twig through the handkerchief that held his bundle, and shouldered it, clapping his straw or tarpaulin hat, with a slap on the crown, on one side of his head, and staggering and swaying about under the influence of the poteen, and slapping his thigh, as he bent double, laughing like to split himself, till the water ran over his cheeks from his drunken halfshut eyes, and while jets of tobacco juice were squirting in all directions.

"I paid the reckoning, urging the party to proceed all the while, and indicating Pat Doolan's at the Cove as a good rendezvous; and promising to overtake them before they reached Passage, I parted company at the corner of the street, and rejoined the lieutenant.

"Next morning we spent in looking about the town. Cork is a fine town-contains seventy thousand inhabitants, more or less"-" Safe in that, Tom," quoth Aaron-" and three hundred thousand pigs, driven by herdsmen, with coarse grey great-coats. They are not so handsome as those in England, where the legs are short, and tails curly; here the legs are long, the flanks sharp and thin, and tails long and straight."

"Which party do you here speak of, Tom-the pigs or grey-coated drivers ?"

"Allons!"

"All classes speak with a deuced brogue, and worship graven images, arrived at Cove to a late dinner."

"Compendious enough this," said our critic. "Could they find no graven images to bow down before, except those who had arrived at Cove to a late dinner?"

"Nonsense," said Wagtail," do get on, Aaron." He continued

"It was about half-past ten o'clock, and I was preparing to turn in, when the master at arms called down to

me,

"Mr Cringle, you are wanted in the gun-room.

"I put on my jacket again, and immediately proceeded thither, and on my way I noticed a group of seamen, standing on the starboard gangway, dressed in pea jackets, under which, by the light of a lantern, carried by one of them, I could see they were all armed with pistol and cutlass. They appeared in great

glee, and as they made way for me, I could hear one fellow whisper,

(

There goes the little beagle.' When I entered the gun-room, the first lieutenant, master, and purser, were sitting smoking and enjoying themselves over a glass of cold grog-the gunner taking the watch on deckthe doctor was piping any thing but mellifluously on the double flageolet, while the Spanish Priest, and Aidede-Camp to the General, were playing at chess, and wrangling in bad French. I could hear Mr Treenail rumbling and stumbling in his Stateroom, as he accoutred himself in a jacket similar to those of the armed boat's crew whom I had passed, and presently he stepped into the gunroom, armed also with cutlass and pistol.

"Mr Cringle, get ready to go in the boat with me, and bring your arms with you.'

"I now knew whereabouts he was, and that my Cork friends were the quarry at which we aimed. I did as I was ordered, and we immediately pulled on shore, where, leaving two strong fellows in charge of the boat, with instructions to fire their pistols and shove off a couple of boat-lengths, should any suspicious circumstance, indicating an attack, take place, we separated, like a pulk of Cossacks coming to the charge, but without the hourah, with orders to meet before Pat Doolan's door, as speedily as our legs could carry us. We had landed about a cable'slength to the right of the high precipitous bank-up which we stole in straggling parties-on which that abominable congregation of the most filthy huts ever pig grunted in, is situated, called the Holy Ground. Pat Doolan's domicile was in a little dirty lane, about the middle of the village. Presently ten strapping fellows, including the lieutenant, were before the door, each man with his stretcher in his hand. It was a very tempestuous, although moonlight night, occasionally clear, with the moonbeams at one moment sparkling brightly in the small ripples on the filthy puddles before the door, and on the gem-like water-drops that hung from the eaves of the thatched roof, and lighting up the dark statuelike figures of the men, and casting their long shadows strongly against

"Gone to borrow whisky, to wake ould Kate, there;-the howling will begin whenever Mother Doncannon and Mistress Conolly come over from Middleton, and I look for dem every minute.'

"There was no vestige of any living thing in the miserable hovel, except the old fellow. On two low trestles, in the middle of the floor, lay a coffin with the lid on, on the top of which was stretched the dead body of an old emaciated woman in her grave-clothes, the quality of which was much finer than one could have expected to have seen in the midst of the surrounding squalidness. The face of the corpse was uncovered, the hands were crossed on the breast, and there was a plate of salt on the stomach.

"An iron cresset, charged with coarse rancid oil, hung from the roof, the dull smoky red light flickering on the dead corpse, as the breeze streamed in through the door and numberless chinks in the walls, making the cold, rigid, sharp features appear to move, and glimmer, and gibber as it were, from the changing shades. Close to the head, there was a small door opening into an apartment of some kind, but the coffin was placed so near it, that one could not pass between the body and the door.

666

My good man,' said Treenail, to the solitary mourner, I must beg leave to remove the body a bit, and have the goodness to open that door.' Door, yere honour! It's no door o' mine-and it's not opening that same, that old Phil Carrol shall busy himself wid.'

