"There is nothing ill said but what is ill taken, and you ought to be greatly obliged to me for not sending you to goal; but I see, after all, you are a bad lawyer; you have no right to be professionally here; we don't want your assistance except you wish to be sworn as a witness, and if you do you shall be called in. Constables, put him outside, and put his name on the list of witnessesif he wishes to be examined."

The order of the worthy coroner was forthwith obeyed, and as Wormwood left the house he declared he would report the case to the lord chancellor.

"Is it the chancellor he's threatening me with ?" said his worship. "His lordship may go hang himself any day he likes for all I care, and provided he would do so in the county of Wexford, the sooner the better."

After two or three other interruptions, this celebrated functionary swore the jury, and proceeded to examine the witnesses.

The woman at whose house the nurse and child lodged was first examined. She deposed that they came there a few weeks previous; the nurse told her the child's name was Norberry, and that it was heir to a great fortune, about which a law-suit was going on; it was ailing when it came there, and seemed to get worse every day, although every care and attention was paid to it; the nurse had plenty of money, and doctors Leech and Flam were called in to attend it; they would, of course, be able to tell what ailed it."

"Clear and conclusive evidence," said the coroner. "The depositions must be read over to that Dublin prig, just to show him how we do business here."

The two doctors, who were men of skill and good practice in that part of the country, were examined. They deposed that they had been called in to attend a sick child, as described by the last witness, and found it affected by water on the brain; they deemed the case incurable from the first, but the child would have lived much longer had it not been attacked with quinsey; it survived but a few days under the double complaint; they had made a post mortem examination, which fully bore out the truth of their evidence; the nurse represented the child to be an orphan named Robert Norberry, who would be entitled to a very large fortune, and they had no reason to doubt what she stated.

Wormwood was then called in, the depositions read over to him, and being asked if he had any evidence to give, he seemed sadly puzzled what to think, and replied in the negative.

"This," said the coroner, "is the great case about which this Dublin attorney has been making so much noise in the country since he came here; and all I know is, that if we had many like him, who would cause an inquest to be held upon every brat that

died in the country with quinsey, small-pox, or any other complaint, it would be good times for me. There is no doubt whatever, but I approve highly of circumspection and watchfulness with regard to sudden deaths; and every good subject of the king should be aiding and abetting their discovery, with a view, in the first place, to uphold the dignity of the ancient and high office of coroner, and in the next place to bring guilty parties to justice where deaths take place from lawless violence; but in the present no such motive actuated this Dublin attorney."

Here the foreman of the jury, to whom this extraordinary address was directed, bowed assent, and two or three of his brethren turned to him, and said in a tone loud enough to be heard by all present, "He has, with his usual ability, taken the attorney's measure; he is stating the real facts."

Thus encouraged, the worshipful functionary proceeded"Yes, gentlemen, we have been called here by an attorney to hold this inquiry, not with a view to sustain the laws, but either to gratify a spirit of revenge against some party not before us now, or probably to possess himself of whatever property the deceased might ultimately become entitled to. We, of course, cannot exactly tell what his motives were, but from his conduct in court to-day you may fairly judge if I be much mistaken."

Here the foreman again bowed assent, and was supported by the approving voices of his brother jurors, whilst unfortunate Wormwood was writhing with rage, which was suppressed by the presence of half a dozen yeomen, armed with old Queen Anne muskets, and as many more barony constables, all ready to convey any delinquent to prison who might disturb the court whilst his worship was delivering his charge. There seemed to be that understanding between the coroner, the constables, the doctors, and the jury, which is generally the result of an identity of interests. The constables were the heralds who conveyed the pleasing intelligence of violent or accidental deaths, and were always welcomed with delight, and treated to the best fare the coroner's house could afford. The doctors shared their fees with his worship, and often certified that parties were poisoned who died from the effects of intoxication. (That, however, would be no great violation of truth.) This gave employment to the barony constables, who were then paid whilst on duty, to search for the supposed criminals, and whilst thus engaged they generally stumbled upon another case of sudden death, which put his worship in motion again; and as it was desirable that he should in all cases be able to obtain juries with the least possible delay, he frequently ordered dinner and potteen for them at the next public house, so that there was some profit as well as honour connected with their office. The union of sentiment that existed between all these parties was therefore admirable, and might

serve as a model for a form of government where every man would have an interest in upholding the state, and preserving the institutions of the country from the changes which frequently arise from divisions amongst the people. Such was the popularity of the worthy functionary, that if the government attempted to remove him, most probably the yeomen would have thrown down their arms, the barony constables become Whiteboys, and the independent voters of the county refuse to vote for the friends or connections of any one who had any thing to say in the transaction. His worship was therefore perfectly secure in his place, no matter what complaints might be made against him, and he laughed to scorn the idle threat of Wormwood, who had no one present to bear testimony for him.

