the carpentress to remain in attendance, or to "do for me," as the cockney phraseology terms it.

Though gullible enough when a fair one was in question, still I was not quite such a novice as to make any display of, or even to hint at the amount of, my wealth. Not that at that moment of my youthful confidence I entertained any doubts of Susan or her sage friend, but an inward sense that my whole proceeding was wrong, suggested to me the propriety of concealment as to the extent of my pecuniary resources.

Let me pass over a week of folly; at the expiration of which I felt as anxious to escape from Deptford as ever I had been to fly from the detested hulk. Susan's hair appeared to me to grow each day redder and redder; and the entire confidence she seemed to place in her natural charms rendered her negligent of those adventitious aids which neatness or elegance in person and dress bestows. I was almost heretic enough to fancy she was not half so young or lovely as when I first beheld her on board deck, while the thoughts of an after-reckoning made me silent and reflective.

The dame of the house, who knew human nature pretty well, saw how matters stood in my mind; and she also must have perceived that, with all my folly,, I was no fool. It was, therefore, I presume, by her advice, that the gentle Susan herself urged my departure when half the number of my fourteen days had expired.

My determination once taken, I soon acted upon it; and I gladly "tore myself away," as novelists write, when their hero walks off from the scene of his romance, without any one attempting to hold him back or catch at his skirts, and, in the language of the Leadenhall press, “threw myself into a coach ;” that is, was helped into the "Royal George," on eight wheels, with sixteen insides, and in half an hour found myself snugly seated in the coffee-room of the Golden Cross, Charing Cross.

I had not been above an hour in the house, when I had the good fortune to be stumbled on by a friend of my father's, with whom, when a little boy, I had always been a favourite. This was Mr. William Pallister, well known in the gay circles of Dublin, a companion of infinite wit, a capital musician, a bon vivant, and more than all, a warm-hearted, generous, Irish gentleman.

With his mother and three sisters he had come to London to see the world; but chiefly to enable one of the party, the eldest daughter, to enjoy that happiness: in fact, to have an operation performed on both eyes, which had from infancy been obscured by cataract, and which was most happily and successfully effected by the first oculist of those days. Happening to enter the coffee-room of the hotel about four o'clock, in VOL. I.

4

search of some newly arrived Pat, he espied me just going to attack a mutton chop in a corner box. His eyes caught mine, and were fixed on me; while, at the same time, he seemed to doubt my identity. He asked some question of the waiter "sotto voce," to which the man of the towel answered by the usual cockney blunder; "I don't know-I'am sure!"

This prince of good-fellows came over to my corner, and holding out his hand pronounced my name, to which I responded by springing almost into his arms. Not having seen me for nearly two years, I had grown out of his recollection, but my features were still familiar to him. He would not suffer me to touch my smoking chop, but, hurrying me up stairs, introduced me to his mother and sisters, with only one of whom, the youngest, I had been previously acquainted.

The dinner table was laid with six covers, for he calculated on picking up a stray countryman in the course of his daily rambles; and, fortunately, his circumstances enabled him to indulge his generous feelings. His father, who was still living, was a wealthy brewer of Dublin, and whether abroad or at home, Mr. William, the only son, had a "carte blanche" on the bank of la Touche and Co. His mother was one of those unassuming kind gentlewomen of the old school. The daughters were modern and genteel, in the most pleasing and perfect sense of that much hacknied phrase, combining much of the good sense and good nature of their venerable parents with all the polish of latter days. In such society I grieved to think my hours of enjoyment were numbered; then did my waste of time at Deptford first haunt me as an act of guilt. With all the ingenuousness of my age and temper I told my whole story to my friend over our bottle, not concealing the Deptford affair, on hearing which he assured me with well affected studied solemnity that he would have the pleasure of repeating it to my father whenever they met.

With this kind family I enjoyed all the amusements which London and its vicinity afforded, and after four days' and indeed nights' enjoyment, for we always kept it up, Irish fashion, long after the small hours, I parted from them all with a regret so mutual and sincere, as to bring tears into the eyes of those dear good girls, in whose society I experienced so much happiness, unalloyed by any one act or thought unworthy the sacred character of friendship. On the morning of my departure, only two hours after our usual late breaking up, I found my kind and generous friend in his dressing gown, having sat up to see me fairly off.

On calling for my bill I found that there was none against me. To be sure, my friend's hospitality rendered it impossible I should have an eating and drinking bill; but my lodgings

chambermaid-boots-waiter, all, all were satisfied. Not one sous had I to disburse; and when remonstrating against this trespass on his kindness, he only interrupted me by whispering that he had something for me which might be useful on the road, which he endeavoured to squeeze into my hand. I knew it was money; but I rejected it, assuring him that I had exactly sixteen guineas left, which was nearly three times the sum I should have occasion to spend on my journey. An ocular demonstration alone satisfied him that I was not overcalculating my means. He then bade me farewell, and I grieve to say I never saw him afterwards. My father, however, enjoyed that pleasure many a time and oft, and by reference to my letters convinced him that neither time nor distance has obliterated the gratitude of one to whom he had been so kind.

