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THE SOUTHERN SENTINEL
IS I'UBLISHHD
EVERY THURSDAY MORHING,
nr
T. LO3l AX Sc CO.
TENNEXT LOMAX, editor.
O Tire on Raruloljth street.
Citcvonj Department.
Conducted by CAROLINE LEE HENTZ.
CONFESSIONS OF A GENTLEMAN
WHO WOULD HAVE MAKKIKD IK HE COULD.
*******
Biddy Mnginn was a year younger than
myself; and, to do her justice, a picture of
health and < omeliness. Lord ! what an eye
she had! and her leg! nothing hut the gout
would prevent a man from following it to
the very end of Oxford Street. Biddy and I
were next neighbors, our houses joined, the
gardens were only separated by a low hedge,
and by standing on an inverted flower pot,
one could accomplish a kiss across it easily.
There was no harm in the tiling—it was j
merely for the fun of trying an experiment
—and when a geranium was damaged, we
left the blame upon the cats.
Although there was a visiting acquaint
ance between the retired quarter-master and \
the relict of the defunct dragoon, never had
any cordiality existed between the two hous
es. My aunt OTinn was as lofty in a!i
tldngs appertaining to her consequence, as it j
she had been the widow of a common coun- ,
oilman; and Roger Mnginn, having scraped
together a good round sum, by the means !
quarter-masters have made money since the j
days of Julius Caesar, was not inclined to ad
mit any inferiority on his part. Mrs. O’Finn j
could never imagine that any circumstances !
could remove the harrier in dignity which 1
stood between the non-commissioned officer
and the captain. While arguing on the saw,
that “a living ass is better than a dead lion,’
Rouer contended tha he was as good a man
as Captain O’Finn ; he, Roger, being alive !
and merry in the town of Bailinamore, while
the departed commander had been laid un
der a “counterpane of daisies,” in some coun
terscarp in the Low Countries. Biddy and 1
laughed at (lie feuds of our superiors; and on i
the evening of a desperate blow-up, we met j
at sunset in the garden, agreed that the old ;
people were lools, ami resolved that nothing ‘
should interrupt our friendly relations. Os <
course the treaty was ratified with a kiss, for j
I recollect that the next morning the cats i
were heavily censured for capsizing a box of i
mignionette.
No wonder, then, that 1 parted from Bid- \
dy with regret. I sat with her, tiil we heard
the quarter-master scrape his feet at the hali
door, on his return from his club; and, kiss
ing poor Biddy tenderly, as Roger entered
bv the front, 1 levanted bv the back door. 1
fancied myself desperately in love, and was
actually dreaming of my dulclnea, when my
aunt’s maid called me, before day, to prepare
for the stage-coach that was to convey me to
my regiment it), Dublin.
In a few weeks an ensigney dropped in,
and I got it. Time slipped insensibly away
—months became years—and three passed,
before I revisited Bailinamore. I heard, at
stated periods, from Mrs. O’Finn. The let
ters were generally a detail of bad luck or
had health. For the last quarter she had ne
ver marked honors—or for the last week,
closed an eye with rheumatism and lumbago
JStill as these jeremiades covered my small
allowance, they were welcome as a lover’s
billet. Os course, in these dispatches the
neighbors were duly mentioned, and every
calamity occurring since her “last,” was
faithfully chronicled. The Maginns held a
conspicuous place in my aunt’s quarterly no
tices. Biddy had got anew gown —or Biddy
had got anew piano—but since the dragoons
had come to town, there was no bearing
her. Young Hastings was never out of the
house—>lie hoped it would end well—hut ev
erybody knew a light dragoon would have
little respect for the daughter of a quarter
master; and Mrs. O’Finn ended her obser
vations by hinting, that if Roger went seldom
er to his dub, and Biddy more frequently to
mass, why probably in the end it would be
better for both of them.
1 re-entered the well-remembered street of
Bailinamore late in the evening, after an ab
sence of three years. My aunt was on a vis
it, and she had taken that as a convenient
season for having her domicile newly painted:
1 halted at the imi, and after dinner, strolled
over the way to visit my quondam acquaint
ances, the Maginns.
If 1 had intended a surprise, my design
would have been a failure. The quarter
master’s establishment were on the quivicc.
The fact was, that since the removal of the
dragoons, Bailinamore had been dull as ditch
water; the arrival of a stranger in a post
chaise, of course, had created a sensation in
the place, and before the driver had unhar
nessed, the return of Lieut. O’Shaughiiessy
was regularly gazetted, and the Maginns, in
anticipation of a visit, were ready to re
ceive me.
