The Press.
London, England, 1858-09-04 00:00:00

" Your note ! when? Were you the ragman?
" Yes."

" AL, you were too well disguised !"

George had disguised himself as a ragman on the
day before, but Laura had not recognised.hnn.
and the attack is thus reported to have been cnt:
ried on :

Again a rattling volley of stones, the sharp sound of
shivered glass, the cold air rushing in, the yell of the
rattans below, the shrill shrieks of the women servant,
made a medley of terror and confusion ; in the midst;,(
which the females all crowded scrambling together into the
dressing-room, trembling and clinging to one another, het
happily almost unhurt.
is •
" Oh, it is my fault !it my doing !" cried Norrey,
flinging herself at the feet of her mistress, and embracing
them passionately. " We'll all be murdered, and 'Weston
that did it !"

"You! What is it that you have done ?" demanded
Laura sternly.
" You wretch ! you brought the Steelboys on us! " ex.
claimed Mrs. Vining.
" Not the Steelboys ; I didn't know ! It's that Callaghan,
dear Miss Laura! You warned me often against hitu. I
was to let him in, just him, for no harm almost as I
thought, and oh, Miss, Mies, the whole of them would have
been in now, bnt for that young man ! He knocked
Callaghan down by the door, and sprung in first, then drew
the bolts and up with its shutters in a jiffey, and dragged
me away with him."

There was no time for more words, a fresh sound eau*
their ear, heavy blows struck repeatedly and deliberately
upon the front door of the house.
" Gracious Heaven ! we are surrounded !" exclaimed
Mrs. Vining, and rushed away to consult with the stranger
who had so opportunely come to their assistance.
Laura, who was nearest to the window, had her attention
rivetted upon another object, from which she could not
take her eyes.
The night was almost dark, except when the wanin;
moon struggled for brief intervals through clouds and fog,
and made things dimly vis Aile ; but Laura knew so well
each feature of the scene, that she could detect, more readily
than a stranger, the smallest change.
Tho window at which she stood was, as I have said, the
only one in the gable end of the house ; opposite to it nn
a wall of masonry, at a distance of fully ten feet, the top
of which was within a foot or two of being on a level with
the sill of the window.

Along the summit of this wall Laura perceived a liege
dark object, gliding or moving stealthily along. She
strained her eyes through the gloom, she wiped the glare,
sullied with vapour, and held in her breath; the object,
whatever it was, approached slowly and with evident
caution, stopping from time to time, and its form seemed
constantly varying to her sight, still becoming more defined
in its outlines as it drew more near.

Suddenly a coarse !rake from below cried out,
there ! who is that upon the wall?"
There was no respome,
" Answer, or I'll stone you!" cried the voice. " Friend
or foe ? the word !" .

" Fool ! don't you see it's only a dog? " said another man
near him ; come, on with you to the front."
" If it is but a dog there's the less harm to give him a
stone," returned the other ; " they have vicious brutes
bare !"
The object hurried forward much more quickly thin
before, and the moon gleaming forth from the burning
rack of clouds, Laura saw, indeed, the head of the watch-
dog Wolf, clearly relieved for a moment against the
illumined portion of the sky; but not Wolf alone: a bums
form sprang suddenly erect, swung forward his arms, and
with almost supernatural vigour leaped upwards suddenly,
and dashed himself head foremost through the closed
window, scattering the glass and slight framework helots
him.
The women servants recoiled, filling the air with shrieks:
Laura herself started backwards, paralyzed for a moment
with astonishment and dread at such an act of boldness:
but instantly recollecting the imminence of the peril ina
which she stood, she snatched the spit from MarY
trembling hand, and just sa the prostrate invader was
rising to his feet, taking advantage of his defenceless
position, she pointed her novel bayonet at his thew.
Another moment, and the weapon hail inflicted perhaps I
deadly wound, hut Norrey sprung forwent and stinel
her, gasping wildly, " Stop, stop, Miss, in God's name !
it's Mr. Reginald!
And so it, indeed, was ; and Laura, an instant before
Judith in valour, flung herself now into his arms sobbog
hysterically.
Could anything be more ridiculous? The heroine
seizes the spit from the cookmaid, and attetnpts
to give a deadly wound to the foe ! Our sense
of the absurd is not diminished by the explana-
tory note appended to the foregoing passage:—
This rash and courageous act, improbable as it may
appear, was actually performed exactly as related, bY
very near relation of the author, on the occasion of as
attack by Whiteboys about the year Itt2o-1. It was, bow:
ever, performed, not for the defence of a betrothed,
his his sisters, one of whons played the part of the heroine
with the spit. I should have preferred to select poin
nobler weapon for Laura, but fur my wish to adhere to the
truth.
As the novel stands it may be described s a
Surre and-water kind of fiction, with the seen!
laid in- Ireland sixty years ago. Yet there .L,
e
occasionally eloquence in the composition of th
book ; and if the authoresswould chose a subject
suited to her mind, and eelect a 0)17 hi 644 r