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that source of consolation and mercy which can best sustain and comfort you go with a penitent heart to the throne of your who if your repentance be sincere will in no wise cast you out the recommendation of the jury to the mercy of the crown in consideration of your youth and previous good conduct will not be overlooked but in the mean time the court is bound to pronounce upon you the sentence of the law which is that you be taken from the prison from which you came on the th of next month at the hour of twelve o clock the k in the to the front p of the jail and there hanged by the neck until you be dead and may god have mercy on your soul my lord said the prisoner unmoved in voice or manner unless it might be that both expressed more decision and energy than he had shown any other part of the trial my lord i am now a condemned man but if i stood with the rope about my neck ready to die i would not exchange situations with the man that has been my my lord i can forgive him and i ought for i know he has yet to die and must meet his g as for myself i am that i have not such a conscience as his to bring afore my judge and for this reason i am not afraid to die he was then amid a c grief as deep and sincere as was ever expressed for a human being under circumstances of a similar character having entered the prison he was about to turn along a passage which led to the apartment hitherto allotted to this way said the this way god knows i would be glad to let you stop in the room you had but i haven t the power we must put you into one of the condemned but by it ill go hard if i don t stretch a little to make you as comfortable as possible take no trouble said take no trouble i care now little about my own comfort but if you wish to me bring me my father oh my mother my mother yon i doubt are struck down already she was too ill to attend the trial to day replied the i know it said but as she s not here bring me my father send out a messenger for him and be quick for i won t rest till i see him he wants comfort the old man s heart will break i heard them say replied the they bad entered the cell allotted to him that he was in a faint in mat s public house but that he had recovered i ll go myself and bring him to thb of do said an leave us the moment you bring him it was more than an hour before the m ti returned holding by the arm and after having left him in the cell he instantly locked it outside and withdrew as he had been desired ran to support his tottering steps and indeed did that parent stand in need of his assistance in the picture presented by the unhappy young man forgot in a moment his own miserable and gloomy fate there blazed in his father s eyes an excitement at once dead and wild a vague fire without character yet stirred by an incomprehensible energy wholly beyond the usual of thought or suffering the son on beholding him shuddered and not for the first time for he had on one or two occasions before become apprehensive that his father s mind might if strongly pressed be worn down by the singular conflict of which it was the scene to that mo t frightful of all insanity as the old man however folded him in his feeble arms and attempted to express what he felt the unhappy boy groaned v aloud and felt even in the depth of his cell a blush of momentary shame his cheek and brow his father notwithstanding the sentence that had been so shortly before passed upon his son that father he perceived to be absolutely or to use a more appropriate expression decidedly drunk there was less blame however to be attached to on this occasion than imagined when the old man in the he was taken by his neighbours to a where he lay for some minutes in a state of on his recovery he was plied with as well to restore his strength and prevent a as upon the principle that it would enable him to sustain with more firmness the dreadful and shocking fa the or destiny which awaited his son by motives of mistaken kindness they poured between three and four glasses of fiery cordial down his throat which as he had not taken so much during the lapse of thirty years before soon reduced the feeble old man to the condition in which we have described him when entering the gloomy cell of the prison father said in the name of heaven who or what has put you into this dreadful state especially when we consider the hard hard fate that is over us and upon us returned not the drift of his question my son hang hang him that s one comfort who are you speaking about the villain sentence was passed on to to day he ll swing swing for the robbery p e will we got him back out of that nest of robbers the isle o man o man they it that he made off to the villain father dear i m sorry to see you in this state on a day a black day to us for your sake i am what will the world say of it v i m in great spirits all out for something	50
that i forget that that li lies heavy upon me that i t sin but i am i am indeed for now that we ve him we ll hang the villain up ha ha ha it s a pleasant sight to see a fellow from a rope father sit down here sit down upon this bad and bed and keep yourself quiet for a little maybe you ll be better soon oh why did you drink and us in i ll not sit down i m very well able to stand said he tottering across the room the villain thought to starve me but you heard the sentence that was passed oh him to day where s honor from me she ll ke glad she hears it and my son wiu too j but he s he s re is bring me the of bring me to ah honor s heart s breaking him rate the mother s heart the mother s heart she s laid low with an sorrowful head for her boy father for god s sake will you try and rest a uttle if you could sleep father dear if you could sleep i ll hang p e i ll hang but if he gives back my money i ll not touch him who are you father dear your own son i ll marry you and then i ll settle all the villain robbed me of on you and you ll have every penny of it my death don t be me up i can walk very well ay an in right good spirits sure the money s got got back every of it ha ha ha god be praised god be praised we ve a right to be thankful the world isn t so bad all father will you try and rest it s not bad all i won t starve as i thought i would now that tile is got back from the villain ha ha ha it s great it s great what is it father dear sing me a song my heart s up it s light am t you glad sing me a if you ll sleep first father the or or the for there must be sorrow in it for my heart s low and your mother s heart s in sorrow an she s far from us an her boy s not near her an her heart s sore an her head her boy s far from her an she can t come to him the boy whose noble fortitude was during the formidable trial it had encountered in the course of that day now felt overcome by this simple allusion to his mother s he threw his arms about his father s neck and placing his head upon his bosom wept aloud for many many minutes what makes you cry all will be right now that we ve got hack thb or the money eh ha ha ha it s great luck isn t great an hare it you an after my for i won t starve for e er a one o father father i wish you would well well i will bring me to bed you ll sleep in your own bed to night your poor mother s head hasn t been off o the place where your own lay no indeed her heart s low it s but she won t let anybody make your bed but herself oh the mother s love that mother s love that mother s love but weu father dear isn t there something wrong isn t there something not right somehow this question occasioned the son to feel as if his heart would literally burst to pieces especially when he considered the circumstances under which the old man put it indeed there was something so appalling in his and in the wild but affecting tone of his conversation that when joined to his pallid and appearance it gave a character for the time being of a mood that struck the heart with an image more frightful than that of madness itself wrong father he replied all s wrong and i can t understand it it s well for you that you don t know the doom that s upon us now lor i feel how it would bring you down and how it will too it will kill you fa er it will kill you come home come home i m tired at any rate come home to your mother come for her sake i know i m not at home an she ll not rest till i bring you safe back to her come now i ll have no put you must come i say i you i can t and won t meet her you come an you can sing me the song goin home come your own poor father that can t live you come a i don t feel fight here we won t be properly happy till we go to your mother the of father father you don t know what you re making me suffer what heart blessed heaven can bear the door of his cell here opened and the stated that some five or six of his friends were anxious to sea liim and above all things to take charge of his father to his own home this was a manifest relief to the young man who felt more deeply upon his unhappy father s account than his own some foolish friends said he have given my father liquor an it has got into his head indeed it overcame him the more as i never remember him to taste a drop of spirits during his life before i can see nobody now and him in this state but if they wish me well let them take care of him and lave	50
ay that i was born in one of the most orange in ireland that the and of these armed were before my eyes and that the sounds of their may be said still to ring in my ears i have written many works upon irish life and up to the present day the man has never lived who could lay his upon any passage of my writings and say thai is false i can preface not however avoid remarking here that within the last few years a more enlarged knowledge of life and a more intercourse with society have enabled me to overcome many absurd prejudices with which i was without however the or integrity of any portion of my writings i am willing to admit which i do frankly and without hesitation that i published in my early works passages which were not calculated to do any earthly good but on the contrary to give unnecessary offence to a great number of my countrymen it is due to myself to state this and to say that in the last edition of my works i have left as many of these passages out as i readily could without the interest or disturbing the narrative k then this book may be considered as full of truth and fidelity as any i have ever written and i must say that in writing it till preface i have changed no principle whatsoever i am a liberal and i trust a rational one but i am not nor ever was an neither can i endure their exclusive and assumption of loyalty nor the which it has in what portion of my former writings for instance did i ever publish a line in their favour or in favour of any secret and again with regard to the and agents have i not written a tale called the poor scholar and another called in both of which their and are exposed let it not be mistaken the two great curses of ireland are bad and bad agents and in nineteen cases out of every twenty the origin of the crime lies with the landlord or agent instead of the tenant with respect to the established church preface ix of forty years ago if there is any man living who that i have not under drawn her rather than otherwise he is less intimate with truth than i could wish on this subject i challenge and defy inquiry i grant you she is much changed for the better now but yet there is much to be done in her still it is true at present get a which was unknown forty years ago we have now more and consequently more and more external decorum and i would also trust more internal we have now many eminent and pious in the church whose admirable example is enough even to shame the under them into a sense of their duty it is to be wished that we had many more such as they for they are wanted the irish party are certainly very numerous and s they must pardon me a slight or two regarding them concerning what ha s x preface termed the modem in these volumes are those compose this same party by the way acquainted with their own origin if not i will tell them they were by the active spirit of the church of upon their own establishment when she was asleep so that they owe their very existence to those whom they look upon as their enemies and if it were only for this reason alone there ought to be more peace between them in england the same spirit has effected a similar on that establishment but with this difference that the are a much more obedient and dutiful than the irish in as much as they have the grace to acknowledge the relationship this book was written to exhibit a useful moral to the country it will i humbly trust many a hard hearted landlord and agent into a of their duty and it will show the and preface xi less how those from whose toils and struggles he his support are oppressed and and trampled on in his name it will also teach the violent and or in other words the man who still the orange sentiments of past times a lesson that he ought not to forget it will also test the whole spirit of modem and its liberality k there be at the press or any where else a malignant with great and little honesty it is very likely he will attack my book and this of course he is at liberty to do i deny however that modem is capable of or the which disgraced the of forty years ago or even of a later period and for this reason i am confident that the press of ireland will not only sustain me but fight my battles if i shall be attacked let them look upon these preface pictures and if it ever should happen that arms and power shall be to them perhaps the recollection of their truth may teach them a lesson of forbearance and humanity towards those who differ from them in creed that may be of important service to our common country if so i shall have rendered a service to that country which as is usual probably be recognized as valuable when perhaps my bones are in the clay and my ear insensible to all such as for myself i have been so completely by the on each side that i have come to the determination as every honest ought of knowing no party but my country and of such talents as god has given me to the promotion of her general interests and the happiness of her whole people december m the irish agent chapter i an irish and tent a marriage an under agent an	50
old irish squire and union lord the town of castle it is not our intention to describe at more length than simply to say that it consists of two long streets each other and two or three lanes of many of them mud ones that stretch out of it on each side at right angles this street and these together with a church a prison a catholic chapel a few shops and half a dozen public houses present to the spectator all the features that are necessary for the description of that class of remote country towns of which we write indeed with the exception of an ancient stone cross that stands in the middle of the street and a fair green as it is termed or common where its two half yearly are held and which lies at the m west end of it there is little or nothing else to be added the fair i particularly mention because on the day on which the circumstances i am about to describe occurred a fair was held in the town and upon the green in question the month was december the day stormy and there had been a deep snow and hard frost for nearly three weeks before but now the aspect of the white earth contrasted wildly with the large masses of black clouds which hung motionless in the air and cast a dark and gloomy spirit not only over the appearance of nature but into the heart of man himself about noon just when the whole fair had been assembled the storm commenced with wind rain never was a more striking or unexpected change produced women tucked up nearly to the knees their garments soaked with wet clinging to their bodies and limbs as if a part of themselves men and up to the chin all ing through the slippery streets their shoes with snow the falling of tents the shouting against the of the storm in order to be heard the of sheep of cattle the and wild hum of confused noises all when added to the roaring of the sweeping blast the the irish agent merciless of the rain and the character of the whole day presented a scene that was and desolate beyond belief age and youth and with cold rich and poor man and woman all had evidently but one object in view and that was shelter love charity amusement business were all either disappointed or forced to their operations at least for the present every one ran or walked as quickly as possible with the exception of some who staggered along at his ease with an eye half insolent and half stupid careless if not unconscious of the wild uproar both and otherwise by which he was surrounded nay the very beggars and to whom in general severe weather on such occasions is a god send as it presents them to their fellow creatures in a more pitiable aspect were glad to in truth the effect of the storm upon them was perfectly miraculous many a poor creature blind from birth or infancy was gifted with or restored to excellent sight the were suddenly cured the deaf made to hear the dumb to speak and the sturdy or bounded away at m the rate of six miles an hour cursing the whole thing as a bad a dead failure solemn of long promise rustic and earnest match were all knocked up unless in the case of those who had themselves of the early part of the day time and place in fact were completely forgotten by the parties each being anxious only to secure the nearest and most shelter nay though ashamed to write it we are bound to confess that some of our countrymen were enough on meeting with their fairly to give them the slip or only to recognise them with a kind of dreary and salutation that might be termed a cross between a wink and a shiver others however gallantly and set the tempest at defiance or blessed their stars for sending them an opportunity of sitting so close to their fair in order that their loving pressure might in some degree aided by a glass of warm punch the sweet creatures for the unexpected they had got it has been well observed that there is no class of life in which instances of great virtue and fortitude may not be found and the of the was fully here cold bitter the irish agent and terrible as was the day amidst rain wind and hail there might be seen in a about the centre of the town a apparently from the middle down seated upon the naked street his legs stretched out before him onward by alternately twisting his miserable body from right to left while as if the softer sex were not to be surpassed in of or heroism a tattered creature in the shape of woman without cap shoe or accompanied by two naked and shivering children whose artificial were in those of nature proceeded up the street in the very teeth of the beating tempest attempting to sing some dismal with a voice which resembled the imagined of a more than the accents of a human being these two were the only individuals who in the true spirit of hardened all the fury of the elements in carrying out their principles so true is it that a rogue will often advance farther in the pursuit of a object than an honest man will in the of a just one to them may be added the poor fool of the town joe who from his childhood was known to be indifferent to all changes of weather and who now elated by the spirit m of a fair day moved about from place to place without hat or shoe neither	50
of which he ever wore just with as much indifference as if it had been a day in the month of june if the of the day however was to the general on of business there was one class to whose interests it amply contributed i mean the and such as opened houses or erected refreshment tents for the occasion in a great portion of ireland there are to be found in all what the people term tents that is tents in which fresh mutton is boiled and sold out with bread and soup to all customers i know not how it happens but be the motive or cause what it may scarcely any one ever goes into a tent unless in a mood of mirth and to eat seriously would be as rare a sight as to witness a wife on her husband s coffin it is very difficult indeed to ascertain the reason why the eating of fresh mutton in such circumstances is always associated with a spirit of strong ridicule and humour at all events nothing can exceed the mirth that is always to be found among the parties who frequent such tents fun laughter jest attack and about in all directions and the only sounds hear are of light hearted so the irish agent perhaps if the cause of this were closely traced it might be found to consist in a sense of shame which good attempts to laugh away it is well known that the great body of the people pass through life without ever either beef or mutton a circumstance which every one with the country knows to be true it is also a fact that nineteen out of every twenty who go in to eat are more by curiosity than hunger inasmuch as they consist of such persons as have never tasted it before this therefore being generally known and each a latent consciousness of its truth it is considered best to take the matter in good humour and escape the shame of the thing together with the poverty it by turning it ridicule jest this is pretty evident from the nature of the keeper s observations on being paid which thank you you may now yourself a or if a female ng life to you you may now go into h life any tune t is unnecessary to say that on the day in the tents were crowded to general these are pretty large sometimes one two fires being kept in each over these m placed upon three large stones or suspended from three poles united at top is the pot or pots in which the is boiled whilst patiently in a corner of the tent stand the poor invalid sheep that are doomed as necessity may require to furnish forth this humorous entertainment truth to tell there are many reasons why this feast is a comic one in the first place the description of mutton which they get is badly calculated to prejudice honest in favour of that food in general it being well known that in ninety nine cases out of a hundred the sacrifice falls upon disease poverty and extreme old age or if there be any of humanity in the selection it is that while the sex is spared the male one is in general certain to be made the victim but never unless when he has been known to reach a most length of years then the suddenness of the act which a portion of the venerable into a part of honest is equally remarkable for it generally happens that the animal now standing in a corner of the tent will in about half an hour be the process of in his s region the elastic quality of the meat is indeed extraordinary and such as with the knowledge of that fact does sometimes render the irish agent s treat of to his sweet heart an act of very questionable gallantry be this as it may there is scarcely any thing in life richer than to witness a tent of in full operation pulling dragging tearing swinging of the head from side to side want of success loss of temper fatigue of jaw recovery of good humour and the rally mingled with mock curses loud laughter shouting and singing all going on together are the ordinary characteristics of this most original banquet about the centre of the town stood one of those houses of entertainment which holds rank in such towns as a second rate inn on the day in question it was painfully and such was the of loud talk laughter singing roaring of pots and of tables that it was almost impossible to hear or understand any thing in the shape of conversation to this however there was one exception a small closet simply large enough to hold a table and two short forms opened from a room above stairs looking into the stable yard in this there was a good fire at which sat two men being with a bed and small table nearly as many as it was capable of holding with ease one of these was a stout broad shouldered person a good deal knock remarkably sallow in the ft m complexion with brows black and he too with one eye and what between this circumstance a remarkably sharp but nose and the lowering brows there was altogether about him a singular expression of and in every sense he was a person against whom you would feel disposed to guard yourself whether in the ordinary intercourse of life and its transactions or still more in the secret workings of the darker and more passions he was what they call a down looking man that is one who in conversation could never look you straight in the face which fact together with a habit of quivering in his upper up when any way	50
agitated gave proof that his cowardice was equal to his as his treachery was to both his age might be about fifty or perhaps beyond it the other was a tall man well of a clear fresh complexion a fine blue eye and altogether a kind benevolent expression of countenance he had been rather stout but not robust and might perhaps at the time we write of be about the same age as his companion he was evidently a man of respectability well dressed not badly educated and on the present occasion wore good broad cloth and top boots the contrast between him the irish agent and the other was in nothing more striking than the honest joyous spirit of his laughter which rang clearly and on your ear leaving behind it an impression of light and good nature that could not be mistaken it s idle talk to speak about going such a day as this observed the man who stirred up the fire with something that passed for a in reply and to tell you the truth upon my credit mr m i m not sorry that we happened to meet you re a man i ve a sincere regard for and always had and on that account we ll have something more to drink so saying he stamped upon the floor which was exactly over the bar in order that some one might attend them with the i m obliged to you his companion for your good opinion of me but at the same time god forbid that ever i should deserve it eh ha ha ha well well let us have some drink as you say at all events only it must be at my expense aa well as the rest well sure enough you were the devil s whip in your day and if you haven t repented yet all i can say is there is little time to lose if you wish to have a bright look up at the last day ha ha go on mr m we all know m you tho same pleasant fellow you ever were and upon my credit as good a companion as any one could sit with all i wish is that we had here more of the family on both sides that the boys and girls might have something to whisper to one another i didn t care we had my boy but how on earth will we get home indeed such a terrible day i ve seldom seen for many years faith it s good to have a dry roof over our heads and a warm fire before us at any rate there s many a poor half drowned devil in the fair would give a trifle to change places with us there is upon my credit in a few minutes the came in much to the satisfaction of the parties who felt a strong sense of comfort on the warmth of their snug uttle room with the uproar of the storm that raged without and spent its fury upon the cold bleak and almost deserted streets i am glad indeed mr m continued his companion that i happened to meet with you today you and i are now neighbours and surely we ought to live like neighbours well replied m and don t we do so you haven t found me troublesome as a neighbour have you eh my man thb irish agent no said the other certainly i have not upon my credit i haven t an that s what i complain of neither you nor your family associate with me or mine tut man replied m still in the same dry tone as before surely it s not long since you came to march us it s only two years and a half since you out the o then the farm lay near two years idle ay why man you re not four months our neighbour yet no not all out still mr m somehow you don t treat me or my family as neighbours if you have to borrow any thing no matter what it is you never come to me for it it was only the other day that you wanted a rope to pull that breeding mare of your s out of the drain and yet you sent past me near half a mile up to widow s to borrow it heavens pity you for it s a hard case but every one has their troubles and it seems you are not without your own poor man eh ha ha ha well never mind my friend you re better off now for all that than when you were only a process on the estate however tu tell you what the you see i can be sometimes just let me know whenever you stand in need of a rope m mark i don t say whenever you deserve it and may i never taste worse liquor than this but you shall have it with right good will hoping still that you ll make a proper use of it ha ha ha come man in the mean time take your liquor an don t look as if you d eat mo without salt for i tell you if you tried it you d find m a morsel than you e if any body else spoke to me in the style you do i d not be apt to overlook it upon my credit and reputation i would not no but you d look round it may be ha ha i ha i but go on who minds what i say nobody to be sure because you make one laugh whether they will or not faith dear and that s what nobody can tax you with or if you do it s on the wrong	50
side of the mouth you do it and they say that same is but indifferent mirth i wish you would speak seriously and besides you re always hard too hard upon me anything i did harshly it was always in the discharge of my duty never mind the fewer of these old you up the better for yourself i m not going to put you through your about them if the irish agent you re wise let be take that advice from me whatever tricks you may have practised you re now a wealthy man and for the same reason the world will help you to forget them if you keep your toe in your pump i am a wealthy man and can set the world at defiance if it goes to that yes a man than the world thinks and as i i defy it faith and you needn t for the world won t put you to that trouble at least a great part of it if you were ten times the you are so long as you have a full purse eh do you perceive me ha well damn the devil heaven pardon me for swearing for it s a thing i hate and yet many a fat oath you ve bolted in your time now on the nick of your conscience darling how many did you wear out by a long and honest course of hard swearing eh ha ha i ha i see there is little use in speaking to you or b ing angry with you you are a devilish pleasant hearty fellow only something a little too rough about the tongue never mind by all accounts it would be easy to reckon them but seriously is it true that m the lower joint of your right thumb is in of having caught the character of your science from having kissed it so often go on go on to be sure it is may say what they like i m not depending i them and i care little but now the one thing i say and i have long wished fo opportunity of saying it that s my bully out with it don t be you ll get over your modesty upon my c you will ha ha i ha d n it you can t be serious for a but no matter i out with it here s your h and fireside in the mean time merely no in reply but said nothing now you know b your farm and mine lie very beside another observe that what i begin with very good again your family and mine live very one another too very good now what if part of the farms and part o families were to become united and get together eh very good very good well but do you really think so thb irish agent go on if you please and let us hear more of it state your case as you say at the well then there s your daughter mary a girl and by all accounts as good as is handsome and there s my son who excepting the cast is but at any rate if he s no l he s a stout young fellow for you know yourself that that little about the knees is always a sign of strength that little why y isn t one knee sugar and the other it but go on it s not bad for so far go on n my credit it s not i am glad you like it for so far then seriously hat would you think of a marriage between them devil a prettier move you could make as you say the farms and the families lie convenient to one another and i don t see what s to prevent your proposal from being realized you ll do well for f course for although he has the in both yes instead of only in one like yourself and is t ted very much about the knees more than you e a good deal still neighbour as i now y call you he is a stout left legged round shouldered blade and i question whether the red m does not become him better than a black one like yours would why i grant you that he looks better on horseback than on foot and when mounted on handsome harry with top boots and spurs it s not on every high way you could meet his equal devil a lie in that nor a boy better made to ride or shoot round a comer you could not meet in europe but never mind go on go on my friend no faith on hill or in hollow it would not be easy to match him he d make an excellent good husband he would not be your son if he did not well well as to that if the truth was known i know where the blame would lie your daughter will not be the and to him that my was to me upon my credit she won t devil a lie in that either well oh i ril take my oath she won t i don t see why he and she might not be very happy together you are able to do handsomely for her as report goes and willing and a bad father i d be if i were not well then so far all looks fair and devilish glad i am that i the thing at once i have the irish agent been thinking of it ever since i came to the neighbourhood upon my credit i have faith and so am i glad of it but what s to be done	50
next darling why the less time that s lost upon it the better ire must bring the together till they get acquainted then we can have another meeting and settle the match out of hand did you ever see on handsome harry didn t i to be sure i did and upon my word he s a credit to the horse he rides as the horse is to him a comely couple they are in truth but or neighbour as i now may call you don t you think it would be better to wind up this business now that our hand s in for it let us hear what you ll do and i ll follow you on my part for there s no use in losing time about it upon my credit there s not what would you think then of the farm we re in now that is the o property as you call it suppose i give him that what will you come down with for the girl i know it can t be under three hundred come say three hundred and it s a match three hundred ah you re too soft too moderate too mild indeed you are why m three would be nothing against the o property as you call it and indeed i don t intend to put my daughter off under five hundred and that s nearly double what three oh what do you say upon your credit now faith ril not quarrel with you if you make it six or eight well now said m rising up whilst his honest features were lit with indignation this joke or this impudence on your part has gone far enough listen to me what did i or my family do i ask my own conscience in the name of god what sin did we commit whom did we whom did we rob whom did we that a scoundrel like you the of an remarkable only for and what i say did i and my family do that you his son who were and are to this day the low mean willing of every the agent of their crimes the instrument of their you who the honest man who sold and betrayed the poor man who deceived and the widow and her and rose upon their ruin who have robbed your as well as those you were employed against a double traitor in treachery and a the irish agent thousand times to the core of your black and heart what crime i say again did i or mine commit that we whose name and blood has been without a stain for a thousand years should suffer the insult that you have now offered us eh look me in the face now if you can and answer me if you are able m as he concluded calmly folded his arms and looked at his companion resolutely but sternly the other to do him justice did certainly raise his head and fix his evil eye upon him for a moment but only for a moment it dropped after a angle glance in truth he before m his upper up as usual quivered his brow lowered and looked black as midnight whilst all the rest of his face became the colour of ashes in fact that white smile which is known to be the very emblem of cowardice and revenge sat upon his countenance stamping on it at once the character of the and the demon a being to be both feared and hated well m returned the other hear me don t dare to me sir returned m i m a very humble man and ought to be an humble man for i know well what a sinner i i m am before god but for all that and if it were even religion itself i feel too proud to suffer you to speak to me as you do no don t me but listen and let me show you what you are and what you have been i can t say what you will be does not lie with any but god well said m go on i now can hear you and what is more i wish to hear you and whisper your worst it is said that both cowardice and despair have their courage and it would appear from the manner and action of this man that he now felt by some vague feeling resembling that which we have described he rose up and said m do you think i ever can forget this what do you mean by that said m look me in the face i say and tell me what you mean by it i m a man and an honest man and there s no treachery about me the with which he spoke made the other again there was little in it he replied in a but cold and malignant spirit i didn t think you were so violent i bore a great deal from you this day mr m a great deal indeed and so patiently as i bore it too upon m c t i did the irish agent m made no reply but stamped on the floor in order to bring up some person to whom he might pay the reckoning you need not stamp said the other this is my share of the reckoning your share no i told you before it must not be yours i wouldn t have it said that bit or sup paid for by your ill gotten wealth should ever cross my lips no no the waiter or rather a red haired now came up here said m	50
then of m or he was more generally called the w daughter to the county i name who had risen regularly through all the of office until the power of promotion no farther go his daughter was celebrated beauty and enjoyed a considerable of local reputation of being a with the junior portion of the grand among the latter however there was one a squire of very principles named whose suit to the fair miss proved more si than those of his and the was the appearance of young t reader therefore already that m ch s real name was but perhaps he is u aware that in the times of which we write it usual for young unmarried men of wealth not the irish agent their children to be named after there were indeed many reasons for this in the first place the mere fact of assuming the true name was a standing argument of the father s secondly the morals of the class and the period were so that the legitimate portion of a did not like to be either or insulted by their and almost at every turn of the roads in d p e a young man of this de wh n seeking for a wife feel the latest inclination to have a catalogue of his to her under the names of ki tom or dick or al so and so all his children p thia of course was an respect paid to m and perhaps the strongest argument for pressing the true name he practice however l by no means but in frequent in it existed and the s was one of ni he was named after neither father nor er but after his by the s side would not suffer his name to be as d and so far as his mother was concerned the general tenor of her life rendered the of her s any thing but creditable to her off with respect to his education s m was principally due to his grandfather who had him well instructed he himself from beginning was shrewd clever and intelligent b possessed the power in a singular degree of ing to his society whenever he felt it interest to do so he could indeed raise or his manners in a very surprising degree and w an effort that often occasioned astonishment the other hand he was cowardly and so that he was never to forgive an injury these are to when you add natural and talent j have such a character as has too frequently i pressed itself with something like the agreeable s produced by a red hot burning iron upon fears and necessities of the irish m rose from the humble office of to that of s hei until finally he felt hi self a kind of on the castle p and in proportion as he rose so did his mi rise with him for years before his tion to our readers he was the practical manager the estate and so did he own fortunes on it that without any breach of honesty he actually contrived the irish a wealthy man and to live in a respectable much however will have more and m on finding himself comparatively independent he began to take more enlarged but very measures to secure some of the good things of the estate to him and his this he was the better enabled to do as he had by the apparent of his manner completely himself into the full confidence of the head agent a gentleman of high honour and integrity remarkable alike for humanity and benevolence but utterly suspicion two or three farms whose dropped he most took into his own bands and so the agent that he induced that gentleman to think he was rendering a to the property by doing so the began to murmur a complaint came here and there here was an instance of private and oppression and this was followed by a attempt to injure either the property or character of some one who had the courage to tell bim what he thought of his conduct that he might be by powerful a mass of testimony contrived just n through his to the agent still confided in him and by the political m ence of his father the squire who was the s strongest in the county to get himself formally appointed under agent feeling now quite confident in his strength and that his hold on the prejudices and we may add the ignorance of the landlord was as strong if not stronger than those of the agent himself he began to give a greater and less guarded scope to his natural principles mr the agent had been strongly disgusted by the political with which the union was carried and had on more than one occasion intimated a doubt whether as an honest man he could render political support to any one who had in its corruption or recognised the justice of those principles on which it had been carried all this gave m that insolence which is inseparable from petty tyranny and day after day did his character come out in all its natural the against him was not now confined to this portion of the property or that it became pretty general and perhaps at the time we haye brought him on the stage there was not a man in ireland holding the situation he did who was more feared and more detested some time previous to this however s the irish agent eyes were opened to his character and what he could do he did on finding that the was all the oppressive with which property in ireland is so t ed he immediately gave orders that such should be by m and resisted by the tenants in spite of all this however there were upon the property many timid persons	50
who his of purpose still continued to yield to his and that which nothing else but a dread of his vengeance could from them thus did he feather his nest at the expense of their terrors who had also been agent to old felt a kind of personal attachment to that good humoured so long as he believed him to be honest old tom s however at the union made him rather sick of the connection and the conduct or rather the more expensive of the young lord rendered his situation as an honest and humane agent one of great pain to him self considering his position between landlord and tenant he knew besides that many men of his class had taken most scandalous advantages of the which their had occasioned in the m by o drive for who was his assistant not attempt such a thing in his presence and if ever a knock conveyed the of the man who gave it that did though as we said but a single one yet there was no its double meaning it was at once impudent and it was impudent as much as to say to the servants why don t you open the door quickly for a man who is so deep in your master s confidence as i am while to that master himself it said or seemed to say i am your creature your instrument your slave ready to execute any oppression any hardship or on which you can employ me it is said and we believe with truth that in military life no officer is so severe and oppressive ac he who has risen from the ranks and been most there we do not doubt it for thi principle is a strong one in human nature and is b no means confined to either the army or navy a all events shuffling and and o drive presented himself to the there was a downcast cowardly shy in his blank straggling features seemed to say for god s sake spare my very don t me here i am you see me heart spirit and body lungs and lights thb irish agent i tell you a lie no could i deceive a man as you that can look through mo as if i was a or a of glass without a g eye in it no i only let me and til do your bidding well said in a sharp imperious tone you re punctual for a wonder be praised for that replied wiping the of his nose with the finger and thumb of an old heaven be praised that i m not late your damned tongue you place is this for it well i am then yes you know you are you are all is a unless indeed one io a thousand it s truth indeed your honour not but there s worse than you after all and be to you an sir too i you for sure god help me i m not what i ought to be well mend then why you for you want come now no jaw i tell you but answer me hai i am about to ask you not a word now well no then your honour i won t in m c yoa warn the of c are they ready hare they the rent only some o them sir an other some i for time the asking for time why the o sir i that your honour will let them wait till the m rises an not be forced to sell the grain prices is so low now that it would ruin then it s the of some says i his honour mr m is only do duty but a hearted or a kinder man the world s bread than he is to them thi at his hands so sir they began well its no i them thej wrong made it to them but they wo be convinced say what i might why what did they say were they i suppose so i the poor sure it was only and foolishness on their part en all or most o them is lot me know at what they said you k or upon my honour and soul tu turn you out room and bring in the irish agent your honour he wasn t present i left urn outside in regard that i didn t think he was it to be trust a safe no twas for a i had he a look at m as he spoke of such far and distant cunning scarcely perceptible and such obvious yet retreating cowardice scarcely perceptible also that no language could convey any notion of it ah i said you are a neat lad but go what did they say for i must have it out of you that i may die in happiness your honour but to tell you hat sure if you d give your promise sir your bright word of honour that you d not pay me off for it i ll tell you ah you d d crawling out with it i won t pay you off well then here it is oh the curse o el an them this day for an pack they said your honour that bad luck to them i pray t there wasn t so black hearted a scoundrel on of the as your four that the gallows is for you and that there s as y curses before you in hell as ud a m s face assumed its usual expression of vol i is m whilst at the same time he gave a look so piercing at as if suspecting that the curse from its peculiar character was at least partially his own	50
said a wink that she d require great as she was in a delicate state of health one ould hen and half a dozen eggs wouldn t be the case only for not but he s a very respectable gentleman by all accounts i told you before that i will have nothing offensive to him mentioned in my presence this letter to mr m and bring me an answer s soon as you can will you have a glass of would it be my duty sir f you think so don t take it you ought to know best well then for this one time in regard of a or the red in my stomach i ll try it i drank last night goin to bed but a morsel o good it did me m handed him a full glass which he held steadily before his eye till the other put up the your honour s health sir said he and fire de and if you war to throw me out o fifty win or red water the irish name for heart burn t m etc dies ril add to that here s that the de had his own and i know where you d soon be how you scoundrel said with wrath what do you mean by that made no reply but hastily tossing off tl glass he seized his hat bolted outside the door an putting in his head said in a kind of loud but in s place your honour chapter iii solomon m a hi office family substitute on business pass we now to another worthy character who had locality upon the property of castle solomon m the law agent was a satisfactory proof of the ease with which religion and law and aid each other in the heart and spirit of the same person an attorney no doubt is at all times an amiable honest and feeling individual upon professional principles but when to all is added the influence of serious and decided piety it would not be an easy task to find the several classes which compose society in s any thing so truly engaging so morally so sweetly so as is that pure and exhibition of character that ia found to be developed ft attorney m solomon m was a man in whose heart the two principles kept their constant residence indeed so beautifully were they blended that his law frequently be mistaken for just as his religion on the other hand was often known to strongly of law in this excellent man these principles each other with a indulgence that manifested the beauty of in a high degree if for instance law in its progress presented to him any obstacle of morality religion came forward with a sweet but serious smile and said to her companion my friend or sister in this case permit you and on the contrary if religion at any time felt over sensitive or scrupulous law had fifty arguments oi safety and precedent and high is to justify her but indeed we may that in a religious attorney these scruples do not occur mr m knew the advantages of religion too well to feel that of the mind and principles which in so many ordinary cases occasions religion and common morality to almost identical religion to him was a in whose graces he stood so high that she permitted him to do many things which those who were more from her not attempt the irish agent he enjoyed that state of blessed freedom which is accorded to so few and consequently had his and his privileges to go in the wicked of this trying world much greater than those who were less gifted and favoured by the sweet and principle which regulated and his life solomon was a small man thin sharp and solemn he was deliberate in his manner and and correct but slow of speech though solemn however he was not at all severe or as is too frequently the case with those who to be religious far from it on the contrary in him the gospel gifts appeared in a gravity of disposition and a good humoured of that could turn with equal and incident of life no matter w trying to the heart all the hinges of spirit seemed to have been graciously and abundantly and such was his serenity that it was quite evident he had a light within him it was my a pleasure to speak to or business th such a man he seemed always so full of inward peace and comfort and happiness nay n some occasions he could rise to a kind of that was perfectly delightful m and in the very of his heart would of an odd time let out easily and gently it is true a small joke that a good deal of then he was so full of charity and affection for all that were frail and among our kind that he never or seldom breathed a harsh word against the or if in the fulness of his benevolence he found it necessary to faults and place them as it were in a catalogue it was done in a spirit of such love mingled with sorrow that those to whom he addressed himself often thought it a pity that he himself did not honour religion by becoming the simply for the sake of afterwards becoming the penitent in the religious world he was a very active and prominent man punctual in liis exercises and always on the look out for some of those unfortunate with which society that he might as he termed it have the pleasure ai them out of the burning he never went without a bible and a variety of tracts in his and seldom was missed from the platform of a rs meeting he received for ad public and	50
private and has repeatedly been known to offer and afford consolation to the widow the irish agent and orphan at a time when the pressure of business rendered the act truly one of christian interest and affection the hour was not more than ten o clock a m when entered his in which by the ji lay three or four in different places in a recess on one side of the chimney piece stood a glass covered book case filled with the usual works on his profession whilst hung upon the walls and consequently nearer observation were two or three shelves on which were to be found a small collection of religious volumes tracts and other all bearing on the same subject on the desk was a well bible to the right which that used at family prayer and on the opposite a religious and a copy of congregation hymns on reaching the hall door knocked with considerably more decision than he had done at m s but without appearing to have made himself heard after waiting patiently for some however he knocked again and at length the door was opened by a very pretty servant girl seventeen who upon his inquiring if her master was at home replied in a sighing voice and with a face oh yes at family prayer m when he s done said maybe you d be kind enough to say that o drive has message for hun the pretty servant did not nod an act she considered as too for the solemnity oi devotion but she gently bowed her head and closed her eyes in assent upon which was heard a somewhat cheerful groan with true inside the parlour followed by a voice that ah pronounced in a tone of grave placid remonstrance immediately entered and the voice which was that of our attorney proceeded take your place long measure eight lines four and two the was then raised or pitched by solomon himself who was followed by six or eight others each in a different key but all with such reluctance to approach their leader that from a principle of they allowed him as the more pious to get far in advance of them in this manner they sang two verses and it was remarkable that although on coming to the conclusion solomon was far ahead and the rest nowhere yet from the same principle of they left the finish as they did the start altogether to himself the was accordingly wound up by a kind of understanding or the irish agent ment between his mouth and nose which seemed each by a zealous but struggle to the other if not in melody at least in they then all knelt down and solomon launched with a voice into an prayer which was accompanied by a solemn of and muffled that cannot otherwise be described except by saying that they resembled something between a and a scream their being over having delivered m s letter was desired to take a seat in the office until mr m should be at leisure to send a reply sit down my good friend sit down and at ease at least in your body i do not suffer one who has an immortal soul to be saved to stand in my office and as you have one to be saved you must sit the pride of this vain life is sin and happy are they who are enabled to overcome it may he be praised sit down tm thankful to you sir said oh mr m it would be well for the world if every attorney in it was uke you sir there would little honesty goin sir if there was m sam my dear boy if you have not bill of costs finished f no mr a good boy sam well do not omit and four pence for two letters which i ought have sent as a part of my moral i my duty to widow explained to her by word of mouth that which ought in conscience to have written but indeed m conscience often leads me to what should i say the merciful side in these matters no my friend you cannot see into my heart or yo would not say so i am frail and am not up to the standard my friend neither hav i acted up to my privileges the freedom of th gospel is a blessed thing provided we abuse it sam my good young friend that was entered before sir under the instructions very right apparently very right sam reasonable for you to think so but this was on i different occasion although the same case oh i beg pardon sir i did not know that sam do not beg pardon not of me nor of an but one go there sam you require it we al require it at least i do abundantly thb agent it is a principle with me never to lose an opportunity of throwing in a word in season but as e affairs of this life must be attended to only in a secondary degree i admit i will therefore place a al the only true fountain where you can be properly refreshed take this bible and it matters not where you open it read and be filled now as in consequence of his early dance upon m had been obliged to leave home that morning without his breakfast it must be admitted that he was not just then in the best disposition to draw much from it after over it with a very sombre face for some time he at length looked at m one eye a uttle as was his custom i beg pardon sir said he but if i m not mistaken to book i	50
believe is intended more for the the body for the body truly that last is a thought and i am sorry to hear it from your i the bible is a spiritual book my friend and must it be received but to a man like me who hasn t had liis w to day yet how will it be reading it keep off hunger or fill my stomach ah my friend that is gross such vol i m views of divine truth are really a of the gifts of heaven that book although it will not fill your stomach as you call it actually will do it which in point of fact is the same thing or a greater it will enable you to bear hunger as a to which it is your duty as a christian to submit nay it wiu do more my friend it will your faith to such a divine pitch that if you read it with the proper spirit you will pray that the thus laid on you may continue in order that the inner man may be faith and mr m with great respect if that is your doctrine it isn t your practice the word of prayer god bless the prayers came out o your to day you laid in a good warm breakfast and that for of disappointments the very first thing you prayed for was your daily bread didn t i hear you but i ll tell you what sir me my breakfast and then i ll be to you a hungry man or a woman or her hungry can t eat although it is well known god knows that l hunger and famine and starvation are and upon them that the same bible but nothing else is handed to them by pious people in the shape of the irish agent consolation and relief now i m mr m that that is not the best way to make the bible respected are you goin to give me my breakfast sir upon my your pardon if you do i ll bring the bible home me if that will satisfy you for we got e er a one in our own little cabin my good boy i ll trouble you to take that bible out of his hands i am not in the slightest degree offended you will yet i trust live to know better may he grant it i overlook the of on your part for you didn t know what you said but you will you will this is a short reply to mr m s note i shall see him on my way to the to morrow tut i have told him so in it and now my friend be assured i overlook the and of your conversation we are all frail and prone to i at least am so still we must part as christians ought you have asked me for a l but i overlook that also i ought to over k it as a christian for is not your immortal soul of infinitely greater value than your body and as a proof that i value it more this my brother oh that i d say my brother christian also receive it m and in the proper spirit too it is a ti written by the rev m spiritual food for of grace i have my found it graciously and refreshing i hope that you also may my friend i sir said it may be v good in its way and i ve no doubt but it s a v generous and christian act in you to give i since it cost you nothing but for upon my i m strongly of opinion that hungry man it s a bad substitute for a ah by the way a deaf ea this observation have you heard within the day or two anything of mr m s mr how he is why sir replied i m breaking down fast but the a one of him give up the lady and ministers even priests have all been at him but it s he curses and them right and left and w be attended by any one but her hadn t you try him mr m maybe you might who knows but a little of the spiritual food of grace might him as well as there s a case for you sure he h self to be a member of the hell fire club thb irish agent he s a my friend i have myself tried him spoke with him reasoned with him but never was my humility my patience so strongly tried his language i will not repeat but rascal no it is useless and to repeat it now go my and do not forget that precious tract which you hare thrust so into your pocket after a shrewd wink at one of the which was returned passed out and left mr m to the pursuit of his salvation in the mean time as we authors have peculiar as mr m would say we think it only due to our readers to let them have a peep at m s note to our friend m my dear friend i felt as deep an interest in e purport of your note as you yourself possibly the parties alluded to i appreciate precisely tt you do m has in the most assailed my character as well as your s so his partner in the concern i mean but then my friend are we not christians and shall we not return good for shall we not forgive them some whispers hints very gentle nd delicate have reached my ears which i do not wish to commit to paper but this ix ay ii y v m i see you to morrow	50
