O'Naa LIBRARY 
 BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 /T\HIS volume, now presented to the admirers 
 -■- of the great Irish Liberator in America, has 
 been compiled from the most authentic sources, 
 with the object of placing in the hands of the peo- 
 ple the simple story of his life, at a price fully 
 within the reach of everybody. 
 
 The Compiler. 
 Boston, October, 1875. 
 
LIFE OF O^CONNELL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 His Birth — Ireland in 1775 — The O'Connells — "Old Hunting Cap" 
 — Gen. Count O'Connell — Kerry Smugglers — O'Connell's Edu- 
 cation — Harrington School — At College in France — 1793 — He 
 flees from France — The Scaffold. 
 
 Daniel O'Connell, the Irish Liberator, was bom 
 atCarhen, near Cahirciveen, August 6th, 1775. 
 
 Seventeen hundred and seventy-five was a memora- 
 ble year in the annals of Ireland and America. In 
 that year began the war for American Independence, 
 which was the birth of the United States, whilst the 
 advent of O'Connell was a new era in the destinies 
 of Catholic Ireland. It is a singular fact that these 
 two events, so vital to the existence of both countries, 
 should have occurred so nearly together. 
 
 The struggle which began at Lexington created a 
 profound impression on all classes of the Irish peo- 
 ple. The grievances of both countries were in many 
 respects identical. The commerce between them 
 was already considerable, creating a bond of mutual 
 interest, whilst the Catholics, who formed the great 
 bulk of the Irish nation, saw in the issue of the un- 
 equal contest the only possible hope of terminating 
 
2 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 their grievances. At this period the Irish Catholics 
 were still suffering under the brutal torture of the 
 Penal Laws. "An execrable, infamous code," says 
 the lamented Wolfe Tone, " framed with the art and 
 malice of demons, to plunder, degrade, and brutalize 
 the Catholics of Ireland." It was, indeed, an execra- 
 ble code, as may be seen from the following, sum- 
 mary: 
 
 " The Catholic peers were deprived of their right to 
 sit in Parliament. Catholic gentlemen were forbid- 
 den to be elected as members of Parliament. All 
 Catholics were denied the liberty of voting, and ex- 
 cluded from aU offices of trust and emolument. 
 They were fined jQ6o a month for absence from the 
 Protestant form of worship. They were forbidden to 
 travel five miles from their houses, to keep armSy to 
 maintain suits at laWy or to be guardians or execu- 
 tors. Any four justices of the peace could, without 
 further trial, banish any man for life if he refused to 
 attend the Protestant service. Any two justices of 
 the peace could call any man over sixteen before 
 them, and if he refused to abjure the Catholic relig- 
 ion, they could bestow his property to the next of 
 kin. No Catholic could employ a Catholic school- 
 master to educate his children; and if he sent his 
 child abroad for education, he was subject to a fine 
 of ;^ioo, and the child could not inherit any prop- 
 erty either in England or Ireland. Any Catholic 
 priest who came to the country should be hanged. 
 Any Protestant suspecting any other Protestant of 
 holding property in trust for any Catholic, might file 
 a bill against the suspected trustee, and take the es- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 3 
 
 tate or property from him. Any Protestant seeing a 
 Catholic tenant-at-will on a farm which, in his opin- 
 ion, yielded one-third more than the yearly rent, 
 might enter on that farm, and by simply swearing to 
 thefacty take possession. Any Protestant might take 
 away the horse of a Catholic, no matter how valua- 
 ble, by simply paying him ;^5. Horses and wagons 
 belonging to Catholics were in all cases to be seized 
 for the use of militia. Any Catholic gentleman's 
 child who became a Protestant could at once take 
 possession of his father's property." 
 
 It is not surprising, then, that the operation of 
 such a code of legalized robbery and oppression for 
 nearly a century should, at the period of O' Council's 
 birth, have reduced the Catholics of Ireland to a state 
 of absolute degradation. No nation ever maintained 
 its faith and traditions with greater fidelity and loy- 
 alty, no nation has ever made greater sacrifices to 
 perpetuate them. There were found individuals, 
 however, during that period of trial, who were willing, 
 Judas-like, to barter their faith to preserve their prop- 
 erity. The following incident, which was told by 
 O'Connell himself, proves that such conversions were 
 neither lasting nor sincere. 
 
 "There was a Mr. Myers, of the County of Roscom- 
 mon, who was threatened that a Bill of Discovery 
 should be filed against him. He instantly galloped 
 off to Dublin in a terrible fright, and sought out the 
 Protestant archbishop. The archbishop examined 
 him upon the points of difference between the two 
 churches, and found that he knew nothing at aU 
 about the matter. He accordingly said he could not 
 
A LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 receive him into the Anglican Church unless he 
 should get some previous instruction; and politely 
 offered to commit him to the care of the Rector of 
 Castlerea, who chanced to be in Dublin at the time. 
 This proposal delighted Mr.^TMyers, for the rector 
 had long been a hunting and drinking companion of 
 his own in the country. The pious convert arranged 
 to dine every day with the rector until the ensuing 
 Sunday, upon which day it was absolutely necessary 
 the recantation should be pubUcly made. Myers and 
 the rector had a jovial booze — six bottles each at 
 the least — and their jollification was repeated each 
 day until Sunday ; when the archbishop, on receiving 
 an assurance from the jovial rector that Myers was 
 aufait at the theology of the case, permitted him to 
 make his solemn public abjuration of the errors of 
 Popery, and to receive the Protestant sacrament. In 
 order to celebrate the happy event the prelate invited 
 Myers and several zealous Protestant friends to dinner. 
 When the cloth was removed, his grace thus ad- 
 dressed the convert : ' Mr. Myers, you have this day 
 been received into the true Protestant Church. For 
 this you should thank God. I learn with pleasure 
 from the Rector of Castlerea, that you have acquired 
 an excellent knowledge of the basis of the Protestant 
 religion. Will you be so kind as to state, for the edi- 
 fication of the company, the grounds upon which you 
 have cast aside Popery and embraced the Church of 
 England.' * Faith, my lord,' replied Myers, ' I can 
 easily do that ; the grounds of my conversion to the 
 Protestant religion are two thousand five hundred of 
 the best grounds in the County Roscommon.' '* 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. 5 
 
 The population of Ireland was aip made^of three 
 classes. The first class, though comprising only one- 
 tenth of the inhabitants, controlled the government 
 and possessed the greater portion of the landed prop- 
 erty. It monopolized church and state, the law, the 
 revenues, army and navy, magistracy and corpora- 
 tions, — in short, the entire patronage of Ireland. 
 
 The second class, the Dissenters, residing princi- 
 pally in the north, and forming a body double the size 
 of the Established Church party, were mostly en- 
 gaged in trade and manufactures. This class was 
 largely in sympathy with Catholics, whose privations 
 they materially shared. 
 
 The Catholics, numbering four-fifths of the popula- 
 tion, formed the third class. They were the natural 
 heirs to the broad acres of Ireland — the custodians 
 of her faith and traditions — and yet they found no 
 representation in her national council, not even a 
 mediator before the throne. Denied the right of ap- 
 peal, their one alternative was submission. Unarmed 
 and undisciplined, without leadership, an appeal to 
 force would have resulted, as was proven in ^98, in in- 
 discriminate slaughter. As we have already seen, 
 the laws excluded the priesthood from the land, and 
 those religious consolations so dear and necessary to 
 the fervor of the Irish CathoHc, were denied. 
 
 Such was the state of Ireland in 1775, when God 
 sent to that devoted country the immortal O'Con- 
 nell. 
 
 The surname of O'Connell emanated from an an- 
 cient prince of the royal line of Heber, who immigrated 
 from Connelloe, in Limerick, to Iveragh, in Kerry, 
 
6 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 long before the English invasion. The direct ances- 
 tor of the Liberator was Hugh O'Connell, who held a 
 commission issued by Edward III., in the year 1337. 
 Hugh O'Connell was succeeded by a son of the same 
 name, who married Marguerita, daughter of the 
 Prince of Thomond, and from this union proceeded a 
 long line of illustrious descendants. 
 
 The O'Connell's were a prolific race. " My grand- 
 mother," said O'Connell, "had twenty-two children, 
 and half of them lived beyond the age of ninety. 
 Old Maurice O'Connell, of Derrynane, pitched upon 
 an oak tree to make his own coffin, and mentioned 
 his purpose to a carpenter. In the evening, the but- 
 ler entered, after dinner, to say that the carpenter 
 wanted to speak to him. * For what .? ' asked my 
 uncle. ' To talk about your honor's coffin,* said the 
 carpenter, putting his head inside the door, over the 
 butler's shoulder. I wanted to get the fellow out, 
 but my uncle said : ' O ! let him in, by all means. 
 Well, friend, what do you want to say to me about 
 my coffin ? ' * Only, sir, that I'll saw the oak tree 
 your honor was speaking of into seven-foot plank.* 
 * That would be wasteful,' said my uncle. 'I never 
 was more than six feet and an inch in my vamps, the 
 best day I ever saw.' * But your honor will stretch 
 after death,' said the carpenter. ' Not eleven inches^ 
 I am sure, you blockhead ! But I'll stretch, no doubt ; 
 perhaps a couple of inches or so. Well, make my 
 coffin six feet six, and I'll warrant that will give me 
 room enough.' " 
 
 Of the uncles of O'Connell the most remarkable 
 was General Count O'Connell, who served in the 
 
LIFE OF O CONNEEL. J 
 
 Irish Brigade. At the tender age of fourteen he en- 
 tered the miUtary service of France, and was made 
 colonel before he had attained his fortieth y»ear, which 
 appointment came of his gallantry at the siege of 
 Gibraltar. In time he was commissioned Inspector- 
 General of the French Infantry, and the discipline of 
 his command was the admiration of all Europe. He 
 afterwards invented a manual of tactics which was 
 accepted by Napoleon L, and adopted by the armies 
 of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and England. 
 
 Morgan O'Connell, in 1774, married Catherine, 
 daughter of John Mullane, Esq., by whom he had 
 ten children, the first of whom was Daniel O'Connell, 
 the sabject of this biography. 
 
 The scenes in which we are brought up impress 
 their character upon our souls. Cromwell, so great 
 a scourge to Ireland, grew up amid the stagnant 
 marshes of the Ouse, whilst O'Connell reflected in 
 his after life the inspiration of his own beloved 
 Kerry. But the Kerry of 1775 was not the Kerry 
 of to-day. At that time smuggling was carried on 
 extensively by many leading traders of that county, 
 and there is reason to believe that one of the O'Con- 
 nell family owed his prosperity to this practice. The 
 smugglers drove a thriving silk and^loth trade with 
 France, and landed their cargoes in the dangerous 
 coves of the coast, their knowledge of the various 
 harbors 'and inlets giving them a superiority over the 
 revenue officers, who dared not pursue them. 
 
 The mountains of Glencara were infested by a 
 daring band of robbers who alternately pillaged the 
 plains of' Clare and Kerry. On one occasion, O'Con- 
 
8 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 nell's father came near losing his life at their hands. 
 Riding home alone one evening, he was set upon by 
 these desperadoes, determined to revenge on his 
 friendless head the injuries which, when surrounded 
 by companions, he had inflicted on them. Rushing 
 down the slope of a mountain they called on him 
 with threats to stop, and fired on him as he contin- 
 ued his course. His horse at this moment, terrified 
 by the discharge of the musket, became unmanagea- 
 ble, and he was flung heavily to the ground. While 
 thus prostrate he was again fired at, but fortunately 
 without effect. Regaining his feet, he succeeded in 
 recovering his horse, and, springing upon its back, he 
 was speedily beyond the reach of the banditti, who 
 pursued, and fired at him as he fled. 
 
 Thus the childhood of Daniel O'Connell developed 
 itself amid stirring scenes of adventure, and the 
 mournful traditions of an oppressed people. In 1777, 
 the Catholics were permitted to purchase and hold 
 property for the term of 999 years, but education, so 
 necessary to the future statesman, was still vetoed by 
 Penal Laws. Yet there were men to be found, in 
 the face of these restrictions, in whom the love of 
 learning was greater than the fear of punishment, 
 who went about the country instructing the few for- 
 tunate youths happy enough to secure their services. 
 The better to evade the law, their classes assembled 
 behind the friendly shelter of a hedge, from which 
 they received the well-known appellation of '* Hedge 
 Schoolmasters." The home of O'Connell, from its iso- 
 lation, offered a rare opportunity for such instructors 
 to ply their calling unmolested. When our young 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 9 
 
 hero had attained his third year, one of these itiner- 
 ant teachers came by chance to Carhen, where he 
 was installed as tutor. 
 
 John Burke, for such was his name, had been in- 
 structed at the Sorbonne, in Paris, and had received 
 a very superior education. His young pupil was by 
 no means dull, for it is said that he mastered the Eng- 
 lish alphabet in one hour. Having once learned to 
 read, a passion for study seized him, and whilst his 
 companions were romping in their games, he was 
 poring over his books. 
 
 On one occasion, some friends were discussing the 
 merits of Flood and Grattan around the hospitable 
 board of O'Connell's father. A warm debate ensued, 
 during which the young Liberator, then but nine years 
 of age, was noticed sitting dreamily in an arm chair, 
 lost in thought. A lady, observing his abstracted air, 
 was curious to learn the boy's thoughts. 
 
 " What ails you, Dan ? what are you thinking of ? " 
 He turned, and looking at her said : " I'll make a stir 
 in the world yet." 
 
 Was the curtain of the future raised for an instant 
 before the mental gaze of the young dreamer .? 
 
 O'Connell's uncle, Maurice, being childless, adopted 
 his young nephew, and at his expense he was sent to 
 Rev. Mr. Harrington's school, near Cork. O' Council 
 had reached his thirteenth year, and the good Father 
 O' Grady, whose presence in Ireland was at the risk 
 of his life, had prepared him for the sacraments. 
 With what tender piety he received the "Bread of 
 Life" may be judged from the tenor of his after life. 
 At his new school he worked hard ; and he has said 
 
lO LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 himself, " I was the only boy at Harrington's school 
 who was not beaten. I owed this to my attention." 
 After having spent some three years at the Harring- 
 ton school, O'Connell and his younger brother were 
 sent by their uncle to Liege, in Flanders ; as Catholics, 
 in 1 79 1, were still denied the right of education. 
 They sailed from Ireland in a vessel bound for Lon- 
 don. The captain undertook to land them at Dover, 
 fr©m which they could embark for Ostend. Ap- 
 proaching the shore from the vessel in a small boat, 
 they were capsized, and O'Connell landed on the 
 shores of England, for the first time, thoroughly 
 drenched. A few days after they arrived in Liege, 
 where it was discovered that the boys had passed the 
 age at which students were admitted. 
 
 Having acquainted their uncle with this fact, the 
 brothers were ordered by him to St. Omer, in France. 
 The hard work at Father Harrington's school was 
 not without its good results. The young tribune pur- 
 sued his studies with such ardor, that in a short time 
 he was at the head of his class. This honor was no 
 sinecure. The Munster students, his rivals, were fam- 
 ous for their proficiency in Latin and Mathematics, 
 and his success was due to that untiring persever- 
 ance, which, in later days, proved so effective in the 
 great work of agitation. 
 
 The President of St. Omer, in a letter to his uncle, 
 thus alludes to him : 
 
 " With respect to the elder, Daniel, I have but one 
 sentence to write about himy and that is, that I never 
 was so much mistaken in my life as I shall be, unless 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 3 
 
 replied made an ineffaceable impression on the mind 
 of O'Connell — gazing on him in astonishment. He 
 said, " From love of -the cause." The strangers 
 were the two Sheareses. 
 
 These two brave but rash patriots afterwards of- 
 fered up their lives on the altar of their country. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 O'Connell in London — His Law Studies — His Life in Danger — 
 His Ambition and Aims — The Orangemen; Their Oath — The 
 United Irishmen ; Their Patriotism — Insurrection of '98 — O'Con- 
 nell's Threatened Arrest, and Escape from Dublin — At Home — 
 His Illness and Recovery. 
 
 An act of Parliament, passed in 1 792, threw the bar 
 open to the Catholics of Ireland. This was a long 
 and eagerly coveted concession. It gave rank and 
 status to its members, and, above all, it offered to the 
 poor and friendless Catholic a chance of justice in 
 the courts. Candidates for legal honors were obliged 
 to study in London. O'Connell, whose talents were 
 of a forensic character, determined to enter that pro- 
 fession. 
 
 Accordingly, in 1794, we find the Liberator lo- 
 cated in what he considered comfortable apartments, 
 in a small court on the north side of Coventry St., 
 London. Soon after arriving, he became a law stu- 
 dent at the celebrated Lincoln's Inn. Although 
 O'Connell worked hard, he seems to have enjoyed 
 his leisure hours in boating on the Thames. It was 
 necessary to preserve that vigor of body which he 
 had acquired in the noble field sports of his native 
 Kerry, and when not engaged at the Inn or in row- 
 ing, he took long walks in and about the great city. 
 
 During one of these rambles his life was placed in 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1$ 
 
 imminent peril. The - doings in France had not 
 failed to make a deep impression upon the democracy 
 of England, and riots in London, at this period, were 
 both frequent and bloody. 
 
 Strolling through St. James's Park, with a young 
 Irish friend, on the afternoon of October 29, 1795, 
 O'Connell came upon a great gathering of people, 
 whose intention, he shortly learned, was to attack 
 their king. The carriage bearing his majesty soon 
 after slowly hove in sight, surrounded by a mob of ex- 
 cited men. A penny, thrown in bitter irony by some 
 one in the crowd, broke the window of the royal 
 equipage. Immediately the dragoons, who formed 
 the royal escort, encircled his carriage, and, drawing 
 their sabres, charged upon the people. O'Connell, 
 eager to catch a glimpse of the oppressor of his coun- 
 try, had already approached too near. His temerity 
 attracted one of the guard, who aimed a most deadly 
 blow at his head. Fortunately, the arm of a tree, two 
 inches above his head, received the descending steel, 
 and thus averted a danger which would have unques- 
 tionably cost O'Connell his life. The monarch es- 
 caped as by a miracle, and, palsied with fear, was 
 driven o£E to Buckingham House at a gallop. 
 
 In 1795, O'Connell wrote to his uncle Maurice, of 
 Derrynane, as follows : 
 
 " I am now only four miles from town. I pay the 
 same price for board and lodging as I should in 
 London; but I enjoy many advantages here (m 
 Chiswick) besides air and retirement. The society 
 in the house is mixed ; I mean, composed of men 
 • and women, all of whom are people of rank and 
 
l6 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 knowledge of the world ; so ' their conversation and 
 manners are perfectly well adapted to rub off the rust 
 of scholastic education ; nor is there any danger of 
 riot or dissipation, as they are all advanced in life, an- 
 other student of law and I being the only young per- 
 sons in the house. 
 
 He further adds: "I have now two objects to pur- 
 sue, — the one, the attainment of knowledge, the other, 
 the acquisition of those qualities which constitute 
 the polite gentleman." It may be seen from this, the 
 young law student was not losing sight of his future, 
 nor was he neglecting those means calculated to 
 make it illustrious. 
 
 Whilst O'Connell was enjoying the quiet of Chis- 
 wick, there arose in Ireland a murderous institution, 
 which has maintained its organization, even to the 
 present day. This was the Orange society. At the 
 small town of Armagh, called "The Diamond," in 
 September 21st, of this year, the Protestants and 
 Catholics came into deadly collision. Forty Catho- 
 lics were killed in this fratricidal encounter, and the 
 better armed Protestants, though inferior in numbers, 
 supported by the magistrates, were victorious. Mad- 
 dened with their success, in an evil hour they re- 
 solved to call themselves " Orangemen," in honor of 
 William III., Prince of Orange. This illegal and in- 
 human body swore its members in under the follow- 
 ing oath : " I do swear that I will be true to king and 
 country, and that / will exterminate the Catholics of 
 Irelandy as far as in my power liesT 
 
 Apart from the disgraceful event which brought 
 into being this outrage upon public tranquility, 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1/ 
 
 there never was a period when men of all religions 
 were better disposed to amalgamate ; but the inter- 
 ests, nay, the existence, of autocracy required that 
 it should be otherwise ; and the ignominy attached to 
 Orangeism must forever rest upon the British minis- 
 try, who fostered and encouraged its progress. Some" 
 estimate may be formed of the fiendish character of 
 this society from the fact that in a single year, 7,000 
 people were killed or driven from their homes by its 
 members, in one county alone. They posted on 
 the cabins of their victims this pithy notice, " To 
 Hell or Connaught ; " and notified them to leave on a 
 certain day. When the period prescribed had elapsed, 
 the Orangemen assembled, and burned the furni- 
 ture and dwellings of the proscribed, and forced the 
 ruined families to fly. 
 
 There was another society organized in 1791, 
 whose constitution had a far nobler object in view. 
 This society was called the United Irishmen. Theo- 
 bald Wolfe Tone, a name dear to Irish patriots, con- 
 ceived the noble project of uniting in one patriotic 
 body the Catholics and Protestants of Ireland. 
 
 At that time he was a rising lawyer in Dublin, and, 
 strange to say, did not know personally a single Cath- 
 olic. The first clubs of "United Irishmen" were 
 perfectly legal and constitutional in their structure, 
 aims, and action ; and so they continued until the new 
 organization was adopted in 1 795. Both in Dublin and 
 in Belfast, they were composed chiefly of Protestants, 
 though from the first they were joined by many emi- 
 nent Catholics. Mark the first sentence of their con- 
 
1 8 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 stitution. How far more loyal than the Orange- 
 men's oath ; how far more Christian in its spirit : 
 
 " This society is constituted for the purpose of for- 
 warding a brotherhood of affection, a communion of 
 rights, and a union of power among Irishmen of 
 'every religio2iS persuasion, and thereby to obtain a 
 complete reform in the legislature, founded on princi- 
 ples of civil, political, and religious liberty." 
 
 This organization, having at heart the welfare of 
 Ireland, strove hard to better her condition and aid 
 the Catholics in obtaining justice. All their efforts, 
 however, proved useless, and in 1796 they opened ne- 
 gotiations with the French government. The dele- 
 gates were Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Arthur O'Con- 
 nor, a gentleman of property in the county of Cork, 
 and Theobald Wolfe Tone. 
 
 The state of affairs grew daily more critical, until, 
 finally, the Insurrection of '98, fomented in a great 
 measure by the government for its own satanic pur- 
 poses, burst forth with terrible violence. Wexford 
 was the first to strike a blow, and the whole island 
 was soon convulsed by a struggle in which 70,000 
 of her citizens fell, and ;^i 8,000,000 of treasure were 
 squandered. 
 
 O'Connell returned to Dublin in 1797, and in the 
 following year was admitted to the bar Soon after 
 his arrival he joined the " Lawyer's Artillery," which 
 was at that time the best equipped corps among the 
 volunteers. Many of the United Irishmen" belonged 
 to this organization, and O'Connell, it would appear, 
 was induced to join them. "I had," said O'Connell, 
 "many good opportunities of acquiring valuable in- 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. I9 
 
 formation, upon which I very soon formed my own 
 judgment. It was a terrible time. The poHtical 
 leaders of the period could not conceive such a thing 
 as a perfectly open and above-board political machin- 
 ery. My friend, Richard Newton Bennett, was an 
 adjunct to the Directory of United Irishmen. / was 
 myself a United Irishman. As I saw how matters 
 worked, I soon learned to have no secrets in poli- 
 tics." 
 
 At this period, he resided in Trinity Place, in Dub- 
 lin, and at the house of a certain Mr. Murray, a re- 
 spectable grocer, who, though a thorough rebel at heart, 
 had the prudence to control both himself and his young 
 and enthusiastic friend. A rising was hourly ex- 
 pected. One evening, Mr. Murray found O'Connell, 
 under the fever of patriotic excitement, about to at- 
 tend a meeting of the United Irishmen. He felt 
 O'Connell's presence at this meeting would greatly 
 endanger his liberty, and accordingly led him to the 
 canal bridge, at Leeson St., and induced him to em- 
 bark on a turf boat, bound for Cork. That very 
 night his friend's house was searched by the notori- 
 ous Major Sirr, showing how narrow had been his 
 escape. This was in June, of the memorable year of 
 '98. Landing at the Cove, he paid the boatman half 
 a guinea, and was soon after enjoying the breezy 
 heights of his native Kerry, " within the sound of 
 the everlasting wave." 
 
 The Irish gentry were hard riders and hard drink- 
 ers in those days. His uncle Maurice was always 
 known by the soubriquet of "Old Hunting Cap," 
 and his ''Cousin Kane," who appears "to have been a 
 
20 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 thorough "character," could drink any man in the 
 county under the table. O'Connell, however, seems 
 to have been the first to break through that long- 
 standing rule, that the door should be locked and the 
 key thrown out of the window after dinner, until 
 every guest present was thoroughly intoxicated. 
 The young barrister rose early, and consequently re- 
 tired early. This Cousin Kane spent liis time in vis- 
 iting one family after another, claiming kindred with 
 them all. Wherever he went, his two horses and 
 twelve dogs went also; and thus he passed the 
 greater portion of the year in " droping in " upon his 
 friends. His potations could not always have agreed 
 with him, for at one time no less than seventy-six 
 actions for assault and battery were pending against 
 him at the Tralee assizes. 
 
 Once more in Carhen, O'Connell gave himself up, 
 during the summer months, to his absorbing passion 
 for field sports. During one of his rambles he was 
 exposed to a drenching rain, which brought on a 
 fever, well nigh proving fatal to him. He thus de- 
 scribes it : " My illness was occasioned,** said he, 
 " by sleeping in wet clothes. I had dried them upon 
 me at a peasant's fire, and drank three glasses of 
 whiskey, after which I fell asleep. The next day I 
 hunted, was soon weary, and fell asleep in a ditch 
 under sunshine. I became much worse ; I spent a 
 fortnight in great discomfort, wandering about and 
 unable to eat. At last, when I could no longer bat- 
 tle it out, I gave up and went to bed. Old Dr. Mori- 
 arty was sent for ; he pronounced me in a high fever. 
 I was in such pain that I wished to die. In my rav- 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNLLL. 2t 
 
 ings, I fancied that I was in the middle of a wood, 
 and that the branches were on fire around me. I felt 
 my backbone stiffening for death, and I positively 
 declare that I think what saved me was the effort I 
 made to rise up, and show my father, who was at my 
 bedside, that I knew him. I verily believe that effort 
 of Nature averted death. During my illness I used 
 to quote from the Tragedy of Douglas these lines — 
 
 'Unknown I die ; no tongue shaJl speak of me ; 
 Some noble spirits, judging by themselves. 
 May yet conjecture what I might have proved, 
 And think life only wanting to my fame.* 
 
 I used to quote those lines under the full belief that 
 my illness would end fatally. Indeed, long before 
 that period — when I was seven years old — yes, in- 
 deed, as long as ever I can recollect, I always felt a pre- 
 sentiment that I should write my name on the page 
 of history. I hated Saxon domination. I detested 
 the tyrants of Ireland. During the latter part of my 
 illness, Dr. Moriarty told me that Buonaparte had 
 got his whole army to Alexandria, across the desert 
 * That is impossible,' said I, * he cannot have done so ; 
 they would have starved.' ' Oh, no,' replied the doc- 
 tor,- they had a quantity of portable soup with them, 
 sufficient to feed the whole army for four days.' 
 'Ay,' rejoined I, 'but had they portable water? For 
 their portable soup would have been of little use if 
 they had not water to dissolve it in.' My father 
 looked at the attendants with an air of hope. * Doc- 
 tor 'Moriarty said to my mother, ' His intellect, at any 
 rate, is untouched.' " 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 O'Connell admitted to the Bar — His genius for Cross-Examination — 
 Two Anecdotes — The Habeas Corpus Act — The Union — O'Con- 
 nell's First Speech — His appearance — O'Connell as a Freemason 
 — A Hunting Watch saves his Life — Humorous incidents of his 
 Practice — Description of O'Connell on Circuit 
 
 O'Connell' s professional labors now began in 
 earnest. His wonted vigor had returned, and upon 
 the opening of the Circuit, in September, he eagerly 
 started forth on his first circuit. We may form some 
 idea of O'Connell' s immense energy at this period, 
 from his having ridden sixty Irish miles in one day, 
 starting at four in the morning. This was not all : 
 a friend persuaded him to attend a ball the same 
 evening, where he remained dancing until two o'clock 
 the following morning. 
 
 The young barrister early developed that wonder- 
 ful faculty of his for cross-examining, which in after 
 times was the terror of the wiliest witness. There 
 was no shelter behind which the struggling witness 
 could retreat ; the victim, first thrown off his guard, 
 next confused, was finally, in his desperation, forced 
 to acknowledge what he had endeavored to conceal, 
 or fatally contradict his former evidence. A case 
 of this kind occurred in Tralee. O'Connell had to 
 examine a witness, of whose sobriety there was 
 some question. To all his inquiries as to how much 
 he drank, the witness replied, "his share of the 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 2$ 
 
 pint." " On the virtue of your oath," said O'Con- 
 nell, ''did not your share consist of a// except the 
 pewter!' The witness finall}*^ muttered, "It did," 
 much to the amusement of the Court. 
 
 TravelUng from Cork to Dublin, in company with 
 a certain Judge Grady, O'Connell stopped over 
 night at Fermoy Inn. Shortly after their arrival, 
 four dragoons entered the tap-room where they were 
 sitting. This reminded the travellers of the dangers 
 of the next morning's journey. On examining their 
 arras they found themselves short of ammunition. 
 The judge approached the corporal, and asked for 
 some powder, but made the mistake of addressing 
 him as "soldier," thus ignoring his rank. The cor- 
 poral replied, " he did not sell powder," and seemed 
 insulted. O'Connell, perceivir^ the error of his 
 friend, thus mended matters : 
 
 "Grady," said O'Connell, in a low tone, "you have 
 made a great mistake. Did you not see by the mark 
 on his sleeve that the man is a corporal t You mor- 
 tified his pride in calling him a soldier, especially be- 
 fore his own men, amongst whom he doubtless plays 
 the officer." 
 
 Having suffered a few minutes to elapse, O'Con- 
 nell entered into conversation with the dragoon. 
 
 " Did you ever see such rain as we had to-day, ser- 
 geant f I was very glad to find that the regulars had 
 not the trouble of escorting the judges. It was very 
 suitable work for those awkward yeomen." 
 
 "Yes, indeed, sir," returned the corporal, evidently 
 flattered at being mistaken for a sergeant ; " we were 
 very lucky in escaping those torrents of rain." 
 
24 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 " Perhaps, sergeant, you will have the kindness," 
 continued Dan, " to buy me some powder and ball in 
 town. We are to pass the Kilworth mountains, and 
 shall want ammunition. You, of course, can find no 
 difficulty in buying it ; but it is not to every one they 
 sell these matters." 
 
 "Sir," said the corporal, "I shall have great pleas- 
 ure in requesting your acceptance of a small supply 
 of powder and ball. My balls will, I think, just fit 
 your pistols. You'll stand in need of ammunition, 
 for there are some of those out-lying rebelly rascals 
 on the mountains." 
 
 "Dan," said Grady in a low tone, "you'll go 
 through the world successfully. That I can easily 
 foresee." 
 
 Let the historian* detail the horrors of '98 ; we 
 shrink from the task. The insurrection lasted eight 
 months, and was characterized by a brutality scarcely 
 paralleled in the annals of atrocity. The suspension 
 of the Habeas Corpus Act jeopardized both life 
 and property in Ireland, whilst the soldiery employed 
 to suppress this unfortunate uprising were guilty of 
 the most inhuman excesses. The gallant Sir John 
 Moore, alluding to their outrages, exclaimed, "If I 
 were an Irishman, I would be a rebel." With a free 
 commission to kill and destroy, this motley army — 
 made up of English militia, Scotch fencibles, and Irish 
 yeomanry — perpetrated on the people of Ireland 
 acts of wanton cruelty worthy of the savages of our 
 western wilds. Lord Cornwallis, in a letter to the 
 Duke of Portland, thus describes them : " The Irish 
 militia are totally without discipline, contemptible 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 2$ 
 
 before the enemy, when any serious resistance is made 
 to them, but ferocious and cruel in the extreme 
 when any poor wretches, either with or without arms, 
 come within their power ; in short, murder appears to 
 be their favorite pastime." Martial law, in its worst 
 sense, created a reign of terror, paralyzing the ad- 
 ministration of justice and the commerce of the coun- 
 try. It is now an established fact that England en- 
 couraged this struggle to carry the Union — a meas- 
 ure which put a period to the existence of Ireland as a 
 nation, and degraded her to the level of a province. 
 The object of the Union was to consolidate England 
 and Ireland under a common Parliament. The consti- 
 tutional charter of 1782 restored Ireland to the rank 
 and dignity of a free nation ; the morning of January 
 I St, 1 80 1, beheld the "Union Jack" floating over the 
 tower of London, and the castles of Dublin and Edin- 
 burgh. This Union, so fatal to the liberties of Ire- 
 land, and so obnoxious to her people, was carried by 
 force and fraud. When this measure was first intro- 
 duced into the Irish Parliament, it was negatived by a 
 majority of one. Finding their first effort unsuccess- 
 ful, the Unionists changed their tactics, and, when 
 brought forward a second time, the measure for 
 the Union was carried by a considerable majority. 
 The policy pursued in bringing about this fatal 
 change was as unscrupulous as it was successful. 
 
 In the Irish Parliament, Grattan and Plunket, sec- 
 onded by other noble patriots, stoutly protested 
 against the Union ; but opposed to them was a firm 
 majority, in whom the love of country was overruled 
 by ambition and the lust for gold. The voice of pul> 
 3 
 
26 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 lie opinion was silenced, the press subsidized — every 
 interest was carefully weighed and conciliated. New- 
 titles were created and freely dispensed, landed pro- 
 prietors were richly indemnified, the tradesmen of 
 the North were cajoled with promises of an enlarged 
 commerce, whilst the Catholics, to whom any change 
 was a relief, were flattered with the hope of speedy 
 emancipation. To effect this deplorable measure 
 cost England ^i,500,cxdo; but even this vast sum 
 appears small when we consider that it was the price 
 of Irish liberty. 
 
 Dublin boldly protested against the unpopular 
 measure of the Union ; and it was during this ex- 
 citing period that O'Connell made his first speech. 
 The occasion was offered at an anti-Union meeting, 
 held at the Royal Exchange. The chair was filled 
 by Mr. Ambrose Moore, and the resolutions denounc- 
 ing the measure were drawn up by the renowned 
 Philpot Curran. The meeting had not fairly begun 
 before the notorious Major Sirr entered, with the in- 
 tention of dispersing it. He demanded to see the 
 resolutions ; but finding nothing objectionable in them 
 he turned on his heel, much disappointed, and left 
 the hall. 
 
 Counsellor O'Connell rose, and, in a short speech, 
 prefaced the resolutions. He said " that the question 
 of Union was confessedly one of the first importance 
 and magnitude. Sunk, indeed, in more than crim- 
 inal apathy, must that Irishman be, who could feel 
 indifference on the subject. It was a measure to 
 the consideration of which we were called by every 
 illumination of the understanding, and every feeling 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 2/ 
 
 of the heart. There was, therefore, no necessity to 
 apologize for introducing the discussion of the ques- 
 tion amongst Irishmen. But before he brought for- 
 ward any resolution, he craved permission to make a 
 few observations on the causes which produced the ne- 
 cessity of meeting as Catholics — as a separate and dis- 
 tinct body. In doing so, he thought he would clearly 
 show that they were justifiable, in at length deviating 
 from a resolution which they had heretofore formed. 
 The enlightened mind of the Catholics had taught 
 them the impolicy, the illiberality, and the injustice, 
 of separating themselves on any occasion from the 
 rest of the people of Ireland. The Catholics, had, 
 therefore, resolved, and they had wisely resolved, 
 never more to appear before the public as a distinct 
 and separate body; but they did not — they could 
 not — then foresee the unfortunately existing circum- 
 stances of this moment. They could not then fore- 
 see that they would be reduced to the necessity, 
 either of submitting to the disgraceful imputation of 
 approving of a measure as detestable to them as it 
 was ruinous to their country, or once again, and he 
 trusted for the last time, of coming forward as a dis- 
 tinct body. 
 
 " There was no man present but was acquainted 
 with the industry with which it was circulated, that 
 the Catholics were favorable to the Union. In vain 
 did multitudes of that body, in different capacities, 
 express their disapprobation of the measure ; in vain 
 did they concur with others of their fellow-subjects 
 in expressing their abhorrence of it — as freemen or 
 freeholders, electors of counties or inhabitants of 
 
28 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 cities — Still the calumny was repeated j it was 
 printed in journal after journal; it was published in 
 pamphlet after pamphlet; it was circulated with activ- 
 ity in private companies ; it was boldly and loudly 
 proclaimed in public assemblies. How this clamor 
 was raised, and how it was supported, was manifest ; 
 the motives of it were apparent. 
 
 " In vain had the Catholics (individually) endeav- 
 ored to resist the torrent. Their future efforts, as 
 individuals, would be equally vain and fruitless ; they 
 must, then, oppose it collectively. 
 
 " There was another reason why they should come 
 forward as a distinct class — a reason which, he con- 
 fessed, had made the greatest impression upon his 
 feelings. Not content with falsely asserting that the 
 Catholics favored the extinction of Ireland, this, 
 their supposed inclination, was attributed to the foul- 
 est motives — motives which were most repugnant 
 to their judgments, and most abhorrent to their 
 hearts ; it was said that the Catholics were ready to 
 sell their country for a price, or, what was still more 
 depraved, to abandon it on account of the unfortun- 
 ate animosities which the wretched temper of the 
 times had produced. Can they remain silent under 
 so horrible a calumny ? This calumny was flung on 
 the whole body ; it was incumbent on the whole body 
 to come forward and contradict it. Yes, they will 
 show every friend of Ireland that the Catholics are 
 incapable of selling their country ; they will loudly de- 
 clare that if their emancipation was offered for their 
 consent to the measure, even were emancipation after 
 the Union a benefit, they would reject it with prompt 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 29 
 
 indignation. ( This sentiment met with approbation) 
 Let us," said he, ''show to Ireland that we have 
 nothing in view but her good, nothing in our hearts 
 but the desire of mutual forgiveness, mutual tolera- 
 tion, and mutual affection ; in fine, let every man 
 who feels with me proclaim, that if the alternative 
 were offered him of Union or the re-enactment of the 
 Penal Code in all its pristine horrors, that he would 
 prefer without hesitation the latter, as the lesser and 
 more sufferable evil ; that he would rather confide in 
 the justice of his brethren the Protestants of Ire- 
 land, who have already liberated him, than lay his 
 country at the feet of foreigners. {This sentiment 
 met with much and marked approbation) With re- 
 gard to the Union, so much had been said, so much 
 had been written, on the subject that it was impos- 
 sible that any man should not before now have 
 formed an opinion on it. He would not trespass on 
 their attention in repeating arguments which they 
 had already heard, and topics which they had already 
 considered. But if there was • any man present who 
 could be so far mentally degraded as to consent to the 
 extinction of the liberty, the constitution, and even 
 the name, of Ireland, he would call on him not to 
 leave the direction and management of his commerce 
 and property to strangers, over whom he could have 
 no control." 
 
 His appearance on this occasion was dignified and 
 prepossessing; his frame muscular, strongly knit, and 
 active ; and his face extremely comely, the features be- 
 ing softly mellowed, yet determined and manly. His 
 fine countenance, which beamed with intelligence, 
 3* 
 
30 LIFE OF O CONNELt. 
 
 had an expression of open frankness and inviting 
 confidence, and showed nothing of that wily malig- 
 nity imputed to him in after times by the tones. 
 The hateful imputation was at once repelled by his 
 bright and amiable blue eyes, the most kindly and 
 honest-looking that can be conceived. 
 
 O'Connell's action at this meeting seems to have 
 displeased his uncle Maurice, who, though adverse to 
 the Union himself, was opposed to his young nephew 
 compromising his prospects by entering the danger- 
 ous arena of politics. 
 
 In the year 1799, O'Connell, then residing in Dub- 
 lin, became a member of the Society of Free and Ac- 
 cepted Masons. On learning there was an ecclesi- 
 astical censure attached to members of that order, he 
 withdrew ; not, however, before he had become mas- 
 ter of his lodge. 
 
 Returning home one evening, in the winter of 1801, 
 after a convivial party at Freemason's Tavern, he 
 suddenly came upon a lumber yard in flames. At 
 the same time he heard the cry of "Water!" and 
 hastened to the aid of some laborers, who were endeav- 
 oring to clear a way to the water pipes. Excited by 
 the claret, which he had too freely indulged in at sup- 
 per, he seized a pick-axe, and speedily reached the plug. 
 Not satisfied with his success, he continued to dig 
 away, and refused to desist, though frequently or- 
 dered to do so by Sheriff Macready, who was pres- 
 ent with a file of EngUsh militia. Finding he was 
 not to be moved by entreaty, a soldier charged him 
 with his bayonet, which was fortunately intercepted 
 by his hunting watch. " If I had not had the watch," 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 3 1 
 
 said O'Connell, when relating this adventure, "there 
 was an end of the agitator." 
 
 For a few years subsequent to the exchange meet- 
 ing, the young barrister appears to have renounced 
 politics. In the interim, he apphed himself diligently 
 to the duties of his profession, and was rewarded with 
 a success he could have hardly expected. Catholics, 
 although admitted to the bar, could not wear the silk 
 gown, and he rarely got an opportunity of addressing 
 a jury. Although obliged to confine himself to 
 cross-examination, O'Connell had so precise a knowl- 
 edge of the habits and character of the people, he 
 rarely failed in whatever he undertook. 
 
 On one occasion he was engaged in a will case. It 
 was the allegation of the plaintiffs that the will was a 
 forgery. The subscribing witnesses swore that the 
 will had been signed by the deceased while "life was 
 in him " — a mode of expression derived from the 
 Irish language, and which peasants who have ceased to 
 speak Irish still retain. The evidence was altogether 
 in favor of the will, and the defendants had every rea- 
 son to calculate on success, when O'Connell under- 
 took to cross-examine one of the witnesses. He was 
 struck by the persistency of this man, who, in reply 
 to his questions, never deviated from the formula, 
 " the life was in him." 
 
 " On the virtue of your oath, was he alive } " 
 
 " By the virtue of my oath, the life was in him," 
 repeated the witness. 
 
 " Now I call on you in the presence of your 
 Maker, who will one day pass sentence upon you for 
 this evidence ; I solemnly ask — and answer me at 
 
32 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 your peril — was there not 3. live fly in the dead 
 man's mouth when his hand was placed on the will." 
 
 The witness was obliged to confess that the coun- 
 sellor was right, for a fly had been actually inserted 
 into the mouth of the deceased, to enable the wit- 
 nesses to swear that life was in him. 
 
 Numerous anecdotes are told of our young barris- 
 ter in his earlier legal experience. Many a hardened 
 criminal escaped the ravenous jaws of the law; for 
 O'Connell's success was soon recognized by these 
 wrong doers who were most anxious to secure his 
 services. On the other hand, many an honest unfor- 
 tunate owed both life and property to his skill in puz- 
 zling witnesses, perplexing the judge, or bewildering 
 the jury. An illustration of this is recorded by 
 O'Connell himself: 
 
 " I recollect I once had a client, an unlucky fellow, 
 against whom a verdict had been given for a balance 
 of ;^i,ioo. We were trying to set aside that verdict. 
 I was young at the bar at that time ; my senior coun- 
 sel contented themselves with abusing the adverse 
 witnesses, detecting flaws in their evidence, and 
 making sparkling points ; in short, they made very 
 flourishing, eloquent, but rather ineffective speeches. 
 While they flourished away I got our client's books, 
 and, taking my place immediately under the judge's 
 bench, I opened the accounts and went through them 
 all, from beginning to end. I got the whole drawn 
 out by double entry, and got numbers for every 
 voucher. The result plainly was, that so far from 
 there being a just balance of ;^i,ioo against our poor 
 devil, there actually was a balance of ^£700 in his fa- 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 33 
 
 vor, although the poor slovenly blockhead did not 
 know it himself. When my turn came, I made the 
 facts as clear as possible to judge and jury ; and the 
 jury inquired if they could not find a verdict of £^00 
 in his favor. I just tell you the circumstance," con- 
 tinued O'Connell, "to show you that I kept an eye 
 on that important branch of my profession." 
 
 A farmer was captured in the act of kilUng game on 
 the grounds of a landed proprietor, three of whose ser- 
 vants had secured the poacher, and were willing to 
 swear they caught him in the act. O'Connell was 
 asked by the attorney for the defence to cross-examine 
 the witnessess. This request was reluctantly acceded 
 to by O'Connell, who considered the case utterly 
 hopeless. He had observed that each witness was 
 anxious to claim for himself the sole credit of the ar- 
 rest, and was willing to make any sacrifice rather 
 than his companions should enjoy that privilege. 
 O'Connell' s keen perception soon took in the situa- 
 tion, and determined him to . take advantage of it. 
 Each witness, as he came upon the stand, underval- 
 ued the part played by his companions in arresting 
 the prisoner. The third witness, mortified at the at- 
 tempt of the others to behttle his services, determined 
 to rebut their evidence. It was at this stage of the 
 trial the young barrister came forward. 
 
 "Now, will you answer me one question.^" said 
 O'Connell to the last witness, "and then, perhaps, Til 
 have done with you." 
 
 " If you promise to ask me no more questions, I'll 
 answer you any way you like." 
 
 "Very well! Remember you said so. Now, by 
 
34 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 the virtue of your oath, is not the prisoner inno- 
 cent ? " 
 
 "By the virtue of my oath," said the witness, de- 
 termined to deprive his colleagues of the merit of the 
 the capture, as he himself could not monopolize it all, 
 "by the virtue of my oath, he is innocent." 
 
 The poacher was acquitted. 
 
 An anonymous writer has graphically described 
 O'Connell's appearance at this period^ as he jour- 
 neyed through the country, whilst attending circuit. 
 
 The writer was sitting at the window of a tavern 
 in a small village, as O'Connell came galloping up in 
 his " chariot and four/' and thus faithfully records his 
 impressions : 
 
 " The inmate of the carriage was about five feet 
 eleven and a half inches high, and wore a portly, 
 stout, hale, and agreeable appearance. His shoul- 
 ders were broad, and his legs stoutly built; and, 
 as he at that moment stood, one arm in his side 
 pocket, the other thrust into a waistcoat, which 
 was almost completely unbottoned from the heat of 
 the day, he would have made a good figure for the 
 rapid but fine-finishing touch of Harlowe. His head 
 was covered with a light fur cap, which, partly 
 thrown back, displayed that breadth of forehead 
 which I have never yet seen absent from real talent. 
 His eyes appeared to me at that instant to be be- 
 tween a light blue and a gray color. His face was 
 pale and sallow, as if the turmoil of business, the 
 shade of care, or the study of midnight, had chased 
 away the glow of health and youth. Around his 
 mouth played a cast of sarcasm, which, to a quick 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 35 
 
 eye, at once betrayed satire, and it appeared as if 
 the lips could be easily resolved into risus sardonicus. 
 His head was somewhat larger than that which a 
 modem doctrine denominates the 'medium size;" 
 and it was well supported by a stout and well-founda- 
 tioned pedestal, which was based on a breast full, 
 round, prominent, aud capacious. The eye was 
 shaded by a brow which I thought would be more 
 congenial to sunshine than storm, and the nose 
 was neither Grecian nor Roman, but was large 
 enough to readily admit him into the chosen band of 
 that * immortal rebel ' ^ who chose his body-guard with 
 capacious lungs and noses, as affording greater capa- 
 bility of undergoing toil and hardship. Altogether 
 he appeared to possess strong physical powers. 
 
 " He was dressed in an olive-brown surtout, black 
 trowsers, and black waistcoat. His cravat was care- 
 lessly tied — the knot almost undone from the heat 
 of the day ; and as he stood with his hand across his 
 bosom, and his eyes bent on the ground, he was the 
 very picture of a public character hurrying away on 
 some important matter which required all of personal 
 exertion and mental energy. Often as I have seen 
 him since, I have never beheld him in so striking or 
 pictorial an attitude." 
 
 The judges with whom O'Connell had to con- 
 tend differed from him in politics, and were always 
 ready to manifest their hostility to him. He proved 
 himself more than a match for the best of them — 
 "if they were haughty, he was proud; if they were 
 malevolent, he was cuttingly sarcastic.** 
 
 1 CromwelL 
 
36 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 Happening to be one day present in the courts in 
 Dublin, where a discussion arose on a motion for a 
 new trial, a young attorney was called upon by the 
 opposing counsel either to admit a statement as evi- 
 dence, or hand in some document he could legally 
 detain. O'Connell stood up and told the attorney to 
 make no admission. " Have you a brief in this case, 
 Mr. O'Connell.^" asked Baron M'Cleland, with very 
 peculiar emphasis. 
 
 " I have not, my lord ; but I shall have one when 
 the case goes down to the assizes." 
 
 " When / was at the bar it was not my habit to an- 
 ticipate briefs." 
 
 " When you were at the bar I never chose you for 
 a model, and now that you are on the bench, I shall 
 not submit to your dictation." 
 
 Leaving the judge to digest this retort, he walked 
 out of court, accompanied by the young attorney. 
 
 O'Connell was not always successful, however, for 
 a cow-thief whom he had repeatedly defended, was 
 finally transported. Many years after, this unfortu- 
 nate man, who had served out his sentence in New 
 South Wales, enhghtened the Liberator on his mode 
 of stealing cattle. 
 
 "When your honor goes for to shteal a cow, mind, 
 it's no use your goin' of a fine night; but go to 
 shteal her always of a black night, when it's rainin* 
 torrents and blowin' whirlwinds ; for nobody else will 
 be out barrin' yourself on a bad night Hke that. The 
 wilder the night, the easier you'll shteal the cow. 
 And when your honor goes into the field where 
 you're going to shteal her, don't be for takin' the cow 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 37 
 
 that's cnidlin* near the ditch, becase she's surely a 
 lean cow ; but shteal the cow that stands out in the 
 rain. She's worth shtealin'. She's fat, and does not 
 want shelther. That's the cow for your honor to 
 shteal." O'Connell thanked his informant, and prom- 
 ised, with every appearance of sincerity, to follow his 
 directions to the letter whenever he should abandon 
 the painful drudgery of the law for the exciting and 
 adventurous profession of a cow-stealer. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 O'Connell's Professional Income — He Pops the Question — His 
 Marriage — Emmet's Insurrection — Six Nights of Sentry Duty — 
 Suspension of Habeas Corpus Act — Catholic Meetings in 1803, 
 '4, and '5 — Deputation to Pitt — Petition to Parliament Rejected — 
 Efifects of Napoleon's Victory at Jena — Another Petition Re- 
 jected — The Veto — Synod at Dublin — O'Connell on the Ques- 
 tion — The Massacre at the Kevin St Fountain — "Jack of the 
 Roads " — O'Connell's Address on " Disunion " — Repeal Meeting 
 at the Royal Exchange — The Convention Act Revived — Prose- 
 cution of Lord Fingal and Others — O'Connell's Plan for the 
 Defence — A Verdict of Acquittal. 
 
 O'Connell's reputation at the bar was now fully 
 established. His first years earnings netted him j£s^y 
 the second, j£iSO, the third, ;^200, and the fourth, 
 ;^300. Later in his career his income reached the 
 princely sum of £c),ooo. 
 
 O'Connell was thoroughly devoted to his profes- 
 sion. His success had been rapidly earned ; it was 
 flattering in the highest degree ; and yet in his heart 
 there was a void, which the companionship of a wife 
 could alone supply. His choice had been early made. 
 In his younger days he had pledged his love to his 
 cousin, Miss Mary O'Connell, of Tralee, and only 
 waited until his profession should enable him to 
 maintain a family. 
 
 "I never," said O'Connell, "proposed marriage to 
 any woman but one — my Mary. I said, to her *Are 
 you engaged, Miss O'Connell } * She answered, ' I am 
 38 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 39 
 
 not' 'Then/ said I, 'Will you engage yourself to 
 me ? ' * I will,' was her reply. And I said I would 
 devote my life to make her happy." 
 
 The happy pair were united by Father Finn, par- 
 ish priest of Irishtown, June 23d, 1802, in Dame St., 
 Dublin, at the lodgings of James O'Connell, the 
 brother of the bride. The ceremony was conducted 
 with the utmost privacy. Mrs. O'Connell is de- 
 scribed as an extremely amiable lady, possessed of 
 excellent judgment, and during the course of her 
 married life rendered great service to her husband by 
 her discretion and prudence. Maurice O'Connell, on 
 learning of his nephew's marriage, was greatly dis- 
 pleased. The real cause of his displeasure origin- 
 ated in the poverty of the young bride, who came 
 dowerless to her husband. O'Connell thought his 
 uncle's displeasure would end in cutting him off. It 
 gave him no concern, however, for the partner of his 
 choice was a far greater prize to him than the broad 
 acres of Derrynane. 
 
 Marriage has been the turning point in many a 
 great man's career. With O'Connell's marriage be- 
 gan the serious duties of his life. The careless hab- 
 its of his youth were at once abandoned, and he 
 marched forth, girt as a soldier for the battle of life,, 
 and was fully conscious of his power. The path 
 which O'Connell chose for himself promised him lit- 
 tle repose. He had learned that the real cause of 
 Catholic apathy was a want of organization. Most 
 of all, a leader was necessary, — a courageous, indefa- 
 tiguable patriot, wise, patient, and determined. O'Con- 
 nell felt himself urged onward by a resistless impulse 
 
40 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 to become that leader ; and henceforth the regenera- 
 tion of his country was the sole ambition of his life. 
 Emancipation, which Pitt had promised the CathoHcs 
 of Ireland in return for their submission to the 
 Union, was as far away as ever. Pretext and evasion 
 were sought in superfluous arguments and measures 
 of expediency, showing the CathoUcs how sadly they 
 had been duped. O'Connell's theory for emancipa- 
 tion was not based upon force. He had seen how 
 ineffectual had been the insurrection of '98, and re- 
 solved upon agitation as the only means of bringing 
 it about. 
 
 On the 23d of July, just one month after his 
 marriage, the ill-starred insurrection of Emmet, to 
 which he was greatly opposed, broke out. "I ask 
 you," said he, " whether a madder scheme was ever 
 devised by a Bedlamite ? Here was Mr. Emmet, hav- 
 ing got together about ;^ 1,200 in money, and seventy- 
 four men; whereupon he makes war upon George 
 HI. with one hundred and fifty thousand of the best 
 troops in Europe, and the wealth of the kingdom d,t 
 his command ! Why, my dear sir, poor Emmet's 
 scheme was as wild as anything in romance.** Em- 
 met, however, had better reason to hope for success 
 than would appear from O'Connell's view of it. 
 First of all, he had been promised the support of Na- 
 poleon. Moreover, he expected a general uprising of 
 the people ; and had it not been for an accident, which 
 precipitated his movement, a bold stand might have 
 been made for Irish independence. 
 
 In the year 1803, O'Connell was still a member of 
 the Lawyers' Corps, and constantly on duty. He 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 4I 
 
 himself tells us : ** After I had stood sentry for three 
 successive nights, Nicholas Purcell O' Gorman's turn 
 came. He had recently been ill, and told me the ex- 
 posure to the night air would probably kill him. ' I 
 shall be in a sad predicament/ said he, ' unless you 
 take my turn of duty for me. If I refuse, they'll ac- 
 cuse me of cowardice or croppyism; if I mount 
 guard, it will be the death of me ! ' So I took his 
 place, and thus stood guard for six consecutive 
 nights." 
 
 Despairing of any voluntary concession from the 
 government, the Catholics at length determined to 
 make an effort in their own behalf. During 1803 
 and 1804, the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act 
 was continued in force, and they were obliged to hold 
 their meetings at tlie houses of private individuals. 
 These meetings were called for the purpose of organ- 
 izing a line of action. At one of these conclaves, in 
 1805, a committee was appointed to wait upon Mr. 
 Pitt, the English premier, and request him to lay their 
 grievances before Parliament 
 
 Pitt, acting under the advice of the king, who bit- 
 terly hated everything Catholic, gave them no encour- 
 agement, and the delegates were obliged to look else- 
 where for an advocate. After some delay, Lord 
 Grenville was prevailed upon to lay their petition be- 
 fore the House of Lords, whilst Mr. P'ox pleaded 
 their cause in the Commons. The Lords laid the 
 matter on the table, while the Commons, regardless 
 of the eloquent advocacy of Grattan, and the forcible 
 pleadings of Fox, negatived the petition by a major- 
 ity of 212. "At all events" writes John Mitchell, 
 4* 
 
42 I-IFE OF OCONNELL. 
 
 " the time was not yet come, nor the man ; and in 
 special one bold, blue-eyed young man, who was then 
 carrying his bag in the hall of the Four Courts of 
 DubHn, destined one day to hold the great leading 
 brief in the mighty cause of six millions of his coun- 
 trymen." 
 
 In the year 1807, we find O'Connell a member of 
 a Catholic Committee, which was appointed on the 
 7th of February, and he appears to have done much 
 to raise the spirits of his co-religionists. The young 
 Agitator, conscious of his power, gave fresh hope and 
 courage to all with whom he came in contact. Boldly 
 and fearlessly he proclaimed the justice of his cause; 
 and, like the drooping foliage after a refreshing rain, 
 the Catholics of Ireland lifted their desponding hearts 
 and lived again in the bright promise of their future 
 Liberator. 
 
 On the 17th of February, a meeting was held at 
 the Rotunda, again to petition Parliament Lord 
 Fingal acted as chairman. It soon appeared that 
 the chairman, together with Lord Ffrench and others 
 of the Catholic aristocracy present, were actually op- 
 posed to the real object of the meeting. These gen- 
 tlemen talked of postponement and expediency ; in 
 fact re-echoed the very sentiments of Pitt and the 
 Castle. O'Connell, who seemed to have had an intui- 
 tive perception of men's motives, could brook no 
 such delay. 
 
 His words were: "Away, then, with all the ob- 
 jections to presenting a petition; there should be 
 no delay. The man does not merit freedom who 
 would hug his chains for a day. The present ad- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 43 
 
 ministration has emancipated the negroes; they 
 would be entitled to praise as having done their duty, 
 if, instead of enabling his majesty to select admirals 
 and generals from our body, they introduced a clause 
 into their Slave Hill to raise Catholics to the rank of 
 freemen." 
 
 Signatures were obtained from the Catholics of 
 every county of Ireland, and, in 1808, the petition 
 was brought by Lord Fingal to London. This 
 year appeared to the Catholics one in every way fa- 
 vorable to their cause. Napoleon had triumphed 
 over Austria, Prussia had been crushed on the field 
 of Jena, and England was left singly opposed to the 
 " man of destiny." Their calculations, however, were 
 not correct. The noble petition-bearer received a 
 cold shoulder from the Duke of Portland ; and, when 
 brought into the House of Commons, the lynx-eyed 
 Canning objected to the petition as it did not contain 
 original signatures, many persons' names appearing 
 who could not write, and Lord Fingal accordingly 
 returned to Ireland. In May of the same year, the 
 petition, this time bearing genuine signatures, was 
 again presented to the consideration of Parliament. 
 Bigotry and prejudice were immovable ; in vain Grat- 
 tan urged that concession to Catholics was not only 
 just but expedient and necessary ; Catholic emanci- 
 pation was as distant as ever. The petition was re- 
 jected I5y a negative majority of 152 votes. In the 
 course of Mr. Grattan's speech, he urged that the 
 Catholics were willing to concede the veto in order 
 to obtain emancipation. In this assertion he had 
 acted under the advice of Lord Fingal, from which 
 
44 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 it was plainly evident this gentleman was will- 
 ing to renounce his Papal allegiance. The object 
 of the veto was to place the power of nominating 
 Catholic bishops in the hands of the king, a wily 
 invention of England that Ireland 'should sever her 
 spiritual connection with Rome. 
 
