Of Sir Marmaduke Travers, there is little to tell the reader beyond
what the few hints thrown out already may have conveyed to him. He was
a London banker, whose wealth was reputed to be enormous. Originally
a younger son, he succeeded somewhat late in life to the baronetcy and
large estates of his family. The habits, however, of an active city
life--the pursuits which a long career had made a second nature to
him--rendered him both unfit to eater upon the less exciting duties of
a country gentleman's existence, and made him regard such as devoid of
interest or amusement. He continued therefore to reside in London for
many years after he became the baronet; and it was only at the death
of his wife, to whom he was devotedly attached, that these habits became
distasteful; he found that he could no longer continue a course which
companionship and mutual feeling had rendered agreeable, and he resolved
at once to remove to some one of his estates, where a new sphere of
occupation might alleviate the sorrows of his loss. To this no obstacle
of any kind existed. His only son was already launched into life as an
officer in the guards; and, except his daughter, so lately before the
reader, he had no other children. The effort to attain forgetfulness was
not more successful here, than it is usually found to be. The old man
sought, but found not in a country life the solace he expected; neither
his tastes nor his habits suited those of his neighbours; he was little
of a sportsman, still less of a farmer. The intercourse of country
social life was a poor recompense for the unceasing flow of London
society. He grew wearied very soon of his experiment, and longed once
more to return to his old haunts and habits. One more chance, however,
remained for him, and he was unwilling to reject without trying it. This
was, to visit Ireland, where he possessed a large estate, which he
had never seen. The property, originally mortgaged to his father, was
represented as singularly picturesque and romantic, possessing great
mineral wealth, and other resources, never examined into, nor made
available. His agent, Captain Hemsworth, a gentleman who resided on the
estate, at his annual visit to the proprietor, used to dilate upon the
manifold advantages and capabilities of the property, and never ceased
to implore him to pay a visit, if even for a week or two, sincerely
trusting the while that such an intention might never occur to him.
These entreaties, made from year to year, were the regular accompaniment
of every settlement of account, and as readily replied to by a half
promise, which the maker was certainly not more sincere in pledging.
Three years of country life had now, however, disposed Sir Marmaduke to
reflect on this long unperformed journey; and, regardless of the fact
that his agent was then grouse-shooting in Scotland, he set out at a
moment's notice, and without a word to apprise the household at the
lodge of his intended arrival, reached the house in the evening of an
autumn day, by the road we have already been describing.
It is but justice to Sir Marmaduke to add, that he was prompted to this
step by other than mere selfish considerations. The state of Ireland had
latterly become a topic of the press in both countries. The poverty of
the people--interpreted in various ways, and ascribed to very opposite
causes--was a constant theme of discussion and conversation. The strange
phenomenon of a land teeming with abundance, yet overrun by a starving
population, had just then begun to attract notice; and theories were
rife in accounting for that singular and anomalous social condition,
which unhappily the experience of an additional half century has not
succeeded in solving.
Sir Marmaduke was well versed in these popular writings; he had the
“Whole State of Ireland” by heart; and so firmly was he persuaded
that his knowledge of the subject was perfect, that he became actually
impatient until he had reached the country, and commenced the great
scheme of regeneration and civilization, by which Ireland and her people
were to be placed among the most favoured nations. He had heard much
of Irish indolence and superstition--Irish bigotry and intolerance--the
indifference to comfort--the indisposition to exertion--the recklessness
of the present--the improvidence of the future; he had been told that
saint-days and holydays mulcted labour of more than half its due--that
ignorance made the other half almost valueless; he had read, that, the
easy contentment with poverty, had made all industry distasteful,
and all exertion, save what was actually indispensable, a thing to be
avoided.
“Why should these things be, when they were not so in Norfolk, nor in
Yorkshire?” was the question he ever asked, and to which his knowledge
furnished no reply. There, superstitions, if they existed--and he knew
not if they did--came not in the way of daily labour. Saints never
unharnessed the team, nor laid the plough inactive--comfort was a
stimulant to industry that none disregarded; habits of order and decorum
made the possessor respected--poverty almost argued misconduct, and
certainly was deemed a reproach. Why then not propagate the system
of these happy districts in Ireland? To do this was the great end and
object of his visit.