Stuck up on the roof of the Holyhead coach, I was rattled over the stones in the imperfect twilight, and felt heartily glad when we got fairly on the road to wrap up in my boat-cloak. I prepared myself for a nap, which, notwithstanding my being an exterior, and the air cold and weather showery, I enjoyed for two or three hours. The outsides sat all round the roof with their legs dangling; the hind boot or basket was crammed with luggage; but, having been so early as to have a choice of seats, I took up a central position, and was hemmed in all round, so that accident, except in case of an overset, was impossible. I did not feel perfectly awake until we arrived at Banbury to breakfast; for the remainder of the day I held my post like a man, enjoying myself and amusing my fellow-passengers with a song and a tale; but towards midnight the clouds began to lour, and shortly afterwards a torrent of sonorous rain made me feel very uncomfortable. We were not yet half way on our road; but intimating my wish to become a member of the lower house for the remainder of the journey, I was booked "inside," accordingly, "paying the difference:" not a word was uttered amongst the party on whom I had been so unceremoniously thrust. Having made all their arrangements for the night, and pulled down their caps, they might have been griffins for any thing which I could see to the contrary. I could make out no distinctive feature of a human being; but, following their example, I was soon dreaming of my late days and nights of pleasure.

In the intervals of sleep, I thought of my excellent friend, Mr. W- P―, and his dear sisters, and wished to dream of them, too. I awoke about six very much in love, (according to Tom Piper's idea of the delightful passion;) and was heartily glad to be invited to walk up a long hill for the relief of the horses, which kept me for nearly half an hour in healthful exercise. My fellow "insides" were three in number,

only one of whom had a tongue, (except for grumbling,) and this was the lively little Lieutenant Turner, royal navy agent for transports, who was unfortunately killed some years after by his horse taking fright at a discharge of rockets, on occasion of the rejoicing for Nelson's victory of the Nile. His long snooze, as he termed it, over, his conversation, good-humour, and politeness to us all, never flagged during a long and otherwise dull day. The two sulky once were Taffies from Bangor, who had been up to town on a law suit, of course; thus much we could gather from their gibberish, while from their tempers it was pretty evident they were not the successful party. Having dropped their company at Bangor, we crossed the ferry, and took up as passengers to Holyhead only two young ladies, natives of the island of Anglesea, whose pleasing manners and sprightly conversation was a happy relief to the dulness of the druidical pair we had just discharged; and they enlivened the remainder of our journey through the principality.

The next morning, my awful fourteenth day! we were aroused from our beds at three o'clock. The wind whistled, the rain fell in slanting yet heavy showers; we followed the lantern of our guide to the place of embarkation in dogged silence and the worst of spirits. I was wet through my cloak ere I gained the packet, but once on board, comfort and civility reigned in every department. I pulled off my upper clothing and turned in, having previously seen from the state of the skies that we were about to have a regular gale; nor was I deceived. The anchor up, we set off under a four-reefed mainsail, three-reefed foresail, and the storm jib; the wind was easterly, fair as we could wish, but raising a frightful cross sea at the meeting of the tides. Could we have carried on all the voyage, we should have reached Dublin harbour in six or seven hours, but the wind came down at times in such tremendous squalls, as rendered it necessary to dowse every thing and scud before it. The Holyhead packets were at all times perfection itself: as regarded captain, crew, and craft, every thing which good seamanship could effect might be depended on, so that none of us felt the slightest uneasiness.

At length, after nine hours, the white tower of Dublin lighthouse was seen occasionally to show its glittering head through the lofty and boiling sea that in every direction foamed round its rugged base. We were doomed to pass a full hour, standing off and on, waiting for water over the bar; within another hour and a half our vessel was well up the harbour, and by three P. M. we were snugly moored in the packet's berths, opposite the Pigeon-House. At this place we got on board the packet wherry or tender, and with our luggage were landed

at Sir John Roger's quay, where, after submitting our trunks to the most indulgent examination, and paying the usual fees, we were suffered to depart. The day waned apace. I had stated candidly to Lieutenant Turner the precise circumstances under which I stood; and he strenuously advised me not to lose a moment in presenting myself at the Rendezvous House, giving it as his opinion that-if I failed to do so, I should be reported "R.U.N.," and probably seized at my own father's table as a deserter.

Instead of going directly to his own home, where every domestic happiness awaited him, he posted off with me (leaving our luggage at a public-house) to the lower ferry, which on crossing, we were at once on the steps of the Rendezvous House, Union quay. The whole was not the work of an hour, and long before five o'clock I had the satisfaction to receive back my pass, with the certificate of the officer, that I had that day presented myself according to the terms of my pass. I was informed that it would be sufficient if I showed myself once or twice a week until farther orders.

Although within two streets of home on my return, I insisted on escorting the good lieutenant to his house, which lay beyond Merrion Square, and setting him down with his portmanteau; which act of attention performed, I resisted his pressing entreaties to enter, and proceeded homewards, reserving my visit to him and Mrs. T. for some future day. The hackneycoachman did not spare the whip, seeing he had a young and impatient homeward-bound customer, and I was soon at home once more, amidst parents and brothers, sisters and friends, all of whom received me with the most endearing kindness.

When I told them the narrow escape I had of being returned a deserter, and some anecdotes of that hammer-headed shark, Jowlter, they one and all protested against my ever. tempting the main with the chance of falling under the command of such a ruffian. I had my own thoughts, too, much to the same purport, but on that point was silent.

Happening to arrive on an evening when a few young friends had increased our family party, and a neighbour or two were dropping in, who had heard of my return, we were allowed our own time and amusements, and it was nearly three, just twenty-four hours since my departure from Holyhead, ere our festive party separated. The morning's interview with my father brought on explanations; and that very day I accompanied him to our constant friend and adviser Sir Alexander Schomberg, who in the course of half an hour's friendly chat with me alone, elicited all he wished to know; and then, with his characteristic kindness, he advised me to give over all thoughts of the navy; stating that it was a service in which I