The Last King Of Leinster.

corner boys he'd picked up in Wales . Ho had another struggle then wad the Kings of Irelaud , an' again he was defayted ; an' then they clapped a writ on him for five hundred pound , thc damages that the court had given the husband of Dcvorgilla . Ould Mac . had to stump up ; an' then he hooked it to Great Britain again , for ho was dotarmined to fight for the recovery of his lost kingdom while health an ' strcn'th remained to him .

This thrip ho didn't spend his time pickiu' up corner boys , but went sthraight to head-quarters for help . It so happened that the King of England , Henery the Second , was in Prance ; so ould Mac , bein' told this in London , thraveiled over by the Bolong packet an' inthroduced himself to King Honery . Tho King of England jnirtonded he thought the ex-King of Leinsther had been very badly " thrated , an' towld him he' thry an' do somethin' to help him in recovcriu' the province he'd been evicted from .

" Fixity of taynure , " says King Henery , " is wan of the great principles I m in favour of j an' as they haven ' t given you any compensation for disturbance , Cousin Dermot , I ' m inclined to think 'tis a case for a little coercion . Of cottrso I have no right to meddle in thc matther at all , but if you ax mo as a friend I'll feel bound to sacrifice me feelin's on the sacred althar of friendship . How many throops would it take , in a friendly way , to get you back yer own ?" " About ten thousand men at arms conld do the thrick , " answers old Mac .

" Of coorsc in a friendly way , " says King Henery . " Oh , of coorsc , " says ould Mac , humourin' tho British sovereign . " To tell you the thritth , I don't like meddlin' in Irish affairs at all , " says King Henery , who was , I needn ' t tell you , only palavcrin' ould Mac ., for at that very time he held an ordher for the counthry , signed , salcd , and delivered by the 1 ' ope of Home himself , an' was only waitin' for a proper opportunity of cashin ' the ordher ; or , in plain langiiadge , of saisin' on thc Emerald Isle from tho centhre to the say .

" I wouldn ' t blame you for that , " says King Mac , for you an' yours arc not too well liked in ould Ireland . "

" That's only bekase they don ' t know us , " sighs King Henery . " But I'll tell you now an idaya that occurs to me—What ' s Leinsther , after all ? !' " What ' s Leinsther , after all ? " roars old Mac , forgettin' himself for tho minute . " The Lord save us ! " says King Henery , craunnin' his fingers into his ears , " you have a terrible voice altogether . What I meant is , what's Leinsther in comparison wud all Ireland ? " takin' his lingers out of his cars an' dhropping his eyes to the ground .

" I'd rather have it than all the rest of Ireland , " says King Mac , in a more raisonable voice . " But why not have it together wud tho rest of all Irelaud—Dane ' s settlements an' all ? " murmurs Henery , " Is it thryin' to humbug mo you are f " axes ould Mac

" Not at all , my dear fellow ! " says King Henery . " Just let mo tell you what's in me mind . You have a very handsome daughter , Eva—don't interrupt me , " puttin' up his hands an' liftin' his eyes from the ground . " Well , I have a very handsome an' desarvin' friend , an earl . Supposo—just for the sake of argument

. —that you married your daughter to my earl , he'd bo tho future King of Leinsther . Then supposo you an' yor son-in-law thought it would be well to collar the wholo counthry , I wouldn ' t mind lendin' yc tho loan of about ten thousand throops—in a friendly way , of coorse , " says he , sceiu' that ould Mas . was beginnin' to look terribly onaisy .

" An' what 'ud you bo axiu for the loan of so many men ? " enquires King Dermot .

" Nothin ' , my dear boy , " answers King Henery . " A matther of friendship an' principle . You might , if you felt inclined laither on , invito me over to have a ramble through the counthry . I ' m towld there ' s some fine seenory an' good salmon-fishiti' in it . " " Don ' t he talkin ' , " says ould Mac , " but 'tis generosity itself you are ! An ' who is this earl—the friend of yours ? "

" Dick Clare , " says he . " An elegant young man . He ' s tho Earl of Pembroke , an' his property is very handy to parts of yer native Leinsther , You have a savport called Wraxford or Waxford , or something that way , haven ' t you ?" " Oh , thc port an' harbour of Waxford is in my kingdom , sure enough , " says ould Mac , complately bamboozled by King Henery , who well knew the name of the lilace , for ho had " the chart of Waxford Harbour off by heart .

" You might do a great thrado wud the County Pembroke , you know , " says the English monarch . "A Hue of packets ' ud be sure to pay ; an' they'd be very handy for yerself when you wauted to run over to see your daughter now an ' again in Wales . Think it over , Mac , " says he , " an' maybe you'd feel inclined to let me lend you a helping hand to recover yer own , for it goes again' my grain to hear of a man bein' thrown out of his land by a parcel of sthrangers who have no right or title to it . "

The Last King Of Leinster.

