BARNEY MAHONEY'S ADVENTURES.

'THIS is a work of considerable humour, and of small pretension. The hero is an Irish footman. The object of the writer seems to be, the exhibition of character generally; for which he has a natural aptitude, not amounting to genius or any extraordinary -excellence, but still, enough to insure an entertaining assemblage of characteristic traits.

Of the characters here exhibited, the first and principal is that of Barney Mahoney himself: but he is not the only, and often not the principal personage of his own adventures. Barney is in -the beginning a young Irish savage, from the neighbourhood of -Cork, brought to London by a merchant of eminence ; who hap- pened, during a tour in Ireland, to receive shelter in his father's hut, and who took compassion on the destitution in which he found a _numerous family. He detected some traits of shrewdness about the -young monster Barney; and being in want of an errand-boy, or being in the humour of patronizing, he offered to take the creature into his service. Barney is intended as a general representative of the Irish character in humble life—in the county of Cork and its neighbourhood at least. The boy is quick and curious; self-suffi- eient and consequential; humble and creeping to very grovelling, when he is afraid, or has a purpose to get not to be had but by wheedling ; of a certain kind of humour; now acute and now blun- dering; selfish and wholly interested; feelings, however, mixed up with those of religion, honesty, and pride,—for Father O'Connor and his mother both appear to have been successful teachers. The priest had made him proud of his church, and his mother of his beggarly family. These were the sanctions under which Barney acted ; he would do nothing to offend religion or disgrace his family,—he being, through his -mother, a Callaghan, and of -tbs. "I-rah:pool& blood." The character is very well developed, and his-history is amusing. After being a short time with Mr. Stapleton,. the mer- chant—who dwells in the City—he begins to think of bettering himself: be had soon commenced giving himself airs, and now thought the honour of his family was concerned in living with persons of a higher rank. He put forth, as follows, his reasons for a change, to Mrs. Judith Garatty, Lord Cork's cook ; a cowl- trywoman whom he had accidentally met with, on occasion of one of his tricks of ignorant and unabashable impudence, when he- went to call on Lord Cork, to ask for an exciseman's place for his- brother James, under the plea of his Lordship being a townsman.

The banter to which he had exposed himself, rendered still stronger his ardent wish for a change of abode, and he once more ventured to canvass Mrs. Garatty on the subject; at the same :time obliging her with a dismal and exaggerated history of his sufferings in the family of Mr. Stapleton. 'It's a sconce ye are, Barney, an' that's God's thruth."

66 A sconce!' May be it isn't me modher's sou ye'd be calin' that same, lixf she to de fore!'

" Ogh ! Barney a hums ! 'tis yer mother's de decent woman; an' only for her I uddent be listenin' to your words, so I uddent ; an' kind to me an' mine she was that time in the sickness,—yees doant mind the time, an' was a stbrip of a b'y thin, so you was. Sorro' taste of ingratitude iver was found in Judy Garatty, I'll say that, if it's meself owns to the name. So now listen to me, Barney, avick ! an' if its bent an' bowed on a change ye are, may be it issent meselt couldn't help yees to a nate little gintale service, with may be a lady o' rale quality."

"Evch! You couldn't ! Ah, thin, Misthress Garatty, dear, 'tis yees '11 be de rale: friend o' Barney Mahoney ; an', be all de crosses in a yard check, if—"

" Hould your whisht, agin an' harken to me at wonst now. 'Tis a lady o' rale quality I'm tellin' yees she is, bud not the mild Irish, that's the thrue Mile- sian stock, seem' she's a born Scotch'oman, an' niver as much as seen the land o' the sod sin' the daylight fell upon her; bud no mather for that—she's a lady by right au' by title, any way ; an' if she's Scotch, that's not spakin' agin her cha- seethes. 'They meddunt all be the devil's darlints for scrimpm' an' squeezin', so they meddunt ; an' besides, it's booed wages yees 'II be put upon, an' in coorse yees '11 make a purty penny out o' that same, if supposm' yees are the lad o' rinse an' discretion I tuk ye for. It's niver on boord wages meself, I wasn't ; but in coorse, wi' broken vittals an' that, it's plenty there must be cum down from me Lady's table, an' no call to spind a hap'orth yerself, so yees needn't."

" Agra! my sowl ! but it's a made man I'll be now, any way," cried her au- ditor, as the pleasant perspective of perpetual saving cheered his greedy heart.

" An' yell mind, now, above all, yer manners, an' doant disgrace yer court- three an' me, but discoorse 'em in yer best English ; an' its quite equal to the place yees are, say, an' can have the best o' characthers, which it's no doubt yees '11 get that same out o' Misther Stapleton." " An' where is id at all, I'm to go ? an' what's me new misthress's name that is to be? an' what sort' of a place is itself, too, Misthress Garatty?"

