Arthur O'Leary Part 10

"'I know it, I know it well,' was the skippers reply to the muttered answer of the helmsman.

"By this, time the brig was slackening sail, and still his fire was maintained as hotly as ever. The distance between us increased at each moment, and, had we sea-room, it was possible for us yet to escape.

"Our long gun was worked without ceasing, and we could see from time to time, that a bustle on the deck, denoted the destruction it was dealing; when suddenly a wild shout burst from one of our men--'the man-of-war's aground, her topsails are aback,' A mad cheer--the frantic cry of rage and desperation--broke from us; when, at the instant, a reeling shock shook us from stem to stern. The little vessel trembled like a living thing; and then, with a crash like thunder, the hatchways sprang from their fastenings, and the white sea leaped up, and swept along the deck.

One drowning cry, one last mad yell burst forth.

"'Three cheers, my boys!' cried the skipper, raising his cap above his head.

"Already, she was settling in the sea--the death notes rang out high over the storm; a wave swept me overboard at the minute, and my latest consciousness was seeing the old skipper clinging to the bow-sprit, while his long grey hair was floating wildly behind: but the swooping sea rolled over and over me. A kind of despairing energy nerved me, and after being above an hour in the water, I was taken up, still swimming, by one of the sh.o.r.e boats, which, as the storm abated, had ventured out to the a.s.sistance of the sloop; and thus was I shipwrecked, within a few hundred yards of the spot, where first I had ventured on the sea--the only one saved of all the crew. Of the 'Dart,' not a spar reached sh.o.r.e; the breaking sea tore her to atoms.

"The 'Hornet' scarcely fared better. She landed eight of her crew, badly wounded; one man was killed, and she herself was floated only after months of labour, and never, I believe, went to sea afterwards.

"The sympathy which in Ireland is never refused to misfortune, no matter how incurred, stood me in stead now; for although every effort was made by the authorities to discover if any of the smuggler's crew had reached sh.o.r.e alive, and large rewards were offered, no one would betray me; and I lay as safely concealed beneath the thatch of an humble cabin, as though the proud walls of a baronial castle afforded me their protection.

"From day to day I used to hear of the hot and eager inquiry going forward to trace out, by any means, something of the wrecked vessel; and, at last, news reached me, that a celebrated thief-taker from Dublin had arrived in the neighbourhood, to a.s.sist in the search.

"There was no time to be lost now. Discovery would not only have perilled my own life, but also have involved those of my kind protectors. How to leave the village was, however, the difficulty, Revenue and man-of-war boats, abounded on the Shannon, since the day of the wreck; the Ennis road was beset by police, who scrutinized every traveller that pa.s.sed on the west coast. The alarm was sounded, and no chance of escape presented itself in that quarter. In this dilemma, fortune, which so often stood my friend, did not desert me. It chanced that a strolling company of actors, who had been performing for some weeks past in Kilrush, were about to set of to Ennistymon, where they were to give several representations. Nothing could be easier than to avoid detection in such company; and I soon managed to be included in the corps, by accepting an engagement as a 'walking gentleman,' at a low salary, and on the next morning found myself seated on the 'van,' among a very motley crew of a.s.sociates, in whose ways and habits I very soon contrived to familiarize myself, becoming, before we had gone many miles, somewhat of a favourite in the party.

"I will not weary you with any account of my strolling life. Every one knows something of the difficulties which beset the humble drama; and ours was of the humblest. Joe Hume himself could not have questioned one solitary item in our budget: and I defy the veriest quibbler on a grand jury to 'traverse,' a spangle on a pair of our theatrical smallclothes.

"Our scenes were two in number: one represented a cottage interior--pots, kettles, a dresser, and a large fire, being depicted in smoke-coloured traits thereon--this, with two chairs and a table, was convertible into a parlour in a private house; and again, by a red-covered arm-chair, and an old banner, became a baronial hall, or the saloon in a palace: the second, represented two houses on the flat, with an open country between them, a mill, a mountain, a stream, and a rustic bridge inclusive. This, then, was either a Street in a town, a wood, a garden, or any other out-of-door place of resort, for light comedy people, lovers, pa.s.sionate fathers, waiting-maids, robbers, or chorus singers.

"The chiefs of our corps were Mr. and Mrs. M'Elwain, who, as their names bespoke, came from the north of Ireland, somewhere near Coleraine, I fancy, but cannot pretend to accuracy; but I know it was on the borders of 'Darry.'