" I accept your mighty kind offer on tho spot , " says ould Mac " Eva is a dutiful daughter , an' she'll be only proud to marry any man I'll pick out , for her ; an' if Lord Clare takes me fancy , I'll make bould enough to threspass on yer kindness for the loan of them throops . " '' Don't mention it , cousin , " says King Honery . "I feel as if you wor imite an ould friend already . You'll bo sure to take a fancy to the Earl of Pembroke , for , like yerself , he ' s a powerful-built man , an' likes to thc like is an ould sayin ' . "

CHAPTER VI . King Dermot , who was supposed to be ncgotiatiu' wud the Irish Kings about some way of settlin' his affairs wud pice an' honour , came back to Waxford quickly . He pretended he'd found great benefit to his health in the thrip across to France , but he kept it dark that he'd been collognein' wud the English monarch in paries vous counthry .

Itwasn t long untilDick Clare turned up in Waxford an tnk his quarthers at King Dei-mot ' s house . Just in a friendly way he brought a fine handful of Norman throops , an' begor tho first thing he did was to sack tho town of Waxford . Faith , Dermot ' s eyes wor opened then , but he saw there was no use in dhrawin' back now . His daughter Eva had fallen in love with Masther Sthrongbow , as thc Earl of Pembroke was nicknamed , an' as Sthrongbow said to him wad a laugh :

" You ' re in for it , Mac , ould boy ; an' in for a penney in for a pound , you know . The Irish Kings would ' nt touch you now wud a forty-fufc pole , so far as negotiatin' is cousarned—that game isn ' t to be played any longer . Waxford is in my grip , an' all your own people slaughtered . Let us join hands , ould boy , an' make a clean swoop of the counthry between us , beginnin' wud the rascally Danes . "

Begor , Kiug Dermot saw he was fairly in a thrap , an' he buried his face in his hands an' moaned : " Sweet bad luck to you , Gilly O'Borke ! " " Come , ould boy , " says Sthrongbow , clappin' him on the back , " don't sit groanin' and moanin' there , but pluck up courage an' let us start out immayjertly for Watherford City and pelt the daylight out of tho Danes wud bows an' arrows and all the delicacies of the sayson . "

I suppose I may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb , " sighs Kiug Dermot , liftin'his head ; " but don ' t ever spayke to me of friendship or armed neuthralities again ! There is no mistake , you ' re a uiurdherin' blagyard—the only question is , which of us is the bigger blagyard ? " " Laive that to posterity , " laughs Sthrongbow , " Come an' let us have a slap at the Ostuien now , just to keep our hands in . "

"I see there ' s no use in my thryin' to dhraw back now , " says King Dermot . " I'll go wud you , Richard ; an' when I throw in my lot wud a man , I do it like a man . " " That ' s right , father-in-law , " says Sthrongbow . " Don't , Richard ! " says tho King . " I'm not fit to stand bein' father-in-lawed by you just yet . An' as you are going to marry my daughther , lot me , as an expayrionced hand , give you wan piece of advice . Never bolt wud another man ' s wifo ; it's onlucky , believe me . "

So the pair of warriors discussed n plan ot campaign there an' then , an decided that the best way to get quietly to Watherford was to march the throops down by night to New Ross , on f ut , an' to saise in the mornin' on the little river steamboat that thraded botween Watherford and Ross . They could also collar the barges boloiigiu' to the Barrow Navigation Company , put the throops aboord of 'em , an' cover in tho " cargo" wud tarpaulins ; an' in this way they could get right into tho heart of Watherford City before any warnin' could raich the ears of the onsuspeotin' Danes .

Laive the rest to me , Mac , ould boy , says Sthrongbow , when tho plan of the campaign had taken ' cm as far as the quays of Watherford . " If thoro ' s wan thing I have a waketiess for , it ' s Danes . Givo mo a good bow an' arrow an' a handful of Ostmen caught in a thrap , an' you never saw nater pincushions made in yer born days . "

¦ ' I suppose it ' s this wakeness of yours for bows an' arrows—childro ' s toys in my opinion , " says tho ould King scornfully— " that ' s got you the name of Sthrongbow'' " "It is , " says Sthrongbow . " Faith thon , they ought to call yor Masthor Longbow , for tho way he spun thc yarn to mo about lcudin' me yersolf un' the throops out of pure friendship marks him out as the most clegaut liar in this qitarther of the globe . "

"Sure that's not lyin' ut all , Mac . ould boy , " says Lord Pembroke , " it ' s only negotiatin ' , just like yerself an' the Kings of Ireland , raycently . " " You ' re too sharp for me , Richard , " says King Dermot . " Let us call a thrueei an' start against our common enemy , tho Dane . " Thc throops wor got ready at wance , an' at nightfall they started the march for New Ross , wud Sthrongbow at their head on horseback an' Dormot bringin' up the rear on a side-car .

Ad02102

HH **& V ^^ _^ yv ^' ENGLISH WATCHES . / ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ * # « # A- T $ WII ^ Jr _ W V ™ '" ^ Y ^^ cS V - _! kii ^^^^ - - _ W ^ / Jn flold . 18-cnrnt , v \ . * $ >* * ^ S ___ Wla ® 6 &^ _ W ^^ y Cases , £ 25 . Silver < ri $ ^ - ^ JMfP * ^ LW ^ tW ___ W 0 ^ ditto , £ 15 . Scntfroe ' 2 * ^ Icv ^ v ^*^ « S' * = ^^^^ » nd wife on receipt of remittance ^ MB ^ X & Illustrated Price ^ r " List ot Clocks find Watches Post free .