andItoldO’ConnorthatuponsecondthoughtsIwouldridedownwithhimtothetown，andwaituponMr。Fitzgerald。
Wefoundhimathome；andchattedwithhimforaconsiderabletime。Tomysurprisehismannerswereperfectlythoseofagentleman，andhisconversation，ifnotpeculiarlyengaging，wascertainlyamusing。Thepolitenessofhisdemeanour，andtheeasyfluencywithwhichhetoldhisstoriesandhisanecdotes，manyofthemcurious，andallmoreorlessentertaining，accountedtomymindatonceforthefacilitywithwhichhehadimprovedhisacquaintancewithO’Connor；andwhenhepresseduponusaninvitationtosupwithhimthatnight，IhadalmostjoinedO’Connorinacceptingit。Idetermined，however，againstdoingso，forI
hadnowishtobeontermsoffamiliaritywithMr。Fitzgerald；andIknewthatoneeveningspenttogetherasheproposedwouldgofurthertowardsestablishinganintimacybetweenusthanfiftymorningvisitscoulddo。WhenIarosetodepart，itwaswithfeelingsalmostfavourabletoFitzgerald；indeedIwasmorethanhalfashamedtoacknowledgetomycompanionhowcompletearevolutioninmyopinionrespectinghisfriendhalfanhour’sconversationwithhimhadwrought。HisappearancecertainlyWASagainsthim；butthen，undertheinfluenceofhismanner，onelostsightofmuchofitsungainliness，andofnearlyallitsvulgarity；and，onthewhole，Ifeltconvincedthatreporthaddonehimgrievouswrong，inasmuchasanybody，byanobservanceofthecommoncourtesiesofsociety，mighteasilyavoidcomingintopersonalcollisionwithagentlemansostudiouslypoliteasFitzgerald。Atparting，O’Connorrequestedmetocalluponhimthenextday，asheintendedtomaketrialofthemeritsofapairofgreyhounds，whichhehadthoughtsofpurchasing；adding，thatifhecouldescapeinanythingliketolerabletimefromFitzgerald’ssupper-party，hewouldtakethefieldsoonaftertenonthenextmorning。Attheappointedhour，orperhapsalittlelater，IdismountedatCastleConnor；and，onenteringthehall，IobservedagentlemanissuingfromO’Connor’sprivateroom。Irecognisedhim，asheapproached，asaMr。
M’Donough，and，beingbutslightlyacquaintedwithhim，wasabouttopasshimwithabow，whenhestoppedme。
Therewassomethinginhismannerwhichstruckmeasodd；heseemedagooddealflurriedifnotagitated，andsaid，inahurriedtone：