LIFE IN IRELAND 23 



Free7nan' s Journal. He had gone through three columns 

 of a short speech of Gifford's, in which he had swore 

 that drinking green tea infused treason into the frame, 

 and that orange was the colour with which our first 

 parents dyed their fig leaves in Paradise, when Brian 

 made his descent into the coffee-room, begging the 

 Captain's pardon for making him wait. ' Wait is it ! ' 

 said Grammachree ; ' by my soul and I 'm waiting for 

 my lunch, and your breakfast is waiting for you, so help 

 yourself, and you '11 have it to your liking. We don't 

 stand upon ceremony here ; when I have an echo in 

 my stomach, I like to put it out as soon as possible.' 



Capt. Grammachree, who will make some figure in 

 this history, was the fourth son of an Irish Peer : his 

 father was poor, proud, and thoughtless ; extravagant 

 upon small means, and mean upon many occasions ; 

 he was a tool in the hands of ministers, and in reward 

 for his readiness to do dirty work without bidding, he 

 was made colonel of a militia regiment, and a some- 

 thing better in the Excise or Customs, I don't choose 

 to remember which at present. In the memorable 

 rebellion of 1798, he had the good fortune always to 

 be sick when his services were wanted at the head of his 

 regiment, and thus escaped without a scar. His lord- 

 ship's escapes were like that of the Irish soldier, who 

 said, ' By Jasus, and I had a narrow escape from being 

 killed at the battle of Talavera, by being sent on a 

 foraging party three days before it took place.' It is 

 true his Lordship once and once only shewed fight in 

 the rear of his regiment, when his complexion from the 

 colour of a red cabbage changed to that of a parsnip, 

 and gave rise to a song commencing — 