" ' Be dhu husth ! '4 wait, won't yees, an' lam one thing at a time, so do, an' not be askin' as many questins in a breath as 'ud bother a priest. An' it issent a misthress at all at all I'm puttin' yees to, but a born lady o' title all out, an' belongs to some grand family abroad in her own counthree, that's in Scotland ; an' her name's Lady Teodozy Livincoort ; a colleen, so she is, not been married, ye see, Barney. At number 4, or 9, I'm not rightly sartin which it is, v '11 find her in, Curse 'em Street, Mayfair. Two maids an' a man it is she keeps, an' you're to be the man, Barney,—that's if yees gets it ; an' to chars plate, an' knives, an' shoes, an' windy's, an' run errauts, an' wait table, an' go out wid de carriage, an'—"

" 'I under au' age! bud that's a sample o' work, Misthress Garatty." "Is it work ye calls it, ye spalpeeu, ye ! Shoore it's nothin' at all in life, an' '11 take yees no time, scarcely ; an' it's mendin' yer does, an' purshooin' yer larnin', yees ought to be of evenin's an' odd times, if yees 'ud find ay-ther indus- three or since widin side o' ye, ma boughal." In coorse undhertake -it, Misthress Garatty, dear ! an' it's yerself I'll be blessin' iviry night I live on my bonded knees, won't I? to de day o' me death an' longer. It '11 be a grate thing, shoorely, to be own man to a rale lady ; if there's a dale o' work, why de won pair o' hands o' me can bud be kept doin', an' gracious knees, it's that I am now, so I am, an' no credit out on it, so I haven't ; for it's Barney here and Barney there—an' de doore's to be swept im- mediately-, an' knives to be clamed immediately, an' Misther Charles wants his shoes iminadiately, an' I must run for buttlier for de cook immediately; an' if I'd twinty pair o' hands, an' thirty p# o' feet, I couldn't be quick enuff, so I cudn't, wid all their immadiately's ; an' it's put upon I am be ivery servent, high an' low, an' it's a blessin' it be to have but one snout' to be ordtherin' an' callin' me about, for it's fairly sick o' hearin' my own name I am, an' that's gospel thruth. An' 'whisper' Misthress Garatty, whin I'd be ill, divil a thing 'ud I git but dosed we' calumny pills; an' I ax yees if that same's usage for a Christhian, let alone a Callaghan?" " Ogh, thin ! be the piper that piped afore Moses, bud the blud's in yees, a'

boughal; an' tis yees be fit to go alone, I'm judgin', woncet yeas '11 get a thrill° o' experience to the fore."

"Eh, then! Wait 'till a while ago, an' if it issent meself 'II turn out some- thin' beyant common on yer hands, say me name's not Barney Mahoney, so do."

In leaving Mr. Stapleton, Barney is guilty of the grossest in- gratitude and the stupidest selfishness : he quickly learns he has not changed for the better—he could not have changed for the worse. The establishment of Lady Theodosia Livincourt is of the most economical description. It appears she is one of those unhappy persons of quality who have much dignity to keep up on small means. A carriage is a necessary of life, but food is not. She has had fourteen footmen in twelve months ; and her plan of getting them, without either paying or feeding them, is ingenious. She takes the young men on trial for a month, and puts them on board-wages; discharging the poor creatures a few days be- fore the month is out, sending them off' without a penny, and pretty nearly starved to death. Barney's account of this service is humorous ; and we should pity the rascal, if he had not richly deserved worse treatment.

The following morning, and before "my lady" was likely to require his at- tendance, he sought once more the Earl of Cork's residence, and gained access to Mrs. Garatty. To her he explained and expatiatml on the miserable state of things to which her reckless will had consigned him • concluding the melan- choly narrative with a request, that she would adrancelim a small sum for pre- sent exigencies, and promising duly to repay the same when his month's wages should become due. "In comae it's what I couldn't be refusin' 'the son of her that stood me friend when rd no other," returned the kind-hearted Irishwoman; " tlioaqh it's littln

Hold your tongue,. . I tout' yees 'ud be wantin' for any thing, oncet ye'd get the place, Barney, my heart ; bud there's no knoeire, so there issent, what's inside of a house 'till yees are fairly there ; an' I'd be sorry to see one o de name o' Mahoney in want, an' me able to help : so Barney, my b'y, here's a thrifle ; an' He knoes (casting her eyes upwards), it's not much de likes o' me has to spare; jist to git yees a pinch o' tar an' a dust o' sugar, be way o' dacency afore toe cook, an' she an Englisher ; but aoant be usin' it now, be no manes, but come in here, it's but a step, whin yees wants a male, an' it's hard but Judy Garatty 'II find enuff for the likes o' ye, an' niver wrong nobody ayther,—we've none o' yer boord-wage scrimpagin ways here. The Lord be praised for all things!" During this speech, her auditor's attention had been entirely devoted to the disposal of some cold viands she had placed before him; and, when every scrap of the same had vanished from mortal view, he gained leisure to reply.