I knocked at the door, and a servant with
;t beefsteak collar opened it. Had Roger
mounted a liverv! Ay—faith—there it was,
and l began to recollect that my aunt O’Finn
had omened badly from the first moment a
squadron of the 13th Lights had entered Bai
linamore.
I found Roger in the hall. He shook my
hand, swore it was an agreeable surprise,
ushered me into tile dining room, and called
for hot water and tumblers. We sat down.
Deeply did he interest himself in all that had
befallen me—deeply regret the absence of
my honored aunt—hut I must not stay at the
iun, 1 should be his guest; and, to my aston
ishment, it was announced ibat the gentle-
vol nr.
man in the red collar had been already dis
patched to transport mv luggage to the
house. Excuses were idle. Roger’s domi
cile was to lie head-quarters; and when I re
membered my old flame, Biddy, I concluded
that I might, for the short time 1 had to stay,
be in a less agreeable establishment than the
honest quarter-master’s.
I was mortified to hear that Biddy had
been indisposed. It was a had cold, she had
not been out for a month, but she would muf
fle herself and meet me in the drawing-room.
This, too, was unluckily a night of great im
portance in the club. The new curate was
to he balloted for; Roger had proposed him;
aiid, ergo, Roger, as a true man, was bound
to bo present at the ceremony. The thing
was readily arranged. We took a second
tumbler, the quarter-master betook himself to
the King’s arms, and the lieutenant, meaning
myself, to the drawing room of my old in
amorata.
There was a visible change in Roger’s
domicile. The house was newly papered;
and, leaving the livery aside, there was a
great increase of gentility throughout the
whole establishment. Instead of hounding
to the presence by three stairs at a time, as
I used to do in l ing syne, I was ceremoni
ously paraded to trie lady’s chamber bv him
of the beefsteak collar; and there, reclining
languidly oi. a sofa, and wrapped in a volu
minous shawl, Biddy Magitin held out her
hand to welcome her old confederate.
“M v darling Biddy ! ’ —“My dear Ter
ence!”—and the usual preliminaries were
got over. I looked at my old flame—she was
greatly changed, and three years had
wrought a marvelous alteration. 1 left her
a sprightly girl—she was now a w< man—and
decidedly a very pretty one; although the
rosiness of seventeen was gone, and a deli
cacy that almost indicated bud health, had
succeeded; “hut,” thought 1, “it’s allowing
to the col 1.”
There was a guarded propriety in Biddy’s
bearing, that appeared almost unnatural. The
warm advances of old friendship were re
pressed ; and one who had mounted a flower
pot to kiss me across a hedge, recoiled from
any exhibition of our former tenderness.
M ell, it was all as it should lie. Then I was
a hoy, and now a man. Young women can
not be too particular, and Biddy Magimi rose
higher in my estimation.
Biddy was stouter than she promised to be
when we parted, but the eye was as dark
and lustrous, and the ankle as taper, as when
it last had demolished a geranium. Gradu
ally her reserve abated—old feelings remo
ved a constrained formality—we laughed and
talked—ay, and kissed, as wo had done for
merly ; and when the old quarter-master’s
latch key was heard unclosing the street
door, 1 found myself admitting, in confidence
and a whisper, that “I would marry if 1
could.” What reply Biddy would have re
turned 1 cannot tell, for Roger summoned
me to the parlor; and as her cold prevented
her from venturing down, she hade me an af
fectionate good night. Os course she kissed
me at parting—and it was done as ardently
and innocently as if the ha wthorn hedge di
vided us.
Roger had left his companions earlier than
he usually did, in order to honor me, his
guest. The new butler paraded oysters, and
down we s.at, tete-a-tete. When supper was
removed, and each had fabricated a red-hot
t mhler from the tea-kettle, the quarter-mas
ter stretched his long legs across the hearth
rug, and with great apparent solicitude, in
quired into all that had befallen me since 1
had assumed the shoulder knot and taken to
the trade of war.
“Humph!”—he observed—“two steps in
three years; not had, considering there was
neither money nor interest. D—n it! I of
ten w ish that Biddy was a boy. Never was
such a time to purchase on. More regiments
to be raised, and promotion will be at a dis
count. Sir Hugh Haughton married a stock
broker’s widow with half a plum, and paid in
the two thousand l had lent him. Zourias!
if Biddy were a boy, and that money well ap
plied, I would have her a regiment''in a
twelvemonth.” ,
“Phew!” I thought to myself. “I see
what the old fellow is driving at.”
