L I E> RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N IVERSITY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 823 
 R593-t
 
 U'^
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Printed by J. Darllug, LcadenhaJI-Street, Lojidou.
 
 TRADITION OF the Ci^TLE ; 
 
 OR, ^ 
 
 SCENES IN THE EMERALD ISLE. 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES. 
 
 BY 
 
 REGINA MARIA ROCHE, 
 
 AUTHOn OP 
 
 THE CHILDREN OF THE ABBEY, VICAR OF LANSDOWN, MAID OF THK 
 HAMLKT, Vc 
 
 " Oh Erin, Boy coantry ! thoagfa sad and foreakeOj 
 
 In dreams I revisit thy sea-beaten shore; 
 
 Bot, alas ! in a far foreigu land I awaken. 
 
 And aigh for the friends who can meet me no mor«.' 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR 
 
 A. K. NEWMAN AND CO. LEADENHALL-STREET. 
 
 1824.
 
 1k£»^
 
 V. I 
 
 THE 
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 h 
 
 ** Sunk are thy bowers in shapeless ruin all, 
 And the long grass o'ertops the mould' ring wall ; 
 And, trembling, shrinking from the spoiler's hand, 
 Far, far away, thy children leave the land.' 
 
 JL HE trampling of horses in the court- 
 yard of the castle, drew the attention of 
 Mrs. O'Brien from a new publication she 
 ^was engaged with at the moment; she 
 ^^esigerly ran to a window, in the hope that 
 ^it was Mr. O'Brien's arrival from the 
 " grand city" that was thus announced ; 
 nor was she disappointed in the hope — he 
 :^was alighting at the instant, and ere she 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 could meet him in the hall, was already at 
 the head of the stairs. 
 
 Mutual greetings over — " Well, my 
 love," said Mrs. O'Brien, " I am happy to 
 see you looking so ^rell, after the fatigue 
 you must, doubtless, have gone through 
 from this long, and, alas for poor Ireland ! 
 last session of parliament." , noiriw 
 
 " Fatigue indeed, you may well say, Mrs. 
 O'Brien ; it was warm work — warm work, 
 indeed, to the very last moment ; but I 
 am richly repaid for all, as are doubtless 
 otliers, by the result — ^by the bill, the glo- 
 rious bill, that is to render this now dis- 
 tracted country a second paradise, having 
 passed, in spite of all the opposition that 
 was made to it — opposition, as if in fram- 
 ing it, it was for the purpose of ha\'ing us 
 given up to be devoured by England, in- 
 stead of beng taken under her paternal 
 wing, as I observed to my friend, Dick 
 
 M •, who was on the right side^f the 
 
 question, from his perfect knowledge of 
 
 " Well, my love, I hope neither he nor
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 3 
 
 you, or any others concerned in the affair, 
 will yet have reason to think, that in your 
 view of politics, in this instance, you were 
 mistaken." 
 
 " Oh ! pooh ! that is next to impossible, 
 Mrs. O'Brien ; and really I could not 
 help being astonished at the astonishment 
 which many of my friends and neighbours 
 evinced at my advocating and supporting 
 the bill with all my might and main, as I 
 did ; but when people allow themselves to 
 be violently prejudiced, their understand- 
 ings are of very little use to them." 
 
 " Very little indeed," assented the lady; 
 " but now, my dear, that this^rand affair 
 of the union is irrevocably settled, I pre- 
 sume " 
 
 " Irrevocably ! Heaven forbid it should 
 be otherwise !" 
 
 " 1 claim to know, what you have hi- 
 therto declined telling me, what are the 
 advantages you deem likely to be derived 
 from it?" 
 
 " Advantages ! oh, innumerable ! incal-
 
 4 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 culable ! such as I have not ability either 
 to explain or enumerate ; but time, time, 
 my dear, will do this — time will better 
 display and unfold to your view, than I 
 could possibly do, the benefits resulting 
 from it. When you see every man sitting 
 at peace under the shade of his own fig- 
 tree — when you behold the now-barren 
 waste converted into a busy scene of po- 
 pulation, through the active exertions of 
 emulous industry " 
 
 " I should indeed to see this, as the 
 consequences of the union, be led to think 
 it a blessed measure for the country ; but 
 I have my apprehensions that what you 
 have predicted will not exactly be the re- 
 sult of it ; for from the rank, and fortune, 
 and fashion, that must now be drawn from 
 the kingdom, it strikes me that there will 
 be a great check given to industry, from 
 the want of proper encouragement which 
 this circumstance must occasion.^ 
 
 " There you are out, my dear — the very 
 circumstance that you conceive must ope- 
 rate as a discouragement to industry, must
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTI.E. 5 
 
 operate as an incentive to it, for in pro- 
 portion as a man wants, he is generally 
 supposed to be stimulated to exertion ; and 
 when the lower classes here find they have 
 no longer indulgent landlords to fly to in 
 all their necessities, they will naturally 
 betake themselves to labour, and by being, 
 as one may say, actually forced to it, for 
 the relief of those wants, they will then 
 have no one to turn to for the purpose but 
 themselves — have no time for that plot- 
 ting, and planning, and scheming, which 
 has so long been the means of distracting 
 this unhappy country ; thus, as petted 
 children, when they have no longer those 
 at hand who helped to spoil them, become 
 
 -but, speaking of children, whei'e is 
 
 that rogue Donaghue, my dear ?" 
 
 " Out with his playfellow Terence — 
 had I been certain of your arrival, this 
 morning, I should have kept him at home." 
 
 " Oh ! I am glad you didn't — I shall see 
 the rogue time enough ; I hate to have chil- 
 dren cooped up in a house more than is ab- 
 , solutely necessary. Exercise and air are
 
 6 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 every thing for them— our boy wouldn't 
 have been the fellow he is, if we hadn*t 
 brought him up in the hardy manner we 
 have done; but indeed, in bringing him up, 
 I always had in my eye the way in which 
 the great Henry was brought up ; and in- 
 deed, when I see him racing about the 
 rocks, or boxing his companion, he often 
 brings him to my recollection." 
 
 " As to that, my dear, he is not the 
 only child that in this way might recall 
 him to your mind; but I hope it will not 
 always be merely through racing about 
 the rocks, or boxing his playfellow, that 
 he will recall him to your recollection." 
 
 " Oh, I have no fear of that — Dona- 
 ghue is a child of promise, I assure you ; 
 I have great expectations both of and for 
 him, for do you not perceive how atten- 
 tive he is even already to me, when I am 
 reading a newspaper ?" 
 
 " Yes, especially if it is a horrible story 
 you are reading, so much so, that his sleep 
 has been more than once prevented by his 
 fears of thieves breaking in, or ruffians
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLB. 7 
 
 stealing from the closet in his chamber — 
 
 but to revert to our subject- " 
 
 " Excuse me, my dear; but really I 
 have had so much of argument lately, that 
 I must have a little rest ere I can enter 
 upon any thing of the kind again; yet to 
 try and satisfy your mind, if no other com- 
 fort were derived from the union, would it 
 not be one, the pretext it will furnish the 
 landlord with for absenting himself, from 
 time to time, from the craving, wrangling, 
 troublesome set of beings, that,in the persons 
 of bis own tenantry, are continually ham- 
 pering him, while he is within their reach. 
 You must know, my love, the unhappy 
 life I have, for some years past, led through 
 mine— through their being convinced, while 
 they had me on the spot to fly to, with 
 their tale of pretended distress, I would 
 never permit any thing to be done to 
 them ; so that you cannot wonder I should 
 wish occasionally to be out of the way of 
 hearkening to them, which I shall now, 
 by being obhged to attend to my parlia- 
 mentary duties in the other kingdom ; and
 
 S TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 which, when I once am, you'll find things 
 will go on very differently ; there will then 
 be no excuses about rent, nor refusals to 
 do the work they were bound to perform. 
 As, for instance, if I wanted a little extra 
 work done in a hurry, and sent that worthy 
 attentive creature, who has my interest so 
 much at heart, to get it done — you know 
 who I mean, my dear?" 
 
 " I do," replied Mrs. O'Brien, with a 
 sigh—" O'Callaghan." 
 
 " You are right, my dear ; it was — 
 ' they'd be hang'd before they'd do any 
 thing by the orders of such a spalpeen 
 fellow' — that was the watchword amongst 
 them— merely because the master being on 
 the spot, as they call me, they would not 
 pay attention to any one but him ; thus 
 frequently obliging me to take the trouble 
 of mounting my horse, and riding amongst 
 them, to enforce obedience in person to 
 what I had commanded : but all this will 
 be remedied when I am away, for then, 
 from there being no one superior on the 
 estate to order and direct them, they will
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 9 
 
 pay proper attention to my representative: 
 and then, as a magistrate, how have I been 
 tormented with their rigmarole complaints 
 and nonsensical quarrels, often originating 
 in disputes as to who was the best jig- 
 dancer or hurler ; and, by-the-by e, what 
 will you say to that impudent foster-bro- 
 ther of yours, INIr. Maurice Shaughnessey, 
 obtrudinor himself on me, with a tenant 
 of Mr. O'Reilly's, just as I got within 
 sight of the castle, notwithstanding the 
 tired state he saw I was in, after so long 
 a journey, under the pretext, to be sure, 
 of welcoming me back to Altoir-na-Gre- 
 nie, but, as it proved, from a very differ- 
 ent motive ? — * Faith, and I am glad your 
 honour is come back,' he cried, * for I 
 wanted very badly to spake to your ho- 
 nour.' — * Well, not now,' I said, endea- 
 vouring to get Swiftfoot on, but which he 
 prevented by laying hold of the bridle; 
 * I can hearken to no one now, or attend 
 to any thing till I get home.' — * Troth, 
 and it wont make the difference of a mi- 
 B 3
 
 10 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 nute, your honour's stopping to listen to 
 me,' was the reply ; * and not to be keep- 
 ing your honour waiting — last night ' 
 
 — ' You mean the night before, Maurice,' 
 interrupted his companion ; and, by-the- 
 bye, my love, I really seem to be a mark- 
 ed man among these people, never going 
 to their own landlords for law, but always 
 coming to me, which makes my case more 
 deplorable than it might otherwise be. — 
 ' Faith and troth but you are right, Pat,' 
 resumed Mr. O'Shaughnessey ; * I was go- 
 ing down the little boreen, your honour, 
 the night before last, as Pat has said.' — 
 * Yes, I have marks to make me remem- 
 ber that,' said Pat, laughing, and scratch- 
 ing his shoulder. — ' When who slwuld I 
 meet,' went on O'Shaughnessey — ' but first 
 I must tell your honour that it was the 
 little boreen that runs between the ould 
 barn and your honour's garden — not the 
 ould barn that fell down last winter, and 
 a-top of which you built up the little new 
 
 creatshure, but ' 
 
 * Why, what the devil signifies,' I
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 11 
 
 cried, out of all patience, * which of the 
 boreens, or what bam it was, if I must 
 be stopped to listen to your nonsense? — 
 come to the point at once, you rascal !' 
 ' Yes, your honour, that's what I want to 
 do,' said he ; * so as I was going down the 
 boreen,' he went on, * who should come 
 up to me but Pat O'Sullivan there ; and — 
 "How are you, Maurice?" says he. — 
 " Troth, I thank you kindly, but mid- 
 dling, Pat," says I — " And where are 
 you going?" says he. — " Why then, upon 
 my conscience, Pat," says I, " if you were 
 after giving me a tinpenny, I couldn't be 
 telling you, because I don't know myself" 
 — " Oh ho ! is that the way with you ?" 
 says he ; " maybe I could guess — any how, 
 what's that creeping along the hedge 
 there?" — " One of Peter Finnerty's goats," 
 says I. — " Ah I then Maurice," says he, 
 " upon your conscience and sowl now, did 
 you pass Norah's door to-night, without 
 casting a sheep's eye at her ?" — " Norah !'' 
 says I ; " why then, Mr. Pat O'Sullivan, 
 I think it might be Miss Norah in your
 
 12 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 mouth."—" The devil you do!" says he; and 
 so with that he up and gives me a thump 
 in the cheek ; upon which — " Is that what 
 you are about ?" cries I ; and saying which 
 I just gave him, your honour, the least 
 taste of a tap in the world on the head, so 
 how he managed to fall flat on the ground 
 I can't tell, for I'll take my book oath 
 
 ' — * Ah I then be asy, Maurice, jewel, 
 
 and don't be running away with the story 
 all at one side, like the handle of a can,' 
 here interrupted his antagonist ; * is it be- 
 cause the master's your landlord, and so 
 you think you have him at your side, you 
 are doing so? why, then, though I'm not 
 his tenant, but squire Reilly's, I don't 
 fear his doing me justice too; and so, your 
 honour, to begin with my story,' proceed- 
 ed Mr. Pat * Tell me,' said I, now 
 
 really no longer able to command myself, 
 * in one word, what is it you both want ? 
 or ril give you both something for an ad- 
 dition to your stories, that you won't hke,' 
 — ' Why, please your honour,' said that 
 sly rascal, your brother, Mrs. O'Brien, as
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 13 
 
 I understand, from O'Callaghan, he takes 
 the liberty of frequently styling himself, 
 * to send Pat here to gaol !' — ' Modest 
 request enough, Mr. Shaughnessey !' re- 
 plied I ; ' and pray, Mr. O'SuUivan, in what 
 way may I have the pleasure of serving 
 you ?' — ' By letting it alone, please your 
 honour,' said he ; ' for, faith, I've had e- 
 nough of the business, as my lift side will 
 bear token for many a day.' — * Why then, 
 faith and troth,' cried the other, with evi- 
 dent delight at the thought, ' that's no 
 lie, I believe, Pat. Well, after this, you'll 
 remember it will be Miss Norah in your 
 mouth !' — * If you don't get out of my 
 way, this instant,' I now said, ' you two 
 impudent rascals, the length, breadth, and 
 weight of this horsewhip you shall imme- 
 diately be made to know.' So off they 
 both scampered; and I soon discovered, 
 that the amusement afforded by putting 
 his honour in a passion had made them 
 make up their quarrel. But this is only 
 one instance out of a thousand, of the way 
 in which I am continually teazed and tor-
 
 14 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 merited, and should continue to be so, if I 
 were to remain here for ever." 
 
 " But why allow yourself to be detain- 
 ed in this manner ?" 
 
 " Allow myself! when one rascal had 
 hold of my bridle at one side, and the 
 other at the other, and whenever I strove 
 to get Swiftfoot forward in spite of them, 
 Mr. Maurice kept stroking his nose, and 
 crying — *Ah, then, Swiftfoot, boy! sure 
 you wouldn't be galloping off, and leaving 
 us in the lurch, before his honour has 
 done us justice !" 
 
 " Their conduct was highly indecorous ; 
 but, (pardon the observation) — but really, 
 my dear Mr. O'Brien, I cannot avoid 
 thinking sometimes, that a greater reserve, 
 a greater appearance of dignity, at your 
 side, would prevent what you so justly 
 complain of as unwarrantable libeities." 
 
 " As to that, my dear, no one gives it 
 to them oftener than I." 
 
 " Yes, I know you frequently get into 
 a passion with them, and that's what they 
 exactly like, and wish, of course, to pro-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 15 
 
 voke you to, because the result is always 
 advantageous to them; but if you were 
 to be more steady, you must excuse the 
 
 suggestion, and less violent " 
 
 " My dear, I readily excuse any sug- 
 gestion of yours, because I know you ne- 
 ver say any thing that you do not con- 
 ceive to be for the best, and believe to be 
 the case ; but Job himself could not re- 
 tain his coolness amongst such people. 
 Scarce had I freed myself from Mr, Mau- 
 rice and his companion, when, as I was 
 passing the house of Dempsey — Dempsey 
 the schoolmaster, you know, my dear — out 
 he bolted, with a shout resembling an In- 
 dian war-whoop, followed by his whole 
 train of ragged colts, that, if a little older, 
 would certainly have almost tempted one 
 to imagine there had been a resurrection 
 of Falstaflfs regiment; and placing him- 
 self exactly before my horse, under the 
 pretence of wanting to know something 
 more about the union than the papers had 
 given him to understand, intercepted me 
 just in the same way the others had done.
 
 16 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 — * Well, Mr. Dempsey,' I said, striving 
 to bridle my temper, because learning, 
 like age, claims respect, * I am happy to 
 see you well, but really cannot give you 
 the particulars you require now, as I am 
 greatly fatigued with my journey, and 
 impatient besides to get home, after so 
 long an absence.' Upon which the truth 
 came out — it was to ask a little favour in- 
 deed he took the liberty of stopping me 
 — ' But first, to explain to your honour 
 what has obligated me to ask it,' he began ; 
 * the last time I was going to market, just 
 as I got within sight of the shabeen house 
 I frequent, I met an ould acquaintance ; at 
 least so I thought, and so it proved, for I 
 was not sure at first; but, afler looking 
 him full in the face for a minute, says I — 
 " If Ned Haven is alive, you are the man." 
 — " Why, upon my word, you may say 
 that, Mr. Dempsey," cries he ; " and right 
 glad am I to have lived to have the pleasure 
 of seeing you again." — " Ah, then, Ned," 
 says I, shaking hands with him, " where, 
 in the name of St. Patrick, have you
 
 TRADITiOJJ OF THE CASTLE. 17 
 
 been hiding yourself these hundred years?" 
 — " Why then, indeed, Mr. Derapsey," 
 says he, " that's more nor I could be after 
 telling you ; for, I don't suppose, that, for 
 these last three years, I have ever slept 
 two nights together in the same place." — 
 ' I suspect, your honour — for Ned is a 
 clever fellow — * Yes, clever enough, I 
 dare say,' I cried, * to have got his neck 
 into a halter, if it could be discovered 
 what he has been shifting his quarters 
 about in this manner. But pray proceed 
 with your story, Mr. Dempsey, for really I 
 cannot be kept on the road in this manner*' 
 — ' Well, your honour, I won't delay you 
 another minute. So, as I was saying, or 
 going to say,' he resumed, * for ould ac- 
 quaintance sake, Ned and I agreed to go 
 into the shabeen house, and take a glass 
 of poteen together; and, to be sure, the 
 very best poteen in the whole county is 
 got in that same house; and there we sat 
 and drank — talked, I mean — till I got quite 
 light-headed ; for talking much always 
 makes me light-headed ; and so, to be
 
 18 TRADI-tlON OF THE CASTLl^. 
 
 sure, it was owing to that I lost all the 
 money I had about me ; for when I got 
 to the market, the devil a farthing had I 
 in pocket or fob ; so I was obliged to re- 
 turn as I went, without the turnip seed 
 I went to buy, for the little morsel of 
 ground I have behind the cabin. I made 
 up my mind to wait for it till your ho- 
 nour came back, and gave me an order to 
 get it from the steward.' — * Why, then, 
 upon my word, Mr. Dempsey,' says I, 
 * I believe you'll wait long enough for 
 that order, after what you have told me. 
 A pretty thing for me, a magistrate, to 
 be told that my tenants are running about 
 the country, in quest of illicit spirits, 
 and thus defrauding the king of his just 
 revenue ! Now do you know how I could 
 serve you and your friend, that keeps 
 the shabeen house?' — 'Faith and troth, 
 your honour,' he replied, with the greats 
 est confidence, * I am sure if you couldn't 
 serve us, you'd scorn to hurt us.' — * Now 
 don't be so sure of that, Mr. Demp- 
 sey,' I resumed; * pleage to recollect^
 
 TKADITION OF THE CASTLE. 19 
 
 that I am bound upon oath, as a ma- 
 gistrate, to render fair play to his majesty, 
 as well as his subjects ; and that, therefore, 
 if I were now to do my duty, I would 
 lodge an information against the owner of 
 the shabeen house, and oblige you, and 
 your friend, Mr. Haven, to prove the fact 
 of the poteen !' — ' Oh, botheration /' ex- 
 claimed the impudent rascal, ' if a de- 
 scendant of the great king, Brian Boru, 
 goes against the freedom of the subject, 
 there's an end to every thing! But,' 
 softening his tone a little, ' 1 am not to 
 get the turnip seed then, your honour ?' — 
 * Not a grain, Mr. Dempsey, after what you 
 acquainted me with, on your own account ; 
 but for the sake of your wife, and for her's 
 alone, as I know her to be rather a deli- 
 cate woman, and that she may therefore 
 sometimes like turnips, instead of pota- 
 toes, you may go up to the castle, and 
 get what you want." 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien smiled. — " Well, my dear, 
 your patience was certainly tried." 
 
 " Tried ! yes^ I believe you'll allow that,
 
 20 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien, before I have done. Well, 
 now I thought there was an end of any 
 farther waylaying, as I may call it, when 
 who should rise up before me like a ghost, 
 in the dark part of the long gateway of 
 the castle, where, having heard of my ar- 
 rival, she had placed herself to watch for 
 me, but Nelly Rooney. — ' And are you 
 come back?' she cried, clasping her hands 
 in agony and distraction ; * are you come 
 back safe and alive to us ? 'Tis we that 
 are ruined, and undone, and lost, since 
 you left us !' and she screamed so loud, 
 she was near frightening Swiftfoot him- 
 self, and it's no childish play will do that ; 
 he cocked his ears, suddenly stopped, 
 snorted, and, as that devil of a woman ad- 
 vanced, performed a retrograde movement. 
 — * Ah, then, Nelly dear !' I cried, trying, 
 out of respect to her sex, to curb my an- 
 ger, ' have you entirely lost your senses 
 since I left Altoir-na-Grenie ?' — ' To be 
 sure I have,' she replied ; ' and didn't I 
 know I should when you went away — for 
 didn't I know then there would be no one
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 21 
 
 to save us from wrong and robbery !' — 
 
 * Well, but, Xelly, my dear girl,' I observ- 
 ed, ' can't you tell me your injuries with- 
 out frightening my horse, and putting my 
 neck in jeopardy ?" 
 
 " My dear Mr. O'Brien, how could you 
 make so free with that woman ?" 
 
 " Is it with Nelly Rooney? Why she's 
 old enough to be my mother !" 
 
 " I know nothing of her age — 'tis the 
 freedom of language I allude to. Igno- 
 rant people always presume upon that — 
 
 * Nelly, my dear !' and ' my dear girl !' 
 
 " You may easily form an idea how old 
 Nelly is, when she was the person who 
 received me in her arms on my coming 
 roaring into this troublesome world." 
 
 " Well, if you roared then, she returned 
 the compliment to-day, by your account." 
 
 " Upon my word, that is \ery well of 
 you, Mrs. O'Brien ! — * Ah ! please your 
 honour,' said poor Nelly ; indeed she 
 seemed in great tribulation ; * it's all over 
 with me — Kathleen is gone, stolen, de- 
 stroyed, or carried away ! Kathleen, that
 
 32 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 I built SO much on^-that cost me so much 
 — but still I expected so much by ; and 
 what will become of me! what will become 
 of me !' — * Bless my heart, Nelly,' I repli- 
 ed, * I am indeed sorry to hear this, Kath- 
 leen was so handsome a creature, and ap- 
 peared so good too ; but have you no sus- 
 picion ?' — * Oh, yes, your honour !' she ea- 
 gerly answered, / and that's what I ana 
 come to your honour about. Tim Carthy, 
 the barony constable, told me to ask your 
 honour for a bit of a search-warrant, and 
 promises, for a tinpenny, to find her out/ 
 — -' But, my good woman,' I said, * for the 
 sake of her reputation, if you could make 
 
 up the matter ' — * Her reputation, your 
 
 honour !' she uttered with a scream ; ^ why 
 who does your honour think I am speak- 
 ing about ?'r—* Who! why your daugh- 
 ter, to be sur^,' I replied, — * Och hone!' 
 with another scream, * is it my daughter! 
 But this comes of my husband giving our 
 pig the ^amenaqOie, whether I would or 
 no; because, he ^aid, 4W they were both 
 alike handsome, in their way, they should
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 2S 
 
 both be named alike.* — ' And so it's about 
 your pig you have stopped and detained 
 me all this while ! Really, Mrs. Rooney,' 
 I said, no longer attempting to disguise 
 my displeasure, * I am very much sur- 
 prised at you !' — ' Well, but your honour 
 will grant the warrant?' she demanded, 
 seeming to care very little for my displea- 
 sure. — * No, Mrs. Rooney, I cannot per- 
 mit the whole parish to be molested or 
 disturbed about your pig; therefore, ex- 
 cept you can positively swear to some 
 
 one ' — * Oh, your honour, so I can !' 
 
 she eagerly answered ; ' I told your ho- 
 nour I suspected some one — squire Reil- 
 
 ly, I iiave a shrewd guess, has got ' 
 
 * What, my friend, and respectable neigh- 
 bour ! Do you know what you are say- 
 ing, Mrs. Rooney ?' — * Oh yes, your ho- 
 nour!' she replied, * I know well enough; 
 but it's not the first time your honour has 
 •been deceived in people. However, that's 
 ^o^matter — I suspect he has taken up the 
 poor creatshure out of spite, because, the 
 other day, when he threatened he'd pound
 
 24 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 all the pigs he found in the road, I told 
 him, the king's high road was open to all 
 his majesty's subjects alike!' — * You did 
 
 ' But I won't teaze you, my dear, 
 
 by any more complaints of what I en- 
 dured, or have been enduring this some 
 time. But there's an end of all this now ; 
 I shall now be eased of all further cares 
 and troubles." 
 
 " In what way, my dear?" asked Mrs. 
 O'Brien, anxiously. 
 
 " In what way ! I really should have 
 conceived that question unnecessary. By 
 taking up our abode, to be sure, for some 
 years at least to come, in the sister king- 
 dom. There being now an end to the 
 Irish parliament, we are all at liberty to 
 reside where we please ; and I do not want 
 the representations that have been made 
 me on the subject, to convince me tho- 
 roughly that every thing will be better ma- 
 naged by my being away than remaining 
 here, since, from my not being on the spot 
 to hearken to them, there will then be an 
 end to these excuses that these tenants of
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 25 
 
 mine are continually making, about one 
 thing or another, to my very great detri- 
 ment, I assure you." 
 
 " But are you certain that the person 
 who has made the representations to you, 
 you have alluded to, has done so from dis- 
 interested motives?" 
 
 " You cannot offend me, Mrs. O'Brien, 
 by any tiling you can say, or else perhaps 
 I might feel myself a little hurt at your 
 supposing I could be influenced by these, 
 if I did not believe them disinterested; 
 but I have the highest opinion of the in- 
 tegrity of O'Callaghan, for I perfectly 
 comprehend at whom the suspicion glances; 
 but could he give a greater proof of what 
 his principles are, than by renouncing the 
 profession of an attorney, to which he was 
 brought up?" 
 
 " Why, there are others on which I 
 should quite as much depend," replied 
 Mrs. O'Brien ; " but I hope, my dear 
 O'Brien, you will re-consider your plan. 
 No one can more dislike a distrustful tem- 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 per than I do; but there are limits to con- 
 fidence; and when property, and the in- 
 terests of others are concerned, we should 
 be very cautious how we place it. As 
 long as you continue in parliament, you 
 may, or must, occasionally reside in the 
 other kingdom ; but except when your 
 legislative duties demand your being there, 
 I should conceive it more to your advan- 
 tage to be at home, and paying attention 
 to your affairs in person." 
 
 " By no means, my dear ; and I thought 
 I had explained why; and in short, my 
 dear Mrs. O'Brien, in order to prevent 
 painful arguments or expostulations at ei- 
 ther side, I determined not to mention 
 what my plan was to you, till I had fully 
 weighed and considered it, and which, 
 having done, I must hope and expect no 
 farther effort will be made to induce me 
 to relinquish it." 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien, with deep regret, now 
 saw that such an effort would be useless, 
 and therefore wisely decided on not teas- 
 ing either him or herself by it. She clear-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 27 
 
 ly perceived that for the present nothing 
 could turn him from what he had decided 
 on, and that nothing therefore remained 
 for her, but to try and make it as little in- 
 jurious to him as possible. — " Well, my 
 dear, since you really have made up your 
 mind about leaving your home for some 
 years, how," she began, " are our affairs 
 to be managed in our absence?" 
 
 " Oh, of course, by being given up to 
 the control of O'Callaghan." 
 
 " Not entirely — not w^ithout some check 
 upon him, I trust ! In a word, Mr. O'Bri- 
 en, you may wonder, or be displeased at 
 the confession, but really I must acknow- 
 ledge I have not that high opinion of him 
 — that exalted confidence in him, that you 
 have. His story of having given up the 
 profession, or rather trade of an attorney, 
 as it may be more justly termed, for con- 
 science sake, is really too ridiculous to be 
 attended to. Those who profess most, I 
 always distrust most; for when conscious 
 of no double meaning in our minds, we 
 c 2
 
 28 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 are generally satisfied to let our actions 
 speak for us." 
 
 " Well, Mrs. O'Brien, though I am 
 grieved that a woman of your superior 
 mind should give way to so degrading a 
 feeling as mistrust, yet to show you that, 
 as far as is in my power, I wish to render 
 you happy, and evince the high deference 
 I pay to your opinion, there shall be a 
 check on O'Callaghan, and he shall be ac- 
 quainted with it, for my tenantry shall, at 
 all times, have access to me by letter; and, 
 depend upon it, if they state any grievance, 
 or represent any thing that is likely to be 
 injurious, either to themselves or me, it 
 shall be inquired into " 
 
 " That is a very good plan," said Mrs, 
 O'Brien ; " the only point is, how it can 
 be carried into effect; for I doubt much 
 if, among the lower classes of your tenan- 
 try, and it's for them I feel and am speak- 
 ing, that there is one who can either read 
 or write; therefore what benefit could 
 these poor, ignorant, innocent beings de- 
 rive from it? Nevertheless, I admire the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 2& 
 
 humanity that suggested it ; and it grieves 
 me to think so Uberal and so kind a mas- 
 ter should " 
 
 " Well, well, Mrs. O'Brien," a little im- 
 patiently interrupted Mr. O'Brien, "Demp- 
 sey shall immediately be set to teach theni 
 all to read and write, so that matter shall 
 be rectified." 
 
 " What! teach old men and women, 
 who are obliged to labour all day for a 
 morsel of food, and not only for them- 
 selves, but perhaps half a dozen miserable 
 children !" 
 
 " I protest I forgot that; but how can a 
 man possibly remember every thing ? No, 
 I see now that would never do. But I 
 will tell you what shall be done in place 
 of it, for I will make your mind easy if I 
 can — Dempsey shall be appointed secre- 
 tary to the cotters of Altoir-na-Grenie, 
 with a sufficient allowance for such extra 
 work. Every Saturday night he shall 
 hold his court in the king's dining-room, 
 for the purpose of hearing all complaints, 
 against the next day, being an idle one
 
 so TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 with him, his dancing, hurling, and ball- 
 playing days being all over ; and the court 
 being broke up, every man shall have a 
 noggin of good whiskey, to drink our 
 healths and Donaghue's in, with a pipe of 
 tobacco and a box of snuff to comfort thdr 
 hearts, after the recapitulation of their 
 grievances, should any indeed exist." 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien cast her eyes, swimming 
 in tears of delight, upon her husband — 
 " And why," she internally sighed, " is 
 this generous, this benevolent heart at the 
 mercy of the avaricious and designing?" 
 
 Again she tried to argue the point with 
 him, but in vain ; and grieved as she was 
 at his unfortunate determination to fly, as 
 it almost seemed, the land of his forefa- 
 thers, at a juncture when it struck her 
 that the continuance of the landholders on 
 their estates was absolutely essential to the 
 interests of the country, still she could 
 not help being amused with his having a 
 remedy for every objection she could start 
 to the project. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien did not want for a good.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 31 
 
 plain understanding, but, like too many 
 of his countrymen, had given himself up 
 so totally to habits of indolence, that we 
 may fairly assert, his thinking faculties 
 seemed more to belong to others than to 
 himself This, as ever must be the case, 
 was constontly taken advantage of by the 
 selfish and artful, to turn to their own ad- 
 vantage. There was an intimate acquaint- 
 ance, or friend — but all poor O'Brien's ac- 
 quaintances were considered as friends by 
 
 him — the Mr. M mentioned by him 
 
 to Mrs. O'Brien, This man had very good 
 reasons for wishing the measure of the 
 union to be brought about, and according- 
 ly exerted all the influence he possessed 
 for the purpose of accomplishing it. Un- 
 fortunately it so happened that there were 
 none over whom he possessed a larger 
 share than over O'Brien, through the pro- 
 found respect which he entertained for 
 him on the score of politics — a proof he 
 did not understand them very well him- 
 self, as, had that been the case, his opinion 
 of Mr. M would certainly have been
 
 32 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 rather different from what it was — being 
 considered more in the light of a buffoon 
 than any thing else by those who made 
 him their tool. The reasons he assigned 
 for the measure he was so truly interested 
 about effecting, were so plausible, that 
 poor O'Brien, who was always satisfied 
 with one side of the question, entirely sur- 
 rendered his judgment to him, and, of 
 course, readily pledged himself in the way 
 that was required. 
 
 His paternal inheritance was a noble 
 one, but certainly had not been improved 
 since it had come into his possession ; and 
 some little embarrassments, the conse- 
 quences of indolence and inattention, ren- 
 dered him extremely well pleased with 
 the pretext with which the union, he con- 
 ceived, would furnish him, to Mrs. O'Brien, 
 for taking up his residence, for some years 
 to come, in the sister kingdom; his steward, 
 O'Callaghan, who had obtained, in one 
 way, pretty much the same influence over 
 
 him that his friend M had in another, 
 
 having assured him, that if he were once
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 33 
 
 out of the way, he would not only under- 
 take, in the course of a short time, to com- 
 pletely retrieve his affairs for him, but, by 
 the plans he had formed for the improve- 
 ment of his property, which by his not be- 
 ing on the spot to appeal to, he should, 
 despite of all the opposition that might be 
 'made to them, be enabled to carry into 
 effect, nearly double the value of his estate. 
 To have wealth flow in upon him, with- 
 out any exertion of his own, was exactly 
 what Mr. O'Brien liked ; and he accord- 
 ingly consented to give up his property as 
 entirely to the management and control 
 of his steward O'Callaghan, as he had his 
 political feelings and principles to his friend 
 M . Nothing else but indolence, in- 
 deed, and credulity, the consequence of 
 it, could have induced so national a man 
 as he was, to have assisted in voting away 
 the independence of his country, and then 
 suffered himself to be induced to abandon 
 it. He gloried indeed in the name of 
 Irishman, never for a moment forgetting 
 c 3
 
 34 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the reason he had to be proud of it, from 
 his being a descendant of the illustrious 
 Brien Boru, king of Munster, who, ac- 
 cording to an Irish historian, " fought in 
 person, and won more battles than Julius 
 Caesar, and at last fell in the battle of Clon- 
 tarf, fighting gloriously for the liberty of 
 his country against the Danes;" and of 
 whom it has been further observed, " that, 
 like Alfred, he was no less a patron of arts 
 than arms." 
 
 Mr. O'Brien was early left his own mas- 
 ter ; but neither the liberty which this cif- 
 cumstance gave him to act as he pleased, 
 nor the natural imprudence of his dispo- 
 sition, ever allowed him for a moment to 
 meditate forming an alliance unworthy of 
 him, that is, with a person not as illus- 
 triously descended as himself; fortune, he 
 cared not about it — it was a vulgar object, 
 below the consideration of a person with 
 royal blood in their v«ns; but birth was not 
 to be dispensed with, and in the charming 
 Miss Grace O'Donaghue, whose beauty cap- 
 tivated his eye and enchanted his heart the
 
 tRADlTION OF THE CASTLE. 3o 
 
 moment he beheld her, he was happy to find 
 what he required, the young lady being 
 descended in a right line, as was incontro- 
 vertibly proved to his satisfaction, from 
 O'Donaghue, lord, by descent, of the lakes, 
 but known in after times by the title of 
 king, and the remains of whose ancient 
 castle still stand on the island of Ross, in 
 the famous lakes of Killamey. 
 
 We are warned against acts of supere- 
 rogation, and Miss O'Donaghue's aunt, 
 the person who brought her up, by not 
 attending to this warning, had nearly 
 marred the advancement of her relation's 
 fortune; for finding the lover so charmed 
 with the proof already adduced of the 
 royal descent of the fair lady, she thought 
 it would not be amiss if she could lay 
 claim to further admiration on the same 
 score ; and accordingly, fi-om a sudden re- 
 collection that occurred, set herself to 
 search amongst some musty old papers, 
 that had lain long enough by to have cer- 
 tainly rendered them invaluable in the 
 eyes of an antiquarian, for the proofs of
 
 36 TRADITiaN OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 what was requisite for the purpose, and 
 which, having found and copied, were 
 submitted to Mr. O'Brien on his next vi- 
 sit, not without an anticipation of the 
 rapture he would experience, at seeing, by 
 them, that his fair mistress was also a de- 
 scendant of Cormac M'Culinan, at once 
 archbishop and king of Cashell, as well as 
 of the great O'Donaghues ; and of which 
 circumstance she had every reason to be 
 equally proud, this Cormac being cele- 
 brated by all the Irish historians for his 
 learning, piety, and valour, and writing a 
 history of his own country, known by the 
 name of " The Psalter of Cashell," still 
 extant, and containing the most authentic 
 account we have of the annals of the coun- 
 try down to the year 900. 
 
 With sparkling eyes, these invaluable 
 papers, from the consequences anticipated 
 from them, were put into the hands of 
 Mr. O'Brien, who, on learning what they 
 were, received them with equal pleasure, 
 and immediately, by the desire of the lady, 
 set about their perusal. But, as he pro*
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 37 
 
 ceeded, his looks altered, or rather he read, 
 and read, and read, as if he was consider- 
 ing, or at a loss to comprehend something. 
 Well, this might be owing to the writing 
 not being perfectly legible, for of what- 
 ever the old lady might be vain or proud, 
 she certainly was not of her performance 
 this way ; and accordingly she at length 
 ventured to suggest that he probably could 
 not entirely make out her terrible scrawl. 
 
 " Oh, perfectly, ma'am — perfectly !" re- 
 plied Mr. O'Brien ; " it is not that that 
 puzzles me. But am I really to under- 
 stand that it is wanted to be proved that 
 your niece is also a descendant, in a right 
 line, from king Cormac M'Culinan ?" 
 
 " Oh, dear me, sir ; surely, we are de- 
 scended in a right line from him, as well 
 as from the lord of the lakes — king O'Do- 
 naghue !" 
 
 " I am sorry, madam, to be obhged to 
 differ with you on a matter of such im- 
 portance, but it appears to me that that 
 could not be the case."
 
 38 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " As how, sir ? as how, pray ?" demand- 
 ed the old lady, in extreme agitation. 
 
 " Why, ma'am, king M*Culinan was a 
 bishop, and we all know the Romish cler- 
 gy were never permitted to marry." 
 
 " Well, sir." 
 
 ** Well, madam, it therefore follows that 
 either there must be some mistake in what 
 has been transmitted to posterity, or else, 
 pardon me hurting your feelings, as I am 
 sure I must do by the observation, that 
 the descent of the O'Donaghues from 
 Cormac was a thing not to be boasted of!" 
 
 " A fig, sir," exclaimed the old lady, 
 in extreme agitation, " for his not having 
 been permitted to marry ! You forget, 
 sir, that he was a king as well as a bishop ; 
 and where was the pope, I should be glad 
 to know, who would refuse to let a bi- 
 shop, that was a king, do as he pleased? 
 But supposing, my good sir, for the sake 
 of argument, it were " 
 
 But Mr. O'Brien begged leave to de- 
 cline any further discussion of the point
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 39 
 
 at present, and abruptly rising, took his 
 leave, leaving the old lady in great tribu- 
 lation, at having, as she feared, overshot 
 the mark. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien was indeed extremely dis- 
 concerted at the idea of there being any 
 blot in the escutcheon of his bride, which 
 must be the case, if the fact of Miss O'Do- 
 naghue's being descended from king Cor- 
 mac could be proved. While meditating 
 on the subject, he was surprised by his 
 friend Dick M , who perceiving some- 
 thing was amiss, rested not till he had 
 discovered what it was ; and by the dint 
 of raillery, and representing to him that 
 as the lady was not an heiress, and of 
 course there would be no quartering of 
 arms, what he disliked to think of need 
 never be known, induced him to expedite 
 the enjoyment of the happiness he antici- 
 pated from his union with the fair Grace. 
 
 The offspring of tiiis union were three 
 children, two of whom died in their in- 
 fency, leaving O'Donaghue in the undi- 
 Tided possession of his parents' affection.
 
 40 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 The ardent attachment of Mr. O'Brien 
 to his wife never knew diminution ; but, 
 unhappily for him, her wishing to stimu- 
 late him to a very different line of con- 
 duct to that he pursued, prevented her in- 
 fluence over him being as great as might 
 from this attachment have been expected. 
 This was exemplified with regard to his 
 removal to England, which no arguments 
 or entreaties of hers could prevent ; and 
 in the imprudence of which measure he, 
 both then and since, had but too many to 
 countenance him. 
 
 " It is attempted to be argued by some 
 persons," observes a patriotic nobleman, 
 writing on the causes that have produced 
 the impoverishment of Ireland, " that the 
 absence of the landed proprietors has no 
 injurious effect — that whether they live in 
 Dublin or London is equally advantage- 
 ous to the country. It is calculated that 
 about three-fourths of the landed proprie- 
 tors of Ireland live out of it, to whom six 
 millions of money are annually remitted ; 
 how, then, can it be said, that it is the same
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 41 
 
 thing to the labouring poor, their land- 
 lords living on their estates or in London !" 
 
 One great advantage, if no other, would 
 accrue from the residence, for a certain 
 time, of the landed interest on their es- 
 tates — their presence would keep their 
 tenants together, and thus frustrate the 
 wicked schemes of those wretches, who 
 are prowling about to take advantage of 
 the idle and discontented. Let us hope 
 therefore, now the error is discovered, 
 which they committed in forsaking their 
 properties, that it will be rectified, and a 
 certain time apportioned to spending in 
 their native country — when over its now- 
 solitary and almost deserted fields we may 
 once more hear the carol of the blooming 
 milkmaid, and cheerful whistle of the 
 ploughboy, because contented; and, in 
 due time, again see this ancient land of re- 
 ligion, science, and song, uprear its head 
 with crested pride amongst other nations. 
 
 On the arrival of Mr. and Mrs, O'Brien 
 in London, a house was taken in one of 
 the fashionable squares, and an establish-
 
 42 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ment provided, suitable to their rank and 
 fortune ; but it was a severe mortification 
 to Mr. O'Brien to see the rank and for- 
 tune that in his own country were thought 
 so much of, here, comparatively, little re- 
 garded, and frequently overshadowed by 
 the still more dashing equipages and bril- 
 liant estabhshments of persons in trade, 
 such as he had been brought up to hold 
 in no kind of estimation. Such, however, 
 must be the case, in a country where pro- 
 perty is for ever in a state of fluctuation, 
 from its commerce and trade. 
 
 Time, considered and calculated on, ei- 
 ther in expectation or even progression, 
 appears formidable ; but that spent is as 
 nothing. We are therefore often sur- 
 prised when we are told such and such 
 events have taken place (not immediately 
 taking into consideration the many years 
 they occupied) ; such at least was the case 
 with Mr. O'Brien, on his son's return from 
 the university of Oxford, when his studies 
 completed, a finished young man of ele- 
 gance and fashion, whom it seemed as if
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 43 
 
 it was but the day before he had been play- 
 ing his childish tricks upon his knee, stood 
 before him. It was impossible for any be- 
 ing to be more calculated to gratify pa- 
 rental pride than was O'Donaghue : his 
 figure was remarkably fine, tall, and com- 
 manding, his countenance full of intelli- 
 gence, and his mind strong and compre- 
 hensive ; there was a native ease and ele- 
 gance about him, that imparted a charm 
 to every movement, and rendered him 
 distinguished even in the most fashionable 
 society. 
 
 With such advantages, natural and ac- 
 quired, and the son of a reputed man of 
 fortune, it is but natural to suppose his 
 reception in this society was of the most 
 flattering description. He soon became 
 " the observed of all observers ;" was copied 
 by his own sex, caressed, and even follow- 
 ed, by the other, and, in short, allowed to 
 be one of the most dashing and tonish 
 young men of the day. 
 
 At a very early period of life, it has 
 sometimes been considered a disadvantage
 
 44 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 to a young man to stand extremely high in 
 public estimation, from the erroneous idea 
 it is calculated to excite, of there being no 
 further necessity for improvement. This 
 was not exactly the case with O'Donaghue 
 — he had a natural taste for the elegant re- 
 searches of literature ; but still the ill con- 
 sequences of such notoriety were not un- 
 felt by him — it had gradually the effect of 
 rendering him vain, conceited, arrogant in 
 his expectations, and fastidious and pre- 
 sumptuous in his notions; while the scenes 
 it led him into, from the false ambition it 
 excited, too often betrayed him into errors, 
 that in the cool moments of returning re- 
 flection he at once blushed for and regret- 
 ted : but his feelings were ardent, his na- 
 ture extremely susceptible, and to have 
 resisted temptation, the surest method 
 would have been to have avoided it. 
 
 Amongst the fair creatures who distin- 
 guished him, the one he most distinguish- 
 ed was lady Jane Boyle, the daughter of 
 the earl of Dunbrody, an Irish peer, as 
 his title announces; and such were the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 45 
 
 allurements of her ladyship, that though 
 Donaghue had gradually been taught by 
 his fashionable associates to think with 
 dislike of matrimony at present, he would 
 have resigned his liberty for the sake of 
 possessing her, but for the interference of 
 his family, his father quite ridiculing the 
 idea of his marrying so young, and his 
 mother having very different views for 
 him. This interference was rather a dis- 
 agreeable circumstance to the lady, as she 
 had not quite so much time to lose as he 
 had, and was not without fears, besides, of 
 eventually losing him, if their union was 
 much longer delayed. 
 
 The world conceived Mr. O'Brien a happy 
 man, but his heart in secret gave the lie to 
 the assertion. Too late he beo^an to dis- 
 cover the error he had committed in fly- 
 ing from his native land, and that had he 
 taken his wife's advice in that serious af- 
 fair, as well as in many others, his circum- 
 stances would have been very different to 
 what he now beheld them. To confess 
 we have relied too much on our own judg-
 
 46 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ment, and ask advice we before sneered 
 at, is a humiliation that requires no little 
 strength of mind to submit to. Mr. O'Bri- 
 en possessed not sufficient for the purpose; 
 he wished to consult Mrs. O'Brien on the 
 ruin he saw impending, but false pride 
 stepped in and checked this prudent wish. 
 How could he, her lord and master, after 
 having so long managed his affairs, with- 
 out deigning to impart them to her, now 
 condescend to what must bring reproach 
 upon him, and prove he had no preten- 
 sions to the sense or judgment he had ar- 
 rogated to himself? No — the idea was 
 not endurable ; and rather than incur such 
 mortification, he preferred going on as he 
 had begun, and giving order after order 
 to O'Callaghan, to raise money in any 
 way he could for him, either by bond or 
 mortgage. 
 
