veined temples against the jagged rock-all was black darkness. Wooden hurried forward,-slipped,-fell. Was it the ocean foam which rendered his path precarious? He scooped up some, in the hollow of his hand, to quench his burning thirst, and lend him voice for one more vow of hate! Holy nature! his slide was formed of Ketura's brain!-'twas that his lip had touched. Still, as life ebbed from her gangrenous coagulated wounds, her lacerated arms, like crushed vipers, wound their torn muscles round his felon knee. With a glare of fury he beheld the demon laughing o'er his prey, but, as the master of these forfeit souls, spurned the already putrescent masses of still conscious mortality into the turgid sable of that yawning gulf: their life-rending shriek awaked the distant bandits, who had been deaf to the phenomena of nature. What sight awaits them?

Now all the gods to speed! it is the Steam Beacon of the Railroad, which begins to flare in token of their chieftain's victory: and lo! he comes, bearing in one hand two papers;-the first, a free pardon for himself and gallant band; the second, a restitution of his Italian estates, as the rightful Count Cigaro. In his other hand he leads the rescued Clotilde, followed by her venerable father Sir Gunterzwartz; and if a momentary cloud o'ershadowed their spirits at the memory of the dead, it was dissipated on the morrow at the altar of Hymen, where the Druidic high-priest, assisted by his patriarchs, conferred the blushing hand of Clotilde on the joy-o'erflowed eye of her devoted Guzman; announcing to the assembled senate this moral lesson, that necromancy dislocates every vital tie; but that whene'er irregular valour substitutes, in favour of injured beauty, the boudoir of bliss for the dungeon of despair, there is in such exchange no robbery.

To this we can only add, that Miss St. Cloud and a young gentleman we know might write a delightful book between them; and that the sooner they form a literary partnership,

the better.

LINES

On seeing" The Young Veteran," JOHN BANNISTER, toddling up Gower-street, after he had attained his seventieth birthday.

WRITTEN BY SIR GEORGE ROSE, AND COMMUNICATED BY J. P HARLEY, ESQ.

WITH seventy years upon his back,

Still is my honest friend "Young Jack,"

Nor spirits check'd nor fancy slack,

But fresh as any daisy.

Though Time has knock'd his stumps about,
He cannot bowl his temper out;

And all the Bannister is stout,

Although the STEPS be crazy.

HANDY ANDY.-No. II.

ANDY walked out of the room with an air of supreme triumph, having laid the letters on the table, and left the squire staring after him in perfect amazement.

"Well, by the holy Paul! that's the most extraordinary genius I ever came across," was the soliloquy the master uttered as the servant closed the door after him; and the squire broke the seal of the letter that Andy's blundering had so long delayed. It was from his law-agent, on the subject of an expected election in the county which would occur in case of the demise of the then-sitting member; — it ran thus:

"Dublin, Thursday.

“MY DEAR SQUIRE,—I am making all possible exertions to have every and the earliest information on the subject of the election. I say the election,-because, though the seat for the county is not yet vacant, it is impossible but that it must soon be so. Any other man than the present member must have died long ago; but Sir Timothy Trimmer has been so undecided all his life that he cannot at present make up his mind to die; and it is only by Death himself giving the casting vote that the question can be decided. The writ for the vacant county is expected to arrive by every mail, and in the mean time I am on the alert for information. You know we are sure of the barony of Ballysloughgutthery, and the boys of Killanmaul will murder any one that dares to give a vote against you. We are sure of Knockdoughty also, and the very pigs in Glanamuck would return you; but I must put you on your guard in one point where you least expected to be betrayed. You told me you were sure of Neck-or-nothing Hall; but I can tell you you're out there; for the master of the aforesaid is working heaven and earth to send us all to h-ll. He backs the other interest; for he is so over head and ears in debt, that he is looking out for a pension, and hopes to get one by giving his interest to the Honourable Sackville Scatterbrain, who sits for the borough of Old Gooseberry at present, but whose friends think his talents are worthy of a county. If Sack wins, Neck-or-nothing gets a pension, that's poz. I had from the best authority. I lodge at a milliner's here:-no matter; nore when I see you. But don't be afraid; we'll bag Sack, and distance Neck-or-nothing. But, seriously speaking, it's a d-d good joke that O'Grady should use you in this manner, who have been so kind to him in money matters; but, as the old song says, 'Poverty parts good company;' and he is so cursed poor that he can't afford to know you any longer, now that you have lent him all the money you had, and the pension in prospectu is too much for his feelings. I'll be down with you again as soon as I can, for I hate the diabolical town as I do poison. They have altered Stephen's Green-ruined it, I should say. They have taken away the big ditch that was round it, where I used to hunt water-rats when a boy. They are destroying the place with their d-d improvements. All the dogs are well, I hope, and my favourite bitch. Remember me to Mrs. Egan, Whom all admire.