 The Catholic hierarchy were deeply incensed at 
 this false representation of their opinions. On the 
 14th of September following, a national synod of 
 Catholic prelates assembled in Dublin, and offered 
 resolutions denouncing the veto, which were signed 
 by no less than twenty- three bishops, to the joy of 
 every Catholic in Ireland. This bold vindication of 
 CathoHc rights did not escape the government. Un- 
 able to retaliate openly, the malignity of the tory 
 cabinet manifested itself in renewed encouragement 
 to the Orange party. On the nth of September, 
 the day following the synod, an Orange meeting was 
 convened at Dawson St., Dublin, at which all the 
 lodges of that body in Ireland and England were re- 
 presented. At this assemblage it was not only re- 
 solved to exterminate the Catholics, but to oblige 
 every member, under pain of expulsion, to exert his 
 personal influence in seeing this ruthless measure 
 enforced. 
 
 " From the most respectable authorities I have it," 
 said O'Connell, at a Catholic meeting which took 
 place subsequently, " that Orange lodges are increas- 
 ing in different parts of the country, with the knowl- 
 edge of those whose duty it is to suppress them. I 
 have been assured that the associations in the north 
 are re-organized, and that a committee of these dele- 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 4$ 
 
 gates in Belfast have printed and distributed 500 
 copies of their new constitution. This I have heard 
 from excellent authority; and I should not be sur- 
 prised if the attorney-general knew it. Yet there 
 has been no attempt to disturb these conspirators — 
 no attempt to visit them with magisterial authority 
 — no attempt to rout this infamous banditti. Per- 
 haps my information is false ; if so, I give the govern- 
 ment an opportunity to rebut the; charge." 
 
 During a flying visit which O'Connell paid his na- 
 tive county, about this time, he attended a meeting on 
 the tithe question. At the meeting in question he 
 succeeded in turning into complete and painful ridi- 
 cule the well-prepared address of one of the previous 
 speakers. It was the first exhibition of his powers 
 as an orator which he had made in his native county. 
 The upholders of the tithe system at this meeting, 
 
 " Safe from the bar, the pulpit, and the throne, 
 Were touched and shamed by ridicule alone." 
 
 The Statements and arguments of "parsons much 
 bemused with beer," which were paraded by their 
 friends, were answered and overturned by O'Connell, 
 who produced a decided impression on the assembly. 
 He laughed to scorn the greedy avarice of the clergy 
 of the Establishment, who insisted on taking a full 
 tithe of the farmer's potatoes. He argued that if 
 they took his staff of life out of his hands, they 
 should carry the peasant on their shoulders. O'Con- 
 nell carried triumphantly the anti-tithe resolutions. 
 
 The outrages perpetrated upon Catholics by the 
 Orange Society at this period would not seem credi- 
 
46 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 ble, if we were not familiar with the bloody acts of 
 this body within the last decade of years. 
 
 About this time, there stood a fountain in Kevin 
 St., DubUn, which some careless lads had decorated 
 with green boughs and garlands. This was followed 
 in the evening by a bonfire, around which young 
 persons of both sexes had clustered, watching the 
 bright flames ascend, and enjoying the excitement it 
 produced. Suddenly, five cowardly Orangemen, with 
 loaded muskets in their hands and deadly venom in 
 their hearts, approached this scene of gayety. Hav- 
 ing come within accurate range, they levelled their 
 pieces, and, taking deliberate aim, discharged their 
 contents into the unsuspecting crowd. One of the 
 group fell dead upon the spot, whilst others were fa- 
 tally wounded. A similar occurrence disgraced the 
 neighborhood of Newry. Eighteen miscreants there 
 fired upon a company of merry makers, killing and 
 wounding many. 
 
 The fate of "Jack of the Roads," as related by 
 O'Connell himself, may shed a light on the condition 
 of Catholic Ireland in 1808. "Jack of the Roads," 
 we may premise, was an idiot, who, covered with tat- 
 ters, and apparently half-starved, was accustomed to 
 keep pace with the Limerick mail-coaches. "He 
 once made a bet of fourpence and a pot of porter," 
 said O'Connell, "that he would run from Dublin to 
 Limerick, keeping pace with the mail. He did so ; 
 and when he was passing through Mountrath, on his 
 return, on the 12th of July, 1808, flourished a green 
 bough at a party of Orangemen who were holding 
 their orgies. One of them fired at his face ; his eyes 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 4/ 
 
 were destroyed; he lingered, and died; and there 
 was an end to * Jack of the Roads ! ' " 
 
 These outrages went unpunished, and were winked 
 at by unworthy magistrates, who had sworn to main- 
 tain the peace and administer justice. Shame on 
 ungrateful England, who permitted Catholic blood to 
 be shed at home, whilst Catholic soldiers were gain- 
 ing victories for her abroad ! 
 
 O'Connell's influence was already felt amongst his 
 co-religionists. His continuous cry was, "Agitate! 
 agitate ! " and these magic words fired the drooping 
 courage of the Catholics, who had so long accus- 
 tomed themselves to suffer in silence. Scarcely had 
 they come together when discord began to poison 
 their councils. This grieved O'Connell beyond 
 measure. Disunion he felt had always been the 
 curse of Ireland, and it was time that the sad lesson 
 of the past should be heeded. O'Connell had reason 
 to believe the aristocratic members of the Catholic 
 Association had been tampered with by the govern- 
 ment. Acting upon this conviction he resolved to 
 bring the members of the Catholic Association to a 
 sense of their duty, addressing them as follows : — - 
 
 " The old curse of the Catholics is, I fear, about to 
 be renewed ; division, that made us what we are and 
 keeps us so, is again to rear its standard amongst us ; 
 but it was thus always with the Irish Catholics. I 
 recollect that in reading the life of the great Duke of 
 Ormond, as he is called, I was forcibly struck with a 
 despatch of his, transmitted about the year 1661, 
 when he was Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland. It was 
 written to vindicate himself from a charge of having 
 
48 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 favored the Papists, and having given them permis- 
 sion to hold a public meeting in Dublin. His an- 
 swer is remarkable. He rejects with disdain the 
 foul calumny of being a favorer of Papists, though 
 he admits he gave them leave to meet : ' because,' said 
 he, ' I know by experience, that the Irish Papists 
 never meet without dividing and degrading them- 
 selves.' I quote the words of the official despatch ; 
 I can lay my finger on the very spot in * Carte's Life 
 of Ormond.* 
 
 *' One hundred and fifty years have since elapsed, 
 and we are still in thraldom, because no experience can, 
 I fear, cure us of this wretched disposition to divide. 
 He entreated of the respectable gentlemen who that 
 day attended the Committee, to consider that their 
 mistakes, if they had made any, ought not to be vis- 
 ited with so grievous a calamity as that of creating 
 dissension amongst them." 
 
 O'Connell did not confine himself to the emanci- 
 pation movement entirely. He was preeminently a 
 nationalist, and was present at every occasion where 
 Ireland's rights were brought forward for considera- 
 tion. In fact, the great ascendancy the Liberator 
 subsequently wielded over the minds and hearts of 
 his countrymen was owing to their beUef that be- 
 hind this great movement of agitation there was an 
 ultimate design of Irish Independence. 
 
 On Tuesday, September i8th, 1810, a meeting of 
 citizens took place at the Royal Exchange, in Dub- 
 lin to consider the subject of a Repeal of the Act 
 of Union. Mr. O'Connell' s speech on this occasion 
 was a brilliant and exhaustive review of the manner 
 
LIFE OF 0*CONNLLL. 49 
 
 in which the Union had been brought about. We 
 give a brief extract. 
 
 "Alas! England, that ought to have been to us as 
 a sister and a friend ; England, whom we had loved, 
 and fought and bled for; England, whom we have 
 protected, and whom we do protect ; England, at a 
 period when out of 100,000 of the seamen in her 
 service, 70^000 were Irish — England stole upon us 
 like a thief in the night, and robbed us of the pre- 
 cious gem of our Liberty; she stole from us 'that 
 which nought enriched her, but made us poor in- 
 deed.' Reflect, then, my friends, on the means em- 
 ployed to accomplish this disastrous measure. I do 
 not speak of the meaner instruments of bribery and 
 corruption. We all know that everything was put to 
 sale — nothing, profane or sacred, was omitted in the 
 Union mart — offices in the revenue, commands in 
 the army and navy,, the sacred ermine of justice, and 
 the holy altars of God, were all profaned and polluted 
 as the rewards of Union services. By a vote in fa- 
 vor of the Union, ignorance, incapacity, and profli- 
 gacy obtained certain promotion; and our ill-fated 
 but beloved country was degraded to her utmost lim- 
 its, before she was transfixed in slavery." 
 
 Agitation lost none of its strength in this year. 
 Another emancipation petition was framed and pre- 
 sented to Parliament; but, like its predecessors, was 
 ignored and thrown aside. The frequent meetings 
 and decided action of the CathoUc party in Ireland 
 had now become a source of apprehension to the 
 government. Finding that O'Connell, undaunted by 
 frequent defeat, was resolved upon uniting the Catho- 
 
50 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 lies of Ireland in concerted action, they determined to 
 enforce the Convention Act. This act, which was 
 passed in 1792, denied Catholics the right of petition, 
 and of holding public meetings for such purposes. 
 
 "The truth is," writes a cotemporary, "that so 
 long as the management of the Catholic affairs was 
 confided exclusively to titled noodles, the thunders of 
 the Convention Act were allowed to slumber ; but 
 the moment the sincerity of the young Agitator was 
 likely to take the place of the treachery or folly of 
 aristocratic imbecility, the government determined to 
 act." 
 
 The government scheme for crushing Catholic agi- 
 tation was well concerted. The first step was to 
 carry the Militia Act, by which the Irish militia .were 
 to be transferred to England, and their place sup- 
 plied by Enghsh soldiers. The former were made 
 up almost exclusively of Catholics, and it was feared 
 that, in case of trouble, they could not be depended 
 upon. The Convention Act, already alluded to, would 
 then be stringently enforced, and the Catholic Com- 
 mittee, it was thought, thus deprived of its meet- 
 ings, would soon lose its influence. Should the Cath- 
 olics then appeal to force, they were to have " swel- 
 tered in their own blood." This scheme was foiled 
 in a most unexpected manner by O'Connell, whose 
 resources seemed to enlarge as difficulties multiplied 
 around him. 
 
 Despite the threats of the government. Lord Fin- 
 gal, with other members of the Catholic Committee, 
 assembled, and were arrested and brought to trial. 
 The question of their right to meet was tested before 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 5 1 
 
 a packed jury, in Dublin, in the person of Dr. Sheri- 
 dan and Mr. Kirwan. At the trial, the whole ques- 
 tion turned upon the meaning of the words in the 
 Convention Act, "under pretence of petitioning." 
 It was asserted by the crown counsel and chief jus- 
 tice that pretence meant purpose. They would fain 
 revolutionize the English dictionary to prevent an 
 improvement in the condition of the Irish nation. 
 The Catholics really met, as every one knew, for the 
 bo7ta fide purpose of petitioning. The crown coun- 
 sel endeavored to show that such a purpose was con- 
 demned by the Convention Act ; that the meeting of 
 delegates for the purpose of petitioning Parliament 
 was an illegal meeting. The counsel for the trav- 
 erser, maintained that if delegates assembled really 
 and truly to petition Parliament, and not for a differ- 
 ent purpose under the pretext of petitioning, then 
 the meeting was legal. Common sense and an intel- 
 ligent jury declared for the latter interpretation. 
 The traverser was acquitted. As O' Council was not 
 a leading counsel in the case, he confined himself 
 merely to the cross-examination of the witnesses; 
 but it was well known that the whole plan of the de- 
 fence was arranged by him, and to his masterly man- 
 agement was it in a great degree attributable that the 
 accused were acquitted. Roman Catholics acquitted 
 by Protestants ! Such an event was new and unex- 
 pected in Ireland, and created vast astonishment. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Counsellor O'Hare disperses a Catholic Committee meeting — Ex- 
 citing incidents connected therewith — Another Catholic Petition 
 Rejected — " Who was the Greatest Irishman" — O'Connell's Idea 
 of how to Agitate — He is Described by an American Writer- 
 Why an Orangeman always Retained O'Connell — Decline of the 
 Catholic Committee — The Catholic Board — A "Veto" Conspir- 
 acy in that Body — O'Connell offers a Resolution of Thanks to the 
 Catholic Hierarchy of Ireland. 
 
 The joy of the Catholics on finding themselves vic- 
 torious over the Attorney-General knew no bounds. 
 They immediately determined to hold a meeting, that 
 they might again petition for a redress of their griev- 
 ances. The government, however, were not to be 
 put off so easily; and the attempt to break up this 
 meeting is thus described by the Freeman's yournal 
 of that period : 
 
 "A few minutes before twelve o'clock yesterday, 
 Counsellor Hare, a police magistrate, entered the 
 Theatre, Fish amble Street, where the Catholic Com- 
 mittee were assembled, and took his station beside 
 the chair, which was prepared for the reception of 
 Lord Fin gal. 
 
 " At two minutes after twelve his lordship arrived ; 
 and, upon the motion of Counsellor Hussey, sec- 
 onded by Counsellor O'Connell, he was called to the 
 chair. 
 
 "Mr. Hare was about to address Lord Fingal, 
 when Lord Netterville stood up, and moved that the 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. 53 
 
 Catholic petition be now read, which was seconded 
 by Counsellor O' Gorman. 
 
 " Mr. Hare now addressed himself to Lord Fingal, 
 evidently with a determination to prevent the readi7tg 
 of the petition, and persevered until he had accom- 
 plished this object. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord Fingal, I beg to state what 
 my object is in coming to this meeting. As chair- 
 man of this meeting,, I have to inform you, that I 
 come here, as a magistrate of the city of Dublin, by 
 directioTis of the Lord-Lieutenant, his Excellency hav- 
 ing been informed that this is a meeting of the Cath- 
 olic Committee, composed of the peers, prelates, 
 country gentlemen, and the persons chosen in the 
 different parishes of Dublin. I beg to ask you, as 
 chairman of this meeting, if that be the case, and 
 what is your object? 
 
 " Lord Fingal. — Sir, we have met here for a legal 
 and constitutional purpose. 
 
 '• Mr. Hare. — Allow me to observe, that that is 
 not an answer to* my question ; perhaps you did not 
 distinctly hear me. I ask, is it a meeting of the 
 Catholic Committee, composed of the peers, prelates, 
 country gentlemen, and others in the city of Dublin .^ 
 
 "Lord Fingal. — I certainly do not feel myself 
 bound to give you any other answer. We are met 
 for the sole legal and constitutional purpose of peti- 
 tioning. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord, I ask you, as chairman of 
 this meeting, in what capacity are you met ? 
 
 " Lord Fingal. — We are met for the purpose of 
 petitioning Parliament. 
 
54 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord, that is not an answer to 
 my question. I speak deliberately and distinctly, 
 in order that every person may hear and under- 
 stand me. (Here some little confusion occurred, 
 owing to several persons speaking together.) Mr. 
 Hare. — I hope I have leave to speak. (' Hear the 
 magistrate,' from several persons.) I beg leave to 
 ask your lordship again, is it a meeting of the Catho- 
 lic Committee, constituted by the Catholic peers, 
 prelates, country gentlemen, and the persons ap- 
 pointed in the different parishes of Dublin ? 
 . " Lord Fingal. — I am not aware that I can give 
 you any other answer than that which I have already 
 given. 
 
 "Mr. Hare. — Then, my Lord, your answer is, 
 that you are a meeting of Catholics, assembled for 
 a legal and constitutional purpose.^ (From several 
 voices — No, no; there was no answer given in such 
 terms.) 
 
 " Counsellor O'Connell. — It is a most unusual thing 
 for any magistrate to come into a public meeting to 
 catechise, ask questions, and put his own construc- 
 tion upon the answers. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord, am I to understand that 
 you decline answering me fully what meeting you 
 are, and the purpose of your meeting ? 
 
 ** Lord Fingal. — We are met for a legal and con- 
 stitutional purpose. 
 
 Mr. Hare. — I wish to be distinctly understood: I 
 have addressed your lordship explicitly two or three 
 times. Am I to understand that you will give no 
 other answer to my question ? Do you give no other 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 55 
 
 answer? (Here some confusion arose, in conse- 
 quence of several persons speaking together — some 
 crying out to have the petition read, others calling 
 on Mr. Hay, and others requiring silence for the 
 purpose of hearing Counsellor Hare.) 
 
 "Mr. Hare. — My Lord Fingal, I addressed myself 
 to you so distinctly, that I thought my question could 
 not be mistaken. I consider your declining to give 
 me a direct answer, as an admission that this is the 
 Committee of the Catholics of Ireland. 
 
 "Counsellor O'Connell. — I beg leave to say, that 
 as what passes here may be given in evidence, the 
 magistrate has received a distinct answer to his ques- 
 tion ; and it is not for him to distort any answer he 
 has received into a meaning of his own. He is to 
 take words in their literal signification. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord, I consider your refusing 
 to give any other answer as an admission of the fact 
 of this being a Catholic Committee. • 
 
 "Counsellor O'Connell. — Sir, if you please to tell 
 gentlemen such is your belief, it is of no conse- 
 quence to us; we are not to be bound by your 
 opinion. 
 
 "Mr. Hare. — This is an admission of the fact 
 that this is the Catholic Committee ; and I consider 
 your lordship's refusal — 
 
 " (Here the meeting was interrupted by the confu- 
 sion incidental to a number of persons speaking to- 
 gether.) 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — Does your lordship deny that this is 
 the Catholic Committee ? 
 
56 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 "Counsellor Finn. — No, no; my Lord Fingal has 
 not given you either admission or denial. 
 
 "Counsellor O'Connell. — We do not want the 
 gentleman's assistance to make out meanings for us. 
 Let him not imagine that the character of this meet- 
 ing can be affected, or that he can bind this meeting 
 by any assertion he thinks proper to make. 
 
 "Mr. Hare. — Then I repeat that your lordship's 
 refusal to give me a direct answer is an admission 
 that this meeting is the Catholic Committee, and, as 
 such, it is an unlawful assembly. 
 
 "Counsellor O'Connell. — Mr. Hare is now speak- 
 ing in his magisterial capacity, therefore, whatever 
 he says, give it attention. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord, I say that this is an un- 
 lawful assembly, and, as such, I require it to disperse. 
 I beg leave to say, that it is my wish to discharge my 
 duty in as mild a manner as possible. I hope that 
 no resistance will be offered, and that I need not have 
 recourse to those means with which I am entrusted 
 for the purpose of causing the meeting to disperse. 
 
 " Lord Fingal. — It is not our intention to do any- 
 thing improper, or to act in resistance to the laws of 
 the land ; but it is my determination not to leave the 
 chair until I am obliged by some person to do so, in 
 order that I may bring my legal action against the 
 person who shall remove me. 
 
 " Mr. Hare. — My Lord, I shall remove you out 
 of the chair ; and in doing so, it will be an actual 
 arrest. 
 
 " Here, as might be naturally expected, some con- 
 fusion arose, in consequence of a noise in the gallery, 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 57 
 
 which, we. are informed, was occasioned by police 
 constables. 
 
 ** Mr. Hare. — My Lord if you'll have the good- 
 ness to leave the chair, that is a legal arrest. 
 
 " He then took Lord Fingal by the arm and gently 
 pushed him from the chair. 
 
 *'On the motion of Counsellor O' Gorman, sec- 
 onded by Dr. Luby, Lord Netterville was immedi- 
 ately called to the chair, from which he was removed 
 by Counsellor Hare, in the same way that he had put 
 Lord Fingal out of it. 
 
 " There was then a universal cry for Lord Ffrench 
 to take the chair. His lordship, who was in a bad 
 state of health, either had not arrived, or was not 
 within hearing of those who called him to the chair. 
 
 " The Hon. Mr. Barn wall was then called to the 
 chair ; but before he had taken it. Lord Ffrench had 
 arrived, and was proceeding to his post, when, at the 
 recommendation of Sir Edward Bellew, and at half- 
 past twelve o'clock, the meeting dispersed. 
 
 "After the Catholic meeting had been dispersed in 
 Fishamble Street, a number of gentlemen repaired 
 to Mr. D'Arcy's, the Crown and Anchor Tavern, 
 Earl Street, for the purpose of signing a requisition 
 to call an aggregate meeting of the Catholics of Ire- 
 land. While the requisition was preparing. Counsel- 
 lor Hare, accompanied by Alderman Darley, went 
 into the room where they were assembled, and asked 
 whether that meeting was a meeting of individual 
 gentlemen. Being answered in the affirmative, and 
 being about to make a speech. Lord Ffrench told him 
 they did not want to hear any of his speeches^ nor 
 
58 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 would they listen to them ; if he came there for the 
 purpose of acting, he must proceed without delay. 
 
 " Mr. Hare said that he merely wished to say, that 
 as they had acknowledged themselves to be a meet- 
 ing of individual gentlemen, he would not molest 
 them. 
 
 " A Catholic requisition for an aggregate meeting, 
 to be held on Thursday next, at the Theatre, Fish- 
 amble Street, has been drawn up and^ signed by up- 
 wards of three hundred persons. 
 
 "We have just learned that Lord Fingal interro- 
 gated the police magistrates, after the dispersion of 
 of the committee, if he was to procure bail to their 
 arrest, aiid that they deny, having arrested hi-in !** 
 
 Again, in May, 1811, the petition was presented for 
 the consideration of the Commons, and was rejected 
 by a majority of 104. Grattan's speech on this occa- 
 sion teemed with illustrations of Catholic wrongs, and 
 must have made a deep iippression upon the minds 
 of British legislators. If England disregarded the 
 Catholic remonstrance, it was no longer in her power 
 to say she was ignorant of the abuses to which five 
 millions of British subjects were subjected. No one 
 more appreciated Mr. Grattan's noble effort than 
 O'Connell, who seems to have had a high estimate of 
 that gentleman's ability. 
 
 On one occasion Mr. O'Neil Daunt asked O'Con- 
 nell who, in his opinion, was the greatest Irishman. 
 
 ''Next to myself, * he answered, " I think old Henry 
 Grattan was." 
 
 Mr. Cf Connell's mode of carrying on his agitation 
 is thus fully described by himself. "There are many 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 59 
 
 men," said he, "who shrink from repeating them- 
 selves, and who actually feel a repugnance to deliver 
 a good sentiment or a good argument, just because 
 they have delivered that sentiment or that argument 
 before. This is very foolish. It is not by advancing 
 a political truth once, twice, or even ten times, that 
 the public take it up and finally adopt it. No ; in- 
 cessant repetition is required to impress political 
 truths upon the public mind. That which is but 
 once or twice advanced may possibly strike for a mo- 
 ment, but will then pass away from the public recol- 
 lection. You must repeat the same lesson over and 
 over again, if you hope to make a permanent impres- 
 sion ; if, in fact, yOu hope to impress it on your pu- 
 pil's memory. Such has always been my practice. 
 My object was to familiarize the whole people of Ire- 
 land with important political truths, and I could 
 never have done this if I had not incessantly re- 
 peated those truths. I have done so pretty success- 
 fully. Men, by always hearing the same things, in- 
 sensibly associate them with received truisms. They 
 find the facts at last quietly reposing m a comer of 
 their minds, and no more think of doubting them 
 than if they formed part of their religious belief. I 
 have often been amused when, at public meetings, 
 men have got up and delivered my old political les- 
 sons in my presence as if they were new discoveries, 
 worked out by their own ingenuity and research. 
 But this was the triumph of my labor. I had made 
 the facts and sentiments so universally familiar, that 
 men took them up and gave them to the public as 
 their own." 
 
6o LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 "You have seen O'Connell," says an American 
 writer. " Is he not a chieftain ? Did you ever see a 
 creature of such power of the tongue ? I never saw 
 anyone that could converse with an audience like 
 him. Speeches may be as well made by other men, 
 but I never heard such public talk from anybody. 
 The creature's mind plays before ten thousand, and 
 his voice flows as clearly and as leisurely as in a cir- 
 cle round a fireside ; and he has the advantage of the 
 excitement it affords to arouse his powers." 
 
 Strange to say, Orangemen frequently retained 
 O'Connell's legal services. The following, anecdote 
 offers an explanation : " Hedges Eyre, of Orange 
 notoriety, invariably engaged O'Connell as his coun- 
 sel. On one accasion a brother Orangeman severely 
 censured Hedges Eyre for employing the Catholic 
 leader : * You've got seven counsel without him,* 
 quoth this sage adviser.; 'and why should you give 
 your money to that Papist rascal ! ' Hedges did not 
 make an immediate reply; but they both remained 
 in court watching the progress of the trial. The 
 counsel on the opposite side pressed for a non-suit, 
 and carried the judge (Johnson) along with them. 
 O'Connell remonstrated against the non-suit, protest- 
 ing against so great an injustice. The judge seemed 
 obdurate. 'Well hearmQ at all events!' said O'Con- 
 nell. ' No, I won't,' replied the judge ; ' I've already 
 heard the leading counsel.' ' But / am conducting 
 counsel, my lord,* rejoined O'Connell, 'and more in- 
 timately aware of the details of the case than my 
 brethren. I entreat, therefore, that you will hear 
 me.' The judge ungraciously consented; and in 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNLLL. 6 1 
 
 five minutes O'Connell had argued him out of the 
 non-suit. 'Now; said Hedges Eyre, in triumph, to 
 his Orange confrere, 'Now you see why I gave my 
 money to that Papist rascal.' " 
 
 After the arrest and prosecution of the CathoHc 
 Committee, and their subsequent acquittal, that body 
 gradually dwindled away ; but the zeal which had ani- 
 imated its deliberations, though suffered to languish, 
 was not extinct. From the effete Catholic Commit- 
 tee sprang the young and vigorous Catholic Board. 
 This new organization carefully avoided everything 
 that could be construed into a representative charac- 
 ter. The Catholic Board of 1812 was the school of 
 the emancipation of 1829. The greatest evil the 
 new organization had to contend with was the Catho- 
 lic aristocracy, who formed its representative head. 
 O'Connell, ever on the alert, soon discovered the 
 conspiracy which threatened not only to alienate the 
 members of the Board from its great purpose of un- 
 restricted emancipation, but, worse than all, from 
 Rome herself. The Veto, so strongly advocated by 
 the English Catholics, was strongly supported, as we 
 have seen, by Lord Fingal and the aristocratic coterie 
 under his lead. O'Connell, backed by the Catholic 
 hierarchy and people of Ireland, openly condemned 
 the movement 
 
 At a meeting of the Board he offered the following 
 resolution, viz. : 
 
 "That the respectful thanks of the Catholic Board 
 be given to the Most Reverend and Right Reverend 
 the Catholic Prelates, for their communication to this 
 Board, and for their ever vigilant and zealous at- 
 
62 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 tention to the interests of the Catholic Church in 
 Ireland." 
 
 Imagine the result of the English ministry con- 
 troling the appointment of Catholic bishops! — Ire- 
 land cut off from the spiritual jurisdiction of Rome. 
 Every careful student of history has witnessed the 
 result in Germany and England ; it is to be hoped 
 that Ireland will never suffer the curse of Refor- 
 mation. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Catholic Aristocracy jealous. of O'Connell — His Labors in 
 behalf of the People — His great Popularity — The Mourners at 
 a Funeral stop to Cheer the Agitator — O'Connell's Fund of 
 Humor — Brennan the Robber — O'Connell, considering Himself 
 about to be robbed, draws his Pistol — "A Pair of great Rogues" 
 — O'Connell snubs a Corporal — Duelling — The Notorious King 
 Bagenal — His Carouses — His Duel with a Neighbor — O'Con- 
 nell's large Professional Practice — The sad Story of a Peasant 
 Girl— O'Connell Defends her — Orange Outrage at Armagh — 
 The Streets of Belfast crimson with Blood — O'Connell counsels 
 Patience. 
 
 The Catholic aristocracy at length grew jealous of 
 O'Connell. The increasing force of his eloquence, 
 his immense popularity with the people, his success at 
 the bar, and, most of all, his fearless denunciation of 
 the Veto, gave them reason to believe the leadership 
 of the Catholic party would speedily pass beyond 
 their control. This fear gave rise to a spirit of bit- 
 ter antagonism in the deliberations of the Board, 
 which called forth the best efforts of the Agitator. 
 O'Connell, who seemed omnipresent, gave himself up 
 unsparingly to the interests of the people. It seems 
 surprising that, in the midst of a large professional 
 practice, he still found time to give to National or 
 Catholic interests. But so untiring was his industry, 
 that no meeting held at the Royal Exchange, or in 
 the Theatre in Fishamble Street, found him absent. 
 
64 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 With surprising fertility of resources, his speeches 
 followed one another in rapid succession, each de- 
 veloping fresh power and projective enterprise. Our 
 space in this brief compilation does not permit us to 
 follow him through his eloquent denunciations of 
 English trickery and aristocratic turpitude. Alive to 
 the necessity of united action, he endeavored on all 
 occasions to heal the divisions which threatened to 
 retard the progress of emancipation. In short, had 
 it not been for O'Connell, Catholic emancipation 
 might have been put back a century. 
 
 O'Connell by his assiduous labors — first, in the 
 Catholic Committee ; secondly, in the Catholic Board 
 — was laying the foundation, and, indeed, building 
 the superstructure, of that world-wide renown which 
 he subsequently enjoyed. " I have been sometimes 
 amused at the whimsical mode in which the popular 
 devotion to him manifested itself," says his secretary.' 
 " He lived in the hearts of old and young. Ascend- 
 ing the mountain road between Dublin and Glencul- 
 len, in company with an English friend, O'Connell 
 was met by a funeral. The mourners soon recog- 
 nized him, and immediately broke into a vociferous 
 hurrah for their political favorite, much to the aston- 
 ishment of the Sassanach, who, accustomed to the 
 solemn and lugubrious decorum of English funerals, 
 was not prepared for an outburst of Celtic enthusi- 
 asm on such an occasion. A remark being made on 
 the oddity of a political hurrah at a funeral, it was 
 replied, that the corpse would have cheered lustily 
 too — if he could 1 " 
 
 O'Connell possessed a buoyancy of spirits wlych 
 
LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 6$ 
 
 the turmoil of his public life, and the anxieties of his 
 profession, were unable to crush. His mind was 
 stored with a rich fund of droll and humorous anec- 
 dotes and personal reminiscences which rendered his 
 domestic circle the delight of every one fortunate 
 enough .to come within its influence. He was master 
 of the art of story-telling, for which his fluency, his 
 great memory, his intricate knowledge of human na- 
 ture, and, above all, his great control over his fea- 
 tures, eminently qualified him. 
 
 Passing by a gravel-pit, one day, O'Connell re- 
 marked to a companion, "There is the very spot 
 where Brennan the robber was killed. Jerry Connor 
 was going from Dublin to Kerry, and was attacked 
 by Brennan at that spot. Brennan presented his 
 pistol, crying, * Stand ! * ' Hold ! * cried Jerry Con- 
 nor. 'Don't fire — here's my purse.* The robber, 
 thrown off his guard by these words, lowered his 
 weapon, and Jerry, instead of a purse, drew a pistol 
 from his pocket, and shot Brennan in the chest. 
 Brennan' s back was supported at the time against 
 the ditch, so he did not fall. He took deliberate aim 
 at Jerry, but feeling himself mortally wounded, 
 dropped his pistol, crawled over the ditch, and slowly 
 walked along, keeping parallel with the road. He 
 then crept over another ditch, under which he was 
 found dead the next morning.'* 
 
 We are reminded by the above incident, of an ad- 
 venture of his own, whilst travelling near Nenagh. 
 He thus describes it : 
 
 "Some years ago, when this neighborhood was 
 much infested with robbers, I was travelling on cir- 
 
66 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 cuit. My horses were not very good, and just at 
 this spot I saw a man whose movements excited my 
 suspicions. He slowly crossed the road, about 
 twenty yards in advance of my carriage, and awaited 
 my approach with his back against the wall, and his 
 hand in the breast of his coat, as if ready to^ draw a 
 pistol. I felt certain I should be attacked, so I held 
 my pistol ready to fire, its barrel resting on the car- 
 riage door. The man did not stir, and so escaped. 
 Had he but raised his hand, I should have fired. 
 Good God ! what a miserable guilty wretch I should 
 have been ! How sincerely I thank God for my es- 
 cape from such guilt !" 
 
 O'Neil Daunt, the author of "Personal Reminis- 
 cences of O'Connell," has recorded the following: 
 
 "At a part of the road between Kildare and Rath- 
 coole, O'Connell pointed out the place where Leon- 
 ard McNally, son to the barrister of the same name, 
 alleged he had been robbed of a large sum. To in- 
 demnify himself for his alleged loss, he tried to levy 
 the money off the county. ' A pair of greater rogues 
 than father and son never lived,' said O'Connell; 
 ' and the father was busily endeavoring to impress 
 upon every person he knew, a belief that his son had 
 been really robbed. Among others, he accosted Par- 
 sons, then M. P. for the King's county, in the hall of 
 the Four Courts. " Parsons ! Parsons, my dear fel- 
 low ! " said old Leonard, " did you hear of my son's 
 robbery.?" "No," answered Parsons quietly, "I did 
 not. Whom did he rob } " 
 
 O'Neill Daunt having mentioned a conservative 
 barrister named Collins, who, in 1800, had written 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 6/ 
 
 an anti-Union pamphlet, predicting the ruin of the 
 country from that measure, and who hved long 
 enough to see his predictions verified : 
 
 "Ah! I knew Collins, top," said O'Connell; "he 
 was a clever fellow. He had talent enough to have 
 made a . figure at the bar, if it had not been for the 
 indolence induced by his comfortable prosperity. 
 His wife was a Miss Rashleigh, an uncommonly 
 beautiful woman. He and I went circuit together. 
 Going down to the Munster circuit by the Tullamore 
 boat, we amused ourselves on deck, firing pistols at 
 the elms along the canal. There was a small party 
 of soldiers on board, and one of them authoritatively 
 desired us to stop firing. * Ah ! corporal, don't be so 
 cruel,' said Collins, still firing away. 'Are you a 
 corporal .'* ' asked I. He surlily replied in the affirm- 
 ative. ' You must have got yourself reduced to the 
 ranks by misconduct, for I don't see the V's on your 
 sleeve.' This raised a laugh at his expense, and he 
 slunk off to the stem, quite chopfallen." 
 
 In August, of 1 813, O'Connell visited Limerick. 
 During this visit an altercation arose between a cer- 
 tain Councillor Magrath and O'Connell, in the county 
 courthouse, where they were both professionally en- 
 gaged. Cards were exchanged, and the combatants 
 met in the regular duelling-ground of the neighbor- 
 hood. Nicholas P. O' Gorman acted as second for 
 O'Connell, whilst a Mr. Bennett did that friendly ser- 
 vice for Magrath. The contestants, pistol in hand, 
 having taken position, awaited the signal to fire. At 
 this critical moment mutual friends arrived, and in- 
 sisted upon a compromise. Finally Magrath declared 
 
68 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 aloud he was sorry for what had happened, and 
 O'Connell, ever ready to forgive, declared he enter- 
 tained no feelings of enmity to his rival ; and the 
 would-be combatants shook hands, and rode back to 
 the town side by side, conversing cheerfully. 
 
 To give our readers some idea of the duelling 
 mania of that period, we shall briefly notice some in- 
 cidents in the life of one of the most notorious of 
 Irish duellists. This was no other than Mr. Bagenal, 
 of Dunleckny, County Carlow, whose high lineage, 
 princely income, and boundless hospitality, had earned 
 for him the title of King. This jolly gentleman 
 gathered around his table the wild youth of the 
 county, whom he took much delight in initiating into 
 the mysteries of the cup and the etiquette of the 
 code. At these entertainments, two pistols were 
 placed on either side of his plate. With one he 
 tapped his wine, the other he held in reserve for that 
 one of his guests who refused to do it justice. 
 
 King Bagenal had fought many duels during his 
 adventurous lifetime, but perhaps the most remark- 
 able occurred in his seventy-ninth year. His high- 
 ness was informed that some of his neighbor's pigs 
 had strayed into his enclosure, and rooted up some 
 flowers. King Bagenal caused the ears and tails of 
 the intruders to be chopped off, and sent them to their 
 owner, with a message regretting that he (the owner) 
 did not possess a tail to be cut off also.. This mes- 
 sage brought about a challenge. Bagenal, as the 
 challenged party, selected pistols, and stipulated that, 
 owing to his advanced age, he should fight sitting in 
 his arm chair. At three o'clock on the following 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 69 
 
 afternoon the combatants met Twelve paces were 
 measured off, and at the word fire, the redoubtable 
 old duellist winged his antagonist, whilst the arm of 
 the chair in which he sat was shattered to pieces. 
 The evening terminated in a glorious carouse, at 
 which the claret was tapped as usual, and the long 
 life of King Bagenal was freely drank. 
 
 O'Connell had little time, however, for quarrels. 
 In the autumnal assizes of 1813, twenty-six cases 
 were tried in the Limerick Record Court, and in 
 each one of these O'Connell held a brief. One can 
 fancy the great Agitator at this period making his 
 way through the crowds which surrounded the court- 
 house, and the friendly greetings that met his ear as 
 he passed. His reputation at the bar had now be- 
 come so well established, that, in addition to the briefs 
 above mentioned, he was likewise retained in every 
 criminal case tried in the same circuit. The splen- 
 did talents of O'Connell were not alone employed in 
 cases where fame or emolument were to be gained. 
 Often he came to the reUef of the poor and op- 
 pressed, as in the following case : 
 
 "On Tuesday, 25th May, 1813, O'Connell, in the 
 Court of Common Pleas, moved for a conditional or- 
 der against the Rev. Wm. Hamilton, for illegal and 
 oppressive conduct as a magistrate of the county of 
 Tipperary; and, in addressing the presiding judge, 
 said : ' The facts of "the case are really curious, and 
 would be merely ludicrous but for the sufferings in- 
 flicted on my client. The affidavits stated that a 
 peasant girl named Hennesy had a hen which laid — 
 not golden eggs — but eggs strangely marked with 
 
70 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 red lines and figures. She, on the 2ist of April, 
 1 813, brought her hen and eggs to the town of Ros- 
 crea, near which she lived, and of which the defend- 
 and was the Protestant curate. It appeared by the 
 result that she brought her eggs to a bad market, 
 though at first she had some reason to think differ- 
 ently; for the curiosity excited by those eggs at- 
 tracted some attention to the owner ; and as she was 
 the child of parents who were miserably poor, her 
 wardrobe was in such a state that she might almost 
 literally be said to be clothed in nakedness. My 
 lord, a small subscription to buy her a petticoat was 
 suggested by the person who makes the present affi- 
 davit, himself a working weaver of the town, James 
 Murphy, and the sum of fifteen" shillings was speed- 
 ily collected. It was a little fortune to the poor crea- 
 ture. She kissed her hen, thanked her benefactors, 
 and, with a light heart, started on her return home. 
 But — diis aliter visum — at the moment, two con- 
 stables arrived with a warrant signed by the Rev. 
 William Hamilton. This warrant charged her with 
 the strange offence of a foul imposition. It would 
 appear as if it were issued in some wretched jest, 
 arising from the sound not the sense. But it proved 
 no joke to the girl, for she was arrested. Her hen, 
 her eggs, and her fifteen shillings were taken into 
 custody and carried before his worship. He was not 
 at leisure to. try the case that day. The girl was 
 committed to Bridewell, where she lay a close pris- 
 oner for twenty-four hours, when his Rev. Worship 
 was pleased to dispose of the matter. Without the 
 mockery of any trial, he proceeded at once to sen- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 7I 
 
 tence. He sentenced the girl to perpetual banish- 
 ment from Roscrea. He sent her out of the town 
 guarded by three constables, and with positive injunc- 
 tions never to set foot in it again. He decapitated 
 her hen with his own sacred hands. He broke the 
 eggs and confiscated the fifteen shillings. When the 
 girl returned to her home — the fowl dead, the eggs 
 broken, and the fifteen shillings in his reverence's 
 pocket — one would suppose justice quite satisfied. 
 But no ! his Worship discovered that Murphy had 
 collected the offending money ; he was therefore to 
 be punished. He was, indeed, first tried ; but under 
 what law, think you."* Why, literally, my lords, un- 
 der the statute of good manners. Yes, under that 
 act, wherever it is to be found, was Murphy tried, 
 convicted, and sentenced. He was committed to 
 Bridewell, where he lay for three days. The com- 
 mittal states "that he was charged on oath with hav- 
 ing assisted in a foul imposition on public credulity, 
 contrary to good manners." These are the words of 
 the committal; and he was ordered to be detained 
 until he should give security *' for his good behavior." 
 Such is the ridiculous warrant on which an humble 
 man has been deprived of his liberty for three days. 
 Such are the details given of the vexatious proceed- 
 ings of the reverend magistrate. It was to be hoped 
 that those details would turn out to be imaginary; 
 but they are sworn to — positively sworn to — and 
 require investigation, the more especially as motives 
 of a highly culpable nature were attributed — he 
 (O'Connell) hoped unduly attributed — to the gentle- 
 man. He was charged, on oath, with having been 
 
72 r.IFK OK O'CONNELL. 
 
 actuated by malice towards this wretched girl be- 
 cause she was a Catholic. It was sworn that his ob- 
 object was to establish some charge of superstition 
 against her, upon no better ground than this, — that 
 one of those eggs had a mark on it nearly resembling 
 a cross.' The rule was granted ; but Mr. Hamilton 
 compromised the case, in consequence of the public 
 exposure of his conduct." 
 
 Everywhere O'Connell went during this circuit the 
 people received him with marked expressions of their 
 devotion to him. A vote of thanks was tendered 
 him on August /th, 1813, at Louth. Subsequently, 
 like honors were shown him at Kilkenny, Galway, 
 Tralee, and Wexford. At Cork, the enthusiastic 
 populace carried him in a chair, lifted above their 
 heads, through the principal thoroughfares. 
 
 In this year, another bill for Catholic emancipation 
 was brought before Parliament without success. 
 
 The Orange element, encouraged by this defeat, 
 gave vent to their usual passion for outrage and blood. 
 In the market place of Armagh, there stood, for more 
 than 700 years, an Irish cross, beautifully ornamented 
 with Catholic symbols, at once the veneration of the 
 Catholic and the admiration of the antiquarian. On 
 the 1 2th of July, the Orangemen destroyed this ven- 
 erable relic. In their bigoted malice they hurled it 
 to the ground, blasted the pedestal with gunpowder, 
 and converted the base into a trough for swine. In 
 Belfast the streets ran crimson with blood. A party 
 of Orangemen, whilst celebrating their annual orgies 
 in a tavern of that town, were startled by the crash of 
 broken glass in the front of the house. Seizing their 
 
LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 73 
 
 muskets, they rushed into the street, and, without a 
 word of warning, discharged their pieces at the 
 passers by. Three unfortunate men were slaugh- 
 tered, and numbers wounded. It was folly to expect 
 the law to reach such offenders. A trial followed. 
 The jury was Orange, and the judge Orange. The 
 Orange sign passed from the assassins to the jury, 
 and their acquittal immediately followed. One out- 
 rage followed another, the object being to frenzy the 
 Catholics into open hostilities. O'Connell, ever the 
 guardian of the people, could not be ensnared even 
 by so cruel a test of human forbearance, and he took 
 occasion to warn the people of their danger. He 
 thus counsels them : 
 
 "Alas! for poor Ireland r* said O'Connell. "Her 
 liberties depend upon the prudence of a people of 
 the most inflammable passions, goaded almost to 
 madness, on the one hand, by Orange insults, and ex- 
 posed at the same time to the secret seductions of 
 the agents and emissaries of those very Orange op- 
 pressors. Do you wish to gratify the Orangemen ? 
 If you do, the way is before you. You have only to 
 enter into some illegal or traitorous association — 
 you have only to break out into turbulence or vio- 
 lence, and the Orangemen will be delighted, because 
 it will afford them the wished-for opportunity of re- 
 velling in your blood.*' 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Adventures of O'Cormell whilst on Circuit — His Favorite Inns — 
 Antiquary Grose and Larry Heffeman, the Butcher — O'Connell's 
 Famous Encounter with Biddy Moriarty — O 'Grady and the Lim- 
 erick Grand-jurors — Parson Hawkesworth marries his Prosecu- 
 trix — An odd Plea for a Physician. 
 
 O'CoNNELL never tired of relating his adventures 
 while going circuit, and often spoke of the inns at 
 which he put up, and the roads over which he trav- 
 elled. 
 
 "In 1780," said O'Connell, "the two members for 
 the county Kerry, when preparing to visit Dublin, 
 sent to the metropolis for a noddy. The noddy took 
 eight days to get to Kerry, and they, when seated in 
 it, took seventeen days to get to Dublin! Each 
 night the two members, owing to the absence of inns, 
 quartered themselves at the house of some friend ; 
 on the seventeenth day they reached Dublin, just in 
 time for the commencement of the session." 
 
 Speaking of a favorite inn at Millstreet, he said : 
 
 "The improved roads have injured that inn. I 
 well remember when it was the regular end of the ifirst 
 day's journey from Tralee. It was a comfortable thing 
 for a social pair of fellow-travellers to get out of their 
 chaise at night-fall, and to find at the inn (it was then 
 kept by a cousin of mine, a Mrs. Cotter) a roaring fire in 
 a clean, well-furnished parlor, the whitest table-linen, 
 the best beef, the sweetest and tenderest mutton, the 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. /J 
 
 fattest fowl, the most excellent wines (claret and ma- 
 deira were the high wines there — they knew noth- 
 ing about champagne), and the most comfortable 
 beds. In my early days it was by far the best inn in 
 Munster. But the new roads enable travellers to get 
 far beyond Millstreet in a day; and the inn, being 
 therefore less frequented than of old, is of course not 
 so well looked after by its present proprietor." 
 
 "There was the Coach and Horses Inn, at Assolas, 
 in the county Clare, close to the bridge," said O'Con- 
 nell. ' What delicious claret they had there ! It is 
 levelled with the ground these many years. Then 
 there was that inn at Maryborough ; how often 
 have I seen the old trooper who kept it smoking his 
 pipe on the stone bench at the door, and his fat old 
 wife sitting opposite him. They kept a right good 
 house. She inherited the inn from her father and 
 mother, and was early trained up to the business. 
 She was an' only child, and had displeased her par- 
 ents by a runaway match with a private dragoon. 
 However, they soon relented, and received her and 
 her husband into favor. The worthy trooper took 
 charge of the stable department, for which his habits 
 well adapted him ; and the in-door business was ad- 
 mirably managed by his wife. Then, there was that 
 inn at Naas, most comfortably kept — and excellent 
 wine. I remember stopping to dine there one day, 
 posting up from the Limerick assizes. There were 
 three of us in the chaise, and one was tipsy ; his eyes 
 were bloodshot and his features swollen from hard 
 drinking on the previous night, besides which he had 
 tippled a little in the morning. As he got out of the 
 
76 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 chaise, I called him 'Parson!' to the evident delight 
 of a Methodist preacher, who was haranguing a 
 crowd in the street, and who deemed his own merits 
 enhanced by the contrast with a sottish minister of 
 the establishment." 
 
 O'Connell tells the following interesting incident 
 in relation to the antiquary Grose : 
 
 "Grose," said he, "came to Ireland full of strong 
 prejudices against the people, but they gave way be- 
 neath the influences of Irish drollery. He was very 
 much teased, when walking through the streets of the 
 Irish capital, by the Dublin butchers besetting him 
 for his custom. At last he got angry, and told them 
 to go about their business, when a sly, waggish 
 butcher, deliberately surveying Grose's fat, ruddy 
 face and corpulent person, said to him, * Well, plaise 
 your honor, I won't ask you to buy, since it puts 
 your honor in a passion. But I'll tell you how 
 you'll sarveme?' 'How.?' inquired Grose, in a 
 gruff growl. 'Just tell all your friends that it's 
 Larry Heffernan that supplies your honor with mate ; 
 and never fear but I'll have custom enough.' " 
 
 This market scene naturally recalls to memory the 
 celebrated encounter of O'Connell with Mrs. Biddy 
 Moriarty. There was in Dublin at that time a noted 
 character named Biddy Moriarty, who kept a huck- 
 ster's stall on one of the quays, nearly opposite the 
 Four Courts Biddy's reputation as a termagant was 
 well known throughout the Irish capital, and as the 
 virulence of her tongue was ably seconded by the great 
 dexterity of her fist, few dared to confront her. She 
 was the very embodiment of slang ; and it occurred 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 77 
 
 to a waggish friend of O'Connell's, whose power of 
 invective was likewise well known, to pit him against 
 the redoubtable vender of small wares. The matter 
 was accordingly broached to O'Connell, who ex- 
 pressed himself delighted to enter into this war of 
 words. Bets were freely offered and accepted, and 
 the Agitator, accompanied by a few friends, pro- 
 ceeded to the huckster's stall, where O'Connell com- 
 menced the attack : 
 
 "What's the price of this walking-stick, Mrs. 
 What's-your-name .<* " 
 
 " Moriarty, sir, is my name, and a good one it is ; 
 and what have you to say agen it ? and one-and-six- 
 pence 's the price of the stick. Troth, it's chape as 
 dirt; so it is." 
 
 " One-and-sixpence for a walking-stick ! Whew ! 
 why, you are no better than an imposter, to ask 
 eighteen pence for what cost you twopence." 
 
 "Twopence, your grandrnother !" replied Mrs. 
 Biddy. " Do you mane to say that it's chating the 
 people I am ? Impostor, indeed ! " 
 
 "Ay, impostor; and it's that I call you to your 
 teeth," rejoined O'Connell. 
 
 "Come, cut your stick, you cantankerous jackan- 
 apes." 
 
 " Keep a civil tongue in your head, you old diago- 
 nal," cried O'Connell, calmly. 
 
 "Stop your jaw, you pug-nosed badger, or by this 
 and that," cried Mrs. Moriarty, " I'll make you go 
 quicker nor you came." 
 
 "Don't be in a passion, my old radius. Anger 
 will only wrinkle your beauty." 
 
yS LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 " By the hokey ! if you say another word of impu- 
 dence, I'll tan your dirty hide, you bastely common 
 scrub; and sorry I'd be to soil my fists^ upon your 
 carcass." 
 
 "Whew! boys, what a passion 6ld Biddy is in! I 
 protest, as I am a gentlemen — " 
 
 "Jintleman! jintleman ! the Hkes of you a jintle- 
 man ! Wisha, by gor, that bangs Banagher. Why, 
 you potato-faced pippin-sneezer, when did a Mada- 
 gascar monkey like you pick enough of common 
 Christian dacency to hide your Kerry brogue ? " 
 
 "Easy, now — easy, now," cried O'Connell, with- 
 imperturbable good humor. "Don't choke yourself 
 with fine language, you old whiskey-drinking paral- 
 lelogram." 
 
 "What's that you call me, you murderin' villin?" 
 roared Mrs. Moriarty, stung to fury. 
 
 "I call you," answered O'Connell; "a parallelo- 
 gram ; and a Dublin judge and jury will say that it's 
 no libel to call you so." 
 
 "O tare-an-ouns! O holy Biddy! that an honest 
 woman like me should be called a parrybellygrum to 
 her face. I'm none of your parrybellygrums, you 
 rascally gaUows-bird ; you cowardly, sneaking, plate- 
 lickin' blaggard ! " 
 
 " O, not you, indeed ! " retorted O'Connell. "Why, 
 I suppose you'll deny that you keep a kypotkenuse in 
 your house." 
 
 "It's a lie for you, you bloody robber. I never 
 had such a thing in my house, you swindUn* thief." 
 
 "Why, sure your neighbors all know very well 
 that you keep not only a hypothenuse, but that you 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 79 
 
 have two diameters locked up in your garret, and that 
 you go out to walk with them every Sunday, you 
 heartless old heptagon^ 
 
 "O, hear that, ye saints in glory! O, there's bad 
 language from a fellow that wants to pass for a jin- 
 tleman! May the devil fly away with you, you 
 micher from Munster, and make celery-sauce of your 
 rotten limbs, you mealy-mouthed tub of guts." 
 
 "Ah! you can't deny the charge, you miserable 
 submultiple of a duplicate ratio.'' 
 
 " Go, rinse your mouth in the Liffey, you nasty 
 tickle pitcher. After all the bad words you speak, it 
 ought to be filthier than your face, you dirty chicken 
 of Beelzebub. 
 
 " Rinse your own mouth, you wicked-minded old 
 polygon. To the deuce I pitch you, you blustering 
 int-ersection of a st — ng superfices ! " 
 
 "You saucy tinker's apprentice, if you don't cease 
 ■your jaw, I'll — " But here she gasped for breath, 
 unable to hawk up any more words ; for the last vol- 
 ley of O'Connell had nearly knocked the wind out of 
 her. 
 
 "While I have a tongue I'll abuse you, you most 
 inimitable periphery. Look at her, boys ! there she 
 stands, — a convicted perpejidicular in petticoats. 
 There's contamination in her circumfere^ice, and she 
 trembles with guilt down to the extremities of her 
 corollaries. Ah ! you're found out, you rectilinear 
 a7itecedent, and equia^igular old hag! 'Tis with you 
 the devil will fly away, you porter-swiping siniiliiicde 
 of the bisectio7t of a vortex ! " 
 
 Overwhelmed with this torrent of language, Mrs. 
 
80 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 Moriarty was silenced. Catching up a saucepan, she 
 was aiming at O'Connell's head, when he very pru- 
 dently made a timely retreat. 
 
 "You have won the wager, O'Connell; here's your 
 bet!" cried the gentleman who proposed the con- 
 test. 
 
 O'Connell, whilst in Limerick, in 1812, during the 
 Assizes, was asked by Standish O' Grady to go with 
 him to the play. O'Connell declined, observing that 
 the Limerick grand-jurors were not the pleasantest 
 folk in the world after dinner. O' Grady went, but 
 soon returned. "Dan," said he "you were quite 
 right. I had not been but five minutes in the box 
 when ten or a dozen noisy gentlemen came into it. 
 It was small and crowded ; and, as I observed that 
 one of the party had his head quite close to a peg 
 on which I had hung my hat, I said very politely, ' I 
 hope, sir, my hat does not incommode you ; if it 
 does, pray allow me to remove it.* * Faith,' said he,"' 
 'you may be sure it does not incommode me; for if 
 it did, d — n me but I'd have kicked it out of the box, 
 and yourself after it!' So, lest the worthy juror 
 should change his mind as to the necessity of such a 
 vigorous measure, I quietly put my hat on, and took 
 myself off." 
 
 O'Connell used to relate an amusing case in which 
 he was engaged against a parson for a breach of 
 promise of marriage. The lady was a Miss Fitzger- 
 ald; the gentleman, Parson Hawkesworth. 
 
 " Hawkesworth," said he, "had certainly engaged 
 the lady's affections very much. He had acquired 
 fame enough to engage her ambition. He was a 
 
LIFE OF O CONNLLL. 8 1 
 
 crack preacher ; had been selected to preach before 
 the Lord- Lieutenant ; his name occasionally got into 
 the papers, which then was not often the case with 
 private persons ; and, no doubt, this notoriety had 
 its .weight in the lady's calculations. The corres- 
 pondence read upon the trial was comical enough. 
 The lady, it appeared, had at one period doubted his 
 fidelity; whereupon the parson writes to reassure 
 her in these words: 'Don't believe any one who says 
 I'll jilt you ! They lie, who say so; and I pray that 
 all such liars may be condemned to an eternity of 
 itching without the benefit of scratching!' ^^3,000 
 damages were given against him. He was unable to 
 pay, and decamped to America upon a preaching 
 speculation, which proved unsuccessful. He came 
 back to Ireland, and married the prosecutrix !'' 
 
 Another of O'Connell's stories was about a physi- 
 cian who was detained for many days at the Lim- 
 erick assizes, to which he had been subpoenaed as a 
 witness. He pressed the judge to order him his ex- 
 penses. " On what plea do you claim your ex- 
 penses.?" demanded the judge. "On the plea of 
 my heavy personal loss and inconvenience, my 
 lord," replied the simple applicant. "I have been 
 kept away from my patients these five days, and, if I 
 am kept here much longer, how do I know but they II 
 get wellf* 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Trial of John Magee — O'Connell conducts the Defence — Ex- 
 citement over the Trial — Sheil describes O'Connell in Merrion 
 Square — More of O'Connell's Anecdotes — "A smart Kerry Lad 
 in Dublin " — " The Baron Power Suicide"^' — " Young Keleher's 
 Wit " — " Miss Hussey's Red Nose " — O'Connell is presented 
 with a Service of Plate by the Catholics of Dublin — D'Esterre 
 challenges O'Connell — Incidents of the Duel — D'Esterre wounded 
 — Joy of the Catholics at the Result of the Duel. 
 
 The trial of John Magee, which took place in July, 
 1813, was the occasion of O'Connell's greatest for- 
 ensic effort. Had O'Connell bequeathed to Ireland 
 no other illustration of his genius -than the masterly 
 and patriotic defence of his client on this trial, it 
 alone would have earned for him the lasting grati- 
 tude of his countrymen. 
 
 Mr. Magee, the defendant, was proprietor of the 
 Dublin Eventing Post, a patriotic journal widely cir- 
 culated among Catholics. In that journal, Mr. 
 Scully (the author of an able work on the Penal 
 Laws), on the retirement of the Duke of Richmond, 
 reviewed the various viceroys who had preceded him 
 in that office. As this article was anonymous, the 
 proprietor of the Post was held responsible, and 
 arraigned for libel. A trial in which the govern- 
 ment took so prominent a part did not fail to create 
 an immense sensation throughout Ireland. There 
 was a full bar on either side. The Attorney and 
 
 82 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 83 
 
 Solicitor Generals conducted the prosecution, assisted 
 by Sergeants Moore, Ball, and McMahon, whilst the 
 counsel for the defence consisted of O'Connell, Wal- 
 lace, Hamilton, Finlay, and Phillips. 
 
 "In his defence of Magee, O'Connell surpassed 
 himself. In the law of the case he was invincible ; 
 in the construction of the libel he was triumphant; 
 and in the politics involved in the question victorious. 
 The Attorney-General said that Magee was indicted 
 as proprietor of a newspaper. O'Connell in his 
 speech denied the |^ct, and appealed to the indict- 
 ment itself. The Attorney-General said Magee was 
 indicted as printer. O'Connell denied the fact, and 
 again appealed to the indictment. The Attorney- 
 General said that Magee was indicted for calling the 
 duke 'a. murderer!' O'Connell denied the fact, 
 and once more appealed to the indictment. The 
 indictment contained no such statements. In short, 
 O'ConneU's speech, which occupied four hours in 
 the delivery, remains to his country and his descend- 
 ants a monument of industry, acuteness, political 
 courage, and of the mental powers of the admirable 
 advocate. In the Solicitor-General's reply there was 
 passion, rhetoric, and legal knowledge; but the 
 attributes which he usually exhibited in his more 
 felicitous efforts — richness of illustration, polished 
 zeal, glowing imagery, and philosophic views — were 
 utterly absent." 
 
 We wish that space was allowed us to give this 
 speech in full. No admirer of the great Agitator 
 should fail to peruse it. Departing from " the rigid 
 rule of his professional conduct/* he felt himself 
 
84 
 
 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 " compelled ** to be political, and availed himself of 
 the opportunity of giving a condensed history of 
 Ireland, demonstrating the ends of British misrule. 
 He felt assured, moreover, his speech would be read 
 both in England and on the Continent, and O'Con- 
 nell never neglected a chance of vindicating the 
 integrity, or of making public the wrongs, of his 
 country. 
 
 O* Council thus concluded his speech: "There are 
 amongst you men of great religious zeal, of much 
 public piety. Are you sincere? Do you believe 
 what you profess .? With all this zeal, with all this 
 piety, is there any conscience amongst you ? Is 
 there any terror of violating your oaths ? Be ye 
 hypocrites, or does genuine religion inspire ye ^ If 
 you be sincere, if you have conscience, if your oaths 
 can control your interests, then Mr. Magee confi- 
 dently expects an acquittal. If amongst you there 
 be cherished one ray of pure religion, if amongst 
 you there glow a single spark of liberty, if I have 
 alarmed religion, or roused the spirit of freedom in 
 one breast amongst you, Mr. Magee is safe, and his 
 country is served; but if there be none — if you be 
 slaves and hypocrites — he will await your verdict, 
 and despise it." The verdict, of course, was for the 
 Crown. 
 
 The interest centred in this trial was so general, 
 that ten thousand copies were sold on the day of its 
 publication. It was translated into French and 
 Spanish, and thus the cause of Ireland was laid open 
 for the consideration of all Europe. 
 
