see him an' his wife wasn't on the best
o' terms, an' she was always occupied with her
guests; there was parties on the wather, and
ridin' and dhrivin', and dinners to all the quality
within fifteen miles round, and the place was
fairly turned upside down. Misther O'Brian
had got a boat, a sizeable sort o' yacht, with a
cabin big enough to dine them all, and even a
sleepin' cabin or two, an' they used to go about in
that, an' visit the coast, and sometimes, if the
wind was conthrairy, they'd be out all night.

"Well, at last there was to be a break-up of the
party, an' before they went was to be given
a dance, and all the gentlefolks that could be
got was invited, and the grandest o' preparations
made, and the misthress, savin' yer presence,
was like a hen on a hot griddle, couldn't
be still an instant, but to an' fro, up an' down
for ever, with a wild, faverish sort o' sthir about
her, that it made me onaisy to see her.

"The day before the party, comes down from
Dublin a box for Mr O'Brian. He'd giv' especial
orders to his man that wheniver it come it
should be took up sthraight to his room.
Well, sur, ye know, maybe, what sarvents is;
Pat Rooney, that brought it from Newry, he
come into the kitchen with it just as we were
finishin' dinner, an' in coorse he sat down to
have a bite an' a sup, and Lorrigan, that's Mr
O'Brian's man, he asks him the news, an' this
an' that; an' the box, stood on a side-table, was
in the kitchen; and wan looks at it, an' another
lifts it, an' another passes a remark on it, an' so
'most every wan in the kitchen had noticed the
box. An' at long last Misther Lorrigan, havin'
had his chat out, takes the box and goes up to
his masther's room with it.

"In the evenin' Mr O'Brian meets Delany,
the misthress's maid, on the stairs, an', says he,
off-hand like, ' Oh, Delany, just come to my
room, will ye? I've got a little parcel to send to
yer misthress,' says he. So Delany went, an' he
gives her the very box that come in the mornin'.
'Take that to yer misthress, with my love,'
says he.

"Delany, off she goes, hot fut, thinking she'd
be the first of us to see what was in the box,
when out comes the masther from his study,
quite quiet and unexpected, as was always his
way. ' What's that?' says he. Delany towld
him. 'I'm goin' to yer misthress's room in a
minute,' says he, 'an' I'll take it myself.'
So she had to give it up, not best plased to be
disappointed, and the masther, he turns back
into the study, an' shuts the doore; an' Delany
comes down-stairs, for she knew if she towld
the misthress she'd call her a slow-coach an' a
stupid, an' what not, niver heedin' any excuses.

"Well, we heer'd no more of the box till
next day, when all of a suddent the misthress's
bell rang hard and sharp, an' up runs Delany in
a hurry. The misthress was standin' by the
dhressin'-table with the box open before her,
and she'd tuk out of it the loveliest wreath of
pink haith (heath) ever ye saw, and was lookin'
at it.

"'Who brought this box here?' says she,
turning round in her sharp way on Delany.
'I don't know, ma'am,' says the gairl. Lady's-
maids is always ready with a lie—though,
indeed, it was only a white one, for she didn't
know, not for sartin, who put the box there,
though she guessed pretty well. It's frightened
she was, expectin' the misthress would cross-
question her till she got it all out of her. But
she said niver another word but ' Ye may go;'
an' off went Delany, glad to get off so aisy.

"It was always allowed to me, when the
misthress was dressin' for a party, to come an' give
any help that might be wanted, especially if
there was ladies stayin' in the house that had
no maids, an' required Delany to do their hair,
or anything of that kind for them, an' it was a
pleasure to me to see her, she looked that lovely
when she was dliressed. Well, this night, Miss
Moore, Mrs Kavanagh's sisther, was to have
her hair done by Delany, and when I come into
the misthress's room she was thryin' on the
wreath on her lovely dark curls—ladies in them
days mostly always wore their hair curled all
over their heads—an' she turned round, an' her
eyes was shinin' an' her cheeks glowin', that it
was jist a sight to see how lovely she was.

"'Ah, ma'am,' says I, 'but your wreath sets
you well!' 'Ay, doesn't it?' says she; 'isn't
it a different thing to this wan?' takin' up
despisin'ly a white one, an' lettin' it dhrop on the
table again. I said no more, for I remembered
the masther had given her the white wreath.

"Well, I finished dhressin' her, an settlin' the
flowers on her head. Oh, but ye'd think it was
natural they wer', jist gathered out of a green-
house—and down she went. '

"Presently all the company come flockin', an'
the daucin' commenced: then come supper, an'
afther supper, when some o' the owldher wans
was gone, they began playin' games, hide-an'-
seek, an' what not. All at wanst I remimbered
that when I come down from the misthress's
room, the windows, it bein' a summer evening
had been left open, an' I thought that very
likely Delany an' the housemaid had been that
busy helpin' down-stairs, as, in coorse, we all
had, that they might niver have been up to shut
them. So up I goes without a candle, shuts
them—for, sure enough, it's open they wer'—
when just as I was comin' down, some one
rushes into the room, whisks by me in the dark
—och, me heart give a lep!—an' goes sthraight
to a closet, where cloaks and dhresses was hung
up. I could hear them, whoever it was—I didn't
know then take somethin' out, shut the
cupboard, an' start again to the door; there—for
it was light enough outside—I saw it was the
misthress; an' at the very same moment the
masther meets her, face to face.

"She give a sort o' gasp. ' Hush!' says he,
takin' her by the wrist, an' without another
word they walks out thegether, an' I heer'd
him take her into his dhressin'-room, and shut
the door, an' turn the key. The married ladies
looked, an' nodded, an' whispered among
themselves, an' wan or two o' them gave the masther
joy, an' then the carriages was called, an' the