he one now expected prove a daughter, there is
little chance of his ever having another and I have no hesitation in
declaring it my conviction, that the measure has been taken with a view
of defrauding you of your chance of eventually being called to the House
of Lords."

I showed this letter to O'Brien, who, after reading it over two or three
times, gave his opinion that my father was right in his conjectures.
"Depend upon it, Peter, there's foul play intended, that is, if foul
play is rendered necessary."

"But, O'Brien, I cannot imagine why, if my uncle has no son of his own,
he should prefer acknowledging a son of any other person's instead of
his own nephew."

"But I can, Peter: your uncle is not a man likely to live very long, as
you know. The doctor says that, with his short neck, his life is not
worth two years' purchase. Now if he had a son, consider that his
daughters would be much better off, and much more likely to get married;
besides, there are many reasons which I won't talk about now, because
it's no use making you think your uncle to be a scoundrel. But I'll
tell you what I'll do. I'll go down to my cabin directly, and write to
Father McGrath, telling him the whole affair, and desiring him to ferret
him out, and watch him narrowly, and I'll bet you a dozen of claret,
that in less than a week he'll find him out, and will dog him to the
last. He'll get hold of his Irish servants, and you little know the
power that a priest has in our country. Now give the description as
well as you can of your uncle's appearance, also of that of his wife,
and the number of their family, and their ages. Father McGrath must
have all particulars, and then let him alone for doing what is needful."

I complied with O'Brien's directions as well as I could, and he wrote a
very long letter to Father McGrath, which was sent on shore by a careful
hand. I answered my father's letter, and then thought no more about the
matter.

Our sealed orders were opened, and proved our destination to be the West
Indies, as we expected. We touched at Madeira to take in some wine for
the ship's company; but as we only remained one day, we were not
permitted to go on shore. Fortunate indeed would it have been if we had
never gone there; for the day after, our captain, who had dined with the
consul, was taken alarmingly ill. From the symptoms, the surgeon
dreaded that he had been poisoned by something which he had eaten, and
which mo