A heavy sigh and a rustling sound in the deep armchair announced that the doctor was awaking, and after a few struggles to throw off the drowsy influence, he sat upright, and made a gesture that he wished for wine.
“We 've been talking about political matters, sir,” said O'Reilly. “I hope we didn't disturb your doze?”
“No; I was sleeping sound,” croaked the old man, in a feeble whine, “and I had a very singular dream! I dreamed I was sitting in a great kitchen of a big house, and there was a very large, hairy turnspit sitting opposite to me, in a nook beside the fire, turning a big spit with a joint of meat on it. 'Who's the meat for?' says I to him. 'For my Lord Castlereagh,' says he, 'devil a one else.' 'For himself alone?' says I. 'Just so,' says he; 'don't you know that's the Irish Parliament that we 're roasting and basting, and when it's done,' says he, 'we 'll sarve it up to be carved.' 'And who are you?' says I to the turnspit. 'I'm Con Heffernan,' says he; 'and the devil a bit of the same meat I 'm to get, after cooking it till my teeth 's watering.'”
A loud roar of laughter from O'Halloran, in which Heffernan endeavored to take a part, met this strange revelation of the doctor's sleep, nor was it for a considerable time after that the conversation could be resumed without some jesting allusion of the Counsellor to the turnspit and his office.
“Your dream tallies but ill, sir, with the rumors through Dublin,” said O'Reilly, whose quick glance saw through the mask of indifference by which Heffernan concealed his irritation.
“I did n't hear it. What was it, Bob?”
“That the ministry had offered our friend here the secretaryship for Ireland.”
“Sure, if they did—” He was about to add, “That he 'd have as certainly accepted it,” when a sense of the impropriety of such a speech arrested the words.
“You are mistaken, sir,” interposed Heffernan, answering the unspoken sentence. “I did refuse. The conditions on which I accorded my humble support to the bill of the Union have been shamefully violated, and I could not, if I even wished it, accept office from a Government that have been false to their pledges.”
“You see my dream was right, after all,” chuckled the old man. “I said they kept him working away in the kitchen, and gave him none of the meat afterwards.”