iili'itl-liWIEEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. minister, Lord Holland, who, in his " Memoirs of the Whig Party," writes: — "More than twenty years have now passed away. Many of my political opi- nions are softened — my predilections for some men weakened, my prejudices against others removed ; hiA my approbation of Lord Edward Fitzgerald's actions remains unaltered and unshaken. His countiy waf bleeding under one of the hardest tyrannies that out times have witinissed.''' The true moral wliich I have sought to incul- cate has been so accurately perceived by an old and influential journal, Saunders's News Letter, that I am tempted to quote a passage or two for the behoof of the illogical few to whom T have referred : — " When," asks this journal, " will the people learn that secret confederacies can do no good, that informers will always be found to betray them, and that no plot which deals in signs and ^signals, can enlist the sympathy of those whose co-operation would be really valuable? The very interesting work of Mr Fitzpatrick, recently published, ' The Sham Squire and the Informers of 1798,' gives some striking instances of the impossibility of treasonable associations being secure from the spy and the false companion, and the wider the conspiracy, the greater the certainty of detection There never yet was an illegal secret confederac] which had not members ready to betray their asso- ciates, either to purchase safety, or to make a profit for themselves." But there is another class of readers who, with- out holding either of the iUogieal objections just noticed, entertain an opinion of this book equally pueface to the third edition. erroneous. They assume that I have sought to dis- honour Ireland by showing it as always abounding in spies, betrayers, &c. : but they can have hardly read the emphatic passages with which the volume closes.* I have been hitherto noted for embalming the memory of some of Ireland's worthies ; + and it is surely quite consistent and patriotic to stigmatise the representatives of a perfectly opposite character. This course, moreover, serves to show my historic impartiality. Contrasts are often agreeable and useful ."Look upon this picture and on this," says Shake- speare. Plutarch, the prince of biographers and moral philosophers, in his introduction to the life of Deme- trius Poliorcites and another person remarkable for his vices, says . "We shall behold and imitate the virtu- ous with greater attention, if we be not unacquainted with the characters of the vicious and the infamous." Portraits of unscrupulous statesmen and politicians are no doubt introduced for the better illustration of the eventful epoch in question ; but the sketches are by no means confined to Irishmen. * See pp. 327-329. t The Caledonian Mercury, in noticing the life o£ Biahop Doyle said : — " Mr Fitzpatrick has a commendable patriotic desire to do and have justice done to the more eminent of Ireland's eons. He entertains the belief that Ireland, unlike most other nations, idol- ises their great men p'hile they live, and neglects their memory when they are dead ; ne cannot help regretting that neither by 'storied urn or monumental bust,' nor in the written pages of tliu world's history, have illustrious Celts received that measure of jus- tice and honour to which they are entitled; he has, therefore, in these, aa in previous volumes, furnished satisfactory evidence of his own determination, if not to do the whole work required, at least to lay the foundation upon which the temple of Irish worth and genius may be reared, and its niches becomingly filled. For this he m autitled to the gratitude of every true patriot." CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The great Aiinesley 'iriaL — Wonderful Adventures. — Murder of Patiick Higgins. — Early Struggles and Stratagems of the Sham Squire. — How to Catch an Heiress. — AB is nut Gold that Glitters. — A Jec'iit Outwitted. — Judge Robin- son. — John Philpot Curran.-— The Black Dog Prison. — Uprise of the Sham Squire. — Loid Chief-Justice Clonmel. — Sham Statesmen as well as Sham Squires.— Irish Ad- ministrations of Lord Temple and the Duke of Rutland. — The Beautiful Duchess. — Anecdotes, .... 1 CHAPTER II. PeculaHon. — The Press Subsidised aud Debauched.— How to get up an Ovation for an Unpopular Viceroy. — Lord Buck- ingham. ^Judges Revel at the B.oard of the Sham Squire. — A Pandemonium Unveiled. — Lord Avonmore. — A Great Struggle. — The Regency. — Peerages Sold. — John Magee. — Lord Carhampton. — Mrs Lewellyn. — Squibs and Lam- poons. — The Old Four Courts in Dublin. — Dr Houlton.— The Duke of Wellington on Bribing the Irish Press, , 31 CHAPTER III. Lord Clonmel and the Fiats. — Richard Daly. — Persecution of Magee. — ^A Strong Bar. — Caldbeck, Duigenan, and Kgan.— The Volunteers to the Rescue. — Hamilton Rowan. — Ar- tist Arrested for Caricaturing " the Sham." — A neat Stroke of Vengeance. — More Squibs. — Ladies Clonmel and Bar- rington. — The Gambling Hell. — Inef&ciency of the Police. — Magisterial Delinquencies Exposed. — Watchmen and Watches. — ^Mr Gonne's Chronometer. — Juggling Judges. — Outrages in the Face of Day. — Ladies unable to Walk the Streets, . , , * SS CONTENTS. CHAPTEK IV. PAGB Magee's Vengeance on Lord Clonmel. — Hely Hutchinson. — Lord Clare.— The Gods of Crow Street.— Renewed Effort to Muzzle Magee.— Lettres de Cachet in Ireland.— Sei- zures. — George Ponsonby and Arthur Browne. — Lord Clon- mel crushed. — His Dying Confession. — Extracts from his Unpublished Diary.— Deserted by the Sham Squire.- Origin of his wealth. — More Turpitude, ... 86 CHAPTER V. Hairbreadth Escapes of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. — Testi- mony of Lords Holland and Byrou. — A Dark Picture of Oppression. — Moira House. — Presence of Mind. — Revolt- ing Trsaohery. — Arrest of Lord Edward. — ^Majors Sirr and Swan. — Death of Captain Ryan. — Attempted Rescue. — Edward Rattigan. — General Lawless. — Lady Louisa ConoUy. — Obduracy of Lord Camden. — Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, 106 CHAPTER VI. A Secret well Kept.— The " Setter" of Lord Edward Traced at Last. — Striking in the Dark. — Roman Catholic Barristers Pensioned. — A Lesson of Caution. — Letter to the Author from Rev. John Featherston Haugh. — Just Debts Paid with Wages of Dishonour. — Secret Service Money. — An Ally of "the Sham's" Analysed. — What were the Secret Services of Francis Magan, Barrister-at-law ? — Shrouded Secrets Opened, ........ 120 CHAPTER VII. Was Higgins Guiltless of Oliver Bond's Blood?— Walter Cox. — Reynolds the Informer. — Insatiable Appetite for Blood- money. — William Cope. — A Dark and Painful Mystery. — Lord Wycombe Wallis in the Footsteps of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and Spies Follow in the Footsteps of Lord Wycombe, . in CHAPTER VIII. . Effort of Conscience to Vindicate its Authority. — Last Will and Testament of the Sham Squire. — A Tempest Roars Round his Death-bed. — Kilbarrack Churchyard. — A Touch- ing Epitaph. — Kesurreotionists. — The Dead Watchers.— The Sham Squire's Tomb Insulted and Broken. — Hia Be- quests, 15] CONTENTS. APPENDIX; BEIVO JOTTINGS AEOUT IRELAND A CENTURY AGO, PAa> Baiatariana, 163 Toping Seventy Years ago, 108 Roi^ Lord Buckingham Punished Jephson and Purchased Jebb, 172 Slang Satires on Sliamado and his Friends, . , . 1 73 The Irish Yeomanry in 1798, . . . . 178 Mr Maceady's Statement, .... , . 181 Jemmy O'Brien, 185 General Lawless, 186 Loid Edward Fitzgerald 189 John and Henry Sheares, 190 The Reign of Terror in Ireland, . .... 192 General Cookburn's " Step-ladder," . . . 193 Lord Chancellor Clare, 195 The Eight Hon. John Foster, 197 Archbishop Agar — Lord Castlereagh, .... 198 The Right Hon. John Beresford — Mr Secretary Cooke — The Marquis of Drogheda, 201 Lord Glentworth — Lord Carhampton — John Claudius Beresford, 202 Lord Enniskillen — Mr Lees — Lord Carleton, . . 203 Sexton Perry, . . . 204 The Hon. Isaac Corry — The Marquis of Waterford, , 205 Lord Annesley — Lord De Blaquire, .... 206 Lord Londonderry, 207 LordNorbnry, . . 208 Lord Kiugsborough, 209 Lord Downshire, 210 Lord Dillon — Lord Ashtown, 211 Bishop O'Beime, 212 Bishop Beresford— Mr Alexander, .... 216 xvj CONTENTS. P18» Sir ThoB, Judkin FitzgeraM, ... . 217 Major Sirr, 2JS Major Swan — Major Sandye, ..... 221 John Giffard, 222 Lieutenant Hepensfcall, 223 Alexander Knox, 225 Captain Armstrong, ....... 226 Lord Camden, 227 fteynolds the Informer and Mr William Cope, . . . 227 " Deeds relating to Higgins, Magan, and Others, Preserved in the Registry Office, Dublin," 246 MacNally and Turner, 248 John Pollock, ... 263 Walter Cox— Dr Brenuan, 268 Abstraction of Papers from the Castle Archives, . . 263 MacGuickan, the Treacherous Attorney to the United Irish- men, ........ . 271 Treason in Ulster — Houlton, ...... 268 Duggan the Informer, 271 Cockaigne the English Spy, 286 jir Jonah Barrington, ....... 289 Emmet's Insurrection, ....,,, 295 The Mystery enshrouding Emmet's Grave, . . . 298 The Sham Squire's Bequests, 301 Judge Robert Johnson, . 303 O'ConneU " a United Irishman," 307 The Rebellion in Wioklow — Fusilade at Dunlavin, . . 308 Reminiscences of the Rebellion, ..... 313 The Rebellion in Kildare, .... . . 32] Projected Rebellion in Cork — Secret Services of Father Barry, 324 Informers not Confined to Ireland, .... 327 Supplemental Note aliout Mr Waller and Miss Monro, . S3] * Posthnmons Papers, of Brother Luke CuUen — Croppy Biddy, *. * The Rebellion in Antrim — Mr. Dickey's Narrative, * The Rebellion in Loutb — Dr. Conlan, the Informer, * Sir T. Jndldn Fitzgerald — Further Revelations, * False Trustees, * Alexander Knox — Curious Correspondence, Dolly Monroe, * The O'Hara Family on the " Sham Squire," Informers Everywhere, .... 327 337 865 867 869 372 373 375 The papers indicated by an asterisk now appear for tba fii'st time. THE SHAM SQUIRE. CHAPTEE I. The great Annesley TriaL — Wonderful Adventures. — Murder ol Patrick Higgins. — Early Struggles and Stratagems of the Sham Squire. — How to Catch an Heiress. — All is not Gold that Glitters. — A Jesuit Outwitted. — Moral, that clergymen should be slow in introducing suitors without inquiry. — Judge Robin- son. — John Philpot Curran. — The Black Dog Prison. — Upris4 of the Sham Squire. — Lord Chief-Justice Clonmel. — Sham Statesmen as well as Sham Squires. — Irish Administrations of Lord Temple and the Duke of Rutland. — The Beautiful Duchess. — Anecdotes. The great Annesley trial, which took place at Dublin in November 1743, disclosed a most exciting episode in the romance of history. A few of its salient points are subjoined for the better illustration of our narrative, with which, as will be seen, the trial has some connexion. A son was boi'n to Lord and Lady Altham of Dun- maine, in the county of Wexford ; but they lived un- happily together, and the lady, having been turned adrift on the world, at last died a victim to disease dnd poverty. James Annesley, her infant son, was intrusted by Lord Altham to the charge of a woman named Juggy Landy, who lived in a wretched hut near Dunmuino. Lord Altham, after a few years, removed with his son to Dublin, where he formed a connexion with a Miss Kennedy, whom he tried to introduce tc society m his wife. This woman, who 2 THE SHAM SQUIKE wielded considerable influence over Lord Altham, succeeded in driving James Annesley from the paternal roof. He became a houseless wanderer through the streets of Dublin, and, as we learn, pro- cured a scanty subsistence " by running of errandf and holding horses." In order to facilitate a loan of money, which Lord AJtham, conjointly with his brother, was induced to borrow on his reversionary interest in the estates of Lord Anglesey, to whom he was heir-at-law, young Annesley was alleged to be dead. On the death of Lord Altham, his brother attended the funeral as chief mourner, and assumed the title of Baron Altham ; but when he claimed to have this title registered he was refused by the Ulster king-at-arms " on account of his nephew's being reported still alive, and for want ^f the honorary fees." " Ultimately, however, by means which are stated to have been ' well known and obvious,' he succeeded in procuring his regis- tration. " But there was another and a more sincere mourner at the funeral of Lord Altham than the successful in- heritor of his title. A poor boy of twelve years of age, half naked, bareheaded and barefooted, wept over his father's grave."* Young Annesley was speedily re- cognised by his uncle, and forcibly driven from the place. The latter soon after instituted a series of daring attempts to get so troublesome an obstacle to his ambi- tion and peace of mind out of the way. Many efforts made to kidnap the boy were foiled by the prowess of a humane butcher, who took him under his protec- tion ; and on one occasion this man, by sheer strength of muscle, and a stout shillelah, successfully resisted the united efforts of lialf a dozen emissaries despatched by Lord Altham. In an unguarded moment, how- ever, Annesley was seized in the street, and dragged «n boa,rd a vessel in the Liffey, which sailed for nlleman's Magaiine, vol. xiv., p. 39. I'HE INFORMERS OF 'Qi % America, where the boy was apprenticed as a plan- tation slave, and in which capacity he remained for thirteen years. Meanwhile the uncle, on the demise of Lord Anglesey, succeeded to his title and vast estates. The boy made many attempts to escape, and on one occasion nearly lost his life from the effects of several stabs he received from the negro sentinels. The daughter of a slave-driver became passionately attached to him; he, however, failed to reciprocate her passion; and at last escaped to Jamaica, where he volunteered as a sailor on board a man-of-war. He was identified by some of the officers ; and Admiral Vernon, who commanded the fleet, wrote home an account of the case to the then Prime Minister, sup- plied Annesley with money, and treated him with the respect due to his rank. As soon as these matters reached the ears of Lord Anglesey, he left no efibrt untried to maintain possession of his usurped title and wealth; and "the most eminent lawyers within the English and Irish bars were retained to defend a cause, the prosecution of which was not as yet even threatened." On Annesle/s arrival in Dublin, "seve- ral servants who had lived with his father came from the country to see him. They knew him at first sight, and fell on their knees to thank Heaven for his pre- servation ; embraced his .legs, and shed tears of joy for his return." Lor ' Anglesey proposed a compromise with Annes- ley, but an unexpected incident occurred which the usurper resolved to turn to good account, and thus avoid the expense of an arrangement. A fowling- piece exploded accidentally in Annesley's hand, and killed a man to whom he owed no enmity. Lord Altham exerted his influence to the uttermost, both on the inquest and at the trial, in endeavouring to get his nephew adjudged guilty of wilful murder. He sat with the judges on the bench, browbeat the witnesses, and laboured to entrap them into unguarded admis- i THE SHAM syaiRE Ailt> sions. Although Lord Altham expended ofle thousand pounds'on the prosecution, Annesley was triumphantly acquitted.* A still more memorable trial, in which James Annesley was plaintiff, and Richard, Eaii of Anglesey, defendant, was heard before the Chief-Justice and Barons of the Exchequer, on November 11, 1743, and lasted nearly a fortnight. A number of witnesses in the interest of Lord Anglesey were examined, with the unworthy object of attempting to prove Annesley illegitimate ; but although the jury found for him, he failed to recover his title and property, as the power- ful interest of Lord Anglesey succeeded in procuring a writ of error, which set aside the verdict. Before a new trial could be brought on Annesley died without issue, and his uncle remained in undisturbed posses- sion of the title and estates.f Patrick Higgins, father of the " Sham Squire," wa."? an attorney's clerk, who had been sent into the country to coUect evidence for the trial. " He arrived in Dub- lin from the country late on a winter's night," writes a correspondent, " and was known to have in his posses- sion some valuable papers relating to the gTcat Annes- ley case, and it is supposed that he was waylaid, murdered, and disposed of by parties interested in getting possession of those papers." J That worth frequently fails to meet its deserts in this life, and that chicane too often makes the fortune of the perpetrator, is painfuUy evidenced in the his- tories of James Annesley and Francis Higgins. In the year 1754, a bare-legged boy, with cunning * For full details see Howel's State Trials. 15 Geo. II., 1742, »ol. xvii., pp. 1093-1139. + Gentleman's Magazine^ vol. xiv., pp. 39-42. Sir Walter Scot! is alleged to have taken this history as the groundivork of " Guy Uannering," although lie has not admitted it in his explanatory introduction to th.-it novel. See Lockhart's Life of Scott, chapter icxxiv. (edition 1845.) ■" Letterof J. Curran, E.s<|.,rl.at<>fl Ivathmlnes, November 22, 1865. THE INFORJIERS Oir '98. 5 eyes, might have been seen carrying pewter quarts in I'ishamble Street,* Dublin, which was then a popular locality, owing to the continual ridottos, concerts, and feats of magic, which made the old Music Hall an object of attraction. This boy became the subse- quently influential Justice Higgins, or, as he was more frequently styled, the Sham Squire. Fishamble Street is recorded as the scene of his debut by John Magee, in 1789 ; and this account we find corroborated by a traditional anecdote of Mr E , whose grand- mother often told him that she remembered he? father, Mr Smith, of Fishamble Street, employing Higgins, " a bare-footed, red-haired boy," to sweep the flags in front of his door. Our adventurer was the only survivor of a large family of brothers and sisters, the children of Patrick and Mary Higgins,t wlio are said to have migrated from Downpatrick. J He himself was born in a cellat in Dublin, and while yet of tender years became suc- cessively "errand-boy, shoe-black, and waiter in a porter house." The number of times wliich Higgins used his broom, or shouldered pewter pots, it would be unin- teresting to enumerate, and improfitable to record. Passing over a few years occupied in this way, Mr Higgins is re-introduced to the reader, discharging his duties as a " hackney writing clerk" in the ofiice of Daniel Bourne, attorney-at-law, Patrick's Close, Dub- lin. § He was born a Roman Catholic, but he had now read his recantation, as appears from the Official Register of Conversions, preserved in the Eecord Tower, Dublin Castle. ||- Nevertheless, he failed to rise in the social scale. Having become a perfect • Dublin Evening Post, No. 1789. + Will of Francis Higgins, Prerogative Court, Dublin. t Dublin Evening Post, No. 1837. § Ibid., No. 1765. II Tbis record, which seems unknown to most Irish biographers, contains the names of Barry Yelverton, afterwards Lord Avonmore, liconard MacNally, and sevu-al other men of mark. Thanks to Sir 6 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND master of scrivenery, a strong temptation smote him to turn his talent for caligraphy to some more sub- stantial account than £16 per annum, the general salary of hackney wilting clerks in those days * Higgins had great ambition, but without money and connexion he was powerless. Accordingly, to gain these ends, we find him in 1766 forging, with his cunning brain and ready hand, a series of legal in- struments, purporting to show that he was not only a man of large landed property, but in the enjoyment of an office of some importance under Government. Trasting to his tact for complete success, Higgins, full of daring, sought Father Shortall, and, on his Imees, hypocritically declared himself a convert to the Roman Catholic Church. The iron pressure of the penal code had not then received its first relaxation; Catholics were daily conforming to the Establish- ment; Father Shortall regarded Mr Higgins's case as a very interesting and touching one, and he affec- tionately received the convert squire into the heaving bosom of the suffering Churcli of Ireland. "And now, holy father," said the neophyte, " I must implore of you to keep mj"^ conversion secret. My parent has got a property of £3000 a year, and if this matter transpires I shall be disinherited." The good pastor assured him that he would be as silent as the gi'ave; he gave him his blessing, and Higgins retired, hug- ging himself on his dexterity, and offering mental congi-atulations on the prospect that began to open to Ms future success. When this religious intercourse had continued for some time, Higgins told his spiri- tual adviser that the ease of his soul was such as in- duced him humbly to hope that the Almighty had accepted the sincerity of his repentance. " If any- Bemajd Burke, the courteous and efficient custodian of the records, many valuahle MSS. are constantly turning up, to tho great satis- faction of historical students. * Paulhxer's Dv-hlin /oiirnal, January 24, 1767. niii iNFcriiMEKS OF '98. 7 thing be now wanting to my complete happiness," he added " it is an amiable wife of the ti-ue religion, whose bright example will serve to keep my frail resolutions firm ; as to the amount of fortune, it is an object of little or no consideration, for, as you are Rware, my means will be ample."* His engaging manner won the heart of Father Shortall, who re- solved and avowed to befriend him as far as lay in his power. Duped by the hypocrisy of our adven- turer, the unsuspecting priest introduced him to the family of an eminent Catholic merchant, named Archer. To strengthen his footing, Higgins ordered some goods from Mr Archer, and requested that they might be sent to 76 Stephen's Green, the house of his uncle, the then celebrated Counsellor Harward, M.P. Mr Archer treated his visitor with the respect due to the nephew and, as it seemed, the heir pre- sumptive of that eminent person. The approach to deformity of Higgins's person had made Miss Archer shrink from his attentions ; but her parents, who re- joiced at the prospect of an alliance so apparently advantageous, sternly oveiTuled their daughters re- luctance. The intimacy gradually grew. Higgins accompanied Mr Archer and his daughter on a country excursion : seated in a noddy, they returned to town through Stephen's Green, and in passing Mr Harward's house, Higgins in a loud tone expressed a hope to some person at the door that his uncle's health continued to convalesce.f When too late Mr Archer discovei-ed that no possible relationship ex- isted between" his hopeful son-in-law and the old coun- sellor. It is also traditionally stated that Higgins turned to profitable account an intimacy which he had * Sketches of Irish Political Characters. By Henry Mao D iiigall, M,A., T.C.D. Lend. 1799, p. 182. t Tvaditiop consmunicated by tlie late Vers Eev. Or Yore. 8 TnE SHAM SQUIRE AND formed with the servants of one of the judges.^ His lordship having gone on circuit, a perfect Migh Life Below Stairs" was performed m his absence ; and Higgins, to promote the progress of his scheme, succeeded in persuading his friend, the coachman, to drive him to a few places in the judicial carriage. The imposture was too well planned to fail ; hut let us allow the heart-broken father to tell the tragic tale in his own words : — * County of the City \ The examination of William Archer, of Dublin, to wit, j ^f Dublin, merchant, who, being duly sworn and examined, saith, that on the 9th day of Novem- ber [1766] last, one Francis Higgins, who this examinant now hears and believes to be a common hackney writing clerk, came to the house of this examinant in company with a clergyman of the Church of Eome,* and was intro- duced as a man possessing lands in the county of Down, to the amount of ^£250 per annum, which he, the said Francis Higgins, pretended to this examinant, in order to deceive and cheat him ; and also that he was in consider- able employ in the revenue ; and that he was entitled to a large property on the death of Wilham Harward, Esq., who the said Higgins alleged was his guardian, and had * We are indebted to John Cornelius O'Callaghan, Esq., author of " The Green Book," and historian of " The Irish Brigades in the Service of France," for the following tradition, which he has oblig- ingly taken down from the lips of an octogenarian relative: — " The Rev. Mr Shortall (I believe a Jesuit) became acquainted with Hig- gins through the medium of religion; the fellow having pretended to become a convert to the Catholic Church, and even so zealous a one as to confess himself every Saturday to that gentleman, in order to receive the Blessed Sacrament the following day ! This having gone on for eome time, Mr Shortall formed a high opinion of Higgins, and spoke of him in such terms to the parents of the young lady he was designing to marry, that they were proportion- ately influenced in his favour. After the 'fatal marriage' Mr Shortall was sent to Cork, and was intr,>duc*:d there to my mater- nal grandmother and her sisters, to whom Le used to mention how bitterly he regretted having been so imposed upon. The storv made such an impression on my mother as a child, that shortlv after she came to Dublin, she went to Me the 'Sham Squire's' loRib, in Kilbarrack churchyard " * THE INFOKMERS OF '98. 9 adopted him. In a few d.ij-s after this introduction (dur- ing which time he paid his addresses to Miss Mary Anne Archer, the daughter of this examinant) he produced a state of a case, all of his own handwriting, saying, that he was entitled to the lands of Ballyveabeg, Islang, Ballahan- era, and Dansfort, in the county of Down ; and the more effectually to deceive and cheat this examinant and his daughter, Higgins had at the foot thereof obtained the legal opinion of the said WiUiam Harward, Esq., that he was entitled to said lands under a will mentioned to be made in said case. Higgins, in order to deceive this exa- minant, and to induce him to consent to a marriage vsdth his daughter, agreed to settle £1500 oh her, and informed examinant that if said marriage were not speedily per- formed, his guardian would force him to take the oath to qualify him to become an attorney, which he could not think of, as he pretended to be of the contrary opinion ; and that as to the title-deeds of said lands, he could not then come at them, being lodged, as he pretended, with WiUiam Harward, Esq. But that if examinant thought proper, he would open a, window in William Harward's house, in order to come at said deeds, let what would be the consequences. Examinant was advised not to insist on said measure, and therefore waived, it ; and relying on the many assertions and representations of the said Hig- gins, and of his being a person of consideration and pro- perty, and particularly having great confidence in the opi- nion of so eminent a lawyer as William Harward, this examinant having found on inquiry the same was the handwriting of Harward, agreed to give Higgins £600 as a portion with examin ant's daughter, and one half of thL-s examinant's substance at his death, which he believes may amount to a considerable sum, and executed writings for the performance of said agreement. And upon said mar- riage Higgins perfected a deed, and thereby agreed to set- tle the lands above mentioned on the issue of said marriage^ together with £1500 on examinant's daughter. Soon after the marriage, the examinant being informed of the fraud, he made inquiries into the matters so represented by the said Higgins to facilitate said fraud, and the exami- nant foupd thg-t there wa^ not the le^t coloiir of truth in 10 THE SHAM SQUIllE AND any of the pretensions or suggestions so made by Higgms and that he was not entitled to a foot of land, either in this kingdom or elsewhere, nor of any personal property, nor hath he any employment in the revenue or otherwise. Notwithstanding the repeated assurances of the said Hig- gins, and the said several pretences to his being a person of fortune or of business, he now appears to be a person of low and indigent circumstances, of infamous life and char- acter," and that he supported himself by the craft of a cheat and impostor; nor is the said William Harward either guardian or any way related to Higgins, as this ex- aminant is informed and verily believes." Mr Harward, whose name has been frequently mentioned, became a member of the Irish Bar in Michaelmas Term, 1718, and was the contemporary of Malone, Dennis, Lord Tracton, and Mr Fitzgibbon, father of Lord Clare, and sat for some years in the Irish Parliament. At the period when Higgins took such strange liberties witli his name, Mr Harward was in an infirm state of health ; he died, childless, in 1772.t A person named Francis Higgins really held an ap- * From a contemporary publication, " Irish Political Characters,' p. 180, we learn that when Higgins acted as an attorney's clerk his talents were not confined exclusively to the desk. " His master's pleasures found an attentive minister in Sham, and Sham found additional profits in his master's pleasures." + The biographer of Charlemont mentions Harward as " deservedly celebrated for the acuteness of his understanding, his pleasantry, and bis original wit." He would seem, indeed, to have been fonder of Joe Miller than of Bl.^ckstone. We fiind the following anecdote b the Life of Edmund Malone : — " Harward, the Irish lawyer, with the help of a great brofiue, a peculiar cough, or long h-e-m, was sometimes happy in a retort, Harward had read a great deal of law, but it was all a confused mass ; he had little judgment. Having, however, made one of his best harangues, and stated, as he usually Sid, a great deal of doubtful law, which yet he thought very sound. Lord Chief-Justice Clayton, who, though a most ignorant boor, had got the common black-letter of Westminster Hall pretty ready, as soon as Harward had done, exclaimed, ' You don't suppose, Mr Har- ward, that I take this to be law ?' ' Indeed, my lord,' replied Hai* ward, vvith his usual shrug aqd cough, ' I don't suppose you do ! ' " THE INFORMERS OF '98. 11 pointment in the revenue, and our adventurer availed himself of the coincidence in carrying out his impos- ture. In the Freeman's Journal of October 21, 1766, we read: — "Mr Francis Higgias, of the Custom- house, * to Miss Anne Gore, of St Stephen's Green, an accomplished young lady with a handsome for- tune." The following is a copy of the true bill found by the grand jury against Higgins : — " The jurors for our Lord the King, upon their oath, say that Francis Higgins, of Dublin, yeoman, being a person of evil name, fame, and dishonest conversation, and a common deceiver and cheat of the liege subjects of our said Lord, and not minding to gain his livelihood by truth and honest labour, but devising to cheat, cozen, and defraud William Archer of his moneys, fortune, and substance, for support of the profligate Ufe of him, the said Francis Higgins, and with intent to obtain Mary Anne Archer in marriage, and to aggrieve, impoverish, and ruin her, and with intent to impoverish the said William Archer, his wife, and all his fsimily, by wicked, false, and deceitful pretences, on the 19th November, in the seventh year of the reign of King George III., and on divers other days and times, with force and arms, at Dublin, in the parish of St Michael, the more fully to complete and perpetrate the said wicked intentions and contrivances, did fraudulently pretend to the said William Archer that — [here the facts are again recited in detail.] The said F. Higgins, by the same wicked pre- tences, procured Mary Anne Archer to be given in mar- riage to him, to the great damage of the said William Archer, to the great discomfort, prejudice, injury, and dis- quiet of mi]id of the said Mary Anne and the rest of the family, to the evil example of all others, and against the peace of our said Lord the King, his crown and dignity." There is a painfully-interesting episode connected with this imposture which the foregoing documents » The old Custom-bouse Btoo of Ire- land would not be attended by any particular demonstra- tions of joy, had hired a mob to wait his arrival, and had supplied a proper number of them with silken cords and har- ness to draw him in his carriage to the Castle, under the fastidious deceit of mercenary popularity and triumph."* Of this chief governor, Mr Grattan observes : " He opposed many good measures, promoted many bad men, increased the expenses of Ireland in a manner wanton and profligate, and vented his Wrath upon the country." + Such being the case, it is not sur- prising that Lord.Bulkley, in a letter to his Excel- lency, dated June 14, 1788, should remark : " I saw yom- brother. Marquis, who told me that he heard with the greatest concern that your popularity in Ire- land was faUing apace, and that the candles were out.":^ By way of counterbalance, Higgins swung the censer with more than ordinary energy. According to the Post, a cheque from the treasury for £1030 was graciously presented to the Sham Squire at this period, in testimony of his efficient support of Loi'd Bucking- ham's administration. § The daring and dastardly experiment of bribing the press was then of recent introduction in Ireland. A letter from Mr Eden, afterwards Lord Auckland, addressed to Lord North, and dated " Phoenix Park, August 27, 1781," says :— " We have hitherto, by the force of good words and with some degree of private expense, preserved an ascend- ancy over the press not hitherto known here, and it is of an importance equal to ten thousand times its cost, but we are without the means of continuing it. "II * Plowden's Historical Review; GUbert'a Dublin, iii. 27. t Memoirs of Henry Grattan, vol. iii., p. 146. + Court and Cabinets of George III., vol. i., p. 396. London : 1853. § DvMm Evertmg Post, "Soa. 1806-1808. II Correspondence of Eight Hon. J. C. Beresford, i., p. 170. Mr Eden was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1780 until 1782 ; created. P 34 THE SHAM SQUIRE ANt) But Higgins had too much natural taste for tm " art and mystery " of legal lore, as weU as for bills of costs, to forego the emoluments of an attorhey-at- law for the editorial desk, however lucrative. We find hinl figuring as solicitor for prisoners in several cases which excited much noise at this time — instance the " Trial of Robert Keon, gentleman, for the mur- der of George Nugent Reynolds, Esq." * Retaining the absolute control of the Freeman's Journal, Higgins, in order that he might be able to devote more time to his profession, engaged Doctor Houlton as his sub-editor, and George Joseph Browne, barrister, but originally a player,t and 0. Brennan, formerly a fierce democratic writer in the Evening Post,X as contributors. In a short time the Freeman's Journal became an important and influential organ of the Irish Government. The Sham Squire's society is said to have been courted by high authorities in the law and the state. In the great liberal organ of the day it is alleged that "judges are the companions of his festive hours" — that " judges revel at his board, and are his associates." § But the most startling feature in this epoch of the Sham Squire's life, is the allega- tion repeatedly made by the Post, that Higgins, at 1789, Baron Auckland; died, 1814. Modem statesmen seem to hold conflicting opinions as to the expediency of subsidising news- papers for political ends. The memorable trial of Birch v. Lord Clarendon in 1850, revealed that hard cash had been given to the editor of the World for writing down the Young Ireland Party. Cavour, on the other hand, who was for many years before his death the daily butt of journalistic abuse, disdained the purchase of the press. "One day," writes his secretary, M. Artom, "somebody tried to show him the advantage of founding a semi-official journal, which should have the province of defending the policy of the Government. He replied, 'If you want to bring the best and soundest ideas into discredit, put them into officious or official form. If you have a good cause to defend, you will easily find writers who, without being paid, will defend it with more warmth and talent than paid journalists.'" * Dublin, 1788. 163 pages. Reported by George J. Browns, •I- Dublin Evening Post, No. 1793. t JInd., No. 1774. § JUd., No. 1756. THE INFOKMERS OF "98. 35 the very period of vvhicli we write, was the proprietor of, or secret partner in, a gambling house of the worst possible description. In prose and verse, this public nuisance received energetic denunciation. " Where is the muse that lash'd the Roman crimes ? Where now is Pope with all his poignant rhymes ? Where's Chm'chill now, to aim the searching dart, Or show the foulness of a villain's heart ? Where is the muse to tune the piercing lay, And paint the hideous monster to the day ? Alas ! all gone ! let every virtue weep ; Shamado lives, and Justice lies asleep. How shall I wake her— will not all the cries Of midnight revels, that ascend the skies, The sounding dice-box, and the shrieking [ ] The groans of all the miserable poor. Undone and plunder'd by this outcast man. Will not these wake her ? " &c. , &o. The satiric bard proceeds to describe Shamado raising the unhallowed fabric in. Crane Lane : — " Henceforth, he cried, no watchman shall presume To check the pleasures of each festive room ; Henceforth, I say, let no policeman dare. No sheriff, alderman, or e'en lord mayor. No constable, or untaught bailiff rude, With hideous visage, on these realms intrude. He said, and striking with a golden wand, The doors obey the impulse of his hand ; The portals back upon their hinges flew. And many a hazard-table rose to view. On every table did a dice-box stand. Waiting impatient for the gamester's hand. Full many a couch prepared for soft delight. And a few lamps gleam'd out a glimmering light." * But we have quoted sufficient as a specimen. In a subsequent number the editor asks : — " Will not a day of retribution come for all this accumu- lation of villany and enormity at which the blood runs cold 1 Oh that we had a Fitzgibbon judge. Then would not longer the Newgate felon, the murderer of wretched parents, the betrayer of virgin innocence, the pestiferous defiler of the marriage couch, Sham his fate, and defy the laws of God and man." t • DMin Evening Post, No. 174P t Ibid., No. 1767. 36 THE SHAM SQUIftE ANt) In the Directory for 1788 is recoi-ded Mr Siggin's removal from the obscurity of Eoss Lane to 72 Stephen's Green, South, one of the fine old Huguenot houses, of which Grattan occupied one._ From the above date, we find his professional practice extended from the King's Bench to the Common Pleas, besides acting at the Tholsel or Sessions' Couit — the very edifice in whose dock he stood a fettered malefactor a few years before. Chief Baron Yelverton, afterwards Lord Avonmore, presided in the Exchequer, and dis- countenanced the impudent pretensions of the Sham Squire to practise in that court. Yelverton, as one of the illustrious patriots of 1782, had not much claims to the favourable consideration of the Sham Squire. He was accordingly lampooned by him. On May 3, 1789, we read :— " Counsel rose on behalf of Mr Higgins, who had been ordered to attend, to answer for certain scandalous para- graphs reflecting on that court. " Chief Baron Yelverton said, ' If you had not mentioned that affair, the court would not have condescended to re- collect its insignificance, but would have passed it by, as it has done every other paragraph, whether of praise or censure, which has appeared in that paper, with the most supreme contempt. Let the fellow return to his master's employment. Let him exalt favourite characters, if there be any mean enough to take pleasure in his adulation : let Lim continue to spit his venom against everything that is praiseworthy, honourable, or dignified in human nature : but let him not presume to meddle with the courts of justice, lest, forgetting his baseness and insignificance, they should at some time deign to inflict a merited punishment.' " * Yelverton's opinion of the Sham Squire's insignifi- cance was not endorsed by Inspector-General Amyas Griffith, who, in his tracts published this year, after returning thanks to the "established Bishops of * Duhlln Evening Post, No. 1 757. TIIK INFOEMEKS OF '98. 37 Dublin, Casliel, Oloyne, and Kildare," cand other personages who had patronised him, acknowledges his obligation to Francis Higgins, Esq. * To render the career of the Sham Squire more distinct, and the interest of this book more general, we shall here make a slight historical digression. , A most important and embarrassing struggle be- tween England and Ireland took place in 1789, in reference to the regency which George the Third's mental aberration had made necessary. The Prince of Wales at this period professed not unpopular politics, and favoured the Catholic claims. Mr Pitt, apprehensive that the regency might prove fatal to his ambition and to his cabinet, powerfully resisted the heir-apparent's right to the prerogative of his father, and declared on 11th December 1788, that " the Prince of Wales had no better right to admin- ister the government during his father's incapacity than any other subject of the realm." f An address to his Koyal Highness from the Irish Parliament re- quested that he would " take upon himself the govern- ment of Ireland during the continuation of the king's indisposition, and no longer, and under the title of Prince Regent of Ireland, in the name, and on behalf of his Majesty, to exercise, according to the laws and constitution of that kingdom, all regal powers, juris- diction, and prerogatives to the crown and govern- ment thereof belonging." Ireland called upon the prince, in virtue of the federative compact, to assume at once the sceptre of authority; but Mr Pitt's follow- ers furiously struggled against it. Grattan headed the independent party in the Commons. , Mr Pelham, afterwards Lord Chichester, after speaking of what he styles "the tricks and intrigues of Mr Pitt's faction," says, "I have not time to express how strongly the prince is affected by the confidence and • Advertisement to Miscellaneous Tracts. ♦ The Prospect Before \Jb, 1788, p. 4, 38 THE STTAM SQUIKE AND attacliment of the Irish Parliament. I have onl time to say in his own words, ' Tell Grattan that am a most determined Irishman.'" The Duke c Portland, writing to Mr Grattan on the 21st Feh ruary 1789, says: — "I beg most sincerely to con gratulate you on the decisive effect of your distin guished exertions. Your own country is sensible ani worthy of the part you have taken in defence am protection of her constitution. The prince think himself no less obliged to you; and whenever thi deluded country becomes capable of distinguishinj her true friends, she will contribute her quota o applause and gratitude." * " The probability of his Majesty's recovery," write Sir Jonah Barrington, " had a powerful influence oi placemen and official connexions. The viceroy too] a decisive part against the prince, and made bold an( hazardous attempts upon the rights of the Iris! Parliament." The recently-published Buckinghan correspondence t confirms Sir Jonah's statement Every day a bulletin announcing the monarch's con valescence reached the viceroy. The good news wa orally circulated among his supporters. Mr Fitz gibbon was promised the seals and a peerage if h succeeded for Mr Pitt. Each member of the Opposi tion was menaced, that he should be made the " victin of Ms vote." Lures were held out to the wavering- threats hurled at the independent. This extraordinary threat elicited that spirited pro test familiarly loiown as " the Bound Kobin," li • Life and Timea of Henry Grattan, by his son, voL iii., pp. 373-4 + Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of Qoorge III., frot Original Family Documents, by the Duke of Buckingham an^ Chandos, 1853. The noble editor of these valuable state paper admits that " the Parliament of Ireland preserved the unquestioi able right of deciding the regency in their own way. The positio] of Lord Buckingham," he adds, " had become peculiarly embarrasf Ing. What course should be taken in the event of such an addrea being carried 1 The predicament was so strange, and involvo constitutional considerations of such importance, as to give th most serious disquietude to the Administration-" — Vol. ii., p. 101. THE INFORMEKS OF 'Qb. 39 wliich the Duke of Leinster, Lords Gharlemonti Shannon, G-ranard, Eoss, Moira, and a host of other influential men, affixed their signatures. The docu- ment dwelt on the recent threat of making indivi- duals " the victim of their vote," and stigmatised it " as a reprobation of their constitutional conduct, and an attack upon public principle and the independence of Parliament ; that any administration taking or per- severing in such steps was not entitled to their confi- dence, and should not receive their support." The addi-ess to the regent having passed both the Lords and Commons, it was presented to Lord Buck- ingham for transmission ; but the viceroy declined to have anything to say to it, and thus Parliament was reduced to the necessity of forwarding the address by the hands of delegates. Previous to their departure the following resolution was carried by 115 to 83 : — " That His Excellency's answer to both Houses of Parliament, requesting him to transmit their address to his Koyal Highness, is ill-advised, contains an un- warrantable and unconstitutional censure on the pro- ceedings of both Houses, and attempts to question the undoubted rights and privileges of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and of the Commons of Ireland." The viceroy, as alastresom-ce, endeavom'ed to multiply his partisans by the most venal means. Mr Fitzgibbon gave it to be understood that half a million of money had been placed in his hands for corrupt purposes ; and as the first law officer of the crown made this disgusting avowal, he casually confessed that one address of thanks to Lord Townshend, a few years before, had cost the nation £500,000.* Grattan, who was an eye-witness of all these di.s- reputable proceedings, observed at a later period : — *' The threat was put into its fullest execution ; the canvass of the minister was everywhere — in the * The corrupt policy and proceedings o£ the Townshend adminis- tration received effective eiposure in a publication called Baratqr riana. — See Appendix. 40 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND House of Commons, in the lobby, in the street, at the door of the parliamentary undertakers, rapped at and worn by the little caitiffs of Government, who offered amnesty to some, honours to others, and cor- ruption to all; and where the word of the viceroy was doubted, they offered their own. Accordingly, we find a number of parliamentary provisions were created, and divers peerages sold, with such effect, that the same parliament which had voted the chief governor a ciiminal, did immediately after give that very governor implicit support." * " They began," said Ourran, " with the sale of the honour of the peerage — the open and avowed sale for money of the peerage to any man who was rich and shameless enough to be the purchaser. It depraved the Com- mons, it profaned the sanctity of the Lords, it poi- soned the sources of legislature and the fountains of justice, it annihilated the very idea of public honour or public integrity 1 " Ourran did not speak thus strongly from any cankering feeling of wounded pride at slights received from the Government. De- scribing the events of 1798, his biographer teUs us : — " To Mr Curran it was communicated that his sup- port of the Government would be rewarded with a judge's place, and with the eventual prospect of a peerage; but, fortunately for his fame, he had too much respect for his duties and his character to sacrifice them to personal advancement." f Grattan, Curran, and Ponsonby offered to prove on evidence the startling charges to which we have referred _; but the Government, knowing that it had been guilty of an impeachable offence, shrunk from the inquiry. The peerages of Kilmaine, Cloncurry, and Glentworth were, beyond doubt,. sold for cash in 1789, and the proceeds laid out for the purchase of members in the House of Commons. * Life and Times of Henry Grattan, vol. iii., p. 33§. t Life of Curran, by his son, vol. i,, p. ^40. THE INFORMERS OF '98. 41 Mr Wright, in his " History of Ireland," pronounces Mr Johnson's to be the ablest speech on the Govern- ment side during this struggle. He quotes it in full ; but the eflPect is spoiled ^by Mr Johnson's confession to Thomas Moore in 1831, that he had always sup- ported Grattan's policy until the regency question, when he ratted, and at once became the recipient of state favours. " In fact," added the ex-judge Johnson, " we were aU jobbers at that time." * The struggle between the viceroy and the Parlia- ment was a sadly exciting one. Political profligacy stalked, naked and unblushing, through the Senate and the Castle. Vows, resolutions, rules, reputations, and faith were daily broken, Meanwhile, the royal physicians opined that the king would soon be re- stored to health. " Your object," says the Secretary of State, in a letter to the viceroy on Feb. 19, 1789, " your object will be to use every possible endeavour, by all means in your power, debating every question, dividing upon every question, moving adjournment upon adjournment, and every other mode that can be suggested, to gain time ! "f Sheridan's politically penetrating eye saw through the ruse. "I am per- fectly aware," he writes in a private letter to the prince, " of the arts that will be practised, and the advantages whicVi some people will attempt to gain by time." J These expedients, coupled with the ener- getic efforts daily made by a venal press and minister, at last triumphed ; and the king was now, to quote the words of Lord Grenville in writing to the viceroy, " actually well 1 " The struggle was therefore at an end, but not the results of that struggle. The master of the rolls, the treasurer, the clerk of permits, the postmaster-general, the secretary at war, the comp- troller of stamps, and many other public servants of * Diary of Thomas Moore, vi., p. 55. •f Buckingham Coirespondence, vol. ii., p. 117. ^ Lifp of Sheridan, by Thpmas J/loore, cljap. :fijj. 42 THE SHAM SQUIKE AXD importance, were summarily expelled from office. The Duke of Leinster, one of the most respected officers of the crown, received a supersedeas, together with Lord Shannon. The influential family of Pon- 8onhy,long the unwavering supporters of Government, but who on this occasion joined the legislature in asserting its constitutional independence, were also cashiered But the promotions and appointments vastly exceeded the dismissals. Of the former, which included a long string of creations in the peerage, there were forty— of the latter, fifteen only. Em- ployments that had long remained dormant were revived, useless places invented, sinecures created, salaries increased ; while such oflices as the board of stamps and accounts, hitheito filled by one, became a joint concern. The weighmastership of Cork was divided into three parts, the duties of which were discharged by deputies, while the principals, who pocketed the gross amount, held seats in Parliament. In 1790, one hundred and ten placemen sat in the House of Commons ! On February 11th in that year, Mr Forbes declared that the pensions had been recently increased upwards of £100,000. In 1789 an additional perpetuity of £2800 was saddled on the country. The viceroy, however glad of his victory had not much reason, one would think, to be proud o! the means whereby that victory was attained. But an examination of his correspondence shows the utter un- icrupulosity of his heart. Writing to Lord Bulkley, he observes : — "In the space of six weeks I have secured to the crown a decided and steady majority, created in the teeth of the Duke of Leinster, Lord Shannon, Lord G-ranard, Ponsonby, ConoUy, O'Neil, united to all the republicanism, the faction, and the discontent of the House of Commons ; and having thrown this aristocracy at the feet of the king, I have taught to the British and Irish Government a lesson which Qllght qevef to be forgotten ; and I have the pride to THE INFORMEKS OF 'Ub. 43 recollect, that the whole of it is fairly to be ascribed to the steady decision with which the storm was met, and to the zeal, vigour, and industry of some of the steadiest friends that ever man was blessed with." Amongst " the steadiest friends" by whom the vice- roy was " blessed," the Sham Squire deserves mention. He worked the engine of the press with unflagging vigour, and by means of a forced circulation he suc- ceeded to some extent in inoculating the public mind with the virus of his politics. It was Lord Bucking- ham's policy to feed the flame of Shamado's pride and ambition ; and we are assured by John Magee, that so essential to the stabiUty of the Irish Government were the services of this once fettered malefactor, that on frequent occasions he was admitted to share the courtesies of the viceroy's closet. The fii'st allusion to Francis Higgins, which the leading organ of the popular party in the last century contains, is an article on March 8, 1789, wherein the Sham Squire is spoken of as " Frank Paragraph, the Stephen's Green Attorney," who on the previous night, having been escorted up the backstairs of the Castle by Major Hobart,* received the Marquis of Buckingham's hospitaUty and confidence. The ar- ticle concluded by expressing a hope that Frank, whether as an attorney, as proprietor of a prostitute print, or as the companion of a viceroy, should not, in the day of his happy exultation, forget his original insignificance. Mr John Magee was the then proprietor of the Dublin Evening Post. Sir Jonah Barrington tells us that although eccentric he was a most acute observer, a smart writer, and a ready wit. Politically honest and outspoken, often to indiscretion, he enjoyed the confidence and love of the popular party in Ireland. * Major Hobart, afterwards Lord Buckinghamshire, was the dip- lomatic chief secretary for Ii-eland at this perio^. 14 THE SHAM SQUIRE ANU By the Government he was feare J and hated ; and on more occasions than one he was consigned to a dun- geon. Magee exercised considerable influence on the public events of his time, and he may be styled the Irish Oobbett of the eighteenth century. Against the Sham Squire Magee had no personal enmity ; and previous to 1789 there is no allusion to him direct or indirect ia the Post; but Mr Higgins's importance having in that year swelled to an unpre- cedented extent, as the accredited organ of the Oastle, Magee felt urged by a sense of public duty to declare uncompromising war against the fortunate adventurer. Probably Magee's labom-s had good effect in checking the further promotion of Higgins. Magee first wielded the lash of irony ; but finding that this failed to tell with sufficient effect, he there- upon applied the loaded bludgeon of denunciation. Several poetic diatribes appeared in the Post at this period ; but they are too voluminous to quote in full. One, in which the Sham Squire is found soliloquising, goes on to say : — " You know my power ; at my dread command B — 8, pimps, and biilliee, all obedient stand : Nay, well you know, at my terrific nod The Freeman lifts aloft the venal rod : Or if you still deny my sovereign awe, I'll spread the petty-fogging nets of law." Higgins's antecedents are glanced at : — " You know my art can many a form assume. Sometimes I seem a hosier at a loom ; Then at the changing of my magic wand Before your face a wealthy Squire I stand, With a Sham title to seduce the fair, And murder wretched fathers by despair." As soon as the struggle respectiug. the regency question had ceased, the viceroy is said to have ac- knowledged Higgins's fidelity by recommending him The iNFOEMEKS OF '98. 45 to Lords Carhampton and Lifford* as a tit and pi-oper person to grace the magisterial bench I We resume the Sham Squire's soliloquy : — " And if Old Nick continues true, no bar shall Prevent me from becoming Four Courts marshaL Behold me still in the pursuit of gain, My golden wand becomes a golden chain. See how I loll in my judicial chair, ) The fees of office piled up at my rear ; V A smuggled turkey or illegal hare. ) Those I commit who have no bribe to give, — Rogues that have nothing don't deserve to live. Then nimbly on the turning of a straw, I seem to be a pillar of the law ; See even nobles at my tables wait. But think not that vlike idiots in your plays) My friendship any saves but him who pays; Or that the foolish thought of gratitude Upon my callous conscience can intrude ; And yet I say, not Buckingham himself Could pardon one, unless 1 touch the pelf ; There's not a robber hang'd, or pilferer whipt, Till at my word he 's halter'd or he 's stript."t By the Act 5 George the Second (c. 18, s. 2) no attorney can become a justice of peace while in prac- tice as an attorney; but in the case of the Sham Squu'e all difficulties were smoothed. Some of the most influential political personages of the time tra- velled out of the way in order to mark their approval of Mr Higgins's elevation. The letter to which we have already referred, signed " An Old Gray-headed Attorney," and published on July 23, 1789, records that Francis Higgins had the honour of being first " introduced as a justice of his Majesty's peace for the * Before Lord Lifibrd accepted the seals, then estimated as worth £12,000 per annum, they had been offered to Judges Smyth, Aston, and Sewell, of the English Bench, and declined. He was the son of William Hewit, a draper in Coventry, ant' began life as an attorney's clerk. See Irish PoUtical Characters — London, 1799, p. 58; also Sleator'a Dublin Chronicle, 1788-9, pp. 240, 560, 1266. Lord Lifford'g personality was £150,000. t Dublin Evening Post, Nu, ITli 4G ntt SBAM SQtnliE ANb county of Dublia, to the bench assembled at K-ilmafn- ham, by the good, the virtuous, the humane Earl Car- hampton ; that peer who so truly, nobly, and gallantly added to the blushing honour of a before unsullied fame, by rescuing from a gibbet the chaste Mrs Lewel- lyn. Mr Higgins was also there, and there accompanied by that enlightened senator, independent placeman, and sound lawyer. Sir Frederick Flood, Bart."* Lord Carhampton, Governor and Oustos Kotulo- rum of the County Dublin, who regarded Higgins with such paternal patronage and protection, has re- ceived scant courtesy from the historians of Ms time. As Colonel Luttrel, he first attained notoriety at the Middlesex election, where he acted as unconstitutional a part as he afterwards did in Ireland in his mili- tary capacity. Mr Scott, on this occasion, publicly declared that Luttrel " was vile and infamous." Lut- trel did not resent the insult, and his spirit was called in question. An unpopular Cabinet and subservient Senate tried to force him, with 296 votes, instead of Mr Wilkes, with 1143 votes, on Middlesex as its representative ; but a later Parliament cancelled the unconstitutional record. " There is iu this young man's conduct," wrote Junius to Lord North, " a strain of prostitution, which for its singularity I can- not but admire. He has discovered a new line in the human character. He has disgraced even the name of Luttrel." These shafts told ; and we learn that policies of rnsvu'ance on Lord Carhampton's life were opened at Lloyd's Coffee-house, in London, f Unpopu* lar to loathing in England, and hooted from its shores, * Frederick Mood, Esq., K.C., M.P. for Wexford, received his baronetcy (which is now extinct) on June 3, 1780. Sir F. Flood also sat in the English Parliament. He was a commissioner of the Stamp Office. For a notice of Sir P. Flood see "A Review of the Principal Characters of the Irish House of Commons," by Falkland, (i.e., John Robert Scott, B.D.,) Loodon, 1795, p. 50; also Barring- ton's Personal Sketches, i. 207. t O'Callaghan's History of the Irish Brigades, vol. i., p. 364. fHE INFORMERS OF '98. 47 tiuttrel came to try his fortune in Ireland, where, hay- ing openly joined the Beresford party in their system of coercion, he daily sank lower and lower in popular estimation. Lord Carhampton's utter contempt for pubhc reputation was evidenced in every act. Flip- pant and offensive in his speech — ^arrogant, haughty, and overbearing in his manner — steadily opposing, 9n perverse principles, generous sentiments and pub- lic opinion — Lord Carhampton soon acquired an un- enviable character and fame. But even had his lord- ship had the purity of a Grattan or a Fox, he would have vainly attempted to cast off a hereditary stigma of unpopularity which was originally fastened on his family by Luttrel, the betrayer of King James. The picketings, free quarters, half-hangings, flog- gings, and pitch-cappings, which at length fanned the flame of disaffection into open rebellion, were under- stood to be mainly directed by Lord Carhampton. Li 1797 the Kev. Mr Berwick, under whose windows men had been flogged, and in some instances left for dead, having humanely procured proper surgical treatment for some of the sufferers, was sent for by Lord Carhampton, who told him " that he had hearvl he was interfering with what was going on ; that it was shameful for him ; and that if he persevered he would send him in four days on board the tender!"* Thirteen hundred of the king's subjects had been already transported by Lord Carhampton without trial or sentence, f Under the auspices of this peer, who at last at- tained the rank of commander-in-chief, the army were permitted to riot in the most demoralising licence. Cottages were burnt, peasants shot, their wives and. daughters violated.! Greneral Sir Ralpb • Grattan's Memoirs, vol. iv., p. 334. t Plowden's History of Ireland, vol. ii., p. 372. j Speech of Lord Moira, Nov. 22, 1797. See also Speeches ol Lord Dunsany, Sir L. Parsons, and Mr Vandeleur. 48 tllE SHAM SQtJIEE ANC Abercrombie viewed the state of tbe army witji dis- gust, and declared that they had become " formidable to all but the enemy." As a commander, Lcri5 Carhampton was ruthless and capricious. The Lord-Lieutenant on several occasions interfered, but Lord Carhampton refused to obey him.* At last so detested did he become, that his own labourers con- spired to assassinate him in cold blood. But one named Ferris, having turned informer, the mur- derous design was fiustrated, and the ringleaders hanged. In the letter of " A Gray-headed Attorney," from which we have taken an extract, Lord Carhampton's name is mentioned in conjunction with that of a woman named Lewellyn, who seventy years ago en- joyed an infamous notoriety in Dublin. A young girl, named Mary Neal, having been decoyed into a house by Mrs Lewellyn, met with some ill-usage, for which Lord Carhampton got the credit. Against Mrs Lewellyn, as mistress of this house, the father of the girl lodged informations. But in order to avert the prosecution, a friend of Mrs Lewellyn, named Edge- worth, trumped up a counter-charge to the effect that Keal, his wife, and daughter, had robbed a girl, and thus got warrants against them. " She had interest enough with the gaoler," writes Hamilton Eowan, " to procure a constable who, in the middle of the night, took the Neals to Newgate, and locked them up in separate cells." Mrs Neal, it seems, was enceinte; and in the morning, on opening the cell, she and an infant, of whom she had been delivered, were found dead.t Neal was tried for the alleged robbery, but the case failed. Meanwhile, Mary Neal remained dangerously ill at a public hospital, where, adds Mr Eowan, " she was protected from the examinations and interrogations of some persons of high rank, Barrington's Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation, p. 261. t Autobiojjraphy of A. Hamilton Rowan, p. 95. THE INPORMERS OF '98. ' 49 which did them no credit, in order to intimidate her, and make her acknowledge that she was one of those depraved young creatures who infest the streets, and thus to defend Lewellyn on her trial." Mrs Lewellyn was tried for comphcity in the viola- tion, and received sentence of death. Edgeworth was convicted of subornation of perjury, and ordered to stand three times in the pillory, and to be imprisoned for one year. Both culprits were shortly afterwards pardoned and liberated by the viceroy I Several pam- phlets appeared on the subject. Hamilton Eowan wrote — "An Investigation of the Sufferings of John, Anne, and Mary Neal ; " another writer published — " The Cries of Blood and Injured Innocence ; or, The Protection of Vice and Persecution of Virtue," &c., addressed " to his ExceUency the Marquis of B ." Dr Boyton also entered the lists, and was called out by Lord Carhampton. Rowan espoused the cause of Mary Neal with Quixotic fervour. He challenged to mortal combat every man who dared to asperse her fame. He accompanied her to the castle, and pre sented a petition to the Lord-Lieutenant, praying that, as Lewellyn's " claim to mercy was founded on the principle of Mary Neal being soiled with guilt, which fier ooul abhorred, such a communication of the evidence might be made as she may defend her- seu ag'ainst." The viceroj. however, declined to granti the jrayer: and the statue or Justice over the castle gate was thereupon supposed to say — " Since Justice is now but a pageant of state, Kemove me, I pray you, from this castle gate. Since the rape of an infant, and blackest of crimes, Are objects of mercy in these blessed times, On the front of new prison, or hell let me dwell in. For a pardon is granted to Madame Lewellyn." John Magee declared that the Sham Squire's influ- ence in high quarters had been exerted to the utter- most in effectmg the liberation of Mrs Lewellyn and 50 ■ rHE SHAM SQUIRE AND her obliging friend Bdgeworth. The Post of the day, in a parody on the Rev. Dr Burrowes' slang song, " The Night afore Larry was Stretched," tells us that, " Oh ! de night afore Edgwort was tried, De council dey met in despair, George Jos — he was there, and beside, Was a doctor, a lord, and a player.* Justice Sham den silence proolaim'd, De bullies dey all of them harken'd ; Poor Edgwort, siz he, will be framed. His daylights perhaps will be darken'd, Unless we can lend him a hand."t Several stanzas to the same eflfect are given. At length — some further squibs intervening — a valentuie from Maria Lewellyn to the Sham Squire aj^eared: — " With gratitude to you, my friend. Who saved me from a shameful end. My heart does overflow ; 'Twas you my liberty restored, 'Twaa you that influenced my lord, To you my life I owe. " J Mrs LeweUyn was not the only frail member of her family. Her sister, who kept a house of ill fame,§ fell from one crime to another, until at last, in 1765. it was deemed necessary to make a public example of her, and the wretched woman was burned alive in Stephen's Green 1 But perhaps the best satu-e on the " Sham" which appeared in the Post, is an ingenious parody, extend- ing to fourteen stanzas, on a then popular slang song, " The Night afore Larry was Stretched," by the Kev. Dr Burrowes, and which, by the way, is said to have ' Counsellor George Joseph Browne and Dr Houlton, assistant editors of the Freeman's Journal; Lord Carhampton, and Bichan/ Daly, lessee of Crow Street theatre. t Duhlin Evening Post, No. 1757. t Ibid., No. 1762. § Female immorality seems to have been regularly punished in the last century. In the Freeman'i Journal of December 6, 1766, we read — "Alice Rice was pilloried at the Tholsel, pursuant to he» sentence, for keeping a house of ill fame in Essex Street" THE INFORMERS OF '98. 