yard of me, and pushing
forward his head somewhat in the manner of a bull-dog when about to make
a spring, he said in a tone of suppressed fury: "I think I have heard of
that song before, sir; but nobody ever yet cared to sing it to me. I
should admire to hear from your lips what it is. Perhaps you will sing
me a line or two."

"With great pleasure," said I:--

"There are many brave rivers run into the sea,
But the best of them all is Boyne water for me;
There Croppies were vanquished and terrified fled,
With Jamie the runagate king at their head.
When crossing the ford
In the name of the Lord,
The conqueror brandished his conquering sword;
Then down, down, Croppies lie down!'

"By the powers! a very pretty song, and much obliged am I to ye for
singing it, more especially as it gives me an opportunity of breaking
your head, you long-limbed descendant of a Boyne trooper. You must deny
your country, must ye? ye dingy renegade!--the black North, but old
Ireland still. But here's Connemara for ye--take this--and this--Och,
murther!--What have we got here . . .?"

* * * * *

"Who and what is this O'Donahue?" said I to Frank Ardry after we had
descended into the street.

"An ill-tempered Irishman," said Frank, "the most disagreeable animal
alive, once a rare bird on the earth. His father, after having taught
him some Irish and less Latin, together with an immoderate hatred of the
English, sent him abroad at the age of sixteen to serve the French. In
that service he continued until the time of the general peace, when he
quitted it for the Austrian. I first became acquainted with him at
Vienna, where he bore the rank of captain, but had the character of a
notorious gambler. It was owing, I believe, to his gambling practices
that he was eventually obliged to leave the Austrian service. He has
been in London about six months, where he supports himself as best he
can, chiefly, I believe, by means of the gaming-table. His malignity
against England has of late amounted almost to insanity, and has been
much increased by the perusal of Irish newspapers which abound with
invective against England and hyperbolical glorification of Ireland and
the Irish. The result is that he has come to the conclusion that the
best way for him to take revenge for the injuries of Ireland and to prove
the immense superiority of the Irish over the English will be to break
the head of Bishop Sharpe in