! “There never w ould be such another op
: portunitv,” Roger continued. “An increas
ed force will produce an increased difficulty
in effecting it. Men will be w orth their own
weight in money—and d—n me, a fellow
who could raise a few might have anything
he asked for.”
1 remarked that, with some influence and
a good round sum, recruits might stiil be
found.
“Ay, easy enough, and not much monev
i either, if one knew how to go about the
I thing. Get two or three smart chaps—let
1 them watch fairs and patterns —mind their
| hits when the bumpkins got drunk, and find
out when fellows were hiding from a warrant.
D—n me, I w ould raise a hundred w hile you
would say Jack Robinson. Pay a friendly
magistrate; attest the scoundrels before they
j were sober enough to cry oft’; bundle them
to the regiment next morning; and if a ras
! cal ran away after the commanding officer
; passed a receipt for him, why, all the better,
for you could relist him w hen he came home
again.”
1 listened attentively, though in all this the
cloven foot appeared. The whole was the
i plan of a crimp; and, if Roger was not be
j lied, trafficking iu “food for powder” had re
alized more ofhis wealth than slop shoes and
short measure.
During the development of this project
for promotion, the quarter-master and I had
found it necessary to replenish frequently,
and w ith the third tumbler, Roger came near
er to business.
“Often thought it a pity, and often said so
in the club, that a fine smashing fellow like
you, Terence, had not the stuff’ to push you
on. What the devil signifies family, and blood,
and all that balderdash ? There’s your aunt—
worthy woman—hut sky-high about a dead
captain. D—n me—all folly. Were i a young
man, I’d get hold of some girl with the where
withal, and 1 would double-distance half the
highfliers for a colonelcy.”
This was pretty significant—Roger had
come to the scratch and there was no mista
king him. We separated for the night. I
dreamed, and in fancy, was blessed with a
wife, and honored with a command. Noth
ing could be more entrancing than my vis
ions; and when the quarter-inaster’s mail-re
d’hotel roused me in the morning, 1 was en
gaged in a friendly argument with my belov
ed Biddy, as to’which ofhis grandfathers our
heir should be called after, and whether the
lovely babe should be christened Roderick
or Roger.
Biddy was not at breakfast; the confound
ed cold still confined her to her apartment;
but she hoped to meet me at dinner, and 1
must endure her absence until then as I best
could. Having engaged to return at five, 1
walked out to visit my lormer acouaintaiices-
From all of them l received a warm welcome,
and all of them exhibited some surprise at
hearing that l was domesticated with the
quarter-master. I comprehended the cause
immediately. M v aunt and Roger had pro
bably n fresh quarrel; but bis delicacy had
prevented him from communicating it. This
certainly increased mv respect for the wor
thy man, and made me estimate his hospital
ity the more highly. Still there was an evi
dent reserve touching the Maginns; ami
once or twice, when dragoons were mention
ed, If mcied I could detect a significant look
pass between the persons with whom I was
conversing.
It was late when I had finished mv calls;
Roger had requested me to be regular to
time, and five was fa-t approaching. I turn
ed my steps towards hi- dwelling place, when,
at a corner of a street, 1 suddenly encoun
tered an old schoolfellow on horseback, and
great was our mutual delight at meeting so
unexpectedly. We were both hurried, how
ever, and consequently our greeting was a
shoit one. After a few general questions
and replies, we were on the point of separa
ting, when my friend pulled up.
“But where are you hanging out?” said
Frederick .Mauusell. “1 know your aunt is
absent.”
“i am at old Maginn’s.”
“’l’lie devil you are! Os course you heard
all about Biddy and young Hastings?”
“Not a sy!l ibit*. Tell it to me.”
“1 have not time—it is a long story; hut
come to breakfast, and I’ll give you ail tlie
particulars in the morning. Adieu!” He
struck the spurs into his horse, and cantered
ofi’, singing,
“< Mi! she loved a bold dragoon,
With his tong sword,saddle, bridle.”
I was thunderstruck. “Confound the dra
goon !” thought I, “and his long sword, sad
dle and bridle, into the bargain. Gad—l
wish Mauusell had told me what it was.
Well —what—suppose I ask Biddy herself?”
1 had half resolved that evening to ask her
a very different question; but, faith, I deter
mined now to make some inquiries touching
Cornet Hastings of tlie 13tii, before Miss
Biddy Magimi should be invited to become
Mrs. O’Shauglmessy.
