This
disappointment, to a person of Hycy's disposition, was, we have seen,
bitterly vexatious, and it may be presumed that he reached home in
anything but an agreeable humor. Having dismounted, he was about to
enter the hall-door, when his attention was directed towards that of the
kitchen by a rather loud hammering, and on turning his eyes to the
spot he found two or three tinkers very busily engaged in soldering,
clasping, and otherwise repairing certain vessels belonging to that warm
and spacious establishment. The leader of these vagrants was a man named
Philip Hogan, a fellow of surprising strength and desperate character,
whose feats of hardihood and daring had given him a fearful notoriety
over a large district of the country. Hogan was a man whom almost every
one feared, being, from confidence, we presume, in his great strength,
as well as by nature, both insolent, overbearing, and ruffianly in the
extreme. His inseparable and appropriate companion was a fierce and
powerful bull-dog of the old Irish breed, which he had so admirably
trained that it was only necessary to give him a sign, and he would
seize by the throat either man or beast, merely in compliance with the
will of his master. On this occasion he was accompanied by two of his
brothers, who were, in fact, nearly as impudent and offensive ruffians
as himself.
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