LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 120, 19 October 1874, Page 3

LITERATURE.

LIEUTENANT MUDGE'S AUNT. ( Concluded.) ' I ain't going to stick here all night, Tim,' she loudly exclaimed, as he was moving away, ' and if you don't like to be attentive to me there's others that will.' Mudge, mysteriously hinting that military duties commanded his attention elsewhere, vanished in the crowd in search of Miss Seraphina Bolgibbic. St Patrick's Ball, in full swing, is a sight never to be forgotten. The noble hall blazing with a thousand lights, and the diamonds scornfully flashing back the glitter in a myriad sparkles; the brilliant combination of colours; the uniforms, from the vivid scarlet of the guardsman to the dark green of the rifle brigade; the quaint court dresses, and the beauty of the fair daughters of Erin, all aid in dazzling and charming the eye of the delighted spectator. The soft and sensuous music, now sparkling with the glitter of Offenbach, now wailing with the dreamy sigh of Strauss, gratifies another sense; and over and above all there is a general joyousness, and a mirth, savouring more of the revelry of the Carnival than of the coldblooded pageantry of a court. In accordance with a time-honoured custom, the Lord-Lieutenant opens the ball with the Lady Mayoress, with a country dance, to the inspiriting air of ' St Patrick's Day in the Morning.' His 'Ex,' as he is familiarly termed, is followed by a dozen 'amorous palming puppies,' and their fair partners, 'up and down the middle,'and upon the present occasion the Viceroy was footing it away right merrily, and ' humouring the tune,' when a shrill female voice was heard to exclaim, ' Faugh, that's no dancing. Rouse the griddle, man. Foot it. Welt the floor now, then heel and toe. Hands across. Faugh, yer a botch. I'll show ye how to dance,' and Mrs Clancy, for t'was she, descending from her coign of vantage, made a most determined and energetic move in the direction of the viceregal set, to the intense amusement of a few, and the evident consternation of the many. At this crisis, Lieutenant Mudge, with Miss Bolgibbie upon his arm, approached the dancers, and the gallant Fusileer, being anxious to enable his fair partner to view the terpsichorean performance, pushed gently but firmly into the front rank, and succeeded in ' placing' Miss Bolgibbie in 'the line.' Horror of horrors ! Directly opposite to him stood Mrs Clancy, for whom a very considerable space had been expeditiously cleared. The excellent lady was preparing to ' cut in ' and with a view to an effective demonstration, was engaged in pinning up skirts in a manner that disclosed a very muddy pair of side-laced boots, of ancient pattern and formation, and a scarlet flannel vestment, which hung in graceful folds till it touched the uppers of the mediaeval sandals. ' Here, you sir,' she exclaimed, addressing a ferocious looking warrior, who was glaring at her over an iron-moulded moustache, 'hold me fan and gloves, and I'll show ye how we dance a country dance in the West of Ireland.'

One fist was poised in the air, another second and it had acted as pioneer to the rest of her frame, when with a forcible exclamation, Lieutenant Mudge sprang forward, and forcibly seizing his astonished" and indignant relative by the arm, pushed her frantically into the rear.

' Tim Mudge,' panted the irate Mrs Clancy. ' What do ye mean be this conduct to yer mother's only sister ?' ' Are you mad, aunt ?' whispered the Ringsend Fusileer.

" Are you in liquor, Tim ?' 'Hush, for Heaven's sake,'appealed the wretched Mudge. Now it is*]a well known fact that to ask an excited female to moderate her tone is about the rashest act of which any man can be capable. Mudge rushed on his fate.

It impaled him. 'And how dare ye, ye twenty-one day lieutenant, ye ghost of a soldier, yer sketch of a horse-marine, presume to bid me hold me tongue ?' ' Aunt !'

' Don't aunt me, sir. Ye'll find, to yer cost, I'm not yer aunt. It's to yer uncle ye'll have to go when yer next want pocketmoney!' Here Miss Bolgibbie rejoined her cavalier, who wished her —well, |it doesn't matter where —and Mrs Clancy, perceiving this interesting young female sidling up to her newhew, and confidingly placing her hand upon his arm, immediately, and with true feminine instinct, turned her battery upon the new-comer.

'And who is this minx, I'd like for to know ? Who is this painted dolly, with as mnch flour on her face as would give many a poor child its breakfast, that hug 3 yer as if she was yer lawful wife ?' 'Come away,' gasped Miss Bolgibbie, ' from this mad woman. Who is she ?'

' Who is she ?' echoed Mrs Clancy, derisively ; ' she is a lady, and that's more than you are. She has three thousand pounds in the three per cents ; that's more than all yer family, put together, ever saw. Who is she?' and here the indignant lady addressed the company generally. ' She's Mary Anne Clancy, of Cabbage Rose Villa, Ballyomnlligan, Loughrea ; [that's who she is. And now, Tim Mudge, just take me to some place of refreshment, and leave that whey-faced creature to go back to where she came from.' Here was a position for the Ringsend Fusileer. The Scylla of Mrs Clancy. The Charybdis of Miss Bolgibbie. If lie deserted the frying-pan, it was only for the purpose of popping deliberately into the fire. Three thousand in the distance : Five hundred a year at hand, Shadow versus substance. Mr Clancy possessed religious tendencies of a very advanced order, and had frequently hinted that his eminence Cardinal Cullen was an extremely sensible man and a particularly good style of legatee. Miss Bolgibbie was sufficiently good looking, and was credibly supposed to have five hundred per annum, paid quarterly. The last consideration decided the puzzled warrior.

Taking Miss Bolgibbie's hand, and placing it upon his arm, and drawing himself up to his full height—during the execution of which manoeuvre two buttons flew from the dingy tunic —he glared at his relative, and, making her a haughty obeisance, disappeared in the crowd. * <*. js *l

Lieutenant Mudgc will lead Miss Bolgibbie to the hymeneal altar upon an early date. Mrs Clancy has not been consulted, and has had several interviews with her solicitor.