FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90  
91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   >>   >|  
ithout, and Dalton, as he was called, stood amongst us. "What, Darby!" said he, in a voice of something like emotion; "not gone yet! You know I forbid you coming up here; I suspected what you would be at. Come, lose no more time; we 'll take care of Mr. Burke for you." Darby hung his head sorrowfully, and left the room without speaking, followed by Dalton, whose voice I heard in a tone of anger as he descended the stairs. There was a certain openness, an easy air of careless freedom, in the young Frenchman, which made me feel at home in his company almost the very moment of our acquaintance; and when he asked some questions about myself and my family, I hesitated not to tell him my entire history, with the causes which had first brought me into Darby's society, and led me to imbibe his doctrines and opinions. He paused when I finished, and after reflecting for some minutes, he looked me gravely in the face, and said,-- "But you are aware of the place you are now in?" "No," said I; "further than the fact of my having enjoyed a capital night's rest and eaten an excellent breakfast, I know nothing about it." A hearty burst of laughter from my companion followed this very candid acknowledgment on my part. "Then, may I ask, what are your intentions for the future? Have you any?" "At least one hundred," said I, smiling; "but every one of them has about as many objections against it. I should like much, for instance, to be a soldier,--not in the English service though. I should like to belong to an army where neither birth nor fortune can make nor mar a man's career. I should like, too, to be engaged in some great war of liberty, where with each victory we gained the voices of a liberated people would fall in blessings upon us. And then I should like to raise myself to high command by some great achievement." "And then," said the Frenchman, interrupting, "to come back to Ireland, and cut off the head of this terrible Monsieur Basset. N'est-ce pas, Tom?" I could not help joining in his laugh against myself; although in good truth I had felt better pleased if he had taken up my enthusiasm in a different mood. "So much for mere dreaming!" said I, with half a sigh, as our laughter subsided. "Not so," said he, quickly,--"not so; all you said is far more attainable than you suspect. I have been in such a service myself. I won my 'grade' as officer at the point of my sword, when scarcely your age; and befo
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90  
91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

service

 

Frenchman

 

Dalton

 
laughter
 
engaged
 

liberated

 

people

 

blessings

 
victory
 

voices


gained
 

liberty

 

belong

 

objections

 

smiling

 

hundred

 

instance

 

fortune

 
soldier
 

English


career

 

Ireland

 

dreaming

 

pleased

 

enthusiasm

 

subsided

 

officer

 

suspect

 

attainable

 

quickly


scarcely

 

terrible

 
command
 

achievement

 

interrupting

 

Monsieur

 

Basset

 
joining
 
stairs
 

openness


descended

 
speaking
 

careless

 

moment

 
acquaintance
 
questions
 

company

 

freedom

 

forbid

 

coming