51 lost him a bishopric. Pandemonium, Beelzebub, and a select circle of infernal satellites, developing a series of diabolical plans, are described. In the ninth verse Shamado is introduced : — " From Erebus' depths rose each elf, who glow'd with infernal de- sire, But their prince judged it fit that himself should alone holil con- fab with the Squire." The eleventh stanza is pithy — " "Tia well, said Shamado, great Sire I your law has been always my pleasure ; I conceire what your highness desires — 'tis my.duty to second the measure. The deeper I plunge for your sake, the higher I raise my condi- tion ; Then who would his fealty break— to a prince who thus feeds his ambition. And gratifies every desire ? •' Through life I Ve acknowledged thy aid, and as constantly tasted thy bounty, From the Newgate solicitor's trade till a sub-sheriff placed in the county. Shall I halt in the midst of my sins, or sink fainting and trem- bling before 'em. When my honour thick-spreading begins — ^when, in fine, I am one of the quorum. And may in the senate be placed?"* In May 1789, Justice Higgins gave a grand enter- tainment to his patrons and supporters in Stephen's Green. All Dublin spoke of it; the papers of the day record it. Magee ridiculed the Sham Squire's pretensions. He called upon Fitzgibbon, the new chancellor, to reform the magistracy, and for a state- ment advanced in the following passage Magee was prosecuted by Higgins ; but of tms anon. " Can it he denied — nay, is it not known to every individual in this city — that the proprietor of a flagitious gam- bling-house — ^the groom-porter of a table which is nightly crowded with all that is vile, base, or blas- phemous in a great capital — that the owner and pro- * Dublin Evening Post, No. 1744, 52 -xlIE SHAM SQtrilifi ANt) tector of this house is a justice of peace for the county Dublin?"* Mr Higgins had no longer any necessity to bribe the judge's coachman to drive him through the streets in the judicial carriage. The Sham Squire had now a gorgeous chariot of his own. In the Post of June 4, 1789, we find a description of it, — i.e., a dark chocolate ground, enlivened by a neat border of pale patent yellow ; the arms emblazoned in a capacious mantle on each panel. In front, behind, and under the coachman's footboard, the crest is handsomely engraved on every buckle of the silver-plated harness.t In this shining equipage, with as puffed a demeanour as Lord Clonmel or Sergeant Toler, Mr Higgins drove to the courts. We read, " Mr Higgins ap- peared in his place yesterday at the courts. He was set down in his own carriage immediately after tf?.at of the attorney-general." % And in a subsequent num- ber, it is reproachfully remarked, that Higgins sits on the same bench with Sergeant Toler, arrayed in chains of gold, and dispensing justice. § The ostentatious manner of the Sham, and his impudent swagger, ex- cited a general feeling of disgTist. He openly " boasted of his influence at the seat of power, and bragged that the police magistrates || lived on terms of the closest intimacy with him." T[ On Sunday, June 16, 1789, the celebrated pulpit orator, Walter Blake Kirwan, afterwards Dean of Kil- laJa, and originally a Roman Catholic priest, preached an eloquent sermon on morality in St Andrew's Church, and, according to the Post of the day, took occasion, in the course of his homily, to lash the proprietors of the flagitious gambling-house in CraneLane. ** Hig- gins denied that he was the proprietor of it ; but the Post persisted in declaring that if not the avowed • DuUin Evemtiff Post, No. 1769. t Ibid., No. 1770. t Ibid., No. 1767. § Ibid., No. 1779. || Ibid., No. 1783. 1! Ibid.. No. 1760. •• Ibid., No. 1777. THE IKFOEMEKS OF 08. 53 owner, he was the secret participator in its |)rofits. This vile pandemonium was said to jdeld £400 a year to Mr Higgins.* In vain were the authorities im- plored, year after year, to suppress it. At length the following curious " card," as a last resource, was published : — " The Freemen and Freeholders of the Parish of Saint Andrew's take the liberty to demand from Alderman Warren, their representative in Parliament, and president at the Police Board, why some measures are not taken by him im- mediately and effectually to suppress that nursery of vice — that receptacle for vagrants — that heU of Dublin — the gambling-house in Crane Lane. The alderman has been so repeatedly applied to on the subject that it is high time that Freeholders, who know and respect themselves, should no longer be trifled with. Keports are now current, and circulated with a confidence that renders inattention some- what more than censurable. A magistrate and a city repre- sentative ought to be above suspicion. The Freeholders are aware that infamous house is not in their district, yet they know how their representative ought to act whether as a uiim or a magistrate. His future conduct shall alone detcrmiuc their votes and influence." t Weeks rolled over, and stUl nothing was done. At length a correspondent, who signed himself " An Attorney," threw out the following astute inuendo: — " Alderman Nat and Level Low are in gratitude bound not to disturb the gambling-house in Crane Lane, as the Sham is very indulgent to them by not calling in two judgments which he has on their lands." J The sumptuousness of Mr Francis Higgins's enter- tainments excited much comment. Judges, as we are assured, revelled at his board. § The :police ma- gistrates basked in the sunshine of his smile ; || but it is at least gratifying to learn that there were some * Dvhlin Evening Post, No. 1782. t ^bid.. No. 1758. f Ibid., 'So. }789. I /Sid, No. 1756. il /6jrf., No. 1776. 54 THE SHAM SQUIKE AND high legal functionaries who indignantly scouted the Sham Squire's pretensions. Magee observes, " To the honour of Lord Fitzgibbon, (Clare,) be it recorded, that he never dined with Higgins on his public days, or suffered his worship to appear at any table which his presence dignified."* Higgins, meanwhile, surrounded by a swarm of toadies and expectants for place, with a loose gown wrapped hke a toga around him, would sometimes swagger through the hall of the old Four Courts. He is traditionally described as having been one of the ugliest men in existence ; and the following con- temporary portrait, though somewhat exaggerated, serves to confirm that account : — " Through the long hall a universal hum Proclaims at length the mighty man is come. Clothed in a morning gown of many a hue, With one sleeve ragged and the other new ; While obvious eructations daub his chin With the remaining dregs of last night's gin ; With bloated cheek and little swinish eye, And every feature forra'd to hide a lie ; While every nasty vice, enthroned within, Breaks out in blotches o'er his freckled skin." The bard, after describing Enmity, Treachery, Du- plicity, and other disreputable qualities, adds : — " And artful Cunning, simpering the while, Conceals them all in one unmeaning smile. He comes, and round him the admii-ing throng Catch at the honey dropping from his tongue ; Now promises — excuses round him fly ; Now hopes are born — and hopes as quickly die ; Now he from b ds his daily rent receives, And sells indemnity to rogues and thieves." ■!■ The hall of the Four Courts, through which Francis Higgins was wont to stalk, is not the stately vestibule now known by that name in Dublin. The old Four Courts stood adjacent to Christ Church; its hall, crowned by an actangular cupola, was long • Vuhlin Evening Post, No. 1798. t Hid., No. 1746. rilE INFOEMKRS OF '98. 55 and narrow, and entered by a door leading fi-om the lane known as " Hell." The chancellor, on enter- ing, was always preceded by his mace-bearer and tipstaffs, who were accustomed to call out, " High Court of Chancery," upon which the judges rose, and remained standing until the chancellor had taken his seat.* Daniel O'ConneU had some reminiscences of the old Four Courts and prison. The gaoler, it wiU he remembered, was the Sham Squire's father-in-law: — " As we drove along Skinner's Kow, O'Connell pointed out the ruins of the old Four Courts, and showed me where the old gaol had stood. ' Father Lube,' said he, ' informed me of a curious escape of a robber from that gaol. The rogue was rich, and gave the gaoler £120 to let him out. The gaoler then pre- pared for the prisoner's escape in the following man- ner: he announced that the fellow had a spotted fever, and the rogue shammed sick so successfully that no one suspected any cheat. Meanwhile the gaoler procured a fresh corpse, and smuggled it into the prisoner's bed ; while the pseudo-invalid was let out one fine dark night. The corpse, which passed for that of the robber, was decently interred, and the trick remained undiscovered tiU revealed by the gaoler's daughter, long after his death. Father Lube told me,' added O'Connell, ' that the face of the corpse was dappled with paint, to imitate the disco- lourment of a spotted fever.' " f To reduce the overcharged importance of the Sham Squire, Magee published, in June 1787, an outline oi his escapade in the family of Mr Archer. On June 30, a note appeared from the " reverend gentlemen of Kosemary Lane," stating they had no oflficial or other knowledge of an imposture alleged to have * Gilbert's Dublin, vol. i., pp. 136, 137. t Personal KecoUections of O'Connell, by W. J. O'Neil Di^ivit, Tol. i., p. 110, 56 THE SHAM SQUIEE AND been committed twenty-three years previously on the late Mr Archer by Mr Higgins, and adding/ that during Mr Higgins's residence in Smock AUey, bis conduct had always been marked with propriety and benevolence. " This sprig of rosemary," observed the Post, " may serve to revive the fainting inno- cence of the immaculate convert of St Francis." But in the following number a different aspect is given to the matter, thus : " We have it from autho- rity that the advertisement from the reverend gentle- men of Kosemary Lane chapel is a sham; for confir- mation of which we refer the inquirer to any of the reverend gentlemen of said chapel." * How far this may be in accordance with the truth, it is not easy to determine. Mr Higgins was not without some redeeming qualities. He regularly attended divine service in the Protestant church of Saint Andrew, and he occa- sionally dispensed sums in charity. But for all this he received little thanks and less credit. In a tren- chant poem levelled at Higgins, numbering some fifty lines, and alleged to be from the pen of Hussey Burgh, we find : — '*' The cunning culprit understands the times, Stakes private bounty against public crimes, And, conscious of the means he took to rise, He buys a credit with the spoils of vice. " t The Sham Squire's duties were onerous and varied. He not only presided, as we are told, with the sub- sequent Lord Norbury, at Kilmainham,J but often occupied the bench of the Lord Mayor's court, and there investigated and confii-med the claims of per- sons to the rights and privileges of freemen. § Mr Higgins had, ere long, nearly the entire of the newspaper press of Dublin in his influence ; || to • Dublin Evening Post, No. 1782. f Ibid., No. 1794. i Hid., No. 1779. § Ihid., No. 178?. y /Jfd., No. 179§. ' THE INFOEMEliS OF '98. 57 quote Magee's words, they were all " bowing down to Baal,"* or, as Magee's poet described the circum- stance : — " Now hireling scribes exert the venal pen, And in concerto shield this best of men." And again : — " Nay, e'en Shamado is himself on fire, And humdrum Houlton tunes his wooden lyre ; But virtue their resentment cannot dread. And Truth, though trampled on, will raise her head." t Dr Houlton, the Sham Squire's sub-editor, whose name frequently appeai-s in the local squibs of the day, is noticed in Boaden's " Life of Mrs Jordan," as " a weak man with an Edinburgh degree in physic, who wrote for a morning paper, and contributed a prologue so absurd that it has been banished from the play." J From Raymond's "Life of Dermody" we learn that Houlton humanely befriended the unfortunate poet. The doctor lost nothing by his connexion with Higgins. The same work in- forms us that he received " a medical appointment under the Irish Grovemment," and that his house in Dublin was as showy as his stj'le, having been put through a process of decoration by Daly's head scene-painter. § The "Literary Calendar of Living Authors," published in 1816, mentions that Houlton was a native of England, " practised in Ireland with some success," brought out some musical pieces on the Dublin stage, wrote poems for newspapers, and songs for VauxhaU ; and tlirough the patronage of Hook brought out at Drury Lane Theatre, in 1800, his opera called " WUmore Castle," which having been damned, he retorted in a pamphlet entitled " A Review of the Musical Drama of the Theatre Royal, * Suilin Evening Post, No. 1796. f Ibid., JHo, 1748. J Boaden'a Life of Mrs Jordan, vol. ii., p. 62, § .Raymond's Life of Perflnody, vol. i., p. 26, et seg, 58 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND Druiy Lane, Tending to Develop a System of Private Influence Injurious to the Public." 8vo. 1801. Houlton as a poetaster was useful on the Sham Squire's journal, which freely employed satirical poetry in assailing reputations. In 1789 the bill furnished by Higgins to the Trea- sury amounted to £2000; but the viceroy, we are told, cut it down to £1000.* * Dublin Evening Post, No. 1761. This payment may have been on account of proclamations inserted as advertisements ; but the Duke of Wellington's correspondence, when Irish Secretary, makes no disguise that all money paid en such grounds vpas for purposes of corruption. This arrangement was partially relinquished from the death of Pitt ; but in 1809, on the restoraiaon of the old Tory regime, we find a Dublin journalist petitioning for a renewal. Sir A. Wellesley, addressing Sir Charles Saxton, the under-secretary, alluded to " the measures which I had in contemplation in respect to newspapers in Ireland. It is quite impossible to leave them en- tirely to themselves; and we have probably carried our reforms in respect to publishing proclamations as far as they will go, excepting only that we might strike off from the .list of those permitted to publish proclamations in the newspapers, both in town and country, those which have the least extensive circulation, and which depend, I believe, entirely upon the money received on account of proclama- tions. / am one of those, however, who think that it will he very dan- gerous to allow the press in Ireland to take care of itself, particularly is it has so long, been in leading strings. I would, therefore, recom- mend that in proportion as you will diminish the profits of the better kind of newspapers, such as the Correspondent and the Free- man's Journal, on account of proclamations, ymi shall increase the sum they are allowed to charge on account of advertisements and other publications. It is absolutely necessary, however, to keep the charge within the sum of ten thousand pounds per annum, voted by Parliament, which probably may easily be done when some news- papers will cease to publiah proclamations, and the whole will receive a reduced sum on that account, even though an increase should be made on account of advertisements to the accounts of some. It will also be very necessary that the account of this money should be of a description always U, he produced before Parliament. — Ever yours, &c., Abthub Wklleblkt." Tills INFOKMERS QV 'fl8 59 CHAPTER m. Lord Clonmel and the Fiats. — Richard Dfcly. — Persecution of Magee- — A Strong Bar. — Caldbeck, Duigenan, and Egan. — The Volun- teers to the Rescue. — Hamilton Rowan. — Artist Arrested for Caricaturing " the Sham." — ^A neat Stroke of Vengeance. — More Squibs. — Ladies Clonmel and Barrington. — The Gambling Hell. — Inefficiency of the Police. — Magisterial Delinquencies Exposed. — Watchmen and Watches. — Mr Gonne's Chrono- meter. — Juggling Judges.— Outrages in the Face of Day. — Ladies unable to Walk the Streets. Magee continued in his eiforts to take down the Sham Squire's pride and swagger. Squib after squib exploded. ' There lives a Squire near Stephen's Green, Crockledum he, crocklodum ho, And in Newgate once was seen. Bolted down quite low. And though he now is a Just- Ass, There was a day when he heard mass, Being converted by a lass. There to cross and go. On stockiug-making he can jaw, Clookety heel, tippety toe ; Now an attorney is at law, Six and eightpence, ho ! " + These squibs Mr Higgins regarded as so many " infernal machines," and he resolved to show his own power, and to be revenged at the same time. Lord Chief-Justice Clonmel was known to entertain a strong prejudice against the press, especially such newspapers as adversely criticised the administration. In the authorised report of the parliamentary debates on April 8, 1784, his views on the subject are forcibly but curtly conveyed, viz. — " The Prime Sergeant ex- pressed his thoroiigh detestation of neivspapers and * Until 1793 Catholics were excluded from the magisterial bench, t Dublin Sveniag Post, No. 1796. 60 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND public assassins of character."* We have already seen that Lord Clonmel, long after his eleyation to the bench and peerage, maintained friendly relatioiis with Higgins, in memory of auld kngsyne. "His lordship's house," observes a correspondent, " stood on the west side of Harcourt Street, near the corner of Montague Street. He possessed also very extensive pleasure-grounds on the east side of Harcourt Street, stretcliing behind the entire south side of Stephen's Green. A subterraneous passage under f Harcourt Street opened communication with those grounds, which joined the garden at the rear of Francis Hig- gins's mansion in Stephen's Green; and there is a tradition to the effect that some of the chief s inquisi- tive neighbours often used to see him making his way through the pleasure-grounds for the purpose of con- ferring with the Sham Squire." | Higgins is said to have directed Lord Clonmel's attention to Magee's lampoons, in many of which the chief himself figured subordinately. His lordship expressed indignation at liberties so unwarrantable, and seems to have encouraged the Sham Squire to follow up a plan of legal retribution, wliich the active brain of Higgins had been for some time concocting. In the various onslaughts which Magee made upon the Sham Squire, some passing prods were bestowed on Eichard Daly, the lessee of Crow Street theatre, on Charles Brennan, a writer for the Freeman's Jour- nal, as well as on a certain member of the female sex, whose name we omit in consideration to her now respectable relatives. With all these parties Higgins was believed to be on terms of close intimacy. In June 1789, four fiats, marked with the exorbitant sum of £7800, were issued against Magee by Lord Clonmel in the King's Bench, at the suit of Fraijcis * Irish Pari. Debates, vol. iii., p. 155. t MS. Letter of Dr T , 20th August 1859. J Tradition ooniniunioated by M S , Esq THE INFORMErtS OF '98. 61 Higgins and the three other persons to whom we have alluded. The Evening Post of June 30, 1789, announces that " Magee lies on the couch of sickness in the midst of a dungeon's gloom," and publishes a long appeal from Magee to Lord Clonmel, which closes thus : — " I again demand at your hands, John Scott, Baron Earlsfort,* a trial by peers, by my feUows, free and inde- pendent Irishmen. Thou hast dragged a citizen by thy officers thrice through the streets of this capital as a felon. Thou hast confined before trial, and hast deprived a free subject of his franchise, that franchise for which his fathers bled on the walls of Derry, the banks of the Boyne, and the plains of Augrim. " John Scott, Baron Earlsfort, I again demand from theo, thou delegate of my Sovereign Lord the King, a trial by On July 3, 1789, the trial of John Magee, at the suit of Francis Higgins, was heard before Chief- Justice Olonmel. The Sham Squire, notwithstand- ing his reliance on the partiality of the judge and jury, found it advisable to retain a powerful bar, which included the Prime Sergeant, Mr Oaldbeck, K.C. ;"f" John Toler, afterwards Lord Norbury;J Sergeant Duquerry, § Eecorder Burston,|| Dr Pat * Mr Scott was created Baron Earlsfort in 1 784, a Viscount in 1789, and Earl of Clonmel in 1793. t Caldbeck seems to have been as small as Tom Moore, and a great wit. His great grandson, Mr Wm. P. Caldbeck, has given us the following traditional anecdote of him : — " But you little vaga- bond," said the opposite counsel one day, " if you don't be cautious I'll put you in my pocket." "Whenever you do," retorted Cald- beck, " you '11 have more law in your pocket than ever you had in your head." X For a notice of Lord Norbury, see Appendix. § Sergeant Duquerry, a forensic orator of great power, " died at the top first," like Swift, Plunket, Magee, Scott, Moore, and many a stately oak. For several years before his death, Duquerry groped in utter idiocy. II Beresford Burston will be remembered as the early friend of iloore. See Memoirs of Moore, vol. i., p. 79- G2 THE SHAM SQUIEE AND Duigenan, * John, nicknamed "Bully" Egan,t George J. Browne, (Higgins's collaborateur,) with Messrs Ponsonby, Curran, Johnson, and the Hon. S. Butler. That the last three persons should have accepted briefs in the case, seems singular, considering their democratic bias. Curran's name is the history of his life ; Mr Johnson's is nearly forgotten ; but we may remind the reader that although a ju(^e, he libelled the Hardwicke administration, was tried for the offence, retired from the bench, and shortly before his death published a treasonable painphletj The Hon. Simon Butler became in 1792 a leading mem- ber of the Society of United Irishmen, was fined £500, and condemned to a protracted imprisonment in Newgate. * Dr Patrick Duigenan, originally a Catholic of low degree, hav- ing "conformed" and continued year after year to oppose the Catholic claims, with a virulence and violecee now almost incredible, was appointed by the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin, to pre- side as their judge in the Ecclesiastical Courts. He was twice married, and each time to a Catholic. He died in 1816. t John Egan's proficiency in vulgar wit and rough invective ia traditionally notorious. If a somewhat unregulated indulgence in this tendency obtained for him many enemies in early life, he had the satisfaction of finally making all Ireland his debtor, by his truly independent conduct at the period of the Union. TrampUng down the metaphorical sophistries of the Government spokesman, " he galloped," writes Sir Jonah Barrington, " like a dray-horse, over all his opponents, plunging and kicking, and overthrowing all before him." Tempting proposals were made to him if he would support the Union. He was offered to be made Baron of the Exchequer, with £3500 a year ; but Egan, although far from being rich, spurned the venial offer, and died soon after in comparative want. — Egan was fond of bathing at the Blackrock. One morning, having violently flung his enormous carcase into the water, he came into collision with some .other person who was performing a similar lave- ment. " Sir," screamed a mouth out of the water, " I presume you are not aware against whom you have so rudely jostled." " I didn't care if you were Old Nick," replied Egan, floundering about like a great sea monster. "You are a bear, sir," continued the mouth, " and I am the Archbishop of Dublin." " Well," retorted Egan, not in the least abashed, " in order to prevent the recurrence of such accidents, I would simply recommend you to get your mitre paiated on your back." t See Addenda, ^IIE INFOEMKRS OF '98. 63 No good report of the trial, Higgins v. Magee, is accessible. We endeavoured to give the Sham Squire the benefit of his own report, but the file of the Free- man for 1789 does not exist even in the office of that journal. A very impartial account may be found in the Cork Evening Post of the day, from which we gather that Higgins proved the infamous gambling house in Crane Lane to belong to a Miss J. Darley. This evidence, however, did not alter Magee's opinion, and he continued to insist that the Sham Squire was a secret participator in its spoils. Poor Magee had not much chance against a bar so powerful and a judge so hostile. Strictly speak- ing, he had no counsel retained ; but we find that " for the teaverser there appeared as amici curice. Mr Lysaght, and Mr A. Browne of Trinity College." The latter gentleman, member for the University of Dublin, ard subsequently Prime Sergeant of Ireland, made a very able statement on the law of fiats. As a lawyer, Browne was far superior to Lord Clonmel, whose indecently rapid promotion was owing solely to his parliamentary services. In the following session of Parliament, Mr Browne, in conjunction with Mr, afterwards Chancellor, Ponsonby, brought forward a masterly exposure of the unconstitutional conduct adopted by Lord Clonmel at the instance of Franci? Higgins. This exposure with its salutary results will be noticed at the fitting period ; but meanwhile we wiU introduce here a few of the salient points in Mr Browne's able statement on the law of fiats. He expressed his amazement that a nation so astute in guarding through her statute book every avenue to oppression, should have passed unnoticed and left unguarded this broad road to tyranny. He was amazed how it could suffer a plaintiff to require baif to the amount of perhaps £20,000, where veri^ prob- ably the damages afterwards found by a jury, if any, might not he twenty pence. Having shown that fiats, 64 Me sham SQtriftl; axu in Lord Clonmel's acceptation of the term, were utterly unknown to the common law, he added, " I am not sure whether, if Francis Higgins abused his adversary's counsel for two years together, they would be able to swear to twopenny worth of damages ; and therefore, when any man swears so positively, either he is particularly vulnerable, and more liable to dam- age than other men, or he is a bold swearer, and the judge ought not to listen to him." Mr Browne cited Blackstone, Baines, Gilbert, and a vast array of high legal authorities, to show the unconstitutional act of Lord Clonmel, in issuing fiats against Magee to the amount of £7800. It appears that even in the case of assault and battery, moderate fiats had been re- fused by the bench. Having, with great erudition discharged an important argument to show that special bail in this and similar actions was not re- quirable, Mr Browne proceeded to, prove that, even allowing it to be requirable, the present amount could not be justified by reason or precedent. The bail could only with propriety amount to such a sum as would be sufficient to insure an appearance. To imagine that Mr Magee would abscond and abandon his only means of earning a livelihood, was simply ridiculous. Mr Browne censured the manner in which Lord Clonmel prejudiced the case — " telling the jury be- fore the trial began what the damages were, which in the opinion of the judge they ought to give," — and Mr Browne adduced high legal authorities in proof of the error committed by Lord Clonmel. He then contrasted some of the few cases on record in which fiats were issued, with the cause then under discussion. Sir William Drake, a member of Parlia- ment, was charged with being a traitor. The words against him were of the most scandalous nature. His life and property were at stake : he brought his action, and on application special bail from defendant THE INFOKMBKS OF '98. 65 was refused. Another case was that of the Duke of Schomberg, a peer high in favour with his king and country. He was accused by a miscreant named Murray with having cheated the sovereign and the army. Can any words be conceived more shocking when applied to such a man ? Chief-Justice Holt, as great a friend to the revolution and to the liberties of the country as ever sat on a judicial bench, felt the same indignation, but he could not prejudice the cause. He was ready to punish the man if convicted, but he did not consider him convicted beforehand. He ordered Murray to find bail — two sureties in £25 each, and the man in £100. In the last generation, £50 for a duke — ^in the present, £7800 for an adven- turer and a player I * At the close of the prosecution against Magee, at the suit of Francis Higgins, it was made the subject of bitter complaint by the prisoner that he had been refused the privilege of challenging his jurors, and the benefit of the Habeas Corpus Act. f The Lord Chief-Justice having summed up and charged, the jury retired, but returned in half an hour to ask the bench whether they might not find the traverser guilty of printing and publishing, with- out holding him responsible for the libel. His lord- ship replied that the jury had nothing to do with the law in this case, and that it was only the fact of publishing they had to consider. The jury then desired a copy of the record, but the request was refused. Having retired a second time, the jury at length brought in their verdict, " Gruilty of printing and publishing." Lord Earlsfort declined to accept the verdict. One of the jurors replied that the difficulty they found in giving a different verdict was, that they • Browne's Arguments in the King's Bench on the Subject of Admitting John Magee to Common Bail. Dublin, Gilbert, 1790. fr DvUin Evmirw Post, Ko. 1784 66 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND could not reconcile it to their consciences to find a man guilty under a criminal charge, who had not been permitted to confront his accusers or his jurors, or to listen to the accusations against him, that ho might be prepared for his defence. Therefore, as the juiy had only seen the accusations on one side, without the defence of the accused, they could not feel themselves warranted in pronouncing a man guilty under a charge of criminal intentions. Lord Earlsfort replied that the very reason why they ought not to hesitate, was the one they used in support of their scruples, namely, " the traverser's making no defence to the charge against him." He desired that the jury might again retire. A juror said that they had abeady given the matter full con- sidei-ation, but the Chief-Justice interrupted him, and the jury were ordered to return to their room. Mr Browne, M.P., addressed a few words to the bench, but was stopped short by his lordship, who declared that he had already given the matter full consideration, and had made up his mind. The jury having again deliberated, returned with a verdict of guilty.* This prosecution did not muzzle Magee. In the very number of his journal which contains a report of the trial reference is made to " the marquis, who, with that condescending goodness that agitates his heart when he can be of any use to Mr F. Higgins, his familiar friend, and he who in former days con- tributed not less to the festivity of his board, than generously catered for his pleasure," &c. And in Magee's Evening Packet, Shamado is again reminded of the awkward fact " that he has been at a public trial, convicted of crimes which the cordial squeeze of his friend Jack Ketch alone can expiate." f The trial of Daly versus Magee soon followed. Dr * DMin Evening Post, No. 1784. f Magee's Evening Packet, No. 621. THE INFORMERS OF '98. 67 Pat. Duigenan, "Bully" Egan, with Messrs Duquerry, Smith, Burston, Butler, Brown, Fleming, Ball, Cur- ran, and Green, were retained for the prosecution. Mr Kennedy, treasurer to the Theatre Koyal, Crow Street, was examined as a witness for Mr Daly. We extract a few passages : — " Were you ever witness to any riots in the theatre 1 Very often. The people used to cry out from the gallery, ' A clap for Magee, the man of Ireland — a groan for the Sham ! a groan for the Dasher [Daly] — out with the Ughts, out with the lights ! ' I have frequently, at the risk of my life, attempted to stop those riots." It further appeared that men used sometimes to come into the galleries with bludgeons and pistols. Mr Dawson, a person whom Mr Daly was in the habit of sending to London, with a view to the en- gagement of actors, was next examined. It tran- spired that Daly, in consequence of his unpopularity, found a difficulty in obtaining performers. " Is Mr Higgins proprietor of any paper 1 ^. I do not know. Q. Is he proprietor of the Freeman's Journal ? A. I have heard so. Q. Is there not a very particular intimacy between Mr Daly and Mr Higgins i A. Have I a right, my lord, to answer that question t " Court — No, I must object to that question. I think it wrong to endeavour to involve this case in any party or prejudice, &c. " Counsel for the Defendant — Do you believe yourself that there was any particular intimacy between Mr Daly and Mr Higgins 1 Sir, I know of no particular intimacy any more than between you and the many gentlemen who arc round you. " Court — You have answered very properly and clearly. "Q. There is a friendship between them? A. The same sort of friendship which subsists between man and * Trial of John Magee for Libel on R. Daly. Dublin, 1790, pp. 30, 31. 68 THE SHAM SQUIRK AWD There certainly was no stint of hard words between the rival editors. Magee insinuated that Eyder, the former lessee, had been tricked out of the patent by a manoeuvre of the Sham Squire's, and that Higgins and Daly conjointly held the licence.* But of any deliberate act of dishonesty, Daly was, we believe, incapable, although lax enough in other respects. Greorge Ponsonby conducted the defence-. He ridi- culed Daly's claims to damages ; and added, that for the torrent of abuse which had been thrown out against Magee in the Freeman no redress was sought. Mr Higgins had ridiculed Astley with impunity in the Freemom's Journal; and for pursuing the same course towards Daly, £8000 damages were claimed against Magee. Damages were laid at £8000 ; but the jury con- sidered that £200, with 6d. costs, was ample com- *)ensation for the wounded f eeUngs of Mr Daly. The Evening Post steadily declared that the up- roar in the gaUeries of Crow Street Theatre was due rather to Higgins and Daly than to Magee. In July 1789, we are told that two men, named Valentine and Thomas Higgins, wool-scribblers, were " very active in several public-houses in and about the Liberty, endeavouring to persuade working people to accept tickets for the theatre, with express directions to raise plaudits for Daly and Higgins, and to groan Magee." t A few evenings after, an immense troop of " Li- berty Boys" in the Higgins interest proceeded to ~ Crow Street Theatre, marshalled by a limb of the law named Lindsay.J "The general order is, knock down every man who groans for the Sham Squire or the Dasher ; and you have the guards at your back to take every man into custody • Dublin Evening Post, No. 1794. t Ibid., No. 1787-1788. + Jbicl, No. 1788. THE INFORMERS OF '98. 69 who resists you. On Tuesday night this party, highly whiskyfied, forced their way to the front row of the gal- lery, struck and insulted several of the audience there, and wounded the delicacy of the rest of the house by riotous vodferation and obscenity. Last night several people were knocked down by them; and some of the very persons who were seduced from the Liberty to the theatre, on their refusal to join in the purpose, were given into the custody of constables for disrespectful language to the said Lindsay, and others were pursued as far as Anglesea Street for the same cause."* On Magee's trial, the prosecuting counsel pro- duced the manuscript of an attack upon the Sham Squire in Magee's handwriting. Magee was at first somewhat surprised at the unexpected production of his autograph, but soon discovered by what means these papers got out of his hands. Breiman,t who had been a writer for the Post until 1788, when he joined the Freeman, conveyed to the Sham Squire several of Magee's private papers, to which, when retained in the office of the Post, at a salary of £100 a year, he had easy access. J Brennan certainly swore to Magee's handwriting on the trial. On the evening that the Post advanced the above statement, " Bren- nan came to Magee's house concealed in a sedan- chair, and aimed with a large oak bludgeon ; and after rapping at the door, and being answered by a maid-servant, he inquired for Mr Magee with the design of assassinating him, had he been in the way ; but being told he was not at home, Brennan rushed into the chop, and with the bludgeon broke open and utterly demolished several locked glass-cases, together with the sashwork and glass of these interior glazed doors, as well as the windows facing the street. Brennan, in making his escape, was observed by a * DiMim Evening Pott, No. 1788. t IHd., No. 1794. J Breunan figures in the book of " Secret Service Mone^ Expen diture " as a recipient, tliongh not to a lai^e extent. 70 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND man namevl M'Namara, who attempted to seize him ; but Brennan knocked him down by three blows of the bludgeon, and then kicked him unmercifully."* Brennan was committed to Newgate by Alderman Carleton ; but next day was set at liberty on the bail of two of Daly's officials, f This rather intemperate gentleman, however, had not been an hour at large when he proceeded to Magee's house in College Green, armed with a sword, but happily failed to find the object of his search.{ A word about the " Liberty boys," who, as Magee records, came forward as the paid partisans of Hig- gins, opens another suggestive glimpse of the state of society in Dublin at the period of which we write. Between these men and the butchers of Ormond Mar- ket, both noted for turbulent prowess, a feud long subsisted. On this stronghold the Liberty boys fre- quently made descents; a formidable battle raged, often for days, during which time the bridges across the Liffey, from Essex Bridge to " Bloody Bridge," were taken and retaken. Upwards of a thousand men were usually engaged ; business was paralysed ; traffic suspended; every shop closed; the executive looked on inert ; Lord Mayor Emerson was appealed to, but with a nervous shrug declined to interfere. The butchers, armed with huge knives and cleavers, did awful havoc ; the quays were strewed with the maimed and mangled. But the professional slaugh- terers were not always victorious. On one of the many occasions when these battles raged, the butchers, who displayed a banner inscribed, " Guild of the B. V. Mary," were repulsed by the Liberty boys near Francis Street, and driven down Michael's Hill with loss. The Liberty boys drank to the dregs their bloody cup of victory. Exasperated by the " hmigli- ing" with which the butchers had disabled for life » Dublin Evening Post. No. ii96. t Ibid., No. 1726. : Ibid., No. 179is. THE INPOEMEKS OF '98. 71 many of their opponents, the Liberty boys rushed into the stalls and slaughter-houses, captured the butchers, hooked them up by the chin in lieu of their meat, and then left the unfortunate men wriggling " alone in their glory." The Liberty boys were mostly weavers, the representatives of French artisans who, after the massacre of St Bartholomew, emigrated to Ireland. The late Mr Brophy, state dentist in Dub- lin, to whom the students of local history are indebted for many curious traditional data, told us that in the lifetime of his mother a French patois was spoken in the Liberty quite as much as English.* The author of_ " Ireland Sixty Years Ago" furnishes stir- ring details of the encounters to which we refer ; but he failed to suggest, as we have ventured to do, the origin of the feud. " No army, however mighty," said the first Napi> leon, addi-essing St Cyr, " could resist the songs of Paris." The Ormond boys, impelled by a similar policy, followed up their knife stabs with not less pointed lines. In one song the following elegant distich occurred : — " And we won't leave a weaver alive on the Coombe, But we '11 rip up his tripe bag and burn his loom. Ri rigidi di do dee." One of the last battles between the " Liberty" and Ormond boys took place on May 11, 1790. Meanwhile it became every day more apparent that the Sham Squire was a dangerous man to touch. On July 23, we learn that Mr James Wright, of Mar/a Abbey, was arrested for publishing a caricature like- * Dublin in these days possessed a Huguenot church and burial ground. A curious manuscript memoir, in the autograph of one of the Huguenot ministers, may be seen in a closet attached to Marsh's Library, Dublin. Among the influential French who emigrated to Ireland on the revoostion of the Edict of Nautes may be mentioned lie Poer Tranche, (ancestor of Lord Claucarty,) the La Touches, Saurins, VignoUes, La Bartes, Du Bedats, Moutmorencys. Pawina, De Blaquires, &c. ?2 THE SHAM SQTTIRB AlfD ness of Justice Higgins.* A copy of this very rare print, representing the Sham Squire standing under a gallows, is now in the possession of Jaspar Joly, Esq., LL.D., who has kindly given the use of it for the illustration of this edition. Underneath is written " Belphegor, or the Devil turned Esquire," with the fol- lowing citation from the Psalms : ' ' Yet do I remember the time past: I muse upon my works, yea, I exercise myself in the works of wickedness." Nailed to the gibbet is an open copy of the " Infernal Journal," containing articles headed " A Panegyric on the Mar- quis of Misery" — " Prize Swearing" — " Dr Dove" — " A Defence of Informers" (a prophetic hit) — " San- grado" — " Theatre Koyal : Ways and Means ; to con- clude with the Marker's Ghost" f — "New Books: Houltoniana, or mode of Bearing Carrier Pigeons" J — " Bludgeoneer's Pocket Companion" — " Marquis de la Fiat." The appearance of Higgins, as presented in this print, is blotched, bloated, and repulsive, not unsug- gestive of the portraits of Jemmy O'Brien. A cable knotted into a pendent bow, appears beneath his chin. Surmounting the picture, as it also did the bench where Higgins sometimes administered the justice he had outraged, is " Fiat justitia." With a sort of barbed harpoon Magee goaded " the Sham" and his friends. In addition to the Post, he attacked him in Mctjgee's Weekly Packet. * Dublin Evening Post, No. 1792. t Magee accused Daly of having murdered a billiard marker, of which anoD. i In those days a good deal of lottery stock-jobhing took place through the agency of carrier pigeons. A poem in blank verse, for which Magee was prosecuted by Daly, recites, among other irksome hits — " The priests, the cabalistic numbers cry, The doctor ties them round a pigeon's neck, who flies, And on Francisco's portal plumes his wings." — See Sheridan's Argument, Daly ». Magee, p. 10. THE INFOKMERS OF '98. fS The number for Saturday, October 17, 1789, contains another caricature likeness of the Sham Squire, in a woodcut, entitled " The Sham in Lavender." He is made to say, "I'm no Sham — I'm a Protestant Justice— 111 Newgate the Dog." At his feet his colleague, George Joseph Browne, is recognised in the shape of a cur dog. Behind him stands Mrs Lewellyn in the short petticoats, high-heeled shoes, large hat, and voluminous ringlets of the day Under her feet is a letter, addressed " Mrs Lewel- lyn, Cell, Newgate — Free — Carhampton;" while Lord Chief-Justice Olonmel, presiding, fraternally accosts Higgins as Prank, and confesses, with an oath, that they were undone! — sentiments which we now find the Chief-Justice was recording at the same moment in his private Diary. Verses, painfully personal, accompanied the pic- ture, but conceived in a more legitimate vein of sarcasm was another piece : — " In a poem, I think, called ' The Author,' you '11 find Two lines, mjr dear Sham, which occurr'd to my mind, When the PacJcet I saw, and your worship saw there. And your worship so like to yourself did appear; They were written by Churchill, and though they displease, You must own they are apt, and the lines. Sham, are these : ' Grown old in villainy, and dead to grace, Hell in his heart, and Tyburn in his face.' " * At a meeting of the Dublin Volunteers on July 10, 1789, it was resolved: — " That, as citizens and men, armed in defence of our liberties and properties, we cannot remain unconcerned spectators of any breach of that constitution which is the glory of the empire. That the violation of the fundamental laws of these kingdoms occasioned the melancholy catastrophe of 1648; that the violation of these laws brought on the glorious revolution of 1688 ; that we look upor) the • Magei I Evening Packet, Oct. 17, 1789, ' 74 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND trial by jury, with all the privileges annexed to it, to be a most essential part of those laws ; that we highly approve of the firm conduct of our worthy fellow- citizen, on a late transaction, in support of those gifts." Archibald Hamilton Eowan, then a highly influen- tial personage, addressed a public letter to Magee, saying : — " It is with regret I have beheld you deprived of the inalienable rights of every British subject on your late trial. I have no doubt but that such arbi- trary conduct as marked the judge who presided on that day, -will be severely punished, and that you, sir, will not be so wanting to your feUow-subjects as not to bring it before the proper tribunal. This being the cause of every man, it ought to be supported from the common purse, and not be an injury to your private circumstances. If any subscription for that purpose should be accepted by you, I request you wiU set down my name for twenty-five guineas." It is a notable instance of Magee's independence of character, that he declined to accept one farthing of the public subscription which had just been inaugu- rated, with such promise of success, in his honour. This spirited determination was the more remarkable, as his pecuniary losses, in consequence of the oppres- sive treatment to which he was subjected, proved most severe, as we shall presently see. In Mr Sheridan's arguments, before the judges of the King's Bench, to admit John Magee to common bail for lampooning the Sham Squire's colleague, it is stated : — " Magee has made an affidavit in which he swears that a writ issued in last Trinity Term to the sheriffs, marked for X4000, under authority of a fiat granted by the Lord Chief- Justice, and founded on an affidavit ; that upon such writ he was arrested in June last ; that in consequence of a number of vexatious suits and prosecutions against liim, and from the reiterated abuse he has received in the Free- man's Journal, he is extreaiely injured in his credit, inso- THE INFOKMBES OF '98. 75 much that though he has used every eflfort in his power, he cannot now procure one bail in this cause for the amount of the sum marked at the foot of said writ, or of any larger amount than £500, and saith he verily believes that the plaintiff had not suffered damage in this cause to any amount whatever."* These denunciations v?ould doubtless have been stronger were it possible for the patriot mind of John Magee to have taken a prophetic view of the events of '98, and witnessed, like Asmodeus, certain dark doings which the vulgar eye failed to penetrate. The subterranean passage and the winding path through Lord Clonmel's pleasure ground facilitated the intercourse between him and Shamado, which, as we gather from tradition and contemporary state-, ment, was briskly kept up. Higgins's journal was the organ of Lord Clonmel's party, and in a letter addressed to the latter, published in Magee's Evening Packet,-^ we are told : — "It is made no secret, my lord, that these ingenious sophistications and learned commentaries which appeared in the Higgins journal, in that decent business, had the honour of your lordship's inspection and correction in MS., before they were committed to the press." The visits of the influential and proverbially-con- * Thia scarce pamphlet was printed and published In Loudon — a circumstance illustrative of the wide sensation which Lord Clonmel's arbitrary conduct excited. Mr Sheridan having brought forward a host of high law authorities to show the illegality of holding to special bail a man charged with defamation, proceeded to exhibit the ludicrous weakness of the affidavit upon which Lord Clonmel issued a fiat for £4000. Daly's claims against Magee for damages were based upon a mock heroic poem in which Daly was supposed to figure under the title of Koscius, and Higgins under that of Francisco. Daly having recited this absurd poem in his affidavit, added that he had childi-en, " among whom are four growing up daughters, who in their future prospects may receive considerable injury;" and Daly wound up by swearing that he had suffered damages to the amount of £4000 by tha injuries which hii family, or himself might hereafter suffer I + No. 021. 76 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND vivial chief must have been hailed with no ordinary pleasure and welcome. Sir Jonah Barrington, who lived next door to him in Harcourt Street, writes — " His skill was unrivalled, and his success proverbial. He was fuU of anecdotes, though not the most refined; these in private society he not only told, but acted; and when he perceived that he had made a very good exhibition he immediately withdrew, that he might leave the most lively impression of his pleasantry behind him. His boldness was his first introduction ; his policy his ultimate preferment. Courageous, vulgar, humorous, artificial, he knew the world well, and he profited by that knowledge. He cultivated the powerful; he bullied the timid; he fought the brave ; he flattered the vain ; he duped the credulous; and he amused the convivial. He frequently, in his prosperity, acknowledged favours he had received when he was obscure, and occasionally requited them. Half-liked, half-reprobated, he was too high to be despised, and too low to be respected. His language was coarse, and his principles arbitrary; but his pas- sions were his slaves, and his cunning was his instru- ment. In public and in private he was the same character ; and, though a most fortunate man and a successful courtier, he had scarcely a sincere friend or a disinterested adherent." It may amuse those familiar with the locality men- tioned above, to teU an anecdote of the projecting bow-window, long since built up, which overhangs the side of Sir Jonah's former residence, No. 14 Harcourt Street, corner of Montague Street. Lord Clonmel occupied the house at the opposite corner, and Lady Clonmel affected to be much annoyed at this window overlooking their house and movements. Here Lady Barrington, arrayed in imposing silks and satins, would daily take up position, and placidly commence her sm-vey. Sir Jonah was remonstrated with, but he declined to close tlie obnoxious window. THE infokmeks of '08. 77 Lady Clonmel then took the difficulty in hand, and, with the stinging sarcasm peculiarly her own, said, " Lady Barrington is so accustomed to look out of a shop window for the display of her silks and satins, that I suppose she cannot afford to dispense with this." The large how-window was immediately built up, and has not since been re-opened. Lady Barrington was the daughter of Mr Grogan, a silk-mercer of Dublin. Lady Clonmel was a Miss Lawless, related to the Cloncurry family, who rose to opulence as wooUen drapers in High Street. The Lawlesses, who held their heads high, more than once got a Koland for an Oliver. The first Lord Cloncurry having gone to see the pantomime of Don Quixote, laughed im- moderately at the scene where Sancho is tossed in the blanket. On the following morning the Sham Squire's journal contained the following epigram : — " Cloncurry, Cloncurry 1 Why in such a hurry To laugh at the comical squire ' For though he's toss'd high, Yet you cannot deny That blankets have toss'd yourself higher." "Arcades ambo — ^brothers both," was applicable, in more than one sense, to the Chief-Justice and the Sham Squire. " I sat beside Higgins at a Lord Mayor's banquet, in 1796," observed the late John Patten; "now, sixty years after, I remember how strongly his qualities as a humorist impressed me." Mr Higgins plumed himself on being a little Curran, and cultivated intimacies with kindred hu- morists, amongst whom we are surprised to find Father Arthur O'Leary, one of the persons named advan- tageously by Higgins in his will.* O'Leary was one * Last will of Francis Higgins, preserved in the Prerogative Court, Dubiin- r» THE SHAM SQUIRE AND )f those memorable Monks of the Screw who used tc jet in a roar Curran's table at " the Priory."* " The 3ham," who loved to ape the manners of those above lim, also called his country seat, at Kilmacud, " the Priory ;"t and we believe it was to him that Dick Hetherington,J in accepting an invitation to dinner, wrote: — " Though to my ankles I '11 be in the mud, I hope to be with you at Kilmacud."§ Though in open defiance of the laws, the gambling hell in Crane Lane was still suffered to exist, under the very shadow of the castle, and within three minutes' walk of the Board of Police. Whether Higgins was really a secret partner in its profits, as confidently alleged, we shall not now discuss, although contemporary record and tradition both favour the allegation. Mr Francis Higgins was certainly no novice in the art and mystery of the gambling table. A scarce pubKcation, printed in 1799, from the pen of Henry MacDougall, M.A., and entitled, " Sketches of Irish Political Characters," mentions " the Sham's admis- sion to the profession of attorney, in which his prac- tice is too notorious to require statement;" and adds, " His next step to wealth was in the establishment of a hazard table, which soon attracted a number of sharps, scamps, and flashmen; and they as soon at- * A few of O'Leary's jokes have been preserved. " I wish you were St Peter," said Curran. " Why ? " responded the Friar. " Because you could let me into heaven." " It would be better that I had the key of the other place," replied O'Leary, " for then I could let you out." For illustrations of O'Leary's humour see Recollections of John O'Keeffe, vol. i., p. 245; Beminiscences of Michael Kelly, vol. i., p. 301 ; Barrington's Personal Sketches, vol. ii., pp. 131-137; and the Memoirs of O'Leary, by Eev. Dr England. t Statement of T F , Esq., J.E., formerly of the Priory, Kilmacud. In 1869 the house was pulled down. % Richard Hetherington will be remembered as the correspondeut of Curran. — (See Memoirs of Curran, passim.) § Communicated by the late M. Brett, Esq. THE INFOEMKKS OF '98. 73 tracted the attention of the Sham, ever on the watch to promote his own interest. The sharp was useful to cheat the unwary of their money, and keep it in circulation at his tahle. The scamp plundered on the road, visited the Oomer House, and if taken up by the officers of justice, he seldom failed, for ac- quaintance' sake, to employ the owner in his capacity of solicitor. The flashman introduced Higgins to the convenient matron, whom he seldom failed to lay under contribution — the price of protecting her in her profession." We further learn that the city magistrates were all afraid to interfere with Mr Higgins and his delinquencies, lest a slanderous paragraph or lampoon from the arsenal of his press should overtake them. Ten years previous to the pubKcation of the fore- going, the vigilant moralist, Magee, laboured to arouse the magistracy to a sense of their duty. " For fifteen years," we are told, " there has existed, under the eye of the magistracy, in the very centre of the metropolis, at the comer of Crane Lane, in Essex Street, a noto- rious school of nocturnal study in the doctrine of chances ; a school which affords to men of the town an ample source of ways and means in the pluckings of those unfledged green-horns who can be inveigled into the trap; which furnishes to the deluded ap- prentice a ready mart for the acquisition of experi- ence, and the disposal of any loose cash that can be purloined from his master's tiU; which affords to the working artisan a weekly asylum for the reception of that stipend which honest industry should allot to the purchase of food for a wife and children ; and which affords to the spendthrift shopkeeper a ready transfer office to make over the property of his creditors to the plunder of knaves and sharpers."* Two months after we find addressed to the autho- * DuUin Evening Poll, "So. 1782. 80 THB SHAM SQUIRE AND iities a further appeal, occupying several columna and to the same effect.* But the Board of Police was, in fact, eminently im- becile. Among a long series of resolutions adopted in August 1789, by the gifted men who formed the Whig Club, we find : " The present extravagant ineffectual, and unconstitutional police of the city of Dublin has been adopted, continued, and patronised by the influence of the present ministers of Ireland. All proceedings in Parliament to remove the grievance, or censure the abuse, have been resisted and defeated by the same influence. The expediency of combating by corruption a constitutional majority in Parliament has been publicly avowed, and the principle so avowea has been carried into execution." At last a committee was granted to inquire into the police, whose extravagance and inefficiency had now rendered them notoriously contemptible. They had long wallowed in indolent luxuriousness on the public money. Among their items of expense were : " For two inkstands for the police, £5, 6s. 6d. ; three penknives, £2, 2s. 3d. ; gilt - edged paper, £100 ; ' Chambers's Dictionary,' £11, 7s. 6d." Among their books was " Beccaria on Crime," with a commentary from Voltaire.t A curious chapter might be written on the short- comings of the Dublin police and magistracy, not only during the last, but even throughout a portion of the present century. If not too digressive, a glance at those shortcomings may amuse the reader. " During the existence of the Volunteers," observes Counsellor Walsh, a conservative writer of much accuracy, "gentlemen of that body for a time arranged among themselves to traverse tne streets at night, to protect the peaceably-disposed inhabitants, and men of the first rank in the kingdom thus volun- • lluhlin Evening Pott, No. 1801. + Qrattan's Memoirs, voi iiL, p. 456, THE INFOBMEllS OF '98. «1 tarily discharged the duties of watchmen. But the occupation assorted badly with the fiery spirits on whom it devolved, and the streets were soon again abandoned to their so-called legitimate guardians. In the day-time the streets were always wholly unpro- tected. The first appointment even of a permanent night-watch was in 1723, when an act was passed under which the different parishes were required to appoint ' honest men and good Protestants' to be night watches. The utter ineflSiciency of the system must have been felt ; and various improvements were from time to time attempted in it, every four or five years producing a new police act — with how little success every one can judge who remembers the tattered somnambulists who represented the ' good Protestant watchmen' a few years ago. Several at- tempts had also been made to establish an efficient civic magistracy, but with such small benefit that, until a comparatively recent period, a large portion of the magisterial duties within the city were performed by county magistrates, who had no legal authority whatever to act in them. An office was kept in the neighbourhood of Thomas Street by two gentlemen in the commission for the county, who made a yearly income by the fees ; and the order to fire on the mob who murdered Lord KUwarden, so late as t?03, was given by Mr Bell, a magistrate of the county tund not the city of Dublin. Another well-known member of the bench was Mr Drury, who halted in his gait, and was called the 'lame justice.'" On the occasion mentioned by Mr Walsh, Drury retired for safety to the garret of his house in the Coombe, from whence, as Ourran remarked, " he played with considerable effect on the rioters with a large double-barrellecf telescope." It is to be regretted, however, that irregularity and imbecility are not the worst charges to be brought against the justices of "Oublin, even so late as fifty ^A THE SHAM SQUIRE AND years ago. Frank Thorpe Porter, Esq., late police magistrate of Dublin, has preserved official tradition of some of his more fallible predecessors, Mr Gonne having lost a valuable watch, was urged by a private hint to remain at the, outer door of the police office, and when the magistrate came out, to ask him the hour. The "justice" took out a watch, and an- swered the question. Its appearance at once elicited from Gonne the longest oath ever heard before a justice. " By ," he exclaimed, " that watch is mine I " " Gonne obtained his watch," adds Mr Porter, " and was with great difficulty prevented from bringing the transaction under the notice of the Government. The system by which the worthy justice managed occa- sionally tk, possess himself of a valuable watch, or some other costly article, consisted in having two or three drawers wherein to keep the property found with highwaymen or thieves. If the prosecutor iden- tified the delinquent, he was then shown the right drawer ; but if he could not swear to the depredator's person, the wrong drawer was opened. The magistrate to whom tliis narrative refers was dismissed in a short time for attempting to embezzle fifty pounds."* Before the establishment of the petty sessions system in Ireland, magistrates in the safe seclusion of their closets were often betrayed into grossly dis- reputable acts. A parliamentary inquiry, in 1823, into the conduct of Sheriff Thorpe, exposed, in pass- ing, much magisterial delinquency. Mr Beecher said, " It was no uncommon thing, when a friend had incurred a penalty, to remit the fine, and to levy a penalty strictly against another merely because he was an object of dislike." Major * Some notice of the embezzlemeuta aocompliBhed by Baron Power and Sir Jonah Barrington, both judges on the Irish bench, will ha found in our Appendix. THE IKFOEMERS OF '98. 83 Warburton proved that a female had been sent to America by a magistrate without any legal proceed- ing whatever. Major Wilcox established the fact that some justices of the peace were engaged in illicit distillation, and that they took presents and bribes, and bail when other magistrates refused; that they took cross-examinations where informations had been already taken by other magistrates. " They issued warrants against the complaining party in the first instance, at the suggestion of the party complained against." It further appeared that some magistrates took fees in money, and not unfrequently rendered official services in consideration of having their turf drawn home, or their potatoes planted. The Eev. M. Collins, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, proved that magistrates corruptly received presents of corn, cattle, potatoes, and even money. Mr O'Driscoll alleged that there were several magistrates trading on their office ; they " sell justice, and administer it favourably to the party who pays them best." " It is a convenient thing," said O'Connell, "for a man to have the com- mission of the peace, for he can make those he dis- akes fear him, and he can favour his friends." In Mr Daunt's " Conversations of O'Connell," the details are given of a certain justice who threatened to flo^ and hang the sons of a widow to whom his worshij owed £2000, unless she pledged herself to rsincel th« bondl* With magistrates like these, and with powerless police such as we have described, it is no wonder that a walk in the streets of Dublin should have been en- compassed with peril. Stephen s Green, the residence * For full details, see vol. ii., p. 131. In one of O'ConneU'o pub lie letters, he made toucUmg reference to the fact, that he had knovni peasant girls sometimes driven to surrender what ought to be dearer than life, as part ol on unholy compact with magistrates who bad threateued the life or liberty of a father or brother ! 84 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND of the Sham Squire, was especially infested with footpads, who robbed in a manner peculiar to them- " So late as 1812," says the author of " Ireland Sixty Tears Ago," " there were only twenty-six small oil lamps to light the immense square of Stephen's Green, which were therefore one hundred and seventy feet from one another. The footpads congregated in a dark entry, on the shady side of the street, if the moon shone ; if not, the dim and dismal light of the lamps was little obstruction. A cord was provided with a loop at the end of it. The loop was kid on the pavement, and the thieves watched the approach of a passenger. If he put his foot in the loop it was immediately chucked. The man fell prostrate, and was dragged rapidly up the entry to some cellar or waste yard, where he was robbed and sometimes murdered. The stun received by the fall usually prevented the victim from ever recognising the rob- bers. We knew a gentleman who had been thus robbed, and when he recovered found himself in an alley at the end of a lane off Bride Street, nearly naked, and severely contused and lacerated by being dragged over the rough pavement."* When men fared thus, it may readily be supposed that ladies could not venture out alone. " It is deemed a reproach," says an author, writing in 1775, " for a gentlewoman to be seen walking in the streets. I was advised by my bankers to lodge in Oapel Street, near Essex Bridge, being in less danger of being * Almoat equally daring outrages on the liberty of the subject »fere nightly practised, with connivance of the law, by "crimp aerg«ant8," who by brutal force, and aometimea by fraud, secured the unwary for foreign enliatment. Attractive women were em. ployed to seduce peraona into conversation preparatory to the crimp sergeant's seizing them in the king's name. Startling detaib o^ these outrages, which were often marked by bloodshed, will be found in the Dublin newspapers of 1793 and 1794, passim. See also the Irish Masonic Magazine for 1794, pp. 94, 190, 284, 883, 482, 570. THE INF0KMER3 OF '98. 85 robbed, two chairmen * not being deemed sufficient protection."t Twenty years later found no improvement. The " Anthologia Hibernica " for December 1794, p. 476, furnishes new proofs of the inefficiency of the police. Kobbery and bloodshed " within a few yards of the guard-house in Fleet Street" is described. It does not always follow that idleness is the mother of mischief, for we find that combination among the workmen of Dublin also attained a for- midable pitch at this time. The Dublin Chronicle of January 28, 1792, records : — "On the several mornings of the 17th, 18th, 19th, and' 20th inst., a number of armed persons, journeymen tailors, assembled in a riotous manner about the house of Mr Miilea, Ross Lane; Mr Leet, Merchant's Quay ; Mr Walsh, Castle Street; Mr Ward, Cope Street; and the houses of several other master tailors, and cut, maimed, and abused several journeymen tailors who were peaceably going to their respective places of employment; one of said men, named Michael Hanlon, was killed on the spot, in Cope Street; two have had their hands cut off; several others have been cut and bruised in such a manner as to be now lying dangerously ill ; and some journeymen are missing, who, it is reported, have been murdered and thrown into the river." * Sedan-bearers, familiarly gtyled "Cliristiau Ponies. '' There il a well-known story in Ireland of a Connaughtman, who, when en luring a sedan chair, found that the bottom had, by some accident, fallen out of it, but, neyertheless, he made no demur, and walked to his destination in the chair. On getting out he remarked to the men who assumed to convey him, " Only for the honour of tii« thing I might as well have walked." t Philosophical Sun-ey, p. 4*J. 86 THK SHAM SQUIKE AND CHAPTEE IV. Magee's Vengeance on Lord Clonmel. — Hely Hutchinson. — liord Clare. — The Gtoda of Crow Street. — Renewed Effort to Muzzle Magee. — Lettrea de Cachet in Ireland. — Seizures. — George Ponsonby and Arthur Browne. — Lord Clonmel crushed. — Hia Dying Confeaaion. — Extracts from hia Unpubliahed Diary. — Deserted by the Sham Squire. — Origin of his Wealth. — More Turpitude. The spirit of John Magee was indomitable. An interval of liberty between his conviction and sen- tence from Lord Clonmel was now at his disposal, and he certainly employed it in a singular way. Profoundly indifferent to all personal consequences, he most imprudently resolved to spend a considerable sum of money in wreaking his vengeance on Lord Clonmel. This eccentric scheme he sought to carry out in an indirect and, as he felt assured, a per- fectly legal manner. Having found himself owner of £14,000, Magee settled £10,000 upon his family, and with a chuckle declared that the balance it was his intention, "with the blessing of Grod, to spend upon Lord Clonmel."