stout cudgel in the other, proceeded to execute the commands of his deceased opponent.

He reached the house just as dinner had ended, and, on asking for the Earl, was sturdily told by the porter, that he was engaged with his betters. Directed by the noise, the janitor, with amazement, perceived the intruder leisurely crossing the hall, and, most unceremoniously, entering the banquettingroom; but his astonishment was far surpassed by the effect of the appearance of this curious phenomenon on those within, as he announced himself to the haughty group around the table,-" Here I am, Roderic O'Connor, of Slishmeen, your Royal Highness's most obedient servant till death-Here, my Lord Earl, is your well-looking grandson. Down on your knees, jewel, and ask the old boy's blessin and here are the proofs, as he laid down the crab-tree to pull a roll of smoke-dried papers from his side-pocket. Hands off, you staring blackguards, till I tell all about it. No noise; for here I stand in the presence of my Prince, and Roderic O'Con

nor demands justice for the child of Captain Henry De Clifford."

The party was strangely surprised, and the servants utterly confounded. In a few words O'Connor told his simple story. The Earl took the child in his arms, and the Prince kissed his cheek, The lord of Slishneen was invited to sit down, and with that easy assurance attributed to the character of Ireland, he soon felt himself quite at home; and, after a sojourn of a few days, during which he exhibited to the delighted party all the unbridled vivacity of an unschooled Milesian, he took his leave of the child, and, with a lightened heart, returned to his castle of Slishmeen.

But the orphan's fate was still to be thrown friendlessly on strangers. In three years, the Earl died of apoplexy, without making any provision for young Arthur; and when it was quite uncertain, whether any of his coldhearted uncles would deign to think of the desolate child, an old friend of his father's, Commodore Sir Joshua Hardyman arrived, and, by accident, became acquainted with the

circumstances of the family. He tendered his interest and protection, and it was readily accepted. Sir Joshua, though illiterate himself, decided on giving a suitable education to his protégé. He, accordingly, sent him to school, where, after remaining five years, he had him rated midshipman. Arthur soon after accompanied the Commodore to the West Indies on board the Tremendous, of eightyfour guns, then carrying his flag as commander of that station.

It is unnecessary to follow the young De Clifford through all the brilliant achievements which distinguished his splendid career. Sir Joshua remarked and rewarded them by successive promotions; and now, at the commencement of a profitable war, he started for fame and fortune, in the command of the finest frigate destined for the American coast.

There was a strange coincidence between De Clifford and his father. He was also married, and report added-imprudently. The lady was a portionless woman of family, and extravagant to a blamable degree. She lived in London, and the pay and prizes of her gal

lant husband, (some of which were considerable,) were supposed quite insufficient to defray the prodigality of his wife. She never accompanied him to sea; and, it was whispered, that even the very limited periods which the duties of the service allowed him to indulge in on shore, were imbittered by her cold and unamiable disposition.

Although many an hour was spent by him in talking of his "beloved wife," yet it was evident that at times he was far from happy. These feelings were as studiously concealed as they could be, and the most that he ever ventured to hint on this agonizing subject, was,"a pity poor Lady Sarah had been so expensively brought up: she was so generous, so unsuspicious, so charitable, that her small pittance was scarcely adequate to her wants; and, on his return from sea, he usually found. her in little difficulties." From these unhappy recollections, he would turn to his child, then two years old, and the delight her remembrance recalled assisted in banishing from his mind the misconduct of her parent. "Poor fellow!" sighed O'Hara, as the Captain was

suddenly called upon deck, "I fear it is a cold and gloomy home you hasten to!"

The wind blew fair and steadily till the Rosario dropped her anchor in Plymouth harbour, nineteen days from the time she last weighed it. Here the brave friends parted for ever. De Clifford, with all the rapidity of four horses, started for London with the despatches, and O'Hara directed his course, by easy stages, to Holyhead, to embark in the packet for Dublin.

To be once more on English ground in safety, accompanied by him who had induced her to leave it, was a subject of unqualified delight for the fair voyager. The Major was now recalled from foreign service, and she looked forward to the termination of this destructive war with the Colonies, or her own gentle influence, ultimately succeeding in withdrawing him from a military life. The blessed security of a land internally at peace formed a striking contrast to the unfriendly aspect of the shores they had quitted. Cooped within the narrow compass of a blockaded town, or confined on shipboard, the liberty

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