that i think your respect to m and ar mature there is a screw loose somewhere speak that is all but i believe i can say your father will act to our purposes a be as we could wish this is a dear friend but still i am of opinion that i could by any practicable means soften the un female who possesses such an him all will be right i would myself und the perilous task for your sake and ordinary men i admit it would be for she is b question exceedingly comely in me this appear disinterested whilst in you suspicion become strong cash is wanted in the know and cash has been refused in another and when we meet i shall tell you more matter in the mean time it is well that ther legitimate issue but should he will his this or could she be removed i to a local distance but i shall see you to mc d v when we can have conversation what may be done with humble but s prayers for your best wishes and welfare i am my dear friend thine in the bonds of christian lo the irish agent p s as it is a principle of mine to neglect no just opportunity of improving my heart i bought from a travelling this morning a book the remarkable title of the spiritual attorney or a sure guide to the other world i have not yet had time to look at any thing but the title page and consequently am not able to inform you which of the worlds he to ha i ha i you see my friend i do not think there is evil in a joke that is or has a moral end in view as every joke ought to have thine as before m chapter iv the child son dialogue on the times s on the causes of solomon is generous a squire of the old and a moral dialogue the next morning was that on which the quarter of castle commenced and of course it was necessary for o drive who was always full of business on such occasions to see m in order to receive instructions his duties on various proceedings connected with the estate he had reached the cross roads that ran about half way between constitution cottage and castle when he met just where the road turned to m s a woman named accompanied as she mostly was by her son a poor harmless idiot named both of whom were well known throughout the whole parish was a thin sallow woman with piercing dark eyes and a very like the irish agent lance her dress was always black and yery much worn in fact every thing about her was black black stockings black bonnet black hair und black s occupation was indeed a one and not yery creditable to the morals of the day her means of living were derived from the employment of child to the ho of in other words she lived by conveying children from the places of their birth to the establishment just mentioned which has been very properly termed a for national whenever a birth of this kind occurred was immediately sent for received her little charge with a name whether true or false mattered pinned to its dress then her travelling expenses after which she delivered it at the hospital got a receipt for its delivery and returned to claim ber demand which was paid only on producing it in the mean time the unfortunate infant had to encounter all the comforts of the establishment until it was out to a school in which of it received that exquisitely moral education that enabled it to be sent out into society admirably qualified to sustain the high character of morrow said what s the young m est news you and my boy ho goes it you t i don t care for you replied the fool y drove away widow s cow an left ti to the black bad luck to you i started for there is a superstition the irish that the curse of an innocent is one the most unlucky that can be uttered don t curse me sure ra i did only my duty then who made you do your duty asked tl other why the mr m be sure bad luck to him then his mother who had been walking a little him turned and rushing towards him put h hand hastily towards his mouth with the intention of the but t late it had escaped and be the consequence it might had got the exciting cause of it my poor unfortunate boy said she yo t to curse any body stop this minute an say god bless him god bless who mr m the irish agent the devil bless him ha ha ha i doesn t ho harry the poor an drive away their cows from them doesn t he rack them an rob them harry them rack them rob them harry them rack them rob them rob them rack them harry them harry them rack them rob them rob them rack them harry them this he sung in an air somewhat uke ha ha ha oh the devil bless him and they say a from the devil is very like a curse from god the mother once more put up her hands to his but only with the intention of and caressing him she tenderly down his bead and patted his cheek and attempted to win out of the evil humour into which the sight of had thrown him could observe however that she appeared to be deeply troubled by the idiot s conduct as was evident by the trembling of her hands and a of manner hich she could not conceal she	50
said soothingly won t you be good for me for your own mother my poor helpless boy won t you be good for me m i will said he in a more placid voice and you will not curse any body any more no mother no and won t you bless mr m my dear there s a fig for him he replied there s a fig for him now but you didn t bless him my you didn t bless him yet as she spoke the words her eye caught his and she perceived that it began to gleam and well no said she hastily no i won t you only your tongue say no more she again patted his cheek tenderly and the fiery light which began to burn in his eye died gradually away and no other expression in it but the habitual one of innocence and good nature no no said she shaking her head and speaking as much to herself as to i know him too well no earthly power will put him out of his own way once he takes it into his head this minute if i had spoke another word about the m would a got another curse yet except in these fits my poor child is kindness and itself well now said that that s over can the irish agent you tell me what s the news when were yon in ive given that up replied i m too ould and stiff for it now as for the news you ought to know what s goin as well as i do you re nearly as much on the foot no nor if every head in the parish was side o mine i wouldn t know as much in the news line as you the news that s goin of late is not good an you know it there s great an great complaints ever since the lad became agent and you know that too but how can i prevent that said sure i d side the people if i could you d side the people an you d side the man that them even in spite of mr god bless mr said and the curse him and sure tis well known that the s curse is only another name for god s god bless mr amen my child all my heart said but she continued take my word for it that these things won t end well the estate m and neighbourhood was and quiet till the began his and now very well said the blame be his an if it comes to that the punishment so far a myself s i say let every hang by its own tail must do my duty but tell me hut woman never mind the let him go to the devil his own way tell me do you ever hear from your son frank that m s no said she not a word but the curse o heaven on m was my fine young man worth no more than his of a horse that he didn t steal either till he was put to it by the well sure two o them were sent over soon him if that s any comfort it s no comfort replied but til tell you what s a comfort the thought that i ll never die till i have full on m ay either on liim or or both come have you ne er a spare curse now for m you could give a fat one to m this minute an have you none for m no replied the son he does poor the irish agent well but he transported your brother no matter frank used to beat me he was bad an m was good to me an does be good to me he gives me my dinner or breakfast i go there an a good bed in the barn i won t curse him now it s no use continued whose thin features bid not yet subsided from the of expression had been awakened by the curse if no use he ll only do what he likes himself an best way is to never heed him i believe so said but where s your daughter now why said she has taken to my trade an up to the although dear knows it s hardly worth her while now it won t give her salt to her poor girl why toe the times asked who spoke in a moral point of view exclaimed oh ay indeed they re not fit to be named in the one day with what they used to be but indeed of late i m happy to say that they are a bit said she speaking s them a lift for i ve ever an always remarked that dis and poverty and neglect the poor and t m hardship and persecution an oppression and any thing that way was sure to hare my very heart broke business and tell me did you ever happen to get a job from a pious o the name of m now tell the it s a question replied you have no right to axe you must know o drive that had my private business as well as my ness an that i d suffer that right hand to be cut off sooner than betray trust honour bright or what s the world good for they now reached a spot where the road into two but still kept to that which led to m s are you for the cottage too asked i am replied i ve been sent for but wliat he wants me i know no more than the man in the moon just then the tramp of a horse s feet was heard behind them and in	50
a minute or two m who was also on his way to the cottage rode up to them a kind good morning to you toy i trust you did not neglect to avail yourself of ah said he complacently on catching a thb irish s ace i think i ought to recollect your my good woman but no i can t say i t no i must mistake them for those of another but indeed the best of us is liable to mistake and tor all frail flesh is grass you might often see my face returned but i don t think we spoke before i know ra to look at you sir that s all an it s hat you say too sir there s nothing but in le world a much else be that it may honour bright s my motive and a good motto it is my excellent woman that interesting young man your son he is sir but he s a poor innocent that hasn t le full of wit sir god help him i well my good woman continued solomon as he appears to be without shoes to his feet will ou accept of five shillings which is all the silver i ave about me to buy him a pair many thanks mr m sl hem many thanks ir honour bright s my motive and let it always be so my excellent woman good morning to you very kindly i i bid ou also good morning and peace be with you vol i g m so saying he rode on at a quiet easy apparently at peace with his heart his his sleek and all the world besides the of castle having concluded as usually conclude we beg our reader id accompany us to hall the residence of m s father the squire this man was r advanced in years but appeared to have been possessed of a constitution which or perhaps tliat spirit which over its recollections on to the very verge of the grave in the case before us old age sharpened the inclination to vice in proportion as it diminished at power of being vicious and presented an of a man at the close of a long life watching over grave of a heart with a hope of meeting the wan of his own departed passions tom he could not meet the passions themselves and be i met them for they could not rest but returned to their former habitation like spirits as they were each bringing seven more along with it but not to torment him such were the beings with which the soul of this aged was crowded during life his well known motto was let us eat drink and be merry for to morrow we die the irish agent his principle expanded into still wider lid he live and act during a protracted existence and to those who knew him and well known he was there appeared something in the career of this old was a large man with a rainbow whose chin at the time we speak of rested upon bis breast giving to him the exact character he bore that of a man who to the last was of every opportunity his grey eye was and and his lip in a manner which joined to tbe character of his age left no one at a loss for the subject matter of his thoughts he always wore top boots and generally went on horseback that part of his hat which rested on the collar of his coat turned up and greasy squire s language was not more moral than for he not only enforced his principles by liis example but also by his his conversation consequently resolved itself into a mingled stream of swearing and ridicule of religion and a hardened triumph in his own exploits illustrated and confirmed by a f constituted the f his thoughts and expressions according to his m own principles he could not look forward to another life and consequently all that remained for him was to look back upon an unbroken line of and upon wealth and influence not merely abused but to the lowest and purposes of our worst passions upon treachery and that which constituted the act of heartless desertion in himself the ultimate ruin and degradation of his victims such was this well known squire of the old school whose taken from life will be recognized by every one who ever knew him any such happen to those pages at the period of which we write squire was near eighty and although feeble and broken down he still exhibited the remains of a large coarse strong animal not without a vigorous of low cunning in his eye and a of and principle about his and ill shaped eye brows which could not be mistaken he was confined to his bed and for the first time during many years was unable to attend the castle quarter it was the second or third day after their that about the hour of ten o clock a m he from a heavy and whidi the agent be termed deep but rather a kind of middle between that and waking at length he raised m head gasped and on finding no one in the room lie let fly a of and rang the bell is there any one there any one within hearing i say are you all dead d no your honour not yet some of us at least replied a shrewd looking lad of about eighteen making his appearance ha it s you is it what do you mean by that you devil s pick tooth where s where s playing her i suppose where is she you devil s tooth brush eh do you want your brandy and sir brandy and h you	50
scoundrel where s miss why she s just her mouth sir a drop of of what you devil s but i know she s drinking she s drunk you young candidate for i m not an ould one sir any how as to miss sir she bid me say that she s herself the pleasure of your health ha ha ha i oh if i were near that s all m drinking my health she s the she scoundrel she never sends me that message unless when she s not your honour only s a little touched the falling sickness she always takes it after her mouth sir for she s fond of a sweet breath your honour ah she s a confounded a living and nothing else my lad if the was brandy she d dry the at this hour i well never mind i was drunk myself last night and i m half drunk yet here you devil s box mix me a glass of brandy and water wouldn t you do it better yourself sir no you don t you see how my hands and be hanged to them tremble and shake put in another glass i say carry it to my mouth now hold you here s the glorious pious and immortal memory ho there s nothing like being a good after all so i ll stand to glorious bill to the last nine times nine and one cheer more i he then laid himself back and attempted to whistle the water but having only one in front the sound produced resembled the wild the irish agent of the wind through the of a door shrill and monotonous after which he burst out into a laugh probably at the notion of that celebrated melody proving in spite of him and refusing as it were to be whistled at this moment miss or as he most frequently called her miss came in with a gleaming eye and an unsteady step her hair partially and her dress most pot on the moment saw her his whole changed notwithstanding his previous violence the departed from him his fell and he lay mute and terror stricken before her it was indeed clear that her sway over liim was boundless and such was the fact on this she simply looked at him significantly held op her hand in a menacing attitude and having made a mock immediately left the room said he in an when she had gone you cup go and tell her to forgive me i said too much and i m sorry for it say go yoa scoundrel ru do no such thing sir replied alarmed at the nature of the message i know better than to come across her now she d whale the oat o me sure she s the cook m out o the kitchen and the butler has one of his ears he says off him as long as a blood hound s speak easy said in a voice of terror speak lower or she may hear you isn t it strange he said to himself that i who never feared god or man should before this i an here s one your honour that ill make her if he meets her who is it asked the other eagerly who is it you why mr m sir he s up the avenue c ay the the i like that fellow i like him for his clever only he s a and doesn t set the world at defiance as i do no he s a cowardly nearly as great a one as m but doesn t talk so much about religion as that gentleman in a few moments m entered good morrow well well my what s in the wind now who s to suffer are you ready for a eh i was sorry to hear that your health s not so good sir as it was lie my dear ow ia in your the irish agent throat i tell you you re watching for my the air at a distance under the hope of a no you didn t care the devil had me you could make a by it i hope sir there s no hope i you what s hope good for hope to rot in the grave is it to melt into corruption and feed the worms what a precious i ll make when i m a month in the dirt maybe you wouldn t much relish the scent of me then my worthy curse your at all events i what do you want what did you come for who knew his worthy well knew also ihe most successful method of working out any purpose with him he accordingly replied conscious was out of the question the is sir i want you to aid me in a piece rf i ll do it ru do it hang me if i don t come i like that it shows that there s no mock between us that we know one another what s the why sir i m anxious in the first place to l te the head agent out and in the next get into his place if possible now i know that you can assist me in both if you wish m how asked who was quite as able a as his son and who in fact had to put himself so completely in possession of the po influence of the county as to be able to return any one he wished how is it to be done tell me that i have understood from george lord s own man that he wants money tut replied who now forgot a great deal of his swearing and himself to the subject with all the	50
coolness and ability of a thorough man of business tut is that your news when was he ever otherwise come to the point the thing s desirable but how can it be done i think it can but it must be by very nice handling indeed well your nice handling then the truth is that i suspect is sick of the agency thanks to lord s extravagance and an occasional bit of which i through the lay on him at home you know is an unsteady scoundrel and in the ordinary transactions of life has no fixed principle for he is possessed of little honour and i am not much honesty oh murder this from the let ma the irish agent look at you did m bite you or have you turned holy what a sermon curse your sir go on and no preaching not much honesty as i said now sir if you who have him doubly in your power first by the and secondly as his political who can either put him in or keep him out of the county if you were to write him a friendly confidential letter in which observe you are about to finally arrange your affairs and you are sorry quite sorry but the truth is something must be done about the you are very sorry mark but you are old and cannot leave your property in an unsettled state just touch that part of it so yes touch and go exactly touch and go well you pass then to the political portion of it s political opinions are not well known or at least doubtful indeed you have reason to believe that he will not his or his family is not in the of government displeased at the union mid about corruption his is abroad you know and cannot think for himself you speak as his friend his tried friend he ought to have a man on his property who is can be depended on and who will see that full justice is m done him in his absence too is against principles do you see sir what next why we stop there for the present nothing more can be done until we hear from the scoundrel himself and what do you imagine will be the why i think it not at au unlikely that he will place himself and his interests pecuniary and political altogether in your hands and consequently you will probably have the guiding of him well you are an able to be sure but never mind i like you all the better the true doctrine is always eat drink and he merry for to you die take as much out of life and your fellow men as you can there s no in the grave my there the honest man and the are alike and this being the case what the devil is public opinion worth it s worth a great deal if we use it for our own purposes while we re here otherwise i agree you that it s in itself you re a cursed clever fellow an able as said but i don t like your son he s a and i needn t tell you that the man who thb irish agent has not brains to be is a most contemptible scoundrel are you not able to get up asked in a very dutiful and affectionate voice able enough now but my head swam a while ago at a rate i was drunk as usual last night and could do nothing not even put a to my mouth until i took a stiff glass of brandy and water and that has set me up again when shall i write to young the blade the sooner the better now but i think you ought to rise and take some exercise so i shall immediately and to morrow i write then according to your able instructions most subtle and sagacious are you off yes good bye sir and many thanks none of your stuff i say but be off out of this and as he spoke disappeared so far the first steps for mr were taken by this precious father and his equally valuable son however entertained other speculations quite as ingenious and far more malignant tendency of course he might and succeed in from the agency but he could not absolutely m ruin him nothing short of this however did he propose to so far as m and we may add every one connected with him was concerned for m possessed that kind of economy in his moral feelings that always prompted him to gratify his interest and his malice by the same act of virtue how he succeeded in this benevolent resolution time and the progress of this truthful history will show chapter v tion op a summer evening a a jealous vision letter from er to lord lord s reply was now about the close of may that ul month which presents the heart and all er sensations with a enjoyment for sweet period have we not all the tenderness of spring combined with the fuller and charms of the leafy summer like of female life in which the eye feels it to determine whether the delicate beauty of girl or the loveliness of the full maid in the person the time about half an hour before that soft of in which may be perceived the ng stir of busy life as it murmurs itself into r after the active pursuits of day on a lawn that was a sheep walk some is of which were studded over with the g m blooming and fragrant stood an old ruin grey from time and breathing with that spirit of vague but dreamy reverie which it caught from the loveliness of	50
the season the calmness and the golden light of the hour that by their influence gave a solemn beauty to its very desolation it reminded one somewhat of the light which coming death throws upon the cheek of youth when he in the soft and noiseless steps of decline or rather of that still purer light which when the aged christian arrives at the close of a well spent life accompanied by peace and hope and calmness falls like a glory on his bed of death the ruin was but small a remnant of one of humble but rude temples in which god was worshipped in simplicity and peace far from the and of ambitious man through this sweet and close to the ruin ran a that led to a mountain village of extent immediately behind the ruin stood a few trees now white with blossoms whose fragrance made the very air a luxury and from whose branches came forth those of evening melody that shod tenderness and tranquillity into the troubled heart the country in the distance lay charmed as it the irish agent were by the calm spirit of peace which seemed to have diffused itself over the whole landscape western windows were turned into fire the motionless lakes shone like wherever they caught the beams of the evening light as did several of the broad river which barely moved within its winding banks through the meadows below the sun at length became half concealed behind the summit of the western hills so that his rich and gorgeous beams fell only upon the surrounding now ut into purple leaving the and lower parts of the country to repose in that beautiful shadow which can be looked upon from the parts only through the crimson glory of the departing light and now the sun has disappeared is gone but still how beautiful is the fading splendour that sleeps for a little on the mountain tops then becomes and then a int streak which gradually away until it is lost in the soft shadows of that thoughtful hour and even thus away all human the ruin which we have mentioned stood about between the residence of m and the mountain village to we have alluded proceeding from the latter place having vol i h m an errand of mercy and charity very beautiful girl exquisitely formed but some below the middle size she was m only daughter a creature that breathed of good grace and all those delightful qualities that n woman a angel amidst the cares miseries and sorrows of life her figure itself was so light and graceful and elegant th new charm was displayed by every motion as a beauty was discovered by every change of her countenance her hair was like the ra wing and her black eye instead of being sharp piercing was more in accordance with the of her character soft sweet and mellow her and arm were perfection and the small white l and fingers would have told a that her foot in lightness and formation might have excited the envy of having reached the ruin she was rather to see the figure of a thin woman dressed in h issue out of it and approach her with caution in her manner mary m a girl of strong mind and firm character and likely to feel alarmed by any apprehension she immediately recognized the agent woman who was no other than our old friend and in the phrases peculiar to the country made the usual kind inquiry after her health and welfare it s a very unusual thing she proceeded to see you in this part of the neighbourhood it is returned i wasn t so near the mountains this many a day an i wouldn t be here now only on your account miss m now mary was by no means ignorant of the enmity which this woman entertained against her and family in consequence of having and transported her son without the slightest apprehension on that account she felt however a good deal puzzled as to the meaning which could be attached to s words how on my account i don t understand you neither you nor yours it at my hands hut for all that i m here to do you a good turn i hope i never deserved any evil at your hands no but you re your father s daughter for all that an it s not usual to hate the tree and spare the branches i suppose you allude to the of m your son but remember that i was only a child then and don t forget that had your son been honest he might still be a comfort and a credit to you instead of a shame and a sorrow i don t mean nor do i wish to hurt your feelings but i am anxious that you should not indulge in such bitterness of heart against my father who only did what he could not avoid well said never mind that although it isn t for a mother to forget her child all his faults i am here as i said on your account i am here to tell you that there s danger about you and before you and to put you on your guard against it i am here miss mary m and if i m not your friend and i m not that i am not still i m the friend of one that is your friend and that will protect you if he can that is very strange for i know not how i can have an enemy what danger could a simple girl like me feel i who have never offended any body i have said the truth replied and did my duty you re now warned so be on your guard and take care of	50
yourself but how you mention danger yet have the irish agent not told me what it is where it s to come from nor how i am to guard myself against it i m not at liberty said but this i can tell you it s threatening you and it comes from a where you d never look for it mary who was neither timid nor surprised smiled with the confidence of innocence and replied after a short pause of thought well i have been thinking over my friends and cannot find one that is likely to be my enemy at all events i am deeply obliged to you still if you could mention what the danger is i would certainly feel the obligation to be greater as it is i thank yon again good evening i stay miss mary replied walking eagerly a step or two after her stay a minute i have run a risk in this only promise me to keep what i said to you a for a while as well as that you ever had any private talk me promise this i shall certainly not promise any such thing so far from that i will mention every word of our conversation to my father and family the i reach home if as you say there is danger before or around me there are none whose protection i should so naturally seek m but this said with an appearance of deep anxiety this is a of mere indifference to you it s to me the danger is if you of it to me i say not to you but i can have no secrets from my family well but is it in you to put me ay my very life in danger when all you have to do is merely to say nothing however since i must speak out you ll put more than me in danger them that you love an that you d never carry a light heart if any thing happened them mary started and a light seemed suddenly to break upon her how said she my engagement to francis is no secret our marriage at no distant day being by both our families is he involved in danger connected with your hints deep and deadly both to him and me you don t know it miss mary if you love him as you do as is well known you do if you would keep him and my poor worthless self out of danger may be out of don t mention a syllable of this to any one but of all persons to himself i give you lave i can tell you it will be safe to do so see i kneel down with the irish agent clasped i beg it of you for his sake and safety it was pretty well known through the whole parish especially by the that this same had in truth most of its secrets in her keeping and that she had frequently conducted success those rustic which are to be found in humble as well as in high life the former part of s however was all that had ever reached the youthful ears of poor innocent mary whilst of her address as a in the plots and pursuits of love she was utterly ignorant naturally as we haye already said she looked upon tho woman s blowing character rather as a circumstance calculated to the truth of the mystery which she most have discovered and was so much moved by the sincerity of her manner and tbe safety of her own lover that she assured her she would keep the secret until permitted to it which she begged might be at as early a period u possible thanked her eagerly and gratefully and in a few minutes having made a circuit behind the ruin sought the lower and richer country by a different path unconsciously stood for some time after m had left her meditating over the strange almost unaccountable scene which had just place when a rich voice with which she was acquainted addressed her she started an turning about found francis before had now nearly passed away and the of evening was deepening into the darkness summer night what on earth are you thinking of this place my dear mary and who was woman who just left you mary though firm of character was also t and warm of heart and felt deeply for she loved the interview with therefore excited apprehensions concerning s si which disturbed her far more than any she for herself he gave her his right arm as she s and they went on towards her father s house good god he exclaimed before she had to answer him what has disturbed or you my sweet mary i feel your heart be against my arm in a most extraordinary ma how is this the consciousness of the so sole and recently imposed distressed her her love of truth was like her love of life the irish agent a sacred and instinctive principle which she must now not only but be forced to run into the hateful practice of all this passed through her mind in a moment my dear francis i will freely admit that the of my heart are not altogether without cause i have been somewhat disturbed but it will not signify i shall be quite well in a moment but where did you come from they told me you had gone up to poor widow s and i took the short way thinking to find you there but what has disturbed you my dear mary something has and greatly too she looked up with an affectionate smile into his although there trembled a tear upon her as she spoke do not ask me my dear frank nor don t think the	50
of much importance it is a little of mine which i cannot for the present disclose well my love i only ask to know if the woman that left you was i cannot answer even that frank but such as the secret is i trust you shall soon know it that is enough my darling i am satisfied that you would conceal nothing from either your family m or me which might be either to or us or which we ought to know that is true said she i feel that it is true but then on the other hand said he suppose our little darling were in of a secret which we ought not to know what character should we bestow on the secret this though said in love and jest distressed hei so much that she was forced to tell him so mj dear francis she replied with as much as she could assume do not press me on this sub i cannot speak upon it now and i must throw myself on your love and generosity for a short time i hope not a syllable my darling on the subject you resume it yourself how are widow sick children somewhat better she replied the two are recovering and want nourishment which wit the exception of my poor they get god love and guard your kind and heart my sweet mary said he looking dow tenderly into her beautiful face and pressing h arm lovingly against his side what a hard hearted man that under the irish agent m is she exclaimed her beautiful eye with indignation do you know that while her children were ill his his orders or authority ox some claim or other took away her goose and the only half dozen of eggs ae had for them indeed frank he s a sad curse to tke property he is what an old was once called for cruelty and oppression the of god such certainly the unhappy of the family find him harsh heartless as he is however what would he bo were it not for the vigilance and humanity of mr but you aware mary that his son was a of yours of mine ha ha ha oh that s too frank but i am not had i really ever that most certainly his amiable father had the mo to propose a matrimonial union between your y and his i never heard of it replied mary never is easily accounted for my father i know ould not insult me by the very mention of it it a ct though that the son of the l old squire and of the virtuous and m celebrated hoped to have united m blood with his hush i exclaimed mary shuddering the ve thought is sickening it s not a pleasant subject certainly s and the less that is said about it i more disgust we shall avoid at any rate her lover having safely conducted mary remained with her family only a few minutes as evening was advanced and he had still to go as as castle upon business connected with which m and his father placed wholly imder his upon what slight circumstances does the of individuals nay even of states and frequently depend i most assuredly incapable of altogether the of the evening involved in mystery as they were out of his mind not that entertained the slightest possible suspicion mary s prudence or but he felt a at the novelty of the position in which saw she was placed and no little pain in of the disagreeable necessity for silence which admitted had been imposed on her his confide in her however was boundless and from this per the irish agent reliance on her discretion and truth he derived an assurance that she was acting with strict propriety under the circumstances whatever might bo their or tendency it may be necessary to mention here that a right rf passage ran from the name of the village in which m resided to the castle road which it joined a little beyond constitution e passing immediately through an angle f the of already mentioned as growing the house by this path which ke way very much and indeed every acquainted with it was in the habit of and on the night in question he was proceeding along it at a pretty quick pace when having the just alluded to he perceived two ire a male and female apparently engaged in dose mid earnest conversation the distance at first as too great to enable him to form any opinion as to who they were nor would he have even asked the question were it not that the way brought him pretty near them the reader y form some conception then of his surprise his i t and disguise it as he might his pain on that the female was no other than and her companion graceful himself m the gallant and accomplished owner of harry it appeared quite evident that the subject of their conversation was designed for no other than their own or why speak as they did in and guarded tones that implied great secrecy a caution nay what proved still a of this no sooner was the noise of footsteps heard than herself do behind the small hedge which separated the path from the space on which they stood and this with a hope of concealing her person from his also turned away his face purpose of concealment but the impression left his and outline as it stood before was such as could not be s identity not only on this occasion but a during her hasty separation from mary was n established beyond the possibility of a doubt a f which lent to both her a degree of that confounded on thinking over i	50
matter coolly he could scarcely help believing tl her appearance here was in some way connected wi the circumstances which had occasioned mary much agitation and alarm this suspicion soon gave way to a more generous estimate of h the irish and he could not permit himself for a moment to imagine the existence of anything that w to her truth and affection at the time he felt it impossible to prevent himself from a strong sense of anxiety or perhaps we should say a feeling of involuntary which lay like a dead weight upon his heart spirits in truth do what he might and reason m he would he could not from his mind the and painful principle which disturbed it and thus he went on sometimes triumphantly defending mary from all suspicion and again imder the vague and which the singular events of the evening sent crowding to his imagination his dreams on retiring to seek repose were frightful several times m the night he saw graceful at him a of vengeance and derision in his yellow eyes and bearing mary off lie some mis of old mounted upon handsome harry who appeared to be gifted with e speed of or flying he could do nothing but stand helplessly by contemplate the triumph of his hated rival in the mean time the respected father and grand ther of that worthy young gentleman were labour m ing as for his advancement in life a he had been gifted with a catalogue of all hu virtues old true to his word the very next day the following to the right hon lord my lord it is unnecessary to tell you th was during my life a plain blunt fellow in al transactions when i was honest i was h like a man and when i did the i d like an open fearless that defied the w and scorned i am therefore the consistent old scoundrel as ever or the same good humoured rascal which your old his country and yourself who would s too if you had one to sell ever found me make short work then i want you to dismiss poor devil from your agency to put that of mine in his j i mean m or the as have very properly him the thing in any sense he can t manage the p and they impose upon him then you course besides he s an anti ms late and will go against you at tlie election the fellow to have a the irish agent be cursed to him about the union against corruption and talks about the people as if they were fit to be any thing else than what they are this is a pretty fellow for you to we as an agent to your property now toll that my lord you know old well his motto is let us eat and be merry for we die i ll tell you what i say i have a on your property for fourteen thousand pounds now put in or i ll be speaking to my lawyer about it put in or you will never warn your in a seat for this county so as i carry the key of it in doing so make no faces about it you will only yourself and property and serve into the bargain to be sure is as confounded a scoundrel as any of us but then he is a and you ought not to be told at this time of day that the greater the scoundrel the better the agent would you a fellow for instance whose conscience indeed most stand between you and your interest would you have some honest who when you are to be served by a piece of friendly will plead scruples if so you are a greater fool than ever i took you to be make your agent md i is not you that will suffer by him but the vol i m people whom of course no one cares a curse about i ought to have some claim on you i think many a i have given your precious old father tom when i did not think of pleading scruples to tell you the truth many a dirty trick i played for him and never brought my conscience to account for it make the most of this world and of the that are in it for we are all alike in the grave put in then and don t make an enemy of your old friend p s as to he knows nothing of this transaction i told him i would say so and i keep my word i forgot to say that if you write this devil a sharp letter for money he may probably save you the trouble of turning him out i know him well he is a thin fool and will be apt to bolt if you follow my advice yours as you deserve it r d now it is necessary to say here that amidst all this pretence of open there ran an of cunning that might escape the observation of most men in truth old was not only but a most at the irish agent especially when he happened to get a man m his power from whom he wished to a favour or on whom he wished to inflict an injury in the present instance he felt perfectly conscious of his power over the heartless to whom he wrote such a characteristic letter and the result i shows that he neither the feeble of his correspondent nor the consequences of lis own influence over him by due return of post lie received a reply of which the following is a copy old you have me fast and you know i suppose must is the	50
word now i ll tell you i want you old villain i want two thousand pounds and if m is to get the agency i have the money so there is my must as well in the mean time i have written to on the same subject want of money i mean i hat the consequences may be i know not but i i can guess them yours chapter vi the life and virtues of as irish of an irish landlord an on for an agent m notion of his duties receipt to mare a f shilling lord to henry esq london april ist my dear i wrote to you the day before and as the letter was one of a very pressing i hope its influence won t be lost upon you to who are so well acquainted with the cursed pick which i am placed it is unnecessary to say tb shall be fairly done up unless you can something for me out of those tenant mine fairly done up is not the proper term for between you and me i strongly suspect a fellow called an s son of gi me a twist too much on more than one the irish agent as introduced that is proposed as a member r club by sir robert whose was a and by lord load the celebrated lady as a regular pigeon dropped by the death of old burn the wind half a million at least the fellow did appear t a very capital speculation but the whole thing ever was a trick as i strongly suspect for after ig to a tolerably smart tune our gentleman in to illustrate the doctrine of re action and has er the character of a pigeon already half ore of us last week i suffered to the tune of it hundred sir harry to that of ive bill fire and the hon tom trick ii himself who scarcely ever loses gave bills for i can t stand this that is i not afford to stand it what is fifteen thousand a u to a man like me who must support his rank or driven to the alternative of being im on his own estate you have no although you can hard on my property who wont pay up as they ought all through your or neglect you must i me money get it where you will beg borrow drive cant sell out for money i must have thousand within a fortnight and no disappoint m op i am you know not the demand upon me and therefore you naturally enough very easily much too easily of my confounded difficulties if you had an opera girl to keep as have and a devilish expensive the affectionate is perhaps you might feel a little more christian sympathy for me than you do li you had the expenses of my my large at and and the in my book besides the never ending train of et hot to meet it is probable old boy you would not feel so very boundless an interest as you say you do in the peace and welfare of another man s and all this at that other man s expense you re unreasonable why feel or pretend to feel more for these fellows their bare legged wives and ragged than you do for a nobleman of rank to whom you are deeply indebted i mean you no offence are in other respects an honest fellow enough and if possessed of only a little less heart as the times go and more skill in raising money from these people you would be invaluable to such a distressed devil as i am as it is i regret to say that yoa are more a friend to my than to the irish agent i is a poor for an agent in fact we the irish aristocracy living here or as you call us instead of being assailed by abuse want patriotism neglect of duties and all that kind of staff have an especial claim upon the compassion of countrymen if you knew what we with limited means and properties must suffer in attempting to with the aristocracy of this country who are rich you would say that we deserve immortal credit for holding out and keeping up appearances as we do not that i think we always come off free from their ridicule i when they see the to which we are m order to stretch onward at their own pace however we must drink when we are thirsty as well u they and if the water happen to be low in the a which indeed is mostly the case with us we must as the in the fable did with the pebbles throw in c in order to bring it within our reach for there is ingenuity in everything as the proverb says except in of come then set to work at once my has been by a foolish i made to run her through a creek of at low water so the mere will cost me a cool two hun m at least besides this i have pledged my to buy my charming little a pair of hem that she has fallen in love with f which i shall have to fork out a hundred and i say then again my dear money money by any means but by money by the way is there not a man there a kind c under fellow in something agent i believe appointed named m or m or m or some such somebody old i think once mentioned to me in strong terms and said he might become cap able of being useful and you know as as i do that every property as mine is requires a fellow of that	50
particular description for instance i dare say there are certain proceedings connected with your duty to which you have no great inclination and under these would it not be prudent at least to resort to the agency of somebody like this m fellow not over with too strong a of the necessary pressure but the truth is if i proceed in this manner your as the cant goes will take the alarm you will say that my residence abroad has not improved my principles the irish agent ua that i am rather strongly with club and the of the house so would you perhaps if you breathed my atmosphere and were exposed to my temptations but now i preaching and not to the right purpose either bo aa i said before i say again money money money i am my dear thy friend in distress henry esq to the right honourable i hill april mr lord i have had the honour of receiving your communications and have read them especially that of the first instant with great pain need not tell you that i have been your father s friend that i have been and still am your friend and as such from my age and anxiety for your s welfare and reputation i must take the of one who has both sincerely at heart to te to you in terms which a mere agent could not th propriety use as this letter therefore is m written for your own eye only you will enough to remember that in every thing home spoken in it the friend and not speaks at the same time i must admit from the knowledge gained as an as a friend it is now beyond a doubt my lord position is one surrounded with to be surmounted unless by measures an honest man cannot permit myself so long as the course of life which it t your s better taste and pursue did not bring within the duties as your agent the exhibition of pi with humanity and justice so fulfil those duties with all the ability an your just interests which i could exert perceive that you have driven me to beyond which i cannot put my foot w honour to myself i have been the property my lord but i shall never i instrument of your vices and believe mc distinction which in our unhappy count seldom observed many an agent my built himself a fortune out of the very n his employer and left to his children the the irish agent reflection that their independence originated from on the one hand and on the other you see my lord i find it necessary to bo very plain with you and to say that however you may feel yourself disposed to follow the one course i shall not rival you in the other i cannot become a by your necessities not to use a word upon a people who are already exhausted and provoked by an excess of severity and neglect think of the in which you would have me stand of the defence which you place in my should your ask me why are you thus cruel and oppressive us v what reply could i make but this i am cruel because his is ho wants money to support his mistress to feed her and and you must endure distress and that the of a may be gratified his too has horses and dogs in the welfare of which he feels a deep interest but why does he not feel an interest in us so ho does for are not you the persons by toil and labour he is enabled to support them all so that in point of fact we are made indirectly the agents of his crimes the which we suffer the sweat of our brows m the labour of our hands go to the support of hi his luxury and his extravagance this then is his interest in us yes work that y p may feed them starve that his mistress may in perish your children that his dog may be fed in such a position as this my lor i shall never place myself but you may easily fin many that will the moment your necessities ar known will be at work an assume its over folly indeed there it a spirit in which has never yet been observed the keeps his fool as did the kings of old with this only difference and a material one it is that whilst the fool always lived at the king s expense the lives at the fool s how your may feel under the new administration i cannot say but i am inclined to think you will not find it a distinction without a difference by this of course you understand my lor thai i at once resign my agency and now my lord in addition to many made by me not against your habits as a man but your still more conduct as a landlord allow me to address you in a spirit of honesty fear is not easily found among the class to the irish agent i belong i look upon this as a duty which i owe to you than to my country because i am satisfied that the most important service which can be rendered to any man not ashamed of either your w its or principles is to lay before him a clear but short and simple statement of that which con his duty as a landlord i should say an irish landlord for there is a national of constitution about such a man which appears to prevent him from properly his duties er as a friend to himself or a just man to his the first principle therefore which an irish landlord or indeed any landlord	50
should lay down m his fixed and guide is ever to remember that his are his best friends his only and that instead of looking down upon contempt neglect or even he should feel that they are his chief who his influence maintain his rank and support his authority the second is that the duties of the landlord to his are much greater and far more important than those of his to him and at least be quite as and attentively charged i i m the third is to remember that the great i of the population in ireland belong to one creed the great bulk of landed to another to take care that none of those fierce and of power which are claimed and e by those who possess property shall be in the name of religion or politics or pr of any kind to disturb or the religious rights of the people and thus bonds which should render the interests of land and tenant identical prejudice so tyranny every landlord should remember the soil is of no religion the fourth is simply to remember that tl who live upon our property have bodies and sc passions reflections and feelings like ourselves they are susceptible of hunger cold grief joy s ness and sorrow that they love their children domestic relatives are attached to their bound by strong and ties to the soil t live on and are in fact moved by all those gen laws and principles of life and nature which g make up social and individual happiness to in short that they are men who have higher in life than merely to the wa or crimes of others and that no the irish agent has ever yet been known to between landlord and tenant or even between man and man by which one party is required to surrender comfort freedom and enjoyment in fact all that life is good for merely to gratify the wants vices or ambition of the other the fifth and last is not by oppression cruelty w to the people into madness and outrage under the plausible name of law or justice or to drive the national mind which is a clear one into reflections that may lead it to fall back upon principles or force it to remember that the universal consent by which the rights of property are acknowledged may under the of over pressure in a land so peculiarly as ireland is be altogether withheld and us its whole foundations shaken or and he justice of individual claims and right in the tumult these principles are simple my lord but they at least to be better known or what would be more desirable better practised as however ly paper is nearly filled shall finish my with a short fable to which i beg your s serious attention there lived a man once who was foolish enough m to entertain a senseless prejudice against because they did not give milk all the year this man was married and of course had i numerous family of children and being very and depended principally upon the of an excellent cow whose milk was the chief means of his support and theirs m length in the due course of time the poor cow ae every one must know began to yield it in diminished quantities and as it happened to be a severe year and as the lazy man we speak of had made no provision for its occurrence it is unnecessary to say that he and his family were put to the greatest straits for finding after much deliberation that the poor animal which they kicked and to excess could not change the laws of nature or afford them that which she did not possess it was determined by her proprietor she failed in supplying them with sufficient mill they should try the and have recourse to her blood in order to out their accordingly she was along with being bid if the quantity of milk she gave before was little it now became less so that in proportion as they upon the one the other diminished as was bu natural in this way they proceeded an the irish agent bleeding the poor animal at the same time not only without any benefit to themselves but with a certain prospect of her ultimate loss when one day the cow after having for some time on the treatment she was receiving began to reflect that she could not be much worse or rather that she must won altogether sink under this system of double well thought she i feel how matters must close with me at last i am indeed near the end of my what have i now to fear when know that i cannot be worse and if i am to die as i must is it not better to have satisfaction for my sufferings v accordingly the next morning when her owner went to get blood for their breakfast it so happened that the cow thrust a horn into him and he was found lying a corpse under her lifeless the last drop of her blood having been expended under the final operation of the my lord the moral of this is as obvious as it is fearful and fearfully have the circumstances of the country and the principles of such men as you caused it to be illustrated if will press too severely upon the functions of human suffering and patience it is not to be although it to be that where no legal remedy exists individual cruelty or or that vol i tl m bible selfishness which is the worst species of sion that the law i say which one party be forgotten or despised by other and a code of its stead with respect to mr m surely y must remember that by	50