 O'Connell's life was one of perpetual excitement 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 85 
 
 and unceasing vigilance. In the courts he was con- 
 fronted by the prejudice of both judge and jury, 
 and in the Catholic Board by the envy and jealousy 
 of the aristocracy. Fortunately, there were periods 
 of repose. After- the business labors of the day 
 were ended, he crossed the threshold of his home, 
 where all was peace and happiness. 
 
 O'Connell's lucrative practice and social position 
 had called for a change of residence, and, in 1811, he 
 moved into a mansion in the fashionable atmosphere 
 of Merrion Square. The Agitator's life in this 
 happy home was extremely enviable — it was the 
 home of the Christian gentleman. Sheil, in his 
 " Sketches of the Irish Bar," has given us a descrip- 
 tion of its interior, and the following extract wiU be 
 found worthy the brilliant pen of the author of " The 
 Apostate : " 
 
 " If any of you, my English readers, being a 
 stranger in Dublin, should chance — on your return 
 on a winter's morning from one of the small and 
 early parties of that raking metropolis, that is to 
 say, between the hours of five and six o'clock — to 
 pass along the south side of Merrion Square, you 
 will not fail to observe that, among those splendid 
 mansions, there is one evidently tenanted by a per- 
 son whose habits differ materially from those of his 
 fashionable neighbors. The half-opened parlor shut- 
 ter, and the light within, announce that some one 
 dwells there whose time is too precious to permit him 
 to regulate his rising with the sun's. Should your 
 curiosity tempt you to ascend the steps, and, under 
 cover of the dark, to reconnoitre the interior, you 
 
86 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 will see a tall, able-bodied man standing at a desk, 
 and immersed in solitary occupation. Upon the 
 wall in front of him there hangs a crucifix. From 
 this, and from the calm attitude of the person with- 
 in, and from a certain monastic rotundity about his 
 neck and shoulders, your first impression will be that 
 he must be some pious dignitary of the Church of 
 Rome absorbed in his matin devotions. But this 
 conjecture will be rejected almost as soon as formed. 
 No sooner can the eye take in the other furniture of 
 the apartment — the bookcases, clogged with tomes 
 in plain calf-skin binding, and blue-covered octavos 
 that lie about on the tables and on the floor, the 
 reams of manuscript, in oblong folds and begirt with 
 crimson tape — than it becomes evident that the 
 party meditating amidst such objects must be think- 
 ing far more of the Law than of the Prophets." 
 
 At home, surrounded by his family and friends, 
 O'Connell gave himself up to unrestrained enjoyment. 
 His conversation was replete with anecdote; and 
 the most interesting of all his narrations, were those 
 in which he figured personally. We have added a 
 few of his stories, sparkling with national wit, and 
 dressed in the livery of his easy, graceful style. His 
 memory was wonderful ; his imagination vivid ; and 
 nothing escaped his quick eye that flavored of the 
 odd or ridiculous. He tells this laughable incident of 
 an ingenius Kerry lad, who had been " taken in " by 
 a newsboy. 
 
 " One day during the war, James Connor and I 
 dined at Mr. Mahony's, in Dublin, and after dinner 
 we heard the newsvenders, as usual, calling out. 
 
LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 8/ 
 
 ^Tke Post! The Dublin Evening Post! Three 
 packets in to-night's Post!' The arrival of the 
 packets was at that time irregular, and eagerly looked 
 for. We all were impatient for the paper, and Ma- 
 hony gave a fivepenny piece to his servant, a Kerry 
 lad, and told him to go down and buy the Post. 
 The boy returned in a minute with a Dublin Evenifig 
 Post a fortnight old. The roguish newsvender had 
 palmed off an old newspaper on the unsuspecting 
 Kerry tiger. Mr. Mahony stormed, Connor and I 
 laughed ; and Connor said, * I wonder, gossoon, how 
 you let the fellow cheat you ! Has not your master 
 a hundred times told you that the dry papers are 
 always old and good for nothing, and that new papers 
 are always wet from the printing-office.!* Here's 
 another fivepenny. Be off now, and take care to 
 bring us in a wet Post' ' Oh, never you mind the 
 fi-penny, sir,' said the boy, ' I'll get the paper with- 
 out it;' and he darted out of the room, while Ma- 
 hony cried out, ^ Hang that young blockhead ! he'll 
 blunder the business again.' But in less than five 
 minutes the lad re-entered with a fresh, wet paper. 
 We were all surprised, and asked him how he man- 
 aged to get it without money. * Oh, the aisiest way 
 in life, your honor,' said the urchin ; * I just took the 
 dry ould Posty and cried it down the street a bit — 
 Dublin Eveiiing Post ! Dublin Evejting Post! and 
 a fool of a gentleman meets me at the comer, and 
 buys my ould dry paper. So I whips across to a 
 newsman I sees over the way and buys this fine, 
 fresh, new Post for your honor with the money I got 
 for the ould one.' " 
 
88 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 " Lord Clare's enmity to Ireland," said O'Connell, 
 "was once nearly ended by an assassin. In 1794, he 
 was carrying a bill through Parliament for compelling 
 the accountant of the Court of Exchequer to return 
 his accounts whenever called upon by the Court. 
 
 " Baron Power then filled the office of accountant. 
 This man had used the public funds to gratify his 
 extravagant habits, and felt that discovery would 
 ruin him. He had many times endeavored to dis- 
 suade Lord Clare from pressing this bill, but that 
 nobleman was inexorable. Driven to desperation, 
 the baron armed himself with a brace of pistols, and 
 ordered his coachman to drive him to Ely Place, 
 where he asked to see Lord Clare. Not finding him 
 at home. Baron Power then resolved on suicide, and 
 ordered his coachman to drive him along the North 
 Wall. When he had got to a considerable distance 
 out of town, he quitted the carriage, desired the coach- 
 man to await his return, and walked on alone to the 
 Pigeon House. He tied his hands together, in order 
 to deprive himself of the power of swimming, and 
 jumped into the sea, from the pier. It was after- 
 wards remarked as a curious fact that he Walked off 
 to drown himself, using an umbrella to protect him 
 from the rain. One would think the sprinkling of a 
 shower could not much incommode a fellow who 
 was resolved pn a watery grave. Such is the result 
 of habit." 
 
 O'Connell, in his personal recollections, frequently 
 alluded to a member of the Munster Bar, familiarly 
 known as "Jerry Keller." Jerry was a member of 
 the celebrated Convivial Society, known as the 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 89 
 
 " Monks of the Screw," and, we have no doubt, added 
 much to the enjoyment of that jovial circle. 
 
 ''Jerry," said O'Connell, "was an instance of great 
 waste of talent. He was the son of a poor farmer, 
 near Kanturk, named KeleheVy which Jerry anglicized 
 into Keller, when he went to the bar. He was an 
 excellent classical scholar, and had very considerable 
 ■ natural capacity ; but although he had a good deal of 
 business at the bar, his success was far/ from being 
 what he might have attained, had he given his whole 
 soul to his profession. His readiness of retort was 
 great. Baron Smith once tried X.<S annoy him on his 
 change of name, at a bar dinner. They were talking 
 of the Irish language. 'Your Irish name, Mr. Kel- 
 ler,' said the baron, ' is Diarmuid Ua Cealleachair' 
 ' It is,' answered Jerry, nothing daunted ; ' and yours 
 is Laimh Gabha' ^ There was a great laugh at the 
 baron's expense — a sort of thing that nobody likes. 
 
 "Another time," said O'Connell, "when the bar 
 were dining together on a Friday, a blustering young 
 barrister named Norcott, of great pretension, with 
 but slender materials to support it, observed that 
 Jerry was eating fish instead of meat, and by way 
 of jeering Jerry (who had been originally a Catholic), 
 said to him: 'So you won't eat meat! Why, I did 
 not think, Jerry, you had so much of the Pope in 
 your belly.' 'For all the meat in the market,' said 
 Jerry, 'I would not have as much of the Pretender 
 in my head as you have.' " 
 
 Another of O'Connell' s odd stories was about a 
 Miss Hussey, to whom her father bequeathed ^^150 
 
 1 William Smith. 
 
90 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 per annum, in consideration of her having a red nose. 
 *'He had made a will," said O'Connell, "disposing 
 of the bulk of his fortune to pubHc charities. When 
 he was upon . his death-bed, his housekeeper asked 
 him how much he had left Miss Mary. He replied 
 that he had left her ;^i,ooo, which would do for her 
 very well, if she made out any sort of a good hus- 
 band. * Heaven bless your honor,' cried the house- 
 keeper, * and what decent man would ever take her 
 and the red nose that's on her ? ' ' Why, really, that 
 is very true,* replied the dying father ; * I never 
 thought of her nose !' and he lost no time in adding 
 a codicil that gave Miss Mary an addition of ;^I50 
 a-year, as a set-off against her ugliness ! " 
 
 We have already cited the honors which the prin- 
 cipal cities of Ireland had bestowed upon the great 
 Agitator, and their open expressions of respect, ad- 
 miration, and gratitude. The capital was not to be 
 outdone in showing its appreciation of a patriot, who, 
 during a period of ten years, had labored so earn- 
 estly in behalf of its liberties. At a meeting com- 
 posed of the first Catholics of Dublin, it was /Re- 
 solved: — "That a service of plate, of the value of 
 1,000 guineas, be presented to Daniel O'Connell, 
 Esq., on the part of the Catholic people of Ireland, 
 as a small tribute of their gratitude for the unshaken 
 intrepidity, matchless ability, and unwearied per- 
 severance with which, in despite of power and intol- 
 erance, he has uniformly asserted the rights and vin- 
 dicated the calumniated character of his Catholic 
 countrymen." 
 
 Owing to the disaffection of Lord Fingal and his 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 9 1 
 
 aristocratic associates, O' Conn ell and his supporters 
 convened a meeting in Capel Street, Dublin, in Jan- 
 uary, 1815, to establish a more liberal organization. 
 The result of this meeting was the formation of The 
 Catholic Association, which afterwards achieved 
 such noble results. At one of these meetings 
 O'Connell made use of the following language, which 
 was followed by most tragic consequences : 
 
 " I am convinced that the Catholic cause has suf- 
 fered by neglect of discussion. Had the petition 
 been last year the subject of debate, we should not 
 now see the beggarly Corporation of Dubli7i anticipat- 
 ing our efforts by a petition of an opposite tendency. 
 The Duke of Sussex in the Lords, and Mr. Whitbred 
 in the Commons, appear to me persons worthy to be 
 intrusted with our petition." 
 
 Finding the Catholic leaders unshaken by the blow 
 struck in dissolving the Catholic Board, their ene- 
 mies conceived the idea of doing away with O'Con- 
 nell. They felt assured that with him would end all 
 effort at agitation. Duelling was frequently an 
 apology for murder, at this period, and many a rival 
 candidate on the hustings fell a victim to the superior 
 marksmanship of his opponent. 
 
 Duelling, in fact, was so common an occurrence, 
 that all disputes were settled at fifteen paces. It 
 was, therefore, quite natural that the enemies of 
 O'Connell should have chosen an "affair of honor" 
 as the surest and most convenient way of ridding 
 themselves of the object of their fear and hatred. 
 They found in Mr. D'Esterre, a member of the Dub- 
 lin corporation, the proper person to effect the de- 
 
92 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 sired end. This man, who possessed abundant ani- 
 mal courage, and was, at the same time, an unerring 
 shot, already enjoyed considerable reputation as a 
 duelHst The following incident conveys some idea 
 of this adventurer's reckless daring: D'Esterre was 
 serving as a marine in the British navy when the 
 famous "Mutiny of the Nore" broke out. Refusing 
 to join the mutineers, he was tried by them, and sen- 
 tenced to be hanged. The rope was already about 
 his neck, when a leader of the revolt made a final 
 effort to induce him to renounce his allegiance. 
 "Hang away, and be d — d!" was the savage reply 
 of the reckless desperado. His intrepidity saved 
 him. 
 
 D'Esterre, who was hopelessly involved in debt, 
 had been promised a liberal reward in case O'Con- 
 nell should meet death at his hands. Having ac- 
 cepted the offer, he had no difficulty in provoking a 
 quarrel. O'Connell had called the corporation "beg- 
 garly." As a member of that body, he considered him- 
 self insulted. Urged on by his friends, he paraded 
 the streets ^of Dublin, armed with a pistol and cow- 
 hide, in search of O'Connell. The latter had been 
 warned of the trap laid for him, and, ever anxious 
 to preserv^e the peace, had prudently avoided an 
 issue. Not finding the object of his search on the 
 street, D'Esterre addressed a note to O'Connell on 
 Thursday, the 26th of January. This note called at- 
 tention to the fact that the term "beggarly" had 
 been applied to the Corporation, of which he was a 
 member, and he desired to know if he (O'Connell) 
 had used such language. O'Connell, in his reply, 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 93 
 
 neither admitted nor denied the charge; but, "from 
 the calumnious manner in which the religion and 
 character of the Catholics of Ireland had been 
 treated in that body, no terms attributed to him 
 could exceed the contemptuous feelings he enter- 
 tained for that body in its corporate capacity." He 
 concluded by desiring that " this reply should close 
 all correspondeiice on the subject" D'Esterre's re- 
 ply was returned unopened, accompanied by a note 
 from Mr. James O'Connell, in which he assured the 
 gentleman " his brother (Daniel) was surprised that 
 his communication had been made iri writing!' 
 
 From Friday, the date of O'Connell's reply, until 
 Wednesday of the following week, Dublin was the 
 scene of the wildest excitement The sympathies of 
 the people were thoroughly aroused. Wherever 
 O'Connell appeared, the people received him with 
 more than ordinary enthusiasm. On one occasion he 
 was obliged to seek refuge in a house on Exchequer 
 Street, to avoid the concourse of friends who fol- 
 lowed him through the street On Wednesday morn- 
 ing, at nine o'clock, Sir Edward Stanley waited on 
 O'Connell for an explanation regarding " the D'Es- 
 terre affair." O'Connell, however, refused to discuss 
 the matter, and referred him to his friend Major Mac- 
 Namara, " who would transact any business the subject 
 called for." At twelve o'clock of the same day, 
 these gentlemen met at the major's house. A brief 
 conference followed, which ended in Sir Edward de- 
 livering the challenge of his principal. MacNamara 
 coolly accepted the message on behalf of O'Connell, 
 and fixed at once the time and place, — viz., three 
 
94 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 o'clock of the same day, at Bishop's Court, Co. Kil- 
 dare. This speedy conclusion • rather startled the 
 civic knight, who wished to postpone the meeting 
 until the next day. The major was inexorable, and 
 presumed, he said, that one pistol fire would satisfy 
 both gentlemen. "No, sir; that will not do," said 
 Sir Edward; "not if they fired five-and-twenty shots 
 each. Mr. D'Esterre will never leave the ground until 
 Mr. O'Connell makes an apology." "Well, then, if 
 blood be your object, blood you shall have, by 
 G — !" replied Major MacNamara. 
 
 The meeting was finally arranged for half-past 
 three, at Lord Ponsonby's demesne, thirteen miles 
 from Dublin. O' Council was promptly on hand, 
 looking calm and collected as if he were entering the 
 Four Courts. D'Esterre did not arrive until half an 
 hour later. Those who had urged him into this un- 
 fortunate encounter cruelly deserted him at the last 
 moment. Both combatants displayed the utmost 
 courage: O'Connell coolly surveyed the spot, which 
 was then white with snow, whilst the seconds made 
 the necessary arrangements. D'Esterre had come 
 attended only by his second and surgeon, whereas a 
 number of the most respectable gentlemen of Dub- 
 lin had followed O'Connell. They now awaited with 
 profound anxiety the issue of the contest. As the 
 Liberator's keen eye surveyed this friendly group, he 
 caught sight of the diminutive form of Jerry Mc- 
 Carthy, his tailor: " Well, Jerry," he humorously ex- 
 claimed, " I never missed you at an aggregate meet- 
 ing." The Evening Post thus describes the conclud- 
 ing scene : 
 
LIFE OF 6'CONNELL. 95 
 
 " The friends of both parties retired, and the com- 
 batants, having a pistol in each hand, with directions 
 to discharge them at their discretion, prepared to 
 fire. They levelled, and before the lapse of a second 
 both shots were heard. Mr. D'Esterre was first, and 
 missed. His bullet struck the ground. The mo- 
 ment D'Esterre discharged his pistol, he bent his 
 right knee, and wheeled away a little, as if he sought 
 to avoid the sight of O'Connell, or wished to present 
 his back to his antagonist; but why he did so — 
 whether from contempt, levity, or apprehension — it 
 is impossible to say. Mr. O'Connell' s shot followed 
 instantaneously, and took effect in the groin of his 
 antagonist, about an inch below the hip. Mr. D'Es- 
 terre, of course, fell, and both the surgeons hastened 
 to him. They found that the ball had traversed the 
 hip, passed through the bladder, and possibly 
 touched the spine. It could not be found. There 
 was an immense effusion of blood. All parties pre- 
 pared to move towards home, and arrived in town 
 before eight o'clock. We were extremely glad to 
 perceive that Major MacNamara and many respect- 
 able gentlemen assisted in procuring the best accom- 
 modation for the wounded man. They sympathized 
 in his sufferings, and expressed themselves to Sir 
 Edward Stanley as extremely well pleased that a 
 transaction which they considered most uncalled for 
 had not terminated in the death of D'Esterre. We 
 need not describe the emotions which burst forth 
 along the road and through the town when it was as- 
 certained that Mr. O'Connell was safe." 
 
 "Nothing," says another authority, "could be 
 
96 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 more correct or honorable than the conduct of the 
 parties upon the ground. Mr. O'Connell displayed 
 all the gentleness of heart so peculiarly belonging to 
 his character, and his particular request to his medi- 
 cal friend, before taking his ground, was this : 
 * Should any fatality happen to my opponent, I en- 
 treat you to consider him as your patient — treat him 
 with all the care you would devote to me.' " 
 
 D'Esterre died of his wound a few days after the 
 duel, shamefully abandoned by those who had led 
 him on to destruction. If ever a duel was justifiable, 
 surely such was the one just recorded. Yet O'Con- 
 nell never forgave himself for having participated in 
 it. He afterwards pensioned the widow of his an- 
 tagonist, and never passed her house without lifting 
 his hat, and breathing a prayer for the repose of the 
 soul of her brave but ill-starred husband. 
 
 Great was the joy of the people throughout Ire- 
 land on learning that O'Connell was safe. No less 
 than seven hundred gentlemen left their cards at his 
 house the day following the duel. "God be praised! 
 Ireland is safe ! " exclaimed Dr. Murray, Archbishop 
 of Dublin, on learning that the great defender of the 
 faith had survived the encounter. Ireland scarcely 
 knew how much she loved her cherished son until 
 his life had been threatened ; then, with a heart over- 
 flowing with generous confidence, she freely con- 
 signed to his leadership the destinies of her people. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Peel attacks O'Connell — O'Connell sends him a Challenge — 
 O'Connell arrested and bound over to keep the Peace — He fol- 
 lows Peel to London and is again arrested — O'Connell eulogizes 
 Grattan — George IV. ascends the Throne — A Meeting of the 
 Aristocracy broken up by O'Connell and his Friends — A Supple- 
 mentary Meeting under Peculiar Circumstances — O'Connell's Let- 
 ter " to the People of Ireland " — The Relief Bill — O'Connell and 
 the English Radicals — George IV. visits Ireland — Grand Recep- 
 tion in Dublin — O'Connell accused of Obsequiousness— His 
 defence — Departure of the King — Anecdote of John Flood, the 
 Lamplighter — O'Connell makes an amusing pun. 
 
 In 1815, a Catholic petition was introduced into 
 the House of Commons by Sir Henry Parnell. Dur- 
 ing the debate which followed, O'Connell was made 
 the especial target of the ministerial opponents of 
 the bill. None, however, surpassed Sir Robert Peel 
 in his abuse — his attack upon the Agitator was 
 most virulent and insulting. Reviewing the conduct 
 of this statesman, O'Connell publicly defied his tra- 
 ducer to repeat in his presence the language which 
 he had used under the shelter of parliamentary priv- 
 ilege. This open challenge was not long in finding 
 its way to the ear of Mr. Peel, who lost no time in 
 accepting it. The friends of both gentlemen met, 
 and, with chivalrous despatch, made the necessary ar- 
 rangements. Mrs. O'Connell, however, had got wind 
 of the "affair," and privately informed the sheriff. 
 O'Connell was accordingly arrested, and bound over 
 
 97 
 
98 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 to keep the peace under the penalty of ;£"! 0,000. 
 For a while the matter seemed to have blown over ; 
 but the truth was, O'Connell had been mortally of- 
 fended, and only awaited an opportunity of obtaining 
 satisfaction. At length O'Connell learned that Mr. 
 Peel was in London, and he immediately started in 
 search of him. On his arrival in London the chal- 
 lenge was renewed, and arrangements made to fight 
 at Ostend. O'Connell's earnestness now became a 
 source of anxiety to Mr. Peel. A duel with the best 
 shot in Ireland was not a very desirable thing at best. 
 Mr. Peel's father shared the uneasiness of his son, 
 and offered a reward of fifty guineas for the arrest of 
 the disturber of his peace. This tempting offer at 
 once aroused the vigilance of the metropolitan police, 
 and O'Connell was arrested at four o'clock in the 
 morning, just as he was preparing to leave for Dover. 
 Again he was bound over to keep the peace, and re- 
 turned to Ireland thoroughly disgusted. 
 
 From 1 816 to 18 19, an interval of three years, 
 nothing seems to have transpired worthy of com- 
 ment. A lethargy seized upon the Catholics of Ire- 
 land that appeared to affect O'Connell himself. 
 
 Henry Grattan died in 1820. In that year his son 
 offered himself as a candidate for the parliamentary- 
 representation of Dublin. O'Connell eagerly es- 
 poused the cause of young Grattan, and, on the hust- 
 ings, took occasion to eulogize the memory of Ire- 
 land's departed patriot and statesman. 
 
 **Wje are met on this melancholy occasion," said 
 O'Connell," "to celebrate the obsequies of the great- 
 est man Ireland ever knew. The widowed land of 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 99 
 
 his birth, in mourning over his remains, feels it is a 
 nation's sorrow, and turns with the anxiety of a par- 
 ent to alleviate the grief of the orphan he has left 
 The virtues of that great patriot shone brilliant, 
 pure, unsullied, ardent, glowing. Oh ! I should ex- 
 haust the dictionary three times told, ere I could 
 enumerate the virtues of Grattan. In 1778, when 
 Ireland was shackled, he reared the standard of in- 
 dependence; and in 1782 he stood forward as the 
 champion of his country, achieving, gloriously, her 
 independence. Earnestly, unremittingly, did he la- 
 bor for her, bitterly did he deplore her wrongs ; and 
 if man could have prevented her ruin — if man could 
 have saved her — Grattan would have done it! After 
 the disastrous act of Union, which met his most 
 resolute and most determined opposition, he did not 
 suffer despair to creep over his heart, and induce 
 him to abandon her, as was the case with too many 
 others. No ; he remained firm to his duty in the 
 darkest adversity ; he continued his unwearying ad- 
 vocacy of his country's rights. Of him it may be 
 truly said, in his own words : * He watched by the 
 cradle of his country's freedom — he followed her 
 hearse ! ' His life, to the very period of his latest 
 breath, has been spent in her service, and he died, 
 I may even say, a martyr in her cause. Who shall 
 now prate to me of religious animosity.'* To any 
 such, I will answer by pointing to the honored tomb 
 of Grattan, and I will 3ay, * There sleeps a man, a 
 member of the Protestant community, who died in 
 the cause of his Catholic fellow countrymen ! ' " 
 No one was more grateful than O'Connell for the 
 
lOO LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 support given by Protestants to the cause of Cath- 
 olic emancipation. 
 
 George IV. ascended the throne of England in 
 this year, and the aristocracy in Ireland were desir- 
 ous of manifesting their loyalty, in an address to his 
 majesty. They accordingly assembled for this pur- 
 pose at the Court-house of Kilmainham. When 
 Lord Howth, with other members of the meeting, 
 arrived, they were surprised to find the court-house 
 and its approaches filled by the people. Finding it 
 impossible to penetrate the crowd before the door, 
 the new comers were obliged to enter the building 
 through one of its windows. This ludicrous pro- 
 ceeding so amused the audience, that when the 
 chairman arose to open the meeting, he could not be 
 heard in consequence of the shouts and laughter 
 that greeted him. It is necessary to state that the 
 action of the king towards his unhappy queen, had 
 rendered the course about to be pursued by the aris- 
 tocracy exceedingly unpopular with the people. 
 O'Connell stood in the centre of the hall, surrounded 
 by his friends. Lord Frankfort was proposed as 
 chairman. O'Connell objected to the appointment; 
 whereupon the sheriff demanded to know "if he 
 was a freeholder of the county.?" O'Connell's reply 
 was most emphatic, and must have surprised his 
 officious interrogator: 
 
 "I am a freeholder of this county. I have a 
 hereditary property which, probably, may stand a 
 comparison with the person's who interrogates me ; 
 and I have a profession which gives me an annual 
 income, greater than any of the personages who sur- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. lOI 
 
 round the chair are able to wring from the taxes." 
 A dispute followed, and the sheriff, finding him- 
 self unable to preserve order, called in the mil- 
 itary, who drove out the people at the point of the 
 bayonet. 
 
 O'Connell and his friends having succeeded in 
 breaking up one meeting, now determined to hold 
 another of their own. Open-air meetings were for- 
 bidden at that time, but a chair was placed in the 
 doorway of a tavern near at hand, and thus they 
 managed to evade the law. It had been the inten- 
 tion of the dissenters to propose a counter address 
 to the king, denouncing his treatment of the queen. 
 This address was now called for, but was nowhere to 
 be found. O'Connell had fortunately prepared one 
 himself, which was adopted, and duly forwarded to 
 his majesty. The meeting concluded by drawing up 
 a memorial to the Lord-Lieutenant, deprecating the 
 outrageous conduct of the sheriff; which, of course, 
 was never heeded by that dignitary. 
 
 . In January, 1821, O'Connell addressed one of his 
 famous letters "to the people of Ireland," which 
 created a profound sensation through Ireland, and 
 even in England. It was written with a view of 
 arousing the people to a sense of their condition, and 
 to prepare them for those great demonstrations which 
 preceded emancipation. In this year, Mr. Plun- 
 ket, who, since the retirement and death of Grattan, 
 had advocated the CathoHc cause in the Commons, 
 introduced his Rehef Bill. Mr. Plunket labored 
 under the same mistaken idea of what the Catholics 
 required as Mr. Grattan did. The first sections of 
 9* 
 
I02 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 the Act were truly admirable, but the remaining 
 provisions were favorable to the Veto. The Com- 
 mons received the bill favorably, and passed it by a 
 majority- of nineteen. . It was then carried to the 
 House of Lords, where, fortunately, it was defeated. 
 O'Connell rejoiced at the rejection of this bill, which, 
 had it passed, would have transferred the censorship 
 of Rome to the British capital. He condemned it 
 in the most emphatic terms. Letter after letter 
 emanated from his busy pen, warning the people of 
 the dangerous tendency of Plunket's measure, and 
 characterizing it as "abominable." These letters 
 were written whilst he was on circuit, in the inter- 
 vals of his laborious professional practice, and ex- 
 hibit the vigilance with which at all times he watched 
 'over the interests of his religion and country. 
 
 O'Connell, subsequently, recommended that the 
 Irish Catholics should throw their numerical strength 
 into the ranks of the English Radicals, and carry re- 
 form in the first place, and emancipation afterwards. 
 No sooner had the news of this intended combination 
 reached the ears of the English cabinet than they 
 took measures to anticipate the result. Indeed this 
 masterly suggestion filled the English cabinet with 
 consternation. The Radicals were already a rapidly- 
 increasing power at home ; but what would they not 
 effect if joined to the Irish Reformers.? Something 
 must be done to ward off the threatened danger, and 
 interpose a barrier between the coalescing factions. 
 It was the result of this fear that induced George IV. 
 to visit Ireland, in 1821. The Irish journals were 
 soon apprised of the intended visit, and the nation 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. IO3 
 
 placed on the tip-toe of expectation. On the I2th 
 of August of that year, salutes of artillery roaring 
 in the Park and at the Pigeon House, and the jan- 
 gling joy-bells of the city, announced the arrival of 
 the royal visitor. His majesty set out from England 
 in regal state, employing his leisure in discussing 
 goose-pie, and washing it down with prodigious quan- 
 tities of whiskey. Landing at Howth, he entered a 
 carriage, and was driven rapidly by the North-Circu- 
 lar Road to the Viceregal Lodge. Meanwhile, his 
 ill-treated consort, whom he had left in the throes of 
 death, ended her unhappy career. To save appear- 
 ances, the king remained for three days buried in 
 seclusion, as if lamenting her death. In the mean- 
 time^ Dublin, alive with excitement, made extensive 
 preparations for his triumphat entry into the city. 
 
 On the morning of the i/th, the streets of .the 
 Irish capital were swarming with an expectant mul- 
 titude, assembled to do honor to their royal guest. 
 In due time, the king, habited in the uniform of a 
 field marshal, and wearing in his chapeau a bunch 
 of shamrocks, issued forth from the Park. On 
 either side of the carriage in which he sat, rode a 
 brilliant escort, and as his majesty came in sight of 
 the people, a shout of welcome met his ear, such as 
 none but the warm-hearted Celt can give. The royal 
 equipage now took its place in the procession, which 
 was of imposing length, and made up of the nobil- 
 ity, gentry, the professions, corporations, and trades. 
 Arriving at the head of Sackville Street, a barrier of 
 evergreens, representing the gates of the city, inter- 
 cepted the royal cortege. His majesty must obtain 
 
I04 LIFE OF OCONNELL. 
 
 the freedom of the city from the Lord Mayor before 
 he dare enter. The ceremony of opening the gates 
 was carried out with the utmost -punctiUo, and the 
 gorgeous cavalcade moved on, amidst the wildest 
 demonstrations of popular joy. The king, rising in 
 his carriage, returned the salute of the people, and 
 slowly moved on to the castle, where he alighted and 
 entered. 
 
 Ireland's reception of George IV. was in every 
 respect a triumph. The national heart throbbed 
 with unrestrained satisfaction ; its sincerity was un- 
 mistakable; and the Irish people trusted that the 
 presence of their sovereign was an earnest of his 
 clemency and good-will. O'Connell himself shared 
 the kindly spirit of the people, and had impressed 
 them with the necessity of welcoming their royal vis- 
 visitor. He felt it would further the interests of the 
 Catholic cause, by creating a favorable influence in 
 England. 
 
 "This," said O'Connell, speaking of the king's 
 visit long afterwards, "this was the most critical 
 period of my political life, and that in which I had 
 the good fortune to be most successful. If I have 
 any merit for the success of the Catholic cause, it 
 is principally to be found in the mode in which I 
 neutralized the most untoward events, and converted 
 the most sinister appearances and circumstances into 
 the utmost extent of practical usefulness to the 
 cause of which I was the manager. Abuse of George 
 IV. would have been then so bad policy, that the 
 enemies of religious liberty would gladly avail them- 
 selves of any such abuse to render the king more 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 10$ 
 
 desperate in his opposition. George IV. came to 
 Ireland with the most ample prospects of national 
 benefit. He came, he assured us, as the father of 
 all his people — to reconcile all his people to each 
 other — to estabUsh the liberty and prosperity of all 
 the Irish. Nor did his actions, whilst in Ireland, be- 
 lie his declarations. For the first time for two cen- 
 turies were the Catholics received by the Executive 
 on terms of perfect equality with the Protestants. 
 The Catholic prelates were received by the king in 
 their ecclesiastical costume, with their golden crosses 
 and chains. It was the first official recognition of 
 their dignity as prelates. To the Earl of Fingal, as 
 head of the Catholic laity, the ribbon of the order of 
 St. Patrick was given, at an installation at which the 
 king himself presided. The rest of the Cathohc 
 laity were received and cherished precisely as the 
 Protestants were; and, to crown all, the celebrated 
 Sidmouth letter was issued, full of present kindness 
 and gratitude to the Catholics, and of future hope 
 and expectation of conciliation — a conciliation which 
 everybody knew could never be effected without 
 legal and perfect equalization of political rights. 
 How little can any person removed from the scene 
 appreciate the difficulties I had to encounter, and 
 the management which was necessary to prevent the 
 Catholics from marring, or being accused of mar- 
 ring, these bright prospects. How much of just 
 resentment was it necessary to suppress ! How 
 much of — but I promised you to be as brief as pos- 
 sible. I will therefore abstain from following up 
 this topic ; yet I am entitled to this fact — that no 
 
I06 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 part of my political life obtained — I will say de- 
 servedly — so much of the gratitude and confidence 
 of my countrymen, as the mode in which I was en- 
 abled to convert the king's visit to Ireland from 
 being a source of weakness and discomfiture to the 
 CathoHcs, into a future claim for practical relief and 
 political equalization." 
 
 "O'Connell," said a London newspaper, vilipend- 
 ing the Agitator, "escorted his majesty to Kings- 
 town ; followed him (literally) into the sea, in order 
 to present him with a laurel crown, and knelt in the , 
 water when offering him the wreath." 
 
 O'Connell answered this attack by quoting the 
 words of his assailant, and then refuting them. 
 " He escorted his majesty to Kingstown — quite un- 
 true. I did not escort his majesty at all that day. 
 He was, in the morning, in the county Wicklow. I 
 rode with some gentlemen to Kingstown, and there 
 remained until the king's arrival. I did not see him 
 that day until his arrival at Kingstown. He followed 
 him {literally) into the sta, in order to present him 
 with a laurel crown. This is so circumstantially 
 false, that it must be called literally a lie. I did not 
 follow the king at all ; nor did I go nearer the water 
 when presenting the laurel crown than about twenty 
 paces. He knelt in the water — totally untrue. I 
 presented the crown to the king in a tent, the near- 
 est part of which to the water was at least twenty 
 feet from the water's edge. I presented it at the 
 end of the tent farthest from the water, in as dry a 
 place as ever king stood upon. I, of course, knelt 
 one knee in presenting the crown ; but so far is it 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. lO/ 
 
 from being true t;hat I was guilty of any unbe- 
 coming servility, that I did not even kiss the hand 
 which the king held out to me for that purpose." 
 
 The king entered his royal yacht, and sailed away 
 for England. It is said he was charmed by the en- 
 chanting scenery of the Irish coast, and lingered on 
 the stern of his vessel, looking through a spy-glass 
 at the long and beautiful outline of the Wicklow 
 hills, until they faded from his view. If George 
 IV. had entertained a generous impulse for Ireland, 
 the sight of the English shores speedily put it to 
 flight. Meanwhile, the aristocracy of both countries 
 were enjoying the success of their plan, and laugh- 
 ing at the people who had been so easily duped. 
 The dread alliance with the English Radicals had 
 been frustrated. The Irish people never afterwards 
 had cause to bless his memory. 
 
 The following is an interesting anecdote of O'Con- 
 nell whilst on circuit, in 1822. Illicit trade then was 
 alarmingly on the increase at the town of Dingle, 
 and the government resolved to suppress it speedily. 
 Accordingly, one John Flood, formerly employed as 
 a lamp-lighter in the Crow-Street Theatre, Dublin, 
 through moneyed influence, was appointed to a posi- 
 tion in the revenue, and sent down to look after 
 government interests. 
 
 Flood, on his arrival, however, instead of manning 
 a cutter, set up a theatre. He became the centre of 
 attraction in the "out of the way" town, and gave 
 himself up to social amusements of all kinds. He 
 subsequently proved more hostile to the neighboring 
 farm-yards than to the smugglers, and was on more 
 
I08 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 than one occasion before the "justices." Flood 
 grew anxious for his position, as evil reports of his 
 conduct had already reached Dublin. He now felt 
 the necessity of mending his ways, and resolved to 
 take the first opportunity of re-establishing himself 
 in the good graces of his superiors. Fortunately, a 
 person by the name of O'Connor, a shop-keeper of 
 Dingle, was caught in the act of smuggling tobacco. 
 Flood, of course, lost no time in bringing the offender 
 into court. O'Connor secured the services of O'Con- 
 nell. 
 
 Flood, who was half intoxicated at the trial, had 
 given his evidence, and was about to leave the wit- 
 ness-box when he was held by O'Connell for cross- 
 examination. 
 
 "Come back, Alonzo ! " cried O'Connell. It 
 would appear O'Connell knew the former career of 
 the witness, and was prepared to take advantage of 
 his shortcomings. Flood, turning around, exclaimed, 
 "Alonzo the brave and the fair Imogene." O'Con- 
 nell at once opened on him, by asking "who was 
 your Imogene in Dingle ? " Flood was obliged to 
 confess how many Imogenes he had, how many par- 
 ties he had given, how many hen-roosts he had pil- 
 laged. At length the witness grew exasperated un- 
 der the sharp lash of O'Connell' s tongue, and, losing 
 control of himself, leaped towards his persecutor. 
 Reaching the space between the witness-box and the 
 bench, he lost his balance and fell forward on the 
 floor amidst the laughter of the entire court. As 
 Flood had frequently contradicted himself during the 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. IO9 
 
 cross-examination, his evidence was not accepted, and 
 O'Connor was acquitted. 
 
 A distinguished member of the Irish bar narrates 
 the following humorous anecdote : 
 
 ** When Lord Manners retired from the Chancel- 
 lorship, a great part of the public looked to Plunket, 
 the Attorney- General, then in the zenith of his fame 
 as an orator and a statesman, as the successor to 
 the high place. The newspapers announced it, the 
 people received it as a fact,^ and the known object of 
 his ambition seemed already in the possession of the 
 preeminent laborer. English policy, however, or it 
 may be the inability to spare such an ally from the 
 House of Commons, stopped his promotion for the 
 time, and Sir Anthony Hart, of the Enghsh bar, sat 
 as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. A brilliant gather- 
 ing of the ' Long Robe ' received the stranger on his 
 first sitting, with the customary obeisance. The dis- 
 appointed, if not insulted, Attorney-General was 
 there, and Saurin, and Goold, and Bushe, and Wallace, 
 and Joy, and, amongst the juniors, Blackburn and 
 Shell; but, greatest amongst the great, 'the observed 
 of all observers,' the future Liberator. ' How does 
 Plunket look this morning, Dan } " cries Shell in a 
 shrill whisper. 'Very sore at Ha^t' responded Dan, 
 rolling his large gray eye towards the bench ; and 
 the timely hit soon ran round the gay circle and the 
 buzzing and crowded hall, adding to the long roll of 
 the great Dan's hard yet pleasant sayings." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Three Catholic Societies — The New Association formed — 
 Why it was organized — O'Connell's Difficulty in securing a Quo- 
 rum — The Catholic Rent — Its Object — O'Connell indicted for 
 one of his Speeches — The Liberator in Paris — Death of " Old 
 Hunting Cap " — O'Connell demands a Hearing at the House of 
 Commons — He is refused — {lis Reception in London — The 
 Emancipation Bill with "Wings" — O'Connell deceived by the 
 English Politicians — Ungrateful Attack on O'Connell by Promi- 
 nent Catholics — His Magnaminity — Triumphant Reception of 
 O'Connell at Galway and other Cities — A Carnival at Wex- 
 ford— O'Connell challenged by a Kerry Barristef — His War 
 with the Newspapers. 
 
 Three names were assumed, and successively aban- 
 doned, by the governing body of the Irish Catholics 
 during the life-time of O'Connell. The Committee 
 became the Board, and the Board was succeeded by 
 the first Association. The government abolished 
 the Committee and Board, whilst the first Associa- 
 tion died a natural death. 
 
 To re-unite the broken thread of Catholic interest, 
 a letter, the joint effort of O'Connell and Shell, was 
 addressed to those members who had been promi- 
 nent in the late organizations. The result proved a 
 success.' In a house on Sackville Street, long known 
 as Tyrrell's Library — which was then occupied as a 
 tavern, and owned by a man named Dempsey, who 
 enjoyed a great reputation for dressing beefsteak — 
 a few Catholics met on the 28th of April, 1823. 
 no 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. HI 
 
 This meeting was convened by O'Connell. Some 
 one present moved that Lord Killeen (son of Lord 
 Fingal) be made chairman, which was followed by 
 that gentleman presiding. O'Connell then arose to 
 explain why the meeting had been called. 
 
 " Some persons," said he, " must take upon them- 
 selves the trouble of managing the affairs of the 
 Catholics. They need not assume a representative 
 character, and every Catholic gentleman will be elig- 
 ible to act by. subscribing one guinea to a fund which 
 shall be formed, to meet contingent expenses. Such 
 a body will be useful in repelling calumny abroad, 
 and in procuring redress for victims of rancor who 
 are not well able to avenge their own wrongs." 
 
 Two vital measures were adopted at this meeting. 
 The people at large were to be enrolled in this great 
 enterprise, with an annual assessment of one shilling 
 each ; the clergy were to be interested in the under- 
 taking, first, to keep ahve the spirit of the organiza- 
 tion, and secondly, to collect and forward assessments 
 to the treasurer of the association, as they became 
 due. 
 
 On Monday, the 12th of May, in accordance with 
 the resolutions passed at an aggregate meeting held 
 two days before, O'Connell and his fellow-chiefs 
 formally established the Catholic Association. The 
 Catholic Association, when first founded, was emi- 
 nently successful. At one of the meetings, fifty 
 individuals demonstrated their sincerity by each pay- 
 ing a pound to its funds. The aristocracy seemed to 
 hail it with hope, and crowd round it with satisfac- 
 tion. Eut when it had, in their eyes, served its pur- 
 
112 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 pose, and O'Connell no longer thought of his threat- 
 ened junction with the English radicals, "the 
 respectable classes" began to grow cold, and O'Con- 
 nell could not, on many occasions, muster as many- 
 votaries of freedom as would constitute a meeting of 
 ten. According to the rules, without ten a meeting 
 could not be held. That O'Connell labored hard to 
 render the Association worthy of its great mission, 
 may be inferred from the following incident of one of 
 the meetings : At twenty-three minutes past three 
 on that afternoon, there were but seven persons pres- 
 ent, including Mr. O'Connell himself and the inexor- 
 able Purcell ; the latter, as usual, watch in hand, not in 
 the least moved by the anxiety so plainly depicted in 
 Mr. O'Connell' s face. Another minute, and Mr. 
 O'Connell could remain in the room no longer. He 
 ran towards Coyne's shop, down-stairs, in the faint 
 hope of finding somebody. On the stairs the eighth 
 man passed him going up. In the shop itself were 
 fortunately two young Maynooth priests, making 
 some purchases. The rules of the Association ad- 
 mitting all clergymen as honorary members without 
 special motion, he eagerly addressed and implored 
 them to come up but for one moment, and help to 
 make the required quorum. At first they refused, 
 there being a good deal of hesitation generally on 
 the part of the clergy to put themselves at all for- 
 ward in politics, and these young men in particular 
 having all the timidity of their secluded education 
 about them. But there was no withstanding him; 
 partly by still more earnest solicitations, and partly 
 by actual pushing, he got them towards the staircase, 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. II3 
 
 and upon it, and finally into the meeting-room, ex- 
 actly a second or two before the half-hour, and so 
 stopped Mr. O' Gorman's mouth; and the required 
 number being thus made up, the chair was taken. 
 
 At a meeting held February 29, 1824, O'Connell 
 brought forward his great project of the " Rent." 
 We have already alluded to the shiUing assessment 
 which had been proposed on a former .occasion. At 
 this meeting, O'Connell, whose master-mind had not 
 only conceived the intellectual, but even the finan- 
 cial arrangements of this plan, placed the matter so 
 forcibly before the minds of his hearers that it was 
 unanimously adopted. O'Connell calculated that by 
 his penny-a-month subscription, ;^50,ooo could be 
 easily realized. This fund was to be applied in the 
 following manner: ;^5,ooo were to be used in carry- 
 ing measures in Parliament, and keeping at London 
 an agent who would carefully watch the movements 
 of the enemy; for the press, ;^i 5,000; for law pro- 
 ceedings, in preserving legal privileges of the Catho- 
 lics and prosecuting Orange aggressors, ^15,000; 
 for the use of Catholic schools and the purchase of 
 books, ;^5,ooo; for educating Catholic priests for 
 the service of America, ;^5,ooo. The remaining- 
 sum, ;^5,ooo, was to be retained as a sinking fund, as 
 well as a balance to meet the current expenses of the 
 Association. 
 
 "Every peasant," says Thomas Wyse, "every 
 Catholic inhabitant, from the child of seven to the 
 grandfather of seventy, was invited to contribute; 
 and thus arose in a few weeks ' the Catholic Rent' 
 Between ;^700 and ;^900 were received during each 
 
1 14 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 week of the first year of this society's organization. 
 Thus the 'Rent' became a success from the start. 
 It was the lever which opened the long closed gates 
 of Parliament to Catholic emancipation." 
 
 In December of this year, O'Connell made a 
 speech that came near giving him serious annoyance. 
 In this speech the following objectionable language 
 was used : " He hoped that Ireland would never be 
 driven to the system pursued by the Greeks. He 
 trusted in God they would never be so driven. He 
 hoped Ireland would be restored to her rights ; but if 
 that day should arrive — if she were driven mad by 
 persecution, he wished that a new Bolivar might 
 arise — that the spirit of the Greeks and of the 
 South Americans might animate the people of Ire- 
 land!" For this O'Connell was indicted, but the 
 grand jury threw out the bill. To the credit of the 
 reporters present when the speech was delivered, it 
 may be said they refused to give evidence against 
 the accused. The only exception was a reporter of 
 Saunders News-Letter, and this gentleman was after- 
 wards obliged to admit he was asleep during most of 
 the meeting. 
 
 During this year O'Connell paid a visit to Paris, 
 accompanied by his son Morgan, who, in 1821, re- 
 turned from South America. In Paris he had the 
 pleasure of visiting his distinguished kinsman, Gen- 
 eral Count O' Connell, whose history has been glanced 
 at on pages 6 and 7 of this work. At this time the 
 general was eighty, and though seamed by innumer- 
 able wounds, received in his long and illustrious mil- 
 itary career, still enjoyed good health. Forty years 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. II5 
 
 before, at the siege of Gibraltar, a shell from the 
 English batteries bursting at his feet, left him 
 streaming in blood, inflicting nine wounds on his 
 person; and a bullet, whizzing by his head, swept 
 away a considerable portion of his ear. 
 
 In Paris, O'Connell parted with his son Morgan, 
 who proceeded to Austria, where he obtained a cor- 
 netcy in a regiment of light dragoons. The remain- 
 der of the Agitator's family were, at this time, at 
 Tours, owing to the declining health of Mrs. O'Con- 
 nell, who was seeking relief in the genial climate of 
 Southern France. 
 
 O'Connell's uncle, "Old Hunting-Cap," died in 
 1824, at the ripe age of ninety-six. In his will he 
 bequeathed his entire landed property, worth ;^4,ooo 
 per annum, to his nephew, Daniel O'Connell. The 
 Agitator was keenly affected by the old man's death; 
 which affliction was shared by the poor, who had lost 
 at once a sincere friend and generous advocate. 
 
 At the opening of ParHament in 1825, the king's 
 speech was singularly unfriendly to Ireland, although 
 he began by saying that Ireland was prosperous. Still 
 he felt the Catholic Association was breeding sedi- 
 tion, and should at once be suppressed. Accord- 
 ingly, on the loth of February, a bill was brought 
 before the national Legislature for the " suppression 
 of unlawful associations." O'Connell and Shell 
 were sent over by the Catholic Association to de- 
 mand a hearing at the bar of the House of Commons. 
 O'Connell was present during the entire debate on 
 this bill, awaiting an opportunity of being heard. Lord 
 Brougham, who fought hard to defeat the measure. 
 
Il6 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 moved that the Irish delegation should be allowed to 
 plead their cause. This was not granted, however, 
 and that part of their mission ended. 
 
 O'Connell was warmly welcomed, and courteously 
 entertained, during his visit, by many leading Whigs, 
 and had a favorable opportunity of laying the Catho- 
 lic question before them in its very best light. 
 
 The attention shown O'Connell during his stay in 
 London was not inspired by sincerity. The aristoc- 
 racy were anxious to learn how far the Catholics of 
 Ireland sympathized with the Radicals of England. 
 O'Connell's cheerful manner and habitual courtesy 
 soon convinced them there was little to fear on that 
 score ; and finding 'the bill could be carried without 
 endangering their interests, they lost no time in se- 
 curing its acceptance. ^O'Connell returned to Ire- 
 land on the 1st of June, 1825, no doubt heartily glad 
 to be freed from the restraints of English society, 
 where he could scarcely move or speak without the 
 utmost caution, so closely was he watched on all 
 sides. Mrs. O'Connell and his daughters met him 
 at Howth, which was then the landing-place for Eng- 
 lish packets, and he was escorted to his house in 
 Merrion Square by the enthusiastic populace, who 
 removed the horses, and drew along the carriage 
 themselves.: On his arrival at the house, he was 
 obliged to address the people from the balcony before 
 they could be induced to disperse. In sunshine and 
 storm, in summer and winter, by day, and even at 
 night, O'Connell stood on that balcony from time to 
 time, and, to the no small annoyance of his Protes- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 11/ 
 
 tant neighbors, responded to the calls of a grateful 
 and faithful people. 
 
 Before the deputation left London there was an 
 Emancipation bill pending, which afterwards passed 
 the Commons, but was fortunately lost in the upper 
 house. Tacked to this bill were two conditions, 
 called "wings." The Catholic clergy were to be 
 paid by the government, but the forty-shilling free- 
 holders were to be disfranchised. The first condi- 
 tion was intended as a conciliatory measure towards 
 the priesthood, but would have had the effect of ren- 
 dering them "stipendiaries of the crown." It was a 
 wily scheme to sever the tie which joined the priest 
 and people. The second condition would have de- 
 stroyed the political power of the vast majority of 
 the Irish people, and placed the nation under the 
 control of the landed proprietors, who had no sym- 
 pathy with the real progress of Ireland. O'Connell, 
 during his stay in England, was led to believe this 
 bill, even with its "wings," would have been of ad- 
 vantage to the Catholics. " There can be no ques- 
 tion," says Fagan, "that O'Connell was treated with 
 great perfidy in the course of these negotiations. 
 He was led to believe that emancipation was certain, 
 provided it were accompanied with the 'wings.* 
 Every one at the time, in London, who was mixed in 
 the matter, believed it. Blake, the chief remem- 
 brancer, who was then in London, and on terms of 
 political intercourse with the leading political men of 
 the day, has since often stated his conviction that 
 the matter was settled.. Plunket was himself de- 
 ceived, and was thus the means of deceiving O'Con- 
 
Il8 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 nell and the rest of the deputation. The system of 
 deceit was carried so far as to induce O'Connell to 
 attend the levee of the Duke of York." 
 
 O'Connell's opinion on the forty-shilHng freehold 
 question was made the ground of a dastardly attack 
 upon his character. Alas ! it has been too fre- 
 quently the lot of Irish patriots to find reproaches 
 where they should have received unqualified support. 
 The men who criticised the Liberator on this occasion 
 were unable to appreciate the labors and sacrifices 
 he underwent for the cause of emancipation. O'Con- 
 nell was not to be intimidated or disheartened 
 by these curs, whose bark was the Hrhit " of their 
 power of offence. He boldly entered a meeting held 
 to denounce him, and defended his policy with great 
 vigor and success. He was resolved at any cost, no 
 matter who was opposed to him, to stand up for Ire- 
 land. He finally concluded by calling upon those 
 present to be united. 
 
 "I now," he said, "call upon and conjure you, 
 gentlemen, to bury animosity and captious irascibil- 
 ity, and to join with me in fighting the common 
 enemy. I can only say that if the entire country 
 were to turn against me, I would not, like Scipio, go 
 to lay my bones in foreign earth, but I would go to 
 the aggregate meeting on Wednesday to reproach 
 them by exerting myself to serve them, if possible, 
 twenty times more. (Laughter and applause.) I 
 am happy to be able to tell you that I have the re- 
 port already prepared; it will probably pass in the 
 committee to-day, and will be presented at the ag- 
 gregate meeting on Wednesday ; where we shall all 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. II9 
 
 meet, I hope, with no other object than the success 
 of our common cause — no other view than the in- 
 terests of the people." 
 
 O'Connell's popularity was not lessened; the coun- 
 try at large only awaited an opportunity of showing 
 their renewed confidence in him. This opportunity 
 was afforded shortly afterwards whilst he was on cir- 
 cuit. In Galway, the horses weVfe- ;,taken from his 
 carriage, and he was drawn through the principal 
 streets in the midst of a shouting and admiring mul- 
 titude, greeted with cheers, blessings, and acclama- 
 tions. In Cork, an eloquent address was presented 
 to him, with the view of proving to his detractors 
 that ''his purity of intention and devotion to Irish 
 interests continued unimpeached in the public esti- 
 mation." In Mallow, he was obliged to entreat the 
 people, for the sake of Mrs. O'Connell, who accom- 
 panied him, and whose health was delicate, to allow 
 his carriage to pass on without taking off the horses. 
 "It is not possible," says a popular writer, "to con- 
 vey in language an idea of his popularity at this pe- 
 riod. He was absolutely adored by the Irish peo- 
 ple." At Wexford, the Agitator was met at "the 
 pass" by a fleet of boats and obliged to enter a tri- 
 umphal barge, superbly decorated. The rowers were 
 dressed in green and gold, and, from the gala appear- 
 ance of boats and people, it resembled a Venetian 
 carnival. He was finally landed at the bridge, in 
 Wexford, amid ringing plaudits from the crowded 
 banks, and, in the evening, was entertained at a pub- 
 lic dinner. 
 
 At the close of this year (1825), O'Connell re- 
 
I20 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 ceived a challenge from a^^erry barrister, named 
 Leyne. This gentleman took offence at some lan- 
 ,guage said to have been used by the Agitator, and 
 'even went so far as to call O'Connell a liar and 
 coward. The sad result of duelling had made a pro- 
 found impression on O'Connell' s religious mind, and, 
 instead of fighting, he had Mr. Leyne bound over to 
 keep the peace. Finding his father unwilling to re- 
 sent the insult offered, Maurice O'Connell forth- 
 with challenged Mr. Leyne, who refused to accept. 
 O'Connell, on finding his son still bent upon bring- 
 ing the ''affair" to a climax, had them both arrested, 
 and bound over to keep the peace. 
 
 One of the fourteen-day meetings held at this 
 time was rendered memorable by a controversy which 
 took place between O'Connell and the newspapers. 
 O'Connell complained that the reports were inaccu- 
 rate. The press was not slow to reply. "He as- 
 serts/* said the Morning Register, "that the reports 
 did not contain all that he delivered. We admit 
 that they did not in length go much beyond seventy 
 columns ; but seventy columns could not have done 
 him great injustice. They certainly did not include 
 all that the learned gentleman had spoken ; for to do 
 that would require Mr. Thwaites' broad sheet. Any 
 one who measures by a stop-watch will find that Mr. 
 O'Connell pours out about 200 words in one minute. 
 These 200 words will make 22 lines of small print. 
 These 22 lines are about one-eighth of an ordinary- 
 column, so that it will give Mr. O'Connell only seven 
 or eight minutes' trouble 'to fill a column of small 
 print, if he must be followed exactly through epi- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 121 
 
 sodes, parentheses, and all. What are eight minutes* 
 speaking to Mr. O'Connell? What are forty? 
 What one hundred and fifty ? In a five hours' sit- 
 ting he will contrive sometimes to be three hours on 
 his legs ; and in three hours he will positively pour 
 out twenty- two columns and a quarter of oratory ; 
 to catch all of which, with a view to speedy publica- 
 tion, would require more space than is furnished by 
 the London 'broadsheet' itself. We must, there- 
 fore, acknowledge that we had not published all that 
 Mr. O'Connell delivered; but he had, as we calcu- 
 late, his seventy columns." The Freemaiis journal 
 was much severer in its strictures on O'Connell, in 
 rebutting his attack upon the press. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Fourteen Days' Meetings — Their Object and Result — Improved 
 Condition of the Catholics — The Beresford Family — The Water- 
 ford Election — O'Connell supports Mr. Stuart, and defeats the 
 Orange Candidate — Anecdote of Lord Waterford — O'Connell 
 at Derrynane — How he spent his time there — His wonderful 
 faculty of giving " One Moment to two Occupations" — O'Con- 
 nell's Place in the Hearts of the People — He is induced to stand 
 for Parliament — O'Connell's Letter to the Electors of Clare — 
 The Clare Election — Scenes and Incidents connected with the 
 Hustings — O'Connell triumphantly returned to Parliament. 
 
 The new Catholic Association was next to be 
 formed. At an aggregate meeting, the Catholics 
 agreed to leave the somewhat dangerous task of re- 
 organizing in the hands of a committee of twenty- 
 one gentlemen. This committee sat fifteen days in 
 secretly deliberating upon the best means of evading 
 the recent act of supression. From this body origi- 
 nated the "fourteen days' meetings," which, whilst 
 they outwitted the law, were productive of the most 
 marked results. 
 
 The old Association had imitated the House of 
 Commons ; its sessions spread over months ; its 
 discussions embraced every possible variety of polit- 
 ical subject The object of the suppression bill was 
 to destroy this resemblance. To effect this, the 
 meetings of the Catholics for the purpose of peti- 
 tioning were limited, by the suppression bill, to four- 
 teen days. The object was to restrict: it enlarged! 
 
 122 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. " 1 23 
 
 It brought together what had not been assembled by 
 all the former weekly meetings in the metropolis. 
 A large concourse of gentlemen and clergy flocked 
 in from, the country, and thus superadded a new 
 assembly in the character of a convention to the 
 ordinary meetings of the Association. Under the 
 masked battery of education and charity, every com- 
 plaint was uttered, every shaft was levelled which 
 could have been permitted in the open field of the 
 old Association. The limitation of their meetings 
 to fourteen days was instantly seized for the purpose 
 of additional agitation. It was made good ground 
 for the convening of a new species of assembly, — 
 the provincial meetings. Each province of Ireland 
 was summoned by requisition ; the Catholics invited 
 their Protestant friends ; both met on an appointed 
 day, in a town, chosen in rotation, in one or other of 
 the counties of the province. They generally re- 
 mained sitting for two days, and usually dined to- 
 gether on the third. The result was most impor- 
 tant ; it was not only another convention like that of 
 the fourteen days — it was a convention of Pro- 
 testants and Catholics. It familiarized both sects 
 with each other. 
 
 The fe-organized CathpUc Association soon ex- 
 hibited a vigor that amazed its enemies throughout 
 the length and breadth of Ireland. Its funds were 
 used in securing first-class lawyers to protect the 
 people in extreme cases of oppression, such as the 
 wrecking of a Catholic chapel, or bringing to jus- 
 tice Orange rioters and assassins. 
 
 In the Northern Courts, a Catholic heretofore had 
 
124 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 little or no chance of obtaining justice. It must 
 have surprised those rascally magistrates to find 
 themselves suddenly confronted by Dublin attorneys, 
 vastly superior to themselves in the knowledge of 
 the law, prepared to question their decisions and 
 expose their injustice. 
 
