Here 's more of it, Molly. James has just come in to say that the
Ministry is out in England, and that the new Government is giving
everything away to the Irish, and that old villain, K. I., not on the
spot to ask for a place! James tells me it's the Brigade is to have the
best things; but I don't remember if K. I. belongs to it, though I know
he's in the Yeomanry. From Lord-Lieutenant down to the letter-carriers,
they must be all Irish now, James says. We 're to have Ireland for
ourselves, and as much of England as we can, for we 'll never rest till
we get perfect equality, and I must say it 's time too!
K. I. is n't fit for much, but maybe he might get something. The
Treasury is where he 'd like to be, but I 'm not certain it would suit
him. At all events, he 's not to the fore, and I don't think they 'll
send to look for him, as they did for Sir Robert Peel! Till we know,
however, whether he has a chance of anything, it would be better to keep
his present conduct a profound secret, for James remarks "that they make
a great fuss about character nowadays;" and it comes well from them,
Molly, if the stories I hear be true!
Ask Purcell what's vacant in K. I.'s line? which, you may say, goes from
Lunatic Asylums to the Court of Chancery. I don't want James to have
an Irish appointment, but he says there's something in Gambia--wherever
that is--that he'd like.
As, of course, K. I. and myself can never live together again, it would
be very convenient if he was to get something that would require him to
stay in Ireland,--either a suspensory magistrate or a place in Newgate
would do. You 'll wonder at my troubling myself about a man that behaved
as he did; and, indeed, I wonder at myself for it; and what I say is,
maybe this might happen, maybe the other, and I 'd be sorry afterwards;
and if he was to be taken away suddenly, I 'd like to be sure to have my
mind easy, and in a happy frame.
Isn't it dreadful to think that it's about these things my letter is
filled, while all the enjoyment in life is going on about me? There's
the band underneath my window playing the Railroad Polka, and the crowd
round them is princesses and duchesses and countesses, all so elegantly
dressed, and looking so sweet and amiable. Every minute the door opens,
with an invitation for this or that, or maybe a nosegay of beautiful
flowers that a prince with a wonderful name has sent to Mary Anne. And
here 's a man with the most tempting jewelry from Vienna, and another
with lace and artificial flowers; and all for nothing, Molly, or next to
nothing,--if one had a trifle to spend on them. And so we might, too, if
K. I. had n't behaved this way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account