The tone of humility in which he said this was a high treat to the sardonic spirit of his listener.

"And what a penance to you must be a visit in such a house as this!"

said Linton, with a sigh.

"True, sir; but who induced me to make it? Answer me that."

Linton started with amazement, for he was very far from supposing that his Lordship's memory was clear enough to retain the events of an interview that occurred some months before.

"I never antic.i.p.ated that it would cost you so dearly, my Lord," said he, cautiously, and prepared to give his words any turn events might warrant. For once, however, the ingenuity was wasted; Lord Kilgoff, wearied and exhausted by the increased effort of his intellect, had fallen back in his chair, and, with drooping lips and fallen jaw, sat the very picture of helpless fatuity.

"So, then," said Linton, as on tiptoe he stole noiselessly away, "if your memory was inopportune, it was, at least, very short-lived. And now, adieu, my Lord, till we want you for another act of the drama."

CHAPTER IV. MORE KENNYf.e.c.k INTRIGUING

We 'll have you at our merry-making, too.

Honeymoon.

If we should appear, of late, to have forgotten some of those friends with whom we first made our readers acquainted in this veracious history, we beg to plead against any charge of caprice or neglect. The cause is simply this: a story, like a stream, has one main current; and he who would follow the broad river must eschew being led away by every rivulet which may separate from the great flood to follow its own vagrant fancy elsewhere. Now, the Kennyf.e.c.ks had been meandering after this fashion for some time back. The elder had commenced a very vigorous flirtation with the dashing Captain Jennings, while the younger sister was coyly dallying under the attentions of his brother hussar,--less, be it remembered, with any direct intention of surrender, than with the faint hope that Cashel, perceiving the siege, should think fit to rescue the fortress; "Aunt f.a.n.n.y" hovering near, as "an army of observation,"

and ready, like the Prussians in the last war, to take part with the victorious side, whichever that might be.

And now, we ask in shame and sorrow, is it not humiliating to think, that of a party of some thirty or more, met together to enjoy in careless freedom the hospitality of a country house, all should have been animated with the same spirit of intrigue,--each bent on his own deep game, and, in some one guise or other of deceitfulness, each following out some scheme of selfish advantage?

Some may say these things are forced and unnatural; that pleasure proclaims a truce in the great war of life, where combatants lay down their weapons, and mix like friends and allies. We fear this is not the case; our own brief experiences would certainly tend to a different conclusion. Less a player than a looker-on in the great game, we have seen, through all the excitements of dissipation, all the fascinating pleasures of the most brilliant circles, the steady onward pursuit of self-interest; and, instead of the occasions of social enjoyment being like the palm-shaded wells in the desert, where men meet to taste the peacefulness of perfect rest, they are rather the arena where, in all the glitter of the most splendid armor, the combatants have come to tilt, with more than life upon the issue.

For this, the beauty wreathes herself in all the winning smiles of loveliness; for this, the courtier puts forth his most captivating address and his most seductive manner; for this, the wit sharpens the keen edge of his fancy, and the statesman matures the deep resolve of his judgment. The diamond coronets that deck the hair and add l.u.s.tre to the eyes; the war-won medals that glitter on the coat of some hardy veteran; the proud insignia of merit that a sovereign's favor grants,--all are worn to this end! Each brings to the game whatever he may possess of superiority, for the contest is ever a severe one.

And now to go back to our company. From Lady Janet, intent upon everything which might minister to her own comfort or mortify her neighbor, to the smooth and soft-voiced Downie Meek,--with the kindest of wishes and the coldest of hearts,--they were, we grieve to own it, far more imposing to look at, full dressed at dinner, than to investigate by the searching anatomy that discloses the vices and foibles of humanity; and it is, therefore, with less regret we turn from the great house, in all the pomp of its splendor, to the humble cottage where Mr. Corrigan dwelt with his granddaughter.

In wide contrast to the magnificence and profusion of the costly household, where each seemed bent on giving way to every caprice that extravagance could suggest, was the simple quietude of that unpretending family. The efforts by which Corrigan had overcome his difficulties not only cost him all the little capital he possessed in the world, but had also necessitated a mode of living more restricted than he had ever known before. The little luxuries that his station, as well as his age and long use, had made necessaries, the refinements that adorn even the very simplest lives, had all to be, one by one, surrendered. Some of these he gave up manfully, others cost him deeply; and when the day came that he had to take leave of his old gray pony, the faithful companion of so many a lonely ramble, the creature he had reared and petted like a dog, the struggle was almost too much for him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 050]

He walked along beside the man who led the beast to the gate, telling him to be sure and seek out some one who would treat her kindly. "Some there are would do so for my sake; but she deserves it better for her own.--Yes, Nora, I 'm speaking of you," said he, caressing her, as she laid her nose over his arm. "I'm sure I never thought we'd have to part."

"She's good as goold this minit," said the man; "an' it'll go hard but 'll get six pounds for her, any way."