 There was another channel in which the funds of 
 the Association were employed with surprising effect; 
 viz., in the election of members for Parliament. 
 The first notable success was in Wexford. The 
 Beresford family had long represented that county, 
 and the idea of successfully opposing so powerful an 
 interest never entered into the mind of any one. It 
 must be remembered that all Catholics possessing 
 forty shillings were entitled to vote, although no 
 Catholic was legally entitled to sit in Parliament. 
 The landlords, who carried in their pockets the des- 
 tinies of the tenants, had been in the habit of driving 
 them to the hustings like so many sheep. A refusal 
 to vote according to the proprietor's direction was 
 equivalent to an ejection. Hence the great security 
 of the Beresfords, who were large landed proprie- 
 tors, and controlled a vast number of votes. In 1826, 
 Lord George Beresford was opposed by Mr. Stuart, 
 who was favorably disposed to the Catholic cause. 
 O'Connell went down from Dublin, as counsel to 
 Stuart, at a fee of 600 guineas. At this crisis, a 
 steamboat was sent up the Blackwater, by Beresford, 
 to bring down to Waterford the Duke of Devonshire's 
 tenants, who had been weaned over to vote in his fa- 
 vor. No sooner had O'Connell heard of this scheme, 
 than he set off rapidly for Lismore, and arrived in 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. 12$ 
 
 advance of the steamer. Having assembled the peo- 
 ple of the town, he delivered a long harangue on the 
 dangers of embarking on a " tiii kittle," referring, of 
 course, to the steamboat, and so wrought on the 
 fears of their wives and daughters that they would 
 not suffer their relations to go on board. The 
 steamer was obliged to return to Waterford without 
 a single voter on board, to the no small mortification 
 of the Beresfords and their Orange adherents. At the 
 hustings, an aged patriot in the crowd cried out, " I 
 propose Daniel O'Connell as a fit person to represent 
 the county of Waterford in Parliament." This gave 
 O'Connell an opportunity of delivering his opinion 
 on the hustings, which he turned to good effect. His 
 speech was one of the most eloquent of his life, last- 
 ing over two hours, and at its close he withdrew his 
 claim, which, of course, he had no intention of pros- 
 ecuting. Beresford withdrew, and Mr. Stuart was tri- 
 umphantly elected. 
 
 Shell used to tell an anecdote of this election, of 
 which he vouched for the accuracy. Lord Water- 
 ford was dying at the time, but the ruling passion 
 was strong in death. He heard that his own hunts- 
 man, Manton, was going to "vote against him." He 
 sent for the old and faithful follower; but, though 
 the poor man's heart was sore, both from affection 
 for his old master, and the knowledge of the conse- 
 quence of exercising his right, he refused to vote 
 " against his country and his rehgion." The dying 
 peer had his revenge. Manton was dismissed, de- 
 prived of his farm, and driven out on the world a 
 beggar. 
 
126 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 This success gave an impetus to the cause of free- 
 dom. The people began to feel their power and 
 assert their independence. O'Connell returned to 
 Dublin, and, after the municipal election, set out 
 with his entire family to Derrynane, which had now 
 become the property of the Agitator, the princely 
 bequest of his uncle, "Old Hunting-Cap." The 
 journey thither was a continuous ovation. The peo- 
 ple lined the roads, and welcomed him as he passed. 
 He was met at Cahirciveen by peasants furnished 
 with ropes, who detached the horses from his car- 
 riage, and drew the Liberator and his family in tri- 
 umph to their home. O'Connell's life at Derrynane 
 was a source of joy and edification to his friends and 
 tenantry. He maintained a domestic chaplain, and 
 the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was each day offered 
 beneath that hospitable roof. His friends gathered 
 about him in numbers, listening to his interesting 
 anecdotes and stories, and enjoying the sunshine of 
 a presence that sent a thrill of delight over all who 
 came under its genial rays. Children, guests, and 
 domestics seemed animated by a common spirit of 
 affection and respect towards him. 
 
 During his stay at Derrynane, O'Connell fre- 
 quently engaged in field-sports. His followers were 
 surprised on these occasions at the agility and endur- 
 ance he exhibited, outstripping in activity his wild 
 Kerry scouts, who had both youth and practice to 
 back them. 
 
 A rough northern lawyer, who was his guest at 
 Derrynane, was greatly surprised one day at his fac- 
 ulty of bestowing attention on different subjects at 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 12/ 
 
 once. The lawyer consulted him about an Act of 
 Parliament, and was reading aloud the disputable 
 sections of the Act, when he suddenly stopped short, 
 exclaiming '*0h, Mr. O'Connell, I see you are read- 
 ing something else! I'll wait till you have done." 
 " Go on ! go on, man ! '* said O'Connell, without rais- 
 ing his eyes from the document with which he was 
 engaged ; " I hear you quite distinctly. If you had 
 as much to do as I have, you would long ago have 
 been trained into the knack of devoting the one mo- 
 ment to two occupations." The other obeyed, and 
 when he concluded his queries, O'Connell put aside 
 the second object of his thoughts, and delivered a 
 detailed reply to all the questions of his visitor. 
 
 In his irregularly-built house, he resembled an old 
 king in an Irish story, as he sat at his breakfast- 
 table, arrayed in a reddish, well-quilted dressing- 
 gown, with a tasselled cap upon his head, reading his 
 letters and newspapers, which the postman early 
 each morning brought over the hills from Cahirci- 
 veen. Speaking of the sofas in his breakfast-room 
 to a visitor, he said, "These were once present at 
 high Orange orgies. I bought them at the auction 
 of that petticoat-Robespierre, Lord Clare, who never 
 named Catholics without some epithet of hatred and 
 contempt." 
 
 O'Connell, in 1828, had attained so exalted a posi- 
 tion in the hearts of the people, and exerted so com- 
 manding an influence over the destinies of Ireland, 
 that the popular impulse of the nation was bent on 
 seating him in Parliament. It was yet a matter of 
 conjecture how this could be brought about, as the 
 
128 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 ...J 
 
 law still denied a Catholic that privilege, when a 
 most fortunate circumstance, from an unexpected 
 source, solved the difficulty and brought the question 
 to an issue. 
 
 • There was at this time in Dublin a gentleman 
 named Sir David Rosse, who, though a Tory in poli- 
 tics, was, from motives of gratitude, a sincere well- 
 wisher of O'Connell's. One morning, in June of 
 1828, Sir David met Vincent Fitzpatrick, son of a 
 noted bookseller of Dublin, and suggested that as 
 Vesey Fitzgerald had vacated his seat for Clare, 
 O'Connell should himself stand for that county. 
 Fitzpatrick seized the idea with avidity, and thanking 
 the gentleman for his suggestion, flew off immedi- 
 ately to acquaint the Agitator. O'Connell received 
 the proposition very coolly. Fitzgerald, he said, had 
 always been a friend to the Catholic cause, and, 
 moreover, the law rendered it impossible for him to 
 sit in Parliament, even if elected. Fitzpatrick, how- 
 ever, was obstinate, and would not be refused. He 
 urged the matter so persistently that O'Connell was 
 obliged to yield, and they both marched off to the 
 office of the Eventing Post, where he wrote his mem- 
 orable letter to the electors of Clare. This famous 
 letter, which we give in full, is as follows : 
 
 *'TO THE ELECTORS OF THE COUNTY OF CLARK" 
 
 " Dublin, June, 1828. 
 " Fellow-Countrymen, — Your county wants a 
 representative. I respectfully solicit your suffrages 
 to raise me to that station. 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL, 1 29 
 
 " Of my qualifications to fill that station. I leave 
 you to judge. The habits of public speaking, and 
 many, many years of public business, render me, 
 perhaps, equally suited with most men to attend to 
 the interests of Ireland in Parliament. 
 
 " You will be told I am not qualified to be elected. 
 The assertion, my friends, is untrue. I am qualified 
 to be elected, and to be your representative. It is 
 true that, as a Catholic, I cannot, and of course 
 never will, take the oaths at present prescribed to 
 members of Parliament ; but the authority which 
 created these oaths (the Parliament) can abrogate 
 them ; and I entertain a confident hope that, if you 
 elect me, the most bigoted of our enemies will see 
 the necessity of removing from the chosen represen- 
 tative of the people an obstacle which would prevent 
 him from doing his duty to his king and to his 
 country. 
 
 "The oath at present required by law is, *that the 
 Sacrifice of the Mass, and the invocation of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints, as now prac- 
 tised in the Church of Rome, are impious and idola- 
 trous.' Of course I will never stain my soul with 
 such an oath. I leave that to my honorable oppo- 
 nent, Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald. He has often taken 
 that horrible oath. He is ready to take it again, and 
 asks your votes to enable him to swear. I would 
 rather be torn limb from limb than take it Electors 
 of the county of Clare! choose between me, who 
 abominate that oath, and Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald, who 
 has sworn it full twenty times ! Return me to Par- 
 liament, and it is probable that such a blasphemous 
 
130 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 oath will be abolished forever. As your representa- 
 tive, I will try the question with the friends in Par- 
 liament of Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald. They may send 
 me to prison. I am ready to go there to promote 
 the cause of the Catholics, and of universal liberty. 
 The discussion which the attempt to exclude your 
 representative from the House of Commons must 
 excite, will create a sensation all over Europe, and 
 produce such a burst of contemptuous indigna- 
 tion against British bigotry in every enlightened 
 country in the world, that the voice of all the great 
 and good in England, Scotland, and Ireland, being 
 joined to the universal shout of the nations of the 
 earth, will overpower every opposition, and render it 
 impossible for Peel and Wellington any longer to 
 close the doors of the constitution against the Cath- 
 olics of Ireland. 
 
 "Electors of the county of Clare, Mr. Vesey 
 Fitzgerald claims, as his only merit, that he is a 
 friend to the Catholics. Why, I am a Catholic my- 
 self ; and if he be sincerely our friend, let him vote 
 for me, and raise before the British Empire the Cath- 
 olic question in my humble person, in the way most 
 propitious to my final success. But no, fellow-coun- 
 trymen, no ; he will make no sacrifice to that cause ; 
 he will call himself your friend, and act the part of 
 your worst and most unrelenting enemy. 
 
 " I do not like to give the epitome of his political 
 life ; yet, when the present occasion so loudly calls 
 for it, I cannot refrain. He took office under Perce- 
 val, — under that Perceval who obtained power by 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. I31 
 
 raising the base, bloody, and unchristian cry of * No 
 Popery' in England. 
 
 " He had the nomination of a member to serve for 
 the borough of Ennis. He nominated Mr. Spencer 
 Perceval, then a decided opponent of the Catholics. 
 
 " He voted on the East Retford measure — for a 
 measure that would put two virulent enemies of the 
 Catholics into Parliament. 
 
 "In the case of the Protestant Dissenters in Eng- 
 land, he voted for their exclusion — that is, against 
 the principle of the freedom of conscience ; that sa- 
 cred principle which the Catholics of Ireland have 
 ever cultivated and cherished, on which we framed 
 our rights to emancipation. 
 
 "Finally, he voted for the suppression of the 
 Catholic Association of Ireland ! 
 
 "And, after this, sacred Heaven! he calls himself 
 a friend to the Catholics. 
 
 " He is the ally and colleague of the Duke of 
 Wellington and Mr. Peel. He is their partner in 
 power; they are, you know, the most bitter, perse- 
 vering, and unmitigated enemies of the Catholics; 
 and, after all this, he, the partner of our bitterest 
 and unrelenting enemies, calls himself the friend of 
 the Catholics of Ireland. 
 
 " Having thus traced a few of the demerits of my 
 right honorable opponent, what shall I say for my- 
 self.? 
 
 " I appeal to my past life for my unremitting and 
 disinterested attachment to the religion and Uberties 
 of Catholic Ireland. 
 
 " If you return me to Parliament, I pledge myself 
 
132 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 to vote for every measure favorable to Radical Re- 
 form in the representative system, so that the House 
 of Commons may truly, as our Catholic ancestors in- 
 tended it should do, represent all the people. 
 
 **To vote for the repeal of the Vestry Bill, the 
 Subletting Act, and the Grand Jury Laws. 
 
 "To vote for the diminution and more equal distri- 
 bution of the overgrown wealth of the Established 
 Church in Ireland, so that the surplus may be re- 
 stored to the sustenation of the poor, the aged, and 
 the infirm. 
 
 " To vote for every measure of retrenchment and 
 reduction of the national expenditure, so as to relieve 
 the people from the burdens of taxation, and to bring 
 the question of the REPEAL OF THE UNION, 
 at the earliest possible period, before the considera- 
 tion of the Legislature. 
 
 " Electors of the county of Clare ! choose between 
 me and Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald ; choose between him 
 who so long cultivated his own interest, and one who 
 seeks only to advance yours; choose between the 
 sworn libeller of the Catholic faith, and one who has 
 devoted his early life to your cause, who has con- 
 sumed his manhood in a struggle for your liberties, 
 and who has ever lived, and is ready to die, for the 
 integrity, the honor, the purity, of the Catholic faith, 
 and the promotion of Irish freedom and happiness. 
 *' Your faithful servant, 
 
 Daniel O'Connell." 
 
 This address electrified the nation, and was re- 
 garded by the people as a bold and open challenge to 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 33 
 
 the government. In England it spread consternation 
 among the aristocracy, for this great moral revolt 
 could not be put down by force of arms. 
 
 To prosecute this undertaking, the friends of 
 O'Connell found it would be necessary to collect a 
 large fund to meet the expenses of the election. 
 They accordingly went earnestly to work, and in a 
 short time were in possession of over ;^ 14,000. The 
 contest on the hustings was at hand. O'Connell left 
 Dublin in an open carriage, accompanied by N. P. 
 O' Gorman, and two other gentlemen. As they moved 
 away from the Court of Exchequer, the barristers, in 
 wig and gown, swarmed about the carriage, and it 
 was with difficulty the crowd were induced to open a 
 passage for the Liberator and his companions. 
 O'Connell stood up and bowed to the throng, who re- 
 turned his salute with deafening cheers, and was 
 soon rattling along on his way to Clare. Arriving 
 at the hustings, the practical work began at once. 
 Some idea may be formed of the temper of the op- 
 position from the fact that five noblemen gave ;^4,ooo 
 each to defray the expenses of Fitzgerald's election. 
 The partisans of this gentleman resorted to the most 
 extreme shifts to further their interests. One Hick- 
 man, a Tory barrister, paraded the town with two 
 pistols in his belt Swelling wath anger, he suddenly 
 encountered O'Connell. "Hallo! O'Connell," ex- 
 claimed Hickman, with the tone of a bully, " mark 
 my words, if you canvass one of my tenants, I'll 
 shoot you.'! O'Connell calmly replied, as he turned 
 away, "I'll canvass every one of them;" and so he 
 did. 
 
134 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 At the hustings a very singular incident occurred. 
 Just as proceedings were about to commence, a tall 
 man seated himself on the railings of the gallery, 
 with his feet dangling over the heads of those below. 
 The High Sheriff, Mr. Molony, who was strongly 
 attached to the cause of the aristocracy, was greatly 
 annoyed at this proceeding. What worried the 
 sheriff still more was that the individual wore on his 
 breast the medal of the " Order of Liberators," and 
 a large green sash across his shoulders. "Who are 
 you.?" demanded the sheriff. "My name is O'Gor- 
 man Mahon," replied that individual, in a loud tone. 
 " I tell that gentleman," said Mr. Molony, " to take 
 off that badge." O' Gorman paused a moment, and 
 then replied with amusing courtesy. "This gen- 
 tleman (laying his hand on his breast) tells that gen- 
 tleman (pointing with the other to the Sheriff) that 
 if that gentleman presumes to touch this gentleman, 
 this gentleman will defend himself against that gen- 
 tleman, or any other gentleman, while he has got the 
 arm of a gentleman to protect him." The sheriJff 
 sat down. 
 
 The political contest meanwhile waxed hot. 
 Every species of intimidation was made use of by 
 the landlords to force their tenants into voting for 
 Mr. Fitzgerald. It is said that one of those gentle- 
 tleman rode into Ennis, seated in his carriage in the 
 guise of a footman, to watch his tenantry, who, three 
 hundred strong, followed after him under military 
 escort. As they passed O'Connell's hotel, he came 
 on a stand, and addressed the voters, who halted to 
 listen to him. His eloquence soon prevailed over 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 35 
 
 the threats of their landlord. Meanwhile, the crowd 
 dexterously separated the jealous owner of the soil 
 from his tenants, who were left to vote as they 
 pleased. The most marked feature at the hustings 
 was the order and sobriety of the people. Not even 
 a blackthorn was exhibited, and only one man was 
 found intoxicated, who proved to be, singularly 
 enough, the coachman of O'Connell, a Protestant 
 Englishman. The candidates were about equal at 
 the close of the first day. On the second O'Connell 
 was considerably ahead. At length, the unwilling 
 High Sheriff was obliged to announce that the Agi- 
 tator had triumphed. 
 
 At the close of the election, O'Connell was chaired 
 through Ennis. Thousands had poured in from 
 every quarter of the county, each bearing a green 
 bough in his hand. Every house and cabin was wav- 
 ing with laurels and verdure. It was a most ex- 
 traordinary scene. Sixty thousand men surrounded 
 O'Connell — a moving mass of waving foliage! 
 Similar honors awaited him in Limerick. In one 
 town, four thousand, in another, fifteen thousand 
 horsemen formed his escort. All along the way from 
 Clare to Dublin, his progress was one vast triumphal 
 procession. 
 
 O'Connell did not take his seat in Parliament at 
 once. He went to London to defend his election, in 
 case it might be petitioned against ; but as there was 
 a promise of immediate emancipation, he was unwill- 
 ing to endanger its prospects by urging his own 
 claims. 
 
CHAPTER XII. • 
 
 The Emancipation Bill carried — O'Connell attends the King's 
 Levee — The King curses the Liberator — The O'Connell Trib- 
 ute — O'Connell demands a Hearing in the House of Commons — 
 He refuses the Oath of Supremacy — O'Connell stands a Second 
 Time for Clare — A Young Soldier willing to die for O'Connell — 
 Another willing to be Flogged — Incidents of the Second Clare 
 Election 7— Toby Glascock and his Darkey Servant — O'Connell 
 a Second Time returned for Clare — The Liberator at Derry- 
 nane — The Doneraile Conspiracy — O'Connell Travels Ninety 
 Miles to defend the Prisoners — He ridicules the Solicitor-Gen- 
 eral, and destroys the Evidence for the Crown — The Acquittal of 
 the Prisoners — Trouble with the " Thunderer. " 
 
 The bill of Catholic Emancipation, so long and pa- 
 tiently waited for, at length passed both houses, and, 
 on the 13th of April, 1829, the royal signature made 
 it a law. The king, a most bitter enemy of Catho- 
 licity, protested against the measure to the last, and 
 only sanctioned it under the pressure of circum- 
 stances, and after a puerile display of resistance, 
 which lasted for twenty-four hours. After signing the 
 act, he is said to have petulantly exclaimed, "The 
 Duke of Wellington is King of England, O'Connell 
 is King of Ireland, and I suppose I am only Dean of 
 Windsor." 
 
 After the Emancipation Act had passed, O'Con- 
 nell presented himself at a lev/e in London. He ap- 
 proached the royal presence with the usual ceremo- 
 136 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 37 
 
 nies; but as he saw "the royal lips moving," he 
 advanced, believing that he was addressed. What- 
 ever the king had said was inaudible, so O'Connell 
 kissed hands and passed on. In a few days some 
 curious reports appeared in the papers. It was said 
 the king had used some strong language, which was 
 not unusual; it was said also that he had cursed 
 some one at the levecy which was unusual ; and more, 
 that the individual favored by the royal anathema 
 was Irish. O'Connell met the Duke of Norfolk soon 
 after, and asked if he could explain the newspaper 
 reports. " Yes,** he replied, " you are the person al- 
 luded to. The day you were at the levee, his maj- 
 esty said, as you were approaching, 'There is O'Con- 
 nell. G — d — the scoundrel ! ' " 
 
 For thirty years, O'Connell had devoted himself 
 unremittingly to the cause of Catholic Ireland. He 
 had laid at the feet of his country not only his brain 
 and heart, but, with a generosity equal to his patriot- 
 ism, had sacrificed his private fortune to further the 
 interests of Emancipation. Of all nations the Irish 
 may be regarded as the most generous. No sooner 
 were his financial embarrassments made pubUc, 
 than the purse-strings of the nation were unloosed. 
 A subscription-list was at once opened, which was 
 appropriately called "The O'Connell Tribute." 
 From every section of country contributions came 
 pouring in, until at length this spontaneous offering 
 reached the princely sum of ;^50,ooo. 
 
 To exclude O'Connell from Parliament, a clause 
 had been added to the Emancipation Act which ren- 
 dered it necessary that Catholics should be elected 
 
138 1-IFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 "after the commencement of the Act," in order to 
 be entitled to a seat in the House. O'Connell, there- 
 fore, found himself confronted by a fresh obstacle. 
 To obviate this difficulty, he approached Sir Edward 
 Denney with an* offer of ^3,000 for one of his bor- 
 oughs, but that gentleman met him with a flat refusal. 
 He therefore determined to demand his seat, which 
 he accordingly did, on the 15 th of May. The fol- 
 lowing extract from the London Times of that date 
 thus describes his appearance in the House : 
 
 "The attempt was made by Mr. O'Connell last 
 night to take his seat in the House of Commons, 
 and the narrative of the proceeding will be read with 
 interest in our parliamentary report. Yet that can 
 convey but an imperfect idea of the silent, the almost 
 breathless attention with which he was received in 
 the House, advancing to and retiring from the table. 
 The benches were filled in an unusual degree with 
 members, and there is no recollection of so large a 
 number of peers brought by curiosity into the House 
 of Commons. The honorable gentleman was introduced 
 by -Lords Dungannon and Ebrington ; a perfect still- 
 ness ensued. By his action he evidently declined 
 the first oath which was tendered to him — that of 
 supremacy and allegiance — and required the oath 
 prescribed by the late Act The explanation by the 
 Speaker to the House of what had taken place was 
 clear, his expression of countenance and manner to- 
 wards the honorable gentleman, on whom he fixed his 
 regards, extremely courteous, and his declaration that 
 'he must withdraw,' firm and authoritative. Mr, 
 O'Connell for a moment looked round, as one who 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 39 
 
 *had reason to expect support, and this failing, he 
 bowed most respectfully and withdrew. After his 
 departure, Mr. Brougham spoke, but in a somewhat 
 subdued tone ; some discussion followed, but the de- 
 bate on the subject is fixed for Monday next." 
 
 May 1 8th, 1829, was a memorable day in the history 
 of O'Connell's eventful life. Mr. Peel, in the House of 
 Commons, moved, in the midst of the most intense 
 excitement, that O'Connell should be heard at the 
 bar of the House, which was granted 
 
 The Liberator advanced to the bar, attended by 
 his soUcitor, Mr. Pierce Mahony, the whole House 
 regarding him the while with mingled feelings of 
 curiosity and interest. O'Connell, in the speceh 
 which followed, clearly demonstrated his right; but 
 neither his eloquence nor the explanation of his able 
 solicitor was able to move the preconcerted verdict 
 of the House, and O'Connell's claim was not ac- 
 cepted. 
 
 On the following day, O'Connell appeared at the 
 bar for the third time, and was told by the Speaker 
 that he could not take his seat unless he took the 
 oath of supremacy. 
 
 "Are you willing to take the oath of supremacy.?" 
 asked the Speaker. 
 
 "Allow me to look at it," replied O'Connell. 
 
 The oath was handed to him, and he looked at it 
 in silence for a few seconds ; then raising his head, 
 he said, "In this oath I see one assertion, as to a 
 matter of fact, which I know to be untrue. I see a 
 second assertion as to a matter of opinion, which I 
 
140 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 believe to be untrue. I therefore refuse to take 
 this oath. " 
 
 A writ was immediately issued for a new election. 
 One of the chief causes of alarm to the aristocracy 
 in England, and indeed in Ireland, was the great ad- 
 miration of the soldiers for O'ConnelL In fact, this 
 was one of the principal reasons which induced the 
 ministry to concede emancipation. A majority of 
 the army were Catholic, and many of the regiments 
 in Ireland, originally Protestant, had been gradually 
 recruited with Catholics. In the event of a rebellion, 
 which the Agitator could have excited by a single 
 word, these brave fellows could not be relied on to 
 slaughter the people. *' There are two ways of fir- 
 ing," said a soldier at that time, "^/ a man and over 
 a man; and if we were called out against O' Council 
 and our country, I think we should know the difEer- 
 ence." 
 
 " There he is — look at him. That's the man for 
 the people, and for the soldiers too," said a young 
 soldier, as he uncovered his head, and reverently, ap- 
 proached O' Council, whose bland and genial manner 
 encouraged him to speak. 
 
 His first words were uttered in a low voice : " Are 
 you O' Council, sir?" O'Connell's reply was kindly 
 made, and the young soldier became more confident 
 and collected. " I am going to leave my country, 
 sir, and perhaps I may never see it again ; but my 
 sorrow is lighter now that I see you before I, go. 
 Many a time I have prayed for you at my mother's 
 knee and in the house of God ; and now my heart is 
 proud that I can pray to God, in your own presence, 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. I41 
 
 to bless you and prosper your cause." The patriot 
 soldier knelt as he spoke, and cast a glance to heaven 
 and on the beloved object of his prayers. O'Connell 
 seemed greatly moved ; and as he stretched forth his 
 hand to raise the gallant youth at his feet, his eye 
 glistened with honest pride and feeling. He made an 
 effort to speak, but his heart was too full. The sol- 
 dier snatched his hand and pressed it eagerly to his 
 lips and heart. ''Remember," said he, "remember 
 that though I wear this badge, I would die ior you /" 
 His head sank, sobbing, for an instant of intense 
 feeling, upon the hand of O'Connell; but ere expres- 
 sion could come on either side, he started to his feet 
 and hurried away. 
 
 O'Connell himself related the following incident : 
 "After the Clare election," said he, "I met a re- 
 markably fine young man named Ryan, as handsome 
 a- fellow as ever I saw, who had been made a ser- 
 geant, though not more than a year in the army. In 
 one of our popular processions, we encountered a 
 marching detachment; and, as my carriage passed, 
 this young sergeant walked away from his men, and 
 asked me to shake hands with him. * In acting as I 
 now do,' said he, ' I am infringing military discipline. 
 Perhaps I maybe flogged for it; but I don't care; 
 let them punish me in any way they please ; let them 
 send me bac^^ to the ranks ; I have had the satisfac- 
 tion of shaking the hand of the father of my coun- 
 try.' There were unequivocal indications of a simi- 
 lar spirit in the army ; and doubtless such a spirit in 
 the troops was not without its weight on the duke. 
 As to my enthusiastic young friend the sergeant, I 
 
142 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 afterwards understood that his little escapade was 
 overlooked ; and right glad I was to find that his de- 
 votion to me entailed no punishment on him." 
 
 On the night O'Connell refused to take the oath, 
 he returned to his hotel, and wrote his second ad- 
 dress to the electors of Clare. In that address he 
 said : 
 
 "The House of Commons have deprived me of 
 the right conferred on me by the people of Clare. 
 They have, in my opinion, unjustly and illegally de- 
 prived me of that right; but from their decision 
 there is no appeal save to the people. I appeal to 
 you. In my person the county of Clare has been in- 
 sulted. The brand of degradation has been raised 
 to mark me, because the people of Clare fairly se- 
 lected me. Will the people of Clare endure this in- 
 sult, now that they can firmly but constitutionally 
 efface it forever.? Electors of the county of Clare, 
 to you is due the glory of converting Peel and con- 
 quering Wellington. The last election for Clare is 
 admitted to have been the immediate and irresistible 
 cause of producing the * Catholic Relief Bill.' You 
 have achieved the religious liberty of Ireland. An- 
 other such victory in Clare, and we shall attain the 
 political freedom of our beloved' island." That vic- 
 tory, he told them, was necessary to prevent Catho- 
 lic rights and liberties from being " sapped and un- 
 dermined by the insidious policy of those men who, 
 false to their own party, can never be true to us, and 
 who have yielded — not to reason, but to necessity, 
 in granting to us freedom of conscience. ... A so- 
 ber, a moral, and a religious people cannot continue 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. I43 
 
 slaves ; they become too powerful for all oppressors ; 
 their moral strength exceeds all physical powers; 
 and their progress towards prosperity is in vain op- 
 posed by the Peels and the Wellingtons of society. 
 These poor strugglers for ancient abuses yield to a 
 necessity which violates no law and commits no 
 crime ; and having once already succeeded by these 
 means, our next success is equally certain if we 
 adopt the same virtuous and irresistible means." 
 
 It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm shown 
 by the people during O'Connell's journey down to 
 Clare. Every town through which he passed — 
 Naas, Kildare, Monasterevan, Maryborough, Moun- 
 trath, Roscrea — was waving with verdure, crowded 
 with people, resounding with shouts, and filled with 
 excitement. Nenagh lighted his way with a blaze of 
 candles from every window of the town. He entered 
 Limerick at eight in the morning, thoroughly worn 
 out, and retired at once to rest. During his repose, 
 a large tree, root and branch, was hauled up to the 
 front of his hotel, and, from its thick foliage invisi- 
 ble musicians sent forth delightful strains of wel- 
 come. The Agitator awoke. He descended to the 
 door of the house, and, on the spur of the moment, 
 delivered one of those harangues which always went 
 deep into the hearts and minds of the hearers. He 
 then entered his carriage, and was escorted out of 
 town by an enthusiastic procession of tradesmen 
 flaunting their banners, and regaling his ears with 
 shouts of commendation. At Ennis he was seated 
 on a triumphal car, and, surrounded by the exulting 
 multitude, received the homage of a king. To pre- 
 
144 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 pare our readers for the issue of that celebrated 
 election, we shall briefly advert to the state of the 
 elective franchise at this period. 
 
 The same Parliament which had granted emanci- 
 pation, had likewise disfranchised the forty-shilling 
 freeholders, who numbered 300,000 voters. This 
 measure was carried with the object of weakening 
 the strength of the Catholics, who formed the great 
 bulk of the poorer classes, and, if possible, of defeat- 
 ing. O'Connell. The forty-shilling freeholders were 
 succeeded by the ten-pound freeholders, and O'Con- 
 nell had no small work in prevailing on these men to 
 register their freeholds, and qualify themselves for 
 voting. 
 
 At length this work was accomplished, and O'Con- 
 nell once more nominated as a candidate for the 
 county of Clare. The Agitator's personal canvass 
 of the freeholders encountered opposition from a quar- 
 ter where it was least expected. William Smith 
 O'Brien, who now appeared in politics for the first 
 time, addressed a letter to the electors of Clare, in 
 which he gave them to understand that O'Connell 
 had retarded rather than advanced the Catholic 
 cause. O'Brien certainly placed himself in a very 
 troublesome predicament. O'Connell ridiculed him 
 by tracing his ancestry to a tinker's apprentice, and 
 Tom Steele was not satisfied until he had exchanged 
 shots with him. 
 
 During the interval between his triumphant recep- 
 tion at Ennis and his re-election, O'Connell went up 
 to Dublin. In the course of a speech made during 
 his stay, he seems to have mortally offended a certain 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 45 
 
 crazy attorney, named Toby Glascock. This limb of 
 the law, who was most diminutive in stature, went 
 about the town swearing vengeance against the Lib- 
 erator. Not finding the object of his ire, he boasted 
 he would have O'Connell flogged by his servant. 
 At length he became so annoying, that O'Connell 
 had him bound over to keep the peace. 
 
 Before the court, the irate attorney endeavored to 
 show the absurdity of a Liliputian like himself at- 
 tacking a Colossus like the plaintiff. As for his ser- 
 vant, he would soon convince the court of his harm- 
 lessness. Stooping down, with some difficulty, he 
 hauled from beneath a table his attorney's bag, and 
 out jumped a dwarfish darkey, grinning from ear to 
 ear. For the first time in his life, O'Connell had 
 the laugh against him, but for all that Sir Toby had 
 to keep the peace. 
 
 On the 3d of July, 1829, O'Connell was a second 
 time returned for Clare. It was, indeed, to use the 
 words of O'Connell, "a great day for Ireland." He 
 had twice knocked at the " Portals of Intolerance " as 
 a suppliant, — they now opened to receive him as a 
 conqueror. 
 
 The overpowering fatigues of the Clare hustings 
 sorely taxed O'Connell's strength; he felt the 
 need of repose much. In the autumn succeeding 
 his election, therefore, he retired to the quiet of Der- 
 rynane, whose refreshing breezes were sure to restore 
 his health and vigor. But even here rest was denied 
 him. 
 
 One bright October morning, O'Connell, as he 
 gazed from his windows of Derrynane, caught sight 
 13 
 
146 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 of a horseman rapidly approaching towards him. 
 The jaded steed was soon pulled up before the hall 
 door, and the rider, dismounting, was ushered 
 into the presence of the Liberator. His message 
 was soon delivered. .He had ridden ninety long 
 miles to entreat the "friend of the people" to defend 
 four poor Catholics of Doneraile, who were falsely 
 accused, on the evidence of informers, of murdering 
 their landlord. 
 
 "There is no time to be lost," suggested the horse- 
 man ; " the trial comes on to-morrow morning ; and 
 unless you are in the court before the trial opens, 
 every man of them will be hanged, though as inno- 
 cent as the child unborn." 
 
 O'Connell could not refuse ; he promised to under- 
 take their defence. William Burke, of Ballyhea — 
 for such was the name and address of the stranger — 
 after a hurried repast, turned his horse's head from 
 Derrynane, and sped quickly with the glad tidings to 
 Cork. 
 
 Relays of fresh horses were stationed along the 
 road, and, as O'Connell galloped down to Cork, his 
 mad pace tested the temper of them all. Burke 
 reached Cork at eight o'clock, O'Connell two hours 
 later. The trial had already begun when O'Connell 
 arrived. His face was soiled by the dust of the road, 
 his dress was in disorder. These, however, gave 
 him no concern; human lives were in the balance, 
 and he rapidly elbowed his way through the throng 
 who surrounded the courthouse, and entered. Solic- 
 itor-General Doherty*s heart sank within him at the 
 unexpected appearance of the Liberator, and he con- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 147 
 
 tinued his speech, in which he had been surprised, 
 with many misgivings as to its effectiveness. 
 
 As the SoHcitor-General proceeded, O'Connell, who 
 was coolly discussing his breakfast, kept his well-dis- 
 ciplined ear on the alert, and frequently interrupted 
 the speaker with "That is not law, sir!" The 
 judges, who knew that such an assertion was sure to 
 prove correct, were obliged to sustain it. The evi- 
 dence for the prosecution was next produced, but 
 witness ofter witness broke down under the ordeal of 
 O'Connell's terrible cross-examinations. One of these 
 unfortunate victims, finding himself cornered and 
 confused, shrieked out, in his desperation, " It's lit- 
 tle I thought I'd have to meet you here, Mr. O'Con- 
 nell." 
 
 When once aroused, O'Connell was most unmerci- 
 ful in the use of his tongue, which cut like a two- 
 edged sword. He ridiculed the Solicitor-General in 
 the most open and scornful manner. " You may go 
 go down, sir," said Doherty, addressing a witness in 
 an accent which was offensively cockney. "Naw 
 daunt go dawn, sir," said O'Connell, mimicking and 
 ridiculing the affectation of the law-officer. And 
 when Doherty, on another occasion, said, " The al- 
 legation is made on false facts," O'Connell laughed 
 at the expression as an egregious blunder, exclaim- 
 ing, " False facts ! How can facts be false ? " 
 
 O'Connell not only scouted the informers out of 
 court, but subdued and cowed the Solicitor-General, 
 and the trial resulted in the acquittal of the prisoners. 
 
 At the end of this year (1829), O'Connell was se- 
 verely criticised by the Times, and other prominent 
 
148 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 journals. Whilst the Clare election was in progress, 
 Pierce Mahony, who acted as solicitor for O'Connell 
 before Parliament, desired to secure the latter' s ser- 
 vices in the Waterford election. Lord George Beres- 
 ford proposed standing for that county, and induced 
 Mahony to engage O'Connell. At first O'Connell con- 
 sented, feeling it might bring about a friendly spirit 
 between both creeds ; he, however, saw the impru- 
 dence of the step afterwards, and withdrew. P^ence 
 the "Thunderer's" three hundred leading articles 
 against the acknowledged champion of the people. 
 In replying to the Times, O'Connell rebutted the 
 charges laid at his door, and concluded by calling 
 that journal " The venal lady of the Strand." This 
 will account for the manner in which Thomas Car- 
 lyle, in his " Life of John Sterling, makes Sterling, 
 Pater, who supplied the Times with "thunder," 
 speak of O'Connell. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 P'Connell in Parliament — He attacks Attorney-General Doherty — 
 Description of O'Connell in the House of Commons — Death of 
 George IV. — Dissolution of Parliament — Difficulties with Major 
 McNamara and O'Gorman Mahon — O'Connell stands for Water- 
 ford — His Triumphal Return — Repeal Agitation — O'Connell 
 arrested, but permitted to give Bail — The Tithe Agitation — The 
 Kilkenny Trial — " Fatal Fondness for Mutton " — Address to 
 O'Connell by Tradesmen of Dublin — His Quarrel with Dublin 
 Reporters. 
 
 When Parliament opened, O'Connell was early in 
 his place. The very first evening of the session he 
 arose to address the House. Here, before the assem- 
 bled representatives of Great Britain, stood the man 
 who had so long and earnestly clamored for the 
 rights of the people, the terror of every minister for 
 the preceding twenty years, the acknowledged cham- 
 pion of over five milHons of oppressed Catholics. 
 Every eye was fixed upon him as he rose to speak, 
 and the ears of all were anxious to learn the power 
 of his eloquence. His rich Kerry brogue filled the 
 entire chamber, and evidently created a profound im- 
 pression. For half an hour he reviewed the king's 
 speech. He was frequently applauded during his 
 address, and when he concluded, he sat down amidst 
 the deafening cheers of the House. 
 
 O'Connell brought the illegal conduct of Mr. Do- 
 herty in the Doneraile trial before Parliament early 
 13* 149 
 
150 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 in the session. The Attorney-General did not fear 
 the effect of this speech upon the House, and con- 
 tented himself with criticising O'Connell's mode of 
 speaking. He contrasted the defiant boldness of 
 the Agitator addressing a mob at home with his 
 courtesy when addressing the House of Commons, 
 and drew the unfavorable inference that O'Connell 
 was not what he appeared. Lord Leveson Gower 
 defended Doherty, and thereupon brought forth from 
 the Liberator one of his oft-quoted nicknames. 
 
 " He has ventured to censure my conduct out of 
 this House; out of this House or in this House, I 
 hold his censure at nought — nor do I undervalue it. 
 He has taken upon himself, forsooth, to- arraign 
 my conduct. I have a right to retaliate upon him 
 as a public man. For his taste, for his judgment, I 
 have no regard ; I rejoice that he disapproves of my 
 conduct — I shguld be sorry he approved of it. He 
 is mighty in his own conceit — he is little in mine. 
 If he served my country, I would value him. But 
 what has he done ^ What one act of his official life 
 has been useful in Ireland > Where shall I find his 
 services ? He has condescended to accept the sal- 
 ary of an officer amongst us. I take it for granted 
 that he has received the emoluments of that office — 
 I do not know how he has earned them. He has or- 
 namented by his presence the apartments of Dublin 
 Castle. But has he done any act of liberality } — has 
 he promoted any one friend of civil or religious lib- 
 erty ? — has he, in short, raised himself into impor- 
 tance or consideration by any one act of his admin- 
 istration ? I deny that he has. He is an apprentice 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. I51 
 
 in politics, and he dares to censure me, a veteran in 
 the warfare of my country. His office is a mere ap- 
 prenticeship. The present Premier was Secretary in 
 Ireland — the present Secretary of State was Secre- 
 tary in Ireland — so was the present Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer. Their juvenile statesmanship was 
 inflicted upon my unhappy country. I have heard 
 that barbers train their apprentices by making them 
 shave beggars. My wretched country is the scene of 
 his political education — he is the shavd-beggar of 
 the day for Ireland ! I have now done with the no- 
 ble Lord. I disregard his praise — I court his cen- 
 sure. I cannot express how strongly I repudiate his 
 pretensions to importance, and I defy him to point 
 out any one act of his administration to which my 
 countrymen could look with admiration or gratitude, 
 or with any other feelings than those of total disre- 
 gard. His name will serve as a date in the margin 
 of the history of Dublin Castle — his memory will 
 sink into contemptuous oblivion." 
 
 O'Connell's success in Parliament was beyond 
 question, and in this his first campaign he established 
 quite a reputation as a debater. 
 
 "From the icy coldness with which that extraor- 
 dinary man was received when he first entered the 
 House," says an anonymous writer, "he has risen 
 perhaps to be the most attractive debater the assem- 
 bly possesses. Mr. O' Council has great advantages 
 of person. He has all that appearance of power 
 which height and robust proportions invariably give 
 to the orator, without being the least corpulent or 
 fleshy — without coming under Cicero's anathema 
 
152 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 against the * vastus/ He has great girth of chest — 
 stands firm as a rock — his gestures are free, bold, 
 and warm — his countenance plays with all he utters 
 — his mouth, in particular, indicates with great felic- 
 ity the passion of the moment — frank in concilia- 
 tion, bitter in scorn. Indeed the shape of the lips is 
 rather a contradiction to the manlier traits of the 
 orator's fine athletic person — it is so pliable in char- 
 acter, so delicate in outline. It indicates, according 
 to the science of physiognomy, a quick, and even 
 over-quick, susceptibility. Eyes light, full, and clear 
 — the dark Brutus — the throat nervous and finely 
 shaped, always free in the loosened neckcloth — a 
 small nose, but with deep-set, regular nostrils — com- 
 plete a very striking and characteristic tout ensemble. 
 Well, then, fancy the orator on his legs — and now 
 for the voice. The Irish accent in its more polished 
 dialect does not detract from a voice by far the most 
 clear, flexible, and lucidly distinct you ever heard. 
 You can't escape into a corner of that ill-built house 
 to avoid it. Shut your ears — it will creep into 
 them. Yet he speaks in a much lower tone than 
 other speakers, and in a much mellower key. As to 
 matter, he throws himself at once upon the strong 
 bearing of the subject — he seizes the question by 
 its common sense. Unlike other lawyers, you 
 never find him prying into the little holes and cor- 
 ners — niggling his soul into the crannies of a ques- 
 tion. As was said of Chatham — it is the one broad 
 view which he takes and insists upon ; and that that 
 view should allow him to be so popular in the House 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 53 
 
 of Commons, is a striking proof how democratic that 
 assembly has become." 
 
 At length the death of that intolerant voluptuary, 
 George IV., caused.the dissolution of Parliament, and 
 necessitated O'Connell's re-election. From an estab- 
 lishment in Stephen's Green, rented by himself, and 
 which he called the "parliamentary office," he issued 
 an order for a meeting of his friends. At this 
 meeting he made known his intention of standing 
 for Waterford instead of Clare. 
 
 The question then arose who should be his succes- 
 sor. Both Major McNamara and O' Gorman Mahon 
 were put forward as candidates. O'Connell had pre- 
 viously promised his assistance to the major, but was 
 subsequently freed from the obligation in a conversa- 
 tion with that gentleman. O'Connell finding him- 
 self free, declared in favor of O' Gorman Mahon. 
 Through some misunderstanding, McNamara took 
 umbrage at the preferment of his late rival, and gave 
 O'Connell a great deal of annoyance, which at one 
 time threatened serious consequences. The major's 
 resentment was soon followed by the displeasure 
 of Mahon, who, strange to say, in his turn, fell out 
 with the Liberator. This culminated in a personal 
 recontre. It happened thus: O'Connell was being 
 drawn along one of the high roads of Clare in a tri- 
 umphal car, surrounded by an enthusiastic gathering 
 of the people, when Mahon, seated 'in a chair in the 
 midst of a similar gathering, rapidly approached 
 the Liberator. Both processions were moving in the 
 same direction, but it soon became evident the new 
 comers were bent upon taking the lead. The O'Con- 
 
154 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 nell demonstration held the van of the line by 
 right, and were determined not to take the dust of 
 the intruders. The aggressors, however, advanced 
 with some difficulty, until the vehicle of Mahon was 
 alongside of O'Connell's triumphal car. In the 
 midst of the uproar and confusion, Mahon climbed 
 to the platform of the car, as if with the intention of 
 ousting O'Connell. With a single effort, O'Connell 
 hurled back the intruder into the midst of the ex- 
 cited crowd. With great presence of mind, he speed- 
 ily regained his self-possession, and called upon his 
 followers to halt, and allow the opposite party to pass 
 on, thus avoiding an encounter which would have 
 proved serious and disgraceful. Leaving Clare, 
 O'Connell passed on to Waterford, from which city 
 he was triumphantly returned. 
 
 No sooner had emancipation been conceded than 
 O'Connell directed his energies towards Repeal. 
 On his return to Dublin, after the Waterford election, 
 he plunged once more into the vortex of agitation. 
 His presence was everywhere sought after ; but wher- 
 ever he appeared, either at " dinners," ** meetings," or 
 "entertainments," the burden of his speeches was 
 Repeal. Finding one association in which he figured 
 proscribed by law, he immediately established an- 
 other. One of these was called " The Irish Volun- 
 teers for the Repeal of the Union." When public 
 meetings were suppressed, he established " Reform 
 breakfasts," humorously remarking that if these 
 were forbidden him he would then resort to a po- 
 litical ** lunch." The government at length pro- 
 scribed even these table gatherings, on which occa- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 5 5 
 
 sion O'Connell nicknamed the late Lord Derby, 
 "Egg-shell Stanley;" but the Liberator still de- 
 termined to exercise a right to which he felt him- 
 self entitled under the laws, and accordingly con- 
 tinued to hold them. This course drew upon him 
 the displeasure of the government, and, on the 19th 
 of January, 1830, he was arrested in his house at 
 Merrion Square, and brought to the head police of- 
 fice. The government, however, feared the effects of 
 a vigorous course in regard to O'Connell, and he 
 was permitted to give bail, which was set at ;^ 1,000, 
 and two securities, of ;^500 each. The anxious col- 
 lection of friends who were assembled outside the 
 building were determined to make a demonstration, 
 and O'Connell was obliged to return to the house of 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick, on George's Street, to escape their 
 enthusiasm. Finding, however, the people still con- 
 gregated, and determined to be addressed by him, he 
 approached the window, and delivered the following 
 short but impressive harangue : 
 
 "Yesterday I was only half an agitator," cried 
 O'Connell; ''henceforth I am a whole one. Day 
 and night will I now strive to fling off despotism — 
 to redeem my country, to repeal the Union, and to 
 establish on a permanent basis the happiness and 
 legislative independence of my native land. Many 
 an honest man who was yesterday opposed to the 
 present agitation, will be, before the close of the day, 
 a determined, unflinching friend of Repeal." 
 
 O'Connell had fixed the 3d of January for his de- 
 parture to England. The road leading to Kingstown 
 on that day was lined on either side by dense crowds 
 
156 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 of people. An immense concourse of tradesmen, 
 six miles in length, escorted him on his way, with 
 banners flying, and bands of music discoursing na- 
 tional airs. Each member of the procession wore a 
 collar of blue ribbon, to which was attached a large- 
 sized Repeal medal, bearing the likeness of the Lib- 
 erator. He took good care, however, not to let these 
 people know that he had received that morning, be- 
 fore setting out, a summons to appear before the 
 court on the following day. Had O'Connell's de- 
 voted followers known this, there would have been 
 bloodshed in Dublin before night. The trial which 
 took place immediately after, was a renewal of the 
 former charge of holding illegal "meetings, and re- 
 sulted in his acquittal, upon which he set out for 
 Parliament in the most private manner possible. 
 
 In 1832, the tithe agitation attained its height, and 
 Rathcormac was the scene of a most horrible massa- 
 cre. At a place called Harvey, the people assem- 
 bled in thousands to resist the payment of the tithes. 
 Out of the twenty-three armed police who marched 
 against them, only five escaped with their lives. 
 
 For this encounter, twenty-five men were arrested, 
 and sent to Kilkenny for trial, and O'Connell was re- 
 tained for the defence. The first prisoner placed at 
 the bar was Michael Kennedy; and the principal 
 witness against him was one of the escaped police- 
 men. In his cross-examination this man preserved 
 the utmost coolness, and O'Connell was about to 
 give up in despair, when his attorney handed him a 
 piece of paper, on which was written, "The witness's 
 father "was a sheep-stealer." 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 157 
 
 O'ConneU went on with his cross-examination, 
 much to the surprise of the attorney, without taking 
 any notice of the circumstance. Just as the witness 
 was about to escape, as he hoped, finally, O'ConneU 
 called him back. 
 
 " Are you fond of mutton ? " 
 
 "I like a good piece well enough," replied the un- 
 suspicious witness. 
 
 " Did you ever know any expert sheep-stealers ? 
 
 The witness colored crimson, but replied quietly, 
 " I have met with a few in the discharge of my duty 
 as a policeman." 
 
 "Just so; only in the discharge of your duty.? 
 Did you ever know a sheep-stealer before you en- 
 tered the police f" 
 
 " Never," repHed the witness. 
 
 O'ConneU put the question again, mildly, and re- 
 ceived the same reply, and then, in tones of thunder, 
 charged at the unhappy man, and obliged him to ad- 
 mit the truth, and likewise admit himself a perjurer. 
 An alidi was proved for the prisoner, and he was ac- 
 quitted. 
 
 Returning to London, from which he had been 
 called to attend the trial just alluded to, O'ConneU 
 threw himself zealously into the debate on the Re- 
 form BiU, which at that time was agitating the whole 
 empire. The Whigs, it would appear, impressed 
 O'ConneU with the conviction that they were sin- 
 cerely interested in the welfare of Ireland; it is 
 even aUeged they offered him the Attorney-General- 
 ship of Ireland. But the Liberator would not ac- 
 cept, being already famiUar with British poHcy, 
 
158 • LIFE OF^O'CONNELL. 
 
 which, in the case of many prominent Irishmen be- 
 fore him, had advanced the leaders at the expense of 
 the people. On his return to Dublin the trades 
 turned out in great numbers, and presented him with 
 an address. In his reply, through fear of weakening 
 the Whig party, then in power, he made no allusion 
 to Repeal, to the great disappointment of those who 
 had assembled to hear him. For a time he seems to 
 have abandoned that great question, which he had 
 heretofore strongly advocated, and promulgated the 
 idea that the first duty of the Catholics was to keep 
 the Whig party in power. 
 
 During this year a quarrel arose between O'Con- 
 nell and the Dublin reporters. The " Knights of the 
 Quill," finding themselves aggrieved by a remark 
 made by him, held a meeting, at which they agreed 
 not to report any more of his speeches. At a meet- 
 ing held in Corn Exchange, the reporters plied their 
 pencils with great industry until O'Connell rose to 
 speak, when they simultaneously threw them down, 
 and sat perfectly motionless. 
 
 "What!" exclaimed O'Connell, alluding to the 
 conduct of the reporters, "am I, who fluttered the 
 ministers in the cabinet of England, to be nibbled 
 at in Dublin by a parcel of mice ? " 
 
 "Do you call me a mouse, sir?" croaked out El- 
 rington, a quondam Catholic, very coolly looking up 
 at the Liberator, opposite to whom he happened to 
 sit. 
 
 "No, indeed I do not," exclaimed O'Connell, with 
 great bitterness ; " I could not be guilty of such a 
 
LIFE OFOCONNELL. - 1 59 
 
 misnomer, for, as every one knows, you are a large 
 rat!" 
 
 This pointed allusion to the recantation of Elring- 
 ton was relished by every one present, save the chop- 
 fallen object of the sarcasm, who was filled with 
 confusion by the roar of laughter which followed 
 O'Connell's reply. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Coercion Bill — O'Connell's Opposition to it — His Philan- 
 thropy — His Ideas of Slavery — The Household Brigade — At 
 War with the London Reporters — O'Connell forced to introduce 
 the Repeal Question into Parliament — Its Defeat — Reflections 
 on. Westminster Abbey — "Gully the Boxer" — O'Connell in 
 Canterbury Cathedral — The Anti-Tory Association — G. P. O.— 
 Curious Incident in a Lunatic Asylum — " O'Connell and his Rad- 
 ical Crew" — O'Connell's Reply to CoL Sibthorp — He calls 
 Lord Alvanley a "Bloated Buffoon" and receives a Challenge — 
 Morgan O'Connell accepts in Behalf of his Father — The Duel — 
 Disraeli's Ingratitudet o O'Connell — The Liberator reviews that 
 Gentleman's Ancestry — Disraeli's Challenge, and what became 
 of it 
 
 During the debates on the Coercion Bill, in 1833, 
 O'Connell fought long and desperately to stay the 
 passage of that measure, which had for its object the 
 dethronement of every right common to consti- 
 tutional liberty. To secure its passage, the wily 
 Peel treated the House of Commons to anecdotes of 
 the barbarity of the Irish, and endeavored to prove 
 the necessity of "putting them down." O'Connell, 
 in his reply, admitted that there had been outrages, 
 but clearly demonstrated that the responsibihty lay 
 at the door of those " who gave the peasants stones for 
 bread, and martial-law for justice." O'Connell cer- 
 tainly made a brilliant defence against the arguments 
 of such able speakers as Lord Grey, Stanley, Lord 
 Brougham, Peel, and Macauley. With the exception 
 160 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. l6l 
 
 of Sheil, O'Connell stood alone in this war of argu- 
 ments ; and, if the bill passed, he coiild yet console 
 himself with the reflection that he had offered a pro- 
 test before the nation. 
 
 Probably one of the most beautiful traits in the 
 character of O'Connell was his broad philanthropy. 
 To his mind all men were free and equal. When the 
 negro emancipation question was introduced into 
 Parliament, he was one of the few members who ad- 
 vocated its passage. His keen sense of justice was 
 aroused, and, in many a telling speech, he held up the 
 slave-owner to scorn, and pleaded the cause of the 
 slave. His position carried so much influence with 
 it, that the opponents of the bill approached him 
 with an offer of their votes on any measure for Ire- 
 land, he might in the future bring forward, providing 
 he would lend no further aid to the abolitionists. 
 His reply was as sublime as it was generous : 
 
 "Gentlemen, God knows I speak for the saddest 
 people the sun sees ; but may my right hand forget 
 its cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
 mouth, if to save Ireland — even Ireland — I forget 
 the negro one single hour." 
 
 O'Connell was now seconded in his parliamentary 
 struggles by what he called his " household brigade," 
 consisting of his three sons and two sons-in-law, who 
 held seats in the first reformed Parliament His ex- 
 perience in the House of Commons had rendered 
 him familiar with the tactics of the several parties 
 which controlled it, and his speeches exhibited, if 
 possible, a greater fire and energy than ever. His 
 terrible sarcasms rung in the tingling ears of his op- 
 
1 62 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 ponents, and he hurled back with effective argument 
 the slanders of his country's traducers. On one oc- 
 casion, addressing the Whigs, of whose insincerity he 
 was now fully convinced, he said : " You have brains 
 of lead, hearts of stone, and fangs of iron." 
 
 It was during this year O'Connell's famousquar- 
 rel with the London reporters took place. We have 
 already seen how their fellow-quillsmen fared in Dub- 
 lin. The reporters of London were not more suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 O'Connell complained that their reports were de- 
 signedly false, and, at a public meeting in London, 
 boldly defied " their utmost power and ingenuity." 
 
 This was followed by a letter in the Times from 
 the reporters, in which they stated, until O'Connell 
 withdrew his charge, they would not report him. 
 O'Connell lost no time in bringing them to terms, 
 which he did in the following summary manner : Re- 
 porters are simply tolerated in the House of Com- 
 mons, as any member, by simply calling attention to 
 the fact that "strangers" (non-members) are pres- 
 ent, can have the galleries immediately cleared. 
 O'Connell availed himself of this privilege, and the 
 reporters were obliged to succumb, promising there- 
 after to report him correctly. 
 
 In April, of 1834, the first practical effort for Re- 
 peal was made. On the 23d of that month, O'Con- 
 nell fiormally presented the question for the considera- 
 tion of Parliament. The Repeal newspapers, urged on 
 by the Hotspurs of the Catholic party, at last forced 
 O'Connell to precipitate this question, even against his 
 own good judgment, to the no small delight of the 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 63 
 
 government, who were satisfied it would never 
 pass. Moreover, Fergus O'Connor, member from 
 Cork, had threatened to introduce the subject 
 if O'Connell further delayed; and, rather than Re- 
 peal should manifest any signs of weakness, the Agi- 
 tator was willing to hazard the onus of defeat. The 
 entire sentiment of England was opposed to Repeal, 
 and the imbecile sovereign, William IV., even looked 
 upon the question as treasonable. As was expected, 
 the motion for a Repeal committee was negatived in 
 the House by an enormous majority, only forty mem- 
 bers voting in its favor. O' Connell opened the de- 
 bate in a speech that lasted five hours. He drew a 
 vivid picture of Ireland's wrongs, rehearsed the 
 crimes committed by England against her sister isl- 
 and from the earliest date of their connection, and 
 concluded this brilliant summary by moving " for a 
 select committee to inquire and report on the means 
 by which the destruction of the Irish Parliament had 
 been effected." Although his oratory made a for- 
 cible impression on the minds of his hearers, and 
 ably sustained his motion, the conviction that he was 
 leading a forlorn hope materially lessened that mag- 
 netic power which invariably accompanied his more 
 successful efforts. 
 
 On the evening of the 23d, O'Connell walked lei- 
 surely down to the House of Commons, from his 
 house in Langham Place, leaning on the arm of a 
 friend. His mind, which was filled with the great 
 subject of the evening, seemed suddenly controlled 
 by some overpowering influence, as he came in view 
 of Westminster Abbey. Taking off his hat, he 
 
164 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 blessed himself, and gazing with admiration on that 
 venerable and majestic pile, exclaimed: "May the 
 Lord have mercy on your soul, Henry VII., who left 
 us so magnificent a monument of your piety ! You 
 provided at your death to have Masses said perpet- 
 ually for your soul; but from the time that ever- 
 execrable brute, Henry VII L, seized on the revenues 
 of the Church, and confiscated your endowment 
 along with the rest, perhaps no human being ever 
 took thought to breathe the words, * Lord have 
 mercy on your soul!'" At this moment, a smart 
 tap on the back compelled him to turn round, and 
 Gully, the boxer, M. P., stood before him. With the 
 frank heartiness of manner which characterized the 
 ex-pugilist, he exclaimed, "There you are, Dan, 
 going down quietly and coolly to your work." " And 
 tell me. Gully, is not that the way to go to work ? " 
 asked O'Connell, squaring his fists at him in the 
 manner of a boxer. After the exchange of a few 
 additional words, the two senators shook hands and 
 parted, and O' Connell resumed his walk to the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 O'Connell frequently expressed a wish that he 
 might be spared to see Mass one day offered up in 
 Westminster Abbey. He was, moreover, a great 
 student of mediaeval architecture, and never neglected 
 an opportunity of gratifying this fondness when in 
 the vicinity of an old cathedral. 
 
 There was a slight incident connected with his 
 visit to Canterbury Cathedral, which he took pleasure 
 in frequently recording. "While walking through 
 the noble old CathoUc pile," said he, " I chanced to 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 6$ 
 
 remark to my daughter, who accompanied me, that it 
 was not a little singular that not one Protestant prel- 
 ate had ever been interred within its walls. This 
 remark was overheard by the female guide who shows 
 the cathedral to visitors. She listened attentively, 
 and, after some apparent hesitation, said, ' May I take 
 the liberty, sir, of asking a question ? ' ' Certainly,' 
 said I. * Then may I make so bold as to ask, if all 
 those Archbishops were Papists ? * ' Every one of 
 them, madam,' said I. * Bless me ! ' cried the woman 
 in astonishment, * I never knew that before.' I then 
 described the effect of the high altar lighted up for 
 the celebration of Mass in Catholic times, when the 
 great aisle, now boxed up into compartments by the 
 organ loft, stretched its venerable and unbroken 
 length from the altar to the portal, thronged with 
 kneeling worshippers. The picture delighted the 
 woman. *Oh!* cried she, clapping her hands, 'I 
 should like to see that ! ' * God grant you may ! ' re- 
 turned I." Then he would sometimes add, "And 
 He may yet grant it England is steadily and grad- 
 ually returning to the Catholic faith." 
 
 Comparing the cathedrals of Catholic times with 
 those erected since the Reformation, he observed, 
 "Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's afford us good 
 specimens of this sort of contrast; the very archi- 
 tecture of the former seems to breathe the aspiring 
 sentiment of Christianity; but St Paul's — it is a no- 
 ble temple, to be sure ; but as for any peculiarit}^ of 
 Christian character about it, it might just as well be 
 a temple of Neptune ! '* 
 
 In 1834, O'Connell established the Anti-Tory As- 
 
1 66 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 sociation, and the defeat of the Peel and Wellington 
 administration was in a great measure owing to his 
 powerful exertions. When the Whig party, of which 
 Lord Melbourne was the head, came into power, 
 every measure for the benefit of the Irish people 
 was frustrated, and flung out by the House of Lords, 
 and O'Connell found it necessary to visit the princi- 
 pal towns of Great Britain, and agitate against those 
 titled "conservators of injustice." In Edinburgh, he 
 made several eloquent speeches against the. aristoc- 
 racy, one of which he delivered to an immense gath- 
 ering of over 50,000 Scotchmen. 
 
