rs or to answer letters. Thus, while he went into the
background, I came forward, and took good care that no other rivals
should present themselves with any chance of success; for, as soon as I
heard of one, I had a quarrel fastened on him, and, in this way, pinked
two more, besides my first victim Lord George. I always took another
pretext for quarrelling with them than the real one of attention to
Lady Lyndon, so that no scandal or hurt to her Ladyship's feelings might
arise in consequence; but she very well knew what was the meaning of
these duels; and the young fellows of Dublin, too, by laying two and two
together, began to perceive that there was a certain dragon in watch for
the wealthy heiress, and that the dragon must be subdued first before
they could get at the lady. I warrant that, after the first three, not
many champions were found to address the lady; and have often laughed
(in my sleeve) to see many of the young Dublin beaux riding by the side
of her carriage scamper off as soon as my bay-mare and green liveries
made their appearance.

I wanted to impress her with some great and awful instance of my power,
and to this end had determined to confer a great benefit upon my honest
cousin Ulick, and carry off for him the fair object of his affections,
Miss Kiljoy, under the very eyes of her guardian and friend, Lady
Lyndon; and in the teeth of the squires, the young lady's brothers, who
passed the season at Dublin, and made as much swagger and to-do about
their sister's L10,000 Irish, as if she had had a plum to her fortune.
The girl was by no means averse to Mr. Brady; and it only shows how
faint-spirited some men are, and how a superior genius can instantly
overcome difficulties which to common minds seem insuperable, that he
never had thought of running off with her: as I at once and boldly did.
Miss Kiljoy had been a ward in Chancery until she attained her majority
(before which period it would have been a dangerous matter for me to
put in execution the scheme I meditated concerning her); but, though now
free to marry whom she liked, she was a young lady of timid disposition,
and as much under fear of her brothers and relatives as though she had
not been independent of them. They had some friend of their own in view
for the young lady, and had scornfully rejected the proposal of Ulick
Brady, the ruined gentleman; who was quite unworthy, as these rustic
bucks thought, of the hand of such a prodigiously weal