"Never mind, my dear fellow," I repled; "I shall get out of this scrape,
as I have done many others."

"But what do you intend doing?"

"Oh, as to that," said I, "I shall, of course, wait on the Colonel
immediately; pretend to him that it was a mere blunder, from the
inattention of my servant--hand over Stubbes to the powers that punish,
(here the poor fellow winced a little,) and make my peace as well as I
can. But, adjutant, mind," said I, "and give the real version to all our
fellows, and tell them to make it public as much as they please."

"Never fear," said he, as he left the room still laughing, "they shall
all know the true story; but I wish with all my heart you were well out
of it."

I now lost no time in making my toilet, and presented myself at the
Colonel's quarters. It is no pleasure for me to recount these passages
in my life, in which I have had to hear the "proud man's contumely." I
shall therefore merely observe, that after a very long interview, the
Colonel accepted my apologies, and we parted.

Before a week elapsed, the story had gone far and near; every
dinner-table in Cork had laughed at it. As for me, I attained immortal
honour for my tact and courage. Poor Gullable readily agreed to favour
the story, and gave us a dinner as the lost wager, and the Colonel was
so unmercifully quizzed on the subject, and such broad allusions to his
being humbugged were given in the Cork papers, that he was obliged to
negociate a change of quarters with another regiment, to get out of the
continual jesting, and in less than a month we marched to Limerick, to