of his pipes. A
shout of rage from the piper, and a knockdown blow that levelled the
offender, replied to the insult. In an instant the whole party were upon
him. Their very numbers, however, defeated their vengeance; as I could
hear from the tone of Darby's voice, who, far from declining the combat,
continued to throw in every possible incentive to battle, as he struck
right and left of him. "Ah, you got that!--Well done!--'Tis brave you
are! ten against one!--Devil fear you!"

The scuffle by this time had brought the sergeant to the spot, who in
vain endeavored to ascertain the cause of the tumult, as they rolled
over one another on the ground, while caps, belts, and fragments of
bagpipes were scattered about on every side. The uproar had now reached
its height, and Darby's yells and invectives were poured forth with true
native fluency. The moment seemed propitious to me. I was free,--no one
near; the hint about Bubbleton was evidently intended for my guidance.
I crept stealthily a few yards beneath the brushwood, and emerged safely
upon the road. The sounds of the conflict, amid which Darby's own voice
rose pre-eminent, told me that all were too busily engaged to waste a
thought on me. I pressed forward at my best pace, and soon reached the
crest of a hill, from which the view extended for miles on every side.
My eyes, however, were bent in but one direction: they turned westwards,
where a vast plain stretched away towards the horizon, its varied
surface presenting all the rich and cultivated beauty of a garden;
villas and mansions surrounded with large parks; waving cornfields and
orchards in all the luxuriance of blossom. Towards the east lay the sea;
the coast line broken into jutting promontories and little bays, dotted
with white cottages, with here and there some white-sailed skiff, scarce
moving in the calm air. But amid all this outspread loveliness of view,
my attention was fixed upon a dense and heavy cloud that seemed balanced
in the bright atmosphere far away in the distance. Thither my eyes
turned, and on that spot was my gaze riveted, for I knew that beneath
that canopy of dull smoke lay Dublin. The distant murmur of the angry
voices still reached me as I stood. I turned one backward look; the
road was lonely, not a shadow moved upon it. Before me the mountain road
descended in a zigzag course till it reached the valley. I sprang over
the low wall that skirted the wayside, and with my eyes still fixed u