Philanthropy would often seem unhappily to have a dislike to the
practical--the generous emotions appear shorn of their freedom, when
trammelled with the fruit of experience or reflection. So, certainly
it was, in the case before us. Sir Marmaduke had the very best
intentions--the weakest notions of their realization; the most unbounded
desire for good--the very narrowest conceptions of how to effect it.
Like most theorists, no speculative difficulty was great enough to
deter--no practical obstacle was so small as not to affright him. It
never apparently occurred to him that men are not every where alike,
and this trifling omission was the source of difficulties, which
he persisted in ascribing to causes outside of himself. Generous,
kind-hearted, and benevolent, he easily forgave an injury, never
willingly inflicted one; he was also, however, hot-tempered and
passionate; he could not brook opposition to his will, where its object
seemed laudable to himself, and was utterly unable to make allowance
for prejudices and leanings in others, simply because he had never
experienced them in his own breast.
Such was, in a few words, the present occupant of “the Lodge”--as the
residence of the agent was styled. Originally a hunting box, it had
been enlarged and ornamented by Captain Hemsworth, and converted into a
cottage of singular beauty, without, and no mean pretension to comfort,
within doors. It occupied an indenture of the glen of Keim-an-eigh, and
stood on the borders of a small mountain-lake, the surface of which
was dotted with wooded islands. Behind the cottage, and favoured by
the shelter of the ravine, the native oaks grew to a great size, and
contrasted by the rich foliage waving in the breeze, with the dark sides
of the cliff opposite, rugged, barren and immutable.
In all the luxuriance of this mild climate, shrubs attained the height
of trees; and flowers, rare enough elsewhere to demand the most watchful
care, grew here, unattended and unregarded. The very grass had a depth
of green, softer and more pleasing to the eye than in other places. It
seemed as if nature had, in compensation for the solitude around, shed
her fairest gifts over this lonely spot, one bright gem in the dreary
sky of winter.
About a mile further down the glen, and seated on a lofty pinnacle of
rock, immediately above the road, stood the once proud castle of the
O'Donoghue. Two square and massive towers still remained to mark its
ancient strength, and the ruins of various outworks and bastions could
be traced, extending for a considerable distance on every side. Between
these square towers, and occupying the space where originally a curtain
wall stood, a long low building now extended, whose high-pitched roof
and narrow windows vouched for an antiquity of little more than a
hundred years. It was a strange incongruous pile, in which fortress and
farm-house seemed welded together--the whole no bad type of its past and
its present owners. The approach was by a narrow causeway, cut in the
rock, and protected by a square keep, through whose deep arch the road
penetrated--flanked on either hand by a low battlemented wall; along
these, two rows of lime trees grew, stately and beautiful in the midst
of all the ruin about them. They spread their waving foliage around, and
threw a mellow, solemn shadow along the walk. Except these, not a tree,
nor even a shrub, was to be seen--the vast woods of nature's own
planting had disappeared--the casualties of war--the chances of times of
trouble, or the more ruinous course of poverty, had laid them low, and
the barren mountain now stood revealed, where once were waving forests
and shady groves, the home of summer birds, the lair of the wild deer.
