roundfacin’myfather，“isityouthat’sinit？——an’how’sallwithyou，TerryNeil？“
’“Atyourhonour’ssarvice，“saysmyfatheraswellasthefrightidlethim，forhewasmoredeadthanalive，“an’
it’sproudIamtoseeyourhonourto-
night，“sayshe。
’“Terence，“saysthesquire，“you’rearespectableman“an’itwasthrueforhim，“anindusthrious，soberman，an’anexampleofinebrietytothewholeparish，“
sayshe。
’“Thankyourhonour，“saysmyfather，gettin’courage，“youwerealwaysacivilspokengintleman，Godrestyourhonour。“
’“RESTmyhonour？“saysthesperitfairlygettin’redinthefacewiththemadness，“Restmyhonour？“sayshe。
“Why，youignorantspalpeen，“sayshe，“youmane，niggarlyignoramush，“sayshe，“wheredidyoulaveyourmanners？“
sayshe。“IfIAMdead，it’snofaultivmine，“sayshe；“an’it’snottobethruninmyteethateveryhand’sturn，bythelikesivyou，“sayshe，stampin’hisfootantheflure，thatyou’dthinktheboordsidsmashundtherhim。
’“Oh，“saysmyfather，“I’monlyafoolish，ignorantpoorman，“sayshe。
’“You’renothingelse，“saysthesquire：
“butanyway，“sayshe，“it’snottobelistenin’toyourgosther，norconvarsin’
withthelikesivyou，thatIcameUP——
downImane，“sayshe——an’aslittleasthemistakewas，myfathertuknoticeivit。“Listentomenow，TerenceNeil，“
sayshe：“IwasalwaysagoodmasthertoPathrickNeil，yourgrandfather，“sayshe。
’“’Tisthrueforyourhonour，“saysmyfather。
’“And，moreover，IthinkIwasalwaysasober，riglargintleman，“saysthesquire。
’“That’syourname，sureenough，“saysmyfatherthoughitwasabiglieforhim，buthecouldnothelpit。
’“Well，“saysthesperit，“althoughI
wasassoberasmostmen——atlasteasmostgintlemin，“sayshe；“an’thoughI
wasatdifferentpariodsamostextemporyChristian，andmostcharitableandinhumantothepoor，“sayshe；“forallthatI’mnotasasywhereIamnow，“sayshe，“asIhadarighttoexpect，“sayshe。
’“An’more’sthepity，“saysmyfather。
“MaybeyourhonouridwishtohaveawordwithFatherMurphy？“
’“Houldyourtongue，youmisherablebliggard，“saysthesquire；“it’snotivmysowlI’mthinkin’——an’Iwondtheryou’dhavetheimpitencetotalktoagintlemanconsarnin’hissowl；andwhenIwantTHATfixed，“sayshe，slappin’histhigh，“I’llgotothemthatknowswhatbelongstothelikes，“sayshe。“It’snotmysowl，“
sayshe，sittin’downopossitemyfather；
“it’snotmysowlthat’sannoyin’memost——I’munasyonmyrightleg，“sayshe，“thatIbrukatGlenvarlochcoverthedayIkilledblackBarney。“
’Myfatherfoundoutafther，itwasafavouritehorsethatfellundherhim，aftherleapin’thebigfencethatrunsalongbytheglin。
’“Ihope，“saysmyfather，“yourhonour’snotunasyaboutthekillin’ivhim？“
’“Houldyourtongue，yefool，“saidthesquire，“an’I’lltellyouwhyI’munasyonmyleg，“sayshe。“Intheplace，whereI
spendmostivmytime，“sayshe，“exceptthelittleleisureIhaveforlookin’aboutmehere，“sayshe，“IhavetowalkagreatdalemorethanIwaseverusedto，“sayshe，“andbyfarmorethanisgoodformeeither，“
sayshe；“forImusttellyou，“sayshe，“thepeoplewhereIamisancommonlyfondivcowldwather，forthereisnothin’
betthertobehad；an’，moreover，theweatherishotterthanisaltogetherplisant，“
sayshe；“andI’mappinted，“sayshe，“toassistincarryin’thewather，an’getsamightypoorshareivitmyself，“sayshe，“an’amightythroublesome，wearin’jobitis，Icantellyou，“sayshe；“forthey’reallivthemsurprisinlydthry，an’dthrinksitasfastasmylegscancarryit，“sayshe；
“butwhatkillsmeintirely，“sayshe，“isthewakenessinmyleg，“sayshe，“an’I
wantyoutogiveitapullortwotobringittoshape，“sayshe，“andthat’sthelongan’theshortivit，“sayshe。
