ney, I was reared at Kilkargan, at the
expense of John O'Carroll, and was, as I heard, brought there by a
woman when I was a year old. O'Carroll said that my name was
Desmond Kennedy, but I had only his word for it."

"Then how is it that you are not master of Kilkargan, for if you
are Mr. James O'Carroll's son, it is you that ought to be? I have
always thought of you as there. I have not been in the way of
getting news. I left my address with Mr. John, but I never heard
from him, or you. I thought, perhaps, that he might have lost the
address, but I never dreamt that you had been kept out of your
own."

"I don't know that I can say that, altogether," Desmond said;
"for, if it had been known that James O'Carroll had left an heir,
his estates would certainly have been confiscated; whereas, owing
to his brother's turning Protestant, and joining the Williamites,
he was allowed to keep possession of them. I can understand now
what seemed so strange, namely, that he feared I might somehow
learn that I was his nephew, and heir to the estates. Therefore,
he behaved as if I was the son of a stranger, and when I was old
enough, sent me off to join the Irish Brigade, in hopes that he
had seen the last of me; for, even if not killed, I should never
be able to set foot in Ireland again after fighting for France.
'Tis strange that none of my father's brother officers ever made
any enquiries about it."

"They all went with the army to France, sir. They knew, of course,
that the child was born, though they may never have seen you, for
the mistress never left her bed after you were born. Naturally,
after her death they lost sight of me, and might well have
believed that the child had died."

"You must give me the names of all the officers who came to the
house, Mrs. Rooney. Many of them may be alive still, and their
testimony that a child was born would be most important, for at
present there is only your word against John O'Carroll's."

"There is more than that, sir. You were baptized on the day she
died. My mistress gave me the paper the priest had given to her,
saying that it was of the greatest importance to you, and that I
was to give it to Mr. John O'Carroll when, as I promised, I took
the child to him."

"And did you give it him?" Desmond asked eagerly.

"No, your honour. I took it with me to the castle, but from the
reception I got, I thought it best to say nothing about it, but to
give it to yourself when you were o