 Within the last three years, from O'Cal- 
 laghan's account, no rents were forthcom- 
 ing, or at least hardly any ; the chief sup- 
 port Mr. O'Brien had, therefore, arose from 
 borrowed money, the weight of which
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 47 
 
 was SO great, that the back of poor Altoir- 
 na-Grenie was nearly broke. 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien, a clear-headed sensible 
 wonnan, had for some time had her doubts 
 that all was not going on right in Ireland, 
 for though ISIr. O'Brien scrupulously con- 
 cealed his affairs from her, and exerted 
 himself to appear careless and happy, when- 
 ever he imagined himself unobserved, it 
 was evident to her his mind was a prey 
 to some secret disquietude. This convic- 
 tion made her strenuous, at last, in press- 
 ing upon him the necessity of visiting 
 their native land, not only for the purpose 
 of inspecting their affairs, but giving 
 O'Donagbue an insight into them, and 
 perfect knowledge of their property there, 
 in case of any sudden accident ; but Mr. 
 O'Brien uniformly shrunk in alarm from 
 the proposition, knowing, if he acquies- 
 ced in it, the exposure he dreaded must 
 take place ; and in order to try and turn 
 his son from such a visit, although so na- 
 tional a man, he began, from the moment 
 he discovered Mrs. O'Brien had it in con-
 
 43 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 templation, to take every opportunity of 
 endeavouring to prejudice him against 
 the country, representing it as a place 
 from which every person of respectability 
 had fled since the union, leaving it in pos- 
 session of a set of beings, who, neither the 
 one thing nor the other, still disgusted by 
 their impudent assumption of consequence; 
 while the land was rude and uncultivated, 
 the tenantry lawless, and the common 
 people, in short, no better than a set of 
 wild savages, ready to start into rebellion 
 on the slightest imaginary provocation. 
 , In vain Mrs. O'Brien tried to counter- 
 act the prejudice thus excited in the mind 
 of her son against the land of his nativity, 
 strengthened and confirmed as was all his 
 father said by lady Jane Boyle, as well as 
 many other fashionable and ungrateful ab- 
 sentees from the country ; but at length, 
 in spite of prejudice, she succeeded in pre- 
 vailing on her son, over whose mind in- 
 deed she justly possessed a very powerful 
 influence, to consent to accompany her on 
 a visit to it ; but no persuasions could do
 
 TKADITION OF THE CASTLE. 49 
 
 more than induce Mr, O'Brien to promise 
 to follow, from a hope that, if any thing 
 could keep from them the knowledge that 
 must prove so disagreeable, it would be 
 his not being on the spot to hearken to 
 complaints. 
 
 Lady Jane Boyle heard of this intend- 
 ed visit with infinite discomposure; and 
 but that she did not like to have the re- 
 port respecting her and O'Donaghue yet 
 confirmed, lest it should be the means of 
 depriving her of other admirers she might 
 have reason to regret, she would certainly 
 have accompanied Mrs. O'Brien, though 
 she abhorred what she called her sermon- 
 izing. 
 
 As much as possible, however, she strove 
 to guard against any thing unpleasant 
 from it, by doing all in her power to pre- 
 judice the mind of Donaghue against the 
 people he would meet in the neighbour- 
 hood ; with which, from her father's es- 
 tate lying in that part of the kingdom, 
 she was well acquainted ; protesting, with 
 
 VOL. L D
 
 30 THADITIOX OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the exception of the Magennis family, 
 there was not a being there that was en- 
 durable. — *• But ma mere must not heai" 
 what I have said," she cried, " for I know- 
 it would be little short of high treason, in 
 her opinion, she is so bigoted to thij> 
 sweet land of blunders, and so anxious to 
 get you settled there ; and, eiitre nous, 
 have you ever heard of her plan for the 
 purpose?" 
 
 ** No, I know of no plan but what she 
 has avowed." 
 
 " Indeed ! then, to enhghten your ig- 
 norance, she's long had it in contempla- 
 tion, as a means of inducing you to settle 
 there, to bring about a match between you 
 and the daughter of her friends, the Erins, 
 people quite of her own nationality. Ay, 
 you may look incredulous, but it is as I 
 have stated; and when you go over, you'll 
 find, from the dead set that w411 be made 
 at vou, that I am correct. Your mother's 
 motives for desiring the connexion are 
 very pure and disinterested, I am sure; 
 but so much cannot be said for those at
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 51 
 
 the other side, since, whatever the other 
 attractions of the young lady may be, she 
 certainly wants that very essential one of 
 fortune, and is, besides, related to so nu- 
 merous a clan, that the man who weds 
 her might be said to wed more than half 
 the w^ild savages of the kingdom ; but 
 your mother will not see any of the dis- 
 advantages that must attend such an 
 union, she's so romantically attached to 
 Mrs. Erin, her early friend, one of the most 
 artful women, I suppose, in existence ; so 
 smooth-tongued and so " 
 
 ''And her daughter?" interrupted Do- 
 naghue, 
 
 " Oh, you are curious about her !'' ex- 
 claimed her ladyship, in a tone of pique. 
 
 " Why, yes, it is but natural I should 
 be so, when I don't know,'' provokingly 
 laughing, " but she may be my fate.'' 
 
 ** Impertinent!" cried her ladyship, 
 
 pushing away his arm from the back of 
 
 h€r chair, on which it had been resting, 
 
 ^* I have a mind not to say another word 
 
 d2 
 
 uww^
 
 52 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 But you have heard of the stone city in 
 Arabia?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well, then, Miss Eveleen Erin, whom, 
 with her papa and mamma, I saw two or 
 three years ago here, when your being 
 absent from home prevented your having 
 a similar pleasure, looks exactly as if she 
 belonged to it, she's so stiff, and so precise, 
 and so, in short, almost immovable/' 
 
 " Charming !" exclaimed Donaghue, in 
 an affected transport ; " I see I must get 
 a seven- fold shield to guard my heart a- 
 gainst the powerful attractions of such a 
 being." 
 
 *' Ay, you may laugh as you please; 
 but, for all that, you'll find yourself in 
 more danger from her than you are aware 
 of; for all this will be represented as pro- 
 priety of conduct, and delicacy, and refine- 
 ment of mind ; and so " 
 
 " I may as well let the net be drawn 
 over me without any struggling," said 
 Donaghue; " but, no, I swear not, by the 
 best arrow in Cupid's bow ! for," seizing
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 53 
 
 her hand, and fastening his eyes upon her 
 reaUy expressive face — 
 
 ** Give me a woman, in whose striking mien, 
 
 A mind, a soul, ^ polish'd air, is seen ; 
 
 Whose motion speaks, whose slightest gesture move — 
 
 Such are the darts to wound with endless love." 
 
 In what she had related relative to Miss 
 Erin, lady Jane was certainly not incor- 
 rect; that is, as far as it respected Mrs. 
 O'Brien's wish for a union between her 
 and her son. The two mothers had been 
 educated together, and grown up, with a 
 sisterly attachment for each other ; and it 
 had early been the wish of their hearts, 
 that this friendship might be still further 
 strengthened and confirmed, by the union 
 of their children. It was their determi- 
 nation, however, that this wish should not 
 transpire till the parties had met; some- 
 how or other, however, either through 
 surmise or inadvertence, it became known; 
 though, from Donaghue's residing aloof 
 from those who spoke of it, he remained 
 in ignorance of it, till lady Jane, good-na- 
 turedly, enlightened him on the subiect.
 
 54 TRADITION OF THE CASTtE. 
 
 People of the world, like her ladyship, 
 might indeed have supposed Mrs. Erin 
 had some other motive for it, than the 
 one assigned ; Mr. Erin, from having dis- 
 obliged his connexions by his marriage 
 with her, being unable to give his daugh- 
 ter any thing of consequence, while Do- 
 naghue was still generally supposed to be 
 heir to a handsome property. Of being 
 actuated by merely mercenary views, she 
 was, however, incapable ; though it would 
 be ridiculous to assert, that the idea of 
 Donaghue being a man of fortune did not 
 render her still more pleased, than she 
 might even otherwise have been, at the 
 thought of her daughter's obtaining his 
 regard. 
 
 On the contrary, Mrs. O'Brien, but this 
 through ignorance of the real state of her 
 husband's affairs, was rendered still more 
 solicitous for the connexion, from the very 
 circumstance of Miss Erin wanting a for- 
 tune, through the delight she took in the 
 idea of the child of her dear friend, her
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 55 
 
 in life through her means. She knew 
 Miss Erin was attached to her own coun- 
 tr}% and, of course, well inclined to remain 
 in it; and the advantages that were like- 
 ly, from these circumstances, to accrue to 
 Donaghue, and all connected with him, 
 from an early union with her, rendered 
 her most anxious to effect it. 
 
 Her solicitude for this was still farther 
 heightened, by the dread she was under of 
 his otherwise forming one eveiy way Ijate- 
 ful to her imagination, aware, as she was, 
 of the influence a lovely and youthful wife 
 was likely to obtain over him, from his ar- 
 dent temperament; and that, consequent- 
 ly, his future weal or wo, his respectabi- 
 lity or degradation, in life, in a great mea- 
 sure depended on the kind of woman he 
 married ; for, had his father possessed but 
 half his sensibility, she knew she never 
 should have appealed to him in vain. 
 
 But her wish for the introduction of the 
 young people now to each other, without 
 any farther delay, was nearly disappointed, 
 by 5Ir. Erin's receiving a letter, that re-
 
 56 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE- 
 
 quired his setting off for the Continent, 
 just after her intended visit to Ireland was 
 announced, and his deciding on taking 
 his wife and daughter with him. Through 
 the persuasions of the former, however, 
 who knew how terribly her friend would 
 be disappointed, if he persevered in his re^ 
 solution of being accompanied by both, he 
 was induced to change it, with regard to 
 his daughter, more especially as the busi- 
 ness on which he was going was of a me- 
 lancholy nature, and who, accordingly, 
 was sent down from Dublin, where they 
 principally resided, to his brother's, a few 
 miles distant from Altoir-na-Grenie. 
 
 In the latter end of May, that sweetest 
 of all the sweet months, when the verdure 
 of spring is just beginning to be enriched 
 with the glowing tints of summer, the 
 travellers set sail for Ireland, and landing 
 at Howth, after a short delay in the capi- 
 tal, proceeded on their destination. 
 
 When predisposed to find fault, oppor- 
 tunities are seldom wanting for the indul- 
 gence of the inclination. Donaghue, as,
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 57 
 
 they proceeded in their journey, saw much 
 to censure, but nothing to admire ; in 
 short, so abhorrent was he of the idea of 
 settling in the country, from the prejudice 
 excited in his mind against it, that he re- 
 solved to lose no opportunity of letting 
 his mother see it was useless to hope it, 
 and, accordingly, perversely closed his eyes 
 against what otherwise he might have ad- 
 mired, or been amused with. But this 
 affected apathy only lasted till fhey came 
 in sight of their destination ; when the 
 scenery that, with all the suddenness of 
 surprise, burst upon his enchanted vision, 
 threw him completely off his guard, and 
 called forth expressions that convinced his 
 mother he must, at least for a moment, 
 cease longer to wonder at her regret for 
 the abandonment of such a place, or wish 
 for its re-occupation. 
 
 d3
 
 58 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 •' Many a voice, and many a harp, in tuneful sounds, 
 arose within its walls; and, sometimes, on the lovely 
 sound v\as heard the names of its race of heroes." 
 
 ALTOiR-na-Grenie stands upon a high 
 promontory, overlooking the sea ; its situ- 
 ation adds dignity to its appearance, and, 
 in ancient times, must have rendered it an 
 impregnable fortress. The castle consists 
 of two courts, defended by gates, sur- 
 mounted by towers, the outer one fur- 
 nished with a portcullis, and bearing marks 
 of having formerly been a prison, from the 
 deep dark dungeons underneath it. Long 
 before the generation now spoken of, its 
 ancient towers had begun to exhibit marks 
 of the devastations of time, in addition to 
 those made on them by war and other cir- 
 cumstances, for many were the furious as- 
 saults that, according to the records of the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 5Q 
 
 family, they had sustained ; but now the 
 long grass streamed, the purple thistle 
 shook its down to the wind, and the moss 
 whistled in the breeze, where the banner 
 of the conquering hero had once floated, 
 or the beacon been kindled, to give warn- 
 ing to the sept of a coming foe. Yet, on 
 these ruins, the eye, perliaps, rested with 
 more delight, from the pleasing exercise 
 they gave the imagination, than it would 
 have done on the most magnificent struc- 
 ture of modern days ; for in every breeze 
 that sighs amidst these decaying piles, we 
 seem to hear the voice of other days ; and 
 where is the soul that feels not a pleasing 
 dread at the idea? 
 
 A staircase winds up to the top of the 
 castle, off of which are numerous apart- 
 ments and galleries, all indicative of the 
 taste of other times. On the left is a verv 
 noble one, ornamented with a series of 
 escutcheons, displaying the principal quar- 
 terings and intermarriages of the family 
 to whom the place belongs. Adjoining 
 this is a state drawing-room, whence a
 
 60 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 passage through a banqueting-hall con- 
 ducts to a breakfast- room over the gate- 
 way, with closets fitted up as repositories 
 for work and books, and connecting it 
 with other private apartments. At the 
 other side is the Hbrary, a spacious apart- 
 ment, containing, over the cases for the 
 books, portraits of many of the great men 
 of this ancient family, as also a tolerable 
 collection of books; but what was most 
 valued in it, and considered indeed beyond 
 all price, was a manuscript written by 
 Erien Bcru himself, in the Ogham cha- 
 racter ; one in particular, on the wars and 
 antiquities of the Irish, down to the year 
 1013, a short time before the battle of 
 Clontarf, where he fell, after obtaining a 
 complete victory. 
 
 From this, through the cloisters of a 
 narrow court, you proceed to the dilapi- 
 dated chapel, communicating with other 
 ranges of apartments it would be tedious 
 to describe. We must not, however, omit 
 to speak of one, called the king's public 
 dining-room. This is a hall of immense
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 61 
 
 length, with an elevation at the upper 
 end, on which stands a chair of state, sur- 
 mounted by a gallery for music, with fold- 
 ing doors beneath, leading into the interior 
 of the building, and hung with crimson 
 draperies, to let down at pleasure. Be- 
 tween the high painted windows hangs 
 many a curious banner and helmet. But 
 what, beyond any thing, attracts and fixes 
 the attention of a stranger, is the portrait 
 of Boru over the fire-place, with a repre- 
 sentation of the battle of Clontarf in the 
 background, the hotly pursuing Irish, and 
 the flying Danes. 
 
 In the days of king Brien, when might 
 was right, we may naturally suppose, had 
 that monarch considered one spot more 
 pleasing than another, he would have fix- 
 ed on it for the erection of his castle — Al- 
 toir-na-Grenie, so named from an altar of 
 the sun said to have stood upon the spot, 
 being, according to tradition, built by him, 
 though considerably enlarged by succeed- 
 ing generations ; we must therefore ei«
 
 62 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ther conclude that all places were alike to 
 him, or else, that the security of the situ- 
 ation he chose for this residence, made a- 
 mends, in his opinion, for its bleakness in 
 winter. This bleakness however can, at no 
 season, prevent the eye from being delight- 
 ed by its grand and varied scenery. 
 
 As you approach the building, a some- 
 what dreary prospect is presented to the 
 view, the hills in its immediate vicinity 
 being clothed with heath, or harrowed 
 into frightful fissures by the fury of the 
 mountain torrents, that in winter pour 
 impetuously down them, and permitting 
 but a scanty vegetation, scarce sufficient 
 for the browsage of a few sheep, seem, 
 even in the little dales into which they 
 stray, to carry melancholy along with 
 them. But the view from the castle itself, 
 elevated so as to command a vast extent 
 of country, affords a prospect as delightful 
 as this is cold and poor. 
 
 Over a rocky foreground, you look upon 
 verdant meadows, some prettily dispersed
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 6S 
 
 farm houses, grassy plains, and little shades 
 of arbutus, all enchanting, from the con- 
 trasting deformity of other spots. 
 
 On the right hand a mountain rises, 
 hiding its grey head and naked brow in 
 clouds ; where, for ages, according to tra- 
 dition, a family of eagles here dwelt ; the 
 sides are barren rocks, but here and there 
 variegated by shrubs, starting from their 
 chinks, and casting a tint of green over 
 the grey surface ; towards the lower part 
 are some curious intrenchments, or ancient 
 Irish forts, with several pyramidical stones, 
 supposed to be sepulchral ones ; and, in- 
 deed, it is on record in the castle, that a 
 great battle once took place in its vicinity, 
 between the Leinster and Munster men, 
 in which Brien himself commanded in per- 
 son ; and to this day rude implements of 
 ancient warfare are frequently dug up, in 
 turning up the soil. On the left, the eye 
 takes in a fine sweep of corn fields and 
 meadow land, interspersed with some 
 woody tracts, and several fine clear mean- 
 dering rivulets.
 
 64 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Altoir-na-Grenie, in former times, was 
 
 inaccessible of approach, save at the land 
 side. This pass commences about a quar- 
 ter of a mile from the castle, and is form- 
 ed by an opening between two mountains, 
 so narrow as scarcely to leave footing 
 along the river, which rather tumbles 
 from rock to rock, than runs through it. 
 The depth of this gorge, or rather gulf, 
 almost as it may be denominated, is ren- 
 dered still more horrific by the blackness 
 of the woods, that extend, at either side, 
 in intertwisted and apparently impene- 
 trable masses ; altogether, from the roar 
 of the waters at the bottom, the twilight 
 gloom, and immense altitude of the pre- 
 cipitous mountains, constituting a scene 
 truly grand, but terrific — terrific on more 
 accounts than one, as many places are 
 patches of bog, that rendering the footing 
 insecure, occasion no little alarm to stran- 
 gers not acquainted with the circumstance. 
 When, however, you emerg-e from this, a 
 pleasant scene opens, at either side of the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 65 
 
 castle, with a noble view beyond it of the 
 sea. 
 
 On various parts of the O'Brien estate, 
 are natural curiosities ; one of which, how- 
 ever, we shall only notice : it is called the 
 King's Fowling-piece, and consists of a 
 funnel, perforated through a rock by the 
 constant action of the sea against it, and 
 which, at full tide, or in stormy weather, 
 forms a complete Jet d'eau through it, 
 with a noise and violence that is frequent- 
 ly heard at the distance of several miles. 
 
 And here we cannot avoid observing, 
 that there is no country, perhaps, that can 
 afford a more dehghtful summer excursion 
 than Ireland, to the admirers of nature, at 
 least those who love it in all its wild but 
 interesting varieties — for man here has in- 
 terfered but little ; or to those who have 
 any passion for exploring ruined edifices, 
 abounding, as it does, in the remains of 
 afticient churches, monasteries, and abbeys, 
 rendered highly interesting by the histo- 
 rical accounts transmitted of them, and 
 still more, perhaps, to a romantic imagina-
 
 66 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 tion, at least by the traditions still extant 
 of them. 
 
 That this now deserted land was the 
 seat of religion and learning, when other 
 countries were in a state of darkness, very 
 little doubt, if any, now remains. Hither 
 the youth of other countries, that, more 
 fortunate in the system by which they 
 have been ruled, have gradually risen in 
 national consequence, as it has declined, 
 were sent for instruction ; and hence they 
 departed, accomplished in all the learning 
 of the times, and still more firmly im- 
 pressed with the principles of Christianity. 
 But its greatness has passed away, leaving 
 only the melancholy recollection of it be- 
 hind. But, perhaps, its sun may not have 
 set for ever ; yet, when we think of the 
 manner in which it has been forsaken and 
 run down, by those who should have sup- 
 ported its consequence, we see little cause 
 for hope. 
 
 Of its lakes and curiosities, the Giant's 
 Causeway, and the Lakes of Killarney , must 
 claim attention ; the former considered
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 6? 
 
 by men of science as one of the greatest 
 natural curiosities in the world, and the 
 latter, by persons of taste, as scenes it is 
 impossible for pen or pencil to do justice 
 to. A writer, speaking of them, observes 
 — " In the lower and middle lakes, the 
 pleasing and sublime are most happily 
 combined ; the upper lake reflects a more 
 solemn grandeur, from the stupendous 
 crags with which it is encircled ; but the 
 prospects in both are infinitely diversified ; 
 the several islands, the white rocks of Mu- 
 cruss, the groves of arbutus, the venerable 
 woods, the variety of waterfalls, and the 
 impending cliffs, are separately as delight- 
 ful and interesting as this assemblage is 
 eminently grand and magnificent ; and al- 
 together we will venture to say, that were 
 the extraordinary beauties and natural cu- 
 riosities with which Ireland abounds, be- 
 longing to another country, we should 
 hear incessantly of them, and find it the 
 fashion to explore them ; but overlooked, 
 as they appear to be, by the children of
 
 68 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the soil, is it natural to suppose that stran^ 
 gers can think them worth visiting ?" 
 
 The grandeur of the scenery, that burst 
 so unexpectedly upon the sight of Do- 
 naghue, was heightened by the reddening 
 beams of the setting sun. The castle was 
 a blaze of splendour, and all looked bright 
 and glorious, as if to welcome him to his 
 native land, and allure him to remain. 
 
 Allure him to remain ! in a moment the 
 spell of admiration was dissolved, at the 
 idea of what he must relinquish, should 
 he be induced to do so, and he hastily 
 passed on ; for what, in local scenery — 
 what, in all the grandeur he contemplated, 
 could make amends for the want of polish- 
 ed society? the barbarism to which he 
 should be exposed by remaining, and of 
 which he conceived he had a proof, in the 
 reverberating shouts, or rather yells, as he 
 chose to denominate them, that met his 
 ear — the tenantry, in every direction, on, 
 the approach of the carriage, coming lite- 
 rally racing to the castle — his imagination
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 69 
 
 became not only disgusted, but absolutely 
 chilled at the thought, and he determined 
 it should not be his fault, if the visit he 
 had been induced to pay, so much against 
 his inclination, was not shortened. 
 
 How affecting was Mrs. O'Brien's re- 
 view of these scenes of other days ! scenes 
 that hi ad left so vivid an impression on her 
 mind, that it seemed as if it was only the 
 day before she had left them ; and yet, 
 since then, what changes had taken place! 
 How many had she to seek for in vain, 
 whom she had known — how many to meet 
 whom she had not before seen ! but the 
 current of time is continually bearing 
 away from us objects familiar to us, and 
 presenting new ones in their place ; our 
 hearts, our affections, however, follow those 
 who are thus borne from our sight, and 
 with involuntary coldness we look upon 
 those who succeed them, unassociated as 
 they are in our minds with any endeared 
 ideas. 
 
 She ranged through the apartments ; 
 their size, their grandeur, had never so for-
 
 70 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 cibly struck her as now ; and the more she 
 looked around her, the more she was as- 
 tonished at the infatuation of her husband, 
 in quitting such a place. The additional 
 gaps and chasms in the walls — the down- 
 right ruin into which many places had 
 been allowed to fall, since their departure, 
 through the want of a master's eye, to see 
 every thing kept in proper repair, spoke 
 pathetically to her feelings ; and she 
 thought, with a sensation of involuntary 
 indignation, of the sums which Mr. O'Bri- 
 en had expended, in the fantastic adorn- 
 ments of a paltry villa, while this noble 
 seat of his ancestors, this ancient pile, re- 
 flecting such real consequence on its pos- 
 sessors, and which nature almost enjoined 
 him to keep up, was suffered to decay. 
 But she had not come over to indulge me- 
 lancholy reflections, nor, if she had, would 
 she have been permitted ; her arrival was 
 no sooner known, than visitors flocked to 
 the castle, and invitation after invitation 
 succeeded ; but her pleasure at these tes- 
 timonies of respect and regard was lessen-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 71 
 
 ed by the conduct of Donaghue. Unlike 
 himself, he kept fastidiously aloof from all 
 but the Magennises, to whom he had pre- 
 viously been introduced in London, and, 
 through the force of prejudice, kept him- 
 self out of the way of being convinced of 
 the erroneousness of that prejudice. 
 
 But hurt as was Mrs. O'Brien by his 
 behaviour, she did not seem to notice it ; 
 she knew the force of prejudice, and that 
 observation is infinitely more powerful in 
 conquering it than argument ; and, in con- 
 sequence, made a point of his returning 
 to Dublin, to join a party there, who had 
 come over in the same packet with them, 
 for the purpose of visiting the lakes, and 
 had strenuously urged him to accompany 
 them. 
 
 She could have wished, ere he departed, 
 to have effected an introduction between 
 him and Miss Erin ; but he would not 
 seem to understand this wish, and as his 
 absence would be but short, she did not 
 like to press the matter. Indeed, the more
 
 72 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 he heard of this young lady, the more he 
 was decided against letting his mother in- 
 dulge any hopes of being able to accom- 
 plish her plan respecting her, and, in con- 
 sequence, would not permit the hints she 
 threw out about her, to appear to excite 
 any curiosity in his mind to see her ; in- 
 deed he had but little, if any ; lady Ma- 
 gennis and her daughters having confirm- 
 ed lady Jane's description of her, with this 
 addition, that she was a young lady, that, 
 upon the slightest attention from a gen- 
 tleman, was apt to build a fabric of hope, 
 such as rendered it almost dangerous for 
 any one to pay her any, lest the demoli- 
 tion of her airy edifice should occasion him 
 censure. 
 
 Lady Magennis was a complete woman 
 of the world, not by any means scrupulous 
 about what she advanced, when she 
 thought a strict adherence to truth likely 
 to disappoint her wishes. The general be- 
 lief that was still entertained of Dona- 
 ghue*s being sure of a handsome inherit-
 
 TRADITION OV THE CASTLE. 7S 
 
 ance, made her delighted at the idea of 
 his coming to the neighbourhood, from the 
 hope that as there were there fewer compe- 
 titors for his admiration than in London, 
 one of her daughters might have the good 
 fortune to secure him. 
 
 The dislike he evinced to forming any 
 intimacy in the neighbourhood seemed to 
 favour this hope, and to confirm which 
 she accordingly omitted nothing in her 
 power ; but particularly against the Erins, 
 whom, on many accounts, she had the 
 greatest dread of. Her husband, sir Ul- 
 ick, with her assistance, had contrived to 
 get his fortune so fashionably involved, as 
 to render it requisite her doing penance 
 for her extravagance, by occasionally rus- 
 ticating amidst the barbarous wilds of Ire- 
 land ; where, however, she never lost sight 
 of having three daughters to dispose of, 
 and accordingly made her house the grand 
 rendezvous for all who were likely to take 
 them off her hands. 
 
 The young ladies were educated for ex- 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 hibitian^ and so extremely well disciplined, 
 as to be ready to accept the hand of any 
 one inclined to conduct them into the tem- 
 ple of Hymen, provided they were sure of 
 their having the power of keeping them a 
 handsome establishment, for, without that, 
 matrimony was out of the question. 
 
 They were delighted at Donaghue's 
 coming over, conceiving it would be odd 
 indeed if, now that they should have him, 
 as it might be almost said, to themselves, 
 one or other of them did not secure him» 
 'Tis true, lady Jane, who sometimes amu- 
 sed herself with writing to them, when she 
 had nothing better to do, or wanted scan- 
 dal from their side of the wat^r, had given 
 them to understand he was her devoted. 
 This did not in the least prevent their de- 
 termining to try whether he had not eyes 
 for others as well as her, though their pro- 
 fessions of regard for her were of the 
 most romantic description — the dear, the 
 charming creature, as they called her, al- 
 wavs vso lively and so entertaining !— " And
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 75 
 
 then continuing to look so well," their 
 mamma observed. 
 
 " Continuing to look so well !" and the 
 invidious remark forced Donaghue to recol- 
 lect, as was intended, what, when in her 
 presence, he always forgot, that the lady- 
 was a few years older than himself. 
 
 But though he set out on his excursion 
 without seeing Miss Erin, it was not from 
 not having an opportunity for doing so, 
 as, with her uncle and aunt, she paid her 
 respects to his mother, immediately after 
 hearing of her arrival ; but though he was 
 within at the time, he gave positive orders 
 to the servant who was sent to announce 
 the visitors, to say the reverse, and imme- 
 diately slipped out to lady Magennis's, 
 anxious to avoid, as long as possible, an 
 introduction, from which he only antici- 
 pated what was disagreeable, conceiving his 
 mother only waited its taking place, to 
 commence her operations about Miss Erin; 
 and this idea induced him to act in direct 
 opposition to politeness, by refusing to re- 
 E 2
 
 76 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 turn Mr. Erin's visit before his departure, 
 Mr. Erin was deeply offended by this 
 mark of disrespect ; and confirming, as it 
 did, what he had previously heard of Do- 
 naghue's wishing, through conceit and ar- 
 rogance, to decline forming any acquaint- 
 ance in the neighbourhood, incensed him 
 not a little against him. The connexions 
 of his mother's particular friend, ought, he 
 thought, to have been treated differently; 
 however, it was to him of no consequence. 
 Not so, however, was the slight to his 
 niece ; but, whatever she thought or felt 
 on the subject, pride assisted her to con- 
 ceal. By some indirect means she also 
 had learned the plan of their mothers re- 
 specting them ; and so obvious was the 
 motive for her being left behind her pa- 
 rents, that, in alarm at the thought of be- 
 ing suspected privy to it, she had deter- 
 mined on the utmost circumspection in 
 her conduct to Mrs. O'Brien, even to veil- 
 ing what her real feelings towards her 
 were, for she had early been taught to re- 
 gard her with reverence and admiration ;
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 77 
 
 but with this determination was mingled 
 a hope, that the manner of Donaghue 
 would soon relieve her from the necessity 
 for any painful restraint upon herself 
 
 This hope, however, now seemed threat- 
 ened with disappointment, from his acting 
 so contrary to what she was aware he 
 must know his mother's wishes were. She 
 was led to imagine that he had discovered 
 the plan for their union, and, in utter dis- 
 like to the idea of it, had taken this me- 
 thod of letting it be understood it was one 
 that never could be accomplished. Well, 
 no matter — even though he should realize 
 every expectation she had formed respect- 
 ing him, he should find nothing in her 
 manner indicative of regret at the circum- 
 stance. 
 
 Early instructed to acquire a command 
 over herself, she had but little appre- 
 hension that she should not be able to 
 keep up to this determination : brought 
 up under the immediate eyes of her ^pa- 
 rents, there was nothing indeed wanting 
 in her education to give correctness to
 
 78 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 thought and feeling; and to accompli^- 
 iTients were united the ease and elegance 
 imparted by polished society ; for although 
 her father had not power of giving her a 
 fortune suitable to her birth, she had al- 
 ways mixed in the company it entitled 
 her to. 
 
 The family of her mother was excellent, 
 but she wanted fortune, and this circum- 
 stance rendered the friends of Mr. Erin so 
 exasperated with him for marrying her, as 
 to occasion them, in a great degree, to 
 throw him off; in particular, his uncle, 
 sir Walter Erin, was, or at least pretend- 
 ed to be, incensed at it, in order to have a 
 pretext for changing his condition himself, 
 at a time of life when it was but natural 
 to suppose all thoughts of the kind would 
 have been relinquished. 
 
 If he meant to punish his nephew by 
 his marriage, he also punished himself, by 
 the affliction it was the means of drawing 
 on him, for shortly after the birth of a son 
 he lost his lady, and it was now the dying 
 state of that son that caused Mr. Erin to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 79 
 
 be summoned to Italy, who, in the event 
 of his death, was heir to the title and es- 
 tate. 
 
 Immediately after the departure of Do- 
 naghue, ^Irs. O'Brien invited Miss Erin 
 to the castle ; but a fear of being sui-prised 
 there by Donaghue, made her find a pre- 
 text for declining the invitation, deter- 
 mined as she was not to let him be forced 
 to an introduction to her. 
 
 Her uncle highly approved of her doing 
 so, conceiving, after the slighting conduct 
 of Donaghue, it would argue a want of 
 proper pride for any of the family to put 
 themselves in his way ; but her aunt, who 
 thought very differently, was much vexed 
 at the circumstance, thinking it would be 
 a means of precluding them from the agree- 
 able parties, that she was sure would take 
 place there. 
 
 Nothing more sensibly touched Mrs. 
 O'Brien than the wretched condition to 
 w^hich she saw many of the tenantry re- 
 duced, by the absence of their landlord ; 
 as much as lay in her power, she did for
 
 80 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ameliorating their misery ; but the hope 
 they required, of the reestablish m en t of 
 the family again at the castle, she could 
 not positively give them ; if things, how- 
 ever, turned out as she wished, Donaghue 
 became captivated by Miss Erin, she did 
 not despair, through her influence^ of this 
 being the case. 
 
 Donaghue at length returned from his 
 excursion, accompanied by his friend Sed- 
 ley Melville, a very pleasant and elegant 
 young man, the nephew and heir of sir 
 James Melville; and who, in occasional 
 visits to England, had become acquaint- 
 ed with Donaghue ; and, besides his mo- 
 ther, was the only person who attempted 
 to set him right in his ideas of his native 
 country ; but Donaghue, prejudiced a- 
 gainst it by those who had then a stronger 
 influence over his mind, considered all he 
 said on the subject as only ironical, and 
 therefore only laughed at it.
 
 TEADITION OF THE CASTLE. 81 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ** As in a garden, fenc'd with skilful care. 
 By hands uHcropt, unwounded by the share, 
 Some latent flower displays its blushing hues, 
 Which, while it drinks pure gales and fostering dews, 
 Drinks the strong sunshine that its bosom warms. 
 Each longing youth, each lingering maid it charms," 
 
 *' Well, I hope, Donaghue," said his mo- 
 ther, at breakfast, the morning after his 
 return, " you don't mean putting off re- 
 turning the visit of Mr. Erin any longer? 
 If you have even no wish for any ac- 
 quaintance with the family yourself, yet, 
 out of respect to me, knowing, as you do, 
 they are amongst my oldest friends, I 
 think you ought not" 
 
 The moment Donaghue found his mo- 
 ther serious on the subject, all further he- 
 sitation about it was at an end ; starting 
 e3
 
 82 TRADITION OF TFTE CASTLE. 
 
 up, he directly gave orders for the horses 
 being got ready. 
 
 " And beyond the usual dinner-hour I 
 shall not wait for you," resumed Mrs. 
 O'Brien ; " so that, if inclined to remain, 
 you need not let any consideration about 
 me hinder you." 
 
 *' Oh, as to that " cried Donaghue, 
 
 with an involuntary shrug. He laughed 
 a little satirically, and he and Melville set 
 off. 
 
 A mountainous road, loosely fenced in 
 with stones, led to the habitation of Mr. 
 Erin. Some speculations, in whidi this 
 gentleman had embarked, proving unfor- 
 tunate, had compelled him to give up a 
 handsome house he occupied in one of the 
 provincial towns, lay down his carnage, 
 and retire to an old and long-deserted 
 mansion, that, with a few acres of sterile 
 ground, had been left him, when very 
 young, by a relation. 
 
 Unable, from the alteration in his cir- 
 cumstances, to entertain, as be had been 
 accustomed, retirement was his wish here;
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 83 
 
 this, however, was too hateful to the ima- 
 gination of his wife, to be submitted to. 
 She dehghted in the bustle of company, 
 and, one way or other, contrived to pro- 
 cure it for herself, regardless of the re- 
 marks that aiming to entertain hke others 
 excited; but she was so perfectly good na- 
 tured herself, that she had no suspicion of 
 the pleasure that is taken in sneers and 
 sarcasms ; besides, she was much given to 
 castle-building, and fancied, that by keep- 
 ing up an intercourse with what she call- 
 ed the world, something beneficial to her 
 family might yet accrue. Some one might 
 take a fancy to one of her children — or 
 procure a situation for her husband, or a 
 thousand other things, equally improbable. 
 She was quite dehghted when she heard 
 that Miss Erin was coming to her, from 
 the expectation that she would furnish her 
 with an additional pretext for indulging 
 her inclination. 
 
 In this, however, she was disappointed, 
 as Miss Erin, from all she saw and knew, 
 wished rather to prevent than encourage
 
 84 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 her to see company ; and the consequence 
 was, her aunt being quite provoked with 
 her, more especially as she had calculated, 
 through her being seen in the neighbour- 
 hood, on her making some conquest of 
 consequence, that might be of advantage 
 to the family. But her previous anger 
 was slight, compared to what she felt on 
 her refusing Mrs. O'Brien's invitation to 
 the castle ; where, if she did not captivate 
 Donaghue, she would have been sure at 
 least of making a conquest of some other 
 person of equal importance, and thus ob- 
 taining the power of taking off her daugh- 
 ters to London with her, introducing 
 them at court, and procuring them great 
 matches. 
 
 " Ah, poor Pat !" exclaimed Donaghue, 
 affecting a bit of the brogue, as he and his 
 friend rode on, over a road that certainly 
 had not smoothness to recommend it. Ob- 
 serving the slovenly manner in which the 
 fields were enclosed, and the squalid 
 wretchedness of the hovels that were 
 scattered about — " When will your fences
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 85 
 
 and fields boast of the neatness of your 
 brother John's ?" 
 
 " Never, probably," replied his compa- 
 nion ; " at least till, like him, he is pos- 
 sessed of some of those comforts that give 
 what may be called heart for exertion. 
 Unceasing privations will, at length, crush 
 the stoutest spirits ; the natural conse- 
 quence of this is, recklessness about every 
 thing ; where there is no hope, there can 
 be no emulation ; and the spot on which 
 we blankly look, without any expectation 
 of enjoyment, we certainly care nothing 
 about improving." 
 
 " Ay, very true," assented Donaghue, 
 in a careless tone ; " yet if poor Pat's si- 
 tuation was improved, how much inge- 
 nuity should we lose the display of! 'Ne- 
 cessity is the mother of invention ;' and 
 really it is amusing to see the contrivances 
 it has led to here, in cars turned into gates, 
 gates into roofs, and wheels into chim- 
 nies !" 
 
 " Rather say deplorable," cried Mel- 
 ville, a little warmly.
 
 86 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " Ah ! well, so it is," said Donaghue ; 
 " however there is no use in our horrify- 
 ing ourselves, by dwelling longer on what 
 we cannot remedy ; so for the present, at 
 least, let us satisfy our feelings by throw- 
 ing what loose silver we have about us a- 
 mongst these smoke-dried beings, that are 
 peeping out of their hovels at us, as if 
 beings of another world." 
 
 At length they came in sight of Mr. 
 Erin's mansion, standing in a ruinous 
 court, in the very heart of a wild moun- 
 tainous tract, and every where evincing 
 proofs of desertion and decay, yet from 
 its size proving that it must once have 
 been a mansion of consequence — " Though 
 how any one could think of building a 
 house in such a spot, except it was to have 
 the pleasure of shooting grouse out of the 
 windows without any trouble, I cannot 
 conceive," observed Donaghue. 
 
 They dismounted at the gate, and cross- 
 ed the court to the hall-door, which was 
 lying open, without encountering any 
 living thing, except a few cocks and hens
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 87 
 
 that were straying about it. Donaghue 
 knocked, but no one answered. After 
 waiting some minutes, he knocked again ; 
 hut still no one came, nor was any sound 
 heard within the house, but that of the 
 ticking of an old-fashioned clock, that 
 stood at the head of the staircase facing 
 them. 
 
 " Well, this is odd enough," cried Do- 
 naghue; " why, I believe they have all 
 run away ; and, faith, I don't w^onder at 
 it, since from such a place I think I should 
 be very apt to eject myself. — But come," 
 addressing Melville, " will you venture 
 to explore ? perhaps we may at least dis- 
 cover a sleeping beauty." 
 
 A stifled laugh made them hastily turn 
 round, and they encountered the eyes of 
 a strikingly elegant-looking girl, about 
 nineteen ; she had a large bonnet on, and 
 a small basket on her arm, filled with field 
 flowers, and altogether appeared as if just 
 returned from a ramble. — " Permit me, 
 gentlemen," she said, still laughing, as
 
 88 TUADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 she returned their rather confused saluta- 
 tion, for surprise gave to both an appear- 
 ance of embarrassment, " to assure you, 
 that no such discovery would have recom- 
 pensed you for the trouble ; but pray walk 
 in," leading the way to an old-fashioned 
 parlour. " And now permit me to ask who 
 has done my uncle the honour of calling, 
 that I may inform him." 
 
 " Her uncle !" Donaghue almost started 
 — " Good Heavens ! and was this Miss 
 Erin? this elegant, animated, beautiful 
 girl, looking all soul, all intelligence, the 
 stiff, stupid, statue-like being, lady Jane 
 had represented her ? — oh, what a satire 
 on a woman's painting !" 
 
 ** But first," continued Miss Erin, " to 
 account for what must appear so extraor- 
 dinary, as no one being within to answer 
 you: our hay-harvest has just commenced, 
 and from the variableness of our humid 
 climate — the old proverb of making hay 
 while the sun shines not being to be ne- 
 glected here — our whole household have
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 89 
 
 turned into the fields, with my uncle and 
 aunt at their head, to amuse themselves, 
 and see how matters are going on.'* 
 
 Donaghue introduced himself, and then 
 his friend ; and Miss Erin then left them, 
 to acquaint her uncle with their visit. 
 
 Donaghue watched her from the win- 
 dow till she was out of sight ; then, as he 
 turned from it — " Rather a — a well-look- 
 ing girl that," he cried. 
 
 " Rather !" exclaimed Melville ; " well, 
 really, this is too ridiculous ; but it won't 
 do, my dear fellow — I saw no emotion, to 
 be sure, on your first encountering her 
 eyes, or on her announcing herself!" 
 
 " Pshaw !" cried Donaghue, as he walk- 
 ed to a glass to adjust his hair — " I may 
 in my turn exclaim ridiculous !" 
 
 " Oh ! come, I think you'll do," said 
 Melville ; " at least you won't quite hor- 
 rify the lady." 
 
 Donaghue laughed — " Really you are 
 intolerable, Melville ; if I was to attend to 
 you, you would make me believe that I 
 was "
 
 90 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " Not that you were a superlatively con- 
 ceited feHow," cried Melville — " no, no, 
 that at least you must acquit yourself of 
 being." 
 
 Donaghue again laughed — " You are 
 really enough to provoke one," he cried ; 
 " but do, my dear fellow, spare me now, 
 for I am all but done up by our hor- 
 rible ride over that stony road, which, by- 
 the-bye, I believe has been paved by some 
 malicious priest, for penitential purposes; 
 and the barbarous smell of turf that per- 
 vades this apartment — really, as lady Ma- 
 gennis observes, what between bog, brogue, 
 and smoke, one w^ould need the nerves of 
 an Esquimaux here." 
 
 " Pshaw ! lady Magennis !" exclaimed 
 Melville, a little petulantly, " I hate her 
 observations — so much any thing but what 
 they ought to be ; let us not disparage the 
 land we live in, or rather belong to." 
 
 "Oh, sentimental!" cried Donaghue; 
 " oh ! then I am off, for that is not my 
 forte ;" and throwing himself on a sofa, he 
 took up a book he found there.
 
 TBADITION OF THE CASTLE. 91 
 
 In the mean time Miss Erin proceeded 
 to her uncle.. — " So he has condescended 
 at last !" he cried, on receiving her infor- 
 mation. 
 
 " Who?" exclaimed his wife, catching 
 the sentence, and eagerly approaching. 
 
 " Prince Donaghue and his friend," re- 
 plied Mr. Erin, laughing a little satiri- 
 cally. 
 
 " Indeed ! well really I am quite glad ; 
 I dare say he would have come before if 
 he could, and so we must keep him to 
 dinner." 
 
 " Oh no, my dear aunt!" cried Miss EriOj 
 shrinking at the bare idea, from the little 
 order she knew any thing was in for an 
 entertainment, and the persuasion she en- 
 tertained of Donaghue's conceit and fas- 
 tidiousness — " I beg not — for — I — really 
 think, after acting as he has done, that he 
 does not merit any compliment of the 
 kind." 
 
 " Pooh ! I hope you don't want your 
 uncle to have a coolness to the son of your 
 mother's particular friend? besides, it is
 
 92 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 really requisite we should keep him to 
 dinner, in order to let him see what 
 kind of people we are — that is, that we 
 know what is right, as well as others; for 
 I dare say it was owing to some doubt of 
 this, after all, that he did not come before, 
 for I know what kind of invidious being 
 that lady Magennis is ! — But, Lord, my 
 dear," turning to her husband, " do quick- 
 en your pace ; if you delay much longer, 
 I shouldn't wonder if your visitors lost all 
 patience, and were off without seeing you ; 
 you really walk as slow as if, like a snail, 
 you had a house on your back !" 
 
 Miss Erin could not contend the point 
 any further herself, but she cast a look at 
 her uncle, in the hope of inducing him to 
 do so; but in this hope she was disap- 
 pointed — he did not, out of regard to "Mrs. 
 O'Brien, like to appear to retain any re- 
 sentment against Donaghue, so he decided 
 on letting his wife do as she pleased. 
 
 Though Donaghue was not quite as 
 much surprised by the uncle as he had 
 been by the niece, yet he certainly was a
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. QS 
 
 good deal so, at finding him so entirely 
 contrary to what he had expected, resem- 
 bUng those he had hitherto associated 
 with, and felt almost inclined to be asham- 
 ed of the slighting manner in which he 
 had treated him ; but his wife — she cer- 
 tainly rather looked as if she had not long 
 been caught ; and if the rest of the family 
 resembled her, it would be quite as well 
 to be still a little shy of them, that if they 
 encountered elsewhere, he might not be 
 horrified by their claiming acquaintance 
 with him. 
 
 This reflection, it might have been sup- 
 posed, would have operated in deterring 
 him from accepting the invitation to din- 
 ner — it had not this effect, however ; but 
 not wishing to let Melville think, who, he 
 saw, was very much inclined to laugh at 
 him, that it was his inclination to stay, 
 instead of returning an answer to Mr. 
 Erin, he referred him to Melville for one, 
 hoping by this he should be able to make 
 it appear to him that it was out of com- 
 pliment to what he conceived were his
 
 94 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 wishes he consented to remain ; but Mel- 
 ville saw his drift, and determined to dis- 
 appoint him; in his turn referring Mr. Erin 
 to him, by saying he was perfectly at the 
 disposal of Mr. O'Brien. 
 
 Mrs. Erin only waited to have the invi- 
 tation accepted to disappear, and Miss Erin 
 quickly followed her, to try and prevent, 
 as much as possible, the bustle she dread- 
 ed. But in vain she represented how 
 much more elegance and comfort there 
 woul(} be in a plain neat dinner, that could 
 easily be got ready, than in a great one 
 without the proper means for it. — " Oh, 
 pooh ! don't trouble yourself about that," 
 was the reply ; " I'll engage I'll contrive 
 every thing; if they drop in again, I sha'n't 
 mind letting them sit down to our own 
 fare, but first impressions are every thing; 
 we must let them see we know how to 
 entertain as well as other people — that 
 lady Magennis is not the only person in 
 the county who knows how to have a 
 table laid out. So run away, my darling, 
 and don't be staying in this hot place," for.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 95 
 
 they were speaking in the kitchen ; " and 
 be sure you put on your grey silk, for 'tis 
 the most becoming of all your dresses; 
 and be sure you don't forget your darling 
 wreath of white roses ; and when you are 
 dressed, have a look to the drawing-room.'* 
 
 " The drawing-room I" exclaimed Miss 
 Erin, in an alarmed tone, at the idea of 
 its ragged and faded furniture, the sad 
 proofs of better days ; " oh, my dear aunt ! 
 would it not be better not to introduce 
 them into any other room than the par- 
 lour ?" which, from the best of every thing 
 being picked out for it from the other 
 rooms, had something of a respectable ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 " Pooh ! I know what you mean ; but 
 they won't be long enough in it before 
 dinner to have time to examine things ; 
 and as the sun will be full upon it then, 
 that will be an excuse for the curtains be- 
 ing down, so that will shade a good deal ; 
 and on the very worst of the chairs one 
 can spread a scarf, or cloak, as if by acci- 
 dent, and by the time they return to it in
 
 96 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the evening, it will be too full for them 
 to see any thing." 
 
