Well, then, I was promised immediate employment, and I will let you know as soon as the promise is performed." O'Brien took his leave of my family, who were already very partial to him, and left that afternoon for Holyhead.

My father no longer treated me as a child; indeed, it would have been an injustice if he had.

I do not mean to say that I was a clever boy; but I had seen much of the world in a short time, and could act and think for myself.

He often talked to me about his prospects, which were very different from what they were when I left him.

My two uncles, his elder brothers, had died, the third was married and had two daughters.