Cows and farm-horses were stabled in what once had been the outworks of
the castle. Implements of husbandry lay carelessly on all sides, neglect
and decay marked every thing, the garden-wall was broken down in many
places, and cattle strayed at will among the torn fruit-trees and
dilapidated terraces, while, as if to add to the dreary aspect of the
scene, the ground for a considerable distance around had been tilled,
but never subsequently restored to grass land, and now along its ridged
surface noisome weeds and thistles grew rankly, tainting the air with
their odour, and sending up heavy exhalations from the moist and spongy
earth. If, without, all looked sad and sorrow-struck, the appearances
within, were not much better. A large flagged-hall, opened upon two long
ill-lighted corridors, from which a number of small sitting-rooms led
off. Many of these were perfectly devoid of furniture; in the others,
what remained seemed to owe its preservation to its want of value rather
than any other quality. Cracked looking-glasses--broken chairs, rudely
mended by some country hand--ragged and patched carpets, were the only
things to be found, with here and there some dirt-disfigured piece of
framed canvas, which, whether tapestry or painting, no eye could now
discover. These apartments bore little or no trace of habitation;
indeed, for many years they were rarely entered by any one. A large
square room in one of the towers, of some forty feet in dimensions, was
the ordinary resort of the family, serving the purposes of drawing and
dining-room. This was somewhat better in appearance: whatever articles
of furniture had any pretension to comfort or convenience were here
assembled; and here, were met, old-fashioned sofas, deep arm-chairs,
quaint misshapen tables like millipedes, and fat old footstools, the
pious work of long-forgotten grandmothers. A huge screen, covered with
a motley array of prints and caricatures, cut off the group around the
ample fire-place from the remainder of the apartment, and it is within
this charmed circle we would now conduct our reader.
[Illustration: 038]
In the great arm-chair, to the right of the ample fire-place, sat a
powerfully built old man, whose hair was white as snow, and fell in
long waving masses at either side of his head. His forehead, massive and
expanded, surmounted two dark, penetrating eyes, which even extreme old
age had not deprived of their lustre. The other features of his face
were rather marked by a careless, easy sensuality, than by any other
character, except that in the mouth the expression of firmness was
strongly displayed. His dress was a strange mixture of the costume of
gentleman and peasant. His coat, worn and threadbare, bore traces of
better days, in its cut and fashion; his vest also showed the fragment
of tarnished embroidery along the margin of the flapped pockets; but
the coarse knee breeches of corduroy, and the thick grey lambswool
stockings, wrinkled along the legs, were no better than those worn by
the poorer farmers of the neighbourhood.
This was the O'Donoghue himself. Opposite to him sat one as unlike him
in every respect as it was possible to conceive. He was a tall, spare,
raw-boned figure, whose grey eyes and high cheek-bones bore traces of a
different race from that of the aged chieftain. An expression of intense
acuteness pervaded every feature of his face, and seemed concentrated
about the angles of the mouth, where a series of deep wrinkles were
seen to cross and intermix with each other, omens of a sarcastic spirit,
indulged without the least restraint on the part of its possessor.
His wiry grey hair was brushed rigidly back from his bony temples, and
fastened into a short queue behind, thus giving greater apparent length
to his naturally long and narrow face. His dress was that of a gentleman
of the time: a full-skirted coat of a dark brown, with a long vest
descending below the hips; breeches somewhat a deeper shade of the same
colour, and silk stockings, with silver-buckled shoes, completed an
attire which, if plain, was yet scrupulously neat and respectable. As
he sat, almost bolt upright, in his chair, there was a look of vigilance
and alertness about him very opposite to the careless, nearly drooping
air of the O'Donoghue. Such was Sir Archibald M'Nab, the brother of the
O'Donoghue's late wife, for the old man had been a widower for several
years. Certain circumstances of a doubtful and mysterious nature had
made him leave his native country of Scotland many years before, and
since that, he had taken up his abode with his brother-in-law, whose
retired habits and solitary residence afforded the surest guarantee
against his ever being traced. His age must have been almost as great as
the O'Donoghue's; but the energy of his character, the lightness of his
frame, and the habits of his life, all contributed to make him seem much
younger.
Never were two natures more dissimilar. The one, reckless, lavish,
and improvident; the other, cautious, saving, and full of forethought.
O'Donoghue was frank and open--his opinions easily known--his
resolutions hastily formed. M'Nab was close and secret, carefully
weighing every thing before he made up his mind, and not much given to
imparting his notions, when he had done so.