 " Too full !" repeated her niece. 
 
 " Why, yes, my darling, I mean to 
 give them a dance, and that's true. — Pat, 
 let Tim Nevin — if you whistle at the back 
 door he'll hear you — come in from the 
 field and clean the knives ; and do you run 
 down to the village, and tell Thady Mul- 
 lins and Rooney Macguire (the piper and 
 fiddler of the place) I want them this even- 
 ing, and if they are engaged elsewhere, 
 not to mind that, but come, and I'll give 
 them plenty of Inishowen, and a good 
 supper, and a few more tenpennies than 
 they would get from any one else ; and 
 when you are there, you may as well send 
 up Biddy Neil — she'll help to pick the 
 chickens, and mind the meat as 'tis roast- 
 ing ; and if she says she can't come on ac- 
 count of the children, why she may bring 
 them all with her. But stop — let me see 
 if I want you to do any thing else — ay, 
 there's not tea enough in the house, and 
 I want almonds and raisins besides, for
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 97 
 
 the supper-table ; so when you are so far, 
 you may as well go on to the town, but 
 don*t be waiting to catch one of our horses 
 — you'll find Flinn's old mare grazing by 
 the roadside, so take her ; and if the par- 
 cels can't be made up in a moment for 
 you, don't, for the life of you, be delay- 
 ing for them, but let them be sent after 
 you — but wait another minute, I want 
 you to drop a note by the way at Mr. 
 Bond's, and as you are coming back you 
 may call for an answer.— And, my darling," 
 turning to her niece, " do you run up and 
 write it for me — tell them who we have 
 here, and that we shall expect them to 
 dinner." 
 
 " Oh, not the Bonds, my dear aunt, I 
 innplore !" 
 
 " Pooh ! why not ? it would be stupid 
 to have no one but ourselves at dinner ; 
 besides, you know I couldn't ask for the 
 epergne, or the silver bread-basket, I want 
 for handing about cake in the evening, 
 without inviting them." 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " But why ask for these things? there 
 is no necessity for them." 
 
 " Tut ! sure I have explained that to 
 you already ; but here I am wasting my 
 time, when I have so much to do — blanc- 
 mange and custards to make ; and, ah ! 
 then, Judy, is it with your hands dangling 
 before you, you are looking on, when 
 there's not a minute to spare — while you 
 are standing there doing nothing, couldn't 
 you be running about, making yourself 
 useful ? And my two young devils," 
 meaning her daughters, " I wonder where 
 they are — tumbhng about in the hay, I 
 suppose, when they might be giving a 
 hand, though, God knows, I believe we 
 are better without them ; and there, if I 
 believe they have a white frock ready to 
 put on ! Well, to be sure, as old nurse 
 Whelan says, I may well cry och hone ! 
 for I'm sure I'm finely pestered." 
 
 Miss Erin, finding remonstrance useless, 
 repaired, with a sigh, to her writing-desk, 
 and then proceeded to get matters regu- 
 lated in the unfortunate drawing-room ;
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 99 
 
 after which, having merely exchanged one 
 white dress for another, she repaired, with 
 her work-basket and a book, to the sum- 
 mer-house in the garden. 
 
 Here she was soon after found by the 
 friends. Mr. Erin was just on the point 
 of taking them out to view his fields, 
 when, being called away on business, on 
 being left by themselves, they walked in- 
 to the garden, into which the parlour 
 opened. 
 
 Accustomed to produce an effect, Do- 
 naghue could not help experiencing a sen- 
 sation of mortification at the perfect cool- 
 ness and composure which this conduct of 
 Miss Erin evinced about him — no flutter, 
 no indication of emotion, no additional 
 ornament in consequence of his consent- 
 ing to stay ; but this indeed she required 
 not, for never had his charmed eyes rested 
 on a being who so perfectly answered every 
 idea he had formed of elegance and grace. 
 
 Eveleen Erin was indeed of the first 
 order of fine forms — her complexion was 
 F 2
 
 100 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 pale, but varying with every feeling — a 
 tale of wo would make it fade away into 
 nrjaiHble whiteness, while joy, or any other 
 sudden or powerful emotion, would flush 
 it with tints as bright as colours over the 
 morning sky, but, like them, as transient 
 too ; her eyes and hair were dark, and the 
 former, shaded as they were by their beau- 
 teous lashes, were of themselves alone 
 sufficient to give resistless attractions to 
 any countenance — full of life, of spirit, and 
 intelligence, their expression clearly prov- 
 ed, that if she was not satirical, it was not 
 from the want of power, but of inclina- 
 tion, to be so ; while she smiled in such a 
 sort, as if secure of all beholders' hearts, 
 neglecting she could take them. 
 
 Donaghue carelessly took up the book 
 she laid down on his entrance — it was the 
 " Giaour" of lord Byron, and opened at 
 his enchanting description of Lelia. Never 
 had lines, Donaghue thought, appeared so 
 applicable, and in a transport of admira- 
 tion he took out his pencil, and transcribing 
 them, while she was engaged in conversa-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 101 
 
 tion with Melville, on a sheet of paper he 
 found on the table, left it, when he had 
 done, folded up in the book, with the fol- 
 lowing remark above what be had copied : 
 
 " Had the author of the following Hnes 
 seen the fair divinity of this bower, she 
 would have supplied the picture he drew 
 from his imagination. 
 
 Her eyes' dark charm 'twere vain to tell, 
 
 But gaze on that of the gazelle, 
 
 It will assist thy fancy well; 
 
 As large as languishingly dark, 
 
 But soul beamed forth in every spark 
 
 That darted from beneath the lid, 
 
 Bright as the jewel of Giamschid. 
 
 On her might muftis gaze, and own 
 
 That through her eye the immortal shone ; 
 
 On her feir cheeks* unfading hue 
 
 The young pomegranates blossoms strew 
 
 Their bloom in blushes ever new. 
 
 Her hair, in hyacinthine flow. 
 
 When left to roll its folds below. 
 
 As midst her handmaids in the hall 
 
 She stood superior to them all, 
 
 Hath swept the marble.
 
 102 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 As rears her crest the ruffled swan, 
 
 And spurns the ware with wings of pride. 
 When pass the steps of stranger man 
 
 Along the banks that bound her tide, 
 Thus rose fair EveJeen's whiter neck. 
 Thus armed with beauty would she check 
 Intrusion's glance, till Folly's gaze 
 Shrunk from the charms it meant to praise — 
 Thus high and graceful was her gait. 
 
 But scarcely had he given way to his^ 
 feelings ere he regretted it, and would 
 have recovered the paper that disclosed 
 them, but that on his laying down the 
 book, she had put it aside; however, he 
 hoped what it contained would be placed 
 to the score of mere gallantry, for he could 
 not endure that, without appearing to 
 have produced any effect on her, she 
 should have the gratification of know- 
 ing she had produced such an one upon 
 him. But was not this affectation, va- 
 nity suggested ; or to such a conviction 
 that their marriage was inevitable, from 
 the arrangement of their mothers, that 
 she might give herself what airs she
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 103 
 
 pleased; but he should soon undeceive, 
 soon teach her the reverse; for with all 
 her loveliness he could not — no, he could 
 not think seriously of her, for there would 
 be no eclat attending a union with her; 
 and then such a sacrifice of lofty preten- 
 sions ! no, the thing was impossible; yet 
 since it was, he w^ished he had found her 
 just what he expected, the cold, stiff, 
 marble-like being lady Jane had described 
 her — dear, delightful lady Jane ! so every 
 thing a fashionable man could desire a 
 wife to be — he really did believe, if she 
 had but the loveliness of the other, he 
 would no longer hesitate to become a Be- 
 nedict ; but then, if she had that with her 
 other attractions, she would be too glori- 
 ous a prize for any mortal ; but it was ill- 
 judged of her to deceive him as she had 
 done about Miss Erin, knowing, as she 
 must, it would be apt to heighten any ad- 
 miration she was calculated to excite : but 
 was it for this purpose she had done so ? 
 no ; and he smiled with a feeling of gra-
 
 104 TEADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 tified vanity at the motive to which he 
 ascribed it. But all this was ridiculous ; 
 for as yet to resign his liberty, give up 
 the dear delight of seeing himself manoeu- 
 vered for by all the speculating mammas 
 and exhibiting Misses of fashion in Lon- 
 don, was out of the question ; besides, to 
 run the risk of having a set of sons and 
 daughters startiiig up about him, ere he 
 was by any means inclined to resign the 
 stage to them — no, the thought was not 
 endurable. Some years hence, for the 
 sake of the family name, he might then 
 take a wife, and mortify withal. 
 
 Yet notwithstanding these resolutions, 
 he felt almost peevish when Mr. Erin 
 had hunted him and Melville out, to 
 drag them over his horrible fields. The 
 bower was so cool, and so deliciously se- 
 questered ; " and then," as AVerter says, 
 *' to look in the dark eyes of the divinity 
 of it," was of itself a pleasure ; but in vain 
 he gazed in them, to discover what was 
 then passing in her mind — had she been 
 composed of the marble of vrhich lady
 
 TRADITION OP THE CASTLE. 105 
 
 Jane had represented her, she could not 
 have given him less indications of this. 
 
 By the time they returned from their 
 drag, the other guests were arrived, con- 
 sisting of Mr. and Mrs. Bond, and their 
 grandson and his sister, both grown up. 
 They were people of comfortable indepen- 
 dence, and had every appearance of en- 
 joying life; but there certainly was no- 
 thing of ton about them, and at the first 
 glance Donaghue determined on keeping 
 himself aloof from them ; determinations, 
 however, are much easier formed than 
 kept. Mrs. Bond, who was no great adept 
 in interpreting looks, soon forced some 
 attention from him. Taking possession 
 of a chair by his, and drawing it as close 
 to it as possible — " You must know, my 
 good young sir," she cried, " that your 
 being here to-day was no slight induce- 
 ment to our also coming ; not but that we 
 are always happy in the company of our 
 friends here, but I was so particularly glad 
 at the opportunity I saw of being intro- 
 P 3
 
 106 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 duced to you would afford me of getting 
 an acquaintance in London for my young 
 people, against their going there, who, 
 from having always resided there, would 
 know what to shew them, and what to 
 teach them to avoid, for their grandfather 
 and I can think of no more journeys 
 now." 
 
 " Know what to shew them !" and as 
 she made the remark, Donaghue involun- 
 tarily glanced at master Bob, and survey- 
 ing him from head to foot, thought of the 
 effect, with an absolute sensation of hor- 
 iror, which he should produce at the opera, 
 loitering down the pit, or emerging from 
 behind the scenes, with such a being — 
 short and thick, with a face as broad as a 
 full moon, and red as a piony, with coal 
 black hair, that from its straightness seemed 
 as if it would bid defiance to all the curl- 
 ing fluids in the world to produce an effect 
 onj and a mouth so capaciously wide, as 
 .to render it impossible for him to open it, 
 without disclosing a set of teeth, quite as 
 formidable, from their size, as those of the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 107 
 
 terrible visitor of poor little Red-riding- 
 hood. 
 
 "And if London is not very much altered 
 since my time," continued the good lady, 
 " there are many things there to be avoid- 
 ed ; for you must know, sir, I once paid 
 it a visit, before I was married, and I be- 
 lieve it is the descriptions 1 have given of 
 it that have set these young folks so long- 
 ing to see it. But I saw it when it had 
 even more public places to boast of than 
 it has now, for then there was Mary bone 
 Gardens, and Ranelagh, besides Vauxhall 
 — enchanting Ranelagh ! as my friend lady 
 Donnybrook used to call it ; I could have 
 cried when I heard of its pulling down, 
 for I remembered it in all its glory ; and 
 grand it was, and grand every one looked 
 then, for dress in those days gave dignity 
 and consequence to one's appearance — ah ! 
 it was something then to see a lady in full 
 dress for an assembly !" 
 
 " Awful, no doubt, ma'am," cried Do- 
 naghue. 
 
 " In a full-trimmed sack, with a large
 
 108 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 hoop, and treble ruffles," proceeded the 
 old lady, pursuing what seemed to her to 
 be an enchanting theme ; " not as now, in 
 her cobweb drapery, looking as slim and 
 as insignificant as the sprite in the fable- 
 book on the top of the cradle; people 
 were then distinguished by their dress, for 
 from the richness of the materials, and the 
 quantity of them, not as now, it was im- 
 possible for all to dress alike ; and really, 
 on this account, if on no other, it is to be 
 lamented that the fashion of hoops and 
 sacks is gone out." 
 
 " And the injury besides it is to tlie 
 whale-fishery !" said Melville, advancing ; 
 " really I wonder the Greenland Company 
 have not taken it up, and remonstrated 
 with government on the subject ; but all 
 in good time — when all this fuss that has 
 lately been made about the beauty of the 
 human form, and the Grecian style of 
 dress, is over, we shall see the dignified 
 taste of other days reviving, and the ladies 
 again bearing down upon us, in all that 
 extension of dress that is so commanding.
 
 Tradition of the castli. 109 
 
 But you were observing, ma'am, if London 
 was not altered since your time ; if it is, 
 I will venture to say, it is not for the bet- 
 ter ;" and he launched out into an account 
 — yet perhaps, after all, not an exaggera- 
 ted one — that was enough to terrify any 
 one, of its various impositions and enor- 
 mities, interspersed with remarks on the 
 precautions it was requisite to practise, 
 and the manner in which one should al- 
 ways be on their guard ; during which 
 Mr. Bond, joining the party, kept conti- 
 nually calling out to his grandson — 
 " Mind that, Bob ! put that down with 
 your pencil in your pocketbook, that it 
 shouldn't be forgot !" and, to the great a- 
 musement of Melville, the tablets were ac- 
 tually produced. 
 
 " But, notwithstanding what I have 
 said of the dangers of this wilderness, as it 
 may be termed," he went on, " yet, with a 
 friend at one's elbow, one may just as safe- 
 ly steer through them all, as they may 
 through Scylla and Charybdis, with a skil-
 
 110 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ful pilot ; and really, to conduct one safe- 
 ly through them, I know not any one bet- 
 ter qualified than my friend here, he is 
 so perfectly acquainted with the town, so 
 completely au fait with regard to every 
 thing connected with it. Indeed I don't 
 know any person more calculated to ren- 
 der the visit of a stranger to it pleasant, 
 than he is. With him for his guide and 
 
 director, ISlr. Bob 1 beg his pardon — 
 
 Mr. Robert, need fear nothing ; and, 
 through an acquaintance with him, will 
 have an opportunity of being introduced, 
 in the most stylish way, to all the places 
 of fashionable resort. In particular, if he's 
 fond of music, he'll have reason to con- 
 gratulate himself on his acquaintance with 
 him, for he's a constant frequenter of the 
 opera." 
 
 Here the provoked Donaghue, by an 
 absolutely savage look, tried to stop him, 
 but in vain. 
 
 " Then he is so well acquainted with all 
 the lions "
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. Ill 
 
 " The lions ! bless me !" interrupted the 
 old lady, in a tone of affright, " are there 
 many there ?" 
 
 " He, he !" now tittered the young lady, 
 and " la, grandma !" she dutifully demand- 
 ed, " how can you be so silly ? By lions 
 are meant the curiosities of a place — when 
 I was at school I learned that !" 
 
 " Dear me ! to see what changes there 
 are in every thing !" sighed her grandmo- 
 ther; " in my time it was — * have you 
 seen the sights ?" 
 
 " Ay ; but, grandmother — ' have you 
 seen the lions ?' is now the go," cried mas- 
 ter Bob, with a laugh. 
 
 " Have you put that down with your 
 pencil, sir ?" asked Melville, gravely ; " for 
 it is pleasant for a person to be up to all 
 these things, to avoid being taken for a 
 stranger." 
 
 " Ah ! then, faith, I believe," cried ho- 
 nest Bob, " with the tongue I have got in 
 my head, it will be impossible for me to 
 avoid that." 
 
 " Ohj pardon me, sir," returned Mel-
 
 112 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 vine; " or, if your tongue does betray 
 you, it will only be as the stranger was 
 betrayed in the market at Athens, by the 
 superior elegance and purity vnth which 
 he spoke the language." 
 
 Donaghue, with a look that seemed to 
 say this was too bad — for certainly poor 
 Bob had a tongue that would any where 
 have proclaimed his country — now rose, 
 or rather broke away from the old lady, 
 for her hand had all this time been resting 
 on his arm, and walked to a window. As 
 he did so, he caught the eye of Miss Erin, 
 and by a significant shrug, or at least what 
 he meant to be one, immediately strove to 
 imjiart his feelings to her ; but either she 
 did not understand him, or else thought 
 him impertinent, for nothing could exceed 
 the unaltered gravity of her look ; and it 
 seemed so like a rebuke to Donaghue, that 
 he felt the blood mounting up to his very 
 temples. 
 
 At length dinner was announced, in a 
 manner that electrified the whole party, 
 by the fling that Pat gave to the doOr, in
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 113 
 
 order to prove to his mistress, that her in- 
 structions to him to be all alive were not 
 thrown away. 
 
 As Miss Erin had foreseen, every thing 
 was uncomfortable and in confusion, from 
 the entertainment her aunt would persist 
 in giving. She felt it, and her uncle felt 
 it ; but the lady of the house herself was 
 perfectly satisfied — her feelings were not 
 particularly sensitive about such matters, 
 and she accordingly set about doing the 
 honours of the table, with as much ease 
 and self-complacency as if it had been laid 
 out by the first maitre d'hotel in either 
 kingdom. 
 
 But if the previous discomposure of Miss 
 Erin was great, what it was when the un- 
 fortunate vanity of her aunt was detected 
 may be conceived. The epergne was Mr. 
 Bond's first present to his lady, and so va- 
 lued by her, as to be long intended for an 
 heirloom. She could not therefore help 
 keeping a watchful eye over it, or caution- 
 ing Pat about it, whose alertness absolute- 
 ly terrified her, in a manner that proved
 
 114 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 but too clearly how much she was inter- 
 ested in its preservation. 
 
 Of course the strangers noticed nothing 
 that was not wished ; but Donaghue was 
 all eye, all ear; and his fastidiousness 
 every moment increased, till at length he 
 almost ceased to make an effort to conceal 
 it. But the coolness of Miss Erin had 
 piqued his pride, and mortified his vanity, 
 and in return he wished to let her see, that 
 his feelings were of a description that must 
 render him very indifferent on the subject. 
 Now and then he condescended to give a 
 languid smile, and attempt to say some- 
 thing ; but when the evening guests, ere 
 dinner was well over, agreeable to the in- 
 timation of Mrs. Erin, not to be late in 
 coming, were heard thundering up the 
 stairs, for it is here to be understood, that 
 they were not exactly of the first descrip- 
 tion of fashionables in the neighbourhood, 
 it was all over any further attempt at con- 
 straint, and hastily rising, he rang, to have 
 the horses got ready directly, to the no 
 small surprise of the rest of the party, and
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 115 
 
 anger of Melville, who had quite enjoyed 
 the idea of the scene above stairs. But he 
 could not be prevailed on to give up going 
 immediately, more especially as, on glanc- 
 ing at Miss Erin, to see whether she at 
 all looked as if she wished hira to stay, he 
 saw nothing but a supercilious smile on 
 her countenance. 
 
 Melville was so provoked with him, 
 that they had proceeded a considerable 
 way on their return ere he would speak 
 to him ; and when he did, it was to rail 
 at him for his conduct. 
 
 Donaghue affected to laugh at what he 
 said ; but in reality was so vexed himself, 
 by this time, at the way in which he had 
 acted, that it had the effect of making him 
 feel still severer the subject; but then, 
 had he acted otherwise, might not his si- 
 lence and constraint have been imputed to 
 want of natural animation, and the impu- 
 tation of stupidity would not be a very 
 pleasant one to incur ; besides, it was re- 
 quisite to let the party see he too well un- 
 derstood what was due to himself, to per-
 
 116 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 mit an introduction to the heterogeneous 
 set assembled for the evening, and thus to 
 try and reconcile himself to his conduct, 
 had recourse to false reasoning and false 
 arguments, but which, as usual, failed of 
 succeeding. 
 
 On reaching Altoir-na-Grenie, they 
 found Mrs. O'Brien was gone to spend the 
 evening at lady Magennis's. The family 
 there did not much expect to see any one 
 from Altoir-na-Grenie that day ; but on 
 learning, by chance, the direction iii which 
 the friends had been seen riding that 
 morning, their agony to know whether 
 they were going to Mr. Erin's was so 
 great, that the young ladies were dispatch- 
 ed, after dinner, under the pretext of 
 bringing Mrs. O'Brien to tea. The eager 
 manner in which they looked round the 
 room, and their agitated inquiries after the 
 gentlemen, betrayed their real motive for 
 coming. 
 
 Their mamma was scarcely less agitated 
 than they were themselves, when a signi- 
 ficant look, on their return, gave her to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 117 
 
 understand it was as they feared ; how- 
 ever, it was some comfort to think they 
 should not be long kept in suspense as to 
 what was likely to result from the visit — 
 it would be easy to see what impression 
 Miss Erin had made ; and if she failed of 
 making a positive impression at first sight, 
 why there was a chance that nothing in- 
 jurious to them would result from the vi- 
 sit ; at all events, she could not deprive 
 them of both the beaux, and Melville, 
 from the first moment of his arrival, had 
 become quite as great an object of specu- 
 lation as his friend. 
 
 The early return of the gentlemen gave 
 a fillip to their drooping spirits. — " So, 
 gentlemen," cried her ladyship, laying 
 down her cards, with eyes sparkling with 
 pleasure, as they entered the drawing- 
 room, " for the wreck of matter, or the 
 crush of worlds," almost, could not have 
 induced her to give up cards for an even- 
 ing, " this is a very unexpected pleasure ; 
 for, from the place where you were visit- 
 ing, I scarcely thought," and ^e spoke
 
 118 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 sneeringly, from believing she might safe- 
 ly do so, " that you would be too com- 
 pletely spell-bound, to be able to leave it 
 at such an hour !" 
 
 " Indeed I" said Donaghue; and he was 
 on the point, perhaps, of saying something 
 in unison with her wishes, when either 
 the rebuking eye of his mother, or eke the 
 majestic form of Miss Erin, suddenly ri- 
 sinjr to his imasrination, checked him, and 
 made him colour and falter at the idea. 
 
 " Why the fact is, ma'am," said Mel- 
 ville, who had a most ungallant dislike to 
 her ladyship and her daughters, ** Dona- 
 ghue found such danger in remaining, that 
 he determined on a precipitate flight." 
 
 " Really !^ cried her ladyship, with a 
 quivering lip, but affectedly misunder- 
 standing his meaning, " what ! ftt)m the 
 hospitality of the good lady of the house. 
 who really treats her guests as they do 
 fowl, when they are put up for fattening?" 
 
 " No, not exactly," replied Melville; 
 •* it was from another cause — from beauty 
 tnilv blended, whose red and white,'' and as
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 119 
 
 he spoke, with a sly glance at the well- 
 rouged cheeks of her daughters, he gave 
 a slight but significant rub to his own 
 cheek, " Nature's own rare and skilful 
 hand put on." 
 
 " Oh dear, poetical !" exclaimed her la- 
 dyship, with another sneer ; " you must 
 be far gone then indeed ! and Miss Eve- 
 leen Erin will doubtless feel vain at being 
 able to rank the accomplished Mr. Melville 
 amongst her conquests." 
 
 " No, not exactlv amonofst her con- 
 quests, though certainly amongst her 
 warmest admirers — for certain considera- 
 tions," and he spoke emphatically, " will 
 continue to make me guard my heart a- 
 gainst her attractions." 
 
 " Pshaw ! it is ridiculous," cried her la- 
 dyship, " from the manner in which you 
 speak of her, to deny its being already 
 surrendered to her ; and I suppose, Or- 
 lando like, we shall soon have you hang- 
 ing elegies on oaks, and odes on bramble 
 bushes, in praise of her charms." 
 
 " No, if I was to exert my muse on her
 
 1^ TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 account, I think it would be in loyld can- 
 tos, of contemned love." 
 
 " How modest ! No confidence then in 
 your own attractions— but come, now that 
 you have given utterance to your raptures, 
 will you join us at cards ?" 
 
 " No, excuse me." 
 
 " Oh ! more inclined for musing. Well, 
 that is natural for a man in your case. — 
 But, Mr. Donaghue, do you purpose fol- 
 lowing the example of your friend ?" 
 
 " By no means," replied Donaghue, and 
 instantly took a seat at the table ; whence, 
 in the course of a few hours, he rose the 
 loser of a considerable sum. 
 
 " Well, 1 don't pity you," said Melville, 
 as he was putting up his lightened purse, 
 with perhaps not the most complacent 
 brow in the world ; " had you remained 
 where you were, instead of having to re- 
 flect on your folly, in putting yourself in 
 the way of being cheated out of such a 
 sum of money, for the play here is nothing 
 but cheating — the observations of this even- 
 ing- have convinced me of this, for I have
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 121 
 
 been watching her ladyship and her ami- 
 able daughters, and now clearly under- 
 stand why the latter decline playing, and 
 always keep hovering about the table 
 where their mamma is — you might have 
 been enjoying the conversation of the live- 
 liest girl in the kingdom, perhaps at this 
 very moment holding her soft hand in 
 yours, and meeting her smiles, and, in 
 short, have had something to dwell on 
 with delight." 
 
 " Why I suppose you think I have the 
 patience of a saint," cried Donaghue, al- 
 most in a rage ; " is it the art of torment- 
 ing that you have lately been studying, 
 that you appear such an adept in it ?" 
 
 " Oh, you wince ! well, I'll stroke you 
 down again. Is it not a proof that I think 
 something of you, my taking these pains 
 to admonish you ?" 
 
 " Oh, thank you ! so you wound but 
 for the pleasure of healing ! but certainly 
 you have found out an ingenious way of 
 trying the temper of your friends !" 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 All the art of Donaghue could not hide 
 from his mother the impression which 
 Miss Erin had made upon him, and she 
 had no longer any hesitation in revealing 
 what her wishes were respecting her, lest 
 ignorance of them should occasion his 
 struggling against his admiration for her, 
 or, at least, be pleaded hereafter as a rea- 
 son for resisting its impulse, assuring him 
 she had not the slightest doubt of his fa- 
 ther's acquiescing in them. But though 
 Donaghue listened attentively, he allowed 
 nothing to escape him that could put her 
 out of suspense as to what his real inten- 
 tions were ; but she would not despair of 
 their being favourable to the wishes she 
 had avowed. With his acute susceptibi- 
 lity, his taste, his turn of mind, she thought 
 it next to impossible that a further know- 
 ledge of Miss Erin — the conviction that 
 must follow, of the adornments of her 
 mind being equal to those of her person- 
 would not complete her conquest over him, 
 and make him think with contempt of all
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 123 
 
 that had previously militated against his 
 yielding to her power. 
 
 But how was this further knowledge to 
 be obtained ? she feared his apprehended 
 wish to resist the impression that had been 
 made upon him might prevent the repe- 
 tition of his visit to Mr. Erin's, and the 
 family did not keep up any great inti- 
 macy in the neighbourhood of Altoir-na- 
 Grenie, and these considerations made her 
 regret still more Miss Erin's positive re- 
 jection of the invitation she had given her ; 
 but perhaps if now repeated, and she was 
 just on the point of setting out to try if 
 she could not prevail on her, when she 
 learned she Avas coming to pass a little 
 time with the friend of her aunt, Mrs. 
 Burros, a lady residing at no great distance 
 from Altoir-na-Grenie. 
 
 Mrs. Erin, that is Miss Erin's aunt, was, 
 in her way, a manoeuvrier, as well as lady 
 Magennis, and conceiving if her niece 
 went on a visit in the neighbourhood, she 
 should be furnished with a pretext for go- 
 G 2
 
 124 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ing there too, as often as she pleased, her- 
 self, she wrote privately to her friend 
 Mrs. Burros, to invite her, knowing Eve- 
 leen would have no excuse for declining 
 an invitation of hers. 
 
 Donaghue no sooner heard of this visit 
 than, unacquainted with her refusal of his 
 mother's invitation, vanity immediately 
 suggested its being paid on iiis account ; 
 the dead set he had been warned of, by 
 lady Jane, occurred to his imagination, 
 and he determined to act accordingly, to 
 let it be seen that he was not easily to be 
 caught, or, at all events, induced to form 
 a downright Irish connexion. Conceiving 
 the lady had advanced, he believed he 
 need take no further pains to render him- 
 self agreeable, if indeed he had already 
 taken any, but might give himself what 
 airs he pleased ; and the idea of obtaining 
 proofs of her admiration, or rather being 
 sure of it, without giving any of his own, 
 was extremely pleasing to his imagination. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of hastening to pay his 
 respects to her, on hearing of her arrival.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 125 
 
 he carelessly ordered the horses, and rode 
 out with Melville, but took the road lead- 
 ing to Mrs. Burros's cottage, from believ- 
 ing Melville, which however was not the 
 case, was unacquainted with it. On com- 
 ing nearly opposite the cottage, he espied 
 a female through the divisions of a Vene- 
 tian blind, and fancying it must be Miss 
 Erin, such an opportunity for playing off 
 his fine figure before her was not to be re- 
 sisted ; he excelled in the manege^ and ac- 
 cordingly his horse suddenly began cur- 
 vetting in a manner that, while it threw 
 both himself and his rider into the most 
 elegant attitudes imaginable, seemed to 
 render the utmost skill requisite for his 
 management. 
 
 Melville penetrated the trick, but not 
 choosing to say so at present, drew quietly 
 up at the roadside till the display was over; 
 but an end was soon put to it, by the sud- 
 den flying up of the blind, and Caty, Mrs. 
 Burros's maid, thrusting her head out of 
 the window, and in a tone of alarm be- 
 seeching his honour to get off of that baste
 
 126 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 of a horse, or else to be sure it*s after kilt 
 he would be. 
 
 Donaghue, though feeling absolutely 
 ridiculous to himself, from the mistake he 
 had been under, affected to laugh, and 
 thanking her for her concern for his safety, 
 inquired whether the ladies were within ? 
 and on being answered in the negative, 
 left his compliments for them, and rode off. 
 
 Melville followed. After they had got 
 to some distance — " Well, what a pity l" 
 he cried. 
 
 " What ?" demanded Donaghue, turn- 
 ing short on him. 
 
 " Why, that so much good horseman- 
 ship should be thrown away." 
 
 " Why, I hope you don*t mean to in- 
 sinuate " cried Donaghue, colouring 
 
 scarlet. 
 
 Melville laughed, nodded significantly, 
 and touching the side of his horse, passed 
 him in full gallop, leaving him to chew 
 the cud of mortification by himself. 
 
 For some minutes it would be impos- 
 sible to say which Donaghue was most
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 127 
 
 provoked with — himself or Melville ; with 
 himself for his ridiculous vanity, or Mel- 
 ville for having discovered it ; but his na- 
 tural good-humour soon got the better of 
 any resentment towards his friend, but 
 with a determination to take care how he 
 played the part of an egregious coxcomb 
 again before so keen an observer. 
 
 Now that she actually was in the neigh- 
 bourhood, Mrs. O'Brien hoped that inter- 
 course would take place between Miss 
 Erin and Donaghue which she wished; 
 their respective determinations, however, 
 were hostile to this wish ; still it was prob- 
 able that they must now meet pretty 
 often, and from these meetings she would 
 augur what she desired. Indeed she was 
 encouraged to do so, by penetrating more 
 into the feelings of Donaghue than he 
 was aware of; she saw the struggle there 
 was in his mind between inclination and 
 conceit, and from his good sense, his acute 
 sensibility, and warmth of temperament, 
 could not avoid believing it would yet end 
 as she wished. The more she contem-
 
 128 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 plated Miss Erin — the more thoroughly 
 she understood the qualities of her heart, 
 and the adornments of her mind, the more 
 anxious she became for this. 
 
 As much as she was pleasad at Miss 
 Erin's coming to the neighbourhood, lady 
 Magennis and her daughters were dis- 
 pleased and disconcerted. To have her 
 thus forcing herself upon notice — really it 
 was quite insufferable ! To be sure they 
 could not find that she was gaining much 
 upon Donaghue ; but there was a gravity 
 in his looks whenever they now attempt- 
 ed to speak slightingly of her, that still 
 alarmed them; and as to Melville, they 
 had before began to fear it was a hopeless 
 business about him. Well, really it was 
 provoking, to think they should slip 
 through their toils, as so many others had 
 done before them. The young ladies were 
 not getting younger, and in the course of a 
 few years — a very few — it was absolutely 
 horrific the idea of what they would be 
 considered, if they did not get married. 
 
 But careless as Donaghue chose to be
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 129 
 
 considered about seeing her, he was con- 
 tinually on the watch to meet Miss Erin. 
 There was always an expression of sur- 
 prise, however, on these occasions, as if 
 the meeting was quite unexpected ; but 
 Miss Erin was quite as keen and pene- 
 trating as his friend Melville, and more 
 than once, in consequence, was led to 
 doubt the truth of the assertion ; but what- 
 ever she thought or felt in consequence 
 was best known to herself, never, for a 
 moment, being otherwise than cool or 
 collected. Melville himself could not have 
 devised any thing more mortifying to Do- 
 naghue than was this uniform composure 
 of manner; anger or disdain could not 
 have hurt him half so much, since they 
 would have been indicative of his power 
 of exciting some emotion ; but was it not 
 affected ? or might it not be owing to be- 
 ing certain of him, through the influence 
 or interference of his mother ? He was 
 determined to ascertain to which, b}^ act- 
 ing in such a manner as should convince 
 g3
 
 130 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 her this influence would be exerted in 
 vain ; and then indeed, if she retained her 
 usual calmness, why, he must suppose it 
 was owing to indifference about him. 
 
 The very day after he had formed this 
 resolution, Miss Erin came to dine with 
 his mother, Mrs. Burros being gone to 
 visit a sick friend. In the capacity of host, 
 Donaghue had a pretext for paying all 
 those attentions his feelings prompted; 
 and the hours sped dehghtfully, and, of 
 course, rapidly away ; but soon after tea 
 Donaghue rose, and pushing aside his 
 chair, made a movement towards the door. 
 
 " Why, where are you going?" de- 
 manded his mother, in rather an alarmed 
 tone of voice. 
 
 " To lady MagennisV' was the reply. 
 " I should have sent an excuse, but that 
 my going won't be a means of leaving 
 you alone." 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien turned pale with vexa- 
 tion, and for a moment was too angry to 
 speak, then, with a look of mingled re- 
 proach and indignation — " Well, if you
 
 TKADITIOT^ OF THE CASTLE. 131 
 
 are so tasteless as to wish to go," she said, 
 " I am sure Miss Erin will excuse you." 
 
 Donaghue turned his eyes full upon 
 Miss Erin, but hers were so steadily fixed 
 on a new publication she had just taken 
 up, that it was impossible to see her courb- 
 tenance perfectly ; he stood, however, look- 
 ing at her, as if waiting for her reply to 
 his mother's observation; Mrs. O'Brien 
 perceiving this — " My dear," she said, 
 touching her arm, " won't you excuse Do- 
 naghue's keeping a previous engagement ?'* 
 
 " Me ! what, ma'am ?" cried Miss Erin, 
 looking up — " I beg your pardon, but I 
 was really so absorbed in a beautiful pas- 
 sage I was reading, that I did not hear 
 what was saying." 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien repeated the question. 
 
 " Oh dear, certainly !" she replied, " and 
 I am quite sorry that Mr. Donaghue 
 should have thought so much ceremony 
 necessary with me — I am sure he might 
 have gone without my ever missing him." 
 
 " There now !" said Melville, laughing, 
 enjoying not a little the mortification which
 
 132 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 this assertion, perhaps a little maliciously 
 uttered, evidently gave to Donaghue ; ** I 
 hope you are satisfied! you may vanish 
 whenever you please." 
 
 " I thank you for your permission,*' 
 cried Donaghue, in no very complacent 
 tone; " but I suppose you are coming?'* 
 
 " Me! no truly — cards and painted dow- 
 agers are a dose I am not fond of every 
 night, so on my account don't delay ; I 
 am impatient indeed for you to be gone, 
 that I may ask Miss Erin to play and sing 
 for me." 
 
 " Play and sing for him !' and was be 
 to have this enjoyment to himself, and of 
 hanging over her chair while she was play- 
 ing, and of meeting her eyes, melting in 
 soft languishments through the effect of 
 her own melting cadences ; and as these 
 images rose to his imagination, Donaghue 
 was almost tempted to give up his resolu- 
 tion of going out. He hesitated^ and 
 looked again at Miss Erin, but she had 
 again taken up the book, and in a trans- 
 port of rage at her immovable composure
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 133 
 
 about him, he flung, or rather rushed, out 
 of the room. 
 
 The Magennises had learned who was 
 at Altoir-na-Grenie, and in consequence 
 gave up seeing him that evening, and at 
 the same time almost all further hope re- 
 specting him ; their joyful surprise, there- 
 fore, on his entering the drawing-room, 
 may easily be conceived ; expectation re- 
 vived, and with new-flushed hopes they 
 set about playing off* their arts upon him. 
 But Richard was not himself this evening. 
 His manner was distrait-— his thoughts evi- 
 dently wandering. In vain lady Magennis, 
 calling him a charming creature for having 
 come, wooed him to take a seat beside her 
 at the card-table — in vain Miss Magennis, 
 who, of the three, thought he admired her 
 the most, endeavoured to render herself 
 more amiable than ever in his eyes, by be- 
 ing alternately gay, grave, capricious — she 
 might have been the very son I of whim, 
 €«• spirit of variety, for any thing he knew 
 or cared about the matter. Miss Erin, 
 justly piqued by his rudeness, and Mel-
 
 134 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ville taking advantage of his absence, think- 
 ing himself at liberty perhaps from his 
 conduct to do so, the indifference it indi- 
 cated about her, to insinuate himself into 
 her good graces, engrossed his thoughts 
 too completely to allow of any attention 
 to any one, or any thing ; and after a few 
 hours of absolute penance, he abruptly 
 retired, ere the party had any idea of 
 breaking up. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " Did men but think, and oft to think they seem, 
 That from themselves their heaviest sorrows rise, 
 And knew they too whence they themselves create 
 Their bosom suflFerings, seldom should we see 
 Life spent as now each passing hour portrays." 
 
 But by the time Donaghue was returning 
 to Altoir-na-Grenie, Miss Erin was leav- 
 ing it, attended by Melville. They were 
 advancing down the pass just as Donaghue
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 135 
 
 entered it, and who quickly distinguish- 
 ing their voices, immediately rushed a- 
 midst the underwood to avoid them, un- 
 willing, since he knew they could not now 
 be much longer together, that they should 
 know of his return, lest the cause of it, 
 so much sooner than was expected, might 
 be surmised. 
 
 But with all his quickness he had not 
 escaped the eyes of MelviUe, and who, in- 
 stantly conjecturing what Donaghue had 
 feared if he allowed himself to be seen, 
 set about plaguing him. Accordingly, 
 after the slight interruption watching 
 him had occasioned in his conversation 
 with Miss Erin — " So, as I was telling 
 you about my friend Donaghue, ma'ara," 
 he began 
 
 " What ?" Miss Erin was on the point 
 of demanding, from not recollecting that 
 he had been telling her any thing about 
 him, when a significant squeeze of the 
 arm, and glance towards the spot where 
 Donaghue had concealed himself, gave her 
 instantly to comprehend what he meant.
 
 136 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 and induced her to enter into the joke — 
 " How he acted on that occasion," he con- 
 tinued, " the " and here his voice be- 
 came so low, it was impossible to distin- 
 guish what followed, but that it was some- 
 thing he had reason to be highly offended 
 with, and resent, Donaghue could not but 
 suppose from the laughter that ensued, 
 and his blood took fire at the supposition. 
 
 " Ridiculous !" exclaimed Miss Erin, 
 aloud, after appearing to be listening with 
 the most profound attention to what her 
 companion was telling her ; " and was it 
 really as absurd as you say ?" 
 
 " Oh, ma'am, I can give you no ade- 
 quate idea of the scene ! but this kind of 
 conceit really often gives rise to the most 
 ridiculous equivoques— to fancy a German 
 princess was dying for him !" 
 
 " Oh, ridiculous !" again exclaimed Miss 
 Erin. 
 
 Donaghue could hear no more — in a 
 transport of fury he rushed through the 
 thickets, and sprung out on the path be- 
 fore them, with a determination of letting
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 157 
 
 Melville know he had detected the perfidy 
 he was guilty of, in thus rendering him 
 an object of ridicule. 
 
 " Ha ! what is that you ?" cried Mel- 
 ville, in a tone of well-counterfeited sur- 
 prise ; " why is it you we have heard this 
 half-hour, rustling amongst the bushes a- 
 bove ? I really thought it was a deer our 
 voices had disturbed in its lair, or some 
 other wild animal ; and let me see," look- 
 ing in his eyes, which absolutely glared 
 upon him, " was I mistaken in thinking 
 it a wild animal ?" 
 
 " Pshaw ! absurd !" exclaimed Dona- 
 ghue, turning from him ; " it was not me 
 you heard, for I am only this instant come 
 from lady Magennis's, in consequence of a 
 violent headach." 
 
 " Indeed ! poor fellow !" and Melville 
 spoke in a tone of affected pity, that 
 heightened the rage of Donaghue to a de- 
 gree that nothing but the presence of Miss 
 Erin could have had power to make him 
 restrain — " well, make haste home then, 
 and see what mamma can do for it"
 
 138 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " It is not my pleasure," said Doiiaghue, 
 fiercely. 
 
 " Indeed ! well perhaps the cool night 
 air may be of service, so come, let us pro- 
 ceed — we detain Miss Erin." 
 
 Proceed accordingly he and she did, 
 closely followed by Donaghue, stalking 
 after them, too deeply offended at both to 
 hold converse with either, though deter- 
 mined on accompanying them, in order 
 to prevent any further discourse about 
 himself. 
 
 " Well," asked Melville, in his usual 
 tone, after they had taken leave of Miss 
 Erin, " how do you find yourself now ? 
 I have some notion if you had passed as 
 delightful an evening as I have done, you 
 would have been better than you appear/' 
 
 " Yes," cried Donaghue ; " and you 
 have ended it in a way to render the con- 
 clusion of it equally delightful to your 
 imagination, by an abuse of the confidence 
 reposed in your sincerity," flinging his arm, 
 which he had passed under his, from him.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 139 
 
 " A fine specimen you have given me of 
 modern friendship !" 
 
 " Why what has Damon to sccuse his 
 Pythias of?" cried Melville. 
 
 " Pshaw ! this trifling is not to be en- 
 dured !" exclaimed Donaghue. " Your 
 own conscience must tell you what I 
 mean. It was unkind, ungenerous of you, 
 jNlelville, to take advantage of my absence 
 to speak of me in the manner you have 
 done ! Nothing but my own ears could 
 have made me believe you were capable of 
 such treachery ; and it has hurt me — hurt 
 me in a way I cannot describe! for my 
 confidence in your regard — your friendship, 
 was so great, as to console me for what I 
 often regretted — the want of a brother," 
 
 " Oh ho !" said Melville, " you have 
 finely betrayed yourself! So it was you, 
 after all, we heard rustling amongst the 
 trees, and you have shared the deserved 
 fate of all those who listen intentionally, 
 by hearing something of yourself you did 
 not like, or at least fancying you did ; and 
 it was a headach brought you so soon from
 
 140 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 lady Magennis's; and Ah, my dear 
 
 fellow," again catching him by the arm, 
 " ere you attempt to practise deception 
 again, take a few more lessons from her 
 ladyship — you could not be in a better 
 school than hers to learn all the arts of dis- 
 simulation !" and the laugh that accom- 
 panied these words at once opened the 
 eyes of Donaghue to the trick that had 
 been played him, and rendered him hear- 
 tily ashamed of the petulance he had be- 
 trayed. His heart, however, was light- 
 ened of a load that had been intoler- 
 able ; the suspicion of being deceived by 
 his friend, and ridiculed or laughed at by 
 the woman he admired, any thing he felt 
 after that was as nothing. 
 
 " But," resumed Melville, after they 
 had laughed for a minute or two together 
 at the trick he had played him, " though 
 you rated me so finely about the supposed 
 abuse of the confidence you reposed in me, 
 I would be glad to learn what proof of 
 this unlimited confidence, as your re- 
 proaches would have intimated its being,
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 141 
 
 was your listening secretly to my conver- 
 sation with your mistress ?" 
 
 " Tut ! think no more of that," said Do- 
 naghue, in some confusion ; " you are 
 mistaken, I assure you, in imagining I did 
 — that is, I mean, in imagining it was ow- 
 ing to any particular interest — or — or anx- 
 iety about Miss Erin, or " 
 
 " Donaghue," said Melville, in a tone 
 of gravity, " you cannot deceive me ; and, 
 for God's sake ! if you value your happi- 
 ness, do not attempt to deceive yourself! 
 while you are trifling with your wishes, 
 and trying to persuade yourself they are 
 not what they are, some one will slip in, 
 and bear away the beauteous prize from 
 you !" 
 
 " Ah ! well, we will see," said Dona- 
 ghue, carelessly ; " if I can ascertain that 
 I covet it, I think I shall have a struggle 
 for it ; but really that is not the case at 
 present : if I could possibly bring myself 
 to think, yet awhile, of any thing so for- 
 midable as matrimony, it certainly would
 
 142 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 be in a quarter different from this. But 
 see — here we are again before her win- 
 dow," for, in the earnestness of conversa- 
 tion, they had taken the circuit of the cot- 
 tage, without exactly knowing the direc- 
 tion they were going, " and she may per- 
 haps hear us speaking." 
 
 " Oh, no danger of that," replied Mel- 
 ville ; " by this time, I dare say, she is 
 asleep, little dreaming her Dermid is here 
 deprived of peace and rest." 
 
 " She!" exclaimed Donaghue, conceit- 
 edly ; " I don't as yet know the she that 
 has been able to do that !" 
 
 " Oh !" cried Melville, " after this, let 
 me hear you no more talk of sincerity. 
 You, who have sighed, and sworn, and 
 made more than half the belles in London 
 believe you as true a lover as ever sighed 
 upon a midnight pillow, to tell me now 
 you know not what love is !" 
 
 " Pshaw ! if women will not be satisfied 
 without thinking they have excited a pas- 
 sion, men are justified in imposing on their 
 credulity."
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 143 
 
 " Well, neither time nor place allow of 
 arguing that point now, and so, to bid 
 adieu to the fair saint enclosed within 
 these walls — 
 
 " Angels and seraphs, v^ho delight in i^oodness, 
 Forsake your skies, and to her couch descend !" 
 