’“Oh，plaseyourhonour，“saysmyfatherforhedidn’tliketohandlethesperitatall，“Iwouldn’thavetheimpidencetodothelikestoyourhonour，“
sayshe；“it’sonlytopoorcrathurslikemyselfI’ddoitto，“sayshe。
’“Noneivyourblarney，“saysthesquire。“Here’smyleg，“sayshe，cockin’
ituptohim——“pullitforthebarelife，“
sayshe；an’“ifyoudon’t，bytheimmortialpowersI’llnotlaveaboneinyourcarcishI’llnotpowdher，“sayshe。
’Whenmyfatherheerdthat，heseentherewasnouseinpurtendin’，sohetukhouldivtheleg，an’hekep’pullin’an’
pullin’，tillthesweat，Godblessus，beginnedtopourdownhisface。
’“Pull，youdivil!“saysthesquire。
’“Atyoursarvice，yourhonour，“saysmyfather。
“’Pullharder，“saysthesquire。
’Myfatherpulledlikethedivil。
’“I’lltakealittlesup，“saysthesquire，rachin’overhishandtothebottle，“tokeepupmycourage，“sayshe，lettin’antobeverywakeinhimselfintirely。But，ascuteashewas，hewasouthere，forhetukthewrongone。“Here’stoyourgoodhealth，Terence，“sayshe；“an’nowpullliketheverydivil。“An’withthatheliftedthebottleofholywather，butitwashardlytohismouth，whinheletascreechout，you’dthinktheroomidfairlysplitwithit，an’madeonechuckthatsentthelegclaneaffhisbodyinmyfather’shands。
Downwintthesquireoverthetable，an’
bangwintmyfatherhalf-wayacrosstheroomonhisback，upontheflure。Whinhekemtohimselfthecheerfulmornin’sunwasshinin’throughthewindyshutthers，an’hewaslyingflatanhisback，withthelegivoneofthegreatouldchairspulledclaneoutivthesocketan’tightinhishand，pintin’uptotheceilin’，an’ouldLarryfastasleep，an’snorin’asloudasever。Myfatherwintthatmornin’toFatherMurphy，an’fromthattothedayofhisdeath，heneverneglectedconfissionnormass，an’whathetouldwasbettherbelievedthathespakeavitbutseldom。
An’，asforthesquire，thatisthesperit，whetheritwasthathedidnotlikehisliquor，orbyrasonivthelossivhisleg，hewasneverknowntowalkagin。’
THEFORTUNESOFSIRROBERTARDAGH。
BeingasecondExtractfromthePapersofthelateFatherPurcell。
’Theearthhathbubblesasthewaterhath——
Andtheseareofthem。’
InthesouthofIreland，andonthebordersofthecountyofLimerick，thereliesadistrictoftwoorthreemilesinlength，whichisrenderedinterestingbythefactthatitisoneoftheveryfewspotsthroughoutthiscountry，inwhichsomevestigesofaboriginalforeststillremain。IthaslittleornoneofthelordlycharacteroftheAmericanforest，fortheaxehasfelleditsoldestanditsgrandesttrees；butintheclosewoodwhichsurvives，liveallthewildandpleasingpeculiaritiesofnature：
itscompleteirregularity，itsvistas，inwhoseperspectivethequietcattlearepeacefullybrowsing；itsrefreshingglades，wherethegreyrocksarisefromamidthenoddingfern；thesilveryshaftsoftheoldbirchtrees；theknottedtrunksofthehoaryoak，thegrotesquebutgracefulbrancheswhichnevershedtheirhonoursunderthetyrantpruning-hook；thesoftgreensward；thechequeredlightandshade；thewildluxuriantweeds；thelichenandthemoss——all，allarebeautifulalikeinthegreenfreshnessofspring，orinthesadnessandsereofautumn。Theirbeautyisofthatkindwhichmakestheheartfullwithjoy——appealingtotheaffectionswithapowerwhichbelongstonatureonly。
Thiswoodrunsup，frombelowthebase，totheridgeofalonglineofirregularhills，havingperhaps，inprimitivetimes，formedbuttheskirtingofsomemightyforestwhichoccupiedthelevelbelow。
Butnow，alas!whitherhavewedrifted？
