Page:Irish assassin, or, The misfortunes of the family of O'Donnel (1).pdf/18

 18 After his passion was over, he desired M'Pherson to give him an account of the circumstances 'which led to his son's marriage. M'Pherson readily complied, reciting all the facts of the progressive passions of Arthur and Maria which came to his knowledge, and concluded by observing, that, as the parties had been married by a Roman Catholic Priest, they might be parted, such a junction not being deemed legal according to the laws of the Protestant Church. Sir Neale listened to the maddening tale with dread- ful sensations, and on its termination his rage knew no bounds. He cursed himself, his wife, his son, all the world, and seizing M'Pherson by the throat nearly strangled him, observing, that if he had done his duty by transmitting an account of the first interview between Arthur and Maria in the summer-house, all might have been well." What do I say;' continued he, "all shall be well if I wash from the face of the earth, in their own gore, all those who have thus conspired to sully the blood of the O'Donnels.” He then rang the bell, ordered his post earriage, and drove towards Donegal. Arthur was a short distance from town with a friend, but returning the next day, he learnt the arrival of M.Phier- son, and the sudden departure of his father. At first he was alarmed lest any sudden illness of his revered mother had caused his father so abruptly to leave town; but then he conceived, if that was the case, some information an the subject would have been communicated to him. Racked with uncertainty, he endeavoured to find M.Pher- son, but his searches were vain. His anxiety was how- ever terminated by the arrival of a short letter from his from his faithful servant, Henry M'Guire to whom alone he entrusted the secret of his marriage with Maria, and to whose special care he recommended her when he last quitted Donegal, charging him to watch over her with the eye of a protector.