 In this year Lord Haddington was sent as Lord- 
 Lieutenant to Ireland. This nobleman landed at 
 Kingstown, and as he rode up to Dublin was puzzled 
 by the letters G. P. O., which he saw on every mile- 
 stone along the way. To satisfy his curiosity, he in- 
 quired of a gentleman the meaning of these mystic 
 letters. 
 
 *' Those letters are a convincing proof, my lord," 
 said the Irish gentleman, whose name was Thomas 
 Reynolds, "of the warm affection which the Irish 
 people cherish for my illustrious friend and country- 
 man, Daniel O'Connell. G. P. O., my lord, stands 
 for ' God preserve O'Connell.' " 
 
 It is unnecessary to state that this evidence of 
 O'Connell' s popularity was by no means acceptable 
 to the noble lord. 
 
 Sugden was sent to Ireland at the same time as 
 Lord Chancellor. Of this man O'Connell told a 
 curious anecdote. 
 
 "The present Lord Chancellor," he said, "is very 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 16/ 
 
 fond of inspecting the management of lunatic asy- 
 lums. He made an agreement with the surgeon- 
 general to visit, without any previous intimation, a 
 lunatic asylum kept by Dr. Duncan in this city. 
 Some person sent word to the asylum that a patient 
 was to be sent there in a carriage that day, who was 
 a smart little man that thought himself one of the 
 judges, or some great person of that sort, and who was 
 to be detained by them. Dr. Duncan was out when 
 Sir Edward was admitted and received by the keeper. 
 He appeared to be very talkative, but the attendants 
 humored him and answered all his questions. He 
 asked if the surgeon-general had yet arrived, and the 
 keeper assured him that he was not yet come, but 
 that he would be there immediately. * Well,' said he, 
 ' I shall inspect some of the rooms until he arrives.' 
 'Oh no, sir,' said the keeper, we could not permit that 
 at all.' 'Then I shall walk for awhile in the garden,' 
 said his lordship, 'while I am waiting for him.' 
 'We cannot let you go there either, sir,' said the 
 keeper. 'What,' said he, 'don't you know that I am' 
 the Lord Chancellor ! ' * Sir,' said the keeper, ' we 
 have four other Lord Chancellors here already!' 
 He got into a great fury, and they were beginning to 
 think of a strait-waistcoat for him, when fortunately 
 the surgeon-general arrived. ' Has the Lord Chan- 
 cellor arrived yet?* said he. The man burst out 
 laughing at him, and said: 'Yes, sir; we have him 
 safe, but he is by far the most outrageous patient we 
 have.' " 
 
 To divert O'Connell's attention from the Repeal 
 agitation, by absorbing it in the party contests of 
 
l63 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 the British nation, appears to have been the chief 
 aim of the aristocracy during 1835 ; and to some ex- 
 tent they succeeded. The following may serve as an 
 instance of this crafty strategy : Lord Melbourne 
 became for the second time Prime Minister, and 
 informed the House of Lords that he had formed a 
 cabinet. Lord Alvanley rose and asked him whether 
 he had or had not the powerful aid of O'Connell and 
 his party ."^ Acting apparently on the celebrated 
 principle of statesmanship, that the use of words is 
 not to express but to conceal ideas, Melbourne pub- 
 licly declared that he had taken no means to secure 
 O'Connell's assistance, and was not aware that he 
 possessed it. On hearing this. Lord Londonderry 
 rose, and congratulated Lord Melbourne : " He was 
 glad to hear that he had repudiated O'Connell and 
 his radical crew, as he was sure that any ministerial 
 connection with him or his 'tail' would be the curse 
 of the country." 
 
 A few nights subsequently, in the House of Com- 
 mons, Colonel Sibthorp, who was remarkable for the 
 hirsute appendages of his face, declared that he did 
 not like the countenances of the gentlemen opposite. 
 ** He earnestly hoped that the House should have a 
 safe and speedy riddance of the band." This af- 
 forded O'Connell an opportunity, of rising to reply, 
 which he did, to the cost of each of these gentlemen. 
 He began by complimenting Sibthorp on his good 
 humor; and, alluding to his face, he said, '* I will not 
 abate him a single hair in point of good humor." 
 Alluding to Lord Alvanley, he stigmatized that gen- 
 tleman .as a "bloated buffoon." The indignant, but 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 69 
 
 cautious, Lord endeavored to have O'Connell ex- 
 pelled from the Brooks Club, and not succeeding, 
 sent him a challenge two days after the Liberator 
 had left for Ireland. O'Connell, in his reply, ridi- 
 culed the tardiness of the message, and declined to 
 accept it on conscientious scruples. Meantime, Mor- 
 gan O'Connell felt it incumbent upon him to accept 
 the challenge offered his father, and a hostile meet- 
 ing took place at Barnet Road, near Regent's Park. 
 After exchanging three shots each, without injury to 
 either of the contestants. Lord Alvanley left the 
 field, and the affair terminated. 
 
 The Tories having learned that Morgan O'Connell 
 was ready to accept all challenges sent to his father, 
 that gallant young gentleman was at once considered 
 by them as a species of target. Mr. Disraeli, the 
 present Premier of England (1875), was at that time 
 struggling for prominence in the arena of politics. 
 He began his career as a Reform Radical, and, in 
 canvassing the borough of Wickham, solicited the as- 
 sistance of O'Connell, who gave him a letter of re- 
 commendation. This letter he caused to be placarded 
 everywhere throughout the borough, and appeared in 
 every way grateful for the kindness shown him. 
 Disraeli was not successful, however, as a Radical, 
 and at once determined to go over to the Tories. 
 To conciliate that party, he inaugurated his change 
 by attacking O'Connell in a speech at Taunton, in 
 England, in which he poured a torrent of abuse on 
 the Liberator. ■ O'Connell was surprised by this un- 
 expected attack from a source whence he had reason 
 to expect nothing but good-will and kindness, and of 
 IS 
 
170 LIPE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 all men he was the last to suffer such an insult to go 
 unpunished. At a meeting of the Dublin Franchise 
 Association, O'Connell alluded to Disraeli's abuse, 
 and seems to have surpassed himself in withering 
 sarcasms. 
 
 After reviewing the sudden political change of his 
 traducer, and branding his life as " a living lie," he 
 concluded by alluding to his Jewish origin. His 
 name, he said, shows that he is by descent a Jew. 
 His father became a convert. He is the better for 
 that in this world, and I hope, of course, he will be 
 the better for it in the next. There is a habit of un- 
 derrating that great and oppressed nation — the Jews. 
 They are cruelly persecuted by persons calling them- 
 selves Christians — but no person ever yet was a 
 Christian who persecuted. The cruellest persecution 
 they suffer is upon their character, by the foul names 
 which their calumniators bestowed upon them before 
 they carried their atrocities into effect. They feel 
 the persecution of calumny severer upon them than 
 the persecution of actual force and the tyranny of 
 actual torture. I have the happiness to be acquainted 
 with some Jewish families in London, and amongst 
 them more accomplished ladies, or more humane, 
 cordial, high-minded, or better educated gentlemen, I 
 have never met. It will not be supposed, therefore, 
 that when I speak of Disraeli as the descendant of a 
 Jew, that I mean to tarnish him on that account. 
 They were once the chosen people of God. There 
 were miscreants amongst them, however, also ; and 
 it must have certainly been from one of those that 
 Disraeli descended. He possesses just the qualities 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 71 
 
 oi the impenitent thief who died upon the cross- — 
 whose name, I verily believe, must have been Dis- 
 raeli. For aught I know, the present Disraeli is de- 
 scended from him, and with the impression that he 
 is, I now forgive the heir-at-law of the blasphemous 
 thief who died upon the cross !" 
 
 Disraeli immediately demanded satisfaction of 
 Morgan O'Connell. That gentleman denied Dis- 
 raeli's right to challenge him, as he was not respon- 
 sible for the language of his father. Disraeli pub- 
 lished an abusive public letter, headed "to Daniel 
 O'Connell;" but it would have applied to the whole 
 human family as well. He then addressed Morgan 
 O'Connell a second time. "Now, sir, it is my hope 
 that I have insulted him ; assuredly it was my inten- 
 tion to do so ; and I fervently pray that you or some 
 one of his blood may attempt to avenge the inextin- 
 guishable hatred with which I shall pursue his exist- 
 ence." Morgan O'Connell, no doubt, acting under 
 the advice of his father, still refused to fight, and 
 Mr. Disraeli was obliged to nurse his wrath. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Banquets given O'Connell in Liverpool and Birmingham — Unsuc- 
 cessful Effort to Unseat O'Connell in Parliament — O'Connell 
 refuses to Apologize at the Bar of the House — Death of Mrs. 
 O'Connell — O'Connell makes a Retreat at Mount Melleray 
 Abbey — Description of the Abbey and its Inmates — He con- 
 cludes his Retreat — How O'Connell spent his Time in London — 
 Assassination of Lord Norbury — It is attributed to O'Connell's 
 Agitation — His Defence before the House of Commons — The 
 Coal-Porters of Dublin — Meeting at the Com Exchange — The 
 Repeal Association founded — O'Connell's Speech — He is accused 
 of Bigotry by his Enemies — He defends his Position in a Letter 
 to Archbishop MacHale — O'Connell's Liberality towards his 
 Protestant Daughter-in-Law — Field Sports at Derrynane. 
 
 In January, of 1836, O'Connell was entertained at 
 a public banquet in Liverpool, and sat down with a 
 dinner-party numbering one thousand persons. His 
 claim upon these hospitable people was his marked 
 hostility to the aristocracy. He was also a guest at 
 a similar entertainment, equally as well attended, in 
 the "Town Hall" of Birmingham. 
 
 William IV., King of England, died in June, 1837, 
 and Queen Victoria ascended the throne during the 
 same month. A general election followed. The 
 opening of her reign was little auspicious to the 
 cause of Ireland. 
 
 O'Connell was at this time member for Dublin, 
 
 but the malice of his enemies would not suffer him 
 172 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 73 
 
 to retain that honor. Petitions poured into the 
 House, a committee was appointed, and O'Connell 
 was unseated. The member from Kilkenny, how- 
 ever, retired, and the Liberator was returned to Par- 
 liament a few days after, so that his absence was 
 scarcely observed. Finding they could not get rid 
 of O'Connell, his enemies attempted to undermine 
 his popularity by writing him down. He was ac- 
 cused, in Blackwood s Magazine, of having taken a 
 bribe of ;^i,ooo for proposing to have the Factory 
 Bill discussed in committee. 
 
 O'Connell clearly proved his innocence, and indig- 
 nantly denied the false charge. Still, this fact 
 proves how much his power was dreaded by the 
 aristocracy, who lost no opportunity of attacking 
 him. 
 
 A public dinner was given to O'Connell in Febru- 
 ary, of 1838, at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Lon- 
 don. Four hundred persons were present, and 
 O'Connell was introduced by the chairman as "the 
 object of the attention of the whole empire, and the 
 admiration not only of England, but of the world." 
 
 The Liberator, in his response, accused the Tory 
 committee, on the Irish Reform Bill, of perjury. 
 A few nights after, Lord Maidstone asked O'Con- 
 nell, in the House of Commons, if he had made 
 such an assertion. O'Connell replied by reiterating 
 the charge ; whereupon he was reprimanded at the 
 bar of the House. When the speaker had concluded 
 his reprimand, O'Connell, to the amazeqpent of the 
 House, replied, "I express no regret; I retract noth- 
 ing; I repent nothing. I do not desire unneces- 
 15* 
 
1 74 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 sarily to use harsh or offensive language. I wish I 
 could find terms less objectionable and equally signi- 
 ficant; but I cannot. I am bound to reassert what I 
 asserted." The Tories, who had assembled to enjoy 
 a triumph, were confounded ; but they dared not 
 carry the matter further — they felt O'Connell had 
 the right on his side. "I did expect," said O'Con- 
 nell, speaking afterwards on this subject, "that I 
 would have been sent to the Tower for the assertion 
 of a principle ; and if the Tories had the courage, 
 they ought to have sent me there. I had made ar- 
 rangements for such a contingency." 
 
 In this year O'Connell received from the govern- 
 ment an offer to be appointed Lord Chief Baron, but 
 declined it, feeling he could not accept it consis- 
 tently with the interests of Ireland. 
 
 Mrs. O'Connell died at Derrynane, in 1836. This 
 bereavement, coming as it did amid the stir and bus- 
 tle of his active political life, sank deep into his 
 heart. His love for his wife was not a sentiment; 
 it formed a part of his being ; it was the talisman of 
 his success. In the most trying moments of his 
 stormy life she proved herself worthy of being a 
 a great man's wife — the sanctuary of his confidence. 
 Moreover, she was the mother of his nine children, 
 and her death created a void the repairing hand of 
 Time never filled. Amidst the requiems and pray- 
 ers offered on every CathoHc altar of Ireland, his 
 soul gave itself up to spiritual meditation, and he re- 
 solved to eiiiter on a retreat the first opportunity that 
 offered itself. O'Connell's duty in Parliament, and 
 the occupations common to a representative man. 
 
LIFE OF 0*CbNNELL. 175 
 
 left him few intervals of repose, and it was not until 
 1833 that he was able to carry out his intentions in 
 this regard. In the early part of that year, accom- 
 panied by Mr. O'Neill Daunt, he set out from Dublin 
 for Mount Melleray Abbey, in the County of Water- 
 ford. This monastery was founded by Cistercian 
 monks from Nantes, in France, who had taken refuge 
 in Ireland when driven from their native land. Dur- 
 ing the journey he appeared more than usually com- 
 municative, referring to the part he had taken in 
 Catholic Emancipation, and relating anecdotes of the 
 different points of interest along the road. At Kil- 
 kenny, where O'Connell and his friend breakfasted, 
 he was waited on by many of the leading Repealers, 
 who urged him to renew the agitation for Repeal. 
 He assured them it was the darling project of his 
 heart, but the time had not yet expired which he had 
 decided upon allowing the Imperial Legislature for 
 the fulfilment of a promise made to him in 1838, to 
 render justice to Ireland. 
 
 Leaving Kilkenny, they once more resumed their 
 journey. Ascending the rugged road that winds 
 through the mountainous boundary line of Tipperary 
 and Waterford, they encountered a violent storm. 
 The scenery on all sides was most dispiriting. Acres 
 of dreary waste stretched out for miles around, des- 
 titute of a single living object. The drive from Li s- 
 more to Mount Melleary, however, is exquisitely beau- 
 tiful, and the travellers soon forget the gloom of the 
 rain-storm in the beautiful scenery about them. 
 
 It was night when he arrived at the monastery, 
 where he was met by a procession consisting of 
 
176 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 twenty of the brethren in their gowns and cowls, 
 bearing torches, and accompanied by the abbot, 
 wearing a mitre and bearing a crozier. The abbot 
 led O'Connell by the hand, while his companion was 
 conducted by the sub-prior in a similar manner. 
 Behind them came the monks chanting a hymn. 
 They proceeded through the aisle of the monastery 
 church, of which the extent, partially revealed by the 
 torches borne by the brethren, seemed greater than 
 it really was, from the utter darkness that obscured 
 its farther extremity. The loud music had a grand 
 effect as it rolled along the lofty roof. When the 
 usual Vesper service had been concluded, an ad- 
 dress of welcome was presented to O'Connell, who 
 made an appropriate reply. He begged permis- 
 sion to constitute himself counsel to the monastery, 
 whose inmates were at that period threatened with 
 litigation. The matter alluded to was shortly after 
 set to rights. " Two hours after midnight," says 
 O'Neill Daunt, " I was awakened by a violent 
 storm of rain and wind. Looking forth upon the 
 night, I saw lights in the chapel, and the chant of 
 hymns was heard in the fitful pauses of the gust. 
 The monks were celebrating the usual service of 
 Lauds. The hour, the darkness, the storm, the dim 
 lights of the chapel, and the voices streaming out 
 upon the lonely mountain-side — all combined to pro- 
 duce an effect in a high degree wild, impressive, and 
 romantic." 
 
 O'Connell, during his stay in the monastery, 
 breakfasted every morning with his secretary in the 
 abbot's parlor. Immediately after breakfast he re- 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. * 1 77 
 
 tired to his bed-room, where he remained quite alone 
 until dinner, which meal he partook with his friend 
 O'Neill Daunt, and immediately on its conclusion 
 he would again retire, either to his dormitory or to 
 the chapel, where he remained for an hour or two. 
 
 After a week of meditation and prayer, O'Connell 
 left the enjoyable repose of Mount Melleray, deeply 
 grateful to its inmates for the happiest week in his 
 life. 
 
 During O'Connell' s retreat, Villiers Stuart called 
 upon him, but as orders had been left with the por- 
 ter that no one should be admitted, he was obliged to 
 return. A few days after, Mr. Stuart alluded to the 
 circumstance at a public meeting in Lismore, and said, 
 "He was happy to find that Mr. O'Connell's sojourn 
 at Mount Mellary had not infected him with the 
 silence of its inmates, as his adoption of the Carthu- 
 sian rules would seriously injure the interests of pop- 
 ular liberty in Ireland." 
 
 O'Connell, speaking of the manner in which he 
 spent his time at this period, said: "From twelve 
 to four every day I was in regular attendance at the 
 committees. After going home from the commit- 
 tees, I took a hasty dinner and proceeded to the 
 House, and continued in it until twelve or one o'clock 
 — I was never absent. By the time I got home and 
 to bed, it was generally two o'clock. Then, a man 
 at my time of life requires some sleep, although I 
 was never fond of it — I never took over-doses of 
 sleep; and so it was generally nine o'clock when I 
 was dressed and ready for breakfast. It was ten 
 when I had done breakfast and read^ a small portion 
 
1/8 ' LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 of the letters which I received. Then, from ten to 
 twelve, Heaven help me ! I don't exaggerate when I 
 say that I generally got two hundred letters a day. 
 There never was a man who had been so besieged by 
 persons looking for places. No man asked me, to be 
 sure, to get him a bishopric, although I have been 
 positively asked for places in the Established Church. 
 There is not an office, from lord high admiral down 
 to scavenger, that I have not been asked for. Heaven 
 help the applicants ; for it is but little I can do for 
 them. The government have been so repeatedly ac- 
 cused of being under my influence, that it has 
 caused a reaction against me; and I believe there is 
 not a single man who votes with them who has got 
 less from them than I." 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1839, Lord Norbury 
 was murdered at Kilbeggan, County Meath. The 
 murdered man was not unpopular, and even to this 
 day the assassin has not been discovered. No one 
 could adduce a motive for this crime; but the Tories, 
 ever ready to make capital at the expense of Ireland, 
 at once credited it to O'Connell's agitation. The 
 affected indignation of the aristocracy gave vent to 
 itself in Parliament, where Mr. Shaw, the Recorder, 
 on the 7th of March, moved for a return of the out- 
 rages committed in Ireland during the past four 
 years. O'Connell replied in a speech worthy of him- 
 self. His sense of justice was outraged, and his no- 
 ble rage was well represented in his reply. 
 
 "Speeches have been made by four gentlemen, 
 natives of Ireland, who, it would appear, come here 
 for the sole purpose of villifying their native land. 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 79 
 
 and endeavoring to prove that it is the worst and 
 most criminal country on the face of the earth. 
 (Loud cries of * Oh ! ' from the Tories.) Yes ; you 
 came here to calumniate the country that gave you 
 birth. It is said that there are some soils which pro- 
 duce enormous and crawhng creatures — things 
 odious and disgusting. (Loud cheers from the To- 
 ries.) Yes; you who cheer.— there you are — can 
 you deny it ? Are you hot calumniators ? (Cries of 
 ' Oh ! ' and hisses.) Oh ! you hiss, but you cannot 
 sting. I rejoice in my native land; I rejoice that I 
 belong to it ; your calumnies cannot diminish my re- 
 gard for it; your malevolence cannot blacken it in 
 my esteem; and although your vices and crimes 
 have driven its people to outrage and murder — 
 (order) — yes ; I say your vices and crimes. (Chair, 
 chair.) Well, then, the crimes of men Hke you 
 have produced these results. . . Fourteen murders 
 have occurred in Ireland since the 1 6th 'of No- 
 vember. England since that period has presented 
 twenty-five; yet no English member has arisen to 
 exclaim, 'What an abominable country is mine! 
 What shocking people are the people of England ! * 
 To these you may add two cases of supposed mur- 
 der, thirteen of personal violence, and not less than 
 twenty incendiary fires — one of which, by the way, 
 was at Shaw, in Berkshire." 
 
 O'Connell had waited in vain for a redress of Irish 
 grievances. He felt, if justice was to come at all, it 
 must come from Ireland herself. The English Re- 
 form movement for which O'Connell had labored un- 
 ceasingly, and from which he hoped to derive encour- 
 
l80 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 agement and support, gave no signs of furthering his 
 purpose. He accordingly determined to make a final 
 effort for Repeal. 
 
 On the 15th of April, 1840, he founded the "Re- 
 peal Association." The meeting was held at the 
 Corn Exchange, a site which O'Connell particularly 
 prized. 
 
 During the days of the Catholic Association, the 
 Trinity College boys frequently threatened to break 
 up their meetings. "The Corn Exchange," said 
 O'Connell, "possesses the advantage of being in the 
 close vicinity of at least 150 coal-porters everyday 
 in the week, who would have thrown the College 
 lads into the Liffey in case of any effort to disturb 
 the proceedings. The circumstance was known to 
 the intending aggressors, and the salutary knowledge 
 effectually checked their projects of intrusion." 
 
 The meeting opened, and Mr. John O'Neil, a 
 staunch- patriot, took the chair. But, strange to say, 
 long after the appointed hour only a mere handful of 
 people had assembled. There was more than one 
 reason for this. The people had not been sufficiently 
 armed, they did not feel the meeting was a bona fide 
 Repeal gathering. The young men who were then 
 coming to the front, in their heated judgment and 
 impatience, believed the field a surer means to obtain 
 redress than the rostrum. They therefore held aloof. 
 O'Connell had met with too many reverses in the 
 long course of his experience to be daunted. He 
 had seen Catholic meetings dissolve like the morn- 
 ing mist ; but they had not produced emancipa- 
 tion t He began life by opposing the Union, he 
 
LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. l8l 
 
 determined to end it by advocating Repeal. He felt 
 the people were with him, the clergy were with him, 
 and wherever he led he felt sure the nation would 
 follow. 
 
 Finding, at length, there was no possibility of a 
 larger gathering, O'Connell arose and addressed 
 the meeting as if there were thousands present. 
 After expressing his determination to enter earnestly 
 into the great work of Repeal, and alluding to the 
 splendid result of agitation on behalf of Emancipa- 
 tion, he burst forth in a noble illustration of his pur- 
 pose. 
 
 "We have assembled," said he, "to take part in 
 proceedings that will yet be memorable in the his- 
 tory of our country. Yes", this 15 th of April will be 
 yet memorable in the annals of Ireland. It shall be 
 referred to as the day on which the flag of Repeal 
 was unfurled ; and I shall fearlessly, legally, and con- 
 stitutionally keep it unfurled, until the day of success 
 shall have arrived, or the grave shall close over me, 
 and on my tomb shall be inscribed : * He died a Re- 
 pealer!' . . . We must be up, I say, and stirring. 
 We can do no good by quiescence; it may do us evil, 
 but it can do us no service. We must take counsel 
 from the French proverb, which says, ' Help your- 
 selves, and God will help you.' We must not forget 
 the story of the fellow who, when the wheel of his 
 cart stuck in the mud, prayed to Jupiter to help him. 
 * You lazy rascal,' said his godship, * put your shoul- 
 der to the wheel, and get along out of that' I tell 
 you there is nothing else for us but to help our- 
 
1 82 ' LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 selves ; and help ourselves, with the aid of Heaven, 
 we shall ! " 
 
 The first meeting may not have been a success in 
 point of numbers, but its influence moved over all 
 Ireland as the wave circles move from'the contact of 
 the dipping pebble. Young and old vied in their 
 earnestness to promote Repeal In a single day, at 
 Waterford, a bishop and .eighty-three of his clergy 
 were enrolled in the Repeal Association, and thus the 
 work went on. 
 
 The cooperation of the clergy, which proved a 
 necessary and substantial assistance to O'Connell in 
 enlisting the sympathies of the people, was made use 
 of by his enemies to charge him with bigotry. The 
 Liberator's life gives the* lie to the base calumny. 
 To show how unfounded this charge was, we need 
 only quote a passage from a letter addressed by 
 O'Connell himself, at this time, to the venerable 
 Archbishop of Tuam. 
 
 In that letter he makes the following summary : 
 ** In short, if we had the Repeal, Religion would be 
 free; education would be free; the press would be 
 free. No sectarian control over Catholics ; no Cath- 
 olic control over sectarians — that is, no species of 
 political ascendency." 
 
 Another instance will confirm his rightful sense of 
 religious tolerance. His son Maurice married a 
 Protestant lady, and, when she arrived at Derrynane, 
 he thus addressed her : 
 
 " You are a Protestant, and here at Derrynane the 
 nearest place of worship of your own persuasion is 
 at Sneem, which is twelve miles off. Now, I have 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 8$ 
 
 taken care that you shall not want the means of wor- 
 shipping God in your own way on Sunday. You 
 shall have a horse to ride to Sneem every Sunday 
 during the summer,* and a fresh horse, if requisite, to 
 ride back; and if the ride should fatigue you, your 
 carriage shall attend you." Her answer was, " I 
 thank you, sir ; but I have resolved to go to Mass." 
 "Going to Mass is nothing," said O'Connell, "unless 
 you believe in the doctrines of the Catholic Church. 
 And if you do not, it is much better that you should 
 continue to attend your own place of worship; I 
 shall provide you with the necessary accommoda- 
 tion." 
 
 In the October of this year, we find O'Connell ris- 
 ing at six, and hunting across the mountains between 
 Derrynane and Sneem. Imagine a man of five-and- 
 sixty, after a wearing political struggle of forty years, 
 following the chase with the enthusiasm of youth. 
 Surely O'Connell possessed an old-fashioned constitu- 
 tion. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 O'Connell resumes his Political Labors — His Reception in Cork — 
 Triumphal Welcome at Limerick — Reception by "Neptune" — 
 Monster Repeal Meeting m Kilkenny — Father Mathew's Influ- 
 ence — O'Connell's Engagements — Tom Steele "The Head Pac- 
 ificator" — O'Connell back in Parliament — He opposes Lord 
 Stanley — Visits Belfast — He outwits the Orangemen — O'Con- 
 nell loses his Seat for Dublin — " Steam " — O'Connell Lord 
 Mayor of Dublin — Incidents in connection with his Official Du- 
 ties — His Reply to Lord Shrewsbiiry — The Liberator refuses his 
 Autograph to the Emperor of Russia — O'Connell accomplishes a 
 Herculanean Task — "The Memoir of Ireland." 
 
 Reluctantly tearing himself from his sports at 
 Derrynane, the Liberator plunged once more, re- 
 freshed and invigorated, into the political arena, and 
 during the years between 1840 and 1843, devoted 
 his energies to promote the cause of Repeal. 
 
 At Cork, the people met him without the town, 
 and, had not O'Connell protested, they would have 
 taken the horses from his carriage, and drawn him 
 into the town. The following day he addressed an 
 enthusiastic meeting of over fifty thousand people. 
 During his speech he alluded to the London Ex- 
 aminer, which had compared the Repeal movement 
 to the cry of the Derrynane beagles. "Yes," ob- 
 served O'Connell, "but he made a better hit than he 
 intended, for my beagles never cease their cry until 
 they catch their game." 
 184 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. 1 8$ 
 
 At Limerick a still greater triumph awaited him. 
 There the welcoming crowd numbered one hundred 
 thousand. He was met three miles from the town 
 by a procession of trades, conspicuous amongst 
 whom were the ship-carpenters. They had con- 
 structed a boat, resting on wheels, on which sat Nep- 
 tune, trident in hand, dressed in a suit of sea-green. 
 The sea-god arose on the approach of O'Connell, 
 and, in a humorous speech, gave him welcome on be- 
 half of his marine subjects. - Not to be outdone in 
 pleasantry, and ever ready with a quick-witted reply, 
 O'Connell declared "he felt quite refreshed by re- 
 ceiving an acquatic compliment on the dusty high- 
 road," and expressed his high sense of " the conde- 
 scending courtesy of the potent and illustrious mon- 
 arch of the ocean." 
 
 In Kilkenny a Repeal meeting was held, at which 
 it was calculated two hundred thousand persons were 
 present, twenty thousand of whom were on horse- 
 back. 
 
 Aside from the patriotism of these monster gath- 
 erings, the most commendable features were their 
 order and sobriety. Father Mathew, the Apostle of 
 Temperance, had marshalled the nation under the ban- 
 ner of a moral reform, and thousands had already taken 
 the pledge. The temperance societies were of great 
 assistance to O'Connell in his Repeal movements. 
 Already organized and officered, they carried out the 
 necessary movements with precision and credit to 
 themselves. The fact that the Liberator was able to 
 preserve order and control the great meetings over 
 which he presided, was, no doubt, due to this cause. 
 
1 86 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 In the feverish excitement of political agitation, the 
 imprudence of a single individual might have precipi- 
 tated a collision with the government, ending only 
 in open insurrection. 
 
 In the year 1841, the untiring energy of O'Con- 
 nell was something miraculous. "I rise," said he, 
 "every morning now by candle-light, and often go to 
 Mass before breakfast." A list of his engagements 
 will enable the reader to form some idea of his super- 
 human activity at this advanced period of his life. 
 "Mr. O'Connell," says a newspaper of that day, 
 " stands ple'dged to the following engagements : To 
 attend the Repeal Association on the 4th ; to preside 
 at an orphan charity dinner on the 5 th; to agitate 
 for Repeal in Mullingar on the 7th, in Cork on the 
 nth, and in Dungarvan on the 13th; to attend a 
 Reform meeting in Dublin on the 15 th, and in Bel- 
 fast on the 1 8th ; on the 19th to attend a Repeal din- 
 ner in the same town ; on the 21st and 226., a Reform 
 meeting and dinner at Leeds ; and on the 23d, a Re- 
 form meeting at Leicester ; and on the 26th, to take 
 his seat in the House of Commons, attired in his 
 gray frieze Repeal coat." 
 
 At Mullingar O'Connell was met by a procession 
 of fifty thousand persons; the Bishops of Ardagh 
 and Meath, with many of their clergy, taking part in 
 the demonstration. Some disturbances arose in 
 Limerick at this time, but Tom Steele, the " Head 
 Pacificator," went down with a white flag edged with 
 green, to make peace. On the flag were inscribed 
 the following words of warning : " Whoever commits 
 a crime adds strength to the enemy." No further 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 1 8/ 
 
 action was necessary ; the troubles cease'd at once. 
 O'Connell, at this supreme moment of his popularity, 
 was virtually '* King of Ireland," and his orders were 
 promptly obeyed by the nation. In Cork the people 
 met with a welcome of "Hurrah for Repeal." 
 
 Back again in Parliament, at the end of January, 
 O'Connell opposed Lord Stanley's Bill to amend the 
 representation in Ireland with his characteristic bold- 
 ness. "You would now," said he, "refuse to Ire- 
 land equality of franchises with England. What 
 plea do you allege for this refusal ? Why, theJ>ov- 
 erty of Ireland. But mark your inconsistency. 
 When I arraigned the Legislative Union as having 
 caused poverty in Ireland, how was I met } Honor- 
 able gentlemen produced multitudinous statements 
 and calculations to demonstrate that poverty was not 
 general in Ireland, that my statements were exagger- 
 ated, and that the Union had created great general 
 prosperity in that country! You then alleged the 
 prosperity of Ireland as a reason why she should not 
 possess legislative independence; you now allege her 
 poverty as a reason why she should not enjoy the 
 franchise ! " 
 
 O'Connell had been repeatedly invited to address 
 the Repealers of Belfast, but he had postponed visit- 
 ing there, fearing his presence might result in blood- 
 shed. At length he publicly accepted a pressing in- 
 vitation to attend a meeting and dinner in that town. 
 Finding that the Great Repealer was about to "in- 
 vade the North," the Orangemen of Belfast deter- 
 mined to offer personal violence. They placarded 
 the walls of Lisbum, calling upon aU Protestants to 
 
1 88 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 resist this' invasion. O'Connell was fully aware of 
 the danger his visit would entail. "I have got so 
 many intimations," said he, "that the Orange party 
 meditate personal violence against me on my way to 
 Belfast, that I really do believe there is some peril. 
 Whatever it may be, I am now committed, and must 
 brave it. Perhaps, after all, the peril may prove illu- 
 sory; but prudence requires me to guard against 
 the worst. I shall take loaded fire-arms in the car- 
 riage." Meantime, the Orange party were evidently 
 preparing for hostilities, and the government, to in- 
 sure order, prudently crowded Belfast with troops, 
 and added two thousand specials to the regular po- 
 lice force. 
 
 O'Connell, however, resorted to a stratagem which, 
 whilst it exhibited great ingenuity, probably saved 
 his life. He knew the Orangemen had determined 
 to waylay him as he approached Belfast. Accord- 
 ingly, he wrote to all the inn-keepers along the route 
 from Dublin to Belfast that he would require post- 
 horses on Monday, the i8th of January, 1841. 
 
 The innkeepers, many of whom were Orangemen, 
 lost no time in communicating to the "brethren" 
 that they might expect O'Connell on that day. At 
 the same time, these hospitable publicans received 
 other letters, signed C. A. Charles (the name of a 
 popular Dublin ventriloquist), bespeaking post-horses 
 for Saturday, the i6th. 
 
 This plan succeeded admirably. The road was 
 clear, and O'Connell, who was received by mine host 
 as the travelling ventriloquist, made his way quietly 
 into Belfast. The news of his arrival soon spread 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. 1 89 
 
 among the liberals of the town, who J03rfully gathered 
 around him. The Orangemen, enraged at being thus 
 duped, crowded the streets in great numbers, but 
 were restrained from committing violence by the 
 presence of the troops. 
 
 Despite the exasperation of the Orangemen, the 
 Repealers held an open-air meeting, and afterwards 
 entertained their guest at a splendid banquet. In 
 the evening, a grand soiree was given by nearly four 
 hundred ladies of different religious denominations, 
 at which O'Connell's health was proposed by the dis- 
 tinguished Bishop of Dromore, Dr. Blake. In his 
 reply, O'Connell paid the following gallant compli- 
 ment to the ladies : 
 
 " Yes, ladies, I thank you most heartily for the kind- 
 ness you have bestowed upon me in placing me in 
 so very honorable a position this evening. I have 
 always respected all that is good ; and you are all 
 good in your several circumstances of life. I have 
 ever treated with contempt, as a ribald jest, the giv- 
 ing to men a superiority which they do not possess 
 or deserve, in taking from woman that power which 
 has been given her by her Creator, of mitigating all 
 that is harsh, all that is rough, and all that is cruel 
 in our nature. She is man without his roughness or 
 passions, but with all his patience and intellect! " 
 
 The rancor of the Orangemen would not suffer the 
 occasion to pass without some disturbance. Whilst 
 O'Connell was speaking, a shower of stones came 
 crashing in through the windows, breaking the chan- 
 deliers and causing the greatest commotion among 
 the ladies, one of whom is said to have been injured. 
 
190 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 O'Connell left Belfast for London, where he once 
 more resumed his Parliamentary duties. 
 
 A general election occurred during 1841, and 
 O'Connell lost his seat for Dublin. The Whig min- 
 istry broke down owing to the Tory majority in the 
 House, and Peel became Prime Minister. The Tory 
 press, carried away by this success, became more 
 slanderous and virulent than ever. One journal ex- 
 ultingly exclaimed, "Steam has given us Ireland, in- 
 extricably clutched within our grasp." O'Connell, 
 in a speech delivered soon after, demonstrated that 
 the new motive power was not to be used one way 
 only. Said he : " They threaten us with troops by 
 steam. They say that a few hours will land an army 
 here. Steam is a powerful foe; but steam is an 
 equally powerful friend. Whisper in your ear, John 
 Bull — steam has brought America within ten days* 
 sail of Ireland." And the cheering that followed 
 these remarks attested how well they were appreci- 
 ated. 
 
 The Municipal Reform Act, which had recently 
 come into force, opened to the Catholics of Ireland 
 the various offices of city governments. The Lord 
 Mayors of Dublin for the preceding one hundred 
 and fifty years had been Protestants, and now that 
 Catholic city was about to be represented by a Cath- 
 olic. 
 
 The Catholics were not long in taking advantage 
 of this privilege, and on the ist of November, 1841, 
 Daniel O'Connell was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin. 
 Who was better entitled to this, the highest honor 
 in the gift of the nation, than the Liberator, whose 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. I91 
 
 manhood had been dedicated to her service, and who 
 had torn the shackles from her feet and placed her 
 upon the threshold of prosperity ? There was some 
 doubt whether O'Connell would not use his office to 
 further the interests of Repeal. Being asked in re- 
 lation to this subject, he rephed "that no one should 
 be able to discover from his conduct what was his 
 religion or his politics ; yet a Repealer he certainly 
 would be until the hour of his death." 
 
 Every one was anxious to see how O'Connell 
 would acquit himself on his first day in court, and 
 the place was crowded to suffocation. Among the 
 first cases to be tried was a claim for some alleged 
 arrears of wages, made against a Catholic priest. 
 O'Connell, finding the clergyman in the wrong, with 
 becoming impartiality, gave judgment against him. 
 
 In another case, the following characteristic little 
 scene occurred. It was a question of accounts, in 
 which a person named Burke was plaintiff. 
 
 " Mr. Burke," quoth the attorney, "did you keep a 
 book ? " 
 
 " I never kept a book," cried Burke very angrily. 
 
 "I'll tell you what you'll keep," said O'Connell, 
 "keep your temper." 
 
 "Were you boarded in the house of your em- 
 ployer.''" inquired the attorney. 
 
 "What has this to do with the case.-*" asked 
 Burke ferociously. 
 
 "There never was a question," said O'Connell, 
 "that required so little anger. You were asked if 
 you got something to eat, whereupon you break out 
 into a passion ! " 
 
192 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 The following incident amused O'Connell exceed- 
 ingly : An old gentleman accused his servant, among 
 other thefts, of having stolen his stick. The ser- 
 vant protested perfect innocence. " Why you know," 
 rejoined the complainant, "that the stick could never 
 have walked off with itself." " Certainly not," said 
 the attorney for the defence, *' unless it was a walking- 
 stick!" 
 
 To enable the reader to understand the difficulty 
 of O'Connell's duties, we shall cite a few of the cases 
 investigated, taken at random from the journals of 
 the day. 
 
 A gentleman with the strange name of " Stanley 
 Ireland " having presented himself as a claimant for 
 the franchise, he was objected to by Mr. Crean for 
 non-payment of water-pipe tax. 
 
 "I did not think," said O'Connell, "that an objec- 
 tion to Ireland would come from your side." 
 
 " You know we do not like the name of Stanley," 
 said Crean. 
 
 "But by admitting Stanley you extend the fran- 
 chise to 'Ireland,' " said O'Connell. 
 
 It was discovered that the tax was paid, and Mr. 
 Ireland was admitted. 
 
 "Well, this is a great day for Ireland," said 
 O'Connell. 
 
 The next name was Henry Chinnery Justice. 
 When the word Justice was called, Mr. Wauchob 
 said : " Now, my Lord, you cannot but say you have 
 justice very near Ireland." 
 
 A few days after this, O'Connell attended the din- 
 ner of the Malachean Orphan charity, at Mrs. Ma- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 93 
 
 hony's rooms, Patrick Street, where, alluding to 
 the splendid gold collar of the Dublin corporation 
 which he wore round his neck, he made a very felic- 
 itous application of a line from "Moore's Melodies." 
 He said : " I am here, it is true, but an uncanoirized 
 Malachi ; I resemble the old monarch of that name, 
 of whom the poet sings that 
 
 ' Malichi wore a collar of gold ' ! 
 
 He won it, we are told by the same authority, 'from 
 the proud invader,' whereas I won this from the 
 old rotten corporation of Dublin." 
 
 O'Connell's mayoralty ushered in the year 1842. 
 In January of that year Lord Shrewsbury, then re- 
 garded as the leading lay Catholic of the British 
 Empire, assailed O'Connell in a public letter. The 
 Liberator's reply was probably the most brilliant ef- 
 fort that ever issued from his prolific pen. Alluding 
 to his sacrifices for Ireland, he wrote thus : — 
 
 " I flung away the profession — I gave its emolu- 
 ments to the winds — I closed the vista of its honors 
 and dignities — I embraced the cause of my country 
 — and, come weal or come woe, I have made a 
 choice at which I have never repined, nor ever shall 
 repent. An event occurred which I could not have 
 foreseen. Once more high professional promotion 
 was placed within my reach. The office of Lord Chief 
 Baron of the Exchequer became vacant. I was of- 
 fered it. Or, had I preferred the office of Master of 
 the Rolls, the alternative was proposed to me. It 
 was a tempting offer. Its value was enhanced by 
 the manner in which it was made ; and preeminently 
 17 
 
194 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 SO by the person through whom it was made — the 
 best Englishman that Ireland ever saw — the Mar- 
 quis of Normanby. But I dreamed again a day- 
 dream — was it a dream ? — and I refused the offer. 
 And here am I now taunted, even by you, with mean 
 and sordid motives. I do not think I am guilty of 
 the least vanity, when I assert that no man ever 
 made greater sacrifices to what he deemed the cause 
 of -his country than I have done. I care not how I 
 may be ridiculed or maligned. I feel the proud con- 
 sciousness that no public man has made greater or 
 more ready sacrifices. Still there lingers behind one 
 source of vexation and sorrow — one evil, perhaps, 
 greater than all the rest — one claim, I believe, 
 higher than any other upon the gratitude of my 
 countrymen. It consists in the bitter, the virulent, 
 the mercenary, and therefore the more envenomed 
 hostility towards me which my love for Ireland 
 and for liberty has provoked. What taunts, what 
 reproaches, what calumnies have I not sustained — 
 what modes of abuse, what vituperation and slander 
 have been exhausted against me — what vials of bit- 
 terness have been poured on my head — what coarse- 
 ness of langXtage has not been used, abused, and 
 worn out in assailing me — what derogatory appella- 
 tion has been spared — what treasures of malevo- 
 lence have been expended — what follies have not 
 been imputed — in fact, what crimes have I not been 
 charged with } I do not believe that I ever had, in 
 private life, an enemy. I know that I had and have 
 many, very many, warm, cordial, affectionate, at- 
 tached friends. Yet here I stand, beyond contro- 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 95 
 
 versy the most and the best-abused man in the uni- 
 versal world ! And, to cap the climax of calumny, 
 you come with a lath at your side instead of the 
 sword of a Talbot, and you throw Peel's scurrility 
 along with your own into my cup of bitterness. All 
 this have I done and suffered for Ireland. And let 
 her be grateful or ungrateful — solvent or insolvent 
 
 — he who insults me for taking her pay, wants the 
 vulgar elements of morality which teach that the 
 laborer is worthy of his hire ; he wants the higher 
 sensations of the soul which enable one to per- 
 ceive that there are services which bear no com- 
 parison with money, and can never be recompensed 
 by pecuniary rewards. Yes, I am — I say it proudly 
 
 — I am the hired servant of Ireland ; and I glory in 
 my servitude." 
 
 O'Connell, during this year, refused his autograph 
 to the proud Emperor of the Russias, who applied 
 through his representative at the Court of St. Jam^s. 
 The King of Bavaria was more successful in this re- 
 gard, and expressed himself thankful and pleased. 
 
 O'Connell did not spare himself in his capacity of 
 Mayor. During the interval of his official duties he 
 wrote his famous "Memoir of Ireland," and per- 
 formed the herculean task of revising the burgess 
 rolls of Dublin. This obliged him to examine and 
 determine the claims of no less than eighteen thousand 
 persons ; and he accomplished the task, contrary to 
 the predictions of the wiseacres of the city. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Repeal Association — Card of Membership — "Monster Meet- 
 ings " at Limerick, Kells and Mullingar — Anniversary of Waterloo 
 at Athlone — Meetings at Enniscorthy and Dundalk — Monster 
 Meeting at " Tara " — Incidents in Connection with it — " The Court 
 of Three Hundred " — " O'Connell crowned at Mullaghmast " — 
 Meeting at Clontarf prohibited — Excitement in Dublin. 
 
 The year of 1843 O'Connell determined to make 
 par excellence " the Repeal year." The silent labors 
 of the Repeal Association now began to yield fruit. 
 Its ranks were divided into three classes, — Members, 
 Associates, and Volunteers. The Associates paid in 
 thirty shillings, and received a card as a means of 
 recognition ; the members paid one pound each, and 
 the Volunteers ten pounds each. The card of mem- 
 bership was remarkable for its design, as will be seen 
 from the following description : 
 
 "The names of four great battles in which the 
 Irish defeated the Danes or English were printed con- 
 spicuously on this card — viz., "Clontarf, 1014;" 
 "Beal-an-atha-buidhe, 1598;" " Benburb, 1645;" 
 "Limerick, 1690." The card was adorned with 
 pikes, banners, and columns. On the shaft of the 
 left column was this description : " Ireland contains 
 32,201 geographical square miles. It is larger than 
 Portugal by 4,649 miles; larger than Bavaria and 
 Saxony united by 4,473 miles; larger than Naples 
 196 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 197 
 
 and Sicily by 409 miles; larger than Hanover, the 
 Papal States, and Tuscany by 1,285 miles; larger 
 than Denmark, Hesse Darmstadt, and the Electorate 
 of Hesse by 9,609 miles ; larger than Greece and 
 Switzerland by 5,565 miles ; larger than Holland and 
 Belgium by 13,065 miles; is in population superior 
 to eighteen, and in extent of territory superior to 
 fifteen, European states — and has not a parliament!" 
 On the shaft of the right column was this inscription : 
 " Ireland has 8,750,000 inhabitants ; has a yearly 
 revenue of ;;^ 5, 000, 000 ; exports yearly ;^i8,ooo,ooo 
 worth of produce ; sends yearly (after paying govern- 
 ment expenses) to England ;^2,500,ooo ; remits 
 yearly to absentees, ;^5,ooo,ooo; supplied, during 
 the last great war against France, the general and 
 two-thirds of the men and officers of the English 
 army and navy ; has a military population of 2,000,- 
 000 — and has not a parliament." 
 
 The work of Repeal now indeed began in earnest. 
 "Monster meetings" followed each other in rapid suc- 
 cession. The first took place at Trim, on the i6th of 
 March, and was rapidly followed by others of equal 
 interest and importance. At Limerick one hundred 
 and ten thousand persons were present, and at Kells 
 one hundred and fifty thousand Repealers assembled. 
 
 The government was thoroughly alarmed by the 
 increasing force of a movement which the law offered 
 no means of destroying. Sir Robert Peel had threat- 
 ened to use every means in his power to crush the 
 Repeal movement, and he boasted that if the law as 
 it , stood could not put down O'Connell, the law 
 should be amended so that he could. 
 17* 
 
198 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 At Mullingar O'Connell attended to this threat of 
 the Prime Minister in a speech deUvered before one 
 of the most enthusiastic meetings yet assembled. 
 
 "We are told," said he, "that some desperate 
 measures are to be taken for the suppression of pub- 
 lic opinion upon the question of Repeal. I will tell 
 Peel where he may find a suggestion for his bill : In 
 the American Congress for the District of Columbia, 
 they have passed a law that the House shall not re- 
 ceive any petitions from, nor any petitions on behalf 
 of, slaves, even though the petitioners be freemen I 
 I shall send for a copy of that Act of the Columbian 
 Legislature, and send it to Peel, that he may take it 
 as his model when he is framing his bill of coercion 
 for the Irish people. He shall go the full length of 
 the Coercion Bill if he stirs at all." 
 
 At Athlone, on the i8th of June, a vast concourse 
 of people gathered to hear the Liberator. When 
 O'Connell rose to speak, the cheers which greeted 
 his ear were positively deafening. This was the 
 anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, and he paid a 
 gallant compliment to the valor of the Irish general 
 and Irish soldiers who secured the triumphs of that 
 battle. 
 
 O'Connell next proceeded to speak of Peel. He 
 denied that the Queen was opposed to Repeal. Peel, 
 in saying that she was so, had told a lie. " I wish," 
 cried a voice in the crowd, " that a crow would come 
 and pick Peel's eyes out." "I wish," replied O'Con- 
 nell, ''that a crow would come and stuff your mouth 
 with potatoes ! " Roars of laughter followed this 
 sally. 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 1 99 
 
 While he yet spoke, a disturbance in the crowd 
 threatened to end in a panic. When the excitement 
 was at its height, O'Connell's voice was heard above 
 the uproar, crying, "Stand still!" Instantly con- 
 fidence was restored, and the meeting resumed its 
 order and decorum. The meetings still continued. 
 At Enniscorthy, in July, two hundred thousand men 
 assembled; at Dundalk three hundred thousand; 
 but these gatherings appear insignificant when com- 
 pared with the great gathering at Tara, which took 
 place August the 15 th, 1843. The hill of Tara is 
 situated some twenty miles from Dublin, and 
 O'Connell set out from the metropolis at an early 
 hour of the morning, attended by his staff. The 
 citizens followed in vehicles, estimated as high as 
 fourteen hundred in number. The roads leading to 
 the grand rendezvous were lined with people, at- 
 tended by bands of music which discoursed national 
 airs, and cheered their hearts as they marched along. 
 The vast concourse of people who gathered on 
 this memorable occasion about the hill of Tara has 
 been variously estimated, one authority placing it as 
 high as seven hundred thousand. The Times said, 
 " a million of people were present ; " not so much of 
 an exaggeration, when we consider that all Ireland 
 had its heart with them. 
 
 On the summit of the hiU an altar was erected, 
 upon which, from early dawn until noon, the Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass was offered. O'Connell arrived 
 just as the officiating clergyman was giving the bless- 
 ing to the multitude, who knelt to receive it On 
 reaching the summit of the hill, O'Connell mounted 
 
2CX> LIFE OF OCONNELL. 
 
 a platform which was occupied by two bishops, three 
 vicars general, and thirty priests. When the great 
 patriot arose to speak the people at once became 
 silent, and the order which prevailed that day was a 
 credit to the nation. Many years after, one of those 
 who was fortunate enough to be present was asked 
 if he was able to hear O'Connell's voice. "Oh, no, 
 sir ! " he replied ; " only about thirty thousand could 
 hear him,' but we all kept as quiet and silent as if we 
 didy The speech which O'Connell delivered on 
 this memorable occasion subsequently caused his 
 arrest. 
 
 From the meeting at Trim, in March, to the meet- 
 ing at Tara, in August, thirty monster meetings had 
 been held. The Repeal Rent, which was collected 
 to defray the necessary expenses of the movement, 
 had amounted in this year to ;^48,42i. O'Connell 
 now. felt sure of success. His plan was to assemble 
 "a court of three hundred" in Dublin, which he 
 thought could be easily converted into an Irish Par- 
 liament. This assembly would be contrary to law 
 — O'Connell was a lawyer, and respected the law. 
 Herein lay a difficulty as gigantic as the intellect of 
 O'Connell. 
 
 The meetings which followed that of Tara were repe- 
 titions of these already enumerated. At Waterford, 
 in July, six hundred thousand persons assembled. The 
 last of the meetings took place in October, at Mul- 
 laghmast. On that occasion O'Connell was crowned 
 by Hogan, the sculptor, in the presence of four hun- 
 dred thousand Repealers. Placing the crown on his 
 head, the great sculptor remarked, " Sir, my only 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 20I 
 
 regret is that this is not gold." Overcome by the 
 ceremony, O'Connell placed his hand upon his heart, 
 and exclaimed, in a voice trembling with emotion, " I 
 shall wear this cap with the proud remembrance that 
 it was given to me on the Rath of Mullaghmast, and 
 that it was placed upon my head by one of the first 
 of modern sculptors in this or any other country. I 
 shall continue to wear it during my life, and it shall 
 afterwards be buried with me in the grave." 
 
 At a meeting of the Repeal Association, it was 
 decided to hold another monster meeting on Sunday, 
 October the 8th, at Clontarf, the memorable battle- 
 ground of an Irish victory over the Danes, The 
 preparations made for this meeting surpassed those 
 of any other ever held in Ireland. The government, 
 fearing that the crisis had come, determined to strike 
 a signal blow at Repeal. On the afternoon of Sat- 
 urday, October 7th, a proclamation from the Viceroy, 
 Lord de Gray, appeared at the gates of the Castle, 
 prohibiting the intended meeting of the morrow. 
 Fearing bloodshed, which seemed inevitable in case 
 the meeting took place, O'Connell wisely issued a coun- 
 ter proclamation, in which he enjoined the Repealers 
 to abandon their purpose of assembling. Messengers 
 were despatched in all directions, and the quiet which 
 reigned in Dublin on the morrow attested the con- 
 trol which O'Connell possessed over the actions of 
 the people. The judgment of O'Connell on this 
 occasion merits the greatest respect. Had the Clon- 
 tarf meeting taken place, the people would have 
 been slaughtered. Lord Cardigan had planted can- 
 non so as to command the approaches to Clontarf, 
 
202 LIFE OF 0*CONNELL. 
 
 the infantry were supplied with sixty rounds of ball 
 cartridge each, and that moral aristocrat would have 
 perpetrated a massacre on the unarmed assemblage 
 of the people. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Rumors of O'Connell's Arrest — How he received the News — His 
 Annual Hunt at Derrynane — O'Connell is charged with Con- 
 spiracy — The Trial — Excitement in Dublin — Eloquence of 
 Sheil — O'Connell defends himself — The Verdict — O'Connell in 
 England — The Sentence — O'Connell in Bridewell — Prison Life 
 of the Liberator and his Friends — Description of Bridewell — 
 The Sympathy of Friends. 
 
 . On the 1 2th of October, rumors were afloat in 
 Dublin that O'Connell was to be tried for high- trea- 
 son. When O'Connell learned of the danger that 
 threatened him, his countenance fell, and he evinced 
 great uneasiness. His advanced age led him to be- 
 lieve that confinement would shorten his life, and he 
 feared the result. In conversation with a friend, he 
 said, " I scarcely think they will attempt a prosecu- 
 tion for high-treason, though, indeed, there is hardly 
 anything too desperate for them to attempt. If they 
 do, I shall make my confession, and prepare for the 
 result." 
 
 Finding that the charges preferred were not as seri- 
 ous as he had anticipated, he began to look at the mat- 
 ter less gloomily, and soon regained his usual buoyancy 
 of spirits. To his son John he laughingly remarked, 
 " I do not think two years imprisonment would kill 
 me; I should keep constantly walking about, and 
 take a bath every day.'* 
 
 203 
 
204 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 "But why talk of imprisonment at all?" returned 
 John; "surely there is, please God, no danger of it." 
 
 " I take the most discouraging view of the case," 
 said his father, "in order to be prepared for the 
 worst." 
 
 The terrors of the impending prosecution did not 
 hinder O'Connell from paying his annual visit to 
 Derrynane, from which, August 17th, he wrote to a 
 friend a private letter so characteristic of the man, 
 that we cannot refrain from giving an extract : 
 "What a tasteless fellow that Attorney-General was, 
 not to allow me another fortnight in these delightful 
 mountains. I forgive him everything but that. 
 Why, yesterday I had a most delightful day's hunt- 
 ing. I saw almost the entire of it — hare and 
 hounds. We killed five hares. The day's run, with- 
 out intermission, five hours and three quarters. In 
 thr^e minutes after each hare was killed we had an- 
 other on foot, and the cry was incessant. They were 
 never at more than a temporary check, and the cry 
 with the echoes was splendid. I was not in such 
 wind for walking these five years ; and you will laugh 
 at me when I tell you the fact, that I was less 
 wearied than several of the young men, and we 
 had a good three miles to walk home after the last 
 hare was killed, just at the close of the day. I was 
 not prepared for such good hunting, as the plague 
 among my dogs had thinned the pack. It killed six 
 couple of beautiful beagles of mine. I could almost 
 weep for them. Yet the sur\dvors seemed deter- 
 mined to indemnify me. If to-morrow be dry, I hope 
 to have another good day's hunt." 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 20$ 
 
 On the 14th of October, 1844, the Crown Solicitor 
 waited on O'Connell, and informed him that the 
 government had instituted proceedings against him- 
 self and his son, John O'Connell, for "conspiracy, 
 and other misdemeanors." In the afternoon of the 
 same day he appeared before Justice Burton, and 
 gave bail to abide his trial on the charges preferred 
 against him. Immediately after, O'Connell addressed 
 a letter "to the people of Ireland," in which he im- 
 plored them " to observe the strictest and most per- 
 fect tranquillity." O'Connell and his son were not 
 the only individuals charged with this " conspiracy 
 to intimidate the government." In the indictment, 
 which covered about ninety-seven feet of parchment, 
 were found the names of Thomas Steele, Thomas 
 Matthew Ray, Charles Gavan Duffy, John Gray, 
 Richard Barrett, Rev. J. Tierney, and Rev. Mr. 
 Tyrrell. 
 
 The trial opened on January 15 th, 1844. A stran- 
 ger in Dublin on that day might have mistaken 
 O'Connell, as he rode down to the court-house side 
 by side with the Lord Mayor, and followed by the 
 aldermen in their official robes, for the King of Ire- 
 land. The enthusiasm of the citizens, who lined the 
 streets on either side, manifested itself in loud and 
 prolonged cheers as he passed along — a pledge, as it 
 were, of their sympathy and devotion. The city 
 swarmed with soldiers. The government was 
 alarmed, and feared an outbreak. It was the fear of 
 the bully, who parades his strength to conceal his 
 lack of courage. On arriving at the court-house. 
 
206 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 O'Connell entered amidst murmurs of friendly wel- 
 come and sympathy. 
 
 On the Bench sat Chief Justice Pennefather, and 
 assistant judges Burton, Crampton-, and Perrin. 
 The jury was Protestant to a man. Between Tory, 
 judges and a Tory jury the traversers had small 
 chance of acquittal. "If our Saviour himself were 
 in the dock," said the shrewd Jack Gifford, "the 
 Dublin Orangemen would find him guilty, if it would 
 serve their purpose." The principal witnesses were 
 reporters and policemen, and their evidence would 
 have proved weak enough in any but an Irish state 
 trial. The counsel on both sides were distinguished 
 men. The case for the crown occupied ten days, 
 the Attorney-General's charge alone covering "eleven 
 mortal hours." On the eleventh day, Shell arose to 
 open the .case for the defence. He acted as counsel 
 for Mr. John O'Connell. His speech was in every 
 respect worthy of his great reputation as a lawyer 
 and orator. In defending the son. Shell likewise de- 
 fended the father. He scorned the charge of con- 
 spiracy against a man whose honest purposes courted 
 the world's inspection, and matured best in the broad 
 light of public scrutiny. 
 
 "Can you bring yourselves," said he, "to believe 
 that he would blast all the laurels which it is his 
 boast that he has won without the effusion of a sin- 
 gle drop of human blood ; that he would drench the 
 land of his birth, of his affections, and of his re- 
 demption, in a deluge of profitless blood, and that he 
 would lay prostrate the great moral monument which 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 207 
 
 he has raised so high that it is visible from the re- 
 motest region of the world ? "■ 
 
 The other traversers were defended individually 
 by counsel, among whom were Fitzgibbon, White- 
 side, MacDonough and Henn. From the first day of 
 the trial, O'Connell had resolved to be his own advo- 
 cate. On the the twentieth day of the trial the Lib- 
 erator, who had impatiently awaited his turn, arose. 
 His speech on this occasion, although full of ability, 
 was not equal to his best efforts. This proceeded in 
 a great measure from a founded conviction that his 
 sentence was already determined upon. 
 