your own letter was appointed under more than three ye ago if after the many i have i occasion to make against his general conduct to tenants you consider him a td man upon y property you will in that case hare to abide consequences of your confidence in him you t at all events duly i now must beg leave my lord to render my trust to resign my situation as the agent of y estates i do so with pain but the course of y s life left me no other alternative cannot rack and your tenants nor injure y own property i cannot industry en honest exertion or distress poverty still merely to supply necessities which are little less t criminal in yourself and to your believe me my lord i would not abandon j in your difficulties if i saw any honourable ma thb you from them w practicable step has been for that e but without effect your property should rapidly indeed in order to keep pace with the and incessant demands which are made it we can borrow no more and the that fact alone ought to set a limit to your excuse this my lord it is and of offence shall be ready in a few days to deliver all books its c connected with the property y p son duly by your to re them i have the honour to be c henry le right honourable lord to m april sir in consequence of certain communications iy have passed between mr and myself te determined that he shall no longer act in the t ty of my agent the situation is therefore until a competent person shall be appointed m i you to discharge its duties and receive from him a correct statement of all accounts between us together with all deeds books papers c in his possession you first having procured me adequate security the amount of which will be determined by m my law agent who will join aid you in making all necessary arrangements you will also have the goodness as soon afterwards as you feel it practicable to me a account of the and estates their of improvement the condition of the what are expired if any and those which will soon drop with a view of seeing what can be made out of it in this also m will aid you as to the person who may succeed as a necessary preliminary he must lay down two thousand pounds in the shape of an equivalent for the appointment could you within a fortnight or so raise so much if so let me hear from you j without delay as it is not unlikely in that case i may yourself by the way do you understand the manufacture of forty shilling free in an economical way because if you do it would be a par the irish agent it is said will be dissolved in june and i want as well as i can remember nearly two hundred my brother lost the last election by something about that number and i know he feels very anxious to get into parliament for many reasons he is now on the continent where he has been for the last three years m esq to the right hon lord mt lord i have had the honour of receiving mr s kind communication to which i to make the earliest possible reply and my lord allow me to return sincere thanks for your warm kindness in promising to me your agent you may rest assured my lord that i go through my duties as such without or affection to any one your whose interests it will night and day become duty to study with respect to the loan your makes allusion to i fear it will be out of my power to raise it that is to the full amount bat if one half would do i might by the aid of friends get it together as for security i trust it is only necessary to say that and m a it to any bo that is no d at all on looking a ain at your lor letter it appears possible that i the two thousand as a loan other hand there is not a man the high and delicate j aristocracy more than i do and was that i in supposing it c loan i might offend your hip j honour which i pledge my credit would my heart even to th this impression then i shall continue loan until i have the honour of her ag your anxiety my lord to a your property and the condition of j certainly honourable to yourself proof of the generous interest welfare it is fortunate in this should apply to a man best opportunities of becoming true i am a man if i possess one quality more than a love of truth and a slow but straight thb irish agent in whatever is right it is to this always imder that i owe every thing i grant that it ill becomes me to speak in this manner rf myself but my object in doing so is that as i am to enter into communications touching your s tenants and property you may be induced to place the fullest confidence in whatever i shall many a time indeed my excellent and worthy friend mr has made the same observation and i felt it gratifying in the highest degree to hear this from a man who is truth itself and whose only is if it be one that his heart is too kind nd rather easily imposed on by those who deal in and cunning a man like him who if he speak well of an absent friend will be silent w a jewel in this life which ought to be worn in the very core	50
of the heart with respect to the estate of which i speak first i cannot report so as i could wish the task in fact is to me personally a very painful one especially with reference to that well meaning and ui mr in the first place my lord the are not at all in a by no means in favour of the landlord an irish one every one knows that an m lord has other demands upon his d the payment of then rents is there no stress instance to be laid upon his political influence cannot be exerted unless through their agency now a tenant not in to his landlord is independent but it is not with an ind that a landlord can work his no my lord the safe principle is to keep tl tenant two or three behind and if he fails i submission or turns and becomes then you have the means of the errors of his judgment in your own hands an it can be done with the colour of both law and justice behind which any man may stand without the tion of harsh motives or an excessive love of i am sorry that mr should differ with me on this point for he is a man whose are very valuable on many things with the exception of his amiable and kind hearted obstinacy the next disadvantage to your interests my lord is another error i am sorry to be forced to say it of mr that gentleman is an advocate for education and the spread of knowledge ow if an agent were as much devoted to the of the people as he is and ought to be to love cf the landlord this principle might pass but the irish agent take it that the sole duty of an agent is to the of his employer exclusively so i opposed to any plan or practice by which the may be taught to think too clearly for me ask my lord what class of persons at the of an election for instance or during its are most available for our interests are driven without reluctance without thought without reason in blind and to the certainly not those who ave been educated or taught to think and act for but the poor and the ignorant and ny lord is not the vote of an ignorant man as in law as that of one who is enlightened for reasons then i do not approve of the new schools which mr has established and i as pleased to hear that your was awake to your own interests to decline them any support no my lord an educated will be a thinking people a thinking people be an independent people but an independent people will not be a people and if that s not placing the subject in a satisfactory light i ow not what is i need scarcely assure you my lord that in y own humble way i did every thing i reason m could to the education i even went so far as to prevent several of the from sending their children to these but as usual i experienced but little gratitude a their hands or at those of their parents this how ever was not so much owing to my interference ai to the accidental circumstance of three or four o them having been hanged and transported foi crimes which they were base enough to u the ignorance occasioned by my principles for st they spoke such then is the condition of the they are not in and you ma consequently guess at the wretched state of tha moral feelings they are in fact every day be coming more aware of the very kind of which we don t wish them to possess they do aside when they see you now on the they stand erect and look you in the fact upon my credit and reputation this is truth truth my lord and i fear that at the mi election you will find it so to your cost i have lost no time in the particulars mentioned in your s the of three expired on march b they and the irish agent the principal tenant of is a very respectable widow one mrs m a woman of serious habits if not of decided piety she has three daughters all of whom sit under the of a mr which is pronounced bottom a young preacher belonging to the they are to all appearance well in the world keep a conversation car and have the of being very honest and saving old m himself was a and it is said died richer than they are willing to admit is altogether in the possession of the celebrated family of the m or as they are called the five the name of each being mon which is into there is lame blind long uncertain and of j the mountain they are celebrated of but are not rich the estate in fact would be better without them were it not for the of is principally the property of a wild named m whose great delight is to keep up perpetual f d against an opposite of the o ho on their part are every whit as eager for the as enemies these people are also poor enough and in an election are not to be depended m on i should say in addition to this that several renewal will fall in during the course of the winter i shall however examine the and other documents still more and see what can be got out of it and how far we can go the estate is i am sorry to say in a still more condition there is i very bitter and knowing family living on the town land of named m who hav	50
contrived to spread dangerous and destructive among the they are cunning and but cautious plausible and with the deepest i have been endeavouring for years to or rather reform them by kindness but hitherto without effect whether i shall ultimately succeed in this fountain head of and principle i do not wish to use a shorter but a much stronger term i cannot yet say i shall at all events from a sense of justice to you my lord and of kindness mistaken it may be i grant to them continue to make the desirable attempt my amiable friend has certainly been made the of their but indeed he is too simple and for this world as every kind hearted man with great benevolence and little judgment the irish agent ally is if i had not risen honestly and as i trust i may say through the of office upon this property i think it probable i might myself have been deceived and by the natural and tact of this dangerous family mr their quarrel not exactly their quarrel but their cause against me but that is so completely in accordance with his easy simplicity of character and his love of popularity that it rather him to me than otherwise indeed i may say my lord candidly and that there is a spirit abroad upon your estates which requires to be watched and checked with all due and reasonable i allude principally to these m and when i state that my excellent and well disposed friend is absolutely popular among your even although he made them pay up to the very last gale and that i am by no means in good with them you will not be surprised when i furnish your with a key to this same state of which exists so generally in this country this then my lord is the secret whenever n irish agent honestly to the wants wishes and interests of liis employer especially if he be ne and pressed for money so sure will he become m with the now i am somewhat with the and my amiable is beloved by them but i think your by this time understands the why and the wherefore on both sides as your agent my lord i should regret such popularity at the same time i think the intentions of poor sweet amiable s heart are such as we must all love and admire with respect my lord to the manufacture of the as a certain class of are termed i could have easily undertaken to double the number i you mention on the most reasonable terms were it not for the system adopted by mr as it is i must see what can be done but your knows that i can take no step either in this or anything else my appointment shall be finally confirmed perhaps you are not aware of the remarkable document on the subject in question which has recently gone its rounds in this country it is called a receipt to make a forty shilling take the poorest you can get be destitute and ignorant for then he will be give him a mud cabin but no education let at former be a bad model of an indifferent pig and the irish agent at thrice its value put him to repose on a comfortable bed of damp straw with his own coat and his s for bed clothes him on two meals of potatoes and point per day with water id for clothing let him have a new shirt once every three years to give him exercise and keep him clean a hat once in every seven and whenever he can get them his coat and breeches lest he might grow too independent must be worn upon the principle of the s knife which although a century in the family was changed except sometimes the handle and sometimes the blade let his right to vote be upon a property of six feet square n as much as may be by his own shirt and take care that there be a bush in the centre of it he must have from four to ten children as a proof of his standing in society bs dressed and at the rate of one every twelve having thus by a system of feeding and clothing rendered him strong for labour you ni t work him from dark to dark pay him four pence a day for three quarters of the year with to beg or starve for the remainder when m health task him beyond his strength and when him for there is nothing so beautiful as m kindness in a landlord an gratitude in a tenant and thus will your virtues become he must live under a of six so that whoever he may suffer and he will have the advantage of six instead of one your agent is to and your to bully him the one must promise and the other threaten but if both fail you must try him yourself should become under all this you must take purer measures compliment him on his wife praise and admire his children play upon his affections and corrupt him through his very virtues for that will show that you love your country and her people better than your own interests place a promise of independence on one side of him but a ruined cottage and on the other when all his scruples are thus overcome and his conscience removed take him for j twenty minutes or so out of his rags put him into aj suit that he may avoid suspicion bring him up to the steep him in the strongest then strip him of his suit clap him into his i rags and having thus fitted him for the of any treachery	50
a strong conscientious sense o to him this is was and will be the pr my whole life and you know very well m that if i were less devoted to tl rests than i am my popularity would b among the indeed few men ha to know this better than yourself stand in precisely the same beloved that i do our excellent friend is a man and exceedingly well meaning i think so oh i am sure you do yet i how it happened that he left out of his agency some of the most valuable rights of the landlord these i will ment when i see you and when i have more tin must say that in attempting the irish agent these rights even while i was agent the that is falling upon me already even i had scarce time to move in them ought rather to be that is morally speaking visited him who allowed them to lapse now that the fine old of the m and the and others have dropped what can i do but study lord s interest in the first instance not but i would serve them if i could and will if i can i bear them no ill feeling and if they have joined in the and threats that are so uttered against me what can i do and what ought i do but return good for evil you as a truly religious and pious man will feel delighted to support me in this principle and also to aid me in hearing it practically out any services of a similar kind that i can honestly and render and none other would you accept i shall be on my part delighted to offer in the mean time let me have your excellent advice as to the most efficient means of stifling the unreasonable murmurs that are rising among the people and as touching m s and s properties i should be glad to see you in order to consult upon what may or can be done for them always with s interests m the pair of which i send you are the result of my one of his s rights they are duty and i do not think they will eat the worse for the blessings which o drive tells me accompanied them at least i don t find they do all that i have yet written however is only preliminary but now to business i have received the letter which lord to me under your frank in which i am appointed his head agent he also is willing to accept the two thousand pounds on my own terms that is of course as a loan at the usual rate of interest but don t you think my dear m that with respect to this large sum an understanding might be entered into or rather an arrangement made in a quiet way that would i flatter myself turn out of great ultimate advantage to his the truth is that lord like most generous men is very of his own interests at least much more so than he ought to be and it would be most to him in every sense to have a person managing his estates in the best possible condition to serve him his property f in fact is not represented in the grand jury of the county this is a great loss to him a serious loss in the first place it is de the irish agent in roads both public and private in the next place there are many rents left through the inability of the people which we could get paid by the making of these roads and other county arrangements which the ill thinking call in the third and last place he has on his property no magistrate friendly to his interests and who would devote himself to them with suitable energy and zeal indeed with regard to the and heart alluded to i fear that such a magistrate will soon become a matter of necessity there is a bad spirit rising and getting abroad wherever it came from and you know my dear m that it could not proceed from either you or me you know that you feel it now what i would propose is this lord has sufficient with the government to have me all unworthy as i am appointed a magistrate let the government but hint it to the and the thing is done in that event instead of giving him this large sum of money as a loan let it go as a per to my appointment to the bench and there another consideration by no means to be overlooked which is that by this arrangement the would bo certain to have in the a man who would prove himself one of the m precise class which they stand in need that is a useful man devoted to their wishes now my dear m i mention this to you with all the confidence of friendship from you these representations will go to his with a much better grace than they would from me tell him in your own peculiar way that he have the two thousand for the that is my first object as his friend this once obtained i have no doubt of seeing myself ere long a of the grand and capable of serving him still more believe me to be my dear m c m p s i heard you once express a wish about a certain farm but s the word only this i have something in my eye for you solomon m to the right hon lord my gracious lord i of course cannot look upon the condition you to the appointment of the agent as unreasonable although my friend m he says for the honour of the	50
aristocracy that it was a mistake on your s part and that a loan only was meant be this as it may i the irish agent hope a thought has been vouchsafed to me which the matter may under providence assume more agreeable character for all parties last my lord immediately after family worship found myself much refreshed in mind but rather in my poor sinful body after the of le day for indeed i had ridden a good deal since however i desired a pious person who acts as children s maid and my habits to procure me a little hot and sugar into which out of a necessary health which is imposed as a duty on us all i a httle brandy partly for and to the water having swallowed a tie of this i found the two principles combine almost like kindred spirits and i experienced both nourishment and the draught it was then my lord that it given me to turn my mind upon the transaction to i mean the condition of paying two pounds for the privilege of managing your indeed the thing was vouchsafed to me this light your property my lord is not resented in the grand of the county which a serious loss to you as there is no one e to advocate your interests especially since poor m mr s would that they were all only of the body i have caused him to attend the grand jury less frequently many arrangements might be made by which your would indirectly benefit that is the money so to speak might be made to go into one pocket in order that it should be transferred to yours then you have not a magistrate on your estates devoted to your special interests as you ought to have this is a very necessary thing my lord and to which i humbly endeavour to direct your attention i my lord you have no magistrate of true and principles who from time to time might manifest to the government that you did not forget their interests no more than your own now my lord what man can be or is better qualified to serve your in all these than that and mr m in what individual could the commission of peace more or rest your own agent i therefore beg your to turn this in your mind and if advised by one humble i would suggest the trial of a short prayer previous to entering on it should j exert your influence for that purpose with government the gracious i trust i may call it so thb irish agent would be immediately made and i ink i know the grateful disposition of mr m sufficiently well to assure your that cm a thorough christian sense of your kindness le two thousand pounds will be on that condition in your s hands i have the honour to be my lord solomon m p s mr m is ignorant that a suggestion well calculated to advance the best interests of general religion has been graciously intimated to one so unworthy as i am lord to solomon m esq it is done a bargain i have arranged the business here with the secretary and i am obliged to you my sleek little saint for suggesting it i wonder m himself did not think of it i feel glad the old have dropped for i am sure that between you and him you will take out of these sums all that can be taken of course m nd you are at liberty to revive any thing you hke provided it be done properly what is it to me who go there i do believe was not an easy fellow but a fool as to glove money dealing money duty fowls and duty work i tell vol i m you again provided you increase my an work the cash out of these fellows you may upon as many of them as you can get yours p s what my little saint did you mean by that charitable blunder concerning the widow in your last letter i never knew before that a woman waa a widow merely because her husband was transported as he ought to be for sheep stealing or because he happened to live by in another country however no matter give her for me whatever yoa think proper and add it to your bill of costs as you will do solomon m esq to lord my gracious lord as i have never varied from truth i could not bear even for a moment to seem to fall into the opposite principle i was certainly very busy on the day i had the honour and privilege of writing to your and much distracted both in mind and heart by the of a member of our congregation on looking over the copy of the letter however i perceive one thing that is gratifying to me my lord i made no the irish agent it is not perhaps known to your ere are two descriptions of widow the real vegetable that is the widow by death and low by local separation from her husband the latter is a class that requires as much and comfort as the other being re numerous and suffering all the poor things except its reality the ion my lord is and taken from occupation of for animal k for any other purpose travelling a journey or the like the other is h turned into some park or grassy deed generally more comfortable ban if still with the yoke fellow for which the return of the latter is seldom very ly desired by the other i am happy to tell f lord that some very refreshing in world have recently occurred here i trust will cause true religion to spread	50
and in the land but on the other hand i it satan is at work among many evil on your s inheritance in this of this however that good and man mr m will i doubt not u all proper information and advice m i have the honour to be my lord with found humility your s unworthy servant solomon m m esq j p to i my lord in point of fact nothing could be n to your property than my very season appointment to the commission of the peace it extended my powers of working for your and armed me with authority that will be f very necessary in and when they occur and i regret to say they are likely to occur much too frequently should be sorry to doubt mr s cane but in spite of all my charity i can scarcely a thinking that he did not treat your that of purpose and confidence to tv every landlord is entitled of course i say this great pain and rather between ourselves as it w for heaven forbid that a single syllable should es either my tongue or pen that might injure gentleman s character of duty how is often a stern one as i find it to be on the pre the irish agent occasion the truth then is that i fear mr must have kept the disturbed state of your from your s knowledge owing probably to a reluctance in exposing his own of management indeed i wish i could with a conscientious sense of my duty to your end here so far as he is concerned but under every circumstance truth and honesty and will in the long run tell for themselves it is an fact then that from whatever cause it may proceed your and he ever since my have had much intercourse of not exactly a nor can i decidedly term it a private nature and it is equally true that in proportion as this intercourse became extended and enlarged so did the dissatisfaction of the people increase until they are now almost ripe for outrage i have observed i think that poor never was remarkable for strength of mind though not destitute of a certain kind of sagacity and whether his if it be with these people be the result of a foolish principle of envy or whether on the other hand there is any thing political in it i really cannot say all i can do is to state the facts the to your s superior penetration m if however it be the fact that could stoop to this unhappy feeling on your property still my lord he is not alone in it indeed it is possible that the intercourse between him and them may after all be innocent however suspicious it looks i trust and hope it is so for there are two other families in the neighbourhood who to my certain knowledge have by wicked and principles among the done injury i had indeed some notion of communicating with government on the subject but i have not as yet been able to get any information sufficiently to work on in the mean time i think the wisest and most prudent steps i could take for your s advantage would be to get them as quietly as possible off the estate i think from a sense of duty i shall be forced to do so their very fortunately have dropped in the first place and it will not be your on political grounds for they have lately expressed a determination to vote against your brother and in the next we can get much larger from other sources besides his large farm one of these men m holds a smaller one of eighteen acres of which there are fifteen years yet but on consulting with mr m and examining the lease he the irish agent that it contains a flaw and can be broken i am sure my lord for your sake i shall be glad of it i conclude without feeling grateful to heaven for having given me such a son as i am blessed with he is indeed quite invaluable to me in managing these people and were it not for his aid and vigour i could not have been able to send your the last he is truly zealous in cause but i regret to say that i am not likely to be able to avail myself long of his services he is about taking a large farm in a different part of the with a view to marriage a circumstance which just now occasions me much anxiety of mind will be a serious loss to both your and me i am also looking out for an imder agent but cannot find one to my satisfaction will your be kind enough to acknowledge the of last week i have the honour to be my lord m c lord to m c esq dear sir the check came safely to hand and and the er i receive such communications the better the best part of it however is gone to the devil already for i lost six hundred on m etc alley at the last meeting i write in a hurry but have time to desire you to keep your son if possible on the property by the way as the under agency is vacant i request you will let him have it and if he wants a form to marry on try and find him one somewhere on the estate who has a better right and i dare say he will make as good a tenant as another as to i think you are quite mistaken the truth being that he resigned but was not dismissed the agency and if he has not a wish to get himself replaced which i do not think i	50
don t see what the deuce he should begin to plot about i rather think the cause of complaint amongst the people is that they find some difference between his and your if so you must only let them growl away and whenever they resort to violence of course punish them very truly yours p s by all means get those mischievous fellow i forget their names off the property as i have no tenant under me who will create disturbance or sow among the people i thank you for the fine of fowl and have only to say as above that the oftener c c chapter vii on virtues of a loyal a small dose of flattery a brace blessings has notions of becoming a hints to a with a bit mystery drum and the comforts of eve an of the greatest curses attending is facility with which a and oppressive t can maintain a system of falsehood either to screen his own destroy the reputation of those whom he hates an landlord has no nd the honour and integrity of the man to whom the management of his property and he ought to know that his very abroad presents strong temptations to ns who in too many instances are not of any principle strong enough to their or cruelty m one of those fellows in whom the heart was rally so hard and selfish that he loved both and the of oppression simply on mt of the pleasure which they afforded him m to such a man and they formed too s class the estate of an landlord an appropriate and generally a safe field for the great principle of his life was in every transaction that occurred to make the interest of landlord on one hand and of the tenant on the other to his own this was their rule cunning and necessary to carry it into practical effect were sometimes scarcely deemed worth concealment so strong was their sense o and their disregard of what seldom place indeed the absence of landlord gave them necessarily as matters i w managed an unlimited power over the and gratified that malignant vigilance ever upon suspicion and conscious many of the tenants for instance when ft t the depths of distress and misery been desperate enough to appeal to the head lords and almost in every case the agent was enabled to show them their own letters the had in the mean time to th identical party whose tyranny had occasioned them the appointment of to the under agency wa felt even more strongly than the removal of m or succession to that gentleman the irish agent r there was about honest something which the k could not absolutely despise his talents p business as they were to infamous purposes only rendered him a greater to the unhappy over whom he was as for he experienced at their hands bat combined feeling of hatred and contempt with we look upon a man who has every disposition but the ability to accomplish its purposes u a manner s promotion to the bench did not occasion so surprise as might be supposed it is well that every such scoundrel however he may the opinions of the people whom he leaves nothing undone that either or ingenuity can accomplish to sustain a character with the gentry of the neighbourhood times of which we write the great d popularity among one party was the expression f strong political opinions for this reason ho was too cunning to neglect any subordinate aid his success in life had created for himself a description of character which in a great degree much of his and oppression to be or forgiven like his father old was a furious of the true loyal and m class drank the glorious pious and immortal memory every day after dinner was in fact master of an orange lodge and altogether a man of that thorough principle which was then as it has been since to the worst purposes for this reason he was looked upon by those of his own class not so much as a heartless and as a good sound whose and loyalty were of the right in accordance with these principles he lost no time in assuming the character of an active useful man who considered it the most important part of his duty to extend his political opinions by every means in his power and to in all shapes and under all circumstances such as were opposed to them for this purpose there was only one object left and but time and his loyalty soon enabled him to achieve it not long after his appointment to the agency he began to experience some of these uneasy sensations which a consciousness of not having deserved well at the hands of the people will the man as we have said was a coward at heart but like many others of the same class he contrived on most occasions to conceal it he now considered that it would at all events be a safe and prudent the irish agent it on his part to raise a corps of a commission in it for himself and in this we he deemed it necessary to he to lay before such satisfactory proofs as would be accomplishment of his object and at the same establish his own loyalty and devotion to the powers no man possessed the art of com several motives under the simple guise of one with greater skill than m for in he had an opportunity of removing from the as many as possible of those whom he could lot reckon on for political support thus would he n the least suspicious manner and in the very act f loyalty occasion that quantity of disturbance necessary to his representations to free the property from whose were proof	50
against both lis threats and promises and prove to the world hat m was the man to suppress punish maintain peace and n short exhibit precisely that loyal and truly spirit which the times required and which the end generally contrived to bring its own regard along with it one evening about this period our worthy agent as sitting in his back parlour enjoying with m the comforts of a warm of punch old knock already described was heard at the door how the devil does that rascal contrive to such a knock said upon my honour reputation father i could know it out of a sand it s very difficult to say replied the o but i agree with you in its character and y am convinced that master by no mean the terror of me which he affects how be this as it may he is invaluable for his at ment to our interests and the trust which we ca pose in him i intend to make him a our new corps and talking of that you not aware that i received this morning a letter lord in which he thanks me for the and says he will do everything in his power tc ward the business i have proposed that he be colonel and that the corps be named the c i shall myself be captain pay master and you shall have a of i have no objection in life replied let the be a good one only i am rather as to actual fighting which may god o infinite mercy the hush agent there will be no fighting my hero the father laughing if there were i would rise above all claims for military glory but h e there will be nothing but a healthy chase across the country after an occasional rebel or or perhaps the seizing of a still and the capture of many a of neat eh what do you say to that my boy i have no objection to that said provided every thing is done in an open manly manner in broad day these scoundrel have such devilish good practice at hedge firing that i have ah made up my mind to decline all that won t be by the sun i believe ui my soul they see better without than with it so that the darkness which would be a protection to them could be none to me at this moment a tap such as a thief would give when if the master of the house were deep in order that he might rob him came to the and upon being desired to come in and be i d entered you re an hour late you scoundrel said that have you to say for yourself yes added who was a perfect to very and driver on the estate what have m you to say for yourself if i served you upon my honour and reputation i would kick yo out i would you scoundrel and i ought i know you ought squire for i it but any how sure it was the floods that sent me round the stick was covered above three feet and i hi to go round by the bridge his honour ought to make the grand jury put a bridge it and i wish to goodness square you to him to get them to do it next summer when solomon said that all was vanity and tion of spirit we hope he did not mean that the terms were at all because if he did wi unquestionably stand prepared to contest his know ledge of human nature despite both his wisdom an experience s reply was not a long one bu its effect was powerful the very notion that vi m could should might or ought to hai such influence over the grand jury of the count was irresistible with the father and that he live to be actually called squire nay to hear the with his own ears was equally so with the son vanity what sensation can the hearts of tho sands millions feel that ought for a moment compared in an sense of enjoyment wi those which arise from gratified vanity thb irish come you scoundrel and take a glass rf spirits the night s severe said yes you scoundrel take a glass of spirits and we u see what can be done about the bridge before next winter added all i can say is said that if jou both take it up it will he done in the mane time here s both your your honours an you both be spared on the property as a pair of to the estate then running over to lie whispered in a voice square i t let his honour hear me now but here s black confusion to the what is he saying what is the cursed scoundrel saying why your honour interposed i was permission to add a to what i m to drink what do you mean said just your honour to drink the glorious pious ad hip hip and how can you drink it you rascal and you asked still highly delighted with s loyalty what would your priests say if ey knew of it why said quite unconscious of the vol i m testimony he was bearing to his own they can forgive me that along with my other but any how i have a great notion to lave and their altogether how is that you scoundrel asked yes you scoundrel how is that added why i can t well ace j r it myself it comes from an conscience mr m gave me a tract i time ago called spiritual food for of gi and i thought in my own conscience it carefully over that it applied very much to condition ah i said what a	50
babe you are bi matter fm glad you have notions of good sound take my word there s thing like it a man that s a good sound pr is always a loyal fellow and when he s dr drinks to hell with the pope don t be a fool said his father wh many if not all of old s if you are about to become a di that s a very different thing from changing religion inasmuch as you must have one to cl first however as you say m s your and be guided by mm the irish agent so i intend sir and he has been to me about in regard of an he has of a new tract me to be called the converted or a companion to the attorney and he says sir that he ll get us bound up together does he said strung up i suppose he means your honour s right replied but my own isn t what it used to be it as strung up he said sure enough sir very well said but now to business my boy you move off for a uttle and t have a small matter to talk over that nobody m hear but ourselves all right replied so take care of your and accordingly he left the room now the truth was that m who per understood the half character of his for be it known that worthy was by those who had the honour of his as any thing but an did not feel justified in admitting the said to full in all his plans and speculations you see now said he addressing you see the opinion which i entertain of m your honesty when i trust you more than i do son i do your honour and by the did i ever betray you betray you scoundrel what had you to tray said indignantly whatever i do i the benefit of the country in general and for s property in particular you know tb know it i does nt the whole world sir well then said softening no business in the first place observe my said nothing but looked at him in the of deep and breathless attention whenever you happen to execute a distress that is when removing furniture or other property off the premises keep a sharp out for any papers or that may ha to come in your way it will do no harm if should slip them quietly into your pocket and them to me i say quietly because there is a i abroad among the people that we must watch if they once suspected that we were on the for it they might us these papers you k can be returned the irish agent i see your honour said there you e right as indeed you always are very well then is the night dark and stormy so dark sir that a blind man could see it then approached the looked cautiously about the room opened the door and peeped into the hall after which he returned and placing about written papers in his hand whispered something to him with great earnestness and deliberation heard him with profound attention i his head significantly as he spoke and placed ae point of his right hand fore finger on the papers i if he said i see i understand i am to do so so with these it s all clear all right and it shall l e done before i sleep the conversation then fell into its original and was summoned in order to receive his touching a ceremony which was to take place on the following day but one which ceremony imply consisted in turning out upon the wide world without house or home or shelter about families containing among them the young ie aged the sick and the dying but this is a to which we must beg the reader s more attention there stood facing the west about two miles from m constitution cottage an irregular string of with here and there something that might ap the comfortable air of a middle sized farm the soil on which they stood was an elevated studded with rocks and small cultivated p which the hard hand of labour had with tc difficulty won from what might otherwise be a cold bleak desert the rocks in several were overgrown with and different descriptions which were u meagre and hungry looking the only d tion of cattle that the poverty of these poor allowed them to keep with the exception of three families who were able to indulge luxury of a cow in winter it had an air of desolation that was enough to chill the ver j even to think of but in summer the shrubs some of which were and relieved the dark spirit which see brood upon it this little colony the wretchedness of its appearance was not ever shut out from a share of human hap the manners of its inhabitants were simple and if their were few and so also were their desires god gave the summer breeze to their blood the the irish agent heaven to the of their mountains the morning and the evening dressed in au their the music of their mountain streams and of the to their souls with its melody the voices of spring of summer of were cheerful in their ears as the voices of friends and even winter with all his and desolation was not without a grim which they loved they were a poor harmless uttle community so very humble and as to be lately beneath the reach of human resentment op injustice alas they were not so the cause of the oppression which was now about to place them in its iron grasp was as	50
simple as it was they refused to vote for lord s brother and were independent enough to respect the rights of conscience in defiance of m s they had for the gentleman who gave them employment and who happened besides to entertain opinions which they approved m s object was to remove them from the property in order that he might replace them with a more obedient and less conscientious class for this was his principle of action under such circumstances it so happened that there among them a man m named o who in point of comfort waa at the head of this little community he was a quiet and an affectionate individual industrious sober and every way well conducted this and virtuous man and his faithful wife had been some time before the period we are describing under the shadow of deep affliction their second child and his uttle brother together with the eldest who for two or three years before had been at service in england were all that had been spared to them the rest having died this second boy was named and im they loved with an excess of tenderness and affection that could scarcely be blamed the boy was handsome and manly fuu of feeling and possessed of great resolution and courage all this however was ultimately of no avail in adding to the span of the poor youth s life one day in the beginning of autumn he himself a log of fir which he had found in the having laid it down to rest he broke a blood vessel in attempting to raise it to his shoulder the second time he staggered home related the accident as it had occurred and laid himself down gently upon his bed decline then set in and the handsome and the irish agent spirited o lay patiently his dissolution his languid eye dim with the of its approach from the moment it was that his death early and unexpected is known to be certain the grief of his parents the bounds of ordinary sorrow it was deed a distressing thing to witness their sufferings id to feel in the chambers of your heart e awful of their desolation and despair winter had now arrived in all its severity and the ty day selected for the removal of these poor was that which fills or waa designed to fill ery christian heart with hope charity affection r our kind and the innocent enjoyment of that spirit which gives to the season a charm that rows the memory back upon the sweetest of life i mean christmas eve the morning was ushered in by storm there had been me a fortnight s snow accompanied by hard frost d to this was added now the force of a piercing nd and a tremendous down pouring of hard dry against which it is at any time le even to walk unless when supported by health and uncommon strength in o s house there was indeed the terrible lion of a most bitter and two fold misery the m boy was literally dying and to this was added t consciousness that m would work his w in spite of storm tempest and sickness nay e death itself a few of the inhabitants of this n mountain village which by the way was drum from its black and desolate look i too much the fear of m before their to await his measures and accordingly sought some other shelter it waa said however i generally supposed by several of the gentry that even m himself would dare to take such a step in defiance of humanity public opinion and the laws both of and we were about to add man but the t cannot be written every step he took was and perfectly legal and the consequence was he had that strong argument am the laws of the land to enable him to b all the principles of humanity and justice to personal hatred to and ruin removal however in o s would have been instant death motion or any kind were strictly forbidden as was except in the and lowest tones and e thing at all approaching to excitement still the irish agent terror lest this agent might carry his resolution into effect on such a day and under such gave to their pitiable sense of his loss a dark and deadly hue of misery at which the heart actually from the hour of nine o clock on that ominous morning the inhabitants of drum were passing despite the storm from cabin to cabin discussing the probable events of the day and asking each other if it could be possible that m would turn them out under such a tempest nor was this all the scene indeed was one which ought never to be witnessed in any country misery in ad its shapes was there suffering in its sickness disease famine and death to all which was to be added bleak desolation had the season been summer they might have slept in the fields made themselves temporary sheds or carried their sick and aged and helpless to distant places where humanity might aid and relieve them but no here were the of god as it were called in by the and wickedness of man to war against old infancy and disease for a day or two preceding this poor he felt a little better that is to say his symptoms of suffering were as is m sometimes the case where human weakness literally sinks below the reach of pain itself ten o clock had arrived and he had not yet awoke having only fallen asleep a little before day break his father went to his bed side and looking down saw tbat he was still asleep with a peaceful smile his features as it were with a sense	50
of inward happiness and tranquillity he beckoned to his mother who approached the bed and contemplated him with that agony which the heart and brain until the feeling would be gladly exchanged for madness the conversation which followed was to irish a circumstance that accounts for its style and tenderness of expression what is that smile said the father it s the peace of god said the mother shining from an innocent and happy heart oh my son my son yes the father he is going to meet happy hearts but he will leave none in this house behind him even little that he loved so where was there a heart so loving as his this we need scarcely observe was all said in whispers ah i said his mother you may well don t you remember this day week when we were talking of m i hope says he thb irish agent tbat if he should come fu be where no agent can om me ont that is in heaven for i wouldn t to live to see you both and little put from he place that we all loved so well and then he away the tears from his pale cheeks oh my son my son are you us a ing us for ever the father sat down quietly on a chair and put m hand upon his forehead as if to keep the upper art of his head from flying for such he said the sensations he felt he then wrung his until the joints cracked and gave one short sob which no effort of his could repress the boy soon afterwards opened his eyes and fixed them with the same peaceful and affectionate smile his parents said his mother kissing him how do feel our flower said he but i think weaker i had a li he continued i thought i was looking in h a great gate at the most beautiful place that er was and i said to myself what country can hat be that s so full of and music and green and beautiful rivers that is heaven said sweet voice beside me but i could see no one i again and then i thought i saw my three little m brothers inside the gate and i said aren t you my brothers that died when you were young yes said they and we are come to welcome you here i then was goin to go in when i thought i saw my father and little hand in hand towards the gate and as i was goin in thought they called after me wait dear for we will follow you soon and i hope we all will our blessed treasure for when you lave us son of our hearts what temptation will we have to stay you your voice will be in our ears and your sweet looks in our eyes but that is all that will be left of and your father and i will never have a day s happiness more oh never never you both know i wouldn t lave you if i could help it but it s the will of god that i should go then when i ll be so happy won t it take the edge off your grief bring here he and i were all that was left you since ned went to england and now you will have only him i needn t bid you to love him for i know that you loved both of us may be more than you ought or more than i but not surely more than j does my darling come and kiss your i own that kept you sleeping every night in the irish j bosom and never was properly happy without m kiss me when i can feel you for i know that long you will kiss me when i can t kiss you my darling life how loth i am to lave you id to lave you all father to lave you all mother as he spoke and paused from time to time the of the storm without and the fury with which swept against the roof door and windows of the made a terrible to the sweet and tone of feeling which pervaded the remarks f the dying boy his father however who felt an dread of what was expected to take lace started at the close of the last words and with heart divided between the two terrors stood in which is only the resting place of where it takes breath and itself r its greatest trials he stood with one hand as pressed upon his forehead and pointed ith the other to the door the wife too paused r she could not doubt for a moment that she heard mingling with those of the storm which not to it it was christmas eve i stop mary said he the very current of his its beating frozen as it were the terrible apprehension stop mary you m open the door but in such a morning as this you m couldn t shut it and the wind and drift would come in and fill the house and be the death of our no i must open the door myself and it will all my strength to shut it i hear it all now said the cries and the shouting the and the well you need not be put poor in with me for i know there is no but will respect a be it landlord or agent ay or oh no father the hand of god is upon us and if they respect nothing else they will surely respect they won t move me mother when they see me for that would kill me that would be to murder a dying	50
man the father made no reply but rushed towards the door which he opened and closed after hun with more ease than he had expected the storm in fact was the small hard drift had ceased and it was evident from the appearance of the sky that there was likely to be a change for the better it would indeed appear as if the divine being actually restrained and checked the elements on witnessing the cruel heartless and purposes of man but what a scene presented itself to o on going forth to witness the proceeding which were then about to take place on this day i the irish agent the northern end of this wild collection was seen a of drivers con and all that hard hearted class of that constitute the staff of a land agent upon ns similar to this immediately behind these d a body of orange dressed in arms ea carrying thirty of ball we say orange because at the period we speak of roman were not admitted into the one in a corps and even out of ten perhaps you might not find the ten we add to this the fact that every man was then an and strong feeling of religious and j hatred between them and the c party we think that there are few our strongest if any attempt to defend the policy one party of stimulated by st passions to be let loose thus armed upon less men whom besides they looked upon as enemies men in question who were known by the i t of s were in point of le terror of every one in the country who was l i o m not an no matter what his creed or conduct might be they were to a man guided iy the true tory principle not only of supporting but of putting down and yet with singular they were seldom w never seen within a church door all their consisting in giving violent and offensive and their loyalty in playing party tunes singing orange songs meeting in orange and the will of some such as m who was by no means an exaggerated specimen of the orange tory s were commanded on this occasion by a little figure all belly with a short pair of legs at one end and a little red fiery face that looked as if it would at the other the figure was mounted on horseback and as it and its party gallantly entered this city of it clapped its hand on its side to impress the enemy no doubt with a due sense of its military character and behind the whole procession at a little distance rode m and m graceful having declined the honour of the expedition altogether principally he said in consequence of the of the days and the consequent very sudden approach of night we cannot omit to state that o drive was full of consequence and the irish agent ance and led on his followers with a roll of paper containing a list of all those who were to be up in his hand somewhat like a of office opposed to this display stood a crowd of poor i wretches with all the marks of poverty struggle and in many cases of famine and extreme about them and upon them with their half starved children in their j ms many of them without shoes or stockings care worn men their heads up in handkerchiefs as illness or recovery rom illness ld men bent over their some long white hair streaming to the breeze and with haggard looks of terror produced by the ell known presence among them of s and this was christmas a time of joy and i other features were also presented which gave this miserable scene a still more the voice of was loud es from the females both young and old all with some exceptions were in tears many ere their hair others clapping their in distraction some were kneeling to heaven its protection and not a few to call down m its vengeance upon their from many of the men the young and healthy stifled curses and smothered of deep and fearful vengeance brows darkened eyes gleamed and teeth were ground with a spirit thai could neither be mistaken nor scarcely m was then the wind but whether at a future day to reap the we are not now prepared to state at length it was deemed time that the ceremony should commence and m armed also with a case of pistols rode up to o drive you scoundrel he shouted for he saw his enemy and got courageous especially he had a body of his father s at his o drive you scoundrel do you mean to keep i here all day why don t you commence whose is the first name on your list the must proceed he added addressing the poor people as much as it must proceed every thing we do is by lord s orders and strictly according to the law of the land every attempts refusing to give up possession makes you liable to be punished and punished by h n you shall be do not swear my dear friend interposed the irish agent m swear not at all but let thy yea be yea and thy nay nay for whatsoever is more than of evil my good friends he added himself to the people i could not feel in losing this opportunity to throw in a word in season for your i need scarcely tell you that mr m whose character for benevolence and humanity is perfectly well known and i would allude to his strong sense of religion and its practical influence on his conduct were i not afraid of rise to a feeling of spiritual pride in the heart of any fellow	50
and now that you have heard it it is not to bless you well you remember when you heard it last on the day hunted your dogs at me and threatened to lave me horse whipped ay to horse whip me with m your own hands should i ever come near cursed house now you know who i am i have kept my word which was never to die gave you a face your m is before you m took the matter very cool laughed at her and in a voice of thunder d the to proceed but bow we dwell upon this miserable the and screams the for t their prayers their and promises all sternly disregarded arid on went the law accompanied by the tumult of misery t were dragged out the grandmother h couch of straw taken from under her from th of death the corpse of an aged female was out amidst o shrieks and of and women i the sick child that clung ness to the bosom of its distracted mother w out under the blast of the north a on onward from house to house went the si law accompanied still by the increasing misery this was upon christmas eve a joy and i at length they reached o s and it our intention to describe the occurrence i the irish agent it could not be done o clasped his lands so did his wife they knelt they wept they they stated the nature of his malady from having a blood vessel they an to m to m to the figure n horseback they prayed to and a who had been for and wanton in his but no effect shook his head it couldn t be done said he no replied the other whose name was we can t make any differ between one and another out he goes father observed the meek boy let them i ill only be the sooner in heaven he was placed sitting up in bed by the in the cold rush of the bias but the their father saw their and hands upon him he rushed forward by his mother stay said he in a loud hoarse voice since u have him out let our hands not yours bo him the told him they could not stand there day and without any further respect for their they rudely wrapped the bed clothes about m him and carrying him out he was placed upon chair before the door his parents were immediately beside him and took him now into their care but it was too late he smiled as he looked into their faces then looked at his little brother and giving one long drawn sigh he passed without pain or suffering saying a slight shudder into happiness o when he saw that his noble and beloved boy was gone surrendered him into the keeping of liis wife and other friends who prevented his body from falling off the chair he then bent his eye sternly upon the group of especially upon the rude whose conduct was so now listen said he kneeling down beside his dead son listen all of you that has wrought this murder of my dying boy he is yet warm he added grinding his teeth and looking up to heaven and here beside him i pray that the gates of mercy may be closed upon my soul through all eternity if i die without vengeance for your death my son his mother who was now in a state between stupor and distraction exclaimed to be sure darling and i ll assist you and so will the death of this boy under circumstances of the irish agent such cruelty occasioned even m to something of his original intentions he however in all the without exception but when this was over he allowed them to re occupy their miserable until the weather should get and until such of them as could might be able to procure some other shelter for themselves and families when all was over m who had brought with him a of tracts for their spiritual saw from the deeply tragic character of the proceedings that he might spare himself the trouble oi such christian sympathy as he wished to manifest for their salvation he and m to whom by the way he presented the truly spiritual of some good brandy out of a with which he balanced the tracts in his other pocket then took their way in the very centre of the leaving behind them all those sorrows of life for which however they might well be glad to exchange their and their wealth the circumstances which we have just described were too striking not to excite considerable indignation among all reasonable minds at the time an account of that day s proceedings got into the papers but was so promptly and fully contradicted by the vol i o m united testimony of m and m that the matter was made to appear very highly complimentary to the benevolence and humanity of both so far from the proceedings in question the contradiction went on to say being marked by the wanton cruelty and to them they were on the contrary as remarkable for the kindness and forbearance evinced by messrs m and m the whole thing was a mere legal form conducted in a most benevolent and christian spirit the people were all restored to their the moment the business of the day was concluded and we cannot readily forget the admirable advice and offered to them and so offered by solomon m esq the truly christian and benevolent law agent of the property in question by these proceedings however m had gained his point which was under the guise of a zealous course of duty to create a basis on which to ground his private representations	50