My h ost announced that dinner was quite
ready, and I found Biddy in the eating-room.
She was prettily dressed, as an invalid should
be; and notwithstanding her cold, looked re
m< lrkablv h andsome. 1 would to a dead cer
-
tuinty have been over head and ears in love,
iiad not .Maunsell’s innuendo respecting the
; young dragoon operated as a damper.
Dinner proceeded as dinners nhvavs do,
and Roger was bent on hospitality. I fan
cied that Biddy regarded me with some in
terest, while momentarily I felt an increas
ing tenderness that would have ended, I sup
-1 pose, in a direct declaration, but for the mon
| itorv hint which I had received from my old
j schoolfellow. I was dying to know what
| Maunsell’s allusion pointed at, and I casually
threw out a feeler.
“And you are so dull, you say ? Yes,
Biddy, you must miss the dragoons sadly.
By the way, there was a friend of mine here.
Did you know Torn Hastings?”
I never saw an elderly gentleman and his
daughter more confused. Biddy blushed
like a peony, and Roger seemed desperately
bothered. At last the quarter-master respon
ded—
“ Fact is—as a military man, showed the
cavalry some attention—constantly at the
house—anxious to be civil—helped them to
make out forage—hut damned wild—obliged
to cut, and keep them at a distance.”
“Ay, Mauusell hinted something of that.”
I thought Biddy would have fainted, and
Roger grew red as the footman’s collar.
“Pshaw! d—d gossiping chap, that Maun
sell. Young Hastings—infernal hemp—used
to ride with Biddy. Persuaded her to get on
a horse of his—ran away—threw her—confi
ned at an inn for a week—never admitted him
; to my house afterwards,”
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 4, 1852.
Oh ! here was the whole mystery unravel
ed ! No wonder Roger was indignant, and
that Biddy would redden at the recollection,
it was devilish unhandsome of Mr. Has
tings; and I expressed my opinion in a way
that evidently pleased my host and his heir
ess, and showed how much l disapproved of
the conduct of that roue, the dragoon.
My fair friend rose to leave us. Her
shawl caught in the chair, and I was struck
with the striking change a few years had ef
fected in 11 iv old playfellow. She was grown
absolutely stout. I involuntarily noticed it.
“Lord ! Biddy—how fat you are grown.”
A deeper blush than even when I named
that luckless dragoon flushed to her very
brows at the observation, while the quarter
master rather testily exclaimed—
“Ay—she puts on her clothes as if they
were tossed on her with a pitchfork, since
she got this cold. D—a it, Biddy, I sav,
tighten yourself, woman ! Tighten yourself,
or 1 won t be plased !”
Well, here was a l>ad of anxiety removed,
and Maunsell’s mischievous innuendo satisfac
torily explained away. Biddy was right in
resenting the carelessness that exposed her
to ridicule and danger; and it was a proper
feeling in the old quarter-master to cut the
man who would mount his heiress on a
break-neck horse. Gradually we resumed
the conversation of last night—there was the
regiment, if I chose to have it—and when Ro
ger departed for the club, 1 made up my
mind, while ascending the stairs, to make a
splice with Biddy, and become Colonel
O’Shaughnessy.
Thus determined, I need not particularize
what passed upon the sofa. My wooing was
short, sharp, and decisive; and no affected
delicacy restrained Biddy from confessing
that the flame was mutual. My fears had
been moonshine ; my suspicions groundless.
Biddv had not valued the dragoon a brass
button ; and—poor soul—she hid her head
upon my shoulder, and, in a soft whisper, ac
knowledged that she never had cared a
tranceine for anybody in the wide world but
myself!
It was a moment of exquisite delight. I
told her of m v prospects, and mentioned the
quarter-master’s conversation.’ Biddy listen
ed with deep attention. She blushed—strove
to speak—stopped—was embarrassed. !
pressed her to lie courageous; and at last
she deposited her head upon my breast, and
bashfully hinted that Roger was old—ava
rice o;-'■ Ntlio vice of age—he was fond oi
niHrfdA'—lie was hoarding it certainly for her ;
but still it would be better that my promo
tion should he secured. Roger had now the
cash m his own possession. If we were
married without delay, it would be transfer
red at once ; w hereas, something that might
appear to him advantageous might offer, and
jnduce her father to invest it. But she was
really shocked at herself—such a proposition
would appear so indelicate; but still a hus
band’s interests were too dear to bo sacrificed
to maiden timidity.
