I was taken to the office of Mr. O'Shaughnessey and was told that he,
as well as Mr. O'Donnell, would be my friend. Mr. O'Shaughnessey was
rather cross to me at first and seemed to doubt whether or not I could
make any lace. He seemed to fear that I was a common thief, and not a
real lace-maker. He said to me, "Can you make lace?"
I told him, "Yes, I can make lace of any ordinary pattern known as
Irish lace." He said to me, "You sit right down there in that chair and
make some lace, if you can make lace." I replied that I had no thread.
Mr. O'Shaughnessey then sent out and got some thread of the kinds
which I told him to get, and I sat down and worked with the thread for
several hours making lace. At the end of the time I was able to show
Mr. O'Shaughnessey a piece of the grape-vine pattern, which is well
known in Ireland, and which is the pattern which I used when I won my
prizes in my native home of Larne for lace-making. It was the same kind
of lace which I had made on one or two occasions for Miss Barrett at
the Wellington hotel. The pattern agreed with some of the pieces of
lace which I was accused of having stolen from the Wellington hotel.
This exhibition of my powers to make lace convinced Mr. O'Shaughnessey
that I was not a fraud, and that I could do what I had claimed that I
could do. From that time forward he became my active friend and fought
hard for me clear to the end of the terrible trial to which I was
subjected.
Subsequently I was compelled to make lace in the presence of a number
of ladies who were interested in my case, just to show them that I was
not a fraud. Every one seemed to be suspicious of me until I had proved
that I could make lace and that I was not lying. I did not and never
have had a single friend who has not compelled me to give some definite
proof or other either as to lace-making ability or my character since
this whole horrible matter came out.
After my experience in proving to Mr. O'Shaughnessey that I was not a
fraud I was taken to Mr. O'Donnell's home and there cared for by his
wife. Mrs. O'Donnell, who seemed to be about the only person to believe
in me from the first, even when her husband seemed to doubt me, took
good care of me and treated me as if I were her own daughter. After Mr.
O'Donnell had satisfied himself that I was all right, and that there
was no fraud in any of my stories, he, too, was very kind and allowed
me to come down to his office to visit with Miss Mary Joyce, his
stenographer, who used to chat with me while I made lace with which to
pay at least a part of my obligations to the O'Donnells.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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