So the summer had mellowed into autumn, and the fall of the leaf, and
Devereux did not return; and, it was alleged in the club, on good
authority, that he was appointed on the staff of the Commander of the
Forces; and Puddock had a letter from him, dated in England, with little
or no news in it; and Dr. Walsingham had a long epistle from Malaga,
from honest Dan Loftus, full of Spanish matter for Irish history, and
stating, with many regrets, that his honourable pupil had taken ill of a
fever. And this bit of news speedily took wind, and was discussed with a
good deal of interest, and some fun, at the club; and the odds were
freely given and taken upon the event.
The politics of Belmont were still pretty much in the old position. The
general had not yet returned, and Aunt Rebecca and Gertrude fought
pitched battles, as heretofore, on the subject of Dangerfield. That
gentleman had carried so many points in his life by simply waiting, that
he was nothing daunted by the obstacles which the caprice of the young
lady presented to the immediate accomplishment of his plans. And those
which he once deliberately formed, were never abandoned for trifles.
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