river rising and falling now near and now far away in the distance on such a morning as this it was and at such an hour that a pale faced thin woman with all the melancholy evidences of and sorrow about her knocked at the door of her parish priest the rev francis the very knock she gave had in it a character of respectful but eager haste her appearance too was miserable and as she stood in the cold wintry twilight it would have satisfied any one that deep a and wasting poverty were both at her humble hearth she had on neither shoe nor and the consequence was that the sharp and jagged surface of the frozen ground rendered by the impatient speed of her journey had cut her feet in such a manner that the blood flowed from them in several places cloak or bonnet she had none but instead of the former her humble gown was turned over her shoulders and in place of the latter she wore a thin drawn round her head and held under her chin with one hand as the lower classes of often do in short and hasty her journey however though hasty in this instance was by no the irish agent means short and it was easy to perceive by her distracted manner and stifled sobs that however poorly protected against the bitter elements she had a grief within which rendered her insensible to their severity it was also apparent that though humble in life she possessed like thousands of her a mind of sufficient compass and strength to comprehend when moved the united working of more than one principle at the same moment we have said it was evident that she was under the influence of deep sorrow but this was not all a second glance might disclose the exhibition of a still higher principle the woman was at prayer and it was easy to perceive by the beads which she held in her fervently clasped hands by the occasional knocking of her breast and the earnest look of to heaven that her soul poured forth its aspirations in the deep felt and anxious spirit of that which affliction is found so often to in the peasant s heart she had only knocked a second time when the door was opened and having folded np her beads she put them into her bosom and entering the priest s house immediately found herself in the kitchen in a moment a middle aged woman with a rush light in her hand stirred up the m and the live turf out of it she threw on a dozen well dried out of the comer and soon had a comfortable and blazing fire at which the a creature first intimated her wish that his reverence should accompany her home was desired to sit until he should be ready to set out why then exclaimed the good natured woman but you had a tramp of it this could and and a could and it is for sure didn t i feel as if the very nose was off o me when i only to open the door for you sit near the fire and warm yourself myself feels like a the way the could s goin through me sit over sit over and get some heat into you thank you said the woman but you know it s not a safe thing to go near the fire when one is frozen or very only make me worse when i go out again besides me pain now you re right i forgot that surely didn t come far if one s to judge by your dress though god knows far of near you have the light an you for such a morning as this is the lord be praised thb irish agent i came better than three miles replied the woman than what than three miles above is it possible without cloak or bonnet shoe or an you have your at home too poor thing why the lord look down an you an pity you i pray his blessed name this day i stop i must warm you a drink of brave new milk and that ll help to put the could out of your heart sit round here from the breath of that back door i ll have it ready for you in a will i an you ll see it ll warm you and do you good god help me exclaimed the woman i ll take the drink i wouldn t refuse your kind heart but it s not meat nor drink nor could nor storm that s me could bear all that and many a time did but then i had mm i but now who s to comfort us who are we to look to who is to be our friend oh in the wide world but god is good i said she checking herself from a pious apprehension that she was not sufficiently to his will god is good but still it s hard to think of losing him well you won t lose him i hope said the m good creature stirring the new milk a spoon and it to ascertain if it was warm of it s your husband you the devil be off you for a i ve a most myself you it s so thin that it has a thing before you could say jack here now try it an take care it s not a trifle too hot it ll comfort you any how it is in a country like ireland where there is so much of that close and wasting poverty which absolute misery that these beautiful of pure and tender humanity are to be found which spring in the obscurity of	50
life out of the natural goodness and piety of the irish heart it is these virtues unseen and unknown as they generally are except by the humble individuals on whom they are exerted that so often light up by their radiance the darkness and of the cold and lowly cabin and that give an unconscious sense of cheerfulness under great which those who do not know the people often attribute to other and more causes while the poor woman in question was drinking the warm milk the very best by the way which she could get for poverty is mostly forced to find out its own humble comforts father the irish agent entered the kitchen up and prepared for the journey on looking at her he seemed startled by the of her dress on such a morning and when she rose up at his entrance and dropped him a exclaiming god save you father i at the same time hastily down the remainder of the milk that she might not lose a moment he cast his eye round the kitchen to see whether she had actually come in the dress she wore how far have you come this morning my poor woman he inquired from the side of the more mountains your reverence what in your present dress without shoe or true enough sir but indeed it was little the or or frost troubled me yes god help you i can believe too for i understand the cause of it too well but have hope what was that you gave her a of warm milk your reverence to put the out of her heart ah i wish we could put sorrow and affliction out of it but you did well and right in the meantime still you must do better m lend her your cloak and your shoes and too poor thing i m to your she replied but indeed i won t feel the want of them as i said there s only one thought that i am suffering and that is for your reverence to see my husband before he yes but the consequences of this cold and bitter journey may fall upon you at another and before long too so be advised by me and don t refuse to take them it s not to do that sir she with a faint smile for as she spoke his servant had the cloak already about her shoulders it appears she continued that this kind woman must have her will and way in every thing to be sure i will said in every thing that s right any how come here now and while his reverence is getting his staff and in the room above i ll help you on with the shoes and stockings now she added in one of those touching and irresistible whispers that are produced by kindness and not by secrecy if any thing happens as god forbid there should but if thing does happen keep these till thing is over before strangers you know one the irish agent wouldn t like to appear too bare if they could it the tone in which these words were spoke could lot fail in at once reaching the poor woman s heart he wept as much from gratitude as the gloomy involved in s benevolent offer god bless you she exclaimed but i trust in he almighty there may be hope and that they wont e wanted still how can i hope when i think of he way he s in but god is good blessed be his name so saying the priest came down and they both let out on their bleak and desolate journey the natural aspect of the surrounding country in good keeping with the wild and stormy of the morning before them in the ground rose a magnificent range of mountains f snowy peaks were occasionally seen far above he dusky clouds which drifted rapidly across their the whole landscape in fact with a of savage grandeur many of the on side were deep and where rock over rock and ledge projected over ledge in k manner so fearful that the mind of the spectator and into terror by the contemplation of hem wondered why they did not long ago tumble m into the chasm beneath so slight was their apparent support even in the seasons desolation over the lesser hills and mountains about them what then must it not have been at the period we are describing from a hill a little to the right over which they had to pass a was visible against which the mighty of the ocean could be heard hoarsely thundering at a distance and the giant in periods of storm and tempest seen shivering themselves into white foam that rose nearly to the summit of their such was the country over which our two travellers had to pass it was not without difficulty and fatigue that the priest and his companion their way towards one of the we have mentioned the snow beat against them with great violence sometimes rendering it almost impossible for them to keep their eyes open or to see their proper path across the hills the woman however trod her way and whilst the priest aided her by his superior strength she in return guided him by a clearer sagacity neither spoke much for in truth each had enough to do in the toil and peril of the journey as well as in thinking of the melancholy thb irish agent scene to which they were hastening words of consolation and comfort he did from time to time utter but he felt that his situation was one of difficulty to inspire hope where there was probably no hope might be only to her affliction and on the other hand to weigh down a heart already heavy	50
laden by adding one gloomy to its was not in his nature such comfort as he could give without bearing too strongly upon either her hopes or her fears he did give and we do not think that an had he been in his place could or ought to have done more they had now arrived within half a mile of the when they felt themselves overtaken by a man whose figure was of a very singular and description being apparently as wild and as the barren waste on which he made his appearance he was actually two or three inches above the common height but in addition to this fact and as if not satisfied with it he wore three hats one a little into the other so that they could not readily separate and the under one he kept always fastened to his head in order to prevent the whole from falling off his person seemed to gain still greater height from the circumstance of his wearing a long that reached to his heels vol i q m and which he kept constantly closely about hun his feet were in a tight pair of leather for it was one of his that he could endure neither boot nor shoe and he always wore a glove of some kind on his left hand but never any on his right his features might be termed regular even handsome and his eyes were absolutely brilliant yet notwithstanding this it was impossible to look for a moment upon his without perceiving that that spirit which the impress of reason and intellect upon the human countenance was not visible in his like a new and well house which had never been occupied every thing seemed regular and perfect whilst it was evident by its still and lonely character as contrasted with the busy marks of on going life in those around it that it was void and without an like many others of his unhappy class s son na for it was he and so had he been in consequence of his wearing such a number of hats had a remarkable mixture of humour and cunning he entertained a great or rather a passion for cock fighting and on the present occasion carried a game one under his arm the irish agent throughout the county no man possessed a bird of that species with whose he was not thoroughly acquainted and truth to tell he proved himself as great a thief as he a among them many a time the unfortunate from some neighbouring cover were cursed and when if the fact had been known the only fox that the was na one thing however was certain that unless the cock were thoroughly game he might enjoy his liberty and ease long enough without from we had well nigh forgotten to say that he wore on the right side of his hat a of yellow cloth from which two or three ribbons of a scarlet colour fluttered down to his shoulder a bit of vanity which added very much to the fantastic nature of his general costume ha my good boy said the priest how does it happen that you are so early up this stormy morning would you not be more comfortable in your bed up replied up that s good to be sure you re a priest but you don t know every thing why what am i ignorant of now why that i didn t go to bed yet so that it s m up late instead of early i ye hear ha now take that when where and how did you spend the night then but you seem in a hurry surely if you trot on at this rate we cannot keep up with you the truth is s general rate of travelling was very rapid where did you spend the night continued the priest a set o jolly ha ha now make money of that d ye hear you re a riddle you re a riddle there s no understanding you where cock but i needn t ask of course you stole him then why do you ax if you think so because you re notorious for stealing every one knows as much no never steal em fond o me come me themselves look the words were scarcely uttered when he tossed the bird up into the air and certainly after flying about for a few yards he and tottering against the wind towards stretched out his neck as if he wished to be again taken up by him i see said the priest but answer me where did you spend last night now i you said de thb irish agent sure i mostly it an better company than most people for they re fond o me didn t ou see ha ha i i believe i understand you now said father you ve slept near somebody s hen have stolen the cock to whom are you carrying you won t tell to morrow ha ha there now ike a rub too that s one poor creature said the priest to his companion am told he is affectionate and where he takes fancy or has received a kindness very the parish where the circumstances we are occurred having been that in which was born of course the poor fool was to every one in it as indeed every one in it and old was to him during this short dialogue between him and the the female absorbed in her own heavy was observed by occasionally to the tears from her eyes a slight change a of apparent compassion came over his and turning to her he gently laid his hand her shoulder and said in a voice different m his and abrupt manner m don t cry mary has company and	50
good things that were brought to him he has indeed mary so don t be crying now what do you mean poor boy asked the woman i don t understand you it is difficult to do that at all times said but notwithstanding the of his manner he is seldom without meaning will you tell me where you came from now asked from your house he replied i went to fetch you to him but you were both gone and i you i could do that ha ha but what is the company that s with him asked the female naturally anxious to understand this part of his communication however was now in one of his silent moods and appeared not to hear her at all events he did not think it worth his while to give her any reply for a short period he kept murmuring to himself or if a word or two became audible it was clear that his favourite sport of cock fighting had altogether engrossed his attention they had now reached a rough dark of heath which brought them in view of the cabin to which they were going and also commanded an ex the irish agent and glorious prospect of the rich and inland country which lay behind them the and his now almost exhausted companion to i its scenery was familiar waited not to look upon its beauty or its richness not so who from the moment they began to ascend the elevation kept constantly looking back and his eyes in one particular direction at he started and placing his right hand upon ihe priest s shoulder said in a suppressed but eager go on go on they re then to the female come said he come mary ru help you who is she exclaimed whilst the of death and terror settled in her face for rod s mercy who is coming i saw them said he i saw them come me fast i ll help you don t don t let us be guided by him said the priest he added we cannot go much faster this heath but do you aid mary as ell as you can as for me i will try if it be possible my pace he accordingly proceeded in advance of the other m two for a little but it was only for a little the female who seemed excited bj some terror and the wild manner of her companion into something not unlike the energy of despair rushed on as if she had been only setting out or gained supernatural strength in a few minutes she was beside the priest whom she en and and entreated aj and m some moments of more vehement feeling absolutely for not keeping pace with herself they had now however come within about a hundred yards of the cabin which they soon the female entering it about a minute or two before the others in order to make those humble ments about a sick bed which however may be forced to overlook on ordinary occasions are always attended to on the approach of the doctor or the minister of religion in the instance before us she had barely time to comfort her husband by an assurance that the priest had after which she hastily wiped his and kissed them then settled his head more easily after she spread out to the best advantage the poor which covered liim and tucked it in about his lowly bed so as to give it something of a more tidy appearance the irish agent the interior of the cottage which the priest and entered together was when the bitter and nature of the morning and the state of the miserable inmates is considered enough to make any heart possessing humanity shudder two or three a couple of pots a few shelves supported on driven into the wall about a of raw potatoes lying in a corner a small of damp turf for the foregoing summer had so incessantly wet that the turf unless when very early cut could not be saved a few wooden and dishes together with a bundle of straw covered up in a corner with the sick man s coat which when shaken out at night was a bed and these with the exception of their own simple domestic truth and affection was their only riches the floor too as is not unusual in such mountain was nothing but the natural and so damp and soft was it that in wet weather the of their feet were visibly impressed on it at every step with the exception of liberty to go and come pure air and the light of the blessed day they might as well have dragged out their existence n a keep belonging to some old baron of the ages there was one small apartment in this cabin but m what it contained if it did contain any thing could not readily be seen for the hole or window which in summer admitted the light was now filled with rags to keep out the cold from this little room however the priest as he entered was surprised to see a young man come forth apparently much moved by some object which he had seen in it mr said the priest a good deal surprised who could have expected to find you here they shook hands as he spoke each casting bis eyes upon this scene of misery god pity them ejaculated the priest clasping his hands and looking upwards and sustain them i owe it to poor here replied the other and i feel obliged to him but said he taking father over to the door here will be a double death father and son father and son how is that she mentioned nothing of the son it is very possible	50
said that they are not conscious of his danger i fear that the poor boy has not many hours to live all that we have just described occurred in three minutes but short as was the time the wife s impatience to have the rights of the church the irish agent could scarcely be restrained nor was poor s anxiety about the dying man much less they re said he mr they are hurry hurry i know what they ll do who coming asked oh said the fool m s blood hounds the wife clapped her hands shrieked and falling on her knees exclaimed in a piercing voice merciful god look down on us i oh father there is not a moment to be lost the priest and again exchanged a melancholy glance you must all retire into the little room said the clergyman until i administer to him the last rites they accordingly withdrew the woman having first left a lit rush light candle at his bed side as she knew the ceremony required the man s strength was wasting fast and his voice sinking rapidly but on the other hand he was calm and rational a circumstance which relieved the priest s mind very much as is usual having put a stole about his neck he first heard his confession earnestly him to repentance and soothed and comforted him with all those promises and which held out to m he then the extreme which being over the ceremony and a one it must bo considered was concluded on this occasion however his death bed did not end here there are in the roman catholic church prayers for the dying many of them with the of christian faith and calculated to raise the soul to the hopes of immortality these the priest read in a slow manner so as that the dying man could easily accompany him which he did with his hands clapped upon his breast and his eyes closed unless when he raised them occasionally to heaven he then him with an anxiety for his salvation which all earthly and considerations prayed with him and for him whilst the tears streamed in torrents down his cheeks nor was the spirit of his holy mission lost the penitent man s face assumed a placid and serene expression the light of immortal hope beamed upon it and raising his eyes and his feeble arms to heaven he uttered several in a tone of voice too low to bo heard at length he exclaimed aloud thanks to the almighty that i did not commit this murder as i intended i found it done to my hand but i don t know who did it as i am to meet my god the words were pronounced with difficulty the irish agent indeed they were scarcely uttered when his arms fell as it were by his side they were suddenly drawn up however as if by a motion and the priest saw that the agonies of death were about to commence still it was easy to that the man was collected and rational it was now however that a scene took place which could not we imagine be witnessed out of distracted and unhappy ireland who appeared to dread the approach of those whom he termed m s blood hounds no sooner saw that the religious rites were concluded than he ran out to in a moment however he returned a picture of terror and dragging the woman to the door pointed to a below the house exclaiming see mary see they re the dying man seemed conscious of what was said for the groan he gave was wild and startling his wife dropped on her knees at the door where she could watch her husband and those who approached and clasping her hands exclaimed to your mercy o lord of heaven to your mercy take him before he falls into their hands that will show him none she then bestowed upon him a look full of an impatient agony i m which no language could describe her eyes m already become wild and piercing her cheek and her frame animated with a spirit that to partake at once of terror intense hatred an something like frenzy they are they are i si said and they will find life in him i she the wrung her hands but shed not a tear she said speed speed husband of m heart the arms of god are they not open for yo and why do you stay these sentiments t should have informed our readers were uttered rather in a of sorrow in irish irish being the language in which the who happen to speak both it and english express themselves when more than usually excited the sacred oil of salvation is upon you the ment of peace and forgiveness has lightened you soul the breath of mercy is the breath you r the hope of is in your heart the of his blessed mother she that sorrow herself is before you then light of mj heart the arms of god are they not open for and why do you stay here nearer nearer she exclaimed they are nearer and their horses the irish agent o that was the sun of my life and of my heart and ever without a cloud hasten to the god of mercy i oh surely you will not blame your own mary that was your wife and the treasure of your young and manly heart for to see you taken from her eyes and for wishing to see the eyes that never looked upon us all but with love and kindness closed on us for ever oh said she putting her hands to her forehead an is it is it come to this that i that was dearer to him than	50
his own life a thousand times should now be glad to see him die be glad to see him die i oh i they are here she shrieked before the door you may hear their horses feet i o and her voice became louder and more energetic the white the fair of hair the strong of hand the true of heart as you ever loved me that was once your happy bride as you ever loved the religion of our holy church as you hope for happiness and mercy hasten from me from our orphan from all oh hasten to the arms of your god during this scene there was a solemn silence in te house the priest and having both been struck mute at the solemnity of the scene they are here they are here she screamed m oh son of my heart not now of me nor of the children of your love for we will follow you in time but think of the happy country you re going to to live in the sunshine of heaven among saints and angels for ever i oh son of my heart think too of what you lave behind you i what is it oh what is it to you but poverty and misery and hardship the cabin and the damp the frost of the sky the frown of power and the of law all this oh right hand of my affection with the hard labour and the scanty food do you fly from sure we had no friend in this world to protect or defend us against them that would us under their feet i no friend for us because we are poor and no friend for our religion because it is despised then hasten hasten light of my heart and take refuge in the mercy of your god mary said the priest who had his eyes fixed on the sick man give god thanks he is nd beyond the reach of human enmity for ever she immediately herself on the floor in token of humility and then raising her eyes to heaven she said may the heart of widow be grateful to the god who has taken him to his mercy before they came upon him b the irish agent ere they are and now i am not afraid of them they can t insult my blessed husband now nor hun as his father s did our n on the could of drum nor disturb im with their barbarous on the bed of and glory be to god for that i many of our readers may be led to imagine that le terrors of mary o were altogether to any thing that might be from the approach of the officers of justice r at least of those who came to execute the law he state of irish society at that time however as very different from what it is now or has been the last twenty years at that period one party as in the and the other directly under feet the former was in the possession of power and the other in many matters any whatsoever to which they could the established church of ireland was a sordid whose wealth was out not only without principle but without lame to the english and irish aristocracy but to the english church were t filled with men remarkable for learning and but to political and often young of known and vol i r m connected with families of rank the consequence was that a gross spirit with political hatred and religious was the only principle which existed in the place of true religion that word was then except in rare cases indeed a dead letter for such was the state of then and for several years afterwards that it mattered not how much or how little a man of that creed knew about the principles of his own church and as it was administered the less he knew of it the better all that was necessary to constitute a good was to hate the pope in for it cannot be concealed and we write it with deep pain and sorrow the church of ireland was then in point of fact uttle else than a mere engine held by the english government for the purpose of securing the of those who were willing to give support to their measures in such a state of things then it need not be wondered at that neglected and as it was at the period we write of it should produce a class of men whose passions in every thing connected with religion and were and exclusive every church no matter what its creed unfortunately has its elect of such professors nor were these confined to the lower classes r tub irish from it the squire and nobleman were too frequently both alike remarkable for the exhibition of principles of this class was our friend m who was now a justice of peace a grand and a captain of cavalry his corps a little time before been completed with this the officers of justice the he played were grievous to think of or to remember he and they were in fact the terror of the whole roman catholic population and from the spirit in which they executed justice were seldom called by any other than that of m s blood hounds upon the present occasion they were by m himself a circumstance which was not to be regretted as there was uttle to be expected from his presence but additional and insult on arriving at the door they hastily dismounted and rushed into the cabin with their usual violence i each being armed with a nd t said the leader whose name was what s here sickness is it no	50
the great the first person that goes between me and him will get the contents of this and as he uttered the words he coolly and cocked the gun and was advancing as before to the dead body hold back said in a voice which made the man start whilst with a firm tread and resolute eye he stood face to face before him hold back and dare not to that sacred and the irish privilege which in every country and creed under is sufficient to protect the dead what can be your object in this are you men have you the spirit the courage of men if you are human beings is not the sight of that unhappy fellow creature i hope he is happy now stretched out in death before you sufficient by the very stillness of departed life to calm the brutal frenzy of your passions have you common courage no i tell you to your teeth that none but and would in the presence of death and sorrow in the miserable cabin of the destitute widow and her orphan boy exhibit the of men who are wanton in their cruelty merely because they know there is none to resist them and i may add because they think that their however barbarous will be by higher authority no i tell you if there stood man for man before you even without arms in their hands you would not dare to act and as you do or to play these cruel of oppression and tyranny any where much less in the house of death and affliction upon you you are a disgrace to every thing that is human a reproach to every feeling of manhood and every principle of religion m hardened as they were by the habits of their and employment such was the of manly truth and moral feeling over them that for a minute or two they under the indignant glance of drew back his gun and looked round on his companions to ascertain their feeling gentlemen said father anxious to them as much as he could gentlemen for the sake of that poor heart broken woman and her miserable orphan son for her and his sake and if not for theirs then for the sake of god himself before whose awful judgment seat we must all stand to render an account of our works i i you to withdraw do gentlemen and leave her and her children to their sorrows and their misery for the world has little else for them tm willing to go said a fellow called handsome because he was blind of an eye and deeply their s no use in with a woman certainly and i don t think there can be any doubt about the man s death devil a bit well said exclaimed and it not ten days since we were of who escaped from us in s the irish agent coffin when we thought to him in the and when we went away didn t they set him at large and then go back to bury the man that was dead now how do you know my boy that this fellow s not us a trick o the same colour come come said another of them who had not yet spoke it s y to know that curse me if you don t give him a i will that s all we re the day and i want my breakfast living or dead and be hanged to him i m starved for want of something to eat and to drink too so be quick i tell you very well my buck said that s your sort here goes he once more advanced with a savage tion to effect his purpose when the priest gently and in a mild spirit of remonstrance laid his hand upon his shoulder but he had scarcely done so when one of them seized him by the collar and flung or rather attempted to fling him back with great violence go on shouted the last speaker whose name was go on and be cursed man we will support you the words however were scarcely out of his lips when his eye glaring like that of a tiger with the of resentment sprang upon him with a bound and in a moment they once more together it was however only for a moment for by the heavy blow he received from the man staggered and fell but ere he reached the ground the gun which had been aimed at the poor fool went off and lodged its contents in the heart of the last speaker who staggered groaned and fell lifeless where he stood for a minute or so this fatal and unexpected catastrophe stunned them they looked upon each other amazed and apparently what cried is dead two of them then placed their arms against the wall in order to ascertain the exact nature of the injury inflicted at this moment who saw at once the man was indeed lifeless raised his gun about to take aim at when a blow from him to the earth and here s for your kindness shouted but ere the words were uttered o s wife threw herself upon him so effectually that he felt it impossible to avail himself of his fire arms fight now she shouted in irish it is for thb irish your lives it is for the widow for the orphan for the bed of death and the dead that s upon it fight for god will be with may his strength and power be in your arms and your hearts the widow this day villain villain she shouted i have you powerless now but it s the strength of god that is	50
in me and not my own i the conflict that ensued now was bitter savage deadly the moment was knocked down flew to their fire arms handed one to and kept the other himself the men who used them were fierce and powerful and cruel in a moment a furious contest took place the four men immediately each one attempting to the gun from his whose passions were now roused so as to resemble the fury of madness itself at one time howled like a beast of prey and shouted and screamed and laughed with that was enough to make any heart his eyes blazed his figure dilated his muscles stood out his mouth was white with and his eye brows were knit into a deep and deadly altogether his appearance was frightful and appalling was still better matched and the struggle with his foe was for some time doubtful enough the m latter being one of the strongest and most resolute men in the whole parish a powerful for the gun place each pulling in opposite directions with all his might at struck who all at once let the gun go when the other having no longer any resisting power to sustain him fell back upon the floor and in an instant s knee was on his chest and the gun in his possession the man ground his teeth and looking up into his face with a black of hatred exclaimed it is your turn now but i will have mine you have had yours too long villain replied the other but in the mean time i will teach you to respect the bed of death and the of a widow saying which he vigorously applied the but of the gun to his ribs until he had rendered him any thing but disposed for further conflict both were achieved much about the same time s opponent being far the more severely punished of the two what however was their surprise after each had his man from the cabin to find down his gun lying on one side o s wife fastened on his throat and himself panting and almost black in the face here now she exclaimed the battle of the the irish agent widow was well fought and god gave us strength put this man out with the rest this was accordingly done but as in the case of his companions the gun for the present was retained see now she proceeded still in irish what the hand of a weak woman can do when her heart is strengthened by god against cruelty and oppression what made that strong man weak in my grasp because he knew that the weakness of the widow was his shame the touch of her hand took away his strength and what had he within or about him to depend on could he look in upon his wicked heart and be strong could he look upon the darkness of a bad conscience and be strong could he look on me upon my dead husband and his bed of death and be strong no and above all could he look up to the almighty god in heaven and be strong no no no but from all these gained strength for surely surely had it not in myself she uttered these sentiments with wonderful energy and indeed from the fire in her eye and the flush of her cheek it was evident she was highly excited father who had been engaged and indeed had enough to do in keeping the poor child quiet and aloof from the m especially from his mother now entreated that she would endeavour to compose herself as she had reason to thank god he said that neither she herself or her resolute had sustained any personal injury she did not seem to have heard him for on looking on the body of her husband she almost bounded over to the bed and kneeling down and in a spirit of enthusiastic triumph kissed his lips now my husband said she we have fought and the victory no insult did you get no on your lowly bed where you re your last sleep do you know how the wife of your heart fought for you your own poor weak sorrowful heart broken but loving wife that was as feeble as an infant this i but who gave her the strength to put down a strong and wicked man the god the good god and to him be the glory in whose bosom you are now happy ay we conquered ha ha ha we conquered we conquered ha ha ha i the dead body of in the mean time had been removed by his companions who it was evident felt as much if not more bitterness at their own defeat than they did by the fatal accident which deprived him of life the irish agent scarcely had the wild triumph of s wife time to when it soon became evident that the incidents of this bitter and melancholy morning were not yet completed the child alluded to by in his first brief with father had been for some time past in a much more dangerous state than his parents suspected or at least than liis unhappy mother did whose principal care was engrossed by the situation of her husband the poor boy at all times affectionate and felt to his little wants and sufferings upon her attention knowing as he did that owing to the nursing of his father she was scarcely permitted three hours sleep out of the twenty four if he could have been afforded even the ordinary comforts of a sick bed it is possible he might have recovered the only drink he could call for was the black water as it is termed by the people	50
and his only a dry which he could not take the bed he lay upon was damp straw yet did this patient child never utter a syllable to his mother or the gloom which hung over the of the family and his father s heart when asked how he was he uniformly replied better and his large eyes would faintly vol i s m smile upon liis poor mother as if to give her hope after which the desolate boy would amuse himself by handling the bed clothes as often do or play with the straw of his cold and miserable bed or strive to chat with his mother these details are very painful to those whose hearts arc so and tender that they with humane horror from scenes of humble wretchedness and it is good however that they should be known to exist for we assure the great and wealthy that they actually do exist and may be found in all their and melancholy truth within the evening shadow which falls from many a proud and wealthy dwelling in this our native land after all it is likely that had not the fearful of this morning taken place their sweet boy might have been spared to them the shock however occasioned by the discharge of the gun and the noise of the conflict acting upon a frame so feeble were more than he could bear be this as it may the were not many minutes gone when to their surprise he staggered back again out of his little room where father had placed him and tottering across the floor slipped in the deceased man s blood and fell the mother flew the irish agent to him but had already raised him up when on his feet he looked at the blood and shuddered a still more deadly settled on his face his breath came short and his lips got dry and he could not speak nor stand had not supported him he looked again at the blood with horror and then at his mother whilst he shrank up as it were into himself and shivered from head to foot darling of my heart she exclaimed i understand you our treasure be a man for the sake of your poor heart broken mother i will i will my darling life i will wipe it off of you every stain of it why should such blood and my innocent son come together she now got a cloth and in a few moments left not a trace of it upon him he had not yet spoken but on finding himself from it he stretched out his hands thereby that he wished to go to her do you not perceive a bottle on the shelf there said it contains wine which i brought for his he checked himself alas my poor boy ho exclaimed involuntarily you are doubly dear to your mother now mix it with water he proceeded and give him a little it will strengthen and revive him m better said father in a low voice not intended for his ear to put him back into his own bed he is not now in a state to be made acquainted with his loss as he spoke the boy glanced at the corpse of his father and at the same moment his mother put the wine and water to his lips he was about to taste it but on looking into the little tin that contained it he put it away from him and shuddered strongly it s mixed with the blood he and i can t and again he put it away from him said his mother it s not blood sure it s wine that mr the of god be upon him brought to you he turned away again however and would not take it bring me to my father said he once more out his arms towards his mother let me stay a while with him but he s asleep said and i m sure you would not wish to awaken him i would like to kiss him then he and to sleep a while with him let him poor darling said his mother as she took him in her arms it may ease his little heart and then he ll feel satisfied the irish agent well if you re allowed to go to him won t you lie very quiet and not speak so as to disturb him said tm tired said the child and i d like to sleep in his bed i used sometimes to do it before and my ther always kept his arms about me his mother s features became and she looked up in affliction to heaven but still notwithstanding her misery she was unable to shed one tear pulse of my heart she said kissing him you must have your innocent and wish she then gently raised the bed clothes and placed him beside his father the poor pale boy sat up in the bed for about a minute during which he glanced at the still features of the departed then at his mother and then at the pool of blood on the floor and again he shuddered all at once however he started and looked about him but in a manner that delight rather than alarm his eyes brightened and an expression of radiance settled upon his face mother said he kiss me and let mr kiss me they both did so and his poor mother felt her heart by the happiness depicted on his face glory be to god she exclaimed see what a m change for the better has come over my blessed father looked at and shook his head blessed he will be soon said he in a low whisper the child is dying the boy started again and the former serenity lit up his pale features you are	50
better darling of my life you look a thousand pounds better than you did awhile ago the boy looked into her face and smiled i am said he but did you not hear it hear what jewel of my heart there it is again said he looking eagerly and about him my father s voice that s three times it called me but it didn t come from the bed although he s in it i will kiss him and then sleep but i will miss his arms from about me i think he then fixed himself beside that loving parent aided by his mother and getting his arm around his neck he kissed him and laying down his fair head he fell asleep in that affecting posture there was a solemn stillness for some minutes and a strange feeling of fear crept over his mother s heart she looked into the eyes of those who ere the agent about her the looks returned to her carried no consolation to her spirit my child she exclaimed oh my child what is this my life my light what you she stooped and gently turning him about so as to see his face she looked keenly into it for a few moments and there certainly was the same expression which so lately lit it up still she felt dissatisfied till putting her ear to his mouth and her hand to his heart the truth became known to her the spirit of her fair haired son had followed that of his father when the afflicted widow saw the full extent of her loss she clasped her hands together and rose up with something of a hasty movement she looked about the miserable cabin for a moment and then peered into the face of every one in the room all of whom with the exception of were in tears she then pressed her temples as if striving to recollect what had happened sat down again beside her husband and child and to their astonishment began to sing an old and melancholy irish air in a voice whose wild sweetness was in singular keeping with its mournful spirit to the this was more affecting a thousand times than the most vehement and outrageous m grief father who had had a much more comprehensive experience than his companion knew or at least hoped that it would not last long several of the neighbours having seen the dead body of the borne away suspected that something extraordinary had occurred on the mountain and consequently came to the cabin anxious to know the truth by this means their acquaintances were brought about them aid in every shape as far as it could be afforded was administered and in a short time they had a little stock of meal butter milk candles and such other simple comforts as their poor friends and neighbours had to bestow such is the usual kindness of the irish people to each other in the moments of and sorrow nothing on the present occasion could their anxiety in the wants of this unhappy family and in such circumstances it is that the honest of the humble heart and its sincere in the of its kindred poor are known to shine forth with a lustre which nothing but its distance from the observation of the great or their own wilful blindness to it could prevent it from being seen and appreciated as it ought having seen her surrounded by friends and neighbours father after first offering as far as the irish agent he thought he could reasonably attempt it some kind advice and consolation prepared to take his departure with leaving behind them who indeed refused to go no said he i can feed here but sure they ll want me to run messages i m active and an i ll go every place for the widow can t but tell me is the boy the fair haired boy asleep or what tell me why do you ask said father i love him and i hope he ll i would like to see him kiss his father again but i m somehow i never will if he i ll give him the cock any how bad luck to me but i will hush said the priest whilst a tear started to his eye at this most exhibition of affection for the child don t swear the sweet boy will never in this world but he will in heaven where he is awake already and where you will see him again i would rather see him here replied the other and i wish i had him the cock first when he came out of the room but what ll do without his white head before her what ll she do and not m have to look at but stop said wait a minute and we ll soon see whether he ll or not he then went into the little room where the poor child had lain during his illness and immediately returned bearing the cock in his hands wait said he i was bringing the bird to poor little for i promised it to him we ll see we ll see as he uttered the words he placed the bird down on the child s bosom and called out here s your present for you that i promised you won t you open your blue eyes and look at the fine bird i brought you it was a most affecting little incident for the contrast between the fiery that flashed from the eye of the noble bird and the utter unbroken stillness of death as its character was so mournfully impressed upon the fair sweet features of innocence was indeed such as few parental hearts could withstand looked awhile	50
as if even he had been struck by it ah no said he going down to his mother no mary he will never and then what will you do for s white head the irish agent she replied and i ll sing you a song i have nothing else to do now but to sing and be happy farewell father farewell mother farewell friends and farewell foes i now will go and court some other for love it was the of all my woes an so it was she said for i did love some one i think but who they were or where they are gone to i cannot tell is your name she added her eye blazing as she spoke to is your name m say it is suggested one of the neighbours may be it may the poor thing into her senses that s not very likely another for it has startled her out of them god in his mercy pity her i however adopted the first suggestion without knowing why and said in a loud voice ay is it my name is the that commands the blood hounds the creature started became for a moment as if then proceeded at a speed that was incredible screaming across the dark m and desolate scenery that surrounded the house it was in vain to pursue her for there was none there capable of doing it with success unless who understood not that she had become insane i chapter ix a dialogue r principles of solomon s tracts and triumph a sincere convert s views of religion s honesty solomon s christian generosity to a man in difficulty m and his family the extraordinary scene which we have just detailed as in the mountain hut took place on saturday morning and about twelve on the subsequent monday the following dialogue passed between honest and his son philip the graceful that was a most unlucky accident that happened on saturday said and looking with a good deal of significance at the other unlucky said faith and honour my good father i don t know what to think you don t i replied why what the deuce could you deem more unlucky than to be shot stone dead without moment s notice s colour went a uttle at the bare notion of such a fate but on observing an expression of m peculiar complacency lurking in his father s eye it returned again and after a little assurance settled down into its original hue to himself certainly said it was a bad business no one can deny that but my excellent son it may turn out a very lucky incident for us in the mean time he is a wise man in this world who can turn the misfortunes or crimes of others to his own advantage there is for instance now i believe you are not excessively attached to him i hate him as i do hell replied very good you hate him as you do hell well on the other hand there is m his partner in the and his joint in their farm now i hate him as i do i was about to say the devil but i feel loth to render that gentleman an injustice that is if there be such a gentlemen which with my worthy father i much doubt don t you think now it is a fortunate thing that we can for s murder i really think and it is said he murdered him we would include the priest in the as an but that might be attended with personal danger and the less real danger we the better for ourselves the irish agent faith and honour father that doctrine s worthy of an as indeed most of what you say is but mark me our object is simply his ruin not his death let us beggar m and him and drive them out of the country no no r not the death of either of them on the contrary i should wish them to if it was only that they might feel my revenge and that i knew they felt it i would not hang them if i could for my own sake he got pale ground his teeth knit his black brows and exhibited that cast of features for which he was remarkable whenever his evil passions began to stir in his heart now said he to keep a close mouth above all things for we must proceed with caution i have here a letter from lord in which at my private suggestion he to renew their indeed on serious consideration i have recently advised him to grant no except in cases where every can be placed upon the principles of the parties the want of a lease is a very wholesome on the conduct of our enemies m me in this because he cannot pocket as much as usual but although i cannot readily break with him still i trust that in a short time i shall be able to turn his flank in a m manner for which ho is but little prepared i have reason to think he is with o drive m fact o drive told me as much o drive however is at work for me although honest solomon does not suspect him the pious attorney who is more of his attention to religion than ever has got bitten by the and thinks he will be charged with a neglect of his gifts as he calls them unless he can produce a live convert actually made by his own hands i accordingly suggested to o drive to consult him on some religious scruples that he is supposed to have felt from the perusal of a tract written by m himself	50
why said are you not aware that he gave mo three or four dozen of them for distribution as ho calls it yes it is called the religious attorney being a between and law or a blessed union between and darkness by solomon m attorney at law which tract continued was written for the sole purpose of himself to the notice of the religious world more by the way as an attorney than as a christian and a very good speculation it proved for whereas he was then scarcely able to make both ends meet by mere the irish professional and dressed in a black gown which you know he always wears in court yet he no sooner threw the cloak of religion over that than he advanced rapidly and the consequence is that he is now privately a of bills faith and honour now father do you tell me so it s fact philip my son and what is more but the truth is that neither he nor i can to quarrel with each other why father what s that more you were going to add at this present time it must be secret but it is arranged between him and me that he is to succeed in whilst you are to come in for m s holding for which i shall have the pleasure to drink your health to night my old boy upon my honour and soul you are an excellent old cock and i m very proud of you go ahead no nonsense but stay are those fellows of mine come yet i shall receive their and have in the stone before night it is a bad case of murder committed upon a man in the execution of the law do you see and consequently i cannot take vol i t m no not captain as says certainly not your worship ha ha ha come keep quiet it is now time that operations should seriously commence i have most of my points thank m al all events i am head agent you are my master of an orange a magistrate and write j p after my name captain and in the castle cavalry and you lieutenant and though last not least thanks to my zeal and activity in the cause i am at length a member of the grand of the county my boy there is nothing like religion and loyalty when well managed but otherwise they are not worth a feather replied right captain there s an again and my son what is there wrong in this in fact there is scarcely a better capital to trade on than religion and loyalty you know what i mean not the things if there be such things which i must beg leave to doubt but that which causes one man to hate another in proportion to its influence over him ay said just as you and i who have not got a touch of religion in our whole composition have the character of being two of the in the county the irish agent yes replied the father and in this case the fiction is as good and better than the truth the fiction under which our religion appears is our own no i am wrong the fiction under which our interest appears is our religion that is the way of it and the truth is that ninety nine men out of every hundred will go miles for their interests before they will go one far either religion or truth that s the way of it too pass that now about and the hint i gave you why you know at that time matters were not ripe for it don t you remember telling me so yourself i do but i speak of your present intentions faith my present intentions would be to marry the girl though she be if i could but as that s hit of the question i will now follow up your hint then you had better see and go on with it are you aware besides that the concern is tottering the no is that possible it is a fact but you know not how honest and i have been at work it is tottering lieutenant m and in a short time you will tee what you shall see m well said so far every thing is turning out very fortunate for us but i think captain that you arc one of those men who are born under what they call a lucky planet eh old boy v well i think so but in the mean time see and after that pay a visit to my father the old scoundrel is upon his last legs and there can be no harm in paying him some attention now you are not a favourite of his so smooth him down as much as you can i don t myself expect that he will remember either of us in his will but as he is hasty and capricious it is difficult to say what effect a favourable impression might have upon him neither are you a favourite with or as he calls her no i made a bad move there but after all what did i or rather what could i lose by her did she not succeed in every one of his relatives from about him it was neither her interest nor her inclination to keep in with his friends go and see him at all events and report accordingly and now if these fellows are come let them be sent in accordingly withdrew to follow up his own speculations and in a few minutes our friends who so bravely distinguished themselves in the widow s cabin entered the office the irish agent like most men of his class	50
