ll the profusion of haste
and recklessness. To see the rare and rich articles which were heaped
on every side, almost suggested the notion that it was some gorgeous
mansion which was put to pillage. There was that, too, in the lounging
insolence of the servants, as they went, that favored the illusion. The
wanton waste exhibited everywhere was the very triumph of that vulgar
and vindictive spirit which prompts the followers of a spendthrift
master to speed the current of his ruin. Such would seem to be the
invariable influence that boundless profusion exercises on the mind; and
it is thus that affluence, unchastened by taste, unruled by principle,
is always a corrupter!

A light travelling-carriage, with a few articles of travelling use
attached, stood in the midst of this confusion; and shortly after
day-dawn two gentlemen issued from the house, and taking their seats,
drove hastily forth, and at full speed passed down the avenue towards
the high-road.

These were Cashel and Mr. Kennyfeck, who had made an appointment to meet
Mr. Hoare at Killaloe, and proceed with him to Drumcoologan, on which
portion of the estate it was proposed to raise a considerable sum by
mortgage.

Some observation of Mr. Kennyfeck upon the wasteful exhibition of the
scene in the courtyard, was met by a sharp and angry reply from Cashel;
and these were both overheard as they issued forth,--vague words,
spoken thoughtlessly at the time, but to be remembered afterwards with
a heavier significance than the speakers could have anticipated! As they
hastened along, little was said on either side; the trifling irritation
of the first moment created a reserve, which deepened into actual
coldness, as each following out his own thoughts took no heed of his
companion's.

Kennyfeck's mind was full of sad and gloomy forebodings. The reckless
outlay he had witnessed for weeks back was more than a princely fortune
could sustain. The troops of useless servants, the riotous disorder of
the household, the unchecked, unbridled waste on every side, demanded
supplies to raise which they were already reduced to loans at usurious
interest. What was to come of such a career, save immediate and
irretrievable ruin?

As for Cashel, his reveries were even darker still. The whirlwind
current of events seemed to carry him onward without any power of
resistance. He saw his fortune wasted, his character assailed, his
heart-offered proposal rejected--all at once, and as