 Mortified by the suspicion of being at- 
 tached where he M^as not sure of having 
 excited any interest — piqued by the seem- 
 ing indifference of Miss Erin, Donaghue 
 determined on keeping a better guard 
 over his feelings for the future. There 
 was to be an assembly, in a night or two, 
 at the neighbouring town, and at this he 
 resolved on putting her feelings to a posi- 
 tive test ; if she could bear u«nmoved to 
 see herself unnoticed for others, and in a 
 great degree passed over by him, why then 
 adieu to all hope of having excited any 
 interest in her heart. But he would not 
 suffer himself to think that any thing so 
 mortifying would be the case, and, as if 
 determined, if he had not made an impres- 
 sion before, on making one this night, he
 
 144 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 devoted more than the usual time to the 
 toilet. 
 
 On Melville's being completed, he saun- 
 tered into his dressing-room, and found 
 him still under the hands of M*Cormick. 
 — " Well, upon my soul," he cried, " Cor- 
 mick must have great patience! — Come, 
 like an honest fellow, speak the truth, 
 Cormick, and tell me how often he has 
 made you go over that mop of his, and 
 got up to look at himself in the glass ?" 
 
 " Ah, then, Mr. Melville, why shouldn't 
 he wish to make himself look handsome, 
 when he's going where the ladies will be 
 — Miss Erin, and the whole set of them?" 
 
 " Ah, poor Miss Erin !" sighed Melville. 
 " Have you heard any thing about Mrs. 
 Burros, Cormick?" 
 
 " Why should he hear?" cried Dona- 
 ghue, starting up from his chair, in a 
 fright, at the question ; and, in the agita- 
 tion it occasioned, completely discompo- 
 sing his hair by the manner in which he 
 rubbed it back from his forehead.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 145 
 
 Melville again sighed, shook his head, 
 and turned to a window. 
 
 " There, you may go, Cormick," cried 
 Donaghue, tearing off his dressing-gown; 
 and, without well knowing what he was 
 about, taking up the coat he had worn in 
 the morning, " I don't know that I shall 
 do any thing more to myself, for " 
 
 " Why, are you mad ?" demanded Mel- 
 ville, turning round abruptly ; " after tell- 
 ing every one you were going to the as- 
 sembly, now to change your mind ; and 
 then to give me the trouble of dressing 
 for nothing, for, as I am a stranger in the 
 place, I don't like to stalk into the room 
 by myself. But I will not allow you to 
 disappoint me in such a manner ; so come 
 finish your adonizing as fast as you can, 
 or we shall have none but frights to pick 
 and choose out of." 
 
 " But," hesitating, " did not you say 
 something about Miss Erin — that she 
 pould not go ?" 
 
 " Me ! I never said such a thing !" 
 
 VOL.1. H
 
 146 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " No ! then I am sure you allowed me 
 to imagine it." 
 
 " Oh, as to that, it is not now I am to 
 learn that I must allow you to imagine a 
 great many strange things." 
 
 " Then what did you mean by your ex- 
 clamation about her ?" 
 
 " Mean ! why nothing — but that how 
 disappointed she probably would have 
 been, if Mrs. Burros had not been able to 
 procure a carriage to take them to the as- 
 sembly. But how you have ruined your 
 hair ! oh, it is useless now for you to hope 
 to have it restored to the order in which 
 it was when you thrust your hand so abo- 
 minably through it. What a waste of 
 time and huile d'antique has been here !" 
 
 " Any thing more?" asked Donaghue. 
 
 " No, I believe not.— What do you 
 think, Cormick ? do you think he will 
 do?" 
 
 " Ah, then, Mr. Melville, it's yourself 
 that knows he will ! I'll be bound for it, 
 there won't be two handsomer gentlemen 
 in the room than your two selves ; and, to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 14? 
 
 be sure, it's not the ladies that won't be 
 thinking that ; but I'll be after having a 
 peep at you there myself, for I shall go 
 along with the carriage." 
 
 The friends set out by themselves, a 
 slight cold preventing Mrs. O'Brien from 
 going, to her great disappointment, as she 
 wished much to have had such an oppor- 
 tunity for witnessing the conduct of Do- 
 naghue to Miss Erin. 
 
 This assembly was expected to be very 
 brilliant, through the arrival of a new re- 
 giment in the town, and some other cir- 
 cumstances ; and having been announced 
 for some time, the Miss Magennises were 
 allowed to make due preparations for it. 
 They sent up to Dublin for dresses for it, 
 and, in short, quite set their hearts on 
 eclipsing every one this night ; and if, by 
 the aid of these new dresses, they did not 
 make a decided conquest of Donaghue, 
 that is, one or other of them, this night, 
 they resolved on giving up all further idea 
 of him, and instead of losing any further 
 H 2
 
 148 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 time about a being so insensible, turning 
 their thoughts elsewhere. There were se- 
 veral dashing men of fortune in the regi- 
 ment newly arrived, and if they seriously 
 laid themselves out for them, they thought 
 it hardly probable but that they should 
 succeed in ensnaring one or two of them 
 at least, aided, as their designs would be, 
 by the pleasant home they had to have 
 them entertained in, and they had known 
 more than one girl married merely through 
 that means. 
 
 The friends arrived before them, and an 
 introduction having previously taken 
 place between them and the officers, whom 
 on their arrival Donaghue, with the other 
 gentlemen in the neighbourhood, had paid 
 his compliments to, they joined them, and 
 began parading the room with them, and 
 watching near the entrance, to make their 
 remarks on those who entered. 
 
 At length lady Magennis, with several 
 other ladies, besides her daughters, made 
 her appearance, her ladyship liking the 
 eclat of a large female party. The young
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 149 
 
 ladies nodded, and bowed, and smiled, to 
 every one they knew at either side, in a 
 way that betokened them infinitely pleased 
 with themselves, as they advanced into 
 the room, through the, as they hoped and 
 believed, admiring beaux, as their dresses 
 were charming, and of their being so 
 themselves, they never had a doubt. But 
 still the queen of beauty, for so the heart 
 of Donaghue styled and confessed her, 
 came not ; and as the minutes fled with- 
 out bringing her, and preparations began 
 to be made for dancing, he almost began 
 to despair of seeing her, and in consequence 
 was turning from the door, whence, in- 
 deed, the fan of lady Magennis had been 
 for some time beckoning him, when he 
 beheld her entering with Mrs. Burros. 
 
 The heart of Donaghue fled to her, but 
 his feet were not allowed to obey its im- 
 pulse. Melville, however, obeyed his feel- 
 ings, by darting to her the moment she 
 appeared, for the purpose of securing her 
 hand for the first set, which, had he delay- 
 ed a moment doing, he would have been
 
 150 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 disappointed of, from the numerous soli- 
 citors for it. 
 
 With a sensation of envy Donaghue 
 saw him leading her out, with a glow 
 upon her cheek, that evinced her neither 
 unconscious of, or ungratified by, the ge- 
 neral admiration she excited. Mechani- 
 cally then he proceeded to the Magennis 
 party. 
 
 " So you are come at last, you loiterer !" 
 exclaimed her ladyship, as he approached ; 
 '' had you delayed another minute, you 
 would have lost her, for I could not have 
 continued hiding her, as I have been do- 
 ing this half-hour, for you ;" affectedly 
 withdrawing her fan from between herself 
 and Miss Magennis as she spoke. 
 
 Donaghue said something of his grati- 
 tude. 
 
 " Ay, you should be grateful indeed," 
 said her ladyship, " for all the pains I have 
 taken to guard her for you ; and that they 
 should not be thrown away, make sure of 
 her while you can." 
 
 Donaghue perfectly comprehended the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 151 
 
 real meaning of these words, without ap- 
 pearing however to do so, from certainly 
 having no intention of profiting by them. 
 — " Assuredly,*' he exclaimed, immediate- 
 ly taking the young lady by the hand, to 
 lead her to the set. But his attention 
 wandered from her. Miss Erin was only 
 separated by a couple or two from them, 
 and the opportunity this afiforded him of 
 gazing on her, and witnessing the homage 
 she received from others— for several of the 
 officers, from not being able to procure 
 partners they liked, had declined dancing, 
 and stationed themselves near her, for the 
 pleasure of looking at her, and, having 
 been introduced, of conversing with her, 
 whenever an opportunity occurred — ren- 
 dered him totally unmindful of every 
 thing else ; but, at length, fancying he 
 saw a smile steaUng over the features of 
 ^liss Erin, from finding his eyes still fas- 
 tened on her, whenever hers glanced in 
 his direction, he began to recollect him- 
 self, and make exertions to enter into chat 
 Tvith his partner.
 
 152 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 The young lady, however, was so agree- 
 ably engrossed by her own thoughts, that 
 till it was their turn at least to lead off, he 
 might have continued to amuse himself in 
 any manner he pleased without giving her 
 offence. After the decided preference he 
 had shewn her, by asking her for the set, 
 instead of Miss Erin, whom he had such 
 opportunities for securing for it, if he had 
 pleased, it would be ridiculous any longer, 
 she conceived, to doubt what his inten- 
 tions respecting her were ; and according- 
 ly, making as sure now of him as if 
 he had absolutely popped the question, 
 she permitted her imagination to set it- 
 self to work, in devising what alterations 
 and improvements she would have made 
 in Altoir-na-Grenie, so as to make it vie 
 in splendour and magnificence with the 
 most celebrated piles in either kingdom. 
 
 Donaghue, however, could command 
 himself no longer than till the set was fi- 
 nished, when, conducting the young lady 
 to her mamma, he left her ; but, instead of 
 hastening to Miss Erin, joined one of the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 153 
 
 officers, and with him again began to per- 
 ambulate the room. 
 
 At length, after a few turns, seeing that 
 Melville was called away from her by lady 
 Magennis, he joined her ; and having paid 
 his compliments, in rather an affected 
 nianner, he proceeded to ask whether he 
 might take the liberty of inquiring what 
 set she was disengaged for, or if for any ? 
 
 For the fourth set she was disengaged, 
 Miss Erin replied. 
 
 " Indeed ! I am so happy to hear that!" 
 
 " Really !" and she turned her eyes full 
 upon him, with a look of inquiring solici- 
 tude, he thought. 
 
 " Yes, for I should have been so disap- 
 pointed, if, for one set at least " and he 
 
 paused purposely, and fancied he saw a 
 little flutter in her bosom, " my friend 
 here," he added, " had not the honour of 
 obtaining your hand for one set — permit 
 me to introduce him." 
 
 She bowed, and captain Cautherley was 
 named to her. 
 
 h3
 
 154 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Donaghue kept his eyes steadily fixed 
 upon her, while he was presenting him, 
 and fancied he saw a slight variation of 
 colour. 
 
 If however she felt any emotion at the 
 disappointment of the expectation he had 
 raised, it was but transient ; in a moment 
 her features recovered their expression of 
 smiling vivacity ; and after replying to an 
 observation or two of the delighted Cau- 
 therley's, she turned to Donaghue, and 
 asked what he thought about the provin- 
 cial assembly ? 
 
 Piqued by her manner — the total un- 
 concern it manifested about his assumed 
 indifference towards her, Donaghue could 
 scarcely bring himself to reply to this ob- 
 servation ; when he did, it was with care- 
 lessness and affectation ; but, abruptly ad- 
 dressing captain Cautherley — " Now that 
 I have taken care of you, Cautherley, I 
 must not forget myself I have secured 
 partners for the two succeeding sets ; but 
 if I don't now leave you, I shall probably 
 be at a loss for them for the fourth and
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 155 
 
 fifth, which, I presume, are as many as are 
 likely to be danced this evening. Come, 
 like a good fellow, cast your eyes round 
 the room, and tell me who you would 
 choose for me." 
 
 Cautherley laughed. — " You are not 
 competent then to choose for yourself?" 
 
 " Why I don't exactly say that — but 
 then it is so troublesome; but stop," rais- 
 ing his eyeglass affectedly, " that is cer- 
 tainly an attractive creature in blue. — 
 Adio r kissing his hand to Miss Erin, 
 " I must hasten, or I shall probably be 
 too late to secure her." 
 
 But the indication of emotion he fan- 
 cied he had seen in the countenance of 
 Miss Erin, dwelt upon his imagination, 
 and conceiving, if it was as he had imagi- 
 ned, she could not have immediately sub- 
 dued it, his eyes were continually turned 
 upon her in the course of the succeeding 
 dance, to try if he could read in her looks 
 any confirmation of the flattering suppo- 
 sition ; but no, there was nothing in them 
 indicative of any vexation ; she appeared
 
 156 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 no more anxious than before to shun his 
 eyes, and whenever she encountered them, 
 he was always sure of a good-natured 
 smile. Provoking a frown would have 
 been ten thousand times more agreeable 
 to him, from the belief it would have in- 
 spired. But still he persevered in the con- 
 duct he had decided on for the evening, 
 till, at length, hopeless of its producing 
 the effect he wished — led to believe she 
 was either in reality indifferent about him, 
 or else had too much pride, too great a 
 command over herself, to allow it to be 
 seen that she was affected by his conduct 
 — he suddenly changed his manner, and 
 began to evince as much solicitude for her 
 notice as he had before indifference about 
 it. 
 
 Hastening to her the moment his, 
 now regretted, engagements were over— 
 " Well," he cried, " I am come again, to 
 ask — are you disengaged for this last set, 
 I believe, that will be danced this even- 
 ing?" 
 
 " What ! have you another friend to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 157 
 
 introduce to me?" she asked, a little 
 archly. 
 
 " No, it is for myself I am now come 
 to solicit." 
 
 " Indeed ! well, I am sorry you did not 
 come before." 
 
 " What ! you are engaged then ?" said 
 Donaghue, in a tone of disappointment ; 
 but gently seizing her hand, and pressing 
 it to his bosom — " are you really sorry I 
 did not come sooner ?" 
 
 " Yes, I am indeed, for you would have 
 saved me from dancing with a person I 
 greatly dislike." 
 
 " Thank you !" cried Donaghue, drop- 
 ping her hand, with a heightened com- 
 plexion ; " the motive for regretting the 
 circumstance is certainly flattering." 
 
 " I was not conscious that it could be 
 considered so — ^but here comes my part- 
 ner to claim me ;" kissing her hand, and 
 rather mimicking the tone in which Do- 
 nague had uttered the expression adio ! 
 
 Donaghue was more provoked than ever 
 — to have ridicule united to indifference
 
 158 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 was too much ; yet did he not merit it — 
 had he not provoked it by his affectation ? 
 and had he acted differently — had he al- 
 lowed his real feelings to sway him, how 
 differently might she now have regarded 
 him ! and he began to regret and repent, 
 but, after all, without having made up his 
 mind about her, or indeed having any po- 
 sitive idea that he should be induced to 
 think seriously of her, would this have 
 been right. Yet if he had indulged him- 
 self in a little particularity to her, would 
 not the eclat his attentions have given 
 compensated for any disappointment of 
 the expectations they might have excited ? 
 in short, he persevered in wishing he 
 had not decided on acting as he had done 
 towards her. 
 
 More unsettled, more undetermined 
 than ever, from this evening the principal 
 part of every day was passed at Mrs. Bur- 
 ros's. This might not, however, have been 
 the case, but that just at this time Mel- 
 ville was called away, by a letter acquaint- 
 ing him with the illness of his uncle, and
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 159 
 
 his mother became particularly engaged 
 with an old friend, who was sick, and de- 
 rived great consolation from her company, 
 so that a dread of their comments or in- 
 quiries did not induce him to lay any re- 
 straint upon himself. But such were the 
 struggles between pride and inclination, 
 the variations of humour, the inconsisten- 
 cies of conduct, they occasioned, that had 
 not Miss Erin been a perfect Serena with 
 regard to temper, or else resolutely deter- 
 mined on not letting him have the grati- 
 fication of thinking he could disturb her 
 tranquiUity, she must have evinced some 
 resentment and indignation at his beha- 
 viour. 
 
 If at one moment he was all that was 
 tender and assiduous, the very next per- 
 haps indifference itself could not have as- 
 sumed a more cold and distant air — now 
 he seemed as if he could not tear himself 
 away, then as if it was by mere chance 
 he had called, and thought he could never 
 make his escape too soon ; and in this way 
 he went on for some time, as if he abso-
 
 160 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 lately knew not what he meant: but 
 might not this apparent indecision with 
 regard to his intentions have originated in 
 lady Jane ? the breach of honour he might 
 conceive himself guilty of, if he thought 
 seriously of any one but her? but no — in 
 the first place, he had never made any po- 
 sitive declaration to her, and in the second, 
 even if he had, he should have thought 
 himself fully released from any engage- 
 ment to her, by the manner in which he 
 heard she had conducted herself since his 
 absence, flirting and coquetting with every 
 man that came in her way, without ap- 
 pearing to retain the slightest recollection 
 of him. 
 
 Having, as he imagined, betrayed him- 
 self too much one day, in order to do away 
 the supposition which he might have given 
 rise to this day, he chose to absent him- 
 self for the two following entirely from 
 Mrs. Burros's. On going the third even- 
 ing to drink tea there, he was very dis- 
 agreeably surprised by this lady's telling 
 him she was on the point of losing her
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. l6l 
 
 fair guest, since, from never having re- 
 peated his visit to her uncle's, her return 
 thither would oblige him either to give 
 up seeing her entirely, or else allow his 
 real motive for now calling there to be 
 surmised; and either was extremely un- 
 pleasant to his imagination. — " So soon ! 
 so suddenly !" he exclaimed, completely 
 disconcerted by this intimation. 
 
 " Not very soon, nor yet very sudden- 
 ly," said Miss Erin, " for I have now been 
 here upwards of three weeks, and have 
 for some days been thinking of returning." 
 
 "But then with an intention of soon 
 coming back, I hope ?" 
 
 Miss Erin shook her head — " No, I 
 have no such intention. I have received 
 an invitation to a relation's at some dis- 
 tance, where I shall probably remain some 
 time, perhaps indeed till the return of my 
 parents from the Continent." 
 
 " Then there is but little chance of our 
 meeting again !" said Donaghue, turning 
 pale. 
 
 Miss Erin made no reply to this obser-
 
 362 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 vation, but rising, went to the window, 
 and began intertwining the gadding bran- 
 ches of a honeysuckle that grew about it 
 — " For our stay will not be much longer 
 protracted, I am sure," he added, with a 
 deep-drawn sigh. 
 
 " Well, but I hope you don't mean this 
 should be your only visit to Altoir-na- 
 Grenie ?" said Mrs. Burros ; " it would be 
 paying us all a bad compliment, Mr. Do- 
 naghue, if you did not intend coming a- 
 mongst us again. Who knows, but in the 
 course of another year or two we may^see 
 you again here ]" 
 
 " No, ma'am, no," replied Donaghue, 
 in a passionate tone, " that I am sure you 
 will not. I should hate to return here, 
 from the idea of the alterations I should 
 find had taken place in my absence — 
 people married — and " 
 
 " Well, and why should you dislike the 
 idea of seeing your friends married ?" ask- 
 ed Mrs. Burros; " I should think it ought 
 to give you pleasure." 
 
 " Why, yes, to be sure, only that —
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 163 
 
 that — with change of name there is often 
 such a change of manner ;" and here, at 
 the idea of what he should feel if he re- 
 turned, to find Miss Erin the wife of an- 
 other, her smiles, her attentions no longer 
 at her own command, obtruded itself on 
 his imagination ; and in unutterable agi- 
 tation at the thought, he started from his 
 chair, and began pacing the room. 
 
 Mrs. Burros was not without a share of 
 shrewdness, no more than other people, 
 and, in consequence, it striking her that 
 she might just as well take herself off as 
 not at the moment, she began fidgetting 
 about the room for a minute or two, as if 
 for something she was at a loss for, and 
 then quietly slipped away. 
 
 Miss Erin no sooner perceived what she 
 had done, than provoked at the construc- 
 tion that might be put upon the circum- 
 stance, she determined on following her. 
 Accordingly, abruptly addressing herself 
 to Donaghue, she told him he must ex- 
 cuse her leaving him, as she had some 
 preparations to make against her departure
 
 164 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 in the morning ; but that he would find 
 some books in the room, with which he 
 could amuse himself till Mrs. Burros came 
 back, which of course she would soon do, 
 as it was near the hour for tea. 
 
 Without appearing to have heard this 
 observation — " And so this is the concern 
 you feel at our approaching separation !" 
 cried Donaghue, interposing between her 
 and the door ; " to leave me without evin- 
 cing the slightest regard about my feelings 
 — without giving me the least hope of 
 coming back." 
 
 " Coming back !'* repeated Miss Erin, 
 with a laugh; " and for what should I 
 come back ? or why, at least, should you 
 desire it, since you say your own stay 
 here will not be much longer, except in- 
 deed you wish me to return to have me 
 exclaim — 
 
 ' The fields, the woods, the streams remain, 
 But Damon here I seek in vain.'' 
 
 " No, not on that account," cried Do- 
 naghue, half laughing ; " no, insensible 
 girl, not on that ; but there is no use in
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 165 
 
 contending mth destiny ; you are my fate, 
 
 and " as he spoke he suddenly caught 
 
 her in his arms, and ere she had power to 
 make the slightest resistance to the at- 
 tempt, impressed a fervent kiss upon her 
 beauteous lips. 
 
 Glowing with indignant blushes, she at 
 length burst from him, and — " What has 
 provoked this conduct, Mr. O'Brien ?" she 
 angrily demanded ; " what in mine has 
 led you so entirely to forget the respect 
 due to me on my own account, as well as 
 on your mother's ?" 
 
 " If I have offended," cried Donaghue, 
 in extreme confusion, " thus I deprecate 
 your anger ;" and he attempted to throw 
 himself at her feet, but she prevented him 
 — " No, no," she exclaimed, retreating, 
 " this is idle, this is ridiculous — what am 
 I to infer from your conduct ?" 
 
 " That my heart, my very life, is de- 
 voted to you ! that it rests with you to 
 render me the happiest or the most miser- 
 able of men."
 
 166 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE* 
 
 " I am sorry for it," said Miss Erin^ 
 with forced calmness, " for " 
 
 She threw herself upon a seat, and mo* 
 tioned him to take one; but for a few 
 minutes emotion such as he had never be- 
 fore seen her in — such as he had once 
 doubted her being capable of feeling — 
 obliged her to avert her face from him, 
 and rendered her unable to speak ; then, 
 evidently making an effort to collect and 
 recover herself — " For the sentiments that 
 led to your recent declaration," she said, 
 " I must thank you ; but thanks are the 
 only return I can make for them. Nay, 
 start not away — to prevent what must be 
 unavailing, I wish to be explicit. What 
 woman of common pride or delicacy, al- 
 low me to ask, could think of accepting 
 addresses, preceded by no effort to win 
 her esteem, to conciliate her affections, 
 but tendered in such a manner as to indi- 
 cate a conviction, that, paid as they might 
 be, they would not be rejected ?" 
 
 " Good God ! and of such indelicacy do
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 16T 
 
 you accuse me?" demanded the greatly- 
 agitated Donaghue, reddening to the very- 
 temples. 
 
 " Do I ! review your conduct, and then 
 see whether your own heart will not also 
 do so. Yes, I accuse you of acting so, 
 as to intimate a belief that, if once you 
 could make up your mind about me, you 
 had no other difficulty to overcome ; for, 
 permit me to ask, before this evening, 
 what intimation was there of any prefer- 
 able attachment? — a proof that you were 
 at once undecided and confident — unde- 
 termined how you might yet like to act 
 with regard to me, but at the same time 
 with a conviction on your mind, that if 
 you at length chose to avow yourself 
 my lover, you need not fear the want of 
 any previous attention occasioning you 
 any disappointment. In giving way to 
 such confidence, you entirely forgot who 
 I was, and what I was; but your doing 
 so has never for an instant made me 
 do so myself. I am not one of those 
 vain creatures that desire a dangling
 
 168 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 lover, or would derive any gratification 
 from exhibiting a conquest ; but I repel 
 the idea of having it thought I could, un- 
 sought, be won ! I should indeed be for- 
 getful of what was due to my sex — to 
 myself — to my connexions, if I could pos- 
 sibly justify such a one by my conduct; 
 but, no — even though it had been possible 
 I could have bestowed my regard without 
 any effort having been made to obtain it, 
 yet still would I have spurned your ofifer 
 with the same disdain I now do." 
 
 " Spurned !" repeated Donaghue, with 
 his cheek again flushing to the deepest 
 crimson. 
 
 « Yes — the expression may be strong, 
 and I regret being impelled to use such a 
 one to the son of Mrs. O'Brien ; but if my 
 language wounds your ear, how has your 
 conduct," and her voice faltered a little, 
 " wounded my feelings ! To be uncon- 
 trolled master of your actions with regard 
 to me, and yet to — to treat me in such a 
 
 manner ! to " and, spite of her efforts 
 
 to suppress them, a shower of tears burst
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 169 
 
 from her brilliant eyes ; " but, no matter," 
 rising from her chair in extreme agitation, 
 as she covered her face with her handker- 
 chief, " you have given me an opportunity 
 of fully explaining myself; and, from this 
 hour let this scene be forgotten, for not 
 for any consideration would I have us the 
 cause of any coolness, any breach in the 
 friendship that has so long existed between 
 our mothers; should we therefore meet 
 again," again her voice for a moment hesi- 
 tated, " let it be without any appearance 
 of pique or resentment." 
 
 " Resentment !" cried Donaghue, dis- 
 tractedly striking his forehead ; " oh that 
 I could hope it might ! but no — you give 
 me no hope — you drive me to despair! 
 oh ! if you could look into my heart at 
 this moment — if you could see the feel- 
 ings with which your reproaches, worse 
 than daggers, have transfixed it — I think 
 you might — you must " 
 
 " Hush !" interrupted Miss Erin, " I 
 think I hear Mrs. Burros coming ; don't 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 TRADITION OF THE CASTI.E. 
 
 let her see you in this agitation. I may 
 not be able to come down to tea ; lest I 
 should not, accept my farewell now, and 
 with it my wishes for your happiness. I 
 regret not being able to take a personal 
 leave of Mrs. O'Brien ; could I have put 
 off returning, I should have done so for 
 that purpose, but I shall write to explain 
 this to her myself Adieu !" and kissing 
 her hand to him, she vanished from his 
 sight. 
 
 But in what a state of mind did she 
 leave him ! He listened, and fancying he 
 heard, as she had asserted, Mrs. Burros ap- 
 proaching, he snatched up his hat, and 
 sprung through the window to avoid her, 
 for he was distracted, unable to regain any 
 immediate command over himself, and 
 dashed forward, over brook, through briar, 
 without knowing or caring whither, till 
 he found himself at a considerable distance 
 from the cottage ; he then slackened his 
 pace, to try and collect himself, but how 
 vain the effort ! his mind was all a chaos ; 
 he had not only to deplore the loss of the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 171 
 
 only woman he had ever loved, but to 
 deplore its being through his own egregi- 
 ous folly and insolent presumption. Had 
 it been through the interv^ention of arbi- 
 trary friends, or any of those common ob- 
 stacles that so frequently impede the hap- 
 piness of united hearts, he still might have 
 found consolation under the circumstance, 
 from the belief of her esteem and regard ; 
 but with the conviction of what it was 
 owing to, how unendurable the anguish 
 it occasioned ! Surely he must have been 
 mad, utterly deprived of reason at the 
 time, or he could not have thought of 
 actincr as he had done — could not have so 
 entirely forgot, as she had observed, what 
 was due to her — to her who, from so many 
 united considerations, her rank in life, her 
 beauty, her accomplishments, v/as entitled 
 to such deference, such admiration, and 
 respect. To treat her as if he was an east- 
 ern tyrant, and she a creature of his ha- 
 rem, whom it was only requisite to sig- 
 nify his pleasure to, to have at his com- 
 I 2
 
 172 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 mand — no wonder she spurned him. The 
 more he reviewed his conduct, the more 
 he admired the proper sense of dignity 
 that had made her do so, and assert her- 
 self. He stamped, he raved, at the idea 
 of the light in which she must consider 
 him ; but why had he allowed her to leave 
 him, till he had made a further effort to 
 appease her offended pride ? but how use- 
 less would have been the effort ! he was 
 convinced she was not to be forced into 
 any thing she disliked. 
 
 Would that he had never come over ! 
 he franticly exclaimed; yet might not 
 happiness, far beyond his deserts, have 
 been the result, predisposed as was Miss 
 Erin to like him, through the influence 
 of her mother, but through his own con- 
 duct, the arrogant, the overweening idea 
 he had allowed himself to imbibe of his 
 own pretensions, and the false prejudices 
 he had given way to; his mother, his 
 friend, had warned him of what would 
 probably be the consequences of these, but
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 173 
 
 he had scoffed at the warning till it was 
 too late. 
 
 He continued wandering about, utterly- 
 regardless of the approach of night, or per- 
 haps unconscious of it, for his mind was 
 in a complete fever. The light in which 
 Miss Erin had forced him to contemplate 
 himself was not passively to be endured, 
 and he continued straying about, as if he 
 hoped by motion to lose the keen sense of 
 agony that oppressed him. Had his mo- 
 ther been at home, a fear of creating her 
 uneasiness might have occurred to recall 
 him to recollection, but at the earnest re- 
 quest of the sick friend already mentioned, 
 she was gone to pass a few days with her, 
 so there was nothing to do so. 
 
 At length, utterly exhausted by emo- 
 tion, he plunged amidst the thickets at 
 the entrance of the pass to the castle, and 
 threw himself upon the grass. Here, on 
 this very spot, had the fair Eveleen, but a 
 few nights before, on her way back to 
 Mrs. Burros's, paused, leaning on his arm, 
 to listen to the rolling of the torrent be-
 
 174 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 low, and gaze upon the sparkling host of 
 heaven, with the queen of the silver bow, 
 riding to her highest noon, and pouring 
 down a flood of glory on this nether scene. 
 But never more should he feel the soft 
 pressure of her hand upon his arm — never 
 more should he hear the music of her voice — 
 never more have an opportunity of gazing 
 on that angelic countenance, declaring her 
 but a descended spirit from the bright re- 
 gions she contemplated. No — or if he 
 did, it would be but to see those lovely 
 eyes beaming with tenderness on another 
 — to see another entitled to her endear- 
 ments, her caresses ! and at the madden- 
 ing thought he again struck his burning 
 forehead, and pressed his writhing form 
 against the earth, as if he had wished to 
 force an opening in it to hide himself; and 
 here the morning might have found him, 
 but for his faithful Cormick, who, on the 
 waning of the night without bringing him, 
 became so alarmed as to set out in quest 
 of him. 
 
 Donaghue was new to vexation, or af-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 175 
 
 fliction of any kind, and he bore the first 
 experience of either with all the impa- 
 tience natural to an ardent teraper yet un- 
 disciplined by trials. The period was to 
 come, in which he would be quiescent un- 
 der them, and yield without struggling 
 to what seemed to be his destiny. 
 
 Cormick, like his countrymen in gene- 
 ral, and indeed most men of his age and 
 complexion, was a great admirer of the 
 fair, and Miss Caty Magloghan having 
 what he called, and she certainly herself 
 thought, a good face of her own, he some- 
 times met her, by accidental appointment, 
 in the neighbourhood of the cottage. On 
 this evening one of these meetings took 
 place, but not till after Donaghue's de- 
 parture ; and it was in consequence of some 
 information which Caty obtained the power 
 of giving him, by being within at the time 
 of the scene above described, between Do- 
 naghue and JNIiss Erin, that Cormick ex- 
 perienced the alarm we have alluded to, 
 for Caty had a most excellent pair of ears, 
 which a very considerable portion of curi-
 
 176 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 osity in her composition induced her some- 
 times to use in a way that was not per- 
 haps strictly correct, but which certainly 
 enabled her to give a good deal of secret 
 intelligence, had it been required from her. 
 
 Brooding over what she told him, Cor- 
 mick, as the night advanced, could no 
 longer control his anxiety about his mas- 
 ter. He accordingly sallied out, and strik- 
 ing into one of the upper paths of the pass, 
 instead of proceeding along the bottom, 
 in consequence of a slight overflow of the 
 river, through some recent rains, he dis- 
 covered him, by nearly stumbling over 
 him — " And is it here you are lying !" he 
 cried, " on the cold damp earth, with no- 
 thing but the sky over you ! ah ! then, Mr. 
 Donaghue, is it wanting to be killing 
 yourself you are, and breaking the hearts 
 of your parents ! I wonder what the mis- 
 tress would say if she saw you here." 
 
 " Is that you, Cormick ?" asked Dona- 
 ghue, as if rousing himself from a state of 
 insensibility. 
 
 " Is it me ! musha ! to be sure it is ; but
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 177 
 
 come, come," and he raised, or rather drag- 
 ged him up ; " och, was there ever any 
 thing like this ! here your hand is burning 
 like a coal, and yet you are shivering and 
 shaking as if you were in an ague! — 
 musha ! Altoir-na-Grenie, if it is sickness 
 we are to get by visiting you, much as we 
 like you, ourselves wishes we had never 
 come back to you." 
 
 Leaning on his arm, for his frame was 
 so tremulous from emotion, he had hard- 
 ly power to support himself, Donaghue 
 reached the castle, where, without the 
 smallest resistance on his part, Cormick 
 got him immediately to bed. But scarce 
 had his head been laid on the pillow, ere, 
 starting up, he commanded him to bring 
 him his writing-desk — " For I will write 
 to her," he cried ; " yes, I will in this way 
 explain what she has made me suffer — 
 what she is making me suflPer, by her cruel 
 scorn !" 
 
 " Is it bring the desk to you in bed !" 
 said Cormick ; " ah, musha ! what vaga- 
 ries are these ?" 
 
 I 3
 
 178 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ** Scoundrel ! do you dare to disobey 
 me!" cried Donaghue, in a tone unusual 
 with him, for, with all his faults, that of 
 insolence or unkindness to inferiors or de- 
 pendents was not to be numbered, raising 
 himself up, as if to leap from the bed. 
 
 " Be aisy — be aisy !" said Cormick, re- 
 straining him, " and you shall have what 
 you want ; but, oh, musha /" he muttered 
 to himself, in a low tone, as he turned 
 away to get the desk, " if this is what we 
 get by being in love, if I don't keep my- 
 self out of the mess, 'tis no matter — Miss 
 Caty, nor Miss Judy, nor any Miss of 
 them all, shall be making me lose my rea- 
 son, or break my heart." 
 
 But the desk was brought to no purpose 
 to Donaghue — his hand trembled, his head 
 was dizzy, and after scrawling a few un- 
 intelligible lines, he bid Cormick take it 
 away, and sunk back exhausted on the 
 pillow; but hardly had his head been a- 
 gain rested on it, when again starting up, 
 and pulling back the curtain which Cor- 
 mick had drawn to shade the light from
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 179 
 
 him — " Spurned ! did she not say ? ay, 
 was not that the word?" unconsciously 
 fastening his eyes upon Cormick, as if ad- 
 dressing a question to him. 
 
 ** Then if she did, more shame for her !" 
 cried Cormick ; " spurn — spurn an O'Bri- 
 en, and the very prince of the O'Briens 
 too !" 
 
 " What's that you say ?" demanded 
 Donaghue with quickness ; " let me but 
 hear a disrespectful word against that an- 
 gel, and I will drive from the face of the 
 earth the man from whom it proceeds! 
 Oh, she is above all praise ! it is I alone 
 that merit censure — that merit blame!" 
 and he threw himself, in all the bitterness 
 of softening grief, back on the pillow. 
 
 To the great relief of Cormick, his mo- 
 ther, who had been nurse to Donaghue, 
 and was now almost every thing in the 
 castle, now appeared with a jug of hot 
 white wine whey, the principal part of 
 which Donaghue, through their united 
 means, being induced to swallow, it soon 
 had the desired effect, that of throwing
 
 180 TKADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 him4nto a deep sleep, from which he woke 
 in the morning perfectly collected, but with 
 a heaviness of heart, a feeling of wretched- 
 ness, that was not endurable. 
 
 Again he thought of writing to Miss 
 Erin ; but soon becoming convinced that 
 he was not at present competent to doing 
 so in the manner he wished, he finally de- 
 cided on another interview with her, not 
 without a hope, as he regarded himself in 
 the glass, that his pallid looks would have 
 some effect upon her. 
 
 How much did he now miss Melville, 
 and of course deplore his absence ! since, 
 had he been with him, he would have em- 
 ployed him as a mediator between them, 
 and that without any fear of his ridicule, 
 for however Melville might now and then 
 amuse himself with a little trifling or teas- 
 ing, it was only where there was no sor- 
 row or vexation ; his was a spirit indeed 
 as kind as it was generous — such a one as 
 made him consider no effort of friendship 
 could be too great for the man he called 
 his friend.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 181 
 
 But Donaghue might have spared him- 
 self the pains he a little artfully took in 
 giving a disordered appearance to his dark 
 hair, such as he conceived likely to heigh- 
 ten the effect of his pale looks, for Miss 
 Erin was gone — had departed that morn- 
 ing at daybreak ; and his reception from 
 Mrs. Burros was so extremely cold, that 
 he had not courage to utter a word on the 
 subject next his heart. 
 
 The fact was, the good lady had had a 
 quarrel with her young friend, on his ac- 
 count, and felt so angry with him, for 
 having been the cause of what she soon 
 regretted, as to be unable to receive him 
 in her usual manner. Deeply interested 
 in her welfare, and, like many others in 
 the neighbourhood, believing that the fears 
 of sir Walter had magnified the danger of 
 his son, and that consequently there was 
 very little chance of her father succeeding 
 to a fortune that would enable him to give 
 her one, she could not bear to think of 
 her having refused such an offer as she 
 imagined Donaghue's — more especially as
 
 182 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 she knew it was through a report of their 
 being engaged, invidiously propagated by 
 the Magennises, on finding all chance of 
 obtaining him themselves was over, that 
 other admirers, not less unexceptionable, 
 had not come forward, more especially the 
 commanding officer of the regiment, re- 
 cently arrived, a man of rank, and one or 
 two other gentlemen of fortune, immedi- 
 ately belonging to the neighbourhood. 
 Not, however, from the lips of Miss Erin 
 did she learn what so provoked her with 
 her at the moment, but through her hav- 
 ing repaired to a room adjoining the par- 
 lour on quitting it; not, we must presume, 
 from knowing that it was impossible for 
 her to be there without overhearing every 
 thing that passed in the apartment it com- 
 municated with, but entirely through 
 chance. 
 
 The reproaches she uttered, on what she 
 termed her fastidious folly, Miss Erin was 
 not exactly in a frame of mind to bear 
 with composure. There had been a strug- 
 gle that had rendered it sore, and perhaps
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 183 
 
 a little irritable at the moment, and the 
 consequence was her resenting them in a 
 manner that led to a slight coolness, at 
 either side, at parting. 
 
 But hardly was she gone, ere Mrs. Bur- 
 ros was all repentance for having given her 
 any cause of offence, more particularly as, 
 on reviewing her conduct, she could not 
 but admire and approve of it. But, if an- 
 gry with herself, it may readily be ima- 
 gined she was infinitely more so with the 
 person who had occasioned what she re- 
 gretted ; her reception, accordingly, of 
 Donaghue was what we have described 
 
 Suffering the uneasiness and vexation 
 she did through his means, Miss Erin 
 might well have exclaimed, that till she 
 saw him, what indeed was the case, 
 
 " Clear and serene my life's calm current ran. 
 While scarce a breezy wish provok'd its tide; 
 Down the smooth flood, the tuneful passions fell 
 In easy lapse, and slumbered as they pass'd : 
 Now what a change is wrought — oh, love ! in age 
 Thou art indeed a child, in power a god." 
 
 Love ! and is it possible that the vain, 
 the arrogant, the fastidious Donaghue
 
 184 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 O'Brien could have inspired a feeling of 
 love in such a mind as Miss Erin's ! But 
 were there no qualities to make amends 
 for what was offensive ? no lights as well 
 as shades in the picture ? or, in the words 
 of the historian, was only one side of the 
 medal to be viewed ? He was vain, arro- 
 gant, presumptuous, in the drawing-room ; 
 but she had traced him from the drawing- 
 room to the cabin, and the lip that was 
 curved by pride in one place, she had dis- 
 covered trembled with emotion in ano- 
 ther ; and could he, who had a heart to 
 feel for others, to whom neither the cla- 
 morous voice of wo, or the silent and 
 more touching tear of misery never ap- 
 pealed in vain — who even, at the very mo- 
 ment his cheek was flushed with gratified 
 vanity, could yet fly the scene in which, 
 he was but too conscious, he shone un- 
 equalled, to give comfort to the wretched 
 in the squallid hut of poverty, be utterly 
 unamiable? No, impossible! and was it not 
 evident from this, that example and adula- 
 tion, more than disposition, were the cause
 
 TKADITION OF THE CASTLE. 185 
 
 of what was censurable; and thinking this, 
 and previously disposed to feel an interest 
 for him, and realizing, as he did, every 
 idea she had formed of manly beauty and 
 elegance, is it surprising that, in a degree, 
 her gentle heart was yielded to him ? But 
 offended pride got the better of tenderness, 
 for she " what was honour knew — nor 
 would unsought be won ;" yielding to its 
 dictates, therefore, she left him to his own, 
 with a determination of making every ex- 
 ertion to banish his idea from her mind. 
 
 Donaghue, the utterly disconsolate Do- 
 naghue, had scarcely regained the castle, 
 ere his mother returned from her charit- 
 able visit. The moment she cast her eyes 
 upon him, she was struck with the alter- 
 ation in his looks, and eagerly inquired 
 whether he was ill ? or any thing had hap- 
 pened to disturb him ? 
 
 Donaghue replied in the negative ; but 
 his looks contradicted the assertion ; and 
 she was proceeding to question him more 
 closely, when the letter Miss Erin had 
 mentioned her intention of writing to her.
 
 186 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 to apologize and express her regret at not 
 having been able to wait her return to take 
 leave of her, arrived, and by its perusal ac- 
 counted for what had so alarmed her in 
 the appearance of Donaghue. 
 
 He had allowed her then to depart, 
 without coming to the explanation with 
 her he wished, for she had all along sur- 
 mised what his real sentiments for her 
 were, and he now repented having done 
 so. Well, but there was comfort in the 
 thought, that she was not gone to such a 
 distance as to render this impossible, and 
 she immediately set about explaining what 
 she thought, and administering the com- 
 fort afforded by this reflection. 
 
 Donaghue listened to her with the most 
 poignant feelings, and something like a de- 
 termination to conceal from her the truth ; 
 but as she proceeded, his anguish becom- 
 ing too great for control, he suddenly start- 
 ed from the seat she had made him take 
 beside her, and with all the vehemence of 
 passion — " Oh that it were as you ima- 
 gine !" he cried ; " but no, no ! I have ru-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 187 
 
 ined, I have undone myself with her, and 
 to follow her would be useless !" 
 
 Mrs. O'Brien became greatly alarmed, 
 and looked fearfully at him for an expla- 
 nation. He had gone too far to recede, 
 and was perhaps not sorry that he had done 
 so, from the relief the anguished heart an- 
 ticipates, in unclosing itself to a real friend. 
 
 His mother forced herself to listen with 
 calmness to him ; but had she obeyed the 
 impulse of her feelings, she could not have 
 avoided reproaching him as he proceeded, 
 but the anguish he evidently laboured un- 
 der prevented her. To offend the daugh- 
 ter of her dearest friend, lose the chance 
 of possessing so lovely a being, nothing 
 but a dread of driving him to desperation, 
 did she express what she felt, could have 
 hindered her. But at length the natural 
 feelings of the mother got the better of an- 
 ger and resentment, and throwing her 
 arms round his neck, she fondly kissed his 
 faded cheek, and bade him not despair, as 
 she would try what she could do for him. 
 
 Hardly were the words uttered, when
 
 188 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 a letter from England was delivered ; and 
 ere the emotion it had excited, requiring i 
 as it did their immediate presence there, 
 had in any degree subsided, Mrs. Burros 
 came literally bursting into the room, to i 
 say that the packet that had brought it 
 over had also brought intelligence of the ] 
 death of young Erin, and a messenger from 
 Mr. Erin, to conduct his daughter to the ' 
 Continent, in consequence of the wish of j 
 his uncle, who could not, yet awhile at i 
 least, be prevailed on to quit the place i 
 where his son had died, to see her ; and | 
 thus was an end put to the intentions of 
 Mrs. O'Brien, for, from the melancholy an- ! 
 ticipations the letter just received led her : 
 to form, and the announced reverse in Miss \ 
 Erin's prospects, it was impossible for her , 
 now to think of carrying them into effect ; ; 
 and could she have indulged the idea, the | 
 pride of Donaghue would have prevented \ 
 her ; for, after acting as he had done to- j 
 wards Miss Erin, what now would prob- ! 
 ably be thought, or, rather, must to a cer- l 
 tainty, of his being eagerly solicitous for ]
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 189 
 
 her hand? and, maddening as was the 
 thought of having lost her, he preferred 
 the endurance of its torture to incurring 
 the degrading imputation of sordid selfish- 
 ness. 
 
 He knew himself incapable of any mean 
 or sordid consideration ; but the world 
 must and would judge from appearances ; 
 and since he could not, without incurring 
 its contempt, make an effort to obtain 
 what he had seemed to slight, when he 
 might have sought it with honour, he de- 
 termined to submit quietly to his fate, nor 
 make an effort to pass the gulf that for- 
 tune, smiling at one side, and fi'owning on 
 the other, had placed between them. 
 
 His mother could not but approve his 
 sentiments — they were in unison with her 
 own. Yet it cannot be denied, that her 
 regret at what had occurred was heighten- 
 ed by the consideration, that had he acted 
 differently, he might now have been se- 
 cure of affluence, let what would happen 
 to his father ; for if Miss Erin had entered 
 into any engagement with him, for which
 
 190 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 she had her parents' permission, ere their 
 departure, she knew their principles of ho- 
 nour and liberality too well, not to know 
 that no change of circumstances could have 
 induced them to make her break it ; but 
 the smiling hour he had let slip him — the 
 favouring tide to take a turn unattend- 
 ed to ; and what the trials were to which, 
 in consequence, he might be exposed, 
 Heaven only knew. 
 
 But it was requisite that she should give 
 a truce to reflection, in order that prepara- 
 tions should be made for their departure. 
 They were soon completed; but, just as 
 they were on the point of setting out, Mrs. 
 O'Brien became so ill, through agitation, 
 that she was compelled to let Donaghue 
 depart without her ; and who left Cormick 
 behind him, in order to attend her over as 
 soon as she was able to travel.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 191 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " Our youth is like the dream of the hunter on the hill of 
 heath — he sleeps in the mild beams of the sun, but he 
 awakes amidst a storm ; the red lightning flies around, 
 and the trees shake their heads to the wind." 
 
 On the departure of his wife and son, Mr. 
 O'Brien became gloomy and abstracted. 
 He dreaded the postman's knock at the 
 door, lest the letter he brought might be 
 from either one or the other, containing an 
 account of the sad discoveiy of his deran- 
 ged affairs. He often cast his eyes upon 
 a case of pistols, that hun^ over the fire- 
 place, in his study ; but still a warning 
 voice within checked any fearful idea they 
 might have suggested — thoughts and re- 
 flections like his one naturally wishes to 
 fly from, however better it might be to try 
 and endure them, for the purpose of see- 
 ing what is best to be done.
 
 192 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Having gone one evening to the play- 
 house, for the purpose of diverting them, 
 he met with a friend, as he termed every 
 acquaintance, who proposed, on the con- 
 clusion of the entertainment, their ad- 
 journing to a tavern to supper. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien readily consented, glad of 
 any thing that could delay his return 
 home ; but the spirits he was wont to car- 
 ry to such places he wanted. The altera- 
 tion in his manner soon struck his compa- 
 nion, and by dint of kind professions he 
 drew from him the cause of his distraction 
 of mind and melancholy. 
 
