’Andwhydon’tyoubuyanother？’
’Isitofbuyingyouarespeaking？AndwhereamItogetthemoney？’
’Ah!that’sanotherthing!’
’Faithitis，honey!-AndnowtheChristmasholidaysiscoming，whenIshallbeathomebydayaswellasnight，andthenwhatamI
todo？SinceIhavebeenasaggarting，Ihavebeengoodfornothingatall-neitherforworknorGreek-onlytoplaycards!
Faith，it’sgoingmadIwillbe!’
’Isay，Murtagh!’
’Yes，Shorshadear!’
’Ihaveapackofcards。’
’Youdon’tsayso，Shorshamavourneen？-youdon’tsaythatyouhavecardsfifty-two？’
’Ido，though；andtheyarequitenew-neverbeenonceused。’
’Andyou’llbelendingthemtome，Iwarrant？’
’Don’tthinkit!-ButI’llsellthemtoyou，joy，ifyoulike。’
’HanammonDioul!amInotaftertellingyouthatIhavenomoneyatall!’
’Butyouhaveasgoodasmoney，tome，atleast；andI’lltakeitinexchange。’
’What’sthat，Shorshadear？’
’Irish!’
’Irish？’
’Yes，youspeakIrish；Iheardyoutalkingittheotherdaytothecripple。YoushallteachmeIrish。’
’Andisitalanguage-masteryou’dbemakingofme？’
’Tobesure!-whatbettercanyoudo？-itwouldhelpyoutopassyourtimeatschool。Youcan’tlearnGreek，soyoumustteachIrish!’
BeforeChristmas，MurtaghwasplayingatcardswithhisbrotherDenis，andIcouldspeakaconsiderablequantityofbrokenIrish。
CHAPTERXI
Templemore-Devil’sMountain-Nocompanion-Forceofcircumstance-Wayoftheworld-Ruinedcastle-Grimanddesolate-Thedonjon-Oldwoman-Myownhouse。
WHENChristmaswasover，andthenewyearcommenced，webrokeupourquarters，andmarchedawaytoTemplemore。Thiswasalargemilitarystation，situatedinawildandthinlyinhabitedcountry。
Extensivebogswereintheneighbourhood，connectedwiththehugebogofAllen，thePalusMaeotisofIreland。Hereandtherewasseenaruinedcastleloomingthroughthemistsofwinter；whilst，atthedistanceofsevenmiles，roseasingularmountain，exhibitinginitsbrowachasm，orvacuum，just，foralltheworld，asifapiecehadbeenbittenout；afeatwhich，accordingtothetraditionofthecountry，hadactuallybeenperformedbyhisSatanicmajesty，who，afterflyingforsomeleagueswiththemorselinhismouth，becomingweary，droppeditinthevicinityofCashel，whereitmaynowbeseenintheshapeofaboldbluffhill，crownedwiththeruinsofastatelyedifice，probablybuiltbysomeancientIrishking。
Wehadbeenhereonlyafewdays，whenmybrother，who，asIhavebeforeobserved，hadbecomeoneofhisMajesty’sofficers，wassentondetachmenttoavillageatabouttenmiles’distance。Hewasnotsixteen，and，thoughthreeyearsolderthanmyself，scarcelymyequalinstature，forIhadbecometallandlarge-limbedformyage；buttherewasaspiritinhimwhichwouldnothavedisgracedageneral；and，nothingdauntedattheconsiderableresponsibilitywhichhewasabouttoincur，hemarchedsturdilyoutofthebarrack-yardattheheadofhisparty，consistingoftwentylight-
infantrymen，andatallgrenadiersergeant，selectedexpresslybymyfather，forthesoldier-likequalitieswhichhepossessed，toaccompanyhissononthishisfirstexpedition。Sooutofthebarrack-yard，withsomethingofanair，marchedmydearbrother，hissingledrumandfifeplayingtheinspiringoldmelody，Marlbroukisgonetothewars，He’llneverreturnnomore!
