| Title: | McMahon Glynn, Patrick to Glynn, Ellen, 1890 |
|---|---|
| ID | 4405 |
| Collection | Patrick McMahon Glynn: Letters to his family (1874-1927) [Gerald Glynn O'Collins] |
| File | glynn/57 |
| Year | 1890 |
| Sender | McMahon Glynn, Patrick |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | lawyer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Destination | Gort, Co. Galway, Ireland |
| Recipient | Glynn, Ellen |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | son-mother |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 685 |
| Genre | birthday, acquaintances, politics, mining business |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Queens Chambers Pirie St. Adelaide August 25th 1890. My dear Mother A letter from a thoughtful lady, (with whom my relations, I assure you, are not those of courtship) reminds me that this is my birthday and that I owe a letter to you. Thirty five is the balance of an ordinary life, & a little more probably of mine. It is hard to say which is the least happy portion of a man's life, but it certainly is not his earlier and devil-may-care days. I take it that the one in which his sympathies are closest is the best, and that a fellow who can, as we used to do, sit on the counter of a friend and speak as he likes, without any reticence, is best off. I heard from the Bergins last week; they are now living in 127, Brunswick St., Fitzroy, Melbourne. The suburbs were too expensive, owing to train fares, upon their limited means. Lizzy asks to know when Eugene is coming out; I suppose as he has not got the dispensing it will be soon, if at all. It is a poor country for lawyers but not so for doctors. I was pressed, and reluctantly consented, to stand for a recent vacancy, but the district is the most conservative in the colony and a hotbed of conservatism. Some hot headed Catholics got the Wesleyans hi arms against them on a previous occasion, and though the Wesleyan paper has always been complimentary to me, on the principle of vicarious punishment—I had to suffer. In my case opponents pay agents to misrepresent my opinions, to frighten those who would otherwise support me. On a poll of the whole colony I would probably beat any one here. I don't mind, though I would have had the Attorney-Generalship if returned, & these elections empty one's purse. However, as long as I can keep a hunter, I don't very much care. By the way, a mare I have, Modesty, recently created a sensation by bolting with me towards the end of a big run and upsetting & smashing up a cabful of ladies. They drove right across my course, or rather their driver did; but we all luckily found ourselves on this side of eternity. Modesty is a great jumper, very fresh, and a great beauty. It is her first season, so she is very excitable. She would probably win one of the Hunt Club Steeplechases in October, but times are bad from Strikes and Politics, to keep two horses in, so I will blister her swollen knee & turn her out this week. Talking of politics, though, having the sympathy of the country as a whole with me, I don't mind bad luck, especially as really the best world to live in is one of thought, it would still have been an advantage to have been in Parliament this time, as I was certain to have been appointed a delegate to the Australian Federal Convention to draw up the Constitution. The seamen and associated trades are on strike here now, so that trade is cramped, and mining shares very low. You remember that I originally bought Broken Hill Shares at £37 and had bad luck in selling at the wrong moment. The value of the original shares is now over £1000 each—but mining is so risky, they often have a drop representing millions in a week or two, simply from a created The Walls are still at Chiltern. Tom Wall's employer on giving up business, offered the business to Tom and another, on favourable terms requiring £600 in part-cash. They applied to me for help, but I had to refuse, so doubtless I am considered a hard hearted scoundrel. But one person cannot stand the racket of everything. Is not 35 the date of majority for gout? It would seem to, as my ancient enemy, after a comparative truce, is beginning to extend the sphere of his attacks, though I have been over 7 years a teetotaller. With love and remembrances to all, I am, Your affectionate Son P. McM. Glynn |
