With the men you would always be one of
their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon become a mere
playmate."
As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers,
became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally
accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently
participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the
tranquillity of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the
three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea
that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that
the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their
doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clew was ever
obtained as to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover
the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town, that a large
amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the
market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown
into the air.
So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel
Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down to examine the cellars
of all the houses in the market-place and for some distance round. These
and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone,
and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned in
them.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25