been selected, more with regard to facility for pleasure, than by their locality adapted to the grave sobriety of professional pursuits. Upon inquiry from his servant, I found that M'Cullagh had not very long risen, and was then, though about noon, at breakfast. From the familiarity of our acquaintance, the formality of an announcement was unnecessary, and without even the preliminary knock peculiar to the knuckles of a chambermaid, I ushered myself in. M'Cullagh was, as was his habit, taking his breakfast en robe de chambre; the table covered with various books and papers, with the contents of one of which he was busily engaged.

On my entering, "Hilloa, Tarleton!" he exclaimed, "afloat early this morning-what can it be that has tempted you abroad before the morning is well aired? when one meets nothing but slop-selling Jews, smug cits, and dunning tradesmen; it is well that your face is known to Walker, for he has my positive orders, never to let a soul near me until I have breakfasted without an examination on the direct' from himself, and cross interrogatories on his report from me. But that reminds me, have you had your breakfast?”

"Long since, my dear fellow; but, joking aside, I am come to you on business; so I hope that will save Walker's character, as he did tell me that you were at breakfast."

"Business, Tarleton, then let me beg of you to forget it for a while. You know I hate the name of business, and you are not very fond of it yourself; so it may as well keep cool, till we go down to Lincoln's Inn, and believe me, it will be all the better attended to, from being talked over in the congenial atmosphere of that place; and if it be unpleasant, as I have always found to be the case, when a man with a long face talks about business, we shall be able to treat it better, after a dose of their blazing port."

"Nay, Gerald, for once you must break through your rule, and to it at once; for although I am ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, and bear my credentials with me, I cannot undertake to say that the present matter can afford the delay you intend for it; even though with the advantages you have just mentioned."

"What do you mean? credentials, and such haste; why man, the two things are incompatible. Your

genuine diplomatist is never in a hurry, the protocol and the congress are his tools; as much delay as possible is the way to do things, and then, perhaps, unless he is very unlucky, the thing is already done to his hands. You must excuse me lecturing you in your new capacity; believe me, as your respected father's friend, Brown, always says to you, I only wish to serve you."

"Come, Gerald, you must drop this badinage, for seriously, I am come to you upon a matter which may be of importance to you; and if you will lend me your patient attention for a very few minutes, I shall preface it, with an account of the manner I became mixed up in it. Late last night, as I was sitting at home, ruminating on the kind and affectionate letter I told you I got from my father, a very respectable elderly gentleman, a total stranger to me (though he told me I was not so to him), called upon me, and after apologizing for troubling me, asked some few questions concerning you and your movements, to which I was not able, and I may add, not over willing to give any very explicit answers; so he has given me a letter for you, which will, no doubt, explain itself.

I think it right, however, first to tell you, that he seemed to speak of you with considerable emotion, and expressed the deepest interest in your welfare; and desired me to request your unprejudiced attention to the contents, though the letter be anonymous; and to say, that it came from one whose wish ought to have weight with you.” M'Cullagh, as I spoke, changed rapidly from the light and trifling listener into an attitude of profound attention, and without speaking a single word slowly extended his hand to receive the letter from me, with an air of calm and composed resolution; as one expecting some disastrous intelligence, and nerving himself for it, rather than with the impatience of curiosity, he slowly broke the seal.

What effects its perusal produced I did not observe, having turned away from an unwillingness to play the spy upon his secret feeling. A moment afterwards, as I stood looking out upon the street, I was surprised by hearing him burst out into a loud fit of laughter.

"By Jove, Tarleton! you need not have brought me this pack of nonsense with such importance;

and your respectable visitor might have dispensed with the mystery in which he has dealt—the Sibylline books themselves were a trifle to him in this

respect. Some impostor, I'll be sworn. You lost nothing though, I hope?"

"How do you mean, lost nothing?"

"Why, I mean, Tarleton, there was nothing stolen. Come, now, don't look so serious; I see you are a little offended that your grand adventure has come to nothing."

"You may laugh, Gerald, if you please; but, as to your joke of impostor and swindler, you are, believe me, quite mistaken. The person, whoever he may be, was nothing of the sort; and, however light you may make of his communication, whatever it is, his manner induces me to think that he had a different opinion of its importance himself."

"Judge for yourself, Tarleton, here it is; at all events, it has the merit of being short."

"That I am deserving attention, your friend will sufficiently vouch. Ireland is not the country for you to go to; but, if you persevere in this intention, permit not politics nor party to engage