 In combating the charge of "conspiracy," which 
 the Attorney-General confidently promised to estab- 
 lish, O'Connell was supremely successful : '* If, my 
 lords, I look into the dictionary for the meaning of 
 that word, I find that it is ' a secret agreement be- 
 tween several to commit a crime;' and that is the 
 rational, common-sense definition of it. It has been 
 admitted even by the crown that this secret conspir- 
 acy had no secresy at all What a monstrous thing it 
 would be to hold that that was a conspiracy which 
 everybody knew of, everybody heard of, and three- 
 fifths of the people of this country were engaged in ! 
 And what was the evidence that those conspirators 
 assembled > That Mr. Such-a-one attended at such 
 a meeting; that Mr. Barrett attended at a certain 
 meeting, and that Mr. Duffy attended once or twice; 
 that I myself attended; and this is the way the 
 charge of conspiracy is spelt out. Is it common 
 sense that that should be denominated a conspiracy ? 
 Conspiracy I Where was it formed ? When was it 
 
208 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 formed ? How was it formed ? Was it formed in 
 summer or in winter, in spring or in autumn ? Tell 
 me the hour, the week, the month, the year it was 
 made. When and where did it take place? Should 
 I not, at all events, have the advantage of being able 
 to prove an alibi? (Laughter.) No; but 'you must 
 go over nine months, and toss up which place or 
 time you shall select. Do you not believe that if 
 there was a conspiracy it would be proved, and that 
 the only reason it was -not proved is that it did not 
 exist } The Attorney-General told you that it did ex- 
 ist — that it must have existed. But this is all im- 
 aginary, and you are called upon to find me guilty if 
 you imagine that this agreement was entered into." 
 O'Connell concluded his defence with the following 
 eloquent words : " I leave the case in your hands. I 
 deny I have done anything to stain me. I reject 
 with contempt the appellation of conspirator. I 
 have acted boldly in the open day, in the presence of 
 the magistracy; there has been nothing secret or 
 concealed. I have struggled for the restoration of 
 the parliament of my native country. Others have 
 succeeded before me ; but succeed or fail, it was a 
 struggle to make the fairest land in the world pos- 
 sess those benefits which Nature intended she should 
 enjoy." 
 
 The combined eloquence of the United Kingdom 
 would have been thrown away upon such a jury; 
 the verdict had been agreed upon long before the 
 trial began, and, as a consequence, O'Connell and 
 his associates were found guilty. 
 
 Scarcely had the verdict issued from the jury-box, 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. ' 2O9 
 
 when O'Connell addressed a "Letter to "the Irish 
 People." In that letter he tore the mask from the 
 hypocritical designs of the government, and exposed 
 the base trickery which had been employed through- 
 out the trial. In conclusion, he implored the people 
 to abstain from violence, promising if they kept the 
 peace "for six, .or, at most, for twelve months, he 
 would guarantee them Repeal." 
 
 In Ireland the result of the trial was received with 
 ill-assumed submission. In England, where O'Con- 
 nell went immediately after the trial, the people ex- 
 pressed their indignation at public meetings held 
 to protest against this wanton desecration of consti- 
 tutional right. At the Covent Garden meeting, 
 O'Connell said himself, "the scene was never ex- 
 ceeded, and perhaps never equalled, in any other 
 country." When the Liberator entered the House 
 of Commons, the Whigs, who were then "out of 
 place," received him with cheers, and the member 
 who was at that moment addressing the assemblage 
 was obliged to pause. Singularly enough, the House 
 at that time was discussing Irish affairs, and Lord 
 John Russell took occasion to arraign the govern- 
 ment for its unnatural treatment of Ireland, and 
 boldly asserted that O'Connell had been tried by a 
 packed jury. When the debate closed, O'Connell re- 
 turned to Dublin. 
 
 Judge Burton did not pronounce sentence upon 
 the condemned -until the 30th of May, three months 
 after the termination of the trial. The judge, who 
 was a man of high principle and a great admirer of 
 O'Connell' s, became greatly affected when pronounc- 
 
2IO LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 ing judgment. He commenced with much calm- 
 ness, but soon lost control o£ his voice, and, bursting 
 into tears, hid his face in his hands. In a few min- 
 utes the kind-hearted judge recovered his self-posses- 
 sion, and concluded the formal part of the judg- 
 ment. 
 
 " With respect to the principal traverser, the Court 
 is of opinion that he must be sentenced to be im- 
 prisoned for the space of twelve calendar months; 
 and that he is further to be fined in the sum of 
 ;;^2,ooo, and bound in his own recognizances in the 
 sum of ;^5,ooo, and two sureties in ;^2,500, to 
 keep the peace for seven years. With respect to 
 the other traversers, they shall be imprisoned for the 
 space of nine calendar months, each of them to pay 
 ;^50 fine, and enter into their own recognizances of 
 ;^i,ooo, and two sureties of ;;^500, to keep the peace 
 for seven years." 
 
 It is impossible, at this late day, to fully appreciate 
 the outraged sentiment of the people of Ireland. 
 Their leader, their all but kingly Liberator, was 
 about to be deprived of his inalienable rights as a 
 citizen, and suffer confinement, in a common jail. 
 The public pulse beat high. A single word from 
 O'Connell would have precipitated a rebellion against 
 the government, whose wanton disregard of justice 
 led the people to hope little from purely moral force. 
 It would have been far easier for many a man who 
 was present at Tara to have faced the cannon at 
 Clontarf than witness the incarceration of "the 
 hope of Ireland." The Repeal Rent rose up to 
 ;^2,ooo a week. 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. ' 211 
 
 The prisoners were allowed to choose their place 
 of confinement, and O'Connell, in behalf of his com- 
 panions, chose Richmond Bridewell. A carriage 
 was procured for the Liberator, and covered vehicles 
 for his fellow prisoners, and the cavalcade made a 
 circuitous route to the jail, escorted by a strong 
 force of mounted police. The people, who had col- 
 lected in vast numbers, followed in mournful silence 
 until the party reached Richmond, when their pent- 
 up feehngs could no longer be controlled, and they 
 burst forth into a long and hearty cheer. 
 
 On entering, the prisoners were escorted to the 
 office of the prison, where the warder registered 
 their names. As it will prove of interest to our 
 readers, we give below an extract from th^ Prison 
 Registry, showing how O'Connell' s name was en- 
 tered. 
 
 RICHMOND BRIDEWELL. 
 
 Extract from General Registry, 1844, of the underrtamed State 
 
 Prisoners : — 
 Name, D. O'Connell ; Age, 67 ; Height, 5ft. 11 1-4 in. ; Hair, Dark ; 
 Complexion, Good ; Born, Cahirciveen ; Occupation, Barrister ; Edu- 
 cation, Superior; Committed, May 30, 1844; Crime, Conspiracy. By 
 whom committed, Q. Bench ; Sentence, 12 cal. m. ; Discharged by 
 order of Government, Sept. 6, 1844 ; Fines, ;^ 2^000 ; Sureties, Self, 
 ;^ 5,000, and two, ^^2,000 each. 
 
 After the entries had been made, the prisoners re- 
 mained in the outer hall, waiting to be shown their 
 "quarters." Meanwhile, O'Connell was ushered 
 into the presence of the Board of Superintendence, 
 who arose and saluted him as he entered. This 
 courtesy was recognized by the Liberator with a 
 
21.2 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 graceful bow. He was then informed that great 
 privileges would be awarded, if he would, on the 
 part of himself and his fellow prisoners, give a 
 pledge not to use the concessions to effect an escape 
 from prison. O'Connell, with gentlemanly consid- 
 eration for his friends, replied that he would first 
 consult them, and retired for that purpose into the 
 outer hall. He there repeated the words of the 
 Board to his fellow prisoners, who replied, "Your 
 promise, sir, should be law to us ; " and the Board, on 
 receiving this assurance, immediately broke up. 
 
 "O'Connell, of course, had the first, selection of 
 rooms, and he fixed on a second floor bed-room in 
 the deputy-governor's house, as being near the only 
 room large enough for all the State prisoners to dine 
 in together. John O'Connell naturally selected a 
 room near his illustrious father. C. G. Duffy, lately 
 Prime Minister of Victoria, selected the dining-room 
 and adjoining bed-room in the governor's house. 
 Dr. Gray, late Sir John Gray, M.P. for Kilkenny, 
 selected the drawing-room and adjoining bed-room in 
 the same department, and Steele and Ray made 
 choice of rooms over those of Duffy and Gray, while 
 Barrett selected rooms between the governor's and 
 deputy-governor's chief apartments, but practically 
 in the deputy-governor's, as he said, 'to be near 
 O'Connell' Mrs. John O'Connell, Mrs. Gray, Mrs. 
 Duffy, Mrs. Barrett, and Mrs. Ray were installed as 
 rulers in the respective 'cells' of their husbands, 
 and great was the confusion of bandboxes and par- 
 cels, great and small, and trunks and bags, as they 
 were tumbled into the hall of Richmond Bridewell 
 
LIFE OF OCONNELL. 21$ 
 
 on that day. Each was, however, soon restored to 
 order under the gentle sway of the ladies, and as 
 dinner hour approached and the bell rang, the pris- 
 oners, each with his wife or relative, might be seen 
 assembling in the great dining-room in the deputy- 
 governor's house, not in full dress, but in something 
 nearly approaching to it. O'Connell on that day led 
 * Mrs. John,' as he affectionately called her, to her 
 seat, and the first dinner in Richmond was partaken 
 of by as joyous a family party as ever assembled. 
 Seated at a round table, the property of the gov- 
 ernor, now in the possession of Lady Gray, the 
 prisoners were, on that occasion, in allusion to the 
 great round table, called by the Liberator 'The 
 Knights of the Round Table,' a title they bore dur- 
 ing their stay at Richmond." 
 
 "During his imprisonment, O'Connell was as ac- 
 cessible to visitors, and ats informal in his mode of 
 ' giving audiences,* as the most youthful of his com- 
 panions. A 'friend of the cause,' from the most 
 distant village in Ireland, whether lay or clerical, 
 who desired to see ' the Liberator,' was at once pre- 
 sented by one of his fellow-prisoners, some member 
 of the family of a ' fellow captive,' or some one of the 
 faithful body-guard which was always in attendance 
 on ' the Liberator ' as he took his walk in the prison- 
 garden or sat on 'Tara' or ' Mullaghmast.'"* 
 
 "Tara" and " Mullaghmast" were two mounds in 
 the prison-garden, which the Liberator had chosen 
 to name after those celebrated places of meeting. 
 The prison life, which O'Connell at first dreaded so 
 
 * From the late Sir John Gray's Narrative. 
 
214 LIFE OF OCONNELL. 
 
 much, was not as serious a matter as he had antici- 
 pated, and in every way differed from that of the 
 common prisoner. He and his companions were 
 allowed the free use of the garden already alluded to, 
 which gave them ample opportunity of exercise. 
 "Three times round the jail garden is a mile," said 
 O'Connell, "and I will walk it three times a day," 
 which he did. They were allowed to receive and 
 entertain their friends. The generous citizens of 
 Dublin vied with one another in seeing that the pris- 
 oners wanted nothing, and their table was constantly 
 supplied with the delicacies of the market. Mass was 
 celebrated each day in the prison ; and so numerous 
 were the applications of those zealous to offer this 
 great spiritual consolation, that many clergymen 
 were obliged to wait days before their turn came. 
 The prisoners gave dinner-parties regularly twice 
 a week, whilst visitors without number, coming 
 from all parts of Ireland, were freely admitted and 
 cordially received. 
 
 "You are more visited here," said one of a deputa- 
 tion to O'Connell, who stood on " Tara," "than if 
 you were at large." "Yes," replied the Liberator, 
 " and, being a prisoner, I cannot use the excuse 
 'not at home.' " 
 
 Addresses of condolence were sent to O'Connell 
 from all parts of Europe, and among others one 
 from the Catholic clergy of Wurtemburg. The ad- 
 dress from England, however, was most gratifying. 
 It was signed by some of the best and noblest Cath- 
 olics of that country. 
 
 " Tell your friends that my heart is joyful," said 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 21$ 
 
 the Liberator, in reply to the bearer of one of the 
 many addresses which were presented at this time ; 
 " my spirits are buoyant, my health is excellent, my 
 hopes are high. My imprisonment is not irksome to 
 me, for I feel and know that it will, under Provi- 
 dence, be the means of making our country a nation 
 again. I am glad I ain in prison. There wanted 
 but this to my career. I have labored for Ireland ; 
 refused office, honor, and emolument for Ireland; 
 I have prayed, and hoped, and watched for Ireland — 
 there was yet one thing wanted, that I should be in 
 jail for Ireland ! That has now been added to the 
 rest, thanks to our enemies, and I cordially rejoice 
 at it." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Judgment Reversed — O'Connell Set Free — Demand for Autographs 
 — Triumphal Procession from Bridewell to Merrion Square — 
 O'Connell addresses the People from his Balcony — Speech in 
 Conciliation Hall — The '82 Club — Enthroned in the Rotunda — 
 " Young Ireland " Party — Ovation to O'Connell at Cashel — 
 Famine — O'Connell's Last Speech in Ireland — His Reply to the 
 Duke of Cambridge. 
 
 Meantime O'Connell's friends were not idle. 
 They clamored for justice in the very halls of Par- 
 liament An appeal for a reverse of judgment was 
 made to the House of Lords. The matter was re- 
 ferred, at first, to twelve judges, who decided that 
 the indictment was illegal, but the finding was right 
 Carried from the Court of Appeal to the House of 
 Lords, it was finally placed in the hands of five law 
 lords, a majority of whom was in favor of reversal 
 
 O'Connell and his fellow prisoners were at last set 
 free. On the afternoon of Thursday, the 5th of 
 September, 1844, large crowds of people were as- 
 sembled on the pier at Kingstown, patiently await- 
 ing the arrival of the steamer Medusa, which was 
 expected to bear to Ireland the glad tidings of 
 O'Connell's release. The traversers' Solicitors had 
 provided themselves in London with banners, on 
 which were inscribed '' Triumph of law and justice ; 
 the judgment reversed. O ConnelL is freey No 
 216 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 21/ 
 
 sooner had these gentlemen landed than the joyful 
 tidings were communicated to the crowd, who imme- 
 diately gave utterance to their delight in cries of 
 '* Free, free." The engineer of the train which carried 
 the Solicitors to Dublin placed one of the banners 
 on his engine, and thus the people along the way 
 were made acquainted with the grateful intelligence. 
 It is impossible to describe the joy manifested at 
 the prison on learning the news. Friends flocked 
 thither in great numbers to congratulate the re- 
 leased, who were obliged to write thousands of sig- 
 natures before they departed for their homes. It 
 was determined that a triumphal procession should 
 be made on the morrow from Richmond Prison 
 to Merrion Square. Accordingly, on the following 
 day, Saturday, the 7th (1844), thousands were looking 
 for O'Connell to escort him from the prison whence 
 the procession was to begin. But the Liberator was 
 at Mass, concluding the last day of a novena in 
 which all the Catholic prisoners had joined. From 
 Merrion Square to the Richmond Bridewell, the way 
 was lined with one dense mass of human beings. 
 At twelve, the first part of the procession reached 
 the penitentiary, but the triumphal car did not arrive 
 until two hours later. This monster cortege was 
 composed of delegations from the trades and the 
 temperance societies, headed by Very Rev. Dr. Spratt, 
 bearing banners and headed by bands of music. 
 The Lord Mayor was there in his robes, attended by 
 a numerous gathering of the best citizens of Dublin. 
 The carriages which followed after the trades were 
 filled by the Repeal Wardens and members of the 
 19 
 
21 8 LIFE OF o'connell: 
 
 «. 
 
 Association. The climax was, however, the moment 
 at which O'Connell, accompanied by his son John 
 and Dr. Miley, his chaplain, was conducted from the 
 jail by Smith O'Brien, and ascended the triumphal 
 car. Then arose a shout so loud, so long, so enthu- 
 siastic, as to be perfectly deafening. The other pris- 
 oners, with their friends, entered carriages, and the 
 procession moved forward. When opposite the old 
 "Parliament House" in College Green, his car was 
 stopped. O'Connell rose up, and, taking off his cap, 
 pointed significantly to the building again and again. 
 The people understood the meaning of these ges- 
 tures, and loudly proclaimed their appreciation. At 
 length the procession reached Merrion Square, where 
 O'Connell addressed the multitude, who listened with 
 profound attention to his words. He said : " This is 
 a great day for Ireland (tremendous cheering) — a 
 day of justice.- All that we ever desired was jus- 
 tice, and we have got an instalment of it, at any 
 rate. The plans of the wicked and the conspiracy of 
 the oppressor ; the foul mismanagement of the jury 
 panel ; the base conspiracy against the lives, the lib- 
 erties, and the constitutional rights of the public — 
 have all, blessed be God, been defeated." 
 
 He then proceeded to prove that he in no way had 
 transgressed the law, and assured them he was still 
 "young enough, in law and in fact," to continue his 
 great work. At the conclusion of his speech the 
 immense crowd separated, delighted to feel that their 
 beloved chieftain was once more at liberty. 
 
 On Monday, two days after the procession, O'Con- 
 nell appeared at Conciliation Hall, where a dense 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 2I9 
 
 multitude awaited him. It is needless to remark 
 the reception which greeted him as he arose to ad- 
 dress the meeting. The tender bond of sympathy 
 between O'Connell and the people had ripened into 
 parental love. It was the very ecstacy of national 
 confidence and national devotion. He reviewed the 
 trial, the prejudice of the judges, the perfidy of the 
 jury, and his sentence and confinement. He alluded 
 to the confidence reposed in him by the Protestants 
 of Ireland. "We were strong enough to commit 
 violence," said he; "and nothing save the spirit of 
 conciliation and love for each other could have 
 brought us together in such multitudinous masses 
 without violence." He concluded with a glowing 
 tribute to the Catholic clergy : 
 
 "I have kept my compact; but I never could have 
 done this without the assistance and cooperation of 
 the Catholic clergy. They saw the jealous scrutiny 
 with which our movements were watched by our 
 Protestant brethren ; they entered unreservedly into 
 my views, and here is all the secret of my success. 
 They knew me; they appreciated me. They knew 
 that I was the first apostle and founder of that sect 
 of politicians whose cardinal doctrine is this, — that 
 the greatest and most desirable of political changes 
 may be achieved by moral means alone, and that no 
 human revolution is worth the effusion of one single 
 drop of blood. Human blood is no cement for the 
 temple of human liberty." 
 
 In 1843, a club had been founded in Ireland called the 
 '82 Club, in honor of the era of Ireland's independ- 
 ence (1782).. On the 3d of May of this year (1845), a 
 
220 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 festival was held under the auspices of this club, to 
 commemorate O'Connell's imprisonment. O'Connell 
 wgis seated on a green throne in the Round Room of 
 the Rotunda, surrounded by members of the club in 
 their green and gold uniforms. _ A platform twenty- 
 six feet in diameter supported the throne, over which 
 the arms of Ireland were conspicuously emblazoned. 
 In short, the Round Room had every appearance of 
 a royal court. It was, indeed, the supreme moment 
 of O'Connell's life. Seated in state, he received 
 successively the nobility, gentry, and clergy of Cath- 
 olic Ireland. 
 
 The noon of O'Connell's illustrious and eventful 
 life had passed ; already the " wing of the shadow of 
 death" was upon him. Troubles and disappoint- 
 ments so common to his stormy life, now increased 
 in such a degree that his advanced age and decayed 
 energies were no longer able to contend with them. 
 The "Young Ireland" party, composed of the 
 younger members of the Repeal Association, eager 
 to draw the sword, were showing themselves impa- 
 tient of the Fabian policy of the Liberator. A new 
 element also had united itself with Repeal, which 
 boded no good to the cause. This consisted of in- 
 fluential men, large property owners, who were 
 wedded to the aristocracy. One of these gentlemen. 
 Grey Porter by name, brought forward a plan for 
 raising a national militia ; and when he found that 
 he did not meet with much attention, he took to 
 inspecting the ledgers of the Repeal Association, 
 and then endeavored to cast suspicion upon O'Con- 
 nell's management of its funds. To fill the cup 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 221 
 
 of bitterness, a rescript from Rome was received 
 in Ireland, by which its Catholic clergy were in. 
 structed to give less time to politics and more atten- 
 tion to their religious duties. 
 
 Late in September of 1845, O'Connell visited 
 Cashel, where over one hundred thousand people as- 
 sembled to receive him. His own description of the 
 affair will be read with interest : 
 
 "The meeting of Tipperary did not so much lie 
 within a compass (as Tara) that it could be seen to- 
 gether; but it was all seen by me, who traversed it 
 from one end to the other, who was surrounded by 
 immense multitudes from Cashel to Thurles, a dis- 
 tance of ten miles, and to the place of meeting, two 
 miles beyoiid it. They came in three great divi- 
 sions, by the three roads that meet in Thurles; and 
 one of those divisions, and not the largest of the 
 three, took two hours and forty-five minutes in pass- 
 ing the bank. A friend of mine was stationed there. 
 They marched eight or ten abreast, and they were 
 two hours and forty-five minutes in passing the 
 bank; and that was only one-third of the entire 
 number ! They were mounted upon excellent, ser- 
 viceable horses. Mr. Bianconi, the mayor of Clon- 
 mel, who understands horses as well as any man liv- 
 ing, told me he never saw such a number of excel- 
 lent horses. Upwards of fifteen thousand of them 
 rode in one group on horseback. In a word, it 
 was one of the noblest sights that ever Ireland ex- 
 hibited — for nothing can be finer than such a con- 
 gregation of human beings. They were not con- 
 fined to men alone, but consisted of women, boys, 
 19* 
 
222 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 and children of all ages. I want language to de- 
 scribe the demonstration. It was not a military de- 
 monstration, for that means a feint, a pretended at- 
 tack ; but it was a poUtical demonstration, having re- 
 ality for its basis, having determination for its guid- 
 ance, and the Repeal of the Union for its object." 
 
 O'Connell boasted at Cashel, that the Catholic As- 
 sociation, when emancipation was conceded, con- 
 sisted of only fourteen thousand members, but the 
 Repeal Association already numbered one million. 
 " I have," said he, *' the draft of a bill for the Repeal 
 of the Union almost complete already. It is an act 
 entitled "An act to enable Her Majesty the Queen 
 to summon her Parliament of Ireland." 
 
 Alas! these happy anticipations were far from 
 being realized. Early in October of 1845, the dark 
 shadow of impending famine fell upon Ireland. No 
 one felt this calamity more keenly than O'Connell. 
 His voice was lifted in behalf of the suffering peo- 
 ple, to obtain relief for whom he exerted his utmost 
 powers. He publicly accused England of wilfully 
 aggravating the sufferings of the Irish ; for at the 
 very moment the people were starving by thousands, 
 Irish grain was being imported to England. O'Con- 
 nell was accused, in the Times, of neglecting his own 
 tenantry, but he soon exposed that lie, by showing 
 that Cahirciveen, where his property lay, enjoyed a 
 prosperity relatively greater than any other town in 
 Ireland. 
 
 Early in 1846, O'Connell delivered before the Re- 
 peal Association his last speech in Ireland. He in- 
 formed the meeting that he had resolved to proceed 
 
LIFE OF O CONNELL. 223 
 
 to Parliament in order to counteract the machinations 
 of a party in England, who boldly asserted that there 
 was no suffering or misery in Ireland. The Duke 
 of Cambridge was the head of this party. "Ire- 
 land,", said the duke, " is not in so bad a state as has 
 been represented. ... I understand," continued 
 his highness, " that rotten potatoes and sea-weed, or 
 even grass, properly mixed, afford a \nery wholesome 
 and nutritious food. We all know that Irishmen can 
 live upon anything, and there is plenty of grass 'in 
 the fields even if the potato crop should fail ! " 
 
 Notwithstanding the duke's exalted dignity, O'Con- 
 nell commented on this speech with terrible and de- 
 served severity. "There," said he, "is the son of a 
 king ! — the brother of a king ! — the uncle of a 
 monarch ! — there is his description of Ireland for 
 you ! Oh, why does he think thus of the Irish peo- 
 ple ? Perhaps he has been reading Spenser, who 
 wrote at a time when Ireland was not put down by 
 the strong arm of force or defeated in battle — be- 
 cause she never was defeated — but when the plan 
 was laid down to starve the Irish nation (oh ! oh !). 
 For three years every portion of the crop was tram- 
 pled down by the hoofs of the horses of mounted 
 soldiery; for three years the crops were destroyed, 
 and human creatures were found lying behind 
 ditches, with their mouths green by eating sorrel 
 and the grass of the field ! (Sensation.) The Duke 
 of Cambridge, I suppose, wishes that we should have 
 such scenes again enacted in this country. And is 
 it possible that in the presence of some of the most 
 illustrious nobility of England, that royal personage 
 
224 "LIFK OF O CONNELL. 
 
 should be found to utter horrors of this description ? 
 I will go over to England to see what they intend to 
 do for the Irish — whether they are of opinion that 
 the Irish are to feed on grass or eat mangel-wurzel 
 (laughter). If that should be attempted — and may 
 God avert the possibility of the occurrence ! — I do 
 not hesitate to say it would be the duty of every man 
 to die with arms in his hands." The moment 
 O'Connell uttered these words the whole assembly 
 rose like one man, and cheered with the utmost en- 
 thusiasm for several minutes. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 O'Connell's Farewell to Ireland — In Parliament— Defeat of Lord 
 Bentinck's:Bill — Rumors of O'Connell's Death — His Prostration 
 — He sets out for Rome — His Journey — Hastings, Folkestone, 
 and Boulogne, to Paris — Paris to Lyons and Marseilles — Testi- 
 monials of Respect — The Liberator in Genoa — The Last Sacra- 
 nients — His Death — His Heart s sent to Rome — Pius IX.'s 
 Eulogy — Funeral Honors in Rome — The Remains arrive in 
 Dublin — Funeral — Interment in Glasnevin. 
 
 On January 26th, 1846, O'Connell, now rapidly 
 declining in health, but still devoted to the cause of 
 his beloved countrymen, set out for London to plead 
 for their relief in Parliament, 
 
 On the journey he was accompanied by two clergy- 
 men, one Catholic, the other Protestant, but both on 
 the same humane mission, viz. : seeking relief for their 
 starving parishioners. Arriving in London, O'Con- 
 nell exerted his waning faculties in striving to soften 
 the English heart. He laid bare the deplorable condi- 
 tion of the people, and earnestly supported Lord 
 George Bentinck's bill to empower the government 
 to loan the Irish railways ;^ 16,000,000. This 
 measure would have given nearly a fifth of the popu- 
 lation employment, and, whilst it alleviated their 
 wants, would have advanced the interests of Ireland. 
 The bilk was not carried. This blow fell with fatal 
 effect upon O'Connell. Meanwhile, the news from 
 
 225 
 
226 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 Ireland was most discouraging. The horrors of the 
 famine still increasing, surpassed, as Brougham said, 
 " anything in the pages of Thucydides, or on the can- 
 vas of Poussin, or in the dismal chant of Dante." In 
 addition to this, the Young Irelanders seceded from 
 O'Connell's followers. Smith O'Brien, at the head 
 of his party, marched out of Conciliation Hall, 
 despite the noble exertions of John O'Connell to 
 reconcile their differences. Two days after Lord 
 George Bentincks's bill had been rejected, a rumor 
 prevailed in London that O'Connell was dead. His 
 friends hastened to Jermyn Street, where he resided, 
 to ascertain his condition, and there learned that he 
 was seriously indisposed, and intended returning to 
 Ireland immediately. His physicians, however, op- 
 posed his return, and recommended a milder climate. 
 They disagreed regarding the exact nature of his 
 disease, but were all of opinion that rest, and a cessa- 
 tion from business and excitement, was absolutely 
 necessary. O'Connell had long turned his eager eye 
 on Rome. It had been his constant desire to visit 
 the shrine of Peter, although his unremitting labors 
 in behalf of Ireland had never yielded him an oppor- 
 tunity. Feeling, however, that his end was drawing 
 near, and that his mind was no longer able to endure 
 the strain of his political labors, he resolved to set 
 out, before his declining health would render the 
 journey impossible. 
 
 "His days," writes an intimate friend, ''were evi- 
 dently drawing to a close. His voice was broken, 
 hollow, and occasionally quite inaudible ; his person 
 was debilitated ; the vigor of his eloquence was gone. 
 
LIFE OF O CONNKLL. 22/ 
 
 and his appearance was that of one who, destined 
 soon to descend ■ into the grave, makes the last feeble 
 rally of his fainting powers in performance of a duty 
 to his country. His indisposition now daily increased. 
 If his mind could have been soothed by the atten- 
 tions of the great, he possessed that species of con- 
 solation ; . nobles and ministers of state made daily 
 inquiry at his hotel. Nay, even royalty once or 
 twice paid him a similar compliment. Prior to quit- 
 ting England for the Continent, he sojourned for 
 several days at Hastings. While he stayed there he 
 was visited by three of the most distinguished of the 
 Oxford converts. Those gentlemen stated 'that 
 their visit was not made for the mere purpose of 
 compliment or condolence; but in order that they 
 might have the pleasure of personally assuring him 
 that the religious change which they and numerous 
 others had made, was ascribable, under God, to his 
 poUtical labors, which had in the first instance at- 
 tracted their attention to the momentous questions at 
 issue between Protestants and Catholics. The inquiry 
 that originated thus, ended in a conviction of the truth 
 of Catholicity.' He was pleased at this intelligence ; 
 his spirits rallied, and he conversed with his new 
 friends for nearly an hour, with the point and vivac- 
 ity that had characterized him in the days of his 
 vigor." 
 
 From Hastings O'Connell proceeded to Folke- 
 stone, accompanied by his sons John and Daniel, to- 
 gether with Father Miley, his chaplain. At Folke- 
 stone, he embarked for Boulogne, where he arrived 
 after a pleasant voyage of a few hours. Here he was 
 
228 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 greeted with marks of public courtesy by both the 
 English and French residents, similar to those which 
 had attended his departure from England. From 
 Boulogne he proceeded to Paris, where he consulted 
 Drs. Oliffe and Chomel, who pronounced his disease 
 "a slow congestion of the brain." During his so- 
 journ in the French capital, Count de Montalembert 
 presented him an address on behalf of a Catholic 
 society. This address was worthy of its illustrious 
 author, and was eulogistic in the highest degree of 
 the " Catholic Liberator of Ireland." ''Gentlemen," 
 said O'Connell, in reply, "sickness and emotion close 
 my lips. I should require the eloquence of your 
 president (Montalembert) to express to you all my 
 gratitude. But it is impossible for me to utter all I 
 feel. Know, simply, that I regard this demonstra- 
 tion on your part as the most significant event of 
 my life." 
 
 From Paris to Lyons the journey occupied twelve 
 days, as the invalid was obliged to rest on the way. 
 At Lyons he consulted Dr. Bonnet, who coincided in 
 the opinion of the Paris physicians. 
 
 Mr. Bonnet's description of O'Connell's appear- 
 ance and condition at this period, as given by Dr. 
 Lacour, is full of melancholy interest : " His weak- 
 ness was so great that he believed it incompatible 
 with life, and he constantly had the presentiment of 
 approaching death. The arms were slow in their 
 movements ; the right trembled continually, and the 
 left hand was cold, and could be warmed with diffi- 
 culty, although he wore very thick gloves. The left 
 foot was habitually colder than the right. He walked 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 229 
 
 with some facility, but his step was slow and falter- 
 ing. His face had grown thin, and his look pro- 
 claimed an inexpressible sadness; the head hung 
 upon the breast, and the entire person of the invalid, 
 formerly so imposing-, was greatly weighed down. ' I 
 am but the shadow of what I was, and I can scarcely 
 recognize myself,' said he to M. Bonnet, who re- 
 garded him with visible emotion." 
 
 During his stay in Lyons, crowds followed him 
 along the streets whenever he ventured forth. He 
 passed along heedless of these demonstrations, and 
 scarcely conscious of their presence. To a gentle- 
 man who strove to cheer him with a hope of re- 
 covery, he said, " Do not deceive yourself ; I may 
 not live three days." 
 
 On the 22d of April, O'Connell left Lyons, and 
 proceeced to Marseilles, tarrying some days at Val- 
 ence and Avignon. "During this journey," wrote 
 Dr. Lacour, " the invalid took an active part in all 
 our conversations." On the 3d of May, at Mar- 
 seilles, he conversed with a vigor and gayety that he 
 had not displayed since his departure from England. 
 Delusive hope ! alas ! too soon to be followed by 
 death. 
 
 On the 6th, O'Connell arrived at Genoa, where his 
 condition gradually became more alarming. 
 
 *'The Liberator is not better," wrote Father Miley 
 on the 15 th. " He is worse — ill as ill can be. At 
 two o'clock this morning I found it necessary to 
 send for the Viaticum and the holy oil. Though it 
 was .the dead of night, the Cardinal Archbishop 
 (he is eighty-eight years old), attended by his clerics 
 
230 LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 
 
 and several of the faithful, carried the adorable 
 Viaticum with the solemnities customary in Cathohc 
 countries, and reposed it in the tabernacle which we 
 had prepared in the chamber of the illustrious suf- 
 ferer. Though prostrate to the last degree, he was 
 perfectly in possession of his mind whilst receiving 
 the last rites. The adorable name of Jesus, which 
 he had been in the habit of invoking, was constantly 
 on his lips with trembling fervor. His thoughts 
 have been entirely absorbed by religion since his ill- 
 ness commenced. For the last forty hours he will 
 not open his lips to speak of anything else. The 
 doctors still say they have hope. I have none. All 
 Genoa is praying for him. I have written to Rome. 
 Be not surprised if I am totally silent as to our own 
 feelings. It is poor Daniel who is to be pitied more 
 than all." 
 
 O'Connell was haunted through his illness with 
 the fear of being buried alive, which was, no doubt, 
 produced by the diseased condition of his brain. " I 
 shall have the appearance of death," said he to Rev. 
 Dr. Miley, ''before life is really departed. You 
 must take care not to bury me until quite sure that I 
 am dead." 
 
 About three o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday 
 (15th), O'Connell called his faithful servant, John 
 Duggan, to his bedside, and, taking him warmly by 
 both hands, whispered his thanks for the rare fidelity 
 with which he had served his master. He then sank 
 back in his bed, and continued to repeat the holy 
 name of Jesus, the Memorare, and verses from the 
 Psalms. His patience and resignation in agonizing 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 231 
 
 pain were remarked by those who attended him. To- 
 wards evening he grew rapidly worse. The flame of 
 that great light, which, in its strength, had directed a 
 nation to rehgious freedom, gradually flickered away, 
 and at half-past nine expired. For years his life had 
 been a continuous preparation for eternity, and he 
 passed into the presence of his Creator to meet the 
 reward which, in humble hope, he had labored to 
 gain. 
 
 Immediately the church bells of Genoa, slowly 
 tolling, acquainted the sorrowing citizens that the 
 great man was dead. An imposing train of Friars 
 moved solemnly to his bed, and, kneeling, offered 
 their prayers. for his eternal repose. In the great 
 church of the Annunziatia, the Franciscans chanted 
 during the night the office for the dead, concluding 
 with a grand Requiem Mass in the morning. The 
 whole city seemed wrapped in mourning for the de- 
 parted patriot. 
 
 O'Connell had ordered that his heart should be 
 embalmed, placed in an urn, and deposited in Rome. 
 The request was sacredly fulfilled; and the heart 
 was accordingly placed in an urn, upon which was 
 inscribed, " Daniel O'Connell, natus Kerry, obiit 
 Genu^ die 15 Maii, 1847, aetatissuas anno 72" — 
 (Daniel O'Connell, born in Kerry, died on the 15th 
 May, 1847, in Genoa, in the 72d year of his age.) 
 
 Funeral torches were burning incessantly day and 
 night round the bier on which O'Connell's body lay, 
 before an altar in the church of Delia Vigne, while 
 Dr. Miley and Daniel O'Connell, Jr., were bearing the 
 heart of the Liberator to the tomb of the apostles. 
 
232 LIFE OF O CONNELL. 
 
 On arriving in Rome, these mourning pilgrims, bear- 
 ing the palladium of Ireland's love, were ushered 
 into the presence of His Holiness Pius IX. " Since 
 the pleasure of seeing and embracing the hero of 
 Catholicity was not reserved for me," said the Sov- 
 ereign Pontiff, " let me have the consolation of em- 
 bracing his son." He then drew young O'Connell 
 to his breast, and embraced him with the tenderness 
 of a friend and a father. *' The death of O'Connell 
 was blessed," added the -benign Pontiff ; "I have 
 read with extreme consolation the letter in which his 
 last moments were described." He then proceeded 
 to eulogize the departed Irishman as "the great 
 champion of the Church — the father of his country 
 — the glory of the Christian world." Monsignor 
 Cullen, who had introduced the visitors to the pres- 
 ence of the ruler of the Christian Church, observed, 
 as they were retiring : " Had His Holiness been the 
 bosom friend of O'Connell he could not have spoken 
 of the illustrious deceased with greater warmth of 
 affection." 
 
 His Holiness ordered that the obsequies of the 
 great deceased should be solemnized with the great- 
 est pomp and magnificence. The most skilled ar- 
 tists, sculptors, and artizans were employed for a 
 week in preparing for the funeral ceremonies. The 
 ceremonies, which lasted two days, began at four in 
 the morning and concluded at ten. Father Ventura, 
 justly called the Bossuet of Italy, pronounced the 
 funeral oration, which consumed four hours in its de- 
 livery. It will be found in full at the end of this 
 volume.. This magnificent oration, which has been 
 
LIFE OF O'CONNELL. 233 
 
 translated into all the languages of Europe, was de- 
 scribed by one of the cardinals as " an event which 
 will live in the history of the Church." It is said 
 that some fifteen thousand persons attended these 
 solemn rites. 
 
 O'Connell's remains were not removed to Ireland 
 until August. Wherever they rested on the mourn- 
 ful journey, marked reverence was paid them. They 
 were borne to Dublin on the steamer Duchess of 
 Kent. On their arrival, the people received them 
 with more than kingly honors. On the deck of the 
 steamer a sea-chapel had been erected, on which, 
 during the entire voyage, prayers were offered for 
 the repose of his soul. On the silver plate of the 
 coffin were inscribed the following words : 
 
 ''Daniel O'Connell, Hibernias Liberator, ad limina 
 apostolorum pergens die xv Mali, Anno mdcccxlvii. 
 Genu2e abdormit in Domino vixit annos lxxi. menses 
 IX. dies IX. — R. I. P." Which may be translated as 
 follows: "While proceeding to the threshold of the 
 apostles, the Liberator of Ireland, Daniel O'Connell, 
 fell asleep in the Lord at Genoa, on the 15 th May, 
 in the year 1847. He lived 71 years, 9 months, and 
 9 days. May he rest in peace." 
 
 The remains were carried solemnly to the shore, 
 when the people, who had gathered in thousands, es- 
 corted them to the Church of the Conception, Marl- 
 boro' Street. Two days later, a solemn Requiem 
 Mass was celebrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, 
 the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, assisted by the venerable 
 Dr. MacHale, and Drs. Nicholson, Keating, and 
 Whelan. On the fourth day, the remains were car- 
 
234 ^^^^ ^^ ^ CONNELL. 
 
 ried in solemn procession to the cemetery of Glas- 
 nevin, where, after the ceremonies for the dead were 
 concluded, the remains were reverentially entombed. 
 The procession which followed the dead Liberator to 
 his final resting-place was far more imposing than 
 had ever honored him whilst living. All Dublin, 
 with a common impulse and a common sorrow, joined 
 in this last tribute to the memory of a man whose 
 life had been freely offered as a hecatomb upon the 
 altar of his country. 
 
 Ever the same ; from boyhood up to death ; 
 
 His race was crushed ; his people were defamed ; 
 He found the spark, and fanned it with his breath. 
 
 And fed the fire, till all the Nation flamed ! 
 
 He roused the farms ; he made the serf a yeoman ; 
 
 He drilled his millions and he faced the foe ; 
 But not with lead or steel he struck the foeman — 
 
 Reason the sword, and Human Right the blow ! 
 
 He fought for Home ; but no land-limit bounded 
 
 O'Connell's faith, nor curbed his sympathies ; 
 All wrong to Liberty mxost be confounded, 
 
 Till men were chainless as the winds and seas. 
 
 He fought for Faith ; but with no narrow spirit ; 
 
 With ceaseless hand the bigot laws he smote ; 
 One chart, he said, all mankind should inherit, — 
 
 The right to worship and the right to vote. 
 
 Always the same ; but yet a glinting prism : 
 
 In wit, law, statecraft, still a master-hand ; 
 An "uncrowned king," whose people's love was chrism; 
 
 His title — Liberator of His Land! 
 
 — From John Boyle O'Reilly's Centennial Ode. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 PADRE VENTURA'S FUNERAL ORATION. 
 
 Simon magniis, qui liberavit gentem suam a perditione ; et in vita sua 
 corroborctvit templum. — ECCLUS. 1. 1, 2. 
 
 For the Liberator of Ireland did not confine the benefits of liberty 
 to Ireland alone, but he extended them to all Europe, to all the world. 
 God does not create great men for the use of a single age and of a 
 single people, but he gives them for the advantage of all nations and 
 of all ages, and therefore it is that the name of genius belongs to all 
 humanity. And more to make my ideas understood, it is necessary 
 that I should point out to you an important doctrine, which alone can 
 give us to understand the two principal epochs of modem history. 
 The history of our century is written in that of the i6th. At that 
 time men who united every infamy and every crime to unbounded tal- 
 ents, with the word Reform in their mouth, threw into confusion the 
 whole Christian world ; and in our days men of the same character, 
 with the word Liberty on their lips, have revolutionized the entire po- 
 litical world. But what ! — is it then permitted to the genius of evil 
 personified in man to. agitate and overturn the world at his will, and to 
 drag it into the abysses of revolt and heresy ? No, no, it is not so. 
 The heresiarchs of the i6th century loved reform as little as the revo- 
 lutionary spirits of our age love liberty. The reform, in the mouths of 
 the former, the word liberty, in those of the latter, is only a pretext, a 
 lie, and an imposture. With these magic words the one wished to destroy 
 the Church, the other to annihilate liberty. All this is incontestible — 
 proved by experience. Both have heaped up ruins on their wa5% and 
 when masters of the field of batde the one showed themselves the 
 most impious and the most debauched Christians, the others the most 
 despotic and the most cruel statesmen. But how is it, then, and by 
 
 235 
 
236 APPENDIX. 
 
 what means have they been able to attain such a degree of power, to 
 draw after them the half of Europe in their career of disorder and of 
 error? 
 
 I will tell you- 
 
 As a river which at certain points of its course deposits and sweeps 
 up mud, so time accumulates, at certain epochs, disorders and abuses. 
 This phenomenon is common to all human societies ; the best consti- 
 tuted, even the Church herself, so far as human elements enter into her 
 constitution, is not exempt from it. Hence a sickliness, a weakness, a 
 secret disturbance, seizes on the social body, which demands a prompt 
 and efficacious remedy. Then, whoever, recommended by his daring, 
 his knowledge, and his genius, presents himself to give the remedy, is 
 sure to be^received and listened to. Hence it was when the scandals 
 and the abuses of the clergy, accumulated for ages past, made reform 
 in the i6th century a universal want of the Church. Hence the injus- 
 tice and tyranny of the politicians of past ages, transmitted to ours, 
 made liberty a universal want of the State. 
 
 It is not, then, because the heresiarchs and the revolutionists had 
 taught false doctrines that they obtained such great and fatal successes, 
 but because they had divined the distance of the true and universal 
 want of the Church and of the State, and that the offer to satisfy it, 
 promising, preaching from their mouths that which they certainly had 
 not in their hearts — the one liberty, the other reform. But in this 
 rapid glance which I have cast over these two epochs, and on the 
 causes of the terrible perturbations which followed them, we find in- 
 dicated not only the philosophy of history, but, furthermore, the na- 
 ture of their cure. How was the fearful torrent of heresy, which 
 threatened to swallow up in its fetid waters all Europe, arrested in the 
 1 6th century ? It was when the Church, taking up the very word of 
 heresy, shouted in its tongue the cry of reform. Yes ; hardly had the 
 Church, by the mouth of the great Pontiff Paul III., and later in the 
 immortal Council of Trent, articulated the great word of " reforma- 
 tio\^ than that promise, that assurance of a true reform given by the 
 Church, annihilated the false reform proclaimed and offered by heresy, 
 and broke the redoubtable talisman with which it had deluded the nations. 
 The Lutheran and Calvinist heresies, which already invaded the fron- 
 tiers of France, for the future only existed as a political dogma in 
 States whose constitutions and dynasties were linked with it ; but as 
 a theological doctrine, it ceased to make new ravages or fresh con- 
 qiitests. 
 
 In the same manner the revolution which threatened to make the 
 
•PADRE VENTURA S FUNERAL ORATION. 23/ 
 
 drcuit of the world, could not be checked in its devastating march 
 over thrones and governments, until they themselves, adopting the 
 same sentiment, cried out, also, '■'■Liberty.'''' That word, I repeat it, is 
 without doubt as lying in the mouth of demagogues, as formerly the 
 word reform was in that of "heretics ; but if, following the example 
 given by the Church in respect to reform, the governments adopted the 
 same policy in respect of liberty, they would make a truth of that 
 word, which in the mouth of sedition is a lie ; if they hastened them- 
 selves to accomplish all that which they can\ promise without being 
 able to give, or at least to secure ; if they showed themselves ready to 
 satisfy a real evident want of a Christian people, and thus deliver 
 them from the seductions of the demagogue ; if- they would do viith 
 good will, and with just measure, that which they will be constrained 
 to do without limit, and by an inexorable necessity; if, I say, gov- 
 ernments pursued this course, they would take away from the enemies 
 of order the favor of the people ; and, as a wise reform undertaken 
 by the Church disarmed heresy, so a wise liberty granted by govern- 
 ments will disarm revolution : and this, let it be well understood, is 
 the only method — the sure and infallible method — to suppress it 
 
 Now, the first person to proclaim to put in practice this great doc- 
 trine, so simple, yet so profound, understood by few minds, professed 
 by no party at the commencement of this century, was O'ConnelL 
 
 When this great man appeared on the political scene of the United 
 Kingdom, that is to say, on the greatest stage in the world, the best 
 disposed were ruled by bad prejudices, but unfortunately too justifiable 
 by the spectacles of so many thrones tottering or fallen, so many extin- 
 guished and banished dynasties, so many spoliations, such havoc, such 
 ruin completed in the name and under the standard of liberty. That 
 name which recalled such excesses caused all to tremble with affright 
 That flag, stained with so much blood, awakened no sentiments but 
 those of horror. All the ideas of order were consequently identified 
 with the idea of a senseless absolutism, and all notions of liberty con- 
 founded with a cruel Jacobinism. Liberty and rebellion, liberal and re- 
 gicide, had become synonymous. Every attempt at political reform 
 was considered as an attempt against the stability of the throne, and 
 the tranquillity of the State. A fanatical despotism vi'as regarded as 
 the only refuge of order, the only safeguard of society. 
 
 Thus modem loyalty could not conceive order without despotism, 
 as ancient philosophy could not comprehend society without slaver^'. 
 But as soon as a man like O'Connell, the greatness of whose genius, 
 the purity of whose intentions, whose fidelity to his principles, whose 
 
238 APPENDIX. 
 
 love for his people, and above all, the warmth and zeal of whose faith 
 and the sincerity of whose belief could not be doubted — when he, in 
 one word, the great citizen and the great Christian, was seen invoking 
 and preaching liberty, and boldly proclaiming his liberal ideas, those 
 words began to be less alarming to the delicate and timid ears of Cath- 
 olicism, and of Irish loyalty. They soon became famUiar to that 
 people ; they naturalized themselves among them, and with the ideas 
 they represented were born the sentiments they inspired. Ultimately 
 Ireland, under the guidance of O'Connell, became the most liberal 
 and the most enthusiastic for liberty of any people in Europe. But 
 for what description of liberty ? Yes, the Irish nation, despite the 
 calumnies and outrages of Anglican heresy, which, like the proud and 
 cruel Jews, blasphemed and insulted the Victim whom they crucified, 
 the; Irish nation is a nation of heroes. Formed by the liberal and 
 Christian theories of O'Connell, she has adopted true liberty — the 
 daughter of religion — and has put herself on her guard against false 
 liberty — the monstrous produce of rebellion. She has presented to 
 the world the singular spectacle of a people bold in demanding their 
 rights, and docile in all due and proper obedience —jealous of their 
 independence, and the enemies of rebellion — passionately attached to 
 their country, and faithful to their sovereign — proud enough to be 
 above anything base or mean, and suiEciently wise not lo insult power 
 
 — sublime in resignation, and moderate in resistance — zealous in the 
 acquirement and defence of their own rights, scrupulous in respecting 
 those of others — uniting themselves with firmness and determination, 
 but without tumult — complaining of their grievances, but without in- 
 vective — crying out against injustice, but without transgressing the 
 bounds of law. 
 
 Glory, then, and triumph to O'Connell for having thus reconciled 
 liberty with order, independence with loyalty ; for having formed into 
 a principle of security and happiness the principle of the destruction 
 of thrones, of the desolation and servitude of the people. 
 
 This great and powerful revolution in ideas and sentiments soon 
 passed fi-om Ireland into England, and from England quickly began 
 to spread over Europe. The example of eight millions of men who, 
 obeying the doctrines of their master — I would say of their prophet 
 
 — is always agitated and always tranquil — always ready to learn their 
 rights, and the most exact in the performance of their duties — always 
 complaining of the injustice under which they suffer, yet always loyal 
 
 — this example, I say, opened the eyes of all other people, and threw 
 a clearer light upon the science of the government of States. Preju- 
 
PADRE Ventura's funeral oration. 239 
 
 dices were dissipated ; elevated minds then saw the possible alliance 
 between liberty and obedience, between the most active and deter- 
 mined agitation and respect for the laws, between the rights of sub- 
 jects and the security of princes, between the independence of the 
 people and the stability of the throne. The word " liberty " began to be 
 pronounced without repugnance — it was then seen that a man could 
 be the friend of the people without being the enemy of kings, and 
 could be liberal without being a Jacobin. 
 
 And where are to be found to-day the advocates of exclusive laws, 
 the vile flatterers of power, the supporters of the doctrine of the 
 ancient Pagans — the absolute supremacy of the State — a doctrine 
 which abandons a whole Christian people to the arbitrary will or ca- 
 prices of a few men who call themselves the State, and create a univer- 
 sal servitude ? V/here now are those who refuse to the fathers of 
 families the liberty to bring up and educate their own children — who 
 deny the right of the corporate body to regulate their own affairs — of 
 a province to endeavor to become prosperous — of the Church to 
 preach and conduct the people in the paths of truth and justice ? 
 Where now will you find the men whose hatred of the people is only 
 equalled by the contempt with which they speak of them ? Where, 
 in fine, are the enemies of all liberty, the abettors of eveiy description 
 of servitude ? They are to be found amongst the most fanatical dem- 
 agogues, among the disciples of Jacobinism and rebellion. While on 
 the other hand liberty knows no friends more sincere — no proselytes 
 more constant, no defenders more intrepid, no advocates more gener- 
 ous, than among the most learned and intelligent supporters of mon- 
 archy — than among the heroes and martyrs of loyalty. 
 
 This change, so strange and so unexpected, has proceeded from Ire- 
 land — there was its cause and its principle. It was produced under, 
 the auspices ai\d by the instruction of O'ConnelL It is he who, by 
 the example of his country, has modified or entirely altered the polit- 
 ical ideas of a great part of Europe. It is he who has destroyed 
 false liberty, and proved the safety and advantage of the liberty which 
 is true. It is he who has unmasked the vile hypocrisy of the dema- 
 gogues, and forever brought sedition into discredit. 
 
 It is true that this doctrine was that of the ancient apostles, of the 
 first Christians, of the martyrs of the first times, who, in demanding 
 their rights by their words and by their writings, by their protests be- 
 fore the tribunals, and their apologies to the emperors, and who, in 
 loudly and perseveringly exclaiming against injustice, never ceased to 
 be faithfiil subjects. But the fear of a worse situation — the fear of 
 
240 APPENDIX. 
 
 aggravating their grievances — had obscured, and, as it were, extin- 
 giiished, this noble doctrine among persons who were faithful Chris- 
 tians, and, therefore, faithful subjects. A thought, a word of com- 
 plaint against injustice, or of censure agaiust an abuse of power, 
 appeared an offence in their eyes. But O'Connell revived this con- 
 ciliatory doctrine ; he renewed it, spread it abroad, taught it by the 
 power of his eloquence and the eclat of his success, and rendered it 
 common and popular in Europe. 
 
 Yourselves, O Romans, who listen to me, you are yourselves a proof 
 that the influence of the political apostleship of O'Connell has reached 
 this fine portion of Europe. 
 
 It is true, and I say it with grief, there are yet perhaps among you 
 some disciples of the revolutionary philosophy of the past century — 
 some foolish pedants who labor to realize in Christian Rome the re- 
 publican theories of Pagan Rome, and to apply to society the ideas of 
 the college. It is true that there are some men to whom, as to the 
 sanguinary men of '93, firom whom they have descended, the words 
 " liberty of the people " convey the dark and terrible thought of de- 
 struction, and the horrible sentiment of hatred of monarchy ; but these 
 degenerate citizens (if the name of citizens can be given to men who 
 meditate the ruin of their country) are very few in number. The peo- 
 ple, the true Roman people, by their spirit of order, of obedience, of 
 love for their sovereign, become the admiration of Europe and of the 
 world, regard with horror these dark artisans of rebellion, and compel 
 them to conceal themselves and their doctrines of disorder and blood- 
 The exquisite good sense of the people will not permit them to be 
 caught by their snares or hypocrisy. The people comprehend liberty 
 only in connection with order ; they do not separate the desire of their 
 own well-being from their obedience and fidelity to their sovereign. 
 This people, so good and intelligent, have carried into perfection the 
 doctrine that O'Connell has made to be so esteemed throughout Eu- 
 rope. To the most scrupulous legality they have joined the enthusi- 
 asm of love. They demand through the means of an affectionate agi- 
 tation, as Ireland demanded by means of a legal agitation, the reform 
 of abuses which, through the effect of time and of the passions, as it 
 happens always and everywhere, have altered the nature of the an- 
 cient constitution of the States of the Church, in which order and lib- 
 erty are so well reconciled. And as it is impossible that the language 
 of a people who loves him should not be heard by a Pontiff full of af- 
 fections for his people, since it is impossible that hearts which bear 
 such sincere love towards one another should not end by fiiUy under- 
 
PADRE Ventura's funeral oration. 241 
 
 standing one another. O Rome ! what glory do you prepare for 
 yourself if you properly appreciate your situation, if you are not 
 stopped in your career, if you are not deceived, if you are not be- 
 trayed ! What a fine page you will add to your history ! A page in 
 which posterity will be astonished to read the conquest you made of a 
 wise and true liberty tlirough the means of love alone ! 
 
 I say of true liberty, for as one description of gold is true and an- 
 other is false, so there is a true and a false liberty. Oh ! how beauti- 
 ful is the one ! Oh ! how hideous is the other ! How majestic is the 
 one ! How terrible is the other ! How much the one breathes of 
 grace and peace ! How much the other inspires fear and horror ! 
 The one has ornamented its head with the splendid halo of order — 
 the other has covered it with the bloody cap of anarchy ! The one 
 holds in its hand the olive branch of peace — the other the torch of 
 discord ! The one is clothed with the white robe of innocence — the 
 other is enveloped in the dark mantle of crime, soiled with blood ! 
 The one is the support of thrones — the other is their ruin ! The one 
 is the glory and felicity of the people — the other is its disgrace and 
 scourge ! The one is vomited from hell, like the poisoned breath of 
 the spirit of darkness — the other descends from heaven, like a sweet 
 incarnation of the Spirit of God ! Ubi spiritus Domini ibi libertas ! 
 
 For this reason be well convinced of it, my dear brethren, this true 
 liberty never proceeds from the secret orgies of rebellion, but from 
 the sanctuary. , It has sprung forth, not under the doctrines of philos- 
 ophy, but under those of religion. Liberty is the peaceful radiation 
 of truth, as slavery is the fatal firebrand of error. Liberty can only 
 be obtained pure and beneficent through the Church, in which alone 
 is found pure and unmixed truth. As it is the Church which has sus- 
 tained the metaphysical liberty of the soul against the pretended phil- 
 osophers and heretics who attacked it ; as it is the Church which has 
 created domestic liberty, in elevating woman to the dignity of her hus- 
 band, and in consecrating the rights of children ; as it is the Church 
 which has created civil liberty in abolishing slavery and the sale of 
 human beings among Christians ; in like manner the Church alone is 
 able to proclaim political liberty, in fixing the true and just limits of 
 obedience and of the commandment — the true and just rights — the 
 true and just duties of the people and of the governing powers. 
 Loyalty, then, obedience, confidence, love for the true religion, in imi- 
 tation of the great man whose loss we deplore, who not only sought 
 the aid of religion to obtain true liberty for his people — liberamt gen- 
 tem suam a perditione — but employed that liberty to secure the tri- 
 
242 APPENDIX. 
 
 umph of religion — corroboravit temphim. This we shall see more 
 fully in the Second Part of our discourse. 
 
 As there is a true greatness, the daughter of virtue and merit, there 
 is also a false greatness, the daughter of the favor and caprice of 
 those who bestow it, or of the prejudice and illusion wlfich believe in 
 it, or of the adulation, the intrigue, and the meanness which seek 
 after it 
 
 And as true greatness varies in its principle, it varies also in its du- 
 ration. False greatness is scarcely sufficient to distinguish or raise in 
 any degree the person who is clothed with it, as with a mantle badly 
 adjusted. It perishes with him, and even frequently before him. 
 True greatness, on the contrary, not only ennobles an individual, but 
 an entire family ; like a pure light, it is reflected upon the whole of a 
 long posterity, and the most brilliant emblems transmit the glory of 
 it to the most distant ages. 
 
 It is, therefore, that in the magnificent device of the O'Connell 
 family we read these fine words : The eye of O'Connell is the salva- 
 tion of Ireland — salus Hibernioe oculus O" Connell. 
 
 This magnificent device is not only the testimony of the past glo- 
 ries of that illustrious family, but it has been as a prophecy of its fu- 
 ture glories, which has had its fulfilment in Daniel O'Connell, for the 
 vigilant and penetrating eye of O'Connell has saved Ireland in our 
 days. Salus Hibernits oculus O^ Connell. A citizen and a Christian, 
 he sought the aid of religion to conquer the liberty of his country, as 
 I have already shown ; and as a Christian and a citizen he made use 
 of liberty to effect the triumph of religion, as I shall demonstrate to 
 you to-day. Hence he has been great from true greatness, and there 
 can be properly applied to him the praise conveyed in the Scripture 
 language — Simon magnus, qui liberavit gentem suam a perditione ; et 
 in vita sua corroboravit iempluni. 
 
 I will not to-day, dear Romans, ask your attention, your kindness, 
 or indulgence, f(3r you have already extended them to me in the most 
 flattering manner. I am in possession of them, and it only remains 
 for me to profit by them, to thank you affectionately, and to begin. 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 Like a legitimate sovereign. Truth has need but of herself alone ; 
 she has but to reveal herself in order to secure adhesion and homage, 
 and reign in the world of mind and intellect On the contrary, like a 
 usurping tyrant, Error can only impose on the minds of men, and pre- 
 serve the empire thus gained by means of violence and fraud. 
 
PADRE VENTURAS FUNERAL ORATION. 243 
 
 For this reason, while heresy always begins by attaching itself to 
 the great, in order to be afterwards able, through the aid of their pas- 
 sions and the might of their power, to govern the people, the Cath- 
 olic doctrine, on the contrary, begins by announcing itself to the peo- 
 ple alone, after which it deigns to admit the great also amongst its 
 followers, but always on the condition that they shall come with the 
 people to eat at the table and drink of the cup of Christian equality, 
 clothed in garments of humility. While heresy is always on its 
 knees at the feet of the throne, begging a rag of purple to cover 
 itself, and a sword to defend itself, the Catholic doctrine, religiously 
 proud of its divine origin, presents itself standing before the thrones, 
 only to preach the utmost unwelcome truths and the hardest duties. 
 Finally, while the heretical or schismatical churches go about every- 
 where craving the protection of man, the true Church asks from God 
 only liberty. Ut ecclesia hta secura tibi serviat libertate. 
 