* The unpopular chief of the King's Bench resided in a handsome villa near the Black Eock, now known as Temple HUl, but then styled Neptune, t On the splendid parterres and pleasure-grounds which luxuriantly environed it Lord Clonmel had spent several thousand pounds, while in the direction of the improvements many an anxious and a precious hour had been consumed. The wild and uncultivated district of Dunleary with- * Personal BeooUeotions of Lord Clonourry, 1849, p. 68. t "Neptune, the elegant seat of Lord Clonmel."' — SewarcPi Topographia Uibemia, Dub. 1796. THE IU?0BMERS OF -gft. 8? out, only served to make the contrast more striking. But alas 1 this exquisite oasis the vindictive pro- prietor of the Post resolved to lay waste. As an important preliminary step he purchased from Lady Osborne a large tract of ground immediately adjoin- ing Lord Olonmel's villa, and forthwith dubbed it Fiat Hall.* Magee speedily announced, but with some mental reservation, that in honour of the birth- day of the Prince of Wales he would give, at Dunleary, a grand Bra Pleamra, -to which he solicited the company of all his friends, private and political, known and unknown, washed and unwashed. Various field sports, with plenty of Silvester Oostigan's whisky, were promised as an inducement. " At one o'clock," to quote the original advertisement, "the ball will be kicked on Fiat Hill. Dinner on the tented field at three o'clock. Table d'h6te for ladies and gentle- men. Cudgel-playing at five, with cool umpires to prevent iU temper and preserve good humour." f The late Lord Oloncurry's robust memory has fur- nished us with the following graphic sketch of the singular scene which took place upon this occasion. " I recollect attendii^," writes his lordship, " and the f §te certainly was a strange one. Several thousand people, including the entire disposable mob of Dublin of both sexes, assembled as the guests at an early hour, and proceeded to enjoy themselves in tents and booths erected for the occasion. A variety of sports was arranged for their amusement, such as climbing poles for prizes, running races in sacks, grinning through horse-collars, and so forth, until at length, when the crowd had attained its maximum density towards the afternoon, the grand scene of the day was produced. A number of active pigs, with their tails shaved and soaped, were let loose, and it was an- nounced that each pig was to become the property of * Dublin, Evening Post, No. 1798. + Ihid. 88 ■fltE SHAM SQUIRE AND any one who could catch and hold it by the slippery member. A scene impossible to describe immediately took place : the pigs, frightened and hemmed in by the crowd in all other directions, rushed through the hedge which then separated the grounds of .Temple Hill from the open fields ; forthwith aU their pursuers followed in a body, and, continuing their chase over the shrubberies and parterres, soon revenged John Magee upon the noble owner." Another pen, more powerful but not more accurate than Lord Oloncurry's, tells us that " Lord Clonmel retreated like a harpooned leviathan — the barb was in his back, and Magee held the cordage. He made the life of his enemy a burden to him. Wherever he went, he was lampooned by a ballad-singer, or laughed at by the populace. Nor was Magee's arsenal composed exclusively of paper ammunition. He rented a field bordering his lordship's highly-improved and decorated demesne. He advertised, month after month, that on such a day he would exhibit in this field a grand Olympic pig hunt; that the people, out of gratitude for their patronage of his newspaper, should be gratuitous spectators of this revived classical amuse- ment ; and that he was determined to make so amazing a provision of whisky and porter, that if any man went home thirsty, it should be his own fault. The plan completely succeeded. Hundreds and thousands as- sembled ; every man did justice to his entertainer's hospitality ; and his lordship's magnificent demesne, uprooted and desolate, next day exhibited nothing but the ruins of the Olympic pig hunt." * So far Mr Phillips, t The Court of King's Bench had not yet opened for term, and Lord Clonmel was tranquilly * Cuiran and his Contemporaries, by Charles Phillips, p. 37. t Sir Jonah Barrington describes the scene to much the same effect, with this addition, that Magee introduced "asses dressed up with wigs and scarlet robes, and dancing dogs in gowns and wigs ac l>arristers." tHE INFOKMERS OF '98. 89 rasticating at Temple Hill. Pallid with consteiv nation, he rang an alarm-bell, and ordered his post- chaise, with four of the fleetest horses in his stable, to the door. The chief-justice bounded into the cha- riot with an energy aknost incompatible with his years ; the postilions plied their whips ; the chaise rattled amid clouds of dust down Fiat Hill ; the mob, with deafening yells, followed close behind. Lord Clomnel, almost speechless with terror, repaired to the castle, sought the viceroy, swore " by tJie Eter- nal " * that aU the country south of Dublin was in a state of insurrection ; implored his Excellency to sum- mon the Privy Council, and to apply at once for ex- traordinary powers, including the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. f The appeal of the chief-justice prevailed ; and on September 3, 1789, we find Magee dragged from his home by a strong body of the weak and inefficient police of Dublin and consigned to Newgate. J He was previously, however, brought before Sir Samuel Brad- street, Kecorder of Dublin, on the charge of having announced that " there would be thirty thousand men at Dunleary." The judge required personal bail to the amount of £5000, and two sureties in £2500 each, for five years,§ a demand not so easy for a printer in a moment to meet. Such mandates as these, amount- ing in some instances to perpetual imprisonment, soon brought but too fatally the administration of justice into contempt. No unnecessary harshness seems to have been shown to Magee during his incarceration. Unlike the case of Lord Cloncurry, he was permiti,ed the use of pen, ink, and paper — ^a concession as acceptable to him as it was creditable to the Grovernment. He constantly * A favourite exclamation of Tiord (Sonmera. Vide Rowan's Autobiography, p. 208. + Reminisoenoe oommunioated by the late Rev. Dr O'Hanlon. t Dublin Evening Post, No. 1800. § Ibid., No. 18i*, 90 THE SHAM SijCrlKE AND wrote letters for the Post signed witli his name, and bearing the somewhat inflammatory date of " New» gate, 22d October, fiftieth day of my confinement,"— varied, of course, according as time progressed ; and he was not diffident in adversely criticising the policy of the viceroy, as well as some leading members of the Privy Oomicil, including Lord Olonmel. " The man who vilifies established authority," writes John- son of Junius, " is sure to find an audience." Magee was no exception to the rule. He became intensely popular; and the galleries of Crow Street theatre used nightly to resound with " A cheer for Magee, the man for Ireland ! " and " A groan for the Sham ! " * Magee's letters made frequent reference to the suf- ferings to which the Government had subjected him. Thus, in No. 1789, he tells us, " I have been four times fiated, and dragged through the streets like a felon — three times into dungeons ! " But having, on October 29, received a notification from Government declaratory of its willingness to accept the sum of £4000 as bail " to keep the peace for five years to- wards Lord Olonmel," Magee bade adieu to prison, and, accompanied by Hamilton Rowan, attended the court and gave the required surety. " Mr Magee, on being discharged, walked to his own house in Col- lege Green, greeted by the loud congratulations of the people." f Poor Magee's spell of liberty seems to have been of lamentably short duration, if the evidence of his own organ can be accepted as conclusive. The sweets of liberty were once more exchanged for the bitters of "durance vile." In the Dublin Evening Post of November 12, 1789, we read — " Magee was brought up from the Lock-up House, where he had been con- fined since Tuesday last upon fiats granted by Lord Olonmel, at the suit of Messrs Higgins, Daly, Bren- * Trial of Magee for Libel on E. Daly, p. 80. + Dublin Evening Pott, No. 1833. THE INPOltMERS OK '96. 91 nan, and Miss , to the amount of £7800. Mr Magee moved for a new trial in the matter of the alleged libel against Higgins. But the chief-justice refused the motion, and infonned the sheriff that Magee was now a convict, and should be conducted to Newgate forthwith." * The struggle was charac- terised as one of might against right. In October 1789, the attorney-general is said to have admitted in open court that the prosecution of Magee was " a Government business." t Irresistible arguments having been, onNov. 19,hearfl in arrest of judgment on Magee, the chief-justice ad- journed the sentence to next term, and admitted him to bail on the comparatively moderate recognisance of £500. Magee was therefore discharged; but it would almost seem as if the law authorities, with Lord Clonmel at their head, had been only playing off some malign practical joke upon him, for we read that no sooner had Magee "reached High Street after receiving his discharge, than he was taken into custody by the sheriffs on different fiats amounting to £7800 ! "t The very name of fiats had now become almost as terrible as lettres de cacJiet ; but in the Irish Parlia- ment of 1790 they received their death-blow, and Lord Clonmel himseK may be said to have perished in their debris. Of this unconstitutional agent Magee remarked : — " If the amount of the smn for which baU must be found is to be measured and ascertained only by the conscience of the affidavit-man, then indeed any pro- fligate character may lodge in Newgate the Duke of Leinster or Mr OonoUy, for sums which even they would not find it possible to procure bail." On January 28, 1790, Magee was once more committed to prison. * Dublin Evening Pott, No. 1839. t IbU., No. 1834. tlUd., No. 1844. 92 THE SIIAM SQTJIEE AiND The inequitable practice of the court allowing the plaintiff three terms before requiring him to try his action, afforded Higgins and Daly the power of keep- ing their opponent in prison for nineteen months in default of bail. Magee, meanwhile, behaved with much eccentricity. Having sent his compliments to Lord Olonmel, with an assurance that his health was much improved since " he had got his heels out of Newgate," the chief-justice ordered an inquiry to be immediately instituted as to the means by which he had effected his escape ; but it was found that he merely alluded to the custom he had adopted of sit- ting with his feet cased in scarlet slippers protruded through the window of his cell. He also contrived to injure Lord Clonmel severely by bribing persons to turn a large body of scalding water upon the judge while in a public bath.* The chief-justice was a bad subject for a trick of this sort. " My size is so much increased," he writes in his private diary, " that I have broken two carriage springs." f Magee ac- cused Daly of having killed a billiard-marker, avowed his intention of having him hanged for the murder ; and, from what he styled his " Fiat Dim- geon," sent the patentee's wife a picture of Higgins, begging she would oblige him by affixing in her cabinet " the portrait of the most infernal viUain yet unhanged, except the murderer of the honest marker." f Owing largely to the unflagging denunciations of Magee, the Police Board, in September 1789, at- tempted some vigorous reform, and at last noctur- nal gambling-houses were menaced with extinction. Magee, even in the gloom of his dungeon, exulted over the threatened downfall. The " Gambler's Soliloquy" went on to say: — * Gilbert's History of Dublin, vol. iii., p. 31. t Unpublished Diary of Lord Clonmel. t Gilbert, vol. iii., p. 31. THE IHFOKMERS OF '98. 93 " Yes * this is a fatal, dreadful revolution I A change repugnant to the dear delighta Of night-enveloped guilt, of midnight fraud, And rapine long secure ; of dexterous art To plunge untUnking innocence in woe, And riot in the spoils of beggar'd youth I Sad revolution t Hence come lethargy. Come inactivity, and worse than all, Come simple honesty I The dice no more Shall sound their melody, nor perj'ry's list Swell at the nod of dark collusive practice Gaols lie unpeopled, and rest gibbets bare. And Newgate's front board take a holiday I Crane Lane, thou spot to Pandemonium dear. Where many a swarthy son of Chrisal's race My galligaskin lined," &c. * Alderman Oaxleton made four seizures. " And yet," said the Post, " as fast as their implements are seized, their tables demolished, and their gangs dis- persed, the very next night new arrangements and new operations are on foot. Who but the protected proprietor of this infamous den — who but a ruffian who can preserve his plunder in security, and set law and gospel at defiance, would dare at such audacious perseverance ?"t One of the banquets given about this time by the Sham Squire was specially immortalised by the popu- lar poet Ned Lysaght, but we have not been able to find a printed copy. The song was, however, traditionally preserved by the late Chief-Justice Doherty, Chief- Justice Bushe, and Sir Philip Crampton, all of whom were wont to swell its merry chorus. The lines be- gan by describing " the Sham's feast in Stephen's Green," and the guests who were present, — " Including, as we've all heard tell, Carhampton, Flood, and Lord Clonmel ; With Haly-gaily, Langford Eowley, Dash-at-him — Piat-him — Galloping dreary Dunn. " The chief merit of the lines lay in preserving almost verbatim the original gibberish chorus of the * DuHin Evening Post, No. 1813. + 7Ud., No. 1827. 94 TnB SHAM SQUIRE AND well-known song in O'Keefe's opera, " The Castle of Andalusia." " Haly-gaily" alludes to Hely Hutchinson, provost of Trinity College, Dublin, of whose ambitious disposition Lord Townshend remarked, " that if his Majesty gave him the whole kingdoms of England and Ireland, he would beg the Isle of Man for a cabbage garden." Having obtained a peerage for his wife, he became ancestor of the Lords Donough- more. The Right Hon. Langford Eowley, M.P. for Meath, was an equally influential personage. " Dash- at-him — fiat-him," alludes to Daly, who killed the marker by a dash of a billiard ball, and imprisoned Magee on ajiat. " Galloping dreary Dunn," refers, we believe, to George Dunn, the governor of Kilmain- ham gaol. Meanwhile Mr Higgins's ready pen continued to rage with fmy against all whose views did not ex- actly chime with those held by his employers. A contemporary journal says : — " Squire Higgins, whose protected system of virulent and unremitting slander crows in triumph over the community, does not scruple to avow his indifference to anything which prosecution can do, guarded as he is by the intimate friendship and implicit confidence of the Bench. He openly avows his disregard of Mr Grattan's prosecu- tion for a libel now pending against him, and says that he shall be supported by the Castle."* Mr Higgins having libelled a respectable official in the revenue, legal proceedings were instituted; but one of the Government lawyers refused, in December 1788, to move, although fee'd in the cause. Poor Magee's cup of bitterness was at last filled to the brim, by a proceeding which is best described in his own letter to Lord Chancellor Clare. There is a singular mixture of tragedy and farce in the ener- getic efforts which were now openly made to extin- . guish liim : — * VuhUn Evening/ Post, No. 1825. THE INFOKMEKS OF "98. 96 Newoatb, Oct. 1. " My Lord, — I have now been confined in this prison of the felon, housebreaker, and murderer, twenty-nine days — twenty-one of which time mostly to my bed. Judge, on my rising yesterday, to be served with a notice to appear to-morrow at the House of Lords, on a charge of lunacy, and that by some interested persons, who, without even the sha- dow of relationship, have secured my property, and that to a very great amount, and refused by these very people even ten guineas to procure common necessaries in a prison. Bail -I cannot produce ; my character as a trader is blasted; my property as a citizen embezzled ; my intellects as a man suspected by a false and slanderous charge of insanity ; every engine employed by a designing, needy, and despe- rate junto, for the absolute deprivation of my pro- perty ; total destruction of all that those who respect themselves prize more even than life. My Lord, I claim the interposition of your authority as the first in law power — I supplicate your humanity as a man, a parent, a husband, that I may be permitted to con- front my accusers at the House of Lords on to-mor- row." To justify the charge of lunacy against John Magee, it was alleged, among other pretexts, that he had established boat-races and foot-ball matches at Dunleary, and presided over them " in a round hat and feathers." * We cull a few passages from the newspaper re- port: — * There is an anecdote of Magee traditionally preserred in the office of the Evening Post, illustrative of his unawed demeanour in the presence of Lord Clonmel, by whose domineering manner even the Bar were often overborne. Magee stood up in court, and ad- dressed a few observations to the Bench in justification of his hosti- lity to Francis Higgins. But having styled him the " Sham Squire," Lord Clonmel interrupted Magee, declaring that he would allow no nicknames to be used in that court. " Very well, John Scott," ro- plied the editor ol the Pott, reauiaing hi« scat 9G trlE SHAM SQUIKE AND " The Chancellor—' Mr Magee, have you anything to say? " ' As to what, my lord?' "'You have heard the matters with which you are charged. I am called upon to issue a commission to try whether you are insane or not. If you are found insane, I am then to appoint a guardian of your person and a guardian of your property, and you wiU become a ward of the Court of Chancery. Have you an attorney V " ' No, my lord. Some time ago I sent for Mr Kenny as my solicitor. He came to me, and found me sick in bed. I opened my case to him, and he promised to call upon me next day ; but the first intimation I had of Mr Kenny afterwards was, that he was preparing briefs against me for this prosecution. Does your lordship choose that I should sail witnesses ? My own physician is here.' " ' Has he made an afiSdavit V " ' He has, my lord.' " The chancellor declared that there was not the shadow of ground for issuing a commission. Supposing all the charges true, they only amounted to acts of extravagance and indiscretion. If he was to grant a commission of lunacy against every man who did an extravagant, an un- wise, or even a bad thing, he was afraid he should have a ^eat many wards. He had observed Mr Magee during the whole time he had been in court, and he saw nothing insane about him. He must therefore refuse the application." Magee's triumph began to davra from this day. In the Journals of the Irish House of Commons (vol. xiii., pp. 179 80) we find it " ordered that the proper officer do lay before the House an attested copy of the affidavit filed in the Queen's Bench, on which the chief-justice ordered that a writ should issue, at the suit of Francis Higgins and others, against John Magee for £7800." On March 3, 1790, the entire case was brought before Parliament by George Ponsonby, afterwards Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He showed that the practice of issuing fiats under such circumstances was unconstitutional, and a direct violation of the Bill of Eights ; and he reminded the Hou^e, that whil? ■MtE INFORME&S OF '98. 9? Warren Hastings, who was accused of plundering India, murdering its inhabitants, and rendering the Government corrupt and odious, was qnly held to £10,000 hail, an Irish printer, on a mere individual affirmation, was held to bail for £7800. Mr Pon- sonby ridiculed the idea of Higgins swearing that he " had been injured in his unspotted, unblemished reputation" by the lampoons of John Magee. George Ponsonby was ably supported by Arthur Browne :* — " TDl of very late years the evil was mo- derate ; but since a certain learned judge came upon the bench it has grown to an enormous height. Sir, under the auspices of that judge these doctrines have been advanced, that any man may at his pleasure, with perfect impunity, deprive any other of his liberty by an affidavit swearing that he believes he has suf- fered damage, without showing when or how — that his fancy, or his perjury, is to be the guide of the judge's discretion, and the bail is to be accommodated to the ideal wrongs, to the fancied injuries, to the angiy passions, or the wanton prevarication of a wicked or enraged prosecutor. What is the con- sequence? No man, however free from debt or unconscious of crime, shall walk in security in the public streets. He is liable to arrest for any amount; and if he seeks to pimish the accuser he finds no spot on which to lay lus hand. How can he indict the accuser for perjury ? He only swore a general affir mative that he had been damaged. Who can provt a general negative that he had not ? He only swore to the belief of damage. Who can arraign his capricious fancy, or convict it of perjury ?_ If he had sworn to a particular instance — ^that his arm had been broken, that he had lost the setting of a house * For a notice of Arthur Browne, member for the University ol Dublin, see Review of the Irish House of Commons, by Falkland —•'.«., John Robert Scott, D.D,, p. 30 ; vide also Sketches of Irish Political Characters, p. 211. 36 TirE SHAM SQUIEE AND or the customers of his shop — I might pro\e the falsehood of the assertion by evidence. But upon a general charge nothing remains but submission and a prison. " This power has been particularly directed against printers. Whoever presumed to print or publish with- out the leave or not under the direction of Francis Higgins, was in great danger of a fiat : numbers of printers have been run down by fiats whom the public never heard of. John Magee was more sturdy, and therefore his sufferings made more noise. Four fiats were issued against him in June 1789, to the amount of £7800 ; he was kept in prison from June to the end of November, before the question whether this fcail should be reduced was decided. Mr Higgins nad now, by the practice of the courts, (which gives a plaintiff three terms before he need try his action,) power to keep Magee in prison till November next, so that he may lie in prison nineteen months for want of bail before the action be tried ; perhaps afterwards have a verdict in his favour, or oidy 8d. damages be given against him. Each of the bail must swear - liimseK worth twice the sum for which he was security i.e., £30,000, and more in this case. What gentle- man could find such bail ? It amounted to perpetual imprisonment. We may talk of independence, but liberty is no more — the security of our boasted eman- cipation is a name, for we have nothing to secure. " See what an instrument this doctrine might be in the hands of private malice or public oppression. Suppose a man willing to wreak his vengeance upon his foe, and for that purpose recommending himself to the favour of the Bench. Suppose a bad man in possession of the ear of a judge, his old friend and companion, perhaps instilling his poison into it, and willing to make it the conduit through which to wreak his vengeance on his foe ; suppose him to re- commend himseK by every willing and base act to a THE INTTOKMEKS OH '98. 99 wicked judge — and such may be conceived. Sup- pose him the minion of that judge, requiring a littU mutual favour fm' his multiplied services, and asking the debasement of the Bench as the price of former aid in the elevation of that judge Suppose the slanderous assassin, seeking for a fiat against a far less criminal than himself, and fixing the sum which he thinks sufficient to throw his neighbour into eter- nal bondage ; is it not possible that his friendly judge may listen to his argument in memory of old festivity, and grant him a fiat, even to his heart's content, although by so doing, your courts of law, instead of being the sacred fountains of justice, should become the channels of malevolence ? If the wretched vic- tims of this assumed power do not find redress here, they know not where to fly for refuge ; on this House depends the fate of all who are or may be subject to this tyranny. If they do not find redress here, they must be lost ; but they will be lost in the wreck of the national character. What an instrument might such a power be in the hands of a bad government ! what an instrument may it be against the liberty of the press 1 How easily may any printer who pre- sumes to open his mouth against the administration be run down by it ! We have called upon the adminis- tration to correct this evil, and have met with a re- fusal. It absurdly espouses a subject with which it has no concern, and which it cannot defend 1 " " The proposed vote of censure on the chief-justice was rejected through the Government influence in the House of Commons, which referred the fiats and affidavits in the case to a grand committee of the courts of justice, before which Mr Ponsonby discussed the question at great length, and proposed a resolu- tion, that the issuing of writs by the order of a judge, to hold defendants to bail in large sums of money in actions of slander, where no actual and specific damage is swnrn to in the affidavits upon which such 100 THE SHAM SQUmE AND writs were Issued, was, as the same had been prao- tised of late, illegal, and subversive of the liberty of the subject." " This motion," records Mr Gilbert, " was got rid of by the Attorney-General moving that the chairman of the committee should leave the chair, which was carried on a division. The result of these proceedings tended to increase the unpopularity of the administration of the time, as the public had taken up with much interest the case of Magee, who liad been sanguine of obtaining relief from Parlia- ment." * Nevertheless, the practice of issuing fiats was, as we are assured by Charles Phillips, soon after re- stricted to a defined and definite sum. Intense was the humiliation of Lord Clonmel ; his heart withered from that day. Magee exposed his errors, denied his merits, magnified his mistakes, ridiculed his pre- tensions, and continually edging, without overstep- ping the boundary of libel, poured upon the chief, from the battery of the press, a perpetual broadside of sarcasm and invective. " Save us from our friends ; we know our enemies," is an old and trite adage. Groaning beneath the weight of Magee's hostility, Lord Clonmel pursued the uneven tenor of his way ; but when at le^th the startling fact became evident that even the fidelity of Higgins had begun to fail, the chief felt inclined to ejaculate, Et tu, Brute ! Mr Curran, in his " Bar Sketches," relates on the authority of Bushe a story which shows that in 1794 Lord Clonmel complained of having been lampooned by the FreemarCs Journal, So much for the instability of human friendship ! The chief-justice became at last singularly sensi- tive to criticism. Kowan's " Autobiography " records a strange dialo^e between the chief and a bookseller named Byrne, mto whose shop he swaggered on see- ing Rowan's trial advertised. One sentence wiU con- ' Gilbert's History of Dublin, vol, iiL, p. 83. THE INFOKMERS OF '98. 101 vej an idea of the colloquy, as well as of the times in which such language could be hazarded by a judge. " Take care, sir, what you do ; I give you this cau- tion ; for if there are any reflections on the judges of the land, by the eternal Q- I will lay you by the hoels." Lord Clomnel's health and spirits gradually broke down, and accounts of his death were daily circulated. On one of these occasions, when he was really very ill, a friend said to Curran, " Well, they say Olonmel is going to die at last. Do you believe it ?" "I be- lieve," said Curran, " he is scoundrel enough to live or die, just as it suits his otvn convenience ! Shortly before the death of Lord Clonmel, Mr Lawless, after- wards Lord Cloncurry, had an interview with him, when the chief exclaimed, "My dear Val, I have been a fortunate man through life ; I am a chief-jus- tice and an earl ; but were I to begin the world again, I would rather be a chimney-sweeper, than connected with the L-ish Government."* The " Diary of John Scott, Lord Clonmel," not hitherto consulted by those who have treated of that remarkable man, has been privately printed by his family. It shows, while recording many weaknesnes, that he was a person of rare shrewdness and political foresight. A few excerpts from this generally-inac- cessible volume will interest the reader : — The result of Lord Clonmel's experience of the ambitious and designing men with whom he had cultivated intimacies was not satisfactory. Filitics. — "Never, if you can, connect yourself with a very ambitious man : his friendship, or rather con- nexion, is as ruinous as his hatred : he has no real friendship ; and his pride makes him hate those to whom he is obliged ; and his intimacy leads him to dupe every creature, his Creator if he could. Vide the Life of Frederick the Great of Prussia, Provost Hut- * Personal BficoUfifitiona of J^ord Cloncurry, p. 46. 102 _ THE SHAM SQ0IRE AND chinson, the Marquis of Buckingliam ; John Foster, spealcer ; Agar, Archbishop of Cashel," &c. (P. 146.) " Lord ! what plagues have false friends proved to me. The idea oi friendship, and the very word, should be expunged from the heart and mind of a politician. Look at Lord Pery." (P. 211.) " Last month I became a viscount ; and from ft'ant of circumspection in trying a cause against a printer, (Magee,) I have been grossly abused for several months. I have endeavoured to make that abuse useful towards my earldom." . . . (Sept. 20, 1789, 348.) On October 19, 1789, he says, that unless he adopts the discipline of Pery and others, " I am actually dis- graced, despised, and undone as a public man. Let me begin to be diligent to-day. No other learning but law and parliamentary reading can be useful to me : let these be my study." (P. 349.) On January 21, 1790, he writes : — " Let me, there- fore, from this moment, adopt a war discipline, and resolve seriously to set about learning my profession, ind actiTigmj Ytaxtsuperlativelythioughuxit.' (P. 331.) Among his good resolutions recorded on the 10th of February were, " To establish a complete reform from snuff, sleep, swearing, sloth, gross eating, m;ilt liquor, and indolence." The Diary finds hiin constantly engaged in a battle with his own weaknesses, which unhappily in the end generally win the victory. At p. 362, towards the close of the book, we read : — " By neglect of yourself you are now a helpless, ignorant, unpopular, accused indi\'idual; forsaken by Government, persecuted by Parliament, hated by the Bar, unaided by the Bench betrayed and deserted by your oldest friends. Pie- form, and all will be well. Guard against treachery iu others and passions in yourself.' At p. 441, we Ipfirii : — " My three puisne judges are actually con;- THE INFOKMERS OF '98. 'lO? bined against me ; and that ungrateful monster, Lord Cai'leton, has made a foolish quarrel with me." Few men possessed a more accurate perception of what was right to be done; and hia bcau-ddefil of a [lerfect chief-justice is a model of judicial excellence which a Mansfield or a Busho might read with profit; but poor Lord Clonmel signally failed to realise it. Day after day, as wo have said, finds this most extra- ordinary man toiling in vain to correct his besetting weaknesses. Sir Jonah Barrington's description of Lord Clonmel perpetually telling and acting -extrava- gantly comic stories is corroborated by the chief's own Diary. " I have made," he writes, " many enemies by the treachery of men and women who have taken advantage of my levity* and unguardcdnoss in mi- micry, and saying sharp things of and to others; and have injured myself by idleness, eating, drinking, and sleeping too much. From this day, then, let me assume a stately, grave, dignified deportment and demeanour. No buffoonery, no mimicry, no ridi- cule." This is one of the closing entries in the verj remarkable Diary of John Scott, Lord Chiefr Justice Clonmel. As a constitutional judge he holds no place. In opposition to the highest legal authorities of Eng- land, he held that one witness was quite sufficient to convict in case of treason. Among the many searchingly criticiil notices of Lord Clonmel, contributed by G-rattan, Barrington, Eowan, Cloncurry, Cox, Mugeo, and others, no allu- sion has been made to the circumst3.nccs in which liia wealth mainly originated. We are informed by a very respectable solicitor, Mr II — -, that, in looking over one of Lord Clonmcl's rentals, ho was struck by the following note, written by his lordship's agent, in reference to the property Boolnadiiff :— " Lord Cloiir * It cannot be said of Lord Cloumcl ;is of Jorry Keller, iULlrisb barrister, tbat some men Uave rispu by their gravity wbilo Ue Sivulr, by hia levitv, 104 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND mel, when Mi- Scott, held this in trust for a Koman Catholic, who, owing to the operation of the Popery Idws, was incapacitated from keeping it in his own hands. When reminded of the trust, Mr Scott refused to acknowledge it, and thus the property fell into the Clonmel family." * But we must not lose sight of the Sham Squire. We now find him accused of " purloining a document from the office of the King's Bench, and committing erasures and alterations thereon, for the purpose of securing the conviction of a defendant, and depriving him of the benefit of a fair plea against judgment." " This," adds the Post, " is of a piece with the noto- rious theft committed on the grand jury bag in the town-clerk's office, a few wee& since, of the bills against the markers and other vagabonds of the Crane Lane gambling-house. If such felonious audacities are suffered to escape with impunity, the dignity, the law, the equity of the Bench, and the lives and pro- i)erties of the honest part of the community are no onger safe against the daring acts of cunning and villainy." f Mr Higgins denied the charge ; but the • In Walker's Bibermam, Magazine for July 1797, wo read, p. 97: — "Edward B;me of MuIUnahack, Esq., to Miss Boe, step- daughter to the Earl of Clonmel, and niece to Lord Viscount Llan- dafT." Hereby hangs a tale. Miss Roe was understood to have, a large fortune, and when Kr Byrne applied to Lord Clonmel for it, his lordship shuffled, saying, " Miss Boe is a lapsed Papist, and I avail myself of the laws which I administer to withhold the money." Mr Byrne filed a bill, iq which he recited the evasive reply of Lord Clonmel. The chief-justice never answered the bill, and treated Mr Byrne's remonstrances with contempt. These facts transpire in the legal documents held by Mr H . Too often the treachery manifested by the rich in positions of trust, at the calamitous period in question, contrasted curiously with the tried fidelity observed by some needy persons in a similar capacity. Moore, in his Memoirs of Captain Bock, mentions the case of a poor Protestant barber, who, though his own property did not exceed a few pnunds in value, ac- tually held in fee the estates of most of the Catholic gentry of the county. He adds, that this estimable man was qever known to betray his trust. + ihjbUn Evenina Pott, No. 1843. THE INFORMBES OF '98. 105 subject, notwithstanding, was brought before Parlia- ment on March 5, 1790, when Arthur Browne stated, that in " the suit, Higgins against Magee, it had ap- peared to the perfect conviction of every man in court that two erasures and certain alterations had been made in the record ; that a circumstance so momen- tous had astonished and alarmed all present, the court especially, who had promised to make a solemn in- vestigation of it, and ' probe it to the bottom.' He had since heard from some friends, that it would not be proper to commence an inquiry until the suit, in which this record was involved, should be finally determined: no such objection had been offered by the court at the time of discovering the forgery; nay, the court, on the instant, had certainly commenced an inquiry, though he never heard they had carried it further. " This dark and wicked transaction did, at the time of its being discovered, greatly alarm the Bar; and in consequence a numerous and most respectable meet- ing of barristers took place, at which meeting he at- tended, and there did promise, that if the Court of King's Bench did not foUow up the inquiry with effect, he would bring it before Parliament : it cer- tainly was the business of the Court of King's Bench to have taken it up ; but they not having done so he was resolved to keep his promise, and never loss sight of it till Parliament should decide upon it. " The inquiry was, whether the public records of jhe highest court of crinodnal judicature, by which the life and property of any man in the realm might be affected, were kept with that sacred care that no man could have access to alter or erase them ? And whether the officers of that court were so honest and so pure that they would not allow of any corrupt access?"* * Iriab Pari Debates, vol. x., p. 389. i06 THJt SHAM SQUISE AND CHAPTER V. Uairbrtiadth Escapes of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. — Testimony of Lords Holland and Byron. — A Dark Picture of Oppression. — Moira House. — ^Presence of Mind. — Eevolting Treachery. — Arrest of Lord Edward. — Majors Sirr and Swan. — Death of Captain Eyan. — Attempted Rescue. — Edward Eattigan. — General Lawless. — Lady Louisa Conolly. — Obduracy of Lord Camden. — Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Some critics have been good enougli to say that oar narrative possesses the interest of an effective drama. At this stage of its progress we propose to let the curtain drop for an interval, during which eight years ive supposed to have elapsed. Once more it rises, disclosing the dark and stormy period of 1798. The scene is Leixlip Bridge at th« dawn of morning, with a view of the Salmon Leap. Nicholas Dempsey, a yeoman sentinel, is seen, witl musket shouldered, pacing to and fro. A young man dressed as a peasant with frieze coat and cordm-oy knee-breeches, approaches the bridge diiving before him half a dozen sheep. Accosting the sentinel, he asks if there is any available night park at hand where he could put his tired sheep to rest. The yeoman scans his face narrowly, and to the surprise, and probably confusion of the drover replies : — " No, my lord, there is no pasturage in this neighbourhood." No other words pass ; the sentinel resumes his beat, and the drover proceeds on his way.* ' We are indebted for this hitherto unpublished anecdote to Mr Ennis of Kimmage, the grand-nephew of Nicholas Dempsey, whose cartridge-box and sash are stUl preserved at Kimmage House as a memento of the man and of the incident. For a notice of the Veomanry, see Appendi*. THE INFORMERS OF '98. 107 The person tiius addressed by the yeoman was Lord Edward Fitzgerald, of whom a cabinet minister, Lord Holland, deliberately writes : — " More than twenty years have now passed away Many of my political opinions are softened — my pre- dilections for some men weakened, my prejudices against others removed ; but my approbation of Lord Edward Fitzgerald's actions remains unaltered and unshaken. His country was bleeding under one of the hardest tyrannies that our times have witnessed."* • Memoirs of the Whig Party. Lord Holland adds : — " The premature and iU-ooucerted insurrections which followed in the Catholic districts were quelled, rather in consequence of want of concert and skill in the insurgents, than of any good conduct or discipline of the king's troops, whom Sir Ralph Abercrombie de- scribed very honestly, as formidablt to no one hut their friends. That experienced and upright commander had been removed from his command, even after those just and spirited general orders in which the remarkable judgment just quoted was conveyed. His recall was hailed as a triumph by the Orange faction. Indeed, surrounded as they were with burning cottages, tortured backs, and frequent executions, they were yet full of their sneers at what they whimsi- cally t-ermed 'the clemency' of the Government, and the weak character of their viceroy. Lord Camden The fact is incontrovertible, that the people of Ireland were driven to resist- ance, which, possibly, they mediated before, by the free quarters and excesses of the soldiery, which were such as are not permitted in civilised warfare, even in an enemy's country. Trials, if they must so be called, were carried on without number, under martial law. It often happened, that three officers composed the court, and that of the three, two were under age, and the third an officer of the yeomanry or militia, who had sworn, in his Orange lodge, ettJmal hatred to the people over whom he was thus constituted a judge. Floggings, picketings, death, were the usual sentences, and these were sometimes commuted into banishment, serving in the fleet, or transference to a foreign service. Many were sold at so much per head to the Prussians. Other less legal but not more horrible outrages were daily committed by the different corps under the command of Government. Even in the streets of Dublin, a mai' was iluA and robbed of i£30, on the loose recollection of a soldier's having seen him in the battle of KilcuUen, and no proceeding was instituted to ascertain the murder or prosecute the murderer. Lord Wycombe, who was in Dublin, and who was himself shot at Dy a sentinel, between Black Bock and that city, wrote to me many do- tails of similar outrages which he had ascertained to be true. Dr Piekson (Bishop of Down) assured me that he had seen families 108 TUB SITAM SQUIRE AND " If Lord Edward had been actuated in political life by personal ambition," writes Dr MacNevin, " he lad only to cling to his great family connexions and parliamentary influence. They unquestionably would have advanced his fortunes and gratified his desires. The voluntary sacrifices he made, and the magnani- mous manner in which he directed himself to the in- dependence of Ireland, are incontestable proofs of the purity of his soul." "What a noble fellow," said Lord Byron, " was Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and what a romantic and singular history his was ! If it were not too near our times, it would make the finest subject in the world for an historical novel." The insurrection meanwhile, to which Earl Kussell refers as one " wickedly provoked, rashly begun, and cruelly crushed," * was hastening to maturity. Dub- lin and Kildare were ripe for revolt : the mountains of Wicklow — the stronghold of Holt — were like slumbering volcanoes. A great object was to pro- cure, near Dublin, a place of concealment for the chivalrous nobleman who had espoused the cause of the people ; and a widow lady, named Dillon, who resided near Portobello, undertook to give him shelter. Before he had been two days in the house, under an assumed name, an accident revealed his real one to the servant man. In cleaning Lord Edward's boots he observed the noble stranger's name and title written in full ; and he took occasion to teU his mistress that he knew who was the guest up-stairs, but that she need not fear, as he would die in his defence. The lady, with some anxiety, communicated the circum- returning peaceably from mass, assailed without provocation, by drunken troops and yeomanry, and the wives and daughters exposed to every species o£ indignity, brutality, and outrage, from which neither his remonstrances, nor those of other Protestant gentlemen, could rescue them. The subsequent indemnity acts deprived of r«- dress the victims of this wide-spread cruelty." ♦ Preface to JJoore's Memoiis, vol. i., p. 18. THE INFOKMEKS OF '98. 109 stance to Lord Edward, who expressed a wish to see the faithful adherent. " No," replied the servant ; " I won't go up, or look at him, for if they should arrest me, I can then swear I never saw him or spoke to liim." Lord Edward Fitzgerald remained for five weeks In this retreat, when his friends suggested the ex- pediency of removing to the house of a respectable feather merchant, named Murphy, who resided in Thomas Street, Dublin. Accompanied by William Lawless, Lord Edward, wrapped in a countryman's great-coat, arrived at Murphys, where he remained for several days, during which time, dressed in female attire, he visited his wife and children in Denzilld Street. He became by degrees more callous to risk, and we find him, early in May, riding, attended by Neilson only, to reconnoitre the line of advance from Kildare to Dublin. While executing this perilous task, he was actually stopped by the pa&ol at Palmers- town, but having, as Moore alleges, plausibly passed for a doctor hurrying to the relief of a sick patient, he was suffered, with his companion, to resume his journey. In order to foil pursuit, Lord Edward was advisea to remain not more than a night or two at any one house. Moore's and Murphy's, in Thomas Street, and Gannon's, in Com Market, were the houses which afforded him shelter. The proclamation offering a reward of one thousand pounds for such information as should lead to his apprehension had now appeared. On Ascension Thursday, May 17, 1790, Major Sirr, " received in- formation," writes Moore, " that a party of persons, supposed to be Lord Edward Fitzgerald's bodyguard, would be on their way from Thomas Street to Usher's Island that night." The precise object or destination of this party, Moore adds, has not been ascertained, but that it was supposed Lord Edward was going to 110 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND Moira House* on Usher's Island, the residence ol Lord and Lady Moira, with a view to see his wife Pamela, who is believed to have been then under their Aospitable roof.f Lord Edward's actual destination, however, — and we have been at no ordinary pains to ascertain it, — was the residence of Mr Francis Magan, No. 20 Usher's Island. From the representative of the IVioore family, who gave Lord Edward ample shelter and protection when a thousand pounds lay on his head, we have gathered the following valuable traditional details ; and, as will be found, they are interwoven with the history of the Sham Squire. A carpenter named Tuite was at work in one of the apartments of Mr Secretary Cooke's office on May 16, 1798. While repairing the floor within the recess of a double door, he distinctly heard Mr Cooke say, that the house of James Moore, 119 Thomas Street, should be forthwith searclied for pikes and traitors. Tuite, who was under some obligations to Moore, with great presence of mind, noiselessly wrenched off the hinge of the outer door, and asked permission to leave the Castle for ten minutes, in order to purchase a new hinge in Kennedy's Lane. Leave was given ; but, instead of going to the ironmonger's, Tuite ran with immense speed to James Moore in Thomas Street, gave the hint, and returned to his work. Moore, who was deeply implicated, and had a commissariat for five hundred men on the premises, fled to the banks of the Boyne, near Drogheda, after previously telling his daughter to provide for the safety of Lord Edward, who was at that moment up- stairs. Miss Moore had a high respect and friendship * Now tho Mendicity Institution. t It is not quite certain that Lady Edward Fitzgerald was at this time at Moira House. The Personal KecoUections of Lord Clonourry (2d edition, p. 130) rather favour an opposite conclusion, by stating that "at the time of Lord Kdward's arrest, his wife Pamela had taken refuge with my sisters, and was at the time in my fatter 's house in Merrion Street" — namely, Moniington House, THE INFOKMEKS OF '98. Ill for Mr Francis Magan and his sister, who resided at 20 Usher's Island. He was a Eoman Catholic bar- rister, and had been a member of the Society of United Irishmen, though from prudential motives he had shortly before relinquished his formal connexion with them, but it was understood that his sympathies were stiU with the society. Miss Moore obtained an interview with Mr Magan, and unbosomed her anxiety to him. Mr Magan, at no time an impassionable or impulsive person, seemed moved : he offered his house as a refuge for Lord Edward. The proposal was ac- cepted with gratitude, and it was thereupon arranged that Lord Edward, accompanied by Mrs and Miss Moore, Gallaher, and Palmer, should proceed that evening from Moore's in Thomas Street, to Magan's on Usher's Island. It was further astutely suggested by Mr Magan, that as so large a party knocking at his hall door might attract suspicion, he would leave ajar his stable door in Island Street, which lay im- mediately at the rear, and thus open access through the garden to his house. Lord Edward, while under Moore's roof, passed as the French tutor of Miss Moore, who had been educated at Tours, and they never spoke unless in French. On the pretext of being about to take a stroll through Galway's Wa,lk adjacent, then a popular lounge. Miss Moore, leaning on Lord Edward's arm, walked down Thomas Street at about half-past eight o'clock on the evening of May 17. They were preceded by Mrs Moore, Palmer, and Gallaher, the latter a confidential clerk in Moore's employ, a man of Herculean frame, and one of Lord Edward's most devoted disciples. Of the in- tended expedition to Usher's Island the Government early that day received information. Thomas Moore, in his diary of August 26, 1830, gives the following particulars communicated on that day by Major Sirr : — " Two ways by which be (Lord Edward) might have come, either Dirty Lane or Watling 112 THE SHAM SQDIRE Street: Sirr divided his forces, and posted himself, accompanied by Eegan and Emerson, in Watling Street, his two companions being on the other side of the street. Seized the first of the party, and found a sword, which he drew out, and this was the saving of his life. Assailed by them all, and in stepping back fell ; they prodding at him. His two friends made off. On his getting again on his legs, two pistols were snapped at him, but missed fire, and his assailants at last made off." As explanatory of the Major's statement, we may observe that one of Lord Edward's bodyguard was despatched usually about forty yards in advance. Majjor Sirr speaks of men prodding at his prostrate body, but does not tell that he wore a coat of mail under his uniform. Gallaher used to say that he gave the major seven stabs, not one of which penetrated. During the struggle Gallaher received from Sirr an ugly cut on the leg, which subsequently furnished a mark for identification. Meanwlule the rebel party hurried back with their noble charge to Thomas Street — ^not to Moore's, but to the nearer residence of Murphy, who had previously given his lordship generous shelter. The original letter which conveyed to Major Sirr the information touching Lord Edward's intended visit to Usher's Island, still exists among the " Sirr MSS." deposited in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. The following copy has been made by Dr Madden, who, however, seems to agree with Thomas Moore in the opinion that Lord Edward's destination was Moira House : — " Lord Edward will be this evening in Watling Street. Place a watch in Watling Street, two houses up from Usher's Island;* another towards Queen's • This precaution was obviously lest Lord Edward sljould enter by the hall door on Usher's Island. — W. J. F. THE INFOEMERS OF '98. 113 Bridge ;* a third in Island Street, at the rear of the stables near Watling Street, and which leads up to Thomas Street and Dirty Lane. At one of these places Lord Edward wiU be found, and will have one or two with him. They may he armed. Send to Swan and Atkinson as soon as you can. " Edward Cooke." Mr Cooke does not teU Sirr from whom he got this information ; nor was the major, so far as we know, ever cognisant of it ; but a letter written by Cooke for the eye of Lord Oastlereagh, and printed in the Comwallis correspondence, states unreservedly thai all the information regarding the movements of Lor£ Edward Fitzgerald came through Francis Higgins who employed a gentleman — for whose name Mr Cooke considerately gives a dash — " to set" the un- fortunate nobleman. The " setter" we believe to have been Mr Francis Magan, barrister-at-law, of whom more anon. Nicholas Murphy received his noble guest with a cead mille faille /f but next morning both wert thrown into a state of alarm by observing a detach- ment of military pass down the street, and halt before Moore's door.f The source from whence the espion- age proceeded has hitherto remained a dark and pain- ful mystery. Murphy hurried Lord Edward to the roof of the warehouse, and with some difficulty per- suaded him to lie in the vaUey. To retiu:n to Mr Francis Magan. On the day fol- lowing his interview with Miss Moore, he proceeded to her residence in Thomas Street, and with a some- what careworn expression, which then seemed the result of anxiety for Lord Edward's safety, though it * Lest he should come by "Dirty Lane'' instead of Watliug Street. Magan's is the second stable from Watling Street, although his hause on Usher's Island is the sixth from that street. — W. J. P. t Angike — A hundred thousand welcomes. i For carious traditional details in connexion with this incident, lee Mr M acready's statement in Appendix. 114 THE SHAM RQUniE AND was probably occasioned by bitter chagrin at being baulked in a profitable job, said : " I have been most uneasy; did anything happen? I waited up tiU one o'clock, and Lord Edward did not come." Miss Moore, who, although a woman of great strength of mind, did not then suspect Magan, replied: "We were stopped by Major Sirr in Watling Street ; we ran back to Thomas Street, where we most provi- dentially succeeded in getting Lord Edward shelter at Murphy's." * Mr Magan was consoled by the ex- planation, and withdrew. The friends who best knew Magan describe him as a queer combination of pride and bashf ulness, dignity and decorum, nervousness and inflexibility. He ob- viously did not like to go straight to the Castle and sell Lord Edward's blood openly. There is good evidence to believe that he confided all the informa- tion to Francis Higgins, with whom it will be shown 3ie was peculiarly intimate, and deputed him, under ft pledge of strict secrecy, to make a good bargain with Mr Under-Secretary Cooke. After Lord Edward had spent a few hours lying n the valley of the roof of Murphy's house, he ven- tured to come down. The unfortunate nobleman had Deen suffering from a sore throat and general debi- lity, and his appearance was sadly altered for the worse. He was reclining, haK dressed, upon a bed, about to drink some whey which Murphy had pre- pared for him, when Major Swan, followed by Cap- tain Eyan, peeped in at the door. " You know me, * Communicated by Edward Macready, Esq., son of Miss Moore, May 17, 1865. Mias Moore, afterwards Mrs Macready, died in I8ii. One of her last remarks was : " Charity forbade me to express a suspicion which I have long entertained, that Magan was the be- trayer; but when I see Moore, in his Life of Lord Edward, in- sinuating that Neilson was a Judas, I can no longer remain silent. Major Sirr got timely information that we were going to Usher's Island. Now this intention was known only to Magan and me; even Lord Edward did not know our destination untU just bo£«i« •tarting. If Magan is innocent, then I am the informer." ttra IN1?0KMEKS OF '98, i I'l my lord, and I know you," exclaimed Swan ; "it will be vain to resist."* This logic did not convince Lord Edward. He sprang from the bed like a tiger from its laii', and with a wave-bladed dagger, which he had concealed under the pillow, made some stabs at the intruder, but without as yet inflicting mortal injury. An authorised version of the arrest, evidently sup- plied by Swan himself, appears in The Eoqiress of May 26, 1798:— "His lordship then closed upon Mr Swan, shortened the dagger, and gave him a stab in the side, under the left arm and breast, having first changed it from one hand to the other over his shoul- der, (as Mr Swan thinks.) Finding the blood run- aing from him, and the impossibility to restrain him, he was compelled, in defence of his life," adds Swan's justification, "to discharge a double-barrelled pistol at his lordship, which wounded him in the shoulder. He fell on the bed, but recovering himself, ran at him with the dagger, which Mr Swan caught by the blade with one hand, and endeavoured to trip him up." Captain Ryan, with considerafele animation, then pro- ceeded to attack Lord Edward with a sword-cane, which bent on his ribs. Sirr, who had between two and three hundred men with him, was engaged in placing pickets round the house, when the report of Swan's pistol made him hurry up-stairs. "On my arrival in view of Lord Edward, Eyan, and Swan," writes Major Sirr, in a letter addressed to Captain Ryan's son, on December 29, 1838, "I beheld his lordship standing, with a dagger in his hand, as if ready to plunge it into my friends, while dear Ryan, seated on the bottom step of the flight of the upper stairs, had Lord Edward grasped with both his arms by the legs or thighs, and Swan in a somewhat simi- lar situation, both labouring under the torment of their wounds, when, without hesitation, I fired at « The EasBmiii, Maj 26, 1708 ] 16 THE SHAM SQtnKE AND Lord Edward's dagger arm, [lodging several slugs in his shdidder,] and the instrument of death fell to the ground. Having secured the titled prisoner, my first concern was for your dear father's safety. I 'viewed (lis intestines with grief and sorrow."* Not until a strong guard of soldieiy pressed Lore" Edward violently to the ground by laying their heavy muskets across his person, could he be bound in euch a way as prevented further effective resistance.f When they had brought the noble, prisoner, however, as far as the hall,J he made a renewed effort at escape, when a dastardly drummer from behind inflicted a wound in the back of his neck, which contributed to embitter the remaining days of his existence. He was then removed in a sedan to the Castle. The entire struggle occupied so short an interval that Kattigan, who, the moment he received intima tion of the arrest, rushed forth to muster the popu- Vice, in order to rescue Lord Edward, had not time to complete his arrangements.? Eattigan was a re- spectable timber-merchant, residing with his widow mother, in Bridgefoot Street. In Higgins' Journal of the day, we read : — " A number of pikes were yesterday discovered at one Eattigan's timber-yard in Dirty Lane ; as a punishment for which his furniture was brought out into the street, and set fire to and consumed." * Castlereagh's Correspondence, vol. i., pp. 463-4. t Moore's Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. + Moore's Diary, vol. vi , p. 134. § Recollectiona o£ the Arrest of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. — Tht Comet, (newspaper,) September 11, 1831, p. 152. The original pro- clamation is now before us, offering a reward of £300 for the "discovery" of Kattigan, Lawless, and others. Kattigan escaped entered the French service, and died at the battle of Marengo. Lawless, the attached friend and agent of Lord Edward Fitzgerald;^ after undei;going a series of romantic adventures, also succeeded it eluding the grasp of his pursuers, and rose to the rank of general under Napoleon. For the account of Lawless's escape from Dub- lin, furnished by the only party competent to detail it, see Ap pendix. mK rMFOKMERS OF -^9. ll7 It does liot seem to have been the wish of the higher members of the Government that Lord Ed- ward should fall into their hands. " Will no one urge Lord Edward to fly?" exclaimed Lord Clare. " I pledge myself that every port in the kingdom shall be left open to him." It is not possible to overrate the fatal severity of the blow which Lord Edward's arrest at that critical moment imparted to the popular movement. Had i:e lived to guide the insurrection which he had organised, his prestige and eminent military talents would probably have carried it to a successfiil issue. - Four days after his arrest, three out of thirty-two counties rose ; and to extinguish even that partial revolt cost the Govermnent twenty-two millions of pounds, and twenty thousand men. The late Lord Holland furnishes, in his " Memoirs," many interesting illustrations of Lord Edward's sweet »nd gentle disposition : — " With the most unaffected simplicity and good natiure he would palliate, from the force of circum- stances or the accident of situation, the perpetrators of the very enormities which had raised his high spirit and compassionate nature to conspire and re- sist. It was this kindness of heart that led him, on his deathbed, to acquit the officer who inflicted his wounds of all malice, and even to commend him for an honest discharge of his duty. It was this sweet- ness of disposition that enabled him to dismiss with good humour one of his bitterest persecutors, who had visited him in his mangled condition, if not to insult his misfortunes, with the idle hope of extorting his secret. ' I would shake hands wiUingly with you,' said he, ' but mine are cut to pieces. However, I '11 diake a toe, and wish you good-bye.' " " Gentle when stroked, but fierce when provoked," has been applied to Ireland. The phrase is also ijiplicable in some degree to her chivalrous son, who 118 THE SHAM SQUIEE AND liad already bled for his king as he had afterward bled for his country.* Murphy's narrative, supplie( to Dr Madden, says : — " It was supposed, the evening of the day befor he died, he was delirious, as we could hear him with ; very strong voice crying out, ' Come on ! come on (J_n you, come on!' He spoke so loud that th people in the street gathered to listen to it." Two surgeons attended daily on Lord Edwari Fitzgerald.f This delirium is said to have been induced by th grossly indecent neglect to which his feelings wer subjected by the Irish Government. Lord Henr; Fitzgerald, addressing the heartless viceroy, Lor( Camden, " complains that his relations were excluded and old attached servants withheld from attending oi him." Epistolary entreaty was followed by personal sup plication. " Lady Louisa ConoUy," writes Mr 6rrattan, " ii vain implored him, and stated that while they wer talking her nephew might expire ; at last she thi'e\ herself on her knees, and, in a flood of tears, suppli cated at his feet, and prayed that he would relent but Lord Camden remained inexorable." J Lord Henry Fitzgerald's feehngs found a vent ii * To his wounds received in active service, and his ability as military officer, C. J. Fox bore testimony in the House of Con mons on the 21st December 1792. Cobbett said that Lord Edwar was the only officer of untarnished personal honour whom he ha ever known. Even that notorioudy systematic traducer of th Irish popular party, Sir Bichard Musgrave, was constrained t praise Lord Edward's "great valour, and considerable abilities, " honour and humanity," " frankness, courage, and good nature." ■|- One of the surgeons was Mr Garnett, who, in a diaiy devote to his noble patient, noted several interesting facts. Lord Edwar manifested great religious feeling, and asked Mr Garnett to rea the Holy Scriptures to him. We are informed by Mr CoUe Librarian of the Royal Dublin Society, that this MS. is now in h possession. ^ Memoirs of Henr? Grattiui, vol. iv.. p. 387- THE INFOEMEHS OF '98. 119 a letter, addressed to Lord Camden, of which the strongest passages have been suppressed by that peer's considerate friend, Thomas Moore : — " On Saturday, my poor, forsaken brother, who had but that night and the next day to live, was disturbed ; he heard the noise of the execution of Clinch at the prison door. He asked eagerly, ' What noise k that?' And, certainly, in some manner or other, he knew it ; for — God 1 what am I to write ? — from that time he lost his senses : most part of the night he was raving mad ; a keeper from a madhouse was necessary."* Lord Edward Fitzgerald died in great agony, men- tal and bodily, on the 4th of June 1798, and was deposited in the vaults of St Werburgh's Church Hereby hangs a tale, which will be found in th. Appendix. * Mooro's Li£e and Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, vol, ii., r 160. 120 THE SHA.M SQUIKE AND CHAPTEE VI. A Secret well Kept.— The "Setter" of Lord Edward Tracedat Last- Striking in the Dark.— Koman Catholic Barristers Pensioned.— A Lesson of Caution.— Letter to the Author from Eev. John Fetherston-Haugh.— Just Debts Paid with Wages of Dishonour. —Secret Service Money.— An Ally of " the Sham's " Analysed. — What were the Secret Services of Francis Magan, Barrister-at- law ? — Shrouded Secrets Opened. " One circumstance," says a writer, " is worthy of especial notice. Like Junius, an unfathomed mys- tery prevails as to who it was that betrayed Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and received the reward of one thousand pounds."* When one remembers the undying interest and lympathy which has so long been interwoven with the name of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, it is indeed surprising that for sixty-one years the name of the person who received one thousand pounds for disco- vering him should not have transpired. + The secret must have been known to many persons in the Castle and the Executive ; yet even when the circumstance had grown so old as to become the legitimate property of history, they could not be induced to relax their reserve. Whenever any inquisitive student of the jtormy period of '98 would ask Major Sirr to tell the name of Lord Edward's betrayer, the major invariably drew forth his ponderous snuff-box, inhaled a prodi- gious pinch, and solemnly turned the conversation. Thomas Moore, when engaged upon the " Life and * Castlereagh Correspondence, vol. i., p. 468, First Series. + Francis Higgins received the £1000 for having pointed out Lord Edward's retreat, hut recent inquiries on the part of the author have ascertained that Counsellor Hagan betrayed Lord Ed- ward to Higgin?, THE INFORMERS OF '98. 121 Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald," made two special visits to Ireland for the purpose of procuring on the spot all the sadly interesting particulars of his lord- ship's short hut striking career. The Castle was then occupied by an Irish Whig Administration, but, not- withstanding Moore's influence with them, and their sympathy, more or less, with the hero whose memory he was about to embalm, he failed to elicit the pecu- Uar information in which the Castle archives and library were rich. In 1841, Dr Madden was some- what more fortunate. He obtained access to a num- ber of receipts for secret service money, as weU as to a book, found under strange circumstances, in which the various sums and the names of the parties to whom paid are entered. But perhaps the most inter- esting entry was written in a way to defeat the end» of historic curiosity. In the book of " Secret Service Money Expendi- aire," now in the possession of Charles Halliday,Esq.,* 5he entry, " June 2Qth [1798], F. H. Discovery oj L. E. F., £1000," appears on record. The researches of one of the most indefatigable of men proved, in this instance, vain. " The reader," says Dr Madden, "has been furnished with sufficient data to enable him to determine whether the initials were used to * Dr has given us the following account of the discovery of this document : — " When Lord Mulgrave, since Marquis of Nor- manby, was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, some official in Dublin Castle cleared out and sold a quantity of books and papers, which were purchased in one lot by John Feagan, a dealer in second-hand books, who had, as his place of business, a cellar at the corner of Henry Street. 