The True Life of Betty Ireland: With Her Birth, Education, and Adventures. Together with Some Account of Her Elder Sister Blanch of Britain. Containing Sundry Very Curious Particulars — John Shaqi
The True Life of Betty Ireland: With Her Birth, Education, and Adventures. Together with Some Account of Her Elder Sister Blanch of Britain. Containing Sundry Very Curious ParticularsAnonymous
General
The True Life of Betty Ireland: With Her Birth, Education, and Adventures. Together with Some Account of Her Elder Sister Blanch of Britain. Containing Sundry Very Curious Particulars
Anonymous
Satire
In the first Place, it has ever been the Fate of her _Domesticks_
to be invincibly hated by her _Tenants_ without Difference
or Distinction, (for, to say Truth, they have no Head for
_Distingo_'s:) There is but one Thing in the World they hate more,
and that is _Betty Ireland_. Now, the _Servants_ bear hard on
_Betty_, to curry Favour with her Sister's _Tenants_, who would go
half Way to the D----l to have _Betty_ d----d, are for ever cursing
her, and laying all their Misfortunes at her Door. If the
_Clothier_ loses his Business, or has his Goods on Hand, 'tis _all
'long_ of _Betty_: Wheat bears no Price, for _Betty_ has glutted
the Market. Whereas, in Fact, they never keep the same Markets. But
they forget, they are all so idle and debauched, such gobling and
drinking Rascals, and so expensive in _blew Beer_, that they are
forced to put a double Price on every thing goes to Market; so that
no Body will deal with them. Indeed, if it incenses them, that
_Betty_ won't buy, burn her _own Goods_ and take off _theirs_, they
must e'en turn the Buckle behind. _Blanch_ will be wiser, for her
own sake, than lay Stresses on her _Sister_, from whom she gets
more than _by all the World beside_, only to humour a Set of
grumbling Churls, who don't know what they would be at; and so
extremely senseless, that it's Matter of Wonder, their Oxen
don't ride them to the Market, and sell them. 'Tis true, a
_Linen-weaver_, one of _Blanch_'s Tenants, prevailed on her lately
to withdraw some Encouragement she had given _Betty_, and transfer
it to a _Stranger_. But that was owing to bad Advice given her, by
a _Clerk_ she has since turned off, and sent a stroling among
_Brandy-shops_ and _Ale-houses_, to _backbite_ his _Lady_ for want
of other Employment.
Another Cause of _Blanch_'s Dislike to her _Sister_ was, a Fright
she took, when she was just _delivered_, at some ill-looking
People, who came from _Betty_'s Lands, and appeared under her
Window. There's no doubt but _Blanch_ has as much Courage as any
genteel Lady ought to have, and must have been in a Fit of low
Spirits when she, and all her Tenants from her, took so senseless
an alarm, as to run distracted thro' Fear of half a Dozen Fellows
cutting all their Throats in one Night, who were ready to run
through Fire and Water for Fear of being hang'd themselves; yet
certain it is, from this ridiculous Incident, and from nothing
else, can be derived, that universal Hatred shewn her by _Blanch's
Tenants_, though they have never seen, spoken with, or had any
Dealings whatever, either with _Betty_ or her _Tenants_. People
must be _generous_, as well as _brave_, to forgive those that
frighten them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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