The Collegians | Page 8

intervals, the front of a handsome mansion brightened up in a passing
gleam of sunshine, while the wreaths of blue smoke, ascending at
various distances from amongst the trees, tended to relieve the idea of
extreme solitude which it would otherwise have presented.
The interior of the cottage was not less interesting to contemplate than
the landscape which lay before it. The principal breakfast table (for
there were two spread in the room) was placed before the window, the
neat and snow white damask cloth covered with fare that spoke
satisfactorily for the circumstances of the proprietor, and for the
housewifery of his helpmate. The former, a fair, pleasant faced old
gentleman in a huge buckled cravat and square-toed shoes, somewhat
distrustful of the meagre beverage which fumed out of Mrs. Daly's lofty
and shining coffee-pot, had taken his position before a cold ham and
fowl which decorated the lower end of the table. His lady, a courteous
old personage, with a face no less fair and happy than her husband's,

and with eyes sparkling with good nature and intelligence, did the
honours of the board at the farther end. On the opposite side, leaning
over the back of his chair with clasped hands in an attitude which had a
mixture of abstraction and anxiety, sat Mr. Kyrle Daly, the first pledge
of connubial affection that was born to this comely pair. He was a
young man already initiated in the rudiments of the legal profession; of
a handsome figure; and in manner-but something now pressed upon his
spirits which rendered this an unfavourable occasion for describing it.
A second table was laid in a more retired portion of the room, for the
accommodation of the younger part of the family. Several well
burnished goblets, or porringers, of thick milk flanked the sides of this
board, while a large dish of smooth-coated potatoes reeked up in the
centre. A number of blooming boys and girls, between the ages of four
and twelve, were seated at this simple repast, eating and drinking away
with all the happy eagerness of youthful appetite. Not, however, that
this employment occupied their exclusive attention, for the prattle
which circulated round the table frequently became so boisterous as to
drown the conversation of the older people, and to call forth the angry
rebuke of the master of the family.
The furniture of the apartment was in accordance with the appearance
and manners of its inhabitants. The floor was handsomely carpetted, a
lofty green fender fortified the fire-place, and supplied Mr. Daly in his
facetious moments with occasions for the frequent repetition of a
favorite conundrum--"Why is that fender like Westminster Abbey?" a
problem with which he never failed to try the wit of any stranger who
happened to spend a night beneath his roof. The wainscoated walls
were ornamented with several of the popular prints of the day, such as
Hogarth's Roast Beef- Prince Eugene-Schomberg at the Boyne-Mr.
Betterton playing Cato in all the glory of
"Full wig, flower'd gown, and lacker'd chair"
or the royal Mandane, in the person of Mrs. Mountain, strutting among
the arbours of her Persian palace in a lofty tte and hooped petticoat.
There were also some family drawings, done by Mrs. Daly in her
school-days, of which we feel no inclination to say more than that they

were very prettily framed. In justice to the fair artist it should also be
mentioned that, contrary to the established practice, her sketches were
never re-touched by the hand of her master; a fact which Mr. Daly was
fond of insinuating, and which no one, who saw the pictures, was
tempted to call in question. A small book case, with the edges of the
shelves handsomely gilded, was suspended in one corner of the room,
and on examination might be found to contain a considerable number
of works on Irish History-for which study Mr. Daly had a national
predilection, a circumstance much deplored by all the impatient
listeners in his neighbourhood, and (some people hinted) in his own
household; some religious books; and a few volumes on cookery and
farming. The space over the lofty chimney piece was assigned to some
ornaments of a more startling description. A gun rack, on which were
suspended a long shore gun, a brass barrelled blunderbuss, a cutlass,
and a case of horse pistols, manifested Mr. Daly's determination to
maintain, if necessary, by force of arms, his claim to the fair
possessions which his honest industry had acquired.
"Kyrle" said Mr. Daly, putting his fork into a breast of cold goose, and
looking at his son-" you had better let me put a little goose" [with an
emphasis] "on your plate. You know you are going a wooing to day."
The young gentleman appeared not to hear him. Mrs.