Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon, Volume 2   By: Charles James Lever (1806-1872)

The Irish Dragoon

BY CHARLES LEVER.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY PHIZ.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

[Illustration: EXORCISING A SPIRIT.]

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

I. THE DOCTOR'S TALE II. THE SKIRMISH III. THE LINES OF CIUDAD RODRIGO IV. THE DOCTOR V. THE COA VI. THE NIGHT MARCH VII. THE JOURNEY VIII. THE GHOST IX. LISBON X. A PLEASANT PREDICAMENT XI. THE DINNER XII. THE LETTER XIII. THE VILLA XIV. THE VISIT XV. THE CONFESSION XVI. MY CHARGER XVII. MAURICE XVIII. THE MASQUERADE XIX. THE LINES XX. THE RETREAT OF THE FRENCH XXI. PATRICK'S DAY IN THE PENINSULA XXII. FUENTES D'ONORO XXIII. THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D'ONORO XXIV. A RENCONTRE XXV. ALMEIDA XXVI. A NIGHT ON THE AZAVA XXVII. MIKE'S MISTAKE XXVIII. MONSOON IN TROUBLE XXIX. THE CONFIDENCE XXX. THE CANTONMENT XXXI. MICKEY FREE'S ADVENTURE XXXII. THE SAN PETRO XXXIII. THE COUNT'S LETTER XXXIV. THE TRENCHES XXXV. THE STORMING OF CIUDAD RODRIGO XXXVI. THE RAMPART XXXVII. THE DESPATCH XXXVIII. THE LEAVE XXXIX. LONDON XL. THE BELL AT BRISTOL XLI. IRELAND XLII. THE RETURN XLIII. HOME XLIV. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE XLV. A SURPRISE XLVI. NEW VIEWS XLVII. A RECOGNITION XLVIII. A MISTAKE XLIX. BRUSSELS L. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE LI. THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL LII. QUATRE BRAS LIII. WATERLOO LIV. BRUSSELS LV. CONCLUSION L'ENVOI

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PHIZ IN VOL. II

Etchings EXORCISING A SPIRIT THE TABLES TURNED 210 THE GENTLEMEN WHO NEVER SLEEP 405 THE WELCOME HOME 472

Illustrations in the Text A FLYING SHOT 28 O'MALLEY FOLLOWING THE CUSTOM OF HIS COUNTRY 77 MR. FREE TURNED SPANIARD 96 CHARLEY TRYING A CHARGER 118 GOING OUT TO DINNER 152 DISADVANTAGE OF BREAKFASTING OVER A DUELLING PARTY 157 MR. FREE PIPES WHILE HIS FRIENDS PIPE CLAY 218 A HUNTING TURN OUT IN THE PENINSULA 240 MIKE CAPTURING THE TRUMPETER 248 CAPTAIN MICKEY FREE RELATING HIS HEROIC DEEDS 310 BABY BLAKE 355 MICKEY ASTONISHES THE NATIVES 403 DEATH OF HAMMERSLEY 463

CHARLES O'MALLEY.

THE IRISH DRAGOON.

CHAPTER I.

THE DOCTOR'S TALE.[1]

"It is now some fifteen years since if it wasn't for O'Shaughnessy's wrinkles, I could not believe it five we were quartered in Loughrea. There were, besides our regiment, the Fiftieth and the Seventy third, and a troop or two of horse artillery, and the whole town was literally a barrack, and as you may suppose, the pleasantest place imaginable. All the young ladies, and indeed all those that had got their brevet some years before, came flocking into the town, not knowing but the Devil might persuade a raw ensign or so to marry some of them.

"Such dinner parties, such routs and balls, never were heard of west of Athlone. The gayeties were incessant; and if good feeding, plenty of claret, short whist, country dances, and kissing could have done the thing, there wouldn't have been a bachelor with a red coat for six miles around.

[Footnote 1: I cannot permit the reader to fall into the same blunder, with regard to the worthy "Maurice," as my friend Charles O'Malley has done. It is only fair to state that the doctor in the following tale was hoaxing the "dragoon." A braver and a better fellow than Quill never existed, equally beloved by his brother officers, as delighted in for his convivial talents. His favorite amusement was to invent some story or adventure in which, mixing up his own name with that of some friend or companion, the veracity of the whole was never questioned. Of this nature was the pedigree he devised in the last chapter of Vol. I. to impose upon O'Malley, who believed implicitly all he told him.]