"To Edward Egan, Esq. Merryvale."

My dear squire,
Your's per quire,

MURTOUGH MURPHY."

N

Murtough Murphy was a great character, as may be guessed from his letter. He was a country attorney of good practice;-good, because he could not help it, for he was a clever, ready-witted fellow, up to all sorts of trap, and one in whose hands a cause was very safe; therefore he had plenty of clients without his seeking them. For, if Murtough's practice had depended on his looking for it, he might have made broth of his own parchment; for though, to all intents and purposes a good attorney, he was so full of fun and fond of amusement, that it was only by dint of the business being thrust upon him he was so extensive a practitioner. He loved a good bottle, a good hunt, a good joke, and a good song, as well as any fellow in Ireland; and even when he was obliged in the way of business to press a gentleman hard,- to hunt his man to the death, he did it so good-humouredly that his very victim could not be angry with him. As for those he served, he was their prime favourite; there was nothing they could want to be done in the parchment line that Murtough would not find out some way of doing; and he was so pleasant a fellow, that he shared in the hospitality of all the best tables in the county. He kept good horses, was on every race-ground within twenty miles, and a steeple-chase was no steeple-chase without him. Then he betted freely, and, what's more, won his bets very generally; but no one found fault with him for that, and he took your money with such a good grace, and mostly gave you a bon-mot in exchange for it,- -so that, next to winning the money yourself, you were glad it was won by Murtough Murphy.

666

I

The squire read his letter two or three times, and made his comments as he proceeded. Working heaven and earth to send us to— So, that's the work O'Grady's at that's old friendship, -d-d unfair; and after all the money I lent him too;-he'd better take care-I'll be down on him if he plays foul;-not that I'd like that much either ;-but-Let's see who's this is coming down to oppose me?-Sack Scatterbrain-the biggest fool from this to himself;-the fellow can't ride a bit,- a pretty member for a sporting county! lodge at a milliner's'-divil doubt you, Murtough; I'll engage you do.-Bad luck to him!-he'd rather be fooling away his time in a back-parlour, behind a bonnet-shop, than minding the interests of the county. Pension'-ha! - wants it sure enough;-take care, O'Grady, or by the powers I'll be at you.-You may baulk all the bailiffs, and defy any other man to serve you with a writ; but, by jingo! if I take the matter in hand, I'll be bound I'll get it done. Stephen's Green big ditch-where I used to hunt water-rats.'— Divil sweep you, Murphy! you'd rather be hunting water-rats any day than minding your business.-He's a clever fellow for all that. Favourite bitch-Mrs. Egan.' Ay! there's the end of it—with his bit o' po'thry too! The divil!"

The squire threw down the letter, and then his eye caught the other two that Andy had purloined.

"More of that stupid blackguard's work!-robbing the mail-no less-that fellow will be hanged some time or other. 'Egad, maybe they'll hang him for this! What's best to be done ?-Maybe it will be the safest way to see who they are for, and send them to the parties, and request they will say nothing: that's it."