 On his curiosity being satisfied — " For 
 a man of your sense, and knowledge of the 
 world, to be so cast down by trifles — how 
 ridiculous ! I really should not have thought 
 of such a thing." 
 
 " Trifles ! what, a ruined fortune, anti- 
 cipated privations, and the consequent loss 
 of that high estimation I have hitherto 
 maintained in society ?" 
 
 " Pooh! let a man but have his liberty, 
 and there is nothing he may not retrieve."
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 193 
 
 " AshowP," 
 
 " Attend, and you shall learn." 
 Attend O'Brien did, with the utmost 
 anxiety and impatience, and the result was 
 his becoming a decided gambler. It cer- 
 tainly was a character he had hitherto de- 
 tested, but he was now enticed to incur it, 
 by a fallacious hope of being able to re- 
 trieve his fortune. The variations of hu- 
 mour, and strangeness of conduct it occa- 
 sioned, did not long escape the notice of 
 the faithful attendant that had been left 
 with him, the father of Cormick, who, in 
 the double capacity of butler and valet, 
 had accompanied him to England : under 
 the pretext of his person not being safe 
 (being no longer in parliament) from his 
 creditors, and that of cou^-se he could not 
 venture abroad in daytime, he never rose 
 till nine at night, when he dressed, dined, 
 and went abroad, but without ever return- 
 ing till broad daylight ; and this mode of 
 acting so alarmed his faithful servant, that 
 he at length took the liberty of following 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 him, and by this means discovering the 
 manner in which he passed the night, 
 and that the house to which he had been 
 allured was the haunt of a set of the most 
 noted sharpers about town, he conceived 
 it requisite, as an act of bounden duty, to 
 immediately apprize his family of what 
 was going on, and the absolute necessity 
 there was for their speedy return. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien's pleasure at seeing his son, 
 when relieved by his manner from the ap- 
 prehension of hearing any thing disagree- 
 able from him, was truly sincere ; and on 
 Donaghue's suggesting how delighted his 
 mother would be, if, instead of giving her 
 the trouble and fatigue of coming over, 
 he forthwith returned with him to Ireland, 
 he readily acquiesced in the plan, but on 
 this condition, that his son, being now of 
 age, should join him in a security for a 
 certain sum of money he wanted to raise. 
 This was unhesitatingly agreed to, Mr. 
 O'Brien solemnly promising that the mo- 
 ment he obtained it, and of course the 
 power of settling some pressing demands.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 195 
 
 which he had pledged his honour he would 
 not leave the kingdom without first dis- 
 charging, he would set out with him. The 
 needful instructions were given to his at- 
 torney, and no delay whatever permitted 
 in the business ; Donaghue wrote over to 
 his mother, to prevent her coming, and 
 every thing was shortly arranged for their 
 departure. 
 
 On the evening previous to it, his father 
 left him under a trifling pretext, but with 
 a promise of being back almost immedi- 
 ately with him. Hour after hour, how- 
 ever, passed away, without bringing him, 
 and Donaghue at length became so rest- 
 less and unhappy, from a suspicion of the 
 cause to which he imputed the failure of 
 his promise, that he could not forbear 
 summoning old Cormick, to impart his 
 uneasiness to him. 
 
 Much as the old man regretted saying 
 any thing that could increase it, he could 
 not help doing so now, by candidly ac- 
 knowledging it was his opinion his master 
 K 2
 
 196 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 had no serious intention of going to Ireland. 
 
 " What, after what has passed !" cried 
 Donaghue, somewhat indignantly, for he 
 knew he was aware of the late transaction ; 
 " sure you cannot think he would deceive 
 or disappoint me !" 
 
 The old man shook his head — " You 
 must forgive me, my dear young master," 
 he said ; " who once thought more highly 
 of my dear master than I did ? and still, if 
 he had not got amongst such a set — but — 
 but — I can say no more than that I have 
 my fears." 
 
 Donaghue required to hear no more — 
 his blood was on fire at the idea of being 
 deceived on a point that so nearly con- 
 cerned the happiness of his mother. Snatch- 
 ing up his hat, he desired Cormick to lead 
 the way to the house his father frequented. 
 
 The old man obeyed without hesitation, 
 thinking the shame his master must feel 
 at being surprised in such a place by his 
 son, would be likely to have a salutary 
 effect on him. 
 
 On reaching it, Donaghue, after a few
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 197 
 
 forms, perhaps a little artifice, obtained 
 admission. On entering the room he was 
 introduced into, the first person he beheld 
 was his unfortunate father, evidently in a 
 state that rendered him incapable of any 
 thing like cool judgment, and surrounded 
 by a set of fellows, whose looks and ap- 
 pearance altogether proclaimed their avo- 
 cation ; the scene filled Donaghue with 
 horror and disgust, and had he been un- 
 interested in it, he would instantly have 
 withdrawn with abhorrence. 
 
 Several minutes elapsed, during which 
 he made observations that would hardly 
 allow of his maintaining any command 
 over his temj>er, ere his father noticed him ; 
 when at length he did, not even the state 
 he was in could prevent his being over- 
 whelmed with confusion at being detected 
 there. Quickly, however, recovering from 
 this, in a voice indicative of the rage he 
 felt at the discovery that had taken place, 
 he demanded of Donaghue what his busi- 
 ness was there, and how he had presumed.
 
 198 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 as his following him thither indicated be- 
 ing the case, to watch his movements ? 
 
 Donaghue appeared not to hear the ques- 
 tion, but began at once, soothingly and 
 respectfully, to try and persuade him to re- 
 turn home. Persuasion however was use- 
 less, and only served still further to irri- 
 tate him ; Donaghue, however, was deter- 
 mined that nothing should induce him to 
 leave the place without him, or lose sight 
 of him for an instant. 
 
 At length, seeing him depositing a sum 
 of money that it was madness to risk, 
 he could not forbear exclaiming against 
 such conduct. Unfortunately for him, 
 while remonstrating, his father threw, and 
 lost, and in absolute frenzy at having done 
 so, he started up, and seizing a stick that 
 lay beside him in a corner, made a violent 
 push with it at his son, in order to get 
 him from his chair, and in so doing plung- 
 ed a sword into his body, for in this way 
 one had been smuggled into the gambling- 
 room, so contrived as on the slightest pres- 
 sure at the top, or shaking of the stick,
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 199 
 
 to dart out with a velocity that gave re- 
 sistless force to it. 
 
 Donaghue staggered back a few paces, 
 and fell to the ground. The gamesters, in 
 terrible consternation, instantly extinguish- 
 ed the lights, and fled, leaving the unfor- 
 tunate youth weltering in his gore. 
 
 Expecting every moment the return of 
 father and son, Cormick thought not of 
 retiring to repose ; but when, contrary to 
 his expectations, hour after hour passed 
 away without bringing them, his uneasi- 
 ness became SO- great, that he could no 
 longer refrain from repairing to the gam- 
 ing-house. Day was by this time just dim- 
 ly breaking, and on reaching it, he could 
 scarcely doubt, from being unable to dis- 
 cover the smallest glimpse of hght in it, 
 that it was shut up, yet elsewhere he knew 
 not to seek or inquire after his masters. 
 
 While in extreme perplexity, consider- 
 ing what he should do, he was accosted by 
 a watchman's inquiring what was the mat- 
 ter ? Cormick candidly informed him, up- 
 on which the other advised him, since he
 
 200 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 had taken the trouble of coming, not to 
 mind the place appearing to be shut up, 
 but to try and obtain the information he 
 required at it. 
 
 Accordingly Cormick proceeded to 
 knock, but on raising the knocker the door 
 gave way, instead of being barricadoed, 
 being left merely a-jar, owing, no doubt, 
 to the confusion of the affrighted wretches 
 that had been within. 
 
 Convinced by this that there was some- 
 thing or other wrong there, the watchman 
 had no hesitation in entering the house 
 with him. They listened and called, but 
 no one replied, nor could they hear the 
 slightest movement. After examining all 
 the lower apartments, they proceeded up 
 stairs, and here, in the first room they 
 turned into, amidst heaps of cards, and 
 overturned chairs and tables, for in the 
 hurry of escape nothing was attended to, 
 Donaghue was discovered drenched in his 
 blood. The horror of this sight complete- 
 ly suspended the faculties of the old man ; 
 he was dropping on the floor, when the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 201 
 
 watchman called out to him to take cou- 
 rage, for he had examined the body, and 
 found there was life still in it. Other as- 
 sistance was immediately procured, and 
 Donaghue conveyed home, where surgi- 
 cal aid was of course obtained without de- 
 lay, and poor Cormick rescued from abso- 
 lute despair, by an assurance that the chief 
 danger to be apprehended from what had 
 happened was ftx)m loss of blood. 
 
 But where was his unhappy master all 
 this time? anxiety for the son could not 
 for an instant supersede the anxiety he felt 
 about the father, and in agony of mind 
 not to be described, he persevered in his 
 inquiries after him, aided by the officers 
 of the different police establishments, but 
 all without avail. But as if this was not 
 enough to distract him, he knew not what 
 excuse was to be made to his mistress, for 
 being disappointed of seeing her husband 
 and son as soon as she expected. At length 
 it occurred to him to leave it to his son to 
 frame one, and to whom he forthwith accord-
 
 202 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ingly wrote, transmitting to him of course 
 the particulars of all that had happened, 
 and acquainting him with the cruel incer- 
 titude he remained in concerning the fate 
 of his master. 
 
 In the hopes inspired of Donaghue's re- 
 covery he was not deceived — even sooner 
 than he had expected he was proclaimed out 
 of danger. No sooner was Donaghue suf- 
 ficiently recovered to recollect every thing, 
 than his first inquiry was after his father. 
 
 Cormick, well aware of the fatal effect 
 which a disclosure of the truth might have 
 upon him, assured him he was well, but 
 that his agitation was so great whenever 
 he entered the chamber, that by the ad- 
 vice of the surgeon, lest it should be any 
 disturbance to him (Donaghue), he had 
 exerted himself to keep him from it. All 
 things considered, Donaghue could not 
 wonder at this, and for the present indeed 
 conceived it better they should be kept 
 apart. 
 
 Cormick could not but be curious to 
 know how he came by his wound. Dona-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 203 
 
 ghue satisfied him in a way that led him 
 wide of the mark. Completely imposed 
 on by the old man, he was continually 
 sending the kindest messages by him to 
 his father— assurances that he had no doubt 
 he should soon be able to set off for Altoir- 
 na-Grenie, and that he hoped he would 
 take care that no want of health or spirits 
 on his side should delay the journey. 
 
 Poor Cormick's emotion at receiving 
 these messages w^as often so great, as to 
 oblige him to hurry from the room, lest of 
 betraying prematurely the deception he 
 had practised. 
 
 At length Donaghue w^as able to leave 
 his bed, but the joy Cormick w^ould have 
 felt at the circumstance was prevented by 
 the explanation that must now soon follow, 
 but as long as possible he determined on 
 putting off the dreaded hour. Donaghue 
 felt himself so weak on the first day of his 
 rising, that he did not press as much to 
 see his father as Cormick had feared. 
 
 His faithful attendant was called away 
 from him, and he was sitting in the evening
 
 204 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 by a window, for the benefit of the air, the 
 house being in one of the large fashionable 
 squares at the west end of the town, and 
 his room a front one, when he saw a crowd 
 of people approaching the house, in the 
 centre of which was the body of a man, 
 stretched upon a bier. The heart of Do- 
 Tiaghue instantly misgave him ; he rose, 
 and tottering down the stairs, reached the 
 hall just as the bier was set down, and the 
 appalling cry of Cormick confirmed the 
 dire apprehension that had brought him 
 thither. 
 
 For a considerable time he knew no- 
 thing farther of what passed. When he 
 
 recovered but how impossible to give 
 
 any adequate idea of the complicated hor- 
 rors of his mind ! Yet he would hope — 
 he would believe — if he did not, madness 
 might be the consequence — that it was, 
 as the inquest that sat upon the body 
 seemed to believe, that it was by accident 
 his father had met his fate. The body had 
 been found in the Thames, and from the 
 circumstance of his watch and money be-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 205 
 
 ing found with the deceased, this was the 
 verdict. But who should disclose the 
 dreadful tidings to his unhappy mother ! 
 He felt the absolute necessity of either 
 breaking them himself, or at least being 
 at hand when some other person under- 
 took the melancholy task. This convic- 
 tion induced him to make exertions which, 
 perhaps, nothing else could have done-*- 
 it was his determination to take the body 
 of his father over to Ireland for interment, 
 but not to let it be removed from the house 
 till he could accompany it, which, from 
 the weak state he was still in, he did not 
 think could possibly be the case for a few 
 days. 
 
 Cormick no sooner understood what his 
 determination was, than, with tears roll- 
 ing down his furrowed cheeks — " Why 
 must I pain you, my dear master ?" he 
 cried ; " but it is my duty to tell you, that 
 the most prudent plan to be pursued will 
 be to let the funeral take place without 
 delay, lest of the body being arrested."
 
 206 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " Arrested ! the body arrested !" ex- 
 claimed Donaghue, in a tone of horror. 
 
 Cormick shook his head — " Such acts 
 have been, and may be again ; for how- 
 ever their legality may be, and has indeed 
 been recently disputed, yet still there will 
 be found people hardy enough, and bar- 
 barous enough, to venture on them ; take 
 my advice, therefore, I beseech you." 
 
 " Good God ! what a world !" cried Do- 
 naghue ; " what, not death even allowed 
 to keep his prey in quietness ! but what is 
 to be done! at this instant I have not 
 strength enough to walk across the room. 
 Yet supposing what you fear were to hap- 
 pen, could I not redeem the body, by sa- 
 tisfying the creditors that I possess — am- 
 ply possess, the power of discharging their 
 several demands ?" 
 
 The old man cast a look of anguish at 
 him, and clasping his hands — " Oh ! why 
 then must I give you so much pain ?" he 
 cried ; " and oh that it had fallen to any 
 other person's lot than mine to do so ! but 
 it must be told, the sad truth— your father
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 207 
 
 has been the means of depriving you and 
 my dear, dear lady, of almost all." 
 
 Donaghue started in the wildest dismay, 
 at the idea of distress to his mother. — 
 " Explain ! how can that be ?" he cried, 
 awakened to the keenest solicitude to the 
 matter on her account — " the family es- 
 tates, you know, being entailed." 
 
 " They were — they were ; but on that 
 fatal day you signed the papers prepared 
 for your signature, as you thought for a 
 very diflferent business, you joined with 
 him in cutting off the entail, thus leaving 
 him at liberty to dispose of them as he 
 pleased, and of which he did not fail to take 
 advantage. Oh that I had known in time 
 what he was about, that I might have 
 tried to prevent such a wicked act !" 
 
 Donaghue cast his eyes despairingly to 
 heaven, yet the sharpest pang perhaps he 
 felt at the moment was owinsf to the cruel 
 deception his father had practised on him ; 
 but he was gone, and for having for a mo- 
 ment thought reproachfully of him, he ex- 
 perienced almost a sensation of remorse.
 
 208 TRADITION OP THE CASTLE. 
 
 At length— "The cup is bitter," he 
 cried ; "but since I must drink of it, let it 
 be done without murmuring; but what 
 is to be done to prevent what you fear ? 
 for I shall be miserable if I do not take 
 over the body to Ireland." 
 
 Cormick deliberated for a few minutes, 
 and then said he would proceed to an un- 
 dertaker whom he knew, to consult with 
 him on the business. The result of this 
 consultation was an arrangement for the 
 removal of the body at midnight to the 
 undertaker's, there to remain till all mat- 
 ters were settled for its final removal. 
 
 Completely overcome by the shocks he 
 had met with, Donaghue, on the depar- 
 ture of Cormick about this melancholy 
 business, threw his exhausted frame on a 
 sofa, where he gradually sunk into a kind of 
 sleep ; from this he was roused by the low 
 trampling of feet near where he lay ; he 
 opened his eyes, and instinctively looked 
 round him, but the room was by this time 
 involved in a darkness that rendered it
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 209 
 
 impossible for him to distinguish any thing 
 within it. 
 
 While he was listening, scarcely consci- 
 ous whether he was awake or asleep, for 
 his brain was feverish and confused by 
 all he had gone through, the door of the 
 adjoining apartment was, by some acci- 
 dent, thrown open, and he saw several, 
 to him, strange-looking figures in black 
 moving about it. At length they began 
 to form a procession, preceded by Cormick 
 bearing a light, and he clearly saw they 
 were bearing away the body of his father. 
 He waited to see no more — starting from 
 the couch, he rushed wildly towards them, 
 and, in a transport of delirium, seizing 
 the pall, arrested their progress. — " Whi- 
 ther are you going?" he cried ; " whither 
 are you bearing the body of my father? 
 It cannot, it must not, be interred here, 
 in this land, that has been the cause of all 
 our sorrows ! that has reduced us to the 
 shameful necessity of having the remains 
 of my parent stolen forth from his home
 
 210 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 at midnight, as if that of a felon from the 
 just sentence of the law." 
 
 The violence of the transport was too 
 much for him, his hand relaxed its hold, 
 and he fell to the floor. Cormick had him 
 conveyed to bed, and leaving an attendant 
 with him, took advantage of the circum- 
 stance to have the body removed without 
 further delay. 
 
 The necessity of exertion was too great 
 not to induce Donaghue to make it. In 
 the course of a few days a vessel was heard 
 of, bound to the neighbourhood of Altoir- 
 na-Grenie, and in this he and Cormick em- 
 barked with the body. 
 
 On the eve of their embarkation, a let- 
 ter was dispatched from Cormick to his 
 son, apprizing him when they might be 
 expected, and giving him instructions to 
 have every thing prepared for the funeral, 
 with as much privacy as possible, on ac- 
 count of the feelings of Mrs. O'Brien. 
 
 What the feelings of Donaghue were, 
 during this melancholy passage, may easi- 
 ly be conceived. As if to sorrow for one
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 211 
 
 parent was not enough, his soul was tor- 
 tured with grief and alarm for the other. 
 Cormick informed him of what he had 
 done for breaking the terrible business to 
 her, and which he entirely approved of; 
 but how she had borne the communication 
 was not known, no answer having been re- 
 ceived by Cormick from his son, though 
 there had been time enough to have allow- 
 ed of one ; and the most fearful presages 
 in consequence took possession of the mind 
 of Donaghue. 
 
 At length, after a passage of some days, 
 the vessel cast anchor in the magnificent 
 bay near Altoir-na-Grenie. Cormick im- 
 mediately landed, to see that every thing 
 was got ready by night for the funeral ; 
 but Donaghue remained on board, unwil- 
 ling to have any meeting with his mother, 
 lest it should occasion any delay in it, that 
 might be the means of still further agoni- 
 zing her feelings. 
 
 When the bustle attendant on casting 
 anchor was over, Donaghue ascended to 
 the deck. The sun was setting in a flood
 
 212! TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 of glory, and as he sat, lost in melancholy, 
 the clouds of evening, tinged with its 
 gorgeous hues, seemed to condense around 
 him into the forms of stately towers, hills, 
 and mountains, with a silvery river flowing 
 at their feet. The mourner almost forgot 
 himself, in gazing on the magic scene ; 
 but, while he yet gazed upon it, it began 
 to fade, and change, and gradually die a- 
 way, in the cold dark grey of usurping twi- 
 light. 
 
 " What an emblem of human hopes !" 
 sighed Donaghue, as he watched the ra- 
 pid change ; " while yet rejoicing in their 
 brightness, thus do they fade and die away, 
 leaving nought but the gloom of disap- 
 pointment, or the chilliness of despair, be- 
 hind them !" 
 
 But as the shades of evening deepened 
 round him, the moon began to exhibit her- 
 self in the east, and shed that softened 
 light, that yet sooths while it seems to 
 deepen the melancholy of the stricken 
 heart. How beautiful was the rippling of 
 the restless waves beneath her beams —
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 213 
 
 how solemn the gigantic shadows she pro- 
 duced—and how impressively did the still- 
 ness of the hour accord with the shadowy 
 scene she created ! The few sailors that 
 remained on board were quietly leaning 
 over the sides of the vessel ; and the ro- 
 mantic coast was as silent as if unknown 
 to the foot of man. The light fell full upon 
 the ancient towers of Altoir-na-Grenie ; 
 and how finely did the pale and mournful 
 ray harmonize with those decaying tow- 
 ers ! but the spell of enchantment was dis- 
 solved the moment Donaghue cast his 
 eyes upon them, and thought of what was 
 now enduring within them, and of the 
 scene that awaited him there ; and, as if 
 this was not enough, the idea of a meeting 
 with a widowed mother, in all the wild 
 extravagance of grief, his soul was still 
 further torn and tortured by a dread of the 
 repose and quiet her sorrows needed, being 
 soon denied her ; for, from what he had 
 heard, he knew not how soon or by whom 
 this, now their only home, might be claim- 
 ed and wrested from them.
 
 214 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 His anxiety about his mother was so 
 great, as at last to render him restless 
 and impatient for the return of Cormick. 
 At length a boat pushed off from the shore 
 — and Cormick presently after stepping 
 into the vessel, acquainted him that every 
 thing was ready for the interment, and 
 matters managed in such a way, as he 
 might be sure would prevent any disagree- 
 able gathering. 
 
 " But my mother ?" demanded the agi- 
 tated youth, " what of my mother?" 
 
 The old man, half averting his face, tried 
 to evade the question. 
 
 " I must be told," cried Donaghue, 
 grasping his arm ; " my feelings are not 
 of a description to be trifled with. There 
 is nothing you can tell me that can more 
 torture me than the suspense I see you are 
 inclined to keep me in." 
 
 Cormick, finding it in vain to try and 
 put off the distressing tidings he had to 
 communicate till after the funeral, as he 
 wished to have done, now reluctantly in- 
 formed him, that his mother, overpowered
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 215 
 
 by grief, or perhaps the suddenness of the 
 shock she had met with, was then in a 
 kind of lethargic state, that scarcely ad- 
 mitted any hope of her recovery ; for it 
 seems poor Terence, utterly unable, from 
 its violent effect upon his feelings, to at- 
 tend to the caution prescribed in his fa- 
 ther's letter, gave utterance, on its perusal, 
 to such doleful cries and lamentations as, 
 reaching the ears of JNlrs. OBrien, brought 
 her down to inquire the cause. 
 
 While asking, she espied the letter on 
 the floor, where, in the height of his dis- 
 traction, he had thrown it ; and, ere an ef- 
 fort could be made to prevent her, she 
 eagerly snatched it up, and, at one glance, 
 taking in its terrible contents, sank lifeless 
 on the ground ; in which state she was 
 conveyed to bed, from which she had never 
 since risen. 
 
 Donaghue listened with anguish, that 
 w^as hardly to be controlled, to this sad in- 
 telligence ; and then, retiring to his cabin, 
 remained there till summoned to the boat, 
 that was to take him to shore.
 
 216 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 The moment he landed, a mourning 
 cloak was thrown over him, and the pro- 
 cession began to move, consisting of a few 
 of the oldest of the tenantry and their fa- 
 milies ; four of them carried the body, for 
 they had not far to go, and wished to avoid 
 the parade of a hearse, lest of attracting 
 too much attention ; and four of them sup- 
 ported the pall. The moon alone illumed 
 their road, and they passed on with a si- 
 lence well calculated to heighten the so- 
 lemnity of the feelings natural on such an 
 occasion. 
 
 As they drew near the church, the bell 
 struck out. Donaghue felt the toll rever- 
 berate through his heart, for was it not 
 the summons of his father to the grave? 
 At the sound, the birds of night, that nes- 
 tled in the ancient steeple, began hooting 
 and screaming, and flapping their heavy 
 wings about it, giving, by their dismal 
 cries, a dreariness to the scene not conceiv- 
 able. At the entrance of the church, 
 which was partially lit for the occasion, the 
 body was met by the clergyman, and, af-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 217 
 
 ter the usual part of the burial-service pre- 
 vious to the interment was gone through, 
 conveyed to the vault belonging to the fe- 
 mily. 
 
 This ancient burial-place of the O'Briens 
 adjoined the church, and was covered over 
 by a kind of shrine, or chapel, in which, in 
 former times, it was customary for masses 
 for the souls of the departed to be said. It 
 still retained vestiges of the purpose to 
 which it had once been devoted, and, al- 
 together, from its damp and decayed ap- 
 pearance, and the ghastly imitations of life 
 it contained, in some old monumental ef- 
 figies, was well adapted to strike a chill and 
 sadness to the soul, when seen at least by 
 the flickering and partial light that now 
 gave it to the view. 
 
 " And oh, Death !" Donaghue could not 
 help involuntarily exclaiming to himself, 
 as he felt its effect upon his sinking soul, 
 " dreary are thy regions ! and well we need 
 to recollect thou art a passport to rest and 
 happiness, to be enabled to face thy terrors 
 with steadiness!" 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 But at length the mournful cereniony 
 was over — " Earth to earth !" " dust to 
 dust !" was solemnly pronounced — the at- 
 tendants dispersed, the clergyman offered 
 his condolements — and Donaghue, leaning 
 on the arm of Terence, took the way to the 
 castle. As he approached it, what a con- 
 trast was he forced to draw between what 
 his feelings now were, and what they were 
 when, a few weeks before, he had entered 
 it with his mother ! how buoyant, how 
 joyous, how flushed with hope and expec- 
 tation ! now uncertain whether even the 
 shelter of its decaying roof would be his 
 for another night. 
 
 The moment he entered, he instinctive- 
 ly threw aside the cloak. Terence took it 
 up, and flung it carelessly on a chair. Do- 
 naghue shuddered, and motioned for him 
 to remove it from his sight, unable to en- 
 dure its remaining in it, from the dismal 
 intimation its doing so seemed to convey 
 to his feelings. 
 
 The nurse now appeared ; and, with all 
 the fond solicitude of a mother, tried to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 219 
 
 make him take some refreshment. Do- 
 naghue waved her aside, and proceeded to 
 the chamber of his mother. Dimly lit, it 
 was nearly as dark, and quite as silent, as 
 the dreary one in which his other parent 
 now slept. He stepped softly to the bed- 
 side — the caution was needless, for she still 
 remained in the lethargic state that had 
 been described to him ; so pale, so cold, so 
 still, that Donaghue could not be persua- 
 ded she yet lived, till he laid his hand upon 
 her heart. 
 
 Fatigued and exhausted as he was, he 
 still could not be prevailed on to seek re- 
 pose. His nurse kept watch with him in 
 the chamber ; but he could well have ex- 
 cused her company, for she tormented him 
 by her remarks. Apprehension for those 
 we love, will render us superstitious. The 
 night, whose beauty and serenity had given 
 such augmented solemnity to the mourn- 
 ful scene he had been engaged in, sudden- 
 ly changed, rain came on, and wind ; and 
 as the latter sobbed and moaned around 
 L 2
 
 220 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the building, it might well indeed have 
 been taken for the wailings of grief; and 
 as the nurse listened to it, she turned pale, 
 and cowered, and — " The Lord be merci- 
 ful to us !" she cried ; " there it is ! there 
 it is ! just as we have heard it, the night 
 before we got that terrible letter from poor 
 Hugh, that dismal banshee !" and, shortly 
 after, on going to a window, to see how 
 the night looked — " There again !" she ex- 
 claimed, in a low tone, " see if I am not 
 speaking truth — there's a corpse candle, 
 moving across the bog, to where the poor 
 master lies, cold and dreary enough to- 
 night !" 
 
 At length nature became completely 
 overpowered, and just as the first ghastly 
 beam of morning entered the apartment, 
 Donaghue repaired to his chamber, to get 
 a little sleep, leaving, strict directions that 
 if the slightest change took place in his 
 mother, he should immediately be called, 
 or that, if she recovered sufficiently to 
 speak, and inquired for him, she should 
 be cautiously informed of his arrival. This
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 221 
 
 proved to be the case — he had not long 
 left the room ere she woke from her long 
 protracted sleep, and asking for him, was 
 told what he had desired. He was imme- 
 diately called — but we shall pass over the 
 scene that ensued ; yet was his mother in- 
 finitely more composed than he had ex- 
 pected to find her ; and he would have re- 
 joiced at the circumstance, but for the fear- 
 ful cause to which he imputed it. He 
 gazed in her countenance with all the in- 
 tentness of alarm, for if he lost her, what a 
 world of desolation would the world be to 
 him ! Her features were drawn, but this 
 might be owing to mental suffering ; but, 
 no, no, there was death in every glance — 
 a conviction of its approach, in the pitying 
 looks she cast upon him, in the eyes up- 
 lifted, from time to time, in silent prayer 
 to Heaven. 
 
 Now that he was losing her, he felt as 
 if there were a thousand things to be for- 
 given, and — " Oh, my mother ! my mo- 
 ther !" in the intensity of his anguish, burst 
 from him, " what, in this dreadful hour.
 
 222 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE, 
 
 can impart consolation to me, but the as- 
 surance of pardon for the pain, the various 
 disquietudes I may have occasioned you?" 
 
 " Pain !" repeated his mother, with the 
 fondest smile of maternal affection, and 
 resting her feeble hand on his shoulder ; 
 " oh no ! you have been the joy, the pride, 
 the comfort of my soul, since you were 
 born ! When dawned the day, when clo- 
 sed the night, in which I did not praise 
 my God for the blessing he had given me 
 in you ? Yes, I have gloried in you ! and 
 if my blessing, given with all the fervour 
 of a dying mother's tenderness, can draw 
 one down from heaven on you, oh, bless 
 you ! bless you, my son ! Never," she add- 
 ed, after a slight pause, " but in one in- 
 stance, did you give me a pang." 
 
 Donaghue knew what she alluded to; a 
 deep groan burst from his surcharged 
 heart, as for a moment he buried his face 
 in the bedclothes. 
 
 " It was my wish," she said, " to have 
 seen you the husband of the daughter of 
 my friend ; but, for the wisest purposes, I
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 223 
 
 make no doubt, that wish has been disap- 
 pointed. Who can tell but that an unin- 
 terrupted course of prosperity, such as 
 there is now reason to suppose you might 
 have enjoyed with her, might have per- 
 verted that generous nature, and confirm- 
 ed, till they turned into vices, follies inci- 
 dental, perhaps natural to youth ? Who is 
 there that has not an offending Adam in 
 him, that needs the discipline of trials 
 to eradicate? Whatever therefore hap- 
 pens, is for the best ; both our confidence 
 in the wisdom of the Almighty, as well as 
 our reason, teach us to believe so ; and, 
 like many others, may not my son, in the 
 words of the Psalmist, have yet reason to 
 exclaim — * 'Tis good for me to have been 
 afflicted.' Nay, has he not already, for al- 
 ready, through the influence of disappoint- 
 ment, do I not see him shaking off from 
 him, like degrading trappings, those little 
 follies that the force of example betrayed 
 him into, and asserting those high facul- 
 ties with which God has endued him, 
 and which none can abuse with impunity?
 
 224 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 But be comforted, my son ; there is hap- 
 piness for the afflicted — a place of rest for 
 the weary. According to the laws of na- 
 ture, vou must have looked forward to the 
 separation that is now approaching. Death 
 to me will be a relief — to you, my loss a 
 trial of that fortitude, which the sufferings 
 of this life render it so essential for us all 
 to possess. Yet think not I inveigh a- 
 gainst it. The ways of Providence are 
 reckoned dark and intricate — but not al- 
 ways do they appear so, in my opinion : 
 like a traveller, who from a hill reviewing 
 the road he has taken, becomes then sen- 
 sible that more than half its perplexities 
 were owing to his own mistakes, while im- 
 pediments that opposed his proceeding ac- 
 tually prevented his rushing upon danger 
 — so few of us can look back upon our own 
 conduct, without becoming sensible that 
 many of our sorrows were of our creating, 
 and the disappointment of our wishes, in 
 many cases, a mercy." 
 
 But life was ebbing fast, and this gra- 
 ciously granted to her prayers the power
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 225 
 
 of making the last exertion she was cap- 
 able of. She shortly after gradually sunk 
 away, and for some hours remained in a 
 state that rendered it difficult to determine 
 whether she yet breathed. On reviving 
 from this, the clergyman was in attend- 
 ance, and being admitted to her chamber, 
 the most solemn rite of the church was ad- 
 ministered to her. Her soul was now rea- 
 dy for its flight — calm and resigned, she 
 had confidence in the goodness of her Cre- 
 ator, relying on it for mercy to herself, and 
 protection for her son : but we shall not 
 dwell longer on the scene. Towards night 
 it was evident to all about her, there was 
 very little chance of her witnessing the 
 dawn of another day. Her breathing be- 
 came difficult, and, after a short struggle, 
 her eyes were finally closed upon the bo- 
 som of her son. 
 
 In a state of stupefaction, he was not 
 
 conscious of this, till he felt them gently 
 
 drawing him away fi'om the body. He 
 
 made no opposition, but stooping down, 
 
 l3
 
 226 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 impressed one long, lingering kiss upon 
 the icy lips, and then suffered himself to 
 be led from the apartment ; but, hardly 
 had heleft it, ere all the storm of grief 
 burst forth, and breaking away, he rushed 
 into another room, where, closing the door, 
 he dashed himself on the floor. 
 
 Oh, vanity of human expectations! there 
 he lay, the gay, the brilliant, the exulting 
 Donaghue ! he who so lately seemed as if 
 happiness was at his command, and with 
 all the arrogance of lofty pretensions, 
 jspurned, with fastidious pride, at the com- 
 mon enjoyments of life ; there he lay, in 
 all the agony of overwhelming aftliction, 
 reft of all— of parents, fortune, hope— crush- 
 ed to the very earth — uncertain whether 
 another night might not see him compel- 
 led to seek another place to hide his sor- 
 rows in. 
 
 Alas, poor youth ! already he seemed to 
 experience the cold neglect attendant on 
 altered fortunes, for minute after minute 
 passed away, and yet still he lay, apparent- 
 ly forgotten, in darkness and in stillness.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 227 
 
 outstretched upon the floor. But he was 
 not forgotten ; it was either a fear of an 
 immediate intrusion on his grief, or else 
 other duties, that prevented his faithful 
 servants from immediately seeking him ; 
 but when at length they came, how im- 
 possible to speak what they felt at the state 
 in which they found him ! 
 
 Terence raised him in his arms from the 
 floor ; all distinctions of rank were forgot- 
 ten.-r-" And are you gone !" he cried, as he 
 laid his hand upon his damp temple, and 
 saw his eyes closed, as if sealed by death. 
 " My master ! my friend ! companion of 
 my infant days ! kind and blessed ! have I 
 lost you for ever ?" 
 
 His father, more collected, assisted to 
 convey him to a sofa. They chafed his 
 hands, and by degrees their terrible appre- 
 hensions gave way. At length he faintly 
 smiled, as if but half restored to conscious- 
 ness, and — " My mother !" he faintly ut- 
 tered. 
 
 " Yes, your mother!'* cried the sobbing 
 nurse ; " not the blessed saint we have lost
 
 228 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 could love you more ! but oh, jewel of .our 
 hearts ! don't be killing us with grief, by 
 letting us see you taking on so ! for what 
 would become of us, if you were to follow 
 the master and mistress ?" 
 
 But we shall not dwell longer on what 
 his first sufferings were, for the double 
 and irreparable loss he had sustained. The 
 last duties paid to his lamented mother, 
 and informed, by inquiries made in Lon- 
 don, that Altoir-na-Grenie still remained 
 to him, he began to try and rouse himself 
 to look into his affairs. But he was not 
 allowed time for this ; a letter arrived from 
 his mother's brother, general O'Donaghue, 
 who, from a long coolness that had subsist- 
 ed between him and his father, he never 
 had had any great intercourse with, ac- 
 quainting him, that, apprized of the terri- 
 ble reverse of fortune he had experienced, 
 he was ready to obtain him a commission ; 
 and desiring, if the offer was accepted, that 
 his answ^er might be given in person, as his 
 regiment was under orders for foreign ser-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 229 
 
 vice, so that a moment was not to be lost 
 in arranging the business. 
 
 That Donaghue had no hesitation in ac- 
 cepting this offer, will readily be believed, 
 when it is known that he had had in con- 
 templation to volunteer into the service. 
 He could not but rejoice at leaving a 
 neighbourhood where every thing was cal- 
 culated to keep alive his sorrows. Every 
 where he missed the dear departed — and 
 here was continually recalled the recollec- 
 tion of that conduct, that had impressed 
 him with eternal shame ; but for it, how 
 different might now his situation have 
 been! what a companion might he now 
 have had, to supply the place, to compen- 
 sate the loss of her he mourned ! what 
 friends to participate in his sorrows, and 
 sooth them by their sympathy ! but the 
 punishment it met with was just, and he 
 would not repine. 
 
 The Cormicks were to remain at Altoir- 
 na-Grenie, but there were two or three 
 other servants he was obliged to part with ; 
 for though Altoir-na-Grenie remained to
 
 280 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 him, its value was now indeed trifling. He 
 wished to see them provided for before he 
 left the place, but was at a loss what steps 
 to take for the purpose, from having scarce- 
 ly any acquaintance in the neighbourhood, 
 for, from the fastidiousness of his former 
 conduct, none now intruded on his sor- 
 rows ; he ranged through his desolate 
 courts, his ancient halls, without a voice to 
 hail him. A few cold inquiries were sent 
 to the castle, but evidently more out of 
 respect to the deceased, than regard to him. 
 He felt the general neglect acutely ; who 
 can experience any thing of the kind with- 
 out pain ? but it was a relief to his heart, 
 to think that his not receiving a visit from 
 Mr. Erin was, perhaps, alone owing to his 
 having departed for the Continent with his 
 niece. 
 
 At length it occurred to him, that 
 through the Magennises he might perhaps 
 be able to procure situations for those of 
 the establishment at Altoir-na-Grenie he 
 was compelled to part with ; and there he 
 accordingly decided on calling, from feel-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 231 
 
 ing he had a claim for obligation on them. 
 It is true sir Ulick had never called, but 
 then he knew the baronet was not well a- 
 dapted to pay a visit of condolence, and to 
 the consciousness of this he chose to attri- 
 bute not seeing him. 
 
 But he was a little mistaken ; his for- 
 tune had not experienced a greater reverse 
 than their feelings towards him ; or, rather, 
 one was the consequence of the other; 
 and nothing could exceed their mutual 
 gratulations, at the idea of having escaped 
 forming any connexion with him. 
 
 " Heavens ! what a thing it would have 
 been," lady Magennis exclaimed, ** had Se- 
 lina given any encouragement to his pas- 
 sion r 
 
 Here there was a slight titter from the 
 two other young ladies. 
 
 ** The devil !** cried sir Ulick, as he walk- 
 ed about the room ; " to have had a young 
 brood of the blood royal of king Boru here 
 to provide for, when there is such difficul- 
 ty, as it is, in managing matters !" 
 
 " Abominable ! upon my honour, sir UU
 
 232 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ick ; you quite provoke me by these con- 
 stant allusions of yours to what is unplea- 
 sant. I suppose, some day or other, we 
 shall hear you publicly blurting out some- 
 thing of the kind ; and a fine way it will 
 be of advancing the interests of your 
 daughters. There is colonel Mackenzie 
 thinking seriously of Selina, I am certain ; 
 but not, you may be sure," and her lady- 
 ship was perfectly correct in the assertion, 
 for the colonel was, in every sense of the 
 word, an old soldier, " because he thinks 
 you want the power of giving her a hand- 
 some fortune." 
 
 " Stuff!" exclaimed sir Ulick ; " upon 
 my soul, my lady, one would suppose you 
 thought no one had any brains but your- 
 self!" 
 
 " Well, but," interrupted one of the 
 young ladies, " I wonder what Mr. Dona- 
 ghue means to do with himself? whether 
 to establish himself at Altoir-na-Grenie — 
 that is, provided he can keep it — or return 
 to London ?" 
 
 " Oh, pooh ! not return to London, I
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 233 
 
 dare say ; for, you may be sure, it was all 
 up with him there before he came over 
 here ; for, indeed, it is now evident his 
 coming over with his mother was on a spe- 
 culating plan : and how slily lady Jane 
 managed not to entangle herself with him ; 
 and Miss Erin too, in following her ex- 
 ample, notwithstanding the pains his mo- 
 ther artfully took to draw her into a con- 
 nexion with him, though knowing the re- 
 covery of young Erin was hopeless. Abo- 
 minable ! really I have not patience with 
 such art and such scheming ; but I have 
 always found your sanctified kind of people 
 the deepest. 'Tis positively enough to give 
 one the same distaste to sentiment that sir 
 Peter Teazle has ; stay or go, however, it 
 must be all one to us, for as no eclat can now 
 be derived from his acquaintance, I shall 
 certainly cut it." 
 
 The words were hardly uttered ere the 
 door was thrown open, and he was an- 
 nounced. Uncertain what he might have 
 heard, the confusion his unexpected ap-
 
 234 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 pearance occasioned, rendered the first ci- 
 vilities to him overstrained. 
 
 " My dear fellow !" was the exclamation 
 of the baronet, " I — I am so glad to — to 
 see you out again ! We — we were just 
 speaking of you ; and expressing our hope 
 that — that you might settle amongst us — 
 that we might have the power of " 
 
 " Ridiculous ! ' cried lady Magennis, in 
 a moment restored to herself, and fearful 
 of letting sir Ulick proceed, lest a credit 
 might be given to his professions, that 
 might render the young man troublesome. 
 
 The tone in which the exclamation was 
 uttered drew the eyes of Donaghue upon 
 her ; and from her he turned them on the 
 young ladies, who, demurely seated toge- 
 ther, looked like so many figures in an ex- 
 hibition ; and, altogether, so great an al- 
 teration appeared in the manner of the par- 
 ty, that a surmise began to be formed that 
 would have given a pang, had there been 
 any esteem in the case ; but, as it was, he 
 could not altogether help feeling one, 
 when he thought of those whom he had
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 235 
 
 neglected for such beings — the time he had 
 trifled away with them, and the slights 
 they had influenced him to shew^ to others. 
 But he would not judge hastily — he might 
 be mistaken ; and, accordingly, checking 
 a rising sensation of contempt, he proceed- 
 ed, after answering a few vague questions, 
 to mention to sir Ulick that his visit was 
 for the purpose of asking him a favour. 
 
 Sir Ulick changed colour ; there was but 
 one favour he could think of his wanting 
 to ask, and that was the one, of all others, 
 he was the least inclined to grant to any 
 one. It is true he had the power of re- 
 fusing, and refuse he certainly intended ; 
 but then, in the present instance, an awk- 
 wardness would attend the circumstance, 
 that was rather disagreeable, and embar- 
 rassing to his imagination ; for sir Ulick, 
 placing much greater confidence in the sih- 
 cerity of his friends than they certainly 
 placed in his, had no hesitation in apply- 
 ing to them, when any way particularly 
 inconvenienced for certain little aids. Do- 
 naghue was amongst the number of those
 
 236 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 whom be had often honoured in this way ; 
 and though, from his carelessness, he was 
 not certain whether he would actually re- 
 member whether these loans were return- 
 ed or not, yet that he would not forget 
 his having obliged him with them, he was 
 certain, and having a right in consequence 
 to call upon him for a kindness. 
 
 Ingratitude is so debasing, that even the 
 very meanest of the mean shrink from be- 
 ing detected of it ; accordingly, poor sir 
 Ulick felt himself in a most distressing di- 
 lemma. Something, however, must be 
 said, though nothing was done, and ac- 
 cordingly he began to stammer out the hap- 
 piness it would afford him to attend to any 
 request of Mr. O'Brien's ; but that " there 
 was such difficulty in getting in the rents, 
 threatening one with fire and sword, as 
 these cursed Irish tenants did, if any coer- 
 cive measures were had recourse to, that — 
 that really " 
 
 While at a loss to say what, the door 
 opened, and a footman entered, to say Tha- 
 dy Macguire was quite impatient for a re-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 237 
 
 ceipt for the two hundred pounds he had 
 just sent up to his honour. 
 
 Was ever any thing so mal-a-propos f 
 Sir Ulick turned round, and gave the poor 
 fellow a look, that certainly, if it had had 
 the intended effect, would have annihila- 
 ted him. 
 
 He was proof however to it, and was 
 proceeding to repeat his message, when 
 the baronet commanded him, in an exalt- 
 ed tone, out of the room. — " The blunder- 
 ing blockhead !" he cried ; " I wish, with 
 all my soul, it had been as he said, for 
 then " 
 
 " I believe I understand you, sir Ulick," 
 said Donaghue, with a supercilious smile; 
 " but you are utterly mistaken — my busi- 
 ness here," and he spoke with a kind of 
 proud carelessness, " was merely to inquire 
 whether you wanted any addition to your 
 household, or knew of any other family in 
 the neighbourhood that did, as I am about 
 parting wuth some of the establishment at 
 Altoir.na-Grenie." 
 
 " Why no, I can't say I am aware of any
 
 238 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 chasm in our household at present," re- 
 turned the baronet, beginning to respire 
 again freely ; " but if I should — and I am 
 sure I may promise for her ladyship " 
 
 " Oh, assuredly !" she carelessly replied ; 
 " but I protest I think I hear colonel Mac- 
 kenzie's voice in the drawing-room," rising, 
 as did also the young ladies. " Good bye, 
 Mr. O'Brien : I shan't press you to stay, 
 as, I dare say, a large party would not be 
 agreeable to your feelings at present; but 
 some other time, if you drop in, and we 
 happen to be alone ■" 
 
 Again Donaghue smiled superciliously. 
 — " Your ladyship is very good!" he said; 
 " but I rather imagine, some time will 
 elapse ere I shall have the felicity of being 
 able to profit by such goodness." 
 
 " What, going to leave us ! May I ask 
 for what place ?" 
 
 " For London, in consequence of a let- 
 ter from my uncle, general O'Donaghue." 
 
 Her ladyship started, and betrayed the 
 greatest emotion. The general was an old 
 bachelor, reputed rich, and Donaghue the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 239 
 
 only near relation he had, and whom of 
 course, if he pleased, he might again make 
 an object worth speculating on. — " And, 
 bless me !" in a tone of confusion she said, 
 " I thought you had no intercourse with 
 the general, pardon me, in consequence of 
 a misunderstanding between him and your 
 father ; but I am so happy to find I was 
 mistaken; and, notwithstanding what you 
 have said, I hope we shall soon have you 
 amongst us again. In the mean time, al- 
 low me to assure you, that our sentiments 
 for you can know no alteration ; and let 
 us have the pleasure of thinking " 
 
 " The same of mine. Assuredly — the 
 estimation in which I hold your ladyship 
 can know no diminution. There are some 
 people for whom our sentiments can never 
 alter, and lady Magennis and her amiable 
 family are amongst the number." 
 
 So saying, and leaving her ladyship to 
 deliberate at her leisure, whether more was 
 meant by these words than met the ear, 
 Donaghue took up his hat, and made his 
 parting bow, attended to the very hall-door
 
 240 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 by sir Ulick, and even bowed down to the 
 very lowest of the steps, so profound was 
 his respect for the name of general O'Do- 
 naghiie, and whose figure he had indeed 
 actually before him all the time he was pay- 
 ing this obsequious court to the nephew. 
 
