sounds the hour 
 when I must say good-bye. 
 
 They, who have never felt the mysterious link that binds the solitary 
 scribe in his lonely study, to the circle of his readers, can form no 
 adequate estimate of what his feelings are when that chain is about 
 to be broken ; they know not how often, in the fictitious garb of his 
 narrative, he has clothed the inmost workings of his heart ; they know 
 not how frequently he has spoken aloud his secret thoughts, revealing, 
 as though to a dearest friend, the springs of his action, the causes of 
 his sorrow, the sources of his hope ; they cannot believe by what a 
 sympathy he is bound to those who bow their heads above his pages ; 
 they do not think how the ideal creations of his brain are like 
 
 2 R
 
 H20 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 mutual fi-iends between him and the world, through whom he is known 
 and felt, and thought of, and by whom he reaps. in his own heart the 
 rich harvest of flattery and kindness that are rarely refused to any 
 effort to please, however poor, however humble. They know not this, 
 nor can they feel the hopes, the fears that stir within him, to earn 
 some passing word of praise nor think they, when won, what bright- 
 ness around his humble hearth it may be shedding. These are the 
 rewards for nights of toil and days of thought ; these are the recom- 
 penses which pay the haggard cheek, the sunken eye, the racked and 
 tired head. These are the stakes for which one plays his health, his 
 leisure, and his life yet not regrets the game. 
 
 Nearly three years have now elapsed since I first made my bow 
 before you. How many events have crowded into that brief space ! 
 how many things of vast moment have occurred ! Only think that in 
 the last few months you've frightened the French ! terrified M. Thiers ! 
 worried the Chinese ! and are, at this very moment, putting the 
 Yankees into a " most uncommon fix ! " not to mention the minor 
 occupations of ousting the Whigs, reinstating the Tories, and making 
 O'Connell Lord Mayor and yet, with all these, and a thousand other 
 minor cares, you have not forgotten your poor friend, the Irish 
 Dragoon. Now, this was really kind of you, and in my heart I thank 
 you for it. 
 
 Do not, I entreat you, construe my gratitude into any sense of future 
 favours ; no such thing for whatever may be my success with you 
 hereafter, I am truly deeply grateful for the past. Circumstances, into 
 which I need not enter, have made me, for some years past, a resident 
 in a foreign country, and as my lot has thrown me into a land where 
 the reputation of writing a book is pretty much on a par with that of 
 picking a pocket, it may readily be conceived with what warm thank- 
 fulness I have caught at any little testimonies of your approval, which 
 chance may have thrown in my way. 
 
 Like the reduced gentlewoman who, compelled by poverty to 
 cry fresh eggs through the streets, added after every call, " I hope 
 nobody hears me ; " so I, finding it convenient, for not a very dis- 
 similar reason, to write books, keep my authorship as quietly to 
 myself as need be, and comfort me with the assurance that nobody 
 knows me. 
 
 A word now to my critics. Never had any man more reason to be 
 satisfied with that class than myself ; as if you knew and cared for the 
 temperament of the man you were reviewing ; as if you were aware 
 of the fact, that it was at any moment in your power, by a single 
 article of severe censure, to have extinguished in him for ever all 
 effort, all ambition for success, you have mercifully extended to him 
 the mildest treatment, and meted out even your disparagement with a 
 careful measure. 
 
 While I have studied your advice with attention, and read your 
 criticisms with care, I confess I have trembled more than once before 
 your more palpable praise, for I thought you might be hoaxing me. 
 
 Now and then, to be sure, I have been accused of impressing real 
 individuals, and compelling them to serve in my book. That this 
 reproach was unjust, they who know me can best vouch for, while I
 
 L'ENVOI 627 
 
 myself can honestly aver that I never took a portrait without the 
 consent of the sitter. 
 
