e had spat him out of her mouth. The poor ould man,
Sir Edward, had no rest night or day, because he wouldn't get himself
made into a lord, or a peer, or some high-flown title of the kind; and
all that she herself might rank as a nobleman's lady, although she was
a 'lady,' by title, as it was, which, God knows, was more than she
desarved, the thief."

"Ah, she was different from Beck, Dunphy. Talking of wives, have I not
a right to feel thankful that God in his goodness gifted me with such a
blessing? You don't know what I owe to her, Dunphy. When I was sick and
wounded--I bear the marks of fifteen severe wounds upon me--when I was
in fever, in ague, in jaundice, and several other complaints belonging
to the different countries we were in, there she was--there she was,
Dunphy; but enough said; ay, and in the field of battle, too," he added,
immediately forgetting himself, "lying like a log, my tongue black and
burning. Oh, yes, Beck's a great creature; that's all, now--that's all.
Come in to breakfast, and now you shall know what a fresh egg means, for
we have lots of poultry."

"Many thanks to you, Mr. Roberts, I and my ould woman know that."

"Tut--nonsense, man; lots of poultry, I say--always a pig or two, and
never without a ham or a flitch, you old dog. Except the welfare of
that boy, we have nothing on earth, thank God, to trouble us; but that's
natural--it's all the heart of man, Dunphy"

After having made a luxurious breakfast, Dunphy, who felt that he
could not readily remain away from his little shop, bade this most
affectionate and worthy couple good-by and proceeded on his way home.

This hesitating old man felt anything but comfortable since the partial
confidence he had placed in old Sam. It is true, he stated the purport
of his disclosure to him as a contingency that might or might not
happen; thus, as he imagined, keeping himself on the safe side. But in
the meantime, he felt anxious, apprehensive and alarmed, even at the
lengths to which his superstitious fears had driven him; for he felt
now that one class of terrors had only superinduced another, without
destroying the first. But so must it ever be with those timid and
pusillanimous villains who strive to impose upon their consciences, and
hesitate between right and wrong.

On his way home, however, he determined to visit the barracks in which
the thirty-third regiment lay, in order, if possible, to get a furtive
glance at the young ensign. In t