red had been broken. I accordingly, to pacify him,
went down and got it, and managed to produce some few notes, which had
the desired effect. The major after some time came in to relieve me,
for we could not trust any of the people at the inn, who would to a
certainty have been dosing our patient with whisky, under the belief
that they were doing him a kindness, but at the risk of producing a
fever.

In the morning Mr O'Shea came in.

"I thought you said that the boy would be all to rights by this time," I
observed.

"Shure that was somewhat hyperbolical," he answered, with a wink. "You
can't expect a man with a broken neck, and a gash as big as my thumb at
the back of it, to come round in a few hours."

We couldn't complain, for certainly the worthy surgeon had been the
means of saving Larry's life; but the incident detained us three whole
days, before he was fit to mount his pony and accompany us to Cork.
Before leaving my uncle called on Doctor Murphy, who, to his great
amusement, he found had no intention of calling him out, but merely
expected to receive a fee for pronouncing a living man a dead one.
Though my uncle might have declined to pay the amount demanded, he
handed it to the doctor, and wished him good morning.

I afterwards heard that Doctor Murphy had challenged Mr O'Shea. That
gentleman, however, refused to go out on the plea that should he be
wounded, and become a patient of his brother practitioner, he should
certainly go the way of the rest of those under his medical care. For
many a long day Doctor Murphy and Mr O'Shea carried on a fierce
warfare, till their patients agreed to fight it out and settle the
matter, when the doctor's party being defeated, no inconsiderable number
of broken heads being the result, he left the town to exercise his skill
in some other locality, where, as Mr O'Shea remarked, there was a
superabundant population.

We were too late on arriving at Cork to go on board the frigate that
evening, and thus Larry got the advantage of another night's rest, and I
had time to brush up my uniform, and, as I conceived, to make myself as
smart as any officer in His Majesty's service. The next morning my
uncle hired a boat to proceed down the fair river of Cork to the harbour
where the frigate lay. As we approached her my heart thrilled with
pleasure as I thought of the honour I was about to enjoy of becoming one
of her officers.

"There's the _Liffy_, yer honour," said the