"How, or what, had ever induced a pair of as common-place, matter-of-fact folk, as ever lived, to take to the Thespian art, heaven can tell. Had Mr. Mac been a bailiff, and madam a green-groceress, nature would seem to have dealt fairly with them; he, being a stout, red-faced, black-bearded tyke, with a thatch of straight black hair, cut in semicircles over his ears, so as to permit character wigs without inconvenience, heavy in step, and plodding in gait. She, a tall, raw-boned woman, of some five-and-forty, with piercing grey eyes, and a shrill harsh voice, that would have shamed the veriest whistle that ever piped through a key-hole. Such were the Macbeth and the Lady Macbeth--the Romeo and Juliet--the Hamlet and Ophelia of the company; but their appearance was a trifle to the manner and deportment of their style. Imagine Juliet with a tattered Leghorn bonnet, a Scotch shawl, and a pair of brown boots, declaiming somewhat in this guise--

"' Come, _gantle_ night, come loving black-browed night, _Gie_ me my _Romo!_ and when he shall _dee_, _Tak_ him, and cut him into _leetle_ stars, And he will _mak'_ the face of heaven _sae_ fine, That _a'_ the _warld_ will be in _lo'e_ with him.'

"With these people I was not destined long to continue. The splendid delusion of success was soon dispelled; and the golden harvest I was to reap, settled down into something like four shillings a week, out of which came stoppages of so many kinds and shapes, that my salary might have been refused at any moment, under the plea, that there was no coin of the realm, in which to pay it.

"One by one, every article of my wardrobe went to supply the wants of my stomach; and I remember well my great coat, preserved with the tenacity with which a shipwrecked-mariner h.o.a.rds up his last biscuit, was converted into mutton, to regale Messrs. Iago, Mercutio, and Ca.s.sius, with Mesdames Ophelia, Jessica, Desdemona, and Co. It would make the fortune of an artist, could he only have witnessed the preparations for our entertainment.

"The festival was in honour, of what, the manager was pleased by a singular figure of speech to call, my 'benefit;' the only profit accruing to me from the aforesaid benefit, being, any satisfaction I might feel in seeing my name in capitals, and the pleasure of waiting on the enlightened inhabitants of Kilrush, to solicit their patronage.

"There was something to me of indescribable melancholy in that morning's perambulation, for independent of the fact, that I was threatened by one with the stocks, as a vagabond, another, set a policeman to dog me, as a suspicious character, and a third, mistook me for, a rat-catcher; the butcher, with whom I negotiated for the quarter of mutton, came gravely up, and examined the texture of my raiment, calling in a jury of his friends to decide, if he wasn't making a bad bargain.

"Night came, and I saw myself dressed for Petrucio, the character in which I was to bring down thunders of applause, and fill the treasury to overflowing. What a conflict of feelings was mine--now rating Catherine in good round phrase, before the audience--now slipping behind the flats to witness the progress of the 'cuisine,' for which I longed, with the appet.i.te of starvation,--how the potatoes split their jackets with laughing, as they bubbled up and down, in the helmet of Coriola.n.u.s, for such I grieve to say was the vessel used on the occasion; the roasting mutton was presided over by 'a gentleman of Padua,' and Christopher Sly was employed in concocting some punch, which, true to his name, he tasted so frequently, it was impossible to awake him, towards the last act.

"It was in the first scene of the fourth act, in which, with the feelings of a famished wolf, I was obliged to a.s.sist at a mock supper on the stage, with wooden beef, parchment fowls, wax pomegranates, and gilt goblets, in which only the air prevented a vacuum. Just as I came to the pa.s.sage--

'Come, Kate, sit down--I know you have a stomach, Will you give thanks, sweet Kate, or else shall I?

What is this--mutton?

"At that very moment, as I flung the 'pine-saddle,' from one end of the stage to the other, a savoury odour reached my nose; the clatter of knives, the crash of plates, the sounds of laughter and merriment, fell upon my ears--the wretches were at supper! Even the 'first servant,' who should have responded to my wrath, bolted from the stage like a shot, leaving his place without a moment's warning; and 'Catherine, the sweetest Kate in Christendom, my dainty Kate,' a.s.sured me with her mouth full, 'the meat was well, if I were so contented.' Determined to satisfy myself on the point--regardless of every thing but my hunger, I rushed off the stage, and descended like a vulture, in the midst of the supper party; threats, denunciations, entreaties, were of no use, I wouldn't go back; and let the house storm and rage, I had helped myself to a slice of the joint, and cared for n.o.body. It was in vain they told me, that the revenue officer and his family were outrageous with pa.s.sion; and as to the apothecary in the stage box, he had paid for six tickets in 'senna mixture;' but heaven knows, I wasn't a case for such a regimen.

"All persuasions failing, Mr. M'Elwain, armed all in proof, rushed at me with a tin scimitar, while Madame, more violent still, capsized the helmet and its scalding contents over my person, and nearly flayed me alive. With frantic energy I seized the joint, and, fighting my way through the whole company, rushed from the spot.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 078]

'Romans,' 'countrymen,' and 'lovers,' 'Dukes,' 'duennas,' 'demiG.o.ds,'

and 'dancers,' with a loud yell, joined in the pursuit. Across the stage we went, amid an uproar, that would have done credit to Pandemonium.