Isoonmissedmybrother，forIwasnowalone，withnobeing，atallassimilatinginage，withwhomIcouldexchangeaword。Oflateyears，frombeingalmostconstantlyatschool，Ihadcastaside，inagreatdegree，myunsocialhabitsandnaturalreserve，butinthedesolateregioninwhichwenowweretherewasnoschool；andIfeltdoublythelossofmybrother，whom，moreover，I
tenderlylovedforhisownsake。BooksIhadnone，atleastsuch’asIcaredabout’；andwithrespecttotheoldvolume，thewondersofwhichhadfirstbeguiledmeintocommonreading，Ihadsofrequentlyporedoveritspages，thatIhadalmostgotitscontentsbyheart。IwasthereforeindangeroffallingintothesamepredicamentasMurtagh，becoming’frighted’fromhavingnothingtodo!Nay，Ihadnotevenhisresources；Icarednotforcards，evenifIpossessedthemandcouldfindpeopledisposedtoplaywiththem。However，Imadethemostofcircumstances，androamedaboutthedesolatefieldsandbogsintheneighbourhood，sometimesenteringthecabinsofthepeasantry，witha’God’sblessinguponyou，goodpeople!’whereIwouldtakemyseatonthe’stranger’sstone’atthecornerofthehearth，and，lookingthemfullintheface，wouldlistentothecarlesandcarlinestalkingIrish。
Ah，thatIrish!Howfrequentlydocircumstances，atfirstsightthemosttrivialandunimportant，exerciseamightyandpermanentinfluenceonourhabitsandpursuits!-howfrequentlyisastreamturnedasidefromitsnaturalcoursebysomelittlerockorknoll，causingittomakeanabruptturn!OnawildroadinIrelandIhadheardIrishspokenforthefirsttime；andIwasseizedwithadesiretolearnIrish，theacquisitionofwhich，inmycase，becamethestepping-stonetootherlanguages。IhadpreviouslylearntLatin，orratherLilly；butneitherLatinnorLillymademeaphilologist。IhadfrequentlyheardFrenchandotherlanguages，buthadfeltlittledesiretobecomeacquaintedwiththem；andwhat，itmaybeasked，wasthereconnectedwiththeIrishcalculatedtorecommendittomyattention？
Firstofall，andprincipally，Ibelieve，thestrangenessandsingularityofitstones；thentherewassomethingmysteriousanduncommonassociatedwithitsuse。Itwasnotaschoollanguage，toacquirewhichwasconsideredanimperativeduty；no，no；norwasitadrawing-roomlanguage，drawledoutoccasionally，inshredsandpatches，bytheladiesofgeneralsandothergreatdignitaries，totheineffabledismayofpoorofficers’wives。Nothingofthekind；
butaspeechspokeninout-of-the-waydesolateplaces，andincut-
throatkens，wherethirtyruffians，atthesightoftheking’sminions，wouldspringupwithbrandishedsticksandan’ubbubbooliketheblowingupofapowder-magazine。’SuchwerethepointsconnectedwiththeIrish，whichfirstawakenedinmymindthedesireofacquiringit；andbyacquiringitIbecame，asIhavealreadysaid，enamouredoflanguages。Havinglearntonebychoice，Ispeedily，asthereaderwillperceive，learntothers，someofwhichwerewidelydifferentfromIrish。
Ah，thatIrish!Iammuchindebtedtoitinmorewaysthanone。
ButIamafraidIhavefollowedthewayoftheworld，whichisverymuchwonttoneglectoriginalfriendsandbenefactors。I
frequentlyfindmyself，atpresent，turningupmynoseatIrishwhenIhearitinthestreet；yetIhavestillakindofregardforit，thefineoldlanguage：
AlabhairPadruicn’insefailnanriogh。
OneofthemostpeculiarfeaturesofthispartofIrelandistheruinedcastles，whicharesothickandnumerousthatthefaceofthecountryappearsstuddedwiththem，itbeingdifficulttochooseanysituationfromwhichone，atleast，maynotbedescried。Theyareofvariousagesandstylesofarchitecture，someofgreatantiquity，likethestatelyremainswhichcrowntheCragofCashel；
othersbuiltbytheearlyEnglishconquerors；others，andprobablythegreaterpart，erectionsofthetimesofElizabethandCromwell。
Thewholespeakingmonumentsofthetroubledandinsecurestateofthecountry，fromthemostremoteperiodstoacomparativelymoderntime。
FromthewindowsoftheroomwhereIsleptIhadaviewofoneoftheseoldplaces-anindistinctone，itistrue，thedistancebeingtoogreattopermitmetodistinguishmorethanthegeneraloutline。Ihadananxiousdesiretoexploreit。Itstoodtothesouth-east；inwhichdirection，however，ablackbogintervened，whichhadmorethanoncebaffledallmyattemptstocrossit。Onemorning，however，whenthesunshonebrightlyupontheoldbuilding，itappearedsonear，thatIfeltashamedatnotbeingabletoaccomplishafeatseeminglysoeasy；Idetermined，therefore，uponanothertrial。Ireachedthebog，andwasabouttoventureuponitsblacksurface，andtopickmywayamongstitsinnumerableholes，yawninghorribly，andhalffilledwithwaterblackassoot，whenitsuddenlyoccurredtomethattherewasaroadtothesouth，byfollowingwhichImightfindamoreconvenientroutetotheobjectofmywishes。Theeventjustifiedmyexpectations，for，afterfollowingtheroadforsomethreemiles，seeminglyinthedirectionoftheDevil’sMountain，I
suddenlybeheldthecastleonmyleft。
Idivergedfromtheroad，and，crossingtwoorthreefields，cametoasmallgrassyplain，inthemidstofwhichstoodthecastle。
Aboutagun-shottothesouthwasasmallvillage，whichhad，probably，inancientdays，sprungupbeneathitsprotection。A
kindofawecameovermeasIapproachedtheoldbuilding。Thesunnolongershoneuponit，anditlookedsogrim，sodesolateandsolitary；andherewasI，inthatwildcountry，alonewiththatgrimbuildingbeforeme。Thevillagewaswithinsight，itistrue；
butitmightbeavillageofthedeadforwhatIknew；nosoundissuedfromit，nosmokewasrisingfromitsroofs，neithermannorbeastwasvisible，nolife，nomotion-itlookedasdesolateasthecastleitself。YetIwasbentontheadventure，andmovedontowardsthecastleacrossthegreenplain，occasionallycastingastartledglancearoundme；andnowIwasclosetoit。