"Of wealth, sir, they have enough," said the Wall Street banker, pulling up his collar pompously. "I will leave my children a cool million apiece. Their descent is equal to the best—to the best, sir—the royal rank of Scotland is in their veins. Fortune I don't look for—blood, sir—BLOOD, I do."
Over his daughter's progress after blood, he smiled complacently. Over his son's conduct he frowned.
"Mind what you're at, young man," he said, on the day they left
Cork, gruffly to Charley. "I have my eye on you. Ordinary attention to
Fred Darrell's daughter I don't mind, but no fooling. You understand
me, sir? No fooling. By George, sir, if you don't marry to please me,
I'll cut you off with a shilling!"
Mr. Stuart, junior, looked tranquilly up at Mr. Stuart, senior, with an expression of countenance the senior by no means understood.
"Don't lose your temper, governor," he answered calmly. "I won't marry
Fred Darrell's daughter, if that's what you mean by 'fooling.' She and
I settled that question two or three centuries ago."
At the village of Macroom, they quitted the comfortable railway carriage, and mounted the conveyance known in Ireland, as a public car, a thing like an overgrown jaunting-car, on which ten people can ride, sitting back to back, isolated by the pile of luggage between. There was but one tourist for the Lakes besides themselves, a large, military-looking young man, with muttonchop whiskers and an eye-glass, a knapsack and knickerbockers.
"Hammond, by Jove!" exclaimed Sir Victor. "Hammond, of the Scotch Grays. My dear fellow, delighted to see you. Captain Hammond, my friend, Mr. Stuart, of New York."
Captain Hammond put up his eye-glass and bowed. Charley lifted his hat, to this large military swell.
"I say, Sir Victor," the Captain of Scotch Grays began, "who'd have thought of seeing you here, you know? They said—aw—you had gone exploring Canada, or the United States, or some of those kind of places, you know. Who's your party?" sotto voce; "Americans—hey?"
"American friends, and my aunt, Lady Helena Powyss."