‘Is that Sir Condy Rackrent in the chair?’ says a stranger man in the crowd.
‘The same,’ says I. ‘Who else should it be? God bless him!’
‘And I take it, then, you belong to him?’ says he.
‘Not at all,’ says I; ’but I live under him, and have done so these two hundred years and upwards, me and mine.’
‘It’s lucky for you, then,’ rejoins he, ’that he is where he is; for was he anywhere else but in the chair, this minute he’d be in a worse place; for I was sent down on purpose to put him up, [to put him up: to put him in gaol] and here’s my order for so doing in my pocket.’
It was a writ that villain the wine merchant had marked against my poor master for some hundreds of an old debt, which it was a shame to be talking of at such a time as this.
’Put it in your pocket again, and think no more of it anyways for seven years to come, my honest friend,’ says I; ’he’s a member of Parliament now, praised be God, and such as you can’t touch him: and if you’ll take a fool’s advice, I’d have you keep out of the way this day, or you’ll run a good chance of getting your deserts amongst my master’s friends, unless you choose to drink his health like everybody else.’
‘I’ve no objection to that in life,’ said he. So we went into one of the public-houses kept open for my master; and we had a great deal of talk about this thing and that. ‘And how is it,’ says he, ’your master keeps on so well upon his legs? I heard say he was off Holantide twelvemonth past.’
‘Never was better or heartier in his life,’ said I.
‘It’s not that I’m after speaking of’ said he; ’but there was a great report of his being ruined.’
‘No matter,’ says I, ’the sheriffs two years running were his particular friends, and the sub-sheriffs were both of them gentlemen, and were properly spoken to; and so the writs lay snug with them, and they, as I understand by my son Jason the custom in them cases is, returned the writs as they came to them to those that sent ’em much good may it do them!—with a word in Latin, that no such person as Sir Condy Rackrent, Bart., was to be found in those parts.’