 " What a world !" said Donaghue, as he 
 was proceeding homewards ; " yet, after 
 all, if we only mix with the vain and the 
 frivolous, what right have we to complain 
 of baseness, since we should have been 
 idiots to confide in their sincerity ? I volun- 
 tarily sought them, and have only, in conse- 
 quence, met with what I had a right to ex- 
 pect — for why should I suppose their na- 
 tures would have been reversed for me ?" 
 
 But where was Melville all this time ? 
 for he was not amongst the base and the 
 frivolous, the sunflowers of the world, who 
 still turn to follow the rising luminary. 
 Melville was pursuing a voyage to Lisbon 
 with his uncle, whither, from being fond 
 of travelling, the old gentleman had taken 
 a sudden whim of going; and thus Dona- 
 ghue was deprived of the consolation he
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 241 
 
 should have derived from his sympathy ; 
 yet he hardly knew how to regret the cir- 
 cumstance, since, if jNIelville had continu- 
 ed in the kingdom, he was convinced he 
 would have come to him, with offers which 
 nothing could have induced him to accept, 
 yet it would have hurt the other to have 
 refused. 
 
 But he had yet another pang to experi- 
 ence, that of parting with his faithful Te- 
 rence, the playfellow of his infancy, and 
 the attached attendant of his riper years ; 
 but it must be done — Terence could now 
 do much better for himself than by re- 
 maining with him, and he could not think 
 for any selfish gratification of marring his 
 advancement in life, more especially as, in 
 the profession he was entering, his services 
 would not be required. 
 
 Cormick bore the parting much better 
 than he had expected; but this he was con- 
 vinced was to spare his feelings. He 
 might be reckoned romantic — perhaps he 
 was ; of the many spots he went to take 
 
 VOL. L M
 
 242 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE, 
 
 leave of, the last was the grave of his pa- 
 rents. He lingered at it, and involun- 
 tarily he sighed at the little probability 
 there now appeared of his ashes rest- 
 ing with theirs. — " Yet what weakness," 
 he cried, " to feel regret on such a subject! 
 What matters it where dust, unconscious 
 dust, returns to dust, while assured that 
 space cannot hinder the reunion of our 
 wafted spirits ? Peace to their manes !" 
 he solemnly and tenderly pronounced, as 
 he prepared to depart. " May I never 
 forget the virtues that adorned one — the 
 precepts she gave, the principles she im- 
 planted ! and if there were errors at the 
 other side, may they only be remembered 
 to serve as beacons to guard me from si- 
 milar ones !" 
 
 Immediately on his arrival in London 
 he waited on the general; and having sig- 
 nified his grateful acceptance of his offer, 
 the requisite arrangements were made for 
 obtaining him a cornetcy. Donaghue ra- 
 ther imagined it w^ould have been in the 
 general's own regiment; but there hap-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 243 
 
 pened to be no vacancy in it just then ; 
 and Donagliue hardly knew how to regret 
 the circumstance, from the stiffness of the 
 general's manner. 
 
 The fact was, the general, from having 
 heard something of his former follies, was 
 led to imagine he resembled his father in 
 disposition, with whom, from the indigna- 
 tion excited by his imprudence, he had 
 long ceased any intercourse ; and, in con- 
 sequence of the prejudice this excited, 
 would probably not have troubled himself 
 about him, could he have allowed himself 
 to let the son of a dear and only sister re- 
 main in distress and obscurity. But, for 
 the present, he determined on limiting him- 
 self to procuring him a commission — a de- 
 termination he adhered to, though much 
 struck, or, rather, highly interested by his 
 appearance and manner ; and accordingly, 
 on leaving town, which was in the course 
 of a few days after the arrival of Dona- 
 ghue, his regiment being on the eve of em- 
 barkation, presented him with but just a 
 M 2
 
 244 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 sym sufficient to provide his appointments, 
 conceiving it not amiss sometimes to let 
 young men, what is familiarly termed, bite 
 upon the bridle. 
 
 He had no sooner departed, than Do- 
 naghue left the hotel, where he had joined 
 him, for private lodgings, as better suited 
 to his present circumstances, and wish for 
 retirement during his present sojourn in the 
 great city.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE, 245 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ** Ah ! little think the gay, licentious, proud, 
 
 Whom pleasure, power, and affluence surround — 
 
 They who their thoughtless hours in giddy mirth, 
 
 And wanton, often cruel riot waste — 
 
 Ah ! little think they, while they dance along, 
 
 How many feel this very moment death, 
 
 And all the sad variety of pain ; 
 
 How many sink in the devouring flood. 
 
 Or more devouring flame ; how many bleed 
 
 By shameful variance betwixt man and man; 
 
 How many pine in want and dungeon glooms, 
 
 Shut from the common air, and common use 
 
 Of their own limbs; how many drink the cup 
 
 Of baleful grief, or eat the bitter bread 
 
 Of misery j sore pierc'd by wintry winds, 
 
 How many shrink into the sordid hut 
 
 Of cheerless poverty. 
 
 How many, rack'd with honest passions, droop 
 
 In deep retir'd distress. 
 
 Thought fond man 
 
 Of these, and all the thousand nameless ills 
 That one incessant struggle render life 
 One scene of toil, of suff"'ring, and of care, 
 Vice in its high career would stand appall'd, 
 And heedless, rambling impulse learn to think.** 
 
 Such were the sorrowful reflections of
 
 246 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Donaghue, as, dejected even to a feeling 
 of desolation, he was slowly making his 
 way through some of the crowded tho- 
 roughfares of London, yet waiting the ap- 
 pearance of his appointment in the Ga- 
 zette ; and as carriage after carriage passed 
 him, the splendid vehicles of pride and va- 
 nity, he contrasted his altered situation 
 with those of their owners. But as he 
 gradually advanced into a lonelier street, 
 he was roused from his meditations by 
 discovering himself followed. He had 
 many reasons for wishing to keep his pre- 
 sent sojourn in London unknown, and, ac- 
 cordingly, no sooner discovered this, than 
 he quickened his pace; but in vain he did 
 so — the faster he walked, the faster on his 
 steps followed the foot behind. He then 
 tried what crossing over would do; but still 
 the other, whoever he was, was at his heels. 
 At length, after having completely fa- 
 tigued himself, by going up one street and 
 down another, and serpentizing through 
 an absolute labyrinth of odious courts, he 
 suddenly stopped, and, in a tone of fierce-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 247 
 
 ness, was about demanding the reason of 
 such conduct, when, by the light of a lamp, 
 he recognised the features of a young man 
 of the name of Dashwood, one of his for- 
 mer fashionable associates. — " What, Hea- 
 vens ! is it you, Dashv/ood ?" he involun- 
 tarily exclaimed. 
 
 " Yes, it is me — my identical self!" re- 
 plied Dashwood, as he shook hands with 
 him ; "but a pretty chase you have led 
 me, by not letting me have a right view of 
 that phiz of yours at once, to let me know 
 whether you were the man I took you for. 
 What, in the name of all that is provoking, 
 was your motive for doing so?" 
 
 " Why, the fact is," said Donaghue, a 
 good deal confused by the abruptness of 
 the question, " being merely in town on 
 business, and but for a short time— I " 
 
 " Oh, pooh !" interrupted the other ; 
 " didn't wish to let your friends know any 
 thing about you. Upon my soul, that w^as 
 devilishly unkind of you ! and I assure you 
 I take it so." 
 
 Donaghue stared at him, to see w hether
 
 248 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 he was in earnest, for their acquaintance 
 had never amounted to any thing like 
 friendship. He looked so, and he began to 
 believe that he had more good-nature than 
 he had once perhaps given him credit for. 
 
 " In short," continued the other, " you 
 cannot excuse your conduct ; nor will I 
 forgive it, on any other condition than your 
 consenting to come down to Richmond, 
 to pass a few days there with me, whither 
 I am just returning, my lady fair having 
 established herself there till after Christ- 
 mas." 
 
 Donaghue tried to excuse himself, but 
 in vain — pleading business, illness, and at 
 last candidly a wish at present for solitude. 
 
 The other laughed aloud at this. — 
 " What ! you about becoming a bold dra- 
 goon, and obtaining the power of scatter- 
 ing double death and destruction about 
 you, avowing an inclination for solitude, 
 in this the very region of delight ! egad, 
 that is a good one, but it won't do ! not 
 quite so great a flat as you may suppose, to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 249 
 
 be SO easily imposed on— so come you shall, 
 I am determined." 
 
 Finding it useless to refuse, Donaghue 
 at length consented to accompany him to 
 Richmond, not without feeling a grateful 
 sensation for his solicitude for his compa- 
 ny, but, at the same time, a fervent wish 
 that they had not met, so little inclined 
 was he at present to encounter any of his 
 former associates. 
 
 They parted, with a promise on the part 
 of Donaghue not to delay joining him. 
 Accordingly, hurrying to his lodgings, Do- 
 naghue put up what was requisite for a day 
 or two, and sending for a hackney-coach, 
 drove to Berkeley-square, where Dash- 
 wood was only waiting for him to set off. 
 But it is now time we should say some- 
 thing of lady Jane ; and, while they are 
 proceeding to the classic village of Rich- 
 mond, we shall therefore do so. 
 
 Her ladyship having conceived such a 
 passion for Donaghue as induced her to 
 think seriously of him, was all consterna- 
 m3
 
 250 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 tion and dismay at the events that com- 
 pelled her to give him up, for, stripped as 
 he now was of fortune, to unite her fate 
 with his was out of the question; but, 
 grieved as she was on the occasion, the 
 least of her regrets perhaps was not the con- 
 sideration of the time she had lost on his 
 account. One or two serious admirers, as 
 she flattered herself, still remained, and 
 quickly deciding which to choose, she soon 
 succeeded in obtaining the proposal she 
 was so anxious for, and, in less than three 
 weeks after the departure of Donaghue 
 from London with the remains of his fa- 
 ther, she became the envied bride of Mr, 
 Morley, a rich old banker, who a few 
 months before had lost his wife, the com- 
 panion of many a long year; and previous 
 to which he had been casting his eyes about, 
 from an unwillingness that there should 
 be any interregnum in the reign of a queen 
 over his family, for some one worthy of 
 supplying her place. 
 
 Lady Jane certainly abhorred his very 
 idea, but her dislike to him did not origi-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 251 
 
 nate in the disparity of their years ; on the 
 contrary, his age was one of her induce- 
 ments for the acceptance of his addresses, 
 calculating from it that she should not 
 lojig be troubled with him, and that, in 
 the mean time, till the happy release for 
 both, what between gout, or rheumatism, 
 or asthma, or some of the other agreeable 
 disorders incidental to his advanced period 
 of life, she should be almost as much her 
 own mistress as if she acknowledged not a 
 lord and master. But though she could 
 not think of sacrificing her pretensions for 
 Donaghue, she was perfectly ready to give 
 him every other proof of attachment he 
 could require, her moral system being one 
 that gave very extensive latitude to the 
 inclinations. 
 
 The moment she had secured the ban- 
 ker, she would have written to Donaghue, 
 to try to apologize and excuse her con- 
 duct, but that she was afraid her letter 
 would meet but with little attention, till 
 the grief and distraction occasioned by re- 
 cent events had a little subsided. Accord-
 
 252 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ingly she put off addressing him, till she 
 unexpectedly heard of his arrival in Lon- 
 don, when, unable any longer to control 
 her feelings, the following letter was dis- 
 patched to him : 
 
 " To O'Donaghue O'Brien^ Esquire, 
 
 " MY DEAREST FRIEND, 
 
 " How impossible for any lan- 
 guage to describe what I have felt on your 
 account ! How still more impossible what 
 I suffer at the thought of the light in which 
 you may now perhaps consider me ! But I 
 am the victim of parental avarice and am- 
 bition. As I anticipated, I have had rea- 
 son to deplore, on my own account as well 
 as yours, what has happened. I may be 
 blamed, I may be censured for this con- 
 fession — ^but if I am, it can only be by the 
 cold, the icy-hearted ; and how can such 
 beings know any thing of the resistless 
 power of such feelings as mine ! that life 
 would not be endurable, under the idea of
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 25S 
 
 having lost the regard of the only man I 
 ever have loved, ever can love ! 
 
 " My father no sooner heard of the sad 
 reverse in your prospects, than, cruel, un- 
 feeling man ! — why must I speak in such 
 terms of the author of my being? — he 
 forced a promise from me to give you up ; 
 but, not satisfied with this, followed up his 
 barbarous conduct, lest of any temptation 
 to break it, by compelling me to become 
 
 the wife of another, that oth«: But if 
 
 you have ever heard of him, or seen him, 
 you must be convinced that compulsion 
 alone could make me yield myself to him. 
 What are his riches to me? can they make 
 me amends for what I have lost ? No — 
 
 except by the hope they afford, that 
 
 But I restrain myself 
 
 " To let me think you give credit to this 
 statement, and thus have some degree of 
 composure restored to my distracted soul, 
 you will let me hear from you. You will 
 do more — you will let me see you, that I 
 may indeed be satisfied, by receiving the 
 assurance actually from your lips, that I
 
 254 TKADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 5till retain some little interest in your 
 heart ! Oh, Donaghue ! whatever ,you may 
 be suffering, your fate is still enviable 
 compared to mine, for you are still at li- 
 berty to indulge your feelings, to breathe 
 forth the name you love in sighs, to em- 
 balm it with tears; while I but I must 
 
 not go on. 
 
 " Should you be unwilling to call on 
 me — and, indeed, all things considered, it 
 might be as well you did not, since, if my 
 father saw you at my door, I know the con- 
 struction he would be likely to put on the 
 circumstance, and the barbarous suspicions 
 he might be the means of creating in an- 
 other quarter — I can give you a meeting 
 at my milliner's. Adieu ! and oh that I 
 could with propriety subscribe myself, 
 what in heart I am still as much as ever, 
 
 " Your own 
 
 " Jane ! 
 " Piccadilly — Tuesday evening:' 
 
 But Donaghue was not quite so credu-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 255 
 
 lous of belief as her ladyship tried to flat- 
 ter herself; he well knew the little influ- 
 ence parental authority had over her; and, 
 indeed, the idea of a spirited young wo- 
 man, of seven-and-twenty, being absolute- 
 ly dragged to the marriage altar, as if a 
 poor trembling little simpleton of seven- 
 teen, was too ludicrous to excite any thing 
 but a laugh. The further insight which 
 this letter gave him into her principles, 
 could not fail of rendering him still more 
 indignant with himself, for the influence 
 he had allowed her to acquire over him — 
 an influence to which he in a great mea- 
 sure imputed-^ But, suddenly checking 
 
 the feelings created by the reflection, he 
 snatched up a pen, and returned the fol- 
 lowing answer : 
 
 To Lady Jane Morley, 
 
 " MADAM, 
 
 " I have been duly honoured 
 with your ladyship's favour ; and, in reply, 
 conceive I cannot better evince the inter-
 
 ^56 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 est you honour me by alluding to, than 
 by offering my congratulations on your 
 change of condition, and expressing my 
 wishes for its proving a cause of happiness 
 to you. 
 
 " Circumstances oppose my offering 
 these congratulations in person ; they are 
 not, however, the less sincere on that ac- 
 count. With all those sentiments of es- 
 teem your ladyship has a right to expect, 
 " I have the honour to remain, 
 
 " Your ladyship's devoted, 
 « D. O'BiiiEN. 
 " Stephens's Hotel, New Bond-street, 
 " Wednesday morning'^ 
 
 ** Cold, insensible being !" was the en- 
 raged exclamation of her ladyship, at this 
 disappointing letter. Yet no — it might, 
 it must be resentment that had dictated 
 such a one, for her chains were not so easi^ 
 ly to be broke, and her spirits revived at 
 the idea. Could an interview be effected, 
 she should be convinced of this, she was
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 257 
 
 persuaded, and by the explanation that 
 would then ensue, be able to bind him 
 more firmly to her than ever ; and she ac- 
 cordingly determined on repeating her re- 
 quest for it ; but ere she could address an- 
 other letter to Donaghue, he had left the 
 hotel, without leaving any clue behind 
 him by which he might be traced ; all she 
 could learn was, that he still remained in 
 town, nor meant to quit it till his appoint- 
 ment had taken place. In consequence of 
 which information, various emissaries were 
 set at work, to try and discover him, but 
 without success, till Dashwood was so for- 
 tunate as to lay hold of him. His wife, a 
 pretty fluttering little woman of fashion, 
 considered as rather ornamental on a beau's 
 arm in public, was the particular confident 
 of lady Jane, and, through a hint from her 
 ladyship, her husband was instructed to 
 interest himself in the business. 
 
 He was extremely ready to oblige her 
 ladyship, in consequence of her readiness 
 to oblige him, for though not absolutely 
 the old banker's cashier, she still had suffi-
 
 258 TRADITION OF THE CASTLt:. 
 
 cient access to the strong-box, to be able 
 to accommodate a friend with a little of 
 its contents, and had more than once cash- 
 ed a bill for Dashwood that the old gen- 
 tleman might have hesitated a little about 
 discounting ; but she was not romantic 
 enough, or, rather, she was too much a wo- 
 man of the world, to expect favours with- 
 out a return, and, but for the Dashwoods, 
 she would have been reduced to the most 
 terrible dilemma by his conduct; as, from 
 having so much in his power to leave as 
 he pleased, she did not like to positively 
 quarrel with him, in taking her to Rich- 
 mond, under the pretext of the foggy air 
 of London in winter not agreeing with 
 him, and there actually becoming so ill as 
 not to be able to quit his chamber, to the 
 utter exclusion of all company, as he would 
 neither allow her to see any one, nor yet 
 quit his room for an instant, if he could 
 help it, feeling, somehow, an uneasiness 
 about her, which he had never experienced 
 about her predecessor, at least for the lat- 
 ter years of her life. But no sooner had
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 259 
 
 the Dash woods contrived to establish 
 themselves, at the secret instigation of 
 some one, in a house contiguous to theirs, 
 so close indeed that the grounds of the re- 
 spective mansions communicated, than her 
 ladyship began to get subject to nervous 
 attacks, insomuch that she was often borne 
 from the chamber of her sick husband, in 
 a state that totally precluded her return to 
 it that evening ; she never quitted it, how- 
 ever, without almost immediately reviving 
 sufficiently to be able to get to her friends, 
 with the assistance of her faithful abigail, 
 where the pleasant party she was always 
 sure of finding there generally completed 
 her recovery. 
 
 Whether she had had any previous warn- 
 ing of an attack of the kind, the evening 
 of Donaghue's arrival at Richmond, we can- 
 not pretend to say; but no sooner was this 
 notified to her, in a whisper, by the abi- 
 gail, than she suddenly fell back in her 
 chair, dropped of course the delightful 
 book of sermons which, for their mutual 
 edification, her husband had made it a point
 
 260 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 she should read that evening, and in this 
 state was borne away, to the great dismay 
 of the poor banker. 
 
 Immediately on entering the house, Do- 
 naghue was conducted by the master to a 
 chamber, where a servant being summon- 
 ed, he was left to dress for dinner. His 
 toilet finished, he repaired to the drawing- 
 room, where he found Mrs. Dashwood, 
 and from whom he received a most flatter- 
 ing reception. Her husband presently 
 joined them, and soon after successive 
 guests were announced ; and in the course 
 of a short time a large party of fashion- 
 ables, all well known to Donaghue, be- 
 came assembled. 
 
 He was trying to appear amused with 
 the vaunted exploits of some of his former 
 associates, when the opening of the door, to 
 which his back was rather at the moment, 
 caused him, involuntarily, to turn towards 
 it, and to the almost occasioning him a 
 slight degree of emotion, so little did he 
 expect to see her, he beheld lady Jane 
 Morley entering, attired in all the ele-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 261 
 
 gance of fashion, and perhaps never look- 
 ing better ; and she was allowed by every- 
 one, that is, by all the men of ton and 
 taste about town, to be a captivating crea- 
 ture. Scarcely allowing herself to glance 
 round the room, she eagerly approached 
 Donaghue, to shake hands with him. 
 
 Had he felt for her what she wished, he 
 must have been gratified by her manner ; 
 but as it was, it confused and agitated him, 
 by the sentiments it too clearly revealed, 
 and the strictures she feared it might ex- 
 cite ; for he was perfectly aware of the ge- 
 neral opinion that had prevailed of their 
 being engaged to each other. To prevent 
 as much as possible what he feared, he de- 
 termined, since thus betrayed into her 
 company, to be strictly on his guard, and 
 accordingly, instead of accepting the invi- 
 tation she gave him, both by her eyes and 
 her gestures, to follow her to a seat, he 
 kept liis station at a distance from her; 
 and on dinner being announced, was about 
 offering his arm to another lady, when the 
 dexterous management of Dashwood pre-
 
 262 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 vented what he intended, and the hand of 
 lady Jane was passed under it. — " Cold, 
 ungrateful being !" she softly exclaimed at 
 the instant ; but Donaghue affected not to 
 hear her; and though compelled to occupy 
 a seat beside her at table, took care to 
 avoid letting her have an opportunity of 
 rendering herself any way particular to 
 him. 
 
 Vain and infected as he had been by fa- 
 shionable follies, yet he never had had the 
 degrading ambition of wishing to have the 
 reputation of a female injured on his ac- 
 count; and now, when it so behoved him 
 to keep his own unsullied, to avoid the 
 slightest imputation of dishonour, how still 
 more anxious was he naturally to prevent 
 any thing of the kind ! He knew what 
 the rigid principles of the general were, 
 and that the least appearance of laxity in 
 his would, to a certainty, occasion his 
 throwing him off for ever ; and with her 
 whose idea was enshrined in his heart, how 
 still lower should he be sunk, if in addi- 
 tion to what had already so irreparably in-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 263 
 
 jured him in her estimation, he should 
 allow it to be believed he was capable of 
 any positively culpable act! 
 
 But on his return to the drawing-room, 
 he almost feared, from the looks of the 
 lady, he should be no longer able to avoid 
 her in the manner he wished. He saw, 
 from the mistake her vanity had led her 
 into concerning his real feelings for her, 
 she was determined on coming, if possible, 
 to what she conceived an eclaiixissement 
 with him, and accordingly, in his own de- 
 fence, sat down to cards, though nothing 
 possibly at the moment could be more dis- 
 agreeable to him ; but on seeing lady Jane 
 shortly afterwards engaged at another table, 
 he threw them up. By this time every 
 other person in the room was occupied in 
 the same way, and Donaghue having, of 
 course, no one to particularly converse 
 with, after sauntering from one table to 
 another, at length strolled into the adjoin- 
 ing apartment, and began amusing him- 
 self with looking over some music-books 
 that were scattered upon a pianoforte there.
 
 264 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 Soon getting tired of this, he turned to 
 a window, and drawing aside the curtain, 
 beheld a scene of beauty that rivetted his 
 attention. The Thames ran at the bot- 
 tom of the garden, dividing it from the 
 fine meadows at the opposite side, here 
 and there diversified by elegant villas, ri- 
 sing amidst all the pomp of foliage, silver- 
 ed by the light of the moon, that shining 
 brightly in a clear frosty sky, with myri- 
 ads of stars, as if its glittering train, ren- 
 dered the scenery partially visible.—-" How 
 tranquillizing the mild light of this beau- 
 tiful planet, its doubtful shadows and ten- 
 der gloom ! so like the soft repose for which 
 the troubled spirit pants !'* 
 
 Donaghue unconsciously sighed as he 
 made the observation — the sigh was softly 
 echoed. He turned with quickness, and 
 beheld lady Jane, and either through the 
 surprise or agitation she occasioned him, 
 involuntarily pronounced her name. 
 
 " Ay, it is me," she said, reproachfully ; 
 
 "the neglected — the ill-treated — the 
 
 But did I ever think it would come to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 265 
 
 this ! that I should have had reason to up- 
 braid Donaghue for slighting — for trying 
 to avoid me ! But I see he will not for- 
 give the wrong he accuses me of having 
 done him — that to another cause than the 
 one I have assigned for it he imputes my 
 conduct." 
 
 ** I accuse you of having done me a 
 wrong !" repeated Donaghue ; " pardon 
 me, but you are utterly mistaken in the 
 idea; — but, for Heaven's sake, lady Jane, 
 consider where you are, and how liable to 
 be overheard !" 
 
 " I care not," she exclaimed—" you 
 drive me to madness by this coldness ! — 
 accuse me of having done you no wrong!" 
 
 " No — there was no tie, no engagement 
 between us that would justify my making 
 such an accusation." 
 
 " What, no tie between us ! not the 
 strongest of all ties — the tie of mutual 
 passion ! But perhaps I deceived myself 
 -—perhaps, after all, your professions meant 
 nothing ; and while I was allowing my af- 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 fections to be entangled, you were coldly 
 maintaining a command over yours." 
 
 " Really, lady Jane, this language dis- 
 tresses me. Of intentionally deceiving 
 any one, I can acquit myself. The sim- 
 plest language and plainest meaning may 
 sometimes be misconstrued ; but be that 
 as it may, of what use now to speak of 
 what it appears might have been sup- 
 posed ?'* 
 
 " Might have been ! and is this language 
 I had a right to expect from the man for 
 whom I have done so much — on whose 
 account I have sacrificed myself to age, to 
 decrepitude, to infirmity, to all that is ab- 
 horrent to my soul ?" 
 
 " On mine !" exclaimed Donaghue, in 
 utter astonishment — " on my account sa- 
 crifice yourself!" 
 
 " Yes, ungrateful being as you are ! on 
 your account — on yours alone — for the 
 sake of obtaining the power of enriching 
 you, did I consent to give my hand where 
 I liave bestowed it — what else could have 
 induced, could have prevailed on me to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 267 
 
 form such a union ? I might have been 
 wedded to youth, to beauty, even equal 
 to your own ; but no, I preferred age and 
 infirmity, from the prospect they afforded 
 of soon letting me be at liberty again to 
 act as I pleased — to throw myself into the 
 arms of the only man I ever have loved — 
 ever can love. Oh, Donaghue ! forgive — 
 for I will, I must believe, that to resent- 
 ment is owing your apparent indifference 
 — my conduct, in consideration of the 
 cause, the motive of it ; and let us bind 
 ourselves from this minute, in such a man- 
 ner to one another, as shall prevent the 
 dread of any further separation, after I am 
 again free." 
 
 " My dear lady Jane, again I must en- 
 treat you to consider where you are — that 
 there are invidious eyes and ears every 
 where. Did my principles permit what 
 you desire — pardon me, I have expressed 
 myself perhaps as I ought not — or rather 
 were you free to permit my forming such 
 an engagement as you allude to, yet how 
 N 2
 
 268 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 cruel, how ungenerous, should I consider 
 myself, if, on the very eve of entering a 
 profession that must subject any one inte- 
 rested in my fate to a thousand anxieties, 
 I were capable of doing so !" 
 
 " Oh, this is mere evasion !" exclaimed 
 lady Jane, in a tone of passionate resent- 
 ment; " if you loved, you could not argue. 
 No, you could think of nothing but the 
 attainment of the beloved object, no mat- 
 ter how, or by what means.">^x. t». 
 
 " Indeed !" said Donaghue, with forced 
 playfulness, as if hoping by it to induce a 
 belief that he did not think her serious, 
 and thus check these wild transports. — 
 " Is not that opinion in contradiction to 
 the poet's ? what says he ? — 
 
 ' Love should be pure, holy, harmless, as pilgrims' kissei^ 
 on the shrine of virgin martyrs. — Holy as the thoughts of 
 dying saints, when angels hover round thera. — Soch love 
 should be, the zephyr not the whirlwind of the soul." 
 
 *• Talk not to me of poets, writing too 
 often from their heads, not their hearts; 
 or if you give me their language, let it be 
 that language that breathes of the passion
 
 TRADITIOX OF THE CASTLE. 269 
 
 that consumes me. Oh, Donaghue — dear- 
 est Donaghue !" and she half withdrew 
 the handkerchief she had applied to her 
 eyes — those, as she well knew, truly beau- 
 tiful and well instructed eyes — that now, 
 " like the dewy star of evening, shone in 
 tears," and let her head sink upon his 
 shoulder — " let me, let me imagine your 
 heart now alive to that passion, or rather 
 that another has not usurped that place in 
 it I once occupied, and you will raise me 
 from anguish unutterable to equal joy !" 
 
 Donaghue became most cruelly embar- 
 rassed. He fancied he heard a rustling at 
 the door, and all the consequences that 
 might accrue from her imprudence rushed 
 at once upon his imagination. The idea 
 was not endurable. Gently raising her 
 head from his shoulder, he drew back, and 
 in an impressive tone — " Lady Jane," he 
 said, " for both our sakes this must be 
 ended. The world must judge from ap- 
 pearances, and the misinterpretation of a 
 moment might do an injury that could 
 never be repaired. You have my best
 
 270 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 wishes for your happiness, both here and 
 hereafter. Should you be at hberty to 
 form another engagement, I hope it may 
 be one every way agreeable to you ; and 
 now you must excuse my leaving you.'' 
 
 " No, no," exclaimed lady Jane, catch- 
 ing him by the arm ; " or if you think it is 
 imprudent to remain any longer here to- 
 gether, as least say that I shall see you a- 
 gain before you quit this — that you will 
 contrive to meet me to-morrow, where 
 there will be no danger of any thing you 
 now apprehend." 
 
 " Impossible!" said Donaghue; " I am 
 but a mortal — a mere mortal, lady Jane, 
 and have none of that presumptuous con- 
 fidence in my own strength, that would 
 allow of my voluntarily rushing into temp- 
 tation — no such meeting, therefore, can or 
 must take place — on your account, as well 
 as my own, I must decline it ;" and as he 
 spoke, disengaging his arm from her grasp, 
 by gently raising the white hand from it 
 she had laid upon it, and on which he im- 
 pressed a kiss (perhaps it was not to he
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 271 
 
 avoided his doing so), he passed into the 
 other room. 
 
 Hither he was quickly followed by her 
 ladyship, soothed into something like com- 
 placency by the compliment implied by 
 these words. He had allowed her then to 
 be dangerous, and his acknowledgment of 
 her being so was quite sufficient to revive 
 her hopes, and determine her in persever- 
 ing in her plans on him ; but an effectual 
 hinderance was put to this by his departure 
 the next morning before breakfast, with- 
 out leaving his address behind him. 
 
 The recent scene with lady Jane fully 
 accounted for what had so surprised him 
 — the solicitude of Dash wood for his com- 
 pany, and the detection of his motive for 
 desiring it, at once determined him on 
 shortening his visit; accordingly, rising 
 by daybreak, he sent for a chaise, and leav- 
 ing a note for his host, accounting for his 
 abrupt departure, by pleading the sudden 
 recollection of business that could not be 
 postponed, left the house long ere the fa- 
 mily had a thought of stirring.
 
 272 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 The character of lady Jane was now 
 fully developed to his view, and at its 
 developement how did he congratulate 
 himself on his having escaped an union 
 with her ! Many can excuse what is wrong, 
 when they conceive themselves the occa- 
 sion of it, so seducing is implied flattery 
 and adulation to the human heart; but 
 Donaghue was not one of these — flattery, 
 at the expence of every thing that ought 
 to be held sacred, could not gratify a mind 
 imbued with such principles as his. In a 
 woman so completely overstepping the 
 modesty of nature as lady Jane had done, 
 there was something monstrous to his ima- 
 gination ; and both from this, as well as 
 that perverseness which is in the breast of 
 men, more than in that of any other crea- 
 ture, still making him slight that which 
 is easy of attainment, and prize only that 
 which is difficult, her ladyship had never 
 appeared less attractive to him than at the 
 very moment when she was avowing him 
 to be the object of her passionate adora- 
 tion — he blushed for her, both for what
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 273 
 
 she had uttered, and forced him to say in 
 reply. 
 
 In opposition to her rose the enchanting 
 image of Eveleen to his imagination — she 
 who, with all the tempting freshness of 
 youth upon her lips, yet knew so well 
 how to correct the passion she inspired, 
 and maintain and support the dignity of 
 her sex. To dwell upon her idea was to 
 dwell upon what ennobled and punfied, 
 for who can dwell upon goodness, upon 
 purity, and yet harbour any base or inor- 
 dinate desires? While he felt that she 
 could not think it profaned by his cherish- 
 ing it, he felt that he could not be utterly 
 wretched ; and how did he rejoice in hav- 
 ing resolution to resist the spells that, if 
 once overpowered by, would have depriv- 
 ed him of this consolation ! 
 
 Shortly after he was gazetted, and im- 
 mediately after quitted London to join the 
 regiment. On his arrival at quarters he 
 made the usual application for a sei'\"ant. 
 He found it was attended to, when on re- 
 n3
 
 274 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 pairing to his room to dress for dinner, he 
 perceived a tall, fine-looking young fellow, 
 busied there in laying out his things. — 
 " So you are the soldier I have got for an 
 attendant," he said ; " may I ask your name, 
 my good fellow ?" 
 
 The other faced about, advanced one 
 leg before the other, drew up his well- 
 made figure to its full length, and throw- 
 ing up his hand in the true military style 
 — " Terence M*Cormick, an' please your 
 honour." 
 
 " Good God ! Terence, what have you 
 done?" exclaimed Donaghue. 
 
 " The blessing of my mother wouldn't 
 have been on me, if I hadn't done what I 
 have," replied Cormick ; " for many a long 
 year your house has fed me and mine, and 
 by that house, rise or fall, we will stand. 
 Ah, then, do you think I'd have parted 
 with you at Altoir-na-Grenie as I did, but 
 that it was all the time in my noddle what 
 I'd do? snug and easy, every step of the 
 way, by sea and by land, I followed you 
 to London, and there I lay till I knev/
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 275 
 
 the regiment you were gazetted to, when 
 off I was, like a shot against a barn-door, 
 to get myself enlisted, on the condition 
 that I should be appointed servant to the 
 new officer that was coming to join — faith! 
 it's in my sleeve I couldn't help laughing, 
 when at the time you were so bad on board 
 the packet, and thankful to the steward 
 for his attention to you, 'tis myself all the 
 while that was about you. When he 
 wanted to go — ' Ah, then be asy, you 
 spalpeen !' I cried ; ' do you think I don't 
 know better than you what to do for him, 
 when, though he's six foot now, perhaps 
 more, for aught I know, I have been with 
 him before he was the height of a bog- 
 rush r 
 
 Donaghue rested his hand on his shoul- 
 der for a minute — deep emotion impeded 
 his utterance, then — " This proof of strong 
 and faithful attachment binds me more 
 firmly than ever to you, Terence," he cried, 
 " You might, perhaps, have done better ; 
 but since you have embarked in the same 
 voyage with me, may to you, at least, it
 
 276 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 prove a prosperous one ! should it so to 
 me, I shall not forget the requital that 
 fidelity deserves." 
 
 Donaghue was much pleased with the 
 corps to which he was gazetted ; but ere he 
 was well domesticated in it, if the expres- 
 sion may be allowed, it received orders for 
 foreign service, there being at this time a 
 constant demand for fresh troops for the 
 Continent, it being still there — " Cry ha- 
 voc, and let slip the dogs of war." We 
 shall not follow Donaghue into every 
 scene he went through there, but content 
 ourselves with briefly stating, till we take 
 him to the plains of Waterloo, that there 
 were few occasions in which he did not 
 distinguish himself.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 277 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " The dreadful business of the war is o'er, 
 And Slaughter, that from yestermorn till even, 
 With giant steps pass'd striding o*er the plain, 
 Now weary, sits amonij; the mangled heaps, 
 And slumbers o'er his prey." 
 
 " The hunter hears the noise on his hill, and sees the bil- 
 lows advancing to Ardven's shore. — Such were the words 
 of Connel, when heroes met in the midst of their falling 
 people. There was the clang of arms — there every blow 
 like the hundred hammers of the furnace. Terrible is 
 the battle of the kings, and horrid the look of their eyes. 
 Their dark brown shields are cleft in twain, and their 
 steel flies broken from their helmets. They fling their 
 weapons down — each rushes to the grasp of his [foe. 
 Their sinewy arms bend round each other; they turn 
 from side to side, and strain, and stretch their large 
 spreading limbs below. But where the pride of their 
 strength was, they shook the hill with their heels, rocks 
 tumble from their places on high, the green-headed bushes 
 are overturned. At length the strength of Swaran fell, 
 and the king of the grove is bound." 
 
 " The fame of their exploits will remain 
 behind, but will it console those who have
 
 278 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 to mourn their loss ? The aged parents, 
 the tender wife, the orphan children — they 
 hear the shouts of rejoicing multitudes, 
 and their hearts respond to them with 
 groans of anguish. That which has swell- 
 ed the pride of the nation, has laid theirs 
 in the dust. The beautiful, the brave — 
 how many has one hour laid within the 
 narrow house ! Oh, ambition ! fell dis- 
 turber of the human race! how wide- 
 spreading is the desolation that follows in 
 thy train ! what lamentations dost thou 
 cause ! through thy means how are the 
 dearest ties of nature rent asunder — the 
 social charities of life extinguished ! and 
 for what ? for that which, if attained, must 
 bring an accession of care, and can scarce- 
 ly be possessed ere it must be rehnquished 
 for the grave." 
 
 These, and similar ones, were the re- 
 flections of O'Brien, as he lay wounded on 
 the plains of Waterloo. 
 
 The regiment he belonged to, being 
 light cavalry, had made several unsuccess- 
 ful charges on the enemy, but not with-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 279 
 
 out suffering severely ; which being per- 
 ceived by the commander-in-chief, he or- 
 dered some corps of heavy dragoons to 
 their assistance. In some of the wheel- 
 ings the troop O'Brien belonged to hap- 
 pened, by accident, to be cut off from the 
 main body, which was no sooner perceiv- 
 ed by the enemy, than advantage w^as 
 taken of the circumstance to attack them 
 with the most desperate fury. O'Brien de- 
 fended the little party under his command 
 with the most determined courage and 
 skill ; but what could such a handful of men 
 do against such unequal odds ? they were 
 cut down to a man, he alone escaping, but 
 desperately wounded. In his way to rejoin 
 his regiment, he, unfortunately for himself, 
 observed a British dragoon defending him- 
 self against two of the enemy; his huma- 
 nity instantly got the better of his discre- 
 tion, wounded as he was, and accordingly 
 wheeling about his charger, he arrived to 
 the succour of the soldier, at the very cri- 
 tical moment just as a sword was about 
 descending on his bare head, his helmet
 
 280 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 having fallen off, when pulling a pistol 
 from his holster, he brought one of the 
 assailants low, who no sooner fell, than 
 his companion, seeing there were again 
 two to one, but at the wrong side, clap- 
 ped spurs to his horse, and was off like 
 lightning. 
 
 Donaghue, reining in his charger from 
 pursuing him, turned to speak to the 
 trooper whose life he had saved, but him 
 also, with rather a sensation of surprise at 
 his leaving him in this manner, after the 
 service he had rendered him, he saw in 
 full gallop towards the main body of the 
 British forces. 
 
 Donaghue was on the point of follow- 
 ing, when one of the French emperor's 
 aides-de-camp came suddenly upon him, 
 and ere he had time to put himself in 
 the least on his defence, gave him such 
 a cut in his bridle arm, as obliged him 
 to immediately drop the reins. Thus 
 completely at the mercy of the enemy, 
 he would probably soon have received 
 his quietus from him, had not, at the in-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 281 
 
 stant, a body of the Life-Guards appeared 
 in full speed approaching the spot, which 
 the other no sooner perceived, than he 
 prepared to fly; but as he did so, either 
 out of bravado or wanton cruelty, he dis- 
 charged a pistol at Donaghue, but, luckily 
 for him, just at the instant, his horse, 
 previously wounded, and rendered hardly 
 manageable by the circumstance, had made 
 a violent plunge forward, in the act of 
 doing which it reared, and thus received 
 in its own forehead the ball intended for 
 that of its master. The creature instantly 
 fell, and in the agonies of death made one 
 roH over bim. The Life-Guards galloped 
 on, imable to spare a moment to afford 
 assistance, " Death or victory !" being the 
 cry at the moment, and Donaghue, power- 
 less to render himself any, saw nothing 
 but the former before him. 
 
 Pain and loss of blood soon reduced him 
 to a state of insensibility ; on recovering 
 from it he still found himself stretched 
 upon the same spot, but no longer alone, 
 for on every side his ears were assailed by
 
 282 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the most doleful sounds of human lamen- 
 tation, and completely overcome by their 
 effect on his feelings, he again fainted 
 away. When again he revived, it was the 
 dawn of morning, and either it was the 
 case, or to his clouded eyes it seemed to be 
 so, that 
 
 *• It rose slowly, as her sullen car 
 
 Had all the weight of death and sleep upon it." . 
 
 The scene of horror he now beheld 
 mocks description. — " With what ease, 
 what carelessness, do we read and talk of 
 battles!" involuntarily thought the suf- 
 ferer, as his senses returned ; " but that 
 would cease to be the case were a field of 
 battle once seen. The most callous, the 
 most thoughtless, must shrink from the 
 thoughts of it, were such a scene as this 
 once presented to their view — could they 
 but now gaze upon these plains of Water- 
 loo, discoloured by carnage, and covered 
 quite over with the dead and dying, the 
 latter earnestly begging, but without be- 
 ing able to obtain it, but for one drop of 
 water to cool their parched lips !"
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 283 
 
 Never could Donaghue forget the dis- 
 mal bowlings, the dreadful screams, the 
 shrieks of madness and despair, that here 
 resounded round him ; a French officer, in 
 particular, extended on the ground not 
 far from where he himself lay, tore his 
 hair, beat his breast, and raved in all the 
 madness of despair for water. So heart- 
 rending were this man's cries, that Dona- 
 ghue, forgetting in them his own suffer- 
 ings, made an effort to obtain him relief, 
 by wrenching out of the dead grasp of one 
 of his late brother soldiers a canteen, con- 
 taining some water; but in the act of 
 stretching over the body to hand it to him, 
 a deadly sickness came over O'Brien, and 
 he fell, apparently lifeless, on the corse. 
 
 In this state he must have continued 
 some time, for on again opening his eyes 
 the day was advanced. Almost instinc- 
 tively he cast them towards the spot where 
 the object of his recent humanity had lain ; 
 still he lay there, but his sufferings were 
 at an end — his cold breast was now as in- 
 sensate as the clod against which it was
 
 284) TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 pressed. — " But mine," groaned Dona- 
 ghue, " when will mine be ended ? this 
 protracted suffering is indeed to experi-^ 
 ence all the pangs of death." 
 
 Despair began to freeze his blood, for 
 hope had fled, so long had he been allow-, 
 lowed to remain on the field of battle ; it 
 appeared indeed a place that both friends 
 and foes alike wished not to return to. 
 
 But new horrors were now presented to 
 his view, by the savage depredations of 
 these human furies that, like the blood- 
 scenting vultures, hover about a field of 
 battle. Renewed cries soon proclaimed 
 the work they were about : a mortal sick- 
 ness again came over O'Donaghue, as he 
 heard these cries ; and as he felt his senses 
 receding, he believed it was to revive no 
 more : but fortune, it appeared, had not 
 yet done with him — again he revived ; by 
 this time it was night, 
 
 " When nature is in sables drest, 
 Tempestuous winds in IkjIIow caverns rest, 
 Impending rocks with slumber seem to bow, 
 And drowsy mountains hang their heavy brow ;
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 285 
 
 The weary waves roll nodding on tlie deep, 
 
 Or, stretch'd on oozy beds, they murmur in their sleep." 
 
 But not with stillness had it descended 
 around him; still the cries, fainter and 
 fewer indeed, but perhaps more horrible 
 on tliat account, that had overpowered 
 him, were heard, declaring the savage 
 work of spoliation still going on ; and 
 what his own fate might be he knew not, 
 as he saw some of these furies approaching 
 him; but just as they were stooping over 
 him, to ascertain whether he still breathed, 
 not that his doing so would have prevent- 
 ed what they intended, a trooper suddenly 
 rushed in amongst them, and by well di- 
 rected blows, laid on on every side, with 
 no light or sparing hand, quickly put 
 them all to flight. Donaghue had just 
 sufficient sense to ascertain that in this 
 dimly- seen soldier he had a deliverer, ere 
 he fainted away. In this belief he was 
 not mistaken — it was indeed his faithful 
 Terence, by this time promoted to the 
 rank of corporal, that had come to his as- 
 sistance ; another of the dragoons accompa-
 
 286 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 nied him ; and between them both, by the 
 aid of Donaghue's sash, they succeeded in 
 bearing him to a hut, or cabin, not far 
 from the scene of action, when a messen- 
 ger was dispatched for doctor Rosebud, 
 the regimental surgeon, who immediately 
 obeying it, rescued the poor corporal from 
 almost distraction, by the assurance that, 
 with proper attention, there was very little 
 doubt of his master getting over his wounds, 
 provided he was removed to better quar- 
 ters. 
 
 How to obtain these for him, however, 
 was the question, the road to Brussels be- 
 ing at this time nearly impassable. Cor- 
 mick pondered, and pondered, and at last 
 an idea occurred to him that he hoped 
 would settle the matter : religion, on the 
 Continent, has much weight in an intro- 
 duction for favours; the corporal was a 
 shrewd fellow, and having observed this, 
 determined to try if he could not profit 
 by the observation. 
 
 Not very distant was a large castellated 
 mansion, belonging to, or rather now oc-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 287 
 
 cupied by, a person of the most rigid no- 
 tions with regard to religion, which the 
 corporal having ascertained, he repaired 
 forthwith to it, and demanded an audience 
 of count Blanc. The servant seemed to 
 hesitate, in consequence of his being a 
 stranger, to take in this message ; but no 
 sooner had he recognised the British uni- 
 form, than he hastened to obey hira, and al- 
 most instantly after Cormick was ushered 
 into an antichamber, where the count pre- 
 sently attended him. 
 
 Cormick, having apologized for the li- 
 berty he had taken, proceeded to state that 
 the cause of his intrusion was to solicit 
 shelter beneath the roof of the count for a 
 young British officer of great distinction, 
 till such time as he could be removed with 
 safety to head-quarters in the city. The 
 young gentleman, he further added, was 
 placed under his especial care, by his pa- 
 rents, people of the first rank in Ireland, 
 with strict injunctions that should any 
 thing unpleasant happen, he should take 
 care to see that it w^as in the house of a
 
 288 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 good Catholic he lodged him, as should 
 he die in that of any other, they would be 
 miserable — " And believe me, my good 
 sir," in a consequential tone he cried, " that 
 even if I had not been so told, I should 
 have done myself what they wished of my 
 own accord, for I am myself a true Mile- 
 sian, both in faith and blood; my great- 
 great-great — God only knows how many 
 great-grandfathers having come over be- 
 fore I ever saw the light, or generations 
 before me, with the great prince that 
 peopled all Ireland." 
 
 During the time he was speaking, the 
 count, from beneath dark bushy eyebrows, 
 that gave a peculiar fierceness to his coun^-t^^ 
 tenance, examined Cormick with the most " 
 scrutinizing attention, and appeared hesi- 
 tating about what reply he should make. 
 Noticing which, Cormick advanced closer 
 to him. — " And you should be highly 
 pleased, monsieur le compte," he said, " at 
 the compliment that has been paid you, in 
 soliciting that which we might have ob- 
 tained without any trouble, and indeed
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 289 
 
 what we are well entitled to, for having 
 saved both your life and property." 
 
 The hint implied in these words was 
 not thrown away — the count immediately 
 signified his readiness to accommodate the 
 young officer in his chateau ; and thither 
 accordingly Donaghue was removed, with 
 all possible dispatch. 
 