whitherhasthetideofcivilisationborneus？Ithaspassedoveralandunpreparedforit——ithasleftnakednessbehindit；wehavelostourforests，butourmaraudersremain；wehavedestroyedallthatispicturesque，whilewehaveretainedeverythingthatisrevoltinginbarbarism。Throughthemidstofthiswoodlandthererunsadeepgullyorglen，wherethestillnessofthesceneisbrokeninuponbythebrawlingofamountain-stream，which，however，inthewinterseason，swellsintoarapidandformidabletorrent。
Thereisonepointatwhichtheglenbecomesextremelydeepandnarrow；thesidesdescendtothedepthofsomehundredfeet，andaresosteepastobenearlyperpendicular。Thewildtreeswhichhavetakenrootinthecranniesandchasmsoftherockhavesointersectedandentangled，thatonecanwithdifficultycatchaglimpseofthestream，whichwheels，flashes，andfoamsbelow，asifexultinginthesurroundingsilenceandsolitude。
Thisspotwasnotunwiselychosen，asapointofnoordinarystrength，fortheerectionofamassivesquaretowerorkeep，onesideofwhichrisesasifincontinuationoftheprecipitouscliffonwhichitisbased。
Originally，theonlymodeofingresswasbyanarrowportalintheverywallwhichovertoppedtheprecipice，openinguponaledgeofrockwhichaffordedaprecariouspathway，cautiouslyintersected，however，byadeeptrenchcutwithgreatlabourinthelivingrock；sothat，initsoriginalstate，andbeforetheintroductionofartilleryintotheartofwar，thistowermighthavebeenpronounced，andthatnotpresumptuously，almostimpregnable。
Theprogressofimprovementandtheincreasingsecurityofthetimeshad，however，tempteditssuccessiveproprietors，ifnottoadorn，atleasttoenlargetheirpremises，andataboutthemiddleofthelastcentury，whenthecastlewaslastinhabited，theoriginalsquaretowerformedbutasmallpartoftheedifice。
Thecastle，andawidetractofthesur-
roundingcountry，hadfromtimeimmemorialbelongedtoafamilywhich，fordistinctness，weshallcallbythenameofArdagh；andowingtotheassociationswhich，inIreland，almostalwaysattachtosceneswhichhavelongwitnessedaliketheexerciseofsternfeudalauthority，andofthatsavagehospitalitywhichdistinguishedthegoodoldtimes，thisbuildinghasbecomethesubjectandthesceneofmanywildandextraordinarytraditions。OneofthemIhavebeenenabled，byapersonalacquaintancewithaneye-witnessoftheevents，totracetoitsorigin；andyetitishardtosaywhethertheeventswhichIamabouttorecordappearmorestrangeorimprobableasseenthroughthedistortingmediumoftradition，orintheappallingdimnessofuncertaintywhichsurroundsthereality。
Traditionsaysthat，sometimeinthelastcentury，SirRobertArdagh，ayoungman，andthelastheirofthatfamily，wentabroadandservedinforeignarmies；andthat，havingacquiredconsiderablehonourandemolument，hesettledatCastleArdagh，thebuildingwehavejustnowattemptedtodescribe。HewaswhatthecountrypeoplecallaDARKman；thatis，hewasconsideredmorose，reserved，andill-tempered；and，asitwassupposedfromtheuttersolitudeofhislife，wasuponnotermsofcordialitywiththeothermembersofhisfamily。
Theonlyoccasionuponwhichhebrokethroughthesolitarymonotonyofhislifewasduringthecontinuanceoftheracingseason，andimmediatelysubsequenttoit；
atwhichtimehewastobeseenamongthebusiestuponthecourse，bettingdeeplyandunhesitatingly，andinvariablywithsuccess。SirRobertwas，however，toowellknownasamanofhonour，andoftoohighafamily，tobesuspectedofanyunfairdealing。Hewas，moreover，asoldier，andamanofanintrepidaswellasofahaughtycharacter；andnoonecaredtohazardasurmise，theconsequencesofwhichwouldbefeltmostprobablybyitsoriginatoronly。
Gossip，however，wasnotsilent；itwasremarkedthatSirRobertneverappearedattherace-ground，whichwastheonlyplaceofpublicresortwhichhefrequented，exceptincompanywithacertainstrange-