villains would occasionally peep through a shattered casement, and instantly withdraw.

"A single blow struck with good effect, one shot from the loaded carbine, would have scattered the scoundrels, and saved the family from plunder and a dreadful insult. But the unhappy man, paralysed with terror, lay in helpless imbecility upon his bed, and the banditti, satisfied that no resistance would be offered, at last made good an entrance.

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They lighted candles, bound the unfortunate gentleman, left him, half dead with terror, and proceeded to ransack the premises. Soon after shrieks from the lady's chamber announced their being there. They drank wine, and broke every place and thing in the expectation of plunder.

"But unfortunately, they were disappointed; I say unfortunately, as, had they found money, it is possible the lady would have been preserved from insult. Maddened by liquor, and disappointed in their expected booty, the helpless women were subjected to savage insult.

"What must have been that wretched man's sufferings, as he listened to the supplications of his beautiful wife for pity? Some of the villains were ' of milder mood' than their fellows, and a partial protection was afforded to the miserable lady.

After a dreadful visit of three hours, the ruffians left the house. Their apprehension was almost immediate. I was present at the trial, and the testimony of that beautiful woman, who sate on the bench beside the Judge, with the evidence of the wretched husband, was melancholy.

"Conviction followed, and I attended at the place of execution. Gallagher, the most horrible-looking scoundrel imaginable, came out. The buzz among the crowd subsided into muttered prayers, and compassionate ejaculations. He, the felon, was unmoved; his deportment was desperately hardened; he looked without emotion on the multitude, and from amid the mass, recognized some acquaintances, and acknowledged them with a demoniac grin. He was turned off in savage callousness-his life was miserably prolonged.

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From his immense weight-for the ruffian was of Herculean proportions-the rope gave way, and he fell with violence to the ground. His thighs were badly fractured, and he was carried to the scaffold again, a maimed and trembling wretch. All his hardihood had forsaken him, and if it were possible for a man to undergo the agonies of death a second time, assuredly they were twice endured by that loathsome criminal-Captain Gallagher."

LETTER XXIII.

Midnight Reflection.-A good Story-teller.-The affair of Ninety-eight,

WE separated for the night—I retired to my well-appointed dormitory; every thing bespoke cleanliness and comfort, from the snowy coverlet to the sparkling fire of brilliant bog deal. The room was papered with caricatures, and crowded with prints on sporting subjects. This was cheerful and bachelor-like. I looked at the mantel-piece; a brass blunderbuss and a case of pistols were there suspended in most effective order. This brought on a train of thought, and all the pleasant narratives of my kinsman and his visitor rushed back to my recollection.

I have, God help me! no fancy for what the Irish call active amusements. I would have no ambition to hold a nocturnal colloquy with Mr. Bulger-nor would it afford me satisfaction

to listen to solemn assurances of his determination to cut my throat. I would not give one farthing to spend half-an-hour in a dark closet with three robbers and a case-knife. I love uninterrupted repose, and it would annoy me to have my window dismantled at midnight, and my entire toilet annihilated by a welldirected volley of paving-stones. On earth there is not a more enchanting object than the exquisite symmetry of a woman's well-formed but Miss Morden's would have no charms for me, if preluded by a discharge of musketry. There is, moreover, a murderer quietly cantoned within a room or two of mine; and though the man may be" honest," as my loving cousin believes and verifies, yet one feels nervous in being within a dozen yards of a man who has thinned the population for the third time.

leg;

Your stupid Englishman retires to bed after his daily labour is ended-your livelier Milesian then only lays himself out for pleasure, and betakes himself to shoot at a Justice of the Peace, or, still better, amuse himself with a too-roo among the Peelers. Do you go out to dinner? -Calculate on being fired at when returning. Do you require a physician?-The odds are, that the honest doctor is qualified for a patient himself before he leaves your lawn. Do you

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MIDNIGHT REFLECTIONS.

delight in hunting?--You will find the monotonous period of waiting at the cover-side agreeably diversified by the occasional whistle of a musket-bullet from some ambushed Rockite; and if you venture to send a horse out to exercise, your groom returns solus, to acquaint you that the quadruped is no more, and that the gentleman who despatched him, sent you his regrets that he was so unlucky as to miss yourself, but, by the assistance of the Blessed Lady-for they are a pious and religious race-he hoped to be more successful on a future opportunity. Are you fond of a quadrille ?-Ascertain before you attempt your first chassez, that the ball-room windows are bricked-up, and a guard of honour stationed at the door. Are you, unfortunately, a parson?Insure your life to the uttermost farthing you can raise—arrange your affairs-perfect your will-and, if you be curious in posthumous renown, prepare your epitaph; then demand one thirtieth of your tithes-you are a dead man to a moral--and your heirs, executors, and assigns, secure of opulence within a fortnight.

6

All this is pleasant and exciting, but I, as I premised, have no ambition.' In spite of female persecution, I will return to England (if my life be spared) before the "morrow of All Souls," a day for ever engrafted on my memory,