and experience was forced to undergo strong between the vanity occasioned by his success in life and his own shrewd sense and acute perception of character whenever he could indulge that vanity without allowing its gratification to be perceived by others he always did so but if he happened to have a person to deal with whom he suspected of a sufficiently keen penetration his own sagacity always checked its display no man ever puzzled him so thoroughly as o drive who so varied and timed his flattery as to keep him in a state of perpetual between a perception of the fellow s and a belief in his simplicity of heart on one occasion he would exclaim to himself or this o drive is a desperate it s impossible that he can be honest and again well well there is too much simplicity there too much truth told to allow me to consider that poor devil a rogue no he is honest the consequence was that flattered him and he it so strongly because he did not imagine it was that understood his weak points in that respect better than any man this in a country where the people are shrewd in general could scarcely be supposed to escape their observation m nor did it s manner was so naturally by others that even the keen and m was frequently over reached being at all conscious of the fact when the men of the castle corps came in they found their captain sitting or rather in a deep seated arm chair dressed in a morning gown and red slippers he was or appeared to be deeply engaged over a pile of papers and letters and for about a minute raised not liis head at length he drew a long breath and exclaimed in a just so my lord every man that scruples to support the interests will meet no countenance from you nor shall he mr m from you as my representative you add and i beg you he went on to read a few lines further to me the names and of all those who are duly active on my property in disturbance and preserving the peace especially those who are remarkable for loyal and constitutional principles such are the men wo will cherish such are tho men wo must and ought to serve it is very true my lord it is very true indeed and oh my good friends i beg your pardon i hadn t noticed you oh dear me how is this why i didn t the irish agent imagine you had been so sadly abused as all this comes to this is dreadful and all in resisting the king s warrant against the murderer but how did it happen that this murdered our poor friend is done for captain sure enough there s no doubt of that well it s one comfort that we live in a country where there is justice my friends of course you will him for this murder i sent for you to receive your and we shall lodge him in before night i would rather that l a said a man whose head was awfully swollen and bound up with a handkerchief captain is the greatest rascal of the two he is by yes but is he not an idiot in point of law he is only a fiction and cannot be fiction captain i don t know what you call a fiction but if i m properly hell to the much of it was in his blows look at how my head is and i wish you could see my ribs your worship well but let us come to the most important matter first and before i go further my friends and brothers i would just throw out for your m a few observations that i wish to impress upon you recollect that in this business and in every business like it you must have the pleasure at least of reflecting that you have now a magistrate who will see that all due care is taken of your interests who will accompany your proceedings step by step and see that all is as it ought to be that is not partiality my dear friends that is not favour nor affection nor leaning to you no nor ha ha ha leaning from you either my friends long life to your worship i long life to you captain you re the right sort and no mistake m what detained you from your lodge on thursday night i was buying a in rush fair and didn t get home in time your worship well m mark me i neither can nor will overlook neglect in these matters the man that them is a man i won t depend upon and two of your neighbours were absent from parade on wednesday week now it s really too bad to expect that i or any other gentleman in the country will exert ourselves so to sustain and extend our own principles or to speak plainly to keep them up to maintain our if we cannot reckon upon the earnest and cordial support the irish agent of those for whose sake we take all this trouble upon my honour it s a shame it w a shame captain and i say that here s one placing his hand upon liis heart of the right by the holy william there is we re all so your worship replied and sure every one knows it but your honour what s to be done about why him for the murder of course but then said one of them sure didn t murder him captain among ourselves it was all accident m seemed surprised at this and after hearing their individual opinions which indeed very	50
much some positively asserting that he did and others that he did not murder the man he began to view the matter in a somewhat different and more cautious light he mused for some time however and after a second and more deliberate finding that there were two for the murder and only one against it he at length took their to bring the matter to trial at all the warrant for s apprehension was accordingly issued and to about a dozen of the most resolute fellows in his corps who so far enabled our magistrate to fulfil m his intention that they lodged his enemy in the county prison that very night the next morning when reading the papers our captain was not a little at reading in one of them an advertisement to the following effect to the found in the office of mr solomon m a bank of ireland note of large amount the person losing it may have it by giving a proper description of same and paying the expenses of this advertisement n b it is expected as the of the note must be in circumstances that he will from principles of christian sympathy contribute or enable some christian friend to contribute a moderate to some of our greatest thus will that which at the first view appears to be a serious calamity be made under him a blessing and a consolation not only to the wealthy individual who lost the money but to some of our destitute fellow creatures this however is not named as a condition but merely as a suggestion offered from motives of and duty also just published the religious attorney being a between honesty and law or a blessed union between light and darkness by s m s tenth thousand the irish agent also in the press and will soon be published done up neatly in and rogue s binding for by the same author the converted being designed as a companion to the attorney these productions need not be sought for with any of the profane of the city but only at the religious or at those in street and college green this however was not all in a different column appeared the following which however did not surprise m glorious triumph of truth i in another part of our paper our readers will perceive in an advertisement an additional proof if such were necessary of the strong integrity of that ornament to his profession both as an attorney and christian mr solomon m this gentleman whilst he himself with a pure and heart to the extensive practice which his high principles and great skill have gained him in his profession does not neglect the higher and more important interests of himself and his fellow creatures it is a gracious thing to know that a spirit of deep and earnest inquiry is now abroad by which hundreds are under god a m light from the of bitterness and the bond of out into the freedom of perfect day verily there is a new abroad the of are fast falling one after another in the neighbourhood of mount starve em the spirit has been poured out most abundantly and this is the more gracious when we reflect that the dreadful famine which now throughout the country has been made always under him the precious but trying means of bringing the poor creatures to taste the fruits of a better faith nothing indeed can equal the of that excellent nobleman lord who supplies beef and blankets and bread to those who may be to the multitude that were fed so in the wilderness that is to say who followed the good shepherd for his doctrine and were filled with bread mr m who has within his own humble sphere not been can boast at of having plucked one brand out of the burning the person of o drive the respectable of m esq the fc agent of the castle estate to which mr m himself is law agent it is understood that on next sabbath d v mr o will make a public profession of his faith or in other words that he will recall t i and em the irish agent brace those of the merit of his is due but merit there is none to mr m or rather to his two very popular and searching tracts called spiritual food for of grace and the religious attorney which he had placed for perusal in mr drive s hands mr o drive now declares himself a babe of grace and free from the bonds of sin or as he more simply but and expresses it a beautiful specimen indeed of his simplicity of views he is from the pound of human no longer likely to be brought to the devil s or knocked down to satan as a bad bargain for ourselves we cannot help thinking that this triumph of religious truth in the person f mr drive is as creditable to the zeal f mr m as it is to his sincerity encouraged y this great success mr m by several of our leading has in getting up a discussion on the of the and the p have not been decided upon but they ll probably appear in an early number of our p per in the mean time we are by mr this been attributed to the of lift s works but it is much more likely that it belongs to th himself m o drive to a formal challenge to a and in ireland to with him the relative powers triumphs and of their churches he had scarcely finished this characteristic pa when o drive s knock as usual was and in a few minutes the champion i entered there was a ness about him and a kind of comic	50
solemnity in small cunning grey eye that no painter could co why you scoundrel said you re o doing the thing altogether is it possible t m is such a as not to see you ah captain you don t make any allowance my simplicity sure you know sir i must gi young and innocent if i m to become a babe your worship but what s the meaning of all this work al and such stuff faith sir it s all enough at any ra we re to have a religious field day here in the house of castle the whole thing is re the seconds and bottle and al appointed there s the rev m s u against irish agent the rev and the rev with many more on the side of on that of and falsehood there s the rev father mistake the rev father o the rev father m fire and the rev o d d dr sombre is to be second on our side and father m on the part of and and when is this precious match to take place you rascal why sir on monday week and on next sunday sir i m to read my god but i didn t intend that you should go to such as that however that s your own affair but captain sure it s on your account tin it won t it enable me to get the blind side of him about one or two things we want to come at indeed i believe certainly that if he has a blind at all it is his own be my and it ll go hard or we ll worm out he we want there is one thing i m t he thinks now that i m by the way that ni ready to and you captain an indeed he says many things of you that he ought not te say let us hear them why sir he said the other day but one me likes to be these things m come come you rascal out with it he said sir that he feared the had hard o you that was the day i brought the last letter sir that your heart captain wa full o and wicked you worship and that if you didn t improve your moral you d go where there is something about of teeth your honour he s a double scoundrel replied v bitterly and although i know him well i ai determined still to know him better double ay faith many d above proof but never mind if i don t put spoke in his wheel i m not here well never mind now either give the critical little scoundrel this letter i will and thank you captain god bless your honour and grant you long to reign over us happy and glorious god save the king you see captain i ve the right strain of loyalty in me any how ha ha ha if i ever change in it isn t among the i ll go but into his majesty s own church captain the brave church where they have the bells and the big blessed and their organs and aye faith and where every thing is and the irish agent sure blood alive captain your pardon what s the use of a religion if it s not respectable and what a of any religion if he hasn t a fat purse in his pocket and a good round belly before him for that shows your worship that religion is more than a name any how an upon my conscience oh holy moses captain if m was to hear me this way god pardon me but upon my conscience it isn t the religion that keeps a man poor but the religion that puts the flesh on his bones and keeps it there that is the right one aye and not only that hut that keeps a good coat to his back your honour and a good pair of breeches to his for which whenever i do turn it ll but you may guess it ll be to the only true and loyal church for when a man can get both fat and loyal and religious all at one move he s a confounded fool that won t become religious this certainly though not intended for it was a true and bitter comment upon the principles of such men as m who considered a profane and attachment to a mere establishment as a high duty not because that establishment was the of divine truth but of a mere symbol vol i u m adopted by subordinate and to bind men of the same principles together you rascal and confound your go and deliver the letter as i desired you and bring an answer captain and will have an eye about me into the bargain how is captain sir before i go m made a motion of indignation but not in the mean time altogether repress a smile and taking his hat with a kind of shrewd an confidential grin ran out of the office our narrative now passes to the house of fo which was situated in a row of cottage towards the north side of castle her so and she were its only inmates and former was in the act of a hat among t in which he always wore said his mother now that you got your supper you must keep house till i com back must i indeed why must i answer me that there now that s one tm goin out on business what business where to what brought the irish agent m here tell me that eh oh i couldn t tell you that don t do anything for he s	50
s son that keeps the blood ah poor and his white head no he ll never never an what has she now to look at mother i d give all the i ever had to see him and his white head in his mother s arms again god s curse on god s curse on him i hate him i hate i hate all of them don t mother do nothing for them you foolish boy what do you know about it keep the house till i come back and i ll bring you a of but you will go said i must you fool very well then take it out o that there now that s one it was now drawing on towards dusk and her black bonnet and throwing her black cloak about her shoulders out with that fur air which always one who is conscious of something that requires concealment her motions always were rapid but on this occasion she talked uke one whose mind over difficulties m sometimes she went very quick then her pace and once or twice stood stiu musing wit her right hand to her chin at length she the residence of m just after had set in she entered not but glided about tt house waited watched listened and peeped the house very like a thief that was setting tl premises she took her stand at a pa window in the of the building where si kept watch with great patience though for what pose it would appear very difficult to guess however is often rewarded and it was so in the cat before us after about half an hour a fe through the glass and herself of tl opportunity tapped gently at first it was n noticed and she tapped again somewhat this was successful a gentle voice inquired in ton more of surprise than alarm who is there ai what is your business a friend said the same and i m here on a case of life ai death could you come out for a start minutes will do certainly not you with mj feelings before i will have no more mysteries thb irish agent can raise the window however and any thing you have to say can be said where we stand she raised the as she spoke now said she what is your business life and death as i said replied do you not know that mr is to be tried for murder and that the will open in a few days unfortunately i do replied mary sighing deeply but there can be no doubt of his father has been here who was present and told us how the whole circumstances occurred i don t doubt that said but this i tell you and this you may rely on that hang he will in of fate he s doomed great god the now terrified girl you chill the blood in my veins doomed what io you mean m will have him hanged in spite of all opposition you know his power now he can carry very thing his own way i know the other that his influence unfortunately great no doubt and cruelly is it exercised but still i don t know that he can carry everything his own way do you know what packing a jury means m alas replied mary starting and getting pale i do indeed i have heard of it too frequently what then has the the blood hound to do but to get twelve upon the jury and the work is done the unhappy girl burst into tears and wrung her hands for however questionable the of her present she knew from the unfortunate circumstances of the country that such corrupt influences had too frequently been exerted don t you know added that the can be done isn t the himself an man isn t the sub an isn t th grand jury orange aren t they all orange other i believe so indeed said mary still bitterly and there is i fear little or no hope well but replied what if i could you hope you what can you mean you yes mc said poor as i stand here now well but how through them that can turn ould the round their finger what do you brought me here or who do you think sent me don t you know that i have no to like a bone in the the irish agent skin of one o your family and that it s more of to others than myself that i m here but over and above that you miss m never offended or injured me and i m to you in this business if you will yourself but how but how the distracted girl only tell me how there is one and only one that can twist round his finger and in this same business willing to do so and that one is his own son mary stood for a moment without even breathing deed she exhibited strong symptoms of disgust at is very name he is a person i she replied beyond human creature that may be said but still he can save man that is to be your husband and that s what y ou ought to think of the time is short now and lie loss of a day may ruin all listen miss i mr desired me to say to you if you will allow him a few minutes conversation th you behind the garden about dusk or a little it he u satisfy you that he can and will save tim but it be on the condition of seeing you i say m let him be generous she replied and impose no such condition he won t	50
on any other terms replied he knows it seems that you have an opinion of him and he wishes to prove to you that he doesn t it mary paused for some time and appeared very much distressed fear thought she it is selfish in me to think of my own feelings or to have a moment s hesitation in sacrificing them to his safety it is certainly a disgusting task to meet this man but what ought i not to do consistent with conscious of motive to save my dear s life for i fear the circumstances come to that well then if i meet this man mark me it is solely for the purpose of striving to save mr s life and observe because mr m is enough to make my meeting him the condition of his interference that said is for yourself to consider but surely you would be a strange girl if you refused to meet him for such a purpose that would be a way of showing your love to mr i shall meet him then said mary at the style behind the garden and may god direct and protect me in what i purpose the irish agent gave no amen to this as it might be supposed she would have done but simply said i am glad miss m that you re what you are it ll be a comfort may be to yourself to reflect on it good night miss mary bade her good night and after closing the shutters of her room which she had come to do retired and with an anxious heart returned to the parlour m s family consisted of three sons and but one daughter mary with whom our readers are already acquainted the eldest james was a fine young man of twenty three the second tom was younger than mary who then was entering her twenty first and the youngest called after his father was only eighteen the honest fellow s brow was clouded with a deep expression of melancholy and he sat for some time silent after mary s return to the parlour at length he said in a kind of i wish no you had been behind the mountains that bitter morning you came for james if he had said tom poor james wouldn t be where he is to night m but i hope father said mary in a voice which though it trembled a httle yet expressed a certain portion of confidence i hope as it was an accident that there will not be any serious risk i would be sorry to take any hope out of your heart that s in it mary but still i can t forget that the s his bitterest enemy and we all know what he s capable of doing his son too graceful is still worse against him than the father especially ever since pulled his nose for what he said of mary here did i ever mention it to you no sir replied mary colouring without exactly knowing why you never did i was present said young but it wasn t so much for what he said for he got afraid but the way he looked the scoundrel said james indignantly well twas at the ball alley proceeded the young fellow in castle mary was passing and was speaking to long tom father to one of the blood hounds that s a girl said who is she oh says an acquaintance of mine but i can say no more honour bright and ho winked one of his the irish agent eyes as he spoke james who was standing behind him stepped forward but i can say more said he she s daughter to m and no acquaintance of yours and what is more never will be ay and what is more said james here is a proof of it and as he spoke he pulled s and then wiped his fingers in his face now you cowardly scoundrel he added let that teach you not to speak of any respectable female in such a tone or to claim an acquaintance where you have it not never mind my good fellow said i ll make you smoke for this you know where i am to be found said james and your remedy too but you haven t the spirit to take it hke a man and so i leave you with the white feather in your cap this anecdote for various reasons distressed mary beyond belief it increased her of young mr to the highest possible pitch and rendered the very thought of him doubly odious to her heart her understanding became bewildered and for a while she knew not what she said or did taking a candle and attempting to conceal her agitation she withdrew again to her own room where she sat for nearly half an hour endeavouring to shape m her tumultuous thoughts into of clearness and order m s brow however after her departure still remained clouded misfortunes they say said he never come single here is our lease out and we will not get a renewal notwithstanding the fine we offered and to mend the matter some good friend has spread a report that the m and is our are coming down upon us fast but it s the way of the world every one striving to keep himself safe if these men were not set upon us by some coward in the dark there would be neither loss nor risk to them nor to us but if they press on us out of the usual course i fear we wont be able to stand it then poor too after some further conversation in which it was clear that m s and m s had begun to themselves mary rejoined them her countenance on her return was evidently more composed	50
ly proclaimed to the whole congregation that he was a sinner but that he felt for rejoiced in their repentance which he often did in a scream between a groan and a of holy joy that alarmed the congregation but also wept for their hardness of heart when he imagined that it was likely to in final with such a pathetic that on many such occasions some of those who sat beside him were obliged to whisper brother m you are too much overcome too excited do not allow yourself to exhibit such an excess of christian sympathy or there will be many instances among the weaker vessels of and from not understanding that it is more for others thou art feeling than for solomon then took his hands from before his face wiped his eyes with the handkerchief on which they the irish agent had been and with a serene and rather heavenly countenance looked up to the preacher then closing his eyes as if in a state of enjoyment he clasped his hands with a sweet smile his and bowing his head as the speaker closed every paragraph of the discourse these observations account very plainly for the opinions touching solomon which were expressed by m solomon was at this time an saint a professor in fact one of the elect who had cast his anchor sure but as the proverb says time will tell that night m and his family retired to bed for the first time as it were by a gloomy of some change which disturbed and depressed their hearts they slept however in peace and free from those snake like pangs which themselves around guilt and its tendencies to remorse whilst they its and purposes m himself at this crisis was beginning privately to feel some of the very natural consequences of his own oft acknowledged who had just left constitution cottage a few minutes before s arrival had not seen him that morning the day before he had called upon his grand m father who told him out of the parlour window to go to h you may call to morrow you cowardly if you wish to see me but in the mean time he added as before go where desired you who possessed a great deal of his father s selfishness and also of his low cunning but none at all of his ability turned back indignantly and rode home again he had not passed more than about a hundred yards from the avenue out into the highway when he met one of the heroes of the cabin we shall not detail their conversation which of course embraced many of the circumstances connected with their duties excepting a few which in an occasional bestowed upon his grandfather so the fool made such a devil of a fight the infernal old scoundrel and took the gun why captain if he hasn t the strength of ten men i ll never on parade while i live he s a bloody rascal a double old scoundrel and i wish the devil had him he s a bad bird fool and all as he is there s no doubt of that what did the priest do why your honour i can t say that he took the irish agent much part in it once that he went between us and the woman he had no right to do that the old vagabond none at all and he ought to be he ought captain and will i hope but then if we swing it will be enough for he ll for it and that soon i hope is another bad bird oh devil a worse captain but even if he escapes us now we ll manage him yet they now came to a turn of the road and found themselves at a bridge a uttle beyond which two roads met on approaching they observed an old woman sitting on a large stone that lay a little beyond the arch she was and poorly dressed had no cap on her grey locks were only bound by a red ribbon that encircled her head but did not confine her hair which floated in large masses about her shoulders a circumstance that added to the startling vehemence of character that appeared in her face and gave to her whole person an expression which could not be overlooked when they had come up to where she sat and were about to pass without further notice she started up and with steps rapid and full of energy seized upon s bridle m well she exclaimed i saw you going and i see you but you cannot tell me that he is dead no the death damp of his is not yet on the air because if it was and she turned her nose against the wind like a hound i would snuff it no no he is not gone but he will soon go and what a catalogue of crimes will follow after him the man s conscience is a where every thought and wish of his guilty life and heart is a and the that ever was spread before god is his oh i i wonder do the chains in his conscience rattle they do but his ears are deaf and he doesn t hear them but he will and feel them too yet who had got alarmed at the extraordinary energy of her manner as well as of her language said what do you want and who are you speaking of who am i speaking of who should i be speaking of but of old the and who am i speaking to but the son of the villain who threatened to the mother that bore him do you know me now let go my bridle exclaimed let go my bridle you old or upon my	50
honour and soul ril give you a cut of my whip the irish agent no she replied no whit no tm near my year fm old and wrinkled and grey my memory forgets every thing now but my own crimes and the crimes of those that are still worse than myself old i am and wicked and but i shall yet live to pour the curses that rise out of an ill spent life into his dying ear until his very soul will feel the of before its everlasting come upon it in hell i am old she proceeded but i will yet live to see the son that cursed his mother and threatened to raise his hand against her that bore him laid down like a tree rooted up and lying like a rotten log without sap without strength and only fit to be cut up and cast into the fire i am old she replied but i shall live to see out the guilty race of you all go to the devil you old vagabond exclaimed raising his whip and letting it fall upon her almost naked shoulders with a force as as it was cruel and and shocking she uttered a scream of anguish and several times until her eyes became filled with tears my cup is not full yet she exclaimed sobbing neither is your s but it soon will be you knew me well when you gave that blow but go now and see how ll prosper after it m even felt shocked at the cowardly spirit which could inflict such an outrage upon old age under any circumstances but much less under those which even he understood so well captain said he if it was only for the credit of the castle cavalry i m sorry that you gave that blow those men on the other side of the road there were looking at you and you may take my word it will spread how dare you speak to me in that style asked in a rage and himself of his authority over him what is it your business you re a scoundrel for speaking to me in this style damn my honour and blood but you are what do you know about that old vagabond captain replied who was a sturdy fellow in his way i m no scoundrel and i do know that you have just horse whipped your notorious ould grandmother fall back said and consider yourself arrested arrest and be hanged i don t care a fig about you i was in s corps this many a year and if you attempt to come the officer over me let me tell you you re mistaken we re not on duty now my buck and you have no the irish more authority over me than you have over the devil me a scoundrel my good fellow i know who is the scoundrel my good fellow damn my honour and blood do you apply that to me no i don t said for you re a cursed bad fellow and no gentleman didn t pull your nose in castle and you wanted the courage then that you had for your ould grandmother me a scoundrel i i ll tell you what is this respect sir to your commanding officer i ll mark you out for this don t you know that two of us can play at that game you had better keep yourself quiet if you re wise a man that s in the habit of getting his nose pulled should be very very well said gallant i ll say no more hut he then put spurs to handsome harry and rode off full of vengeance against and of indignation at the reception he experienced at the hands of his grandfather s letter to m was as our readers know any thing but an index to the state of regard in which he held that worthy gentleman as we said m however that ground was beginning to break a little under his feet in spite of all his and christian charity we shall while is on his way to deliver his letter take that opportunity of a conversation between honest solomon and upon one or two topics connected with our tale sam said solomon to his clerk you were not present with us at prayer this morning you know we do not join in family worship until you come and it is but our duty to take an interest in your spiritual welfare in the mean time i should regret for your own sake that any thing in the shape of a falling away from your opportunities should appear in you i speak now as your friend sam not as your master nay rather as your brother sam as a man who is not without his own and but who still though not by his own strength that he may be looked upon in some faint degree as an example of what a man with the cares and trials of life ought at least to strive to be to him be the praise i certainly myself this morning sir that is the truth yes sam is one of the under the irish agent which the enemy often and us but to business sam there is an old woman in castle whose name i scarcely remember she goes dressed in faded black and has a son to whom for wise purposes of course it pleased him to deny a full measure of ordinary sense sir the old child and her foolish son of the hats don t say foolish sam don t say foolish we know not well what the true difference between wisdom and folly is nor how much wisdom is manifested in the peculiar state of this person we know not indeed	50
whether what we blindly perhaps term folly may not be a gift to be thankful for you know the word says that the wisdom of man is foolishness before god our duty therefore is to be thankful and humble well sir but about the child that is a term i don t understand sam why sir it means a woman who carries sam hold if it be associated with human it is best left the woman however be she what she may and i know not what she is but that she is a responsible being a par m of our common and is entitled to our sympathy she is i understand in some difficulty out of which it seems professional advice may help to take her i expect her therefore about this time and will you samuel just stand at that window and when you see her approach the house do just quietly and without noise open the hall door something has occurred to the christian tone which usually in our household and poor is going but at all events sam you are aware it is said that we ought not to let our left hand know what our right hand i know the text sir well it ends with and he that in secret will reward thee openly he hem yes it does so end i i feel sam slightly depressed in spirit as it were and moved as if somewhat of my usual support were withdrawn from me here she is sir said sam very well sam please to let her in as quietly as may be and then take this declaration to the back office and copy it as soon as you can it is of importance we should always endeavour to render services to our fellow creatures in the mean time sam very softly opened the hall door and the next moment entered the agent solomon as usual was seated at his office and held his features composed and serious to a degree still in spite of every thing he could do there was an expression half of embarrassment and half of the very perceptible tendency to a smile we can scarcely call it but whatever it might be there it certainly was betraying to in spite of all his efforts that there was still the least imaginable of human associated with such a vast mass of when she entered took a seat and the strings of her bonnet raised it a little and without uttering a word sat silently looking in m s face with a very comic and significant expression on her own no said he with a serious smile no you are mistaken indeed frail we all are i grant you but in this case i am acting for another no no i trust those days of vanity are gone well then what else am i to do i sent the reports abroad about m and s bein about to break and of m til soon have my revenge by the way i and somebody else have the train laid for it it was from no spirit of ill will to them for i trust that of such a spirit i am m incapable but to prevent them by an unjust act from perhaps from others that is my motive but at the same time the whole matter is understood to be strictly confidential between you and me don t you know mr m that when there was an occasion for me i didn t betray you to the world no you did not and it is for that reason that i trust you now ay and you may too honour bright is my motive you remember the day you passed o drive and me on our way to m s i pretend to know you then you acted then with great and discretion which you will please to remember i did not overlook no said you behaved decently enough but observe me now if this report concerning the firm of m and should by any possibility be traced to us or rather to yourself and that you should be pressed to disclose it which of course you could not be but if a weak moment should ever come it is best then to speak the truth and put the saddle as they rather say upon m the right horse here the irish agent upon m why bad as he is he never opened his lips to me on this subject but he did to me because it was from him i first heard the suggestion so that in point of truth and justice you are bound by your own conscience or you ought at least to lay it at his door and that now you understand better he smiled a little as he uttered these words but why don t you get a better bonnet that one is very shabby it s said than done replied the poor must always look poor and will too there then are ten shillings bestow them on that or any other purpose you prefer thank you mr m in the uttle job i did for you at our first acquaintance i found you any way not worse than another well but you can t me now i see it in your eye you have something else to say to me oh nothing to signify merely a serious young person would wish to remove for change of air to some quiet nook until health which indeed is the of blessings might be recovered man or woman a serious young woman i see i see mr m i know nothing more about it m listen i shall no longer withhold confidence from you in this matter unfortunately a member indeed i	50
may say two of our congregation have had a fall he ranks very high in it and this is an act of the greater christian friendship in me in as much as in undertaking the management of this for him i certainly run great risks of suffering in my own reputation i cannot name him for that would be a breach of confidence in me but you are called upon to perform the duty required and through me he shall you for your trouble very well replied it must be done and i can tell him whoever he is that he could not come to any one that understands such matters good morning let me hear from you as soon as you can peace be with thee but remember one thing and the m are going to america nodded but made no reply the moment she had gone which she did by the aid of solomon himself who opened and closed the hall door after her with a of manner that seemed to communicate oil to the hinges themselves he touched the bell and in due time looked in the irish agent you rang sir said she tliat arrangement is made said he so far all is well or nearly so go now immediately withdrew the few words he said seeming to bare diffused sunshine into a face which appeared doubly serious when she was gone solomon laid his head down upon the desk before him and remained in that position for some time at length without at all raising it he began to play his against the lid with a degree of alacrity which would not have disgraced the activity of a of hand man he at last rose drew a long breath and wore a very smiling face but this was not all o o religion i instead of going to his bible as one would imagine he ought to have done instead of even taking up a book and indulging in a spiritual song he absolutely commenced whistling the which he accompanied with as a foot and in as good time as if he had been master all his life ah said he i could have done it once and would like to do it still only for this wicked and world a knock from o drive recalled him to a perception of his gifts and when entered he looked calm and serious as usual vol ii c m little could have imagined although perfectly aware of m s that the pious little man had just concluded a short exercise in performing the as it was however he found him in a state which might either be termed a religious meditation or an intense application to business a bible being on the one hand and a brief on the other but to which of the two he had devoted himself neither nor indeed any one else could guess there however he sat a kind of holy link between the law and the gospel when entered and delivered the letter m on receiving it exclaimed ah from my excellent friend m sit down sit down and whilst i am casting my eye over this note do now in order that we may make the most of our opportunities do i say just read a chapter in this handing him over the bible as he spoke in the mean time he read as follows strictly confidential my dear m in order that the thing may be done as much in the shape and form of a matter of business as possible don t you think it would be well for you as s lease has expired to send me a the irish agent regular written proposal for it which proposal i may be able to show in justification of myself should any thing turn up afterwards s offer was just double your s but that is burnt of course you will also burn this when you have read it your offer of assistance to m was well thought of and even if we never i mean you should be paid you are still a by two hundred pounds each has offered a thousand a piece to have the renewed at the present rent you give five hundred very good suppose you lose three that is suppose m is driven as please god he shall be to allow you to accept a bill for three hundred don t you see that you are still two hundred in pocket no i am wrong not two but seven hundred you can therefore well afford to lose three by the transaction although as i have said it is not in point of fact losing three but gaining seven or at least five has also sent me a written proposal which i will keep but m s is gone the way of s as a matter of prudence as for the private consideration between us that is only to be glanced at i give you my honour that has me the two hundred which i will not take of course either from you or him until the premises are cleared of the present m tenants this must be done very soon and i think it is much to be wished that who is a scoundrel should be out of the way if possible if he is transported it will save us a good deal of annoyance i should regret a meeting between him and very much tells me that he once pulled his s nose and it is very natural that he should bear him a grudge for it there is half a year s rent due this day and the term mentioned in the notice to quit next week so far then all is right we have them in our power and can proceed safely parliament will it is well ascertained be certainly dissolved	50
about the end of may next so that we must work double tides to bring in his there is a devilish spirit abroad however which will occasion us much trouble but i cannot agree with you about the notwithstanding it is just doing by those who are obstinate and ill disposed precisely as we ought that is holding a whip over their heads and assuring them that we shall let it fall with unless they are agreeable as they ought the hon richard is in london but between you and me it matters uttle where he is you judge of what an fool he must be when he had the presumption to urge his to come the irish agent to his native land and live on his estate this d d and outrage in spite of all our efforts are still increasing i think however that i shall be able to make a some of these days i have my at work and let me tell you that talk as they may about its treachery and the spy system is an admirable one in fact it is like a two edged sword and cuts both ways just as you wish if for instance you cannot find made to your hand you may make it that is you can corrupt first and betray afterwards which at critical moments is unquestionably i say this between ourselves a decided advantage by the bye my dear solomon the force of religion must be singularly strong and impressive in your life and conduct when you have been able so to influence that rascal of ours o drive i have seldom indeed never witnessed so striking a change as you have produced in him to tell you the truth i felt a uttle and jealous about it but as he owes us a kind of divided i must rest contented me to be my dear m your s affectionately and faithfully m j p m to this while was tooth and nail at th bible solomon wrote the following reply my dear m i have just read your letter of thi date and agree with you in the necessity and pro of my sending you a written proposal you can show at a future time in order to yourself should it be necessary so to do i need not say that your conduct in destroying th proposals of m and was creditable to your head and heart prudence am discretion my dear are not virtues of day occurrence and as to giving the preference to i christian friend i do not see how a man as you are with a strong sense of religion could without your conscience avoid it what is it after all mj dear friend but a of the as moses did when about to lead the children of from bondage in that case it was what may h termed in these our days a description of such as many professors of the word do ii matters of business feel themselves now in it requires however to be don carefully and within the freedom of the law but by no means with a worldly or the irish agent spirit otherwise it will be deprived of that which renders the act a gracious of our christian privileges instead of a departure from which it would be if committed by an person these are distinctions my dear friend which i grant you is not permitted to many to make only indeed i may humbly and fearfully say to such as have by long with the spirit been able to see truth when the inward eye has been from the of passion for which to him be praise and power amen i you the proposal formally made and will be ready to hand over the two hundred christian of my gratitude at the proper season as to lord being a by the transaction such a loss must have been we are bound to hope shaped out for him as a inflicted for gracious purposes it is true he is ignorant of it and i trust he shall remain w but then we know that many a blessing comes to in deep disguise and that many a which we look upon as a favour from above is far from being so if then it be true that this thing is vouchsafed to him as a hidden blessing let us be that we have been selected as the unworthy m through whom he is made to receive it or if m it comes to him as a punishment still it is our duty to reflect that we are merely the instruments through whose or virtues as the case may be he is visited and that from the beginning this and many other acts which a blind world might censure were ordained for us in order that the perfect scheme of providence might be fulfilled with respect to the spy system i do agree with you fully many things must be done in secret which the of the world will not bear to hear of without committing sin for instance my dear in your crop of loyalty so to speak it might not perhaps be wrong i am speaking now observe with reference to the cunning of the serpent which you know we are to have and if to have of course to use when necessary it might not perhaps be wrong i say to cast in a or two if only for the purpose of our friends and fellow creatures to pull them out again it is as it were giving the idle employment and ourselves in the mean time to gather an abundant harvest into our own with respect to i trust that if my unworthy example and earnest have been successful in him from the bonds of error and sin but what is still more dangerous from the the irish agent of	50
it is not for me to vainly myself therefore his however will i trust be to that interesting but neglected class the of ireland with reference to them i am engaged during the very few leisure hours that can steal so to speak from my professional employment in writing a second tract especially for their improvement it will be called th s or a for tender by their friend and brother christian solomon m attorney at law verily my lines have been made to fall in pleasant places on yesterday i had the satisfaction to be appointed soul agent to the religious assurance association being a branch of the grand spiritual railway society for travellers to a better world the salary is but the especially to a man of sincere is full of care and responsibility allow me j dear to recommend you and your friends to purchase shares in the spiritual railway society it is under him the safest of all associations yet established the arrangements are admirably for the objects in view all the seats are delightfully soft and as as church to which they bear a close resemblance the m machine mon and all those appointed to situations on the line are mostly in orders but belong to different the scheme originated in oxford and has spread rapidly throughout the length and breadth of the land several of the are and the reverend discharge their respective duties with singular effect it is hoped besides that it may under divine guidance be the glorious means of bringing within the influence of truth whilst its enemies for it has enemies as who has not its enemies assert that whether it shall take in or take in it is ft matter very difficult to be determined they are also exceedingly expert at tract writing which they perform if i may say so without or vanity very much in my own spirit pool is i mean a serious young in our family who tended our little olive branches and understood my habits she is leaving us and shall miss her for i am one of those persons my dear friend who have a heart for and i trust may say that can with my fellow creatures however humble do you remember that i once availed myself of a christians privilege to mention between us the subject of family prayer i remain my dear m with may i hope the irish agent a few of the graces of my calling an earnest solomon m now said he folded the letter his tender for s farm and handed it to him now that so much is despatched i trust we may have a word or two upon a subject of still higher importance how do you feel in a spiritual way are your views as clear as ever are supported i mean inwardly for that is the only support after all mr m tm to sir i d say either more or less than the truth that is a good sign but you must avoid profane swearing which is a habit you contracted m the bonds of but you must reform it rather grace will be given you to reform it i hope so replied and that til still g t a clearer knowledge of the goodness as he uttered these words would have a trifle to have had m to look at little did solomon suspect the truth to which his alluded may it in charity be granted solomon slightly up his eyes brows but m will you be properly prepared on next sabbath d v to bear strong testimony against error and why i ll do my best su replied and you know the best can do no more well but you can faithfully say that you are utterly free from every taint of faith sir i don t know that that would be altogether prudent did you never hear of the ould proverb sir not to throw out the dirty water till you get in the i m not sure that i have a sufficient grip of the new light yet said unconsciously into his usual style of conversation but i hope that by next sunday i ll be able to shine an be my if i don t sir it ll be none o my the convert in europe than i ll make when i come to know a little about it said solomon impatiently this is really very trying to one so anxious for your spiritual welfare as i am this swearing i really fear that some of your light has been withdrawn since our last interview not at all unlikely replied but great submission don t you think sir that two is than one the irish agent how do you mean by to such an impossibility why sir suppose i kept the ould one and joined this new to it wouldn t i have two chances instead o one said solomon avoid or rather pray that you may be enabled to avoid the enemy for hear he is leading you into darker error i tell i say unto you that you would be much better to haye no religion than the you have me of one proverb suffer me to remind you of another do you not know to speak in a worldly figure that an empty house is better than a ad tenant why i looked on you with pride with a kind of holy joy as one whom i had for and won from the enemy but i fear you are i hope in god sir replied very gravely that you and he won t have to toss up for me for feel myself sometimes one thing and sometimes the other ah replied solomon i fear i must give you and in that case	50
it will not be in my power to employ you in a very confidential matter the of which i imagined i could have to you that however cannot be now m as no one not amply provided with strong dispositions could bo relied on in it who in fact was playing m pr as a skilful does his fish who order to induce him the more eagerly to the bait to withdraw it from his by which means it is certain to be dow and the fish caught ah sir replied tm greatly that every person like me must struggle temptations that is an excellent observation said and i do suppose that since this desirable took place in your heart you must have been w fully beset never so much in my life replied tl other now there s your two beautiful tract and may i never die in sin hope sir there no great harm in that oath no great harm but you had better omit i however it of sin and superstition well sir may i never i beg pardon bi any how the truth is that ever since i t them i feel myself as as i the devil do not name him so it is profane the or satan or t ic t the irish agent as if the whole three o them then war at my elbow why for the last three or four days i may say they have cleared me out as of honesty as the black boy himself and it is worse i am now sir it stands to sense that that s temptation unquestionably and my great hope and consolation is that you yourself are conscious of it all you have to do now is to pray in prayer and you will ultimately triumph sing spiritual songs too read my tracts with attention and in short if you resist the hem satan he will assuredly flee from you give that letter to mr m and let me see you on the day after to morrow like a giant refreshed with new well now said assuming a more serious look do you know su that i think your words put new strength into me somehow i feel as if there was a load removed from me may the of heaven hem i do sir and now as a proof of it i wouldn t feel justified sir in leaving you a word or two about the same m who between you and me but i hope it won t go farther sir i don t think it would be permitted to me to m betray confidence i humbly think so be afraid but speak why sir he has got a dirty trick of of you behind your back human weakness poor mi proceed what does he say why sir if it ud be agreeable to you i d not be goin over it we should know our friends from our o drive but i forgive him and shall pray for him this night what did he say why he said sir verily thin i m ashamed say it did he speak only of myself inquired with something like a slight but repressed ance of alarm oh of nobody else sir well then ho sa sir but sure i m only his wicked words he said sir that if you were cut up into the size shot there would be as much in least grain of you as would corrupt a nation of pi pockets poor man i forgive him do you not see smile i do indeed sir well that is a smile of forgiveness of the irish agent christian forgiveness free from the slightest taint of human infirmity i am given to feel this delightful state of mind at the present moment may he be praised proceed it is a blessed state sir and as you can bear it and as i can trust you what i could not him i will go on he said besides sir that your example had made the ould boy himself a worse boy now than he had ever been before he knew you that in you he got new of wickedness that he was never up to till he met you and that he s lessons from you in the shape of a parson ah well i see i see that is an allusion to my recent intercourse with the rev the respected and highly connected of castle and his nephew the rev both of whom take a deep interest in the new movement which fi now so graciously advancing however i shall pray for that man this night sir i feel much i m a changed man din these few minutes i may say but what is to a good example i feel sir as if a strong hatred of was an me you mean vol ii i m yes sir that s what i mean where is that letter of mr m s oh i have it well said m quietly changing it for another here it is now do you see how commit that letter to the flames placing m s under the side of a brief f and even as the flames die away before your eyes so dies away not my resentment for none do i entertain against him but the memory of his offensive expressions sir said this is wonderful i often hard of religion and forgiveness of injuries but this day i never saw them in their colours the day after to morrow i m to call sir the day after to morrow well sir may the holy virgin this day indeed i do not know what i m sir religion well if that s not religion	50
what is or can be good sir good morning and remember my advice pray sing peace be with you chapter xl solomon at of for an appropriate confidence the rev his mr rev father and his father m was opening the hall door when as if struck by a new train of thought he again tapped at the door and begged pardon for entering tm in a sweet state sir said he and would you forgive me now that my heart is full by at such an example if i the liberty of you to kneel down and offer a father an ave an hem what am i an offer up a word in for that unfortunate m any how improve myself and i feel as if there was new strength put into me oh the scoundrel i to the way he did of a man a of grace of oh then do sir let offer up one prayer for him the vagabond the reader will perceive however by and bye that s sudden and enthusiastic principle of m towards m wanted that very simple requisite sincerity a by the way in which the worthy never much dealt indeed we may say here that the object of his return was connected with any thing but religion a shade of feeling somewhat sat on m s features until he caught s eye fixed upon him when after him for the terms in which he proposed the prayer he knelt down and with a most serene smile commenced an earnest which more vehement then louder his lost state his keeping aloof from the means of grace feared that the example of his old and sinful and father and his most mother had rendered his heart impenetrable to all of conscience or if conscience he ever had or religion he ever heard both of which he the humble and sinful doubted what then was his state oh how could a charitable or truly religious heart bear to think of it without being deeply affected handkerchief here applied to the eyes and some sobs a sound from accompanied by a most pathetic shaking of the sides evidently as much affected as m the prayer was then up in a long heavy which evidently proceeded from a strong the irish agent conviction that he who prayed was against all hope and expectation that the humble mean then adopted would be attended by any gracious result the voice consequently off into a most dismal sound which seemed as it were to echo back a answer to their and accordingly solomon rose up with a groan that could not be misunderstood you see o drive said he we have received no answer or rather a bad one i fear his is a hopeless case as indeed that of every and is and this me mr m said will you excuse me sir but the is i never properly knew you before these words he uttered in a low confidential voice precisely such as we might suppose a man to speak in who under his circumstances had got new convictions i ll appear next sabbath and what is better i think in a few days fu be able to bring three or four more along me do you think so said m a good deal elated at the thought for the attorney was only playing his game which certainly was not the case with the greater number of the new men who were as sincere in their motives as he was in his exertions and what are their names m i feel sir replied o drive that it s my duty as a christian brought out of the land of bondage of bondage to do all i can for the spread o the gospel their names responded rubbing his elbow with a perplexed face don t you think sir it ud be to wait awhile till we d see what could be done them privately no give me their names and and i will see that however hard the times are they shall not at least be starved for want truth well then said first there is of sir is at the present badly given to drink and he and fights too the but then he s in darkness sir yet and you know that the greater the sinner the greater the saint if was he d make a mighty fine christian no doubt to be sure he has two wives along his re for liquor and but wouldn t it be a good plan to bring them over too sir the poor lost sunk as they are in and very good i have him down we must struggle however to win him over and to induce him to give up his guilty connections are they young the irish agent two of the best looking young women in the parish we must only see then if they can be rescued also for that is a duty a pressing duty certainly but i m sir it ud take a ship load o scripture to convert the three o them we shall try however nothing is to be of under such circumstances unless i am afraid the of that unhappy man m eyes turned up who next why you may set down harry m of harry s an unsettled kind of fellow or as they call him a it would be an active charity to convert him and that could convert him for he has as many in him as an if it was only for the sake of him to speak the truth who else put down sir and if you take my advice you ll set in at the of him while this famine lasts otherwise	50