 From this it follows, as I have shown elsewhere, that liberty of con- 
 science, which, in an absolute sense, signifies indifference, atheLsm, im- 
 piety, denial of all revelation, of all positive religion, of every rule of 
 faith and conduct, yet, in its relative sense — that is, in its relation to 
 the civil power, which has not received from God the mission to 
 preach and to interpret the gospel — is a Catholic principle that the 
 Church has professed, taught, defended, and which she never could 
 renounce without abdicating her divine mission, without destroying 
 herself — it is a necessary condition of her existence and of her 
 propagation . 
 
 But at the end of the last century the Catholic Church saw her 
 Pontiffs imprisoned, her ministers dispersed, her altars destroyed, her 
 temples profaned, her holy virgins violated, her property plundered, 
 her cloisters pulled down, her doctrines discredited and mutilated — 
 her laws, her worship, her institutions abrogated — all in the name of, 
 and by the apostles of, liberty — and, as at that mournful epoch lib- 
 erty always went hand in hand with blasphemy and sacrilege, the 
 Church began to consider it as the necessary and irreconcilable enemy 
 of true religion; and the faithful could not hear its name without 
 trembling, and thought they could not pronounce it without commit- 
 ting a crime. 
 
 On the other hand, as at the same epoch the altar had fallen under 
 the blows of the same axe which had demolished the throne, the idea 
 that they could only be raised together prevailed ; on this account the 
 "throne and the altar'''' inspired a common interest, and were united 
 in the minds, hearts, and mouths of all honest, well-disposed men ; 
 
244 APPENDIX. 
 
 and as sad experience had proved that the throne could do nothing 
 without the altar, the opinion began to prevail that the altar was pow- 
 erless without the throne. Therefore the throne was looked upon not 
 only as the necessary support of political order, but of religious order 
 also. 
 
 Those ideas had become general in Europe. The faithful directed 
 their eyes not only to Catholic thrones, but to Protestant thrones too. 
 The Catholics of Ireland themselves expected, from the liberality of 
 the Protestant Crown of England, the emancipation of their con- 
 sciences and religion- All their hopes rested upon a throne which 
 was constitutionally the enemy of their faith. 
 
 But that was to make of divine religion a human institution, which 
 is able to do nothing without the support of man. That was to aban- 
 don faith, morality, worship, the Church itself, to the arbitrary will of 
 the civil power, which, under the pretext of being their protector, 
 would not have failed to make itself her Pontiff (it has been seen that 
 the Church has had more cause to complain of her protectors than of 
 her persecutors). That was to make the faith of the people depend 
 upon the good or bad disposition of the prince — to consecrate, as po- 
 litically legitimate, all the systems of error, even atheism, and to con- 
 sent to the hardest and most insupportable of all servitudes, the servi- 
 tude of conscience. In fine, that was to be willing to destroy even the 
 last vestige of human dignit)'. 
 
 How necessary was it to make the people feel that the civil power 
 which extends its hand to religion, apparently for the purpose of pro- 
 tecting it, governs it, and in governing injures and degrades it, and 
 that true religion can exist only under the shadow and protection of 
 liberty. 
 
 But, great God ! to destroy a prejudice that a complication of terri- 
 ble circumstances had deeply engraven in the minds of the wisest — 
 which was " that liberty is the enemy of religion ; " to calm the ap- 
 prehensions, the fears, the terrors, but to legitimate, which the word 
 liberty had awakened in the hearts of the most religious, the most 
 pious, to lead a people as Catholic as the Irish to seek in liberty the 
 triumph of Catholicism, while in the rest of Europe that Catholicism 
 had been destroyed or disfigured under the blows of liberty. What a 
 task ! what an enterprise ! An entire generation of apostolic men 
 would not have seemed sufficient to succeed, and yet a single man, a 
 single layman, O'Connell alone, has done it ! His genius was suffi- 
 cient to conceive, his courage to undertake, his constancy and power 
 to accomplish it ! 
 
PADRE VENTURA S FUNERAL ORATION. 245 
 
 With what prudence, with what discretion, not to alarm prejudices 
 but too reasonable, sentiments but too delicate, did he not apply 
 himself at first in the public meetings, and at private reunions, 
 to persuade the people and the clergy that there was nothing advan- 
 tageous for the Catholic religion to be expected from the spontaneous 
 liberality of the Protestant government ; that religious emancipation 
 could only be obtained through the means of, and in conjunction with, 
 political emancipation ; that the independence of the Catholic Church 
 in Ireland should be a peaceable and legal conquest made by the peo- 
 ple, and not a gratuitous concession from the government ; and that 
 liberty was the only means which remained to them to secure the tri- 
 umph of religion. He often said that he found nothing more diflScult 
 than to persuade the clergy that religion could only be victorious by 
 the aid of liberty. 
 
 There were not wanting, at the beginning, some men of a weak piety 
 or a malignant hypocrisy, who, on hearing language so novel in the 
 mouth of young O'Connell, permitted themselves to entertain jealousy 
 or mistrust, and to traduce him before the tribwial of public opinion, 
 as being a man without discretion, led astray by the philosophy of the 
 eighteenth century, or as a dangerous enemy, engaged to sow in Ire- 
 land the anarchial doctrines of the French revolution. But his horror 
 of bloodshed, his love of legality, the strength of his convictions, and 
 above all, his great and sincere zeal for religion, soon dissipated aU 
 these suspicions, all these calumnies. His pure and upright intentions 
 were soon discovered, his doctrines understood and relished, his de- 
 signs approved and applauded. 
 
 Such was the magical effect of his language, conduct, and acts, that 
 in the space of five years he succeeded in implanting his mind entire 
 in the heart of Ireland, in transforming Ireland into his own image. 
 He brought over to his ideas and opinions not only the Catholics in a 
 body, but a great number of Protestants — not only laymen, but eccle- 
 siastics — not only the men, but even the women — not only in Ireland, 
 but in England also ; and he established the religious liberty associa- 
 tion, in which all honest men, all noble hearts, all generous minds, of 
 all churches and of all opinions, found themselves united and associ- 
 ated for the same object, to obtain by their common efforts liberty of 
 conscience, and to effect the triumph of their own religion by means 
 of liberty. 
 
 But the circumstance by which he exhibited, in the most striking 
 manner, the nobleness of his Catholic liberal, and liberally Catholic, 
 soul, was the great affair of the Veto ; of that attempt of the Protes- 
 21* 
 
246 APPENDIX. 
 
 tant government of England to interfere in the appointment of the 
 Catholic bishops of Ireland He displayed in that discussion the 
 learning of a professor, the zeal of an apostle, the courage of a hero, 
 and, in the midst of all the pain and trouble he had to undergo, the 
 patience of a mart}T. 
 
 In the* eyes of some, the object of England did not seem to have a 
 dangerous tendency. Of the three candidates for a vacant see, whom 
 the clergy of Ireland presented, as they do still, to the Pontiff, that he 
 might appoint from among them the new bishop, the English govern- 
 ment wished to have the power fo exclude one. The advantages that 
 it promised for this concession was great, seducing, capable of daz- 
 zling the most clear-sighted, and deceiving the most pious. Those ad- 
 vantages were, the emancipation, or the religious and political liberty 
 of all the Catholics in the United Kingdom, and the endowment of 
 the Irish Church. The people already began to smile upon a proposi- 
 tion which appeared to them as the termination of three centuries of 
 cruel persecution. A part of the clergy, anxious to see the dignity of 
 religion maintained, \Jtere apparently not far removed from a willing- 
 ness to accept a fixed and certain endowment, which would relieve 
 them from the hard condition of a life sustained by alms and beggary. 
 The bishops themselves, assembled in Synod, had at first unanimously 
 rejected the present offered by the hands of these modem Ulysses 
 {greca manu), as being directed against the independence and dis- 
 cipline of the Church, but were afterwards divided on the question. 
 Some bishops, deceived by fallacious promises and affected adulation, 
 had expressed their approval of the proposition of the government, an 
 approval which they at a later period withdrew, ashamed and grieved 
 at having ever given it. The English Catholics, seeing, in the insidi- 
 ous bill proposed by the government, only an important concession 
 which would put an end to their political degradation and open the 
 doors of the legislature to them, flung themselves into the party of the 
 government with a zeal so deplorable that they styled the opposition 
 of the Irish bishops as imprudent temerity, and expelled from the 
 Catholic committee a celebrated prelate, the only member of the Eng- 
 lish Catholic clergy who, in an eloquent petition addressed to the legis- 
 lature, combated the government measure with the zeal and doctnnal 
 learning of an Athanasius. Rome, even in this great struggle, ap- 
 peared to incline towards the enemies of the Irish Church ; as the 
 poor Irish said in their native simplicity— " Rome, too, it appears, is 
 becoming Orange^ Mgr. Quarantoleo, President of Rome during the 
 captivity of the immortal Pius VII., had, by a rescript, given his 
 
PADRE Ventura's funeral oration. 247 
 
 assent to the insidious propositions of the English government, which 
 were calculated to prove so fetal to the liberty of the Church. Orange- 
 ism, encouraged by this supposed concession from Rome, became 
 more insolent; the country, torn by intestine divisions, abandoned 
 by the English Catholics and its defenders in Rome, and left wholly 
 unsupported, was no longer able to resist the compact phalanx of Eng- 
 lish heresy. The most courageous are fatigued in an unequal struggle, 
 which offers no probable chance of success. Discouragement is in 
 every mind, and coldness in every heart 
 
 Oh, unfortunate Church ! Behold ! to all thy misfortimes is about 
 to be added the greatest, the most humiliating of any, — the loss of 
 that religious independence which thy generous children purchased by 
 three centuries of sufferings, and by a bloody martyrdom ! But no ; 
 fear nothing ; there is O'Connell, whom Providence has raised up, 
 like a new Judas Maccabeus, to watch over the defence of the Church. 
 O'Connell will justify now again the truth of the words on his noble 
 escutcheon. The eye of O'Connell is the salvation of Ireland. Solus 
 Hiberntz O'Connell. 
 
 Oh, soul truly great ! So many united difficvilties, far from daunt- 
 ing thy courage, inflamed it ; in the midst of the general despair, he 
 alone despaired not ; in the midst of the fears of all upon the conduct 
 of Rome, he alone is full of confidence in the wisdom of Rome. 
 Every means, every support in combatting a powerful enemy is want- 
 ing to him, yet he alone dares to engage in the combat, as a man cer- 
 tain of victory ! 
 
 Behold him, then, addressing himself to the nation, and pointing 
 out the snares that were prepared for it ; he united the clergy and 
 laity in great meetings ; he demonstrated to them, with the learning 
 and knowledge of a theologian, and the experience of a legist, how a 
 heretical power would certainly abuse this concession demanded from 
 the Church, as certain Catholic powers had sometimes abused similar 
 concessions. He comments on the bill, and exposes the crafty and in- 
 sidious designs of those who proposed it. He examines the promises 
 made, and demonstrates their vanity, felseness, and ftitility. He unveils 
 the intentions and objects of the ministry, and reminds the country of 
 the treaty of Limerick, which had been so infamously and faithlessly 
 violated by England. He speaks of the English Catholics to humili- 
 ate them ; he does not forget, but stigmatizes the courtier priests. 
 
 Further, he at the same time encouraged the clergy, and animated 
 the people ; aroused the zeal and \'igilance of the bishops, and sus- 
 tained their courage ; sent ten deputies to England, to implore the 
 
24» APPEI^IX. 
 
 assistance and support of the sodetjtof the friends of religious lib- 
 erty. He caused two bishops to set out with all speed for Rome, to 
 lay at the feet of the Sovereign Pontiff, who had returned from a glo- 
 rious exile, a memorial in the name of the Catholics of Ireland, in 
 which he demonstrated with the irresistible force of reason, the evils 
 which the admission of the Veto would bring upon the Church of Ire- 
 land. At every time, on all occasions, in public and in private, he did 
 not cease to repeat — "We shall now, as ever, reject every fevor 
 which must be purchased by the sacrifice of our religion, and of our 
 liberty." 
 
 What at length does he obtain by all these efforts of his eloquence, 
 activity, and zeal t He obtains the most complete and triumphant 
 success. The bishops, assembled in sjmod, " declare that the clergy 
 of Ireland will not cease to oppose, by every canonical and constitu- 
 tional means, all interference of the temporal power in the affairs of 
 religion." The entire nation rejects the fraudulent offers of Anglican- 
 ism ; all the public journals are filled with protests, in which the peo- 
 ple vow "that every attempt to weaken the Church of Ireland shall be 
 vain, and that despite of the government, the parliament, the Orange- 
 men, and the Quarantollists, Ireland will ever maintain, in all its purity, 
 the faith of its protector, Sl Patrick." The same sentiments are offi- 
 cially expressed to the government, in the name of the clergy and Irish 
 people, in the following declaration : " The political and religious lib- 
 erty of Ireland being the end towards which the Catholic people 
 direct their efforts, we believe that we would degrade ourselves, if, in 
 return for the advantages you offer us, we agreed to a condition which 
 would increase the power of the members of the government to the 
 detriment of the discipline of our Church." And finally, the Sover- 
 eign Pontiff himself, justifying the confidence which O'Connell had 
 placed in the wisdom of the Holy Apostolical See, disavows the docu- 
 ment of Quarantollo. 
 
 In vain the cowardly and obstinate partisans of the royal conces- 
 sions, — frequently more dangerous than open, declared adversaries, 
 seeking to justify their shameful apostasy from the cause of the 
 Church, — opposed its generous champion, and said that to expect Pro- 
 testant England would grant emancipation, without concessions, was 
 temerity and folly. O'Connell replied, "To effect a reconciliation I 
 am ready to do anything, except to immolate the religion of my coun- 
 try and of my fathers." And the people, adopting his sentiments, 
 said, "We love civil liberty, but we love our religion more. If it 
 were necessary to die to obtain our civil liberty, we are ready to 
 
PADRE VENTURA S FUNERAL ORATION. 249 
 
 give up our lives, but not to abandon our faith. It is better to be 
 Catholics and slaves than Protestlnts and freemen. Martyrdom is not 
 a new thing to us. Three hundred years of torture have already 
 passed over our heads. We are content that our chains shall weigh 
 still heavier upon us rather than consent to the smallest alteration in 
 the discipline of our Church." 
 
 To those who sought to weaken the firmness and constancy of the 
 clergy, by holding out the prospect of a rich endowment, which would 
 relieve them from the hard necessity of begging their bread, that noble 
 clergy did not hesitate to reply : " Chains, even though they are of 
 gold, are chains still ; a poor liberty is preferable to an opulent 
 slavery. Honor can exist with poverty, but infamy is the inseparable 
 companion of voluntary servitude. Poor priests, we are more re- 
 spected than the rich prebendaries of heresy. The Church does not 
 require aid to live well, but that she be left free to do well ; she does 
 not seek or require riches, but liberty." 
 
 Now the sentiments so noble, and, at the same time, so natural, and 
 so deeply felt by the clergy and the people oC Ireland were due to the 
 preponderating influence of O'Cormell, the invincible superiority of 
 his genius, the power of his speeches, and of his teaching, the exam- 
 ple of his courage, of his magnanimity, and his disinterestedness; he 
 concehtrated and gave life to these sentiments, and opened to them a 
 vast field where they would shine in all their magnificence, in all their 
 splendor, for the glory of the Catholic faith, which alone had the all- 
 enlivening energy to create them. "When was there ever offered to 
 view in a mercenary and selfish generation, in the midst of a money- 
 hunting nation, a more beautiful spectacle than that which this people, 
 whom O'Connell had imbued with his spirit — which this people, 
 loaded with misery, wanting everything, yet always preferring to de- 
 prive themselves of their last morsel for the support of the altar and 
 its ministers, rather than receive assistance from heresy, presented ! 
 What a glorious contest between an opulent government which offers, 
 and a begging people which refiises, between England which promises 
 to give everything, and Ireland which will receive nothing, in the 
 dread of the slightest injury being inflicted on her religion. 
 
 Such unbounded self-denial, such noble heroism, must necessarily 
 triumph ; as Ireland did not sacrifice her spiritual gifts for earthly ad- 
 vantages she must obtain terrestrial blessings whilst preserving her 
 heavenly gifts. For the Incarnate Truth has solemnly promised that 
 the people who seek before all things the kingdom of God and his 
 justice, that is to say, the triumph of the true religion, shall preserve 
 
250 APPENDlXr 
 
 that holy religion, and, in addition, shall obtain all temporal blessings. 
 " Queriti primum regnum Dei et justitiam ejus et hcec omnia adji- 
 cientur vobis " (St. Matt.). Therefore it was the Liberator never ceased 
 exhorting his people : Fear nothing ; never relax. Patience and per- 
 severance, and you shall have the glory of winning your liberty with- 
 out sacrificing a jot of the religion of your forefathers. 
 
 Never was human prediction more literally fulfilled When the 
 Protestant government saw the noble firmness, the invincible perse- 
 verance of Catholic Ireland, it renounced forever the expectation of 
 carrying the Veto, which, during six years, it had so uselessly endeav- 
 ored to promote by all the threats and promises, stratagems and open 
 violences it could use. The Church of Ireland still maintained its 
 glorious poverty, and its still more glorious independence of the dvil 
 power as to the nomination of its bishops. For as beauty is the most 
 charming ornament of a chaste spouse, so the true riches of a Cath- 
 olic nation is its religious independence. 
 
 After six years of a new agitation, of efforts, of contests, of suffering 
 of agony, Ireland, led by her Liberator, obtained her emancipation, 
 her civil liberty, without any humiliating conditions, and, as O'Connell 
 had prophecied, W/-4i7«/ the sacrifice of ait atom of religious principle. 
 
 O, you of childish ignorance and of little faith, who, governed by 
 a fatal prejudice, following a worldly policy in the affairs oi religion, 
 require of the sentinels of Israel to become as dumb dogs who bark 
 not at the approach of the wolf — ye who impose on the noble combat- 
 ants of the faith a silence so agreeable to those who exercise an 
 usurping and destructive policy towards the Church which ye ought 
 yourselves to condemn — ye who call remonstrances imprudent; pro- 
 testations impertinent, the zeal of defenders of the Church, which you 
 ought to encourage, sustain, and recompence, fanaticism ; and all this is 
 to obtain some temporal advantage, some temporal support for the 
 Church, of which it has no need ; ah ! reflect that God owes it to Him- 
 self to baffle your Jewish calculations ! Of you it will be said as was 
 said of the Jews : Because they have preferred temporal advantages 
 to their eternal welfare, they shall lose both — " Teinporalia amittere 
 timuerunt et vitam ceternam non cogitaverunt ; et sic utramque amisse- 
 runt'" (St Augustine). Learn ye fi-om the noble and generous policy 
 which O'Connell made use of for the triumph of the Irish Church, 
 that it is not by the sacrifice of -ecclesiastical independence that you 
 conquer and restrain the civil power within due limits, but by resist- 
 ing with firmness, and in a legal manner, its unjust pretentions ; know 
 this, and let your hearts be inaccessible to fear. 
 
PADRE VENTURAS FUNERAL ORATION. 25 1 
 
 These victories which O'Connell secured by the means of liberty to 
 the true Church were not confined to Ireland ; they had a power- 
 ful echo, they produced wonderful effects in the rest of the world. 
 In order to make you understand this vast whole, it is necessary for 
 me to raise your thoughts to the sanctuary of the designs of God, in 
 so far as it is given to us, wretched mortals, to penetrate them. 
 
 The greatest, the most wonderful, the most providential history of 
 the modern world was not the separation of the States of America 
 from their dependence on Europe, nor the French Revolution, nor the 
 Empire, but the use which God has made, in His sovereign rule, of the 
 most inscrutable means and the most opposing causes for the propa- 
 gation of the Gospel and the glory of His Chxirch. 
 
 Now the chief of these means, visibly co-ordained by God for so 
 sublime and so holy an end, is the mercantile enterprise of England. 
 She seems to extend the limits of the globe in searching for an outlet 
 for her manufactures ; but God makes use of this indefatigable activity 
 of the devouring avarice of this people to spread over the world these 
 celestial gifts of His mercy, grace, and truth. England has occupied 
 aU the important positions of the earth with the view of enlarging and 
 establishing everywhere the empire of the British Lion. But God, 
 by this means, provides an easy access for the ministers of His Gospel, 
 who are everywhere to establish the empire of the cross. Already 
 the afflicted sons of Erin, whom intolerance and heretical tyranny 
 have obliged to emigrate, spread over, dispersed on all points of the 
 globe, in every English colony, on the immense continent of Oceanica, 
 have everywhere carried the precious seeds and the glorious confes- 
 sion of their feith ; and thus, by these unexpected means, the perse- 
 cuting spirit, the cruel bigotry of heresy has, in opposition to its own 
 wishes, lent its hand to the foundation of more new bishoprics in the 
 world, than had heretofore existed in Europe. 
 
 But the Irish Catholic, prostrated and groaning vmder the brutal 
 yoke which kept him in a state of slavery, a serf, he was scarcely able 
 to achieve victory for the truth of his religion in the face of the reign- 
 ing religion of cruel masters. It was then necessary, for the comple- 
 tion of the designs for which Providence seemed to have destined the 
 Irish nation, that it should burst the fetters of its political slavery, and 
 by that means secure the liberty and religious independence of its 
 faith- 
 
 Now, it was precisely this which the penetrating genius of O'Con- 
 nell saw and understood. For, very different from other men known 
 to fame, and who only hold their position from the idle prejudices and 
 
252 APPENDIX. 
 
 adulation of the day, and who are doomed to their original nothing- 
 ness when their day has passed, O'Connell is always greater than he 
 appears. His intentions, his objects, are more sublime and more as- 
 tonishing than his acts. It is only through some fugitive expressions 
 of O'Connell, through his unheard-of zeal, and the perseverance unri- 
 valled in the history of true patriotism, which he disj)layed to achieve 
 the liberty of his country, that it has begun to be understood that he 
 regarded the people of Ireland as a missionary people, a chosen peo- 
 ple, selected by God for the eternal salvation of a number of nations. 
 We can now comprehend that O'Connell, in struggling for the eman- 
 cipation of Ireland, did not regard it as an ordinary question of hu- 
 man policy, but as a measure of co-operation with one of the greatest 
 designs of the mercy of God, that he did not look upon himself simply 
 as an Irishman, but as the servant and instrument of God in His 
 Church. 
 
 In proportion, then, as the proofe of the noble destiny of Ireland, 
 from the glory of religion throughout the universe, developed them- 
 selves and became manifest, O'Connell was more and more impressed 
 with the religious character of the mission he had received from God 
 to enfranchise and elevate his countiy. His acts became more daring, 
 his intentions more holy. He considered the Isle of Saints as saintly^ 
 not only because it was covered with the bones, and moistened with 
 the blood, of millions of martyrs, but still more, because it was des- 
 tined to carry the mission of holiness over the entire globe. Ah ! 
 when he called it " the gem of the sea, the flower of the earth " — when 
 he apostrophized it with the most tender epithets, the most loving ex- 
 pressions, it was not for the salubrity of its climate, the fertility of its 
 soil, the charms of its picturesque landscapes, the strength, the beauty, 
 the high-mindedness of its inhabitants, it was because he looked on 
 that noble nation, which had been stigmatized as barbarous and turbu- 
 lent, as the depository of the treasures of God, of truth and of giace ; 
 as clothed with the dignity of the mission of God ; called to give 
 proof of its fruitfulness, which had been acquired, like that of the an- 
 cient Roman Church, by three centuries of martyrdom and of blood, 
 and to multiply the generation of the children of God over the world. 
 Hence it was he disciplined the people with such patience, hence he 
 defended it with such courage, hence he gave himself up, he immo- 
 lated himself for it with such eagerness, with such joy ; hence it was 
 he thought no effort, no sacrifice, too great for Ireland ; as a mother 
 rears with the greatest care, watches over with the most jealous anxi- 
 
PADRE Ventura's funeral oration. 253 
 
 iety, cherishes and caresses with a tenderness mixed with respect, the 
 son whom she knows is destined one day to reigii. 
 
 The benediction of God awaited on these noble designs, these holy 
 transports, which his grace had caused to spring up in the bosom of 
 his servant O'Connell saw the civil liberty which he had predicted 
 and conquered for his country, become a means of trinmph for religion 
 all oyer the universe. 
 
 Thanks to the heroic efforts of Ireland, dvil and religious Uberty 
 were granted to all the Catholic subjects of the Crown of England. 
 From that moment the Catholic religion, hitherto regarded by Eng- 
 land with supreme contempt, as the religion of slaves, and, under the 
 name of Popery, delivered over to every species of insult, acquired 
 importance, strength, and dignity. Full of a holy pride, it mounts the 
 palaces of the great, it penetrates into parliament, enters the court, 
 sits in the secret councils of royalty, and compels the haughty policy, 
 which heretofore scarcely acknowledged its existence, to treat with it on 
 equal terms, nay almost to ackt\pwledge its superiority. See further 
 how that religion, heretofore looked upon as the religion of the igno- 
 rant, of the feeble-minded, of the populace, and of woman, enters the 
 Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, makes proselytes amongst 
 their most distinguished members by these Catholic traditions which 
 heresy could not entirely destroy, and counts amongst its humble dis- 
 ciples the noblest minds, men the most educated and most profoundly 
 acquainted with the knowledge of religion, the most exalted souls, the 
 most distinguished characters. 
 
 Yes, the time is passed for insulting a religion which, without any 
 assistance from human power, and despite of its efforts, strong by its 
 liberty and divine charms alone, attracts great souls by the ardor of its' 
 sanctity, causes them to attach themselves to it, even by the sacrifice 
 of the most lucrative and brilliant positions, and to embrace poverty, 
 from the desire to possess the truth. 
 
 Admirable circumstance ! The Catholic religion, which, deprived 
 of its civil rights, appeared but as a slave, when made free by the 
 genius of O'Connell, appeared as a Queen. Liberty has caused its 
 virtue and truth to be better known and appreciated. To become a 
 Catholic is no longer, even in the eyes of English Protestants, to de- 
 grade one's self; it is, on the contrary, to elevate and honor a man in 
 the general opinion. The conquests which the Catholic faith never 
 ceases to make in the most distinguished classes of society provoke a 
 sentiment of envy, not of contempt Those who still remain in the 
 ranks of heresy look upon themselves with shame and chagrin ; but 
 
254 APPENDIX. 
 
 they no longer exhibit their wrath against those who leave them. 
 They no longer dare to blame the Anglican who becomes a Papist ; 
 they rather grieve that they have not the courage to follow his ex- 
 ample. 
 
 If sarcasms, invectives, and slander yet sometimes issue from 
 the mouths of bigoted fanatics, as vile by their sentiments as by 
 their birth, the high aristocracy, true knowledge, good faith, the 
 philosophy which reflects, the statesman who respects himself, use 
 towards the Catholic Church and its august chief only expres- 
 sions of respect, admiration and praise. The roofs of Westminster 
 resound each day with the generous accents which render homage 
 to Catholic trutk, and treat as they deserve the worn out and hence- 
 forth insupportable insolences of the old sectaries. Now, in consider- 
 ing the* progress of these things, how can we doubt the truth of a 
 prophecy which a great genius (Count de Maistre) made at the com- 
 mencement of this century : " That before it was ended, Mass would 
 be celebrated in St Paul's, London."^ But whenever the Mass is cele- 
 brated in St Paul's, who can say in how many other churches of the 
 vast dominions of England it will be celebrated on the same day? 
 The British Crown rules over about eighty millions of subjects in dif- 
 ferent parts of the world. It is to that enormous mass of men that 
 O'Connell has opened the doors of the true Church, and to whom he 
 has forever insured liberty and safety, in becoming Catholics, by de- 
 manding and obtaining liberty for Ireland ! "Who can measure the 
 extent of the importance of such success ? Had O'Connell never done 
 anything else, this alone would suffice to insure him an eminent place, 
 a particular glory in the annals of Catholic apostleship. 
 
 See the precious results that the Catholic faith, emancipated in the 
 mother country, produces in all the dependencies of that vast empire. 
 Wherever the flag of Great Britain floats, the faith of Ireland, under 
 the protection of liberty, displays a force and a majesty that nothing 
 can resist The Irish soldier, the priest, the Irish missionary, are the 
 objects of particular respect from those who command in those places 
 in the name of England. The Catholic has no longer any enemies 
 but the Methodists, a sect in which are united and concentrated all 
 the mean sentiments, all the cruel instincts of heresy. The other 
 sects feel the superiority of the Catholic faith in converting and 
 civilizing the nations, and render it the homage which is justly due to 
 it The Church becomes free, continually fortifies and strengthens 
 itself in these regions, extends itself, and triumphs there. 
 
 This revolution, the greatest efiected in the world, next to that 
 
PADRE Ventura's funeral oration. 255 
 
 wrought by Christianity — this revolution, so precious by its princi- 
 ples, its means and results, God has brought about by the hand of a 
 single man- Daniel O'Connell is, after God, the man to whom be- 
 longs this glory ! 
 
 What shall I say of the effects the emancipation of Ireland has pro- 
 duced upon English Protestantism ? A prediction was made by the 
 most profound politicians of Great Britain, while the cause of eman- 
 cipation was being pleaded, and that was, that the emancipation of 
 the Catholic Church would be tlie destruction of Protestantism. 
 This prophecy tends to its accomplishment with astonishing rapidity. 
 Protestantism exists only by exclvisive laws ; it feels itself in safety only 
 under the shadow of intolerance and tyranny. Deprived of these 
 frightful auxiliaries, abandoned to its own weakness, vitiated by error, 
 it can no longer sustain itself, 
 
 It is on that account that expiring Orangeism, in the convulsive 
 throes of its agony, turns its vmeasy looks to the throne, and with 
 loud cries implores the repeal ^pf the emancipation bill ; it is there- 
 fore that bigoted Anglicanism fears to grant to Ireland the comple- 
 ment of her liberty ; it is therefore that the Protestant Universities, 
 those citadels of error, founded, as it is said, to save and protect the 
 principle of free inquiry, the first basis of Protestanism, punish, by ex- 
 clusion and ostracism, the noble courage of him who, by the aid of 
 free inquiry, is convinced, believes, and confesses that the Catholic is 
 the only true religion. O'Connell, then, by emancipating the Cath- 
 olic Church in Great Britian, has, by that act alone, given to English 
 Protestantism a blow from which it cannot recover. This horrible 
 scandal of Christian royalty, this monstrous produce of the spirit of 
 luxury, united to the spirit of cupidity and pride, is upon the point of 
 expiring, and it is the powerful arm of O'ConneU which has pierced 
 it to the heart with the sword of liberty. 
 
 But English Protestantism is united by secret bonds to Swiss and 
 German Protestantism; it is this alliance that constitutes their 
 strength, their authority, and their hope. England is at the head of 
 Protestantism, as France is at the head of Catholicism, in the whole 
 universe. When, therefore, our apostle has given Protestantism its 
 death-blow in England, he has prepared its fall in the world. 
 
 These triumphs, however, are not the only ones that O'Connell has 
 given the Church through the means of liberty. The principle of the 
 independence of religion in regard to the civil power has been, in our 
 days, proclaimed for the first time by the irreligious philosophy of the 
 last century, with the infernal intention of injuring, the true Church. 
 
256 APPENDIX. 
 
 This philosophy, entertaining the fatal idea that the Catholic Church 
 is an institution purely human, which has neither life nor strength of 
 itself; and which maintains itself only by the aid of thrones, believes 
 that if the doctrine of the independence of religion, or of the separa- 
 tion of the Church from the State, came to prevail, the Church, de- 
 prived of the assistance of the State, and attacked by knowledge, and 
 all the human passions, must infallibly fall But, O ! calculations as 
 foolish as impious 1 O 1 admirable economy of the Providence of 
 God over His Church ! Behold the eighteen centmries during which 
 the Church has declared to the civil power that it had no jurisdiction 
 over conscience of faith ; behold the eighteen centuries which it has 
 struggled against power for its independence and liberty. Unbelief, 
 then, in preaching the same doctrine, has spoken the language of the 
 Church, has employed its eloquence in defending her, while it fool- 
 ishly thought it was attacking her ; it has been divinely inspired ; it 
 has, without comprehending them, forwarded the designs of God re- 
 lative to the Church. Balaam's ass has spoken the language of intelli- 
 gence ; the imposter filled with the spirit of hell, has raised his voice 
 for the interests of heaven; Caiphas has prophesied; Judas has 
 preached the Gospel ; the enemies of the Church have proved them- 
 selves the true necessity of the Church, the true principle to which 
 is attached the success of her regenerating power, her propagation, 
 her triumph ! 
 
 It is Jcnown, however, in what manner the unbelieving philosophy, 
 when it was able to do it, put in practice this doctrine of the liberty 
 of conscience that it had itself proclaimed. It is known how, under 
 its power, it was permitted to each to be a Jansenist, schismatic, 
 heretic, atheist, or deist ; but misfortune to him who, considering 
 this liberty of conscience seriously, resolved to become a Catholic ; the 
 guillotine was permanently erected, the executioner was always at his 
 post, to do justice to that man ! See, then, the reason why the doc- 
 trine of liberty of conscience excited the horror of some, the sus- 
 picions of others, and counted among its partisans only the unbeliev- 
 ing and the indifferent But when O Council had taken it under his 
 patronage ; when he converted it into truth, where it was but a horri- 
 ble falsehood ; when he had proclaimed it with his powerful voice, 
 and encircled with the prestige of his authority ; when he professed 
 it with so much sincerity, carried it into practice with such success, 
 and purified it in a manner fi-om the stains with which the lips of im- 
 piety had profaned it, in pronouncing its name ; when, in fine, he had 
 baptized it, sanctified it, and made it serve to secure the triumph of 
 
PADRE VENTURA S FUNERAL ORATION. 25/ 
 
 the true religion in his country, soon his doctrine, which up to that 
 had remained hidden in some obscure corners of France and Ger- 
 many, resounded, like a sonorous echo, throughout the whole of 
 Europe ; it has gained the universities, it has entered into the cabi- 
 nets, it has penetrated the sanctuary, and, sad intelligence for heresy 
 and error alone, it has produced or prepared the most brilliant 
 triumphs for the truth. 
 
 In effect, in presence of this doctrine, and consequently of free dis- 
 cussion in matters of religion, in the country where true religion finds 
 itself surrounded by erroneous sects, all the new religious sects, born 
 of pride and voluptuousness, like the worms of corruption, die, so 
 to speak, in being bom ; and whilst heresy and unbelief from day to 
 day see their ranks thinned. Catholic truth, coming out of the strug- 
 gle stronger and more free of life, each day sees the number of her 
 disciples doubled. She alone profits by liberty, under whose assaults ' 
 it was feared she would fall. It can, therefore, with more reason, be 
 said of liberty what was said of knowledge, — that it is a dissolvent 
 which decomposes all metals except gold. So, in effect, liberty dis- 
 solves and pulverizes all religions except the true one. And if that 
 was not certain, if that was not evident, if liberty, which is one of 
 the greatest attributes of God, did not agree with the religion of God, 
 you would not hear me speak its praise with so much confidence from 
 this sacred pulpit, which should only defend what is true, holy, and 
 divine. 
 
 It is with this weapon in his hand that German rationalism boldly 
 refuses to submit to the official worsliip in Prussia, and that, denying 
 to the civil powers the right to impose symbols and interpret them, it 
 destroys the last ramparts of Luther's edifice, and labors for the en- 
 tire liberty of the Catholics. It is with this weapon that the demo- 
 cracy of Geneva, combatting the intolerant pretensions, the doctrinal 
 jurisdiction of the ministers of heresy, overthrow the impiety of Cal- 
 vin in the metropolis of its empire, and prepares the liberty of Cath- 
 olicism. It is with this weapon that European diplomacy saps Mussul- 
 man intolerance at Constantinople — gloomy Paganism in China, and 
 opens the doors of these countries to the preaching of the Gospel. It 
 is with this weapon, in fine, that the faithftil are strong, and to which 
 the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church have recourse in 
 Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland, and . many parts of Ger- 
 many. It is this weapon that they wield to-day, with a confidence 
 equal to the fear it inspired at first to obtain the liberty which the 
 Church requires, and which a hypocritical liberalism refuses it They 
 
258 APPENDIX- 
 
 stop the civil power in its career, attempting to forge new chains for 
 the Church, and fearing to break the old. Yes ; the cause of true 
 religion, placed by O'Connell upon the soil of liberty, agitated in the 
 open day of publicity, cannot perish ; its rights cannot be contested ; 
 its legitimate progress, its conquests, can no longer be limited or 
 hindered. 
 
 It is therefore in vain that certain governments flatter themselves 
 that they will be still allowed to rule the Church, or in the Church. 
 Since the great apostleship of O'Connell has made the independence 
 of religion in regard to the civil power a universal dogma ; since he 
 has implanted it in all minds, imprinted it on all hearts, and made it 
 be adopted and relished by the zealous and pious among the pastors 
 of the Church, this principle can no longer perish or fall into ob- 
 livion. It will acquire strength even from resistance ; it will triumph 
 over all obstacles, and secure the triumph of religion. 
 
 And misfortune — misfortune to the governments which imagine that 
 they will be able to practise religious despotism in the nineteenth 
 century, after the great revolution that has been wrought in men's 
 ideas ! The emperors who, in professing Christianity, did not desire 
 to comprehend Christianity, and attempted to continue to exercise 
 Pagan despotism over the Christian Church, were abandoned by the 
 Church. They fell into that state of meanness which has caused their 
 reigns to be called the history of the Lower Empire, and they disap- 
 peared from the political stage of the world without inheritors and 
 without successors. The Church, which disdains not, but which seeks 
 out, which despises not, but welcomes and sanctifies all that has force 
 and life, turned towards the barbarians, and made them a miracle of 
 a Christian monarchy. If one day the successors of the barbarian 
 chiefs, permitting themselves to be led into the errors of Paganism, 
 essentially despotic, renounce the Christian doctrine, essentially lib- 
 eral, because it is all charity, and no longer wish to recognize the doc- 
 trine of religious liberty of the people and the independence of the 
 Church, which constituted the glory and security of their ancestors, 
 the Church can bestow her care upon others ; she will turn towards 
 the democracy ; she will baptize this savage heroine ; she will make 
 a Christian of her, as she has already made Christians of the Barba- 
 rians ; she will impress upon her brow the seal of her divine conse- 
 cration, and will say to her, — Reign ! and she will reign. Yes, gov- 
 ernments have no support, no safety, no defence, no probability of 
 duration, but by giving to the Church the liberty which belongs to 
 her, and treating and respecting the people as children of God ! 
 
PADRE VENTURA S FUNERAL ORATION. 259 
 
 What was the pure joy of O'Connell's heart, when with his own 
 eyes he saw the signal advantages, the glorious triumphs, assurances 
 of still more glorious triumphs to come, which his intelligent zeal, his 
 doctrines, his generous sentiments, had secured to the true religion ? 
 But how much greater was his religious joy, when he saw the hand of 
 God raise and place in the Chair of St. Peter the beloved and adored 
 Pius IX., that great soul, capable of comprehending all the instincts, 
 all the necessities of this religious age — that noble heart so desirous 
 to satisfy them. For O'Connell was well convinced that the lofty and 
 privileged genius of Pius IX. would walk with a sure and firm step in 
 the path that O'Connell had opened — that. he would seize, and wield 
 vrith equal intelligence and courage, the powerful weapon that O'Con- 
 nell had resuscitated ; that he would accomplish upon a vast plan, witli 
 greater success, because he possesses a divine authority, that which 
 O'Connell had only commenced ; the .triumph of the Catholic faith 
 and of the Catholic Church, by means of liberty ! 
 
 Thus could he say, with the good old man, Simeon — " Now, Lord, 
 send me to enjoy the peace of the tomb ; I die willingly this day. 
 My eyes have seen what my heart desired, but what I believed myself 
 unworthy to see ; they have seen your promise accomplished, to pre- 
 pare great succor in great necessity ; they have seen the Church 
 confided by you to able and enlightened heads, capable of governing 
 it — the world to a great soul capable of saving it" ''Nunc dimittis 
 servum tinim doinine, secundum verbum tuum in pcue. Quia vider- 
 ant occouli mei salutare tuuviP Oh ! great luminary which has be- 
 gun to shine over the Vatican. Oh ! great ligh tfrom God, which He 
 will continue to brighten and cause to shine upon the nations ! Oh ! 
 to what a light of glory have you commenced to raise your people, 
 the true Israel, your holy Church ! '' Liimen ad rcvolutionem gen- 
 tium et gloriam tuce Isrcel." 
 
 It was therefore that, desirous to bow himseif before this divine 
 light, feeling his end approaching, he wished to come and lay his mor- 
 tal remains at the feet of this great representative of God. Ah ! the 
 soul of an O'Connell appeared very worthy of being transmitted by 
 the hands of Pius IX. to the gates of heaven, and deposited in the 
 bosom of the mercy of God ! It was therefore that he made a vow 
 to accomplish a pilgrimage to this holy city, the metropolis of the em- 
 pire of Jesus Christ upon the earth, the source of the consolations 
 of the heart, the universal country, the place of repose here below 
 for all those who have had the happiness to be born again by bap- 
 tism ! . . . . Death came to surprise him at Genoa, upon the way to 
 
26o APPENDIX. 
 
 Rome. But no, I deceive myself, he was not surprised by death. I 
 have myself seen, I have had in my hands the precious copy of the 
 work of St Alphonso de Ligotiri, entitled Preparation for Death, 
 which he used, with notes made by his own hand ; an evident proof 
 that in the midst of the greatest agitations of his life he was always 
 preparing himself for death, and that he regulated his actions in life 
 by the unerring light of the maxims of eternity. For this reason, 
 full of that courage, of that holy sincerity which a true Christian 
 feels as the effort of a life passed in the faithful discharge of the 
 duties, and in zeal for the glory of Christianity, he saw the approach 
 of death. without fear ; he bent his head to its decree without repug- 
 nance. Spiritu Magno VlDlT ULTIMA. He asked and received 
 the last Sacraments with the humility of a child and the fervor of a 
 saint. It was in frequently repeating the prayer of Sl Bernard, 
 memorare opiissima VIRGO, .in reciting the Psalms, in renewing in 
 each instant acts of contrition, of hope and of love, in pronouncing 
 the blessed names of Jesus and Mary, that died away the voice which 
 had shaken the world, that left its earthly tenement the great soul 
 which had excited the admiration of the earth ! And as it was not 
 granted him to come in person to Rome, he at least came here in 
 spirit, and he died here in heart For his last directions were — 
 "My body to Ireland, my heart to Rome, my soul to Heaven," 
 
 O admirable disposition ! O precious gift ! Can we imagine any- 
 thing more sublime, and at the same time more pious, than such a 
 testament? Ireland, it is his country; Rome, it is the Church, 
 Heaven, it is God. God, then, the Church, his country — that is to 
 say, the glory of God, the liberty of the Church, the happiness of his 
 country. Behold the great ends and objects of all his actions ; be- 
 hold the noble objects, the only objects of his love ! He loved his 
 country, therefore he bequeathed to it his body ; but he loved the 
 Church still more, and therefore he leaves his heart to her ; but he 
 loved God even more than the Church, and for that reason to God he 
 gives his soul. He loved God for himself ; the Church in relation 
 to God, because she is divine ; his country in relation to the Church, 
 because she is Catholic Behold the order of his love, the founda- 
 tion of his being, the character of his soul, the economy of all his 
 conduct, the history of his life. O'Connell faithfully depicted by 
 O'Connell himself ! Behold the testament of the truly great man, of 
 the true philosopher, of the true citizen, of the true Christian ! 
 Happy the man who, in dying, can thus dispose of himself, with as 
 much reason, as much confidence, as much truth ! 
 
PADRE Ventura's funeral oration. 261 
 
 But observe again, that country is liberty, the Church is religion, 
 God is the hand that unites together country, the Church, religion 
 and liberty. Then Daniel O'Connell, in bequeathing his body to his 
 country, his heart to the Church, his soul to God, has demonstrated 
 that in that great genius the love of country and of liberty were 
 united to the love of religion, but through God, in God, and with 
 God. 
 
 Let us profit, then, by this great lesson, given in such a magnani- 
 mous example, by so great a man, who has deserved so well of the 
 Church, of his country, and of humanity. And since O'Connell, a 
 Christian citizen, has given liberty to his country by the aid of re- 
 ligion, and since he has secured the triumph of religion by means of 
 liberty, let us no more separate that which is united by God and in 
 God — true liberty and true religion. 
 
 Besides, such is at present the state of the opinions and of the 
 sentiments of the people in Europe, that liberty can effect nothing 
 without religion, no more than religion can effect anything without 
 liberty, and that the enemies of religion are the real enemies of 
 liberty, as the enemies of liberty are the real enemies of religion. 
 Whoever speaks of religion without liberty, speaks of a human insti- 
 tution ; whoever speaks of liberty without religion, utters an infernal 
 sentiment Religion without liberty, loses its dignity ; liberty with-^ 
 out religion, loses all its charms ; religion without liberty, falls into 
 contempt ; liberty without religion, becomes anarchy. Liberty takes 
 away from religion whatever might be humiliating to the conscience ; 
 religion takes from liberty whatever there is savage about it Liberty 
 renders religion more beautiful, as beauty makes virtue be more 
 prized ; religion preserves liberty as salt hinders corruption. 
 
 But yes, dear Romans, you have these ideas and these sentiments 
 in the thoughts of your hearts. The day before yesterday you heard 
 me combat all the errors, and proclaim all the truths, of social science. 
 You heard me plead the cause of order and condemn sedition, 
 speak in favor of the throne a language the less suspected as it was 
 the more free and the farther removed from adulation, praise 
 liberty, but that liberty which has religion for its foundation and sup- 
 port You have applauded me as much as your respect for this 
 sacred place would permit You are thus confessed in public ; you 
 have demonstrated, in the clearest and most solemn manner, that you 
 are not such as a calumniating voice would make you appear. No, 
 you are not the enemies of the pontifical throne, of the ecclesiastics, 
 and of order ; you love true liberty, but you also love the sovereignty 
 
262 APPENDIX. 
 
 of the head of the Church and religion. Yes, as the great Pontiff 
 who governs us is incapable of trifling with you, you are incapable 
 of forgetting the loyalty that you owe him. Duplicity and revolt are 
 things too vile to be found in noble and generous hearts, such as 
 those of Pius IX. and the Roman people. 
 
 It only, then, remains for me to exhort you to remain in your pres- 
 ent disposition, and to say to you — let us show ourselves the faithful 
 disciples of religion, in loving true liberty, and let us prove ourselves 
 worthy of liberty by the sincere practice of true religion. Let us 
 make liberty the auxiliary of religion, and take religion as the 
 guardian of liberty. Let us leave a servile religion to obscurantism, 
 and an unbelieving religion to anarchy. Let us be Christian citizens, 
 and citizen Christians ; let us unite with love of the people love of 
 the Church, and love of liberty with love of religion ; and thus walk- 
 ing in the safe path of the great Christian and the great citizen, for 
 whose soul we pray to-day, and whose memory we honor, we will be 
 partakers of the eternal reward which he will enjoy in heaven ; we 
 will on earth have the glory of deserving well of our country and of 
 religion, and it will be said of us also — Liberavit gentem suam a per- 
 ditione ; et in diclens suis corroborceuit templum^ Amen- 
 
FATHER BURKE'S ORATION. 
 
 The following Oration in praise of O'Connell was 
 delivered by the eminent Irish orator, Father Thomas 
 Burke, of the Order of Friars Preachers, on the oc- 
 casion of the removal of the remains of Ireland's 
 Liberator to their final resting-place in Glasnevin : — 
 
 " Wisdom conducted the just man through the right ways, and showed 
 him the Kingdom of God, m.ade him honorable in his labors aiid 
 accomplished his works. She kept him safe from, his enemies, and 
 gave him a strong conflict that he might overcome ; and in bondage 
 she left him not till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom and 
 power against those that oppressed hiniy and gave him evei'lasting 
 gloryy — Wisdom x. 
 
 These striking words of the inspired writer tell us the glorious his- 
 tory of a great man of old, the father and founder of a great people. 
 They also point out the true source of his greatness and the secret of 
 his success. He was a just man, and the spirit of wisdom was upon 
 him. He was led by this spirit through the right ways, — that is to 
 say, the ways of truth and justice, the straightforward paths of reason 
 and obedience ; and the ends of his ways, the object ever before his 
 eyes, was the " kingdom of God," the independence, the glory, the 
 spiritual freedom of the children of his race. A high and holy object 
 was this, a grand and a noble purpose, which wisdom held out to him 
 as the aim of his life and the crown of his days. And as the end for 
 which a man labors determines all things either unto shame or unto 
 glory, so he who labored for so great an end, " the kingdom of God," 
 was made "honorable in his labors," and the source of this honor was 
 also the secret of success, for he " accomplished his works." But in 
 the midst of these " honorable labors " the inspired writer tells us 
 that the just man's path was beset by enemies, but the spirit of wisdom 
 
 26-? 
 
264 APPENDIX. 
 
 which guided him " kept him safe from his enemies," enabled him to 
 meet their violence and their wiles, their open hatred and their subtle 
 cunning, to overcome them and to baffle them. The contest was 
 long ; it was a "strong conflict," which was given to him only that he 
 might overcome, and so be worthy to be crowned. He was made to 
 taste of sorrow; his enemies seemed to prevail; but in bands the 
 spirit of wisdom, truth and justice forsook him not, "till she brought 
 him the sceptre of the kingdom," the love and veneration of his 
 brethren and of his people ; " and power against those that op- 
 pressed him;" the power of principle and of justice, and so 
 changed his sorrow into joy, "and gave him everlasting glory" 
 — glory on the earth in the history and traditions of his people, 
 where his name was in honor and benediction, and his memory 
 enshrined in their love, and the higher glory, the everlasting glory 
 "of the kingdom of God," for which he had labored so honorably, so 
 successfully, and so long. Now, all this honor, triumph and everlast- 
 ing glory came to the great Israelite through the spirit of wisdom, the 
 same spirit of which it is written elsewhere, " that it can do all 
 things .... that it reneweth all things .... and through nations 
 conveyeth itself into holy souls, and maketh the friends of God and 
 the prophets" — "the friends of God," that is to say, the defenders 
 of His Church and of His faith ; and " prophets," that is, the leaders 
 of His people. 
 
 The destinies of nations are in the hands of God, and when the 
 hour of His mercy comes, and a nation is to regain the first of its 
 rights, the free exercise of its faith and religion, God, who is never 
 wanting to His own designs, ever provides for that hour a leader for 
 His people, such a one as my text describes — wise, high-minded, 
 seeking the kingdom of God, honorable in his labors, strong in con- 
 flict with his enemies, triumphant in the issue, and crowned with 
 glory. Nor was Ireland forgotten in the designs of God. Centuries 
 of' patient endurance brought at length the dawn of a better day. 
 God's hour came, and it brought with it Ireland's greatest son, Daniel 
 O'Connell. We surround his grave to-day, to pay him a last tribute 
 of love, to speak words of praise, of suffrage, and of prayer. For 
 two-and-twenty years has he silently slept in the midst of us. His 
 generation is passing away, and the light of history already dawns 
 upon his grave, and she speaks his name with cold, unimpassioned 
 voice. In this age of ours a few years are as a century of times gone 
 by. Great changes and startling events follow each other in such 
 quick succession, that the greatest names are forgotten almost as soon 
 
FATHER BURKE's ORATION. .265 
 
 as those who bore them disappear, and the world itself is surprised 
 to find how short-lived is the fame which promised to be immortaL. 
 He who is inscribed even in the golden book of the world's annals, 
 finds that he has but written his name upon water. The Church 
 alone is the true shrine of immortality — the temple of fame which 
 perisheth not ; and that man only whose name and memory is pre- 
 served in her sanctuaries, receives on this earth a reflection of that 
 glory which is eternal in heaven. But before the Church will crown 
 any one of her children, she carefully examines his claims to the im- 
 mortality of her praise and gratitude — she asks, What has he done 
 for God and for man ? This great question am I come here to an- 
 swer to-day for him whose tongue, once so eloquent, is now stilled in 
 the silence of the grave, and over whose tomb a grateful coimtry has 
 raised a monument of its ancieiit faith and a record of its past glo- 
 ries ; and I claim for him the meed of our gratitude and love, in that 
 he was a man of faith, whom wisdom guided in "the right ways," 
 who loved and sought " the kingdom of God," who was most " honor- 
 able in his labors," and who accomplished his "great works ; " the lib- 
 erator of his race, the father of his people, the conqueror in "the 
 undefiled conflict " of principle, truth and justice. No man of our day 
 denies that Ireland has been a most afflicted country; but seldom 
 was her dark hour darker, or her affliction greater, than toward the 
 close of the last century. The nation's heart seemed broken, and all 
 her hopes extinguished. The Catholics of Ireland were barely 
 allowed to live, and were expected to be grateful even for the boon of 
 existence ; but the profession of the Catholic faith was a complete 
 bar and an insurmountable obstacle to all advancement in the p?th of 
 worldly advantage, honor, dignity, and even wealth. The fetters of 
 conscience hung heavily also upon genius, and every prize to which 
 lawful ambition might aspire was beyond the reach of those who re- 
 fused to deny the religion of their fathers, and to forget their coun- 
 try. Amongst the victims of this religious and intellectual slavery 
 was one who was marked amongst the youth of his time. Of birth 
 which in other lands would be called noble, gifted with a powerful 
 and comprehensive intelligence, a prodi.srious memory, a most fertile 
 imagination, pouring forth its images in a vein of richest oratory, a 
 generous spirit, a most tender heart, enriched with stores of varied 
 learning and genius of the highest kind, graced with every form of 
 manly beauty, strength and vigor, of powerful frame — nothing 
 seemed wanting to him — 
 
266 APPENDIX. 
 
 "A combination and a form indeed 
 Where every god did seem to set his seal. 
 To give the world assurance of a man " — 
 
 yet all seemed to be lost in him, for he was bom a Catholic and an 
 Irishman. Before him now stretched, full and broad, the two ways of 
 life, and he must choose between them ; the way which led to all that 
 the world prized — wealth, power, distinction, title, glory, and fame ; 
 the way of genius, the noble rivalry of intellect, the association with 
 all that was most refined and refining — the way which led up to the 
 council chambers of the nation, to all places of jurisdiction and of 
 honor, to the temples wherein were enshrined hfstoric names and 
 glorious memories, to share in all blessings of privilege and free- 
 dom. The stirrings of genius, the promptings of youthful ambition, 
 the consciousness of vast intellectual power, which placed within 
 his easy grasp the highest prizes to which " the last infirmity of noble 
 minds " could aspire — all this impelled him to enter upon the bright 
 and golden path. But before him opened another way. No gleam 
 of sunshine illumined this way ; it was wet with tears — it was 
 overshadowed with misfortune — // was pointed out to the young trav- 
 eller of life by the sign of the Cross, and he who entered it was bidden 
 to leave all hope behind him, for it led through the valley of humilia- 
 tion into the heart of a fallen race and an enslaved and afldicted 
 people. I claim for O'Connell the glory of having chosen the latter 
 path, and this claim no man can gainsay, for it is the argument of 
 the apostle in favor of the great lawgiver of old — " By faith Moses 
 denied himself to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; rather choosing 
 to be aiBicted with the people of God than to have the pleasure of sin 
 for a time — esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the 
 treasure of the Egyptians." Into this way was he led, by his love for 
 his religion and for his country. He firmly believed in that religion in 
 which he was bom. He had that faith which is common to all Cath- 
 olics, and which is not merely a strong opinion, or even a conviction, 
 but an absolute and most certain knowledge that the Catholic Church 
 is the one and only true messenger and witness of God upon earth ; 
 that to belong to her communion and to possess her faith is the first and 
 greatest of all endowments and privileges, before which everything else 
 sinks into absolute nothing. He believed and knew that it was not 
 enough for him to "believe in his heart unto justice," but that he must 
 " confess with his mouth unto salvation," and the strength of his faith 
 left him no alternative but to proclaim loudly his religion, and to cast 
 in his lot with his people. That religion was this people's only inher- 
 
FATHER BURKE's ORATION. 26/ 
 
 itance. They had clung to it and preserved it with a love and fidelity 
 altogether superhuman, and which was the wonder of the world. The 
 teaching of the Catholic Church was accepted cheerfully by the Irish 
 people when it was first preached to them. They took it kindly and 
 at once from the lips of their apostle, and Ireland was a grand ex- 
 ception to all the nations where the seed of Christianity has ever been 
 the martyrs' blood. The faith thus delivered to them they so illus- 
 trated by their sanctity, that for a thousand years Catholic Ireland was 
 the glory of Christendom, and received amongst the nations the singu- 
 lar title of the " Island of Saints." 
 
 Our national history begins with our faith, and is so interwoven with 
 our holv religion, that if you separate these our country's name disap- 
 pears from the world's annals ; whilst, on the other hand, Ireland 
 Christian and Catholic, which means Ireland holy, Ireland evangeliz- 
 ing, Ireland teachirvg the nations of Europe, Ireland upholding in 
 every land the Cross and Crown, Ireland suffering for her faith as peo- 
 ple never suffered, has her name written in letters of gold upon the 
 proudest page of history. Ireland and her religion were so singularly 
 bound together, that in the days of prosperity and peace they shone 
 together ; in days of sorrow and shame they sustained one another. 
 When the ancient religion was diiven from her sanctuaries, she still 
 found a temple in every cabin in the land, an altar and a home in the 
 heart of every Irishman. When the war of conquest degenerated into 
 a war of extermination, the faith, and the faith alone, became to the 
 Irish race the principle of their vitality and national existence, the 
 only element of freedom and of hope. To their Church, suffering and 
 proscribed, they remained faithful as in the days of her glory. The 
 Cathohc religion became the strongest passion of their lives, and in 
 their love for their great suffering Mother they said to her : — 
 
 " Through grief and through danger thy smile hath cheered my way. 
 Till hope seem'd to bud from each thorn that round me lay ; 
 The darker our fortune the brighter our pure love burned. 
 Till shame into glory, till fear into zeal was turned ; 
 Yes, slave as I was, in thy arms my spirit felt free, ^^ 
 
 And blessed even the sorrows that made me more dear to thee. 
 
 All this O'Connell felt and knew. He was Irish of the Irish, and 
 Catholic of the Catholic. His love for religion and country was 
 as the breath of his nostrils, the blood of his veins ; and when he 
 brought to the sen,'ice of both the strength of his faith and the power 
 of his genius, with the instinct of a true Irishman his first thought was 
 to lift up the nation by striking the chains off the National Church. 
 
268 APPENDIX. 
 
 And here again, my brethren, two ways opened before him. One was 
 a way in which many had trodden in former times, many pure, and 
 high-minded, noble and patriotic men ; it was a way of danger and of 
 blood, and the history of his country told him that it ever ended in de- 
 feat and in greater evil. The saTd events which he himself witnessed, 
 and which took place around him, warned him off that way; for he 
 saw that the effort to walk in it had swept away the last ves- 
 tige of Ireland's national legislature and independence. But another 
 path was still open to him, and wisdom pointed il out as " the right 
 way." Another battle-field lay before him on which he could " fight 
 the good fight," and vindicate all the rights of his religion and of his 
 country. The armory was furnished by the inspired apostle when he 
 said : — " Brethren, our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but 
 against principalities and powers. . . . Therefore take unto you the 
 armor of God, . . . Having your loins girt about with truth, and hav- 
 ing on the breast-plate of justice, and your feet shod with the prepara- 
 tion of the Gospel of Peace, in all things taking the shield of faith. 
 . . . And take unto you the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word." 
 O'Connell knew well that such weapons in such a hand as his were 
 irresistible — that, girt round with the truth and justice of his cause, 
 he was clad in the armor of the Eternal God ; that witii words of 
 peace and order on his lips, with the strong shield of faith before him 
 and the sword of eloquent speech in his hand, with the war-cry of 
 obedience, principle, and law, no power on earth could resist him. 
 Such a battle once begun, 
 
 " Though baffled oft, is ever won ; " 
 
 for it is the battle of God, and nothing can resist the Most High. Ac- 
 cordingly, he raised the standard of the new war, and unfurled the 
 banner on which was written, — Freedom to be achieved by the power of 
 truth, the cry of justice, the assertion of right, and the omnipotence of 
 the law. Religious liberty and perfect legal equality was his first de- 
 mand. The new apostle of fi-eedom went through the length and 
 breadth of Ireland. His eloquent words revived the hopes and stirred 
 up the energies of the nation ; the people and the priesthood rallied 
 round him as one man ; they became most formidable to their enemies 
 by the might of justice and reason, and they showed themselves 
 worthy of liberty by their respect for the law. Never was Ireland 
 more excited, yet never was Ireland more peaceful. The people 
 were determined on gaining their religious fireedom. Irishmen fi-om 
 1822 to 1829 were as fiercely determined on their new battle-field as 
 
FATHER burke' S ORATION. 269 
 
 they had been in the breaches of Limerick or on the slopes of Fonte- 
 noy. They were marshalled by a leader as brave as Sarsfield and as 
 daring as Red Hugh. He led them against the strongest citadel in 
 the world ; and even as the walls of, the city of old crumbled to dust 
 at the sound of Israel's trumpet, so, at the sound of his mighty voice, 
 who spoke in the name of a united people, " the lintels of the doors 
 were moved," and the gates were opened which three hundred years 
 of prejudice and pride had closed and barred against our people. The 
 first decree of our liberation went forth — on the 13th of April, 1829, 
 Catholic Emancipation was proclaimed, and seven millions of Cath- 
 olic Irishmen entered the nation's legislature in the person of O'Con- 
 nell. It was the first and the greatest victory of peaceful principle 
 which our age has witnessed, the grandest triumph of justice and of 
 truth, the most glorious victory of the genius of one man, and the first 
 great act of homage which Ireland's rulers paid to the religion of the 
 people, and which Ireland's people paid to the great principle of 
 peaceful agitation. 
 
