kind of voice, read out what purported to be the commission
under which I was to be tried; the charge being, whether I had or had
not acted treacherously and hostilely to his Majesty, whose natural-born
subject I was, being born in that kingdom, and, consequently, owing to
him all allegiance and fidelity. 'Guilty or not guilty, sir?'

'The charge is a falsehood; I am a Frenchman,' was my answer.

'Have respect for the Court, sir,' said Peters; 'you mean that you are a
French officer, but by birth an Irishman.'

'I mean no such thing--that I am French by birth, as I am in
feeling--that I never saw Ireland till within a few months back, and
heartily wish I had never seen it.'

'So would General Humbert, too, perhaps,' said Daly, laughing; and the
Court seemed to relish the jest.

'Where were you born, then, Tiernay?'

'In Paris, I believe.'

'And your mother's name, what was it?'

'I never knew; I was left an orphan when a mere infant, and can tell
little of my family.'

'Your father was Irish, then?'

'Only by descent. I have heard that we came from a family who bore the
title of "Timmahoo"---Lord Tiernay of Timmahoo.'

'There was such a title,' interposed Peters; 'it was one of King James's
last creations after his flight from the Boyne. Some, indeed, assert
that it was conferred before the battle. What a strange coincidence, to
find the descendant, if he be such, labouring in something like the same
cause as his ancestor.'

'What's your rank, sir?' asked a sharp, severe-looking man, called Major
Flood.

'First Lieutenant of Hussars.'

'And is it usual for a boy of your years to hold that rank; or was there
anything peculiar in your case that obtained the promotion?'

'I served in two campaigns, and gained my grade regularly.'

'Your Irish blood, then, had no share in your advancement?' asked he
again.

'I am a Frenchman, as I said before,' was my answer.

'A Frenchman, who lays claim to an Irish estate and an Irish title,'
replied Flood. 'Let us hear Dowall's statement.'

And now, to my utter confusion, a man made his way to the table, and,
taking the book from the Judge Advocate, kissed it in token of an oath.

'Inform the Court of anything you know in connection with the prisoner,'
said the judge.

And the fellow, not daring even to look towards me, began a long,
rambling, unconnected narrative of his first meeting with me at Killala,
affecting that a close intimacy had subsisted between u