" But to return to O'Brien's interview.
After some little conversation, the First Lord said, "Captain O'Brien, I
am always very ready to oblige Lord Privilege, and the more so as his
recommendation is of an officer of your merit. In a day or two, if you
call at the Admiralty, you will hear further." O'Brien wrote to us
immediately, and we waited with impatience for his next letter: but,
instead of the letter, he made his appearance on the third day, and
first hugged me in his arms, he then came to my sister, embraced her,
and skipped and danced about the room.
"What is the matter, O'Brien?" said I, while Ellen retreated in
confusion.
O'Brien pulled a parchment out of his pocket. "Here, Peter, my dear
Peter; now for honour and glory. An eighteen-gun brig, Peter. The
_Rattlesnake_--Captain O'Brien--West India station. By the holy father!
my heart's bursting with joy!" and down he sank into an easy chair.
"A'n't I almost beside myself?" inquired he, after a short pause.
"Ellen thinks so, I dare say," replied I, looking at my sister, who
stood in the corner of the room, thinking O'Brien was really out of his
senses, and still red with confusion.
O'Brien, who then called to mind what a slip of decorum he had been
guilty of, immediately rose, and resuming his usual unsophisticated
politeness, as he walked up to my sister, took her hand, and said,
"Excuse me, my dear Miss Ellen; I must apologize for my rudeness; but my
delight was so great, and my gratitude to your brother so intense, that
I am afraid that in my warmth I allowed the expression of my feelings to
extend to one so dear to him, and so like him in person and in mind.
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