‘The Gentleman In Velvet’

‘The Gentleman In Velvet’

He was toasted as the ‘gentleman in velvet’ by the Jacobites. A recent classic book was called ‘The Boy, the ?, the Fox and the Horse. In Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas wrote:

‘The houses are blind as ? though ? see fine tonight in the snouting velvet dingles’

He was a leading character in the Wind in the Willows. The answer and missing word is, of course, Mole.

The Jacobites, who supported the deposed King James II, were delighted when in 1702 the then King William, died after his horse stumbled on a molehill. He suffered a broken collar bone when he fell and died a few weeks later. The Jacobites then traditionally raised a toast to ‘the wee gentleman in the velvet jacket;’ who had brought about his downfall.

These days moles tend to be seen as a nuisance when they create molehills on pristine lawns, cricket pitches and bowling greens. But for many centuries moles, once called ‘mouldywarps’, were valued for their fur which has a short, velvety texture. Particularly in Victorian times it was used for garments and accessories. So they were trapped in large numbers. The Molecatcher of Wenvoe is recorded as having killed 3,000 moles in 1932 and 3,400 the year before. (Nigel Billingham research).

The mole has a cylindrical body and very powerful forelimbs with claws like shovels making them strong diggers capable of tunnelling 20 metres a day. The tunnels help to aerate the soil and mix up the soil levels which is beneficial to other animals and plants. Their main diet is worms which they consume in large numbers but they also paralyse some with their saliva and stash them alive in ‘larders’ for later consumption.

So whether you are a Jacobite, nature or literature lover, why not drink a toast to our velvet friend?