 The delight of Cormick and doctor 
 llosebud, when they saw him in posses- 
 sion of a noble suit of apartments, was in- 
 expressible; and for the dexterity which 
 the former had displayed in obtaining 
 them for him, the latter declared he de- 
 served to be made purveyor-general to 
 the troops. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 290 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Can human force endure 
 
 The various mischiefs tl.at besiege us round ?" 
 
 It must appear strange that Donaghue 
 should have been allowed to continue so 
 long apparently forgotten on the field of 
 battle, amongst the dead and dying, so at 
 least thought Cormick, and that of course 
 it was necessary to give him some expla- 
 nation on that head, that he should not 
 be accused of ingratitude. 
 
 Accordingly, one evening, soon after 
 Donaghue was able to sit up, he thought 
 he observed him looking very uneasy and 
 dejected, remarking which — " An' please 
 your honour, I look what 1 am," replied 
 the corporal — " very unhappy." 
 
 " Indeed ! I am sorry to hear that ; what 
 has made you so ?"
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 291 
 
 " The fear that your honour may think 
 me a good-for-nothing spalpeen, for hav- 
 ing let you remain so long on the field, 
 without coming to your aid." 
 
 " Oh ! if that be all, make your mind 
 easy, for a thought to your prejudice never 
 entered my mind — it is not now I want 
 to know what your regard for me is." 
 
 " Yes, but your honour, I can't be asy 
 till I have explained the cause of this to 
 you." 
 
 " Well, if it gratifies you to do so, I 
 am ready to attend to you." 
 
 " Blessings on your honour for that !" 
 said the corporal. " Well then, to begin, 
 your honour ; we might just as well have 
 charged a stone wall as those cuirrassiers, 
 as your honour knows; what with the 
 weight of their horses, what their cover- 
 ing of iron, we had no more chance with 
 them, than a mouse would have under the 
 foot of an elephant, and few of us, I be- 
 lieve, would now have had the power of 
 telling this, but for the Life-Guards com- 
 o 2
 
 292 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ing to our assistance, and who, by saint Pa- 
 trick ! soon made them sing a different song, 
 by cracking their lobster-shells for them. 
 I happened to be amongst the wound- 
 ed, but that wouldn't have kept me from 
 seeking your honour before my wounds 
 were dressed, but that doctor Rosebud 
 told me some officers of the Life-Guards 
 had seen your honour killed, and lying 
 dead on the field of battle; and so, as the 
 blood was flowing fast at the time, T al- 
 lowed them to be bound up ; but as soon 
 as they were, off I set to get your honour's 
 body, that I might bury it. Praised be 
 the holy saints, I was spared that heart- 
 breaking duty ! But with all my eager- 
 ness to search for this, I feared I should 
 never be able to reach the plains of Water- 
 loo again, for I had been carried back to 
 Brussels. What with one thing, what 
 with another — stoppages here — then the 
 pain of my wounds — then the sickness of 
 my heart, I could never get above three 
 yards at a time, without being obliged to 
 halt or sit down; and to be sure it's then I
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 293 
 
 didn't bemoan myself, more especially when 
 the more I looked at the road, the more 
 impassable it seemed, from the slush and 
 the mud at the sides (the middle of it only- 
 being paved, as your honour knows), and 
 the overturned carriages, and dead and 
 dying men and horses that were scattered 
 about it, to say nothing of those that were 
 galloping as for life and death along it ; but 
 at last, by the blessing of God, I got to 
 the end of my journey, and when I did. 
 and found your honour living, by the 
 Powers ! if it had made me suffer more 
 than I could have been able to tell, let me 
 live ever so long, by saint Patrick, the joy 
 of that moment would have made me a> 
 mends for it !" 
 
 " That I am sure of," said Donaghue : 
 " and, under Providence, I certainly con- 
 ceive I owe the preservation of my life 
 to you, for had not you arrived at the 
 very moment you did, I have no doubt 
 those she-devils would have given me my 
 quietus'' 
 
 " Faith, nor I neither; but I think I
 
 294 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 paid them nately for what they intended ; 
 and more nor that, I made my report of 
 them to the commander-in-chief, and sure 
 enough he has them in pound ; and doesn't 
 your honour think they can be tried by a 
 court-martial, for robbing on the king's 
 highway, as the plains of Waterloo must 
 now to be sure be considered, for after 
 fighting for them as we have done, the 
 devil is in it if the king of England hasn't 
 a right to call them his !" 
 
 Donaghue could not help laughing at 
 the idea — " I will not take upon me to 
 decide either of the points,** he said ; " all 
 I know is, what the ladies merit, and 
 which I should have no hesitation in say- 
 ing, if asked." 
 
 " But your honour would have laugh- 
 ed," said the corporal, after a little fur- 
 ther discourse on the subject, restored to 
 all his wonted spirits by the load which 
 this explanation had removed from his 
 mind, " had you heard the caution given 
 me by the man whom I sent to sum- 
 mon doctor Rosebud to your honour,
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 295 
 
 not to let so mad a man have any thing 
 to do with my master — * Why do you 
 think our doctor mad, my good fellow ?' 
 I asked. — * Becase,' said he, * the moment 
 1 delivered the message — " Alive !" cried 
 he ; ** surely you are not in your senses, 
 you damned dog I" then throwing down 
 the dressings he had in his hand, he ran 
 out for his horse, and on his being told, as 
 he was leading him out, an officer would 
 bleed to death before he could return — 
 " If he does," said he, " I'll have you all 
 hanged — wrap plenty of linen round the 
 wound, and there's no danger ;" and with- 
 out stopping to hear another word, set ofiP 
 at a full gallop." 
 
 But as the doctor will be often before 
 the reader, we may as well make him ac- 
 quainted with him at once. He was 
 whimsical, impatient, and fretful — unable 
 to avoid breaking in on the conversation 
 of others, but not of a temper to forgive 
 an offence of the kind himself; jealous in 
 the extreme of attention, but appeared to 
 feel the height of gratitude for the most
 
 296 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 trivial favour ; yet could not be restrained 
 by even a real sense of obligation from 
 expressing himself as your greatest enemy^ 
 if he only imagined (and most of his grie- 
 vances were imaginary) he had the slight- 
 est cause for anger. It is true his resent- 
 ment did not last long, for he was of a for- 
 giving temper ; but the worst of it was^ 
 he forgave himself as easily as he did others, 
 and thus was careless how he gave offence. 
 He meant no ill, but, like others, could 
 not always resist the force of inclination; and 
 though he had mixed much in the world, 
 was credulous in the extreme, and ready 
 to pass judgment upon the actions of 
 others, without giving himself a moment 
 for consideration ; notwithstanding all 
 which, however, he was reckoned a good- 
 natured, harmless, eccentric, pleasant man. 
 He was about the middle age, and with 
 regard to his pei'^on, thin and meagre; 
 there was rather a wildness in his counte- 
 nance, and his eyes, which were very pro- 
 minent, were so badly set in his head, that 
 when speaking to one person, he always
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 297 
 
 seemed to be looking at another ; added 
 to which, his delivery was rapid, his ges- 
 ticulations those of the most violent 
 Frenchman ; and, like him, to an inordi- 
 nate portion of curiosity he united a rea- 
 diness to be amused w^ith the merest 
 trifles; for instance, coming into his pa- 
 tient's chamber one morning in high glee, 
 with an open paper in his hand — " Well, 
 O'Brien," he said, chuckling as if in great 
 delight, " I think I have brought some- 
 thing with me that will make you forget 
 recent matters for awhile. What do you 
 think this paper is, which I have just pick- 
 ed up in the court below ?" 
 
 " When I know the contents you shall 
 hear, doctor." 
 
 " Oh ho ! will that be the case, Mr. 
 Wiseacre? but come," first glancing to see 
 that Cormick Avas not within hearinc:r. 
 
 o- 
 
 " you shall have the morceau^ and a pre- 
 cious one it is ;" and so saying he began to 
 read as follows : — 
 
 o 3
 
 298 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " To Mr, Pat Disney, 
 
 " Of BaUintifod^ near Altoir-na-Grrniey the CastU of hh 
 
 Honour^ O' Donaghue O'Brien^ Esquire, County, 
 
 Ire/and. 
 
 " DEAR PAT, 
 
 " This comes hoping, with a kind 
 salutation, that you and all friends are 
 well as your relation, who now, out of 
 love, and by way of relaxation, sits down 
 to amuse you with a bit of a narration. 
 
 " But first of our travels. Of the sa- 
 credness of nun's flesh we have had no 
 manifestation ; and as to what you've heard 
 of fasting friars, 'tis all botheration— they 
 all love women, wine, and a little sly re- 
 creation, just as well as us lads of a less 
 holy vocation; to wit, father Murphy's 
 pretty niece, though no relation — but mum 
 — far from me be any base insinuation. 
 
 " Boney, now it appears, had come to a 
 determination of fighting the English, 
 when Brussels was their station, with eve- 
 ry hope and pious wish for their utter ex- 
 tirpation — ' For,' says he, * to secure me 
 in this my usurpation, Russia, Prussia,
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 299 
 
 and all of them, must be sent to damna- 
 tion ! that may flourish at least the pre- 
 sent French generation, who, like devils, 
 will now fight at my instigation. 
 
 " He had good grounds for this his de- 
 claration, for they all fought with the 
 greatest desperation, as if bent, as to be 
 sure they were, on our extermination. Oh ! 
 had you seen — but were I to tell you all 
 without reservation, you'd certainly accuse 
 me of great exaggeration — suffice it to say, 
 we all fought without cessation, till there 
 was scarce one alive to give this relation ; 
 and then I went to search — oh ! what was 
 my consternation, to find the best of mas- 
 ters almost without animation, after laying 
 about him as he did to rare admiration ! 
 
 " Blucher followed on them, flying with- 
 out intermission, till he left the invincibles 
 in a most woful condition. But I almost 
 forgot — I hope no want of due commend- 
 ation will prevent my dear master from 
 having a place in the forthcoming instal- 
 lation. 
 
 " We are in snug quarters now, a kind
 
 300 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE, 
 
 of old fortification, where we make our- 
 selves quite at home, and kindly welcome 
 to every thing, not forgetting the wine 
 cellar, I won't say to the owner's great 
 mortification ; but, entre nous, that is 
 French for — between ourselves, I believe, 
 poor soul ! he's had, from the knights of 
 the sword, some little provocation ; but let 
 that pass. Our next move will be Paris, 
 that epitome, as they say here, of all that's 
 grand in creation, at the thoughts of see- 
 ing which I feel no little exultation ; and 
 where we shall find monsieur in a fine 
 rage and agitation, at being obliged to 
 strip the Louvre, an old palace — I explain 
 as I go on, Pat, for your better informa- 
 tion — of pilfered property, pictures, sta- 
 tues, and what not, of rare estimation, to 
 the great joy of those who had to mourn 
 their transportation. But I must now 
 conclude, with love to all friends, first 
 taking occasion to assure all concerned 
 about me I keep out of temptation, and 
 as far as I can, avoid dissipation ; and shall 
 be, while life remains, or the slightest puU
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 301 
 
 sation, yoi^r friend, my dear Pat, as well 
 as relation, 
 
 " Terence M'Cormick, 
 
 •* Corporal in regiment of Light Diajitvjns." 
 
 " There !" said Rosebud, when he had 
 concluded, " what do you think of that ? ' 
 
 " Why, that Cormick is a better scribe 
 than I imaghied." 
 
 " Pooh ! it wasn't about his handwri- 
 ting I was speaking, but his style." 
 
 " Why, perhaps original in its way." 
 
 ** Ay, egad the fellow has some fun in 
 him." 
 
 " Yes, and he could not be in better 
 hands than yours, doctor, to make him 
 display it." 
 
 " Why, yes, I do love mirth — laughter, 
 that makes glad the heart of man." 
 
 " Ay, but it must be previously glad, 
 before laughter can have any effect on it." 
 
 " Oh, pooh, no ! let it only once yield 
 a little to cheerfulness, and, my life on't ! 
 care is banished."
 
 302 TTIADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " Ah ! this is fine talking." 
 
 " Fine talking ! don't let me hear you j 
 attempting to contradict me ; you, a fine 
 dashing fellow, that have only to be seen 
 
 to be -and, like another Othello, will 
 
 now be able to speak of what is so touch- 
 ing to female hearts, * of moving accidents 
 by flood and field:' if I had your youth, 
 and your other qualifications for charm- 
 
 ing " 
 
 " Now that we are on the subject, doc- J 
 tor," said Donaghue, " I have sometimes ! 
 wondered that a man of your social habits j 
 never thought of changing your state." j 
 
 " Pooh ! that is the very reason I never \ 
 did. I knew I was quite of too convivial \ 
 a disposition to think of any thing of the 
 kind, and so early gave up all thoughts of 
 it. No, no — I knew it would never do 
 for me, after passing a pleasant evening j 
 with a set of friends, perhaps singing — j 
 * My wife shall dance and I will sing,' to 
 return home, to get a matrimonial lecture 
 read to me for staying out beyond what ] 
 was considered a proper hour; indeed, !
 
 TRADITION' OF THE CASTLE. 303 
 
 from what I observed of the cares and dis- 
 quietudes occasioned by near connexions 
 and great intimacies, I almost determined, 
 ere far advanced in life, to avoid contract- 
 ing any friendships." 
 
 " But a determination which I am sure," 
 said Donaghue, gratefully, " I have rea- 
 son to know you did not adhere to." 
 
 " Why, yes, perhaps so," replied the 
 other, with some little emotion ; " but 
 indeed I hope I never was deficient in the 
 capability of forming them, though I 
 thought it the safest plan to do so, for I 
 was not slow in observing the greater part 
 of life's troubles were not on our own ac- 
 count, but that of others — that it was in 
 the power of one person to make a hun- 
 dred miserable, by partaking of his per- 
 sonal afflictions, but that he could make 
 only one happy, by partaking of his per- 
 sonal pleasures. For instance, a man of a 
 philanthropic temper becomes acquainted 
 with those about him, his acquaintance 
 with some produces friendship, and friend- 
 ship occasions sorrow. Every trouble of
 
 304 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 mind, or disease of your friend, affects 
 you. It is true you also participate in his 
 pleasure, as far as it can be communicat- 
 ed ; but these are not in equal proportions. 
 Should your friend increase his possessions, 
 you are not the richer; but if he is in 
 want, you are poorer: if he is in health, 
 as a thing of course, you do not rejoice; 
 but if he is sick, you mourn : if he has an 
 agreeable wife, you have none of his plea- 
 sure ; but if he loses her, at least half his 
 pain is poured into your bosom. And sup- 
 pose life passes without any exertions of 
 friendship, but merely in a belief that, if 
 required, they would be made, I see my 
 friend advance in years, he loses his per- 
 son and strength, death sets his mark up- 
 on him, and at last claims him for his own. 
 What I see in him, he sees in me; and all 
 these sensations are multiplied, according 
 to the number of our intimate connexions. 
 Fully sensible of this truth, I very early 
 in life determined to have no friend at all 
 — a determination which the unsettled life 
 the profession I entered into occasioned.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. SOS 
 
 helped me in some degree to keep ; but 
 which," stretching out his hand in the 
 kindest manner imaginable to him, " I 
 felt tempted to break the moment I began 
 to know you, though why," laughing, " I 
 can't for the life of me tell." 
 
 As soon as Donaghue was able to travel, 
 he prepared to follow the army to Paris, 
 to the great regret of Rosebud, who was 
 not yet able to leave Brussels, on account 
 of the number of wounded that still re- 
 mained under his care. 
 
 To describe what Donaghue felt on en- 
 tering this great city, even more from the 
 reflections it excited, than the observations 
 it afforded him an opportunity of making, 
 would be impossible. All the horrors that 
 had thrilled him in the reading rose to his 
 imagination at the moment, deadening the 
 sensations he must otherwise have experi- 
 enced ; but as this subsided, he felt indeed 
 the liveliest pleasure at finding himself in 
 a place so justly celebrated, and forming 
 so striking a contrast to those he was ac- 
 customed to. His eye roved, unsated.
 
 306 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 over its ancient piles — his foot, untired, 
 trod its streets — and he felt as if the curio- 
 sity and interest it excited could never be 
 sufficiently gratified; but such must ever 
 be the feeling of an anxious and inquisi- 
 tive mind, on finding itself in any cele- 
 brated place, entirely new to it — we gaze 
 with breathless eagerness around us, and 
 feel as if a new world w as opening to our 
 view. 
 
 But society, so long the boast of France, 
 was certainly not then what it had been 
 represented to him ; but after the violent 
 convulsions the kingdom had so recently 
 experienced, it would have been wonder- 
 ful if it had. The ferment occasioned by 
 the changes and counterchanges that had 
 so rapidly succeeded each other, had not, 
 as yet, by any means subsided ; but it is 
 not immediately after the passing away of 
 the storm that the sea ceases to be trou- 
 bled; the spirit of party still prevailed 
 every where, and jarring interests were 
 the consequence ; its turbulence was even 
 carried into the public places, creating
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 307 
 
 continual uproar, not merely between the 
 conquered and the conquerors— those who, 
 keenly remembering former insults, seized 
 the longed-for moment of retaliating for 
 them — but between the Parisians them- 
 selves. To the grandeur of the Thuilleries, 
 the most interesting to O'Brien of all the 
 public structures in Paris, from the recol- 
 lections connected with it, he did justice; 
 but still, as has been observed by a tour- 
 ist, there was a silent gloominess round it 
 that affected the spirits, such as could 
 scarcely have been expected about the re- 
 sidence of a court. 
 
 He rejoiced to have arrived ere the spo- 
 liation of the Louvre had commenced— 
 that building, so worthy on its own ac- 
 count of a visit, yet, notwithstanding the 
 beauty of its architecture, ard the reflec- 
 tion of its having been the favourite palace 
 of the immortalized Louis le Grand, al- 
 lowed to be neglected and defaced. 
 
 As he alternately contemplated the re- 
 spective piles, what recollections were re- 
 called — what scenes of crime, of horror.
 
 308 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 and voluptuousness, rose to his imagina- 
 tion ! As he dwelt on them — with con- 
 trasted feelings on the enormities of a Ca- 
 therine de Medicis, and the varied amours 
 of Louis the Fourteenth, a thousand hor- 
 rible shadows and unreal mockeries seem- 
 ed to pass before him — the flitting phan- 
 toms of the actors in those scenes, once so 
 renowned in their day, but long since 
 passed into air, leaving nought but their 
 remembrance behind. 
 
 O'Brien generally resorted to one parti- 
 cular table-d'kofe, from observing that he 
 was always sure of finding the best com- 
 pany there. In the course of his visits to 
 it, he was at last struck by the singularity 
 of finding himself always an object of fixed 
 attention to a gentleman who always sat 
 opposite to him, as if on purpose to have 
 a better opportunity of w^atching him. At 
 last, one evening, as he was repairing from 
 it to one of the cafes, the stranger, follow- 
 ing him with quickness to the door — 
 " Pardon, sir," said he, " this interruption, 
 but if my eyes do not deceive me, you are
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 309 
 
 lieutenant O'Brien, of regiment of 
 
 light dragoons ?" 
 
 O'Brien bowed. 
 
 " Ay, ay," cried the other, " my heart 
 has been for some time telling me this, 
 that you were the person to whom it owed 
 the greatest obligation." 
 
 " Me the person, sir !" said Donaghue ; 
 " pardon me, but really I cannot call to 
 my recollection ever having had the ho- 
 nour of meeting you elsewhere than here, 
 as vou seem to intimate." 
 
 " I can soon, however, convince you to 
 the contrary. This, however, is no place for 
 any particular explanation ; but if you 
 will do me the honour of accompanying 
 me to my lodgings, you will soon find 
 what I say to be the fact. In the mean 
 time, know I an\ the trooper whose life you 
 so gallantly and humanely defended, at the 
 risk of your own, at the late battle of 
 * Waterloo." 
 
 Donaghue had too many reasons for re- 
 collecting that circumstance, to have ever, 
 for a moment, forgotten it ; but even if he
 
 310 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 had had any previous knowledge of the 
 stranger, he would scarcely have recog- 
 nised him, from the alteration effected by 
 the change of habiliments, both in his ap- 
 pearance and apparent rank of life — that 
 of the former was now such as to justify 
 an opinion of the latter being that of a 
 gentleman. 
 
 There seemed to be something curious, 
 if not romantic, in the affair; and more 
 out of curiosity perhaps than any other 
 feeling, he suffered himself to accept the 
 stranger's invitation. 
 
 In their way to the hotel where he 
 lodged, he informed Donaghue he was a 
 Spaniard, known by the title of don Cal- 
 lan — information that did not by any means 
 tend to lessen the impatience of the other 
 for what further he had to hear. On their 
 arrival a table Vv-as spread with wine and 
 fruit, and they were left alone. Don Cal- 
 lan having begged his guest would please 
 himself-—" And is it really the case," he 
 cried, suddenly turning his eyes full up- 
 on Donaghue, and keenly observing him.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 311 
 
 " that you did not in the slightest degree 
 recollect my features ?" 
 
 " Assuredly ; it would be strange in- 
 deed if I could recollect what I had never 
 before observed." 
 
 " Never ! never do you say?" in a strange 
 hurried wild kind of manner; " oh, recall 
 those words, senor I look back — consider !" 
 Then seeing that Donaghue was staring 
 at him, as if uncertain what to think — 
 " I beg your pardon — excuse me," as if 
 suddenly recollecting himself; " have the 
 goodness to impute any thing that may 
 appear extraordinary in my words or be- 
 haviour to — to the effects of a terrible 
 wound I long since received here," putting 
 his hand to his forehead in evident confu- 
 sion. 
 
 " Certainly ; but you seem flurried, se- 
 nor— pray compose yourself; I shall regret 
 your recognition of me, if it occasions you 
 any unpleasant agitation." 
 
 " And can it do otherwise — can it do 
 otherwise ?" cried the other, starting from 
 his chair, and traversing the apartment in
 
 312 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the greatest disorder ; " can I behold him 
 whom I have — that is, I mean, the person 
 who has recalled to my mind the degrada- 
 tion I was obliged to submit to for a sea- 
 son, for — for we Spaniards, senor," resu- 
 ming his seat with a ghastly smile, " are a 
 proud race; and to have been compelled 
 to appear as a common soldier for a time 
 — yet was it not what I merited, or rather 
 would not the condition of a galley-slave 
 be more suitable to my deserts ! for — for — 
 oh ! I am an unhappy man, senor !" and 
 throwing himself back in his chair, he co- 
 vered his face with his handkerchief — ** I 
 
 have that at my heart " 
 
 Donaghue became utterly at a loss what 
 conjecture to form — whether to impute to 
 remorse or madness the strange conduct 
 he witnessed ; yet, if to the former, how 
 in any way could he be concerned in awa- 
 kening it, as appeared to be the case ? all 
 that he could decide on was, that he would 
 shorten his stay, and, as much as possible, 
 avoid any further acquaintance with the 
 Spaniard.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 313 
 
 The latter, uncovering his face, and a- 
 gain his piercing regards turned upon him, 
 quickly discovered his perplexity, and in 
 consequence — " Senor," said he, " I see I 
 have disturbed you, and I have to apolo- 
 gize for it ; but in consideration of what 
 I have mentioned, I hope I shall not find 
 it difficult to do so ; but pray take wine, 
 the cruel disorder I have been attacked by, 
 has rendered me remiss in attention to 
 you. As I was observing, senor, I have 
 that at my heart that might well excuse 
 and account for, independent of any thing 
 else, any thing that appeared strange or in- 
 consistent in my manner. A — a sense of 
 unmerited injuries — but my story is a brief 
 one — with your permission I will relate it, 
 as the best mode I can take of explaining 
 that I do not complain without reason." 
 
 Donaghue bowed, and the other thus 
 proceeded — " If there are revolutions in 
 empires, how much less is it to be won- 
 da*ed at that there should be revolutions 
 in families, though I have reason to boast 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 314 TRADITION OF THE CASTLlil. 
 
 of mine, being descended in a right line 
 from those illustrious Goths who so long 
 resisted the irruptions of the barbaric 
 Moors ; yet, through some unexpected vi- 
 cissitudes, I was compelled to embark in 
 mercantile concerns, which, however, I had 
 no reason to regret, from the success that 
 uniformly crowned every undertaking; so 
 that, in comparatively a short time, the 
 fame of my wealth reestablished me on 
 the eminence from which I had been com- 
 pelled to descend, and gave me no small 
 influence in tlie state; in a w^ord, my cof- 
 fers frequently supplied the emergencies 
 of government, and powerfully aided in 
 rendering that battle successful, which we 
 fought with our hearts as well as swords, 
 for the restoration of our riglitful king. 
 But, just Heavens ! what was my recom- 
 pence for my patiiotism, and my rejection 
 of the splendid offers made me by the usur- 
 per of the throne ? scorn and neglect, in 
 consequence of the defaming voice of a 
 villain about the court, who being under 
 obligations to me, which he had not the in-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 315 
 
 clination to discharge, adopted this mode 
 of trying to rid himself of his creditor, en- 
 tertaining but little doubt that his accusa- 
 tion of underhand and treasonable prac- 
 tices against me would cost me my life, or 
 at least occasion my banishment. ^ly ba- 
 nishment it certainly occasioned, but not 
 through the sentence of a prejudiced court, 
 but the suggestions of my own resent- 
 ment. I precipitately left the country; 
 but had hardly done so, ere I repented 
 the measure, from the consideration of 
 having left ail my property behind me, at 
 the mercy of my enemies. But the die 
 was cast — the misconstruction I was sen- 
 sible the circumstance was liable to, ren- 
 dered return impossible, and nothing re- 
 gained but to resume those arms for my 
 support, which I had previously taken up 
 in the cause of an ungrateful king. To 
 decide under whose banner I would enlist, 
 was the only point for consideration ; but 
 this was soon determined — to the brave 
 and generous English I quickly decided 
 p 2
 
 316 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 on attaching myself, feeling as if I should 
 find myself less a stranger with them than 
 with others; this not merely from the 
 knowledge acquired of them through their 
 services in the Peninsula, but also in their 
 own country, whither my trading con- 
 cerns took me more than once, and to 
 which circumstance, my repeated visits to 
 that favourite isle of the ocean, you are 
 to ascribe, senor, my speaking the lan- 
 guage with the fluency I do, so as often 
 indeed to be mistaken for a native of it." 
 
 And here it is to be understood, that 
 after addressing Donaghue in French, and 
 conversing with him some time in that 
 tongue, he suddenly slid into English, 
 speaking it indeed with a facility rather 
 surprising to Donaghue in a foreigner. 
 Observing he paused, he took the oppor- 
 tunity of expressing his sympathy in his 
 wrongs, adding, they were indeed enough 
 to " weigh a royal merchant down." 
 
 *• Enough ! just Powers ! to force the 
 
 descendant of a noble Goth but I will 
 
 not trespass upon your patience — what
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 317 
 
 immediately followed my joining the stan- 
 dard of your great captain, you know ; but 
 as I have taxed your sympathy, it is but 
 fair to state that, with regard to pecuniary 
 matters, I have no further claim on it. 
 Through means too tedious to detail, Fer- 
 dinand was convinced of the injustice he 
 did me, the result of which has been my 
 recall to Spain, and the restoration of the 
 w^hole of my immense property." 
 
 This was a finale to his story which Do- 
 nagh.ue, from the preface, had little ex- 
 pected, and he expressed himself to that 
 effect, protesting, since matters had ended 
 in this way, he did not think don Callan 
 should allow himself to be affected as he 
 was by past events. 
 
 " What, not by the recollection of in- 
 juries?" 
 
 " Certainly, not injuries atoned for, and 
 which, according to your own statement, 
 were the result of imposition, not ingrati- 
 tude." 
 
 " Then it is your opinion injuries re- 
 dressed should be forgiven ?"
 
 318 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " Assuredly — it must be the opinion of 
 every Christian." 
 
 *' But are there not some that the spirit 
 must rebel against forgiving — of so black, 
 so base a nature, that the boiling blood 
 must rise up in tumult at the bare idea of 
 being asked to pardon them ?" 
 
 " There may ; but still, if atoned for as 
 far " 
 
 " Ay, there's the rub, for atonement, as 
 I take it, is but another word for restitu- 
 tion ; and there's something in that so hu- 
 miliating, so to give back, to disgorge, 
 
 to " 
 
 " With these sentiments, your gratitude 
 to your king must indeed be very great !" 
 said Donaghue, sarcastically. 
 
 " My king ! my king ! why what has ray 
 king done for me ?" 
 
 " That which you seem to think so dif- 
 ficult — made restitution to you." 
 
 " Oh ! ay, given me back my own.*' 
 
 " Well, and what is restitution but that 
 — giving a man back his own." 
 
 '* True ; but then supposing, senor, a
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 319 
 
 man is not conscious of being robbed, what 
 necessity is there for forcing him to know 
 he has been, by making any restitution to 
 him ?' 
 
 " That is a question which I should 
 conceive a man's own conscience could best 
 answer. If I am sensible of having done 
 a man a wrong, it is not because he is ig- 
 norant of the circumstance that I am not 
 bound by every law of reHgion and mo- 
 rality to make him atonement for it ; and 
 it seems to me indeed as if the less suspi- 
 cious he was of the injury, the more im- 
 perative on me was the obligation to re- 
 dress it" 
 
 ** Well, senor, I must confess " 
 
 ** Excuse me," said Donaghue, coolly, 
 and rising as he spoke, he pushed aside his 
 chair, still more undecided than ever as to 
 what opinion to form of his entertainer ; 
 " our opinions on this subject, as well as 
 many others, probably might differ. Adieu ! 
 I leave you, happy to think you are re- 
 stored to your proper rank in society." 
 
 Don Callan, now evidently under the
 
 320 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 greatest alarm, but without any appear- 
 any of that wildness he had before evin- 
 ced, threw himself between him and the 
 door. — " Senor," he said, " I see yon are 
 displeased ; and should I allow you to 
 leave me with that impression on my mind, 
 I shall be miserable. Violent agitation 
 frequently occasions inadvertencies in 
 words and manner that disgust— -let not 
 that be the case now ; 1 pray you to know^ 
 me a little better ere you decide upon my 
 unworthiness for your further acquaint- 
 ance ; either consent to stay longer now, 
 or, if it suit your humour better, come 
 back to supper, when I hope I shall be 
 better able to evince my gratitude for the 
 honour of your company than I have now 
 been." 
 
 Donaghue wished to refuse, but knew 
 not how, so overwhelming w^ere his en- 
 treaties, and at length reluctantly con- 
 sented to return to supper. From his ho-? 
 tel he repaired to the garden of the ThuiU 
 leries, where, tlirowing himself upon c«ie 
 of the numerous benches provided there
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 321 
 
 for the accommodation of the curious and 
 the idle, his thoughts soon became di- 
 verted from his new acquaintance, by the 
 variety of different objects that passed in 
 review before him, almost from all na- 
 tions; and evincing, not merely by cha- 
 racteristic traits, but in some instances by 
 a peculiar style of costume, the country 
 they belonged to, a kind of masquerade 
 scene was presented to his view that high- 
 ly amused him. 
 
 He was completely engrossed by it, when 
 he received a smart slap on the shoulder. He 
 turned round, expecting to see one of his 
 brother-officers, and beheld his friend, doc- 
 tor Rosebud. — " Well, here I am," cried 
 the doctor, as they shook hands, " with a 
 return in my pocket, not of the killed and 
 wounded, but the well and healing, come 
 to have a scamper with you and the other 
 lads about the neighbourhood. Egad ! this 
 seems the very place for me, all mirth and 
 no care — shows at the comer of every 
 street, jugglers, mountebanks, dancing 
 P 3
 
 322 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 dogs, skipping girls — every thing seeming 
 as if it was a holiday. No wonder the 
 Frenchmen appear as if they were mad ; by 
 Jove ! I believe I should run wild with 
 pleasure if I remained here." 
 
 And indeed, what between joy at meet- 
 ing again a person he so much liked (for 
 his likings and dislikings were all in the 
 extreme), and pleasure at finding himself 
 in a place of which he had heard so much, 
 he appeared to have done this already, in- 
 somuch that he soon began to attract no- 
 tice, which Donaghue perceiving, hurried 
 him from the spot; but he still went on 
 in the same manner, and more than once 
 Donaghue was compelled to entreat him 
 to be less vehement in his tones and ac- 
 tion, if he did not wish to be followed by 
 crowds ; but in vain — the feelings of the 
 moment were not to be restrained, and to 
 give utterance to them in a quiet way, was 
 out of the question. 
 
 Having strolled, or rather raced, for the 
 doctor was rapid in every movement from 
 one place to another, in and out of various
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 323 
 
 cafes, and over great part of the Palais 
 Royale, which, above all places, was that 
 which Rosebud most wished to see, till 
 the evening was far advanced, Donaghue 
 was obliged to mention his engagement 
 to him, to account for leaving him. — " But 
 we shall meet early in the morning, you 
 know," he said, for the doctor had secured 
 apartments in the same hotel with him, 
 " and then I am yours for the remainder 
 of the day." 
 
 Rosebud inquired where he was going, 
 and on learning the particulars of all that 
 had occurred between him and the Spani- 
 ard — " Egad !" he cried, '*' you shall take 
 me with you, for a pleasant supper is ex- 
 actly what I like to conclude a pleasant 
 day with ; besides, I have long been wish- 
 ing for an introduction to a real Spaniard 
 — to hear him, like an old Jew, talk of 
 the number of hats he has in his family; 
 I want also to see whether this fellow's 
 gratitude is sincere to you, which I am 
 rather inclined to doubt, from his not hav- 
 ing come forward sooner to seek you ; un-
 
 324. TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 der such obligations as he was to you, he 
 shouldn't have allowed a minute, instead 
 c^ weeks, to elapse, after obtaining the 
 povrer of evincing it, without searching 
 you out." 
 
 " My dear doctor," said Donaghue, " I 
 must entreat yoii to recollect that you are 
 not to expect every man to resemble your- 
 self;" and, alarmed by this observation, he 
 proceeded to dwell on what he conceived 
 the extreme irritability of don CaUan's 
 nerves, in consequence of the unfortunate 
 wound he had received, and the caution 
 that was therefore necessary to be observed 
 in hie company. 
 
 The doctor listened with attention to 
 him, but only replied by a nod ; and, du- 
 bious of having had any effect upon him, 
 Donaghue almost began to repent of hav- 
 ing acceded to his proposal of taking him 
 to the Spaniard's. 
 
 On their arrival, the doctor was intro- 
 duced as his particular friend, and met 
 with a very polite welcome from don 
 .Callan. Mutual compliments having pass-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE, 325 
 
 ed, and the Spaniard again proceeding to 
 express the great pleasure it afforded him 
 to receive a friend of Donaghue's — " Oh ! 
 that of course, senor," said Rosebud, abrupt- 
 ly — " that of course ; it would be very- 
 strange, ver)' sur]irising indeed, if you 
 were not happy, and gratified to see any 
 one iiKany way connected with a person to 
 whom you owe the obligation of having 
 saved your life, and who, on your account, 
 incurred such sufferings, as I, who had 
 him under my care for upwards of a month 
 ivithout any hopes of his recovery, can 
 well testify. You look surprised, don 
 Callan, at my vehemence, but I always 
 speak warmly when I am interested, and 
 I certainly am interested, highljr so, in 
 having the generosity of my young friend 
 here estimated as it ought to be." 
 
 " My God, doctor !" cried Donaghue, 
 in a tone of impatience. 
 
 The doctor gave his usual " Pish I" when 
 interrupted in any thing he was intent on, 
 and thus proceeded — " But it is not on his 
 account alone, don Callan, I am speaking
 
 326 THADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 in this manner, but also on yours, in order 
 to afford you that opportunity which, as 
 a noble Spaniard, I am sure you must re- 
 joice at, of clearing yourself from the im- 
 putation of ingratitude, such as, I rather 
 apprehend, you have incurred, by not 
 sooner seeking out your preserver, but 
 which, T am happy to find, you have now 
 amply the power of exonerating yourself 
 from." 
 
 ** Really, doctor," still more discompo- 
 sed, cried Donaghue, " I must entreat '* 
 
 " And I must entreat," said the doctor, 
 " that we have none of these high flights. 
 Don Callan, as a man of the world, will, 
 I dare say, readily agree with me, that 
 services from those we have no right, as 
 utter strangers to us, to expect them from, 
 deserve requital." -^ 
 
 " Assuredly ; and none can more tho- 
 roughly feel what I owe your generous 
 friend than I do. Sacred Heaven ! do I 
 not owe to him the preservation of a life 
 I was by no means prepared to resign ?" 
 
 " Ay, very likely," said the doctor.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 327 
 
 coolly ; " few of us are ready to be whip- 
 ped off in a moment ; but in a case of that 
 kind, don Callan," in a moment losing his 
 recent seriousness, at the idea of being 
 able to obtain some amusement for him- 
 self at the expence of the Spaniard, '•' you 
 are better off than we of a different per- 
 suasion are, from the snug place for halt- 
 ing at you have in the next world, till it 
 is seen what the prayers of your friends 
 below can do for you ; but, after all, don 
 Callan, allow me to ask you gravely, as a 
 man of sense — by that I mean a man who 
 has seen a good deal of the world, and, of 
 course, it is natural from the circumstance 
 to suppose got his mind enlightened — 
 whether you really can, or do believe, that 
 once gone, any thing that can be after- 
 wards done for you in this world can be 
 of service to you in the next?" 
 
 " God forbid I did not !" replied don 
 Callan, shuddering ; " for if 1 did not, how 
 could I bear to dwell on the narrow escape 
 I have so recently had from sudden death?" 
 
 " Oh, well!" with something very like
 
 328 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 a sly sneer, " there may be reasons for ren-r; j 
 dering it comfortable to some people ta 
 believe in the efficacy of other people's 
 prayers; and so every one to their way of 
 thinking, don Callan," giving him a smart 
 slap on the shoulder, for Rosebud was not 
 one of those who require a long time to . 
 get acquainted ere he conceives he may? 
 take liberties; and the greater the surprise 
 these were calculated to excite, the morew 
 he was always inclined to take them. 
 
 To the great relief of Donaghue, supper^ 
 was now announced ; the respite, however,'<^ 
 it afforded either him or the other, from 
 the tormenting Rosebud, was of short con- 
 tinuance. Nothing could divert him from i ■ 
 the object he had in view, and accordingly^ 
 he soon reverted again to the incidents of 
 the recent battle. — " All things considered, 
 don Callan," he resumed, " I can't help*i 
 being surprised at your so readily recog- 
 nising the features of my friend, though 
 a very slight inquiry would have sufficed 
 to let you know who it was you owed the 
 preservation of your life to; they must
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 329 
 
 have made a very strong impression on 
 you, to allow you to recollect them so im- 
 mediately, considering the circumstances 
 under which you first saw hifti." 
 
 " What ! with the leisure, the opportu- 
 nity I had for contemplating them ! would 
 it not have been rather wonderful if the 
 reverse had been the case?" 
 
 ** The leisure ! the opportunity ! why 
 what the deuce ! I thought you never saw 
 him till at the moment he interposed be- 
 tween you and the rascally Frenchmen 
 that were on the point of cutting you 
 down ?" 
 
 " No, certainly — assuredly not," replied 
 the other, but changing colour, and in ex- 
 treme agitation — " no, never — never, till 
 that moment." 
 
 ** And the devil's in it if that was a mo- 
 ment," said the doctor, " for taking a cool 
 survey of any one ;" and he was proceed- 
 ing to follow up the observation by fur- 
 ther laughter, when Donaghue checked 
 him, by significantly putting his hand to 
 his forehead.
 
 330 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 " No, never, never — I never saw him 
 till then," went on don Callan ; " so it 
 must have been my gratitude that pre- 
 sented me with his likeness in my sleep." 
 
 " And a very good one, faith, it seems 
 she drew," observed the doctor, dryly, and 
 who, had his life almost depended on it, 
 could not have turned from the bent of 
 his humour ; " but it is to be hoped she 
 will exert herself in some other way, that 
 she will not stop at shadows." 
 
 " I understand you, senor," said the 
 Spaniard, reddening ; ** and believe me, no 
 one can entertain a higher sense of obliga- 
 tion than I do to your friend ; and did t-- 
 know — could any mode be devised '* 
 
 " Oh ! if that be all you are at a loss 
 for, I will soon settle that point," said 
 Kosebud, eagerly drawing his chair closer 
 to his host's, and lowering his voice — " You 
 are as rich as a Jew, I understand, and 
 don't know what to do with your money. 
 Now do you lodge a certain sum of mo- 
 ney, we'll say three thousand guineas, 
 with the agent of my friend's regiment, to
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 331 
 
 purchase him the first vacant troop that 
 occurs, and you will do what you ought, 
 and of course lighten your feelings." 
 
 " I — I rejoice at the suggestion ; but 
 then the result — what may not be the re- 
 sult of rendering him thus — are we not 
 already on dangerous ground ?'* 
 
 " By the Lord, 1 hope not !" cried Rose- 
 bud, beginning to think this manner of 
 the Spaniard all a trick to avoid coming 
 to the point ; " you don't imagine, don 
 Callan, that there is another gunpowder 
 plot hatching here?" 
 
 " Come, 1 must interpose," said Dona- 
 ghue ; " 1 hope, don Callan, you take all 
 my friend here has been saying, as I am 
 sure he meant it should be taken, in the 
 light of a jest ?" 
 
 " You do !" said Rosebud, sneeringly ; 
 " how I admire your delicacy ! but, faith, 
 I believe," drawing away his chair from 
 don Callan, " you won't be disappointed." 
 
 Donaghue saw he was hurt, and well 
 knowing his irascible temper, set about 
 giving such a turn to the conversation a$
 
 33^ TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 he thought might amuse him. He had 
 travelled a good deal, and loved to talk of 
 what he had seen, and accordingly gra- 
 dually led to the subject ; but it would not 
 do — Rosebud saw his drift, and thinking 
 he was treating him as a child, and that 
 the Spaniard also thought the same, from 
 a smile he saw stealing over his visage, he 
 would not allow himself to be put into 
 good humour. Having sat gravely listen- 
 ing for some time — " Well, now I sup- 
 pose you are done," he cried, on his paus- 
 ing; " should I ever be inclined to pub- 
 lish my travels, I shall apply to you for 
 assistance, you seem to understand the 
 art of embellishing so well. — However, I 
 have not by any means, don Callan, seen 
 the wonders this gentleman has chosen to 
 assert ; but I have travelled far enough to 
 see that violent professions mean nothing, 
 and that the gratitude of a man who, hav- 
 ing the power to do so, yet delays to prove 
 
 it, is not worth a fig — not " 
 
 '' Good God, doctor !" again impatient- 
 ly exclaimed Donaghue, fearful, notwith-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 333 
 
 standing the uneasiness he evinced, some 
 suspicion might be created of a collusion 
 between them ; then again recollecting 
 the easiness with which he was offended, 
 he suddenly altered his tone, and — " I was 
 thinking," he said 
 
 " And so was I," deliberately said Rose- 
 tod,' " that it was not very polite in you 
 to be interrupting me when I was speak- 
 ing." 
 
 " It gets late," said Donaghue. 
 
 " So much the better," replied the other, 
 " but that won't do either, for don Callan, 
 I am sure, is too polite and too hospitable 
 not to wish for our company as long as we 
 choose to favour him with it ; and late to 
 bed and early to rise, is my maxim, life be- 
 ing too short to lose half of it in stupifying 
 oneself by sleep." 
 
 Donaghue, perceiving he was not to be 
 moved till he pleased himself, and fearful, 
 if he listened much longer to him, he 
 might not be able to maintain that com- 
 mand over himself he wished, now plead-
 
 334 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ed the heat of the room as a pretext for 
 repairing to a balcony in the outer one. 
 
 He had no sooner withdrawn, than the 
 Spaniard, in a low and confidential tone, 
 addressing himself to Rosebud, and with 
 a perfect collectedness of manner — "I 
 should be dull indeed of comprehension," 
 he said, " if I did not perfectly understand 
 your recent hints and allusions ; but allow 
 me to ask, did you not style your friend 
 a soldier of fortune ? — how then " 
 
 " I see your mistake,' cried Rosebud, 
 in an altered tone, ** and it was a very 
 natural one; but, senor, in our country, 
 and our language, the expression literally 
 liieans a person who has nothing but his 
 sword to depend on. ^ly young friend 
 was born to very different prospects ; but 
 
 either through imprudence or but you 
 
 are ill, senor !" seeing don Callan turn of 
 an ashy whiteness. 
 
 " No, not now," said the other, as he 
 passed his hand across his forehead — " not 
 now," as if fearful, without this assurance, 
 he would call for assistance ; " I am sub-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 335 
 
 ject to sudden faintnesses, but they are 
 over in a moment — proceed, I pray you." 
 
 " Why, I was about saying, senor, that 
 either through imprudence, or villainy of 
 some kind or other, my young friend has 
 seen a noble inheritance vanish from his 
 grasp. 1 am not much given to extrava- 
 gant commendations, but, upon my soul^ 
 I cannot speak what I think of him ; and 
 did it depend on me — but what is the use 
 of saying what I would do for him, when 
 I am scarcely better off myself than he is !" 
 
 " Well, don't despair," said don Cal- 
 lan, extending his hand in the most friend- 
 ly manner to him, and which, in an in- 
 stant, won the warm heart of the doctor, 
 accessible to the slightest proof of kind- 
 ness or regard^ " there are those who pos- 
 sess amply the power of serving him, with 
 perhaps an equal inclination; but from 
 his possessing, as I see, all the sensitive- 
 ness of real pride, I perceive too much de- 
 licacy cannot be observed in the business. 
 Leave the management of it to me, nor 
 doubt my sincerity; trust me," and he smiled
 
 336 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 with peculiar, perhaps with villainous sig- 
 nificance, " I never will lose sight of him 
 till I have accomplished what I intend." 
 
 " With all my soul," cried the exulting 
 Rosebud ; " I am sure the affair could not 
 be in better hands." 
 
 " Why, I flatter myself I shall manage 
 it so that you will never hear a complaint 
 out of his lips on the subject ; but I ^all 
 say no more than merely this — that it will 
 not be my fault if he is not speedily freed 
 from every trouble."
 
 TEADITION OF THE CASTLE. 337 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ^* The maa whose life is muocent and plain, 
 
 Free from all vice, and free from every stain, 
 
 Of just report, untouch'd by dread or shame, 
 
 Fears not, though man his noble acts defame. 
 
 He's like a rock, which in itself confi-ies, 
 
 And stands 'gamst all the rage of storms and udes; 
 
 Strong in his virtue, fears no mortal arm, 
 
 For gracious Heaven protects the good from harm." 
 
 From the above evening the doctor and 
 the Spaniard became nearly inseparable ; 
 and from the confidence evidently esta- 
 blished between them, Donaghue had not 
 the smallest doubt that every movement 
 of his was revealed to the latter. He 
 knew the motive for this, but still he was 
 hurt at the thought of such efforts being 
 made to interest a stranger for him ; and, 
 in consequence, to avoid all imputation of 
 concern in the circumstance, in proportion 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 338 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 to Rosebud's advances to intimacy with 
 don Callan, his decUned ; but not on one 
 account alone was this the case — in despite 
 of all his arguments with himself, he con- 
 ceived against this man a prejudice, he 
 himself thought, of the most extraordi- 
 nary nature, for his manners were speci- 
 ous, and his appearance not disagreeable ; 
 yet so it was, he could not conquer his 
 dislike to being in his company, feeling 
 always in it a kind of uneasiness and re- 
 straint, as if in company with some one 
 whom a secret instinct was warning him 
 to shun. 
 