 Others again have fallen foul of me for treating of things, places, 
 and people with which I had no opportunity of becoming personally 
 acquainted. Thus one of my critics has showed that I could not have 
 been a Trinity College man ; and another has denied my military 
 matriculation. Now, although both my Latin and my learning are 
 on the peace establishment, and, if examined in the movements 
 for cavalry, it is perfectly possible I should be cautioned, yet, as J 
 have both a degree and a commission I might have been spared this 
 reproach. 
 
 " Of coorse," says Father Malachi Brennan, who leans over my 
 shoulder while I write, " of coorse, you ought to know all about these 
 things as well as the Duke of Wellington or Marshal Soult himself. 
 ' UNDF. DEREVATUR MILES. Ain't you in the Derry militia ? '" I hope 
 the Latin and the translation will satisfy every objection. 
 
 While, then, I have nothing but thankfulness in my heart respecting 
 the entire Press of my own country, I have a small grudge with my 
 friends of the Far West ; and as this is a season of complaint against 
 the Yankees, "why shouldn't I roll my tub also?" A certain New 
 York paper, called the Sunday Times, has thought fit for some time 
 past to fill its columns with a story of the Peninsular war, announcing 
 it as " by the Author of Charles O'Malley." Heaven knows, that 
 injured individual has sins enough of his own to answer for, without 
 fathering a whole foundling hospital of American balderdash ; but 
 this kidnapping spirit of Brother Jonathan would seem to be the 
 fashion of the day. Not content with capturing Macleod, who un- 
 happily ventured within his frontier, he must come over to Ireland 
 and lay hands on Harry Lorrequer. Thus, difficulties are thickening 
 every day. When they dispose of the Colonel then comes the 
 boundary question : after that there is Grogan's affair then me. 
 They may liberate Macleod * they may abandon the State of Maine ; 
 but what recompense can be made to me for this foul attack on my 
 literary character? It has been suggested to me from the Foreign 
 Office that the editor might be hanged. I confess I should like this ; 
 but, after all, it would be poor satisfaction for the injury done me. 
 Meanwhile, as Macleod has the pas of me, I'll wait patiently, and 
 think the matter over. 
 
 It was my intention, before taking leave of you, to have apologised 
 separately for many blunders in my book ; but the errors of the press 
 are too palpable to be attributed to me. I have written letters with- 
 out end, begged, prayed, and entreated that more care might be 
 bestowed ; but somehow, after all, they have crept in in spite of me. 
 Indeed, latterly, I began to think I found out the secret of it. My 
 publisher, excellent man, has a kind of pride about printing in Ireland, 
 and he thinks the blunders, like the green cover to the volume, give 
 the thing a national look. I think it was a countryman of mine of 
 whom the story is told, that apologised for his spelling by the bad- 
 
 * I have juat read that Macleod and Grogan have been liberated. May I 
 indulge a hope that my case will engage the sympathies of the world during 
 the Christmas holidays f H. L.
 
 628 CHARLES O'MALLEY 
 
 ness of his pen. This excuse, a little extended, may explain away 
 anachronisms, and if it won't, I am sorry foi*it, for I have no other. 
 
 Here, then, I conclude : I must say adieu ! Yet can I not do so 
 before I again assure you that if perchance I may have lightened an 
 hour of your solitude, you, my kind friends, have made happy whole 
 weeks and days of mine; and if happily I have called up a passing 
 smile upon your lip, your favour has spoken joy and gladness to many 
 a heart around my board. Is it, then, strange that I should be grate- 
 ful for the past be sorrowful for the present ? 
 
 To one and all, then, a happy Christmas ; and if, before the new 
 year, you have not forgotten me, I shall be delighted to have your 
 company at OUR MESS. 
 
 Meanwhile, believe me most respectfully and faithfully yours, 
 
 HARRY LORREQUER. 
 BRUSSELS, November 1841. 
 
 THE END 
 
 Printed by BAI.LANTYNE, HANSON & Co. 
 At the Ballantyne Press
 
 A 000 031 874