1 had the opportunity of examining the entire col- lection ; but, not being much of a politician, I only selected two volumes — Wade's Catalogue of the Plants of the County Dublin, and the Catalogue of the Pineili Library, sold in London a.d. 1789, which I bought for Is. 6d. They, and the others of the collection, had each a red leather label, on which, in large gilt capitals, was impressed, 'Library, Dublin Castle.' Among them was the MS. account of the expenditure of the Secret Service money, and of which I was the first to point out the possible value when it was about to be thrown, with virious useless and imperfect books, into waste paper." 122 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND designate Hughes, or some other individub,! , whether the similarity of the capital letters, J and F, in the handwriting, may admit or not of one letter being mistaken for another, the F for a J ; or whether a correspondent of Sirr's, who sometimes signed himself J. II., and whose name was Joel Hulbert, an in- former, residing, in 1798, in Monasterevan, may have been indicated by them."* Watty Cox declared that Laiirence Tighe, to whose house the bleeding body of Eyan was borne after Lord Edward's arrest, had played the spy ; while, on the other hand, Dr Brennan, in his Milesian Magaeine, broadly charged Cox with the perfidy. Murphy, au honest, simple-minded man, in whose house Lord Edward was taken, has not been exempted from sus- picion. The late eminent anecdotist, Mr P. Brophy, of Dublin, used to tell that Lord Edward's conceal- ment became known " through an artilleryman who was courting Murphy's servant-girl ;" but Thomas Moore unintentionally disturbs this story, which never reached his ears, by saying, "An old maid-servant was the only person in Murphy's house besides them- selves." The memory of Samuel Neilson, one of the truest disciples who followed the patriot peer, suffered from a dark innuendo advanced in Moore's " Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald," and echoed by Maxwell (p. 47) in his " History of the Irish Eebellion." To one of the most honourable of Lord Edward's follow- ers, Charles Phillips, under an erroneous impression, refers in a startling note attached (p. 288) to the last edition of " Curran and his Contemporaries." Ho professes to know the secret, and adds: " He was to the last, apparently, the attached friend of his victim." In a memoir of O'ConneU, by Mr Mark O'CaUaghan, it is stated in positive terms (p. 32) that John Hughes received the thousand pounds for the betrayal of Lord Edward. The son and biographer of the notorious * Madden's Lives and Times of the U. Irishmen, vol. ii., p. 443. THE INFORMERS OF '98. 123 Eeynolds writes, (vol. ii., p. 194;) "The United Irishmen and their partisans, especially Mr Moore, emboldened by the distance of time and place, have insinuated that my father was the person who caused the arrest of Lord Edward." Further on, at p. 234, Mr Eeynolds flings the onus of suspicion on Murphy; while Murphy, in his own account of the transaction, says : " I heard in prison that one of Lord Edward's bodyguard had given some information." Again, Felix Kourke was suspected of the infidelity, and narrowly escaped death at the hands of his comrades. Suspicion also followed WUliam Ogilvie, Esq., who, as a near connexion, visited Lord Edward at Moore's, in Thomas Street, a few days before the arrest, and transacted some business with him.* Interesting as it is, after half a century's speculation, to discover the name of the real informer, it is still more satisfactory that those unjustly suspected of the act should be finally acquitted from it. It is further useful as teaching a lesson of caution to those who, blindfold, strike right and left a« friend and foe. One of the most valuable letters printed by Mi Eoss, in his " Memoirs and Correspondence of Mar- quis Comwallis," (vol. iii., p. 320,) is that addressed Dy Secretary Cooke to his Excellency, in which Mr Francis Higgins and others are recommended as fit recipients for a share in the £1500 per annum which, in 1791), had been placed for secret service in the hands of Lord Comwallis. " My occupation," writes this nobleman on 8th June 1799, " is now of the most unpleasant nature, negotiating and jobbing with the most corrupt people under heaven. I despise myself every hour for engaging in such dirty work." * When Miss Moore heard this dark suspicion mooted, she said. " If so, I know not whom to trust. I saw Lord Edward take a ring from his finger, and press it on Mr Ogilvie as a keepsake. Teara fell from Ogilvie's eyes as he grasped Lord Edward's hanvemment had extended amnesty on assurances of their becoming useful and proper subjects, having been recently discovered from their malignant tongues to be mis- creants unworthy of the mercy and support extended to them, from their continual applauses of the common foe and his friends, and their maligning the first characters in the Qovemment and their measures, it is intended to dispose of these vipers, not as was at first intended, but in I, manner that their perfidy and ingratitude merit." Besides his pension of £200 a year and a place under the Crown, given in recognition of secret ser- vices, Mr Francis Magan further received, on De- cember 16, 1802, as appears from the account of secret service money expenditure, £500 in hand. This round sum, it is added, was given " by direc- tion of Mr Orpen." The secret service for which £500 was paid must have been one of no ordinary • P. M'Cormick, a "noted" rebel, is mentioned in Madden's "United Irishmen,"!. 519, as residing in High Street. Did Mr Magan's long residence in High Street furnish him with any facilities for tracing this man t 132 'ITIE SHAM SQUlIlE; OR, importance. Conjecture is narrowed as to the par- ticular nature of tjie service by the heading of the document, i.e., "Account of Secret Service Money a/pplied in detecting treasonable conspiracies, pursuant to the provisions of the Civil-List Act of 1793." A study of the historical events of the time., with a comparison of the dates, finds one or two discoveries in which Magan may have been concerned. About the year 1802 a formidable attempt was made to re- kindle the insurrection in the county of Cork. Ser- geant Beatty, its leader, after skirmishing with the king's troops and killing several, escaped to Dublin, where, while in the act of reorganising his plot, he was arrested and hanged.* In 1802, Eichard F. Orpen, Esq., was high sheriff for the county of Corkrf- " He raised corps of volunteers for the suppression of the rebellion, was of an active mind, and well acquainted with persons of rank and influence." % There is but one family of the name in Ireland. It was, doubt- less, this gentleman who urged the reward of £500 to Magan in 1802 ; and, probably, the secret service was the discovery of the Cork conspirator. In 1802 also transpired the plans of William Dow- dall, a confidential agent alike of Colonel Despard in England, and of Eobert Emmet in Ireland. To- wards the end of that year we find him in Dublin, with the object of extending their projects. Sud- denly the news came that on November 13, 1802, Despard and twenty-nine associates were arrested in London. § Dowdall fled, and after some hairbreadth escapes reached France. No imputation on his fide- • Bevelations of Ireland, by D. 0. Madden, p. 130, et sej. See Appendix for further details. f See files of the public journals for Februaiy 1802. j Letter from Richard F. John Orpen, Esq., August 16, 1865. § Plowden's History of Ireland from the Union, vol. i., p. 156. The Higgins journal of November 23, 1802, states, but without suf- ficient accuracy, that " the major part are Irish." Lord Ellenbor- ough tried the prisoners, seven were hanged and deoapiijated. — Trial of Edward Marcus Despard. Tmnrlou : Guruey, 1803. P. 269. THE INFOEMEES OF '98. 133 lity has ever been made. ■ That Despard's plans ex- tended to Ireland is not generally understood; but the "Castlereagh Papers" (ii. 3) show that he was one of the most determined of the Society of United Irishmen. The Higgins journal of November 25, 1802, records :— " The lounging Erin-go-Braghites in this town seem somewhat frightened since they heard of the apprehension of Colonel Despard and his myrmidons. It marks a sym- pathy which, with the close whisperings and confabs that of late have been observable among them, incline some t« think that tliey have not left off the old trade of dealing in baronial and other constitutions." " Kobert Emmet," says Mr Fitzgerald, in a narra- tive say lied to Dr Madden, " came over from France in Octd.jer 1802. He (Emmet) wa.s soon in com- munication with several of the leaders who had taken an active part in the previous rebellion." * Emmet is probably included among the " Erin-go-Bragliites" thus indicated by the Higgins journal of November 2, 1802 :— " Several Erin-go-Braghites have arrived in this city within a few days past, after viewing (as they would a monster) the First Consul. They do not, however, use the idolising expressions of that character they were wont, which shows that he has not been courteous to the eu- .couragers of pihe-mongering in this country." In the latter part of 1802, owing to private infor- mation, Emmet's residence near MiUtown was searched by Major Swan.t The abortive insurrection of which he was the leader did not take place until July 23 in the following year. A memorandum of Major Sirr's, preserved with his papers in Trinity OoUege, Dublin, mentions, in contradiction to a generally-received opinion, that early intimation of Kobert EmmetV scheme did reach the Goverrmient. * Life and Times of the United Irishmen, vol. iii., p. 330. t Statement of llr Patten to Dr Kadden, Ibid., p. 339. 134 THE SUAM SQtllBt) At^D The purchase of Mr Magan by the Grovernment was at this time unknown to the public. As a Ko- man Catholic, and a member of the former society of United Irishmen, no disposition to suspect him seems to have taken possession of his friends.* The fact that he had been a member of the Lawyers' Corps awakened no misgiving. All the Catholic barristers, as a matter of course, joined it ; and some of the most determined United Irishmen, including Mac- ready and others, were known to wear the yeoman uniform, merely with the object of cloaking them- Belves.t * Dr Brennan, in the second number of hia Milesian Magaxint, y. 49, enumerates the Boman Catholic barristers who had received pensions. Mr Magan's name is not included. Dr Brennan men- tions the names of Donnellan, Bellew, Lynch, and MacKenna. Mr Sheil, in his paper on the " Catholic Bar," contributed to the New Monthly Magazine for February 1827, thus specially refers to the above four barristers : — "Every one of those gentlemen were provided for by Govern- ment. Mr Donnellan obtained a place in the revenue ; Mr MacKenna wrote some very clever political tracts, and was silenced with a pen- sion ; Mr Lynch married a widow with a pension, which was doubled after his marriage ; and Mr'Bellew is in the receipt of £600 a year, paid to him quarterly. " Lord Castlereagh was well aware of the importance of securing the support of the leading Roman Catholic gentry at the union, and the place of assistant-barrister was promised to Mr Bellew. It became vacant : Lord Castlereagh was reminded of his engagement, when, behold ! a petition, signed by the magistrates of the county to which Mr Bellew was about to be nominated, is presented to the Lord-Lieutenant, praying that a Roman Catholic should not be ap-~ pointed to any judicial office, and intimating their determination not to act with him. A pension equivalent to the salary of a chair- man was given to Mr Bellew, and he was put in the enjoyment of the fruits of the office, without the labour of cultivation. + All the Catholic barristers, with the object of averting suspi- cion or persecution, became members of the Lawyers' Corps. Among others, Daniel O'Connell and Nicholas Purcell O'Qorman, both United Irishmen, belonged to the corps. O'Connell served as a private in the corps. The uniform was blue, with scarlet facings and rich gold lace. — See Memoir of O'Con- nell, by his son, vol. i., p. 13. In Mr Daunt's Recollections of O'Connell, voL 11., p. 99, O'Connell is foimd pointing out a house in James's Street, which, when a member of the Lawyers' Corps, he searched for " Croppies." For an account of O'Connell's connexion with the United Irishmen see Appendix. THE INFORMKRS 0> ■««. 135 A brother barrister and old friend of Mr Magan's informs us that he enjoyed some chamber practice ; but, though he sometimes appeared in the hall, equipped for forensic action, he never spoke in court. Mr Magan, as one of the first and few Eoman Catho- lic barristers called on the relaxation of the Penal Code, is very likely to have been consulted during the troubled times, by his co-religionists who were implicated in the conspiracy. The influential leaders of the United Irishmen were mostly Protestants, and Leonard MacNaUy, who generally acted as counsel to the body, having deserted the Catholic for the Protestant faith, failed to command from Catholics that unlimited confidence which a counsel of their own creed would inspire. " Mac," writes Mr Secretary Cooke, addressing Lord Oastlereagh, " Mac was not much trusted in the rebellion."* Counsellor Magan, on the contrary, was not, for nearly half a century, suspected.f Mac- Nally lived in Dominic Street, and later in Hai'court Street — a considerable distance from the more dis- turbed part of Dublin ; but Mr Magan's chamber for consultation lay invitingly open at No. 20 Usher's Island, in the very hotbed of the conspiracy. The discoveries to which we have referred were made towards the latter end of the year 1802. On December 15, 1802, one secret payment (A £50(7 alone is slipped into the hand of "Counsellc' "In the month of March, [1803,"] writes Lori Hardwicke, the then viceroy, " Government received information of O'Quigley's return, and others of the exiled rebels, and that they were endeavouring to sound the disposition of the people of the coun^ of * Comwallis Correspondence, toL iii., p. 820. t The Irish Bar was sadly dishonoured in those days. — See Ap pendiz for the secret services of Leonard MacNally, and of that prince of duplicity, Samuel Turner, barrister-at-law, whose pro perty waa insincerely threatened with attainder by the crown 136 THE SHAM SQUIEE AND Dublin. A confidential agent was in consequence sent into tliat county, whose accounts were very satis- factory as to the state of the people, and of the un- willingness of any of the middle class, who had pro- perty to lose, to engage in any scheme of rebellion."* Whether Francis Magan was the confidential agent thus sent into the country we know not ; but it is at least certain that in the month of April 1803, he is found within forty-seven miles of Dublin, and receiv- ing money for political espionage. " The Account of Secret Service Money applied in Detecting Treasonable Conspiracies," contains the fol- lowing entry : — "April 2, 1803, Magan, by post to Philipstown, £100."+ The Philipstown assizes were held at this time. But so far from any important political trials being in progress there, from which Magan, in his legal capacity, might gather a secret, no business what- ever was done, and as the newspaper report of the day records, the chairman received, in consequence, a pair of white gloves trimmed with gold lace. We must look elsewhere for Mr Magan's secret services at Philipstown in 1803. Thomas WUde and John Mahon were two of Em- jnet's most active emissaries, and in a statement of Duggan's supplied to Dr Madden, it is stated that they proceeded to " Kildare, Naas, Maynooth, Kil- cuUen, and several other towns," in order to stimulate the people. The formidable character of Wilde and Mahon was known to Major Sirr, who in a memoran- dum preserved with his other papers, states that their * This original MS. statement of Lord Hardwicke's, of which Dr Madden c^terwards had the use, we fully transcribed in 1S55. ■{- An entry in the same form introduces the name n{ M'Gucken, the treacherous attorney for the United Irishmen, whose exploits will be found in our Appendix : — " January 1, 1801, M'Gucken, per post to Belfast, ^£100." THE INFOKMEES OF '98. 137 retreat is sometimes " at the gaoler's in PhUipstmon, who is married to Wilde's sister." Francis Magan, it is not unlikely, when one hun- d^'ed pounds reached him by post at Philipstown in 1803, was quietly ascertaining the locale of Wilde and Mahon. A letter from Captain CaulfieW, written on Dec. 17, 1803, but to which the date " 1798" has been by some oversight affixed in Dr Madden's valuable work on the United Irishmen,* is also preserved among the Sirr papers, and details the progress of a search for Wilde and Mahon, first at Philipstown, and finally at BaUycommon, within two miles of it. Yeomanry and dragoons surrounded the house; a hot conflict ensued, " and," confesses Captain Caulfield, " we were immediately obliged to retire. . . . The villains made their escape. The gaoler of Philipstown and wife are in confinement." John Brett, the maternal grandfather of the pre- sent writer, resided with his family, in 1798, at 21 Usher's Island. No evidence of sedition existed against him, unless that furnished by the old aphorism, "Show me your company, and I can teU who you are." John Brett was peculiarly intimate with Con MacLaughlin, and much intercourse existed between their faimlies. James Tandy, son of the arch rebel, Napper Tandy, was also a frequent visitor, and Mr Brett possessed the friendship of Oliver Bond. One morning Mr Brett's family were startled at the news that Major Sirr, with a chosen guard, was demand- ing admittance at the street door. Miss Maria Brett, the aunt of the writer, cognisant of only one act of political guilt, ran to her music-book, tore out a strongly national song, and flung the leaf, crushed up, on the top of a chest of drawers. Major Sirr entered precisely as this silly achievement had been completed, and found the young lady palpitating • Lives and Times of the United Irishmen, vol. i., p. 522. 138 THE SHAM SQtriBB AJMii beneath the weight of her guilty secret. A search for pikes was immediately commenced ; drawers were rifled, wardrobes upset, beds diligently searched, and, in the midst of the confusion, what should turn up but the national song ? which, had it been suffered to remain La the music-book, would never have ex- cited attention. Major Sirr solemnly put on his spectacles, and read the democratic sentiments with a visage much longer than the lines in which they were ensmined. The search was resumed with renovated vigour, and from the beds in the sleeping rooms the soldiers now proceeded to uproot some recently dug beds in the garden. Major Sirr, baffled in his hopes and bitterly chagrined, withdrew ; but he had a dex- terous stroke of vengeance in store for John Brett. Next day an enormous detachment of soldiers' wives arrived, bag and baggage, at Usher's Island, loudly demanding hospitali^, and producing an official order for that purpose. Mr Brett was obliged to submit to the troublesome incubus, which remained for several weeks biUeted upon his iamily. He could never guess the source which had suggested to the Govern- ment the expediency of searchmg the house ; but we aie inclined to harbour the suspicion that the Mat must have come from his vigilant neighbour next door, Mr Francis Magan. The files of the popular journals during the earlier part of the present centuiy would, if diligently con- sulted, exhibit Francis Magan* as a zealous Catholic patriot. Thus, Mr Megan's name may be found, in conjunction with those of Lords Fingal, NettervUle, and Ffrench, Su- E. Bellew, Sir H. O'Eeilly, Daniel * It is not unlikely to Magan that the Duke of Wellington refers in his letter to Sir Charles Sazton, dated London, 17th ITovember 1808 : — "I think that as there are some interesting Catholic ques- tions afloat now, you might feed with another £100." — Irish Correapondenee of the Duke of Wellington, pp. 486-6. TBt ini'ormSrs of '98. 139 O'Oonnell, Dr Dromgoole, " Barney Ooyle,"* Con MacLaughlin,* Silvester Costigan* Fitzgerald of Geraldine * and others, convening an aggregate meet- ing of the Catholics of Ireland on the26th of December 1811, to address the Prince Eegent " on the present situation of Catholic affairs." A few days previously, Lords Fingal and Netterville had been successively forced from the chair at a Catholic meeting by Ml Hare, a police magistrate. Among the denouncers of the Government at the aggregate meeting was Leo nard MacNally ; and M'Grucken, the false attorney to the United Irishmen, took an equally patriotic part at Belfast.f Mr Magan also passed for an incorruptible patriot at the period of the Union. His naflie may be found, with MacNally's, among " the virtuous minority" who, at the Bar Meeting, opposed the Union. The few surviving friends of Mr Magan describe him as a prim and somewhat unsociable being, though moving in good society. He looked wise, but he never showed much proof of wisdom, and it was more than once whispered in reference to him, " StiU waters run deep." For the last twenty years of his life he rarely went out, unless in his official capacify as commissioner. He never married, and lived a recluse at 20 Usher's Island. He became shrinking and timid, and, with one or two exceptions, including Master , did not like to meet old friends. Since 'the year '98, it seemed as if his house had not beer painted or the windows cleaned. The neighbourg wondered, speculated, and pried ; but Magan's win> dows or doings could not be seen through. J From this dingy retreat, festooned with cobwebs, * Those persons had been United Irishmen. t See Appendix. + " The neighbours used to say that there was a mystery about the Magans whieh no one could fathom." — Letttr from l^veater R d, Eaq. 140 THE SHAM SQCIUE AND Mr Magan, almost choked in a stiff white cravat, would, as we have said, occasionally emerge, and pick his steps stealthily to the courts in which he held office. This demeanour may have been owing to a secret consciousness of dishonour, and was doubtless aggra- vated by a shrewd suspicion expressed by the late Mr Joseph Hamilton. To explain this, a slight digression is necessary. In 1830 appeared Moore's life of Lord Edward Fitz- gerald, and it may be conceived with what trepida- tion Mr Magan turned over the leaves, fearful of find- ing the long-sealed secret told. " Treachery," writes Moore, " and it is still unknown from what source, was at work." ' Here the Counsellor, no doubt, breathed freely, especially when he read — " From my mention of these particulars respecting NeUson, it cannot fail to have struck the reader that some share of the suspicion of having betrayed Lord Edward attaches to this man." Hamilton Eowan and the friends of Neilson indignantly spurned the imputa- tion, which Moore, further on, sought to qualify. Mr Joseph Hamilton made some inquiries, and the result was a suspicion that Mr Magan was the informer. He failed to find that evidence which we have since adduced ; but his suspicion was deeply rooted, and he avowed it in general society. In 1843 Mr Magan died. He was generally re- garded as an honourable man; and an eminent- Queen's counsel stood beside his death-bed The accompanying letter reached us from the gentleman to whom we allude: — " I never, directly or indirectly, heard anything of the alleged charge against Frank Magan during his life. I was on habits of intimacy with him to the day of his death, and was with him on his death-bed. He always bore a high character, as far as I could ever learn, either at the bar or in society. Mr THE INFORMERS OF '98. 141 Hamilton, to my surprise, wrote to me after liis death, cautioning me against taking any of the money to which, he supposed, I was entitled as a legatee. I was not one, and never got a penny by the poor fellow. I can say no more." Mr Hamilton thought that it was beneath his cor- respondent to accept a bequest derived from so base a source. Mr Magan's will, drawn up hurriedly on his death- bed, in January 1843, and witnessed by his con- fessor, Eev. P. Monks, occupies but a few lines, and bequeaths the entire of his property to Elizabeth, his sister. Uidike his friend, the Sham Squire, who desired that his remains should be interred with public pomp, Francis Magan directs that his body may be buried with as nuich economy and privacy as decency permits.* Miss Magan, an eccentric spinster, continued to reside alone at Usher's Island after her brother's deatL She found herself, on his demise, possessed of an enormous sum of money ; and she became so penurious, anxious, and nervous, that the poor lady was in constant fear of being attacked or robbed. From almost every person who approached her she shrunk with terror. Miss Magan felt persuaded that designs on her purse, to be accomplished by either force or fraud, were perpetually in process of concoc- tion by her narrow circle of friends. Death at last released Miss Magan from this mental misery. She left considerable sums in charity, and, amongst others, twelve thousand pounds, as the late Rev. Dr Tore assured us, for founding a lunatic asylum at Fairview. With the death of this lady the family of which sbc was a member became. extinct, and we therefore fc-d the less hesitation in mentioning their names. It may, perhaps, be said that any new suggestions or remarks regarding the informers of '98 should he * Records of the Prerogative Court, Dublin. 1,42 THE SHAM SQUIRE AND left to Dr Madden, who has devoted much time and space to the suhject. But Dr Madden himself does not seem to hold these narrow sentiments. In the " United Irishmen," (vol. ii., 446,) he throws out suggestions " to those who may be disposed to follow up his efforts to bring the betrayer's memory to justice." It may also be objected that we have devoted un- due space to tracing the betrayers of Lord Edward Fitzgerald ; but the following remarks, expressed by the veteran historian of '98, show that the subject is one highly deserving of elucidation. " And now," writes Dr Madden, " at the conclusion of my researches on this subject of the betrayal of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, I have to confess they have not been successful. The betrayer still preserves his incognito ; his infamy, up to the present time, (Jan. 1858,) remains to be connected with his name, and, once discovered, to make it odious for evermore. . . . Nine-and-fifty years the secret of the sly, skulking villain has been kept by his employers, with no com- mon care for his character or his memory. But, dead or alive, his infamy wiU be reached in the long run, and the gibbeting of that name of his will be accom- iplished in due time." It must be remembered that Dr Madden was the first to set inquiry on a sound track, by citing from the Secret Service Money Book the initials of the Sham Squire, i.e., " F. H. for the discovery of L. E. F.. £1000." In 1858 the " Oomwams Papers " appeared, disclosing the name Francis Higgins. A pamphlet from our pen appeared soon after, entitled, " A Note to the Cornwallis Papers," in which were published many of the remarks contained in our sixth chapter, and pointing, on purely circumstantial evi- dence, to Mr Magan as the " setter " employed by Higgins. The fourth volume of the " United Irish- men," published in 1860. not^'id the " Cornwallis TliE INFORMERS OF 'y«. J 43 Papers," and, indirectly, the pamphlet which followed its publication : — " These revelations," writes Dr Madden, (p. 679,) "leave us whoHy uninformed as to the traitor who actually betrayed Lord Edward — who sold his blood to the agent of Government, Mr Francis Higgins. AU that we have learned, I repeat, from the recent publication of the ' Cornwallis Correspondence,' is, that Francis Higgins obtained the secret for Govern- ment of Lord Edward's place of concealment, but of the setter employed by Higgins we know nothing, and all that we have reason to conclude is, that the setter was one in the confidence of Lord Edward and his associates." Now, we respectfully submit that the more recent researches which will be found in our fifth and sixth chapters prove to demonstration that the " setter" waa Counsellor Francis Magsn. 144 TUE SHA.M byUlBJS AND CHAPTEE yil. Was Higgins Guiltless of Oliver Bond's Blood? — Walter Cox.— Eey nolds the Informer. — William Cope. — Insatiable Appetite fot Blood-money. — A Dark and Painful Mystery. — Lord Wycombe Walks in the Footsteps of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and Spiev. FoUow in the Footsteps of Lord Wycombe. There is no man so bad but that he might be worse ; and the will of Francis Higgins, to which we shall soon refer, shows that he was not incapable of a generous impulse ; but on the whole we cannot divest ourselves of the suspicion that his general policy was worse, and his dark deeds more numerous than have in black and white transpired. When a man is once suspected and convicted of peculiar turpitude, there ifi no limit to the suspicions which ever after follow nim. A remarkable passage occurs in Walter Cox's Irish MagmiTie for November 1813, p. 52.* "We tope," writes Cox, "no greater evil will be sus- tained by Mr Scully than what this act of the Freeman's Journal has inflicted ; had we nothing more to record, to the prejudice of Irish interests, than such impotent, and we may say harmless nonsense, Oliver Bond and Lord Ed- ward Fitzgerald would be now alive, and Tom Reynolds would have been only known as a harmless monster." Cox, as a United Irishman, and one of Lord Ed- ward Fitzgerald's bodyguard, was cognisant of the various conflicting suspicions and surmises to which the arrest of their chief gave birth. Further, he was * "So one was better acquainted than Cox with the antecedents of Higgins. Vidt alBO the Irish Magazine for October 1810, p. 436. THE INFORMERS OF '98. 145 in tne secrets of the Government subsequent to 1798. Arthur O'Connor has said, that while a chance of suc- cess awaited the rebel movement, it possessed no more staunch partisan. But flesh is weak, and we find Cox, during thirty-five years that he personated the character of an indomitable patriot, in the receipt of a secret stipend from the Crown. He played fast and loose, sometimes revealing to the Castle the plans of the United Irishmen, at other times disclosing to the popular party the secrets of the Government and of its agents. Mr Cox would seem to have formed a shrewd opinion in reference to Lord Edward's discovery ; but he advances the charge so ambiguously that, unless ndth the light afforded by recent revelations, it is not tasj to understand his meaning. A dark and painful mystery enshrouds the death of Oliver Bond. Bond, an opulent merchant, residing in Bridge Street, Dublin, possessed, for many years, the fullest confidence of the United Irishmen, who, so early as 1793, formally addressed him on the occasion of his fine and imprisonment. From 1785 to 1797 we recognise him as an active member of the two northern directories of United Irishmen, a body largely composed of Presbyterians. At his house in Dublin the Leinster directory regularly met, until the night of March 12, 1798, when, Thomas Key- nolds having betrayed his associates, fifteen delegates were arrested, conveyed to Newgate, and sentenceo to death. Mr Mark O'Callaghan, in his " Memoir ot O'Connell," p. 32, says — " It is asserted on credible authority, that the secret dungeons and state prisons of '98 were the scenes of murder and assassination. Among others, Oliver Bond, a wealthy merchant, was generally allowed to have been murdered by a turn- key employed for the purpose, although it was at the time given out that he died of apoplexy." How far Mr O'Callaghan may be correct in this conclusion wo 146 THK SHAM BQUIEE AND know not; but a letter addressed by James Davock to Dr" Madden, and printed in the very interesting work of the latter, tends to corroborate it : — " The evening before Bond's death I saw him in the yard of the prison ; he seemed then to be in perfect health ; the next morning he was foimd dead in the passage outside his cell. It was the general opinion that he had been strangled. Bond had a free pardon signed at the Oastle at that time, and was to have been sent out of the country with the other state prisoners. It was necessary for his wife to obtain this pardon, to enable her to collect in the debts, for he left about thirty thousand pounds behind him ; and his friends were afraid of impeding her apphcation, and thought it better to allow the common report of his death arifiing from apoplexy to pass unnoticed. .... " The report in the prison was that he had been killed by the under-gaoler, Simpson. . I was informed by Mm-phy, there was such an uproar in the prison all that night, that Murphy and others barri- caded their doors on the inside, afraid of violence. The woman who first swore at the inquest that she had seen him die in the yard, afterwards, in a quarrel, accused Simpson of the murder ; on which he kicked her on the back, of which injury she died."* It may be added that Mr Davock was for many years the intimate friend and close neighbour of OHver Bond, who was a remarkably robust man, and not more than thirty-five years of age at his death. Sentence of death on Bond and the fourteen de- legates arrested at his house was commuted on con- dition of their signing a compact ; but Bond was by far the most formidable man amongst them ; and it may have struck some of the unscrupulous under- strappers attached to the Irish Government that it would be desirable to get him out of the way. To * Lives and Times of the United Irishmen, fourth series, second edition, p. 164. THE INrOEMEKS OF '98. 147 make an exception in Bond's case by bringing him to the scaffold would be impossible. Of some of the darker doings which notoriously took place, the higher members of the Government were, we have no doubt, ignorant. From the Oastlereagh Papers we find that two influential judges. Lords Oarleton and Kilwarden, warmly m'ged the execution of Byrne and Bond. They were not of opinion that the offer made by Byrne and Bond to give information would counter- balance the discontent likely to be occasioned by sav- ing them from " the punishment due to their crimes." Lord Oarleton and his colleague also expatiated on the injurious effects such an act of mercy might liavo on the administration of criminal justice, by discourag- ing jurors hereafter from coming forward to discharge an odious duty. The viceroy transmitted a paper to the Duke of Portland, dated September 14, 1798, from which we gather that " their reasoning did not al- together satisfy the Lord-Lieutenant. His Excellency, however, felt that he could not do otherwise than abide by the opinion of the first law authorities in Ireland." Byrne was accordingly executed.* Oliver Bond was found dead in his cell. The Sham Squire, when a prisoner in Newgate, wt learn, made love to his keeper's daughter, "whose friends, considering the utility of his talents in their sphere in Ufe, consented to her union with the Sham, .... and that the gaoler's interest procured Hig- gins admission to be a solicitor, in which situation his practice ia too notorious to requii-e particular statement." f Did Francis Higgins, who seems to have enjoyeof a thorough inununity from legal pains and penalties, and was specially officious in doing the dii-ty work of * Hemoire and Correspondence of Lord Oastlereagh, yol. i., pp 847-8. f Sketches of Irish Folilica^ CharacterB. Lond. 1799, p. 182. 148 IHE SHAM SQTJIKB AND unscrupulous statesmen, take upon himself to sug- gest to his friend, the keeper, the expediency of getting rid of Oliver Bond ? The Sham Squire was too astute to do the deed himself ; but he or his myrmidons may have got it done, and then with com- placency mused, " Shake not thy gory locks at me, thou canst no+ «ay / did it." To return to Cox. It would appear that, accord- ing to his information on the subject, Higgins took some part in persuading Thomas Keynolds to become a spy upon his colleagues in the Irish Executive Directory. It is at least certain that William Cope, an eminent merchant,* who certified to the general credibility of Keynolds on the trials, and had exerted considerable influence in leading him to turn informer, was openly recommended for a pension by Higgins in his paper of September 1, 1798. The influential re- commendation of the Sham Squire proved, as usual, successful. Mr Cope received a pension of one thou- sand pounds a year, which after his death was con- tinued to his daughters, who resided, until the last few years, at Khos Y Guir, near Holyhead. Among the inducements held out by William Cope in urging Keynolds to inform were, that the Crown would probably prove their appreciation by giving him two thousand pounds a year and a seat in Par- lament, f Reynolds, who held the rank of colonel * See Sir William Cope's letter in the Appendix. It is right to ibitL>\M man. It kills suddenly. 1 58 THE SHAM SyUIEE AND alderman of the old corporation, who resided at Howtb, declared, in 1820, that in riding into Dublin he could never pass Kilbarrack without dismounting from his horse for the purpose of ridiculing and insulting the Sham Squii-e's grave. The loathing in which Hig- gins had been held wreaked its vengeance in more formidable demonstrations. Many years ago some persons unknown visited his tomb, and smashed off the part on which the words, " Sacred to the memory of Francis Higgins," were inscribed. The thickness of the slab is considerable, and nothing short of a ponderous sledge-hammer could have effected this destruction. The same eccentric individual who, in the dead of night, wellnigh succeeded in depriving an obnoxious statue of its head,* is likely to have been cognisant of the malign joke played on the Sham's mausoleum. No one better knew the depth of his rascality than Watty Cox, who, in the Irish Magazine, makes reference to both his turpitude f and tomb. Of the latter we read, that in " Kil- barrack churchyard the remains of the Sham are deposited under a magnificent tomb and splendid inscription, unequalled in the history of sepulchral literature." J Nearly two generations passed away, and unless by a few families, all memory of the Sham Squire became obliterated. Tourists visited Kilbarrack ; and disciples of Doctor Syntax, moved by the touch- ing epitaph and the romantic scenery around, per- chance di'opped a tear upon the stone. Pedestrians made it a halting-point and resting-place; the less matter-of-fact mused on Erin's days of old " Ere her faithless sons betray 'd her," cleared th* moss out of the inscriptions, and prayed * The statue of William III. in College Green. + See Iri»k Magazine for October 1810, p. 436, &o, « Irish Magazina for November lft13 . THE INFORMEKS OF '98. 159 for the nameless patriot and philanthropist who mouldered below.* AU remembrance of his life had died out, although a tradition of his sobriquet still floated about the locality; and by degrees the history of Higgins degenerated into "the beautiful legend of the Sham Squire ;"t which at last was cruelly disturbed by the publication of the Cornwallis cor- respondence, the researches of the present writer, and some patriotic scribe who, since our first disclosures * Ou September 15, 1853, a gentleman pubiished a letter in the Freeman, requesting to know, not only the name of the person on whom so eulogistic an epitaph had been written, but the fate of the trust-money named in it. " It is gross ingratitude," he added, " and practical materialism, to allow the tomb and memoiy of such . a philanthropist to perish for want of a suitable monument to mark his last resting-place ; and I should only hope that, among so many benefited, one, at least, may be found to turn to the grave of their eommon benefsictor." A letter in reply went on to say "This will hardly satisfy your correspondent in regard to the trust bequest for poor debtors, or offer any apology or explanation of why the tomb of such a charitable testator should be left so totally neglected and defaced by the highway." Twelve years later found another Jona- than Oldbuck poking among the stones of Kilbarrack, and address- ing a similar query to the Irish Times. The subj&ct excited con- siderable sensation, and became invested with almost romantic in- terest. Several leaders, as well as letters, appeared. "Kilbarrack," wrote the editor, " is as lonely and desolate a ruin as ever an artist painted. A stray goat or sheep may be seen browsing upon Uie old graves, half covered with drifted sand ; or a flock of sand-larks sweeps through the wide and broken arches. Bound the forsaken tombs grow in abundance heartsease, veronica, and the white hare- bell. There are pretty mosses on the gray walls ; but the aspect of the ruins oppresses the heart with a sense of melancholy loneli- ness. Sometimes, when the storm blows inshore, the waves dash in spray over the ruined walls, and weep salt tears over the tombs." " An Humble Debtor," dating from the Four Courts Marshalsea, and citing as his text, " I was in prison, and ye visited me not," (Matt. XXV. 43, 44,) went on to tey, " Tour journal for the last few days has given great consolation to the inmates of this prison, by its insertion of letters bearing on the hitherto almost unknown Benefactions of Francis Higgins, of good memory," The gentleman thus addressed was of opinion that the money, ii invested in land, ought to yield now, at least, ;CfiO per annum. t " The legend of tfa^ Sham Squire," full of romance, and bear- ing no resemblance to the authentic details which we have gathered, appeared in 1856 in a aerial published by Mr Chamney. 160 THE SHAM SQUTEE, ETO. on this subject, has inscribed across the imposing epitaph, surmounted by a picture of a pike and a sallows — "here lies the monster HIGGINS, LORD EDWARD FITZaEBALD's INFORMEB." APPENDIX SUGGESTED BY ALLUSIONS IN THE • FOREGOING TEXT- APPENDIX*. BARATAEIANA, This book has always possessed peculiar interest foi historic students of the period to whicb it refers ; and several communications have appeared from time to time in Notes and Queries touching it. In reply to an inquiry,* the late Eight Hon. J. Wilson Croker promised to con- tribute particulars as to the writers of "Baratariana,"t but failed to do so, although he lived for several years subse- quently.} "That promise not having been fulfilled," ob- served a ■writer, " permit me to ask from some of your Irish correspondents materials for a history of this very curious volume ;"§ and Abhba expressed a hope that "MrFitz- patrick would be induced to furnish us with a key to the characters which figure in the book."|| In accordance with these suggestions, we gathered from a variety of sound sources, well authenticated, though perhaps not important details. Sir Hercules Langi-ishe, Mr Qrattan, (then a young bar- rister not in Parliament,) and Mr Flood, were, according to the "Memoirs of Flood," (p. 79,) the principal writers of " Baratariana." In " Grattan's Life" (voL i, p. 185) there is an account of a visit to Sir Hercules in 1810 ; and the octogenarian is found repeating with enthusiasm some of his flash passages in " Baratariana." The contributions of Sir Hercules to this bundle of political pasquinades >ire noticed in, Grattan's elegy ob the death of the patriot baronet, (p,de vol. i., p. 188.) The late Hon. Major StAo * Mrst Series, vol. x., p. 186. t Ibid., vol. x., p. 35?. X Ibid. % Second Series, vol. viii., p 52. || Ibid., p. 139, 1(54 A-PPENDiX. hope informed us that Mr St George, a connexion of his, held the very voluminous papers of Sir H. Langrishe, and not the present baronet. They threw, he said, great light p. the political history of the time, and he promised to give us access to them if desired. The articles written by Grattan were, aa his son informs us, (vol. L, p. 185,) — " Posthumous," " Pericles," and the dedication of " Bara- tariana." He read them to his friends, and they were struck by his description of Lord Chatham. Gilbert's "Dublin" (vol. i., p. 294) tells us, what the "Life of Flood" does not, that the articles signed " Syndercombe" were from Flood's pen. The volume of " Public Charac- ters for 1806," in noticing William Doyle, KC, and Mas- ter in Chancery, remarks (p. 64) that he was " universally admired for lus brilliant wit," and that "he contributed largely to ' Baratariana.' " To the second edition of the book, published in 1773, there is appended the following so-called key; but the difficulty is to recognise, at this distance of time, the namef which have been initialed, and to supply them : — 1. Saneho, Lord T d. 2. Qoreannelli, Lord A y. 3. Don Francisco Andiea del ) r>. tt i;i a Bumperoso } ^*- ^°°- ^ ' ^ '• 4. Don Georgio Buticarny, , . Sir Q e M y. 5. Don Antonio, Bt. Hon. A y M e. 6. Don John Alnagero, . . . Rt. Hon. J — n H y H n. 7. Don Pliilip, Rt. Hon. P p T 1. 8. Count Loftonso, . . . . L. L s, now E. of E y. 9. Don John, Rt. Hon. J n P y. 10. Don Helena, R 1 H n, Esq. 11. Donna Dorothea del Mon- I yr. y, roao, ,.,,,.. I 12. Don Qodfredo Lily, . . . G y L ^11, Esq. 13. The Duke Fitzroyola, . . Duke ol G ii. 14. Cardinal Lapidaro, , . , The late Prim. S e. 15. The Bishop of Toledo. . . j^' ^ —^ ° ^' '^'^ ^'^'^"^ 16. Don Edwardo Swanzero, . E d S ^n, Esq. 17. Don Alezandro Cunlngambo ) » <-< delTweedalero, f. . j Surgeon C—^m. 18. Donna Lavinia, Lady St L r. 19. Don Ricardo B d P r, Esq. The first named is George Viscount Townshend, who- bakatariana. 165 became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, October 14, 1767, ana continued in the Government, until succeeded by Simon, Earl of Harcourt, Nov. 30, 1772. 2. Lord Annaly, Lord Chief-Juatice of the King's Bench in Ireland. As John Gore he represented Jamestown in Parliament for several years ; d. April 3, 1783. A notice of Lord Annaly may be found in the Annual Register /of 1784, p. 220. 3. The Right Hon. Francis Andrews. He succeeded Di Baldwin as Provost of Trinity Collegs, Dublin, in 1758, Andrews had previously represented Dublin in Parliament- d. 1774.* 4. Sir George Macartney, Knight,+ b 1737 ; Envoy Extraordinary to the Empress of Eussia, 1764, and Pleni- potentiary, 1767; knighted, October 1764. In July 1768, he was elected for the burgh of Armagh. In 1769 he became secretary to Lord Townshend, Viceroy of Ireland. In 1776 Sir George Macartney was raised to the peerage. He married the daughter of Lord Bute — hence the nick- name Buticamy. 5. The Bight Hon. Anthony Malone. For upwards of half a century an ornament to the Irish Bar ; d. May 8, 1776. For a long account of him see Hardy's " Life of Gharlemont," (vol. i., pp. 133-9;) Taylor's "Hist, of the Univer. of Dublin," (pp. 395-6;) and Grattan's "Memoirs," paseim.X 6. Eight Hon. John Hely Hutchinson. In the "Direc- tory" of the day he is styled " Prime Serjeant and Alnager of Ireland, Kildare St." He subsequently became Secretary of State and Keeper of the Privy Seal. For a long ac- count of Hutchinson, see Hardy's " Charlemont/' (i., 141 ; ii., 185.) Having obtained a peerage for his wife, he be- came ancestor of the Lords Donoughmore.§ HutchinsoD died Sept. 10, 1793. * Taylor's Hist, of the Univer. of Dublin, pp. 251-2 ; Wilson's Dublin Direc, (1770,) p. 41. t Vide List of Privy Councillors, Dublin Direc, (1770,) p. 41. J In Wilson's Directory for 1770, Malone is styled " King's First Counsel at Law, Sackville Street." § Burke's Peerage, (1848,) p. 315. For an account of his regime as Provost of Trin. Coll. , see Taylor's Hist, of the Univer, of Dut Un, p. 263. 16 R AJl'ENDlx. 7. Right Hon. Philip Tisdall, P.O., Attorney-QeneraL He represeated the University of Dublin in Parliament from 1739 until his death in 1777. For a full account iud character of Tisdall, see Hardy's " Charlemont," (L, 152-6.) In the Directory of 1770 he is styled "Prin. Becre. of State, and Judge of the Prerogative Courts Leinster Street." 8. The Hon. Henry Loftus succeeded his nephew Nicholas as fourth Viscount Loftus;* b. November 11, 1709 ; advanced to the earldom of Ely, December 5, 1771.f 9. Right Hon. John Ponsonby, son of Lord Bessborongh, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons; b. 1713 j d. Dec. 12, 1789.t 10. "Robert Hellen, K.C., and Counsel to the Commis- sioners, Great Cuffe Street ; called to the bar Hilary Term, 1765." § On May 4, 1778, he became Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas ;|| d. July 23, 1792. IT 11. A Miss Munro was said to have been mixed up with soine of the political intrigues which characterised the Townshend and other administrations. " Dolly Monro " is traditionally described as a woman of surpassing beauty and powers of fascination. She was quite a Duchess of Gordon in the political circles of her time. 12. "Godfrey Lill, Esq., Solicitor-General, Merrion Square, M , 1743." ** On Dec. 15, 1774, he became Justice of the Common Pleas.tt Died Sept. 24, 1782.tt 13. Augustus Henry, third Duke of Grafton, b. 1735, filled the offices of Secretary of State and First Lord of * His ancestor, A. Loft-House, accompanied Lord Sussex to Ire- land. Various family links subsequently united the Loftuses to the house of Tovmshmd. General Loftus married, 1790, Lady E. Tonmshend, only daughter of Marquie Townshend. Her daughter Charlotte married Lord Vere Townshend, t Burke's Peerage, p. 371, (1848.) X Ibid., p. 93 ; Hardy's Charlemont, L, pp. 18i, 201, 293. § Wilson's Dublin Directories. II Smyth's Law Officers of Ireland, p. 251. % Oent. Mag., 1793, p. 769. •* Wilson's Dublin Directories. tt Smyth's Law Officers of Ireland, p. 253, ^X Annual Register for 1783, p. 839, BAEATARIANA. 167 the Treasury in 1765 and 17G6, and t.hat of Lord Privy Seal in 1771. 14. Primate Stone. He was the great political rival of Lord Shannon. Death closed the eyes of both within nine days of each other, in Deo. 1764.* 15. Dr Jemmet Browne, consecrated Bishop of Cork, 1743 ; promoted to Elphin, 1772. + 16. Edward B. Swan, Esq., Surveyor-General of the Revenue. J He was the father of the famous Major Swan, who arrested the thirteen delegates of the United Irish men at Oliver Bond's in 1798, (Plowden's " Hist. Ireland," ii. 424,) and who afterwards assisted in the capture of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. (!) [" Castlereagh Correspond- Sice," vol. i., 463.] 17. "Surgeon Alexander Cunningham, Eustace Street," figures in the list of surgeons at p. 98 of Wilson's Dublin Directory for 1770. 18. Lady St. Leger. R. St Leger (nephew of Hughe} Viscount Doneraile, whose title became, extinct in 1767) represented Doneraile from 1749 to 1776, when his Ma- jesty pleased to create him Baron Doneraile as a reward for parliamentary services. He married Miss Mary Barry. She died March 3, 1778.§ This is probably the party referred to. 19. Richard Power, K.C. In the Directory of 1774, we find him styled " Third Baron of the Exchequer, and Usher and Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery, Kildare Street, Hilary, 1757." Mr Daunt, in his " Recol- lections of O'Connell," (ii. 145,) narrates an extraordinary anecdote of O'Connell's in reference to Baron Power, who, having faUed to take Lord Chancellor Clare's life with a loaded pistol, proceeded to Irishtown to commit suicide by drowning. It was remarked as curious that in going * Dublin Directory, 1769, p. 42; Hardy's Charlemont, vol. i. passim. + Wilaon's Dublin Direc, J 774, p. 52. i Dublin Direc, 1774, [Com. Eev.,] p. 73. The Viceroy, at p. 228 of Baratariana, is made to speak of " his trusty Mends SwaT. and Waller." In the Directory for 1774, " Oeorge Waller, Clerk of the Minutes in Kzcise," is mentioned. § ArcUdall's Lodge'i Peerage, vol. v , p. I!j3. 168 APPENDIX. )fif to drown himself, he used an umbrella as the day was Wet. Baron Power was a convicted peculator. The Anthologia Hihernica for February 1794, p. 154, details the particulars of Baron Power's deatL Besides his judicial office, he was usher to the Court of Chancery, and large sums were frequently deposited in his hands for the security of suitors. The Baron having pocketed £3000 fn the Chandos suit. Lord Chancellor Clare was appealed to, who ordered the Baron to appear in court and answer for his conduct. The Judge hesitated, declaring that he held a seat on the same bench with the Chancellor in the Court of Exchequer Chamber. Lord Clare issued his command in a stiU more peremptory tone ; and the tra- gedy detailed by Mr O'ConneU was the resvdt. Sir Jonah Barrington's elaborately embellished account of this trans- action is most inaccurate. He suppresses all allusion to the embezzlements — of which, by the way, Barrington was himself convicted as a judge* — and merely says that Lord Clare teased Power to madness, because the Baron was arrogant himself, and never would succumb to the arrogance of Fitzgibbon, to whom in law he was superior. Both accounts, however, agree in saying that Power was immensely rich. TOPING SEVENTY YEARS AGO. It did not need the example of the Duke of Eutland to make hard drinking the fasluon in Ireland. The anecdote, " Had you any assistance in drinking this dozen of wine 1" " Yes, I had the assistance of a bottle of brandy," gives an idea of the extent to which the practice reached. Few songs were sung save those in praise of wine and women. Judge Day's brother. Archdeacon Day, wrote a popular s,ong called " One Bottle More." But Baron Dawson of the Exchequer threw him into the shade, and wrote a famous song in eight stanzas, beginning ; — " Personal Sketches, vol. i., pp. 467-9, See notice of Barringtop furtUfr on. TOPING jaX^TRAOEDINARY. 169 " Ye good fellows all, Who loTO to be told where there 's claret good Btcre, Attend to the call of one who 'a ne'er frighted, But greatly delighted with six bottles more ! " Be sure you don't pass the good house Monyglaaa, Which the jolly red god so peculiarly owns. 'Twill well suit your humour, For pray what would you more, Than mirth with good claret and bumpers, Squire Jones f Curran sung : — " My boys, be chaste till you 're tempted ; While sober be wise and discreet ; And humble your bodies with fasting. Whene'er you 've got nothing to eat." " It waa an almost invariable habit at convivial meet- ings," observes an informant, " to lock the door lest any Iriend should depart. The window was then opened, and the key flung into the lawn, where it could not be again found without much difficulty. An Irish piper was stationed behind the door, where he jerked forth planxty after planxty as the toasts progressed. A certain baronet used to knock the shanks off each guest's glass, to necessitate draining it to the bottom before he could lay it down again. Gallons of buttered claret were drunk, -and morning found the convivialists lying under the table in heaps of bodily and mental imbecility." The late Dr Henry Fulton informed us that he heard from Mr Dawson, one of the Volunteer Convention of 1782, and afterwards Chairman of Armagh, the two following anecdotes, illustrative of Irish conviviality in the last century : — Sir William Johnson and his friend Dawson were invited out to dine. Some time after dinner Sir William came to him and said: "Dawson, am I very drunk?" "No," said the other ; " why so ?" " Because," said the baronet, " I can't find the door." It would have been hard for hin^ for the host had a mock bookcase which moved on a spring, and when required closed up the entrance. After making another trial. Sir William gave it up, and quietly resumed his seat. Dawson escaped out of a window, got up-stairs to a sleeping apartment, and knowing that all the party 170 APPEKDIX. would remain- for tlie night, bolted tte door and barriraded it with all the furniture he could remove. Next morning he found two of the gentlemen in bed with him, who had effected an entrance through a panel of the door. No gentleman thought of paying his debts, and the ex- tensive house of Aldridge, Adair, and Butler, wine mer- chants in Dublin, sent a clerk to Connaught to collect ^oney due to the firm. The clerk returned, protesting that he was half dead with feasting, but could get no money. Kobin Adair then personally went down, and arrived at the house of his principal debtor just in time for dinner, and found a large party assembled. In the course of the evening the following was composed and sung : — " Welcome to Foxhall, sweet Robin Adair. How does Tom Butler do. And John Aldridge, too ? Why did they not come with you, Sweet Robin Adair ? " It is almost needless to add that he, too, returned with- .)ut the debt. To compensate for bad debts, a large margin for profit was fixed by the Dublin wine merchants of that day. " Claret," writes Barrington, " was at that time about £18 the hogshead, if sold for ready rhino ; if on credit, the law, before payment, generally mounted it to £200, besides bribing the sub-sheriff to make his return, and swear that Squire .... had ' neither hody nor goods' It is a remarkable fact, that formerly scarce a hogshead of claret crossed the bridge of Banagher for a country gentleman, without being followed within two years by an attorney, a sheriff's officer, and a receiver of all his rents, who generally carried back securities for ;E500." In the Irish Quarterly Review, vol. ii., p. 331, is quoted a French author's descrip- tion of Holybrook, county Wicklow, the seat of Eobin Adair, " Si famaux dans nonAre des cJiansons." He was probably the head of the wine firm referred to by Dr Fulton. Another Adair, equally noted for bacchanalian powers, lived at Kilternan. " Were I possess'd of all the chink That was conquer'd by Cortez, Herein, I 'd part with it all for one good drink With JohuQ7 Adair of Kilteruau. i-OPING EXTEAOKDIKAHY. 171 " The soldiers may drink to their Cumberlaud brave, 7he Bailors may drink to their Vernon, Whilst all merry mortals true happiness have With Johnny Adair of Kiltenian." Owen Bray, of Lougblinstowu, also figures in moro than 3ne song : — " Were ye full of complaints from the crown to the toe, A visit to Owen's will cure you of woe ; A buck of such spirits ye never did know, For let what will happen, they're always in flow ; When he touched up Ballen a Mona, oro, The joy of that fellow for me." Drinking clubs fanned the flame of political agitation and sectarian bitterness then so rife. One of these pan- demoniums stood in Werburgh Street, where many a man with, as a song of the day has it, " a goodly estate, And would to the Lord it was ten times as great," drank himself to delirium, death, and beggary. The spirit of the times is shown in one of the club, who, having pitched a basin of filthy fluid from the window, which was hailed by a shriek below, exclaimed, " If you are a Pro- testant, I beg your pardon respectfully ; but if you're a Papist (/iic,) take it and bad luck to you ! " * The County Kildare was not second to Wicklow or Dub- En in convivial indtugz^ice. Some years ago, as we stood among the ruins of Clonshambo House, a song commem- orative of its former occupant was chanted : — " 'Twas past one o'clock when Andrew got up, His eyes were as red as a flambeau ; Derry down, my brave boys, let us sleep until eve, Cried Andrew Fitz-Qerald of Clonshambo." The windows of old Clonshambo House looked into :>, churchyard, which ought, one would think, to have preached a more salutary homily to the convivialists than the event seems to have proved. Adjoining it is a crumbling wab glassed, and displaying many a sturdy old neck with the I'ork still lodged in it. The judges of the land, vulgarly regarded as almost in- fallible, were no better than their neighbours, and the * Tradition communicated by F, T. P , E-sfj. 172 APPENDIX. phrase, " as soler as a judge," must for a time have fallen Luto disuse. Bs,ron Monckton, being often viiio deditiis, as we are assured by Barrington, usually described the seg- ment of a circle in making his way to the seat of justice. Judge Boyd, whose face, we are told, resembled " a scarlet pincushion well studded," possessed a similar weakness ; and a newspaper, in praising his humanity, said that when passing sentence of death, it was observable that " he sel- dom failed to have a drop in his eye." Of the first judge named it might be said, as of the Geraldines, Ipsis Eibernis Ilibemiores, for Baron Monckton was imported from the English Bar. John Egan, the chairman of Kilmainham, drank hard ; and some clients, anxious to secure his professional services, made a stipulation with him, that no wine was to be drunk previous to the defence. Egan agreed, but casuisticaUy evaded the engagement, by eating large quantities of bread soaked in wine. Hard drinking continued fashionable in Ireland within the last forty years. A late eminent polemic habitually drank, without ill effects, a dozen glasses of whisky toddy at a sitting. Bushe, on being introduced to the late Con. Leyne of the Irish Bar, asked " Are you any relation to Con of the Hundred Battles?" "This is Con of the Hundred Bottles," interposed Lord Plunket. A well-known person, named Led ^ge, who lived at Bluebell, having met a favourite boon companion, was in- duced by him to partake of some refreshment at an inn, where he speedily consumed sixteen tumblers of punch. He was rising to leave, when the friend suggested that he should " make up the twenty." " The parish priest is to dine with me," replied Led ge, " and I should not wish him to see the sign of liquor on me." HOW LORD BUCKINGHAM PUNISHED JEPHSON AND PURCHASED JEBB. Magee's lampoons on the Sham Squire's patron, the Marquis of Buckingham, were met by retorts in the same YEOMANKT OtJTKAGES. 173 vein. The chief writer of these retaliative epigrams waa Robert Jephson, Master of the Horse at Dublin. Castle, Lord Cloncurry, in hia " Personal Recollections," observes, — " He lived at the Black Rock, in a house which still re- mains, nearly opposite Maretimo, and was, for a consider- able period, the salaried poet laureate of the viceregal TOurfc. He lost place and pension by an untimely exercis( of his wit, when dining one day at my father's house. The dinner was given to the Lord-Lieutenant, the Marquis of Buckingham, who happened to observe, in an unlucky mirror, the reflection of Jephson in the act of mimicking himself. He immediately discharged him from the laur- eateship.'' Public writers were corrupted without stint during the administration of Lord Buckingham. - By far the ablest man in Ireland, at that day, was Dr Frederick Jebb, the Irish Junius. Under the pseudonym of Guatimozin, he published powerful letters in sustainment of his country's cause. The viceroy, writing to Lord North, says — "As the press was exceedingly violent at that time, and had greater effect in inflaming the minds of the people, it was reconunended to me as a measure of absolute necessity, by some means, if possible, to check its spirit. On this a negotiation was opened with Dr Jebb, who was then chief of the political writers, and he agreed, upon the terms of my recommending him for a pension of £300 a year, to give his assistance to Grovemment, and since that time he has been very useful, as well by suppressing inflammatory publications as by writing and other services, which he promises to continue to the extent of his power."* After the death of Dr Jebb the pension was continued to his children. SLANG SATIRES ON SHAMADO AND HIS FRIENDS. By desire of the Publisher and others, we give, un- abridged, in this Appendix the songs from which, at pp. fiO, 61, we quoted a few stanzas. The following is ex * MemoiiB of Qrattan, hj his son, vol. ii., p. 175. 174 APPENDIX. humed from the dusty file of the Dublin Evening Post of April 4, 1789. A tradition ascribes the authorship to a gentleman, long and familiarly known in Ireland as "Pleasant Ned Lysaght :"— THE INFORMERS. TuNB — " The night lefore Larry vjas tlreteUi.' PiNDBMONitJM'g dread court was convened by mandates from Beel- zebub's see. And a horrible gloominess reign'd through the vault at its buv3- reign's beck ; Ths chiefs were arranged near his throne; each imp took his speci- fied station; All impatient until it was known whether anything threaten'd the nation, Or their friends had relinquish'd their yoke. At length the grim despot arose, (perceiving the fears of the meeting,) His infernal intent to disclose ; and thus he began, after greeting :— " Chiefs, things of the highest import, well worthy, 1 deem, yoilr attention, Have occasion'd this summons to court for holding a weighty con- vention. As I always take counsel in need. " To you I need hardly avow that my joys spring from mankind's undoing, And your duiy will urge you, I trow, to assist in a scheme I 've been brewing. Occasion most apt for my ends having started to try your alle- giance, I shall shortly distinguish my friends by the promptitude of theit obedience ; Then, see that my will be observed. * Sweet confusion, if I have success, shall reward every care and endeavour. And the station of Fremie>' shall bless the devil who pruves the mo«t clever, SATIRES ON SHAMADO AND HIS H5IENDS. 175 Then look to your agents on eartb, and cull who may beat b« relied on. To apian we ourselves will give birth, — do you search out whom you can confide in, And let them be drawn to our aid." Then Beelzebub paused for reply; but their tumult assail'd him like thunder, Each having some friend in his eya. they near split his tympanums asunder. Albeit though used to much din, their zeal overleap'd all precedent. Till the sov'reign, with horrible grin, loohed to silence the most disobedient, And awed the demoniac crew. His Demoathen' gave in black rolls of their pets in our capital city. And Beelzebub smiled at long scrolls, when 'twas moved to select a committee. He himself named Sbamado as head; others rank'd in their order of merit. y — ra and ns then led; and Iton to the assembly submitted, — All these were allow'd good and true. " My plan, then, concisely is this : Sliamado must counsel Dick — y, his wigeon, To ensure — ^hit, miss, — and do you help to forward his pigeon. This signal-must set on our crew, who eagerly strain for probation, And (honour now bid an adieu) let each urge his black information. The rest is committed to fate." Hell rung with the loudest applause, and Beelzebub's pride wa» inflated ; The idea was his — his the cause ; every demon was likewise elated. The court then dissolved in a blaze ; each fiend laid his plan of proceeding, And, taking their devious ways, exulted, with hope of succeeding, In every inalevolent aim. Prom Erebus' depths ro«e each elf, who glow'd with infernal desire ; But their prince judged it fit that himi<3l should alone hold confab with the Squire. 