1 office in Grafton Street. I
don’t know what is going to be
the end of it all but I hope for
the best. No other news here I
think. Mrs Ross of Longford was
up seeing us yesterday evening and
I believe there was something between
the brother James Fitzpatrick and
Miss Dooner of Longford but it’s all
off now she tells me. Mother and
everyone here well as usual. Give
my regards to your mother and
all and with my warmest and
fondest love and kisses to yourself.
Always your loving
James National Health Commission (Ireland),
Pembroke House,
Upper Mount Street,
Dublin. 31st March 1916 My dearest May, Thanks very much for your loving letter to-day which has
brightened the whole day for me. I am glad that you are thinking of
the 1st June as a settled date even although you haven’t made up your
mind finally on the point. Personally I think it’s all tommy rot about
bad luck and so on if the date is deferred or if the day is wet or if
you’re married in May and so on. A great deal of the luck depends on
people themselves and although I don’t deserve anything in that way I am hoping
that I may dodge the bad luck under your tender and sheltering wing.
I hardly imagine that you will have the bad luck anyhow for you don’t deserve it
so I ought to be quite safe as long as I hang on to your petticoat. So far as
I’m concerned I’m prepared to chance my arm if you made up your mind to
go off immediately after Easter and I’m leaving all decisions of that nature to
you, especially now that I know you’re such an “ancient piece of goods”
and such an” ould granny”. So I’ll hug the prospect of the 1st of June
to my heart and keep my love hot and my heart up with the hope of 2 of my dream coming true. I hope your dream anyhow won’t come true. I'm
very, very fond of you right enough but I doubt if I could endure being a
guest at your wedding to somebody else, however much I might wish you
luck and happiness. I expect you must have been thinking about what I
told you when I was down and dreamt about it. About the white silk
I do hope you will decide on it. I’d love to see my darling girl in white silk
for I’m sure she would look glorious in it. I’m afraid though if you looked too
well the morning of our marriage that I’d be nearly afraid to touch you and
then what would I do? Jennie wouldn’t be vexed at you for liking to look
your best on the most important day of your life, indeed she’d probably be more
vexed if she thought you had put the idea of the white silk out of your
head on her account. In any case you can bring it with you on your honeymoon
and put it on for her and she can pluck you to pieces for all I care.
I’ll be tired of you by then! I hope you will continue to remember me
in your prayers as I want them all very badly indeed. I’m trying to pull
myself together so as to be a little better worthy of you and the struggle is
a hard one. I doubt sometimes whether I’ll ever be any use to you or any
one else and upon my word the more I think of it the more I realise what a
very unwise and innocent girl you are ever to agree to chance yourself with
this miserable son of a gun. Talking about guns, the Volunteers held a big meeting
in town last night to protest against the deportations of Volunteers organisers
and there was a row afterwards with the police in which revolvers were freely used.
No one luckily was hurt but there were a lot of shots fired passing the Recruiting