ot of thim Danes he is; it's
not the Danes of Shwaden I mane, at all, man; but a rural Dane of the
Church of England.'"

Mat Tierney laughed heartily at this, and even Frank forgot that his
dignity had been hurt, and that he meant to be sulky; and he laughed
also: the little member was delighted with his success, and felt
himself encouraged to persevere.

"Ah, Savy's a queer fellow, if you knew him," he continued, turning to
Lord Ballindine, "and, upon my soul, he's no fool. Oh, if you knew him
as well--"

"Didn't you hear Ballindine say he was his next door neighbour in
Mayo?" said Blake, "or, rather, next barrack neighbour; for they
dispense with doors in Mayo--eh, Frank? and their houses are all cabins
or barracks."

"Why, we certainly don't pretend to all the Apuleian luxuries of
Handicap Lodge; but we are ignorant enough to think ourselves
comfortable, and swinish enough to enjoy our pitiable state."

"I beg ten thousand pardons, my dear fellow. I didn't mean to offend
your nationality. Castlebar, we must allow, is a fine provincial
city--though Killala's the Mayo city, I believe; and Claremorris, which
is your own town I think, is, as all admit, a gem of Paradise: only
it's a pity so many of the houses have been unroofed lately. It adds
perhaps to the picturesque effect, but it must, I should think, take
away from the comfort."

"Not a house in Claremorris belongs to me," said Lord Ballindine, again
rather sulky, "or ever did to any of my family. I would as soon own
Claremorris, though, as I would Castleblakeney. Your own town is quite
as shattered-looking a place."

"That's quite true--but I have some hopes that Castleblakeney will be
blotted out of the face of creation before I come into possession."

"But I was saying about Savy O'Leary," again interposed Morris, "did
you ever hear what he did?"

But Blake would not allow his guest the privilege of another story. "If
you encourage Morris," said he, "we shall never get our whist," and
with that he rose from the table and walked away into the next room.

They played high. Morris always played high if he could, for he made
money by whist. Tierney was not a gambler by profession; but the men he
lived among all played, and he, therefore, got into the way of it, and
played the game well, for he was obliged to do so in his own defence.
Blake was an adept at every thing of the kind; and though the
card-table was not the place where his light shone brightes