1829.J C 043 ] 



HKMOIKS OF A BASHFUL IRISHMAN. 



I AM one of that numerous fraternity — an ill-used man. Not, however, 

 by art, which has in some degree rectified my phj'sical defects, but by 

 nature, who, for reasons known only to herself, has thought fit to afflict 

 me with an incurable Tjashfulness. This singular visitation has been my 

 curse through life. It has stuck to me, like the admiration of tythes to 

 a bishop, through good and through evil report. Some folks have been 

 ruined by their perverseness, others by their cunning, others by their 

 candour, others by their extravagance ; but I am the victim of modesty ! 

 The O'Blarneys of Connemara were always a bashful race, and have not 

 degenerated into impudence in my person. The family blush — ^red 

 turned up with yellow — still lends its roseate elegance to my cheek, its 

 healthful freshness to my lip, its engaging expression to my eye. With 

 these remarks, Avhich nothing but -a respect for truth could have 

 extorted from me, I commence the long catalogue of my sufferings. 



]My father was a farmer in the neighbourhood of the town of Gal way — 

 a sweet spot, which, if you except its bogs and bulrushes, might be 

 pronounced highly cultivated. For myself, however, I was never 

 much given to the picturesque ; so, on reaching the age of eighteen, 

 left Loch Corrib and the wilds of Connemara, in company v.ith a 

 wooden-legged corporal, for the purpose of enlisting in the 38th regi- 

 ment, part of whom were then stationed at Limerick. With this bat- 

 talion I soon afterwards quitted Ireland for the Continent, where I 

 arrived just in time to reap my earliest laurels in the plains of Talavera. 

 Yet strange to say, even there, on the field of battle, where an utter 

 absence of all ceremony was the distinguishing feature of the day, my 

 unconquerable diffidence got the better of me. I could never bear to 

 be stared at ; and the French Lancers, with their black moustachios and 

 bold faces, have such an impudent way of looking at one, that, in order 

 to avoid the gaze of these ill-bred foreigners, I was compelled to retire 

 into the rear, among some baggage-waggons, where, during the engage- 

 ment, I busied myself in looking for my mother's portrait. For this 

 act of filial duty, I was next day tried by a court-martial, and sen- 

 tenced to receive four hundred lashes on my bare back. Conceive the 

 effect of this punishment on a man of my constitutional bashfuhiess ! 

 For the lashes I cared nothing — I was always courageous ; but the idea 

 of stripping before a company of rude soldiers was what I could not 

 endure. Accordingly, I soon made up my mind as to the course fittest 

 to he pursued ; and, taking advantage of the momentary absence of my 

 guard, contrived to escape the degrading punishment, by hurrying off 

 on the adjutant's fleetest horse towards the nearest sea-port town. 



Here I lay concealed for upwards of six weeks, at the end of which 

 time I procured the situation of sub-gardener to a nunnery, in which 

 capacity I distinctly remember being much edified by the frequent 

 spiritual communications that took place between the sisterhood and the 

 monks of a neighbouring monastery. But alas ! one warm summe: 

 evening, the French entered the neighbourhood. Great was the alarm 

 of the nuns, infinite their sighs, abundant their tears. They soon, how- 

 ever, became reconciled to their lot ; for, so far from interrupting, the 

 enemy assisted Ihnn in their devotions, especially the commanding 

 officer — a thin man, with two big ears, which projected from liis head 

 like the lamp-lights from a piail-coach— who took such a fancy to a fair 



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