I never estimated Biddy’s worth till now.
She united the foresight of a sage with the
devotion of a woman. I would have been
insensible, indeed, had l not testified my re
gard and admiration; and Biddy was still
resting on my shoulder, when the quarter
master’s latch key announced his return from
the club.
After supper I apprised Roger of my pas
sion for his daughter, and modestly admitted
that I found favor in her sight. He heard
my communication, and frankly confessed
that l was a son-in-law he most approved of
Emboldened by the favorable reception of my
suit, 1 ventured to hint at an early day, and
pleaded “a short leave between returns,” for
precipitancy. The quarter-master met me
like a man.
“When people wished to marry, why, de
lay was balderdash. Matters could be quick
ly and quietly managed. liis money was
ready—no bonds or post obits—a clean thou
sand in hand, and another the moment an
opening to purchase a step should occur.
No use in mincing matters among friends.
Mrs. O’Finn was an excellent woman. She
was a true friend, anil a good Catholic; but
d—n it, she bad old-world notions about fa
mily, and in pride the devil was a fool to her.
If she came home before the ceremony, there
would lie an endless fuss”—and Roger con- j
eluded by suggesting that we should be mar
ried the next evening, and give my honored!
aunt an agreeable surprise.
That was precisely what I wanted, and
a happier man never pressed a pillow than I,
after my interesting colloquy with the quarter
master.
The last morning of my celibacy dawned.
I met Roger only at the breakfast table;
for my beloved Biddy, between cold and vir
gin trepidation, was hors dc combat, and sig
nified in a tender billet her intention to keep
her chamber, until the happy hour arrived
that should unite us in the siiken bonds of
Hyinen. The quarter-master undertook to
conduct the nuptial preparations; a friend of
his would perforin the ceremony, and the
quieter the thing was done the better. Af
ter breakfast ho set out to complete all mat
rimonial arrangements; and I strolled info
the garden to ruminate on my approaching
happiness, and bless Heaven for the treasure
I was destined to possess in Biddy Magimi.
No place could have been more appropri
ately selected for tender meditation. There
was the conscious hedge, that had witnessed
the first kiss of love; ay, and for aught I
knew to the contrary, the identical flower.
pot on which her svlphic form had rested ;
svlphic it was no longer, for the slender girl
had ripened into a stout and comely gentle
woman ; and she would be mine—mine that
very evening!
“Ah! Terence,” I said in an under tone,
“few men at twenty-one have drawn such a
prize. A thousand pounds ready cash —a
regiment in perspective—a wife in hand; and
such a wife—young, artless, tender, and at
tached. By everything matrimonial, you
have the luck of thousands!”
My soliloquy was interrupted by a noise
on the other side of the fence. 1 looked over.
It was my aunt’s maid ; and great was our mu
tual astonishment! Judy blessed herself as
she ejaculated—
“‘Holy Virgin! Master Terence, is that
you ?”
I satisfied her of my identity, and learned
to my unspeakable surprise that my aunt
had returned unexpectedly, and that she had
not the remotest suspicion that her affection
ate nephew, myself, was cantoned within
pistol shot. Without consideration I hopped
over the hedge, and next minute was in the
presence of my honored protectress, the relict
of the departed captain.
“Blessed angels !” exclaimed Mrs. O’Finn,
as she took me to her arms, and favored me
with a kiss in which there was more black
guard than ambrosia. “Arndt! Terence,
jewel; what the devil drove ye here ? Lord !
pardon me for mentioning him!”
“My duty, my dear aunt. 1 am but a
week landed from Jersey, and could not rest
till I got leave from the Colonel to rundown
between returns and pay you a hurried visit
Lord ! how well you look !”
“Ah ! then, Terence, jewel, it’s hard for me
to look well, considering the wa v I have been
fretted and afflicted with the lumbago. Den
is Clark—may the widow’s curse follow
him wherever he goes!—bundled off to
America with a neighbor’s wife, and a year
and a half’s rent along with her, the thief!
And then, since Holland Tide, I have not had
a day’s health.”
“Well, from your looks I should never
have supposed it. But you were visiting at
Meldrum Castle?”
“Yes, faith, and a dear visit it was. Noth
ing but half-crown whist, and unlimited brag.
Lost seventeen points last Saturday night.
