me stand in
his place."

"Certainly and decidedly not," said Curzon. "Waive etiquette!--why, sir,
we have no quarrel with you; never saw you before."

"Well, now, isn't this hard?" said Mr. O'Gorman, addressing his friend,
who stood by with a pistol-case under his arm; "but I told Mark that I
was sure they'd be standing upon punctilio, for they were English. Well,
sir," said he, turning towards Curzon, "there's but one way to arrange it
now, that I see. Mr. Fitzpatrick, you must know, was arrested this
morning for a trifle of L140. If you or your friend there, will join us
in the bail we can get him out, and he'll fight you in the morning to
your satisfaction."

When the astonishment this proposal had created subsided, we assured
Mr. O'Gorman that we were noways disposed to pay such a price for our
amusement--a fact that seemed considerably to surprise both him and his
friend--and adding, that to Mr. Fitzpatrick personally, we should feel
bound to hold ourselves pledged at a future period, we left the ground,
Curzon laughing heartily at the original expedient thus suggested, and I
inwardly pronounced a most glowing eulogy on the law of imprisonment for
debt.

Before Mr. Fitzpatrick obtained the benefit of the act, we were ordered
abroad, and I have never since heard of him.

CHAPTER XL.

THE TWO LETTERS.

From the digression of the last chapter I was recalled by the sight of
the two letters which lay during my reverie unopened before me. I first
broke the seal of Lady Callonby's epistle, which ran thus:

"Munich, La Croix Blanche,

"My dear Mr. Lorrequer--I have just heard from Kilkee, that you are
at length about to pay us your long promised visit, and write these
few lines to beg that before leaving Paris you will kindly execute
for me the commissions of which I enclose a formidable list, or at
least as many of them as you can conveniently accomplish. Our stay
here now will be short, that it will require all your despatch to
overtake us before reaching Milan, Lady Jane's health requiring an
immediate change of climate. Our present plans are, to winter in
Italy, although such will interfere considerably with Lord Callonby,
who is pressed much by his friends to accept office. However, all
this and our other gossip I reserve for our meeting. Meanwhile,
adieu, and if any of my tasks bore you, omit them at once, except
the whi