The Land of Bondage: A RomanceBloundelle-Burton, John
History
The Land of Bondage: A Romance
Bloundelle-Burton, John
Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Fiction
During this time of idleness and waiting, there occurred, however,
many other things in connection with me, of which I heard from Oliver
whenever he came home at night. To wit, my uncle had arrived by the
packet and had at once proceeded to notify to the whole city, both by
his own and Considine's voice--whom he sent round to all the
coffee-houses and ordinaries, as well as to the wine clubs and
usquebaugh clubs--an errand I doubt not highly agreeable to that
creature!--as well as by advertisement in the new newsletter entitled
"Faulkner's Journal," which was just appearing, that my father had
died childless and that he had consequently assumed the rank and style
of Viscount St. Amande in the peerage of Ireland.
"Yet," said Oliver to me as I strolled by his side, for it was his
custom to take me out a-walking for my health's sake at night after he
returned home from his work; he holding me ever by the hand, while in
the other he carried a heavy Kerry blackthorn stick, and had a pair of
pistols in his pocket, "yet he succeeded not altogether to his
satisfaction, nor will he succeed as well as he hopes. The people hiss
and hoot at him and insult him as he passes by--Mike Finnigan flung a
dead dog, which he had dragged out of the gutter, into his coach but
yesterday--and they yell and howl at him to know where the real
lord--that's you--is?"
Then again, on another day, he told me that Mr. Kinchella had come to
his stall to tell him a brave piece of news, it being indeed no less
than the fact that the King-at-Arms had refused to enrol the
certificate of his brother having died without issue, while saying
also that, from what he gathered, he was by no means sure that such
was the case. This, Oliver said Mr. Kinchella told him, had led to a
great scene, in which my uncle had insulted the King-at-Arms, who had
had him removed from his presence in consequence, while he said even
more strongly than before that, from what was told him, he did firmly
believe that Mr. Robert St. Amande was endeavouring to bring about a
great fraud and to attempt a villainous usurpation of another's rights
to which he, at least, would be no party. Now, therefore, was my time,
we all agreed, for me to present myself and to claim my rights, and
Quin and Mr. Kinchella had even gone so far as to furbish me up in
some fitting apparel wherewith to make a more respectable appearance
in public, when everything was again thrown into disorder and my hopes
blighted by the arrival in Dublin of the new Lord Lieutenant and of
the Lord Chancellor Wyndham, than whom no one could have been worse
for my cause. He was then an utter stranger to Ireland (though
afterwards created Baron Wyndham of Finglass) in spite of having been
sent from England to be, at first, the Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas; he knew nothing of the descents of our ancient Irish families,
nor, indeed, the names of many of them, and what was worse than all,
he had known my uncle in England and was his friend.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account