It was Sunday morning, Christ pardon us for
playing! But what was that to mv luck
yesterday evening ! Bragged twice for large
pools, with red nines and black knaves; and
Mrs. Cooney, both times, showed natural
aces! If ever woman sold herself, she has.
The Lord stand between us and evil! Well,
Terence, you’ll be expecting your quarter’s
allowance. We’ll make it out sometf&w—
heigho! Between cards and runaway ten
ants I can’t attend to my soul as i ought, and
Holy Week coming!”
1 expressed clue sympathy for her losses,
and regretted that her health, bodily and spir
itual, was so indifferent.
“1 have no good news for you, Terence,”
continued Mrs. O’Finn. “Your brother Ar
thur is following your poor father's example,
and ruining himself with hounds and horses.
He’s a weak and wilful man, and nothing can
save him, 1 fear. Though he never treated
me with proper respect, I strove to patch up
a match between him and Miss Mac Teggart.
Five thousand down upon the nail, and three
hundred a year failing her mother. I asked
her here on a visit; and though he had rid
den past without calling on me, wrote him
my plan, and invited him to meet her. What
do you think, Terence, was his reply ? Why.
that Miss Mac Teggart might go to Bath,
for he would have no cal! to my swivel-eyed
customers. There was a return for my kind
ness! as if a woman witli five thousand
down, and three hundred a year in expecta
tion, was required to look straight. Ah!
Terence, 1 wish you had been here. She
went to Dublin, and was picked up in a
fortnight.”
Egad! here was an excellent opportunity
to broach my own success. ‘There could be
no harm in making the commander’s widow
a confidante; and, after all, she had a claim
upon me as my early protectress.
“My dear aunt, I cannot be surprised at
your indignation. Arthur was a fool, and
lost an opportunity that never may occur
again. In fact, m3’ dear madam, I intended
to have given vou an agreeable surprise. 1
—I—I am on—the very brink of matrimony!”
“Holy Bridget!” exclaimed Mrs. O’Finn,
as she crossed herself devoutly.
“Yes, ma’am. I am engaged to a lad}’
with two thousand pounds.”
“Is it ready, Terence?” said 013- aunt.
•‘Down on the table, before the priest puts
on his vestment.”
“Arrah, my blessing attend 3'e, Terence.
I knew you would come to good. Is she
young ?”
“Just twent3’.”
“Is she good looking?”
“More than that; extremely pretty, inno
cent, and artless.”
“Arrah, give me another kiss, for I am
proud ot ye; ’and Captain O’Fiuu’s represen
tative clasped me in her arms.
“But the family', Terence; remember the
old stock. Is she one of us ?”
“She is highly respectable. An only
daughter, with excellent expectations.”
“W liar is her father, Terence ?”
“A soldier, ma’am.”
“Lord,—quite enough. He’s by profession
1 a gentleman ; and we can’t expect to find
! every day, descendant* from the kings of
Connaught, like the O’Shaughnessys and
O’Finns. But when is it to take place,
Terence ?”
“Why, faith, ma’am, it was a bit of a se
cret, but i can keep nothing from you.”
“And win’ should ye? Havn’t I been to
you more than a mother, Terence ?”
“I am to he married this evening!”
“This evening! Holy St. Patrick! and
you’re sure of the money? It’s not a rent
charge—nothing of bills or bonds?”
“Nothing but bank notes; nothing but the
aragudhsheese .”
“Ogh! my blessing be about ye night and
da3’. Arrah, Terence, what’s her name ?”
“You’ll not mention it? We want the
thing done quietly.”
“Augh, ‘Terence; and do you think 1
would let any thing ye told me, slip? By
this cross”—and Mrs. O’Finn bisected the
forefinger of her left hand with the corres
ponding digit of the right one—“the lace of
da3’ shall never be the wiser of any thing
ye mention!”
After this desperate adjuration, there was
no refusing my aunt’s request.
“You know her well”—and I looked ex
tremely cunning.
“Do I, Terence ? Let me see—l have it.
It’s Ellen Robinson. No—though her mon
ey’s safe, there’s but five hundred ready.”
“Guess again, aunt.”
“Is it Bessie Lloyd? No—though the old
miller is rich as a Jew, he would not part with
a guinea to save the whole human race, or
make his daughter a duchess.”
“Far from the mark as ever, aunt.”
“Well,’’ replied Mrs. O’Finn, with a sigh,
“I’m fail I3’ puzzled.”
“Whisper!” and I pla3’fully took her hand,
and put 1113’ lips dose to her cheek. “It’s ”
“Who ?—who, for the sake of Heaven ?”