"Tell whoever buys her that Mr. Corrigan will give him a crown-piece every Christmas-day that he sees her looking well and in good heart. To be sure, it's no great bribe, we're both so old," said he, smiling; "but my blessing goes with the man that's a friend to her." He sat down as he said this, and held his hand over his face till she was gone. "G.o.d forgive me, if I set my heart too much on such things, but it's like parting with an old friend. Poor Mary's harp must go next. But here comes Tiernay. Well, doctor, what news?"

The doctor shook his head twice or thrice despondingly, but said nothing; at last, he muttered, in a grumbling voice,--

"I was twice at the Hall, but there's no seeing Cashel himself; an insolent puppy of a valet turned away contemptuously as I asked for him, and said,--

"Mr. Linton, perhaps, might hear what you have to say.'"

"Is Kennyf.e.c.k to be found?"

"Yes, I saw him for a few minutes; but he's like the rest of them. The old fool fancies he 's a man of fashion here, and told me he had left 'the attorney' behind, in Merrion Square. He half confessed to me, however, what I feared. Cashel has either given a promise to give this farm of yours to Linton--"

"Well, the new landlord will not be less kind than the old one."

"You think so," said Tiernay, sternly. "Is your knowledge of life no better than this? Have you lived till now without being able to read that man? Come, come, Corrigan, don't treat this as a prejudice of mine; I have watched him closely, and he sees it. I tell you again, the fellow is a villain."

"Ay, ay," said Corrigan, laughing; "your doctor's craft has made you always on the look-out for some hidden mischief."

"My doctor's craft has taught me to know that symptoms are never without a meaning. But enough of him. The question is simply this: we have, then, merely to propose to Cashel the purchase of your interest in the cottage, on which you will cede the possession."

"Yes; and give up, besides, all claim at law; for you know we are supported by the highest opinions."

"Pooh! nonsense, man; don't embarra.s.s the case by a pretension they 're sure to sneer at. The cottage and the little fields behind it are tangible and palpable; don't weaken your case by a plea you could not press."

"Have your own way, then," said the old man, mildly.

"It is an annuity, you say, you 'd wish?"

"On Mary's life, not on mine, doctor."

"It will be a poor thing," said Tiernay, with a sigh.

"They say we could live in some of the towns in Flanders very cheaply,"

said Corrigan, cheerfully.

"You don't know how to live cheaply," rejoined Tiernay, crankily. "You think, if you don't see a man in black behind your chair, and that you eat off delf instead of silver, that you are a miracle of simplicity. I saw you last Sunday put by the decanter with half a gla.s.s of sherry at the bottom of it, and you were as proud of your thrift as if you had reformed your whole household."

"Everything is not learned in a moment, Tiernay," said Corrigan, mildly.

"You are too old to begin, Con Corrigan," said the other, gravely. "Such men as you, who have not been educated to narrow fortunes, never learn thrift; they can endure great privations well enough, but it is the little, petty, dropping ones that break down the spirit,--these they cannot meet."

"A good conscience and a strong will can do a great deal, Tiernay. One thing is certain,--that we shall escape persecution from _him_. _He_ will scarcely discover us in our humble retreat."

"I've thought of that too," said Tiernay; "it is the greatest advantage the plan possesses. Now, the next point is, how to see this same Cashel; from all that I can learn, his life is one of dissipation from morning till night. Those fashionable sharpers by whom he is surrounded are making him pay dearly for his admission into the honorable guild."

"The greater the pity," sighed Corrigan; "he appeared to me deserving of a different fate. An easy, complying temper--"

"The devil a worse fault I 'd with my enemy," broke in Tiernay, pa.s.sionately. "A field without a fence,--a house without a door to it!

And there, if I am not mistaken, I hear his voice; yes, he 's coming along the path, and some one with him too."

"I 'll leave you to talk to him, Tiernay, for you seem in 'the vein.'"

And with these words the old man turned into a by-path, just as Cashel, with Lady Kilgoff on his arm, advanced up the avenue.

Nothing is more remarkable than the unconscious homage tendered to female beauty and elegance by men whose mould of mind, as well as habit, would seem to render them insensible to such fascinations, nor is their instinctive admiration a tribute which beauty ever despises.

The change which came over the rough doctor's expression as the party came nearer exemplified this truth strongly. The look of stern determination with which he was preparing to meet Cashel changed to one of astonishment, and, at last, to undisguised admiration, as he surveyed the graceful mien and brilliant beauty before him. They had left the phaeton at the little wicket, and the exercise on foot had slightly colored her cheek, and added animation to her features,--the only aid necessary to make her loveliness perfect.

"I have taken a great liberty with my neighbor, Doctor Tiernay," said Cashel, as he came near. "Let me present you, however, first,--Doctor Tiernay, Lady Kilgoff. I had been telling her Ladyship that the only picturesque portion of this country lies within this holly enclosure, and is the property of my friend Mr. Corrigan, who, although he will not visit me, will not, I 'm sure, deny me the pleasure of showing his tasteful grounds to my friends."