to be too well pleased at the thought of
having a penniless, low-born schoolmaster
for a son-in-law, and he reviled poor Prendergast
in the strongest terms, upbraided him
with treachery, and declared his intention of
getting him removed from his position. To
a sensitive mind like Prendergast's this
was more than enough; broken-hearted and
dispirited he wandered from his home, and
reached a neighbouring village just as the
recruiting-sergeant was picking up men for
the Queen of Spain's service. Without a
care for the future, he accepted the bounty
at once, and, in a few days, was busily
engaged in my barrack-room, checking
accounts of moneys received and paid, while
his mind was wandering far away among the
green hills and valleys of his native county.
That he kept up a correspondence with his
beloved, I knew; for he daily received long
and closely- written letters in a female hand,
and seemed to suffer much mental agony after
their perusal."

The ambitious recruit regarded this as a
favourable occasion for throwing in a "Hem!"
in imitation of the sergeant. The sergeant
received it with infinite contempt, and gave
the narrator a look, expressive of —" a raw
lad, sir — an idiot— have the goodness to
excuse him."

"Our time at Cork was nearly up, and the
officers, sick of the routine duty they had
been put through, were hailing our departure
with delight, when, two days before
the date fixed for our sailing for Santander,
Prendergast came to me in a state of great
agitation, and begged me to use my influence
in obtaining for him a short leave of
absence. He urged his invariable punctuality,
and stated that he had not intended to have
quitted the regiment even for an hour, but
that he had that morning received a letter
telling him of the serious illness of one whom
he loved more than all the world. I had such
great reliance on the man's integrity that I
never doubted his intention to return; I
made the matter one of personal favour with
the Colonel, and Prendergast left us. The two
days passed away, and late on the evening
before we were to sail, the muster-roll was
called, on the deck of each of the two large
steamers anchored in the harbour of Passage,
which were to convey us to our destination.
Every man answered to his name, except
George Prendergast. He still was absent,
and his absence gave rise to innumerable
little sarcasms directed against me by my
brother officers, who, as we stood smoking
our cigars on the quarter-deck of the old
Earl of Roden, were pleasantly facetious
about my protégé, the deserter. Suddenly
the splash of oars announced the approach
of a boat, and, to my delight, in answer to
the hail of the sentinel, I recognised
Prendergast's voice, telling his boatman to remain
alongside. A minute afterwards he had
made his way to me, and, after saluting, begged
a few moments' private conversation. I took
him to my cabin, and once there, in a face
blanched with despair, and in a voice broken
with emotion, he told me that he could not go
with the regiment; that no earthly inducement
could prevail on him to leave Ireland.
His reasons he would not give, but he
produced a small canvas-bag full of sovereigns,
which, he said, were the savings of several
years, and all of which he offered as his
purchase-money. He stated that he could
easily have deserted, but that in honour he
felt himself bound to me, — would I now assist
him in his extremity?

"Of course I could not receive his purchase-money;
and, as the Colonel was on board the
other ship, I could but report the circumstance
to my immediate superior officer, who,
at once, and emphatically, refused the request.
When morning dawned, we were under weigh
and standing steadily out to sea. Prendergast's
boat had long since returned to the
shore, and he himself was silent and morose.
I think I never saw such utter despair as he
then betrayed; he went through his duties
mechanically, but without speaking a word;
nor did his manner change until we arrived
in the harbour of Santander, and saw our
companion steamer, which had arrived one
day before us with the other portion of the
Tenth, riding at anchor in the offing. As
soon as she signalled us, a boat put off from
her and came alongside of us, and a soldier,
whom I recognised as the Colonel's orderly,
hailed us with an order that Private George
Prendergast should immediately proceed to
head-quarters. He obeyed, as a matter of
course, and speculation at once became rife
as to the cause of his summons. Some said
that he was to be at once court-martialed
and flogged — some that he had turned out to
be heir to a dukedom — but the real truth of
the story was this:

"Three days after the vessel with the Colonel
and staff had been at sea, it was discovered
that a young girl had concealed herself on
board. She was immediately brought before
the Colonel and questioned, when she avowed
herself to be the second daughter of Sir
Ulick Mastragh, and the betrothed of Private
George Prendergast, of the Tenth Munsters.
She said she had written to her lover,
appointing a last interview, but that before
the time came, so persecuted was she by her
father, that she determined to leave her home.
In disguise she reached Cork, and managed,
through the kindness of two of the men, to
whom she confided a portion of her story, but
whose names she would never disclose, to
slip on board the ship. Over-fatigue, hunger
and excitement, brought on an attack of
high fever. In her ravings, she repeatedly
uttered the name of George Prendergast, and
her connection with him was thus first
discovered. The Colonel, of course, was wroth—
very wroth—with both the lovers; she should
be sent home instantly by the first ship to