Excerpt from Irish Literature, Vol. 9: McCarthy, Editor in Chief, Charles Welsh, Managing
On one occasion, when Mr. Lover was absent at his office, a soldier with a drummer-boy made his appearance at his door, and on being tendered the two shillings, refused to take them, and insisted on sleeping in the house instead, coupling the demand with a remark and look which were very offensive to Mrs. Lover. Ordered to wait outside the dwelling while she sent word to the 'Billet Office,' he boldly entered the hall and tried to close the door, upon which Mrs. Lover in her fright rushed to the steps, followed by her child, where she was discovered by her husband, when he at length returned from business, trembling, pallid, and almost speechless. Enraged, of course, at such an insult, he sprang into the house, when the soldier attempted to draw his bayonet, but was speedily knocked down and afterwards closed with in a struggle, which lasted amidst the yells of Master Samuel and the drummer-boy until an officer arrived from the Billet Office to offer an apology and remove the culprit."
It was the era in which "the Fine Old Irish Gentleman" flourished most luxuriantly; the era of drinking, duelling, and debts, celebrated in song and story. It has been painted a hundred times in fiction. Sheil describes it in veracious prose, and Sir Jonah Barrington in a happy blending of romance and truth which he calls "Personal Sketches of His Own Times."
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