 O'Connell's first and greatest triumph was the result of his strong 
 faith and his ardent zeal for his religion and his Church. The Church 
 was to him, as it is to us, " the kingdom of God," and in his labors 
 for it " he was made honorable," and received fi-om a grateful people 
 the grandest title ever given to man. Ireland called him the " Libera- 
 tor." He was "honorable in his labors," when we consider the end 
 which he proposed to himself. It was no selfish, nor even purely 
 human, end which he put before him. He devoted himself, his time, 
 his talents, his energies, his power, to the glory of God, to the libera- 
 tion of God's Church, to the emancipation of His people. This was 
 the glorious end; nor w^e the means less honorable. Fair, open, 
 manly self-assertion ; high, solemn appeal to eternal principle ; noble 
 and unceasing proclamation of rights founded in justice and in the con- 
 stitution ; peaceful but most powerful pressure of a people united by his 
 genius, inflamed by his eloquence, and guided by his vast knowledge 
 and wisdom — these were the honorable means by which he accom- 
 plished his great work, and this great work was the achievement which 
 gained for him not only the title of the Liberator of Ireland, but even 
 the oecumenical title of the Liberator of Christ's Church. " Were it 
 only to Ireland," says the great Lacordaire, " that Emancipation has 
 been profitable, where is the man in the Church who has freed at once 
 seven millions of souls ? Challenge your recollection, search history 
 fi-om that first and famous edict which granted to the Christians liberty 
 of conscience, and see if there are to be found many such acts com- 
 23* 
 
270 APPENDIX. 
 
 parable, by the extent of their effects, with that of Catholic Emancipa- 
 tion. Seven millions of souls are now free to serve and love God 
 even to the end of time ; and each time that this people, advanc- 
 ing in their existence and their liberty, shall recall to memory the 
 aspect of the man who studied the secret of their ways, they will ever 
 find inscribed the name of O'Connell, both on the latest pages of their 
 servitude and on the first of their regeneration." His glorious victory 
 did honor even to those whom he vanquished. He honored them by 
 appealing to their sense of justice and of right; and, in the act of 
 Catholic Emancipation in England, acknowledged the power of a peo- 
 ple, not asking for mercy, but clamoring for the liberty of the soul, the 
 blessing which was born with Christ, and which is the inheritance of 
 the nations that embrace the Cross. Catholic Emancipation was but 
 the herald and the beginning of victories. He who was the Church's 
 liberator and most true son, was also the first of Ireland's statesmen 
 and patriots. Our people remember well, as their future historian 
 will faithfully record, the many trials borne for them, the many vic- 
 tories gained in their cause, the great life devoted to them by O'Con- 
 nell. Lying, however, at the foot of the altar, as he is to-day, whilst 
 the Church hallows his grave with prayer and sacrifice, it is more 
 especially as the Catholic Emancipator of his people that we place a 
 garland on liis tomb. It is as a child of the Church that we honor 
 him, and recall with tears of sorrow our recollections of the aged 
 man, revered, beloved, whom all the glory of the world's admiration 
 and the nation's love had never lifted up in soul out of the holy atmos- 
 phere of Christian humility and simplicity. Obedience to the Church's 
 laws, quick zeal for her honor and the dignity of her worship ; a spirit 
 of penance refining whilst it expiated, chastening whilst it ennobled, 
 all that was natural in the man ; constant and frequent use of the 
 Church's Holy Sacraments, which shed the halo of grace round his 
 venerated head — these were the last grand lessons which he left to 
 his people, and thus did the sun of his life set in the glory of Chris- 
 tian holiness. For Ireland he lived, for Ireland did he die. The peo- 
 ple whom he had so faithftilly served, whom he loved with a love 
 second only to his love for God, were decimated by a visitation 
 the most terrible that the world ever witnessed ; the nations of the 
 earth trembled, and men grew pale at the sight of Ireland's deso- 
 lation. Her tale of famine, of misery, of death, was told in every 
 land. Her people fled affrighted from the soil which had forgotten its 
 andent bounty, or died, their white lips uttering the last faint cry for 
 bread. All this the aged father of his coimtry beheld. Neither his 
 
FATHER BURKE S ORATION. 2/1 
 
 genius, nor his eloquence, nor his love, could now save his p>eople, 
 and the spirit was crushed which had borne him triumphantly through 
 all dangers and toil ; the heart broke within him, —that brave and gen- 
 erous heart which had never known fear, and whose ruling passion 
 was his love for Ireland. The martyred spirit, the broken heart of the 
 great Irishman, led him to the holiest spot of earth, and with tottering 
 steps he turned to Rome. The man whose terrible voice in life shook 
 the highest tribunals of earth in imperious demand for justice to Ireland, 
 now sought the Apostles' tomb, that, from that threshold of Heaven 
 he might put up a cry for mercy to his country and his people, and 
 offer up his life for his native land. Like the Prophet King, he would 
 fain stand between the people and the angel who smote them, and 
 offer himself a victim and a holocaust for the land which he loved. 
 But on the shores of the Mediterranean the weary traveller lay down 
 to die. At that last moment his profound knowledge of his country's 
 history may have given him that prophetic glimpse of the future which 
 is sometimes vouchsafed to great minds. He had led a mighty nation 
 to the opening of " the right way," and directed her first and doubtful 
 steps in the path of conciliation and justice to Ireland. Time, which 
 ever works out the designs of God, has carried that nation forward in 
 the glorious way. With firmer step, with undaunted soul, with high 
 resolve of justice, peace and conciliation, the work begun by Ireland's 
 Liberator progresses in our day. Chains are being forged for our 
 country, but they are chains of gold, to bind up all discordant ele- 
 ments in the empire, so that all men shall dwell together as brothers 
 in the land. If we cannot have the blessings of religious unity so as 
 " to be all of one mind," we shall have " the next dearest blessing that 
 Heaven can give," the peace that springs from perfect religious liberty 
 and equality. All this do we owe to the man whose memory we recall 
 to-day, to the principles which he taught us, which illustrate his life, 
 and which, in the triumph of Catholic Emancipation, pointed out to 
 the Irish people the true secret of their strength, the true way of 
 progress, and the sure road to victory. The seed which his hand has 
 sown it was not given to him to reap in its fulness. Catholic Emanci- 
 pation was but the first instalment of liberty. The edifice of religious 
 freedom was to be crowned when the- wise architect, who had laid its 
 foundations and built up the walls, was in his grave. Let us hope that 
 his dying eyes were cheered, and the burden of his last hour lightened 
 by the sight of the perfect grandeur of his work — that, like the 
 Prophet lawgiver, he beheld " all the land ; " that he saw it with his 
 eyes, though he did not " pass over to it ; " and that it was given to 
 
272 ^ APPENDIX. 
 
 him to "salute from afar oflf" the brightness of the day which he was 
 never to enjoy. The dream of his life is being realized to-day. He 
 had ever sighed to be able to extend to his Protestant fellow-country- 
 men the hand of perfect friendship, which only exists where there is 
 perfect equality, and to enter with them into the compact of the true 
 peace which is found in justice. Time, which buries in utter oblivion 
 so many names and so many memories, will exalt him in his work. 
 The day has already dawned, and is ripening to its perfect noon, when 
 Irishmen of every creed will remember O'Connell, and celebrate him 
 as the common friend and greatest benefactor of their country. 
 What man is there, even of those whom our age has called great, 
 whose name, so many years after his death, could summon so many 
 loving hearts around his tomb ? We, to-day, are the representatives 
 not only of a nation, but of a race. " QtuEnam regia in terris nostri 
 non pletia laboris ? " 
 
 Where is the land that has not seen the face of our people and heard 
 their voice ? and wherever, even to the ends of the earth, an Irishman 
 is found to-day, his spirit and his sympathy are here. The millions of 
 America are with us — the Irish Catholic soldier on India's plains is 
 present amongst us by the magic of love — the Irish sailor, standing 
 by the wheel this moment in far-off silent seas, where it is night, and 
 the southern stars are shining, joins his prayer with ours, and recalls 
 the glorious image and the venerated name of O'Connell. 
 
 " He is gone who seemed so great — 
 Gone ; but nothing can bereave him 
 Of the force he made his own, 
 Being here, and we believe him 
 Something far advanced in state. 
 And that he wears a truer crown 
 Than any wreath that man can weave him." 
 
 He is gone, but his fame shall live forever on the earth as a lover of 
 God and of His people. Adversities, political and religious, he had 
 many, and, like a 
 
 " Tower of strength 
 Which stood full square to all the winds that blew," 
 
 the Hercules of justice and liberty stood up against them. Time, 
 which touches all things with mellowing hands, has softened the recol- 
 lections of past contests ; and they who once looked upon him as a foe, 
 now only remember the glory of the fight, and the mighty genius of 
 him who stood forth the representative man of his race, and the cham- 
 
FATHER BURKES ORATION. 273 
 
 pion of his people. They acknowledge his greatness, and they join 
 hands with us to weave the garland of his fame. But far other, higher, 
 and holier are the feelings "of Irish Catholics all the world over to- 
 day. They recognize, in the dust which we are assembled to honor, the 
 powerful arm which promoted them, the eloquent tongue which pro- 
 claimed their rights and asserted their freedom, the strong hand which, 
 like that of the Maccabee of old, first struck off their chains and then 
 built up their holy altars. They, mingling the supplication of prater 
 and the gratitude of suffrage with their tears, recall — oh, with how 
 much love ! — the memory of him who was a Joseph to Israel — their 
 tower of strength, their buckler, and their shield — who shed around 
 their homes, their altars and their graves the sacred right of religious 
 liberty, and the glory of unfettered worship. " His praise is in the 
 Church," and this is the surest pledge of the immortality of his glory. 
 " A people's voice " may be " the proof and echoes of all human 
 fame," but the voice of the undying Church is the echo of "everlast- 
 ing glory ; " and when those who surround his grave to-day shall have 
 passed away, all future generations of Irishmen, to the end of time, 
 will be reminded of his name and of his glory. 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION ON O'CONNELL, 
 BY WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 • The following Oration was delivered by the Hon. 
 Wendell Phillips in the Music Hall, Boston, Mass., 
 on the centenary celebration of O'Connell's birth, 
 Aug. 6th, 1875, before an audience of over four 
 thousand people. It has been justly regarded as one 
 of the most eloquent tributes ever offered to the 
 memory of the great Liberator ; and as Mr. Phillips 
 was personally acquainted with O'Connell, he has 
 been able to clothe his subject with an interest which 
 few have ever approached : 
 
 A hundred years ago, to-day, Daniel O'Connell was bom. The 
 Irish race, \)iJierever scattered over the globe, assembles to-night to pay 
 fitting tribute to his memory ; one of the most eloquent men, one of 
 the most devoted patriots, and the most successful statesman, that 
 your race has given to history. We of other races may well join you 
 in that tribute, since the cause of constitutional government owes 
 more to O'Connell than to any other political leader of the last two 
 centuries. The English-speaking race, to find his equal among its 
 statesmen, must pass by Chatham and Walpole aiid go back to Oliver 
 Cromwell, or the able men who held up the throne of Queen Eliza- 
 beth. If to put the civil and social elements of your day into success- 
 fill action and plant the seeds of continued strength and progress for 
 coming times, if this is to be a statesman, then most emphatically was 
 O'Connell one. To exert this control and secure this progress while 
 and because ample means lie ready for use under your hand, does not 
 rob Walpole and Colbert, Chatham and Richelieu of their title to be 
 considered statesmen. To do it, as Martin Luther did,* when one 
 
 * Mr. Phillips' aDusion to Martin Luther is from his own standpoint as a Protestant 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 275 
 
 must ingeniously discover or invent his tools, and while the mightiest 
 forces that influence human affairs are arrayed against him, — that is 
 what ranks O'Connell with the few masterly statesmen the English- 
 speaking race has ever had. When Napoleon's soldiers bore the 
 negro chief, Toussaint L'Ouverture, into exile, he said, pointing back 
 to San Domingo, " You think you have rooted up the tree of liberty. 
 But I am only a branch. I have planted the tree itself so deep that 
 ages will never root it up." And whatever may be said of the social 
 or industrial condition of Hayti during the last seventy years, its na- 
 twnality has never been successfully assailed. 
 
 O'Connell is the only Irishman who can say as much of Ireland. 
 From the peace of Utrecht, 1713, till the fall of Napoleon, Great 
 Britain was the leading State in Europe, while Ireland, a compara- 
 tively insignificant island, lay at its feet. She weighed next to nothing 
 in the scale of British politics. The continent pitied and England de- 
 pised her. O'Connell found her a mass of quarrelling races and sects, 
 divided, dispirited, broken-hearted, and servile. He made her a Na- 
 tion, whose first word broke in pieces the iron obstinacy of Welling- 
 ton, tossed Peel from the cabinet, and gave the government to the 
 Whigs ; whose colossal figure, like the helmet in Walpole's romance, 
 has filled the political sky ever since ; whose generous aid thrown into 
 the scale of the three great British reforms '— the Ballot, the Com laws, 
 and Slavery — secured their success ; a nation whose continued discon- 
 tent has dragged Great Britain down to be a second-rate power on the 
 chess-board of Europe. I know other causes have helped in produc- 
 ing this result But the nationality which O'Connell created has been 
 the main cause of this change in England's importance. Dean Swiit, 
 Molyneux, and Henry Flood thrust Ireland for a moment into the 
 arena of British politics, a sturdy suppliant clamoring for justice ; and 
 Grattan held her there an equal, and, as he thought, a nation, for a 
 few years. But Pitt's unscrupulous hand brushed away in an hour all 
 Grattan's work. Well might he say of the Irish Parliament which he 
 brought to life, " I sat by its cradle, I followed its hearse ;" since after 
 that infamous union, which B>Ton called a " union of the shark with 
 its prey," Ireland sank back plundered and helpless. O'Connell lifted 
 her to a fixed and permanent place in English affairs — no suppliant, 
 but a conqueror dictating her terms. 
 
 This is the proper standpoint from which to look at O'Connell's 
 work. This is the consideration that ranks him, not with founders of 
 States, like Alexander, Caesar, Bismarck, Napoleon, and William the 
 Silent, but with men who, without arms, by force of reason, have revo- 
 
2/6 APPENDIX. 
 
 lutionized their times, — with Luther, Jefferson, Mazzini, Samuel 
 Adams, Garrison, and Franklin. I know some men will sneer at this 
 claim ; those who have never looked at him except through the spec- 
 tacles of English critics, who despised him as an Irishman and a Cath- 
 olic, until they came to hate him as a conqueror. As Grattan said of 
 Kirwan, " The curse of Swift was upon him, to have been born an 
 Irishman and a man of genius, and to have used his gifts for his coun- 
 try's good." Mark what measure of success attended the able men 
 who preceded him, in drcumstances as favorable as his, perhaps even 
 better ; then measure him by comparison. 
 
 An island soaked with the blood of countless rebellions ; oppres- 
 sion such as would turn cowards into heroes ; a race whose discip- 
 lined valor had been proved on almost every battle-field in Europe, 
 and whose reckless daring lifted it, any time, in arms against England, 
 with hope or without. What inspired them ? Devotion, eloquence, 
 and patriotism seldom paralleled in history. Who led them ? Dean 
 Swift, according to Addison, " the greatest genius of his age " — called 
 by Pope " the incomparable ; " a man fertile in resources, of stubborn 
 courage and tireless energy, master of an English style unequalled, 
 perhaps, for its purpose then or since ; a man who had twice faced 
 England in her angriest mood, and by that masterly pen subdued her 
 to his will ; Henry Flood, eloquent even for an Irishman, and saga- 
 cious as he was eloquent; the eclipse of that brilliant life is one of the 
 saddest pictures in Irish biography ; Grattan, with all the courage, and 
 more than the eloquence, of his race — a statesman's eye, quick to see 
 every opportunity, boundless devotion, unspotted integrity, recognized 
 as an equal by the world's leaders, and welcomed by Fox to the House 
 of Commons as the " Demosthenes of Ireland ; " Emmet in the field, 
 Sheridan in the senate, Curran at the bar ; and, above all, Edmund 
 Burke, whose name makes eulogy superfluous, more than Cicero in 
 the Senate, almost Plato in the Academy, — all these gave their lives to 
 Ireland ; and when the present century opened where was she ? Sold 
 like a slave in the market-place by her perjured master, William Pitt. 
 It was then that O'Connell flung himself into the struggle, gave fifty 
 years to the service of his country, and where is she to-day ? 
 
 Not only redeemed, but her independence put beyond doubt or 
 peril. Grattan and his predecessors could get no guarantees for 
 what rights they gained. That sagacious, watchful, and almost 
 omnipotent public opinion^ which O'Connell created, is an all-suffi- 
 cient guarantee of Ireland's future. Look at her ; almost every 
 shackle has fallen from her limbs; all that human wisdom has as 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 277 
 
 yet devised to remedy the evils of bigotry and misrule has been done. 
 O'Connell found Ireland a " hissing and a byword " in Edinburgh 
 and London- He made her the pivot of British politics ; she rules 
 them, directly or indirectly, with as absolute a sway as the slave 
 question did the United States from 1850 to 1865. Look into Earl 
 Russell's book and the history of the Reform bill of 1S32, and see 
 with how much truth it may be claimed that O'Connell and his fel- 
 lows gave Englishmen the ballot vmder that act It is by no means cer- 
 tain that the Com laws could have been abolished without their aid. 
 In the anti-slavery struggle O'Connell stands, in influence and ability, 
 equal with the best I know the credit all those measures do to Eng- 
 lish leaders. But, in my opinion, the next generation will test the 
 statesmanship of Peel, Palmerston, Russell, and Gladstone almost 
 entirely by their conduct of the Irish question. All the laurels they 
 have hitherto won in that field are rooted in ideas which Grattan and 
 O'Connell urged on reluctant hearers for half a century. Why do 
 Bismarck and Alexander look with such contemptuous indifference 
 on every attempt of England to mingle in European affairs ? Be- 
 cause they know they have but to lift a finger, and Ireland stabs her 
 in the back. Where was the statesmanship of English leaders when 
 they allowed such an evil to grow so formidable ? This is Ireland 
 to-day. What was she when O'Connell undertook her cause ? The 
 saddest of Irish poets has described her, in 1798 : — 
 
 " O Ireland ! my country, the hour of thy pride and thy splendor hath 
 passed. 
 
 And the chain that was spumed in thy moments of power hangs 
 heavy around thee at last ; 
 
 There are marks in the fate of each clime, there are turns in the for- 
 tunes of men. 
 
 But the changes of realms or the chances of time shall never restore 
 thee again. 
 
 Thou art chained to the wheel of the foe by links which a world can- 
 not sever ; 
 
 With thy tyrant through storm and through calm thou shalt go, and 
 thy sentence is bondage forever ; 
 
 Thou art doomed for the thankless to toil, thou art left for the proud 
 to disdain. 
 
 And the blood of thy sons and the wealth of thy soil shall be lavished, 
 and lavished in vain. 
 
 Thy riches with taunts shall be taken, thy valor with coldness be paid. 
 
 And of millions who see thee thus sunk and forsaken, not one shall 
 stand forth in thine aid. 
 
 In the nations thy place is left void, thou art lost in the list of the fi'ee. 
 
 Even realms by the plague and the earthquake destroyed may revive, 
 but no hope is for thee." 
 
278 APPENDIX. 
 
 It was a community impoverished by five centuries of oppression — 
 four millions of Catholics robbed of every acre of their native land ; 
 it was an island torn by race-hatred and religious bigotry, her priests 
 indifferent, and her nobles hopeless or traitors- The wiliest of her 
 enemies, a Protestant Irishman, ruled the British Senate ; the sternest 
 of her tyrants, a Protestant Irishman, led the armies of Europe ; 
 Puritan hate, which had grown blinder and more bitter since the days 
 of Cromwell, gave them weapojis. Ireland herself lay bound in the 
 iron links of a code which Montesquieu said could have been "made 
 only by devils, "and should be registered only in hell." Her millions 
 were beyond the reach of the great reform engine of modern times, 
 since they could neither read nor write. 
 
 In this mass of ignorance, weakness, and quarrel, one keen eye saw 
 hidden the elements of union and strength. With rarest skill he 
 called them forth and marshalled them into rank. Then this one 
 man, without birth, wealth, or office, in a land ruled by birth, wealth 
 and office, moulded from those unsuspected elements a power which, 
 overawing king. Senate and people, wrote his single will on the 
 statute book of the most obstinate nation in Europe ! Safely to 
 emancipate the Irish Catholics, and in spite of Saxon, Protestant 
 hate, to lift all Ireland to the level of British citizenship — this was 
 the problem which statesmanship and patriotism had been seeking 
 for two centuries to solve. For this, blood had been poured out like 
 water. On this, the genius of Swift, the learning of Molyneux, and 
 the eloquence of Bushe, Grattan, and Burke, had been wasted. 
 English leaders, ever since Fox, had studied this problem anxiously. 
 They saw that the safety of the empire was compromised. At one 
 or two critical moments in the reign of George the Third, one signal 
 from an Irish leader would have snapped the chain that bound Ire- 
 land to his throne. His ministers recognized it, and they tried every 
 expedient, exhausted every device, dared every peril, kept oaths, or 
 broke them, in order to succeed. All failed ; and not only failed, 
 bufacknowl edged they could see no way in which success could ever 
 be achieved. 
 
 O'Connell achieved it ! Out of this darkness he called forth light 
 Out of this most abject, weak and pitiable of kingdoms he made a 
 power, and, dying, he left in Parliament a spectre which, unless ap- 
 peased, pushes Whig and Tory ministers alike from their stools ! 
 
 But Brougham says he was a demagogue ! Fie on Wellington, 
 Derby, Peel, Palmerston, Liverpool, Russell, and Brougham, to be 
 fooled and ruled by a demagogue ! What must they, the subjects be. 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 279 
 
 if O'Connell, their king, be only a bigot and a demagogue ? A dema- 
 gogue rides the storm. He has never really the ability to create one- 
 He uses it narrowly, ignorantly, and for selfish ends. If not crushed 
 by the force which, without his will, has flung him into power, he leads 
 it with ridiculous miscalculation against some insurmountable obstacle 
 that scatters it forever. Dying, he leaves no mark on the elements 
 with which he has been mixed. Robespierre will serve for an illustra- 
 tion- It took O'Connell thirty years of patient and sagacious labor to 
 mould elements whose existence no man, however wise, had ever dis- 
 cerned before. He used them unselfishly, only to break the yoke of 
 his race. Nearly fifty years have passed since his triumph, but his im- 
 press still stands forth clear and sharp on the empire's policy. Ire- 
 land is wholly indebted to him for her political education. Respons- 
 ibility educates. He lifted her to broader responsibilities. Her 
 possession of power makes it the keen interest of other classes to see 
 she is well informed- He associated her with all the reform move- 
 ments of Great Britain. This is the education of affairs, broader, 
 deeper, and more real than what school or college can ever give. 
 This and power — his gifts — are the lever whJch lifts her to every 
 other right and privilege. How much England owes him we can 
 never know, since how great a danger and curse Ireland would have 
 been to the empire had she continued the cancer Pitt and Castlereagh 
 left her, is a chapter of history which, fortunately, can never be writ- 
 ten. No demagogue ever walked through the streets of Dublin, as 
 O'Connell and Grattan did more than once, hooted and mobbed be- 
 cause they opposed themselves to the mad purpose of the people and 
 crushed it by a stem resistance. No demagogue would have offered 
 himself to a race like the Irish as the apostle of peace ; pledging him- 
 self to the British government that, in the long agitation before him, 
 with brave millions behind him, spoiling for a fight, he would never 
 draw a sword. 
 
 I have purposely dwelt long on this view, because the extent and 
 the far-reaching effects of O'Connell's work, without regard to the 
 motives which inspired him, or the methods he used, have never 
 been fully recognized. 
 
 Briefly stated, he did what the ablest and bravest of his forerunners 
 had tried to do and failed. He created a public opinion and a unity 
 of purpose (no matter what be now the dispute about methods) which 
 make Ireland a Nation ; he gave her British citizenship and a place 
 in the Imperial Parliament; he gave her a Press and a Public ; with 
 these tools her destiny is in her own hands. When the abolitionists 
 
280 APPENDIX. 
 
 got for the negro, schools and the vote, they settled the slave question, 
 for they planted the sure seeds of civil equality. O'Connell did this 
 for Ireland — this, which no Irishman before had ever dreamed of at- 
 tempting. Swift and Molyneux were able ; Grattan, Bushe, Saurin, 
 Burrowes, Plunket, Curran, Burke, were eloquent ; throughout the 
 island, courage was a drug ; they gained now one point, now another, 
 but after all they left the helm of Ireland's destiny in foreign and hos- 
 tile hands. O'Connell was brave, sagacious, eloquent, but, more than 
 all, he was a statesman ; for he gave to Ireland's own keeping the key 
 of her future. As Lord Bacon marches down the centuries he may 
 lay one hand on the telegraph and the other on the steam engine and 
 say, "These are mine, for I taught you how to study nature." In a 
 similar sense, as shackle after shackle falls from Irish limbs, O'Con- 
 nell may say, " This victory is mine, for I taught you the method, and 
 I gave you the arms." 
 
 I have hitherto been speaking of his ability and success ; by and by 
 we will look at his character, motives, and methods. This unique abil- 
 ity even his enemies have been forced to confess. Harriet Martineau, 
 in her incomparable history of the " Thirty Years' Peace," has, with 
 Tory hate, misconstrued every action of O'Connell, and invented a 
 bad motive for each one. But even she confesses that " he rose in 
 power, influence and notoriety to an eminence such as no other indi- 
 vidual citizen has attained in modern times " in the British Empire. 
 And one of his by no means partial biographers, Lecky, has well said; 
 " Any man who turns over the magazines and newspapers of that pe- 
 riod will easily perceive how grandly O'Connell's figure dominated in 
 politics, how completely he had dispelled the indifference that had 
 so long prevailed on Irish questions, how clearly his agitation stands 
 forth as the great fact of the time. , . , The truth is, his position, so 
 far from being a common one, is absolutely unique in history. We 
 may search in vain throagh the records of the past for any man who, 
 without the effusion of a drop of blood, or the advantages of office or 
 rank, succeeded in governing a people so absolutely and so long, and 
 in creating so entirely the elements of his power. . . . There was no 
 rival to his supremacy, there was no restriction to his authority. He 
 played with the fierce enthusiasm he had aroused with the negligent 
 ease of a master ; he governed the complicated organization he had 
 created with a sagacity that never failed. He made himself the focus 
 of the attention of other lands and the centre around which the rising 
 intellect of his own revolved. He had transformed the whole social 
 system of Ireland ; almost reversed the relative positions of Protes- 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 28 1 
 
 tants and Catholics ; remodelled, by his influence, the representative, 
 ecclesiastical, and educational institutions, and created a public opinion 
 that surpassed the wildest dreams of his predecessors. Can we won- 
 der at the proud exultation with which he exclaimed, ' Grattan sat by 
 the cradle of bis country and followed her hearse ; it was left for me 
 to sound the resurrection trumpet, and to show she was not dead, but 
 sleeping ' ? " 
 
 But the method by which he achieved this success is perhaps more 
 remarkable than even the success itself. An Irish poet, one of his 
 bitterest assailants thirty years ago, has just laid a chaplet of atone- 
 ment on his altar, and one verse runs : — 
 
 " O great World-Leader of a mighty age ! 
 
 Praise unto thee let all the people give ; 
 
 By thy great name of Liberator live 
 In golden letters upon history's page. 
 
 And this thy epitaph while Time shall be : 
 
 He found his country chained, but left herfreeJ" 
 
 It is natural that Ireland should remember him as her Liberator. 
 But, strange as it may seem to you, I think Europe and America will 
 rembember him by a higher title. I said, in opening, that the cause of 
 constitutional government is more indebted to O'Connell than to any 
 other political leader of the last two centuries. What I mean is, 
 that he invented the great method of constitutional agitation- Agita- 
 tor is a title which will last longer, which suggests a broader and 
 more permanent influence, and entitles him to the gratitude of more 
 millions than the name Ireland loves to give him. The first great 
 agitator is his proudest title to gratitude and fame. Agitation is the 
 method .that puts the school by the side of the ballot-box. The Fre- 
 mont canvass was the nation's best school. Agitation prevents rebel- 
 lion, keeps the peace, and secures progress. Every step she gains is 
 gained forever. Muskets are the weapons of animals. Agitation is 
 the atmosphere of brains. The old Hindoo saw, in his dream, the 
 human race led out to its various fortunes. First, men were in chains 
 which went back to an iron hand. Then he saw them led by threads 
 from the brain which went upward to an unseen hand. The first was 
 despotism, iron and ruling by force. The last was civilization, ruling 
 by ideas. 
 
 Aoitation is an old word with a new meaning. Sir Robert Peel, 
 
 the first English leader who felt he was its tool, defined it to be 
 
 " the marshalling of the conscience of a nation to mould its laws." 
 
 O'Connell was the first to show and use its power, to lay down its 
 
 2A' 
 
282 APPENDIX. 
 
 principles, to analyze its elements, and mark out its metes and bounds. 
 It is voluntary, public, and above board ; no oath-bound secret socie- 
 ties, like those of old time in Ireland and of the continent to-day. 
 Its means are reason and argument; no appeal to arms. Wait 
 patiently for the slow growth of public opinion- The Frenchman is 
 angry with his government ; he throws up barricades and shots his 
 guns to the lips. A week's fury drags the nation ahead a hand's 
 breadth ; reaction lets its settle half- way back again. As Lord 
 Chesterfield said a hundred years ago : " Ypu Frenchmen erect 
 barricades, but never any barriers." An Englishman is dissatisfied 
 with public affairs. He brings his charges, offers his proof, waits 
 for prejudice to relax, for public opinion to inform itselt Then 
 every step taken is taken forever ; an abuse once removed never re- 
 appears in history. Where, did he learn this method ? Practically 
 speaking, from O'Connell. It was he who planted its corner-stone. 
 Argument, no violence : No political change is worth a drop of human 
 blood. His other motto was, " teli the whole truth ; " no concealing 
 half of one's convictions to make the other half more acceptable. 
 No denial of one truth to gain hearing for another. No compromise ; 
 or, as he phrased it, "nothing is politically right which is morally 
 wrong." 
 
 Above all, plant yourself on the millions ; the sympathy of every 
 human being, no matter how ignorant or how humble, adds weight to 
 public opinion. At the outset of his career, the clergy turned a deaf 
 ear to his appeal. They had seen their flocks led up to useless 
 slaughter for centuries, and counselled submission- The nobility 
 repudiated him; they were either traitors or hopeless. Protestants 
 had touched their ultima Thule with Grattan, and seemed settling 
 down in despair. English Catholics advised waiting till the tyrant grew 
 merciful. O'Connell, left alone, said, " I wUl forge these four million 
 of Irish hearts into a thunderbolt which shall suffice to dash this 
 despotism to pieces." And he did it ! Living under an aristocratic 
 government, himself of the higher class, he anticipated Lincoln's 
 wisdom, and framed his movements, " of the people, by the people, 
 for the people." It is a singular fact, that the freer a nation be- 
 comes, the more utterly democratic the form of its institutions, this 
 outside agitation, this pressure of public opinion to direct political 
 action, becomes more and more necessary. The general judgment 
 is that the freest possible government produces the freest possible 
 men and women ; the most individual, the least servile to the judg- 
 ment of others. But a moment's reflection will show any man that 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 283 
 
 this is an unreasonable expectation, and that, on the contrary, entire 
 equality and freedom in political forms almost inevitably tend to 
 make the individual subside into the mass, and lose his identity in 
 the general whole. Suppose we stood in England to-night There 
 is the nobility, and here is the Church. There is the trading class, 
 and here is the literary. A broad gulf separates the four, and pro- 
 vided a member of either conciliate his own section, he can afford, 
 in a very large measure, to despise the judgment of the other three. 
 He has, to some extent, a refuge and a breakwater against the 
 tyranny of what we call public opinion. But in a country like ours, 
 of absolute democratic equality, public opinion is not only omnip- 
 otent — it is omnipresent There is no refuge from its tyrranny; 
 there is no hiding from its reach ; and the result is, that if you take 
 the old Greek lantern, and go about to search, you will find that 
 ninety-nine Americans out of every hundred really have, or fancy 
 they have, something to gain or to lose in ambition, social life, or 
 business, from the good opinion and the votes of those about them. 
 And the consequence is, that instead of being a mass of individuals, 
 each one fearlessly blurting out his own convictions, as a nation, 
 coinpared with other nations, we are a mass of cowards. More than 
 all other people, we are afraid of each other. If you were a caucus 
 to-night. Democratic or Republican, and I were your orator, none of 
 you could get beyond the necessary and timid limitations of party. 
 You not only would not demand, you v/ould not allow me to utter 
 one word of what you really thought and what I thought You would 
 demand of me — and my value as a caucus speaker would depend 
 entirely on the adroitness and the vigilance with which I met the de- 
 mand — that I should not utter one single word wliich would com- 
 promise the vote of next week. That is politics. So with the press. 
 Seemingly independent, and sometimes really so, the press can afford 
 only to mount the cresting wave, not create or go beyond it The 
 editor might as well shoot his reader with a bullet as with a new idea. 
 He must hit the exact line of the opinion of the day. I am not find- 
 ing fault with him. I am only describing him. Some ten years ago 
 I took to one of the freest of the Boston journals a letter, and by 
 appropriate consideratipn induced its editor to print it As we glanced 
 along its contents, and came to the concluding statement, he said, 
 " Couldn't you omit that ? " I said, " No, I wrote it for that ; it is 
 the gist of the statement" "Well," said he, "it is true ; there is not 
 a boy in the streets that does not know it is true ; but I wish you could 
 omit it" 
 
284 APPENDIX. 
 
 I insisted, and the next morning, fairly and justly, he printed the 
 whole ; side by side he put an article of his own, in which he said : 
 " We copy in the next column an article from Mr. Phillips, and we 
 only regret the absurd and unfounded statement with which he con- 
 cludes it." He had kept his promise by printmg the article; he 
 saved his reputation by printing the comment. And that again is the 
 inevitable, the essential limitation of the press in a republican com- 
 munity. Our institutions, floating unanchored on the smfting surface 
 of popular opinion, cannot afford to draw forward a hated question 
 and compel a reluctant public to look at it and to consider it Hence, 
 as you see at once, the moment a large issue, twenty years ahead of 
 its age, presents itself to the consideration of an empire, or of a repub- 
 lic, just in proportion to the freedom of its institutions is the necessity 
 of a platform outside of the press, of politics, and of the church, where- 
 on stand men with no candidate to elect, with no plan to carry, with 
 no reputation at stake, with no object but the truth, no purpose but to 
 tear the question open and riddle it with light So much in explana- 
 tion of a word infinitely hated — agitation and agitators — but an ele- 
 ment which the progress of modern government has developed more 
 and more every day. However unpleasant and fretting such an element 
 may be, it seems, in constitutional governments, indispensable to peace 
 and progress. If the Alps, piled in still and solemn magnificence, are 
 an emblem of despotism, the ever-changing ocean is ours, only pure 
 because never still. Fisher Ames said, "A monarchy is a man-of- 
 war, staunch, iron-ribbed and resistless when under full sail ; yet a sin- 
 gle hidden rock sends her to the bottom. Our republic is a raft hard 
 to steer, your feet always wet, — but nothing can sink her." 
 
 This great invention we trace in its twilight and seed, to the days of 
 the Long Parliament Defoe and Le Strange, later down, were the first 
 prominent Englishmen to fling pamphlets at the House of Commons. 
 Swift ruled England by pamphlets. Wilberforce summoned the 
 Church and sought the alliance of influential classes. But O'Connell 
 first showed a profound faith in the human tongue — he descried afar 
 off the coming omnipotence of the press. He called the millions to 
 his side, appreciated the infinite weight of the simple human heart 
 and conscience, and grafted democracy into the. British Empire. The 
 later abolitionists, Buxton, Sturge and Thompson, borrowed his 
 method- Cobden flung it in the face of the almost omnipotent land- 
 holders of England, and broke the Tory party forever. They only 
 haunt upper air now in the stolen garments of the Whigs. The Eng- 
 lish administration recognizes this new partner in the government, and 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 285 
 
 waits to be moved on- Garrison brought the novel weapon to our 
 shores. The only wholly useful and thoroughly defensible war Chris- 
 tendom has seen in this century, the greatest civfl and social change 
 the English race ever saw, are the result 
 
 This great servant and weapon peace and constitutional government 
 owe to O'Connell. Who has given progress a greater boon ? What 
 single agent has done as much to bless and improve the world for the 
 last fifty years ? 
 
 O'Connell has been charged with coarse, violent, and intemperate 
 language. The criticism is of little importance. Stupor and palsy 
 never understand life. White-livered indifference is always disgusted 
 and annoyed by earnest conviction. Protestants criticised Luther in the 
 same way. It took three centuries to carry us far off enough to appre- 
 ciate his colossal proportions. It is a hundred years to-day since O'Con- 
 nell was born. It will take another hundred to put us at such an angle 
 as will enable us correctly to measure his stature. Premising that it 
 would be folly to find fault with a man struggling for life because his 
 attitudes were ungraceful ; remembering the Scythian king's answer to 
 Alexander, criticising his strange weapon, " If you knew how precious 
 fi-eedom was, you would defend it with axes," — we must allow that 
 O'Connell's own explanation is evidently sincere and true. He found 
 the Irish heart so cowed, and Englishmen so arrogant, that he saw it 
 needed an independence verging on insolence, a defiance that touched 
 extremest limits, to breathe self-respect into his own race, teach the 
 aggressor manners, and sober him into respectfiil attention. It was 
 the same with us abolitionists. Webster had taught the North the 
 'bated breath and crouching of a slave. It needed, with us, an atti- 
 tude of independence that was almost insolent, it needed that we 
 should exhaust even the Saxon vocabulary of scorn, to fitly utter the 
 righteous and haughty contempt that honest men had for men-stealers. 
 Only in that way could we wake the North to self-respect, or teach the 
 South that, at length, she had met her equal, if not her master. On a 
 broad canvas, meant for the public square, the tiny lines of a Dutch 
 interior would be invisible. " You can never make a revolution with 
 rose-water." The world has hardly yet learned how deep a philos- 
 ophy lies hid in Hamlet's 
 
 " Nay, an thoult mouth, 
 III rant as well as thou." 
 
 O'Connell has been charged with insincerity in urging repeal ; and 
 those who defended his sincerity have leaned toward allowing that it 
 
286 APPENDIX. 
 
 proved his lack of common sense. I think both critics mistaken. 
 His earliest speeches point to Repeal as his ultimate object — indeed, 
 he valued Emancipation largely as a means to that end. No fair view 
 of his whole life will leave the slightest ground to doubt his sincerity. 
 As for the reasonableness and necessity of the measure, I think every 
 year proves them. Considering O'Connell's position, I wholly sym- 
 pathize in his profound and unshaken loyalty to the empire. Its share 
 in the British empire makes Ireland's strength and importance. 
 Standing alone among the vast and massive sovereignties of Europe, 
 she would be weak, insignificant and helpless. Were I an Irishman, I 
 should cling to the empire. 
 
 Fifty or sixty years hence, when scorn of race has vanished and big- 
 otry is lessened, it may be possible for Ireland to be safe and free 
 while holding the relation to England that Scotland does. But during 
 this generation and the next, O'Connell was wise in claiming that Ire- 
 land's rights would never be safe without "home rule." A substan- 
 tial repeal of the Union should be every Irishman's earnest aim. 
 Were I their adviser, I should constantly repeat what Grattan said in 
 1810 : " The best advice, gentlemen, I can give on all occasions is, 
 •Keep knocking at the Union.' " 
 
 We imagine an Irishman to be only a zealot on fire. We fancy 
 Irish spirit and-eloquence to be only blind, reckless, headlong enthusi- 
 asm. But, in truth, Grattan was the soberest leader of his day ; hold- 
 ing scrupulously back the disorderly elements which fretted under his 
 curb. There was one hour at least when a word from him would have 
 lighted a democratic revolt throughout the empire. The most remark- 
 able of O'Connell's gifts was neither his eloquence nor his sagacity; 
 it was his patience — "patience, all the passion of great souls," — 
 the tireless patience which, from 180O to 1820, went from town to 
 town, little aided by the press, to plant the seeds of an intelligent and 
 united, as well as hot, patriotism. Then, after many years and long 
 toil, waiting for rivals to be just, for prejudice to wear out and for nar- 
 rowness to grow wise, using British folly and oppression as his wand, 
 he moulded the enthusiasm of the most excitable of races — the just 
 and inevitable indignation of four millions of Catholics, the hate of 
 plundered poverty — priest, noble and peasant, into one fierce, though 
 harmonious, mass. He held it in careftil check, with sober modera- 
 tion, watching every opportunity, attracting ally after ally, never for- 
 feiting any possible friendship ; allowing no provocation to stir him to 
 anything that would not help his cause, — compelling each hottest and 
 most ignorant of his followers to remember that " he who commits a 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 28/ 
 
 crime helps the enemy." At last, when the hour struck, this power 
 was made to achieve justice for itself and to put him in London — 
 him, this despised Irishman, this hated Catholic, this mere demagogue, 
 and man of words ; him to hold the Tory party in one hand and the 
 Whig party in the other — all this without shedding a drop of blood, 
 or disturbing for a moment the peace of the empire. While O'Con- 
 nell held Ireland in his hand, her people were more orderly, law-abid- 
 ing and peaceful than for a century before or during any year since. 
 The strength of this marvellous control passes comprehension. Out 
 West I met an Irishman whose .father held him up to see O'Connell 
 address the two hundred thousand men at Tara ; literally to see, not to 
 hear him. I said, " But you could not all hear even his voice." " Oh, 
 no, sir ! only about thirty thousand could hear him. But we all kept 
 as still and silent as if we did! " With magnanimous frankness 
 O'Connell once said, " I never could have held those monster meet- 
 ings without a crime, without disorder, tumult or quarrel, except for 
 Father Mathew's aid." Any man can build a furnace and tium water 
 into steam, — yes, if careless, let it rend his dwelling in pieces. Genius 
 builds the locomotive, harnesses this terrible power in iron traces, 
 holds it with master-hand in useful limits, and gives it to the peace- 
 able service of man. The Irish people were O'Connell's locomotive, 
 sagacious patience and -moderation the genius that built it, Parliament 
 and justice the station he reached. 
 
 Every one who has studied O'Connell's life sees his marked likeness 
 to Luther ; the unity of both, their lives, their wit, the same massive 
 strength, even if coarse-grained ; the ease with which each reached the 
 masses, the power with which they wielded them ; the same unrivalled 
 eloquence, fit for any audience, the same instinct of genius that led 
 them constandy to acts which, as Voltaire said, " Foolish men call 
 rash, but Wisdom sees to be brave ; " the same broad success. But 
 O'Connell had one great element which Luther lacked — the univer- 
 sality of "his sympathy ; the far-reaching sagacity which discerned 
 truth afar off, just struggling above the horizon ; the loyal, brave and 
 frank spirit which acknowledged and served it ; the profound and rare 
 faith which believed that " the whole of truth can never do harm to 
 the whole of -virtue." From the serene height of intellect and judg- 
 ment to which God's gifts had lifted him, he saw clearly that no one 
 right was ever in the way of another, that injustice harms the wrong- 
 doer even more than the victim, that whoever puts a chain on another 
 fastens it also on himsel£ Confident that the truth is always safe and 
 justice always expedient, he saw that intolerance is only want of feith. 
 
288 APPENDIX. 
 
 He who stifles free discussion secretly doubts whether what he pro- 
 fesses to believe is really true. Coleridge says, " See how triumphant 
 in debate and action O'Connell is ! Why ? Because he asserts a 
 broad principle, acts up to it, rests his body on it, and has faith in it" 
 
 Co-worker with Father Mathew — champion of the Dissenters — ad- 
 vocating the substantial principles of the Charter, though not a Chart- 
 ist — foe to the corn-laws — battling against slavery, whether in India 
 or the Carolinas — ready, as early as 1840, to welcome woman's action 
 in civil affairs — the great democrat, who in Europe seventy years ago 
 called the people to his side ; starting a movement of the people by 
 the people, for the people, — show me another record as broad and 
 brave as this in the European history of our century ? Where is the 
 English statesman, where the Irish leader, who can claim one ? No 
 wonder every Englishman hated and feared him. He woimded their 
 prejudices at every point Whig and Tory, timid Liberal, narrow Dis- 
 senter, bitter Radical — all feared and hated this broad, brave soul, who 
 dared to follow Truth wherever he saw her — whose toleration was as 
 broad as human nature and his sympathy as boundless as the sea. 
 
 To show you that he never took a leaf from our American gospel of 
 compromise ; that he never filed his tongue to silence on one truth, 
 fancying so to help another ; that he never sacrificed any race to save 
 even Ireland — let me compare him with Kossuth, whose only merits 
 were his eloquence and his patriotism. When Kossuth was in Fan- 
 euil Hall he exclaimed, " Here is a flag without a stain — a nation 
 without a crime ! " We abolitionists appealed to him : " Oh, eloquent 
 son of the Magyar, come to break chains, have you no word, no pulse- 
 beat, for four millions of negroes bending under a yoke ten times 
 heavier than that of Hungary ? " He answered, " I would forget any- 
 body, I would praise anything to help Hungary." 
 
 O'Connell never said anything like that When I was in Naples I 
 asked Sir Thomas Foxwell Buxton, " Is Daniel O'Connell an honest 
 man ? " " As honest a man as ever breathed," said he, and then told 
 me this story : " When, in 1830, O'Connell entered Parliament, the 
 Anti-slavery cause was so weak that it had only Lushington and my- 
 self to speak for it, and we agreed that when he spoke I should cheer 
 him, and when I spoke he should cheer me ; and these were the only 
 cheers we ever got O'Connell came, with one Irish member, to sup- 
 port him. A large nmnber of members (I think Buxton said tv\'enty- 
 seven), whom we called the West India interest — the Bristol party, 
 the slave party — went to him, saying, 'O'Connell, at last you are in the 
 House, with one helper. If you will never go down to Freemason's 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 289 
 
 Hall with Buxton and Brougham, here are twenty-seven votes for you 
 on every Irish question. If you work with those abolitionists, count 
 us always against you.' " 
 
 It was a terrible temptation. How many a so-called statesman 
 would have yielded ! O'Connell said, " Gentlemen, God knows I 
 speak for the saddest people the sun sees ; but may my right hand 
 forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if to 
 help Ireland— even Ireland — I forget the negro one single hour." 
 "From that day," said Buxton, " Lushington and I never went into 
 the lobby that O'Connell did not follow us." 
 
 And right in this connection let me read the following telegram : — 
 
 Cincinnati, O., August 6. 
 Wendell Phillips, Boston : — 
 
 The national conference of colored newspaper men to the O'Con- 
 nell celebration, greeting : — , , ^ 
 
 Resolved, That it is befitting a convention of colored men assem- 
 bled on the centennial anniversary of the birth of the Liberator of 
 Ireland and friend of humanity, Daniel O'Connell, to recall with 
 gratitude his eloquent and effective pleas for the freedom of our race, 
 and we earnestly commend his example to our countrymen. 
 
 J. C. Jackson, Secretary. 
 Peter. H, Clark, President. 
 George T. Ruby. 
 Lewis D. Easton. 
 
 Learn of O'Connell, friends, the hardest lesson we ever have set us, 
 that of toleration. The foremost Catholic of his age, the most stalwart 
 champion of the Church, he was also broadly and sincerely tolerant 
 of every faith. His toleration had no limit and no qualification. 
 
 I scorn and scout the word "toleration." It is an insolent term. 
 No man, properly speaking, tolerates another. I do not tolerate a 
 Catholic — neither does he tolerate me. We are equal, and acknowl- 
 edge each other's rights ; that is the correct statement 
 
 That ever}'' man should be allowed freely to worship God according 
 to his conscience — that no man's civil rights should be affected by 
 his religious creed — were both cardinal principles of O'Connell He 
 had no fear that any doctrine of his faith could be endangered by the 
 freest possible discussion. 
 
 Learn of him also sympathy with every race and every form of op- 
 pression. No matter who was the sufferer, or what the form of the 
 injustice, starving Yorkshire peasant, imprisoned Chartist, persecuted 
 25 
 
290 APPENDIX. 
 
 Protestant, or negro slave ; no matter of wliat right, personal or dvil, 
 the victim had been robbed ; " no matter what complexion, incompat- 
 ible with freedom, an African or an Indian sun had burnt upon him ; " 
 no matter what religious pretext or political juggle alleged "necessity" 
 as an excuse for his oppression ; " no matter with what solemnities he 
 had been devoted on the altar of slavery" — the moment O'Connell 
 saw him, the altar and the God sank together in the dust — the victim 
 was acknowledged a man and a brother — equal in all rights, and en- 
 titled to all the aid the great Irishman could give him. 
 
 I have no time to speak of the executive ability with which he 
 worked the machines — Unions, Committees, Associations — that his 
 skill had created. I have no time to speak of his marvellous success 
 at the bar ; of that profound skill in the law which enabled him to 
 conduct such an agitation, always on the verge of illegality and vio- 
 lence, without once subjecting himself or his followers to legal penalty; 
 an agitadon beneath a code of which Brougham said, " No Catholic 
 could lift his hand under it without breaking the law." I have no time 
 to speak of his still more remarkable success in the House of Com- 
 mons. Of Flood's failure there Grattan had said : " He was an oak 
 of the forest, too old and too great to be transplanted at fifty." Grat- 
 tan's own success there was but moderate. The power O'Connell 
 wielded against varied, bitter, and unscrupulous opposition, was mar- 
 vellous. I have no time to speak of his personal independence, his 
 deliberate courage, moral and physical, his unspotted private charac- 
 ter, his unfailing hope, the versatility of his talent, his power of tire- 
 less work, his ingenuity and boundless resource, his matchless self- 
 possession in every emergency, his ready and inexhaustible wit. But 
 any reference to O'Connell that omitted his eloquence would be paint- 
 ing Wellington in the House of Lords without mention of Torres 
 Vedras, or Waterloo. 
 
 Broadly considered, his eloquence has never been equalled in mod- 
 ern rimes, certainly not in English speech. Do you think I am par- 
 tial ? I will vouch John Randolph, of Roanoke, the Virginia slave- 
 holder, who hated an Irishman almost as much as he hated a Yankee 
 — himself an orator of no mean level. Hearing O'Connell, he ex- 
 claimed, " This is the man, these are the lips, the most eloquent that 
 speak English in my day." I think he was right I remember the 
 solemnity of Webster, the grace of Everett, the rhetoric of Choate ; 
 I know the eloquence that lay hid in the iron logic of Calhoun ; I have 
 melted beneath the magnetism of Henry Clay ; Prentiss, of Mississippi, 
 wielded a power few men ever had. It has been my fortune to sit at 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 29I 
 
 the feet of the great speakers of the English tongue on the other side 
 of the ocean. But I think all of them together never surpassed, and 
 no one of them ever equalled, O'Connell. Nature intended him for 
 our Demosthenes. Never since the great Greek has she sent forth 
 -any one so lavishly gifted for his work as a tribune of the people. In 
 the first place, he had a magnificent presence, impressive in bearing 
 — massive, like that of Jupiter. Webster himself hardly outdid hina 
 in the majesty of his proportions. To be sure, he had not Webster's 
 craggy face and precipice of brow ; nor his eyes glowing like anthra- 
 cite coal. Nor had he the lion roar of Mirabeau. But his presence 
 filled the eye. A small O'Connell would hardly have been an O'Con- 
 nell at all. These physical advantages are half the battle. I remem- 
 member Russell Lowell telling us that Mr. Webster came home fi-om 
 Washington at the time the Whig party thought of dissolving, a few 
 years before his death, and went down to Faneuil Hall to protest ; 
 drawing himself up to the loftiest proportion, his brow clothed with 
 thunder, before the listening thousands, he said : — " Well, gentlemen, 
 I am a Whig, a Massachusetts Whig, a Faneuil Hall Whig, a revolu- 
 tionary Whig, a constitutional Whig. If you break the Whig party, 
 sir, where am I to go ? " And says Lowell : — " We held our breath, 
 thinking where he could go." If he had been five feet three we should 
 have said, " Who cares where you go ? " So it was with O'Connell. 
 There was majesty in his presence before he spoke, and he added 
 to it what Webster had not, what Clay might have lent him — grace. 
 Lithe as a boy at 65, every attitude a picture, every gesture grace, 
 he was still all nature ; nothing biit nature seemed to speak all over 
 him. Then he had a voice that covered the gamut The majesty of 
 his indignation, fitly uttered in tones of superhuman power, made him 
 able to " indict " a nation, in spite of Burke's protest 
 
 I heard him once say, " I send my voice careering like the thun- 
 der-storm across the Atlantic to tell Carolina that God's thunderbolts 
 are hot, and to remind the negro that the dawn of his redemption is 
 breaking." You seemed to hear the tones come echoing back to Lon- 
 don from the Rocky Mountains. Then, with the slightest possible 
 Irish brogue, he would tell a story, which shook Exeter Hall with fun. 
 The next moment, tears in his voice, like a Scotch song, five thousand 
 men wept And all the while no effort He seemed only breath- 
 ing— 
 
 " As effortless as woodland nooks 
 Send violets up and paint them blue." 
 
292 APPENDIX. 
 
 We used to say of Webster, This is a great effort ; of Everett, It 
 is a beautiful effort ; but you never used the word " effort " in speak- 
 ing of O'Connell. It provoked you that he would not make an effort 
 And this wonderful power, it was not a thunder-storm ; he flanked you 
 with his wit, he surprised you out of yourself, you were conquered be- - 
 fore you knew it. His marvellous voice, its almost incredible power 
 and sweetness, Bulwer has well described : — 
 
 » 
 " Once to my sight that giant form was given. 
 
 Walled by wide air and roofed by boundless heaven ; 
 
 Beneath his feet the human ocean lay. 
 
 And wave on wave rolled into space away. 
 
 Methought no clarion'could have sent its sound 
 
 Even to the centre of the hosts around ; 
 
 And as I thought, rose the sonorous swell. 
 
 As from some church-tower swings the silvery bell ; 
 
 Aloft and clear, from airy tide to tide. 
 
 It glided, easy as a bird may glide. 
 
 Even to the verge of that vast audience sent, 
 
 It played with each wild passion as it went ; 
 
 Now stirred the uproar, now the murmur stilled, 
 
 And sobs or laughter answered as it willed." 
 
 Webster could awe a senate, Everett could charm a college, and 
 Choate cheat a jury ; Clay could magnetize the million, and Corwin 
 lead them captive. O'Connell was Clay, Corwin, Choate, Everett and 
 Webster in one. Before the courts, logic ; at the bar of the senate, un- 
 answerable and dignified ; on the platform, grace, wit and pathos ; be- 
 fore the masses, a whole man. Carlyle says : " He is God's own 
 anointed king whose single word melts all wills into his." This de- 
 scribes O'Connell. Emerson says : " There is no true eloquence un- 
 less there is a man behind the speech." O'Connell was listened to 
 because all England and all Ireland knew that there was a man behind 
 the speech — one who could be neither bought, bullied nor cheated. 
 He held the masses, free but willing subjects in his hands. 
 
 He owed this • power to the courage that met every new question 
 frankly, and concealed none of his convictions ; to an entireness of de- 
 votion that made the people feel he was all their own; to a mas- 
 terly brain that made them sure they were always safe in his hands. 
 Behind them were ages of bloodshed ; every rising had ended at the 
 scaffold ; even Grattan brought them'to 1798. O'Connell said : " Fol- 
 low me ; put your feet where mine have trod, and a sheriff shall never 
 lay hand on your shoulder." And the great lawyer kept his pledge. 
 
 This unmatched, long-continued power almost passes belief. You 
 
CENTENNIAL ORATION. 293 
 
 can only appreciate it by comparison. Let me carry you back to the 
 mob-year of 1835, in this country, when the Abolitionists were hunted, 
 when the streets roared with riot, when from Boston to Baltimore, 
 from St Louis to Philadelphia, a mob took possession of ^very city ; 
 when private houses were mvaded and public halls were burned, press 
 after press was thrown into the river, and Lovejoy baptized Freedom 
 with his blood — you remember it Respectable journals warned the 
 mob that they were playing into the hands of the Abolitionists. Web- 
 ster and Clay, and the staff of Whig statesmen, told the people that the 
 troth floated further on the shouts of a mob tKan the most eloquent 
 lips could carry it But law-abiding, Protestant, educated America 
 could not be held back. Neither Whig chiefs nor respectable jour- 
 nals could keep these people quiet Go to England. When the Re- 
 form Bill of '31 was thrown out from the House of Lords, the people 
 were tumultuous, and Melbourne and Grey, Russell and Brougham, 
 Landsdowne, Holland, and Macaulay, the Whig chiefs, cried out, 
 " Don't violate the law, you help the Tories ! Riot puts back the 
 biU." But quiet, sober John Bull, law-abiding, could not do without 
 it Birmingham was three days in the hands of a mob. Castles were 
 burnt, Wellington ordered the Scotch Greys to rough-grind their 
 swords as at Waterloo. This was the Whig aristocracy of England. 
 O'Connell had neither office nor title. Behind him were 3,000,000 people 
 stpeped in utter wretchedness, sore with the oppression of centuries. 
 /For thirty restless and turbulent years he stood in front of them, and 
 said : " Remember, he that commits a crime helps the enemy." And 
 during that long and fearful struggle, I do not remember one of his 
 followers ever being convicted of a political offence, and during this 
 period crimes of violence were very rare. There is no such record in 
 oiu" history. Neither in classic nor in modern times can the man be 
 produced who held a million of people in his right hand so passive. 
 It was due to the consistency and unity of a character that had hardly 
 ajaw. 
 
 I do not forget your soldiers, orators or poets — any of your leaders. 
 But when I consider O'Connell's personal disinterestedness ; his rare, 
 brave fidelity to every cause his principles covered, no matter how un- 
 popular or how embarrassing to his main purpose ; that clear, far- 
 reaching vision and tru^ heart, which, on most moral and political 
 questions, set him so much ahead of his times ; his eloquence, almost 
 equally effective in the courts, in the senate, and before the masses ; 
 that sagacity, which set at naught the malignant vigilance of the whole 
 Imperial Bar, watching thirty years for a misstep ; when I remember 
 
 25* 
 
294 APPENDIX. 
 
 that he invented hb tools, and then measure his limited means with 
 his vast success, bearing in mind its nature ; when I see the sobriety 
 and moderation with which he used Ms measureless power, and the 
 lofty, generous purpose of his whole life, I am ready to affirm that he 
 was, all things considered, the greatest man your Irish race has given 
 to history. 
 
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