interview with Lord Glenfallen, I cannot describe; my solitude was,
however, broken in upon by Martha, who came to inform me of the arrival
of a gentleman, who expected me in the parlour.
I accordingly descended, and, to my great joy, found my father seated by
the fire.
This expedition upon his part was easily accounted for: my
communications had touched the honour of the family. I speedily
informed him of the dreadful malady which had fallen upon the wretched
man.
My father suggested the necessity of placing some person to watch him,
to prevent his injuring himself or others.
I rang the bell, and desired that one Edward Cooke, an attached servant
of the family, should be sent to me.
I told him distinctly and briefly the nature of the service required of
him, and, attended by him, my father and I proceeded at once to the
study. The door of the inner room was still closed, and everything in
the outer chamber remained in the same order in which I had left it.
We then advanced to the closet-door, at which we knocked, but without
receiving any answer.
We next tried to open the door, but in vain; it was locked upon the
inside. We knocked more loudly, but in vain.
Seriously alarmed, I desired the servant to force the door, which was,
after several violent efforts, accomplished, and we entered the closet.
Lord Glenfallen was lying on his face upon a sofa.
"Hush!" said I; "he is asleep." We paused for a moment.
"He is too still for that," said my father.
We all of us felt a strong reluctance to approach the figure.
"Edward," said I, "try whether your master sleeps."
The servant approached the sofa where Lord Glenfallen lay. He leant his
ear towards the head of the recumbent figure, to ascertain whether the
sound of breathing was audible. He turned towards us, and said:
"My lady, you had better not wait here; I am sure he is dead!"
"Let me see the face," said I, terribly agitated; "you _may_ be
mistaken."
The man then, in obedience to my command, turned the body round, and,
gracious God! what a sight met my view.
The whole breast of the shirt, with its lace frill, was drenched with
his blood, as was the couch underneath the spot where he lay.
The head hung back, as it seemed, almost severed from the body by a
frightful gash, which yawned across the throat. The razor which had
inflicted the wound was found under his body.
All, then, was over; I was never to learn the history in whose
termination I had been so deeply and so tragically involved.
The severe discipline which my mind had undergone was not bestowed in
vain. I directed my thoughts and my hopes to that place where there is
no more sin, nor danger, nor sorrow.
Thus ends a brief tale whose prominent incidents many will recognize as
having marked the history of a distinguished family; and though it
refers to a somewhat distant date, we shall be found not to have taken,
upon that account, any liberties with the facts.
THE END.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LD.,
ST. JOHN'S HOUSE, CLERKENWELL, E.C.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "BALLYBEG JUNCTION."
THE
MERCHANT OF KILLOGUE
A Munster Tale
BY
F. M. ALLEN
AUTHOR OF "THROUGH GREEN GLASSES," "A HOUSE OF TEARS,"
"IN ONE TOWN," ETC., ETC.
In Three Volumes.
THE WORLD.
"An inside and intimate picture of Irish life and character, in phases
and circumstances which have not, so far as we know, been approached by
any other novelist or satirist. The work is not describable, it is not
to be indicated by comparison; the very touch of occasional caricature
in the election scenes, and in the 'brigand' of the story, O'Ruark,
which throws out the sheer clear actuality of the people, the places,
the 'ways'; the extraordinary humour of the talk; the jarring of small
interests and petty ambitions in the town that is all the world to its
inhabitants; the swift stroke of fate and sudden investment of the scene
with tragic interest--are Mr. Downey's own. Mick Moloney's last 'few
words with the master' is an incident worthy to be placed beside the
famous death scene in the mountain-pass in 'Tom Burke.'"
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.
"Vivid and convincing sketches of Irish provincial life abound in 'The
Merchant of Killogue.'... The story is admirably worked up to a
surprising and startling _dénouement_."
WESTMINSTER GAZETTE.
"The only fault we have to find with 'The Merchant of Killogue' is that
it is too conscientious.... In depicting his characters he shows rare
skill and knowledge as well as a very considerable gift of humour. They
are all vivid, distinct, and lifelike.... The workmanship is of quite
unusual merit."
DAILY CHRONICLE.
"Mr. Downey's Celts are human beings, motived by the ordinary motives,
and talking like rational men and women. His central figure, John
O'Reilly, is an artistic creation."
LITERARY WORLD.
"Natural, strong in local characterisation and colouring, with many
touches of quaint humour peculiarly Irish and racy, and bright and
readable from cover to cover."
SATURDAY REVIEW.
"There is no questioning the ability of Mr. Edmund Downey's Munster
tale. It is long since a writer has introduced us to a set of characters
so fresh, so unlike the usual creations of the novelist."
VANITY FAIR.
"Every character in the book is put down in words so subtle and strong
that for yourself you know the people. There is nothing of the new woman
in it, and not a line concerning the analyses of soul and body. It is
just a picture of Irish life which might have been written in shorthand
as it happened, and written out afterwards in longhand, so clear and
sharp and vital is it. It is an exciting story, with a thrilling winding
up."
ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE.
"When we say that Mr. Downey reminds us not a little of his great
precursor, Lever, we are paying him no idle compliment."