“Biddy Maginn!”
“Oh, Jasus!” ejaculated the captain’s rel
ict, as she sank upon a chair. “I’m murder
ed. Give me my salts there. Terence
O’Shaughnessy, don’t touch me. 1 pul the ;
cross between us”—and she made a crural I
flourish with her hand. “You have finished
me, ye villain. Holy Virgin ! what sins have
I committed, that I should be disgraced in my j
old age? Meat never crossed my lips of a j
Friday ; 1 was regular at mass, and never
missed confession; and, when the company
were honest, played as fair as any body else.
I wish I was at peace with poor dear Pat
O’Finn. Oil! murder! murder!”
I stared in amazement. If Roger Maginn
had been a highwiqvman, bis daughter could
not have been an object of greater horror to
Mrs. O’Finn. At last I mustered words to
attempt to reason with her, but to mv desul
tory’ appeals she returned abuse fit onl3’ for
a pickpocket to receive.
“Hear me, madam.”
“Oh, you common ommadawn /”
“For Heaven’s sake, listen !’’
“Oh! that the O’Finns and the O’Shaugh
uessys should be disgraced In’ a mean ■spirit- j
ited gommouge of your kind!”
“You won’t hear me.”
“Biddy Maginn !” she exclaimed. “Why,
bad as 1113’ poor brother, 3-our father, was,
and though lie, too, married a devil that help
ed to ruin him, she was at all events a lady
in her own right, and cousin german to Lord
Lowestoffe. But—you—you unfortunate dis
ciple ”
I began to wax warm, for my aunt com
plimented me with all the abuse she could
muster, and there never was a cessation, but
when her breath failed.
“Why, what have l done ? What am I
about doing ?” I demanded.
“Just going,” returned Mrs. O’Finn, “to
make a Jud3 T Fitzsimmons’ mother of
yourself.”
“And is it,” said I, “because Miss Maginn
can’t count her pedigree from Fin Macoul,
that she should not discharge the duties of a
wife ?”
My aunt broke in upon me.
“There’s one thing certain, that she’ll dis
charge the duties of a mother. Heavens! if
you had married a girl with only a blast,
vour connections might brazen it out. But
a woman in such a barefaced condition—as
if her staying in the house these three months,
could blind the neighbors, and close their
mouths.”
“Well, in the devil’s name, will 3-ou say
what objection exists to Biddy Maginn’s ma
king me a husband to-night ?”
“And a papa in three months afterwards!”
rejoined my loving aunt.
If a shell had burst in the bivouac, I could
not have been more electrified. Dark suspi
cions flashed across m y mind—a host of cir
cumstances confirmed my doubts—and I im
plored the widow of the defunct dragoon to
tell me all she knew.
It was a simple, although, as far as I was
concerned, not a flattering narrative. Biddy
had commenced an equestrian novitiate un
der the tutelage of Lieut. Hastings. Her
progress in the art of horsemanship was, no
doubt, very satisfactory, and the pupil and
the professor freqnentl}’ rode out, tete-a-tete.
Bidd}-, poor soul, was fearful of exhibiting
any maladdresse, and of course, roads less
frequented than the king’s highway 7, were gen
erally chosen for her riding lessons. Gradu
ally these excursions became more extensive ;
tw.light, and in summer too, often fell, be
fore the quarter-master’s heiress had returned;
and on one unfortunate occasion, she was
absent for a week. ‘This caused a desperate
commotion in the town; the dowagers and
old maids sat in judgment on the case, and
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NO. 45.
declared Biddy no longer visitable. In vain
her absence was ascribed to accident —a
horse had ran away—she was thrown—her
ankle was sprained—and she was detained
unavoidably at a country- inn until the injury
was abated.
In this state of things the dragoons were
ordered off; and it was whispered that there
had been a desperate blow up between the
young lady’s preceptor, the lieutenant, and
her papa, the quarter-master. Once only had
Biddy ventured out upon the mall; but she
was cut dead by her quondam acquaintances.
From that day she seldom appeared abroad;
and when she did, it was always in the eve
ning, and oven then close!}- muffled up. No
wonder scandal was rife touching the cause
of her seclusion. A few charitably, ascribed
it to bad health—others to disappointment—
hut the greater number of the fair sex attrib
uted her confinement to the true cause, and
whispered that Miss Maginn was “as ladies
wish to he who love their lords.”