<66

"Transom,' said Mr Treenail, quick and sharp, ‘remove the body.' It was done.

"Cruel heavy the old dame is, sir, for all her wasted appearance,' said one of the men.

"

"The lieutenant now ranged the press-gang against the wall fronting the door, and stepping into the middle of the room, drew his pistol and cocked it. Messmates,' he sung out, as if addressing the sculkers in the other room, I know you are here-the house is surrounded-and unless you open that door now, by the powers, but I'll fire slap into you.' There was a bustle, and a rumbling tumbling noise within. 'My lads, we are now sure of our game,' sung out Treenail, with great animation. Sling that clumsy bench there.' He pointed to an oaken form about eight feet long, and nearly three inches thick. To produce a two-inch rope, and junk it into three lengths, and rig the batteringram, was the work of an instant. 'One, two, three,'-and bang the door flew open, and there were our men stowed away, each sitting on the top of his bag, as snug as could be, although looking very much like condemned thieves. We bound eight of them, and thrusting a stretcher across their backs, under their arms, and lashing the fins to the same by good stout lanyards, we were proceeding to stump our prisoners off to the boat, when, with the innate devilry that ĺ have inherited, I know not how, but the original sin of which has more than once nearly cost me my life, I said, without addressing my superior officer, or any one else, directly,-'I should like now to scale my pistol through that coffin. If I miss, I can't hurt the old woman; and an eyelet hole in the coffin itself, will only be an act of civility to the worms.'

"I am ashamed of that part of the record, Mr Bang. Pray draw your pen through it."

"Pen!" said he-" why, I have none at hand, Tom, and if I had, I would not expunge it. I would leave

it in your power to satisfy your conscience, if you can do so, by drawing your pen through it yourself-a bad sentiment, and cruel under the circumstances, Cringle-but, come along."

"I looked towards my superior officer, who answered me with a knowing shake of the head. I advanced, while all was silent as death-the sharp click of the pistol lock now struck acutely on my own ear. I presented, when-crash-the lid of the coffin, old woman and all, was dashed off in an instant, the corpse flying up in the air, and then falling heavily on the floor, rolling over and over, while a tall handsome fellow, in his stripped flannel shirt and blue trowsers, and the sweat pouring down over his face in streams, sat up in the shell. "All right,' said Mr Treenail,'help him out of his berth.'

66

"He was pinioned like the rest, and forthwith we walked them all off to the beach. By this time there was an unusual bustle in the Holy Ground, and we could hear many an anathema, curses, not loud but deep, ejaculated from many a half-opened door as we passed along. We reached the boat, and time it was we did so, for a number of stout fellows, who had followed us in a gradually increasing crowd, until they amounted to forty at the fewest, now nearly surrounded us, and kept closing in. As the last of us jumped into the boat, they made a rush, so that if we had not shoved off with the speed of light, I think it very likely that we should have been overpowered. However, we reached the ship in safety, and the day following we weighed, and stood out to sea with our convoy.

"A line-of-battle ship led-and two frigates and three sloops of our class were stationed on the outskirts of the fleet, whipping them in as it were. Nothing particular happened for three weeks. We made Madeira in fourteen days, looked in, but did not anchor."

"Ahem, ahem," said Aaron-'superb island-magnificent mountains -white town,'-and all very fine I make no doubt," as he read on.

"On this evening, (we had by this time progressed into the trades, and were within three hundred miles of Barbadoes,) the sun had set bright and clear, after a most beautiful day,

6

and we were bowling along right before it, rolling like the very devil; but there was no moon, and although the stars sparkled brilliantly, yet it was dark, and as we were the stern-' most of the men-of-war, we had the task of whipping in the sluggards. It was my watch on deck. A gun from the Commodore, who shewed a number of lights. What is that, Mr Kennedy?' said the Captain to the old gunner. The Commodore has made the night signal for the sternmost ships to make more sail and close, sir.' We repeated the signaland stood on hailing the dullest of the merchantmen in our neighbourhood to make more sail, and firing a musket-shot now and then over the more distant of them. By and by we saw a large West-Indiaman suddenly haul her wind, and stand across our bows.

"

"Forward there,' sung out Mr Splinter, stand by to fire a shot at that fellow from the boat gun if he does not bear up. What can he be after?-Sergeant Armstrong,' to a marine, who was standing close by him, in the waist;-get a musket, and fire over him.' It was done, and the ship immediately bore up on her course again; we now ranged alongside of him on his larboard quarter.

"

"Ho, the ship, a hoy !'- Hillo!' was the reply. Make more sail, sir, and run into the body of the fleet, or I shall fire into you; why don't you, sir, keep in the wake of the Commodore?' No answer.