176 AFFENDIX. Close intimates long tliougb thoy stood, this case call'd for greate» demerit, And conscience, though purged from all good, might have wanted his familiar tpirit; For there 'a nothing like aid from a chum. lit his elbow the prince straight appear'd, surrounded with sulphur- ous vapour, Just as Shamado foundation had rear'd of a lie for his infamous paper. Mutual greetings soon pass between friends who aie rarely or ever asunder ; So Beelzebub mention'd the ends of th' assembly as holden just under, And told him the state of the case. " 'Tis well," said Shamado. " Gracious sire, your law has been always my pleasure ; r conceive what your highn^s desires, — 'tis my duty to second the measure. The deeper I plunge for your sake, the higher I raise my condition; Then who would hia fealty break to a prince who thus feeds his ambition, And gratifies every desire t "Through life I've acknowledged thy aid, and as constantly tasted thy bounty, — From the Newgate solicitor's trade, till a sub-sheriff placed in the county. Shall I halt in the midst of my sins, or sink fainting and trembling before 'em, Vlien my honour thick-spreading begins — when, in fine, I am one of the quorum. And may in the Senate be placed. " No, my liege. Since thy favour increase. I am tied by their strong obligation ; And, as vacant young minister's place, let your faithful engage in the station." The Bov'reign, well pleased with the hit, sent an imp in his suite with a bullet. Told his counsel to make out the writ, and Shamado, the justice, would fill it) — The fittest on earth fur the charge. SATIRES ON SIIAMADO AND HIS FRIENDS. ] 'i 7 Now the bustle of office began, and the Devil, content with 's ohiet menial, Set him loose for the rapine of man, as he acted from motive* congenial. Like principles run through the group, each eagerly works in hio function. And their prince mast confess such a troop never served him before in conjunction, 4.nd never again may be joiu'd. A NEW SONG TO THE TUNE OP "LARRY." (From, the Dublin Evening Post of May 5, 1789.) Oh, de night afore Edgwort was tried, De Council dey met in despair, Geo Jos — was there ; and beside Was a doctor, a lord, and a player.* Justice Sham den silence proclaim'd, De Bullies dey all of dem harken'd ; Poor Edqwokt says he will be framed; His daylights perhaps will be darkeu'd. Unless we can lend him a hand. " Be de hokey ! " says Geo, " I 'm afraid I can't get him cut of his trouble ; His blinkers I know they will shade. If his lordship don't tip him de double. To de Castle I 'd have him to go; He 's de man dat can do such a job dere. And get out de red'-coats you know ; And den we can keep off de mob dere. Hid peepers derby we can save." No sooner he 'd spoke de word whole. But de colour edged oif from dere faces. Says Eosoiusf " Now splinter your soul. I 'd, by s, throw aces ; • For a key to these characters, see p. 60. + Richard Daly. (Seepo. 72, 76, 92, 94, &c.) N nS APPENDIX. Ay, rather be nick'd three times o'er. Supposing 'twas on de last stake. Den hear you say so any more ; 'TwaB a lie dat yourself you did mate, To go for to frighten de Sham. " I 'm sorry such falseness to see Of a boy dat was bred in our school; You dog, if it was not for he. You 'd often gone hungry to . And now for a damnable tief To go and invent such a lie, I put your poor master in pain." Away den de Quaek he did fly. And de Council bruk up like a shot. Says Sham, " He 's a boy of my own. By the ties of relation endear'd, — A fellow dat 's proof to de bone. Nor conscience nor devil e'er fear'd. Young Rosoius, I know, will subscribe, Becase dey have often play'd hazard ; De Sheriff we '11 try for to bribe, And not let 'em pelt his poor mazzard. To go for to mark it wid shame." Says the Quack, " flow blister my limbs. But I send him a great deal of pity ; What signifies people's nice whims ? We know he can swear very pritty. In his paper he shall have de daub. I '11 tell BncKET de people will bless him. If now he will comfort poor Bob, When de laws of de laud do distress him ; But I 'm told they will tell de whole truth.' THE IRISH YEOMANRY IN 1798. (P. 106, ante.) The connivance of Dempsey, the yeoman, at Lord Edward's escape is the more singular, when we remember that he belonged to a body which ^s notorious for its im- placabDity to suspected persons. The personal narratives of Hay, Cloney, Teeling, O'Kelly, the historic r>,searches THE IRISH YEOMANRY IN 1798. 179 jf Madden, and the traditions of the people, furnish abun- dant anecdotes of their brutality. The following reminis- cences, communicated to us by the late Mrs Plunkett of Frescati — the early residence, by the way, of Lord Edward Fitzgerald — as they do not happen to have been printed, may be given here. Mrs Plunkett was a Miss Barrington of the county Wexford, and belonged to an old and respec- table Protestant family. Previous to the outburst of the rebellion there was a noted bridewell at Geneva, in the county Wexford, wherein persons suspected of treasonable tendencies were incar- cerated, and from thence removed soon after to some dis- tant place of transportation. The betrothed of one young woman and the husband of another were cast into this prison. The women were permitted to visit the captives ; they exchanged clothes, and the men passed out unrecognised. When the young women were discovered occupying the cells, nothing could exceed the rage of the local yeomanry. They assembled a mock court-martial, found the fair conspirators guilty of having aided and abetted the escape of traitors, and then sentenced them to be tossed naked in a blanket. The yeomanry carried their decision into effect. They roughly tore the garments from the young women, stripped them stark naked, and then prostrated them on the blanket which was prepared for their punishment. They were tossed unmerciftdly, amidst the brutal laughter of the assembled yeomanry. A Scotch regiment present had the manly feelmg to turn their backs. The married woman was pregnant, and died from the effects of the treatment she received. The younger girl, a person of great beauty, was seriously injured both in body and mind. Mrs Plunkett frequently said, that on the approach of the yeo manry, flushed with victory and revenge, Father Bren- nan, a near neighbour of hers, fled, leaving a deaf and dumb girl in charge of the chapel-house. Mortified at not finding the priest, and irritated at the girl's silence, the yeomanry cut out her tongue, which had refused to obey them, and placing her upon a dunghill, slowly tortured her to death ! About the same time, and in the same county, thp yeomanry, after having sacked the chapel and hunted 'J'.t 180 APPENDIX. priest, deputed wie of their corps to enter the confessional and personate the good pastor. In the course of the day some young men on their way to the battle of Oularl^ dropped in for absolution. One, who disclosed his inten- tion, and craved the personated priest's blessing, was re- torted upon with a curse, while the yeoman, losing patience, flung off the soutane, revealing beneath his scarlet uniform. The youth was shot upon the spot, and his grave is still shown at Passage. The height to which party rancour ran was disgusting. Brunehaut, who condemned her foe to drink out of a mur- dered parent's skull, found imitators of her idiosyncracy in Ireland. Miss G , the daughter of a Wexford terror- ist, directed many of the tortures which were so exten- sively practised ; and our informant knew her to stir a ■^owl of punch with a croppy's finger ! Miss G '- was subsequently burnt with yeomen and ♦thers in the barn at ScuUabogue — an act which hag cast indelible stigma on the rebellion in Wexford — and her screams were heard long after all others had ceased. A female servant of Mrs Barrington's surprised her mis- tress, long after the rebellion, by confessing, "It was 1 went for the lighted turf which set fire to the barn at Scullybogue." Lord Cornwallis, the more humane viceroy who suc- ceeded Lord Camden, notices, in a letter to General Eoss, the " ferocity and atrocity" of the yeomen, and that they take the lead in rapine and murder. He adds : — " The feeble outrages, burnings, and murders which are stUl committed by the rebels serve to keep up the sangui- nary disposition on our side ; and so long as they furnish a pretext for our parties going in quest of them, I see no prospect of amendment. " The conversation of the principal persons of the country all tend to encourage this system of blood ; and the con- versation even at my table, where you wiU suppose I do all I can to prevent it, always turns on hanging, shooting, burning, &c., 0'Beirne,Bp. of Heath, 26 I Tuam (Archbishop), . 27 [Alexander, Mem. Derry, 28 /■Bums, Meath, \ Finley, do., Cleghorn, do., S. H. Mannix, Cork, Fitzgerald, Tip]jerary,Ln do.. \ Jacob, Tyrrel,* Knipe, Griffith, VBlaney, Sirr, Swan, Sands, IGiffard, HempenstaU, Lt Spectacle En ox, Higgins, . ( Armstrong, ■! Keynolds, . [ Cope,t Kildare, do., do., Monaghan,, No. 9. — Turnkey and Gaol- frt-jf„.. er to the Faction, . \ '^'^^^^> M., 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 * This entry has elicited, since publication, a protest from the re- presentatives of the late Captain Tyrrel, J. P., of Ballinderry, county KUdare. We have instituted inquiries on the subject, and find fliat this family were always Dopular. General Cockbum probably K,*ers to anothe" party. T Another remonstrance haa reached us from Sir William H. Cope, Bart., who, not unnaturally, complains that the word " spy " should be applied to his late grandfather, ^^ is the phrase occurs in a document written by General Cocliburii, it is impossible to alter it ; but we can have no difficulty in saying, that although Mr. Oope urged Eeyuolria to re.^ort to betrayal aud espionage, he w.ir. LOKD CLARK. 195 A few remarks in illustration of the persons enumerated in tlie " Step- Ladder " of General Cockburn serves to dis- close a condensed history of the time. 1. Lord Chancellor Clare was the son of John Fitzgibbon, who had received his education for the Eoman Catholic priesthood, but preferring civil to canon law, conformed, with a view to becoming a member of the bar. The subse- quent Lord Clare was appointed attorney-general in 1784, and five years later attained the topmost rung of " the step- ladder," from whence he looked down with supercilious scorn on those by whose aid he had risen. He rapidly covered all Ireland with his partisans. Both houses of Parliament became his automatons. Of coercion he was an uncompromising advocate. In 1784, as alleged by Plowden, he introduced a bUl for demolishing Eoman Catholic chapels. In Parliament he defended the use of torture. In private, as his letters to Lord Castlereagh show, he upset the biU of Catholic relief, which, according to Mr Pitt's promise, was to have accompanied the Act of Union. But it should be remembered by the assailants of Lord Clare's reputation, that, unlike many of the influential men enumerated in General Cockbum's " step-ladder," he, at least, was politically consistent, and did not commence his career in the ranks of the tribunes. In action he was impulsive, fearless, and despotic. Bushing to a political meeting convened by the High Sheriff of Dublin, and at- tended by one friend only, this, the most unpopular man in all Ireland, interrupted a democratic orator in his address, commanded the mob to disperse, almost pushed the high sheriff from the chair, and threatened an ex-offido informa- tion. The sheriff, panic-stricken, dissolved the meeting. If hissed in the street. Lord Clare pulled out pistols.* He powerfully contributed to carry the Union. His ambition was indomitable, and he aspired to transfer his boundless influence to the wider field of England. He had placed several viceroys in succession beneath his thumb. Might himself neither a spy nor » betrayer. Sir William Cope's able rindication ol his grandfather from General Cockbum's aucusa^ tion of " Spy," Till be found at the conclusion of our notes to th« "Step-ladder." * Unpublished Diary of Lord Clonmel, p. 419. 196 APPENDIX. he not also attain an ascendency over the personage whom they represented ? " K I live," said Lord Clare, when the measure was brought before the House of Peers, " if I live to see the Union completed, to my latest hour I shall feel an honour- able pride in reflecting on the little share I may have had in contributing to effect it." His first speech in the British Parliament met with in- terruption and rebuffs. He abused the Catholics, ridiculed his country, was called to order by Lord Suffolk, rebuked by the Lord Chancellor, resumed, was again called to order, lost temper, and stigmatised the opposition as " Jacobini and levellers." " We would not bear this insult from an equal." exclaimed the Duke of Bedford ; " shall we endure it at the hands of mushroom nobility V Even Mr Pitt was disgusted. " Good G — d," said he, addressing Mr Wilber- force, " did ever you hear, in all your Ufe, so great a rascal as that?" Mr Grattan mentions, in the memoirs of his father, that this anecdote was stated by Mr WUberforce to Mr North. Crestfallen, Lord Clare returned to Ireland, where he found a number of hungry place-seekers awaiting his arrival. " Ah," said he, as he began to calculate his influence, and found it wanting, " 7, that once had aU Ireland at my dis- posal, cannot now nominate the appointment of a ganger." His heart broke at the thought, and on January 28, 1802, f lOrd Clare, after a painful illness, and while yet compara- *i.fely young, died.* His death-bed presented a strange picture. Charles PhiUips says he ordered his papers to be bumed,+ as himdreds might be compromised. In Grattan's • A few days after the Sham Squire's demise. Lord Clare, not- withstanding his avowed tendency to foster political profligacy, pos- sessed the redeeming virtue of having snubbed the Sham Squire. + It has been mentioned by the AtJienceum (No. 1684) aa a signi- ficant fact, that nearly all those who were concerned in carrying the Union had destroyed their papers, and Lord Clare, Sir Edward Littlehales, with Messrs Wickham, Taylor, Marsden, and King, were instanced. It is also remarkable, that all the MS. reports of the eloquent anti-Union speeches, with the MSS. of many pamphlets hostile to the measure, were purchased from Moore the publisher, and burnt by order of Lord Castlereagh. See Grattan's Memoirs, vol v., p. 1 80. Lord Clonmel, in his last moments, expressed much anxiety to destroy his papers.'* His nephew. Dean Scott, who assisted in the conflagration, assured Mr Grattan that one letter in particular com- MR FOSTER. 197 Memoirs it is stated, on the authority of Lord Clare's nephew, that he bitterly deplored having taken any part in effecting the Union. Plowden states that he vainly called for the assistance of a Catholic priest ; but we have never seen the allegation confirmed. His funeral was insulted by much of the indecency which attended Lord Castlereagh's in Westminster Abbey. In one of Lord Clare's speeches he declared, that he would make the Catholics as tame as cats. Dead cats were flung upon his hearse and his grave. Lord Cloncurry, in his " KecoUections," says that he was obliged to address the infuriated populace from the balcony of Lord Clare's house in Ely Place, ere they could be in- duced to relinquish the unseemly hooting which swelled the death-kneE of John, Earl of Clare. 2. " Mr Foster, we learn, was for several years not only the supporter, and indeed the ablest supporter of the admin- istration, but the conductor and manager of their schemes and operations."* He sternly opposed the admission ol Catholics to the privileges of the constitution ; but Ireland must always remember him with gratitude for the deter- mined hostility with which, as Speaker of the Irish Parlia- ment, he opposed the Legislative Union. Feeling that the papers of Mr Foster (afterwards Lord Oriel) would throw great light upon the history of the Union, we asked the late Lord Massareene, who represented him, for permission to see them, but it appeared that the Honourable Chichester SkefBngton " seized" the archives after Lord Ferrard's death, and Lord Massareene never saw them after. pletely revealed Lord Castlereagb's scheme to foster the Rebellion of '98 in order to cany the Union. The purchase of Lord De Blaquire's papers by the Government appears in our notice of that personage. Mr Commissioner Phillips tells us that the debates on the Union called into operation all the oratorical talent of Ireland, but their record has been suppressed, and that the volume contain- ing the session of 1800 is so inaccessible, that it has been sought for in vain to complete the series in the library of the Bouse of Lorda Whether by accident or design, the materials for a true history of the Union are yearly becoming less. The late Lord Londonderry has recorded that the ship which was conveying a chest of the most valuable of his brother Castlereagh'g papers foundered, and the papers were lost ! * Beview of the Irish Hoixie of Commons, p, 129, 198 APPENDIX. 3. Charles Agar was appointed Archbishop of Ca^hel ia 1779, translated to Dublin in 1801, and created Earl of Normanton in 1806. Long before he obtained these high promotions, Lord Clonmel clearly saw that he was a very umbitious man. When we learn that his Grace acquired £40,000 by a single renewal fine, the statement that he amassed a fortime of £400,000 is not surprising.* Lord Normanton would seem to have been more active as a ^rivy councillor than as a prelate, for Archbishop Magee declared that "the diocese of Dublin had been totally neglected" by his predecessors. t A savage biographical notice of Archbishop Agar appears in Cox's Irish Maga- line for August 1809, pp. 382-4, together with some lines beginning : — " Adieu, thou mitred nothingness, adieu, Thy failings many, and thy virtues few." Yet amid the sectarian strife of that day it is pleasant to §nd " C, Cashel" in amicable epistolary correspondence with Ms rival, Dr James Butler, Roman Catholic Arch- bishop of the same diocese.:]; 4. Lord Castlereagh, who, falsifying the hyperbolical apothegm of Dr Johnson that " patriotism was the last refuge of a scoundrel," began political life in the ranks of the patriots. Of his hostility to the lordly interest, and identifi- cation with the reform or popular party, the autobiographies of Teeling and Sampson furnish curious particulars. His electioneering agent on those principles was NeUson the Rebel. Lord Castlereagh's subsequent career is too notori- ous to require special detail. Dr Madden calls him the Robespierre of Ireland, and says that his memory haf " the faint sickening smell of hot blood about it." Lord Comwallis writes of him in 1798 — "I have every reason to be highly satisfied with ]jord Castlereagh, who is really a very uncommon young man." This " uncommon young man " exerted himself certainly in an uncommon way. He writes, in a letter marked "Most Secret," dated Dublin * Dalton's Archbishops ol jjublin, p. 351. + Charge delivered October 24, 1822, p. 30. J Renehan's Irjsh Church History, edited by Rev. J). M'Cartbj p. 3 p. 346. 202 APPENDX5I. 8. Lord Glentworth's services were much of the same order as those of the Marquis of Drogheda. So little was he known outside the backstairs of the Castle that he obtains no place in either of the contemporary publications which we have more than once consulted. It wiU be remembered that his was one of the three peerages which Grattan and Ponsonby offered to prove had been sold foi hard cash, and the money laid out in the purchase of members in the House of Commons. P. 40, . COREY AND GliATTAN. 205 at Dungannou Park, the residence of the youthful Lord Ranfurley, is preserved an immense collection of letters addressed to the late Lord Perry when he was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons* 15. The Honourable Isaac Corry, Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, and M.P. for Newry, where his father was a respectable trader, joined the Whig Opposition, and for several years distinguished himself by the violence of his patriotism : but during Lord Buckingjiam's administration he was appointed Surveyor of Ordnance at a salary of £1000 a year, which was followed by further promotion. Official peculation had attained a fearful pitch at this time. In the Ordnance and Treasury, the grossest frauds pervaded almost every departme»t The public stores were plundered with impunity in open aay. The arms, ammunition, and military accoutrements, condemned as useless, were stolen out at one gate, and brought in at the other, and charged anew to the public account. Journeymen armourers, who worked in the arsenal, seldom went home to their meals without conveying away a musket, a sword, or brace of pistols, as lawful perquisites, and sanctioned by the con- nivance of the superiors. Clerks in subordinate depart- partments, with salaries not exceeding £100 per annum, kept handsome houses in town and country, with splendid sstablishments ; some of them became purcha.sers of loans and lotteries : all exhibited signs of redundant opulence, t During the debate on the Union, Grattan, with, we think, less point than usual, stung the vulnerable ministerialist by calling him " a dancing-master ;'' Corry challenged his satirist; they left the House, and before the debate ter- minated, Corry was shot through the arm.t 16. The Marquis of Waterford was the leading member of the powerfully influential family of the Beresfords. In conjunction with his brother he hurled, by their might, the * Letter of Henry Alexander, Esq., guardian of Lord Ranfurley, dated Carlton Club, July 1, 1860. t Plowden's History of Ireland, vol. ii., p. 279. X Grattan cultivated unerring aim in conjunction with accurate eloquence. In the secluded woods of Tenahinch he might be some- times seen declaiming with Demosthenic energy, and the next hour lodging bullets in particular trees which still bear marks of the havoc. 20G APPENDIX. liberal viceroy, Lord Fitzwilliam, from office, and provoked from the latter a remark in the English House of Peers, to the effect, that it was impossible to effect any good in Ire- land unless the power of the Beresfords could be destroyed* Not until 1826 was this desirable consummation achieved. At the Waterford election in that year, the Beresfords re- ceived, from the forty-shilling freeholders, their death-blow. " I did not think," said Shell, " that there was so much virtue under rags." \ This telling stroke was planned and feiflicted by Dr Kelly, E. C. Bishop of Waterford. 17. Lord Annesley was a person of some influence in 1798, and following years, but he did not long enjoy his power. Lord Annesley died without issue, December 19, 1802, — the year which also terminated the lives of the Sham Squire and Lord Clare. 18. Sir John, afterwards Lord De Blaquire, represents one of the Huguenot families of whom we have spoken, p. 71, ante. Patronised by Lord Harcourt, he accepted the office of bailiff of the Phoenix Park, to which the small salary of £40 a year was attached, with the use of a little lodge, a garden, grass for two cows, and half-a-crown per head for all cattle found trespassing in the Park. The first piece of his cleverness was shown in contriving to make the salary £50 per annum for his own life and that of the king's two eldest sons ; with liberty to graze cattle to an unlimited extent. Sir John was a pluralist in sine- cures, and amongst the rest filled the office of Director of Public Works.t He applied for a more comfortable re- sidence, which the Board of Works built for him at the public expense of £8000. Sir John, however, was not yet satisfied. The garden being small, he successfully petitioned for a larger one, whereupon he took in about * Lord Clare, writing to the Right Honourable J. C. Beresford, says : — " The more I consider the flagrant and unwarrantable calumnies which he [Lord Fitzwilliam] deals out so flippantly against you, the more I am decided in my opinion that you ought in the first instance to bring an action against him for defamation, and lay it in the city of London. He had fifty copies of this memoir made out by the clerks in the different offices in the Castle, which were distributed by his order." — Bereaford Correspondence, vol. ij , p 88. t r.iiriington'a Personal Stotcbes. vol. L, p. 194. STE JOHN DE BLAQUIKE. 207 ten acres, ■which he surrounded by a wall, also at the ex- pense of the nation.* But it is De Blaquire's connexion with the Legislative Union, and the rare astuteness with which he promoted the success of that measure, on which his fame as a diplomatist historically rests. " Sir John Blaquire is disposed to exert himself very much,"t observes Lord Castlereagh in communicating the good news to the Duke of Eutland, on January 7,1799. " The entrance to a woman's heart," said the first Napoleon, " is through her eye or ear; but the way to a man's heart is down his throat." De Blaquire illustrated the wisdom of the apo- thegm. " He enjoyed," says Sir Jonah Barrington, " a revenue suflSciently ample to enable him to entertain his friends as well, and far more agreeably, than any other person I had previously met. Nobody understood eating and drinking better than Sir John De Blaquire ; and no man was better seconded in the former respect, than he was by his cook, whom he brought from Paris. "J Lord Cornwallis, in recommending De Blaquire for a peerage, writes : — " Sir J. Blaquire governed this country for some years, and he has since held his rank in Dublin as a political character of no small consequence. § For some notice of the intrigues with which De Blaquire had secured influential support to the Union, see "The Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation." A few years ago, one of his descendants found a trunk of old dusty papers calcu- lated to throw great light on the history of the Union. This gentleman is said to have offered the entire trunkful 1;p the Wellington government for £100 ; his proposal, it is also said, was eagerly accepted j and we have heard him ridi- culed by his friends for being so sUly as not to have stipu- lated for a couple of thousand pounds, which would have been acceded to, they allege, with equal alacrity. 19. Lord Londonderry, father of Lord Castlereagh, was an active agent in checking the popular plots of the time ,• but that his lordship was not without misgivings as to the result may be inferred from the fact, mentioned in the * Irish Political Charactera, 1799, p. 150. + Memoirs and Correspondence of Lord Castlereagh, vol. ii., p. 8& + Personal Sketches by Sir Jonak Barrington, vol. i., p. 193. § Cornwallis Corre^Dondence, Letter of July 1 1. 1800. 208 APPENDIX. " Castlereagh Papers," (iL 331,) that he would not t»ke bank-notes in payment of rent. 20. John Toler, afterwards Lord Norbury, it will be re- membered, was counsel for the Sham Squire, in the case Higgins V. Magee. It may without much injustice be said of him, that for thirty years he performed the triple role of bully, butcher, and buffoon. His services in the first capa- city proved useful to the then government, and helped him far more than his law to judicial elevation.* His old pas- sions and prejudices clung to him as a judge ; he browbeat timid counsel ; and has been known to suggest mortal combat by remarking " that he would not seek shelter be- hind the bench, or merge the gentleman in the Chief Jus- tice." His relish for a capital conviction was undisguised; a document before us mentions the almost incredible fact, that at a single assize, he passed sentence of death on one hundred and ninety-eight individuals, of whom one hundred and ninety-seven passed through the hands of Galvin, the hang- man. With tiie black cap on his head, he joked as freely ag though it were a cap and beUs. " Ah, my lord, give me a iong day," craved a wretched culprit on a certain 20th of June. " Tour wish is granted," replied the judge, " I will give you until to-morrow, the longest day in the year !" Lord Norbury's charges transcend description. " Flinging his judicial robe aside," writes Mr SheU, " and sometimes cast- ing off his wig, he started from his seat and threw off a wild harangue, in which neither law, method, or argument could be discovered. It generally consisted of narratives of his * Mr Toler's powers of invective were quite startling. When he jttered such language in Parliament as this, the licence of his tongue elsewhere may be conceived : — "Hadhe heard a man uttering out of those doors such language as that of the honourable gentle- man, he would have seized the ruf&an by the throat, and lagged him to the dust." (Pari. Deb.) An extraordinary licence of language was permitted by the Speakei in these days. A tradition of the period thus describes the deuun- cdation of a certain family : — " Sir, they are all rotten from the honourable member who has just sat down, to the toothless hag that is now grinning at us from the gallery/'^the allusion being to the honourable member's mother. Lord Castlereagh was upbraided with impotency by Plunket, in the presence of Lady Castlereagh, who occupied a seat in the Speaker's gallery durii^ one of the debates on the Union. LOED NOKBUEY. 209 early life, which it was impossible to associate with the subject, of jests from John Miller, mixed with jokes of his own manufacture, and of sarcastic allusions to any of the counsel who had endeavoured to check him during the trial." Sir Jonah Barrington mentions that he has seen his " racket court " * convulsed with laughter by the appear- ance of the chief in a green tabinet coat with pearl buttons, striped yeUow and black vest, and buff breeches — the cos- tume of Hawthorn in " Love in a VUlage," a character per- sonated by Lord Norbury at Lady Castlereagh's masquerade ; and he found the dress so cool that he frequently, in after years, wore it under his robes. On this particular occasion it was revealed accidentally by Lord Norbury throwing back his robes, owing to the more than ordinarily heated atmosphere of. the court. Lord Norbury could sometimes say a good thing. The nUanies of the Sham Squire had brought the attorney's eraft into deep disrepute. A shilling subscription was raised to bury a poor solicitor -. " Here is a guinea," said Lord Norbury ; " bury one-and-twenty of them." " That Scotch Broom, deserves an Irish stick," exclaimed Lord Norbury, in reference to Lord Brougham, who had brought before Parliament some unconstitutional conduct of which he had been guUty j and at a later period, it ap- peared, from the same source, that the old chief had fallen asleep on the bench during a trial for murder. In 1827 he resigned, and in 1831 he died. The late Mr Brophy, state dentist, who was present at Lord Norbur/s funeral, informed us that when lowering the coffin by ropes into a deep grave, a voice in the crowd cried, "Give him rope. falore,f boys ; he never was sparing of it to others." As a landlord. Lord Norbury was by no means bad ; and in his own house he is said to have been gentle and forbearing. 21. Lord Kingsborough had always been prominently zealous in promoting that system of coercion J which, as • This was a designation of Lord ITorbury's own. "What'* your business ? " a witness was asked. " I keep a racket court." " So do I," rejoined the Chief-Justice, puffing. t Anglict. in plenty. t Flowden'3 Hist, of Ireland, rol. ii., p. 475. r 210 APPENDIX. Lord Castlereagh admitted, aimed to make the United Iriab coEspiracy explode.* When the rebellion broke out, Lord Kingsborough, as colonel of the North Cork Militia, pro- ceeded to join his regiment in Wexford, but was captured by the rebels, who held possession of the town. Mr Plowden, in his History, states that Lord Kingsborough owed his life to the personal interposition of Dr Caulfield, Eoman Catholic Bishop of Ferns. But from a statement made to us by John Plunket, Esq., of Frescati, whose father held rank in the rebel army at Wexford, it would appear that Lord Kingsborough's deliverance was not whoUy owing to the Bishop.. Lord Kingsborough and an English officer were about to be hung at " The Bull's Eing," when they pledged their honour to Mr Plunket, that, if then liberated, they would do him a similar service on a subsequent occasion, which they assured him could not be far distant. Lord Kingsborough and his friend wrote two letters to this effect ; but when Mr Plunket waa afterwards found guilty by a court-martial, the documents could not be found. His wife waited on Lord Kings- borough to hope he would renew the letter, but the peei declined to interfere in any way on behalf of Plunket ; while the other ofiScer, whose life had been spared at the same time, honourably kept his word. Our informant adds, that Mr Plowden, when engaged on his History, obtained an interview with the late Mrs Plunket in ordei to gather authentic details of the events of which she had personal knowledge, but as they were then of recent occur- rence, she declined to assist him.f Lord Kingsborough subsequently attained celebrity by shooting a person whom he detected offering undue familiarities to his sister. Lord Kingsborough, his son, died a pauper in the Four Courts Marshalsea. 22. General Cockburn regards Lord Downshire as a rotten rung in the step-ladder, and styles him "a very mis- chievous enemy to liberty." We think, however, that his hostility to the Union goes far to redeem his^ shortcomings. His policy on this question so displeased the Government that he was dismissed from the lieutenancy of his county, • Moore's Life of Lord E. Fitzgerald, p. 110, Paris edit. t CommunicE^ted b;^ John Plunket, Eeq., Frescati, Feb 17, 186S. POLITICAL SEDUCTION. 211 from the oolonelcy of his regiment, and even expelled from the Privy Council It was further proposed to institute a parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of Lord Downshire. 23. Lord Dillon also pursued a policy in 1800 which covers a multitude of poUtical sins. At a meeting of in- fluential anti-unionists in Dublin, he proposed that a joint- stock purse should be formed for the purpose of out-bribing the Government.* Until June 1799, Lord Dillon exercised his property and influence, both considerable, in favour of the Union. 24. Mr Trench formed, under curious circumstances, a majority of one in favour of the Union. His vote and voice disclosed a very painful instance of tergiversation and seduction. Mr Trench declared, in presence of a crowded House, that he would vote against the minister, and support Mr Ponsonby's amendment. " This," observes Sir Jonah Bariington, who was an eye-witness of the trans- action, " appeared a stunning blow to Mr Cooke, who had been previously in conversation with Mr Trench. He was immediately observed sidling from his seat, nearer to Lord Castlereagh. They whispered earnestly ; and, as if restless and undecided, both looked wistfully at Trench. At length the matter seemed to be determined on. Mr Cooke retired to a back seat, and was obviously endeavouring to count the House — ^probably to guess if they could that night dis- pense with Mr Trench's services. He returned to Lord Castlereagh ; they whispered, and again looked at Mr Trench. But there was no time to lose ; the question was approaching. All shame was banished ; they decided on the terms, and a significant glance, obvious to everybody, convinced Mr Trench that his conditions were agreed to. Mr Cooke then went and sat down by his side : an earnest but very short conversation took place; a parting smile completely told the House that Mr Trench was satisfied. These surmises were soon verified. Mr Cooke went back to Lord Castlereagh ; a congratulatory nod announced his satisfaction. But could any man for one moment sup- pose that an M.P. of large fortune, of respectable family, and good character, could be publicly, and without shama or compunction, actually seduced by Lord Castlereagh • Flowden's History of Ireland, vol. ii., p. 551, 212 ATPENDIX under the eye of two hundred and twenty gentlemen ! In a few minutes Mr Trench rose to apologise for having in- discreetly declared he would support the amendment. He added, that he had thought better of the subject ; that he had been convinced he was wrong, and would support the minister." Mr Trench accordingly became Lord Ashtown. 25. Dr Duigenan has been already noticed at p. 62, ante. 26. Of Bishop O'Beime much has been written, but we never saw in print some curious details embodied in a let- ter, dated April 22, 1857, and addressed to us by the lat» Mr William Forde, Town Clerk of Dublin. "I can furnish, ' writes Mr Forde, " an interesting anecdote of the early hisr tory of that gentleman, which I learned when very young, living within two miles of the see house of the diocese of Meath. Dr O'Beime was never ordained a Eoman Catholic priest, but was educated at the Irish College of Paris with a view to his becoming a priest. His brother, Eev. Denis O'Beime, was educated at the same time and in the same college, and died parish priest of the town of Longford, of which his brother was the rector. The name of the parish in the Church is TemplemichaeL The history of the bishop in early life was, that having suspended his studies, owing to Hi-health, he returned home for a couple of years, and was returning to the college, when the following incident, which altered his destinies for Ufe, occurred to him : — He was travelling on foot through Wales, when the day became very boisterous and rainy, and took shelter in a poor inn on the wayside, and after ordering his dinner, which was a small bit of Welsh mutton, he went into a little sitting- room. In some time two gentlemen came in also for shel- ter, (they were on a shooting party, and were driven in by the violence of the storm,) and asked the woman of the house what she could give them for dinner. She replied she had nothing but what was at the fire roasting, and it was ordered by a gentleman in the next room, adding in a low tone, she believed he was an Irishman ; whereupon one of the gentlemen exclaimed, ' Damn Paddy — he have roast mutton for dinner while we must fast ; we will take it,' whereupon O'Beime walked down from his room, and asked who damned Paddy, .and insisted upon getting his BISHOP BEIENE. 213 dinner, and added they should not have it by force, but if they would take share of it on his invitation he would freely give it, and they were heartily welcome ; on which they accepted the invitation, provided he would allow them to give the wine, which they assured him was very good, not- withstanding the appearance of the place. They aU retired to the sitting-room, and the two gentlemen began convers- ing in French, whereupon O'Beime interrupted them, and informed them that he understood every word they uttered, and they might not wish that a third person should know what they were speaking about, and then the conversation became general, and was carried on in French, of which O'Beirne was a perfect master. They inquired of him what were his objects in life, when he told them his his- tory — that he was a farmer's son in Ireland, and his destiny was the Irish Catholic priesthood. When they were part- ing, one of the gentlemen asked would he take London on his way to Paris, to which he replied in the afiSrmative. He then gave him a card with merely the number and the street of his residence, and requested he would call there, where he would be very happy to see him. O'Beirne walked to London, which took him a considerable time, and on arriving there did not fail to call at the place indi- cated by the card. When he got to the house, he thought there must be some mistake ; biit nothing daunted, he rapped, and met a hall porter, to whom he presented the card, and told him how he came by it, but supposed it was a mistake. The porter replied : 'Oh no I his grace expected you a fortnight ago, and desired you should at once be shown in,' and ushered him in accordingly to the study, where his Grace the Duke of Portland introduced himself to him. He had been appointed Governor of Canada, and O'Beirne's knowledge of the French language, and his edu- cation and general information, were matters that made him a desirable private secretary to deal with the French Canadians, and O'Beime accepted the proposal of going out private secretary to the Duke of Portland. It was in Canada he apostatised and became a minister of the Estab- lished Church. I understood aU this from a clergyman. To the Duke of Portland O'Beirne owed his promotion in the Irish Church, first, to the parish uf Templemichael, 214 AtPENDIX. then to the see of Ossory, and finally his translation to the see of Meath, then valued at more than £8000 per annum, lie was married to a Scotch lady, a daughter of General Stuart. He had one son and two daughters. Neither of them married. At the time of his death he was an uncom- promising opponent of Catholic emancipation. I believe his brother the priest died before him. I always heard that it was Bishop O'Beirne married the Prince of Wales and Mrs Fitzherbert, and that the marriage took place in France, where the party went to have the ceremony per- formed." Since the previous edition of this book appeared, we received an interesting letter from Sir William Cope, which, with some remarks suggested by it, we have the less hesitation in giving, inasmuch as the Athenceum, in noticing our volume, regretted that we did not furnish more particulars of O'Beirne and some others : — " I have been looking over your book to-day, and I venture to point out to you that Mr Forde's account of Bishop O'Beirne must be erroneous in some particulars. He never could have married George IV. to Mrs Fitz- herbert, for that marriage was solemnised by a Catholic clergyman in 1786 or 1787 ; whereas I see, by the ' An- nual Kegister,' that, 'on 1st November 1783, the Eev. Mr O'Beirne, Secretary to the First Lord of the Treasury, was married to Miss Stuart, only surviving chOd of the Hon. Colonel Francis Stuart, brother to the Earl of Moray. If the First Lord of the Treasury was the Duke of Port- land, (who came into office in April of that year,) Mr Forde's story of his being O'Beirne's patron is confirmed. But surely the Duke of Portland never was Governor- General of Canada, — ^the Duke of Bichmond was, but not till after O'Beirne was a bishop. I remember his two daughters living, some twenty or thirty years ago, a few miles from this. O'Beirne, in 1780, wrote a comedy called ' The Generous Impostor,' which was acted only about six times. In a good life of him in the ' Annual Kegister' for 1822, it says that it was with Lord Howe he was in America during the American war ; and it is there said that the Howes introduced him to the Duke of Port- land. Excuse my remarking this ; but your work is so BISHOP o'beikne. 215 interesting, that anything that adds to its accuracy may be acceptable to you."* For half a century the opinion expressed by Sir William Cope very generally prevailed, that some Roman Catholic priest performed the perilous duty of marrying the Prince of Wales to Mrs Fitzherbert, for, from that lady's strong religious convictions, it was assumed that no clergyman but one of her own Church would satisfy her scruples. Lord Cloncurry, in his " Personal Recollections," + thinks that the Abb6 Taylor was the party; while the " Memoirs of Lady Blessington," (ii. p. 100,) throws suspicion on the Abbs Campbell, adding that Mrs Fitzherbert's scruples would never have been allayed without the intervention of a Catholic priest. But Lord Russell, in his " Memorials of C. J. Fox," and the Hon. C. Langdale, in his " Memoirs of Mrs Fitzherbert," materially weaken these rumours by stating that the officiating minister was a clergyman of the Church of England, and that the certificate of the mar- riage, attested by two witnesses, is dated December 2% 1785. The biographer of Mrs Fitzherbert is, we believe^ ignorant of the clergyman's name, though he announces the interesting fact that the Pope recognised the marriage as a perfectly valid one. Dr O'Beirne is very likely to have been the officiating party. He passed a considerable portion of his early life in America, but in 1784 we find him holding livings in Cumberland and Northumberland. J He was at this time much identified with the Opposition, of which the Prince was an influential member. " Once a, priest always a priest" is a well-known Catholic tenet ; and Mrs Fitzherbert can hardly fail to have shared an im- pression which generally prevailed, that Dr O'Beirne had been ordained a priest. This idea would have proved a very effective sedative to her scruples. Lord Brougham de- clared in the House of Commons that " Dr O'Beirne had been originally a priest, but afterwards becoming a Pro- * Letter from Sir W. H. Cope, Bart., February 23, 1866. + Personal Beoolleotiona of "Lord Cloncurry. 2d Ed., p. 175. We are assured by J. R. Corballis, Esq., Q.C, a near relation of the Abb^ Taylor, and who was closely associated with him at Rome, that he never knew the Abbe to be suspected of having married the Prince to Mrs Fitzherbert. X Walker's Hibernian Magazine, March 1800, p. 145. 216 APPENDIX. testant, he was made a bishop without any further ordina- tion."* That Dr O'Beime had been a priest, is, we believe, untrue ; but there can be little doubt that he had attained deacons' orders when studying for the priesthood in the Irish College at Paris. Mr Forde, father of an able theologian, the Very Kev. Monsignore Forde, adds in a postscript which we omitted to quote when originally printing his letter : — " You seem not to be aware that a marriage by the parties themselves was a good marriage, and a legal marriage, without the intervention of a clergyman, before the Coun- cil of Trent was received in Ireland, and that it has not been yet received in England. I knew Dr O'Beime j he was in his manner a perfect and accomplished gentleman. He was an admirable writer; I have seen some of his pamphlets. The late Dr Plunket, Bishop of Meath, was Professor in the Irish College when Dr O'Beime was a student in it ; and, as they lived within two miles of each other, the usual courtesies of life were observed- between the rival prelates. The Professor outlived the pupil several years." Bishop O'Beirne died in 1822. 27. Wm. Beresford, D.D., another prominent member of the inexhaustibly influential sept of the Beresfords, was consecrated Bishop of Dromore in 1780 ; Bishop of Ossory in 1784, and translated to the archbishopric of Tuam in 1795. He married the sister of Lord Chancellor Clare, and was created Lord Decies in December 1812. This influential prelate died September 6, 1819 ; and his per- sonality was sworn to as £250,000. 28. Mr Henry Alexander, both a barrister and a banker, represented Londonderry in the Irish Parliament. Here he was an active member of the secret committee. Having successfully promoted the Union, he entered the British senate as member for Old Sarum. He signally distin- guished himself as an advocate for coercion ; and on the 8th February 1815, we find him strenuously advocating the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. From the " Castlereagh Papers" (i. 348) we leam that Mr Alexander was a relation of the Irish rebel, Oliver Bond. 29. To describe the exploits of the members of that body, * Hansard, p. 4i3, vol. xiii., New Serieg. JUDKIN FITZGERALD, 2J7 styled by General Cockbum, " E n Magistrates," would be to ■write the history of the whole, and we are spared the painful necessity of detailing, ad nauseam, scenes of revolt- ing barbarity. As a specimen of his magisterial colleagues and contemporaries, take Mr Thomas Judkin Fitzgerald, high sheriff for the county of Tipperary. From the trial of Doyle v. Fitzgerald, we leam that the defendant, in the street, and for the purpose of flagellation, seized Doyle, who was a respectable tradesman in Carrick, In vain he de- clared his innocence ; and some of the most respectable in- habitants tendered evidence in support of that declaration. Doyle was a yeoman, and he begged that Captain Jephson, his commanding officer, might be sent for ; the request was refused. He offered to go to instant execution if, on in- quiry, the shadow of sedition could be advanced against him ; but inquiry was declined. Bail was then offered to any amount for his appearance, but Mr Fitzgerald would not be balked in the sport of which he had a foretaste, and declaring that he knew Doyle by his face to be a '' Carmelite traitor," tied him to the whipping-post, where he received one hundred lashes until his ribs appeared ; his knee-breeches were then removed, and fifty more lashei administered. Doyle's entire innocence was afterwards proved. He appealed at the Clonmel assizes for redress ; the facts appeared to demonstration ; but an Orange jury, packed by the sub-sheriff, acquitted the high sheriff, Mr Judkin Fitzgerald. Mr Wright, a teacher of the French language, employed both by public schools and private famiKes, having called »n Mr Fitzgerald, the latter drew his sword, exclaiming, "Down on your knees, rebellious scoundrel, and receive your sentence" — which was to be flogged first and shot finally. Wright surrendered his keys, and expressed him- self willing to suffer any punishment if his papers or conduct revealed proof of guUt. " What I you Carmelite rascal," exclaimed the high sheriff, " do you dare to speak after sentence V He then struck him and ordered him to prison The next day, when brought forth to undergo his sentence, Wright knelt down in prayer, with his hat before his face. Mr Fitzgerald snatched the hat from him and trampled on it, seized Wright by the hair, dragged him to the earth, 218 APPENDK. kicked l^itn and cut him across the forehead with his sword, then had him stripped naked, tied up to the ladder, and ordered him fifty lashes. Major Eial came up as the fifty lashes were completed, and asked the cause. Mr Ktzgerald handed him a note written in French, saying, he did not himself understand French, though he understood Irish, but Major Eial would find in that letter what would justify him in flogging the scoundrel to death. Major Rial read the letter. He found it to be a note for the victim, which he thus translated : — " I am extremely sorry I cannot wait on you at the hour appointed, being unavoidably obliged to attend Sir Laurence Parsons. — Yours, Baeon de Clues." " Notwithstanding this translation,'' observes Mr Plow- den, "Mr Fitzgerald ordered Wright fifty more lashea which were inflicted with such peculiar severity, that the bowels of the bleeding victim could be perceived to be con- vulsed and working through his wounds ! Mr Fitzgerald, finding he could not continue the application of his cat-o'- nine-tails on that part without cutting his way into his body, ordered the waistband of his breechfes to be cut open, and fifty more lashes to be inflicted. He then left the unfortunate man bleeding and suspended, while he wenV to the barrack to demand a file of men to come and shoot him ; but being refused by the commanding officer, he came back and sought for a rope to hang him, but could get none He then ordered him to be cut down and sent back to prison, where he was confined in a dark small room, with no other furniture than a wretched pallet of straw, without covering, and there he remained seven days without medical aid !"* Wright brought an action and — mirahile dictu — obtained a verdict ; but the efiect of it was neutralised by the open indemnification of Mr Fitzgerald for certain acts done by him not justifiable in common law.t He received from the crown a considerable pension for his ultra-loyal services in 1798, and on August 5, 1801, was created a baronet.} • Trial of Wright v. Fitzgerald, Plowden's History of Ireland, t its former sparkle. Q ^26 APPENDIX. 36. Captain Armstrong. The arrests at Bond's were followed by the betrayal ai^d execution of John and Henry Sheares. To those hapless victims — brothers by blood, and barristers by profession — Oaptain J. W. Armstrong, of the King's County Militia, had, with vampire instinct, obtained an introduction through the agency of a mutual friend. Carried away by the ardour of youth and the strong revolutionary current of the time, they unreservedly expressed their projects. Armstrong fanned the flamc^ helped their plans with hints derived from military read- ing and experience, wormed himself into their confidence, partook of their hospitality, mingled with their families, and, as has been stated by Mr Curran, fondled on his knee the child of the parent whom he had marked out for death j whUe, to quote the reminiscence of one of the family, Mrs Sheares sang at the harp for his amusement. Armstrong received promotion, a commission of the peace, and a pension of £500 a year. Fifty-six years subsequent to this tragedy, we heard with surprise that Armstrong was still alive ! The late Maurice E. Leyne, addressing the present writer in 1854, says, " I saw the old scoundrel. Captain Armstrong, travelling by boat from Limerick. He was a passenger, and was attended by a body-guard of two policemen with loaded arms. He was the object of much observation and whisperings while on board; and as he was leaving the packet at, I think, Banagher, one of the boatmen, with vengeful malice, addressed him as ' Mr Sheares,' pretending he had mistaken his name. He was known as ' Sheares Armstrong ' among the people." Captain Armstrong's incorrigible longevity had heartily wearied and disgusted the Treasury. At length, in 1858, he died, after having drawn altogether about £30,000. 37. Thomas Eeynolds has been already noticed, p. 148, et seq., ante. 38. To William Cope the same remark applies. 39. Of Justice Godfrey there is little of interest to telL An instance of his magisterial activity may be found in the Dublin, Magazine for December 1799, p. 378. And with this remark we conclude our explanatory notes to General Cockburn's " Step-Ladder." ttEYNOLDS. 227 It Avill be observed that Sir George Coekburn, in his list of the government of Ireland during the reign of ter' ror, makes no allusion to the Viceroy whom John Magee, for having styled "the cold-hearted and cruel Camden," was prosecuted by the Orange Attorney-General Saurin, and heavily punished. The truth is that Lord Camden was a cypher. Watson Taylor acted as private secretary to his Excellency at this period, and he mentioned to Moore, on the 19th October 1838, that "Lord Camden was constantly outvoted in his wish for a more moderate system of government by Clare and Castlereagh." Watson Taylor, when in Ireland, was more busy writing songs than despatches; and we find that, among other effusions, h« threw off the well-known piece, " Croppies, lie down." EEYNOLDS THE INFORMER, AND MR WILLL&.M COPE. The following remarks have been addressed to us by Sir William H. Cope, Bart., in vindication of the consistency of his late grandfather, Mr WUliam Cope, of whom we have spoken at p. 148. After kindly observing, among other remarks, that he has read " The Sham Squire and the Informers of '98" with "much interest and pleasure," Sir William goes on to say : — " In your addenda you designate him, on the authority of the late General Coekburn, as a 'spy,'* and bracket him with persons so infamous as Armstrong and Reynolds. I must really claim justice at your hands for his memory. A ' spy' is one who enters the enemy's camp in disguise to obtain information to use against him. Armstrong was » * This epithet of reproach has not been applied by the present writer. See note at p. 194, ante. To prevent a very possible mis conception in the public mind, we may add, in justice to Sir Wil liam Cope, that the title he enjoys forms no part of the recompense bestowed by the Qovemment of Lord Cornwidlis on his grandfather, William Cope, for the part taken by him in persuading Beynolds to become an informer. The late Mr William Cope was a very emi- nent merchant of Dublin, and Sir William Cope, his gr.'indson, r*- presents one of the oldest English baronetcies. 228 AttENCDC. ' spy,' certainly ; ResTiolcb was both a traitor to the cause he had espoused, and a spy, by pretending still to act with his confederates after he had betrayed them. But ray grandfather was not a ' spy.' He had always been, and he was especially in 1798, a strong opponent and an out- spoken enemy of the United Irishmen, and of the princi- ples they professed. As long before as 1792 he had, in an assembly of the Corporation of Dublin, as representative of the gmld of merchants, moved and carried a series of resolutions strongly opposing and condemning the modified concessions to Bomau Catholics, then in contemplation. These resolutions were communicated officially to all the other corporations of Ireland, and they, or similar ones, were adopted by most of the grand juries at the ensuing assizes. You may disapprove his action as much as I regret it ; but at least it proves that he was an open and declared antagonist ; and so well known was this, that he states that it made him so unpopular among the mercan- tile and trading classes of Ireland, as seriously to injure the interests of the eminent mercantile firm of which he was the head. And my grandfather was well known. In' 1792 he had paid a fine to avoid the office of Sheriff of Dublin. So that had my grandfather even desired to act the ' spy,' he was most certainly one of the very last per- sons the United Irishmen or the patriotic party would have let into their secrets. Even the very day before Keynolds's revelation was made to him, being the only non-Liberal member of the company assembled at Castle" Jordan, Sir Duke Giffard's, he seems to have stated and defended his opinions in a long conversation with Lord Wycombe, of which he has preserved a minute in the papers I have referred to. I hope, therefore, that in any future edition of your interesting publication, you will re- lieve my grandfather's memory from the execrable name of ' spy,' however much you may consider him as the avowed and active enemy of the cause which was betrayed to him. " I may mention that neither my father nor I ever re-- teived, directly or indireetiy, any part of the pension^ granted to my grandfather. It was granted, as you rightly observe, (p. 139,) to his wife, who predeceased him, and> to his three unmarried daughters. It eventually centred' KETNOLDS. 229 in Miss Teresa Cope, who, as you truly say, resided and died at Khos-y-gar, near Holyhead. Others may enter- tain a different opinion as to the enormity of a recom- pense for services which, as Thomas Moore observes in his 'Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald,' 'it is not too much to say, were the means of saving the country to Great Bri- tain.' " I am quite ready, if you wish it, to submit to you any of the papers I have referred to in this letter. I am not likely to be in Dublin, but if you should at any time be in London, I will wjUingly wait upon you there, and show them to you. I have a large number of papers relating to the period in question, including Beynolds's letters to my grandfather, some of which show his courage not to have been greater than his fdeUiy." In a subsequent communication with which we were favoured by Sir WiUiam Cope, some papers of consider- able historic interest and importance were enclosed. The following document, which sufficiently explains itself, is endorsed by the late Mr Cope — " Thomas Keynolds's state- ment of the conversation coming from Castle Jordan, and also my statement of the same." KETNOLDS'S STATEMENT, From original MS. in autograph of Thomas Reynoldi. " In the month of February last, [1798,] I travell'd with Mr Cope to Castle Jordan the seat of Sir Duke Gifford in order to gett Possession of the lands of Corbettstown which I became intitled to after the Death of Sir Duke's Father and which I had mortgaged to Mr Cope for £5000. We dined there as did Lord Wiokcome and some other gentlemen. We satt late. The conversation turned much on the affairs of Ireland. Mr Cope and I returned next Day to Dublin in a Chaise. On the Eoad we chatted of the conversation which took place the Day before, and of the United Irishmen. In the course of our conversation Mr Cope* in the strongest light the distinction of all Civil and Eeligious liberty and Property, The violation of all the rights of Man, The murders and horrid treatment • A word evidently omitted ; probably " pointed ouV' or, " placed,'' 230 APPENDIX. exercised by the French in every country they went into, (tho they went at first as Friends,) sparing neither age, sex, or Condition, and from the Daring murders and Bob- beries committed by the United men here, tho under the curb of the Law, what were we to expect when they were unrestrained and joined by that French army enured to every crime and enormity. We conversed several hours on the subject and the result was, that struck with all he said, I determined to quit the Society, and repair my own Fault by a declaration of all I knew, and I told Mr Cope I thought I knew a man who I could induce by represent- ing to him all our conversation to give up the United cause, and give intelligence of all he knew of them Mr Cope directly said such a man would meritt every honor, and Eeward his Coxmtry could bestow on him. I told him I would call on him in a Day or two about it. I did call on him and gave Mm all the information I knew of, telling him to keep secrett who he heard it from, he pressed me to come forward myseM but I refused to do so, he offered me a seat in Parliament and every honor the Country could give me and great wealth if I would come forward. I told him I would not on any account that I was content as I was, and wanted neither honors nor great wealth but that I should be entitled to 500 guineas in order to repay me for any Loss I might sustain, as I weU knew sooner or later this affair would be known or sus- pected by the United men and that I should then quit the Country for a time at least, to save my life from them and that even then they would attack my house and such of my property as they could come at. Mr Cope still pressed me to come forward myself and offered great rewards, but I allways declined to do so." ME cope's statement. From the original paper in his autograph, " Some time in Feb. Mr R. and we had business with Bir Duke Giffords at Castle Jordan. We dined there. Lotrk Wycombe,* a Gent. I think of the name of Fitz- * Lord Wycombe, afterws^rds Marquis of Lansdowne. See pag, that the Repealers should be dealt with as Lords Camden, Castlereagh, and Clare dealt with the United Jrishpiun. Id Kovember 1843, the Packet sane — " These, these are the secrets Of peace in our land — The scourge for the back. For the forehead the brand ; The chain for the neck. And the gyves for the heel ; Till the SCArFOLD lets loess The base blogd of lUneal | '' 274 APPENDIX. tions of informers to my late father." Dr Gray read some of them over ; and having observed one particular letter, he started, saying, " I have seen that handwriting before ; ;an you tell me who is ' D. ?' " The letter, communicating the result of some mercenary espionage to the Major, was merely signed " D." " There are many other letters from the same party," observed Mr Sirr. " I cannot discover who he can be ; his letters extend over upwards of thirty years, and I think the writer has not less than thirty aliases. He was a most remarkable man ; and if you wish to unravel the mystery, you can have all facilities ; so send home your conveyance, and remain for the day." Dr Gray embraced the proposal, and devoted several hours to following up the scent. He was familiar with the writing, though he could not recall to mind the name or indivi- duality of the writer. At last a receipt for a small amount was discovered, signed " B. Duggan," the date of which was about 1806. Dr Gray, in ecstacy, exclaimed: "I have him ! I know him well ! he was with me yesterday I" " Impossible ! " cried Mr Sirr, " he must be dead long since." A comparison of the handwriting left no doubt of the identity of the scoundrel. The spy, who had grown hoary, and to outward appearances venerable, in his in- famous employment, had repeatedly addressed letters to Dr Gray, breathing a strong spirit of patriotism and na- tionality. Dr Gray, as editor of a highly influential organ of O'Connell's policy, was specially marked out for game by the designing Duggan, who, for forty years, enjoyed the reputation of an earnest and zealous patriot, was ever tntertained at dinner by a member of the Catholic Asso elation, and contrived to insinuate himself into the confi- dence of many of the national party. He was introduced by letter to Dr Gray, by a leading member of the Young Ireland section of the Repeal Asso- ciation Committee, who described him as a rebel of '98, who could assist Dr Gray by his personal memory of events in perfecting some notes on the history of the United Irishmen, on which Dr Gray was then engaged. Dr Gray soon ascertained that Duggan possessed much traditionary knowledge of the events and of the men of the period, and gave Duggan a small weekly stipend for A STAETLraG DISCOVERT. 275 writing his " personal recollectiona'' lie observed before long that Duggan'a visits became needlessly frequent, and that he almost invariably endeavoured to diverge from '98 and make suggestions as to '43. This tendency excited more amusement than suspicion ; and the first real doubt as to the true character of Duggan was suggested to his mind thus. Duggan said he was about to commence busi- ness, and was collecting some subscriptions. Dr Gray gave him two pounds ; and Duggan at once handed across a sheet of blank paper, saying, "I will have twenty pounds in three days, if you write the names of ten or twelve gentlemen on whom I may call ; they won't refuse if they see their names in your handwriting."* Almost in the same breath he named half a dozen members of the Repeal Association, most of them members of the Young Ireland section, adding, " I know these gentlemen WiU aid me for aU I suffered since '98." The former efforts of Duggan to get into conversation as to present politics at once flashed across the Doctor's memory, and he politely declined to write the required list j which, possibly, wai designed by Duggan and his abettors to flourish at some future state trial, as the veritable list of the Provisional Government of Ireland, in the handwriting of the proposer of the project for forming arbitration courts throughout Ireland, as substitutes for the local tribunals that were deptived of popular confidence by the dismissal of all magistrates who were repealers. It was during the same week that Dr Gray discovered Duggan's real character in the course of the visit to the parsonage already described All the facts as here given were rapidly told to his reverend friend, who, ascribing the discovery to a special providence, begged the "life" of Duggan, explaining that the papers before him showed that the fate of detected informers in '98 was death. The sincerity with which the good parson pleaded for the life of Duggan was a most amusing episode in the little drama. His fears were, however, soon allayed by the assurance that Dr Gray belonged to the O'ConneE section of politicians, and that the only punishment that awaited Duggan was exposure. The parson would not * iVtr O'Callaghan informs us that Dup^gan also irlicited him to affix Ilia sit^iatura to a document. 276 APPENDIX, be convinced; and, under the plea tliat Dr Gray wae allowed as a private friend to see the papers that con- victed Duggan, he extorted a promise that there should be no public exposure of Duggan, but allowed Dr Gray within this limit to use the information he acquired at his own discretion. Duggan was, in truth, a master of duplicity. In the Sirr papers he is found writing under various signatures. " At one time," said Dr Gray, " he personated a priest, and on other occasions a peddler and a smuggler. He wrote to Major Sirr for a hogshead of tobacco, and for £15 to buy a case of pistols for personal protection. In ont year alone he got £500." "As soon," added Dr Gray, "as I discovered the character of this base spy, I returned to Dublin, and lost no time in apprising Duffy, Davis, Pigot, O'CaUaghan, and every member of the national party, of the precipice on which they stood, and undertook to O'Connell that 1 would cause Duggan to make himself scarce without violating my promise to Mr Sirr that he should not be exposed to pubUc indignation." A letter addressed to us on August 20, 1865, by Mr Martin Haverty, the able author of " The History of Ire- land Ancient and Modern," supplies an interesting re- miniscence : — " One day, during the memorable repeal year 1843, Sir John Gray invited me to breakfast, telling me that I should meet a very singular character — a relic of '98, but intimating that he had his doubts about this person, and that the object of my visit was chiefly that their interview should not be without a witness. " I may tell you that I never belonged to any political party in Ireland. I always felt an innate repugnance for •Jie manner, principles, &c., of the Young Irelanders, and was convinced that I loved my country at least as sincerely, tenderly, and ardently as any of them. I never had mucli faith in mere politicians, though my sympathies were O'ConneUite, and Sir John Gray had perfect confidence in me. "We were after breakfast when Bernard Duggan was brought^ into the room. I was introduced to him as a EXPOSURE. 