GUARDIAN.
"One of the best descriptions of Irish life that we have read since
Lever."
SPECTATOR.
"A very bright and vivacious book.... The merchant is a very carefully
painted portrait, and he is really made to live."
THE SUN.
"Before you are half-way through the first chapter of this entertaining
book you realize that you are here face to face with Ireland drawn from
the life, that this is fiction not of stale convention but of first-hand
observation, and that the story demands more than ordinary attention."
ATHENÆUM.
"It is pleasant for a reviewer to be able to congratulate him on the
good account to which he has now turned his extensive acquaintance with
Irish provincial life."
ST. PAUL'S.
"The humour is neither farcical nor conventional, it is the humour of
situation and character.... The dialogue is animated, easy, and natural
throughout."
LLOYDS'.
"The rich racy humour of Irish life bubbles up in many fantastic forms
and shapes throughout Mr. Downey's novel."
MORNING POST.
"Excellent portraits abound in this tale of Munster."
STANDARD.
"The plot acts mainly as a peg on which the author hangs his sketches of
Irish character, and these are excellently done. The merchant himself
... is a remarkable study.... O'Ruark is, in his way, quite a creation,
and his perennial flow of Irish wit is one of the pleasantest things in
the three volumes."
TRUTH.
"The characters and the scenes are excellently drawn."
LIVERPOOL MERCURY.
"A story that holds the attention of the reader down to the last page."
FREEMAN'S JOURNAL.
"The book has all the interest of a story that we feel derives its life
from experience."
IRISH WEEKLY INDEPENDENT.
"'The Merchant of Killogue' is a book in which high spirits predominate.
It is no mean compliment to say that two or three chapters read like
chapters of 'Charles O'Malley' or 'Harry Lorrequer.'"
BOSTON (U.S.A.) LITERARY WORLD.
"A remarkable novel of Irish life is 'The Merchant of Killogue.' I do
not know any novel which paints the life so realistically.... As a
portrait of the time and the people the book ought to live."
+W. HEINEMANN+, PUBLISHER,
BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, LONDON
G. W. APPLETON'S NOVELS.
A TERRIBLE LEGACY:
A Tale of the South Downs.
"One of the most amusing novels we have ever read. The author revels in
a good character, and so the book is filled with grotesque oddities, at
which we laugh consumedly.... A novelist who possesses the rare gift of
humour. We are grateful for an afternoon of hearty laughter. Could we
say as much of nine books out of ten?"--_World._
"One of the most amusing novels we have ever read. Mr. Appleton has done
for the South Downs what Mr. Blackmore has done for Exmoor."--_St.
Stephen's Review._
"It is not in respect of this rare gift of humour that I alone value the
author. This story is a tale of the South Downs, and Mr. Appleton has
the power of depicting in words the changing aspects of nature with an
absolute fidelity to truth. Counties differ, as human faces differ, only
more so. Mr. Appleton has made the South Downs his own literary
property."--_Vanity Fair._
"The reader will not be long in discovering that the book is the work of
a good and clever writer of no mean dramatic powers--whether in point
of conception or of execution--with much drollery and quaintness at
command, and a well-developed faculty of dealing with the mysterious,
and other admirable gifts."--_Illustrated London News._
"Laughter-moving from first to last. Mr. Appleton has written nothing
better than this."--_Scotsman._
"The readers of this strange romance will be bound to confess that the
author has held them captive."--_Daily News._
"From first to last absorbs the attention of the reader."--_Morning
Post._
"The novel is a novel in the true sense of the word, and whoever reads
it must feel refreshed at finding he is perusing altogether a new style
of book."--_Observer._
"The novel is a piece of sound workmanship, and distinctly marked
off from the ordinary run. It is worthy of its author's high
reputation."--_Weekly Dispatch._
"He has created types that deserve to survive and acquire as much
popularity as has fallen to the share of some of those of our most
famous humorists."--_Echo._
"One of the most original works of fiction we have met with for a
long time, as different from the usual feeble imitations of 'Ouida'
and 'George Eliot' as a breezy common or a bright spring day is
from the faint, perfume-laden atmosphere of an aristocratic
drawing-room."--_London Journal._
"Mr. Appleton's genius seems freer, brighter, and more effective in the
lighter moods, and he is able to display a varied cultivation without
the slightest obtrusion of learning."--_Sunday Times._
"'A Terrible Legacy' is a book of great ability and power. It is a
curious tribute to the vast vitality of Dickens' genius that a
comparatively new and an able writer should openly take him for a model.
Mr. Appleton is not a mere imitator: he does not follow in Dickens'
footsteps by appropriating his materials, but by adopting his point of
view. He has chosen his master wisely, for his own talent is similar in
kind."--_New York Daily Graphic._
FROZEN HEARTS:
A Romance.
