Part 5 (1/2)
Gowing and his house are as tedious as Mr. Dove and _my_ house; we must hope that does not mean to play as false.
”I am very sorry for your loss of lines and anchors.
”E. FG.”
Mr. Gowing was, so far as Posh can recollect, a Woodbridge builder, and Mr. Dove was the Builder who altered Little Grange for FitzGerald.
Whether or not the life-belts fitted or were ever used I can't ascertain.
But I believe that one was in existence a year or so ago. The ”lines and anchors” were, Posh thinks, lost from his old punt the _Gazelle_.
For the sake of convenience I give a letter here which is somewhat out of date, but inasmuch as it has nothing to do with the fis.h.i.+ng but only with the trust which FitzGerald had in Posh it may very well come in here.
”MARKETHILL, WOODBRIDGE, _October_ 2_nd_.
”DEAR POSH,
”I forgot to tell you that I had desired a Day and Night Telescope to be left _for me_ at the Lowestoft Railway Station--Please to enquire for it: and, if it be there, this Letter of mine may be sufficient Warrant for _you_ to take the Gla.s.s.
”Do not, however, take the Gla.s.s _out to sea_ till we have tried it.
”We got here yesterday. I shall not be at Lowestoft _this week_ at any rate.
”Yours, ”EDWARD FITZGERALD.
”Please to send me word about the Gla.s.s. I left a note for you in George Howe's hands before we started. I was sorry not to see you; but you knew where to find me on Monday Evening.”
The gla.s.s was, Posh a.s.sures me, a good one. But no one knows what became of it. Later FitzGerald again mentions the gla.s.s.
”WOODBRIDGE, _Monday_.
”DEAR POSH,
”If I could have made sure from your letter that you were going to stop on sh.o.r.e this Day, I would have run over to see you. You tell me of getting a Job done: but I cannot be sure if you are having it done To-day: and I do not go to Lowestoft for fear you may be put to sea again.
”Of course you will get anything done to Boat or Net that you think proper.
”You did not tell me how the Spy-Gla.s.s answers. But do not trouble yourself to write.
”Yours truly, ”FLAGSTONE FITZGERALD.”
{Woodbridge River (evening) where the ”scandal” berthed: p97.jpg}
As soon as I asked Posh the meaning of the signature ”Flagstone FitzGerald” he burst out laughing. ”What!” said he. ”Hain't yew niver heard about ole Flagstone? He was a retail and wholesale grocer and gin'ral store dealer at Yarmouth name ---” (well, we will say Smith for purposes of reference. As the man's sons still carry on his old business here in Lowestoft it is as well not to give the true name. By the way, I do not mean that the sons carry on the ”flagstone” business), ”and he owned tew or t'ree boots and stored 'em hisself. Well, when they come to make up (and o' coorse he'd chudged the men for the stores, ah! and chudged 'em high!) they went t'rew the stores an' found as he'd weighted up the sugar and such like wi' flagstone! Well, they made it sa hot for him at Yarmouth that he had ta mewve ta Lowestoft, and he was all.u.s.t called Flagstone Smith arter that. I reckon as the Guv'nor heerd the yarn and liked it. Ha! Ha! Ha!”
And it isn't a bad yarn for one which is actually true in every respect.
About the same time, or a little later (for it is impossible to fix the date of these letters definitely), Fitzgerald wrote:--
”WOODBRIDGE, _Sat.u.r.day_.