"I never knew; I was left an orphan when a mere infant, and can tell little of my family."
"Your father was Irish, then?"
"Only by descent. I have heard that we came from a family who bore the title of 'Timmahoo'—Lord Tiernay of Timmahoo."
"There was such a title," interposed Peters; "it was one of King James's last creations after his flight from the Boyne. Some, indeed, assert that it was conferred before the battle. What a strange coincidence, to find the descendant, if he be such, laboring in something like the same cause as his ancestor."
"What's your rank, sir?" asked a sharp, severe-looking man, called Major Flood.
"First Lieutenant of Hussars."
"And is it usual for a boy of your years to hold that rank; or was there any thing peculiar in your case that obtained the promotion?"
"I served in two campaigns, and gained my grade regularly."
"Your Irish blood, then, had no share in your advancement?" asked he again.
"I am a Frenchman, as I said before," was my answer.