In one point alone was there any similarity between them--pride of
ancestry and birth they both possessed in common; but this trait, so
far from serving to reconcile the other discrepancies of their naturess,
kept them even wider apart, and added to the passive estrangement of
ill-matched associates, an additional element of active discord.
There was a lad of some fifteen or sixteen years of age, who sat beside
the fire on a low stool, busily engaged in deciphering, by the fitful
light of the bog-wood, the pages of an old volume, in which he seemed
deeply interested. The blazing pine, as it threw its red gleam over the
room, showed the handsome forehead of the youth, and the ample locks
of a rich auburn, which hung in clusters over it; while his face was
strikingly like the old man's, the mildness of its expression--partly
the result of youth, partly the character imparted by his present
occupation--was unlike that of either his father or brother; for Herbert
O'Donoghue was the younger son of the house, and was said, both in
temper and appearance, to resemble his mother.
At a distance from the fire, and with a certain air of half assurance,
half constraint, sat a man of some five-and-thirty years of age, whose
dress of green coat, short breeches, and top boots, suggested at once
the jockey, to which the mingled look of confidence and cunning bore
ample corroboration. This was a well-known character in the south of
Ireland at that time. His name was Lanty Lawler. The sporting habits of
the gentry--their easiness on the score of intimacy--the advantages of
a ready-money purchaser, whenever they wished “to weed their stables,”
admitted the horse-dealer pretty freely among a class, to which neither
his habits nor station could have warranted him in presenting himself.
But, in addition to these qualities, Lanty was rather a prize in remote
and unvisited tracts, such as the one we have been describing, his
information being both great and varied in every thing going forward. He
had the latest news of the capital--the fashions of hair and toilet--the
colours worn by the ladies in vogue, and the newest rumours of any
intended change--he knew well the gossip of politics and party--upon
the probable turn of events in and out of parliament he could hazard a
guess, with a fair prospect of accuracy. With the prices of stock and
the changes in the world of agriculture he was thoroughly familiar, and
had besides a world of stories and small-talk on every possible subject,
which he brought forth with the greatest tact as regarded the tastes and
character of his company, one-half of his acquaintances being totally
ignorant of the gifts and graces, by which he obtained fame and
character with the other.
A roving vagabond life gave him a certain free-and-easy air, which,
among the majority of his associates, was a great source of his
popularity; but he well knew when to lay this aside, and assume the
exact shade of deference and respect his company might require. If
then with O'Donoghue himself, he would have felt perfectly at ease, the
presence of Sir Archy, and his taciturn solemnity, was a sad check upon
him, and mingled the freedom he felt with a degree of reserve far from
comfortable. However, he had come for a purpose, and, if successful, the
result would amply remunerate him for any passing inconvenience he might
incur; and with this thought he armed himself, as he entered the room
some ten minutes before.
“So you are looking for Mark,” said the O'Donoghue to Lanty. “You can't
help hankering after that grey mare of his.”
“Sure enough, sir, there's no denying it. I'll have to give him the
forty pounds for her, though, as sure as I'm here, she's not worth
the money; but when I've a fancy for a beast, or take a conceit out of
her--it's no use, I must buy her--that's it!”
“Well, I don't think he'll give her to you now, Lanty; he has got her so
quiet--so gentle--that I doubt he'll part with her.”
“It's little a quiet one suits him; faix, he'd soon tire of her if she
wasn't rearing or plunging like mad! He's an elegant rider, God bless
him. I've a black horse now that would mount him well; he's out of
'Divil-may-care,' Mooney's horse, and can take six foot of a wall
flying, with fourteen stone on his back; and barring the least taste of
a capped hock, you could not see speck nor spot about him wrong.”
“He's in no great humour for buying just now,” interposed the
O'Donoghue, with a voice to which some suddenly awakened recollection
imparted a tone of considerable depression.