277 friend of Ireland, before whom he might apeak freely. It was easy enough to bring him out. He spoke at random about the pike-training in '98— -that the people were now ready enough to fight — they only wanted to be called out — and the pike was the best thing for them. He appeared to me ridiculously sanguine of success, and to regard the men of the present day as poltroons for not taking the field. "I believe I am too 'green' to detect dishonesty very readily; and the first impression the scoundrel made on me was twofold — that he was a singularly hale old fellow for his age, and that he was an infatuated old fool. But if I could have felt sure that he was an informer, I would have shrunk from In'ni as from a murderer. Sir John Gray evidently understood the fellow better, and seemed perfectly able for him." The grand Jinale of this curious episode remains to be told. Shortly after he introduced Duggan to Mr Haverty, and after the old spy had time to develop the views indi- cated in Mr Haverty's letter, the Doctor suddenly, with his eye fixed on him, as though he could read his inmost soul, exclaimed : " Barney, you think I do not know you. I know you better than you know yourself. Do you re- member when you were dressed as a priest at Dundalk 1" He writhed, and tried to turn the conversation. Dr Gray probed and stabbed him, one by one, with aU the points which he had gathered from the informer's own letters to Major Sirr. It was pitiable to watch the struggles and agonies of the old man ; he was ghastly pale, and he shook in every nerve. He finally lost all self-command, and flung himself on his knees at the feet of Dr Gray, imploring mercy. He seemed to think that pikemen were outside ready to rush in and kill him. " Give me," he said, " but twelve hours ; I will leave the country, and you will never see me again !" He tottered from the room, left Ireland, and did not return for many years. Amongst his first visits was one to Dr Gray, to whom he confessed his guilt, adding that he was near his end. Hb received some trifling relief, and shortly after died. Preserved with Duggan's letters to Sirr, a nbte in the lutograph of the Utter exists, stating that Duggan, uo 278 APPBNDIX, doubt, shot Mr Darragh, a Terrorist, at his own hall-doof, in 1791, when in the act of pretending to hand him a let- ter ; and further, that Duggan was the man who attempted the life of Mr Clarke, in Dublin, on July 22d, 1803. In the London Cmrier, of the 30th July following, we find fcliis paragraph in a letter from Dublin, descriptive of the then state of Ireland : — " Mr Clarke, of Palmerstown, a magistrate of the county af Dublin, as he was returning from his attendance at the Castle, was fired at, on the quay, and dangerously wounded, several slugs having been lodged in his shoulder and breast. The villain who discharged the blunderbuss at Mr Clarke immediately cried out, ' Where did you come from now ? ' It appears that two of them, taken by Mr Justice Bell and Mr Wilson, were residenters in the neighbourhood of Mr Clarke, and had come to thia city from Palmerstown." That the man who, in 1803, was overflowing with in- dignant disgust at the idea of a magistrate discharging his duty by communicating at the Castle news of seditious pro- ceedings, should suddenly tergiversate, and, throughout a period of nearly half a century, become a mercenary spy to the Castle, opens a wide field for thought to those who like to study weak humanity. We rather think that the long letter published in the Duke of Wellington's Irish correspondence, dated Nenagh, 6th Feb., 1808, is from Duggan. The letter is addressed to an understrapper of the Castle, not to the Duke, who, however, prefaces it by saymg that it " comes from a man who was sent into the counties of Tipperary and Limerick to inquire respecting the organisation of Liberty Bangers." " They are damned cunning in letting any stranger know anything of their doings," writes the spy. " I assure you I could not find anything of their secrets, though I have tried every artifice, by avowing myself an utter enemy to the present constitution, and even drinking seditious toasts, though they seemed to like me for so doing, and still I could not make any hand of them anywhere, more than to find they are actually inclined to rebellion in every quarter of the country through which I have passed. Even in the mountains they are as bad as in the towns." Duggan, durins; the political excitement of the Kepeal DUGGAif-S NARKATIVlfi. 279 year, contrived to get himself introduced to many of the popular leaders ; and when the intervention of a mutual friend was not attainable, he waived ceremony and intro- duced himself. Among others on whom he called in this way was John Cornelius O'Callaghan, author of the Green Book, and designer of the Eepeal Cards, to whom the At- torney-Greneral made special reference in the state trials of the time. Mr O'Callaghan did not give Duggan much incouragement ; but, in order to strengthen his footing, Duggan presented him with the following MS., written entirely in his own hand, which is now published for the first time. The reader must bear in mind that the writer was originally a humble artizan, who had received no edu- cation beyond that furnished by a hedge school. It will be observed that he speaks of himself throughout, not in the first person, but as " Bernard O'Dougan." PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF BERNARD DUGGAN. " At the time that Mr Kobert Emmet commenced his preparations for a revolution in Ireland, in the year 1803, he was after returning from France, and there came a few gentlemen along with him, Mr Eussell, and Counsellor Hamilton,* and Michael Quigley,t who had been nomi- nated one of the rebel captains of 1798, and had signed the treaty of peace along with the other officers of the rebel party of the camp that lay at Prosperous, in the county of KUdare ; where the Wexford and Wicklow men came and met the KUdare men, who were all invited by a flag of truce from Government, and hostages given by the generals of the king's troops — namely, Major Cope and Captain Courtney, of the Armagh militia, who were kept in custody and in charge with Bernard Dougan, for the space of two hours, until eighteen of the rebel officers of Jhe Wexford, Wicklow, and KUdare, returned back after * Daore Hamilton is noticed in Moore's Memoirs, (i. 62,) as the attached &iend of Emmet, though "innocent of his plans." There can be little doubt, however, that like Bussel, who lost his head, he was fully implicated in them. — W. J. P. + Quigley survived until the year 1819. Successive notices of him appear in the Nation of that year, p- 137j et seq. 280 APPKNDDC signing the articles of peace, which was then concluded between the Government and the people, and which put an end to the rebellion. The conditions were, a free pardon to all men acting in furtherance of the rebellion, except officers, who were to give themselves up to Government, and to remain state prisoners until Government thought it safe to let them go into any country they pleased, that was not in war with his majesty, which conditions they had to sign, and it was called the Banishment Bill. They got three days of a parole of honour, to take leave of their friends, before they gave themselves up as prisoners. The breach of any part of these conditions was, not only to for- feit their pardon, but to be treated in any kind of way that the Government should think proper. Now, Mr Quigley broke these articles when he returned to Ireland after signing the Banishment Bill at his liberation and de- parture according to agreement, which caused him to as- sume the name of Graham in all companies, and none knew to the reverse but his own companions who were in the depot, and his particular acquaintances in the country, who were all true to the cause of his return with Ml Emmet ; and none ever discovered or informed in any kind of way previous to the failure of the efforts for free- dom on the 23d of July 1803, which caused great con- sternation to the Government. The Secretary of State, Mr Wickham, cried out with astonishment, to think that such a preparation for revolution could be carried on in the very bosom of the seat of Government, without discovery, for so long a time, when any of the party could have made their fortunes by a disclosure of the plot, and re- marked at the same time, in presence of Mr Stafford, and the two Mr Parrots, John and WiUiam, that it was be- cause they were mostly all mechanical operatives, or work- ing people of the low order of society, that the thing was kept so profound ; and said, that if any or a number of the higher orders of society, had been connected, they would divulge the plot for the sake of gain. These expressions oc- curred at the castle, when Quigley, Stafford, and the two Parrots were brought prisoners to Dublin from Artfry, in the coynty of Gal way, where they fled to after the leath of Mr Emmet Bernard O'Dougan was also at fiMMET WEAVES HIS PLANS. 281 Artfry, but had escaped frnm being arrested by his going in a sailing boat across the Bay of Galway, to make out a place of retirement for the whole party, five in num- ber, until they would get an account from Dublin, where they sent a messenger, who had been arrested and detained a prisoner, although being a native of the county of Qalway, and no way connected with Mr Emmet, only going on a mes- sage to Dublin for these five men, who passed off as bathers at the salt water. The messenger was only known to some of the pai;ty where he was sent, and could not be arrested with- out information of some of that party, who have been found out since, and will be treated of in another place. Mr Emmet wished to get acquainted with the men that dis- tinguished themselves most in the year 1798, and he was aware that Quigley knew these men, which was one cause for bringing him (Quigley) along with him from France. Mr Emmet had also the knowledge of the other men that had been in confidence in the year 1798 as delegates, some of whom he employed as agents to forward his plans. James Hope, from Belfast, was one that he, perhaps, got an account of from some of the United Irishmen that were in France. Although Hope did not distingiiish himself in battle, he was trustworthy, and lived in Dublin at that time ; he was a true patriot, and he was soon found out for Mr Emmet, and sent to Bernard O'Dougan, who lived in Palmerstown. At this time, after O'D. had been libe- rated out of Naao gaol, where he had been a state prisoner, he was obliged to quit the county Kildare, where he had been tried for high treason and the rebellion of 1798, tha murder of Captain Swain, and the battle of Prosperous. These facts were sworn against him and another young man of the name of Thomas Wylde, and proved to tha satisfaction of the court, as may be seen by Lord Long- ville's speech in the first Parliament after the union of Great Britain and Ireland, but were both honourably ac- quitted by the Amnesty Act, (though detained as state prisoners,) which had been framed according to agreement of the peace between the Government and the rebels, as hath been. explained heretofore. O'Dougan was called on also much at the same time by Quigley and Wylde, on the lame business as Hope had with him, giving him to know 282 Al>P£l*L.iX. what was intended by Mr Emmet. On this invitation, B, O'Dougan came into Dublin and met Mr Emmet's party. At the same time there was but few in number, about five or six; but they were confident in the disposition of all such of their countrymen, as far as their iufiuence went, which was not a little at that time, that they would have numbers to join their cause, and was the chief part that did come at the day appointed. Henry Howley was brought by O'Dougan, and Edward Condon also; H. Howley took the depdt in Thomas Street, with its entrance in Marshal Lane ; then John Bourk, of Naas, and Eichard Eustace, from the same place, and also a young man of the name of Joseph White, from the county Eildare, near Bathcoffey ; there was another person of the name of Christopher Kowlan. These men continued to collect into the depdt pikes from the different places where the smiths would leave them concealed, and also to bring in the tim- ber for the pike handles ; and also powder and balls, and to make them into cartridges, and put handles into the pikes. These men, for the most part, were always at- tendant on the dep6t, preparing the pikes and cartridges, and bringing in guns, pistols, and blunderbusses, and all other requisites for rockets, &e. Fat Finerty was also em- ployed in the dep6t ; and occasionally these men could bring several of their own particular friends into the depdt, to help the manufacture of cartridges and other prepara- tions for rockets, making pikes, and putting handles in them. O'Dougan, Bourk, and Condon brought in the powder and bails from the different places, but for the most part from Hinchey's at the corner of Cuffe Street, who was licensed for selling gunpowder, and got it from the Government stores, so that there was a vast prepara- tion ; and all things went on well until the explosion of the depdt in Patrick Street on the evening of the 16th, which deranged the projects that were in contemplation. O'Dougan, Bourk, and Condon were ordered by Mr Emmet to go down to Patrick Street depdt to get the rockets filled. It should be remarked that the men of the other depots had no recourse to the one in Thomas Street, but the particular men of Thomas Street had recourse to all places ; and Oougan often went as a guard to protect EMMKT PKEPAllES FOR ACTION. 283 Mr Emmet, lest he should be surprised by any of Major Sirr's or any other spy from Government. O'Dougau was appointed aide-de-camp to Mr Emmet, but the circum- stance of derangement from the time of that explosion put everything in confusion and disorder. When these three men came into the dep6t in Patrick Street, the pre- paration was not in readiness for the rockets, and many other disorders existed, which caused O'Dougan, Bourk, and Condon to return back to the dep6t in Thomas Street, as nothing could be done at that time. It was M'Intosli, and the Keenans, Arthur Develin, and George M'Donald, and a few others, that were blown up at the time of the explosion, some of whom expired in Madame Steevens's hospital afterwards ; these were all in the dep6t, and it is a great wonder they were not all blown up. O'Dougan, Bourk, and Condon were only about a quarter of an hour j5one when the explosion took place. It was occasioned by the experiments trying on the fusees to know the length Df time they would bum, and by neglect let the fire get into the joint of the table, where there had been some meal powder, which communicated to some saltpetre that had been out all day before the sun drying, after it had been purified, and which exploded, and almost burst the bouse, and kiUed and wounded three, and was near de- stroying all that were in the place. The other powders escaped the fiame, and nearly all was got safe out of the place imperceived, but was attacked by the watchmen, who were soon knocked over. There were some secret cells in the depdt that were not found out until after the arrest of Quigley, which will be treated of elsewhere. Some of the men that belonged to the dep6t of Patrick Street were brought prisoners to Thomas Street dep6t, and kept con- fined until the night of the 23d, particularly Greorge M'Donald ; but this shall be treated of in another place. There was great apprehension entertained for fear of dis- ■covery from that time of the explosion, and there was great inquiry and look out on the part of Major Sirr and his satellites, which caused a precipitate movement in Mr Emmet's affairs. The men in the different counties might have time to act, as their look-out was the city of Dublin to free itself j but the orders from the generals contiguous 284 APPENDIX. to the city, either not having sufficient time to collect their meu, or from other neglect, prevented them from coming in according to order and promise. Dwyer was to come with his mountain battalions, and the Wexfords were to some in thousands ; but none of them made their appear- ince up to four or five o'clock, nor any account of them. None showed their faces but the men of the county Kil- dare, and part of the county Dublin that lay adjacent. They came from Naas, Prosperous, and Eilcullen, a few from Maynooth and Leixlip, and Lucan a few ; Pal- merstown turned out almost to a man. This was the place where O'Dougan lived from the time of his libera- tion from prison for complicity in the rebellion of 1798, and he had great influence among the people of that part of the neighbourhood of Dublin, and they were very much attached to him ; and O'Dougan had his friends on the close look-out, knowing as he did the artfulness and the intrigue of Government, being a state prisoner, where experience teaches the depth of the artful schemes of Government, which no one can fathom except an experi- enced state prisoner or some supernatural intelligence to instruct them.* O'Dougan was given to understand that Mr Clarke t and Captain WUcock, two magistrates of the county, were in the knowledge of what was going on in Dublin by Mr Emmet O'Dougan immediately let Mr Emmet know of this ; whereupon Emmet, seeing how all the other expectations were likely to fail, which they did, ordered O'Dougan to do it himself, which caused him to take a few of the bravest men he had in confidence, and placed some between the Castle and the barracks, to stop any despatch from one to the other, and a guard to keep any communication to or from the commander-in-chief. There was but little time to be lost on either side. The Government had summoned a privy council to deliberate on what was best to be done on their part. Things came so sudden on them, it seems they did not know well how to act until they would consult. Mr Emmet thought on • These ubservations are eminently rich when read in conjunc- tion with Duggan's real history. — W. J. P. f See the attempt on the life of Mr Cliirte liy Duggan, p. 278. — W. J. P. EMAIET PKJEPAKES FOK ACTIOlT. 285 taking the whole of the privy council as they sat in the Council Chamber,* and accordingly despatched Henry How- ley for sis double coaches to carry six men in each coach, making in all thirty-six, with blunderbusses and short pikes that sprung out at full length with brass ferules on them, to keep them straight at full extent ; but when Howley was coming with the first coach, and got as far as the lower end cf Bridgefoot Street, a circumstance occurred that deranged the whole project. A soldier and a countryman had a dispute and began to fight. Howley stopped to see how the fight would end ; meantime Cornet Brown came up and took part with the soldier j at seeing this, Heniy Howley opened the coach and advanced to this interfering ofScer, and a struggled ensued, and Howley pulled out his pistol and shot Comet Brown on the spot, and suddenly perceiving a sergeant and a party of soldiers coming over Queen's Bridge, which caused him to withdraw and leave the coachman and coach there and then ; it was then getting late, and no time to procure the coaches. As the business of the coaches was left to Howley, none else was sent, and all things seemed disappointment. A trooper, with despatches, was killed in Thomas Street, and also Lord Kilwarden. There appeared no better way to Mr Emmet and his staff than to retreat to the country and make their escape. They had a little skirmish with the military at the upper end of Thomas Street and Francis Street, and a little on the Coombe. There were a few lives lost at their departure ; and they went out of town as far as the mountain foot. At Ballinascomey they separated. Mr Robert Emmet returned into town, and his staff repaired to the county Ejldare. When O'Dougan returned from his post, where he and his party kept the pass, and cut off * Mr David ritzgerald, father of the Right Hon. J. D. Fitzgerald, mentions in a narrative supplied to Dr Madden, that he walked through the Castle Yard, at half-past seven o'clock on the evening of Emmet's emeu.it, j^" There were no preparations; the place was perfectly quiet and silent; the gates were wide open ! " Charles Phillips, in "Curran and his Contemporaries," says, that on the night of Emmet's outbreak, there was not a single ball in the Boyal Arsenal would fit the artillery. This apathetic neglect contrasts curiously with the activity displayed in fortifying the Castle in 1848, and more recently during the Fenian coKspiraoy. — W. J. P. 28« APPENDIX. all communication to or from the commander-in-chief, it ■was past eleven o'clock, and all silence over the city; he came as far as the dep6t, and went past through Marshal Lane and into Thomas Street, as far as Crane Lane, where there was a guard of the army stationed, which he could discern by stooping, which he did frequently, for it was darkness all over the town, and the pikes lay in the street up and down, where they were cast away, and the men fled, every one to the best place they knew. O'Dougan did not know where they went, nor did he hear for the space of three days their destination ; but on the third day he got intelligence and went to Eathcofifey, where he found a number of them who in a few days were proclaimed, and three hundred pounds' reward ofiered for them ; and, after Mr Emmet's execution, all separated and went to different parts to conceal themselves from arrest, as they well knew their fate, for there was death without mercy, and the innocent as well as the guilty suffered ; and the innocent suffered far more than the guilty, for there were but few concerned with Mr Emmet that suffered, while numbers were hung on the evidence of Kyan and Mahaffy, who swore for the sake of getting fifty pounds for every one they hung. Mr Emmet and Howley died for the cause ; Ked- mond and FeUx Rourke died Mends to the cause, but they were not intimately concerned in the insurrection ; " all the rest," adds Duggan, "were hung innocent on false evidence !" COCKAIGNE, THE ENGLISH SPY. So many examples of treachery, perpetrated and prompted by Irishmen, have been given in the foregoing pages, that it will prove, to Irish readers at least, a refresh- ing relief to find Englishmen equally base ; and that the legal profession has not been degraded exclusively in Ire- land. It wUl also appear from the following, that Mr Pitt, the prince of EngUsh statesmen, was not less unscrupulous as an instigator than Castlereagh or Sirr. " The Rev. William Jackson," observes Mr Charles Phil-r lips, "was a clergyman of the Church of England, and COCKAIGNE. 287 arrived in Dublin on a treasonable mission from the Com- mittee of Public Safety, then sitting in Paris. Having been fonnerly secretary to the Duchess of Kingston, he wrote her letters in the celebrated correspondence with Foote the actor. In her house he made the acquaintance of her attorney, a Mr Cockaigne, and, unhappily for him- self, now renewed that acquaintance on his passage through London. It was my lot in after-life to have had a singular interview with this man. Somewhere about the year 1822, after I had been some short time at the English bar, a tall and venerable figure entered my chambers with a brief, wMch he presented with much courtesy. There was some- thing, however, unusual in his manner. He lingered and hesitated, and seemed as if doubtful what to do. At last it was all explained. ' To tell you the truth, sir,' said he, ' I have ventured to make this brief the medium of an introduction to you. Some occurrences took place in Dublin many years ago, with which I was mixed up ; and as you may have heard of them, perhaps you would permit me to give my explanation— my name is Cockaigne !' I felt for the moment as if stunned. The man had long been matter of history to me. I had thought him in his grave. Yet there he stood, the survivor of his victim and his patron, still living on the wages that had purchased life ! I had hardly nerve enough to say to him, ' Sir, when I tell you that I was the intimate friend of Mr Curran, and often spoke with him on the wretched Jack- son's fate, you must see the inutility of any explanation. He uttered not a syllable, and left the room. Jackson was in difSculties, and, it was said, had received relief from Cockaigne; hence arose an intimacy. He revealed the treasonable mission to his friend, and his friend re- vealed it to the minister. Mr Pitt desired Cockaigne to accompany Jackson on his embassy, to encourage his con- fidence and treasure up its fruits. It was during Bowan's imprisonment that they arrived in Ireland, and by Mac- nally, a barrister,* (who had known Jackson,) they were introduced to him in Newgate, and also to Theobald Wolfe Tone. The plans of Jackson were discussed amongst them, * Mr Phillips always refused to believe in iht now idmitted duplicity of Macnally. See p. '2i9, ante. 288 APPENDIX. and Tone consented to proceed to France, accredited by Jackson to the committee, in order to disclose the state of Ireland, and discuss the policy of a French invasion. The officiousness of Cockaigne, however, seems to have alarmed Tone, and he resigned his mission with the shrewd remark, ' This business is one thing for us Irishmen, but the Eng- lishman who embarks in it must be a traitor one way or the other.' " Ms William Curran, in his very admirable life of his father, relates a hateful anecdote of this man. MacnaUy, counsel in most of the high-treason cases, entertained the strangers at dinner. The conversation was getting impru- dent, when the butler, beckoning his master out of the room, warned him to be careful, ' for, sir, the strange gentleman who seems to be asleep is not so, but carefuUy listening to everything that is said, for I have seen his eye glistening through the fingers with which he is covering his face.' This was Cockaigne ! — in the midst of convi- viality lying in wait for life. At length Tone drew up a paper for the French committee, detaiKng the actual state of Ireland. This was copied and given to Jackson, who intrusted it to Cockaigne to put in the post, under cover, to a confidant at Hamburg. The pear was now ripe. The traitor having given the signal to headquarters, he waa himself arrested, and the farce was performed of his ex- amination by the Privy Council. This, of course, was a bUnd, but proved so effectual, that after Jackson's arrest, which ensued immediately, he and Bowan received Cock- aigne's condolatory visit in prison, and heard and believed his friendly protestations. Jackson, after twelve months' imprisonment, was tried and convicted of high treason on the evidence of the single witness, Cockaigne ! When Jackson was called up for judgment, a very melancholy scene ensued. His appearance in the dock, from tha moment of his entrance, indicated extreme indisposition. Gradually becoming worse and worse, during the addressei of Messrs Curran and Ponsonby, his counsel, he at last sank down exhausted. Lord Clonmel, seeing it, said, " II the prisoner is insensible, it is impossible for me to pio- nounce judgment on him." A medical man, who hap- pened to be in court, was requested to examine the prisoner. B*.EEINGTON. 289 Having done so, he declared that he was dying. In a fe-vi minutes, Jackson was dead ! Lord Clonmel— " Let an inquest, and a respectable on«^ be held on the body. You should carefully inquire by what means he died." The body lay all night in the dock, and next day a jury found that he had taken poison. There could have been no doubt of it. Soon after he appeared the day before, seeing Mr MacNally pass, he grasped his hand, and faintly whispered, " We have deceived the senate." Curran ably defended the Kev. Wm. Jackson in a speed ^hich thus concluded : — " Cockaigne came over to be is spy — to be a traitor — to get a pardon, and to get a reward; although, if you believe him, it was to be all commoK agreeable work, to be paid for, like his other ordinary busi- ness, by the day, or by the sheet. He was to be paid so much a day for ensnaring and murdering his client and his friend ! Do you think the man deserving of credit who can do such things ? No, gentlemen of the jury : I have stated the circumstances by which, in my opinion, the iredit of Mr Cockaigne should be as nothing in your eyes." SIR JONAH BARRINGTON. Sir Jonah Barrington, whose name we have frequently mentioned, published a work entitled " Personal Sketches," containing many anecdotes illustrative of the Sham Squire's times ; but we ha*-e been sparing in our references to that book, for, however pleasant as light reading, it is not Hrholly reliable as historical authority. The truth is, that Sir Jonah was in needy circumstances when the " Personal Sketches " appeared, and no doubt exaggerated his already hyperbolical style, in order to raise the wind still higher, though he says in his introduction : " It was commenced by no means for mercenary purposes," (voL i., p. 1.) It was remarked to us by the late Mr P. V. Fitzpatrick, who as a \(m raconteur might be styled " Sir Jonah Barrington secun- dus," that he heard him tell the stories very differently from the sensational style of theii subsequent appearance j and 290 APPENDIX that he knew Thomas CoUey Grattan, the novelist, to claim the chiet merit of the " Personal Sketches," as having sug- gested the work and manipulated the MS. But even in personal conversation, as we have been assured by the late John Patten, Sir Jonah's statements were always distrusted; although a judge, he was not a man of truth or principle, and many pleasant anecdotes might be told illustrative of this remark, but the Blue Book ordered by the House of Commons to be printed the 9th of February 1829, pillories Sir Jonah on the most legitimate authority. This volume has not been consulted by the writers who have hitherto noticed the eccentric knight. Before examining it, we may observe that the result of the disclosures therein contained, was Sir Jonah's dismissal from the bench. This was inconvenient, as the salary dropped at the same time ; but his inexhaustible astuteness in a dilemma proved, as usual, wonderful. Barrington bethought him of a letter which he had re- ceived, many years before, from the Duke of Clarence, who was now reigning as William the Fourth. Barrington had shown considerable kindness to Mrs Jordan, at a time when his bar contemporary, Gould, and others, had treated her slightingly, and even introduced her to his own family. The duke wrote a warm letter of thanks to Barrington, and expressed a hope that it might be in his power, at some future day, to attest his appreciation of kindness so disinterested. Barrington overhauled his papers — ^which, by the way, he sold as autographs a few years later — and having found the old letter in question, forwarded it to the king. A rather stiff reply came by return of post, to say that no one knew better than Sir Jonah Barrington the very material diiference which existed between the Duke of Clarence and the King of England, and that it was impossible to recognise, in his then position, every acquaint- ance whom he might have known when acting in a com- paratively subordinate capacity. His majesty, however, who possessed a heart of unusual warmth, and a memory of past friendship singularly acute and retentive, wrote a private letter to Sir Jonah by the same jjost which con> veyed the official answer, recognising the claim, and be- .X LIGHT-FINGERED JUDGH. 291 stowing upon him a pension from the Privy Purse, exactly equal in amount with the forfeited stipend.* To come now to the Blue Book. Keferring to the ship Nancy and its cargo, which were sold by the marshal under a commission of appraisement in December 1805, we read: — "It appears that in this cause alone Sir Jonah Barrington appropriated to his own use out of the proceeds £482, 8s. 8d. and £200, making together £682, 8s. 8d., and never repaid any part of either ; and that the registrar is a loser in that cause to the amount of £546, lis. 4d."t In the case of the Redstrand, Sir Jonah also netted some booty. On the 12th January 1810, the sum of £200 was paid iuto court on account of the proceeds in this cause, " and the same day," adds the report, " Sir Jonah Barrington, by an order in his own handwriting which has been produced to us, directed the registrar to lodge that sum to his (the judge's) credit in the bank of Sir WiK Jm Gleadowe Newcomen, which he accordingly did. Subse- quently a petition having been presented to the court by Mr Henry Pyne Masters, one of the salvagers, Sir Jonah wrote an order at foot of it, bearing date the 29th day of May 1810, directing the registrar to pay to the petitioner a sum of £40 ; and at the .same time he wrote a note to Mr Masters, requesting that he would not present the order for two months ; at the close of which period Sir Jonah left Ireland, and never since returned." — Ibid., p. 10. Sir Jonah's circumstances at this time were greatly em- barrassed, and his last act on leaving Ireland was one of a most unscrupulous character, as shall appear anon. In the Dublin Patriot, then edited by Eichard Barrett, we read the following paragraph, which is quite in Sir Jonah's atyle, having evidently for its object the diversion of sus- picion from the real grounds of his exile. " His chest," it is true, was not in a satisfactory state, but it was the money chest rather than the bodily trunk which seems to have been chiefly affected. " Sir Jonah Barrington has resided at Boulogne for the • Communicated by the late P. V. Fitzpatrick, Esq. t Eighteenth Report o \ Courts of Justice in Ireland, p. 9. 292 ArPEN"Dix. last three years. His health, we regret to state, is by ne means perfect, but, on the contrary, has for some years been very precarious. Under his patent he has the right of appointing surrogates to act for him — a right of which he cannot be deprived. The duties of his situation have been, and continue to be discharged, in his absence, by the very competent gentlemen who have been appointed, Mr fameson, Mr Mahafiy, and Mr Holwell Walshe." * The commissioners requested Sir Jonah's attendance ini Dublin in order to give him every opportunity of vindi- cation ; but he declined on the plea of infirmity and the- difficulty of transit, for which, in 1828, he may have hadi some excuse. The commissioners, before closing their report, strained a point, and enclosed to Sir Jonah copies of the evidence. On the 2d August 1828, after acknow- ledging the receipt of the minutes, he wrote : — " Be assured, not one hour shall be unnecessarily lost in transmitting to you my entire refutal ; and I am too im- patient to do away any impression that such evidence must have excited, that I cannot avoid anticipating that refutal generally, by declaring solemnly, ' So help me God,' before whom age and infirmity must soon send me, that the whole and entire of that evidence, so far as it tends to inculpate me, is totally, utterly, and unequivocally false and unfoimded." " This, and passages of a similar tendency in subsequent letters," observe the commissioners, " are, however, the »nly contradiction or explanation of the foregoing facts given by Sir Jonah ; and, undoubtedly, although unsworn, so distinct and unqualified a contradiction would have had much weight with us, had the alleged facts been supported by the parole testimony only of the officer. But when we find the handwriting of Sir Jonah himself supporting the statement of the vdtness, we cannot avoid giving credit to his evidence, and must lament that the judge did not adopt measures for reviving his recollection, previously to commit- ting himself to a general assertion of the falsehood of the entire evidence of Mr Pineau, so far as related to him, which is alj that on this subject his numerous and very long letters have afforded us." * See Patriot of Decemljer 29, 1822, and Ca.rrick'8 Morning Poil^ Januaiy 1. 1823. A TREACHEEOUS MEMORY. 293 Some of Sir Jonah's defalcations in the Court of Admi- ralty were made good at the time by the registrar, Mr IPineau, hoping to screen the judge from exposure, and -.trusting to his honour for reimbursement at a moment of Jess embarrassment. Mr Pineau wrote to remind him of the liability j and in a letter dated Boulogne, 4th August 1825, we find Sir Jonah coolly saying : " I have no doubt you will believe me, I have not the most remote recollection of the circumstance in question." * And again : " Age (closing seventy) and much thought has blunted my recol- lection of numerous events." The registrar drew up an elaborate statement of the cir- cumstances, with facts and figures, but Sir Jonah's memory was still unrefreshed. In a letter dated 5 Rue du Colys6e, Paris, 3d Oct. 1827, he writes : " It is not surprising that (after closing twenty years) the concern you mention is totally out of my memory." + Any person who has read the works of Sir Jonah Bar lington cannot fail to have been struck with the marvelloui retentiveness of his memory for minute details. " The Eis( and Fall of the Irish Nation" was published in 1 SSI- six years after his letters to Mr Pineau — and in 183( appeared the memorable " Personal Sketches of his owr Times," in which, after alluding to a misunderstanding between Messrs Daly and Johnson, Sir Jonah adds : " One of the few things I ever forgot is the way in which .that affair terminated : it made Uttle impression on me at the time, and so my memory rejected it." % The embezzle- ment of considerable sums could only be rejected by an eminently treacherous memory, although Sir Jonah in his memoirs tells us : "I never loved money much in my life."§ Barrington's habitual exaggeration in story-telling would appear to be an old weakness. Describing the events of the year 1796, he says that " Curran and he" coined stories to tell each other ; the lookers on laughed almost * Beport, p. 154. Italics in orig. t Report, p. 156. Sir Jonah goes on to say ; ■' The Irish Qovem- meat have no sort of authority to order any returns from the officer* of my court, and I decUne such authority." X Ibid. Personal Sketches, vol. i.. j>. 405. § Ihid., vol. i., p. 227, 294 Ai-PKNDIX. to convulsions.* An indulgence in exaggeration, Sir Jonah geemed to regard both as a predominant passion and a venial sin. Sir Kichard Musgrave, we are told, " under- stood drawing the long bow as well as most people." t Sir Jonah possessed a large share of " cheek," and both as a startling story-teller and successful negotiator in money transactions, this quality stood his friend. So early as 1799, the author of " Sketches of Irish Political Charac- ters "says: "He is supposed to have pretty much the same idea of blushing that a blind man has of colours." One very amusing illustration of Sir Jonah's astuteness as a trickster is not included in the Blue Book. He had pledged his family plate for a considerable sum to Mr John Stevenson, pawnbroker, and member of the Common Coun- cil. " My dear fellow," said the knight, condescendingly, as he dropped in one day to that person's private closet, " I am in a d — 1 of a hobble. I asked, quite impromptu, the Lord-Lieutenant, Chancellor, and Judges, to dine with me, forgetting how awkwardly I was situated ; and, by Jove, they have written to say they'll come ! Of course I could not entertain them without the plate ; I shall require it for that evening only ; but it must be on one condition — that you come yourself to the dinner and represent the Corporation. Bring the plate with you, and take it back again, at night." The pawnbroker was dazzled ; although not usually given to nepotism, he obligingly embraced the proposal. During dinner, and after it^ Sir Jonah plied " his uncle " well with wine. The pawnbroker had a bad head for potation, though a good one for valuation ; he fell asleep and under the table almost simultaneously; and when he awoke to full consciousness, Sir Jonah, accompanied by the plate, had nearly reached Boulogne, never again to visit his native land ! Sir Jonah made another " haul " before leaving Ireland. Mr Fennell Collins, a rich saddler, who resided in Dame Street, lent "the Judge" £3000, on what seemed tolerable security; but one farthing of the money was never re- covered. A hundred similar stories might be told.J Every- body has heard of Barrington, the famous pickpocket ; but * Persoaal Sketclies, vol. i., p. 381. f Ibid., vol. i., p. 211 . + See Life of Thomas Reynolds, by his Son, p. 853, vol. ii., &c. emmet's insueeection. 296 the equally dexterous though more refined achievements of his titled namesake will be new to many. " The unrighteous borroweth, but payeth not again," saith Psalm xxxvii. 21. Sir Jonah could not even return a book To assist him in his work on the Union, the late Mr Conway lent him, for a few weeks, the file of the Dublin Evening Post for 1798; but it never could be got back, and was afterwards sold with Sir Jonah's effects. We wish we could be sure that Sir Jonah's dishonourable acts were no worse than pecuniary juggling. Dr Madden is of opinion that Barrington, although a pseudo patriot deserves to be classed among the informers of '98. In April 1798, he dined in Wexford at Lady Colclongh's, and on the following day with B. Bagenal Harvey. Popu- lar politics were freely talked ; and on Sir Jonah's return to Dublin, as he himself tells us, he informed Secretary Cooke that Wexford would immediately revolt. Nearly all Sir Jonah's friends whom he met at the two dinner parties — one a relation of his own — were hanged within three months ; and on his next visit to Wexford, he recognised their heads spiked in front of the jaU ! Colclough and Harvey were Protestant gentlemen of very considerable landed property in Wexford. Their discovery in a damp cave on the Saltee Islands, through the blood- hound instinct of an old friend, Dr Waddy, a physician of vTexJord, is invested with a painfully romantic interest. George Cruikshank has executed an effective sketch of this tragic incident. EMMET'S INSUKEECTION. Emmet's revolt exploded on the evening of July 23, 1803. Mr Philhps, in " Curran and his Contemporaries," writes : — " Lord Kilwarden, the then Chief-Justice, was returning from the country, and had to pass through the very street of the insurrection. He was recognised, seized, and inhu- manly murdered, against all the entreaties and commands of Emmet. This is supposed to have disguste4 £md 4ebiU- tete4 bim." 29G APPENDIX. A curious reason is assigned in a MS. before ua for Lord Kilwarden " passing through the very street of the insur- rection." The MS. autobiography of the late Serenus Kelly, a well-known monk, was placed in our hands ty the writer, on his death-bed, at Tullow, in 1859. Serenu* was ill Lord Kilwarden's house on the evening of his death : — " Colonel Finlay sent a message to Lord Kilwarden at seven o'clock on the evening of his lordship's lamented death, apprising him that Dublin was about to be disturbed by a second rebellion, and an attempt to take the Castle. Lord Kilwarden ordered his carriage, and went over to speak to Colonel Finlay on the subject, to satisfy himself of the truth of the report. He took with him into Dublin his daughter and nephew, and directed the coachman to drive to the Castle through Dolphin's Bam, to avoid pay- ing turnpike from his seat, called Newlands, situate between Tallaght and ClondaMn, on the Naas road." [Here the usual details of the emeute are given.] " One of the in- surgents asked who came there. The coachman answered, ignorant of their design, ' Lord KUwarden.' With that they pulled his lordship out, saying it was he condemned the Sheares,* and they gave him, upon the spot, fourteen pike stabs, of which he died about eleven o'clock next morning. Mr Downing, the gardener, went to see his lord- ship, and he heard Major Sirr say he would hang a man for every hair on his head : to which his lordship replied : ' Let no man suffer in consequence of my death, unless by f'he regular operation of the laws.' " This was said about eight o'clock on Sunday morning while he lay in a guard-bed in Vicar Street, weltering in his gore. As to Emmet, I did not wish to witness his execution ; but I saw the gallows erected, and a thrill of horror pervaded my blood as I observed the noose, black and greasy from the numbers it had launched into eternity." The person who received .flOOO, on 1st November 1803, for the discovery of Robert Emmet, stUl preserves his in- eognito. Dr Madden, quoting from the Secret Service Money Record, says that " the above sum was paid inU. * The mob confounded Lord Kilwarden witb Lord Caxleton. See p. 204, ance. EMMET'S INFOIIMEB. 297 Finlay's Bank to the account of Bichard Jones : " and he adds that the circumstance of lodging the money in the hands of a banker leads to the conclusion that the informer was not of humble rank, " Who was this gentleman Bichard Jones !" asks Dr Madden. For whom was the money paid to account of Richard Jones ? " In the county Wicklow there was a family of the name of Jones, of KiUencarrig, near Delgany. In 1815 there was I brewery kept there by a family of that name. They were Protestants — quiet people, who did not meddle with politics. " In the county Dublin, at Ballinascomey, near where Emmet was concealed for some time, there was also a family of the name of Jones, small farmers, Catholics. " There was a gentleman of the name of Jones, the Right lion. Theophilus Jones, a member of the Privy Council, a eollecter of revenue. He lived at Cork Abbey, Bray. He was a humane, good man in ' the troubles,' and interested himself much for the people. " There were two attorneys of the name of Bichard Jones living in Dublin at the period of Emmet's capture." — United Irishmen, vol. i. p. 392. As Dr Madden desires to ventUate this question, we wiU drop a suggestion, tending, perhaps, to throw some light on it. In the BvMin Evening Post of March 2, 1784, particular reference is made to Bichard Joues, Esq., a very eflScient justice of the peace, constantly on foot in sup- port of law and order, and praised by the Castle journals for his activity. There was also a very popular comedian, named Bichard Jones, attached to Crow Street Theatre at this time. He mixed much in the liberal and Catholic society of Dublin, and must have been well known to Mr Long and Mr David Fitzgerald, both of Crow Street. The two last named, as appears from " The Life of Emmet," Wer* deep in the confidence of the young insurgent. 208 Afi^EHDia. THE MYSTERY ENSHROUDING EMMETS GRAVE. Robert Emmet, when asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him, delivered an eloquent oration, which thus concluded : — -" Let no man write my epitaph ; for, as no man who knows my motives dare now vindicate them, let not pre- judice or ignorance asperse them; let them rest in obscurity and peace ! Let my memory be left in oblivion, and my tomb remain uninscribed, until other times and other men can do justice to my character. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written. I have done !" Notwithstanding the interest attaching to the name of Emmet, the locality of his final resting-place and unin- scribed stone has been hitherto undetermined. A correspondent of the Irishman newspaper has re- quested information as to whether the " uninscribed tomb of Robert Emmet is the one pointed out in St Michan's churchyard ? I am aware that the question has been often asked, and, as appeared to me, not satisfactorily answered. I arrived at this conclusion owing to the absence of any in- formation by members of the Emmet family. My reason for asking the question is, being in the vestry of St Peter's, Dublin, some short time ago, I was told by the men con- nected therewith that Emmet was positively/ interred close to the footpath, (left gate,) or near to where the oid watch- house stood, and was pointed out to them, as they stated, by some member or acquaintance of the family from America some few years ago. If there be nothing for it but the uninscribed tomb of Michan's, I would be inclined to think that Peters was the place, as tombs of the above descrip- tion are not so very rare." It is not the remains of Robert Emmet, the orator and insurgent leader, but of his father, Robert Emmet, State Physician, which are interred in St Peter's churchyard. The latter died on the 9th of December 1802, and was buried in St Peter's, three days afterwards, according to an nflS-cial certificate furnished to Dr Madden. The motkei' of k MIDNIGHT BURIAL. 299 young Robert Emmet is likewise interred in the same grave. Another correspondent of the journal just quoted said : — " No aUusion has been made to James's parish cemetery. The sexton told me about two years ago that there was a registration of his having been interred there. This is not at all improbable, it being so near the place of his execu- tion. It is a sad thing that such discrepancy should exist." Owing to this suggestion, we carefully examined the Burial Eegister of St James's Church, held by the parish clerk, Mr Falls, but no trace of Emmet's interment can be found in it. We had the pleasure, soon after, of a conversation with John Patten when in his eighty-seventh year. This gentle- man was the brother-in-law of Thomas Addis Emmet. He told us that having been a state prisoner in 1803, he was not present at Emmet's funeral. He had no authentic in- formation on the subject, but, according to his impression, Robert Emmet had been buried in Bully's Acre — also known as the Hospital Fields ; and that the remains were from thence removed to Michan's churchyard, where the ashes of Bond and the Sheareses rest. He added that Doctor Gamble of St Michan's, the clergyman who at- tended Emmet in his last moments, was a not unlikely person to have got the remains removed from Bully's Acre to St Michan's. A literary friend of ours, Mr Hercules Ellis, was speak- ing of Emmet and the uninscribed tomb at a dinner party, when a gentleman present corrected the error under which he conceived Mr Ellis laboured respecting the place of his burial. " It was not in Michan's churchyard," he said, " but in Glasnevin, and I speak on the best authority, for my late father was the incumbent there at the time, and I repeatedly heard him say that he was brought out of his bed at the dead of night to perform the burial service over Emmet. There were only four persons present, two women and two men. One of the men he understood to be Dowdall, the natural son of Hussy Burgh, and one of the ladies Sarah Curran, who had been betrothed to Emmet. The corpse was conveyed through '»• littip w'aa'ow door leading into th« 300 APPENDIX. old churchyati of Glasnevin from the handsome demesni of Delville, formerly the residence of Dean Delany." With interest awakened by this tradition we visited th» classic grounds of Delville, and the old graveyard adjacent, uccompanied by Mr Ellis, the great-grandson of the wife of Dean Delany, to the memory of both of whom a tablet, almost smothered in ivy, is set in the churchyard wall — the boundary which divides their former residence from their final resting-place. We learned from the gardener who acted as cicerone that there was a tradition precisely to the effect of the statement made by the clergyman's son. Our conductor having unlocked a narrow door which leads to the little cemetery, pointed out a grass-grown grave and uninscribed head-stone immediately to the left on entering. The entire aspect of the place forcibly recalled to our mind Moore's description of Emmet's grave : — " Oh, breathe not his name, let it sleep in the shade, Where, cold and unhonoured, his relics are laid ; Sad, silent, and dark, be the tears that we shed. As the night-dew that falls on the grass o'er his head. But the night-devr that falls, though in silence it weeps, Shall brighten with verdure the grave where he sleeps." This description, by the early friend and college chum of Emmet, is entirely applicable to the picturesque green grave near classic Delville and the deserted village of Glas- nfcvin,* but is inappropriate to the huge flat flag, excluding every blade of grass, in St Michan's, Church Street, Dub- lin. It is not easy to understand how a tomb thus situ- ated could " brighten with verdure." Moore would appear to have had rather the grass-grown grave at Delville in his mind than the flat, dusty stone in a back street of Dublin. * Many a pleasant day Addison, as he tells us, passed among these picturesque grounds. Tiokell, his executor, resided in the adjacent demesne, now known as the Botanical Gardens, and Par- nell the poet was vicar of a neighbouring hamlet. Swift has cele- brated the beauties of Delville in prose and verse, to the inspiration of which Stella not a little contributed. In a retired grotto may bs setn a fine medallion likeness of Stella, in excellent preservation, from the artistic hand of Mrs Delany, with the inscription, " Pasti- gia despicit urbis," composed by Swift. Several old basement rooms are shown as the site of the private printing presses employed by Swift and Delany. THE SHAM SQUIKK'S BEQtfKSTJS. 301 The following letter from the late Dr Petrie, the father Df Irish archaeology, tends the more to corroborate our views, as it was written before he had seen the above, or even heard the substance of it. The letter possesses addi- tional interest from the fact that it is one of the last penned by Petrie : — " 7 Charlemont Place, Nw). 10, 1865. " My dbar Sir, — According to my recollections and belief, derived from the best local authorities, the grave of poor Emmet is in the churchyard of Glasnevin, and is situ- ated at one side, the left, as I think, of a private doorway, which gave to the family occupying Delville House a direct passage to the church, and thus enabled them to avoid coming round through the town to the service. — Believe me, my dear sir, most truly yours, " George Petrie. " P.S. — The above was written before I read the printed paper which yon enclosed." THE SHAM SQUIEE'S BEQUESTS. (Firfepp. 152-159.) After several letters of inquiry on the subject appeared, it was urged by the Irish Times, in a voluminous leading article, that a royal commission should be appointed to in quire into the condition and revenues of the charities be- queathed by Higgins and others, and expressed a hope that Parliament would at once take the matter in hand. Complaint having been made that a letter which ap- peared in a morning paper from the Governor of the Four Courts Marshalsea, had been omitted from the Appendix to the first edition of this work, we now supply it, together ■with an answer which it elicited : — " 17, Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, January, 4, 1865. * Sir, — In your paper of yesterday I see an article on 302 APPENDIX. the bequests of two gentlemen to the Four Courts Mar- shalsea, for charitable purposes. The will referred to pro- vided that each prisoner who had taken the pauper declara- tion should be provided with a dinner of beef and bread on Christmas-day and Easter Monday, and that the balance should be applied to discharging some of the poor debtors ; but at the time this will was made there were prisoners confined for sums considerably under three pounds. How- jver, there have been few there for several years under debts of ten pounds ; consequently, a short time after my appointment to my present position, (now thirteen years ago,) I brought the matter under the consideration of the three chaplains, and represented to them that if they thought proper to apply the balance after the dinners re- ferred to, one or two prisoners could only be benefited in the manner pointed out. They accordingly decided that a sum of £1, 10s. (since raised to £2 in consequence of a change in the Stamp Act) should be applied for the pur- pose of filing the schedules of those prisoners who had no means of paying the expenses of taking the benefit of the Insolvency Act, which was carrying out as far as possible the desire of the testators. Since this arrangement I have always obtained ample means for filing the schedules of all those whom I found deserving of the favour ; had I not done so, I should have requested the Lord Mayor for the time being to have curtailed the allowance of beef and bread on Easter and Christmas. His releasing a man from prison is of more importance than giving each pauper more than ten times as much as the testator designed. " In conclusion, I have to remark that the bequests with which the Lord Mayor has nothing to do only pro- duce a small sum, and is more at the disposal of the prison chaplains on these occasions. It frequently is a source of regret to me that the wiU only refers to pauper prisoners, it frequently occurring that the most distressed inmates of the Four Courts Marshalsea are those who support them- jelves without the Government allowance, and have, alas ! too often to subsist on two very scanty meals in the day.— I am, sir, your obedient servant, " E. H. Caulfield, Marshal." LOUD HAEDWICKE. 303 "January 10, 1865. " SiK, — As I was the first to call attention in your Bolumns to the distribution of the charities, I beg to depre- cate the equivocal letter of the Governor on the subject. I would suggest an application to his Excellency the Lord- Lieutenant, with a view to the exhibition of the wills on the walls of the prison, and an order to the Board of Charitable Bequests to see that they are carried out in their integrity." Mr Caulfield is under an erroneous impression in sup- posing that the Lord Mayor has " nothing to do" with the Higgins Bequest. In his wiU, it is specially directed that the Lord Mayor for the time being shall distribute the charity. We are assured by the Secretary to the Board o' Charitable Bequests that they have got a copy of the Sham Squire's wUl, and do all in their power to make the Bequest be carried out in its integrity. Hitherto, the money so distributed by the Lord Mayor has been errone- ously announced in the newspapers as the personal chari- ties of that functionary; but steps have been taken by the Board of Charitable Bequests to prevent such borrowed plumes from being again displayed. JUDGE ROBERT JOHNSON. (P. 62, ante.) The history of Judge Johnson, whose name occurs in a previous page as counsel for the Sham Squire, discloses some curious features. In "The Step-ladder" of General Cockburne, we obtained a view of the Backstairs Cabinet, who carried on the govern- ment of Ireland, to the almost utter exclusion of the Vice- roy, during the reign of terror. This clique was succeeded by another, less sanguinary but equally mischievous. Lord Hardwicke, who became Lord Lieutenant in 1801, was a prim but pliant nonentity, personally amiable, though easily 304 APPENDIX. made a tool of by designing men. He stood a vapid ciph« in the midst of a cluster of figures. Every newspaper in the country applauded his policy. Even the Dublin Even- ing Post, the long-recognised organ of Irish nationality, flung the censer with unceasing energy. Emmet's speech in the dock* — one of the most eloquent and touching on record — was suppressed by the Post, with the exception of a few garbled passages, more calculated to damage his posi- tion than to serve as his vindication.t To the plausibility of Lord Hardwicke's government, men hitherto considered as stanch patriots fell victims. Grattan eulogised him ; Plunket accepted office. The press teemed with praise ; the people were cajoled. One man only was found to tear aside the curtain which concealed the policy and machinery of the so-called Hardwicke ad- ministration. A judge, with .£3600 a year from Govern- ment, was perhaps the last man likely to take this course. And yet we find Judge Johnson penning in his closet a series of philippics under the signature of " Juverna." He declared that Lord Hardwicke was bestrode by Mr Justice Osborne, Messrs Wickham and Marsden, and by " a Chan- cery Pleader from Lincoln's Inn," which was immediately recognised as Lord Chancellor Eedesdale. Giving rein to his indignation and expression to his pity, he exhorted Ire- land to awaken from its lethargy. The main drift of the letters was to prove that the government of a harmless man was not necessarily a harmless government. The printer was prosecuted, but to save himself he gave up the Judge's MS. I Great excitement greeted this disclosure, and Judge Johnson descended from the bench, never again to mount it. * See p. 298, anU. t Frequent payments to " H. B. Code " appear in the Secret Service Money Book, in 1802-3. This individual was engaged to conduct the Post during the long and painful illness of John Magee ; but for paltry bribes he quite compromised its politics, until John Magee, junior, rescued the paper from his bands. Mr Code subsequently received, under Mr Beresford, an appointment of £900 a year in the revenue. A notice of him appears in Watty Cox's Hagasine for 1813, p. 131. J Lord Clonourry, in his " Personal Recollections," says, (2d edit., p. 253,) "The manuscript, although sworn by a crown witness to be in Mr Johnson's handwriting, was actually written by his daughter. This circumstance he might have piuved ; but as he could not do m JtTBGE JOHNSON. 305 A public trial took place, of which the report fills two portly volumes ; and the Judge was found guilty. Before receiving sentence, however, the Whigs came into power, and Johnson was allowed to retire with a pension. Bull he considered that he had been hardly dealt with ; and the prosecution had the effect of lashing the Judge into down- right treason. He became an advocate for separation, dressed a la militaire, and wrote essays, suggesting, among other weapons of warfare to be used in " the great struggle ol national regeneration," bows, arrows, and pikes. The "Jour- nals and Life of Tone," the ablest organiser of the United Irish Project, was published at Washington in 1 828. Publio attention was immediately called to it by a book, printed in English at Paris, entitled " A Commentary on the Lif a of Theobald Wolfe Tone," which has always been confidently pronounced as the work of Judge Johnson.* The Memoirs of Tone, and the Commentary which succeeded it, appear- ing at a crisis of intense political excitement, and display- ing conclusions of singular novelty and daring, produced a powerful impression. The Duke of Wellington, then Pre- mier, assured Kogers that he had read the Memoirs of Tone, from cover to cover, with unflagging interest. But it ia doubtful if the Duke would ever have seen it had not the " Commentary" reached him from the British ambassador at Paris. An interesting letter from the late Robert Cassidy, Esq., narrates the fact, previously a secret, that the mate- rial only came from Judge Johnson, and that Mr Cassidy edited the MSS. The letter was written in reply to one from the present writer, mentioning that he had purchased, at the sale of Mr Conway's library, a volume of scarce pamphlets, containing the "Commentary" with Mr Cassidy** autograph, and offering it to his acceptance. without compromising his amanuensis, the jury were obliged to return a verdict of guilty." We have been assured, however, by Miss Johnson herself, that the MS. was really an autograph of het father's. She added, that the judge having taught her to write, their handwriting closely assimilated. * See BecoUections of Lord Cloncurry, p. 253 ; Moore's Journal, vol vi., p. 146; Daunt's Reoollections of O'Connell, vol. i., p. 18; Irwh Q,uwrtetly Bemew, vol. iL, p. 10 ; Irish Monthly Magazine, v, 120, &c, X 306 APPENDIX. " MoNASTEREVAN, July 3, 1 855. " The Commentary on the life of Wolfe Tone was pulK lished under very peculiar and rather strange circumstances. The papers forming it were detached, and not arranged. In a state just out of chaos, they were intrusted to me, to make such use of for the advance of this country as I might deem useful. " The dedication, written in Paris, puzzled the few French printers able to print English.* Didot, under guarantees supplied by my banker, (D. Daly,) published the book almost malgre lid. I had to attend more than one sum- mons at the Palais de {in-) Justice in 1828, to protect the printer. " The paper caused some sensation. Every ambassador in Paris paid for the sheets as printed — some for ten copies, before bound. One hundred copies were sold in sheets. " I had to correct the press for French compositors, and brought over fifty copies. I have made a look through my books this day, and, to my surprise, find I have not a copy of the original exemplaire. " To repossess the copy most probably lent Conway, is desirable. I shall receive it from you, not as a restitution, but as a gift. — Yours faithfully, Egbert Cassidy. " To W. J. Fitzpatrick, Esq." Judge Johnson was a fluent correspondent, and some ol his letters on the capability of Ireland for effective warfare appear in the " Personal Recollections of Lord Cloncurry." His grandson. Eobert Alloway, Esq., now holds an interest- ing selection from the Judge's papers. It may scandalise Surviving politicians of the old Tory school to hear that >mong his chief correspondents were John WUson Croker and the King's brother, the Duke of Sussex. • " They could not, for the life of them, imagine why an English book, dedicated to all the blockheads in the service of his Britannic Majesty, should be printed in an alien apuntry."— SuftsejHeni com- municationfrom Mr Cassidy. CONNELU 307 O'CONNELL " A UNITED lEISHMAN." (P. 134, ante.) The uncompromising attitude of hostility maintained by O'Connell towards the advocates of physical force, specially evidenced in his censure of the men of '98 at the Repeal Association on May 21, 1841, and which led to the resig- nation of some influential repealers in America, imparts additional interest to the fact, hitherto hardly known, that he himself had been a United Irishman. We are in- debted to the late Mr Peter Murray, of the Registry of Deeds Office, Dublin, a man of scrupulous veracity, for the following curious reminiscence of O'Connell in 1798 : — "My father, a respectable cheesemonger and grocer, re- siding at 3 South Great George Street, was exceedingly intimate with O'Connell, when a law student, and during his earlier career at the bar. Mr O'Connell, at the period of which I speak, lodged in Trinity Place adjacent, an almost unexplored nook, and to many of our citizens a terra incognita. I well remember O'ConneU, one night at my father's house during the spring of 1798, so carried away by the political excitement of the day, and by the ardour of his innate patriotism, calling for a prayer-book to swear in some zealous young men as United Irishmen at a meeting of the body in a neighbouring street. Coun- sellor was there, and offered to accompany O'Connell on his perilous mission. My father, although an Irishman of advanced liberal views and strong patriotism, was not a United ■ Irishman, and endeavoured, but without effect, to deter his young and gifted friend from the rash course in which he seemed embarked. Dublin was in an ex- tremely disturbed state, and the outburst of a bloody in- surrection seemed hourly imminent. My father resolved to exert to the Uttermost the influence which it was weL known he possessed over his young friend. He made hinv accompany him to the canal bridge at Leeson Street, and after an earnest conversation, Succeeded in persuading the future Liberator to step into a turf boat which was then leaving Dublin. That night my father's house was searched by Major Sirr, accompanied by the Attorneys' Corps of yeo- 308 APPENDIX. manry, who pillaged it to their hearts' content. There can be no doubt that private information of O'Connell's tenden- cies and haunts had been communicated to the Government." Mr O'Connell's intimacy with Mr Murray is confirmed by Mr John O'Connell's memoirs of his father, p. 14; and Sir Jonah Barrington, in the third volume of his " Personal Sketches," p. 396, gives a very animated description of the Backing of Murray's house by the Attorneys' Corps, or " Devil's Own." The " Personal EecoUections of O'Connell," written by Mr Daunt, and mainly devoted to a record of conversations with his great leader, describe O'Connell as in Dublin during the spring and summer of 1798, and, lest some officious persons might endeavour to implicate him in their disaffection, " quitting the city in a potato boat bound for Courtmasherry," (vol. i., p. 117.) But the cir- cumstances detailed by Mr Murray are not given. THE KEBELLION IN WICKLOW— FUSILADE AT DUNLAVIN. The Rev. John F. Shearman, late of Dunlavin, and now of Howth, has obligingly sent to us, since the publication of our previous edition, the following waifs and strays of the rebellion in Wicklow, gathered from aged witnesses of the events. Details of the more important events of the in- surrection in Wicklow can be found in Hay and Musgrave's Histories ; but the incidents gleaned by Mr Shearman which possess historic value do not exist in any accessible form. " The memory of these events," writes Mr Shearman, " is still green in Dunlavin, but few unless one in my position sould elicit much information on a subject always danger- ous to touch in that locality. I append other episodes, for the truth and correctness of which I can give every guar- antee :" — Some days before this cruel execution, which took place May 86, 1798, Captain Saunders, of Saunders's Grove, FUSILADE AT PUNLAVII*. 