My Lords of Strogue, Vol. 1 (of 3): A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the UnionWingfield, Lewis
History
My Lords of Strogue, Vol. 1 (of 3): A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union
Wingfield, Lewis
Historical fiction; Ireland -- History -- 18th century -- Fiction
Let us survey the remaining members of the family. The little girl,
who looks unmoved out of great brown eyes at the glancing weapon's
sheen, is first cousin to the boys; daughter of my lady's brother,
honest Arthur Wolfe, who, leaning against the casement, smiles down
upon the crowd. He is, folks say, a lawyer of promise, though not
gifted. Rumour even whispers that if Fitzgibbon should become lord
chancellor, Mr. Wolfe would succeed to the post of attorney-general.
Not by reason of his talents, for Arthur, though plodding and upright,
can never hope to hold his own at the Irish Bar by his wits. There are
too many resin torches about for his horn lantern to make much show.
But then you see he is of gentle blood, and influence is of more
practical worth than talent. His sister, who loves him fondly, is
Countess of Glandore, which fact may be counted unto him as equivalent
to much cleverness. He knows that he is not bright, and is honest
enough to revere in others the genius which is denied to himself. That
is the reason why, not heeding my lord's entrance, he bows eagerly to
somebody in the street, and bids his little daughter kiss her hand and
nod.
My lady, to avoid looking at her husband, follows his eyes and
exclaims, with a contraction of her brows:
'Good heavens, Arthur! who in the world's your friend? He looks like a
grimy monkey in beggar's rags! Sure you can't know the scarecrow?'
'That is one of the cleverest men in Dublin,' returns her brother.
'He'll make a show some day. Even the arrogant Fitzgibbon, before
whose eye the Viceroy quails, is afraid of that dirty little man. That
is John Philpot Curran, M.P. for Kilbeggan, who has just taken silk.
The staunchest, worthiest, wittiest, ugliest lawyer in all Ireland.'
'Curran!' echoed my lord with curiosity; 'I've heard of him. He dared
t'other day to flout Fitzgibbon himself in parliament, and the ceiling
didn't crumble. Let's have him up; he may divert us.'
But Curran took no heed of Arthur's beckoning. He knew that his
exterior was homely, and moreover liked not the society of lords and
ladies. Born of the lower class, he loved them for their sufferings,
identified himself with their wrongs, and was wont frequently to say
that 'twixt the nobles and the people there was an impassable abyss.
Besides, though brave as a lion, he respected his skin somewhat, and
knew that my lord was as likely as not to prod him with a rapier-point
if he ventured on a sally which was beyond his aristocratic
comprehension. Turning, therefore, to a young man who was his
companion, he whispered:
'Let us be off, Theobald. The likes of us are too humble for such
company,' and was making good his retreat, when he heard the imperious
voice shout out:
'Bring him here, I say--some of you--shoeblacks, chairmen,
somebody--or by the Hokey ye'll taste of my rascal-thrasher.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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