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Life Of Edward Fitzgerald (2 Volumes) (BCL1-PR English Literature)
Life Of Edward Fitzgerald - 2 Volumes - BCL1-PR English Literature Author:Thomas Wright Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: was a man of great wealth, being the owner of vast estates in Ireland, Northants, Suffolk, and elsewhere. The repeated intermarrying in the family may in some me... more »asure account for what Edward called the ' FitzGerald madness.' Of his maternal grandfather—a handsome, powdered gentleman—Edward has preserved the following anecdote: ' My grandfather had several parrots ol different sorts and talents. One of them (Billy, I think) could only huff up his feathers in what my grandfather called an owl fashion ; so when company were praising the more gifted parrots, he would say—"You will hurt poor Billy's feelings. Come! do your little owl, my dear!" M This story, which Mrs. Purcell used to tell her children, much impressed Edward, who often applied it; and sixty or more years after, when his selections from Crabbe were printing, we find him speaking of having 'done his little owl.' The other children of John and Mary Frances Purcell were Mary Frances [1802-1820], John [1803-1879], Andalusia (Mrs. De Soy res) [? —1879], Mary Eleanor (Mrs. Kerrich) [1805-1863], Jane (Mrs. Wilkinson) [1806—?], Peter [1807-1875], Isabella (Mrs. Vignati) [i8io-i864].2 Mr. John Purcell, who upon the death of his wife's father3 in 1818 took the FitzGerald name and arms, and a Flue raid. wnom we shall henceforth call Mr. John Fitz- Parents and the Gerald, was a big-built, ruddy-faced, kindly man, but of no account (or not much) beside his wife. He was merely Mrs. FitzGerald's husband. He hunted, shot, served as High Sheriff of the county, and sat in Parliament as member for Seaford, near Brighton, where he had an estate ; living, in short, the life of an 1 Lttters to Fanny Kemblc, p. 142 (Bentley). 1 Parish Registers of Bredfield. He is buried at old St. Pancras, London. KITZGKRALD S MOTHKR 9...« less