e avenue, where the fracas had taken
place between himself and Keegan, he met Pat Brady.

As I fear that this talented young man must by this time be subject
to heavy suspicions; that his faith and honesty must be greatly
doubted; and as, even with those who may still look upon him as a
trusty servant, it would be impossible to keep up the delusion much
longer, I may as well now make his character no longer doubtful, by
explaining some passages which had occurred in his life during the
last few months.

In the first place, however, we must return for a short time to Mr.
Keegan.

It will be remembered that this gentleman was the son-in-law of Larry
Macdermot's creditor, Mr. Flannelly; and it had been arranged between
the two worthy relations that if, by some law-craft or other means,
Keegan could obtain possession of the estate of Ballycloran in
payment of the debt due by the proprietor, it should become his,
Keegan's, property.

Now, this gentleman had long looked forward to the day when he
should be able to describe himself as Hyacinth Keegan, Esq., of
Ballycloran--having been aware that, after his father-in-law's death,
all right in the property would become his own; but since he had
induced the old man to make a gift instead of a legacy of the debt,
his passion to become an estated gentleman had hourly increased.
An ambitious man in his own way was Hyacinth Keegan: he had
first longed to obtain admission into the more decent society of
Carrick-on-Shannon--that he had some time since achieved; he then
sought to mix among the second-rate country gentlemen; and by making
himself useful to them, by plausibility, by some degree of talent,
and by great effrontery, he had become sufficiently intimate with
many of them to shake hands with them at race-courses and ordinaries,
and to talk of them to others as "Blake," "Brown," and "Jones." To
some few, who now usually called him "Hyacinth," and occasionally
invited him to drinking parties at their houses, he had lent small
sums of money on good security; and now he was looking to obtain the
sub-shrievalty of the county, and to be Hyacinth Keegan, Esq., of
Ballycloran.

Since the immediate probability of realizing this brilliant vision
had occurred to him, he had left nothing undone which could, as he
thought, lead to its completion. From the constant business which
he had with Thady, he pretty well knew all the difficulties of the
Macdermots, and the great poverty of t