The jury brought in a verdict that the child died from natural causes, and the attorney returned to Dublin hardly able to bear up against the weight of sorrow, disappointment, and vexation, which preyed upon him. He saw that there was an end of the suit, and that the golden harvest which he had expected to reap had been blighted. On his arrival in town, he found a notice before him, to stay proceedings, as the suit had been abated, and calling upon him to pay a considerable sum in the shape of costs, on account of some laches of which he had been guilty, and which arose from his attention to the inquest in the country, and his efforts to discover that some trick had been played with regard to the death of the heir. A complication of troubles and disappointments, at the moment when he fancied he was about to bring the suit to a successful issue, had driven him almost to despair, and he was only consoled by recollecting that he had another suit in hands, where his success, and the total ruin of an old an inveterate enemy were placed beyond the possibility of a doubt. As those salutary reflections crossed his mind, he exclaimed, "Can any thing be so exquisite as to witness the defeat, the ruin, the prostration, the sorrow, the misery of an envenomed, malignant, and once dangerous foe? No; there are better days in store for me, and I will live to enjoy them. If I have been defeated by the villain Gripe, I have defeated a still greater villain, if it be possible that one could be found. I never knew Gripe, except by name, until the present suit was instituted, and, after all, he has done nothing-has taken no advantage but that which the law sanctions; and if he has been able to bribe the nurse to either cause the death of the heir, or put him out of the way, and substitute another in his place without detection, it only proves his skill; it was what a man of business and of the world ought to have done. It was all fair, exceedingly fair, and I have got a lesson by which I may profit. I admire you, Gripe; I admire you exceedingly; and I would be a great fool to feel perpetual discontent because you defeated me, particularly

when so much enjoyment awaits me." After thus soliloquising, Wormwood walked down stairs to his office, gave an order to his clerk to attend to the taxation of the costs which Gripe claimed in the cause of Norberry, a lunatic, and directed that the proceedings in the other cause, where his triumph was certain, should not be delayed a moment. "Issue," said he, 66 at once an attachment for contempt for not putting in an answer to my supplemental bill, although I know the ruined wretch has not in the world what would pay for the parchment upon which it must be engrossed. No matter, let him be arrested, and a receiver placed over his property; he shall end his life in a gaol." So saying, Wormwood sat down to his business, endeavouring to forget the unfortunate result of the Norberry suit, and the contumelious treatment he received at the hands of the Wexford coroner. It was no doubt a trial sufficient to test the patience of any attorney, and his enduring powers were stretched still further when his clerk brought him word that Gripe had obtained a taxation behind his back, with an immediate order for the payment of the costs in question. Upon this news being conveyed to him, he raved, swore, foamed at the mouth, and exclaimed that he would be well satisfied to suffer eternal punishment if he could have revenge on Gripe. He could, however, get the taxation overhauled, but as he had eventually to pay costs, a few shillings or a few pounds were of no great consequence, and if he was to go over the business again it would only remind him of his defeat in the Norberry suit, so he made up his mind to pay the demand, and have done with Gripe. He, however, vowed vengeance, and he was often heard to declare that he had never determined upon doing harm to any individual that he was not able to accomplish his purpose, or gratify his revenge in some way or other. He sat down, and wrote at considerable length in his memorandum-book, a full account of his transactions with Gripe, and the bad treatment he had received from the Wexford functionary, and recorded a vow at the bottom of his statement, that he would be revenged of both, although he believed the latter would be reached with difficulty. At the same time there was no knowing what might turn up, and he would keep him on his list, so that his memory might be refreshed whenever an opportunity to put his intentions into execution should occur. Notwithstanding the result of the inquest, he was by no means satisfied that the heir had not been put out of the way, and his suspicions upon this head were strengthened by the fruitless attempts he had made to discover where the nurse was when he came back to Dublin; but under the circumstances it was impossible that he could do any thing to extricate himself from the difficulty in which he was involved, so there was nothing left for the present but to sit down and chew the bitter cud of disappointment.

CHAPTER VII.

FUNERAL OF OLD HAWK-A DUEL-THE REVENGE OF
WORMWOOD GRATIFIED.

AFTER the termination of the proceedings under the commissioners of lunacy in the manner already stated, Gripe and his client walked together to the office of the former in St. Andrew Street. "This is a highly satisfactory termination of the proceedings," said Swingsnap, as they went along; "our most sanguine expectations could hardly have anticipated such a result as this; but do you think that the tongues of scandal can catch hold of any thing? You know I am tenacious of my fame, as I am about to be called to the bar, and also to a seat in the Irish house."

"You need not have the smallest apprehensions about the matter," said Gripe; "every thing has been done with such care and circumspection, that the tongue of calumny cannot utter a suspicion with regard to our proceedings. The commission was legally issued, commissioners presided, and a jury regularly empannelled; and then as to the treatment in the asylum, we are not accountable for that. Doctor Deering bears a high character; he visits at the Castle; has many of the aristocracy for his patients, and no one can ever imagine that he treated the lunatic in any other way than that which the nature of his complaint warranted. Indeed I am quite certain of that fact myself; but now that the old fellow is gone, and has left all his wealth behind him, he must be interred with some pomp and solemnity. A few pounds additional laid out on his funeral may stifle any illnatured remarks, even if busy people were inclined to make them." "I agree with you," said the client, "and in this, as well as in legal matters, I will wholly submit to your judgment and discretion. I think we must have a respectable funeral.”

"A magnificent funeral," added Gripe. "I will go now and give directions to Mr. Muffle, the undertaker, to do the thing in style; he is a friend of mine, and has already buried two or three of my richest clients; and as in the present case, I really know not whether I profited more by their death than if they had lived longer. Muffle is an excellent fellow, and he shall have the funeral of your uncle. You and I shall attend as chief mourners, the doctor shall occupy the second carriage, and it might be well if we were to have Muggleten there too.”

"Yes," said Swingsnap; "we shall all then be going home with our work, like the tailors."

H