half naked, with their hair hanging down over their bosoms; they tore up
the very pavement to hurl at us, sticks rang about our ears, stones, and
Irish--I liked the Irish worst of all, it sounded so horrid, especially
as I did not understand it. It's a bad language.'

'A queer tongue,' said I; 'I wonder if I could learn it.'

'Learn it!' said my father; 'what should you learn it for?--however, I am
not afraid of that. It is not like Scotch, no person can learn it, save
those who are born to it, and even in Ireland the respectable people do
not speak it, only the wilder sort, like those we have passed.'

Within a day or two we had reached a tall range of mountains running
north and south, which I was told were those of Tipperary; along the
skirts of these we proceeded till we came to a town, the principal one of
these regions. It was on the bank of a beautiful river, which separated
it from the mountains. It was rather an ancient place, and might contain
some ten thousand inhabitants--I found that it was our destination; there
were extensive barracks at the farther end, in which the corps took up
its quarters; with respect to ourselves, we took lodgings in a house
which stood in the principal street.

'You never saw more elegant lodgings than these, captain,' said the
master of the house, a tall, handsome, and athletic man, who came up
whilst our little family were seated at dinner late in the afternoon of
the day of our arrival; 'they beat anything in this town of Clonmel. I
do not let them for the sake of interest, and to none but gentlemen in
the army, in order that myself and my wife, who is from Londonderry, may
have the advantage of pleasant company, genteel company; ay, and
Protestant company, captain. It did my heart good when I saw your honour
ride in at the head of all those fine fellows, real Protestants, I'll
engage, not a Papist among them, they are too good-looking and
honest-looking for that. So I no sooner saw your honour at the head of
your army, with that handsome young gentleman holding by your stirrup,
than I said to my wife, Mistress Hyne, who is from Londonderry, "God
bless me," said I, "what a truly Protestant countenance, what a noble
bearing, and what a sweet young gentleman. By the silver hairs of his
honour"--and sure enough I never saw hairs more regally silver than those
of your honour--"by his honour's grey silver hairs, and by my own soul,
which is not worthy to be mentioned in t