“Sure we might make a swop with the mare,” rejoined Lanty, determined
not to be foiled so easily; and then, as no answer was forthcoming,
after a long pause, he added, “and havn't I the elegant pony for Master
Herbert there; a crame colour--clean bred--with white mane and tail. If
he was the Prince of Wales he might ride her. She has racing speed--they
tell me, for I only have her a few days; and, faix, ye'd win all the
county stakes with her.”
The youth looked up from his book, and listened with glistening eyes and
animated features to the description, which, to one reared as he was,
possessed no common attraction.
“Sure I'll send over for her to-morrow, and you can try her,” said
Lanty, as if replying to the gaze with which the boy regarded him.
“Ye mauna do nae sich a thing,” broke in M'Nab. “Keep your rogueries and
rascalities for the auld generation ye hae assisted to ruin; but
leave the young anes alane to mind ither matters than dicing and
horse-racing.”
Either the O'Donoghue conceived the allusion one that bore hardly on
himself, or he felt vexed that the authority of a father over his son
should have been usurped by another, or both causes were in operation
together, but he turned an angry look on Sir Archy, and said--
“And why shouldn't the boy ride? was there ever one of his name or
family that didn't know how to cross a country? I don't intend him for a
highland pedlar.”
“He might be waur,” retorted M'Nab, solemnly, “he might be an Irish
beggar.”
“By my soul, sir,” broke in O'Donoghue; but fortunately an interruption
saved the speech from being concluded, for at the same moment the door
opened, and Mark O'Donoghue, travel-stained and weary-looking, entered
the room.
“Well, Mark,” said the old man, as his eyes glistened at the appearance
of his favourite son--“what sport, boy?”
“Poor enough, sir; five brace in two days is nothing to boast of,
besides two hares. Ah, Lanty--you here; how goes it?”
“Purty well, as times go, Mr. Mark,” said the horse-dealer, affecting
a degree of deference he would not have deemed necessary had they been
alone. “I'm glad to see you back again.”
“Why--what old broken-down devils have you now got on hand to pass off
upon us? It's fellows like you destroy the sport of the country. You
carry away every good horse to be found, and cover the country with
spavined, wind-galled brutes, not fit for the kennel.”
“That's it, Mark--give him a canter, lad,” cried the old man, joyfully.
“I know what you are at well enough,” resumed the youth, encouraged by
these tokens of approval; “you want that grey mare of mine. You have
some fine English officer ready to give you an hundred and fifty, or,
may be, two hundred guineas, for her, the moment you bring her over to
England.”
“May I never--
“That's the trade you drive. Nothing too bad for us--nothing too good
for them.”
“See now, Mr. Mark, I hope I may never------”
“Well, Lanty, one word for all; I'd rather send a bullet through her
skull this minute, than let you have her for one of your fine English
patrons.”
“Won't you let me speak a word at all,” interposed the horse-dealer, in
an accent half imploring, half deprecating. “If I buy the mare--and
it isn't for want of a sporting offer if I don't--she'll never go to
England--no--devil a step. She's for one in the country here beside you;
but I won't say more, and there now.” At these words he drew a soiled
black leather pocket-book from the breast of his coat, and opening
it, displayed a thick roll of bank notes, tied with a piece of
string--“There now--there's sixty pounds in that bundle there--at least
I hope so, for I never counted it since I got it--take it for her or
leave it--just as you like; and may I never have luck with a beast,
but there's not a gentleman in the county would give the same money
for her.” Here he dropped his voice to a whisper, and added, “Sure the
speedy cut is ten pounds off her price any day, between two brothers.”
“What!” said the youth, as his brows met in passion, and his heightened
colour showed how his anger was raised.
“Well, well--it's no matter, there's my offer; and if I make a ten pound
note of her, sure it's all I live by; I wasn't born to an estate and a
fine property, like yourself.”
These words, uttered in such a tone as to be inaudible to the rest,
seemed to mollify the young man's wrath, for, sullenly stretching forth
his hand, he took the bundle and opened it on the table before him.