 His regiment being among the number 
 which the termination of the war occa- 
 sioned to be put on the peace estabUsh- 
 ment, he no sooner found himself placed 
 on the half-pay list, than he decided on 
 returning to Altoir-na-Grenie: this was a 
 decision which, of course, he could not 
 keep from Rosebud, who had avowed his 
 intention of following, or rather accom- 
 panying him wherever he went, and to 
 whom, spite of all his oddities, he every
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 339 
 
 day got more and more attached. . In ac- 
 quainting him with it, however, he en- 
 treated him to keep it a secret from don 
 Callan, that is, the exact time they pro- 
 posed leaving Paris, lest he should take it 
 into his head to make one of their party, 
 for he could not endure to be any longer 
 haunted by him, and in no other light 
 could he consider the manner in which 
 the Spaniard traced his steps, and attached 
 himself to him wherever he went. 
 
 But whatever were the virtues of Rose- 
 bud, he certainly could never be extolled 
 for keeping secrets, and to keep the pre- 
 sent one would indeed, he conceived, be 
 the height of folly, by not only, probably, 
 being the means of depriving them of a 
 very agreeable companion, but of inducing 
 don Callan to relinquish his kind inten- 
 tions towards Donaghue, from the offence 
 it was natural to suppose, departing with 
 such secresy must give him ; he therefore 
 determined not to be so great an enemy 
 to his friend as to do what, in this instance, 
 q2
 
 340 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 he desired, more especially as he was ut- 
 terly ignorant of his motives for the re- 
 quest; but at the same time, as he did not 
 wish to disoblige him, he determined it 
 should appear as if it was by chance he 
 let that, which he wanted him to conceal, 
 transpire. 
 
 He succeeded in this artifice to admira- 
 tion, so that Donaghue, though extremely 
 provoked, could still not evince any anger 
 at what seemed so entirely the effect of 
 inadvertence. 
 
 " Leaving Paris so soon ?" said don Cal- 
 lan, evidently greatly disconcerted — " and 
 is there a positive, an absolute necessity, 
 for your returning so immediately to Eng- 
 land? for if there is, it will defeat a plan — 
 a scheme. The fact is, being on the point 
 of setting out for Spain, it was my inten- 
 tion to have solicited your company thi- 
 ther, that on my own territory T might 
 have had the felicity of paying you those 
 attentions which the unsettled state I have 
 been in here has precluded. I have a plea- 
 sant castle near Seville, the season is pro-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 341 
 
 pitious for travelling, and surely it is not 
 speaking too arrogantly of my own coun- 
 try, to say, that a journey to it could not fail 
 of proving highly interesting to enlight- 
 ened and acconfiplished minds. Let me 
 not, therefore, senors, I pray, be disap- 
 pointed in the fond expectation I have 
 cherished, of being favoured with your 
 society, in a place where I could properly 
 prove my sense of the obligation it confer- 
 red upon me. Your compliance wuth my 
 request will be a means, I flatter myself, 
 of satisfying you that I am not altogether 
 unworthy of your friendship, or," and he 
 looked significantly at Rosebud, " any 
 confidence that may have been placed in 
 me. 
 
 Rosebud, perfectly comprehending his 
 look, and transported besides at the bare 
 idea of visiting a place he had not yet 
 seen, at once declared his readiness to ac- 
 cept the invitation, and that he knew of 
 nothing to prevent his friend fi-om follow- 
 ing his example — " For we single fellows," 
 he cried, almost capering about the room
 
 342 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 with delight, " are quite at liberty, as my 
 friend sir Abel Handy says, to go where 
 we please — Bath or Seringapatam, all one 
 to us ; and come, my boy," slapping Do- 
 naghue on the back, " whether you will 
 or not, you must cross the Pyrenees;" 
 and, partly from his wish to oblige him, 
 and partly from the horror he had of re- 
 turning to his desolate home, Donaghue 
 consented to the journeyirj ^^ 
 
 Just as they were about stepping into 
 the carriage provided for travelling, Rose- 
 bud observed a crowd near the door. This 
 was sufficient to detain him, so great was 
 his curiosity, even though he had been 
 setting out on business that would have 
 admitted of no delay ; accordingly, making 
 his way through it, he saw a fellow mount- 
 ed on a kind of stage, one hand holding a 
 pill-box, and the other flourishing in the 
 air, while he thus went on — " And who 
 are your enemies ? — the English, the Aus- 
 trians, you suppose ; but I say no, nor 
 yet the Moors, nor the Turks, nor — — but 
 the worms, the little worms that are
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 343 
 
 feeding on you before their time, and 
 which this nostrum, that would be the 
 means of saving a whole army, can alone 
 destroy." 
 
 ** I protest," said Rosebud, whom, as al- 
 ready observed, the merest trifles amused, 
 " that fellow has some cleverness ; I think 
 he should be appointed physician-general 
 to the French forces." 
 
 " He!" said don Callan, in a tone of 
 some surprise ; " and why, pray, may I 
 ask?" 
 
 ** Why, didn^t you hear him say he had 
 a specific would save a whole army?" 
 
 " He ! the scoundrel ! it is astonishing 
 to me these quacks are not put down every 
 where." 
 
 Pooh, pooh! and why so?" demanded 
 the doctor ; " why shouldn't they be al- 
 lowed to live as well as other quacks? for 
 there are quacks, don Callan, in every bu- 
 siness, in every line, and every profession, 
 in life ; in short, the rich have credulity, 
 and the poor wit to take advantage of it,
 
 344 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 and thus the balance is struck between 
 them." 
 
 Don Callan, who had travelled a good 
 deal, and who appeared as perfectly col- 
 lected as either of his companions, now 
 proved himself a really entertaining com- 
 panion. The conversation chiefly ran on 
 the country they were journeying to, and 
 with which he was so thoroughly acquaint- 
 ed, as to be able to give some very inte- 
 resting particulars of it, as w^ell as amu- 
 sing instances of the traits by which the 
 natives of the different provinces are dis- 
 tinguished. 
 
 " The Biscayan and the Andalusian are 
 those that amuse me most," said Rosebud, 
 *' the former so merry and so frank, and 
 the latter equalling in impudence and ex- 
 travagance the Gascon — surpass him in 
 rhodomontade he could not." 
 
 " No, that would be impossible indeed/' 
 assented the Spaniard. 
 
 " As a proof of which," rejoined Rose- 
 bud, whose memory was a repository 
 of scraps, collected in all directions, and
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 345 
 
 which he delighted in producing on all 
 occasions, " I'll tell you this anecdote: — 
 A Parisian drew in the streets on one of 
 them (these Gascons), by whom he had 
 been insulted. The Gascon, calling a chim- 
 ney-sweeper who happened to be passing 
 at the instant, gave him a sous, saying — 
 * Here, take this, and go to the sexton, 
 and tell him to ring a knell, and come im- 
 mediately for that dead body.'—' Lord, sir !' 
 replied the messenger, * it seems to me 
 the gentleman is in good health.' — * Very 
 likely,' said the Gascon, ' but did you not 
 hear him challenge me ?" 
 
 « Very good indeed," cried don Callan, 
 laughing heartily, to the no small delight 
 of the relater — " very good indeed !" 
 
 " Well, if you like that," resumed the 
 doctor, who was now in his element, ** I 
 think you will like this still better : — A 
 Gascon having called on the minister Col- 
 bert at an unseasonable hour, was ac- 
 quainted he could not be then seen, as he 
 was engaged at table with particular com- 
 q3
 
 346 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 pa^y ; but he insisted that the attendant 
 should go in, and inform him that a per- 
 son waited with a message from the king. 
 The minister ordered him to be immedi- 
 ately shewn in. Approaching the table, 
 he asked aloud — * Gentlemen, with per^ 
 mission, which of you is Colbert?'—* I 
 am the person,' said the minister, * what 
 is it you require T — * Oh ! no great affair,' 
 said the other — * a trifling order of his 
 majesty to pay me five hundred crowns.' 
 Colbert, who was in a humour to amuse 
 himself, desired the Gascon to take a seat 
 at table, ordered him a cover, and pro- 
 mised to expedite his business after din- 
 ner. The Gascon accepted the offer with- 
 out the least ceremony, and ate voracious- 
 ly. Having dined, the minister sent for 
 one of his secretaries, who took the order 
 to the treasury. Here one hundred pis- 
 toles were counted out and given to him; 
 on which he observed — * The sum was one* 
 hundred and fifty.' — * True,' replied the 
 secretary, * but fifty are retained for your 
 dinner.'— * Fifty !' repeated theGascon,*fifly
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. S47 
 
 pistoles for a dinner! where I dine I pay 
 but twenty sous.' — ' That I very well be- 
 lieve/ repHed the secretary; * but you do 
 not dine with the minister Colbert, and 
 that is the honour for which you must 
 pay.' — ' Oh, very well !' replied the Gas- 
 con, * since that is the case, keep the whole, 
 it is not worth my while to accept one 
 hundred pistoles ; I will bring one of my 
 friends to-morrow, and we will eat up the 
 remainder.' The discourse was reported 
 to Colbert, who admired the Gascon, or- 
 dered the whole sum to be paid him, being 
 all his wealth, and did him many good 
 services." 
 
 ** But of all the provinces, I conceive 
 Grenada must be the most interesting," 
 said Donaghue ; " how often, as I have 
 been reading descriptions of it, have I 
 sighed to be wandering amidst the courts 
 of the Alhambra, and the gardens of the 
 Generalif — enjoying the refreshing sight 
 of the limpid waters of one, and inhaling 
 the delicious fragrance of the other ! that 
 balmy air, the purity of which is attested
 
 348 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 by the complexions of the fair Andalu- 
 sians. Yet what melancholy must mingle 
 with the pleasure the sight of it could not 
 but afford ! To see it so altered, so little 
 realizing those glowing descriptions we 
 have received of what it was in former 
 times, when from its numerous gates it 
 could pour forth an army of upwards 
 of thirty thousand men — when all was 
 life and bustle, beauty and magnificence, 
 health and industry ; but the triumph 
 over it has been of superstition, and 
 what desolation ever marks its triumph 1 
 how mercilessly does it extirpate all that 
 the poet loves to contemplate — that the 
 heart of feeling delights to dwell on ! but 
 the glow of imagination, the pleasure de- 
 rived from associating ideas, are unknown 
 to it; it knows nothing of that myste- 
 rious pleasure, if I may use the expres- 
 sion, which a soul of sentiment experi- 
 ences in tracing the feelings, the taste, tlie 
 genius, of an interesting people, in the 
 works which they have left behind them ; 
 all plead in vain — the records of departed
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 349 
 
 greatness — the wonderful efforts of man's 
 comprehensive genius — all are destroyed 
 or defaced, to make room for sloth and 
 ignorance, for sensuality and bigotry. Had 
 the Spaniards pursued a different system 
 of policy, and really been influenced by 
 religion, I mean that religion that incHnes 
 to peace and goodwill to all, how many of 
 the tracts now given up to waste and bar- 
 renness would have been regions of beauty 
 and fertility! But I beg your pardon, don 
 Callan," said Donaghue, suddenly recol- 
 lecting himself, " my observations, I am 
 aware, are not what they ought to be to 
 you, but in the warmth of feeling, people 
 sometimes are hurried beyond what they 
 first intended; you will therefore have the 
 goodness to excuse me." 
 
 " Excuse you !" repeated Rosebud ; " to 
 be sure he will: do }ou think that don 
 Callan has seen so much of the world, 
 without knowing that every man has a 
 right to have an opinion ?'' 
 
 " Assuredly," assented the Spaniard ; 
 " and indeed I perfectly agree with your
 
 S50 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 fHend, that Grenada now forms a melan- 
 choly contrast to what it once was. Its 
 glories have literally passed away with its 
 old inhabitants — its streets are choked with 
 filth — its woods destroyed — its aqueducts 
 crumbled to dust — its territory depopula- 
 ted — its trade lost — in a word, every thing 
 but the church and the law is in a most 
 deplorable state. 
 
 " Oh, the deuce a fear of the church- 
 men or lawyers !" cried Rosebud, " if a fat 
 bit can be got by hook or by crook, they 
 will contrive to obtain it for themselves. 
 What a set of locusts your priests to be 
 sure are, don Callan ! and then all their 
 mockeries and mummeries " 
 
 " My dear doctor," interrupted Dona- 
 ghue, in an expostulating tone. 
 
 " Oh, pish !" exclaimed Rosebud; " what, 
 as I have just said, do you think don Cal- 
 lan has mixed so much in the world with- 
 out being accustomed to hear men speak 
 their sentiments ? I suppose you don't 
 want me to lose the charter of an English- 
 man ; at all events, as my friend Mr.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 351 
 
 Coates says, I'll crow while I can. On 
 this side of the Pyrenees, at least, we are 
 safe, let us say what we may; on the 
 other, indeed — though even there, I be- 
 lieve, people have not got too enlighten- 
 ed to render the disclosure of their senti- 
 ments dangerous." 
 
 Don Callan smiled. Donaghue caught 
 the smile, and it did not please him. He 
 checked, however, any indications of this, 
 justly conceiving it would indeed be un- 
 reasonable and ridiculous in the extreme, 
 to be angry with a man because the ex- 
 pression of his smile was not agreeable to 
 you. 
 
 " What a pother, don Callan," said 
 Rosebud, who loved extremely to hear 
 himself talk, " has been made about the 
 name of your country ! for my part," and 
 he spoke in a tone of importance, " I agree 
 with my friend Galen, who supposes * Hes- 
 peria,' from which all its modern names 
 are derived, to have been formed from the 
 Phoenician word sapan, or sapena, signi- 
 fying a rabbit, with which animals the
 
 352 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE, 
 
 country was once overrun, so that we may 
 call you, don Callan, a coney- catching 
 race." 
 
 A riot and noise in a small village 
 through which they were passing, attract- 
 ed the travellers' attention. Rosebud, 
 with his usual impatient curiosity, instant- 
 ly dispatched the corporal to know what 
 was the matter. He shortly returned, and 
 acquainted them that it was all about love, 
 
 " Love !" repeated Rosebud. 
 
 " Yes, an' please your honour, doctor ; 
 they told me they had seized one of the 
 lovers, who had broke his vows, and were 
 dragging him to punishment." v^l 
 
 " Dragging him to punishment ! Well, 
 to be sure, this is most extraordinary!" 
 said Rosebud ; " but every place has its 
 own ways and customs; and to be sure 
 this is a much more summary way of pro- 
 ceeding than that we have recourse to in 
 our country, for punishing a perjured 
 lover, by bringing an action against him 
 for a breach of promise. Heaven help 
 them ! what would become of half of the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. S5S 
 
 Lovelasses of London, if they were in such 
 a place as this !" 
 
 " Ah ! it's not what you think, doctor," 
 said the corporal ; " it is really for making 
 love to a true sweetheart, and not for de- 
 serting her, that they are going to punish 
 the lover here." 
 
 " Well, I really can't understand it," 
 said the doctor, in great distress. — " Pray, 
 sir," addressing a man of respectable ap- 
 pearance, " can you inform me what is 
 the meaning of this riot?" 
 
 " It began, monsieur," replied the stran- 
 ger, " I understand, by one of these love- 
 leaguers breaking his vows." 
 
 " Love-leaguers, sir, did you say ?" de- 
 manded Rosebud, eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, monsieur; have you never heard 
 of the love-league as established in this 
 town ?" 
 
 " No, never," returned the doctor, " but 
 would be greatly obliged by any informa- 
 tion on the subject," laying his hand as he 
 spoke on the arm of the stranger, as if
 
 354 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 afraid else he might leave him without 
 gratifying his curiosity. 
 
 " You must know then, monsieur, short- 
 ly after the return of Louis the Eigh- 
 teenth, for the purpose of marking that 
 happy epoch by something singular and 
 grand, a set of young men, call them 
 whimsical, fanatics, or what you please, 
 entered into a league, to which they swore 
 eternal truth, which they called ' the lo- 
 vers' league,' for the purpose, they avowed, 
 of proving the excess of their passion, by 
 an invincible resistance to every rigour 
 of the seasons. In obedience to their in- 
 stitutes, they wore little clothing in win- 
 ter, and very much when the heat is at 
 the greatest ; in winter, flowers and foliage 
 garnish their fireplaces — in summer, large 
 fires are made; they have thus gone on, 
 in this extravagant manner, until the 
 greater part of these lovers have died of 
 cold, or been smothered by heat, declaiming 
 on the constancy, force, and effervescence, 
 of their flame. The person who began 
 this riot forgot himself so far as to be
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 355 
 
 tempted, in consequence of having made 
 too free with the juice of the grape, to in- 
 dulge himself a little by making love to a 
 pretty young girl he admired, and accord- 
 ingly some of the leaguers set on him for 
 breaking his vows, while others of them 
 took his part." 
 
 " Well, by Jove, this beats all the mad 
 pranks I ever heard of before!" exclaimed 
 Exjsebud ; " why, those of don Quixote, 
 in the black mountains, were nothing to 
 it. Body of me! as my friend Sancho 
 says, did any one ever hear the like of this 
 before?" 
 
 " Pardon me, monsieur," said the stran- 
 ger — " in the reign of Philip the Fifth, 
 such a society or league existed, and this 
 they have taken for a precedent." 
 
 " Good Heavens ! good Heavens ! and 
 so because my neighbour runs mad, or 
 plays the fool, I am to do the same ? But 
 adieu, monsieur !" kissing his hand, and 
 waving it with a flourish, " adieu ! and 
 accept the assurance of my high conside- 
 ration for your obliging information."
 
 356 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 But notwithstanding the friendship that 
 now appeared established between him 
 and the Spaniard, a thousand little bicker- 
 ings took place between them, the jealous 
 temper of Rosebud making him fancy a 
 thousand causes for offence ; sometimes he 
 imagined he was laughed at — sometimes 
 not sufficiently attended to when speak- 
 ing — sometimes that he was treated as 
 a petulant boy ; and on these occasions 
 he was always ransacking his brain for 
 something spiteful to say. Don Callan, 
 however, seemed to take all in good 
 part, and to appear vexed at Donaghue's 
 seeming to think the reverse the case, 
 by interfering so often as he did, espe- 
 cially when the doctor chose to make 
 the religion of their companion the sub- 
 ject of ridicule and invective. 
 
 But at length the journey drew to an 
 end, and they reached the ancient city of 
 Seville in safety, after a journey sufficient- 
 ly pleasant to make amends for any fa- 
 tigue it occasioned. Don Callan having 
 lodged them in one of the chief inns, then
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 357 
 
 took leave for a few days, in order to get 
 his castle prepared for their reception, the 
 length of time he had been absent from 
 it making him much fear it was not ex- 
 actly in a state for immediately receiving 
 guests. 
 
 His departure would have left them en- 
 tirely to themselves, but that Rosebud, in 
 racing about to tell every body where they 
 were going, was intrusted with the deli- 
 very of a letter from a gentleman there to 
 a relation in Seville, in which he men- 
 tioned the doctor and his young friend in 
 such terms as induced don Alonzo de Guz- 
 man to wait on them immediately, with a 
 polite offer of his services, and an invita- 
 tion to a tertulia on the following even- 
 ing. The entertainment known by this 
 name must be too well known to every 
 reader, to render any description of it ne- 
 cessary here; suffice, it highly delighted the 
 strangers from its novelty, and corrected 
 some errors they had been under, particu- 
 larly with regard to the gravity and jealousy 
 of the Spanish gentlemen, and the reserve
 
 358 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 of the ladies in public ; nothing could sur- 
 pass the vivacity of the latter, nor the af- 
 fability of their manners ; nor the pleasure 
 which the former appeared to derive from 
 witnessing their good-humour and general 
 condescension. 
 
 A concert succeeded the repast, and du- 
 ring the interval between it and the ball 
 that was to follow, the company dispersed 
 about the gardens, which were very ex- 
 tensive, and partially illuminated with the 
 greatest brilliancy. In a short time Dona- 
 ghueand the doctor were left by themselves, 
 but they did not long continue together, 
 for the doctor, finding Donaghue inclined 
 to take the way to a retired part of the 
 garden, suddenly left him for that which 
 was more to his taste, from being the ge- 
 neral centre of attraction. The walk into 
 which Donaghue strolled was thickly 
 planted with orange, lemon, and palm- 
 trees, rendering it totally dark, but at the 
 same time making, from this circumstance, 
 the stars that shone above appear infinitely 
 more brilliant.
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 359 
 
 Donaghue quite enjoyed the place, and 
 was sinking into a train of pleasingly-pen- 
 sive reflections, when voices from an ad- 
 joining arbour broke on his reverie, and 
 from the flirting conversation which he 
 overheard here, as well as in some other 
 sequestered spots, the error above alluded 
 to was still further corrected, and a good 
 deal of laughter produced between him 
 and Rosebud the next morning, by find- 
 ing, when they compared notes, that dis- 
 coveries, or rather detections of a similar 
 nature, had been made by both. 
 
 But every thing, of a trifling nature at 
 least, was soon forgotten in their eager 
 impatience to view the city, and the re- 
 marks it elicited, together with the beau- 
 tiful plain on which it is situated ; but the 
 Guadalquiver, on the banks of which it 
 stands, no longer gives that life to it which 
 it did in former times, w^hen the galleons 
 here discharged their rich freightage from 
 Mexico and Peru ; but while other cities 
 are literally running into the country, it 
 is worthy of remark that this is not larger
 
 360 TRADITION OF THE CASTLfi. 
 
 than when left by the Romans. But 
 though the situation is pleasant, the town 
 itself is badly laid out, the streets being 
 narrow and crooked, containing, however, 
 some handsome houses, but very much in 
 the Moorish plan, there being large courts 
 with fountains in the centre, surrounded 
 by galleries, in which the families gene- 
 rally live in summer, under tents. 
 
 The suburbs are fine, and the favourite 
 promenade, called the Alamada, a very 
 delightful one, shaded as it is with fine 
 rows of trees, and adorned with seats and 
 fountains. The extensive palace of the 
 Alcazar, its beautiful fountains, its cool 
 corridors, the grandeur of the royal apart- 
 ments, the flights of marble stairs, and 
 galleries composed of the same precious 
 materials, all laid claim to the admiration 
 of the travellers; but still more interest- 
 ing was its garden to them, from the spe- 
 cimen it afforded of what an Arabian one 
 is, having been laid out by the Moors, 
 and allowed to continue as they left it : 
 deplorable indeed would have been the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 361 
 
 taste that would have attempted any alte- 
 ration in one so adapted to the climate. 
 The parterres, planted with evergreens, 
 richly blended with orange-trees, shelter, 
 in many places, the most delicious baths, 
 supplied by marble fountains ; while by 
 means of small pipes in the joinings of the 
 marble with which many of the walks are 
 paved, a constant coolness is diffused 
 through them, grateful in the extreme 
 beneath such a sun. 
 
 The saloon, containing a collection of 
 Roman antiquities, from an ancient city 
 called Italica, a few miles distant from Se- 
 ville, and celebrated for being the birth- 
 place of the emperor Trajan, did not either 
 escape their attention, and without pro- 
 fessing to be antiquarians, they were much 
 gratified by what they saw there. 
 
 The doctor and O'Brien spent some time 
 in viewing the cathedral, a fine building 
 in the Gothic style, with the figure of a 
 woman on the top of the steeple, called 
 the Giralda, which turns round with the 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 362 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 wind. The steeple is very lofty, and Do- 
 naghue ascending it, was enchanted with 
 the view it presented of the beautiful and 
 fertile plains of Seville, with its delicious 
 gardens and orange groves, enlivened by 
 the Guadalquiver. 
 
 Before the choir of the cathedral is the 
 tomb of Christopher Columbus, with this 
 simple inscription, comprised in these 
 words — " To Castile and Arragon Colum- 
 bus gave a new world." 
 
 " It is short," observed the doctor, " but 
 still as ex])ressive as the high-sounding 
 ones too often presented to the eye on the 
 mausoleums of the rich, and puts me in 
 mind of the ' O rare Ben Jonson!' in 
 Westminster Abbey ; for my part, I have 
 always thought, of all flattery, that of mo- 
 numental flattery the most ridiculous, for 
 those concerned in it cannot be gratified 
 by it, while others laugh at it." 
 
 " It is very true," returned his compa- 
 nion ; " and, as has been observed by a wri- 
 ter of elegance, ' Philosophy may sigh, or 
 smile, at the weakness or vanity which
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 363 
 
 leads to a thing of the kind ;' but are there 
 not a thousand weaknesses in life that we 
 cannot help respecting, from the motive 
 to which we attribute them ; and is not 
 this, the weakness that occasions us to be- 
 deck the tombs of those w^e love in such 
 a manner as may prevent their being 
 passed over with neglect, one of them? 
 but if we examine and investigate, we 
 shall find that there is not that folly attach- 
 ed to the idea of those splendid repositories 
 for the dead, which are to be found in all 
 parts of the world, since a sufficient rea- 
 son could be assigned for them. For in- 
 stance, the Egyptians entertained the be- 
 lief that the body, after tliree thousand 
 years, was again to be animated — is it won- 
 derful, therefore, that they should conceive 
 no cost too great for the preservation of 
 those remains, that, at the end of a stated 
 period, they expected to see again spring 
 into existence, or to do honour to those 
 they imagined only slumbering for a 
 while ? To this belief we may attribute 
 R 2
 
 364 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE* 
 
 the mighty pyramid of Cheops; and re- 
 garding it in this light, we cannot con- 
 template it as the effort of a madman, to 
 attain immortality by a heap of stones. 
 But it is insisted on, at the present day, 
 that all monuments had a physical utility, 
 and it has been observed, for I quote the 
 observation of another, ' Ought it not to 
 be considered, that there is for nations a 
 moral utility of a much higher nature, 
 which was studied by the legislators of 
 antiquity ? for is there nothing to be learn- 
 ed from the sight of a tomb ? if any lesson 
 is taught by it, why should we complain 
 that a king resolved to render that lesson 
 perpetual? Majestic monuments consti- 
 tute an essential part of the glory of every 
 human society; unless we maintain that 
 it is a matter of indifference whether a 
 nation leaves behind it a name or no name 
 in history, we cannot condemn those struc- 
 tures, which extend the memory of a 
 people beyond its own existence, and make 
 it contemporary with the future genera- 
 tions that fix their residence in their for-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. S65 
 
 saken fields. Of what consequence is it 
 then, whether those edifices were amphi- 
 theatres or sepulchres ? Every thing is a 
 tomb wHth a nation that is no raore. When 
 man is gone, the monuments of his life 
 are still more vain than those of his death 
 — his mausoleum is at least serviceable to 
 his ashes, but do his palaces retain any 
 portion of his pleasures?" 
 
 They visited the monastery of St. Fran- 
 cis, situated in an extensive square, adorn- 
 ed with a fountain, casting up sheets of 
 limpid water. The building is large, and 
 its church magnificent. The high altar, 
 adorned with paintings and sculpture, par- 
 ticularly attracted their attention, and a- 
 mongst the former, one representing the 
 fainting of queen Esther, and Ahasuerus 
 extending the royal sceptre to her, Dona- 
 ghue thought he could never sufficiently 
 admire. But all this was not seen in one 
 day, nor, once seen, was the interest exci- 
 ted to be gratified without repeated visits. 
 Some days elapsed, and still no don 
 Callan, nor any message from him. The
 
 S66 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 from behind the altar, and slipping a fold- 
 friends were too agreeably engaged to feel 
 any anxiety about seeing him, but they 
 could not help thinking it odd that there 
 was no message of inquiry from him, to 
 learn how, as strangers, they were getting 
 on, and still stranger that no one seemed 
 to know any thing about him ; however, 
 they accounted for this by supposing he 
 had never mixed much with the immedi- 
 ate inhabitants of Seville. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " For neither man, nor angel, can discern 
 Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks 
 Invisihle, except to God alone." 
 
 The delight which Donaghue took in 
 viewing the interesting picture of Esther, 
 drew him to take another view of it, one 
 morning, by himself As he was contem- 
 plating it in fixed admiration, a man, com- 
 pletely enveloped in a large cloak, stole
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 367 
 
 ed paper into his hand, instantly vanished 
 from his view. 
 
 The doctor joining him at the instant, 
 prevented his immediately ascertaining 
 the contents of this mysteriously deliver- 
 ed billet ; but the curiosity it excited was 
 too great not to induce a speedy return to 
 the inn, when retiring to his own cham- 
 ber, he hastily opened it, and to his great 
 surprise read as follows : 
 
 " Monastery of St. Francis. 
 
 " SIK, 
 
 " An EngUsbman having by 
 chance heard of your arrival in this city, 
 although unknown to you, claims your as- 
 sistance as a countrj^man, to extricate him 
 from a situation of the most imminent 
 peril, such as he has every reason to ap- 
 prehend may prove fatal to him, if not 
 speedily rescued from. The bearer will 
 explain particulars, time not allowing of 
 his explaining more himself 
 
 " To O'Donaghue O'Brien, Esq,"
 
 368 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 But where was the bearer? why, since 
 he must have known he was referred to 
 him, disappear with such suddenness, thus 
 in a degree disappointing the confidence 
 that had been reposed in him ? But with- 
 out puzzling himself further on the subject, 
 Donaghue immediately decided on return- 
 ing to the monastery. By the time he re- 
 turned to the church, he found it nearly 
 deserted ; he looked keenly at the few that 
 remained, in hopes of receiving a sign 
 from some one of them ; but no one ap- 
 peared to notice him particularly, and af- 
 ter lingering some time before the high 
 altar, he returned to his lodgings, but with 
 a determination of revisiting the church 
 in the evening ; for his humanity was all 
 on the alert to know how he could render 
 the required service. 
 
 On entering his chamber to change his 
 dress for dinner, he kicked something be- 
 fore him ; on looking to see what, he per- 
 ceived it was a paper in which the billet 
 had been wrapped, and picking it up, dis-
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 369 
 
 covered the following lines written with a 
 pencil on it : — 
 
 " When the bearer of this under- 
 took what is alluded to in the billet, he 
 was by no means aware of the danger he 
 was likely to incur from the promise he 
 made ; but though, from being now perfect- 
 ly apprized of it, he can no longer think of 
 fulfilling to the expected extent the pro- 
 mise he so rashly made, yet still anxious 
 to serve an innocent man, he suggests to 
 the senor O'Brien that father Lawrence, 
 confessor to the monastery of St. Francis, 
 might, by proper management, be ren- 
 der instrumental to what is desired. Of 
 course caution, it must be evident, is re- 
 quired ; but for the better guidance of the 
 senor, he deems it not amiss to hint, that 
 the father is accessible to money.*' 
 
 The whole of dinner-time Donaghue 
 K 3
 
 370 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 cx)uld think of nothing but how he could 
 proceed in this perplexing affair ; in vain, 
 however, he puzzled himself on the sub- 
 ject, and at last he came to the determi- 
 nation of consulting with the corporal, of 
 whose shrewdness he was well aware ; for 
 as to doing so with Rosebud, that was out 
 of the question, from the rashness and 
 precipitancy of his temper, which never 
 allowed him to take a moment for consi- 
 deration ere he acted, let the matter be 
 what it might. 
 
 After hearing his communication, Cor- 
 mick remained for some time in deep co- 
 gitation, then suddenly striking his fore- 
 head — " I have it," he cried, " I have it, 
 your honour, by St. Patrick !" 
 
 " Explain," said Donaghue. 
 
 " Oh ! that, your honour, would take 
 up too much time now; only that I think, 
 if the affair is left to my management, I 
 shall be able to get hold of the confessor." 
 
 ** Well, I am perfectly ready to intrust 
 it to you," said Donaghue. 
 
 " Very well, your honour ; then let me
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 371 
 
 have a few pieces, and I'll instantly set 
 about what I have schemed." 
 
 Donaghue presenting him with his 
 purse, desired him to take what he re- 
 quired. The corporal obeyed him, and 
 Donaghue, without delaying him to ask 
 further questions then, rejoined the doc- 
 tor, but could not prevent his thoughts 
 from being occupied in conjecturing what 
 the plan of Cormick was, or avoid anx- 
 iously inquiring about him, from time to 
 time. At last he learned he had come in, 
 and was then busy in his room, preparing 
 for a person he expected to see. On hear- 
 ing this, Donaghue made an excuse to 
 the doctor for not accompanpng him in 
 his promenade about the town, and im- 
 mediately repaired to his own chamber, 
 which, adjoining Cormick's, would, he 
 knew, permit him both to see and hear 
 whatever passed there, and at what he 
 witnessed he certainly was a good deal di- 
 verted, from the specimen it gave him of 
 the corporal's roguer\\ 
 
 It seems a letter was written bv Cormick
 
 372 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 to the confessor, stating that a person then 
 lying ill at the Angel inn wished to see 
 him immediately, for the double purpose 
 of receiving his ghostly consolation, and 
 putting into his hands a sum of money, 
 which he had vowed to St. Francis, in 
 hopes of its being the means of inducing 
 him to aid their prayers for their recovery; 
 and at the moment of Donaghue's enter- 
 ing his room, the corporal was preparing 
 for the reception of the pious father, by 
 laying out a table with diflPerent kinds of 
 wine and fruit. 
 
 Father Lawrence at last came ; he was 
 a man about four feet high, and nearly as 
 broad as he was long, and rather reeled 
 than walked into the room. His rosy 
 jowls hung low, and the shortness of his 
 neck made his head appear to be sunk be- 
 tween his shoulders. His eyebrows were 
 dark and bushy, and projected far over a 
 pair of small grey sharp eyes, that twinkled 
 like stars of a frosty night, and appeared to 
 have a most extraordinary facility in ob- 
 serving surrounding objects ; and from the
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 373 
 
 colour of his visage it might have been 
 supposed, but for his vow of abstinence, 
 he sometimes mixed wine with his water, 
 and that to its purifying effect were owing 
 the large carbuncles that were cast out on 
 his nose, not certainly to the rendering 
 l^is aspect more amiable. 
 
 " Peace be to this house !" he cried, on 
 entering ; " but how is this ?" casting his 
 scrutinizing eyes round the apartment ; 
 " I thought I was summoned here to a 
 sick or expiring man, but I see no one 
 here answering that description." 
 
 " True, holy father, true," cried the 
 wag Cormick ; " when I got that note 
 wrote to you, I thought it was all over 
 with me ; but good St. Francis heard my 
 prayers, and, as you see, has almost mu 
 raculously restored me to myself, blessed 
 be his holy name for his kindness ! for I 
 was not altogether prepared, I must con- 
 fess, for a journey yet a while to the other 
 world ; and indeed the knowledge of this, 
 holy father, makes me wish to have a little 
 talk with your reverence : but come, fa-
 
 374 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 ther, be seated, for I clearly perceive, in 
 your haste to be in time to do your duty, 
 you have walked so fast as to lose your 
 breath." 
 
 " Ah no, son ! but I am old — I am in- 
 firm," sighed the confessor, as he took a 
 seat at the table, and cast a leering glance 
 over it, " and weak, and faint, from peni- 
 tence, mortification, and fasting." 
 
 " So it seems indeed," said the corporal, 
 as he filled out wine ; " any one might 
 see that, that looks at you, w^asted away 
 as you are ! But come, father," present- 
 ing him with a glass, " here's to our bet- 
 ter acquaintance. I can see by your reve- 
 rence's looks it will go against your grain 
 to touch it ; but worn out, dwindled away 
 to nothing as you are with fasting, you 
 must needs now and then require a cor- 
 dial of the kind ; and indeed, holy father, 
 if it was for nothing else, you should take 
 some care of yourself, for the sake of the 
 poor penitents under your holy care, for 
 where would they find such a spiritual di- 
 rector as yourself?"
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 375 
 
 " Ah! that's all very true, my son. 
 Heaven knows indeed, as you say, I want 
 something to strengthen my weak body, 
 raise my sinking heart, and comfort me 
 altogether ; but then I so wish to mortify 
 — however, it smells so enticingly — that 
 is, I mean — however, not to appear un- 
 gracious to a person whom, there is reason 
 to believe, holy St. Francis esteems, I will 
 just put my lips to it." 
 
 " Is it to your liking, father?" asked 
 the corporal, as soon as he perceived he 
 had got to the bottom of the glass, which 
 was by no means a small one. 
 
 " To my liking ! why, I — I protest, my 
 son, I cannot well tell what the taste of it 
 was, having swallowed it without think- 
 ing about it." 
 
 " Then try it again, father." 
 
 " Well, my son, since you wish for my 
 opinion," and another bumper was dis- 
 charged down his throat, hke the first; 
 after which—" Well, my son, I must con- 
 fess, as a body may say, I think the taste 
 of it very delicious, but perhaps that's
 
 376 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 only owing to my not being accustomed 
 to any thing of the kind. But see here I 
 after your good-nature, if I have drank to 
 your better health ! Well, my son, you 
 shall not have to reproach me with such 
 
 unkindness, and so 1 didn't use to be 
 
 so unmannerly." 
 
 " No, no, I dare say not, father, in mat- 
 ters of this kind," cried the corporal, as 
 he replenished his glass for him ; " but 
 come, father, take care of yourself, I beg, 
 for I want to have a little chat with you ; 
 I want to speak to you about an act of 
 charity I vowed, if it was agreeable to 
 you to concern yourself in it." 
 
 " Agreeable, my son !" rubbing his hands 
 in manifest delight at the idea thus held 
 out of his soon being allowed to touch the 
 needful — " is it not the very comfort of 
 my heart, and joy of my soul, to hear any 
 one speaking of charity? more particu- 
 larly when, by letting me be the means 
 of distributing it, I know their pious in- 
 tentions will not be defeated." 
 
 " Well, father, to explain — but first let
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 377 
 
 US wet our whistles," cried the corporal, 
 evidently beginning to get a little eleva- 
 ted — " In that awful hour, when I expect- 
 ed every moment would be my last, I 
 made a vow to St. Francis " 
 
 " A vow, my son !" eagerly repeated 
 the confessor. 
 
 " Yes, father, to give five pieces to the 
 confessor of his monastery, to bestow in 
 charity, for his sake, as he pleased." 
 
 *' Indeed ! well then, my son, if you 
 were thinking for twenty years, you could 
 not have done any thing more agreeable 
 to him, for he is one of the most benevo- 
 lent of the saints." 
 
 " 1 am glad to hear that, father, that 
 what I did must be agreeable to him. 
 Here they are — the five pistoles." 
 
 Father Lawrence eyed the gold with a 
 greedy eye, but hesitated to take it. 
 
 " What are you hesitating about?" im- 
 patiently demanded the corporal, pressing 
 the money on him. 
 
 " It is against my vows, son, to — to di- 
 rectly take money ; but then," catching
 
 378 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 the corporal by the arm, as in surprise he 
 started back, " I — I don't refuse it ; but 
 the way is to let it seem as if I found it, 
 so you must let it drop on the floor." 
 
 " Oh ho ! is that the way of cheating 
 
 the 1 beg pardon — there it is — one, 
 
 two," and he deUberately counted the five 
 pieces as he let them fall. 
 
 " Very good, my son, very good !" cried 
 the confessor, as he nimbly picked them 
 up, and snugly deposited them in his 
 pouch ; " depend upon it they shall be 
 properly disposed of; and not only that, 
 but assure yourself you shall have my 
 prayers with St. Francis, to recompense 
 you for this whenever you shall meet." 
 
 " Ah, father ! the time for that is so 
 uncertain, that if you could be prevailed 
 on, in his stead, to do me a kindness now, 
 I should be very well satisfied, and for 
 which I have five pieces more I could lose 
 as readily as those you just found." 
 
 " Explain, for really you have so gain- 
 ed upon me, so won my warm heart, that
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 579 
 
 if I can oblige you, you may depend on 
 it : but didn't I hear something drop ?" 
 
 " I beUeve not, Lawrence, but you soon 
 will — one, two, three, four, five ! Now, fa- 
 ther, you must know " 
 
 " But first," interrupted the confessor, 
 " remember that all that passes between 
 us is a secret." 
 
 " Trust me for that," said the corporal ; 
 " but to go on — Now, father, you must 
 know that my master is a most liberal 
 gentleman, for this money was his, and 
 the only return he requires for it, and 
 more perhaps, is, that you would procure 
 him an interview with the prisoner you 
 have in the monastery." 
 
 The confessor started — " The prisoner 
 at the monastery ! How ! why ! what ! how 
 did you come to know any thing about 
 that man ?" 
 
 " Tut ! what signifies telling ? but if it 
 was the devil himself one wanted to see, 
 I think, after all that has passed, you 
 shouldn't refuse to oblige one." 
 
 ^* The devil himself! Lord save us!
 
 S80 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 don't mention the wicked one again before 
 me, my son; but what interest has your 
 master in this man's fate?" 
 
 " Why, as all things that pass between 
 us are to remain a secret, you must know, 
 most reverend Lawrence, that that man 
 is my master's brother." 
 
 " You don't say so ?" said the confessor, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " By St. Patrick, but I do !" replied the 
 corporal, scarcely knowing, by this time, 
 what he was saying. 
 
 " Then perhaps he had something to 
 say to the affair — was one of the party 
 maybe ?" 
 
 " You may say that." 
 
 " Well, well, this is a discovery ! and 
 his brother, you say ?'* 
 
 " No more doubt of it than there is of 
 your being entitled to be sainted for your 
 sanctity; and so you wouldn't have the 
 cruelty, I'm sure, not to let him see his 
 own relation !" 
 
 The confessor seemed to muse; then, 
 after a pause of some minutes — " Well,
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 381 
 
 son," he said, ** since you say your master 
 is so generous, and will be so sure of re- 
 warding any kindness, he shall see his bro- 
 ther ; here, give him this," taking a small 
 crucifix from his bosom, " let him attend 
 matins, and remain near the high altar, 
 and when the service is over, a person 
 will be in readiness, on the sight of it, to 
 conduct him where he wishes." 
 
 " Ah then, come to my arms, my jewel !" 
 cried Cormick, starting up in no small ec- 
 stacy, at the thought of having succeeded 
 so well in his stratagem ; " one would 
 think you were an Irishman, you are so 
 good-natured." 
 
 As he spoke he made a reel, or rather 
 dart forward, to embrace the priest, but 
 who, not exactly liking this manifestation 
 of kindness, drawing back a little at the 
 instant to avoid it, Cormick fell upon him 
 with such force, as brought both to the 
 ground, whence it was not without diffi- 
 culty, after completely rolling over one 
 another, they were able to rise. 
 
 The moment father Lawrence had re-
 
 382 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 tired, Donaghue entered the apartment 
 to secure the crucifix, and see the corporal 
 was got to bed. He would have remon- 
 strated with him on the falsehood he had 
 been guilty of, but for the uselessness of 
 any expostulation with him at present; 
 and this not merely from the abhorrence 
 in which he held imposition of all kinds, 
 but not knowing, in the present instance, 
 the mischief it might be the means of oc- 
 casioning; and the consideration of this 
 would assuredly have caused him a good 
 deal of uneasiness, but that he was incli- 
 ned to think the selfishness of the confes- 
 sor would not permit him to allow any 
 thing disagreeable to accrue from it. 
 
 Exactly as the clock struck twelve, he 
 repaired to the church of St. Francis, now 
 brilliantly illuminated, and crowded with 
 people. 
 
 Immediately after service the crowd be- 
 gan to thin, and Donaghue then approach, 
 ed the high altar; but, minute after mi- 
 nute elapsed, and all, save a few straggling 
 devotees wandering about the aisles, or
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 38S 
 
 kneeling at different shrines, had departed, 
 without bringing any one to him, and he 
 was beginning to think the confessor would 
 fail in his promise, when a small door was 
 cautiously opened, and father Lawrence 
 appeared at it, eagerly looking about him. 
 Donaghue directly took the crucifix from 
 his bosom, and held it up to him. The 
 recognition was acknowledged by his be- 
 ing immediately beckoned to the father. 
 Having passed through the door, he was 
 conducted in silence through part of the 
 cloisters, to an apartment, where the con- 
 fessor left him, but returned in a few mi- 
 nutes with the prisoner, and then again 
 retired. 
 
 The stranger was so completely enve- 
 loped in a large cloak, that it was utterly 
 impossible for Donaghue to catch a glimpse 
 of his face, and appeared greatly agitated, 
 insomuch that Donaghue was obliged to 
 entreat him to endeavour to compose him- 
 self, and recollect the expediency of losing 
 no time in letting him know how he could 
 be serviceable to him, or rather in what
 
 384 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 way he should proceed to effect his libe- 
 ration. 
 
 This remonstrance had the desired ef- 
 fect. The stranger informed him, that 
 though an Englishman, as already stated, 
 he had for many years been a kind of natu- 
 ralized Spaniard, his religion inducing him i 
 to take up his abode in the country, and, ! 
 of course, amenable to all its laws, of which 
 circumstance a person deeply in his debt ■ 
 took advantage to represent him as an ene- 
 my to the government, and in consequence 
 of which unjust accusation he should have j 
 been arrested, but that he discovered the 
 danger he was in just time enough to es- 
 cape it by taking sanctuary in the monas- | 
 tery of St. Francis, till such time as he ! 
 could fly the country ; but where he had i 
 not long been, ere, by means too tedious | 
 to enter upon, he ascertained the artifices 
 of his enemy having even there prevailed \ 
 against him, by inducing the superior to \ 
 decide on giving him up. — " The ensuing i 
 night," he continued, in terrible agitation, j 
 ** is the one fixed on for this treachery ; so '
 
 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 385 
 
 that if prompt measures are not taken, I 
 am a lost man. In flying to save my life, 
 all my property was left behind, but if you 
 will generously furnish your servant, who 
 has already played his part to admiration, 
 with the means of still further interesting 
 the confessor in my behalf, I make no 
 doubt of obtaining my liberty." 
 
 This was readily promised ; and, to be 
 brief, the corporal managed matters so well 
 with father Lawrence, that he succeeded 
 in obtaining the prisoner his liberty, and 
 conducted him, the next night, from the 
 monastery to the inn, where it was de- 
 cided he should remain for a few days, by 
 which time it was concluded the search 
 after him would be pretty well over. Cor- 
 mick put him in possession of a snug 
 chamber, and having provided him with 
 refreshments, left him to himself, taking 
 care to lock the door himself, and, for fear 
 of accidents, putting the key in his pocket. 
 
 After this precaution, his consternation 
 at the discovery of the ensuing morning 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 386 TRADITION OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 may well be imagined. On the return of 
 Donaghue from a ramble before breakfast, 
 he found him in utter dismay at the flight 
 of the stranger, or rather at having, in 
 consequence of it, had any thing to say to 
 him, protesting that he must either be the 
 old one himself, or else a conjuror, to have 
 effected it from a chamber secured on the 
 outside, and with the windows of it at a 
 considerable distance from the ground. 
 
 Donaghue, though he could not con- 
 jecture how he had contrived to get off, 
 had no superstitious fears, however, to be 
 awakened ; but he certainly felt indignant 
 at the base requital this conduct was for 
 the risk they had run on his account, im- 
 puting it, as he did, to a distrust of their 
 sincerity. 
 
 END OF VOL. I, 
 
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