he s a bitter as ever an but against that he has the stomach o three men and the best time to come at him the gospel is the present bait it a of bacon on the one side and a o fresh meat on the other now before the comes in and you re sure of him any others but indeed far a wa m have gone yet the cases appear to me to be difficult ones however there is joy in heaven over one sinner and surely the greater the sin the greater the joy and the triumph any others mark down sir she would be a glorious catch if a word in could fasten on her she goes by the name of funny eye the poor woman is mother to a large family of sir and the worst of it is that no two o them goes by the same name it would be a proud day that we could make sure of her especially as father and mr m his were to give her up and forbid her the parish but funny eye only and laughs at them and the world she s the last but i ll be on the look y out god for a few more desperate cases to crown our victory over the i over satan and the priests well then let me see you as i said the day to morrow and in the mean time peace and joy and victory be with you the same to you sir and many of them i pray the sweet queen o heaven this day said m who looked upon his mingling up religious expressions peculiar to his class as proof of his sincerity said he in the irish agent a low and collected voice i said i had the execution of a commission to to you but sir said whose ears could they have shaped themselves according to his wishes would have ran into points in order to hear with more sir said he i doubt i m not worthy of such a trust perfectly worthy continued solomon if i did not think so i would not employ you i have engaged another person to prepare as it were the way for you but the truth is it would never do to allow that person and the young person of whom you are to take charge to be seen together evil would most assuredly be put on innocent actions as they often are and for reason it is that i have partly changed my mind and will one half the commission i speak of you as if however he feared that the very walls might justify the old proverb by proving that ey had ears he stood up and whispered a short but apparently most interesting communication to who appeared to to a tale that was rather to excite admiration than any other feeling and we have little doubt indeed that the tale in question was given as the exertion as pure an instance of christian compassion and m benevolence as ever was manifested in the secret depths of that true piety which the light for s journey was most assuredly to be made in the dark and still hours of the night on opening the door a party of three or four were about to knock but having given them admission he went away at rather a brisk if not a hasty pace having concluded this interview was proceeding not exactly in the direction of m s but as the reader shall soon hear to a very different person no other than the rev d d of the parish of castle a living at that time worth about eighteen hundred a year the rev then was a gentleman having a proud air stamped upon his broad brow and purple features his wife was niece to a nobleman through whose influence he had been promoted over the head of a learned and pious whose junior mr had been in the only by the short period of twenty five i years many persons said that the had been badly treated in this transaction but those persons must have known that he had no friends except the poor and afflicted of his parish whose recommendation of him to his bishop or the minister of the day would have had httle weight his domestic the irish agent family too was large a circumstance rather to his but he himself was of simple and habits as for dinners he gave none except a few fragments of his family s scanty meal to some hungry perhaps deserted children or to a sick when abandoned by his landlord or employer the moment be became unable to work from the gentry of the neighbourhood he got no invitations because he would neither sing dance drink nor countenance the of their sons nor flatter the pride and vanity of their wives and daughters for these reasons and because he dared to preach home truths from his pulpit he and his children had been made objects of their ridicule and insolence what right then had any one to assert that the rev mr had received injustice by the promotion over his head of the rev to the wealthy living of castle when he had no plausible or just grounds beyond those to which we have on which to rest his claim for the was pious we admit but then his wife s uncle was not a lord he was learned but then he had neither the power nor the to repay his supposing him to have such by a genius for or the possession of m political influence he discharged his religious duties as well as the health of a frame worn by toil and poverty permitted him but then he wrote no adapted to	50
the politics by which he might rise in the church he visited the sick and prayed with them but he employed not his in proving to the world that the rewarded piety and learning rather than talents for state or family influence far different from him was his the rev though inferior to his in learning and all the requisite for a minister of god yet was he sufficiently well read in the of his to keep up a splendid without piety to god or charity to man he possessed however fervent attachment to his church and devotion to his party if he neglected the widow and the orphan whom he could serve he did not neglect the great and honourable who could serve himself he was inaccessible to the poor tis true but on the other hand what man exhibited such polished courtesy and of manner to the rich and exalted complained that he was haughty and insolent yet it was well known in the teeth of i the irish agent all this that no man ever gave more signal proofs of humility and obedience to those who held patronage over him it mattered little therefore that he had not virtues for the sick or poverty stricken in private life when he possessed so many excellent ones for those in whose eyes it was worth while to be virtuous as a man mr possessing high political and withal affecting to be very religious presented singular points of character for observation he was a great in theory and rendered it imperative on his poor to be so in practice but being always engaged in the pursuit of some he h spent most of his time and of his money either in our own metropolis or london but principally in the latter he did not however leave his discipline or his devotion as a public man behind him in he was practical in the lord lieutenant and in london the king whilst his was only god in the country the result of his better sense and more piety soon became evident on his part m the shape of an appointment to a second and that of his in obscurity poverty useless gift a good conscience m we have said that mr was not pious yet we are far from saying that he had not all the credit of piety his name in fact was always conspicuous among the most to the religious societies indeed he looked upon most of them as excellent to the cold and scanty labours of those worldly minded or indolent who think when they have furnished every family in the parish with a bible and a of tracts that they have done their duty mr consequently bore an excellent character every where but among the poor sick and of his two large and if a had been called for on him he would have received an admirable one from the societies to whose funds he contributed from the gentry of his respective and from the grand of the two in which they were situated what more than this could be expected here was ample testimony for those who required it to establish the zeal talents integrity charity and piety of that worthy and useful minister of god the rev d d such were a few of the virtues which belonged to this gentleman his claims for were indeed peculiarly strong and when we mention the i the irish agent political influence of himself and his friends his wife s powerful connections added to his and the great mass of sound information regarding the state of the country which in the discharge of his duties he communicated from time to time to the government of the day we think we have said enough to satisfy our readers that he ought not to be overlooked in the wealthy and pious establishment which the irish church then was still in fact we cannot stop here for in good truth mr had yet stronger claims for than any we have yet mentioned he did not stand in need of it in addition to a large received with his wife he possessed a private fortune of fourteen hundred pounds per with which joined to his two large he was enabled to turn out a very primitive and such as would have made the hearts of the rejoice in reflecting that so many new virtues were to spring up in the progress of society from the lowly they established such is a pretty full sketch of a large class which existed at a former period in the established church rf ireland mr was besides what may be t one of the first fruits of that which is called m or being about two thirds m of the tory and high and one of the in the same parish of castle resided two other of a different creed and character the rev james the venerable parish priest was one of those admirable whose lives are the most touching and beautiful of the christian faith in this amiable man were combined all these primitive virtues which are so suitable and we may add necessary to those who are called upon to mingle with the cares and affections joys and sufferings of an humble people without pride beyond the serene simplicity which belonged to his office he yet possessed the power of engaging the affections and respect of all who knew him whether high or low with the poor and those to his spiritual charge were all his sympathies both as a man and a his indeed was no idle charge nor idly nor with coldness or pride were its duties entered upon or performed his uttle purse and small means were less his own than the property of the poor around him his eye was of want and of sorrow of crime and and painful rebuke the humble and	50
the word was necessary there stood he to administer it such was father as the of a large the irish agent but poor flock who had few sympathies to expect save those which this venerable man was able to afford them very different from him on the other hand was his the rev m or m as he was by the of the parish in consequence of a very tendency to use the as a last resource especially in cases where reason and the influence of argument failed he was a powerful young man in point of physical strength but as his temperament was hot and the consciousness of this strength often led him under its impulse in desperate cases to a mode of reasoning which after all no man more than himself subsequently regretted zealous he unquestionably was but beyond the bounds prescribed by a spirit of christian moderation i know not how it happened but the hated him with an intensity of which however he paid back to them his vast strength which had been much improved by a strong relish for exercises at which he was when joined to a naturally courageous and temperament often prompted him to manifest in cases of self vol ii e m the of wliich to call into however which after all wan not ho unnatural he properly restrained and kept in but in order to for it lie certainly did them in with a of which d at and got with the exception of too much zeal in conduct in every other respect correct and proper to return now to whose steps liave been directed not exactly towards constitution cottage but towards tlie of the h him about a mile or two out of his way the fact is he was beginning to tire of who whenever he had occasion for his services was certain to him of his on the one hand precisely as m c did on the other the change of agents was consequently of no advantage to him as he had expected it would for such was the ity of the two that each of them took as much at they could out of the unfortunate tenants and left little to comfort himself with the exception of what he got by their virtuous example an example which he was exceedingly apt to follow if not to exceed for this the irish agent reason he detested them both and consequently felt a natural anxiety to set them together by the ears whenever be thought the proper occasion for it should arrive now an event had taken place the very day before this which opened up to his mind a new plan of operations altogether this was the death of the under of castle b i an to think of this as a good speculation should it succeed but alas upon second reflection there stood an difficulty in his way he was a roman so far as he was anything and this being a situation of too much trust and confidence at the period to be given to any one of that persuasion he knew he could not obtain it well but here ag he was fortunate and not without the some consolation the extraordinary movement in the religious world called the new had just then set in with a of judgment and a of among the lower classes of roman which scarcely anybody could understand the saints however or party headed by an amiable benevolent but somewhat nobleman on whose property the first commenced ascribed this extraordinary altogether to themselves hie season to be sure in which it occurred was m one of and famine fuel was both scarce and bad the preceding crops had failed and food was not only of a quality but scarcely to be procured at all the winter too was wet and stormy and the of rain daily and incessant in fact cold and and hunger met together in almost every house and every cabin with the exception of those of the farmers alone who by the way mostly held land upon a very small scale in this district then and in such a period of calamity and misery and utter famine did the movement called the new sure blood thought now that every one s there s no harm to have a at it myself i can become as good a as most o them in four and twenty hours and stand a chance of the for my pains i ll go to mr who is a gentleman at any rate and allow him to think he has the o me well he proceeded with a chuckle it s one comfort devil a much i have to lose and another that the devil a much i have to gain in exchange and now he went on there s little solomon thinks i didn t see him the wrong but faith solomon my lad there must be something i the irish agent in it that would do neither you nor m much good if it was known or you wouldn t that trick but in the mean time i ve secured them both now the reader must know that s return in such a truly charitable spirit to ask solomon for the virtue of his prayers in behalf of m was as a as ever was put in practice solomon had placed m s letter secretly under a brief as we have said and who knew the identical spot and position in which m was in the habit of praying knew also that he would kneel with his back to the desk on which the brief lay it all happened precisely as he wished and accordingly while solomon was doing the did the thief and having let in those who i ere approaching he came away as we said he lost not a moment after he had got to a	50
lonely part of the road in putting them between two flat we mean m s letter to solomon with that gentleman s answer there he determined should remain until after dark when he could both without risk and see what might be done with them now thought he that i ve solomon in a double for he can t inquire about the letter without letting it be seen that he a lie and m practised a bit of any how an as the other thing i have him fast in the mean time father m who had read m s paragraph in the castle true blue respecting s had a sharp eye out for him as they term it in the country indeed after two or three vain attempts to see him the rev gentleman was satisfied with sending him a gentle message of upon his change of creed which was significantly wound up by a hint that he might probably on their next meeting give him a nice treat but of what particular description was not communicated having secured the letters as described was proceeding at a pretty quick pace towards mr s when whom should he meet in a narrow part of the way which was enclosed between two immense white thorn hedges through which any notion of escape was but the rev father m he tried every shift looked back as if he expected some friend to follow him then to the right again to the left then stooped to examine the ground as if he had lost something of value or importance at length finding every other trick useless he adopted that one so common among boys in desperate cases we mean th attempt to make a mask of the right shoulder in order the irish agent to conceal the face even this failed and he found himself compelled to meet the fixed and stern of the colossal priest who was on horseback and bore in his huge right hand a whip that might so have tamed a or the himself if he were not why my good honest and most religious mr o drive the of whose you scoundrel has already the whole parish is it possible that providence in to me and in pure justice to yourself has im you into my way at last this for the accompanied only by a motion of the whip from the quick which his sense of s had communicated through the hand to the weapon which it held god save your reverence an in i m glad to see you look so well th it s in a glow o health you are may god continue it to you i be my it s you that can the any how your reverence ad how is father sir although sure enough he s no match for you in it home to the thieves silence you don t think m you ll creep up my wrist as you do up m m m s is it true that you have become an v here attempted to up a kind of sly significant expression into his eye as he stole a half timid half confident glance at the priest but it would not do the effort was a failure and no wonder for there before him sat the terrible like an embodied thunder lurid and ready to before him nay he could see the very playing and in his eyes just as it often about the cloud before the bursting of the peal in this instance there was neither sympathy nor community of feeling between them and found that no meditated of pious fraud such as on the enemy or doing the thieves or any other interested had the slightest chance of being by the the consequence wai that the rising died away from s face on which there remained nothing but a blank and baffled expression that gave strong assurance of his being in a situation of great perplexity the most timid and cowardly animals will however sometimes turn upon their and although he felt no disposition to thb irish agent words with the resolved to abide bj the new creed until he should be able m his chance of the there was another motive he knew mr s ao well that he determined to pursue such a during this interview as might him a horse for it occurred to him that a bit of would make a capital opening argument during his first interview with mr did you hear me sir again inquired the making his whip whistle past his own right foot just as if he had aimed it at the is it true that you have turned i thought you knew it sir or if you didn t why did you read me out the sunday before last from the v then you acknowledge it cried the priest you have the brass to acknowledge it have you and here the whip made a most ferocious sweep in the air yes replied thinking by the admission to the impending yes sir i don t belong to your flock now you have no authority over me mind that haven t i indeed mr convert oh what a m convert you are but well see whether i or not by and by where are you bound for now to taste of mr s flesh pots eh i m bound for mr s sore enough and i hope there s no great harm in that oh none in the world my worthy none mr s argument and lord s bacon are very powerful during this hard season those that haven t a to their backs are clothed those that haven t a morsel to eat are fed and if they haven t	50
a fire they get plenty of fuel to bum their at and because this crew avail themselves of the of these wretches and them from their own faith by a blanket and a of bacon they call that the new by the way ha ha ha oh it s too good i and do you think sir said that if they had a hard or an enlightened of their own creed that that would do it the whip here described a circle one part of whose sang within a few inches of s ear who forgetting his relish for drew back his head to avoid it none of your back jaw said m don t you know that in spite of this the irish agent lord and the proud temptations you are commanded to the devil the world and the flesh don t you know that but replied are we commanded to the devil the world and a bit o fresh ha you scoundrel said the you ve got their arguments already i see but i know how to take them out of you before you leave my hands surely continued you wouldn t have a naked man a warm pair o breeches or a good coat to his back does the forbid him that you have it replied the who felt for the moment astounded at s audacity you are determined on it but i will have patience with you yet a little till i see what brought you over if i can don t you admit as i said that you are commanded to the devil the world and the flesh particularly the flesh for there s a peculiar stress laid upon that in the greek well but does it go in the greek against a o bacon and a o your reverence faith your pardon if you were to see some o the new how comfortable they are their m good coats and their new warm blankets beside their good fires you d maybe not blame them so much as you do your sir only for the but theirs you see any how for the body and faith i say the last is a great advantage in these hard times the priest s astonishment increased at the boldness with which continued the argument or rather which prompted him to argue at all he looked at him and gave a smile well said he almost forgetting his anger for he was by no means deficient in a perception of the humorous but no matter it will do by and by you villain said he forced into the comic spirit of the argument do you not know that it is said cursed is he who an and the flesh of the flesh of is forbidden i sure enough an it s a not likely to be broken for a dirty morsel they are god knows but is there anything said against the flesh of their sheep or cows or that us to have a touch at a good fat goose or a turkey or any harmless little trifle o the kind myself never thought sir that beef or mutton was of any particular religion before the irish agent yes beef and mutton when they re good are catholic but when they re lean why like a bad christian they re of course and that s well known said the priest still amused against his will by s arguments faith and great respect the same is but a poor argument for our own hem i mane sir for church for if the best beef and mutton be of the religion the have it all to nothing there they re and no mistake the fat o the land your reverence said with a wink don t you understand they ve got that any how a slight cut of the whip across the shoulders made him jump and rub himself whilst the priest struck with hi utter want of principle exclaimed you double dealing scoundrel how dare you wink at me as if we felt any thing in common the blow occasioned s to rise for like every other when conscious of his own and its detection he felt his bad passions him you must said the priest whose anger was now excited by his extraordinary assurance you must their religion you must m and their and you must m your pardon said i received any of their or their i don t stand in need o them it s an enlightened independent i am well then continued the priest you must burn their tracts and their their books and of every description and return to your own church to become acquainted replied that piece o doctrine in your hand there faith and i fed the truth o that as it is your reverence and it is yourself that can bring it home to one but why submission don t you imitate father be my i tell you to your face that so long as you take your divinity from the s shop so long you will have obedient men but indifferent what replied m in a rage do you dare to use such language to my face a a brazen i ve had this in for you and now here he gave him a round half dozen go off to m and and lord and when you see them tell them from me that if they don t give up my flock i ll give them enough of their own game s face got pale with a most deadly ex the irish agent of rage an expression indeed so very different from that creeping one which it usually wore that m on looking at him felt startled if not awed and exasperated	50
as he was stood and looked at him coldly but at the same time with in the face you have done it he said and i knew you would now listen to me are you not as to make as either m or t you win have it again you scoundrel said the approaching him with uplifted whip stand back said i ve got all i wanted stand back or by all the ever you wore if your whip only touches my body as light as if it wouldn t bend a feather i ll have you in heaven or before you can cry god forgive me the other advanced and was about to let the whip fall when stretched his right hand before him holding a cocked and loaded pistol presented to the s breast now said he let your whip fall if you uke but if you do i ll lodge this bullet touching pistol with his left forefinger in your heart and your last mass is said you blame and m m slim for but aren t you every bit as to over the an they are to bring over f aren t you them sunday sunday and that you are taking ro from tlie than they are from you t your convert bob that you f over he had the and you h ft it upon never to enter a church door or bacon and now you that a rank and a blood hound mi ago a hound catholic tr why your reverence with regard to c the o differ i between you on either side only that they are able u give value in this world for the than you are that s all youve at seeing my but of late don t go any where for to tell you the either am a or a convert it s not likely be safe them and i think that you yourself are a very good proof of it very well my good fine pious convert til keep my eye on you i understand your piety and i can tell you my good meek pious priest i ll ke on you and now on if you re wise and so ki h then on pursuing his respective the irish agent they had not gone far however when both chanced to look back at the same moment m shook his whip with a frown at who on the other side significantly touched the pocket in which he carried his fire arms and nodded his head in return now it is an fact that characters similar to that of were too common in the country and indeed it is to be regretted that they were employed at all inasmuch as the insolence of th conduct on the one hand did nearly as much harm as the neglect of the hard hearted landlord himself on the other be this as it may however we are bound to say that deserved much more at m s hands than either that rev gentleman was aware of then or our readers now the truth was that no sooner had m s touching s gone abroad than he became highly among the of the parish father m in consequence of s conduct and taking him as a specimen uttered some lively the ultimate fate of the new he even his flock against i have warned you all now after vol ii m this i hear of a single woe be that for it is better for his miserable soul that he had never been born is there a man here base enough to sell his birth right for a mess of mr s is there a man here who is not too strongly with a hatred of to laugh to scorn their and their not a man or if there is let him go out from amongst us in order that we may know him t at we may avoid his out and his that we may flee from him as a a plague a famine no there is none here so base and as all that and i here that this day forth this has got its death blow that time will prove it now remember i jou against their arts their and their and if as i said any one of this flock shall prove so wicked as to join them then i say again for his unfortunate soul that he into existence than to come iu and having heard for ho never ts that he was by the priest and feel d ing that his carrying into execution tho s and oppressive proceedings of m had taken n i say again he had never fl iu with the irish agent together certainly made him as a man as any individual of his contemptible standing in life could be resolved in the first place to carry arms for his own protection and in the to take a step which he knew would vex the sorely y he lost no time in and having it by others that the great society would give in a private way five guineas a he to every convert taking them either by the individual or the family although the of the he said was far more than eve a greater number of individuals when they were by the same ties of blood in as as the bringing them over by families was an of grace which could not be the consequence was that all the and who had cold and ao famine in addition to their own utter want of au moral feeling to them looked upon the and its liberal promises as a fl blown into their way by some i p of good fortune five guineas a k bead and all for only going to church and gaining	50
for ever more the heart and affections of the good and kind lord there was also another m class the simple and honest poor who had other way of avoiding all the and of that terrible season than a painful compliance with the only principle which could rescue themselves and their children from a state of things worse than death itself and which might probably have terminated in death we mean the principle of the new there was still a third class which consisted of a set of thorough irish who looked upon the whole thing as an excellent joke and who while they had not a rag to their backs nor a morsel for their mouths enjoyed the whole ceremony of reading their and all that as a capital while it lasted and a thing that ought by all means to be encouraged until better times came in vain therefore did father m and prophecy in vain did he all the of the church in vain did he warn lecture and threaten s private hint had gone precisely a day or two before their and the consequence was what might be expected in fact over reached him a circumstance of which a t the period of their meeting he was ignorant but he had just learned how the word had spread as it was the irish agent in so extraordinary a manner all his opposition a short time before they met and our readers need not feel at the tone and temper with which after having heard such intelligence he addressed nor at the treatment which that worthy personage received at his hands had he known that it was s word which in point of fact had occasioned the spread we speak of he would have made that worthy missionary exhibit a much greater degree of alacrity than he did before arrives at mr s however we must take the liberty of him a little in order to be present at a conversation which occurred on this very subject between the worthy and the rev mr his mr like the pious and excellent father was one of those who feel that these and useless called instead of a liberal or enlarged view of on are only calculated to the feelings to charity and to contract the heart nay more there never was a discussion they said and we join them since the days of and the that m did not in a tumult of angry and in which all the common of life not to mention the professed duties of christian men were trampled on and without scruple in the preparations for the forth coming discussion therefore neither of these worthy men took any part whatsoever the severe duties of so large a parish the calls of the sick the poor and the dying together with the varied phases of human misery that pressed upon their notice as they toiled through the obscure and neglected paths of life all in their opinion and in ours too constituted a sufficiently ample code of duty without themselves in these loud and turbulent mr who on this same day had received a message from mr found that gentleman in remarkably good spirits he had just received a present of a fine of from a nobleman in the neighbourhood and was over it ere its descent into the with the ruddy fire of blazing in his eyes said he with a grave subdued of enjoyment come this way turn up the francis eh what say you now look the irish agent at the th of the fat what a prime fellow that see the flank he had six inches on the ribs at least as our says the lean was so white and the fat was so ruddy had often before witnessed this hot spirit luxury which becomes doubly and gross in a minister of god on this occasion he did not even but replied gravely i am not a judge of mr but i believe you have the poet who i think says the fat was m white and the lean was so ruddy well that s not much but if you were a judge this would both delight and astonish you now francis i charge you as you value your place your reputation your future welfare to be in dressing it you know how i wish it done and besides lord sir harry lord and a few friends are to dine with me come in francis yoa have heard what i said if that is spoiled i shall discharge you without a character most so look to it they entered the the table of which was covered with religious magazines missionary papers and reports of religious societies at m home and abroad mr after throwing himself into a rich arm chair to his to take a seat i have sent for you said he to have your advice and assistance on a subject in which i feel confident that as a sincere and zealous you will take a warm interest you have heard of the establishment of our new society of course i believe it is pretty generally known replied it is now replied but our objects are admirable we propose to carry into all the of to both priests and people and if possible to transfer the whole per by the lump as it were per i believe observed bowing if i may take the liberty well you may be right my memory large passages best and ever did to transfer the whole population to the established church it is a noble a glorious speculation if it only can be accomplished think of the advantages it would confer upon us i what would it not give the church the irish agent i cannot exactly see what peculiar it would the	50
church replied with the of mere numbers alone how so what do you mean why sir replied if we had the you speak of to morrow we would be certainly worse off than we are to day they could only pay us our and that they do as it is if they formed a portion and the largest portion they would form of our church of the immense number of clergy they would require to look to their religious wants ihe number of churches and cf ease that must be built the number of that must be divided nay my dear sir in addition to this you may easily see that for every one bishop now we should have at least four then and that the would in proportion as it is now sir we hare the without the trouble of for them but it would be a different case in your new position of affairs mr who in the heat of his zeal had neither permitted himself to see matters in this light nor to perceive that s arguments concealed under a grave aspect something of irony and satire looked upon his with dismay the smooth and m rosy cheek got pale as did the whole purple face down to the third chin each of which reminded one of the diminished in the sky if we may be allowed to except that they were not so heavenly said he you me that is a most exceedingly clear view of the matter transfer them no such thing it would be a most dreadful calamity unless church property were increased but could not that be done yes said he at the idea as one of which he ought to feel proud that could and would be besides i relish the of the under any circumstances and therefore we will proceed with the at al events it would be a great blessing to get rid o which we would do if we could this glorious project i must confess sir replied mr gravely that i have never been anxious for a change of opinions in any man when accompanied by a corresponding in his life and morals with respect to the society i beg leave to observe that i the plan for the present is and calculated to fill the kingdom with religious the irish agent and hatred the people sir are not prepared to have their religion taken by storm they are too shrewd for that and i really think we have no just cause to feel anxious for the of those who cannot appreciate the principles upon which they embrace our faith must be the case with ninety nine oat of every hundred of them i have ever been of that the policy pursued by england towards this country has been the of its happiness she the irish roman of the means of acquiring education and then punished them for the crimes which proceeded from their ignorance they were a tumultuous and an because they were an oppressed people and where by the way is there a people worthy to bo named ma who will or ought to rest contented under and oppressive laws but there was a day when they would have been grateful for the of such laws oppression however has its traditions and o has revenge and these can descend from father to wn without education if roman catholic had been removed at a proper time they would long since have been forgotten but they were t and now they are remembered and will bo the prejudices of the roman m however and their enmity towards those who o pressed them increased with their numbers and th knowledge the those who kept them do was and think you sir that be i merits of that religion what they may these are i people to come over in large masses without for us reflection or any knowledge of its and embrace the creed of the very men whom th look upon as their sir there is but c way of the irish and it is this let th find the best arguments for in i lives of its ministers and of all who profess it i the higher clergy move more among classes even of their own flocks let th be found more frequently where the roman priest always is at the sick bed in the house mourning of death and of sin let them the pursuits of an ambition cast from them the crooked and of political and let them more humbly and more in accordance with gospel which they preach let them not set th hearts upon the church merely because it is wealthy calculated rather to their own worldly ambition or than i the irish agent spiritual of their flocks let them not draw their from the pockets of a poor people who their faith whilst they and that faith aa a thing not to be let them do this sir free from the golden which make it the slave of that it may be able to work do this and depend it that it will then flourish as it ought but in my humble opinion until such a reform first takes place with ourselves it is idle to expect that roman will come over to us unless indeed a few from sordid and motives and these we were better without i think therefore that the present society is and ill nor do i hesitate to that the event will prove it so in conclusion sir i am sorry to say that i ve seldom seen one of those very zealous who would not rather convert one individual from than ten from sin why you are a i trust sir i am a christian as for sit ig generally understood no man the cant of it more than	50
had been taken to god in childhood and surely there is still a god to provide for yourself and your other uttle ones r remember you have still those who have tender upon your heart i know you are right sir she replied but in cases like this nature must have its way death but you re cruel i oh blessed father what is this one last one low groan accompanied by a of the little fingers which had pressed her hands closed the sufferings of the widow s pride she stooped wildly over him and pressed him to her heart as if by doing so she could draw his pains into her own frame as they were already in her spirit but his were silent and on looking closely into his countenance she perceived that his had indeed suffered her little one to go unto him that all his little pains and were over for ever his sufferings are past she exclaimed james your sufferings are over as she uttered the words the was astonished by hearing her burst out into one or two wild laughs which happily ended in tears m no she you ll feel no pain now my precious boy your will sound in my ears again never call on me t say mother take away my pain the will never come when i will take pride in you my morning and evening kiss will never more bo given all my heart was fixed on is gone and i care not now what becomes of me what could the good do he strove to sustain and comfort her but in vain the poor widow heard him not said she at length turning to the other sick child your brother is at rest i james is st rest he will disturb your sleep now no nor will you disturb his oh i but he couldn t help it it was the pain tliat made him as the child uttered these words the widow pat her to her heart gave two or three her bosom heaved and her head fell back over a chair that was accidentally beside her mr caught her in time to prevent her from falling he placed her upright on the chair which he carried to the little where he found a of water the only drink she had to give her sick children with tliis he bathed her temples and wet j thb irish agent after which he looked upon the scene of and affliction by which he was surrounded father he exclaimed let your this most pitiable i look with i of and upon this afflicted and woman i oh support her she is poor and heart broken and the world has abandoned oh do not thou abandon her father of all and god of all consolation i as he concluded the widow recovered and felt his falling upon her on looking she how deeply he was affected her lips opened with a blessing on him who shared in and soothed her sorrows her voice was feeble for ae had not yet recovered her strength but the low murmur of her prayers and blessings rose like the sounds of sweet but melancholy music to heaven was heard there mr then went over to the bed and with his own hands smoothed it down for the little sick of the departed boy the bed clothes about her as well as he could for the other children too young to do any thing he then divided the hair upon the lifeless child s forehead contemplated his beautiful features for a moment caught little hand in his it fall oh i how m ho then shook his head raised his eyes and point ing to heaven exclaimed there mrs let mr hopes lie there he then departed with a promise o sl seeing h soon chapter xii between and mr feels and was as mr s christian disposition towards father m a few offer themselves to be plucked from the burning their for as stated by themselves mr like almost every of the day was a magistrate a which prevented mr from feeling any at seeing a considerable number of persons of both sexes approaching the he imagined naturally enough that they were going upon law business as it is termed for he knew that mr during ms angel visits to castle took much more in the law than the gospel ess when ready made in the shape of when also arrived he found a considerable number of these persons standing among a uttle of trees in the lawn apparently waiting for m person to break the ice and go in first a which each felt anxious to decline himself whilst h pressed it very strongly upon his neighbour n sooner had made his appearance a com took place between him and them ii which it was settled that he was to hav the and afterwards direct the conduct motions of the rest there was indeed a knowing look about him which seemed to in fact that they were not there without some from himself was very well known to mr fc whom he had frequently acted in the of he accordingly entered with something an appearance of business but so admirably balance was his conduct on this occasion between his and manner and his privileges as christian that it would be difficult to witness an thing so well managed as his one circumstance was certainly strongly in hi favour father m had taken wit his whip a testimony of sincerity his countenance which was black and swollen int large by the of truth he had received at that gentleman s hands on seeing him very naturally imagined that he wa the irish agent to lodge for some outrage committed on him either in the discharge of his duty as or	50
for having become a convert a fact with he had become acquainted from the true well o drive said he what is the matter bow you are sadly abused how came this to pass first looked upwards very like a man who some especial grace or gift from above his lips moved as if in prayer but otherwise motionless at length he ceased a long breath and assumed the serenity of one prayer had been granted the only word that could possibly be at all was amen which he pronounced lowly but still and in as a manner as he could i beg your pardon sir he replied but now heart s i hope i have overcome that that was an me i can now forgive him for sake of the spread o the gospel and i do what has happened your face you are sadly based a small taste o sir which the w put into father m s heart i to give me i his d came into the light o may he bo praised m for it here followed an of the after the manner of m do you mean to tell me o drive that this outrage has been committed on you by that priest m it was he left me as you see sir but it s good to suffer in this world especially for the indeed i am proud of this face he continued with a so disastrous at mr that had that gentleman had the possible perception of the ludicrous in his composition not all the gifts and graces that ever were down upon the whole staff of the society together would have prevented him from laughing outright of course you are come pursued to swear against this man i have prayed for it said in a and i feel that it has been granted swear sir i ll strive and do than that i hope i must now take my stand by the bible sir that will be the colour i ll while i in that blessed book i read these words this love your enemies bless them that curse you do good tc them that hate you and pray for them which use you and you sir when i the irish agent these words i felt them into my heart and i couldn t help them to myself ever since and even when father m was his whip about my ears i was as hard at work for this we have no doubt was perfectly true only we fear that our blessed convert forgot to state the precise nature and object of the prayer in question and to mention whether it was to the upper or lower he consigned the soul alluded to this christian spirit of s however was by no means in keeping with that of mr who never was of opinion in his most charitable of moods that the gospel should altogether the law on this occasion especially he felt an of anxiety to get the priest within his power which the spirit of no gospel that ever was written could repress m and he had never met or at least never spoke but the priest had since the commencement of the new movement sent him a number of the most ludicrous messages and to him for selection a large of the most and degrading here then was an opportunity of gratifying his resentment in a christian and constitutional spirit and with no in his way but s piety m this for the sake of truth he hoped u or so that it would not bin from that yery and those feelings o are all yery good an creditable to you and i am delighted indeed that entertain them but in the mean time you owe duty to society greater than that which you owe t yourself this man this priest b huge person i understand he is has been about the parish foaming and raging and whom he can that s sir poor dark an si your pardon for one minute half minute sir you know we re desired when strikes us upon one cheek to turn the other to him well as i said sir i found myself yery this whole day so when he hot me the first this cheek i turns round the other an now look a the state it s in sir but that s not all sir he the hint at once and it to me on both sides till he left me as you see me still sir i can him ay and i haye done it that as i said great credit on your principles but in the meantime you can stiu retain these principles and him your lodging the irish agent against him does not interfere with your own personal forgiveness of him at all because it is in behalf of and for the safety of society that you come forward to now who in point of fact had his course already taken shook his head and replied back upon form of m s language as much as he i feel sir he replied that fm not permitted permitted repeated the other what do you mean not permitted from above sir to this man not justified in it quite ridiculous o drive where did you pick np this of the but that reminds die by the bye you are not a convert to the established church you belong to the and o e your change of opinions to mr m if i don t belong to the church sir replied i wont be long so why inquired the other are you not satisfied the of christians you have m sir converted me as you say but i ve great objections and	50
between you and me i vol ii h m fear it s not safe for any man to take hu religion from an attorney a smile as much as he could condescend to passed over the haughty but dignified features o mr o drive said he i did not think possessed so much of character as i per you do but touching the of thi man you must lodge forthwith shall bring the warrant to mr m who back it and put it into the hands of those who lose little time in having it executed i am sorry sir that my conscience doesn t justify me in what you wish wliat do you mean by conscience sir asked the other getting warm if you have a conscience you will have no scruple in a man who is an open enemy to truth to the gospel and to he spread of it through a land how can you reconcile it to your conscience to let such a man escape simply by him sir by the great big ignorant have the full benefit oi a gospel forgiveness that s what i mean sir and surely it stands to sense that i couldn t him these i d go against th word the irish o drive said evidently at s obstinacy one of two things is true either you are utterly ignorant perhaps with every disposition to know them of the and obligations of religion or you are still a at heart and an i tell you sir once more that it is upon religious grounds you ought to this wild priest because in doing so you render a most important service to religion and morality both of are outraged in his person you ought to this again sir if you are a and ia e thoroughly cast from your heart you necessarily be a loyal man and a good subject ut if you refuse to him you can be the one nor the other but a and an and done with you if mr m sir that you refused to a priest for a violent outrage upon your person i imagine would not long hold the situation of under looked into the floor like a philosopher living a problem i see sir said he i see you have made that clear enough you know sir how could you expect such deep upon these subjects from a man like me see the duty of it now clearly but then sir on m as it is if what you say is true and i it is your own safety depends upon your silence not a breath replied and now i about what brought me here i wanted to say t rd wish to read upon sunday next what do you mean asked why sir as i said i don t like to take religion from an attorney and vm i that he s not altogether in regard that hinted once that god but indeed i remember his words for it wasn t to ho them when you got them he of course is a and said but what is this you were say why sir that i d wish to read in your church on sunday next and why in my church asked the proud who felt his vanity touched not by any thing had yet said but by the indescribable expression flattery wliich appeared in his face why sir he replied it s given out all hands that there s no end to your tl it s the books you wrote and as for yo that it ud make one think themselves heaven hell or as you the irish agent very well o drive very well indeed exclaimed caught on his side by this artful compliment but you must forget however i can conceive that it was the mere force of habit that prompted you to utter it well then you shall read your on sunday since you wish it there will be about a dozen or two others and you had better attend early good day driver your honour said who never could be honest to both parties there s a o outside to see you but between you and me i think you had as well be on your guard some o them i know what they want and pray what is that o drive why thin for i may be the injustice sir i won t say only take my hint any how good kindly sir as passed the group we have alluded to he winked at them very go up said he go up i say may be i didn t give a lift and mark me to the five guineas ahead and to be provided for do you go up i say went up and in a few minutes a ragged wasted creature entered with his old between hands and after having i w m head and hu with an abashed look before mr well my good man what i your wit me to the prepared to reply by two or three additional f b right elbow and pulling up all remained of the collar of tattered o great coat after which he gave a hem have you no tongue my good fellow a shrug hem why sir but that a you on last you honour sir there wm mighty fine in it about oh the did you it my man sir i was there sure enough in spite c father m an all sit down my good friend sit down well attended the sermon you say pray how did you like it sir sure nobody could dislike it sir we re all greatly disappointed the it it was to hear the deep you brought sir an our in myself improved by it thb	50
irish agent don t swear though well you were improved by it you say pray what is your name i m one sir a s son of well i m very happy to hear that a were and happier still that you had sense to perceive the side upon which truth lay thin your reverence i seen that but sure they say sir there s to be a power of us over to i hope so we are anxious that you see the errors of the creed you so profess and abandon them sure enough sir sir you is fee men so you are then you re so rich sir your honour they do be sir that the of your church have got a great of money among them somehow in regard that rt be needful to help poor that ud turn d to keep them from the sir my good mend allow me to set you tt we never give a penny of money to any one tlie sake of bringing him over to our church if come to us it must be from conviction not interest i see sir but sure tm not the promise m at all your honour sure i know you must clear any way only the five guineas head that i m is to be given five guineas a head pray who told you so sir i couldn t exactly say but eve one says it it s said we re to get five guineas head sir and be provided for i have ni o them sir eight and si can t english but the help o god i it for her faith she d make a sir for she takes a thing he head the devil wouldn t get it out as for me don t want a promise at all your reverence that if it ud be to you to lay your for finger along your nose merely to show that w one another it ud be as good to me a the bank the on the breast your we d throw in as a luck penny or we d give at half price did you hear all this then we did sir and sure as like to have the thing known i can keep my my teeth as well as e er a as for by only her from the she s as close as the gate of heaven to a sir this new light every thing the irish agent my good friend i tell you i have no money to give neither is there any to be given for the sake of but if your notions of your own religion are unsettled put yourself under lord and if in the due course of time he thinks you sufficiently improved to embrace our faith you and your family may be aided by some comforts suitable to your condition s face lengthened visibly at an intimation which threw him so far from his expectations the truth being that he calculated upon receiving the money the moment he read his he looked at mr again as significantly as he gave his head a scratch of remonstrance shrugged himself as before rubbed his elbow turned round his hat slowly examined its shape and gave it a set after which he gave a dry and prepared to speak ril hear nothing further on the subject said the other withdraw without more out of the highly disappointed but still not without hopes from lord to whom or his he i to apply in the mean time he made the w t of his way home to his starving wife and en without having communicated the result of m well or nick or whatever it may i i am sorry to say that you won t do you are t great an ornament to your own creed ever to in ours i happen to know your gone is asked a third can date whose wife accompanied him if he is m be you d tell him that one to have a o speech his honour come in said the servant with a smile af having acquainted his master the man and his wife accordingly entered hav first wiped their feet as they had been ordered well my good man what s your business will you let his honour know what about she ll tell you sir your honour said she we re well said mr that at least is c ing to the point and pray my good woman i converted you the accounts that s abroad sir about from that s so full of y reverence and so rich they say then it was the mere accounts that wrought t change in you a go the irish agent ill r said the husband jn irish for he felt that the wife was more explicit than was necessary never heed her sir the your reverence is so other that she doesn t know what she s especially to so honourable a as your reverence then let us hear your version or rather your myself sir does be a great deal about these and that people is now all upon i can tell a story sir at a wake or an my a neighbour as well as e er a in the five the people say i m very long headed all out and can see far into a thing they do indeed your reverence very good did you ever hear about one fin m cool who as a great in his day and how his wife put the trick upon a big of a giant that came down from to bother fin did you ever hear that sir no neither do i wish to hear it just now nor the song of o sir nor the	50