"What meant you by hauling your wind just now, sir?'

"Yesh, Yesh,' at length responded a voice from the merchantman.

66 6

Something wrong here,' said Mr Splinter. Back your maintopsail, sir, and hoist a light at the peak; I shall send a boat on board of you. Boatswain's mate, pipe away the crew of the jolly boat.' We also backed our maintopsail, and were in the act of lowering down the boat, when the officer rattled out. Keep all fast, with the boat; I can't comprehend that chap's manoeuvres for the soul of me. He has not hove-to.' Once more we were within pistolshot of him. Why don't you heaveto, sir?' All silent.

"

"Presently we could perceive a confusion and noise of struggling on board; and angry voices, as if

<

could answer, a shot from the brig fired at the privateer, shewed she was broad awake. Next moment Captain Deadeye hailed. Have you mastered the prize crew, Mr Treenail ?’—′ Aye, aye, sir.'—' Then keep your course, and keep two lights hoisted at your mizen peak during the night, and blue Peter at the maintopsail yardarm; when the day breaks, I shall haul my wind after the suspicious sail in your wake.'

"Another shot, and another, from the brig. By this the lieutenant had descended to the cabin followed by his people, while the merchant crew once more took charge of the ship, crowding sail into the body of the fleet.

"I followed him close, pistol and cutlass in hand, and I shall never forget the scene that presented itself when I entered. The cabin was that of a vessel of five hundred tons, elegantly fitted up; the panels were filled with crimson cloth, and gold mouldings, with superb damask hangings before the stern windows and the side berths, and brilliantly lighted up by two large swinging lamps hung from the deck above, which were reflected from, and multiplied in, several plate glass mirrors in the panels. In the recess, which in cold weather had been occupied by the stove, now stood a splendid cabinet piano, the silk corresponding with the crimson cloth of the panels; it was open, a Leghorn bonnet with a green veil, a parasol, and two long white gloves, as if recently pulled off, lay on it, with the very mould of the hands in them.

"The rudder case was particularly beautiful; it was a richly carved and gilded palm-tree, the stem painted white, and interlaced with golden fretwork, like the lozenges of a pineapple, while the leaves spread up and abroad on the roof.

"The table was laid for supper, with cold meat, and wine, and a profusion of silver things, all sparkling brightly; but it was in great disorder, wine spilt, and glasses broken, and dishes with meat upset, and knives, and forks, and spoons, scattered all about. She was evidently one of those London West Indiamen, on board of which I knew there was much splendour and great comfort. But, alas! the hand of law

"Four gentlemanly-looking men were sitting at table, lashed to their chairs, pale and trembling, while six of the most ruffian-looking scoundrels I ever beheld, stood on the opposite side of the table in a row fronting us, with the light from the lamps shining full on them. of them were small, but very square Three mulattoes; one was a South American Indian, with the square highboned visage, and long, lank, black glossy hair of his cast. These four had no clothing besides their trowsers, and stood with their arms folded, in all the calmness of desperate men, caught in the very fact of some horrible atrocity, which they knew shut out all hope of mercy. The two others were white Frenchmen, tall, bushy-whiskered, sallow desperadoes, but still, wonderful to relate, with, if I may so speak, the manners of gentlemen. One of them squinted, and had a hair-lip, which gave him a horrible expression. They were dressed in white trowsers and shirts, yellow silk sashes round their waists, and a sort of blue uniform jackets, blue Gascon caps, with the peaks, from each of which depended a large bullion tassel, hanging down on one side of their heads. The whole party had apparently made up their minds that resistance was vain, for their pistols and cutlasses, some of them bloody, had all been laid on the table, with the buts and handles towards us, contrasting horribly with the glit tering equipage of steel, and crystal, and silver things, on the snow-white damask table-cloth. They were immediately seized, and ironed, to which they submitted in silence. We next released the passengers, and were

overpowered with thanks, one dan[April, cing, one crying, one laughing, and another praying. But, merciful Heaven! what an object met our eyes! Drawing aside the curtain that concealed a sofa, fitted into a recess, there lay, more dead than alive, a tall and on her left arm, her clothes dishemost beautiful girl, her head resting velled and torn, blood on her bosom, long dark hair loose and dishevelled, and foam on her mouth, with her and covering the upper part of her deadly pale face, through which truding from their sockets, glanced her wild sparkling black eyes, proand glared with the fire of a mabering an incoherent prayer one moniac's, while her blue lips kept gibment, and the next imploring mercy, as if she had still been in the hands and anon, a low hysterical laugh of those who knew not the name; made our very blood freeze in our dismal yell, as she rolled off the bosoms, which soon ended in a long couch upon the hard deck, and lay in a dead faint.