"De holy St. Pathrick, an' all his saints, now an' for iver reward yees, Mis- thress Garatty, dear ; an' it's yees have saved me from dyin' in a land o' plinty ; so it is. Oh, Misthress Garatty, had yees a seen what I seen ! no longer ago than yestherday : me misthress—that's me Lady—a pickin' de bones of thins two mites o' floundthers, an' me standin' behind wondtherin"ud she lave skin or fin o' de two o' them; an' de praties one ether de other follying, as why shouldn't they ; it uddint a' bin manners on 'em to lave them two poor dabs o' fishes willy wallyin' about upon an empty stummick, so it uddent : an' whin I'd taken down de praty palins an' run'd up to try =rid I git de chance of a hunch o' bread, there it was locked up in de chickynear, an' no chance o' bite or sup at all at all for Barney. Den, I hard we was a goin' to me Lord this, an' me Lady tether's ; an,' thinks I, we'll be offered something be de way o' refreshment, in coarse; an' de Lord a' mercy upon de first mahogany I gets me two feet undher, for it's supper, an' breakfast, an' dinner I'll make o' (le one male, wonst I cum across it ! ses I. Bud I needn't a' counted me chickens, for de hen wasn't hatched to lay de eggs on 'em ; an' devil a bit o' supper I seen, high or low, an' we out de whole night, so we was. An' now it's what it bothers me, so it does, Misthress Garatty, to think what use, or is it right in her head me Lady is, to deny herself vittals an' that, an' keep a pair o' coachhorses ; she'd git a good male o' mate out on, an' she to sell 'em, doant ye see ? " "It issent for such as ye, Barney, to think to undherstand the ways o' the quality ; an' many on 'ems to be pitied more than ourselves, for I've hard say that they're obliged to keep up an appearance—that's what they calls it ; soruethin' I believe falls to 'em wid the title, an' they 'ud lose all their fortin, I judge, otherways, so it's nafral they'd wish to keep that, ye see, Barney; an' that's what makes 'em dhrive about all night an' day, like mad, in de streets, an' hungry many a time, it's little doubt but they is."

" 'There's one thing just I wish% Mrs. Garatty." "An' what's that Caine, Barney, now ? " "I wish't I was married, an' at home wid me mother-in-law."

"Go your wars at oncest now, an' doant be puttin' me beyant all patience, an' makin' yerscif out a born idiot, so don't. Shoore issent life befoore yees; an if this place don't ,hut, is that a rason why another meddent? An' when • things is bad, isseut it a sign they'll mend ? I ask you that. You've no more • heart nor a pullet, so you haven't, to be hangin' yer jaw as if yees had a mont's pinnanee led upon ye, because ye can't be erarumin' ruornin', noon, an' night ! " " What less than a pinnance is it, then, Misthress Garatty, an' I'll throuble yees, to be nothin' but runnin' up stairs an' down stairs, out an' in, here an' there, Ivid nothin' bud a dhried 'ruttoniv of a lady to look at above stairs, an' a hlackavized Jew of a smoke-dbried cook below ; ;yid a dark hole to put me head in, an' a bed that cant hold bud de three o' me four quarthers, an' not so much as bread an' wather to go to ? It's betther off I'd be in a jail, so it is." " I tell yces, it's worse off may be yees 'II be afoore ye die, Barney."

" shin ! t an' I've hard a man must ate a peck a dirt afoore he dies ; bud is that a rason he would ate it all at a male, Misthress Garatty ? Bud I must go back, an' see afther settin' me Lady's breakfast things. Oh! be de powers, bud its an iligant set it is, any way. I'd like to see what any o' de sarvants in Finsbury ;Square 'ml say, if supposin' they'd see it, even in de kitehin."

There are the adventures also of two Yorkshire ladies, who come to visit their cousins in London ; strong, and perhaps somewhat overdrawn pictures, but still clever, and truly Yorkshire. The dialect is perfect in its coarseness. A family of old maids and an old bachelor, in Montague Place, Russell Square—of plebeian origin, but most aristocratic or rather fashionable pretensions (a parcel of slaves of the silver fork and anti-hackney-coach school) are drawn with great truth, and are very deservedly held up to ridicule and contempt. There is also an obstinate old Alderman, a drysalter, rich, and given to stumble over his sentences ; pos- sessing one favourite figure of speech, which is neither more nor less than an eternal comparison of every thing that comes across him to a cock lobster : this old.curniudgeon is amusing,—and so indeed may we say of the whole book. As a picture of manners, it adheres closely to the truth ; and as a book of fiction, exhibits considerable invention and power of conceiving and exhibiting • character.