how a like to walk three long dreary miles in and frost and snow no house to go to lid thin breeches to your bottom an maybe a hole n them shoe or on your rid a couple of half starved sick by an ould to your back an you hunger all the time ay an the tail o our ould coat blown up behind every minute like before the wind i eh how would you still stuck to the of liquor and went and rang the porter s bell who appeared john said his master i desire you will immediately show this man out he is so with liquor that he knows not the purport language john approached his master with a face of awful for god s sake said he don t y a word that might cross him sure he s the great or just sit still and let take his own way and he ll do no harm in life to listen to him and he ll be like a child j if you go to he d tear you and me all that s in the house into meat m once more did s countenance lose its ace hue but on this occasion it assumed colour of a duck egg or something between a i white and a bad blue my good friend said will you please to take a seat john stay in room this he said in a whisper there proceeded who had b busily engaged in examining the pages of the there is the page where that s on the in the clouds and storm of heaven there it is that page look at the ould man and the o woman there see them don t don t cry but they are see the widow there her there s a sick boy in that house j a poor sick girl in that other house see they re all for they must go out and on i a day all that now is upon these two other you see no one page would all tl but see here here s a page only one side covered let us see what s on it oh ay he the poor s the poor father the poor mother but they have the one cow to milk to their bit ha ha look ag there she goes off to the pound don t cry f helpless but how can you help w your poor mother s that s a th the irish agent too and it s on this page see that that that s it i ve between my fingers look at it how wet it is the poor s tears but there s no blood no no nothing but tears oh here see a as big as the rest but nothing on it ay i know that s an empty farm that nobody dare take or woe be to them but here i seen him here he shuddered strongly i seen his father and mother were both him that was the worst of all it s in this page he was only one and twenty and the eyes he had but how did it happen that although they hanged him every one loved him i seen his father and the poor mother looking up to the gallows where he stood and then she fainted and she then got sick and poor ould has nobody now but himself and all that s on this page here poor shed tears so completely was he overpowered by the force of his own he again proceeded and the poor white headed son what wouldn t the poor mother give to have his white head to look t but he will never he will never what s the name o this book he inquired mr my excellent and most intelligent friend gentleman in a tone of and that would have an my m most interesting friend the name of that book is the bible the bible i oh yes but am i it right he inquired am i the explanations to it as i ought sure they all explain it and it s only fair that should show his as well as any o them lot us see then and and could and hunger and sickness death and then madness and then death and then i did i explain it perfectly my friend nothing can be better well then think of it but these aren t my explanations but i know who puts them to that bad book i don t they take all i said out of it they do and sure don t you see the poor people s blood and tears and thing upon it sure all i said is in it here he exclaimed shuddering take it away or may be it ll make me as wicked as the rest of you but all may be it s the fault of the book but of the people it would indeed be difficult to find a more frightful comment upon the crimes and have been in this divided country in ih name and under the character of religion than tha which issued with a kind of from the lips of when li thb irish agent had concluded mr having first wiped the big drops of perspiration from his forehead asked him if there was any thing he could do for oh ay said he but first bring me a lump of good mate and a of you shall have it my excellent friend john ing the bell you are a very interesting person mr mr sir mr very interesting indeed good	50
god am i to run the risk of being in my own house by a madman here bring op some cold meat and a bottle of porter any to make you comfortable my good sir i only want to see if all s right sir said and i ll tell you by and bye this was followed by a look of most pitiable distress from to his servant john no sooner saw the cold beef and bread down together with a bottle of porter than he an exhibition which first awoke mr e s astonishment next his admiration and lastly envy s performance however was that rare description which loses by too frequent l and is only seen to advantage when the m opportunities for exhibition are few three pounds having at length disappeared together wi the greater part of a loaf and two of porter for had made bold to call foi second he now his mouth with the of coat first and afterwards by way of a more touch with the gathered palm of his hand the looking at mr who sat with in his gorgeous easy chair our readers may judge the ease it just then communicated to that gentleman when he said it s all right enough i m delighted to hear it replied mr applying the once more with a ve nervous and quivering hand to his forehead is there anything else in which i can serve yo my good sir yes there is all s right i ve now made tl and it will do i want to borrow the loan your religion till the new comes in you shall have it my worthy sir you have it with very great pleasure the why i came to you for it sa who evidently in this joke had been p up by some one was i was that h as good as new with you seldom used lasts you know but such as it is i ll it the irish agent there now that s one all right all right pointing to the fragments of the meat and bread i wouldn t so till the comes in mind i ll take care of it and if i don t bring it back safe i ll you a one in its place he then nodded familiarly to mr and left the house the latter felt as if he breathed new life once more but he could not so readily pardon the man for admitting him what is the reason sir he asked his face that you suffered that formidable mad to get into the house why sir replied the porter when i opened the hall door he shot in like a bolt and as for preventing him that if i had attempted it he d have had me m fragments long ago when he s not opposed sir or crossed he s quiet as a lamb and wouldn t a child but if he s vexed and won t get his own way why ten men wouldn t stand him take care that he shall never be admitted hero gain said his master i really am quite disturbed d nervous by his conduct and language which arc perfectly indeed i am absolutely well the shock was awful and to occur on such a too i fear my appetite will bo very much effected by it a circumstance which would be dis m beyond belief stop perhaps it is too late ask francis is the an not desire him not to dress it to day i am oi appetite say john went and in a couple of minutes francis says it s down sir for some time re the man and that it must be dressed to day o wise it will be spoiled and this is owing to you you scoundrel his master in a rage owing to your neglect carelessness but there is no placing depend upon one of you see you rascal the which i am here is a of for dinner and now i am so much agitated of order that my appetite will be quite gone ai will be eaten by others before my face while i ca touch it for a very trifle i would this discharge you from my service and without a too i am very sorry sir but the truth you scoundrel and leave the room i shall use the horse whip to you john disappeared and this great and zealous of walked to and fro his study al his teeth from the apprehension of having an appetite for the of chapter xiii a c discussion together with the it s brief retirement life readers may recollect that in his plea nt dialogue with father m alluded to a man ed bob as a person afflicted with ft was then reported that the priest had him of that complaint but whether he had or not one thing at least was certain that he a roman catholic and went regularly to he had been in fact exceedingly notorious for his violence as an and was what the people then termed a blood hound and the son of a who had earned an reputation as a hunter which means a person who devoted e whole energies of his life and brought all the ur of religious hatred to the task of pursuing d such unfortunate as came m within of the laws like all the moment ho embraced the catholic creed became a most outrageous opponent to the principles of every and must be damned and it stood to reason they should for didn t they oppose the pope bob then was an especial of father m s who on his part had very to complain of his convert unless it might be the difficulty of a habit of strong	50
swearing which had brought itself so closely into his conversation that he must either remain altogether silent or let fly the oaths another slight weakness was rather to the priest too consisted in a bob had when any way affected with liquor of drinking in the very of his new bom zeal that celebrated old toast to hell with the pope t these however were but mere and bo removed in time by better habits it so happened that on the day in question bob was his way to father m s to communicate some matter connected with his religious feelings and to ask his advice and opinion how blind the world is bob not to sec that he never called it any else is the true faith curse me but the irish agent priest m is a famous fellow what an he would make he s just the cut for it m it s a thousand he s not one hut what the hell am i they say he s cross and ill tempered but i deny it isn t he patient except in a passion and never in a passion unless hen he s provoked what the d more would they i know i let fly an oath myself of an odd ine every third word good reader but then sure ik faith is never injured by the vessel that contains t but i m sorry for my father though as there s no salvation out o the devil rf it i that he s lost beyond purchase in such eccentric speculations did bob amuse until in consequence of the rapid pace at hich ho went he overtook a fellow traveller who ed out to be no other than our friend o drive there was in fact considering the peculiar character of these two something comic in this encounter bob knew little w nothing of the roman catholic creed and as for we need not say that he was thoroughly of yet nothing could be we certain if one could judge by the fierce al cock of bob s hat and the expression of s face that a hard battle m touching the safest way of salvation was be fought between them bob indeed had of late been anxious to i in order as he said to make him show foot the rascal but s ire against priest was now up and besides he reflected th display of some kind would recommend him to especially he hoped to mr li who he was resolved should hear it the looked at each other with no aspect was about to speak but bob thought there was not a moment to be lost j him a before he had time to i a word how many articles in your church how many articles in my church there s bad one in your church more than ought to be i since they got but can you tell me how n sins cry to heaven for on you you lost don t me you had but an my question you i oh thin is it from a like you that we hear called tc faith it s come to a time o day us you re a blessed not to know the f nine articles of your fat establishment thb irish and ru a that you don t know this minute how many in your t oh what a you are you poor i believe you found some in the purse of the bible do you smell that v you have a full purse they say but by the time father m takes the price of your out of it as he won t fail to do take my word for it it ll be as as a without a leg do you smell that bob was your church before the where was your face before it was washed do you know the four pillar that your church j upon because if you don t i ll tell you it wag harry the martin the law and put that in your pipe and smoke it ah what a boy you are and what a ace you re got so the priest s you he s the very man pluck a goose bob don t talk of you have taken e feathers out o the bible blades by all how do you expect to be saved by joining an oi en vol lu vl m you that ban taken to l father m made an ass of you by that every one knows but i tell you to you brazen face that you ll bo worse yet than ever yo were you disgraced your family by and we know what for little solomon the rogue gave you the only grace you g or ever will get why you poor isn t the whole at you and none more your own friend the great and blood turned i oh are we alive tliat i the and turned to get a cut from the bible oh have you your about you if you hav ru you to give us a touch of your orange bob at his h ha you know much about bu me but it s a sin to see such a it it s a greater sin you orange to i the likes o you the an the religion you an you you were no disgrace then to the one you the irish agent but are a scandal to the one you joined and they ought to kick you out of it in both in the bitterness of their were be to forget the new characters they had to support and to back unconsciously w we should rather say by the force of conscience to their original if father m was wise he d	50
us have nothing to say to her or mr it ll all come out time enough and more than time enough our help so as i said a hard cheek about it indeed it s the safest way to do so for the same m is a dangerous nd to make or go off now in the name of goodness and say to nobody indeed to some one that won t carry it farther whilst this dialogue which did not occupy more a couple of minutes was proceeding a scene of a different character took place in m s parlour upon a topic which at that period was a very plausible pretext for much brutal outrage and violence on the part of the orange we mean the possession or the possession of m fire arms indeed the state of society in a great of ireland shortly after the rebellion of ninety was then such as a modern would for an who may have entertain a against a roman or tain an injury from one had nothing more tc than send abroad or get some one to send for him a report that he had fire arms in his no sooner had this rumour spread ih party of these assembled in their i and with loaded fire arms proceeded g rally in the middle of the night or about day br to the residence of the suspected person the if not immediately opened was broken house the men frequently be severely and the ears of females insulted by and most language these see which in nineteen cases out of twenty the men got up to gratify private hatred and were very frequent and may show us the any government power in what shape or arms and to hands or one party to the fierce and impulses of another the noise of their horses feet as they m s house in a gallop alarmed that the irish agent ho knew at once that it was a visit from i s cavalry the window said m himself aad ask them what they want or stay open the door he added at the same time to another and do not let us give them an excuse for breaking it in it blood hounds sure enough observed he aad here they are in a moment they were dismounted and having found the hall door open the parlour was crowded armed men who manifested all the insolence and wanton insult of those who know that can do so with come m said now their leader you rascal produce your for we ve been informed that you have arms the house pray who informed you mr that s not your business my man replied out with them before we search i ll tell you what replied m m whoever informed you that we have arms is a w we have no arms and right well they know that said his son rt s not for arms they come but it s a good excuse insult the family m his father who on more closely at the now perceived that they were and some them quite drunk though a man of singular and deemed it the wisest and safe course to speak to them as as possible i didn t think tom said he th either i or any of my family deserved such a n as this from i may say my own door neighbour it s not over civil i think to come in this disturbing a quiet and family what s the rascal v asked drunken fellow who across the floor an would have fallen had he not come in contact a chest of drawers what at s he say but i sa say here s to hell with the po po ah said young m you have il ball at your own foot now but if we were man man with equal weapons there would be none this what s tha that the young says the drunken fellow deliberately covering him wit his cavalry pistol another word and i ll let da through you come said a man named ing up the of the pistol none o this thb irish agent on drunken brute don t be alarmed m shan t be injured go to h george i ll do what i i li uke all these ha hate king william that ba saved us from brass money a and wooden eh stay shoes it is no matter they ought to be i think for it it s ay the it is by hell and an a the fa wear that saved us from brass money an and wooden that s it for if ever the was da enough to wear brass shoes by so boys it s brass ay do they ha hate king william that put us in the the in hell and the devils us with priests boys er arms stand at ha ram down mr m m ay there s respect for a pa an from ia purple man too i you had better be quiet retorted who was a determined and powerful man for god s sake gentlemen said mrs m do not disturb or alarm our family you are at liberty to search the house but as god vol ii l m is above us wc have no arms of any kind and co there can be none in the house don t believe her said she s a he had not time to add the offensive whatever it might have been for who i truth accompanied the party with the sped intention of outrage against the m s whom he very much respected having him by the neck shook the word back again as were into his very throat you ill drunken said	50
he i you don t hold your tongue til you head foremost out of the house we must search mrs m said but it will be done as quietly as possible they then proceeded through all the rooms into which singular as it may appear they scarcely looked until they came into that in which we left mary m and the moment this worthy young gentlemen heard approach h immediately shut the door and with all the seeming and anxiety of a man who feared discovery about and made a show of preparing to resist their entrance on coming to the door therefore they found it shut and every thing apparently silent within the irish agent open the door said we want to search for ah boys said in a whisper through the key hole pass on if you love me i give you my word of honour that there s no arms here but a brace that its worth any money to be locked in we must open mr said you how our by said he in a side voice to the rest the fellow wasn t at all it s true enough i ll he was right and that we ll find her inside with him when i see it i ll believe it said but not till then open sir said he open if all s right oh d n it boys said again this is too honour bright surely you wouldn t expose us the girl at the same time he withdrew ms shoulder from the door which flew open and discovered him striving to soothe and console miss m who not yet recovered her alarm i agitation so as to understand the circumstances hich took place about her in fact she had been that description of excitement which without taking away animation leaves the female for it is peculiar to the sex utterly incapable of taking any more than a vague of that which m occurs before eyes the moment she and f were discovered together not all s could prevent the party from in a shout triumph this startled her and was indeed i means of restoring her to perfect consciousness lu a full perception of her situation what is this she inquired and why is a house is filled with armed men and mr m for what treacherous purpose di you intrude into my private room m himself from a natural dread of between his sons and the and trusting to the friendship and literally stood at the parlour door and prevented them from accompanying the other in the search my darling mary said it s too u now you see to speak in this we re that s all found out and be cursed to these if they had found us any where else but in you bed room i didn t so much care however it can be helped now as he spoke he raised his eye brows from time i time at his companions and winked with an sion of triumph so cowardly and that it i quite beyond our ability to describe it they i the irish agent time winked and nodded in return laughed and one another in the ribs mr i success i more power to you come now boys said let us go mary ny darling i must leave you but we ll meet again where they can t disturb us stand round me boys upon my honour and soul these hot headed of brothers of her s will knock my brains nt if you don t guard me well here put me in the middle of you good by mary never mind this well meet again however anxious m had been to prevent file of angry words or blows between his sons and these men still the extraordinary yell which accompanied the discovery of young m in his daughter s bed room occasioned him to his and rush to the spot after having warned m them to remain where they were not his they followed his and the whole family in fact reached her r as uttered the last words great god i what is this exclaimed her father w came m the s son into daughter s sleeping room how came you y sir he added sternly explain it m not even a of eighteen armed men stand m a circle about him each with a cocked and oa pistol in his hand could prevent the cowardly i soul of him from before the ey her indignant father his face became like a of paper perfectly and his eye sank a it were never again to look from the earth or in direction of the blessed light of heaven ah i he proceeded you are indeed y treacherous cowardly and cruel father s son cannot raise your eye upon me and neither could mary he proceeded addressing his how did this treacherous scoundrel get into y room tell the truth but that i need not add i know you will his daughter had been standing for some time a posture that betrayed neither terror nor raised to her full height she looked u m and his men alternately but upon himself with a smile which in truth was fc ful her eyes brightened into clear and pen fire the of her beautiful arm was tended by the coming forth of its muscles her became firm her cheek heightened in colour and temples were uttle less than scarlet there she a of scorn contempt and hatred i the irish agent most intense pouring upon the villain an unbroken stream of withering fury that was enough to drive back his cowardly soul into the deepest and recesses of its own her father in fact was obliged to address her twice before he could arrest her attention for such was the	50
middle size and there could be little doubt from the outline of her figure that in the of people she had reached the dignity of a matron her companion was dressed in faded from top to too and from the expression m of her thin sallow face and piercing black tl could bo little doubt she had seen a good deal of world as it exists in rustic life the person n overtook these two females carried a t appeared to observe the country and its scenery he went along with marked attention pray ma am said he whose is that fine building to the right which appears to bo ruin it is evidently not inhabited you re a stranger in the place then the female or you surely might know ca house where ould tom use live before the union came he was made a lor for our parliament and now his son present lord is a blessed life abroad for never shows his face here he is an then to be sure he is and so is every man of tl now an odd one the country s desert and although business is up a little u your time we needn t be in a now although as i said business is u little still it s nothing to what it was when the gen lived at home us who is agent to this lord pray a blessed boy by all accounts but that s the irish agent i ll say about him i know him too if ell to make my enemy why is he not popular is he not liked by the oh lord to be sure they upon him and indeed no he s so kind and indulgent to the poor to tell you the he s a great to the country that to be sure is very satisfactory and pray if i may take the liberty who is his law agent or has he one why another blessed hem a very pious man named mr solomon m an attorney but indeed an attorney that almost the bible itself he s so religious isn t he he hath good gifts if he doth not abuse them religion is certainly the best principle in life if sincerely felt and not or made a mask of a mask isn t that su a thing that people put on and off their face according as it may suit them just so madam you have exactly described it oh the devil a mask ever he made of it then or he never lays it all he has kept it on steadily that i ll take my oath if he was to ow it off now he wouldn t know himself in the m looking glass it s so long since he got a his own face lord must be a happy man to two such valuable agents upon his property of lord and his you wish to know all about them here s your over by the cross road here he s m s i suppose and as you appear u goin in the same direction i ll hand you ov him good morrow good morrow kindly and eh this you ve got you he continued ey a stranger to me any how well and how are you there s no use in and how is yourself i ve a lump in my stomach i fear will settle me yet if i don t get it rein somehow but sure the i forgive the in the mean he rubbed his nose winked eyes as he looked towards much as to say i know all however declined to notice the but renewed the discourse f why how did the lump come into stomach faith in these hard times there s m the irish agent a poor devil would be glad to have such a complaint eh and is it possible you didn t hear it he asked with surprise you shall i was carrying a from mr m that good pious another shrewd look at mr m to mr m another good too and who should attack me on the way but that bob a whole of at his heels they first abused me because i left them in their darkness and then went to search me for that they d make me every writ i happened to have about me now i didn t like to let mr m s fall into their hands and accordingly i tore it up and swallowed it in to disappoint the i m for it but know it s our duty i don t mane s for you re a and still but it s my duty to suffer for the any how s laughter was loud and vehement on hearing these sentiments from a man she knew so well but to tell the truth who felt that of his last interview with he was in for it to the resolution of doing it heavy as they say h ia other words of going the whole m this appears to be a strange country the traveller wait said till you come to know it you ll say that no but wait till the comes and then you may say it what do you mean by the spread asked stranger why the spread o the gospel of be sure replied and in this he added a glorious spread it is the lore praised are you far in this sir i am going as far as the of a mr to whom i have a letter of in do you know him he was agent on this property replied but mr m came him and ind the tenants is mighty well satisfied the sir was next to a made no di in life between an	50
to the office f magistrate or indeed to any office under as the circumstance of being a strong anti in writing to you my ar you may rest assured that i will ve expression to nothing but truths which arc too m well known to be contradicted the subject of property in ireland is one which in aa much as it surrounded with great difficulties is also entitled to great consideration if there be any one in the character of an irish peasant stronger or more dangerous than another and he has many they say that are both strong and dangerous it is that which relates to property and the possession of it is indeed so conscious of its own strength and in thk opinion with so deep a of its justice that in ordinary circumstances it the aid of all and subordinate principles and aside as an unnecessary ally injustice therefore or oppression or partiality in the administration of property the greatest crime known to the law and is consequently resisted by the most mi the peasant who or himself to be treated with injustice or cruelty never pauses to reflect upon the on of the man whom he looks upon as his he will shoot a landlord or agent from behind a hedge with as much good will as he would a indeed in general he will prefer a landlord to those of his own creed the irish agent well as he does that the latter where they are possessed of property constitute the very worst class of in the kingdom as religion therefore is not at all necessarily mixed up with the s prejudices on this subject it is consequently both dangerous and wicked to force it to an with so dreadful a principle as that which to noon day or midnight murder this is what such fellows as this m do they find the irish peasant with but one formidable prejudice in relation to property and by a course of neglect oppression and joined to all the malignant of religious and party feeling they leave him by a hundred i believe in my soul that there are many fire like m in this country who create the crime in order to have the gratification of it and of a legal vengeance upon the being who has been guilty of it in order that they may recommend themselves as loyal men to the government of the day if this be so how can the country be if it be p such men can have no opportunity of their loyalty and if they do not test their loyalty they can have no claim upon the government and having no upon the government they will get m nothing from it the day will come i hope when the very existence of men like these and of the system which encouraged them will be looked upon with disgust and wonder when the government d our country will make no distinctions of creed or party and will not base the administration of its principles upon the encouragement of hatred between man and man the former agent was the first to whom i presented lord s letter he is a gentleman by birth education and property man of a large and liberal mind well stored with information and has the character of being highly if not honourable his age is about but owing to his regular and temperate habits of life and in this country is a virtue indeed he scarcely looks beyond forty indeed i may observe by the way that in this blessed year of the after dinner of the irish who are the only class that remain in the country resemble the drunken of and his more than any thing else to which i can compare them the conversation is in general and the drinking and i don t know after all but the irish are greater by their example than they would be by their absence the irish agent on making inquiries into the state and of this property i found fine spirit of gentlemanly delicacy which ery one rich and poor attribute to him m having succeeded him he very politely to enter into the subject at any length but id me that i could be at no loss in receiving information on a subject so much and so painfully i find it is a custom in this country for to lend money to their especially ben they happen to be in a state of considerable by which means the unfortunate is seldom able to discharge or change his ent should he himself and is with a probably for life or there is any blood to be got out of him who has other makes it a point of never to lend money to a landlord by means he those which are frequently and justly brought against those who upon the of their order to get them into their power may there are two newspapers in the vn of castle conducted upon opposite one of them is called the castle lie blue and is the organ of the orange tory m party and the high church portion of the the other the cause of and gives an lift to the there is also a small pa here which however is gaining ground every c called the an epithet adopted for purpose of them from the n worldly and political high who with all the loyalty and wealth have all the indifference to religion and most of the sec and that have disgraced church and left it little better than a large in the hands of the english minister in a state of things you may judge how that i grace piety is rewarded there is besides such thing to be found in this country as an i bishop nor is a bishop ever appointed for learning or his piety on the	50
blood on the brain au of which frequently attack persons of the habits others might have said it was or and might his character have been injured but when tis to stand was placed upon its proper footing the matter was made perfectly clear and there was consequently no doubt about it so y is it to a circumstance that is harmless and indifferent in itself into a fault especially where there is not charity to throw a cloak over it such is a specimen of two one from paper and considering that the subject was a one and the character of a we think it was as delicately handled on both as possible i am told it is to be to to morrow in the congregation of which the m subject of it a mr solomon m an attorney is an elder a circumstance which plainly account for the heading of the paragraph in the blue there were however about a week or ten day ago a couple of in the true which by the way is mr m s paper of a very painful description there is highly respectable man here named m and you will please to observe my dear herd that this m is respected and spoken of by every class and party remember that i say this man is a partner with a young fellow named who is also very popular vith all parties it seems was present at some scene up in the mountains where m s as they are called from their ferocity when on duty had gone to take a man suspected of murder at all events one of the blood hounds in the struggle for they were all armed ad they usually are lost his life by the discharge said to be accidental but sworn to be otherwise before mr magistrate m of a loaded he was to have been tried at the which have just terminated but his trial has been postponed until the next it is said for want of sufficient the irish agent evidence be this as it may it seems that m s daughter was soon to have been married to her father s young partner now in prison the unfortunate girl however manifested the of her sex for while her former lover was led to suppose that he possessed all the fulness of her affection she was literally carrying on a private and guilty with one of the worst looking that ever disgraced humanity i mean as he is called only son to m who by the way goes among the people under the of the i need not say what the effects of this young woman s have produced upon her family young m was seen by several to go into her own apartment and waa actually found striving to conceal himself there by his father s blood hounds who had received that m had fire arms in his house the consequence is that the girl s reputation is gone for ever tis true the verdict against her is not unanimous there is a woman named mentioned who bears a most enmity against m and his family for having transported one of her sons she is said to have been the go between on this occasion and that the whole thing is a cowardly and plot m between this whom the girl it seems refused to marry before and herself i don t know how this may be but the fact of this ugly scoundrel having been seen to go into her room with her own consent and being found there attempting to conceal himself by his father s cavalry over in my opinion any thing that can be said in her favour as it is the family are to be pitied and she herself it seems is confined to her bed with either nervous or brain fever i don t know which but the disclosure of the has had such an effect upon her mind that it is scarcely thought she will recover it every one who knew her is astonished at it and what adds to the distress of her and her family is that whose was an eye witness to the fact of her receiving into her chamber has written both to her and them stating that he is aware of her and that henceforth he her for ever there have also been strong touching the of the firm of m and arid it is to be feared that this exposure will injure them even in a point of view in the true blue are two of the following stamp that certainly to get the ears of those who either wrote or published them off ve the irish agent feat of gallantry and courage public rumour already us from be delicacy which would otherwise have restrained or pen from alluding to a feat of gallantry and performed by a young gentleman who does t five a hundred miles from constitution cottage i seems that a once between him id a young lady of great personal attractions and that time supposed to be entitled to considering that the fair creature at the office and in the of her usual devotion some soft blows upon her r but not insensible bosom our readers will us the young gentleman in question however that the lady had been recently to a of her father s prompted by that spirit of mischief or dare for which he is so did under very dangerous circumstances renew his intimacy and had several stolen i consequently sweet meetings with the this however reached his father s who on proper information despatched a p of his own cavalry to bring the young gen home and so accurate was the intelligence that on reaching her father s house they it directly to the young lady s chamber from	50
m which they led out the object of their search after several vain but resolute attempts to them from his bower of love this unfortunate has occasioned a great deal of embarrassment in the family and broken up the lady s intended marriage with her father s partner but what strikes us is tho daring courage of the hero who thus gallantly risked life and limb rather than that the lady of his lore should pine in vain except s of old know of no such feat of love and gallantry in these days this other is equally malignant and messrs md we shall be very happy indeed exceedingly so to contradict an rumour affecting to of our respected fellow messrs and m we do not ourselves any credit to such but how strange by to way that such an expression should drop from on such a subject no we believe them to be pe or if we in supposing so we certainly in the company of those on whose opinions we in general are disposed to rely we are inclined to and we think that for the credit of so respectable a firm it is our duty to state it that the rumour affecting their has been i the irish agent mistaken for another of an almost equally painful character connected with domestic life which by the unhappy attachment of to a young gentleman of a different creed and loyal principles has thrown the whole family into confusion and distress these my dear are the two literally from the true blue and i do not think it necessary to add any comment to them on to morrow i have resolved to attend the chapel a place of worship where i haye never yet been and i am anxious at all events to see what the distinctions are between their mode of worship and that of church of besides to admit the truth i am also anxious to see how this solomon this religious attorney whose person i weu know will himself under circumstances which assuredly would test the firmness of most men unless strongly and graciously sustained a they say themselves chapter xvi solomon in trouble is publicly prayed his gracious and triumph an ban e man s view of and op s discretion and monday half past eleven o clock my dear in of my intention i attended the castle meeting house yesterday and must confess that i very much admire the earnest and simplicity of the they have neither the nor impulses of the nor the drowsy from which not all the solemn beauty of the service can redeem the of the church of england in singing the whole congregation generally take a i part a circumstance which however it may press their worship with a proof of sincerity certainly adds nothing to its melody the irish agent the paragraph of and the elder taken wind little solomon as they call him tended his usual seat with a most unusual of grace and beaming from his he was there early and before the commenced he sat with his hands locked in other their palms up as was natural but his yes cast down in peaceful self communion as was from the divine and smile with which to time he cast up his eyes to and sighed sighed with an excess of which was vouchsafed to but few or perhaps r those and who had nt abroad such scandal against a champion the faith at all events at the commencement the service the minister a rather jolly looking an with a good round belly apparently well read out of a written paper the following short to those present the prayers of this congregation arc requested r one of its most active and useful members who an elder thereof they are requested to enable m to fight the good fight under the sore trials of a world which have come upon him in the shape scandal but in as much as these e dealt out to us often for our soul s good and m ultimate comfort the in question doth not wish you to pray for a of this he punishment he receives it as a that out of the great congregation of the faithful that inherit the church he an individual a frail is not neglected nor ik spiritual concerns overlooked he therefore doth not wish you to say cease lord this evil unto man but yea rather to that if it be for his good it may be multiplied unto him and that he may feel it is good for him to be therefore that he may be by this and that like those who were placed in the furnace nine times heated he may come out without a of his head and rejoicing ready again to fight the good fight with much shouting the rattling of and the noise of triumph and victory during the perusal of this all eyes were turned upon solomon whose face was now perfectly and his soul wrapped up into the ninth heaven of those around him it was quite clear that he was altogether his eyelids were down tf before but the smile on his face now was a perfect glory it was unbroken and the of the eyes proceeded from and could be nothing less than a the irish agent of that happiness which no other eye ever had it that of solomon s at that moment and which certain no heart bnt his could conceive it was concluded the commenced and e had been any doubt before there could be w that his triumph was great and the victory le world and his enemies obtained whilst a of grace was added to that which had him before he led the now of spirit and a fulness of which ver been heard in	50
the chapel before nay he both head and foot to the time as if he had wish it and he could ascend at once to heaven was a victory this was a moment of ig hero was the christian soldier rattling n his chariot to the sound of the t and hen the service was over he shook hands with y of his friends as ho could exclaiming oh blessed day has this been to me i what a time indeed it is good to be tried truly of comfort were opened to my soul on y more abundantly than i dared to hope for el my privileges more strongly and more of w man within me i am sustained and com and feel that it was good for me to be here m this day i did not hope for this but it w graciously granted to me notwithstanding h good how heavenly a thing it is to be called up to suffer especially when we are able to do so in i and obedience may he be praised for all amen v now my dear friend who will say after all tl that the stage is the great school for actors who e saw on the boards of a theatre a more finished p than that of solomon m it so ha pens that i am acquainted with the whole and consequently can fully appreciate talents in the mean time i am paying a business to m to morrow that i may h an opportunity of a nearer inspection into his cl he is said to be an able deep and man cowardly but tr but plausible and without the slight remorse of conscience to restrain him from accomplishment of any purpose no matter and yet the cure for all this in eyes of his own party is his boundless loyalty his thorough no wonder the should be no longer useful or respected when si supported only by such as m and his class the irish agent at a little after ten i waited upon this agent to the castle property and found him in his office looking over an account ok with his son he has a bad face black heavy oyer hanging eye brows and an upper lip that and gets pale when engaged even in earnest his forehead is low but broad and indicating the minor of intellect together with great and cunning altogether he has the head and face of a for purposes which you shall know hereafter i declined presenting lord s letter of introduction which i calculated would put the fellow on his guard it more prudent to introduce myself as a anxious if i could do so conveniently to settle somewhere in the neighbourhood the son s was towards me when i entered and until he had finished the account at which he had been engaged which he did by a good deal of and he did not deem it worth while to look about him even at the entrance of a stranger having heard me express my intention of looking for a residence in the vicinity he did me the honour f one of the most i ever saw he is tall fellow above six feet his shoulders are narrow ut round as the curve of a pot his neck is at least vol ii o m eighteen inches in length on the top of which i a head somewhat of a three shape country s wig block only not so looking his nose is short and turned up a li the top his is awful but then it is himself for his eyes instead of looking around as such eyes do appear to keep a jealous and vi watch on each other across his nose his chin is and retreating and from his wide mouth buck teeth that lie together pair of upon a dog heavens t beautiful girl as it is said every where is and until now correct conduct and should admit such i as this into her apartment i night too i after having stared at me for with a great deal of cunning and a great deal oi in his countenance he again began to pore blank pages of his book as if he had been wo out some difficult calculation and said the father after we had been ch for some time have you seen anything in the i that you think would suit you i am too much of a stranger sir i re to be able to answer in the affirmative but i a the country and the scenery both of which i the irish agent immediate neighbourhood axe extremely beautiful and they are so he and the country is a fine one certainly ay said only for these cursed as he spoke he looked at me very significantly and drew three of his yellow fingers across his chin but added nothing more this by the way he did half a dozen times and on mentioning the circumstance it has been suggested to me that it must have been the sign by which one makes himself known to another the i replied do not enter into any objection of mine against a residence in the neighbourhood but as you mr m as agent of fine property must be well acquainted with the state and circumstances of the country you would confer a favour by me as a stranger to form correct impressions of the place and people then said he m the first place allow me to ask what are your politics as an englishman which i perceive you are by your accent i take it for panted that you are a i am a certainly i replied and a of england one m ay but that s not enough said that won t do my good sir	50
d n my honour if it would be worth a fig in this country i am very ignorant of irish politics i admit said i but i trust i am in good hands for ihe receipt of sound information on the subject no no continued that s to be a mere church of england man or a church of ireland man either would never do here i tell you upon my honour but that s doctrine well but what would do i inquired for i certainly felt a good deal of curiosity to know what he was coming to the great principle here said the son is to hate and keep down the and you can t do that properly unless you re an hate and keep down the that s the true i pledge you my honour and reputation it is you put the principle too strong and rather naked observed the father but the truth is sir he added turning to me that you may perceive that fine spirit of enthusiasm in the young man which is just now so much wanted and so to the country and the government we must sir make allowance for this in the and young and ardent but still after the irish agent a little for zeal and enthusiasm he has nothing but truth with the exception indeed that we are not bound to hate them the contrary we are bound to love our enemies begging your pardon father i say we are bound to hate them why so sir may i ask said i why so why because because they as aren t they and is not that and again here s another reason still stronger t we now sir did you or any me ever hear of such a thing as a good sound loving a a bloody my and honour but that s good i the truth is said the father that the of their principles has the country almost for i have myself received above a dozen notices and my son there as many ome threatening life others property and i sup k se the result will be that i must reside for safety tt the metropolis my house is this moment in a of look at my windows literally with bars and as for arms et me we have six eight cases pistols four two with a variety rf side arms to a couple of dozen such m sir is the state of the country owing certainly as my son says to the spirit of and to the fact of my my duty towards lord with fidelity and firmness in that case i there is little to induce any man possessing some property to reside here certainly nothing he replied but a great many to get out of it does lord ever visit his property here i asked he has too much sense returned the agent but now that parliament is dissolved he will over to the election we must return either wi or his brother the hon dick who i understand has no fixed principles whatsoever but why return such a man why not up and support one of your own way of thinking why because in the first place we must keep out who is a liberal and also an advocate for and in the second if i be bad to have no principles like it worse to have bad ones like he ll do to stop a gap until we get better and then bo comes round we ll send him adrift is he in ireland i mean does he m tho country the irish agent not he sir it seems he s a devil y different from the rest of the family and with le of the dash and spirit of the blood in i in that case he will be no great loss but mr notwithstanding all you have said i am much charmed with the beauty of the country would gladly settle in the neighbourhood if i id procure a suitable residence together with a d large farm which i would rent is there any ig in that way vacant on the estate at present sir nothing but it is possible there f be and if you should remain in the country i feel great pleasure in you because i was told i that there two large farms either of which would suit me but i dare say i have been to mr m s and s holds which i understand are out of lease yes said he sighing i am sorry for those i but the truth is my good sir that in this ir i am not a free agent lord in of some very accurate information that him has determined to put them out of ir now that their have expired i m am you know but his agent and cannot set up mj will against his but could you not take their part could you not with him and set him right rather than see injustice done to innocent men you surely cannot imagine sir that i have not done so earnestly indeed have i begged of him to re consider his orders and to withdraw them but like all the he is as obstinate as a mule the consequence is however that whilst the whole blame of the transaction is really his the will fall upon me as it always does here the son who had been for the last few minutes away the pen with his knife gave a sudden not unlike what a hound will utter when he gets an unexpected cut of the whip it was certainly meant for a laugh as i could perceive by the frightful grin which drew back his lips from his yellow projecting as his face appeared to me in the looking glass a fact	50
which he seemed to forget then mr the farms of these men are they disposed of they are disposed of and indeed in any event i could not in justice to the landlord s ii the irish agent receive the offers which m and made me my son here who as under ent feels it necessary to reside on the property d who is about to take unto himself a wife besides s made me a very liberal offer for m s one indeed which i did not feel myself at to refuse mr m our respected law bnt i considered a very proper tenant for s and that matter is also closed by which i secured two respectable safe and tenants on whose at all events we reckon which was more than we could do with other two both of whom had expressed their to vote in favour of what are the opinions of those men m m is a but is worse interrupted for a and no i thought i replied that nothing could be bad as a much less worse oh yes said that s worse because one knows that a s a but when i find a who is not an my sacred honour you don t know what to make the are all too m then said i you have the less difficulty in keeping them down upon my soul and honour sir you don t know how a naked will run from a gun and i have often seen iv at this moment a tap came to the door and a servant man in orange livery announced a gentleman to see mr philip m i rose to take my departure but insisted i should stop don t go sir said he i have something to propose to you by and by i accordingly took my seat when the gentleman entered he looked about and selecting bowed to him and then to us ah mr how do you do said shaking hands with him and how is your cousin whom we hope to have the pleasure of beating soon ha ha ha take a seat thank you said the other but the fact is that time s just now precious and i wish to have a few words with mr philip here what is it how are you i m glad to see you quite well but if you have no objection i would rather speak to you in another room it s a matter of some importance and of some delicacy too the irish agent oh curse the delicacy man out with it i really cannot unless by ourselves they both then withdrew to the back parlour ere after a period of about ten minutes ae rushing in with a face on him and in a state of utterly indescribable on the er hand cool and serious following him said he think of what you are about to don t yourself hereafter from the rank i privileges of a gentleman pause if you respect and regard your reputation as a man of rage d d fine talk in you who who s a fire r what do you think father put or rather attempted to put his hand ss his mouth to prevent his cowardly and communication but in vain what do think father he continued but there s that scoundrel young m has sent me isn t the country come to a pretty when a do such a thing why not a said has not flesh and blood and bones like another is a to be insensible to insult is sit down and under disgrace has he no soul to feel the dignity of m just resentment is he not to defend his sister when her character has been and ruined is he to see her stretched on her death bed by your and not to her by heavens if under the circumstances of the pro which you gave him and his whole he would be as mean and cowardly a as i find you to be if he suffered do you call me a said so shivering and pale that his very voice betrayed his i cowardice yes said the other as a as ever i met i tell you you must either fight him or publish a statement of your own disgrace don t think you shall get out of it i tell you sir said that he shall not fight him i would not suffer a son of mine to himself on a level with such a person as young m on a level with him he never will be for no earthly advantage could raise him to it but pray mr m who are you s brow fell and his lip and quivered as the fine young fellow looked him steadily in the face him father said you know he s a fire the irish agent there is no use in of this sort replied calmly as for young m or old m if they think themselves injured ihey have the laws of the land to appeal to for as for us we will fight them with other weapons besides pistols and fire arms d n my honour said if i d stoop to fight any aren t they all and what gentleman would fight a rebel honour exclaimed don t profane that sacred word i can have no more patience with such a hearted rascal who could stoop to such base revenge against the reputation of a virtuous and admirable girl because she your addresses he never paid his addresses to her said never no i didn t said at any rate i never had any notion of marrying her you are a liar sir responded you know you had how can your father and you look each other in the face when you say so go on	50
said you re a fire so you may say what you like did nt your father in your name propose for m her upon some former occasion in the fair of castle and he remembers the answer he got go on said you re a fire that s all i have to say to you and now having ruined her reputation by a base and cowardly plot with a wicked old woman who would blast the whole family if she could because m transported her son you now like a paltry as you are out of the consequences of your treachery and refuse to give satisfaction for the injury you have inflicted on the whole family go on said you re a fire you forget said that i am a magistrate and what the consequences may be to yourself for carrying a hostile message ah said you are a magistrate and shame on the government that can stoop to the degradation of raising such as you are to become of justice it is you and the like of you that are a curse to the as for you m i now know and always the stuff you are made of you are a disgrace to the very you associate with for they are in general brave fellows although too the irish agent often cruel and oppressive when hunted on and stimulated by such as you and your of a father go on said you are a fire i now leave you both continued the young with a blazing eye and flushed cheek with the greatest portion of scorn and contempt which one man can bestow upon another go off said you are a fire said the father send for m and let him get the from m we shall not at all events be insulted and bearded by or their so long as i can clear one of them off the estate but good god mr m surely these other you speak of have not in the if such they are of m and ay but they re all of the same said they hate us because we keep them down and what can be more natural than that i observed just reverse the matter suppose they ere in your place and kept you down would you love them for it why what of talk is that said hey keep us down are they not m you i getting of this and that you wished to make a proposal of some kind to me before i went yes he replied i wished if it be a thing that you remain in the neighbourhood to that you should become an and join my father s lodge you say you want a farm on the estate now if you do take my advice and become an you will then have a stronger claim for my father always gives them the preference by lord s desire but i shall be very happy indeed sir proceeded that is provided you get an introduction for you will pardon me for saying we are strangers i should first wish to witness the of an orange lodge i said but i suppose of course is impossible unless to the certainly of course said m father said couldn t we admit him after the business of the lodge is concluded it is not often done replied the father w it sometimes is however we shall have the mr i forgot to say that i had sent in mj card so that he knew my name shall pleasure of a better acquaintance i trust i tell you wliat said leaping off his chair the irish agent d n my honour but i was wrong to let young go without a the cowardly scoundrel was exceedingly insolent no no said the father you acted with admirable coolness and prudence i tell you i ought to have kicked the rascal out said getting into a passion i ll follow bim and teach the impudent vagabond a lesson ho wants he seized his hat and up his coat as if for combat whilst he spoke be quiet said his father rising up and putting his arms about him be quiet now there will be no him down if his spirit gets op said addressing mo for all our keep quiet and sit down good heaven the strength of him keep quiet i say you shan t go after him let me go shouted the other let me go i bay i will him to upon my honour reputation he shall not escape me this way send him home a a a beat him into the cowardly scoundrel and only you were a magistrate father i would have done it before you let me go i say the if blood is up in me father you re a vol ii y scoundrel if you hold me i you know what am what a raging lion when roused off m i say when you know i m i the and pulling that took between the father and son were i could not in common decency decline latter to hold him in i consequently lent him seriously but this only made things worse more he was held the more violent and he became he at the mouth swore and tore about with such vehemence i really began to think the fellow was a which produced fire slowly but that then fire in him the struggle still we pulled and dragged each other through part of the house chairs and tables and were all and s cry w for war it s all to no purpose he shouted i ll an bone in that scoundrel s i know you wouldn t if you got at him he would certainly be the death of hi added aside to me	50
