of his visit to the
hall was, therefore, unsatisfactory in more ways than one; and before he
had arrived at his own residence, his obsequious little friend in black
had reminded him of certain bonds which were in his possession, and
assumed a tone and demeanour towards his client very different from that
in which he had addressed the supposed inheritor of the large property
of D---; intimating in very plain terms that some speedy arrangement
must be made.

Rainscourt, who had nothing left except the old castle on his property
at Galway, his manorial rights, and the unbounded attachment and
devotion of the wild tenants, who looked upon him as their feudal
chieftain, felt convinced that he had no resource but to escape from his
numerous creditors, who would not hesitate to put him in durance, and
whose impatience had been with difficulty restrained until the death of
the admiral. The _speedy arrangement_ upon which he determined was, to
set off immediately for Ireland, and, by regaining his castle, defy
legal authority,--if there could be found any that would be rash enough
to attempt his person, when encircled by his lawless retainers.

As he descended from the chaise, at the handsomely furnished lodgings,
in the west end of the metropolis, which he had engaged, his companion
informed him, with a haughty air, that he would have the honour of
paying his respects on the ensuing noon; while Rainscourt, with his
usual indifference to money, dismissed the post boys with a handsome
gratuity, although there were not many guineas left in his purse; and
then proceeded up to the drawing room, on the first-floor, where his
wife and only daughter were anxiously awaiting his arrival.

Mrs Rainscourt, still a fine and elegant woman, had, in her youth, been
remarkable for her great personal attractions; and for two seasons, had
been considered as the belle of the Irish metropolis. She was, at that
period, a high-spirited and generous-minded girl, easily provoked, and
as easily appeased--proud of her beauty and her accomplishments, which
her worldly-minded parents were in hopes would be bartered for a
coronet. Rainscourt was also, at that time, one of the handsomest, if
not the handsomest man in Ireland, with the advantage of polished
manners, talent, and ancient birth. Received and courted in every
society, he was as indefatigable in squandering away his property as the
parents of Mrs Rainscourt were in trying to obtain an advan