on my pins in less than a month. Well,
the old lady fell in love with me; and although she was not quite the
vision of youthful fancy, as the saying is, for she had only one tooth
in her head, and that stuck out half an inch beyond her upper lip, still
she had other charms for a poor devil like me; so I made up my mind to
marry her, for she made cruel love to me as I laid in bed, and before I
was fairly out of bed the thing was settled, and a week afterwards the
day was fixed; but her relatives got wind of it, for, like an old fool,
she could not help blabbing, and so one day there came a file of
soldiers, with a corporal at their head, informing me that I was now
quite well, and therefore, if it was all the same to me, I must go to
prison. This was anything but agreeable, and contrary to rule. As an
officer, I was entitled to my parole; and so I wrote to the commanding
officer, who sent for me, and then he told me I had my choice, to give
up the old lady, whose friends were powerful, and would not permit her
to make a fool of herself (a personal remark, by the bye, which it was
unhandsome to make to a gentleman in my circumstances), or to be refused
parole, and remain in prison, and that he would give me an hour to
decide; then he made me a very low bow, and left me. I was twisting the
affair over in my mind, one moment thinking of her purse and carriage
and doubloons, and another of that awful long tooth of hers, when one of
her relatives came in and said he had a proposal to make, which was,
that I should be released and sent to Gibraltar, without any conditions,
with a handsome sum of money to pay my expenses, if I would promise to
give up the old lady now and for ever. That suited my book; I took the
money, took my leave, and a small vessel took me to Gibraltar; so after
all, you see, O'Donahue, the thing did not turn out so bad. I lost only
an old woman with a long tooth, and I gained my liberty."

"No; you got out of that affair with credit."

"And with money, which is quite as good; so when I returned and proved
myself alive, I was reinstated, and had all my arrears paid up. What
with Sergeant Murphy's purse, and the foreign subsidy, and my arrears, I
was quite flush; so I resolved to be circumspect, and make hay while the
sun shone: notwithstanding which, I was as nearly trapped by a cunning
devil of a widow. Two days more, and I should have made a pretty kettle
of fish of it."

"What, at your age, M