himself to endure their ridicule by leaving her
behind him, he had gone so far that he could not well break off with
Feemy herself.

He was considerably bothered, however, by his position; he felt that
she would be a dreadful chain round his neck at the place he was
going to, and he began already to dislike her. Poor Feemy! she had
already lost that for which she had agreed to sacrifice her pride,
her family, her happiness, and herself.

Ussher now returned to his two friends, whose tempers were by no
means improved by the calamity which had occurred. Fred declared it
was all George's fault--that he had ridden his horse too fast or too
slow--that he had been too forward, or not forward enough. His temper
was by far too much soured by the loss of his own bets, to allow him
to console his brother for the more serious injury he had suffered.

At length, however, the three got into the drag, and returned to
Brown Hall. After dinner, each endeavoured to solace himself by no
stinted application to the bottle. George declared, that as he had
been able to drink nothing for the last three days, he'd make up for
it now, and that he wouldn't allow himself to be disturbed to dress
for the best ball that could be given in Ireland. Fred, however, was
not so insatiable, and at about eleven he and Ussher dressed and
again drove into Carrick.

The ball at Carrick passed off as such balls always do. There was but
little brilliancy, but a great deal of good humour. The dresses were
not the most costly, nor possibly the most fashionable, but the faces
were as pretty, and the figures as good, as any that could be adorned
for Almack's by a Parisian head-dresser or milliner. The band was
neither numerous nor artistic, but it played in good time, and never
got tired. The tallow candles, fixed in sconces round the walls of
the room, in which a short time since we saw some of our friends
celebrating the orgies of Bacchus, gave quite sufficient light for
the votaries of the nimble-footed muse to see their partners, mind
their steps, and not come in too rude collision with one another.
Quadrilles succeeded waltzes, and waltzes quadrilles, with most
unceasing energy; and no one dreamt of giving way to fatigue, or
supposed that it was at all desirable to sit down for a single dance.
From ten to two they kept it up without five minutes' pause, and then
went joyfully to supper--not to drink half a glass of wine, and eat
a mouthful of jelly or _bl