“Dear Con.,--The world here--and part of it is a very pretty world, with
silky tresses and trim ankles--has declared that you have had some sort
of slight accident, and are laid up at a miserable wayside inn, to
be blue-devilled and doctored _à discrétion_. I strained my shoulder
yesterday hunting,--my horse swerved against a tree,--or I should
ascertain all the particulars of your disaster in person; so there is
nothing left for it but a note.
“I am here domesticated at a charming country-house, the host an old
Admiral, the hostess a _ci-devant_ belle of London,--in times not
very recent,--and more lately what is called in newspapers 'one of the
ornaments of the Irish Court.' We have abundance of guests,--county dons
and native celebrities, clerical, lyrical, and quizzical, several pretty
women, a first-rate cellar, and a very tolerable cook. I give you the
catalogue of our attractions, for I am commissioned by Sir Charles and
my Lady to ask you to partake of them. The invitation is given in all
cordiality, and I hope you will not decline it, for it is, amongst other
matters, a good opportunity of seeing an Irish 'interior,' a thing of
which I have always had my doubts and misgivings, some of which are now
solved; others I should like to investigate with your assistance. In
a word, the whole is worth seeing, and it is, besides, one of those
experiences which can be had on very pleasant terms. There is perfect
liberty; always something going on, and always a way to be out of it if
you like. The people are, perhaps, not more friendly than in England,
but they are far more familiar; and if not more disposed to be pleased,
they tell you they are, which amounts to the same. There is a good
deal of splendor, a wide hospitality, and, I need scarcely add, a
considerable share of bad taste. There is, too, a costly attention to
the wishes of a guest, which will remind you of India, though I must own
the Irish Brahmin has not the grand, high-bred air of the Bengalee. But
again I say, come and see.
“I have been told to explain to you why they don't send their boat.
There is something about draught of water, and something about a 'gash,'
whatever that is: I opine it to be a rapid. And then I am directed to
say, that if you will have yourself paddled up to Brown's Barn, the
Cobham barge will be there to meet you.
“I write this with some difficulty, lying on my back on a sofa, while a
very pretty girl is impatiently waiting to continue her reading to me
of a new novel called 'The Antiquary.' a capital story, but strangely
disfigured by whole scenes in a Scottish dialect. You must read it when
you come over.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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