“A dry bargain never was a lucky one, they say, Lanty--isn't that so?”
said the ODonoghue, as, seizing a small hand-bell, he ordered up a
supply of claret, as well as the more vulgar elements for punch, should
the dealer, as was probable, prefer that liquor.
“These notes seem to have seen service,” muttered Mark: “here's a lagged
fellow. There's no making out whether he's two or ten.”
“They were well handled, there's no doubt of it,” said Lanty, “the
tenants was paying them in; and sure you know yourself how they thumb
and finger a note before they part with it. You'd think they were trying
to take leave of them. There's many a man can't read a word, can tell
you the amount of a note, just by the feel of it!--Thank you, sir, I'll
take the spirits--it's what I'm most used to.”
“Who did you get them from, Lanty?” said the ODonoghue.
“Malachi Glynn, sir, of Cahernavorra, and, by the same token, I got a
hearty laugh at the same house once before.”
“How was that?” said the old man, for he saw by the twinkle of Lanty's
eye, that a story was coming.
“Faix, just this way, sir. It was a little after Christmas last year
that Mr. Malachi thought he'd go up to Dublin for a month or six weeks
with the young ladies, just to show them, by way of; for ye see, there's
no dealing at all downi here; and he thought he'd bring them up, and see
what could be done. Musha! but they're the hard stock to get rid of!
and somehow they don't improve by holding them over. And as there was
levees, and drawing-rooms, and balls going on, sure it would go hard but
he'd get off a pair of them anyhow. Well, it was an elegant scheme, if
there was money to do it; but devil a farthin' was to be had, high or
low, beyond seventy pounds I gave for the two carriage horses and the
yearlings that was out in the field, and sure that wouldn't do at all.
He tried the tenants for 'the November,' but what was the use of
it, though he offered a receipt in full for ten shillings in the
pound?--when a lucky thought struck him. Troth, and it's what ye
may call a grand thought too. He was walking about before the door,
thinking and ruminating how to raise the money, when he sees the sheep
grazing on the lawn fornint him--not that he could sell one of them, for
there was a strap of a bond or mortage on them a year before. 'Faix,'
and says he, when a man's hard up for cash, he's often obliged to wear
a mighty thread-bare coat, and go cold enough in the winter season--and
sure it's reason sheep isn't better than Christians; and begorra,' says
he, I'll have the fleece off ye, if the weather was twice as cowld.' No
sooner said than done. They were ordered into the haggard-yard the same
evening, and, as sure as ye're there, they cut the wool off them three
days after Christmas. Musha! but it was a pitiful sight to see them
turned out shivering and shaking, with the snow on the ground. And it
didn't thrive with him; for three died the first night. Well, when
he seen what come of it, he had them all brought in again, and they
gathered all the spare clothes and the ould rags in the house together,
and dressed them up, at least the ones that were worst; and such a set
of craytures never was seen. One had an old petticoat on; another a
flannel waistcoat; many, could only get a cravat or a pair of gaiters;
but the ram beat all, for he was dressed in a pair of corduroy breeches,
and an ould spencer of the master's; and may I never live, if I didn't
roll down full length on the grass when I seen him.”
For some minutes before Lanty had concluded his story, the whole party
were convulsed with laughter; even Sir Archy vouchsafed a grave smile,
as, receiving the tale in a different light, he muttered, to himself--
“They're a the same--ne'er-do-well, reckless deevils.”
One good result at least followed the anecdote--the good-humour of the
company was restored at once--the bargain was finally concluded; and
Lanty succeeded by some adroit flattery in recovering five pounds of the
price, under the title of luck-penny--a portion of the contract M'Nab
would have interfered against at once, but that, for his own especial
reasons, he preferred remaining silent.
The party soon after separated for the night, and as Lanty sought the
room usually destined for his accommodation, he muttered, as he went,
his self-gratulations on his bargain. Already he had nearly reached
the end of the long corridor, where his chamber lay, when a door was
cautiously opened, and Sir Archy, attired in a dressing-gown, and with a
candle in his hand, stood before him..