I was 'nimblest of foot,' however, and having forced my way through an 'impracticable' door, I jumped clean through the wood, and having tripped up an 'angel' that was close on my heels, I seized a candle, 'thirty-six to the pound,' and applying it to the edge of the kitchen aforementioned, bounded madly on, leaving the whole concern wrapped in flames. Down the street I went, as if bloodhounds were behind me, and never stopped my wild career until I reached a little eminence at the end of the town; then I drew my breath, and turned one last look upon the 'Theatre Royal.' It was a glorious spectacle to a revengeful spirit--amid the volumes of flame and smoke that rose to heaven, (for the entire building was now enveloped,) might be seen the discordant ma.s.s of actors and audience, mixed up madly together--Turks, tailors, tumblers, and tidewaiters, grandees and grocers, imps and innkeepers; there they were all screaming, in concert, while the light material of the 'property-room' was ascending in myriads of sparks. Castles and forests, baronial halls and robbers' caves, were mounting to mid-heaven, amid the flash of blue lights, and the report of stage combustibles.

"You may be sure, that however gratifying to my feelings this last scene of the drama was, I did not permit myself much leisure to contemplate its a very palpable conviction staring me full in the face, that such a spectacle might not exactly redound to my 'benefit,' I, therefore, addressed myself to the road, moralizing as I went, somewhat in this fashion: I have lost a respectable, but homely suit of apparel; and instead, I have acquired a green doublet, leathern hose, jack boots, a douched hat and a feather. Had I played out my part, by this time I should have been strewing the stage with a mock supper. Now, I was consoling my feelings with real mutton, which, however, wanting its ordinary accompaniments, was a delicacy of no common order to me. I had not it is true, the vociferous applause of a delighted audience to aid my digestion as Petrueio. But the pleasant whisper of a good conscience, was a more flattering reward to Con O'Kelly. This balanced the account in my favour; and I stepped out with that light heart, which is so unequivocal an evidence of an innocent and happy disposition.

"Towards day-break, I had advanced some miles on the road to Killaloe; when before me I perceived a drove of horses, coupled together with all manner of strange tackle, halters, and hay ropes. Two or three country lads were mounted among them, endeavouring as well as they were able, to keep them quiet; while a thick, short, red-faced fellow, in dirty 'tops,' and a faded green frock led the way, and seemed to preside over the procession. As I drew near, my appearance caused no common commotion; the drivers fixing their eyes on me, could mind nothing else; the cattle, partic.i.p.ating in the sentiments, started, capered, plunged, and neighed fearfully. While the leader of the corps, furious at the disorder he witnessed, swore like a trooper, as with a tremendous cutting whip he dashed here and there through the crowd, slashing men and horses, with a most praiseworthy impartiality. At last, his eyes fell upon me, and for a moment, I was full sure my fate was sealed; as he gripped his saddle closer, tightened his curb-rein, and grasped his powerful whip with redoubled energy.

"The instincts of an art are very powerful; for seeing the att.i.tude of the man, and beholding the savage expression of his features, I threw myself into a stage position, slapped down my beaver with one hand, and drawing my sword with the other, called out in a rich melodramatic howl--'Come on, Macduff!' my look, my gesture, my costume, and above all my voice, convinced my antagonist that I was insane; and, as quickly the hard unfeeling character of his face relaxed, and an expression of rude pity pa.s.sed across it.

"''Tis Billy Muldoon, sir, I'm sure,' cried one of the boys, as with difficulty ne sat the plunging beast under him.

"'No, sir,' shouted another, 'he's bigger nor Billy, but he has a look of Hogan about the eyes.'

"'Hould your prate,' cried the master. 'Sure Hogan was hanged at the summer a.s.sizes.'

"'I know he was, sir,' was the answer, given as coolly, as though no contradiction arose on that score.

"'Who are you,' cried the leader? 'where do you come from?'

"'From Ephesus, my lord,' said I, bowing with stage solemnity, and replacing my sword within my scabbard.

"'Where?' shouted he, with his hand to his ear.

"'From Kilrush, most potent,' replied I, approaching near enough to converse without being overheard by the others: while in a few words I explained, that my costume and appearance were only professional symbols, which a hasty departure from my friends prevented my changing.

"'And where are you going now?' was the next query.

"'May I ask you the same,' said I.

"'Me, why I'm for Killaloe--for the fair tomorrow.'

"'That's exactly my destination,' said I.

"'And how do you mean to go?' retorted he, 'It's forty miles from here.'

"'I have a notion,' replied I, 'that the dark chesnut there, with the white fetlock, will have the honour of conveying me.'

"A very peculiar grin, which I did not half admire, was the reply to this speech.

"'There's many a one I wouldn't take under five shillings from, for the day,' said I; 'but the times are bad, and somehow I like the look of you. Is it a bargain?'

"'Faix, I'm half inclined to let you try the same horse,' said he.

'It would be teaching you something, any how. Did ye ever hear of the Playboy?'

"'To be sure I did. Is that he?'

"He nodded.

"'And you're Dan Moone,' said I.