Volume Ii Part 46 (1/2)
”I am very sorry not to be in Ireland now, when the [? ] have been invited to the Exhibition banquet on the 20th; but I have done with banquets now, and must address myself to my maccaroni with what appet.i.te I may.”
_To Mr William Blackwood._
”Trieste, _July_ 13, 1871.
”I should have liked to have detained these proofs until I heard what your uncle might have to say to them, but I am afraid of delay, and send them back at once. My hope is that he will like them, though I cannot dare to think that my chief, Lord Granville, will approve of what I say of his speech at the Cobden dinner. At any rate, if they kick me out, I can go home and be a rebel, and if too old for a pike I am still good for a paragraph.
”All that London life with its flatteries and fat-feeding has sorely unfitted me for my cold mutton v. existence at home; but it cannot be helped, and I must try to get back into the old groove and work along as before.
”There is now a dull apathy over life--the consequence of all our late excitement; but we cannot always afford to pay for 'stars,' and Bismarck is too costly an _artiste_ to keep always on the boards. From all I see, the French are just as insolent and b.u.mptious as before they were licked,--showing us, if we like to see it, what the world would have had to endure had they been the conquerors!
”It is a sore grief to me that I cannot go to the Scott festival; but I have no leave and less money, and though I believe F. O. might grant me the one, they'd even stop my pay, which is the aggravation of insult.
”I hope sincerely you don't feel it a matter of conscience to read all a man writes, for if so I'd shut up. Only a.s.suring you that now we have met and shaken hands, it is with increased pleasure I write myself, yours sincerely, Chas. Lever.”
_To Mr John Blackwood._
”Trieste, _Aug_. 6, 1871.
”_En attendant_ to writing you a long letter, I send you these 'O'Dowds'
now, which will give us more time to discuss them.
”That on our 'National Donations' is, I hope, good. I know it is called for. The shabby scoundrels from Manchester that want to manage England like a mill and treat the monarch like an overseer deserve castigation, and I feel you will agree with me. Is not 'Meat without Bone' good enough for use?
”I am so sorry not to be able to say all the civil things I should like to say of the Solicitor-General now, for when the trial is over I shall not be able to revive my generous indignation to the white heat it now enjoys.
”Why don't you tell me some popular theme to O'Dowd? I'm here, as they say in Ireland, 'at the back of good speed,' and know nothing.
”A very curious trial occurred five years ago in Austria on a disputed ident.i.ty, and the man questioned substantiated his case. It would be interesting if a correct record could be had.
”Ballantine tells me that Jeune is gone to Australia, and will be back in November with proofs of the loss of the _Bella_, names of survivors, and existence in the colony of Arthur Orton up to November last. B. is sure of a verdict--at least, he is sure of his right to it.”
_To Mr John Blackwood._
”Trieste, _Aug_. 5, 1871.
”It is time I should thank you and Mrs Blackwood for your cordial invitation to myself and my daughter to go and see you in Scotland, and we are only too sorry we cannot manage you a visit, and in talk--for it is all that is left us--to ride over the links of Fife, and even a.s.sist at golf.
”Even if I could have plucked up courage to go over now, I 'stopped'
myself by letting my 'vice' go on leave,--a piece of generosity on my part that has cost me heavier than I thought for, and gave me nearer opportunities of intimacy with Cardiff captains and Hull skippers than I care for.
”Of course, it is out of the question trying to write except on my 'off days,' when I shut out the whole rabble.
”I begin to think that Gladstone has been carried away by pure anger in all his late doings. It is purely womanish and hysterical throughout. To hit off this I have thrown off the short 'O'Dowd,' 'What if they were to be Court-martialled?' which, with a little change, will perhaps do.