"There is so much power and pathos in the narrative as to give it an
impress of realism, and it is, on the whole, one that most people can
read with hearty relish."--_Scotsman._
"'Frozen Hearts' makes high pretensions, and justifies
them."--_Westminster Review._
"Good melodrama, such as this is, is a sure panacea against dulness, and
implies the possession of that vigour and _élan_ which every novelist
should have about him. In some portions, as in the exciting description
of the barricade fighting, and in the interview between the unjustly
slandered heroine and the mother who is breaking her own heart with her
own cruelty, the author rises to real power."--_Globe._
"It is full of all kinds of excitement, and in some places reveals
evidence of strong dramatic power."--_Academy._
"The story is new and striking.... Some of the less important characters
are amusing, and the light comedy scenes are above the average.... Mr.
Appleton possesses the knack, so useful to a novelist, of getting to his
point without any superfluous matter, and is always original and
generally correct."--_Sunday Times._
_Victor Hugo_ writes: "Je trouve grand plaisir à la lecture de ce livre.
Le chapitre sur les troubles à Paris m'a vivement interessé."
CATCHING A TARTAR:
A Novel.
"Mr. Appleton's new novel is in every way the equal, if it be not
positively the superior of 'Frozen Hearts,' the work which established
his just claims to popularity. It is a capital story, written in a
most natural and graceful style. The plot is interesting, and all
the characters are distinct and realistic creations; some, indeed,
are likely to 'live,' and become by reason of their quaint sayings
and doings, popular, as were in days of yore some of Dickens' and
Thackeray's personages. Notably is this the case with John, a most
original and amusing character, whose pithy sayings provoke many a
hearty laugh. The intrigue of the story is lively and intricate, but
so skilfully contrived that the 'situations' never appear forced or
unnatural. 'Catching a Tartar' is worthy of much praise, and is
decidedly one of the cleverest novels we have read or reviewed for a
long time. Mr. Appleton possesses exceptional talent as a novelist, and,
above all, the rare quality of getting to his point without encumbering
his narrative with superfluous matter. He is always original, and never
dull or commonplace. His next venture in the shape of a novel will be
looked forward to with much interest."--_Morning Post._
"Many able men have come short of being successful novel writers,
simply because they lacked brightness or lightness or smoothness of
composition. Mr. Appleton displays these qualities; his book is
therefore easy to read.... A vein of humour throughout, the effect
of which is heightened by many a touch of genuine pathos. So
marked an advance in the course of a single year is deserving of
note."--_Athenæum._
"Mr. Appleton has here achieved a very decided success in the way of a
novel of mystery. We must, if we are honest, admit that our attention
has been irresistibly enchained throughout the three volumes. The book
is one, altogether, to be read, and we may safely predict that no one
who masters the first fifty pages will be the least likely to leave it
unfinished."--_Graphic._
"The story is contrived with great ingenuity, and told with great skill
and spirit.... Characters firmly and sharply drawn, with a good deal of
quiet fun and humour."--_Guardian._
"The narrative moves on briskly, and never lets the attention
flag."--_Spectator._
JACK ALLYN'S FRIENDS:
A Novel.
"Mr. Appleton knows how to write novels of absorbing and unflagging
interest and of remarkable cleverness, and his latest effort, 'Jack
Allyn's Friends,' unmistakably possesses these qualities. Much of the
peculiar interest of the story is derived from the subtlety with which
the catastrophe is brought about. But there is also a brisk, almost
boisterous vitality about the book--a sort of vigorous simplicity,
resembling that of Messrs. Besant and Rice--with abundant humour and
some cleverly-managed love-making under difficulties. With all these
characteristics, 'Jack Allyn's Friends' is a novel which even those who
may pronounce its condemnation from the serene heights of æstheticism
will read and enjoy."--_Scotsman._
"Mr. Appleton has succeeded in writing a novel which combines the
merits of Miss Braddon with those of Bret Harte. The plot is carefully
prepared, and the interest sustained until the very close of the third
volume. The stout old American, Bill Hooker, reminds us of one of Bret
Harte's Rocky Mountain heroes, whose hearts are of the same sterling
metal as the ore from their mines."--_Graphic._
"There is no doubt about the interest of this novel. The plot is
certainly contrived with no little art. The secret is ingeniously kept.
Suspicion is skilfully directed, first in one direction, then in
another, and the _dénouement_ will probably be unsuspected. A decidedly
readable novel."--_Spectator._
Transcriber's note
For this txt-version text in italics has been surrounded with
_underscores_, and a spaced-out word with +signs. Text in small
capitals was changed to all capitals.
A few errors in punctuation were silently corrected. Also the
following corrections were made:
In the table of contents "183" was changed to "185" (The Dream 185),
also on page
38 "behavour" changed to "behaviour" (frightened into good behaviour,
like a naughty child)
102 "stange" changed to "strange" (to think of the strange interview
which had just)
102 "communciated" changed to "communicated" (it was no doubt
communicated to me)
103/4 "he" changed to "she" (favourite views, and she had walked)
229 "decrepid" changed to "decrepit" (the grim, decrepit hag which my
fancy had)
238 "first" changed to "fist" (shaking her clenched fist to me)
257 "coninued" changed to "continued" (still continued to bind me)
Otherwise the original text has been preserved, including inconsistent
hyphenation, and unusual spelling of foreign words.