Having sipped and tasted often enough to try the young lady's patience to its last limit, he unfolded the paper, and read aloud,—
“'When Counsellor O'Halloran had concluded his eloquent speech in the trial of Darcy v. Hickman,—for a full report of which see our early columns,—a young gentleman, pushing his way through the circle of congratulating friends, accosted him with the most insulting and opprobrious epithets, and failing to elicit from the learned gentleman a reciprocity,'-that means, miss, that O'Halloran did n't show fight,—'struck him repeatedly across the shoulders, and even the face, with a horsewhip. He was immediately committed under a bench warrant, but was liberated almost at once. Perhaps our readers may understand these proceedings more clearly when we inform them that Captain Forester, the aggressor in this case, is a near relative of our Irish Secretary, Lord Castlereagh.' That 's very neatly put, miss, isn't it?” said Mr. Dempsey, with a sly twinkle of the eye; “it's as much as to say that the Castle chaps may do what they please. But it won't end there, depend upon it; the Counsellor will see it out.”
Helen paid little attention to the observation, for, having taken up the paper as Mr. Dempsey laid it down, she was deeply engaged in the report of the trial and O'Halloran's speech.
“Wasn't that a touching-up the old Knight of Gwynne got?” said Dempsey, as, with his glass to his eye, he peered over her shoulder at the newspaper. “Faith, O'Halloran flayed him alive! He 's the boy can do it!”
Helen scarce seemed to breathe, as, with a heart almost bursting with indignant anger, she read the lines before her.
“Strike him!” cried she, at length, unable longer to control the passion that worked within her; “had he trampled him beneath his feet, it had not been too much?”
The little man started, and stared with amazement at the young girl, as, with flashing eyes and flushed cheek, she arose from her seat, and, tearing the paper into fragments, stamped upon them with her foot.
“Blood alive, miss, don't destroy the paper! I only got a loan of it from Mrs. Kennedy, of the Post-office; she slipped it out of the cover, though it was addressed to Lord O'Neil. Oh dear! oh dear! it's a nice article now!”