Here was a solution of the mystery! It
was now pretty easy to comprehend why
Biddy- was swathed like a mummy, arid Ro
ger so ready with his cash. No wonder the
demoiselle was anxious to abridge delay, and
the old crimp so obliging in procuring a
priest, and preparing all requisite matters for
immediate bvnieneals. What was to be done?
What, but denounce the frail fair one, and
annihilate that villain, her father ? Without a
word of explanation, I caught no mv hat—
and left the house in a hurry, and .Mrs. O’Finn
in a state of nervousness that threatened to
become hysterical.
When I reached the quarter-master’s habi
tation, I hastened to my own apartment and
got my’ traps together in double quick. I in
tended to have abdicated quietly, and favor
ed the intended Mrs. O’Shaugimessy with an
epistle communicating the reasons that indu
ced mo to decline the honor of her hand ; but
on the landing 1113’ worth}’ father-in-law cut
off’ 1113’ retreat, and a parting tele-a-tele be
came unavoidable. He appeared in great
spirits at the success of his interview with the
parson.
“Well, Terence, I have done the business.
The old chap made a parcel of objections ;
lint he’s poor as Lazarus—slyly’ slipped him
ten pounds, and that quieted his scruples.
He’s ready at a moment’s warning.”
“He’s a useful person,” I replied, dryly ;
“and all you want is a son-in-law.”
“A what?” exclaimed the father of Miss
Biddy.
“A son-in-law.”
“Why, what the devil do you mean ?”
“Not a jot more nor less than what I say.
You have procured the priest, but I suspect
the bridegroom will not be forthcoming.”
“Zounds, sir! do you mean to treat my
daughter with disrespect?”
“Upon consideration, it would lie hardly
fair to deprive my old friend Hastings of his
pupil. Why, with another week’s private lu
ition, Biddy might offer her services to
Astley.”
“Sir, if you mean to he impertinent ” and
Roger began to bluster, while the noise
brought the'footman to the hall, and Miss
Biddy to the banisters, shawled to the nose.
1 began to lose temper? ‘*
“Why, you infernal old c'imp!”
“You audacious young scouiidret?<Hiw\*3sJ
“Oh, Jasus! gentlemen! Pace, for tlwq
sake of the blessed Mother!” cried the butler
from below.
“Father,jewel. Terence, my 011I3’ love!”
screamed Miss Biddy over the stair-case.
“What is the matter?”
“He wants to bo off,” roared the quarter.
I master.
“Stop, Terence, or you’ll have my life to
! answer for.”
“Lord, Bidd}’, how fat you are grown !”
“You shall fulfil your promise,” cried Ro
i ger, “or I’ll write to the Horse Guards, and
memorialize the commander-in-chief.”
“You may memorial your best Friend, the
devil, you old crimp!” and 1 forced my way
to the hall.
“Come back, you deceiver!” exclaimed
Miss Maginn.
“Arrah, Biddy, go tighten yourself,” said I.
“Oh! I’m fainting!” screamed Roger’s
heiress.
“Don’t let him out!” roared her sire. The
gentleman with the beefsteak collar made a
demonstration to interrupt cny. retreat, and in
return received a box in the ear that sent him
half way down the kitchen stairs.
“There,” said l, “give that to the old rogue,
your master, with my best compliments,”
and bounding from the hall door, Biddy Ma
giim, like Lord UJiin’s daughter, “was left
lamenting!”
WHAT IS LIFE \
The following beautiful description, in an
swer to this questiou, is from Rev. Mr, Mount
ford’s Euthanasy : % ,
The present life is sleeping and walking ;
it is “(food Night” on going to bed, and
“Good Morning” on getting up ; it is to won
der what the day will bring forth ; it is sun
shine and gloominess ; it is rain on the win
dow as one sits by the fire ; it is to walk in
the garden, and to see the flowers open, and
hear the birds sing ; it is to have the postman
bring letters ; it is to have news tiornthe
East, West, North and South ; it is to read
oIJ books a id new books ; it is to pray with
a family morning and evening ; it is to sit in
the twilight and meditate ; it is to be well,
and sometimes iil; it is to have business to do
and to do it ; it is to have breakfast and din
ner and tea; it is 11 belong to a town, and
to have neighbors, and to be one in a ciiclo
of acquaintances ; it is to have fri -ods to~
love one ; it is to have sight of dear old faces ;
and with some men, it is to be kissed daily by
die same loving lips for fifty years ; and it
is to know themselves thought of many times
a day, in many places, by children, gr ; id*
children, and many frLucU.