ildhood, Sir Archy had instilled into him this thirst for
distinction, wisely substituting such an ambition for any other less
ennobling. He had taught him to believe that there would be more true
honour in the laurels there won, than in all the efforts, however
successful, to bring back the lost glories of their once proud house.
And now he was on the very threshold of that career his heart was
centred in. No wonder is it, then, if his spirits were high, and his
pulse throbbing. Sir Archy's eyes seldom wandered from him; he seemed
as if reading the accomplishment of all his long teaching; and as he
watched the flashing looks and the excited gestures of the boy, appeared
as though calculating how far such a temperament might minister to, or
mar his future fortune.

The O'Donoghue was more thoughtful than usual. The idea of approaching
solitude, so doubly sad to those advanced in life, depressed him. His
evenings, of late, had been passed in a happy enjoyment he had not known
for years before. Separation to the young is but the rupture of the ties
of daily intercourse--to the old, it has all the solemn meaning of a
warning, and tells of the approach of the last dreadful parting, when
adieux are said for ever. He could not help those gloomy forebodings,
and he was silent and depressed.

Kate's attention wandered from the theme of Herbert's anticipated
pleasures, to think again of him, for whom none seemed now interested.
She had listened long and anxiously for some sound to mark his coming,
but all was still without, and on the road, for miles, the moonlight
showed no object moving; and, at last, a deep reverie succeeded to this
state of anxiety, and she sat lost to all around her. Meanwhile, Sir
Archy, in a low, impressive voice, was warning Herbert of the dangers of
involving himself in any way in the conflicts of party politics, then so
high in Dublin.

He cautioned him to reject those extreme opinions so fascinating to
young minds, and which either give an unwarrantable bias to the judgment
through life, or which, when their fallacy is detected, lead to a
reaction as violent, and notions as false. "Win character and reputation
first, Herbert: gain the position from which your opinions will come
with influence, and then, my boy, with judgment not rashly formed, and a
mind trained to examine great questions--then, you may fearlessly enter
the lists, free to choose your place and party. You cannot be a patriot
this wa