he would give him blow and that s what i m afraid of was now perfectly furious in fact i the irish agent a drunken man and might have passed for such you scoundrel where are you till i make of you he shouted here i am replied entering the room walking up to him and looking him sternly in the face here i am what s your will with me so comic a was perhaps never witnessed stood motionless helpless speechless the white cowardly rose to his lips his colour became his jaw fell he shook shrunk into himself and gasped for breath his eyes became hollow his deepened and such was his utter of strength that his very tongue out with weakness like that of a newly dropped calf when attempting to stand for the first time at length he got out hold i believe i ll restrain myself but only my father s a magistrate your father s a scoundrel and you are another said and here s my respect for you whilst speaking he caught by the nose th one hand and also by the collar of his coat with the other and in this position led him in a most way round the room after which he turned m him about and inflicted a few vigorous upon a part of him which must be nameless i am not sorry said he that i forgot my note case in the other room as it has given me an opportunity of a raging lion so easily go on said whose language as well as was fairly exhausted it s well you re and my father a magistrate or by my honour i d know how to deal with you such my dear is a domestic sketch of the agent and under agent of that exceedingly nobleman lord and if ever excellent landlord that he is he should by any possible chance come to see these lines perhaps he might be disposed to think that an occasional peep at his own property and an examination into the principles upon which it is managed might open to him a new field of action worth even as an experiment not likely to end in any injurious result to either him or it in a day or two i shall call upon mr solomon m with whom i am anxious to have a con as indeed i am with the leading characters on the property you may accordingly expect an occasional of observations from m made upon the spot and fresh from my with the individuals to whom they relate chapter xvii a moral survey ob a wise man led by a fool of unjust agency a mountain and of a the insane the op family s humanity his from death friday i have amused myself you will see how appropriate the word is by and by since my last communication in going over the whole castle estate and noting down the traces which this and aided by and blood hounds have left behind them when i describe the guide into whose hands i have committed myself i am inclined to think you will not feel much disposed to compliment me on my discretion the guide ing no other than a young fellow named ray na which means they tell me f the hats a very properly bestowed m on him in consequence of a habit he has of always wearing three or four hats at a time one within the other a circumstance which joined to his ordinary natural height and great strength him absolutely a gigantic appearance this is the fool of the parish but in selecting him for my conductor i acted under the advice of those who know him better than i could there is not in fact a field a farm house or a cottage within a of miles which he does not know and where he is not also known he has ever since his childhood evinced a most extraordinary fancy for game an attachment not at all surprising when it is known that not only was his father the most celebrated and of that courageous bird but his mother married women here frequently preserve or are called by their maiden names through life who learned it from her husband was equally famous for this very feminine accomplishment poor notwithstanding his is however exceed shrewd in many things especially where he can make himself understood as he speaks however in sentences in which there is put forth no more than one phase of the subject he to or the idea ho it is thb irish agent not an easy task to understand him without an he is singularly fond of children very benevolent and consequently feels a degree of hatred and horror at any thing in the shape of cruelty or oppression almost beyond in a person deprived of reason this morning he was with me by appointment about half past nine and after getting his breakfast but no matter the he exhibited would have been death to a patient from sheer envy we forth to trace this man m by the awful of ruin and tyranny and persecution for these words convey the principles of what he hath left and is leaving behind him now said i as you know the country well i shall be guided by you i wish to see a place called drum can you conduct me there ay he replied with surprise why sure here s scarcely any body there now when we go on we may look up but we ll see no smoke as used to be twas there young ed on that day an her poor mary but they re gone from her and the eldest is	50
in england america but him the youngest h never and what will the poor mother for his m white head now that she hasn t it to look at no he wouldn t although i brought him the cock of whom are you speaking now ril tell you two things that s the same he replied and i ll tell you the man that has them both let me hear the devil s and god s curse sure they re the same ha ha there now that s one you didn t know that no no you didn t and who is it that has them m the sure twas he did all and is it still poor mary i will never she ll never see his eyes again rate nor his white head oh his white head god ought to kill and i he doesn t my good friend said i if travel at this rate i must give up the journey altogether the fact is that when excited as he was now by the topic in question he gets into what is termed a trot which carries him on at about six mile an hour without ever feeling fatigued he his pace and looked towards mo with a q of having forgotten and act i the irish agent well no said he i won t but sure i hate him hate whom m and that was it for i always do it it i won t for you couldn t keep up me i spoke about him we then turned towards the mountains and as e went along the desolate of the evil agent here and there to become visible on the there were the humble traces of two or three whose little had been extinguished and walls were to the earth the black the the and all those weeds that follow in the train of oppression and were here and as the dreary wind stirred them to motion and its melancholy wail these desolate little i could not help king myself if those who do these things ever that there is a reckoning in after life where and insolence and wealth and and pride and and persecution id revenge and and will be face to face with those humble beings on rights and privileges of simple existence they ve trampled with such a selfish and a host of thoughts and reflections began to upon my mind but the subject was too pain m ful and after avoiding it as well as i could proceeded on our little tour of observation how easy it is for the commonest observer even the striking characters that are impressed oi physical features of an estate which is manage care and kindness where general happiness principles of active industry are diffused people and on the other hand do not all of neglect and present equally obvious of their opera upon properties like this of castle this property it is not every tenant that is all to have an interest in the soil at all since thi of m he has succeeded in ii ing the head landlord to decline any but those who are his who will vote for him or his at an tion or in other words who will enable him t both their privileges and his own to gi his or ambition without a s advantage upon themselves from those there who have too much honesty to their vo his corrupt and selfish with p are withheld in order that they may more becoming and plausible oppression be from the property and the political the irish agent porter brought in in their stead this may be all very good policy but it is certainly bad humanity and worse in fact it is the practice of that cruel which us to sacrifice the of others to our own and to deprive them of privilege which we ourselves claim that of acting according to our conscientious impressions do unto others say mr m and his class as you would not wish that others should do unto you how beautifully here is the practice of the loud and headlong of the church and its political made to with the principles of that neglected thing called gospel in fact as we went along it was easy to mark on the houses and about us the injustice of making this heartless distinction the man who felt himself secure and fixed by a right in the possession of his had heart and motive to work and improve it by the consciousness that his improvements to day might be on by a wicked and unjust agent to morrow he knows that in developing all the advantages and good of the soil he is not only important duty to himself and his landlord but to his children s children after him and the j that the comfort contentment and self m respect wliich ho gains by the consciousness of his security arc evident at a glance upon himself bis house and his holding on the other hand reverse this picture and what is the consequence just what is here visible there is a man who may be sent adrift on the shortest notice unless he is base enough to trade upon his principles and vote against his conscience what interest has ae in the soil or in the prosperity of his landlord make improvements this year he may see the lord derive all the advantages of them the next or what is quite as likely he may know that some m may put them in his own pocket and keep the landlord in the dark regarding the whole transaction what a on and in an agent is this how unjust to the interest of the tenant in the first place in the next to that of the	50
not his tenants at all and never but who in consequence of the vices of have in proportion to the ind of middle men and third men and men and though last not least of the of the landlord himself to serve whose purposes they were laboriously off into tattered of fraud corruption and having therefore either at or encouraged the creation of these creatures upon his property for corrupt purposes is he justified when such a change in the has occurred as renders them of no political importance to him in turning them out of their little without aid provision of some sort and without reflecting l that they are in this the moment of their vol il q m distress nothing than the neglected tools and forgotten victims of his own ambition or can he be surprised after them into the of half a dozen that he finds fellows in their number who would feel no more scruple in putting a bullet into him from behind a hedge than they would into a dog verily my dear the more i look into the political and civil education which the people of ireland have received i am only surprised that property in this country rests upon so firm and secure a basis as i find it does on arriving at drum the spectacle which presented itself to us was marked not merely by the of and bad policy but by the wanton insolence of spirit and bitter party feeling on some of the doors had been written with chalk or clear off to hell or down with t m s cavalry i and for ever in accordance j with these offensive principles most of all the smaller j cottages and had been literally wrecked and left in the violence of this bad although at the present moment they are about to be re erected to bear out the hollow promises that will be necessary for the election the village the irish agent was indeed a miserable and frightful scene there it stood between thirty and forty small and humble which with the exception of about or six all the inmates had been without any consideration for age sex poverty or sickness nay i am assured that a young man was carried out during the agonies of death and expired in the street under the fury of a stormy and day of those who remained four who are and two roman have promised to vote with m who is here the great representative of lord and his property if indeed you were now to look upon these two miserable lines of silent and walls most of them and tumbled into heaps of green ruin that are fast melting out of shape for they were mostly composed of mere you would surely say as the eastern said in the god prosper mr m for so long as lord has him for an agent he will never want plenty of ruined villages i my companion muttered many things to himself but said nothing intelligible until he came to one of the ruins pretty near the centre ay said he here is the place they said he here before the door and in there is where m lie lay during long sickness the wet and the is lying there now many a time i was with him poor i f whom do you speak now i asked come away he said not noticing my question come till i show you the other place that the neighbours built privately when he was dying the father i mean ay and the other the white head him that would nt come i followed him for truth to tell i was sick at heart of all that i had witnessed that morning and now felt anxious if i could to relieve my nation of this melancholy and its causes altogether he went farther up towards the higher mountains in rather a direction but not immediately mu their darkest recesses and after a walk ol about two miles more he stopped at the scattered turf walls of what must once have been a cold damp and most cabin there said he i saw it all twas the blood hounds lie died and her white headed boy died him you know that would nt there i where they both died and see here there was at this moment a most expression of ferocious triumph in liis eye as he spoke see here the blood the irish agent hound dropped for the bullet went through him ha ha that s one the three dead the three dead come now come come he then seemed much changed for he shuddered as he spoke and after a little time much to my astonishment a spirit of tenderness and humanity settled on his face his eyes filled with tears and he exclaimed poor mary i they re all gone and she will never see his white head again and his eyes wont open any more no they re all gone all gone oh come away i had heard as much of this brutal tragedy as made his allusions intelligible but on attempting to gain any further information from him he as he generally did into his usual of manner he now passed down towards the country at a pace which i was once more obliged to request him to moderate well said he if you don t care needn t for we ll have it i know by the of the river and by the look of the mountains there above what shall we have i inquired no said he rather to himself than to me we can cross the stick but i ll show you the place for i was there at the time and his coffin was on top of his father s	50
behind her towards the burying place in their graves i looked at me and smiled as if much pleased with the answer ay said he so it wherever his white head lies is heaven i cannot tell how it happened but i know that i felt every source of tenderness and compassion in my heart moved and opened more by these simple words on both sides than by all that had passed since we met her in a few minutes more wo reached that part of the irish agent the road immediately adjoining m s house and which expanded itself as it reached the river that here became a ford being crossed in ordinary cases by stone steps as is usual in the ca e of such floods which fall as rapidly as they rise we found about a dozen persons of both sexes some sitting others standing but all waiting until the river should so as to be passed with safety the little wooden bridge alluded to having been literally swept away among these was the mother of who however did not appear to take any particular notice of her but kept close by and directed all his attention to unhappy mary o about half an hour had elapsed when casting his eye upon the torrent said it is now low enough come mary i will y you safe over has often crossed it higher ay when it was over the rock there to our right come he lifted her in his arms without another word and with firm and confident steps proceeded to ford the still powerful and angry stream are you mad shouted his mother ten times your strength couldn t stand that flood you or you ll both be lost as sure as you attempt it m her however in did not even look back nor pay the est attention to what she said never mind them said he i know best i often i crossed it on reaching the centre of the stream he appeared to feel as if he had tl strength of either it or himself he stood for moment shaking like a reed in its current the passive still in his arms ui certain whether to advance with her or go experience however had often told him that if tl it were at all practicable the danger to return for by the very act of the position a man must necessarily lose the ness of his opposition to the stream and be borne away without the power of ing it therefore balanced himself steadily as possible and by and making su his footing in the most cautious manner the est possible slip or being at that fatal he with surprising strength and courage b just succeeded in placing her safely on the rock had before alluded to when a stone turned him his footing gave way and the poor whose reason was veiled to almost every impulse i the irish agent that of a wild and touching humanity tumbled down the boiling torrent helpless and as a child and utterly beyond the reach of assistance my own sensations and i really cannot describe because in point of fact such was the tumult the horror of my mind at that moment that i have no distinct recollection of my impressions i think for a short space i must have lost both my sight and hearing for i now distinctly remember to have heard only for the first time the piercing screams of his mother rising above the wild and alarming cries of the others but not until he had gone down the stream and disappeared round a sharp angle or bend which it formed about eight or ten yards below where he there grew a little to the left of the spot where shocking disaster occurred a small of trees so closely together that it was impossible to see through them we all therefore ran round as if by instinct to watch the body of poor when what was onr to see a powerful young man about ht or ten yards below us dashing into the stream where although the current was it was less violent and holding by a strong projecting l of that grew on the bank vol ii m across the flood and as the body of passed him seize it with a vigorous grasp which brought x close to where he stood feeling that both now out of the force of the current he caught it i his arms and ere any of us had either time or pr of mind even to assistance he or rather dragged it out of the water and laid n on the dry bank come said he i am afraid there is little to be lost help me up with him to my father s tl we see what can be done to recover life if life is left the fact is however that was not insensible for as young m same by the way who sent the message to had concluded he opened his eyes breathed an after up some water looked about him ah said he poor mary she s gone to at last but she ll be happier with them take m hand said he to m sure i thought could do it poor mary this instantly directed our attention to the unhappy woman whom we all had overlooked and forgotten for the moment and i need not say that our satisfaction was complete on finding her sitting calmly on the rock where had placed her at tlie risk of his life now seeing that the irish agent r idiot son was safe and feeling that she was for his life to the son of that man on whom le is said by many to have such a fearful through the	50
ruined reputation of his only now approached the young man and ith her features deeply by a sense of her obligation to him she stretched out r hand john m said she from this ty out may god prosper me here and hereafter if m not the friend of you and yours i woman the other whilst he held back the hand she sought accounts are now settled i have saved your n you have murdered my sister if you are of remorse i now leave you to the hell of own conscience which can be but little less in than that of the damned whose attention had been divided them and mary o now said ha ha mother there that s one you ll sleep und now i hope for you didn t lately that uttle g that comes to your bedside at night won t you any more i suppose no no the thing ou say in your sleep that is black in the face has s tongue out and the handkerchief drawn tight m about its neck you d give back the money in your but a penny while til engage turned away but not if one could judge either in resentment or revenge s words she had not heard and of course paid no attention to what he said but the latter now seeing that the river had fallen considerably again dashed into the stream and crossing over lifted the poor insane widow off the rock and setting her down in safety on the other side they both proceeded together the ford sir will not be for at least another hour said young m addressing me but if you will have the kindness to step up to my father s and rest a little after your mountain journey for i think you have been up the hills you will find it at least more comfortable than standing here and less than going round by the bridge which would make it at least five miles added to your journey i thanked him said i felt obliged and would gladly avail myself of his very civil invitation perhaps he added you might wish to sec our and linen if so and that you the irish not it troublesome i will feel great pleasure i showing it to you i expressed my obligations but pleaded fatigue hich indeed i felt and we consequently soon found in his father s parlour where i met a very old gentleman the rev mr the of the parish we must here exercise the privilege which at the of this correspondence we assured or readers we should reserve to our ourselves we to the ability which we possess from nd clearer sources of information to throw into mr s correspondence in their proper place such as he could not have possibly known but f hich let in considerable light upon the progress of narrative chapter xvii cruel consequences of s plot against mary m dreadful determination of brothers an oath of blood father s knowledge of nature interview between and her brothers influence and triumph op domestic affection an execution by s blood hounds the and cowardly plot against mary m s reputation and which the reader knows has been already planned and by and m was as such vile mostly are generally successful with the public on her own immediate relations and family who knew her firmness purity of heart and self respect the foul had no whatsoever at least in shaking their confidence in her sense of honour and discretion with the greedy and brutal public however it was otherwise and the discovery of this fact which reached them in thousand ways it was that filled their hearts with such distress terrible agony and that spirit of revenge which is never the irish agent tu it on him whose crime has given it birth truth and it is not to be wondered at as how could it be otherwise the and crime of m towards their and sister had changed her three from men into so many savage and resolved never to cease guilty steps until their vengeance had its thirst in his blood immediately after the night of its occurrence a began to take place in the conduct and of their general acquaintances visitors off some from actual and an affected compassion and others from that fear of moral which is always most idly and severely expressed by the private sinner d their sister s conduct was in ct the topic of general discussion throughout e parish and we need not say that such usually were terminated first in great for the poor girl and then as their warmed in as earnest of her to an indifferent person however without y prejudice either for or against her it was really possible considering the success with the plot was managed and the number of m witnesses actually present at its accomplishment tc consider miss m as free at least from z ss and levity and a most of female prudence at a period it was known she was actually engaged to er this certainly looked very suspicious and we need scarcely say that a of all visits intimacy and correspondence immediately took place on the part of her female friends and acquaintances in fact the innocent victim of this plot was completely deserted and the little party of her friends was by no means a match for the large and hosts who combined to her guilt her father with his of character and sterling integrity was not distressed on his daughter s account only there was another cause of anxiety to him equally deep we mean the mysterious change that had come over his sons in consequence of this most calamity he saw clearly that they had come to the dark and stern determination of their	50
sister s disgrace upon its author and that at whatever risk this in truth to him was the greater of the two and he accordingly addressed himself with all his authority and influence over them to the difficult task of this frightful resolution out of their the irish agent arts in his attempt to execute this task he ind himself baffled and by other of a very nature first ere were the alluding to his on the one hand and those which pretending to him and his partner m any risk of the s w at the reputation of his poor daughter on the ber both told but the first with an which mere moral courage or consciousness of integrity high could enable him to meet me in alarmed very naturally at the reports against and demanded the settlement of their counts from the firm these in the first instances re immediately made out and paid but this would t do other came equally pressing e after another and each so anxious in the early to secure himself that ere long the in the beginning had no existence was felt and the firm of and m t themselves on the eve of actual these matters all pressed heavily and bitterly on h father and sons but we have yet omitted to that which amidst all the lights in which daughter contemplated the ruin of her fair fame with most consequences upon her m heart we mean her by and the deliberate expression of his belief in her guilt and indeed when our readers remember how the web of was di around her and the circumstances of mystery in which himself had witnessed her with whose character for conducting he knew too well they need not be surprised that he threw her off as a and treacherous wanton in whom no man of a generous or honourable nature could or ought to place confidence and who was unworthy even of an explanation mary m could have borne every thing but this yes the of friends of acquaintances of a world itself but here was where her moral courage failed her the very hope to which her heart had clung from its first early and innocent impulses the man to whom she looked up as the future guide friend and partner of her life and for whose sake and safety she had suffered herself to be brought within the of her enemies and his this man her husband had openly expressed his conviction of her being unfit to become his wife upon hearing from his cousin and an account of what that young man had witnessed something between a nervous and brain fever had seized her the irish agent i the very night of this but om that she was gradually recovering when at she heard by accident of s having and finally withdrawn from the en under this she sank it was now in m to attempt giving her support or cheering her depression restlessness nd all the symptoms of a breaking constitution and broken heart soon began to set in and mark her or an early and what was worse an it was then that her brothers deemed t full time to act their father on the night before be day on which poor was rescued from observing them secretly preparing fire arms for they had already as the reader knows themselves that m junior would not took an opportunity of securing their weapons i a place where he knew they could not be found his however was of little avail they told him it and should be done and that neither he nor ly other individual in existence should them om the execution of their just calm and reason le vengeance for such were their very words i this situation matters were when about eleven clock the next morning father who from le beginning had been there to aid and console as m was his wont whenever calamity or sorrow called upon him made his appearance in the family to the relief of m s mind who dreaded the gloomy deed which his sons had proposed to themselves to execute and who knew besides that in this good and pious priest he had a powerful and eloquent ally after the first had passed m asked for a private interview with him and when they had remained about a quarter of an hour together the three sons were sent for all of whom entered with silent and sullen resolution strongly impressed on their stern pale and features father himself was startled even into something like terror when he witnessed this most extraordinary change in the whole bearing and of the young men whom he had always known so and open hearted my dear young friends said he calmly and affectionately your father has just disclosed to me a circumstance to which did it not proceed from his i could not yield credit is it true that you have come to the most and determination of shedding blood call it just and righteous said john calmly yes the other two it is both in his cowardly crime he has the the irish agent of law continued john and we care not if his goes beyond law itself we will answer for it with our but in the mean time be must die you see father observed m to what a hardened state the strong temptations of the devil has brought them it is not that said john it is affection for our injured sister whom he has doubly murdered it is also hatred of himself and of the oppression we are receiving in so many shapes at his hands he must yes repeated the two brothers he must die it is now too late ha said the priest i understand you there is an oath here the three	50
brothers smiled but spoke not are ye my sons said the father in tears and will you who were ever obedient and dutiful disregard me now in this one thing we must said john we how you not now as our father am i right said he addressing his brothers you are right they replied in this thing he is mt our father great god said the priest trembling with m absolute dread at a scene so from any he had ever witnessed merciful father hear our prayers and drive the evil spirits of vengeance and blood out of the hearts of these wicked men amen said their father and rescue them from the strong temptations of the devil which are in them and upon them why do you not even pray to god for strength to do it we did and we do said john interrupting him father looked at them and there they stood pale silent and with a smile upon their lips which filled him with a description of awe and fear that were new to him their father was little better the perspiration stood on his brow and as he looked at them he at times began to doubt their very identity and to that the whole interview might be a or a hideous dream you have sworn an oath said the priest rash and sinful men you dared to take as it were the almighty into a league of blood do you not know that the creature you are about to is the work of your creator even as you are yourselves and what power have you over his life i see i see he added you have taken a oath of blood we have taken an oath of blood said they and wc will keep it the but is this just to your sister said the priest do you believe in the justice of an providence is there no probability that if this man lives circumstances may come to by which her fair and character may be to the world on the contrary should you now take his life you prevent any such possibility from ever happening and your own and crime will be the means of sending her name down to po and spotted with the of a woman s worst guilt is that love for your sister father now began to see that he must argue with their passions or with that strong affection for their sister upon which these fearful passions were founded rather than with their reason or their prejudices which in point of fact were now set in the dark determination of crime do you forget he added that there are laws in the country to pursue and overtake the murderer do you forget that you will die an death and that instead of acting an honourable part in life as becomes your ancient and noble name you will nothing to your parents but an inheritance of shame and we have thought of all this before said john m no not all said the youngest not all but nearly well nearly said the other then said the priest you will not hesitate to your most foul and intention we have sworn it said john and it must be done to this the others calmly assented well then said this earnest christian since you fear neither disgrace nor shame nor the force of human laws nor the dread of human punishment you are not so hardened as to bid defiance to the almighty by whom you will be judged has he not said thou shalt do no murder and that who so blood by man shall his blood be shed i now ask you said he as one of the of his messengers do you believe in god and fear him we are sworn said john the blood of him who has our sister s name we will shed and it is neither priest nor parent who will or shall prevent us is not a rash and oath a crime said father yes and you know it is better broken than kept i call upon you now as your spiritual and guide to that oath of blood and in the name of the the irish agent almighty and all powerful god i command you to do it we deny your right to interfere replied john we are not now at confession keep within your limits for as sure as there is death and judgment so sure as we will fulfil our oath in the disgrace of our that ends all and we will speak no more the good old man began to fear that he should be put to the most painful necessity of lodging before a magistrate and thus become the means of bringing disgrace and evil upon the family when it occurred to him to ask them a last question my dear young men said he i have forgotten in the agitation of mind occasioned by the disclosure of your evil and wilful intentions to ask if you so far god as to refuse to worship him kneel down and let us pray he himself and their father knelt but the three brothers stood as sullen and immovable as before the priest uttered a short prayer but their conduct so completely perplexed and shocked him that he rose up and with tears in his eyes exclaimed i am now an old man and have witnessed many instances of error and sin and deep crime but never before have i seen in persons of your early years vol m such instances such awful terrible instances of in which the heart setting aside and his sacred is given over to the h ness of final i can do no more as of christ but i must not stand by see a fellow creature oh thank god he exclaimed a thought	50
to my mind which had for a time passed out of it my good friend he said addressing old m will you bring mary in if she is able to come say i request to see her here we will go now then said the eldest you can want us no longer you shall not go replied father firmly if you are men stay or if who are afraid to look into the depths of your own dark designs you will and may go we want you not this language perplexed them but they stood as before and moved not in a few minutes mary came in leaning on father s arm but ah what a change from the elegant outline and clear healthy cheek from the red plump lips and dark mellow eyes which carried fascination in every glance and grace in every motion sweet and beautiful and interesting she still unquestionably was but her pale cheek languid eye and low tremulous voice told a tale which the irish agent the cause of it was reflected on had literally up out of her brothers hearts every of humanity mary said the priest we have requested ur presence my child for a most important se and in communicating that purpose to you e indeed give the strongest proof of our confidence i your firmness and good sense nay i will add i the truth and of your dependence on the power of religion in my own strength or discretion i will never more she sighing deeply you must exert great courage and firmness now rejoined father in the first place ou are about to have a disclosure made which will b apt to shock you and in the next place i have to say that it is the absolute necessity of your it in order to prevent dreadful consequences om upon it that forces us to make you of it at all i trust i shall endeavour at least to bear it she turned i am not strong and i do not think that o much preparation will add to my strength i agree with you my child said father and have only made such as i deemed the fact then is my poor girl that your m brothers violence against that most and wicked person who i know sir the person to whom you allude bu i will thank you if you can avoid it not to him i have no such intention replied the good but bad and as he is it is still worse your three brothers should propose such violence but what do you mean by violence of violence of any description is beneath them surely john you would not stoop she looked at them as she spoke and ba before there was no the meaning of the cold and deadly smile which lay upon their lips and contrasted so strongly and strangely with their eyes what fearful expression is this she asked with evident terror and my dear brothers what does this mean that is if you be my brothers for i can scarcely recognize you what is it in the name of heaven the brothers looked at her but spoke not moved they have taken an q mary to wipe your shame in his blood added the priest she immediately rose up without aid and approached them this is not true my dear br the irish agent she this cannot be true deny it for your sister we deny it mary said john for it is true and be done our vengeance is ripe hot burning and will wait no longer john said she calmly recollect vengeance is the lord and i will repay it i told them so said their father but i receive no attention at their hands vengeance is ours said john in a deeper and determined voice than he had ever uttered vengeance is ours and we shall repay it the others repeated his words as before obstinate and unhappy young men said the priest you know not or you forget that this is this my dear sir observed their sister getting still more deadly pale than before is not it is insanity my three brothers are insane is it relieve me john said she recovering herself and say it is so if we were insane mary replied her brother our words would go for nothing but is it not a dreadful thing she continued that i should be glad of such an alternative mary said the priest ask them to pray m they refused to join me and their father perhaps you may be more successful they will certainly pray she said i r knew them to omit a night much less refuse it surely they will join their poor sister mary who will not long she hesitated from motives which the reader can understand but immediately knelt down to prayer during prayer the three brothers stood and knelt not neither did they speak when prayers were concluded she arose and with tears in her eyes approached her eldest brother john said she can it be that the brother of mary m is an i will answer for you she said kiss me for i am weak and feeble and must go to bed i cannot kiss you he replied i can kiss you more mary for it must be done the tears still streamed down her cheeks as they did down those of her father and the amiable priest the latter who never took his eye off her was praying incessantly as might be seen by the motion of his lips she proceeded turning to her second brother surely won t refuse to kiss and embrace his only sister before she for the day the irish agent i cannot kiss you mary my pure sister i can er kiss you more we	50
have sworn and it must lone i thought i had brothers said she but i i am now yet perhaps not so i had once a young generous innocent i very affectionate it was known that him that we all loved him best will he his loving sister now that the world has le so or will he allow her to kiss him and to that the darkness of guilt may never his young and generous spirit added i am mary your sister whom you ed and surely you are my own dearest brother whilst she uttered the words the tears which from her eyes fell upon his face he looked her pale features so full of love and tenderness muscles of his face worked strongly but at with a loud cry he threw himself over her in his arms and laying her head upon his wept aloud the evil spell was now broken john nor could resist the tenderness which their beloved sister shed into hearts their tears flowed fast their caresses re added to those of and as they embraced her they their awful m oath and promised never again to think of violence revenge or thus did the force and purity of domestic c tion charm back into their hearts the very i wliich its own excess had before driven out of it and thus it is that many a triumph over is won by the tenderness and strength of that affection when neither reason nor religion nor any other principle that we are acquainted with can succeed in leading captive the fearful purposes of and revenge now said father we have a duty to perform and that is to return thanks to almighty god for the dark and deadly crime and the sorrow which by his grace and mercy he has averted from this family and i think we may take this blessing for such surely it is as an earnest hope that the same divine hand which has put aside this impending calamity from us may and will in his own good time remove the other which the enmity and wickedness of evil hearts and evil have brought upon us but especially let us kneel and return thanks for the great and happy change which through the humility and affection of one of us has been wrought upon the rest he then knelt down and on this occasion the thb irish of these young men became soft and are bent in remorse sorrow repentance the priest prayed fervently and humbly and as s tears fell a st in the trusting sincerity of his and the meek earnestness of his spirit it is most unnecessary to say that those of his little ck accompanied him the brothers wept bitterly p the rocky heart of each had been touched and the triumph which affection had such had been the situation of this family on the ij alluded to by mr who could not of have had any means of becoming acquainted ith them but as we felt that the incidents were ne to give fulness to his narrative we did not to introduce them here where a knowledge them was so necessary we now allow mr himself to resume his narrative this venerable continues mr w a thin pale man but evidently in of and moderation in his i habits of living a healthy one ho cannot be than seventy but the singular of complexion and the steady lustre of his grey e lead you to suppose that he is scarcely that is tall and without stoop and from the m character of his high and forehead added to the of his other features and his whole face he presented i must say a very striking combination of dignity and his dress is plain and nothing can be more fine and impressive than the contrast between his simple black apparel and the long flowing snow white hair which falls over it his holy zeal as a christian minister by feelings or an in the angry of political life possessed all the simple beauty of pure and primitive piety father received his education on the continent in several parts of which he has held one being the of an college he consequently speaks most if not all of the continental languages but so utterly be from display and so simple are his manners you would not on a first interview no nor on a second ever suppose the man to be what he a most accomplished scholar and divine in one thing however you never could be mistaken that his manners with all their simplicity are those of a gentleman possessing as they do all the ease and when h chooses the elegance of a man who has moved high and polished society he has only been a fe the irish agent in ireland after a glass of wine and some conversation touching public events and e state of this unfortunate and unsettled country on all of which he spoke with singular good and moderation we went to see the now that i had recovered from my fatigue his building is two or three hundred yards from le house and as we were on our way there it so that he and i found ourselves together ad at some distance from m and his sons you were introduced sir said he to me as it i bowed i am not inquisitive he added with a smile because in this case i do not find it necessary but am candid i began to feel slightly uneasy so i only bowed but could say nothing i have met you on the continent it is quite possible i replied i have been here he laid his finger on my shoulder and added till with a gentle and significant smile i am in of your secret and	50
i say so to take you so far as i am concerned out of a false and myself out of a somewhat painful position it would m be embarrassing to me for to meet and treat you as that which you are not knowing as i do what you are and it will relieve you from the difficulty of a part that is not your own at least so far as i am concerned i certainly perceive i replied that you are in possession of that which in this country i thought known only to myself and another your secret he said emphatically shall be i feel it my good sir i replied and now let me ask on what part of the continent did we meet let it suffice to say here that he brought himself distinctly to my memory through the medium of a very kind office performed for a friend of mine who at the time stood in circumstances not only of difficulty but of considerable danger having viewed the which is somewhat of a novelty in this immediate locality we were about to take our leave when four men evidently strangers and each remarkable for that hardened and insolent look which suspicion at a glance now entered the concern with an air of authority and with all the forms of the irish agent which the law is capable laid on an execution to the amount of fourteen hundred pounds old m received the intelligence and witnessed the proceedings with a smile in which there was something that struck me as being peculiarly manly and independent this said he although coming from a quarter that i deemed to be friendly is the heaviest blow connected with our business that we have received yet still gentlemen he proceeded addressing father and myself i trust it won t signify a mere passing embarrassment this as you may perceive complete through all its machinery which is of the very best and description together with the property in it is worth five times the amount of the execution yes but you forget replied the leading that property under an execution isn t to be judged by its real value in general it doesn t bring one tenth no nor one of its true value when out as it will be under a writ ay by said another of them an what s better still you forget that your lease is expired and that lord has sent over word for you not to get a renewal nor either m is this true t i inquired of father do you imagine it to be possible v that fellow is a bad authority for any thing he replied but i fear that in this point he is too correct however let us ask m himself who certainly has the best right to know this i resolved on not because i was ignorant of the fact which you know i had from m himself but that i might ascertain that gentleman s mode of business and his towards lord s tenants what this man says mr m surely cannot be possible does he mean to assert thai lord refuses to renew your lease he must be aware that you have expended in of this fine a sum not less should suppose than five or six thousand pounds seven thousand six hundred replied the old man setting me right nearly four thousand between and us but he does not refuse to renew your certainly v no said m i cannot say that he does but we have not been able to get anything like a distinct reply from him on the subject and as far as reports go they are certainly not in our the agent favour we have written to lord himself and the only reply we could obtain was that he had placed the whole matter in the hands of m in whose justice and integrity he said he had the highest confidence and that consequently we must abide by his decision my own impression is that he is determined to ruin us which he certainly will should he refuse us a renewal there can be no doubt about it said the eldest son nor that his management of the estate and his general administration of justice are one sided i don t choose to hear mr m abused said the leading fellow who in truth was one of his mood hounds as were all the rest with one exception only nor i won t hear him abused you wouldn t have him show the same favour to that he would show to good honest that are and loyal to church and state by that would be nice work do you think a man s not to show favour to his own side either as a magistrate or agent eh faith that s good and i ll tell you more said another of them addressing john m do you think that if he dared to put on a level with us that m we d suffer it by you re out if you w know a horse of another colour my buck to whom do you address such insolent lad as this asked the young man you ar here in execution of your duty and you had confine yourself to that to you my buck i address it and to an that doesn t like it and if i m here to di charge my duty i ll discharge it and he shook h head with insolence as he spoke an what s i m of no man and i ll discharge my as i like that s another thing as i like to it ha i d me i m not to be put down by a of priests and if they were ten times bad as they are you are a	50
low replied the young ma far beneath my resentment or my notice and it precisely such as you ignorant and who bring shame and upon religion are a multiplied curse to the country very weu my buck persisted this may be the day will come when we ll you remember this and it too would you like to get a touch of the m buck an by take care that you re not ii the irish agent for a a lease d me but it would be a nice to give the like o you a lease none o your my buck will get that trick so long as loyal m s on the property father having taken the young man s arm led him away wishing to avoid any further with such persons and immediately afterwards they set about an of all the property machinery c in the establishment there was one expression used by that man i observed when we got out again upon the castle road which i do not properly understand it was how would you like to get a touch of the the sir replied old m are a set of men such as that fellow we have just speaking to of and hatred against and their religion their creed consists of two principles one of which i have just mentioned that is hatred of us the other is a blind attachment to the orange system these two combined constitute a of the present day and with such impressions upon a large of men like the fellow inside who belong to an party and are permitted to carry arms and wherever they like either to search vol ii t m your or mine on the most frivolous it is not surprising that the country should be as it is but it is surprising that exposed as we are tc such men without adequate protection we should possess any attachment at all to the throne and constitution of these or to a government which not only suffers such a state of things to exists but either at or it foi instance it was the exhibition of such principles as you have heard that man that got him and those who accompany him their for i am sorry to say that there is no such recommendation as this violent party spirit even u situations of the very class the highest ai generally held by and it is to their system that the only pa i now a days to every office in the country from tl secretary to the this i fear is rather an over true account the state of things in the portion of ireland which i write but whilst i admit this i am fa from saying that the faults are all on one side there are prejudices equally ferocious and quite as senseless and ignorant on the of the roman catholic party prejudices sometimes education and sometimes from the want of it but the irish agent i certainly contribute their full share to the almost state of society by which i am surrounded from the same to the same in may my dear feeling as i did exceedingly anxious to make myself acquainted with the true principles of the orange institutions which have spread themselves so rapidly over the country i need scarcely say to you that i left nothing that was fair and honourable undone on my part to accomplish that object or in other words to ascertain whether their private principles as a political body with their public it is but fair to render justice to every party and consequently it is only right and to inquire whether the violent committed by the low and ignorant men who belong to their body are by the which are laid down for their guidance on looking over the general declaration of the objects of the institution one is certainly struck by and liberality and moderation joined to becoming of attachment to the religion and the throne which it breathes here it is et in its m shape with all that is good or evil in it laid clearly before you i deem it right however to preface it by the greater portion of a short but significant report to which are the following memorable names at a meeting of the grand orange lodge of ireland november present thomas grand master j c grand secretary r c smith secretary h a j s t f samuel william john william w g francis and s reported as follows having been honoured by the grand lodge with instructions to and select a proper system of rules for the government of orange we beg leave to make a report of our progress we are happy in being able to say that in our duty upon this occasion we received the greatest assistance from the experience of the grand master of ireland and his grand secretary who did us the honour of to us their sentiments encouraged by their help we have ventured very materially to alter the shape of the confused system which was referred to us preserving the spirit and the irish agent as much as possible the original words except where we had to encounter gross of language and grammar the general plan of our proceeding has been this we have thrown what are in our opinion very called tlie six first general rules into one plain short declaration of the sentiments of the body next in order we have given the of an selected from the and the rather as it breathes a spirit of piety which cannot be too generally diffused throughout an institution chief object whatever shape it may assume is to preserve the religion samuel henry general declaration of the objects of the orange institution we associate to the utmost of our power to support and defend his majesty	50
king george the third the constitution and laws of this country a d the succession to the throne in his majesty s illustrious house being for the defence of our persons and properties and to maintain the peace of the country these purposes we will m be at all times ready to assist the and military powers in the just and lawful discharge of their duty we also associate in honour of king william the third of orange whose name we bear as of his glorious memory and the true religion by him completely established in these and in order to prove our gratitude and affection for his name we will the victory over james at the on the first day of july o s in every year which day be our grand era for ever we further declare that we are a association yet as we do any spirit we solemnly pledge ourselves to each other that we will not injure or any person on account of his religious opinions provided the same be not hostile to the state but that we will on the contrary be and assisting to every loyal subject of every description in protecting him from violence and oppression requisite for an he should have a sincere love and veneration for his almighty maker productive of those lively and happy fruits and obedience to his commands a firm and faith in the the irish agent of the world convinced that he is the only between a sinful creature and an offended creator without these he cannot be a christian of a humane and compassionate disposition and a courteous and behaviour he should be an utter enemy to savage and cruelty a lover of society and improving company and have a regard for the religion and a sincere desire to its zealous in the honour happiness and prosperity of his king and country heartily desirous of victory and success in those pursuits yet convinced and assured that god alone can grant them he should have a hatred of cursing and swearing and taking the name of god in vain a shameful practice and he should use all opportunities of it his brethren wisdom and prudence should guide his actions honesty and integrity direct his conduct and the honour and glory of his king and country be the motives of his lastly he should pay the attention to a religious of the sabbath and also to and obligation of an i a b do solemnly and sincerely swear of my own free will and accord that i will to the utmost m of my power support and defend the present king george iii his and so long as he or they support the the constitution and laws of these and that i will ever hold sacred the name of our glorious iii prince of orange and i do further swear that i am not nor ever was a roman catholic or that i was not am not nor ever will be a united and that i never took the oath of secrecy to that or any other society and i do further swear in the presence of almighty god that i will always conceal and never will reveal either part or parts of what is now to be privately communicated to me until i shall be so to do by the proper authorities of the orange institution that i will neither write it nor it stamp stain or it nor cause it so to be done on paper leaf bark stick stone or any thing so that it may be known and i do further swear that i have not to my knowledge or been proposed and rejected in or from any other orange lodge and that i now become an without fear or corruption so help me god the irish agent secret articles ist that we will bear true to his majesty king george iii his and so long as he or they support the and that we will faithfully support and maintain the laws and constitution of these nd that we will be true to all in all just actions neither one nor seeing him wronged to our knowledge without him thereof rd that we are not to see a brother offended for six pence or one shilling or more if convenient which must be returned next meeting if possible th we must not give the first assault to any person whatever that may bring a brother into trouble th we are not to carry away money goods or anything from any person whatever except arms and and those only from an enemy th we are to appear in ten hours warning or whatever time is required if possible provided it is not to ourselves or and that we are served with a lawful summons from the master otherwise we are as the company think proper th no man can be made an without the unanimous approbation of the body r m th an is to keep a brother s secrets as his own unless in case of murder treason and and that of his own will th no roman catholic can be admitted on any account th any who contrary to these rules shall be and the same reported to all the in the kingdom and elsewhere god save the king among the secret articles are the following which by the way are pretty significant when properly understood th we must not give the first assault to any person whatever that might bring a brother into trouble th we are not to carry away or any thing from any person whatever except and and those only from an enemy th we are to appear in ten hours warning or whatever time is required if possible provided it is not to ourselves or families and that we are served with a lawful summons from the master otherwise	50

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