“A word wi' ye, Master Lawler,” said he, in a low dry tone, the
horse-dealer but half liked. “A word wi' ye, before ye retire to rest.”
Lanty followed the old man into the apartment with an air of affected
carelessness, which soon, however, gave way to surprise, as he surveyed
the chamber, so little like any other in that dreary mansion. The
walls were covered with shelves, loaded with books; maps and prints lay
scattered about on tables; an oak cabinet of great beauty in form
and carving, occupied a deep recess beside the chimney; and over
the fireplace a claymore of true Highland origin, and a pair of
silver-mounted pistols, were arranged like a trophy, surmounted by a
flat Highland cap, with a thin black eagle's feather.
Sir Archy seemed to enjoy the astonishment of his guest, and for some
minutes made no effort to break silence. At length he said--
“We war speaking about a sma' pony for the laird's son, Mister
Lawler--may I ask ye the price?”
The words acted like a talisman--Lanty was himself in a moment. The
mere mention of horse flesh brought back the whole crowd of his daily
associations, and with his native volubility he proceeded, not to reply
to the question, but to enumerate the many virtues and perfections of
the “sweetest tool that ever travelled on four legs.”
Sir Archy waited patiently till the eloquent eulogy was over, and then,
drily repeated his first demand.
“Is it her price!” said Lanty, repeating the question to gain time to
consider how far circumstances might warrant him in pushing a market.
“It's her price ye're asking me, Sir Archibald? Troth, and I'll tell you:
there's not a man in Kerry could say what's her price. Goold wouldn't
pay for her, av it was value was wanted. See now, she's not fourteen
hands high, but may I never leave this room if she wouldn't carry
me--ay, myself here, twelve stone six in the scales--over e'er a fence
between this and Inchigeela.”
“It's no exactly to carry you that I was making my inquiry,” said the
old man, with an accent of more asperity than he had used before.
“Well then, for Master Herbert--sure she is the very beast--”
“What are you, asking for her?--canna you answer a straightforred
question, man?” reiterated Sir Archy, in a voice there was no mistaking.
“Twenty guineas, then,” replied Lanty, in a tone of defiance; “and if ye
offer me pounds I won't take it.”
Sir Archy made no answer; but turning to the old cabinet, he unlocked
one of the small doors, and drew forth a long leather pouch, curiously
embroidered with silver; from this he took ten guineas in gold, and laid
them leisurely on the table. The horse dealer eyed them askance, but
without the slightest sign of having noticed them.
“I'm no goin' to buy your beast, Mr. Lawler,” said the old man, slowly;
“I'm just goin' merely to buy your ain good sense and justice. You say
the powney is worth twenty guineas.”
“As sure as I stand here. I wouldn't--”
“Weel, weel, I'm content. There's half the money; tak' it, but never
let's hear anither word about her here: bring her awa wi' ye; sell or
shoot her, do what ye please wi' her; but, mind me, man”--here, his
voice became full, strong, and commanding--“tak' care that ye meddle
not wi' that young callant, Herbert. Dinna fill his head wi' ranting
thoughts of dogs and horses. Let there be one of the house wi' a soul
above a scullion or a groom. Ye have brought ruin enough here; you can
spare the boy, I trow: there, sir, tak' your money.”
For a second or two, Lanty seemed undecided whether to reject or accept
a proposal so humiliating in its terms; and when at length he acceded,
it was rather from his dread of the consequences of refusal, than from
any satisfaction the bargain gave him.
“I'm afraid, Sir Archibald,” said he, half timidly, “I'm afraid you
don't understand me well.”
“I'm afraid I do,” rejoined the old man, with a bitter smile on his lip;
“but it's better we should understand each other. Good night.”
“Well, good night to you, any how,” said Lanty, with a slight sigh, as
he dropped the money into his pocket, and left the room.
“I have bought the scoundrel cheap!” muttered Sir Archy, as the door
closed.
“Begorra, I thought he was twice as knowing!” was Lanty's reflection, as
he entered his own chamber.