Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century
‘With that we went in among them, an’ the Captain sthretched over the
watch at the sword’s point to ache of them, beggin’, with a polite bow,
to know to which o’ thim it belonged. But little notions, ye may swair,
they had ov ownin’ it _theirs_. Every wan o’ the cowardly rascals swore
it did not belong to himsel’!
‘“Oh, I was thinkin’, jintlemen, it was all a bit ov a mistake,” sis
the Captain, “so I think you must have it, Channor, for want of a
betther owner.” So with that he hands it over to mysel’. It was a fine
goold watch, an’ here I have it still.’
Not only was young Mrs. Fitzgerald reconciled to her relations, but an
arrangement was made with old Fitzgerald that, on payment of a certain
sum of money down, he would give his son a rent charge of £1,000 a
year on his estate, and he had a very handsome fortune with his wife
besides.
The young couple thereupon went to France, and, having introductions
to the best society in Paris, enjoyed themselves immensely. He dressed
splendidly, and he astonished the Parisians, who asked each other,
‘Qui est ce seigneur? d’où vient il? Il n’est pas Français,--Quelle
magnificence! Quelle politesse! Est-il possible qu’il soit étranger?’
In his hat he wore diamonds, and the same precious stones adorned
his buckles and his sword-knot; indeed, all through his life he was
fond of such gewgaws, and when his house at Turlough was wrecked by
the mob--no one preventing--he estimated his loss in jewellery, &c.,
at £20,000. They must have been costly, for he enumerates among the
stolen collection: ‘A casquet containing a complete set of diamond
vest buttons, two large emeralds, a hat-band with five or six rows
of Oriental pearls, worth £1,500, a large engraved amethyst, a gold
watch and chain studded with diamonds, several other gold watches and
seals, a great number of antique and modern rings, gold shoe and knee
buckles, silver shaving apparatus, several pairs of silver shoe and
knee buckles, with £6,300 worth of other jewels.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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