309 near Stratford-on-Slaney, reviewed his corps^ and then au- Donnced that he had private information of all those in it •who were United Irishmen. AH who were such were then ordered to step from the ranks. Many, in the belief that he had true information of their infidelity, came forward. One man, however, Pat Doyle by name, having got a hint from Captain Saunders's butler, who was a member of the corps, that his master had no reliable information, said, when his name was called, that he was no " United man," the remainder of them took the hint, and the gal- lant captain was thus foUed. The unfortunate men who so unintentionally betrayed themselves were pinioned and marched to the market-house of Dunlavin for confinement until their fate would be decided. Next day Captain WiUiam Eyves of the Kathsallagh yeomen, being on the look-out for insurgents on the hUl of Uske, his horse was killed by a ball aimed at its rider. Eyves got home safely ; rode to Dunlavin, and then it was determined to shoot the prisoners of Saunders's yeomen, and those of the Narragh- more corps, numbering in all thirty-six men. Next day, the 26th of May, being the market-day of Dunlavin, these unfortunates were marched from the market-house to the fair green, on the rising ground above the little town. In a hoRow or pit on the north side, near the gate of the Ko' man Catholic chapel on the Sparrowhouse Eoad, the vic- tims were ranged, while a platoon of the Ancient Britons stood on the higher ground on the south side of the green on the Boherbuoy Eoad. They fired with murderous effect on the thirty-six victims. All fell — dead and dying — amid the shrieks and groans of the bystanders, among whom were their widows and relatives. After this mur- derous task was completed, the military retired to the market-house for other acts scarcely less cruel and bloody. Flogging and hanging was the order, of the day, to stamp out disaffection and strike terror into the hearts of the country people. At the green, when all was hushed, while the life-blood was welling from the murdered victims, their friends and relatives powerless to soothe their pangs, and lurking in terror behind the neighbouring fences, the soldiers' wives came to rifle the mangled corpses of the slain. One poor fellow who was only wounded, when ha 310 APPENDIX. found his watch being taken from him, made a faint effort at resistance, but in vain ; the savage woman sent for her husband, who quickly settled the matter by firing a pistol into the ear of the wounded man. Another victim, Peter Prendergast, was also living, being wounded in such a manner as that his bowels were exposed. He feigned ieath, was also plundered, and thus escaped. Towards evening the bodies of those who were not already carried away by their friends were taken to the cemetery of Tour- nant and there buried in a large pit. Prendergast was still alive, and a woman replaced his bowels, bound him round with her shawl ; he was carried home, and lived to an advanced age. Some few persons stiU surviving have a vivid recollection of the cruel and savage scenes. An old man told the writer that he remembers his father taking him to the town on that day, when he saw men hanging in death's agonies between the pillars of the market-house. He remembers an event which it is well to record, as re- lieving the barbaric cruelty of the scene. One John Mar- tin, in a fight with a soldier, snatched his sword. He was seized and dragged to the market-house to his doom. The sword was taken from him and placed on a peg in the wall. A respectable Protestant friend interested himself for Martin, who eventually escaped injury ; and while his fate was a subject of altercation between the authorities, a soldier's wife took down the sword, and unperceived in the heat of the dispute cut the rope by which one Thomas Egan, a smith, was suspended, writhing in the agonies of suffocation. He fell unnoticed to the ground, revived, and escaped to Dublin. The following is a list of the slain, as far as ascertained : — John Keeravan, Daniel Keeravan, brothers, Uppertown, Dunlavin ; Laurence Doyle, Dunlavin ; Martin Gryffen, do., a3t. 21 ;* Duffy, Duffy, brothers, Ballin- glass; Matthew Farrell, Stratford-on-Slaney ; Michael Neil, Dunlavin ; Richard "Williams, Ballinacrow ; Andrew Eyan, Scruckawn; Keating, Keating, bro- * Martin Gryffen came from Dublin the evening before to see hia aged father. He was seized in the garden of hi.i house while saying his prayers, and executed, though not implicated at all in the move- meat. THE HEBELLION IN WICKLOW. 311 Ihers ; and Edward Slattery, Karragbmore; Andrew Prendergast, Ballinacrow ; Peter Kearney, John Dwyer,* and John Kearney, Donard ; Peter Headon, Killabeg ; Thomas Brien, Ballinacrow Hill ; John Doyle, Scruckawn ; Morgan Doyle and John Doyle, Tuckmill ; Webb, Baltinglass ; John Wickam, Eadestown ; Costelloe ; Bermingham, Bermingham, brothers, Narragh- more corps; Patrick Moran, Tuckmill ; Peter Prendergast, Bumbohalljt Thomas Byrne, from near Dunlavin, was aanged at the market-house in Dunlavin at this time. II. May2i, 1798.— The Ancient Britons having shot twelve insurgents at BaHymore-Eustace, came to Dunlavin the next day by a detour through Lemmonstown, in the county Wicklow. A farmer in that townland named M'Donald had four sons, concerning whom secret information had been given by one Fox, a miUer from Hollywood. The military dashed into the house while M'Donald, his wife, and four sons, Kit, John, Harry, and Tom, were at dinner, The young men were dragged out of the house, and while preparations were being made to shoot them, one of the M'Donalds was compelled to put a burning turf into the thatch of the house, and while doing so his hand was shot off by one of the soldiers. In vain did the old man pro- claim the innocence of his sons, whUe he showed a written protection given them by Captain Kyves of Eathsallagh. The two eldest were ordered to kneel down, their aged parent falling on his knees beside them imploring mercy. They were murdered by his side, whUe their mother looked on, regardless of all danger from the raging fire behind her. The two younger M'Donalds escaped in the confu- sion, concealed by the smoke of their burning homestead. They were perceived, but escaped unhurt, amidst volleys of bullets from their pursuers, and found a safe retreat in the wild glens and recesses of Church Mountain. The murdered bodies of the young men were concealed, and on the following Sunday before daybreak their aged parents * John Dwyer of Donard was uncle to Michael Dwyer, the in- surgent of Imalle in 1803. t Peter Prendergast of ^umbo Hall was wounded, and escaped as above. 312 APPENDIX. carried them in sacks for a hasty burial in the old church- yard of Hollywood. III. In the summer of 1813, my informant went with hx Bervants to draw home turf from the bog of Narraghmore. While they were loading their carts, a respectable young man was seen to approach, attended by a servant, who led into the bog a dray and horse, in which was a co£Bn with some spades for digging. The young man seemed to look anxiously about him, and after some time began to open the surface of the bog. This very strange proceeding ex- cited the curiosity of the informant, who with his men came to the place where the stranger was excavating. His labours soon unravelled to some degree the mystery of the coffin. A corpse in perfect preservation lay exposed, but of a tallow-coloured hue, owing to the mode and place of burial. The corpse was placed in the coffin, and the young man, before returning homewards with it, told those pre- sent that it was the body of his father, who was shot in the "battle of the bog road" in the year 1798. He also told them that from time to time in his dreams he thought he saw his father come to his bedside, telling him to re- move his remains, intimating also where they lay. Urged by the vividness and frequency of these nocturnal warn- ings, he at last came to the resolution to remove the re- mains to be mingled with their kindred dust in some cemetery in the neighbourhood of Kilkenny. The young man's name was Brennanj his father was an extensive carrier, and at the time of the skirmish happened to be coming from Dublin to Kilkenny with seven drays laden with merchandise. He was met on the bog road at Nar- raghmore, was detained by the military, his drays and horses drawn up for a barrier, from behind which they fired on the insurgents. Poor Brennan fell by a random buUet, and his mangled body found a hastily-made grave, where it lay for fifteen years, until removed for Christian inter- ment, by the hands of a devoted child, from its lone and nameless grave in the bog of Narraghmore. IV. In the August of '98, some yeomen passed through KEMINISCENOES OF THE REBELLION. 313 Donard and went to Kilbelet, to the house of Mr John Metcalf, known by the soubriquet of "the Bully." He was descended of a respectable Yorkshire family, a scion of which settled near Donard about a century before. Met- ealf, learning his danger, fled up the side of Church Moun- tain. He was pursued and murdered on the mearings of the townland of Woodenboley. His assassins were two brothers who had been previously in his employment, and owing to some disagreement about their work, they left him. Taking to illicit courses, they were soon after con- victed of sheep-stealing and condemned to the rope, but with the alternative of joining the army, which latter they ivaUed themselves of, to live, as it appears, for the com- mission of deeper crimes, for which they were allowed to go unpunished. V. At the battle of Old KUcuUen, Captain Erskine, while writhing in the agonies of death, by a sword-blow aimed at his assailant, cut right through the pike handle, while its blade pinioned him to the earth. " A long mound in the cemetery of New Abbey," adds Mr Shearman, " marks the spot where he and his men who fell in the conflict were buried." EEMINISCENCES OF THE EEBELLION. The same hand which conveyed the foregoing traditional details from the Eev. J. F. Shearman, also brought to us from a venerable old lady, Mrs Anstace O'Byrne, a packet containing some curious reminiscences of the rebel- lion. We insert this document the more readily, inasmuch as it refers to persons and places already named in the text : — AS INFOEMEE S SKELETON DANCING A JIG LOED EDWARD- BOND — SIEE — X CAMP FEOLIO IN '98. What strange sights children sometimes get to see ! Some years more than half a century ago, the writer made one 314 APPENDIX. of a morry group of children ivno were frequently brought on summer evenings, by the middle-aged attendant who had them in charge, to walk and play in "The College Park." I do not know if the term is still used in common parlance in Dublin, but it then denoted all the greensward comprised within the boundary walls of Old Trinity, and appeared to be much greater in extent than now, and to hold trees of much larger girth than any to be found there at present. One well-remembered evening our play was interrupted; the little stragglers were collected with a great air of mys- tery ; powerful injunctions to silence were inculcated ; we were told " we must be very good and quiet, as we were going to see ' The 'Natomy House,' " so the good woman called it, and so we duly called it after her until better instructed. What "The 'Natomy House" meant, we neither knew nor cared ; it involved something hitherto unknown, and we cheerfully followed our guide. With stealthy steps, and sundry furtive glances around, which puzzled us amazingly, she led us to the door of a gloomy- looking house which, I suppose, it was not en regie that such visitors should enter. It was a square block of build- ing made, I think, of a decayed-looking, blackish stone. I imagine it must have been long since removed, for, on a late research, I vainly essayed to find either it or the site on which it stood. We were admitted to its interior by the guardian spirits of the place, a man and woman who had the care of, and, I believe, resided there. We soon entered that chamber of horrors, the Anatomical Museum of Trinity College, Dublin. The picture of it retained by my memory is that of a very lofty and very spacious apartment, the centre of which was cumbered and blocked up in some strange way which left only a margin of walk round the sides of the room; these sides had rows of Selves all round, filled with mysterious-looking glass rases. My latest piece of reading just then had been a story by Madame de Genlis, in which one of Charlemagne's Pala- dins had gone on a tour of discovery to some mysterious chamber in search of a vase said to contain the senses of Ms friend Astolpho, who had gone demented ; and which. AN INFORMER'S SKELETON DANCING A JIG. 315 having secured, he was taking off, when to his amazement he perceived another vase as duly labelled, which purported to contain his own senses, which he did not know he had lost. I immediately took it for granted that this was th» kind of apartment visited by the renowned Boland, and enjoyed the roam through it very much. I merely record this little item to mark how easily the imagination of a child can be tinged by the mental aliment with which it is supplied. But the great sight of the evening which our conduc- tress had come to see was the skeleton of Jemmy O'Brien the informer dancing vidth that of an Irish giant ; yes, suspended by the necks, there dangled from the ceiling of that apartment two skeletons, one a third part, or more, longer than the other. The rope by which they were fast- ened descended from their necks in a gradual slope to within three or four feet of the floor of the room at oppo- site ends. By some mechanical contrivance, or perhaps a simple pulling of the rope by the man in charge, the flesh- less forms immediately commenced to sway about above us with an easy undulating kind of motion, as if dancing to slow music. I could not convey an idea of the solemn grace with which these evolutions were performed ; those of the Irish giant attracted most the attention of the juve- niles. In scriptural lessons they had learned that a giant named Goliath had been killed by a boy called David; and in the juvenile literature of the day giants figured largely, and if not the most amiable, were certainly the most striking characters of the current stories. Of Jemmy O'Brien they never heard before that eventful evening ; and even then nothing, except that " he was an informer," and "that was his sldliton danrin' up there." I would like much to leam the antecedents of that remnant of an Irish giant ; also if it is still above its parent earth, or has returned to the dust from whence it came. It was many years after this visit, when I was mention- ing to an aged relative my surprise that so steady a woman as the servant who brought us would lead children to a place so likely to produce a nervous shock, I was informed that her husband had been "done to death " by some of O'Brien's informations in one of the insurrectionary periods 31b APPENDIX. gone by. Hence, when sie was apprised through her acquaintance that the skeleton of her ancient enemy occa- sionally performed the evolutions here recorded, she was seized with a morbid desire to witness them, d,nd gladly availed herself of the afforded opportunity without con- sulting the friends i^f her young charge, on the fitness of the sight for them. With this ray of light on the subject, I could not avoid thinking how painful to the poor woman, who held such a hidden sorrow in her heart, must have been the glee of her young companions. I never chanced to meet with more than one person who had seen Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Pamela, and hers was but a passing glance from a street-corner during a period of excitement, when, like O'Connell on stirring occasions in later times, the patriot could not move through the streets without being gazed at and followed by admiring crowds. On this occasion. Lord Edward was seated in a very high phaeton, with the beautiful Pamela beside him. He held the k^ins, and was driving at a very dashing pace through College Green and Dame Street in the direction of the Castle ; and having only just brought her home as his bride from France, Pamela shared with him the plaudits of the people. With respect to the lady, I could only elicit from my informant that " she was beautiful," without any particular definition ; but Lord Edward was vividly de- scribed as a smart, Ught, dapper-lookiag man, with boyish features, which beamed with delight at the cheers of the multitude, and the admiration excited by the beauty of Pamela. With respect to the attire of either personage, nothing dwelt on memory, but that Lord Edward " wore a green silk or tabinet kerchief round his neck, tied with \fery large bows, and very conspicuous-looking." Oliver Bond was a very comely, portly-looMng man, noted for having very handsome legs, of which he was thought to be a trifle vain, and he always wore sUk stock- ings, which displayed them to the best advantage. But it would scarcely be fair to infer from the above souvenir that handsome legs and silk stockings were scarce about OLIVER BOND — MAJOR SIER. 317 the period of 1798. Clonskeagh Castle, the first demesni residence beyond Clonskeagh Bridge to the right, nov» occupied by David Thompson, Esq., J. P., was, at the period of the rebellion, the residence of Mr Jackson, the father-in-law of Oliver Sond ; their tombs are side by side in the churchyard of St Michan's, Church Street, Dublin, — ^the inscription on Bond's being simply, "An honest man is the noblest work of God." Clonskeagh Castle was, during the reign of terror, searched by Major Sirr, and sacked by his myrmidons, who made so free with the fine wines in the cellar, that they were rushing inebriated through the streets of Dublin, and could not be quieted down for two or three days. I often saw "the Major," but never until he was far advanced in life, when it was usual for him to pass daily, about one o'clock or so, to his demesne residence at CuUenswood, from his apartments at the Castle of Dublin. He generally went through Dame Street, George Street, Aungier Street, p a saint, and departed from the precincts of A CAMP FfiOLIC IN '98. 319 her grave, having the darkness of their sorrow for her loss brightened by the hope of her salvation. The course of some years again brought to the lonely ruined church a funeral train, bearing to that grave the chill form of another member of the Walsh family. The covering stone was removed, and the grave-digger plied his dreary task until his spade struck oe the Ud of the coffin of Miss Walsh. When the earth was cleared away, it was discovered that his sturdy strokes had shattered the roof of her frail resting-place. When the loose boards were re- moved a strange sight was revealed to the awe-stricken beholders. "Decay's effacing fingers" had not touched the features of the fair girl who had been so long a denizen of the tomb ; they still wore the look of calm unspotted beauty and innocence which had been their character in life, and the bystanders murmured in low tones, " She must be a saint." When the emotion of the grouped people had somewhat subsided, the boards were reverently replaced, the new claimant for the grave deposited, the clay, with perhaps a lighter touch than usual, flung over both coffins, the tomb- stone was replaced, and the funeral train departed, leaving to her quiet sleep " The loveliest corpse amongst the dead." The marvel reached the neighbouring hamlets, and the villagers would frequently visit and occasionally point out to strangers what they fondly called " The Saint's Grave." But that grave was doomed to be desecrated. The memorable year of 1798 brought a crowd of British troops, under orders from Lord Carhampton, to bivouac in the adjoining celebrated Camp Field, in which the army of King James II. had once encamped, and had remained for several days after the battle of the Boyne. The tradition of the unspoiled beauty of the fair sleeper in the tomb within the old church which overlooked their camping place, reached the ears of the soldiers, and awak- ened such an unreverent curiosity, that one night when the watch-fires were blazing high, and the maddening glass was circulating freely in the tents of the officers, a godless band of them Bushed forth, exclaiming that " they would bring 320 APPENDIX. the young beauty down from her cold tomb to grace theu revels." It is the traditional belief of the neighbourhood that they kept their word, and dug up, and brought to the scene of their orgies, the form which death had spared. I was naturally anxious to learn the conclusion of this strange tale, but its narrator not being the " oldest inhabitant," I could only further glean from her that the form of Miss Walsh was never seen more.* I feel regret that I did not copy the inscription on the tombstone, as it most probably held the dates of the re- epective deaths of the members of the family, and thus tol \ how long the body of Miss Walsh had lain in the grave before the secret of its preservation was discovered. There was a respectable Protestant family in Dublin named Clements, consisting of several brothers, of whom two served as yeomen, and two joined the rebel ranks as United Irishmen. A suspected croppy, while undergoing severe flogging in Beresford's Riding School, in presence of a strong detachment of military and yeomanry, confessed that " two young men named Clements had been sworn in as rebels." The two brothers, who were present in the capacity of yeomanry, took no action in the matter ; but a jeweller, named Neville, who lived in Stafford Street, and who was also on the spot with his corps, left the riding school on some pretext, and gave warning to the young men who were implicated, just in time to save them from arrest. The Earl and Countess, of Moira, who resided on Usher's Island, had popular sympathies ; in the hurry of the dilemma Lady Moira was appealed to for protection : she opened her house to receive the young Clements, and they remained under her generous roof until the troubled season had passed over. This anecdote is given on the authority of Mr G n, a well-known and esteemed solicitor of * We have heard it traditionally stated that the soldiers converted Miss Walsh's corpse into a target for ball practice. The military, uicluding Captain Armstrong, who betrayed the Sheares, were en- camped here in 1798 ; and it was part of Armstrong's proposal to Shearea to gain over the soldiers, and betray the camp at Lough- aunstowii to the rebel forces. — W. J. P. MASSACKB ON THE CUEEAGH. 321 Dublin, whose mother was the sister of the brothers Clements. Moira House, the scene of so much stirring incident in days gone oy, is now an institution for mendi- cants ; but it is reduced in height, the top stoi7 having been removed. THE REBELLION IN KILDARE. We are indebted to the Rev. John O'Hanlon, the able biographer of Archbishops O'TooIe and O'Morghair, for the following traditional reminiscence of his grandfather's connexion with the rebellion in KUdare : — "In 1798, soon after the general rising, a comfortable grazier named Denis Downey, who held a considerable tract of land, on which stood the Gray Abbey ruins, near the town of KUdare, had been induced by a relative to take up arms and join the insurgent ranks. Having been en- gaged in some of the desultory affairs previous to the Curragh massacre, and his helpless wife, with two smaU children, having been daily exposed to insults, and the rapacity of the military force, during his absence from home, it was at length found necessary to abandon the farm-stead. His wife and her infant charge sought a temporary place of refuge ia Derryoughter, near the river Barrow. Here her aged father and mother resided. The insurgent husband found means for communicating to her his intentions of surrendering, with others, at the Gibbet Rath on the 3d of June. It is a fact, well remembered and handed down by tradition amongst the townspeople of Kildare, that on the very day before, several of Lord Roden's foxhunters, in a riotous and drunken brawl, appeared in the streets, carry- ing articles of apparel on the top of their fixed bayonets, and swearing most vehemently, ' We are the boys who will slaughter the croppies to-morrow at the Curragh ! ' This an- nouncement deterred many rebels from proceeding to the spot, and proved instrumental, no doubt, in saving their lives. Amongst the unnotified, however, Downey, in hopes of obtaining pardon, and mounted on a fine horse, ^y&at to the fatal trystin^ place. Having surrendered his arms, and 322 APPENDIX. an indiscriminate slaughter of the rebels having commencect, he at once got on horseback, and was endeavouring to escape, when he observed a near relative running away on foot. The horseman stopped for a moment, but when stooping for the purpose of mounting his friend behind, a bullet brought Downey to the ground, when his horse galloped wildly forward towards Derryonghter, where it had been previously stabled. Meantime, Mrs Downey, whose mind had been fiUed with alarm and anxiety to learn the state of her husband, remained up nearly the whole of that night, immediately preceding the 3d of June. To- wards morning, wearied and careworn, she had been in- duced to take a brief rest. The most strange event of all then occurred, as afterwards frequently certified by herself and those with whom she at that time resided. About the very hour when the massacre took place on the Gibbet Rath, she started from a troubled sleep, during which she had a frightful dream or vision of her husband weltering in his blood. Her instant screams drew all the famUy to her bedside. In vain did the aged father represent to her, that such a dream was only the result of her disordered fancies, and that better news might soon be expected. She wept bitterly and in utter despair of ever seeing her husband alive. The old man, taking his walking stick, turned down a retired road branching from his house towards the more public thoroughfare, leading from the Curragh. AlmouB the first object he encountered on the way was Downey's horse covered with foam and galloping furiously, without any rider, yet bridled and saddled. This unwonted sight furnished a sad presentiment of his son-in-law's fate. Soon again he observed numbers of country people running along the high road in a state of wild excitement. The old man asked some of them what news from the Curragh. ' Bad news ! bad news !' they exclaimed, ' our friends were all slaughtered on the Curragh to-day !' This heartrending in- telligence was afterwards conveyed to his unhappy daughter. With all the energy of despair, Mrs Downey insisted on having one of the common farm cars prepared. In this she proceeded to the scene of this diabolical massacre. She afterwards stated, that on the blood-stained plain, she turned over at least two hundn^d dead bodies before she MASSACEE ON THE CUBBAGH. 323 recognised that of her husband. This latter she deposited in the car, covering the corpse with straw and a quilt. Thus placing it beside her, the forlorn widow escaped with- out molestation to the house of a relative of her husband, living near the old burial-place, named Dunmurry, near the Ked HiUs of Kildare. Preparations were made for the in- terment. That very night, however, a rumour went abroad, that the military were searching every house throughout the district. Wherever a rebel corpse was found, it was reported that the house containing it would be consigned to the flames. Hastily acting on such information, a grave was dug in an adjoining family burial-place of Dunmurry, whilst the body of Denis Downey was wrapped in a shroud and covered with sheets, for time would not allow of a coffin being made. In this manner the remains were con- signed to their last resting-place, and covered with earth. The poor woman soon returned to find her former comfort- able home a perfect wreck. For nights in succession, with a servant maid, she was obliged to rise from bed and allow the ruffian soldiery to despoil her of almost every remnant of property. Desponding and broken-hearted in her un- protected situation, and happily wishing a retirement from the scenes of former happiness, the farm was aiterwards sold to a purchaser, and the desolate widow, with her small infant charge, removed to the neighbouring town of Mon- asterevan. Earely could she be induced, in after years, to recur to this earlier period of her life, without tears moist- ening her eyes and stealing down her cheeks ; nor could she ever regard a soldier without feelings of deep aversion. The foregoing narrative furnishes a dark illustration of baneful events, connected with the Irish EebeUion of 1798. ' It is no isolated episode,' adds Mr O'Hanlon ; ' for manj other family afflictions, equally deplorable and tragic in results, must have chequered the lot in life of thousands who became victims during this sad period of civil commo- tion and disorder.' " SM APPENDIX. PKOJECTED REBELLION IN CORK— SECRET SERVICES OF FATHER BARRY. (P. 132, ante.) The appendix to the new edition of the first volume of " The Lives and Times of the United Irishmen" displays, under the head " Secret Service Money Revelations from Original Accounts and Receipts for Pensions," a curious selection from these documents, to each of which, with some few exceptions, Dr Madden supplies interesting details regarding the circumstances under which the pen- sion was earned. At page 395 appears a receipt from the late Rev. Thomas Barry, P.P. of Mallow, who enjoyed a secret stipend of £100 a year; and as no explanatory state- ment is volunteered, it perhaps becomes our duty to supply the omission, while furnishing at the same time a note to «ome preceding remarks of our own. The following letter, addressed to the Very Rev. Dr Russell, Roman Catholic Dean of Cloyne, by the Rev. T. Murphy, of Mallow, containing the result of some inquiries instituted at our suggestion among the oldest inhabitants of that town, will be read with interest : — "Mallow, October 2, 1865. "Vbey Rev. and Dear Sir, — After many inquiries about the subject matter of your kind letter of Sept. 9, I thought it well to await the return of an old inhabitant who was absent from Mallow tmtil yesterday. " The following is the substance of his account of the imeuie, which I believe to be the most authentic. Shortly after the insurrection of '98, the Royal Meath Militia wera stationed in Mallow. They had conspired with the dis- affected to blow up the Protestant Church, when tha yeomanry troops were at service on a certain Sunday. Abundant materials were at hand, as Mallow contained several parks of artillery at the time in a field near the Protestant Church, and hence called Cannon Field to this day. " On the Saturday preceding, two of the wives of the militia, who lodged at one Canty's, at Ballydaheen, were A PENSIONED PKIEST. 325 noticed by Canty's wife stitching or sewing the extremities of their petticoats together, and Mrs Canty (wife of Canty, a cooper) expressed her astonishment. The soldiers' wives were equally surprised, and asked her did she not hear of the ridng about to occur next day. An expression of more unbounded surprise was the response. The poor Meath women expected they could fiU more than their pockets. Canty (whose son stUl lives in BaUydaheen) communicated the news to his gossip, Lover, (a convert.) Lover went to confession on that Saturday, and Father Barry refused to absolve him except he disclosed the case extra tribunal. His wishes were complied with, and both Lover and Father Barry went forthwith to General Erskine, {sic i) who lived on Spa Walk. As soon as the plot was revealed, Sergeant Beatty with nineteen men on guard for that night, (all implicated,) aware of the treachery, immediately decamped. The yeomen pursued them in their flight to the Galtees, and when one of Beatt/s men could no longer continue the retreat, his wish of dying at the hands of Beatty was complied with. Beatty turned round and shot him ! The body of this poor feEow was brought back to Mallow next day, and lies interred near the Protestant church, and Sergeant Beatty himself (God be merciful to him !) was taken finally in Dublin, and hanged. Lover had four sons. They all emigrated after arriving at manhood. I am sorry to say one of them became a priest and died a short time since in Boston. "The father received a pension of £50 a year for hf^ and Father Barry was in receipt of ^6100 a year until 1813,* when a dispute arose between him and the Protes- tant minister of Mallow, about the interment of some Protestant who became a convert on his death-bed. Father Barry insisted on reading the service in the Protestant churchyard, was reported to Government for not persever- ing in proofs of loyalty, deprived of his pension, and died, aiid is buried in our Catholic cemetery adjoining th' * The pension was finally re»tored to him, aa his receipts prove. In the Secret Service Money Book, now held by Charles Haliday, Esq., and from which Dr Madden has quoted the salient points, we find Father Barry's name frequently figuring as a recipient of various gratuities exclusive of liia pension. — W. J. F. 326 APPJCJSDix. churck The only prayer I ever heard offered for him was, ' God forgive him ! ' Yours very sincerely, "T. Mfephy. " To the Very Bev. Dean Kussell." Dean Kussell, in enclosing his correspondent's letter to us for publication, corrects an error into which the Rev. Mr Murphy fell, in stating that Lover received £50 a year in recognition of his timely information. A previous letter from the Dean observes : — " Protestant gratitude, unfortunately for Mr Barry's character, obtainod for him £100 a year, but poor Lover never received a farthing. Having been reduced to great poverty, a petititn was sent to Government, signed by twenty-five gentltanen, stating his services. The answer was, they knew aothing of him ; but the rebellion was then smothered in the blood of the people." The Dean adds, that this and other information recently reached him from clergymen who were born in Mallow or its vicinity. It would be difficult to find a pastor who presented a more venerable arid paternal aspect than the late Father Thomas Barry of Mallow. His flowing white hair and thorough benevolence of expression impressed most favour- ably all who car:ae in contact with him, and commanded their entire co2ifidence. The late eminent and lamented Daniel O'ConneU, on being shown one of Father Bany^s receipts for " blood money," as it was then somewhat eri"o- neously presumed to have been, started, andj to quote the words of our informant, who still holds his receipts, " became as white as a sheet ! " For thirty years 0'Connel\ had been on terms of close intimacy with Father Barry, and reposed unbounded confidence in his counsel. In the Dublin Evening I'ost of the day an obituary notice appears of Father Barry, who died January 18, 1828. The sin- gular fact is mentioned, that the priest's pall was borne by six Protestants. Having directed the attention of Dean Pbussell to this article, he writes : " The statement that Mr Barry's coffin was borne to the grave by six Protestants, can hardly be correct, as nothing was known of the pension he received till some time after his death. He was buried CROPPY BIDDY. 327 in the same respectful way in which Catholic clergymen are usually buried." Shortly after the date of this letter, ijoor Dean BusseU was himself consigned to the grave. POSTHUMOUS PAPEES OF BEOTHEE LUKE CULLEN— CEOPPY BIDDY. In the first edition of the Sham Squire it was stated, at page 302, that " Mr. Luke CuUen, a Monk of the Monas- tery of Mount Saint Joseph's, Clondalkin, died suddenly, in January, 1858, leaving behind him an immense collec- tion of MSS. illustrative of the histories of '98 and 1803." From these voluminous papers, which have since been obligingly placed at our disposal by the Prior, we select, as relevant to the present work, Mr. CuUen's quaint account of " Croppy Biddy," the female informer. There are different grades of the Informer, as in the case of other professions. There is the sweR Informer, like Eeynolds, whose fees are thousands, and who measures his value by the coflSns of his victims ; there is the starched Informer, in wig and gown, who stags sub rosa for pay, yet holds his rank as a gentleroiin, and passes for a man of spot- less honour ; then there is the industrious, hard-working In- former, like Jemmy O'Brien, who makes no disguise of his craft, and is ever ready to grasp " the Evangelists" in his horny hand, and press them to his often perjured Ups, in the discharge of the business by which he earns his daUy bread. Some illustrations of the latter class have been traced out in very ample detail by the monk to whom we have referred. After pursuing, with a searching pen, the hidden lives of Ealpin, Morgan, and other spies of minor mark, the old Carmelite introduces us to "the life and peejtjeies of croppy biddt. " This woman, who acquired much notoriety during the insurrection of 1798, and for some time after that period, was born in Carnew, in the County Wicklow, about the year 1779, and was in her nineteenth year when the rebel- lion broke out. Her father followed the humble profession of a thatcher, and was generally from home. Her mother 328 APPENDIX. paid no attention whatever to the education or morak of her dauglif^er. Let me at once apologize for being obliged to allude to immorality. But in Mstory we can leave nothing to the imagination — truth, however repugnant, must be honestly told. And in this case, that posterity may know even the vilest of the many instruments that were used to aid the blightful Legislative Union of our country. " At ten or eleven years of age this wayward and aban- doned girl was sure to be found among rude little boys at their sports, particularly riding the asses of tinkers, when any of them would sojourn in the outlets of Carnew ; or at a neighbouring forge, where horses were usually brought to be shod ; and if she could get up on one of them, or procure any person to lift her up, she was sure to sit astride and gaUop the animal up and down the street. She had an extraordinary passion for horse-riding, and at sixteen years of age she could manage the quadruped at his full speed. Aid in the year 1798 she mostly rode with the rebel cavalry — a buxom vivandiere on horseback. Her lack of morals and indecencies are too disgusting to follow, but it win be sufficient to say, that this pampered informer of the County Wicklow, at thirteen years of age, was an avowed and proclaimed harlot, steeped in every crime that her age would admit of ; and her precocity to vice, as it was to maturity, was singular. On her own oath, she attendeaSnight meetings at seventeen years of age, where a great number of United Irishmen assembled, about two miles from the residence of her father. After the rebellion broke out, she joined the rebel army, and soon obtained a horse, and was foremost in aU the deeds of iniquity during the time the people held out in arms. But her intoxica- tions and public debaucheries, were then by far the worst of this virago's shameless life. After the remnant of the popular army, which had reached the Wicklow mountains, were dispersed, she continued for some time with Holt. On her return home from the battle-field, she continued to speak at random of everything she saw or heard, and the more wicked the deed the more delight she took in th( recital, and with a brutal pleasure exaggerating the atro- city. In a, short time she was picked up by the ultra- CROPPY BIDDY. 329 loyalists, -who liked to have her drinking in the public- houses with them, getting her to tell of the deeds she saw in civil war. It was only in the latter end of August she left the outlaw camp ; and on the 16th of September she became the ward of Captain Wainright, the agent of Lord FitzwiUiam, the other magistrates of the county concurring in the project to have her for a general informer. She was then sent to Rathdrum, to be put under the training of a little vindictive and crafty attorney, named Tom King, and some old bailiffs. " She was now dressed like a lady, with habit and skirt, hat and feather, and a prancing palfrey was placed at her disposal. In her excursions through the country, where she was often engaged in search of denounced men, or out- lawed rebels, she presided at the head of a military party, which, it may be said, she actually commanded, for if they would not do as she wished, she swore that she would return to the garrison and not guide them any further. On one day she rode with a strong party to Ballymaurin, about three miles from Eathdrum, where two brothers, Byrne, were digging their own potatoes. Those men had been out fighting, but had returned home, like great num- bers of others, and availed themselves of the Amnesty Act. She had some disKketothem; she pointed them out to her guards, and they were shot without more ado. Historic writers should be cautious in taking details from ihe papers of those days. The poor f eUows that were shot, were called the ' Blacks,' by nickname. After some excursions of a similar kind, and some swearing of what was called a light nature, such as iiaving men transported, or imprisoned for ft considerable time, she was thought duly qualified to come forward to prosecute to the death. Now, gentle reader, you will be kind enough to excuse me for even allud- ing to the immorality of this abandoned person, who was brought up without the slightest particle of education, or more regard to morals than the brute that browsed in the field ; and in regard to her knowledge of Christian truths, she was an infidel. But she could ride off, and spend her nights and days on the crowded field and camp of disor- derly insurrection. Slie who, in a public court, could swear that she took delight in going to see an ill-fated man sent 330 APPENDIX. to eternity by thut terrible death of pUdng. And now, sc far as dress and money went, she was raised to the condi' tion of a person in affluence. Mark the general contrast; she mounted a prancing charger, attired in a lady's riding- dress, vieing with, and- even outdoing, the vilest soldier, in unheard-of blasphemous language. Every sentence that she spoke was sacrilegiously sealed with some person of the Blessed Trinity. To see her as she rode off at the head of a troop of dragoons or local cavalry (for she was indulged in her romantic notions), from the Flannel-haU of Eath- drum, Ik the above attire, with a cigar held firm between her teeth, and the curling wreaths of the smoke of that plant ascending from her mouth, and fanned around her face by the bending plume of ostrich feathers that fell over the front of her costly beaver ! " Now, good reader, you shall have a specimen of her veracity, and how far she could be depended on even on her oath. Mr. Wainright and the other magistrates and gentry of the county, had as ample knowledge of her depra- vity as they had of the light of the meridian sun. " She was now requested to come forward at the prosecu- tion of some men whose lives were at stake. She accepted the invitation, and would have gone without one. Her trainers expected that she woidd make a good display, be- fore her appearance as a leader on the stage of that terrible drama that she was now rehearsing for. The murder of one Inman was laid to the charge of those men, and Biddy promised to swear it against them. To this she was encouraged by some persons who had an old and im- placable Ul-wiE against them. She was at this time going on swearing in every case, and to every thing that she thought would please the Orange party, who supplied her with money and whiskey. It was a great temptation to her, who was reared in poverty and wretchedness, now to have fine clothes, and plenty of money, and soldiers at her command, with a thousand promises of their continuance. " The trial of the men for the pretended murder of Wm. Inman came on. The deceased had a brother who was of a very independent turn of mind. He would not join a yeomanry corps because he knew they were raised as aux- Iliariea to suppress the voice of freedom, and to keep the CROPPI BIDDY. 331 Catholics in their political and religious state of degrada- tion. He had a very strong affection for his brother from youth. And strange, he was not made acquainted with the approaching trial, or that there was an intention to prosecute any one for his brother until the day previous to the trial; nor was he then summoned or required to attend the trial — the time as well as the decisions of those courts, were arbitrary. It was merely by accident that he then became aware of this cushioned trial, and of the persons who were prompting the prosecutor, and providing evidence to sustain it. Knowing weU that it was through private malice, of an old date, that the prosecution was urged on ; and knowing also that his brother fell in battle — ^informa- tion derived ftom those who were with him when he fell — ' No,' he exclaimed, ' I know of my brother's death, from the men that were in battle-line with him when he died, fighting manfully at BaUyellis, on the 30th June.* He was not murdered, and I wiU go forward to prove it ; and that wanton, reckless, and willingly-perjured strumpet shall not swear away the men's lives !' He was fully sensible that her audacious perjuries would be hailed as gospel truths — ' No,' he said, ' I wiU go and free them.' He was a man of sterling soul, honest and resolved. He started next morning for Eathdrum, a distance of near twenty miles. When he arrived there he forced himseU into the court — the trial was going on — he announced himself as the brother of Wm. Inman, and that he had something particular to com- municate with regard to his brother. He was soon admitted to the witness-table; Croppy Biddy, that female hyena, was now on it, giving her evidence, and describing with minute exactness the circumstances attending the murder of Wm. Inman, so that all who heard her thought that she was looking attentively on. It might be said in any court in the world, save Ireland, that she had now ascended the zenith of her perjuries. But this was only a preparation for another act in the long and bloody drama of Ireland. When her testimony was given, Inman appealed to th« President of the Court-martial to allow him to disclose * Sir Bichard Mnsgrave's History of the BebelUon, at the 9th part of his nineteenth appendix, page 112. 332 APPENDIX what he knew with regard to the death of ^s brother. The request was immediately granted, and even hailed, expecting that it would make the conviction doubly sure. ' Sir,' he said, addressing the President, ' with your per- mission I would, in the first place, ask that woman — (meaning the last witness) — a few questions.' — ' By all means,' said the President. He turned to her and said — =" ' You saw my brother, Wm. Inman, murdered by the pri- soners 1 ' ' Certainly,' was the quick and pert reply. ' What kind of dress had my brother on at the time ?' 'He had Ms regimentals,' was the answer. 'What had he on his head 1 ' ' His helmet — what else would he have on ? — I never saw him without it.' After a few more ques- tions, he turned to the Court, and, addressmg it said — ' There is not one word of truth in what that woman has sworn, on my oath. On the morning of the day on which my brother fell, I rode with him for some distance as he was going to join his corps, before going to battle. He complained of a violent headache, to which he was subject, and the weight of the helmet increased it. I gave him my hat and took his helmet. He feU that day in fair and open fight, and at that instant had my hat on. His com- rades who were in battle-hue then with him, who saw him fall, and then raised him up, assured me of the fact, and, had we received any notice of this trial, they would be here with me; but they are on the road, and will be soon here. I am also weU informed that the prisoners were not TOthin some three or four mUes of my brother when he fell, and this can be proved by as good loyalists as any under his Majesty.' The Court and people were astonished at this tinusual evidence. The prisoners were acquitted, not amid acclamations, for no one dare presume to show the sUghtest symptoms of exultation in the triumph of justice in those intolerant times. The Wicklow Terrorists were crest-fallen at the breaJdng down of their favourite witness. It was necessary to protect the character of this woman for another feat that was now only in embryo ; she was silenliy rebuked for her failure, and levity, and pertness ; that is, there was less attention paid to her by the squireen J. P.'s and others of that tyrant-ridden county ; yet die was looked upon in those days of swearing as a person of promise. BYRNE OF BALLYMANUS. 333 She -was young, and under judicious teachers had time enough to learn. Her unblushing audacity was firm and boundless. Drunk or sober, her pert and ready replies to all questions helped to restore her to that portion of favour which only seemed to be lost to her. " All this time she was under the apparent tuition of a bailiff named Tom Philips, from whom I had this incident and much more of her history, but Tom King, the attor- ney, gave her the principal lessons. Philips was too much of the man, in its physical sense — no man possessed a greater share of personal courage — and such individuals rarely stoop to meanness. It was more on account of Ms courage than for his instruction that she was placed under Ms protection ; the little attorney at Kingston was, I may say, her sole preceptor. Her public intoxications and debaucheries, her smoking and swearings with the soldiers and others, had now their fuU. swing, and of this scandal- ous conduct, in his pampered and suborned informer, Tom King was perfectly, cognizant, and fuUy sensible, from her late failure, that no credit could be attached to her infor- mations, yet he kept her on. " The Orange gentry of Wicklow were now making private arrangements for one of the most murderous legal deaths that ever disgraced human nature. " The O'Byrnes of that lovely county, since the first land- ing of the Saxon, had been objects of hate and spoliation. There was one young branch of that fine stock whidi the upstart squireens of that county feared and hated. They had now the semblance of legality in their courts-martial to screen their vile deeds. Those courts were composed of beardless and ignorant youths* and fanatic Orangemen ; and therefore William Byrne, Esq., of BaUymanus, a mem- ber of the most ancient and respectable family of ths county, was to be brought before them, to be consigned to an ignominious death. But the breaking down of this wretched witness was a stumbling block to his persecu- tors. As the trial came on, King hit on a happy ex- pedient for her protection ; that was, to have it sworn, if * No competitive examination being then necessary, illiterate cox- combs abonnded in tbe army. 334 APPENDIX. the objection should be urged, that the men accused of the murder of Wm. Inman were acquitted in -virtue of the Amnesty Act, the provisions of which they came under, and not in consequence of Bid Dolan's false swear- ing. This was a subterfuge such as a low irttorney would suggest, but to willingly swear to it was the essence of depravity. Notwithstanding her life of public infamy, hep public conviction of perjury, when she knew all the parties, and when she was, I might say, a volunteer witness, the magistracy of Wicklow, to their shame, had the unblush- ing effrontery to bring her, a suborned perjurer, as a wit- ness against the Ufe of William Byrne. It was a frequent boast of theirs that they would keep the court clear ; that is, they would take steps to prevent Mr. Byrne's evidence from coming forward. " On the 24th of June, 1799, that young gentleman was brought up before 18 or 20 witnesses, aU of whom were insatiable for blood or money, and -^ho swore at random, and not unfrequently contradicte(^ each other. " But Croppy Biddy was thef jon on whom the prosecu- tors rested their hopes. The gig^ng and loud laugh, the levity and whole demeanour of that libidinous wretch, was themost disgustingdisplay that, perhaps, any witness was ever before allowed to indulge in, where the Uf e of a high and hon- ourable gentleman was concerned. Her first plunge on the green cloth this day was perjury, and all her assertions, that were of any moment, to the end of the trial, were of the same dreadful description. In her evidence she swore that it was on Friday that Mr. Byrne joined the insurgent camp on Gorey Hill. This was false ; it was on Saturday. She swore that Mr. Byrne had the command of the party that put one Langrel to death in Gorey church-yard. Tlus was also false. She added that she went with interest to see Langrel piked ; this was correct, but it was a home proof of the hardened depravity of the witness. Mr. Byrne had gone, some time before the death of Langrel, on a visit to a Mr. Webster's, some distance from Gorey, and was not in any way connected with the death of that man. My informant, who was a rebel captain in Ballymanus division, says — ' I was accidentally by ; I did not know one of the men that were sent to execute bita ; but none of them VINEGAR HILL. 335 belonged to the Ballymanus di-vision, for being one of the captains, I should have known them.' Mr. Byrne (Garret) of Ballymanus was in Dublin from the time that his man- sion was sacked, on the 8th of May, 1798, by the Tinehely yeomen,, until the day or two before the Battle of Vinegar Hill, when he succeeded in getting out of town, but was too late to be at any of the following encampments : — Mount Pleasant, Kilcavin, Comgrua, or Vinegar Hill, and yet she swore that Mr. Garret Byrne was at each of them ; and that William Byrne and Captain Esmond Kyan had some dispute, and that Mr. Bjrrne said he would exchange a shot with him. This was random swearing ; but that part of the oath that says Captain Esmond Kyan was then on Vine<5ar Hill was a wiUing perjury, for that gentleman was !«. i,ne same instant of time in the town of Wexford, eleven miles distant. And Lieutenant Hogg, of the Antrim Militia, who was then a prisoner with the popular army in Wexford, swore, on the trial of Mr. Bjrae, that he saw Esmond Kyan in the jail of Wexford, at five o'clock on the morning alluded to. The battle had then commenced. " She on being asked, in Mr. Wm. Manning's shop, in Kathdrum, by a young lad who was serving his apprentice- ship there, if she was not to go Mr. Byrne's trial? 'Yes,' she said, ' for they told me that I should not get my liberty if I would not go and swear against him,' She was instantly cautioned by her guardian, Philips, my informant ; but in two days after she swore, in open court, that she never uttered the sentence. " She was in Wicklow at the time of Mr. Byrne's execu- tion, and went out to see it with a swarm of soldiers and the Orangemen of the town ; her conduct here was of the most revolting description. After this I am not aware that she was called on to swear any more. Mr. Byrne was in his silent tomb, and there was no more wanting to the squireen magistrates of that county. How she had been remime- rated for her perjuries I cannot tell, but I find the follow- ing items in the Secret Service Money published by Dr. Madden. " ' 18th March, Mr. Archer, High Sheriff of the County Wicklow, £100. " ' Ditto, 27th April, 1801, £70. 336 APPENDIX. " ' letli Sept., 1801, Tom King, of KatMram, attorney, by order of Lord CornwaUis (the Lord Lieutenant), £300. And to Bridget Dolan, per Captain Wainright, £22 16s.' " This latter seems to be her fixed yearly salary, for it did not appear by her manner of living that she had much more, and this was little enough to support her and a pair of bull-dogs that she kept for her protection. And, notwith- standing that she was always attended by those grim and faithful guardians whenever she walked out, the boys, if they could with any degree of apparent security, would relin- quish their sports to have a fling of a stone at her, with the shout, ' Ha, Croppy Biddy !' For this they were often brought before the magistrates ; and, so powerful a monitor is conscience on the recollection of guilt, that sooner than stir up the past, the rude lads were generally let off with a magisterial admonition. " She happened to have one child that Kved — it was a daughter ; but she never had the honour of a husband's protection. As soon as her swearing was over, and in which she seemed to have taken a particular delight, and after being restored to the Orange protection of her friends in Carnew, to live on the wages of perjury and prostitu- tion, and the price of innocent blood, her manner became utterly changed ; the florid cheek became quite pale, her natural and impudent levity had flown, and that insensi- bility to virtue seemed to be now under the severe gnawingof a corroding conscience. She was sour, reserved, and morose; when going out, and at every step she seemed to apprehend an assault. She lived for many years with the finger of scorn publicly pointed at her wherever she moved. It was sur- mised by her neighbours that the Government had with- drawn the salary from her, and that she was left in her declining days to be supported from the poor-box in the Protestant Church, or some scanty support from her Orange favourites.'' THE ROMANCE OF REBELLION. 337 THE REBELLION IN ANTRIM; A BENSATION BTOEY — ME. DIOKEy's NAEEATIVK. Readers of MacScimmin's " History of Carrickfergus" * wiU remember the name of James Dickey, a rebel general, who held a chief share in the command of the United Irishmen of Ulster. Here it was, in the ranks of the Dis- senters, that this formidable organization originally took root, and Dickey, as well as the great bulk of the men whom he led, belonged to the Presbyterian Church. From one of the representatives of this remarkable per- son, Mr. Adam Dickey, of CuUybackey, County Antrim, we have received some not uninteresting communications sinc^ the publication of the " Sham Squire." In June last he called upon us and told a tale which opens another glimpse of the Romance of Irish RebeUion.f After the discomfiture of the insurgent forces of Ulster, and while £400 lay on General Dickey's head, he continued for a considerable time to elude disQpvery by assuming different disguises and • MaoScinmmi wrote with ease, but spoke with difiSoulty. The late distinguished Celtic eoholar, John O'Donovan, M.B.I.A., in. formed ns that on his fii'st arrival at Camokf ergus, he stopped one of the first men he met, and inquired for its historian, MaoScimmin. " You're t-t-t-t-t-t-t-taiking to him," replied the man after a stutter- ing prolongation of the phrase we have but feebly sketched. " Tm on the p-p-p-p.petty ju-u-u-ry, but if you'll wait an hour or two, rU then c-o-c-come and t-t-t-telk to you." t Referring to the previous glimpses of the Romance of Irish History obtained in the earlier editions of the " Sham Squire," Michael Banim, Esq., the survivor of the " O'Hara Family," and author of, perhaps, the most powerful of Irish fictions, " Cro- hoore of the Bill-Hook," thus writes in an unpublished letter :— " The ' Sham Squire' has startled me. It is a revelation of the time! it refers to for which I was not previously prepared, which imagina. tion dare not invent, and which, if found in a work of fiction, would be discredited and, perhaps, cried down as an overstrain on proba> bility. When I have read it fully through, and pondered over it, I will write my matured impression of the book— of its importance ar a delineation of habits and manners, and of its still higher import- ance in an historical point of view." This he has done, vide p. 878.^ 338 APPENDIX, resorting to ingenious stratagems. He was built up in a turf clamp, almost dead from starvation and debility, when one day, to Ms deUglit, be recognized, passing in close proximity, an old acquaintance, named DiUon, who was like himself, in the profession of the law. The General made himself known to DUlon, who expressed the utmost commisseration for the melancholy plight in which he found his friend, and forced upon him some silver to pur- chase necessaries. In the course of half an hour a detach- ment of the King's troops appeared, surrounded the turf clamp, and dislodged Dickey from his concealment. He was immediately tried at the drum-head and hung ; and five hundred pounds, the price of his blood, was promptly claimed by a hidden Hand. Mr. Adam Dickey, inferring, from a perusal of the " Sham Squire," that we had access to some documents and receipts illustrative of the disbursement of Secret Ser- vice Money, called upon us, as already mentioned, and inquired whether we had seen any entry of the reward paid for the discovery of General Dickey in August, 1798, and if so, who was its recipient 1 Unfortunately, however, the receipts for Secret Service Money, and the other documents therewith connected are, owing to .the circumstance jdescribed at p. 263 ante, scattered and incomplete ; and although a payment of £100 is recorded on March 2, 1804, in the handwriting of Mr. Cooke, to a person whose name seems illegibly written " Dilton," and may be intended for Dillon, yet it does not conclusively appear that he is iden- tical with the reputed betrayer of General Dickey.* Mr. Adam Dickey, in his conversation with us, remarked that it has always been the belief in his family that Mr. Dillon was the informer. But he was himself, he added, unaware of this impression when, * Part of a oorreapondenoe with a spy who signs himself " John Dillon," is preserved among Major Sirr's MSS. in Trinity College, i^uhlin. It is dated " Gormanstown, March 31, 1803," where the spy was sent, prohahly with a view, among other things, of " setting" the yonthfnl Lord Gormanaton, a leading member of the suspected Faith. Particulars are given of the progress of disaffection north- •wards, the result of the writer's espionage. The Dublin Directory tor 1798, in its list of attorneys, includes the name of " John Dillon," t>. 131. A SENSATION SCENE. 339 ill the year 1827, he obtained an interview with Dillon, in reference to an advertisement which appeared from him offering money to lend on unexceptionable security. James Dickey's property had passed under the axe of attainder, and some of his descendants, owing to costly litigation, were obliged to borrow. Adam Dickey found the attorney, DUlon, in his study — an old bent man, who, the mement he learned his name, gazed upon him with melancholy interest. He promised to do what he could in furtherance of his visiter's object. The latter having caUed again in a few weeks to complete the mort- gage, he found that costs out of pocket, to the extent of £40, had been incurred — chiefly the result of searches made in the Eegistry of Deeds Office. " I forgive those costs," said Dillon, again bestowing a look sadly expressive of interest upon Adam Dickey, " I have known members of your family well, and it affords me singular pleasure to have an opportunity of doing you a substantial service." The old man spoke cautiously — he did not use the word "restitution." He, however, seemed visibly affected, especially when expressions of gratitude fell from Adam Dickey's lips ; he cast a lingering look after his youthful client • Dickey was requested to call again, and having done so, he learned, to his dismay, that Mr. Dillon, soon after the interview in question, had been found in the midst of an enormous pool of blood — the result of suicide committed in his own study ! Adam Dickey apprised his father of the catastrophe, who simply said — " It would have been well for James Dickey if DUlon had put a period to his existence nine-and-twenty years sooner." This was the first intimation Adam Dickey had received of the family suspicion, that Dillon had betrayed his friend, and the idea, coupled with the circum- stances which had recently come within his own knowledge, moved him deeply ; and the retrospect to this day, evokes conflicting emotions. Mr. Adam Dickey, in the course of his correspondence and interviews with us, frequently asserts that the History of the BebeUion in Ulster has never been written. Even the northern newspapers of the day furnish no information, inasmuch as aU reports of the progress of the insurrection, 340 APPENDIX. Were suppressed by order of Lord Castlereagh and his col- leagues. The office of the only independent journal, " Tht Northern Star" was twice wrecked by a military force ; and during the year of the Rebellion, the paper did no'j exist. " Dickson's narrative" he considers wholly unreliable. It was written after the Eebellion, with a view to improve the writer's perilous position with the Government. Mac- Scimmin, who published some notices of the northern revolt in his " History of Carrickfergus," was himself an Orangeman, and his peculiar bias warped the facts he undertook to handle. Mr. Dickey knew him well, possessed much of his confidence, and he says that the Historian was constantly in fear of being murdered ! MacScimmin con- fessed that, owing to his peculiar position and oath, he coiild not afford to tell the truth frankly. Those Northerns who were implicated in the conspiracy of '98, included a large share of the higher ranks of society. Mr. Dickey says that he possesses a complete list of all the gentry who were United Irishmen, which displays among other influential names, that of Alexander Stewart, a first cousin of Lord Castlereagh's. The organization of the country had been very indefatigably carried on to a certain point. Mr. Dickey's father, on visiting his stables in the morning, was often surprised to find his horses appear jaded and unrefreshed. The secret at last leaked out, that Eussell and TeeUng regularly used them during the night, in organizing the country and rapidly inspecting the pro- gress of and preparations for their projected enterprise. EusseU, strange to say, was a magistrate, and, what is not strange, a very popular one. If the people had any cause of complaint to make against persons who had done them injury, the invariable threat was " I'll RusseU him."* He was the uncle of Mr. Hamilton, of the Irish Bar, a col- league in Emmet's movement. Referring to MacGuickan, described at p. 272, we are apprised, by Mr. Dickey, that the attorney having attended a meeting of United Irishmen, seemingly as one of the * The late venerable R. 0. Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr. Den- Tir, -was intimately associated with Russell in early life, as he per- «>nally assured the author. For allusions to Russell see p. 279. THE UEBELLION IN ANTRIM. 341 stauuchest of themselves, he informed on all who were pre- sent unless General Dickey and one other to whom he bora & friendly feeling. Dickey and MacGiiickan were both attorneys. Possibly a sense of professional esprit de corps in this case, actuated the usually unscrupulous MacGuickan. Among the unpublished papers to which we have been given access, belonging to the late General Nugent, who was commander in Ulster during the troubles, we found the following information demonstrative of the connection of Presbyterians vidth the conspiracy, and the manner in which men's lives were jeopardized by the local spies. Having forwarded this document to Mr. Dickey, to see if he could recognize any of the names, he replied in a very communicative letter. Some of the details may seem tri- vial, but, for the reason elsewhere given, every authentic fact connected with the EebeUion in Ulster is worth pre- servation. " I return the examination of Sam. Hume ; I will inform you of any others you may forward to me. " The scene is laid where I was born, I know every name, field, and house, and part is on my family's property. The name, Hume (or Wham, as our Scottish patois hath it), is a very rare and low name thereabouts, until the advent of our late M.P., the heir of Lord Macartney, of Chinese fame, who, however, disguised it under that cognomen. The most respectable and worthy of note before, was Johnny Wham, the bellman in BaUymena, from that part, who perched himseK in the market-house steeple above his bell, and on 7th June, '98, and following days called out, as the bodies of United Irishmen appeared : — ' More friends fur Clough/ Cullybackey, or 'elsewhere.' This Sam. was probably his son or nephew, as he has 'junior ' at hia name ; doing a bit of pretended loyalty for his landlord, to show the Government, through General Nugent, the great necessity that existed for him to receive the pay, &c., as a Captain of his Yeomanry Corps, which signalized bim and themselves by running away at the battle of Antrim, when they saw Colonel Lumley, Captain Gamble, and other offi- cers, and some 96 dragoons faU at the charge, from the rebel fire at the church-yard wall. Mr. Stewart Moore and his corps never halted their troop horses till stopped 342 APPENDIX. by intercepting parties of rebels, and finally, by the sea at Dunseveric, some 16 miles Irisli, from tbe scene of action, -they riding not straight there, but by aU imaginable bye- roads, to evade the rebels, and telling they were fired at from imagiaary garrisons in the bleach-greens they passed in their flight. On the part of the men this was not all from cowardice, but because most of them were favourable to the cause of the rebels. Several of these yeomanry and runaways were taken prisoners by the rebels advancing on Ballymena, which they took under James Dickey ; * Mr. Stewart Moore being one. Mr. Stewart Moore was also a magistrate and gentleman of family, and Scottish and Presbyterian descent, of good estate, and amiable disposi- tion. He it was who struck the Bible and hand when the 'Popery oath' was put to my grandfather at the election, at which Mr. Stewart Moore was assessor, and though on the opposite interest, could not understand, and would 7wt allow the insult to be ofiered to my grandfather, who was a personal friend of his, as well as from some family alli- ances. "Partisan Magistrates kept such fellows as Hume to concoct stories after, and even before '98. On these lies, they burned houses, flogged, haK-hanged, imprisoned and maltreated men, and especially women and girls, to goad the people into insurrection, unarmed and helpless, of which I could adduce many instances. The date of this examination is 1800, two years after the people were sup- pressed in blood and torture. "Doctor Patrick was the son of a small farmer, near * In a subsequent letter Mr. Dickey writes : — In my last I think there is confusion in the sentence ahout James Stewart Moore's yeomanry, meeting " a body of rebels," under Jamies Dickey, and marching on Ballymena, which they took. In their flight, they fell in with the videttes and skirmishers of James Dickey's (the General) regiment, and the men of Eandalstown and others, they having taken that town, and were marching. Captain Ellis, Jones of Money- glass, and the yeoman prisoners they had secured there, and this was the nucleus of the " Army of the EepubBo." Ballymena was taken, when they got there, by other regiments, and officers, and the garrison prisoners (whose names and acts I could give). Among them was my imcle, Adam Dickey, and his division, with their offi- cers J also my grandfather's, and his brother's old Cullybaokey Tolnn. teers, and the inhabitants around almost to a man." 343 Cairncastle, in Co. Antrim. The 'Doctor' waa one of my earliest acquaintances, from his being the accoucheur who attended my mother at my birth, a friendship that lasted to the last day of his life. Being well-known to be in the secrets of the United Irishmen, this ' informer ' had only to my Patrick was a Colonel — ^which he never was. The Doctor was a very peaceable and timid man, honest and truthful, and deservedly trusted. He was one of the ' Committee of Public Safety,' which sat in Eallymena, and professed to give all the orders which James Dickey, their General, foolishly executed, like a zealous, impulsive man as he was. But the Doctor was a man of peace, and never an officer. He took care to cultivate friends on the oppo- site side, and took Major M'Cleverty into his house, who was made prisoner, and slightly wounded in the head, of which he (M'Cleverty) made the most. Doctor Patrick was a Presbyterian of Scotch origin, and remained a re- former till lus death, about 1863. I was a great favourite of his — ^he liked my views. You will observe, in this in- formation, that the term ' Defender,' and Defenderism is employed — never United Irishman. The Catholics in '98, as a body, stood ahof, only a few here and there joining in opposition to the priests. They also became yeomanry. But mark what they got for their loyalty. They were flogged, hunted, and driven out, as bad, and even in some places worse than the Presbyterian rebels, hence 'De- fender' is used here to imply they were Catholics, or asso- ciated with Catholics, whom the authorities and their tools in the North laid aU the blame of the rebellion upon, to raise up the Orange lodges lately instituted, to divide and distract the United Irishmen. Doctor Thompson was a man I knew also when a boy, he was a United Irishman, but never a Defender, and not after '98, also a Presby- terian. The Boyds, respectable farmers of the Forthtown, were old volunteers in the Clough corps, raised by Rev. Mr. Douglas, Presbjrterian Minister, whose wife was sister of my grand-uncle, Campbell of Ballygarvie, and his bro- thers, the Colonel Hugh and Captain Eobert Campbells, of the Dungannon Meeting, Commanding the ' Glorious Memory Battalion,' and BaUygarvie Volunteers. Dungal, part of it, was then the property of my grandmother, (544. APPENDIX. widow of William McNaugMen, Esq., of Ballyreagh, Old- stone, Oo. Antrim, and tlie Boyds were her tenants, Pres- byterians ; and all that country United Irishmen, and in rebellion with their minister who succeeded him. Glen- ravel was also the property of my mother. It was in- habited by Catholics not in the rebellion, hence this spy points out Baffin and M'Canbridge, both Catholics. The ancestor of the former was placed on our lands for a re- markable act of honesty. None of them were ever Captains or officers in any. There were no arms in the country in 1800, or /or long before. Mitchel is one of their stranger spies from Tjrrone, and this villain is dubbed a ' Lieu- tenant-Colonel ! ! !' of Defenders ! ! ! ' They won't dis- cover where the arms are concealed,' he says, ' till they are forced to do so ;' this was to keep up the yeomanry floggings, pitch-cappiags, and half-hangings. The Moores were Presbyterians, and all the inhabitants, like my own father's family, who owned nearly it all, were United Irishmen, and in arms with my family in the rebellion. He says, he 'knows many persons who have concealed arms, but cannot at present recollect their names.' WU son and the other names are all very common people, and only put in for that reason, and their being numerous. They flogged such fellows, and traitors of aU kinds, after '98, but there were tio arms, nor organization of any kind amongst the oppressed people, who were only too glad to get living at peace from the military, and a tyrant magis- tracy, and yeomanry, and informers." SAML. HUME's examination — COUNTY OF ANTRIM. The information of Samuel Hume, junior, of Moneydufi', taken on oath before me, James Stewart Moore, Esq., a magistrate of said county, saith that Doctor Patrick of Ballymena, is a Colonel of Defenders, and that he gave materials to make gunpowder on or about the month of February, 1799, to the Boyds of Dungal, in the Forth- town, and that James Thompson of Ballymena, apothecary, did also give a sum to sift gunpowder to the aforesaid Boyds, and that the said Thompson is an officer of superior rank to a Colonel among the Defenders. Informant saith that John Hanna, near Dundermot Bridge, did receive a A SWORN INFORMATION. 345 considerable quantity of gunpowder from the aforesaid Boyds, which informant has reason to believe was part of the powder manufactured by the said Boyds. Informant says that he knows James Baffin, of Glenravel, to be a Captain of the Defenders, and that he has heard the said Baffin often say that he was present when a vast number of arms were concealed in Glenravel, between four and five hundred stand of arms was the number that the said Baffin mentioned, and that M'Oanbridge the cooper, of Glenravel, whose brother was transported about six months ago, for being a flogger, has in his possession a quantity of ball cartridges, and knows where a number of arms are concealed. Informant further saith, that account of the oaths and obligations those persons have taken never to discover where arms are concealed, and the most dreadful and terrible threats that have been made against any person who wiU discover the same, that informant verily believes they will never make any discovery until they are forced to do so. Patrick Mitchel, formerly of the county of Tyrone, but for some time past has been travelling this county for the purpose of encouraging Befenderism, is a Lieutenant-Colonel of Befenders; John Moore of Cully- backey, is a Captain, and informant saith, that he and the aforesaid Mitchel were often concerned in taking up arms, and that they sent summonses to a number of Befenders the day after the middle muster in BaUymena, which was about the 19th of Becember past, ordering them to meet at the house of WiUiam Craiges, who lives near the Cloghey mill, and that twenty-six men did attend the next night at the house of said Craiges for the purpose of disarming a number of Kasharkin yeomanry, but on account of the snow they thought it prudent to put it off to another time lest they should be traced. Informant saith that said William Craiges was the man appointed to conmiand the party that disarmed a number of the Eashar- kin yeomanry, on or about the 13th of January, inst., and that said Craiges knows where the arms were concealed. Informant saith, that the committee of Befenders frequently meet at the house of John Moor, innkeeper, BaUymena, on Saturday, the market-day, and sometimes have papers along with them, but do not often, bring papers, and that 346 APPENDIX. Eobert Wilson, stocking weaver, of Ballymena, is a mes- senger, and is employed by the committee, for the purpose of bringing and convejring intelligence. Informant saith that Eobert M'Craken of Drimall, AiagMl, is a Captain of Defenders, and that informant has heard from some of the Defenders captains, that the Defenders are a more nume- rous and better organized, in the Counties of Down and Deny, than what they are in Antrim, and that the prin- cipal leaders in the Counties of Down and Derry are much dissatisfied at some of the Defenders in Antrim for creating a disturbance. Informant saith that Adam * of BaUyhoyUn, was an associate of them, and said Patrick Mitchel who was president at a Defenders' meeting held at the house of Kobertson of BaUyhoylin, in the month of February, and that said Calwell did attend that meeting. Informant saith, Calwell knows where twenty-six are con- cealed, and informant saith that he has heard and believes that Eobert Crawford who lives near the Cloghwater was the man who flogged Alexander Gartlin the sub-constable, of CloghmiUs, in the beginning of last summer. Informant saith that he knows many persons who have concealed arms, but cannot at present recollect all their names. " Sworn before me, January the 26th, 1800. " (Signed) James St. Moore. " (Signed) Samuel Hume." Our correspondent alludes to the floggings, torturiags, burnings, and half -hangings which at last goaded the people into resistance. This vUe policy seems now-adays incred- ible ; but that it was sedulously planned by Statesmen is, nnhappUy, too true. In addition to the evidence supplied Rt p. 107, it may be observed that Lord Castlereagh him- self confessed, on the examination of Dr. McNevin, that " means were taken to make the United Irish system explode ;" and in Parliament he tried to vindicate the use of torture, adding that it would be unmanly to deny what notoriously existed. Moreover, the report of the Secret Committee records — " It appears, from a variety of evi dence laid before your committee, that the Bebellion woulf • Word Ulegible A BLOOD-KNOTTED PORTFOLIO. 347 not have broken out so soon as it did, had it not been for the well-timed measures adopted by Government !" (fee. Discontent had been ripened into rage, and rage was at last extinguished in its own hot blood. The scheme was to wring from Ireland, when prostrate from exhaustion ani loss of blood, her most valuable gem — a domestic Legis- lature. But to re-open General Nugent's portfolio and unfold the knotted bonds of blood, which, hke layers of red tape, bind his correspondence. If the Crawfords, the Blackwoods, the Wards, the Kennedys, the EccHns, and the Hutchisons pre- served their patience, and refused to be goaded into resistance and revolt, it assuredly was not the f aidt of General Nugent, or his hopeful pupil in insolent oppression. Colonel Atherton. Luckily the green fields of Crawf ordsbourn were not ripped up by the axe of attainder ; and constitutional patriotism continued to bloom on their shamrocked sward. " COLONEL ATHEETON TO GENEEAL NUGENT. " Newtownards, 20th June, 1798, half-past eleven. " Deab Sib, — I have had tolerable success to-day m apprehending the persons mentioned in the memorandum. The list is as foUows. [Twenty-seven names here occur.] We have burned Johnstone's house at Crawford's-Bourn- MOls, at Bangor, destroyed the furniture of Pat. Agnew, James Francis, and Gibbison, and Campbell's, not finished yet, at BaUyholme ; burned the house of Johnston at the Demesnes near Bangor ; the houses of Jas. Kichardson and John Scott at BaUymaconneU-Mills ; burned the house of M'ConneU, miller, and James Martin, a Captain and a friend of M'CuUock's, hanged at BaUinahinch. Grooms- port, reserved. Cotton, the same. " We have also the following prisoners, on the informa- tion of different people. [Here follows a list.] " We hope you will think we have done tolerably well. To-morrow we go to Portaferry, or rather to its neighbour- hood. Ought we not to punish the gentlemen of the country who have never assisted the well-disposed people, yeomanry, &c. 1 For my own part, a gentleman of any kind, but more particularly a magistrate, who deserts hia post at such a period, ought to be 1 wiU not say what 348 APPENDIX. " Mr. EccUn, of Ecclinville ; Kev. Hutuneson, Donagha- dee ; Mr. Arbuckle, Collector of Donaghadee, an official man ; Mr. Ker, Portavo ; Mr. Ward of Bangor, is now, and only now, to be found. " List of inactive magistrates, or rather friends to the United Irishmen : — Sir John Blackwood ; John Crawford, of Crawford's-Bourn ; John Kennedy, Cultra, »• "rincely state it 354 APPENDIX. Dromgoole Castle, a portion of whicli has survived the wreck of ages, and is still to be seen as an evidence of the massive grandeur of the old Irish mansion in- feudal days. When Cromwell made his incursions northwards, he met with a stern resistence in Drogheda from the founder of Dromgoole Castle. Numbers at last overpowered the Irish chieftain, and he was taken out and hanged from the spikes of his own gate, which tradition tells were tipt with silver, and Cromwell drew up his plan of Dundalk comfortably seated in the drawingroom of Dromgoole Castle, while life was fast ebbing in its princely proprietor without. Of this family there were seven sons, who, during the sack of Drogheda, fled for the safety which their native town could not afford. Some went south and some northward. The historic records of the time appear to have lost sight of this ancient sept until the wars between William and James, when one of them is again found living in stately grandeur in BeUingan Castle, with an income of £5,000 a-year, which, considering the value of money at that time, must have been enormous. But here again was experienced those reverses of fortune which seemed incidental to the family. He was dispossessed by the Williamites, and his fine property was parcelled out amongst the sycophants and adventurers who followed the fortunes of Widiam. His immediate successor in Bellingan Castle was a man named Tipping, a lineal descendant of whom is still in possession. Immediately after the Battle of the Boyne another member of the Dromgoole family settled as a bleacher of linen on the banks of the Ban, at BeUevarlie, possessing an estate of several hundred acres of land. He married a Miss Crawley, daughter of Baron Crawley, by whom he had four sons; one of these succeeded his father in the estate, and married a Miss O'Neill, the other three having studied at Saint Omer's, became physi- cians, the only profession then open to a Catholic. One married a Miss Magennis of Ulster, the other married a Miss M'Neill, the third never married, but lived to become a most distinguished orator in popular politics. The Doctor Dromgoole alluded to above in connection with Conlan, waa son of John Dromgoole, who remained at BeUevarlie, and nephew to the Dromgoole of Veto celebrity. Readers of Wyse's HistorM of the Catholic Association, will DUNDALK IN '98. 355 remember the spirited sketch given of him as one of the pillara of the earlier Catholic Board. Dr. Conlan's correspondence with Major Sirr, preserved among the papers of the latter in Trinity College, Dublin, reveal that the phlebotomising Doctor was also in hot scent after the hotter blood of Nicholas Markey, a non-commis- sioned officer in Sir P. Bellew's Barmeath Corps of Yeo manry. Mr. John Mathews, of DundaJk, has been so kind as to put himself in personal communication with the represen- tatives of the parties referred to, and an elaborate detail, gathered from the most authentic sources, is the result : dundj^xk in '98. " The peaceful and picturesque town of Dundalk, which had once been the seat of royalty and learning, appears to have lost its faith in the ' divine right of kings,' and to have partaken in the general disaffection which prevailed through- out Ireland in '98, and made that year a history of treachery and bloodshed, with no other alternations than those diabolical scenes which invariably result from the delegation of power to minions, sycophants, and adven- turers. On the 24th of June, a meeting of the insurgents, convened by the authority of the Dublin Directory of United Irishmen, was held at a place called the Fishpond, at the rere of LisnawiUy, now the residence of Patrick James Byrne, Esq., Clerk of the Crown.* " Amongst the many who attended this Meeting there were two men from Dundalk, whose escape from the fangs of the informer seems somewhat singular ; these were John Warren (aUuded to above) and Arthur M'Kone (father of Canon M'Kone, P.P. of Termonfeckin). When they reached * Mr. MathewB, in the private letter which enclosed these details, wrote, March 17th, 1869 : — " Mr. Byrne, of LianawiUy, is a high authoiity on the unpublished history of the county." Two days later, Mr. Byrne was dead! If we needed any justification for the details thus gathered, it is to be found in si^iificant facts like these. The Oowrt Cvrculair, noticing another bpot of ours, observes : " Its facts are derived from personal conversations with aged persona who had themselves participated in the scenes. It was well that these facts should be rescued from the oblivion into which the hand of death was fast drawing them," 356 APPENDIX the Fishpond, M'Kone stuck the head of Ms pike in the pond, and with one bound cleared the banks, exclaiming, ' John, I'm first on the ground.' " The meeting was a very large one — Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, and Armagh were well represented, as the object was both important anl hazardous, viz. : — to take possession of the military barracks in Dundalk. The route was to be a direct passage through Lord Roden's demesne, entering the town by O'Hare's gateway, now owned by Mr. M'Donald, a baker. At this post a man stood to direct strangers to the various points of attack. A signal was to have been given by the outlying sentry, who, it is said, was in the confidence of some of the leading insurgents; be this as it may, the signal did not reach the meeting from some cause hitherto unknown, and likely to remain so now. A large body of men from Philipstown and Belrobbin was to have led the van, but their leaders did not come forward. About midnight, a thunder-storm broke forth, the like of which has not since been known. The peals of thunder were so loud as to render it impossible to hear those standing close by shouting in your ear, while the country round, far as the eye could reach, seemed as if lighted up by some immense conflagration, so vivid and incessant were the flashes of lightning. A bystander declared that hundreds of them fled homewards, believing the world to have been at an end ; some sought shelter under the little bridge at Myer's- cross ; while others were so paralysed with fear that they were unable to move, but resigned themselves to the fate which seemed inevitable. The rain then descended in tor- rents until daybreak, when the remainder of the insurgents crept from their places of shelter, and went home ; and thus ended the meeting at the Fishpond, the largest one ever held in Louth for revolutionary purposes. "M'Kone, Warren, and the late James M'Alister, of Cam- Drickville, were hotly pursued, but a sergeant in the Yeo- manry, named Blake, a Protestant, extended the hand of friendship to them. He kept them concealed in an old cellar for nearly a week, and at the risk of his life, had them conveyed in a lime boat from Sir John Macneill's (sic.). They were landed in Cheshire, where they remained until the times became more settled, when they got their SPIES AT WORKl 357 pardon, and returned to thank their generous protector for Laving saved their lives at the imminent risk of his own.' " Another very important meeting took place at th( Scotchgreen, about two miles from Dundalt, so called froir. a family of Scotchmen who settled there as manufacturers and bleachers of linen. These were supplied with the pre- pared material by a number of weavers who were located in ParHament-square, now the cavalry barracks, but deriv- ing its former name from a grant given by the Irish Parlia- ment. This meeting, which gave a decided turn to the whole current of events which subsequently followed, was held in Union Lodge, the residence of the unfortunate TeeUng. From the commanding position of Dundalk, possession of it was considered worth fighting for. A large number of the leaders of the Irish rebellion were present, among whom were Mr. Teeling, Mr. Turner, of Turner's Glen, Newry, Mr. N. Markey and Mr. Thomas Markey, both of the Seaside, Dundalk, Mr. Anthony M'Cann, of Corderry, commonly called ' Croppy M'Cann ;' and Mr. John Byrne, of Castletown, a very extensive merchant (one of the Byrnes of MuUinahack*), and a number of the Directory from Dublin. But the spy — ^for the cul- ture of which Ireland is unfortunately pre-eminent — began the work of deceit and destruction. Information was sent to the authorities, and the military immediately ordered out. The officers stopped for refreshment at Dransfield's (now Arthur's) Hotel, where the intended en- counter was unreservedly talked over. The refreshments were served up by a man named Terence Flanagan, who hearing the conversation, sent a messenger across the de- mesne to anticipate the arrival of the soldiery, and to give the messenger a good start, Flanagan endeavoured to de- tain the officers as long as possible, by making many blun- ders and mistakes in bringing up the articles called for In the meantime, the messenger made the best of his way, but being feeble, he was about to give up the race, when he met a man named Koddy, a gardener, who volunteered * For details of the extraordinary romance with which is inter- woven, the career of the Byrnes of Mullinahaok, see " CwHous Family History, or Ireland Before tlu Vninn, a Sequel to the ShMr Squire," pp. 16S-20O. 658 APPENDIX. to deliver the message, and did so. But the -warning was there already. The Kev. James Eastwood, of Castletown, — uncle to the late James Eastwood, for the attempted murder of whom the two men were hung in Dundalk in 1852 — hearing from headquarters of the intended expedition, sent a man named Haughey, in aU haste, with a note to put into Mr. Byrne's own hand. When Haughey arrived at the Lodge, there were ten of the gentlemen outside — Byrne, Markey, Teeling and Turner, the other six were strangers. When Byrne read the note, he turned round, and said : — ' Gentlemen, it's all up — there are informers among us — the red-coats will be here in five minutes ! ' ' We'll fight to the last,' replied Teeling and Turner in one voice. So sudden was the invasion of the soldiery that Teeling and Turner had only time to conceal themselves at the bottom of the garden. The others escaped in different directions. As soon as the soldiers entered the Lodge, the officer in command exclaimed — ' Ah, here's the nest, but the birds have flown 1' The extensive premises of Mr. Byrne were then set fire to, both in Salttown and Castletown, and to- tally destroyed. It is said that these premises were largely insured, and they having been burnt by direction of Jona- than Seaver, who held a captaincy in the Louth Yeomanry, that gentleman's estates were put under a mortgage. Of the many individuals who were thus unceremoniously routed, few of them ever met again. Byrne, who had a friend in the Austrian service, named Colonel Begg, also obtained a commission in it, and fought at the battle of Marengo, where he got a gun-shot wound in the hip, which lamed him for Ufe. Turner went to the Isle of Man, and having quarrelled there with a gentleman named Boyce, uncle in marriage to the late Mr. Eastwood, of Castletown, agreed that the dispute should be settled by an appeal to arms. The two beUigerents, with their friends, repaired to the spot of honour, and as Turner was preparing for the struggle, his adversary shot him through the head ; and thus terminated the career of a man, whose only regret was, that his life was not lost in the service of his country. Poor Teeling's fate is too well-known. He was hanged, his rankest offence seemingly being that he would not lament the death of an enemy to Ireland. On THE EXILE OF ERIN. 359 his tomb might in justice to his memory be inscribed — 'Patrice infelici _fidelis.' "M'Cann and Markey fled to France, where they remained until the expedition to Ireland, which sailed from Brest on the 16th December. They were in the Admiral's vessel, which was separated from the rest of the squadron by adverse winds, and landed again in France. Markey entered the French army, and died at Fontainbleau, having attained the rank of Colonel. M'Cann settled in Hamburgh, where he became a prince merchant and a popular man. After he had been in his adopted home for some time, he longed to visit his native land, and eventually carried out his wish. He landed at Dundalk in the garb of a peasant, but the disguise was not sufficient to secure him from the keen scent of the bloodhounds. He went to the residence of Mr. Philip Boylan, his brother-in-law, and that night the soldiers surrounded the house. M'Cann's sister, by an extraordinary stratagem, kept the fugitive patriot carefuUj concealed until morning, when, under the shelter which th« grey dawn of approaching day afforded, he quitted for evei the land he loved so fondly, and served not wisely but too well. It was at this time the Poet Campbell made his Continental tour, and while at Hamburgh, was introduced to the exiled Irishman. In the course of conversation M'Cann told Campbell of his midnight visit to Dundalk, the home of his childhood, which made such an impression on the Poet's mind, that shortly afterwards appeared that celebrated lyric, ' The Exile of Erin,' the hero of which was ' Croppy M'Cann.' " Dr. Conlan, of infamous memory, commenced hie work of treachery at this period. Conlan, who was a native of Dundalk, had been Secretary to the United Irishmen, and before suspicion fairly rested on him, he had endeav- oured to insinuate himself into the confidence of Dr. Dromgoole, who held an honoured and faithful position in the Society. " Conlan went down to Newry, ostensibly on business of the Society, but in reality to ensnare his victims in a trap from which he designed they should never escape. When Conlan reached Newry, he went to Dr. Dromgoole's resi dence. The Doctor waa out. but Conlan pleaded hard foi 360 APPENDIX. the loan of a horse, saying that Dromgoole would, noi refuse him anything, at the same time intimating that they were both aKke concerned in the interests of their common country. But all was of no use, Mrs. Dromgoole was de- termined he should receive no footing there. Having come repeatedly to that gentleman's residence, she, with great shrewdness and penetration, conceived an unaccountable prejudice against him, and earnestly besought her husband to have nothing to do with that man. Subsequently to this caution, Conlah called on the Doctor for a letter of introduction to the North. This was when the informer was going to Belfast, where he made a sad havoc, until stopped by the Hon. John Jocelyn, grandfather of the present Lord Mayo, and NeiU Coleman of Dundalk, who declared his oath was bad and his word was worse. " But Dr. Dromgoole, having been already warned, refused Jt, saying : — ' If you bring with you an honest heart, it will be the best recommendation you could possess.' These words, which were uttered with that force of expression peculiar to the Doctor, convinced Conlan that he was not likely to succeed in that quarter ; he then pursued other victims. " Dr. Dromgoole was subsequently balloted into a cavalry corps of yeomen in Newry, and he continued to make his position subservient to the interests of the popular move- ment. When going out to 'hunt down the rebels,' he would always lead the attack in the wrong direction, and the fugitives not unfrequently received a timely hint of his coming. But the post which he held — that of Captain — and the expenses attending it, together with a stud of horses, which he was obliged to keep at his own expense, almost destroyed his fortune. "Two respectable merchants belonging to Dundalk, named John Hoey and Anthony Marmion — one the grandfather of Jhe present John Cashel Hoey, of the English bar; the other, father of the late Anthony Marmion, author of the Maritime Ports of Ireland — ^were arrested on private infor- mation, and by order of the authorities conveyed to Drogheda. While playing a game of baU in the prison yard, an order came from Dublin for their immediate execution. They LAWS AND LASHES. 361 were forthwith taken in, and hanged by torch-light. Mar- mion's remains were brought to Dundalt, and waked with- out a light. The funeral procession was one of the lone- liest ever witnessed here, it consisted of the driver of the hearse, Friar McGuirk, and a confidential friend of the family named Patrick Grant^the people were afraid to join in it. A very respectable man, named James Kieran, was arrested for a breach of Martial Law, which was then in active operation. It appears that this young man had only returned from Newry, where he had been purchasing English bills to transmit to his father's London correspon- dent, and had been reading his night prayers with candle light, previous to retiring to bed. The light was observed by some of the Yeomanry officers who were prowUng about in Lord Eoden's demesne. His room was burst in, and he was dragged to the guard-room in the Market-square, where he and a clergyman named M'Quillan, committed for a similar offence, were shut up with the worst characters of the town, and subjected to aU. the indignities which a brutal and ignorant soldiery could invent. But even in this Pandemonium there was found one honest man who had the moral courage to stop such conduct. A man aamed Gray, a Protestant, was sergeant of the guard, and laving come in from patrol, and seeing the excited state )f poor Kieran's feelings, who was then only 18 years of age, said he would not stand by and see his neighbour's child treated in such a manner. ' Let the law,' said he, ' such as it is, decide his guUt or his innocence, and deal with him accordingly ; but I'U take care that none here shall lay a hand on him.' He then took him and the clergyman from the remainder of the prisoners, and kept them under his own care until morning. From the influ- ence and respectability of Mr. Kieran's family it was ex- pected that a powerful appeal would be made on his behalf; but a man named Shekelton who held a captaincy in the yeomanry, and several of the officers protested, and said they would throw down their arms if Kieran was not flogged. Accordingly a court-martial was held on him the following morning, presided over by Colonel Latouche of the Carlow militia, and he was sentenced to receive 300 lashes. His mother who was almost distracted at hearing 362 APPENDIX. this, ran out, and seeing Lord Koden, and Major Straton, fell on her knees, and begged them in the most touching terms, which a mother's love could express, to spare her child. They told her to rise as all was over. And so it was. Poor Kieran was flogged, and conveyed to hospital How- ever, he survived the inhuman treatment he received, and lived to become one of the most eminent merchants in Ireland, with a reputation beyond the reach of malice, and a capital of over £100,000. " Michael Sherley from Castletown, received 500 lashes, and often related that the rats ate the plaster off his back while he lay in the cell. The people of Castletown would have suffered severely, but for the bravery and intrepidity of the Rev. James Eastwood, to whom was deputed the power to pardon aU those who gave up their pikes to him. A man named O'Hare from Ballinahatina, known by the sobriquet of ' Captain,' was taken off his bed by a party of Welsh Horse, or Ancient Britons, and conveyed to Dun- dalk ; they would not give him time to dress, but put him upon horseback naked, until his servant ran after him with his clothes, and overtook him as he was entering the town. When Mr. Eastwood heard that the Captain was in gaol, he immediately came into Dundalk, and ordered the gaoler to turn out Daniel O'Hare, that he would answer for him. Such was the state of Dundalk, while under the guardian- ship of the Welsh Horse, Lord Roden's fox-hunters, and Captain Seaver's yeomanry, that the lash and triangle were in daily use. These revolting scenes were generally enacted in the WindmUl-yard, where Captain Seaver held his quar- ters. Some of the yeomen at last became disgusted with the cruelty with which the law dealt with men for the most trifling offences. On one occasion when some unfortunate offender was tied up in the triangle, some of the yeomen were told off to inflict the lashes ; they refused, and one of ihem named Kerr, a Protestant, said he would rather throw down his arms, than butcher any man, and he kept his word. This inhuman and barbarous treatment of an unof- fending and industrious people received a very unexpected check — a messenger of peace came with the oUve brancL Colonel Campbell, uncle to the late Sir CoUn Campbell (afterwards Lord Clyde), entered the town with his High- A DROLL STORY. 863 land Watch, and stopped the administration of justice that would be a rebuke to the most barbarous nation in the world. When the Colonel entered the town, there wer« three men preparing to receive their share of torture, one ot them under the triangle, exclaimed : — ' Oh, Saviour of the world, have mercy on me.' A bystander replied — ' Call on Seaver of the Bog, for he's the man to-day.' The Colonel's attention was attracted by the crowds of people passing his hotel windows, and upon going out, he beheld the men under the triangle, when he ordered one of his officers instantly to cut them down ; and being told that Captain Seaver had charge of Dundalk, he said that if this barbarous treatment were resorted to again, he would fire the town, adding that such conduct was sufficient to pro- duce a revolt all over the kingdom. ' ' There is an anecdote related of Colonel Campbell, worthy of record, which truly illustrates the character of the soldier as a gentleman, and the gentleman as a soldier, and it will agreeably relieve the detail of torture an(? blood through which the reader has had to wade. The Colonel, who was somewhat eccentric, went out for a walk after breakfast one morning, and being anxious to avoid the hoUow conventionalities of society, he dressed himself as a servant, and went in the direction of Prospect House, now tenanted by Mr. EusseR Patteson. On his way thither, he overtook a travelling tinker, a native of Dundalk, and exchanged the usual civilities of the day, the tinker asked him was he going far that road % ' I'm going up to this gentleman's house before us,' said the disguised Colonel, ' to look for a situation as butler, and if I don't succeed there, I must go further.' ' Ai, my poor fellow,' said the tinker, ' a gentleman's servant is very good as long as he has a master, but when he hasn't, it's a mighty bad trade to tramp with.' After some further conversation they arrived at a public-house known as 'Hole-in-the-wall.' ' Come in here, at all events,' said the tinker, ' I have as much as wUl stand a treat, and you'll have luck after it.' The Colonel hesitated, saying it was too bad to put a pool man like him to such expense. ' Nonsense,' said the tinker, 'the next village I go to, I'U earn as much as will pay my way.' Accordingly they went in, and had a glass 364 APPENDIX. and a smoke together. 'Now,' said tlie tinker, 'take this change, and if you don't succeed there, you'll want a glass on the road, for it's d n lonely to be travelling without one !' The Colonel protested strongly against this needless liberality, but at length he had to yield, and it was then Agreed that they should meet there that evening and report progress. They separated, and the Colonel having finished a long walk, returned to the public-house at the appointed hour. In a short time the tinker entered, and conceiving that he saw the flush of success beaming in his companion's face, caught him by the hand saying, as he shook it, ' I'll hold you there was luck in the glass !' ' There was,' said the Colonel, 'I got a good situation.' A warm shake hands congratulated Campbell, and the tinkefc had another round, and was for having more, when the Colonel said it was better go into town and have something to eat. This was agreed to, and they both marched into Dundalk together, when to the tinker's great surprise, the soldiers presented arms as they passed, and the Colonel handed him into Dransfield's Eotel, where in spite of the physical remonstrances of his humble friend, the Colonel introduced him to his officers, who were then at dinner, as the honestest man he had ever met. Colonel Campbell made his com- panion sit down to table with him, and after assuring the tinker that he should n&ret know the want of a friend while he lived, handed him his purse, and bade him a cor- dial good-night. This amusing instance of ' soft solder,' new to the experiences of a tinker, which the latter took delight in relating for years afterwards, has been pre- served among the traditions of the time, and was related to the writer of these pages, by a member of the house where the interview between the Colonel and the tinker took place." SIR T. JDDKIN FITZGERALD. 365 SIR T. JUDKIN FITZGERALD.— FURTHER REVELATIONS. (See p. 217.) Clonoulty, Cashel, June 6th, 1868. Deae Sir, — I have just read your very interesting work, " The Sham Squire," and as I am in possession of a few facts that may further illustrate the doings of the notorious Sir T. Judkin Fitzgerald, during the year of his shriev alty in this county, I feel but too happy in laying them before you. My brother, the Rev. Thomas O'CarroU, late P.P. of Clonoulty, who died in 1865, wrote a short memoir of several of the priests of this Diocese, who died since 1838, the year he began the labours of the mission. The Rev. Roger Hayes, P.P. of KnockaviUa, died that year, and from the MS. now before me, I give you the accompanjdng ex- tract in extenso. — Believe me, dear Sir, &c., James 0' Carroll, C.C. WLUiam J. Fitzpatriek, Esq. EXTRACT. " The Rev. Roger Hayes lived in very intimate relations of friendship with most of the Protestant gentry of his neighbourhood. There was only one among them from whom he experienced any harsh^or unkind treatment, namely, the notorious Thomas Fitzgerald, afterwards Baronet, who, though living in the same parish, and therefore having the best opportunity of knowing his loyalty, signalised his year of office as high sheriff, by subjecting Mr. Hayes to a series of petty persecutions. Mr. Hayes had the misfortune of being ediicated in France, and of speaking the language of that country with fluency. This was in the mind of Sir Thomas, prima facie, evidence of a disloyal and rebellious spirit; so that in the wantonness of power, he made a hostile visit at three different times to the house of the affrighted priest He had him ordered out before him on each of these occa. sions, and there, surrounded by his armed myrmidons, threat- ened to burn his house, a thatched one, and to tie him up to the triangles as a rebel and abettor of rebels, as a con- 366 APPENDIX. spirator holding treasonable relations with France. Nei thei the mildness or the known loyalty of the man, nor the sacred- Bess of his office, would, in all probability, have averted the execution of Fitzgerald's threats. The priest owed his escape more to the fear of displeasing Lord Hawarden, whose protestation and friendship he was known to enjoy. " If, in consequence of these wanton outrages, any unkind feeling towards Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, coiild have lingered in the heart of Mr. Hayes, he had in after years had frequent opportunities of gratifying it. " Thomas Judkin Fitzgerald became a Baronet, had an act of Indemnity passed by the Legislature, to protect him from the legal consequences of his arbitrary and inhuman con- duct during the year of his shrievalty, and settled down as an inoffensive country gentleman at his seat at Lisheen. He wished that the past should be forgotten, and probably feeling that he had sinned against Mr. Hayes, made over- tures towards a reconciliation. He was met in the same ipirit, and Mr. Hayes and he became friends. " Mr. Hayes was wont to dine at his house, and on these eccasions was occasionally doomed to witness scenes of vio- lent altercation between him and his wife. Lady Fitzgerald was a woman of an imperious and overbearing disposition. She despised her husband and took every opportunity to give expression to her feelings. She would, when in bad temper, call him opprobrious names — caU him 'the hangman of '98,' — upbraid him with his cowardly cruelties when ia power — ^tell him even in the presence of company, that he had flogged innocent men, and that the most disloyal of his victims were more loyal than himself. On some occasions, even at dinner, her violence would carry her so far as to fling the plate off which she dined, and its entire contents, into the face of her lord. He would weep as a child, and implore Mr. Hayes to dine vsith him often, as he had found that his presence was a restraint upon his persecutor." " Accompanied by his flying column. Sir Thomas Fitz- gerald entered the chapel of Gastleincy, within two miles of Templemore, on a Sunday during Mass, and standing on the platform of the Altar, closely viewed the congregation in the hope of detecting some rebellious spirit among them. jfALSE TRUSTEES. 367 Failing in this, when Mass was over, he betook himself to a rustic seat under the shadow of a large tree in the chapel- yard, and ordered as many of the affrighted people as he pleased to kneel to him, as if he were in the tribunal of penance. He then interrogated them as to whether they were United Irishmen, or whether there were any in the neighbourhood, and the replies he met with in such an un- holy tribunal may be easily conjectured. " N.B. — ^The foregoingl heard from my brother, who heard it from the Kev. Wm. F. Mullally, late P.P. of Anacarty, who died in 1864. He heard it from his uncle, the Eev. James MullaUy, P.P. of Loughmore and Castleincy in 1798, and with whom the Eev. Wm. ministered as curate for several years. James O'Caeeoll." Many well authenticated facts might be added in proof of the accuracy of the reminiscences furnished by our cor- respondent, the Eev. Mr. O'CarroU. We remember to have read a letter in the "Memoirs of Sir John Moore," in which that humane man describes his arrival with the army at Clougheen, and finding, to his surprise, the streets lined with peasantry, aU on their knees, and bareheaded. Sir John on making inquiry as to the cause, was informed that Mr. Judkin Fitzgerald was going through the people on one of his scourging expeditions. FALSE TEUSTEES. " Four Courts' Marshalsea, " 31st December, 1868. " SiE, — I trust you will pardon the inquisitiveness of the writer, when you learn, that he is at present deprived of the liberty essential to legitimate inquiry. In 'The Sham Squire,' page 302, fSst Une, 'two gentlemen' are described in Mr. Caulfield's letter, as having left bequests to the Four Courts' Marshalsea for charitable purposes. I am aware that the Sham Squire was one of these; but pray who was the other t and the extent and nature of his 368 APPENDIX. bequest 1 As an intending cultivator of food for the minds Df the curious, I am at present breaking up some virgin soil, and would claim your indulgence in the form of any information you can afford. Title of my forthcoming work to be, ' Whitewash.' — Yours respectfully, " J. F. Mathews. " Wm. J. Fitzpatrick, Esq." In answering our Correspondent's query publicly, we also, no doubt, satisfy a wider curiosity. The gentleman, whom the Governor of the Four Courts' Marshalsea alludes to, but does not name, was Mr. Charles Powell, who directed that the interest accruing from £800, which he lodged in the hands of the Lord Mayor and Corporation of Dublin, should be disbursed at the same season, and in the same way as the Sham Squire's bequest. The start- ling fact transpires, however, on examining the Corporate Kecords, that these Civic functionaries squandered the principal in convivial and other expenses, and left an amount equivalent to the annual interest, as a charge on the City Estate ! If the unreformed Corporation of Dublin possessed bad Lord Mayors, it had also to boast of some worthies and Whit- tingtons. Mr. Dalton, when describing Finglas in Ms History of the Gowrvty DMin, writes, p. 379 : — " About the same time {i.e. 1697), Sir Daniel BeUingham, first Lord Mayor of the City of Dublin, granted lands in this parish, then of the value of about £60 per annum, and in 1764 consi- dered worth £200 per annum, for the relief of poor debtors in the City and Four Courts' Marshalsea, and vested the same in the Clerk of the Crown, and one of the six clerks of the Chancery, as trustees for that purpose. "This laudable object, however, was never enforced, and the heirs of the trustees have appropriated the property." It may not be too late, even at this hour, to uncloak tha hidden vampires, and compel them to disgorge their ill- gotten treasure ! ALEXANDER KNOX. 369 ALEX. KNOX.— CUKIOTJS CORRESPONDENCE. Mr. Geokge a. Orawfokd, addressing us from the United Service Club, London, on April 3rd, 1868, observes : — " I would venture to surmise that the statement relative to Alexander Knox (Sham Squire, 3rd Ed., p. 225), might possibly be the better of a closer examination. " Sir K. Peel was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1812 to 1818, and to this period the circumstances mentioned by you should probably be referred. " Knox had, I believe, been in early life subject to at- tacks of epilepsy, and certainly suffered often from severe nervous illness. It is well known how depressing such illnesses are to the mind, and how they often induce tem- porary hallucination, under the influence of which the patient's acts pass beyond the cOiitrol of his ordinary rea- son. But whatever substratum of truth there may be in the story, professing to come from Knox's medical attend- ants (and which you, by the way, have only received at second hand), I suspect it has been somewhat exaggerated; at any rate, the cause assigned for the act is widely at variance with probability. Knox's personal character was of an unusually high type ; he had comparatively early withdrawn from public life, and thenceforward his studies and pursuits were directed in quite a different course. It may be added that, in 1812, Knox had arrived at the mature age of 54. " Since writing the above a passage in the editor's pre- face to the 3rd vol. of Knox's Remains (p. xix), has caught my eye, and more than confirms my suspicions. "'About the year 1803 a brighter period commences. His epileptic fits had then entirely left him, and a quieter and more settled state of spirits was beginning to dawn. In 1803 he made the acquaintance of Peter La Touche, of Belle Vue, where, tiQ Mr. La Touche's death, Mr. Knox was the almost constant and honoured inmate. And here, with scarcely any intervals, and suffering from, little more than SLIGHT temporary indispositions, he continued to enjoy a moderate share of bodily health, an abundance of tran- quil happiness, and a competent degree of animal spirits, 370 APPENDIX. ill the serenity of a religious life and the agreeable 6xcit«- ment of varied intellectual society.' " Mr. La Touche died in 1828, and the remarks quoted above apply to a period extending from nine years before Peel's Secretaryship to ten years after it, and three years before Knox's own death, in 1831, aged 73. I should also add, that a perusal of his correspondence and other admir- able -writings, which date up to the year of his death, show that no diminution whatever had taken place in the vigour of his intellect or tone of his mind. " Under these circumstances I still more than ever sus- pect that exact inquiries will show the story related to you to be a mere new edition of the three black crows from beginning to end." •Having enclosed the foregoing document to Doctoi M'Keever, a distinguished physician of Dublin, he has re- plied in a long letter, of which the following are extracts. We re-open the subject with hesitation ; but the accuracy of our statement having been impugned, we feel it a duty to sustain it : — " 7, Cavendish Eow, April 18th, 1868. " Alas ! my dear friend, the old Scytheman has of late committed such sad havoc among my early friends and acquaintances that I know not even one to whom I could apply for information on the very delicate subject adverted to in the note of your London correspondent. I am, in fact, somewhat like Tom Moore's last rose of summer, ' left blooming alone,' the companions of my juvenile days ' aU faded and gone !' But such are among the evils of pro- tracted existence — ^yet, why indtJge in useless regrets or lugubrious retrospects ? Such is our fate, and to it both duty and interest compel us to submit. However, ' revenons d, nos moutom.' The facts are, I conceive, correctly stated in your very valuable work, and were communicated to me direct, not second-hand, by Dr. Labatt, a man of high pro- fessional eminence, of strict unbending integrity, one who would scorn to lend himself to a reckless falsehood, the coining of a wicked, distempered brain. The same may be said of the late venerable Patriarch, Mr. PeUe, who for more than half a century enjoyed a large share of public CURjiOUS CORRESPONDENCE. 371 patronage, besides holding the responsible office of Inspec- tor-General of Military Hospitals. This amiable excellent man lived to the advanced age of 90, and only within the last year or two has been called to his great account. " As to Mr. Knox having been subject to epileptic seizures, such is the very form of constitution in which I would expect the morbid hallucination aUuded to, and {en paren thise), I may observe, such men have been remarkable fo* their refined literary tastes, as well as intellectual * enjou- menls ;' witness Julius Osesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and, if I mistake not, the present Pontiff, Pio None. Now, I can very well conceive, that as the animal propensities of man fetter and control his nobler aspirations, Mr. Knox may thus have been enabled to devote his leisure hours to con- genial literary pursuits. History presents us with a re- markable case of a similar kind (although not seK-inflicted), in the person of the .celebrated Abelard.* Well, as to age, the mature age of 54 — this I consider altogether relative. In most men who have not impaired their constitution iu early life, passion and power, I should consider in their prime at the period mentioned — ^the more likely in this case, as Mr. Knox lived to the advanced ag« of 73 " On the entire, uiy dear friend, I am inclined to think it will be found that the account given in your interesting book of this melancholy occurrence is the true and correct one, and that it is not, as your correspondent would faceti- ously represent it, that of tres Mtes noires. " But, sad to say, however dishonouring it may be to our common humanity, such details furnish ample proof of the truth of the axiom, 'Truth is stranger than fiction.' "Believe me, your's most truly, "Thgs. M'Keevue," • The case of Abelard is not in point ; but the History of Origen, nn eminent Father of the Church, furnishes 'I parallel. — W. J. F. 872 APPENDIX. DOLLY MONKOE. We have received from an ex-member for Limerick an interesting letter suggesting a few additional details at p. 167, •whidi he is so good as to furnish. He writes : — " I have been interested and instructed by the perusal of ' The Sham Squire,' and I hope it shall be extensively circulated in England, where it could not fail to disabuse the public opinion of that country of many erroneous im- pressions in regard to the qualities and the habits of the natives of Ireland, whose distrust in the law of the land is not unnatural where the administration of it has been con- nected with so much immorality. " As you have been evidently anxious to obtain the most accurate information relative to parties introduced into your narrative, I take the liberty of suggesting an addendum in your next edition of a note, p. 167, ' Baratariana.' One of ■' the trusty friends' of Lord Townshend was Eobert Waller, elder brother of George, clerk of the Minutes of Excise. He was member of Parliament for the borough of DundaJk, then a nomination borough under the control of Lord Roden, who was first cousin of Mr. Waller, who subsequently became a commissioner of the Eevenue, when those officers had been multiplied for the purpose of parliamentary corrup- tion. Mr. Waller was created a baronet in 1780, and the title is still held by his great-grandson. I remember, in my juvenile days, to have seen a fuU-length portrait, at Eathfamham Castle, of the beautiful DoUy Monroe, and a relative of hers told me that Lord Townshend pretended to her aunt, Lady Ely, that his object was to captivate Miss Monroe, and prevail upon her to become Lady Townshend, a delusion he kept up until Lady Ely had induced her lord to give his parliamentary support (about the strongest In the House of Commons) to Lord Townshend's adminis- tration; but, to Lady Ely's great mortification, the viceroy married Miss Montgomery, whose portrait, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, was certainly not as handsome as that of MiM Monroe." THE o'hara family. 373 THE O'HABA FAMILY ON THE "SHAM SQUIRE.' At the request of the publisher, Mr. W. B. Kelly, we in- clude in our Appendix the following able letter, with which we have been favoured by Michael Banim, Esq., of the " O'Hara Family." The letter is dated Kilkenny, March 31, 1869 :— "I regard the two books, 'The Sham Squire' and its companion, 'Curious Family History, or Ireland Before the Union,' as first-class historical evidence. You quote in the last-named work Byron's adage, that ' reality is more strange than fiction.' Both books show the verity of this saying with the self-demonstration of an axiom. Until I read your revelations, I could scarcely imagine, fabricator of fiction as I have been, any thing Mke the intricacy and ingenuity of rascality you have exposed to view in the Sham Squire and in several of his compeers and abettors. But your book is not scandal, but high historical evidence. LooMng on the Sham Squire and others whose portraits you have limned, in both your books, as the machinery by which the governing mechanists of the day manipulated, you have shown convincingly, and beyond contest, the mean shifts and the low degradation to which the art of govern- ing was reduced by bad Statesmen. You have demonstrated by your books, that fellowship with the devil in human guise was the companionship considered most befitting the ruling powers, and regarded as the most efiective machinery of government. If the adage, ' Show me your company, and ru tell who you are,' be relevant to tiie days of the Sham Squire, you have more than suggested that he and those who encouraged him were rascals all, root and branch. That, in fact, Ireland was under the control of a pack of •hounds, who, by themselves and their terriers, looked on the government of a country to be a piece of malign spoi-t, the country entrusted to them as their game, to be run dcra, and, if possible, devoured. You have produced th« conviction, that where the agents of authority were em- ployed because of their lowness in the moral scale, that the employers of such disgusting underlings were as devoid of 374 APPENDIX rectitude as their tools, and that disregard of all principles of rectitude was the code of rule. " Keference to the political surface gives no idea of the state of things photographically placed before us in the ' Sham Squire' and its sequel as the distinct reality ; there is no pause for inferences, after your portraitlite of the period. There is nothing suppositious ; intrigues and in- triguers are stamped -with the impress of reality. Such historical portraits as yours are now valued ; it is by such startKng revelations as these that the truth wUl guide and control the future historian ; theories and disputable asser- tions will evaporate before the radiance of the truth. Plain statements of proven facts always extinguish the most inge- nious false colouring, or the most affluent advocacy. A sen- sible jury judges by the evidence, not by the distortions of the advocates at either side ; you have arranged and pro- duced the evidence in eovit, and the ultimate result will be, according to the jurymen's pledge, ' a true verdict ac- cording to the evidence.' " In this point of view, exclusive of the intrinsic merit of your books, regarding them as sun paintings, your two works, the ' Sham Squire,' and its sequel, 'Curious Family History,' (fee, are invaluable as historic materials. The history of Ireland is yet to be written, so far as I have had the opportunity of examining ; the books published under that title are venomous accusations on the one side, or over- strained recrimination and defence on the other. We want the cool, dispassionate, and, therefore, conclusive history of the country. In my honest judgment, your ' Sham Squire' and its equally piquant companion volume, will, in the hands of the future historian of our country, throw light on the dark period in question beyond any hitherto exist- ing intelligence. "On this subject, the want of an impressive self-assert- ing history of Ireland, I could say much but I will not fur- ther indulge my crude observations. I must conclude by congratulating you on your success, and by thanking you on .my own part, and on the part of our future historian^ for your contributions towards an hereafter 'History of Ireland.' " INFORMERS BVERYWIIERE. 375 INFOEMEES EVERYWHEKE, CoNSPiRATOES and informers will co-exist until the crack of doom, and the wider the conspiracy the greater is the certainty of detection. Some of the seemingly staunchest hearts in Smith O'Brien's movement of '48, were false to their chief and colleagues ; and when the crisis came, sug- gested to the police magistrates, that in order to preserve consistency and keep up the delusion, they ought to be arrested and imprisoned.* Even while we write, the ranks of the Fenian brotherhood, although knotted as it seemed by the most binding oaths of secrecy, are broken and betrayed by internal spies. Nor are the informers con- fined to Ireland. One of the American correspondents of the Times, in a letter dated Philadeljjhia, October 24, 1865, writes: "The Fenian Congress continues its sessions, and has so much business to attend to that they are pro- tracted far into the night. The green-uniformed sentinels still guard its doors closely, and hope to keep the secret of the deliberations within. They have changed their weapons to loaded muskets, in order to terrify attempting intruders; but their watchfulness is of little avail, for not only are there informers inside in the interest of your Government, but I learn that others assist in the deliberations who are in the interest of our own, and who send daily reports of the proceedings to Washington, that the Government may know in time the adoption of any measures tending to violate the peace between England and America." In concluding a book which deals largely with Irish informers, we have no desire to convey the inference that treachery or duplicity, for what Shakespeare calls " saint- seducing gold," is a specialty of the Celtic character. The records of every age and nation furnish ample illustrations of both, even in the most aggravated form. Philip of Macedon said that he would " never despair of taking any fortress to which an ass might enter laden with gold." Pausanias, King of Sparta, and commander of the Greeks * Comrauuieated by F. T. Porter, Esq., ex-police magistrate. 376 APPENDIX. at the battle of Pktaea, was put to death by his own coTmtrymen for intriguing to betray Greece to Persia. The physician of Pyrrhus informed the Koman general Fabricius, that he was ready to poison his royal master fo! pay. Wallace was doubly betrayed, first by his servant, and finally by his false friend Sir J, Monteith, who received a grant of land, in acknowledgment, from the English Privy Council. The published letters of Lord Orrery, son of Boyle, the famous Englitih adventurer, confess that he was set as a regular spy over the Catholic plantations in Clare. King Charles the Second received large douceurs from the French monarch, and shaped his foreign policy accordingly. Sidney was secretly subsidised by France, and Dalrymple's memoirs disclose many similar cases. The private secretary of James the Third,* and conductor of his correspondence, is found to have been in receipt of a debauching pension of £2,000 a-year from the British Minister Walpole ! — a fact admitted by Walpole's own son, in " Walpoliana." Louis XI. of France, accomplished- his ends by bribing the ministers of the King of Castile. The publication of the French official records shows to what a great extent the members of the English legislature were in the pay of Louis XIV. The History of Cockaigne, the vile betrayer of the Kev. AVilliam Jackson,f reveals that the informers of that time were not confined to Irishmen ; and Captain Armstrong, who fattened his sub- stance on the blood of the Sheares, did not belong to an Irish family. We learn from Napier's narrative of the Peninsular war, that Wellington had paid informers on Soult's staff, and Soult had similar channels of information through officers on Wellington's | staff. Nor does Scotland * Also Imown as the Chevalier de St. George father of the Pro. tender, Prince Charles Edward. t P. 286, ante. t The Doke, in one of his conversations with Eogers, describes *n informer, called Don Uran de la Eoaa, and sometimes OzMle, who, daring the progress of the Peninsular war, was wont to dine with the English and the French alternately. " When I was ambas- sador at Paris," added Wellington, "he came and begged me to make interest with Soult for the settlement of his accounts, 'How can I?' I said, laughing, 'when we made such use of yoo fts we did ?' They were settled, however, if we could believe him. INFOKMERS EVERYWHERE. 377 seem to have been specially fastidious. In a letter from the subsequent Duke of Wellington to James Trail, Esq., dated London, 18th March, 1808, he expresses a wish that a Scotch clergyman should immediately wait upon him, preparatory to proceeding, on a mission of espionage, to France and Holland ; and Dr. Madden, in his book on the Penal Laws, informs us that this person "was a very remorkable man, of the name of Robertson, employed by the Duke, on several secret missions of a very question- able kind for a minister to have been engaged on." Barry O'Meara, the Boswell of Napoleon at St. Helena, was assured by that personage that, of the many English spies which his executive had in pay, including a number of ladies, of whom some were of high rank, one lady especially, of very high rank, sometimes got so much as £3,000 a month. We could add numerous instances, and, doubtless, stiU more startling details of the doings of spies and informers in foreign countries woiJd have come to Ught, had the sale of a series of secret-service letters and receipts been suffered, on February 17, 1866, to take its course at Mr. Sotheby's. The papers, which extended from 1790 to 1827, and seem to have been sold as waste by an ignorant official at the Foreign Office, disclosed some curious instances of secret expenditure on the part of English ambassadors abroad; but, by command of Lord Clarendon, the lot was with- drawn ! After his death, a Prenokman came to me in London, and when ho had vaponred away for some time, declaring that Ozfelle had won every battle and saved Europe, he said, ' Here are his memoirs ; shall we publish them or not p' I saw his drift, and said, 'Do as yon please ; he was neither more nor less than a spy.' I heard no more of them or of him." For full details, see "BeooUeotioas," ly Samuel EogerB, pp. 198—201. THE BVP itMiiuiiiHiitm'diim JPfiilii.i'iii